Chapter 20

-You are not leaving miss. – Akainu said, reaching out an arm towards Alexis but she shooed it away. – And I don't see any Den Den Mushi nearby so how could you communicate with your so called mother?

-I have… Telepathic abili… - Akainu raised an eyebrow in disbelief and felt somewhat insulted that she kept trying to fool him. - We're fucked aren't we? – She finally asked and received a positive nod from the admiral before her. – Well… shit. I just went from a totally fancy talking, perfect etiquette woman to someone with a terrible language. – She laughed but quickly stopped when Akainu launched a magmatic fist in her direction. She pushed Joshua away, quickly activating her ability and defending herself from the blow with a quickly generated blade on both her arms.

-Give back what you stole you thieve. – Akainu nearly roared at her. His magmatic fist melted away, surrounding her blades and arms with the magma. She hissed and jumped back, hitting a not so inviting surface: sand. She looked over her shoulder and spotted the amused look of a certain Sir Crocodile.

Alexis didn't quite remember his skills but for him to be a Shichibukai he was probably dangerous. She rushed away from him, her back hitting Joshua's as she did so, and prepared for a long and tough battle.

-Hm… Alexis? – Joshua called.

-What is it?

-I have no weapon.

-I'll be your weapon.

-What?

-I'll try to transform into a weapon.

-Have you ever done that?

-Nope. – She chuckled lightly making Joshua sigh.

-You are amazing really. – He laughed as well. He looked up, facing an angry looking Akainu. Alexis let out a growl when her eyes set upon an amused Crocodile.

-I really had a wonderful night with you miss Alexis. – Crocodile said smugly. – It's a shame you made a couple of wrong moves.

-I'm sorry for ruining your night Crocodile. – She grinned at him and he let out an amused chuckle. – Can we make a deal Akainu?

-What is it? – The large man questioned. She turned around and ordered Joshua to keep an eye on Crocodile.

-Let's do like this: I'm in need of money so… You let me and my friend over here to leave with the jewels and nobody gets hurt. – She raised her shoulders carelessly. – Or you won't let us leave and we'll have to fight our way out. Choose Akainu.

-We'll let you leave if you return us the jewels.

-Not gonna happen. – She hissed at him. – Let's us leave with the jewels.

-Look around you girl! You're outnumbered! – He chuckled in amusement. – The odds are against you!

-I like to fight against the odds. – She heard a chuckled behind her: it was Crocodile. She raised her hand and released steel shards from her finger tips, directing them inside Akainu's body. She quickly closed her hand in a fist, making Akainu choke out in pain and falling to his knees. – Let us leave and you'll be alright.

-You are full of surprises miss Alexis. – It was Crocodile's voice. He was using his devil fruit: sand was hovering around the room and that wasn't a comforting thing for her at all. It left her uneasy.

-You don't even know Crocodile. – She chuckled lightly in amusement. As much as she felt uneasy around him, she must admit that his company was rather amusing… If it wasn't for the tiny fact that he probably wanted to kill her now. - She opened her hand, letting Akainu take in a deep breath. – Do you let us go?

-Attack. – It was a low growl but enough to command a group of minor marines to attack.

-Lovely choice. – Alexis grinned, generating blades on her arms and back. She jumped up high in the air, slicing downward towards the group of marines. She slashed them easily before returning to her relaxed position, looking at Akainu. – Anything else?

-Yes miss Alexis. – She felt a hand on her head and felt her skin running dry slowly. Crocodile's devil fruit kicked into action and it was bad!

-Joshua! – Her throat was completely dry but, to her relief, Joshua punched away Crocodile's hand. She rushed to the table filled with food and stole a bottle of fruit juice, drinking it down quickly. – Crocodile that was a dirty play. - He just casually smirked at her. She held out her arm towards Joshua. – I'm ready Joshua.

He took hold of her arm and she quickly transmuted into a simple black katana.

-Cool. – He whispered.

-Put everything I taught you into practice. – Alexis' voice was heard from the blade, leaving him surprised.

