I'm sorry for spelling Hancock's name wrong, i thought i was but ignored it. Sorry for killing you! Enjoy now!
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Izo Pov
I sat in the darkened room, Thatch was right next to me, feeling the same discomfort. Everyone in the room is. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Ace looked towards me, searching for an answer to the million-dollar question. Why are we here? Boa ushered us into this room, saying it was important. After we all entered, she told us to wait for Red then left.
Is something wrong with Red? She was acting fine an hour ago. Could it have something to do with the mark? I'm the only one in the crew that knows it. I haven't told anyone, but is she planning to? If so, that could explain all the tension.
There was a space between Marco and me, Red will probably sit there. If she does, I'll try to get her through the conversation. My heart cracked in two when I saw the mark. When she told me the story, I almost broke into tears.
Marco looks more nervous than anyone in the room. The blonde keeps looking at the door, then the ground. He kept digging his teeth into his lips, almost drawing blood from the skin. I've never seen him like this, the first commander of the Whitebeard Pirates looks like he's at his breaking point. Not physically, but mentally. The blonde, though he won't admit it, has grown the most attached to the childish redhead.
I paused my thoughts when I heard the creek of the door, the sound drew everyone's attention. Ace let out a relieved sigh once he saw the redhead. She was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, with a hoodie tied around her waist. The hoodie was covering the mark.
"Red? Are you ok?" Thatch's voice dripped with concern. Red nodded with a smile, "I need to tell you guys something." Her tone was serious, making everyone tense up. She walked over and stood between me and Marco. Her eyes squeezed shut, and her hands balled up into fist. Pain was stretching across her face as she recalled her horrific past.
Before I could comfort her, Marco grabbed her wrist and rubbed it affectionately. His majestic blue eyes looked up to meet her dark ones. The woman relaxed a bit from the contact. I couldn't help but smile at the two.
Red took a deep breath, taking Marco's hand into her's as she spoke. "I lied when I said I sailed with my brother at the age of 14. The truth is we got separated from my family during a storm, we ended up in the North Blue. We met Killer there and lived there for a few years, until I was kidnapped. After a year of our separation, I became a slave of the celestial dragons." Red paused to lift up her hoodie, exposing the mark she bears. "This mark represents my first captain, a man that will forever be in my heart. His name was Fisher Tiger. He saved me from that hell and brought me aboard his ship. I became a part of his crew and stayed there for quite some time. I cried when I heard his last words, but I had to move on. I made contact with my siblings and mother, they were so relieved. I didn't stay for long though, I had to go back to the new world.
I never liked staying in one spot. I promised to call them every week before I left. After that, I traveled a long way, I even went to Wano."
My eyes widened at the mention of my birthplace. Red smiled, "I even met your sister. She's doing great by the way." My eyes filled with tears. I haven't seen my sister in years! It's good to know she's ok.
"I stayed there for about a month until I was dragged into battle." Red started to laugh at the memory. She took a seat between me and Marco before continuing, "that girl is evil I swear, stupid Yamato." Everyone gasped at the name Red mentioned. She tilted her head in confusion, "what?"
I was the first one to speak, "do you mean Kaido's daughter, Yamato?"
"Yes, she insisted on fighting me. I don't understand why, but I accepted." Everyone's jaws dropped. She fought Kaido's daughter! And lived! How strong is she! Now that I think about it, I've never seen Red fight.
"Anyways. After the fight, I traveled back to the grandline, in search of my twin brother. But instead I found you guys." Red smiled again, ignoring the shocked looks she was getting.
"You're awesome Red!" Thatch jumped over me and grabbed Red into a hug. The red head hugged the brunette back, I knew they wouldn't think of me differently. She thought.
I have to admit, I didn't think she went to Wano, but I'm happy she told me. I'm happy she told everyone about her past.
"I wonder what rank she would be. Would she be a commander?" Ace whispered to himself, but everyone heard.
Thatch rubbed her chin when she released Red from a hug. "Yeah actually, what would she be? If she's strong enough to fight Yamato and live, could she beat Izo, or maybe Ace?"
"Maybe she could even take Marco's position, if she's that good." I said, putting my thoughts out.
