章 38: Devil Child
...
A few minutes after the fight ended.
-Groan...-
Waking up while facing a dark wall, Crocodile opened his eyes slowly in confusion as he was still in a groggy state, before he then widened them in shock, and tried to stand up in a hurry to scan his surroundings and understand where he was at the moment.
Unfortunately for him, he was unable to, as soon he felt how all his strength left his body, and as a result fell back to the ground helplessly.
-Thud!-
"Urgh..."
Gritting his teeth in pain, Crocodile narrowed his eyes as he moved his eyes around to recognize where he was, before he then tried moving again, and noticed that his arms were being restrained by something and that he had some kind of cloth covering his mouth.
'What is happening here...? Why am I?'
Confused about his situation, Crocodile tried remembering what had happened before he lost consciousness. However, before he was able to, a familiar voice came from behind him and made him widen his eyes in shock.
"... You woke up?"
'This voice is...?!'
Frowning heavily as he recognized who the owner of the voice was, Crocodile suddenly felt as if someone pulled him from behind before he was then thrown to the opposite wall and slammed his back against it, causing him to finally see his surroundings properly.
He was inside a dark alley of what still seemed to be Rainbase, and there was a certain person standing right in front of him.
"... Talk about being sturdy. Any other guy would have been unconscious for a day at least..."
And it was no one else but the arrogant brat that had beaten him!
-Muffled sounds-
Squirming like a furious dog, Crocodile tried standing up to attack him. However, as soon as he tried, he fell to the ground helplessly and faced the floor again.
'...Why can't I move...?'
Confused, Crocodile looked around his body trying to find anything, before he then looked up and saw Farid kneeling in front of him with a smug expression on his face.
"Man, Devil Fruit users sure are useless when facing sea stone..."
"B-Bafstafrd, whft difd you dfo tfo mfe...?"
"I put some sea stone handcuffs on you... You didn't expect me to come and fight against a Shichibukai all unprepared, did you?"
"Wfhat...?"
"Honestly, It would have been great if I had just put them on you when we began our fight. However, handcuffing someone is really hard when they can turn into sand and morph their body in a way so that the handcuffs don't touch them... So I could only put them on you once you were down... It would have saved me so much trouble otherwise"
Sighing tiredly, Farid smirked smugly, before he then lifted Crocodile's enormous body and placed it on his shoulder.
"Unhfanfd mfe youf lfittfle...!"
"Yeah, say that to the marine after I bring you to them, pal"
Not minding Crocodile's angry complaints, Farid soon started moving swiftly through the city, seemingly with a destination on his mind, as he avoided any person along the way as he probably didn't want others to see him carrying a Shichibukai around like a potato sack.
It took him a few minutes to arrive, as because he was avoiding people it took him a lot longer to arrive at his destination than what it would have normally taken. However, as soon as he did, Crocodile widened his eyes enormously, before he then looked at Farid and furrowed his eyebrows as if asking him why were they there.
"What? I just need to check something in here quickly. After that, you can go and rot in prison or whatever"
Glaring at Crocodile with an annoyed look on his face, Farid then turned to look away, before then a silent gulp that went unnoticed by Crocodile sounded.
-Gulp-
Right in front of them was Crocodile's Casino... Or at least, what remained of it.
Glaring at it with an impassive expression on his face, Farid's inner mind was everything but calm at that moment.
'I ended up beating this guy's ass without even making sure that there was any evidence in the first place... And considering the fact that he has been officially recognized by the world government, and that people believe of him as a hero... In the worst case, I will pass from bounty hunting to get bounty hunted...'
Looking at Crocodile from the corner of his eyes, Farid narrowed his eyes, before he then scoffed with a dissatisfied expression on his face and nodded to himself.
'Though, he was the one to attack me first. So I had all the right to beat him up...'
Leaving his troublesome thoughts aside, Farid stepped forward, before he then entered Crocodile's casino without alerting anyone.
The guards were still looking for people that might have gotten hurt during the small earthquakes that he and Crocodile had caused a few minutes ago. So it was rather easy for him to sneak behind them and pass the door that led to the VIP room without alerting anyone, just like he had done before when he infiltrated the first time.
As for Crocodile, he had his mouth gagged, his whole body hurt like hell, and he had no energy because of the sea stone. So even if he wanted to scream, it was impossible for him at the moment.
Thus, entering once again into the insides of Crocodile's casino, Farid began walking through the corridor that led to Crocodile's underground base once again to look for evidence.
