I don't like you! by BloodyMarryMe
I'm glad I managed to write and publish this much sooner than I thought. And in a few days I'll be able to continue with my fast pace too, so I can't wait. :D
Oh, before we start; Izzie, you asked if I'll go up to the whole Punk Hazard arc and the answer is; Yes, eventually. :P Since my story is set in the span of those two years, I'll eventually come to the manga part as well but before that I need much more info on what is exactly going on. (Since we have no idea what happened to Law's crew and what exactly is going on still.) So it'll take some time before I reach that part anyway.
Also NightDreamer567, you're guessing right, there's gonna be a lot more progress in their relationship. ;) (And I love all Miyako/Law moments too. :P)
Thanks for everyone else's comments as well. And I hope Law jealously isn't too OoC here. (I'm trying to make it Law-like, whatever that would be XD)
So without firther ado, let's go! :D
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece nor any of its characters but I do own the OC Suzune Miyako.
This is a LawXOC story, rated T for blood and language.
CHAPTER 26
Miyako stopped and looked up into the greenish sky when a droplet of water fell down right onto her nose. She blinked and looked down to avoid other droplets falling onto her face as rain started falling down, harder by the second. People all around them started running towards shelters from the streets, but a bit too hastily in her opinion. Of course they didn't want to get wet, but they looked as if staying in the rain would harm them somehow.
"This rain seems strange," Josh noted and started scratching his hand a bit, which now had reddened skin. "And why am I so itchy all of a sudden?" He muttered, scratching harder.
Miyako noticed her neck had the same problem where rain fell on her bare skin.
Suddenly Law stopped walking and turned towards the group. "Quick, this way." He quickened his step towards the nearby tavern and opened the old wooden doors. The group followed him inside as they found a vacant table and sat around it.
"What was that?" Penguin asked, taking of his hat and trying to rinse it dry. "That rain seemed strange."
"Oh, you got caught in the rain did you?" A new voice startled them; well most of them, Law didn't even seem fazed as he just glanced in the direction of the new voice with his usual expressionless face. The group looked up at a busty waitress around 40 years old. She was quite a big woman; they all noted. She had her hands on her hips and a welcoming smile on her face, as if she wasn't least bit worried she was talking to an infamous group of pirates.
"What about the rain?" Law inquired as he leaned back in his chair.
"It's called acid rain. It's because of the polluted sky around here. It's not like you'll melt or anything, but it can do some damage to your skin none the less. It even corrodes the buildings around here, bites through the stone little by little over time," the waitress explained.
"Oh, I've heard of that…Well no wonder with all the smog and smoke around here," Shachi commented and leaned on his hand.
The waitress sighed. "Yes, well Point Blank is an industrial town after all…Though it gets worse every year. I really don't think we need all those machines, but the Baron insists on it. He says it will bring this island prosperity, but all I see is sickness and dirt." The waitresses' smile turned into a frown as she continued.
"The Baron?" Miyako asked. The last time she heard something about barons was on Howl's Island, with the Red Baron, and that was a name she wanted to forget. She had enough barons for her lifetime and didn't want anything to do with any more of them.
A man who was sitting a table next to them turned and joined in the conversation. Miyako could tell he was a little tipsy from the way his face and especially nose were red and his eyes glazed. And not to mention his somewhat goofy grin. "Ah yes, Robber Baron- 'Hic'- He runs the Island here-'Hic'.
The waitress pulled out a newspaper out of nowhere and hit the drunken man on the head with them. "Hush now, Earl! If the Baron's men heard you call him that, they'd have you hanged!" She turned to the group again and saw their questioning gazes. "His name is Vladimir Farquash. He's a bit…strict. The townsfolk gave him the nickname of Robber Baron because of the way he treats us, no money for us while he has loads," she admitted with a sigh.
The drunken man laughed beside her. "That's an understatement! He rules with an iron glove...or however you say it." Then he turned back to the waitress. "Did you hear, Miriam, he raised taxes again…We practically live out of nothing as it is!" Then he turned back to the pirate group, leaning towards them and almost falling from his chair. "The people here almost work for free…he is using us for labor and paying almost nothing. Even kids from the age of 10 and higher have to work in his bloody factories…child labor I tell you! I heard Billy's son got his hand crushed while working on the assembly line today. Not to mention what he did to our town…it's disgusting!"
