The captain of the as-of-yet unnamed pirates that had accosted Merry was a very intimidating man. At his height, it was hard not to be. His rich dark skin bore countless scars in many different shapes., and his muscles were thick underneath them. Meaty hands drummed on the surface of his rather large chair, and the giant of a man looked down at his new acquisitions, black locks falling over his face.
He didn't know what to make of them. The crew he had on the floor of his quarters was well-known in the Grand Line for its' strength and vivacity. They weren't showing either characteristic right then, and he found it unsettling that someone with a higher bounty than him was sprawled behind a woman like a coward, and at the same time sleeping like a baby. Of course, being familiar with their particular location on the Grand Line, the reason was obvious. The seastone sediment in the rains knocked out devil-fruit users like a plague.
"So…" the man boomed, his rich and middle-aged voice filling the closed cabin, causing all the inhabitants to flinch a little. Captain or no, the volume of his voice had to be worked on.
"So?" came a calm reply from the resident chef of the Straw Hats. With Zoro gone, and with Luffy out of commission, Sanji had to take the plate and talk to the man. His precious Nami would be too busy calculating the situation at first, as she always did. The very thought filled him with pride. She was always so clever!
As if she knew he was thinking about her, the orange-loving navigator scooted further away from the man in the black suit.
"…Er…"their captor stammered, unsure of how to deal with the current situation. He had a reason for bringing them aboard, obviously. Communicating it would be hard without some ground rules set for their meeting. For all his captives knew, his motives involved vengeance for the cabbage they ate last week. Little known, however, was that a being had already attempted that route, and had ended up a piece of art on the bottom of Sanji's shoe.
The select crewmembers of the large pirate that had come into the room with the prisoners as guards gulped a little. It had been twenty minutes now, and hardly anything had been accomplished. The men were happy that the crew of the Going Merry had come so peacefully, but they were unsure of how much longer the truce would last at this rate. Even though the captain was out of it, the man with freakish eyebrows seemed pretty formidable.
"Can we go now?" Sanji asked carefully, pulling an unlit cigarette from his pants pocket. He didn't have a lighter, but it still made him feel better to have it pressed firmly between his lips.
"Um, no." came the captain's slightly exasperated rebutle. He opened his mouth to attempt to make conversation again when the door behind his captives opened to reveal a female pirate that looked even more formidable than the captain, albeit much smaller, thinner, paler, and without scars. She did have a sword out and at the ready, though.
"William, you're hopeless." she sighed, pushing past a swooning Sanji and stepping on a sleeping rubber face in heels. Luffy didn't stir, which caused a little vein of worry to course through the navigator, who had been watching her captain closely in the hopes that he would once again play the knight in shining armor, instead of the sleeping beauty(somewhat because of the fact he didn't play the part well while sprawled and indifferent).
Nami looked from her captain's newly indented face to the back of the newcomer from her place on the floor. Something about the aura that surrounded the woman made her want to see who she was dealing with. A loose skirt met her eyes, emblazoned with the jolly roger that tradition demanded. The skin that showed from her hands and arms was incredibly pale, though marred from place to place by spots of freckles. Frizzy brown hair came down to her shoulders where skin hung a little more loose around the muscle than it probably had ten years prior. From this inspection, Nami determined the woman to be about forty-five or so.
"I heard from Gulabi that you were having a hard time with the captives, but this I was not expecting." the woman said, her blue eyes flashing with annoyance. "They probably don't know what the hell you're thinking! Heck, I don't know what the hell you're thinking!"
The giant man who was apparently called William slouched, a hand over his face. Underneath them, a scarlet flush came over his cheeks. Damn that woman! She was right, though. Just like she always seemed to be. No use arguing. His palm brushed his graying goatee on the way back to the chair.
"Deidre, for heaven's sakes…" he groaned, prepared for the shove to the shoulder he was about to receive. After a few moments, it came with a passion, just like everything else he was given by that woman. Then again, that was probably why he loved her.
"Don't you 'Deirdre' me, William!" she shouted, her pale face turning red in the blink of an eye. "Our goal is simple! Why do you always manage to-" she stopped short, her hands on William's chest in a compromising position. They had an audience! How had she forgotten that? That was why the spat had begun in the first place, wasn't it? In the blink of an eye, the impulsive anger was gone, and she was a polite distance away from her captain. Instead of yelling, she suddenly began placidly speaking with him in a hushed tone.
Sanji tilted his head to the side, studying the scene before him. He managed to hit his head against the newly-conscious sniper, who sputtered before complaining.
"Ow! Sanji!"
"Hey, Ussop." he greeted, a little irritated at being distracted.
"What happened?" the village liar asked, whispering every word. "Where are we? What's wrong with Chopper and Luffy?!" he asked, his voice suddenly becoming more voluminous. The questions would have probably continued if the discussion in front of them hadn't ended abruptly with the sounds of a slap to the back and a manly yelp.
