Rising Winds

Poem for

Cats and Patience

~Loose windows and poor frames,

Lend well to the whispers and shrieks,

That demons rend from Wind's hand.

Yes it speaks. Frantic, desperate,

But never in your tongue~

Nami grabbed her gym bag, kissing her fingers and tapping them on her pictures of her mom and sister that sat bedside and gave her outfit a once over in her mirror. Sports bra, tight black half pants. Her legs and left arm displaying in full glory her ink. Then she looked at the photo booth photos she had. Dozens of them decorating the edges of the full length mirror. A majority of them with Zoro and Sanji, plenty with Robin, Nojiko. More with face's half forgotten from lack of contact.

She spied the one they had all four taken just before the christmas fiasco. They all looked so happy. She could hope she got something just as good at the slowly closing in holiday party. She heard thunder, decided that she could change at the gym, and went across the one room to her wardrobe. The wind whistled through her old rain-swelled window, the chill bringing out those dots along her skin and she shivered, grabbing her thickest coat.

Near half an hour later she was throwing fists at the pads Zoro held up. left right, then she tossed a leg and he took it on both pads. It landed with a heavy thud. It went down and his hands came for her, she ducked, side stepped him and was at it with her fists again. All in all a normal spar for them, somewhat lacking in sarcasm without the blondie to talk shit from the sidelines. In fact he wasn't here at all today.

"How are Ace and Sabo?" she asked, figuring it was a safe topic, while she tried to break his hands with another kick. He side stepped her, catching her before the lack of contact took her to the ground.

"Good, happy." He muttered back, setting himself again. She shook her head and gestured for the gloves.

She donned them with some hesitation, Zoro could hit hard when he wanted to. His first few thumps were fine.

"Luffy's good too," he said. "Still tries to jump me half the days, bugging me about playing with him."

"And how are you?" his fist hit light, all of its power drained. Two weeks could be a lifetime. It could also be no time at all. But the look that snuck across his attuned scowl spoke of a limbo between both. His fist pulled back and came forward again, with power this time.

"Great. Kuina found some inspiration on my idea. Course she wants to redraft half the book now. But what can you do." She wouldn't push him. She wanted to. But she could trust the boys with Zoro.

"Say no, my manager will kill me if I miss another deadline?" Nami teased, bringing the pads low to catch his knee. Then chased him for a few swings, letting him bob in and out.

"Right. Cause that works."

"It does on the weaker authors… you've let her grow too powerful." He grinned, swiping for her legs. She hopped over it, glad she made it. He was playing dirty, new moves to the routine.

"The stronger she grows, the stronger i have to be."

"Kuina is a wildfire Zoro, not a mere woman. At this rate she'll devour your whole timeline, and you'll fall behind the rest of the team."

"She wanted to cut his arm off in the duel."

"She what?" Nami let her hands drop just a bit. Zoro's fist closed on the opening fast, and stopped a few inches out. He tapped her cheek with his fist lightly.

"Point."

"Go back, you're not letting her do that are you?"

"Of course not. Which is why i'm letting her rewrite half the draft." he had on his cocky smirk as he grabbed for his water. He'd planned that twist. To drop the news like that. The damn demon.

"With what time?" Her hands clenched in the pads, bringing them to her hair.

"It was this or the arm thing Nami. I picked the hill to die on here."

"How are you going to keep pace? The round table is Friday! She won't make that, not with any copy done."

"I know. I'm crashing at the hospital for the rest of the week, I'll be doing the copy while she writes. Some one has to make sure she puts the pen down."

"Oh, you'll be in a great mood. I'll let Robin know. We'll get the good coffee." He just shook his head and drained his water.

"What about you? This new author all you make her up to be?"

"It's called a secret weapon for a reason Zoro. if i went blabbing now, what would the point of it be?" she asked as he walked back over, taking stance again. He gave another look to the tattoo.

"What does she think of it?" his fists followed his voice. She caught both throws easily, going low to jab.

"I haven't shown her." And now that she was thinking about it, she felt more embarrassed. She'd almost kissed her. And Nami had been sure at the time that Vivi hadnt noticed anything. But the more she thought about, the more Nami realized that Vivi was just a good actor. Nami had been moving for the kill when the car roared up. There was no way it hadn't been obvious. If Vivi ever found out about the tattoo… if she recognized it. Nami's meger professional facade would shatter. She'd be damned a stalkerish mega fan wouldn't she? The book was shaping up to be huge, she would be popular, shipping wars could be dangerous things, from tabloid trash to reddit theories the rabbit hole was deep. Reputations were permanently scared.

