Chapter 12: Date with the Daughter of Death
On a square looking out from the side of a mountain over the West Blue's brilliant waters stands a short girl in glasses, dressed in an shamelessly expensive emerald-green dress. The busy crowd of people anxiously flows around her, as if she was surrounded by invisible walls. She is Minny Cassho, whose father, Marcus, has the most blood on his hands than all other families of the west combined.
But then Koby steps forward, dressed in a tropical shirt and white jeans. The crowd watches in horror as he approaches Minny, before stretching out a bouquet of flowers.
-Holy moley, did you get this for me? You're the best! Minny jumps into Koby's arms, making him drop the flowers.
-Yeah, yeah, well, it's only our third… meeting, but I wanted to get you something nice! Koby awkwardly steps away from Minny.
-O-o-oh, sorry, Minny turns away to hide her blushing.
-No, it's quite alright, it's just… I have trouble getting too close to other people, Minny got goosebumps, misinterpreting the fumbling excuse as mysterious angst. The hidden Transponder Snail in Koby's ear coughed in his ear, reminding him of his mission.
-But anyhow, should we get going? If your mom's cooking is half as good as yours, it's going to be a meal to remember!
-You dummy, all I did was try to grill marshmallows in your fireplace and we ended up having to call the firefighters!
-And they said to me that it smelled very good! Minny laughed and pulled Koby with her to one of the many motorbike taxis around the square.
-Hey, how much for a ride over to Lusso Hills?
-Lusso Hills? I ain't driving some rich, snobby… The driver looked up from the newspaper he was reading.
-H-hi, Minny! How much for a ride over to that good ol' Lusso Hills? Well, for a darling like you, it's free!
-Are you sure? Minny reached for her wallet.
-No, no, of course not! Come on, let's get over there!
Koby and Minny sat down next to each other; even though he was bad at reading people, he could tell she felt shame over the driver's reaction. He decided to cheer her up.
-So, to pick up where we left off last time; who would win in a fight, Garp or Sakazuki? Minny laughed; classic navy heroes were her and Koby's joint interest.
-Sakazuki has a Devil Fruit power, Garp is old and hasn't been on the battlefield for years!
-No! Garp has more experience, especially in hand-to-hand combat! Minny laughed while Koby got extremely riled up as they traveled through Valentina.
Even distracted by the debate, Koby noticed Valentina change around him; narrow streets in-between run-down houses turned into large roads edged by large villas.
Cassho's house was so majestic that when Koby pushed the doorbell he expected the whole house to fall over like a prop in a play.
-Okay, before we go in, Minny turned to Koby.
-I want you to know that my dad has driven a lot of my previous boyfriends away, and I don't want the same thing to happen to you, Minny stared into Koby's eyes, putting her trust in him. Koby smiled and nodded, completely missing her signals.
The door ominously creaked as it opened.
-Hello, Marcus Cassho grumbled. The man was absolutely massive; his eyes were like little beads of darkness. Those eyes had surely been the last thing many poor souls had seen.
-H-hi dad, this is Koby! To Koby's surprise, Marcus smiled.
-Well, come in, come in! My wife has just finished this delicious cooked ham!
The inside of the Cassho home was just as gaudy as the outside; paintings of family members adorned the walls, humongous chandeliers dangled over Koby's head and everything was adorned in white or gold.
After quickly scanning the entire house for incriminating evidence and finding nothing, Koby sat down at the table. Esmeralda, the family housewife, placed a sizzling hot ham in front of him
-When I heard we were having a guest, I just had to do something special! Esmeralda wiped off some sweat.
-That's my wife! Marcus slapped Esmeralda in the back. She twitched in fear like she felt threatened. After a moment of suffocating silence, Esmeralda sat down and they began to eat.
-Sooo, Koby, what does your father work with? Esmeralda asked.
-Eeeeeehm, well, my father is dead, the room turned even more awkward.
-Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, Esmeralda looked genuinely worried while Marcus sat completely still and nodded his head, like he was computing information.
-No, no, it's fine!
-Oh, okay. Well, how did you and Minny meet? Esmeralda changed the subject.
-Well, a few days ago! We just kind of clicked!
-How long have you been living in Valentina?
-E-ehm, a few months, how so? Koby responded, feeling the tension grow. Beside him, Minny rolled her eyes.
