âHey, by the way⊠Did you see Ivory at all? Like, in the city, or something?âÂ
The question pops into existence as soon as it forms in my head â I was ready to face anything, bouncing off the walls â energy sparked and spirits lifted via the newfound positivity of Usopp joining usâ
Sorry, wait. Not Usopp:Â
Sniper King.
Banking on the good vibes that were flowing, whilst simultaneously trying not to be too ambitious (and failing), itâs difficult to manage the conflict of exhaustion and vigor. Both are at war in my physical and mental being. âH-Heâs been lost for a while, and I just⊠Iâm really worried.âÂ
Sanji looks at me in surprise, and thereâs a concerning glint of confusion that passes over his gaze. Like a flower deprived of its nutrients, I feel myself droop.Â
âCanât say I have, no. Iâm sorry.â Shaking his head pitifully, he offers a hand so that I can easily step along the slickened metal tiles beneath our feet. âBut Iâm sure heâll show up at some point. That felineâs a lot stronger than he looksâŠâÂ
Lifting my weary gaze from Sanjiâs sympathetic expression, Iâm not exactly sure on how to respond. I knew that the chance was unlikely⊠Didnât make it any easier to swallow. I was really hoping that at least one person out of our six-man crew wouldâve spotted him. âI mean⊠I guess no news is probably good news. Right? Heâs⊠Probably okay.âÂ
Behind my back, Sniper King freezes on the spot. Having been softly singing his theme song to nobody aside from himself, itâs as if heâs been slowed by Foxyâs slow-mo-photons; rigid, barring himself from movement mid-step. After all, he had completely forgotten about that little detail given everything that has been going onâŠÂ
Yâknow, that little tidbit about how Ivory was on the Going Merry â and how the Going Merry was likely at the bottom of the damn ocean.Â
Clearly, this is a whole new dilemma. Does he say something? Does he not?Â
Usopp, donned in his disguise, sweats beneath the mask in trepidation. Would he face further ridicule if he admitted what had happened? Would it just give you another reason to hate him more, given that he hadnât told you sooner? It took a lot of courage to put on the mask in order to face you and Sanji after all that stuff heâd said, even if it was for the right cause.Â
Heâs not sure what to do. He didnât mean to lose the kitten, it had just sort of happened.Â
Even so, this was Ivory, and Ivory was basically your babyâ
âAlright, Shrimp⊠There's something I gotta tell you.âÂ
Not to worry. The truth would come to light one way or another.Â
Grave-faced â once again forced to speak in place of the sniper whoâd been too cowardly to do so â Franky steps forwards.Â
âBut full-warning here, alright? Cusâ itâs nothinâ good.â Â
â
âItâs not possible to board the Puffing Tom while itâs running.âÂ
You can practically taste it in the air like⊠Sour, and acrid; A bouquet such as that of rotting fruit.
Dissatisfaction.Â
And in this stupid, stuffy train cart, Rob Lucciâs disapproval is palpable.
âIf there really is an intruder, it means that we let him come on board when we departed.â Calm as he may sound to the untrained ear, everyone in the vicinity was aware of their leader's sudden discomposure â subtle, but dangerous, just like the beast shrouded beneath his skin. âWhat an embarrassment."
Resisting the urge to shudder, barring any sign of weakness, Rachel notes the harsh undertone laced through Lucciâs words. He wasnât happy â then again, he never was easy to please.Â
All other members of CP9 stared down at the floorboards without a word, none daring to speak. It wasnât easy to meet their leader's eye whenever heâd donned this worsened mood. Plus, this mission had been tedious enough with the many years wasted on Water 7, disguised as common-man â now this? How had this slipped by them? As much as she disliked the tenacious aura clouding her senses, she understood where he was coming from.Â
Not like it mattered, of course. Rachel fully expected the blame to be placed on her shoulders.Â
âI agree sir, itâs inexcusable.âÂ
The same government official hosting their departure to Enies Lobby stood in front of CP9âs leader, knees threatening to buckle while he kisses-ass. Rachel wants to scoff, biting down on her own teeth and breathing steadily through her nose, glaring at the rugged man. Served him right to be afraid. She could smell his cowardice; a whiff, smothered by Lucciâs malice.Â
Most of these men werenât worth their salt â All that brawn and bravery displayed and flaunted to those of lesser positions â broken down in seconds when faced with a real government threat. They were just a facade for the secrets that unfolded behind the scenes⊠A placeholder so nobody discovered what was actually at play, and they didnât even realize it themselves. Yet, here she was, working for them.Â
It was both infuriating and laughable. After everything sheâd suffered to get here â rigorous training to fight, to lie, to act, to endure â forced to squeeze out from the inside the government's clenched-fist â Rachel would never get the chance to escape all these carbon-copied goons who valued themselves higher than anything else in the world. Maybe even the world itself, and not a single one of them was deserving of it.Â
No, not working for them. Her throat dries in remembrance. She was one of them. There wasnât much of a difference anymore.Â
âBut, if you canât get on while the train is moving, then you canât get off, either.â Monotonous as a machine, Lucci looks on the brighter side of things. âThat means the intruder, as well as the missing criminals, are certainly still on this sea train. Keep calm and look for them.âÂ
Missing criminals. Rachel withholds the snarl that rolls up her throat, knocking at the back of her teeth. Nose wrinkling, her eyes trace after the grungy official who finally takes his leave. That meant it was only a matter of time beforeâ
âDid I not warn you that your carelessness would result in this kind of error?âÂ
There it was⊠The scolding that awaited her supposed mistakes.Â
Sensing his eyes probing into the side of her face, Rachel Wieser never returns Rob Lucciâs relentless stare. The scalding heat of embarrassment burns in the pit of her belly, chest tense as the woman resists the urge to turn further away in order to hide her shame.Â
Why did he always look at her like that?Â
Lucci wound up being correct, as per usual; keeping you with those two mongrels in the latter train carts was a bad move, and they were paying for it now. Apparently, you had escaped alongside them.Â
Fucking brat⊠There would be hell to pay once Rachel got her hands on you again.Â
âIâll let it slide, for now. We will let the trainee handle it in the meantime. If he fails, weâll know he wasnât suited for his role.â At the lack of response, Lucci continues, altogether disinterested as his sights part from her face. âHowever, I expect you to deal with it if he fails. Make use of yourself and improve upon your mistakes. Properly, this time.âÂ
Thereâs a warning there, hidden between all his fancy words and husky baritone. Obey the order.Â
Rachel doesnât bother trying to defend herself.Â
Degraded time and time again by the manâs words, and he would never know how harshly it always affected her. She was too well-trained to display her emotions as anything other than calm, cool and collected, like a well-bred showdog. Inwardly, her heart was screaming in frustration. Nothing would ever be enough for him, would it? There was always something wrong with her⊠The ceaseless nitpicking had grown exhausting. The woman was tired of always being so useless to him. One day, all Rachel wanted was for him to look at her without that constant gleam of hatred in those steely blues, ever-present and ruthless.
Tears pricked, and eyes burned. Her eyes donât stray from the watery trails that trickle down the nearest window, pretending that the lines cascading down the glass are the tears sheâs unable to shed. If the woman cried now, it would only make everything worse;Â
Because, in the end, that man would never, ever care enough to wipe them away.Â
â
He was dead.Â
Dumped straight into the merciless ocean, boarded on a boat that had lasted far beyond its expiration date, there was no other way to cut it⊠Ivory was gone. Departed. Deceased.
Boats werenât meant to travel during Aqua Lagunaâs torrential massacre. The Going Merry, no matter how strongly she mightâve managed to keep herself in one piece, was practically set out on a silver platter for the storm. And my kitty had been on board all the while, with no one there to help himâ Nobody could save him from his watery grave in the cold, grueling end.Â
And now⊠He was dead.
Slumped over Frankyâs broad shoulder, I feel his large hand â complete with a palm akin to that of a bears-paw â pat against my back, about as consoling as it is awkward. Iâm sure the man hadnât expected to be in this position; soothing the mopey, wholly-depressed seventeen-year-old girl who heâd, until just recently, claimed to be his enemy. Granted, his comfortability wasnât exactly at the forefront of my mind, right now. I wasnât completely certain on how Iâd gotten into this position in the first place.Â
Weâve been going through the motions of forming a game plan, trudging along the tops of the train carts. I say âweâ lightly, though. Most of the time Iâve just been crying, sniffling into Frankyâs overly colorful tropical t-shirt whilst the men discuss our next steps; Luring the marines towards the last two capsules of the sea-train, before detaching said capsules and eliminating a fair amount of their forces from the picture. This in mind, our chances in finding Robin and saving her might be slightly easier.Â
I, being completely oblivious to everything occurring, had no idea how weâd do this. Honestly, I was ready to give up on everything and just jump into the ocean. Maybe then I could find my kitty.Â
IvoryâŠ
Another hiccup, and the cyborg sighs.Â
âSorry, ShrimpâŠâ Franky laments having to bear the truth, knowing that youâre being torn up on the inside given your onslaught of emotion. Almost as soon as heâd told you about that old ship being dropped into the gnashing teeth of Aqua Laguna, the waterworks came pouring out like no tomorrow. âBut, I canât see there being any way that cat survived.â
Immediately your shoulders tremble, and Franky can feel your fingers twist his shirt into damp fistfulls of cloth. Whoops.Â
âAh, crap⊠My bad. That probably wasnât the best way to say that, huh?â
Defensive of your emotional turmoil â renounced from his position of âprotectorâ â the chef whips around with a fire in his eyes, the lit-end of his cigarette searing with ruby-red embers. âQuit rubbing it in, you big moron! Donât make her more upset than she already is!â
Regarding his strange sentiment, Franky feels his guard raise in return â the cyborg did feel bad, but he didnât have much experience in the field of comforting extra-sensitive teenage girls.Â
âHey, cut me some slack hereâ Iâm just tellinâ it as it is! Whaddya want me to do? Lie and pretend it didnât happen so she can just find out the truth later?! That would be super rude of me, eyebrows-bro!âÂ
Usopp was quiet throughout the majority of my mourning. Nevertheless, when he did speak, he stayed in character. Not once had he relayed an apology, and the grief of loss was masked by⊠Well, a mask.Â
His guilt was deafening, and he permitted it to keep screaming â A worthy punishment made in accordance to his flaws.Â
âIt should be me comforting her, not you!â Currently sobbing on his knees, Sanji wails into the sky in a full-blow âwhy cruel worldâ pose, ever so intense in all matters regarding the female members of the crew. âHow could my angel choose you over me?!âÂ
Put-off by the odd display (Like⊠Angel? Werenât you Straw Hatâs soulmate?) the cyborg doesnât obscure his confusion. What was with this chef-guy and his obsession with women? Franky would never object to a woman's company if given the opportunity⊠However, this guy? He took it to a whole other level entirely.Â
âIt shouldâve been me!â
âWhateverâŠâ Huffing exasperatedly, Franky hops over to the next train cart. Grumbling under his breath, his discomfort is blatant. âListen, not that Iâm blaminâ you for being upset or anything, and Iâm not rushinâ you either, but how much longer you think youâre gonna cry? I didnât sign up to help you guys just to act as some kinda chauffeur.âÂ
Remaining unresponsive for a moment â my dread dog-piled by disgrace, soul shriveling into a raisin â I know that I canât stay this way forever, as much as I want to wallow in my own self-pity, or succumb to emptiness.Â
Honestly, it was probably fair that he asked. I wasnât even sure how long weâd been traveling like this⊠Though, It wasnât like I was ungrateful to the man. It was just⊠Mind-boggling, and thatâs on top of all the other bullshit from today. I mean, if we havenât gotten past the whole âenemiesâ thing at this point, I would be shocked. Not once⊠Not twice⊠Yet three times I had cried in front of Franky (in the last twelve hours, no less) and each time heâd been immensely supportive in spite of us being complete strangers/lowkey enemies.
At the time, given my options â Sanji, who was a tad overzealous in his excitement to comfort me, and Usopp, who barely glanced in my direction â I guess it wasnât that strange to seek out the cyborg instead. Like I said, heâd been the most affirmative, considerate person after the multitude of hardships⊠Maybe in my soulless, incomprehensible state, I just sought him out without really thinking about it. Who can say? I wasnât really all there.
âMâsorryâŠâ With a low croak, I pull away from Frankyâs shoulder. Given his gargantuan frame, Iâd been sitting side-saddle on a barreled-bicep, hugging around his neck. âI just⊠I canâtâ I-I canât believe heâs goneâŠâÂ
Inconsolable â hiccupping yet again as Iâm lowered back to the ground â my throat tightens, nose blocked up with ever-driveling snot.Â
Lightning ka-racks into existence somewhere far off. Itâs muffled. The rain pelts my skin, and it translates as nothing more than a prickle. Ivory was out in this? All by himself, on a sinking ship?Â
I donât want to move. I donât want to do any of this anymore.Â
âAnd I⊠I-I didnâtâ I didnât even get to say goodbye.â Breathing shallow, voice quaking, I canât sense the cold, although my fingers are shaking uncontrollably. A forlorn wail surfaces, âHe mustâve beenâ He was probably so scaredââ
âAwe, câmon!â And Franky grimaces, lips downturned in shared sorrow â though he sounds enraged. âIf you keep cryinâ like that, youâre gonna make me cryâ We donât have time for that right now!âÂ
Despite his claims, the manâs voice strains â choked out like the muscles in his neck have bunched together, sticky, so the words click at the end of his sentence.Â
âYou didnât have anything to do with it, anywaysâ None of what happened is your fault. Nothinâ you couldâve done about it, alright?âÂ
âI-I know, butââ I shakily swipe tears from my soaked face, riddled with rain water and salt. Every cell in my body swarmed behind my eyes, fueling utter despair. âHe was just so little⊠Nâ we only just got himâ A-And for⊠For him to just die like thatââÂ
âArgh, okay, I get itâ Quit it already!âÂ
Unable to resist the influence of your heartache, what follows is a watery distress; Frankyâs tears flow like rivers from his shades, all wobbly lips and heartbreak.Â
âDo you like torturing yourself or something?! This is too sadâ I just canât stand it! Poor little kitty, all alone and helplessââÂ
Next, heâs drawn me into another hug, against my volition this time. Dwarfed by gargantuan limbs, cradled to his hairy chest, it felt like being swaddled by a mammoth. Infantile in my emotions, tears well up once again. Before I know it, both of us have taken up the crying-session.Â
â...What a strange development!â Usoâ I mean, Sniper King observes, his voice a replication of All Mightâs from My Hero Academia; Heroic and brazen.Â
Meanwhile, Sanji beats against the tin roof with his fist, agonized over the current happenings.Â
âAnywaysâŠâ With a comically high-pitch, Franky sounds nothing like himself as he whimpers the words, parting ways whilst his fingers pinch at the bridge of his nose. âYou gotta pull it together, Shrimp. Weâ We canât be getting hung up on stuff like this! Otherwise weâre never going to be able to focus on saving Nico Robin⊠Mourning that cute little fluff-ball is gonna have to wait!âÂ
The cyborg clearly canât follow his own advice â Itâs in the way his shoulders tuck inwards, brooding whilst resisting the sob that builds, expanding in his chest.Â
âShe has to pull herself together?! Youâre the one who sucks at comforting people!â Shouts Sanji, burning with hellsâ fury.Â
Bottom lip trembling, I clench my eyes shut, and take a deep, stuttering breath. My lungs ache after crying over the extended period, focusing on the fading warmth of my tears, progressively cooling as they combine with the raindrops that already soak my skin.Â
Itâs cold, and wet, just like the ice melting painfully inside of my chest cavity. Just like Ivory mustâve been when heâ WhenâŠ
Moving on felt impossible, stewed in regret and despair. I knew this would happen. I knew it⊠Iâd been worrying about it since the moment heâd gone missing â That made the pain so much worse, having tried to prevent it and failing to do so.Â
Failure after failure today. Now⊠Now I don't have a cat anymore�
Pathetically, I wrap my arms around my torso, and shudder. I want Luffy. Where was Luffy?Â
A large hand blankets my shoulders, shielding against the downpour that pierces the epidermis. âCâmon, Shrimp. We still have a ways to go.âÂ
Nodding, languishing in the hollowness deep inside, the void eats and eats â gnawing at my very cells, nibbling on the tissue, swallowing up my organs â licking its lips in satisfaction.
Iâm tired.
Blow after blow â Knockout after knockout â just one thing after another, and another, and anotherâ
It was getting more and more difficult to keep up. How did I even have more tears for this? How was I even still walking?
I know why. It feels like Iâm walking outside of my own body; like every time I take a step forward, my soul lags behind, mimicking the exact movements⊠Only half a second after itâs been performed. There was no direct control, something ingrained. Instincts took the reins, practiced from day-to-day habits. Autopilot.Â
No. More like dissociation.Â
It didnât happen often. Or⊠Maybe it did. When has this happened before? The first few steps have me questioning where we even were for a moment, so remembering anything else trivial wasnât on the cards; There was only Ivory, and all the various depictions of his ultimate demise⊠Scrambling at the wood as it broke beneath him⊠Yowling in terror as his whole world fell apart⊠Little limbs flailing in the water, and thenâÂ
When was the last time I saw him? A day ago? More than that?Â
How much time had I spent with him then?Â
I donât know. When was the last time? Before Iâd gone up to the roof with the others that night, with Luffy. It wasnât intentional. I just kept getting dragged away, for this reason or that⊠Iâd barely seen him, and nowâŠ
Had he missed me while I was gone for so long? Was that why heâd ran away in the first place?Â
Those emerald eyes that lit up whenever I entered the room, expecting food, or scratches, or maybe even someone to play with⊠Everyone else had bonded with him, sure, yet Ivoryâs care had fallen under my responsibilities, as I was the one who wanted him to join the crew in the first place.Â
He was⊠My baby. We ate together, slept together â I spent almost every waking moment with him following me around â a flitting, white shadow. The kitten may have been growing more and more independent as he got older, mischievous enough to scope out other places in the ship, but he always came back to one person at the end of the day. Me.Â
Late nights when Iâd wake up from vicious nightmares, only to find Ivory, curled into my side as a purring, furry bundle of warmth â That mounting playfulness that showed clearer and clearer each day, forming a little menace whoâd been closer and closer to stealing Luffyâs food on multiple occasions â Ivory couldâve been so much more. He was still young, figuring out his path. Now all of that potential, just⊠Subjected to an abrupt end?Â
I shouldâve taken better care of him. Maybe I should never have brought Ivory aboard in the first place. I shouldâve left him on that island, far away from all this⊠From me. He couldâve lived his life to the fullest, probably.Â
But⊠I tried.
This wasnât fair.Â
âAlright, donât go all quiet on me, Shrimp.â A slight nudge to the side nearly sends me stumbling off the side of the train, like being dragged from the daze by the scruff of my neck, flailing to keep steady. The cyborg has enough goodness to save me from my aquaphobic-fears (something I myself am late to realize), snatching up an arm and steeling me into an upright position without any struggle.Â
âYou feelinâ better yet, or what?âÂ
I blink. An irritating sensation; My eyes had been rubbed raw.Â
Feeling better?Â
âŠHow do I even feel right now?Â
âIâŠâ Whimpering hoarsely, I stare at the connection between us with uncertainty.Â
Thereâs no effective way to manage the freshly-mounting sadness â eventually, I find my response.Â
âN-No⊠I donât⊠Think so.â Frowning doesnât hold the tears at bay.Â
Humming thoughtfully, Franky gives another purposeful nudge, and weâre tracing the others footsteps soon after. Heâs taken up the role of mentor this time. Or, maybe therapist is a better title.Â
âYeah, I get it. It ainât easy to brush off something like that. Youâd have to be one cold-hearted monster to not be upset.â
The storm canât smother out Frankyâs booming syllables. The vibration of his voice alone causes the mottled rain to shy away â tone wisened for someone who was typically so unabashed.Â
âProcessing these things takes time.â The Cyborg says, matter of fact⊠Heâs not wrong, either. âAnd I get how you feel, believe me. You canât rush mourning, but if you really wanna save your friend, then you gotta find a way to push through that pain.â
I canât muster a response.Â
A twinge of disdain comes in tandem whilst swallowing down the spiny, indisputable truth in his spoken words. What else could be warranted, other than despondency?Â
Sluggish, feet dragging at the metal beneath as if encased in slime, we kept a fair distance from the two men ahead. I didnât want to listen to him, or anybody, for that matter.Â
â...None of this is fair.â
ââCourse itâs not fair.âÂ
I flinch. Had I spoken that out loud?
âBut thatâs just the way things are. Gotta deal with it one way or another.âÂ
Like water off a duckâs back. Was it that easy?Â
As infuriated as I couldâve been by the circumstance, his detachment was somewhat groundingâÂ
âIf you let all of this drag you down, you wonât be able to help anyone right now.âÂ
âAnd the basis of logic is often stronger than the fickle nature of emotion.Â
I canât see his face, too focused on the droplets that splatter across the ground before us, blurring the soldered lines between metal plating. Gloom shields our footfalls from view, unless a spare strike of lightning chooses to make an appearance â the static allows for solid reasoning, thinking over the words with absurd, unforeseen clarity.Â
A divide approaches, the separated cars held together by a single, thick cable. The only thing below was the tracks, and then the raging ocean. Falling into the wide crevice would ensure grave injury, if not death.Â
With a grunt, Franky steps forward. He clears the gap easily, and Iâm impressed that he managed to keep his balance with such a hulking figure. Expecting him to rely on my own ability to cross the crevice, my knees wobble, gradually increasing my awareness of our surroundings as I draw from my grim headspace.Â
The train rattles at the racing speed, wheels clattering and squealing against the squirming rails. I canât bring myself an inch closer, fearful that simply approaching the edge would warrant me to slip and plunge to my eternal doom. As the shivering in my fingers transitions to uncontrollable quaking, Franky thrusts a hand forward.Â
A pause. I stare at his hand, perplexed, flickering my sights back to his face. Â
The older man doesnât move, he doesnât say anything. His facial expression never changes, either. Stoic⊠Unbothered.Â
Thereâs no expectation, no hardened lines of hot-tempered intolerance, not even when I take my time beyond whatâs typically labeled as a moment far too long. The cyborg is offering. Heâs offering help, without any expectation of something in return, Thatâs what heâs been doing this entire time.Â
You canât rush mourning.Â
All you could do was try to push through it.Â
Taking his open hand, it envelopes mine easily. Suddenly his touch feels more there, lukewarm and jarring. His skin is strange, a cross between soft flesh and solid steel, like the layer just beneath his skin was composed of metal; Soft, yet unyielding.Â
Maybe I could just⊠Put it on hold, sorta. For Robin, if no one else.
Hopping over the gap in better confidence, we continue onwards. The movement of my limbs still feels alien, thoughts suspended in an emptiness born upon lack of sensation. However, each step forward ignites synapses like a chain reaction. Starting from each individual toe, seeping into my heel, up my calf, into my knees â and with the awakening comes lucidity.Â
That being said, it required effort to do as Franky suggested. Ivory was my biggest heartbreak yet since my introduction to this world, and my brain was constantly looping back to the sorest of subjects whether I tried actively ignoring them or not⊠Maybe the thoughts were meant to resurface. Sorrow was natural, wasnât it? And completely ignoring a loss didnât make it go away, just like the cyborg had said.Â
You had to deal with it, regardless of the circumstance at hand; Otherwise you would never be able to move on.Â
â...Youâre nicer than I thought youâd be.âÂ
It slips from my lips unknowingly, and I only register that fact when he shares a disgruntled, âHah?â
Ah, fuck.Â
âWhat the hellâs that sâposed to mean?! Are you sayinâ Iâm a bad guy?!âÂ
âI-I didnât mean itâ I mean, Iâ Uh, not like that,â Recognizing that the statement had come out much more rude than I would normally allow, I back-track â stammering out apologies, embarrassment heating my nape. âJustâ Youâre a lot different than you were earlier⊠When you fought Luffy andâ Well, yâknowâŠâ
âOh, yeah. Canât believe I almost forgot about that.â There isnât a trace of leftover offense. In fact, the man seems rather appeased in a span of seconds. âMakes sense from that perspective, I guess⊠I can get really pent up, sometimes it makes me go nuts.â
â...Yeah.â How was I supposed to reply to that?Â
âWell, no sweat. Sorry about all that. Shouldnât happen again, unless you guys destroy my house or somethin.ââ Chuckling, Franky grins down at me like the Cheshire cat, and I puff a laugh of my own. It shouldnât have been funny, although the way he was going about the aftermath left me at odds with myself.Â
Still⊠With all that had transpired, Luffy probably wouldâve laughed, too.Â
âI think Luffy would like you.â Somewhat smiling, I canât hold his gaze as I think back to my soulmate â imagining the way he wouldâve clutched his stomach, cackling loudly at Frankyâs antics. âWellâ Uh, if you hadnât tried to kill him earlier, I mean.âÂ
The cyborg seems floored by this admittance.Â
âReally? Thatâs⊠Surprising.â Head tilted towards the sky in ponderance, Franky considers this for a moment. âEarlier he wanted to start scrapping right away. Kinda hard to believe heâd like me after that.âÂ
âYouâd⊠Be surprised.â Under my breath, I laugh openly â Luffyâs bright smile, always undaunted in the presence of everyone, was ever present even among his enemies. It wasnât hard to imagine somebody whoâd opted to swap sides receiving similar treatment. âHe was really upset then. I mean, so was everyoneâ But, that was because of yââÂ
A slip of the tongue, bitten off just a second too late. We were supposed to be moving past all this⊠Bringing up bad blood only served as a reminder, something I was certain neither of us wanted to relive. Inwardly, Iâm cursing myself into oblivion.Â
Franky either doesnât notice, or doesnât care enough to call me out on the mistake. Regardless, he says nothing at all.Â
âUh, wellâŠâ I swallow hard. Anxiously aiming to change the subject, the first thing related to the topic pops into mind. âI-It doesnât matterâ Luffy wound up being okay after a while, at least. Only hurt for a couple of hours, maybe?âÂ
Tilting his head back, holding his stomach, Franky leans backwards and laughs. It takes me a moment to adjust to the swift change.
âWoah, really? Was he really whining that bad about it?!â
âUm, no? He never complains.â Lowkey offended â with a little confusion sprinkled on top â I scrunch my nose in defense of the boy. My boy, for Frankyâs information. âIt bothered me more than it bothered himâŠâÂ
The man chuffs, amused by the lovey-dovey gush you were spouting. âWow, you really got the hots for this kid, huh? Must be the whole âsoulmateâ deal if Straw-Hat just being hurt is that upsetting.âÂ
âI⊠Thatâs not what Iâm saying. I mean like, literally.â Mind thoroughly boggled, I tilt my head, opening and closing my mouth a couple times. âYâknow, like⊠I can feel whatever he feels.âÂ
âYou can⊠What?âÂ
âYeah, I can feel Luffyâs pain. A-And vice versa.âÂ
Iâve taken a couple steps before noticing that Franky is suddenly gone from my side. Concerned, I swerve on my heel to see what may have gone wrong â Only to be met with Frankyâs gaping jaw, sunglasses sliding down his nose.Â
Itâs here that I realize my error.Â
âAre you serious?!âÂ
The conversation with Franky was flowing so easily, and being so disheveled, Iâd blabbed it out without much thought. The cyborg didnât actually know about the details that went into Luffy and Iâs bond⊠No wonder he was so shocked.
For so long it had been common knowledge; to me, to Luffy, to my friends⊠Iâd completely ignored the fact that Franky had no clue what I was talking about.Â
âOopsâ U-Um⊠Well, uhâŠâÂ
No going back now I guess.Â
(One explanation later, and Franky is effectively gobsmacked.)
âWait, so youâre tellinâ me that you can feel the same pain that Straw Hat feels⊠At the same time as itâs happening?!âÂ
Crossing another gap, the man stumbles from one traincart to the next, cupping his skull in dismay.Â
âNo wonder you looked all messed up during our fight! Man⊠Thatâs gotta be super rough!â Disbelief morphing to regret, the large man looks sheepish, avoiding my eyes in shame. âIâm really sorry about that. I know I was mad, but if Iâd realized that you were basically a part of the fight too, I might notâve been so rough about it.âÂ
A half shrug, and an appreciative nod. âSure, um⊠Thanks. Nâ itâs okay.â
âNot really, but whatever. So long as youâre good, Iâm good.â And he offers another hand for crossing-aid. âAnyways, is that some kinda weird soulmate thing, then?âÂ
âI mean, yeah. Pretty much.â A hoist forward, and I hold my breath as the emptiness grabs at my feet with sinister intentions. The exhale upon landing is based more on alleviation than exhaustion â though both are present in a strange, head-tingling mix. âI guess⊠You could sorta say it's one of our âabilities.ââÂ
ââAbilities?â You sayinâ thereâs more than one?â Franky doesnât miss the bunny-eared hand motion â air-quotes â but moves past it quickly. âNow that I think about it, I remember hearing that soulmates had something weird like that⊠But I always thought it was some old wivesâ tale.âÂ
âOh⊠Uh, yeah.â Those were the words that mainly composed my vocabulary at this point. Again, it would make sense for Franky not to know that soulmates have abilities â it wasnât as common here as it was there.Â
From above, Franky has been subtly discerning your changing behavior, eyes shielded by black lenses that allowed him to do so without detection. That gloomy cloud above your head wasnât completely gone⊠There was still some semblance of melancholy left, as expected. At least you followed his advice. Thatâll make everything a hell of a lot easier; For him, for the others, and for you. You could use a bit more pep, though.Â
âHey, does that mean youâll have some other ability thatâll make you feel better when Straw Hat gets here?â The cyborg tuts, frustrated at the dismal atmosphere; It was never a good attitude to have when entering the battlefield. âYouâre still making me all emotional over hereâŠâ
â...I-In a way.â Unsure on how to respond, I try to remain honest without revealing too much. This guy was so forward, he had no grace when asking those kinds of questions â then again, I mightâve been overthinking it. âIt would be⊠Nice, yâknow. I-If he was here, I mean.âÂ
âBetter be. Otherwise weâll both just be down in the dumps again.â
Silence. We let it linger, just for a minute.Â
God, Luffy. It was hitting me, dwelling on Frankyâs inquisition as it floated on the air, just how badly I wanted to see him â Way more than our phone call. If only Sanji hadnât destroyed the snail-phone.Â
Uncrossing my arms, adept fingers seek out the scrawled words, sliding my palm over them in withheld desperation. I just⊠Really wished he was here right now.Â
â...You think heâll catch up soon?âÂ
Itâs soft enough that I worry Franky wonât hear, but he does, and rumbles back with a hum of confusion.Â
âWho, Straw Hat?â He asks, though the question is clearly rhetorical. âIâm not sure. Rocket Man is fast, if thatâs how theyâre gonna try to catch-up, but weâve also got a pretty strong head-start on the Puffing Tom. Plus, theyâd have to make it through Aqua Laguna, likely at its most dangerous state. Everybody here managed to narrowly avoid that, soâŠâÂ
Another hum, this time calculating and methodical. I glance up at his face, hopeful all over again.Â
âHonestly, Iâd say itâs a fifty-fifty bet.â Shrugging, Franky approaches our two companions as I wander a few steps behind. Sanji and Usoâ no, Sniper King â are awaiting our arrival solemnly. âHe might get here in time, he might not. Tough to say, really.âÂ
I nod, even if the cyborg canât see it. Those were good odds â not just for me, but for Robin and her rescue. Better than what Iâd been dealt so far.
It was something, and thatâs what mattered. Iâd take anything that I could cling to for the time being.Â
â
Thereâs something out there.Â
Luffy realizes it with a start â chin lifting from his crossed arms, laying on his belly at the head of Rocket Man once more â dead ahead, thereâs something on the horizon.Â
His heart jumps, grinning like a mad man whoâd just won the lottery; Because itâs a train. Had they finally caught up?
âHey, guys!â Calling for his friends at the revelation, he looks back towards where Namiâs head had so often poked from the window. She wasnât there now, of course. âThereâs a train ahead of us!âÂ
They gather outside as that small spec expands into a dot â the shape spreading out into vivid colors as the second train draws closer. The captain overhears worried discussions; Someone from the Franky family mentioning that itâs only the last two train carts of the Puffing Tom (the caboose, rather than the whole train), and Chopper squeals something fretful about how something mustâve happened, convinced that you and Sanji (and Usopp) have run into trouble.Â
Itâs not the ideal scenario, so Luffy opts to do some deducing of his own. Plucking at the bond, feeling around the innate attachment that leads one half to the other, the boy comes to a stand. Not much has changed. Thereâs the slightest shift in energy thatâs struggling to stay present, slipping through his fingers, but itâs there. Maybe you were just too far away, still.Â
Time to fix that.Â
With a few carefully placed steps, hands glued to the smokestack, Luffy stretches his arms out whilst walking backwards. Chopper questions his methods, babbling in perplexity in such a way that the boy doesnât quite understand him, especially given the hurricane encompassing their surroundings.Â
âIâm gonna go check inside!â Â
He relays to the doctor. Thereâs no other form of warning, other than the exclamation of one signature move:Â
âGum-gum⊠Rocket!â
Then, heâs off.Â
You wouldnât expect someone who acts so lackadaisical in his everyday life to be so accurate in the undertaking of launching themselves across large distances. Sailing through the air, Luffy felt almost like a bird amongst the storm clouds (minus the threat of being struck by lightning). Granted, that didnât make the landing any less brutal.Â
Both train carts emanate with terrified screams as the marineâs inside suddenly spot the boy rocketing towards them. They barely see Luffyâs face up until the moment he crashes through the front door, then tumbles into the second cart, demolishing the door frames as he goes. Under the force of his landing, everyone swears they can feel the train carts move a couple inches, propelled by the velocity of the incoming figure.Â
Controlled by their nerves, every single man on board finds themselves dumbstruck â peering around their seats, leaning from their chairs â just to gape at the boy, clad in red, whoâs slumped over the remains of what was once a wooden door, his body punched through so that his rear end and legs are the only parts visible. It splinters and cracks as he shifts, whining under his breath due to the pain. Even so, this doesnât keep him from rising from the floor, taking his new accessory with him.Â
Glancing up, the throbbing of his head is forgotten in an instant. The Captain readjusts his hat to sit atop his head properly. âAlright! I got in!âÂ
His speech must break the men from their stupors, as they all startle to life at once.Â
â...Who the hell is this weirdo?!âÂ
But Luffy pays them no mind. Heâs still plucking away, still deciphering whether or not you were around. So far, it didnât feel like you were here at all. That would really suck.Â
Sulking, Luffy tries another approach, hoping maybe the bond was acting up or something.Â
âHello? (Y/n)? Sanji? Are you in here?â Cupping a hand to his mouth, the door slides down his torso as he calls out, ignoring those around him.Â
Leaning down, he mutters an additional name into the thoroughly stocked shelves.
â...Or even Usopp.âÂ
No reply. His shoulders sag, âUgh⊠Maybe over there,â and Luffy moves towards the next cart over.Â
âWait⊠I know who that is!â Whilst Luffy is trying to shove himself and the door back through its broken frame, someone inevitably recognizes him. âThatâs Straw Hat Luffy!âÂ
Not long after, thereâs a surplus of weaponry. With that comes a barrage of bullets, all of which plunge into Luffyâs resistant skin. Dozens of them pull at his flesh for a moment, only slightly encumbering his progress, though the spray of ammunition does finally release him from his wooden prison, crumbling the wood to bits through sheer firepower.Â
Luffy (frustrated and annoyed), remains undeterred. Shortly, he flings the bullets back to where they originated, bellowing out a long; âHello-o!â
Restless from their new arrivals prowess, dissuaded from attacking due to how effortlessly Luffy had refuted their attempts to seize him, the marines have clustered into a rowdy, uncollected swarm of panic. The noise is deafening, impeding on any possibility that Luffy might hear a response to his summons, if there was one.Â
âHey!â The Captain snaps, patience thinning. These guys were pissing him off. âShut up! I canât hear!âÂ
They, in fact, did not shut up.Â
Groaning, Luffyâs reached the final straw. If you or Sanji couldnât hear him, maybe these guys were keeping you somewhere else. Somewhere sound proof, maybe?Â
Thus, this writhing, terror-filled group reels backwards to flee from Luffyâs approaching, stretchy arm â One of them gets snatched up, anyways. The unfortunate man, chosen at random, is dragged forward against his will. Pulled in close, given a full view of Luffyâs disappointed scowl, the gruntâs skin is almost as white as his uniform.Â
âB-Bring it onâ Weâre not scared of you!â His faux bravery is commendable; though unsuccessful. The captain doesnât pay a shred of attention to the strangers' efforts. Not even a little bit. Heâs got more important things on his mind, and a promise to uphold if it turns out they do have you hostage.Â
âWhereâs (Y/n)?â Straight to business, as usual. âAnd Sanji, too.âÂ
âW-Wait⊠Who?â The grunt sputters under Luffyâs prying gaze, failing to comprehend the question at first. âOh⊠Sheâsâ Your soulmate! RightâŠ?âÂ
âYep!â And the captainâs mood flips into something lighthearted, smiling at the guy like it was any other day. âYâknow⊠Sheâs got (h/c) hair, (e/c) eyes, âbout this tallâŠâÂ
He straightens, jutting out a flat hand to your general height. The marine in his grasp, along with the rest of the onlookers, watch on in surprise. The swap in mood was off-putting to them.Â
âOh! And sheâs real pretty, too.â Luffy finalizes, gazing expectantly at the other. That had to be enough information, right?Â
âU-Uh⊠No, I donât think Iâve seen her at allâŠâÂ
At that, the boyâs expression drops into a scowl, and he starts to whine. âAw, man⊠Are you sure you havenât seen her at all? You guys kidnapped her or somethin,â and I want her back already!âÂ
âKidnappedâŠ? What areââ Eyes bugging like saucers, the marine finds his senses returning. âW-Waitâ What am I saying?! Of course Iâve seen her, sheâs one of our hostages!âÂ
âWhat? Oh, no. Apparently sheâs still on the train with the other escapees.âÂ
âWhat theâ Why the hellâd you say anything, then?!âÂ
âWhat do you mean?! You asked!âÂ
âYeah, but I wanted her to be here, not there!â Snarling in aggravation, Luffy tosses the marine off to the side, mood soured. The man yelps as he goes. âYouâre no help at all!âÂ
Marching through the incessant crowd â all of whom try their hardest to get Luffy pinned down (failing miserably) â the boy grumbles to himself, murmuring that this expedition was âtaking way too long,â and that âthey needed to catch-up already.âÂ
Being able to sense a mere smidge of your soul attached to his wasnât nearly enough to satisfy him. Climbing to the roof of the train to signal the lack of crewmembers and soulmate, The Captain is eager to speed things up.Â
âZoro!â
Hence why, in that split-second, Luffy chooses to call for his second hand.Â
âCut âem!â
â
Tidbit Today!
