IV
It was well past sunset but the twilight sky was still splashed with its blazing colors – a very bright sky for an autumn night. Michi remembered October days to be shorter and darker in North Blue. Summers in this island were probably bright till midnight. Now wasn't that an amusing thought? Sleeping while there was still light?
From his place just beside the window frame, Zatou glared at him. Michi continued to snicker on the window sill.
"Focus," his partner chastised. "You could laugh later."
"Now that's just mean." When the man just scoffed in reply, the mechanic changed the subject. "Uchi was right. This place does have a nice view."
Zatou continued to glare out the window, but sighed when Michi continued to chat him up. His scowl softened when he did, if only from his annoyed scowl to his yielding one. "This drink isn't worth its price, though," the treasurer offered for small talk.
The Heart pirate sniggered. Everyone had been strung up about their 'mission' since they arrived. While he trusted his captain's judgment more than he ever did his own, Michi couldn't help but think that the 'plan' was borderline paranoia. He said so when they were being assigned work for the day, and it was probably the reason why he was left on the ship that afternoon.
However, he also knew why the captain chose to do what they did. Joker wasn't a very nice guy. When they had dealings with him, Michi often found himself hoping the man couldn't read minds. Even though he knew he couldn't and that it was impossible. Joker had that effect on people. Paranoia.
Within the hour, however, the Heart Pirates would be free of that weight; all that was left to do was to collect whatever it was the merchant associate had to give the Shichibukai. The mechanic and engineer had been sent ahead to see how the Lord Edmund planned to welcome their group. At the appointed time, the captain would arrive to receive the item and keep it until Yingzi came for it. Then, it would be party time.
Michi snickered in his excitement, earning himself another glare from his partner.
"So you bought chicken, right?" the giddy man asked to keep the light aura of their conversation. "For tonight?"
Zatou made a face, like the one he wore whenever anyone asked for extra cash. "Yes. I was…swindled into it."
As if, the Heart pirate thought, laughing out loud. The man would sooner donate to charity than allow himself to get swindled. The engineer grumbled and wore a sulkier scowl.
"Anyway, the captain said he'll pick it up for us. Inuwashi should by working on the side dishes right about now; knowing him at least three of them will be potatoes. Bepo and Seiuchi are probably setting up the deck–"
"And Shachi, Penguin and Kitsu are at the bazaar." Michi grinned. "Stop worrying. Things'll get done, like Uchi's Lady Fate said they would."
"And the sooner they are, the better."
The finality in the surly man's tone had even his peppy friend grow quiet in the minutes after. They sipped their drinks and watched the estate gates; men in dark suits were starting to line the driveway, restless and wary. One minute to the meeting time, Zatou's den den mushi rang in its secret place in his boiler suit; the snail's face was set in a stony gaze as it asked for their report.
"There has been no suspicious activity, captain. Nothing beyond what Seiuchi has already described– The inside we can't account for, but your entourage is awaiting your arrival– About thirty, captain– No, the Lord doesn't seem to be accompanying them."
Now for the scary part, Michi thought as an involuntary snigger escaped him.
It wasn't long before Trafalgar Law arrived at the mansion gates. Bepo and Seuichi accompanied him, with the latter walking very mechanically in his edginess. The Heart Pirates mechanic couldn't help but point it out to his partner, who gave a few nods but never took his eyes off their captain's group.
Zatou was just as tense as Uchi, it seemed. His grim face brought to mind the pilot's amusing reaction to being tasked to accompany the captain to the mansion. So that he'd have more experience in the way of the Heart Pirates. The man had spent much of the afternoon tinkering with the ornaments on his bracelet and whispering many oaths to his two Ladies. It was by far Michi's favorite memory of his crewmate.
Soon enough, however, Seiuchi was going to find that their dealings weren't as intimidating as he made them out to be. Not with these small time groups anyway.
At least that was what Michi thought. He vaguely remembered Penguin and Bepo making a fuss about something earlier, but over Shachi, Ishi and Kitsu poking fun at Yingzi's men, he couldn't remember what the first two had said.
