Deep in the hearth of Partia, in Folen's office, my office, the workplace of whats supposed to be the most important man in the city, the true rulers sit in front of me, with both of them hidden in hoods, leaving nothing uncovered, and as for me, facing these two men, I'm left to wonder the reason for their sudden arrival in silence, waiting for them to speak.
So i sit their, touching the scare under my right eye on my average face to try and calm my rage, as the thoughts of what could happen to the town if i mess this up continues to play in my mind.
But staying like this for the past 20 minutes was making me feel like i've already gone mad from the long wait, to the point that even with the risks, i had had enough, so, stealing my nerves, i speak not as the ruler of the town, but as the warrior that the scare on my face was meant to represent, knowing that one wrong word will be the end of the town.
"Good evening gentlemen, may this lowly one know the reason for your visit", I speak as calmly as i could, but calling myself 'lowly' was enough to make my blood boil, but my words seemed to do the trick as one of the men stirred in his seat.
Watching him with my well trained eyes, he removed the cloths hiding his face as his rugged face and curly red hair is shown to the world, even without my well trained eyes, his distinctive cross like stitches on the sides of his mouth is a sight to behold, as he looks around the room, only confusion for where he is shows on his face, and as his sight lands on me, he freezes as realization sets in.
"Oh, i must have dozed off, sorry about that", he places his hand behind his head and say words that make me freeze for a moment, and as my expression turns dumb, he continues, not minding the expression that i was making at the time.
"As for my visit, i don't know about this brick, but i just came to talk about some changes i want done", pointing at the figure sitting next to him, he speaks to me like a superior talking to an employee, and with no other choice, i take it in silence, i may be a warrior in mind and body, but even that power means nothing in the face of the Pale snake Meron, a high ranking member of an emperor of the underworld, business with him means life or death.
"If that's all, then you could have sent a letter, this town is already yours to command", speaking my mind with as much respect i could muster, i calm my mind, knowing that he wasn't the type of man to make such a silly mistake.
When you handle business on his level, the only reason to come in person for deals is when said content is to vital to be risked being leaked to the public, so i let my mind race, preparing it to deal with anything he might say.
"Got me their" the snake raises his hands in a show of surrender, a smile plastered on his face, he then points his finger at me, before he continues speaking, "I also need your help finish a certain project I'm working on, when that's done, ill be on my merry way"
Saying this, he is handed a map from a figure that was standing behind him, I'm not even given time to be surprised by their sudden appearance before he unfolds the map on my table, showing a map of the island, with points already marked on it, but the points give a strange sense of deja vu.
"If that's all you need, then it would be my pleasure to help in your goals", giving undeserved praise to keep Meron happy, my words must have pleased him as he nodes his head and grabs a pen from the "Shadow" behind him before handing it to me.
"Hear you go, all you need to do is mark the location of the treasure of Partia", grabbing his pen, i freeze once again, finally realizing why those spots were so familiar to me, they were the locations of the hideouts used to train those that were meant to protect this island and the homes of those currently training their.
*Bam*
Banging my hands on the table, the pen breaks in my hand as i glare at the smiling serpent sitting in front of me, not as the ruler of a city, but as a warrior of Partia, but before i could even move, i feel something hard placed on my neck, with the shadow that was once behind Meron being gone, it wasn't hard to think where they were.
"What a nice look on your face, I'd love to cover it in your blood but that depends on the choice you make", Meron laughs at the scene he created, he stands up, letting his hand cover one of his eyes as the other looks at me with pure bliss, as he continue to speak, he doesn't even try to hide the venom that drips in every word.
"Let me lay it out for you, their are only 2 choices", he drops his hand as he starts speaking in a deflated tone, "Either you be boring and give me the location", he then smiles, speaking with the same venom as before as he places his hands on the table, staring me in the eye, "Or we could have some fun and see how long you last against my forces, and ask someone else"
He then stretches his hand into the air, putting everything into his next words, "Either way, i get what i want, so what do you say, lets stop the act and show who we truly are"
With a viscous shine in his eyes, he stares at me waiting to hear my response, having the choices laid out in front of me, i calm my rage just enough to think things though, and with this time, i make a decision and raise me bloody hand, injured from the pen, above the map, and press my thumb at a spot a little bit away from the city, covered in nothing but tress.
"That's disappointing" Meron turns gloomy as he sits back on his chair, his shadow already behind him before i could even notice, but he must have known that i would have made this choice from the start, being a member of the concealers gang comes with the knowledge of being able to predict a persons choices.
