hiding

Them fightn word boi

A hand clamped down on her shoulder, causing Alexia to jump as she jabbed her elbow into the gut of the offender behind her. She rolled her eyes and sighed as she heard the all too familiar grunt of pain behind her.

"Thatch you idiot, when are you going to learn?" She turned her head, looking down at Thatch, bending over in pain. Marco shook his head in amusement.

"Are you... drinking?" Izo asked, raising an eyebrow as he approached them.

"Well I'm certainly not, not drinking." Alexia giggled.

"How many have you had?" Izo had a strong suspicion she was getting tipsy.

"Umm..."

"I don't even think she's finished the bottle yoi." Marco chuckled.

"Oh god, a lightweight drinker for a whitebeard pirate." Thatch groaned, "We're all in trouble now."

"It's okay," Alexia gave them all a thumbs up, "You'll figure something out."

"Was Marco's training on scouting that rough that you had to get drunk?" Thatch laughed.

"Yoi," Marco grumbled, remembering how easily Alexia played along with Thatch's last round of idiocy, "Don't even get her started."

"You really want to know how rough?" Alexia grinned excitedly at Thatch; Marco groaned.

"Of course little sister! What did poor Marco do to you?!" Thatch could barely contain his laughter.

"Both of you need to get your head out of the gutters now." Marco glowered.

"Marco, your no fun!" Alexia pouted, getting up and grabbing the sleeve of Marco's shirt and he raised a questioning eyebrow. "Ooooh Thatch! He was so rough I could barely handle it!" Alexia laughed so hard she snorted.

The swig of sake Marco had just taken came flying out his nostrils in shock and he started coughing. Thatch laughed, following Alexia out the door quickly while she kept her grip on his arm. They both knew they would have to avoid Marco's reach for the rest of the day.

"She's quite the handful." Izo acknowledged. Marco hummed in agreement, "So how did she actually do?"

"She did amazing." Marco admitted, "She actually surpassed all expectations, like she had been scouting all of her life."

"Like she would ever go into another division anyways." Izo smirked.

"What do you mean?" Marco was confused.

"Don't play dumb. You guys are definitely attached to each other. We rarely ever see one of you without the other." Izo crossed his arms, knowing he was right.

"I don't know what your talking about." Marco brushed off. "Or is your head in the gutter as well? It seems to be everyone's favorite place lately."

"If the truth is in the gutter then I guess I must be there."

"You all are terrible." He grumbled, getting up to leave the bar.

"Where are you headed to?" Izo asked curiously.

"Well, I had an idea, that is if you don't think too far into it." Marco knew just how to maintain his interest.

"Go on..." Izo smiled as Marco told him his plans.

Thatch had left her, his attention drawn to an herb shop. Even though his passion was cooking, it was definitely not hers. She walked past several stores, not sure where she was going. The 14th division was obtaining all the supplies they needed for the Moby, leaving nothing to do while they waited for the log pose to set, which was supposed to be in the next 8 hours. It was convenient to find an island where the log pose reset so quickly.

Despite her gut feeling, Alexia continued towards the shadier side of town. She heard what she thought was the sound of skin against skin, as if someone was getting hit. Alexia peered around the corner of the Alley next to her as she heard a cry of pain. Her heart skipped a beat as she stared at the back of a Marine jacket.

The Marine was standing over a smaller male, one she immediately identified as a crew member from the 14th division. The crate he must have been carrying had broken open, the food items it once obtain were spilled all over the ground. He was heavily bruised, several cuts on his body as the Marine tightened his grip on the knife in he wielded.

Fear ran through her veins as she remained frozen, anxiety making it harder to believe. The Marine grabbed the member from her crew by his shirt, slamming him into the wall in front of him, before jabbing the knife into his arm; causing him to cry out in pain.

Alexia felt a new emotion she hadn't expected to feel; anger. Even though she didn't know much about him except for his division, he was still her brother in a sense. A brother the Marine had every intent of killing. He looked worn and hurt. Definitely not capable of taking on the Marine by himself. She found herself suddenly wishing for a weapon, as she attempted to push through her fears to take down the Marine.

The Marine's arm raised up, the tip of his knife gleaming with bright blood. The man below him held up his arm, a look of fear on his face. Alexia found herself rushing forward, the sound of her pulse throbbing loudly in her ears. She had absolutely no idea what she was even going to do. She jumped on the Marine's back, grasping the wrist of the hand the contained the knife. They tumbled forward to the ground as she collided with him and he cried out in surprise.

"You piece of scum!" The Marine cried out at her, "You're such a foolish bitch."

"No one, harms one of Whitebeard's." She hissed, finding herself mearing Marco's words.

The Marine stumbled as he stood up, Alexia still on his back, trying to wrestle the knife away. He threw himself backwards, slamming her backside against the brick wall behind them as she grunted in pain. She felt his fingers loosen slightly on the handle of the knife, and she took her chance, using both hands to pry it free as she slipped from his back. The Marine turned around, shoving her to the ground. She cried out in pain as he sent a swift kick to the side of her head. She cursed lurching up, plunging the knife into his abdomen. He doubled over in pain, clutching his now bloody stomach. Alexia took the chance and sliced roughly at his neck, going deep enough to hit an artery. Blood started spewing out onto her clothes, the Marine stumbled forward, falling onto her as she struggled to remain standing. She plunged into him one more time, straight into his spine.

Alexia was able to sidestep, letting the Marine's body fall to the ground. Blood splatters plastered her shirt and adorned part of her face and arms. Her crewmate rushed for her, checking her over for injuries, panic in his eyes.

"Are you okay? That was amazing! I was totally dead until you got here!" His tone turned from one of worry, to one of excitement.

A flash of light caught both of their attention. Alexia looked up towards the end of the alley to see a Marine chore boy holding a camera. He dashed off as soon as he noticed he was caught, surely to report back to the Navy. Neither Alexia nor the other crew member pursued him, knowing he provided very little threat.

"I... I never killed anyone before." Alexia stared down at the body next to her.

"Neither have I." He scratched the back of his neck nervously, "Im Ian by the way."

"14th division right?"

"That's right!" Ian grinned, "Again, thank you! I thought he had me. Your Alexia right?"

"Yep! First division." She smirked, secretly reminding herself that her division hadn't been confirmed quite yet.

Ian struggled to pick up the food items that were still salvageable, attempting to hold them in the broken crate. Alexia assisted him, making sure not to get any blood on the food or crate. There wasn't much left that was salvageable. Giving up, they both decided to make their way towards the tavern, knowing at least one of their commanders would be there.