The next day's Kirara stayed in bed, she didn't even move... barely turned to her side; Eve came to her and talked to her occasionally when she came by. She said few things, not really much to say. But when someone ells came by and said something to her, one in particular of them was Marco, she said something cold and spiteful. But then again no one blamed her. Everyone knew that she didn't want to be here, on this ship… Ace seemed to be the only one that she managed to talk to without any harm in her voice. He did come by every once in a while and ask her how she was feeling then she would smile a tiny little smile with her lips and said that she would be fine…
Still the nurses started to feel a little iffy and concerned when she spoke with a low voice "I'll be fine… I'm always fine in type of situation…" Eve felt like a little rock was placed in the bottom of her stomach. In shock she turned her head to look at the two of them talking. Had she been kidnapped a lot? Could it be that this little girl was abused and used? But then Ace asked her how that was and she said that whenever she was in trouble… her brother would always come for her…
"Well, then I'll look forward to meeting with him." Ace said smiling but she didn't smile then… her face went dark and pale. She turned away from him and pulled the covers over her head, they couldn't see it but for some reason they were certain that she was crying…
In the afternoon one day, the commanders were sitting together talking. The dinner tables were filled with loud men and woman that all talked about their own business so why should they care about what the commanders were talking about…
"say Marco, why the hell were you talking this girl with you in the first place" a lightly pisses of Haruta asked, he was pissed off because when he and Vista had gone off to take a look at the little lady, She had been scared… to scared to even let out a single peep, even when they stepped one single step close to her she had literally fallen out of the bed…
"Hmm?" an absent minded Marco had little interest in the food and conversation…
"My god Marco, come back to the ship please! And stop hanging out in the girl's hair!" Haruta shouted and threw a piece of bread in his head. He snapped out of his train of thought and looked his way. Although with a more uninterested look in his eyes he picked the bread up and ate it.
"What's your problem…?"
"What's YOUR problem?" Haruta shouted and glared at Marco "your acting like you're on another planet!"
"Imagine that…"
"Actually…" Thatch cut in "I have to agree with him. You're not really been yourself"
"What, I've been thinking for a while and suddenly I'm not myself? I have to say I'm pretty offended by that…" Marco said smiling.
"Haha! That's not what I mean!" Thatch chugged a bit after the last bite. "I just think you being too hung up on that girlie and we just don't know if it's worth it, she seems to like Ace much more that she likes you" then he burst out into laughter.
Marco didn't say anything; there wasn't anything he could think of saying. He didn't like that she was feeling miserable, but then he really didn't like that she didn't even consider trusting him… not that he thought she had a reason to, he had been a little nasty to her and he actually did understand why she wouldn't talk to anyone but Ace…
"I know that…" he only said and looked over to a window. "I just hope that she can come around…she seems like an interesting person"
"Yeah 'that's' the reason why you want her here…" Haruta spat out loudly. "How do we know that you just don't want to make her you little love muffin?" he said the last part with a small pout on his lips.
If Marco hadn't been swallowing a liberal amount of water just as Haruta said that; he wouldn't have coughed it up out of his nose. He couldn't believe that Haruta just said that. He reached up and glared up at his fellow commander…
"It's not like that!" he spat out and glared a nasty glare at the shorter one. He grinned suspiciously and laughed in triumph.
"You seemed to get pretty embarrassed when I said that, which means its true!"
"You have about three seconds to take that back!" he stood up, from the table. "You know that's not like that, she just has my interest…" he said and walked out of the dining hall. He stopped right outside, and thought about it… did it seem like it was like that? Now when he thought about it… she was really cute, could it be that she thought that was the reason that he brought her here…? No that couldn't be, she knew the reason why he wanted to see her…
"Marco?" Ace came up from behind him, tapped him on the shoulder. He sprung around and glared at him. "Take it easy, it's me…" he said lifted his hands.
"Huh Ace what's going on?"
"I think you should let her go…" he said and gestured for Marco to come with him…
"Ha? What did she tell you?"
