A/N Whoo! New Chapter!
~~~~~'*0 O 0*'~~~~~~~ Chapter Seven ~~~~~~~'*0 O 0*'~~~~~
"A warning to the people,
The good and the evil,
This Is War.
To the soldier, the civilian,
The martyr, the victim,
This Is War.
It's the moment of truth, the moment to lie,
The moment to live and the moment to die
The moment to fight, the moment to fight,
To fight, to fight, TO FIGHT!"
(This Is War, 30 Seconds To Mars)
A tense silence fell upon the room.
Eight pairs of eyes glared at the Vice-Admiral cloaked in shadows, his expression dark and difficult to interpret from the lack of light. He remained calmly seated, not flinching once when the captain of one of the most dangerous rookie pirate crews in the New World cracked his knuckles menacingly, his wrists freed from their shackles, nor when his first mate and cook rose to their feet to stand beside their afore-mentioned captain.
"What does Nami have to do with this?"
The question was as cold as the raven-haired man's gaze. His voice dripped with venom and with the warning of a painful end if the navigator in question was to come to any harm by the Marine's hands. Slowly, Luffy rose to his feet to stare down Archfist, challenge evident in his steps as he made his way over to the wooden desk.
When he finally reached his destination with the two other main fighters of the Straw Hat Pirates, he slammed his hands down on the slab of solid oak and leaned in close, as if he was daring the older man to oppose him.
"Tell me!"
Archfist looked him dead in the eye. Up this close, Luffy could see the many lines and wrinkles that decorated his face, the stubble that smothered his chin and the Hawaiian shirt that stuck out of his dark blazer. Dark curls streaked with grey peeked out from under his Marine cap, falling across the scarf that was wound tightly around his neck. He thought that he could spy a sliver of a scar where the scarf was loose, but it was too dark to tell and Archfist had decided to pull it up so that it was safely hidden when he noticed the boy inspecting him.
"I don't like your attitude, boy."
"Dammit, tell us where she is!"
Sanji had lost all patience with him. He reached across the table, gripped the Marine by the collar and proceeded to vent his anger by shaking the man roughly. Spittle flew from the cook's lips as he gritted his teeth with annoyance.
A tanned hand laced with fine scars clutched the blonde's wrist, pulling his arms away from where they had latched themselves onto. Archfist gracefully rose to his feet, easily towering over the monster trio by quite some height. He flung Sanji away from him, sending him spiralling into Brook and Ussop at the opposite corner of the room.
"Oi!"
"Cook-san, are you alright?!"
The usually high-kicking chef collapsed against his crewmates with a groan, relying on their support to keep him from falling to the floor. Cracking one eye open, he glared across the room at the man who had caused him a surprising amount of pain. He knew that he was already weakened by whatever that Ann woman did to him, but it still wounded his pride that he was sent flying so far.
How did he…? One simple gesture, and I'm close to being down for the count!
Luffy and Zoro whipped their heads back around to Archfist, with the former reaching out and grabbing the enemy by the throat. His grip was relatively weak, but he tried his hardest to inflict some sort of punishment on the man who thought that he could go around harming and threatening his nakamas. He wouldn't go down so easily!
"Calm down, Mugiwara. Your friend is not terribly hurt… and I still need to discuss my business proposal with you. I have no intentions of killing any of you, no matter what Captain Ann wishes."
"Like hell! You still hurt my nakama!"
Despite his calm words, Luffy would not be silenced so easily. The captain growled as he attempted to punch Archfist with one hand whilst holding his prey by the throat with the other. Punch after punch, Archfist accepted every single blow to the face until Luffy's movements slowed down as exhaustion swept into his limbs. After a while, the boy dropped forward, his body on the verge of giving out on him.
Zoro, although he was enraged at the Marine for his reckless actions, crept forward and gently eased his captain off Archfist. He dragged him back to allow him to rest at a safe enough distance from their newly acquired enemy and set him down beside Robin. The archaeologist responded immediately and pulled Luffy's head into her lap as Chopper knelt beside them, treating Sanji's re-opened wounds (with scrap material from Robin's skirt that she so generously offered a part of, seeing as Chopper had no medical supplies on his person).
The swordsman stood tall and firm, glaring back at the man who had the cheek to threaten their Navigator. He allowed none of his weakness to show through his movements in order to maintain whatever control he had over stressful situations like these.
"We're listening. What do you want?"
"I need your help. In return, your Navigator will remain in relative safety." Luffy cracked an eye open, struggling against Robin's arms to get up.
"What do you mean, 'relative' safety?" he wheezed painfully as Robin and Chopper coaxed him back down.
"I mean that I can't guarantee your crewmate's safety. She will be watched by a trusted ally of mine, but she will be travelling with an unstable character. An unstable character who is currently planning to go to war with me. An unstable character who I need your help in putting down."
Franky grumbled from his corner of the room. He shifted slightly, bumping shoulders with the cowardly sniper and urging him to speak up. Usopp shook visibly when he lurched forward, apparently startled by Franky's gesture.
"Wh-Why should w-w-w-we trust you?"
"I never asked for your trust, only your help," Archfist sighed.
"Forgive me for asking, but why is this 'unstable character', as you call him, so dead-set on going to war with you? Is he a pirate?"
The Vice-Admiral glared at Brook, not at all flustered by the fact that he was a walking, talking skeleton. Still glaring at the group of pirates, he sat back down in his swivel chair.
"I never said that it was a man, either," He paused a few moments before continuing. "And no, they're not a pirate. We are just struggling to solve our differences."
"But there's still no need to go to war."
"It's a difficult decision, you know. I don't want to go to war either, but it's something that needs to happen. It can't be solved any other way."
"It's not a difficult decision." Everyone turned to Robin, who still knelt on the ground. Her eyes burned brightly as she stared defiantly up at Archfist, disgust obvious in her gaze. "If you lit a candle for every person killed by unnecessary violence, then you wouldn't be so in the dark about it!"
Tears trickled down her face as her words brought her back to a time when things were much, much darker. Flashbacks of a burning island contrasted with memories of frozen friends and a mother she had only just met flooded her mind. All of that needless destruction just because knowledge was power, and they knew too much. Her path down memory lane was intercepted, however, by the small reindeer nuzzling her side, her captain's palm brushing her tears away and the swordsman's strong arm wrapped around her shoulders protectively.
Archfist said nothing. Instead, he rose to his feet again, seemingly dissatisfied with being so still now that such a touchy subject was lingering in the air. He wandered over to the window, gazing out at the beautiful day that was still marching on despite the tense atmosphere within the room.
"I understand that not everyone agrees with war, but this isn't a subject that can just be talked out. I committed an act of cruelty, one which I now regret deeply. My enemy is now seeking revenge and they will not listen to reasoning. So therefore, I need your help."
"What exactly was this 'act of cruelty'?" Sanji spoke up, still lying down on the floor beside Chopper.
The Vice-Admiral looked over his shoulder, the shadows making him look incredibly eerie and serious. Another sigh escaped past his lips, and he turned back to the window.
"I killed their brother."
A/N DUN DUN DUUUUU- *shot*
Sorry for yet another cliffhanger! I couldn't resist! Next chapter will be the last one from the Straw Hat's perspective, and then it's back to Nami! Whoo!
Enjoy, read and review!
Easter break is coming up soon, so I'll be able to update more :D