Shivered Timbers
by Kaline Reine
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of the characters/settings. This is just a fanfiction story. I do own Shiori, she is my character. I also own a few other original characters in this story (not affiliated with One Piece), which will be introduced as they are needed.
WARNINGS: This story contains (or may contain) graphic adult content and language, explicit sex scenes, possible violence, gore, cursing, adult themes, etc. I do not censor my writing, but I do my best to warn people about the subject matter and potential subject matter. So if you don't like that kind of thing or can't handle it, then I suggest not reading this story. You have been warned. Also, I know this doesn't follow canon but it doesn't have to, that's why it's a fanfic. xD
Also... The beautiful cover image for this story is by my friend, EzariaUmiko on DeviantArt. All credit for the image goes to her. c:
Chapter 28: Smooth Seas
Shiori was the first to wake up. Not wanting to disturb the others, she carefully pulled the map from under her pillow. A thought had occurred to her overnight... What if the map wasn't even there? She'd gotten the protective case back from Nischela, but what if it was empty? Then when they left her and the others behind at the next port, and continued on their journey, she would have no way of going back to get it. Her plans would be ruined.
Carefully, she opened the lid and reached inside. There was some sort of paper in there, so that was a good sign. She took it out and unfolded it, her eyes carefully scanning the faded piece of parchment. It was definitely the same map that she remembered. The big red X marked where the ice island was. She wasn't sure where they were, or how far away from that area they were. She would need to show this to Ace and then probably take it to their navigator to have him take a look at it. They could figure out the proper coordinates from there. She rolled it back up and put it in one of her pockets.
It was early, and she felt a twinge of pain in her back, which served as a reminder... She had many things she needed to do today. She got dressed and began to sneak out.
Carefully scooping up Vanora, she decided to take the kitten with her. She knew it was unlikely that anyone would do anything to her, but... Just to be on the safe side, she would keep her close for now. There was just no way she was going to trust Nischela anymore, not after she'd already stolen from her. She would have to go through her belongings every night before she went to sleep, until the day when they got rid of her. She hated to think like that about someone that she used to consider a friend, but it couldn't be helped.
Sighing, Shiori left the room as quietly as she could. No one else seemed to stir yet. She made her way outside and headed straight for the medical ward. She needed to have Walter change her bandages. Her injuries were getting better every day, and so far, they hadn't gotten infected yet. That was a good sign.
"Shiori-chan, good morning... I wasn't expecting you to be in so early." The doctor greeted her, beckoning her inside and motioning for her to close the door, which she did.
"I woke up and can't go back to sleep now." The Valkyrie sat down on the same bench she'd been on the first time she was here. She faced him with her back to him, as had become their daily ritual.
The man wordlessly pulled up her sweater in the back. He noticed the kitten climbing out from her hiding place and onto the girl's lap. It was nice that her black dress was low cut enough so that he didn't have to have her completely undress for this. Most of her wounds were high up on her back, thankfully. He removed the old bandages and discarded them into a waste basket.
"H-how does it look?" She asked nervously, sweeping her long white hair around to the front so he could have better access.
"It's fine," He smiled warmly, applying some ointment to her back. He used a pair of tongs to grip several cotton balls, which was more sterile than if he'd used his bare hands. "Looks like everything is healing nicely. You should be fine in about a week or so, maybe sooner. Just make sure you avoid pulling the stitches. They're already starting to dissolve, so it won't be long now. It may start itching a lot though..."
"I see."
She didn't say much, just sat still and listened while the doctor worked on her back. Walter was very good at what he did. Shiori wanted to thank him for treating Mia's son and Bob Toll, and all the others who had come on board too, but she was sure they'd already thanked him dozens of times themselves. And it was early, she was still groggy.
When he had almost finished and was bandaging up her wounds, the door to his office swung open again. Ace stood in the doorway, a half-dazed look on his face. Shiori had never seen him up this early before. She held back a giggle.
"Hey doc, I-" He paused, seeing that she was in there having her back worked on. "Oh, I'm sorry! My apologies, Shiori-chan... I'll come back later."
"N-no, it's fine!" She insisted. "Come on in. You already know about my injuries anyway. I don't mind."
"What did you need, lad?" Walter asked, tearing off another strip of gauze and draping it over the girl's back.
