HELLO! Okay, I'm really sorry I'm terrible with updates, this is actually kinda ridiculous, BUT I'm back now and I've already started on the fourth chapter! I am really sorry, but I will definitely have more frequent updates from now on!
Hope you enjoy, don't forget to leave a review and follow/favourite the story!
500 million? Maria thought to herself, her mouth agape and eyes wide. She rotated her head to see Rose with the same expression on her face, her uniform was a lot less presentable at this time, Maria noticed, and wondered if her's looked similar.
She heard a snarl from her left and looked up to see Kid frowning at the scene before he opened his mouth, "I've had enough of this farce, let's get outta here." He pushed off of the wall, taking a glance behind him to look at Maria. She tried to avert her eyes from his gaze, but his eyes seemed softer than before. Not a glare, he was just looking at her. There was no malcontent behind his expression. She found herself smiling slightly at him, and immediately wishing she hadn't as he stopped in his tracks, the softness in his expression gone. He looked away for a second before his eyes widened in surprise as a young boy crashed through the door along with a green haired swordsman. "KEIMI!" The boy yelled, the mermaid's face brightened, trying to shout something to the people at the back of the room.
Kid mumbled something under his breath about a Monkey D. Luffy, at which Killer nodded in agreement, probably mumbling something in response. The boy, presumably Monkey D. Luffy, grinned before moving forward towards the stage. "Keimi!" He yelled once more, gaining the attention of the whole room, including Charloss. His features donned a serious expression, as he began walking slowly to the stage, before the man with the bandage across his forehead stuck a hand out frantically. A loud ripping noise was heard through the air as four other arms sprouted from within his clothing. Maria's eyes widened even more as she realised what was happening. "He's a fishman?!" Rose gasped loudly, bringing all attention to the fishman pulling Luffy. Hearing a grumble from her left and a loud thump, she presumed that Kid had decided to stay to watch the drama that was about to unfold.
"Urgh! A fishman?!" The nobles yelled, their nasally complaints filled the air. "Ugh! It'll give us some sort of disease, no doubt! Get away from it!" They began to point at the fishman, keeping their distance as he spun around, holding up his arms in surrender. He began to stutter, perhaps to reassure them that he meant no harm. However, he did not get the chance. An wicked bullet flew through the air, piercing the octopus fishman's chest. A childish grin wormed it's way to the snotty man's mouth. "I hit it! I shot a fishman!" He gloated, his slimy voice resonating through the building. Maria felt an anger begin to swell inside her. How dare he? He may be a 'Celestial Dragon' but he can't shoot someone! He can't kill them for no reason! How dare he think he can judge when to take someone's life away?! Her fists were clenched by her sides, her teeth grinding against each other, causing unpleasant shivers to crawl up and down her spine. She glanced to Rose, to see tears brimming at her eyes, it was true, Rose was very emotional, but she knew how to keep it hidden in public. She knew not to show weakness, especially in the marines. Nevertheless, her cheeks had turned red and wet from the salty tears. Her lip quivered, and a small noise left her slightly opened mouth. Reaching out a hand, Maria grasped Rose's in her own, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance.
The Celestial Dragon, named Charlos, had begun to dance, waving his arms about like a child who had just won a raffle. "I shot a fishman! I shot a fishman! He's free! It's all mine!" He chanted with sinful glee. In this time, the boy, Luffy, had run over to the fallen fishman, his face painted with anger and fury. A low growl escaped his throat as he stood up to confront Charlos. He took a step forward, and as he did, one of the fishman's many arms reached out, wrapping his fingers around Luffy's ankle. "No! S-S-Stra-Strawhat, you pr-promi-promised!" He managed to choke out wearily. "Please! I-It was my fa-fault! I wa-was too careless! Do-don't get mix-mixed up with the Dr-Dragons!" The fishman moved his arm to grab Luffy's forearm instead, only to have the boy shake him off and place him arm carefully on top of his torso.
"Hargh! Even after I shoot you! You still blabber on!" Charlos spat lazily, reaching for his gun once more. Just then, Luffy stood up, regaining his full height, standing in an attack position. His eyes were wide and completely cold as he strode towards the Dragon. Trafalgar Law, the man Maria had recognised earlier, lifted his head. "What are you doing, strawhat-ya?" He mumbled lazily with one eye closed.
"He's not serious," Kid's frown darkened as he leaned forward slightly. Maria and Rose both looked up at the red haired captain. "What's he gonna do?" They both whispered in unison. He shot a glare as if to say 'shut up, I'm trying to watch the show' but sighed loudly, returning his eyes to the boy making his way up the steps. "He's gonna get in a helluva lotta trouble, I can tell you that, at least," he shook his head with a glare.
Luffy had managed to make his way about a foot away from Charlos when the room went silent. There was no more mumbling, no more growling from Kid. Nothing.
Charlos' eyes narrowed as he watched the young man, inspecting his every action, but before he knew it, Luffy had pulled back a rubber fist. Shouting a roaring battle cry, his fist collided with the fat man's face. Ripples were sent through Charlos' face as he was sent flying through the wall dramatically. Maria's eyes went wide. Of course she had been in fights and battles, but she had never seen a Supernova in action. After this she was scared to even think about it, his eyes were wild and his breathing was ragged. Everything about him at that moment screamed 'vicious'.
Everyone in the room was silent once more as Luffy straightened himself up. "How dare a lesser human hurt my son!" One of the Celestial Dragons shrieked, his gun raised at Luffy. Maria watched on in horror, she was about to witness a young boy be murdered for saving his friend. Rose must have caught on, as she squeezed her hand once more trying to assure the girl that everything would be fine. However, the Dragon pulled the trigger, twice, sending bullets flying at Luffy.
