Mission # 65: Take My Hand

[Farris (Kuro)]

“…but Iceburg-san and…and that girl…they seem to believe in something that I don’t so…I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE!” The man known as Paulie said not to her lover but to the musician herself. She smiled back at him with a competitive look. "Then I'll see you to morning here at the docks." She stated simply, glad that she'd be able to avoid any further damage to her lover in a fight that could cause more harm than good.

She was about to relax as the foremen of the Galley-La took their leave, until one bold soul said “…Yea! Tomorrow the Galley-La will run you out of town and we’ll keep your girlfriend!” Making the the blue haired woman's nerve pop on the side of her head as she sneered at the man. "We'll see about that...!" She muttered under her breath before letting it go for the moment. She's beat these guys in the contest tomorrow and get back at them then she decided.

Farris was calmed when she noticed her lover waving her to follow him below decks and away from the chilling air. She smiled and followed as her mind was immediately filled with the last time they were alone on a ship together, causing her to blush. She slowly creaked into the room with her giraffe zoan lover as he spoke “Farris…?” She smiled and closed the door after her. "Sorry about that, I sorta ruined your fun didn't I? I just wanted to make sure you let your injuries heal." She said apologetically, knowing that the square nosed man enjoyed these sorts of things.

[BEX]

As the woman apologized, once again the usually level headed assassin found himself baffled by the oddness of his lover and then his surprise melted into a warm smile as he reached out grabbing her by the wait,

“I think you did perfectly alright to save me from bruising my knuckles against their faces-ja” the man joked though he knew well that Paulie and the foremen were no pushovers and by himself they might have even done some serious damage to him, “…well then it’s salt picking that we’re doing tomorrow, then?” he asked while staring deeply into the woman’s brilliant yellow eyes.

Her eyes.

They never failed to see clearly no matter how much chaos was around her and that was most likely what had drawn Kaku to this blue haired beauty more than anything else; there meeting in the Grand Line had never been one of chance as he’d initially thought, but one of providence. Squeezing her waist he held her closely tucking her head beneath his chin as he closed his eyes reveling in the moment, for there was so much of himself that he wanted to share with her, but his mind would never allow it. Images of Rob Lucci flashed in his head and for the first time he wanted to throw away all the fun that he’d been having since the early days of CP9 only to care for the woman between his arms.

“Lucci-san…if only you understood what I know now, perhaps you too could be freed of your vile ambition for blood, but then again…” he smiled knowing that it was never meant to be for Lucci to have feelings of sympathy; the man’s soul was twisted far too black to be saved.

Sighing, he released his vice grip on Farris and gazed into her eyes yet again before gesturing towards the dingy bed that sat near a corner in the room. Apparently it was what passed for a bed on a Navy ship which made the dazed expression fade more into a realistic sense of pessimism, but deciding to say nothing so that Farris would remain happy. He lay with her quietly thinking and wondering what tomorrow would bring as he knew she was doing as well,

“That was the first time I’ve seen Paulie-kun cry like that…” he uttered almost thoughtlessly, but he knew that his thoughts were projecting themselves into the sleepy ramblings of the assassin; his mind was warped and didn’t know how to react.

[Farris (Kuro)]

“I think you did perfectly alright to save me from bruising my knuckles against their faces-ja” He replied and she had to chuckle. Protecting a master of rokushiki seemed needless and silly when she thought about it, but she also knew that he was still just a man. "I suppose your right." She agreed before he asked “…well then it’s salt picking that we’re doing tomorrow, then?” She nodded as yellow eyes gazed in to his round bulbous ones. "It's something that will give us money to fix the ship and should strain your body." Farris stated as he squeezed her waist and held her closely tucking her head beneath his chin. The musician basked in her lover's warmth kissing a bit of his exposed skin gently. She gave his neck a slight nuzzle knowing it was a normal mating instinct for a giraffe.

