Chapter Nine: A Kidnapping within a Kidnapping
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Ah right, where exactly did we leave off at?
The sound of metal clashing together rung throughout the island, sparks flying off as his sword made contact with a tail. He widened his eyes. It was a dragon.
That's right. Dragon.
Shanks immediately jumped backwards as the iron hard tail came back around, nearly grazing his chest. The sheer power and size of the creature before him was immense, with golden eyes that narrowed into black slits and a body the color of green moss. No, not the color, the dragon literally had moss growing off of him.
The Yonko, wondering if he should retreat and reevaluate his plans, patted his side for his book. Realizing that the book was no longer in his arms, he immediately spotted it at the base of the very intimidating dragon. Well, intimidating if you weren't powerful.
About to rush in and retrieve it, the dragon, sensing his intentions, immediately crushed the book with his tail.
Boom! The ground shook as the dragon destroyed his precious book and map. Shanks could feel his eyebrow twitching.
Ah you fucking dragon.
* * *
Boom!
You jolted in your spot, feeling a vibration through your body. You wondered what the cause of the vibration was, but you were beginning to think that it was your imagination since your Master didn't seem to notice it.
The ocean waves crashed against the small odd boat, spraying sea water onto the deck. You squirmed as far away as you could get (which wasn't very far, especially when you're in someone's grasp), disgust and fear lacing your features. After waking up again, you accused Mihawk of kidnapping you from your friends, which he disregarded it as "it's not kidnapping if I'm not holding you captive".
By definition, kidnapping was "the action of abducting someone and holding them captive" (you read that in a dictionary, haha you felt so smart), and being trapped in his arms is probably considered as "holding you captive", but he ignored that too saying that "unless you want me to drop you in the sea, be quiet". You shut yourself up not because he would drop you, but because the look he gave you made you rethink your choices.
The bracelets on your wrists shifted slightly as your moved to get more comfortable, made of expensive metals and gems all compacted together. You sighed as you stared at them. Now you knew what Devil Fruit users felt like when they touch Sea Prism Stone.
(At least you got more visions. Hahaha...)
After the face he gave you, and what had transpired earlier, you decided to give him the silent treatment. Why did he even want to take you back home just so that he could take care of you? You didn't want to burden him even more! This was supposed to be your moment to prove to him that you could at least be a little more independent, and what he was doing wasn't improving your morale.
But even as you gave him the silent treatment, you felt guilty for not conversing with him.
The black haired Warlord behind you, clad in black and red garments, scrutinized your reactions, especially the one towards the sea. Sometimes, he wished he had a bigger boat, but then again, he wouldn't get the pleasure of having you on his lap.
He sighed as your usual cheery self was gone because of his rash choices that he made out of impulse. Yes, he felt extremely bad for his actions, but that didn't mean he would take them back. After all, you belonged to him, so why should he justify his actions? You would have been injured if you stayed too long on that floating restaurant, especially with your phobias (and your current situation). Dumb phobias, but nonetheless adorable. Ever since the two of you met, "coincidentally", encounters between the two of you had become frequent. Heck, you even became his student with much manipulating and pulling strings.
And after his small confession to you, which it turns out you had fallen asleep, he didn't know if he had to courage to say it again. He really did care a lot for you, but he didn't know how to help with you mentally. He's tried. Does he need a more direct approach?
His gaze was on the top of your head, and he let out a small sigh. He knew you well enough to know that you were pissed at him, from what he could tell by the silent treatment that you didn't usually show, and that you were also pissed at yourself. But he knew that it would be a consequence he would have to pay. Funnily enough, he too was annoyed.
You perked up at the sound of his sigh. Mihawk was probably annoyed, especially with that stunt you had tried to pull earlier on the floating restaurant. You weren't thinking when you jumped into the water to save Zoro. If anything, you should be the one more annoyed right now, but you weren't. Just mostly sad and disappointed.
Wiggling around, you let out a small defeated sigh, realizing that you can't escape, but then again, where would you escape to? Phoenix was currently a couple dozen feet into the air, and you doubted that he would be fast enough to save you. Eyes flashing gold, you saw Nami crying on the ground, repeatedly stabbing her arm into her shoulder with a tattoo. You tensed up, growing worried for whatever was happening, but you felt that she would live.
And yet you wanted to comfort her. To tell her that it would be alright. To tell her that she didn't have to suffer anymore. You stretched your hand out a little, gently touching her shoulder. She felt warm.
