(no subject)
So, I've gotten more written for this monster. Please read. All comments are welcome.
Just on general principal, Eustass "Captain" Kidd enjoyed terrified screaming. It always felt so good to know one had power over another.
However, it was a different matter entirely when one wasn't the cause of said screaming.
Ok. So that wasn't entirely true. There was plenty of screaming going on behind the group of pirates, given the mass amount of chaos and destruction they'd left in their wake. This was the second inhabited island they'd come across, and they were barely in the third week of their journey in the 'New World'. They wanted to let loose a bit after being cooped up on the ship for two weeks with only each other for company. But the screaming they were hearing now was coming from in front of them, so they couldn't possibly be the source. The voice was female, which made Kidd wince when she hit a particularly high note, and held all the pent up desperation of a hopeless situation.
Coming around a rocky outcrop near the beach, the Kidd crew found the source of the screaming.
For them, it was an intensely pleasant sight.
A scantily-clad, thin young woman straddled the prone body of an unknown man.
She was currently engrossed in bashing the man's face in with a rather large rock. Blood splattered all over her arms. As well as the restraints around wrists and neck. The chain that connected them all jingled in jarring merry counterpart to the scene.
The screaming finally stopped when she tossed aside the rock and threw herself to the side. "... won't ever go back," they heard her say. "Would rather die. Would rather kill."
"Oh, I'd say he's pretty well killed, girlie," chuckled Kidd malevolently, gazing down at the bloody scene with appreciation.
Squeaking, she jerked her head up to stare uncomprehendingly up at the Kidd crew, fear in her dark blue eyes. She shifted a little, and Killer knew she was getting ready to run.
"A little barbaric, though, to kill him with a rock, don't you think?" Kidd continued.
"What?"
Kidd cocked his head at her, wondering if she was perhaps a little slow. Crouching down to look her in the eye he grinned at her, pleased with the way she flinched back. "A rock isn't the best weapon to kill with. It's dull. Messy, as you can see. Unless one gets lucky, it never kills with one blow." He paused and looked at the face of the unknown man. "Although in this case I doubt you were looking for quick," he mused thoughtfully. Shaking his head, he looked back at her. "Try a knife, next time."
She gaped up at him and stammered "N-n-n-e-ext t-t-time?"
"Think there won't be a next time?" He snorted at the thought. "Bullshit. Once you've killed, you can never go back." Rising, he glared down at the girl consideringly. He dismissed the fright in her eyes and moved on to the familiar chains and skimpy clothing. Nodding to himself, he grinned suddenly. "Join me."
Silent, she continued to stare up at him.
A few mutters came from behind him. "Captain, are you sure? She'll be useless!" griped one in particular. Kidd made a mental note to gut that one at some point. "Well?" he demanded. "Make your choice. Do you want your freedom? You'll only get it if you come with me, 'cause otherwise, I'll leave you here for your 'master'."
She flinched and shivered at the threat, eyes downcast. Then slowly, she held up her bound wrists.
Kidd smiled. And reached out one hand. "Those chains aren't made of seastone, so this should work," he commented. "Hold still. Repel."
From somewhere within the mechanism around her neck and the cuffs on her wrists came a faint "click" and suddenly the restraints fell away. She looked at her hands, then looked up at Captain Kidd in wonderment. "Thank you."
"Yeah. Whatever. Just get on your feet and get moving." Turning on his heel, Kidd strode away, the rest of his crew falling in behind him. Killer watched the girl for a moment.
She bit her lip and hesitated for a moment, then wobbled to her feet. Looking down at herself, she flushed. "Umm ..." she began tentatively. "Could I ... maybe ... get something ... better, to wear?" she forced out, shuffling her feet along behind the pirate crew.
A few steps ahead, Kidd stopped and looked her over curiously, not much surprised by the question. Grunting, he took off his furry coat and tossed it at her. "Take that for now. We'll find you something better on the ship."
The heavy coat landed on her with a muffled thump and sent her crashing to the ground from the weight. Much to her surprise, the man in the mask stepped over to help her wrap the massive thing around her so she wouldn't trip over it. "Best get moving," he advised her quietly. "Boss Kidd doesn't like being kept waiting."
She staggered along in their wake, stumbling over the hem of the too-long coat every once in a while. Her eyes kept going back to her hands, and the ring of scar tissue around her wrists. Free. She was free. Tears welled up in her eyes and she swallowed them down, figuring this crew wouldn't have much patience for hysterics. She had no clue who they were, although she could easily tell this was no bunch of pushovers, and seemed short-tempered to boot.
As the crew trooped up the gangplank, she hung back and moment and looked at their ship. It certainly fit the over-all menacing appearance of the crew. The hull was painted black from bow to stern, the only spots of color were the ivory-white of bone from the main deck and a pair of blood-red stripes running the length of the ship. Even the main mast was painted black, and the sails were a mix of red, white, and black. One other spot of color was the gleaming brass where the late evening sun struck metal polished to mirror-shine.