Earl got another smack on the head with the newspapers. "That's enough Earl!" Said Miriam, a bit harsher this time. She leaned to the man and whispered, but the group could hear it too, "You know he has his spies everywhere! Do you want a wrong person to hear you, huh?"
The man looked as if he sobered up immediately and his look became deadly serious. He straightened in his chair, looked away from them and continued drinking his ale in silence. The pirates looked at each other with puzzled stares.
"Why don't you tell the marines about all this?" Miyako suggested.
But the waitress just sighed sadly. "It's no use…he gives them a large sum of money and they pretend not to notice anything."
"Rotten bastards...," Josh muttered, obviously irritated at the high-and-mighty symbols of justice in the world. "Symbols of justice my ass." He commented aloud on his thought.
The waitress cleared her throat. "Enough of all that. Now, what will you be having?" She asked with a smile on her face again. Her expression became a bit more serious suddenly as she remembered one more thing. "But just a word of warning…don't stay here too long, he has his men everywhere and he doesn't like outsiders. Especially infamous pirates. So don't overstay your welcome here."
As the group ordered their drinks, Miyako took that time to look around. The tavern was half empty with only a few tables full. Everyone kept to themselves, drinking in silence in a somewhat gloomy atmosphere. The tavern itself was rundown and shabby, with cracked wooden walls and floors, where Miyako could see some bugs crawling from one hole to the other, every once in a while. The bar didn't look any better and Miyako grimaced when she saw an especially large cockroach run across it, but it got splattered by the bartender's large hand. She was glad at that moment she only ordered a drink and not something to eat…she didn't even want to think about what the food looked like here.
"Hey look at this!" Her disgust was forgotten when Penguin's voice brought her back to reality. He was holding the newspapers Miriam had only moments ago. "Our bounties went up again!" He grinned.
Miyako's eyes widened a little when she saw her wanted poster. "Burning-Eyed Miyako; 850 000 Beli," it said. "Ugh…" It felt like her soul rushed straight out of her body and she laid her head on the wooden table with no energy left. "Not again…" She whined, sounding muffled from her own arms, but the group heard her anyway and chuckled, while Law smirked in response.
The rest of the crew got higher bounties as well, but unlike a certain samurai, they seemed happy about it and even toasted with their ales. Law just kept his smirk, but was also pleased when he saw his bounty now reached 300,000 000 Beli.
"Well we were quite busy lately. And we did kick a lot of marine butts these days," Shachi said with a grin. It was true, they had encountered more marines than usual and had to fight them off. That made Miyako remember the last encounter with them; when Cody got shot, and her eyes narrowed a little at the memory.
As the pirates still celebrated their high bounties, Miyako noticed dark looks around them. They were the loudest in the tavern now, though they were just talking normally. But it seemed their talk intrigued the locals around and they stared at them with strange looks. *Well I can understand…All these people are poor to the bone and here we are, high-bounty pirates as if tempting them.* She didn't like the looks they were receiving and wanted to get out of there, but the rest of the Heart Pirates seemed oblivious to the changing mood around them.
Luckily her captain, sharp as always, noticed the same thing and he finished his ale quickly before getting up. "The rain has stopped, let's go."
The others whined, but stood up anyway. "Already? Why so fast?"
The captain didn't answer, not having the time nor the will to explain it to them. So he just started walking towards the exit and the pirates followed. Miyako looked around carefully in case someone tried something, one hand on her katana, but no one dared to oppose the infamous Surgeon of Death.
But after a while as they left the tavern, the samurai started having a feeling they were followed. She allowed herself a quick glance behind her with the corners of her eyes and noticed some suspicious people that could be following them. It was confirmed when the pirates turned a few corners, but the men kept walking behind them.
"Captain." Miyako started, hurrying her step so she could walk next to Law.
"I know," he muttered.
When the girl looked at the rest of the pirate group, she noticed Penguin, Bepo, Josh and Shachi all had serious expressions on their faces. They all must have realized it also.
