Queen of the Grand Line (Trixie & Rand)

[Trixie]

It had been two years. Two years since Monkey D. Luffy had set out on his adventure, tackled the Grand Line with all his enthusiasm and his strength, gathering together a ragtag bunch of misfits along the way and creating quite a large amount of trouble for the World Government.

Or, at least... it would have been.

Fate was strange like that; the smallest thing could have drastic consequences. Luffy had never met Nami, or Zoro, or Usopp or Sanji or any of the group. Perhaps he was still out there somewhere, giving the Marines hell... but it also meant he never met one Nico Robin.

The Jaguar rocked in the waves off the coast of a small island by the name of Roak. It lay on one of those seven paths through the Grand Line, that ineffable and dangerous sea that drew the wild and the foolhardy. It was a great ship, a full galleon staffed by a full crew -- a crew whose collective bounty steadily rose with every month.

Nico Robin stood atop the deck, eyes as blue as ice staring out at the sea. She was clad in a form-fitting catsuit of some sort, with shortened sleeves and long, shiny gloves to compensate. Her neckline plunged down nearly to her navel, the material straining over her breasts as she enjoyed the feeling of the evening air.

"Mm. How much longer did Pet say until the Log Pose is set?" she called out across the deck.

"Another hour or so, ma'am," came the reply from one of the crewmen on deck.

Robin almost sighed, settling one slender hand under her chin as she sashayed slowly along the Jaguar's deck. "Pity. Can't be helped, I suppose," she said as high heels clicked against the solid wooden deck.

It was an interesting life, leading the Demon Pirates (an appellation oh-so-fitting for the "Demon Child" Nico Robin as she'd been called so many years ago). The Poneglyphs were yet out there and ripe for the viewing... but... there was only so far she could be pushed. Kicked around from service to service until she'd been employed by Crocodile... and, well, the moment he'd tried to get rid of her...

... seastone shackles had seen to him.

Two years. Two loooong years since then.

At least her crew were enjoying themselves on Roak -- the screams had died down about an hour ago, which meant the place was likely pillaged and her crew had started... relieving themselves with the local populace. It was part of the reason for the bounty they'd managed to accrue... and part of the reason why the Jaguar was so big, and why its brig was likewise quite large.

She slowly made her way up to the bow of the ship, turning to quite gently press her hip against the wooden railing, settling her hand on the polished surface. It WAS an interesting life most times... it was only when they were forced to halt for the Log Pose that the monotony set in.

Tick, tock, tick, tock... She reflected that the next island had best be larger, if only so that there were better specimens to find -- both in the populace and the sort of books they had. Roak's had been rubbish -- shoddy reprints of some of her collection. It left her with precious little to do.

 

[Rand]

Indeed, in another life or time, a chance encounter with an enthusiastic young pirate would change the lives of so many others in ways they may have never imagined. Certainly, this was the case for one Roronoa Zoro, famed pirate hunter, whom never had such a fateful encounter which would guide the famed swordsman toward being the trusted blade of a potential Pirate King. Instead, the pirate hunter was left stuck at the mercy of a marine captain's pampered son for several days, until having to fight his way out when the little punk broke their promise on intending to free him after a month.

Things got messy. Very messy. Afterward, Zoro spent the coming months and eventual years toughening his skill against pirate and marine alike. Still very much the pirate hunter he'd been known for prior, but having to make backdoor deals with marines which were wiling to overlook his increasing bounty in order to let him do their job for them. Neither a pirate nor a marine, the three sword style swordsman kept his eye on the eventual goal which lead to his embarking out into the seat in the first place; that of being the greatest swordsman alive.

The swordsman believed himself nearly ready. He'd fought many of the best from both the marines and the current pirate generation. His pockets lined with many coins over time. But before believing himself ready to take the fight directly to Dracule Mihawk, the greatest of all swordsmen, there remained one final obstacle to overtake.

For the past few weeks, the often times easily lost swordsman had worked his way toward the biggest pirate bounty anyone could target. Not an easy task considering his sense of direction. So what luck it was when the island he'd next decided to take a break upon after ditching his small, rickety old boat turned out to be the one which Nico Robin's crew seemed to be pillaging next.

