"One Piece" ADAMAS

I don’t know when, but Loyal’s eyes would always follow Arya unconsciously. At first he thought it was just because he admired her, just like Amon admired her, but then he gradually realized that this was different. Arya's smile, Arya's strength, Arya's vulnerability, he cared about them all.

Loyal thought he had hidden this feeling very well. After all, even Arya, who was very observant, didn't notice it at all.

"You like Arya, right?" Kuzan looked at Loyal condescendingly, his true emotions unclear in his indifferent eyes.

Loyal was so frightened that he almost knelt down, and then fell into self-doubt: Is it really that obvious?

"Don't be nervous, I'm not here to ask for punishment." Kuzan slowed down his tone, "I have something to ask you."

"Please give me your orders." Loyal saluted with a military salute.

"It's not a mission, it's my personal entrustment." Kuzan touched the back of his head, "Arya will be training with you soon, but her health has not been good. I hope you can help take care of her."

"I understand, please feel free to entrust her to me." Loyal looked at Kuzan seriously.

Kuzan hesitated to speak, and finally patted Loyal on the shoulder: "Although I have a good impression of you, I will not interfere in Arya's love life, so go ahead."

Loyal's face suddenly turned red: "I didn't think about this. It's enough for me to stay with her as I am now."

"Oh, by the way, don't let her take off the bracelet on her hand." Kuzan said extremely seriously, "This is a matter of life and death."

Probably because Kuzan's expression was too serious, Loyal kept this in mind and basically paid attention to Arya's bracelet all the time, such as at this moment when they were on their way.

"Why have you been staring at my bracelet?" Arya suddenly turned her head.

"It's nothing, I just think it looks good." Loyal turned his head.

"I think it's pretty, too. Teacher Polu gave this to me. If it weren't for this bracelet, I wouldn't be bothered to come here." Arya waved her hand.

The science force recently built a new training ground, which is said to have a sea stone in it. The effectiveness of the sea stone can be controlled through buttons, so that it can be used to train the navy with devil fruits. The training ground is built and someone needs to test it out. So Kizaru, the commander-in-chief of the Science Force, waved his hand and sent Arya to test the new training ground. At the same time, Zefa also sent several students from the Naval Academy over and asked Arya to train with them.

What's going on? In the entire navy, can't they find a second tool man to pluck the wool? What does it mean to give it all to her? Do you dare to increase wages and pay bonuses?

Faced with an unscrupulous boss, Arya only dared to swallow her complaints, and then conscientiously led the newcomers to test the training ground.

Arya adheres to the principle of playing that is euphemistically called caring for her offspring, and at the beginning she uses pressure to feed her moves. Gradually, Arya discovered that some of the new students were really good. She tentatively drew out the knife, but a new student was able to keep up with her speed and blocked her tentative attack with his elbow, showing very good reflexes. So Arya stopped playing and started taking the new students seriously.

While Arya was training the new students, Loyal took another group of new students to familiarize themselves with the operations of the training ground. The device that controls the Sea Tower Stone is very complex, and the instruction manual written by Vegapunk is as thick as a dictionary. Loyal, a theoretically brilliant student, studied it carefully for a long time before gaining some confidence. As a result, a new student started to operate it after flipping through the manual. Before Loyal could stop him, he heard someone screaming on the other side of the training ground.

The accident happened suddenly. Arya was having fun with the new student. She used the moon step to force the new student to move around to avoid the attack. As a result, Arya lost control of her body and all the strength in her body was taken away. , she fell rapidly like a knocked down seagull.

It's going to end! Arya watched the ground getting closer and closer. She would probably be disabled if she fell from this height.

Just when she was about to have a close contact with Dadi, she was suddenly hugged by someone.

"Are you okay?" Loyal hugged her and landed firmly.

"It's okay." Arya looked blankly at Loyal's face.

"Why are you suddenly stunned?" Loyal touched her forehead, "You didn't fall on your head."

Arya came back to her senses, immediately pushed Loyal away and jumped to the console: "Which fool wants to murder this brigadier general!? Don't even think about leaving today!"

