Welcome ladies and gents!
I know, another fast update xD Last in the series, though (annie kind of challenged me xD) My exams end on 4th, so I will update when they are done :D
Anyways, here we go,
Chapter 26: Oh My Juliet – LM.C (this is the most awesome band everrr! I adore Maya :D I suggest you guys look up the lyrics if you are following my playlist, this chapter was actually inspired by this song :3 )
It all happened so fast. Taurus flew towards Izo, and Ran's heart jumped to her throat. The man was bigger than the Commander. He looked huge in the pilot's eyes. She looked around, trying to find Kage. The other Zodiac had melted into the shadows.
"No hellos? How rude!" Izo commented. He fired the gun from his right hand a couple of times, but Taurus evaded. Ran could see the Zodiac's body going black with armor mantra. Izo's aura rose, too, making her feel dizzy. It was like the air itself was electric and she was breathing fire. Her head became hot and heavy, but she forced her eyes open. If she could help Izo just by giving him a pair of extra eyes, she would.
Izo's foot came up in a round kick, his geta making a dull clank when it connected with Taurus's reinforced head. The Commander fired a few rounds into the dark where Kage had vanished at the same time. Taurus cursed and tried to get up from the ground, pushing against Izo's foot. The cross-dresser allowed him to rise, however, Izo's gun was trained on the Zodiac. Ran saw the shock and worry on the assassin's face when he saw the gun. Izo shot reinforced bullets. They were trouble, even if the Zodiac was using the armor mantra. Kage spilled from the shadows suddenly, wakizashi out at the ready, aiming for Izo's abdomen.
"Right!" Ran squeaked from her spot in warning. Izo knew, though, even before she warned him. Two Zodiacs were a lot, even for a Commander. Izo was completely alert. Serious. His left hand appeared below his right and he fired his second gun. Kage caught the bullets against his blades, deflecting them. One of his wakizashi broke.
"Welcome to the party, dear." Izo baited. He wanted them angry. He wanted them to slip up. They were very skilled. Unless they slipped up, Izo's chances of winning without major injuries were slim to none. He fired at Taurus. Kage kicked his partner out of the way in a second. Ran saw that Kage's face was expressionless. His eyes were stone cold. He didn't care about this fight. He didn't care about his partner. He simply didn't care. And it scared the hell out of Ran.
The pilot took a deep breath, trying to stay awake. With the blood loss, and all the pain, she felt ice cold and on her way to the sweet abyss. But, Izo was here, not in the darkness. She needed to stay with Izo.
"Let's go!" Kage suddenly growled, blocking Izo's shots. Ran saw Taurus rise. He wiped a small trail of blood from his cheek where the bullet had nicked him. The bloodthirsty grin was back on his face. He licked his finger clean from the blood, smirking.
"I'm not going anywhere." Taurus rumbled. He was just getting started. Ran knew what he was capable of. He had dunked her into a bucket of ice cold water many times, waited until she was at the very edge between life and death and then pulled her out. He had sliced her open as she watched, licking his knife from time to time. He had poured things on her wounds, making them hurt like never before. He had told her things. Things that she never wanted to hear again in her entire life. Things about what he had done to other people, and what he would do to her. Promises. Promises that she would never be able to forget. Ran screamed. She was vaguely aware of the fact that she was crying, too.
Izo threw a look at her, worried. Ran's voice broke and she stayed there, sobbing inconsolably. The Commander felt heartbroken at the sight. Here was his strong, independent girl friend tied up, cut, bruised and sobbing like there was no tomorrow.
"The client was specific about our instructions. Do not attract unwanted attention." Kage spoke. "Angering a Yonko is unwanted attention. Let's move." Izo glared at the assassin, but didn't move. Taurus was looking at Izo like he wanted to eat him. The Zodiac wanted the Commander's blood.
"You can go to hell for all I care, Shadow." The big assassin growled. "I'm going to carve this one up." He stepped forward, raising his fist. Izo prepared to defend when Kage tripped Taurus, causing him to fall flat on his face. "You bastard!" The assassin jumped up and got into his partner's face. One of his large hands gripped Kage's kosode tightly and pulled him up. Izo watched in amusement as the smaller assassin's feet rose a couple of centimeters off the ground. However, Kage's face didn't change. It was just as expressionless as it had been when the Commander had crashed into the basement. "Mind your rank, bastard! You are a mere shadow of the former Scorpio, you son of a bitch! You are a servant, a foot soldier! And I, I am Taurus, I am a Commanding Officer!" Taurus growled, his spit showering Kage's face in his raw anger.
