One Piece (Love Story) [Part One]

Chapter One Hundred and Eighty Six [Rewritten]

-Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Six-

"Oh! Now you're just rubbing it in!" Usopp snapped.

"Moving right along" Itomimizu said, ignoring the raging sharpshooter. "Let's explain the rules of combat—everything that is fifty meters from where the cannonball landed is considered a part of the battlefield, in other words, it's a hundred-meter-wide circle measuring from the center of the ship" he explained. "Weapons and anything else found inside the designated battlefield are allowed, however, outside crewmembers are strictly forbidden from entering the ship. Knock your opponents out of bounds then you win the match—simple as that. Also, as long as you're in the circle, fighting in the air or water is fine" he concluded.

"F. O. X. Y! Foxy!" the cheerleaders continued to cheer. Skylar only ignored them as she came to a halt near one of the booths closest to where the two men had finally stopped. She made sure to keep out of sight, sticking as close as she could to the side of the booth as she silently listened to the men finally get back to discussing the topic that had gotten her to start following them in the first place.

"So we're not keeping her? Then what was the point of even choosing her?" one of the men asked, clearly confused as to why his captain would even bother picking someone he had no desire to really keep on the crew.

"Boss said it had something to do with her status—apparently, someone mentioned how they've seen her picture somewhere before" the second man explained as he got himself something to eat, something that would help tide him over during the match that was about to begin. "He plans on sending someone to go and trade her in for the reward—someone that isn't easily recognizable as being from the crew" he clarified—with how big they were, he doubted all of them were easily recognizable at a glance as being apart of the Foxy Pirates without their masks.

"Still, the fact that the Straw Hats had her on their crew for this long is baffling..." the first man muttered, still finding it hard to believe what he'd just been told. "Why do you think they haven't turned her in yet themselves?" he pondered. Skylar felt her fingers twitch, slowly curling into a fist as she felt her breathing start to become labor.

"Who knows? Their captain's weird—for all we know, those idiots aren't even aware of the riches they had in their grasp" the second man scoffed, rolling his eyes at the other crew's stupidity. "If I'm being honest, I bet they know where those brothers of hers are as well—if the boss wins, we might be able to find out about their whereabouts too and get even more cash. In addition to strong crew members, we'll be filthy rich!" he grinned as he and his friend burst out into a fit of laughter.

"Heh...so that's the reason..." Skylar weakly laughed, wrapping her arms around herself in a pitiful attempt to try and stop her trembling as her vision began to blur and her nails started to bite into her flesh. It was getting harder to breathe as she suddenly felt her throat start to close around the lump now lodged within it as choked sobs broke through her clenched teeth. Her knees felt so weak as fell back against the booth, trying her hardest to keep herself upright as panic slowly started to take hold...

She didn't want to go back...she didn't want to go back...she didn't want to go back...she didn't want to go back...

She never wanted to go back—they can't make her go back.

"While we're busy preparing for the main event, Porche's lovely Flower Cheerleaders are performing on stage" Itomimizu reminded everyone. "If that's not your thing, you could also check out a warm-up match being held on the front of the ship—and, as always, our assortment of stalls is holding limited edition Davy Back Fight merchandise, so be sure to check that out as well" he brightly informed everyone.