Aaah so close.

Title: Detour from Arabasta

Theme: #4- Brother

Claim: Robin

Words: 1249

Rating: K+ (or T, if blood counts)

Warning: None, I suppose.

There was too much blood.

Robin stumbled and leaned against her knee, her breathing hoarse and her head dizzy. The stab wound had most likely punctured a lung, and the lack of oxygen intake slowed her down one step at a time.

No. She couldn't stop. Not just yet. Monkey D. Luffy owed her.

"Ng!" Robin whimpered as a fresh wave of pain rippled out from the gaping hole just above her right breast. She clutched at the wound with clammy fingers, desperately trying to swipe the blowing sand away from the raw flesh. If she died right there, the Straw Hat boy would never be able to repay her for what he had done.

There. She made it.

Robin weakly lifted up her head and took another wobbly step forward, blood beginning to trickle down her chin to join the stream leaking down her entire front. Only a short walk away, hidden in an obscured harbor, was the Straw Hat Pirates' ship with its cheerful figurehead and rustling sails.

The sails were up. Robin coughed violently, summoned all her remaining energy, and continued limping across the coarse sand against the gritty wind. The sails were up, which meant they would be taking off soon. She hadn't a clue how much time had passed since the rubber boy had dropped her off somewhere outside the city borders. As far as she knew, she had been passed out for days.

Robin choked on blood that began to bubble up her throat. Her chest was on fire, her skin gleamed with perspiration, and yet she shivered as if she were walking through a blizzard. Twitching fingers continued to grope at the stab wound, as if hopelessly attempting to staunch the bleeding.

So close…

With one final step of defiance, Miss All Sunday collapsed to the ground. She was aware of slow, measured footsteps crunching against gravel, approaching her. Robin took short, ragged breaths, not caring that blood and saliva was dribbling down her cheek. Her glazed eyes looked up at the tall figure that stood above her.

"Get away-" Robin coughed before passing out.

Bentham observed his former Vice President, his face impassive and void of any expression. He sported his own fair share of bruises and wounds, but most of these were already bandaged up.

"Captain!" a man wearing a silly pink sundress ran up to him, kicking up sand. "The Straw Hat Pirates are about to debark! We need to lift anchor!"

The okama didn't answer. Silently, he knelt down beside Robin and traced a finger over the trail of dried blood on her chin.

"Captain…" the man in the sundress said uncertainly.

"That settles that. She's coming with us." just as quickly as he had appeared before Robin, Mr. 2 Bon Clay scooped up the injured woman and slung her over his shoulder, careful not to split open the stab wound any further.

"We didn't even discuss anything!" the man in the sundress slapped the okama's shoulder.

"Hmmm? I can't hear youuu~"

"Mr. 2 Bon Clay! Do you know who that woman is?" the man shouted, waving his arms, jogging up to keep up with his captain's long paces.

"Yeah, she's Sunday-chan." Bentham frowned.

"No, that's Nico Robin! The woman with a 79 million bounty beri on her head! We can't take her along with us!"

Bentham stopped walking and leaned down until his nose was inches away from the man's. "A nakama never deserts his nakama, even if they aren't nakama!"

"S-sir! That didn't make any sense at all!"

"Too bad! That's the okama waaaay!~" Mr. 2 Bon Clay sang, prancing off.

The man in the sundress fidgeted for a moment before sprinting after him.

-X-

"Hina taisa!" a Marine yelled. "The Going Merry is headed for the east! This one was just a decoy!"

"I know." Hina said, a vein in her forehead twitching. Bon Clay danced on the railing, laughing gleefully. The rest of his crew, thinly disguised as the other Strawhats, chortled along with their captain.

Bon Clay abruptly stopped dancing and wiped a few tears away. He stared directly at the Marine captain and waved a hand.

Bring it on.

"You will obstruct us no more." Hina growled as the okama leapt from the railing onto the Marine ship.

-X-

Robin cursed to herself as she stumbled through the hall, her mind still hazy but the stab wound cleaned and patched up. She was well aware that this wasn't Strawhat's ship.

That damn okama.

A cannon explosion threw her off her feet. Robin managed to catch herself on the wall and quickly found her way to the upper deck. A Marine flew overhead, crashing against the mast of the Swanda Express.

Another explosion blew the figurehead right off the flamboyant ship, several bodies falling into the churning waters below. Knowing it would be suicide to stay below deck, Robin stepped outside into the open air.

"Black Cage Hina." Robin muttered to herself, catching sight of the Marine captain and the okama fighting viciously before Mr. 2 Bon Clay was quickly incapacitated by black shackles that bound his limbs together.

As if in slow motion, Hina turned around and locked eyes with Robin.

Robin froze. Part of the deck behind her blew up from a cannon impact, but she hardly noticed. Hina began to approach her, smoke from her cigarette trailing around her head.

"Seis Fleur!" Robin cried out, ignoring the dull throb in her chest. Hina kicked two of the hands away, causing the other woman to wince. The arms that managed to grab her simply passed through, black shackles encasing them. They clattered to the floor as the limbs vanished.

"Demon Child Nico Robin. Hina is pleased." Hina said, swiping at Robin with an outstretched arm. Robin ducked, but Hina anticipated the move, quickly wrapping her other arm around Robin's middle, securely binding her.

The Swanda Express slowly sank into the water in a mess of debris and flames, swallowed by the sea.

-X-

"Kuraaaaa!~" Bon Clay sang, twirling around as best he could with his arms and legs shackled together. "Un, deux, Kuraaaaa!"

"What are you so cheerful about?" Robin crossly asked, leaning as far away from the seastone bars as she could.

"Straw-chan managed to get away! I'm so happy that they're safe!" Bon Clay sniffled, tears smearing his mascara.

Robin glared at him.

"Cheer up, Sunday-chan! I'll get both of us out of here!" Bon Clay sat down, peering at her through the bars separating their cells.

"I'll find my own way out. You've done enough."

"But I can't let a nakama risk her own life! We can work together."

"We're not nakama." Robin snapped.

"UWAAAAAH?" Bon Clay exclaimed, falling over. "Stop joooking around!"

"Why do you even want to have anything to do with me? I'm the Demon of Ohara. A wanted criminal."

Bon Clay examined Robin, pursing his brightly colored lips. "You know, we're all still people. Brothers are brothers, sisters are sisters… though of course brothers can be sisters and sisters can be brothers… and we're all human. And then there's okama!"

"Of course." Robin sighed.

"No, no, you don't get it yet!" Bon Clay shook his head. "I don't care that you're a criminal or a demon or whatever. As long as we're in this together, we'll get out together! Okay?"

Robin looked at the okama curiously, her expression less hardened than it had been before. She managed a small smile. "Deal."

Part 2 to come tomorrow. Tune in, peoples!
Reviews will be greatly appreciated.