This tidbit is from one of our past event winners!! Congrats, @/An0num0us730 !
Whenever (Y/n) is searching for comfort, but Luffy is busy (doing whatever Luffy does lol), Luffy will give her his red vest to wear.
For (Y/n), having the vest is immediately soothing, given his scent and that the garb is worn almost every day.
Luffy doesnât entirely understand how it gives her comfort in this way, but can sense the calm that washes over her through their bond when he hands it over, so he just leaves it be. Plus, it lets him go back to whatever he was doing without having to worry.
(Author addition)
Luffy will also do this with his hat if he has to leave (Y/n) behind for an extended period of time. Leaving his prized position with her is an assurance more so for him than her, ensuring that a piece of him is with her at all times.Â
While (Y/n) knows how important the hat is, and is consciously aware of its meaning, having Luffyâs vest is more encompassing over her psyche (via scent, and it helps while sheâs both awake and sleeping⊠If that makes sense).Â
That was the sole thought on Luffyâs mind as he stared off into the distance, where dark skies and raging seas merged into one, as if it were painted on a flat canvas with blue stretched as far as the eye could see.
Sat at the fearsome, shark-esque figurehead of Rocket Man â a second sea-train that Monster Granny had revealed to the crew â The captain rarely took his gaze from what lay ahead. Although the scene had remained unchanged, he was hoping that if he stared long enough, this unrelenting expanse of foreboding indigo would eventually falter. From the gloom, the Puffing Tom would appear.Â
Even the tiniest spec, a mere hint that his half of the crew was gaining on the other⊠That would be more than enough to reduce the antsy jitters raking down every one of his muscles, to reduce the strain behind his eyes and the tension in his clenched jaw.Â
Still, that deep, purplish-blue hue never wavered, so Luffy was left to his contemplations â desperate to keep an eye out for anything that might approach in the meantime â unwilling to go inside with the others, too impatient to sit idly by.
How long has it been since he first came out here? Since they left? Probing the midnight air, he traced the train tracks for what mustâve been the thousandth time. The Captain had made it a habit⊠A ritual, even. Maybe if he kept tracing the path ahead of them, then the other train would eventually appear.Â
He wanted that dumb train to show up. He wanted it so bad, like a craving he couldnât satiate⊠Because Luffy could feel you, pulling him in that same direction. You were there. And so was Robin, and Sanji â Even Usopp, apparently.
To recap⊠The crew had their morals back, and that he was thankful for. Their drive had been refueled, now aware of the facts; how Robin hadnât actually betrayed them, rather, the archaeologist was aiming to sacrifice herself for her friends. The Government was behind the entire scheme, threatening him and his crewâs lives if the woman didnât comply with their demands. They didnât give her much of an option, taking full advantage of the situation. Nami took it a step further, relaying her insight and a well-thought theory on where the marines would likely be taking Robin; someplace called the âGates of Justice.â According to The Navigator, if the marines managed to get Robin to those gates, the other woman would never be seen again.Â
Despicable. Luffy detested the whole thing; coercing and intimidating one of his friends, his crewmate, to do the unthinkable. The Captain wasnât sure which was worse â The Government concocting their plans in the first place, or that Robin had felt she wasnât able to fill them in on what was happening⊠Did she think that Luffy and the crew wouldnât help her or something?Â
That aside, according to Rope-Guy (Paulie, whoâd saved the Straw Hatâs skins earlier), it was too dangerous to take a ship out on the ocean, given that Aqua Laguna would easily be able to obliterate the vessel given the opportunity. Noting the captain and crewâs determination in spite of the shipwrights warnings, Monster Granny lended a hand, as did Ice-Pops. Everyone was boarded on a secret sea-train â a mismatched gang of pirates, thugs from the Franky Family, and a handful of shipwrights â and they were all headed for Enies Lobby.Â
(That was where the Gates of Justice were located, apparently. Luffy hadnât paid much attention past what he thought were the important parts.)
Rocket Man was unstable, based on the way Ice Pops and Monster Granny had insisted on it, but Luffy didnât care much. The train was fast, and fast was exactly what they needed right now. They needed to catch up to the others as soon as possible, since it was likely that Robin wasnât the only one whose life was at stake.Â
Given that she had surmised the idea in the first place, it was Nami who came up with the secondary theory that your fate traveled alongside Robin, which was destined to end in tragedy. After all, you were one of the Government's targets â Lucci had said so himself. Regardless of the reason why, this gave all the more reason as to why it wasnât too farfetched of an idea. Assuming you would be taken to the Gates of Justice alongside the archeologist, wellâŠ
The captain bites down on his teeth, burning holes into the bruised atmosphere. All he wanted to do was slingshot himself across the ocean, to you and Robin. Logically, he couldnât do that, as much as he willfully desired it⊠The thought of his soulmate and crewmate getting taken from him, permanently, made his insides twist â the waiting was eating him alive, and he just wanted to do something â existing in the circumstances where he inarguably couldnât.Â
He blew off steam. Saving Chimney and her weird rabbit from being blown away by the wind, found to have snuck onto the sea-train for the thrill of the adventure; Zoro and himself combining their attacks into one so that the train could safely continue through a massive tsunami, threatening to drown them all and doing away with their rescue mission; Luffy was certain there would be nothing that could get in his way⊠Not to Robin, and sure as hell not to you, either.Â
The captainâs resolution is solid, heâs confident that whatever gets thrown at him, heâll do whatever it takes to fight against it⊠Behind all that, though, he canât help but feel a little nervous. Thereâs a time limit, one that hangs in the balance of this train catching-up to the one prior. Itâs only a matter of time, yet time gets away from him. It draws on, slow and excruciating. Sneaking into his psyche like ninjas, the stillness ultimately plagues the boy with questions of your safety. Luffy canât feel you â though he can get a sense of where you are â and not knowing what you might be going through is whatâs throwing him off his game. Thatâs what he believes, at least, and it only makes the most sense.Â
However, thereâs so much more to it. He doesnât want a general idea, he wants to know exactly where you are. Luffy wants to know who youâre with; If youâre with Robin, Sanji⊠He wouldnât even be mad if youâd stuck with Usopp! Then he considers you might be alone, all by yourself.Â
Frowning to himself, his imagination gets ahead of him: You, being surrounded by marine grunts. You, attempting to fight back in your own way, unable to get very far in your efforts whilst they overpower you. You, terrified as they seize and capture, holding you against your will⊠You, waiting for him.
Thereâs no sensation of you being injured, of your emotions. Nothing. Noticeably, this disturbs him. It grates on his nerves, the prospect of you being in pain, whilst he canât even feel it for himself. Although, Luffy isnât exactly sure if thatâs a good thing, or a bad thing⊠Should he suddenly sense any kind of affliction resonating from your soul and into his, who knows what the captain might resort to. With that in mind, againâ Was that happening anyways? Were you hurt right now, while he had no semblance of knowing?Â
Thereâs no sign of it on his face, yet frustration simmers in the boyâs core. This was why he hated thinking too much about any one thing, because none of this was making him feel any better. One thought led to two, two to three; an ever-lengthening chain of questions he couldnât answer, driving him to the limit. Luffy would only work himself up, and thenâ
The captain blinks, head lifting, shoulders dipped in contemplation â then, he snickers.Â
Heâs acting a lot like you, actually.Â
It amazes him how youâre able to function like this, overloaded by a brain that thinks too fast for you to fully comprehend â always so worried and anxious. Unable to remember a time where heâs ever been so afraid for your wellbeing, itâs alien to him. His carefree nature never let him linger for very long, and Luffy registers that there may have been moments in the past where heâd felt something similar⊠Small moments, if anything. Your run in with Bellamy, for instance. It hadnât necessarily scared him, not like right now. Luffy remembered being irked; slightly upset with himself, though more-so towards the other captainâs audacity to take you, knowing the sentiment and âsacredâ elements surrounding soulmates in this world. There was another time during Skypiea, where heâd reacted out of anger when youâd nearly died helping Conis; The first time he ever really considered your life to be at great risk. Then it happened again, when Eneru had attempted to kill both of you, right after youâd finally admitted to the boy that he was your dream. Youâd earnestly believed that those would be your last moments alive with Luffy, your last words spoken so soon after your first. He remembers it well, the terror in your veins brandished in his ownâŠÂ
Yet, that wasnât the right feeling either. It hadn't felt like it did currently; Doesnât align in all the same ways.
The captain surmises that this occasion is most similar to when the bridge collapsed in that fortress a while back. Heâd been the cause, and so the fear was joined by guilt⊠Appeased only by your words, your presence and feelings.
Yeah. That probably felt closest. If only you were here, too⊠And you mightâve been, had Luffy chosen to take you into Galley-La HQ, instead of leaving you behind in the tree.Â
Dwelling, returning to previous sentiments on his estranged emotions, Luffy registers that none of those instances had lasted so long. They werenât so extensive, didnât have all this unease nagging at the back of his mind, chewing through all the chaos and distraction of the mission at hand. He couldnât quite remain himself. Couldnât bounce back, incapable of sourcing positivity without some form of distraction; not in the way he usually could, anyways. Only his determination had remained unswayed.
Currently, your absence drove him out of his mind. It was only you, you, youâ You are the reason behind the change.
And itâs different.Â
Trying to pinpoint the inconsistencies, Luffy concludes that the sole reasoning lies in the fact that heâs not with you, not at your side. Every other time youâve been in danger, whether it be his fault or someone else's, heâs always been there. Just⊠Around. Ensuring with his own eyes, his own actions, that you would always be safe.Â
The reason isnât only on account of you being gone, though. This was nothing like the time when Bellamy took you â when Foxy took you â nothing like when Fortress-Guy took you, either. Stakes are higher. The danger is more imminent, practically lying just around the corner. Luffyâs so painfully aware of it, as if something were crushing his ribsâ Heartbeat pounding beneath his sternum whenever he imagined you, his soulmate, walking towards those gates.Â
His soulmate. His.Â
A bolt of lightning spears through the clouds, shattering the complex diorama of thought that Luffyâs been steadily building in his mind.Â
He glances in surprise, the sound shaking him free from his overburdened thoughts. Those mere milliseconds of light bear clarity, and recognition. No longer hounded by the background noise of what heâd processed to get to this moment, the statement blares like a horn â singled out like printed words in the middle of a blank sheet of paper.Â
Itâs all he can see, all he can think. His, his, hisâ
The world goes silent, and Luffy swears that time freezes in one, epiphanic moment.Â
Youâre his.
As sound filters back into the silence, the light disappears, the low rumble of thunder courses into his torso â past ideas interlock, and every piece is set in place. The puzzle finally⊠Finally becomes whole.Â
â...Thatâs why it's different.â When the captain speaks, itâs barely a breath.Â
He stares into the ether with wide eyes that fail to take in any of the surroundings, concentrated on something else as it unfolds within himself.
Itâs not that heâs not with youâ Itâs that youâre not with each other. Where you both belonged.
This wasnât something new. It was something that had been growing â emotions, understanding, lessons â The longer you spent around each other, the more it flourished;Â
Discovering your interests, likes and dislikes; Sharing sentiments in the late hours of the night; Seeing you smile for the first time; Trying his hardest to make you smile more, so he can see your eyes light up the room; And hearing your laughâÂ
Drunken mishaps; Pretty doe-eyes that softened him into goo; Rosy hues and shy grins; The weight of your lips on his skin; The warmth of his on your skin; Spare glances exchanged for lingering stares; Gravitating toward you, lingering around you; Finding one way or another to maintain physical contact, just because he wanted to, never once wondering whyâ
Your voice; Your scent; Your touch; The way you wouldâve acted if youâd been here instead of on that stupid train; Everything that is youâ
And in the end, itâs plain to see that there isnât any difference at all.Â
Itâs just you, and itâs him. Together. Whole.Â
The satisfying connection bridges the gap, dopamine and serotonin rushing in tandem to dizzy and delight in the new acknowledgement. Luffyâs entire being floods with a harmonious buzz, skin tingling as if the soulmate link was rejoicing on its own accord. It jolts through his bones, and his fingers twitch to defy his motionless state of being. It feels like he could run straight across the water.Â
After hurdling obstacle after obstacle, it would be when he finally figured things out that you werenât here to experience it with him. However, if you were around, would he have been able to discover this at all?Â
Being apart from you (in a displeasing, odd sort of way) was what had likely helped him to come to this conclusion. Since, really, when had he ever felt so torn up about a friend being taken? Thinking about Robin made him angry, sure, except her being gone didnât rattle his composure so easily. He knew why now⊠Was that part of it? Was all of this confusion and heartache due to the fact that you were supposed to be more than friends, like his friends always said?Â
WaitâŠ
And Luffyâs lips part in astonishment, inevitably morphing into a soft grin. The clarity loosens his bones, heart floating in his chest like it has wings. Why hadnât he figured it out sooner? Heâd been so dumb, all this time.Â
Youâre not supposed to be anything â The difference is that you already are.Â
Youâre more than just a friend to Luffy. More than just having the title of being his soulmate.Â
Youâre more than a lot of things.Â
âLuffy!â
Sticking her head out the window, the wind means to block out the sound of Namiâs summons back into the train cart. Luffy, sitting criss-crossed, leans off to the side in order to spot her red-hair whipping around wildly. Whether or not he chose to listen depended on what she had to tell him. He was dealing with some important things here.Â
âCome over here!â Demanding as always, she prepares to not take no for an answer, as if she already knew what her captain was planning. âItâs Sanji!âÂ
The buzz of eagerness isnât something he can ignore. So long as he trusted Sanji, Luffy was certain that his chef finally finding the time to call them (just as heâd promised) meant good news.Â
Altogether giddy, elated, and ready to move forward, Luffy keeps this newest attainment close to his heart, forming a plan in the back of his mind. Though, really, there wasnât much of a plan in the first place. The boy just wasnât the type to think that far ahead. It was simple. All he had to do was catch up to you.Â
Bandaged knuckles just begging to rescue the one whoâd treated them, muscles grown taught with impatience â smashing through the marines would be a breeze; And, once Luffy did find you, there wasnât anyone who could so much as threaten to take you away again.Â
All in all, there was no way you were walking through those gates. He would make sure of it.Â
â
âLuffy, come over here! Itâs Sanji!âÂ
Itâs difficult to discern Namiâs voice scraping through the poor signal, especially with the way the wind is howling in my ears â Even so, Iâm immediately enlivened by nothing but the sound of my soulmate's name. Ages mightâve passed since I last saw him⊠Though, realistically it had probably only been a couple of hours at most.Â
The top of the train cart felt as unsafe as Iâd guessed it would be when Sanji had initially suggested it. Iâd been sticking to my blond-friend like glue ever since, enduring the swooning and overbearance that came coupled with his character. Out of my three options available, Sanji would never risk anything happening to me. Not only was I a woman, I was also the captainâs soulmate. I imagine those two in combination was sort of a double-whammy for the chefâs responsibility⊠Or maybe even his loyalty.Â
Weâve all caught each other up since Sanji first came upon us in that dusty storage cart. I told Sanji everything that happened with me whilst being unbound (the cuffs were unimaginably uncomfortable), then he proceeded to free Usopp and Franky as well. Arguments ensued; Sanji pretending not to know who Usopp was; calling each other ex-friends; Sanji learning who Franky is, then defending Usopp during an abrupt switch-up; only for Usopp to defend Franky; then finalized by Franky threatening Sanji, since the chef had kicked the cyborg in the head â and overall I really wasnât certain how the marines hadnât managed to overhear all the ruckus, especially for them being just one cart over. Nevertheless, Sanji wound up relaying what heâd learned so far in return for the shared information, which wasnât much in comparison given the fact that heâd been separated from the group for most of the day⊠The only real major subject of note was that heâd promised to call Nami and the others as soon as he found a working transponder snail.Â
To our delight, Nami answered. Her, Chopper, Zoro, and Luffy had made significantly more progress in determining the goings-on behind closed doors, wasting no time in plugging up the vacant holes of information⊠To dumb-it-down a bit for everyone, Iâll stick to the more important bits;Â
Robin hadnât betrayed us, which was elating at first â yet not so much once we learned that she was actually sacrificing herself for us instead. Our archeologist was a wanted criminal, one of significant proportions. The entire government held her in high priority as the last person known to be a translator of the poneglyphs, so when an undercover agency known as Cipher Pol Nine caught wind that she was in Water 7, they seized the opportunity to take advantage of her friendship with us, threatening to destroy us all should she not cooperate.Â
I was in the midst of processing that Iâd already heard all of this (practically saw it, too), when the navigator brought up a place known as The Gates of Justice. Drawn away from my inner-thoughts by the forbidding name-sake, the location was as formidable as it sounded. Once a felon was brought to its doors, they would never see the light of day again â your options lay with the fate of being brought straight to Marine HQ, or to a hellish prison encased deep beneath the waves â and both sides of the coin were flipped by the grim reaper. It was a guaranteed death sentence, if not something worse.Â
If we didnât save Robin in time, we would never see her again. Never. Sheâd be subjected to horrors beyond what she was likely capable of enduring, and we wouldnât be able to lift a finger in order to help her past that point. There was a certain desperation laced through our operation. None of us wanted to lose Robin. Not like that. Not ever.
Ill at ease, Iâd barely registered what Nami said next, transfixed on the endless torture that my imaginitive mind had come up with â all the possibilities and outcomes of what might wait for one of my nearest and dearest friends on the other side of those doors. Once our Navigatorâs speech cut through the speakers once again, lamenting over a brief pause, my thoughts were brought to a stuttering halt.Â
â...And thereâs a chance that they might be taking (Y/n) there, too.âÂ
Hold the phone⊠âWait⊠What?âÂ
Grave and unsure, thereâs no chance Nami couldâve possibly heard the question. Hell, even I couldnât hear myself. My heartbeat was spreading outwards, felt in my fingers, my toes, my ears and eyes â And it was picking up the pace.Â
âWait, are you serious?â Taken-aback, Sanji leans towards the microphone as if it would make his dismay better known. âThey want (Y/n) too?! Why the hell would they want to take our Angel there? Itâs bad enough with Robin, but why her?â
âI-IâmâŠâ Gonna puke my guts out. Gonna have a heart attack. Gonnaâ
âIâm not sure, but that guy, Lucci, pretty much threw it in our faces. He said that (Y/n) was part of their agenda, but thatâs all⊠I have some ideas, but nothing solid.âÂ
âIt doesnât make any sense,â Sanji grits, not sure what to make of it. âShe only just got here. Sheâs not even from our worldâ How could they have managed to get her on their radar when she didnât even exist here in the first place?âÂ
That⊠Was a good point.Â
Weâd only ever glazed over the fact, yet when put into perspective like Sanji had, none of what was happening recently checked out. Barely anyone else but the crew knew I existed (much less knew what my name was), and half of those people lived in the sky. Somehow, during the first month or two of my arrival, the government had found me, given me a bounty, and was now actively attempting to bring me into their custody⊠All the while, they werenât going out of their way to capture Luffy, either. Did that mean they wanted me for something other than just being his soulmate?
Suddenly, all those instances where Iâd pictured Robin â chained, crying, bowed over the chopping block with an axe poised over her neck â were replaced with me. White as a sheet of paper, my fingers dug weakly into Sanjiâs sleeve, as if the joints had worn out. The sickly sensation made my stomach churn.Â
Not just Robin⊠But, both of us? The thought hadnât even crossed my mind until now. I didnât want to believe it, but it made sense. I was taken on this train for a reason; Cargot for a delivery that I wasnât even aware of. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility for me to be takenâ
Except, why? Why the hell did the government want me in the first place?Â
Queasy, uneasy, and everything in between â the next few bits of conversation go in one ear and out the other. I canât fathom why, canât begin to grasp at an answer. Iâm too tired, too overwhelmed, circling back to cruel visions and endless questions. When I eventually hear Luffyâs name being shouted through the transponder snail, I could cry. I almost do.Â
It holds all my focus â the telephone-like gastropod â as we wait for our captain to take Namiâs place. I havenât been able to get used to the decrepit appearance, apparently machine, though appearing alive enough to question otherwise⊠Unblinking, glassy eyes that uniquely mirrored the emotions of the individual on the other end; A slitted mouth that opened to speak the same words from said individual; An unnatural dip in the back of its shell, perfectly suited for the microphone attached by a curled wire, sort of like the enzymes Iâd learned about in Biology; Each further detail noticed sent me further off the rocker, and eventually I had to pry my sights away from it.Â
They were just so strange. I mean, could everyone be sure they werenât actually alive? How were they able to move and communicate so fluidly? Granted, some of the small ones were sort of cute⊠In an almost creepy sense.Â
Not the pointâ Itâs a disturbing piece of equipment (creature??), and I wouldnât have risked holding such a staring contest if not for the impending arrival of my soulmate. Without his voice to supplement my distressingly depleting energy, I was psychologically all over the place.Â
Waiting rather impatiently, my stomach swells with bile, crawling up my esophagus to throb in my chest and burn the back of my throat. Cold steel sticks to my thighs, stinging each time I move to peel away from the biting chill, and I tremble â shivers prowling whilst the torrential downpour dumps buckets overhead.Â
I squeeze Sanjiâs arm close and try to absorb, or at least share, some of the warmth⊠Maybe even some stability, since heâs also the only anchor keeping me from tumbling overboard, or being blown away like a kite. I hear him murmuring something delusional under his breath, and aptly choose to ignore it. I couldnât get any more sick, otherwise I risk throwing up the nothingness in my gut⊠Not that our chef grossed me out! Justâ Itâs difficult being lowkey-flirted when Iâve been separated from our captain for so long. And Luffy sure was taking his sweet time.Â
Pouting inwardly, huffing short, I canât shake the nervousness, and am ashamed at how desperate my reaction has been at his mere mention. I wanted to hear his voice again, and needed that guaranteed pick-me-up. If I couldnât physically be with him, I at least needed to hear himâŠÂ
Some spare chatter⊠A sound akin to a thudding bang in the background⊠I even think I hear Zoro speaking to somebody, apologizing (rare for him)... Eventually, Nami calls her captainâs name a second time, with a finalized; âSanji wants to talk.âÂ
The speaker clicks, jostled around with a muffled clunk-clunking noise. Sanji takes the initiative to speak once everything falls quiet again.Â
âThat you, Luffy?âÂ
âYup, itâs me!âÂ
Cheery and bright, just as usual. My heartstrings tug to hear my soulmate speak, the organ threatening to vault into somersaults. There mightâve been little hearts popping outta my head, based on Frankyâs raised eyebrow.
âHowâs it going over there? You saved the girls yet?âÂ
âSorta. I found (Y/n), sheâs with me now. Robinâs still in their custody.â A tad solemn, I know the chef is frustrated with himself for only making half of the progress heâd been aiming for â even more now, given our revelation to the dire circumstances. âNami just told us why she surrendered and everything. So, yeah, I know whatâs going on.â
âWait, really?â Completely glossing over the second half of Sanjiâs message, I can almost see it happen; The jerky motion of Luffy careening forwards from a slumped position, alert and criss-crossed on the wooden floorboards. His vocalized thrill reflects the image of a bright, wide-eyed smile. âYou found (Y/n)? Thatâs great!âÂ
Head-high with the prospect that he was equally elated by only the mention of my name, I purse my lips â the sickly bubbling within my stomach fizzles away, traded for a warmth rising up my neck.Â
Oddly enough, thereâs a contemplative silence after his exclamation that draws for much longer than anticipated, unexpected from his previously rambunctious attitude. I think it catches everyone off-guard when he next speaks.Â
Delighted tone dwindling, Luffyâs voice dips into a grim roll, low in his throat. âWell, not great about Robin, but⊠Iâm sure you know what to do next. Before that, thoughâŠâÂ
As if he were genuinely afraid to hear the answer, the unsettled intonation between Luffyâs words doesnât go unnoticed.Â
Softer, now.Â
â...âS she okay?âÂ
Discreet â except not at all. From the sounds of it, Luffy was assuredly worried. Very worried.Â
I donât even realize Iâve been holding onto my own breath for a few seconds, flabbergasted. There was so much emotion to it, a subtle admittance that he mightâve missed me just the same as I have him. Iâm not sure why itâs so impactful now, compared to the other timesâÂ
It was just so⊠Different.
Heart pounding, half wishing he was here to hear my response in person, I lick my lips and gesture for the microphone as Sanji hands it over â A high-class romantic in his own right, the chef knows that itâs not his place to respond to the captainâs question. That wouldnât be quite so appropriate as you answering yourself.Â
âUmâ Yeah, Iâm here.â And when I wonder if my voice isnât loud enough, I try louder, adding quickly; âI-Iâm here. Iâm fine.âÂ
At the receiving end, your voice crackles through the speakers, and Luffy almost loses his composure entirely.Â
Muscles unclenching, melting beneath his skin â that familiar malleableness that the boy has been chasing unknowingly, craving it with heedless want ever since the night before, is suddenly there. Itâs not nearly as potent as before, not when your fingers arenât there to grace his rubbery skin.Â
With a laugh that seems too hushed to come from his lips, Luffy pleasingly finds his response.Â
âGood. Iâm glad.â Optimism revitalised, sufficed to say Luffy was giddy with your confirmed wellbeing. âTold yaâ you were strong.âÂ
For me? Thereâs instant butterflies.Â
The reference to last night, with just the two of us on the rooftop, feels just slightly too personal of a moment to be having in front of three other men⊠Was it too awkward? Too much mushy-nonsense for them?
Oh, whatever. Wtf do I care? Iâm on cloud nine right now, mood flipped a full one-eighty. One only knows how long Iâll be able to bask in this feeling.Â
âAnd you? Are you okay, I meanâŠâ Flushed by the given praise, I struggle to find an immediate response. Then, I rush to add the others into our concerns, embarrassed for not asking sooner. âE-Everyone else, tooâŠâ
ââCourse I am! Weâre all fine.â Full blown cackling â because naturally, you would be worried about everyone but yourself â Luffy finds your reply comical. âBut listen, Iâm cominâ to get you soon, okay? Donât worry. Not gonna let them take you. Robin, neither.âÂ
More butterflies â an entire net of them. They use my ribs as a cage, little threads lining along my bones threatening to pluck away one by one as they flutter and writhe inside.Â
Head bobbing, nodding ecstatically, it takes a few seconds for me to recognize Iâm being a bit of a ditz; He couldnât actually see me.Â
âOkay.â Skittish in my mistake, the word sounds clipped. Still, I wanted to hear more of his voice. â...Be quick, please?âÂ
In the background, I notice a voice that sounds suspiciously like Zoroâs mumbling something in the background. However, Luffy chuckles yet again.Â
âYeah, I promise. Hey, Sanji⊠Do me a favor and keep an eye on her for me. Just until I get there, alright?âÂ
A little disappointed to be cut off so soon, I pass the detachable microphone back into Sanjiâs hand, who nods his head in thanks. He lifts the device to his mouth, and clicks the button;Â
âAlready planned on it, Captain.âÂ
âGood. Anyway, like I was sayingâŠâ Luffy, strengthened by confidence, took up his official role in an instant. Clearly addressing the chef, you can hear the smirk whisper through his teeth. âGo ahead and give âem hell.â
A chorus of confused âwhatâs?â And âhuhâs?â Echo hoarsely through the speaker. The disagreement culminates with Zoroâs voice cutting into the line.
âHey! Hold on.â The swordsman must be nearby. It isnât as hard to hear what heâs saying compared to everyone else. âDonât be reckless, Luffy! If he wants to stand a chance heâs gotta wait until we catch up! Hey, cook â Can you hear me? There are crazy guys on that train, soââÂ
âZoro.âÂ
The almost-reprimand isnât often heard when the captain addresses his second mate⊠Scratch that â I donât think Iâve ever heard Luffy use that tone with Zoro before. Heâs only ever used it on me once, if only a handful of times.Â
âItâll be fine. What would you do if it were you?âÂ
A pause, no response. Luffy keeps curt with each comment, speaking transparently; Undoubted that the restlessness in himself was reflected in everyone right now.Â
âAfter hearing that Robin lied, and was taken into custody in order to save us⊠Could you just stay put and wait?âÂ
No. Of course not â Nobody verbalizes it. Nevertheless, no one argues, either.Â
âItâs no use trying to stop him.âÂ
Trailing my gaze to Sanjiâs expression, Iâm expecting our chef to be annoyed with Zoroâs lack of faithâŠÂ
Iâm surprised to find itâs the complete opposite.
âYou know me well.â A wry grin, oozing with self-confidence and gratified by his captainâs understanding, splays across the bottom half of Sanjiâs face. âHey, moss-head! Are you worried about me?âÂ
âI hope they kill you!âÂ
Ignoring the green-haired man altogether this time, Sanji asserts his plan. Passionate, the rage born from the danger the archeologist has been put through causes his hand to tighten around the microphone.Â
âAnyway, that settles it. After hearing what Robin was thinking⊠Even if the captain orders it, I wouldnât stop even if you begged me!â
Staring into the night as if the sky itself had wrought this upon us, Sanjiâs hand clenches harder, and the microphone shatters to bits in his palm.Â
Standing across the way, Franky careens forwards, back hunched and staggered. He screams, exerting his shock, âAwâ Whyâd you break it?! I wanted to ask Straw Hat something, too!âÂ
âHuh?â Sanji glances up halfheartedly. Itâs clear he doesnât care much for the broader man. âWho cares. You shouldâve told me beforehand.â
âEven if I didnât tell you, it was obvious, wasnât it?! What, was I supposed to interrupt while you were talking? Thatâs just rude!âÂ
âYouâre rude anyway.âÂ
Sorrowful eyes lain on the broken equipment, I deflate. That was that, I guess. I wasnât worried so much anymore⊠Having Sanji here, heâd likely die before letting anything get even remotely close to me. Even with that in mind, I remained upset that the conversation was put to an end so soon. At least I knew Luffy was on his way, I suppose.
Sighing, the argument between Franky and Sanji is one I donât bother to pay attention to. Rather, my sights slide over our environment â glazing over storm clouds, colored black against cornflower skies â trailing over the sleek metallic surface of the pine-green convoy â eventually landing on Usoppâs face. Overshadowed by a stubbornly hard stare, The Sniperâs expression is downturned, scowling at the spot between his crossed legs. I donât want to stare too long, although I knew heâd been holding the position steady throughout the phone call.Â
âSo,â When Usopp speaks, I donât expect it â even when Iâm looking right at him. Pained, the breath in his lungs isnât enough to support the broken sentences. âAll this time, things like that were happening⊠While I was gone?âÂ
Guilt.Â
That was par for the course, I guess. I didnât blame him for feeling such a way⊠Usopp wasnât directly at fault, though he had been ignorant in his grievances.Â
Inwardly, I hope that maybe these turn of events might start to patch things up. Perhaps Usopp might see the gravity of our predicament, and heâd come back to us. Surely, he had to, right? We might not have been crewmates, although Robin was his friend, regardless⊠The sniper wouldnât sit on the sidelines with what he knew now.Â
Sanji isnât having the pity-party, and he glowers across the way. âIn a way, Robinâs in the same boat you are. She never found out about the Merry, or about the huge fight between you and Luffy.âÂ
Iâm uncertain whether the chill that racks over my skin stems from the coldness of the chefâs words, or the wind that picks up. It billows hard enough to dishevel our clothes, slinging Usoppâs satchel behind him, held by the strap crossing his chest.Â
âIn order for all six of us, including you, to stay safe, Robin surrendered to the Government. She sacrificed herself and obeyed their orders.â Rubbing salt in the wound, Sanji doesnât let up. As much as heâd lamented Usoppâs departure, there was no denying that Usoppâs conundrum may have led to a different outcome had it been dealt with properly. We might not have even been here in the first place.Â
However, I had to wonder if a smidge of this animosity was directed from his own anger â from Sanjiâs lack of forethought or ability to prevent what had already happened. He seemed just as pent up as Usopp; The two much like expanding balloons, preparing to pop.Â
âShe did it for us.âÂ
The closing statement doesnât leave an opening for any kind of response, and Usopp quietly burns holes through the trainâs roof.Â
Whether he was doing it intentionally or not, Franky steps forwards to take up the mantle once more⊠Reasonably, I feel itâs unintentional, if a bit unusual for having interrupted twice in Usoppâs stead. He sobs loudly, back towards us, wailing into the night. Apparently, the cyborg was distraught over our predicament.Â
Grown man btw.
âOh, manââ Choking on tears, Franky⊠Strums a pink guitar?? Where the hell did that even come from? âWhat a moving story!â
Then, the guitar is gone in a flash, and I canât keep up with the pace. Next thing I know, heâs on his knees, brandishing a handkerchief to hold over his leaky eyes⊠Again, not sure where tf that came from, considering the manâs got no pockets (heâs wearing a speedo, for Godâs sake). Beyond that fact, I couldnât see how the damn thing would help, given that weâd been subjected to the downpour.Â
âWhy are you crying?â With a tone thatâs borderline disgusted, our chef catches my attention.Â
My neck cranks to Sanji in disbelief. Thatâs what he was so focused on? I mean, sure, it was weird for the cyborg to grieve over his âenemiesâ woes⊠But, seriously. What the hell? What about the other impossible and unforeseen events that just occurred in the last forty-five seconds? Was that supposed to be normal??
âIâm not cryin,â you are!âÂ
Sanji, lost for words, simply gapes and regards the older man like a recently-discovered alien. I can relate. Franky pays us no mind.Â
âDammitâ I canât believe it! Now Iâm all torn up⊠Nico Robin is said to be a cruel, inhuman, evil woman! But the truth is⊠Sheâs got a soft side for her friends!â Massive palms slamming the tin below, an absolute wreck over problems not his own â laid face down, bare-belly to the cold steel â I have half a mind to reprimand him for labeling Robin in such a way. Not to mention, he might be attracting all sorts of attention with the ruckus.Â
Inevitably, I donât get to say anything at all, as the older man jerks to a stand too swiftly for me to counter.Â
âAll right, then!â Mind made up, Frankyâs facial expression has completely flipped. Once a vision of sorrow, the cyborg now holds a confident smile. âOnce again, Iâm Franky, the leader of the Franky Family! Iâll give you a hand, Mr. Eyebrows!âÂ
Hold the phone⊠Take two.Â
Wondering if Iâd finally lost my mind, I question reality itselfâÂ
Did this man just say heâd help us?
I donât think itâs possible to hide my dumbfounded expression. All the wrath⊠The brutality, the name-calling; All of it, forgotten? In the span of a few minutes?
Wtf is happening? Is this a prank? Am I being pranked rn?Â
âTo tell you the truth, Iâve got a reason for not wanting Robin to be in the governmentâs custody, too.â Reverting to drama, a large hand floats over his face â damsel-in-distress style. âMost of all, when I hear such a poignant taleâŠâÂ
And holy shit, this man can flip from one emotion to the next â as the next thing I know, heâs barking at Usopp, whoâs turned his back to us.Â
âHey! Letâs go, long-nose!âÂ
Silence. Usopp shifts, gathering himself into a stand. Iâm not sure whether or not heâs debating a response, or isnât aiming to answer at all. A heaviness settles into the depths of my lungs, pulling them down. Only when The Sniper is poised, collected in his square-shouldered stance, does he reply.Â
âNo⊠IâmâŠâÂ
Every ounce of confusion vanishes from my mind. Usopp would never. He wouldnât. Not for something like this.Â
I shake my head, desperately hoping that Iâd misheard.Â
âIâm not coming.âÂ
But I hadnât.Â
Staring at his back, aimlessly hoping that he might turn around with a shit-eating grin, and tell us he was only joking. That wasnât the case, either⊠How delusional of me.Â
Why was it that he denied us at every turn? Even now? Did we really mean so little to him, for him to just leave? Robin needed usâ We could all go save her together, at the very least⊠Even if he didnât join back.Â
âIt no longer has anything to do with me, right? Youâre about to make yourselves personal enemies of the World Government⊠I donât wanna be any part of that.âÂ
All I want to do is ask, at this point. I just want to know, but I canât call back to him. It wasnât right, wasnât fitting for him leaving our ranks⊠But I want to knowâ
Were we really not friends, after all?Â
âBesides, youâll join Luffy and the others as well, right? After I humiliated myself in front of them, how could I show my face again?â Overcome by the burden of his past choices, Usoppâs shoulders tighten, hunching in the cold. âI canât just pretend it never happened and laugh it off!âÂ
Oh.Â
âŠMaybe not, then.
âIâm sorry⊠But, Iâm no longer honor-bound to go rescue Robin! I left the Straw Hats!âÂ
Voice calling out to the heavens, it echoes back to both him and us. Itâs a statement, a claim that withers away at my skin â necrotic and rotting. The wound had been festering, reopened and rebound again and again without time to heal.Â
I couldnât just keep slicing away at it. Eventually, all of it would have to be severed.Â
â...See ya.âÂ
His voice, dying in the air, on the verge of crying; It makes my own throat clog, so I choose to look away.Â
God, I wanted to hold my hand out to himâ To scream at his shoulder blades until my throat was raw, about his wrongdoings, and mine, and LuffyâsâÂ
âHeâs gotta apologize. To you, too. Not just me.âÂ
Donât give in â Donât say anything.Â
âYou shouldnât settle for anything else. Even if you do, heâs not allowed back on the crew until he tells you heâs sorry.âÂ
You know it isnât right.Â
ââSee ya?ââ Franky, brandishing his perplexity with an outraged proclamation, calls after Usoppâs retreating form. âThereâs no place to go! Come on, you guys can talk this over bro!â
âThatâs okay.â Much more solemn this time around, Sanji relents, opting for my quieted-method as well. He stands, blonde hair matted to his forehead, and offers a forlorn hand. I take it. âJust leave him.âÂ
I felt stupid. Like an idiot. Foolish.