For a brief moment, she stopped, and looked behind her. You watched as her eyes widened.
"...Y/n...?" Through her eyes, she saw you, light surrounding your figure, a kind smile on your face. Were you truly there or was it merely a figment of her imagination?
You gazed at her in confusion. Was this not a vision?
Suddenly, you felt a hand run through your H/c locks, and you blinked. Nami was gone. Confused, you didn't even notice the hand coming for you until it made contact. You tensed, before you began to lean a little into the gentle movements. It was nice... and relaxing. You relaxed in his hold, finding yourself extremely tired once more. You hummed, slowly forgetting about Nami as you were left wondering what was happening. Then it hit you.
Your Master was fiddling with the soft strands of your hair.
"M-Mihawk, wwhaat aare yyoou doing?" You stuttered, your face dusted with a little bit of pink now (due to the feeling of something hard being pressed against you - Lol that didn't happen).
The said man tilted his head down, gazing into your captivating E/c eyes, face showing no indication as to what he was thinking.
"...How adorable..." He smiled softly, gently caressing you so that he could calm you. This was the only thing he could think of, and he was happy to know that it was working.
Humming softly, you leaned against him, turning your attention towards the fluffy white mounds of cotton candy in the sky. If you had watched him any longer, you would have seen a large smile erupt on his face, showing his perfect sparkling teeth. And adding on to that beautiful smile was a barely noticeable hue of pink that had creeped up on his face. It was rare that you would call him by his name, and he loved it when you did. It was always "Master this" and "Master that". Sure you were his student, but you didn't have to go calling him that 24/7, especially on that restaurant. Besides, technically you weren't his student anymore since you left a couple of weeks ago.
(Mihawk would never admit it but it turned him on whenever you called him "Master". I did not just write that. That was a joke a joke!!)
Clouds roamed over head as you stared with watchful eyes, and in the distance a small pink speck had began to take shape.
You squinted your eyes at the anomaly. You were going crazy weren't you? Being stuck surrounded by the ocean on all sides, and Mihawk being... Mihawk and a sprinkle of Yandere. The blob was getting bigger at an alarming rate, gaining speed as it approached the two of you. You could feel the hawk-eyed Warlord shift in position to grab Yoru, muscles tense. As it got closer, you could make out a familiar pair of sunglasses.
Wait a second... that kind of looks like-
Your eyes widened, as the King of Dressrosa had made his presence known. You could hear his words echoing in your head when you had last spoken to him.
"See you later."
So this was what he meant by 'See you later'.
Shooting up, you realized that if he crashed into the boat at this speed, you were all going to die. Or rather, you were. You supposed that you could use this opportunity to escape and be more independent. You attempted to move towards the edge of your boat and escape, but a certain swordsman wouldn't let go. Looking up, you stared Phoenix down in the eye, but he merely gave you a small shrug and took off higher into the sky. You gaped at his actions.
Traitor!!
* * *
Doflamingo grinned as he saw you in all your heavenly glory. Like a beautiful goddess- his beautiful goddess, his princess. But that grin had been smacked right off his face at the realization of who you were with. Veins popping on his forehead, he let out a small animalistic growl.
My Y/n instincts was right. How dare he place his hands on what I've claimed.
A yelp erupted from your throat as you felt yourself being tackled down onto the floor boards, not being able to stop him due to your tired state. Water splashed up and you squealed slightly, tears pricking your eyes, so you squeezed them shut. When the boat stopped rocking violently, you cracked them open, looking at the man who was straddling your hips. The man in question merely grinned down at you, a tongue coming out to lick his bottom lip.
"Fufufufu~ Hello there Y/n."
"Doffy, what are you doing here?" You squirmed under his weight. He wasn't exactly light, considering he was a ten foot tall human being (was he even human?). You started to push him off, but he wouldn't budge, do to the fact that you had the bracelets on.
"Is that how you treat someone who came all this way to see you?" He feigned a look of hurt, but was confused by how weak you suddenly were. A menacing aura from behind him caused the blond to look back, catching the dark glare from a certain bird.
"Hawk Eyes Mihawk, now what do you think you're doing with my Queen?"
Mihawk kept his stoic outward appearance, but internally, he was fuming. How dare he touch what belonged to him. The person that kept him from the clutches of loneliness. "Y/n is my student, what I do doesn't concern you. And what do you think you're accomplishing by crushing her? She doesn't look the least bit comfortable."
