Chapter 9
I loved how in the reviews, everyone freaked out about the kiss and Zoro being taken away from her...BUT NO ONE CARED ABOUT USSOP NEARLY DYING. XD
But yeah, thank you for the reviews! =3 I warn you, it might be a while until the next update. I know I said that last time, but I mean it this time. =/
Right, I'm going to say nothing more. ;D
Shanks had read the report in disbelief. He knew that Zoro had been desperate to get out of MI5, but he didn't think that he'd go as far as kissing a princess. The news that Zoro had been removed from he duties towards Princess Robin had spread around headquarters like wildfire but with no-one knowing why, as well as the fact that Zoro had not actually been kicked out of the job entirely.
Instead, he had been thrown into the cell where he had been tied up once more with his back against the cross. His arms were tightly bound by his wrists, just below his elbows and directly across his biceps. There was absolutely no chance of escape. He grimaced in pain as he moved slightly, causing pain across his torso due to the giant cut that now cut him diagonally from shoulder to hip.
Having arrived back at headquarters with a lot of struggling, Zoro had withdrawn two of his katanas and tried to attack Mihawk, managing to get in possibly two small papercuts to the man's cheek.
Whereas Mihawk had blocked the attacks with a sword that people rarely saw withdrawn from the sheath on his back. The large black sword, Kokuto Yoru, had been unsheathed. And in one striking blow, had severed Zoro's katanas and left the deep mark on his torso.
Now, Zoro had been sentenced to no meals or water for a week whilst tied to the cross.
It was Shanks who visited him on the first day, bearing a needle and some black thread. "Figured that I might try my hand at sewing you up. I do love sewing patterns." He tried to joke. Seeing that it got no response, not even the lift of the head to acknowledge that Shanks had even come in, he decided to get on with it anyway. Bringing out a little bottle of sake, he grimaced. "I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt." He apologised.
As he gently let the sake trickle over Zoro's cut, he saw the boy's jaw clench in pain, seeing in the way he screwed his eyes shut how determined he was to shut the world out and not admit his pain. The same happened when Shanks heated the needle over a candle and began to carefully yet neatly sew up Zoro's wound.
"Seems we're both scarred." Shanks commented with a laugh as he pointed to the three lines over his eye whilst nodding to Zoro's slash across his chest which would undoubtedly turn into a very large scar when the stitches were removed.
"Is she ok?" Zoro suddenly asked, his voice quiet.
"Hm?" Shanks asked in surprise. "As far as I know, yes. You know, what you did would be viewed by her family as very dishonourable."
Zoro laughed shortly. "Yeah, dishonour. Make a note of this; Dishonour on you, dishonour on your family, dishonour on your cow-"
"Oi, no need for the sarcasm."
"There was every fucking need." Zoro spat. "I can't even tell her I'm sorry for ruining her life."
"From what I heard from Rayleigh, she's more upset about the fact that she's unable to say sorry to you for ruining yours." Shanks replied.
Zoro didn't reply, merely stared at the ground between his feet. Shanks sighed and uncorked the bottle of sake once more. "Look, I know your sentence, but quickly take a gulp on this. It might help for your coming week." He said, raising the bottle to Zoro's lips.
At first Zoro stared at him blankly, but then raised his head and tipped it back a little so that Shanks was able to pour some into his mouth. Relishing the taste for as long as he could, he swallowed and breathed out heavily. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. I doubt you'll get many visitors, but..I'll see what I can do. And I'm currently having your katanas fixed up. With luck they'll be finished in about two days." Shanks winked as he gathered the supplies and headed out.
Zoro had been bored before, but he hadn't prepared for the boredom that he felt in the white-walled room for that day. He didn't even know when it was day or night, so he had to gauge it for himself. He managed to get in a pretty good sleep, but he was unable to tell how much time had passed.
When he woke the next day, his stomach started to betray him a little as it growled hungrily. He told it to be quiet, more vehemently so the louder it got. "I'm not even using much energy, so shut up." He growled back after a particularly loud stomach growl.
Since he was having to stand up the whole time, his legs felt weak, making him sometimes have to hang by his arms, just so that the trembling would stop. There weren't any games that he could play against himself either. Even eye-spy gradually got boring.