How many times would I trick myself into thinking that this would go any other way? âŠHow long would I hold onto this fruitless, naive hope? Iâd all but poured my soul out to Usopp and Franky less than half an hour ago. Just two strangers, apparently.Â
Had I seriously thought everything would be fixed so easily? That everything would be fine if we managed to find him again?Â
Be realistic. Who was I even kidding? Usopp was his own person⊠Heâd made his choices, and that was that, even if that meant weâd never see him again. We would just have to save Robin without him.Â
Franky, mumbling and grumbling to himself, likely aggravated from the quarrel, takes a long moment to join us. Peering down at the iron-bolted connection between each train cart jingling dangerously below us, Sanjiâs debating on whether or not staying on top of the train would be safer â if maneuvering to go inside was better or worse. I can hear him mumbling thoughts to himself, glancing away from the neverending stretch of steam-engine before usâ
âGahh!âÂ
Until, intruding from the sidelines, an unknown voice hollers in hysterics.Â
âI found themâ Theyâre right here!âÂ
All three of us twirl towards the source, spotting the marine in a second. Bug-eyed, the only parts of him visible are his arms, shoulders and head. The white and blue uniform glares in the gloomâ He mustâve found the window that weâd crawled out of to get up here.Â
Cover blown, Sanjiâs pupils dial onto the lone figure in a panic. âDamn it, they found us!âÂ
We didnât have much time to decide â it wasnât obvious that his shouting had alerted any of the others, even so, all of us were stun-locked. The Chef and Franky have been caught off guard, and my mind isnât coming up with any ideas quick enough to contribute.Â
Turns out, we wouldnât need to move an inch.Â
âMetallic star!âÂ
The newest voice that enters the scene is uncanny. Masked by a gruffness thatâs not typically heard of from its user, the announcement of his special move, combined with the piece of shrapnel that pierces through the air â nailing the marine in his temple â totally solidifies the eagerness thatâs summoned once I face the figure, standing presently in the dark.Â
âWho the hell are you?â Both men in the vicinity ask, and I canât resist the puff of a laugh at their confusion.Â
Misty eyed as I may be, thereâs no mistaking the person who stands in the shadows. Inspirited, almost recklessly so, I regret ever doubting him in the first place â and altogether, heâs reinstated my dwindling belief. Naivety be damned, I needed to trust my gut more often.Â
âYour friend told me everything.âÂ
Speech reminiscent of a sports host, or more fittingly, a self-righteous superhero; There isnât a shred of doubt in my mind that Usopp stands strong, right in the spot where heâd previously disappeared.Â
âI heard that you guys want to rescue a certain mademoiselle. That alone is reason enough for me to lend a hand.âÂ
Donned in a brightly colored mask, cape billowing in the wind, he looks the very picture of the figure heâs made himself to be in all those made up stories.Â
A vigilante â A secret identity â A person to call on for aid.Â
If it werenât for his bandaged-nose poking from the mask's center, the sniper mightâve gotten away with his disguise.Â
âMy weapons are at your disposal!âÂ
Even so, in my mind, nothing suited him better at this moment. If he couldnât help us as Usopp, then someone else would have to step in. The others were less than enthused, I didnât care. This moment was enough to prove it;
âMy name isâŠâ
Usopp was still our friend.Â
âSniper King!â
â
KaaâRACK!
Rolling clouds glow with life as lightning breaks into the darkness, a stark, ethereal light spreading above the overcast â and from below, the sky stretches with fiery white veins.Â
It doesnât last long. The clouds congregate, inevitably concealing the momentary brightness with their unbearably dictatorial tendencies, fully encompassing the skies. They would aid the water to ensure that the world would drown, and everything else along with it.Â
Theyâre in pursuit; A spot of color, a mere spec in their eyes that refuses to bend against the will of the waves, forged to sink any vessel daring enough to cross the treacherous waters. And yet, here it was. A lone ship, sailing forwards with all the capabilities of a well-worn military ship that, despite being a measly caravel, endures the harsh weather. It aims to succeed in its silently sworn mission, whatever the cost may be.Â
The winds shriek in disapproval. The threat of the ocean lies imminent. But the vessel never wavers.Â
One last trip was all that it could give â and so it would.Â
The cat door to the kitchen area flips open, fluttering shut once the last of Ivoryâs fluffy tail slips out behind him.Â
His ears flatten, fur already damp from previous surveyance, occasionally risking the chance to take a peek in the case that his hopes have been heard, and that those heâs come to know as family have shown up⊠Once again, nobody is around.Â
Shivering, the kittenâs usually vibrant green hues trace the empty deck in dismay. His fur matted, uncomfortable tufts sprouted all along his body, Ivory crouches to minimize the possibility of further ruining his coat; A lost cause, as even if the animal crouched low, there was no avoiding the rain that soaked him to the bone.Â
KAA-RACK!
Closer now.Â
Ivory jolts, and his fur wouldâve spiked if it had the ability. Tail tucked tight between his legs, ending towards his chest â big, fearful eyes lock onto the empty space above the Going Merryâs figurehead with nearly practiced precision.Â
It stares, silent and unblinking, regarding the ocean without thought. One might think that the kitten has mistaken it for one of his missing crewmates, yet this wasnât the case at all. Ivoryâs gaze hovers in place, altogether avoiding the peeling white of the ramâs sclera â his focus lies on something else. Something that otherwise, nobody would be capable of seeing.Â
To Ivory, there suddenly was someone on board. Someone he didnât recognize, at first.Â
He keeps watching, honed onto the air with a twitching nose and curious, tentative sights. If anybody had been there to witness it, they mightâve sworn the animal was staring at nothingâŠÂ
Had there been someone, though â someone close enough to see the reflection of his eyes â then they mightâve been able to spot a small figure, waving gently against the heavy rocking motion all around them.Â
The animal understands, in a special, certain kind of way. At the same time, he doesnât understand at all. Instinct is best to follow, in the end.Â
Nervous, without much else to trust, the kitten delivers a soft, mewling purr. With a turn of his head, Ivory retreats back to the warmth of the kitchen, scampering under the table. He curls up, perching head over paws to peer beneath the sliver of sight between floor and tablecloth.Â
And in the quiet, and the gloom, Ivory would stay â Waiting for his family to return.
â
Tidbit today!!
Sanji, once learning (Y/n)âs favorite foods and drinks, makes sure that he has the ingredients for them on every shopping list he creates. He tries to make them fairly often for her, just as he does for the others on the crew; At least once a week, if not more.Â
The sound is pebble-like as it echoes across the grand emptiness of the old shipwrightâs hideout. Barely furnished save for a table and some bean-bag chairs, the wooden floors have started to rot in the salt-ridden, muggy air. Gray, brick-laid walls are aged with dampened stains that have permanently altered their appearance â darkened, eroded faces and dripping crevices. Thereâs a walkway hanging across the very left wall, useless now⊠Tattered, shattered metal scraps halfway across ensure it remains hazardous to tread upon. Even the windows that frame the only entrance to this massive room are shattered, cloudy as seaglass.Â
And still, after years of nonuse, the working area was finally able to see some action. Loaded with a worn down ship that had lasted far past its expiration date, held together by a single soul whoâd continued to repair her without a moment's rest â Usopp inhaled the dank, stale air in large gulps, whittling away at his strength as the nails bent against the butt of his hammer.Â
A fruitless effort. Franky knew that very well. That ship was too damaged, and the guy repairing it was far too delusional. Initially, the blue-haired man believed that Long-nose would need to see for himself that the vessel was a lost cause in order to change his mind⊠So, The Cyborg showed him. Even went so far as to physically dismantle the ship alongside the evidence. Still, Long-nose kept at it, soaked overalls drenching the panels beneath his feet. The list had been checked â Long-nose got a full view of the keel in its dire state of disrepair â and Franky had nothing more to add.Â
A Klaubautermann though? That was impressive enough to earn The Cyborgâs respect, if nothing else. No wonder this guy was so hellbent over a lost cause⊠Not that it made the situation any different.
The hammer slips from Long-noseâs fingers, cacophonous and out of place in the stillness.Â
Kneeling on the ground, gaping at The Going Merry with wide, glossy eyes, he doesnât notice when Ivory comes to sit before him; Not until the animal mewâs up at his current caretaker, as if it were concerned for the boy's wellbeing. Usopp jolts, recognizing the sound, and reaches down to pat Ivoryâs head just between his pink-cupped ears.Â
Frankyâs a little miffed over this fact, bottom lip jutted childishly as his jaw tightens. This little creature was just about the cutest thing heâd ever seen. The man had even cried over it. Yet, all heâd gotten in return was a hiss, a fiery swing of its tiny claws, and a spitting yowl â dashing his hopes. He only wanted to give it some love!Â
âDamn catâŠâ The Cyborg murmurs under his breath, hearing his own voice via the hand thatâs smushed against his ear, a makeshift headrest. âHe sure likes you. Probably only has a soft-spot for its owner, huh?â
Itâs almost comical when Ivoryâs head swivels to glare at Franky, the roll of a growl in his throat as ears press flat, and pupils turn to knife-like slivers.Â
âHeâs not mine.â Usopp grunts, still dwelling over Frankyâs earlier question.Â
âWhy would you have a big fight with your crew if you knew the ship was done for?â
âHeâsâŠâ The Sniper falters, bandaged palm smoothing over the kittenâs head as the harsh reverberations morph into mellow purrs. The cat turns back to Usopp, blinking slow â He feels his insides twist. âHeâs⊠A friendâs. The Captainâs soulmate, actually.â
Silence for a few beats.Â
Drip⊠Drip⊠DripâŠ
âSo, you gonna keep him, then?â Franky says, shameless in his questioning.Â
â...Donât think I could.â Eyebrows furrowed, Usopp senses the conflict rising in his sternum whilst watching Ivory rub against his palm, the cat always greedy for more affection. Spoiled. âEven if I wanted to, I kinda owe her. Especially afterâŠâÂ
âIs that your plan? Was that seriously your best way to convince me?âÂ
âYou thought making up stupid lies was gonna work? Thatâs what you think will get me to wait for the othersâ To hurt my feelings, to scare me so much that Iâll be too upset to even try? It is, isnât itâ Thatâs exactly what youâre trying to do right now.âÂ
âYou know what? Do whatever you wantâ Maybe you might be fine with just sitting back and letting the others do the work, but Iâm not!âÂ
âIâm not going to fall behind like some useless stowaway while everyone else gets stronger!âÂ
âYouâre one to talk⊠I should be telling you to leave, too. You might be weak like me, but if you werenât his soulmate then youâd be in this same exact positionâ Thrown away like trash!âÂ
Yeah. Returning Ivory was the least Usopp could do⊠Even if he refused to take everything back. His personal wrongdoings did not undermine how he himself had been wronged.Â
âYâknow, Iâm pretty sure I met the girl youâre talkinâ about.âÂ
Taken-aback, Usoppâs fingers cease scratching the underside of Ivoryâs chin. The Sniper turns, staring Franky down in muted disbelief. The blue-haired guy doesnât move an inch.Â
âYeah, sheâs got some guts for such a small fry. Said a bunch of stuff straight to my face without even flinching.â Franky shrugs half-heartedly, playing off the situation as less than it truly was. He really just wanted to see Long-Nose's reaction. âSeemed pretty upset about it to me, though. Crying all over the place, yâknow?âÂ
The Sniperâs face drops, before twitching features form a suppressed glare. Slightly annoyed by Frankyâs hypocrisy, he deadpans, âLike you?âÂ
âHey, I already told you about that! I donât cry, I was just so moved by your story thatââÂ
Bangâbangâbangâ
Having only recently recovered from a sob-session over Usoppâs unrivaled dedication to The Going Merry, one of the square-headed sisters whimpers. âLooks like someoneâs here.âÂ
ââSomebody?â Who else could it be but Zambai and the others?â Franky lifts a hand, gesturing to the door. Both sisters get up, heeding the wordless gesture.Â
In the background, Usopp tosses Ivory up onto The Going Merryâs main deck, designing to leave soon. The cat gleefully complies, incredibly entertained in all his restless, toddler-to-teenage energy. His little head hopefully peeks out from over the bannister, rosy ears twitching with expectation â If he jumped back down, would Usopp throw him up again? Â
In the finality of their previous conversations, the cyborg rises from his seat with some spare words of advice. âAlright brother⊠Listen, I think what you should do is go back to your friends.âÂ
Sighing in exasperation, Usopp is fed-up with having to reassert his position in the situation. Franky was an outsider to everything that had happened⊠If not one of the direct causes. He still hadnât exactly forgiven The Cyborg for that, either.Â
Even so⊠The Sniper couldnât pin all the blame on the older man.Â
âI canât do that now.â Hardening his stare, broadening his stance, Usopp explains for what he means as the final time. âI challenged The Captain to a duel, for starters. Then thereâs all that stuff I said to (Y/n)... Besides, the matter with the ship hasnât been settled, yet.âÂ
With a heave of his chest, Franky breathes an audible, flat-toned sigh in response to Long-Noseâs stubbornness. All this kid did was further exacerbate his situation. âWhaddya mean it hasnât been settled? If your ship canât sail anymore, then it canât sail anymore! Itâs simple, isnât it?âÂ
When Usopp doesnât say anything, Franky hums, and circles the table to sit closer.Â
âJust leave her here with me. Iâll take care of her in a way you would approve of. Problem solved.â Raising both arms for emphasis, especially regarding how Usopp still hasnât paid his words any mind, Franky continues. âWhat I did earlier, too, yâknow⊠I tried to dismantle the ship without considering whatâd be best for you. Itâll be different this time!âÂ
The offer, meant as an apology and a way to make up for Frankyâs past actions, isnât taken well. The Sniper goes on the defensive almost immediately. âDonât stick your nose into this! Itâs my businessâ Stay out of it!âÂ
With the metaphorical-hand outstretched and having been practically spat on, Franky is soon to reciprocate. âHey, Iâm just trying to help solve your problem! Show some gratitude, will ya?!âÂ
âGratitude? Gimme a break!âÂ
âDonât you understand the situation?!â At his wits end, The Cyborg rises, lifting the shades away from his eyes. âAs hard as it is for you, itâs a nuisance for the ship, too! She loves you guys so much that she appeared in human form. If she sinks to the bottom of the sea while youâre still on board, then all of that will have been for nothing!âÂ
He just couldnât understand it. If Long-Nose had actually seen it happen â had been a first-hand witness to the ghostly figure repairing their ship on some sky island or whatever â had heard the figure claim that they would keep carrying everyone for just a little while longer â why the hell was this guy acting so impossibly difficult? Why couldnât he just accept the way things were, and move on to better things?
âIf that happens, sheâll be filled with regret.â And so Franky lays it on thick, doesnât bother holding back. Maybe using the harsh reality would get through Long-Noseâs thick skull. âShe wonât be able to rest in peace!â
âIs that what youâd do?!â Usopp chooses to ignore it, still â a plethora of pent-up emotion tied to the impracticality of his actions. âWhen your friends are dying, are you just going to leave them to die on their own? Throw them aside like trash?!â
The Sniper even goes so far as to grab a fistfull of Frankyâs tropical button-up, and The Cyborg has a hard time ignoring the urge to toss the other across the room.Â
âIf you put it that way, itâs a whole different discussion! Itâs not the same thing at all!â
âNo, itâs notâ It is the same thing, thatâs exactly whatâs going on!â
Bellowing out a frustrated, incomprehensible shout, Franky has had enough.Â
âYou just donât get itâ!âÂ
Off to his right, something jets through the air â landing on the roughened floorboards to slide a few feet further. A flash of yellow, and Franky turns his head to follow the movement.Â
Mouth hung open, both men in the argument have decidedly placed it aside. There was something more important at hand.Â
One of the Square Sisters was laying on the ground, totally limp.Â
âMozu!â Franky blurts, sights flickering between the blood that trails from her lips and the fractured, fluorescent green goggles that rest over her scrunched eyes.Â
Thunkâ
Then comes a sound, by the front entranceâ
Wide eyes perceive the moment where a fishnet-adorned leg strikes at Kiwiâs neck with a swift, high kick. The woman goes down too, just like her sister; Unresponsive.Â
âKiwi!â The fear for his friend's wellbeing is overtaken by protectiveness, then joined by rage. âWho the hell did that?!âÂ
âI apologize for the interruptionâŠâ Repositioning a few rogue tufts of blonde hair over shoulder in order to maintain her perfectionist figure, Kalifa lowers her stance, adjusting her glasses in a way that screams superiority. âItâs just, those two ladies werenât being very accommodating about letting us in.âÂ
At her back stands three figures⊠Lucci, Kaku, and Blueno. Every single one of them wears a black, sleek, sophisticated suit â adorned by blank expressions and an unnerving state of casualness. A flash of lightning lights their backs. Frankyâs teeth grind with furyâŠÂ
And Usopp instinctively knows it before anybody says another word â Both of them were in big trouble.Â
â
The Blue Station is lively tonight.Â
Thereâs an endless entourage of marines and government agents â mindless idiots whose sole existence is entirely based on following orders â and each one appears to have a designated job, intermingling amongst each other in carefully organized patterns. Even the grunts, standing off to the sidelines in all their useless glory, were made to feel important.Â
With that in mind, none of them are nearly as interesting as the woman placed in the dead center of this operation.Â
Draped in a green cloak, yellow ornaments are sewed into the fabric, glistening like gold in the low light to emphasize her mysterious charm. She stands alone, unlike all the others. Thereâs a halo of space between her and every man in the vicinity, as if they dared not approach. Lonely. Morose. Regal. Itâs as if sheâs a goddess rebirthed, trapped in a marble prison for hundreds of years, now freed to be revered as she was meant to be.Â
Fwch⊠FwchâŠ
From the dark, there watches an admirer, keen eyes glittering in the faint light of the flame between his palms.Â
Even as the soft, scraping flick of his lighter sounded, coaxing a soft warmth to illuminate his hiding place, nobody heard nor saw the man â Mr. Prince â whoâd dutifully arrived to save the damsel in distress.Â
Ever-vigilant, Sanji was merely waiting for the right moment, biding the time with eyes like a hawk. The Chef hasnât witnessed Robin speak. Not once, despite all those whoâve approached to ridicule her very existence. Unsure of what possible reason these imbeciles would have to do such a thing, his patience was wearing thinner and thinner. Still, as unfortunate as the circumstances were, he couldnât simply barge into the scene, guns blazing. That would end poorly for the both of them.Â
To his benefit, it was pathetically easy to stay hidden, despite the marines numerous forces. All The Chef had to do was find a shadowed-section of the train station. None were the wiser, and he could stake-out for as long as he liked. For such a ridiculous display of power, they werenât very thorough with their perimeters.Â
It was raining hard. Assuming they were waiting for something, having remained in the area despite being half-drowned, Sanji takes his time to concoct a plan⊠Theorizing on the reason behind Robin being here â why she wouldnât fight back or retaliate in any form â his brain ultimately jumps to the most outlandish outcomes. The establishment of his âplanâ follows the same route.Â
Lovesick, daydreaming the wildest of fantasies splayed on a background of pink, the chef imagines himself riding into the scene on a majestic steed (a magical unicorn, as he would give nothing less to the lovely Robin). He alone would break through the forces of evil (the marines), bearing a dew-dropped rose between his teeth. In turn, she would accept his favor (of course), and together the two would live happily-ever-after for the rest of their days. The ebony-haired woman would hang off his arm, and his every word⊠Sanji would take her hand, they would lean into each other, andâ
A clamor sounds off somewhere around the main entryway, and a series of heavily guarded men part in zipper-like fashion to clear the way.Â
Sparkling crowns fading to dust in his fantasy, Sanjiâs blushing expression flattens as he chokes on smoke. The clouded hearts that once trailed the butt-end of his cigarette fall away into misshapen wisps, and the flowered, airy haze reverts back to its muggy counterpart.Â
âCorgi!â An unknown voice summons, âCP9 is here!âÂ
Robin is being led away by some government big-shot, The Chef realizes too late. The official quickly hands off the woman to a few of his underlings, and redirects his attention to the growing noise, heading there with awkwardly stiffened movements. He looked outlandishly nervous.Â
âYou bastard, let me go!âÂ
âI said let me go!âÂ
Two voices â both male, though one sounds almost manlier than the other â approach the scene. Sanji peeks around the corner, hearing their screams, though thereâs not much of a physical commotion to be partnered with the outrage.Â
A woman, along with five men. All but two are dressed to the nines. Who the hell were those guys in the black suits?Â
âHow many times do I have to tell you?!âÂ
Scrutinizing in disbelief, the wind brushes Sanjiâs bangs from his field of view, ensuring that his eyes werenât deceiving him. Six figures total, two of which apparently being held hostage by the suited personnel; Large sacks enveloped their bodies, aside from a hole that allowed their necks to jut out.Â
âLet me go, you bastard!â The first man he saw was blue-haired, and nearly as large as the other who carried him over-shoulder. Blue-haired-ducktail-guy was the louder of the two, as well as the most outraged.Â
More surprising though, was the second hostage.
âHey! Where are you taking me? You guys arenât gonna get away with this!â Sanjiâs eyes widen to spot Usopp, an anxious-wreck. Spouting every meaningless threat he had in the book, the sniper looks like heâs on the verge of passing out. âI have eight-thousand men hiding in the shadows waiting to teach you losers a lesson! Just wait and see!â
He says he wonât cause us trouble, The Chef thinks to himself, and then goes and gets himself in trouble all over again. Idiot.
âDucktail⊠Usopp, andââÂ
He nearly swallows his cigarette entirely.Â
A seventh and eighth appear just a few steps behind the rest. Two women; A tall, dirty-haired blonde, with a disturbingly familiar (h/c) haired girl slumped carelessly over her arm.
â(Y/n)?â The Chef mumbles, unsure as to what exactly was at play, here. Usopp was strange enough, but you?Â
It was definitely you, without question. But, why were you here? You were almost always with Luffy, or one of the girls â did this mean something had gone wrong on the other group's end? Had Luffy been careless with your safety again, or had you just been separated? Either way, Sanji blamed the captain and his incompetence.Â
In any case, the situation has now doubled in severity. Not one, but two of the three most beautiful girls that have ever existed across the ocean were being seized. Sanji wouldnât just let him be taken away⊠He supposed Usopp was there too, even if they werenât related by the titles of âfriendâ and âcrewmateâ anymore.Â
Itâs time for action, and Sanji quickly decides on his next move. The train was leaving soon, and he couldnât risk waiting for the others â he needed to leave them a message.Â
Plucking the white stick from his lips, he twists the lit end between forefinger and thumb. A chunk of burning filter pops from the pressure, glowing embers put out with the tiniest hiss against the soaked concrete. The rest of the stick is tucked into the front pocket of his dress pants, eyeing down the next part of his plan.Â
Across the hall and down a ways, thereâs a door labeled Maintenance Supply.
â
These traincarts are so much more obnoxious than she remembered five years ago.Â
Ornate, dark walls the color of the sea, trimmed in gold; Seafoam ceiling; Purple curtains, and cushions for seating, outlined by shiny bronze trim; And it all came together with a hot pink, magenta checkered floor. There was no sense of order, or satisfactory palette, just a total mess of color meant to dazzle the upper-class, gaudy and nauseating. More money meant more extravagance, though Rachel couldnât fathom how they didnât immediately get a headache upon entry. The air smelled like cleaning chemicals, but if she focused, there was a faint whiff of brake dust and engine fumes alongside it.Â
The train was moving at this point, swaying back and forth whenever a rogue wave came along to sweep them under the water â still, the rails held strong. None of the people in this train-cart were fazed by the stomach-churning sway. They never were. Each sacrifice made, combined with the government's grueling conditioning, had made sure of that.Â
Rob Lucci and Kaku sat across from each other, attached at the hip, as always. Kalifa sat directly behind Kaku, and Blueno two seats behind Lucci. Rachel herself was sitting at the very back of the cart â damp clothes soaking into the plush-lavender fabric below â as far away from Lucci as possible. The woman rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to scoff.
Rank was everything in this organization⊠Although her seating arrangement in particular had absolutely nothing to do with rank. She was supposed to be sitting beside Lucci, not Kaku.Â
âWhere is the target?â Clipped with annoyance, Lucci keeps the question short-lived. Rachel can feel him looking at her from over his shoulder, not sparing her any more attention than he had to.
Her nose wrinkles, withholding a snarl and holding her gaze out the nearest window. Skin tingling, she responds in a similar manner. âIn the same train car as those two idiots you chose to bring with us.âÂ
âA careless choice.â The stern man reprimands instantly, pupils slicing through her skin. He wasnât thrilled with the attitude. â(L/n) (Y/n) takes priority over a handful of simple delinquents, alongside Nico Robin.âÂ
Gritting her teeth, Rachel seethes. Of course you just had to be oh-so important, didnât you? She canât help but scoff at the notion.Â
âIsnât keeping them separated the whole point?â Retorting without much thought, fueled by her supposed âincompetenceâ and a burning desire to prove herself otherwise. âIt goes against that âdealâ you made with the devil-woman. Both of us know she wouldnât come with us so willingly if she knew about that little shit.âÂ
At her know-it-all tone, even Kaku turns to deliver a warning glare from beneath the shadows of his baseball cap. Rachel fights back the urge to flip him off, and instead holds his heated stare â He would never dare speak up though, now would he?
âThen I assume youâll handle the situation when your choices reflect poorly on your performance.â Rob Lucci says, returning his sights to the front of the cart. Corgi, the government official, sweats in the heavy tension. âDonât forget that sheâs been issued a rather substantial sum for a bounty. They expect her to be delivered with the same respect.âÂ
The woman almost rolls her eyes â Because of her soulmate. Naturally, he wouldnât bother to mention that part. In her heart, however, Rachel knows that the twisting of her stomach isnât exactly anger towards this fact.Â
Opting to keep quiet, the woman turns her attention to the raindrops trickling down the glass of the window, tracing their scattered movements in order to distract from the tightening of her throat.Â
â
âLuffy!â
Who⊠Is that?
âWhat the hell are you doing up there?!âÂ
Itâs dark, and cramped⊠My skin is slick, but I canât move.Â
No, not my skinâ
âNami! Are you there? Behind me?âÂ
Luffyâs voice is clear. It almost rings in my ears. I hadn't realized just how far-off Namiâs voice had sounded.Â
âWell, heyâ Listen, itâs not my fault! That pigeon guy sent me flying and I flew right into this gap.â
Itâs not a lie. I can tell.Â
Muscles strain, but nothing budges â a spot between shoulderblades aches, cheeks painfully squished together⊠Where the hell is he?Â
âIs this a joke to you?!âÂ
Luffy stops moving.Â
âWe donât have time to fool around like this!âÂ
Thereâs an unmistakable waver in Namiâs words, gritty as the screams in her throat are constricted by despair. Sheâs crying.Â
âWhile youâve been taking your sweet time, those guys from the government took Robin awayâ You werenât even there to help!âÂ
My heart drops.Â
No, not mine. Luffyâs.
âShe did it for usâ Robin intends to die for us!â Voice breaking with the truth finally unveiled, The Navigator screeches away all the heartache thatâs been built up since she missed her chance at the train station.Â
Weâd failed again.Â
âShe sacrificed herself in order to protect us from an attack by the government!â
Silent as he listens, flashes of Robinâs past admittances are surfacing in The Captainâs mind â when she first arrived, telling them she had nowhere else to go⊠And a few hours ago, vowing to never see them again.Â
âShe knew that she was going to be killed if she was taken in, but she didnât care!âÂ
âThen⊠Robin was lying?â Luffy had known there was something wrong about this whole situation, and now he had his answer. With all the pieces collected, it made sense why sheâd suddenly chosen to abandon them⊠Why sheâd been acting so different. âThis whole time?âÂ
At first, the captain was relieved. He could put this disorientation to rest, led astray by the unknown for far too long.Â
âGoodâŠâÂ
But itâs not long before the sensation fades into something fervent.Â
Driven by passion, determination, and everything between â Luffy spots the massive wave incoming â his strength, previously sapped dry due to his aimless endeavors, has now been regained.Â
After everything, Robin hadnât betrayed them after all.
âDonât worry!â Calling to his crewmate between clenched teeth and smushed cheeks, I feel the veins prod Luffyâs skin. âIâm not gonna let Robin die!âÂ
Wrinkled palms press against the walls encasing him â the straining, taut squeaking of rubber sounds â and the world begins to rumble.Â
Itâs a fuzz of flickering imagery, interrupted by a sliver of the boyâs vision, a solid blue stripe as heâs trapped between the walls; Robin, leaving for what sheâd intended for the final time with nothing but a stoic farewell. It replays like a broken record in Luffyâs mind, all whilst staring down the face of death as the cataclysmic wave barrels forwards.Â
Thereâs a war-cry building in his lungs, growling under his breath. Luffy can feel the bricks trembling beneath his hands, and finallyâÂ
With a clamor more thunderous than thunder itself, the two buildings that Luffyâs been wedged between all this time inevitably give way. Suddenly, he can feel the thrashing wind sweeping through his hair. The rain pinches his skin, needle-like â scalding â he knows itâs anything but.Â
Rocks plummeting to the earth, the commotion is immense in both sound and stature. The towers thatâd once contained him fall around in slow-motion, gravity struggling to wrench the newly freed structures down with its invisible prowess. Concrete grinds against itself, pebbles clatterâ Luffy feels as if the water is turning to ice over his rubbery skin. The storm had gotten much worse since heâd initially gotten stuck.Â
He falls â just for a moment in order to conceptualize a plan to evade the oncoming tsunami â and flips midair.Â
âHere we go, Nami!âÂ
With a sling of his arm, he calls for his navigator, ensuring that sheâd be along for the ride. They wouldnât be staying to watch the buildings collapse.Â
The other arm stretches, catching the tip of the highest building in range. Taking advantage of the height, relying on quick instincts and letting his body act for him, Luffy jets away from the waters that smash into whateverâs left of the city below. If heâd waited mere seconds longer, they both wouldâve been dead.Â
Sandals sliding without attaining the proper friction, the next rooftop they land on shifts, dismantled by the torrent thatâs quickly gaining range. He can hear Namiâs shriek of terror. Not bothering to dwell on it, he couldnât dither.Â
The captain launches to the next available vantage point, though it bears the same result. This time, he nearly plummets off of the side, and maneuvers to launch elsewhere.Â
He grits his teeth. No room for error, no moment to stop. Luffyâs all too aware that every movement, each step he takes is vital to their survival. If he so much as lost his balance, theyâd both be swept away within seconds. That couldnât happen. It wouldnât.Â
Spotting another high-up rooftop, he slingshots towards it without a second-thought, already searching the area for the next best spot to landâ
And there they are; The stairs that lead to the uppermost-level of Water 7. Thereâs a crowd waiting at the top of the stairs, watching on the edge of their seatsâÂ
One last push, and both him and Nami are sent tumbling along the cobbled ground like ragdolls. Zoro and Chopper seem to meet them in the middle, and all of them submit to exhaustion.Â
Breathe, breathe. He just needs a moment, needs to collect himself so that they can move onto more important things. That being said⊠Theyâd foolishly let their guard down.Â
The tides are loud, foreboding â yet the ocean is its own beast, and its tides are able creep up on you easier than one might think. It slinks, and skulks, stalking prey in a way thatâs more animal than matter. Having barely caught their breaths, none of the Straw Hats see it coming. Thereâs no time to react. Aqua Lagunaâs largest tidal wave yet arches above their heads. As it lunges downwards, Nami and Chopperâs simultaneous shouts of dread are drowned out.Â
Everyone is certain that this is the end for the Straw Hat crew. Even they themselves arenât certain of what to do. Two of them are devil fruit users, submitted to the effects of their collective weakness, however the sheer pressure thatâs slammed overhead is enough to render anyone immobile. Zoro, always so swift in his dealings, canât even reach for the swords at his hip.Â
Eventually, a riptide forms, inciting panic. In its success, the water aims to drag them to the eternal abyssâ
Luffy feels something scrape against his wrist, and grabs hold.Â
Paulieâs palms struggle to keep their grip on the ropes he so often used for both trade skill and combat technique. Rough, like braided sinew, the fibrous texture grating against his skin causes his hands to bleed â he spares a short, flinching reaction, before wrapping the ropes once more, and reeling backwards. Thereâs no bargaining with nature. Refusing to let go of its captives so willingly, the ocean tugs at the bodies attached to the other end of the shipwrightsâ lifeline.
Muscles strain, joints ache, the rain doing nothing to aid in the weakening traction whilst he digs his soles into the hard cement. Between Paulieâs teeth thereâs a cigar that threatens to be split in two, wrenching his arms toward safety with one final, agonized shout.Â
And the ocean finally breaks.Â
Popping out of the water, saved from a watery grave, all four crew members are yanked one after the other, flung to Paulieâs spot amongst the steadily deteriorating roadway to upper Water 7. Chunks of brick are gulped down by the greedy liquid, relentless in its pursuit.Â
âWeâre not safe yet!â Eyes widening at the next bout of waves closing in, Paulieâs voice grates uncomfortably against his throat with agitation. âRun! Run to the shipbuilding island!âÂ
Luffy abides the urgency, same as Zoro. Each of them snatch up Nami and Chopper, racing after the rugged man whoâd risked his own skin in order to save them. All the while, more of the walkway is taken by the raging weather phenomena, nipping at their heels.Â
They take the stairs two at a time, heartbeats thudding with overexertion and adrenaline. The salty-spray is only milliseconds behind.Â
Thereâs no other choice â the top of the stairs seems so far away â and Luffy uses every ounce of energy that heâs got leftover to push through those last few moments. Heâs not really thinking, just doing, pushing himself to the limits so that he and everyone else can survive.Â
At the end of it all, they reach the top; And on the last step, the trio take a desperate lunge towards the townspeople whoâd been watching and waiting throughout it all. Itâs right at the perfect moment, as the staircase is demolished to smithereens in their place.Â
As soon as they hit the ground, all is well⊠The waves canât reach here. Safe.
Flopped out on the grass, tongue lolling in exhaustion, Luffy basks in the cold rain and the calm that it invites, body hurting all over.Â
âYou moronsâŠâ Cigar-laden and grainy in tone, Paulie sits not far off from the four Straw Hats splayed about the area. âSeriously, that was reckless.âÂ
Although heâs being chastised, Luffy easily looks past that. Rope Guy had done them a huge favor, something that was almost unrepayable. He was a good guy.Â
âThanksâŠâ The boy cranes his neck back to peer at the blond man through the wild black tendrils that stick to his forehead, clinging to his nape and behind his ears. It was itchy as hell. âYou saved us, Rope Guy.â
âI didnât know Aqua Laguna would be like thatâŠâ Shivering from both the chill on her skin and the terror that sheâd endured, Nami heaves a quaking sigh. âI still canât stop shaking.âÂ
Taking a contemplative moment of respite, Paulie averts his attention back to the raging monsoon. âIf a big one like that had hit us every year, this island would be long gone. Iâm just as surprised as you are⊠This yearâs Aqua Laguna is different.âÂ
The Navigator isnât able to respond to Paulieâs sinister implications, a new voice joining the conversation and breaking through the gloom.Â
âYou guys are one step shy of crazy! Iâm surprised you survived.â
Luffy recognizes the old-woman instantly, lifting his torso for a proper greeting. âHey, Monster Granny⊠I didnât know you were here, too.âÂ
âOf course I am!â Granny Kokoro replies gleefully⊠Odd for the occasion. âI may be drunk, but if we stayed in the middle of the sea like that, weâd drown! Itâd be stupid to stay out there during this storm!âÂ
The words trail off into a tipsy bout of laughter, finding the idea morbidly hilarious.
âPirate guy!â Chiming from behind her grandmother, Chimney jumps into view with her arms raised, thrilled by the unbelievable scene sheâd witnessed moments prior. âYou were incredible! Likeâ Wham, wham! And your arms! They were like boing, boingââ
Gonbe, her pet âcat,â mimics his owner in rabbit language.Â
Luffy clasps a hand over the hat on his head, and grins at the little girl with closed eyes. âYeah, I know.âÂ
A dramatic gasp catches his attention soon after, and the curious boy turns to find his second in command holding a statuesque Chopper between both hands.Â
âAre you trying to suffocate me?!â The Swordsman barks, berating the reindeer for having gripped too tightly onto his face, refusing to let go. âThis idiot lost consciousness while holding on to me.âÂ
âStill, through his aggravation, he acknowledges the reasoning behind Chopperâs rigor-mortis-like form. The reindeer looked like a dead bug in Zoroâs hold, his arms and legs stiffened in place, mouth gaped in fear.Â
âHey⊠Come to think of it, Zoro,â Thoughts retracing to the moment that heâd vaulted Nami and himself to safety, Luffy remembers how heâd seen Chopper and Zoro doing the same. âWhy were you down there when the wave hit? Were you on the lower side of town?âÂ
âWhat? Oh, uh⊠Well, not particularlyâŠâ And the swordsman was almost nonchalant in his lie, save for the near-imperceptible twitch of his face in combination with the blatant stuttering. Luffy wouldâve believed him, too⊠Had it not been for Chopper.Â
Recently awakened, the youngest member doesnât quite perceive that Zoro had been attempting to preserve his integrity. As such, in a comical moment of pure honesty, the reindeer brutally reveals the truth; âZoro got stuck in a chimney.âÂ
Dumbfounded, the green-haired manâs face falls. Itâs gone too soon, replaced by a casual poker face â malevolence wafting around him like smoke. Slowly, sinisterly, he turns, and the doctor can see the hellfire blazing in his eyes, sweat dripping down his temple.Â
Chopper only has one fleeting moment to reactâ Itâs not enough time. Zoro squeezes his hand around the reindeer's little neck without mercy, The Doctor choking on his pleading cries.Â
Ignoring the display, Luffy leans forward in surprise. âYou got stuck in a chimney?â Reeling back, he belts out a laugh and claps his hands overhead. âZoro, you dope! I couldnât be that lame if I triedââ
Unsuspectingly, Nami comes to the swordsmanâs rescue. She whacks a fist across the boy's skull, grabbing a fistfull of the side of Luffyâs face and yanking hard. The rubbery skin molds in her hand like dough, forcing his eye closed whilst revealing his gums and teeth through the tension of his skin. âDonât forget, you did the same thing twice!â The girl rips into her captain like a rabid animal, teeth sharpened to points. âYou're both dopes, okay?!âÂ
Diverting his attention elsewhere, avoidant of the truths his friend has now outed him with â The captain scans through the meager few that are left of his crew, and nearly swallows his tongue, the muscle growing heavy in his mouth.Â
âWait⊠Where isâŠ?âÂ
Another glance through the crowd. Then another⊠Then another.Â
You werenât here. Again.
