Waves methodically rocked the passenger ship Valentine lay in. His hammock moved in tune with the ship, making it hard for him to sleep. He was thankful that Red had spoken to the captain and secured them the hammocks. Other passengers huddled further below deck like livestock. A four hour boat ride was ahead of them, and Valentine intended to sleep through as much as he could.
"Where did you say this boat was headed?" Valentine asked.
"Ishport," Red said, "I have friends in the city, we will be safe there."
"You seem to have many friends," said Valentine, "might I ask where they came from?"
"Perhaps I make a hobby of saving helpless strangers from Marines."
"Perhaps." Valentine rolled Red's words around in his brain, trying to break apart their meaning. "A strange hobby for a former marine."
Valentine listened to Red's hammock fall silent at the accusation. When he spoke, it was with cold confidence, "I told you I would keep you alive, not that I would not cut off your tongue if you did not hold it. I am not a marine, and never have I been one. Now, no more questions."
Valentine frowned, mostly ignoring the threat-worse things had been done to him than a severed tongue. He had been quite sure of his deduction that Red was a former marine, and was surprised at it's rejection. He had the battle skills of a marine, flashed a small token-a badge by Valentine's guess- to gain hammocks on the boat, and spoke of friends in many different places. Why a marine, or anyone for that matter, would appear without warning with determination to keep him alive was beyond Valentine.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when the boat abruptly shook. Feet stomped above deck, sending trails of dust drifting from the ceiling.
"Stay down here!" Red ordered, "Don't come up unless you hear me yell the name, 'Risa'!" He leapt from his hammock and latched onto the ship's ladder. He crawled up the ladder and above deck like a born sailor.
The ceiling was only a few feet above Valentine's hammock, close enough to reach he figured. He went about carefully standing up on the wobbling hammock and pressed his ear to the dusty wood.
"-see if he's on board. If he's not, you all can go on our way. If he is, and you don't tell us, the Cobra Pirates will blast a hole in your ship and leave you here to sink!" The voice spoke with confidence, a captain. Pirate likely-he didn't talk like a marine and Valentine didn't know who else would board a passenger ship. They were looking for someone-who was he kidding, they were likely looking for him. He was the only one in the area with a bounty worth boarding a passenger ship for.
He checked his surroundings; stacks of hammocks, crates and barrels piled against the walls-nothing big enough for him to hide in-, and no way out other than the ladder. More frantic footsteps hurried his thoughts. Valentine grabbed a spool of wire from a hook on the wall and leapt behind the ladder so that a descending person would have their back to him.
The door flapped open, startling Valentine, and a figure slid down the ladder. He tightened the wire and leapt at the figure.
"It's me, Red." Valentine came to a teetering stop. He still gripped the wire tightly, only letting go when Red pushed it away. "What were you doing to do with that?"
"Just be glad you stopped me." Valentine tossed the wire aside. "What did you see up there?"
"A small crew on a big boat, all bandaged up and ragged. Must have had a run in with the local base. They have your wanted poster, you didn't tell me it was 10 million berries for your safe return."
"It's new to me as well." Valentine chewed his lip.
"I don't think they are going to leave peacefully. They'll find us down here eventually." Red paused to tie the ladder door shut. "Any bright ideas?"
"One, in fact."
When Valentine sucked in and stretched, he could just fit through the porthole on the pirate's ship. After he got his mid section through, he had to push against the hull from the inside to pull the rest of his body through. He landed in an uncoordinated pile, hoping he didn't make too much noise.
The gun deck seemed empty, thankfully. Shining black cannons stood ready along the walls with polished metal balls sitting in neat piles, ready for use.
Valentine wasted no time dragging a few cannons out of their place and turning them to face the walls. He set the gunpowder and tied an especially long fuse. The cannonballs were almost too heavy for him to lift as he attempted to shove it down the barrel.
