The Madman Part 13

The Madman Part 13

-o Bonney o-​

Florida was back.

I tore a hunk out of the leg of… zebra? I think it was wildabeast. It was sorta like horse and only a bit bigger, but I was pretty sure it wasn't a horse.

Didn't want to eat all of my McPuffin meat, I had to save some for my Ultimate Meal.

Business had slowed down a lot, we weren't selling much of anything now, and there weren't a lot of people out and about. Sure, I could've been out there as T&A for the sales, but damnit, I couldn't eat the way I wanted when we were doing that, and they'd seen plenty enough cleavage from me already.

Florida was back and working again. Hopefully I wouldn't have to micromanage him and Daniel to keep them apart. My scholar wasn't going to start shit, but I couldn't be sure he wouldn't finish it if Daniel did.

"How much longer until the Log Pose is done?" I asked through the leg roast.

Tom looked up from the gun he'd been polishing beside me, "Not too much longer boss, only about two weeks or so, why?"

"I'm sick of this damn island." I muttered as I kept eating.

My First Mate chuckled, but didn't add anything else. Damn stress ball of an island.

At least Florida was back, sure, he was a stress all on his own, but he was a productive stress. I stared up at the sails of the Cake, rigged up as they were for port. Ugh, there was nothing else new here to eat, nothing to buy… I was just done. What was I going to do when we got to the next island? Spend my money from this. There was only so much boozin' you could do in a town before it started to get boring.

I tugged at my dark top. The rains had stopped, but I wasn't going to take a risk of flashing people again, Florida was more than enough there. So I wasn't switching back to my white tank top while we were on this damn island, and it was still scorchingly hot and muggy. Lucca had the right idea, the broccoli-head having kept that silly leaf-umbrella in his hair just in case the damn monsoons weren't over. Daisy dukes, the black top, and suspenders to keep the shorts in place were all I was willing to wear in this stupid heat that wouldn't screw me over if it started to rain, I'd even tied my hair up to keep it off of my neck.

Been the first time I'd done that around Jacob, and the stupid look on his face had been well worth having to deal with Claude's usual oogling whenever I did something like this.

Still, my scholar doing his usual weird shit, a devil fruit user underwater? Who'd have thought it?

I wondered if we'd need to get all the stuff for more of those suits and pumps so he could get more stuff underwater… or new foods! It might not be the All Blue but who knew what sort of delicious things could be down there-?!

A grin spread across my face at the thought.

That's when it started.

BANG

"The hell was that?!" I shot up out of my chair, rushing to the railing and finding my crew was rushing about on the deck and there were shouts and noise–

** Bullet–**

I jerked to the side, but not fast enough to avoid the bullet slamming into my bicep, making me hiss in pain as I stumbled a bit further away.

"Ball ammunition, 50 belly."

I grit my teeth, my head snapping out in the direction the bullet had to have come from and… that… is a lot of guys.

There was about twenty feet between the edge of the docks and the first buildings, with the long pier that my ship was attached to reaching out perpendicular to the stone and mud brick homes and shops… and most of the space between the buildings and the dock itself was filled with Shaka's men.

When the fuck had they gotten there?!

"Captain! There's…"

"I can fucking see! What the hell is going on?!" well over a hundred warriors were arrayed at the docks, all native forces… and stepping to the front was Shaka, the man standing nearly half again as tall as most of his forces. I snarled even as I held the arm that'd been shot, pulling age away from the wound, "Shaka! The hell is the meaning of this?!"

Even from my place atop my ship, I could see the snarl on the big black man's face, "Bring the bastards in! They spat in the face of our hospitality and that cannot be allowed! And her!" His finger jutted out as he pointed at, who the fuck else, but me, "I want that bitch alive!"

"Captain!" my head twitched in the direction of one of my men shouting, "Florida's line has been cut!"

My chest went cold…

His line.

His air hose?

A Devil Fruit user at the bottom of the ocean without air-?!

I snarled as my chest began to burn, "Oh he wants a fucking fight does he?! He wants to take one of mine does he?!" I nearly screamed, "Ready the cannons!"

"Aye!" came the shout from my crew.

**Bullet to the–**

I started to lunge to the side only to hear a crack of a gunshot beside me, sparks flying from a point in mid-air. "Zat is not recommended mon ami," Lucca said calmly, a small, strained smile on his face as he drew the second of the two revolvers from his leather overalls.

My head snapped to the source of the fucking bullet, some old as piece of shit on top of the buildings, "Hmph, 50 belly down the drain."

