บท 19: Chase

Grove 75.

A little girl's rough breathing could be heard beneath the hurried sound of boots against mud that blended with the downpour. The Grove itself was rather desolate. The faint lights from the Bubble Hotels strung up high in the air offered some slight visibility in the dark storm.

—-----

Grove 74.

"Haa… Haaa…" Lily's breathing began to become labored, finding her every step more difficult than the last. She would not give up here though, she could still make out the rumbling and flashing in the distance, signs of the battle between two powerful entities.

"Here!"

"She went there!"

The faint yells of marine squads under the sound of the storm urged Lily onward. They began a distance away, but as time passed, the soldiers seemed to be closing in on her.

They had already found the one she had cut earlier and were trying to track her down.

—-----

Grove 7.

The rain continued, unabated, obscuring much of the world from Lily's sight. There was little light here, and the only things she could rely on were the faint multicolored glows of a Ferris wheel and amusement park emanating from the distance, and the occasional flashes of lightning.

Lily did not have time to think as beams of white light scanned and swiveled around her. Marines had closed in on her location, searching the area she was in with their handheld searchlights.

Lightning flashed.

In the momentary electric blue glow, Lily saw a macabre warning plaque nailed to the ground next to a strung-up skeleton wearing a worn marine cap.

She ignored it and continued running, hiding behind whatever she could so as not to be caught by the light beams.

She needed to get to Grove 13 as fast as possible. She didn't have time to linger.

She had yet to notice the many malicious eyes trained upon her the moment she set foot on the Grove.

—------

Grove 8.

The structures in this area were falling apart. Well-built houses were a rarity here. Wooden shelters that struggled to keep out the rain were scattered throughout the Grove. They croaked and moaned at every blow of harsh wind.

Lily recognized this place. She hadn't been here before, but she knew all too well what this was.

A skinny disheveled man sat in the darkness and puddle of an alleyway.

The sound of a scream desperately made itself known somewhere in the distance.

Memories of a life that seemed so far away yet so close began to rise within her.

Lily gripped her knife tightly as she continued to run.

Numerous small alleyways were laced throughout the Grove. She did her best to navigate the new environment, even as her vigilance increased.

Lily's lungs began to burn, her every breath made more difficult by the humid air.

The sounds and yellow flashes of the battle were long gone now, leaving her in a dark, watery quiet. She had left that disaster-ridden area far enough behind that even the tremors from those powerful collisions could not cut through the growing storm.

She was slowing down even as she heard many footsteps wading through the dark, and many beams of white light flashing in her direction.

She hid behind a collapsing shelter as a passing beam failed to find her.

"Oi, shithead, the hell you doin' in our territory? Don't you know Hound Pets owns this Grove?"

A harsh voice came from an alley to her right as a group of men were assaulting a marine on the ground.

BANG!

Lily ignored the sound of the gunshot and continued to run. She made it halfway through the Grove before she was confronted by three shoddily dressed men. Their coats were worn, and their shirts were torn. Each of them wore a red-white bandana.

"A child?" One of them wondered aloud as he smirked.

"Won't get much for it if it ain't pretty…" another muttered.

"Let's just take it," the last one said, "World Nobles are here today and you never know what they might pay for."

Lily attempted to ignore them, adrenalin fueling her run as she attempted to make it past the three who clearly had no good intentions.

The conversation sickened her even as Lily's face was hidden by her hood and the dense curtain of rain.

Just then…

Searchlights focused on her small figure, causing Lily's eyes to narrow from the sudden flood of brightness.

Splash. Splash. Splash. Splash. Splash.

Many orderly footsteps passed through the rainfall as three full squads of marines approached her from behind, organizing themselves into ranks, and blocking her path backward.

"Halt!" They lifted their rifles and aimed them at her back.

"Haa…" Lily exhaled a long breath, her eyes burning with a cold, sharp flame.

"Marines?"

"Why's there Marines here?"

The three in front of her drew their own firearms as more and more shoddily dressed gang members joined them from the nooks and crevices of the decrepit Grove. They also wore torn attire and the same red-white bandanas.

The Marines were instantly encircled by rabid thugs.

The situation was at a standstill for a moment as weapons were aimed at each other.

The leader of the gang spoke out, breaking the stalemate.

"Captain Hebi, I thought we had an agreement? Or do I need to give you a grim reminder?" A large, eight-foot man with thick, muscular arms pointed his pistol at the back of the marine captain's head.

Click.

The marine captain had a long, forked tongue and vertical pupils. He lifted his hands and spoke calmly.

"Ah, lovely to see you again too, Panman. Well, you see, that girl is currently suspected of murdering two Celestial Dragons…"

Panman's pistol did not leave the marine captain's skull as his eyes widened in shock.

"Killed two World Nobles? Is she insane?"

"Yes, Admiral Sengoku will be arriving soon, so I suggest you all crawl back to your hidey hole and let us handle this…"

Gulp.

The members of Hound Pets started shifting their eyes between each other before lowering their weapons.

Panman's eyes narrowed as he began to do the same.

Were they kidding? Even though they participate in all kinds of risky and vile activity, never would they antagonize a marine Admiral, much less the World Nobles.

Whoosh.

A strong wind blew, lifting the hood from Lily's face, revealing it under the many lights trained upon her. Her eyes were cold and calm even as she found herself in a seemingly hopeless situation.

The gang members paused upon seeing her face, and Panman's eyes scanned the child as if appraising merchandise.

"How about we strike a deal, Captain Hebi?" He said in a low whisper as he leaned by his ear even as the pistol pushed against the back of the marine's skull.

"... I'm listening," The snake-like marine captain replied.

"How about…" Panman continued to whisper for a few seconds by the captain's ear as they both eyed the girl.

Captain Hebi smiled as his forked tongue slithered. His eyes focused back onto the small girl's figure.

"Very well. I accept," He said.

Lily had used the time she was surrounded to recover her breath, her eyes scanning around her for any opportunity to escape.

Even as she attempted to fight back against unpleasant memories. The looks in their eyes. Appraisal. Desire. Greed.

It was all too familiar.

Her feet shifted slightly.

"Halt!" The surrounding marines lifted their firearms.

"Don't shoot her you idiots!" Hebi shouted after his brief conversation with Panman, "Our orders were to capture!"

Lily's eyes narrowed as she slowly released a long breath.

'Way Of Cloud'

A rose-colored brushstroke swept across the raindrops, weaving between and around white-blue uniforms, even as a hint of red threaded along with it.

The half-dozen marines to her right felt a sharp, cold pain by their sides, barely realizing the girl had disappeared into the darkness.

The men of Hound Pets hadn't seen it all too well either. The girl had chosen the direction with the fewest of their members.

Shhh.

Rain fell, the wind howled, and thunder rumbled as speechlessness overtook them.

Then, Panman and Hebi broke the silence.

"Catch her!" They both ordered in unison.

—-------

The sea surrounding Sabaody Archipelago.

Admiral Sengoku remained standing firm amid the foul storm and surging waves, the battleship rocked furiously between them as it quickly approached the mangroves.

"We're here," He said, then turned to his side, "Still no further contact from the Vice-Admiral?"

"No, Sir. After you gave him instructions to capture the girl, we lost all contact."

Sengoku's brow furrowed as the battleship moored. He jumped high into the storm from the deck, and his Marine coat fluttered as he descended upon the soapy mud far away.

He swept his Observation throughout the isles, and his eyes widened.

He gritted his teeth.

"What… is he doing here?!"

He could feel another headache coming.