For the second time since becoming a pirate, Emmy found herself in the middle of a town hosted celebration. However, unlike the three day long bonanza on Arlong Park, the one being thrown in their honor at Whiskey Peak was drastically different. For starters, there was no reason for this party. Luffy and his crew had done nothing except be present. The more alarming, and most important difference that Emmy could not shake off, was the fact that the merriment everyone seemed to present to her and her nakama was just a cover for the nastiness and desperation that reeked in their hearts.
She would have felt like a calf being led to slaughter, if not for the fact that both the navigator and the swordsman were more in control of the situation than the town realized, especially the swordsman. From the corner of her eye, she watched as the navigator and swordsman took part in a drinking challenge against the town. Unbeknownst to all the spectators, Zoro and Nami were not as intoxicated as they appeared to be. Despite being on guard, though, both of them seemed to be having some genuine fun out of this charade.
On the other side of the pub that they were all crammed into, Sanji was busy flirting with a table of just women while Usopp regaled an audience at the next table with his many adventures as Captain Usopp.
"Oy, Emmy, you're not eating," Luffy said in between bites as he shoved a plate of meat towards his sister. They were sitting at their own table, in a booth seat, while plates and plates of food were being brought to them. Luffy's belly had filled out to the point that he was taking up over 80% of the seat with Emmy sitting at the very edge.
"I'm...I'm just a little nervous," Emmy admitted.
"All these people?" Luffy asked and looked around the room. There were dancers and a 9 piece band amongst the crowd. The noise level was thunderous and compacted into just this one tiny establishment, "Would you feel better if you're back on the Merry? Let me grab a bento and I'll take you back. OY! Can someone get me a to-go box?!"
"No, it's okay!" Emmy insisted, "I need to get used to this many people. I can't expect to stay on Merry-san in fear of getting overwhelmed. Then I'd never leave the ship. What kind of adventure would that be?"
"Hey! You've had your headband off all night," Luffy said with a grin, "This bond thing really works."
"Yes...As long as everyone's mood is stable...And everyone seems very happy right now."
"Shishishi. That's because it's a party!" Luffy cheered, "Come on, Emmy. Be happy too! Eat!"
Emmy laughed and she accepted the plate of food in front of her, "Okay. I'll eat."
"Hello, pretty lady, would you like to dance?"
A man approached the table with his hand held out towards Emmy. He had on a white cowboy hat over his shoulder length brown hair. He wore dark blue jeans and a black shirt with the word "Bang!" written across it in white. His smile and grey eyes were as glossy as his hair.
"No, I'm okay...but thank you for the offer," Emmy said softly as she shifted a bit closer to her brother.
"Are you sure?" he pressed with his hand unmoving, "You don't have to be shy."
"Me malfeady faif mo," Luffy said with his mouth crammed with food.
"Huh?"
Luffy frowned, which was a feat considering how expanded his cheeks were. He gulped, forcing the mound of food down his rubber throat, and then shot an annoyed look at the man. "She already said no," Luffy repeated and then smacked the man's hand away, "She's busy eating."
The man kept his good natured smile as he rubbed his reddened hand. "Okay, okay," he said and backed away, "Just trying to show some hospitality to the pretty girl. She doesn't seem like she's having much fun that's all."
"I-I-I am! So much fun!" Emmy insisted. She hastily grabbed a fork and began to eat the plate of fried rice in front of her while casting a worried look over at Luffy. She didn't want to dampen his mood if he discovered how on edge she was and she knew just how much Luffy loved a good party.
"See? She's fine," Luffy stated with a satisfied nod and shovelled more food into his mouth, "MORE FOOD!"
"Eh?! More?" the townspeople gasped.
"Luffy, pace yourself," Emmy warned, "You don't want to get indigestion."
"Okay," Luffy said.
"Whoa! The young man is finally down after 13th cup!" someone shouted out from the back of the room.
"Wha?! Yer hopeless, Zorro!" Nami slurred as she slammed down another empty mug.
"Zoro?" Emmy turned to look at the swordsman. He was slumped over the table with his hand still clutching a mug. She tilted her head and stared curiously at his green hair. He doesn't feel sleepy...in fact… He's wide awake!
Her eyes widened. That's right...Lesson #2...Take advantage of people before they take advantage of you. He's lowering everyone's guard by pretending to be asleep.
"Wahhh! Another young man is down too!" someone else cried as Usopp sank down to the floor, exhausted from his elaborate storytelling. This time, though, Emmy's nakama was actually asleep and she turned to Luffy.
