52. High classed problems

[Farris (Kuro)]

The Disguise Farris had picked was uncomfortable to say the least. The corset was tight and the high heels were killing her. Her blue locks were put up in this ridiculous style and the large gown she wore was drafty. She hated Nobles... especially when she had to dress up as one to sneak on to an Island. Didn't these people have enough money and land? They needed their own Island now too? The nerve... Still she knew how to act the part and that was all that was important for why she was here. She had heard about the slave trades that went on here and that they had taken a Child! A little child and put him into slavery. Farris didn't care what race the kid was, the fact that he was little boy was enough for her to endure this getup and the snobs to get this kid out of here.

The Marine bases on the Island was the only thing that worried her. She would have to be careful, stealthy and sneak the boy off the island. If the she was discovered their wouldn't be a lot of chances for escape. Actually unless she was as good as Kaku, she doubted she could escape, it'd simply be the end of her journey or worse. After their last meeting, Farris parted ways with her friend but they had agreed to try and meet up again. It had been a while since then though and she wondered how Kaku was fairing...

She couldn't let herself get distracted! She needed to focus on finding the little Fishman boy, Timmy. According to the news Timi was a Mackerel Fishman and was constantly getting himself in troubles that he needed help getting out of. Usually he had a faithful dog fish that saved him named Rasi, but the animal had been wounded tailing the kidnappers and they was how Timi's parents knew were to find the boy. It was a start at least and now here Farris stood walking off the ship and into the City of Champagne...

[BEX]

Kaku remained perched just on the veranda of one of the many windows that lined the mansion despite the bitter cold wind tearing through his clothing and threatening to take his hat altogether, the man remained obstinate about remaining vigilant. His cold eyes scoured the yard of surrounding estate making sure not to miss any details, the owners had been very clear that they had recently brought to the mansion had caused an uproar in the eyes of many and they were expecting someone to attempt to retrieve the child. Of course an assassin’s opinion didn’t have any bearing in the case so he simply nodded in agreement promising to watch over the custody of the child until things blew over for the family. Guards were stationed everywhere, but he was the main artillery should anyone of “true” ability come after the child in which case he would have no choice, but to use brute force. Although the nobles made sure to notify him of the likelihood that this was going to be a dangerous mission the jovial man assured them with a charming smile that it would be no trouble at all,

“Now then, let’s see what happens when my powers are tested against my skills against the best that the underworld has to offer-ja” the man said enthusiastically as he leaped into the air attempting to reach the top of the tall mansion.

Many of the guards stationed below looked up to see him floating in the air like some sort of specter and their eyes believing that he was going to fall to his death, but Kaku’s face only remained coiled in a smirk as he slowly began his descent. With a powerful burst of his leg into a the air below he created a “platform” sending a visible cloud from the force created from his kick as he floated to the top of the mansion effortlessly,

“Geppou!”

The men below widened their eyes as their jaws dropped in amazement; of course there were rumors of people with unique abilities, but they had never witnessed anything as outlandish as a man literally jumping on air. Amongst themselves they talked about where the nobles could have found such a dangerous person to be hired as bodyguard meanwhile Kaku, donning his all black uniform which rustled in the updraft that persisted atop the mansion roof. From his post he could see everything that happened in the garden below and he had a feeling that things were about to get very interesting.

[Farris (Kuro)]

The lavishly dressed musician disguised as a noble spend a few hours finding out which of the nobles had "purchased new Merchandise". One finally being the one that fit the description of what she was there for. She wasn't so sure she should rely on gossip, but it was the only lead she had and asking around would be suspicious. She already was getting some questionable looks as many of the nobles didn't recognize her, and really they shouldn't. She just needed to keep of the act that she was a noble from off the Island a bit longer.

She used her disguise to get a closer look at the garden and stake out the points that she was going to need to avoid or take out to free Timi. She would wait until nightfall, then ditch the Aristocratic outfit in favor of something more stealthy. She wondered why this seemed so familiar... Then she remembered the dream and wondered it the training in "torture" camp would be useful or not. It was still a dream after all, no mater how real it had seemed so she could really count on such maneuvers. Well maybe she would give it a shot, it was better that her less stealthy approach and with as well guarded as this place being as well guarded as she could tell, she was going to need that stealth.