"Why not?" Zoro dodged the jab, stepping into her guard.

Her career would be over,

Her reputation would be ruined,

She shrugged, "Just haven't. Figure what's the point before the books even out right?"

"What's the point of a tattoo in the first place?" he looked over her collection as she warred for her root, finally breaking away, blocking more of his punches.

"What's more hardcore then getting a picture stabbed into you?"

"Apparently showing it to your crush." Zoro backed up, bouncing on his heels, cocky grin in place. She was flushed red anyways, but her cheeks still burned.

"Was that a challenge?" she asked dead serious, stalking in, fists up.

"That hit a nerve?"

"You know what?" she started, swiping at him fast and hard, getting a kick out of his awkward shuffle with how many blows he had to duck. "I'll-" her phone buzzed. She paused. She took off the pads and went to her bag to pull it out. It was her impulse reminder.

"You'll what, show her?" He teased. Yeah. That's what she was going to say. Saved by the bell.

"I'll do as I damn please." She shot out, swiping the reminder off. If he was this playful, maybe he wasn't so bad off. She looked him over again. He had deep bags. Probably thought that if he wasn't sleeping anyways then he could work. A far cry better than the hungover heartbroken mess that attempted work that first week. But how much of this was Ace's bandaids? How little was his own progress?

She caught him scowling at someone, moving aggressively. She raised her hands ready to stop him, but she followed his eyes, a guy pulling a ball cap down, phone sliding into his pocket. She slung her bag, digging for her taser and keeping her hand on it, concealed. She followed after.

Zoro caught him against some weights, the rack shaking with the force Zoro used. The gym was crowded. Employees were moving in.

"Fucking creep, what are you doing filming her?" Zoro had his hands buried in the man's collar.

"Hey man take it easy you don't-" The man stopped when Zoro cocked a fist back. One of the bulkier employees grabbed his arm.

"Enough!" he said firmly. "Let go of him. We'll call the cops and get this sorted." he pulled Zoro back, another employee forcing his hand open. The man dropped, his hand going to his pocket. She stomped on his wrist, leaning down, grabbing the phone from his hand. She had timed it to allow him to unlock it. It was still recording, the idiot. She stopped it, went back. Watched it from the start.

"Miss, get off his hand." she glared at the employee. He at least looked ashamed at asking her that. She ground her foot back and forth, glaring the employee down, and then removed her foot. Satisfied with the whimper the creep gave.

"Couldn't have him deleting the evidence." She handed the phone over to the employee, while the other let go of Zoro. She looked around the crowded gym. Definitely not how she wanted the day off to go. Zoro was still wanting to kill the man. Which was one-third wonderful best friend, and two-thirds boiling rage.

"Come on, let's wait on the piggys over here. She tugged him around the corner, out of sight of the man.

"Should have tased him." he muttered.

"I do love arc blue." she smiled. "But i like this gym too."

…

Robin stepped from the shower, squeezing her waist length hair out in the tub as much as she could, before it went up in a heavy duty towel. It was heavy but with some work she managed to get it to stay. The room was steamy, the mirror completely fogged, she wiped a hand across it, getting a slightly better look at her face. Leaned in, examining her face. She'd gotten a new scrub to try, smelled nice, like a garden. And it had done the trick. She couldn't see any pimples. She gave a relieved sigh. And grabbed her second towel, drying the rest of her.

She took a full breath as she exited the bathroom, her lungs tasting cool air. She had picked out her night clothes, but she passed them up, stretching out along her bed, andher fingers reached out, dipping the blinds just enough for her to see the night sky. The wind threw the rain against the glass, each massive droplet smacking the glass, and the tree tops swung back and forth. Storm clouds were the sky, the umbra of purple promising a harsh winter, not far off. The wind shrieked, and pines smacked her window, casting shadows from the street light that gave her a ray of light every night.

