A/N: Hey, guys! I know it's kind of late but you guys have been so great with the favorites and follows that I just had to post it. Especially since I got four reviews last chapter! *Does happy dance* Four reviews means chapter four goes up as a celebration!
Jag: Thank you. I was rather proud of myself too! And now it's three in a row. High five! I was rather worried that I was getting peoples hopes up with Ace but I couldn't see a way around it. Man, if his death wasn't so important... *sighs moodily*
Adelaide's Anagram: What a long review! It made me so happy. Seriously! I had a meeting and I read had to read it all before I went in, I was so excited. Thank you so much. I was really worried about how my OC was working into the story since we started at Marineford which is rather hectic. And I'm so glad that all of my characters are where they should be! That's always my main concern. As for the name, I wasn't even really thinking about that. The reason I picked Mata Hara as a name is actually due in part from a woman named Mata Hari. She was a traitor - one of the most vicious female spies - in World War I. Not the best human but I thought that she was intriguing. I was really viewing it as two names but I like the ring of the whole name.
DarkTombraider: Thank you so much! That such a huge compliment. I always want to have intriguing, different OCs.
midnight1997: I'm so unbelievably happy that you like my OC. I hope she continues to be interesting and that you like this update!
Chapter Four: Show Them What You Got
Two Years Later
Exactly two years, one week, three days and four hours after Mata Hara had made a promise to one Monkey D. Luffy, a ebony haired girl could be seen standing boldly on the railing of a small Kuja tribe ship from the coast of Sabaody Archipelago. If anyone from the shore would have had any reason to take notice, they would have seen a dark, lean figure weighed down by a series of leather bullet belts.
In Mata Hara's limited experience, two years wasn't supposed to make that much of a difference. Her abilities in the Marines had grown very slowly. She had thought that that was the way of the world. What she couldn't see was that limited attention from her superiors had severely weakened her. The Navy was meant to push out mass not enhance individuals to their highest potential. All of this had become painfully apparent under the attentive instruction of both the Kuja tribe women and the Dark King himself.
What she had originally lost in weight, she had gained back in muscle. Her wavy black hair now reached her waist, twin braids framing either side of her face. Around her neck, a red bandana was tied neatly, bandages corseting her chest and shorts just below that. Twin revolvers sat low around her hips.
"It isn't a trap, Mats," Luffy sighed, coming forward to lean over the railing at her feet. Unsettling jade eyes snapped down to the boy, Mata's face an indifferent mask.
"It's two years," the girl whispered, grabbing hold of one of the nearby lines to steady herself as the ship came into dock. "How do we know that they'll even be here?"
His teeth flashed in a toothy grin, rubbing his nose. "They're my friends. They'll be here."
There was no way to argue with him, Mata thought moodily, watching him grab a bag that looked like it contained a whole entire city and shrugging into it. Frowning after him, she watched as Boa stopped him and they chatted for a moment before the plank was lowered and Luffy disembarked. If it had been up to them, she would have stayed on that island for the rest of her life, safely away from any danger and more importantly, any Marines.
"Luffy's Bodyguard!" Mata's shoulders tensed at the familiar voice and then slowly turned, giving the raven-haired princess a stiff bow. Boa Hancock had never bothered to learn Mata's name. All she needed to know was that the girl was less beautiful than the princess and that she was Luffy's protector rather than valid love interest. Boa gave her a stern look. "You must protect my love. With your life."
"Dammit," Mata breathed, hiding her expression with one final bow before leaning over to grab her satchel and flipping off the side of the ship and to the dock below where a few civilians skittered away to avoid being taken down by an errant foot. Scowling, she waited a moment for Luffy. "Just know that I don't approve."
"Aw, come on, Mats," Luffy laughed, pulling his cloak hood lower over his face. "It'll be fun."
Mata didn't say what she was thinking as she followed after her captain, keeping the description of the holding cells at Marineford and Impel Down to herself. Instead she focused on running a finger over everything that she past, most especially all the weapons.
"If you keep looking like that, you're going to drive away all the people," Luffy whined softly to her, catching her eyes as she glanced at him from the corners. Glumly, she noted that he was still taller than her by an inch or so. She had hoped that that would have somehow changed on the long voyage here.
"I don't know what you mean."
