Three [Eustass Kid × Reader]

One

The pirate recoils from you and leaves in a hurry, without another glance at you. He's walking with a drag.

"I broke his leg not long ago," grins your cellmate, circling his head. He stretches his arm and moves his fingers, then stands up. "He laughed at me."

"This is why they chain you down?"

"They don't want to come close," he answers, then points at the key in your hand. "But open it now. We have to work for food."

You stand up and carefully step towards him but stay out of the area he reaches.

It takes a few moments until you get brave enough to go there and open the lock that connects his shackle to the chain.

As it falls, your eyes widen at its weight. You hate how tiny you feel next to him.

"You have some use, after all," says the man, and he catches your hair. He leans down and turns your head away, inhaling the scent from under your jawline. "I wonder why they left a woman here."

He smiles.

"I wonder what you did to get into this hell," he whispers to your ear.

You shudder as his breath reaches your skin, but then collect all your strength and grab his arm with both your hands, jumping up to kick him in the stomach.

The man's back bends, and he groans as he lets you go, only to start laughing after.

"Don't you ever touch me again," you shout at him. He shrugs. Your stomach turns as you see how he can't remove his smirk.

"There are people out there who would do much worse to you," he says, starting his way out. He doesn't look back as he disappears. The prisoners leave their cells one by one.

You stand there in the darkness with clenched fists and empty your mind before you walk out to the sunlight.

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Later

The picks clank on the stone of the mountain. You listen to their sound, the voice of the people, of the wind.

You almost inaudibly croon a song as you work.

By the time the sun reaches the top of the sky, you made several times more progress than the men around you.

His training wasn't worthless, after all.

But when the guards gave you the meal tickets at the end of the day, you only took two and pushed the rest of them into the hands of the old man who stood behind you.

The prisoners started shouting in disbelief, but you left the place as soon as you could. You go to the stone blocks and climb to see the sea's thin line at the horizon.

The food is tasteless, but more than what you had when you were free. Your skin is cold.

After you finish, you lift your hand and watch as the light slowly crawls on your arm, your wrist, your palm, and your fingers.

As the sundown arrives, your heart sinks, and you climb back to the ground.

You see the prisoners return to their places. The redhead is standing next to the entrance of his, leaning against the wall.

He's watching you, this time without a smile.

You look at the number on your handcuffs. The number as the one above the cell and on his shackle.

As you start walking there, the man stays outside like he's waiting for you.

But when two guards stand in your way and grab your arms, he goes behind the metal bars.

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They push you to the cell after the torture, and you cry voicelessly. It feels like you got into a loop where a day ends where the last one began. The burning lungs and aching throat.

You cough up water and start shaking as the cool breeze reaches your wet clothes.

The man waits until you catch your breath before talking.

"What did you do to anger them so much?" he asks. You shake your head and hug your legs, hiding your eyes.

"It doesn't matter."

"You aren't as weak as I thought, but you won't survive like this for long. The nights are getting colder."

"Why do you care?"

"I don't care. But I'm curious about what those bastards want to hear so bad that they treat you this way."

You look up, and the man leans forward.

"Do you know anything I can use to take down Kaido?" he asks, and you look at him confusedly. His eyes shine even brighter than before.

"You want to take down Kaido?"

"I will."

You scowl and turn to him. The moonlight barely reaches half his face and hair. The deep scars of his flesh make you uneasy.

"What's your name?" you ask.

"Eustass Capt... Eustass Kid," he answers, a shadow falling over his face. "I'm a pirate."

Like him.

"You have a crew?"

"I have to get them back," growls Kid, all his muscles tense. "I'll leave and defeat Kaido. I won't rot in this place."

"Neither will I."

He grins and laughs softly.

"And your name, woman?"

"I don't have one."

"Do you want to play a game again?"

"I'm telling the truth!" you shout back, and the man is clearly surprised by the tone of your voice. "I don't have one anymore."

"We will figure out something," he grins, lifting his palm. "Tell me everything you know, and I will take you with me once I escape."

"Enough," you groan and turn around. Kid grumbles something but then sighs and leans back to the wall.

You try to stop the shaking of your body. The only sound in the cell is the waterdrops falling to the floor from your skin.

Your mind keeps replaying the same few sentences they said before locking you here.

And somehow, your thoughts always end up at this man whispering names in his dream.

When you almost fall asleep, you hear his steps from your back.

Kid throws his huge red coat above your freezing body, and your breath stops from the warmth it gives.

As you turn around, he's crouching opposite you. The chain tightened up by his wrist.

His amber eyes examine your face before wandering to the number carved into your handcuff.

"Maybe you're worth keeping alive, Three."

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