30~ The Truth Behind The Island

Mira

The party was in full swing by the time the sun was beginning to set. It carried on into the night. Everyone was loud and boisterous as we all huddled in and around one central building. People drank without a care in the world as grand music played for us.

Zoro and I sat near the back, watching everything. Usopp was telling his tall tales, Sanji was enjoying all the women draped all over him, and Luffy was stuffing his face.

Nami sat down and joined us. "Please don't hold back, drink up!" Igara set tankards down before the three of us.

"No thank you," Nami kindly pushed it away. "I'd rather not drink alcohol."

"Don't worr-" he cleared his throat with the ma. "Don't worry. It's a special drink made of prime grapes that are used to make prime wine. It's flavor is wine itself, but doesn't contain alcohol." Is that even possible? I picked mine up and sniffed it, checking for any signs that it had been tampered with.

I took a careful sip, not expecting to enjoy the flavor. "You're right! It's good!" Nami voiced my thoughts.

"Ah, but Zoro isn't a wine drinker." I started to take his tankard.

"Oi," He pulled it from my grasp.

"We had a good grape harvest again this year." Igara threw his hands in the air. "Now, to celebrate the harvest, we'll have our usual toast competition!" Competition?

"How this works is, you continue to toast and the last one standing is the winner!" Igara explained as people began to ready tankards of wine. "Please join in the competition!" He urged for us to enter.

"I'm in." I said as I took another sip.

"I guess I am, too." Zoro sighed as he drank from his tankard.

Nami held her hands up. "No thanks. I can't drink that much."

"The prize money for the winner is 100,000 berries!" He produced the sack of coins and my eyes bugged wide.

"Another cup!" Nami stood and held her tankard out. If there's money involved, Nami will do anything to get it. "Zoro, Mira, you're participating too, right? You guys don't have money."

"Hey, I have some." I crossed my arms. "And yes, we already agreed we'd join."

"Cheers!" And down went the first cup of the competition. Cup after cup after cup, we drank.

"Whoa! They're on their tenth cup!" Zoro, a random guy, and I set our tankards down. The guy fell out of his seat, unable to continue on.

"The girl is on her twelveth cup!" Two more people fell over.

"Take that!" Nami cried out happily.

I chugged down two more cups, quickly gaining on Nami. They said there was no alcohol in the drinks, but I can begin to taste more and more with each cup. They want us to get drunk and lose all our senses. I bet they wanna rob us blind.

I nudged Zoro and whispered my thoughts to him. He nodded, but continued to drink. I hope he understands what's going on.

After another hour of drinking, Zoro quit. "That's it. I quit. I'm gonna sleep."

I scoffed at him, my cheeks feeling a bit warm. "Light weight. Another round!" The alcohol was just barely starting to affect me. I could honestly drink all night and into the early morning and not be drunk!

"The young man is finally out after his thirteenth cup!" Zoro conked his head on the table, the tankard still in his grasp.

"Ah, but his young companions are still going strong!" I drank from my sixteenth cup and held it out for more.

"Mira!" I faced a drunk Nami. "I'm gonna win that money! Just give up!" She tipped her head back and laughed, chugging another cup.

I rolled my eyes. "You're the one who should quit! You can hardly stand! I can get up right now and dance perfectly fine! You're drunk, Nami!"

"Whaaat?" She giggled. "Drunk! Psh! No way! You're drunk! The both of you!"

I rolled my eyes and decided to humor her. I took one more cup of wine then slumped over. "Yeah, you're right. I'm done." I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep. It was just against Nami and a nun. Both were one cup ahead of me.

Soon, it was over. "I won!" Nami cried out victoriously. "Ah, what fun..." She finally settled down.

