A Fun Time: Clockwork Island 3.3 (ch. 10)

“Ew, gross,” Kim muttered, her nose crinkling in absolute disgust as she witnessed Skunk One in all of his glory. In her time as a freelance agent/hero, she had encountered a wide variety of things when she went on missions. Usually against D-lister villains. Or, mainly against Drakken, a self-proclaimed supergenius who frequently tried to take over the world, only to be foiled by herself, her lifetime best friend, and his pet molerat time and time again.

To that end, flying up a massive spire was a new experience. Sneaking into a castle, less so. It didn’t even have a laser grid tripwire system or anti-intruder stun blasters. One of her least interesting infiltrations in that regard. It was only made interesting by the power to fly thanks to Tinkerbell, a thoroughly annoying fairy that never seemed to stray far from Kaine. The castle itself was noteworthy -- perched high in the sky, glass serving as the walls in the throne room. Glass also made up a significant portion of the floor, revealing a large key that turned ever-so-slightly every second.

The gyroscope to the island. It was guarded by two figures -- Skunk One, a reed-thin man with a mouth full of buck teeth, a nose that was more of a beak with a bushy black and white tail emerging from him that he strapped down to his back. Most disturbingly of all, there was some kind of contraption strapped to his… butt. Given the nature of his power, Kim could only assume that it was to focus his… spray.

The other, by process of elimination, was Pin Joker. An equally odd-looking fellow with clown makeup on, a motif of fluffy yellow feathers around his neck, while dressed in a stylized tuxedo suit. At his hip was a rapier that seemed rather nondescript. He was the taller of the two and Kim noticed that he made sure to stay on the other side of the room from Skunk One.

“This is different,” Pin Joker noted, completely oblivious to Kim’s infiltration. A lesson well learned -- people so rarely looked up. While she would have loved her full arsenal of gadgets, being able to fly made slow crawling up the ceiling from an open balcony so much easier than suction cups on her hands and feet. “They made their way up the stairs.”

“Hehehehe -- it just means big brother will get to use his King Cannon on something living this time,” Skunk One dismissed. Kim frowned as she made her way up, keeping a keen eye out for the others. Kobeni was trembling like a leaf on the balcony, clutching a kitchen knife to her chest -- she looked like she was on the verge of hyperventilating. It made Kim feel bad just looking at her, honestly. Maybe it would be best to leave her out of this entirely.

Nami was…

Kim’s eyes widened a fraction when she saw that Nami had vanished from where she last saw her. She scanned the room to find no trace of Nami. Nothing except for a door that was left slightly ajar that had been closed a moment ago. Did she… how? Kim’s lips thinned, realizing that Nami not only managed to sneak by the two pirates but herself at the same time. That was annoying. Where did she go? Was she that desperate for treasure?

Nami’s inclusion in the group was an unexpected, but overall welcome addition but it couldn’t be denied that she had a one-track mind for treasure. She-

A loud bang interrupted Kim's thoughts, making her attention snap to the direction it came from. She didn’t see what caused the bang, but she did see what it hit. Kim’s heart sank with the Icarus, the bow of the ship completely blown apart. Momo, Bocchi, Tae, and the prisoners. Were they even alive? Cold dread gripped Kim’s heart at the possibility -- they were supposed to be the safest ones during the mission!

“Looks like he’s testing it now-!” Skunk One noted and it was then that Kim decided enough was enough. Letting herself fall directly on top of Skunk One. He seemed to sense her and looked up just in time for her to use his face as a landing platform before flipping off of him with a kick. After a quick flip, Kim touched down with a three-point landing. Perfect for sweeping his legs as he stumbled back, only she failed to account for his quick recovery.

Instead of his legs being swept out, Skunk One used the… the… the jet pack to lift off of the ground with the sound of the most disgusting wettest fart she had ever heard in her entire life -- and she grew up with two twin younger brothers that competed on who could gross her out the most. The thrust of the jetpack came out as a deep green mist and even with the faintest whiff of it, Kim nearly puked in her mouth and her eyes began to water, forcing her to retreat with a series of back handsprings.