~….~
Six poorly dressed men turned into an alleyway. They were dirty with clothing that almost resembled rags by now, had messy greasy hairs and stern faces. Their ragged bodies showed that they have been through a lot. They were armored by simple picks, pitchforks or hunting knives…anything they could find that could help them in a battle.
As they turned the last corner, they stopped suddenly at the sight before them. Trafalgar Law, the captain of the Heart Pirates was sitting on a crate with his chin resting on his hands that were joined by tangled fingers. He had a small amused smirk on his face as he stared at them with his cold grey eyes. His crew was standing around him protectively, but didn't seem too worried by the incoming group of locals.
"Well gentlemen, how can we help you?" Trafalgar Law asked, still sporting that smirk of his.
The group of men gulped, but stood firm and prepared their weapons. They were desperate, that much was obvious. And desperate men did desperate deeds. "W-We came for your bounty, Trafalgar Law!" One of them, the youngest, exclaimed.
Law's smirk grew wider, turning into a grin. "Is that so?" He had his nodachi resting on his shoulder and he lightly put one hand on it. "And how do you intend to do that?"
The men clutched their weapons. "Whatever it takes!" Another said and they rushed forward.
Miyako appeared in front of the youngest and took out her katana, bringing the hilt right into his belly in the process. He let go of his knife and fell on the ground, clutching his stomach. She then slashed at the pitchfork another one was holding, slicing off the wooden handle. Before the man had time to react, she hit him on the head with the blunt side of the sword, sending him into unconsciousness.
Bepo kicked away the other's pickax and then kicked the man in the face, rendering him unconscious as well. Meanwhile Josh, Penguin and Shachi took care of the others. It was all over in a few seconds. After all, the group was only some old locals who thought they could earn some money by capturing pirates. They weren't fighters, just desperate worn-out men. Miyako was glad nobody got killed in the process. They didn't deserve to die just because they wanted to be able to pay for their next meal.
But her thoughts were interrupted by a loud whistling sound. She looked up and the pirates rushed to the exit of the alley and saw people running in the streets. "It's the Baron's men! Quick, move out of the way!" They heard a random voice in the crowd and it didn't take long before they could see the marching men coming down the street. They wore black uniforms with shining black boots and had red sashes tied to their right shoulder. They had blood red helmets with spikes in the middle. The soldiers held guns leaning on their left shoulders and sabers tied to their waist. As the austerities marched down the street, they all had a serious dark aura around them that promised nothing good. They were obviously feared by everyone around here.
"We should go, captain! It won't be good if they see us!" Bepo suggested, a little panic attack already bubbling inside of him.
The pirate captain nodded, agreeing with his first mate. "Let's go." He muttered and they tried to blend with the crowd until they got back to the docks or at least somewhere darker and out of the way. But it was hard to blend in when you had a man holding a big nodachi, a walking bear in an orange jumpsuit and three guys dressed in white jumpsuits and colorful hats. The only one who looked inconspicuous among them was Miyako.
They heard another whistle and then a call from one of the soldiers. "You there! Stop!"
The pirates turned around to see the soldiers looking right at them.
"Fuck, they spotted us!" Josh yelped. "What now?"
"Now we run!" Penguin and Shachi yelled in unison.
"But we shouldn't lead them to the submarine." Miyako noted, her hand already gripping her katana just in case.
"Go East, I saw some alleyways there. We could lose them there." Law explained and the group started running. They could hear shots being fired behind them and screams from the townspeople, but didn't have time to turn around and look at what was happening. Law did, however, turn once and called out his Room, slashing with his nodachi and taking care of the soldiers that were right behind them. But there were many more coming and Law had to retreat quickly with the rest of his group.
They ran into the little alleyways that were connected like a maze in the town, yet the soldiers were relentless, running after them. Then the pirates suddenly had to come to a stop when they reached a dead end.
"Damn." Law cursed under his breath, something he did extremely rarely, but always when very agitated.
They could hear footsteps getting closer. "They're coming!" Josh exclaimed. The group prepared for a fight.
Just then they heard a small sound. It was so quiet, Bepo first thought he had imagined it when he picked up on the sound with his sensitive ears.
