"Huagh!"
She dropped to a crouch, the breeze from that last attack ruffling the hairs at the back of her neck. Without waiting her leg whipped out into a low sweeping strike.
Helmeppo grunted, knees buckling, but still managed to keep his balance.
Now!
Flipping herself upright, Strauss twisted herself as if to slam her entire body into his side, a simple and overt movement that would hopefully-
WHAM!
The butt of a kukri drove itself into her stomach. Strauss gagged, letting her posture go limp as the air got forced out of her body.
BAM!
The second kukri thwacked against her neck… sending her sprawling across the training room floor and out of the ring.
"Match." Vice Admiral Garp's right hand man (she thought his name was Bogard but he never actually referred to himself as such. "This is Helmeppo's victory."
She groaned, wiping away the thin trail of blood coming from her nose. That had hurt far more than she'd expected it would. Dammit. It really was time to work on her defence a little more…
"Awww, don't worry Val." A voice yelled from the sidelines. "You'll get him next time!"
Val. That was what they called her here. Not exactly the most subtle of pseudonyms, but 'Strauss' was a rather obvious name to attach to herself. At least 'Val' was relatively ambiguous.
"C-Coby!" Her sparring partner span on his heel furiously, stowing his twin kukri into his belt. "What happened to being friends?! Why're you rooting for her every single time we fight?!"
"Hey," He gave a cheeky grin "I like the underdogs I guess."
Tch.
Limping to the bench Strauss yanked a towel off the neat pile. Without hesitation her head dove into it… hiding the distaste plastered over her face.
He liked rooting for the underdogs huh? Did he really believe he would be able to say the same thing when he was in the same position they were? Fighting against insurmountable odds for merely a hope of winning? Would he still say it with that enthusiastic and naive smile when hundreds and thousands of potential 'underdogs' got stomped out every passing day?
Sickening.
Privilege and entitlement had gone to his head.
It echoed through this entire facility.
A sudden hand on her shoulder sent an involuntary shudder down her spine. Glancing behind, she forced a smile on her face, "Commander Bogard, sir! My apologies… it appears that I still have a long ways to go before I catch up with-"
Cold steely eyes beneath his fedora cut her short.
…
Oh god.
"We… uh…" Coby ushered a still raving Helmeppo out of the training hall. "We'll go run some laps for a bit while you guys… talk." He shot her an apologetic look, which she promptly ignored.
If anything, she would much prefer confronting whatever this was without an audience.
The door clicked shut. Leaving her and Bogard in the empty room. The hum of the air conditioning unit was so much louder. Simultaneously quiet and deafening. Calming and anxiety inducing.
Her fingers twitched. Was this the end? Had she been outed? It was unlikely, she had been as careful as physically possible, but nothing was impossible. If that was so, could she stall Bogard enough to send a signal back to Law on the Polar Tang? He was a good swordsman… it would be a rough fight-
"My orders are to unlock your full potential."
…hm? She blinked innocently, "And you have, sir. Well, you are. I'm not presumptuous enough to believe I've reached that point yet."
The truth, believe it or not. While she hadn't trained long enough to make any major differences (obviously) the exercises she'd been taught were ones she would definitely file away for a later date.
Particularly that one about kicking off the ground ten times in the blink of an eye. That one wasn't like anything she'd ever heard before.
"Then answer me this-"
Strauss recoiled as Bogard's stony face lent far too close to hers for comfort, starched fedora brim digging into her forehead.
"-how the hell am I supposed to train you to your so called full potential if you don't even use it in a fight."
"What do you mean sir, I-"
A hand gripped her collar. "Don't fuck with me kid. I haven't been fighting as long as I have to get the wool pulled over my eyes by a snotty nosed brat. I saw the way you goaded that whiner into hitting you. You're too smart to make stupid mistakes like that unintentionally."
Dammit. So he had noticed she was holding back huh? Well… Her brains wracked for a plausible excuse. She didn't exactly want Marines analysing her fighting style and physical capabilities… Ace's execution was tomorrow. She needed to catch them by surprise if she had even a hope of getting him out alive.
"Look." Without warning, the commander released her collar and stalked off towards the door. "I get that you're used to women being treated like weaklings. Things are beginning to change now, but that sorta stuff can stick in your brain whether you like it or not." His hand paused on the doorframe. "Here you don't have to hide your strength. Those two kids aren't fragile enough to have their egos broken after being defeated by a woman. Hell, if anything it'd do them good. So next time-" Bogard glared back at her, a smirk playing at his lips- "I expect you to knock 'em both on their asses. Now get some rest. We've got a big day tomorrow, and the Vice Admiral wants you there for some reason."
