Bloodlines

Chapter 13

Liza walked towards the open field and caught sight of the group of Whitebeard pirates waiting for her. She suspected that some of Whitebeard's men would come and watch but at least he didn't bring the entire crew.

Liza left her two bartenders back at Dine and Dash with Richard in charge. She was assured that the little fighting session wouldn't last long. It wasn't like she was going to kill him. She merely wanted to test his strength since he had the secret name.

The 'D'.

Liza reached the group and grinned when she saw a familiar face. "Well, if it isn't Marco! It's been a while! How's my favorite Phoenix doing?" Liza greeted the first commander of the Whitebeard pirates and he returned the grin.

"I'm the only Phoenix you know-yoi," Marco replied and Liza playfully rolled her eyes at the male. "I'm doing fine-yoi. I'm guessing that you're doing fine as well since you're already busy getting yourself into fights." Liza chuckled and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, too bad you won't fight me. I really enjoyed kicking your sorry ass. These days there aren't any competition out there," Liza stated in a sad tone and let out an exasperated sigh. She couldn't get in any fun fights. She would only beat up people who anger her.

Marco huffed and shook his head at her. "As I recall we've always ended equally in battle. Maybe if you joined my unit then I may reconsider fighting you again-yoi," Marco tried to persuade the dark-haired female but she wasn't having any of it.

She was too stubborn.

"Ha! You're just like Newgate. Nice try, Marco, but I enjoy my solitude as a bar owner. I can party and drink as much as I like. Besides, if I joined your unit, then I would become commander if I beat you and me being in charge is not a good thing," Liza said and Marco sweat dropped.

"Hey, don't we have a match to start," Jozu spoke up as he came in next to Marco and Liza raised an eyebrow at the male. "We still have to help Pops out with a few supplies," he reminded them and Liza shrugged.

"You're as impatient as always, Jozu. You should learn to relax a little! I'm sure some of your men can help the old man out!" Liza said and Jozu's face fell while his brow twitched. He never understood how she could be so calm at times.

"I see you got yourself a new dagger-yoi. It must've cost a fortune!" Marco said as he pointed at the dagger sheathed at Liza's side. Liza glanced down at the weapon for a few brief moments before she snickered.

"Nah, this old thing? I just rummaged through some old mementos we had back at the bar when we redecorated and expanded it. You can say this is an antique," Liza said and noticed Jozu's frown. She knew that he wanted to avoid getting caught by the Marines and turned her back to them.

"Alright! You ready, Teach? We don't want little Jozu to get angry so let's get this over with," Liza said in a teasing tone. Marco laughed along with the other few comrades that stood by them and Jozu gave Liza a faint glare.

"I'm always ready!" Teach exclaimed as he went out to take his place. Liza gave him a smirk and went to stand a fair distance from Teach. She plucked out her dagger and held it in her right hand while stepping into a stance.

She watched as Teach put on his metal claws and her face fell into a serious expression. Teach laughed and stepped into his own stance as he smirked at her. Once again, she could feel an omen cross through her mind and her eyes narrowed.

"Let's go."

***

At the bar...

Richard served the customers the drinks they ordered while being deep in thought. Aston noticed that he barely spoke and that he was greatly troubled. Richard was uneasy because of Liza's fight with the Whitebeard pirate.