The one thing she didn't notice was a figure looming from the sky with a cap and a long square nose as she was being given a tour of the garden by the one of the male nobles of the family. He was a young man but obviously snobbish and overconfident. She could tell he was likely one of the houses sons by his rich attire a his singles status as he tried to impress her, show off and more than once sneaking peaks at her cleavage that the fancy dress seemed to make very prominent. Farris responded with an unimpressed look for the most part but occasionally faked interest in him to keep him going until she saw all that she needed to in order to break in and rescue the kid that night. The man had wavy violet hair that was shoulder length and wore rich clothing that was expected of a noble. His name Fent or Vent or something like that she couldn't really remember, and she wouldn't need to for long...

[BEX]

Kaku tapped his foot against the hard surface of the roof in boredom as he sighed with a sort of remorseful expression on his face. He was certain Lucci and the others were probably on far more promising missions, but he had decided that taking a job as a bodyguard would lead him to get involved in all sorts of fun experiences; that clearly wasn’t the case. In the garden he listened as one of the noblemen showed a lady around the garden, but he didn’t bother looking over the edge of the roof to see who the noble was. As far as he was concerned he was never a noblemen and never aspired to be finding the noble people of the world to be utterly boring worse yet, ill mannered. Most of the time he spent laying on his back staring up at the sky longing to be free and leaping about as he had once been able to at Water 7, but those days were over and for some reason it brought a bittersweet smile to his face as he closed his eyes,

“Paulie-san…I wonder what you’re doing right about now” he said softly into the crisp night air; in some ways he wished that he had never met the Mugiwaras or Nico Robin, but in others he now got to see that he had to get stronger.

His cap shifted over his face, the “body guard” of the noble family rested quietly as the smooth mind of an individual began to work out a plan that would send the whole house into turmoil. Unbeknownst to him it would be someone that he was well acquainted with.

[Farris (Kuro)]

Farris kept up this act until the night fall, The nobleman insisted that she stay for the evening and seemed to be less callous than she first thought offering her a guest room. This would make things easier so of course she took the offer. Once alone, Farris checked out the room, it was well decorated and she noted that nothing too value able was kept in it, which meant the Noble family weren't complete fools.

The musician discarded her current clothing and was more than happy to be free from the corset and high heels. How any one could wear such things constantly was simply beyond her. Replacing this attire was an outfit much like her normal attire, only her jacket was a simple waist length coat and she sheers on her boots were removed to make little noise. The blue haired woman placed her long locks up in a bun and slipped out of the bedroom window.

She figured the better way to go about this would be to watch the patrols and move by roof tops until she got to the boy. Once she had him out she could take out the guards as she made for the dock and a hasty retreat. After all there was no way she would be able to avoid suspition once she freed him...

There was just on hitch in her plan, one thing that she didn't for see as she got to the roof above her guest room... She wasn't the only one on the roof. She saw the form of a tall figure and knew their was going to be a bit of trouble as she moved along the roofs. "No problem, I'll just sneak up on him and knock him out." She thought, though as she got closer the man seemed more familiar with his cap and long square shaped nose. That's when she realized it must have been, "K-Kaku?" She uttered in surprise never expecting to run into the assassin here of all places. Why was he here?! She thought frantically. It wasn't that she wasn't happy to see him but given the circumstances it was unlikely he was their to rescue the boy, like she was.

[BEX]

“K-Kaku?” came a female voice behind him, but of course the assassin didn’t turn around instead with movements faster than the eye could track he quickly positioned himself behind the intruder placing his index finger against the nape of her neck beneath the tassels of blue hair.
Then it dawned on him,

“F-Farris-kun?!” he exclaimed turning the girl around hastily and embracing her before he released her embarrassed at his outburst of emotion stepping back slightly to leave a respectable amount of distance between them; he wasn’t sure what had made him act so casually especially on the job, but he resigned himself to professional as there were problems with the woman’s appearance here, “I hate to ask, but what are doing here?”

Of course he knew the answer simply by looking at the clothing she was wearing as well as her appearance on the roof, but still he asked as a formality. A strange excitement crackled in his eyes as he realized that this was the job he had signed up for and although it was against someone he would never have picked a fight with outside of the job he knew what he had to do while completing the job. Erecting himself to full height the hired man smirked confidently at the blue haired woman before she gave her answer as the wind blew dramatically sweeping across the roof as if to mark the beginning of a very interesting encounter with this woman. Naturally his face flushed as he remembered what had happened the last time they had been left alone,

“Good thing aren't any boats up here or I’d be at a disadvantage-ja”

[Farris (Kuro)]

Before she could so much as bat an eye, the man vanished only to re-appear behind her with deadly accuracy. A finger at her neck ready to end her live were she stood but she remained calm, She was sure that Kaku would recognize her. Sure enough he spoke her name in surprise and spun her around to face him. He pulled her into a hug and the blue haired woman melted into his embrace for a moment taking in his unique scent and the warm of his body with a blush. She parted from this hug much to her regret and asked “I hate to ask, but what are doing here?” Which made her frown. How did she tell this man that she was here to rescue the boy? To tell him they were against one another? Fortunately, she didn't have to.