Marco raised a brow at Red, "how strong are you, yoi?"
"I don't know, I doubt I can beat any of you in a fight. Plus I don't want to be a commander, that's way too much work." Red responded with a nervous smile.
Thatch and Ace started laughing, "that's true! You're too lazy to be a commander!" They both said in unison. I let out a muffled laugh, "all you do is sleep!"
Red puffed out her cheek, "shut up!" She spat, clutching Marco's hand. She didn't notice it before, but she was still holding it. Her face lit up red from embarrassment, "s-sorry Marco." Before she could let go, the blond squeezed her hand tighter. "I don't mind, yoi." Marco smiled, making Red's chest tighten.
"Red, your blushing!" Ace laughed. Red sent a glare in his direction and placed her hand on her chain necklace.
She pulled out her scythe and wrapped it around his neck, "shut up." She muttered. Ace shivered at her glare, "ok." He smiled sheepishly at her and put his hands up in surrender.
Thatch and I stared at the weapon in amazement, we are the only ones that haven't seen it. "Where did you get that from? And how does it work?" Thatch asked with her eyes still glued to the scythe.
Red retracted her scythe from Ace's neck, and shrunk it, giving me and Thatch a better view. "My older brother made it. It reacts to my blood, meaning I can change its shape and size to suit my needs." I was amazed by the weapon, not only does it look cool, but it can change shape? It made me wonder who Red's older brother is, she doesn't talk about him a lot. I decided not to pry, and instead I kept admiring the mesmerizing weapon.
After a few more minutes of conversation, we all ate lunch with the Warlord. She had some more details to discuss with us.
"There are two more things you guys need to know." One of the Kuja pirates placed a box in the middle of the table. "You need to wear these." The pirate opened the box, when Ace saw what was in the box he frowned.
"No." The brunette spat, there is no way I'm wearing those. He thought to himself. I took a pair and held them up to my head. "What are these." I asked, looking at the Warlord.
"They are special cat ears; everyone wears them on the island. If you don't wear them, you aren't allowed in." Boa explained, sending a glare to Ace to put them on. The second commander's frown deepened as he placed the black cat ears on his head. These cat ears weren't headbands. Once they attached to Ace 's head, his hearing improved immensely.
"What the hell." Ace tried pulling the ears off, but they stuck on. He pulled harder, but stopped when he felt pain coming from them. "Think of them as an extension of your body." One of the Kuja explained.
Marco gave the golden cat ears a questioning look, he isn't so sure about this. "Whoa, cool!" Thatch exclaimed. I looked over and saw Thatch looking cuter than ever, her ears wiggling around as she cheered.
"They also express your emotions." Boa said, pointing at Ace's pushed down cat ears. "Since he's sad, his ears are pushed down?" I asked, the Warlord nodded.
I placed the cat ears on my head and touched them to make sure they were connected. "Your body becomes extra sensitive from the ears, so be careful. If you get hurt, it will be ten times worse." Thatch smiled at the warning. She reached over and started to tickle me. Laughs busted out of me from her soft fingers brushing against my skin. Tears filled my eyes as I rolled around in my chair, trying my hardest to gather air in my lungs.
When Thatch stopped, I was panting with watery eyes. "Yep, that's definitely ten times worse. Don't do that Thatch!" I shouted at the giggling girl.
Marco put on his next, "how do you take them off, yoi?" The blonde asked, once the ears were connected.
"They should fall off on their own." Boa answered. Marco helped Red put on her ears, their hands were still locked together, even as they ate their meal.
Red's ears stood up once they were placed on her head. Marco still has not taken a step back, leaving their faces inches apart. The close proximity made her whole face blush, from her chin to her cat ears.
I learned closer to Red's ears, "Wow, so even your ears blush when Marco's close to you, fascinating." I was about to touch Red's cat ears when a hand grabbed my wrist. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." A Kuja warned me.
"You can probably tell by now how your senses have increased. That's because you have the senses of a cat, but the drawback is you can't overheat."
"What happens if we do." I asked.
"What's overheating?" Thatch added.