"Is someone down here?" Boots pounded on wooden stairs as a pirate stomped down. "Wish it wasn't so bloody dark…" The pirate squinted, scanning the ship for movement. Perhaps that last swig of rum wasn't wise. He swiped sweat off his forehead with his bandana, time to head back above deck. No-wait, he didn't remember that porthole being open-
A dull thunk cut off the pirate's thoughts. He slunk to the ground as if made of paper. Valentine set down a bloody cannonball, letting it roll away while he dragged the pirate out of sight. There wasn't much place to hide him, but it wouldn't matter soon. He could hear Red engage the pirates above deck, he had to hurry.
Valentine loaded the last cannon with a grunt. In a flash, his lighter sparked up a flame and he burned the tips of all the fuses. Moving with new haste, Valentine squirmed through the pirate's porthole and back into the passenger ship. For once, he was happy he was so thin.
He landed a bit more graceful this time. Valentine wasted no time in climbing up the ladder, untying the knot, and lifting the panel just enough to peek onto the deck. Most everyone was watching the commotion Red was causing on the pirate ship. He watched two pirates run past to join the fight. Good, the plan was in tact, for now.
A great thunder sounded from the adjacent ship. Valentine flew onto the deck in response. Wooden splinters floating all around the pirate ship, which began a sickening lean. Valentine untied all of the pirate's rigging and fulfilled his role in the plan.
Red was doing well, all things considered. Pirates were nothing new for him, and his initial assumption that the crew lacked a devil fruit user proved correct. Blades and pistols were much preferred to devil fruits. He used the crews disorganization to his advantage, slipping through the chaos to deny them a proper shot. He contributed as much to the chaos as possible, tossing crewmates into each other, knocking crates, barrels, and other clutter onto the deck. All the more things for clumsy pirates to trip over.
His breath hitched when a cutlass came too close. He pulled the arm of a nearby pirate into the sword's path, blocking it with a sickly squelch. He kicked the both of them into a pirate trying to aim his pistol and slipped back into the crowd.
Time was running short, the cannonfire signal had gone off long ago. It was time to speed things up.
Red leapt out of the crowd of pirates, landing on a stack of barrels. Before any pirates could notice him, he began jumping in place. The strange act was performed surprisingly quick, and it was speeding up as well. In no time Red was little more than a blur, until he disappeared altogether.
A thousand sounds of flesh on flesh sounded at once. Every pirate on the ship toppled over, groaning and clutching their new bruises. Red appeared again in the centre of the deck, a deck that was tilting at a dangerous rate. Full barrels and cannons began to roll to the low side, only increasing the rate of sinking. Red peeked over the rail towards the passenger ship. Blast, he had drifted away during the fighting. He was at least one hundred feet away from it now. He began to jump in place.
Valentine watched as Red leapt out of the sinking ship, sailing through the air at incredible pace. Though fantastic, he wouldn't make it even a quarter of the distance. As Valentine mentally made funeral preparations for Red, he abruptly leapt off of the air as if it was solid. Valentine and the other passengers watched him climb an invisible slope and race across the air towards them. As he ran he began to lose altitude, stumbling slightly and rising less with each jump. When he was near the boat he fell so low the waves licked his shoes, leading him to one more climatic leap.
Red's hands slapped against the railing, barely gripping it before he slid down. With audible difficulty, Red lifted himself over the railing and flopped on the other side. He lay on his back, his chest heaving.
"I can't say I expected that," Valentine said with a grin, "I'm impressed. Write that down, because I won't be saying it again."
"Thanks…" Red could barely say the word before needing to breath again. "I just… my body," he paused to cough, then gasp for more air, "After I do that… I need to rest." He couldn't move a muscle if he wanted to right now, but he wasn't about to say that. His entire body was burning up after that much exertion.
"You'll have time to rest now," a sailor stepped from the crowd wearing a captain's cap. "Valentine, is it? You failed to mention a 10 million berry bounty on your head when you boarded my vessel." The captain paused to cough and hack, spitting a wad of phlegm overboard. "I'll forgive it on the grounds that you took care of the pirates, but I haven't forgotten why they boarded us in the first place. We will be dropping you off at the nearest port, no matter where you're heading, and sailing off without you."
"I wouldn't be so sure." A figure struck like a snake bite. In a blink he had a woman in his arms, with a knife pressed to her throat. He was a pirate, with wild eyes like a cornered animal. They settled on Valentine, after which his mouth twisted upwards. "You! The one the marines want, Valentine! If you know what's good for you, you'll jump overboard."
