Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. I only own Yami.
Author's note: I'm sorry for once again not updating very fast. I was busy with my end-of-semester work, and apart from that, I find it quite hard to write all those inner monologues and stuff. Hope you'll enjoy despite all that.
Chapter 55: But Not For Long
When Ace – finally! – decided to shut up and run, Yami almost sighed in relief. Although her heart was beating like mad in her chest and she was scared shitless, she couldn't help but feel at peace, somehow. Which was weird, surely.
As the Marines screamed, coughed and fired their rifles, she knew that Ace had made his escape. Those few stupid Marines couldn't do shit against someone like him. Against her, too, but something had gone wrong. Maybe they had been betrayed by someone, maybe by someone on the marketplace, maybe they had known they were there. It didn't matter, though; the situation was as it was and she couldn't help it. It was a scary feeling. As always, Yami liked to have control over her own fate, do everything by herself. Not being someone who needed anyone's help.
Yet, here and now, she was happy that Ace had gotten away – because she knew that he would come back to save her. In this situation of shit-has-gone-down-the-gutter, with her heart beating to the rapid rhythm of an unknown song, she was confident that everything would be alright, sooner or later.
When the smoke had finally dissolved, there was no trace of Ace, and also of half the troop. They were chasing him, but she knew that he was way faster, smarter and better in all respects. He would make it.
She had noticed that Neela was nowhere to be seen – she just hoped she had flown after Ace and not her. Poor birdie, Yami was going to feed her lots of grapes (her favourite) when she was out of here and back in business.
Then they were grabbing her, pulling her to her feet, all the while tying the net tightly around her.
"Stand up, girl," they commanded gruffly. "If you try anything funny, we won't hold back. We have kairoseki bullets. So keep still."
And for once, she did as she was told. She'd get free soon enough anyway – might as well play nice.
So she well-behavedly put her hands out when they told her to, and the kairoseki handcuffs snapped shut around her wrists.
Those things again. How I hate this fucking kairoseki!
... not to mention the Marines themselves.
One of them shoved her in the back so that she stumbled forward, grimacing in annoyance and mentally cursing the whole lot of them.
She was led through streets in which little crowds of onlookers had collected, some watching with hateful eyes, some scared, some simply curious. She ignored them, even as one of them spat at her feet. They could think whatever they liked – she alone knew that the real villains in this scenario were the ones with the kairoseki net. And as her anger flared for a moment, she calmed herself with the thought that none of them had her experiences, nobody at all, and that they didn't know better. They were simple people who were made compliant with all those lies by the Marines and the World Government. How could they know better? They were still thinking that the Marines would protect them from all those bad, bad pirates like her – she almost scoffed at the thought.
Day 1
Then they arrived at the station, and she was being towed through dimly lit hallways clad with bare stones – jeez, how cliché! – and finally thrown into a cell.
How I've missed this, she thought dryly as she took in her surroundings. It was really just a cell, looking cold and hard, with a narrow bed, a little stool, a toilet and water basin. It was not as small as the one she had previously been thrown in, the one in the police station on what-was-it-called-again Lunatic Island.
It all strongly gave the impression that she would be staying here for a while.
She sighed and slumped down onto the mattress, which was almost as comfortable as a slab of wood. Almost.
If she hadn't been so sure about her coming free again soon, now would have been the time for her to go all claustrophobic and run around in circles.
But luckily, Ace had escaped, which, for her, meant that she would get out of here in no time.
"As if I'd care for her! Nice diversion … but nothing more. She was annoying anyway. Bye-bye, crazy girl!"
And he had really put up a great show. Surely they'd believe him. After all, there were no signs that they – the two of them – were anything other than travelling companions.
Except for the fact that she had thrown herself in the way of the net to get him out – really, what had made her do that? In retrospect, it was kinda dumb. She could have saved her own ass first, then come back for him – yup, that sounded more like her. She had never been the kind of person who looked after others – that was, after fate had had its stupid, shitty, cruel turn with her. Before, with her parents' crew and later when she had met the one crew after her parents had been murdered that she had actually liked, she had been caring to others, too. She had looked after Kujo like he had been her own little brother. Like she imagined it to be when you had a sibling – that is, a sibling that wasn't far, far away and didn't care for your whole existence, like you were less than dirt under his shoes.
After they had been killed, too, she had given up. She had discovered that when you were alone and had only to care for yourself, it wasn't only easier but suited her far better. And, in addition, you were protected from all kinds of disappointments. And your heart wouldn't break so fast.
Yet, as she had noticed earlier, she was in the process of becoming attached to a person again. Which wasn't good, not at all. It resulted in situations such as this one, if not worse. It only brought you tears, worries, and danger. It made you do things that were as stupid as could possibly be – like, for example, taking blows (and nets) for other people with the purpose of protecting them.
