Welcome ladies and gents!
My chapter size is going insane xD I can't stop xD I really didn't expect this story to get so much attention… Kind of embarrassed ^.^ Thank you guys so much!
Thank you MusicWritesLife for the fav! Welcome, sweetie!
As always, I appreciate all the input :D Thanks Wren, Otaku and annie for the reviews! You made me go kbgwbbvkjjbgbvobv on my keyboard as fast as possible :3
This time the song is a bit of a hint on what is going to happen, any guesses? (Oh I'm eeeevil)
Enjoy, everyone!
Chapter 17: The Maiden and the Selkie - Heather Dale
Leo was going to burst. A full week had passed since Ace had returned from his 'private', not with Izo knowing, conversation with Ran. He had told Pops that the pilot was fine and didn't want help and left to sulk. Well, he didn't admit that he was sulking, but Leo knew. His friend had been irritable, pissed at everyone, handing out cuss words left and right and was unusually quiet. Heck, Leo had seen the pirate pushing his food around his plate last night. It was serious.
The blonde understood, Ace had his own mistakes, and his own love problems, but this was ruining him. At first, the peaceful man had pushed Ran at his former charge, thinking that the girl would be Ace's distress blanket. Obviously, he had been wrong. He had miscalculated. The pilot liked Ace. Leo knew that much. Well, Izo did. Leo was just good at getting information from the drunken Commander. And he was pretty sure that Ace liked her back. He had seen the younger pirate watching her, back when she had been on the Moby Dick. He knew that look well. Perhaps he had been wrong to push.
Ran wasn't an irritable woman. He knew that. She was easy going, most of the time in her own world, not really bothered by anything. She got antsy when she was on the ground for too long, but that was it. Leo figured that a woman like that could help Ace with his anger issues. Yes, the raven had anger issues. And insanity issues. The pirate was frighteningly reckless. Leo sighed, not paying attention to the horizon that he was supposed to be watching. They had set sail once again, their course set towards Wano Kuni.
"You broke him!" Thatch climbed over the edge of the crow's nest and dropped himself down. He looked desperate, about ready to cry. Leo raised an eyebrow. He didn't need this. An upset Thatch was a pain in the ass. Even when Leo wasn't beating himself up. "Fix him!" The Commander complained.
"What are you talking about?" Leo asked. He rubbed his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping much.
Thatch shook his head, his hands waving around madly. "Ace!" He explained. "You broke him!" The Commander supplied.
"It's not Leo's fault." Izo appeared and plopped into the crow's nest. "I meddled, too." The pink Commander sighed. "We need to fix this."
"Aye." Thatch agreed from the floor.
"Ideas?" Leo asked, finally focusing at the task at hand. Izo nodded, fiddling with his kiseru. The three pirates bent forward, plotting.
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A few hours passed before they finished their epic plans. After the two Commanders left Leo realized that, in the end, they didn't really have a big 'strategy' or anything. Thatch and Izo were destructive in a combination. They spent most of the time that were supposed to be plotting just bickering. Like two kids. It was impossible.
Leo sighed. It hadn't been a good day for him. Heck. It hadn't been a good week for him. He missed having Ace to keep him on his toes. It was scary. Leo had sworn to stay away from people. For their own sake. Ending up in the Whitebeard Pirates had definitely not been in his plan. But, it had sort of happened. And, let's face it, he couldn't live without these idiots anymore.
Smiling at the thought, Leo scanned the horizon. Nothing. Yes. Not even a comment from beside him. He wasn't used to being up here without Ace. The raven had grown on him so much. He really needed to do something. The blonde picked up the binoculars and did another sweep. Was that a bird? His heart started drumming in his chest? Had Ran been so idiotic to actually come here? No, she didn't know their location. The bird neared and Leo could tell apart the gray body from the bluish wings. It flew straight at the Moby Dick and landed right next to Leo. He froze.
