Things weren't always turbulent, though more often than not, there were times, especially now that Dressrosa was theirs to rule and the title Shichibukai was Doflamingo's, that were peaceful. Those times, of course, were quite nice, though some action every so often was just as welcome.
Sometimes it was just a matter of finding the delicate balance between too much action and too much lazing about. Thankfully, the balance was never too hard to find.
"Don't you think you should take this position seriously?" Anberlyn asked, having heard the short conversation between him and Sengoku, a man who had the power to revoke the position Doflamingo had actively sought to obtain.
It came as no surprise to either Sengoku or Anberlyn that the blonde had ignored direct orders, waving them away with a smile because he couldn't find any personal gain or amusement to be had if he were to obey.
"Do you think I should Sweetheart?" Doflamingo asked despite the clarity of her opinion in, not just her exasperated voice but, written across her features as well.
"Of course." Came the predicted answer. But, then, Anberlyn went as far as to offer to go to all of the places in which the Marines requested his presence and to do all of the things he wouldn't. "If you don't want to heed to their rules and requirements then I'll do it for you."
Obtaining the status of Shichibukai had made life considerably easier when it came to the Marines, their criminal activities and access to islands around the world. They no longer had to worry about if there was a Marine base on the island or not, not that Doflamingo ever worried about something as trivial.
"Now now, that won't be necessary." Doflamingo wasn't about to hand his precious Anberlyn over to the Marines who would just delight in either taking her life or locking her up, and those were two things he couldn't allow happen.
"Then do your job." She snapped at him. If he wouldn't let her do his job for him and he wouldn't do it himself, then they were up a creek.
With a chuckle, Doflamingo said, "They know where I stand."
She scowled. "I'm sure they do," He had probably made it crystal clear that he was a Shichibukai for his entertainment, "but, that doesn't mean that you can just blow orders off like you do everything else."
Even though obtaining the status of Shichibukai had not been a difficult feat on Doflamingo's part to accomplish but, that didn't mean that he could rewrite the game and play it by his rules. And even though his position could easily be revoked, his bounty unfrozen and the protection of the World Government voided, Doflamingo couldn't care less, going as far as to threaten to leave his position if the Marines failed to please or amuse him.
Doflamingo couldn't help but laugh at that. "Fuffuffuffu. Sure it does Sweetheart. It's their loss not mine."
Anberlyn frowned, wishing that he wouldn't take a being a Shichibukai so lightly. "I know but-"
"Do you want to go that badly?" he suddenly interrupted. The assignment had been to go knock some no-name pirates down a few pegs. The problem was that the crew wasn't even on the map and therefore was something the Marines could handle themselves. The only reason they wanted to send him was because he could reach the baseless island quicker.
"Would you take me if I were to say yes?" Anberlyn questioned opening her eyes and looking up at the smiling blonde. They were on the couch outside and while Baby 5 was resting quietly at his feet while Anberlyn stretched out on the couch, her head in Doflamingo's lap.
It wasn't uncommon for Anberlyn to go with him on Shichibukai business trips. He had even made an arrangement with the World Government so that she could have special privileges, because even if they didn't want her to accompany Doflamingo just about everywhere, he did. And since that's what he wanted, that was what he was going to get and that's what he got. Anberlyn was half a Shichibukai, meaning that she could sit in the meetings, among other things, but, her bounty remained active.
Doflamingo opened his mouth to answer, but, as he did, she cut in and said, "Don't bother. I have no desire." Even though a bit of action wouldn't be unwelcome, she was perfectly happy where she was and didn't feel like getting up or moving much.
"Then don't look so sad Sweetheart." He said, running his fingers through her hair, watching as she slowly closed her eyes. At that moment, Anberlyn was a cat, basking in the warm sunlight and puring under his touch.
For once, Anberlyn was content. She was not irritated, livid or upset. She was not being forced to lounge on the couch and tolerate Doflamingo petting her, like one might a pet, as he did business with crooked people and completely and utterly ignore his Shichibukai orders.
It was a shame that not every day could be as calming, blissful and agreeable as it was today. But, that's not what pirates do. Today was one of those rare uneventful days but, tomorrow would be different, that much was for sure. Besides the time spent sleeping, Anberlyn couldn't recall a time that her and Doflamingo hadn't been fighting like some kind of demented, unorthodox married couple.