Izo moved a step back, being careful not to alert them to his intentions. He could read the situation well. The two assassins were terrible partners. That was a nice loophole for Izo. True, he couldn't take down two high ranking Zodiacs on his own and get away unscathed, but... These two. He could escape them with Ran easily. They were a mess. Izo threw one more glance at the trembling pilot. She had gone quiet, her head down. She looked miserable. Izo kept his eyes on the duo and shot two bullets without looking back. They severed the ropes on Ran's legs easily. The two assassins didn't even react. Taurus kept yelling at Kage, and the shadow merely stared back, with no emotions on his face.
Izo kept his body in front of Ran, like a protective wall. He moved further back, reaching his arm behind Ran. He fired one more shot, getting her hands free. The pilot slouched forward, hitting Izo's back. She was still shaking, both from cold and from her tears. The Commander felt the back of his kimono become wet. That was Ran's blood. It was his friend's blood on his clothes. Izo grit his teeth. He wanted to shoot these men in front of him in their foreheads. He wanted to kill them. No. Not execute. He wanted to cut them up the same way that they cut up Ran. But, he would hold back. The pilot was his priority. Izo pushed one of his guns into his obi and picked up Ran's body carefully. She allowed it and weakly gripped his kimono.
"You're going to be fine, love. I've got you." The pink Commander whispered, and noticed how she immediately reacted. The pilot gave a tiny nod into his neck and her shaking lessened.
"Going somewhere?" Taurus had finally stopped yelling at his partner and turned to the Commander. He dropped Kage back on the ground. Izo saw him reinforce his hand again. "It's not very nice you know. To leave the party early." He gave Izo a bloodthirsty grin.
"I guess I'm not a very polite man, then." Izo retorted and jumped towards the whole that he had made when he crashed in. Taurus laughed and flew after the Commander. Izo managed to avoid the hit, using Taurus as a step to head upwards. He heard a crash behind him. The Commander threw a look back after he secured his footing. The damage that Taurus had done on the wall was impressive. The house shook and started going down. Izo turned away and ran, not looking back. He had gotten everything that he needed.
~~~~pb~~~~
Ace found that he loved Wano Kuni. It was beautiful. First, they were conservative. They didn't know a lot about the outside and they didn't carry the prejudice and stereotypes that he often faced. Second, they had their own, beautiful culture that enticed Ace. And third, they had delicious food. Ace didn't understand why Izo had ever chosen to leave.
In the first couple of days, Ace had met tons of people. The most memorable of his new friends was Koto. He was a young samurai-to-be, a warrior of Wano, who came from a long line of blacksmiths. His father crafted beautiful katana and wakizashi, while his mother was a geisha, an artist. The relationship between his mother and father was forbidden, as she had worked in an establishment full time. However, the woman had chosen to be just a performer after she met Koto's father. She had chosen to give up almost everything for the man, and she earned little, only the tips that the customers gave when she played her favorite instrument, the koto. Her son was sad, as he often saw her looking at the only kimono she had been allowed to keep. It was an expensive, lush one, which she kept re-folding nostalgically. That is also one of the reasons why Koto had chosen to train to become a samurai. He wanted to regain his family's honor.
Koto had been very interested in the outside world. He had asked Ace so many questions and pleaded for the raven to ask Whitebeard to take him with them to the sea. The young pirate kept evading those pleads, though. The samurai-to-be reminded him of Luffy a bit too much. He couldn't be the one to take him out to the sea and make him a wanted man. So, Ace evaded.
Marco had been AWOL most of the time. He loved Wano Kuni because he could find a nice warrior to spar with and not hold back. To say the least, the phoenix was ecstatic. His mood had gotten much better. He spent his evenings with the partying crew, which was the attraction on the whole town, laughing and dancing. Ace had never seen the man so happy. He didn't think that the iron willed Commander could be so carefree. However, since they were docked in a friendly port, he wasn't worried about enemies, so the phoenix partied like hell. Ace learned that he should never join a drinking contest with Thatch and Marco in it. The mere thought of it made his head hurt. Those two could drink.