"My bounty requires me to be alive, since I assume you didn't read it," Valentine said.
"I don't care about that anymore!" The pirate pulled the knife against her skin, drawing blood that trickled down her pale skin. His eyes shook when he spoke, though from what Valentine wasn't sure. "You just sunk my entire crew! I'm taking you down with me. Now get jumping or she gets the knife!"
Valentine watched his hostage intently. Her eyes were filled with fear, watching his knife move with each word he said. She locked eyes with him and pleaded with him silently. A small girl, a spitting image of the woman, clung to her leg, soaking her pants with tears.
"Do it then," Valentine said. He heard Red curse from the ground. Onlookers mumbled their surprise and disdain for his heartlessness.
The pirate stumbled at the unexpected response. He stumbled over words, eyes racing around the boat as if he could find an answer. "You… you sick fuck!" He tossed the woman aside. She fell to the ground and her child was immediately beside her again. Valentine watched the relief in both of their faces and was glad his bluff paid off.
The pirate must have followed his eyes, because moments later he latched onto the child's ponytail and held her up by it, causing her to wail and beg. "I knew it, no one's that heartless. So it's the kids that get you then. Now, get jumping before I-"
Valentine didn't give him the chance to finish. He leapt for the child, wrapping his arms around her and ripping her from the pirates grip. For his heroism, he felt a familiar pain slice open his back, from his first rib to his shoulder. The pirate's voice cut off suddenly, a throwing knife sticking from the skull. He slumped to the ground without a final word.
Valentine released the girl, though the movement caused him great pain. She squirmed away from him and ran to her mother, he didn't blame her.
"Thanks…" Valentine turned to Red, who was sitting up against the hull now. Valentine stood up but found his balance to be gone entirely. He fell onto his stomach, nearly knocking himself out in the process. His clothes had been cut in half on his back, showing a knife wound growing increasingly black.
"Someone help him!" Red demanded.
"Don't worry about me." Valentine seemed to find his senses, rising to his wobbly feet.
"There's nothing we can do here, lad." The captain inspected the pirate's knife. "That's Dagger Frog venom. It can kill you in three hours, nasty stuff. Frankly, I'm surprised you're able to stand."
"Let's just say I'm made of tougher stuff than most." Valentine held onto a railing for support. Red seemed to be finding his footing too, finally.
"How did you know it was Dagger Frog venom?" Red lowered his eyes at the captain.
"Don't look at me like that. I fell prey to it myself last year, that's all," the captain said.
"How did you live?" Red said.
"We were an hour short of Elder Falls, a healer there helped me and I was fine in a few hours."
"How far away is Elder Falls?" Valentine asked.
The captain pondered for a few seconds, spitting more phlegm overboard as he thought. "Sorry lad, but it's four hours away, and Dagger Frog venom always kills in three. Our best bet is to stop in Mezo, it's closer-"
"No, we are going to Elder Falls." Valentine found his strength and stood with confidence now. "I'll make it, don't worry about me."
"You mistake yourself. This is my ship, on which you have no authority." The captain scowled. "We will go to Mezo, try your luck with a doctor there. I doubt they'll have the antivenom though."
Red cursed, striding over to the captain and grabbing something from a pocket. He held it in the captain's face. A badge. "I'm Redwin Asada of Cipher Pol 4. Under the authority of Fleet Admiral Sengoku and the World Government, I have a license to kill any citizen that acts in contrary to the agency's interests. Do you understand this Captain?"
"Cipher Pol? But he has a bounty!" the captain said.
"Don't make me reiterate, Captain. I will ask once more, do you understand?" Red lowered his gaze. The captain offered no challenge, only gulping audibly. "Good choice. Now, steer the boat to Elder Falls immediately."
After the confrontation, Red sunk down next to Valentine on the ship. They both breathed heavily, Valentine pressing a hand on his wound.
"Who is Risa?" Valentine asked.
"Shut up."
Thanks for tuning in! Now that the plot is under way, the chapters will remain at a stable length. I hope you all enjoyed learning more about Valentine and Red!
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