"Luffy," she said as she folded her arms over the table and rested her head on them, "I feel a bit sleepy too."
"Shishishishi. Yeah, today was a rough day at sea. Get some rest," Luffy grinned and he placed his hat on her head to help block out the light, "FOOD!"
Emmy closed her eyes and waited for the next move. One by one, she heard and felt her nakama fall asleep and one by one, the other people exited the room. She heard the distinct sounds of a door closing behind them and a lock clicking shut. Then, everything went quiet with only the sounds of steady breathing from her nakama mixed in with the crickets chirping outside.
She felt Zoro approaching her before his actual hand touched her shoulder. She sat up from her position and blinked her big blue eyes at him. He was smirking down at her while a hand rested on the hilt of his white katana. "Ready? Time for Lesson #3."
"Which is?"
"Follow me and you'll find out. Oh! And do something about the guards."
"Guards?"
Shing!
In one graceful move, he drew out his sword and split the doorway into two. The two halves fell to the floor, leaving two men gaping back at them. They quickly drew out guns from their waistband and pointed them at Zoro and Emmy. "Ah! You-"
"Feel Feel Repose," Emmy said as she lifted her hand.
ZZZZZZ!
The guards collapsed onto the ground with their mouths open and drool streaming down the side of their face.
"Now then," Zoro said with a nod and then his eyes fell on a stairwell in the corner of hte room, "How about we go to a higher vantage point and really see this town?"
"Okay," Emmy replied as she stood up and placed Luffy's hat back on his head. She let out a little sigh of defeat when she saw that the diameter of his belly was longer than her. She put a hand to her stomach and winced at how bloated she felt just by looking at him.
She followed Zoro up the stairwell. It led to the roof of the building and they peaked over the edge just enough to spot the mayor of the town, standing right in the middle of the street. Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday were with him along with a new person, who looked somewhat familiar. She was a woman with very tanned skin and light pink hair. She was the most muscular woman Emmy had ever seen. It wasn't until she spoke that Emmy was able to make the connection. The woman had dressed up like a nun and entered the drinking contest with Nami. Her habit was gone and in it's place was a red and white checkered dress.
"We should've beat them at the harbor," the woman said, "This town is already short on food. Also, we didn't have our hopes up for the whale meat anyway."
"You didn't have to say it like that! We did our best!" Mr. 9 shouted defensively.
"Calm down. Look at this. I've checked them out beforehand," Igarappoi stated. He pulled out a bounty poster from his jacket pocket and he held it out for his group to see. Even from the distance, Emmy spotted Luffy's straw hat and grin from the picture.
So they are after Luffy's bounty…
"Th-Th-Thirty million berries?!" Igarappoi's group cried.
"It's foolish to judge a pirate's ability based on their looks, Miss Mon-gak," Igarappoi's usual deep voice cracked in the middle of his sentence and he quickly tried to clear the frog in his throat, "Ahem. Ma! Ma! Ma! Miss Monday!"
"Sorry," the former nun said.
"Looks like we can send a good report to the boss. Confiscate all the money and other valuables on the ship immediately," Igarappoi ordered.
"And what about the pirates?" Miss Wednesday asked.
"If we kill them, the bounty drops by 30%. The Government wants to hold public executions," Igarappoi answered, "Go! Capture them alive!"
Emmy felt a hand on her back and then her eyes widened when Zoro pushed her towards the edge of the roof with him. "Sorry," he called out as he raised his blade to capture it in the moonlight, "Do you mind letting them sleep? They're all exhausted from the journey this afternoon."
"Damn it," Igarappoi cursed, "I thought you were completely asleep."
Miss Monday stuck two fingers into her mouth and let out a shrill whistle. The citizens of Whiskey Peak streamed out of their homes and gathered around her with weapons in hand.
"Swordsmen never make the mistake of letting their guard down that much," Zoro grinned, "And this one is too sensitive to be able to sleep in a foreign place, especially in a nest of bounty hunters. Isn't that right, Baroque Works?"
Emmy was just as surprised as the rest of them to hear the swordsman identify the group.
"Y-Y-You bastard!" Igarappoi exclaimed, "How is it that you know our company name?!"
"When I used to be in a similar line of work, I was recruited by your company once. I rejected it, of course. Employees don't know each other's identity and are killed by code names," Zoro said, "Naturally, that means the boss' whereabouts and identity are also a mystery, even to his underlings. Baroque Works is is a criminal group that just faithfully carries out their orders. Hmph. Not my style."
