Chapter 12
Killer took Izumi's book and left it in his room. They were nearing a new island and he had to make sure everything was smooth sailing.
Izumi was already on deck and excited about the new adventure ahead of her as she excitedly talked with Kidd.
"No running off this time. The both of you." Killer said turning to the two.
"What makes you think I will listen?" Izumi asked unamused.
"Just look at what happened the last two times you ran off on your own." Killer shot back.
"Everything turned out fine." she shrugged.
"Just stay with me Iz." Kidd said amused.
"Whatever." she pouted but looked out at sea as they were getting closer to the island.
It was a spring island and as soon as they docked, Kidd grabbed Izumi by the arm and pulled her with them to stop her from causing any damage or trouble.
As they walked through town, everyone recognised them and cowered at their sight.
"People are weird." Izumi commented.
"You're one to talk." Jake said deadpanning.
"Says the guy in a relationship with a tree called Timmy." she shot back.
"What did you say?" Jake growled, ready for a fight.
"Cut it out." Killer said and the two relaxed and the other guys just chuckled at the exchange.
Sid jumped over to Izumi's shoulder from Wire and chatted to her while they looked for a little inn to sit in and gather some info on the island.
"No Sid, I didn't know that." Izumi said annoyed.
'But it's common sense.' he frowned.
"You should know that I don't give a crap about that kind of stuff." she frowned.
'Anyway Zum-Zum, you need to find a mate.' Sid suddenly said making her nearly trip over her feet.
"And why the fuck should I?" she asked annoyed as the others looked at her curiously.
'You are a healthy 20 year old. You need a mate.' he said matter of factly.
"I had this conversation every week with Corey for the past 3 or 4 years, I don't need to hear it from you as well so lay off." Izumi frowned annoyed.
"What is he bugging you with now?" Kidd asked chuckling.
"None of your business." she growled.
"Watch your tone." he shot back, instantly taking offence.
"Or what?" she growled.
"I will teach you how to speak to your captain." he glared at her.
"Kidd. I don't like to be bugged with the topic of a mate. It pisses me off and that's exactly what Sid did. Now can we move on?" she said unamused.
"Was that what he asked about?" he chuckled amused.
"Yes." she deadpanned.
"Are you actually interested in sex or anything about it at all?" Heat asked amused.
"I am. I'm just not in such a rush." she replied with a shrug.
"You're weird." Wire chuckled.
"What? For not being a complete whore and throwing myself at men? I'd rather fight a group of bears, thanks." she said unamused and they walked into a little inn with a bar in it.
"Of course you would." Killer chuckled and the crew sat down at a table while he went to talk to the bar tender.
They were talking for a while and Killer soon came back with the info they wanted.
"Log pose sets in a few days." he said sitting down.
"I'll be right back." Izumi said and stood up.
"Where are you going?" Kidd asked.
"To the toilet." she glared at him and walked off.
On her way back, as she walked past one of the tables, a woman in her 40s grabbed her hand and stood up cheerfully.
"Izu-chan? Is that really you?" she asked looking the feline over.
"Do I know you?" Izumi asked a little taken aback. The others noticed the situation as well and got ready to act if need be.
"Don't you recognise me Izu-chan?" the woman asked letting go of her now and a little hurt.
Izumi looked the woman over; she was pretty tall with long black hair that was in a high pony tail and had chocolate brown eyes, she was wearing a pair of blue jeans with a white t-shirt, a black cardigan and black sandals.
As realisation hit her, she went wide eyed and stepped back.
"Nana?" she asked surprised.
"Yeah. Silvia's older sister. I used to take care of you when that old hag had something to do." she said and pulled Izumi into a tight hug.
"You look so great. You really grew up into a beautiful woman. I'm so happy." she said happily.
"No." Izumi cried, pushing her off.
"What?" Nana asked confused.
"You left me. You were like a mother to me and you just left. Why didn't you tell me anything?" Izumi asked upset, with her ears sticking down. Seeing this, Kidd and Killer both stood up and walked up behind her.
"Do you realise how that made me feel. To be abandoned again? I was 6, you could have at least explained it to me instead of just disappearing." she said with hurt in her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you, but I was hurting just as much as you were." Nana said frowning, she was upset as well and it showed.
"Where did you go? Why did you leave?" Izumi asked as Killer put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, making her look up and stepped closer to him.
"Who are these people? Are they pirates?" Nana asked alarmed, looking at the two.
"Yeah. So what?" Kidd asked glaring at Nana.
"She's part of our crew. If you upset her, you have to deal with us." Killer added.
Nana let out a sigh and leaned back on the table's edge.
"I will explain everything. I owe you that much. Sit down with me Izu-chan." she smiled and Izumi reluctantly sat down, with Kidd and Killer joining them.
