One Piece: The Musician
Chapter 11: Deceit is a Difficult Thing to Accept
Many say beauty is only skin-deep. Arina had always agreed. For this and other reasons, she had always known that in this world, for every friend that she made, there was someone out there, hating her more and more. Made out to be the infamous hypocrite, she was. But as conceited as it may sound, Arina never asked to be pretty. In fact, she had always wondered what people really thought of her. But she always pushed thoughts like these out of her mind. It made her feel uncomfortable, like a spoiled princess complaining about her dollhouse not being big enough.
And then there was her life-changing dilemma. When Hiro was alive, Arina knew that becoming a pirate would have to wait. Part of her was relieved because she knew it wasn't her fault. She was forced to stay. But now that Hiro was dead, what was holding her back? Was it really the tavern? Was it really Rhea? Did it have anything to do with the fact that she had stopped making friends three years ago? Or was it…
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Arina's train of thought was often interrupted by her busy and unpredictable life and this was no exception. The night was awfully quiet, but suddenly a flash of light exploded through her dark curtains. Arina knew full well that it was the dead of night. No sooner had she got up, there was a pounding at her door. Someone was yelling through the crack.
"Arina! I REALLY suggest you come out and see this!"
"All right, all right. Gimme a sec."
"No! NOW!"
"Okay, okay."
She ran out the door, tumbled down the stairs and out the exit. Her gut told her to run out to the harbor, so she did. The moment the wood creaked under her feet, something turned in Arina's stomach and she immediately vomited. That was how horrible the scene was. The sight was enough to make her throw up.
That same flag with a skull and a gun to its temple.
As the silent vessel glided closer and closer to port, the fear increased, increment by increment. She gripped her sword until her knuckles turned white. It was limpid to Arina that she could easily take out tens of hundreds of men with ease, but Sanjiro had a terrifying grip on her. It was the psychological impact that hindered her skills worthless. It was what she knew he was capable of that scared her.
So, when the ship stopped at the dock with a thump and the plank was lowered, Arina was trembling. Either from a paroxysm of fear or anger or both. Tap, tap, tap. The footsteps were light and an elegant man stepped onto the dock and laid eyes on Arina the exact same place his father did. Late twenties, tall, dark, handsome. Arina heard several young girls gasp behind her and/ or squeal excitedly, but she loathed him. The man stopped inches away from her and knelt down. He gently took her hand and kissed it. Then, not letting go he stood up and looked at her with soft eyes. Kissing her hand again, neither said a word.
One of them had to break the silence. He did it first.
"I still want you Arina," he whispered.
"I still hate you Sanjiro, so I guess we cancel each other out, don't we?" she said out loud. Random snickers were heard and a loud Ha! from Sanji.
But Arina's moment of confidence had passed as quickly as Sanjiro's face had turned evil. An almost maniacal grin crossed his face and a sick sense of déja vu returned to her. A slideshow of memories came flooding back in flashes. The cliff, the blood, Hiro's vetruvian stance. She looked out to the sea and then whipped out her sword.
"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you now."
Sanjiro sneered disdainfully at the sword.
"It's amazing how oblivious this town is to my existence. To this day, they still don't know that, three years ago, all of them could have died in one night. Why is that Arina? Oh that's right. Because you know I could wipe them out in one good sweep."
The townspeople looked from one to another. None had a clue about what was happening.
Sanjiro stepped towards an old woman.
"My dear. Do you know what happened to Arina's husband?"
The lady nodded.
"He drowned after falling over a cliff."
"Tsk, tsk. Is that was Arina told you?"
"I trust Arina."
"You, my dear," his voice grew louder, "And all of the townspeople! You are gullible and have been fooled by this liar!"
A murmur descended on the crowd. He laughed and continued.
"Arina Blackbeard murdered my brother in cold blood! And then she dumped him over the cliff into the sea!"
It was the town's turn to laugh.
"Our little Arina? Kill Hiro? The love of her life? HAHAHA!"
Even the Straw-Hat pirates had to laugh. They knew that something gruesome had happened to Arina and Hiro three years ago, but the idea of her killing him was ludicrous. Only Zoro wasn't smiling.
The grin never left Sanjiro's face.
"I have half a thousand men who say otherwise…"
A man stepped forward and pointed an accusing finger at Sanjiro.
"And who the hell are you! You haven't even been in our town for half an hour and you have the nerve to go accusing our most prominent citizen of murder?"
There was a collective gasp and Arina was sure that the man was going to lose his head. However, in her mind, she was feeling slightly giddy. Arina knew full well that the townspeople would never trust Sanjiro over her. The grin on Sanjiro's face only widened.
"That's true. I have yet to show you evidence…But I digress… Arina?" He took her hand and consequently, she slapped it away. Recoiling, he smiled. "Arina, why don't you come with me? I want to show you something…"
It struck Arina as strange that Sanjiro would have anything to show her, but she knew that Sanjiro wanted something from her. So he wouldn't kill her right out. He couldn't kill her.
She followed him to the ship and just as she stepped onto the plank, Sanji stepped in.
"Arina. You don't have to do this."
"I know. But I think that if I don't, I will miss out on something very important. And I hate being left in the dark. Now go get Zoro for me."
Sanji called Zoro over and he heeded with a bewildered look. In a low voice she murmured to him.
"If I don't come back by dawn. There is something very important taped under my bed. I want your crew to run away with it if I die."
"Why are you telling me?"
Arina smiled. "I figure you'd care the least." Then, she disappeared onto the ship. Neither Zoro nor Arina realized how inaccurate those words would be.
End.