"Oh..." He stepped inside, moving like a zombie, his onyx eyes half lidded. "I was wondering if you have anything that could cure a hangover... My head is pounding. I'll take literally anything!"
Shiori struggled to hide a blush, but it was too late... He'd already seen it. She winced as Walter was applying the final bandages. It always hurt a bit when they were changed, but it was worth it to prevent the risk of infection. She was embarrassed for someone else to see her having this done. She wasn't as bold as Whitey Bay. She had zero intentions of ever letting anyone see her back, even after it was healed. She'd already decided that. She mostly just hated feeling so weak in front of someone she admired and respected so much. She hated that she'd allowed them to do such a horrible thing to her without even fighting back. She'd been terrified, at the time, not to mention horribly outnumbered...
"I'll be done with her in a second, and I'll see what I have."
"Alright, thank you. I hate to intrude, but seriously, this migraine is hell..." The Captain continued to whine.
"I hope you feel better, Ace-kun." The girl told him, honestly.
"Thanks. Oh and Shiori-chan..."
When he called her name, she was already getting up and getting ready to leave but she paused. "Hm?"
"If you've got a sec, could you wait for me? There's something I need to talk to you about. And I have to make the announcement that you've decided to join our crew. It'll be official after today." Ace couldn't contain the grin that slowly spread across his face, despite the apparent pain he was in.
"S-sure..." Not knowing what else to say, she bowed to the medic who had just finished tending to her wounds. "Thank you, Walter-san... I really appreciate all that you've done for me."
"Think nothing of it, lass..." He tipped his top hat to her, as he so often did. "Soon you won't even need me anymore."
"I hope that's true, but I doubt it. Doctors are always very important."
As she spoke those words, she nearly got choked up from thinking back to Ruhi again... She had so many regrets regarding what had happened to her loved ones. She wondered for a moment what Walter would think if she told him about Ruhi. She missed the gentle medic's sweet smile the most. Deciding it was best to try and put it out of her mind, she stepped out of the small office and onto the deck once again. Vanora climbed onto her shoulder, staring up at the blue, blue sky...
Shiori decided it would be best to give Ace some privacy with the doctor, just as she'd had. She waited outside, lingering by the door until he finally emerged. She knew she had duties around the ship to attend to, but he'd specifically asked her to wait for him. It wasn't long before he showed up, stretching his arms out as he basked in the sun.
"It's such a beautiful day!" Ace looked up at the clear blue sky when he came outside too, smiling broadly now. He seemed more like his usual self after taking whatever Walter had given him for the hangover. "Just goes to show you that after the storm passes, good things can still happen."
"Y-yeah, that's true..." Shiori smiled. She was glad he was feeling better.
"Most of the crew should be in the mess hall around this time of day. It's not like them to miss a meal, so it's always the perfect time to make some announcements. Ready to join our crew?"
"Of course." She suddenly remembered the map, taking it out of her pocket and handing it to him. She watched Ace open the case nervously. "This is the map I told you about before."
"Cool!" He looked it over, his dark eyes carefully scanning the aged parchment. "This looks legit, but I'll have Hoko-san take a look at it later, if you don't mind...? I'm sure he could figure out the coordinates somehow."
"That's fine, I was actually going to suggest the same."
"Great. Let's go!" Ace began to lead the way and she followed, trailing a few steps behind him. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, turning to her. "Hey... You're one of us now. Got it?"
"Alright." Though Shiori's tone was questioning, she believed him. After all, he was the one in charge here. She just wasn't certain what he meant by saying that.
"Don't let anybody push you around." He said, as they continued walking. "If anyone ever bothers you, you know where to find me, right?"
'Isn't he trying to push me around now? Tell me I'm one of them, forcing me to join his crew?' She wondered, stifling a laugh, knowing he wasn't really. If she expressed that she wanted to leave, she was free to go at any time. That was the beauty of it.
"You don't have to treat me like I'm special or anything. I'd prefer it if you would just treat me the same as any other member of the crew. That's the only way I'll go through with joining."
"Alright, if that's the way you want it..."
Ace led her into the mess hall where everyone was eating breakfast. No one really paid much attention to them, as they came in, grabbed a plate of food for themselves, and sat down. Shiori settled in one of few remaining seats right next to him. Everyone was eating, and since she was hungry, she started eating her breakfast too.