"Let me start at the beginning." Nana said as they were looking at her, waiting for her explanation. To be honest, Kidd and Killer were quite curious about this woman Izumi used to look at as a mother.
"You remember my dad right?" she asked as Izumi nodded with a frown.
"He wanted me to marry someone I didn't even know and force me to carry on his traders business. I never wanted to do any of that so I had a plan to escape and leave the island. I wanted to take Silvia with me but she refused, heck I wanted to take you with me but that old hag wouldn't let me." she explained as Izumi just listened without a word.
"I finally managed to leave the island by sneaking onto a traders ship. I skipped from island to island like that until I found my place on this one. It took me years to settle but eventually I found a loving husband and we have a beautiful little daughter." she said smiling.
"I wanted to go back to see how you were but I feared my father's wrath." she said looking at her hands.
"I killed him a few days after you left. I knew he was the reason for your disappearance so I burnt him alive." Izumi said without any emotion, surprising Nana and both Kidd and Killer as well.
"You . . . killed him? What happened to Silvia? What happened to you?" Nana asked alarmed.
"Nothing happened to me. I was always an outcast and after that more so. Silva was relieved because that asshole wanted to force her into something too. She got together with Corey and they got married some years later. They taught me quite a few useful things and treated me like a human being, unlike the rest of the people that just saw me as a rabid beast." she explained nonchalantly. She was tired of hurting because of her past so she just told it as it was and didn't show hurt.
"I'm so glad. Corey is a great man." Nana grinned.
"So how did you end up in a pirate crew?" she asked curiously.
"I left the island to travel the world and explore. Kidd just saw me and asked me to join him so I said yes." she smiled and shrugged.
"Haha, I see. And are you happy being with them?" she asked smiling.
"Yeah. Happier than I ever was. I feel accepted and they're nice to me." Izumi smiled as Kidd and Killer smiled at her words as well.
"Good to hear. You must have been through so much. I saw your wanted poster the other day. 60,000,000 Beli is nothing to sneeze at." she chuckled making her smile.
"I completely forgot you had a wanted poster." Kidd said amused.
"Well done." Izumi chuckled.
"Let me invite you guys to my hot spring. The log pose on this island sets in 4 days. You can stay there for the duration of that time." Nana smiled.
"You have a hot spring?" Izumi asked surprised.
"Yup. We own it. I had the day off today but I usually run the front desk. Let me show you around and introduce you to my man and little girl." Nana grinned and stood up.
"Thank you." Izumi smiled.
"No problem. Oh, I never caught your names." she looked at the two pirates.
"Eustass Kidd." he said smirking.
"Killer." he said.
"Captain and first mate right?" she asked as they nodded.
"Let's go." she grinned and they took off towards the hot spring that was at the base of the mountain.
Nana asked about her adventures with the crew so far and Izumi happily talked about it with Kidd and Killer adding in some comments here and there as well. Nana was happy that Izumi got along with the crew so well and had the chance to go on adventures. She always had a soft spot in her heart and thought about the little tigress a lot.
"Here we are." Nana chuckled as the three looked up at the huge building in awe.
"It's big. Do you live here as well?" Izumi asked with a big grin.
"Yeah. The top floor is ours. It's closed today but we can keep it that way while you're here. Come on, lets go inside." Nana grinned and led the way.
She gave them a tour around the place and they were surprised how nice it was. They got given their own rooms and Nana introduced them to her husband and daughter.
"This is Aaron, my husband and our baby girl Nikki." Nana said grinning as she hugged Nikki and Aaron smiled at the lot as well.
"She's just turned 3." she added as the little girl was staring at Kidd who was glaring back at her.
"It's nice to meet you." Killer said as Izumi was glaring at Aaron.
"Uh guys? Stop it." Killer called to Izumi and Kidd, who both looked at him.
Izumi then stepped closer and pulled Aaron down to eye level by the front of his shirt.
"I sincerely hope you are taking good care of Nana and make her happy because if I find that you aren't, I will kill you the most painful way I can think of." Izumi growled in a low and intimidating voice, glaring into the guy's eyes. Something about the guy just gave her an odd feeling.
"I promise I'm making them happy. I would never hurt either of them." he whined wide eyed and shaking.
"Good." Izumi smirked and let him go as he quickly stepped away from her.
"Izu-chan you became so awesome. I'm so proud." Nana grinned and hugged her, with Nikki still in her arms.
"Thanks." Izumi smiled at her.
"Momma I wanna play with the kitty." Nikki grinned from her mother's arms.
"You can play with her later sweetheart. Daddy will play with you now. Mummy has to take care of these people." Nana said smiling at the little girl.
"Yey! Daddy!" she yelled happily as Aaron took her and walked off.
"Alright boys, make yourselves at home and use any facility you want." Nana grinned at them and turned to Izumi.
