"So… they left?" asked Luffy, staring into the horizon when his nakamas finally explained him why the Rens siblings were not in the ship anymore. "Well, I guess it´s fine. Hope they find Hakuei before the marines catch her."
"Yes, me too" Nami said, a little bit down since hearing of her friend´s predicament. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do from her post in the ship, except praying for her safety. After the fight with the Tobiu riders and rescuing Hachi, she was not the only one worried for the raven girl. Hachi took some liking to her too from when he was on the Cocoyashi village.
"Yeah…" Sanji just thought about Hakuei for a moment. How could such a pretty woman be related to someone like Kouen? She was gentle too, while the eldest redhead was a cold hearted tactician and down to the point idiot. "Perhaps we will meet them again when we reach the New World."
"Yes" they were approaching the Sabaody Shotou. The Thousand Sunny was decked before long and Hachi went along with Nami, Chopper, Keimi, her star and Luffy to get some food and water. The captain was surprised to see flying bicycles and wanted to have one, but the octopus said they shouldn´t do it. Apparently it was a very known con, as the vehicles didn´t work outside of the tree islands.
"What should I do…" a redheaded girl was walking in the opposite direction of them. She wasn´t just worried, she was super worried, as her friends were recently captured by bounty hunters. Of course, the greedy bunch sold them as slave instead of simply handing them to the authorities. They were about to cross when someone stopped her.
"Somebody! Somebody help me!" a big man with a tattoo in the chest begged the crowd, who didn´t move. The Empress stopped in her tracks, eyeing the man. Just a look at his neck made her realise his predicament. It was something she learned in her first days here, slaves always wear a collar around their necks. And overall, the people that owned those slaves were…
"Help me!" the collar started to make a sound that put Keimi on edge. Luffy looked at the spectacle, how the people around him were too still, too… stiff. As if they were trying to shut their eyes and ears to the reality in front of them. Kougyoku too, burying her nails in the flesh of her hands. The pirate´s collar finally exploded and he plunged to the ground, unconscious and barely alive. "I just wanted to see my family"
"So cruel" she commented, not doing anything and feeling awful for that. Sinbad... between all the things her former beloved did, wrong and good, banning slavery was one of the things both him and her family agreed. Slavery had to go. And seeing such an extreme made her realise just how awful a future with slaves was.
"Get down… Tenryuubitos" she heard near her. Normally she wouldn´t bow to anyone, after all she was an empress, but save her friends and siblings she was going to need to stay low. Growling a bit, she got down on her knees, bowing the head. Soon they came, a man with more slaves and a woman with her face hidden by a veil. The young woman, Shalulia apparently, shot the man down, killing him.
"How horrible" she clenched her fists. The Celestial Dragons went on in their path, not carrying about any of the people on their knees and the road suddenly came back to live. She continued her way, as did the Mugiwaras.
"What happened over there?"
"I will explain" Hachi sighed after the damn abusers were away from reach. He bought some food to help Luffy stay still for some moments and explained the situation. That the Tenryuubitos were the descendants of the creators of the World Government and had the power to call an admiral and to do whatever they wanted to the commoners… and sometimes to some royals. Suddenly bounty hunters interrupted the chat and they had to fight for their lives. The bounty hunters run away to their liar, which Kougyoku was stalking.
"That damn gang" she reached the window, trying to find out where they took his friends. Apparently they had another objective in mind, for which the girl followed them. The leader dressed as a bear and got closer to a girl… a girl with a fishtail.
"Can´t be… a mermaid?" she knew that in this world mermaids existed, but they never left the sea and it was terribly difficult to catch them there. What was this one doing on earth? Her hand flew to her hair, where her metal container was.
"Come with us" the leader caught the mermaid, quickly taking her away from her friends. Kougyoku followed them to a human market house. Normally she would never enter a place of depravity like this, she was Kou´s empress after all, but now… this could be the only way to find her friends.
"Hummmm?" Trafalgar Law opened an eye when he saw the redhead entering there. She didn´t seem like the usual clients of this establishment… or the kind of people that damn Doflamingo will deal with at all. Kid was one thing, but this girl… this girl was… strange. Her head was held high, even in a place she obviously despised, and her steps were those of a princess. "Lady, do you want to sit here? It´s free"
"Thank you, sir" she sat down next to the pirate. She knew who he was, but having someone of such a reputation near could be useful. "Care to tell me why are you here?"
"Isn´t that obvious?"
"It isn´t" she continued with her icy demeanour. "You are not the type of person to buy slaves. In fact, you are not here about the slaves at all, but for the person who own the place" his body stiffen. "You despise such a person… or perhaps you only despised the person?" he shuddered a bit. "that´s what I thought"
"Woow, pretty and smart" he conceded. Not every person will find out just for some looks how much he despised Doflamingo. "But you aren´t for the slaves either, don´t you?" she stiffens now. "I know the people like you. You are highborn enough to buy probably every slave in here, but you think that´s beneath you. And you are against slavery, not something every noble is. Am I right?"