Now to wait for the right opportunity...

~~~~~~

"Mira, are you ready?" Zoro whispered to me once the last of the people left the hut.

I sat up and grinned. "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's figure out what their motives are." We climbed over the bodies of our crew mates and climbed a ladder at the back of the hut. We positioned ourselves so we could hear what Wednesday, Mr. 9, the nun (who is actually a very buff woman), and Igara explain a plan of action.

"Capture them alive." Igara said coldly.

Zoro pulled his white katana out. "Hey, sorry but, do you mind letting them sleep?"

I pulled my own katana out. "Since we got done with the adventures outside the Grande Line, I'm certain they haven't gotten much sleep since entering. This place is pretty crazy, you know." I grinned down at them.

"They're all exhausted from just this afternoon." Zoro finished for me.

The door on the ground floor opened and a man came out, explaining that Zoro and I were missing.

"They're up there." Wednesday said with a glare.

"You bastards!" Igara glared at us. "I thought you were completely asleep!"

Zoro grinned. "Swordsmen never make the mistake of letting their guard down that much."

"Besides," I placed my free hand on my hip. "We didn't trust you guys from the start. We knew something was up the second we saw you cheering and welcoming us."

"So let's see if we got this right." Zoro looked out to the crowd gathering before us. "This is a nest of bounty hunters. You dupe pirates who are in high spirits after having just entered the Grande Line. Looks like there are about one-hundred bounty hunters here. We'll fight you all... Baroque Works!"

Everyone flinched back. "How do you know our company?!" Igara cried out in shock.

"When I used to be in a similar line of work, I was recruited by your company once." Zoro explained as he readied his blades. "Naturally, I rejected. Employees don't know each other's identity and are called by code names. Of course, the boss' whereabouts and his identity are also a mystery, even to them."

"Baroque Works is a criminal group that just faithfully carries out their orders." I adjusted my hold on my katana as Zoro exposed the crowd and explained everything to me. "Hmph! Was is a secret?"

The wind picked up and blew dust around the crowd. "This is surprising... If you know our secrets, then we have no other choice but to kill you. Two more gravestones to add to the others on Cactus Rocks." Zoro and I stared down the crowd, not once faltering as Igara cast icy scowls at us.

A few more seconds of silence passed between us. "Kill them!" I quickly froze time.

"Huh?" Zoro glanced down to our joined hands. "What-"

"Let's mess with them before we fight." I grinned mischievously.

He chuckled. "Alright." We carefully climbed down from the hut hand in hand. We came to a spot in the crowd and stopped.

"You take fifty, I take fifty?" I asked as we readied ourselves.

"Deal." We pressed our fists together and I used my new technique to get to the other side of the crowd. The second our hands let go, time resumed. We all stared up to where Zoro and I once were. Me freezing time gave the illusion that we just vanished into thin air, like we weren't even there. Dust in the wind...

"They disappeared..." Wednesday gasped in shock.

Boy are they in for a surprise.

"Where did they disappear to?!" Igara demanded. I shrugged and stared up to where Zoro and I were just standing. This is actually kind of fun messing with them. They glanced around, looking for us. I made myself look as if I was part of the crowd and looked for myself.

"Wait, what?!" Well, I've been spotted. I ignored them as I looked up at the buildings. The crowd gasped in shock, not understanding how we got there.

"Alright," Zoro grinned at me. "Shall we begin?"

I grinned back. "Yes."

"How dare you guys mock us!" I glanced around.

"Fire!" They shot their pistols at us. With blinding speeds, I used the pussy foot maneuver and avoided all their shots. The others got hit with friendly fire.

"Idiots!" Igara scoffed. "They shot each other!" Guess Zoro had the same idea as me. Avoid and only use weapons when necessary.

"They disappeared again!" Mr. 9 began looking for us again.

