Chapter Text
Rio stared, eyes blown wide at what he just saw through the other’s heart. Kid pulled away at the other’s expression, knowing the message has gotten across. He ran a hand through his hair, grumbling about how that was about all he knows. He wasn’t awake for all of it to happen so he only knew what his crew recanted to him. Rio didn’t bother to correct him in that it didn’t matter if Kid was awake for it not. He saw firsthand what had transpired there.
He saw his sister opened up in ways he had never seen her do. Not with him. Not with anyone. Scarlet eyes brooded into the taller male scratching his head in frustration. Just what was it about him that made him so different?
Kid flinched at the stare, feeling the eyes linger longer than he would like. The slight frown the other was giving him only adding fuel to the fire. “Oi, Tattooist,” He called voice sharper than necessary. “Shouldn’t your sis be here by now?” Kid asked, hunching over in his seat. Elbows pressed into his thighs and his gaze suspicious on the other male.
They had spread the news that her brother was in danger to incentivize her to come back earlier. The plan left a sour taste on Kid’s lips; he didn’t want to force them to meet this way. To use a family member as a means to bring her to him didn’t sit right with him. The idea had been Law’s and while it left a sour taste on Kid’s lips, he had decided to go along with it.
Except there had been no movement since either.
Law pushed off from where he was lounging next to a resting Charlotte. As much as he rather not, he agreed with the other captain, it was taking an oddly long time. “Aren’t you too laid back for someone who’s supposedly captured against his will?” Law commented. Rio had grown less and less cautious and careful over the last few hours. Until he no longer seemed to hold the worry and bite that he held at the onset of his capture. The threats to call things off or how they won’t get to his sister through him no longer there anymore. At first Law had taken it to be because of his Empathic abilities to read them and know that they weren’t going to let up regardless of what he said. That it was all just moot effort on his end.
Now—his eyes darted to the exit on the far end behind Rio, covered up by Kid’s ability—he was starting to believe it could be something else. The sound of Law drawing his nodachi out had the others perking up.
“Oi, Trafalgar, what are you planning to do?” Kid shouted, stirring up the huntress. “Law?” Charlotte rubbed her eye. The sleep gone instantly when she saw the glinting cursed blade.
“I was thinking perhaps we needed to prove that the threat wasn’t just a bluff.” Law commented, stalking forward and holding his blade out towards the hogtied man’s throat. “You want to tell your sis that you’re in danger or should I show her?”
“Sis?” The two glanced around. But there was no one else here.
“Three.” Law stared into Rio’s eyes, steely grey ever colder.
“Two.” Rio bit his lips and screw his eyes shut.
Law lifted the knife and Charlotte sprang to her feet. “Your Room isn’t activated!” Kid gritted his teeth at Charlotte’s warning, lunging for the other Captain as he counted, “One.”
Faster than the eye can see, a black whip shot through the metal plate behind Rio towards Law, wrapping him up and binding his arms to his side. The thorns cut into his flesh mercilessly and Kikoku clattered to the ground. “Great to finally meet you, Succubus with a Thousand Faces.” Law greeted sardonically towards the huffing woman glaring up at him through her bangs.
“Brat.” She cussed and Law felt his smirk fall off. What did she just call him? He was pretty sure he was older than the woman despite their similar heights. She pulled on the whip to tighten her grip around Law, but he easily escaped the binding with a quick shamble.
“Ehhhhhhhh?!” Charlotte and Kid blanched at the familiar face. Their faces smashed together as they tried to beat each other to the succubus. Law frowned at the skinship and tugged Charlotte back and away from Kid. She glanced up at him confused.
Charlotte crossed her arms and stared at the metal cover that was blocking the other exit, realization dawning on her. “How long has she been sitting there fooling us?” Her platinum eye darted down to Rio, rephrasing. “How long were you feeding her intel?” The two of them had been communicating in a method only known to Empaths.
Kid snapped his head towards the huntress who was still teetering backwards because of Law’s pull and hanging diagonal from the floor on pure willpower alone. Feeding intel?
“Oi, how good is their range?” He asked weakly, eyes darting to the hole not too far back from Rio. Was he also showing her what he showed Rio? He turned towards the other female who only winked at him. He paled.