"I spy something with my little eye, something beginning with L. Light. I win...I spy something with my little eye. Something beginning with M. Me. I win...I spy something with my little eye, something beginning wi-Me, again. Wow, I'm good at this..." Zoro muttered monotonously.
Hours passed spent in silence. Perhaps even a day or two at the most. The next time he saw anyone, was Rayleigh.
"Shanks managed to slip me a little bit of time off." Rayleigh explained as he entered the little white room. "M'afraid I couldn't sneak you any sustenance but I brought you this." He said, putting a litte radio in front of Zoro.
Zoro said nothing but stared at him.
"You're looking pale kid."
"How long has it been?" Zoro finally asked.
"You're halfway there." Rayleigh answered, sitting down on the floor in front of him. "It's evening now, so you've got about another three days yet. Likely scenario is that Hawk-Eye won't come and get you 'til the evening on the last day, so you'll get to hear the speech."
"Speech?" Zoro questioned in confusion.
Rayleigh nodded. "Remember? She's filling in for the Christmas speech."
It took Zoro a moment before he realised that he'd fallen asleep while she had been practising. "Oh..Oh yeah." He remembered "I think I ma-" He suddenly stopped short. Frowning, he tried again. "Ma-" This time his voice sounded raspy, his throat and tongue unable to produce the sound 'ay'. He screwed his eyes shut a little as he felt it grate along his throat.
He could barely make another sound after that, no matter how much he tried to salivate. Not wanting to show pity on the boy as he knew it would hurt his pride, Rayleigh tuned the radio station in until it finally started to produce the voices of the radio DJ's. "There we go." He nodded. "That'll keep you company for the rest of the week. Just make sure that you listen to when they say what the time is. That way you'll be able to count down the remaining days. Alright kid?"
Rayleigh was just able to make out Zoro mouthing the words 'I'm not a kid', accompanied by a glare. Laughing, Rayleigh stood up and clapped him on the shoulder. "You'll make it just fine kid. Shanks and I won't let you die on our watch. Coby's been asking after you by the way. Asking where you were, and if you were ok." He mentioned before nodding to the green-haired teenager and starting to duck out of the door.
Then he paused. "Zoro...I think I should mention. Robin's been acting a little..well, strange. She's very much more on edge and is constantly looking about herself, as though she's nervous about something. I get the feeling she knows something. Or is expecting something to happen. If anything does you'll be the first to know. It was troubling me because she said she felt 'as exposed as a raw nerve to anyone wanting to get at her'. I told her that whilst we were here, nothing could get her. But I have the feeling that she's worried."
Zoro stared at him and furrowed his eyebrows in thought, watching as Rayleigh shrugged. "Maybe it's just the times we're in. Everyone seems to be jumping out of their skin at the slightest move." Rayleigh laughed, bidding farewell and leaving.
Exhaling heavily through his nose, Zoro stared at the little old brown radio in front of him, studying every inch of detail in boredom. 'I spy..with my little eye...something beginning with R.' He thought with dry amusement. 'Radio. I win'.
Taking Rayleigh's advice, he listened for the times that the radio DJ's gave, calculating when to go to sleep, and when he woke up again the next day, listening intently for the time once more.
It worked effectively, and Zoro even enjoyed listening to some of the Christmas songs that were played, remembering a few of them that were played as the favourite Christmas songs belonging to some of his group. Nami's for example being 'All I want for Christmas'. Ace's being 'Here it is Merry Christmas'. Chopper, Ussop and Luffy sharing the favourite of 'Rocking around the Christmas tree' but also delighting in the up-beat Christmas songs.
At one point though, Zoro's eyes widened in terror and he vainly tried to kick out at the radio in an attempt to break it as Justin Beiber's Christmas song started to play. Unable to do so, he hung his head in defeat. 'Wow...This really is torture,' he sweatdropped mentally.
Other songs he found, related to him or how he felt through the lyrics. One in particular reminding him of Robin in Olly Murs' 'Troublemaker'. Getting into the chorus, he sang along in his head. 'Why does it feel so good but hurt so bad? My mind keeps saying run as fast as you can. I say I'm done but then you pull. me. back...I swear you're giving me a heart attack. Troublemaker'.