They had buttered pancakes that were warm and fluffy. She drizzled some syrup over them and they were delicious. She passed on the sausage though, quietly shuffling it over into Ace's plate. Thankfully he didn't say anything about it.
Once they'd all eaten the majority of their breakfast, their Captain began to address everyone.
"Could I have a moment of everyone's time?" Ace's deep voice boomed, able to be heard clearly even over the loud hum of activity that was commonplace on the mess deck. When they all paused in their antics and looked at him, he continued. "We have a new crew member joining today!"
Everyone began talking all at once. Some gave him confused looks, others cheered. They seemed glad to be gaining another crew mate, even if they didn't know who it was yet. Mitch had a knowing smile that slowly spread across his face when he noticed that Shiori was there. He was pretty sure he knew what this was all about, if the talk they'd had last night was any indication.
Once they were all listening, Ace spoke. "Although she was hesitant about it at first, Shiori-chan here has decided to join our crew! Today we welcome the newest member of the Spade Pirates!"
Everyone stared for a moment. Then they all broke out in loud cheers and shouts, and the reactions were mostly positive. Shiori felt like her face was going to melt. She was too shy to deal with all of this attention. All she could do was cover her face with her hands, her long blue sleeves billowing around in front of her and helping to hide her blush. Vanora hid under the table, cowering behind her feet.
"That's something you should've maybe talked over with your first mate first," Mitch growled to Ace, making sure to make his point, before turning to the embarrassed girl with a smile. "But we're very glad you have you, little lady." He tilted his hat, a sign of respect.
They all did the same, ensuring that their Captain knew they respected his choice and didn't mind having her as a crew mate. No one seemed to oppose it, and that was mainly what she'd been worried about, so that was good.
"There's just one thing left..." Haji said, while idly playing with one of his daggers. "To ensure that you're really one of us... We need to perform the recruiting ritual!"
"Yeah, yeah!" They all cried. "The initiation!"
Ace seemed to know they were going to say that, as he didn't look surprised at all. Shiori just looked to him for some sort of explanation. There was none given, however.
"I-initiation?" She asked, looking up at Ace nervously.
"Yeah," The Captain replied calmly. "We have a little tradition around here... It's nothing to worry about. But see? Everyone likes and accepts you. You were worried for nothing and spent all that time hesitating for no reason."
"I guess you're right..."
Rex, the ship's cook, seemed to notice her apprehension too. "What I'd like to know is... Why the hesitation to join our crew in the first place? Most would have gladly died for the chance. What makes you so unsure?"
"I wasn't sure if I really wanted to be a Pirate in the first place. But it seems to be that's sort of chosen me, so..." She shrugged.
Ace looked at her then, suddenly becoming serious. "You were a Pirate from the moment when you first set sail with Whitey Bay."
She stopped, stunned. "I've n-never thought of it that way... Maybe."
Hadn't she made that same choice long ago? When the Ice Witch had asked her to join her crew, she'd been just as hesitant. She felt apprehensive about it from the start. The Valkyrie knew all too well about the stigma that surrounded Pirates. They were ruthless bloodthirsty law breakers, willing to do whatever they had to just so they could eke out a living on the seas. It was time to stop resisting, and just go with it. She might have grown up hearing terrible tales about them but her reality, her own experience, was so different from what she'd heard.
"You're one of us now!" Mitch said, raising his mug in a toast. "Might as well get used to it! Haha!"
She laughed right along with them, realizing that she'd just found new Nakama... There were various toasts made by way of clinking frosty mugs together.
"Isn't it a bit early to be drinking already?"
"Nonsense!" Ace shouted, joining in the celebration... Although he was being careful not to drink too much due to his recently-cured hangover. He didn't want to bring it right back. "Piracy doesn't have any rules. A man will do whatever he can do. There's no point in fighting it."
"Speaking of fighting things..." The first mate cleared his throat, a sign that he was ready to get on with things. He turned to Shiori, sipping from his mug as usual. He seemed to handle his liquor a little better than Ace did, from what she'd seen. "I'd say it's time we made it official, eh?"
Ace suddenly became very serious. "Yeah... Shiori-chan, now that you're officially a Spade... There's something we need to attend to. There is a right of passage for all who join our crew. And it seems we just might have the perfect opportunity to do so..."
