Tashigi POV:
I follow my escorts out of the room, our footsteps echoing through the halls. The main base of Rieno rises 50 stories in the sky, a giant rectangle, its walls a mixture of cement and cinderblock painted over with white. The halls felt, sterile, and lifeless. Most of the doors are steel, their grey surfaces reflecting the fluorescent style lighting that buzzed from the ceiling- all of it adding to the cold atmosphere. Why does it feel cold? I've always loved the clean simplicity! So why after years of roaming these walls do I suddenly feel so... oppressed.
"Keep up Tashigi, you don't want to be lost."
"I don't like this place Grandma. It's boring and weird."
"Shaddup ungrateful brat."
"They could add an accent wall, a painting or two... I'm sure some of the marines are artists."
"We keep the walls white to remind us of our purity and holy mission. The Navy upholds justice Tashigi, and justice does not have accent walls. It is equal, fair, and indiscriminate in its application."
I blink at the sudden memory, my grandmothers wrinkled face and bright eyes making my breath catch in my throat. She always said the one person you should never lie to is yourself. My gaze wanders ahead as we approach a set of stairs, taking in the white, textured walls and matching steps as we start to descend. I have not always loved the clean simplicity. I used to hate it. When... I shake the image of my grandmother away, her old face replaced by the young girl in the newspaper article that's still stuffed in my pants pocket. We get to a landing on the stairs, and my escorts walk to the next flight, continuing down.
"What level is the dining hall on?" I ask.
"We have to go all the way to level 10 for that. We'll get a guest bedroom set up for you while you eat, captain." One of the men, a burly brunette answers my question, looking straight ahead the entire time. His companion, a short skinny guy, glances over his shoulder at me nervously.
We reach another landing, and my gaze is drawn to a crack in the white paint on the wall. I pause for a moment, staring at it, my eyes straining as I see smaller cracks spiderwebbing from the larger one. We continue our descent, level 40, level 30. I watch the walls, blinking as I pick up on more and more cracks in the white coating. Small, unnoticeable until you look for them...
The little girl smiled for the picture, who knows when. The article declared her dead, said that was the only picture of her that existed. Her name was Kotori. She was 8.
I never wanted to like these halls.
I wanted to love people.
Level 27.
"Captain, ma'am," the short marine turns around on the landing, a question on the tip of his tongue, but freezes when he sees the butt of my sword swinging for his face.
I hear his bones crack on impact, and I waste no time to face the larger foe who is just now turning at the commotion.
"What-" he starts, and never gets to finish the sentence as I flip my wrist and jab the butt of my sword into his chin, the blow quick to make him topple. Silence fills the stairwell again, and I walk to the door that's just a few feet away, letting out a frustrated sigh as I see the keypad and words "level 3 clearance minimum." I spot a wire coming from the keypad, and my eyes follow it up to the corner where an alarm bell is fastened.
"Tch."
I turn back to my unconscious escorts and kneel down, searching on both their belts for an ID card of some sort. If I force the door or cut the wire it will alert the security room. Even if the Strawhats do manage to create a distraction, an alert might catch the commander's attention. He is an active part of the cracks in the walls, I'm sure of it, maybe even one of the bigger ones. "Aha!" I let out a short exclamation of triumph as I pull up the skinny guys ID and see a giant number "3" on it.
BANG!
A door opens several floors above me, and the voices of a group of marines float down the flights of stairs. Aaaahhhhh okay hurry Tashigi hurry! I pull the smaller man to the door, hoisting him up high enough that I can pull his ID tag to the scanner.
beep!
The chipper alert of success sounds like a herd of elephants to me, and I wince as the door depressurizes and swings outward. Peeking my head through, I grin as I see the floor empty of other people before quickly pulling the small marine fully in and dropping him to go get the other guy. Oof! He's so heavy! I try to hold back my grunts of effort as I push my hands under the burly marine's shoulders to grab his armpits and drag him. Above, the group of marines let out a raucous round of laughter and I hear one of them yell "Your a total ass Charlie! What did she do after that stunt?" I roll my eyes and keep pulling the man through the doorway, dropping him as soon as his feet pass the threshold.
"I'll tell ya what I did!"
The braggart's voice bounces from the landing right above me, and a panicked expression takes over my face as I grab the door handle and pull it shut then press my back against the cool metal and spread my arms across it, ready to push against any forced entries. Right as the door closes, releasing a whoosh of air as it re-pressurizes, the group of men let out another round of laughter in response to whatever 'Charlie' said, drowning out my infiltration noises as they pass. The group now gone, I stop holding my breath and lean my head against the door as I slide down it. Phew! I close my eyes for just a few seconds, letting my heart speed slow down just a bit before standing up and walking to several of the doors in the hall, checking for a place to stuff these bodies. The fourth handle I test opens to reveal a small square room with mops and toilet paper (are those $100 price tags on them?). Perfect!