Law eyed the stranger woman. Her long black hair tied into two long pigtails on either side of her face by lime green ribbons. Her eyes were a golden shade with a hint of orange almost like honey, outlined with thick black rings. Dark red lips stood out against her fair skin speckled with freckles. She wore a white crop top trimmed with the same shade of green as the ties in her hair and a white tennis skirt and white tennis shoes. One of her hands—the one she used to hold the whip—was covered in a matching white glove. Random small tattoos lingered on the back of her other wrist, beside her neck, her deltoid and behind both ankles. The rest of her fair skin devoid of any black marring. Or at least as far as the eye could see. He noticed traces of make up smudging on the edges of the tattoo, almost was if it was blown off. It was likely from the thorn whip she had pulled out into reality. Or so that was his guess.
“You have rather unique tastes that don’t quite fit with your image, Eustass-ya.” Law commented a moment after. The woman looked far too innocent and soft for someone that Law would peg as able to keep up with Eustass and his roughness.
“It’s a disguise!” Kid barked immediately in defense. This was not what she looked like the times they met. That said, he knew it was her. The colour on her lips that she was wearing was the only constant that he’s seen in her disguises and it was not a colour that he could forget.
“Name’s Stacy!” She greeted with a preppy punch into the air and the three pirates only gave her a blank stare. Her expression fell flat at their lack of response and Stacy turned to the huntress, voice flat and daunting as she spoke next. A stark contrast to the preppy kick no longer than a mere second ago. “You’ve spoke too much if he’s saying that.”
Charlotte hoisted herself to situate back onto the tattoo table. It was in her line of business as a bounty hunter, they needed to know things. Things like their target’s routines, behaivours, likes and dislikes, their motivations, how they think and what makes them tick. Knowledge is wealth after all. “Just doing my job.” Charlotte be damned if she apologize for doing her job well. An ecstatic pull on her lips to throw a wrench in the Succubus with a Thousand Faces’ plan.
Stacy clicked her tongue but did nothing more to instigate the situation beyond a hating glare. Instead she sat back on her still-bound younger brother’s shoulder, using him as a chair. She crossed one long slender leg over the other, completely at ease and demanding all attention with a dominating air. “Who knows, maybe the look you’ve been used to Kid is the disguise.” She proposed the alternative.
At the proposal, Kid straightened, turning towards the woman whose aura matched nothing like her current appearance of “Stacy”. It was jarring how displaced the aura and visual was playing off. But it only verified what Kid already knew long ago. The aura looked a whole lot better on the dark haired and scarlet eyed woman he knew. “You can’t fool me, Risna.” He grinned, easily dominating the power struggle in the air.
“Risna?” Law quirked a brow, “I thought her name was Stacy.” He murmured turning towards the huntress ever knowledgeable on such details. She shrugged, “No idea, could be another alias. There’s been no record of her actual name.” She replied and then turned to the twin. He would be the best one to know. Her eye widened at the look on the brother’s face. Was he surprised or happy? She couldn’t tell. The hell, does he not know his own sister’s name?
Risna blinked at him. They did end up telling him. Then smiled. She threaded one arm over the other behind her as she leaned over to admire the new changes to his appearance since they last saw each other. She quite like the sound of her name in Kid’s voice. “Nice bionic arm. You trying to become a robot or something now?” She commented as if she hadn’t seen it on him before. Well technically, that wasn’t a lie. She hadn’t seen it on him. She had seen it before after all she was the one who smithed it.
Red lips jerked upwards into a jeer. Copper red finding the same teasing scarlet ones that he had grown to favour. “Just the arm for now.” He commented, not expecting her to pout at the offhanded comment.
“Don’t think that I’ll supply every body piece you misplace.” She retorted without any real malice in her voice. The two Heart Pirates quickly zeroed in on the robotic arm and the implications. She smithed him it. She made it for him. They eyed the work and scowled. The quality of the work was top-notched. She was talented.
Charlotte pouted as she and Law walked away from the bunker where Rio, Risna and Kid remained. Law deemed their presence as “long enough” and ordered them to move out. Ordered as in physically removed the huntress given her tendencies to do the exact opposite of what he wished. It had taken all but a mere moment after Law bid their goodbyes on her behalf before Charlotte found herself outside of the bunker without as much of a word from her end. She glared at the slight blue tint around the sky outside. His Room had been up the whole entire time. That would explain why he never called it when he went to cut Rio or when he shambled his way out of Risna’s grasp. Damn him and his preparedness.