"Kill them already!" Igara growled. "It's just a swordsman and a girl!" I peeked out from my hiding spot to see Zoro come up right behind Igara and slip his katana right by his face. Wait, when did he get there? Just a second ago he was right beside me!

He's really fast.

Zoro just stood there calmly and collected, a grin in place. "Let me ask you a question. Are you sure that you need to add only two gravestones?" A chill raced up my spine. He can be kinda scary sometimes.

The group of people who avoided the shots quickly surrounded Igara from behind, their guns aimed at Zoro. "There he is!"

"Idiots!" Igara began freaking out as they cocked their guns. "Don't shoot! Are you gonna shoot me, too?! Stop! Igarappa!" I gasped as he pulled his saxophone out of his coat and blow into it, an off tune note sounding from it.

Bullets flew out of it and into the crowd, just barely missing the people. Holy hell...

Wait, where's Zoro?

Igara slowly turned around. "Where did that man and that girl disappear to?"

Something touched my shoulder. I sucked in a deep breath and drew my katana.

"SH! It's me!" A voice whispered.

"Zoro!" I whisper yelled and ducked behind the building with him. "What the hell is that guy?"

"I don't know," He leaned against the wall, a bead of sweat running down his face. "Phew... I'm guessing that thing he has is a shotgun. That thing is dangerous."

"I agree." I nodded as I peeked around the wall. "They're still looking for us."

I spotted Mr. 9. "It seemed that they're good enough that we must be cautious." Wednesday nodded as the buff nun cracked her knuckles. Igara stretched his fingers over his saxophone gun and glanced around.

"Do they seriously think that they can take us on all by themselves?" Igara seems pissed.

I spotted the reason. "Zoro, you cut his hair. He's not happy."

He shrugged. "Oh well. He really shouldn't have it that long anyways."

"Agreed."

"It's hard to believe that they challenged us even after knowing we're with Baroque Works." Igara calmed himself down a bit as he spoke. "They have some nerve! Find them!"

"But where did they go?!"

"Who cares! Just find them!" They all started to disperse and look for us. This is kind of a large town, so I don't think we'll be found soon.

I pulled away from the corner and leaned against the wall. "Yeesh, I thought taking them down was gonna be easy. Musical Shotgun made that a bit more difficult."

"Yeah," Zoro said from beside me. "Just keep your guard up. I'll have your back if you watch mine."

"I will." I nodded and peeked around the corner once more, ready to alert him if someone started coming this way.

"The new recruits I got back in Loguetown," I glanced up to him. "Yubashiri and Kietsu III... This will be a good chance to try these guys out in earnest. Is your Tamashī ready?"

I chuckled to myself. "Yep. It's warm and ready for action." And it was. I could feel the warmth it gave off through the sheath.

"I'm gonna go all out!" Zoro exclaimed quietly.

"Tch," I shrugged. "Save some of them for me. We're doing this together, remember?"

"There you are!" I gasped and looked up. Someone had a gun pointing right at us. "Die!"

"Mira!" I had no time to react. Arms snaked around my waist as wood splintered out around us. The gun shot echoed just as we landed on the floor. That was too close.

"Damn it." The guy on the roof swore.

We stood from the floor and froze as several more guns cocked. "We, uh... should get out of here..." I whispered to Zoro.

"You think I don't know that?!" He hissed. "You go one way, I'll go another."

"Got it." We jumped in two directions. Zoro dove over a table and knocked it over for protection. I slid under a bed, katana ready. Shots ricocheted around us. I slipped my katana behind me and carved out a small hole to crawl out of. Once the way was clear, I kicked that part of the wall out and slipped my katana back in its sheath. I grew my nails out and crawled backwards, my nails digging in to the wall.

I scaled the wall with my nails once I was out and stood on the roof. "Up there!" I glanced down and saw my shadow had given me away. Better pull some of their attention away from Zoro. People shot at me as I jumped over to the next roof.