"You're doing that scowl - snarl thing that you always do-"
"Are you trying to irritate me?"
"Seriously. Stop it. We're trying to stay low-"
"I am low key. I don't have a giant backpack filled with food on me. You should stop it-"
"No, you-"
Luffy bumped into someone, sending the giant, beer bellied man flying backward, a gun still in his hands. For a moment, neither noticed, their eyes still locked in a furious battle of wills but at the gasp both of them stopped.
Sabaody seemed to be a relatively peaceful island, with multi-colored bubbles popping all around them and trees reaching up through the colorful shops to create a leaf ceiling. Mist shadowed the area where the sky should be, creating a dewy, dreaminess that Mata had never come across. All in all, it seemed to be a place with low drama and general kindness. It was part of the reason why she hadn't pick pocketed anyone.
That was also why is was odd that they had seemed to attract a crowd, shivering villagers lining the path on either side. Mata Hara's eyes narrowed on the group of people standing just in front of them. All of them were dusted in dirt like fresh powdered donuts and they looked almost eerily familiar, like places you go to as a kid. All of them seemed to be on the disproportionate with faces that seemed to bulky for bodies or bodies that seemed to robust for normalcy.
"You knocked him over," Mata murmured, nodding in the direction of the man with the straw hat who was still sprawled out on the ground, his friends looking on in enraged awe. Luffy still hadn't turned around.
"Oh, did it hit you?" Luffy finally called back. "Sorry. Bye."
There was something wrong about the aura's pulsing around us, their lines wavering with nerves - fear. Mata's eyes narrowed, lasering in on a skeletal figure looming in the back of the pack of eight, a long nose protruding from a witchy face. The woman was so thin and spindly that for a moment Mata thought she might have been a grotesque puppet, her hair a frizzy black that poofed from her skull with blonde roots.
"WAIT A MINUTE!" Straw hat suddenly screamed, leaping to his feet with an energy that honestly impressed her. Mata's fingers grazed over her revolvers, watching the man's monstrous approach.
Beside her, Luffy sighed, glancing up to the sky. "This isn't good…"
"This is why you're my captain," Mata sighed, drawing her revolvers and aiming them at the man so quickly that he stalled out. "I'm gonna have to ask you to stop right there, pumpkin. This is a no hands zone and the way you're looking at my friend here makes me think that you want to get a little handsy."
From the back of the group, there was a loud splitting cackle and Mata's eyes narrowed to slits as she caught sight of the sickly green eyes of the witch woman.
"Mata," Luffy snapped and although her face remained coolly impassive, her lips tightened, her fingers flexing on the triggers of her revolver.
"Boss," Mata replied back evenly and Luffy gave her a grin, staring at her with a warning. Shooting him a glare, she cussed fouly causing a few mothers in the crowd to gasp and cover their child's ears. In a flurry of movement, her revolvers were back in their holster and her arms were crossed, eyes turned to the ground.
Fattie laughed pompously, walking past Mata with a smirk and a pinch to her cheeks so that he could stand beside Luffy. Mata's palms itched, her daggers so close at her thighs. If she reached just a little lower than they would be there.
"I think you realize now how audacious your actions were." A ginger haired girl with a toothy grin put her arm around Mata's shoulder, not catching the dangerous glint in the girl's eyes.
"Pointing a gun at the captain. Not smart," the girl giggled before turning her attention to Luffy who currently had the straw hat's beefy arm on his head. "That's why you two are so scared you can't even talk!"
"I'm more afraid of doing the dishes," Mata groused, earning her a sharp glance from ginger.
"A few moments ago, a man who has a long nose," the big, bulky man in a mask started. "And a woman with long hair messed with us, so our captain is in a bad mood. You better apologize now. Kneel on the ground!"
"Aw, hell no," Mata snarled, shoving back against the ginger girl's tightening hold as the green eyed witch gave another cackle and Mata realized that she had a lazy eye. And that she also might be a little out of her mind.
"You don't want to throw your life away with just one mistake," a blue haired guy with obnoxiously large forearms drawled, gnawing at the end of a lit cigarette. "Our captain pulls his trigger very easily."
So do I, Mata thought snarkily, only holding her tongue at Luffy's sharp glance. Growling, she shoved the ginger away with a hand to the face.