“Oh, looks like big bro won’t get all of the fun!” Skunk One observed, landing near Pin Joker, who held his nose. The two really looked nothing alike, Kim thought, but that could be the tears blurring in her eyes.

“You have to be the grossest bad guy I’ve ever met,” Kim groused unhappily, knowing that she lost the element of surprise. She should have gotten a gas mask from Momo before she left on the mission. Without it, Kim wasn’t sure she could even get close. Skunk One smelled absolutely vile. Sewage and fermented roadkill were practically perfume in comparison. Worse, because of his Devil Fruit… could he even bathe- no. Kim decided that she didn’t want to know. Or imagine him bathing. Ew.

“You just don’t understand my manly musk!” Skunk One declared, sounding like it was a well-rehearsed lie he told himself. “You’ll get it when you’re older! How old are you? Thirteen?” He scoffed while Pin Jack drew his rapier. Kim wasn’t worried about the two-on-one scenario. She faced worse odds and Kobeni was here, who still had the element of surprise.

“I’m seventeen, you creep,” Kim shot back, settling into one of seventeen kung-fu styles she had mastered. Her weight was focused on the balls of her feet, arms up but far apart, a slight hunch to give her a low center of gravity. Perfect for dealing with the height distance and the weapon that Pin Jack wielded. Skunk One… she’d be stuck with holding her breath. She had trained up a resistance to tear gas, but Skunk One’s ‘musk’ was worse than tear gas by half. Just not quite as bad as pepper spray.

“Hm. A little young to be our eldest brother’s queen,” Pin Jack remarked, striding forward while pointing his rapier down at the ground. Kim’s eyes narrowed, then into slits as he continued. “Putting you in a cell for a spell would be perfect. I imagine you’ll be quite pliable to marrying him after a year of isolation,” he remarked, wielding his rapier in an en guarde position. It seemed there was no one redeemable in this family.

“You’re the one going in a cell,” Kim decided, effortlessly dodging out of the way of his rapier, but she was caught by surprise when his feather motif moved. Reacting on instinct, Kim dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the feathers that shot at her stem first, while also flipping out of the way of another rapid-fire thrust. The tip of the rapier touched nothing but her mane of fiery red hair as she jerked her head out of the way of another thrust. The feathers were dangerous, the tips punching into the glass, making spiderweb cracks form around their impact.

Another thrust raced towards her, but this time Kim was ready. Her hands lashed out, the flat of her palm catching the rapier and knocking it off course before she lashed out with her other hand and slammed it against the thin piece of metal. It bent under her hands, catching Pin Jack off guard based on his widening eyes. Kim smirked while kicking out, catching him in the stomach, knocking the wind from him, and following the kick up with a series of them after pushing forward with her other foot. As Pin Jack stumbled back, taking a series of powerful kicks to his chest and stomach, Kim twisted sharply with one foot on his chest and kicked him in the temple.

Pin Jack went down hard. Hard enough that Skunk One shouted, “Pin Jack! You bitch!” He shouted, blasting off with a sound that Kim was going to hear in her nightmares. Kim backed off from his landing point, letting Skunk One put himself between her and his brother.

“What are you going to do about it?” She questioned, trying to rile him up a little. An angry opponent was a stupid one.

“I’m going to fart in your mouth until that pesky body of yours explodes!” Skunk One threatened and… Kim had had a lot of close calls the past couple of years, ever since that fateful day when someone in need misspelled a google search that led to the creation of Team Possible. Enough to give her an idea about the fragility of mortality and forcing her to wonder how exactly would her end come when it came time. Drowning? Shot by a stray laser? Failing to disarm a bomb in time? Kim didn’t know. She weighed them and considered them, wondering what was the best and what was the worst.

However, now she knew. That, without a shadow of a doubt in her mind, was the single most awful way she could ever conceive of going out.

“Is there any part of you that isn't absolutely disgusting?” Kim questioned, scrunching her nose at the threat. His appearance, his smell, and now his personality?