Kaku released her with a sigh but Farris kept hold of him for a moment longer as they locked eyes. The blue haired woman followed him to the bed, deciding to not spoil the mood with questions for the moment. The square nosed assassin obviously didn't want to talk about his co-worker so she'd let it go for now but she would get it out of him eventually. The two got into bed and she snuggled up closely to Kaku, her head resting on her lover's chest, gently stroking her bruised muscles under his shirt. “That was the first time I’ve seen Paulie-kun cry like that…” He muttered and she could sense his wariness. "What ever you did to make him hate you must have really hurt him. He seems like a pretty tough guy." She stated, showing that she at least took note of that quickly.

[BEX]

“What did you do to him to make him hate you. You must have hurt him pretty badly he seems like a pretty tough guy” Farris told him as they lay in the darkness sharing each other’s presence as a comfort.

Her question filled his mind with the actions that he’d taken here in Water 7 not too long ago betraying Galley-La in more ways than one, but that wasn’t their greatest offense and the long nosed assassin knew this well. Pressing himself against the woman’s warm body for what purpose he didn’t know, but his instincts told him to do so and yet he still couldn’t answer her for he felt ashamed of what he’d done in the name of ‘Dark Justice’. In the back of his mind the cackling laughter of Spandam filled his ears and his anger bit through his psyche like a wild fire sending a slight tremor through his body, one that Farris would most certainly feel so he made a preemptive remark to stave off another slew of questions,

“It’s a bit cold down here when you’re not pressed against your favorite person” he commented suddenly off topic as he grazed his lips against Farris’ delicate ear; he didn’t want her to worry and that was all he usually brought with him, “…let’s sleep Farris. Tomorrow we will need our strength I presume-ja” he said in a low commanding voice.

His hand cupped her cheek as he twisted her around softly to meet his lips which he then proceeded to fill his mouth with the taste of her passionately before closing his eyes and pulling away for he knew that should he continue looking at her that night, the chances of getting any actual sleep would slim greatly,

“Good night…Farris-kun” he whispered to the woman that lay in his arms.

[Farris (Kuro)]

Farris felt the shiver through the giraffe but dismissed it when he said “It’s a bit cold down here when you’re not pressed against your favorite person” To which she smiled. "I wish... No nevermind." She started then trailed off dismissing the request. If she was with him she would only weigh him down. She was a musician, not an assassin and living together would be difficult at best. Besides, it felt selfish to want to be with Kaku when she'd just make his job harder and get in his way. That's why... things had to be the way they were. “…let’s sleep Farris. Tomorrow we will need our strength I presume-ja” he said in a low commanding voice. "yeah, your right... besides, doing that right now would help your injuries much." She said teasingly before before he repositioned her for a deep passionate kiss, which she drank in before the broke off so they could sleep. They both knew that if they continued much longer their would be no sleep for them. A simple goodnight is all she heard as she started to fall asleep, muttering, "Goodnight, my love..."

Morning came and the blue haired woman curled up with her love, not wanting to wake up. Farris wasn't a morning person and it showed as she nestled into Kaku like a school child not wanting to go to school. It was only when their was Knocking on the ship that she started to sit up and rub sleep from her eyes with an annoyed look on her face that was so childish for the normally serious and mature woman.

[BEX]

The knock on the door stirred Kaku awake as well, but his reaction was far more alert since his training as an assassin forced him to be quickly roused when the time came and he wasn’t going to be caught off guard in a place like Water 7; his enemies had grown to be quite numerous in the area. Sneaking over to the door quietly the man shot Farris a quieting glance hoping that she would understand the message despite her semi-deluded state. Placing one hand in his pocket, the solemn yet prideful man opened his door to see a very unexpected guest especially given what had happened yesterday night, truly the occurrence left the giraffe man confused evidenced by the open jaw expression upon his face,

“Paulie…kun?” he whispered even though they were in full daylight with no need to be secretive, but the overwhelming shock of the jean clothed carpenter mad him feel unsure about circumstances, “…erm…what can I do for you?” he asked with feigned sharpness in his voice.

Paulie’s eyes smoldered as he observed Kaku, but the tough man simply sighed before placing a cigarette into his mouth afterwards taking a long drag most likely in an attempt to sooth his nerves after seeing Kaku; it was a habit that the assassin had seen many times before though never directed at his presence.

