CHAPTER 38 - Difficult! Reliable Friends in Dark Times
That evening Shinobu had an argument with Law, who had been recovering from his ordeal.
"I asked you countless times. Why are you so stubborn?" she bellowed.
"It's alright, now. The worst has passed." Law replied, trying to calm the fired-up woman.
"I don't understand you pirates. Every one of you is insane."
"How's Zoro-ya? Heard he took a beating from Doflamingo. You might wanna check on him."
"I did, despite his reluctance. He's alright." She turned around and found Zoro entering the room. The latter found her serious look.
"What?" Zoro asked in confusion.
Shinobu turned back to Law, took a deep breath and calmed down.
"How are you feeling now?" she asked.
"Nothing much. Except for a sting at the wound. That goddamn Gyutaro is dead and yet he's a pain." Law said. "Tama-ya was adamant that I stay in bed for a while."
"That's right. You are reckless. I'm surprised since you are a doctor, and a skilled one at that."
Law couldn't figure out if it was a compliment or contempt.
"Tama-ya and the others kinda said the same thing. I was reckless, alright." he said.
"Well, as long as you understand." Shinobu said. "I'll come back and check on you later tonight. Aoi shall be reporting to me of your antics."
Law observed the young Aoi beside Shinobu.
"Right." Law sighed, and lay down on his bed.
"You should take care of yourself, Law-san." remarked Kanao.
Law was getting tired of hearing the same thing. He regretted his negligence thanks to all the guff he was forced to hear. He found Giyu Tomioka next to the young girl.
"You wanna add something?" he asked.
"What she said." Tomioka replied, indicating Kanao, "That Demon lady, Tamayo, said you were in the process of turning into a Demon. Close shave, huh?"
"All's past now."
"Alright, come on everyone. We need to give the man some rest." Shinobu advised.
Zoro stayed behind whilst the others left the room.
"You wanted to talk?" he asked.
"You do know what's going on, don't you?" Law replied.
"You mean Fujitora and the former Fleet Admiral?"
"They are trouble. More so than Jack alone."
Zoro nodded.
"And then, there's Doflamingo. From the things I could figure out from Ubuyashiki's report, it seems the Demons were on cordial terms with that bastard. Tama-ya and Ubuyashiki believe Kibutsuji might want to turn Doflamingo to their side." Law said.
"Doflamingo seems unlikely to turn a Demon. He's a monster, to begin with. More so than that Kibutsuji, I'll say. How do you say the Demons were 'cordial'?"
"Ubuyashiki's scouts say he was unchained, unlike the other prisoners. The others don't know the threat should Kibutsuji and Doflamingo form some kind of alliance."
"It's unlikely but probable, both being nutcases."
"We can't leave this place unless we have sorted out this big mess. Doflamingo, Jack, the Marines, Moria, the two of us, we don't belong here, and we can't leave things at that. These people are trusting us with something more than simply expecting us to beat the tar out of Demons."
Zoro knew he had been eager to return back to the New World. After a moment of pensive silence, he made a difficult choice to agree with Law's intention.
"I just hope Kaido has not found our crews. Don't want to miss out on the fun." Zoro grinned.
"My crew can handle themselves for the while. I believe your crew must have reached Zou by now, unless they are yet searching for us out at sea. I can expect that from Straw Hat-ya and the others. Until I can get back up, unfortunately, the return plans are at a halt."
"Don't worry about that. I'll find the way back without your help."
Law made an instinctive scoff at the statement. Zoro glared at him, leaving the room with a growl.
"Damn, this bastard's fast." Kid remarked, grinning at the Demon ahead. "He's unlike the other riff-raffs."
"It's been a while since we met some good fight." Killer said.
"Leave this beast to me. You go on and find the crew before they are into more trouble." Kid said.
"You sure?"
"I can take this guy."
"Alright." Killer moved away from the battle getting past the blue-stripped Demon. The latter made no chase, but gave a quick glance at the pirate before returning upon Kid.
"Your friend won't last long in the night." remarked the Demon.
"You best worry about yourself." Kid replied. "There ain't much of metals out here to perform a Gibson, but it's enough to bury you six feet under."
Kid lifted his metallic arm aiming it towards the Demon.
"Very well." The Demon grinned, taking a stance.
"Compass Needle." He muttered glaring towards Kid. His glare turned to a surprise getting knowledge of the man's fighting spirit.
"Very interesting." the Demon grinned, "I haven't seen this kind of Fighting Spirit ever since that fight with Kyojuro Rengoku. More so. I can't understand why the Master's obsessed with the kid and her Demon sister. A prime specimen of true threat right here."
"What are you blabbering about?" Kid demanded.
"Let's see what you have got." the Demon got back straight up and pulled a punch, throwing it from the distance at immeasurable speed.
Kid sensed what was about to come, hurling his metallic arm in front of him. A large shockwave dented the big pile of metal, pushing Kid a metre back.
"Not bad." He remarked with a grin.
The Demon rushed in, throwing a melee heavy punch upon close range. Kid saw it coming, blocking it with his metal arm. He felt the strength of the enemy, and knew his metal arm would be smashed into a pulp if he wasn't careful. Another punch flew in from the Demon's other arm almost slamming onto Kid's face. The latter made an uppercut to deflect the strike. The Demon followed with a heavy kick onto Kid's abdomen, which hit hard with an added shockwave. But much to the Demon's surprise, Kid made no wince but continued to glare back with the same intensity.
"A usual human would have been dead from that attack." remarked the Demon, glad that he faced a formidable opponent.
"You are talking to the wrong opponent, pal." retorted Kid.
An immediate punch followed from the Demon's right arm.