“You’re gonna see it after I beat the shit out of you for hurting my brother!” He shouted, blasting off, shooting at her like a stinky rocket.

“Well, at least you care about your family,” Kim remarked, holding her breath. That stink wouldn’t ever come out of the clothes. She just accepted that she was going to have to burn them when the fight was won. With that, Kim sprung forward leaping into the air with all of her strength, clashing with Skunk One with a high knee to his ridiculously long nose. His head snapped back, but he used that as momentum to flip himself, doing his best to point his butt in her direction. “No, you don’t!” Kim declared, grabbing him by the lapel of his jumpsuit, refusing to be farted on. She got enough of that from her brothers.

Though, even the vapors were awful. Eyewatering putrid garbage.

Using her grip as leverage, she drove her knee into his gut before kicking him down towards the floor. His back hit it and it was accompanied by an absolutely horrid sound followed by an even worse stench. With a flip, Kim landed on his stomach, folding him around her feet and making him gasp for air. Physically, he was pretty weak. Couldn’t really fight either. The worst part about him was the smell.

Not that it mattered as Skunk One was out of the fight, going slack under her feet.

A flash of movement from the corner of her eye alerted her that Pin Jack was back in the fight. One of his yellow feathers slammed into her leg with a flash of pain and instantly, Kim’s entire left leg went completely numb. She didn’t fall, though it was a near thing. She threw herself to the side in a handspring to dodge the other incoming attacks, landing heavily on her one good leg.

“I will admit,” Pin Jack voiced, pushing himself to his feet, “that we underestimated you. That stops now.”

“So says every two-bit bad guy when they’re getting their butt kicked,” Kim rolled her eyes, putting on a front of confidence as she ripped the feather out of her leg. The numbness didn’t vanish and intermingled with her blood was something purple on the tip of the feather. Poison. Great. Exactly what she wanted to see. Hopefully just a numbing one. Her abilities in toxicology were limited to poisons of her dimension, after all.

Pin Jack snarled, a hand going to his jacket pocket to reveal an explosive. Kim’s eyes widened, her eyes darting to the glass floor that covered the key -- the worst design choice, by the way -- and her heart leapt to her throat. However, as he motioned to throw it down on the ground at her, something blurred by Kim’s ear. She only saw what it was when Pin Jack shouted in pain, falling to his knees to reveal who was behind him.

Kobebi looked every bit as shocked by her actions as Kim did, holding a bloodied knife in her hands that trembled like a leaf. Then a tentative smile tugged at her lips, “A-ambushes are the way to go! There can't be a fight if you beat them with the first move,” she whispered to herself as if it were a grand revelation, eying the bloodied knife with a worrying amount of devotion.

“... thanks,” Kim said, looking down at Pin Jack, who was struggling to stand up. On his back were three stab points that were quickly soaking through with blood. Her eyes widened when he collapsed on his stomach, a pool of blood rapidly forming underneath him.

He was going to die.

Kim moved on reflex, relying on the first aid classes she took, and started to apply pressure to the wounds. The blood felt hot on her hands, and there was a lot of it pouring out. “Kobeni-”

She looked up to see someone approaching, and her gaze met Tae's. “What-”

“I was sent over before the crash,” Tae informed, her tone heavy and dark, brushing her hands aside as she inspected the wounds on Pin Jack. “It's a slaughter down there.”

“Are-” Kim started to question, only to cut herself off when Tae's lips thinned.

“They survived,” Tae replied, expressionless and without inflection. “This guy will survive. Bodies are built tougher here. Now, let me see that leg,” Tae ordered, closing the distance between them. Kim knew she could be stubborn, but she liked to think she wasn’t self-destructive with it. Offering a curt nod, Kim let Tae examine her leg.

Tae first grabbed hold of the needle that had stabbed her. Bringing it to her lips, she tasted it before quickly spitting it out and taking a sip from a flask before spitting that out too. “A numbing agent. Nontoxic. This is a good find,” Tae informed, applying a bandage to her leg. “It didn't hit anything vital, and once the numbing agent wears off in a few minutes, you'll just be a little sore.”