"After her!" Good, just as I planned. They raced after me as I jumped from roof top to roof top, dodging all their bullets.

I slid to a spot and jumped back. "Welcome!" Right as I did that, I caught a quick glimpse of Zoro just barely avoiding a canon being launched at him. It instead hit the building I was on, part of it crumbling away.

"That thing is dangerous!" Zoro shouted up to me. "Be careful!"

I didn't listen to him. "Watch where you aim that! You could kill someone!"

"That's the point." He snickered.

"Oh, right..." I stood back up. "Zoro, get up!"

"This is it for you guys!" He took aim once more.

A scream sounded behind me. I turned and ducked just as the buff nun chucked a barrel at my head. "Miss Monday!"

"Are you crazy?!" I shouted at her as I rolled away from her punch. "That thing was full of alcohol!"

"Very expensive alcohol." Zoro added as he stood. The alcohol was pooled out on the roof behind him. "What a waste."

I pouted. "I wanted to have some more later."

"Not the time, Mira." Zoro stated as he readied himself.

"Right." I avoided Monday once more. "Zoro, behind you!" He turned and sliced through a solid stone mallet that could have crushed his entire body.

"What was that feeling in my hand?!" Zoro gasped as he stared at his Kietsu. "Kietsu is very sharp. A legendary sword cuts only when its master wishes it, but this one is a problem child. So this is what a cursed sword is like." He pulled it closer to his face for a better look.

"Stop making goo-goo eyes at it and focus!" I rolled away once more as her giant fists came for my body.

"Lord have mercy!" A woman suddenly cried out. I risked a glance to see a slender nun holding a small child.

"Pay attention to your fight!" I looked up just in time to jump out of the way of Monday's powerful fist. "You shouldn't be looking away to worry about others. It's kill or be killed!"

"Of course I'm worried about him." I drew my katana. "That guy has no sense of direction."

"So he has no moral compass?" She asked as she cracked her knuckles.

"No, he's directionally challenged." I lunged for Monday. "He probably couldn't find his way out of a paper bag with a map in his hands!"

"I heard that!"

Monday jumped out of the way of my attack. For someone so buff, she moves pretty quick. I gasped and ducked to avoid bullets being shot at me. Damn! Attacked from all angles! "Zoro, get these guys off me!"

"He's going up higher!" I quickly glanced to see him climbing a ladder. "Get him! We gotta corner him!" The people shooting around me ran off to catch him.

Now I can focus on Monday.

Wait, where did she go? I peeked over the edge of the building I was on. "Zoro behind you!" He somehow managed to duck just in time to avoid Monday swinging the ladder at him. When did he get over to my building? I looked over to the one he was previously at to see the people over there scrambling to get over here.

"Don't try our patience." Monday glared down at Zoro as she slipped on brass knuckles. "There's no man who can best my strength. This is the end of you." I gasped as she picked Zoro up by his throat.

"There she is!" I spun around and deflected bullets that were shot at me. "Get her!"

I stood and slid into an offensive position. "Pussy Foot Slash!" My feet moved in a blur with the maneuver as I swung my sword. I cut down six people with ease. They had no idea it even happened.

An explosion sounded behind me. "Zoro!" I let out a small cry of pain as a bullet grazed my arm. I bared my teeth at the people attacking me. I went at them once more, determined to get them off our case.

Suddenly, I was surrounded. They all shot at me at once. I shut my eyes. My katana burned in my hand and I gave it a mighty swing.

The cries of the men mixed with the pained scream of Monday. I slowly stood and turned to see Zoro clutching Monday's head tightly, his muscles bunching. She fell to her knees and gripped his arm, begging through her screams to be let go.

"What's the matter, muscle woman?" Zoro smirked at her. "Didn't you want to have a contest of strength? Well?!" A dark look crossed his face. The sound of bones crunching made me flinch as she released his arm and fell back, her eyes rolling into the back of her head.