"Y-Yessir."
The door clicked shut. Leaving Strauss alone in the training hall.
She ran a hand down her face. Whatever the hell had just happened, at least she hadn't been found out.
Women treated like weaklings? Hiding her strength? Don't make her laugh. What sort of bullshit was that?!
But she couldn't be bothered to get pissed over such a trivial statement. It made no difference to her now. She knew she was stronger than most, so what did anyone else's opinion matter?
Slinging the towel over her shoulder, Strauss gathered up her things and began moving towards the shower area.
Instead, she should spend her time doing something more productive. Like resting up as Bogard said. After all…
Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.
.
"Just leave her to us."
The blizzard roared on, piles upon piles of snow beginning to obscure the bright colours of the Biscuits Room. But not even the roar of wind could obscure the deafening clashes of steel against steel.
Zoro's blades were blurs. Mere flashes of light as they twisted and turned in all directions imaginable to avoid getting impaled. Monet grinned hungrily above, her ice picks teasingly trying to poke through his defence. It was all Strauss could do to keep herself standing in her half weakened state. The shockwaves were just too intense.
Could she really do this? She'd given all that strong talk earlier, mostly because she'd needed it herself, but… Hell! She was fairly certain she died for a moment there! Or came way too fucking close to death for her liking! As much as she hated to say it, she really wasn't in good fighting condition right now.
Well. She shrugged. That was fine.
"Hey. Roronoa."
She was far better as a support anyways.
"What?" He barked without turning.
"How good's your Observation?"
" 's alright."
"Good. Flurry-"
The snow clung to her feet, drawing her deeper and deeper into the growing snowbanks, "Oh I don't believe your speed can help you now, Straussy."
"Hah." She forced a smile onto her face. If she angled her feet just so… and deliberately tried to dig into the snow…"That's what you think. Step."
The room erupted into a cloud of white.
Strauss could barely see where she was running. The layers of snow dug up and flung into the air by her own footsteps completely enshrouded any form of familiarity she could use to orient herself. She… she hadn't actually been that sure this would work. She'd developed this technique to run on top of the snow after all. Not through it. But not that it mattered.
Now Monet wasn't the only one who could cause a blizzard.
Hopefully the other Straw Hats were taking this chance to escape. She was trying to avoid their area as much as she could, but it wasn't like Strauss could actually control each individual snowflake.
Argh… her legs were already beginning to burn. Her weakened heart couldn't keep up with the additional load of deliberately kicking up several inches of snow. Good. The pain would keep her warm. Focus on the warmth.
A low curse from the epicentre of the room caught her attention. Monet was on the move. Closing her eyes (it wasn't like she could see much right now) she tried her hardest to predict where exactly the harpy was heading. Her own Observation Haki was alright. Better than her Armament by far, but just alright… and running round and round in circles didn't exactly help pinpoint a location. So she had to rely on more traditional methods. The air. The way the snow under her shoes ebbed and flowed in intensity. The sound of rustled feathers.
The wind abruptly shifted on her face. Directing to somewhere towards the door.
"So. That's where you are."
Foot skidding against the ice she changed directions. Making a beeline towards a set of three figures, one being carried, desperately sprinting for the exit.
One turned as the makeshift blizzard slowly subsided. "Hey what're you doing? D-don't run at us like that!"
"OI DON'T USE ME AS A SHIELD!"
Before she'd even made it there, Strauss's blackening fingers stretched up… catching the ends of an icepick right before it skewered itself through Nami's skull.
Fuck. She cursed under her breath. So Monet had chosen the smart approach.
"Ah…" Nami's wide eyes took in the sharp needle mere inches from her face. "Ah…!"
"What a shame Strauss. I must say that I do not appreciate your betrayal." A demonic smile began materialising amidst the dying snowstorm. "Your Captain was one thing… but I believed we had something. Joker thought you had something. I thought you were smarter than this!"
Arching a brow, Strauss said nothing. It wasn't worth rising to the bait. Talking would make her unfocused, and being unfocused would make her sloppy, and being sloppy would get her killed. She couldn't die. Not just yet.
The sound of footsteps, barely loud enough to hear over the roaring wind, was enough to make her twist backwards… allowing Zoro's attack to deflect the second of Monet's icepicks.
"Why the fuck aren't you fighting me," he growled menacingly.
"Why?" Monet cocked her head teasingly. "Because it's smart to eliminate the weaker enemies first." She soared back, causing both Strauss and Zoro to stumble from the lack of opposition. "That is something Strauss and I agree on."