The Kuja rolled her eyes, "I'll give you an example." The pirate walked to Ace and started to rub the back of his ears. Ace's face started to redden from the sensation he was feeling, "w-what is this?" He asked, breathless.
"That's you overheating. It can come from embarrassment, sexual desire, etc. when it does happen, you'll end up doing crazy things." I nodded, making a note to keep myself in control. I grabbed Marco and pulled him back, "you heard what she said." I warned.
"Another thing, if any of you get lost in the area, just follow each other's scent. Soon enough your senses will be heightened just like cats." We nodded.
"I would like to give you boy and girl pairs. There are a lot of dangers in the city and even though you guys are pirates, you still should be aware." Boa said. She handed me and Thatch matching keys, you gotta be kidding me. Thatch gulped at the key in her hand, she was still embarrassed about what happened last night.
Boa didn't stay to hear they're complaints, she got up and left the room.
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Red pov
The sound of a stomach growling made my eyes flutter open. I wasn't surprised to see the glutton known as Ace standing above me. I frowned at the nervous smile he gave me once he saw that I was awake. "What." My tone came out defeated. I already know what the brunette wants, and I know he's not going to stop bugging me until he gets it. Ace crouched down, his eyes turned into a begging puppy's, "please."
His whine made my frown deepen, "why don't you ask Izo, or Thatch, hell why not Marco." Ace's puppy dog eyes moved up a level. Instead of a puppy begging for food, now resembled a kicked puppy. "Come on Ace, I was trying to sleep." Once again, the puppy glare intensified, displaying a homeless puppy dying in the cold.
I wanted to look away, I wanted to scoff at the pleading puppy, but I couldn't. I mean who could! And if you can, you're just evil! "Fine, fine. I'm moving." I sat up and put on the hoodie I was using as a pillow. Ace followed me while I led the way to the kitchen, "stay quiet." The Kuja pirates do not like uninvited guests in their kitchen. If we get caught, there is a great chance we will get stabbed with a kitchen knife.
The glutton's stomach didn't listen to my warning, letting out a growl as soon as we stood by the doorway. "What was that?" One of the Kuja asked. I quickly attached the bottom of my scythe to the ceiling above the doorway. I retracted the blade, me and Ace hung in the air once I shrank it. "This weapon is awesome." Ace cheered in a whisper. I groaned at Ace's complement, "I'm aware." The brunette frowned at me, knowing I'm grumpy because of my lack of sleep.
Third pov
Ace's eyes wandered around the room, looking for a way to get in the room undetected. Sneaking around and staying quiet isn't Ace's strong suit, I should've thought this out more. A tap on his shoulder snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked to the redhead poking him. She was pointing to the loose wooden board making the ceiling. Genius! I definitely picked the right crewmate! Ace mentally cheered. He gave the woman a thumbs up with a grin plastered on his face.
Red pressed the board carefully, trying not to make a sound. Once the wood was removed, Ace slipped his body into the whole. Ace pressed the wood below him to determine whether or not it was sturdy. He gripped Red's forearm and pulled her up. She retracted her scythe to one foot, before continuing to crawl with him. Her face bumped into Ace's butt when he stopped suddenly. "Don't stop like that. I don't need your butt in my face." Red whispered to the brunette. Ace turned his head to her with a frown, "I have a great butt, thank you very much." The commander huffed, taking the insult to heart.
The woman rolled her eyes, of course he said something like that. Red noticed the white light splashing against Ace's face. She crawled over to be beside him and looked through the whole. With one quick glance around the kitchen, they counted five people.
"Hey everyone! There is an enemy ship approaching!" Ace and Red gave each other a worried look. The woman fled the kitchen, not wasting any time to get onto the deck. Ace jumped from the ceiling, followed by Red. "Do you know who it could be?" Ace asked with a mouthful of food. He already started picking out in the pantry. "Not a clue. Get your food and let's check it out." Red tucked some chocolate in her pockets and walked out of the room.
Ace patted his stomach with a cheeky grin, "that hit the spot." Red smiled at the goofy commander before dragging him up the ship.
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I will be posting another chapter today, this one was too short for my liking.
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