Chapter Twenty-Four

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Rayne

Blood was pouring down my face, staining my clothes and the deck in a sticky mess. My body ached and I felt like I was going to die I was so tired. "Come on, you can't tell me you're tired already." Kid dawdled.

"Fuck you Eustass!" 

The redhead tossed his head back, loud laughs echoing from deep in his stomach. Never before had I heard him laugh so hard or so loud. He released his hold on my throat sending me crashing to the floor of the deck. Add that to the list of bruises I was sure to have tomorrow. Rolling over onto my side I curled up as though that was going to help me. 

"Pathetic, get up."

"I'm tired."

"Get up!" Kid's foot landed a solid kick to my stomach. I gasped in pain but my body was too worn out to move, I couldn't do a damn thing at this point. "We're not done, this is pathetic!"

"I... can't..." I gasped. 

Kid rolled his eyes, "You're so pathetic, we've only been training for half an hour!" 

"Oi, leave her alone Eustass!" Vein swooped in standing in front of me protectively. He and Kid stared one another down, daring the other to move it seemed. 

Their little showdown ended and Kid snorted, turning his back on the two of us. "Patch her up doctor, she's got second round of training tomorrow."

"Eustass at this rate you're going to kill her." He said. Vein knelt down next to me, picking me up into his arms. "God dammit, you're a bloody punching bag."

"If she can't learn to fight again then she has no business being on my crew. I don't tolerate dead weight."

"She fights better with swords not fists you idiot!"

Kid snorted but disappeared off of the deck. Vein simply rolled his eyes. 

–x–

Feeling a sudden jolt of pain caused me to cry out. I was not expecting that, it felt like all of the punctures in my skin were burning, one at a time, each as painful as when I received them. Vein was muttering under his breath as he removed another splinter from my back. 

"What the fuck was Eustass thinking?" Vein snarled tossing down his surgical scissors onto the sterilized medical pan and cracking his fingers. 

I continued to stare at the floor, perturbed, "I can't complain because he's right." I sighed. 

"Ow!"

"What are you going on about bitch?" 

Vein gave me a hard stare, unamused on many levels. "He's right, I am dead weight. Frankly it pisses me off, I used to be so good and fighting... and now..." I trailed off not trusting my voice to carry. 

"Yeah well how were you to know? After all you thought that you were pregnant, you were trying to be a good mother."

"Still, how could I be so stupid?"

"Easy, you were in love. They say people do stupid things when they're in love and now you know that's true." He patted me on my bad knee, causing me to wince. 

"Fucking hell!" I screamed, unable to take the pain of feeling each individual ligament in my leg reattach itself. Vein's hands came off of me.

"I'm finished. That's the best I can really do, I'm not him after all."

"What the hell was that?" I rolled off of the examination table and put my top back on, ignoring the 'rolled' up pant leg altogether. Though looking at everything now, I realized I was going to have to get some replacement clothes. This 'shirt' was in tatters and barely covering anything instead hanging down in faux-leather strips. My leather pants weren't much better. 

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