Author's Note: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it's the moment you've been waiting for... Aki's first battle! Take it away, Aki!
Aki: Oxenstierna D. Yuki-Rin does not own One Piece or the character of Anna.
Ch. 58: "Attack of the Entourage."
Both Anna and the prince smirked.
"It's fairly easy. I capture the pirates for money –" Anna explained.
"While I torture them!" Prince Pollux added.
"No! You can't do that to us! What the hell did we ever do to you?" Showtarou asked Anna and Prince Pollux.
"My, do we have quite a feisty bunch tonight."
A woman with black hair tied into a bun, black eyes, and red lips walked down the stairs. She wore a orange, knee-length ballgown, fishnet stockings, and black high-heels.
"Cressidia, where the hell have you been?" Prince Pollux asked the newcomer.
"I was in the bath. More importantly, where have YOU been?" Cressida asked the prince.
"I was down here, trying to see what I can do with our meal tickets," Prince Pollux explained as he motioned to the Capricorns. Anna cleared her throat.
"Where's my money?" Anna demanded.
"Money?" Prince Pollux asked.
"I turned the fucking pirate crew in, so pay up!" Anna demanded.
"Oh, the money! Suzuki, go get some money!" Prince Pollux demanded. Without a word, the bluenette left the room.
"Daddy, why are you doing this? Yuki-Rin's my friend!" Hito asked the prince. Inaba slapped Hito before leaning down to his level.
"Hito, Prince Pollux is NOT YOUR FATHER!" Inaba shouted. Prince Pollux smirked.
"What's wrong, Inaba? On our wedding night, you said you wanted a son," Prince Pollux asked the woman, who grabbed him by the shirt.
"I did not say that! I came to your palace looking for food, and you raped me and claimed me as your 'bride'! That night ten years ago brought on a long time of unhappiness, and you should know that! Only Hito and the Capricorns have made me happy during this time!" Inaba shouted before letting go of Prince Pollux and slapping him across the face. "I love Hito with all my heart, and he will never be yours."
With a huff, Inaba walked back over to Hito and grabbed his shoulders.
"Mom, what's going on?" Hito nervously asked his mother.
"Hito, please be prepared to go upstairs and get your things. It looks like we're going to leave tonight," Inaba said weakly. Suzuki then came into the room with a small pouch.
"Here is your money, madam," Suzuki said as he gave the pouch to Anna. Anna opened it and spilled the contents of the pouch into her palm, which only equaled to about thirty beri and a few beri coins.
"My work here is done. Come along, Capricorns," Prince Pollux said before Cressidia and Suzuki led the Capricorns away.
"Why do you do this… I want my money!" Anna yelled. As Prince Pollux turned around and laughed, Anna glared at the little amount of money in her hand as she balled her hands into fists. The Capricorn Pirates could felt the dark and dangerous killing aura that surrounded the black haired girl as she smirked darkly.
"Damn Prince... You think you can get away just like this...?" She muttered angrily as she ran towards the prince and gave him a very hard kick on his face. "HELL NO! YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR IT!"
Prince Pollux smiled. Right then and there, everybody knew that a massive amount of fighting was about to go down.
"If that's the case… You are free to use one of the Capricorns. If you kill him, I will give you more money," Prince Pollux said as he pushed a nervous Daisuke forward.
"P-Please spare me!" Daisuke cried.
Meanwhile, the Capricorns were being escorted into a large, stony room.
"Cressidia, Suzuki, bring fourth the captain," Prince Pollux explained. But, Yuki-Rin stepped forward before the prince's entourage could do anything.
"If that's the case, bring it on. What you have done to many people is unforgiveable, and you deserve to have karma beat you up and spit on you for what you have done," Yuki-Rin explained as she pointed her katana at Prince Pollux.
"Excellent! Suzuki, grab whoever you think is the first mate! They're gonna have to answer a few questions," Prince Pollux ordered. Suzuki grabbed Heathcliffe.
