A woman's ire

Once back at the ship, Akane witnessed a uneasy Laffitte and a omniously smiling Shinobu. The latter held in her hand a glass vial with a strange green liquid. It seemed to move on its own as it swirled around inside the vial.

"Ara, back so soon? Laffitte and I were just having a pleasant conversation, didn't we Laffitte?"

Despite the smile, Shinobu's eyes warned Laffitte to even try talking about what had just transpired before. Added with the slight movements of the vial which most likely contained poison and Laffitte ensured his mouth remained closed.

"Yes, captain. We were just talking."

Laffitte copied Shinobu's smile to a tee, not showing a trace of the previous uneasiness.

"If you say so..."

Akane plopped down on the deck as she watched the tension between the two. As if not sensing the current emotion stuck in the air, Ban came between the two, on his hips a couple of heavy money pouches.

"Aaah, just losen up will ya? You're making the air go stale with all that glaring. Anyways, who's ready to get some booze. I've got enough money to buy for a whole fleet."

Ban said, throwing the money pouch in his hand up and down.

Not liking Ban in interfering one bit, Shinobu glared at Ban as she went back inside her personal room, the sound of glass cracking heard from even the deck.

"So what did you do, Laffitte? I'm curious."

Akane said as she lowered Indra on her lap, who was still sleeping the day away.

Noticing the peculiar beast in Akane's hands, Laffitte began to talk about what happened, though in a hushed tone. He didn't want to make the poison expert even think about poisoning him.

"There were a couple of ruffians who were out to rob our properties. When I 'apprehended' them, the ship was shaking a lot, causing a lot of shinobu's glass containers to break. Let's just say the ruffians are of worse than me... I didn't get poisoned at least."

Laffitte said as he remembered the scene of skin growing sickening sores and boils. She even stripped the skin from their back, saying it would be a shame if such unscathed skin were to be damaged. At least it wasn't the skin from his back.

"Anyways, I've been wanting to ask you this, captain. What is that beast you have there?"

Noticing the Leviathan as well, Ban curiously eyed it.

"Dinner?"

"No way! Indra isn't dinner. He's going to pull our ship when we're in still currents or without wind. He's small now, but if we take enough care of it, it will eventually be a big help!"

Not allowing Indra to be eaten, Akane moved the small reptile away from Ban.

"Oi, I was only joking. I'm not going to take your pet, little fox. Too much of a bother if you ask me."

Ban rebuked, not even thinking of bringing up this subject again.

"And you better remember it."

Akane said as she went inside the ship to fill the tub with water and placed Indra inside it. Indra immediately woke up and happily splashed about.

"Glad you like it."

Akane smiled as she patted Indra on the head, making the latter doze of almost immediately.

Leaving Indra behind, Akane went back on deck, spotting Shinobu again. She was in a better mood than before, though a distinct footprint was seen on Laffitte's back, no doubt a small form of revenge.

"Let's go get some new stuff. I suppose Shinobu could use more glass equipment."

Shinobu nodded, her smile once again turn frosty as she looked at Laffitte.

"Then I will join Shinobu in shopping and the two of you can gather information. The marines might be moving and I'm not planning to get ambushed due to negligence. Some information about nearby devil fruits might be handy as well, assuming Ban and Shinobu have their home situation to think about."

Seeing the approval in her crew's eyes, Akane left together with Shinobu as they went in search for a shop that sold alchemy and medical supplies. For possible ruffians that sought an easy buck, Shinobu had placed a 'pleasant' surprise in the form of poison traps, activated when someone entered the room or came into rooms they shouldn't go to. It was vicious, but it sent a clear message.

***

Inside Water Seven, in a abandoned building.

Three people had gathered together, unknown to the people who worked with them daily. On one of the men's shoulder was a white pigeon.

"Just like expected, they have arrived."

A square nosed blonde said, leaning against the wall as the other made themselves comfortable on some nearby crates.

"We have orders not to move. Let the marines handle this."

The black haired man said. He was bulky and had had in the shape of bull horns.

"We will not intervene unless ordered. Marine Admiral Aokiji should already be on his way. If they plan to leave before that, we have been ordered to apprehend them. They must not be killed. Marine HQ has made itself especially clear on this point. To be prepared, ready seastone cuffs. As far as we know, the main target is a devil fruit user."

The man with the pigeon said, quieting the others.

"We must ensure they will be captured here."

The others nodded at their leaders' words.

"Bleuno, send word to Kalifa as well. They are not to be underestimated. We are not to jeopardize or main mission. We remain unknown, to ensure our main objective is still accessible if this mission goes haywire."

The bull like man, Blueno nodded, as a door in space opened and made him disappear from sight.

"Kaku, we'll continue working at Galley-la Company, to avoid suspicion. The last thing we want is for our cover to be blown."

The square nosed man, Kaku, nodded as well as he together with his leader, Rob Lucci, left the building, returning to their work stations.