The Demon was dumbfounded to find Kid, undefended, and managing to dodge the point-blank punch. Kid made no blink dodging the blow that went past his face. It was his turn to retaliate, slamming his right human arm imbued with Armament Haki onto the Demon's face, sending the latter flying a few distances.
"Get ready to die!" bellowed Kid, in full battle mood.
Law, though feeling better, found himself at an unease of mind. He told Aoi to get some rest giving her his word that he won't do anything reckless at night.
As for the security at the Butterfly Mansion, Zoro, Nezuko and Zenitsu took responsibility.
"You saw your friend, did you not?" Shinobu demanded. "You'll end up just like him if you don't rest."
Zoro and the kids found the Lady of the Mansion, carrying a sake flask, enjoying the indulgence.
"I wasn't stabbed by any Demon, you know. Unless you consider the fight with Doflamingo. But he's a human, despite his madness." Zoro gave a point. Shinobu handed him the flask, sitting down next to him by the wooden corridor next to the courtyard. Zoro took a large gulp.
"You will take watch for half the night. I'll be on the watch for the latter half." Shinobu said. "You haven't been getting much sleep these past few days."
"Speak for yourself, lady. You have been working with that Demon Lady, Tamayo, at night whilst training during the day." Zoro replied. He realised that Shinobu was exhausted from the day's work. Added to her training and research, she had to take care of wounded Demon Slayers as well as supervise rehabilitation for them.
"Here." Zoro handed Shinobu the flask.
"I did not ask you to take the jobs. The Master did not expect you to take my Demon assignments, or Tomioka's, or Kanao's for that matter."
"I took the few Demon hunts from Ubuyashiki to compensate for your training. The blind fellow was pretty adamant about the work. And besides, I took them because people were in peril."
"How did you find your way around? I was surprised you weren't lost."
Zoro took the query with affront.
"I took down those Demons. It doesn't mat..."
"I know Tengen Uzui's wives went along with you upon your beckon. You are turning out quite the man, haven't you? Uzui must be pleased."
"Now, you are starting to sound like a shipmate of mine. Always bossing around and being annoying at that. And don't you compare me to our ship's idiot cook. I'd bet he'd be hopeless against your ramblings." Zoro retorted.
"Oh, my. I'm so sorry." A tone of sarcasm in Shinobu's voice. The alcohol taking effect.
"Look, Tomioka, yourself and the kid, Kanao, need to work on learning Haki should Jack come knocking on our doors. It took me two years to get proper control. You three are fortunate that you are starting to get some hang of the basics."
"You need not worry about that. Hashiras are known to withstand hard and challenging training. But that won't help us beat Jack, would it?"
"Well, I haven't met the guy so I can't really tell, but from what Tomioka had mentioned, at the least you won't die without giving a fight. You are a smart woman. And with battle wits, Haki will give you an advantage."
Shinobu's face turned red from the alcohol.
"What's up with you? Are you always soft against women? You did not even use Armament Haki in our practice duel yesterday." she bellowed.
"It doesn't matter! You are training on Observation Haki right now. And I think you should focus on that instead of griping."
"Don't you dare talk back to me, Pirate Hunter. I have gotten stronger, and I'll give you a hard time with my blade sooner than later."
Zoro had an amused look, "We'll see."
On the side, Zenitsu was baffled to find the unexpected argument. He had a feeling Zoro was a roughneck, being a pirate. But he had never seen Lady Shinobu irritated, loud and open-minded before. He recalled her calm demeanour and the often smile no matter the situation.
"What happened to her?" Zenitsu asked Nezuko, finding the drastic change.
Nezuko shook her head, confused the same.
By the end of the third hour, all but Nezuko were asleep on the wooden floor of the walkway next to the courtyard. Lady Tamayo had just walked past the group, appreciating Nezuko's vigilant watch, and sighing at the sleeping guards. Zenitsu slept soundly on the wooden floor. Zoro kept his blade by his side, whilst dozing off by a wooden beam. But most of all, she was amused to find Shinobu sleeping peacefully, drunk, in Zoro's arms.
Lady Tamayo had heard of Shinobu's history that a Demon named Doma had been responsible for killing her older sister, making the Insect Hashira despise Demons to a level of a personal grudge. Sumi and the girls had mentioned to her that Shinobu never showed anger or resentment despite her past. Tamayo realised that the Insect Hashira had shut off her emotions, dedicating her life as a Demon Slayer until the end.
But as the previous week progressed, Tamayo realised that some of the rumours she had heard were untrue. Despite being a Demon Slayer, Shinobu was training under Zoro with the main goal of fighting and defeating strong pirates, instead of Demons. Added to that, Shinobu showed considerable involvement with the pirates, who were considered outlaws by society. The Hashiras had considered them outsiders during their first meeting with Ubuyashiki, and yet, Shinobu had defended these outsiders during the prestigious meeting. Not to mention Tamayo's own concerns when she was asked by Ubuyashiki to collaborate with a Hashira amongst all Demon Slayers. No matter what Ubuyashiki might have ordered, no Hashira would have taken a Demon in their homes. But her acceptance by Shinobu into the Butterfly Mansion had been the most amiable and unprejudiced, much to her awe.
Tamayo, though benevolent, was a Demon nonetheless. She was surprised, when she did not wake the sleeping Insect Hashira. She then looked upon Zoro and gave an appreciative grin. She wondered.
Zoro, in a way, helped Shinobu get stronger, making her trust more of her allies regardless of distinction, and most important of all, helping Shinobu open up her true emotions.
Lady Tamayo left the courtyard with a clear conscience.
TO BE CONTINUED...