Nine Minutes
Disclaimer: Isn't it wrong how people just jump to conclusions all the time? I mean, you see a guy writing One Piece fanfiction for free on the internet while living in the decaying, cold, hollow shell of his life, a shell which he has filled with shattered dreams and insane delusions, and they just assume that he doesn't own One Piece. Well, you know what, maybe I do own One Piece - so there!
Previously:
After an attempted heist by the Franky Family goes disastrously wrong, Usopp ends up in critical condition, and Luffy kills Franky, much to the glee of Mr Rumble.
In Water 7, government assassins, led by Rob Lucci, are preparing a coup over Iceburg's Galley-La Company, while Robin, scared of what might happen in a confrontation and struggling with her own long-held fears, has distanced herself from the pirates to try and keep them safe.
Chapter 36: Savour the Moment
Robin was scared. She could feel the fear every second of every day. She felt the fear like a physical pain, a dull throb in her chest that was nearly crippling.
She knew she shouldn't feel like this. After years on the run, she had felt so much fear that she had come to believe she was immune to its effect. Fear had always been there, but eventually Robin had just stopped caring about it.
But this fear was different. It was a fear that left her feeling like a helpless little girl again, and that thought was the most terrifying thing she could ever imagine.
Robin sighed, heart pounding. Her hand hesitated just before the door handle, struggling to push it up. She bit her lip, but finally she could take it no further. Her hand clenched the handle as she pushed it open, and she was suddenly hit by the sharp smell of dried blood and disinfectant.
The hospital was all white floors and bright rooms. Robin felt so out of place here. The doctors were all friendly enough and she knew that they were trying to help, but still just walking down the corridor was enough to make her skin prickle. Perhaps it was just the nature of place that made so uncomfortable; after all, a hospital was only one step away from a morgue.
She didn't belong here. None of us do, Robin thought, with a twinge of regret.
Robin knew what to expect inside. She hadn't visited before, but that didn't mean she didn't care. She had stolen copies of the doctor's report, paid close attention to every development, and got as close as she could without anyone noticing her. She had been prepared.
But despite everything, the sight of Usopp lying motionless in the hospital bed, pale and covered in wires, still caused her to tremor.
The sniper was hooked up to life support, his skin sickly pale and vaguely green. There were tubes in and out of his body, with his lower waist covered in a thick bandage that was still oozing slightly. His body had been smeared with disinfectant. If it wasn't for the pump whizzing away next to his bed, Robin would never have known that Usopp was still breathing.
Robin hesitated suddenly, unsure of what to do. There was another figure in the room, hunched over Usopp's bedside. Robin's heart jumped. Honestly, the knowledge that he would be here was the main reason why Robin had been trying to put off visiting.
"Hey Robin," Luffy said quietly, not even looking up as she quietly approached. His voice was weirdly numb.
As far as she could tell, Luffy hadn't left Usopp's bedside all week. The entire crew had visited and pretty much setup a vigil in the hospital, and Chopper had obsessed over his patient frantically, but Luffy had still been by his side more than anyone. Robin had deliberately picked the quietest time possible to visit, but she had always known that Luffy would be there.
Somehow, his presence just made an awkward situation so much worse.
"Hey," she replied softly, not quite sure what else to say. She paused. "How is he?"
Luffy nodded. "He's tough," he replied simply, his voice level. "Chopper said that he might need a lung transplant, but he's stable. He did lose a kidney. Apparently Usopp was lucky it didn't sever his spine."
Robin pursed her lips, walking around the bed awkwardly. The air was thick and tense. "But Usopp's tough," Luffy continued quietly, staring at his friend. The long nose stood up vertically into the air. "He's always been tough. He's the toughest one of all of us, even if he didn't believe it himself.
Robin nodded, but didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. She moved to take a seat briefly, but then hesitated, standing awkwardly by the bed. Luffy took a deep breath, before standing up, and walking towards her gently. His eyes were red and Robin wondered how much sleep he was working on.
She didn't react as he slowly wrapped his arms around her, in a soft, gentle hug. "I've missed you, Robin," he whispered softly, voice thick with concern. "Where have you been?"
The question wasn't accusatory. The tone made Robin tense. It would have been easier if Luffy had blamed at her for not visiting, but there was nothing but warm relief that she was here now. Robin gulped, hands shivering, and she had to step backwards out of his grip before her resolve broke.
"It's…" Robin muttered, avoiding his eyes. "…I've been busy."
"Are you alright? Luffy pressed, his eyes pained. "I mean, I wanted to find you but…"
His gaze flickered and his voice trailed off. "You couldn't leave Usopp, I get it," Robin said with a nod. "I'm fine, Luffy, it's just… I didn't want to interfere here."
He blinked. "You're never interfering, Robin, you're part of the crew!" He paused, looking at her seriously. "You know that right? You're always part of the crew."
Robin bit her lip but didn't reply. There was something different in the air between them. It took Luffy a while to realise it. Robin's posture was different. She was tense, guarded, closed off. The thought made his insides squirm.
There was a long moment of silence. "How are the others?" Robin asked finally.
Luffy nodded weakly. They all handled the situation differently. Sanji had been found five miles away, blacked out drunk and thrown in a ditch. The chef had took the news about Usopp badly, so bad that he could barely even look at anyone as he mumbled apologises no one asked for, but later he stormed out and kicked a metal anvil until his shoes wore away, before leading the charge and hunting down any escaping Franky Family with frightening ferocity.
Chopper had been close to breaking down in tears, but the doctor still rushed to Usopp's aid with a fervour that would have made Hiluluk proud. Nami had tried to take control, screaming at the doctors until she had the entire ward rushing around her, before Vivi had to drag her to one side to calm down. Wiper and Zoro stayed more detached, or at least appeared to, but both of them still stood guard outside Usopp's door for days.
The first days had been all panic and emotion. Now, Usopp was hooked up to life support and becoming more stable with every day and things were starting to calm down slowly.
"They're alright," Luffy replied cautiously. "It would have been better if you had been here."
"There was nothing I could do to help."
"You always help," Luffy said firmly. "Always."
Robin's hands clenched. Luffy hesitated, but he kept his distance like there was some sort of bubble surrounding her. Luffy had seen her armour before, but there was different. She looked almost fragile, brittle and… scared?
Scared of me? Luffy thought dumbly.
"Did I do something wrong Robin?" Luffy muttered slowly, uncertainly and confused. "Or… or should I have done something and I missed? I don't know what to do, I just… I just…"
He sighed. "I just need you, Robin," he said, his voice low.
I'm scared too, Luffy admitted, still feeling tingles running down his spine. Luffy thought he had known fear. He thought that he had gotten so accustomed to it that he just didn't notice it anymore. Luffy thought nothing about laughing about a giant whirlpool or a sea monster, because he knew that it was always better to be angry rather than afraid.