“Iceburg-san, wanted me to escort you to the meeting place for the contest. While the common civilians don’t know about our current….’relationship’…the former Franky Brothers have caught wind of your appearance and are beyond consoling” Paulie explained after he’d stepped into the lower deck room casting a withering glance around the room seeing its Naval interior, “…as you might have guessed they aren’t too fond of any one involved with CP9” he finished.

Hearing his ex-partner’s words he knew that the man was speaking the truth and he asked the carpenter for a minute so that he could discuss matters with Farris briefly. Paulie agreed taking another drag on his cigarette before disappearing up the stairs to the upper deck of the Marine ship. Kaku whirled around to face Farris with eyes that seemed to have taken on a more serious look since yesterday; he couldn’t allow her to get involved in any more dangerous activity because of him. Even now, he knew that there was a smart thing to do as well as the selfish thing to do and every inch of him longed to be selfishly foolish, but he wouldn’t disservice his love in that manner,

“Farris-kun…” he began closing his eyes and breathing deeply before speaking in an even tone leaving no room for any uncertainty in his conviction, “…you need to forget about me and leave Water 7…now!’ he finished sternly hoping that she’d understand the message and not argue.

Things had simply gotten to dire for her to remain involved.

[Farris (Kuro)]

"Mmmm?" What the only sound from the groggy woman as her lover sneaked out of bed and to the door, fully alert. He gestured for her to remain quiet which she did... until she heard a “Paulie…kun?” “…erm…what can I do for you?” from her lover and added to with a loud yawn and a stretch. Still a little sleepy she simply got up and walked to the door, with a "Morning..." grumble before listening to what the Galley-La foremen had to say.
“Iceburg-san, wanted me to escort you to the meeting place for the contest. While the common civilians don’t know about our current….’relationship’…the former Franky Brothers have caught wind of your appearance and are beyond consoling” At this the blue haired woman became more alert and serious. "Who are the "Former Franky Brothers?" She asked having not heard of them in her talk with the fishboy's parents.

Obviously they were someone else that got burned by the CP9 though. “…as you might have guessed they aren’t too fond of any one involved with CP9” Paulie added and the musician knew what that meant. She was a target even if she didn't even know them. “Farris-kun…” “…you need to forget about me and leave Water 7…now!” Her lover said turning to her. "I can't and I won't. Kaku... Whatever you've done here... no matter how bad, I decided that I would share in that. I love you... Your problems are my problems." She told him firmly and un shaken, such was the power of love. "Besides, this was my idea, I'm going to see it through to the end." She stated strongly, her pride and personal honor code chiming in with the woman's natural stubbornness.

[BEX]

"I can't and I won't. Kaku... Whatever you've done here... no matter how bad, I decided that I would share in that. I love you... Your problems are my problems."

Something within Kaku snapped as the woman determinedly refused to leave him despite his request that she move out of Water 7 without him; it was a ball of self-hate, confusion, and even sadness as he pulled his cap over his face. Turning towards the door the assassin cast a backward glance over his shoulder, his face seemed pale with lack of expression and he could feel as a sickening taste began to fill his mouth as the words that flowed from his mind fell from his lips; each one like heavy weights,

“Fine then, stay here and killed,” he said as he stepped into the daylight, “…just don’t associate yourself with me any longer, Farris. I’d hate to think of what would happen if I were forced to kill you” he finished coldly closing the door behind wondering if he’d indeed done the correct thing.

Each of the steps that led to the upper seemed to creak with woe, begging him to return to the room and proclaim his love for the girl, but he knew better than that. She would be far safer in Water 7 without him. A few daunting rays of sunlight struck him in the face as he eyed Paulie resting thoughtfully against the bridge of the deck; it seemed strange to see Paulie in this light. During his stint at Galley-La Kaku had never pegged the rugged carpenter as a man who spent much time thinking,

“We don’t have other business to attend to here. Let’s go to this ‘contest’” muttered the still emotionally torn Kaku.