With the next two uneventful days that passed with him feeling weaker and weaker with hunger and thirst, he found himself kind of depending on the radio station to keep him sane and up to date with the news of the outside world, which wasn't very interesting in truth. Nothing was there that related to him or stood out at any rate.
So when he woke up on the last day, he listened to the DJ's chatter on how to survive through the Christmas dinners that people were to be eating that afternoon. "Yeah, you know Hina, I've always found that I eat too much turkey, so I don't really get the turkey left overs..."
"No Bonney, you just eat too much, Hina-laugh."
"Yeah, because it tastes so good. Anyway, it's now twelve o'clock, and now we have the King's speech who is being read out by the heir to the throne, Princess Robin, due to the King's absence."
At this, Zoro's head shot up and he stared at the radio, ignoring the alarming crack in his neck as the bones clicked. He waited, listening carefully as the sounds of the royal fanfare slowly died away.
There was a pause as he heard a deep breath being taken.
"People of Britain." Robin's confident voice spoke through the radio, making Zoro smile to himself. "I speak to you now as though I were able to reach through over your thresholds and speak to you as though I was next to you. This past year, we as one are able to look back on the good times that we have experienced. From the balls and parties held in households, down to the birthday's of a friend or loved one, we have all shared good times."
"A specific memory in which I share with you all, being during my father the King's jubilee. How all across the country, you welcomed us as we toured throughout Britain. Despite the weather in some places, the happiness on your faces was a joy to see. The way that you joined together in spite of the difficulties you face in the everyday hardships of life reminded me that throughout any situation, we are all bound as a people, and are able to see the light shining through even in the darkest of places. May we together remind ourselves of this as we pass into the new year."
There was a break in the speech, in which her steady breathing could be heard. "And finally, I wish to bid you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. To everyone from the children playing with their siblings, to the lone knight who will be thinking of that someone special. God be with you this Christmas Day."
Knowing for a fact that the second to last line hadn't been in the rehearsal, Zoro grinned to himself. 'She called out to me.' He thought, shaking his head knowingly. 'Knowing that I've been taken away, she knew that I'd be listening. Probably Rayleigh's doing, seeing as he gave me the radio.'
He laughed softly, but even that caught in his throat turning it into a very painful dry cough that made him shake a little. Pulling on his restraints uselessly, he sighed tiredly and hung his head once more, his legs shaking a little from having continuously stood up. As time wore on into the evening, the shaking became worse and Zoro's mind started to feel dizzy from the lack of nourishment.
So when Mihawk entered that evening and started to tell him that he would be in training again until the new year, Zoro was able to get a tiny glimpse of him before his legs gave way underneath him and he collapsed, completely passed out.
Stood at the bandstand of Kensington gardens, Princess Kaya finished her speech to the large crowd that had gathered that morning in the early hours of the January day, the sun just peeking out through the small lines of cloud.
Amid a loud cheer, people began to chatter and start the festives that had been set up in stalls, including games, rides and other such events.
There were quite a few agents around too, such as Aokiji, Garp, Kaku, Crocodile and Coby. Clad in his black suit of a uniform, Zoro also stood amongst them, keeping next to Coby for the most of the time. Unless around Coby, Shanks or Rayleigh, Zoro didn't say much. He felt like an outsider who was looking in on everyone else, seeing but not joining, and he hated it.
Instead he and Coby stuck close to Kaya's sides to make sure that she didn't do anything stupid or that nothing bad happened to her. There was one small near miss when they got to a stall about halfway down on the right hand side, where a man was stood next to a blackboard that he had propped up on a chair, the top of which read 'Sex Education'. There were a few people standing there, all of whom looked a little creeped out.
"-just don't do it ok? Now...Everyone take some rubbers." The man finally said, holding out a box full of small square packets.
Zoro noticed that Kaya, looking somewhat wary, was about to take one. Striding forwards, he made her stop by gently putting a hand on her arm. "My lady, it would be safer if you didn't." He advised, glaring at the man, who trembled a little in response.
"Oh..Ok." Kaya nodded, smiling nervously at the man before moving on to the next stall which promoted girl-world.
"-On Wednesdays we wear pink." One of the girls there gushed excitedly to the girls around their stall. Immediately Zoro tuned out, as did Coby who was stood next to him once more, the both of them attentively scanning the area.