Tearing away from Namiâs iron grip with a resonating snap, the captain springs to his feet. The others watch him as he goes, the navigatorâs hand hovering uselessly in place, unsure of his abrupt change in attitude.Â
Spinning in place, he pays them no mind, scanning through the crowd with both eyes this time, hoping maybe you were just tucked somewhere amongst them â safe, ideally â but you werenât there, either.Â
Heart sagging, Luffy finds it hard to focus, for a second. Had you been down in the city, still looking for Bones? No⊠You werenât dead, but you werenât here, either.Â
For the final check, he reaches inward, just as he had hours before. The unseen force pulls, and he turns towards it with furrowed brows. Now heâs facing the oceanâŠÂ
Away from Water 7.Â
â...She isnât here.âÂ
Itâs hard to admit, but itâs the truth.Â
Near imperceptible under the reverberating buzz of wind and rain, Luffy mumbles the words beneath the pressure of a clenched jaw. He glares out at the mottled-indigo horizon, hoping to spy some sign of a vessel that mightâve taken you out there â no luck. The waves are too high, the rain too heavy, and the clouds too thick. He couldnât see where the ocean and sky started, or where they ended, for that matter.Â
Reaching further, trying to get more of a sense of you â pinpointing the direction, determining how you were â itâs just like before, and he canât feel anything⊠Canât feel you.Â
Thereâs no way to tell what youâre doing; How youâre doing; How youâre feeling; Luffy canât tell if youâre hurt, if youâre okay⊠Itâs like an itch that the boy canât scratch.Â
âDamn it.â He shouldâve taken you with him earlier.Â
The boy is worried. Worried for you â your wellbeing, your safety⊠Although, the other half thatâs a bit more like himself is entirely pissed.
Luffy is dying to take it out on the cause; Pigeon-Guy. Willing to bet on it, the captain guessed that the bearded man had made good on his promise, and now youâd actually been separated â taken alongside Robin. Itâs an entirely aggravating setback. Itâs annoying that Luffy lost to the guy, and for the second time!
His mind grants a quick vision of your terrified expression, delving a little too deep into his imagination on what might be happening while heâs not there. Itâs followed by the ever-ingrained image of you bawling your eyes out⊠Then another, and another. Fists tighten, knuckles click â jutting from the skin â he glares at the void of the storm before him and hopes maybe you can read his mind.Â
This was the third time heâd face-off against Pigeon-Guy⊠Heâd have to win this time. He would win this time, and end it all. Otherwise, the outcome might take you away from him for good. Robin, too.Â
Whipping around to address the townspeople, antsy and needing to get moving, Luffy doesnât want to waste anymore time than he already has.Â
âI need to borrow a ship!âÂ
âWait, justâ Hold on a second, Luffy!â Knowing what was at stake, The Navigator understands the rubber-boys frantic need to get moving. Even so, there was a lot he still wasnât aware of. âI get why you want to leave right now, but thereâs a few things I gotta tell you first!âÂ
Everything is in and out of focus⊠I hear the words, feel the urgency, and yet itâs as if Iâm losing my grip.Â
Waning, I struggle to stay on track with the conversation.Â
âAfter I tried to catch the train and get Robin back, I found this note at the station,â I hear Nami once again, seeing the folded paper â ink bleeding under the rain. Itâs the only item in my frame of vision. âItâs from Sanji. Heâs on the train right now, because he saw Robin and (Y/n) get taken on board. Apparently Usopp was there too, along with some thug with a ducktail.âÂ
âSo, (Y/n) and Robin are in the same place?âÂ
Head tilting from the page, I have some semblance that the motion is upwards, and that Luffyâs now addressing Nami directly. My view is covered by a smear of streaking color against a dense blue, the white of the paper and Namiâs orange hair sticking out like a sore thumb.Â
âThatâs good then!âÂ
Everything lags. Thereâs something humming in one of my ears.Â
âSo, lemme get this straight. Youâre saying that Nico Robin sacrificed herself for us?â
Bright green, tan and white. Then nothing.Â
âThatâs right.âÂ
Something is leaning â Wherever I am, the ground is flat, but the world around it is leaning. Iâm being pulled somewhere else.Â
âWhat should we do, Captain?âÂ
Thatâs Zoro⊠Isnât it?Â
âOnly one thing to doâŠâÂ
I canât hear anything but Luffy, now. No weather-ambiance, no other voices. Itâs only him, and even then I canât keep hold. Iâm being ripped away from him, digging my nails into my grayed-out psyche in desperation. Where was I going?Â
âWeâll set off and rescue them, right away!â
Dimming, Luffyâs voice echoes as if walking through a cavern⊠Each reverberation lessens in volume.Â
Something rumbles through my skull.Â
The world shifts, tilting on its axis.Â
Stomach sloshing in tandem, my skin meets the cold floor, body moving against my will. The frigidity shocks my system, brain lighting up with hypered-neurons. I wouldâve jerked awake, had I not felt as if my limbs were submerged in a sticky sludge.Â
I try to blink, it doesnât work at first. Lacking sensory sensation, my brain and body are discordant with one another â muscles sluggish to catch-up to wakefulness â and I question whether I'm actually awake at all⊠Was this a dream too?Â
Environment rolling backwards, cheek sliding along the way, I limply obey the disorienting sway of everything around me. The rumble is back â something just beneath.Â
Spine meeting the flat surface behind me, my back uncurls against the wall thatâs come to my aid. My limp muscles have liquidated, twisting and wrapping around stuck-out ridges like putty; but the rigidity of the wall is stabilizing, and helps to establish the missing pieces in its offer of steadiness.Â
The world tilts â I donât move.Â
My neck hurts. Everything feels muffled, as if I were still trapped in sleep. Fingers tap, lungs breathe â I know Iâm moving, know that Iâm not suffocating⊠Aside from that, I canât feel my bodyâs inner mechanisms responding properly. Was any of this actually real?Â
Numbness⊠My neck hurts.Â
Was that why I couldnât feel my body? Thatâs⊠Scary.Â
â(Y/n)?!â
A nasally, panic-stricken voice severs the ties of sleep completely.Â
âAre you dead?! You canât be deadâ Y-You gotta wake up, right now!âÂ
I can feel everything now, blinking stiffly at a sideways-world. Apparently, my eyes were already open.Â
Chills crawl across my body, clothes damp in some places, soaked in others; a texture nightmare after just awakening, and it almost makes me miss the two-faced comfort of sleep. I cringe as the fabric clings to my skin, rubbing against itself to raise goosebumps. Itâs like styrofoam, or nails on a chalkboard, only if theyâve been made physical.
Shifting around, vision a mere sliver of color as I squint through the darkness, my head hangs downwards, neck like a loose thread. Any sort of strain causes the tendon between my shoulder and neck to light up with pain, and the shoulders themselves have grown taut. I choose to leave it alone for now, aiming to investigate something else in the meantime, and it yields results. Wiggling my wrists births a chiming-jingle. Theyâre shackled.Â
At the sound, something shuffles nearby.Â
âOh, thank godâ Youâre alive!âÂ
âŠUsopp?Â
âWell, thatâs a reliefâŠâ He sighs heavily, seemingly over the dilemma. However, Usopp is anything but, given the wailing of your name moments before â and his nerves make him careless. âHonestly, Luffy would kill me if heââÂ
He stops short. The silence is loud â Not enough to shield me from the reminiscence of why the words hurt so bad to hear, though. I suppose itâs easier to hold off tears when your body doesnât have any to give.Â
Pushing away the sinking of my gut, swallowing dryly, I reassess the situation.Â
In my sleep it was difficult to determine what was fact and fiction; While I was still getting used to this whole âseeing through my soulmates eyesâ ability, there was a growing ease in recognizing it. The problem came with the brain-fog. Delayed recognition, holding focus on specific details⊠I could remember bits and pieces, yet it wasnât the whole picture. Plus, I couldnât be certain that what I had remembered was real. My mind had a habit of mixing in past events with the current, which entailed a whole new issue. I couldnât remember any of those memories, at least.Â
I clench my eyes shut. Itâs unbelievably frustrating. Not to mention, the longer I sat here and thought about it, the less I could remain ignorant. Usoppâs simple mistake casts a wretched filter across my thoughts, scrambling past and present from all the wrong sources â Glimpses of arguments, fighting and the like, are infiltrating everything that is too important to lose, and my brain is scrambling into mush already.Â
âWell⊠Iâm just gonna cut through the awkwardness here, and get straight to the point.âÂ
For a moment, I canât even believe my ears.Â
Nearly knocking myself out against the wall, I brace against the ground and tear my gaze up to The Cyborg. He looked none-too-pleased to see me⊠Or maybe he was upset with the situation. He was encased in a sack.Â
âWhat the hell are you doinâ here, Shrimp?âÂ
Eyebrows furrow â blurry vision dispersing with each despondent blink â the ache in my bones lingering and frazzled mind struggling to catch-up⊠I eventually catch onto what heâs asking, and give the area a once-over.Â
This⊠This place isnât somewhere I know.Â
Alarmed, I realize Iâm not familiar with anything here â in this small room, with its navy-blue walls, seafoam ceiling, crates crowding the area in towering stacks â the windows are dark, panes flecked with raindropsâ The sky is still dark.Â
Exhaling shakily, Iâm faced with the admission that I donât recognize anything at all.
âIâŠâ Mumbling, at a loss, I close my eyes once more and shake my head with a grunt. When I go to brush the hair from my eyes, registering the metal thatâs bound my wrists, I feel my breath hitch. I was in shackles. âWhat⊠I donât⊠W-Where are we?âÂ
Glued in my spot, the area gets another shaky once over, further solidifying the reality of the situation. Panic comes in rapid spurts, bursting and aching in between the bones of my chest cavity as I retrace each feature of the room. If I analyze long enough, maybe Iâll find some small detail that will wake me up â will release me from another of my usual nightmares, and everything will be alright.Â
But it doesnât.
Every breath I take feels like Iâm flooding my lungs and stomach with cold steel. I choke, and regard the area â Small. Afraid â Like I've been swallowed whole by some kind of beast.Â
Iâm tucked in a corner; Surrounded by boxes twice my size; Contained like some sort of zoo-animal; Faced by the friend whoâd abandoned us whoâs also joined by the man whoâd made my day a living hellâ
Itâs utterly enveloping, this horrible room. Designed with the perfect details to effectively drive me to the brink after enduring every harrowing scheme thatâs been thrown at me today.Â
My bottom lip trembles as I return to Frankyâs initial question.Â
Howâd I get here?Â
âThe Puffing Tom, on our way to who knows where.â Wholly aggravated, Franky glares at the two men standing guard by the door farthest from us. âI guess that means you donât know where weâre going, either. Sucks⊠I was kinda hoping that youâd know something, yâknow?â Â
I tune out as soon as the train is mentioned, lunging for the connection. Against the odds, I hoped it wouldnât be revealed as what I was suspecting⊠Not sure who I was fooling. Myself, I suppose.Â
That innate, permanent attachment was so, so stretched â A wad of gum thatâs been chewed over hours and hours, lost in flavor and elasticity. Thereâs no buzz, no alleviating tingles, no consolation whatsoever. As I held it open, it couldâve pulled my body straight through the wall, still, I clung to it anyway. Thereâs no him, only the instance of him thatâs held together by strands.Â
Devastation rings true. We were far, far away from Water 7⊠I remember now. The plan with Robin, the angry mob, the rain, the baby, and thenâ Nothing.Â
What happened?Â
âWoah, take a breather, kid.âÂ
Drawn from my incomplete remembrance with a wet-warmth trailing down my face, dripping from my chin and to my hands, Frankyâs concern is honest. When did I start crying?Â
âYou just woke up, what the hell happened?âÂ
Thatâs the question that needs answeringâ What the hell happened?Â
As always, the inquisition doesnât stick. Understanding the whole of it requires more questions, and I have no answers. Whereâd I go after finding Galley-La HQ again? How long ago did it happen? Was the situation with the baby even real? What was I trying to do after that?Â
Find Luffy. Thatâs what it was.Â
All Iâd wanted to do was find him and the others, except I couldnât even achieve that, in the end. So, now what? That didnât explain anything. I have no memories of what happened⊠Iâd been attacked? Knocked out? Then kidnapped? Taken by people who I didnât even knowâ
âWhyâŠ?â I take a deep breath, imploring the emptiness for an answer⊠Murmuring whilst lifting my wrists to bury palms into my eye sockets. All I wanna do is curl up into a ball and cry, and Iâm praying for the universe to just let me. âW-Why does this alwaysââÂ
The vowels catch on the thorns in my throat⊠Why does everything always go from bad to worse, no matter what I do? Before, I could actually understand why I always felt like some sort of deadweight⊠Now?Â
I tried⊠Didnât I?Â
Iâd messed up before, running away from the group in my own selfishness â nonetheless, I tried to make up for it. I tried to find everyone, tried my best to follow Luffy through the labyrinth that was Water 7⊠Was it not enough?Â
Why is it never enough?Â
If Iâd been stronger, smarter â stopped myself from running away like a coward â I couldâve done more. Been more. From something as little as Zoro having to help me jump a fence, to the dire circumstances with fleeing an angry mob⊠There were so many instances that mightâve played out differently had I actually been able to contribute in some shape or form.Â
Against these unknown assailants, Iâd already been apprehended beyond the point of retaliation. I couldnât break these shackles apart like Luffy, or Chopper; I couldnât slice them in half like Zoro; Couldnât pick the lock as Nami couldâve; I canât outsmart our enemies like Robin; Canât lie my way out of the situation like Usopp; or find another way to fight without using my hands, like SanjiâŠÂ
I had nothing of value to give⊠I couldnât pull my weight.Â
These inabilities, dependencies, and lack of action were part of the reason why I applied nothing of value to this crew. Each time I disgraced myself, all it did was stockpile the memory into a pocket in the back of my mind â and I just canât break out of this damned cycle.Â
Skypiea was different. I could run and cry, then⊠Now? I've been training. I applied myself, threw myself into it after being so hesitant on how to approach violence in a way that I could manage. It was only a small amount, a meager handful of new skills I couldâve acted upon during the most vital moments of our travels here⊠Yet I didnât. Everything I believed that Iâd learnt flew straight out the window as soon as any sign of danger revealed itself.Â
The training was for nothing. All I did was run, too afraid to die for the sake of my soulmate⊠I suppose, in the same regard, I was also too afraid to fight for him.Â
I just wanted to stay alive for him, all in all â but the likelihood of me succeeding was practically impossible.Â
I always need help⊠I always rely on my friends for those insurmountable, inevitable tasks that I canât fulfill. But they canât rely on me. Thereâs no returning the favor, no way to make up for it.Â
And with an empty, aching sob, I can acknowledge that there isnât an excuse for thatâŠÂ
But I tried.Â
âHey, Shrimp. You still hanginâ in there, or what?â Having seen enough of my breakdown, Franky pipes up once more. Heâs just as impassive as ever. âYou guys really are a mess.â
âI-I⊠IâmâŠâÂ
Shielding my face a little further, stowing into myself so that I might disappear, Iâm not present at the moment. I know heâs in the room, although itâs not exactly Franky whoâs talking.Â
Itâs just someone. Anyone.Â
â...Iâm scared.â
The whispered-wail, in spite of it being nothing but a labored breath, drops into the room like an iron weight. It stays, suspended in plain sight, waiting for a bite â nobody takes it. The two men are too stunned to respond immediately. It just goes to show my point. How pathetic.Â
A glaring risk to Luffyâs existence⊠Itâs all I can be, and that in itself is petrifying.Â
I donât want to be the reason that Luffy dies.Â
âLuffy mightâŠâ Sharp gasps, infiltrated by a spare hiccup or two, my chest caves with every sob. âHeâs gonna die, nâ I canât⊠Because I canâtâ B-Because heâs tied to me.â
In the gloom, suffocated by the fancily adorned environment, I had no place. Thereâs no stability this time around. Itâs not Franky, or the train cart, or anything else, and I reach out â blindly, desperately â to anything that I know. And itâs Usopp.Â
Even if he doesnât want to be, The Sniper is a friend. He is the one constant in this situation of unknown, and it serves as the sole, grounding factor in such an explosive breakdown. I adhere to his presence, regardless of whether I should or shouldnât; Regardless of past mistakes, or intentions. I just donât care about either of the possibilities. Heâd been a shoulder to lean on for so long, how could I be expected to get over that in a single day?Â
Thereâs no thought process, relying only on this habitual coping-mechanism â Words flowing in a never-ending spill of jumbled misery and heartache.Â
âI-I justâ Iâm so scared,â Gasping, with the second admission comes a new burst of tears, âI donât⊠Know what Iâm sâposed to doâŠâÂ
Usopp, in turn, isnât sure what heâs supposed to say. His mouth is open, and heâs looking at you, nonetheless the words arenât coming to him.Â
Itâs clear that this has been bothering you for a while. You typically cry a fair amount, that was no secret, yet this was a whole other level. It looked just like⊠You looked just like him, a full twenty-four hours ago. Itâs jarring.Â
As a whole, The Sniper isnât sure how to feel.
Conflicted. Why hadnât you said anything? Why hadnât you at least defended yourself after Usopp had shouted at you like that? Twice. Both times were available to bring it up, yet you didnât. Did you want him to suffer alone, then? To ignore his issues in favor of your own? Was the cushiony-position as Luffyâs soulmate enough to shield you from all the same doubts Usopp had been suffering under?Â
Seen. Validated. Whether you had or hadnât held all this back with a private agenda in mind, seeing such an explosive reaction so soon after his own was satisfying. Not in sadistic terms, yet in the sense that you could relate, at least on some level. A weak link. Thatâs what you both were⊠Or had been, before Usopp left. Point being, you understood more than heâd expected.Â
Remorseful. The Sniper wishes he hadnât said anything â Hadnât called you a useless stowaway, or labeled you as trash meant to be thrown away⊠Had he known about your own dilemmas, would he have said something else? Would it have hurt less to know that you were experiencing something so similar? Would he have even left in the first placeâŠ?Â
No. It was too late for regrets⊠The time to reflect on this anger, or to feel understood, had long passed. The sniper doesnât want your apologies, nor does he want to apologize. Whatâs done is done; Usopp had made his bed, and he was going to lie in it. This wouldnât sway him now, after everything.
Still, he wants to speak, he simply canât land on the correct emotion to support the words. None of it felt right. Was it wrong to want to say something? After he chooses the right feeling, what does he even say?Â
âWell⊠Sure as hell could happen, canât lie about that.âÂ
But, thatâs alright. Franky will pick up the slack for him.Â
âIf youâre really asking me? Itâs simple really.â And he says it that way, too. No grand gestures, or extravagant phrases (really, he canât do much of anything in this stupid sack), the cyborg meets point A to point B. âJust do everything you gotta do to make sure that it doesnât happen.âÂ
Itâs carefree, and alarmingly genuine. Perhaps thatâs how my attention was caught right out of the gate, from the moment he began speaking. Even so, as I sit, sniffling with my hands on my knees, Franky doesnât look at me a single time. Heâs been glaring at those government agents for a while at this point. Iâm unconvinced.Â
âBut⊠B-But I canât. Iâm notâŠâ Enough.
Nearly rolling his eyes, Franky acknowledges how ridiculously stupid this moment is, at least for him. Last time heâd seen you â both times heâd last seen you â heâd sworn vengeance on you and your soulmate, threatening to retaliate if he saw you again. By no means should he be trying to make you feel better, yet here he is, doing exactly that.Â
And yeesh, Franky thought he cried a lot (not that heâd ever admit it). You, though? It was pouring out of you in buckets. Couldâve fueled this monsoon with your tears alone, probably. Credit where credit was due, anyone who cried like that gained his respect.Â
So, at the end of it all, what youâre saying now? What caused Franky to initiate this in the first place? Your words are hitting a little too close to home.Â
The cyborg knew what heâd seen earlier, and his gut is twisting just the same as it was then. You seemed to have this uncanny ability to remind him of his past; Nostalgic as it was bothersome.Â
âRight, you said that already. But youâre just gonna give up?â Impossible to argue with at times, the blue-haired manâs frown never fades, even as he graces your face with a sidelong glance. âIâll tell you one thing, moping about it isnât gonna do you any good. Youâre just beating yourself down for no reason. I mean, câmon. Itâs not like youâre trying to kill your own soulmate, right?â
The suggestion is like a shock to the system, and I jolt. âNo, thatâs not what IââÂ
âSo, what the hell are you gonna do about it, then?âÂ
For the final time, all of us fall quiet, processing the words to ourselves.Â
Itâs offputting, at first. Frankyâs interjection is not as judgemental as Iâd initially assumed, eventually bearing the recognition that heâs urging me for a reply. I want to, I really do⊠Harboring some intimidation towards him having overheard, I find myself biting my tongue.Â
He catches on to this fact. A deep sigh, then;Â
âNot blaminâ you for crying, alright? Hurting someone you love, accident or not, isnât exactly easy to handle.â Itâs plain to see that Franky is no stranger to circumstance, and he hopes that his resolution can give some reassurance. Tom had taught him a lot, even in death⊠The man held every memory close; Ones that hurt, especially. So, thereâs no animosity. Internally, The Cyborg is relinquishing whatever vengeance heâd sworn unto you and your crew. It was unnecessary at this point. âBut if thatâs all youâre gonna do, then of course youâll die. And youâll just wind up dragging him along with you.âÂ
I take a good, long moment.Â
Just⊠Looking at him.Â
Unpacking the take-home point is easy. The Cyborg is motivating me, in his own, hardass way. I could somewhat recognize the difference, given that Iâve spent so long with Zoro recently (and he wasnât the nicest teacher).Â
The part that Iâm stuck on?Â
Why?Â
Franky and I werenât friends. Not even close. Iâd literally forgotten that he was in the room during my little vent-session.Â
Clear-headed only from the way his baritone shook me from the stupor, I canât wrap my head around it. He wanted revenge. Pointless and arrogant, though revenge nonetheless. The man had sworn to be Luffyâs enemy, this was made clear whilst we had our short face-off in the city streetsâŠ
Something clicks, and I blink at the man in realization. Now that I think about it, Franky had let me go earlier as well. Heâd shown mercy. Why? Because I cried? Because I was a girl? Well, no⊠Not with the way he attacked Nami and I in the Yagara cart earlier⊠So, why?Â
More importantly⊠Why was his advice actually working?Â
Frankyâs an enemy, so why is every word sincere? Why is it that his suggestions, his mentorship, are hitting my core? Subtly, they ease away the stress as I consider, over and overâ
Sure, he wasnât sincere like Nami, or Chopper⊠Really, it sort of reminded me of Luffy â Painfully straightforward, and even a little blunt with his words at times. With that association in mind, it becomes blatant. And so, I clench my fingers into fists.Â
Donât give up. Thatâs what heâs saying.Â
Keep trying.
âI⊠Iâm gonnaâŠâÂ
Mouth dipping into a frown, my eyes bubble with the last of my tears â swearing internally that I would do my best to halt their reappearance. My voice breaks, and I give the older man one quick, determined nod.Â
âI-Iâm gonna keep trying.â
The water slides around and over my lips, where they purse, and I nod again in confirmation. A small âthank youâ on my own part, I suppose. To my surprise, Franky actually smiles back.Â
âSee? All you needed was some super motivation! Knew you still had all that fire from earlier.â Referring to our meeting in the streets, I reply with a short âyeah,â and wonder if I might be able to muster up a smile myself. Instead, it becomes known that thereâs a commotion steadily approaching.Â
Itâs difficult to discern, the pitter-patter of showers on the roof hiding the muffled shouts and low thudding crashes. That is, until the soldiers standing at the door seem to perk up.Â
âHey⊠You guys hear that?â Frankyâs the first to notice.Â
Refocusing on the area heâs suggesting, I can hear it too. Itâs fast, with short-lived struggles that pick up one after the next. It sounds as if the battle is right outside the doorâÂ
Then, everything stops.Â
A beat of a moment. Both guards are facing each other in alarm, beforeâ
Bang!!
The door swooshes open, swinging back to slam one of the agents into the wall, forming a human-shaped dent. The wood prickles as the other gawks in disbelief, and a wet mop of blond hair steps into the dim light.Â
I feel my spirits lift almost immediately.Â
â...Sanji?âÂ
The Chef steps forward, gaping at my crumpled figure, cigarette smoke clouding his vision⊠Until he isnât anymore; jumping for joy with a face that lights up like Christmas.Â
â(Y/n)!âÂ
Twirling, Sanji canât contain himself as he celebrates, ignoring the other two in the room.Â
âMy darling Angel! I have come to rescue you!âÂ
â
Tidbit Today!
If you were to combine all of (Y/n)âs limited experience into a whole, you might get the sense her self-doubts in the chapter are nearing the brink of irrationality; This is actually an important part of her characterization, specifically being emphasized during this arc.
Almost unknowingly, she is regressing back into her old ways, as itâs a sort of ânormalcyâ for her where her self-worth is at an all time low, particularly in the field of being unable to fight back or provide something of use (though itâs physically impossible for most people to fight against the things sheâs encountered thus far, such as multiple massive crowds, or much stronger opponents), and this self-doubt remains even when comparing herself to her own friends, who arenât able to do much in the situation either.Â
I suppose you could say that she still doesnât understand how Luffy, Zoro and Sanji donât count in terms of comparison⊠Theyâre pretty much inhuman in terms of strength, which she sort of knows, but again, isnât rationally keeping aware of it.
âBut she saved that baby!â â Incredibly valid point! All in all, (Y/n)âs not quite focusing on the accomplishments and strengths that she has now, just on what she believes she should be contributing for the crew and her soulmate, especially in regards to staying alive for the sake of Luffy and the others (because thatâs the worst case scenario in terms of cause-and-effect toward the crew).Â
At her core, our poor girl really just wants to be as useful as she can be. Otherwise, she still has this inherent feeling of worthlessness.Â
The makeshift-bunkerâs ceiling towers overhead the masses, patterned by criss-crossed steel beams â a built-in protection method meant for stability. If the storm, Aqua Laguna, ever chose to crash down upon the higher grounded parts of Water 7, then these such countermeasures would provide the townspeople with proper shelter. That sort of thing had become unheard of during these last few decades, though protocols were mandatory in order to avoid worst-case scenarios. Nobody wanted the past to repeat itself; The memories drowned beneath waves, which reigned successful in reclaiming the land during events years prior.Â
There were many of these fortified structures spotted around the highest places of Water 7 in order to house each and every civilian during Aqua Lagunaâs annual event. It was nothing new, clockwork to those whoâd spent most, if not all of their years living amongst the canals and cramped housing â and the area in here was treated in that same respect. Everyone had their own space, designated by blue sheets cast across the floor that mimicked the grated beams above in close-knit squares. Sleeping mats, survival supplies⊠Not a single person was ever unprepared, although if they were, then they could count on those in the vicinity to aid their troubles. âIt takes a village,â as they say.Â
Yes⊠It was close-quarters â a little too cramped, the air heated by warm bodies, restless to return to their homes â but it was doable, and necessary. The best they could do was try to relax, helping the time pass by spending the hours with family and friends as the lanterns glowed hazily above.Â
âA-qua La-guna, A-qua La-guna, A-qua La-guna is coming for you!â
Some chose to entertain themselves, treating the destructive weather-phenomenon lightheartedly so that the youngest of the crowd wouldnât be too badly frightened. The adults aided in making a game out of it, singing simple songs as if they were makeshift nursery rhymes, dressing themselves in white sheets, and gave chaseâ
âWeâre Aqua Laguna!âÂ
âHere comes a big wave!âÂ
For others, they chose to fill the empty air with talk of current events â ones not so cheerful in comparison.Â
âSo, do you know whatâs going on with those culprits?â An older man, tanned and wrinkled, light-brown hair dusted with grays, crosses his arms with a frown.Â
âI heard they havenât been caught yet.â A younger man responds, recognizing the conversation to be one about the notorious Straw Hat crew. He bears a similar expression, and the irritation clashes with his brightly colored raincoat.Â
The olderâs eyes clench shut, a disappointed grimace surfacing at the news. âStill on the loose⊠Ugh, thatâs no good.âÂ
The children pass by, fleeing their parents with smiles that gleam in the dim light, rowdiness overpowering the glum atmosphere. Another conversation is overheard nearby.Â
A man with a beard grins like the cheshire cat, pointing a finger knowingly. âAnd what I heard is that tonight, all of the craftsmen from Galley-La will be at the main office protecting the mayor!âÂ
Amazed, a man and his wife across the way gape in disbelief. âWoah, thatâs a pretty big deal, isnât it?âÂ
âHow many people have the Straw Hatâs got?â Another man, overhearing his neighbors' discussion, chimes in.Â
âSome say fifty, others say a-hundredâ or even more!â A radicalist-individual adds his two-cents from a few sheets down. âBut the Captainâs got a-hundred-million bounty on his head, for all we know he could be sending an army of three-thousand men from the sea!âÂ
âAre you kidding?!â A blond boy spooks at the idea, swiftly panicked at a possible invasion from the overzealous preacher. âThat sounds really bad!âÂ
Continuing to frolic, unaware of whatever troubles they could possibly harbor in the midst of all this chaos, the kids race on. They squeal with every uncontrolled stumble through the slim pathways between each sheeted-space, shrieking when a personified âAqua Lagunaâ catches up for a successful capture.Â
It couldâve been blissful for the rest of the night, just like this â If not for the unfolding catastrophe.Â
A ginger-haired woman searches the hundreds of faces in the crowd with hollowed eyes, trembling hands cupping her open mouth; Theyâre only removed when she approaches each stranger, a burdened question tearing from her hoarse throat.Â
âE-Excuse me, have you seen a young girl around here? Sheâs got dark hair, and brown eyesââ Her eyes well with anxious tears as the person before her shakes their head at the description, confused and caught off-guard. âShe⊠She wouldâve had a baby with her. You havenât seen her? Not once?âÂ
And yet the answer is no â Just the same as it had been for the last hour sheâd spent asking around.Â
When the woman turns to initiate a new interrogation, a man catches her by the shoulder â black-haired and looking similarly disheveled.Â
âAnything?â He begs, reaching for her other shoulder in order to pull closer. It was a halfhearted attempt at comfort, lacking the state of mind to provide any proper solace. âAnything at all?âÂ
Shaking her head, the womanâs bottom lip trembles. Her husband had experienced similar results. There was no sign of the girl they were looking forâÂ
âOh, godâŠâ Voice cracking, the man crumbles, lifting a hand to slide through his hair as his chest heaves. âA-Are you sure? Oh, godââ
âTh-They canât⊠She has to beââ The ginger tries to interject, yet the denials die away in her throat.Â
Sheâs spotted a familiar figure in the distance.Â
âSheâsââ With a finger thrust in the same direction, both parents are off like a shot. âThere!âÂ
The husband makes it to the younger woman first, panting with exertion. The young woman appeared bordered off, not the reaction heâd hoped. Analyzing her figure further, he recognizes that something is clearly absent.Â
âWhere⊠Where is she?â The husband hunches, his wife coming to grasp the youngerâs hands in her own â relieved. Far too early of a celebration.Â
Eventually, the motherâs eyes search, but the girl doesnât have the most important piece of cargo amongst her belongings.Â
âWhat⊠Where is⊠Where is our baby?âÂ
Quiet. Everyone whoâs overheard the words canât believe their ears.
And the babysitter hasnât met their eyes. Not even once.Â
âHoneyâŠâ Bordering on a meltdown, the ginger-haired woman squeezes the dark haired girl's hands once more, urging a response. The apparent absence of her child has jolted her into a belated stupor. âH-Honey⊠Where is she? Wh-Where is ourâŠâÂ
The girl stares at the floor, motionless â her quivering lips wrench downwards, sullen and distraught. Fat tears are soon to follow, a burst of emotion thatâs unable to stay hidden under the parents prying, expectant gazes.Â
Both parents' hearts drop.Â
âI⊠I-I had herâŠâ Whispering her shame, the babysitterâs guilt is almost tangible. âDown at the house⊠I had her, and thenâ Then there was a wave, and I⊠I couldnâtâŠâÂ
She remembered it so clearly, the terrible moment where sheâd placed the months-old infant down on the ground in her carrier, double-checking that sheâd gathered all the child's things.Â
It had happened too fast. One moment, the baby was there. The next, she had been swept away. The girl hadnât been able to act quick enough when the salt-water pooled at her knees, helpless to do nothing but listen to the babyâs wail fading fast on the wind, until the cold sunk to her ankles.Â
The babysitter had tried so hard⊠Chased and chased, to no avail. Even when there were others who offered a generous amount of assistance in finding the child, nothing could be done. Eventually, they ran out of time. Searching longer would be putting everyoneâs lives at risk; It had grown too dark to see, with the tides too dangerous to dwell around, a bad combination. Additionally, taking into consideration how much time theyâd spent looking â all those hours without spotting the child â it was unlikely that anybody would find the baby, no matter how the search drew on. It likely hadnât survived.Â
âShe⊠Sh-She got swept awayââ The babysitter chokes through her teeth, sobbing, holding a sack between clenched, white knuckles. Baby clothes, diapers, powders, toys â without the baby to need them for.Â
No person in the bunker that night went without hearing the shrill, heart-wrenching scream that emitted from the ginger-haired mother as she collapsed to the floor. Everyone, everything stops â the children, the lingering discussions â witnessing the despair of newly-bereaved parents, who can do nothing but claw at the ground and force the air from their lungs in pain-stricken spurts.Â
As I said, worst-case scenarios didnât happen much in the last few decades⊠But, when they did, it was certain to be marked as a tragedy.Â
â
âWeâve lived in a different environment.â
Rob Lucci stands at the apex of the unmasked-troupes in their triangle formation. Him and his allies tower over everyone else in the room, their expressions cast in threatening shadow.Â
Thereâs a prideful stench of crimson in the stillness. The difference in power-level had been made clear (though the pirate crewâs forces were lesser than usual due to their missing members). Despite the visible discontent, Lucci and his allies appear relaxed. The enemy's calmness is offputting, raking discomfort over the Straw Hatâs crew's skins. These people were scarily confident, with the strength to back it up.Â
And in the end, the mission had failed â They hadnât saved Robin. She was gone, having disappeared mere moments ago, out the window without a trace.Â
Luffy could feel his teeth grinding in his mouth, blood spilling from his lips. The column of his spine throbbed. Lucci had thrown him more rapidly than the captain had been able to defend â even stronger than the âshipwrightâ had been during their battle earlier in the day. That didnât really matter to Luffy, though. Theyâd failed their mission because of Pigeon Guy, and his friends. They were the reason that Robin was gone, so the captain needed to kick this guy's ass in order to get her back.Â
âEver since we, CP9 members, can remember, weâve been prepared to risk our lives for the government, trained to surpass the limits of human abilities. Instruments of absolute justice.âÂ
The white bird that rested on Lucciâs shoulder was the only common variable from when the Straw Hatâs had previously met the Galley La Company. This was almost a completely different person. The manner of his voice, droning and monotone, combined with the weight of his disinterested glare⊠Lucci was practically soulless â A stark comparison to the guy whoâd previously spoken through the guise of a pigeon, like a puppet or something.Â
Now, the guy was cold, stiff⊠Mechanical. Inhuman. Just as youâd said.Â
This wasnât the first time that youâd predicted something was wrong, Luffy recognizes⊠You probably wouldnât be too happy about it though, if you were here to witness everything unfold the way youâd accurately guessed. Everything you foresaw was so negative. Why were you so good at that specifically? He could likely guess why, but now wasnât the time, anyway.Â
Steely eyes spear straight through his skin as Luffy struggles to bring himself back to a stand, using the broken wall behind him for stability â which was destroyed via the impact of his body after Lucci tossed him aside â the concrete crumbles apart beneath his weight.Â
âAs a result, weâve mastered the six superhuman techniques called Rokushiki. So, now Iâm sure itâs abundantly clear to you why the four of us are the government's most elite agents, trusted with the most vital tasks. Not to mention how miserably weak a band of pirates is in comparisonâŠâ The ex-shipwright continues, ruthless in his blatant belittling. âThis is a world-class top secret. Itâs not a matter that people like you can get involved with.âÂ
Lucciâs words burned Luffy from the inside out, angry that he and his friends had been bested at this moment. Because it was true. The captain himself could barely collect himself after the various attacks heâd endured, and Zoro was in a similar state. Both were panting with exertion, bleeding from wounds that were minor but gradually growing in number. Meanwhile, Chopper and Nami sat on the sidelines, gaping in terror at the scene unfolding. If those two tried to fight right now, they would likely lose.Â
With this most recent failure, it was like there wasnât a direction to take; Doubling-down on their misfortune. The uncertainty left everything unstable, breaking down everyoneâs will to fight the harsher the hammer swung. Luffy didnât know what to do next, but that familiar, unwanted sensation of being completely lost was getting on his nerves.Â
âBy the way, I couldnât help but notice something.â The shift in tone is heard, loud and clear; Like genuine curiosity, yet cynical in the way it hisses from the other manâs lips. More unsettling, against Luffyâs will, was the slight gleam of interest that blinks within Lucciâs blank gaze.Â
Notice what? The captain says nothing, growing more agitated with both his adversary and the random source of disconcertment, so Lucci finishes his thought.Â
âYouâre missing quite a few people, though Nico Robin is not the only individual thatâs caught the attention of our employers. Due to the fact sheâs not here, I can only guess that none of you were aware of this fact.âÂ
She.Â
It clicks, and Luffyâs eyes flicker around the room, scanning to confirm Lucciâs words. You werenât here.
