Chapter 9

A Chapter by Minyonka

Standard disclaimer applies.

Marco held Crista's hand firmly under the running water of her kitchen sink as her blood was washed away. The red tint in the metal basin angered him and it took all his effort to not tighten his hold on her wrists. From the corner of his eye, he saw Crista staring at him with tear-filled eyes. Blood was smeared across her face from when she'd previously tried to wipe her tears away. Marco had stopped her before more of her blood could be smeared.

As Crista's hands finished rinsing, Marco turned off the faucet and dried them with a wash rag. Her cuts were still bleeding and stained the towel. Crista was silent as Marco began wrapping her hands with bandages, only flinching if he pulled them too tightly. Marco paid no mind to Angelo, he was watching intently from the other side of the room. He knew the younger man was still fuming about what had happened, but he didn't particularly care at the moment.

"You don't like the sight of blood," Crista murmured as Marco began wrapping her other hand.

He glanced at her face, covered in red, and focused on her han again. It wasn't blood that bothered him, he thought. It was her blood. The sight over her like this is what bothered him. Her hand, cut and bloody, reminded him of his blond lover from his dreams. Her hands had had scars all over them from being cut, though he could never figure out why. Crista's tear-and-blood-stained face reminded him of Imouto in his nightmare of her. She had been crying in anguish and the blood of another was on her. Marco shook his head.

"Bad memories," he muttered as an excuse.

"Of whom?"

"Two women who were close to me. One died. The other... I don't know."

"Mi dispiace."

"Lui mente," Angelo grumbled.

Marco frowned, but didn't answer at first. Angelo was partially correct; Marco was lying about remembering his past. He had no way of knowing if these women really existed. He was, however, speaking truthfully about what Crista's wounds made him think of. Dream or not, the images were disturbing.

"Basta, Angelo!"

"Ma, Crista, lui ha mangiato-"

"No."

"No?! L'hai visto!"

"Non me ne importa!"

"Both of you need to calm down," Marco interrupted before Angelo could yell something back at Crista. "The fact of the matter is I did eat a Devil Fruit years ago. I've been a phoenix for a long time."

"You never received a blessing," Angelo countered.

"Neither do the Marines you sell them to. No one outside this island has a ceremony of any kind. These Fruits are uses as weapons."

"The World Government swore to our ancestors taht Le Frutte di Dio would be used the same way we do here."

"They lied. The Fruits are lost from Marine ships all the time. You'd be hard-pressed to find high-ranking people without a Devil Fruit ability."

"Quit calling them that."

"It's what they're named outside of this island," Marco answered as he finished wrapping Crista's hand. He gave her a damp cloth to wash the blood from her face and nothing else was said. Crista was still too much in shock, and Angelo was still too angry to speak.
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When the sun rose that morning, Jozu hadn't expected a surprise visit from another pirate crew. Her certainly hadn't expected the catain of the Akuma Pirates to be so irate. The little man-- little by Jozu's standards-- was stout and had very little muscle mass. Jozu thought the man was captain only because of his leadership ability, and not his fighting prowess. The man wasn't strong, was only an average strategist, and didn't have a Devil Fruit power to make up for it. The captain had boarded with three other men, two of them burly. Jozu wondered what he wanted, and if he thought he was intimidating with his bodyguards. Many of those remaining from the Whitebeard Pirates were gathered around to see what the Akuma Pirates wanted. Even Hotaru had left her room to take her usual seat on the railing, right next to where Marco would be perched.

"We had a deal!" the belligerent pirate captain yelled.

"What are you talking about, Minato?" Jozu asked.

"I'm talking about our deal that if we left you alone, you wouldn't go after us! Just because your old captain kicked the bucket-"

"Choose your next words wisely," Hotaru growled. Minato glanced around at the angry faces, many holding weapons. Hell, even the nurses had guns. He knew his whole crew wasn't able to take them on, let alone the men he'd brought with him.

"All's I'm sayin' is that you oughtta keep your men to the deal."

"We haven't attacked anyone in your crew," Jozu answered calmly.

"Horse-s**t!" Minato yelled. "Your damn phoenix tried to kill Taro, here, a week ago." He gestured to the smallest of the men he'd brought with him. Poor brat looked like he'd need a change of britches soon.

"You saw Marco?" Hotaru asked hopefully as the other members of Whitebeard's crew began mumbling amongst themselves. Was Marco really alive? After so long? Why hadn't he found them yet?

"Saw him?! I though the b*****d was going to eat me!" Taro yelled.

"Where was he?"

"Why should we tell you?" Minato demanded.

"We want to know why he attacked one of your men," Jozu answered.

He figured he'd make the Akuma Pirates' captain believe they were going to take serious action for what Marco had done. Quite the contrary. Jozu knew Marco wouldn't break a deal made by Oyaji unless pressed to. Whatever Taro had done, he had infuriated the typically calm commander.

"Is he going to face consequences?"

"We'll perform a full investigation."

"Hell no! What's there to investigate? He tried to kill one of my men."

"We don't punish without just cause."

"If Marco attacked without provocation, then he will be dealt with accordingly," Vista added.

"But that can't be done if we don't know where he is." Minato rubbed his chin slowly.

"I see your thinking, Diamond Jozu. Taro saw your man on the island called Lacrime," he answered.

"I've never heard of that," Hotaru commented.

"A'course you haven't. The World Government's been keepin' it secret. We got the Eternal Post to it."

"Why keep it secret?"

"The locals grow Devil Fruits. My boy Taro was tryin' to get me an exceptionally rare Fruit, until your phoenix tried to kill him."

"I find it hard to believe there is an island that grows Devil Fruits," Vista murmured.

"Well, where do you think they come from? Listen, if you want your phoenix back, we'll bring you to the island, but we get the Devil Fruit Taro tried to get."

"Agreed," Jozu answered instantly. Minato was more than content and left soon after with his men. Jozu scowled at the man's carelessness, but didn't pay him much mind after.

"I don't believe him about the Devil Fruits," one of the nurses muttered.

"Do we have to follow that b*****d?" another asked.

"Vista, Hotaru, can you two find and steal their Eternal Post?" Jozu asked.

He didn't particularly care how the compass was brought into his possession, but he figured he'd send the two who were best at stealth. While he knew Hotaru's injuries were far from fully healed and would hinder her movement, he also knew she was quite the actress. Enough of a distraction would give Vista ample time to get in, get the Eternal Post, and get out.

"Consider it done," the two answered, each sporting a smirk.

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