It could have been a trick of the light, but for a moment Zoro thought he saw a flash of blue hair swinging out in a ponytail starting to cross onto the right hand side of the stalls with them a little further down. He focused on it, but lost it in the lively crowd.
"Hey, Coby-" Kaya started.
Distracted for a second, Zoro interrupted, pointing his thumb at Coby. "Uhh, yeah. His first name's Agent." He joked with a smirk, making Coby punch his arm lightly.
All of a sudden, a large bang like the sound of gunfire sounded out, smoke rising and billowing out swiftly. Grabbing Kaya's arm gently, Zoro pulled her over to a table and told her to stay underneath it whilst he called for aid.
In the smoke, Coby strained his eyes as he tried to look for the princess in a panic. Seeing her, Coby ran at Kaya, being stopped by Zoro grabbing his shoulder and pulling him back and then throwing the both of them to the floor just as a hail of knives flew in over the top of them.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING." Coby yelled frantically.
Zoro rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Not Kaya." He stated, pointing to the girl who was hiding underneath the table of an abandoned stall, where Zoro had instructed her to hide when the smoke bomb had been released.
Coby stared at him in disbelief. "How did you get dismissed from working with Robin agai-YAGH!" His question turned into a yell as Zoro suddenly shoved him over towards Kaya.
"Doesn't matter. Get here out of here. Take Garp and one of the bullet proof cars and get her back to the palace. Make sure she's not hurt, and get there as fast as you can. GO." Zoro ordered firmly, knowing that Coby would question him otherwise.
The pink haired boy nodded and ran over to the princess, picking her up and leading her away at a fast run, Zoro on her other side as he joined them. As they neared the edge of the park, he glanced back to check that no one was following them. His eyes suddenly widened.
"WATCH OUT." He roared, diving behind Coby.
There was a sickening thud, making Kaya and Coby stop at the same time. Coby turned around fearfully, seeing Zoro bent double at the waist and holding one hand to his mouth, the other to his stomach. He started to panic when Zoro coughed, blood splattering all over his hand.
"Z-Zoro!" Coby said, staring at him.
"GO. IDIOT." Zoro shouted, blood spraying from his lips as he winced, pulling the knife out from his stomach with a pained grunt, making Coby's eyes go wide at the move. However, he listened and obeyed without question, taking Kaya at an even faster run, staying behind her slightly as they headed towards the car.
Zoro shivered as his vision blurred in front of him, alerting him to the fact that he had been poisoned. He managed to make out the outlines of two figures walking towards him and he licked both of his hands clean of his blood before he unsheathed two of his katanas defensively. "You are not getting past me." He threatened.
The figures stopped momentarily and glanced at one another, but then continued once more, moving around him as they went after Coby and Kaya. Zoro grit his teeth. There was no way in hell that he was going to be ignored.
With not a word, he spun around and sliced diagonally upwards, catching the two by surprise as their clothes were ripped open, one of them even getting a slight cut on his skin. They stopped and turned to face him once more.
"Don't touch me you flashy bastard." One said. Zoro focused as hard as he could on the voice, realising that it was the voice of Buggy the clown, one of Sanji's lackeys. "Wait a minute...is that...? Z-Z-ZORO?! RORONOA ZORO?" Buggy screeched.
Zoro replied with a downwards slash towards the other man that he had yet to figure out. As he made his move, the man moved closer and grabbed his arms, halting the downwards motion of the katanas. At this close a view, it was hard to mistake Marco's yellow pineapple.
"Give it up." Marco said bluntly.
"Hah...You can give up..on me...giving up." Zoro grinned breathlessly as the poison from the cut started to take effect. With one swift motion he spun the katanas around in his hands and backed up, creating two gashes in Marco's side as the katanas ripped his skin brutally, puncturing and slicing his flesh so that he yelled out in pain and released Zoro's arms instantaneously, allowing him to turn and cross his katanas over to block the blade of Buggy's incoming dagger.
Buggy flipped the dagger into his other hand and brought it in a smooth uppercut, only to be blocked with one katana whilst its brother stabbed him in the right shoulder, making him lose his grip on the dagger.