But before anything else could happen, his shadow holds their right ear then starts talking to the deflated snake, "Sir, we just heard from the brothers, it seems they have information on Gasperde".
Meron looks at them as he signs with his hand, giving her the permission they need to continue talking, as he rests his head on his hand and closes his eyes, he must have know he would be hear soon.
"He was defeated on his way to the island, with his ship lost in sea and the packages location being unknown at this time", and with those words, he looses his composure as he stairs the shadow in disbelief, as he screams at them in panic.
"What the hell happened, send the diving unit to search the wreckage, and find the remnants of his crew to see if they know anything about the package he was supposed to deliver"
"Already done, though none of them knew much on the parcel, we managed to find out the names of the bounty hunters that managed to take him down, as for the ship, a storm set in on the area, so they need to wait before they can search" The shadow says, unfazed, even with the vipers full rage pointed at them, only moving their heads to face the final figure in the room before continuing their words.
"A bounty hunter", Meron is left puzzled as he whispers one word, and its no wonder, for Gasperde to fall, you not only need to get past his warship and army of men, but you also have to deal with needless, those two alone have a combined bounty of 152 million berries, what type of monster could have taken them out,
"I think its best if we discus the rest in anoth..."
"Just say the names already", for some reason, the shadow tries to move, but Meron interrupts them, not caring for their worries as he is probably lost in though about what to do about the new situation their in. "Why worry about a man that already sold everything to me"
Smirking with his eyes, he faces me again, he must have thought the warning were because me, and though his words stabbed like a knife to the hearth, knowing its true only made the wound hurt more.
"But ..." still hesitant, the shadow tries to warm him again, but he raises a hand, not letting them finish their words as he stays watching my every move to see if i decide to react in any way, finally giving up, the shadow continues in the same tone they always had.
"They were 3 people that caused his downfall, 2 of which are confirmed members of the crew, these were the head shipwright of his crew, Biera, and his assistant, Anaguma" they freeze, leaving the both of us confused by their words, though i haven't seen them much, i still knew a bit of those two.
The image of the old man and a child taking down a former vice admiral and his right hand was too tall of a tale for anyone to believe, meaning they must have been the one to sink the ship, leaving the last member of their group to deal with the almost impossible task of handling the two of them, before we could even ponder the name of the mad man willing to face such monsters at once was revealed to us.
"And the final member is the Pirate executioner, Shuraiya Bascude", and just like that, silence falls in the room as a new emotion shows on Meron's face, it wasn't any of the previous emotions that he showed so far, instead, all that was on his face at that moment was pure fear, as he turns to face the man sitting right next to him.
It was then that i felt it, a pressure strong enough to crush all those that stands in its way, and with each passing second, i feel my soul loss to the crushing force of that presence as my body slowly grows weaker, Meron on the other hand falls from his seat and is sent flying, being so close to the source, while the shadow vanishing to somewhere i cant see.
Using this rear opportunity, i muster my last embers of strength to place my bloody hand on the map, while using my fall to make sure to stain the spot i marked as a final act of defiance, thought it may be meaningless at the end, i wouldn't be able to faint in peace if i didn't do this much.
"Looks like you've grown more than i though" With no strength to even smile and my vision already starting to fades, i manage to hear the words of the man that let me do my little trick, and before i fade into the darkness, all i hear are his finally words as the sounds of his steps slowly fades away , "Sleep well tonight, by tomorrow, we shall see if you've really reach such heights"
******************************************************************************************
"Adelle, lets go down and get something to eat"
"Hmm, yeah, that sounds good"
As we leave the room to let Shura get some rest, the old man faces me with his usual warm smile and speaks to me in the same tone, with his words bringing me out of my thought.
Having seen the types of meals this place had, i should have been more excited to finally taste something that isn't slop, but right now, all that really mattered to me was the questions that keeps on pupping into my head.
"Good evening honored guests, how may i be of service"
But before we even start heading downstairs, a man, wearing similar cloths to the other members of the staff in the restaurant steps in front of us and starts talking, bowing his head in respect as we are left stunned for a moment.
"Oh err, were just going to get some food from downstairs, we don't need any service" a little bit bewildered by the sudden approach, Biera tries to send him away, not wanting to get tempted and use money he didn't have.
Watching the reaction from his words were funny to see, as his face switches from surprise and he struggles to set it back to a calm expression, but i can blame him, if he knew the amount of food in the room, it would be surprising if he didn't have that look on his face when he hears were asking for more food.
"If you need more food, please head into this room and we will bring it to you shortly", finally calming down, he signals to the room opposite the one we just left, leaving the grandpa a little flustered by his actions, but before he could voice his thoughts the butler continued to speak.