A sudden jerk from Zatou's direction snapped the man back to reality. The only thing that kept him from jumping from his seat was the engineer grabbing his arm with a crushing grip.
Narrowed blue eyes darter hither and thither over the mansion across the street; Michi's own dark eyes did the same. A pale blue glow emanated from one of the left wing's windows. The sight of it made the heartbeat thrumming under Zatou's vein-restricting grip pump a little faster.
It was a breathless minute before the glow ebbed, and even then the pair was on high alert, awaiting any sort of a signal from their captain to dictate their next move. Surely nothing so grave would render their crewmates unable to contact them. It was just a motley band of islanders after all, strutting around with guns for show and fancy suits –
A monotonous bubbling disturbed their disquieted silence. Michi nearly tore off his hat when he realized it was his baby den den mushi making the sound. He reached into the chullo and held the snail before his partner and himself. Its face contorted into disbelieving confusion when the pirates answered it.
"Hello?" Seiuchi's voice said from the other line.
"Zatou and Michi here," the engineer replied. "What happened?"
"Um…yeah." The den den mushi scowled. "We're…we're done."
The pair exchanged sighs of relief despite themselves. The snail's expression change again, this time to a smug smirk and haughty half-lidded eyes.
"Finish up your drink, boys. We're heading back."
+.+
"So how did you find you first pick-up job?"
Trafalgar Law watched his crewmate hold the package protectively to his chest, looking suspiciously at everyone around him. He couldn't help but chuckle; the man reminded him of how the rest of his crew had been a long time ago in North Blue.
"Oi, Seiuchi. It's not going to grow legs and run away."
"Can't give the Lady Fate any reasons to test us now, captain. This is dangerous; we should be running back to the ship right about now."
The pirate captain, still smiling, held a hand to his pilot. "Give me that before you start hyperventilating," he chided. "In any case, being this close to the merchant Edmund's house, potential danger is at its lowest."
Seuichi seemed many years younger when he gave Law the small, wrapped box, but he still regarded everyone around him with suspicious dark eyes. The doctor thought it best to calm him.
"I wonder how Zatou and Michi took to seeing my Room at the lord's place," he mused aloud for the two pirates with him to hear. "It was the easiest way to prove my identity, but what do you think, Bepo?"
The navigator hesitated before giving a sheepish answer. "The den den did look pretty spooked when they answered."
"Good thing those two didn't break in, right Seiuchi? That would've been awkward."
"Thank the Lady Luck," the pilot approved, looking about.
Law continued to observe his crewmate and decided it was for the best to give the man something else to do. His suspicious lookout was attracting more attention than the captain could tolerate.
The Surgeon of Death blamed their associate for his crewmate's paranoia. The merchant had inflated the importance of his package for Joker; he even took it upon himself to list off the dangers they might face. Most of them included the Lord Marius plotting some nefarious plan, the west-side lord being the cheating, scheming man that he was.
Law was willing to bet Marius would say the same of Edmund.
But the pirate captain knew there were greater dangers already on the isle. The merchant rivals paled in comparison to them, and they were far more discreet. They needed to be handled with more finesse than suspicious glares could offer.
"Seiuchi, go on and get the guys from the bazaar." He tipped his head to the plateau's direction. "Don't let them stall too long."
The addressed man looked to his captain, the determined look on his face never faltering. "You sure, captain?"
"Bepo and I will take it from here."
"Aye, aye captain."
With a nod and a salute, Seiuchi jogged off to the plaza. Busybodies made quick glances his way, seemingly wondering who this important captain was. Law walked away from the unwanted attention.
"Captain, I don't know if I could be much help," Bepo mumbled as he followed after him. "My sense of smell isn't back to normal yet."
"You're plenty helpful without your nose. Just keep your eyes peeled." The pirate looked around himself when he reached an intersection. "Now where did Zatou say that shop was? – Ah, there it is."
The smell of roasting meat filled Law's sense as he stepped into the shop. It was a clean and brightly lit room, but had a bareness to it brought by the peeling paint job and the unfurnished space from the doors to the counter. A teenage girl sat alone behind the counters.