Storms were cold, and made the trees dance in her shadows. She closed the blinds, twisting the rod slow, watching the light be cut out. No more shadow puppets. She pulled the chain on her nightstand light, and grabbed the socks she still hadnt returned. finding her towel had unwrapped itself from her waist. She leaned forward, running her fingers along the groove on her left calf, a gnarled scar there, and another on her hip, stretching from her waist, to the inside of her knee. There were more, on her other leg. Across her stomach, up. She ran a finger down the scar that lay between her breasts.

She shivered, the small of her back seizing. She pulled the socks on, warm against her skin, and pulled them as high as they would go. They just barely covered her calf scar. She pulled her legs in. her hands feeling the socks. Trying hard to remember being carried, trying harder to forget being carved. The tears came anyways. And so she did as she had always done. She laughed. It took effort, pushing each one through a sob. Through a mess of tears. But she did it. she laughed until her crying had given her a headache. And she fell to her side, exhausted. A fool, naked in bed aside from the man's socks.

She had splurged, and bought everyone a large. Only because she hadn't gotten much sleep. And it was the romance department's favorite. It was the only upside of the monthly close out meeting. In which the first four hours of the day were spent with cranky editors ripping into works with brutal efficiency. Red pens flew across the printer white pages. The smell of ink and coffee everywhere. She set the last cup in front of Zoro, knocking on his head with two fingers, rousing him from his nap.

"We aren't ready to proceed to line editing." Sanji said, pulling away from his manuscript.

"Sanji, the All blue trilogy can't be late, why even bring it if its not ready?" Nami asked, lowering her glasses.

"Something in it isn't right. And i can't spot it." he pinched his brow, a cigarette tucked behind his ear. "I know we should have cleared this hurdle last month, trust me, the author isn't happy about this issue later, but he agrees with me that we are missing something, and neither of us will move forward without fixing this.

"Perhaps this is just some middle book anxiety?" Robin asked, settling into her own chair. "If you can't find the issue, maybe there isn't one?" she pulled his manuscript from the pile, skimming the pages. Zeff was a veteran writer. His line editing was always fast, which was most likely the reason him and Sanji thought they could pull this crap.

"Its the conflict." Zoro said, tossing the manuscript into his done pile. "You resolve the primary conflict, but Carne gets shafted in the worst way once they set out. Patty just bowls over his hesitation with a kiss."

Robin watched Sanji frown, flipping to near the back of the book, scratching his soul patch.

"He's right." Perona was the next done, flipping the pages closed. "Fuck the kiss, tell the author to write out a heart to heart. Throw in a secret or a twist hook, or-"

"He'll make his favorite food. There's still the elephant tuna from the first book in the freezer. It'll make him feel loved enough to feel confident about confronting Patty." Sanji said, making a red note on the paper, and scratching swaths out.

"How long will that take Zeff?" Nami asked. Sanji shrugged.

"Depends on how much he wants to argue, three days? Five max, this is only his side job."

"It's your full job." Zoro bit, and Sanji set the script down, glaring over the edge of his glasses.

"I brought a full manuscript. What did you bring to the table?"

"Stop it. Both of you didn't bring anything for submission to our line editors. As far as i'm concerned you can share the dog house." Nami growled. "Perona, thank you, for having your work on time."

"Does that mean you'll approve Moria for a trilogy?"

"Not this book." Nami held up the script. "Creepy stalkerish love. Moria is in a deep niche inside another niche. If you can coax a manuscript out of him that doesn't make me hunt my room for cameras then i'll let Robin consider it."

"What a privilege." Robin smirked, casually flipping through the nearly hundred and half again pages Zoro had produced. "But she's right. Gifted wordsmith yes, best seller no." Perona slumped in her chair, giving a disdainful eye to Zoro's work.

"Zoro's author doesn't even have an email list, Moria has three hundred names already. I think-"

"TGS raked in triple what Thiller love did." Zoro cut in, glaring to the girl next to him.

"The list is growing, a trilogy now would boost his career."

"It would." Robin conceded. "But his stories are short as is. I'm not confident in his ability to produce a consecutive trilogy. And his works are poor fighters for February release dates."

"Then what if after this book, I work with him, and pitch an idea for an October release next year?" Robin took a sip of her coffee, Nami had a cocked head, open to the idea. Perona looked at Robin expectedly. She grabbed the script, rereading the last scene.