Leo, on the other hand, mostly stuck to one of the people from their division. Ace didn't really get why, but the blonde was a bit anxious. One day, the raven asked him. Leo told him how the culture of Wano reminded him of where he had grown up. The strict regime. The 'proper' way of speaking. The position of women in the society. Leo couldn't stand it. Even though it was not his home country, he felt like it was. So, he chose to stay away from people. He was either on the ship or with someone somewhere in the wild. Ace could respect that, even though he wished that Leo had come with him and Koto to the places the young samurai-to-be had taken him to. He was used to hanging out with his former mentor. They did most of their chores together, after all.
Thatch had taken Leo's spot during their time in Wano. Of course, that was only when he wasn't chasing the women. It was like the Commander had undergone some kind of sexual craze awakening and was even wilder than usual. Ace loved Thatch. He really did. But the pompadour tended to be a bit too much sometimes. Koto seemed to find the Commander's ways highly embarrassing. He would blush whenever Thatch made an inappropriate comment and he would scold the pompadour. Ace found it all quite adorable.
The raven didn't see much of either Penny or Kondor. Since the Whitebeard Pirates were considered friendly, the town provided food and lodging, if anyone wanted to sleep on dry land. That came at a perfect time, since they were still working on repairing the ship. Ace was a bit excited about getting a bed, rather than a hammock. He missed his bed from time to time. He didn't miss Luffy crawling into it, though. His younger brother was a right pain, no matter how much he loved the little rubber troublemaker. Anyways, Penny and Kondor had gone to explore the culinary culture. The old cook was mostly familiar with it, but the tiny girl wasn't. This was like a dream fieldtrip for her.
"Ace-dono, you're burning it again." Koto gained Ace's attention successfully. The raven looked down at his kasa in progress and groaned. He quickly patted the rice straw, putting out the small flame.
"Fuck." The raven swore, causing Koto to blush. The samurai-to-be was slowly getting used to all the swear words that his new friend used. He still blushed, but, he was slowly getting over it. "Sorry." The raven apologized. Koto shook his head.
"It's fine, Ace-dono. If I ever want to go out to the sea I need to get used to the crude language of the outside world." The teen spoke. Ace laughed.
"It's not everyone, it's mostly the pirates, Koto. I was corrupted by them, too." His hands kept trying to fix the hat while he talked. "Can this be saved?" He finally gave up and handed the ruined work to the teen. Koto inspected it with pity. He shook his head slowly. "Damn." Ace sighed. "Can you help me start the new one?" Ace looked expectantly. Koto gave him a smile and nodded. He swiftly started weaving a new kasa. Soon, the teen handed it to Ace to continue.
"Hey, Ace!" Thatch ran towards them, thankfully alone. He panted for a second and then spoke again. "Izo finally contacted us." The Commander didn't look like he was bringing good news. "Ran's been hurt." Ace dropped his kasa-in-progress, his hands shaking. They felt icy. He jumped up, his face grave.
"What do you mean Ran's been hurt?" The raven asked. Thatch shook his head. Ace ran towards the ship like he had never run before. Koto sat, hands on the kasa still, confused.
"What's a Ran?" The samurai-to-be asked. Thatch gave him a weak smile.
"Ace's current…errr… romantic interest?" He tried to define their relationship. Koto looked to the hat and nodded slowly. He went back to work quickly. There was nothing he could do for his friend but wait. He could provide comfort if the raven chose to confide in him.
~~~~pb~~~~
Ran woke up slowly. She didn't open her eyes at first. She could hear dripping to her left and she flinched on instinct. However, she wasn't cold. In fact, she was quite nice and toasty. The pilot decided to be brave and open her eyes. Everything was white for a second, but then it cleared. The input from her senses assaulted her. The scent of antibiotics and sterile environment was heavy in the air. There was muffled chatter, probably behind a door.
"She's going to be fine Ace! Sheesh! Marco, get him away from the Den Den Mushi!" Izo's voice came from her right, strong. He sounded irritated.
"Then just let me talk to her!" Ace's voice came, obviously through the Den Den Mushi. Ran felt her lips twitch into a smile.