"Hey, you gonna just stare, or are you gonna get your scrawny ass aboard before we all die of old age?" called the Captain jeeringly from where he leaned on the deck railing. With the setting sun behind him his hair seemed even more lively than before, waving like living flame in the evening breeze.
Gasping, she jerked her eyes away from the ship and scrambled up the gangplank, struggling to keep the Captain's heavy coat around her. Just as she reached the top, her former 'master' made his way onto the beach and she froze where she was. Summarily, she was shoved aside so the gangplank could be drawn in, and she found herself standing next to Captain Kidd when the Tennryuubito found the body of his dead servant and her discarded chains. Beside her, Kidd began to cackle as the World Noble whipped his head around, searching for his slave. Hearing the pirates laughter, as the rest of the crew joined in, he looked directly at the ship that was slowly pulling away from the island and shouted something indecipherable.
Kidd smirked and astounded her by waving at the frustrated noble. "She's ours now," he called across the water and resumed his cackling at the anger on the noble's face. She shivered at the rage in his face, despite the heavy coat.
Kidd looked at his 'acquisition' as the sails filled and sped the ship ever faster away from the island. Grunting, he turned away from her and double-checked their heading against the log-post. "Don't think I did this out of the goodness of my heart, girl." he told her. "I'll take any opportunity to spit on the Tennryuubito. You're free, and that's fine by me, but if you want to stay on this ship, you work for the right." He was watching her out of the corner of his eye as he spoke, and saw real terror bloom in her eyes at that. He grimaced at the way she flinched and cast an apprehensive look around the deck at the rest of the crew. He knew what she had to be thinking and continued "So, as soon as some more appropriate clothing can be found for you, you're to report to Killer and he'll find you things to do around the ship. Speaking of which," he said as he gestured the masked first mate over, "Killer, she needs clothes. I want my coat back, and that damn harem outfit won't do her much good on a ship. What have we got?"
Killer turned his head to sweep the girl with a look, then dismissed her and returned his attention to his Captain. "A word?" he asked grudgingly.
Shrugging, Kidd walked toward his cabin, propelling the girl along with a hand on her back. He ignored the looks and sniggers being passed around by the crew. They'd get used to having a girl on the crew, or they could leave. He didn't much care which. It would have pinched the tiny pocket in his heart where he kept his sense of honor to leave her there, especially after she'd displayed such ... promise. Glancing at Killer, he had to quirk a grin as his first mate's tense posture. Killer could not like it all he wanted. If she wanted to stay, he was willing to let her, provided she did as much work as anyone else. reaching out, he opened the door and shoved the girl inside, stepping around her to throw himself into the massive chair behind his map-strewn desk. The chair was a heavy, solid oak affair with plush blue velveteen upholstery, and was one of the few real luxuries he allowed himself. Settling back into it, he propped his feet up on the desk and turned a danger-filled grin at his second in command. "Anything you want to say, you can say it to her face," he told the blond.
Sighing, Killer mentally revised what he was going to say. With Kidd, he could be as blunt as he wanted. This girl ... he wasn't sure what to make of her. Or why his Captain had chosen to save her. "Clothes were not exactly high on our list of priorities, Kidd," he began.
The red head waved that off. "You don't need to explain that. I'm well aware the only clothes on board are our own. See if anyone has extras they'd be willing to loan her for the time being. All I want is her dressed in something other than that walking distraction of a outfit." He glared. "What did you really want to say?"
Taking a breath, Killer let it out slowly. There was no need to get angry. Yet. "Did it ever occur to you that this was not the best time to be adding a new crew member?" he asked quietly, carefully. Hiding the anger that wanted to burst out. "The rest of the crew went through the first half of the grand line with us. We can depend on them. This is the "New World", the likelihood that she will survive sailing through it with a pirate crew is slim to none."
"I do know that, Killer." the red head grumbled. "However, the only other option was just as bad. You wouldn't have left her either."
Killer sighed. "No, I wouldn't have," he admitted. "That's not the point. Right now, she's more of a danger to the crew than anyone else could possibly be."
"I can learn," the girl protested weakly and shrank back from the twin glares suddenly directed at her. Fearfully, she immediately dropped her eyes and huddled deeper into her borrowed coat.
Unbeknownst to her the Captain and first mate shared a glance after which Kidd shrugged and waved his hand at her, obviously through with dealing with her.
shaking his head, Killer turnd to face her. "Look up," he demanded. "What's your name?"
Hesitantly, she lifted her head. With that mask she couldn't read his face, but she was fairly good at reading body language, and his fairly screamed resignation. "Um. Briseis. Parker Briseis."