How the hell hadnât he noticed? The Captain realizes heâd just assumed you to have joined the fray, being with the others. Thatâs where heâd left you, not wanting to drag you into everything head-first. You mustâve gotten separated then.Â
The boy taps into the bond, and sure enough, you were undoubtedly somewhere far from him and the others location. Where were you, then?
Something ominous in Lucciâs manner of relaying the information, Luffyâs stomach twists at the insinuation.Â
âItâs quite a shame. The only one who was able to see through our disguises isnât around to see that she was correct in her assessment. The big reveal⊠A disappointment, Iâm sure.â Closing his eyes, Lucci becomes bored with the conversation. âBut, thatâs irrelevant. Sheâll find out soon enough.âÂ
The statement strikes a chord.Â
âWhat the hell are you talking about?â Sore and raspy, Luffy demands an answer immediately. Part of him has to know. If this guy and his friends were after you, you had no chance against them. Youâd lose, and the boy needed to know what that meant.Â
Lifting his chin, the man peers down his nose at the boy. âYou know who Iâm talking about then? (L/n) (Y/n)...âÂ
His fingers twitch, on-guard at the mention of your name, despite the lack of your physical figure in the room. It bothers him. You were out in the city somewhere, probably alone, since everyone else was here, aside from Sanji. In the most ideal situation, youâd have met the chef somewhere down the line, that would reduce the threat. Then, vice versa, if you were alone, it didnât look good for you.Â
Damn it. His heart was racing.Â
âLeave her alone.â Now that your name has proven its point, The Captainâs response is instant, instinctive. He practically blurts it out before he can even process it.Â
The Captain is restless, angry. The discontent was driven by a jolt in blood pressure that didnât sear his skin as it usually would, instead it chilled all the way down to his bones. Were you scared? Were you already hurt? He couldnât tell â Why were you so far away?Â
At the hostility in Luffyâs tone, Lucci scoffs under his breath. He can smell the nerves wafting off the boy in roves. âHow pathetic. Soulmates are nothing but a curse. Youâll realize that once youâre separated.âÂ
Separated? Yeah, right. Luffy was never going to let that happen. Pigeon Guy would have to kill him first.Â
âYou already have Robin,â From the demolished doorway, Chopperâs frail voice interjects, alarmed and overwhelmed. âY-You canât just take (Y/n) too! What do you even need them for?!âÂ
âThat information is classified. Iâm simply following orders.â Lucci's gaze slides to Chopperâs, the doctor shrinking backwards. âThe moment our intelligence was notified of (L/n) (Y/n)âs appearance, we were told to retrieve her immediately. The same was ordered for Nico Robin.â
âN-No, you canât do this!â Shaky in both movement and speech, Nami frustratingly thrusts her fist downwards, rejecting the possibility. âYou canât just keep taking our friends from us and not expect us to fight back!âÂ
âYouâre not getting either of them, Robin or (Y/n).â Luffy, standing on business as per usual, isnât about to back down. Heâs not worried anymore, recklessly resolute. âAfter this, Iâm gonna go out there and find her beforeââÂ
âItâs pointless to resist. Weâre already in pursuit.â Lucci doesnât entertain the idea whatsoever, insisting that the Straw Hats were simply meant to lose. âSheâll be dealt with shortly, if she hasnât been found already. Even if you tried, youâll all be too busy burning alive to do anything about it. Youâll turn to ash inside of this building, along with the cityâs beloved mayor.âÂ
âOh, yeah?â Rising to his feet, Luffy held Rob Lucciâs gaze, fiery determination daring the other man to make a move. The only way this would be solved, to get you and Robin back, the boy would have to defeat this guy first.Â
It didn't matter who it was, the Captain was going to get you back one way or another.Â
âWeâll see after I kick your ass!â
â
Itâs pouring now.Â
The once silent city has been plunged into the roaring center of a hurricane. Rain falls in sporadic sheets, spraying against the ground in heavy droplets that further the flood â Meanwhile, harsh winds grant the plummeting liquid direction, whipping metal roofs so that they drum rapidly, though the sound eventually fades into the neverending static as the storm increases its efforts to drown the city entirely.Â
Clouds darken; A flash of lightning; BOOM-ing thunderâ
A pair of bright blue eyes flash in the unexpected illumination, most of their body cloaked in the shadows of the night. They trail after the sole figure of a girl, sprinting through the blinding rain⊠Watching, waiting for the right time.Â
And you are none-the-wiser.Â
No matter how hard I run, the shivering never lessens. Even with the branching heat that stems from my core, born from the brutal effort and searing pain of overworked musculature, the surface of my skin remains clammy â frigid.Â
Iâm soaked to the bone. Whenever my feet hit the ground, the pooling water splashes in retaliation, lashing at my ankles. Every part of my body was dripping, rivers of the freezing liquid streaming from my hair, down my neck and back. It wasnât long after Franky had left when Iâd felt the first drips of rain pattering my arms. That was a while ago, and since then it was as if the atmosphere was steadily waging war against the land. The wind billows in reminder of this fact, ruthlessly flicking icy drips across my cheeks with a sharp sting, forcing me to shield my eyes.Â
Finding Luffy is not as easy as it seems. At one point Iâd sworn I was getting close, up until the moment where his presence was flung clear across the island. The storm hadnât been so difficult to navigate then⊠Still, I remember wilting like a dead leaf as I faced my new direction â the one which I had come from â with a red-rawness in my fingers, cheeks and nose. And it was only getting colder.Â
I couldnât seem to pin him down, just like before. Slipping against the slickness of newly-cemented walkways, tripping over my feet as I spun aimlessly to determine my next direction, it felt as if I were simply walking in circles. My once invincible thought-process wasnât going as planned, and I worried that it would only leave me more lost than I already was.Â
I couldnât exactly call for help⊠Who would hear me? The chance of being heard by one of my friends was minimal, while the chance of being heard by a stranger who wanted me dead was much more likely â though neither would happen, mostly due to the civilian vacancy of these areas. On the bright side, racing through the vacant streets meant that I might find Ivory, but I hadnât spotted hide nor hair of him during my travels.Â
The impossibility of the situation was holding me back, piling dread on top of anxieties. Again, I donât know what the hell Iâm supposed to do!
KA-rack!
A bolt of lightning splits the sky, reminiscent of the times I faced Eneru in Skypiea. Thunder soon rolls overhead, delayed from its electric-counterpart â The noise is damning, laced with doom â The air quickens, each icy rush of air stabbing at my open flesh â My breath heaves in spurts, born into the frigid atmosphere in damp, cloudy puffs. Something was telling me that this weather was only going to get worse, whether that be based on my first-hand experience, or the cityâs methods of safety.Â
Billowing gales blow so harsh that it almost stops the noise of the rain entirely. A few moments of quiet, and out of nowhere, I hear it.Â
âŠWhat was that?
Slowing my pace, completely focusing on the barely-there emittance veiled within the raging tempest, I wonder if Iâve truly started to lose it. What Iâd just heard couldnât have been real â It mustâve been conjured up by my brain, scrambled by constant noise where the underlying tones construct made-up sequences that worm their way into your ears⊠A figment of an overproductive mind. Still, I second-guess myself. That noise was unmistakable, enough to give rise to any womanâs maternal instinct, and Iâd heard it time and time again back at the orphanage. Even so, this was completely out of the realm of possibility. I mean, out here? Right now?Â
Holding still, I cup my hands over my eyes, peering through the blankets of rain that make the night nearly impossible to navigate. Unnerved at the possibility, I listen, and listen⊠Nothing.Â
Until the wind picks up again. When the rain lessens, my eyes widen. There it is again, and with the brief respite that lifts away walls of rainfall⊠And I can see the wicker basket.Â
Itâs a baby.Â
An actual baby, wailing at the top of its lungs, stranded in the middle of this typhoon.Â
Struck dumb, incapable of immediately processing the sight, I have to blink the water from my lashes a few times in order to prove Iâm not utterly insane. Another lightning strike confirms it. Thereâs a baby basket, tangled in forgotten ropes of dry-hung laundry. A life-saving mistake.Â
Jostled back and forth in the overflowing canal with such roughness, I was both amazed and horrified that the child hadnât been flung into the waters at this point. The only tell that the baby had stayed put was conveyed by its screeching cry; prompting a heart-wrenching hoarseness that leaves me to question just how long it had been out here for.Â
I couldnât believe what I was seeing. A baby?Â
Who⊠How does this even happen? Who leaves their baby behind in such a horrible storm? It was totally unheard of â completely barbaric â neglectful and irresponsible.Â
When the shock wears away, anxiety barrels into my system at full force. Iâve moved to the edge of the canal, mind racing, and I can more clearly hear itâs crying. Antsy, I pace along the edge of the waters that serve to separate the infant and I. Whatever the reason for the baby being here, whether it be poor parenting or some unbelievable accident, it didnât matter. It was here; Helpless, alone and unable to defend itself. Babies were incredibly fragile. If it stayed in that basket, it would probably die of exposure⊠Hell, it might even drown if the waves get any rougher. I dreaded the thought, and I sure as hell didnât want to wait and find out.Â
I needed to do something.Â
How the hell do I even get over there? Urgency floods my veins, eyeing the wide, water-filled obstacle that hindered the childâs likelihood of survival. Sprinting to the corner of the street to seek out a means to retrieve the baby somehow, my stomach sinks to find thereâs no bridge here, nor over the streets that surround us. That meant Iâd have to leave the area, gamble on the next bridge I could find, and risk losing the way back. Not to mention I had no idea how much time that might take.Â
I flounder, unable to think on my feet. Again, this baby has been out here for an unknown amount of time. What if I spent too long searching for a way across? What if the rope loosened, letting the current steal the child away to the sea? And if not, what happens if the cradle gets tipped over by one of those waves?Â
The possibilities were endless, each more nauseating than the last. Time is of the essence, here.Â
âFuckâŠâ I whisper to myself, decidedly standing opposite to the cradle once more. It bobs tauntingly in the repetitive swell of a rising water-level, the pressure to act gradually increasing.Â
Gazing down at the water, endless ripples disguising the emptiness beneath the surface, my stomach flips. To my misfortune, this was the best option.Â
âFuck. Oh, GodâŠâ I clench my fists, pace a little more, and canât help the way my voice wavers in dismay. âOh my God.âÂ
Every cell in my body screams in disagreement once Iâve set my mind to it. The current was fast, the waves intense. Would I be able to swim through that? The current could take me under, if not for the waves that might crash down on me⊠I could drown.Â
So could the baby. Thereâs no excuse. If I donât make it over there one way or another, the baby will die.Â
My resolve hardens to unyielding steel at the thought. That couldnât happenâ No way would I let that happen.Â
Deep breath inâ
I have to do this. This is the best option⊠The fastest, too.Â
No drowning. I repeat in my head, donât you dare let yourself.Â
For the babyâs sake; I can do this.Â
âAnd I jump forward.
Feet first, the bitter, arctic cold nearly knocks the breath out of my lungs. Itâs so uncanny from Navarone, resurfacing memories â reliving them â vivid in the way that the saltwater stings against my eyes despite not having opened them, burning the columns of my nose and throat when I havenât taken a breath⊠I see the bodies floating behind my eyelids, sinking limply to the bottom of the ocean. The depths reach for my legs, dragging me down, downâ
Fingers already numbed from the rain, they fly to my lips automatically as the waters surge, plowing into my body. I shake my head, the sudden motion that shoves me backwards breaking me from a dizzying, catatonic spell. Donât you dare â I couldnât freeze up like this, not right now.Â
Imagine that baby, so small and young â all on its own â terrified beyond reason â freezing cold and left to the elements â unable to know anything above its own suffering, and the fact that nobody was there to answer its cry⊠Abandoned.
Fighting against the automatic response, I manage to regain my psyche, registering the here and now. My leg isn't broken this time around, I can move both of them freely. They sluggishly glide through the greedy liquid, surging me upwards. Yes⊠I can move them, and the same goes for my arms.Â
After that, itâs a breeze. My legs kick, once, twice, then again. Soon, my arms follow suit, stubbornly parting from my face, and I channel Zoroâs teachings to my utmost ability;
âPush yourself when it matters.âÂ
I open my eyes. Itâs dark, the water burns, and I close them again. The surface is close â but itâs trying to pull me back under â Iâm so close.Â
The baby could die.
I split the surface with a sharp gasp and a loud splash, sputtering on the acrid liquid as a wave slams down beside me. I ignore it, and force my limbs to push forward. I can see the cradle. I can hear the baby crying. The child is there â thereâs still time.Â
Desperate, fighting against such intense natural power, an ache in my muscles breaks through my concentration. I cough on the water that catches in my throat, distracted for a vital second. The wave comes out of nowhere, crashing down over my head enough that the strain hurts my neck and shoulders, plunging me further back. I flail, flipping over myself in the weightless environment. Bearings lost, Iâm thankful that when I open my eyes I find the surface is only a few feet above my head, and I havenât been twisted into a watery limbo.Â
Once more, I feel the wind slap my face. Leftover froth tickles my cheeks, defying my hammering heartbeat and each pulsing limb. That couldâve been a close call. Â
Focus. Focus.Â
My palm randomly slaps against the other half of the canal, disguised by shallow waters. Iâm eager to find it, eyes snapped open wide as I reach blindly for another anchor point. Iâd done it â Iâd made it across.Â
With an audible grunt that morphs into something of a battle cry, I wrench myself from the oceanâs grasp. Soon my legs pull free as well, knees ramming to the rock with a splash, clumsy feet following suit. Iâve only just found my footing when I move to stumble toward the bassinet. Thereâs no point in biding time.
A wave knocks into the side of the carrier, and the infantâs wailing gurgles, ceasing â my heart drops, I run harder â faster. And although the crying starts back up again, I never lessen my pace, because it sounds weaker now. Was it already too late?Â
Finally, Iâm there. Lunging for the other end of the rope, the roughened surface feels strange against the wrinkled skin of my fingers. Hand over hand, I tug with all my might, the tension slipping a bit when I stagger due to an oncoming waveâ Keep pulling.Â
The cradle bumps the street's edge, and I drag it onwards, into the shallows where it wonât float away. The rope is cast away without a glance, falling to my knees and already reaching inside.Â
Needless to say, the state of the infant is incredibly distressing.Â
Itâs hard to swallow. Any and all fabric inside is sopping wet, the baby itself submerged in a small pool of cold water. Its fingers, nose, cheeks and ears are a worrisome shade of red, bordering on purple, whilst the rest of the childâs skin is ghostly pale. My hands tremble, working to detangle it from the mess of ruined cotton wrappings. I swear under my breath each time my fingers fumble, however, eventually the baby comes free.Â
Their skin is freezing, and I scramble for a remedy. There isnât much, and I opt to gather the child into what I figured was once a thick swaddle fabric, ringing it out as best I can. Iâm not quite certain that keeping the cloth would be more beneficial or harmful to the infant's health⊠Surely it had to be better than leaving the baby completely exposed to the air, right? âŠAnd if it wasnât?Â
Iâm back on my feet without a second to lose, hushing the infant as best as I can through chattering teeth â sweeping back the matted hair from its distraught, scrunched up face. With the potential of frostbite being on the table, the child was choking on its own sobs. It was the kind of wail that you heard rarely, only in the most dire of situations⊠High-pitched, grating against their throat as itâs forced from their body, the sound used as their only means to communicate that something was wrong.Â
I had to find a doctor before it was too late⊠Except, what if it was already too late? Iâd never seen anything like this, not in my entire seventeen years that Iâd spent both in and out of foster care. This was bad. Really bad.Â
âSh⊠I-Itâs okay,â I murmur, cradling its tiny head into my neck, hoping to shield the babyâs face from further harm, or that it might even provide some body heat. My chattering coo does nothing, and the shrieking never stops. âIâve got you now, okay? Youâre gonna be o-okay⊠ShhâŠâÂ
I needed to find people, and said people would be somewhere at higher elevation. I suppose that meant a risk of running straight into Galley La HQ again⊠But, if that was what was necessary, so be it.Â
Scrambling around the block to find a bridge, or a connecting street, anything to get where I needed to go; screw the shipwrights; screw my self-absorbed fears; screw this stupidly aggressive hurricane; a childâs life was at stake.Â
Itâs incredibly inconvenient how Water 7 is designed as a literal maze. Iâd been forced to pause more than was efficient for the occasion, scanning posters of city maps muddled by moisture. In the end, I wound up abandoning the idea altogether, using the towering walls that circled the upper section of the city as a guiding landmark. This wasnât exactly foolproof either, meeting my fair share of dead-ends. Each encounter with a cut-off sidewalk or blocked off alleyway resulted in a waning sense of hope. Iâm just about ready to collapse, when I finally spot the roof of Galley-La HQ peeking over the rooftops.
The fire has died out since I left. Charred grass melts into the soil, slithering trails of black marring the green â Hardy bricks that side the structure were eaten away by the heat, eroded faces scorched and darkened. The rain strived to eliminate any trace of the hazardous event, spiteful to be upstaged prior to its arrival as a prime natural disaster, though the ash wasnât going down without a fight, unwilling to rinse away.Â
With the main gate left ajar, itâs relatively easy to spot those whoâd remained at Galley-La HQ. Their forces have dwindled, many of the men are injured. Sometime between when I left and now there must have been some kind of battle. I hoped my friends were okay.Â
Itâs not quite so loud; Not so rowdy and threatening anymore. Even so, itâs no simple feat to gather my courage in order to march back in. If I got caught, what then? Did Galley-La still want our heads on a platter?Â
My eyes search the sparse crowd for a doctor, or anything similar. If I could just find one, then maybe I could somehow drop it off discreetly and get out of here⊠The odds were low.Â
Tucked to the skin of my neck, the baby â whoâd previously fallen silent â begins to whine. That whine grows louder, evolving into a weakened, piercing cry that draws everyoneâs attention. I see their eyes harden, teeth bared in my direction.Â
This was it.Â
Iâm scared, and yet the sound of the child resonates; This was my sole purpose for being here, the only reason Iâd made my way back. It didnât matter what happened to me in comparison, since nothing could be worse than this child not making it through the night.Â
Swallowing, throat dry from sprinting through the city, I call out, âHas⊠Has anybody lost a baby?âÂ
My inquiry is just loud enough to hear above the chatter of rattling windows. The gutters overflow, dropping buckets to join the already sopping cement. Nobody seems to have heard me.Â
âHey, arenât you that Straw Hat girl from earlier?âÂ
âYeah, thatâs her! Thatâs his soulmate!âÂ
âYes, I-I amââ Replying whilst taking a step back, startled by the hostility, I pry the cradled child from my chest for just a moment, aiming to show proof of the reason why Iâm here in the first place. âBut Iâ I found this baby out in the streets. I donât thinkââ
âHow dare you show your face back here, pirate-scum!âÂ
âYeah! Your friends mightâve gotten away earlier, but you made a big mistake coming back here!âÂ
âHurry up and grab her before she gets away again!âÂ
A gun throttles up front as the barrel cocks backwards in preparation, whilst swords unsheathe with sharpened edges. I take another timid step backwards. It was just like before â They hadnât changed their minds one bit.Â
But this wasnât about earlier. This was about saving a life, a childâs life⊠Hadnât they heard me? Did they not realize? Surely they werenât monsters. They had to understand that there were more important matters at stake.Â
Or⊠Did they truly not care? Were they really so vengeful that theyâd ignore a defenseless baby for the sake of pursuing someone they deemed a criminal?Â
âCâmon men, she canât take on all of us!âÂ
They were right â I couldnât take all of them in a fight. I knew that well enough.Â
âA-All of you, justââÂ
That wasnât what this was about. They were aiming straight at us⊠Could they really not see the infant in my arms?Â
âJustââÂ
âTake her hostage!â One of the men interrupts again. My eyebrows wrench over my eyes in bewilderment. âMaybe weâll be able to get Straw Hat to come back for her!âÂ
Had all this been for nothing? Was saving a baby really so futile?Â
No, I donât care about whatever their agenda was. I didnât do all this just for a bunch of emotionally-driven maniacs to ruin it all. They couldnât open their eyes to actually see what was in front of them, blinded by wrath.Â
Nobody cared about the baby. None of them.Â
Exasperation bubbles in my gut, preparing to burst. I grit my teeth, bristling as my ears ringâ
âCould you shut up and listen to me already?!âÂ
Shrill, decisive and clear â impossibly loud as the demand shreds through the endless rain â every single man thatâs rallied towards me stops in their tracks, eyes wide and mouths agape, blinking deliriously in their frozen state of being. Subtly, the thrum of the raindrops returns, like the aftermath of an ebbing tide. I glare back in their faces, heaving in exhaustion. Of all moments for the adrenaline to retreat, now was not the best⊠So suddenly, too. I hadnât expected something like yelling could zap up my energy like that.
âOkay, so⊠Um.â Bravado rescinded by their expressionless faces, I shuffle the baby in my grip. It too has fallen quiet. âD-Does anyone knowâ Or⊠Has anyone lost a baby?âÂ
None of them respond. All they do is stare, apparently gobsmacked. In fact, they appear statuesque with stillness. My mouth opens and closes once, unsure of what couldâve been keeping them so tight-lipped.Â
âPlease, I-I donât know how long they have left,â Pleading, my eyes flicker over each stupefied expression, searching for some sign of recognition. âE-Even if you donât know whoâs baby this is, we need to find a doctor⊠Itâs too cold, a-and I donât know how long theyâve been stuck out here.âÂ
âYouâŠâ A man mumbles, frowning in perplexity. âYou brought it back?âÂ
I turn to him immediately, acknowledging that this man was the only one who might know something. âYesâ Do they have family? Do you know their parents, maybe? O-Or a doctor?âÂ
At this point Iâm desperate, why is nobody answering? What is happening right now? Donât they get it?Â
Why is it that still, nobody cares about what happens to this baby?Â
Barbed wire wraps around my neck, and my breath shudders. My eyes burn, shaking my head in disbelief. The resounding anguish is more personal than Iâd like to admit.Â
âI-I mean, just⊠Anybody, even if all you have is a nurse. There has to be somebody.â
A few of the shipwrights blink, taken-aback. Taken-aback by what? What was I missing? Why werenât they doing anything?!
Iâm about to re-open my mouth, a sleeping beast abruptly awoken as something in my soul twinges; my defensive subconscious ready to lash out at their heartlessness towards the forsaken childâŠ
âGet out of the way!âÂ
âPleaseâ P-Please let us through!âÂ
Right off the bat, these were the people Iâd been searching for.Â
A young couple part the crowd, clothes disheveled and eyebags dragging, their bodies begging for respite â Theyâd been through hell, and I could relate. Whatever resentment Iâd been ready to spew is forgotten in an instant.
The womanâs eyes land on the tiny bundle in my arms, and itâs as if all the weight is lifted off her shoulders. She cups her mouth for a millisecond, lips opening, closing, and opening again. Eventually, there lies a teary, incomprehensibly relieved smile.Â
Those watery eyes flick to mine; Filled with solace, shining with renewal.Â
âYou⊠You found her, m-my baby.â Staggering forward, sobbing in repose, her fingers twitch erratically reaching forwards, already prying the child from my arms before I have a chance to respond. âWhere⊠I-I donât know how youâ How you found her, butââÂ
When she faces me once more, I canât find my voice. This woman is looking at me as if Iâve just delivered the entire world, and so I nod, unsure what to say.
âSheâs been missing for hours now.â Her husband hovers protectively, hanging over the womanâs shoulder, although his legs appear ready to give out. Without the panic to fuel their tired bodies, alleviation would force them to submit. âI donât know where you found her orâ O-Or how. I just⊠A-And youâre one of the Straw Hats, arenât you?âÂ
âI donât care who she is.â The mother, tucking her baby towards herself, whispers underneath the beating rain, barely heard. Her hand cups the back of the child's head, all attention focused on my face. âW-What you just did is a miracle⊠I-Iâ I thought she was gone forever⊠Thank you.âÂ
Iâm⊠not sure how to respond.
In my head, Iâd just been assuming that the child had been abandoned, or something of similar means. Whoever was involved in its care and safety was reckless or neglectful, simply based on where Iâd found it. Not that I was inherently wrong, per se⊠Regardless of how the baby wound up on the streets, back home it wouldâve been taken away by law enforcement and child protective services. These parents couldâve easily lost custody, and the baby wouldâve been placed in another home, one that might ensure it never wound up in such a situation again.Â
âŠExcept, that wasnât always the case, was it?Â
I think it's her reaction that sways my opinion. The way her body instantly relaxes in combination with the pure, unrelenting adoration that glows over her face as she finally holds her baby close â as if it were her sole purpose for being on this earth.Â
Itâs digging up a long-repressed ache in my sternum, forming a fist around my heartstrings and tugging. My bottom lip quivers.
This child was loved.Â
âI-If we hadnât found her⊠How canâ How can we ever repay you?â Peering at me, eyes rapidly fleeting from the infantâs pallid skin, the father is prepared to fork up every one of his possessions in breathless gratitude. âAnything. A-Anything you need, name it. Please donât hesitate to askââÂ
Shaking my head, I raise my hands in reluctance, and take a few steps back. âI-I didnâtâ I uh, I donât need anything, really. I didnât expect anythingââÂ
âN-No, we insistââÂ
âPlease, I really⊠UmâŠâ Having created some distance, Iâm able to breathe steadier. âJust⊠Just get a doctor, soon. I-I donât know how long she has left, soâŠâ
Everyone stares at me as I turn my back, granting the child one last glance. Sheâs wrapped in her mothers arms, shielded from the weather via her fatherâs hovering figure â sleeping soundly. Returning my sights forward proves difficult, a sense of melancholy seeping into my skin in the damp dusk. Itâs an odd experience, acceptance; Not every situation was like mine, and I was as glad of it as I was grieved, backhandedly.Â
Feeling their eyes even as I rush back towards the way I came, nobody shouts, or chases. They let me go.Â
I shake off the despondency, distracting myself by repositioning my focus on the next plan of action.Â
Would it have been smarter to stay with the civilians? Higher ground was most optimal, aside from the fact that I could sense Luffy in an entirely different direction⊠Though from what I could tell, the others hadn't been at HQ either. Were they with him? Had they already found Robin?Â
And then there was also my missing kitty, who may or may not be sheltering somewhere in this gargantuan metropolis. If I tried to find Luffy again, that might grant me some extra time to find Ivory; However, the stormâs severity hadnât lightened. If anything, the weather was reaching a dangerous level of ferocity. The water level in the streets has risen, breaching towards the latter half of my calves. Itâs harder to run.Â
So, then what? Stay here, or go searching? The former held more appeal safety-wise.Â
Iâm so tired, I groan inwardly. My feet clomp through the salt-water, dropping like large, loud stones â already heading in Luffyâs direction. I suppose my soulmate also meant some degree of safety, so long as I found him.Â
If all else failed, Iâd have him, and maybe the others tooâ
An abrupt pressure strikes the juncture between my shoulder and neck â Vision going black, the world winks out.Â
And in the dark, two figures stand.
Half-animal, half-man, Rob Lucci stands with your limp figure strewn carelessly over a single hand. It took less than a millisecond⊠Perhaps thatâs why he appears so disappointed.Â
Lean in her physique, Rachel Wieser stands across the way, glaring at the manâs feet as his broad, hulking stature looms menacingly. Face stuck in a perpetual, regretful snarl â caught in the act â she knew what sheâd done was careless. Regardless, it was unfortunate that he was the one to discover her mistakes.Â
âYou hesitated.âÂ
Even the background noise fades away to make room for the sharp tongue of Rob Lucci, clear-cut and uninviting for argument. There was a reason why he was the leader over everyone else⊠No tolerance for leniency. No forgiveness for mistakes.Â
The darkened strips rooted in Rachelâs scalp show more evidently in the rain, making her appear almost brunette regardless of the fact that her hair naturally bled into a stark blonde. Teeth grinding in her mouth, the woman says nothing, letting the water trail her downturned chin without a sound.Â
The woman canât resist a physical response, though. Fists shake at her sides, crumbling in his presence â Muscles lose tension, limp and useless â In spite of her weakness, he seemed completely unaffected. Just like always.Â
She felt small.Â
âOur orders were very simple, and yet you still manage to fail at every turn.â Devoid of support, Lucciâs criticisms always come paired with a sting, like claws raking down her back. âHow incredibly disappointing, although Iâm not surprised.âÂ
Rachelâs shoulders draw inwards, and she cringes at the feeble display. Why didnât he ever stop glaring?Â
She closes her eyes, a world of gray and red plunged into black. The corners prick, cracking the unperturbed mask. Rachel doesnât dare open them. â...Apologies.â
Lucci is unconvinced, of course.Â
He scoffs, âThe Government made a mistake sending you on this mission. There is no room for weakness in our ranks.âÂ
âIt wonât happen again.â Assertive, Rachel strengthens her voice to mimic his, aiming to quiet the rain in similar fashion; To be on equal footing. It doesnât work.Â
Releasing his hold, Lucci drops your unconscious form at his feet, disregarding the possibility that you may suffocate if a stray wave were to come sprawling. âUnlikely.âÂ
Then, he walks away.Â
Rachel wants nothing more than to scream at the top of her lungs.Â
Sheâd only waited to apprehend you in order to ensure that the child was brought to safety⊠It was just bad luck that Lucci decided to show up at the wrong moment, as the blonde hid in the shadows and held off on pursuing just a moment too long. Weakness.
He was right, of course. Sheâd hesitated, and that made it worse.
Pathetic. Why the hell had she done that? What, because youâd saved a baby? That wasnât anything admirable, anyone else in your shoes wouldâve done the same. You werenât anything special â and even if you were, she couldnât harbor any personal feelings towards a target. That went against all the training sheâd endured to get here, and sheâd been making far too many careless mistakes as is.Â
With your body dripping over the womanâs shoulder, Rachelâs disdain only grows. You were the problem, of course. You were the opposite, the physical depiction of everything she wasnât⊠Everything she couldnât have for herself.Â
Screw you â you and your perfect little soulmate. Both of you could rot in hell, for all she cared.Â
â
Tidbit Today:Â
There is more to this situation than meets the eye.Â
may I please I request a Luffy x fem reader where Luffy has an oblivious crush on the reader, maybe with some bits of Luffy being jealous. thank you :)
Oblivious Crush
Summary: Luffy has an oblivious crush on you and unfortunately for him, you don't notice too
Song: One Dance - Drake
Authorâs note: Please like, reblog and share this! đ«¶
The first time you noticed something was off about Luffy was when he punched a hole through the mast of the Going Merryânot out of anger, but because you'd laughed at something Usopp said.
His face had gone weirdly blank, straw hat shadowing his eyes, before his fist just⊠went through solid wood like it was made of wet paper. "Whoops," he'd said, grinning that impossible grin of his, but his voice was higher than usual.
You'd chalked it up to another Luffy Thing, until it kept happening: the way he'd suddenly materialize beside you during meals, elbow knocking over Sanji's carefully plated dishes, or how he'd startle Chopper mid-examination by demanding to know if you thought his new scar looked cool.
By the third week, even Zoro had stopped napping through it. "He's being weird," the swordsman grunted one afternoon, watching Luffyâwho was currently hanging upside-down from the riggingâdrop an entire orange into your lap without explanation.
You'd barely peeled it before he snatched half the segments with a speed that would've made Nami's temper flare, if she hadn't been too busy rolling her eyes.
"Weirder than usual," you corrected, spitting out a seed. Zoro just gave you a look that said you're somehow dumber than he is.
The jealousy was subtler than you'd expect from a man who announced his hunger like a naval siren. Like when Buggy's new recruitâsome grinning idiot with a sword twice his sizeâhad dared to challenge you to a duel on that last island.
Luffy hadn't even let the guy unsheathe his weapon before clotheslining him into the next cove with a rubbery arm, then immediately pretending to pick his nose like he hadn't just committed assault.
"You looked busy," he'd said later, shrugging, except you'd been sharpening your knives. Not exactly a high-stakes activity.
And then there was the hat. Your hat, the wide-brimmed one you'd stolen from a Marine captain last summer, salt-stained and perfect for napping under.
Luffy had started stealing it when he thought you weren't looking, only to return it hours later smelling faintly of meat and his own stupid, sun-warmed hair.
You'd catch him adjusting it over your head with a concentration usually reserved for fighting warlords, fingertips brushing your temples like he was afraid you'd vanish if he pressed too hard.
"There," he'd say, satisfied, as if he hadn't just reordered your entire world with two syllables.
The breaking point came during a storm so violent even Nami looked nervous. Lightning split the sky as you wrestled with a loose sail, rain turning the deck into a hazard, when suddenlyâwarmth.
Luffy's arms wrapped around your waist from behind, his chest plastered against your back like a human shield against the downpour.
"Don't drown," he muttered into your sopping hair, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and for a heartbeat, you forgot how to breathe.
Then he was gone, tackling a wayward barrel before it could hit Usopp, laughing like nothing had happened.
That night, curled in the women's quarters with Nami's soft snores filling the dark, you pressed your face into the stolen hat still damp from the storm. It hit you then, slow and inevitable as tide coming in: Luffy didn't do subtle.
The mast, the oranges, the way his sandals squeaked when he pretended not to be following youâthis was him screaming without making a sound. You sat up so fast Robin stirred in her sleep, heart hammering.
Holy shit. Holy shit. Luffy wasâ
Morning found you bleary-eyed at the galley table, nursing coffee thick enough to stand a spoon in.
Sanji slid a plate of eggs toward you with a smirk. "Captain's been asking for you," he said, nodding toward the deck where Luffy wasâof courseâbalanced precariously on the figurehead.
As if sensing your gaze, he turned, straw hat tilting back to reveal that grin, bright as the dawn behind him. Your stomach did something complicated.
You were so fucked.
The realization settled like gunpowder in your veinsâdangerous and liable to blow at the slightest spark. Luffy, who'd once headbutted a sea king for stealing his meat, was currently watching you eat with the intensity of a man starved.
When you accidentally met his eyes, he didn't look away. Just tilted his head, curious, like you were a puzzle he couldn't quite solve. You choked on your toast.
Nami chose that moment to slam her weather logbook onto the table, making you jump. "Either tell him or stop making that face," she muttered, not even looking up from her charts. Your cheeks burned.
Across the deck, Luffy stretched one rubbery arm to snag a passing seagull mid-flight, entirely unsubtle. The bird squawked indignantly as he reeled it in, examining its wings with exaggerated interest.
"Hey," he called, holding it out toward you, "think this one's faster than Buggy's guy?"
The sheer audacity of it punched a laugh out of you. That was the thing about Luffyâhe didn't do hints, didn't do half-measures. If he wanted something, he reached for it with both hands.
And right now, standing there with a baffled seagull in his grip and sunlight caught in his lashes, he was reaching for you. The knowledge hit like a cannonball to the chest: inevitable, devastating, exhilarating.
You stood so fast your chair clattered to the deck. Time to find out if rubber could burn.
You crossed the distance before you could second-guess it, stopping just shy of where his toes curled over the figurehead's edge. The seagull, sensing its opportunity, pecked his wrist and flapped away.
Luffy didn't blink. "You're staring," you said, your voice steadier than your pulse.
His grin widened. "Yep." Simple as that. No pretense, no gamesâjust Luffy, laid bare in a way that made your ribs ache.
You swallowed hard. "Why?"
He cocked his head, considering. "Same reason I punch things that piss me off," he said, like it was obvious. "Feels right."
Then, before you could process that, he leaned forwardâtoo far, too fastâand your hands shot out to catch him on instinct.
His chest collided with yours, warm and solid, his breath a laugh against your cheek. "See?" he murmured, fingers tangling in the fabric of your shirt. "Told you."
Behind you, Usopp's poorly stifled gasp was loud enough to wake the dead. You didn't turn. Couldn't. Not when Luffy's thumb was tracing the hinge of your jaw like he'd mapped it in his sleep, not when his eyes were dark with something hungry and new.
The ship swayed beneath your feet. Or maybe that was just you. "You're gonna fall," you managed. Luffy's grin turned wicked. "Nah," he said. "Got you."
And damn himâdamn him straight to hellâhe was right. . . .
And with that question, you have approximately a second to decide what your next course of action will be. Luffyâs partially descended down the ladder to the library, and while he keeps his distance across the room still, itâs only because heâs fairly confident that heâs right. You can either choose to lie, and say everything is okay, pretend you havenât heard him at all, or tell him the truth, that youâre actually quite annoyed with him, enough so that youâve decided to bury your head in a book until the feeling abates, but none of these options will avoid a conversation, now that heâs initiated one.
Youâre just as bad a liar as him, and heâs as direct as you are indirect at times.
Choosing not to speak, you give him a glance, then look back to your book. He freezes for a moment, then decides to risk it anyway, making his way over and sitting beside you on the edge of the bench. You turn away slightly, and he frowns, and his hand hovers over your shoulder for a moment, before deciding to keep them at his sides.
âWhat are you reading?â
âLuffy, does it matter? Do you want to read it?â you snap.
He sighs.
âYou didnât answer my first question.â
Back to this again. You turn your head again, a little thrown off when you realize heâs closer than you expected him to be, but give him a scowl.
âWell, Iâm mad now.â
Not really a lie, not really the truth.
Heâs unfazed as usual, and instead of the childish pout he would give if the situation were lower in stakes, his mouth remains a thin, neutral line, as he watches you carefully, as if the words to decipher your current mix of emotions will be printed on your skin if he looks hard enough.
âItâs been a few hours.â
âItâll be more if you donât get away from me, Luffy.â
The neutral smile curves downwards just slightly. The two of you lock into whatâs almost a staredown if a staredown could be one-sided, then too quick for you to perceive, your book is out of his hands and dropped on the other side of the room, several feet away.
Your eyes widen.
âHey!â
You rise, but his other hand stops you gently.Â
âIâll give it back to you, I promise.â
You tilt your head in defiance.
âIf you donât return my book right now, IâllâŠâ but you trail off, because Luffy is not going to budge at all - his face is unchanged from the slight concern heâs had since heâs come down to the library, and you feel a little silly pressing the issue. You deflate slightly, sitting back down, then pulling your knees to your chest.
He doesnât say anything as you gather your thoughts, simply watching the way he usually does - people, insects, the clouds in the sky, the stretch of the sea, but you can see him lean just slightly inwards, as if heâs drawn to the settling storm in your head.