It was just a bird. But it was staring at him, with surprisingly intelligent eyes. It squawked. Leo moved back. He noticed a small leather bag attached to the bird's claw. He walked forward to inspect further, leaning towards the creature, when mayhem ensued. The bird started screeching and raised his claws in defense, attacking the unsuspecting pirate. Leo yelped and moved back, trying to shield himself with his hands. He heard people laughing on the deck. They were truly horrible sometimes.
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Elder Pinjao entered the room with steaming cocoa. Sita slowly raised herself up in her bed, smiling at the Elder. It was an unusual expression on her face. So genuine. The woman was battle hardened, made of ice. She shielded herself with sarcastic remarks and cuss words, not showing the soft insides. Pinjao gave her a shaky, missing teeth, smile and handed her a cup of the hot beverage.
There was a snow storm raging outside. The wind was howling, yelping and hitting the windows, like it had gone mad. And Sita preferred it like that. Ran had gone off somewhere to be depressed. Probably to work on her new invention in the barn. Finally away from the blonde woman. And boy, she was thankful for it. The pilot had been in a bad mood since her wanted poster came out. Sita felt a bit guilty about it, actually. If she hadn't asked Pinjao for help, he wouldn't have asked the strange pilot to aid her. Then again, she would probably be dead of that were the case. And so would the twins.
Sita drank some cocoa. It was wonderful. She could tell that the twins liked Ran. No matter how cautious they had been in the beginning, they liked her. They were just kids. Easily impressed. Seeing the Sparrow had pretty much sealed the deal.
"How are you feeling?" The old man asked. He had sat down next to Sita's bed. She locked her eyes with him.
"Tired, but better." The woman spoke. "It's a nasty one. And I'm getting older. The body isn't healing as fast as it used to." Sita drank more cocoa and stretched, slowly and painfully, to leave her cup by the bedside.
"It will heal."
"Like all the rest of them." The woman confirmed. She was scarred all over. Ruined. Spoiled. Not like she cared. She didn't need a man. Besides, which man was going to take her in with the twins? Two crazy, little, idiotic assassins ready to kill at any moment? Really. Noone. Well, maybe a man with a death wish. Sita banished the thoughts. They were troublesome. "The girl?"
Pinjao looked at her and then shrugged. "The same." Ran had been by Sita's side a lot for the past week. Usually, the blonde wouldn't mind that. She found the pilot attractive and intriguing. Strangely, fresh somehow. But, dealing with depressed people was not Sita's forte. In fact, it was a pain. So when Ran left to work on something each day, the assassin gave a sigh of relief. The pilot would spend hours building something in the barn. Then she would come back into the house and walk through Sita's room. Giving the woman a nice, full view of her sweaty, oil and soot covered self. Sita was pretty sure that the girl had no idea what she was doing to her.
"It's my fault." Sita spoke. Elder Pinjao raised his eyes to the woman once more. She was inspecting the wall, like it was the most interesting thing in the world. "They wouldn't have pinned in on her had I just not been this stupid and got hurt."
"It's not your fault. These things happen." The elder reassured her. "Ran understands. There are times when we do our best, and don't really get a good outcome." Sita didn't answer for a moment.
"The world is cruel." She said after a while.
"Everyone has their own views. What seems cruel to you, may seem like justice to someone else." Pinjao answered, eyes downcast. Sita snorted, but didn't retort.
~~~~pb~~~~
The bird had been hanging around the Moby Dick for a while. Leo evaded the thing as much as he could, even though it was quite persistent. At some point, one of the nurses told him that it was a Coco bird, one that sent out some kind of love chocolates. Leo figured that the bird was lost or something. Or looking for Thatch, that is. He and his many flings. But seriously, who the heck sends chocolates to a pirate?
Leo left his post at the crow's nest to Chameleone and headed towards the deck. He saw Thatch painting Ace's sleeping face and shook his head. That was not going to cheer the raven up one bit, but hey, the Commander did have the best in mind. Leo walked towards the medical wing. The best place to get tea.
