Calm Before the Storm
"You were right; he is a slimy bastard," Shaad declared as he stripped out of his shirt, tossing it aside, and slunk into the restful armchair. He and Raine had just walked back into the penthouse suite they shared, and Shaad seemed flustered after his recent negotiations with the owner of Paradise and one of the resident Kings, Big G. Though he got what he wanted out of the meeting, something about the man didn't sit right with him.
"I told you," Raine offered soothingly. "But, he does know how to treat a lady," she commented with a sly smirk, teasingly straddling Shaad's lap as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Shaad just lay back in the chair, paying Raine's erotic antics little mind until the talk of Big G brought something to mind. "What offer was he talking about?"
"Hmm?"
"When we first entered the club, Big G mentioned something about reconsidering his offer. What type of offer was he talking about?"
"Oh, that." Raine's face scrunched up as if the mere memory was unpleasant. But, then a mischievous gleam shone in her eyes as her luscious lips curled up into a seductive smile, ensuring Shaad that she had something (un)pleasant in mind. "We~ll," she drawled slowly, letting the word hang in the air for a moment as she sat down on Shaad's lap and settled in, much to his conflicted chagrin. "After you left the bar and it was. . . shut down, I went over to Paradise to chat with the cute bartender there, and after a few drinks. . . Well, I'm sure you noticed the empty pole in the center of the club," she asked with a wink.
Shaad thought through what he saw at the club earlier that night. There was the DJ booth, the bar, and a few private rooms tucked away in the back. Oh, there were also a few poles with topless or otherwise scantily clad women dancing on them situated around the lounge area of the club along with various other entertainment features. He hadn't really thought about just how massive that club had been until now, but an isolated stripper's pole at the center?
Raine recognized the eventual look of recognition in Shaad's eyes and continued on. "Yes, the one hidden behind that sheer pink curtain. Well, after a few more drinks, I decided I'd do a little dance." Raine then began to rotate her hips in slow circles, grinding on Shaad to impress upon him an idea of how well she moved, chuckling inwardly as Shaad's hands found their way to her hips and he bit his lower lip roughly, futilely willing himself to calm down.
Once satisfied with the rather strong reaction she'd elicited, Raine stilled herself and resumed speaking as if nothing had happened. "Apparently I drew quite a crowd, and when I finished Tiny escorted me to G's office where he offered me a job. Not as a stripper of course, but," she leaned close, her full breasts pressing against Shaad's powerful chest, and whispered the end of that statement quietly in Shaad's ear, enjoying the sight as even his caramel skin blushed a noticeable shade of red.
"W-Where would you have learned to pole dance," Shaad questioned, trying, and failing, to hide the catch in his throat as he asked.
"I have so many skills you don't know about," she teased in a sultry voice, trailing her palm along Shaad's cheek, her smirk growing wider as she felt the slight shiver and rise of goose bumps on his skin under her careful touch. Raine stopped and leaned in close, so close that Shaad could feel her lush, lusty lips brush lightly against his skin as she slowly mouthed, "Would you like me to show you some?"
"Yes," Shaad answered impulsively, his voice involuntarily rising an octave. ". . . Not right now. I mean no," he hurriedly corrected himself, silently cursing his lack of self-control.
Raine audibly laughed at Shaad's flustered frustration even as he none too gingerly lifted her off of his lap and onto the arm of the chair before standing up with a huff of frustration.
Shaad had been taught before not to ask questions you didn't want to know the answer to, but, as he calmed down a bit, he instinctively turned back and asked Raine, "How do you remember so much from last night? You seemed pretty drunk by the time I got in."
Raine donned a teasing smirk and leaned back against the chair as she crossed her legs at a tantalizingly slow pace, her already short dress riding up even higher on her perfect thighs. Despite himself, Shaad's eyes were drawn towards the treasure that lingered beneath, focusing far more intently than he'd intended before Raine clearing her throat pulled his eyes back up to her own. "I don't forget details just because of a few drinks." To Shaad, the words eeked out slow as molasses complete with Raine's playful tone.
He was broken from the reverie he found himself in by Raine sexily sauntering towards him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned in close, whispering, "I remember everything," in his ear with a smile before moving past him. Shaad felt Raine smack his butt, but his mind had already momentarily frozen from the rush of thoughts, sensations, and emotions. He stood in that spot for what seemed like an eternity but what was in reality only a minute or two before Raine put aside the teasing and games, seriously inquiring, "What are we going to do about Vega?"
"We'll deal with that tomorrow."
