Netsu

Rio laid in silk sheets, the tang of cigar smoke latched onto the sheets and pillow. The curtains by the window started to waver in the wind coming through the left open crack in the glass. Crocodile's presence wasn't in the bed next to him as his eyes slowly opened.

He sensed someone, like a feeling he'd long forgotten, that he'd buried deep in the trenches of the Grandline to never see again. He rapidly sat up, seeing the eerily familiar blue staring from the shadows by the door. As the individual stepped forward, the water dripped off their fingertips onto the ground. Rio's heart started pounding; the newspaper of reality was shoved into the side drawer of the nightstand.

But it was unmistakable. He still looked like he did, only cuts and blood mixing with the ocean on his skin. The silent figures behind him looked like they were half in death's domain already.

"Rio…" Penguin said, almost sounding like he was still under the waves, sinking with the ship. "Why did you…you left us.."

Rio's body trembled: As a man who should've been dead, who shouldn't be in the Cross Guild headquarters, in these quarters, he looked like he crawled out from Hell to drag him down to Davy Jones to die with the crew he abandoned. Ikakku had blood staining her side and the sleeve where an arm used to be, Clione had sea water and blood dripping onto the floor from his leg, and others had more. Shachi stared silently, no words. Penguin kneeled onto the bed, as Rio crawled back until the headboard touched his back. When his second knee hit the bed, Rio looked behind Penguin for a second, his eyes catching a sword pointed at him. The eyes were yellow, the white of her teeth showing the mouth curling down into a frown.

After everything, they would haunt even his waking hours. Memories would be his punishment for eternity.

As the sword raised above him, Penguin had eyes streaming down, squeezing the life out of Rio's eyes as Canidae prepared to give the sentence.

"WHY DID YOU LEAVE US RIO? WE DIED WITH YOU ABANDONING US! YOU LEFT TO DIE WHEN WE WOULD'VE DIED FOR YOU IN A HEARTBEAT!"

The voices all started screaming the same sentiment, sobbing with anger, and yelling with sadness. As Canidae brought down the sword to his right eye, his heart gave out.

…..

…..

As he jumped up in bed, the sun was leaking through the windows, and his hand was shakingly touching his eye, before he threw up his blankets and rushed to the full-length mirror, checking his arms and legs for the bruises that grip should've left. But there was nothing.

Rio shakingly exhaled, grabbing his clothes, failing to notice the small puddles in the door as his shoes hit the ground as he ran out.

He met up with Crocodile and walked behind him, before the indivual walking with Mihawk made his heart shatter on the floor. The same eyes that gave him his judgement.

Mihawk extended a hand to gesture to the individual, "Meet my….new underling; Raposa."