"Very well" she extended a hand. "Kougyoku Ren"
"Trafalgar Law" she didn´t let his hand go. "Okay" he got closer. "Trafalgar D. Water Law"
"A pleasure" she let him go and the lights on the stage got off. People around started watching with excitement, like it was an spectacle. "Disgusting"
"Indeed" everything Doflamingo did was disgusting. During a few seconds he saw the face of his enemy on the wall, relieving the moment Corazon was shot in front of him. "Damn, control yourself"
"Don´t think about that person" she commented, naturally. "He obviously did an awful thing to you and deserves to pay, but to achieve it you have to outsmart him, not let your anger get the better of yourself" she smiled. "But a bit of strength also helps a little, no? Revenge is best when you do it yourself."
"I think the say was revenge was a dish best served cold"
"Hasn't it gone cold enough?" cold enough, like the vengeance they had against Al Tharmen after Judal disappeared. She remembered when she and her siblings personally hunted the responsible for their people´s sufferings. She remembered the amazing sensation when she sliced that damn Markio guy and the three bitched Arba had at her service. "It´s satisfactory. Revenge I mean."
"I hope, I have been planning this one for more than a decade"
"I have been planning mine since I realised what they did to my brother" she suddenly commented. "Don´t listen to me, we are not talking about the same person."
"I wouldn´t put it past him to do something awful to anyone" Law answered. They then paid attention to Disco´s show, just to see how the man offered a musician who looked miserable. She was bored and outraged at the same time, hearing all this corrupted people playing to be god to this people. "Solomon help me, this is awful"
"Who is Solomon?" she didn´t answer, her eyes glued to the stage. Her friends were being presented by the ringmaster, who looked as happy as ever. Unfortunately for him, things were going to turn in an awful way when one of the slaves tried to commit suicide. So they finally took out the big price, the star slave of the day. "The mermaid?"
"Probably it´s just a ruse"
"No, the mermaid is real, I saw them catching her" her hand came to her hair, holding Vinea. "I can´t believe them… she was just enjoying a day in the amusement park and they dare to take her and sell her as if she was nothing but a fish…"
"Hey, calm…" everything happened too fast from there. The Tenryuubito bought the mermaid, he started to say he wanted to bump her in a tank full of piranhas, him stopping the redhead from attacking and… a fish going to the roof? What the hell?
"KEIMI!" and with Mugiwara, the pandemonium arrived. He wanted the mermaid, apparently it was stolen from him. The gyojin tried to save her and ended up being shot by that Charlos oaf. Luffy, as many crazy Ds would do, punched the idiot in the face, sending him against a wall. Damn, he wanted to do that too… no, no, Law. Remember what Cora-san always say. Think first and don´t let anyone know you are a D. "Sorry friends, for what I did an admiral will come"
"Well, guess there is no way out now" Nami commented, talking about it as if it was no problem. After all, she was used to her captain getting them into troubles. "We will have to defeat all the marines outside"
"Hey, not something we didn´t have to do before"
"Yes…" the crew of misfits agreed and Law found himself praying to Cora-san to help him not to end up as crazy as him.
"What the hell happens to them?" Kougyoku asked.
"No idea"
-Later-
"Get out of my way!" Luffy, Kid and Law were fighting over the right to get rid of marines standing outside the place. The empress was behind them, looking at the assembled team. One of her friends caught her arm, trying to get her inside the building again.
"What are you doing? We have to get out of here!"
"I don´t run from troubles" she said, making him let go. She was not that scared child who hid in the deeps of the palace and cried anymore, she was the empress and a warrior now. She saw them defeating the marines and saw something else approaching. She took her hairpin again and sent a wave of water towards them, effectively defeating them. "So long, my friends"
"Good shot, Kougyoku-ya"
"Wait, Kougyoku?" Nami approached the redhead. "Ren Kougyoku?" she grabbed her hands, not believing that they found her so quickly. "We are friends with your brothers Koumei and Kouen. They helped us to raid Ennies Lobbi last time and to rescue the people from Thriller Bark…"
"K… do you really know En-nii and Mei-nii?!" she was surprised. Kouen would never be caught dead with such a crazy group of people and Koumei would just sleep his way through the fight unless Kouen told him to participate. "Where are they?!"
"We were with them and Hakuryuu in Thriller Bark and…"
"Hakuryuu too?!"
"Yes, but… they had to go. Your sister Hakuei got into trouble and they went to help her. Someone called Kouha is already there" woow, that left her as the last who needed to arrive to the reunion point. Cheaters. "They are waiting for you in an island called Front."