"Are you bored is that it?" Doflamingo asked after a long stretch of silence in which they had retreated into their own personal worlds, looking down at the storm of a woman who, instead of rumbling and thundering, had been hanging around quietly. Such good behavior and even temperament was relatively uncommon, if not completely unheard of.
"No. Not yet." Anberlyn answered truthfully, opting not to be sarcastic or smart for once.
Lounging around under the warm rays of the sun, without a worry in the world was rather pleasant and it was a shame that she hadn't made the discovery sooner. If she had, she would have been a lot happier a lot sooner. But, it was better late than never.
"Good." He drawled delighted that Anberlyn seemed to be content with where she currently was.
Doflamingo then let the conversation fade into oblivion. And, not long after Anberlyn's breath evened out, becoming deep and as steady as the beat of a war drum.
Turning around, Baby 5 look in the scene that had unfolded behind her back and with a smile asked, "Is she asleep?" It was hard to tell if she were asleep or simply relaxed.
"It would appear so." He answered the smile ever present on his face widening.
"Well that's a good sign." She said surprised that Anberlyn had managed to relax enough around Doflamingo that she had fallen asleep. Doing so took a certain amount of trust, something in which she would deny having in Doflamingo, and faith, again, something Anberlyn would deny. And when he asked why, she told him as much, only adding to the size of the smile on his face.
Gunshots rang out, cries filling the air as bullets sank deep into tender flesh, muscle and tissue. Long fingers curled into a claw before slashing across the falling man's body. In the claw's wake, sharp strings appeared, slicing through flesh and bone like a knife through butter. And, while it would have been no challenge to tear the man to shreds, the strings severed nothing. It would be too easy, too painless, too quick, the pleasure and joy too shot lived to simply kill the guy off, so, Doflamingo left his body intact, grinning widely at the symphony of the pain filled cries pouring from his mouth and piece of work his contorted features had become. Etched into every crease, every cry, every twitch, was pain that words could never hope to describe.
Doflamingo not only held the man's crew at bay, but forced death to stand by and watch the pirate captain's demise. His nightmare had started when two frighteningly familiar figures had stepped foot on his ship, the one whose sail was sporting the jolly roger of a smiley face with a slash through it and would end only when the cruel Shichibukai was satisfied.
The blonde looming over the fallen pirate captain smiled in cruel delight as he watched the fucker writhe and flail about as he bled out before his now terrified crew. They were next and they knew it. The pirate crew had crossed the wrong man.
They had chosen the wrong flag to fly falsely under.
Doflamingo made sure that the captain perished before turning to the crew who had their weapons drawn, but were unable to act. He parted the crowd before him, creating an aisle that lead to the door that would lead below deck. Now that the captain had been taken care of, it was time to collect his dues. After all, anything under his flag was his.
Without a care in the world, without a single regard to the crew's thoughts or opinions of him, he strolled towards the door. Halfway through the door, he turned and said to the maroon haired woman who was about half way down the aisle and approaching the door, "You didn't think I was going to exclude you did you?" She shrugged a single shoulder, "They're all yours Sweetheart." He offered her a smile and closed the door, releasing the hold he had over the men and women. He was being quite generous, letting Anberlyn deal with them instead of taking care of them himself. If he were looking for the easy way out, Doflamingo would have just destroyed the ship and watched as they all drowned. But, where was the fun in that?
Once Doflamingo had disappeared behind the door, the crew surrounded her, their weapons drawn. They were not happy and it was all of them against her. And, even though she would have once been daunted by the idea of taking all of them out without going down herself, Anberlyn was confident in herself and the skills she had been force fed.
With a sly smile, she snatched her katars from their sheaths at the last possible second before they closed in on her. She swerved out of the way of a katana, its tip sinking not into her throat but into the stomach of a rather large woman. She swept her foot across the boards of the deck in an arc and as the pirates around her fell, she slashed across their bodies, taking them down with ease.
But before their bodies even hit the deck, more men and women were surrounding her, all vying for her life. But, they couldn't have it. And so, with expertise that came only with experience, Anberlyn shifted her body from solid to gas, allowing blades, bullets, kicks, punches, elbows and knees to pass through her before she whirled around and either knocked them out or killed them.
There were a few instances where she wasn't fast enough, when someone had caught her off guard and she was wounded. But, the wounds she received were only flesh wounds, they would heal within the month, and even if they didn't, well she'd be ok.
