บท 33: Shotgun Wedding
Upon walking through the portal and back onto his ship, Dante felt comfort. He was in his vessel, a mighty castle of his own that would withstand the harshest of days. Walking into the cabin, Dante made sure to place the Bird on a shelf so as to not forget it anywhere, to which it obediently sat still.
From there, he ran a finger over the desk he set up his Mushi on, leaning against it and briefly thinking for a moment about the journey he had taken. It wasn't something he had done, really. But, such circumstances required thought. He had stepped on many toes before, however now he would be doing more than just stepping.
Soon, he would have multitudes of people searching for his head, not only for damaging the delicate balance of the world by killing 2 admirals (he thinks), but simply by virtue of how much destruction he was bringing. That was fine, though. Any who came for him were all but guaranteed to die, no matter who it be.
He rhymically tapped his fingers on the desk as he began thinking out his next moves, for the first time genuinely planning for the future. Marineford, something he had thought of many times yet knew little of, an event that held a significant impact on the future.
The actual meat of the arc didn't matter to him, all he knew was that many people came to fight in the base, and that the One Piece is real. Then again, he had heard that more than enough times before being sent here.
Anyways, multiple high value folks would be arriving, Vergil would more than likely appear, and Dante would have a grab-bag of shit to deal with that day. Survival was more than likely going to be number one priority. Sure, he could just walk away and not actually involve himself, but if Vergil really did appear then Dante's spotlight would all but be stolen.
Plus, he had a feeling he would be dragged into it one way or another. His initial plan was to weaken Sengoku's forces, then offer himself as a paid enforcer during the scuffle at an extremely jacked up price and make mega money, however now that seemed quite unlikely given Sengoku would want nothing more than to strangle Dante to death by now.
He still had time before Marineford anyway. Dante was relatively sure there was a whole arc that came before which he hadn't even given thought to yet, something about a prison. That, however, was Luffy's labour - and had nothing to do with Dante, nor would it.
He still wanted his journey, though. An adventure. He had long since come to the conclusion that he was far, far too powerful for this world. All he could hope was that the new story he inadvertently created through his actions would be fun to watch.
Now that he thought about it... what was the end goal here? Settle down, live peacefully and go day by day, possibly steal innumerable amounts of cash and live in luxury? Try as he might, Dante couldn't find enjoyment in the prospect. It seemed too quiet for him.
Those were, in the end, thoughts for later though. Dante had much more important business to attend to that he had ignored momentarily to try using his head for once. Maybe he should do it more often.
With that thought lingering in the back of his mind, Dante walked out of his cabin, onto the deck of his trusty Deadweight, and took in the fresh air. Today was a new day, a good one, and he was excited to see Hancock again. She had been a much better person to talk with behind closed doors.
He walked towards the Palace once more, noticing the disgusted looks sent towards him by the Kuja and the tight grips they held over their weapons. He chalked it up to nothing more than the usual treatment they gave men.
When he threw the main doors open, all but strolling into the royal halls, Dante had unknowingly involved himself in what could only be described as the biggest gain in his life, and simultaneously the most confusing one as well.
After all, it's not everyday you wind up with a Pirate Empress desperate for your affection.
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The very second he found himself in the throne room, he was witness to an extremely aggravated Nyon as opposed to the Empress he expected to be seeing. The woman looked a shadow of her former self, as if she had aged a further hundred years in just a night.
There were two new arrivals he hadn't quite expected as well, what seems to be Hancock's sisters, Marigold and Sandersonia. The first impression was already a forgone conclusion when Marigold spoke out to Nyon.
"So... this man is the one? The cause for dear sister's suffering? He should be hung for what he has done to her, not waltzing around the castle!"
Dante sighed, already expecting to defend himself once more and positioning his arms in a placating fashion, only to be interrupted by the begrudging response Nyon gave.
"If you kill him, you'll kill the her too. Loathe as I am to admit... we can't lay a hand on him."
She sighed, briefly looking down at her feet, before determination flashed across her face, an unwillingness to lose another Empress to the enigmatic love sickness.
"Dante, was it? You need to come speak with the Empress. She personally requested it."
Confused beyond belief at the mixed signals he was receiving, Dante lowered his arms and followed along from behind Nyon who was leading him to the Empress's chamber. It was becoming difficult to ignore the heated glares sent his way, especially given the vitriol the snake sisters displayed.
Then again, he could understand. By the sounds of it, something seriously wrong had happened while he was gone given Hancock was apparently on the verge of death, and him of all people was involved implicitly.
It confused him, but that wasn't going to stop Dante from doing what he could to help. He still had an alliance to keep up, and though it wasn't official as of yet, he held it in great esteem.
He was expecting something along the lines of poison, a possible coup within the Kuja due to the special treatment Dante had received, hell he even expected a covert assassination attempt, some form of World Government subterfuge.
Groaning briefly at just how far things had spiralled out of control in the short day since he had last been, Dante walked into the Empress's chamber with no hesitation.
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Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, Doflamingo was engaging in some extremely shady business. Par the course, after all, it was the whole 'schtick' he had at this point. Many days he had waited to have an audience with Kaido, and now it was time.