It wasn't like her at all. However, she had done it and now at least Ace hadn't been captured. It could have been worse – if they both had gotten into that net, for example. Yes, that must have been it – she had gotten him out of the way for him to come back and save – help her. In that situation, she had acted subconsciously and instinctively, for the good of them both. Surely that must have been it. Because everything else was just so unlike her.
She sighed and took up her knees to rest her chin upon them, trying not to feel the tiredness that came with the kairoseki handcuffs still around her wrists. They had taken her things away – how could it be any different –, her weapons and her necessities as well as the part of their supplies that she had carried, but at least they had left her her clothes. And the ring. Yes, the ring. A good thing that she had actually left it on her finger. She even – hell, as she reached into her pocket, she noticed that she had even carried the stupid ring with the orange stone around with her, the one that those bitches on Honey-frickin-moon Island had given them. It sparkled a little as she turned it around in her fingers, catching the little light that came down through the bars of the single tiny window below the ceiling.
The ring reminded her of those stupid women with their stupid antique attitudes. What they had made them do! She still wanted to punch them for that. Those silly games, the rooms, the questions ... Ace and his craze for food ... Ace ...
Now that she thought about it, the stone sparkled brightly as fire. As his fire. Maybe that was why he loved that colour. It was him, his very being, all around and to the core. It was ... beautiful.
Before she could think about it, she had already slid the small piece of jewellery onto her finger. As long as she couldn't see him, that should suffice.
Weird ... as if I missed him.
Hours later, when she was already bored out of her wits from all the non-events, hours she had spent with circling her feet and following them with her eyes, or alternatively staring at the lessening light that she could see through the window, finally something happened. She heard steps through the hallway, several pairs of feet, and for a tiny little moment she was worried that they had managed to catch Ace. But no, that was impossible.
They appeared in front of the bars of her cell, two men and a woman, all in Marine attire, equipped with sabres and pistols in their belts. The men wore crew cuts, and the woman's black hair was tied up tightly.
Finally some fun, Yami grinned inwardly.
"Lady of the Shadows," the woman began and Yami flinched slightly. She still was not used to being called that name, especially by Marines. "You are herewith arrested and being put under the surveillance of the World Government, enforced by the Marine station of Cratos Island, first branch."
Say fucking what.
"Your trial will begin in one week. I hereby inform you of your transportation to Impel Down in four weeks."
Four weeks? Hilarious. As if I were here so long as to become witness of that.
Yet she said nothing, and held back her grin. If Ace wanted to act as if he didn't care, she couldn't undermine his plan.
"Your interrogation will be starting tomorrow at eight o'clock. Until then, you will stay here and not bring trouble upon anyone. Am I clear?" The woman looked at her out of cold green eyes. She was quite young, maybe only barely older then Yami herself. Yet she was wearing a captain's cloak with several decorations shimmering in the dim light of the hallway.
Yami nodded, only to almost jump off the bed in alarm as the woman's sabre banged against the bars of the cell with the loud and awful sound of metal against metal.
"Am I clear?" she repeated sharply, pronouncing every syllable.
"Yah, clear," Yami answered, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Really, this woman had some serious authority issues.
"Fine." As she turned around, she didn't forget to send her an icy glare. She went away with her cloak wafting behind her.
Yes, this was going to be so much fun …
Yami's night was restless. She only barely managed to sleep on this bed to which 'comfort' was an alien concept, and her head was full of things. Mainly things about Ace and how she was going to scold him when he finally got her out of here. And how she was going to claim her right to sleep with him. Ohh yes, she'd definitely do that. She'd gone to prison for him, after all – the least he could do was repay his debt to her, right.
Then she'd wondered about how it'd be to sleep with him, which did nothing but make her grin stupidly, biting her lip in anticipation.
But in the back of her mind, there were those thoughts about how what she was getting herself into wasn't good for her at all. Not for her body, not for her mind, and not for her heart. Oh, especially not for her heart. She'd need to protect it even further.
The question was: how?
Day 2
That was when, at a quarter to eight in the morning, she was rudely awakened by a loud shout from in front of her cell after a total of three hours of sleep.
"Get up and get washed! Morihama-taichou wants you up there in fifteen minutes!"
A bowl of water was shoved into the cell through a small hatch at the bottom, and she was left alone again. Grumbling, she washed her face, wiping it with the bottom of her shirt. Combing through her hair with her fingers (which wasn't as easy as it sounded, handcuffed as she was), she made it up into a dishevelled ponytail, wishing she had a comb and toothbrush. And could get rid of those shitty cuffs.
Then, she was taken upstairs, led through some corridors, and into a small room whose only furniture was a large desk, an armchair-like desk chair, and a wooden stool before all that. She was told to sit there, and the guard took position behind her, by the door.