Paulie gave him a quizzical look though he said nothing leading the way down the plank on the side where at the bottom a crowd of foremen stood waiting with folded arms for their guest. While Paulie walked down the plank maintaining his balance skillfully on the makeshift ramp, the former CP9 agent leaped from the ship’s upper deck landing in a small mist of dust as the impact dispersed through the ground. Many of the men glared at him remembering what their leader had told him about the square nosed guest, but their gazes never Kaku for his heart was laden with remorse. He moved silently making sure to keep his eyes downcast as the group of malice hearted men led him to the restaurant.

There he was greeted as a returning hero by the people, but something in Kaku’s instincts told him that it was here that his assassin lay in wait; stalking the shadows by order of Iceburg to take out the threat that had plagued Water 7 not too long ago. He’d die alone and without any help.

The path of the assassin’s poetic ending.

[Farris (Kuro)]

“Fine then, stay here and killed,” he said as he stepped into the daylight, “…just don’t associate yourself with me any longer, Farris. I’d hate to think of what would happen if I were forced to kill you” he finished coldly closing the door behind wondering if he’d indeed done the correct thing. Farris frowned at this statement but held herself together as her lover turned his back and left the room, closing the door behind him. It wasn't until after the door had shut that the blue haired woman fell to her knees and let out a soft barely audible sob. Too proud and strong to cry in front of the man that caused her to cry. Cruel and wonderful was love and now she was faced with the choice, did she run after him now? or did she let him go? If he was to be assaulted and killed by these "Former Franky Brothers" than he'd be alone.

Licking her wounded heart of the lut more devastating than any physical blow Kaku could have afflicted upon her, she finally wiped her eyes and picked herself back up. She would follow him, even if it meant death for both of them or death at the assassin's hand. It had to be better than the pain she had just felt. She took a few deep breaths before leaving the room. She ascended the stairs and by this time Kaku was off the ship being greeted by the other foremen and the people. A serious look on her face as she too descended the ramp after Paulie. Once at the bottom she stood next to Kaku and whispered harshly to him "You'll have to kill me. I'm not leaving you." before a little pudgy man in a bandanna started to explain all the rules and set out the salt buckets with shuvals. Stating that the contest will end at sunset and begin when he blows the whistle. The only rules being that no one outside the contest can interfere, if so the contest goes to the opposing side.

[BEX]

It was hard, but Kaku couldn’t do anything at the moment for he was under the watchful eye of the foremen, but the young man who’d been determined to cast his heart aside for this moment now felt remorse as the object of his affection stubbornly followed him into the “Lion’s den”. Biting his lower teeth in anger he cursed in his mind not knowing what else to do as the rules where explained to them along with the various other participants that had chosen to compete for the prize money being offered. Once the man’s voice finished droning on they were led to the shoreline where men and women rolled up their sleeves making all the preparations needed for the task at hand. Slowly he rolled up his sleeves glancing in his blue haired rebel’s eyes from time to time though he remained cold and callous to her hoping that no one would be able to link the two together. Placing several buckets around him as he walked to the edge of the tide, the hailed man from Galley-La elicited many comments as he rolled up his pants’ leg as well as his sleeves; it seemed people thought that he was crazy if he thought he would fill that many buckets.

“10 should be more than enough to beat out Paulie and anyone else here. I just hope that Iceburg-san would keep to his word and not attack until after the contest” he thought to himself as others hurriedly splashed into the water looking for a head start.

In the end Kaku knew it didn’t matter how much of a head start they received, once he began it would quickly become apparent how futile it was to go against someone who had the skills of a Rokushiki master backing them. Knowing that he couldn’t go too deep into the water the Giraffe man moved quickly and precisely the moment the whistle was blown running into the sea, jabbing his hands at speeds that were impossible to accomplish for a normal human. Those that were closest to him watched as his hands caused multiple ripples in the water often times the man struck before the water for the last movement had settled.

“That man is….’Yamakaze’?” asked a nameless voice, but the emotionally laden Kaku worked tirelessly at the task at hand pulling out small grains of salt out of the sea water with ease and frightening speed.