"As for you missy. You look tense. I think I know just what you need. My special relax treatment should help you." she smirked and pulled Izumi the opposite way. She looked back at Kidd and Killer but the masked man just waved at her chuckling, while Kidd was just grinning at her.
Nana pulled her into a room that was full of workout equipment.
"Uh Nana?" Izumi asked and Nana gave her a pair of boxing gloves, pulling her to the punching bag hanging from the ceiling.
"I can tell that you're tense and a little stressed. I can make a good guess and say that you hold everything in." she said grinning at the tigress as she hit bulls eye.
"I want you to tell me everything that made you angry or even just pissed you off recently. You will punch that bag every time you say one of these things. It will relieve the pent up emotions and help you." she explained.
"Fair enough." Izumi said with a shrug and turned to face the punching bag.
Taking a deep breath she gathered her thoughts and did as Nana told her. She complained about Kidd, Jake and some other stuff that got on her nerves, none the less the list was long but she was glad she could let all of it out now.
"That's all." Izumi said panting as she took the boxing gloves off.
"You did great. Now I want you to go take a shower and put on a Yutaka." Nana grinned and Izumi walked off to do just that.
She was then taken to a different room with these weird beds and oils.
"This is the massage room. I will treat you to a special massage that will relax your whole body. Just leave it all to me." Nana said smiling as she got everything ready.
"Come here and take that off. You need to be naked for thins. Lay on your stomach please." she asked as Izumi walked up to her a bit warily. With a shrug she did as told and laid down after removing the clothes.
Izumi didn't really like massages nor being touched that much in her human form but she had to admit that Nana knew what she was doing. She used some kind of oil and rubbed it into her skin and massages her tense muscles, completely relaxing her.
A few hours later she was done and they went into the woman's outdoor bath to relax in the hot water a little.
"This feels so good." Izumi hummed contently as she enjoyed the heat from the water.
"It does, doesn't it?" Nana asked smiling at her.
"Thank you." she smiled back.
"Don't mention it. I'm sorry I left you like that. I really missed you." Nana said and pulled Izumi into a warm hug.
"I missed you too." she replied with a soft smile.
"So, how are you doing relationship wise? Got a man?" she asked and winked at Izumi.
"I don't. Why do you people want me to get one so badly?" Izumi asked unamused.
"Haha. Because it's part of life. Have you ever had a boyfriend before at all?" Nana laughed.
"No. I haven't." she replied with her ears low.
"Aww. So you're a virgin? How old are you again?" she joked.
"I never said I was a virgin." Izumi said looking her straight in the eyes.
"Then you were . . ." Nana said alarmed but couldn't finish her sentence. Izumi just shook her head and laid back on the side of the bath to relax.
"Oh baby. I'm so sorry." Nana said and pulled her into a tight hug.
"It's in the past. I don't wanna think about it." she said in a hushed tone and Nana knew to drop the subject.
They relaxed for a little while longer, then got out to dry up and Nana took her into yet another room.
"The last stage of relaxation is yoga. I hope you still remember what we used to do." she said smiling.
"Of course. I do yoga every morning if I can." Izumi grinned and they got into position.
While Nana was fussing Izumi, the rest of the Kidd pirates took advantage of the hot spring's facilities as well and enjoyed the bath and food.
By the time the two woman joined them again, it was almost getting dark outside. They were in the common room, some of them playing ping-pong or talking and snacking by a big table that was in the room.
In the middle of Kidd and Killer's conversation, Nana walked into the room with a sleeping Izumi in her arms. Spotting Kidd, she walked up to them and sat down beside them by the low Japanese style table.
"She's asleep?" Killer asked amused as Nana laid Izumi on her lap with her head resting on her shoulder.
"She had a lot to relieve. I'm just happy I got my little girl back." she said smiling softly at the tigress and hugged her closer.
"You really look at her like a daughter?" Kidd asked, surprisingly seriously.
"Yeah. I'm glad to see that she grew into such a beautiful woman." she smiled.
"Hurt, betray or break her heart and I will kill you." Kidd warned, glaring at her. This surprised most people as he's not usually so protective over anybody but they guessed that Izumi was a special case.
"I would never." Nana said offended to hear his threat.
"We'll see. I'm keeping an eye on you." he said and turned back to talk with Killer.
"Did I fall asleep?" Izumi asked groggily as she woke up and rubbed her eyes.
"You did. How are you feeling sweetheart?" Nana asked smiling at her.
"I'm alright. Thank you for today." she smiled up at and snuggled closer to her.
"No problem love." Nana smiled back as the tigress kissed her on the cheek. She then looked around and moved to sit beside Kidd who smiled down at her. She turned into her full tiger form and just leaned up against him with her head resting on the table. Kidd chuckled and stroked her head, making her purr.
Nana sent a questioning look to Killer but he just waved it off.