"You are heavy..." you mumbled underneath your breath, but the two Warlords had heard. Mihawk gave Doflamingo an "I told you so" stare, causing Doflamingo to sigh and stand up. God did he hate it when other people tell him what to do, but this was you they were talking about, so obviously whatever you wanted, goes. Well, at least, that was how the minds of the two Warlords worked. Usually.
"Thank you." Getting up, you felt the boat shift under the weight of the three of you. Water sloshed inside, eliciting another small squeal, and you lost your footing.
Oh dear.
Fear coursed through your veins at the thought of falling into the depths of the ocean, and you could only watch the surprised expressions on both of their faces, before falling into the murky waters.
Or at least you would have, if a strong grip didn't hold you together. Correction: two strong grips. You opened your eyes to see that each of your hands were grasped in their own, worry evident in their eyes. In sync, they pulled you up, though Doflamingo with a little more force, causing you to stumble into the ten foot male's chest. You could feel Doflamingo's warm breath on your neck, and you wiggled in his grasp. Your eyes bulged as the two of shot into the air, riding the clouds with you within his arm, and you shook in slight fear. Why wouldn't you? For all you knew, the flamingo could drop you to your doom.
Aerophobia - Fear of flying
If Doflamingo dropped you (to which you were pretty sure he wouldn't) you wouldn't be able to do anything with your handicap on.
"Please put me down!"
"Stop struggling if you don't want to fall."
That shut you up quickly, and you begrudgingly held onto his form. Honestly the two shichibukai were so similar sometimes. A pleased smile was plastered on his face as you gave him a somewhat annoyed expression. You just left your Master on his own, and without even saying goodbye or even apologizing to him about your silent treatment. Heck, he even saved you from falling into the ocean again.
Sure, he did technically take you from Baratie, wanting to go back to the castle with you against you will, but that didn't mean you didn't like him. Mihawk was one of the kindest people you knew (not that you knew much people to begin with). It just left a bad taste in your mouth that you left your Master. You hoped he'd be okay.
* * *
Mihawk kept his gaze on the two of you as the two of you left, his eyes narrowing particularly at the flamingo's back. If it were just the King of Dressrosa, he would have drawn his sword and attacked him for touching you, but with you in his grasp he just couldn't. Sure you could defend yourself, but he didn't want to be the one to hurt your delicate skin. Boy was Doflamingo infuriating, stealing you from him.
The Strongest Swordsman slipped his hand in his pocket to pull out a white sheet of paper- the vivre card that you had given him after your time training with him. More specifically, he made you get one, but those details didn't matter. He sighed, calming down. You would be fine, he reassured himself. That bird brain wouldn't do anything to hurt you.
Well he hadn't so far, but Mihawk knew that something would happen eventually. Breathing in deeply, before letting it all out, he made sure that he had a clear mind.
Welp, he supposed he was back to following you again.
There goes his plan to relax back at his castle. When he saw that fucking flamingo he was going to slit out his eyeballs, and stab him over and over again until he bleed to death.
He hummed. Yes, that sounded nice.
* * *
Doflamingo, one of the seven warlords of the sea, and the current King of Dressrosa. Your relationship to him? Friends. You found it kind of weird how he can easily locate you. Out of every single spot in the ocean, island, town, or Kingdom, he always somehow finds you without a vivre card, but you were sure it was some sort of friendship thing or bond or something of the sort.
For Doflamingo, this 'locating' power was simply a useful tool to be with you wherever, whenever. He calls it his "Y/n instinct", knowing exactly when to leave when you were in danger or with someone he knew he wouldn't like. And that's how he found you in the East Blue with Mihawk. He smirked, reminiscing in the thought that he had taken something from the Great Swordsman, to which he had voiced to you.
Your reaction was odd (but amusing to hear from your lips), but considering the fact that you were constantly "kidnaped", you had replied, "Oh, I guess that's nice?" with a slightly shaky voice.
Ah yes, another one of your phobias: a fear of heights.
"Though your fears are amusing, if you're going to go off on your own, you should get rid of them." Doflamingo eyed the island up ahead, before adjusting you to a more comfortable position. "Or you could always join me~"
"I'm alright, thank you Doffy."
"Now aren't you being polite."