Strauss felt numerous glares dig into her back and sighed. Did they seriously not realise the merits of that strategy? Or see the benefits of being misclassified as 'weak'?
No wonder Sanji fit in with this idiotic bunch.
"Zoro. Strauss. Step aside!" A ginger blur zipped through the opening, brandishing her weapon into Monet's wing. "HEAT EGG!"
The harpy gasped in wordless agony, a gaping hole now directed around the glowing orb at the end of Nami's staff.
"Nice!" Nami drew back, admiring her handiwork. "The heat worked, just as I thought!"
"Get out of here already," Zoro glared.
"Sure… sure…"
Two icepicks thudded to the ground as Monet descended, nursing the dripping hole in her wing. A hole that was already beginning to suck in the surrounding snowflakes and reform.
Strauss glanced towards Robin, Chopper, and Nami, already halfway towards the door, then back towards Monet. And the tongue swiping across her lips.
They weren't going fast enough.
Before she could hesitate, she ran, aligning herself directly in between the two mobile figures. Right before she got to them she slowed. And raised her arms out by her sides.
"Wh-" Nami blinked as she got scooped up by Strauss's left arm. "What?!"
"Many thanks." Robin said as she got carried by the other. At least someone on the crew had a lick of sense!
The wind howled in her ears, teasing laughter echoing in its wake.
She was coming.
It was harder with the extra weight. Slower. Strauss could feel the lack of friction against her boots with every step. But the combination of her forward momentum and the slick ice was enough. Enough to push them forwards. Enough to get them out of the way.
Enough to force them through the doorway just before dense snow rose up to seal the exit around Strauss's outstretched arms.
Her fingers were going numb. She could practically feel the blood freeze in her veins… all the way through to her fingertips. Her fingers had only made it about half way. There was still another solid foot or two of snow stretching out beyond her. She could tell. The sheer feeling of such dense cold was so unnerving that she couldn't quite think straight.
"M-Miss Strauss!" Chopper yelled on the other side of the wall, "Are you alright?! You're not stuck in there are you?!"
She gave a sharp yank. Then another. Nothing.
…probably.
It was as if her arms had been trapped in concrete. The wall was perfectly moulded to each and every contour of her arm, from the flex of her fingers to the crease in her elbows. And too dense for her to try and weaken, especially with the limited Haki she had.
"You really are quite foolish."
Her head jerked back… only to drain of all its colour. She'd been wrong before. Monet hadn't been a monster then.
"By letting those idiots escape, you have instead volunteered to sign your own death warrant."
Because this was far more monstrous than anything she'd ever seen.
Gone was the facade of flesh and hair and feathers. In its place were snowflake wings, frosty limbs, and icicle sharp teeth mere seconds away from ripping into her neck.
Instinctively Strauss's chest coiled in on itself, flexing against the strain from her shoulders.
Her captain's still beating heart thudding far slower than her own pulse.
This was bad. Very, very, bad.
"I was initially planning on sparing you, you know." An icy wind hissed into her ear. "You were always so fun to toy with. So headstrong, yet calculating. Joker even thought about recruiting you for his own."
Oh Strauss didn't believe that for a second.
"But…" She sighed, her teeth getting longer and longer and longer until they were practically the size of her hand. "You've simply become too much of a nuisance to keep alive. A pity, I know, but it must be done."
CRACK!
Strauss grimaced, her shoulders and core aching as she twisted her entire body up and off the ground to slam her feet against Monet's gaping maw. The harpy howled as several of her teeth snapped, the slight Haki coating Strauss's shoes being just enough to avoid being impaled on the freezing spikes.
This was agony. Sheer and utter agony. Strauss had to bite down on her lip as her shoulders began crying out in pain. This would be bad enough if she was facing the other way round- shoulders were not designed to hold a person's body weight- but given her current position? Where she was practically upside down with everything up to her forearms trapped in snow? Yeah no. Even for her great flexibility, this was not good.
Her eyes slammed shut in an attempt to focus her strength on her core and legs. They were trembling… but as long as they held she'd be fine. She'd keep on holding her back. Stopping those teeth from getting closer from digging themselves into her flesh.
She knew what those teeth did to body parts. She'd witnessed it firsthand.
Law would be royally pissed if she came back with a missing limb.
"RRRGH!" Monet snarled, straining so close that Strauss could feel the air freeze around her face.
Sweat poured down her face, practically boiling against the sub-zero temperatures. Her body was so knotted, so strained. And if she went any further there was a chance that…
Monet lunged again. And Strauss felt one of her shoulders give.
Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfu-
"Oi Strauss! Kick her back!"