Then he smirked. "Was that supposed to be a secret?"
The bounty hunters did not like that the swordsman had just burst their bubble and Emmy could feel a rise in their bloodlust and anger. She took a tentative step back but then felt the hilt of Zoro's sword bump against her. She turned to look at the swordsman, whose face had turned solemn and his gaze unmoving from the crowd below.
"Lesson #3," he growled, "How to fight off a group of 20 people."
"20?" Emmy asked as she looked down at the street, "But there's definitely more than that here."
"You take 20. I'll take 80," he said, "Make sure you're keeping track because I sure as hell am not going to fight anyone for you. You think you can handle it?"
Emmy pulled out her cards and she nodded.
"Good girl," Zoro said.
"If you know our secrets," Igarappoi said with a regretful sigh, "Then we have no other choice but to kill you both...Another two gravestones will be added to the Cactus Rocks."
Emmy's head started to turn to get a second look at the weird cacti but felt the hilt on her back press even harder into her skin.
"Idiot. Never, ever take your eyes away from the enemy until the fight is over," Zoro scolded.
"Right," Emmy said, "Okay."
"Kill them!" Igarappoi ordered.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
They all took one step forward and then three steps back as Emmy unloaded her cards down at their feet. They shielded their faces with their arms, creating a break in eye contact. Zoro took that moment to leap over the side, down to the street, and Emmy did a running jump over to a lower rooftop of the building next to them. She had been thrown through the air and dropped by Luffy enough to know how to tuck and roll into a somewhat painless landing.
She jumped over the edge of the building, down to a second story balcony, and then leapt over that to get to the streets. She landed right in the center of 5 bounty hunters. They grinned and pointed their guns at her while she bowed her head politely at them.
"Hello," she said and then lifted her head and hand, "And I'm sorry...Feel Feel Pacify."
The men relaxed their stance and lowered their weapons.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets shot through each of the men and grazed Emmy's arms and cheek. Her eyes widened as the men crumbled to the ground. They...killed their own men?!
Her eyes flicked towards the most prominent source of bloodlust, which was just around the corner of a building. She hurriedly ducked behind another building and pulled out more cards. She closed her eyes and tried to sense the people around her. Four...angry ones to the left of me...Seven nervous ones behind...Three with intent to kill and closing in…
She fanned out her cards and she zoned in on the three closest ones. Her eyes snapped open when the intentions became much more specific. They're going to shoot me. Two shots towards my stomach and one towards my head.
She whipped around the corner to face her opponents.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Emmy tilted her head to the side just missing the bullet by a hair. It burned and cut her cheek while the two other bullets streaked right through her lower torso. She clenched her teeth and threw out her cards, letting her powers heal the wounds.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
All three cards lodged deeply into the bounty hunters' trigger hands, forcing them to let go of their guns.
"Feel Feel Punch!" Emmy cried as she swung her fist out in a left hook. Her phantom hand slammed all three men into the side of the building, creating a small dent in the stone wall. Emmy took a small breath and unclenched her fist. She placed her palm out to her stomach and she smiled softly when she felt the wounds closing on itself.
"What...what are you?" one of the bounty hunters gasped when he saw the cut on Emmy's cheek close too.
"I am in training," Emmy said and brought up her fist again, "Feel Feel Punch!"
Thwack!
This one was much more forceful and it knocked the man out cold. Emmy smoothed out her apron, feeling the small bump of her diminished deck of cards and her headband. She felt a swell of confidence within herself and started to make her way towards the next closest group of people. "8 down...12 more to go."
She turned the corner to find a nun clutching a terrified child. "Lord have mercy!" the nun pleaded, "Lord have mercy. Please save us."
"I'm sorry," Emmy said sincerely and bowed her head just as the nun pulled out a cross that sprayed out a mist of blinding powder, "Feel Feel Repose."
Zzzzzz!
The nun and child slumped together as Emmy straightened up and pressed a handkerchief to her eyes to block out the gritty mist. "You can look innocent but it doesn't mean you feel it," Emmy sighed as she walked down the street, "Does that count as 10?"
"She's here! Get her!"
A group of people started to stampede towards her and Emmy studied their intent. Five bullets to the left. Three to the right. Four swords and two clubs as well.
Fear gripped her heart. There's too many and it'll be too fast. I can't dodge most of that. I need to stop them before they get to me. I need to stop them!
She lifted her hand. "Feel Feel Paralytics!" she shouted as a heart shaped mist enveloped a 10 meter area surrounding her, including the incoming mob.