âTell me,â he says, softly.Â
âItâs stupid.â
Your lower lip pulls between your teeth.
âGood. Iâll understand it.â
You blink, then unfortunately, you canât help but laugh. But he isnât smiling immediately, gaze still focused on you, and you almost feel a bit guilty for laughing but also for pressing the issue. You shift a bit in your seat, running a hand idly through your hair for a moment, then press your chin onto your knees. Luffy does keep his hands to himself, but he also crosses his legs, now balanced atop the bench, facing you.Â
âYouâreâŠâ you trail off, looking away at the ground, then back at him.
âIâmâŠ?â
âHandsy.â
He blinks, then tilts his head slightly.
âLike touching you too much?â
He recognizes heâs trying very hard not to touch you right now, but it doesnât seem to add up to him appropriately, and you shake your head.
âNot me.â
Luffy pauses for a moment. He knows heâs grabby, he knows he likes to hug, he knows he doesnât always know where his hands are, but why would you care if heâs not touching you when you donât want to be touched?
âIâŠâ he scratches his chin, then chooses to listen instead. It seems to have the opposite effect, because your nostrils flare, annoyed.
âAre you really going to make me spell it out for you?â you ask, now with the sensation of your face hovering over a hot stove.
âI mean⊠maybe?â Luffy asks. Heâs keeping an internal record of who he may have accidentally dragged, pushed, hugged too tightly, or intentionally fought - he knows sometimes you have an issue with fighting - or if heâs not listened when you told him to stop touching something you were working on in the lab or-
âStop touching other people so much, itâs kind ofâŠâ your voice trails off again.
Luffyâs mouth twists to the side.
âAre you going to finish your sentences?â
Your hand balls into a fist but you donât even have the energy to tap him on the shoulder. You deflate further then look towards your book across the room.
âItâs nothing.â
âItâs not nothing because youâre sad and wonât finish your sentences,â he insists, and thereâs a bit of an edge to his voice, although it reins in when you look at him again. And then youâre embarrassed that youâre so pitiful.
Jealousy is such an embarrassing feeling. Feels too immature in a world like this thatâs in need of love, unfiltered, and feels too selfish when youâre with a man that cares about you as much as he does, but itâs just hard to swallow at times.
But Luffy wonât leave unless you talk - youâve given the cold shoulder long enough, and even if he wonât understand, if he doesnât hear something, youâll end up in this situation again.
You take a deep breath, then close your eyes before speaking.
âIf youâre that handsy and affectionate with everyone, it just makes it feel less special, you know?â
It stays quiet long enough that your eyes do open to check his expression, and as usual itâs hard to read.
For someone so kind, heâs often so, so hard to read.
âItâs not less special,â he says first, as you expected.
âI know,â you rebut quickly.
But tears prick at your eyes anyway. Heâs not going to understand this no matter how hard you try, and itâs not something you should repeat anyway.
âItâs fine, itâs just-â
Luffy moves suddenly, pulling you into his arms tightly.
âIâm not trying to make you sad,â he says into your ear. You can feel your pulse quicken for a moment. As your bodies stay pressed close, he adds,Â
âItâs always different when itâs you, I promise.â
â... I know.â
âEvery time, itâs special when itâs you.â
â...â
You donât know what else to add. You donât want to limit the love he gives to others, you donât want to make his smile less wide, and you canât help the love he gets from others.
âI understand.â
He laughs to himself for a moment, then adds.
âIf you let me touch you ten times as much-â
You slap him on the shoulder gently.
âDonât push it.â
He pulls apart from you, then kisses your forehead.
âNever.â
Another pause as you behold each other, and your unique affections.
âBut if I start getting touchy, you have to promise to pull me away instead of getting mad.â
His hands close gently on your face, a small amount of pressure squishing your cheeks out.
âPromise.â
âYou know I canât do that,â you laugh.
âOr frown really big, okay?â
âLuffy, thatâs even more unreasonable.â
âI donât care what you do, as long as youâre not sad, okay?â
His forehead presses gently against yours as he insists.
âPromise. I want you to feel like youâre special to me, because itâs true.â
You pull back just a little bit, appreciating the smile returned back to his face, the same one that makes you feel tender and loved, and yes, unique to you and your shared love.
Everythingâs gone haywire, the streets flooded by infuriated city-dwellers who promise to hand deliver their justice; They claimed the manhunt was some kind of retribution based on our supposed involvement in their beloved mayor's attempted assassination.Â
Suffice to say, we were hiding from them all â the rooftops at our disposal to utilize as the most excellent of places to remain unnoticed. The red, smooth tiles beneath my thighs soaked up warmth from the sun and transferred it wherever my skin touched, a welcome contrast to the winds that only blew colder and colder as the day drew on. All across the area of red and white, the thickening clouds above cast dappled shadows, adding to the gloom of our devastation. The air felt thick in spite of its billowing gales, humid and sticky.Â
Luffy, Nami, Zoro and I sit in our lopsided circle and listen to Chopper tell his story, trading information like Knights at the round table in King Arthurâs castle. The reindeer told us about the promise of a storm known as Aqua Laguna waiting on the horizon, discovering this fact during his travels with Sanji; Apparently the chef had parted ways in order to pursue Robin without giving much details as to what he was going to actually do.Â
However, there was something much worse, as Sanji wasnât the only one whoâd gone missing.Â
âIt was right before we found Robin when I realized that Ivory was gone.â Standing stiff, two small hooves held uncertainly in front of his chest, Chopper gazed sorrowfully towards the ground, glossy-eyed. âIâm not sure when he jumped out of the bag, so when I finally noticed he wasnât there we werenât sure what to do. Iâm really sorry, (Y/n)...âÂ
âŠGod, what wouldnât go wrong today?Â
Obviously, this was more than enough to get my blood-pressure skyrocketing to new levels, and I couldnât respond right away. With the kitten presumably lost somewhere within the city, endangered by the oncoming storm surge that everybody was currently evacuating for, I could feel the hope leaking from my framework with every passing second.Â
It was hard to process on top of all that was going on â Usopp leaving â Robin gone â the anxiety, the worry â the thought of Ivory aimlessly running through the city when the storm finally hit â the potential of what would happen if we didnât find the kitten in timeâÂ
Donât cry.Â
All of it gathered into my chest, pieces of paper that had been crumpled up into a ball over and over by relentless hands â Pressed tight enough that each fold cemented into another, solidified into a tightened wad that couldnât shrink any smaller â Under the mounting pressure, I wondered which one would break first⊠The paper, or the hands.Â
Personally, I wanted to uncrumple the paper and tear it up instead.Â
Donât cry, donât cry, donât cryâ
Biting my lip, enduring the painful beating of my own heart â I looked at Chopper's distraught expression and tried to breathe through it. It made it worse to see The Doctor so horrifically guilty. It was only an accident⊠A terrible, unforeseen accident. It wasnât his fault that Ivory decided to jump from the sack.Â
âI-Itâs alright, Chopper.â Murmuring the words with a harsh swallow, I nod assuredly in his direction, though Iâm not sure if the comforting motion is for myself or for the reindeer. âItâs not your fault, weâll⊠Weâll just have to find him.âÂ
The Doctor doesnât look convinced. âYeahâŠâÂ
Heâs likely thinking the same thing as I am. We barely had enough time to make a plan for our next course of action. How the hell were we going to find a kitten in this massive place?Â
My heart aches, already grieving the loss before it had been finalized. I knew it was wrong, I didnât want to just give up⊠Yet, how would this possibly turn out for the better?Â
Nobody had anything to add, none believing my projected facade either. Even then, they understood. Regardless of how torn up I was on the inside, our only option was to add it to the list of growing problems and move on. We would deal with it when we had a chance to do so; and I just had to hope that weâd get that chance.Â
Still, the more absences, the more emptiness⊠My kitty was gone.
Iâm gonna cry.
Demoralized on the grounds that Iâd never see my baby again, a palm hooks the juncture in my arm. It pulls the limb to smooth down my skin, over the buzzing mark and down my wrist, interlocking fingers together.Â
âWeâre gonna find him.â The boy squeezes gently, the rasp of his voice anything but. âHeâs part of the crew now, so we wonât leave him behind.âÂ
Wordlessly, I nod, listless. Chopper nods too, sharing a shaky, âR-Right.â
With the first issue taken care of, Zoro proceeds to take initiative on the next â swapping focus to the most prevalent problem, Robin. The doctor seems hesitant on what to do next with the spotlight taken away, and the next time he meets my gaze I pat the spot beside me.Â
He clomps over, slumping to the ground. I take his little fore-hoof in mine and hold it steady.Â
Alrighty, so⊠How did we get here from where we left off in the last chapter? Well, Iâll go ahead and tell you.Â
Get ready, cusâ itâs recap time.Â
After surviving Frankyâs fire-breathing trick, heâd continued to hunt us down via swimming. Making quite the splash when he hit the water prior to attacking us from beneath, our Yagara blew to the sky and its cart was destroyed. Whilst airborne, Luffy made a counter-attackâ Which failed when Franky defended with a Strong Right, sending the captain flying across the canal.Â
There wasnât much time to focus on the fight itself, dumped into the water with Nami as the two males went at each other, yet I couldnât deny the pain was near-incapacitating. Propelled by Frankyâs detached fist, Luffyâs back collided with a steel pillar outside the borders of Dock 1, the wind knocked out of him as the other manâs bulky knuckles hooked under the boy's sternum, simultaneously crushing his gut. Choking on sea water as Nami helped me to dry land â the agony derived from my soulmate prompting my body to panic over whether or not I should use my arms to continue swimming or use them to cradle my torso â I barely caught the moment where Frankyâs hand returned to its rightful place, the chain attached at the base of his wrist rapidly reeling into the chasm of his hulking forearms.Â
Needless to say, that was not normal. What was this guy, a machine?
âIâm just a normal guy with some extra parts⊠A cyborg, you might say!âÂ
Why, yes⊠Yes he was.Â
Iâd gotten my answer, along with a new sprouting ache; Luffy peeling from the crater his body had made upon the metal. Careening to plummet head first, his skull smacked against the pavement below without mercy, vibrating my head like a bell struck by a mallet. It hurt like a bitch, and the pain was only getting started â the boy lifting his head to bare teeth, snarling through the torment.Â
Conflicted, I understood Luffyâs vendetta in its entirety, despite having to brace for what would follow if he proceeded. For the life of me, I couldnât understand what gave Franky the audacity to go after Luffy so heatedly⊠The man vehemently brought up the facts that purely affected himself â how Luffy and our friends had beat up his, had destroyed his home â when he was the one whoâd started all of this. Heâd been the one who destroyed Usopp, body and spirit. Heâd been the one to steal our money, and weâd lost our home in the process, too. What gave him the right to seek us out in the name of revenge?Â
Hypocrite. I wish I couldâve said it to his face, then⊠At the time, I could barely speak through pangs of pain, which thrummed in my soul each and every time Franky successfully throttled Luffy.Â
It wasnât an easy battle, thatâs for sure. Romping all through the area, both sides each get their licks in on one another, destroying their surroundings all the while; The shipyard, the buildings, the sidewalks⊠Each fist thrown and every shouted profanity resulted in an increase of rubble piling up around them, two figures surrounded by total destruction. Eventually, it was disbanded via outside intervention.Â
The civilians celebrated as their saviors arrived, the renowned Galley La company striding in like elite soldiers. Both fighters had been hurled in opposing directions, the working-class group standing proud and strong as mediators. Iâd assumed theyâd stepped in due to Franky, a well known thug that often caused them problems around town (or maybe wanted to disrupt the ruckus that both Franky and Luffy had created). The same could be said for Nami, who celebrated their arrival, thinking of them on our side. That assumption was wrong. Their reason for suddenly appearing was much, much worse.Â
âDamn, you guys are really strongâŠâ Luffy, crumpled in a heap following Lucciâs impossibly swift assault, coughs and sputters, dragging himself to a hunch. âButâ Whatâs with you guys? I still donât know why weâre fighting!âÂ
Stood shocked at the sidelines, Nami and I could do nothing but cover our mouths or gape in horror, swapping between the two expressions every time The Captain had been thrown around by our past companions. If Luffy was hurt before, the soreness was doubled, now⊠Lucci did not hold back, and neither had the others.Â
Wordlessly, Paulie steps forwards, the stiffness of his movements more than enough to convey he was outraged by something â something that we werenât aware of.Â
âStraw Hat⊠I think weâre the ones who deserve an explanation, here.âÂ
The blond man halts in front of the boy, casting a long, looming shadow. Luffy shifts to a crouch, readying for whatever was coming next.Â
âThe ones who broke into our main office and attacked IcebargâŠâ Cigar puffing smoke, the manâs glare turns sharp and aggressive. âThey shot him once in the front, and two times in the backâ They were from your crew, werenât they?!âÂ
Paulie spits the words so harsh I think the cancerous-stick might fly from his mouth, jabbing a finger in Luffyâs face. The Captain leans back at the intrusion, mouth opening and closing, no words available to defend against the absurd accusationâ Across the way, he blinks, and swiftly turns his sights to mine.Â
Wide-eyed with disbelief, it feels like I canât even breathe. All that nervous energy that had initially risen from the peopleâs unease of pirates being the main suspects comes rushing back, and I know Luffyâs thinking similarly as his jaw tightens.Â
As nervous as Iâd been about it, I had been holding out hope that the blame wouldnât be pinned on us, just as he and Nami had tried to assure prior to the chaos. I didnât want to be right, however, there wasnât much we could do about it.Â
The crowd promptly riles at the reveal, the metaphorical pitchforks and torches beginning to rally amongst their numbers. The redhead at my side grabs my hand and ushers me closer, where I lose eye-contact with my soulmate. The boy is preoccupied by the situation closest to him anyways, and weâre left to deal with the angry mob.Â
Weâd been condemned, and now it was too late to defend ourselves against it.Â
I really needed to stop manifesting this kind of stuff⊠Lesson learned, I guess?
So, circling back⊠Galley Laâs target was us â our crew â and now you understand why everyone is searching for us throughout the city streets.Â
Somehow, Robin had become the main suspect. Thatâs how the evidence came to be in the first place. We adamantly opposed this idea, unconvinced that Robin wouldâve done something so out of left field. Regardless, nobody had been willing to take our word for it, even through a heated throw-down where Luffy had done nothing but defend himself. My soulmate had gotten the tar beaten out of him⊠There were parts of my body that still throbbed if Luffy moved slightly wrong, and I couldnât fathom how the hell he was so nonchalant about the sensation, flawlessly unbothered as per usual.Â
Back to back, Nami and I were forced to fend off the people around us â they grabbed and pulled, screaming in our faces about our âcrimeâ â we ripped bodies from each other, fleeing from claw-like hands, unkind as they scratched our skin. Iâd even had to bite one guy in order to help Nami from her own captor, and it had been hard enough to leave an angry welt on his arm. That guy was not particularly thrilled about us escaping the crowd.Â
Unexpectedly, it was actually Franky that allowed us the opportunity to escape⊠Donât get the wrong idea, it wasnât intentional; In fact, the only reason heâd made a stand was for Galley La to step off of his âpreyâ (Luffy), so itâs not like he was redeemed from being a relentless prick.Â
The cyborgâs final attack, a Coup de Vent, was an air-cannon that fired at high speeds and high power. Weâd seen it earlier, though as the dust settled over the scene, Luffy decided it was time to get going. We wouldnât be getting any answers from Galley-La and Co. That meant weâd need to go straight to the source, because Luffy still wanted to ask Icebarg himself â and when that boy got an idea, he was going to see it through. Screw everything else. Â
With all the dust kicked up, the crowd hurriedly dispersed, losing us in the haze. The Captain, exhausted, urged us to collect ourselves so that we could leave. With me at his back, Nami under his arm, and an order to hold on tight, Luffy used his free hand in order to latch onto the nearest rooftop, rocketing us into the air and away from those that thirsted for punishment.Â
It hadnât been the first time that Luffyâd flung the both of us through the air at extreme heights, and Iâm sure it wouldnât be the last, either. When weâd finally made it to Galley-Laâs main office (where Icebarg supposedly lived), Nami was shaken to the bone and stiff on her knees. The two of us sat close to each other, linking our arms in makeshift support like an anchor of sorts, avoiding the possibility of falling off the roof. This is around the time when Iâd first realized the wind had picked up, fingers thinned and freezing as I tried to tuck them between my thighs.Â
As per Luffyâs style of doing things, my soulmate ignored Namiâs fair warnings about how we were being hunted down. She implored that The Captain take it slow, sneak around for a bit and find Icebargâs room quietly. Instead, he sling-shotted himself right from where he sat, straight through the largest window of the entire building. The sharp, shattering crash of panes snapping and glass cracking drew everyoneâs attention â News reporters, shipwright workers â everyone heard it, and the boy had spurred another manhunt in what shouldâve otherwise been an easy mission.Â
We can hear the echoing shouts of the people adamantly searching for the boy emanating through the courtyard, along with the broken window. With one hand resting on her forehead, The Navigator stared down the building and wallowed. âOmg⊠We are so screwed.âÂ
â...I dunno why we donât see these things coming, tbh.âÂ
âWe? Youâre his soulmate, you shouldâve been able to predict that with your âmagic bondâ or whatever!âÂ
A solid twenty minutes passed, and when Luffy came back, our worst fears had been confirmed. Straight from Icebargâs mouth, there was no doubt that the person whoâd made an attempt on his life was Robin. Whatever the case, out of the three of us, none were willing to accept that possibility. Everything was too strange, as I said before.Â
Robin had a history that we didnât know about, which was troublesome; Even more troublesome, what we did know was that she used to be a skilled assassin, and used that skill to elevate her status with Crocodile. Still⊠I couldnât see this as her orchestrating some kind of plot against us. We hadnât seen her within the last twenty-four hours, and she was supposedly pinning us as suspects via correlation? It was weird.Â
This wasnât piecing together in other ways, too. Why would Robin have tried to attack Icebarg in the first place? Maybe The Archeologist and I werenât the closest in terms of friendship, but the woman had never pegged me as the type to do something so drastic without a reason. What viable reason could she have had to do this? What could she gain from this? For someone who sought knowledge the most â of all things â murder seemed extreme.Â
All of this in mind, it was time to reconvene with everyone in order to determine our next order of business. After running into Zoro, then finding Chopper during a rather spur of the moment incident whilst running from civilians â Luffy using his stretchy abilities to form a makeshift sling beneath a bridge, where weâd all fallen in the water after the reindeer appeared and spooked the boy â the crew that remained found ourselves up on the rooftops, out of sight from those who wanted our heads on spikes.Â
Itâs gotten quieter, I recognize, the crowds thinning due to Aqua Lagunaâs forced evacuation protocols. The setting sun casts warm orange tones across the scape, although the growing silence makes the atmosphere more ominous⊠The rivers rush rapidly to form torrential waterfalls, rickety window panes rattling in the wind's assault. Why did it feel as if the ticking of a bomb was just beneath it all?Â
âWe were prepared for this, werenât we?â Picking up where weâd left off (before that wonderful summary I just gave you all), Zoro pointedly adjusts the black-handled katana at his waist, resting it over his thigh like heâd been itching to use it.Â
Then, he reaches for the Wado-Ichimonji that lays over his shoulder, dramatically slamming the sheathed-blade down onto the empty spot in the middle of our circle.Â
âAfter all, Robin was our enemy before she came aboard and joined the crew. This might be our only chance to find out the truth.âÂ
Despite the action that commands attention from the rest, nobody makes direct eye contact with the swordsman. Namiâs attention is cast aside; Luffy looks to the sky; Chopper and I are staring at the white-clad hilt in dismay.Â
âWe still donât know much about Robin. Isnât it about time for us to figure out whether or not she's a friend or a foe?âÂ
All this time, I thought weâd already figured it out. It made me sick to my stomach just thinking about it. Admitting the strangeness was easy⊠Painting Robin as our enemy was not.Â
âShe said she wonât see us after today, and that things are gonna get worse,â In reference to Chopper's report of what Robin had said to him and Sanji, the green-haired man begins to list off theories. âMaybe that means the attack on Icebarg was just a warm-up, and that she has something even bigger planned for later tonight.âÂ
The Swordsman had a talent for imagining the worst case scenario, having not run into many good souls during his travels as a bounty hunter⊠Still, Zoro was a different person now. In the same ways that heâd changed, hadnât the Archeologist changed as well?Â
âI donât know why Robinâs doing any of this, so itâs hard to make a guess at what sheâs planning, and why sheâs caused so much of a fuss over the assassination of the mayor. If itâs possible to make the situation worse, thereâs only one thing she can do.âÂ
âIn other wordsâŠâ Picking up on what Zoro is implying, Namiâs expression is entirely grim on the matter. âSheâll assassinate him for sure this time.â
Zoro lets the words sink in, before finalizing his point. âItâs only natural to think that way. But, we know that sheâs pinning her crime on us on purpose, so itâs possible that this could be a trap to lure us out to the scene of the crime. If weâre at the spot of the assassination carried out tonight, the crime will easily be put on us.âÂ
Eyebrows furrowing, I can feel the frown pinch my lips. I wouldnât accept it.
Robin is our friend, I was sure of it. Discussing the world and its history, sharing fantastical stories from both books and real-life experiences, her incessant ability to poke and prod and tease⊠Iâd spent too much time with her, held our moments too close to my heart to say anything otherwise.Â
Iâve mentioned this before, yet I couldnât emphasize it enough â Robin provided me something unknown to myself. Her presence brought an unfamiliar manifestation of comfort and consolation in ways I couldnât quite grasp, although I knew that it was a missing chunk of the empty hole inside.Â
Our interactions were unlike those with Nami, at least in the sense that the woman had replicated an essential figure for me⊠A source of support when things were tough â subtle and quiet, but meaningful â or sometimes even a source of protection, particularly in cases where Luffy couldnât uphold the position. If we lost her, then I would lose that part of her as well.
Yes, she had her walls, and she had lines that she never allowed others to cross â boundaries set in place to never sway â except Robin had never, ever done anything to cause meâ To cause us direct harm. That meant something, it had to. Â
So, just⊠Why?
An absolute mess of emotion, my head is too cluttered with every worst-case-scenario â I canât think straight. One idea would drift off into another, spreading like a creeping fungus to impossibilities and extremes. All that weâd lost was forced into focus, the rest of it blurred in the background.Â
The urge to cry comes crawling back into my psyche, and I subconsciously shrink in my sitting position, shoulders drawing inwards. This was stacking up, too much for me to handle at once. I just want everyone back⊠I want things to go back to the way it was before.Â
âHey!â Nami, vexed by Zoroâs negative outlook, barks her disagreement. Iâm not surprised to find her in agreement with my thoughts. âYou say you donât know what sheâs thinking, but it sounds like youâve already decided sheâs our enemy!âÂ
âIâm talkinâ about the possibilities here, thatâs all.â Sharp tongued, the swordsmanâs piercing gaze swivels to The Navigator, whose mouth clamps shut. âWe should always be prepared for the worst case scenario. Itâs not like Iâve decided either.âÂ
Discomforted by the idea, though plenty aware of its potential, I move to pull from Chopper and Luffyâs hold, their touch bordering on overstimulation. Chopper doesnât put up a fuss, but when The Captain feels the looseness of my grip, he holds tighter.Â
Unbeknownst to you, Luffy recognizes the habit right as it happens. If you withdrew now you'd only close-off to him and the others, a reaction you tended to harbor when things became too overwhelming. Heâd been seeing the telltale signs of it ever since the run-in with Galley-La.Â
He couldnât give you his undivided attention â there was too much at stake, and as captain he couldnât just cater to you, and only you. Still, if he could keep you from caving in on yourself, then he would try his damndest not to let it happen⊠Holding physical contact, keeping an eye out, those were his best options for you at the moment. The boy had to keep focused in the name of severity, regardless of the way you seem to wilt the longer time draws on; an invisible clock to find Bones mercilessly ticking away.Â
Stupid cat. Whyâd he have to run away, anyways?Â
âIf I already decide either to believe her or not, if the truth turns out to be the opposite of thatâŠâ With a thumb pushing on the hilt, the bitter shrill of Zoroâs katana unsheaths by an inch, the implication just as grating. âItâll just slow down my reaction.âÂ
You flinch, though Luffyâs glad enough that you havenât tried pulling away again. Your hands are cold, even against the heat of his palms.Â
âOur best chance to settle this is tonight. Are we going?âÂ
In accordance with our assumptions of Robinâs next move, Zoro directs the question to The Captain â The ultimate arbiter.Â
âWe are.â No hesitation, Luffy wholeheartedly ensures that there was no other choice. We would be going back to Icebargâs home.Â
And what then?Â
The group falls to a quiet state, suppressed by contemplation. Everybodyâs unsure, and thereâs little to no positivity available to spur us forward. Where did we go from here?Â
None of us knew what we were getting intoâ What discovery weâd make once we did find our estranged friend. What would happen if we found her, if we found out the truth and itâs not what we were hoping for? What if, against all my faith in her, Robin actually has betrayed us all? âŠWhat happens then?Â
âSo, where do we even start, I mean⊠What is our goal?â I hear Nami question with an urgency, eagerly seeking a path to set out on. She was just as disheveled about the unknown.Â
âWeâll find Robin and capture her.âÂ
Luffy says it, plain and simple, the boy tilting his hat downwards in earnest. Nobody agrees, or disagrees â nobody speaks at all.Â
âOtherwise, we wonât know anything.â Then, he maneuvers to a stand, dragging me up beside himself; forceful as to not warrant an argument, giving me no choice but to go along with him. I didnât bother against it, though I was unsteady on my feet. Right now, his touch was as chaotic as it was soothing.Â
The Captainâs decisive movements, driven by conviction, are the perfect prompt to set things in motion for his crew.Â
âYouâre right. Thinkinâ about it is a waste of time.â Arms crossed, Zoro closes his eyes in agreement, rising himself to a stand shortly after.Â
Chopper hops to his feet, clutching the blue satchel on his back with a reinstated determination. Nami follows suit, brushing off her skirt and clenching her fists.Â
Stumbling after Luffy as he moved forward, purposeful in every stride, I had half a mind to curl up and bawl my eyes out over Robin, over my lost pet â a little creature who didnât have much of a chance surviving on his own â contrasting my friends, whoâve gathered themselves back together in record time.Â
I couldnât do that. Every ounce of movement felt shaky. It was difficult holding back the constant, internal waves of despair, familiar and debilitating. Was I at the breaking point already? That was a little patheticâŠ
âWeâll look for him on the way.â Glancing up at my soulmate, Luffy peers a bit over his shoulder, once again using his incredible perception skills. âAnd once we catch Robin weâll be able to keep looking for him, I promise.âÂ
My eyes burn, blinking away mist. Pursing my lips and looking away, I opt to believe his resolution.
If I didnât, then Iâd probably lose all hope entirely. Â
â
âIâve revived!â A pair of enormous fists pound at the bar, The Cyborgâs rage back in full force since heâd gotten a refill on his empty cola stores. âThat Straw Hat bastard⊠Waitâll I get my hands on him!âÂ
Bluenoâs bar was a bit of a hole in the wall; Popular only to delinquents, and those who were cast out by the rest of Water 7 society for their wrongdoings. Between flashes of his fight with said-bastard (Luffy), Franky huffs and puffs amongst the background noise of rowdy, drunken acquaintances. Glasses clink and people cheer as the drunken-regulars celebrate their newfound luck â that being the blue-haired manâs charitable actions of throwing Berry-bills into the air like confetti â their drinks paid in full by the leftovers of a successful heist, stolen dough from an unlucky pirate crew. To the rest of the city, Franky was nothing more than a hated heathen⊠Here, he was a revered, well-known figure.Â
The energy from fighting Straw Hat and Galley-La had really drained him. Heâd been refueled now, wild and rearing to go â blue-haired duck tail straightened out of its previous floppiness. All the same, Franky probably had some time to kill before the boy showed himself again, given everything going on that encircled the pirate's little group.Â
Teeth grit and eyes narrowed, his neck cranks toward the green-haired granny, whom heâd accidentally sat beside on arrival. âBy the way, old hag, why are you here?âÂ
Blueno, the rightfully-named barkeep, is in the midst of pouring the older woman a beer into her comically-large pitcher. The cup was a size you usually wouldnât find in the hands of someone her age, though the drunken rouge on her cheeks had become an everyday occurrence for those who knew her. Kokoroâd already had about four of these glasses before Frankyâd even walked through the door.Â
âAqua Laguna is on its way.â Frothy drink bubbling, the golden liquor soon finds its way down the womanâs gullet as soon as Blueno stops pouring, the warmth that blooms from her gut as addicting as ambrosia.Â
âIs that right? No wonder the windâs blowing so strong today.â Smirking smugly, as if heâd already known the fact but had chosen to keep it secret, Franky leans on one burly arm, half-turned to the old-acquaintance.Â
âAre you done getting your house ready?â The older woman ponders, the old habit of checking on the younger man resurfacing.Â
âWell, my house is gone, meaning thereâs nothing much to prep. And Iâve got nothing that could sink, so Iâm not worried.â The Cyborg chuckles gruffly, as if the predicament was nothing more than a thing of the past, despite his current grudge.Â
Reaching for the extra mug of cola that Bluenoâs set down before him, the man chugs down the drink in tandem with the old matronly figure. On the inside, he relished in the familiar comfort that the woman provided. Soon, both mugs are empty again.Â
âI was going to have a drink with Icebarg, but I heard he got shot.â Kokoro speaks with overdramatic affect, raising her brows and eyeing the man beside her without turning her head â Icebarg was a bit of a sore-subject for The Cyborg.Â
âYeah, I heard about that. They say pirates are responsible, Galley-La and the townspeople are raginâ pissed.âÂ
The old galâs smirk widens, looking away from the man with the sunglasses.Â
âSo a pirate did it, huh?â Leaning forward, she chortles into her cup, as if sheâd shared a secret joke with the glass. âDo you honestly think thatâs the case?âÂ
âHeyâŠâ Franky murmurs, eyebrows furrowed in suspicion as he traces over Kokoroâs mischievous expression. âYou sound like you know something. If you really do, then spit it out, old hag.âÂ
Brushing past the nickname once more, used to Frankyâs childish antics, Kokoro continues, âIcebargâs constantly getting hounded by the World Government, right?â
âThen, what? Are you saying that official, Corgi, pulled the trigger?â Guffawing at the idea, Franky faces the bar with a know-it-all tone. âThat little troll isnât cut out to try something like that⊠Nah, Iâd wager that Straw Hat and his little girlfriend decided that trashinâ my place wasnât enoughâ I bet itâs cusâ I made her cry, so she got that kid toââÂ
âWait a minute, youâre not talking about my friend, are you?â Popping up from the opposite side of the old woman, Chimney peers around large bushels of light green hair, eyes narrowed and lips morphed into an uncharacteristic frown. âSheâs soulmates with that pirate-guy you were just talking about!â
âFriend?â Franky raises a brow, put-off by the term â as well as how long the kid and her pet have been sitting at the bar, somewhere they shouldnât even be allowed â and scoffs. âWhat, youâre friends with that shrimp whoâs tied to the Straw Hat?â Lowering his voice, he mutters at the start of his next speech. âI guess that makes sense, takes one to know one⊠But, you should find better friends, kid. Those people are nothinâ but troubleââÂ
Nearly falling from her chair, Chimney leaps onto the barâs flattened-face with clenched fists and a stern frown. âNo way! She said that she would make me a matching bracelet, and that makes us best friends!âÂ
Wide-eyed and subconsciously tilting away from the childâs beratement, Franky gapes at Chimney in astonishment. âWhat the hellâŠ?âÂ
âSheâs nice, not a shrimpâ And you shouldnât make her cry, either!â
Then, he gets a little mad at the little girl's audacity. âHey, I can say whatever the hell I want about her and her stupid friends! Those bastards beat up all my guys and destroyed my houseââÂ
âYou probably deserved itââÂ
âWhaâ Says you, yaâ little shit!âÂ
âAm not!âÂ
âAre too!âÂ
âAm not!âÂ
And as the banter between the child and the grown-ass man unfolds, Kokoro laughs â Downing another glass of beer, cold and refreshing.Â
She would have to continue unveiling theories about CP9 once the fighting was finished.Â
â
We were back at Galley-La headquarters.Â
With Water 7 being a city, it was no question that there was very little vegetation to be found amongst the steel beams and concrete. Given that fact, I could only take it as a stroke of good luck once weâd found a tree to take refuge in; It was almost as tall as the buildings around it, if not taller, with thickened bushels that provided ample cover in the dark.Â
Sitting beside Nami, the three boys are seated on the log just in front of us. I stare at the back of Luffyâs straw hat, vacant and mindless â though, confusingly, my thoughts run rampant.Â
Meanwhile, Chopper holds a pair of binoculars in hand, conveying the details of who was guarding the massive building before us, and what they seemed to be doing. We could hear the rallied cries amongst the ant-like shapes sprawled about the yard, guards stationed around in roves. The men were riled up.Â
Regardless of the slight fortune with our newfound camouflage, I felt anything but lucky. Nobody had spotted Ivory on our way here â at least not on the open streets. Where else should we even begin to start looking? I didnât know.Â
Therefore, I think itâs only natural that I was fully encompassed by the woes of despair, especially since our plan required waiting for the right moment to enact our plan. I hated the waiting part; Sitting still for such a long period of time; Every signal within my body on high-alert; The factors that came hand-in-hand brought about thoughts that were pretending to aid in the passage of time, disguised to prey on my downfall.Â
Usopp had left us.Â
Robin may or may not have betrayed us, and seemed to be leaving us as well.Â
Ivory was gone, and Aqua Laguna was on its way â he would die down there if he wasnât found.Â
Being forced to stew in my grievances was not helping whatsoever.Â
Worry has logic flying out the window. Iâd been scrambling to figure something out as dead-end met dead-end, and over the hour or so that had passed â brain fried with endless possibilities and a plethora of anxieties â it was as if my mind had stopped working entirely. Yet, at the same time, I kept thinking, and thinking, and I couldnât seem to stop.
I didnât know what to do â about Ivory, about anything. Where was my kitty? How would we be able to find him in time? Was he scared, all by himself in the great-big city? Would there be others down thereâ A kind soul who mightâve found him before relocating to higher ground? Or had he already fallen into a canal? Washed away by the strong currents, dumped into the ocean to drown or be eaten alive? Was he even still alive?
God, I just wanted to cry.
And when I wasnât thinking of Ivory, dead in the waterâ I was thinking about what the hell I was going to do once we got down there to face off against all those men. I had barely learned how to punch and defend over the past couple weeks, that aside, it was guaranteed that every single one of those men were stronger than meâ more experienced than me. What could I do? How could I apply myself to this scenario? Minor skills wouldnât do me much good here, I needed to do something more. Thatâs what Iâd wanted to do, all this timeâ
But there was no âmore.â I didnât have that kind of ability.Â
It was blatant. Earlier, when the angry mob had swarmed us during Galley-Laâs assault, all that I could do for myself and the others was try to escape, Nami and I helping each other along the way, yet I hadnât fought back much â hadn't really contributed in any significant way, like Zoro had been training me to do. What was the point if I couldnât do anything against these men?Â
On top of that, the idea of having to fight Galley-La â Lucci and all his inhuman prowess â was unfeasible. I couldnât even dream of it. Lucci already scared me, but to come to blows with him? What was I realistically supposed to do against that? No⊠No wayâ
And it wasnât just him; That hateful woman from before, Rachel â or even Paulie, the blond man who used ropes in his fighting style â Did I stand a chance against these people? Iâd seen Paulie and Lucci nearly best Luffy, and that in itself was a major warning sign. If Luffy couldnât beat them, then how could IâŠ
âIâm not gonna tell you not to push yourself. At the very least, you should know that you did what you could, for now. Push yourself when it matters.âÂ
My eyes swelled, a painful effort undertaken to hold back a waterfall as the rugged bark pinches beneath my fingernails.Â
Push myself how? What did that even mean here? I havenât done anything sinceâ so, when did it matter? Did it matter now?Â
I knew what Zoro meant back then, or at least Iâd thought I knew thenâÂ
The drop beneath my dangling feet sways, the world unsteady. Stoking deep breaths, I feel on the verge of hyperventilating.Â
Now was not the time to be breaking down â Pull yourself together.Â
There had to be something I could do here, something more useful than being such a useless crybaby.Â
I needed to provide something of value to succeed in our goals, since we didnât truly know what we were up against. There was a serious possibility of the government being involved, and the obstacles before us were set at a whole new level with Robin being wanted by higher powers â something Zoro had mentioned during our debrief (off camera). I was certain that Aokiji had been warning us about the same thing⊠But why?
Hoping that my fellow crewmates and friends donât hear the audible gulp of my dry throat seeking some kind of moisture, I lick my dried lips, steel myself, and tune back into the conversation. If I dared to let go of this tree branch, they would surely spot the trembling in my fingertips.Â
âChopper, we donât know what will happen. Donât take your eyes off of them for even a second.â Zoro said, secretive â as if the men from tens-to-hundreds of feet away might hear us. Well, maybe they could. People did have weird powers here. âIf you see anything happen, you let us know.âÂ
âYep. Got it.â Chopper responds dutifully, binoculars raised without question. Receiving orders from someone he idolized often had this effect, so the reindeer was eager to follow through with them.Â
âItâs gonna be a long night, but donât let your guard down.â Gazing out at the rowdy townspeople, The Swordsmanâs golden earrings jingle in the wind â like miniature chimes. âIf we blow our opportunity, itâs over. Weâll have to say goodbye without knowing what happened.âÂ
Looking up from the depths of the city in our lofty position â fearing my clumsy self would mistakenly lean backwards and fall in my muddled state if I continued staring downwards â I catch sight of Luffyâs keen eye, spying me from over his shoulder. Caught in the act of my self-contempt, I find myself unable to hold his gaze for the first time in a while. My eyes were likely red, stinging on and off as I regularly fought back tears throughout the night. I needed to recollect myself before he could do that thing where he practically read my mind, if he hadnât done so already. He hated when I thought like that.Â
It was safe to say that I wouldâve given anything to stay wrapped up in his ribbon-like embrace for the next couple hours⊠To soak up all the warmth, the relief that he automatically supplied in full. It clashed, again, as if Iâd sinned. What we were doing was vital in discovering the truth, and I needed to pull my weight â Instead, I was sitting here and pointlessly wishing that everything was normal again, that my soulmate might hold and coddle me, which did nothing to support the cause.Â
âŠIf I had known this was the last interaction weâd have for a while, perhaps I wouldâve acted otherwise.Â
âIf we wanna know the truth about Robin,â Continuing his poker-faced conversation, Zoro reemphasizes the importance of our task â The reason we were here in the first place. I envied his poise. âThen it has to be tonight. This is where we find out what weâre made of.â
âYeahâŠâ The captain murmurs in response, his attention on me for a long moment, before returning to Galley-La HQ. âI gotta feeling weâll be talkinâ to her real soon.âÂ
BOOâOOM!