Yet he was scared now. It was a fear that he couldn't overwhelm with anger or determination. He was terrified every second he stood by Usopp's bed, because at any moment his friend could die and there was nothing Luffy would be able to do about it.
But the real fear was every time he closed his eyes, and he felt the lightning inside. The image of smoking skin still flashed before his eyes. Luffy had lost control of that lightning. He had lost control and he had murdered a man.
And Luffy could justify it. Franky had tried to murder Usopp, so Luffy had killed him. But the scary thought, the one that he never told anyone, was that Franky had died because a devil inside of him had demanded it, and made it happen. It hadn't been Luffy's choice, but he still did it and to lose control like that, to not actually have any control in the first place, that was the most terrifying thing Luffy had ever imagined.
That was the other reason Luffy was trying so very hard not to fall asleep.
Luffy and Robin stared at each other for a long time, both of them struggling with the words that they just didn't know how they could say.
Vividly, Robin remembered the first weeks she spent after the destruction of Ohara. She spent days floating aimlessly on a raft before washing up on a random island and having to walk, barefoot and starved, trying to survive. The nights had always been the worse – during the days she was busy fighting for her life, but at night, she her spent her time trying to sleep and just staring at the one thing that she had managed to take with her from Ohara; a small, golden-rimmed fountain pen.
That pen had been all that was left of her hometown, of Professor Clover, and of the scholars. Clover had given her the pen when she aced the entry exam. A good scholar needs a good pen, Clover had laughed. For a while, Robin had kept that pen close to her at all times, even when she had fled the island.
Afterwards, she would stop to stare at it, and think of all the memories of her old hometown. The bad memories, the ones of her aunt's abuse and neglect, those she could handle. But it was the good memories, those precious good memories, they had been absolute torture.
After a few years, Robin finally threw that treasured pen into the ocean and walked away. A clean break, it was easier that way.
Suddenly, standing in that room with Luffy, Robin felt like the little girl clutching that pen again. Her hands clenched.
"I can't," Robin muttered finally, her voice stiff. "Luffy, this isn't working."
Luffy blinked. Robin shifted slightly, her stance colder. "What?" Luffy murmured.
Very shortly, the marines will come for me, Robin thought dispassionately. If they don't get me, they'll get you. If you try to stop them, they'll hurt you like everyone else.
If her childhood had taught her anything, it was that everyone who tried to help her suffered for her. The only way that Luffy might be able to get away is if he stopped caring about her as soon as possible.
"I think it's better if we take some time apart," Robin said, her voice stronger than she felt. "It isn't working between us."
The silence stretched on. The words oozed in slowly. "Robin…" Luffy muttered dumbly. "…Are you breaking up with me?"
Robin's nails dug into her palm. "Yes," she simply. "Let's try to stay apart from each other for a while."
"Robin…"Luffy stammered. He was blinking repeatedly. "Robin… if you don't want to be together… Robin, we're still friends right?" There was a touch of urgency in his voice. "We are still friends."
It was the happy memories that were the worst torture. Her voice nearly cracked. "This isn't working Luffy," she said hoarsely. "It won't work between us."
He stepped towards her slowly. Robin held out her hand to stop him three feet away. Later, when she could feel anything again, Robin would be quite proud of herself for not crying.
"Robin…" Luffy muttered slowly.
She took an object from behind her back and pushed it into Luffy's chest. He blinked as he took the worn book numbly. Memories of being curled up with her, hunched over and reading that book together flashed in front of him. Robin's eyes were firm. He tried to hand the book back to her dumbly, but she pushed it back into his hands.
"Keep it," Robin said simply. "We finished that book a long time ago."
A clean break was better for everyone. Robin walked around the room and closed the door, leaving Luffy standing statue-still, eyes wide and jaw hanging open.
"Sir, first order of business…" Kalifa said formally, standing with a pile of papers in front of Iceburg's desk. "…We have a request from the design team for approval of funding…"
Iceburg didn't even look at the paper. "Send it to accounting," he said firmly.
A frown flickered across his secretary's face, but she nodded. "…There's a query from the quartermaster about stock discrepancies…"
"Pass." Iceburg said dismissively. He normally handled problems like that first thing, but Iceburg could barely even think about the morning routine right now.
Kalifa filed that paper under a box marked 'Pending' on his desk. She reshuffled her list quickly. "…Very well," she said curtly. "Then, final matter, I have a draft for your speech for the opening ceremony tomorrow, and I need you to–"
"Scrap it," Iceburg growled. In his pocket, his mouse squeaked and curled up in a ball. "I won't be attending."
Kalifa paused, and adjusted her glasses. "But sir, you have to attend," she protested. "It's expected that the president cut the rope on any new class of ship – it's tradition!"
"I'll be busy," Iceburg muttered moodily, arms folded as he stared fixatedly out of the window. In truth, he had done very little recently. "Find someone else. Get that banker, Kyung or whatever."
"Sir, Mr Kyung has taken a leave of absence due to illness," Kalifa replied. "Your presence is requ–"
"Find someone else!" Iceburg snapped. Kalifa blinked. The president paused, and then sighed. "Please… just leave me."
With a polite bow, Kalifa bristled and walked away. As soon as the door closed behind her, Iceburg groaned and collapsed in his chair. Honestly, he barely had the motivation to even get dressed anymore.
Unread reports on the ship progress scattered across his desk. Some of Iceburg's best work had gone into that ship, but now he couldn't even think about it. Kalifa had wisely redistributed the responsibility between the foremen, but Iceburg was left sitting uselessly in his room, brooding and pacing restlessly.
He just wasn't capable of entering the ceremony tomorrow. It was far, far too much to ask for Iceburg to stand up on stage and shake the hand of the man that had murdered his best friend.
Still, as far as anyone else was concerned, Iceburg had no reason to grief. Cutty Flam had died years ago, and Franky was just a criminal and lawbreaker. When he heard the news, Iceburg felt like his world had turned upside down, but nobody else had even cared about Franky's death.
As a matter of fact, the day after Iceburg had staggered into the Galley-La building and overheard a man casually mention that it 'was about time' Franky was taken care off. That was the first time Iceburg had ever taken a sick day from work.
And the worst part was that was nothing to be done, or even to be outraged about. By all accounts, the case was pretty straightforward. Franky had tried to rob them blind, one of the pirates tried to interfere and Franky impaled him on a metal spike, and so then Luffy decimated Franky and half of his family.
During Iceburg's darker moments, he thought about even pressing charges against Luffy for murder, but how could any judge even prosecute that? 'You were wrong for defending yourself against armed intruders stealing your property and for saving the life of your comrade'?