"Open fire on that fucking sniper!" I snapped out as the bullet popped out of my bicep and fell to the deck, the hole closing.

"No you don't you bitch!" A thin guy with a lighter skin than most of the others launched himself into the air and straight at me… carrying that huge ass spear of his. Oh, it was that fuck.

I scowled, but I didn't even fucking care. Nor did it matter.

"RRrrraaaahhhhh! For Glory!" Wallace's large blade slammed into the oversized spear, and his much greater size and weight pushed them both backwards and back to the docks.

I was focused on fucking Shaka, he took Jacob from me… one of my crew, my mad scientist! He was going to fucking–

My eyebrows shot up as the massive king of the island fell to his knees, his forces parting around him– "Shit! Scatter!"

Peripherally I was aware of the crew leaping from the Cake to engage the front lines of Shaka's forces on the dock even as I ran forward. No, I wasn't going to let this happen! This was my ship! This was my crew! And I wasn't going to let this monstrous fuck hurt either of them! No more! Not another!

Large black hands grabbed the ground before him and the king shouted as his abs flexed, "Bull's Chest!"

I launched myself off of the ship right at him, arching backwards as I chambered a kick, "Main Course!"

Shaka's head went down fast, the blade of shockwave hurtling forward even as I flexed my stomach, snapping my leg forward like a rubber band and kicking the fucking shockwave.

My leg strained against the blast, and I could feel the bones in my shin crack as I struggled to straighten my leg. But, slowly and surely, I was being pushed back… I couldn't match the force head on... so with a snarl I twisted my torso and re-angled my kick, instead sending the shockwave careening off to the side and away from my ship. The wind roared in my ears as the blast surged off towards the horizon, and Shaka stared up at me in shock even as I met his gaze, trying to make sure this bastard fucking understood.

'I am going to fucking kill you.'

Then he snarled, teeth bared and there was no mistaking the look he sent back, 'Not if I kill you first.'

And then he began to expand, his skin turning a deep blue as something began to stick out of his head, a second pair of arms starting to appear…

"Of fucking course this asshole's got a Devil Fruit," I grumbled under my breath as I landed on the docks in front of my ship, ignoring the twinge of pain it sent through my kicking leg even as I healed the bone.

Sparks flew from thin air as guns went off, and a rolling mass of semi-transparent blue went hurtling past me and into the throngs of men behind the fucking 'king'. Wallace roared out his battle cry again somewhere off to my right and I saw the flash of green of Jaime's usual sweater somewhere off to my left. The sounds of battle started up all around us, but me? I was focused on the chucklefuck that thought he could hurt my crew, that thought he could kill my Jacob…

Unfortunately, his transformation finished before my leg finished healing, and Shaka stood even larger than before. Now the size of a damn house, he probably weighed several tons, his entire body covered in black, insect like plates, with four arms ending in sharp, wicked claws, a single massive horn jutting from his forehead and ending in a spiky T.

And he still had that damn grass skirt on! How?! He'd turned into a beetle twice his size! If I'd tried that I'd have ripped right out of my clothes!

"You will suffer for hurting my family, and you will fix what you've done!"

My jaw clenched so hard that it creaked, my fists starting to shake.

Oh hell no. He didn't get to try that shit with me. And hell… if I could get at least a little justice for those people this fuckface had killed? I'd like to think Jacob would've been proud of me… 'You better not be dead you bastard, because if you are I'll fucking kill you again for getting taken out like a scrub!'

"We hurt your family…?" I growled out of the sounds of battle, "You dickhead, you just fucking hurt mine! If you want a fucking fight, you got one! Appetizer!"

I exploded from a standing start like a cork from a champagne bottle and my knee slammed into the underside of his chin hard, hard enough to lift his fat ass off of the ground several inches. My leg straightened out and I launched myself off of him and back to the dirt where I coiled up like a spring, "Jerky Ten Course!!" Before he'd even started to fall down, I launched out once more as hard as I fucking could, leg extending and slamming into his torso as I fucking kicked his ass.

"Hors D'Oeuvres! Soup! Salad! Sorbet! Entre!" I poured kicks up into his torso, pushing him back and keeping his ass off the ground as I bounced off of the dirt again and again, and with every blow I pushed more and more age into this fuckface! Each kick had the force of a fucking cannoball, booming as my boots slammed into his torso. The raining kicks pushed him back, sending him through the crowd of his own men like a fucking bowling ball, knocking them flying as I pursued him to keep up the pressure and make sure his buggy ass was feeling it!