Whitebeard had held a Commanders meeting in the end, after Rakuyo had got back. It had been decided that if Ran asked for any help, they would give it, however, if she didn't, they would leave it alone. People live normal lives, even with bounties on their heads. Leo had heard that Izo had been asking for Pops to let Ran join the crew. That didn't go too well. There was a bit of tension among the Commanders at this point. Sure, Ran had been a great help, doing her delivery service, but she wasn't a pirate. She delivered for civilians, Marines, pirates and rebels alike, no prejudice. The Commanders were fine with her as an ally, but not as a crew member. Not unless she gave up some of her jobs that concerned enemy ships and the Navy. Besides, Leo couldn't really imagine the girl staying on the ship for long periods of time. In other words, Ran wasn't fit to be a pirate, no matter how much Izo wanted her to be.
He sighed and opened the door to doc's office with a light knock. Doc was standing near the bed, on which Penny was sitting, and the dark woman was inspecting the girl.
"I don't see anything wrong. Just try and get some more sleep." Doc finished. Penny nodded. Leo noted how the girl looked less pale than the last time he had seen her. She had been released from the medical wing a while back, but doc demanded that the girl come for regular checkups.
The tiny girl stood. "Thank you very much for your time." She gave a tiny bow and left. Undoubtedly to find Ace. These days Penny was the only person Ace actually hung out with. Maybe it was due to the fact that the girl was so quiet, so meek. Somehow, her presence was calming. Maybe Leo had been wrong to push Ran on Ace and should've indulged in the less obvious, but undoubtedly more suited choice. Why was he even doing this? It wasn't his place. It was Izo's job to meddle. No doubt, the man had.
"Tea?" Jade asked. She could tolerate Leo. He wasn't prone to stupidity like other pirates that she knew. The blonde knocked over a couple of lab flasks and test tubes and started apologizing. Scratch that, he was just as much trouble as the rest of them. "Tea it is." Doc decided and turned on her burner.
Leo settled on the edge of the bed, tucking in his feet and hands, just in case. He looked miserable. Doc frowned at him.
"I am not a psychologist or a psychiatrist, Leo. Don't play this game with me." Doc snapped and Leo straightened in his seat. She glared at him. Volcano, he thought. "Pick yourself up and go fix it!" Doc yelled now. Leo jumped up.
"Yes, ma'am!" He saluted and ran towards the door like a pack of sea kings were on his tail, tea forgotten.
~~~~pb~~~~
Penny found Ace and Thatch on deck. The latter was running away from the raven. She started to smile at the picture when Ace began yelling. The cook frowned. This wasn't their usual banter. She came closer to the scene that everyone was ignoring and jumped in between the yelling raven and the cowering Commander.
"Stop!" Her voice rose, surprising everyone. Ace shut up, for once, looking in shock at the girl. She threw Thatch a look and he scampered away. Penny grabbed Ace's hand and dragged him towards the roof of the Captain's quarters. She knew that he felt comfortable there. The pirate followed without complaints.
Penny struggled to get onto the roof, but the man behind her gave her a boost. She heard a small chuckle come from his chest and smiled. That was a good sign. They sat, one across the other, Ace cross-legged and Penny politely tucking her legs under her. She gave a small smile at the pirate's painted face and licked her thumb. She grabbed his face and bent forward, trying to get the worst of it off. Ace raised an eyebrow, but didn't protest.
"Why don't you tell me what happened?" The tiny girl said, her tone gentle. Ace didn't speak for a while.
"I don't know." He said finally. Penny paused in her movements, giving him a questioning look. Ace let out a shaky breath and finally spoke. "You know about Ran, right? The delivery service pilot?" The cook nodded. "Well, we had a falling out of sorts." Penny nodded once more.
"Would you like to talk about it?" She asked gently. Ace shrugged. For a moment, there was silence as Penny attempted to wipe more paint off of Ace's face, now using her sleeve, as well. Suddenly, the pirate started talking, and he didn't stop.
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Sita managed to get herself out of bed. Her wound had been getting better, but it still hurt like hell. The twins didn't allow her to go alone anywhere, when she went somewhere. And that was usually nowhere. Pinjao wasn't really happy about her leaving the bed, either, so she tended to try and stay down. Ran, she didn't mind. She understood that Sita couldn't stay still. It wasn't in her nature to stay down.
