Post by BlacKitten on Jul 3, 2019 19:33:05 GMT -5
Pluto - 17
As the looming shadow lurked away, two men half-conscious men were left behind, slouching with their backs up against a wall. Their weapons were disarmed, lying a few feet away from their flimsy hand. Their eyes dazed off into the distance, gawking at nothing as their bodies remained limp like corpses. Their racing hearts finally settling down as a rush of relief flooded through their veins. The sensation of the dry and hot air, the tingling of sweat trickling down their face, they had never been more grateful to be alive.
Just a couple of heartbeats ago, they thought they going to die. That mysterious, psychopathic man that appeared from the shadows came and went like a ghost drifting in the wind. He did no physical harm to them, but just the tone of his voice, his posture, and his bloodlust was enough to scar the image of death into their minds. As irrational as it seemed, they had no doubt that they would have lost their lives had they not answered his questions.
They were no strangers to bloodshed and violence. And just as they thought that perhaps their hearts had grown numb to all of that, the imagery of their deaths had opened their eyes to the reality of how fragile life can be. As many took being alive for granted, they felt genuine appreciation to be alive – to be given a chance to have the privilege to suffer.
But how strange. Given how certain they felt that they would be killed, that hooded man had left them alone and even thanked them in the end. A corrupted mixture of cruelty and kindness, something complex that they did not understand.
To reach the city known as Rainbase from Nanohana, one had to go on a punishing journey across the vast desert. While some may walk, others may utilize large creatures to ride on in order to avoid crossing by foot. However, these two common methods were still too slow for someone who wished to reach his destination just as the marines would arrive. If Ara and Rebecca were with the marines and he knew where the marines would be heading towards, then he could predict where his friend and sister would be located ahead of time.
Faster than any land animal around, a small, lightweight creature flew through the dry, scorching air with nothing but sand below him and as far as the eyes can see. Draped in a light-grey cloak with a hood over its little head, it had dark, webbed wings that spanned several times its size.
A bat.
Consumer of the Batto Batto no Mi, Pluto bolted through the air, staying close to the ground and far from the beaming sun that was hovering in the bright blue sky at a slight angle in this afternoon.
I hate hot islands.
Meanwhile…
In a dim room, an adolescent girl was shackled in the center with her cuffed wrists chained onto the ceiling, suspending her body off the ground by a couple of inches. Long silky black hair that reached past her lower back, a heart-shaped face with golden eyes that stared at the blank wall in front of her as the locked door was located right behind her. She wore a white tube-top with brown on the sides and a golden rim on the edges.
As she dangled off the ceiling, she saw no way to escape. To her unwelcomed surprise, she was trapped in a vessel that submerged underwater. Not even her perceptive comrade, Pluto, would be able to locate her at this rate. He was a Devil Fruit user, having little means to deal with an underwater target without the risk of harming them in the process. Even his fantastic hearing wouldn’t aid him at this level of depth in the waters. But she had no doubt that he would come search of them. At the very least, he would never give up in trying to find his little sister.Miu - 31
“Hmm…,” Miu hummed in skepticism the moment Gaunt stated that he could have throttled them both. Those were quite bold words coming from someone who just lost two consecutive fights in a one-sided manner.
“Sounds like a long shot,” the feline commented as Kite brought up the idea of using the people as a source of information. “It doesn’t sound like the fight lasted for very long. Most people probably took notice the collateral damage instead of master himself. Master can also move quicker than what an ordinary human can see. I would know since I’ve also fought him in the past back when I lost control of my power.” She recalled the time when she first consumed her Devil Fruit before wreaking havoc on the marines. Had her master not subdued her in time, those marines on her home island would likely cease to exist.
Gaunt then explained the secret arrangement that had been laid out by the Cipher Pol agent.
“They should view him as a threat,” Miu added on to Kite’s response. “His beloved little sister and the person he likes just got taken away from him. Master wouldn’t sit still and do nothing. Those agents probably sent Gaunt after master just to gauge his strength.”
...
“Kite, I have a question for you,” the kitten spoke in an open and honest manner. “You talk as if Pluto will hurt innocent people. Are the marines ‘innocent’ in your eyes? You’re siding against them, right? You made your decision the moment you choose to be friends with someone like me. I do not like the marines, Kite. I wouldn’t care if master hurts them. They’re the ones who took Rebecca and Ara away in the first place.”
...
The kitten then turned towards the beaten-up man after stating that Kite has got no powers along with other implications, “Gaunt. It seems that you underestimate us. I may be a kitten right now, but this is not my real form. You shouldn’t judge others’ strength without having even seen them fight for real.”
...
“Kite, why do you call yourself a demon like that? Is it because that you think aligning against the government is a sin? If you are fighting for what you believe in, shouldn’t you take pride in that?” She did not understand why Kite was self-deprecating himself by calling himself a selfish demon. He had helped her this entire time in trying to find information about the Black Wing. He had fought along side with her when Gaunt clashed against her. He had the heart to try to save those three kids. And lastly, he is willing to help her get Ara and Rebecca back. In what way was any of his actions selfish? In what way was any of his actions demonic?
Later, Kite had a change of clothes and even tossed some her way along with Gaunt. The feline sniffed the bundle of white cloth on the ground before her before looking up, “I'm a cat. I don't need cloaks.”