"Spades aren't just used for gardening!" Rex chimed in once again, between mouthfuls of his own cooking. "They're also great for burying your enemies! Heh!" He ran a hand through his tall black spikes.
She gulped, suddenly feeling parched and desperate for air. All kinds of awful things were running through her mind. The poor girl's hands were starting to tremble, even as she finished the glass of milk she was having with breakfast.
"Wh-what do I h-have to do?"
The Captain leaned in close to her and whispered a single word. "Relax..."
It was odd, but that actually did seem to ease her nervousness a bit. It also happened to give her butterflies, feeling his warm breath waft across the shell of her ear for a moment. She wondered why that was... She had to suppress a shiver.
"Is there anyone you might want to get revenge on? Even a group of people?" Mitch asked, wanting to skip straight to the point.
"When one becomes a Spade," Ace clarified, noticing her confused look. "We'll help them destroy some of their enemies. But there's a catch..."
"What k-kind of catch?"
"It has to be someone who wronged you in a major way in the past. We want to help make things right again. But you have to participate too. And the final blow... Is saved for you. It's your right to take revenge on whoever you wish."
"Wow..." The albino girl gasped. She hadn't been expecting this at all.
"So who do you choose? Who's our target?" Mitch laughed evilly.
"I need... Well, it's something I'll have to think about. Give me a minute?"
'I can't believe I'm doing this...' She sighed, shaking her head as one name immediately popped into her head. 'Alvida... But we don't even know where she is. And I don't want to set us off course and make it take forever to let the slaves get back to whatever lives they led before they were captured.'
"Umm..." Shiori looked around the room. All eyes were on her, as the Spades eagerly awaited her decision. "I think..."
"Just name it." Ace offered her a gentle smile. "And it's done."
"I g-guess... I guess the slavedrivers who were in charge back on Alvida's ship. They're still on board along with the slaves, right?"
He nodded, his dark eyes closing briefly and then opening. "Mhm... If you want all of them gone, just say the word and we'll make it happen."
"I'm not sure if they all deserve it though..."
"That's fine too. Hell, I'll have them all lined up and allow you to choose which ones you'd like to be punished or killed. You just have to let us know who."
That was when it clicked. Shiori began to brightened up a bit, and a smile slowly spread across her face, her beauty mark inching closer to her eye as she did so. For a moment, she had considered being merciful to them. But in the end, she'd decided against it... After all, had they shown her any mercy or kindness?
She remembered everything that Whitey Bay had taught her. She recalled with startling clarity how these people had hurt her, countless times. Every time they'd been cruel to her, forcing her to do disgusting things, treating her like she was less than an animal to them, it had been in the back of her mind... She'd wished she had a way to make them pay back then. But on the other hand, revenge wouldn't have tasted nearly as sweet.
Just then, Ace a ran a hand down her back. He'd intended it as a comforting gesture, but it had called her attention back to her freshly healed wounds. She would always remember what they did. Alvida might've gotten away with what she'd done. Even what Monet did hadn't been repaid yet. Nor had the Marines who had stricken down her loved ones long ago fully atoned for their actions. This would be the perfect way for her to finally get some closure about something.
"What's going on?" Asked a sleepy-voiced Nischela, who was only just now making her way into the mess hall.
"Shiori-san's gonna get some much-needed revenge on some of the people who have wronged her!" Haji, the short little swordsman, chuckled, his beady little eyes full of mirth. He paused to stash a dagger back into his turban, where he kept them.
"And we're gonna help." The first mate of the crew added. "It's part of her initiation rights. That's what happens when someone joins our crew. They get one chance to get their revenge on whoever has wronged them."
"Oh..." She halted in her footsteps. "Is that so?" She looked down, seemingly having a conversation with the floor now.
"Yeah... You got some kind of problem with that?" Mitch asked, looking up at her and turning around a bit to face her.
She seemed to need a moment to regain her composure. "No, it's just that..." She trailed off, still hesitating.
"That what?" He asked, standing up and getting right in her face.
"Nothing. Well, I used to be one of those people. I didn't exactly do anything-"
"What did you do to her?" Ace smirked, waiting to see what his first mate would do.
"I didn't, I mean-" She gasped. Mitch was closing in on her. Nischela took a few steps backward.