The poison rolled over Zoro's senses in a huge wave, almost like a painful wave of tiredness. He fell to his knees, his katana's either side of him on the floor from where he'd dropped them.
Buggy saw his chance and raised his uninjured arm to punch Zoro, but as the fist came down, Zoro reached up, catching it expertly at the last second. With a wicked grin, he twisted it in one powerful move, dislocating Buggy's wrist and making the man cry out in pain, as it was something that he couldn't repair with his devil fruit like Marco was slowly trying to.
Managing to get himself into a state of lesser pain, Marco stood over Zoro. "You've fallen low Zoro...and you will die by Sanji when he knows that you're still somehow alive." He spat. "Just you wait, government scum."
Zoro's head whipped up and his eyes glowed with fires akin to that which raged in hell, his body feeling something like adrenaline running through it as he stared at Marco, a vein almost jumping out of his skin in anger. In that moment, Marco's body gave out underneath him as he fell almost unconscious, relying on Buggy who caught him at the last second with a stunned look on his face.
"M-M-MARCO! DAMN IT LET'S MOVE YOU FLASHY BASTARD!" Buggy yelled in a panic as he all but dragged Marco away, glaring at Zoro as the agent grabbed his katanas once more and tried to stand up.
Zoro yelled out to the other agents, but he knew the two would be long gone, having headed for the safety of their base to tell Sanji that Roronoa Zoro did indeed live.
"...Shit." Zoro cursed, taking a glance down at the stab wound in his stomach. "I need to stop jumping in front of princesses." He laughed humourlessly.
"Zoro!" Aokiji called out as he ran over. "The others gave chase, but we were too late." He reported. "Good work though. Very quick thinking."
"Yeah..Somehow managed to knock one of them out just by glaring at him. And speaking of quick," Zoro gasped, "I've got very quick poison coursing through my veins. Anything you can do to get it out?"
Aokiji's face became grim. "Seems like you're awoken your Haki. And yes I can do something, but it'll hurt like..well, hell I suppose. I can't do it with you awake."
"Great." Zoro coughed, tasting blood on his tongue.
Then he felt Aokiji press two fingers to his neck and push hard. Like a lightbulb, Zoro slipped into unconsciousness and Aokiji carefully stuck his hand into Zoro's stomach wound, allowing the ice to spread into Zoro's body and keeping a watchful eye on Zoro's heart-rate. Melting the ice, he diffused the water from it into every bit of poison that the water could feel, and when confident that he had managed to get all of it, he slowly withdrew the water and turned it back into ice, trapping the poison within before depositing it into a nearby bin.
"That'll do it." Aokiji nodded. "Let's get you back to headquarters."
"-Yeah, it was weird." Kaya said as she told Mikoto about the stalls that had been at the Kensington Gardens. "The guy just sat there and said; 'Don't have sex. You will get pregnant...and die.'" Kaya said from where she was sat on her bed and being checked over by Coby, her face screwed up to show how much it had weirded her out.
Mikoto stared at her and blinked, trying to hold back her laughter. "Well...he's not correct ma'am, that's one thing for sure."
"Did you ever have any children Mikoto? Or want to?" Kaya asked.
"Me? Yes, I did. A little boy whom I left at home with his father whilst I came and worked here." Mikoto replied, busying herself with gathering the laundry.
"You left them?"
"I had no choice but to." Mikoto smiled, curtseying somewhat awkwardly with the laundry in her hands as she took her leave.
"Do you ever see them?" Kaya quickly called out.
Pausing in the doorway, Mikoto turned back. "Sometimes." She answered cryptically, nodding her head before leaving for the laundry room.
Humming to herself, Kaya glanced up at Coby. "Coby, are you alright?" She asked, her eyes full of kindness and concern for her protector.
Smiling at her, he nodded. "Aa. I'm fine my lady. I'm just wondering.."
"About Zoro?" Kaya questioned. "You're worried for him."
"Yes. I'm hoping he is ok. He's always getting hurt, and I'm wondering if he's weakening a little."
Kaya shook her head in response. "I don't think he's weakening." She disagreed, making Coby glance at her in surprise. "In fact...I rather think he's getting stronger."