As was to be expected, the bastard was drunk out of his mind. Though still sharp, he was prone to ranting about an 'Oden' bastard for minutes at a time, yet that didn't interest Doflamingo.
What he wanted was to simply show Kaido the aftermath of Dante's battle with Jack, and give the audio proof he had taken of Dante confirming he did the job. Doffy couldn't have been more pleased when Kaido gave his response.
"Bring him to me."
His voice was cold as steel, dense as gravel and packed with emotion. Both men had entirely different perceptions about the situation, though. Doflamingo expected that Kaido wanted Dante for an execution, or torture or anything else for his crimes against the Beast Pirates, and was positively gleeful with the outcome. He felt a God, felt as though his scheme was bearing fruits and that soon he would be spitting on Dante's grave.
Kaido, on the other hand, wanted the opposite. He wanted Dante to kill him. Or, well, he wanted him to try. And hopefully succeed, too. After all, many had attempted to kill Kaido before, and many too had failed. However, now he was faced with a new contender in the battlefield that could possibly scratch him, even the smallest amount.
Just the thought of it excited the beast, the mourning over Jack's death was long since forgotten in the face of blood pumping through his body, his mind racing with ideas of how the fight would go.
Oh, yes... Kaido simply couldn't wait. The Red Devil Dante had gained his interest, now, and it could only be lost through death.
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When he walked past the doors, and entered the Empress's bedchamber, Dante found himself shocked into silence. The Empress was utterly a wreck. And then, just like that, the second she laid eyes on him, it was fixed.
He could see now what the issue was. Ideas were being burned into Dante's mind, and the reaction Hancock gave was adding fuel to the fire.
"Ah, Dante! You finally came back for me! Oh, I'm so glad to see you. You can't believe how long I waited, it was horrible."
She spoke from his chest, having long since wrapped her arms around him and tucked her head into his body.
'The hell is this, some kind of forced love sickness designed to be pointed at the main character?'
He carried along that line of thought for a moment, and came to the conclusion that somehow that doesn't sound as flattering. Then, he came upon a new conclusion.
'Actually... maybe she's just came around to that Dante charm.'
He had been patting her back awkwardly for the duration of the hug, however now it was going beyond the norm. Hancock had been firmly attached to him for the past minute and a half, unwilling to let go and simply rubbing her face against him while making weird noises of contentment, all as Nyon watched in disapproval.
"Uh, Hancock?"
She looked up at him, still surgically attached but only raising her head to stare him in the eyes, batting her eyelashes several times before he could speak again.
"Yes, Dante dearest?"
'That's new' he thought to himself, once more realising just how deep the change had affected Hancock. She seemed an entirely different person to him now. In all honesty, as much as he loves the attention she's giving him... he kinda misses the badass Empress.
In that moment, Nyon decided it was time to intervene, clearing her throat and opening her mouth the speak. Of course, Hancock was unwilling to allow the Elder to interrupt her moment with Dante.
"Silence, vermin."
The cold, apathetic voice that Hancock spoke with in that moment shocked Nyon to her bones, with Hancock not even allowing her to speak a syllable before being interrupted. Her eyes barely glanced at Nyon, yet for the brief moment she could see them, Hancock's eyes were so filled with malice that she could've sworn some Conquerors Haki leaked out.
Of course, for Dante, this was only a positive. He was loving the situation. Hancock was still a badass, she was desperately in love with him, and he had absolutely no reason to neglect such circumstances. What kind of dumbass would say no to such a thing?
Patting Hancock on the head as he spoke, Dante turned to Nyon and gave a smug grin.
"Sorry, old lady. Seems like the Princess found her Prince."
Hancock preened at such words coming from Dante, already imagining several hundred thousand possible situations about a marriage between them in the brief seconds that passed from Dante having spoken. The sheer scope of her fantasies would scare even the most noble of men into utter despondency.
She looked at Dante once more, her eyes sparkling with delight and several other emotions relating to pure euphoria as she spoke.
"Speaking of our union, I hadn't had the time to put together that speech... would you mind helping me?"
She spoke with hesitance, but also in a much more cutesy manner than he expected of a cutthroat Empress that wagered the pros and cons of hanging him not 48 hours ago.
"Sure, Hancock. Let's get it over and done with now, got more than enough time after all."
"Yes! Come, follow me! Oh, and... could you please say my name again?"
She had detached from him in that moment, and when asking for his repeating of her name had turned herself slightly to the side, covering her mouth with her hand, her cheeks blazing with heat. It was adorable.
Of course, for Dante the moment was ruined by images of a meth cook, and of the phrase 'say my name'. He cursed the world.
"Hancock."
"Kya! Please, again, again!"
Instantly, Dante revoked that curse and instead thanked whatever God was listening for such luck he had to witness this. This was, quite simply, a net positive at its core, a collosal W even.
It was a good day to be Dante Sparda, that much was for sure.
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emonoc
emonoc once more I find myself utterly dismantled by trying to write hancock. she's a ballache. setup Kaido's clash too, that'll be fun to write. may make it last a couple chapters.
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