"Good evening, sirs," she greeted, nodding to the newcomers. At the sight of the Heart Pirates navigator, her dark eyes lit up in her small round face. She continued enthusiastically. "Can I help you?"
"I'm here to pick up three orders of roasted chicken." Law smiled at the teen as he passed her the receipt Zatou gave him. The girl gave a small 'oh' and jumped to her feet.
"I'll be right back!" she said, running into the back room.
As he waited, Law contented himself with observing the old posters tacked to the wall, most of which were water-stained and yellowing in their age. Despite the shop's sorry condition, he could see that it used to be a busier place. The receiving room's size and old chairs and tables stacked in a corner were definite clues. All the while, Bepo sniffed at the air, his mouth half-open and nearly watering. A few times, he snapped his jaw shut and grumbled, no doubt frustrated with the paint-disoriented state of his nose.
The counter girl came back with three boxes, all stacked on top of the other and tied into a single package.
"Hey mister," the girl spoke up as Law paid for the last half of the order. "Tell the big guy with the scary eyes I won't do it again. Please? That I'll be good from now on."
Though the Surgeon of Death normally didn't take kindly to being told what to do, the girl's hopeful smile and her message amused him enough to allow it.
"I'll let him know," he said as he left.
The foot traffic had increased a great deal since Law left the streets. They came in waves from uptown, all noisy and some animatedly talking. From the distant tolling of bells from further uptown, he guessed they were churchgoers both making their way to and taking their leave from their place of worship. But there was enough space between them for Law to brave the human tide.
Adjusting his hold on the food order, he affirmed the security of his package in a hidden pocket in his coat, then started weaving through the gallivanting groups. Bepo walked in a dreamy state behind him, downwind from the food.
A chorus of gasps from the crowd veered the pirate captain's attention away from his march. He looked about himself to find the people around him pointing to the western sky. His wariness was stayed for the moment; he had heard about this when he was wandering around town earlier. It was a spectacle that could only be witnessed in a Grand Line summer island, and most brilliantly from this town. At least that was what the locals claimed, but he turned to watch anyway.
If the brightness of the evening sky from a sunset that occurred an hour before was an ethereal mystery, then the sight before him was definitely a spectacle. A single wide pillar of light stood on top of the horizon, a red, pink and orange contrast to the dark skies surrounding it. It shrank slowly into the skyline. The moment the last hint of the pillar melted into the sea, the entire western sky lit up in a myriad of colors.
Trafalgar Law felt the impact of a charge the same moment. A great weariness clawed at his limbs and dragged him to the ground. Seastone! his mind screamed.
His attacker was off before he even fell to his knees. Without checking, he knew exactly what had been taken from him. Bepo was by his crumpling form in an instant, frantically looking from his captain and back to the thief. He bristled in agitation.
"Bepo," Law gasped. "Call the rest. We're changing our course of action."
+.+
Up in the town hall's single turret, a small pale man dressed all in black chuckled softly. The waxing moon shone its cold blue light over the town splayed out before him. The bright orb reflected off the northern balcony's polished tiles, making them glow like so many dark mirrors.
The man watched a handful of white specks run about in panic below him. A yellow and orange pair rushed to where two white dots seemed to circle in place.
In the plaza, four of them, white specks again, gathered under the hall. They disappeared from his sight for a short while until two of them were boosted up the tile roofing. One made a clumsy beeline for the yellow speck's group, tripping now and again and hesitating between buildings. The other had started climbing the town hall's central unit.
Time for him to go.
The black-clad man skipped towards the largest floor tile of the turret and knelt on it. He touched his right hand to the polished surface and fell through it as he would through thin ice.
Not soon after, a Heart pirate leapt over the balcony railings. The crisp sound of frosting glass caught the man's ears, but he shook the distraction away. He spun around to look over the island, drawing out his own baby den den mushi from his boiler suit.
"Kitsune, confirming position. What are your orders, captain?"
A/N: It seems I wasn't going to make it after all. ^^; Poor Law won't get the ending to this adventure on his birthday. That's okay, thought. I guess that means time to actually make a quality chapter. It should be out by this week though.
Anyway, happy birthday, Law! May you continue to be awesome and have a canon crew better than I could ever imagine. :)