But Iceburg wanted a trial. He needed there to be consequences. He needed his friend's death to mean something. But instead he was just left with an awful accident and nobody cared.
That stung more than anything else. Iceburg still remembered cheerful, brash but well-meaning Cutty Flam. That apprentice didn't deserve this.
But instead the majority of workers were more upset about the demolished warehouse rather than his murdered friend. And Iceburg couldn't even give them any reason to care without posthumously spilling Franky's secret, and what good could that accomplish now?
There is no good here, Iceburg thought bitterly. They had recovered Franky's body, or at least what was left it. It took a while to clear out the wreckage of the building.
After that night, everything had been a mess. About a dozen of the Franky Family had been arrested, but most had either fled or were buried in the debris. The death toll was still sketchy. Very quickly, the island had turned into a very dangerous place for the Franky Family; the pirates had been relentless in hunting them down. Some of the bounty hunters scattered and fled Water 7 quickly, but most had ended up beaten to an inch of their lives and dumped into the prisons.
Iceburg had no idea what to do with the captured Franky Family, or even what he could do. It was in the hands of juridical system now, to be processed and sorted.
It was enough to make Iceburg want to scream. The president was normally very level headed person, but even he had grabbed a hammer and demolished several walls in his house in rage. The anger fizzed away quickly, and the outrage seeped out afterwards, leaving Iceburg with nothing left but his grief.
I entrusted Franky with the blueprints, Iceburg thought bitterly. With Franky dead, there's no telling where he might have hid them. I can search, but I'm completely blind and it's a big city. That's Tom's legacy, down the drain right there…
Iceburg knew he was in a depression cycle. He knew he was grieving and he knew it wasn't helpful. He was practical person and he knew that he was just hurting himself here. But still, he had absolutely no motivation left, and all his drive was dying away…
Franky had always tried to help this city, he thought with numb despair. He tried to chase away the other criminals and protect the city that Tom loved so dearly. He was always loud, flashy and disruptive, but he always tried to help…
And nobody cared.
With a dull sigh, Iceburg curled up on his desk and cried softly. It wasn't particularly useful, but it felt like Iceburg was getting something done.
"Are the preparations complete?" The voice drawled quietly, sounding mildly bored.
Lucci nodded absentmindedly, as he leafed through the papers he was holding. The Transponder Snail sat on his desk in the middle of the office, a dull green snail with disinterested eyes. "Yes sir," Lucci replied simply.
"Then it is time to bring finally bring Nico Robin in," Admiral Aokiji ordered. There was perhaps just a touch of unwillingness in his voice. "Will that be a problem?"
Lucci raised his eyebrow, but of course the admiral couldn't see it. "No sir."
"And Iceburg?" Aokiji pushed. "Will that be a problem?"
"No sir."
There was a moment of silence. Lucci was still just sitting in his office, casually going through a pile of paperwork. He paused as he came across a small, paper towards the back of the pile. For a second, Lucci debated shredding up the piece of paper.
"As far as the world is concerned, neither the Government nor the Marines will have any involvement in what happens next," Aokiji commented. "There must be no traces leading back to us. Is that understood, Lucci?"
Lucci paused. Without a word, he slowly picked up a pen and scribbled a note on the back of the piece of paper, before casually filing the paper into its proper place.
"Absolutely, sir," Lucci said dryly. "No traces."
Aokiji was silent for a moment. The admiral didn't like Lucci that much was obvious. Kuzan was a man that, despite everything he did, he kept his own sense of morality. Lucci, on the other hand, worked on a very different set of rules. The admiral might have been the one to give the order, but it was still Lucci that carried out his own plan.
"Will the conspirators be a problem?" Kuzan asked eventually. There was a long pause between the questions.
"No sir," Lucci replied formally, with seemingly infinite patience. Kyung and his lot had proved almost easier to manipulate than Lucci had expected. "They 'insisted' on hiring their own assassins. Mercenaries, sir, fairly competent ones at that. They are taking their places as we speak."
"Very well. The Ciper Pols will be on alert should you need them," Aokiji explained. I won't, Lucci thought silently. "When you reach Enies Lobby, report to Chief Spandam for the conclusion of your duties."
"Joy," Lucci muttered, barely audibly, rolling his eyes softly. Louder, he said slowly. "Sir, I have a question."
"Yes?"
"Why did you wait so long to bring Nico Robin in?" Lucci asked curiously, though he suspected he already knew the answer. "If you wanted her to unlock the Ancient Weapons, you could have brought her in at any time. Why now?"
A pause. "We all have our obligations," the admiral replied simply. "Just do your job. Bring Robin in alive, unharmed and with as little collateral damage as possible."
Lucci's fingers twitched. "Yes, sir. I promise that'll work to the best of my ability to ensure that no torment comes to Nico Robin," he lied coolly.
The next day…
The city was abuzz with excitement. Dock One was practically swarming with citizens and shipwrights all eager to get a glimpse of what had been proudly publicised as the 'Greatest Ship in the World'. It was noon, and the ship opening ceremony was already well underway.
Luffy knew that he should be enjoying himself. Under normal circumstances, he would be. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, a party was forming and an all-you-can-eat banquet was being set up, and Luffy usually loved proving those wrong. But it was the first time out of the hospital in nearly a week, and Luffy was having a hard time enjoying himself at all.
There had been a part of him that didn't even want to go. His eyes were raw and he was emotionally exhausted. Still, Usopp was stable and this was the chance for the first glimpse of their next ship as the shipwrights revealed the keel and rib structure. Usopp would hate for them to miss it.
The pirates were already there, guests of honour in the ceremony. Vivi had worked hard to arrange everything, while Zoro and Wiper discovered the booze early and were quickly drawing a good crowd. An entire train full of supplies arrived from the neighbouring island city Pucci, the gourmet city, and Sanji was already digging in.
There should be a loud marksman bragging and yelling at the centre of the crowd, Luffy thought bitterly, but he remained determined to force to the back of his mind. Luffy paused to watch Conis and Aisa playing with a group of local kids, causing them to giggle as Conis would whistle and summon dozens of hummingbirds that darted around the ground.
Luffy sighed as he felt the presences of all those people surround him, though he tried not to notice the way everybody gave him a wide berth. They had all seen the thunder and lightning a week ago.
The time passed sluggishly. Slowly, Luffy had walked towards the water house at the centre of the dock, waiting for the time that their ship would be revealed. He overheard a couple of shipwrights talking about the cancellations they received. Apparently Iceburg wouldn't be coming, and one of the shipwrights they invited, a guy called Den, dropped out at the last minute. Also, one of their train conductors, someone called Kokoro, had apparently just abandoned everything and disappeared.
"Luffy!" A voice called suddenly, shaking him out of his daydream. He turned just to see Nami rushing towards him with a big smile. "You're here."