"Pssst." The sound came again and Bepo's ears perked up then turned in the direction of the sound. The bear turned to see a small shaft that was barely visible, and noticed two eyes gleaming in the darkness beneath it.
"Captain!" The bear quickly called out to Law and pointed towards the person.
"Quickly, follow me," the voice whispered.
Trafalgar's eyes narrowed, seeing no reason why he should trust this strange person. For all he knew it could be a trap. Still, when he heard more voices and footsteps, louder now and coming closer, he decided they didn't have much choice. He walked over to the shaft and lifted it, seeing a boy around 12 years old, with messy dark hair and equally dark eyes staring up at him. He wore simple old attire as everyone else in town and his skin seemed oily and dirty. The boy motioned for them to follow him and started climbing down the metal ladders into the sewers. "Be careful, it's slippery," he warned.
The pirates looked at each other in puzzlement for one second before following down after him. Josh, who was last, closed the shaft behind him and jumped down, the water splashing around him. The look of the old tunnel in the sewers was awful and the smell was even worse. Penguin and Shachi plugged their noses with a disgusted look on their faces. Josh just rolled his eyes. "Babies." He muttered, getting a glare from them.
Bepo was holding his nose as well, dizzy from the strong smell of rotten fish and who-knows-what.
"Why did you help us?" The captain broke the silence with a serious tone. He was still suspicious at this whole event and he narrowed his eyes as he stared powerfully at the boy. Perhaps other people wouldn't be suspicious when they saw the young, seemingly innocent boy or they would go easy on him, but Law knew better than let appearance fool him. He knew a 12-year-old boy was enough to get them all in trouble.
Unexpectedly, the boy smiled. "I saw you earlier in the alley…you're Trafalgar Law and the Heart Pirates, right? I saw your wanted poster, so you must be strong. I didn't want the Baron's men to get you. And Zuko may be pleased that I brought you."
"Zuko?" Law inquired, making the boy smile wider and nod.
"Mhm. Zuko is the leader of the rebellion here. We're getting more people by the minute. Everyone wants Robber Baron out of Jade island."
Law's expression stayed serious despite the boy's innocent grins. "A rebellion, I see. But why do you think we would help you?"
The boy shrugged. "I dunno. Zuko was interested in you and wanted to meet you so I saved you. I will show you to him. I don't know about the rest, you'll have to ask him."
Law sighed exasperatedly, but realized there was no point in questioning the boy any further. It seemed he'll find out everything in due time.
They walked for a long time, going through tunnels and barred doors, deeper into the sewers until they finally found another shaft and the boy opened it. He got on his hands and knees and started crawling through the small tunnel. It was just about enough to fit an adult person. "Come on!" He called behind him.
Law sighed once more, not really liking the idea of crawling through the dirt and muck of the sewers. And neither did his men by the looks of their expressions. Trafalgar Law just didn't….crawl. However he had no other choice so he gritted his teeth, getting onto his knees. He tied his nodachi to his back to move more easily and started crawling. It took some time before the tunnel took a sharp downward path that made it hard to move without falling down the slippery ground and through the tunnel. The captain managed to keep a slow pace though it and exhaled in relief silently when they finally got out. He examined his surroundings to see a large lit area with people and tents all around them. He couldn't believe they were still in the sewers.
"How deep underground are we?" Shachi mumbled as he walked around.
Everything and everyone seemed busy and moving as if preparing for something. The boy appeared used to it though as he greeted people left and right, still leading the Heart Pirates. "This is our headquarters, hidden from the Baron," he explained. They finally stopped in front of the large tent and they could hear two voices talking inside. It looked like a battlefield preparing for another attack here.
"There, go inside. Zuko is in here." The boy smiled and motioned for Law to enter. Bepo came with him, holding captain's nodachi for him, while the rest waited outside.
~…~
Law opened the tent and walked in, his first mate by his side. He saw two men leaning over a map of Point Blank city and writing something on it. When they heard the pirates come in, the men stopped talking with suspicious stares. One of them nodded to the other and the second one left the tent, taking some papers with him.
Then the man who must have been Zuko turned towards them in his seat and stood up, quickly walking over to Law with an excited smile. "Ah, Trafalgar Law! So Peaty found you."
