You were drowning in the sea, a sea of fire. What island was the one in front of you? You could see the shore.
Punk Hazard... it was Punk Hazard, and it was burning! The flames devoured the ice, as you squirmed in the boiling water, struggling to stay afloat.
The ice was melting so fast...
«AOKIJI-SENSEI!!»
Your scream scared you. You didn't even know you could produce such a sound. You were drowning, and your sensei was nowhere to be seen.
«AOKIJI-SEN...!»
You woke up with a start, finding yourself entangled in sweaty sheets. A transparent tube was coming out from your right arm, connected to an intravenous feeding bag.
Reality hit you like a cannonball, and it was worse than the nightmare.
«Oh, you are awake.» it was the man from yesterday, the doctor «Sorry for the last time... it seems we forgot to feed you.»
Did they? You hardly noticed. You wouldn't have been able to swallow a bite anyway.
«But now you're better and...» his eyes wandered over your body. You were in your underwear, but bandages were covering half of your skin «...surprisingly unhurt.»
«You...» discovering the hard way your voice was tremendously trembling, check. «...go fuck yourself. Doctor.»
He nodded.
«Fair enough. Why am I even bothering, anyway? Our captain will tear you apart in no time. I was expecting pieces of you all over the room this morning, I'm impressed. Oh, I guess he's just tired these days.»
You didn't reply. Every last drop of your energy was precious.
«Listen, marine girl, I'm also here to ask a few questions about these.»
He rummaged in his big brown bag and pulled out your sniper rifle, along with some small dark spheres. As soon as your eyes caught a glimpse of the objects, your reflexes reacted on their own, jerking towards them. You didn't realize you were tied to the bed until your wrist slammed against the cuff in response to your burst.
You let out a muffled groan of pain and the man laughed.
«Do you really think we are that stupid? Anyway, back to the topic: can you explain please? We've never seen anything like this.»
Of course not. All made by Vegapunk (with your modest contribution).
«It's a rifle. The spheres are not mine.» you lied with flat voice.
«Listen marine girl, I'm trying to be nice here, but-»
«ENEMY SHIP! ENEMY SHIP APPROACHING!!»
Someone was yelling on the deck. You could hear things heating up outside, with pirates shouting and running around, preparing for the battle.
The little man tensed up immediately.
«Shit! I should go in the basement.»
«What?!» you squealed.
«I'm no warrior, and these are probably Big Mom's men.»
Your eyes widened in horror.
«What. The actual. Fuck.»
You suddenly remembered some of the last information you had regarding the Kid Pirates. It seemed that they enjoyed burning down some of Big Mom's ships, lately.
These creepy idiots! And I'm stuck here with them!
«Oi, listen, what about freeing me first?» you suggested, watching the doctor sticking all his stuff in the bag in extreme hurry.
Other yells reached you from the deck.
«BIG MOM'S PIRATES ARE HERE!!»
The sounds of the battle started to flow through the whole ship. The doctor froze.
«They are here already! They must have taken us by surprise!»
The clangs of swords and bullets were so close now that you could hear them around you. He ran to the door and shut it just before some gunshots whistled past the room.
«fuckfuckfuckfuck!»
You frantically tugged your trapped hand, but it was no use.
«Free me!» you screamed to the man. He looked at you with wide eyes «I can protect both of us, but you have to free me now!!»
The little doctor hesitated for a few more moments, then made up his mind. He crawled to the bed and foraged in his pocket until he pull out a key, after which he began messing around with the handcuffs.
Heavy blows on the door and a roaring laugh startled you both.
«Hurry up!» you hissed as he panicked.
«Is someone theeeeeeeere?» a rough, teasing voice came from just outside the door.
You broke free the exact instant an enormous man broke in, the door shattered in pieces. You threw yourself on the desk, unconcerned over the intravenous drip still stuck in your arm, which detached, spurting your blood on the walls.
The words of your sensei were echoing in your mind, like in every battle.
You must not be hit, [Y/n]. You are no match to the pirates, if you face them physically. You need to be fast and efficient, if you want to live.
The pirate that jumped over you was in fact three times your size, and the gigantic axe he was spinning over his head probably weighted as much as you. However, it didn't matter if only you could reach your rifle first...
Luckily, he was distracted for a second, noticing there was another person in the room. That second was more than enough for you.
The very moment you touched your elective weapon, you transformed completely in the soldier you were trained to be. Your body moved automatically, and before you knew it, you had already loaded a bullet into the rifle.
The pirate noticed and rushed towards you, howling like a mad man, but it was too late.