“Don’t give me that look. I’ve already been kind enough to let you play on your own for so long.” Law commented dryly, easily reading the warping air around her.
“Yeah, yeah! Thank you, oh, Mr. Generous.” She mocked loudly into the air, still resting her head in the cradle she made with her hands. Truth be told, she was still a tad bit mad at him. It wasn’t entirely his fault for her missing scarf. Or so she keeps trying to convince herself.
It was totally his fault..
She dodged to the side to avoid Law’s grab at her but something soft landed around her neck instead, she opened her eye. It widened at the familiar red scarf. “Isn’t this—”
“Your scarf?” Law finished easily, hiding a smirk behind his hand at the precious way her face lit up in recognition of the treasured last gift her mother had given her.
She gaped, one hand already fisting the fabric as if she needed to both feel it as proof and to ensure that it wouldn’t disappear on her again. “But, how?” They had lost it on some random island just before all this when Law shambled her and only her away. Her personal affects left with the male who had her pinned against the wall, vampiric fangs hovering over her exposed neck.
Charlotte had wonder off at the prospect of meeting her first vampire. Little did she know they liked to feast on human blood. By the time she had returned to grab it her items they were already gone. She been giving Law the silent and pissy treatment for shambling her out of a situation she could have handled ever since. Law begged to differ though; the male was too close to her. And her neck had always been sensitive.
She lifted the edge of the scarf, seeing the stitch marks on the edge from where the male had clawed it against the wall. It was the reason why she hadn’t just ripped her way free from being pinned. Why she was about to let herself get drained. Her scarf and treasure were being held hostage.
He patted her head. “We went looking for it.” The crew left the island they were docked earlier than planned to go searching for it. As much as he tried to keep it a secret to avoid Charlotte picking up on the change in plans in case she decided to go diving herself. The vampire had thrown it into the sea. He wasn’t expecting that they had left without her all together. “Don’t go losing it this time. It was a hassle to get back. Give Shachi and Penguin your thanks when you get back. They scoured the whole seafloor for it.” Partially because Law being a Devil Fruit user couldn’t himself and mostly because he needed to punish them for letting Charlotte walk off with a rival pirate crew.
Charlotte stared at the taller man’s retreating back as he boarded the Polar Tang, flabbergasted. “You didn’t even look for it yourself?” She exclaimed and Law scowled at the comment. Did she forget he’s a Devil Fruit user? He let it go though, knowing that there was no way she’d forget such an obvious fact as she caught up next to him. The scarf already tied back in place like how she normally wears it. A happy grin on her face as she burrowed her face into the familiar present. Law glanced forward, hiding his own smile.
She waved hellos back to the many welcome backs from the crew, never breaking stride with her Captain. And the crew didn’t do anything to separate the two. If she had been paying more attention, she probably would have noticed their snickering faces or the distance they spaced themselves away from them. “I wonder what Kid and Risna’s relationship is. He never did answer me in the end as to why he’s looking for her. Didn’t seem like he was pissed off at her or anything.” Charlotte muttered in deep thought as they continued on their way out.
Law turned back to his huntress, watching the deep concentration gathering at her brows. “Isn’t it obvious?” She couldn’t actually have not figured it out after all this time, could she?
“Nope.” She shook her head, hand pinching the edge of her chin. “Risna is a character who I can’t and will never fully trust.” Charlotte declared and Law listened quietly. “Though I wonder what made Risna break her MO. She went to find Kid so many times.”
Law quirked a brow, curving his body towards the pondering huntress. “Are you sure she went to find him and not that it was all by coincidence?”
Charlotte shook her head, short wavy purple tresses bouncing around her. “Perhaps if she was always a different disguise, but Kid was able to recognize her. Killer, too, and their description of her in those times were always the same. She wore the same disguise to meet them. Time and time again. Isn’t that weird for someone who sheds skins like a caterpillar molting.”
“Not interested.” Law sped up, a slight annoyed tilt in his voice.
One that Charlotte didn’t fail to miss. She ran up after Law, keeping pace it him while hinging at the hips to peer around him. “Did you think I was being poached again?” She cooed, face splitting into a teasing grin. “Or were you jealous of Kid?” He gritted his teeth and jutted his chin to the other side, trying to hide his expression.