Raine's grin returned at the clear tension in Shaad's tart response, opting to bite back a retort of her own and instead leave things at that for the night, allowing the two of them to settle down and relax in a somewhat awkward quiet.
The next morning, Shaad groggily awoke to fresh lumps on his head and Raine standing over him with a balled fist. "What," he asked irritably.
"How long do you plan on sleeping?" Raine demanded.
"What time is it now," Shaad questioned, sitting up and sleepily massaging the bumps on his head.
"About an hour before noon."
"Ugh, it's not even noon yet?. . . A few more hours," Shaad declared, finally answering Raine's question as he rolled over on the bed and pulled the sheets up over his head.
Raine flexed the fingers of her left hand and reached for her expandable baton with the right. Snapping it out, she swung for the lump on the bed that was Shaad.
"I'm up," Shaad called, popping to his feet after rolling off the bed to avoid Raine's strike. "You happy? I'm up. Now, what?"
"Now we talk about Vega."
"Food first," Shaad stated, dismissing Raine with a wave of his hand.
In the next instant, Shaad had moved one step to the side faster than the eye can see as Raine lunged at him over the bed. Shaad spent the next several seconds staying one step ahead of Raine as she chased him around the spacious room, tiredly swatting away her baton when she'd come close to hitting him.
"It's far too early to be fighting," Shaad said, holding Raine's arm at bay with one hand while wiping sleep from his eyes with the other. He was caught by surprise, though, as his neck was nearly snapped by a high kick. The strike temporarily dazed him, rolling his eyes to the back of his skull. When Shaad came to seconds later, he was on the ground and felt a weight on his chest.
"This isn't fighting, it's foreplay," Raine cooed, shifting to a higher position on Shaad's chest right beneath his chin, her firm thighs pinning his arms and holding his head in place to force his gaze to meet hers.
"Fine," Shaad submitted. "Let's talk about Vega."
"Aah," Raine pretended to whine. "Now you want to talk? But, we're in position for something much more fun." Raine stroked her index finger along Shaad's lips, pressing it there as she leaned forward slightly without moving her hips and whispered to Shaad, "I promise you'll still get to use your mouth," with a naughty smirk.
Shaad finally stopped his squirming, seemingly surrendering to Raine despite maintaining a serious glare.
"Fine," she huffed. "G gave you a location, right? Do you trust it?"
"Based on the walk I took our first day here, it makes sense. And, he had no reason to lie to me. . . About that anyway."
"Then let's go get him; I'm bored."
"I'd rather not piss off all three Kings." 'At least not yet,' Shaad thought to himself.
"You're no fun," Raine pouted, arms crossed beneath her bust. "Fine; what's the plan?"
"Let me worry about that. Just make sure you're ready to leave when our ride gets here."
At that statement, Raine stood from her spot on Shaad's chest, a soft scowl marring her beauty. Shaad used the opportunity to take his first unhindered breath in a while, but that was quickly stopped by Raine's baton being jammed against his throat. Raine's scowl was replaced with a pleasant smirk as her eyes adopted the flustered feeling she felt despite it not being present in her gentle tone as she spoke. "I don't know who you think you're talking to, but I already told you I'm not gon' keep taking a backseat while you do your own thing. You may have forgotten our conversation, but I haven't. You ain't talking to some little groupie hoe that's just gon' take whatever shit you spit and pick up after you. You want me, I want trust; that means no more secrets. Understand?"
Shaad nodded his head to get Raine to let up on the baton, sucking in a deep breath when she finally removed the instrument from his neck. "You want trust," he coughed, grabbing at his throat. "That goes both ways. I'm not some obedient pup that's gon' be at your beck and call."
"So, what?"
"How bout what I told Big G?"
"Partners?"
"Partners."
"Equal partners."
Shaad showed a slight grimace at that. "I'm managing partner," he declared finally.
It was Raine's turn to frown at that before finally relenting. "Alright, Captain."
"So, what does this mean," Shaad asked, still a bit dumbfounded by what he'd just agreed to.
"Complete transparency on matters regarding each other or whatever crew we manage to gather. You'll always give my opinion fair consideration, but you maintain the authority of captain at all times."
"For the time being, then, we each will still have our secrets, though."
"A girls gotta have her mystery," Raine coyly remarked. "But what tidbits are you hiding," she inquired with a saucy smile.
The left side of Shaad's mouth pulled up in a lopsided smirk. The young pirate wasn't thrilled by the position he found himself in. Deceitful by nature, truth wasn't a quality he practiced all that often even if he did try to avoid outright lying on most occasions. Shaad stared deep into the eyes of his navigator for a few seconds. Though he expression was soft, the fire in her eyes burned brightly. This meant more to her than she'd ever let on, and that was all the encouragement Shaad needed reaching out his hand to seal the deal.