"She said that she had been kidnapped before… and I think that this might have brought up some bad memories…"
"You think so? Did she tell you that directly?"
"No but—"
"Then how do you know if it's true?"
"I just… have a feeling…" Ace looked down to the floor which made a shade over his eyes from his hat… Ace looked down to the floor which made a shade over his eyes from his hat… "Look man just go talk to her!" he said and pushed him the way to the infirmary…
Marco cursed a little under his breath… what was with everyone this day… Marco sighed and shook his head; they just needed some time to get used to her, he felt like she needed to trust him… and only him, not Ace…
He was at the doors to the infirmary and smelled the heavy cent of the nurses' perfumes… all different each one of them…but he vanilla sent kind of dominated over the rest… Marco didn't understand… he didn't understand why dome women had the need to smell like desert. Slowly he opened the door and found that the bed in which Kirara was lying in was half empty, for the one reason that Kirara had leveled her upper body and let it hang out of the bed. In which the top of her head touched the floor. She had a bored expression on…
"Heh, hello there." Marco fought the urge to snort. She would most likely be even more pissed off at him if he laughed at her a lot…
"Hello" she answered bluntly and looked over to him."
"Are you here alone?"
"If you want to talk to the nurses then just call for them…" she said and frowned… "What am I not good enough for you?"
"Actually it's you I wanted to talk to…" she seemed to be surprised when he said that since her eyes went a little wider…
"Alright…" she raised her self in the bed and scooted to the side to see if he wanted to sit…he walked up to her and sat down on the foot of the bed… "How are you feeling…?" he asked carefully but she didn't answer, she stared bluntly at him and did her best not to show him any expression…
"What lost your tongue again…?" he asked, since she didn't answer
"I'm fine, considering the circumstances…"
"What circumstances in particular?" he asked and raised and eye brow. She looked him in the eyes, with a glare that could most likely freeze and active volcano down. But then just as suddenly as she glared she turned that look into a mischievous glint…
"Well here I am sitting alone all day, nothing to do!" she said loudly, "I am bored, out of my mind!" she then shouted with a demanding smile on her face, "could you get me something to keep me occupied?"
"Erm…"Marco was just the little knocked off guard… "Heh, yes anything, what would you like?"
"I need some yarn, an apple, some water and a violin…ooh and of corse a bow with the violin. Can you get that?" she said and she showed what the violin was by playing an air violin in her hands, while she smiled mischievously…
Marco chugged a little and stood up, Kirara still couldn't stop smiling. This was all his fault might as well take the time to make him do something about it… Marco walked out and headed to the kitchen, there he got the water in a bottle and the sweet looking red apple, he got the yarn and the violin and in about ten minutes he was back to the infirmary. As he opened the door she was in another pose, only now her legs had been sprung up from the head rest and her back was on the pillow.
"Well I see you've been busy…"
"Are you kidding? I saw that this ship was large but I really didn't think it was THAT big." She said and shoved the length by stretching her arms apart. Marco smiled and threw the apple to her. "I'm still bored and I hate waiting"
"Heh, now tell me what this is about…"
"Well the apple and water because I was hungry and the yarn is for finger knitting… the violin is just until later…" she said and gulped the water, then she bit the apple. Only she didn't eat it right away , she kept it in her mouth and took the violin and placed it on the side of the bed. Then she took the yarn and began to tangle it around her fingers.
"Aaah that's right you were playing that time…in the town…" he said and saw her face lit up
"Oh you saw it! What did you think?"
"It was really special" she didn't seem pleased by that comment… "I really enjoyed you playing. But then the damn marines come and ruin it all"
"Yeah they ruin everything." She reached for her feet that and tied the yarn around her big toe.
"What are you doing?" he asked and watched as she started to make a thicker thread by tangling it together and tying all kinds of Knott's and loops… after a while she had a nice little chain of a well tangled line. It was a really well done piece… with loops that opened here and there as he could he it was like an opening for buttons…
"This is about the only thing that I can work with using fabric…" she said and tied it around her ankle.