Sanji watched as Franky dragged the two male civilians into the light of their base, the wind howling outside and the rain lashing against the windows. "Tell me." Sanji said, calmly sighing out a cloud of cigarette smoke. "You are in an out of the palace quite a bit, yes?"
"Y-Yes sir." The older civilian stuttered. "I-I-I deliver the food t-to the chefs."
"So I'm guessing the security will have increased due to someone getting in there and trying to kill the princess a while back. Am I right?"
The younger civilian nodded, squeaking in pain as Franky kicked him in the side. "Yes s-sir." He answered, more to Franky's liking as shown by the cyborg nodding in satisfaction and crossing his large metal arms over his chest.
"Good. Then you are to provide us with a way in." Sanji stated, pleased with the idea.
The young male jumped up straighter on his knees with an exclamation. "WE DO NOT HELP CRIMINALS! A-AND WE WOULD NEVER B-BETRAY OUR COUNTRY LIKE TH-THAT."
Raising his curled eyebrow, Sanji mumbled a muffled 'ohh?' through his cigarette, taking it out of his mouth to speak. "Mmm...Mmm...Well said boy, well said. Indeed, thank you for telling us where your allegencies lie. Now we know that we have no further need of you in particular." Sanji smirked, nodding to Eustass Kidd on his left, who grinned manically and grabbed the youth by his neck, who gurgled in panic as he was taken to a room on the left that adjoined to theirs, slamming the door behind him.
There was a pause.
"Well. I hope that you are able to see some sense, otherwise we'll have to find someone else, and that will be a terrible bother." Sanji said, glancing down at the old man who was still kneeling at his feet, his body trembling as he hid his tears in his beard.
"Y-Yes sir." The old man whispered.
There was a scream that was cut short as an entire magazine round was heard to be emptied from a machine gun on the other side of the door that Kidd had gone into. The old man whimpered and screwed his eyes tightly shut.
"Excellent." Sanji grinned.
Suddenly a frantic Buggy burst in, carrying a half-concious Marco. "HE'S BACK." Buggy screeched. Scowling at the clown-faced man, Sanji motioned to Trafalgar Law, who took Marco from Buggy and disappeared out of the room.
"Buggy, what are you talking about? Could you for once actually make some sense?" Sanji asked heavily as Franky dragged the old man out of the room.
Clearing his throat, Buggy took a deep breath and prepared himself for what he was about to say next. "When we went to attack princess Kaya like you ordered, there was this guy, and he did something to Marco, and dislocated my hand." Seeing Sanji raise his eyebrow at him questioningly, he glanced away momentarily, starting to break out into a little bit of a sweat. "Well...I mean it's just that...Roronoa Zoro is alive."
Sanji's eyes flashed angrily. "Repeat that. Now." He demanded, his voice taking on a steely tone that was colder than ice.
"Roronoa Zoro is alive and is working as one of the government agents." Buggy admitted warily.
"WE LEAVE NOW. GET IN THAT FOOD DELIVERY VAN WITHIN THE NEXT TWO MINUTES. I'LL KILL ANYONE THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT ON TIME. MOVE." Sanji roared, his eyes alight with determination as he strode out into the stairwell of the tall building of flats, grabbing the old man from Franky's hands and gripping him by the front of his shirt. "You will ensure that we get inside the palace. Fail, and you will die." He threatened angrily.
The civilian swallowed nervously and nodded his head vigorously to show that he understood.
Trafalgar Law peeked out of one of the flat rooms. "Sanji. Marco still needs attending to. I'm afraid that he and I will have to sit this one out." He stated, his voice emotionless.
"Make sure no one upstairs gets out. Ok Law? Marco can wait until we return. Guard the prisoners and keep them quiet. I will kill you if anyone apart from us gets in or out of this building." Sanji snarled before heading off down the stairs, his gang following close behind.
At the palace, Princess Kaya stood in front of her open wardrobe and frowned in thought. "I hate having to go to dinner sometimes...I'm never sure of which dinner dress to wear." She sighed. From where he was stood at the side of the room with Garp, Coby laughed quietly, but not unkindly.
"My lady, your sister will coming to get you in a minute, so it would be best if you chose now rather than in half an hour." He advised playfully.
