Second Wind

30

He started sweating, not just from the awe inspiring sight, but also from an unexplainable urge to get the hell away from this guy. Nevertheless, he stood his ground.

"Hey, hey! Who the hell do you think you are, you straw hat bastard!? Can't you see I'm trying to lead armies into civil wars here? Stop joking around!" he yelled at the man, pointing at him in accusation and slipping back into his normal persona. The man finally lifted his head, revealing his eyes, and Mr. 2 felt that much more intimidated, for reasons he still couldn't discern.

"You don't know who I am?" the man asked in a low tone, before grinning. "What's wrong? Is Crocodile lacking intel?" Mr. 2's eyes widened again. This guy not only knew who we was, but also who he was working for. There was a moment of silence, then...

"Stooop joooking arooouund! Who are you!?"

"You already know who I am," the man said quietly, face expressionless. "They call me..." he paused.

Mr. 2 leaned forward, full attention on the one who claimed to know him.

"...straw hat bastard," he finished.

Mr. 2 face faulted, horrified by the complete waste of buildup. He quickly got up and growled.

"I thought I told you...to stop joking around!" he shouted as he attempted a jump kick on the stranger, who moved his head out of the way with practiced ease.

"But I'm not joking! Everyone calls me that! It's soooo annoying!" he complained. Faced with the drastic change in demeanor, Mr. 2's jaw dropped. This guy just went from intimidating, to mocking, to whiny in less than 30 seconds.

Suddenly, Mr. 2 remembered where he'd seen the man's face before. It was on a bounty poster, of a wanted pirate whose head was worth almost as much as Mr. 1's. That pirate just happened to be the same guy who had thrown a wrench into Mr. 0's plans.

"You're...Strawhat Luffy," he gasped.

Luffy cocked his head to the side. "Took you long enough," he said.

Mr. 2 got into a defensive stance. "How'd you know it was me?" he asked, eyes narrowed.

"I know a lot of things," Luffy said, smirking.

Mr. 2 matched his smirk challengingly. "Oh? Then I guess I'll just have to kill you."

Luffy hummed in thought. "Or you could betray Crocodile."

Mr. 2 raised an eyebrow. "And why would I do that?" he asked suspiciously.

"...I'll be your friend," Luffy offered.

Mr. 2 froze. So that's it? A promise of friendship extended to an enemy? He found himself getting slightly emotional despite himself.

"Actually," Luffy continued, "I'm not really sure why you joined Baroque Works in the first place. But hey, I guess everyone's gotta put meat on the table."

Rather than correcting the misspoken idiom, Mr. 2 focused on the first part. Well, he had a point. Joining Baroque Works had been a spur of the moment decision for him. To be honest, he only did it because he was bored and being a secret agent sounded cool at the time.

"Interesting proposition," he said after a moment. "But I won't be swayed by a few choice words! Once an okama has chosen his allegiance, he won't defect so easily!"

Luffy hummed in thought. "Ok, then, how about this? We fight it out. If you win, you can steal my identity and use it against my crew. If I win, you have to help us fight Baroque Works. I'm going to kick Croc's ass anyway."

Mr. 2's brow furrowed. "That's a win-win the way I see it," he admitted. "I'd sure like to kick that Mr. 1's ass. But what makes you think I'll uphold my end of the deal?"