It was a bleak and gloomy night; the sky had a dour aura to it. There were only a few stars visible, half obstructed by the dark clouds and the rest hidden away in the orange hue that came from the large bonfire which was the epicenter of the large soiree that was taking place on the shores of Requin.
The two suited men from earlier had circumvented the forest after witnessing the festivities; their destination: the hidden cave that was southwest from the very center of the island. This cave was next to a large moor which was flourished with an assortment of plant life, most notably orange lilies.
The two men – Axol and J-Bone – trudged their way towards the aforementioned cave. Axol was a large, burly man with dark red hair that were trimmed down neatly, he had a small goatee of the same color; he was wearing an inconspicuous dark suit but he had loosened the dark tie he was wearing. Next to him was J-Bone who wore a similar suit as his associate; he was a small man (about 4 feet), his stature made him seem like a child when compared to his colleague but the grim face he carried gave him an air of maliciousness; he wore a top hat – most likely to compensate for his short height – and he had a scrunched up face, as if he were constantly in deep thought. They huffed as they reached their destination.
"You can hear those idiots all the way from the beach." J-Bone remarked, either out of annoyance or just to make conversation. "They don't bother us, we don't bother them." Axol responded nonchalantly. J-Bone's only retort was a low grunt.
As they plodded their way into the dark crevice there was a gradual diminuendo from the outside, and with each passing step it grew dimmer and dimmer; until it was completely silent. Axol had pulled out a flashlight that he had kept in the inner pocket of his coat. The rest of the journey had been fairly quiet, neither of the two men even made an attempt to converse. The only sound that penetrated the silence was their footsteps that grazed on the solid and coarse ground. It was as if contact between these two was taboo.
Eventually the silence came to a sudden halt as they both heard shuffling sounds that originated a few meters from their front. They continued to walk, unfazed by the sound. After a few more seconds they reached the end of a cave and they saw in front of them a small white door. There was a streak of light emanating from the small crack under the door; they could make out shadows moving left and right. Axol put away the flashlight and approached the door; he knocked on it.
"What you do not have is what we do not desire. What is it we do not desire?" A riddle that passed through the thick door.
"Ah damn, I forgot the answer." Axol denounced himself as he ruffled his hair, trying desperately to remember.
"Let me try." J-Bone walked towards the door and knocked on it once more.
Once more, the riddle was repeated.
"We don't know what you want but what you're gonna get is my foot up your ass." J-Bone loudly exclaimed and they both heard a soft chuckle coming from the other side.
"Yeah, it's J-Bone, let 'em in."
The door cracked open and both the men quickly rushed in. "Damn riddles!" J-Bone berated the slender man with the large sunglasses who had been the one asking the riddle. "Damn knock is all we need." J-Bone continued.
"Heh, better safe than sorry." The slender man riposted. "Come on, the boss is waitin'" He gestured for the two men to follow him, and so did, J-Bone having forgotten what he considered a rude indignation.
The three men entered a large white room. There was nothing to distinguish it: no pictures, no paraphernalia, the only thing occupying the large room was a desk at the very middle of the room that had three plain chairs stacked neatly in front and a larger, much comfier chair on the opposite end, which was currently occupied by their boss, Willow. The desk was covered with several den den mushis and a few files.
"Hey, boss, the guys are here." The slender man informed as he sat on one of the chairs. Willow was a woman in her mid 30's. She wore a large overcoat that covered most of her body, only her feet and hands were visible; she had dark brown hair that sprawled all the way to her back, a bit of it lying neatly on her left shoulder. She had a fierce look that took attention away from her stunning features; she was, by all accounts, a very beautiful woman but the ferocity that rose from her features sometimes made it seem otherwise.
"Hiya, guys." She greeted giddily as the two men approached the desks and took their place. Despite her vicious look, she had a gentle character: her voice was high pitched – she almost sounded like a child – and she talked with such mirth that often at times people are left bemused when they first encounter her. Her voice and her look created a kind of oxymoron.
"Boss, how are things going?" Axol was the first to ask.
She sighs with exasperation.
"Not good, ever since Joker aka the Royal Shichibukai, Doflamingo got taken out, the underworld has been topsy turvy. Kaido's been on the move; he had a deal going on with Doflamingo and now that he's gone, Kaido's been on the up and up. It's really annoying." She finishes with a childish pout which makes the slender man chuckle.
"Damn, what do we do now?" J-Bone inquired and Willow shrieked in fright.
"A-a a talking hat?!" Willow stuttered which made greatly agitated J-Bone.
"It's me!" He stood up on his chair so that he could face Willow. "I bought this hat so you all would stop bumping into me!"
"Oh, sorry." She hung her head, looking like a child who had just been scolded by her parents. J-Bone sat down, his vexation diminished greatly.