So, Sita scrambled out of bed, holding her abdomen tenderly. She headed towards the barn, grabbing a wool jumper on the way. She frowned at the ridiculous picture of a reindeer on the front, but pulled it over her head carefully anyways. Pinjao had lent them one of the new, still unused houses to stay in, and a barn, where Ran could keep her bird. Sita, was, of course, going to reimburse the man for his trouble. Money was no issue to her. She also didn't allow the old Elder to pay Ran for the job. Sita wanted to pay the girl herself. She considered herself indebted to the pilot. She owed the girl her life.
Cold air hit the woman's body as she walked out. She shivered and headed to the barn, her head tucked in. The door didn't creak when she opened it and some snow got in. Sita closed it behind herself quietly, on instinct, not really bothering to check the room for threats. Pinjao's village was safe. Always. She looked around, finding Ran right away. The pilot was under her bird, her back on a plank with wheels, working on the glider. The teen undid some gears and put them on the floor. Sita stood, watching the girl work. It was intriguing. The girl was intriguing. Arousing. Sita wanted her. And she got exactly what she wanted.
Ran pushed herself with her legs, the wheels of the contraption below her screeched as she moved. The pilot jumped up, taking the gears with her and walked towards the other machine in the room, the one that she had been building during the week. She obviously hadn't noticed Sita yet. The assassin took off the wool jumper. The heater in the room was making the place toasty. Sita pulled the sleeves of her nightgown further down. The thing was made out of blue, soft wool, one of the main products of this village, and it hugged her slim figure perfectly. Sita had almost puked when she had first seen it. This pure color didn't suit her. She was tainted. However, she had gratefully accepted it.
Ran worked on the machine, soft clicks and the muffled sounds of the storm outside the only noise in the room. Sita watched, from the shadows, enjoying the show. Every move the girl made was hypnotic to the blonde. So Sita stood there, watching for a few moments. A pang in her stomach shook her out of her fantasy. She looked down and saw a red, quickly spreading spot on the soft fabric of her dress. Damn, she thought, before her legs gave out. Ran jumped at the sound of the falling body. She whirled around and saw Sita gasping on the floor. The pilot jumped up and ran towards her without hesitation.
"Sita? Hey! Sita!" The pilot carefully adjusted the position of the woman's body, pulling the nightgown up. She forced herself to ignore the pang of arousal that hit her when her fingers brushed against the woman's legs.
"This is-gah-not how I imagined this-argh!" The assassin gasped through her pain, a twisted smile on her face. Ran frowned.
"How can you joke at a time like this!?" The pilot scolded. "Where does it hurt? Oh, by the Storm Thief!" Ran finally saw the problem after she removed the bloody bandages. The wound that had been healing nicely was wide open again, some kind of insects crawling out from it. Sita screamed in pain. Ran panicked. "Oh, Aeolus! What should I do? Call the Elder? Sita! Hey!" The blonde had stopped screaming and gasping, her head lolled to the side, completely still. Ran pressed her ear against the bloody breast of the woman, searching for a heartbeat. She found none. The pilot froze.
Everything went silent, except her own blood. It was rushing through her veins, pumping into her heart. Her brain went into overdrive. She couldn't quite explain it. It was like she knew what to do. Like she knew everything. Bits and pieces of information that she had collected throughout her life came together, finally making sense. The puzzle completed and her body moved. She grabbed Sita under her arms and dragged her to the Sparrow. Next, the pilot undid the breast plate of her bird and took out the golden cord that was usually used for core connecting. She was faintly aware of the heat on her forehead, but she dismissed it. The girl pulled on the golden thread, not surprised when it lengthened. She connected the end of the thread to Sita's chest. Where her still heart was.