"I'm really sorry," Luffy said after a long pause and Mata finally brought up a heel to kick the leechy little cretin away from her. "We better go now!"
And with the next step he took, he knocked the straw hat guy over again. It all happened in slow motion. The guy was so sluggish that Mata could have yawned if she wasn't too busy debating whether or not she should step in.
But a puny attack like this would never have gotten to her captain. She had watched Luffy train and she knew above everything else that he had not only developed his haki to near perfection but that he could move about as quick as her. And his moves weren't even based around agility like hers were.
Deftly, Mata moved out of the way as all five went slamming to the ground like fallen trees. She nudged at the bigger, masked one, sighing.
"Boss," she called, eyeing the pistol in the straw-hatted one's fingers. "Can I-?"
"No." Mata glanced back at her captain indifferently before sighing and jogging to catch up with Luffy.
"I'm starting to think that being a Marine was about as fun as being a pirate is," she muttered, catching Luffy's smirk. "You never let me pickpocket."
"Maybe I should put it on." Luffy pulled out a ridiculous looking mustache with a red nose. Mata grimaced. He smiled at her. "Hancock gave it to me. Isn't she nice?"
"Please don't put that on."
"Mata! Mata, look! It's reacting," Luffy suddenly whispered, his palm upturned and showing a vivre paper which twitched lightly in his hand. "I think it's this way."
Mata didn't respond, keeping a wary eye out for the crowd. They had drawn a lot of attention with that fight before and there seemed to be an odd amount of pirates milling around.
The paper inched right and Mata warily peered down the alley that it was going towards. Five ragged, bleeding men were sprawled out while five others laughed over their carcasses.
"Put it on," Mata whispered, quickly taking the mustache and shoving it onto his face.
"There seem to be a lot of pirates around," Luffy mused as they moved farther into the town. The ebony haired girl gave a slow nod, her fingers sliding to the revolvers at her hips. Suddenly, his eyes went wide. "Oh, you guys!"
Standing in the middle of the lane, were a blonde and a rather portly man with a shock of green hair. The other one was dressed sharply with a permed poof of blonde hair.
"Hey!" the blonde exclaimed, pointing at us in shock. Mata's eyes narrowed. Their aura's pulsed with anxiety. "Friends! You both need to come with us."
"If you just come quietly than we won't have any trouble." A slow growl slithered from the ebony haired girl's lips. That sounded a lot like a threat. Greenie gulped, his eyes wide and scared as sweat dampened his shirt.
"Our captain is very angry," blondie said. "Give up on living a long life. What? Are you too scared to even talk?"
Mata was guessing that the people that they had ran into earlier were the cause of this. Not that it particularly mattered. If they were as weak willed as their captain than this was going to be a piece of cake. Oh. Mata glanced to the side, catching sight of a pastry shop in the shape of a giant, strawberry cake slice. That sounded like a good idea. Maybe they could get some. They had been walking for so long-
"So you're Sanji, aren't you?" Mata blinked. Sanji? The best cook in the world Sanji? This guy didn't even look like he could make toast. And from what she had heard from Luffy, he was a casanova. The guy in front of her hadn't so much as glanced in her direction except to make sure that she didn't have her guns out. Giving him a smile, she held up her hands and wiggled her fingers. "And you must be Zoro! Long time no see!"
Emerald eyes widened, lips thinning in shock as she took another look at the man standing just beside her. This was Zoro? Although she didn't say anything and instead followed diligently behind Luffy as he walked animatedly after the pair. She was a little bit disappointed if she was being honest with herself. Out of all the crew members, she was most intrigued by the swordsman. Maybe that had something to do with how much Luffy talked about him but it also had to do with what Luffy had described as an amazing talent with swords.
"Well, people change a lot," Luffy was saying. "You guys don't talk much, do you?"
A dagger was suddenly held against the pudgy throat of the green haired man's throat, Mata not even glance away from the lane in front of them as the sharp edge sliced delicately into his skin. A dribble of blood rolled down the blade. The ebony haired girl frowned in disappointment, sending Luffy a glum stare.
"You said that he was strong, boss," Mata murmured, the dagger dancing between her fingers before continuing it's jig into the air and sliding to her thigh holsters on its own. Mata sighed. "He can't even defend himself against a dagger."