So what if he puts those four arms in the way! So fucking what! I'll age his ass into dust for attacking us!

"Side dish! Pastry! Pudding! Coffee! Desert!" With a scream, I planted my back foot and launched my lead one forward as hard as I could, burying it in his arms and sending the fucker that called himself a king flying back through one of the mud brick buildings, kicking up a cloud of dust, my chest heaving in anger and exertion.

I could hear the sounds of fighting behind me, and I knew that my crew were fighting his forces, but I trusted them, and I needed to cave this assholes head in. If I didn't, he'd destroy my ship! I'd pushed him all the way through the crowd of his soldiers in the docks and past the first few lines of buildings before I'd kicked him through one.

My foot lowered to the ground and I snarled, starting to stalk forward, but froze at the rumbling.

Rock and brick shifted, clattering down, and a new small dust cloud was kicked up as Shaka rose from the rubble of the building, his insect shell grayed and cracked. Hah. Kicking him might be like kicking steel, but he couldn't avoid getting aged into senility could–

*Crack!*

I nearly jerked back as he split down the middle, "The fuck-?!"

Parting at the back, his skin or shell or whatever the fuck it was opened up and he… fucking hell a whole new one of him pulled out of the back of the first! A gooey but otherwise unhurt, transformed Shaka! Leaving a fucking shell! The hell?! He molted?! There was a cracking noise as he spread his four clawed hands apart and split his old skin entirely, standing in the remnants of his ruined skin as two black eyes filled with hate and madness bore into me.

I snarled right back, "Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me!"

The psychofuck charged forward.

-o Wallace o-​

"For Glory!"

Dumisani's enormous manly spear glanced off of my greatsword .

"Glorious Manly Spear!"

The oversized blade glanced off of my cheek, drawing a line of fire and blood even as the damn soldier danced back beyond my counterattack. Damn bastard!

Sparks flew as the larger gazelle man struck again, his rippling manly muscles tensing as he danced about me with that impossible speed.

We were an island in the sea of warriors, their skin bared like real men-! But a sea of warriors seeking to overwhelm us and drown us in bodies. Even with Bonney and myself, how could we win this?

The fruit using little shit kept leaping back when I tried to hit him! I couldn't soru forward fast enough to catch him! I'd nearly leapt right into the spears of those surrounding us!

"This time, there's no lying, girly assassin to save you, skirt-boy!"

I snarled, "He's not a girly assassin!"

Our blades clashed time and again, his strength had improved since our last fight-! Damn him! I'd improved my speed but he still outclassed me far too much!

Damn him for his greater size and reach! That was usually my thing! I wouldn't let his stupid oversized spear be better tham my oversized- I mean, perfectly manly sized sword!

If I couldn't get close enough to hit him with my sword, I'd hit him with my sword at a range!

Just as he leapt back from my swing, I followed through into my windup! "Storm-!"

"Oh no you don't!"

"RULE-SHIT!"

I barely dodged out of the way of the spear, barely avoiding being run through by the blade! I grit my teeth to avoid showing the fear- the rage I mean! I felt as the blade glanced between my ribs. Another scar for my collection.

Damnit, what were we going to do? They were overrunning the Cake! Not now, but we only had so many bullets and powder for the cannons!

"I won't let you use that technique-!"

Out on the dock like this, without cover or terrain other than his asshole army, how was I going to get the space to wind it up properly?! But he couldn't see me as weak or unmanly! "And I will use it!"

-o Jaime o-​

"What is going on, amigo?"

Every engagement had us moving further and further away from the docks as the man I'd almost considered a friend, if a stuffy one, did his best to kill me.

Katlego's response was simple, "My king has ordered your crew to be exterminated."

"Why? We haven't done anything!" My thoughts drifted to Snugglewumps and the Stein pirates, "To you guys at least."

The man's boiling eyes followed my dancing blade, the hard black coating on his hands easily enabling him to deflect the slicing tip of my rapier. There were a scattering of small scratches on his arms, stark black and white from his devil fruit, but I'd had yet to land anything resembling a proper blow on the zebra-man. Already, my own green sweater had been torn from the mere air pressure of his near misses with those terrifying fists.

Finally we disengaged for the briefest of moments, long enough for the well muscled man to say, "My king believes otherwise."

Another exchange of blows, my blade dancing and weaving as I bounded about, but the zebra-man's strength and speed combined with his conservative style meant my rapier did little to him. He had no openings! The other soldiersthankfully avoided us, not willing to get in the way of Katlego's terrifying blows or into the range of my flashing blade.