"It's good." He said and looked at the artwork… "Really this is the only thing?"
"Well I'm not really good at playing with soft fabric… but I am good with knots." She said so but it didn't seem like she was really interested in talking to him, there was one fact that she didn't even look at him once when she was talking, she didn't seem like she was really into the moment and she was staring at the roof over their heads with a bored expression… but then at this moment, Marco didn't blame her one bit.
"Tell me something…" he started after a while. The silence was making him frustrated
"Anything commander…" she said the word commander in a bitter way and it had no respect like every one ells did on this ship. She must be really pissed at him…
"Are you a pirate?"
"Yes"
"Are you wanted?"
"No"
"Do you have a bounty?"
"Not that I'm aware of"
"Now will you just give me a real answer?" Marco raised his voice just a little, but he saw her face from over there… "Is there a reason why the marines want you dead?" he said finally with a dead serious tone in his voice. To Kirara it sounded cold as a rock and it sent shivers down her spine… why did he care? Why wouldn't he just let it go! For a good two minuets Kirara fought the ideas coming threw her head. Should she lie to him or should she trust him and tell the truth? He didn't look at her while he said that. There was a cold look in his eyes like something she had never seen before. The look of something burning… and it scared her I bit…
"W-well…" she started
"Commander!" a man came bursting through the doors panting and sweating like hell had just broken loose.
"What?" he asked calmly and closed his eyes. But just then when Kirara glanced her eyes at him again she saw the pissed face he had on and the little vain throbbing on his temples… Kirara fought the urge to giggle like a school girl. He was kind of cute when he was angry…
"A marine ship had been spotted and it's closing in!"
Kirara froze at the statement…
"What? What do they want?" he sighed and stood up
"They said they weren't going to attack, that they were here to negotiate." The man said and let out a long sigh. "They want something here"
Marco frowned… "My, aren't they cocky…" he growled and stood up with a quick pace he walked out the door with the sailor following him. Kirara snapped up from the bed and ignored the nurses that told her to stay down then let the men handle this, but she just let it go into the one ear and out the other.
"Wait!" Kirara yelled after Marco, he turned around quickly with a surprised face on.
"Kirara, what are you doing? Get back to bed" he said calmly and smiled at her.
"No, no I will not." She said stubbornly and placed her hands on her hips. "You can't tell me what to do; I'm not at your command. You brought me here against my will and I have a right to see who is on board that ship because you can't tell me not to!" she said a strict tone and glared at the first commander. But not as much as the other sailor man that came to get Marco, stared at her. He had not known anyone to talk that way to him. Only once and that was from the captain himself. He glanced at the little girl and held in the laughter, she looked like an angry little kitten. He waited for Marcos reaction; this was an exciting bit indeed. She froze up when Marco slowly strolled up to her, he didn't stop until he was almost chest to chest with her. He placed a hand on top of hers and patted it like a little kitten, and then when her face lit up bright red he smiled softly,
"Calm down, alright I will bring you up there… "it was close to that the man's face flew right of his face…She didn't seem happier about it, but she did climb on his back and demanded a piggy back ride… while Marco didn't even sigh or be pissed or do anything… he seemed to be enjoying how flushed she was…
"I-it just hurts to walk! So you will carry me!" she said like a stubborn little child… wonders how old she is…
"doesn't matter…" he said calmly and lifted her up "your light as a feather" he said and smirked, Kirara was not so amused, although her face was beyond amusing… all red faced and angry…'I'm not blushing! It's just hot! Wait, no it's not hot! Oh you can figure out a better excuse than that cant you!' she screamed at herself as she felt Marcos hands under her thighs... or to be precise in the crook right under her knee… but it's just the same! Her face was just like a tomato right now…
He walked with her like that all the way up to the bridge… and what white clean sails that looked like they were just pulled out of the washer, attached to a ship that was up so close with the Moby dick. The marines were all pointing their guns and the cannons were all loaded… still to the sailors that were on board the pirate ship didn't seem afraid at all…Marco brought Kirara to the side and gently placed her down; she ignored the gossip and bickering of the men and women there. She only stomped to the marine ship with an incredibly (and unintentional) cute "humf!" then she looked around, she appeared to be looking for someone. And then when she didn't find it, she walked back to the side…
"Well that went well…" Marco said and smiled to one side. He watched as Kirara strutted over to a barrel of rum and planted herself on top of it…
"First commander of the white beard pirates! I demand to talk with the captain!" The marine solder called out with a half man voice…
"Sad you got me then…" he said calmly, voice like stone…
"Were here to offer you a deal!" the marine shouted…
"Why should we make a deal with you? Then again why are you asking us for a deal?" Haruta came running; He had a battle face on. Right at the moment Ace and Thatch came walking to see what the huff was about…
"we will offer you a deal of letting you go free if you grant us a token of your ship." Raymond's voice sounded just as the young man came out of the inside… the four commanders were baffled… they really didn't expect that…
"Haha" Ace let out a sarcastic laugh and frowned… "Do you even know who you are talking to?"