A few minutes later, the woman from yesterday entered, her captain's cloak winging behind her. With a look at Yami that could only be described as disgusted, she took place in the huge desk chair, starting to sort through some papers that the man accompanying her had handed her.
Feeling completely ignored and tired beyond anything else, Yami yawned.
"Not having much sleep, eh?" the man with the woman, who apparently was called Morihama, asked with a sneer. He had blond hair and a tanned face and looked almost pretty for a marine. Almost. "Sure she's shitting her pants, being captured 'n' all," he snickered towards the guard at the door.
Yami raised one eyebrow at him. She thought his obvious provocation too dilettante to answer.
That was when the guy actually had the nerve to hit her over the head. "Yo! Say something when you're asked, bitch!"
Yami had just opened her mouth in indignation when a sharp voice cut through the room like a blade.
"Silence."
The man shrunk back like a little bunny before the snake. The woman, who had to be his superior if she was the captain here, pierced him with her icy green eyes. "If you are using sexist language ever again, I will make sure that you become degraded. And if I catch you hitting prisoners again, I will personally put you in one of our cells for one week straight. Am I making myself clear?"
"Clear, Morihama-taichou, Ma'am!" the man responded with a salute. Yami saw him gulp, and tried to feel not all too gleeful – she was the one who now had to spend time down there, after all.
"Good." Morihama filed through some more papers before finally turning towards Yami. "So, Lady of the Shadows. This is not your name."
Yami frowned. "Is that a question? Because I don't wanna answer it."
The woman smiled coldly. "It was a statement. The question is, what is your real name?"
She snorted. "Like hell I'd tell you."
"It says here that Portgas D. Ace called you 'crazy girl'. But it seems that this is not your name, either."
"Seems so, yah."
"What is your name?"
Yami rolled her eyes. "Next question."
Morihama reached for a pen and wrote something down. Yami cocked her head and tried to read it, but was jerked back by one of the guards.
"What is your relation to Portgas D. Ace?"
Like I know.
That was when Yami decided to play a game, for all that it was worth. "I don't really know him. Like, I just met him a while ago, and we went in the same direction. You can confirm that with some guys on the Forum, and on that other island, I've forgotten what it was called again. There were only idiots there …" She made a show of looking thoughtful. "Are they your relations, I wonder?"
The woman gave a hand signal without a word, and Yami was slapped over the head again. "Ouch! I thought he wasn't supposed to hit me! See? That's what I mean. Only brutish idiots." She wanted to rub the place, but her hands were still cuffed.
"We already did confirm," the woman said, nodding curtly. "Yet, I do not believe your words. You are related to him, in some way or other. Do admit it, will you."
Like fuck I will.
She rolled her eyes. "I've already told ya. I don't know him. He's just some idiot I met along the way. I'm still fucking angry at him for abandoning me, that bastard."
Morihama cleared her throat and looked at the papers again. "It says that you yelled at him to escape."
Oh yah, that. She shrugged. "Well, one has to look good, innit so? Of course I didn't want him to just leave me here. I just meant for him to run out of reach and then come back and attack everyone to save me."
"You said it three times. And you shielded him from the trap."
"Yah, damn reflex. Y'know, I got a little brother, and Portgas somehow reminded me of him at times. That's why I did that. Stupid, too, wasn't it?"
She silently congratulated herself on her wanton imagination. However, Morihama didn't seem all too convinced as she was staring at her from narrowed, cold eyes.
"You addressed him as 'Cowboy'. That implies a certain intimacy, does it not."
Intimacy alright. Which brought her back to … Oh, shut it, she reprimanded her overactive mind. Now was so not the time to think about anything even in the vicinity of sex. Instead, she snorted. "Yah, right. Come on! You've seen that silly hat, haven't you? On a poster at least. Now don't tell me you don't find it extremely ridiculous and that you wouldn't want to rag him about it."
Morihama was silent for a few moments, but Yami felt herself scrutinised sharply. She knew that the other woman wasn't really convinced of her lies.
She sighed inwardly.
Really … what an annoying person. Good thing that I won't be here for long. Hurry up, Cowboy.
Coming up:
In a single prison cell with nothing to do, there was nothing to relieve her of her boredom or to divert her attention even for a minute. – Yeah, she's bored. Bored, bo-bored bored bored bored bored bored, bo-bo-bo-bo-bored, bo-bored bored bored (singing along with the Annoying Orange)
The blow to her right kidney was only unexpected with respect to where it'd come. - … and abused. I'm so sorry, Yami. I actually love you very much.
"Did you hope for him to come and save you?" Morihama asked calmly. "Are you not disappointed to hear otherwise?" – uh-oh. Bad news coming up?!