âSoonâ was an understatement.
At the corner of the building, a massive explosion erupts. A cacophony of painful, surprised shouting ensues, though it ends up smothered beneath the intense swirl of flame and smoke, loud and demanding in its presence. The entire area has been lit up, a hot-red blaze of color smeared across the scape as the air itself is set alight. Â
âWoahâ Something blew up!â Chopper reports in a panic, never removing the eyepiece despite all of us noticing on our own. None of us needed binoculars to see that.
Nami gasps at my side, leaning forward in disbelief â as does Luffy, whilst Zoro chokes on the shock â dumbfounded, gawking at the sight, it's safe to say that none of us had expected what just happened. We figured Robinâs infiltration to Icebargâs home would be notable in some way, but not in the extremist form of detonation.Â
Given the ample distraction, I nearly miss the sudden movement of my soulmate, his arms jetting forwards and aiming for a building across the way. Confused by the action, Iâm not quite sure why I donât foresee his next move â especially since heâd done the exact same thing earlier in the day. Blame it on the circumstances, I guess.Â
The Captainâs hands grip the very top corners of the wall. Silent as a ninja, heâs there one moment, gone the next.Â
Realizing all too late what heâs just done â heading into the fray without respecting the game-plan that weâd concocted to charge in all together â the strangled cry of Luffyâs name on my lips catches the others' attention.Â
The Doctor isnât quite so flabbergasted as the other two, Nami and Zoro squawking in a mixture of bewilderment and aggravation.Â
âThat idiot!â Somehow, their words are synced together. âThink thoroughly before you take action, dumbass-captain!â
As Zoro grabs me to make our way back to the streets, Chopper aims for Nami, the youngest member more anxious than urgent. â...Too late.âÂ
The way to Galley-la HQ isnât far, per se, moreso just a hassle to get to; Water 7âs winding alleyways and oddly-difficult-to-locate bridges slow our efforts to get there, aiming to be quick enough that we might still have some sort of plan in motion, ideally.Â
âSeriously⊠I know he doesnât listen to people, but I thought maybe heâd listen to his own advice!â Criticizing The Captainâs lack of tact and consideration towards his own word (because yes, he was the one who said we should go into this as a group. Canât even defend him this time), Namiâs voice is fraught with panic as we sprint.Â
âWe are talking about LuffyâŠâ Zoro responds, not dismissive about it, but disappointed that we all fell for the boyâs impulsive tendencies. âThatâs nothing new.â
Iâm sure the others arenât much better off than I am â sweating bullets in the frigid darkness, legs burning with the effort to beat an unknown time-limit â my lungs feel as if theyâre coated in a strong alcohol, shriveling as we book it in order to catch up to my wayward-soulmate.Â
Except⊠There was an inkling that was steadily branching, spiny roots pricking at my instinct that prodded me to find the reason behind the sensation. Uncertain, I choose not to speak on it until I know for sure that my suspicions arenât irrational â which doesnât become clear to me until weâre only a few streets down from our destination.Â
I couldnât feel Luffy⊠Not anywhere near HQ, at least.Â
He was around, so to speak â in the general area â aside from that, I was certain that my soulmate was not inside of the glowing building. If I were to follow the natural pull of his presence, it would probably lead me further into the city.Â
Thoroughly frazzled, unable to format any kind of explanation given my state of mind; I didnât want to make things worse, as Iâm sure they wouldnât be thrilled to hear my theory on Luffyâs absence, yet there was no way I couldâve been able to keep this information to myself. If Luffy wasnât at Galley-La HQ, what were we going to do? Our plan wouldnât be a plan anymore.
âHey, guys⊠Robin might be in that commotion, right?â Heaving on four legs, hoofbeats clopping at the ground, Chopperâs concerns get the better of him, switching topics â conveniently, his thoughts are almost a replica of mine. âWhat are we gonna do? No matter what Luffy does, we have to act carefully!âÂ
Iâve been zoning out of too many conversations today. I hope I havenât missed anything important, but try not to dwell on it.Â
âYeah, I know⊠But, depending on how you look at it, this might have worked out in our favor.â Itâs that familiar intonation of her voice, the one that surfaces when The Navigatorâs intelligence broke through the chaos, that warrants Nami to keep our undivided attention. Weâre all eager to hear her thoughts, with no ideas of our own. âWhen Luffy marches into enemy territory, is he the kinda guy thatâs gonna go in through the back or side entrance?âÂ
âNot a chance.â Grunts Zoro.Â
âNo chance.â Wheezes Chopper.Â
Skeptical of where her thoughts are leading â knowing what I know â I take a bit longer to respond. â...Probably not.â
Encouraged by our simultaneous agreement, Nami asserts her thought process like itâs fact. âSo, Iâm pretty sure heâs made a go at barging straight through the front door, and now heâs running around like crazy because he has no idea where heâs going, donât you think?âÂ
âYeah, definitely.âÂ
âSounds like him!âÂ
âButââ I donât have a moment to interject in her excited haste. Sure, he would be the type to do that⊠If he was actually there!
âRight? From the shipwrightâs perspective, Luffy is the ringleader of the group that attacked Icebarg. Once he jumps in, those guys will probably be busy trying to catch him!â Sure-fire in her words, the redhead flashes a positive grin. âIn other words, thereâs no doubt that the guards in front have severely thinned outâ Or at the very least theyâre completely distracted! So the safest way inside is through the front, where we can mix in with the crowd of shipwrights who are in an uproar!âÂ
âI see⊠So when he does it, itâs completely stupid. But, if we do the same exact thing itâs actually a brilliant plan, huh?â Astonishingly agreeable, The Swordsman gives our newly-established goal the green-light.Â
âThat makes sense!â Beaming, Chopper appears ecstatic by the girl's thought-process. âThen, it should be okay to jump in, huh?âÂ
At my core, something lurches â an instinct that tugs separately, rivalling the direction weâre heading. It makes my stomach turn. This was a bad idea.Â
âU-Umâ Just for the record,â Disconcerted, my breath shudders. âI-I donât really feel like heâs over here!âÂ
Chopper looks at me, doe-eyed. â...Huh?â
âThe hell are you talkinâ about?â Zoro grudges. Â
It takes a moment for Namiâs reaction to come forth, but it does â and itâs angry af. âWhat do you mean you donât âfeel like heâs here?!ââ Â
I huff in agitation. How do you even begin to explain this to somebody who canât feel it themselves? âI just⊠I literally canât feel him around here, likeâ I can usually tell if heâs in the area.â Waving my hands around, Iâm not certain how to finalize the clarification. Eventually, I land on one word: â...Sorta.âÂ
Eyebrows furrowed, Zoroâs expression disturbs. â...Is this some more creepy soulmate crap?âÂ
Teeth bared, Nami lunges forward. âWell, where the hell is he, then?!â
Spurned by her aggravation, I snap back in a similar manner. âI donât know! I just told you, itâs not like I can pin his exact locationâ I-Iâm not a fucking Luffy-log pose!âÂ
âYouâre the one saying heâs not here!â Nami berates in correlation to Luffy being an extension of myself, and vice versa. Perhaps that was why she was yelling at me, as if I was him. She has been pretty snappy with me lately. âCouldnât you have at least brought this up before I made that entire plan!âÂ
âB-But, if Luffyâs not where we think he is, what are we gonna do?!â Chopper speeds ahead of the group, an anxious wreck all over again. To be fair, he had said it before⊠Too much was at stake for things to go awry.Â
âAlright, both of you need to calm down.â Zoro says, and Nami looks like she wants to say something more. He ignores her. âI get that you canât pin Luffy down in an exact location, but just how accurately do you think youâre able to locate him?âÂ
Iâm a bit staggered by the sudden switch-up. âI-I donât know⊠Itâs really vague, I guess. I usually just⊠Like, follow whatever direction it pulls me in.âÂ
âSo, what youâre saying is that itâs possible that Luffy is in there, but it could be that heâs just too far away for you to feel exactly where he is, right?âÂ
âŠHe mightâve had a point. It was feasible that I was misinterpreting my swirling gut, given my brain has been rendered to a loose bundle of yarn. From where we were located now, just outside the fences that surrounded Galley-La HQ, the manifested sway that guided me to Luffy seemed to resonate a little closer.Â
Insecure in my assumptions, I opt to back down â even though, in spite of his point, nothing about this felt right. âI⊠I guess. Yeah, maybe.âÂ
He nods, the answer enough to set us back on our path. âOnly one way to find out for sure.âÂ
Swerving around the corner, knobby-kneed and unresolved, a low point on the fence is revealed. It hits me â Weâre really about to do this.Â
Nami points, dedicated to her aggressive tactics. âThat spot on the fence over there! Thatâs our best shot.âÂ
Leap over the fence? And how would we get out, if things went wrong?Â
âSo, weâre still doing it then?â I shared Chopperâs reservations, heart rate elevated to dangerous limits. We were getting closer⊠I could see the fire glinting off of the railings' green paint.Â
âYou got any better ideas?â And Zoro makes a fair point â I hate this all the same.Â
âWell, noâŠâÂ
âAll right, then.âÂ
Shit. Shit. This was it, we were just a few steps away. What would happen? What was on the other side of this wall?Â
âYou guys ready?â Nami aims to prepare us with an emboldening vocal-preparation. We were nearly at our arrival point.Â
âUm⊠No?â I shake my head adamantly, side-glancing her with unabashed fear. âN-Not really!â
Hearing the shrill in my tone, the swordsman catches notice of my hesitant glances towards the metallic bars. âIâll give you a boost.â Itâs an offer, meant to be supportive. I know that â yet when Zoro says it, itâs delivery is extended more in the essence of âyou donât have a choice.âÂ
Thatâs made more clear as he stoops, lowering his hands to link together. Itâs a makeshift foothold, and the swordsman turns to me expectedly.Â
Damn it.Â
âAlright, letâs go!âÂ
I donât have time to think about it. My foot steps into his awaiting hands, and with a heave, Zoro vaults me upwards.Â
I land a bit wrongly on the grass, joints aching as I hit the ground hard. Nami and Chopper have managed the jump just fine on their own, though thatâs null and void â I donât get to linger on the embarrassing notion for long.Â
Planting behind us, just a moment after my feet hit the grass, Zoro is the last to notice where and how weâve managed to land ourselves. The rest of us are stuck like deer in headlights, and for good reason. Spread out across the entire yard, waiting with twisted faces and an entourage of sharp weaponry, those ant-like shapes weâd been observing from afar have now taken on the visage of an imposing group of foremen, enraged and glowering. As soon as weâve crossed the border of their territory, every single one of them swivel in our direction, soundless.Â
âOh, you got me fucked up right nowâŠâ Whispering under my breath, thereâs not much distance gained by a measly, trembling step backwards â My body seizes against my will, lungs stuttering with panic.Â
Heart hammering against my sternum, our choices reveal the aftermath. Loâ and behold, Luffy wasnât here. I knew I shouldâve trusted my gut.Â
Itâs as if the world has been plunged into slow motion, for a moment. A calm before the storm, one where Iâm able to stare dead into the eyes of a brazen wood-worker, his eyes holding the red sheen like that of a raging bull.Â
I think itâs here that I finally hit the brink â something switches off.Â
As if they were synced together, my equally horror-stricken friends belt their next words in unison:Â
âThis was a dumb idea!âÂ
I can barely hear them. Nonetheless, itâs their shouting that breaks the men from their surprise, setting everything into motion in a wave of riled up testosterone. The glint of swords sparkles in the blaze, and a battalion of gunmen settle to their haunches in order to take aim.Â
Before their shots fire off, the flight response bursts into my psyche; Everything is happening, and yet nothing is there at the same time. Itâs numbing â mind, body and soul. Intense and driving, it overtakes all sense, governing my instincts in a vice thatâs based purely on survivalability. I donât realize it, and yet all of us have broken into a forceful sprint.Â
When did my legs start moving?Â
Bang! Bangâbangâ
Out of nowhere, I can hear again. It hurts my ears.Â
âWe found them!â A man hollers, gunshots peppering the ground at our feet.Â
I feel the spray of dirt prick my ankles. But I canât think about that. I canât think at all, actually â the threat on my life not recognized directly. Itâs more of a subconscious acknowledgement that enhances the danger, pumping adrenaline as if I was a machine that naturally ran on it for power.
âThey finally showed up!âÂ
Rounding the corner of the enormous building, a bullet ricochetâs off of the stone beside my head. The noise is sharp. Are my ears bleeding?Â
âDonât let âem get away!âÂ
âThose women are with them too!â
Everything is so noisy, so fluorescent. My muscles feel like theyâre ripping from my bones â it hurts so bad I almost canât breathe.Â
âIf Luffy isnât here, then where is he?!â At my side, Nami screeches so loud that I trip over nothing.Â
I donât answer, aware of nothing other than the need to flee. Zoro takes up the mantle. âHow should any of us know?!âÂ
Running bipedally, disregarding how heâs currently maintaining his four-legged form, Chopper races with us, shrieking at the top of his lungs â it sounds like some kind of alarm, and blood pumps like a gas nozzle.Â
Parting from the fire, my skin flashes from hot to cold.
âI was asking (Y/n), not you!âÂ
âWell, theyâve already found usâ So thereâs no point, weâve been caught in the act anyways! Itâs time to go on the offensiveââÂ
Thereâs no time to stop, no time to listen.Â
I runâ and runâ and donât look back.
Panic fills my ears like thick sludge. Namiâs call of my name goes unheard as my hearing fades into muddled, muffled, static-nothingness.Â
Thereâs no time to stop â except time is skipping. It slows in an unrecognizable pattern, confounding every vibrating step as my feet hit the ground at a faster pace than the world around me.Â
Thoughtless, running blindly, the pain oozes through my skin and slickens into sweat. I donât know where to go, or what to doâÂ
Just go; Go; Go;
Suddenly, another clearing â where am I?
My neck cranes to look behind, finding nothing. Every gasp for air is scorching. My friends arenât there â empty space. Vacant trees.Â
Whereâd they go? They arenât hereâŠÂ
Face forward. This is⊠The back of the building, I think, and thereâs more menâ
Nearest to me, one of the figures turn to face my unintentional ruckus made when I broke the clearing. We lock eyes, my face pales;Â
Itâs the man from earlier. Isnât it?Â
The one who saw me, who recognized my face in the paper.Â
He recognizes me now.Â
Oh God, oh Godâ Go backâÂ
My brain screams through the dizziness, though I can hear the guns still firing, and the men are still screamingâ
No, itâs everywhere; They scream both ways â in front of me, behind me â I canât slow down.
My lungs are filled with smoke, vision blurring; Iâm back, back at the front⊠Back at the fire, and nobodyâs here. In the heat, my skin sears with cold, then hot again.Â
I donât know what to doâ I donât know where to goâ
Just run, and so I do.Â
Itâs a blur, a camera lens in and out of focus. I canât feel my legs. They tingle as my feet slam into the hard soil â a prickling in my fingers as I grip the ledge of the fence. Strangers call my name with all the wrath of the devil, their eyes glowing with faces framed by hellfire.Â
I drop to the cobbled sidewalk, something stabs at my calf on the way, and I collapse. I mightâve cried out, I donât remember.Â
Thumpâ Thumpâ Thumpâ
Thereâs a creak; the fence gates open.Â
My face is cold, and wet, and the guys on my tail wonât let up. Their voices echo through every alley, slink along the canals â No matter where I go, how I evade, I can hear them.Â
I duck around corners, sprint so swiftly down the cobbled paths that I think thereâs no chance that they mightâve seen my route, to no avail; Are they laughing?Â
I sob, because Iâm getting too tired to run anymore, and Iâm so, so scaredâ
A muscle in my thigh spasms, my leg gives.Â
Palms scraping the rock, coughing on my tears, gulping down the cold air like water, I clench my eyes shut and wait for the inevitable. Listening, waiting for their swords to swing down, to slice and carve, the only thing heard is my own heartbeat.Â
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Itâs slowing down.Â
Nauseous, I sniffle and swallow down a gag.Â
A shiver rakes down my spine. I donât know where I am.Â
Thereâs a canal nearby. I watch the waters splash, escaping their domain. The cement darkens; smooth gray pooling forth, molecules soaking into the rock and spreading subtly in the oceans claim.Â
I turn â the hard rock digs into my shoulder blades.Â
Above, the sky is dark, framed by buildings that stretch taller than they truly are. They leer over my laying body, glinting windows that shine with intent to collapse on top of me â just like the eyes of the men before.Â
Are they the men from before?Â
Itâs disorientating. Gazing past them is difficult.Â
The clouds are thick with rain, the light of the moon and stars vanished from existence. The pitch is menacing, and Iâm afraid of what might be hidden inside.Â
I stare into the blank slate, blackened by malice â a true void. An abyss.Â
Thump⊠Thump⊠ThumpâŠ
My whole body is cold, so the tears run warm. Their watery path itches.Â
I was alone.Â
There were no men â no friends â no soulmate to be found.Â
Throat hitching, lips trembling, I hiccup at the sky as if it might provide me solace. Anything to soothe this agonizing, neverending torrent of despair. It would never leave me be â the sole constant that Iâm always so desperately fleeing from⊠In that, it was the only companion I could trust to stick by my side.Â
I could never be free from this part of me⊠This was who I was, and it would stick like unbreakable adhesive for the rest of my existence.Â
I was alone, because that was who I was.Â
There is nothing, no one here with me.Â
Smothered in the throes of subconscious horrors and unresolved traumas, Iâm utterly dissuaded from moving â from finding peace, or strength, or hope that things would somehow become better with time. Iâd regressed, fallen back into who I truly was at the core of my being, and the abyss is staring back.Â
The ink has soaked into all the light; Miserable; Wretched, like crows, like ravens; Like loss, and death; Itâs swallowed up everything in its path, monstrous and devastating.Â
Iâm afraid, scared it might swallow me up too â scared that it already hasâ
âUntil, for a moment, it isnât only the ruinous dark that takes up all space.Â
The tiniest spec begins to peek from behind the clouds. I donât recognize it, not until I blink once, twice⊠A third time.Â
Descended from the heavens, a star sparkles into existence.Â
Just one.Â
And it glitters, perfectly white.
All of them do that, I remember. Theyâre not gone.Â
Even if theyâre smothered by a veil, the stars would always be there â that was who they were.Â
Constant, shining, and beautiful.Â
Always there.Â
In a blink, the star is gone. But it was still there. It would always be there.Â
They would still be there; My friends, Luffy, everyone. They were still here, even if not physically at this exact moment. I wasnât alone, not like my life before. Not like this place.Â
As the fuzziness clears, so do the lingering beasts. The stillness provides clarity. The buildings are set in stone, the sky is simply night, and there are no snarling men to be found.
I close my eyes, and inhale deep through my nose.Â
Thereâs no point in getting up right now. My arms shake just lying here, spent from overextended use, regardless of my legs doing most of the work. I needed to relax, calm my frazzled, exhausted brain, and reevaluate.Â
What⊠Just happened? The plan failed, and then I just⊠Reacted. Well, it wasnât exactly my reaction, more like my bodyâs. It had done so without my permission, a means of self-preservation â perhaps not the same as it had in the past, although similar.Â
A panic attack, of course â at least a highly functioning one, if that was even possible. When was the last time Iâd had one of those? In the snake? When I almost drowned? Skating? Or sometime after that?Â
I canât remember.Â
Sigh, breathe.Â
I suppose I was due for one. Pouring one devastation after another was bound to cause a flood, and the cup had finally overflowed.
It had snuck up on me this time. Sure, I could feel myself falling apart throughout the day⊠But out of nowhere like that? I thought I had been coping much better than the past. I shouldâve been more skeptical.Â
I just⊠Thought that Iâd gained a better handle over it. I figured ignoring the patterns, the warning signs â brushing away the stitches that had been plucked from reopened wounds â would be the key to finally fixing myself. Iâd toughened through my self-recognized, flawed habits, bearing a sort of âbrave faceâ all the while.Â
I guess all that had done was stifle it all, up until the moment that the seams began to split.Â
Eyelids shut, sparse memories of the fire, the swords, the danger â Iâd almost died again, so that couldâve been the reason too â Why was that always the case in this world? Why was I always toeing the line between life and death, when all I wanted to do was avoid it entirely? I at least wanted to try to avoid it, likely the reason why I wound up running off⊠Which, in the process of doing so, completely left my friends behind.Â
Hands rubbing down my face, my fingers streak across the tears on my cheeks, and I open my eyes again, keeping my palms resting in place as the guilt sets in. Idiot. You left them behind and ran away on your own like a complete coward.Â
What kind of friend are you?Â
My body complains when I raise my spine from the chill of the cobblestone, all creaking tendons and aching muscles. The best way to fix my mistakes would be to go back and find them, right? To make up for it, I mean.Â
Still, how exactly was I supposed to do that? And what the hell was I gonna do when I got back to the hordes of shipwrights still hungry for vengeance? Freeze up again? That was definitely the most useful thing I could do for my friends, surely.Â
Flinching as my palm slides against the nearest wall, leaving a curving, bloody scrape â it stings â I attempt to rebalance on impossibly-immovable limbs.Â
The best place to start would be to find Luffy; Not only due to the fact that the boy was my soulmate, but⊠also due to our connection. So, yeah, I guess because he was my soulmate, whateverâÂ
The point is â I had no idea where I was, and even though it wasnât a straight shot, I could at least have a general sense of where he was at. I could track down the general area heâd flung himself to, and eventually I could just shout his name or something. Thatâd probably work once I was close enough⊠Heâd hear me, weâd reunite, and voila â happy ending⊠Hopefully⊠None of my options were optimal here.Â
Sluggish, itâs almost like the onslaught of emotion has used up the rest of the stock. I donât feel much, aside from fatigue, and the wall serves as the perfect crutch.Â
I back track with the pace of a snail, hands and knees bleeding â thereâs a gash in my calf, which I have no idea how it came to be, so thatâs bleeding too. Retracing is unfeasible, and the vacant streets are inauspicious⊠At least I wasnât being chased.Â
Against my knowledge, the next street I find myself traveling, unfamiliar and unpromising, holds more in store for me than Iâd predicted. You see, the streets werenât completely abandoned. There were still a few stragglers hanging around, ignoring the impending monsoon that prompted everyone else to evacuate. These few stragglers had more important things to do⊠More debts that needed to be repaid.Â
âWell, whaddya knowâŠâÂ
Instantly ceasing all movement, I blink at the street in front of me and hope that Iâm just hallucinating.Â
No way he was here, he couldnât be. My luck canât be that terrible.
(Yes it can, laughs the author.)
Directly across the street, separated by the city streetsâ characteristic stream of water, my eyes donât deceive me⊠Broad figure; spiked blue hair; still bearing sunglasses despite the complete lack of any sun; Franky stands there in all his glory, smug, grinning in a way that sets my teeth on edge. Itâs as if heâs just won the lottery.
âYouâre just the person Iâve been lookinâ forâŠâ He raises a sausage-like finger to point in my direction, before lifting both hands in a careless shrug. âWell, I was more looking for Straw Hat, but youâre basically the same thing, right?â
Damn it. This was not ideal.Â
Silence is the best answer, I believe. At his side are those two women from before, looking none-too-thrilled to see me, although I donât spy any of the thugs that work for him. I eye him once more, wary of his next move â hand firmly splayed on the wall behind me.Â
âLookinâ pretty rough there, Shrimp.â The obnoxious man laughs, âGot caught up with the locals after your little stunt with Icebarg, huh?âÂ
Annoyance flares. My emotions werenât gone, after all.Â
âI-ItâŠâ My voice is no more than a whisper at first, until I double down. âThat wasnât us.â
Somewhat astounded by the unforeseen defiance, the man lifts a brow. âWhatever. Doesnât matter to me. Either way, Iâve got a score to settle with you guys.â
Weâd run into this prick once already, and weâd been through hell both before and after the encounter⊠Iâd just been through hell.Â
It was one thing after another today, and I was getting really sick of all these idiots picking fights that held no foundation or basis.Â
âScrew you.â
All of them are getting on my nerves.Â
âYou keep talking about getting revengeâ and a-about how weâre a bunch of sore losersââ I huff, glaring, waterline stiff. It loosens with moisture that primes another round of emotional turmoil. âJust⊠Why do you act like youâre somehow the better person?â
Frankyâs eyes widen behind his glasses, crazed and bloodshot â the vein on his neck prods, ready to rupture.Â
â...What the hell did you just say to me?â He speaks low â grave â with an offended edge that promises to lash out towards anyone who dares rebel against it. âSay that again, I donât think I heard you the first time⊠It almost sounded like you were sayinâ Iâm just as much of a lowlife as you pirates.â
âI saidâŠâ Somewhere between something distraught and something enraged, I donât care. Thereâs no sole emotion that incentivises my words to keep coming. âStop acting like youâre the better person.â
Standing a little taller â Glaring a little harder â Tearful and snarling â Iâve been backed into a corner with no one to rely on. And Iâm so, so angry. I want to cry, and scream, and seeing him sets my blood on fire;
âYou⊠Youâre worse than a pirate. Y-Youâre no better than the restâ Youâre not super at all!â The words are strangled, spewed â pouring out everything and anything that comes to mind in an effort to be ruthless, though it just comes off as pathetic. âYou ruinedâ everything. My friends, my⊠My family. I-Itâs all cusâ of you, cusâ of what you didââ
Itâs a mess, Iâm a messâ Iâm so over everything. I want to go back to The Merry. I want everything the way it was â simple, and perfect.Â
âThose are some big words from a shrimp like you.â Franky says, similarly unabashed in his feelings about the situation. âYou and your crew beat the crap outta my menââÂ
âY-Youâre angry about your friends?â Cutting him off mid-sentence, bewildered by his audacity, I must sound like a banshee with my voice caught in the wind. Iâm reminded of his skewed viewpoint on the entire ordeal â He wanted revenge, even though he wasnât deserving of it. âB-But⊠What about our friend? I-I watched youâ You and all your men beat the shit out of him, a-and then you laughed in his face!âÂ
âYouâre pushinâ it, shrimp.âÂ
I ignore the growling warning, âI donât careââ
âAre you asking me to come over there or what?!â As a means of intimidation, Franky steps forward â even if heâs across the waterway, it does work a little. âHow about our home? Straw Hat and the rest destroyed itâ All thatâs left is a pile of rubble, so where the hell are me and my guys supposed to stay now?!â
Finally⊠Finally, I get to say all that Iâve been wanting to say.Â
âYou fucking hypocriteââ I spit, a hiccup interrupting the scathing vowels, seeing red as the water in my eyes boils. âYour home? W-What did you think we were doing with all that money? We were walking around a shipyard,â Seething, I shake my head and continue, âI-I canât⊠Justâ Are you for real? Y-You canât seriously not know that we were trying to fix our ship!âÂ
Unexpectedly, that shuts him up tight. The womenâs expressions are stunned. The silence speaks volumes â They hadnât known â They didnât know shit. Either that, or they didnât care. We both just stare, daring one another to say something more⊠To be the one to break the voiceless pause.Â
As if I care.Â
âWe earned that money. It was oursâ we were gonna use it for our home.â Through clenched teeth, Iâm like a rabid, snarling dog. âD-Did you think that our ship was just for looks or something? It was⊠She was so much more than thatââ
The bite knicks a nerve.Â
âDonât tell me what I do and donât know about ships, you got that?â This time, his response has a significant lack of extravagance, no flashiness or extra embellishments. Itâs personal, and Franky takes it that way entirely.Â
With a broken sob, exasperation follows. Regardless of the change in tone, he still wasnât listening, of course he wasnât â this man was just a heartless thug, somebody who stole our money and spent it in a single night. He probably blew it all on something pointless, and didnât bat an eye.Â
Thereâs no point in talking to a brick wall.Â
âThe Merry was everything to usâ To me. Itâs the only thing Iâve ever known in this world, andâ A-And now she canât⊠She canât evenâŠâÂ
The words arenât for him anymore, hopefully too faint for him to catch as it turns to baseless rambling â blaming the cyborg for what he was at fault for, and more⊠I give up. I canât argue any longer, and Iâm set back on my mission once more. My emotions were on a rollercoaster, crashing from the high.Â
âY-You beat up my soulmate because we fought back. Youâ You attacked us, and thenâ a-and then you probably spent all our money on something useless. We couldâve used itâ We couldâve gotten a new homeâ Nâ then⊠Then maybe⊠M-Maybe Usopp wouldnât have⊠He wouldâveâŠâ
Pitiful.Â
Thatâs all Franky can feel about the scene in front of him.Â
Youâre a mess â hunched with your back pressed to the wall, crumbling to a feeble fetal position â trembling with rage, openly expressing your ire in the form of a complete breakdown. Thereâs blood smudged from where your hand touched previously, streaking downwards with the motion of your collapsing body.Â
By the way you arrived, weakly dragging yourself against the building, Franky didnât think you had it in you.Â
The Cyborg had to give you some credit, standing up for yourself when you were already teetering on the edge of unseen events prior. You couldnât even contain your anger before it essentially imploded, and had wasted no time in taking it out on him. Aggravating, but admirable â to him, holding emotions barred was more weakness than it was strength.Â
Never mind that though. How reckless and stupid were you? Berating him like this as if you had any kind of ability to fight back. With your twig-arms and sniveling face, there was no way you could do anything against him if he chose to attack you right nowâŠÂ
So why couldnât he do it?Â
It hits him, and he stiffens. You reminded him of someone he knew⊠Someone he knew very well, in fact.Â
âŠHeâs not sure how to feel about that.Â
â...Youâre lucky Iâm in a good mood, Shrimp.âÂ
At his sides, the square sisters â Mozu and Kiwi â glance up at The Cyborg, perplexed. Not only was it strange for Franky to be letting you go like this (as you were an extension of Straw Hat himself, his nemesis. Heâd said so himself), to say he was in a good mood was completely out of the blue, as heâd been out of sorts for the entirety of the day.Â
Up until this point, the man had been ranting and raving about how infuriated he was, and how eager heâd been to take out his revenge on Long-Nose at the rocky cape; Thatâs where they were headed to before they chanced upon you, an undoubtedly much more efficient target, and therefore more efficient means of revenge. Yet, The Cyborg was merely walking away from you, rather than pursuing that revenge? It didnât make any sense to the ladies.Â
They look to each other, frowning in confusion as Franky turns his back, blatantly opposed by your tearful visage â eventually, though, they follow suit.Â
âAnd be thankful that a friend of mine told me I should spare yaâ for nowâŠâ Despite the threat, thereâs not much aggression to be sensed. It was a complete turnaround, Franky impartial to your appearance after his internal contemplations.Â
For the sake of his sanity, he walks off, bearing some parting words.Â
âBut youâre gonna regret everything you just said, you hear me? If I catch you around here again, I wonât go so easy on you⊠Now get the hell outta here, Shrimp.â
That⊠Was questionable.Â
I make sure that I donât take my eyes off of Frankyâs figure, not until his body passes a threshold my sights canât reach. Even then, I wait for the two women to disappear from my view as well⊠And I give it a good, hefty minute or twoâŠ
In the end, when Iâm certain they wonât be coming back, I heave an exhausted, dramatic sigh. Wrapping my hands around my knees, dropping my forehead there, I squeeze myself with all the might I can muster â a self comforting action that I attempt to imagine as Luffyâs arms, rather than mine. Again, pathetic, but whateverâŠ
I couldnât be bothered to understand why Franky randomly leftâ Why he decided to let me run free after spouting all those harsh truths and shamelessly bearing my soul. That was out of my paygrade, and I was now facing the backlash of hindsight.Â
How humiliating, I think to myself once a few more minutes have passed. He probably thought you wouldnât be worth the fight⊠And he was right, of course â didnât make me feel much better.Â
Now Franky had seen me cry twice, and both times let me go about my day. Was that something he enjoyed or something? Watching others fall apart for enjoyment? Using that against them in later confrontations?Â
Shame seeps into my skin, hot as it tracks up my neck.Â
Lifting my head, glaring at the spot his obnoxious blue hair had vanished, I murmur sulkily into the muggy air;
â...Stupid cyborg.â
â
Tidbit Today!
Although (Y/n) does not often think of her newly acquired weapon, itâs important to point out the heavy implications that sheâs only had a few weeks of training, which has mostly been focused on honing her physical abilities.Â
Most of this training has been centered around defense, building stamina, and some offense â Overall, she still is not experienced enough to fight effectively. It was mentioned in Chapter 50 that her weapon was made only a few days before the crewâs arrival to Water 7, therefore you can imagine the short amount of time sheâd spent training on how to use it.Â
Sheâs gotten used to wearing the satchel that her weapon is stored in during that short training time â however she tends to forget about it for the most part, since she is not used to having to use a weapon in her lifetime before landing in the One Piece world.
The blissful background of my dreamless, soundless slumber is ripped away by the sheer panic Nami displays as it emanates from the rooftop over â And I jolt awake.Â
My soulmate's name amplifies the anxiety induced, caught unawares by her startling distress. I donât bother with the when, or the where as my eyelids fly open, blinded by the morning light. Rather, itâs the why, the how; Why did she sound so worried? Was something happening? Did something happen to my soulmate?Â
I tear myself from the warmth at my side, wrenching upwards to assess the situation, readying for some terrible development to kick us while weâre downâÂ
âKonk!â
Only for my forehead to collide into said soulmate's jawbone, the dull noise thatâs born from our bones hilariously overexaggerated. Â
Immediately, my initial reaction is to groan, then followed by a relapse to limply fall backwards, back into warm arms. The pain grants me some increased awareness of the âwhere and whenâ that I mentioned before, palm reaching to soothe the throbbing of my skull, indecisively sliding down to cup at the soreness that spreads along my jaw â pain thatâs not mine.Â
âOwâŠâ I whimper, eyes tightly shut with the sting of fresh tears. Even if his body was fairly squishy most of the time, hitting Luffy so quickly seemed to make the rubbery flesh rigid⊠Like oobleck, or something.Â
âWhyâre you so jumpy all of a sudden?â Luffy laughs a bit under his breath, mostly unaffected. âRelax, itâs only Nami.âÂ
The hand at your back glides towards the dip in your waist, righting you so that youâre tucked snug to his front â stubborn in the refusal to change positions just yet. Right where you belonged, Luffy thought to himself.Â
âYouâre so weird. You were dead asleep beforeâ Do ya always wake up like that or something?âÂ
Opening my eyes to vivid skies and affable winds, Luffyâs quiet smile is the first thing I find, followed by our seating arrangement. Scarce, hazy memories of having swapped spots during our conversation last night are late to come forward⊠Namiâs voice had thrown me so off-kilter that my body mustâve woken up before my brain.Â
âI⊠I fell asleep?â The question is an obvious one, although Iâm too perplexed to care much. Itâs more of a confirmation for myself, to see if Iâd really wound up falling asleep on him (in the middle of such an important conversation, of all things).Â
âMhm.â Luffy hums, stare unwavering.Â
Damn. So much for being helpful.Â
While he doesnât appear exactly bothered, that doesnât stop the dusty pink blush to surface at my nose and cheeks, drawing my gaze to the side sheepishly. How embarrassing.Â
Although, it was also sorta nice⊠I mean, I didnât have any nightmares, and I felt super refreshed, butâÂ
Yeah, no. It was embarrassing. Plus, that meant he mustâve stayed awake for the rest of the night while I basically used him as a pillow. Oh, god. I didnât drool or anything, right?
âLuffy, didnât you hear me?â In the midst of analyzing his vest for any darkened, damp stains, The Navigator draws our attention once more, demanding the captain hear her words. âLast night something terrible happened to Icebargâ The whole town is talking about it!âÂ
Luffyâs face falls, turning his head to listen closer while I pause my restless search. Catching sight of the change, the contrast is disheartening to witness. Iâd hoped that my soulmate's attitude mightâve made a turn for the better after our heart-to-heart a few hours ago, but that wasnât the case. We mightâve sorted through most of the internal issues, yet there was still so much piling up on top of them that any solution kept getting buried beneath it all.Â
Itâs a bit of a personal dilemma to experience, as if I failed him by not completely remedying what ailed him through the night⊠I really wish I hadnât fallen asleep.