"I know weary well…" Raymond walked and showed the little "men drop your weapons it's not really nice to point at people…" he gestured to his men smirking. The marine soldiers did as they were told and dropped them…
"You're awfully cocky to show you face around here, aren't you?" Marco growled between his teeth and glanced over his shoulder to see Kirara, still sitting on top of the rum barrel, face pale and hands shaking…
"Aaah yes… my ego was getting the best of me at that time…" he leaned on a thick rope and smiled… "Turns out that I was letting my brand new toy get away to fast…"
"What are you calling a toy?" Ace asked.
"thing is… there are about twenty fully armed marine ships just beyond that hurrizing waiting for you… and no matter what you do there will some terminal damage… I'm confident that you will not get away from them… however, I'll let you pass with no trouble and no problem if you give me someone that belongs to me…"
"Someone…" Marco muttered and glanced back to the barrel. Kirara sitting there anymore… wonder where she went… perhaps she couldn't take it and left, that is what she should have done
"Can you guess phoenix? You were the one that stole her from me…"
"I don't belong to you Raymond…" Kirara all of the sudden was right besides Thatch. She didn't care of her feet hurt anymore; she didn't even have feeling in her body anymore. But she knows her knees were shaking and her eyes felt like they would pour out waterfalls everywhere…
"Why kitten…so you're unharmed…" he said and grinned… "That's better, you're much more desirable when you untouched…" he said and gave her a perverted glance…
"Stop talking to me likes this! You're sick and disgusting and insane to think that I'm just gonna come with you"
"You got to obey the law kitten…"
"All of the sudden you're the law? No…"
"Hey am I missing something?" Thatch came in to their conversation and raised an eyebrow… "Didn't you say that you didn't know him?"
"You said that Kirara? Now I'm hurt."
"You're hurt…?" Kirara said bitterly and glared her eyes at him; they were swollen and red with tears that were waiting to come out.
"Kirara, you know that it's a lie to say that you don't know me…" he said and glanced at Marco. "In fact..." Kirara shook her head and tears felt the little tears force their way out of her eyes.
"She was my little girlfriend at the time…" Kirara trembled when he said that and gritted her teeth…"not only that, but we were engaged to be married…"
"It was an arranged marriage… and it was five years ago!"
"Aaah that it was… although we seemed pretty happy about it…"
"Shut up!" Kirara screamed out, but then she snapped out and covered her mouth and turned her back on the pervert marine. Only then did she notice that the tears were dripping down uncontrollably…
"Ace…" Marco said and glared at Raymond who seemed to be enjoying the scene at the time… "Time to see of you haven't gone rusty…" he said and felt a little hatred boiling up in the bottom of his stomach…
"Me? Get rusty? Impossible!" he said and grinned at the older man. From what it looked like, twenty lousy marine ships would be a piece of cake…
"As for you, you can take that offer and stick it up your ass…" he glared a death glare at the smiling marine dog. "You will not touch a person on this ship not her, not anyone… understand?"