She saw him erect himself to his full height and saw that now so familiar smirk of confidence on his face. The musician didn't want to fight Kaku, not simply because she knew she was no match for min in a fight, but because of her own personal feelings for him. As the wind created a dramatic atmosphere between the two, she saw him blush. “Good thing aren't any boats up here or I’d be at a disadvantage-ja” He said, only making her own blush turn a deeper shade of red as she recalled that moment as well. "Who says we need a boat? The roof'll work just fine." She replied despite her blush, adding a smirk before looking a bit more serious.

"I don't suppose theirs a way you'll just let me save this poor kid, is there?" She asked, the assassin though she had a feeling she knew the answer. Still, it was worth a try to reason with him. Otherwise this rescue had just gotten far more dangerous... but why then did she feel so happy to see him? Or simply she was excited for this encounter too. After all unlike the "dream" she had her own skills, even if they weren't anywhere near his level, It would be good to see were her skills stood. Assuming she survived this, that is.

[BEX]

Kaku slowly shook his head in answer to the question that was posed to him with an excited smile on his face, the shadows danced across his features twisting them ominously comparable to how his amusement tended to make him when going against a prospect he was interested in. He had met Farris in a dream world and still their connection had transcended the realms of their subconscious driving them to meet face to face yet again although it wasn’t on very good terms; neither of them seemed displeased with the circumstances however,

“Oh? You’re smiling in a situation like this Farris? Interesting…” he rubbed his chin with his right hand while the ironic smile still held its ground.

Suddenly he dropped both hands to his side and began walking towards the woman slowly, yet cautiously. His every sense heightened as they normally would in a much anticipated fight for he knew that while his physical abilities were exponentially beyond the woman before him, she was shrewd and worse yet tenacious. As he thought about his gait changed slightly both in speed and in form; he was slightly making provisions based upon the inferences he could draw from the woman’s stance. Jamming his hands into the deep black pockets of his pants he stopped approaching her with only a few steps separating them as the wind picked up in intensity swelling around them as if it were some unseen force trying to mash them together, whether it was in violence or pleasure only time would control that factor,

“Now, then. Let’s have some fun-ja. I was getting bored up here anyway listening to those nobles drone on and on about how great their money smells…pompous things” the man said with an icy edge to his voice; not the usual light hearted air he carried about him. It seemed the time for light hearted fun had ended for Kaku, “Please…” he gestured at Farris with a nod, “…you take first move”

Finally the stage had been set.

[Farris (Kuro)]

“Oh? You’re smiling in a situation like this Farris? Interesting…” Kaku said in what seemed to her as amusement more than seriousness. "I guess it's hard not to, when I've missed you." She said honestly, She had missed the long square nosed man. He approached her hands in his pockets and a more serious air seemed to surround them now. He knew she wasn't going to give up simply because he was far above her level as a fighter. He knew her well enough to know how stubborn she was. “Now, then. Let’s have some fun-ja. I was getting bored up here anyway listening to those nobles drone on and on about how great their money smells…pompous things” He said in icy tones, it seemed he despised the nobles as much as she did. "Tell me about it, I had to deal with one flirting with me all day." She said with a roll of her eyes to show how "thrilled" she had been about that part of this whole business.

“Please…” he gestured at Farris with a nod, “…you take first move” Kaku offered both politely and generously. She took the Rokushiki stance, well as best as her memory served, she had been practicing it on and off to see if she could still do as she had in the dream, she could but it wasn't easy nor was she any better at it than she had been in the dream. She smiled none the less, "Take any move I want?" She asked him, looking as if she was ready to attack.

Once she had her confirmation, The blue haired woman moved to attack. At least that's how it appeared at first glance but she quickly attempted to wrap her arms around Kaku and kiss him. She would figure out some other way to free the boy but she could just bring herself to attack him, even if he choose to attack her. Needless to say the musician wouldn't have made a very good assassin.