Waves of water crashed above him as he kept his breath held and swam beneath the churning water near the docked ship. Better way to avoid detection than approaching from the beach, even it did lead to his taking a few wrong turns and adding a dozen more minutes to his swim. But regardless, Zoro came up near the far end of the ship, as he took in a deep gasp for air. Surveying the exterior from his low vantage point while floating in place, the pirate hunter then pulled out a small blade and displayed his impressive physical strength by managing to slowly climb up the exterior of the large ship with this blade alone as an assisted grip. Impressive considering the amount of physical strength used to swim for so long underwater.

Huffing only slightly by the time the swordsman made his way onto the deck, Zoro had discarded his shirt and kept only to his dark pants and boots while making his way along the dangerous ship. His body and clothes already dripping enough without said shirt adding to it, which meant the young warriors toned upper body was on full display for any whom could see it. A number of smaller battle scars decorated his flesh. Nothing quite to what Mihawk may have left across his chest had their paths crossed earlier in another world, but certainly a fair amount of which to read like a map of his history since taking to the seas.

Unfortunately for those few on the ship whom did cross his path, the swordsman was quick enough at dispatching them with minimal noise on his part. Quick enough for them to barely catch a glimpse of their attacker before giving into the embrace of unconsciousness or worse. Their bodies hit the ground with light thuds, similar to the sounds made by those fellow crewmates on the island whose acts of debauchery were close enough to earshot for Zoro to ignore. More bodies falling. Not the best thing to have happening if one wanted the full element of surprise, but that was fine. Much like how scars on the back of a swordsman is shameful, so was leaving such a scar on the back of an opponent as you sole means of defeating them.

Having spotted the leader of the Demon Pirates, Zoro slowly approached. The sounds of a last few fallen crew members beginning to be heard in the background as they groaned out their last breaths. The swordsman stood there. One sword held clutched within his teeth. Two others at his side. Gripped firmly. Aware of her powers. Every fiber of his body intending of lash out the first sign of her using those abilities to defeat him.

Believing himself ready, as the pirate hunter spoke, "Nico Robin?" His right hand raising a sword. Pointing it toward her while standing a few feet away. Directing it at her head, with the other in his left hand remaining ready to strike at a moments notice, as he got right to the point, "I came for your bounty. You can either come along quietly or I can take you down by force. What's it going to be?"

 

[Trixie]

The Demon Pirates were, to a one, fiercely loyal to Nico Robin. It was hard to tell just why that happened to be -- whether it was because they respected her or because they feared her wrath and had seen what happened to those who weren't. It could even have been a bit of both, or something else entirely that kept her pirates loyal to her. Of course, all of the heavy hitters were off the ship just then, enjoying the delights of Roak's women (whether they wanted it or not, no doubt), leaving her with a skeleton crew that was perhaps becoming a little more literal than anyone of them would have liked as Zoro made his way up the body of the Jaguar.

Of course... that loyalty was a one-way street, and Robin seemed well-aware that someone was aboard her shp by the time that swordsman -- clothed in nothing but pants, boots, and scar tissue -- had made his way up to the bow of her ship. She also seemed to be straddling the line between amusement and apathy just then, her mouth a thin line but her eyes sparkling with something that the swordsman likely wouldn't be able to parse...

"Speaking," Robin said, her hand fluttering across her chest as if to gesture at herself. "And you are... ah, don't tell me." She paused fora moment, looking him over... and perhaps he might have gotten the feeling that he was being looked over in more than one way just then. "Roronoa Zoro, yes? The infamous pirate hunter... who happens to himself be a pirate," she said. She smiled faintly. "It seems as if the Marines call anyone they do not like a pirate these days," she murmured, very slowly and very deliberately leaning back on the railing, apparently leaving herself entirely open to him.

"You know... I was about to say the very same thing to you," she said with a small smile. "If you've come here with the delusion of sending me to the Marines or otherwise killing me, you'll be quite disappointed," she said. "So I'll give you this chance. Put down your swords and kneel... or I will make you kneel," she said, her voice slipping into a purr as that smile grew ever more wicked, her eyes glinting. Something didn't seem quite right about her -- something just ever-so-slightly off about the way she looked...