There was a long silence after that, the air was thick with tension and excitement. While the two men, each fighting for a different purpose, glared at each other…
"Weary well…" Raymond said and smiled to one end… "But ill advice you to take good care of her… you have no idea on how valuable this little kitten is" Raymond didn't look defeated; he had a victory glow over him. That little rooky marine dog just became a captain and suddenly he thinks he owns the whole ocean… Marco thought for sure that this was indeed far from over…
"Kirara…" Raymond spoke up and Ace turned to see what she would do. As soon as Raymond's voice came to her ears she trembled, this amazing hatred and dread that she felt for the sound of his voice was just a drop in the bucket of the feelings that she was feeling right now… she had never, until now, understood how far betrayal could cut… she had no idea on how much and how deep that blade would cut… why did she think that he would be the same…
"I really hope that you would forgive me… for not being there to protect you the last five years… but when it comes to it… I suppose you deserved it…"
"Why…?" she replied meekly… then with a sudden move she turned around fast and slammed her hands on the flat surface of the wood… "What have I ever possibly done to deserve this!" she screamed out. Raymond seemed to be taken back when he screamed at him… that cocky face and self assure nature when away from him for a second and he just stood there with a baffled face on…
But as the moment passed he got his previous face back on and he smiled deviously… he leaned to meet up close to her. "You became a pirate…"
After a moment the ships were sailing to the opposite directions… still the air was thick and humid. Kirara was still standing and clenching her fists together and letting her tears fall down her cheeks… the cold wind with the sunset in the back ground, her arms were covered with Goosebumps and she shook from time to time. Still she didn't feel like moving, she didn't feel anything…
"Hey… aren't you cold?" Marco came in behind her…
"f-freezing…!" she said threw her teeth…
"Come here…" he said and gently tapped her shoulder… to his surprise, she turned around and wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest…after that she just cried, Marco wasn't sure what to do, but hold her…
"Marco…*sob* it hurts… it really hurts…"
"I bet it does…" he said and stoked her head… he felt hot tears fall on his chest and run down. She trembled sobbed over and over again… there wasn't much Marco knew what to do… he wasn't used to anything like this happening…ever.
"I feel cold…" she said after she had calmed down a bit…"but on the inside…"
"That's what betrayal feels like…" Marco stated back to her and hooked a finger under her chin…
Her eyes were red and her cheeks were swollen, she was like a train wreck. But what the hell for that, "don't cry… it will only hurt more…"
"How come…" she started but then stopped in mid sentence and looking away from him.
"What…"
"Nothing…"
"Heh, stop crying… that man is not even worth crying over…" Marco tried to calm her down. It didn't really seem like an easy job, judging on how much she was hurting… he tried to hold her, he tried to gently stroke her hair, he tried to hold her closer… there was something about this girl, suddenly there was a feeling like he couldn't stand to see her hurting…
"I know…" suddenly a lightning shot in her mind and she remembered that there was a whole marine navy coming in on them. She pulled herself out of Marcos arms and looked up on him. Marco seemed surprised when she looked up at him and saw that worry had replaced the sadness…
"Marco what are you going to do about the ships!" she asked loudly. Somewhere behind them Haruta laughed
"You can't be serious… you think that a bunch of little marine ships can take this ship down?" he asked and walked besides the two of them… "Just wait till we get closer… then it will get interesting!" he spoke eagerly and rubbed his hands together…
"You seem pretty excited about that an entire marine fleet is coming to destroy your home…"
"I wouldn't worry… "Marco said cheerfully and wiped the tears off her face…
"What…? Why not" she was not sure why they weren't at all worried. Why didn't they even start to prepare for battle…?
"Let's just say that if we destroy them first then we don't have any problem…" Marco said and gently put his arm around her waist and pulled her to see what would happen…
After about three or four minuets the marine ships were coming in fast… Kiraras heart rate was faster than ever and the fact that it was all her fault… there had to be something that she could do, if only she had gone with Raymond and done what he had told her than none of this would've happened! They wouldn't be in this much danger!
