008

— she moves like a knife —

SHE HAD ONLY JUST BEGUN EXPLORING AND THE NIGHT WAS YOUNG. Visenya made no noise as she walked down the dark halls, her eyes scanning the golden picture frames and expensive detailing on the walls and roof. While the house was designed to the most expensive and perfect detail, there was nothing overly special about the house itself— well, aside from the hidden passageways in the walls.

She had seen the openings behind painting, and secret doors with a book as a lever. She had felt the wind sift through the halls, splitting off into the vents and under one of the secret doorways that had started to wear away.

Some time had passed, and nothing changed until the low, old clock chime doorbell echoed off the halls. Visenya's head snapped up, a pang of unease shooting through her as the echo faded out. She turned to the window, looking out the fountain and seeing how the shadow ran across the ground. It was far too late for any reasonable person to ring a doorbell— at all.

Visenya sped down the hallways without a sound, walking closer and closer to the front door, the sound of Klahadore's voice growing louder with each step. Visenya stopped in the cosy sitting room just beside the front entrance, pressing herself to the diving wall to hear him speak better. "Marines? Whatever could be the matter at this time of night?" Klahadore tried to hide the surprise in his voice, but it was obvious he wasn't expecting visitors either. Visenya slipped away from the wall and crouched beside the window, peeking out to see a small group of Marines led by Koby and Helempo. Even Usopp stood with them with fear contouring his features.

"Sorry to bother you at such a late hour," Koby apologised, his voice just as soft and timid as all ways. "But we heard reports of pirates in the area."

"What?" Usopp scoffed. "What are you talking about? He is the pirate! He murdered Merry!" Visenya's eye moved before her head as she looked toward the front entrance. She sighed through her nose and made her way back to the dividing wall, standing slightly more in the entrance, Klahadore practically having stepped outside. No one made a move at Usopp's accusations, and that only made him even angrier. "Arrest him. What are you waiting for?"

"Oh dear," Klahadore cooed. "I'm so sorry if Usopp here has wasted your time. You see, he's not well," he explained, his voice filled with a faux sympathy. "The entire village has tried their utmost to help, but the poor boy has been this way ever since he was a child. One lie bigger than the next." Klahadore then dropped his voice, "He was never quite the same after his mother's passing."

"Leave my mother out of this!" Usopp snapped, raising his voice. "His gloves! Check his gloves for blades." Visenya froze. She may not have remembered Klahadore, but definitely remembered the pirate Captain of the Black Cat Pirates, Niles had known him very well.

Oh god, Kuro.

Visenya spun and without a sound ran back down the halls, retracing her steps to guest quarters. She opened the door to Nami's room, but she froze when she realised the room was empty. She checked Zoro and Luffy's rooms, and they were both empty. Visenya's panic spiked, but she kept herself under control and sped down the hall to Oaklyn's quarters.

She stepped inside, her body relaxing when she saw Oaklyn sleeping. Visenya ignored the guilt she felt and stepped around the small chair and table to the side of Oaklyn's bed. Visneya pressed her hand to Oalyn's mouth, covering the startled shout she let out. Oaklyn stared up at Visenya with wide eyes, but she just motioned for the girl to be quiet.

"Klahadore is a Pirate, his real name is Kuro, and he murdered Merry," Visenya explained, keeping her words simple. Oaklyn's eyes widened and Visenya took her hand back.

"What?"

Visenya stammered for a moment, "The sheep is dead."

"I heard what you said," Oaklyn huffed, pushing herself to sit. "I just— It's the craziest thing Usopp has ever made anyone say." Visenya stared at Oaklyn in confusion, but Oaklyn just shook her head softly. "Listen," Oaklyn pleaded, shifting in her seat. "Usopp likes to tell stories. I know him."

"And I know fear," Visenya countered. Oaklyn stared at Visenya, her eyes scanning her face and then she shuddered.

"Holy shit you're not kidding," Oaklyn mumbled.