«Goodbye.»
You shot him in the head, splitting it open. Blood and brain exploded everywhere.
The little doctor crouched under the bed, covering his eyes.
«The captain won't be happy about this...»
You smiled bitterly. The pain was finally taking its toll, you could feel your broken collarbone sending shock waves through your muscles. Your side also hurt horribly, and you struggled not to fall on your knees.
There was a little window on the wooden wall, facing the deck. You crawled under it, stationing yourself and focusing your rifle on the battle.
Pirates were killing each other all over the ship, with many different kind of weapons. The Kid Pirates were easily recognizable by their peculiar style, all overdressed in those strange metallic outfit... but that made things simpler for you.
«Oi, what do you think you are doing?!» barked the doctor, but he didn't make a move to stop you.
«Protecting both of us. Or you can just go out there and die!»
You loaded your weapon, counting the little spheres. Four of them. A lot of regular bullets, though.
So you started, and it was one shot one kill.
On the deck, the situation was getting hectic. Kid, Killer, Heat and Wire spread out over the ship, covering different angles to protect it. They were taking out several men at a time, but there were hundreds of Big Mom's pirates.
«WATCH OUT, THEY HAVE A SNIPER HIDDEN SOMEWHERE!»
Kid frowned when he heard the yell that was spreading through the enemies.
No, they didn't.
Meanwhile, in his cabin, you were hitting all the suitable targets that seemed to have any leadership in the opposing crew.
This is not good. I have no mobility, they're gonna figure out where I am soon enough.
One huge pirate made his entrance on the deck. He was even taller than Kid, with ridiculous muscles, but his skin seemed to be somehow trickling.
A Devil fruit user?
That monster was fighting four men at the same time and without effort, too close to the cabin. Thank god he didn't seem to be fast, just strong as hell.
Aokiji's words filled your mind once again.
Don't let them get close to you.
«Yes, sensei.» you whispered, aiming to the temple. Shot.
The bullet was sucked in his slimy skin without causing damage. This was a problem given that he looked over your way.
«I found the sniper! Over there!»
You frowned.
«Shit.»
Ten men were now running towards the cabin, including the Devil fruit user. The doctor started to whimper.
You pressed a little button near the trigger, switching to the second type of bullets. You didn't want to waste them, but it wasn't like you had a choice.
«Go to hell!»
Aim, shot. One shot, one kill.
There was a hole in his forehead now, and it was bleeding. His last expression was not of pain or horror, but surprise. He caused a loud thud as he hit the wood of the deck.
«COMMANDER!!»
You didn't allow them the time to mourn or attack again, they were too close. You switched back to regular bullets and took them down, as many as you could, till the trigger was being pulled in vain. That left you with just the spheres.
«Damn! I'm out of bullets!»
«What?!»
You pressed the little button again, then looked into the gunsight of your rifle. Six men were raging and running towards you, with no Kid Pirates in between. Collecting yourself, you moved your focus to the bow.
There was Eustass Kid and his metal arm, fighting against what seemed to be captain of the Big Mom's ship.
It's not too far. I could reach him.
You aimed at his head and positioned your finger on the trigger. A drop of sweat trickled over your temple. You swallowed.
He was sure magnificent while fighting. Muscles hard as steel darting under his white skin, a pearly perfection interrupted by jagged scars. His amber eyes were burning flames of sick joy, painted lips distorted in an eager laugh, longing for more battles, more killing, more adrenaline. His fire-red hair was brighter than the blood spilling from both him and his enemy.
Why am I hesitating? I'm going to die anyway, it's worth it to at least take Eustass Kid with me.
It was worth it... so why...
«MARINE GIRL!»
The yell shook you from your thoughts. The pirates were breaking in.
«Here's the sniper! Kill her, kill them both!»
You dodged the first katana swing, firing your rifle at the closest man.
Wasting those bullets on regular pirates was more painful than your broken bone, but there was nothing you could do if you wanted to live.
You pointed your weapon towards the five men left.
«You move, you die!»
Shit, your voice was still broken. They hesitated anyway.
«What's wrong here?»
A thin long man appeared out of nowhere, wrapping his body around the doctor all of a sudden, like it had no joint. Another Devil fruit user.
He was white and smiling, the bastard. How did you not see this coming?
«Drop the shotgun, or I'll kill your friend.»
«He's not my friend.»
The pirate tightened his grip on the small doctor, who let out a pained scream.
Fuck.
Two bullets left.
«Don't even think about firing. I'm a haki user, your shitty bullets mean nothing to me.»