'Hopefully, this guy left some illegal documents on top of his table ready for me to pick them up and use them'
Praying inside his mind, Farid let out a tired sigh.
So much trouble just for capturing a pirate, that was what Farid thought at that moment.
"...?"
-Step-
It was then that suddenly he came to a halt, and looked ahead with a raised eyebrow as if amused by something.
'Somehow this situation seems familiar...'
In front of him, was the woman that he met the first time that he sneaked inside the place.
However, unlike the first time, she was looking at him with a much more complicated expression on her face.
Well, not exactly at him, but at the injured and helpless Crocodile that was lying on his shoulder.
'I just got seen... What a problem...'
Furrowed his eyebrows with a dissatisfied expression on his face, Farid threw Crocodile off his shoulder, before he then walked toward the woman and prepared to knock her down again just like he had done before.
"Wait!"
However, before he even had the chance, the woman signaled him to stop with her palm, before then her slightly nervous voice reached Farid's ears and made him raise an eyebrow.
"... You are looking for evidence, right? I can help you find it"
"What?"
-Muffled sounds-
Confused, Farid looked at the angry Crocodile, who was looking sharply at the woman, before he then blinked briefly in surprise, and then shrugged his shoulders with a grin on his face.
"Well, that just makes everything a lot simpler"
"Follow me"
Seeing the woman in front of him signal him to follow, Farid nodded his head, before he then picked up Crocodile from the ground and followed after the woman.
After that, both of them began walking silently next to each other, with Crocodile just hanging from Farid's shoulder with an angry expression.
'Where have I seen her before...?'
While both of them walked next to each other, Farid looked at the woman from the corner of his eyes with a suspicious expression on his face as she felt really familiar to him, before he then furrowed his eyebrows slightly as he noticed that he couldn't remember her at all.
Which was a surprise, since his memory was one of the things he was proud of... And not remembering someone was something that had never happened.
'With her looks, I'm sure I would have never forgotten her. Especially when considering how good my memory is...'
Furrowing his eyebrows, Farid groaned inside his mind, before he then sighed and turned his head to look at the woman.
'This is getting unnerving... I will just ask'
"Hey, your name is?"
Hearing his question, the woman flinched for a moment, before she then stayed silent for a few seconds as she looked at the ground.
"..."
Furrowing her eyebrows for a split second, the woman sighed, before she then smiled at Farid as if unbothered by his question, and answered.
"My name is Robin"
"Robin...?"
Raising an eyebrow at her answer, Farid rapidly started ransacking his brain to see if he had at least heard of her name before.
However, before he even had the chance to remember anything, the woman spoke up once again and asked something at Farid.
"And may I know what your name is? I'm not sure I've ever heard of someone with your characteristics who would deal with a Shichibukai"
"My name...?"
Hearing her question, Farid thought for a few seconds in silence as well, before he then shook his head and looked at Robin with a calm expression on his face.
"I'm just a bounty hunter, my name is not important..."
"Just a bounty hunter? But I'm not sure I've ever heard of a bounty hunter like you before"
"I'm particularly fond of not being heard of"
"... Is that so?"
Looking at Farid with a confused expression on her face, Robin then giggled a little as if finding his response funny, before she then turned her head forward and didn't say anything else, knowing that Farid was indirectly telling her not to ask.
It was at that moment, however, that Farid's gaze turned strange for a brief moment, and a slight smile appeared on his face as he looked at Robin walking right beside him.
'No wonder I couldn't remember her... I only remembered her child's face from the wanted poster, not the actual one... Nico Robin, the devil child'
Closing his eyes as if to think about what to do, Farid then opened them back as if he had arrived at conclusion before he looked back at Robin.
"But I wonder... What is Nico Robin doing in a place like Arabasta?"
"...!"
Hearing him, Robin flinched in surprise, before she then stopped walking and looked at Farid with a cautious expression on her face.
"So you managed to recognize me... What are you going to do with me?"
Her posture changed as if he was ready to fight once again.
"What am I going to do...?"
Hearing and seeing her cautious behavior, Farid muttered in wonder, before he then looked at Robin from head to toe, and sighed exhaustingly.
"Well, I'm on vacation. So I guess if you guide me to the evidence, I will just let you go"
"..."
Hearing his answer, Robin stayed silent for a few seconds, before then a small sweatdrop fell from the side of her face, as she looked at Farid with a dumbfounded expression.