"Oi…" Marcos voice came to her ears and made her jolt up. Then she looked up to him and looked for answeres… Marco smiled when she looked up to him with those golden eyes. It was really strange to loom into them. She had been diverting eye contact for so long; it felt really nice to look into those completely golden eyes.
"You really don't have to worry about us… it stupid to think that as much as that can bring us down…"
"But… there just so many…"
"Don't worry about it!" Haruta shouted at her smiling… "Look, Ace is already out there!"
And he was, a small boat like thing was on the water and moving faster and faster to the marine ships.
"Are you for real? He is going to take care of It." she asked in panic and disbelief.
"You don't have any faith in us… I'm telling you everything will be just fine."
As the small boat closed up on the marines even more and in the second he got into shot range he turned a blaze. Kirara watched as Ace attacked the marine ships and set them all to the depths of the sea with just that. Kirara was baffled.
"t-that was… hot" she joked and smiled a dimwitted smile… there wasn't much that she thought about saying at the moment, all kinds of thought were going threw her head and she didn't know why.
"Haha! That's right; no one can bring us down!" Haruta shouted and sent the slowly sinking ships the finger; he turned around then and walked back to the others to talk about how powerful they were…
"Well then, how was that?" Marco said tugged her shoulder for her to follow him.
"I don't… I don't know what to say…"
"Then why don't you cheer up, and I'll give you a drink" he pushed her back down into the ship and pushed her all the way back down into the infirmary and into her bed. She laid down looking a little sheepish.
"I'll take that drink please…" she said a little low and slowly. "…and a lot of it" she dragged her feet to her chest and rested her head on them. Marco was starting to get a little worried about her, well more than before… she was depressed, betrayed and alone… he wondered about the other man that was with her when she was, erm…assaulted, by the marines… he thought about finding out where she was from and why she was here… when she came here and most of all why she was attacked, she said that she was pirate and then naturally then if she was captured by the marines she would be sent to Enels Lobby.
"I'll be right back" he just said and walked out… he wondered about what the hell he was doing… why did he feel so sorry for her, why was it that when she cried he wanted to cheer her up. He didn't want her to be crying… she was just so much cuter when she smiled… he fetched a whole bottle of rum and two glasses. Hope white beard wouldn't mind that he would take one bottle of his finest…
"What's this for?" he heard his dad ask from behind him…
"Our guest…" he simply said.
"You seem to be taking much liking to this little lady" his captain said and stroked his mustache a little.
"Is that a problem?" Marco asked looking back at his father…
"No son… but be sure to tell me her story when we have the chance"
"Yes, I will, don't worry" he said fast and hurried back to the room. He would tell him her story, just as soon as he would know as well… would he ever tell him anything. When he came to the room music was playing from the inside… so Kirara was playing the violin. He stopped in front of the door and thought for a moment and listened… this was a slow melody with a few high notes and beat one could slow-dance to… but it seemed a little sad… Marco laughed a little; it was fitting to the situation…He opened the door and walked into the room. There she was, sitting on her bed, back straight and shoulders relaxed… she slowly rocked to her sided while she played the sad music. The nurses had frozen in there stepped when she had started to play. He didn't say anything but walked up to her bed and put the glasses down on the sheets…
She stopped when he sat down at her side… he only smiled and brought a finger to his lips to tell her to keep going, he wouldn't interrupt and she kept playing the slow sad music… Eve was in the room, she had stopped by to get some medicine for whitebeard… but when she had came in with Marco, and she had started to play, in the midst of the song she had not been able to stop the tear from falling. How was she able to bring such intensity to the song?
When the song was over and she had put the violin down into her lap they didn't say anything to each other… Marco gave her the rum and she drank the whole glass in one gulp.
"Mmh…this is quality liquor…" she said and liked her lips…
"Only the best…"
"…do you enjoy stories?" she asked after a moment of silence she looked him right in the eyes and hesitated… what should she tell him, could she tell him the truth…?