Charlotte giggled at the response. Her heart warming at the love. “Captain is so cute when he struggles to be honest. Is it so hard to say you love me?” She teased, grinning wildly. Law snapped his head back at taunt and Charlotte’s heart fluttered at the rare pink that dusted his cheeks.
“Ah!” She gasped, realizing she had been too distracted to dodge his hand reaching to grip at her face.
“We’re meeting up with the Straw Hats.” He announced to the crew and her. Charlotte grabbed Law’s wrist and Law released her face to see the expression on her face.
“Why?” She asked. Her face paled with every second that Law simply stared at her. Dread falling into place. This was payback. Charlotte realized and quickly pivoted on her heel. She froze at the several Heart Pirates ready to tackle her into place should she made a run for it. Guilt and apologizes already on their face. They all knew her dislike and fear for a certain skeleton aboard Luffy’s crew.
“You traitors!” Charlotte screamed from underneath the dog pile. She made the futile attempt anyway. Clawing at the ground, Charlotte tried to throw them off her to no avail. Instead, she inhaled as much air as she can filled in her crushed state. Platinum eye boring into the bunker she had just came from. “Kidddddddddddddd! I take it back! Take me with you! Kidddddddddddddd!!”
Screw her pride, she’ll call for help when she can.
Law scowled at the outcry. “Shambles,” With a flick of his fingers, the dogpile dropped a little as Charlotte was teleported out from underneath them and over his shoulder. He opened the door to his room, noticing Charlotte’s own personal affects gathering in the room now that she frequented more and more often. He plucked Spikey up and frowned at the same old angry eyes peering at him. Never with approval. Rather than throwing Spikey out or shambling him back to Charlotte and Ikkaku’s shared room like he often did, he turned Spikey around so his judgmental eyes were facing the wall instead.
Charlotte bounced against the plush bed as Law chucked her there and wasted no time to crawl over her. His left tattooed hand already pinning both of hers above her head. “Seems like I need to remind you who your Captain is.” He said darkly, fuzzy hat already taken off, as he leaned in to her ever reddening face.
“Uh oh.” Maybe she had gone a bit too far. Law claimed her lips, and her eyes fluttered shut. She keened when he pressed his right hand against her side, fingers sprawling across her skin. The fabric there already pushed up and inching higher with every moment. Heat blossoming from every place he touched. Law smirked into the gasp he knew would come then focused on remapping the mouth he grown to know so well.
“L-Law…” She panted, breaking away for air, and Law pulled back, dark eyes drinking up the sight before him. “That’s Captain Law.” He corrected and leaned in again to claim what was his.
Back within the bunker, Kid stared at the other woman, taking in the appearance that he recognized so well. The ridiculous Stacy outfit she was wearing early now discarded to the side for her more natural appearance. He turned back to the younger brother now rubbing the circulation back into his wrists. Risna looked over them dearly and meticulously for any signs of bruising. Seeing them together really further emphasized the fact that they were twins.
“Why did you approach me that first night?” Kid asked with a scowl. He didn’t like being stared at. She should have known that from her ability, yet she had done it anyway. Time and time again whenever he’d show up in the bar.
“Whatever are you talking about? Wasn’t it you who approached me?” She responded easily with a flick of her hair over her shoulder. The one that had once been inked with belladonna—a nightshade plant that sprouts innocent black berries that look reminiscent of a blueberry crossed with a gooseberry. Except highly toxic. He remembered how when he found out.
“Where did you get that?” Killer asked as he entered Kid’s workshop with his lunch. He spotted the innocuous fruit immediately.
“Huh? You gave me the fruit. It was on the dinner tray.”
“I didn’t and that a belladonna. They’re highly poisonous.”
“The hell you doing feeding it to us then! Trying to build up our tolerances to poison?” He joked but Killer plucked the fruit from his hands. He studied it closer and frowned. He was right, it was the poisoned berry, except they didn’t have any of it on the ship. The hell did it come from?
Kid gritted his teeth at the response. She hadn’t lie, but she wasn’t answering him either. She provoked him into coming to her. But the question remained, why did she?
“Why did you come find me all those times?” He tried again, moving onto the next question. If what Charlotte said was true, then there was plenty of chances that they met multiple times in passing with her disguised as another. And while he had his inkling that may have happened, he was truly none of the wiser. She could have passed him without so much of him realizing it if she wanted to. Yet, she had chosen to walk into him with the same appearance she wore when they first met.
