Pleasure. . . or Pain?
It had been hours and still Shaad had seen no sign of Raine. Granted, Shaad didn't have a clue as to where she might have gone so he had to slow his search a bit, but he was about to lose hope in finding her on this side of the island entirely as he moved through the lower West Side, by far the most violent area on the island. Though it was certainly not the most rundown piece of the island, to Shaad it seemed far below what he presumed Raine's standards to be.
Sighting two separate street fights along the road, Shaad headed that way towards a hole-in-the-wall dive bar. He'd barely taken three steps in that direction when a piece of rotting wood flew in from the side and hit him in the head. He recovered quickly and traced it to a third ongoing scrum. Not in the mood for a peaceful resolution, Shaad clenched his fists and strolled over to the brawling pair. The two didn't even pay him any mind until he hammered his fists together with their heads in between, breaking their noses and drawing copious amounts of blood as they were knocked unconscious in an instant. Deciding to make something of the venture, Shaad checked the two men for cash and headed for the bar.
Raine downed another drink, exhaling from the burn of the alcohol sloshing down her throat. She'd been at it a while and had a good buzz going as she called to the bartender to bring her an Aunt Roberta and some snacks while she nursed another beer.
"Ya look like you're lookin' for sumthin' at the bottom of that bottle," a thin young man with a messy appearance commented to her, taking a drag from his cigarette. "Maybe I can help you find it?"
"Piss off," Raine sounded brusquely.
But the young man kept his playful smile, unperturbed by her rough attitude as he reached out to caress her shoulder. "Haha, a hard shell houses the sweetest core. I think we could have some real fun, you and I."
The man's hand was stopped from reaching its intended target by a vice like grip preceding a masculine voice speaking in a warning tone. "She said piss off."
Raine didn't need to hear the voice; she recognized Shaad's presence behind her as well as the familiar surge in emotion before the other fellow cried out from having his wrist snapped like a twig. "What do you want?" She spoke coldly to Shaad while the stranger slunk away with tears forming in his eyes at the sight of his bone sticking out from the skin. His friends, meanwhile, wisely chose to follow him out as opposed to challenge Shaad.
"I just came to apologize," he spoke with genuine regret.
Raine scoffed, but showed no resistance or lingering ill will as he set on the barstool beside her and order two glasses of Clear Shot, opting instead to ignore his presence altogether.
"Look, Raine, I'm sorry. But, you knew I didn't actually care about those fights. Yeah, it costs you quite a bit. . . Just add it to what I already owe you, and let's move past this." Shaad pled his case, and was a tad surprised and distraught when Raine turned to him with an expression he'd never seen from her, a cold mix of anger and disappointment.
"It's not even about that," she said, heaving a sigh. "Do you have any idea the position you've put me in? Money ain't free, and dealing with you ain't cheap, but that's a secondary concern."
"Okay," Shaad replied with a slump of his shoulders. "Then what's the real problem?"
"That. . . What is this to you? You act, and I'm left to just react. But, flip it, and you become a deer in headlights."
"Shaad's eyes fell to his drink, staring at the dark liquid unable to meet his navigator's hardened expression until he'd gotten his thoughts in order. "I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say. . . Am I a bit selfish? Probably. My entire life, my only worry has been me. If I wanted something I took it; the rest has always just worked itself out.
Raine involuntarily let out a haughty, disparaging scoff before replying. "And you have the gall to think you've done shit on your own."
Shaad had never looked more pathetic than when she said that, struggling to figure out how to say what he wanted. "I only recently. . . realized. . . how much I've depended on others." Shaad paused a moment to collect himself, remembering his mom, dad, and everyone else who was always there to watch over him from a distance. "But, I'm working to change that. I think that's why my dad stranded me on that island in the first place, so I could learn to recognize and depend on my strength."
Raine didn't even attempt to hide her disbelieving scoff. "Wow," she began, tone coated in sarcasm. "That is completely. . . wrong. I'm not saying you need to be more selfish. If this is going to work, you need to trust me; that means no secrets."
". . . Trust goes both ways," Shaad finally stated after a long pause. "And, you don't trust me either."
"Then I guess this is the end," Raine reported, turning away from the young swordsman.
"No." Shaad's voice raised to a commanding tone, drawing eyes to the pair as he grabbed Raine's arm, not roughly but firmly enough to hold her attention. "You're my navigator. No one else."
"You certainly think highly of yourself," Raine remarked, that heavy layer of scorn no longer edging her voice as she pulled her arm free.
"Born a king," Shaad smirked.
"Then go be a king somewhere else; I want to be alone."
