I wrote this chapter over the entirety of November when ever I had both the time and energy to write. It is the longest chapter to date, and I hope it makes up for the absence. But if it doesn't, I don't care.
Despite the fact that her name wasn't 'Klahadore', Gwenyth still froze into place. There was a surprising air of superiority to the sickly girl's voice. As if she were accustomed to her orders being followed. Though, she seemed more like a wilting flower rather than some spoiled snob. A wilting flower that had been pushed too far, the seamstress added. Sensing from the girl both a raging fire and swelling woe.
"KAYA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" Usopp screeched.
'Kaya'? This is Kaya? Gwenyth wondered. Wasn't this girl supposed to be bedridden? That mansion was quite a ways away from here. No wonder she was so frail and pale looking! Being in such poor condition, Kaya was probably fighting off the exhaustion with all she had. Gwenyth grimaced. This was not good.
"Merry told me everything," Kaya explained to her former butler. As If begging for this 'Merry' person to have been wrong.
"Merry? Did he? I thought I had killed him..." Kuro said nonchalantly, but a tidal wave of fury nearly knocked Gwenyth down. The fact that someone he had meant to kill was still breathing burned him in a fierce way. He was really good at that, she noted. Keeping such a calm demeanor when his emotions were stronger than anything around. The only thing about him that outwardly gave wind to his rage were his eyes. Perhaps the smallest of hints in his voice as well.
"Klahadore, if you want my fortune I'll give it to you! Just take it and leave the village alone!
Gwenyth made her way forward carefully. She listened to Kuro with a mixture of curiosity and irritation. The money wasn't enough, so he claimed. Over the three years he spent here, he had begun to gain 'peace of mind'. He wanted to stay at this village, relax, and grow old with nothing to worry about. Gwenyth walked around the faux butler cautiously, shield at the ready, keeping her eyes on him as he continued to speak.
"Thus, the pirate attack on the village and your accidental demise are both quite essential."
Usopp screamed for her to run, but Kaya stayed where she stood. Brave girl. Gwenyth had just about reached her undetected when the heiress pulled a pistol on the man. The seamstress stared in shock, and subconsciously decided not to get any closer for the time being. She was sure Kuro had seen her inching towards the girl, but she didn't know if Kaya had. Catching the sickly girl off guard when she had a gun in hand would not be a good idea.
"LEAVE THIS VILLAGE ALONE!" Kaya shouted. It sounded a little wrong to Gwenyth's ears. With such soft voice, she must not have been used to speaking so loud.
"Hmm... You've really grown up in the last three years..." Kuro spoke swiftly. Almost sounding kind. "And I've been at your side for all the changes, haven't I? Even before you lost your parents and became ill, you and I spent a lot of time together..."
A rush of dread and rage filled Gwenyth. She knew where this was headed, and didn't want to hear anymore of his words. It wasn't enough, she realized. Money and this 'peace of mind' thing, were simply not enough in for him. He needed Kaya to know his deceit. He needed her to know he never cared. He needed to hurt her, rip her apart from the inside. To make up for the intense bruise that had festered upon his pride over the years. It was sickening.
Poor Kaya's heart was being thrashed, trampled, and torn to pieces bit by bit with every word. Pain was racking through her core as tears were spilling from her eyes. Kuro on the other hand was mad with a wicked sense of glee. The closer she came to sobbing, the more satisfaction and delight he gained. He shouted at her with cold, unfeeling eyes, some type of twisted happiness stirring in him as he did so. Kaya dropped the gun, shaking, unable to stand any longer.
Gwenyth rushed towards her now, and pulled the heiress into a protective embrace. Without even knowing who she was, Kaya immediately latched onto the other girl. Needing some kind of support and taking whatever she could find.
"YOU'RE A SICK FUCK, YA KNOW THAT!?" Gwenyth screamed at him, trying to keep Kaya on her feet. Intensely fighting the urge to try and attack him, knowing it would do her no good whatsoever. "Disgusting, fucking asshole!"
