Steel Heart

Ch 115 - How to Plan an Assassination

Nana sank into the white leather couch and crossed her legs. Beside her, Sanji moved his arm behind her head, across the back of the couch, and pulled her closer to him. As she nestled to his side, Pygmy licked his lips and reset his head on her lap with a contented sigh. Her hand went up to absently scratch the back of his ears while she turned to survey the room.

The black grandfather clock at the end of the room struck 5:30 AM. It's loud ticking was the only sound in the room. They were all waiting for the infamous Bege to make his entrance. The seating area was two U-shaped couches pushed together to surround a glass coffee table that was set with plates of cookies and pots of tea. The Straw Hats and their friends sat on one couch while Bege's crew sat on the other. Around the room, in front of the built in bookshelves and the walls littered with lavish oil paintings in gilded frames, stood Bege's men, who had their rifles trained on only one side of the room.

Luffy sat at the center of their couch with his arms folded across his red suit. They were all granted access to a lavish wardrobe. Apparently, not only did Bege demand cleanliness for his meetings, he also demanded a certain look.

Nana, herself, had her corset tightened over a white, collared button up. The sleeves were rolled past her elbows. She wore a tight, black and white pinstripe trousers and a red tie. She had a blazer, matching her pants, draped over her shoulders. Her hair was slicked back, still damp from the bath.

"Tea, Nana? Nami-san? Ladies?" Sanji asked coolly as he leaned forward in his seat. He had chosen to keep it simple with a ruffled, white button up with the first several buttons left open and black trousers. He ashed his cigarette and looked to each of the females. Each of them shook their head no save for Brulee and Pudding, who were tied up in the corner and glaring at everyone.

The door opened and the lord of the manor strode into the room.

"Yosh. Everyone's here, right?" Bege asked. He stared at his guests for a second and then approached the table, "Good. You're all clean. It's said 'Clothes make the man'. I won't do business with anyone who doesn't care about their appearance."

No one replied, which didn't seem to faze Bege. He sat down and took a deep puff from his cigar. "Now...we have about three and half hours to go. We have some decisions to make. First...whether or not we join forces..."

"Hrmmmm..." Luffy said as he sat forward in his seat and stretched out his hand.

Immediately, the sounds of weapons readying to fire echoed through the room and Nana sat a bit straighter in her seat. Sanji wordlessly moved his hand to her knee, giving it a reassuring pat, while he kept his eyes glued on Bege.

Luffy grabbed a fistful of cookies from the nearest plate and he crammed them in his mouth.

"Eh?" Chopper gasped as he mimicked his captain's actions and he smiled, "This is delicious!"

"Oy! You two! Restrain yourselves!" Nami scolded.

"Hrmph," Bege scoffed, "You guys are nothing but a nuisance to us. Killing all of you right here is the easiest solution."

Everyone on Luffy's couch tensed considerably with Nami and Brook's open mouthed expression the most visible. Even Pygmy's head lifted and he growled at the leader of the Fire Tank pirates. Sanji gave Nana's knee a squeeze before he took over and started to scratch Pygmy's head to calm him.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked calmly, "If I die, you'll lose your chance to kill Big Mom...Without me, there'll be no wedding. If I'm not back at that castle in two hours, they'll be suspicious."

"...Ah," Bege conceded. Both men eyed each other through the smoke rising from their vices, "Unfortunately, you're right...But that just means we can kill everyone else except you."