Woo, almost there!
Title: Confusion at Kyuuka Island
Theme: #18- Steel
Claim: Robin
Words: 1540
Rating: T
Warnings: Possible plot holes (Quick! Say that 10 times fast!).
"Spin! Spin! Spin for joy!" Bentham sang, whirling around on the deck of the Marine ship. Robin leaned against the railing, observing the map. They couldn't be far from Kyuuka Island- they had already been sailing for a day and a half.
She really had no idea why she kept the okama with her. He was persistently cheerful, annoyingly flamboyant, and constantly attempted to teach Robin how to dance. The problem was Robin had suddenly realized she would care if the okama were to be killed in the line of fire or if it were by the means of betrayal. It was unnerving to come to the realization that Robin was becoming slightly attached to her fellow escapee.
Her impenetrable steel walls were beginning to rust, kicked down by a weird okama.
It was a frightening thought.
-X-
"Well, this is it." Robin said, taking in their surroundings. Behind them, the unmanned Marine ship was slowly drifting away. It was unexplainable, but they both somehow knew they wouldn't need it anymore.
"So now what?" Bentham asked, pirouetting on the grass. Robin closed her eyes. The sound of human activity was a distance away, maybe a mile or so.
Robin began to set off towards that direction.
"O-oi! Are you leaving already, Nico-chan?" Bentham's face fell and he stopped spinning. Robin looked back at him. He looked uncannily similar to a puppy being abandoned by its owner.
Robin offered a tiny smile. "Whatever gave you that idea?"
Bentham immediately lit up again. He pranced after Robin, singing at full volume until Robin told him to be quiet. They made their way through the thick foliage, keeping their ears peeled for any approaching movement. The sound of people still remained far off.
Then, out of nowhere, they bumped into a hunched over man emerging from the trees.
He stared at them.
They stared at him.
"M-Mr. 2 Bon Clay! Miss All Sunday!" he wheezed in horror, scrambling backwards.
"Mr. 3?" Robin tilted her head curiously.
"Oi oi, you, what are you doing?" Bentham reached over and grabbed the front of Mr. 3's shirt.
"I'm getting the hell out of here, that's what I'm doing! This place is crawling with Marines!" Mr. 3 hissed, nervously glancing around.
"Marines?" Robin perked up in alarm. Just how often were they going to encounter them?
"It's Black Cage Hina!" Mr. 3 waved his arms wildly. "They've already got Miss Valentine and-"
"So you're not even going to try to help her?" Bentham shook him.
"Of course not! I don't stand a chance against them!" Mr. 3 exclaimed.
Robin fingered the sunglasses on the top of her head, pushing them down over her eyes. "Let's go, then."
"Hey, I have no idea why you guys are here, but go ahead without me!" Mr. 3 said. "I'm not sticking around to see what happens!"
"A nakama never deserts his nakama!" Bentham shouted in his face.
"We're not nakama!" Mr. 3 protested, trembling in fear. Bentham straightened up, his expression dark. Robin silently hung behind him, the sunglasses shadowing her face.
"O-oi…" Mr. 3 nervously said.
-X-
"HEEEELP!" Miss Valentine screamed, tied to the center of an enormous wooden "X" that the Marines had quickly constructed. "HEEEEELP!"
"Hina taisa, she's getting annoying…" Fullbody muttered.
"Hina knows that, you fool." Hina scowled.
"Ah! W-we're sorry!" Jango and Fullbody cried out simultaneously. Hina pinched the bridge of her nose and impatiently paced back and forth. Where were those accomplices? Surely they wouldn't let one of their own be executed.
"W-w-waaait! Nooo!"
Hina whipped around in surprise. A wagon with a man tied up on it came zipping towards them. He was screaming bloody murder, thrashing so violently the wagon nearly tipped over.
"Ooohooh!" Jango bent over the trussed up man. The hypnotist pulled out a wrinkled bounty poster from his coat pocket and compared the photo to the face. "It's Mr. 3, another Baroque Works agent! Isn't this convenient?"
"Odd…" Hina muttered. She plucked up a small note that had been attached to the wagon and read it out loud. "'I give up'. What?"
"That's right… GAAHAHA!" Mr. 3 suddenly burst out of the ropes, leaping into the air.
"What the hell is this?" Fullbody yelled.
"The okama!" Hina tore off her coat.
"H-Hina taisaaa…"
Hina looked to the side to see six arms holding Jango in a painful position.
"Crap! Jango!" Fullbody started towards him before being intercepted by another six arms.
"HEEEELP!" Miss Valentine picked up her screaming again when she noticed the commotion. Two figures, one half as tall as the other, slipped out of the bushes and started towards her.