“Where did Nami run off to? Is she okay?” Kim questioned, looking at the door. And, as if summoned, Nami entered the throne room. The first thing that Kim noticed was how immensely satisfied she looked, and secondly the huge sack of what was probably treasure slung over her shoulder.

“This bracelet thing is really convenient! These guys were absolutely loaded,” Nami declared, setting down a bag of treasure that was just as big as she was.

Kim’s lips thinned as she cast a look at Nami, “And you couldn’t be bothered to help?” She asked pointedly, earning a shrug from Nami. Her gaze flickered to Kobeni, who was deliberately shrinking away from the conversation.

“The deal I made was absolutely no fighting on my part. I’m just here to steal treasure,” she replied, her tone absolutely shameless. Kim liked Nami. She did. However, there were times when Nami seemed to go out of her way to make it difficult. This was one of those times. “We-” Nami was interrupted by another bang, and Kim exploded into action, flying to the balcony just in time to see what caused the bang. And a feat that left her speechless.

It was impossible. Utterly, utterly, utterly impossible. So impossible that Kim couldn’t even be sure what she was seeing, only processing it once it was over.

Kaine flew towards the castle, his muscular back bulging with barely contained muscle, as his feet dug through the ground to slow a massive bronze bullet. Glass shattered as the two raced by, mountains of earth displaced, but impossibly, Kaine did it. He slowed that colossal bullet, his breakneck speed slowing to a stop halfway up the hill.

Then he laughed.

It was a shockingly innocent sound. Childish, even. Like a kid that was just so happy that he couldn’t contain himself, forcing him to laugh in pure delight.

Kim’s lips parted and she found herself unable to do anything else but what everyone else was doing -- staring dumbly at the herculean feat of raw strength and power that they all just witnessed. It should be impossible. It was so impossible that Kim could hardly believe her eyes and she had seen it happen.

“You can have this back!” Kaine shouted, shifting his feet for a pitcher's throw, and with a heave, he threw the car sized bullet back at King Bear and his tank every bit as fast as it had been shot at him. There was a short lived scream from King Bear before an explosion rocked the area with him at ground zero.

Then Kaine began to sway. “Kaine!” Kim shouted, jumping off the balcony and flying down to him. He looked up, his expression triumphant underneath the blood, bruises, and sweat. She caught him as he began to fall and it was then that she noticed that he was littered with injuries and burns.

He was out cold. Even still, he was smiling.

"Tae! He needs help!" Kim shouted, laying Kaine on the ground. He needed a doctor. The more she looked at him, the more injured he seemed. At the defeat of their captain, the Trump Pirates just gave up. In droves, Kim saw them tossing down their weapons -- not just because their captain was defeated, but because of Mikasa.

Kim caught a good look at the dark-haired girl -- her swords were dyed red, there was blood spatter on her cheek, and her eyes were ice cold when she regarded the pirates that were debating their chances. But, they only needed to look at the bloody swaths of corpses that Mikasa made around them to get all the reason they needed to surrender. Kim's stomach threatened to rebel at the sight. Even so far away, there was a metallic scent in the air.

Kim knew she was good. Better than good. But she wasn't ‘take on a small army’ good. She had never killed anyone. Never outright. There were more than a few close calls, but no one ever died during her missions. And Mikasa had killed more people than Kim ever thought possible and she looked calm about it. That scared her a bit, Kim admitted to herself.

"This idiot," Tae hissed, arriving next to her and Kaine while Kim was distracted. Mikasa continued to extract surrenders from the pirates and of the once several hundred strong crew, only about half remained. "He has more broken bones than not, these burns, ruptured veins, internal bleeding…!" Tae continued, bringing Kim's attention to Kaine, who seemed on top of the world, even unconscious. She wanted to stay by his side to make sure he was okay. Kaine was a friend.

But there were other pressing matters.