"As if I care what foul words come from your mouth, girl. I am simply telling the truth. For these past three years, Kaya has been nothing to me but a simple pawn."
"KURO!" Usopp shouted, jumping out of nowhere, ready to sock the bastard in the face. But the man had already reappeared behind him. Gwenyth held Kaya tighter as waves of worry and guilt spilled from her.
"Hit me with all your might!" Kuro commanded and someone did. The bastard butler was thrown to the ground by the power of the strike. Gwenyth grinned wildly as she watched the rubber limb snap back into place.
"IF YOU DON'T LIKE BEING HIT, I'LL PUNCH YOU A HUNDRED TIMES MORE!" Luffy shouted smiling, more than ready for a fight. Gwenyth struggled to keep the smirk from her lips as the Cat-Ears screamed in fear. A blast of burning rage flew from the former pirate captain, causing her to stumble. She had to ease Kaya onto the ground, no longer able to hold the girl up on her own.
"You okay, Miss Kaya?"
The pale girl nodded, still in obvious shock from multiple things. "Y-Yes. Thank you."
Gwenyth regarded Usopp for a moment, her intentions shinning clearly through sea-green eyes. The sniper and seamstress shared a nod. Both understanding what needed to be done.
"Do you think you can walk?" She whispered more discreetly.
Kaya looked up at her with surprise, but Gwenyth's didn't waver. She needed to get this girl out of here as quickly as possible. Not only was she the pirate's true target, but it was painfully obvious Kaya had never been around an actual fight before. Let alone in one. Gwen was no master fighter herself, but at the very least she had Toguchi and a couple of middle school brawls under her belt. If Kaya could walk, even just a little bit, it would make Gwenyth's life that much easier.
"I-I think so, but... " The pale girl uneasily glanced towards Usopp.
"We need to get you out of here, Kaya," He explained.
The heiress looked down. "I'm sorry. I realize now, it would have been-"
"NOW!" Someone interupted.
Much to the teens' horror, the three small boys from yesterday jumped out from the trees. Each armed with what they must have considered a 'weapon'; a shovel, a frying pan, and a baseball bat. Things Gwen would not highly suggest using against merciless pirates. In fact she nearly ripped her hair out in protest. The boys hooted and hollered at the 'smelly butt-ler', whacking him continuously.
"THOSE LITTLE IDIOTS!" She shrieked.
"THAT'S ENOUGH CREW! STOP!" Usopp ordered. The children did as told and immediately turned their frustrations onto their captain. They started to complain about him lying to them yesterday and something about the way he smelled. Gwen was too busy chanting ''we're dead, we're dead, we are so fucking dead'' to hear any of it. When Kuro suddenly stood, everyone shut up. When he adjusted his glasses and they broke, Gwenyth and the boys screamed bloody murder.
"Dead! Dead! Soooo totally dead!" She wailed. Kuro began to step forward and Usopp shouted for the boys to run away. They simply jumped up and hid behind the (nearly crying) girl.
"SAVE US, OGRESS!"
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT ME TO DO!? YOU'RE THE ONES THAT BROKE HIS GLASSES!"
Gwenyth blinked, then turned to watch Kuro pass her. He completely avoided her and the boys, like they weren't even there, and kicked Usopp out of the way. Causing Kaya to gasp and Gwenyth to growl. She might be weak, but that didn't make her any less accepting to her nakama being kicked around. (Hah! She remembered the word easily that time!) After having a mini party in her head over the word 'nakama', Gwenyth stood as quietly as she could.
Kaya eyed her nervously and the children were about to question her, but she put a finger to her lips- signaling for them to stay quite. Thankfully they understood, and 'zipped' their mouths shout. She held a hand out to Kaya, keeping her finger to her lips. Once the heiress nodded and took a gentle hold of her hand, Gwenyth took her finger away and help the girl up carefully. The boys watched in confusion as the two inched ever so slowly to the forest, trying not to raise suspicion. Luckily, everyone else was too absorbed in Luffy's abilities to notice them.
