Disclaimer: One Piece and all its characters are property of Eiichirō Oda
Chapter 11
The echoes of the redhead's steps resounded along the wet cave, the sound of dripping water and the flapping of bats' wings only adding to the eerie coldness of the cavern. Itami didn't like this place. He liked to be outside, breathing in the fresh night air; free…and this shitty wet hole almost made him feel claustrophobic. Sadly, his master didn't quite share his opinion; Kaien seemed to like dark eerie places where he could dwell in the darkness of his soul, undisturbed by the sunlight and the other inferior human beings. He sighed.
Damn, why do we always end up stuck in creepy places?
He finally reached the end of the tunnel, and walked into his master's room, (if the circular cavern could be called a room at all). It remained dark at all times, even though they had put lights in most of the other rooms. Kaien had never really favored the light, thing that the redhead found somewhat ironic, seeing how the man only dressed in white. Itami walked towards the center of the cavern, where the shallow pond that his master used to keep an eye on his prey was located.
A lone white figure was staring at the still waters, his clothes of such an immaculate white that they almost illuminated the dark cave. Itami stopped around ten feet away from his master, and bent down in respect, sinking a knee on the wet ground, keeping his emerald green eyes down.
"Kaien-sama, you called?"
The white man did not move an inch, still staring at the moving images on the waters.
"Ah, Itami…" his voice echoed along the cave, "I'm glad you're here. I am in need of your assistance, my dear boy."
"I'll do anything, Kaien-sama." The young man replied with respect.
Kaien turned around, a small smirk on his pale face, which only made the scar that crossed his visage in an X stand out even more.
"Our guests are about to reach one of our neighboring islands." He informed him, knowing that the statement alone would be enough for Itami to guess what he was about to ask.
"Do you want me to leave them a message, then?" the redhead inquired, "A clue that will put them on the right path?"
Kaien's smile widened, "Exactly, my boy…" he turned back to the pond, watching the images move, "They are but a few hours away from Youkou island, you are to make sure they find a clue that will point them my way."
"Hai!" Itami kept his ground, seeing how his master hadn't given him permission to depart, "Is there anything else you need, my lord?"
"Why yes, Itami," the white man turned to him once again, a white smile shinning on his face, "And I'm sure you will enjoy this last assignment. You are to direct their path towards the small island of Komakai which is only a day away from here. Also, I believe it has a relatively low population, and that most men, both young and old, are part of a marine fort stationed in the island…" Kaien's smile then turned feral and heartless, "Those men…kill them."
Itami couldn't help the smile that tugged on his lips. Then he heard his master's voice again.
"But let one live…" the redhead looked up in puzzlement, "…So that he can tell the tale."
"As you wish, Kaien-sama," Itami was all smiles; he had been so bored for the past week that the mere thought of slaughtering the male population of a small village made him the happiest man alive. He looked at his master with expectation, "Will that be all?"
"Yes, my boy," Kaien turned back to the pond, where the images had focused on a certain green haired swordsman, "Now that the crew has figured out that the one behind the nightmares was me, I'll make sure that our dear swordsman feels what is coming in a much more puissant way…I find the amount of pain that this young man can undergo to be absolutely fascinating; and for that I want to see him fall to his knees and yell out in agony from a pain he cannot control, as my hand strangles his heart slowly from miles away…"
Kaien's eyes then turned hard and somber, his voice resounding with an echo of hatred and resentment that the redhead had not heard before, "That man has something that belongs to me..." the white man's eyes bored into the swordsman's image with barely restrained malice, "…and I want it back."
Itami shivered, and not necessarily because he felt what his master did was wrong, oh no! He actually considered himself to be quite a heartless man. However, no matter how twisted his mind might have been, the darkness of his soul was nothing compared to the one that poisoned that of his master's. Such cold-blooded cruelty and thirst for the pain of his fellow men…it sent chills up his spine…which only made him admire the man even more.
"You may leave now, boy," he declared, his voice resounding through the walls, "Go and accomplish your duties."
"Yes, my lord." Itami vowed again and lifted himself from the floor. He then turned around and walked in silence towards the opening of the cave, to the tunnel that would lead him outside…where he could finally inhale the fresh, cold air of the night…and do what he did best.
"Ah!! Iryann!!" the girl flinched and cursed inwardly as she heard the doctor's yell from behind her. "What are you doing?! I told you that you needed to be carried at all times!! Your leg will never heal properly like this!"
"But Chopper~" she whined turning to face the angry reindeer, "I can walk by myself! I'm telling you my leg's already healed!"
"Liar!" he yelled with an accusatory finger…or hoof.
"What?!" the girl protested, "I'm not a liar! See?" she said as she gave a step forward, "I can walk perfectly by mys-ouch!"
The reindeer was immediately by her side, already in his yeti form and picking her up gently. "No, you cannot! You have to take this seriously, Iryann," he lectured her, "Or I will have to tie you up to your bed!"
Iryann gasped and narrowed her eyes at the furry yeti, "You wouldn't!"
"Oh, yes he would," she turned to Zoro, who was walking by with a towel around his neck, and was making his way towards the showers after a long training session, "He did that to me once."
The girl gaped at the swordsman and then at the doctor, finally giving in with a huff as Chopper sat her down on a chair next to Robin, who was looking at her with an amused expression, the book on her lap momentarily forgotten. The woman watched as the doctor gave his patient a last warning look before walking back to the galley, and giggled as the blonde slumped in her seat with a very much unpleased expression.