"You okay, Mira?" He called to me.

I looked down at my arm. "Yeah, just a scratch. You?"

"She missed me." He said as he turned from Monday. I spotted blood on his forehead from where she slammed her fist into him. Missed, huh? "She was all bark and no bite."

I jumped over to be beside him. "Shall we continue, Baroque Works?" He licked his blood as it trickled down his face. "Fighting isn't a joke." Clouds rolled in and covered the moon, blocking out the light and casting eerie shadows over the area. I bet Zoro and I look super scary from our positions.

We walked to the edge of the building side by side and stared down at the remaining crowd below us. Of those down there, I only recognized Igara, Wednesday, and Mr. 9. Fear was evident in their eyes as they waited for Zoro and I to make a move.

As the clouds rolled on, the people with no names started to panic from seeing probably one of their strongest fall. A gentle breeze blew in and ruffled our clothes and hair. This only made things more tense with Baroque Works' underlings.

Igara suddenly gasped. "I got it! The Navy made a mistake on the wanted posters!"

"It makes sense if this guy has a thirty million berry on his head." Mr. 9 added. "And this girl... no doubt hers is right on par! They must be the real power house of the crew! He's the real captain and she's his right hand man."

I raised an eyebrow at that as Wednesday scoffed. "Right. I thought it was strange that such a namby-pamby guy was worth 30 million berries." Ah, they must be talking about Luffy.

"But, even so, how disgraceful." Igara glared up at us. "If we lose to one pirate swordsman and a little girl, we'll be held responsible since the boss put us in charge of this town."

"It seems it's finally our turn to fight." Wednesday smirked up at us.

Mr. 9 took a step forward. "You may know this, but members of Baroque Works, the smaller the number, the higher his level and destructive power are."

"So, you're weak." He and Wednesday recoiled back. "I mean, 9 is a pretty high number if you're counting up to 10. And I don't think everyone has a number. That would get too confusing."

"Shut it!" He snapped and pointed a finger at me. "You'll think twice about insulting me! Mr. 9, Mr. 8, and Miss Wednesday are part of the agents with single digit numbers, which means we're powerful people who are beyond comparison to those you just fought."

"Hmph." Zoro grinned. "Aren't titles useless when it comes to fighting?"

"Those who are stronger always end up on top." I placed a hand on my hip.

"That's all." Zoro said firmly.

Mr. 9 scowled up at us as more wind blew through.

"Who do you want, Zoro?" I whispered as I cast my gaze over the three before us.

"Whoever I can get to first." He replied.

"That's good enough for me," I slid my feet apart, ready to attack when necessary.

"Igarappa!"

"Move!" Zoro and I jumped out of the way as bullets shot from Igara's saxophone.

"Let's go, Miss Wednesday!" I glanced down to see Mr. 9 and Wednesday ready for their fight. Wednesday whistled.

"Come, Karoo!" I blinked slowly at what I saw come around the corner.

Is... that an overgrown duck...? "I didn't say give me your hand! I said get over here!" She jumped into a saddle strapped onto its back. "Now, show them your speed that leaves leopards in the dust!" The duck squawked and sat. She scolded him and conked him on the head.

Yeah, I'm real intimidated... I wonder if Sanji will make fois gras with this feathered thing?

I quickly avoided more shots from Igara as Mr. 9 shouted to Zoro about letting his guard down. I let them fight how they wanted as I used my katana to deflect and cut the bullets coming at me. Igara growled up at me as he shot at me once more.

Jeez... that awful music is really starting to hurt my ears. I thought this place was known for its good music and wine?

Oh wait, that was before we found out it was a place of bounty hunters run by Baroque Works.

I ducked behind a crate and watched as both Mr. 9 and Wednesday went after Zoro, only succeeding in falling off the roof.

I thought they said they were super powerful? I knew they were lying.

"Fighting these guys is starting to get embarrassing..." Zoro muttered.