—

As a high-ranking member of the navy, Kuzan was not only busy with his daily work, but also occasionally had some necessary entertainment, such as banquets invited by high-ranking government officials, princes and nobles, all of which required human touch. In the past, when Arya was young, Kuzan would basically refuse all social activities on the grounds that the child was young. Now that Arya has grown up, Kuzan often asks her to be his companion at banquets.

Arya actually hated this kind of event because she had to wear an evening dress.

"Can you find someone else? Don't you think about your life-long affairs?" Arya lay on the sofa and looked at the two evening dresses in Kuzan's hand. Then she shrank into the sofa, her whole body rejecting this.

"After I got a little guy like you, I basically said goodbye to my love life." Kuzan didn't even bother to raise his eyelids.

"Don't touch porcelain. I have never stopped you from finding a girlfriend. It's just you who didn't seize the opportunity. Sister Granny, you can miss it. I despise you."

"You have a boyfriend?" Kuzan said suddenly.

"How is it possible!? And what does this have to do with attending the banquet?" Arya said angrily.

"Then why don't you go?"

"Because I don't like skirts, it's very inconvenient to move around, and I have to maintain a dignified manner all the time, so I can't eat to my heart's content." Arya told the truth.

"Are you really not going?" Kuzan touched his chin, "That's such a pity. I heard they are offering elephant trunk fish delicacies tonight."

Arya stood up suddenly, took a skirt from Kuzan's hand and ran into the room: "I'll be ready soon!"

The dress Kuzan prepared for her was a black backless dress, which was perfect for showing off her new tattoo. Arya looked at herself in the mirror. After studying it for a moment, she found a pair of long white lace gloves to cover the scars on her arms. Now that she has done this, she might as well put on makeup and hair. She also took out the pair of pearl stilettos that Granny gave her.

"Are you going to participate in a beauty pageant?" Kuzan looked helplessly at the shining person.

"Since you have decided to go, you must make a complete outfit." Arya turned her skirt in a circle, "Doesn't it look good?"

"It's just because it's so beautiful that it makes people uncomfortable." Kuzan held his forehead.

I don't know how much trouble there will be for suitors after I go on this trip.

Arya's appearance is not as stunning as that of the Empress, but because she has been in poor health all year round, she has a pitiful and morbid beauty. This kind of temperament is rare in the navy. I see that the pitiful little white flower appearance always arouses men's protective desire, so Arya is very popular in the navy. What's more, Arya is also a gifted spiritual master. According to Vegapunk, spiritual masters have a very special physique - absolute temptation. The higher the talent, the stronger the temptation to others.

So even with the pressure of General Kuzan, Arya still has many suitors. Kizaru once complained to Kuzan that gifts from Arya's suitors were taking over his office.

Arya, who usually looks naked, is already this lethal, so tonight's Arya is probably at the level of a warship.

As soon as the limited edition Arya appeared at the banquet, she was forced to become the center of attention, which completely ruined her plan to secretly eat elephant trunk fish dishes. She had to force a smile and follow Kuzan to socialize with the unknown dignitaries. .

Fortunately, when Arya was laughing so hard that her face froze, a boy wearing a gray suit and a blond classic hairstyle pulled her out of the crowd.

"I can finally come out and take a breather." Arya was taken to the small garden.

"It's all because you look so good today, boss." The boy's eyebrows were curved.

"Boss?" Arya squinted her eyes and looked at the person in front of her carefully, "Who are you?"

"I'm Loyal!" Loyal took out his glasses from his pocket and put them on.

"Are you too deceptive!? Are your glasses a seal of appearance?" Arya reached out and took off Loyal's glasses. Loyal, who was usually pretty at most, actually had a few looks at this moment. It feels more romantic and suave.

"It's okay." Loyal touched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Why are you here?"

"Actually, the organizers of this banquet are my parents."

"You are from a noble family? Then why did you come to join the navy?" Arya was shocked again. Although she had known Loyal for more than ten years, this was the first time she heard Loyal talk about her family. thing.

