Three disco-filled nights later, Johnny was finally getting used to the jumpsuit. The wig still itched, but Johnny figured he’d get used to that in time as well. That, or at least put up with it until his own hair grew long enough to tease it into an afro. And really, purple skin wasn’t so bad... maybe Mirror Belle would help wash it off--
“Johnny!” Yosaku said loudly, snapping his fingers in front of his face.
“Huh?” Johnny replied intelligently.
“Where’ve you been?” Yosaku asked, eyes narrowed. “I’ve been trying to get your attention for five minutes!”
“Just looking for Mirror Belle,” Johnny said. He quickly scanned the room for her and sighed when his search turned up nothing yet again.
“You’re always looking for her,” Yosaku said darkly. “Even when we’re nowhere near this club, you’ve always got that look.”
“I’m just keeping an eye on our target, Yosaku.”
“Don’t you think you’re getting in a little too deep?”
“Ah, there she is,” Johnny said as he spotted a large poofball of hair floating above the crowd. He jumped off his stool and waded through the crowd to her, leaving Yosaku at the bar.
“Hey, tiger,” she said, smiling at him. Johnny’s heart raced. Tonight, she was dressed in a green velvet pantsuit which hugged her curves like a boa constrictor. She cupped his cheek and ran her thumb over his cheekbone before pulling him close. “You wanna try some... dirty dancing?” she whispered in his ear, and his heartrate sped up even more. “I think you’re ready.”
“You think so?” he whispered back, mouth dry.
“I think so,” she answered, then pushed away from him. “Now, first new dance: Le Freak. C’est chic.”
“What does that mean?” Johnny asked.
“I have no idea,” Mirror Belle answered. Johnny liked the sound of her laugh.
She demonstrated the moves, and Johnny thought he’d never look away from her again. There was something about this woman that was so hypnotic, so enticing... Maybe Yosaku had a point, he thought. Maybe he was getting in too deep. Then she rolled her hips in that particular way, and Johnny forgot what he was thinking about.
“OK,” she said once she’d finished the sequence. “You try.”
He tried, but knew instinctively that his moves were nowhere near Mirror Belle’s in timing and grace. That wasn’t such a bad thing, however, because Mirror Belle didn’t mind. In fact, she took it upon herself to correct him, gripping his hips with her hands and forcing them in the directions they were supposed to go.
“M-Mirror Belle?” Johnny asked through the heat outside and inside his jumpsuit. “Why are you being so patient with me? Don’t you hate anyone who can’t properly disco dance?”
Mirror Belle chuckled. “Well, now,” she said, drawing close to Johnny to whisper in his ear, “Let’s just say it’s because you’re a beginner, and you’re trying oh-so-hard.”
Johnny gulped. “Y-Yeah. I see.”
“Plus, you’re cute.” She spun away from him and licked her lips. “You ever had a girlfriend, Johnny?”
“No,” he answered truthfully. He didn’t think Susie in the second grade counted. It was only that one kiss, after all.
“You ever think about it?” Mirror Belle asked, encircling him with her arms again. “You ever think, ‘hey Johnny, it’s time you dumped the kid and got yourself a woman?’”
“Who do you mean by kid?” Johnny asked.
“Your friend over there.” She gestured in the general direction of the bar.
“You mean Yosaku? Nope.”
She blinked. “You’ve never thought that maybe he was getting in your way?”
“He’s my best friend.”
Mirror Belle frowned darkly. Johnny hoped he hadn’t pissed her off. The last thing he wanted was to get thrown out of the club before their mission was done.
Their mission... that was right. This was a short-term thing, Mirror Belle. Once they got in deep enough, they’d take the Village Pirates out. And that was it. No more dancing. No more Mirror Belle. He surprised himself by regretting it.
“Hey Johnny,” Mirror Belle said, “you look a little down.”
“It’s nothing,” he said, starting to dance with her again. Even if he had to lose Mirror Belle, he’d always have Yosaku. “Just a little tired, that’s all.”
“You wanna take a break?” she asked. Johnny blinked, but hesitantly nodded. All the other times he’d tried to take a rest before, she’d insisted he keep dancing with her. She took his hand and tugged him towards a darkened corner of the room.
“Uh, Mirror Belle?” he said. “The bar is over there.”
“We’re not going to the bar,” she said. Once they were safely in the shadows, she shoved Johnny up against the wall. Johnny looked around.
“Uh, Mirror Belle, there aren’t any tables over here.”
“We won’t need them,” Mirror Belle said. Then she pressed herself against Johnny and kissed him. Johnny froze. His eyes darted right and left. They finally settled on Yosaku who was determinedly sucking back drinks at the bar. Yosaku glanced over his shoulder, then looked away. The message was clear: Johnny was on his own this time.
