Grand Voyage- Log 68

Log 68: Black Swallow Can't Die
The two swordsman stood, their blades connected, straining slightly as they put all the force they had into their blades.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Pura?!” Marshall snarled.

“She believed in you,” Pura said simply, “mom, I mean. I did too.” She took a deep breath, then looked up to face her uncle. “Why did you have to do this?”

“SHUT UP!”

Marshall gave a sudden burst of energy, and his arms flew forward, knocking Pura back, but not knocking her over. She managed to keep herself steady and was even able to raise her blade in order to block the next strike her uncle sent her way.

“SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!” Marshall almost howled, raining blow after blow down upon his niece, with her desperately blocking them all, “I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS! I’M TIRED, TIRED DAMN IT! TIRED OF ACTING LIKE I’M FINE, THAT I’M THE GOOD PERSON EVERYONE THINKS I AM! I’M GOING TO KILL YOU! I’M GOING TO KILL ALL OF YOU!”

With another push he sent Pura skidding slightly away, then swung his blade through the air with all the force he could muster, releasing a large compressed air slash that flew right at her! Pura scowled slightly, gripping the hilt of Yamiryuu even tighter.

“TSUME!” she cried, swinging her own blade through the air and releasing a black-colored compressed air slash that collided with her uncle’s!

The two attacks clashed, causing a small explosion in the air. Before it had even cleared, the two lunged at each other again, their swords colliding and causing a small group of sparks to fly out from where the two blades met.

“Stand down,” Marshall growled at his niece, “or I promise you, it will hurt MUCH worse when I finally kill you!”

“No!” Pura replied, tightening her grip on her blade, “I won’t let you hurt anyone ever again!”

Marshall let out a cry, once more throwing all his strength into the his next push, but this time, Pura stood her guard! Letting out a cry, the swordswoman gave a burst of her own, incredibly managing to push her uncle back, sending him skidding away.

“Enough....” the mad swordsman growled, then lunged forward with all his strength, “JUST DIE ALREADY!!!”

“HAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!” Pura cried, charging towards her uncle as well!

The two leaped into the air, their swords flashing, colliding in a rush of metal and sparks!

“TENGOKU NO TSUME!”

“You’re sure you’re that strong?” Art asked, as he lightly sidestepped another one of Haywire’s attempted strikes, which struck the ground uselessly near him.

“Damn you!” Haywire growled, launching several more punches that the Majin easily dodged, “just let me hit you already! It’s not that hard, you know!”

“It honestly feels like I’m bullying a weak person,” D’Artagnan continued, almost humming as he neatly avoided the pirate captain’s strikes, “can you just, please, knock yourself out or something?”

“Idiot!” Haywire howled, halting his attack and taking a step back, “j-just because I’m not good at defense doesn’t mean I’m not good at offense! C’mon! Take your best shot, and I won’t be affected! Just watch! I’ll even pay you with all the Beli on me!”

“All the.... Beli on you?” Art asked in wonder, his eyes transforming into sparkling Beli symbols.

“Ye-” Haywire began, but the Majin’s foot plowed into his face! The wannabe pirate captain was lifted clean off his feet and sent flying through several blocks of houses, before skidding to a stop on the hard, cold, unforgiving dirt street!

“Well, a bet’s a bet~” Art laughed, walking over to the defeated pirate and promptly beginning to rustle through his coat, removing any and all items of monetary value, Beli included, that he could find.

“Money, money, I love money~” the Majin sung softly under his breath as he continued filling his pockets, “~Avarice always wiiinsss~”

“Damn.... it....” Marshall Rihawk whispered softly as he collapsed to the floor, blood spurting from his shoulder as his blade shattered to pieces.

Pura landed a few feet away, letting out a held breath as she carefully sheathed Yamiryuu, taking almost no notice of the new wound on her other cheek, a much deeper cut that was still bleeding profusely.

“I’m sorry, Uncle,” she said, “I... I....” Her voice trailed off as she trembled slightly, then dropped to her knees, tears starting to fall down her face, her hair falling over her eyes. “...dammit....”

Knave suddenly let out a yawn, standing up and groaning slightly at the massive amount of blade wounds covering his body. “At least I slept well,” he muttered to himself, “but damn, that bastard did a number on me...”

He turned his head, noticing Pura a few feet away. He then looked around, noticing Marshall’s unconscious body. He smiled, then turned and began shuffling his way towards Pura. “Hey, you got him!” the marimo lad said happily, “great job-”

“SHUT UP!” Pura cried.

Knave stopped dead in his tracks, forcing himself to straighten a little bit. His expression was blank, save for some mild confusion.

Pura allowed her head to sink below her shoulders again, barely holding back on actually crying. She lifted her head once more.

“WHO AM I SUPPOSED TO TRUST NOW?! I DON’T HAVE MY MOM, MY UNCLE, ANYBODY! WHO AM I SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE IN, HUH?!”

Her head dropped, allowing herself to full-on cry now. Despite that, silence filled the air for a few precious seconds...

Then, Knave let a breath out of his nose, allowing a small smile to appear on his lips. He shuffled up next to Pura, his hand coming down on her head in a reassuring gesture. He looked up at the cloudy sky. Giving Pura another pat, he walked a little bit forward.

Glancing into the sky, he threw his arms up, his fists clenched tightly. He spoke, hurling his words up into the heavens!

“Then believe in me! Believe in the me that believes in you! Do that, and I promise I’ll never falter, never fall!”

Allowing his arms to drop to his side, he looked back at Pura, smiling wearily.

“Then,” he said, “you can keep moving forward.”

A small smile appeared on Pura’s face, and she gave a short nod.

“...Yeah.”

~End of Log~

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