"Alright. A word of advice though, Moria should hone in on the fear play and less on the sadism. His action is cheap because every punishment is physical." the little goths eyes narrowed, and she tore through the papers again. She wasn't finding it though. Robin decided to take mercy on her. "The main character, whether Moria had the intention or not, exhibits alot of the symptoms of genophobia, while his ability to be practically unseen or heard is underutilised. I imagine if Moria were to take a similar pairing but introduce a fear play fetish to the secondary, that his work would lengthen enough that a trilogy might not be so far off."

"That's… brilliant, a pairing like that would be just so cute." Perona was red, Robin felt her smile weaken, and she took more of her coffee. "Sadism in their case would be a rather large commitment. Every mark, a touch of extreme love." The goth's pen was flying.

"It would depend on the person." Robin blurted out. She looked up, seeing the table staring at her. "A warning to write them carefully. Responsibly." she smiled. Perona nodded. The room felt stiff still.

"October would be a rather quick release date. But i trust you'll see to that." she looked to Nami.

"You got it chief." Robin smiled and neated Zoro's script in her hands, bouncing it on the table to line the pages up.

"Rather light Mr. Roronoa. Where are we on the other half of this book, which is supposed to be on shelves in less than four months?" He started to explain. Talking about his plan and his stay at the hospital. She tried, but she just couldn't pay full attention. Before she knew it they had slipped into a discussion about the middle build change, while she was still lost. That was it. She had said person, not character. Oh well even editors were allowed some bad word choice.

…

"What are you writing over there?" Kuina asked, flipping her pen through her fingers slowly, hesitating above the keyboard in front of her. He looked at his notebook, the start of a list there. He had one through five now, Kuina's name across the top spot. He'd been unable to think of anything to put up top.

"Nothing."

"Bullshit."

"What are you writing?" he scribbled the page out and flipped to a new one. Then glared at his sister. "Don't look like you're getting much work done."

"Yeah… I'm distracted."

"You know I took a reaming yesterday because of your distractions."

"I can't help it, there's this big oaf that's moved into my room, always brooding in the corner."

He snorted and shook his head, he ripped the paper off the spiral book, balled it up and tossed it at her. It bounced off her laptop. And she snatched it, opening it fast.

"You sneaky little-"

"Yup." she cut him off, looking at the back, then the front. "Is this your plan for world domination? I don't blame you for stopping at step one." she had a smile on, he just shook his head. "Oh come on, tell me!"

"How many pages have you finished?"

"Is seven enough?"

"Today?" she nodded. "No that's not enough!"

What about seventeen?"

"You just said seven…"

"If you tell me i'm sure it'll break my writer's block."

"Nami was right, I am letting you get too powerful. Letting you weasel your way around like this."

"Please, you couldn't stop me, the concept of you 'letting' me is hilarious. Now spill."

He gave a hefty sigh. "Ace and the clot all have these lists of important things. At the top was each other, then friends and goals and the trivial shit. Ace said it was all about perspective of priorities."

"Then why arent you up here with me?"

He shrugged.

"That's not an answer brat. You should always be a priority for yourself."

"And you're one to talk. We have impending deadlines, and all you want to do is talk about the things i do."

"I have my priorities in order. Thank you very much. Work would be in second place, maybe even in third, after all i do love that new dating show. Did you know in todays episode that the girl i was rooting for got kicked off?"

He closed his laptop. "You were rooting for a few of them, you'll have to be more specific." She closed her laptop as well, grabbing a remote.

"They have the rerun on at eleven." the T.V. flicked on.

Zoro adjusted in the chair, getting a better angle at the T.V. Kuina looked tired. He watched her lean back, sliding away the table with one hand. She could never just say she was tired. He got it. Understood why. He just wished it wasn't this way.

"Her." she pointed. He looked. She had black hair, chin length.

"Ah, the cop girl from loguetown. Why'd she get kicked off?"

"Its the climax this episode, so just wait."

She was asleep ten minutes in. But Zoro watched on. Stifled his laughter when she'd punched the guy onto his ass for a comment. The guy was a prick anyways. Kuina was probably happy for her. Still. It stung how much the two of them looked alike. Maybe that was why she rooted for her. He felt tears brim his eyes and a pain somewhere around his throat. He took a deep breath. Pinched the bridge of his nose. If he tried to sleep now, he'd just torment himself, thinking of all the vicarious ways his sister had to live. He got up, got water from his week bag. And opened back up his laptop, opening the shared file that had the book. And there, right at the bottom of the page, she left him a message.