Well, maybe that was a good thing, he thought. Then Mirror Belle did something with her lips, and it seemed like a very good thing indeed. He closed his eyes and kissed her back, oblivious to Yosaku’s dark glare.
An hour or so later, Mirror Belle bid him farewell, declaring that since they were leaving tomorrow night, she needed to meet with her remaining officers to finalize the details of their departure.
“You’ll be coming back, though, right?” Johnny asked, breathless.
“Of course,” Mirror Belle purred. “Or you could come with. We’re always looking for... cabin boys. If you know what I mean.”
Johnny didn’t, not quite, but he figured he’d find out soon enough. “I’d love to,” he answered. “But I need to talk with Yosaku first.”
“Do you really need to, though?” Mirror Belle pouted.
“Yes,” Johnny answered firmly.
Mirror Belle pouted for a moment more, then leaned in to give him one last peck on the cheek. “Your choice,” she said. “Don’t take too long, though; we leave tomorrow night. And if you change your mind, I'm the first in line.”
“But what about Funky Chinaman?” Johnny answered. “He doesn’t like me too much.”
“Don’t worry about him,” she said. “Honey, I'm still free. Take a chance on me”
Johnny watched her go, then leaned against the wall, smiling dazedly. Who would’ve thought something like that could feel... like that? After a moment of contemplation, he shook his head to clear it and meandered over to the bar to tell Yosaku they were in. When he got there, though, he couldn’t find Yosaku anywhere. Puzzled, he called a hassled-looking Sonia over.
“Hey Sonia,” he said, “you know where Yosaku went?”
“Outside,” she answered. “He’s drunk, Johnny. Be careful.”
“I’ll be fine,” Johnny said, getting up from his seat. “He’s Yosaku. Whatever it is, I can handle it.” Sonia gave him a disbelieving look, but he ignored it.
Johnny pushed his way through the crowd of still-dancing pirates as fast as he could. Despite his words to Sonia, he was a bit worried. Yosaku was usually a cheerful drunk, but with the way he’d been acting for the last few days, Johnny wasn’t so sure. And if he was avoiding people, well, that was pretty bad. He wondered what was going on.
After several minutes of fighting the crowd, Johnny finally made it outside. He looked up and down the darkened street, hoping to catch a glimpse of his partner. No such luck. Yosaku didn’t seem to be around.
“Hey Yosaku,” he called, “you out here?”
A low chuckle floated out of the alleyway next to the bar. Johnny spun around to face it, one hand already on its way to where he’d stored his weapon, but relaxed when he saw it was Yosaku. His partner was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. Johnny smiled. “Whew,” he said. “Glad I found you, Yosaku; I didn’t notice you there.”
“No, I imagine you didn’t,” Yosaku slurred. Johnny took a step back at the coldness in his best friend’s voice.
“Yosaku?”
“Hardly seem to notice me at all anymore.” Yosaku pushed himself away from the wall and swayed for a moment. “Don’t notice anything, ‘cept that Mirror Belle bitch.”
Yosaku stumbled towards Johnny, then stopped and took a deep breath. Johnny held his hands out, ready to catch Yosaku if he tripped.
“Hey, Yosaku,” he said slowly, “what’s going on?”
“And you know,” Yosaku said as if he hadn’t heard Johnny at all, “I don't blame it on the sunshine--”
“Ah, Yosaku?”
“I don't blame it on the moonlight--”
“Don’t blame what?”
“I don't blame it on good times, ‘cause we’ve had a lot of good times.”
“Yosaku, what the hell are you talking about?”
“No, I don’t blame it on any of that,” Yosaku concluded, glaring at Johnny. “I blame it on the boogie.”
Johnny sighed exasperatedly. He could count on one hand the number of times he’d been pissed at Yosaku, and this was one of them.
“Look, Yosaku,” he said. “I wanna know what’s bothering you. I really do. So why don’t we just go back inside, have a drink, talk--”
“No way,” Yosaku said. “No way am I sharing space with that--that pirate.”
“Waitaminute,” Johnny interrupted. “Is this about Mirror Belle?”
Yosaku barked out a laugh. “No, Johnny, this is not about ‘Mirror Belle.’” He said the name like it was shit on his shoe. “This is about you.”
“Me?” Johnny blinked. What was going on here?
“Yes, you.” Yosaku stumbled forward and poked Johnny in the chest. “You said you wouldn’t just up and go, Johnny. You promised.”
“And I’m not going to.” Johnny took Yosaku by the shoulders and shook him a little. Yosaku batted his hands away and paced, continuing to rant.
“Yeah, sure,” he said. “You go off in a corner and feel her up for an hour. I’ve seen the way she looks at you, Johnny. And I’ve seen the way you look at her. You’re going to join her crew, aren’t you? Aren’t you, Johnny?”
