Avisa's Poetic Justice

Your life for hers.

The words echoed through Avisa and Sanji's minds as the weight of what Seguaro suggested twisted like a knife in their hearts.

Avisa felt deep down that Sanji would take the bargain if he didn't have anything else up his sleeve, and she looked in horror as she stood helplessly in a cage of daggers. He had truly become the most important person in her life and now her father wanted to take that from her too. He had obviously realized that would hurt her more for the purpose of vengeance and malice than just killing her.

Sanji tried to come up with a plan to get out of this, but he didn't seem to have many options. He was too afraid of losing Avisa to try his luck at getting to Seguaro first. The daggers were pressing close against her skin and even now he noticed Seguaro had some positioned at important arteries and one at her neck where a small trickle of blood had formed.

He looked back at Seguaro with hatred burning in his eyes, but he said calmly, "Let her go. You can have me."

"No, Sanji! Please. I'm begging you—don't let him kill you. It would hurt me more than my own death. I promise." Avisa shuffled a little in desperation to stop him, but she grimaced as some of the daggers sunk into her flesh in the process.

Sanji didn't look at her, but she could see his face contort in pain at her words.

Seguaro smiled and grabbed a decanter from the table behind him and he placed it on a smaller table to the left of him and the right of Sanji before he went back to his original spot. He then explained, "Drink it."

Sanji paled a little, but he walked over slowly to the table and grabbed the decanter. He hesitated and looked back at Avisa--his eyes glistening with sadness. He wished he could have protected her in a different way, but this way at least she had a chance of living, and he wouldn't have to watch the woman he loved die.

Seguaro chuckled as he watched this exchange and then explained to Avisa with a smug grin, "I just so happened to have one of my men figure out a way to create that amazing, concentrated Death's Kiss of yours. I thought—since I have it—it would be a little poetic to have your lover die by it." His words started to slur a bit towards the end of his speech, and he wobbled a little as he used the table next to him to keep himself upright.

He looked up confused and then locked eyes with Avisa as he saw her grin.

His eyes widened as she explained, "I never missed, father."

Avisa burned with anger and determination. She knew Sanji wouldn't try to save her with the risk of killing her and she knew she was the only one that could save them now. Although the poison she had soaked the dagger with that hit her father's shoulder was starting to take effect, she knew he wouldn't die soon enough.

Just as Sanji opened the decanter, Avisa screamed with rage and pushed with all her mind's will. The daggers around her scattered in all directions and though her father tried to push back, he was too weak to fight it.

She cringed a little as she saw a few of the daggers hit some of Seguaro's men that had just started to come back to consciousness, but she soon turned her attention to the decanter and grabbed it with her mind and threw it towards Seguaro. It shattered against his chest, and he crumpled to his knees with a groan.

Sanji stood frozen for a second but then he turned with relief and smiled at her. Just then her father tried to summon a couple daggers to hit Sanji with, but they watched as the daggers fizzled out of concentration and he coughed up blood onto the mosaic on the floor. His eyes widened in horror, and he sat on the floor and wheezed as he tried to catch his breath.

He gurgled out a chuckle and smiled at Avisa as he said, "You truly are a Seguaro, my dear. I couldn't have taught you better the art of revenge and poison as you have taught it to yourself."

She shook her head. "No, this is poetic justice, father."

Seguaro scoffed. "You and your justice."

She tilted her head and smiled at him sadly as she crouched. She said, "The world will remember the people who fought for good whether they failed or succeeded. You know why? Because humanity craves goodness and justice. They may see that evil thrives in this world, but evil people die just as the good do. It is the ideals and impact of the good that will live on forever though and that's what you missed." She paused as he looked at her with confusion before she continued, "No one will tell your story, and no one will miss you."

His face twisted in anger as he tried once again to summon a dagger but then his body shook with another cough. Avisa backed away as his eyes rolled back and his mouth foamed. His body went into a seizure as he groaned in pain before his body finally went limp.

She looked back at Sanji to see him staring a little shocked at this violent death. She noticed he had a bit of a scratch on his face from one of the daggers that she had scattered and he was bleeding a little. He finally turned to her and asked, "Was that Death's Kiss?"

She chuckled a little and said, "No, this is a rare poison called Eden's Curse that mainly grows on high elevation areas, like up here on the mountain. My dad—Carlos I mean—he harvested it sometimes and gave me some in case of emergency before he passed away." She grinned widely as she said, "It felt right to use it on Seguaro." She grimaced a little then and added, "It is a lot more painful though and much less subtle than Death's Kiss."

Sanji nodded in agreement as he took her hand in his.

Suddenly, Avisa remembered her brother and let go of Sanji's hand to sprint over and see if he was really dead or if there was a chance at saving him. She let out a relieved sigh as she saw that his chest was rising and falling at a steady pace. Even if he was passed out, he was still breathing.

"Oi, what happened?"

Sanji and Avisa turned to see Zoro coming into the courtyard with a confused expression.

Sanji frowned. "What are you doing here moss-head? I thought I told you guys to stay with Avisa's family."

Zoro scowled. "We did. Then Lord Dinero's men came, and we took care of them. One ran into the jungle though, so I chased him to try and catch him. But I got turned around a bit and ended up here."

Avisa smiled a little and said, "Thank you, Zoro. I'm really glad you guys were there."

Zoro nodded and said, "I'm glad too."

Then she turned to look at both of them and asked, "Do you think you guys could help carry my brother down the mountain? He's still alive and I'd like to make sure he gets medical attention as soon as possible."

They both nodded and came forward to carry him, but Zoro placed his hand on Sanji's chest and said, "It looks like you're banged up cook, so why don't I just carry him?"

Sanji hit his arm away and growled, "Thanks for the concern but I'm just fine."

Avisa laughed a little before she said, "Why don't you take the first bit Zoro, and Sanji can carry him the rest of the way?"

They both still frowned but nodded, and Zoro picked up her brother and put him over his shoulder before he started to walk towards the door.

Avisa's eyes widened a bit before she said, "I think I should maybe lead the way, Zoro." Then she whispered to Sanji, "Watch him. I'm afraid he'll get distracted or something and he'll take my brother to another island."

Sanji smirked and said, "Yeah, I'll watch him."