"You know we wouldn't do anything like that mi amigo!" I countered, dodging the spear at my side while dancing around the larger zebra-man, trying to ignore how brief his stupid grass-skirt was. "Even if Florida wouldn't rip us a new asshole, our Captain doesn't want to give your king reason to be angry with us!"

Advancing like an inexorable wall, his fists came at once, one deflecting my blade while the other lashing out, the nearly nine foot tall man having plenty of reach to bypass the advantage of my blade-!

Pain flared-!

"I am aware." He said simply as the blow glanced off of my shoulder, sending tatters of my green sweater flying as I spun backwards, barely saving my shoulder from being shattered or dislocated. "But my king has given his orders, and I shall follow through."

A spear came for my back-!

Silver gleamed, sunlight flashing across my rapier as I spun, slicing a hooked cut into the bold soldier that had tried to take advantage, the tip coming back up like lightning between myself and the man of boiling eyes.

"Your king is crazy, amigo."

Katlego bristled, "The glorious King Shaka is not insane!"

"Meat ball." I deadpanned.

The zebra-man coughed into his fist even as the other soldiers around us cringed, "Ah. Well. Yes." He drew himself up, "But I must honor his orders."

"And I cannot allow you or yours to hurt my crew, amigo."

"You will do your best."

-o Lucca o-​

"300 Belli."

I couldn't do anything!

My partner was getting bled to death cut by cut not fifty feet away from me, Jaime was getting pushed further and further into the city by another devil fruit user, Casey was fighting an entire damn army at the edge of the dock to keep them away from the Cake, Daniel was trying to stop hit and run tactics and getting pushed further and further away.

"250 Belli."

*BANG*

And Captain Bonney was trying to not be killed by the damn monster with a crown.

"350 Belli."

*BANG*

And I couldn't help a single one of them!

Because I was too busy with this old clown!

Three cracks echoed over the din of gunfire from the crew on the Cake and the sporadic fire from the army below, and I could actually feel the first bullet slam into the other slug midair, barely slowing it down before my second round struck it and finally deflected it away from where Bonney's head would've been just an instant later.

I needed both bullets to deflect each of his rifle rounds! And if I miscalculated-

"500 Belli."

*BANG*

With a snarl, I was already firing. And I knew it was wrong.

Each of my bullets struck the rifle round in transit, but the bullet didn't deflect away-! Instead it was course-corrected into Wallace's shoulder-!

"Merde!" I cursed under my breath as my friend cried out and only just barely avoided being decapitated by his opponent. The sniper had shifted position again and I hadn't caught it! Stupid. Stupid. I was the only thing keeping the crew from getting a bullet to the head!

Where? Where was he? If I could find him in time, I could use my better rate of fire to put shots into him, but I couldn't leave the Cake without an unacceptable amount of downtime! He had an entire city to hide in!

With a tickle of realization, my twin pistols were already up and firing. Fucking whispers-!

"800 Belli."

*BANG*

-o Bonney o-​

With a snarl, I ripped the bullet out of my skin, tossing the round aside as I pulled age out of the wound, staring back at the fucking glittering wall of madness.

Ugly as a noble, and hadn't even needed the crown to do it. Ugh. And he was still wearing that stupid fucking grass skirt and that golden pec armor.

Everything hurt.

The ground buckled beneath me as I launched forward, meeting Shaka's stupid fucking charge, scurrying across the ground, "Side Dish! Veal!"

"Bull's horns!"

His head swept to the side, the massive horns slamming into my leg hard, and despite pulling at the age as hard as I could, barely softened-! We struggled there for just a moment before his greater mass overwhelmed my speed and tossed me aside like a chicken bone to the trash. Damn bastard!

I tumbled through the air, rolling up to my feet and he was already nearly upon me!

The single, massive horn jutting from his forehead nearly impaled me before I grabbed it! My feet scrambled for purchase in the dirt as he kept going, driving me backwards and trying to lift me off the ground!

Well if he wanted to play that fucking game.

A single twist of his horn sent me hurtling through the air, and my feet snapped out, kicking off of the sky and changing my direction before he was able to strike at me again. Hah! Fucking idiot.

I landed on the street amidst a throng of this asshole's soldiers, hands lashing out and pushing age into the idiots.

"You-!" He warbled out, voice distorted by his transformation, "You'll make up for it!"

"The fuck are you talking about?!" I snapped at the asshole.

Just in time for another charge-!

"Jerky Buffet!"