He grunted. "And tell me, Parker Briseis, do you want to join our crew? We are pirates."
Glancing away she picked at the fur of the sleeves as she answered. "It's safer than out there," she answered honestly.
Surprised, Killer cocked his head. "Safer?" he asked incredulously. "You think being part of a pirate crew is safer than anywhere else in the world?" He let out a loud guffaw. "Why?" he asked through his laughter, "why would you think such a thing?"
For the first time, she looked up and met his face squarely, a tiny spark of defiance in her deep blue eyes. "Because you won't care about this," she stated bluntly as she turned around and let the coat fall to the floor. She heard the Captain's boots hit the floor as he and Killer muttered a curse. She knew what they were looking at.
"Where the fuck did you get that?" growled Kidd.
She shrugged and faced them once more. "Didn't you know the Tennryuubito brand their ... possessions?"
Reaching out, Killer brushed his fingertips across the blurred edges of the mark on her lower back. "It looks like it didn't heal well." he commented absently.
"It didn't. It got pretty badly infected. I almost died. They killed the man who botched the job, though."
Sighing again, Killer ran a hand through his hair. "Alright," he said at last. Giving her a thorough once over, he nodded once decisively. "You look slender enough to fit my jeans and I've got an old shirt you can have. It may be a bit tight across the chest. Hang on a minute while I go get everything," he said as he walked out, leaving the girl and Kidd behind.
They looked at each other, Kidd somewhat gleefully taking in her near-naked state and Briseis taking the time to study this man, this pirate, who'd gone out of his way to help her. He could almost be considered handsome, she realized, but for the feral expression that gave the heavy brow and broad jaw a threatening cast. "Have I thanked you yet?" she asked abruptly.
He grinned, then leaned forward and set his elbows on the desk, lacing his fingers together to settled his chin on top. "Hmm. Yes. But I wouldn't mind hearing it again."
"Well, thank you for saving me."
The next few minutes were spent in rather uncomfortable silence. Then Killer returned with his arms full of clothing trailed by a tall man with white hair and what looked like stitches all over his face. Killer tossed the clothing at her. "Here. These should do for now. I didn't bother looking for shoes. There's no way anyone on board wears your size and on a ship there's nothing worse than ill-fitting footwear," he told her. "This is Pierre. Amongst many other talents, he's a decent leather-worker, so he'll fix you up with some thick-soled slippers until we reach a civilized island where you can get some proper boots."
Kidd smirked at the sound of Killer in 'newbie indoctrination' mode, even as he noted the somewhat bewildered expression on Briseis's face. "Well, go change!" he barked at her, pointing to a door in the opposite wall. "That's a bathroom. Clean yourself up while you're at it." After she'd fled through the door, he rolled his eyes at Killer. "Too much, too fast," he informed his second. "You overwhelmed her."
Pierre looked at one, then the other. "Am I to understand that she will be remaining with us then?" he asked. When they nodded an affirmative, he shrugged. "She'll have to get used to it. It's not as if he'll lighten up on her just because she's new."
"True." Frowning thoughtfully, Kidd glanced at the door.
"I do hope," Killer began delicately, "that you didn't pick her up just to give yourself a bed partner."
Chapter WHAT?
"Island sighted, Captain!" Briseis called down from her perch in the crow's nest. "Northwest by ten degrees!" She was still adjusting to being part of a pirate crew. It was still far better than the life she'd left behind. After the initial grumbling and lewd comments, things quieted down when it became obvious that she was quick to learn and Captain Kidd wouldn't tolerate anyone mistreating her. Not that she was babied. Far from it actually. Killer never let up on her, hounding her at every turn to teach her everything she needed to know to survive. And despite the danger at every turn, she'd been surprised to discover that she loved it. So the first mate was less than pleased to have to pound a raw beginner into shape fast enough to keep her alive in the most dangerous sea in the world, she handled it by simply accepting his word and doing exactly as he wanted. Once in a while, he was happy enough to give her day off from the work load she had willingly shouldered. So far the only problem they'd had was the first time he'd asked her to climb the rigging. The thought had terrified her. Of course, after she'd gotten over that, there was no place she enjoyed more than sitting on the topsail's yardarm. Which would be why Killer had begun assigning her to the crow's nest. After he pounded basic weather watching and map reading into her.
"What's it look like?" Kidd called back to her. He was leaning on the rail of the upper deck, head canted back to look up at her, his usual smirking grin stretched across his face. Killer stood at the wheel, already adjusting their course to head to the island.