"I'm going to find Momo and Bocchi," Kim told Tae, earning a curt nod in response. With one final look down at Kaine, whose snow-white hair was mostly red, Kim took off. Flying up and straight over the edge of the island, she barely noticed how her hair became an untamable mess when she spotted the burning wreckage of the Icarus that crashed into the base of the spire. It looked like the ship had exploded on impact when it crashed.

Her heart was in her throat all the way down until she caught a hint of movement a good distance away from the wreckage itself.

"Momo! Bocchi!" Kim shouted, heaving a breath of relief when she saw the two girls on the beach. They had soot marks on their pale skin, and bruises, but other than that, they seemed fine. The same couldn't be said for the two figures that were laying on the beach next to them. Kim recognized Honey Queen, who was crying into her hands. Boo Jack, however, was covered by a sheet that had a damp red spot growing on it.

Momo looked up and offered a watery smile and a wave. "Hey, Kim… did things go better for all of you up there?" Momo questioned, sounding like she was swallowing a sigh as she looked upon the Icarus. Bocchi, however, had her head hung low with her knees pulled up to her chest as she sat on the beach.

"A little. Kaine is pretty injured, but we beat the pirates. What happened here?" Kim questioned, trying not to look too hard at the covered body. Next to it was a piece of pipe that was covered in blood. What had happened was fairly obvious, but she didn't want to draw conclusions.

"We had a jailbreak. Boo Jack and Honey Queen tried to take control of the Icarus, but we fought them off. But, then, we got shot by… something and we went down. Thanks to Tinkerbell, we were all able to coast down, but…" Momo trailed off, glancing at a downcast Bocchi.

The younger teen sighed, "Boo Jack was injured during the impact. He took shrapnel between his eighth and ninth ribs. He pulled it out and I did my best to save him. I failed," Momo muttered, her hands still covered in blood. She was taking it harshly. In response, Kim walked over and took her hand in hers, and forced Momo to look her in the eyes.

"You did everything you could, Momo. This is on Bear King for shooting at you. This isn't on you," Kim stressed. It didn't seem to help much, but Momo offered a token effort of looking reassured. Kim gave her hands a slight squeeze and a firm nod -- she liked Momo. She clearly grew up rich, but she was so kind-hearted that it was really difficult to hold that against her.

"Come on. Let's secure the pirates… and say goodbye to the Icarus," Kim said, dragging Momo to her feet. Then they both cast a glance at Bocchi to find that the girl was gazing out at sea.

“I… think I'm going to stay here. Just for a little bit,” Bocchi said in a low whisper and Kim started to say something, but Momo cut her off with a hand on her wrist. Their eyes met and Momo shook her head.

Kim swallowed a sigh, “Take as much time as you need, Bocchi.”

…

"You have our gratitude for rescuing us," said Ayotami Symui, a middle-aged woman with a rather odd swirl hairstyle and a set of large glasses resting on the bridge of her nose. She wore a lab coat over a light blue turtleneck and a pencil skirt. Kim learned that she had been the leader of the engineers seven years ago when the Trump Pirates had arrived, and seven years later, she stepped into the role seamlessly. "I… it was a nightmare that we thought would never end. We gave up hope years ago for Marine intervention," she said, her hands clasping on her stomach.

Ayumi looked at a sleeping Kaine, who was wrapped in so many bandages that he looked like a mummy. They were in one of the guest rooms in the castle on account that the main bedrooms were an absolute pigsty. Tinkerbell was curled up in a ball on top of Kaine's rising and falling chest. The rest of their group, including Nami, also looked on. "I never imagined that someone could have ever defeated King Bear. Or the weapon that we designed for him."

Ayumi looked to Tae, seemingly deciding that she was the one in charge. "I don't know how we can ever hope to repay you. If we can do anything, anything, then please ask."

Momo was the first to speak up, "With our ship destroyed, it would be helpful if we had a place to rebuild it.” She said and Syumi nodded graciously.

"I'll take the diamond clock!" Nami happily pitched in and Kim had to swallow some frustration. Especially when Syumi visibly hesitated. Momo gave her time to compose herself by glancing at Nami.

"What would you need such a large clock for?" She asked, and Nami was all too happy to answer, scooching a bit closer to Momo.