"So, with everything as it is it's kinda hard to do what we do." The slender man began. "If we don't keep business running then we'll have to shut this place down, and it took us SO long…" The slender man dramatically said the last line. "… to find this place, I don't wanna leave it."
"Well, I think this'll cheer you up." Willow said with a glint in her eyes.
"I was contacted a while back by some guy – I don't know who – but he's offered us a large payment for a simple job." Willow informed them. This peaked their interests as they all leaned forward (J-Bone stood up and leaned forward).
"He hasn't given any details yet, he said he'll call-." Willow was cut off by the ringing of one of the den den mushis.
"Speak of the Devil…" Willow commented as she picked up the receiver.
"Um, hello?" Willow was tentative.
For a few seconds there was no response, only silence which made all the residents of that room feel very uncomfortable.
"I am not a very trusting man." The voice on the other end finally spoke. "My entire life I've been audience to betrayal, therefore see it as a great honor that I choose to trust you now; the trust originating from necessity being beside the point."
They all looked at one another. The voice continued.
"It has come to my attention that a certain pirate crew has landed on your island; my navigator had charted their possible route and concluded that they would dock on your island. So my question is: Is that Straw Hat crew, at the present time, on Requin?" The voiced paused, allowing them time to answer.
"Wait! Those guys, on the beach, could they be…?" Axol voiced his thoughts; this elicited a response from the party on the other side.
"You're uncertain, describe one of them." The voice ordered.
"Well, um" Axol was nervous, his hesitation being proof of that. "Well, I only saw one. It was a girl with red hair and I think I saw a tattoo on her arm, though I'm not sure what-." He was cut off.
"That's them."
"Wait." J-Bone chirped up. "There was another crew as well. They've been here for a few days. They call themselves the party pirates. I think they're all buddies or somethin' like that cause they've been having a damn party the whole night."
"Party pirates?" The voice said the name as if it were familiar with it.
"You guys sure?" Willow looked at both of them, her fierce look being a great asset for interrogation.
"We are!" Axol and J-Bone exclaimed in unison.
There was an ephemeral silence. "The Party Pirates are an unexpected hindrance; however they can be dealt with swiftly, provided you are as skillful as you claim to be…"
"Hey, don't mock us!" Willow's face was flushed. "We can take care of 'em, easy peezy!"
"What do you want us to do, take these guys out?" The slender man finally spoke up.
"No, the log pose only takes a day to set. At this point in time my crew and I are about 2 days away from reaching Requin. What I require is for you to make sure that the Straw Hats do not leave Requin, at all costs! You may do as you wish with the Party Pirates. In exchange I am willing to pay you 500,000,000 beli. No more, no less." The voice on the under end finished.
"Um, hold on." Willow said as she covered the receiver with her hand, blocking out their conversation.
"500,000,000! That's enough to set us up for, at least, a year! We'll be back in the game by then." Willow said excitedly.
"I don't know, boss. The Straw Hats aren't just a crew we can just take down." Axol, despite his brutish exterior, didn't seem like one who would quickly go into combat.
"We have reinforcements nearby, we can call 'em up. All we gotta do is keep 'em here for 2 days. We'll have the whole of tomorrow, so we can make sure they don't leave that other day!" Willow presented her case.
"I agree with the boss. We need the money and we have enough men to hold 'em off for, at least, a day." The slender man apathetically gave his opinion.
"Damn. Fine, I guess we'll have to do it!" J-Bone caved in and agreed to do it. Willow nodded her head in appreciation as she took her hand off the receiver.
"It's a deal."
"Excellent. However, it should be made abundantly clear that failure is something I will not stand for. I have set expectations; fail to meet those expectations and you will face not a simple tirade of anger and frustration, no, you'll find yourself facing an enemy who would rip your heart out and make you eat it! And that is if I'm feeling merciful! Do not disappoint me." The voice hung up.
"Well, he seems nice." Willow nervously chuckled as she looked at her men.
The party had died down. Both pirate crews had nestled themselves in the sandy shores and were sleeping peacefully. The warmth that radiated from their bodies provided a blanket for whoever was lying unconscious next to them. The villagers had eaten a large amount of food and had returned to their huts with a full stomach and a content smile.
The bonfire, however, was still lit though it decreased in size. Only a small flame remained, one that would only last a few more minutes, at most. Next to it was the only one who still lay awake: Alexander.
He had a bottle of rum in his hands; he nursed it every few minutes. His gaze drifted from the seas to his crew to his new found friends.
"Ah, Kain, I wonder what you're up to… When will I see ya again?" Alexander whispered out, fearing that even a slight increase in volume might cause one of his friends to awake from their well deserved rest.
"I hope you're doing okay. You and Rem." He took one last sip of his rum before drifting away himself.