"Did this one do anything to you, Shiori-chan?" The scruffy Pirate turned to her, with a tilt of his head. "Is she one of the ones we need to punish? I wouldn't mind getting back at her for you."
'He can't really talk to them that way, can he?' Shiori's pink eyes widened. She looked at their Captain to see if he would do anything.
As if reading her thoughts, Ace explained. "I put Mitch-san in charge of all of the slave refugees. That includes her. He can do what he wants." He shrugged.
She didn't say anything, only watched the scene unfold before her. Mitch seemed intent on cornering Nischela. But in the end, he saw her trembling, and seemed to lose his nerve. Whatever was between them in that brief moment was lost. He let her move away. Nischela hated it here. It was much worse than on Alvida's ship... But she'd never admit that to any of them. She despised the woman for what she did, but there was a lot more to it than just that.
"No, she hasn't done anything. Not really." Shiori finally made the decision not to tell them about her stealing the map. That would only cause more trouble. She did not miss the grateful look she got from the other girl.
Nischela sat down and grabbed a plate of food that was probably cold by now. She seemed happy to have it anyway. "Thank you." She said, to her or maybe to no one in particular.
While she ate, Shiori noticed she didn't seem to be very comfortable. "Are you alright?"
"Sort of..." After a slight hesitation, she finally voiced her concerns. "It's just that... Well, I don't think it's really right to seek revenge on people like that. Even if they did wrong you, they haven't done anything to the rest of the crew."
"They're imposed on our hospitality." Ace pointed out. He didn't really want to intrude on the conversation between the two females, but it still needed to be said. "Most ships wouldn't have even bothered taking any of them in, or you either. If some among them have done bad things to another member of their crew, they would do a lot worse than we likely will. Trust me."
'He's right...' Shiori reasoned. 'But that isn't the point.'
She wasn't sure what it was about Nischela that bothered her the most. Maybe it was the chronic lack of loyalty that she possessed. The way she was always undermining her.
"Seems like you're not much better than the slavedrivers then." The brunette snapped bitterly.
"That's the problem with people like you," The Valkyrie glared at her, clearly fed up. All eyes were on her now. "You've always been in high-ranking positions over others, always at the top, consistently having the upper hand. You wouldn't know anything about what it means to be treated as a slave! So shut up."
She slammed her fists down on the table, hard. It shook everything around and caused the cutlery and dishes to clang together. There was a long silence that followed, and then...
"I know more than you think." Nischela simply adjusted her glasses and kept eating.
"You're lucky I didn't choose to use my one shot at revenge on you. I could have."
This made Ace grin. He sort of liked this bold new side of her. He'd never seen Shiori so upset, so absolutely and utterly furious with someone, before. It wasn't like her to become so agitated and let someone get her so riled up. And the others seemed to be amused by the potential girl fight.
"Then why didn't you?"
She thought for a moment, and then replied without missing a beat. "...Because we're friends."
Nischela only looked at her. The fact that she'd chosen to throw her own words back at her in such a way was not lost on her...
No one said anything for a long while after that. The crew was finishing up their breakfast, and so was Nischela. She didn't bother to say anything else to Shiori, or even make eye contact with her. They all knew what was about to happen. Some were looking forward to it and others seemed indifferent about it. In any case, all she could do was respect their traditions. She had to prove that she really was one of them. No one ever said revenge would be easy, even if she did have help.
The Valkyrie didn't say anything more about it either. She eventually rose from her seat. "Am I going to be initiated or not?"
She picked up the little cream kitten who was playing in the floor, clutching her close to her chest and scratching her behind the ears. She had to make sure Vanora didn't get hurt in the process of all this. And the safest place she could be was with Shiori.
"Guess there's no better time than the present." Ace got up to follow her, beckoning for Mitch and the others to follow him.
"You stay here," The first mate spoke to Nischela, getting uncomfortably close to her face. "I'll be back for you in a bit."
"Whatever..." She rolled her eyes, clearly dismissing him. "Idle threats..."
"We'll see about that, missy."
"Yeah we will." Gray eyes looked up at him from behind her glasses, practically smoldering. It was clear that she wasn't backing down. She seemed to be fighting back a smirk too.
"That's enough," Ace broke up their little... spat? Or whatever it was... He pulled Mitch along by his arm, giving the other Pirate no choice but to come with him. "We've got things to do."