"She'll call you back." Izo finished the conversation.
Kacha!
"Stubborn idiot." Izo murmured into the, now silent, snail. Ran heard him move about and then his face suddenly appeared in her field of vision. "Ran? Are you awake, love?" He didn't have his makeup on and his hair was down, spilling across his shoulders. He still looked just as beautiful, though. Ran remembered thinking that the man was deceptively strong. She remembered him carrying her. Why had he carried her? The IV dripped again to her left and she flinched. "Oh, sweetie, you are awake!" Izo exclaimed. "Let me get a nurse real quick!" The Commander headed towards the door. Ran whimpered involuntarily. Izo appeared next to her in a flash. "What's wrong, love? Where does it hurt?" He asked gently. Ran could feel her throat clenching and her eyes prickling. She felt like crying.
"D-" She coughed. Izo jumped up and poured a glass of water. He gently held her head up and helped her drink some. Ran did. She was grateful that Izo didn't comment on her inability to drink on her own.
"There you go, dear. All better." The Commander gave her a small smile. He placed the glass back onto the nightstand.
"Don't leave me." Ran managed to say, her voice raw and cracking. Her throat hurt like hell. Actually, now that she was regaining feeling in her body, it all hurt like hell. Izo gave her another smile.
"I'm just going to call a nurse, sweetie. I'll be right here in a second."
"Don't leave me." The pilot repeated, her voice a bit steadier. The Commander sat down on her bed.
"Alright. I'll sit right here, okay?" He asked, looking at the girl's face carefully. Ran stared at him. She was so glad to see him. Why? She didn't know. But, she was glad to see him.
"What's wrong with me?" She finally asked. Izo glanced at her, as if trying to figure something out. He had this look in his eyes, like he pitied her. Ran didn't like that look.
"You don't remember?" He asked. Ran shook her head slightly. It hurt. It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe. "You were taken by two Zodiacs. I found you in time." Suddenly, the dam broke and memories rushed back. Ran could feel her head pounding. Her throat finally closed and she shut her eyes, feeling the salty tears. She was so glad. It was over. It was all over. She was alive, here, in the hospital, with Izo. She opened her eyes back up only to see Izo's worried face. She managed a small smile.
"Thank you." Ran whispered through her tears. "Thank you." She repeated. "Thank you." She couldn't stop. Izo gave her a wide smile. Obviously, he had been afraid for her. He had been afraid of the way she would react to her experience. His face showed clearly that he hadn't been expecting this.
"You're more than welcome, love."
~~~~pb~~~~
Ace spent the next couple of days moody. Izo didn't call back. The raven started staking out the Den Den Mushi that Izo usually called, and when Thatch or Leo made him leave, he would stalk the pirates on communications like they were his favorite game. Ace became more and more irritated the more time passed. He didn't sleep unless narcolepsy struck. He didn't eat unless Thatch forced him to. He was miserable, and everyone was noticing. In the end, Marco pounded the hell out of him and forced him off the ship. Something about being a gray cloud. That led to the current situation. Ace spent most of his day making kasas. Koto was a bit worried that if the raven continued moping, he would make enough hats for half of the island. He was getting insanely good at it, though.
"Ace!" Leo yelled, catching his attention. The raven jumped up, abandoning the kasa that he was obsessively making.
"Did he call?"
Leo gave him a small smile. "Yes. Ran's asking for you." Ace practically teleported into the communications room. He tore the Den Den Mushi out of Marco's hands and walked away. He wanted to talk to Ran alone.
"Ran?" He asked.
"Hey." Her voice was scratchy, breaking. Ace frowned. He felt guilt pool into the pit of his stomach. He should've gone with her. But, no. He stayed on the Moby Dick, partying. He was partying while she was getting hurt. He felt sick.
"Are you okay?" He asked carefully.
"I'm going to be." She replied. She sounded so small. So fragile. Ace wanted to fly over there and be with her. He wanted to take her into his arms and heat her up, just the way she liked it. He wanted to kiss every spot that was hurt and keep her safe.
"What happened to you?" He asked. "How hurt are you? When are you coming here?" He couldn't stop the barrage of questions anymore. All the things that he had wondered about while making kasas just spilled out. He heard Ran chuckle.