[BEX]

She had missed him. For some reason that made him feel lighter than he had before and although he tried desperately to quell the feeling, he couldn't help admitting that he had wanted to see the blue haired musician.

Suddenly Farris moved with purpose and quite skillfully utilizing rudimentary movements from the Rokushiki style making Kaku smile as he remembered where she had managed to get those basic movements from; movements that only were known to people that went through the hellish training on that island. She was almost on him now, yet he followed every movement with his eyes not budging an inch to defend the supposed attack; his confidence in his skills made him brazen enough to even keep his hands in his pockets. Her arms wrapped around him in what he thought would be a grappling technique and he lowered his center of gravity to brace himself for the sudden motion when he felt a familiar set of lips pressing against his own,

“ja?” he muffled as he suddenly fell back onto his hind quarters, caught completely off balance with the peculiar method of attack.

He placed his hands against her chest to push her away, however once they touched the female’s anatomy he became embarrassed and instead rose his hands high in the in the air to indicate that he wasn’t doing anything mischievous. This only served to worsen his position even more as now he couldn’t support his weight and fell directly on his back with Farris kissing him just as the guards came bursting through the door that led to the roof,

“Nee….” they muttered in unison as they viewed the slightly awkward scene going on before many of them sighed and left, some giggling while others grumbled about their own lack of action while the hired body guard was getting play.

“What a mess this has turned into…” sighed Kaku inwardly; now he was labeled a playboy as well as having to deal with the matter that Farris was here to interrupt his job.

[Farris (Kuro)]

Kaku fell over on to his back from her surprise "attack". It was a little victory as she savored the kiss even as she had felt his hand on her chest briefly. This turned out to work in her favor when other guards rushed to the roof to see the two lovers, "making out". The guards seemed to mistake the situation in her favor, thinking that Kaku was getting lucky and left. A few even giggled at what they had discovered which was more discomforting for the hired body guard than the rescuer.

After a moment, she broke the kiss once she was sure the guards had gotten far enough away. "You did say I could take any more I wanted." She reminded him, looking into his bulbous eyes before adding. "I don't want to fight you." She said sitting up and straddling his waist. " And any way, we both know you'd win, so what should we do about this?" She asked him, her hand moving to stroke the assassin's cheek. "Maybe I should surrender, but then those nobles will likely have me killed or worse." She said with a bit of sarcasm but it was directed at the situation and not her long nosed lover.

[BEX]

With the embarrassment of the guards discovering their whereabouts Kaku now heaved a sigh as the woman that he had gotten to know more than he had realized straddled his waist while stroking his cheek lovingly. Part of him was excited to see her again while the other part rejected this new bond, what would Lucci think if he found out that as an assassin Kaku had gone and fallen in love with a woman, a woman who was possibly a pirate no less. A sigh escaped his lips as she posed the question he had been thinking since she first appeared,

“So what should we do about this?” she asked playfully, her warm hands seemed to pulsate with reassurance that pushed away his doubts of the pair’s future; there was time to worry about that, now he had to deal with the situation at hand.

Coughing grandiosely in a futile attempt to hide the still rosiness that flushed his cheeks Kaku slipped out from under Farris before staring away into the night sky. He hadn’t anticipated that something like this would ever happen,

“Farris…” he said lightly his back still to her for he could not look her in the face and still maintain his own honor he felt; her hold on him was that powerful that he would indeed throw away everything simply to make her smile, “…just what is it that you want with this boy? What does he mean to you?” he asked seriously hoping that he could perhaps convince her to leave the matter alone.

Somewhere inside he knew that the woman never operated solely upon what was beneficial. She was grounded in a morally black and white world believing more in doing what was right than what was good, part of the reason that he had fallen for her or at least grown to fond of her. He kept badgering himself inwardly to lock away this soft feelings that he had for the woman instead lying to himself that he simply wanted to do something more fun rather than face the truth of his own emotions. His cap nearly flew off, but with a quick movement of his right hand clamping down onto it the black baseball cap rested on his head while his other hand remained tucked away in the pocket of his black pants.

[Farris (Kuro)]

Kaku slipped out from beneath her (just as she was getting comfortable too) and stood up with him. He looked away from her as if it was the only way he could keep his feet on the ground and not float up to cloud 9. Not that the musician blamed him, she felt similar for the assassin. “…just what is it that you want with this boy? What does he mean to you?” He asked her seriously, not unlike how she had tested his resolve in the dream. "He's a little boy that's been taken from his family, his home... I may not be a marine or a government official but I do have a sense of justice." She said softly, before continuing. "The government and marines have no intention of saving this boy. He's probably scared, lonely and wants his parents... When I think of that and what his parents must be going through... I just can't turn a blind eye to it." She explained with a sigh, wondering if her lover understood her sentiments on the matter.