"... For real?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Farid pointed at Crocodile with his thumb while wearing a grin on his face, before he answered Robin with a carefree tone.
"Yeah, I only captured this guy because of personal reasons. Besides, your bounty is like pocket change for me anyways, so I'm not in the mood for capturing you right now"
"..."
Staring at his face dumbfoundedly, Robin then giggled softly as if finding his leisurely attitude funny, before she then nodded her head in understanding.
Then, signaling her to continue leading the way with his head, Farid and Robin began walking once again, before soon they arrived at Crocodile's underground base and began looking for evidence.
...
°
°
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|At that moment, in Alubarna...|
...
"Who was that man...?"
Still not completely recovered from the shock, king Cobra could be seen sitting on his throne with a grave expression on his face, as Pell and Chaka (Another Royal guard) were standing in front of him with serious expressions as well.
A few hours ago, a man in black robes with the mask of a cow had entered the castle and threatened him that he would kill him. However, as if everything had been a prank, suddenly he left and apologized saying that he would make sure to compensate him for the fright.
He didn't know whether the man had been serious or not. However, being so close to death surely wasn't something that he could recover in an hour or two.
After that, both Pell and Chaka were notified of the situation and immediately started guarding the king without minding else. An assassination attempt was that serious, after all.
"I'm sure it was one of those rebels! Or else, who would try to kill you, Cobra-sama?!"
"There was no clue about that man's identity, Chaka. We can't just put the blame onto them just because their intentions are hostile to us"
"But my King, we can't just let this...- Hmm?"
Suddenly, as they were in a heated discussion, all three of them perked up their ears, as a familiar sound reached their ears out of nowhere and startled them.
It was a really faint sound, almost unnoticeable because of how soft it was.
However, for them, that sound was something that represented life.
-Shaaaa...-
Then, as if responding to that sound, a lot of noise suddenly started coming from all over the city.
"This is...?!"
Snapping from his shock as if his previous condition was unimportant, the king rapidly got up from his throne, before he then walked towards the balcony and widened his eyes at the sight in front of him.
His mouth trembling from the sheer astonishment.
"Rain...?"
In front of him, it was raining like never before.
...
°
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|Back at Rainbase...|
...
"Huh... Well, that's kind of another piece of evidence there... But whatever. The more the merrier..."
Standing outside Crocodile's casino, Farid could be seen looking at the sky with a surprised expression on his face, as several raindrops were falling upon him.
"Don't tell me you were also suppressing the rain with your powers?"
-Slap!-
-Muffled sounds-
Looking at Crocodile with squinted eyes, Farid slapped his head, before he then proceeded to ignore Crocodile's angry complaints and then turned his head to the side, where Robin was currently standing.
"Thank you for the help, I'll be leaving now"
Nodding his head at her, Farid fixed Crocodile's posture on his shoulder for a brief moment, before he then took a step forward and prepared to leave.
"Wait"
However, before he had the chance to, suddenly Robin called out to him and made him stop.
"What?"
"..."
Turning his head with a raised eyebrow, Farid looked at Robin, who was looking at him with a complicated expression on her face, before he then furrowed his eyebrows slightly when he heard Robin's question.
"Are you really going to let me go?"
'What's with this chick...?'
Scratching the back of his head, Farid frowned slightly, before he then looked at her with a strange expression as he spoke.
"Are you into getting captured or something? I told you I'm on vacation"
"..."
Hearing Farid's answer, Robin's eyebrow twitched for a brief moment, but her expression still didn't ease up.
As if something was disturbing her mind.
Seeing Robin's not convinced face, Farid thought for a brief moment, before he then sighed and looked at Robin with a calm expression on his face.
"Besides, I don't really feel like you are a bad person as the World Government says... You can call it a feeling on the gut or whatever..."
Shrugging his shoulders, Farid smirked in confidence before he then said his final words.
"... And my gut is never wrong"
Saying so, Farid turned around and started walking away. He wanted to get done quickly with all the matter, after all.
It took a few seconds, but soon, he disappeared from the area, and by then, the only one standing there was Robin, who was still looking in the direction where Farid had left.
"..."
Her face was immersed in contemplation as if an idea had occurred to her.
Then, as if she found something funny, soon a playful smile appeared on her face before she started walking away as well.
And coincidentally or not, in the same direction as Farid.
...
-To be continued...-
°°°
(A/N: I fried my brain writing this chapter yesterday. And even then, I still feel like I made a mistake somewhere... Hopefully, it's my imagination)
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