-Alright. – He mumbled before positioning himself into a fighting stance. A marine that was left standing rushed towards Joshua who quickly slashed the enemy's chest with one quick swing.

All of the sudden, when he turned around to face Akainu, his vision was blocked by a pair of golden eyes. Mihawk quickly took hold of his Yoru sword, launching one quick swing, sending a slash of wind towards Joshua. Alexis quickly transmuted back into her human form and, with her bladed arms, blocked the blow but couldn't help but be pushed back and thrown out of the window along with Joshua.

-Fuck… me. – She mumbled as a sudden rush of pain crawled up her body. Looking down she saw a large shard of glass stabbed across her shoulder. She let her head fall to the ground and growled. – Fick this shit.

-Alexis, you're alright? – It was Joshua that crawled from under her and was holding her head in his hands.

-Does it look like it? – She chuckled after hissing at another jolt of pain that crawled up her body. She heard a ruckus that enacted from the building, followed by a rustling sound until a presence was made before the two.

It was Mihawk and his eyes were now shrouded in worry about the woman before him. He brought her harm and he wasn't pleased with his actions but he couldn't do better.

He knelt down before the two.

-Get out quickly. – Although worry covered his face, his voice was kept cold. – Take care of her. I'll come by as quickly as I can to the Red Force. Now go.

His voice was in a low whispered but the command was demanding and imperative.

Joshua nodded and, picking her up, ran out of the large beautiful garden that was now bathed by moonlight. Luckily there was no marine patrolling the city at the moment so the path back to the ship was clean and with no problems.

As he approached the ship, he was greeted by large smiles that quickly faded to dark expressions. Joshua ran pass them and carried her to her initial room, setting her down on the bed.

-What happened? – It was Shanks that was now standing at the entrance of the room.

-They must've seen the two that went to steal the jewels. – Joshua explained as he analyzed the wound that still had the shard stabbed over it. – As a result they attacked us. She was protecting me when Mihawk attacked and launched us both out the window.

-Mihawk? – His expression was of worry and confusion.

-He helped us get out of there. – Joshua explained quickly before rushing to the mess deck to get a large bowl filled with water and many pieces of cloth. He rushed back into the room and sat next to Alexis.

-But he brought harm to her. – Shanks mumbled, looking down at Alexis in concern.

-He saved us. – With that, Joshua pulled the shard of glass out of her shoulder, letting a gush of blush splatter on his face. He quickly placed a piece of cloth over the wound and reached out to another piece of cloth, dipping it in the bowl of water. – I'm sorry Alexis. – He used the white, wet cloth to clean the inside of the wound, removing any kind of minor shards that were left inside the wound. Alexis let out an inhuman shout, arching her back and taking a strong hold on the bed sheets. He poured a bit of the water over the wound before getting another cloth and covering the wound, slowly stopping the bleeding.

As the night dragged along, Alexis' condition was slowly worsening: she was developing a fever, her recovery speed wasn't working and she was had fallen unconscious a couple of times.

Shanks and Joshua were constantly at her side: Joshua cleaning her wound and Shanks tending to her fever the best he could. Eventually Benn and Yasopp had managed to force the two out of the room, letting them rest a bit.

.

Alexis had drifted into unconsciousness, returning to a rather familiar place. She hadn't had a conversation with her conscious in a long while.

The scenario had changed quite a bit. She was now standing on a field of perfectly green grass and a grey sky above her.

-I know you're here! – Alexis shouted and slowly a figure made its appearance before her. It was exactly like her, the only difference was that she had white hair unlike Alexis' scarlet hair. – My… conscious?

-Exactly. – The white haired woman smiled.

-Any more oracle shit you want to tell me? – Alexis placed her hands on her hips. – I'm kind of fighting for my life here.

-You could've prevented this. – Conscious answered.

-How so?

-You should've gone with Mihawk since the beginning, not Shanks. – Conscious answered, tilting her head to the side. – Shanks' a pirate, he'll only put you in danger.