Once they reached the trees, she heard Kuro give Django the order to kill Miss Kaya and the children, and leave the Straw Hat to himself. With that, Gwenyth pulled the sickly girl away as fast as she could. She was sure Luffy could handle himself and those boys were pretty fast runners, so she tried not to worry. Kaya was her main concern right now. That, and where the hell she was going. She needed to stay off the trail, but she didn't know these woods at all. So her choices were, a) lose the hypnotist and get lost herself, or b) know where she is and be found pitifully easy. She chose the former, and pulled Kaya further into the forrest.
"How ya holding up?" She shouted back, not liking the loud huffs coming from behind her.
"I'm... I'm fine!" She insisted through her panting. Gwenyth didn't believe her for one second, but admired her resolve.
"Once we get a little further we can stop and hide. I just wanna put as much distance between us and him as possible."
Kaya made a small noise of understanding, but could give no other response. If she tried to speak she would have even less oxygen in her lungs, if possible. Gwenyth said nothing more, not wanting to distract the girl from inhaling the air she desperately needed. At least, if the heavy wheezing was anything to go by.
Suddenly, Gwenyth dropped to the floor, pulling Kaya down with her, and crawled behind a shrub. She tried to hush the breathless heiress as best she could. But at the same time, neither of them could do anything about her need to breathe. After being sick and bedridden for so long, it was only natural she'd be out of shape. The fact that she had even made it this far was probably a miracle. Gwenyth put a hand to Kaya's forehead then quickly returned her attention to the woods.
She thought she had heard something. Knowing they couldn't outrun anyone at his rate, Gwen opted for hiding instead. And, as if she didn't have enough to worry about, she was now certain Kaya had a fever. Great. Just freaking great!
Without warning, the entire row of trees beside them fell to the earth and Gwenyth let out the loudest, shrillest scream known to man. Luckily, Kaya had more self control and threw her hands over the girl's mouth.
"P-Please... Huff... We need to stay... Huff... quiet, y-yes?"
The seamstress nodded and Kaya removed her hands. "Sorry. I have a bad habit of screaming when I get caught off guard." She chuckled.
The pale girl smiled. "So I have noticed."
Gwenyth returned it before they stood and took off again. What an odd time to joke and bond. But, hey, as J. K. Rowling once said 'there are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and running from a pirating hypnotist in the woods was one of them'. Or something like that. Gwenyth really didn't have time to be fact-checking at the moment. Seeing how she was running from a pirating hypnotist in the woods with a practically dying heiress behind her.
She had a feeling she'd eventually have to carry said heiress, but she was hoping that could wait for at least a little while longer. Kaya looked light enough to carry, but Gwenyth wasn't sure how much more her left arm would be able to handle. She had pretty much ignored it while the fighting had been going on, but now all the running and bouncing was causing the pain to flare up again. Just how much longer would her arm insist on being such a nuisance?
Deeper into the woods, they continued running as best they could. Gwenyth was practically dragging Kaya at this point, but they couldn't stop. The sound of falling trees was getting closer and closer. It almost felt as though they weren't moving at all, or was Django just that much faster than them? Both seemed to have an annoyingly high possibility. So when Kaya finally fell to the ground, Gwenyth couldn't help but curse.
"I... huff... I'm sorry... I... huff... I can't..."
"That's okay... You did good." Gwenyth frowned and checked the pale girl's fever. Damn! It was even hotter than before. She cursed again under her breath. "Alright, Kaya, I need you to listen to me. I'm gonna try and carry you, but you gotta work with me. Okay?"
"B-But..."
"No buts! Here we go!" Gwenyth shouted looping her arms around the other girl.