He paid no mind to Farris for his feelings at her refusal to listen to him would only serve to disrupt the constant flow that he’d established. His arms were black blurs wafting from the sea to the few buckets that surrounded him as slowly his first bucket was now half way full. Soon there would be several full buckets at his feet and many would begin to leave the contest as they saw how meaningless things would be for them, but Kaku hoped to win the contest early in the day so that he’d have a chance to get Farris out of harm’s way should there be any violence.

[Farris (Kuro)]

Farris felt the occasional gaze from the assassin but didn't return it. She was too angry with the giraffe at the moment. Thus to avoid lashing out at him, and draw attention to them she ignored his presences. After the whistle sounded the musician got to work, shoveling water and sorting the salt out in a quickened pace. It wasn't so much she was working with her lover as she was competing out of pride. If she managed to somehow beat him it didn't really matter other than it meant they wouldn't they would have time to repair the stolen marine ship.

After seeing Kaku's display, many of the competitors dropped out of the competition leaving only Farris, Kaku and the determined Galley-La foremen. The musician took note of the talk from the crowd regarding her lover and wondered if any of them even suspected that Kaku was an assassin. Her mind wondered back to the "former Franky brothers" and she tried to listen for the threats. Unknown to her that the threat was hidden in the crowd of spectators. It seemed that they were waiting for something. The musician's bucket only filled on the second one, many of the others on 4th-5th bucket already.

[BEX]

Kaku was now filling his eight bucket and the task remained amazingly easy as he simply shifted his scope of focus around him snatching the small particles of salt as easily as one would pull an object of regular size out of the water. It was clear that the assassin was going to win, but what he didn’t know was that even now the former Franky Brothers were somewhere out in the crowd waiting for the assassin to become relatively alone so that not too many suspects would witness his death. His hands flashed against the surface of the water causing it to ripple with each movement and it seemed quite impossible to keep up with the super human’s pace though the Galley-La for all their strength and stamina managed their best against him even if it wasn’t even moderately close. Paulie amongst them made things more personal, but again the square nosed man hid his feelings about the matter away while making sure not to make eye contact with Farris, his currently estranged lover; things were falling apart.

Just then as Kaku reached for his ninth bucket it seemed that the crowd had gone to see the source of a part of the city that was suddenly smoking after a loud boom was heard, but it didn’t bother the Rokushiki master at all. Soon the only people remaining by the shore was oddly the people that were in the contest still which happened to be Kaku, Farris, and the Galley-La foremen. For some reason the current scenario seemed very suspicious and Kaku glanced around with observant eyes for he sensed that something was about to happen though he couldn’t tell what. As he glanced at Paulie’s face he saw that the foreman’s usually callous expression had melted into something akin to distraught as he picked haplessly at the floating grain particles,

“Something’s not right…Galley-La…me…Farris…oh no” he thought as he pieced the situation together in time for a net to appear out of the sandy beach just underneath the musician’s feet rapidly enclosing around her before anything could be done to save her.

Just as Kaku stepped forward two bullets were fired into him and his vision dulled as numbness spread through his body sending him crashing into the sand. The last thing he saw was the sad expression on Paulie’s face as the man turned away and a few other black shoes came walking towards him giving him the impression that he knew that regimented outfit from somewhere. The tranquilizer muddled his mind as he faded from consciousness; he only hoped that Farris was alright at this point.

[Farris (Kuro)]

As the people started to leave at the sound of a large boom and smoke, the musician stopped and looked around. immediately wondering what happened and for some reason worrying about the fishboy and his family, hopefully that smoke wasn't from their home. The general area suggested as much but before she should drop the contest to investigate and possible to lead aid, a net was casted over her from behind her as her back was to the shoreline. "What?!" She exclaimed her eyes narrowed in fury as tries to get out of it. Gun shots alerted her that her lover had been hit. She looked to the assassin bewildered and for a moment her anger melted into concern as he was hit. Kaku--! She thought and her struggle was renewed as she tried to get out of the net more desperately. She saw the look on Paulie's face and scowled at him as a few men in black suspenders and goggles.

"Release me!" She demands displaying her fiery temperament as she struggled, but rather than looking at her fallen lover, she looked to the smoke off in the distance. She was sure Kaku could get out of the situation without her help, at least immediately. She was more concerned with helping those that weren't so fortunate.