"Get dressed," Visenya ordered before turning away. Oaklyn scrambled to stand and rushed to pull her black pants and singlet on, as well as a purple jacket Visenya had seen in the massive closet. "Do you now know the way to Kaya's room? Through the secret passages?"

"They're aren't—" Visenya looked over her shoulder at Oaklyn and she quickly shut her mouth. "She's on the 3rd floor. . . From this side of the house. . ." She stopped and let her eyes dart around as if she were drawing the map in her mind. "I only know to get into the hall," Oaklyn explained, grabbing her scarab.

"Okay."

Oaklyn turned and pulled the full-length mirror on the left side, pulling it open to reveal the tight, dark passageways. It let out a gust of cool air that made Visenya wish she had brought her cloak. Oaklyn hesitated for a moment before she stepped through to lead the way, the scarab letting out a gold eight o let them see. Visenya pulled her sword handle from her boot and quickly followed Oaklyn, closing the mirror behind her.

They twisted up through the halls, climbing higher and higher through the tunnels that seemingly never ended. With the shortcuts however, in reality they reached the hall far quicker than they would have normally. Something rattled in the walls and Visenya grabbed Oaklyn's wrist, stopping her quickly.

Oaklyn stared at Visenya, but her eyes were more focused on the roof above them, listening to the rattling growing louder, echoing through the house followed by small slams and faded clicks. Oaklyn tried to keep her breathing quiet and steady as Visenya focussed. "It sounds like the security system went off," Visenya whispered, gently motioning for Oaklyn to continue walking.

"How do you know what that sounds like?" Oaklyn whispered, her eyes wide in confusion and shock.

"It echoed through the whole house, it was a metal system that didn't affect the foundation of the house, so it's a hidden feature of the house," Visenya explained, listing off the things that most set off her senses. "The bangs were metal hitting metal, and the clicks were locks."

Oaklyn stopped and stared at Visenya. "How does your brain work?"

Visenya stared at Oaklyn in confusion and when she didn't answer, Oaklyn moved on, continuing through the passageways. When they finally reached the 3rd floor Visenya stopped Oaklyn before she could open the door into the hall. Oaklyn stepped back, pressing herself to the wall and watched Visenya move carefully. Visenya could see the fear on her face, but dwelling on it wouldn't do them any good.

Visenya waited a few moments, listening for footsteps and she was proven right when the soft thud of boots hit the floor. Oaklyn tensed beside her, but Visenya simply opened the door, recognising the footsteps instantly. "Nami," Visenya called in a whisper.

Nami jumped in shock, nearly falling into a cabinet but she caught herself. "Jesus— What? What are you doing?" Nami hissed, walking over to Visenya. Her eyes widened as she noticed Oaklyn but offered her a hand to help her step over the small wall, the only parts of the door being the painting and the frame.

"Trying to find you and Kaya," Visenya whispered, and they all continued down the hall, "There is—"

"Marines at the front door and pirates in the house?" Nami scoffed, shaking her head. "I know."

They rushed to the end of the hall, Oaklyn immediately grabbing the golden handles to tug the doors open. But they refused to budge. Oaklyn shook the doors as tried to pull them open again and all it did was make a terrible racket.

Visenya pushed her aside and she reached for the handle. She flicked her fingers and sent vibrations through the metal that shook the lock free. Visenya pushed the doors open and sighed in relief when her eyes landed on Usopp and Kaya. Even though their faces were a mix of shock terror, Nami's tense shoulders eased, "Thank God you're still alive."

Kaya stared at them for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing. "Why wouldn't we be alive?"

"Your butler is Kuro, the Captain of the Black Cat Pirates," Visenya explained, closing the door behind them. Usopp visibly eased beside Kaya, relived someone was finally believing him. "They fight with blades, so grab a thick jacket to protect your skin."

"He's also been poisoning you," Nami added quickly, her voice filled with too much fear to really consider her words.

"What?" Oaklyn snapped.