Ran watched in fascination as the cord went in, through the skin, gently, almost like it was moving the skin away to pass. The pilot lowered her bloodied cheek back down, trying to hear a change in the woman's chest. The first soft thrum was so faint that she though that she had imagined it. The second was louder. And the third was normal. Sita was alive. The sound of the storm outside came back, along with the singing of the Sparrow. The bird was rejoicing. Ran jumped up, leaving the half-naked woman with her bird, ignoring the budding insects in the wound, not bothering to get anything over her sweat soaked tank top and ran to look for Elder Pinjao.
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It took a while for Ace to finish his story. When he did, Penny didn't talk for a while. He waited expectantly. Penny wasn't sure what to think. She didn't know this Ran woman. She shouldn't be the one to judge. But, she had asked to listen to Ace's problems. Now, she needed to give him a solution. How could she? She had no right. So, she did what she could.
"Ace-sama, I like you." Penny looked up from the paint stained hands in her lap and stared into Ace's eyes. He looked surprised at her confession, like he hadn't had a clue. Hadn't she been obvious about it?
"I like you too, Penny! We're friends!" Ace laughed nervously, giving her a way out. But, Penny didn't want a way out. She was a pirate now. She was brave.
"No. You like Ran-san." Ace raised an eyebrow, avoiding looking at her. "I know. I could see that you weren't interested before... But I thought, if I was good enough... If I tried more..." Penny drifted off. Ace grabbed her hands, gently squeezing them.
"There's nothing wrong with you, Penny! You're amazing! I just-"
"You don't like me that way." Penny interrupted, nodding. "I understand." She paused. Ace didn't talk. He didn't really know what to say. "So, I give up. I tried. But, you better be happy with Ran-san!" Penny stared him down. Ace squirmed under the force of her gaze. When had she gotten so scary?
"We aren't together or anything..."
"You don't need to label a relationship to have it." With that Penny stood and walked away, leaving Ace to his thoughts.
The pirate sat there for a while. He heard yelling and laughter on the deck and a scowl made its way onto his face. He hated parties these days. He hated everything these days. Leo was running around, actually, he was running away all over the deck. There was a grey bird chasing him. It looked like it was trying to peck his brains out. Ace didn't know when, but he had started laughing, too. The bird gave up at some point and looked around. It saw Ace and headed towards him like a bullet. The raven's face morphed into an 'oh crap' one and he attempted to get out of his cross-legged position and run away. He wasn't fast enough. The bird's claws dug into his shoulder and it settled down there, not pecking him. Ace waited, ready to shield his head at any moment. The bird squawked and offered him its leg. The pirate slowly accepted, opening the small leather bag and taking out the cargo. He was still wary of the bird.
In his hand now lay a small, colorful bag. He opened it slowly, the paper rustling gently. There were chocolates inside. Round with some kind of orange flakes inside. He inspected the bag for any kind of note, or something and found one. It read 'chocolate kisses'. Ace stared at the chocolates and then at the bird. The only thing going through his mind was 'what the fuck?'.
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"She's stable again." Elder Pinjao announced, exiting the emergency room. Sita had been treated on the spot and then moved to the hospital for a surgery. The doctor, a kind eyed, middle aged man, had extracted the insects from her wound and stitched it back up. Ran had had to extract the core from the Sparrow and lend it to the medical team while they worked. Apparently, the thing had stabilized the vitals of the assassin. The pilot herself had been shocked, but she did remember reading about things like that and hearing stories. It was quite surprising that she had managed to piece it all together and act as fast as she did.
The nurses had made her go and get herself checked out and she had gone as soon as the twins arrived. The duo waited in front of Sita's emergency room like statues for a while. The nurse that checked out Ran decided that all the blood on the pilot had come from Sita, but she also inspected the girls head. Ran explained how she had thought that her forehead had gotten hot at some point. Upon further inspection, the nurse told her that it must've been the stress. She had a bit of a fever, but the pilot was free to go.
"She's going to be alright, yes?" The teen questioned, tossing a glance at the twins. The duo looked somewhere between ready to kill or to cry. She wasn't sure which outcome would be worse.
"She's lost a lot of blood. She's lucky that you were there, lass." The Elder confirmed.
"Those motherfuckers poisoned her." One of the twins said. He was looking at his still wrapped arm.