-So? Mihawk isn't some sort of pirate as well?

-A Shichibukai.

-So?

-He has the government protection.

-Until he makes a false step and loses it. – Alexis looked down at the ground. – And I fear I made that happen tonight. – Conscious just nodded in agreement. Alexis was seriously worried about Mihawk but at the same time, her mind couldn't leave the image of a worried Shanks. She missed him a lot. – Anything else? – Alexis sighed.

-Have you made a decision?

-About?

-Staying or leaving.

-I'm staying.

-You sure?

-Fuck off! – Alexis was annoyed. – God damn it! I'm passing through an emotional wreck right now. Sure I'm with Shanks and I love him but this entire bullshit of having to decide or leave; the fact that I probably ruined Mihawk's professional life or whatever you should call it… It's terrible… - She looked up the grey sky and felt a drop on her face. – I'm terrible. – She closed her eyes. The sky began to cry… or maybe it was her that was crying… Maybe both.

-You're falling for him aren't you?

-Yeah… - She let out a melancholic chuckle. – I shouldn't… I'm with Shanks… I shouldn't be falling for someone else.

-Some people believe that there's more than one soul mate for each person.

-I stopped believing in soul mates a long time ago. – She smiled once again.

-You miss him?

-You're my conscious. You should know.

-I feel it too.

-Shouldn't you be the rational part?

-I'm still a part of you and I have feelings just like you.

-I miss him yes… - Alexis looked down at the grass. – It's because of him that I stopped believing in soul mates.

-What about now?

-What about it?

-Shanks?

-He's a wonderful man.

-Your soul mate.

-I… - She hesitated. Was he her soul mate? She wasn't sure. Her Conscious let out a sigh.

-I'll return when your heart has settled. Right now you need to return to the real world. – Conscious smiled sweetly. – There are a couple of men that are worried about you.

-Alright…

Everything faded to black and Alexis drifted off into a deep sleep.

.

Her eyes slowly opened, capturing a strong ray of sunlight. She grumbled a complaint as a person quickly shaded her eyes. She looked to her side and saw a smiling Benn, looking at her tenderly.

-Good morning kid. – His voice was soft and warming.

-How long?

-A few hours. It's already noon so don't worry. You weren't away for too long.

-Where's Shanks. – She questioned, sitting up. Benn looked outside the door and Alexis finally heard a low ruckus from the outside. She got up and felt a jolt of pain on her elbow. She reached out her hand, feeling the perfectly wrapped shoulder in long pieces of cloth.

Ignoring Benn's complains about her needing to be resting, Alexis rushed out of the bedroom towards the deck only to set her eyes upon a violent scenario before her.

Shanks was annoyed and Mihawk was within his grasp. He was holding Mihawk's coat collar and glaring at him.

-You had the gut to show up after what you did!? – Shanks voice was cold and violent and he quickly pulled back his arm, reaching out to his saber before slashing it towards the golden eyed man. Mihawk reached out to his own sword and prepared to block the red haired man's attack.

-Stop this instant! – Alexis shouted, letting her Haoshoku haki get into action once again.

A/N:

As I've writen on my profile I'll be publishing a new chapter every Sunday from now on since school will start TOMORROW X_X I'll try publish as many chapters as I can during the week but probably going to stick with posting just on sunday a new chapter. Sunday of Saturday actually

This took me too long! xD

Oh the drama is appearing! Who is this man that made Alexis stop believing in soul mates? (Note: this is actually based off a real event that occured in my life so... this story is becoming more personnal as it develops. I'm basically pouring my heart out on this story, becoming who I always wanted to be in this story. I hope you feel a connection with my character.)

I do not own One Piece

Only own Alexis, Joshua, Plushie Pirates and Seppen Bandits.

I hope you are enjoying this story as much as I am. I've been having so much fun writing it and I hope you're having as much fun as I am reading it. I want to give a special thanks to Kimi Saruby that has been reading this from the beginning and supporting me so far *bows down*

Have a very nice day and I'll see you this sunday!