"I'm going to be fine." She repeated. Ace clenched his fist.
"Don't just tell me that!" He finally burst. There was silence for a moment. "Please tell me what happened, Ranmao. I've been sitting for days, imagining the worst possible situation…" He whispered, looking at the floor.
There was another short pause. "I got on the Zodiacs radar. Two of them came after me." She took a shaky breath. Ace felt blood freeze in his veins. Zodiacs? Zodiacs. She got tortured by Zodiacs. Oh by the Seven Seas. He was pacing now, waiting for her to finish. "But, Izo got me in time. I'm going to be fine." Ran said, but Ace wouldn't be fooled. She was hurt and scared. She had been tortured while he had been partying and making stupid hats. She had been tortured while he was dreaming of her naked on top of him. Ace punched the nearest wall, making the whole thing vibrate from the force. He was surprised later that he hadn't made a hole. "Ace? What was that?" Ran asked from the other side, worried.
"Nothing." Ace pushed through his teeth. He was livid. Not at her, of course. Them. He wanted to beat them bloody.
"Ace?" Ran asked. It seemed that he had been quiet for too long. He was just so angry. He was too angry. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so angry. No, he could. He could. It was that time when a drunken pirate in a tavern had insulted Roger. He hated that fire of anger that would boil the blood inside of him and explode. He hated it. Because he couldn't control it.
"I'm here." Ace murmured. "Do you want me to come over there?" He asked. He didn't know why he did. Ran was his friend, but she was safe with Izo. It's not like Ace could do anything that the Commander couldn't. But, he realized, if she asked him to, he would drop everything and run to her. When had she become so important? Wasn't she just a casual friend? And here he was, thinking of dropping everything. His adventure. His dream. His piracy. Just to go to her side. It scared the crap out of him.
"No. You have your own path, Ace. Izo is getting us on an ally ship anyways. He doesn't want me to fly." Ran laughed and then started coughing.
"Are you okay? You don't sound too good."
"Yeah." Ran cleared her throat. "I'm good. Just need some water." Ace heard her move about on the other side. He heard sound of water being poured. She cleared her throat again. "I need to go now. Need to change my bandages." Ran told him.
"Yeah…" Ace replied. He rubbed his forehead. "Call me soon?" He remembered to ask.
"Tomorrow." Ran promised. "Keep your Den Den Mushi close, my little S." She teased. Ace smiled slightly.
"Yeah…" The line went dead.
Kacha!
~~~~pb~~~~
Ran stared at the Den Den Mushi for a while. The nurse knocked on the door window of her room again and the pilot nodded to her. The slim woman entered, giving her a gentle, but automatic, smile.
"How are we feeling today?" The nurse asked. Ran wasn't one to get annoyed by people easily, but after almost two weeks of hearing the woman address her in plural, she was very irritated. Even snappy.
"We are feeling fine." She replied sarcastically. The nurse didn't react to it. She bustled around and gathered sterile bandages.
"Shall we lift up our shirt?" The nurse spoke again. Ran didn't even bother answering, she just pulled off her gown completely. She wasn't shy, nor embarrassed. "That's good." The nurse continued. She started working on Ran's back first. Taurus had spared nothing. Ran had heard. She had sixty seven cuts. Big, small, wide, narrow, jagged. He had painted her like a canvas. She felt ugly. She felt dirty, spoiled. She was never going to wear a bikini and shorts again. Sure, the doctor had told her that with proper care and salves most of her scars would be almost nonexistent. What a joke. She had seen the pictures of her wounds by accident. Those would leave marks.
Izo burst into the room without knocking. "Hello, love. You finished your conversation with that hothead? Did he fry the ship in anger over there?" The Commander joked. He had his makeup on and his hair perfectly done, as usual. He had been nothing but supportive. Ran was worried about a lot of things after she woke up. For example, the expenses of her treatment, the location of the Sparrow, the status of Sita and the twins, Elder Pinjao's village, etc. Izo had had quite a handful calming her down.