The captain rose an eyebrow questioningly. Zuko cleared his throat. "Oh sorry, you must be wondering what's going on. Well this is the rebel army, we're increasing in numbers every day and soon we're planning a final attack on the Baron's palace. We worked well these past few years, bombing some of his shipments or big events he was involved in….even tried a few assassinations, but unfortunately that didn't go well. However, we are planning a final attack in three days. So when I heard a strong pirate like you is in town, I just had to meet you…and ask for your help."
Law tilted his head. "And why would I help you, mister Zuko?"
"Well, I don't expect it to be for free of course. The Baron is a very rich man; he has an unbelievable amount of gold in his treasury. I can't give you all of it since it's the people's money and has to be returned to them, but I'm sure we can strike a good deal here. And you pirates would do anything for money, right?"
The said pirate narrowed his eyes just a little at Zuko's last statement. He didn't like it. And he didn't like this situation either. Usually he wouldn't say 'No' to large amounts of money, but this time something didn't seem right. He didn't like this whole situation nor did he trust this man. Besides, they had enough money left from Maple Town. So Law decided this was not a problem he wanted to get involved in. This wasn't his fight anyway.
"Sorry, not interested. Thank the boy for saving us, though." He turned around and started leaving.
"Hey, wait!" Zuko started after him and walked out of the tent after Law and Bepo. "If I said something wrong I'm-"
"Captain!" Josh exclaimed when he saw his captain coming out of the tent and Trafalgar immediately knew something was wrong by the expression on the redhead's face.
Penguin and Shachi ran over to him as well, with equally anxious expressions. If he had to guess, he'd say it was 'Worry' written on their faces.
"Miyako is missing!" Josh exclaimed, a bit too worried for someone who claimed he didn't like the girl. Josh was just a big softy inside after all. Law would smirk at the thought if not for the disturbing information. Instead, his eyes widened and he cursed his foolishness mentally. He was so deep in his own thoughts and careful about everything going on around him in case it was a trap that he didn't even notice one of his nakama was missing. *How could've I not noticed!? Now that I think about it, I can't remember seeing her after we got into that alley.*
"What's wrong?" The rebel leader asked the captain, interested in the sudden twist and the Heart Pirates gave him a suspicious look in return, but Bepo finally decided to answer. "One of our nakama is missing. A samurai girl."
"Hmm…" Zuko put a finger on his bare chin and frowned in thought. Then he saw the boy from before walking by. "Hey, Peaty! When you led them here, was a samurai girl with you?"
The boy shook his head with a confused look, obviously not knowing what his leader was talking about.
"So she probably disappeared before we got into the shaft," Penguin concluded.
"Dammit, that troublesome woman!" Josh yelled in annoyance, but more out of worry than anger.
Bepo grabbed his fuzzy head with his hands in panic. "What if she was taken by those Baron's men! Oh no! What if they're torturing her and doing all kinds of nasty stuff!" he was in full panic mode now.
"Shut up Bepo, you're only making it worse!" The dark-haired mechanic yelled in anger, not wanting to think about such ominous possibilities.
Bepo immediately stopped and bowed his head in depression. "Sorry."
The group ignored him and Law pinched the bride of his nose and closed his eyes so he could concentrate and think. Where could she be? And if she was really taken by those soldiers, how do they get her back? A soft clearing of throat caught his attention and he opened his eyes to look at the source of it.
It was the rebel leader and he was looking at the doctor with a hopeful look in his eyes. "If she was taken in the Baron's castle, we can find out. My information sources are fast and reliable, so we'll know. And if she is there…then you'll need to get into the castle. It's like a fortress and it's not easy to get out or in…but in the chaos of the rebellion and the battle, you can set her free. So if you agree to help us, we can help each other," Zuko explained carefully.
The pirate captain didn't like the idea much. He didn't trust this guy and he didn't want to get involved in this whole rebellion either. But he knew there wasn't much choice since he needed Zuko's help at the moment. They can't storm a whole castle by themselves; it seemed Baron Farquash had quite a bit of an army on his side. Law pierced the young man with his grey eyes, staring at him for a while and thinking of all the options. But If Miyako was in that castle they'll certainly need Zuko's knowledge of the place and his manpower to get her back.