"That noble couple is not my family. I have been fostered in Marine Fando's navy family since I was a child. They have ignored me for so many years." Loyal looked a little lonely.

Arya was not very good at comforting people, so she had to quickly change the subject: "The flowers here are quite novel. I have never seen them before."

"The flowers on your back are epiphyllums? Is there anything special about it?" Loyal stretched out his hand to touch the girl's bare back, but stopped immediately.

"It's nothing special, I just like it." Arya took off her high heels because she felt they were rubbing her feet, and then jumped to the edge of the pool to look at the bugs in the water.

"Then do you want to see the real Epiphyllum?" Loyal picked up Arya's shoes.

"Is there an epiphyllum in this season?" Arya's eyes widened.

Loyal stretched out his hand in an inviting gesture, and Arya took his hand without thinking: "Let's go!"

They arrived just in time, and the pure white petals were unfolding outward layer by layer, as white as snow, as moist as jade, and as light as yarn.

"It's so beautiful." Arya exclaimed in a low voice.

"Have you heard of the story of Epiphyllum and Veda?" Loyal suddenly asked.

"Is a flash in the pan Veda?" Arya had seen it in O'Hara's botanical encyclopedia.

"Boss, do you like this story?" Loyal carefully observed Arya's profile.

"I admire Yu Ming inside. He can challenge the ruthless God for the love of others. He is so courageous." Arya gave a thumbs up.

"As expected of you." Loyal smiled helplessly, "But with so many people in the navy chasing you, have you ever been attracted to anyone?"

"Well, it seems not." Arya thought about it carefully.

"Boss, what do you expect from your partner?" Loyal knelt down to help Arya put on her high heels. When he touched Arya's fair skin, the temperature of his face suddenly rose. He didn't dare to Looking up into Arya's eyes.

Arya, who was focused on appreciating the epiphyllum, didn't notice Loyal's unnaturalness at all. She smiled and flipped the broken hair around her ears: "It's okay if you're not older than Kuzan, otherwise I'm afraid Kuzan will be too embarrassed."

"Are you afraid that General Kuzan will beat you up?"

"He won't hit me." Arya said confidently.

"Then what do you think of me"

Loyal's words were buried in the sudden sound of sirens. There was an enemy attack!

—

Anyone who dares to launch a terrorist attack at such a banquet must either be really strong or have a really "strong" mind.

Arya hoped that the person who came would be the former, so that she could have some fun in this boring party. Loyal saw the expression on Arya's face suddenly become very excited when he heard the siren, and he silently lit a candle for the intruder in his heart.

The two quickly rushed back to the banquet hall, where the admiral was sitting, and the intruders were not stupid enough to break in directly. Arya heard that the intruders were at the back of the banquet hall, and they seemed to be approaching the housing area at the back. After receiving permission to enter, Arya immediately took Loyal to chase the group of intruders.

As they passed through the corridor, a strong wind suddenly hit them from behind. Arya reacted quickly and immediately reached out to pull Loyal. As a result, because she was not used to high heels, her inertia caused her and Loyal to fall together.

"Ah!" A bullet flew past Arya's face, and she and Loyal collided so hard that their lips were broken.

The soft touch of her lips and the fishy-sweet taste made Arya shake her head. It seemed as if someone was shouting something angrily in her ears. When she came back to her senses, all she could see was Loyal, who was staring at her with a red face.

Bullets rained down on them, and Loyal rolled behind the pillars with Arya in his arms.

"They used seastone bullets. It seems that these people have some brains." Arya touched her scratched cheek.

"Boss, what should we do?"

"What to do? Of course it's a direct attack, and there aren't many of them." Arya pulled out a small knife from the knife holster on her thigh, "This is enough."

"Don't be impulsive. There are at least a dozen people on the other side, and they also have seastone bullets aimed at people with abilities." Loyal quickly held down Arya.

"Don't be afraid, I will protect you today." Arya raised her eyebrows, then rolled and jumped to the center of the garden.