Once he had looted all of their spoils, Doflamingo headed back up to the deck, more than ready to take his leave even though it was doubtful that Anberlyn had finished the crew he had so generously left to her. But, there was no harm in enjoying a good show. After all, Anberlyn never failed to delight.
The crew was beginning to thin and fun was coming to an end.
A blade slashed across her chest just as she lurched forwards, the blade of one of her katars sliding into the gut of a bustier woman clothed in an elegant kimono, without a hint of resistance. It was a shame that there were no devil fruit users on the ship; it would have made things just a little bit more fun, and that much more dangerous because it was impossible to tell how two devil fruits would fare against each other until they clashed in battle.
Even though there were no devil fruit users around, slashing and hacking was still a damn good time. It had been a while since she had been allowed to let loose like this and kill everything in sight.
At one point in her life, Anberlyn believed that there was good in all people but now, now that she had seen the world, now that she had seen the worst, brought out the worst in people, she now somewhat believed Doflamingo's belief that all humans have inherent cruelty in them. If someone told her that she would one day kill with glee she would never had believed them, no matter who it was, even if it was herself.
As Anberlyn ripped the blade across the woman's stomach, one of the men she had already defeated had the audacity to get back on shaky legs and make another attempt at her life. This time, she was careful to make sure that he would not raise again, the blade of her second katar, embedded itself in the man's throat. His eyes went wide and with his last breath, blood was splattered across her hand and arm with a retching sound. She shook him free and turned towards the remaining few.
Inspired by the ito-ito no mi, Anberlyn solidified thin strips of air in front of the swords master, who was charging towards her, sword raised and ready. The strings pressed into his skin, promptly severing not only his arm, but causing deep wounds to his chest and torso due to the fact that he hadn't noticed the strings. Without her attacker's momentum to use against them, the solidified strips of air would be useless, as she had found out not long after Doflamingo had closed the door.
Her devil fruit wasn't much of an offensive kind of fruit, and what she could do in terms of offence was quite limited, however, the ito ito no mi seemed to be working well enough for Doflamingo, so Anberlyn thought she would give it a try. The first several tries had been complete and utter failures, the swords man had been the second consecutive success, meaning that with a little more work, she could add yet another move to her repertoire, which was filled with old, dusty moves and maneuvers.
The last man fell without so much as a sound, upon the dead or otherwise bodies of his crewmates, revealing a certain grinning blonde man. She didn't know just how long he had been there, watching.
"What was that Sweetheart?" He crooned, approaching her, paying no mind to the bodies underfoot.
"N-nothing." She rushed, guiltily hiding her hands behind her back, even though she was holding nothing but her katars.
The last thing Anberlyn wanted was for Doflamingo to find out that she had been actively attempting to duplicate his devil fruit. But, judging from the smile on his face, he had seen her in action, meaning that there was no way she could talk her way out of it, or convince him that she hadn't been doing what he thought she was.
"Are you embarrassed Sweetheart?" He sneered, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look up at him.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She spat, sheathing her bloody katars and frowning at him, angry that she had been caught.
Even though he had witnessed Anberlyn's devil fruits version of his strings, he was still quite curious about how well its application worked for the woman. "How did my technique work for you?"
"You must be retarded. There is no way I could use any of your techniques." She stubbornly insisted. She did have one move which was like his bullet string in which she sent out a gust of wind and solidified it. And of course, as she had just recently found out, she could use solidified strips of air and her opponent's momentum to mock his strings.
Anberlyn trying to replicate his ito ito no mi was a far cry from the time in which she used to hate him and put all of her energy into killing him, and the greatest form of flattery. But, because he knew all too well that she would not admit her actions, not to him at least, Doflamingo simply said, "Then my eyes deceive me."
"Damn straight they do." Anberlyn growled, refusing to admit anything to Doflamingo. He could convince himself that she was copying his devil fruit, and she could know that was exactly what she was doing, but, never would Anberlyn verbally admit it to the arrogant man. "Let's get going."
Doflamingo threw his head back, let out a long peel of laughter and then scooped the maroon haired woman off her feet before taking to the skies, the deceased pirate's treasure and Anberlyn in tow.
A/n: So, I'm going on vacation for two weeks, will be back for a few days then am going to a summer camp. So, I probably won't be able to update for those three weeks or so.
Review please. I would be delighted to hear your thoughts and opinions. Please, if you think that I have gotten anyone OOC, tells me and I will try my best to fix it. Thank you much for reading and I hope to see you next chapter.