He forced a smile. "Hey Nami," he said lamely, as she grabbed him by the hand.
"Come on!" She ordered, pulling him away. "They'll be opening up the doors of our new ship soon. Plus, we've got to mingle and search for shipwrights."
He rushed after her, while the crowd slowly migrated towards a stage at the front of the warehouse while a shipwright, one of the chief foremen of another dock, prepared to make an address. Luffy tried to be excited, he really did, as Nami dragged the crew onto the stage, standing at the back, but at every moment Luffy's eyes were skimming the crowd trying to try and pick out a familiar face.
The ceremony was really beginning, but Luffy could barely pay attention. Nami glanced at him, holding his hand tightly.
"Luffy?" She asked quietly. "What's wrong?"
"It's…" Luffy faltered, glancing around. "You haven't seen Robin around here, have you?"
There was pause. Nami's mouth tightened slightly. Luffy was about to ask what's wrong, when suddenly there was a cheer from the crowd. Luffy turned just to see the wall of the warehouse being lifted away, revealing their ship proudly.
It was the size that hit Luffy first. He had heard that they had tried to restrain themselves on building something big, but the ship was still much, much bigger than the Going Merry. A man o' war, he realised dumbly. It was at least four times as big, so large it dominated the entire warehouse.
It was only a skeletal ship held up with scaffolding, but it was still absolutely huge. The keel was a solid piece of shaped wood, but thicker than an elephant, made of wood so bright it looked almost golden. Luffy could see every line of the timber, seamless and perfect. The ship was only just the barebones, the ribs covered with weak sheets of plywood, but still large they could probably fit the entire crowd inside of it.
He tried to imagine what it would be like when it was done, but he couldn't. The only thing he had seen was small, delicate sketches and drawings that just didn't seem to compare to a ship so huge. It was only a skeleton covered in scaffolding, but somehow the ship itself still seemed to have a formidable aura.
The crowd was cheering. Next to him, Zoro whistled under his breath, impressed. Luffy slowly stepped towards it, reaching out towards one of the towering ribs careful. As soon as he touched the wood, Luffy felt his hand freeze and he recoiled.
"Be careful," A large shipwright next to Luffy advised. He was a broad man with pointy black hair. Lulu, Luffy recalled. "That wood has been laced with Seastone."
Luffy frowned. "Seastone? Why?"
"Same technology the Marines use," Lulu explained. "Seastone radiates with the ocean, it means that the Sea Kings won't even notice you. With a ship like this, you could even cross the Calm Belt."
Luffy nodded, while other people rushed to get closer to the ship. Luffy barely even noticed as Nami slipped away in the crowd, but then he glimpsed a swirl of orange hair through the sea of faces. Luffy frowned as he chased after her a second later.
"Nami!" He shouted, as she ran off the stage, towards the back of the warehouse. She was upset, he realised numbly.
"Nami!" Luffy shouted, finally catching up to her. She was glaring at him angrily. "Nami, what's wrong?"
"You are!" Nami shouted, frowning. "You've been walking around like a zombie all day!"
"What?" He exclaimed confusedly. "Nami, I've been…"
"Do you love Robin?" The exclamation was so sudden Luffy stopped. Nami practically growled the question.
Luffy froze. There were tears swelling up in Nami's eyes. They weren't good tears. He could see the anger on her face.
"Nami, what's this about?" Luffy muttered slowly.
"Do. You. Love. Robin?" Nami snarled through gritted teeth.
Yes. The instinctive reply almost came out of his lips. Still, something about the accusatory edge to Nami's voice told him to be very, very careful. "I love all of my crew," Luffy replied carefully, taking a half step backwards instinctively.
"Robin, me, Vivi? How do you rank us, Luffy?!" Nami screamed, makeup smudging. "In order, from the top. Who's the best fucking lay?!"
His head spun. "…Nami, I–!"
"Or has Robin always been first?" She demanded, stepping backwards as well. Her voice was quieter, and somehow that was worse.
Luffy could barely think straight. "I don't… I'm worried about Robin, she's…" His voice jammed.
"She broke up with you, Luffy," Nami muttered, eyes filled with dread and doubt, glancing around the empty alley frantically. "And, hell, maybe she was right. Maybe this just doesn't work."
Nami was crying. He made her cry. He gulped. "Nami, what happens between me and Robin has nothing to do with how I feel about–"
"No!" Nami screeched sharply. "That's the problem, Luffy, because it does."
He could feel his heart pounding. Nami bit her lip, suddenly uncertain. There was a moment of indecisiveness, but then Nami turned around. He tried to follow, but she held up her hand to stop him. Luffy was left watching her walk away, high heels tapping as she broke into a jog.
"I don't want to be the spare," Nami muttered, eyes filled anguish, just before she disappeared around the corner.
It took a few minutes for what happened to sink in. Luffy's hand was trembling. Nami had been crying. Crying.
Luffy tried to take a deep breath, but he couldn't. It was like his lungs were clamping shut. He was left gasping weakly, feeling the world start to spin around him.
From his office on the top floor of the Galley-La building, Iceburg could just about see the corner of Dock One. He could see the ceremony taking place. Ship opening ceremonies were always pretty fun. Everybody met up, there was a speech that nobody listened to, and then the shipwrights all went and had a party. There had been a time when Iceburg been quite excited to get to that party.
Now, he was just left sitting in an empty office, in a deserted building, feeling completely useless.
At one point, he tried calling for Kalifa, but for no response. It was only as he walked through the empty offices that he realised that everyone would be at the ceremony.
The quiet was almost painful. With nothing left to do, Iceburg broke into Paulie's office, scrounged up a bottle of whiskey, and dropped onto a sofa.
"Hell of a legacy, eh Tom?" Iceburg muttered bitterly, before taking a deep chuck of the bottle.
He couldn't even enjoy the drink properly, as within a minute the silence drove to stand up again, pacing restlessly around the building.
Iceburg was the type of man who needed a task. He only ever worked properly when there was something he could focus on, on something he could build, something he could fix. Without a purpose it was like he could feel himself grinding away.
The president was growling as he stormed back into his office, looking desperately for something to yell at. He paced across the room across the room a few times, before stopped as he glimpsed a paper lying on the top of the pile on his desk.
Stock discrepancies at the warehouse, Iceburg recalled, remembering the matter Kalifa brought to him yesterday morning. "Somebody's lost track of a plank of wood…" Iceburg grumbled, reading the note out of pure curiosity.
Five seconds later, he frowned. The note was vague, but it seemed to imply that someone had missed a delivery. It was written in that very careful middle management way that tried to raise an issue while also being as completely non-accusatory as possible.
"What the…?" Iceburg muttered, his manager's sense tingling. Something was off.