"I'm not afraid..." Loyal stretched out his hand to grab Arya, but missed.

【No one is allowed to move】

The moment the word spirit was activated, Arya jumped onto the branch, raised the knife and easily knocked the shooter off the tree.

"Loyal, why don't you..." Arya was still waiting for Loyal to make a sound of surprise, but there was no response for a long time. She turned around and saw that Loyal was frozen in place like the assassins.

Ever since she was scolded by Kuzan for using her words too much in the graduation exam, Arya rarely used her words. Moreover, she did not want to reveal her identity as a spiritual master too much, so she began to avoid using her spiritual master in front of others, consciously or unconsciously. This caused Loyal to almost forget that Arya had such a skill, leaving him completely defenseless.

"Sorry, sorry, I accidentally injured my teammates by not controlling it properly." Arya quickly released the spirit that controlled Loyal.

"Have everything been solved?" Loyal touched his nose awkwardly.

"No... there are still a few who escaped." Arya frowned. Although she did not use all her strength, there were still a few who were able to escape from her half-hearted words. This proved that those few guys were still Somewhat powerful.

The escaping intruder did not continue deeper into the residential area, but suddenly turned around and retreated toward the hall.

Did they get what they wanted? Is it possible that there are still intruders that have been missed? Arya moved her ears again to confirm that there were really no other intruders.

"Where did you run away?" Loyal frowned.

"Ballroom."

"General Aokiji is over there, should we go to the residential area to check?"

"Is there anything special at your place?"

After thinking for a moment, Loyal said, "Probably not, but I don't usually live here, and I don't know much about it."

"Then let's just go after those people." Arya's eyes suddenly became fierce. "Let them escape from my hands. If this word spreads, I will not be trained to death by Kizaru." Ah, so I must kill them tonight and silence them!"

"Wait..." Loyal failed to stop Arya again.

The atmosphere in the banquet hall became a little tense because of the intruder, but because Kuzan was there and the intruder did not attack the hall directly, everyone was not too panicked.

Kuzan took a glass of red wine and swung it leisurely to the window, and couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly. That Arya guy actually let a few of them escape. It seems that Porusalino's training is not enough. Kuzan thought about how to remind Porusalino quietly without being noticed by Arya.

The intruder quietly climbed into the second-floor window of the banquet hall and tried to escape through the banquet hall and out the door. Kuzan watched boredly as they carefully hid. When they hid behind the pillar, Kuzan had seen enough of the excitement. He sighed and raised a finger, intending to freeze them and end the farce. But the next second Arya jumped in aggressively, holding a dagger and directly chopped down the few intruders who were still hiding.

The guests on the first floor exclaimed and scattered in all directions. A cold light suddenly flashed among the fleeing crowd, and a dagger was shot at Arya silently. Arya, who had always had unusually sensitive ears, was not aware of it.

Kuzan raised his eyelids, his eyes suddenly becoming sharp.

"Huh?" Arya turned around and saw a wall of ice suddenly rising behind her, blocking a dagger. She subconsciously looked over to Kuzan, and happened to see Kuzan gesturing towards her, his narrow eyes full of ridicule. Arya became furious and crushed the dagger with her bare hands.

Kuzan pointed to the first floor, indicating that Arya was getting down to business.

Only then did Arya realize that something was wrong. She had not heard the sound of the dagger at all, and she did not hear an intruder in the voices of the guests on the first floor. This was the first time she had encountered this situation.

Unable to hear the hidden intruder, Arya could only look at the crowd and listen for sounds, searching for the person by elimination.

A man in the crowd suddenly raised his head and met Arya's eyes.

it's him!

Arya climbed over the railing on the second floor and jumped directly to the first floor. The man turned around and ran away. Arya drew out her knife, and the crowd automatically parted a path.

Although Arya couldn't hear the man's voice, fortunately, the man didn't run too far and was always within Arya's field of vision.

Just when Arya was about to catch up, the man suddenly turned around and punched Arya. Arya quickly stepped back to hide, but she was still knocked away.