Lifting from her legs, she found her previous assumptions to be correct. Kaya was indeed very light, and her left arm really couldn't do this. Her nerves were screaming from the incredible strain. Regardless, Gwenyth began to move with urgency. Running was completely out of the question, so fast paced walking would have to do. The hypnotist was certainly even closer now and she wanted to cry. Kaya was burning up, her arm was ripping apart, and there was nothing else they could do but keep walking. Why was life so difficult?
"M-Miss...?" Kaya called softly.
"Gwen." She replied sharply. The lump in her throat might cause her voice to waver and Gwenyth desperately didn't want the girl to realize how difficult carrying her was. Even if it was already incredibly obvious that she couldn't do this.
"Miss Gwen... Please... huff... Just leave me here. I'm only slowing you down..."
"N-No way! You're the whole r-reason we're running!" Gwenyth's arm began to shake furiously under Kaya's weight.
"But your arm!"
"FUCK MY ARM! THIS IS YOUR LIFE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT! I w-wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let that bastard kill you! If it m-means losing my arm for you to stay alive, then so fucking be it!"
"M-Miss Gwen..."
Gwenyth couldn't do it anymore. Her arm had gone numb with pain, and she couldn't keep a grip on the girl. She fell down cursing, taking the blunt of the landing on purpose. Kaya immediately scrambled out of her hold and inspected the girl's arm carefully. Gwenyth was completely terrified. She couldn't feel it at all. Was it dead? Could a limb be dead? Would she have to cut it off? That would make her even less useful. A one armed pirating seamstress would not be the most skilled person around. She tried to laugh, but it did little to cover up the blatant tears.
"I... I think your arm will be okay..." Kaya said hopefully. Gwenyth hissed in pain when she rubbed her forearm. But if she could feel that far down her arm, that meant it wasn't dead, right? Kaya rubbed the palm of the crying girl's hand.
"Yeah, I..." She inhaled sharply, "I can feel that, too."
Kaya smiled at her and tried to stand. She wobbled and stumbled and finally fell back down to the earth. They shared an apprehensive look and Gwenyth cursed. This wasn't good. Kaya was too dizzy to stand and Gwenyth, their only hope for defense, could barely feel her arm- let alone use it in a fight.
"So here you are."
The girls turned to see the hypnotist approaching. Gwenyth cursed again before quickly standing and unsheathing her knife. Django chuckled lightly. It was quite the sight; a slumped heiress, fearfully fighting off exhaustion and a limp armed teen with an itty-bitty shield. Holding a knife with what was clearly not her dominant hand.
"Stay back, asshole!" Gwenyth warned. The man simply began to swing a rounded blade in the hypnotizing fashion.
"When I say 'One, Two, Django', you'll freeze like a stone! One, two-"
Gwenyth, squeezing her eyes shout and facing down, shouted childishly, "HA! I'M NOT LOOKING! Whatcha gonna do now?"
"MISS GWEN!" Kaya screamed.
Gwenyth looked up instantly and was barely able to jump out of the way. Django cursed as he fell passed her, before turning around and charging her again. Gwenyth attempted to open her shield in time, but instead she needed to block him using it in its itty-bitty stage. He continuously advanced, and Gwen nearly tripped over her feet moving back so quickly.
Her shield was too small, and she wasn't used to such little coverage. Her right arm was bleeding something terrible and her left arm wasn't spared either. But she just kept on going. Gwenyth finally stopped retreating and tried to slash him. She missed but continued to swing at him. Slowly gaining the upper hand, until it was he who was retreating. She managed to cut across his left knuckles, causing him to drop the ring he'd been using with that hand. He cursed in pain and Gwenyth took that moment to tear his right upper arm with the jagged edge of her blade.
He was incapacitated for another moment, so Gwenyth took that time to both release her shield and rush back towards Kaya. Only, Kaya wasn't where she had left her. Had she found the strength to run away? Or was she just hiding? Gwenyth was about to call out for her when a blade struck her leg.
