BOOM BOOM.

He feels it in every kick delivered to his side — they’re proud of themselves.

They’ve caught themselves a Vinsmoke, and the poster hasn’t even fully circulated! What were the odds? They would turn the bounty in and line their pockets with over three million beri, and it will have cost them nothing but a single man that the cook happened to land a couple of quick kicks to before being dog-piled.

               ‘Thought you guys were supposed to be tough.’                                 ‘Maybe he’s the runt.’

If only they knew how right they were.

This was the curse he was stuck with. His posters had been humiliating in the past, but this.  .  . this was going to haunt him. People were going to assume he was part of a family he had disowned and hoped to forget, and he was going to be seen as weak because they were clever and had the numbers to keep him pinned down. Frustration and loathing bubbled in his gut, erupting only when it was shattered by another harsh jab.

“You bastards are going to CHOKE on my foot once I’m out of here!” He growled around the wad of blood and saliva in his mouth and took careful aim before spitting it out in the direction of the man he assumed was the leader. The small splotch of swirling red was joined seconds later by larger, wetter flecks of crimson. It happened in an instant — dropping bodies, limbs rolling away and wide-eyed horror settling permanently on pale features. He could smell the blood and heard the short-lived screams before they were totally silenced.

Brain matter and flecks of hair stained the back of his jacket and the parts of his face that weren’t behind his shoulder. The stench was horrid but bearable. And if his heart beat faster, it wasn’t out of fear but overwhelming respect and admiration for the former pirate hunter. She was ruthless and dirty, and he loved it. Would mean needing a couple hours of harsh scrubbing to get the blood out of his hair, but it was worth it to see her determined.

“I’m alive,” he grunted with a weak smirk, “but getting a little sore. Mind getting these ropes off of me, love?”

     “ -- -- IN A SEC, babe.” she comments as she ducks under a blade. riku stabs her uchigatana forward. she’s no ZORO, or even tashigi for that matter, but she knows her way around a blade. the pirate hunter’s eyes widen in acknowledgment of what’s about to happen, and she swings her sword UP with all her strength. the body SPLITS in two, and the halves fall over. she breathes harshly and turns to glare at the two left. “you wanna GO?” she shouts, and they start running away. 

       she doesn’t let them get far. “SPARKS!” she cries out. it’s not her best attack name, but it’ll get the job down. riku runs forward and thrusts out her hand. BRIGHT LIGHTS come from her hand and aim toward the pirate hunters, who scream -- and then they IGNITE into a beautiful, deadly display. riku breathes harshly, looking at the carnage around her. 

Head turning again, dirt smearing at his cheek, he spied the offered hand. For approximately half a second, his heart leaped. The gesture gave him the tiniest, feeblest flicker of hope. Yet he didn’t show it. His shaking hand took hers, and he pulled himself up from the ground. Flecks of broken concrete and dirt cling to his suit, but he didn’t bother to sweep them away. Rather, he sat there quietly, eyes focused on anything that wasn’t hers. No matter how strong the desire was to look at her, he knew he didn’t deserve that right.

He had hurt her, and the shame was too great.

“M’fine.  .  .” He placed a hand on his knee and pushed himself up the rest of the way. Only then did he reached down and pat himself clean. Everything hurt, but she didn’t need to know that. If she thought to raise her hand again him and cause his more pain, he didn’t want anything to stop her.

Her second offer was given a tiny shake of his head. Only any other day, he would have accepted her help. He would have gladly leaned against her, wrapped an arm around her and exaggerated his helplessness just to earn her attention for a few minutes more. Not today. “Thank you, Riku-chan, but I can do it.”

                  I don’t want to burden you.

“Do you have someplace we can talk in private?” Sunny wasn’t an option. There was plenty of room on the ship, but he couldn’t trust that his nakama wouldn’t catch snippets of their conversation if they happened by. He trusted them unconditionally, but not with this.

     the stubborn IDIOT.

riku lowers her hand and clenches it into a fist. her eyes continue to water, and she glances away. her heart is POUNDING in her chest. “you’re not fine.” riku comments, and her voice shakes. if he was NORMAL, he wouldn’t have been acting like this. hell, he may have even yelled back at her. she likes him most when he treats her as a PERSON, rather than SOMETHING precious. 

       she feels foolish now. she knows she was too RASH in her judgment. still... it hurts. even if he HAD been through something terrible, she wanted to be there for him. it hurts to be apart from him. it hurts to love him this much. “... i -- haven’t gotten a hotel room yet, but i can.” she mumbles, looking out of the alleyway. 

teehee @devilslcg

Without a return letter telling him where and when she wanted to throttle meet him, Sanji was left wondering. And with that wondering came the lingering sense of doom. Riku was a powerful woman, and the cook was well aware of that fact. He expected her to feel betrayed and angry, but the idea that she might be understanding had given him a small, flickering sense of hope.