Get some rest too. Ya oaf3

He yawned. Decided her list of priorities was probably better than his, and hooked the ottaman closer. He went without a blanket, closing the laptop, and letting its waning heat lull him to sleep.

He woke at the first rap on the door, followed by more, the light knocking... he knew it, but who? "Come in." he rubbed his eyes, the door swung open and he remembered he wasn't home. Nor at Ace's.

"Zoro, good morning." It was the doctor. He looked to the bed, where his sister was still asleep. The doctor had his clipboard.

"Should we wake her up?" he felt tense. If it was bad news he would tell Zoro first. Let him process, and then they'd wake her up. If it was good news, they'd get it at the same time.

"I think we should wake her up first." the doctor was smiling. Zoro huffed out a smile, rising so fast he had to catch the laptop before it fell. He shook her gently. She raised a hand weakly, trying to fend him off. But she was peeking one eye.

"Up sleepy head." he said, stepping away and opening the blinds. She pouted eyes still closed.

"Good morning Kuina." the doctor said, tapping the clipboard on the end of her bed.

"What's so good about it?" she asked, covering her head with a pillow.

"You tossed your coin against the devil, and today you won."

The pillow hit Zoro's face. It muffled her confused shout. He caught it as it fell, coming back into the conversation late form his own shock, elation.

"-Remission. We will still see you here very often though. For the next six months I want weekly visits, and if those go well then we can try for a twice monthly check ups for five years. We can also look into physical therapy, and there are considerations with the amount of lung taken in the surgery."

"But it's gone? The cancer is gone?"

"There are no signs of it… you've made incredible progress over this last year and some. I want to close out the chemo round though."

"And how long does she have left on that?"

"Two weeks. And a week of observation, to make sure she works it all out of her system. If all goes well, I could be kicking you two out by December."

Kuina had hands over her mouth, happy tears slipping free. Zoro was gap mouthed, he shook. Then he moved on instinct, engulfing his sister in his arms. She was frail. Small. And crying like a faucet.

"Christmas at home." Her voice cracked.

"No more-" Zoro was cut off by the sound of Kuina emptying her guts onto him. "-That."

"Sorry Zoro…" she had a hand covered in it, and looked up still smiling.

"Its fine." he laughed.

"A celebration, and vomit. I'd say we are off to a normal saturday." the doctor had pressed the nurse call button, and smiled as he offered a clean towel.

She'd worked. His sister could beat lung cancer, and to celebrate she worked. Furiously. Thirty pages kind of furious. Zoro ran a hand through his hair, typing away one handed, and using the shitty trackpad to fix the annoying red underlines. He'd managed to get through ten of the pages so far. But they were nearing the end. That's why his head snapped up when she stopped suddenly. He braced for her victory shout. Or if the pain was too bad, the hand drumming. But he got neither. She just looked at him.

"I wanna tell people Zoro."

"Tell who?" he asked, and she got a frustrated look.

"Exactly. I need people to tell. Some way to celebrate."

"We could take a field trip to Sunny, Sanji would fawn over you. And everyone who doesn't know you knows of you."

"But i've only met them a couple times."

"Well that's how friendships work, you start by meeting them once then-" he took the hand upside the head, just because he wanted to. "Okay, what about your old coworkers, maybe-"

"No… I wish I could tell dad."

"Alright. Let's do it. I'll get the incense for it and everything. We'll take a page out of his scroll. Pray."

"You? Pray?"

"No, I'm just a tourist in the temple. But I know you want to."

"Fine. We can tell dad. But if i'm out by December, I wanna come to the christmas party. Tell them ahead of time so i don't totally steal the show."

…

The chief's door opened and closed. Perona looked up and around. Everyone else had gone home. Robin was the last one out. Almost.

"Its monday… night." Robin said with a little yawn and a sweet smile. "What's so important that you're still here?"

"Moria was more than enthusiastic about the October idea. And your suggestions. I'm just…" she looked back at the computer, and the notebook of handwritten diagrams. "Sorting his brain a bit."

"And that's worth the overtime?"