"Aw, I'm sure he's just tired," Luffy laughed, patting Zoro so roughly on the shoulder that he went stumbling forward. Both Sanji and greenie leaned closer to each other, whispering worriedly and Mata's frown intensified. "But I didn't think that you two were ever so friendly. I guess two years really does change a lot."
It was a lot of walking. They were taken all along the outskirts of the village and then back until the villages broke away to nothing and then the landscape was suddenly dotted with rubble. They were led around a backward kind of way so by the time that they stepped up to finally be beside Zoro and Sanji's new "captain" the crowd that had formed below the rubble in the grassy plains below was roaring. The five people that we had run into earlier were standing triumphantly atop the rubble, high above the pirates below. Mata's shoulders tensed as she took in the crowd, the ginger girl catching sight of her immediately and pulling her into a tight side hug.
"Miss me?" she hissed, pinching her shoulders roughly.
"You know it, pumpkin," Mata drawled back and ginger hissed out a breath.
"WE'VE FOUND TWO OF THE PERPETRATORS WHO INSULTED US!" Straw hat roared. "IT'S THESE TWO! We'll teach both of them a lesson about how formidable I am. And what I'm about to do to them is a warning to you all, as well. If you mess with me this is how you're going to end up as well! Do you understand?"
"Their cheering over potentially being slaughtered for getting mouthy," Mata murmured, obviously confused. Her eyes met Luffy's and then moved to Zoro's. "This is your new captain? You sure have bad taste."
"Yeah. What's the matter with this guy?" Luffy questioned, turning to Sanji and Zoro. "Do you know him?"
"Huh?" Sanji blinked.
"Well, you see, a little while ago-" His words were cut off at the rapid beat of boots hitting dirt.
"Boss, we got trouble," Mata whispered and in the dewy atmosphere of Sabaody, her eyes suddenly seemed luminous, the irises glowing so brightly that the ginger girl gasped, backing away from her. Marine's - millions of them - circled the pirates. Sweat popped up on Mata's skin, her expression going from one of mild amusement to one of stony indifference, her revolvers in her hands.
"THAT'S IT, YOU PIRATES!" the head Marine yelled but he was so scared that his voice shook. "Straw Hat Luffy and his followers, just surrender! We're blocking off every exit of Grove #46."
"Huh? How did the Navy find out about me?" Luffy muttered in confusion.
"I don't think that's what we need to be worried about right now," Mata said evenly, her mind already tightening on all of the items that she had touched on her way into this town.
"HEY, CARIBOU!" the man in the straw hat suddenly screamed. "Use the Navy soldiers as a shield and make your way out!"
Mata held her breath in horror as a wiggling Marine was held up by a guy with olive skin and a reptilian tongue. He was skewered. He was bleeding from a wound from a stake that was driven through his side. And then with little thought, Caribou shot him. And then he was dead.
And then both groups were charging each other.
"Boss, this is bad! Let's run!" They witchy girl actually looked worried, her pencil-thin brows crinkling. Suddenly, Luffy and Mata weren't in the conversation anymore. No one cared that they had been brought here as sacrifices.
Uselessly, straw hat yelled out at the pirates, trying to make them loyal.
"Why are they calling me boss, Mata?" Luffy asked, clearly perplexed.
It was useless bloodshed. And it made Mata sick.
"Boss, we need to go." An explosion signaled the Pacifistas just a moment after Mata realized that they had docked. Her hand flicked out, her fingers curling before she jerked it back to her chest. "I don't give a damn if your friends are here but I am not letting you be taken by the Marines. Tidalwave."
Pots and pans, carts filled with food and any other item that had the misfortune of being touched by Mata Hara went crashing into the poor Marines still getting off the ship, knocking at least two hundred into a heap of unconscious bodies.
"Return," Mata hissed, throwing her arms out again and watching as the items went flying back to wherever they had come from.
"So he was posing as me?" Luffy looked at Mata. "That guy was posing as me, Mata."
"Does that mean Sanji and Zoro were imposters to?" she questioned, wiping the sweat from her neck.
"Oh," Luffy murmured, realization suddenly dawning on his face. "Oh, that's sad."