He had explained how, since she was an ally of the Whitebeard Pirates, she had certain privileges, and that he would take care of the hospital expenses. They were on an allied island, so she would be safe there. Izo had been going in and out, taking care of the rogue bandits in his spare time. He had spent hours and hours by her bedside, though. He had also gotten her glider transported, and now it was safe in a garage. Ran had made calls to both Sita, who didn't pick up, and Elder Pinjao. The man himself answered, causing her to freak out. Taurus had told her that he was dead! Elder Pinjao explained to her that he was fine, and that he didn't know the current Taurus. He also told her that Zodiacs often lied to get information. Ran had calmed down a bit after their conversation, to Izo's greatest joy. The pilot had been hysteric the first few days. Now, she seemed to be coming to terms with her situation.
"When can we leave?" Ran fired off without answering Izo's light questions. The Commander gave her a look. She shrugged, causing the nurse behind her to complain. "Look. I'm fine! I want to get out of here!" The pilot complained. Izo sat down in front of her.
"Not until you are discharged. I won't risk your stiches ripping, dear." The Commander told her, adamant. Ran pouted. Izo stared.
"Shall we turn around?" The nurse interrupted. Ran obeyed, giving Izo another look. She was getting more and more annoyed by the nurse. Izo did nothing to ease her anger. In fact, he seemed as annoyed as she was.
"Do you mind?" Izo asked the nurse. She ignored him, causing Ran to giggle. There weren't many people that could push Izo's buttons. The Commander sighed, giving up. "I'm going to get us some food, sweetie. I'm sick of this hospital." Ran gave him a disbelieving look. He did not just say that. Izo shrugged and left, leaving the pilot alone with the annoying nurse. The woman, too, left soon. Ran stayed alone, listening to the slow dripping of the IV. She sighed and looked out the window. It was getting dark.
Sighing again, Ran threw her hospital gown over her head, ignoring the stinging of the cuts on her arms. She pushed herself up and headed for the window. The floor tiles were icy on her feet. She could feel all of her cuts moving. She thought that it felt like they were rubbing against each other. Ran hated the way the hospital gown was open on the back, breezy. She opened the window slowly, wincing when the cut on her hand got strained. She was lucky that she had a high tolerance of pain. Or more like, that she enjoyed a certain amount of pain. However, this, she hadn't signed up for this.
The warm air from the outside hit her body. Ran sighed. She could feel the wind on her face. It carried the scent of flowers and earth. Her body felt heavy. Grounded. She pushed away from the window before the skies started to call to her. She carefully lowered herself back on her bed. Ran pulled the covers to her chin and curled up into a ball. She needed to get out of here.
"Well, you don't look as bad as I thought you would." A familiar voice came from behind Ran and she turned her head, searching for the speaker. There she was, sitting like it was nobody's business on the window ledge. Sita gave her a grin. Her clothes were just as Ran remembered, black, shiny and tight, except that now she had a corset. Her wavy black hair fell across her shoulders gently. Sita seemed to blend into the night that had quickly fallen. Ran pushed herself up in a sitting position. Sita's eyes assessed the pilot's injuries. "Damn." She commented. "Sorry. It's all my fault." The assassin seemed genuinely sorry. But, Ran didn't want her apologies. She wanted answers.
"Keep it." She told Sita without skipping a beat. "Who the heck is Scorpio and why were they after him? Why did they think that I knew where this Scorpio was?" Sita sighed and nodded.
"I owe you that much." She answered. Her heeled boots clanked on the tiles as she walked to Ran. "Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces." The assassin listed. "Those are the twelve of the highest ranked Zodiac assassins. Each has their own division, which specializes in a certain type of service. I became one of those. I became Scorpio to get those two idiots back." Sita lowered herself on Ran's bed. "I'm sorry I got you into this mess. Into my mess. I thought that they would come after me." Ran shook her head.
"It doesn't matter. What's in the past is in the past. I just wanted to know why." The pilot answered. She was still shocked at her own ability to compartmentalize. Ran understood military. She understood soldiers. Her father was one. Her cousin was one. They had to obey their orders. Assassins were the same. They obeyed orders. Ran was well aware that they could've done much worse to her. She had seen Sita's scars. She had seen Sita's wound. She had seen the twins after their escape from the Zodiacs. They could've done much much worse to her.
"You're really something, you know." Sita said. Her voice was low, raspy. She gave a chuckle that sent hot shivers straight to the pit of Ran's stomach. It was an involuntary reaction, she couldn't help it. The woman was sex on legs. She felt a bit guilty, thinking about Sita this way, and going back to Ace. But, Ace had been specific. He didn't want her with any other men. Sita was a woman through and through. Ran chuckled. Sita gave her a confused look. The pilot shook her head.