“Oh, how self-indulgent!” She cackled loudly, flickering her wrist at him like she was brushing off a child’s joke. “You think I went searching for you!” Rio turned towards his sister, silently and brooding as he watched their exchange, listening to the words that spilled from her mouth with disgusted ease and then the cries in her heart. “You were merely just a convenience to help with my cons.”
Kid narrowed his eyes, focusing on the red lips as they move. The lips painted in his shade.
Kid turned back suddenly to the two strangers chattering away like there was no tomorrow. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could hear Heat calling for him. But he didn’t respond, eyes still focused on the lips of the laughing female.
“Oi, Boss, what’s wrong? Should I fight them?” Heat asked again, voice now in focus as he gripped Kid’s shoulder. Heat followed Kid’s gaze to the woman and quirked a brow. He’s never seen her before.
“That woman… was she wearing my lipstick?” Kid questioned softly as if he himself was confused too. He scratched his head harshly and pivoted back down the street. “Ah, forget about it!” He shouted back to the other, a bit bashfully.
Shacking out of his stupor, Heat followed Kid silently. Wasn’t his lipstick custom-made by Killer?
The woman glanced back at the two retreating pirates from the corner of her eyes. Her smile faltering slightly only to return when the other spoke again.
Kid clenched his fist tightly. “Why did you stay?” Their time on Victoria Punk was utterly needless. She wasn’t busy conning anyone aboard the ship and there was no means for her to connect to anyone else off the ship to con. If she was truly just using him to help her cons, then staying with them and abiding to their schedules would have gone against her plans. There was nothing to gain for her by taking care of him or smithing him his right arm.
She shrugged, “You’re a great fuck.” Her brother spluttered out the water he had been drinking to rehydrate himself. “What more do you want me to say?” She asked, bored of this game.
Kid gritted his teeth, angry at the vague and loose answers she was parading before him. He didn’t need to be a goddman Empath to know such blatant lies when he hears them. “Goddman it, answer me properly, woman!”
At the outburst, Risna snapped her thrown whip back, pulling it taut between her hands. She stood between Kid and her little brother protectively. The water still dribbling down his chin as he stared blankly at the scene unfolding before him, unable to process. “I believe your session with my brother has long past it’s due time.”
Kid watched the whip silently with a frown. Despite it being pulled tight and the menacing thorns that protruded off the vine, he could see the slight tremors in her hands and the way she wielded it. He knew she knew there was no way she could win. The gaps in their abilities far too great.
“Are you using your ability on me?” Kid asked suddenly and she looked at him perplexed. Her ability? Surely that huntress, Charlotte, had given him a proper rundown of her abilities. They weren’t able to control other’s minds. Manipulation via playing with their emotions was as close as it gets to. “Are you banking on the fact that I won’t engage and hurt you?” He clarified,
Risna inhaled sharply. “…Yes…” she breathed, eyes casted and hidden from view.
Kid clicked his tongue. He shoved his hands into his pants pocket and left without another word.
Risna breathed quietly, counting with fainted breaths until she could no longer hear the cussing words in his heart before rushing over to her brother’s side. “Are you okay?” She pressed her hands over his face and then his wrists, checking him over for injuries. She patted at the water on his face with a handkerchief she had pulled out of her pockets. “They didn’t do anything to you, did they?” She muttered in a rush. Her mouth continuing on, sending curses and cusses towards the three pirates that dare hold her brother as hostage.
Seeing that he was more or less okay, she exhaled deeply. A sudden weight lifting off her shoulders as she pulled her brother and last living member of her family in for a bone crushing hug. “You’re okay. Thank goodness! You’re okay!” She repeated faintly as if reassuring herself, body caving in fatigue. “Rio, let’s run away from here. It’s no longer safe here. There’s a place that I’ve been building. It’s safer there and we can hang out more together. There’ll be no pirates or anyone unsavoury there. I can build you another tattoo parlor there, okay? Let’s move—Eh?” Risna blinked, eyes wide and unseeing at the hands pushing her away. Her eyes flickered up to his face. “Rio?”
He looked away from her, biting at his lower lip. Was he mad at me? She pondered worriedly.