Shaad downed the rest of his glass in one go, double tapping it on the bar for a refill. All the while, his gaze lingered on Raine, ignoring the bartender's stunned expression as he came over and poured another glass with shaky hands. What was this feeling? He'd never wanted something so bad. Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks he figured, drinking the refill just as the bartender topped it off. "I'm not leaving you," Shaad said softly, rising from his seat in contrast with his words.
Paying for the drinks with a wad of stolen cash he didn't bother to count, Shaad stumbled a bit towards the saloon style doors. This feeling was new. He felt light-headed, disoriented. Alcohol shouldn't have been able to do that to him; he'd long ago learned how to use his devil fruit powers to temper the effects of stimulants and depressants on his body. Granted, he'd been doing it for a while now, and it was more draining than simply releasing the energy outwardly. But, this was more than that.
Outside the bar, Shaad still struggled to stay on his feet, using the wall to hold himself up. He felt strange; a warmth festering in the pit of his stomach. There was no denying it anymore: he was getting weaker, not stronger, with each passing moment. Pushing off the wall, Shaad teetered forward, stumbling over nothing but his own feet. Falling forward, the inebriated pirate captain felt the rush of wind and stale air by his face, but never the feel of the hard, pounded dirt road.
Instead his extended left arm landed across the slim shoulders of a stranger, a female judging by the hair tickling his arm and face as well as the soft, full mound of flesh his lax hand landed upon.
"You okay," the woman's tender voice asked. She was shorter than Shaad, the demure stature only accentuating her ample assets. That tight body, though well cared for, lacked the requisite strength to hold Shaad as his entire weight collapsed onto her.
"Hold on, we got you," a husky voice alerted, slipping under Shaad's right arm to help her friend.
Shaad wanted to say thanks, but his mouth was inexplicably dry, his throat feeling like he'd swallowed moth balls raw for the past hour. With legs already feeling like jelly, his vision was now going, too. He shook the splotches clear from his vision. And, blinking that glassy cover away, was finally able to gauge his rescuers.
Both were intoxicatingly beautiful women. The shorter and curvier of the two, a sinfully sweet, blonde bombshell with cherry red lips wasn't wearing much in the way of clothes: a pair of black thigh high boots with fishnet stockings peeking from the top, leading Shaad's roaming eyes up to a pair of skin tight shorts that may well have been painted on and a top that was, more accurately, just two slim strips of material crossed in a deep set V- styling, struggling just to keep her bountiful breast contained as an alluring set of gum drop nipples poked through the thin material. Her friend had more of a dancer's build. An athletically sculpted body, her caramel skin shone like a spotlight in the purple bra with golden teardrop adornments that covered her perfectly sized breasts as a sheer lavender shawl rested on her shoulders and arms, leaving her midriff exposed and showing the sapphire stud piercing in her belly button, the jewels serving as perfect complements and contrasts against the sandy brown and gold harem pants - on top of golden slippers - covering her voluptuous hips, though the sparkling rings on her slender fingers and the bangles on her wrists may have made her natural light overpowering if not for her distractingly bright smile. More distracting, though was when, in wiping a smudge from his cheek, she pushed his weak and captive gaze towards the silver chain nestled comfortably in the deep crevice of her cleavage.
"We should take him back to our room," the bronzed brunette suggested.
"That's a great idea," the bubbly blonde concurred. "That way he can rest. If need be we'll call a doctor when we get there."
"Though I'm sure he's just drained."
"Yeah."
The two young ladies didn't seem like the type that could walk down any street in the whole of Scoundrels' Noose and be safe, yet here they were just chatting and carrying Shaad's half conscious carcass in the middle of the dirtiest, seediest part of the whole god-forsaken land.
Though his legs continued to mechanically carry him forward, Shaad's conscious will had completely checked out. Seconds that felt like minutes and minutes that felt like hours came and went for a seeming eternity in Shaad's jumbled perception. But, even without forethought as a guide, his body still retained the most base of human capabilities and desires.
"Mmh, I think someone's coming to," the blonde called smoothly, alerting her friend to Shaad's fixed gaze on her substantial bust.
"Ugh," the lithe brunette scoffed, "He's practically drooling like an infant."
"Oh no, he's a man, sweetie, a man with nice smooth hands," the blonde commented, shrugging her shoulder to better show off how Shaad's hand cupped her breast lazily. "I think we could have some fun with this one."
"What happened to letting him rest?"
"All part of being a good neighbor."
Raine could see the splintered wood of the bar through her almost empty glass. Even at the bottom of her -- aah, she'd long ago stopped caring about the number -- she'd found no answers nor received the alcohol-induced tranquility she so desired. It made no sense. Why did thoughts of him stick in her mind like a stain already set. She was using him. Same as he was her, even if neither would openly admit such a thing.