He grit his teeth and muttered something to Mitch that no one else could hear. It sounded suspiciously like "Cool it." but even Shiori had managed to miss it.
They all went to the crew's quarters, where most of the slaves and former slavedrivers were still sleeping. Shiori was the first one in and what she saw stopped her dead in her tracks.
"All of the slaves, they... They're sleeping in your hammocks!" She gasped, her mouth agape.
Sure enough, each and every refugee they'd taken on board was given a hammock to sleep in. Some of them had to share one, and a few even housed several people at once, but they seemed to be holding up just fine.
"Of course," Mitch grinned, walking in right behind her. "What did you think we'd do? Make them sleep on the floor? Nah, they've had a rough enough time as it is. It's about time they caught a break."
"But... Then where do all of you sleep?"
"On the afore-mentioned floor." Rex said, sounding less than impressed with the situation. "I serve them breakfast every day when they wake."
Mauve eyes widened, taking in the scene before her with a new perspective... She already knew they weren't asking the slaves to do any work while they were on board. They were giving up their sleeping space for them as well? That seemed really over-the-top, and she would never have believed it if she hadn't seen it with her own two eyes! The last few stragglers of the Spades' crew that had yet to awaken were actually still sleeping on little makeshift cots on the floor.
"Oh my... Such kindness..." Shiori was literally blown away by their kindness. So much so that she had begun to weep, the bitterness of tears kissing her cheeks as they cascaded downward once more. It caused Vanora to scurry up onto her shoulders again. The kitten licked the remaining water out of her fur, purring.
They reminded her of Whitey Bay's crew. She would never forget such honorable people like Sam and Chouko... And all those who had fought along her side. She wondered how her old friends were doing anyway. There wasn't a single day that went by that they didn't cross her mind in one form or another. She'd always been told how horrible Pirates were, but she had seen countless examples that they really were capable of great kindness as well. They were only human. And it was touching.
At their words, some of the slaves were starting to wake up, as well as some of their own crew. They looked at the Pirates standing before them, blinking sleepily and rubbing their weary eyes.
"Don't cry, it's showing too much weakness... Everyone you choose will be executed in whatever manner you see fit." Ace crept up behind her, whispering to her so they wouldn't hear. "Just line them up and say the word. All you need to do is tell me who."
"Alright, let's see..." The first person Shiori took note of was Pierre... "Him. He was always very cruel to me and did his best to be harder on me than the others. He even went out of his way to torture me unnecessarily sometimes."
The Frenchman didn't understand what was happening yet, as it was still early, but he would catch on soon enough. He began to look around in confusion when Haji and Mitch began taking him away.
"Vhat ees ze meaning of zis?!" He protested, but was already overcome by many ropes snaking up his limbs and tying them together. Mitch's Devil Fruit really did come in handy...
"You'll find out soon enough, buddy..." Was all Mitch said. After all, they really didn't owe him any explanation. "We'll take him downstairs and come back for the rest."
"Where are they taking him?" Shiori asked Ace, once they were gone. There were still plenty more crew members standing behind them.
"To the superbrig."
"The superbrig?" She queried, cocking an eyebrow in confusion. She'd never heard that term before, and was half certain he was pulling her leg. "What's that?"
"You might have noticed a hidden door near your room that we keep locked. It's near the entrance to the brig itself... There's a narrow corridor beneath it that can be used as an extra storage area. We call it the superbrig."
"Oh... I've never heard of a ship having that."
The Captain smirked, his arrogance showing through once again. "Actually... The Flush used to be a slave ship, before we got ahold of it and gave it a new destiny."
"The wha...?"
"The Royal Flush. It's the name of my ship." He clarified, puffing out his chest with a sudden swell of pride.
"Oh... I'd always wondered about that. Playing cards. Hah! I should've known..." The two shared in a brief laugh together. "But why didn't you tell me about the ship's past sooner?"
Since she'd been brought on board while she was unconscious, she'd never gotten a chance to check for any sort of name. It didn't really matter, but she saw the cleverness of the ship's name now. The Spades on board The Royal Flush... It looked like they were going for a definite theme here, even if it was cheesy as hell.
"I was afraid it might freak you out or something... I mean, given your past and all."
"Not really." Shiori shrugged. "I think what you've done here is really admirable and sweet in a way, if anything. The way you gave an old slave ship a new purpose, I mean..."