"It's not that he's important to me, more like... a maternal instinct..." She added in thought. "Like... If it wasn't a kid I wouldn't care as much, but no kid should have to go through something like this." She said finally, and actually it felt rather good to say it. The fact was their were few people she felt she could be so open with, Kaku being one of those few. She hadn't even felt this comfortable with her own nakama. She felt like she didn't need to keep anything to herself when she was with Kaku, because he would simply understand or accepted her. "I know I can't save every kid in the world that ends up like this, but this is one I could do something about, but... Not if it's against you." Farris said honestly. The blue haired woman couldn't bring herself to go all out on the giraffe, her own feeling prevented her from it.

[BEX]

Hearing her speak sent strange, unfamiliar waves of longing shivering down his body and the conviction in her voice seemed to batter away his own reasons for wanting to stop her. Since his own childhood had been spent training with the future Cipher Pol agents he couldn’t understand what it meant to be a normal child and this meant that you dealt with everything that was thrown your way; even if it meant being put in danger’s way. For a few moments he continued to stand quietly listening only to the howling of the wind and the way the world sounded when it was filtered through the rich voice of the musician behind him. Every time they spoke he always felt freer around her than he did anyone else though he felt at home with the others, she was something more like a glimpse of the life that he could have had if he weren’t an assassin; a cold blooded killer,

“Farris-kun…” he said finally after a long bout of silence, “…I can’t say I share your maternal instincts for children and you should understand that having glimpsed my memories back at that place” he responded now turning towards her, “It’s hard to believe that we met at the Grand Line, isn’t it?” he asked with a weak smile as he took slow deliberate steps towards her.

Finally the brim of his black cap just missed grazing a few strands of rebellious blue hair as he stared down at the girl with an odd look in his eyes as if trying to tell her something. He wished that he could do more for her than simply tell her that he wasn’t going to have a hand in breaking some kid from the grasp of the nobles. His jaw lines grew rigid with bitter anger at having been put in this position though he knew his stance on it and he could only hope that she would understand what it meant,

“I can’t help you…Farris” he explained in a low, wise voice speaking to her while holding her cheek in his hand and staring directly in her eyes which seemed to sparkle with the light of the moon flashing from the sky; the moon seemed to be jealous of the woman’s eyes, “…please understand that this is not my place to interfere”

[Farris (Kuro)]

The blue haired woman nodded, She could understand Kaku's side of it. He had a job as well and couldn't just back out of it on a whim. “…I can’t say I share your maternal instincts for children and you should understand that having glimpsed my memories back at that place” She nodded with a look of understanding and a bit of sadness for her lover. As she recalled how he had leaned into her touch back in that dream, back when he was being punished, she wondered if Kaku had ever had the joys of a family in his life, or had he been denied that? Fate could be a cruel thing but it was at leas kind enough to bring them together. as he approached her again her eyes never wavered from him, but there gaze was not one that sought an attack, but rather one that was gentle and caring. “It’s hard to believe that we met at the Grand Line, isn’t it?” He asked her and she chuckled a little. "Fate is funny like that, but I'm glad we did meet." She told him truthfully.

“I can’t help you…Farris” he explained in a low, wise voice speaking to her while holding her cheek in his hand and staring directly in her eyes which seemed to sparkle with the light of the moon flashing from the sky; the moon seemed to be jealous of the woman’s eyes, “…please understand that this is not my place to interfere” Farris leaned into the touch of her lover, her hand cupping his as if she feared loosing this feeling. "I understand, I won't get in the way of your work, but as soon as your off the payroll..." She started to say as her mind worked on a solution to their dilemma. She wasn't able to finish as a very angry wavy lavender haired man came up to the roof. The man was half dressed suggesting he had had lewd intentions before arriving. Farris recognized him though, it was the noble that had been flirting with her, and he glared daggers at her before looking at Kaku.

"Ahh the hired body guard, excellent! I see you've found this impostor posing as a noble. No doubt she is her for father's property. You may kill her now..." He said in a stuck up, sinister tone that said that he was in charge. After a moments pause, he added. "Go on." As if Kaku was some sort of pet being given permission to eat a bone from the table. Farris frowned but didn't move waiting to see what her lover would do.