"Hey! What are you doing? I'm the musician, not the first mate!" Heathcliffe cried as Suzuki carried him off. Aki got out her spear.
"Put Sarutobi-kun down, now!" Aki yelled as she ran up to Suzuki and tackled him to the floor, allowing Heathcliffe to roll over and get up.
"Thanks, Aki. I thought I was gonna be a goner for a second," Heathcliffe said, almost breathlessly. Aki put her hand on Heathcliffe's shoulder.
"Sarutobi-kun, don't be alarmed when I say this. I'm going in to my first battle. I'll be fine," Aki told Heathcliffe, who kissed her.
"Good luck out there, Aki. Remember, when all hope seems lost for you, call out to me," Heathcliffe explained. With a nod, Aki walked up to Suzuki.
"I may be a pretty face, but I could be the one who ends up defeating you," Aki told Suzuki, who smirked and got a sword out.
"Bring it, girlie!" Suzuki said as he charged his sword to Aki, who blocked it with her spear. Aki was able to overpower Suzuki, who stepped back out of fear.
"Damn, you're good! But, you won't be when I'm done with you!" Suzuki yelled before he charged at Aki again. Aki tried to block it with her spear, but she missed and grazed Suzuki's neck. Suzuki also missed his hit, and he grazed Aki's shoulder.
"Eek!" Aki cried out.
"Worried about your hair or your dress yet? A girl like you shouldn't be fighting," Suzuki taunted Aki, who just took a deep breath.
"They'll be fine. I can sew my dress back together. It's not the end of the world," Aki said before she tried to stab Suzuki in the head. While trying to stab Suzuki, he hit Aki with the handle of his blade and knocked her to the floor.
"Is this… All I can do? If so… I did pretty well for my first battle," Aki thought to herself as she went unconscious.
When Aki awoke, she was standing in an odd place, where her surrondings were all white. Standing in front of Aki was a clone of her, who was naked and lacking in anatomical features.
"What… What am I doing here?" Aki asked herself.
"I represent your vanity. There is no way in hell that we can coexist together. You can't be a strong fighter and be pretty at the same time, too," Aki's clone explained.
"W-Why? I made a promise with Sarutobi-kun to –" Aki asked before her vanity cut her off.
"Sarutobi-kun is dead to you. He'd rather love you for your looks that for you well you can fight. He doesn't love a good fighter, because he'd rather have a meek, whiny girl like you," Aki's vanity explained. Aki's grip on her spear tightened.
"Take that back! Sarutobi-kun said he was going to love me, no matter what! You don't understand how much I love him!" Aki pleaded, on the verge of tears. Her vanity smirked.
"Very well then. Don't come crying to me when this Sarutobi-kun dumps you and you become a whore looking for a man in your life," Aki's vanity explained. Aki screamed.
"Strength and beauty can co-exist together!" Aki screamed as she stabbed her vanity with her spear. (1)
Outside of Aki's head, she had now stabbed Suzuki right through the heart. As he fell to the ground dying, Heathcliffe ran up to Aki. Her hair was out of her ponytail and in a mess, her face was very sweaty, and she was covered in blood.
"I-I…" Aki sttured.
"Good job, Aki. You did amazing out there, and you held your own," Heathcliffe said lovingly before kissing Aki. A small smile crept up onto Aki's face.
"Thank you, Sarutobi-kun. I love you. Please, don't leave me because I want to be beautiful and strong," Aki said, almost in a whisper. Heathcliffe stroked Aki's hair back.
"Don't worry, I won't. I will always stay with you, because I love you," Heathcliffe said before kissing Aki again. Hand-in-hand, the two walked out of the room, leaving the corpse of Suzuki behind.
(1) - That whole sequence was supposed be some sort of small dream Aki had while she was knocked unconscious for that brief period of time.
Review if you want to see Prince Pollux get defeated.