I make short time of dragging the men to the closet, tying them up and gagging them so they won't be able to slam around and attract attention. Turning back to the hall, I look both left and right, a grin slowly spreading on my face as I realize that my hypothesis on research floors at night was correct! Rieno may have a strong outer protection, but on the inside? Full faith in their clearance system, not a single guard is making rounds on these research/storage levels. Now to just fish out the researchers, who being dutiful nerds tend to enjoy the night shift.
BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!WEEEOOOOWEEEEOOOOOWEEEEEOOOOBEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!WEEE
The once white hall way turns blood red as emergency lights flash and spin, adding more chaos to the ear-bleeding alarms. Eyes wide, I recede back into the closet, leaving the door open a crack as suddenly other doors in the halls start bursting open. Men and women in white lab coats all race for the stairwell I just came in, enough that the halls count as slightly crowded. I look up at the pandemonium inducing alarms, and suddenly feel my heart swell as I grin.
"I'm sorry I ever doubted you Mugiwara!" I whisper yell to myself before opening the door enough for me to squeeze out and join the chaos. I shut it behind me before going into a light jog close to the inner wall until I reach a door slowly falling back closed. I grab the door edge with my hand and with a quick survey to check that no ones watching, I slip inside and immediately duck into an aisle between giant bookshelves, slipping back into shadows as a few stragglers head for the door I just came through.
The alarm continues to sound as I wait a minute for any last researchers to make an appearance, my heart slamming against my rib cage as adrenaline pumps my veins. It feels so loud, can they hear it in that outer hall? My heart? Do the rooms have security cameras? lasers? Did someone activate booby traps? Glancing at a clock on the wall, I let out a 'tsk' as I read 1:06 am as the time. I only have 20 minutes max before I'm sure the commander puts two and two together and pulls all his focus back to me, which means I don't have time for caution! A base that doesn't even have guards in the hall will not have lasers and booby traps in the workspaces- especially ones that house valuable manuscripts like here!
I step out of the deep shadows, into the red flashing lights still going off in the room, and let my eyes pan the large room, filled with the same wooden bookshelves and, carpet? I look down for a second, and smile at the maroon colored fibers, frayed and stained, before turning my focus back to the room as a whole. The whole things a square about 100 feet wide and long, with doors to what must be other rooms placed in the middle of each wall. My gaze stops on a giant column with a white letter "K" written on it that stands in the middle of the room, several large books sitting on tables around it. I jog to the column, my heart rising to my throat as I stop and start flipping pages, looking for the last name. Her name. My name...
Kajiya. Admiral Akari Kajiya.
Zoro POV:
37, 38, 39, 40
"Oi Pirate Hunter! What's your favorite method of torture! We've got everything in the dungeons so I'm sure we'll be able to help you enjoy your time." THAT GUY throws the taunt over his shoulder as we walk down the halls of floor 47. My lips barely lift in a sneer at the egging on, but I keep marching and just add the words to my mountain of reasons to kill everyone in this base.
58, 59, 60
1 minute.
Our group stops for a moment in front of a door as the lieutenant at the front scans his ID card, the action forcing the door to let out a whoosh of air and open to reveal another flight of stairs. The one Tashigi and I came up didn't have doors like this... not that I blame them for using a more secure route to transport me. Just shows they might have an actual cummalative brain cell between the lot of them. As the lieutenant puts his ID away, I catch the giant number "2" on it, filing the information for later. We start our descent.
23, 24, 25, 26
The flight of stairs has the same design as the rest of the building. Soul-crushing white wash. The 20x20x500 foot space starts to feel claustrophobic, each level of stairs enclosed with walls on both sides. As we all descend, the marines keep throwing insults and snide remarks at me, their confidence full as the lieutenant leads at a semi-leisurly pace.
"I hear the monster's training regiment could be classified as torture. I'd say we could resort to psychological torment, but the idiot doesn't got thoughts or feelings to manipulate to start with!"
2, 3, 4, 5
"Ha! I hope they do a few open viewings of his cleansing inquisitions! Bet he screams like a little girl." THAT GUY again.
45, 46...
God I hate stairs.
"And to have it all end at the hands of a skinny b****. pfft. Can't wait to read the news article on THAT!"
My eyes flit to the man who uttered the words, my tightly bound rage spiking for a second. Tch. This is the last time I ever do espionage style work. 3 minutes.
"He's so weak, she didn't even take his swords away when she sent him with us!"
We're on floor 32 when the marine throws the words out. Someone audibly gulps. For the first time since starting to walk, complete dumbfounded silence falls over the group, the stairwells echoing with the stomping of our boots on cement steps, the clink of my earrings adding to the echoes. Ever slowly, the corners of my mouth twitch up in a smirk. On floor 30, THAT GUY finally lets out a nervous laugh and looks around at his companions.
"Guys, its fine. We'll just have him give them to us when we get to the dungeon! I mean, he's under our control as long as we don't touch him!" He lets out another laugh, a twinge of hystericality in it. I glance up as I feel the lieutenant's eyes on me, a sheen of sweat now covering his entire face.
