Lesson
Fox leaped onto the roof of the courthouse behind her captain just in time to hear Blueno say:
"It seems that all of you still haven't noticed this sort of thing is a global-scale grand offense."
"Fox has noticed," she offered, shifting her shoulders and patting Luffy's shoulder as she stopped just behind him and a little to the left. "Fox just doesn't care." The agent with the cow-horn hair stiffened as he noticed her, no doubt remembering the confrontation in the Gallery-La building where she had bested Lucci.
"What're you talking about?" Luffy asked, not acknowledging Fox' presence beyond a faint shift in posture.
Blueno glanced at Fox before giving the Straw-Hat a brief run-down on the World Government and what invading Enies Lobby would mean in the future. Before Luffy could charge the agent however, Fox tapped him on the shoulder.
"Can Fox do this? Please? Captain should save himself for Kitten."
"Kitten?" Luffy repeated. "Oh, yeah, Pigeon-Guy!" He paused, frowning for a moment.
"Captain can watch," Fox pleaded. "Fox wants to teach Ox a lesson." Across the roof Blueno frowned at the insulting nickname. Luffy gazed at her for a moment, then nodded. Fox smiled and charged the agent.
Right before she entered his range however she vanished from sight.
Blueno did not have time to gape at her abrupt disappearance as blinding pain shot through his right hand and he lost control of his fingers.
"The first duty of the assassin is to strike unseen," said the woman known only as Fox as he turned to face her, his right hand dangling uselessly from his wrist. "An assassin does not make public their moves, motives or employers; an assassin is anonymous." She vanished again.
"Tekkai," Blueno said instantly, activating the defence, but his right elbow was still subjected to a painful strike that rendered his entire lower arm unresponsive. His eyes widened; how had she bypassed his defence?
"An assassin pinpoints weakness and strikes it precisely," his opponent continued, her voice having taken on the calm, didactic tone Blueno remembered from his days in training. "No strike is wasted; no target is missed." She vanished again. This time Blueno tried to dodge, using Soru to move himself away. The terrible pain that shot through his right shoulder and briefly pierced his brain however told him he had been unsuccessful.
"How?" he gasped at the woman who was now standing in front of him, her face overshadowed by her hat.
"An assassin is not the strongest of fighters, but the most accurate," Fox went on as though he hadn't spoken at all. "Speed is preferable to strength and a flexible mind stands above both. An assassin always remembers the mission and does not become sidetracked by petty distractions." This time Blueno tried to attack before she could, but she slipped through his fingers like smoke and disabled his left hand in passing. The agent turned at once and fired a Rankyaku strike across the rooftop; without his hands Shigan was now out of the question, though he doubted it would have worked anyway.
"An assassin knows their emotions completely but is not controlled by them," continued Fox' voice as the dust settled, coming from everywhere and nowhere as Blueno turned this way and that looking for her. "Rather they are strengthened by them. An assassin does not assume, but investigates thoroughly and verifies as far as possible before taking action." Blueno's left elbow went numb.
"Tekkai Rin," Blueno gasped and lunged towards the shadow on the edge of his vision that was Monkey D. Luffy. He didn't ever reach the pirate: blinding pain pierced his shoulder and dropped him to the flat, tiled roof that was their battleground, breathing hoarsely and trying not to throw up.
"An assassin is always ready for change, but does not plan so extensively they become mired in unnecessary details," continued the infuriatingly level voice above him. "An assassin is unafraid, because they walk with Death every day and know it better than any other."
Blueno knew now that they had made a grave mistake in targeting the Straw-Hat pirates; he had heard rumours of free-lance assassins on the Grand Line –there were rumours about everything and anything– but he'd never believed them. It seemed for once the rumour had held a grain of truth. He used his Devil Fruit to get away and tried to ambush her from behind. It failed, so he used Soru to keep moving, hoping the loss of feeling in his arms would not be permanent.
"An assassin does not brawl; neither do they show off their skills to those of lesser ability," came the voice of the woman again, cutting through his thoughts and filling him with profound concern. "An assassin's anonymity is their greatest treasure, for none can guard against the unknown." She stopped in front of him, a frown visible above the top of her sunglasses. "You and your colleagues are not worthy of being considered assassins, Ox. As Fox told Kitten earlier, you are nothing more than hitmen."
Blueno couldn't argue; it wasn't worth it and this was not an opponent he was comfortable pissing off. Instead he attacked with Rankyaku, dodged with Soru then attacked again.
"Hey!" Luffy's voice came from the sidelines. "I see how he does it now!"
Blueno froze.
"Fox shall finish him then." Fox' voice was right by the agent's ear but pain devoured him and dragged him down into darkness before he could respond.
Luffy looked down at the Cow Guy lying flat on his face on the roof. "Did you kill him?"
Fox shrugged. "Fox can if Captain wants but Fox was teaching Ox a lesson, so Ox will live to learn from it. If Ox does not learn Fox can kill him later." She turned and smiled at him. "Has Captain leaned as well?"
"Yeah!" Luffy said brightly. "I can do that Soru-thing now." He demonstrated, zipping this way and that across the rooftop. "But I didn't see how you did your thing; you were even faster than he was."
Fox ducked her head. "Soru is a cheat; Fox is just fast. You saw them use Shigan, at the Gallery-La mansion?"
"Yeah?" Luffy also remembered how much it had hurt.
"Fox moves feet like Shigan moves hands: swift but controlled. It is harder than Soru, but more efficient and accurate." Fox smirked. "Faster too, as Captain saw."
"How come he didn't see you?" Luffy asked. It had been very interesting seeing how the Cow Guy had always been so confused after she moved; Luffy had been able to see where she landed but her opponent never had.
Fox waggled a finger at her captain. "Naughty Captain, asking Fox for secrets! Fox will share this once though: eyes can only see so far, so Fox moved just past where Ox' eyes could follow and was still. Still things are harder to see."
"So you hid and made yourself invisible!" Luffy determined.
Fox giggled; Luffy liked the carefree sound. "Yes, Fox did. Fox was fair though; no special powers, not even when Ox cheated. Fox is a conscientious teacher."
"All that stuff you said…" Luffy went over her words in his mind, "you are an assassin, aren't you? That's why you haven't got a bounty."
"Fox is. Fox will get one after today though, Fox thinks. There are too many Seagulls for Fox to kill them all and we are here to rescue Blackbird, not kill people," his white-haired nakama told him calmly.
"Have I ruined your dream?" Luffy asked intently. He hadn't meant to. Fox never volunteered things and Luffy forgot he had to ask; her unflinching obedience was completely unlike the rest of the crew's attitudes and he sometimes overlooked the fact she had a past on the Grand Line.
"No; Fox' dream is to have strong nakama and Captain is doing very well," she told him with a smile. "If Fox needs a bounty to keep her nakama then Fox will have a bounty. Fox' other name will not have a bounty through, or Fox' family will get into trouble."
Luffy blinked before remembering she was related to the swordsman Zoro was trying to beat. Oh, and she had a mom in Sabaody she wanted to introduce to them. But still… "Your dream is to have strong nakama?"
"Yes;" Fox nodded, "nakama who won't let me go; nakama who are strong enough to look after themselves when I can't be there and can rescue me if I need it."
Luffy raised a fist. "I promise I'll get stronger than everyone! So if you need help I can save you!"
Fox tilted his hat up and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank-you."
Fox gets to play and we find out her dream!