"Thank god," Mata whispered, very happy that the men she had been hearing about for going on three years weren't in fact spineless little backstabbers.
"We better go," Luffy said with a nod, heading off in the opposite direction of the battle. "I wonder where they could be…"
Suddenly there was an explosion and Mata felt heat prickle her back. "Dammit, boss."
"Better jump!" Luffy cheered and Mata gritted her teeth, crouching down and spinning her hands in an intricate loop before jumping.
"Fuwa," she whispered, her hands skating just above the heat of the blast as gravel flew into her face. Damn. She knew that she needed to get some goggles. Cussing, she rubbed a hand over her eyes.
"What are you doing?!" She heard Luffy scream. "This bag is holding all of my precious food! Not to mention that I've kind of grown to like Mattie!"
Mumbling, she threw him a thumbs up, still blinking away the dirt in her eyes as she floated in the air. Power coursed steadily through her veins, making her fingertips tingle and oddly enough also her nose. She sneezed, cussing. Pirates below had turned to stare up at the girl, their eyes opened wide in wonder. For a moment, they thought that some kind of fairy had wandered into their midst. It was like Mata was trapped underwater, her hair and clothes rippling slowly as her power pulled it to and fro. Deftly, she spun, her knees, lying in the air like it were a giant swimming pool.
"Dammit, Luffy!" Mata suddenly cussed, straightening in the air with a swiftness that startled the pirates below. Her face went red as she screamed. "What did I tell you?! Keep the cape on! That's all you had to do! Now we have to fight all these Marines! Plus the stupid girl that looks like she should be running a ramen shop and-"
Her rant was overshadowed by the massive scream of recognition from all below. "IT'S HIM! AND THAT - THAT'S MATA HARA!"
Mata blinked, turning to stare down at all the people below and then sighed. No use hiding it anymore. "Damn skippy it is. How you boys doin'?"
"Straw Hat and the traitor! It's our lucky day, men!" Mata's brows raised and she quickly drew her daggers and deftly let them drop, the blades flashing in the dewy light as they hovered, spinning quickly below her feet like a ring of pure steel. She had never liked Sentomaru. He had refused to even speak to her on many occasions. One of his main rules was that he would never answer any questions. Slowly, Mata took out her revolvers, running a finger over the bullets crossing her waist and chest.
"Are you gonna get in my way again?" Luffy demanded, crouching beside his bag filled with food. He looked absolutely outraged by the notion. "I've been told not to cause trouble in order to set sail."
"Don't worry!" Sentomaru yelled back. "You won't need to set sail!"
"I disagree," Mata called, earning a sharp glance from the big man but his lips tightened before he looked away. The ebony haired girl smirked. "What? Silent treatment? Sentomaru~ I thought we were closer than this. Don't want to converse with a traitor? You're breaking my heart."
"Unlike two years ago, I'm now an official member of the Navy!" Sentomaru screamed, trying to regain some of his composure. "I'm going to catch you and your rodent here! PX-5!"
"Mata!" The ebony haired girl grinned, giving him her first full grin since they had gotten onto the ship headed for Sabaody.
"You always know how to make my day, boss!" Mata cheered, flicking her wrist as she turned her attention away from the boy in the straw hat as he deftly avoided the blasts from PX-5. "Dagger dance."
Slowly, as if they were loosening their metallic muscles, the daggers circling both of her thighs slipped from their holsters, joining their sisters at her feet. Deliberately, she nodded at the men below her feeling the power tick through her fingers as all of the blades shot toward the first line of Marines.
When her feet touched the ground, the gravel splintered, sending both pirates and Marines stumbling back. Above her head like a halo of steel and death, her daggers formed. Contrary to popular belief, they weren't in fact there to safeguard her. They were there in case Luffy's life was in danger, their blades humming as Mata kept a careful eye on him.
"Get the traitor Mata Hara!" one of the soldiers suddenly screamed and then all of them were charging her.
Mata Hara hadn't spent her last two years sitting and watching Monkey D. Luffy train. She hadn't made them little packed lunches and hoped for the best. She had been training along with him. And when she wasn't she could usually be found in the arena of the Kuja Tribe, facing off against their giant cat.