"Because it's the most valuable clock in the entire world! It's worth millions of beli! You did say we could have anything we wanted, right?" Nami questioned, but not even she was so blinded by treasure-lust that she missed the look on Ayumi's face. "Unless there's a reason that we shouldn't?"

The leader of Clockwork Island hesitated before shaking her head. "No, you're welcome to it. I… it's a silly thing. But… several years ago, I had a child," Syumi told them, her voice quiet. "I couldn't bear the thought of him being raised in this place -- no more than a slave for making weapons. I had him in secret and put him in a watertight basket with only a music box to remember his home by. The song it played is the same song that the clock does because I hoped…"

Nami's expression changed slowly as she heard the brief story. Kim was good at reading facial expressions. Nami guarded it well, but there was empathy in her eyes. Not sympathy. Empathy. "Then I don't want it. I got more than enough treasure from that sorry lot! I was just going for broke. Plus, big sis can just make me one, right?" Nami said, looking at Momo, who, despite all reason, stood a little taller at the request.

"I cannot if you intend to commit fraud," Momo refused, sounding apologetic. Nami got along well enough with everyone, but she really liked Momo. Mostly because of what she could do, Kim suspected. Momo either didn't notice or care. "But if there is a smaller version, I will. It was a very pretty design."

Ayumi's smile conveyed her gratitude. More than words could hope to.

"Thank you, big sis~!"

"I'll arrange everything for the construction of your ship. You're welcome to stay as long as you like, but I'll leave you to discuss things amongst yourselves," Ayumi said, offering a small bow before she left the room. No sooner had the door closed, Tae reached over and pinched Kaine's cheek.

"How long are you going to pretend to be asleep?" She asked, making Kaine open his eyes, proving that he was awake the entire time.

Her brow furrowed, "Kaine, she was thanking us. How could you just pretend to sleep through that?" Kim questioned, earning a shrug.

"Didn't do it for a thank you," Kaine answered dismissively, floating up a bit to settle in a sitting position against the backboard. He couldn’t quite hide the small sigh of relief at going weightless either. "Where are Bear King and the others?"

"In jail, for now. I gave them something that'll put them out for a day, if not more," Tae answered, crossing her arms. "You need to learn your limits. Do you even want to know how close you were to death, brat?" Tae questioned, and in response, she got a boyish grin from Kaine.

"I know my limits. I just ignore 'em," Kaine decided, looking at a milk box that was on the nightstand next to him. Tinkerbell flew over and began to unpack it while he spoke. "How long until the Icarus two-point-oh is in the sky?"

Momo crossed her arms and thought about it. "It's difficult to say. I would need to see the workshop first, but given that we skipped several steps of building the first Icarus by using the hull that we found… I am inclined to say it would be a few weeks at least. Perhaps more, given the upgrades I would like to make to the overall design," she said, not going into detail about what those upgrades were as of yet.

It was a guilty wish, but she really hoped this one would be larger. Sharing a bedroom with three other women, then four when Nami arrived was a challenge. Sharing a single bathroom and the hot water within was absolutely brutal.

Kaine slid his gaze over to Nami, "That any trouble for you?" He asked, seemingly catching Nami off guard for a moment, but she shook her head.

"It's a delay, but so far, your group is proving to be worth the time," Nami admitted. "Especially if you're planning to go after another major pirate group?"

Kaine shook his head, "Not yet. I think I should stick to small fry for a bit. Don't want to go into a big fight half cocked," he sighed. Tinkerbell finally managed to pierce the film for the milk box with Herculean effort. "Maybe Witch of Annihilation or Death Stroke."

"I don't know how you can call someone worth a million beli small fry, but whatever floats your boat," Nami agreed.

Tae poked Kaine in the head, "And you will be spending those weeks in bed, do you understand me?" She said, and Kaine looked increasingly worried that he was about to get a finger-shaped hole in his head if she pressed any harder. Tinkerbell rushed up to combat Tae, who did not look amused by the tiny punches aimed at her nose. Kim's eyes darted to the milk box, then at Kaine, who was still sweating bullets at the finger pressed against his forehead. Should she…?