Johnny’s mouth dropped open. This was what Yosaku was so pissed about? That he’d been spending time with Mirror Belle? Yosaku was jealous?
What was left of Johnny’s temper vanished. “No, I am not going to join her crew,” he snapped, “not for real, at least. I’m not gonna stop being your friend just ‘cause of a little fling. You should know me better than that.”
“I thought I did.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Yosaku stopped pacing and glared at him like he was supposed to know.
“It means,” Yosaku said, “that you never pay attention to me when I’m talking anymore. Your mind’s always somewhere else. It’s on her. Friends don’t ignore friends.”
“And friends don’t get mad for things they said themselves. Weren’t you the one who said I should just go with whatever Mirror Belle wanted?”
“Maybe, but I didn’t mean want her!”
Johnny took a deep breath and reminded himself that Yosaku was drunk and probably didn’t realize what he was saying. Then he took another breath and reminded himself that he didn’t really want to punch his friend’s lights out, it just seemed like a good idea right now.
“Look,” he said once he’d recovered somewhat, “this isn’t worth it. Fuck the bounty. We can always get another one.”
“Yeah,” Yosaku said acidly. “Fuck the bounty. And fuck you.”
Johnny’s insides went numb. Not the hot numb he experienced when fighting; a cold numb that made his organs want to crawl out of his body. The only other time he’d felt it was when he realized Yosaku was dying from some disease he couldn’t even name, let alone cure. Thank the powers that be that Sister Nami had figured it out in time.
“I’m getting a drink,” Yosaku muttered. He stumbled back the to bar and went inside, leaving Johnny too stunned to move.
Johnny stood there for a moment, listening to the music filtering through the walls of the bar, to two mating, yowling cats--anything except for Yosaku’s last words, echoing again and again through his head. After a time, he managed to place one foot in front of the other. Again. He fell into a rhythm. The music faded away, as did the cats, and soon the only thing Johnny could hear was Yosaku’s angry voice.
The last time he’d cried he’d been seven years old. He was not going to cry over this. He was not.
His steps stopped, suddenly, and he looked up to figure out where he was. The inn. Good. Sleep was good. Things always looked better in the morning. He pushed the door open.
“Hello!” the innkeeper greeted. “You’re early this evening. And where’s your friend? Should I wait up for him?”
“No,” Johnny answered. “Can I have my key?”
“Of course,” the innkeeper said. She scrutinized him for a moment, then handed him the key. “If there’s anything you need...”
“No.” He ignored her curious stare and left. He stripped as soon as he entered the room and flopped down listlessly on the bed, not bothering to fold his clothes, bathe, or even light the lamp. He stared at the ceiling for a time, then turned over and went to sleep. He hoped Yosaku would be there when he woke up. He didn’t know what he’d do if he wasn’t.
“You hear that, Captain?” Funky Chinaman whispered.
“Every word,” Mirror Belle said through her teeth. “Don’t think this changes my plans any, though. Because it doesn’t.”
“But Captain, they’re obvious posers, not true disciples of the Disco Way. We should forget about them. You should forget about them.”
Mirror Belle glanced irritatedly at her steward. “You’re so vain, Funky. Even if I didn’t have the hots for that Johnny boy, what makes you think you’re next in line, huh?”
His nostrils flared. “If you were anyone else,” he hissed, “I would kill you where you stand.”
“Why do you think I keep you around?” Mirror Belle answered. “Now, go over and talk to that other boy--what’s his name again?”
“Yosaku.”
“Yosaku. Go over and talk to him. Get him a drink. And when you think he’s ready, bring him to the back room.”
Funky Chinaman glanced at the young man in question, who was bent over the bar, resting his head on his folded arms. “You’re going to use ‘that’ on him?”
“Yes.”
“I thought you wanted the other one.”
“Oh, I do,” Mirror Belle said, a devilish smirk appearing on her face. “Believe me, I do. But what’s that old saying about friends? ‘Where one goes, the other will follow?’”
Funky Chinaman snorted. “I see your plan,” he said, rising from his chair.
“Good. Now, get over there and follow your Captain’s orders.”
Mirror Belle narrowed her eyes in predatory delight as Funky Chinaman reluctantly pushed his way through the crowd to the unsuspecting bounty hunter at the bar. She reached up and patted her hair lightly, smiling wider as she confirmed her most precious treasure was still firmly in place. Judging from his hands, Johnny was a swordsman, probably a good one at that, since he made his living hunting criminals. She’d wanted him before, but with Zoro the Gay Blade off her ship, they needed a new swordsman, a good swordsman.
And what Mirror Belle wanted, Mirror Belle got.