Iceburg frowned and suddenly slammed the paper back onto the table. "No," he said firmly. "Not my issue. Somebody else can deal with it."
He walked away. He reached the door, before hesitating. "No," Iceburg told himself. "Leave it."
I've given my life to this company, he thought furiously. I'm allowed one day of moping around by myself.
Iceburg opened the door and stormed out. Five seconds later, he spun around mid-step and stormed back in again. "Argh, alright," he grumbled, grabbing the piece of paper. "I'll check it out."
He stormed out of the office again. Three seconds later, he returned to pick up the bottle of whiskey.
The taxi drivers were all busy, so Iceburg had to walk across the pathways and down canal streets towards the warehouses at the other side of the docks. Without his suit and his normal entourage, nobody even gave him a second glance. Iceburg dropped the bottle of whiskey into a canal as he charged up irritably towards the warehouses.
A security guard blocked his way. "Can I help you?" The guard demanded suspiciously.
Iceburg glared, his patience alright depleted. "I'm the bloody president, you twit. Now take me to see the quartermaster or you're fired."
It took a some annoying minutes before they finally let him in. By the time someone finally recognised Iceburg, there were quite a few men looking scared for their jobs. As Iceburg charged into the warehouse, the workers were milling around in the way of men trying desperately to look busy. The quartermaster himself was waiting for Iceburg with a pale face.
"Ah, Mr President," the quartermaster said sheepishly. He was a short man with a pot belly and a nervous twitch. "I'm so sorry, we weren't expecting you, otherwise we'd–"
"Yeah, yeah," Iceburg sighed, waving the piece of paper. "You sent this to my secretary, right? What's the problem?"
He gulped. "Well, I'm sure it's just an administrative misstep, it's really nothing so urgent you needed to come all this way…"
"Enough! Just tell me the problem."
"I'm sure it's nothing more than some miscommunication–"
"What's the problem?!"
"It's most definitely not a mistake I have made, of cou–"
"The problem." Iceburg growled through gritted teeth. The quartermaster vaguely resembled a pig being dragged towards a slaughter house.
He tugged at his collar. "Well, it's to do with the wood that was ordered. You know, the wood for project 540…"
"Yes…?" Iceburg muttered with growing annoyance.
"Well, I was, um…" The quartermaster coughed. "…I was just wondering when are we to expect the delivery?"
Iceburg blinked. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, with the ceremony and everything, I assumed that materials would be here by now…"
"We ordered that wood a week ago," Iceburg said slowly, as if talking to a dimwit. "It arrived four days ago. The wood for keel and ribs were assembled in Dock One while the surplus material was moved to a warehouse awaiting the main construction phase. That's how the production flow works."
"Well, yes, I'm aware of that," the quartermaster said, almost shivering. "I assumed the stock had been delivered to a different warehouse. It was only when I was chatting with one of the other quartermasters, well, they were under the impression that that wood was here."
Timidly he motioned to his warehouse. Iceburg suddenly realised that there were huge empty spaces towards the front of the warehouse. That's not right, Iceburg thought dumbly. Warehouses should always be full. Empty spaces were wasted efficiency.
"That wood…" Iceburg muttered slowly. "…cost over five hundred million Beli. It was some of the most expensive wood in the world. Are you telling me that you don't know where it is?"
The man practically squirmed. "It's nothing to do with me!" He gasped. "I just sign off at the manifesto, and take the goods! I signed off at the manifesto, but the goods didn't arrive! Everything else isn't my job, that's… that's… that's somebody else job!"
"Whose?" Iceburg demanded.
"I don't know!" The quartermaster confessed. "Whoever writes the manifesto!"
"I write the manifesto!" Iceburg growled. The man practically turned purple. Iceburg turned around furiously, hand on his head, as if he could will tons of wood to suddenly appear.
"This doesn't make sense," Iceburg muttered, brow furrowing. Admittedly, he had been pretty distracted with grief this week, but he clearly remembered the crates being delivered. "I saw them unload the cargo at the docks. There was a thousand tons of wood and supplies! There were stock checks and quality management at every stage. This couldn't have happened. All of the paperwork is in order."
Something was very wrong here, Iceburg thought furiously. There was a system in place so nothing could get lost. Every single nail had been accounted for. How could a thousand tons of wood disappear, anyways?
The quartermaster held up his hands innocently. "It's nothing to do with me!" He protested frantically. "We haven't received anything here!"
The president spun around. "What?!"
The man looked ready to choke. "You haven't received any deliveries?!" Iceburg demanded. The man shook his head, unable to speak. "None?" He nodded furiously. "At all?" Another nod. "In the last week?!" Frantic nods.
Iceburg blinked, eyes widening in confusion. "But… But…" He stammered. "If there hasn't been any wood… then what the bloody hell have we been building that ship out of?!"
What a lovely day, Lucci thought pleasantly, as he sat on the ledge overlooking Dock One. They were some distance away, but from this vantage point Lucci could still make out the crowd of people easily. There was music and the aroma of fresh food in the air, with children playing happily and vendors selling their wares. The buzz of the Sea Train bringing in more visitors was a gentle hum in the backdrop of the sound of happy merriment in preparations for the party.
The ceremony had begun at about noon, but by now the setup was over and the evening was winding up towards a night of partying. Lucci had been sitting on that ledge from the beginning, and he had been watching for about five hours straight now.
In preparation, Lucci had finally shredded his old shipwright's overalls. His black suit fit him like a glove, with a white tie and his hair brushed back into a ponytail. He held his black top hat in his hand, fiddling absentmindedly with the rim, as he simply lounged around, enjoying watching the festivities.
Slowly, he heard footsteps approaching from behind. Lucci smirked. "You came," he said simply.
Nico Robin's eyes were dark. She wasn't handcuffed, but Kalifa and Kaku still walked next to her very closely, flanking her on either side. The other two CP9 agents were both suited up as well.
"Did I have a choice?" Robin growl, eyes defiant.
Lucci put on his hat and stood up, stretching like a cat. On his shoulder, Hattori chirped. Lucci glanced between Kaku and Kalifa. "Leave us," he ordered.
Kaku frowned. "But the orders–"
Lucci raised an eyebrow. Somehow, that action alone caused Kaku to stop. "Please," Lucci said slowly, stressing the word with almost dangerous politeness. "Leave us."
Kaku shared a glance with Kalifa, but the next moment they both disappeared in a whirl of speed. Robin was left alone with Lucci, glaring at him. Lucci looked totally unconcerned.
"Thank you for making this easy," Lucci said conversationally. "It really is appreciated."
"If I try to run, you'll kill my friends," she muttered stiffly. "That's how it works, right?"
"That's how it's always worked," Lucci reminded her. "Didn't stop you from running in the past, though, has it?"