Suddenly, multiple loud thumps accompanied by a muffled yell sounded from a little way down the corridor. Confused, Coby glanced at Garp before opening the door to Kaya's chambers and glanced outside. His eyes widened and he called out to Garp. "GARP, STAY WITH KAYA."
Gritting his teeth, Coby ran straight down the corridor and stopped at the still, unconscious bodies of Kuro, Sengoku and Diamond Jozu that littered the area. Shaking his head worriedly, he ran down the rest of the corridors and down the stairs, heading towards the back entrance of the palace as he followed the sounds of the muffled struggle. As he reached the outside world, he managed to get a glimpse of Robin as she had a bag stuck over her head and three people lifting her into a van.
An old man got out of the van and tried to stop them. But yet another person, one with flaming red hair, intervened and swiftly grabbed him and snapped his neck, leaving the poor dead man out in the cold as the gang of them scrambled into the van and prepared to escape.
"NO! ROBIN!" Coby cried, springing forwards and taking a P99 pistol from the inside of his jacket, and aiming at the van's tires. His aim was off by centimetres, hitting the metal disk at the centre of the wheel.
Cursing colourfully, he started to sprint back into the palace.
Shanks and Zoro were sat at the canteen, Zoro having already finished eating and was sat watching Shanks continue with his paperwork and moaning about the amount of it, saying that he'd rather drink sake instead. Rolling his eyes, Zoro stood and excused himself, wanting to grab his katanas from Shanks' office so that he could start training.
Unlocking the door with expert ease, Zoro saw the katanas on the desk from where Aokiji had deposited them whilst healing him. He jumped as the mini radio suddenly crackled to life on the desk, hearing Coby's voice come through in a panic.
"Agent Coby to head quarters, we have code red! Does anybody hear me? We have code red!"
Blinking for a moment, Zoro grabbed the radio and pressed the reply button, speaking clearly into the radio. "Coby, this is Zoro. What do you mean code red?"
"Robin's been kidnapped. We need a search team to go out looking for h-"
Zoro interrupted, his face grim as he replied. "Screw the search team Coby. I'll handle it."
"Wh-What? Zoro, you need to tell Shanks! You can't-"
"Coby, I know exactly where she'll be and by the time the other agents find her it could be too late. I can handle it." Zoro snapped. Switching off the radio, he strapped the katanas around his waist and did up the first two buttons of his suit jacket.
"I'll bring her back."
Robin felt the bag being lifted from her head, and she tossed her head back as they did so, successfully freeing her hair with it. She immediately opened her eyes, blinking at the harshness of the sudden light and instinctively looking at the floor instead.
"LET ME GO. LET. ME. GO! WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH ME?" She screamed, tears filling her eyes for a moment before she swiftly blinked them back, seeing as she was unable to use her hands to wipe them away if she did start crying. Were her hands not bound by seastone shackles, she would have already used her devil fruit powers to help her escape, which was now impossible seeing as she had no idea where she was.
In the corners or at the edges of the room, she could make out figures through the raven hair that was fallen in front her face a little, slightly covered messy from the bag and how much she had struggled. There were at least seven people around the room. Trembling slightly, she grit her teeth in determination. 'I don't care who they are. I don't care what they will do to me. I will prevail.' She told herself mentally, the thought calming her so that the trembling stopped altogether.
She slowly glanced upwards as a deep, sexy male chuckle sounded out from a young blonde man who stepped forwards with a lit cigarette in one hand, his fringe covering his left eye and most of that side of his face, whereas the curly eyebrow on the other side of his face was unmistakable. He was dressed in a deep sea blue suit, and stubble was just starting to appear along his jawline, making him look like a truly dapper gentleman. "Mademoiselle..," he drawled in a very British accent, "surely you can tell that we want the wealth and power that you can give us."
"I will give you nothing." Robin spat.
The man smiled, taking another drag of his cigarette. "My name is Sanji. Leader of the Kali gang, who are now proceeding to take over London." He introduced, spreading his arms wide before returning one hand to his cigarette and the other back into his trouser pocket.
"What about the other gangs?" Robin asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
Sanji scoffed. "You mean the one gang whose injured member helped lead us to their base? The Mugiwara gang have been...contained. They will be used for a special purpose, as will you my sweet. But first we're going to keep you here for a bit. I need to make some important preparations you see."
