Is it Strawhats or Straw Hats?
Title: Survival of the Fittest
Theme: #13- Sacrifice
Claim: Robin
Words: 590
Rating: T
Warnings: Angst, possibly a bit of OOCness
It had started when Nami realized there was a dead body laying on the deck, arm outstretched towards the railing as if trying to get off the ship. The pirate's head was twisted at a grotesque angle and his back appeared to have been bent to the side in a nearly ninety degree angle. His other arm, the one that wasn't reaching in front of him, had been twisted behind his mangled back.
It was obvious who had killed the man.
"Robin!" Nami yelled as Luffy and Usopp watched the enemy pirate ship sail away, whooping and shouting taunts after them from the front of the ship.
"Yes?" Robin appeared beside her. She glanced at the body.
"..." Nami's mouth opened and closed as she tried to find the right words. She knew that Robin could kill people. She knew that it was inevitable that someone would die in their fights...
"Why did you kill him?" Nami finally asked, motioning towards the corpse. Luffy and Usopp finally quieted down and retreated to the galley to bother Sanji for a snack while Zoro resumed his training as if they had never been attacked by enemy pirates moments earlier. No one took notice of the two females standing over the dead body.
"Self defense." Robin said.
"It looks like he was trying to get away." Nami pointed at the hand reaching for the sea. She bit her lip and looked away from the horrific sight, trying not to shudder.
They were pirates. Pirates killed people all the time... didn't they?
But that didn't mean they had to. They weren't like other pirates, who stole things and destroyed villages and hurt innocent people.
"Didn't you once say that human lives are too precious to waste?" Nami broke the long silence. Robin's eyes flashed, but her expression didn't change. "You said... that it's wrong to just kill people like they're ants. Didn't you?"
"Are you implying that I'm a hypocrite?" Robin smiled crookedly, staring at the dead man.
"Maybe." Nami said. "So why do you kill?"
Robin leaned on the railing, her hair blowing in her face. "Sometimes, in order to survive, you need to sacrifice your own beliefs. It gets easier to ignore your conscious after a while."
"Is that what it's about?" Nami choked. She clenched her fists. "Survival of the fittest?"
Robin shrugged.
"You don't need to kill anymore!" Nami cried, grabbing Robin's shoulder. "Don't you get it?!"
"I didn't-"
"You said so yourself! He was human!" Nami's nails dug into Robin's skin. "I thought... I thought you weren't scared anymore..."
"After a while, old habits are hard to break." Robin quietly said, looking off to the side.
"Habit?!" Nami yelled. "You can't make it a damn habit to kill people! It's just... wrong!" She suddenly wrapped her arms around Robin and buried her face in her shoulder.
"Nami..." Robin said, hesitantly placing a hand on her head.
"No more killing." Nami whispered.
"... I promise." Robin nodded. Nami unattatched herself and smiled, wiping her eyes.
They silently wrapped the body up in a spare sheet. Franky's chainsaw filled the silence of the calm day, as well as yelling and laughing coming from the galley. It was nearly unreal, to be handling a corpse while the rest of the crew was unaware. Even Zoro had been sleeping nearby the whole time, head drooping over his chest.
With one swift movement, Nami and Robin heaved the wrapped up body overboard, watching the waves quickly claim it and drag it below the surface.