"Fine. We will lend you our power if you help us get our nakama back," Law finally said. "Now tell me, how long does it take for the log pose to set here?"
"Two days." Zuko answered with a grin, happy to have the infamous pirate on his side.
"Then we will storm the castle in two days." Law said.
"What? No! The attack was meant to be in three days, not two. We're not ready-" Zuko begun with wide eyes.
Trafalgar glared at the young leader, not in the mood for arguing. "Two days, or we go without you. Your choice." The captain all but growled at the young man who gulped a little. Law wondered for a second how did someone like him manage to organize this whole rebellion and how will he be able to lead the attack. *He better be. I don't want amateur mistakes when the life of my crew is on the line,* he thought bitterly. He didn't like when he was forced into a decision, especially when it involved the wellbeing of his crew. But what choice did he have?
"Alright. In two days." Zuko finally nodded. "Now please, come into my tent so we can discuss the plan further…." The young man led them back inside and later Law found a den-den-mushi to contact the rest of his crew that were on the submarine and tell Jean Bart, his trusted navigator and crewmate, their new orders.
~….~
"Law is going to kill me." Miyako muttered as she sat on a small bed in her cell, an elbow resting on her leg and her head in her hand. *Why do I always get into situations like this…?*
She thought back at what happened in the city. They had just turned to a new alley and saw it was a dead end. While her crewmates were fussing over something there, Miyako peered behind the wall to see where the soldiers were. And that's when she noticed it; a small child sitting on the road, lost and crying. The people around him didn't notice since they were all running in panic in fear of taken by the Baron's army. And what was worse, the girl saw a small carriage with a horse approaching the child and going through the crowd. The old man driving it wouldn't even notice the small boy sitting on the street. Miyako reacted on instinct and ran over to the child. She was sure she could save him and then run back to the alleyway in time. And she managed to get the boy out of the way, but as she was kneeling and holding the boy and was just about to stand up, she noticed a gun pointed at her. And then dozens more.
"I found one of them!" One of the soldiers said and showed his commander a wanted poster of Suzune Miyako. She face-palmed herself mentally but was still glad she was able to save the child at least. *At least one saved life here,* she thought bitterly.
The soldiers had taken her into the big castle and down into the dungeons, taking her katana in the process. She wondered where the rest of her friends were, but it seemed they weren't taken by the soldiers since they weren't in the cell with her.
"hihihihi So I've finally got some company." A raspy voice of an old man exclaimed, bringing Miyako out of her thoughts. He was sitting on the floor in the cell across hers, with his legs and wrists shackled to the wall with long chains. She was surprised when he talked since she thought he was a corpse when she first came here. He had been unmoving and his tiny and thin frame looked almost skeleton-like.
"Who are you?" Miyako asked, forgetting about her manners for a second.
"Hihihih. It's polite to introduce yourself first when you ask someone for their name," the old man noted.
The samurai smirked. "Right. Sorry. I'm Suzune Miyako." She waited for the old man to tell her his own name, but the answer never came. "Wha-" Her eyes widened when she saw the man had fallen asleep right in the middle of their conversation. Her expression changed into an annoyed scowl. "Oy!" She shouted at the old man.
"Huh? Wha-!" He woke up suddenly, startled. "I'm Hirane!" He exclaimed quickly.
"Why are you here?" she prompted. She was bored as hell in here so she wanted to at least pass some time with a nice conversation. But the man was making it difficult for her. He had fallen asleep again. "You have to be kidding me…Oy, Hirane, stop falling asleep when you're talking to someone!"
The old men woke up with a start again. "What?"
"I asked; why are you here?" She repeated.
"oh….ah, well, I disobeyed the Baron. Hihihihi" He explained and Miyako didn't understand why did he keep laughing like that. She didn't see what was so comical about his state.
The old man made a nostalgic look and continued. "You see, I am an inventor. I had invented most of the machines and made it possible for all those factories to work. I really thought it would make work easier for the people and that it would give us more goods and therefore prosperity. However when I saw what the smoke did to my poor island and how the Baron used these machines, I decided not to make them anymore. So the Baron put me in prison when I didn't want to work for him anymore."