"I'm sure you're right, THAT GUY, but if there's one thing the Navy has mastered its establishing precautions before more drastic measures are necessary. Nothing wrong with taking the swords now." The lieutenant's voice slowly grows more confident, until he finally gives the new commands. "Everyone halt! Drop your swords, Roronoa."
Our whole group freezes in-between floors 29 and 28, and the lieutenant turns all the way around on the bottom stairs to cross his arms as he watches me. I stare back at him, not even trying to hide my bloodlust as I reach my cuffed hands to my harakami and loosen it, letting my three swords fall to the ground. The metal sheaths clash against each other and the stairs, the clattering noises expanding to fill the entire stairwell, overwhelming, reverberating through bones.
No one dares to move until the echoes end, the lieutenant staring at me the entire time, revelation slowly trickling into his terror filled eyes. He gulps, before finally spinning on his heels and ordering "Lets keep going men!" as he starts walking. They all let out a chorus of "yes sir!" and we go down the stairs, one of the men behind me reaching down to pick up my weapons.
38, 39, 40, 41
"You know Roronoa, you had a good run of it! I mean, all legends come to an end, but I bet your name will stick around for a few years at least." THAT GUY breaks the silence on floor 16, right as I count 5 minutes on my internal clock. Our pace has increased drastically, and we're practically jogging down the stairs at this point. Fine by me. The faster we go the sooner I can get off these stupid stairs.
"Zoro, I'm sorry. She fell down the storehouse stairs and, and..."
The flight of stairs we're going down suddenly starts twisting in my vision. I miss a step, the sense of falling rushing my gut, lungs, and heart into my throat.
"You see, when girls grow up they get weaker than men... Even you'll catch up to me soon. You're lucky Zoro, your a boy. If only... if only I had been born a man..."
"Why won't you finish me! It's because I'm a woman, right?!"
2001. 2001 lost fights.
"I'm sorry Zoro... storehouse stairs..."
"I can't protect anyone- whether I follow the navy's rules or my own, I'm pathetic!"
"Promise me! Someday, one of us will be the world's greatest swordsman!"
Dark, straight hair. Brown eyes, gone forever then back again in someone else. Never dead. She's still undefeated. I won't let her become defeated.
"If you want to insult my gender, then do so to my face."
The same, but so damn different.
"I'm going to get strong enough that my name reaches to heaven! I'm going to be the world's strongest swordsman!"
The greatest. I want to be the greatest.
Why?
I stumble down 3 stairs before I slam my foot onto a step, forcing the world to stop spinning and shoving the sudden spiral of thoughts away except the last question. Why? I smirk. Because I want to. Because I never feel more alive and whole than when I hold a sword in my hand. The marines all around me freeze as I slowly stand straight, and when I start walking again, all of them respond to my actions and start walking as well. No one speaks anymore. They do start jogging, then practically sprinting. I lost my internal clock, but the floors start listing sub levels as we run. I don't even need to use observation Haki to sense the fear rolling off all of them. As we jog, I start whistling Bink's Sake, gaining great satisfaction as the haunting tune lifts through the white washed stairs.
Why?
Maybe I don't understand all the reasons why. But at least I know one of them. and that's enough for me. Just like how I don't really understand what the hell I'm doing in the dungeon of a renowned marine base helping a navy brat ruin her career. Tashigi's face flits in front of me. She's got dark golden flecks in her brown eyes. Kuina's eyes always reflected dark silver. I glance up at a corner, spotting an alarm horn and camera. Wonder if she made it to the right floor.
Sublevel 10. I maneuver the key in my hands to unlock the cuffs, leaving them on as I wait for my crew to deliver on their promise. It's definitely been more than 5 minutes, the lazy bastards. I let my eyes wander over my escorts, snorting out loud as every one of them tries to hide their panic.
BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!WEEEOOOOWEEEEOOOOOWEEEEEOOOOBEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!WEEE
My whistling gets drowned out by the sirens, and as the flashing red lights spasm in the cramped quarters, I stop sprinting. One of the marines behind me slams into my back at my abrupt stop, and the others stumble over each other as all 8 of them reach for their swords, the sound of singing metal clashing with the alarms.
Finally.
My head still bowed, I stretch my hands out in front of me before moving my arms to the side, just enough to let the cuffs fall off, their crashing to the ground silent against the already existing chaos. Everyone in the circle takes a step back at the action, their terror palpable. My head still bowed, I let my gaze flicker over to THAT GUY, staring at him with a sadistic grin.
THAT GUY gulps.
"Feel free to scream." I retort, before slamming my fist into his face, crushing bone as I hear his skull crack open as it hits the cement wall behind. THAT GUYS sword stays raised in defense, never having the chance to move, before I spin around, grabbing it from his hands and making very, very short work of everyone else.
5 seconds later, I lean down and grab my three swords from where they lay beside the downed marine, standing and brushing invisible dust from my shoulders. Well. Shall we begin?
