Disclaimer: I Do Not Own One Piece.
Chapter 11: Fight! Rise And Be Strong! Part V
Aro was shaking from anger. Luffy slowly came over to her. "Let. Him. Go. A. Deal. Is. A. Deal." She said through clenched teeth.
"That was Robrion's deal, not mind." A sneer spread across Veldoro's face as he talked, "I did not agree to it."
"You—" Aro closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Don't worry, Vel-kun… let me take care of them…" Aro opened her eyes and looked up at Serisha as she jumped down once more. The clock started to chime again. Aro reached for her blade.
"Don't make me kill her too…" Aro said silently.
"Kill me? Do you really think you can?" Serisha took a strange walk that made her hips sway like a cat as she stalked towards Aro and Luffy.
"Think? Never." Aro said, shaking her head and lowering it slowly at the same time. She could feel the sneer crawling across Serisha's lips. Her footsteps stopped a few yards away. "But, then again, when you know truth, why think about it?" Aro looked up at her, watching the sneer flicker and slowly start to disappear.
"What do you mean?" She tried to keep the confident look upon her as she addressed the comment.
"I said, I don't think I can kill you. I know I can." Aro let the sneer move from Serisha's lips to her own. Luffy never took his eyes off Serisha as she started towards them, faster now.
"You over-zealous child!" She held up her hand and went to scratch the two. Though, an easy side step easily got them out of harms way. Aro choked down a laugh as she and Luffy made their way back to the center of the room.
"Over-zealous? All I did was say something. You attacked first." Aro looked down at her bloodied clothes, "Only because you heard the truth too." She then returned her gaze to those strange eyes of hers.
Anyone, from old man to new born baby, could feel the hate, hostility, and thirst to inflict pain come from Serisha and towards Aro. Although her beast side was itching to turn away her gaze, Aro continued to hold it. Lesson one of the beast-world: if you are the first to turn away, you were afraid and weaker than the other was. She, dead set on being right, stood her ground. The air soon grew cold, thick and held the unmistakable feel of death.
"Well?" Aro asked, her voice in a growl, "You just going to stand there?"
"Dear child…" Her voice came out forced, as if choking on the air around her, "I would kill you slowly and painfully…"
"Aro." Luffy's voice made her jump slightly. "You've already fought. Take a break, let me take over." Aro blinked a few times. Luffy stared at Serisha, emotionless looking and blank to his thoughts. Aro searched his face as he started towards Serisha. The clock started to chime again. Aro's ears laid flat and she covered them with her hands.
"Sure is getting annoying…" She watched as Serisha flexed her fingers, making her nails glitter in the light as if painted with blood. Her eyes then returned to Veldoro and the ever-so-quiet man in black. Guzen still hung from the wall, his strength slowly returning still.
"Gomu gomu no…" Aro's eyes darted back from Guzen to Luffy's out stretched arm that was at least a yard behind him. She felt her jaw drop. She knew he could stretch, but it was still cool to see. "Pistol!" He said, going for a straight punch with the same arm that was stretched back.
'His speed is incredible!' Aro commented in her mind, watching the fist fly at Serisha.
Serisha, on the other hand, wasn't so impressed. She stepped to the side as his fist came at her, and she put her nails along his skin, running them deep enough to draw blood. When Luffy pulled his arm back, he looked at the cuts while Serisha started to laugh. The clock suddenly stopped chiming. The sudden silence, minus the laughter of course, was painful to Aro. She found herself looking around as if she was in the bath, and there was a risk of someone peeping on her. She shivered as Serisha's laughter died.
Luffy suddenly charged her, "Gomu gomu no," he pulled back both of his fists, and started to punch at her rapidly, "Gattling Gun!" Serisha danced to avoid most of the punches. Aro felt something in her start to sink.
'She's doing something… something is wrong…' She thought to herself. The clock started to chime again, and she glared at it. Something caught her eye, though, and it made her stare at Veldoro. He was speaking into something in his hand. She watched for a second, reading his lips.
"Right, left, duck…" and so on.
She felt anger start to bubble up inside her. The clock was a cover up. Aro quickly glanced around. For what? She didn't know. Something clicked in her and she charged towards the balcony, ignoring Luffy and Serisha's fight.
She got to the wall at a full run, and started up it.
The chiming continued.
"The clock," She told herself, "is to cover up his actions. He tells something where to move, and they move before the attack comes." She started to slow down drastically from the pull of gravity. "Get rid of the clock, and the hypnotic spinning, and no more hypnotized nail lady." She nodded, jumping onto the wall of the balcony and then to the wall once more. One good push and she landed in front of Guzen.
She could hear Veldoro turn around as she started to pull him off the wall.
"Ezerial!" He said suddenly, making Aro quickly turn around, Guzen half free, to see the man in all black, Ezerial, holding a large sword about to attack. She jumped away from the wall, to keep Guzen from harm, and reached for her scythe.
His speed startled her. He went for a horizontal swing faster than he should have been able too. Aro jumped over it, her shoes just clearing the sword. She landed and didn't have time to think, but jumped to her right as he brought down the sword for a vertical strike. She cursed slightly, and prepared to attack.
Ezerial, again, brought his sword down, but this time at an angle. She jumped, landed on the end of the sword and ran at him while the blade still moved.
A shift of hands.
She drew her scythe.
Suddenly, the found he was blocking her attack. He had shifted his hold on his sword, used one arm as a lever, and moved the sword to block an on coming attack. Meanwhile, she drew her scythe and went for an attack with the flat side to his face.
The collision made her go air born. He put his full strength into an attack, coming from below. "Oh Sh—" She put her feet on the edge of the sword, and went with the attack. When her feet hit the sword, a click from metal hitting metal was heard.
He threw her towards the pit she dropped Robrion into. Her blood ran cold as she looked down below her. The pit held a pool of water that seemed black and red from the body and the depth of the water. She swallowed, and watched as the water came closer. A whistling sound was heard, and she looked up to see Ezerial coming after her. A scream pulled her eyes to Luffy and Serisha.
He seemed to have won, but was holding his bleeding arm. Her hand was covered with blood, and where the blood when from her nails to her skin, there was bubbling. Aro's eyes went wide. "Poison…" She muttered, looking back to the pit. She spread her legs wide and caught the two edges of the pit easily. The scythe seemed to just appear between her and the downward coming blade. She held her breath; unsure of her own legs could support an attack at the time.
The sword came crashing down on Aro's scythe, and her legs gave out. They started to fall. Aro took one last look at Luffy. He had just knocked out Serisha, and was heading over to try and help.
"Save Shira!" Aro shouted, losing sight of Luffy to the blackness of the water.