"It seems like your leg isn't quite healed yet, Koori-san."
Iryann looked at the black haired woman; she had gotten somewhat used to the nickname she had been given by the mysterious lady. She slumped in her chair even more, her arms folded at her front and a small pout on her face.
"If Franky would just make me a darn crutch, then I'd be able to move on my own!" she huffed, "But, apparently, they find it amusing to carry me around like some sort of useless doll!"
Robin smiled at the girl and turned her attention back to her book, "I'm afraid you are going to have to acquiesce, Koori-san, they can be quite stubborn."
"Yeah, I realized that already." Iryann sighed and closed her eyes, deciding that she might as well relax for a while…at least until Luffy came by to make her play with him again…
Someone was walking towards them, and as she opened her eyes, she saw Nami and Vivi coming their way. Both girls sat down on the remaining chairs with a contented sigh. The sound of crumbling paper turned her blue eyes towards the map in Nami's hands. The navigator noticed this, and rolled it open, showing it to the rest who had also turned their attention to the map.
"I have made some calculations," she explained, "And I'm pretty sure we're just about an hour away from our destination. Usopp should be able to see it from the crow's nest but the idiot's probably too busy with his inventions to notice." She scowled.
"What should we do then, Navigator-san?" Robin inquired.
Nami sighed, settling the map on her lap and leaning back in her seat, "We should stock up for a month or so, we don't really know how far away the next island will be," she looked at Iryann and smiled, "And we should probably get some new clothes for you, Iryann."
The girl looked slightly troubled at the suggestion, "But…I have no money…"
"Oh don't worry!" Nami waved her hand dismissively, "It's for a good cause, so I'll lend you some," she punched the air with excitement, "We're going shopping!"
Iryann laughed at the navigator's antics and couldn't help but to feel excited at the thought of going on a shopping spree with her new friends.
"Uh…Iryann-san," she turned to the blue haired princess, "Maybe we can find some information about Datte-san or Kaien if we ask around…you know what they both look like, right?"
Iryann felt concern tugging at her heart once again, but kept her smile in place, "Yeah, I'm sure we'll be able to find a lead or something…Kaien's ships were more or less headed this way so the villagers might have an idea of his location."
All three girls nodded in agreement, and settled back in their seats. It was a sunny day, and Nami could feel moisture forming at her forehead already. Wiping the sweat from her face, she whined slightly.
"It's so hot, today!" Her phrase was immediately followed by the galley door bursting open.
"Nami-swan~, Vivi-chwan~, Iryann-chwan~, Robin-chwan~" he sang as he looped from the door to the grassy deck with a tray full of drinks on his hand. "Please allow me to cool you down with my special drinks of the day."
"Oh! Just in time, Sanji-kun." The navigator beamed happily at the cook.
"It looks delicious, Sanji-san," Vivi smiled.
Iryann smirked as he saw the cook melt on the grass, and looked askance at Robin, who had a warm smile gracing her lips. Each girl grabbed one of the cool drinks and said their thank yous to the twirling cook, who immediately danced his way back to the kitchen…although not without a last glance to the archeologist that had not remained unnoticed by the rest.
Just then, Luffy skipped by and saw the drinks in the girls' hands. He immediately pouted and whined in protest.
"Huuuuh~? Why are the girls getting drinks?!" he glared at the galley door, "Sanji~!! I want a drink too~!"
Vivi giggled, "Luffy-san, you can have a sip of mine if you want," she looked at the boy warningly as he sprang next to her, "But just the one."
Although she was a very sweet girl, when Vivi got mad she could get very scary, and Luffy knew better than to test her patience.
"Okay!" he chirped before taking a sip of the bluish liquid, "It's good!"
"Isn't it?" Vivi smiled, pulling the drink back and taking a sip of her own.
"Man, it's hot today," they all watched as Zoro came out to the deck with an open button-down black shirt and his hair still wet from the shower.
"Hey Zoro!" Luffy chirped, waving happily at his first mate as the swordsman walked towards them.
"Hey there, captain," Zoro smirked as he got to them, and grabbed Nami's drink to take a swig of the cool beverage. Nami could only gape at the swordsman as he sighed with satisfaction and gave her the glass back, "Good stuff."
Luffy and Iryann laughed at the navigator's dumbfounded expression while Vivi and Robin tried to suppress giggles and knowing smiles.
"How long until we reach the next island?" Zoro asked, unaffected by his friends' reactions.
"O-oh! Uuuh…Around half an hour I guess," Nami blushed slightly as she stuttered out her words, "We should be able to see it by now…but Usopp's doing something up there and is not doing his job…"
Zoro nodded and looked up to the crow's nest, "OI USOPP! What the hell are you doing up there?!"
A small explosion sent smoke out the windows of the small room, and Usopp's familiar shriek was heard from within. They all sighed as his coughs reached their ears and knew that he had been too focused on his inventions to pay attention to the horizon. The long nosed sniper then looked out the window and saw the island getting closer by the minute.
"LAND HO!" he yelled.
"Took you long enough, you idiot." Zoro shook his head, and sank down on the grass.
"WOOHOO!! Island!" Luffy cheered as he jumped up and ran to inform the rest of the crew.
Iryann smiled as she took a sip of her drink, "Well this ought to be interesting…"