"How are Daithi and Faolan?" She asked. She didn't want to talk about the Zodiacs. The cuts were still too fresh.
Sita laughed. "The idiots are fine. Still as fucking idiotic as you remember. Daithi is crazy about those metal puzzles that you gave him." Ran smiled.
"Are they here with you?" Sita nodded.
"They wouldn't let me go alone, little brats." The assassin got up and started walking around the room, restless. Her steps were almost muted, Ran noticed. Her heels clacked, but her walk was light. She was a true assassin. "I told them to go play on the island while I saw how you were. They like you, you know. I didn't want them to see you hurt." Ran gave her a look.
"They are assassins, Sita." The pilot gave a sarcastic smile. "They've seen enough mutilated bodies." Sita gave her a faraway, sad look.
"Yes. They have seen enough blood and guts." She looked so guilty. Ran opened her mouth to apologize, but Sita interrupted her. "We separate ourselves from out targets. We don't even see them as human. Seeing someone that they love hurt the way they have hurt other people… it would break them." There was silence for a moment.
"At least they won't have to kill and torture anymore. They are out." Ran replied. Sita gave a nod. She leaned against the wall beside the door comfortably. Her posture seemed relaxed, but she was on full alert.
"I saw the wanted posters." Ran said. Sita gave a snort.
"Needed to put food on the table. There's only one job that I actually know how to do." She retorted. Ran gave her a look. "I know, I went a bit overboard, but believe me, they deserved what they got." The assassin's voice was grave. Sita's expression changed in a second. It became playful and she smirked at Ran. "Did you get that pirate of yours?" By the way Ran's face flushed, she got her answer, but she still waited for an answer. The door burst open and Izo entered.
"They only had hospital food in the cafeteria, love. I went to the restaurant and got us some pasta, sweetie. The doctor said that you could eat it." He lowered the food on the table and turned around. The Commander's eyes met Sita's suddenly cold and alert ones. Izo moved on instinct, pulling out his gun. Sita flew forward, too, her own gun in her hand.
It all happened so fast.
That's all folks!
So, I need some space to rant:
+ A healthy adult human heart actually weights around 300 grams (250-350 depending on gender)
+ I hope you guys enjoyed Taurus and Kage up there, they are rather lovable in my opinion, even if they are insane
+ Ran is a complicated person, she prefers to use logic to deal with things that happen in her life, rather than face them head on, as you can see up there. Sometimes, it is very good and mature, but sometimes, it is destructive.
+ I hope you guys like Koto :D He is adorable, in my mind he speaks with the whole –degozaru instead of –desu. I'm thinking about whether he should go out to the sea with Whitebeard or not… He's a real momma's boy :3
+ Ran actually blurted that she loved Ace in one of the previous chapters. She does, but she needed something to push her to the brink for her to realize that. She doesn't remember that she thought that, but she will… :D
I hope that this cleared up a few things ( I probably forgot something, I'll remember and post it somewhere xD)
anniewanny2: Thank you! Thank you! *crowd cheering* Thank you! *bows* Praise the beast! Hehehehe actually, this is not the first time that I've been called that xD I tend to write a lot. When I'm waiting for the bus, when I'm walking somewhere, when I'm waiting in a row somewhere, sometimes during lectures too :) So, it gets done quite fast, since I aim to have around 6k words in each chapter :) Sure, I write faster when I know what I want to write or when I have reviews :D I keep re-reading them like a maniac xD Also, writing for One Piece is like being in it, and let's face it, I'm obsessed with One Piece xD
I wanted Ace to save her, too, but it was impossible xD He was a bit too far away… And, let's face it, Ace would completely freak out. Izo has the capabilities to act level headed and actually help Ran get through this, while Ace really doesn't. He would just pour oil on the fire, making it worse in my opinion. Ace tends to solve problems with his fists and Ran prefers words. She simply needs someone like Izo to help her now. Ace will come later, when she has already sort of come to terms with it. I hope Ace's reaction was good enough :D He feels guilty and frustrated because he wasn't there :(
Hope you enjoyed :D