Raine seemed quite satisfied with the terms she'd just gotten if her wide smile was any indication. But, though she acknowledged Shaad's extended hand, she never shook it, instead grabbing Shaad's face and pressing her lips to his. Shaad melted into the kiss lasting a few seconds, the feel of her soft lips against his and heady perfume entrapping his mind and causing him to lose a sense of time before she pulled away.
Shaad wasn't sure how long he'd be able to take this. He already figured Raine could, at the least, push his limits in a fight, but, her teasing aside, she was every bit as crafty as him, if not more so, and could switch gears without a moment's notice in conversation. Even worse, she carried no qualms about turning all her skills and charms on a crewmate - the captain no less - and (dare he say) friend. Surely, Shaad figured, no other pirate captain (or any classification for that matter) in all the Blues or Grand Line had to deal with a plight of that caliber.
"How much longer until we're there?"
"Half a day or so, captain."
As their black ship sailed largely unseen against the backdrop of the night sky, the captain, Shaad's father, stood next to a solidly built man almost twice his height and at least three times the weight at the head of the ship, watching the vicious waves whipping up ahead of them. Shaad's father wore a conniving smirk as he addressed his first mate, "Once we get close, have the ship brought in under the cover of the hurricanes."
"Yes, captain," the large man instinctively answered before his captain's words fully sunk in. "Wai- Hurricanes? Does that mean -"
"But of course," the captain answered gleefully at his first mate's apprehension. "Who better to prepare the scene than him? You know our boy, Tocar, has a long standing hatred of Ol' Joe. It would be quite rude of us to leave him out of the festivities at this point."
"What about his brother," the first mate inquired, the question turning his captain's expression dour.
"I told Tocar to keep him in check, but that likely won't be enough. Prepare for the worst," the captain warned in a stern tone. "They definitely won't let Joe die, but outside collateral is sure to be heavy."
Knock. Knock. Knock. The Marines' Fleet Admiral, a lean, statuesque man - the unblemished, chiseled features giving him the appearance more resembling a model than a warrior or diplomat - sat behind his desk, a stern look on his face, shuffling through a stack of papers. He was interrupted from his work by the knocking at his door. Not even bothering to look up, he bid the person outside to come in.
"Sir, there's an emergency," the lower ranked marine declared with a hasty salute.
"What?"
"The Murderous Sage's flagship, Pantheon, is headed towards Arnot Isle."
"What about our men stationed in that area?" The Fleet Admiral's voice remained firm and even despite the rising panic in his subordinate's overall demeanor.
"I don't know, sir," the messenger responded, finally dropping his salute but remaining at full attention. "After they reported The Pantheon passing the perimeter, we lost contact with them. All efforts to reestablish contact have failed."
Upon hearing that, the Fleet Admiral finally looked up from his desk, his blue-eyed stare intimidating to the marine even from behind his long, golden locks. A scowl then affixed itself onto his features as a low growl escaped his throat before he firmly issued orders.
"Send word for the Admirals to assemble immediately."
"But, Fleet Admiral Samael -"
"I said to gather the Admirals," the Fleet Admiral commanded fiercely as he shattered his desk with his open palm, having suddenly reached the end of his patience with the entire situation. "The Baron's actions have grown increasingly bold and harder to contain over the past three years. If we let him continue unchecked, the world's balance will be in shambles before long."
"But, that might start a war," the messenger countered, his voice shaky under the Fleet Admiral's intense aura and domineering tone.
"And balance is already out the window," a new voice interjected, the owner of which had suddenly appeared against the wall of the room without either occupant noticing. The voice was calm and even, unaffected in any way by where he was or who was around him. But, as soon as he spoke, the Fleet Admiral lashed out as if to strangle him, imploding the athletically built, middle-aged man's head in an instant with a single hand.
But, instead of blood splatter and bone fragments, a hazy blackish vortex swirled in its place before expanding outward until the man's head reappeared undamaged. The stranger then continued speaking, ignoring the brief loss of his head. "Relax. I'm not here to fight; I was only hired to spy on you. But, if you're really calling the Three Admirals together, I'm going to be a lot busier." A larger vortex then began to emanate from the man's torso, drawing his entire body in without affecting the room around him. However, before he was completely gone, he delivered one final statement. "You should probably know, though, that 'The Titan' won't be answering any such summons."