Arya got up in confusion. She was sure that she had just dodged the punch, but why was she still hit?

Arya couldn't help thinking about the situation, because the intruder was about to escape from the manor! In desperation, Arya threw the knife in her hand, and the strong wind flew through the air, making a sharp friction sound. But the intruder continued to run forward as if he hadn't heard. Just when Arya was about to throw the knife, the knife suddenly bounced away from something.

In a daze, Arya heard that there seemed to be a layer of "qi" wrapped around the man. She couldn't hear the man's voice at all before, but now the layer of "qi" was disrupted, so Arya could hear it. She took a deep breath, imitating the sound of "qi", and threw a knife again.

This time the knife hit the intruder's calf accurately, pinning him firmly to the ground.

Loyal came later and led the navy to tie up all the intruders. The banquet was finally over.

—

"Good morning." Iska patted Arya who was dazed in front of the office door, "What are you doing standing here? Why don't you go in?"

"Please open this door for me." Arya took a big step back.

"Is this door like this?" Iska pulled the door handle unsuspectingly, and the next second she was buried in a stream of gifts.

"Oh~ It's so annoying." Arya sighed deeply.

Iska finally climbed out after exerting all his strength: "What's going on with you? Even if you were popular before, you weren't so exaggerated, right?"

Since the assassination incident at the last banquet, Arya's popularity can be said to have increased exponentially. Every morning when the office door opens, it is like this. Arya also has to deal with this pile of things before Kizaru comes, otherwise Kizaru will say a lot of weird things.

"It's so scary~ The enthusiasm of young people~" Kizaru's unique long voice sounded from behind.

The shock sent shivers down Arya's spine, and Iska disappeared in an instant.

"I'll finish it right away!"

Kizaru took a long step forward, and a flash of light flashed across. He was already sitting firmly on the office chair, dragging his chin to watch Arya busy with interest.

It took Arya more than an hour to finally clean it up. When she was lying on the table tiredly, Kizaru suddenly said: "Did Loyal give you a gift?"

"Why did you suddenly mention him?" Arya was completely confused. "Why did he give me a gift?"

"Nothing~" Kizaru looked at her with a smile.

Arya felt a chill and moved away silently: "Loyal didn't give me a gift, but he made an appointment with me to play tomorrow."

"Going to the summer festival?"

"Yes."

"Just you two?" Kizaru's smile deepened.

"No, there are also some friends from the same period as us, Iska, Amon, etc."

"Oh~" Kizaru pushed up his glasses, "Young man is really unruly~"

"What?" Arya narrowed her eyes in disgust.

Kizaru picked up the tea cup and took a sip, and said slowly: "I heard that during the last banquet incident, you let a few intruders escape? And then you were almost successfully attacked by someone?"

Arya suddenly broke out in cold sweat: "Ah...yes...yes, yes..."

"Do you know about domineering entanglement?"

Arya nodded obediently: "I heard what Kuzan said."

"Then let's practice more from this afternoon~" Kizaru smiled and said very cruel words.

—

"What are you dressing up like?" Iska looked at Arya and Loyal who were still wearing navy uniforms with disgust.

"I have been working overtime until now, and I finally found time to play with you. How can I still find time to change clothes?" Arya showed a bitter and resentful expression.

"What about you, Loyal? Are you working overtime too?"

"I'm Arya's subordinate now, and my boss works overtime. Do you think I can stop working overtime?" Loyal glanced at Amon, who was also Arya's subordinate, guiltily. In fact, he didn't change clothes for selfish reasons. of. Among the pile of bathrobes, his and Arya's navy uniforms looked particularly different.

Celebrations naturally involve all kinds of delicious food, which is the biggest reason why Arya would rather cut off her handwriting to find time to participate.

Watching Arya eat from the street to the end of the street, and then from the end of the street to the street, this shocked the friends who were traveling with her. Except for Iska, Loyal, and Amon, everyone else's impression of Arya is that Arya doesn't like eating very much, because she has rarely seen Arya in the cafeteria during training on the desert island, and she I have always been thin and small.