Robin didn't reply straightaway. She was trembling, Lucci noted. Every step he took closer to her, the faster her heartbeat raced. Lucci turned to gaze at the crowd in the distance.
"Just promise you'll leave them out of this," Robin said finally. "I'm the one that you want, they are meaningless to you. Promise me you won't hurt them and I'll come with you."
There was a pause. Lucci looked at her, and tilted his head. "You must really like these ones, hmm?" Lucci sighed. "I mean, you've been with pirates in the past, but that's never stopped you from turning them in at a second's notice, right?"
"They're unimportant to you," Robin growled. "You've got me, that's what you're after, isn't it?"
"So you're sacrificing yourself for others then?" Lucci mused, arms folded. He stared at her like a predator stalking his prey, waiting for her to run. She didn't. "I suppose that makes a change."
The taunt hung in the air. Robin's hands clenched. "What are you doing here, Lucci?" She demanded. "Why were you in Water 7? You weren't waiting for me, were you?"
"True, you were just a lucky little coincidence," Lucci admitted. "And I'm on a different job. Still, you really don't know how happy I am to see you again, Robin."
Her body stiffened. Lucci walked towards slowly, stopping until he was less than a foot away. Lucci smirked. "You always make my missions fun whenever you turn up," he whispered gently.
Robin was barely even breathing. Her voice was hoarse. "'Mission'?" She muttered, eyes narrowing. "Are you sure that's what this about?"
There was a pause. Lucci chuckled. He slowly raised his hand towards her face, moving to brush her hair across. Robin had to force herself not to recoil at his touch. "Ah. Are you still thinking about that night we spent together, all those years ago?" Lucci said quietly. "…About that precious, tender time we had with each other?"
The moment froze. Lucci's hand was still by her cheek. His eyes were hard. "Don't falter yourself," he muttered coldly. "You were just a mission then and you are a mission now. I was ordered to sleep with you, and so I did. If the order came to kill you, I'd do that too."
Her hands clenched as she stared at the second ex-boyfriend she had to face recently. Lucci's hand was so close, and she knew how it easy it would be for him to snap her neck. She could see it in his eyes.
Her eyes were quietly defiant even as the fear flooded her system and her pulse raced. "What are you waiting for?" Robin snarled. "We both know how this is going to end. Just get it over with already."
He didn't react. Robin refused to cry. She absolutely refused to shed a tear despite the gut-wrenching fear burning through her. "Do it!" Robin screamed, hands trembling.
And then Lucci smirked. It was a cold, venomous smirk that sent shivers running down Robin's spine. "But Robin…" Lucci muttered quietly. "…It's already done."
The seconds ticked by slowly. Robin stared, struggling to understand that statement. Then, with deliberate care, Lucci's eyes flickered. Robin followed his gaze.
He was staring at the ship opening ceremony.
Realisation clicked slowly. Robin stepped backwards. "…No…" she muttered in shock, looking between him and the docks in the distance. "… No… you promised…"
Lucci looked at her with a sceptical expression that seemed to clearly say 'did I?'. He was still smirking.
Robin gasped for breath, feeling the shock soak through her. "…But… but… but…" She looked around the rooftop in shock. There was a moment of pure indecision as Robin and Lucci met each other's gaze. Hers was frantic. His was cold.
Then, Robin started to run. With barely any warning, she was suddenly sprinting, full speed straight towards Dock One. She jumped off the rooftop and was running as fast as possible, down the canal street heading towards to the docks.
Lucci could have stopped her. He decided not to. He was chuckling slightly under his breath as he walked lazily to the edge, and sat back down on the ledge to watch the show.
The warehouse was in chaos. The workers were probably expected a nice easy day, but Iceburg demanded a completely inventory stock straight away. Suddenly, there were men rushing about, dragging the top of every single crate and counting everything. He had sent runners to all the other warehouses and suddenly the whole district was in pure frenzy.
"Invoices, receipts, manifestos!" Iceburg ordered loudly. "Any paperwork you can find to me, right now!"
With every second that went by, Iceburg become more convinced that something was very, very wrong here. Now, he was intent on finding out exactly what.
A couple of the workers found Paulie, sleeping behind some of the crates at the back after a night of drinking and hiding away from debt collectors. At first, the foreman was flustered be the activity, but to his credit he caught up quickly and took charge when he saw the expression on Iceburg's face. Now, Paulie was left ordering men left, right and centre, trying to sort through months' worth of paperwork in a matter of minutes.
Galley-La had a system. There was a constant, mind-numbingly tedious system to everything. There were stock checks and inventory evaluations. There were evaluators and there were foremen with whole piles of paperwork to get through before they even touched a piece of wood. There was no way something this big could happen without anyone noticing.
But everybody had their own job, didn't they? Iceburg remembered the quartermaster, who was so concerned with his own little system that it wasn't his job to think how everything fitted together. Now, maybe, if somebody else knew the system really, really well, they might be able to play it so that everyone thought things were going well on their end, and you might be able to hide something big in all the little edges where everyone's individual responsibility ended.
If there was somebody very cunning, very brave, and totally sociopathic, they might just be able to play the system such that no one noticed a thousand tons of goods disappearing…
Iceburg really didn't like the mental image of what a person like that would be able to do.
But it still isn't possible, Iceburg thought furiously. I write every manifesto myself. I sign off on every stock check. There are whole procedures in place to make sure something like this can never, ever happen.
He paused. Then again, a small voice inside of him whispered, every piece of paperwork coming to you goes through Kalifa first, doesn't it?
Iceburg had seen those crates being unloaded, he reminded himself. They had been heavy crates, and there had been lots of them. Kaku had overseen the delivery, while Lucci had been in charge of assembling the keel. Both of them must have realised something was wrong, surely.
Unless…
Iceburg was a smart man. He was a smart man and he really didn't like the conclusions that he was drawing now.
Water 7 had definitely been delivered a thousand tons of something. Now, though, it was becoming more and more obvious that nobody knew exactly what or where it ended up.
More and more, Iceburg was feeling like a man who was only just starting to realise how badly he had been well and truly played.
Five hundred million Beli worth of goods disappeared. A huge chunk out of the gold, gone.
"I found it!" A voice called suddenly, cutting through the hectic dim. Iceburg turned to see Paulie rushing towards him, clutching a huge pile of paperwork tightly. "I found the invoices!"
Iceburg grabbed the pile of papers off him, and instantly started rummaging through the numbers, absorbing every detail with hectic speed. Iceburg didn't know exactly what he was looking for; some sign of forgery, some accounts that didn't make sense. Some slip-up that might possibly explain what happened.
He didn't expect to find a receipt, exactly where it was supposed to be, with everything signed off in the proper order. It was so obvious that it took Iceburg a while to even comprehend it.