Blood filling her mouth as she tried to stifle screaming, Strauss drew forth all the strength she had left. Her legs recoiled… and recoiled…
Cold air breathed against her neck, fangs practically inches from digging into her skin.
-Before slamming the harpy as far back as she physically could.
Allowing a blade to slice straight through her snowy head.
Strauss let out a small breath of air, shifting her weight to avoid leaning on her aching shoulder. It wasn't dislocated (probably, the snow was making her body too numb to really tell), but still hurt way more than she was comfortable with. Hopefully Law would be able to get a look at it once this whole thing was over.
"Gone again…" She heard a muttered curse behind her. "Damn Logias…"
Wholeheartedly agreed. But complaints could wait. "Just get me down before she reforms if you please."
A grunt- "Keep still-" then all she was aware of was that the wall she was attached to was tilting forwards and she was being pulled with it as an entire segment toppled out and into the hallway ending in a-
THUMP!
"Uuuugh." Her head span. Her everything span. Especially looking at the perfectly straight lines that swordsman had cut in that damn ice wall. But, she flexed her fingers, at least her hands were free. And working which was a relief. The impact had crushed the snow around her, but not her actual body. "Thanks for that."
"You helped the others get out of here," Zoro replied tersely, "so we owed you one."
He didn't ask about her shoulder, which she was thankful for. Whether it was because he genuinely didn't notice or just decided not to draw attention to it… either was fine. She wasn't after pity or sympathy.
Memories zipped through her. Of the Baratie. Blazing pain in her side. Forcing a smile onto her face to hide the bullet hole. Of fainting as soon as she'd climbed the stairs. Strauss shook them away.
She'd fought with worst injuries before.
"You know what?" He cocked his head back towards her. "You're not half bad."
Strauss rolled her eyes. "Should I be grateful for the compliment?"
"Makes me almost wish we had you instead of that pervy cook on our crew."
"Oh please." Together they marched forwards, back into the snowy wasteland that was once the Biscuits Room. "I can't even cook. And I believe he was chosen for your crew for a reason."
"Heh. Probably for the best."
"You people are so disrespectful." A fully reconstructed Monet touched down on the snow before them. "Every day we treated those children nicely. We allowed them to live in such great comfort. And what do you do? You try to take away those treasures from us. Their foster parents." Her head cocked slyly to the side, any hint of compassion gone from her face. "You're acting like pirates."
"Heh." Zoro scoffed. "So you've got no problem with it, yeah?"
"In case you've forgotten, we are pirates." Strauss rolled out her non aching shoulder. "So what's stopping us from doing whatever the hell we want."
"I said it was disrespectful." The wind howled, whipping faster and faster around Monet's wings. Honing the feathers into something sharper. Something colder. More sinister. "I would appreciate it if you would stop interfering with my duty. Sword Snow…"
In the second that followed, Strauss and Zoro exchanged a look. It wasn't one of complete trust and faith in the other, nor was it trying to impart hidden knowledge or sentiments from one person to the other. Neither of them were foolish enough for that. At the end of the day, this was a fight. And while they were allies, their allegiance and motivations were to their respective crews.
"-SKIN SWORD!"
CLANG!
Monet's knife-like wing clashed against Zoro's parallel blades. His brow twitched, straining against the serrated edge… but to the harpy's surprise… He didn't move. While she was putting all her force into slicing him into ribbons, the fact he wasn't doing a single thing to avoid it was odd to say the least.
Hang on.
Golden eyes widened as she saw the empty space next to him.
Where the hell was Stra-
Monet felt a sharp force dig into her back. Blinking, she turned… to see Valentino Strauss digging two Haki coated fingers into the base of her spine, having ducked away in the swordsman's shadow before she'd had a chance to notice.
That little…
Her back curled reflexively, giving Zoro all the opportunity he needed to lunge forwards and slice towards her torso. Strauss darted away again, this time returning to jab under her ribs. Monet hissed, panic beginning to set in on her face.
No. At the end of the day, it was just a look.
A look that acknowledged that they could work together. For the time being at least.
Although…
Strauss's brow furrowed as she ducked, a serrated wing soaring inches above her head.
There was something about the way Roronoa was attacking that unnerved her. Perhaps it was because she was used to Law's clean methodical cuts, which despite only maiming his opponent were never redundant or unnecessary.
And she'd heard so much about the 'Pirate Hunter's skill as well. Even all the way back on the Baratie he'd been good enough for Mihawk to spare him, and apparently he'd caused quite a stir on Fishman Island. But now?
Skidding against the snow her eyes flickered towards where he was taking the brunt of Monet's attacks.