"I see…That's horrible," was all Miyako said. She disliked this Baron guy more by each passing minute. *Are all Barons bad guys or something?* The thought crossed her mind quickly.
"Ah, well such is life! Such is life! Hihihihi!" The old man said as if he wasn't even worried or sad by his captivity. As if he couldn't care less. Miyako tiled her head in confusion. What a strange old man.
"How long have you been here?" She asked. No answer. Hirane decided to fall asleep again.
The girl was getting really annoyed by it and her eye twitched in said annoyance. "OY!" She finally yelled.
The man opened his eyes suddenly. How he could fall in and out of sleep so fast, she just couldn't understand. "Let's see…I worked for Lord Farquash for 5 years…so I'm here….6! Yep, it's been 6 years since he locked me away!"
Miyako's eyes widened. "That long! All by yourself?" Now she was slowly understanding why the man was acting so strange. He was probably slowly slipping into madness from his time here in the dungeons.
"hihihih well I got some company now and then…usually men awaiting their punishment. They never came back once they left here, though. Hihihih." And then the old man made a motion with his finger as if slicing his throat with it. Miyako gulped as she understood perfectly what he meant.
Suddenly she heard heavy footsteps on the stone floors and saw two guards approach her cell. "The Baron has sent for you!" One said in a serious and stern voice while the other opened the cell and grabbed her by the shoulder.
"Hey, hey, I can walk by myself you know!" She tried to get out of his iron grip but to no avail. Today was just not her day. The grip just tightened more and she was pushed and dragged out of the cell and through the halls. She could hear the old man laughing in his cell, "Too bad you had to leave so soon! Good Luck! Hihihihih"
She sighed at the ominous laugh as they continued to climb up the stairs. At least the other floors appeared easier on the eye than the cold, dark dungeon.
~….~
Miyako stood straight in the middle of what looked like a dining room. Her wrists were still shackled, but thankfully the guards took off the chains on her ankles so she could walk more freely. In front of her was a man in his forties. He was high and well-built for his age, gleaming with pride and ego. His well-groomed brown hair fell down carelessly to his shoulders and he would move the strands away from his face every now and then. He put one of his sharp long black-painted fingernails to his chin, playing with the beard there as he walked around Miyako in thought. He looked like a hunter examining and circling around his prey. The samurai followed him with her eyes, but stood there silently and motionless. However, his thoughtful stare as he watched her from head to toe, started to annoy her.
"Can I help you?" She finally asked with a frown once the man did a full circle around her again and was now standing in front of her.
The Baron smiled, showing off white shiny teeth. The smile didn't look pleasant though. It didn't reach his dark blue eyes and it looked feigned. "Actually yes, yes you can." His voice was deep and raspy. "You can tell me where the rest of your crew is? I want to find your captain."
Miyako shrugged, not indenting to tell the man anything. "I really don't know, I got separated and lost." Well that was at least partly true. She kept a completely calm and straight face in front of the man.
Unfortunately lord Farquash didn't believe it. "Is that so?" He smiled, but once again it seemed forced. The sly man walked closer to her and grabbed her chin lightly to lift her head so she was forced to look into his eyes. Her gaze didn't falter as she withstood his piercing glare. If she could withstand the knowing look her captain would sometimes give her, then she could certainly have no problem keeping a calm gaze with this man.
"I find that hard to believe…you should at least know where the rest of your crew is. We searched the docks, but there was no sign of your ship. Now how is that possible, hmm?" He continued and trailed a finger down her cheek. His sharp fingernail broke the skin lightly and made a small diagonal cut on her left cheek.
The girl kept a calm exterior even then, but she was thinking hurriedly inside her mind. For just a split second a thought crossed her mind that Law left her and sailed away, but then her mind reassured her with a likelier thought. *They must have submerged and moved away so the soldiers couldn't find them.* At least that probably meant Law and the others were safe and managed to escape. That made her more at ease. "I wouldn't know. Maybe they sailed away already and left me here," she answered, hoping the Baron would believe it.