Robin tried to push down the wary feeling that was starting to blossom inside her stomach. "Such as?" She asked boldly, raising a delicate eyebrow.
Laughing incredulously, Sanji paused in taking another breath from his cigarette. "What is with all these questions? You're our prisoner, and there's nothing you can do about it. And I'm not so much a fool to give you vital information."
She wet her lips slightly with her tongue before asking her next question, knowing that her time was probably limited. "Are you going to hurt me?" She questioned, the nerves turning into butterflies that scraped along the lining of her stomach and made her shiver involuntarily. Shaking the feeling away, she allowed her ice-cool head take over and calmed herself as she waited for his answer.
Sanji frowned cutely and pouted as he shook his head. "Oh no, no, no. I couldn't! You're far too great a beauty for that. And I can't harm pretty women."
Suddenly there was a thump from above them.
"I NEED FOOD. GET ME OUT OF HERE. I'LL KICK YOUR ASS EVEN ON AN EMPTY STOMACH."
A quiet hiss followed seconds later. "Shut up Luffy, you troublesome little brother. We all feel the same, but if you haven't noticed, we're trapped, and Zoro is currently trapped
working for the MI5."
There was a pause before the shouting started up.
"EHHH? SO WE'RE GONNA STARVE TO DEATH?"
"I DON'T WANNA DIE!"
"SHUT UP USSOP."
"Nami..Why are you so cruel...I'm still recovering..."
"Because Ace is right, and I wanna kick that...that...Red-headed prick, Kidd, up his fucking arse so hard that he can see the colour of his intestines."
"Guys...Can someone help me get away from her? She scares me a little when she's like this."
"Thatch, I feel for you man."
"Thanks Ace."
"SHUT UP. Luffy, can you see if you can str- HE'S ASLEEP."
Closing his eyes in irritation, Sanji shakily exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke. "SOMEONE SHUT THEM UP." He finally yelled, a tick mark appearing in his forehead. He watched as Franky nodded once, motioning with a metal hand for Tashigi to follow him, the both of them walking out of the room in seemingly no hurry.
"They can be quite loud sometimes, so we have to keep them quiet you see." Sanji explained, as though he was letting her in on a private joke. "But no-one's going to save them any time soon...or you."
'You said you wouldn't hurt me.' Robin said calmly, her eyes and voice betraying nothing, even as she struggled at the seastone shackles that held her wrists together behind the back of the wooden chair that she was also bound to with rope.
"I did." Sanji agreed. "But I didn't say that anyone else wouldn't."With a laugh, he turned away and waved, heading toward the door to where most of his gang were waiting for him, seeing as two were staying behind to guard her.
"He'll come for me!" Robin yelled impulsively, making Sanji stop and slowly turn to her, raising his curled eyebrow at her in slight interest.
"Oh? Who's this now?" Sanji asked in a dangerous tone.
Robin lifted her chin proudly. "My Knight." She said clearly, her voice ringing around the room.
Sanji laughed long and loud after a few minutes of silence. "Well he can come for you, then. He'll die like anyone else that tries to save you." The door slammed behind him as he left.
Looking braver than she felt, Robin swallowed nervously as the skeleton and a light blue haired girl stepped forwards out of the shadows. The skeleton chuckled. "Yohohoho! Remember Vivi, we're not allowed to be as mean as upstairs. Only a few cuts here and there."
"Brook, we should be up there. They get to have more fun with the prisoners." Vivi scowled, her pretty face transforming with the look.
At that moment, a sharp crack followed by a scream was heard, the voice sounding like it belonged to the one they had called 'Luffy'. Robin held her breath in horror as she heard a child-like scream join it, also accompanied by that of the voice belonging to Ace, their agonized screams echoing through into the room below where she was being held.
From those three screams alone, mingled with the shouts of the other male voices plus the one female shouting for them to stop it, a single tear rolled down Robin's cheek as she listened, knowing that they were her Knight's friends.
'Please tell him Coby. Please find me...Find us.'
As Vivi raised a knife to her cheek, the cool metal resting on her cheekbone, Robin stilled.
Waiting for the torture to begin.
Kai. XxxXxxX