The ebony haired girl's eyes flashed once before she was spinning, firing off nine shots and then quickly slapping out her cartridges as she crouched, drawing her daggers back from their circle in the air to stab into the backs of the men that had circled her. "Recharge," was the last thing most of the men around her heard before the clips in her revolver were back in place and she was firing.
"TIME TO GO!" She heard Luffy holler distantly and realized that all around her was a rather large sea of bodies. Without a second thought, she flipped onto her hands, getting away from the crowd so quickly that the men were still firing at the emptiness that she had left. Daggers and revolvers slid back into their spot with a neatness that belied the impassive expression that had fallen across her face. With one deft jump, she was on the rubble that both Luffy and her had stared across the grove at just a moment ago.
"Don't let them run! PX-7!" She heard Sentomaru scream and growling she pulled out her revolvers once more and skidded to a stop, sending dust flying everywhere as she took aim of the pacifista who had leapt onto the rubble just in front of her, his empty eyes intent on Luffy.
Mata shouldn't have even reached for the weapons. By the time that she had aimed, PX-7 was already exploded in a hail of fiery metal dust. And a green haired man with a sword in his mouth and another in a black suit were flying through the smoke right at her.
"Eh." A dark eye met hers, the other scarred as Mata turned, sidestepping him but unable to get a good degree of distance between them as they spun, almost switching positions. Mata blinked. Zoro blinked. Unwanted, her eyes slid down to take in the well defined planes of his chest and the scar running crudely through the muscles. "You're shorter than I thought you would be."
Mata blinked. "Huh?"
"Hey, Luffy," Zoro called, brushing past her as he sheathed his swords leaving Mata to try and decipher what he had just said. "You're the 9th!"
"Shut up!" the blonde screamed. "Cut it out!" Suddenly his eyes landed on the ebony haired girl, his eyes immediately falling on the slim curve of her waist and the bit of cleavage that could be seen peeking over the thick layer of bandages covering her torso. "Pretty lady! You are so much prettier in person. Like a flower about to bloom in the spring heat-"
"You idiot," Zoro drawled, slapping Sanji in the face. "Everybody's on the ship."
"Luffy," Mata suddenly whispered, anxiety clogging her pores for one irrational moment. These were the people that he had been telling her about for the last couple of days. And they had all read the disgusting details of her past in the Marines. And how she had turned her back on them in one moment for someone that she was supposed to kill. Her fingers rubbed reflexively at the coarse skin running over her forearms, the word running repeatedly through her brain like a beeping fire alarm.
Wide, honest eyes met hers and in one moment they were closing, a grin creasing his face as he laughed. "Let's go, Mats."
She had no choice. Emotionally she was still conflicted but her feet were already moving swiftly after all of them.
"It's really been a long time," Luffy laughed. "I wonder how everyone is! I'm so happy."
Distantly, Mata felt the itch of a presence and she glanced back at the dark figure before nudging Luffy. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Oh," Luffy murmured, skidding to a stop and turning sharply to stare up at the cloaked man. Rayleigh had watched the whole attack, his eyes critical and his smile thin. He enjoyed watching his two students fight. He enjoyed that they both could defend themselves in ways that most people couldn't because it meant that they would survive. It meant that he wouldn't see their pictures, bloody and bashed in a newspaper one day.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Mata heard Zoro call and she turned, catching his gaze and then nodding to the man on the hill. "Oh."
"RAYLEIGH!" Luffy screamed happily and the old man's smile widened as he caught Mata's eyes who simply shrugged although the emerald depth sparkled with concealed laughter.
"I came here to check on you both but you seem alright." Rayleigh deliberately used that last word. Alright. Mata tsked. There was more work to be done. "Your powers sure have improved. Both of you. Now go to your friends!" Rayleigh caught Mata's eyes. "And make sure to make a good impression, you hear me, Mata girl?"
He gave her a slow, secretive smile. Privately, he was more than intrigued by the way that the swordsman and the blonde kept eyeing the girl. He laughed softly. He was mildly disappointed that he wouldn't be able to watch.
"Rayleigh!" Luffy called, regaining the attention of the older man. "Thank you for everything these past years!"
"You're out of character!" Rayleigh laughed. "Just go!"
Setting down his pack, Luffy stepped forward and raised his fists defiantly. "Rayleigh! I'll do it! I'm gonna become King of the Pirates!"
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