"Poison? I saw some kind of insects coming out of the wound. It couldn't have been poison." Ran countered, frowning slightly. Just what had these three been through?
"Yes. That is a fricking poison. May it rot in the deepest circle of hell." The other twin spoke. He was glaring at the door behind which Sita was. "They use it to kill those that run away from interrogation." Ran raised an eyebrow.
"They?"
The twins gave her identical stares of disbelief. "The Organization, stupid." Their voices were in perfect sync. Ran still looked lost, so the one without the broken arm explained. "The commoners call them the fucking Zodiac. Because of their ranks." Ran slapped her forehead. Now she understood. The Zodiac were after Sita and the twins for some reason. She had been framed as a Zodiac. It all made sense. The Government was covering for the assassins.
"Might as well tell the stupid idiot everything now, brother." The other twin spoke. They nodded to each other, identically, simultaneously. Ran found it amusing, and kind of creepy, when they did their twin mojo. "We'll wait for Mistress to awaken." Elder Pinjao laughed.
"You both know she hates it when you call her that."
~~~~pb~~~~
Izo lit his kiseru, which was a rare sight, and relaxed on the deck. He sat on the railing, watching the crew. He did that often. He preferred watching. A person's body language was far more honest than their words. And Izo was a master at reading body language. He had been bothered by this new development with his friend, Ran. Yes, he considered the strange pilot his friend. She was one of the rare people who spoke the way they acted.
He had written a letter to the girl, after thinking for a while. He offered his help. If she needed anything. He wasn't surprised by the way Ran had acted towards Ace on the Den Den Line. He had probably smothered her. With good intentions, but still, he had smothered her. There was one thing that the girl was terrified of. A cage. She perceived home, family and a bond as a chain on her ankle with a heavy ball pulling her down. Whenever there was trouble, she would fly, not looking back. When she was uncomfortable, she would take to the skies and forget, pushing her problems away. She was wild. Untamed.
And Izo understood that well. You had to thread carefully when approaching her. Ace lacked tact. He said the first things that were on his mind, not predicting the outcome. Troublesome child. He was likeable, though. Izo had seen Ran's reaction right away. She had unconsciously 'fluffed her feathers' at the young pirate. She had noticed him right away. Maybe because he had been shirtless. But, she had been consistent, like she usually was, in her subtle advances. Izo knew all the gossip, after all. You can't kiss on the ship and expect him not to know.
He heard a yelp and saw Ace struggling with the Coco Bird. The thing was persistent, Izo would give it that. The creature had been on their ship for a while, spreading terror with its beak and claws. Leo was its favorite prey for some reason. It probably smelled his fear. But, Izo was intrigued by the bird with a temper that matched its carrier. Yes, the little bugger hadn't left Ace's side for a while. It tended to nip him and squawk from time to time, too. Obviously, the chocolates were for him. Yes, chocolates. Izo prided himself in his knowledge of romance traditions. He knew all about the chocolate exchange. What he didn't understand was, who would be bold enough to send them to the young pirate?
No way…
Realization on his face, Izo almost fell over the railing in his hurry to get up. "Ace!"
~~~~pb~~~~
It took Sita a couple of hours to wake up. They had transferred her into a normal room in the meantime and told the Elder that she should stay in the hospital for a while. He had laughed. Knowing Sita, she would be out of there in less than a day.
When the groggy woman opened her eyes, just to greet Ran with a 'hey sexy' and cause her to go tomato red, the nurses checked her over. They said that it was amazing how quickly the blonde had woken up. In the end, after all the tests, they allowed Sita her couple of visitors, insisting that they be quick. The woman needed her rest. Sita yelled profanities after she heard that one.
"Ah, well. Fuck. It's all out now." The woman on the bed sighed after she grasped the situation. Her eyes stayed downcast for a moment. The twins were at her bedside, not hiding their worry too well. "Why don't you leave us alone for a bit?" Elder Pinjao nodded and dragged the protesting kids out. Sita struggled to sit up and Ran rushed to help her.