Closing up the spyglass, she looked down on the ship and replied. "Looks like a summer or fall island, Captain. Mixed tropical-subtropical flora. Uninhabited. At least I don't see anything that looks like a human made structure." She could see his face fall at that, and smiled to herself. That was the one thing that took the most adjustment. Learning that this crew liked to cause mass chaos and a maximum of destruction. What was funny was that most of the time they didn't start the trouble, even if they did end it. Leaning back against the wall of the crow's nest, she looked down at Kidd. "Hey, Captain!" she warned him. "Catch!" Then she dropped the spyglass over the side.
As she'd expected, Kidd used his devil fruit ability to pull the object toward him, glaring at her all the while.
A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A
"So," she whispered dully. "You wish me to give up my freedom, to give them theirs?" She shook her head, unwilling to meet the mirror-like surface of his sunglasses. "They'd never want me to do that." Without letting so much as a flicker of her intent slither across her mind, she fingered the hilts of the kodachi that had been Killer's gift to her when she'd finally passed his "test" and was allowed to use live weapons. She smiled at the memories of the near-hellish training the Kidd crew had put her through. "I'm afraid, Mr. Don Quixote, I must refuse," she stated flatly to his back, and drawing one always-sharp weapon from its sheath, kept the swing going to neatly remove the Shichibukai's head from his shoulders.
She stared down at the still twitching body as she picked up her weapons from the side table they'd been left on and returned them to their place on her hip, coolly unconcerned with the blood pooling around her feet. For a long moment she thought about what she should do. Then, with a barely audible sigh, she bent down and ran her fingers through the rapidly cooling blood. Stepping over to the wall, she painted the characters for "truth" and "justice" on the brilliantly white walls.
She glanced again at the severed head, and smiled grimly. Hopefully the message would be taken to heart, since she didn't really have the time to write an explanatory note. Rifling through the pockets of the Shichibukai's clothing, she found the set of keys she was looking for, and left the room without so much as a backward look.
Her crew needed her, far more than she needed further vengeance. He was dead, and could not harm another living soul as she had been harmed. It would have to be enough.
A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A
From his cell three doors down, Killer could hear every last snarling curse his Captain was throwing at their jailer. He was getting pretty colorful too, even for Kidd. His Captain was working himself into a fine temper; had been ever since Briseis was taken away from the cell she shared with him. If he were honest, he wanted to do some cussing himself, but felt it was mostly a waste of time and breath. Shifting, he tried once again to work his hands free of the cuffs that chained him to the wall. No luck. Their captor was well aware of their ability, had made certain there was no way out. He could only hope Bri wouldn't be held in similar confines. It would, undoubtedly, bring back certain unpleasant memories.
Voices from the guard room echoed down the passage, and he cursed the fact he couldn't understand a thing being said. Then the door opened and admitted two people. One guard and a familiar female figure. He stared through the bars at them, and noticed immediately that there were no restraints on her. What the hell, he wondered. From his cell at the end of the passage, he heard Kidd remark that he could finally get some entertainment. Wonderful. Kidd was bored, despite his creativity in cursing. Killer shook his head. The last thing he needed was a reason to need to keep an eye on his Captain. As the pair passed by, obviously on their way to Kidd's cell, Briseis flicked a glance at him, and for once he was shaken by the coldness in the eyes he'd grown to know almost as well as Kidd's. What could have happened to her?
He didn't have to wonder long, as at that moment they'd reached Kidd's cell and began unlocking it. Killer had a perfect view of the moment when Bri drew a dagger he recognized as being Kidd's and neatly slit the man's throat. With that same unnerving calmness, she stepped around the cooling body, finished unlocking the cell door and pulled a different set of keys from her pockets. Settling herself at Kidd's side, she began trying each key in Kidd's seastone manacles. Watching Kidd's face proved entertaining to the masked first mate. It was obvious he wanted to say something, but given how different she was acting wasn't quite sure how to phrase himself.
Finally he settled on "Are you ok?"
A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A
Epilogue:
Briseis flung herself into the bar, her face glowing with excitement. "Boss! Kidd!" she called out over the din. She waved a newspaper around over her head while she shoved her way through the press of bodies. "Look at this! Look, look, look!" Throwing herself into the empty seat between the Captain and first mate, she bounced in place as she unfolded the paper. "See?" she asked excitedly, pointing to the headline.
Kidd's face lit up with a slightly maniacal grin. "So. Strawhat's back," he commented as he began to read the article. "And already making a scene." Suddenly he whistled and pointed something out to Killer. "Damn, what have those three been up to for the last two years? Can they really take on a Pacifista on their own?"
Briseis reached over and pointed out another paragraph. "Keep going. You'll like this. Sorta tells all and sundry just where Strawhat's been the last couple of years." She giggled. "One marine says that Silvers Rayleigh specifically referred to Strawhat as "my pupil". What do you think of that?"
Pierre leaned over and glanced at the article. "They also mention that some idiot was impersonating Strawhat." He chuckled. "Wonder what Dragon thought of that?"