Right as she was about to move, Mikasa stepped forward and grabbed the milk box. Kim's eyes narrowed when she was beaten to the punch, and much to her chagrin, her expression hadn't been missed by Nami, who wore an expression of delight as she read far too much into a single mild glare.

"Here," Mikasa said, putting the straw in Kaine’s mouth. Tinkerbell seemed to gasp and immediately refocused her efforts on Mikasa and only then did Tae remove her finger. Kaine drank deeply to start, then paused with a faint expression of confusion, then he sucked so hard it was like he was trying to suck the entire box through the straw. Guess he was a big fan of milk?

"Thanks, Mikasa," he said, his breath falling into a rhythm. A new one. Not that she paid particularly too much attention to his normal breathing. It might have just been her imagination, but did his swelling just go down a little? "You're a lifesaver," he remarked.

Despite herself, Kim remembered that scene of Mikasa before the bodies she made. And she wasn't the only one.

"I believe that we should have a conversation about lethal force," Momo began, her hands clasped tightly together, bringing up the subject that she didn’t have the courage to dredge up. Momo looked to Mikasa, who met her gaze evenly. "I want to preface this with this -- I do not blame anyone for defending themselves. You were vastly outnumbered and lives were at stake. While the hero regulation frowns upon lethal force, it can be pardoned. Especially in extenuating circumstances. And in fewer cases, government-issued kill orders have been put upon dangerous people."

The world that Momo came from sounded intense. She guessed that it had to be when everyone had a superpower of some description.

"I'm bringing up this subject merely to discuss how you intend to use lethal force-" Momo continued, but Mikasa interrupted.

"I don't want to kill anyone," she spoke in a soft voice, a hand going to her black band around her neck. Her expression couldn't be more different than it had been on the battlefield. Her expression was soft. Kind, even. Then that bled away when her eyes hardened, pinning a look sharp enough to cut at Momo. "But I will."

Momo's lips thinned at the very blunt answer, prompting Kim to speak up. "And everyone that you killed? Mikasa, there were dozens of bodies."

"They," Mikasa spoke slowly and deliberately as if to not cause misunderstandings, "were in the way. I couldn't protect Kaine because of them," she added darkly, and Kim didn't imagine that there was even a shadow of regret in her heart.

And that scared her. Just a little.

Momo opened her mouth to speak, but Kaine spoke up, "Momo, I get what you're saying. And, believe me, it's not like we're planning to stack up bodies. Neither of us enjoys killing," Kaine told her. "But they were going to kill us. By right, they should be prepared to be killed in return."

Tae narrowed her eyes at Kaine as Kim processed that point of view. It sounded simple and she could see where it came from. There was a pragmatism there that just made sense. But, it also had a rather disturbing implication.

"Don't look at me like that -- it's not like I want the ride to be over. I just accept that it's going to end one of these days. Hopefully later rather than sooner, but it is what it is," Kaine answered the unspoken question.

Momo let out a sigh while Tinkerbell cuddled up against Kaine. Nami was still giving Kaine a weird look like she was having some difficulty processing who he was as a person. "I understand, but I will make myself clear -- I can accept self-defense. I will not accept outright murder, Kaine."

"That's fair. The pirates that we captured will be turned over to the Marines. What happens to them is out of our hands after that," Kaine stated, earning a small relieved nod from Momo.

Tae cast a glance between them before letting out a sigh, "Alright, that's enough. Kaine needs rest. Real sleep instead of just pretending to be."

"Tsk."

"Go to bed before I knock you out. The fun way," Tae threatened. She knew that tone too well. She heard it often when she got some bumps and scrapes after a mission.

With various degrees of unhappiness, they were all funneled out of the room. Kim cast a glance at Mikasa, who quickly broke off from the group as they headed left while she went right. Kim hesitated for a moment, tempted to call out to her to say something, but not even Kim knew what.

Instead, Kim decided to look away from Mikasa's retreating back to join the others.