"Ahhhh, thank you. I will go on my way" then she realised something. "where is front?"
"You can come with us, we are heading to the New World now" Luffy invited. She nodded, leaving with them. Trafalgar stared at her retreating form, sure that this was not the last time he saw her. And that it was better to be her ally than her enemy.
"Come, we have to get to the Thousand Sunny!" suddenly marines appeared in their way. one of them was a creepy looking man with a bright yellow suit. She soon found out it was Admiral Kizaru from the Navy. The Mugiwaras prepared to fight, so she took Vinea from her hair. The Light monkey didn´t look impressed… or at least no until she managed to hurt him with her water lances.
"Wooow, we have a though girl here" he commented, covering a bleeding injury. It has been such a long time since the last person managed to hurt him… "Perhaps I should take you out first."
"Try it, old man" she engaged into a fight. He was fast, really fast, but that was not match against her djinn´s water power. Anyway, she knew he was just waiting until she tired out to striker her death and then the rest of the crew. And that was something she won´t allow.
"You know, I defeated some supernovas back then when I first arrived here" he confessed. "They were not the ones I was looking for, but when I see a pirate I can´t help but hurt him. after all" his tone stayed the same. "They are criminals"
"Normally I would agree, but I believe slavers are worst criminals" she prepared to call her full power when someone new entered the place. Nami´s eyes widen, it was the bear man from Thriller Bark, the one that sent Kouen and his brother to Front with just a movement of his hands.
"Bartholomew Kuma…"
"What the hell!"
"Mugiwara no Luffy" he stared at their captain and started taking out the crew one by one. Kougyoku tried to help, but Kuma dodged her and then… his sad expression confused her. "I will send you to your family in an instant"
"What… ahhhh!" she was sent flying through the air in that second, landing with pain in an island. She got up, cursing the man to hell and back with all the bad words Ka Koubun taught her when she was a little girl.
"Someone is cursing like a drunken sailor here… oh, it´s Kougyoku" she was surprised when the first face she saw was of the light blond magi that brought them to this world. Yunan extended a hand to her, helping her to get out of the paw mark. Suddenly, her siblings appeared along with Titus Alexius. "Great to see you, Empress"
"I… the same" she put her hairpin back into her place and hugged the others. "En-nii, Luffy-san and his friends gave me the message" he was surprised. Only a few days have passed since he left the Mugiwaras in the company of a dangerous foe. Who knew they would manage to survive? "That bear guy appeared out of nowhere and…"
"Bear guy?" she met Bartholomew Kuma? Well, obviously yes, she arrived in one his paw marks after all. The real question was where she met the Shichibukai. "Were you in Thriller Bark?"
"No, in Sabaody shotou" she answered, rubbing the back of her neck. "It was a place completely made of trees, where the ships stopped to coat themselves before leaving for the New World" she looked around herself. "We are in the New World, no?"
"Yes" Koumei got into the conversation in that moment. "In a marine base, to be exact" his eyes sharpened. "And we should get moving. After all, there is going to be a war soon and that crew Judal is with will face the world government" his fan half covered his face. "We have to get to him as soon as possible."
"Why? He probably will be at home in a war" Kougyoku started to pick at her hair. Her dear adoptive brother caused wars all over the world, another one will be like a walk in the park, especially with him being a magi.
"Kougyoku, the situation is different now"
"Why?"
"You don´t… no one realised the kind of situation he can be in" Yunan interrupted them. The light blind magi lowered his gaze. "Strong spells like this… no, this must be the strongest spell I ever casted" he stared at her directly. "So strong it nearly damaged my staff permanently" he showed her some of the burn marks on it. "Doing it with a wand… it´s severe damage guaranteed."
"Severe damage… Judal will be without magic?!" Kouen then realised the severity of the situation. He once offered to train Judal like he trained all his brothers and the magi answered that no, that he didn´t need it. That his magic was the only weapon he needed. He groaned. "Judal is useless without his wand and staff, he will die if we don´t do something."
"The best thing we can do is get to him and give him this" Koumei showed them the staff he has been guarding. "Where is the war taking place?"
"Marineford" Titus answered, frowning. His staff, his mother´s staff, also suffered some damage, but he managed to repair them with some magic before needing it. He searched for something with his magic and, after a few minutes, found it. "There is a ship near here and the rukh tells me they are going to help us. We just need to talk to the redheaded man on the deck."
"The let´s go" they went to the shore to take fly from there. The Rens and the magis never thought it would be so important after, especially with the war on sight… the moment they decided to aboard the Red Force.
Hope you liked it! Now... Luffy is soon going to meet again friends from his past. Who could they be? Review!
