Padrino Part 23

Nikk looked at the map carefully. She outlined the latitude and longitude carefully so that she could exactly pinpoint the point that Jossu was going, and the shortest distance from the shore. She stood with Gonzo standing over her, looking at her outline. Soon, his shadow got into her light, and she looked up at him through her black and red bangs, at blank look with an inch of attitude on it glared at him, and he backed away. She finished tracing over the map of Fringe, and walked over toward Chio at the helm.

Gonzo: Wait, Nikk. [She stopped, but didn't turn around.] I wanted to say something.

Nikk: I don't care.

Gonzo: I just wanted to say how sorry I am.

Nikk: I don't accept, get back to your post. [She kept walking.]

He looked on as she showed Chio the map, and his heart sank. Why did he do that... Just... why? They already had far more treasure than what he was getting paid for this job, and yet he went along with the ruse anyway. It's because he wanted to be the big man, the main man who don't take no guff from no one. He went against the system on a regular basis, why would he care about a stupid Pirate Crew in the first place? He was a pirate Admiral! But, he wasn't. And when he was sitting in that dungeon in the cell beside Juuri, he could just hear Juuri snickering about how he was going to get his crew back for what they did. Gonzo couldn't help but believe he deserved everything.

It was that one kick. That kick that struck him in the chin so hard that his mind went completely blank, clear, and enlightened. That kick that brought him down a peg or two, showed him he wasn't the hottest thing around, and he couldn't do everything that he wanted. That was when he truly remembered his time on the Panno Marie. Standing on it now was almost surreal as it was, and he hadn't even been gone that long at all. He remembered their almost death-defying trek across the New World sea for the first time, and how happy everyone was just to be there. The moment Chio's foot touched Gonzo's chin, he was awoken. He had never felt this way about anyone in his entire life, but then again, he had never had that much fun on a pirate ship, ever.

Usagi: Gonzo...

Gonzo: Yeah.

Usagi: What can we expect from this meeting place of yours?

Gonzo: It's a trap, I can imagine. I'm not sure what all is going to be there, but I can tell you that it may kill us.