She dropped to the floor with a scream. It hadn't as much hurt as it had surprised her. Though, not being used to an attack on her lower limbs, it stung greatly. Gwenyth watched the hypnotist approach slowly.
"You want to make a fool of me..." He started. Gwenyth blinked. He didn't seem to be talking to her, yet he was looking right at her. Not to mention, she hadn't done anything to make him look like a fool. Had she? Either way, she prepared her shield from her place on the ground.
"But you're the fools!" Suddenly, Django turned and grabbed at something in the air. Only when the two other children scream his name, did Gwenyth realize the Usopp Pirates had appeared and that the hypnotist had one by the throat. She had been so caught up in the fight, she hadn't noticed them at all.
"You brats will have plenty of time to regret messing with real pirates-" he threw the boy into a tree, "IN HELL!"
"YOU BASTARD! He's just a fucking kid!" Gwenyth shouted rushing at him. He jumped out of the way, and Gwen put the knife in her left hand.
"Kid or not-" he dodged another blow, "-if they want to call themselves pirates-" he hardly avoided her blade, "-then I'll treat them like any other swashbuckler I might come across!"
Django swung his blade at her, and she blocked it, but then he kicked the center of her shield. The force sent her through a low bush, tripping her over and causing her to fall back on her head. A shooting pain went through her skull.
As the rest of her body fell limply over her and onto the ground she felt oddly distant. As though she were floating above her body.
She laid there on her stomach, vaguely listening to the blood pounding in her ears. Feeling the hollow discomfort of her bones. Little dark circles were flying in and out of her dark, dizzying sight, and Gwenyth vaguely realized she was hungry. She managed to pull herself up, but was so out of it that she hardly realized she'd fallen back down. Gwenyth blinked and rolled onto her back. She began to slap the sides of her cheeks until she could wholly feel the sting; not just passively realize it hurt.
She pulled herself back up, returning to the conscious world. Her vision was no longer spotty, dark, or spinning and she could hear... Actually, she couldn't really hear anything. It was deafly quiet. She put away her knife before poking her head over the shrub that had initially tripped her. Gwenyth found the three children, quietly picking themselves off the ground. They looked at her and she stared back at them before glancing over at Kaya and Django. She was sitting before him and he was looking over a piece of paper.
She wrote him the will? Gwenyth realized in shock. How long had she been out of it? She looked back at the boys who were quietly recollecting their 'weapons' and understood their plan. They all shared a nod and she ducked down behind the bush once more. Stealthily making her way towards Kaya.
"You promised not to kill the children or Miss Gwen." She heard Kaya plead softly.
So that's why she wrote it. Gwenyth realized, To keep me and the kids safe. Kaya, you idiot...
"I may be a murderer, but I'm a man of my word." Django promised and Gwenyth had to cover her mouth to keep herself from scoffing at him. He was a ruthless pirate, there was noway he'd keep his word. Especially since she and the boys were getting ready to attack.
"Stop right there hypnotist!" A familiar voice called. Gwenyth popped her head over the shrubbery to see Zoro running towards them. But he was far too far away.
Django grabbed Kaya's throat. "Better finish this quick." His blade at the ready.
"WE WONT LET YOU!" The boys shouted, thrusting their weapons into his backside. Django shouted and kicked them back. Gwenyth jumped over the bush at that moment, nearly tripping again, and pulled Kaya behind her.
Django grabbed for Kaya again. "You're one step too late- YOU AGAIN?!" The hypnotist shouted, realizing Gwen was in his way. He was about to kick her when-
"Usopp!"
"CAPTAIN!"
"TAKE THIS, HYPNOTIST! The marksman shouted. "Secret technique: Exploding stars!"