How? The only thing Kaya seemed to ingest was the oddly blue— "The tea," Visenya whispered.

Kaya's eyebrows furrowed, sharing the same shock and confusion as the others. "What are you talking about?" Kaya questioned, her eyes narrowing at Visenya. She walked to a small table and picked up the small clear glass of hot blue tea. She dipped her pinkie into the clear blue liquid, and it left a strange flaky substance on her skin.

Oaklyn rushed to Visenya and grabbed her hand, looking at the strange substance. Her eyes widened in terror, "It's poison."

"I overheard them in the kitchen," Nami said quickly. "It's been going on for years."

Kaya looked between the girl and shook her head. "Did Usopp put you up to this?"

"I didn't even know," he whispered, his voice deflated and defeated. "I gave you that tea."

"Think about it, Kaya," Nami said sternly, and her eyes snapped back to her. Visenya stepped away, she and Oaklyn searching for the secret passage. "When did you start getting sick? Was it around the time Kuro started working here?" Kaya's eyes darted away, her mind reeling at Nami's questions, but she didn't let her think too long. "Listen to me. If we stay here, we die."

Visenya popped the secret door open behind another mirror. "We need to leave," Visenya ordered, looking back at the others. "Now."

Kaya hesitated for a moment before nodding softly. Usopp grabbed a lit lantern and took the lead, stepping into the passageway first, Oaklyn, Usopp and Nami all following. Visenya paused for a moment and rushed to the window, throwing the cushions off the bay couch and throwing the curtains open. She opened the window and placed her hand on the heavy metal security panels.

She pushed her power through to her fingertips and bent the metal under her grip. Its creek and groaned, the rusting metal practically shouting her location to Kuro. She quickly stopped when it looked reasonable enough that a person could slip out and rushed back to the passageway, pulling the shut and binding it permanently closed.

Visenya raced through the tunnels quickly catching up to Nami and the others. Nami jumped slightly when she realised Visenya was walking beside her, but she quickly shook it off. "What the hell was that?" Nami hissed, turning to Visenya.

"Creating a diversion," Visenya whispered. "Close a door, open a window."

They continued for a while in tense silence, dodging low ceilings and the spider webs. But soon Nami broke the silence, the seemingly random turns Usopp was taking make her head spin. "Where are we going?" She ensured to keep her voice quiet, but still loud enough for Kaya and Usopp.

"We gotta get out of the house," Usopp answered quickly, keeping his focus on leading the way.

"There's another crank that can open the shutters," Kaya explained in more detail. "It's in my parents' bedroom in the east wing."

"Are you sure?" Usopp asked, looking over his shoulder. "Maybe there's another way."

Kaya shook her head softly, "This is the only option. We have to go—" She cut herself when she began to cough, the noise loud and abrupt. They froze, but Kaya continued to cough.

Then the world seemed to slow around Visenya, the hairs on the back of neck standing as she felt something racing towards them. In less than a second, Visenya pushed Kaya into Usopp and threw Oaklyn at Nami, barely avoiding the sharp blades that burst through the wall on either side of her. Visenya quickly raised her hands and gripped the metal blades with her power, holding Kuro in place.

Visenya motioned Oaklyn and Nami on, and they didn't waste a second ducking under the blades and running to Kaya and Usopp. But they didn't stop, continuing to rush quietly through the passage. Visenya could feel Kuro struggling to pull his blades from the wall and Visneya happily let her hold go. Kuro flung back and she heard the loud bang as he hit the floor, followed by a pained groan.

Visenya turned, rushing her way through the passageways, catching up with the others just before they shut the door. Oaklyn held it open and Visenya stepped into the dark master room, the only light source coming from Usopp's golden lantern. Everything was covered in expensive white sheets to protect the furniture from dust and other things.

Nami followed after Usopp and Oaklyn, as they began searching further into the open dark room. But Visenya stayed closer to Kaya, keeping her in her sights as she surveyed the room. Kaya blindly traced her hands along the wall, searching for the secret cabinet in the dark. She found it and opened it with a click and a relieved sigh. She pulled the lever down and the electricity through the house slowly sparked to life on what little energy there was.