"Hey, Musical Shotgun is putting in some decent effort." I pointed out as more bullets hit the wall around me. "I can't get close to him! Behind you!" When did he get onto the roof?! Zoro quickly ducked and rolled out of the way to avoid being shot.

I stood and ran to be at his side. Where'd he go? Oh. I spotted a hole he cut out to escape.

"So he escaped below using that hole." Igara voiced my thoughts. "No matter. I can still get you, girl!"

I winked and held up two fingers. "Bye!" I hopped down the hole after Zoro as more of that awful music played, sending more shots to where I had just been standing. I moved away from the opening and hid in the shadows.

Zoro's blade glinted in the low light, motioning for me to stay down. I nodded and knelt down to avoid being seen.

"It's useless to hide down there." Igara said as he stepped to the edge of the hole. He stared down intently, trying to find us. "Get a good taste as to how frightening I really am!" Zoro flashed his blade at me once more and pointed for a door. I stood from my crouch and we quickly and quietly slipped through. Igara never even knew as he continued to rant about how strong he is.

We found a new place to hide and pressed our backs against the wall. "That shotgun of his sure is a pain... How should we close the distance?"

"We come at him from two angles." I suggested. "He can't shoot us both at the same time. Yes, that thing can shoot multiple bullets at random places, but they can't curve around him."

"Good idea."

"Ka-boom!" I flinched at the sudden noise and turned to see Mr. 9 come out of some rubble. "How dare you beat me like that earlier! You won't get away with it!"

"Are those metal bats?" I asked as Mr. 9 charged at us.

"Yeah..." Zoro sighed. He sounds tired of all this bullshit.

"How pathetic..." I mumbled as he got closer. "He fell on his own."

"Exactly." Zoro shook his head.

"Home Run Sneaky Bat!" He slid to a stop and extended his arm. A chain shot out of his bat. Zoro shoved me out of the way, the weight and chain wrapping tightly around his arm.

"I tied up one of your arms!" Mr. 9 laughed triumphantly.

"It's an iron chain..." Zoro stared down at it as Mr. 9 gave a tug, somehow succeeding in pulling Zoro out into the open.

Igara soon caught up with us. "You caught him. But where is the girl?"

"Right here." I gasped in pain as my arm was suddenly pulled painfully behind me. Wednesday pushed me out onto the open street, keeping me firmly in her grasp.

"Mr. 8! Do it now!" Mr. 9 called out as he wrapped the chain around his own arm and pulled it tighter for Zoro's end. Fool... He's only leading himself to his doom.

"He's right, don't move." I glanced behind me to see Wednesday's other hand holding a knife to Luffy's extended belly. Her weird duck was holding him up. "If you do, I'll end both of your friends' lives." Well, this just complicated things.

I have a free hand, and it happens to be holding my katana. I could reach it around and knock the knife out of her hands. But then Igara could turn on Zoro. Who am I kidding? Zoro can handle himself.

Luffy snored, completely oblivious to the danger around him. He smiled and muttered about meat.

"Good job, Miss Wednesday," Mr. 9 praised her. "You can't escape or attack now, swordsman!"

"That idiot," Zoro shook his head at our captain. "At least wake up when you're being held hostage! And how the hell did you get caught?!" He shouted at me.

I blew some hair out of my face. "Oh, you know, just trying to recover from someone shoving me into a wall to avoid being hit with a chain. No big deal."

"Prepare to open fire!" Igara pulled at the strings on his tie. My eyes widened as several gun barrels appeared from his hair curls. "Preparations complete! Igarappappa!" That's a mouthful...

Six consecutive shots flew from his hair. In a split second, Zoro leaned back and yanked on the chain, pulling Mr. 9 with him.

"Is this guy a toy?!" Zoro shouted as he moved out of the danger zone, Mr. 9 taking his place. Every shot hit Mr. 9. Zoro grunted as he used the chain to launch Mr. 9 into the air and launch him at Wednesday and her duck.