Arya felt that the funniest rumor she had ever heard was that she didn't like to eat. In fact, her appetite was similar to that of her brothers, but she was often bullied by Ace and the others when she was a child because she ate slowly.

The group of people wandered slowly along with the crowd to a bustling area. The boys accompanying them all showed unexplained smiles, looking eager to try.

Arya raised her head and glanced at the sign on the block. Good guy, the sign said "Kabukicho Ichiban Street".

"Let's go, let me see this city that never sleeps." Arya raised her foot and was about to enter.

She was so frightened that Loyal quickly stopped her: "Wait a minute! What kind of custom shop are you going to underage?"

"Who said I was going? Are there only custom shops in this city that never sleeps?" Arya said in a teasing tone, "Do you often go to custom shops, Colonel Loyal?"

"How is that possible!" Loyal was so anxious that his neck turned red.

"Stop making noises, we adults are going to do some adult activities."

In the blink of an eye, Loyal was left standing at the street corner holding Arya, and even Iska followed.

Arya looked unhappy, and Loyal sighed: "If General Kuzan finds out that you went to Kabukicho..."

"Hmph..." Arya tilted her head to the side stubbornly.

"Okay, I found a very interesting place before. Do you want to go?" Loyal coaxed softly.

"If you treat me to some ice cream, I'll go with you." Arya quickly found a place to go down the stairs.

Loyal led Arya to a small courtyard by the sea in a zigzag manner, and then climbed in with familiarity.

"Is it really okay for you to break into a house in a navy uniform?" Arya looked around cautiously.

"This is my house." Loyal said helplessly.

"I feel more and more that Bai has known you for more than ten years." Arya climbed in with a slight jump. "If this is your house, why do we have to climb over the wall to get in?"

"Because I didn't bring the key." Loyal said confidently.

"I'm convinced, then what are we doing here? It looks like there's nothing." Arya looked into the room. It was obviously a rough room.

"You'll find out later." Loyal sat under the eaves and patted the seat next to him to signal Arya to sit down.

The two of them sat and waited quietly, Arya looking at the sky in a daze, and Loyal looking at her in a daze.

Arya suddenly remembered Granny's teachings: "Little Arya, you must respect other people's thoughts and respond to them openly. Even if you don't like them, you must refuse them outright, otherwise it will be irresponsible."

In fact, she is not so naive that she cannot understand Loyal's thoughts, but she has been pretending not to know. Because of Granny's guidance, she always rejected those suitors simply and clearly. But Loyal is different. Loyal is one of the few friends she has had since childhood. She is afraid that if she exposes all this, she will never be friends with Loyal again. She has no way to respond to Loyal. My feelings, so I can only escape.

A "bang" interrupted Arya's thoughts, and countless gorgeous light spots exploded in the dark night, igniting the entire sky.

"Wow!" Arya stood up excitedly. The small courtyard that Loyal brought her to turned out to be the best viewing spot, where she could enjoy the fireworks without any obstruction.

Loyal watched the fireworks for a while, then turned to look at Arya beside him. The gorgeous fireworks were reflected in the girl's ink-like eyes, as bright as stars.

"It's so beautiful..." Loyal's low sigh was buried in the sound of fireworks.

Arya suddenly turned her head, and met Loyal's gaze before he could take it back. There were indescribable emotions in her bright eyes. The distance between the two was extremely close. Arya pursed her lips slightly, just biting the wound that had been opened a few days ago, and the atmosphere suddenly became very ambiguous.

"Loyal, are you..." Arya started hesitantly.

Loyal's heart was beating wildly, and the words of confession were already on his lips.

But Arya stared into Loyal's eyes and never said the next sentence. After staring at each other in a stalemate, Arya finally turned her head and said in a haha, "Did you forget to buy ice cream?"

The friendship she couldn't part with, the rejection she couldn't express, the love she couldn't return, Arya ran away in her heart.