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Title: pluck down the stars from heaven

Rating: Still T.

Summary: Freedom is only an illusion until you possess the strength to reach out and grasp it with your own two hands. (Or: In which a soldier is reborn as a village girl in a world where piracy runs rampant, strange fruits grant superpowers, and the laws of physics are shot to hell.) [SI/OC, LawOC, AU]

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

(AN at the bottom of the chapter.)

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… In all honesty, the current situation here is a bit of a stalemate at this point. While Seeri does indeed hold this prickly Marine commander at kitchen knife-point, in the end it is only one hostage against a good thirty-odd-strong group of Marines shifting uneasily at bay.

(Poor odds if they decided to get their act together and rush her, that.)

Luckily, for all that the Marines have far more hostages in their hands in terms of pirates, Seeri has managed to get ahold of their commander… and it's not the pirates that she finds herself particularly concerned about here, either. Pirates mean nothing to her, nothing when compared with her brother.

Yune.

Are you okay, Yune? Hopefully you've already managed to escape in the chaos earlier, but if you're behind this set of doors…

Now, if only she can convince the stubborn Marine to cooperate with her, things would be a lot easier.

(Sadly, that's easier said than done. As most things tend to be.

… How unfortunate.)

"Tch. Kill me," the Marine commander says, and it's a low, quiet growl from his throat that echoes all too loudly in the silent room. A silence occasionally interspersed by the clicks from re-loading guns and steel blades scraping against the ground. "You'll find that you stand to gain absolutely nothing by holding me hostage, girl. You think you can save a pirate who deserves death more than anything else just by threatening me? I advise you to think again."

Seeri is vaguely annoyed by his presumption, in a rather distant, detached sort of way that she does not feel particularly inclined to have to explain herself for. Somehow, somewhere along the lines… apparently the Marines have started thinking that she is with the pirates, trying to save a fellow pirate? That fellow pirate of theirs that they bull-headedly charged in to save so openly, so foolishly?

She can certainly see why they might have made that mistake, considering how she snuck in through the pirates' chaos, considering the timing in which she had leapt in with a kitchen knife in hand, but…

But she's not.

She's not with them; she's not trying to save some pirate, even if that's what it appears to be like on the surface, brashly charging head-on in this scene the way she did at a moment like this. And, honestly speaking? Seeri really, really couldn't care less if the pirates and Marines went ahead and tore each other to pieces. All she wants is for the doors to open and to peek in to find Yune if he was inside. Or, if he wasn't, the confirm that Yune wasn't in this jailhouse anymore for sure, get the hell out to find him elsewhere in town before he inevitably found trouble for himself again. After that, then she'd–

… She… admittedly, she doesn't really have a solid plan for anything beyond 'finding Yune.' But then, does that even really matter? All she wants is to be with her brother again. It's not too much to ask for, isn't it? Seeri just wants to find her missing brother, and the Marines are being very, very uncooperative towards that goal at the moment, which really wouldn't do, not if anyone was going to get anything done here tonight.

The little girl takes another silent, mournful moment to lament her lack of decent standard-speaking skills while the eclectic mix of pirates and Marines forcibly brought to a stalemate shuffle uneasily around her.

This sucks.

"Door o-pen," she enunciates clearly to the man she is holding at knife-point again. "Door o-pen, and I… I no nai-fee cut you. Yes?"

Even though she doesn't have a clear view of the man's face from her current perspective, it's not hard to imagine the bitter twist to his lips, the proud narrowing of his eyes as he spits out five simple little words in response.

"Go to hell, little girl."

It's not the answer she wants to hear. Of course it's not. Of course things can't be that easy.

Some of the Marines off to the side automatically stiffen, as if fearing that the strange little child who'd dropped out of nowhere would promptly lose her patience in a rather spectacular at their commander's continued resistance to her demands. As it is, though, Seeri thinks that they're expecting too much out of her, with thoughts like that. She hadn't really expected the Marine commander to just promptly cave just like this anyways given his life at stake –she's not the best judge of character, but she thinks she has a general gist of the man as a person, judging from his merciless actions and his vehement responses against Jean Bart in their earlier exchange.