-Oh, no specific reason. Now…
After rapid-firing through a couple of more questions, Minny handed over a note under the table. "Dad's making her say this, I'm sorry!" coupled with a sad face."It's fine!" Koby wrote on the other side and handed the note back. After dinner was finished, Koby stood up and bid farewell.
-Oh, wait, before you go, I would like to exchange a couple of words, Marcus spoke up for the first time the entire evening.
Marcus shuffled Koby out on the front porch to avoid his daughter hearing.
-Okay, kid, I want you to know something. Minny brings in a new guy every other week; she gets easily attached and a lot of guys around towns want a taste of this family's power. Do you understand? Koby nodded.
-But I don't want my daughter to end up with some slacker that just wants to go around flexing our last name. So, if you want to be a part of this family, you have to be able to step up and be a man when I want you to. Do you understand?
Koby tried to back away from Marcus, only to end up pinned between him and the wall.
-Do you understand? The mafia boss repeated with lethal intensity.
-Y-yes, I'm at your service! Marcus stepped back and smiled.
-Well, that's great; most guys give up right here. Go, one of my guys will drive you home! Marcus gave Koby a friendly smack on the shoulder, sending him away. Koby sat in silence, processing the night's events.
-So, what did you learn? Hina started questioning as soon as Koby returned.
-Ehm, well, they don't seem to have anything incriminating in the house, and I have learned its entire layout…
-Those are both things we already knew; what did you learn about the organization's structure? The family's personal life? Hina sounded desperate.
-Relax, it would be strange if Cassho decided to immediately spill the beans to his daughter's boyfriend, Smoker laid a calming hand on Hina's shoulder.
-He did mention one thing; if I wanted to continue my "relationship" with Minny, I would have to "step up and be a man" whatever that means.
-Really? That's perfect! It means that he'll probably call on you to do something, and whatever that is could be a critical piece of evidence, Hina cheered up.
The meeting came to a close and the crew went to bed; Koby slept next to the Transponder Snail, always ready for a call from Cassho. After waking up early the next morning, Smoker called to check up on X Drake.
-Okay, so you're saying you recruited a full ship of hired killers, uncovered a government conspiracy and gained my crew's respect?
-Yes, and also I physically can not go to the toilet from my wounds. I've never needed to sleep so much in my life, over and out.
Smoker scratched his head while Hina opened the door behind him.
- I just had the most confusing phone call in my entire life. Where are you going?
-Hina's got some business around town. Call me the second something happens!
-What bu… Smoker was interrupted by the door slamming shut.
Hina took a motorbike taxi to the exact opposite end of town; the run-down slums where the Cassho gained their wealth. She found the address she had been given; a run-down apartment building. The doorbell nearly fell off the wall when she rang it.
-I'm coming, I'm coming! A screeching voice shouted from inside the apartment. A woman, made to look older than she was from a lifetime of stress, opened the door, a cigarette hanging lazily out of her mouth,
-Hi, mom.
Hina sat down in the cramped kitchen, overwhelmed by the smell of cigarette smoke. Dirty dishes were piled up in the sink and the wallpaper was hanging down to the ground.
-You really need to move out of here; it's getting ridiculous.
-Oh, half a year since we last saw each other and you immediately begin complaining? I've barely gotten a single letter since then! Hina immediately dropped the subject and waited silently while her mother lit another cigarette.
-Well, Hina's back! I'm here to finish what dad started, so you can live sa…
-You're here for what!? Hina's mother interrupted.
-No, no, no, I am not letting my only child throw away her career on some suicide mission against the Cassho. Especially not if it's to follow your deadbeat father!
Hina stood up, pushing away the table.
-Don't talk about dad like that! I understand that you can never forgive him, and neither can Hina, but he lived for something good! Hina won't let that be forgotten!
-But it is forgotten! Like all the poor fools that come to this island, this sea, hoping that just they can change it! They're forgotten! Go do something good with your life instead of wasting it on hopeless ideas!
The mother and the daughter stood still for a couple of seconds, staring at each other. Eventually, the Transponder Snail in Hina's purse rang.
-I have to go! She stomped out of the apartment and out on the street. From her small, stained window her mother looked on.
-Foolish child, foolish…
Even though she paid the driver extra to go fast, Hina arrived late in the evening. Opening the hotel room door, she ended up in very awkward eye-to-eye contact with Koby preparing to jump off the balcony.