The lights in the room flickered on revealing the dark emerald green walls with a bright golden trim, there were display cases of model ships and old detailed oil paintings on the walls. Usopp blew the lantern out and set it on a table of other small trinkets in glass protection. Suddenly he jumped, shuddering as flicked his arms out and spun around. "It was a spider," he explained poorly to Oaklyn and Nami.

"We treated him like family," Kaya whispered to herself, hugging herself with her arms but her words quickly grew sour and angry, "How did I not see it? How did I not see him?"

Nami quickly walked over to Kaya and placed her hands on her shoulders, "It's not your fault," Nami assured quickly, her words pure and honest. "He took advantage of you. Now, I need you to be strong so we can get out of here."

Kaya took a deep breath and nodded at Nami. Nami smiled and let her hands drop from Kaya's arms. Kaya walked around her to the one painting in the entire room that was covered, specifically shielded the art from ageing and the sun with a thick sheer fabric. Kaya reached up for the fabric revealing one of the most interesting family portraits Visenya had ever seen. Perhaps Kaya should have left the fabric in place.

"What would they think of me?" Kaya whispered, looking up at the painting. Oaklyn walked over to Kaya and looped her arm through hers, Usopp following to stand close to her. "They'd be so disappointed."

"They're dead, they can't be disappointed," Visenya said, shaking her head softly as she began to search through different draws, looking for nothing in particular but finding an odd key or watch. Nami hissed Visenya's name as they all turned to stare but Visenya just shrugged. "You don't want to disappoint your parents, do not die. You let a pirate into your house. Nothing changes the fact they loved you. But you won't feel anything if you're dead." Visenya turned away again, continuing her search.

Kaya watched her for a moment, taking in Visenya's words before taking a deep breath and pulling back the painting to reveal the crank. Kaya grabbed the handle and swung it out of where it had been hidden away. The old metal groaned as she pulled on it and Usopp, Nami and Oaklyn rushed to help her pull on it, but the years of age had practically rusted it tight.

Visenya watched them struggle for a moment before she walked over and urged them to stop. She grabbed the metal handle and slowly the rust fell away letting her spin the handle. Slowly the crank wheel started to spin, still letting out the deep groans of old metal. But the shutters began to rattle and slowly lifted and freed the windows.

However, the longer she spun the crank, the harder it became, even getting stuck at some points as the windows rattled. Visenya wrapped both her hands around the handle of the wheel, pulling on it harder and while the shutters started to roll up faster, a coo of Kaya's name made her freeze.

"Oh, Miss Kaya." Kuro's voice echoed down the darkened hall; his voice quiet but it cut through the heavy silence like the slice of a blade. Visenya looked up at Nami and she began to search for a hiding spot, leaving Visenya to step away from the crank and slowly walk towards the door. Usopp quickly grabbed the crank and swung it back inside its hiding spot, shutting the painting closed with a click.

Visenya crouched by the door, peering out the keyhole at the finger-bladed pirate. He was wistfully walking toward the door, taking his time in his pursuit. But that meant Visenya could do the same. 

Nami spotted a standing desk and pulled the sheet back, checking the hiding spot but it was small, barely able to fit two people. Nami looked back at Oaklyn, and she grabbed Usopp's hand, pulling him toward a shutter-door closet and climbing inside. Kaya rushed to Nami and slid under the desk, letting Nami pull the sheet back over their hiding spot.

"Sounds like we have a bigger rat problem than I thought," Kuro continued, his words still floaty and lively, like a cat chasing its prey. "Maybe we need a cat in the house."

Visenya stepped away from the door, hiding behind the small table that had been setup to stop the door from opening too wide into the room. Just as she settled into the shadows, Kuro kicked the doors open, the wood slamming into the two tables on either side. His footsteps echoed through the room and Visenya peered over the small table, watching him carefully move through the room.