Farquash's smile disappeared at her words and he slapped her across the face harshly with the back of his hand. Perhaps the blow wouldn't hurt so much if he hadn't had numerous golden rings on his fingers, making the impact much more painful. Miyako's head was sent to the side and she narrowed her eyes, wanting to choke the man with the chains on her wrists. However both doors in the room were guarded with two guards and another two stood on the other side of the door. Which maybe wouldn't be such a problem if they didn't have guns and unfortunately Miyako wasn't bulletproof. There was only so much she could do while disarmed. So instead she kept silent and calm.
Vladimir Farquash grabbed her chin again and roughly turned her head towards him. His 'pleasant' smile was completely gone now and replaced by anger. Miyako could almost see fire in his eyes. "I don't like to be played with Burning-Eyed Miyako! And I will get all the information out of you one way or another! Now tell me what you know," he demanded.
Myako sighed. *Maybe if I give him something he'll leave me alone.* She decided which piece of information would be harmless for her crew and decided to tell him how they ran away from the soldiers into the alleyway, but then she saw the child in distress and got separated from her crew and captured. "I don't know anything else," she admitted. It seemed Farquash didn't know their ship was actually a submarine so she didn't mention the reason why it was miraculously gone now.
The Baron let go of her chin and looked at her with narrowed eyes as if trying to decide whether she was telling the truth or not. "Miss, I am very good at reading people. And I believe you're still keeping something from me."
She tried to change the subject. "Well if I may ask something now…Why are you interested in the Heart Pirates anyway?"
Vladimir walked behind her. Miyako tried to keep calm but she stiffened a little at his movement. She hated not knowing what the man was going to do and she couldn't see him now. She didn't know what to expect and that was always dangerous.
"Your captain is quite the famous rookie. His bounty is 300,000 000 Beli, no? If I can get my hands on him I would earn quite the sum. Not to mention I would get on the good side with the marines. And that is always a plus, especially…to my plans."
Miyako turned her head a little and watched the man with the corner of her eye. "You mean, because you can keep bribing them and they can keep turning a blind eye." Her voice was colder now.
To her surprise, the man chuckled. "I see you've heard some stories about me…ah, people talk, I can't stop that."
"So I have…Robber Baron." She smirked, remembering the nickname the townspeople had given him. "Besides, my captain won't be that easy to capture. You should give up on that." She couldn't believe she was standing up for Law, but she knew it was the truth. Trafalgar Law wasn't just any ordinary rookie that you could beat easily. She knew that much.
Even though Miyako couldn't see it, the man's smile disappeared. She stiffened more when she felt hands removing some hair from her neck and then sharp fingernails moving across her neck, making thin red lines on her pale skin. "Are you purposely trying to make me mad, girl?" His voice was soft and calm, yet cold and deadly. And his hot breath tickled her ear as he spoke into it. Miyako flinched as she realized the man was too close for her liking. She felt him pull slightly at her red ribbon, untying her hair and letting it fall down freely. Before she could respond, a hard yank pulled her head backwards as the Baron gripped her hair tightly and pulled it back. She yelped in both pain and surprise before her eyes met his again. She could see his face, distorted in anger once again. "Because I really wouldn't recommend it!" He added to his previous statement.
The samurai gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the pain in her scalp. "I told you everything. What else do you want from me," she growled in anger.
The Baron yanked her hair harder. "You're lying, girl! Where is your crew and your captain?" He yelled.
"I don't know," she said slowly, emphasizing each word and glaring at him.
The man narrowed his eyes, but let go of her. "As you wish…I tried to do it the nice way, but if you insist, then we'll just do it the hard way." He walked in front of her again and gave her a sadistic smile that promised nothing good. He nodded towards the guards and two of the soldiers came up to them, grabbing Miyako's arms.
"Take her to the torture chamber." The Baron ordered, his blue eyes glowing with excitement and that sadistic smile still plastered on his face. "Then let's see if she'll talk."
Well that would be it. I'm gonna start writing the next chapter imidiately (since I have some time at the moment) and hopefully I'll finish it soon. I may be even able to post it tomorrow. :)
Hope you guys like it. This arc will probably be a bit shorter than my previous ones, but all in all, we'll see. The truth is I just write without any special preparation so who knows where this is gonna go and end up. XD
Reviwes, comments and oppinions are always welcome and I hope you liked it.
See you in the next chapter!