He squeezed the man again, this time just muffled groans flowed out of his mouth.
Before you even realized it, your finger had pulled the trigger. You hit the pirate exactly between his eyes, killing him instantly.
«I am a haki user too, and these are seastone bullets.» you said to his dead body.
But you were screwed now.
Just one bullet left, and five pirates throwing themselves at you, screaming in rage.
«Doctor, move!»
An unknown yell came from outside, and a swirl of flames erupted in the room, engulfing all the enemies. You fell on the floor, rolling in a corner.
The flames extinguished just as fast as they appeared, leaving five corpses behind.
You slowly lifted your eyes to the entrance. The noises of the battle were over too.
Three big men were now in the room, taking a look around. The cabin was a mess.
«Captain won't like this.» one of them sighed.
You recognised him from the bounty poster. He was Heat, probably also the one that attacked with fire. You didn't know the other two. One was small and fat, with a great blue beard covering most of his face. He was dressed up like a punk, but his eyes were big and gentle. The other was wearing just a pair of trousers, probably to show off the muscles of his enormous chest and shoulders. He had long dark hair ruffled around his neck and a slimy smirk. You didn't like the look in his eyes.
«Heat!» the doctor cried, jumping to his feet.
The blue-haired guy looked at him with his typical sad expression, then moved his eyes to you, still holding the rifle.
«What happened here?»
«The attack was too sudden, I couldn't make it to the basement!»
«Why is the prisoner holding a weapon?»
«If I didn't let her fight, we would be both dead by now.»
Heat hummed.
Splashing sounds coming from the outside told you the battle was over and they were disposing of the corpses.
The slimy man took a step towards you. You jumped back to your feet.
«Alright sweetie, give me back the shotgun.»
Your body stiffened.
One bullet left. You moved your eyes on Heat's sad ones. He was a big shot among Kid Pirates, still worth something...! You could kill him, then be tortured to death, yeah, but still...
You tightened your grip on the weapon, pointing it to the pirates.
They resumed their guard immediately, not impressed at all.
«You want to die, girl?»
«Oi, wait up!»
The little doctor ran between you and his comrades, lifting his arms to them.
«She saved me, and she also saved some of you out there! I don't know how many enemies she took down, but a lot for sure, at least two commanders as well! Plus, she could have killed our men from here, but she didn't! We may be pirates, but he have our pride.»
The slimy man rubbed the back of his head.
«You are too soft, doctor...»
Heat looked silently at you, then turned to the destroyed door, observing the deck and the bow of the ship, where Kid and Killer were discussing the attack.
«Okay.» he concluded «I'll talk to boss Kid about this. If you hand us the gun now, with no surprises.»
You didn't move, thinking feverishly.
If you killed one of these men now, you were gone for good, and in a horrible way for sure. If you surrendered, you were going back to being Kid's bitch, until he'd eventually grow tired of you. Sure he hadn't touched you yet, but that was just a matter of time.
The third option was to kill yourself, right there, right now. Probably the best one.
But you lacked the courage.
You swallowed, then handed the rifle to the man in front of you, defeated.
«You sure are a smart girl.»
You didn't reply. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, the past few days were finally claiming their stake on your body.
Surrendering now was the only option that left you with a little hope to escape and survive.
Heat nodded satisfied (although it was hard to tell, given his eternal saddened look).
«Doctor, take care of her. Don't let her out of this room, it's not safe with the others all fired up from the battle.»
«I know.»
«Let's go then. Gordo?»
Heat called for the slimy man, who lingered in the room. Under his hungry look, you suddenly became well aware of your bare legs and your torso covered only with bandages. His eyes gave you the creeps.
«Comig.» he replied, his orbs still fixed on you.
He slowly followed the other two pirates on the deck.
You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding. The pain hite you again, causing your body to curl inward.
«Okay, easy now.» said the doctor, approaching you and taking your arm, leading you towards the bed «Lay down and rest, while I change your bandages. Nobody will touch you, for today.»
For today. How consoling.
...but it was a little consoling, actually.
You felt a needle pricking into your shoulder.
«What the hell...!»
«It's a sedative. Some of your wounds reopened, I need to stich you up again and it's better if you sleep.»
You started to doze off, your tense body relaxing on the mattress.
«You... were about to kill him, right?»
Now you could barely hear his words, your mind already half asleep.
«Who?»
«Captain. You could have killed captain Kid.»
Was that even a question?
«I could. But I didn't.»
«Why?»
Your eyelids lowered.
«I... don't know.»
You were finally sinking into nightmares again.
I'm sorry, Aokiji-sensei.