That hope was extinguished the moment he was thrown down. He didn’t fight back knowing damn well that it was her, but he did emit a deep grunt and a pained whimper when she stood over him. Even pissed, she was stunning. Now wasn’t the time to point that out — his red cheeks, however, betrayed that he still found her to be the most ravishing, heart-stopping beauty he had ever had the pleasure of laying eyes. Not to mention the way she effortlessly overpowered him reminded him on their first meeting years after he had helped her at the Baratie. Seemed this was going to be a pattern with them.

The snapping and popping at the ends of her fingers caused a small cringe, unlit cigarette threatening to ignite from the small, sudden flashes of heat.

“I’m sorry! I mean it. I’m really, really sorry. I wanted to tell you!” He shut his eyes when he heard a larger pop and tasted gunpowder on his tongue. “Everything happened so fast. I didn’t have time to write you. I’m sorry.  .  .”

Some people believed that apologizing too often took away from the sincerity of it, but there was no way he could be lying when his eyes watered the way they did. He hated having to relive his mistake and knowing that he had hurt this deeply. Ashamed, he turned his head to press his face into the dirty alleyway floor. His shoulders gave a little heave, lower lip worrying harshly between his teeth.

“I want to tell you everything, and I will! Just.  .  . let me up. Please. I don’t want to do it here. And if you want to hate me after, you can. I won’t blame you.” He would hate himself too if he managed to mess up everything they had together.

his reaction immediately pulls on her heart-strings. riku’s always held a fiery anger inside of her, something that built up over years of abuse. it didn’t come out often--it only existed in the dark depths of her soul, hidden by a bubbly and goofy personality. it’s hard to be in touch with her emotions. sometimes, it’s hard to be HUMAN. but... when she sees him so weak like this... she never expected him to look so BAD. she knows his policy about hitting women--stupid, if you ask her, because she could probably KILL HIM where he lays. she purses her lips together and inhales a slow, deep breath as he continues to apologize. 

she feels a twang of humiliation in her gut, but she squats down to his level. the bursts have calmed, no longer sparking from her hands. it kills her to see him like this. her SAVIOR. her... lover? are they? he’d said I LOVE YOU in his letter. “fine,” riku says and holds out her hand to him. she’s never seen him so emotional. it makes her insides twist. “get up, sanji-kun.” 

that bird never stood a damn chance, especially after reading the papers before she received sanji’s letter. there was so much HURT and regret swirling through her, like an untamed storm. she honestly cannot remember ever feeling like this before--the only time that came close was when she finally built up the HATRED for the diamondbacks and freed herself. 

maybe it’s not fair to be angry with sanji, but they -- she brushes her thumb over the i love you. does she trust him? she should. but why didn’t he just tell her they were going after big mom? why did she have to read about a WEDDING just a few days earlier, after she’d already sent her letter? she threatened the bird to give the location of the straw hats ship, and off she went. 

after a few days of sailing, she was in the general area, sitting up on the crow’s nest on the ship she stowed away on. it wasn’t hard to stay on the ship after she’d been found out, after they learned who she was and she killed the right hand man in cold blood--she’s a little angry.  she sees the straw hat’s flag through the telescope while they’re passing an island. the pirates don’t seem to be stopping there, so riku jumps off the crow’s nest and throws her hands behind her, sending fireworks through her palms and LAUNCHING herself toward the island. it takes a few times (and she genuinely thought she was going in the water at some point), but she makes it to the dock.

where she smacks down unceremoniously and rolls forward a few times. “dammit,” she mumbles under her breath. she spies Sunny just a few yards away, but it’s not like she can just... jump on the ship. his crewmates--to her knowledge--don’t really know about them, besides the initial contact she’d made with them. so, riku decides to get something to eat--it’s logical, since if sanji wasn’t on the ship, he’d be looking for the food of the island. 

so she waits in a market area, hardly eating, scanning the natives and visitors alike, when she sees a glimpse on blond. maybe she should’ve written back. maybe she shouldn’t be following the first blond she sees, but she just has a feeling it’s him. riku stalks him until there’s an alley and then just -- grabs sanji by the arm as she rushes by and throws him into the alley, standing over him like a DEVIL. she’s so--angry at seeing him at first--so angry, little sparks come from her fingers. “you said you would explain.” she says, voice even and terrifying in the same breath.