"I clocked out at five. I'm just pirating your software and stealing tea." Tea. she'd forgotten about it. It was cold now, but still wet her throat.

"You don't drive right?"

"No why?" she looked out the window. Stormwinds batted the trees.

"Because i imagine you've missed the last bus. Would you like a ride?"

"I live close. I'll be done in a few more minutes."

"I used to think that too, early on. There's an inflatable mattress in the supply closet, and some bedding. Sanji has a space heater if you get cold."

"Thank you."

"Of course." Robin produced a key, laying it on Perona's desk. "A spare to the front doors. If you do make it home."

She grabbed the key, and Robin waved over her shoulder, letting out another yawn before she was gone. Perona flipped the key over in her hand a few times. She'd never been trusted with a key. Unless you could count the half year at the mall's hot topic. But half the customers had keys there. This was real trust. She wanted to use it. She set it infront of her monitor. Typing away at the last few lines of ideas, leaving feedback on the character ideas, and adjusting the proposed series of events, mapping them in a bubble graph.

She knew it was rough work. Raw creative ideas. Mostly disconnected. But she had lines on the bubble graph, more cohesion in his latest brainstorm then there'd been in his first novel submission. Which had actually been his fourteenth. Just the first one to hit her desk. Itd been a grueling three years. But this had fire behind it. Robin's advice had been spot on. She drew the last connecting line, and snatched the key. She'd scan the graph in tomorrow.

She twisted the key, feeling the lock slide closed. The wind threw her hair around, and she took a few steps back, pushing it aside to look up at the golden lion. She bit her lip, looking at the key again. Realizing that this is what it meant, picking a path. Lifting a cause. She'd found Moria's work. Wholly unique. Niche on niche. Truly one of a kind. And they had a shot at a trilogy.

"Dyke!" she turned, scowl ready. It was the early morning, so she was expecting some drunk asshole. There was more than enough graffiti on the sides, just this morning she'd seen a- oh. It'd been painted over. Strange. But she faced the man again. Only it wasn't one. It was three. And they did not look drunk as they marched on, their clothes flailing in the wind, their voices harsh, cocky but she couldn't make out their words. Her hand sunk to her small purse, rooting around for her mace. She couldnt find it. She started to step back, looking fully in her purse but it wasn't there.

"Whacha looking for?"

"You're balls!" she called, giving up on the mace and unslinging the cute, tiny, light purse. It wasn't even a real chain, cheap plastic that looked bright. She was royally fucked. "Too small i guess." she stepped back, wobbling on her heels. They weren't more than a dozen paces. And the street light flickered.

"Oh is that right." the third said, licking his lips, looking her up and down. She turned, tried to run. But she didn't make it far. Her scream was lost in the wind as a foot tripped her. She hit the sidewalk hard, flipping to her back in time to see she was surrounded. "You look good girly." he said over the wind, leaning down. She kicked out, landing one to his head, and another against the man who caught her legs. Wrangling them, and the first was on her, pulling her arms over her head as the third recovered, the rain just starting as his hand, ice cold, gripped her throat. He got close, a horrid smile on his face.

"Go on… scream for me."

"Enough!" a voice cut through just as the wind died down. The second man looked up, releasing her legs instantly and backing up.

"Shit." the first said his hands going up backing away. "Calm down man, put that away!"

"Hell no! Look at yourselves, you're not men! Your wild dogs." She saw a boot kick aside the third and final man. She caught the glint of something steel, reflected poorly in the flickering street lamp. "You know what we used to do with wild dogs?" the new comer aimed the weapon at all three. "Wanna stick around and find out?" He growled. They fled. Shouting and cursing about vengeance as they went.

She scrambled onto the man's legs, using him to crawl up to her feet, watching them run until she lost sight of them.

"Are you okay?" she looked, finding herself draped over him, one of his dark arms around her waist supporting her. But he had his hand free, no fingers on her.

"Thank you." her fingers dug into his shirt. Her head on his chest.

"Don't thank me, just thank them for being that stupid." he guestered the weapon.

It was a spray-paint gun. She pulled back, finding paint all over him. She looked around, suddenly wondering where he had come from, and finding the answer in a mess of cans nestled against the two steps from the building. She let go of him.

"Are you the fuck who keeps tagging our wall?"

