Demons, Swords, And Other Things That Nearly Killed Me

Bella, Where the Hell Have you Been, Loca?

        You indeed took a nap after the shower, falling into a deep and comfortable sleep. Before you went to sleep, you had noticed that the risotto was gone. The plate was still there, and Kosai was clearly sulking in a corner off to the side. You shrugged and jumped back into bed instead of chastising him for eating your food. He deserved it, anyway. He beat up your attacker for you.

When you woke up, you could faintly hear a commotion... and also craved a poppyseed muffin for some reason. Eh, it happened when you talked about cake. Thinking about food kept you up at night sometimes so you could think of new things to make.

You glanced out the window and noted that it was nighttime now. How long was I asleep?

"A while. You were really tired. If it makes you feel better, we're leaving for Skypiea tomorrow morning."

It did make you feel better. You went to grab Annan, and after picking him up, you noted that he was asleep. You didn't wake him.

You quickly put on a shirt, having hurried to bed with only your bra and shorts on (underwear too, of course), and headed outside. The sky was dark and starry. The clouds drifted slowly across the horizon in the darkness.

That's Cricket's house, huh? You lean on the railings and look at it. Since your ship is docked to the side so you can see that there's a large cutout of a castle on one side facing the ocean. The other side was only half a regular looking house. I'm guessing the party's over. Wish I woke up for that...

"Did you notice anything strange?" Kosai asked, almost sarcastic with his tone.

"Yeah."

There's one thing that's out of place, and it's the fighting that's going on near Cricket's house.

"Oh, joy, Sarquiss is there too."

The demon snorts. "He's incredibly persistent. Even after I threw him around like a bouncy ball and refrained from draining all the blood from his body. Isn't he the trooper?"

"He's like that punching bag from Super Smash Bros," You say, before catching on to what Kosai had also mentioned. "You held back?"

"If you'd like to call that 'holding back', then yes."

"Good boy," you said as your eyes narrowed, watching as Bellamy's pirate group started beating up Cricket and his two friends. "I have a plan. We might get to Skypiea faster."

After you told him what you were thinking, Kosai groaned. "That's not very smart, considering who Bellamy wants to impress."

"Who?"

"...A Shichibukai that you shouldn't concern yourself with. I'll tell you a few things that you can say to him to convince him. Some pirates are cunning, but a lot of them don't have general education."

You'd take his word for it

~ . . . ~

Cricket braced himself, thinking that he was going to get hit by Sarquiss, who still looked worse for wear than him. He was covered in bandages and still trying to attack him. The man jumped, spinning in a circle with his largest sword out, cackling.

"Fuck off!"

A fist slammed into Sarquiss' face mid spin, and his attack was thwarted just like that. The man flew to the side and tumbled in the dirt. You stood in front of Cricket, huffing as you glared in Sarquiss' direction before turning to the more injured man.