Gwenyth quickly released her shield to its largest setting, covering both her and Kaya. The edge of her shield clunked to the ground, far too heavy for her to lift, just before a large explosion blasted Django away from them. Gwen pressed the release button and turned the mechanism in the opposite direction, returning the shield to its much lighter offensive setting. She and kaya were now able to see the hypnotist flat on the ground and still smoking. Kaya released her grip on the other girl's dress, as the seamstress sighed in relief. She returned her shield back to it's carrying stage and made her way towards her crewmate.
"You look like crap," Zoro informed her as he sheathed his sword.
"NO SHIT, SHERLOCK! What took you so long? I thought my arm was gonna give out again!"
"No need to be so grateful," he rolled his eyes at her before pointing at Usopp, who was limping past them. "I was following his directions. If you want to blame someone, blame him."
"MY DIRECTIONS WERE PERFECT!"
"YOU KEPT SAYING EAST AND WEST INSTEAD OF RIGHT AND LEFT!"
"HOW IS IT MY FAULT YOU DON'T KNOW WHICH IS WHICH?!"
"Alright kiddies, that's enough." Gwenyth intervened, wanting to pass out. "Which way is the beach?"
"Northwest of here." Usopp answered simply. Gwenyth blinked at him and he sighed before pointing behind her. "That way. But I need to talk to my crew before I head back, so I'll meet up with you guys later."
She nodded and thanked him before walking off with Zoro, who was tying his bandana back onto his arm. Gwen pulled a few twigs out of her hair and inspected her dress for tears as she brushed off the dirt. Finally, she checked her no-longer-bleeding wounds, which were more like scratches than anything else. She wondered if Nami would be angry with her.
"You're arm looks like it's moving better," Zoro mentioned out of the blue.
Gwen looked up at him, "You think so?" She asked hopefully before stretching it out and moving it around. It was still a little sore, maybe even more now than before all the fighting, but it didn't hinder her at all. She could move it swiftly and easily without strain.
Gwenyth began to jump up and down, smiling like a little kid. "It's better! It's better! It still hurts a little, but I can move it really good! WHOO HOO!" She didn't understand how that was at all possible, but she didn't care. This meant she wasn't useless anymore!
Zoro grinned and chuckled lightly at the girl's antics. The trees began to lessen as the slope came into view. Gwenyth skipped towards it, humming loudly, and then carefully made her way down, taking in the scene. The hill seemed to be in even more shambles than when she had left. However, all of the Cat Ears were gone, including their ship.
Luffy was laying on his back looking up at the sky and Nami was sitting beside him, cuddling a bag of money like it was her baby. Gwenyth carefully made her way down the demolished hillside, Zoro somewhere behind her.
"Hey guys!" She called out, gaining their attention.
"What happened to you?" Nami asked, almost in disbelief.
"My arm went limp and I got in a fight."
"WHAT!?" The navigator shrieked, ready to jump.
"Don't worry, don't worry! Look!" Gwenyth made her way down to the redhead, moving her left arm up, down, and all around. "It barely even hurts anymore!"
Nami lightly grabbed the arm and inspected the seamstress herself. The few cuts on her left arm were sealed over with dried blood. Same with her right. Her dress was dirty and torn in a few places, and leaves were sticking out from her golden hair. But she had a huge, childlike grin on her face that the navigator couldn't bring herself to scold.
Nami sighed. "Alright, fine. But let me get that stuff out of your hair."
Gwenyth sat down in front her and let her pick out whatever it was that had ended up in her hair. The two went back and forth, asking about what had happened to each other. According to Nami, Luffy and Kuro had really gotten into, though she was too busy stealing treasure to see the whole thing. Gwen told her how she thought Kaya was going to die while they were running, but strategically left out the part about carrying said heiress. That would have gotten her hit for sure.
Okay. I have finals this week and next week, and I need to make gifts for people before the holiday break, so an update is out of the question until like... Christmas. But afterwards I should be completely free to write whenever I want until February... So... Yeah.
Happy holidays guys! :)