"No matter what you are… man, woman, whatever… we're all still human, and so we look out for each other! Okama way!" Bentham shouted, preparing for battle. "Bring it on, Marine-chan!"
"Che…" Hina scowled, crushing her cigarette beneath her shoe.
-X-
"We should hurry." Miss Goldenweek said, watching the Marine captain and the okama fight.
"I KNOW!" Mr. 5 yelled, fumbling with the shackles. Finally, out of frustration, he blew them up.
"Hey! Watch the arms!" Miss Valentine shouted.
"ESCAAAAPE!" Mr. 5 roared as he and Miss Goldenweek sprinted away, carrying Miss Valentine above their heads.
-X-
"OWAH!" Bentham fell to the ground, blood dribbling down his chin. Hina glared down at him in disgust. Marines around her were groaning in pain, their bodies twisted at awkward angles.
"Dos fleur."
Two hands immediately grabbed Hina's neck, constricting her windpipe. Hina calmly turned to see Robin, her arms crossed and fists clenched.
"That won't work." Hina said. The hands passed through her neck, trapped by large shackles.
"Are they steel?" Robin suddenly asked. The extra arms vanished and the thick rings fell to the dirt.
"What?"
"I'm curious. The restraints you produce, are they steel?" Robin repeated, not moving from her spot. There was no turning back.
"Iron." Hina answered, narrowing her eyes. She thrust out an arm and bars emerged, speeding right at the Demon Child. They wrapped around her body shoulders to knees, nearly knocking her off balance.
"Mascara Boomerang!" Bentham had pulled himself up and threw his mascara at Hina. They cut her back, leaving two deep gashes. A few of the iron bars melted away, freeing Robin's legs. "Run, Nico-chan!"
Robin ignored Bentham and closed her eyes, concentrating. An arm sprouted from Hina's shoulder and punched her, causing her to loosen her grip on Robin. Bentham spun through the air and attacked once more, little streams of blood flying through the air.
Hina leapt aside and threw Robin to the ground. She raised her arms and swiped at Bentham, trapping his arms against his body.
"Run! Get away from here!" Bentham yelled as Hina kicked him away. She turned to Robin.
"You're not getting away again!"
"Go! Nico-chan!"
Robin hesitated. If she left, Bentham had no hope of escape. This time, there wasn't any way out for both of them. But for her alone…
"I'm not running away. Not this time." Robin gritted her teeth. Bentham gaped at her.
"A wise choice, Nico Robin." Hina descended upon the other woman, ready to beat her down. Just a split second from impact, Bentham headbutted her out of the way.
"It's okay to run! You just need to get to safety! So RUN!" Bentham yelled at Robin.
"You said that nakama don't leave each other." Robin snapped. "So stop babbling and let me fight as well."
Bentham opened and closed his mouth, lost for words. To the side, Hina stood up, obviously pissed off.
"We're probably going to be captured for good this time." Robin said, crossing her arms.
"Oh yeah." Bentham grinned.
"Hina is done fooling around." The Marine captain growled. Robin put on the sunglasses she had stolen from Hina and Bentham clenched his fists, grinning widely.
-X-
"TAKE THAT, BITCH! KYAHAHA!" Miss Valentine laughed with glee, waving her umbrella at the receding island. Marines around them meekly went about with their work, black marks painted on their uniforms.
"Oh, man, that was too close." Mr. 5 panted, pacing back and forth.
"What happened to the others?" Miss Goldenweek asked. The other two looked at her questioningly. "You know- the okama, tall lady, and Mr. 3."
"They got left behind." Miss Valentine shrugged.
"Should we try to save them?"
"Nah, they'll be fine." Mr. 5 said.
-X-
"Well, that was fun." Bentham grinned brightly, his mouth bleeding profusely and one of his eyes bruised. He was wrapped up entirely in iron restraints. Behind him was Mr. 3, who was freaking out.
"I DON'T WANNA GO TO JAIL!" he wailed.
"BUT AS LONG AS WE'RE TOGETHER-" Bentham began.
"OH, SHUT UP!"
Hina entered the room, watching the three prisoners through the seastone bars. This time, she had stationed six guards in the brig completely armed with rifles.
Robin was sitting as close as she could handle to the bars. Her arms were purple from countless bruises and several of her nails had been broken or torn out completely. She smiled at Hina and the Marine scowled.
"Hina wants her sunglasses back." Hina reached through the bars and grabbed the sunglasses from Robin's head.
"It was fun while it lasted."
Final part and chapter tomorrow. :O
Reviews will be greatly appreciated.