"…No…no…" Iceburg muttered, shaking his head as he read through the list over and over again. "…No… this is wrong…"
Paulie frowned. "What?"
Iceburg shook his head, pacing furiously as he kept on glaring at the piece of paper. "This is wrong; you've got the wrong receipt."
The chief foremen looked confused. "But that date is right, isn't it?" Paulie noted, struggling to read the paper over Iceburg's shoulder. "It was in the right place…"
"But it doesn't make any sense!" Iceburg muttered, trying to find some insane typo that might explain the matter. "…This isn't what we ordered with that money!"
Paulie frowned as he glimpsed the back of paper. "Um… boss?" Paulie muttered. "I think there's something written on the back of that receipt."
The president flipped the paper over. On the back, in nice, neat, curly handwriting, the words were written:
'It's been a pleasure to work with you.'
The words looked so casual, like something that could be written on a postcard. Or a farewell card. It took a while to recognise the handwriting. "Lucci?" Iceburg muttered. "That doesn't make sense… what's he…?"
Iceburg blinked repeatedly. "…But Lucci was the one who actually made that order, wasn't he?" Iceburg had given him the list, but it had been Lucci who had delivered it. Or said he had delivered it. Iceburg shook his head. "No…" he muttered slowly. "…Why would Lucci ever…?"
The realisation came slowly, like a ton of bricks crushing him inch by inch rather than dropping from the sky. Iceburg's eyes widened slowly. "…But… but…" He muttered. "…That would mean…"
Iceburg turned towards Paulie slowly, his face draining of colour as if someone was sucking the blood out of his body.
"Where is Lucci now?" Iceburg asked in quiet dread. He was pretty sure he already knew the answer, but he didn't want to accept it.
"Umm…" Paulie muttered. "At the ceremony, I think…"
The ceremony. The ceremony where all of Iceburg's supporters were gathered. In one place. Shipwrights loved a party, after all.
…
The dread hit him like a steam train. Iceburg couldn't breathe. His lungs weren't working and suddenly his arms weren't either. Iceburg collapsed. Paulie was there to catch him, but Iceburg was hyperventilating, wheezing for breath as he struggled to even think properly.
"Boss!" Paulie shouted, as Iceburg kicked the pile of paperwork with flailing limbs. The papers flew everywhere, while Iceburg thrashed, still gasping. "Boss!"
"…Must go…" Iceburg wheezed, face ghost pale as he staggered to his feet, struggling out of Paulie's hands and he limped towards the door. "…Must stop…"
Paulie's move dropped open as he watched Iceburg stagger out of the warehouse. Everyone in the warehouse was staring with confused shock. Paulie was panicked now and he didn't even know why.
Frantically, Paulie looked around the pile of papers. It took him a few seconds to find the one Iceburg had been looking at.
The receipt was for over a thousand tons of high-quality dynamite. Bought and paid for by the Galley-La Company.
"Luffy!" Robin screamed, running towards the docks. There were people staring but she didn't care. "Luffy! Run!"
Back on the ledge, Lucci watched her progress curiously. She was getting closer and closer to the docks, but still out of earshot. The noise of the crowd drowned out even her frantic screams. Still, she was running fast and screaming loud.
"Hmm…" Lucci muttered, before casually putting his hand into pocket and pulling out a small, short-range Transponder Snail. The snail was hooked up to a button instead of a dial. Lucci's hand hovered over the detonator, but he didn't press it.
In the middle of Dock One, there was perhaps the largest bomb ever created. Over a thousand tons of dynamite piled into the middle of the skeletal ship, hidden by the scaffolding. The keel and ribs itself were made out of wood, mostly, and very high quality wood at that, but it was just a hollow, flimsy structure. A shell with an absolutely huge amount of explosives inside, right in the middle of a large crowd. Lucci honestly wasn't sure how big the explosion would actually be. Part of him was really looking forward to finding out.
Kalifa and Kaku appeared behind him quickly. They both looked shocked as they saw Robin running towards the dock.
"She's heading into the blast radius," Kalifa warned. The orders were to bring Robin in alive. They needed her.
"Quickly, Lucci," Kaku shouted. "Press the button."
Lucci didn't reply. Kaku glanced at Robin, disappearing into the distance as she leapt over a canal. Robin could ruin everything. There whole plan relied on catching everyone in the same area. If they managed to get a chance to panic, it could be disastrous.
"Lucci!" Kaku screamed. "Detonate it already!"
"No," Lucci replied simply, still staring into the distance.
Their window of opportunity was closing quickly. Still, Lucci's finger didn't even twitch.
"Not yet…" Lucci muttered. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"…I want to savour the moment," he whispered, smelling the aroma of the city one last time.
And it was such a beautiful moment. It would be a crime worse than mass murder to rush a moment like this one. The sun was shining, it was a lovely day, and everybody had gathered for a party. The city was singing, it was alive, and it was beautiful. He could see Robin clearly, that perfect desperation frozen on her face, and he could hear her screams cutting through the air.
For one timeless, picturesque moment everything just seemed beautiful. Lucci wanted to imprint this moment into his memory for all time…
Luffy felt the back of his neck tingle. He felt the presence, frantic and desperate, and he slowly turned around.
He was surrounded by the crowd, with people laughing and drinking but strangely everything seemed to freeze. It was like the whole city was gathered around the stage basking in the shade of the new ship.
Luffy turned to stare at the ship. It was such a big ship. He wondered briefly what it was filled with. The numbers '540' were stencilled on the side in shaded, bold writing.
In the distance, Luffy was instantly aware of the clock tower ticking aware over them. The second hand was slowly approaching twelve while the minute hand clicked into place.
And then, even through the crowd, Luffy glimpsed Robin running towards him, her eyes wide and her face pale. Luffy inhaled, taking a deep breath. Robin was screaming something. He could barely even hear it.
"…RUN…!"
The clock hit twenty to six.
…With one last smile, Lucci pressed the button.
And the city exploded.
...
Side Story:
The Doom of the Water 7 Customer Design Team
...
The windows in their office were barricaded with wooden planks, but that was good because they'd found that sunlight just hindered the design process. As a matter of fact, with the exception of short trips to toilet, it had been a week since either Ayumu or Arata had left the room.
The office looked vaguely like a post-apocalyptic warzone. The once tidy, neatly organised stacks had dissolved into a knee deep pile of paper, vomit, and lost dreams covering the floor. Every drawing desk in the Galley-La building had suspiciously disappeared. The engineers were being powered purely from an alternating combination of strong liquor and stronger coffee.
Also, there was some kind of fungus growing on the bookcase. Ayumu wasn't sure what kind, exactly, but there were times when he was convinced the fungus was sentient and trying to communicate with him. The fungus may or may or not be trying to declare war on humanity, he hadn't decided yet.