I tumbled through the air, raining kicks and age down into the asshole as he passed beneath me-! Only for the armored plates on his back to snap open and clip me on the way by! Pain flared as I was knocked aside and dust and wood exploded around me.

Coughing through the fucking smoke and debris, I pushed myself up and out of the cloud. The bastard was already pulling out of another exoskeleton. "Oh come on! That's complete bullshit!"

There's no way that a Zoan like that should make him immortal! And molting every time I hit him with sufficient aging was exactly that! He shouldn't have been able to keep that up for as long as he did! He'd have been hundreds of years old by now! Maybe thousands! Who cares! His ability was bullshit! And how did that stupid skirt stay on?!

"You-!" He snarled, dripping with those disgusting juices like soured milk as he stepped out of the exoskeleton, eyes wild as they landed on me, "You'll give birth as many times as needed until you make up for those you stole from us!"

I blanched as bile rose in my throat. Oh fuck no! "You're a fucking psycho!"

Damnit! The soldiers were parting as quickly as they could while their dumbass king came hurtling down the street towards me.

Fast as all hell, four arms with claws, strong as all hells, he probably weighed three tons, and tougher than Florida.

…

I wasn't winning like this, I might be able to outlast the bastard, but not his army, not this sniper, and my crew didn't have the firepower to keep the army from raking the Cake. Even at a glance I could see Wallace was struggling and the bastards were starting to get around Casey and onto the pier the Cake was tied on! Couldn't even see Daniel or Jaime damnit.

If it weren't for the damn army we might have a chance-!

Shaka leapt through the air and nearly belly flopped onto me-!

I lunged to the side, barely avoiding his claws, snapping my leg out and sending a blade of air into his side reflexively, but utterly futilely. Fucking exoskeleton! Damnit, I had to put this asshole down now and help out the rest of my crew. I couldn't afford to try this shit! Either that, or take out the army somehow-!

… idea.

Ducking and dodging through his thundering claws, which tore up the ground and sent dirt and dust flying, soldiers too slow to get out of the way hurtling through the air as well. Fucking idiot was killing his own men!

"I doubt you've got enough dick to even try that asshole!"

But if I could get him angry enough…

His face somehow twisted into something even uglier as he snarled, mandibles and face feelers flaring in rage as he roared, "I'm going to turn you into a breeding bitch!"

A sudden surge of speed from the bastard had his claw hitting my side hard-! A cry of pain came from my throat as I tumbled through the air, rolling up to my feet while pulling the age from the wound. The pressure was there but everyone was still standing-! C'mon asshole! Florida pissed you off enough to do it! So can I!

I coughed, spitting out phlegm and blood, the entire left side of my face was in pain, I'd hit something on the way down. Damnit. I'm a bigger pain in the ass than Jacob ever was! "If you need a breeding sow, why don't you just knock up your mom?!"

RAGE

It spread like a wave, his fury, echoing within the incoherent scream he let out. Ripples going through the air like hitting soup with a spoon, pressing down on me like the aching weight of hunger or thousands of beetles crawling against my skin.

But I stood strong strong, even if my hands rose up defensively to block the invisible attack.

Nearly as one, his army fell, and I grinned. Collapsing into a faint, foaming at the mouths, and I grinned. Now it was a little more even, fuckhead!

Shaka slammed down onto all six of his legs and with a wail like the damned, surged forward horn first like a fucking sea-train-!

I launched myself upwards, "Veal-"

Pain!

A twist of his head snatched me out of the air and slammed me into the dirt. Dirt and stone went flying around me as he crushed me beneath his fat ass, pushing me along and digging a trench as he did. Pain flared with sudden impacts, one, two, three… four and five in rapid succession until we finally ground to a halt, pinning me to the wall of a building.

I grunted, trying to force the horn digging into my gut away. We'd- we'd gone through several buildings-! Fuck, think he broke some ribs. Couldn't move-! Couldn't breathe-! I couldn't reach the ground and the horn was nearly as long as I was tall-! He was trying to shishkabob me-!

Damnit! Damnit damnit damnit-! He was going to crush me! My bones were creaking! Someone distract this fuck-! C'mon! Spots were appearing in my vision.

Age! Push age into him! Push age everywhere!

I just need a distraction-! Please! I just need a moment! Can't breathe! Darkness at the edges of my vision-!

Suddenly I was gasping, gulping down precious air despite the agony in my chest, forcing myself up to my feet and pulling at the age in my body, fix damnit! What-? The wall had given out, crumbling to pieces behind me and Shaka had tripped even as he shoved me through it. I'd tumbled several feet away, staggering up as Shaka righted himself as well.

