𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 ➳ 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐚 (one piece fanfic)

Chapter 59

Ace sat on the floor, staring up at the sky while Zoro laid sweating on his back, a few bruises on his skin. All that went on his head was, he was no match, he couldn't land a single hit in.

Zoro didn't know what he expected when he accepted the match with him, perhaps a slightly stronger version of his captain? He wanted to laugh; they were oceans apart. Ace was more controlled, he was trained, he could feel it, there was no awkwardness in him when he fought, no hesitation. When Luffy fought, there were flaws, cracks in his instinctual fight, Luffy fought with his heart, but Ace didn't, he used his head, he was experienced and trained, that made for a deadly combo.

"Hey," Nami stood before Ace, awkwardly waving at him, "can I ask you a question?"

Zoro straightened up with a shiver, where had their fearless and shameless thief gone.

Nami didn't seem to see him—she didn't care for his presence. "Yesterday you talked about-" she paused with hesitation, "Konan."

Ace nodded. "Yep, she's a pirate too."

"Is Konan the Paper Angel your sister?" Stars shone in her eyes as she leaned in closer.

"Yeahh?" Ace hesitated, remembering how much Konan hated her nickname.

She stumbled back, her heartbeat quickening at the thought, her captain was the brother of the person she liked the most—outside of her own family. "You think I could meet her someday?"

"Maybe? Who knows..." Ace trailed off, knowing Konan was the one to find them, not the opposite. Well one could always dream.

Robin kept an ear open to the conversation, it had indeed been a long time since she last saw Ko.

Before long the crew arrived to their destination, waves of sand stretching to the horizon.

A week later, on the other side of this desert, one small girl was fiddling with her necklace while waiting. She ruffled her hair, frowning as she felt the grainy texture of sand sticking to her strands. She sighed before straightening her uniform. She looked like the standard guard.

"Hey, hurry up, new recruits like you shouldn't be dwindling like that in the corridors!" An older man shouted, beckoning Sky with his severe eyes.

Sky merely nodded, deciding a reply wasn't worth her saliva. Her attitude perfectly displayed the cocky nonchalance of a newly recruited guard, feet dragging and mind wandering. The older man simply shook his head, wondering where they had recruited such a lazy girl from.

"Let's begin our shift," he carelessly said, beginning to go down the endless corridors that travelled through the casino. The sun began to slowly hide amongst the houses, forming a thick mist of sand that ran through the streets. Sky took a moment to observe the phenomena, wondering if amongst the hidden corridors of particles, there were children playing in the streets, their parents looking over with fondness and indulgence, waiting for them, arms open. It seemed nice.

"Hurry up," his sharp voice plucked her out of her reverie, and the thought scattered like sand in the wind. Right, she had work to do.

She walked and walked, encountering some coworkers, but no one seemed to see her, she was like a shadow, trailing behind her superior without any sound.

A man surged from another corridor, an unpleasant smell of dryness drifting from him. "Hey you," he pointed without really looking, his golden hook falling on Sky, "bring me my usual drink."

She obliged without showing any emotions, not minding the warning glances from her coworker. Crocodile grabbed the drinks with a dismissing wave, until his eyes landed on her hands.

He grabbed them without any care, turning them over to reveal heavily callused hands. "Nice hands you've got there. What do you usually use?" He asked curtly, taking off his coat and emptying his glass in one motion.

"A whip," she answered simply, watching him scrutinize her with new interest.

"Hmm," he pondered before throwing her a knife, "if you can beat Mr 5, you can replace him." Mr 5 snorted in arrogance, looking down at the little girl.

An hour later, Sky got a new name, "Miss Moon you shall be called, congrats on your promotion!"

She silently rejoiced but externally kept a still face, Crocodile wasn't dumb, the only reason he kept her near was to better supervise any possible threat.

"Come with me Miss Moon, we have an important guest to greet, if all goes well-" he chuckled, leaving his sentence to hang in the air.

"Meet Koan, a trusted partner of mine," Crocodile introduced, pointing to an old woman who waved at her with a mischievous grin that contrasted with her old age. He invited the investor to seat while Sky stood behind him, mouth twitching ever so slightly.

"I'm honored to have you here, Koan."

"Nice interior," she complimented, looking like she couldn't care less for his compliments.

"Indeed," he responded with a smile, that looked anything but pleasant. "About the investment-"

"I'm hungry," she smilingly said, taking pleasure in the way his fists trembled before he regained control. Negotiation was a game of nerves, and Konan was a master at these little mind games. She had a certain talent with infuriating people.

When Crocodile left to fetch someone—calm himself—Sky sighed and raised her hands. "Alright, you win! Again."

Konan smiled gently, leaning back into the sofa, "Not so bad yourself."

Sky sighed before sitting down, her chakra checking there was no one around before. "How many does that make?"

Konan hummed, "I'm not sure, 5 wins for me I think?"

"Next time I'll beat you," she mumbled, before chuckling at the ridiculous nickname, "Koan, really?"

Konan shrugged, she had found the most obvious clues were often the most overlooked and she had made it a little gamble of hers to see how far she could go before anyone made the link.

"It's been a while since we played, I'm a little rusty though," Konan complained, her hand pushing back a strand of greyish hair behind her ear.

Their little game had been going on since Sky finished her basic training, real-life experience Konan liked to call it. Basically, they chose their target based on a few criteria, the suspicious ones scheming something big, the ones hiding in the shadows organizing sketchy things, the ones they didn't like, the ones they wanted info on, and so on. Then Konan left her in the wild and a month later they competed on who had reached the highest spot on the hierarchy and had access to the most information. 

Chaotic sounds of a fight soon made itself heard. Sky got up with a low whistle. "Looks like things are getting interesting."

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school is pain (个_个)
and I'm learning to drive, so far I haven't caused any accident ! 〜(꒪꒳꒪)〜