“There was no danger to begin with.” He spat out finally. He glanced down to his hands. Not even a bruise rested on his pale skin from where Charlotte tied him up. She made sure he had enough space between the rope and his skin so that it wouldn’t bite into him. She even checked with him when she tied him up. “If there was, I would have been injured long ago.” He admitted, remembering the plan that they had detailed him in. “It was all theatrics in case you ran when you noticed them.”
“Why are you telling him everything?” Kid grumbled as Charlotte continue to explain their plans.
She puffed her cheeks as she looked over her shoulder towards the other pirate captain. “He’s going to find out anyway, it’s not like we can hide it from him. So, we might as well just tell him. He said he’d help us. Why do you look so glum about it?”
“Because this is all so weird! Since when do you tell the person you’re kidnapping that you’re kidnapping them?” Kid groaned and Charlotte ignored him. Her attention returning back to Rio. “Is this too tight?”
Rio gripped at the water bottle in his hand. The plastic giving way under his grip. “Why did you lie to him, Big Sis?” He had seen the way she looked at him, interacted with him. The appearance she wore around him. The name she shared with him. He had felt the emotions that sang in her when she went to see him time and time again. Then again when she saw him just now before she sent him away. “Why did you lie to him?” He repeated.
Risna pulled back, uncertain. “…What do you mean, R-Rio?”
The water bottle crumbled in his hand, water spilling everywhere. “The number of times you two met was too high to be coincidences! You went looking for him because you finally found someone whose heart you can trust! Mama always says that Empath can only fall in love once! So why the hell are you ruining it by lying to the man who barely trusts?!”
Risna’s eyes widened at the outburst. “R-Rio, w-what did you just say just now. Mama said… Rio do you finally remember? Remember us, our family? Everything?” Tears sprung in her eyes. The scar on his face from the explosion in focus. Ever since they stumbled upon each other and he didn’t react to her, didn’t recognize her beyond someone that looks oddly like a reflection of him, she realized he had forgotten about everything about them, about himself and about her.
Rio grabbed her hands and brought it away from his face. “That’s not important right now!” He stammered, confused at his own emotions. Tears were sprouting from his eyes and he wasn’t sure if it was because of her emotions radiating off him or if it was from the frustration that she wasn’t paying attention to him or the ten other million things that seem to be swirling on around him. She hiccupped and balled her hands tighter around his, urging him on gently.
“Y-you’re always like this! Why can’t you ever go confidently after something you like and want? You were like this with Papa’s trade too and now this! Why are you able to con people with no disregard and hesitation to get whatever superficial thing you want, but as soon as it’s something you actually want, you get all weak knees and run away?”
Risna grew quiet and she pulled her hands back, but Rio grabbed them tight, forcing her still. Her gaze jumped to his and she let out a soft gasp at the strength in his eyes that she so often seen in her own. “Risna-nee, don’t screw this up. I may not know what you saw in his heart that bound you to him. But I do see the way your heart flutters at him like with how Mama and Papa’s heart does with each other.”
Risna ran as fast as her long legs could carry her. Her heart pounding in her chest just like it did all those years ago when she ran away from everything. From the chaos after the Buster Call. From the corpse of her people she once called “Home”. Risna inhaled deeply, tucking her chin and pushed off harder, forcing herself to cover more ground. Her heart pounding in her ears. She paused for a moment, searching with her ability before darting left.
“Remember, Risna-nee. We, Empaths, are not spawns of the Devil. Our abilities are not curses to manipulate others or control them. Empaths are sensitive human beings. Weaker than most and far more sensitive and susceptible to other’s emotions and pain. Almost to a fault. Think about the number of us whose heart bleed out because of another grief. That’s why it’s so important for us to be surrounded by warmth and love. It’s why we almost move together in a pack and why it’s so important for us to love and to hold onto it when we find love.”
Risna remembered the first time she met Kid. She had been living on the run, transitioning between families that would originally seemingly take her in to help her, but upon realizing that she wasn’t “normal” like them, they’d grow scared of her. Turn her in for the bounty or try to exploit her abilities to earn them riches and then off her once she proved her worth. She was the Devil’s spawn that should be eliminated. They couldn’t spend too much time with her or else they’d become tainted. If they were ever caught in the act, then they’d point their fingers at her, saying she made them do it with her mind control abilities. Despite them saying that if she did as they told, they’d love her unconditionally.