Still, the engineers kept on going, despite a growing lack of sunlight, personal hygiene and sanity. They worked their way through countless design revisions, testing procedures, suicide attempts, and, worst of all, the goddamn review meetings.
Finally, it happened. Ayumu was sitting on his desk, slaving away reading another memo. Then, like a zombie, he turned the page only to realise there were no more pages. It took a while for Ayumu to realise that he had finally reached the bottom of the pile.
It took a long time for the significance to sink in. There were no more issues to be addressed, no more outstanding requirements, and no more standards to be met.
Ayumu staggered to his feet slowly, pulling the underpants of his head. "…We're…" Ayumu muttered finally. "…we're finished…"
He turned to face Arata, who was busy carving another pentagram on to the floor. "Arata," Ayumu said, louder. "We're done. It is… finished."
Arata sat up slowly and blinked repeatedly. "Wh-at?" Arata gasped, in the voice of a man that had forgotten how to speak.
"We are done," Ayumu muttered finally, still not quite believing it himself. "The design, it's complete…"
"But… but…" Arata stammered. "What about the specification order?"
"All done." Ayumu pointed to a huge 'pile' of papers, some of which had been written in blood.
"The blueprints?"
"Finished and checked." A couple of carpenters had threatened murder after looking at the blueprints, but that wasn't the design team's problem.
"The prototype?"
"Barely even self-destructed!"
"The engineering change order?"
"Completed and filed away."
Arata croaked. "What about the purchase specification?!"
"I finished that this morning," Ayumu announced proudly. "It's being processed as we speak. We've ordered the materials for the stage two construction. Our job is done!"
There was a moment of shocked silence. After a few minutes, they both began to chuckle. Or tried to, at least. The engineers had lost the capacity for laughter round about hour fifty. Instead, what came out was a series of raspy grunts.
Finally, after a solid week of the most intense engineering design possible, they were finished.
They had actually achieved the most impossible ship design.
Ayumu was so happy that he actually went and had a shave. Arata was so happy he decided to hold off on sacrificing his soul to the Dread Demon Lord Glata-Mish for another day.
"Come on!" Arata shouted happily, as he gathered the papers into a single large folder. "We've got to take this to the president right away!"
"Hell yes!" Ayumu cheered, charging out the door. Ayumu bid farewell to the fungus and then moments later they were both cheering and racing down the corridors of the empty Galley-La building. They were so happy that the sunlight didn't even seem to burn so much anymore.
After a weak of severe malnutrition and muscle deterioration, the stairs were a big challenge, but they still managed to overcome it. Fifteen minutes later, the two engineers were gasping as they approached Iceburg's office on the top floor.
"You ready?" Arata asked curiously. Ayumu nodded, while double-checking to make sure he was still wearing clothes.
"Ok," Ayumu gasped eagerly. They both nodded, looked at each other and charged into the office, screaming and holding the folder of papers triumphantly.
It took a while for them to stop screaming. Slowly, Ayumu realised that Iceburg wasn't in his office, and instead there was a strange man in a suit staring at them like they were insane. Ayumu had to nudge Arata to get him to stop screaming.
"Oh," Ayumu muttered dumbly, glancing around the room. "Sorry. We're looking for Iceburg."
The suited man's eyes narrowed. "Iceburg is no longer the president of this company," he said coldly. "My name is Kyung, chief investor and chairman of the board of shareholders. Can I help you… 'gentlemen'?"
Ayumu blinked. Kyung's nose wrinkled distastefully with the smell. Ayumu couldn't understand what he was complaining about – the flies didn't seem to mind the stench.
"Oh," Ayumu muttered. "Well, we're the design engineers. We're here to report…" His chest puffed up proudly. "… that we've completed the design for the new ship!"
Kyung paused. "You mean the pirate's ship?"
"That's right!" Arata said proudly, handing the folder of paper s to Kyung. "Here's the design. That is the greatest design in the world right there!"
Kyung took the folder quietly, leaving through it quietly. "So we've already ordered the materials," Ayumu explained. "Iceburg said that we would have full funding, so…"
His voice stopped as Kyung quietly walked over towards the fireplace, and casually tipped the folder of papers into the flames. There was a moment of silence the greatest ship design in the world burned into smoulders. It crackled like the sound of dreams dying.
"Those pirates are traitors to Water 7," Kyung said coldly. "We are no longer building their ship, and we have severed any association. Iceburg has been removed of power and any contracts or obligations made under his authority are hereby void."
It took a while for the words to sink in. Arata slowly collapsed to his knees as he watched the design burn. Ayumu's jaw dropped open.
"But… but…" he stammered. "What about the money? We've already spent four hundred million on materials…."
Kyung shrugged, roughly pushing them out of the door. "If you bought it," he said simply. "You pay for it."
The door slammed shut in their faces. It took a while for either of them to be capable of thinking again. Without a word, they both sunk to the floor. They were blinking repeatedly.
"… Did that just…" Arata gasped.
"…Are we now…" Ayumu murmured, face drained of colour.
There was a moment of silence. Then they slowly turned to stare at each other in pure dread. Their expressions were that of men who had just had their lives ruined and we're now four hundred million Beli in debt.
It was the look of men who had hit rock bottom and were still going down.
Slowly, Arata reached into his pocket and pulled out a flask of whiskey, downing it in a single gulp. He wondered what the Dread Demon Lord Glata-Mish was doing at the moment.
"…How many windows do you think are in this building?" Ayumu asked finally, glancing around the corridor.
Arata shrugged. "A few hundred maybe? Why?"
"Well, I figured we're already four hundred million in debt, it doesn't really make any difference if I add another, say, twenty million to that tab?"
Arata frowned. "What are you buying?"
Ayumu sighed as he stood up. "Drawing desks," he said firmly. "I'm going to need lots and lots of drawing desks…"
Author Notes:
Heh, yeah, this chapter got a bit emotional, didn't it? Still, after that last one, a bit of fallout angst was required, I think. I put the side story at the end after I was told I needed the humour just to lift things up.
Now then, this is to anyone who sent a review or message which said anything along the lines of 'Oh my god you killed him, you're too dark, it's not enjoyable, everybody should always survive in One Piece, I'm not reading anymore':
Well, yes, this story was always going to have it's share of hurt. Any story that's happy all the time and nobody ever gets hurt, well, that's not really a good story at all. I'm a great believer that you need a balance of the high and the lows, otherwise the highs become meaningless. As far as I'm concerned, it's my job as a writer to create an emotional response, to make the readers invested in the story, and to make them care about what might happen to the characters. You can't do that if nothing bad ever happens and without that, well, it's pretty pointless, isn't it?
But that said, to the majority of my readers, as always, thank you for reading and you're welcome to review!
Next time: 'How Very Mercenary of You'...