"Bartender," she called, "whiskey double with a hit of venom."
The bartender paused a moment, apprehensive, until his eyes met Raine's, her glare so sharp he felt as if the nails drumming along her glass were tapping right against his temple. Intimidated, he turned to grab a bottle behind him.
"The one below the bar," Raine instructed. "And, leave the bottle," she added after he came up with an unopened bottle of dark, sloshing liquid.
"That's right; only the best for the lady," a smooth, tenor voice chimed in from behind, though 'best' in this bar merely meant not that watered down swill he otherwise passed off as good alcohol to drunk and broke patrons.
"Leave," Raine demanded curtly.
"Come on, just let me buy you this one drink." The stranger spoke with a pleasant grin and a small twinkle in his ocean blue eyes. "You're obviously upset. Talk to me; I'm a good listener."
"Really," Raine replied, the hint of a smile pulling at her full lips as she flipped her hair behind her ear to actually look at the stranger for the first time. Her eyes trailing up the conservatively jeweled hand resting on the bar mere inches from her own, along the slim built arm marked with light scarring, to a lightly chiseled face with soft features, she had to admit he was actually quite cute, and if Raine wasn't in such a foul mood, she might be tempted to return his playful coquetry. "That's good. Then, I shouldn't have to repeat myself again. . . LEAVE."
The young man's smile faltered a bit at the threatening tone, but after a second to reconsider, he tried to move closer to Raine, reaching out to caress her smooth skin, only to be stopped by one of her heels smashing into his kneecap. As his body lurched forward, Raine's shoulder shook his clenched jaw before throwing an elbow into his diaphragm, knocking the wind from his lungs and shoving him back into a table of roughnecks.
Slamming into a short, stocky fellow with oversized arms and a muscly neck, the collision pushed the seated patron face first into the food and drink on the table. His friends laughing at his misfortune, the stocky fellow rose from his seat and growled at the pretty boy through gritted teeth as beer dripped from his face. Looking the younger man in the face, rage burned deep in his eyes as he looked to drain the color from the wide blue orbs the target of his ire possessed.
The young man scratched at the hairy arms as calloused hands crushed his throat. The man's grip was unforgiving, as was the solid kick the younger guy launched at the elder patron's groin. All color drained from the red-faced laborer as the pretty boy wriggled free of the hands clamped around his throat. This was Raine's fault. That woman would pay.
Raine cared little for the ruckus she'd played the catalyst in inciting. Hearing the deep breaths drawing closer behind her, she tossed the contents of her almost full glass over her head.
The man who had earlier ignored her warnings screamed in pain as the alcohol burned his eyes. He was silenced, though, as a chair smashed over his head and sent him stumbling forward.
Raine, picking up her glass and the bottle, leaned out of the way, letting the flirt's face crash into the bar before she took a handful of hair and threw him aside, out of her way. Those eyes had already lost much of their vigor, and the last few sparks had been snuffed out before his limp body was sent hurtling into another nearby group, flipping the table onto a couple of the guys seated there while the dishes clattered on the bald head of a tattooed monstrosity of a man.
The entire crowd, well past drunk at this late hour, required little in the way of provocation. And, as the bald-headed man pushed past the stout, red-faced fellow while his compatriots threw the table off of themselves and into a raucous pair, Raine pointed to a quiet fellow drinking alone at the bar as the cause when the tattooed man's anger turned towards her.
Though his aggressive advance was stopped by a meaty paw clapping his shoulder, the unfortunate fellow Raine scapegoated merely looked at her with a knowing and mischievous smirk as a bandaged hand reached out from under the dingy coat he wore, a silver cross dangling from the chain around his neck as he pushed away from the bar, his eyes staying on Raine long enough to see her shrug and return a playful smile his way.
The entire bar eventually erupted into an all-out brawl as collateral damage quickly spread the chaos, drawing in all except the bartender, who cowered behind the bar with a flintlock pistol shaking in his hands, and Raine who looked on with amusement, leaning back against the bar with a drink in hand. The only person appearing to have more fun than her was the guy who'd been down the bar from her.
He'd taken some solid shots, but had dished out far more, a wide smile on his face as a powerful straight fist smashed the nose of its intended target. Fresh blood stained the white bandages while his other bandaged hand ran through his messy black hair. The entire scene was chaos, but he reveled at its center while Raine watched from the sidelines.
Shaad still hadn't come to completely by the time the trio reached their destination. But, even through glassy eyes, a nagging feeling - like a woodpecker in his brain - hounded him. Something wasn't right.