It was probably around her fifth family and third underground gang that she eventually grew distrustful of people in general. She stared blankly at the people she once called “friends” crying for help. Tears streaming down their faces as they tried to pull themselves up and out to safety. Their hands outstretched to her, begging her to take their hands and pull them up. Except, she knew better. She could see the sadistic and self-serving grins underneath those fake cries.
Their desire to have her replace them as soon as she reached for those hands begging for her help. She could see it happen. If she reached out and pulled them up, they’d pull her down and throw her over the edge that they were clinging to.
Risna turned away from them and as if a mirror had shattered, their true voices came out. Throwing curses and profanities at her as she walked away.
Since then, she felt no qualms with taking advantage of people. It was what she had learned from them after all.
It happened some time when she was in South Blue when she ran past Kid while trying to escape from people trying to kill her. She doubted he even noticed her presence that day. They only passed by each other, never making contact or anything like that. She, herself, barely had enough time to look back over her shoulder at the boy she just ran past. Scarlet eyes wide in wonder at the strong heart that resonated with hers. A Heart with a sound she had never heard of before. A heart that true.
Kid stared at the huffing woman before him. Her arms stretched out to block his path. He crossed his arms and shifted his weight. “What is it? You tell me one moment to leave and the next you’re keeping me from leaving.”
“You didn’t do anything grandiose like save my life or anything.” Risna declared between pants and Kid quirked a brow at the sudden spiel. “In fact, because of you and the shock, I got caught and sold as a child slave by the people who were chasing me.” She continued and Kid only grew more confused and slightly annoyed. She was blaming him for something he had no clue over. “To be honest, I was also surprised and couldn’t believe that what I heard from here”—she poked at his chest—“belong to someone who looked like this.” She gestured to his appearance and his scowl grew deeper. “I was almost certain I misread you. So, I shoved you and everything I felt when we brushed past each other to the deepest recesses of my mind. Never to be touched again.”
“Except, you never stayed quite tucked away. You made a crew and a name for yourself. You gained popularities in the paper.” She continued, admitting to the fact that she, despite herself, kept an ear to the news in search of him. “And all of it had been more and more evidence to say that my initial reaction to you was wrong. You and your crew were nothing more than a crew of ruthless and destructive monsters who kill anyone just for giving them the stink eye.”
“Yet, when we finally met each other again for the first time in years. In that small dingy bar.” She breathed, shakily. His heart felt the same as it did all those years ago. Unchanged by the world and society. And unlike what all the rumors chalked him up to be. She couldn’t believe it and— “So, I gave you the stink eye and you proved me right when he didn’t kill me outright for staring at you.” His heart was a reprieve to her in the darkness of the world she lived in.
Kid grinned at the confession. Someone was finally being honest with herself. “In other words, you couldn’t get your mind off me.” Kid summarized, fueling his own ego.
“I tried to distract myself with other people, but it never worked.” She admitted. Her mother was right. An Empath’s heart only connects once.
Kid’s nostrils flared at that. He pressed his good arm against the wall above her, trapping her to the doorway she was blocking. Half-lidded, copper red eyes burning the sight of her, raking in the finer details that he hadn’t given himself a chance to take in yet.
Her muscles twitched, stuck between slightly cautious and excited. Her long black tresses a mess and cascading down her pale thin neck. The makeup on her neck had been wiped clean along with the rest of Stacy, revealing a pair of handcuffs decorating one side of her neck that she had tucked out of sight previously. The tattoo travelling upwards towards the lips kiss-bruised by whomever she was trying to distract herself with just before all this. Her lips a shade of red that look too awfully familiar smudged against her lower lip.
He reached for her chin, pulling on it slightly to spread open her lips. “Isn’t that my lipstick?”
Her lips curved and she curved a manicured nail to dig at the plush lips. “Don’t you like it? I imagine it as if I’m kissing you instead.”
Kid pressed his forehead into the metal door above her with an audible groan. Banking on the chill to bring sense back to him. Kid exhaled hotly through his nostrils as he opened his eyes again, swearing at the sight before him.
His voice was hot as he leaned in. “Fuck. I can’t anymore. Use that new tatt of yours to lock my movements if you really don’t want this.”
Her kiss-bruised and smudged lips split into a smirking smile.
He forgets sometimes that he’s dealing with a succubus.