And that's enough. That's all she needs to know.

(She's not interested in learning more, so that's a little besides the point here.)

"Ru-de," Seeri purposely drawls out in a sing-song voice, her childish tenor every inch the slow lull of a tempest-cloud hiding back the black storm coiling along the watery sky-wind that rises to overtake the sun. "Then, if you sayin' no he-lp me… means no more need for you be keepin' a-li-ve, yes?"

If he wouldn't willingly hand her the keys, then another option was for her to take it from him herself. Worst case scenario, maybe, but it would be perfectly doable, she thinks. It had to be somewhere on his body, if he held the highest authority amongst the Marines in this room. And for all that she hasn't really killed a man before, only in intangible ghost-memories and not truly in this re-life, Seeri feels surprisingly little emotion beating in her chest and absolutely no resistance in her hands at all as she tilts the blade and–

"W-Wait!"

Ah.

(Ah, there we go. There it is. Seeri was wondering if she'd be able to draw out any fish to bite the bait she'd dangled here by demonstrating a little more seriousness to her words, not by mouth, but through actions.)

The corners of the little girl's mouth twitch up ever so slightly at the sound of the shrill, panicked call that she hears, and she loosely stills her hand again. There is blood on her fingertips, and it is… warm. Something about it feels nice, almost, this sensation of blood trickling down her fingertips and trailing to her wrist –and Seeri firmly presses down the sudden urge that grips her by the throat, the impulse to lean over and lick the blood.

She's not a sadist, and neither is she particularly inclined towards making weird habits now. It wouldn't be very sanitary, anyways.

"You be helpin' me, then?" she asks with just a touch of fake, childish brightness to cover up the slight tremble on the tip of her tongue. The man who had involuntarily called out flinches. "Yes, no? An-ser, please, sah."

"Wallace!" the Marine commander under her hold jerks –and he's lucky that Seeri doesn't want to kill him, even if she doesn't feel anything against it and likes the color of his blood; she's quick enough to move the knife just enough with his movement that the silly man doesn't end up inadvertently committing suicide– "Wallace, stand down! As your commander, I forbid you to–"

It's a bit of a twisty maneuver, given that she's practically hanging off the man already, but Seeri reaches around with her other hand and sinks her bone-thin fingers into the Marine's neck. Not quite suffocating him, but it's enough to cut off his voice and let his protests choke into nothingness.

There. Much better.

"Thank 'ee kindly, sah." Seeri beams, and maybe she's having a little too much fun playing the role of a foolish little girl here? Or maybe too much of Yune's mischievousness has finally rubbed off on her now, and it shows. "If you be helpin', then me pro-mise I no nai-fee cut big sah 'ere, yeah?"

The other Marine –Wallace, the commander had called him– hesitates. A conflicted expression makes its way over his face, warring with rage, helplessness… before it finally gives way to resignation.

"Yes. Yes, I'll give you the key, girl. Just don't kill him."

Seeri smiles.

Excellent.

… As expected, though, the Marine commander she currently holds at knife-point does not agree with her.

"Wallace, don't you dare–"

"With all due respect, sir!" 'Wallace' interrupts roughly, eyes looking anywhere and everywhere but at his commanding officer. His hands tighten into fists, and his voice steadies. Interesting. Interesting, but Seeri couldn't care less about it at the moment. "We can't lose you. We can't afford to lose you, sir. Even if it means giving in and letting the pirates have their way this time, we absolutely cannot risk–"

"It doesn't matter!" The Marine officer all but roars at his subordinate, and Seeri is very, very tempted to let the man just cut open his throat on her kitchen knife by this point. She manages to suppress the urge, though. Can't have him dying here just yet, not when he's still more useful to her alive than dead. "We're Marines! To uphold Justice –what Justice is there to uphold if we give in at the faintest sign of struggle, the smallest sign of loss? Do not mourn me! I–"

Seeri twists and slithers like the water-snake she is, settling her other arm firmly across the man's throat.

"Be talkin' too muhch." At this rate, she's going to get a headache. Are all Marines so wishy-washy? She actually feels a bit sorry for them… not. "Door o-pen. Now, sah."