Just on general principal, Eustass "Captain" Kidd enjoyed terrified screaming. It always felt so good to know one had power over another.
However, it was a different matter entirely when one wasn't the cause of said screaming.
Ok. So that wasn't entirely true. There was plenty of screaming going on behind the group of pirates, given the mass amount of chaos and destruction they'd left in their wake. This was the second inhabited island they'd come across, and they were barely in the third week of their journey in the 'New World'. They wanted to let loose a bit after being cooped up on the ship for two weeks with only each other for company. But the screaming they were hearing now was coming from in front of them, so they couldn't possibly be the source. The voice was female, which made Kidd wince when she hit a particularly high note, and held all the pent up desperation of a hopeless situation.
Coming around a rocky outcrop near the beach, the Kidd crew found the source of the screaming.
For them, it was an intensely pleasant sight.
A scantily-clad, thin young woman straddled the prone body of an unknown man.
She was currently engrossed in bashing the man's face in with a rather large rock. Blood splattered all over her arms. As well as the restraints around wrists and neck. The chain that connected them all jingled in jarring merry counterpart to the scene.
The screaming finally stopped when she tossed aside the rock and threw herself to the side. "... won't ever go back," they heard her say. "Would rather die. Would rather kill."
"Oh, I'd say he's pretty well killed, girlie," chuckled Kidd malevolently, gazing down at the bloody scene with appreciation.
Squeaking, she jerked her head up to stare uncomprehendingly up at the Kidd crew, fear in her dark blue eyes. She shifted a little, and Killer knew she was getting ready to run.
"A little barbaric, though, to kill him with a rock, don't you think?" Kidd continued.
"What?"
Kidd cocked his head at her, wondering if she was perhaps a little slow. Crouching down to look her in the eye he grinned at her, pleased with the way she flinched back. "A rock isn't the best weapon to kill with. It's dull. Messy, as you can see. Unless one gets lucky, it never kills with one blow." He paused and looked at the face of the unknown man. "Although in this case I doubt you were looking for quick," he mused thoughtfully. Shaking his head, he looked back at her. "Try a knife, next time."
She gaped up at him and stammered "N-n-n-e-ext t-t-time?"
"Think there won't be a next time?" He snorted at the thought. "Bullshit. Once you've killed, you can never go back." Rising, he glared down at the girl consideringly. He dismissed the fright in her eyes and moved on to the familiar chains and skimpy clothing. Nodding to himself, he grinned suddenly. "Join me."
Silent, she continued to stare up at him.
A few mutters came from behind him. "Captain, are you sure? She'll be useless!" griped one in particular. Kidd made a mental note to gut that one at some point. "Well?" he demanded. "Make your choice. Do you want your freedom? You'll only get it if you come with me, 'cause otherwise, I'll leave you here for your 'master'."
She flinched and shivered at the threat, eyes downcast. Then slowly, she held up her bound wrists.
Kidd smiled. And reached out one hand. "Those chains aren't made of seastone, so this should work," he commented. "Hold still. Repel."
From somewhere within the mechanism around her neck and the cuffs on her wrists came a faint "click" and suddenly the restraints fell away. She looked at her hands, then looked up at Captain Kidd in wonderment. "Thank you."
"Yeah. Whatever. Just get on your feet and get moving." Turning on his heel, Kidd strode away, the rest of his crew falling in behind him. Killer watched the girl for a moment.
She bit her lip and hesitated for a moment, then wobbled to her feet. Looking down at herself, she flushed. "Umm ..." she began tentatively. "Could I ... maybe ... get something ... better, to wear?" she forced out, shuffling her feet along behind the pirate crew.
A few steps ahead, Kidd stopped and looked her over curiously, not much surprised by the question. Grunting, he took off his furry coat and tossed it at her. "Take that for now. We'll find you something better on the ship."
The heavy coat landed on her with a muffled thump and sent her crashing to the ground from the weight. Much to her surprise, the man in the mask stepped over to help her wrap the massive thing around her so she wouldn't trip over it. "Best get moving," he advised her quietly. "Boss Kidd doesn't like being kept waiting."
She staggered along in their wake, stumbling over the hem of the too-long coat every once in a while. Her eyes kept going back to her hands, and the ring of scar tissue around her wrists. Free. She was free. Tears welled up in her eyes and she swallowed them down, figuring this crew wouldn't have much patience for hysterics. She had no clue who they were, although she could easily tell this was no bunch of pushovers, and seemed short-tempered to boot.
As the crew trooped up the gangplank, she hung back and moment and looked at their ship. It certainly fit the over-all menacing appearance of the crew. The hull was painted black from bow to stern, the only spots of color were the ivory-white of bone from the main deck and a pair of blood-red stripes running the length of the ship. Even the main mast was painted black, and the sails were a mix of red, white, and black. One other spot of color was the gleaming brass where the late evening sun struck metal polished to mirror-shine.