-Wait, wait, wait! It's not what it looks like! I just received a call from Marcus! Apparently there's something going down by the slums, so I'll Moon Walk over there! Hina let out a deep sigh of relief.
-The recording snails are ready; Koby, you're free to go! Smoker shouted from the other end of the room. With a casual skip, Koby leaped out into the free air. No matter how many times he did it, looking at the people below his feet as he flew through the air never stopped feeling incredible to Koby.
In fifteen minutes he found the address Marcus had given him; a small alleway. Deep in there was a heavy iron door. Koby took a deep breath, and went in. On the hard concrete in front of him was a man bleeding to death. Next to him, carrying a bloodstained hammer, was Marcus Cassho.
-You want to be a part of my world? Carry this corpse out to the car. You don't? Leave Valentina and never return.
Koby tried to analyze the situation. In between Koby and the dying man a fish-man clad in navy uniform. He was eight-feet, his skin covered in dark-gray stripes, probably a tiger-shark.
-So? Hurry up. Make your choice, Marcus' eyes stared into Koby's. At that moment, both knew what was going to happen.
-Shave!
Koby appeared behind the Fish-Man. Not even processing what was happening, he turned around and started punching Koby, quick like a shark on the hunt..
-Paper Art!
Koby's body flowed back and forth, dodging the punches. Even so the fish-man's fists got dangerously close to Koby multiple times.
-I have to defeat this guy if I want to save the man on the ground!
-Finger Pistol!
The Fish-Man catched Koby's finger in mid-air. An ominous smile spread out over his stoic face.
-Fish-Man Boxing: Infinite Brick-Busting Punch!
Koby threw himself to the ground to avoid the attack. For a few seconds, everything stood still before a large, perfectly round hole appeared in the wall behind Koby.
-I see you use the Six Powers; you must be sent by the Navy.
-Omir, are you saying I let Navy scum into my home? Marcus shouted.
-It seems so, Omir responded.
-Crap. Well, I know his address. Send a squad to his hotel! Koby shivered. He felt despair encroach upon his psyche, but he steadied himself. Pushing off the ground he created a small Tempest Kick. When it hit the ceiling, a thick cloud of dust came down. While the gangsters were on the ground coughing Koby grabbed the dying man and Moon Walked out the window.
-W-what the hell's going on? The man coughed out.
-Don't worry, it's going to be okay, Koby struggled to believe his words. The sensation of jumping through the air had lost all magic as he was overwhelmed by the fear and stress. After what felt like an hour he managed to find the hotel.
With a heavy thud he laid down the man on the hotel room floor.
-What the hell's going on? Your audio cut out half an hour ago! Smoker's cigar fell out of his mouth.
-Jig is up, Cassho goons are coming! Where do we go next? Hina didn't hesitate for a moment before giving out orders.
-We can't trust the Navy and we can't stay in any hotels; our only option is my mother's apartment. You all know the adress; Smoker, Tashigi, get this man to the hospital. Koby, follow me to my mother.
-I'm sorry, I can't. I have someone to make amends to, Koby and Hina looked at each other for a long while. With a smile and a nod, Hina put her trust in Koby to do the right thing. Once again, he jumped out the window.
He dashed dangerously fast over to the Cassho home. Minny was up studying in her room and almost fell out of her chair when Koby knocked on the window.
-What's going on!?
-I…don't have time to fully explain. I understand if you can't forgive me for manipulating you, but the reason we began "dating" was so that I could get closer to your dad; I'm from the Navy.
Minny stood still, working through what Koby was saying.
-Were any of your feelings real? An awkward glance was more than enough to answer.
-You were an amazing friend, but I'm not into romance. I'm sorry, but I need to take down your fa…
-No, no, no! Minny stopped Koby.
-Everytime I try to make a new boyfriend, my dad drives them away, always expecting them to be "part of the family". I'm sick of it! He's locked me and mom into this bird cage just to maintain his messed up business!
Right then and there, Marcus' silhouette appeared in the door frame. Taking one long look at him, Minny turned around and embraced Koby. They both jumped out into the free night-air, leaving Marcus behind.
Not going to lie, 90% of the things I added to Koby's character come from striving to maintain the proud tradition of One Piece characters being heavily neuro-divergent coded.