[BEX]

(OOC: Had an idea about how we could make this a sort of plot though with missions)

“This is the girl then?” asked one of the men and Paulie answered with a muffled response apparently still feeling a bit remorseful in his underhanded dealings with the government once again though the unconscious Kaku wouldn’t have known it.

His mind was filled with disjointed images and wild hallucinations of murders he’d committed in the past in the name of so called “Dark Justice” most of them dealing with the looming of Rob Lucci in the background glaring at him with those hard eyes. Families cried, fathers begged for their families, yet none of the images that he saw ended happily as one by one they were put down with a familiar hand delivering the death blow; his hand. As the black suit donning men bound Kaku with Kairouseki cuffs they were escorted by Paulie and the Galley-La foremen towards the nearest Sea Train station while the citizens were still away viewing the damage that had been done in the explosion. Iceburg wasn’t aware of what had taken place nor were the “Franky Brothers” as they prepared back the Galley-La company area preparing for a showdown with one of the former CP9. This plan was rigged by Paulie and a few select others without any information of their heist leaking to anyone else. As he was gruffly handled the assassin stumbled back into consciousness briefly as his eyes flickered with the powerful compound still stewing in his blood making his body feel tied down by tons of weight,

“W-what is this?” he asked weakly as his eyes rolled uncontrollably in various directions as his captors shook him hard one time before he lost consciousness again; Paulie’s misery deepened visibly as he looked at his former comrade.

Here is where the two groups would split in order to keep any complications from happening: the men holding the feisty blue haired girl would leave her by the docks while the other group of men would take Kaku to Impel Down for judgment. Hopefully before throwing away the dangerous man in their clutches they could extract the whereabouts of the true prize that they needed to get before the matter of the escaped CP9 agents was solved. As the Cipher Pol units broke into the two decided groups one comprised of four of the Cipher Pol men and the remaining seven escorts of Farris were Galley-La foremen while the other group was comprised of ten total agents along with Paulie; there would be no mishaps on this mission. Everything had been calculated and thought of in this case; a perfect extraction even if it proved to be the man with the second highest Douriki in CP9 history, “Yamakaze” Kaku. Soon the members of CP5 would have their prey and the interrogation would begin; all of the men were looking forward to testing the mettle of someone who had once been only the stuff of legends to them,

“Will the girl be hurt?” asked Paulie as he continued to escort the group to the station; his guilt was beginning to make him wonder if he’d trusted the right people on this, but he continued to attempt holding a tough face, “…she’s just a normal person mixed up with him” he added as if that would help her case.

The CP5 members didn’t respond to the silly man who continued pestering them with questions, they had no further need of him after the boarded the Sea Train, Puffing Tom; they’d gotten what they wanted.

[Farris (Kuro)]

“This is the girl then?” She heard and it was at this point that she realized that their tones were more neutral and not the wrathful tones that someone seeking some type of revenge would have. Perhaps they were in greater danger than she had first thought. She looked to Paulie her eyes burned in anger. "You snake... What did you do?" She said with a deadly calm as the musician was subdued, She then heard the voice of her lover, utter “W-what is this?” before his captors shook him into unconsciousness. "Kaku!" She said with concern as she frantically looked at the former Ciper Pol then back to the Galley-La foremen. "B*stard! WHAT DID YOU DO!?!" She yelled at the man that clearly had betrayed them and the deal they made. It seemed these men had no sense of honor in a honest contest like she had originally thought. The thought that she had given this man respect only to be betrayed pissed her off.

The blue haired woman reached out to try and grasp at Kaku as the were escorted and separated from one another. "Kaku... I... I'm so sorry..." She muttered as he was torn away from her and the suited men headed for the Sea Train. “Will the girl be hurt?” “…she’s just a normal person mixed up with him” Paulie asked but received no answer. Tears started to fall from yellow cat-like eyes as she said, "I don't care what happens to me... Just let him go." She said knowing that despite this, the giraffe would not be released. Farris hung her head as her lover disappeared into the train, momentarily defeated. "Kaku... Forgive me... In the end I'm just a burden to you..." She thought bitterly as she awaited her own fate.