"But, I'm sorry I can't join you. I've already promised someone else I'd join them"
He cackled madly, hiding his irritance for that certain someone. You knew him well enough to not tell him who that certain someone was, and he found that both annoyingly irritating and amusing. Amusing that you were trying to protect someone, and annoying that they had your loyalty. Eyeing the island ahead, he began to slow down.
Loguetown, "The Town of the Beginning and the End." The place where you had requested him to drop you off.
Slowing to a stop once above the island's port, Doflamingo spoke. "I have to get back now." He attempted kiss your lips, to which you turned your head, causing him to kiss your cheek instead.
"I should have expected that," he mumbled, opting to kiss your forehead instead.
"A kiss on the lips is saved for someone special, Doffy." His smile twitched. "We talked about this before, right?"
Ah yes, of course he'd remember.
"A kiss on the lips is for someone special, so I can't give you one."
"Are you saying that I'm not special enough for you, Y/n?" You widen your eyes as you tried to come up with a response. He chuckled.
"N-No! It's just that Ace told me that when you kiss someone on the lips, it has to be with someone you want to be with, someone you love and want to spend your entire life with." He hummed tilting your head.
"Don't you want to spend your entire life with me?" You went silent for a moment, thinking.
"Now that I think about it, yeah. And with Master, and Shanks, and my friends. So does that mean everybody deserves a kiss on the lips?" Doflamingo silently gaped at you. Kissing everybody? Jealously twisted in his heart. Disgusting. Why would you give your precious kisses to all those undeserving people?
"No, not everybody." You frowned at his words, which prompted him to add, "For some people you, kiss them on the forehead and others for the cheek." He was seriously questioning how he was supposed to explain love to someone like you who could interpret one thing for another. "For the people you love, you kiss them on the lips. It's not love as in friendship. It's different. You'll know it when you feel it." He watched you nod along to his words with attentiveness.
"I think I understand now. Wow, you're so smart!" You paused before asking him something. "Do you feel something different too? Do you love someone?"
"Fufufufu~ You're asking something personal now, Y/n." You covered your mouth, face looking very apologetic.
"Sorry, Doffy."
"I was just teasing you Y/n." He pinched your cheeks before releasing them, dropping the two of you onto the dock. "Yes, I love someone very dearly, but they don't know if they love anyone or not." You made a shocked face.
"They don't know if they love anyone? That's kind of like me! I hope that you and this person will be happy together in the future." You giggled softly, not noticing the way he was looking at your through his lenses. A soft smile was on his face, as you looked up to see Phoenix, flapping down and shrinking, before settling on your shoulder.
"Yes." You turned back towards him, listening. "I hope that we'll be happy together in the future too." You nodded.
"So what exactly do you do for the people that you love love?"
"Hm... well, personally I'd do anything for my precious Queen. Anything to get her to be by my side."
"Yes, I remember." Doffy chuckled at your cute smile, and he couldn't help but pinch your cheek. Setting you down, he took his other free hand so that he could pinch both of them. You pouted at his actions.
"Did you ever get to tell the person you love how you feel?" He paused, releasing your hurting cheeks, only to ruffle your hair.
"I love you, my little Princess." Your eyes sparkled, and you jumped into his arms.
"Aww! I love you too Doffy! So are you ever going to tell me if you did or not? You never answer my question when I ask." He deadpanned at your obliviousness. How is it that you could be so intelligent and perceptive, but so downright dumb sometimes? He let out a sigh. At least you weren't with that Master of yours anymore.
"I need to leave now Y/n. I have a meeting with Caesar that I have to attend to." You frowned.
"Is it about the SMILEs?"
"No, this one is far more important." You nodded your head, releasing him from your embrace. Though, you couldn't help but wonder what could be far more important that the SMILEs.
"Alright. I understand." You met his gaze, seeing his concerned look. Ah, you knew what that meant. "Don't worry! I'll be fine on my own. I have Phoenix with me after all!" You chuckled nervously when you couldn't see the fire bird anywhere. "Somewhere.." He was silent for a moment before speaking up again.
"Very well. If you need something, send me a message. I'll check up on you some other time. Goodbye, my little Princess."
"Goodbye Doffy!"
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Author's Note:
Hm..... I wonder what Doflamingo is up to. And spoiler, next time you encounter one of the Marine love interests!! (lol I'm making it so obvious). By the way, I'll be posting a story extra before chapter ten comes out.
P.S. Are my chapters too long?