"Are you freaking kidding me?!" In less time than it takes to blink, I used my katana and knocked the knife from Wednesday's hand. She didn't even notice when I slipped away, her focus locked on a flying 9 coming right for her. I ducked out of the way just as they crashed into each other, her, the duck, and Mr. 9 flying into a stack of crates.

"Watch where you aim that thing!" I shouted at Zoro. "Or at least give me more time to react!"

"I knew you'd move." Was all he said.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" I clenched a fist at him. "If we're still standing at the end of this, I'm gonna hit you!"

"If you can catch me!" Zoro jumped out of the way of more shots from the gun hair.

I lowered my head a bit. "Trust me; I will. I have the ability to freeze time, remember?" He didn't say anything as he continued to dodge the shots.

I glanced down to a still snoozing Luffy. Should I move him...? Nah, he'll be fine. I raced off to help Zoro.

Right as I reached him, he grabbed my wrist and spun me around. "This way! Luffy, we're gonna borrow your belly!" He jumped and used Luffy as a trampoline. I squeaked as we flew into the air.

"Now, Mira!"

"Right!" I let out a cry as I swung my arm hard, throwing Zoro right for Igara. I landed back on Luffy and bounced off him to a safe place. I looked up just in time to see Zoro putting his blades away, blood spraying from Igara's torso. Igara fell backwards, finally defeated.

"Okay!" Zoro gasped out. "We're done!"

"Finally!" I let out a heavy breath and went to join Zoro. "That was one heck of a workout. Nice job." We bumped knuckles and grinned at each other.

"You're not too bad yourself." I giggled and tipped my head to the side at his compliment. We climbed one last building at sat at the edge, listening to the crickets chirp.

"It's finally become a quiet, nice night." He said as he crossed his legs under him.

I smiled to myself. "I'll say. The crickets add a nice touch and the water rippling is very soothing. When do you think we should head out?"

"As soon as the sun rises." Zoro replied. "We'll gather up the crew before then and be ready to leave the second we see it peek over the horizon."

I sighed and leaned back, using my hands to keep me propped up. "Sounds like a plan." We sat in silence, enjoying the nice weather. I slowly shut my eyes and took a deep breath, slowly letting it out.

I wish we could have more calm nights like this.

"Hey,"

"Hm?" I opened my eyes and looked up at Zoro.

"I, uh..." Zoro rubbed the back of his neck. "I was real impressed with you back there. I wasn't sure how you were going to do at first, but you did a very good job. I'm glad you fought beside me tonight."

I smiled up at him. "Thank you, Zoro. You were really cool, too." Is that blush on his cheeks? He quickly turned his head away.

"Don't expect me to let you fight all the time." I just shook my head at him. "You would only get in my way for completing my goal at becoming the greatest swordsman this world has ever seen."

I chuckled and lightly punched his arm. "Admit it, we make a great team. If I hadn't been here, you might not have made it out unscathed. As it was, you got pounded in your head by that nun."

"What was with her, anyways?" He asked as he faced me again. "I've never seen a woman like her! When she pulled off her robe, I thought she was a guy with a really high voice."

I let out a laugh and tipped my head back. "I thought I was the only one!" We laughed and joked about those we just fought, our sides hurting from all the laughing. We leaned on each other for support so we wouldn't accidentally fall off the building.

We suddenly stopped laughing. "Did you hear something that sounded like a boom?"

"Yeah..." Zoro looked over his shoulder. "It came from over there."

"I can't fall in a place like this." I looked away from the sound of the explosion and looked back to the ground. Igara and the other two were moving. "I have an important mission."

I nudged Zoro. "They're moving."

"I can see that." We studied the three of them. Well, so much for a calm night.

"How pitiful," We turned to see two new figures enter the scene. "Losing to a single swordsman and a little girl."

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?" I pouted. "I'm not that small..."

"You kinda are."