"Hey, you gonna just stare, or are you gonna get your scrawny ass aboard before we all die of old age?" called the Captain jeeringly from where he leaned on the deck railing. With the setting sun behind him his hair seemed even more lively than before, waving like living flame in the evening breeze.
Gasping, she jerked her eyes away from the ship and scrambled up the gangplank, struggling to keep the Captain's heavy coat around her. Just as she reached the top, her former 'master' made his way onto the beach and she froze where she was. Summarily, she was shoved aside so the gangplank could be drawn in, and she found herself standing next to Captain Kidd when the Tennryuubito found the body of his dead servant and her discarded chains. Beside her, Kidd began to cackle as the World Noble whipped his head around, searching for his slave. Hearing the pirates laughter, as the rest of the crew joined in, he looked directly at the ship that was slowly pulling away from the island and shouted something indecipherable.
Kidd smirked and astounded her by waving at the frustrated noble. "She's ours now," he called across the water and resumed his cackling at the anger on the noble's face. She shivered at the rage in his face, despite the heavy coat.
Kidd looked at his 'acquisition' as the sails filled and sped the ship ever faster away from the island. Grunting, he turned away from her and double-checked their heading against the log-post. "Don't think I did this out of the goodness of my heart, girl." he told her. "I'll take any opportunity to spit on the Tennryuubito. You're free, and that's fine by me, but if you want to stay on this ship, you work for the right." He was watching her out of the corner of his eye as he spoke, and saw real terror bloom in her eyes at that. He grimaced at the way she flinched and cast an apprehensive look around the deck at the rest of the crew. He knew what she had to be thinking and continued "So, as soon as some more appropriate clothing can be found for you, you're to report to Killer and he'll find you things to do around the ship. Speaking of which," he said as he gestured the masked first mate over, "Killer, she needs clothes. I want my coat back, and that damn harem outfit won't do her much good on a ship. What have we got?"
Killer turned his head to sweep the girl with a look, then dismissed her and returned his attention to his Captain. "A word?" he asked grudgingly.
Shrugging, Kidd walked toward his cabin, propelling the girl along with a hand on her back. He ignored the looks and sniggers being passed around by the crew. They'd get used to having a girl on the crew, or they could leave. He didn't much care which. It would have pinched the tiny pocket in his heart where he kept his sense of honor to leave her there, especially after she'd displayed such ... promise. Glancing at Killer, he had to quirk a grin as his first mate's tense posture. Killer could not like it all he wanted. If she wanted to stay, he was willing to let her, provided she did as much work as anyone else. reaching out, he opened the door and shoved the girl inside, stepping around her to throw himself into the massive chair behind his map-strewn desk. The chair was a heavy, solid oak affair with plush blue velveteen upholstery, and was one of the few real luxuries he allowed himself. Settling back into it, he propped his feet up on the desk and turned a danger-filled grin at his second in command. "Anything you want to say, you can say it to her face," he told the blond.
Sighing, Killer mentally revised what he was going to say. With Kidd, he could be as blunt as he wanted. This girl ... he wasn't sure what to make of her. Or why his Captain had chosen to save her. "Clothes were not exactly high on our list of priorities, Kidd," he began.
The red head waved that off. "You don't need to explain that. I'm well aware the only clothes on board are our own. See if anyone has extras they'd be willing to loan her for the time being. All I want is her dressed in something other than that walking distraction of a outfit." He glared. "What did you really want to say?"
Taking a breath, Killer let it out slowly. There was no need to get angry. Yet. "Did it ever occur to you that this was not the best time to be adding a new crew member?" he asked quietly, carefully. Hiding the anger that wanted to burst out. "The rest of the crew went through the first half of the grand line with us. We can depend on them. This is the "New World", the likelihood that she will survive sailing through it with a pirate crew is slim to none."
"I do know that, Killer." the red head grumbled. "However, the only other option was just as bad. You wouldn't have left her either."
Killer sighed. "No, I wouldn't have," he admitted. "That's not the point. Right now, she's more of a danger to the crew than anyone else could possibly be."
"I can learn," the girl protested weakly and shrank back from the twin glares suddenly directed at her. Fearfully, she immediately dropped her eyes and huddled deeper into her borrowed coat.
Unbeknownst to her the Captain and first mate shared a glance after which Kidd shrugged and waved his hand at her, obviously through with dealing with her.
shaking his head, Killer turnd to face her. "Look up," he demanded. "What's your name?"
Hesitantly, she lifted her head. With that mask she couldn't read his face, but she was fairly good at reading body language, and his fairly screamed resignation. "Um. Briseis. Parker Briseis."