"it seems you don't know, our services free for those associated with the pirate executioner, anything less for someone of his standing would just be insulting"
"Standing??"
Confusion and awe sets in as i whisper those words, as my mind wonders how my brother could have earned to be treated in such a way, grandpa on the other hand couldn't hide his joy form what he just heard, as he continues to listen to the butler.
"It would be hell on earth if some fool tries using you to start a fight with him, we are tasked to avoid that at all cost so you can enjoy your stay on this island"
"Oh i see, then theirs no need to hold back, we will gladly accept your offer"
"What do you know about my brother"
Grandpa smiles as he feels the weight of cost being lifter off his shoulders, but as he was about to start heading to the room, my voice stops both men, as my curiosity about my brothers past finally reaches its boiling point, with emotions that i didn't even know i had, i continue speaking.
"What could Shura have done to be treated like this, why is everyone so afraid when they hear his name, you guys are treating him like his some sort of monster when his just my brother"
Arms gripped tight, i stare at the butler, i strengthen my resolve as best as i could as i ask a question that i am not even sure I'm ready to know.
"Tell me, what has my brother done for the last 8 years"
As i say those words, images appear in my mind, from shura trying to protect me from Gasperde when we were young, to almost drowning when i got tossed into the stream, some of the painful things that I've gone though these past few years, but i still managed to get through it with help from grandpa.
He may try to hide it, but I've seen the pains in his eyes when he stares at me, and deep inside, i know, if those dark thoughts stay in their, then one day, it will devour him, and he would be forced to leave me again, if i don't know what he has done, how can i even hope to get close to him to help.
After what felt like an eternity, the butler sighs and starts walking to the door, going inside the room, he stands by the door and waits for us to get in, and as we do so, he shuts the door behind us before walking through the room, making sure no-one was inside.
"Before i start, hears a little warning, shuraiya may be a bounty hunter in name, but he is part of something that is way worse than any pirate that you will find in any of the 4 seas, the only thing that they fear are the Yonko's and the wold government"
He pauses, making sure what he just said sink in, i feel goosebumps set the thought of such a group couldn't even think of such an opponent, but from the corners of my eyes, i see Beira, not wanting to make him worry more than he already does for me, i do my best to hide my expression as i wait for him to continue.
"From the little I've heard from him, he is one of the figure heads for what they want the next generation of bounty hunters to become, and though he may not be as bad as pirates like Gasperde, he is not that far off"
Hearing what he just said made my heart feel like it stopped for a moment, but i am not given a chance to digest his words as he continues speaking.
"He's known for hunting down his prey to the ends of the earth, and the things he has done to reach them can be described as nothing else but monstrous, with the only things higher than the lives he has taken, being those that he ruined in his pursuit"
Done with all he had to say, he turns around to and heads to the door, and as he reaches the door, he finally opens his mouth again, saying his final words before leaving us.
"If you ask me, all this free stuff isn't wort risking your life on that monsters whims, he isn't below betraying his comrades, but I'm just a butler, so you can disregard my words, anyway, ill bring more food for you shortly"
Leaving the room with those words, the room falls silence as I'm left to ponder what we just learnt, and after a few moments like this, i feel someones eyes boring into me, and as i face it, i see the grandpa staring at me, with eyes filled with compassion, as he waits silently for me to speak, and after a few moments, i say whats on my mind.
"He had a hat"
"What?!"
Probably taken aback from my words, i continue talking to try and make him understand
"The man that gave me the will to fight for my life against gasperde has a hat, i know he is connected to a scary group too and sure, he must have done some bad stuff too right, but his still a good person"
I stop for a moment, thinking of the man with the straw hat, as i let all my conflicting emotions out to flow in my words
"Shura also had a hat when we meet but lost it during the fight, it was black, just like the shadows we've been stuck in for so long, and i don't even wanna remember the faces he made when he had it on,
So I'm going to get him a new one just like the man who saved us, something bright and friendly just like his"
I walk to the bed, and sit down on it, facing grandpa as i let a smile form on my face,
"If they both like hats, then I'm sure they have more things in common, so if i get him a hat just like his, then I'm sure than the same light that the straw hat guy had will shine too"
"Adelle"
Grandpa sounds sad as i say my wish, and as a tear falls down one of my eyes, i speak the words that i should have said from the beginning.
"His my brother, and that's all that matters"
and with that, no more words were spoken between us as i lay on the bed to fall asleep, hoping that my childish wish would come true.