"I didn't mean for this mess to be such a mess." The blonde started. Ran went to sit in a chair but the woman caught her hand. It sent a tingle down her spine. The blonde pulled her back and made her sit on the bed, their bodies touching. "I never meant for this to happen." Sita murmured, stroking Ran's ungloved hand. The pilot was surprised at how cold the woman's touch was. It was so different from the touch that she dreamed about. From Ace's scorching, addicting kisses. The mere thought of them sent a pang below her belt. Then, a sense of guilt into her stomach. It was uncomfortable. Very. "You seem to have a lot on your mind."
Sita brought her back to reality. Ran didn't look at the older woman. "Yeah." Sita's hand let go of hers. "You heard?"
"It's a bad habit." The blonde confirmed. Ran wanted the earth to just open and swallow her then. A woman that she barely knew, and was attracted to, had heard a fight that she had with a guy, that she knew a bit better, and was also attracted to. Her life had gotten so messed up so fast. "Don't worry about it." Sita continued. Ran looked at her. She seemed unbothered by the world. Her features were relaxed somehow, and for once Ran saw something weird on the woman's face. It was that expression that she had seen on the noble's faces on Arcadia. The one where they looked all high and mighty. It was just a split second. A parallel. Then she noticed how tired Sita actually seemed.
"You need rest." The pilot went to stand up, but he woman grabbed her hand once more.
"Just listen." Her tone was soft, voice as raspy as ever. "Please." Ran nodded and waited for her to continue. "I'm not their mother, you know." Sita began. The pilot was left to connect the dots. "I don't really know who is. They don't want to know either. I am responsible for them, though." She took a deep, shaky breath. "I first saw them when they were younger, maybe five, and sold into slavery. Somehow, during my flirtation with the Organization, I ended up with two little ones to mentor. I wasn't prepared. I didn't know what that meant. Hell, I was just a spoiled brat back then." Sita paused. Ran wasn't sure what to do. Thankfully, the woman continued.
"I wasn't on a high position. I was still on probation, since I didn't grow up in the Organization, but came to it. I had passed every test with flying colors. Killing was nothing to me. Until those two. My own mentor noticed the change first, and pretty soon, they took away the twins. It took me a while to track them through the net of the Organization. At that point, my mind had been made up. I ran."
This time it was Ran who made contact. She gently laid her hand over the woman's in comfort. Sita gave her a shaky smile. It was the first time that Ran had seen the woman smile. She seemed so much younger.
"Elder Pinjao was one of my contacts outside the Organization. This village is one of the dead zones. Off limits." Sita saw the pilot's confusion. "We tried to get away. But the Organization has eyes everywhere. It hadn't been safe to come here right away."
Everything clicked. Sita and the twins were Zodiac. They had quit the assassin group and ran for their lives. Elder Pinjao had asked her for a 'not so urgent' job, a.k.a. helping Sita and the boys. She had been branded as a Zodiac to the public, but had a fairly low bounty, because they knew that she wasn't an assassin. They wanted to deal with Sita and the kids on their own. But, they wanted her dead because she helped. Ran sighed. How do you even get mad at this woman? She had done everything to the best of her capabilities.
"Guess we have a real heart wrenching, sob story package, huh?" Sita concluded with a hollow laugh. "I really did what I thought was right. It just… Fuck." Ran felt a smile spread on her face at the cuss word.
"Aaah! What am I supposed to say after all that? It's not like I was mad in the first place!" The teen countered. Sita gave her a shocked look. That was not expected. Ran shrugged. "I was bound to get a bounty, Sita. I take any job I can get, after all, no discrimination." Sita raised an eyebrow.
"Then, I pity that guy you gave an earful to." Ran laughed.
"Me too." She drifted off a bit. "I'll fix it. I want to fix it." The pilot concluded. The blonde pulled at her hand slightly, motioning for her to come closer. Ran obeyed. Sita bent a bit forward and gently pressed her lips against Ran's cheek. They were soft. Heat spread through the pirate's body at the touch, but she pulled away.