I glared at Zoro. "I didn't ask for your opinion." I looked back to the pair that just entered. One was a man with dark skin and really cool looking shades and a long, black trench coat. He stared coldly down at the three on the ground, hands in his pockets.

The woman beside him was small in stature, wearing a short, lemon slice dress and yellow cap. She had a yellow and green striped umbrella open. Why? I don't know. It's the middle of the night. It's not like the moon can give her a burn. She turned the umbrella in her gloved hands.

"Mr. 5! Miss Valentine!" Igara gasped out.

"Are you guys kidding around?" Mr. 5 asked. "Huh? Answer me."

Oh god, her laugh. It sent unpleasant chills up my spine, the ones you get when someone scrapes their nails on a chalk board. "You guys are pathetic. After all, this is the difference between our rank and yours, isn't it?"

"Did you come to laugh at us?" Igara asked with a scowl.

"Drama within the company," I whispered to Zoro. His lip twitched as he fought off a laugh.

"Yes, but..." Mr. 5 sighed.

"We are here under our mission." I grimaced at Valentine's laugh.

"Thank goodness," Mr. 9 chuckled as he tried to sit up. "If you help us, it'll be very much appreciated. Those two are no match for us!"

"That's right," Wednesday gasped out. "Please beat that guy and the girl he fights with right away."

"Enough with the bad jokes," Mr. 5 said firmly. "Us help you?"

"Did you really think that we'd come all the way to the end of the Grande Line for that?" Valentine smirked at the trio. Well, it looks like there's nothing good coming out of this for them.

"Then what mission did you come here for?" Mr. 9 asked as Igara glared at the pair.

"Wish I had some popcorn," I whispered to Zoro. "Things are getting good."

"Hush!" Zoro pushed my shoulder, but I could see him wanting to laugh at my jokes.

"You really have no idea?" Mr. 5 took a step forward. "There are criminals here that are big enough for the boss to send us here to deal with."

He took another threatening step forward. "These're the boss's words: 'They've found out my secrets.' Of course, I don't know what secrets they are, but, our company's motto is 'mystery.' No matter whose identity it is, the rule is that you don't go nosing around. If someone finds out the boss' secrets, that's, of course, a sin worthy of death."

"Ooh, I wonder who violated their motto." I stared at the three. "I betcha it was Mr. 9. He looks kinda shady."

"Mira, this is serious!" Zoro snapped at me.

"Right, sorry..." I lowered myself back down out of sight.

Valentine spun her umbrella. "When we very carefully investigated who was learning his secrets, oh boy, we found out that a VIP from a certain kingdom sneaked into Baroque Works."

"A kingdom?" Mr. 9 sat up completely. "Wait a second! Even though I'm wearing a crown, I'm not a king or anything! It's just my hobby!" He lied about royalty. Isn't that a crime?

"We're not talking about you!" Valentine snapped.

"The sinners are those who are missing from Alabasta Kingdom right now..." Mr. 5 stared intently at the other two.

Igara leaped to his feet. "Die! Igarappa!" He shot his guns at the pair. They exploded on them and covered them in flames and smoke. "I won't let you lay a finger on the princess!"

My eyes widened. "Plot twist!"

"Princess?" Zoro asked beside me. "What the hell is going on here?"

"On my name as Squad Captain of Alabasta Kingdom Security, you will die here!" Igara glared at the fire where the two were standing. Wednesday called out to Igara, worry thick in her voice.

I watched in amazement as the smoke cleared. Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine were uninjured. "Igaram, the Squad Captain of Alabasta Kingdom Security, and its princess, Nefertari Vivi. In the name of Baroque Works' boss, we'll eliminate you two."

"Well, things just took an unexpected turn." I stated as Igara, no Igaram, and Vivi took cautious steps back.

"Yeah," Zoro agreed beside me. "Things just got a bit more interesting. Ah, this isn't good."

"What?" I looked over to him. "Hey, where did you get that wine? And why aren't you sharing?!"

"Don't worry about it," He wiped the liquid off his lips. "You shouldn't worry about the wine. Look. We left Luffy down there."

I peeked over the edge. "Oops."