𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 ➳ 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐚 (one piece fanfic)

Chapter 63

Crocodile was surprisingly dumb, Nanko noted in his notebook.

"What the hell are you writing, do you want to die?" Crocodile cursed, reading over the blue-head's shoulder to see a string of blatant defamation.

Nanko didn't mind the prisoner's threats and just added another line, 'showed blatant disrespect toward an official.'

Crocodile felt like coughing blood as he saw his file grow by the second. "I swear that once I'm out of these damn handcuffs, I'll rip you apart."

'Cursed and threatened an official.' Nanko smiled, finally looking up from his file, "Can't wait for that to happen." His smirk deepened, "If you manage to escape from your future cozy home that is."

He avoided a punch, putting the file down as he walked calmly toward the kitchen counter, whistling a tune as he side-stepped again.

Crocodile grumbled in frustration, his hands itching to punch the over-confident marine who didn't even bother looking at him. There was a limit to cockiness, he thought as he glared at the man eating another piece of chocolate. "How much have you even eaten so far??"

Nanko twirled around, licking the remnant of chocolate on his fingertips, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Aren't you scared I'll escape?" Crocodile stared at him, finally asking the question that had been itching his brain since he was left free to roam the boat with only restraint, a pair of seastone cuffs.

"Oh but be my guest!" Nanko chuckled, waving at the window that gave way to the open sea, "That would make this whole trip a lot more fun." He could jump off the boat at any point, if he was suicidal that is.

Even when Crocodile left the room to look for a way out, Nanko didn't chase after him.

Hina, who watched the scene from the corner, shook her head, "Are you having fun messing with him?"

"Lots," Nanko chuckled, sitting back at his table, a knife twirling in his hand.

"Just make sure to not lose him," she warned half-heartedly. She knew that no matter how much Nanko messed around, he never made any mistakes in his missions.

"Don't worry, Princess."

Hinas brow twitched in disgust before she left to make sure everything was going its course in the boat. They were in a boat surrounded by a dozen others—to escort the dangerous criminal, nothing could go wrong, not under her watch.

Nanko wanted to applaud Crocodile for his efforts over the course of the next week. He tried everything: taking a hostage—Nanko quickly subdued him, taking over a boat—Nanko caught him before he could do anything, attacking Nanko—without his powers he was no match for the highly trained soldier, trying to assassinate him in his sleep—Nanko wasn't a heavy-sleeper. And his latest feat, a disappearance.

"Playing hide-and-seek?" Nina commented, a puff of smoke escaping her lips as she leaned against the edge of the boat.

Nanko sighed, sat a few feets away on the hull, as he heard the report of his disappearance. "Let's play then."

"I bet it'll take you at least 10 minutes," Hina said, smiling when she saw Nanko's competitive smile.

"The usual?" Nanko asked as he stretched and jumped off the hull.

"Yep," she nodded. A bunch of sweets he hadn't tasted yet if he won, and a fully paid meal for her if she won.

He disappeared from his spot.

Hina simply stared in silence at the empty ocean, looking at the just begun cigarette in her hand before throwing it in the ocean. She hadn't missed the scrunch of Nanko's nose when he breathed in the smoke, he was just mindful enough to not comment.

The alarms rung, making Hina frown. "Pirates sighted at 2 o'clock!" She turned around to spot a large ship with a distinct flag, a skull with flames, goggles and a knife going through its head.

"They've got guts, I'll give them that..." She jumped on the hull, her black heels clanging against the iron coating the edge.

On the opposite side, a man of imposant stature stood, an arm of metal parts pointing at her with a smirk.

She frowned, recognizing the man from his recent ventures. He wasn't a good match for her powers. But it didn't matter, she had to fight nonetheless. So she raised her hand, feeling the crew quiet down and it felt like the world came to a halt. In the absence of the highest ranked person—Nanko, she had the control of the crew.

"Fire," she ordered. She was testing the waters there. She cannon balls flew in a straight line, before coming to a sudden stop in midair. Hina frowned, it was just as she had heard. The balls flew back toward them.

Iron bars shot from her arm, colliding with the balls and making them explode mid-way between her ship and theirs.

"Our opponent is a devil fruit user," she shouted loud enough for her crew to hear, "don't come into conflict with him, and put away all metal weapons in his proximity, I'll deal with him." She sighed as she saw the pirate ship come nearer, "Try to minimize the damage and keep your lives, good luck to you all."

When they came near enough, the pirates jumped from their ship to the marines, mercilessly drawing their weapons upon them. She didn't have time to preoccupy herself with them as she kept an eye on the two main fighting forces of the pirates, the metal user and the swordsman that wore a helmet.

She knew the Marine headquarters wanted to screw them over—Nanko more specifically, but only now did she feel the consequences of being understaffed. She and Nanko were the only ones capable of putting up a good fight.

Her thoughts were cut off by a scythe-like weapon slashing straight at her neck. She parried with her iron bars, jumping back as her instincts balred off—he had another scythe. Her hand pressed her stomach, feeling the warm sensation of blood begin to spread. She would have been dead if her reaction time was lower.

She didn't dare lower her guard, but she chanced a glance behind her to see the marines overwhelmed despite their higher number. This wasn't the best situation, she thought as she saw the Pirate Captain—Eustass Kid, if she remembered correctly—overseeing the situation with delight.

Another blade slid across the air, swiping like a tornado for her neck. Hina blocked, coating her legs in Haki as she kicked him back. He rushed back, his scythe starting to speed up at a dangerous velocity. He fell on her with all his strength, pushing her back a few steps. He was the ruthless kind she quickly deduced, when she saw his baldes only attack vital parts of her body.

She winced when he kicked her in the stomach while she blocked his blades. The kick viciously targeted the wound he had already made, forcing the wind out of her lungs. "Bastard." She cursed him out while jumping a bit further away. Bars rushed from her body to block him but he jumped over them, using them as stepping stones to reach her.

She immediately cut off the bars, welcoming his next attack with Haki-coated arms. She had never been more thankful to Nanko for teaching her how to use Haki. She could see by the way her opponent faltered that it annoyed him to extend the fight any longer.

As they clashed, in a near enough distance, he barely had enough time to see her smirk as he felt the coldness of her iron bars slither around his body and restricting him. He hadn't seen the iron extending from her stomach while they clashed. He tried to break free but the iron twisted in such a way that the force applied to them evenly redistributed, making it impossible to break.

"You didn't make this easy," she groaned, pressing a hand to her wounded stomach as she kicked him down. She barely had time to rejoice before she felt the heaviness of a metal field surrounding her. She instinctively jumped back just in time to see the iron unfurl to attack her. He was finally moving, she cursed.

"Captain," Killer finally opened his mouth as he watched the back of his red-head standing in front of him. "I was careless." He bowed his head in shame.

"Or just admit she beat you," a voice taunted as Nanko appeared beside Hina, assessing with a glance her injuries.

"You sure took your sweet time," Hina commented, allowing her shoulders to relax a little as she straightened up. 

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i'm on holidays, me happy :)