Destined for Flames (One Piece Fanfic)

Declaration of War: Act 2

Raya's POV

Let's play catch up, shall we?

We made a death-defying break for Enies Lobby - on a rickety old train without any breaks whatsoever besides whatever imposing structure happens to be in front of it - all in order to rescue a nakama who doesn't necessarily want saving. Now we're here, we've almost been killed several times (one of which was from a misdirected attack from our Queen of Weather-Bending, Nami the Navigator) and we're facing down a seemingly undeafeatable group of baddies with menacing looks and cruel sneers. 

Plus my captain was just picking his nose maybe two minutes ago.

We are sooo badass, it's not even funny.

No really, don't laugh. Please. My ego can't take it.

I shift away as a stiff wind picks up, ruffling my hair, trapped beneath my ever-present bandana. It's in need of another bleaching, but now's not really the time to be worrying about that. I've only been standing here, my feet rooted to the hewn rock, for a few minutes, if that, and already my adrenaline is coursing through veins too small to hold the rush - I want to move, to jump, to spring like some freaking jungle cat. But I'm stuck here, locked in a stare down with a bunch of people who've had too much time with the Government's pole stuck up their asses.

I'm being crude. Excuse my impoliteness.

Breaking my stare with Kaku - the bastard - I peer around Luffy to throw Zoro a questioning look. "What's up with the drawbridge?" I ask.

"The Franky Family is working on lowering it now," he tells me. I nod in approval; good, that means we can get this done that much faster.

But then Zoro adds, glaring at Luffy, "You rushed ahead too quickly and went to the roof, so we had to get up here in order to regroup."

My eye twitches. "Who was it that sent me up here after the kid?" I growl, my annoyance reaching its fever pitch. "If you didn't trust us to handle it alone, then you shoulda come in the first place!"

He looks at me from the corner of his eye, not even giving me half his attention. "Someone's feeling murderous," he comments idly.

"No shit!"

"Good." He smirks, crossing his arms over his chest, jerking his chin at the creeps opposite us. "Save it for them; they'll probably enjoy the fireworks."

Some bickering and lame remarks later, I lean closer to Luffy to whisper something to him. His mood seems heavy - too heavy for my childish forever-ten-years-old captain. He needs reassurance or someone to slap that constipated look from his face at least. But alas, the moment is lost when that big-shot Marine guy starts shouting at us like the deformed lunatic he is. 

"Wahahahaha! You pirates! Do you realize that no matter how brave you are, nothing would ever change?" he cackles. I subtly crack my knuckles, vividly imaginging tearing into his scarred face with a white-hot punch. "We have the full strength of an assassin group, CP9! We have the heavy Gates of Justice that human power cannot open!!"

"Good thing none of us are human, eh?" I snigger to Sogeking. He sweat drops at the comment, inching away from me. Apparently he doesn't consider himself among the inhuman beings of this crew. My face splitting into a grin, I sling my arm around his shoulders, tugging him against me. His skin prickles with anxiety, both for the coming battle and for his sudden closeness to a human of the opposite sex, I'd wager. "Aw, you'll come around eventually, Sogeking! Long as you're with this crew, you're destined for the weird and wonderful."

Any words he might choose the throw back at me (more like toss timidly) are lost as the Marine continues his effortlessly awful rant. "Moreover, I now have the authority to use this golden Den-Den Mushi to trigger the Buster Call!"