The group fell onto the floor like a sack of potatoes with their arms pinned to their side. Their eyes darted back and forth as they tried to make sense of what just happened but no other body part was capable of movement.
Emmy felt instant fatigue come over her but she pushed herself forward and calmly stepped over the group. So there's a limit to how much I can use my powers...
She counted the bodies as she passed and kicked away any fallen weapons in case any of them were able to break away. "That's 24...4 more than needed. I hope Zoro doesn't mind..."
Her path was unceremoniously blocked, however, when Miss Wednesday came into view and riding on a very large duckling. The duck was yellow all over except for blackened tips on his wings and tail. He had on a white and blue chullo and goggles over his head.
"That's quite enough, Miss Maid," Miss Wednesday said as she raised her two pinkies. There were two sharp jewels that dangled beneath her hand, "It ends here. Peacock Slasher!"
She spun the jewels around and around until they became like a slashing disk. The duck charged forward and barreled toward Emmy, who noticed that the animal itself harbored no ill intent or malice towards her.
"Sit!" she ordered.
The duck skidded to a halt with the slashing disk just stopping inches away from Emmy's face. He sat it's ducktail onto the floor and sent his rider tumbling down to the ground. "AH! Carue! What are you doing?!" Miss Wednesday cried indignantly.
"Leave me and my nakama alone," Emmy said. Her mood swiftly turning sour at the sight of this woman. She didn't know if she was just more easily irritated given how tired she was but one thing was for sure, Miss Wednesday's presence bothered her and she knew why, "I do not trust your kind."
"Hmph, it's only natural for pirates to dislike bounty hunters," Miss Wednesday sniffed, "The feeling is mutual. I can assure you."
"No...not bounty hunters," Emmy said, "Nobles. You are of noble birth."
"Eh?!" Miss Wednesday gasped and an enormous amount of fear and worry came over her, "Wh...what makes you think that?"
"A good servant can always tell who he or she must serve," Emmy said but mostly to herself then she flashed her narrowed eyes at the blue haired woman, "I've been around more than enough to know one when I'm near one."
"D-Don't underestimate a numbered agent from Baroque Works!" Miss Wednesday screamed out of pure desperation and came at Emmy on foot with her weapons spinning at a dizzying speed, "Peacock-"
"Look out, baby!"
"EH?! Mr. 9?!"
Kaboom!
Without warning, Miss Wednesday's partner came falling down from the sky and landing hard on top of the woman. Emmy looked up at the building he had fallen from and her eyes fell on the bored expression on her own nakama's face.
"Well?" Zoro asked, raising an eyebrow at the first mate.
"It could be 22 or 24...I'm not too sure," Emmy admitted, "And some of them aren't actually defeated. They're just asleep."
"Good enough," Zoro grunted and then swiftly landed next to Emmy. He nodded at the blue ponytail sticking out from beneath the slightly dazed Mr. 9, "You're not counting that one, right?"
Emmy shook her head. "You took her out. Not me."
Brrrreeee!
"Emmy! Watch-" Zoro started to warn as Igarappoi came up behind them and blew hard into his saxophone. However, the swordsman didn't get to finish his sentence as the first mate grabbed the swordsman by the shirt and crashed both of them through a nearby door.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
They fell safely indoors as bullets shot out of the mayor's instrument. Zoro stared incredulously at the girl lying next to him. "You knew he was going to shoot?"
Emmy nodded. "I can feel their intent and I'm getting better and better at sensing their attacks."
Zoro rubbed his chin and got up to his feet. "Good to know," he said before pulling Emmy up to a standing position and kicking down the back door so they could run out from another street, "But we'll do a recap later. Let's just figure out a way to close the distance between me and that guy. He's got guns stuffed in his hair and that shotgun of his really annoying."
"I'll see what I can do," Emmy said as she smoothed out her apron. She was about to take a step forward to the street when she abruptly stiffened and goose bumps erupted along her skin.
"What? What's the-"
"SHHH!" Emmy hissed as she swiftly covered Zoro's mouth with her hands and pulled him to a darkened corner of the room. It was right by an opened window so they could see outside towards the street, "There are new people here…"
"New?" Zoro asked.
Emmy gulped and Zoro could feel the girl begin to shiver next to him. "These are definitely new...They feel...nasty and cruel."
Zoro moved her hand away from his mouth and he shoved her closer to the corner so that his body blocked hers. He reached for all three of his katanas. "Training's over, Emmy...I'll take over from here."