The brunette kicking the door open, worn, half-chewed hinges announced their arrival with an irritating creak. A one-eyed man behind a rickety counter acknowledged them with a gruff huff, paying their 'guest' no mind as they ascended the single staircase, each step groaning in protest. This was a motel not a residence. And, like everything else that night, there was more, he just wasn't getting it.
"You. . . I Ssh-," Shaad half slurred, half groaned, beginning to stir in some weak, futile attempt to dislodge himself from the two women's grasp.
"Hey, calm down," the brunette chided as they moved through the open door of a room at the top of the stairs.
"It's okay; we're gonna take care of you," the blonde cooed, pulling Shaad's face to her cheek and nuzzling him as she did so.
An uneasiness bristled over the young pirate before he was pulled into a forceful kiss by the brunette. As her tongue breached past his teeth, he felt something pushed down his throat, sparking a deep fire as blood and energy rushed through his body, seeming to pool in one very particular organ. Shaad had never been kissed like that. Forceful, frenzied, and passionate. There was no love or affection behind those soft lips, but they fed an entirely different beast anyway.
Dropping his resistances, Shaad allowed a powerful, rising lust to drive him as he continued planting kisses on her lips and neck, his hands slipping down to the brunette's full hips before cupping the globes of her ass and lifting her into his arms. Her legs wrapping around his waist, Shaad felt a pair heels pressed into his spine, but that only spurred him on as he spun around and lay her on the bed.
Pulling his face away, her intoxicating scent following him, pulling him back in, he almost immediately obliged, furiously kissing the tops of her chest before snapping her bra off and letting her breasts spill free. As his face buried in the valley between her breasts, he felt something tugging at his pants, pulling his focus away.
"I know you didn't forget about me," the shorter blond said, and Shaad allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, a new wave of desire and anticipation invigorating him as her large breasts crushed against his back. Meanwhile, the lithe dancer whom Shaad had pulled along by her shawl pushed away, teasing him from just out of reach.
But, the nails scraping his chest did well to divert his attention, the blonde removing his shirt while the brunette moved her hips to a song only she heard. His shirt open, she trailed her hands along the defined muscles of his torso and down to his belt. It was Shaad's turn to be spun around as the bubbly blonde pulled him down into a kiss with one hand while the other removed his belt before slipping into the waist of his pants. Their lips pressed together, a smile spread her cheeks.
Meanwhile, the brunette moved around the entwined pair, eliciting a surprised squeak from the blonde as she roughly squeezed her friend's tits. Shaad watched as the brunette whispered something in the shorter woman's ear. If he'd been more in control, he might've noticed her smile falter a bit before she dropped to her knees, pulling his pants down to his ankles. It only took a light push from there for him to fall to the bed, pinned down by the brunette crawling on top of him, stalking like a predator before she settled on his lap.
Feeling her grind against him while her tongue explored the depths of his mouth, Shaad allowed his arms to be lifted overhead with no resistance, merely using the opportunity to latch his mouth around the caramel skinned dancer's pink bud like a newborn babe, pleasurable moans escaping despite herself as the young man's eager tongue played with her perfectly firm and round tits.
However, when he felt his hands being bound to the bedposts with leather straps, Shaad made to resist until the blonde sultrily whispered in his ear, "Let us take care of you; we're professionals." Confusion came and went with the blonde playfully nibbling on his earlobe as his wrists were securely outstretched and bound to the solid bed frame.
Withholding further gratification, the brunette moved from on top of him and the two women then made to give similar treatment to Shaad's ankles, leaving him spread eagle on the bed with his boxers tented, the only part of his anatomy actively seeking release in the moment.
Shaad could only watch the pair pathetically as his heart rate faded. The brunette said something that he couldn't make out before she picked up his shirt, using it to cover herself with a huff. He no longer had the energy, or even the will it seemed, to resist as the two moved around the room hurriedly
The caramel skinned woman then stood up and spoke to the blonde. The young pirate was unable to hear anything despite being between them, but the next thing he knew, the blonde softly pecked his cheek, patting his chest like a small pup and stood up to her feet.
"It's a shame. I would've liked to play around with him a little more. . . vigorously," she spoke suggestively. "He was quite gifted."
"Just get dressed; we have a job to finish."
Shaad couldn't make out the words or even much of the lip movement as they hefted what they had collected. The last thing he saw was a faint, hazy image of the matching black and white tattoos on their lower backs - a BM logo like design inside of a heart with gothic filigree swirled around skulls reaching out to their hips as if to wrap around on each of the women's backsides - before his vision totally faded, his eyelids fell shut, and he drifted into unconsciousness.