William twitched, his hands traveling to a slip of paper under his chair. It was brought out in a singly jerky movement, and then unfurled in front of questioning eyes to reveal a newspaper article. With all the drama that had surrounded it, Nico Robin had at least expected something impressive. A bounty, a giant monster, or maybe some sort of treasure map. The surprise on the faces of the Straw Hats in the room was imaginable, jaws dropped, etc. The headline wasn't amazing. It was odd and stupid, and wasn't even from a national post.
The headline consisted of only a few words. 'Merman Wreaks Havoc in Local Market'. The cabin was uneasy and quiet before a few chuckles escaped. The thought of an entire pirate fleet searching for one merman whose greatest crime was robbing a fruit stand was pretty entertaining.
"Oh, come on!" Deirdre sputtered, one hand on her hips. A ringed finger motioned to the pictures underneath the headline. One was predictable; a fierce-looking merman made a scowl for the lense. The other, though, was obviously the reason for all the current hullabaloo. There, where Deirdre was pointing, was a picture of a rather innocent-looking human girl with short frizzy hair, and a complexion similar to hers.
Her face was puzzled in the photo, her neck turned as if she was already moving when the photograph was taken. The caption under her simply read 'female accomplice'. Sanji didn't bother reading them, though. The subject was female, so he had to really get a feel for the art.
"They used a crappy lense." he muttered, obviously not getting the point.
"Have you seen her?" William asked, his voice once again far louder than it should be. His generic crewmembers grimaced at the sound.
The alert Straw Hat pirate members looked from one another, and then shrugged.
"Sorry, but I don't think so. I would remember meeting such a stunning beauty." Sanji finally said, dramatically putting a flourish on the last two words.
"No he wouldn't." Ussop muttered in Nami's general direction.
"What was that, you shitty long-nose?!"
"NOTHING!"
Deirdre's face fell, her self-indulgence fading. "Well, if you do.. Just… We're looking for her."
William just threw his hands up in defeat. Both adults looked depressed , and their crew followed suit. Weapons were lowered as Deidre's hands started to wring at once another, her shoulders shaking. Seeing thes, William stood in front of her and motioned to Sanji.
"Go." he ordered the confused chef and company, more quietly than anything he had said so far.
"Wha..?" Ussop asked, getting a slight handle on the situation. Enough to notice that this wasn't normal, at least. Not even for them.
"Take your ship and go." William roared, pointing to the sea outside. Deirdre was obviously crying now, but her captain shielded her from sight. Frustration and grief welled up in his eyes. "GO!" he yelled again, this time greeted with results.
Ussop grabbed Chopper and ran outside, where the rain had finally stopped. Sanji grabbed the captain and followed suit.
No one hindered them when they treaded quickly across the deck. Merry was still docked where they had left her, and no one had disturbed the little ship as far as they could tell. A rope ladder was lowered by a rather hairy teenage boy to allow them passage.
Sanji didn't bother with the ladder for the captain. He'd survived worse falls. After he heard his former back weight fall to the wooden deck below with a THUMP, Sanji moved aside to let the others pass. Ussop and Chopper shimmied down, and Sanji turned around to usher his precious ladies forward. Predictably for the reader, but not for him, they weren't there. The space that should have been occupied by supple breasts and beautiful long lashes was taken by a smelly mop and bucket that was removed several seconds later by a pudgy guy with a thick mustache.
"Nami-swan? Robin-Chwan?" he asked, a little breathlessly. Where did they go?
Robin had never left the cabin, but she had stood up. Nami had done so as well, both being somewhat smarter than their male counterparts. Nami had looked at the girl in the picture and noticed the connection to Deirdre immediately. Robin had been able to piece it together as well. If it had been a boy in the picture instead, Sanji probably would have figured it out. Deirdre was a mother.
William's connection was trickier, and still spotty in places, but somewhat evident in the way he was cradling Deirdre in his strong arms as she cried more. There was so much affection in that gesture that the nakama of the pirate king assumed that the two were lovers. When a glint came off of the captain's wedding ring finger, it was confirmed. Still, the girl in the picture hadn't really looked like him. The equation was still lacking something crucial. William probably didn't sire the girl. Even so, he seemed to honestly and truly care.
It might have pulled at a few initial heartstrings, but Nami was still Nami. A brilliant idea flashed into her head.
"Why-" William asked, taking in a deep breath to steady his voice before shouting again,"-are you still here?"
Thinking quickly, Nami answered before Robin had a chance to.
"We're looking for someone too, you know." she said casually, completely disregarding the angst emanating from the middle-aged couple.
William suddenly appeared interested. Was this young woman about to propose…?
"We can help." Joy filled his ribcage, and he was about to fling an outrageously loud call of gratitude in her direction before she added her bit.
"-for a price."