The silence in the room was replaced with a giant uproar as they flocked to leave the auction house. "Quick! The marines are outside! They'll show those nasty pirates a thing or two!" One of the guests of the auction house yelled over the noise, causing Maria's head to snap up. She eyed the door, contemplating whether to leave and do her duty, or rebel against the Navy. She chewed her lip as she kept her eyes on the door. Don't go! Don't go back out there! Her conscience screamed at her. She was completely torn. She had been with the marines for over nearly a year, and she saw her fellow marines as family, a slightly broken one, but family nonetheless. Despite that, they had all lied to her and Rose. They had covered up that people were being sold as slaves, like items at a market.
After what seemed like a lifetime, she finally spoke up, "c'mon! We have to go!" She clamped her hand around Rose's and pulled her lightly.
She passed the man with the trident and the man she knew as Heat. "Okay! Ya don't have to pull me so hard, hun," Rose frowned slightly as Maria's grip tightened.
"Please, I just wanna go," Maria whispered. Rose looked at her in confusion.
"Why're ya whisp'rin', hun?" She whispered back, nevertheless.
"I ju-" Maria began hurriedly, only to be cut off by a deep voice.
"Uh-uh, you're not going out there and helping your little buddies, sweetheart," he said with a smirk plastered on his face. He had his hand clenched around Maria's upper arm, tugging lightly at her to pull her towards him.
"S-S-Sweetheart?! I'm not y-" Maria stuttered, her eyes were wide with surprise and, perhaps, a hint of fear. "Be quiet. Don't take it so personal, goddammit," Kid snapped at her loudly. "Hey! Don't be so rude, asshole, we're jus' tryna do our jobs," Rose pursed her lips at his interruption. "Listen here, you stubborn bi-" Kid began to raise his voice, just as a large CRASH! came from above. The group looked towards the middle of the room, where a boy with a long nose had come crashing down on the Celestial Dragon who had tried to take a shot at Luffy.
"SAINT ROSWARD!" One of the guards shouted, reaching a hand out from the back of the room. Kid's eyes snapped to the guard, narrowing them until they were barely slits. The surrounding guards all fumbled about, trying to give each other designated jobs before rushing down to the steps where the Strawhats were.
Of course, pirates being pirates, Luffy's crew started to fight pretty heavily with the auction house's security. Trafalgar Law looked on, with one eye opened lazily, reclining in his chair. Maria was still being held in place by Kid, and Killer had stepped in front of Rose to block her path. "You can let go, I promise we won't go anywhere," Maria sighed loudly, eyes on the fight going on near the stage. Their swordsman had managed to slice the fish bowl, that held the mermaid, in half and was currently yelling with the blond man from earlier. "No. I don't wanna let you go, I don't trust you," Kid shook his head, tightening his grip on her arm, eliciting a pained shriek from her. "Hey! Don't you go hurtin' her now, we'll stay here, but trus' me, if ya so much as hurt a hair on her head, I'll kill ya, ya dumb bastard," Rose stepped forward, only to be grabbed by Killer, who pulled her back. "Please don't fight, I don't want to have to have more marines on u-" Before he could finish his sentence, a loud rumbling noise could be heard from the front of the auction house, by the stage. Maria turned her head, trying to see what was happening, but Kid's hold as far too strong for her to be able to move properly. She gave up and decided to just stare at Kid's bare chest while she listened in to what was happening.
"Well, no shit," Kid raised a nonexistent eyebrow with a slight smile on his face, as Maria heard a man step out from somewhere on the stage. "Hey! Hey! What's happening?!" Maria shrugged her shoulder in order to get his attention. "Shut your fucking mouth," he growled in response, not letting his eyes leave the stage. "Who'd've thought such a big shot was gonna be here, huh?" He smirked, looking over to Killer who nodded in response.
"It's good to have finally met you, Monkey D. Luffy!" A strong, commanding voice boomed in the air. Maria had become impatient from staring at Kid and decided to twist her head as far as she could, catching a glimpse of an old man wearing glasses. A gasp left her mouth as Kid yanked her head back, "hey! Stop turning around, I keep thinking you're try'na run off." She frowned, but didn't reply, knowing he would probably get angry at anything she had in her mind to say.
[Timeskip because the author is lazy]
The old man that Maria had glimpsed at earlier just so happened to be Silvers Rayleigh, the First Mate to Gol D. Roger. He had managed to remove the collar around the mermaid's neck completely effortlessly. But whenever Maria had tried to turn to see, Kid had just pulled her back roughly, usually mumbling something about a 'shitty marine'.
Although she didn't seem to show it, Maria was scared. After All, she was being held captive with her friend by the most ruthless rookies on the Grand Line. If that wasn't bad enough, her employers had fed her lies about Sabaody and just so happened to be just outside the door, waiting to execute her, probably. A chanced look to Rose told her that her friend was feeling the exact same way. The masked man, Killer, had his back blocking her, and if you looked close enough you could definitely make out a sword-like weapon tucked away in each of his sleeves.
On the upside, however, Kid's hold on Maria's arm has loosened slightly, enough for her to twist about a bit. As she half listened to the conversation at the front between the strawhat pirates and the old man, she began to move around a bit. Her arm was now touching the red head's stomach and she was fully facing her friend. What she hadn't expected was for the man gripping her arm to bend down to look her in the eye.
She turned to him, an evil look in his amber orbs. "Turn. The fuck. Around."
Her mouth opened slightly and his eyes darted down to look at her lips for just a second before returning to her own. "S- sorry," she managed to choke out before his hand left her arm only to be brought around her neck. As he stood up straight he dragged her back with him, her back colliding with his well defined stomach. "You're not gonna leave until I tell you to, sweetheart."