There is a moment of silence. A moment of stillness. Something seems to pass between the two men –the Marine commander she holds at knife-point and the Marine officer determined to save his commander– and 'Wallace' squares his shoulders, sucking in a deep breath as he makes his choice.

Seeri knows his kind. There is and has been and will only ever be one choice for him, in a situation like this. Duty challenged by loyalty.

… Mr. Marine commander is very lucky, to have such a loyal man at his side. But then again, Mr. Marine commander is also a fool, to so stubbornly struggle to hold onto his Justice and damn all the consequences. Seeri herself is many things, but she hasn't been a fool like that for a long time.

She doesn't intend to return to being one, either. She won't.

(Never again.)

"I'm sorry, sir."

Wallace walks up to the heavy set of doors gleaming in the torchlight, taking out the cluttered ring of keys from his side. Beneath her fingertips, Seeri can feel the Marine commander tensing. Good. That means his officer hadn't taken out a set of fake keys to fool them… probably.

Seeri eyes the Marine officer speculatively for a moment. It's nothing she can't deal with, if the man decided to double-cross them at the last moment… but she'd really rather not have to deal with something like that. He didn't really seem like he'd be the sneaky type, either?

Click.

The doors swing open.

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Contrary to what Seeri thought might happen, a classic mad rush for the doors by pirates and Marines alike as soon as they opened… no one moved.

Silly, in her opinion.

(Or maybe not.)

The Marine officer glances back at her with an unreadable look in his eyes. "There. The doors are open. I've upheld my end of the bargain –now let my commander go."

Seeri lets out a little huff of amusement. On her childish features, though, it comes across as something more of a small pout, which is… not exactly what she was going for. But. Well.

"Che-ck feerst," she says. "Then I be givin' you grumpy, yes?"

"… Grumpy?"

"Grumpy."

Somewhere in the distance, a nightbird caws into the ensuing silence.

"… Right," the Marine officer coughs, delicately regaining his composure. "Right. Um. The deal was releasing my commander for opening these doors. These doors are now open. There is no reason for you not to fulfill your end of the agreement."

Nice try, she thinks. If she wasn't fluent in her comprehension of the standard tongue, that little piece right there might've succeeded in spinning her head a little. As it is, though, Seeri is careful to wipe all traces of amusement from her face and instead tilts her head in a childish expression.

"Yune. See Yune feerst, then re-lease."

"That wasn't–"

"Open doors be for findin' Yune, silly. If no Yune, then why open doors?" Seeri taps her kitchen knife against the Marine commanders throat. The Marine officer immediately stiffens, back going rigid as his eyes warily track her movements. "No worry, not like I can be runnin' 'way, yes? Many, many Mah-reens, 'n only be one o' me 'ere. Not be es-capin' without Yune, 'nyways. You be getting' Grumpy back 'en I see Yune."

And wasn't that a mouthful to articulate. This would be why she despises speaking in the standard tongue.

"… I'll hold you to that, then."

Not like the Marine officer has any other choice at the moment, not with his commander held at knife-point. Seeri is tactful enough not to voice that aloud, though.

"Move," she says to her Marine-commander-perch.

The man glares at her.

"Move," she whispers, her voice the bone wind in the black water crevice. "You friend be doin' ev'thing he can so you no die. Eef you no co-op-per-ate, then ev'thing he done be fer nothin', and doors 'lready open 'nyways. That what you be wantin', Grumpy?"

It takes a moment, and she can see how it weighs on him –but his shoulders sag and the Marine commander makes his way towards the set of doors leading to the inner cells.

Yune.

Yune, are you here? I'm here for you.

It's dark. Unlike the well-lit space outside, it was much darker after they passed the threshold of the doors. The following of other Marines and pirates behind them was not unexpected, but Seeri couldn't really find it in herself to be caring much for anyone else at the moment–

Yune? No. Too tall.

Yune? No. Too fat.

Yune? No. No, no, and no.

Yune…?

"Are you satisfied yet, girl?"