The beetle-man snarled, slowly riping himself out of the aged and cracking exoskeleton, "Cowardly treacherous cunt!"

Fuck.

I breathed in, forcing my ribs into place even as they reset as the damage was undone, and I shouted back at the asshole, "Go fuck yourself!"

And dove right out the window of the household I'd fallen into.

With an incoherent sound of rage, Shaka charged straight through the building, the wall exploding outwards before him even as I ran around the corner.

Right, fuck. Find one of my crew, help them out, then try and stall this ass-waffle until they can help the others-

"You bitch!"

Oh titty sprinkles.

I spun around and launched myself right at the oncoming freight train that was the king. That damn lone horn leading the charge again! "Bull's Horn!"

Several tons of jet black exoskeleton and fury barreled down the street like lightning, complete bullshit that something that big was that fast! The ground shook and rumbled like thunder with every one of those six legs tearing up clods of dirt as he rushed at me. Couldn't dodge-!

"Sweet Desert!" I snarled back, leg snapping out, putting everything I had behind the blow, my shin slamming into the side of the horn with a crack as I tried to kick the age right out of it-!

For just a moment, we struggled against one another before Shaka let out an inhuman screech and twisted his head to the side and knocking me away even as that horn cracked-!

And then there was pain.

Ears ringing. Blood in my mouth. I sucked in breath through my gritted teeth, tasting copper and smelling the tang of my own blood. I'd lost track of how many walls I went through. World was a blur. Fuck. C'mon. Up. Up Bonney. On your feet. There were tears in my shirt, friction burns on my skin. Pull… pull the age out of it-

Screaming. Bastard was screaming to the high heavens. Ugh. Fuckhead.

World was swimming still, but not just a big blur, couldn't open my right eye, blood? I rubbed it as I stood. Yeah, blood.

The pain was leaving, but the ache from the wounds I was erasing was still there. Always lingered for a while.

My eyes searched through the dust for the asshole, finding the glint of his black armored body. Wild eyes found mine even with the intervening debris. Great. Fucking great. Didn't even know where we were other than in the city. Fucking buildings all around us, some of his soldiers unconscious on the ground even here, several of the buildings ruined because he'd knocked me into them.

"You'll pay-!" He roared, a small crack in that long horn jutting out of his forehead. Damnit, I'd cracked my shin kicking that thing, I'd hoped for more.

Shaka fell to his knees.

And now I'm hoping to move-! Fuck-!

"Bull's-!"

*fwweeeeeee-!*

"IRON MISSILE!"

It was like a fucking Buster Call.

My arms snapped up to shield my face as Shaka and everything near him exploded. Dirt and soil and rock went flying through the air as a cloud of dust was blasted upwards, a hulking form of steel surfing the beetle-man's face into the ground!

"Iron Shockwave!" Two humming fists came down onto Shaka's form with the sound of cannons! And I was grinning like an idiot, I knew it.

Jacob was okay!

The sound Shaka let out was horrifying as the beetle-man grabbed onto Florida's diving suit with all four of his claw-arms and started to tear at him-! Metal and fabric like steel going flying-!

A bolt of black launched out of the back of the suit, ripping its way free and arcing through the air. Finally, could see him in the pants and button up shirt he favored, with that silly vest, his brown hair matted against his tanned skin by sweat. A light, little fluttery feeling went through my chest, probably some phlegm or a clot I'd missed. He had a den den mushi on his shoulder, the softie'd saved the one in the diving suit with him, "Took you long enough, asshole!"

Landing lightly for someone with a metal ass, Florida settled immediately into a fighting stance, facing Shaka, "Bite me. Do you have any idea how hard it is to swim with that thing on?"

I stepped up beside my quartermaster, rolling my shoulders to try and get the kinks and ache out of them, watching as Shaka tore the steel diving suit to shreds and crumpled it into a ball barely the size of my head. "Better not get hit."

"Take your own damn advice woman." He fired back, gray-green eyes meeting mine with actual concern. Tracing the trails of blood that were probably on my face and shirt. Aww. He did care. The dumbass.

"You-!" Shaka tossed the hunk of metal and cloth aside as the small mountain of insect and man stomped towards us, that stupid grass skirt swaying in the wind, "I'll boil you and feed you to that breeding sow!"

My cheek twitched and I snarled, barely keeping my voice under control as I told Florida, "We're hitting him together."

His teeth screeched as he ground them together, raising his clenched fists, "Agreed."