"That was a 'thank you'." Sita said, her eyes glinted mischievously. "I owe you two favors, for the two times you saved my life." She pulled Ran back forwards. "And this, this is for good luck with that boy." With that Sita's cool lips connected to Ran's.
The pilot was shocked at first, but she accepted the contact. The cold, pale hand holding hers pulled her even further forward, so she was almost on top of the woman. Sita's tongue was gentle, but experienced on her lips and Ran gave in, accepting. Accepting it all. The IV jingled when the blonde moved her other hand to the small of Ran's back to push her forward.
The pilot had to catch herself on her arm, pressing it against the headboard. Sita was still injured. She followed the blonde's tongue around her own mouth, sighing when it brushed just the right spot on the roof of her mouth. Sita pulled a bit back, sucking gently on Ran's wet muscle, inviting her to come along. The pilot's tongue transferred to Sita's cavern next, keeping them connected, regardless of their need for air.
The teen couldn't really believe that this was happening. This woman was like sex on legs, even wounded, and here she was, kissing the life out of her. Fuck. All too soon, Sita pulled back, giving Ran's lips a couple of small pecks, as if she didn't want to let go.
"Now go." Sita dismissed her. "Get that pirate of yours hooked."
"But-"
"The doctor said that I need my rest." Her smile was sly. Was there anything that this woman didn't know? Ran shook her head and got up, with a grin of her own. She needed to finish that machine before she left. The pilot gave a small wave to the resting assassin and walked out. She didn't notice the woman's smile turn sad.
That's all folks!
Woah… I need a cold shower… Woah… Anyways, not as steamy as the last one with Sita and Ran, but I think it's good :) This is actually my first time doing a story with romance, so do bear with me xD
I really have no problem with girl on girl, it's a leftover from my own experimentation with both genders, I hope that no one was offended xD I may toss in some yaoi or three way later on, but I will warn you guys! I promise xD
I gave myself a challenge for this chapter! Did you notice it? I tried to not write from Ran's and Ace's perspective as much as possible :P
Onto the reviews!
Otaku-chan: Thanks for the review, love! I'm happy to have you back :3
I was going out on a limb out there. My interpretation of Ace is… well… yeah xD Looks like it worked out, though :)
Hope you liked the thing with Sita :D Heheheheee~ I just couldn't resist! Don't stay up too late now, dear :)
Hope you enjoyed!
Wren: I know, I write an easy going fic and then bam! There comes the bomb! It was needed… Ace needed to make up his mind, Ran needed a bit of a push, Penny needed to move on yadda yadda
I figured that this was a good way to do it :) Soon I shall make even more trouble! Mwahahahaaa, poor OCs :P
I don't know if Ace and Ran are the worst people to be in a relationship… I think that her 'freedom' obsession and his 'intimacy' issues are quite complementary… That's actually why I paired them up… I'll see how it goes :3
Zodiacs are named after their commanding officers, who are titled by each horoscope sign. They will come later. At least some of them will. Hehehehe~
Sita and Ran… Oh man… I was kind of expecting that when I put Sita in this story… She is… a real sex bomb, honestly… She is selfish and takes what she wants… Let's face it, Ran is into the whole danger thing, even though she doesn't want to admit it :P Wait until she sees that Ace has that side, too… Honestly, he doesn't show the whole 'dangerous' thing, even though he has it :3 I agree, Sita and Ran is hot :) Hope you enjoyed this little one, too ;)
Hope you enjoyed :D
anniewanny2: I figured, more updates, more reader happiness :D Glad to see you back!
Soon! I didn't intend for this to drag on for so loooong, but it kind of did xD It seemed so short in my head… and it was actually about 6 fricking chapters! Ah well, they did need the time apart :) It's going to be hilarious when they meet up… And hot :D
Ran is… real… I try to keep her as real as possible… And as close to the readers as possible… I know that it may seem like everyone in the story likes her, but I think that's because she is quite submissive in that department. She molds herself to the crowd, and then flies away when she's done… Like a sparrow :D
Hope you enjoyed!