It must be humiliating for him, to be used as a perch by a tiny girl less than half his size. Tough luck for him, then. Considerate was not something that was generally used to describe her… well. Not for most people, at least. There were certain exceptions to that, and the Marine commander was not one of those exceptions.

But, that's a little neither here nor there at this moment.

Yune isn't here.

Yune isn't here.

Seeri isn't sure if she feels thankful, exasperated, or irritated the moment that she realizes that her brother isn't here. Or maybe it's a bit of a mix of all three? She's glad that her brother didn't have to suffer the chains and the cages of the jail cells, the fear of execution and death, but on the other hand…

On the other hand, not only have her efforts in breaking in with the pirates appear to be entirely in vain, she also has no idea where her brother is at the moment. Had he escaped in the earlier chaos and she simply… missed him?

But she'd been looking. She'd been keeping an eye out for him, looking sharply for that familiar shade of sandy hair and golden eyes. She hadn't seen him.

… He wasn't here, though. That meant she had to have missed him. Somehow.

Was he wandering around the city by himself right now? With some of the other prisoners who had escaped during the pirates' rampage, maybe?

It was the most likely outcome that she could think of.

"Well, girl?"

Seeri blinks.

It appears… that in the short span of time when she'd been lost in her thoughts, the Marine commander had crossed all the way to the back of the darkened room. There was a man chained there –directly chained to the walls, dangling from rusting links of iron that chafed at raw skin. The man's head had tilted up at their approach, but he wasn't looking at them… at least, not until–

"Yew!" Colbert bursts out from the pirates' section of the motley group, shoving his way to the front of the scene. For a moment, he hesitates –almost as if at a loss for what to do, before he spins on his heels and turns towards the uneasy Marine officer.

"Give me the keys, Wallace."

"Now wait just a moment here, you can't–"

"Give me the fucking keys."

"… No."

"Dammit, you–" Colbert lets out a hissing, explosive breath. "What the hell have you been doing to him? He looks like he's half-dead already! I swear, if Yew dies from this I'm going to–"

"C-Col… bert?" The chained prisoner finally looks up, brown eyes widening in shock when he catches sight of the people before him. "Cap… Captain, too? Ev-everyone, just… what… what in the world…?"

And in this moment when the Marines are tense and grim, when the pirates are tearful and overjoyed, Seeri is just so damned done with this all, fuck it.

Oh, she knows where all this misunderstanding is coming from now.

Her pronunciation.

Her fucking standard pronunciation.

'Yune.' The whole lot of them –Marines and pirates alike– had interpreted that as 'Yew,' the man dangling on the wall in chains at the moment. The pirate that the Marines had captured. Pirate. Pirate. She was looking for her brother, not for some random scruffy pirate she'd never even met in her life.

It is in this moment that Seeri makes the firm resolution to improve her standard-speaking skills, if only to keep a situation like this from ever happening again.

Fuck.

Time to start looking for an escape route. Hopefully, the Marines would find themselves distracted by the pirates again when they went about resuming their jailbreak operation for their fellow pirate. In the meantime, Seeri would have to be patient while waiting for a window of opportunity to make her own escape.

… She really wasn't looking forward to this.

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Author's Notes:

Fifth chapter up. Sorry for the year-long delay? At least there's finally a shiny new chapter here. :D Found this partially-done already when clearing up files on my laptop, so went, 'heck, might as well' and added some more. It's shorter than usual chapter length since I'm kinda tired at the moment, so I'll try to make up for that in the next chapter. We'll definitely be wrapping up the little crisis in Radtep in the next chapter, so look forward to that!

Had to re-read some stuff before rewriting, haha. Lemme know if any parts seem awkward or OOC, and I'll see what I can do about it.

Posted another Naruto OC fic! from the very first time, set Third War-ish and featuring an OC with time loop elements to the story. Yeah, I dunno how that particular plot bunny ended up actually happening either. I was planning to sit down and write a fic with a Jashinist!OC and then this happened? Check it out if you're interested. :3


QUESTION: Any thoughts on Seeri as a character thus far? Personal opinion, character developments you'd like to see, etc.


Till next time,

XxZuiliu