"I don't know if it's as noble as you're probably thinking," Ace laughed heartily, his muscular chest rising and falling. "Slaves are just a hassle! I wouldn't want a bunch of people who wanted to slit my throat on a ship with me in the middle of the ocean."
He wanted to say 'out here surrounded by my weakness', but given that she still didn't know about his abilities, that might turn out to be a mistake. Besides, it was clearly a bad idea to give the remaining slaves any idea of his weaknesses. He remembered what his first mate had said about giving away too much. Mitch was usually right about that kind of thing anyway.
"I guess that wouldn't be very bright." She conceded, nodding in agreement.
"Ahem..." He cleared his throat. "Getting back to the matter at hand..."
She'd forgotten herself again, and the prisoners were all staring at her. They seemed to know that she was the one who was getting to make the deciding call on all of this.
"Oh, yes!" The Valkyrie looked around again, her eyes scanning the crowd carefully. She spotted the man who had originally caught her in the shower when she was about to radio the Marines. The one who had ratted her out to Alvida... "Him. He goes too."
"You got it!"
Ace snapped his fingers, and another two crew members grabbed the guy and dragged him off. He was to be taken down to the superbrig along with Pierre. On his way out, the man looked at her, his dark eyes pleading miserably.
"Please, miss! Have a heart!"
"People like you killed my heart a long time ago," She spat, and then turned to address Ace and the others. "He ruined my plans to escape from Alvida's cruelty. I know he might not have meant to, but he did. And I can't forgive that."
"Understandable. Pick out as many as you'd like. You don't have to justify it to me. Your word is more than good enough."
Perking up at his words, she allowed a small smile to make itself known. She was trying to hold back, since this was not exactly a happy occasion for her. Revenge was something she didn't take lightly. She kept looking through the crowd, as if trying to spot anyone else who had wronged her. Mitch and Haji had already returned from securing the first one.
"That one," The albino pointed to a strong looking middle aged man. "He's a slave, but he was always starting fights and causing problems among the others. I'm not sure if he's learned his lesson yet or not..."
"I have! Look, I haven't done anything bad since I've been here!" The man was quick to inform her. "I've even done my best to help. Can't we let bygones be bygones? What do ya say?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure about that. Maybe he still needs to learn a lesson?" She looked to their Captain, wondering if that would be okay or not.
"Consider it done," His smile was oddly cheery for someone who was sentencing another man to be brutally tortured. "Anyone else? What about that one? I'm pretty sure I've heard tell he was a slavedriver too."
The man he was indicating was an elderly man who went by the name of Bob Toll. She knew him well...
"No... Not him. That's Toll-san. He's earned my mercy." She stated, looking at him and watching him begin to smile. "He helped me many times while I was on board that horrible ship. If not for him, I might not have made it. He can go free at the next port."
"Bless you, child..." Bob thanked her, bowing to her.
"There is no need to bow to me, old man." Shiori told him, signaling for him to get up. "I'm only repaying everyone for what they've done. And that includes repaying for kindness."
"Anyone else?"
"These three. They've all done terrible things and made it so much worse on me while I was there." She pointed to two other men and a woman, all of them slavedrivers formerly employed by Alvida. "Everyone else is alright."
The Spades jumped into action the moment she pointed out her oppressors. She knew they wouldn't treat them kindly anymore. But none of them seemed to protest too much. They were already resigned to their fate. And since she couldn't get to Alvida right now, they would have to do.
In the back of her mind sat the worry that she might become what she hates, somehow... But that was quelled by the thirst for vengeance. It had grown stronger with time, and now it had overshadowed anything else. The thought of mercy was one that hadn't crossed her mind very often these days. And it was the least of her concerns right now.
All she wanted was to see them suffer; to make them pay... And they would.
A/N: Shorter than normal chapter, but hey, it means faster updates! ;D I hope you enjoyed this one. I know there was a lot of dialogue, but it was all necessary. In the next chapter we'll see how all of this plays out. Lastly, I want to say that I really appreciate all of the feedback for this story. It keeps me going. And I especially loved hearing from some new readers after I posted the previous chapter. It made me smile. Thank you all so much! ;w; Btw, the next chapter is going to be a very dark one, obviously.
-Kaline