He grunted. "And tell me, Parker Briseis, do you want to join our crew? We are pirates."
Glancing away she picked at the fur of the sleeves as she answered. "It's safer than out there," she answered honestly.
Surprised, Killer cocked his head. "Safer?" he asked incredulously. "You think being part of a pirate crew is safer than anywhere else in the world?" He let out a loud guffaw. "Why?" he asked through his laughter, "why would you think such a thing?"
For the first time, she looked up and met his face squarely, a tiny spark of defiance in her deep blue eyes. "Because you won't care about this," she stated bluntly as she turned around and let the coat fall to the floor. She heard the Captain's boots hit the floor as he and Killer muttered a curse. She knew what they were looking at.
"Where the fuck did you get that?" growled Kidd.
She shrugged and faced them once more. "Didn't you know the Tennryuubito brand their ... possessions?"
Reaching out, Killer brushed his fingertips across the blurred edges of the mark on her lower back. "It looks like it didn't heal well." he commented absently.
"It didn't. It got pretty badly infected. I almost died. They killed the man who botched the job, though."
Sighing again, Killer ran a hand through his hair. "Alright," he said at last. Giving her a thorough once over, he nodded once decisively. "You look slender enough to fit my jeans and I've got an old shirt you can have. It may be a bit tight across the chest. Hang on a minute while I go get everything," he said as he walked out, leaving the girl and Kidd behind.
They looked at each other, Kidd somewhat gleefully taking in her near-naked state and Briseis taking the time to study this man, this pirate, who'd gone out of his way to help her. He could almost be considered handsome, she realized, but for the feral expression that gave the heavy brow and broad jaw a threatening cast. "Have I thanked you yet?" she asked abruptly.
He grinned, then leaned forward and set his elbows on the desk, lacing his fingers together to settled his chin on top. "Hmm. Yes. But I wouldn't mind hearing it again."
"Well, thank you for saving me."
The next few minutes were spent in rather uncomfortable silence. Then Killer returned with his arms full of clothing trailed by a tall man with white hair and what looked like stitches all over his face. Killer tossed the clothing at her. "Here. These should do for now. I didn't bother looking for shoes. There's no way anyone on board wears your size and on a ship there's nothing worse than ill-fitting footwear," he told her. "This is Pierre. Amongst many other talents, he's a decent leather-worker, so he'll fix you up with some thick-soled slippers until we reach a civilized island where you can get some proper boots."
Kidd smirked at the sound of Killer in 'newbie indoctrination' mode, even as he noted the somewhat bewildered expression on Briseis's face. "Well, go change!" he barked at her, pointing to a door in the opposite wall. "That's a bathroom. Clean yourself up while you're at it." After she'd fled through the door, he rolled his eyes at Killer. "Too much, too fast," he informed his second. "You overwhelmed her."
Pierre looked at one, then the other. "Am I to understand that she will be remaining with us then?" he asked. When they nodded an affirmative, he shrugged. "She'll have to get used to it. It's not as if he'll lighten up on her just because she's new."
"True." Frowning thoughtfully, Kidd glanced at the door.
"I do hope," Killer began delicately, "that you didn't pick her up just to give yourself a bed partner."
Chapter WHAT?
"Island sighted, Captain!" Briseis called down from her perch in the crow's nest. "Northwest by ten degrees!" She was still adjusting to being part of a pirate crew. It was still far better than the life she'd left behind. After the initial grumbling and lewd comments, things quieted down when it became obvious that she was quick to learn and Captain Kidd wouldn't tolerate anyone mistreating her. Not that she was babied. Far from it actually. Killer never let up on her, hounding her at every turn to teach her everything she needed to know to survive. And despite the danger at every turn, she'd been surprised to discover that she loved it. So the first mate was less than pleased to have to pound a raw beginner into shape fast enough to keep her alive in the most dangerous sea in the world, she handled it by simply accepting his word and doing exactly as he wanted. Once in a while, he was happy enough to give her day off from the work load she had willingly shouldered. So far the only problem they'd had was the first time he'd asked her to climb the rigging. The thought had terrified her. Of course, after she'd gotten over that, there was no place she enjoyed more than sitting on the topsail's yardarm. Which would be why Killer had begun assigning her to the crow's nest. After he pounded basic weather watching and map reading into her.
"What's it look like?" Kidd called back to her. He was leaning on the rail of the upper deck, head canted back to look up at her, his usual smirking grin stretched across his face. Killer stood at the wheel, already adjusting their course to head to the island.