"What? No no, look, i'm covering it." he threw his hand over to the wall, the warmth of his other leaving her back. She got closer, seeing that not only was he covering it, it was with his own art. Scenes from last year's books, including one of hers. She looked back. Looking him over carefully. Black curly hair back in a bandana. A hoodie covering overalls, dots and streaks of color all about him. And a long nose.

"Who are you?"

"Usopp… i uh, i know some of the people who work here, and i kinda do this free lance."

"Why?"

"I uh, just trying to be an ally?" he shrugged. She hooked a thumb at his work.

"You read them?"

"Nami talks a lot during her sessions."

"Sessions?"

He dug in his pocket, removing a business card. "I'm on the up and up, I'm the one who gives her ink." the wind picked up again, and the man looked down the street both ways. "Look i'm still kinda freaked about what happened, i think i'm calling it a night. Can i uber you home or something?"

"I live two blocks away." rain hit her face and she scowled. Carefully dabbing it with her sleeve. "Could you walk me?"

"Yeah, yeah, let me just-" he crouched by the stairs, and started throwing his cans into a pack, and slung it. Her legs still shook. Not that it showed under her dress. And the way her legs froze in the wind there were definitely a few tears. "Alright. Which way?" she took a step towards him, wrapping her two arms on one of his, feeling a layer of muscle even under the hoodie.

"This way." she pulled him, and he followed without a complaint.

"I didn't catch your name."

"Its Perona."

"Of course, the goth with the creepy stories." she dug her nails into his arm.

"There not creepy, they're unique."

He laughed. "They can be both," he suggested. "But they are, undeniably creepy." he had a serious voice at the end.

"I suppose." she loosened her grip. "But they are good."

"I know, Delilah Undead was phenomenal."

"You've read that?" That was her first book with Moria. She'd sold five hundred copies the entire first year. It was a flop by all standards.

"And Ghasten cried because she was dead, laughed because she sang, and loved, because her heart beat again, even if tragically, it pumped the ichor of their chaos." He quoted the last line just how she imagined it would've been on a screen at the movies.

"Do you like books like that?"

"In a way that keeps me up at night, wondering about vampiric necromancers needing my luxurious skin tone."

"Or ghosts with just enough power to talk, driving you mad with their evil suggestions." she countered.

"Oh, stalkers with tranq darts and a crossbow." he said excitedly. She pfft'd him and smiled, looking at the buildings, not minding the rain or wind.

"Hired hunters with bolo's and permission to take the property used."

"Chinese water tortuers and syringes full of potent aphrodisiacs."

They both shuddered at that one. And she nearly laughed when they both checked around them nervously. Then she faced him again, slowing her pace.

"Sadist with no orgasmic satisfaction." she said. He nodded, taking her pace, and she leaned on his shoulder.

"Oh that's good."

"Yeah?" she asked, stopping, looking forlornly at the three steps that lead up to her apartment building. "It's in a book he's writing right now."

"I'm looking forward to it." He had a nice smile. She could tell better, as the light on her street actually worked. She let her fingers trail his arm as she let go.

"Thank you, for saving me, and the walk."

"Thank you for the talk. Too few fans of the creepy stuff." she let him go fully, walking up the steps, digging out her keys, and looked back. He was still there, watching the streets, until he found her staring.

"Sorry, just making sure you got in safe."

"Do you want to come up? I have tea, or... tequila. If you wanted to talk more?" he smirked.

"I'd like that." he stepped closer, up onto her step. Close. Enough so that she had to look up at him. She could fit her whole head under his chin. She bit her lip again, swinging the door out, moving to the elevators. She pressed the button several times. Hearing the man's easy gait behind her.

They waited in silence, boarded in silence. And then the doors closed with a chime.

"Do you know what Autassassinophilia is?" She asked, taking her time with the word. He shook his head, his hands resting on the bar behind him. She stepped forward as the elevator climbed, grabbing his hoodie by the draw strings and crashing their lips together. He was shocked at the first kiss, audibly so with the second, but by the third he had caught up, his arms at her sides, twisting them so she was against the front, pinned against the wall, gently. And he deepened the kiss, lasting until her lungs burned, and he pulled back with a desperate inhale. Both panting as the doors chimed open. She jingled her keys.

"If you want to know more, follow me, but I warn you-" she turned, stepped out with a flair in her hips. "-it's a trap."