"Now, now, Kaya," Kuro called out in a haunting voice. "I know you're in here." Visenya let her eyes focus on the harp, imagining the weight of the metal strings underneath her fingers, how cold the strings would be, the rough feel of the strings, the strings. Visenya flicked her fingers and the strings on the harp vibrated, sending out a deep drone.

Kuro turned quickly, watching as the harp seemingly strum itself. Visenya played the notes a little faster, a little louder, pressing on Kuro's patience that had already worn so thin. And not a second later, in the flash of an eye, he sped to the harp and slashed through the strings, the notes the harp was making ending in a terrible scream.

There was a beat of silence as Kuro watched the harp fall apart before he turned back to look into the dark room. "Come out. There's no point in hiding who we are anymore." He kept his voice as oddly calm as he could but there was the sound of irritation slowly growing. "Isn't it exhausting putting on airs, pretending we're better than we are?!" Kuro slashed down at an armchair, his blades tearing through the cushions like a hot knife in butter, and far too close to Nami and Kaya's hiding spot for her comfort.

Visenya looked further into the room, toward one of the draws she had been rifling through. With the flick of her wrist the watch rattled inside, and Kuro spun to face the noise. "You've had every opportunity this world has to offer," Kuro taunted, throwing an old hand carved statue off balance as he closed in on the desk. The crash but Usopp jump but before Kuro could turn Visenya rattled the draws again. "What have you done with your life? Nothing. Absolutely nothing!"

Kuro raised his hands to slam down at the desk, but before he could, Visenya tore the drawers open and sent the contents flying. Keys and old led pencils stabbed into Kuro making him curse and stumble. Visenya moved quickly, without a sound, finding a new hidden position by an old couch. Kuro shouted and flipped the desk, the wood smashing against the floor.

"You are a pathetic, spoiled, snivelling little brat!" Kuro's words were harsh and loud as he spun and destroyed another table. But Visenya wasn't focussed on the furniture he was breaking, but rather the large vein popping out of his forehead that grew with every step. He was quick to anger, and generally very quick, the slams and swipes of his blades moving so fast they blurred together. If she stayed quiet and let him continue rage, she could strike him before he knew it.

"Oh, come now, Kaya," He huffed, his voice growing tired. Visenya moved her attention to a far desk, slowly opening the draw, trying to lure Kuro in. He sped over to it in a flash tearing it shreds, and this time Kuro heard Usopp jump in the closet "Let's not make this more difficult than it need to be, hmm?" Kuro cooed, stepping dangerously close to the closet Usopp and Oaklyn were cowering in. Visenya rattled the clips on the curtain to Kuro's left, the metal vibrating and making an annoying screech. Kuro quickly moved toward the dark curtain and slashed through it with his sharp blades.

He sighed, the edge of his eye turning in frustration as he stared and the curtain lying on the ground, nothing hiding there. Visenya moved quickly, slicing through the air as if she were never there and blending into the shadows like she was one. Visenya was hidden behind a tall dressing cabinet when Kuro finally tore his eyes away. "Just consider this payback for all those years spent listening to your incessant whining," Kuro said, his voice hiding behind a false reasoning. "Klahadore, the soup's too hot. Bring my blanky, Klahadore. Make my tea. Brush my hair."

Kuro's voice trailed off as he walked towards the family painting, his eyes staring as if he were truly entranced. He had forced tears into his eyes, lip trembling as his taunts grew terribile. "Oh, Klahadore. . . I miss my mommy and my daddy."

Visenya had heard enough.

Visenya kicked the cabinet, and it flew across the floor slamming into Kuro, and knocking him down as the debris fell around him. Visenya stepped from the shadows, into the golden light, holding her sword tight in her hand. Kuro kicked the debris from his body and scrambled to stand, flinching away from the red-hot laser.

He stared at Visenya with that same look that he greeted her with, but something seemed to click deep into his mind, and then he was terrified. "Death."

— lethal lust —