The Elementalist Lucia [One Piece x OC fanfiction]

XXX - A little sacrifice

When Lucia returned to Rendall, he had already taken her bag on his shoulder and was waiting for her with a smile:

"Can we go?" he asked.

"Whenever you want," Lucia replied. "But you'll have to tell me who you are and where I am because, as you've seen, this damn pirate is far from being a gentleman and hasn't kept me informed at all of the progress of operations."

Rendall laughed at the young woman's sharp tongue. He had already noticed that she didn't mince her words and he liked her ardour immediately. He gave her a small, enigmatic look before leading her further down the path. Contrary to what Lucia thought, he quickly turned away from the silhouette of the buildings Lucia had spotted and preferred to lead her towards a vacant lot, clear. The mist was a little lighter and she could make out what looked like a training ground. All around were promontories on which were placed weapons of all kinds, from swords to axes to spiked balls. He went and sat down at one end and invited her to position herself opposite him.

"First of all, even if this is a request from Rayleigh and I'm aware of your exploits, I must see for myself what you are worth. So beware!"

He drew his weapon, a sharp rapier whose blade glinted in the weak sunlight. Caught off guard, Lucia stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do, before she realized the order she had just been given. She then got into a fighting stance, her feet firmly planted in the ground, her hands clenched in the air, her fingers on the lookout for the slightest drop of water, her body entirely turned towards the outside humidity. Then, without waiting for him to start the hostilities, Lucia dematerialized one of her arms, which she transformed into water before hurling it at her opponent. Without the slightest effort, he sliced the water with his blade, causing her attack to burst into dozens of drops of water. Undaunted, Lucia resumed her assault and created a smaller version of a whirlpool in her hands which she hurled at him. Again, without moving, he sliced through the attack. 

Wary, Lucia kept her distance for several more minutes before opting for a closer fight, this time using her Haki, which she placed on her legs and delivered a violent blow to Rendall's head, who parried the attack without blinking. However, Lucia gave him a mischievous look and it was too late when he realized that she had dematerialized her fists once more and they were now coming at him from behind. He took the full force of the impact, which sent him reeling forward. More agile than she would have thought, he quickly regained his balance and directed his blade towards her. At the last moment she became intangible, having felt the Haki covering the steel that could have sliced her alive. She then used the surrounding mist to gain ground and cover a larger area with her power, but she didn't think for a second about the counterpart of this idea, by extending the surface of her body, Lucia offered a bigger hold for her opponent who planted his blade in the mist, injuring her in the process. Immediately, she recovered. But no sooner had she set foot on the ground than Rendall's rapier came down on her, and in a purely instinctive move she dodged to the side. He did not let her go for a second, seizing every opening she offered him. 

Finally, just as he thought he could get her, she reached out to the display of weapons to the side and grabbed an old sword, which she used to parry his attack with a firm, determined hand. A smile stretched the soldier's lips. She had dodged in that direction on purpose to get what she wanted and he had to admit that her grip on the hilt was solid, her arm was not shaking. He looked into her blue eyes and was pleased to find the same fighting spirit he had hoped to see in her. Without waiting, Lucia then began to counterattack, using the weapon to parry his own. Her movements became faster, more precise. She became more aggressive, more methodical. Their confrontation lasted several more minutes before he decided to end it.

"All right, let's stop here. I've seen what I wanted to see."

Gasping for breath, Lucia dropped to one knee. She was covered of dirt and scratches. Rendall hadn't mortally wounded her, but she knew that if it had been a fight to the death, she would have lost her life several times. He was strong, very strong.