Closing up the spyglass, she looked down on the ship and replied. "Looks like a summer or fall island, Captain. Mixed tropical-subtropical flora. Uninhabited. At least I don't see anything that looks like a human made structure." She could see his face fall at that, and smiled to herself. That was the one thing that took the most adjustment. Learning that this crew liked to cause mass chaos and a maximum of destruction. What was funny was that most of the time they didn't start the trouble, even if they did end it. Leaning back against the wall of the crow's nest, she looked down at Kidd. "Hey, Captain!" she warned him. "Catch!" Then she dropped the spyglass over the side.
As she'd expected, Kidd used his devil fruit ability to pull the object toward him, glaring at her all the while.
A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A
"So," she whispered dully. "You wish me to give up my freedom, to give them theirs?" She shook her head, unwilling to meet the mirror-like surface of his sunglasses. "They'd never want me to do that." Without letting so much as a flicker of her intent slither across her mind, she fingered the hilts of the kodachi that had been Killer's gift to her when she'd finally passed his "test" and was allowed to use live weapons. She smiled at the memories of the near-hellish training the Kidd crew had put her through. "I'm afraid, Mr. Don Quixote, I must refuse," she stated flatly to his back, and drawing one always-sharp weapon from its sheath, kept the swing going to neatly remove the Shichibukai's head from his shoulders.
She stared down at the still twitching body as she picked up her weapons from the side table they'd been left on and returned them to their place on her hip, coolly unconcerned with the blood pooling around her feet. For a long moment she thought about what she should do. Then, with a barely audible sigh, she bent down and ran her fingers through the rapidly cooling blood. Stepping over to the wall, she painted the characters for "truth" and "justice" on the brilliantly white walls.
She glanced again at the severed head, and smiled grimly. Hopefully the message would be taken to heart, since she didn't really have the time to write an explanatory note. Rifling through the pockets of the Shichibukai's clothing, she found the set of keys she was looking for, and left the room without so much as a backward look.
Her crew needed her, far more than she needed further vengeance. He was dead, and could not harm another living soul as she had been harmed. It would have to be enough.
A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A
From his cell three doors down, Killer could hear every last snarling curse his Captain was throwing at their jailer. He was getting pretty colorful too, even for Kidd. His Captain was working himself into a fine temper; had been ever since Briseis was taken away from the cell she shared with him. If he were honest, he wanted to do some cussing himself, but felt it was mostly a waste of time and breath. Shifting, he tried once again to work his hands free of the cuffs that chained him to the wall. No luck. Their captor was well aware of their ability, had made certain there was no way out. He could only hope Bri wouldn't be held in similar confines. It would, undoubtedly, bring back certain unpleasant memories.
Voices from the guard room echoed down the passage, and he cursed the fact he couldn't understand a thing being said. Then the door opened and admitted two people. One guard and a familiar female figure. He stared through the bars at them, and noticed immediately that there were no restraints on her. What the hell, he wondered. From his cell at the end of the passage, he heard Kidd remark that he could finally get some entertainment. Wonderful. Kidd was bored, despite his creativity in cursing. Killer shook his head. The last thing he needed was a reason to need to keep an eye on his Captain. As the pair passed by, obviously on their way to Kidd's cell, Briseis flicked a glance at him, and for once he was shaken by the coldness in the eyes he'd grown to know almost as well as Kidd's. What could have happened to her?
He didn't have to wonder long, as at that moment they'd reached Kidd's cell and began unlocking it. Killer had a perfect view of the moment when Bri drew a dagger he recognized as being Kidd's and neatly slit the man's throat. With that same unnerving calmness, she stepped around the cooling body, finished unlocking the cell door and pulled a different set of keys from her pockets. Settling herself at Kidd's side, she began trying each key in Kidd's seastone manacles. Watching Kidd's face proved entertaining to the masked first mate. It was obvious he wanted to say something, but given how different she was acting wasn't quite sure how to phrase himself.
Finally he settled on "Are you ok?"
A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A_A
Epilogue:
Briseis flung herself into the bar, her face glowing with excitement. "Boss! Kidd!" she called out over the din. She waved a newspaper around over her head while she shoved her way through the press of bodies. "Look at this! Look, look, look!" Throwing herself into the empty seat between the Captain and first mate, she bounced in place as she unfolded the paper. "See?" she asked excitedly, pointing to the headline.
Kidd's face lit up with a slightly maniacal grin. "So. Strawhat's back," he commented as he began to read the article. "And already making a scene." Suddenly he whistled and pointed something out to Killer. "Damn, what have those three been up to for the last two years? Can they really take on a Pacifista on their own?"
Briseis reached over and pointed out another paragraph. "Keep going. You'll like this. Sorta tells all and sundry just where Strawhat's been the last couple of years." She giggled. "One marine says that Silvers Rayleigh specifically referred to Strawhat as "my pupil". What do you think of that?"
Pierre leaned over and glanced at the article. "They also mention that some idiot was impersonating Strawhat." He chuckled. "Wonder what Dragon thought of that?"