"Ocean blue eyes looking in mine, I feel like I might sink and drown and die."
A simple girl, daughter of a pirate captain, meets the future "King of the Pirates" and begrudgingly decides to join him on his adventure to find the One Piece.
CO...
TW: Mentions of blood, alluding to drinking blood, and religious factors.
***
There was something that everyone was starting to realize. Having a plan was half the battle. The real challenge was to execute the plan. Luffy was explained what his role was and he tried to make his way through all the men running at him. He was just met with more and more resistance as he got closer to his targets. The others tried to help him by taking the men's attention off him but it didn't seem to do much.
That was until an idea hit Luffy. He looked up to see the hole he, Sanji, and Usopp came through. He stretched his arms out and grabbed the hole ledge before lifting himself from the ground. Luffy swung himself forward and landed with his knees bent on the staircase. He was only a few steps away from both Artemisia and Elias. He didn't advance further. Not yet. He needed to test the waters first.
Now that Luffy knew Artemisia was not herself. He could pick up on signs that he missed previously. She had a permanent smile on her face. Artemisia smiled a lot, but not like she was now. The smile was bright, almost blinding, but the smile did not reach her eyes. They didn't look dead, per se, but they lacked emotion. The usual mischievous glint that held a place in her brown eyes was gone completely. It was a little offputting to see.
Even when she spoke, her voice didn't sound the same, "You don't have to fight so hard for me, Luffy," Her voice sounded like it was being put on, not something that came from her naturally. The best way to describe it was as if someone had taken over her body and tried their best to act like her. She tilted her head slightly, the smile never changing, "I don't need to go anywhere anymore. I'm where I was always supposed to be," She shifted her gaze to the battle, "It would be best if you all left."
"You're our friend. We're not leaving you." Luffy spoke with a stern voice. Something he didn't do much, only when his friends were in trouble. Despite how coldly and distant she was acting, Artemisia was his friend. He could never think about leaving her somewhere like this, especially not after what they did to her and others. He stared down at the girl with his signature grin.
A sneer grew on Elias' face. He barked out an insult, "You fool!" Luffy turned his gaze to Elias. The smile fell completely and all that was left was the expression of someone who was very, very angry. Elias didn't seem to notice. If he did, he chose to ignore it, "How dare you speak so casually. She's a goddess!" Those words. It was those words. Correction, it wasn't exactly those words. It was...