He wasn't actually attacking. Even when it seemed as if he was making some use out of her attacks on Monet's pressure points, he never actually hit anything. His strokes were precise and calculated, similar to Law's, but they never quite extended their full reach. Monet always had just enough time to dodge or parry away.
Passing behind him, a ray of light glinting off Zoro's two katanas caught her eye. His very… non-Haki coated katanas…
Something was off. Very, very, off. And judging by the growing realisation on Monet's face she'd noticed it too. Damn.
Don't get frustrated… think… there must be some reasoning behind that idiot's actions, even it was perfectly stupid… but she couldn't defeat Monet alone… and Monet couldn't defeat Zoro…
But not at this rate!
Monet soared back, allowing the blades on her wings to melt away once more. "You've only been defending yourself instead of even trying to attack, Roronoa Zoro. Why is that?"
Zoro's lips tensed.
"Oh." A tongue swiped across her lips. "Could this be what I think it is?"
No… it probably wasn't. Strauss could remember the very heated rants Tashigi would go on whenever his name was mentioned (Smoker had left her to deal with most of those) about how he 'went easy on her' when they'd attacked. But he'd still attacked her and given her bruises. Strauss knew from experience that if someone wouldn't want to attack a woman, they wouldn't.
She knew from too much experience…
Besides, if he had a problem with it he wouldn't volunteer to stay behind to deal with her. And he'd said deal with her, which implied that he wasn't just stalling for time. His attacks definitely suggested he could finish Monet off whenever he wanted to, they had that sort of precision and accuracy after all, so then why…
She blinked.
No.
No please no.
The sheer rage that had started to roil inside her gut was threatening to overflow. She'd been struggling to fend Monet off. Struggling her very hardest with her limited Haki and dangerously weak body. While this guy…
She pursed her lips. She had to ask. She had to. This was the only way she'd actually figure this out. "Answer me seriously," hesitantly, she turned to glance up at him. "Do you even need my help here?"
The look he gave was answer enough.
"Hah!" Bitter laughter spilled out before she could help herself. "Hahahah…"
This… this wasn't real. It couldn't be. It really couldn't be. He seriously didn't think… But he obviously did, otherwise he wouldn't have answered her like that.
He thought Monet was too weak for him. That was why he wasn't fighting his hardest. He didn't think he needed to.
She'd been struggling so damn much… And she had caused so much damage already in this fight and had the potential to cause so much more… So to think that he could have ended this so much sooner, it just…
Haaaaah…
What could she do but laugh?
"You're an idiot."
With that, Strauss turned to stalk towards the gaping hole in the doorway. A hole that had been made with two swipes of a sword. She resisted the urge to hang her head. It was a blatant giveaway.
"I'm going where I'm needed." She resisted the urge to shoot a glare over her shoulder. "You just make sure you finish her off nicely."
Monet giggled, evidently assuming that this was impossible. And perhaps it was. Strauss didn't know Roronoa all that well. She didn't know how deep his pride stemmed. It was no longer her problem.
The sheer audacity… She couldn't even comprehend him. Or his actions. It wasn't practical in the slightest. If anyone on her crew had done that, she and Law would have made sure to throw them out immediately.
"Tch."
She'd rather go back to Zhelesk than become that big headed.
The air shifted behind her. Judging by her Observation, Monet was on the move again. Probably trying to stop her leave. Strauss sighed. Before she would have been more worried, but now… this was just annoying. But fine.
A sheen of black coated her fingers.
She'd deal with this if she had t-
BAM!
That… was far sooner than she'd thought it'd be. Not to mention it hadn't actually hit her. If anything, it sounded as if the impact was a little bit above her head.
Musk and cigarettes. And a hint of spice.
Strauss blinked. Why the hell was she smelling that now? There was only one person she could think of that smelt like that, and he was…
"Forgive me, but that's my dear friend you seem to be attacking there."
She whirled around in an instant.
Sanji glanced back, Haki-coated leg still outstretched to block Monet's wing, a somewhat strained but relieved smile spread over his face. "Hey Strauss. It's been a while."
…
She didn't have the emotional capacity to deal with this right now.
A/N
Wanted to share this actual moment I had while writing Sanji's last line for this chapter...
"Hey Strauss."
Ok... now to finish off the sentence
"Good to see you in one piece."
*WHEEEEEEEZE at my own bad joke*
I must be tired if that's what I'm laughing at now T_T Dissertation's all finished now! Honestly had a really interesting time writing about it, I'd like to say more at some point. It's everyday you write a diss on fanfic after all. But yeah. Prooobably should go to bed now.
Thank you so much for reading! Very action heavy chap but hope it flowed alright! Have a lovely day/night and I hope to see you with the next update!