Nevertheless, I understand the importance of what Namiâs conveying, and why Luffy had taken it so seriously â Icebarg had been a great help to us, and the boy wasnât keen on good people being put through bad situations, especially those friendly to him and his crew â she goes on to explain that the Mayor had supposedly been attacked during the night in an assasination attempt, shot multiple times and wounded enough to leave him on the brink of death.Â
âIce pops from the shipyard?â The Captain sounds almost interrogative when he finally addresses the others (Nami, Sanji, Zoro and Chopper, based on who I could see from over his shoulder).Â
Itâs the first time heâs spoken to any of them in hours; Gruff⊠Not quite emotionless, though bordering on it.Â
I canât help the woeful sigh as the enervation of our group hits me full force. There was an unmistakable lack of stability amongst them that could be surveyed by a momentary glance. Weâd been split apart, having lost two friends over the short span of time, and Luffyâs silence didnât bode well for their mindset, unfortunately. Through a night of reflection, of solitude and consideration, none of us knew where to go next with all the uncertainty at hand â And when they looked to the captain, he didnât have a direction either.Â
âIf you waver, who can we have faith in?âÂ
It was just as Zoro had said.Â
âYesâŠâ With a grim tone, Nami answers. Her words sag even with the slightest utterance. âThey said that heâs unconscious right now.âÂ
âIâd bet everyone in this city thinks the world of that guyâŠâ Contemplative, the boy turns back to the view before us, as if the birds-eye view would allow him some leverage to figure things out, practically whispering the assessment to himself. â...Why him?âÂ
The assessment was accurate. Water 7âs Mayor was beloved by his people. They adored him, flocked to his presence and hung on his every word; Thus it was incredibly strange that such an established public figure would be targeted for an attack such as the one heâd endured⊠Supposedly. Gossip wasnât always the best source, as news traveled fast and context was misconstrued, sorta like the telephone game.Â
Regardless, for Luffy to be questioning it? I didnât have to tap into our bond to tell that he was going to investigate the matter for himself.Â
âIcebarg? Whoâs that, Nami?â We hear Sanji inquire from below, and I remember he wasnât there to meet the man in question, nor had we relayed the days earlier events; Too wrapped up in the problems weâd garnered later on.Â
âSomeone who helped us yesterday. Heâs the president of the shipbuilding company, and heâs the Mayor of Water 7.âÂ
âSounds like heâs quite a big shot.âÂ
âYeah⊠You pretty much couldnât come up with a worse incident to happen to this town.â Nami finalizes, reinstating Luffyâs and Iâs conjoined thoughts.Â
The kindred expression from The Navigator is all it takes. Luffy shifts, eyebrows bent in determination, and the earlier assumption that the boy wouldnât sit idly by comes to fruition. Scooped in his arms, lifted to a stand without any direct speech, The Captain stoically conveys that I would be coming along for the ride.Â
âWhat theâ (Y/n) has been up there with you this whole time?!â Screeching in disbelief, the cigarette falls from Sanjiâs lips whilst he sputters. âW-What the hell are you thinking?! Put her down now before you fall off the roof, you damn idiot!âÂ
Sharing a halfhearted wave, I stare at our friends in avoidance of the steep drop before us â not fond of staring down the length of an extremely tall building, of which the height I couldnât even begin to estimate â reaching to wrap my arms around Luffyâs neck as he steps forward, bending at the knees.Â
I squeeze his stretchy skin and turn the other direction, preparing for that inevitable lurch of my stomach that will occur when he takes the leap.Â
âIâll go check on âim.â Energy reinvigorated by the news of our newfound friend being injured, Luffy does, in fact, jump straight off the roof. Thereâs no other word given to the crew as he does so, leaving them stunned as we drop.Â
Wind whistling in my ears, Iâm doubtless that any attempt to call after us would stay unheard. Halfway down the boy has to remove one hand to keep the hat from flying off his head, and I fear I may have nearly choked him to death.Â
He delivers a murmured âwhoopsâ as we land, basically prying me away to readjust and escape the chokehold.Â
âSorryâŠâ I mutter, bashful with the overblown showcase of fear.Â
Luffy grunts, unlike his typical responses with the offset mood. âSâfine.âÂ
âWait up, you guys!â From above, we can barely make out Nami's call as it bounces around in the thin street. âIâm coming too!âÂ
Despite the cries of our friend, Luffy didnât slow down one bit.Â
âArenât we gonna wait for her?âÂ
âNah, sheâll catch up.âÂ
Whipping through the streets, swinging around corners and lurching over the canals with his stretchy capabilities, Luffy disregarded The Navigatorâs wishes and kept on trucking. This wasnât necessarily strange in itself, as he often ran ahead in the heat of battle, too infatuated by the sense of adventure⊠It was his mannerisms that were out of character, doing so without calling back or acting in any mischievous way.Â
Once a good chunk of time had passed, my soulmate took it upon himself to throw my body up into the air and recatch me at his back â a trick I still couldnât believe he performed so easily â which seemed to double our speed as his hands were given a bit more freedom. All the while, neither of us spoke. Rather, I listened to the chaos unfolding around us.Â
âExtra! Extra! Read all about it! Water 7âs hero, our mayor Icebarg, fell victim to the hands of an assassin!â
With each newspaper read, each huddled group whispering around each other, the situation was escalating exponentially.Â
âIs Icebarg okay?âÂ
âThis is terrible⊠How could this happen to him?âÂ
âWho did it?âÂ
âWhoâs the culprit?!âÂ
âIt doesnât say!âÂ
General confusion was running rampant, distraught citizens pointing fingers, desperate for someone to blame â and given time to stew, their resentful queries began to morph into concerning theories.Â
âNobody around here could do something like thisâŠâÂ
âOnly pirates would pull such a vicious attack! No doubt about it.âÂ
âIâd like to get my hands on the ones that did it.âÂ
âThere were a bunch of pirates rampaging through Dock 1 just yesterday!âÂ
While watching their anger unfold, I mistakenly caught the eye of a particularly enraged passerby, a poor scrap of newspaper crinkled and wadded in his grip, all too impassioned by Icebargâs bleak situation. His eyes narrow in suspicion, snapping open in recognition as we lock gazes.Â
Alarmed, I turn away just in time for us to veer around the next corner, Luffy pursuing a directionless search of Icebargâs home.Â
âShitâŠâ Hissing the curse under my breath, Iâve almost forgotten about the fact that I had a bounty on my head now⊠One that was very expensive, from a specific standpoint, and considerable numbers meant considerable recognition; Especially with it being âplastered everywhere,â as Rachel had so kindly informed me. If that was true, we were bound to be recognized. Would it be even worse since we were soulmates? Would that draw even more attention than we might already have?Â
Voice burdened with subtle gasps of overexertion, Luffyâs curious as to what mightâve occurred to result in the soft-spoken curse. âWhatâs up?âÂ
âDidnât you hear them?â Fretting more unwanted attention, I keep my tone low. âTheyâre saying itâs piratesâ Nâ that they were at Dock 1 yesterday⊠What if theyâre talking about us?â Â
âWeâll figure it out.â Confident in his statement, as always, Luffy doesnât say much else on the matter. Heâs too focused on the current problems weâve got to deal with.Â
âLuffy⊠Iâm kinda worried.â I admit, even if my soulmate isnât so responsive. âI think⊠Somebody recognized me, back thereâ Maybe both of us.âÂ
The silence speaks volumes. Luffyâs heard my words, yet he doesnât say anything for a long while.Â
âWe had nothing to do with it.â The Captain asserts, âItâll be fine.âÂ
Well, he was right. We didnât have anything to do with Icebargâs attack, and that was all that mattered, in a sense.Â
Whatever⊠I guess we would figure it out, if thatâs what it all boiled down to.Â
â
âHey, guys!â Once again, itâs Namiâs voice that catches us off guard as Luffy stampedes over a large bridge, one that crosses a highly-trafficked canal. âDown here!âÂ
âOver there.â I murmur, pointing to the side where The Navigator awaits our appearance.Â
Over time his attitude has elevated to something akin to his usual bright nature, and so Luffy follows my instruction, racing to the edge of the bridge. He peers to its underside for a practical millisecond, where Iâm scarcely able to spot the redhead riding a Yagara cart, until the moment Iâm roughly twisted to his front.Â
âNyop!âÂ
It doesnât hit me that Luffyâs vaulted us over the bridge until weâre literally airborne.Â
Plummeting to the Yagara Bullâs back with near impeccable accuracy for someone who took a single glance before aimlessly leaping, Iâm not the only one caught unawares at Luffyâs antics, as Namiâs expression is an absolute vision of the term âwtfâ just before his butt hits the seat behind her.Â
We land harshly â our ride dipping under the abrupt application of weight and pressure â so harsh that the waters around us forcibly curve around the bottom half of the Yagaraâs cart, effectively dousing all three of us in sea water. Soaked to the bone, practically hanging halfway off of a too-small seat, back aching due to my spine ramming into the wooden structure, I groan in tandem with my red-haired friend. Sheâs a little better off though, in my opinion; Still sitting in her seat, drenched, though without much physical discomfort.Â
âRight!â In quick recovery, Luffy sat up into our shared-seat with a triumphant fist raised, ready to seize the day now that some of his solemnity had subsided. âHurry up, Yagara!âÂ
Bonk!
Namiâs fist cracks across Luffyâs skull, where he chokes in pain. I, too, can feel the brutality of her wrath, whining into my palms as yet another headache pops into existence â the one from this morning only having recently subsided.Â
Using the back of Namiâs seat for leverage, I somehow manage to pull myself to an upright position, grimacing at the rough arrival.Â
Itâs an awkward seating arrangement, for sure; straddling a portion of Luffyâs body thatâs partially his hips, partially his torso. Too busy nursing his cranium, he doesnât appear to notice⊠Or care, for that matter.Â
A deep, deep exhale. Then, â...Could you try to warn me next time we jump off stuff like that?âÂ
The boy pouts at my exasperation, guiltily avoiding my gaze under the protection of his hat. âDidnât wanna miss the landingâŠâÂ
âHere,â The ginger girl hands me a bundle of newspapers once sheâs ensured that our ride is still well-enough to continue onward. âTake a look, itâs all about Icebarg.âÂ
Opening to the first page, the print slightly smudged from the damp assault moments prior, I scan through the columns quickly. To my dismay, itâs all the same as everything Iâve been hearing; No new developments made. Luffy grunts, shimmying from beneath my legs a bit so that he can take a look for himself. Forking them over, The Captain takes the pages up gratefully.Â
I slump myself over the top of Namiâs seat â stretching out my aching back so that the bones âpop-popâ with relief. Combined with the rough landing, I hadnât exactly slept with the best posture⊠Wouldnât stop me from sleeping on Luffy again if given the chance, ngl.Â
âSo, I guess the rumors were true.â Sporadically flipping through the thin parchment, Luffy confirms the obvious. âHe was attacked.âÂ
âYeah.â The dry response is not one Iâd expect from The Navigator, it causes my heart to sink â missing the vibrance she brought during conversation. I suppose I canât blame her, however. âSo, even if we go to the shipyard, we probably wonât be able to meet with him.âÂ
âThen⊠Letâs just go to his house.â Luffy shrugs out of the corner of my eye, speaking simple-terms.Â
âThey said his private residence is inside the main office.â Nami, agreeing to some extent, continues our path as if sheâs already memorized every street.Â
I debate the notion, then am reminded of the possible flaw it entails. Gripping the seat with two hands, I lift my head to interject â Nerves taking hold with how she so readily agrees with the boy for once without any background knowledge.Â
âA lot of the people around here think that it was pirates⊠They said that they suspect it was a group who went to Dock 1 yesterday.â
âWait, what?â Nami cranes her neck to look over her shoulder at me, to which I nod in return. âWe were there yesterday⊠Theyâre not talking about us, are they?âÂ
Picking at the clumps of paint adorning the cart, my nails scrape as my mind searches for more information. âI donât really know⊠People were just talking about it.â
âEven if they are, I already told you weâll figure it out.â Luffy moves his knee to jostle me a bit. âYouâre thinkinâ too much again.âÂ
âI know you said that already,â Nose wrinkling, I rest my chin on top of my hands with a scowl. âBut what if they are looking for us? Itâs just⊠Itâs too weird to be just a coincidence.âÂ
âYouâre both right. Itâs still good to keep in mind, but letâs not jump to conclusions yet.â With her two cents thrown in, Nami puts the debate to rest. âItâs possible that there was another group of pirates around before we showed up yesterday⊠If weâre accused of anything, we can just pin the blame on them instead.âÂ
The discussion fades into the subtle rushing of the current, our Yagara powering through the waters, falling into a rhythm of movement where one fin scoops through the liquid, followed by the next at its other side.Â
The city streets are mostly empty â The Beastâs body rocking like a cradle, a hypnotizing side-to-side motion that lulls and soothes, the stillness allowing for something serene to flourish in the quiet.Â
Itâs serene⊠Calming for our disheveled state.Â
This doesnât last.Â
Darkened shadows pass overhead as we turn onto a new street, one with far less people, and even less noise. Then, all sound vanishes as we appear from the other end of the bridge-tunnel, because â like some sort of ironic fate â the street where weâd found Usopp yesterday is waiting on the other side.Â
The redhead at the front stiffens, realization spurring her breath to hitch. A bit late to react, I can do nothing but freeze when I finally lift my gaze. Both of us are locked in a dead-stare, the darkened slabs of cobblestone on the street are yet stained by old smudges of Usoppâs blood. They trail the rock from where heâd dragged himself to the Franky House, spattered like a calicoed pattern of suffering.Â
âŠWas this some kind of sick joke? Why hadnât it been washed away yet? Why was it still here?Â
Closing my eyes to thwart a vision of The Sniper lying there listless, just the same as before, I didnât want to look. Looking meant reliving it, making it all so much more real than it already was.Â
Maybe Iâd just imagined the stains. Maybe my shameful conscience had conjured them up as a form of some trauma responseâ
I open my eyes⊠The bloodâs still there.Â
âNamiâŠâ My soulmate's voice disrupts the pause, where the two of us have apparently become lost within our own heads â Namiâs shoulders jerking slightly as his voice rips her from her thoughts. âWhat are you thinkinâ about?âÂ
Luffy knew. Of course he did.Â
Him and the others had gone to that spot yesterday in search of Usopp and I, just as Nami promised they would. No doubt, he recognized exactly where we were⊠Asking was his way of acknowledging it himself â a silent command to us as his crewmates â a form of resentful leadership. Whatâs done is done. We werenât meant to actually answer.
âIt's⊠Nothing.â Namiâs shoulders slump ever so slightly, her face hidden just as well as Luffyâs; Eyes overcast by his straw hat.Â
The Captain doesnât stray from the page. Heâs been staring at the same one for a few minutes, at this point.
The question resurfaces, my mind wandering without conversation to occupy the empty space; What was Nami thinking about? Was she thinking the same thing I was? Staring at the blood stains, wishing that they werenât there in the first place⊠Perhaps she was also re-imagining Usoppâs body laying there, gasping his agony â admitting that he couldnât face the others in the wake of his mistakes.Â
My bottom lip tremblesâ I bite down on it, hard.Â
Weâd both been there, both wished there was more that we couldâve done to avoid everything thatâd happened⊠But there wasnât. And the worst part? Usoppâs absence was made so, so much more evident. It had been indistinct thus far, the way weâd all been impacted by his absence â elusive in the manner that showed up with the tiniest of details, yet also the ones most glaring. Our little group was traveling to seek out Icebarg for the second time since we came to the island, just like yesterday. Similar goals, the same band of faces⊠Without Usopp, this time.Â
I smother the void he left behind with a shuddering breath â In the stifled air, a few tears squeeze from my eyes. I let them fall.Â
âŠI missed him. Robin, too.
Removing a hand, curving it around the redhead's chair, I blindly seek out her own in the stillness. Itâs not immediate, by any means⊠Still, Namiâs hand loosens on the reins, and it finds mine, fingers interlocking in remembrance of our friend. Neither of us speak, squeezing each other's hands gently, eyes burning with regret and too many tears already shed. Even with all thatâs happened, we had each other.
A tender, tingling touch reaches my face â grazing, at first â calloused as it brushes away the dampness of my skin, somewhat scratchy even with carefulness. Itâs comforting, familiar in a way that we both know only Luffy can provide. Timid fingers skim up the length of his arm, light as feathers. Finding Luffyâs hand at the end of the trail triggers an immediate response, to which his palm flips to cup mine. And so our fingers interlock, too.Â
Amidst the low buzz of contact, my thumb brushes his skin gently, the point of contact lowered to rest over my thigh as I glance at the boy's darkened face, his jaw clenching quietly.Â
Yeah⊠We had each other.Â
That was enough.Â
â
By the time we arrived, Dock 1 was packed.Â
A pandemonic mess on both land and in the water, Water 7âs inhabitants had flocked to their mayor's place of residence, held back by a massive gate that forbade all entry. Those who rode on their Yagaraâs were clustered around the street nearest their goal; However, none dared to step out, the streets far too crowded to even attempt. Disembarking from their boats meant possibly falling into the canals, and that would only create more havoc.Â
âThis is worse than Times SquareâŠâ Shrinking back into my soulmate's front â having moved around so that he can properly survey the area â I eye those around us with distrust. There were too many eyes here, and being spotted by a random stranger on the street kept me on edge. If heâd managed to recognize me with just a glance, then we were bound to run into someone just as capable. Being in such a tight spot when that happened would not be ideal for an escape plan.Â
âYeah, I get what you mean now.â To my surprise The Captain responds to my comment, a palm cupping the back of his head, angling his straw hat away from view. Iâd almost forgotten that Iâd told him about NYC during one of our late-night meetups. âWe canât go that way, huh? Ugh, man⊠Weâre never gonna find out whatâs going on unless we get to Ice Pops.âÂ
Thereâs not much of an option other than to ask around, so Nami approaches the nearest group of people. Our first target isnât all that helpful, and the dour expression on the manâs face does little more than emphasize the hopeless aura that had followed us all throughout the night, though he does at least confirm our suspicions; We wouldnât be able to meet Icebarg without going through Dock 1, which was impossible right now. According to what heâd heard, nobody was allowed inside aside from authorized personnel and a few reporters.Â
Everyone else we ask garners similar replies, and our efforts start to feel fruitless. I can sense the frustration souring Luffyâs already bleak mood with each person we talk to, weaving around our Yagara-bound company like threads in an ornate tapestry.Â
Then I hear the drums.Â
All of us do â itâs clear how the entire assembly of city dwellers appear to lose their disheartened personas, trading them in for visible panic â a swarm of whispers that sounds as if theyâre sharing gossip, all meshed together in a way thatâs difficult to nitpick on whoâs-saying-what.Â
Itâs an overall peculiar spectacle, since the pound of the beat doesnât sound as if it means to bode ill omens⊠In fact, itâs rather upbeat. Yet, itâs the recognitionâ The concerned shouting that floods me with anxious tension.Â
âThis rhythm isâŠâÂ
âDonât tell me⊠Oh noââÂ
The three of us gaze every which way as our surrounding peers register some apparent danger that we donât. A few have even started to clear out, swerving around others like it was a barrel race or something.Â
âWhy at a time like this?!âÂ
The threat of the unknown has my pulse skyrocketing â A city-goer flies by us as he races from the area, sweating bullets and nearly tipping our ride straight over.Â
What the hell were they running from?Â
âHey, you guys! Questionâ Did you just say my name?âÂ
The explanation comes in the form of a deep, rumbling voice.Â
âNo, we didnât! Justâ Go away!âÂ
âWhere? Where is he?!â
âI-I donât see himââÂ
âWaitâ Heâs up there!âÂ
Rasping at the end of his sentence, the tone is so recognizable, so familiar that it spawns goosebumps over the surface of my flesh as I hear it. No matter how frivolous he chose to speak, it was nothing but a farce.Â
The owner of this voice wasnât a good person â I knew this because Iâd met him before.Â
Though gaudy, the orange and blue get-up was worn with reason.Â
A bassist voice ensuring that the man wasnât one to be screwed with, comparable to the rolling grumble of an engineâÂ
He was the leader of the Franky Family.
âCome on everybody, donât be shyâ Say my name!âÂ
Voice calling out from such a distance, the man chants an adlib â Wow-wow-wow â singing out lyrics as if heâs some makeshift rockstar arranging to unveil a performance. In response, the onlookers who remained have transformed into an angry mob; All pumping fists and seething rage.Â
This man was apparently the other potential perpetrator of the crime.Â
âYouâre the one who attacked Icebarg, arenât you!âÂ
âYeah, he did it!âÂ
âItâs gotta be him!âÂ
âGet outta hereâ Get off this island already!âÂ
âYou should be sent to the gallows, you punk!âÂ
Iâm not sure whether to cry or scream â whether I should go and actually join them â petrified and pissed off all at once.Â
For all I cared, he was the reason behind everything that had gone wrong yesterday. He was the one who stole our moneyâ He was the one whoâd beaten and mocked Usoppâ Whoâd thrown us out the door like trashâ
âWhatâs the matter?â Noticing my rampaging emotional state, Luffy nudges me to respond. âYouâre all messed up all of a sudden.âÂ
Iâm glued to the shadowy-figures atop the tallest bridge in the area, hidden behind a translucent curtain of white.
âI-I think thatâsâŠâ After a short time, I find my voice again. âThatâs him.â
âHuh? What are you talking about?â Luffy turns to look there as well, eyebrows furrowed ignorantly.Â
In light of the big finale, the man rips the sheet from its spot, casting it aside to reveal himself and the two square-haired women dancing at his side.Â
âIâm the Number 1 super guy! The face of the Water 7 underworld, and you know why!âÂ
Tanned, hairy skin â barely clothed â the manâs figure is adorned by a gold chain, a bold, unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt, and swim trunks⊠Oddly enough, itâs the long strands of light blue hair that serve to verify my assumption.Â
âThatâs the guyââ Pointing a finger and turning to the boy with wide eyes, my urgency stuns him for a moment, and he reels backwards. âHeâs the one who stole our money, and told his men to beat up Usopp! I-I saw him at the Franky House yesterdayââÂ
âThatâs right! People, call out my name! Wow!â
The sunglasses on his face glint in the sunlight as he lunges forward, assuming a pose that allows his over-sized forearms to come together, creating a star symbol out of his navy blue tattoos.Â
Everything about him, from the entry theme-song to what he wore, was undeniably flashy â Just the same as when I saw him last. Â
âWait, are you serious?â Twirling in her seat, Nami whirls to face me, hands gripping the seat with white-knuckles. âThatâs him?!â
âYeaââ I nod, turning back to the man in question. âIt has to be him, itâs definitelyââÂ
KaâBoom!!
âFranky!âÂ
And the man clears the air himself; Metaphorically, of course, as a large explosion of green smoke bursts from behind his performance.Â
Itâs here that the lightheartedness of his show (if there was ever any in the first place), disintegrates with the sole action of lifting his glasses. Frankyâs eyes spear through the people below, combing through the masses for one person in particular.Â
Aggressive, like a hunter whoâs lost sight of his game, the blue-haired man bellows his anger to everyone in attendance;Â
âCome out and show yourself, Straw Hat!âÂ
Luffy grits his teeth, clenches his fists, and rises to a stand. We canât see his face, yet I can see the veins that cross his knuckles jutting from the skin, just begging to meet Frankyâs face in greeting.Â
â...Then we found him.â Like a low growl, Luffyâs tone is menacing â Out for blood. âIf it wasnât for him, then weâdâŠâÂ
Still have Usopp.Â
âHey! Bikini Guy!â Itâs not long before The Captain is shouting across the water, voice traveling up to our enemy with ease as thereâs nothing to block the sound. âThatâs me. Iâm Luffy!âÂ
Stepping forward, Frankyâs body is shrouded in total sunlight â I have to squint in order to properly see him.Â
âSo, youâre Luffy, huh?â The larger man addresses, after an extended period of silence. âDidnât expect you to look so shrimpy!âÂ
In the bright light, he appears to tilt his neck, cracking it in preparation.Â
âI have a bone to pick with you⊠You and your little gang went on quite the rampage while I was gone. When I got back, I couldnât believe my eyes. Well, my house is totally unrecognizable. How dare you treat my underlings so badly?âÂ
The drums start back up, renewing Frankyâs strange ritual of song and dance â literally â ranting his âsongâ for all to hear. What was this, a poetry slam?Â
âIâd hate to be you right now⊠No one can stop me this week â My anger wonât subside!âÂ
âShut up!âÂ
Irate, The Navigator pipes up from her spot at the front.Â
Namiâs hands are cupped over her lips, unwilling to hold back her harsh words. âYou jerk! Whatâd you do with our money? Give us our 200 million berries back already!âÂ
â200 million berries?â Franky leans over with a large hand beside his ear, words condescending, as if speaking to a group of children. âWell thatâs a damn shame⊠Iâve already spent it! Itâs completely gone!âÂ
I can hear Nami inhale, ready to ream the man out for being such an insufferable prick. She doesnât get to, Franky continuing on his self-centered spiel.Â
âYou pirates are all a bunch of sore losers, donât act all uppity when you probably just stole the money from somewhere elseââÂ
âThe money doesnât matter.â Assertiveness came with the fine print of his title, and The Captain uses it, swiftly shutting down Frankyâs attempts to belittle us more than he already has. In Luffyâs eyes, the man had done enough damage; Now it was time for a reckoning.Â
âNot true! Money does matter!â Nami firmly opposes the sentiment, ever so avaricious.Â
Dissatisfied with his unaffected persona, I decide to join the rabble â ready to speak my own mind, yet too upset to think of anything worthwhile or hard-hitting.Â
âYou suck!âÂ
Still, I speak up anyways. Finding my balance between vantage points of the boat and Luffy, gripping his wrist without rising from my crouched position, the weak insult tears from my throat like sandpaper.Â
And I continue. âY-You beat up our friendâ What makes you any better than us?!âÂ
âHang on a second, I recognize that voiceâŠâ Bearing all the brain-rot energy of the thinking emoji, Franky raises a pointed finger and thumb to his chin â snapping his fingers once it dawns on him. âOh, yeah! I remember you, youâre that girl who showed up at our place with that long-nosed guy.âÂ
Resisting the compulsion to live up to the manâs expectations, shame clouds my vision. I hurriedly blink it away. Encouraged by my unresponsive state, Franky takes the opportunity to push it further.Â
âYâknow what? I take it back about your little boyfriend here⊠Talk about a shrimp! If Iâm rememberinâ this right, all you did was stand there and cry the whole time.âÂ
I canât find a decent retort; Too outraged, dejected, and utterly stupefied by the audacity. It felt like my whole body was vibrating with negativity; a plastic bottle being twisted too tight, the cap ready to burst.Â
Knowing I wouldnât find any more insults, I keep my next statement quiet as a mouse, sulking and scorned. âThis guyâs a total assholeâŠâÂ
âTell me about it.â The redhead sympathizes, frowning herself.Â
âMoney or no money,â Itâs Luffyâs turn to take over the conversation, not interested in trivialities â single-minded in his newest goal⊠Revenge. âI wonât be happy until I beat you upâ Iâm gonna make you pay!âÂ
With a scoff, Franky returns his assault towards my soulmate once more, almost spitting down at him from his âstage.â âYouâre stealinâ my lines, you bastard! Are you tryinâ to make me mad?!âÂ
âWhateverâŠâ The fury churns within Luffyâs system, vehemently discarding Frankyâs response in favor of a physical dispute. âJust come down here and fight already!âÂ
The rest of the villagers around us take that as their cue to evacuate the area â Their bravery from before diminished with whatever was coming next. The man leans back, and doesnât say another word.Â
All I could do was brace, heartbeat thumping in my ears as the argument came to a head.Â
His actions are unnerving in its own right â But with the impossible back-bending posture that heâs pulled off, chest inflating with every passing second, none of us know what to think.Â
âWhatâs he doingâŠ?â Observant eyes are keen to note the odd stance, Nami openly expressing her confusion. âIs he holding his breath or something?â
âI dunno⊠Butâ I-Iâve got a really bad feeling.â I shake my head, all of my nerves set alight. âI⊠I think we should start moving.â
It was as if my body was signalling the nonexistent prospect that I was standing at the edge of a cliff, though clearly not the case. Nonetheless, it spooked me â This gut-feeling was hell bent on telling me to get moving.Â
âNo way.â Stern with aggravation, Luffy extends a hand to hover in front of my face, as if physically halting my suggestion in its tracks. âThis pervâs gonna get whatâs coming to him!âÂ
âUm⊠I-I guess, if you really think so, justâŠâÂ
A moment passes, then another, and anotherâ
I canât take it anymore. âN-No, seriously⊠Nami, tell the Yagara we gottaââÂ
Pausing mid sentence, I go stiff. Flashing before my eyes is a haze of fiery orange, something that hasnât actually been birthed into existence just yetâÂ
The air suddenly sparks with heat, and I know itâs too late to warn them a third time.Â
To our horror, a stream of fire jets from Franky, pouring from his lips like liquid â It hits the water and spreads, steam hissing at our heels â ignited fast enough that those left at the rear of the mass have to flee for their lives. We can hear them screaming, fighting to get away as the Yagara bulls squeal and shriek.Â
It closes in, nearly singing my eyebrows from my faceâ I hold fast to Luffy, heart pounding, the boy raising an arm to shield against the blaze in mechanical motion⊠For a moment, the entirety of my vision is doused in raging orange hues.Â
The foreboding disaster is short lived, thankfully, as our Yagara takes the initiative to speed away whilst we gape in terror, the creature itself fearing a dreadful fate of being fried up and served on a platter. The moment it lunges forward, all of us nearly tumble from our spots;Â
In the end, we do manage to relocate all in one piece. It had been a close-call, too close⊠I swear I could still feel the intensity even as the flames withdrew.Â
The barrage ceases eventually, revealing Frankyâs maniacal grin through the smoke, knowing heâd been successful at making the first move. Going against such an unforeseen element of his abilities leaves me worried for my soulmate's well-being, as we had no clue what we were up against.Â
I would just have to hope that, by some stroke of Luffyâs unusual luck, that heâd deal with this guy just as he had done with the rest⊠And maybe, just maybe, my soulmate would wipe that smug smile off of Frankyâs face.Â
â
The Rocky capes of Water 7 are the least populated areas of the entire island; This was a well known fact to the city's inhabitants.Â
With terrain worn down by abrasive winds and salty seas, the ground lies uneven, which makes it difficult to establish homes that arenât under constant threat of tipping over. The gales howl like lone wolves in the night, and the ocean rages against the capes roughed edges, a constant reminder of its goal to swallow up the sparse land into its neverending expanse â To reclaim the earth from where it once rose.Â
Not many dare to set foot out here, save for pirates, or the rogue bandits who pillage and plunder the city's weak spots, rumored to live out in the barren outskirts of nothingness. If a brave soul were to go searching, they might chance upon the rare fauna that find their home here⊠Lizards that slink under and over the scattered debris, skittering so swift you might not see them â Insects that huddle together beneath the loosened stones, kept moist by the soggy earth, only revealed once their homes are lifted.
However, the absence of movement that plagues the expanse today is not something any passerby or visitor should ignore. At this moment, there are no lizards here, no bugs sheltering from whatâs to come⊠Theyâve all moved to safety, towards higher ground; For they know that the mottled, sticky scent in the air and the rising speed of the wind could only bring bad tidings.Â
If only everyone had the wisdom of such small creatures.Â
Scriitchâ Scritch, scrtch-srchâ
Something was clawing at the Going Merryâs door.
His wounds had made it a difficult feat, though Usopp managed to claw his way back to the beloved vessel during the late hours of the night. The Sniper was tired, having faced the dark with a sleeplessness that didnât commonly affect him. Blame it on the pain, or perhaps what had happened prior⊠Or the uncanny vision of the barren space â old belongings missing from their stations, placeholders of the people that lived there a day before â Regardless, heâd been sluggish throughout the day.Â
And itâs the sleeplessness that boggles his brain, since just a few moments ago, heâd sworn that a pair of voices had been shouting somewhere nearby⊠Something about an incoming storm, and that anybody in the area needed to evacuate. The voices, which he was sure were well-meaning, sounded uncomfortably familiar to him; Was he hearing things now?Â
It was setting Usopp on edge â the ever-burdening everything â and now there was this random source of noise from the entryway of the kitchenâŠ? What was going on? Was he finally losing it?Â
With slightly shaking fingertips, Usopp reaches for the door handle, and opens no more than a sliver, just enough to catch a glimpse of the outside world. Immediately, the boy freezes.Â
Big, verdant eyes stare up at his face, irises wide as silky-pink ears and a long white tail flickers in greetingâ
Mrrroow!
âIvory?!âÂ
The Sniper swears he screams the catâs name so loud that it bounces off the walls of Water 7, resonating back to his position like a batâs echolocation. That doesnât aid in coming to terms with the sight before him.Â
Stepping out on the deck, Usopp hunches his shoulders and whips his head in various directions to see who the culprit mightâve beenâ Who the person had been to drop the animal off at his doorstep. Heâd expected it to be you, or maybe Chopper, or even Nami⊠Was that who the voices were before?!
Yet, there was nobody around for miles. The area was clear of people.Â
With the door open, Ivory scampers into the kitchen just as he usually would. His cat door had been locked, for fear of anything else sneaking inside whilst Usopp tried to sleep, hence why the baby had been pawing at the door beforehand.Â
Usopp watches, his mouth gaping as the kitten appears to gaze around in befuddlement, the lack of kitchen apparatus (or his bed, for that matter) a mystery for the animal who didnât know any better. Still, he continues forward anyways, sitting at the door to the fridge and crying loudly.Â
âH-Hey, wait a secââ Usoppâs shock soon turns to terror, unsure of the situation. âWhat are you doing here?!â
The Sniperâs stomach twists into a stressful knot. Whether Ivory had been dropped off intentionally, or had somehow made it back here on his own, you would definitely notice his disappearance⊠That much the boy was certain. He could only imagine how overwrought you would be to find the baby gone.Â
âOh, man. (Y/n)âs gonna be so worried⊠Whenâ When sheâŠâÂ
Usopp looks to Ivory, waiting patiently for his meal â A meal that likely wasnât even there, in spite of the kittenâs expectations. His little white face tilts, not comprehending anything other than the sound of his motherâs name.Â
â...When she findsâŠâÂ
The words are cut short. He canât seem to say them aloud.Â
âYou know what?âÂ
âDo whatever you wantâ Maybe you might be fine with just sitting back and letting the others do the work, but Iâm not!â
Fists clench at his sides as Usoppâs heart weighs heavily, biting his tongue in remembrance of the words heâd said the day before.Â
âIâm not going to fall behind like some useless stowaway while everyone else gets stronger!âÂ
He couldnât regret them, now⊠No, heâd made his choices, and he would stand by his beliefs. You would just have to understand things from his perspective.Â
You were good like that. You always understood these things⊠Right?Â
Thereâs a hefty sense of dread that follows, knowing that heâd have to face you once again now that Ivory was here, and not with you. Usopp wouldnât acknowledge it, couldnât for the sake of his pride â had to stand by the claims heâd made like a man â but, realistically, he couldnât fathom how the hell he was supposed to face you, after everything that happened⊠How was he supposed to face his friends after that?Â
Ex-friends, The Sniper reminds himself. The weight is doubled, and he clenches his jaw.Â
â...Alright, câmon, little guy.âÂ
Relenting, the boy sighs, unable to relinquish his frustration upon Ivory. The poor thing didnât know any better, really⊠Heâd just traveled back to the place he instinctively knew to be home, and Usopp could relate to that on some level.Â
âLetâs see if they left behind anything for you to eat⊠Otherwise, you and I will just have to do some fishing.âÂ
â
Tidbit Today!!
Since Chopper was the designated member of the crew meant to care for Ivory, The Doctor took the kitten with him when Sanji conjured the idea to look for Robin. In the process, the trio learned about Aqua Lagunaâs impending arrival, and ran to The Going Merry since they assumed Usopp wasnât aware of what was coming.Â
Itâs while Sanji and Chopper are running from the scene that Ivory leaps from the doctor's satchel. Heâd seen the ship, and after a night of confusion and unnerve, the kitten sought after it for comfort and peace, as itâs the one constant that Ivory has gotten to know in his short life. He was bound to show up there sooner or later.Â
(Call it a homing instinct â the idea that, when a cat runs away, they always know how to get back).Â
"Hey, (Y/n)... (Y/n). Hello," The word was drawn out from Usopp's lips as he finally caught my attention, and I sat up from my hunched position after realizing the rest of the crew was looking at me, too.Â
"Yeesh. Getting lost in there?" He pointed at his head, and then at mine, with a concerned tone.Â
The moment blurs in and out of focus, merging past and present into one.
Usoppâs concerned expression, a memory from one of our first interactions, morphs into a bandaged face, and glossy eyes.Â
I stand beside Zoro, watching as a bystander, relying on The Swordsmanâs unwavering aura to keep my anxieties barred. It felt like the ground I walked on was made of loose gravel, cautious as I entered the kitchen where Usopp had laid bedridden, until now. Now he was awake.Â
Not once had Usopp turned to look at me, or speak to me⊠I almost wondered if this was worse than the explosive reaction that Iâd been expecting.
âUsopp⊠About the ship,â Luffy smiles down at The Sniper, who stares up at his captain with desperation in his eyes, having asked about the state of the Going Merry â about what weâd learned from the shipwrights. âI decided to get a new ship, instead.âÂ
Usoppâs face drops, eyes popping out in disbelief.Â
Luffy doesnât take it as cause for concern, knowing it would come as a shock. Usopp hadnât been there during the entire process that had led to The Captainâs decision.Â
âIâm sorry that I didnât ask you first, but we didnât have much choice. Either way, Iâve already made my decision.â The boy leans back, crossing his leg leisurely, and continues. âThe Going Merry took good care of us, but our journey with her ends here.âÂ
A dense silence follows his words.Â
Usopp looks catatonic â blank. There was no saying what he mightâve been thinking.Â
âAnywayâŠâ Luffy, not one to settle on a subject for too long, reaches for the booklet on the table behind him. He thumbs through the pages, not paying his dumbstruck crewmate much mind. âIce pops gave us this awesome ship catalogue to look through. Thereâs all kinds of different ships we could pick from in hereâ And if we get a used one, we can go bigger than the Merry!â
The Captain doesnât notice how Usoppâs donned a wry, mistrusting smile.Â
âWaitâŠâ The Sniper breathes, pushing his hands out in front of him, as if pushing away Luffyâs words. âJust⊠Wait a sec. I get it Luffy, but the jokeâs gone on long enoughâ Youâre taking it too far! Itâs ridiculous.âÂ
Towards Chopper, âLook⊠Chopper doesnât know youâre kidding.â Then, without directly addressing me, Usopp gestures in my direction, âCâmon, you even got (Y/n) to get in on the joke earlier, didnât you?âÂ
I bristle, glancing off to the side â coincidentally locking eyes with my soulmate as I do so. Beneath the brim of his hat, there lies the unspoken question of whether or not he should say anything in my stead.Â
Subtly as I can, I shake my head at his hardened stare. Luffy looks away quietly.Â
Crestfallen as I may be, the conversation moves forward⊠Everything fades away.Â
Usopp and I are seated together in the aftermath of sorting through his toolbox. I have my phone in my hand, and heâs gawking at it, astonished by its abilities.Â
The recollection picks up in the middle of our chat.Â
"Anyways, I took the photo so that we could remember where all your tools go if you forget."Â
"That's... smart..." He said, obviously not listening to the words coming out of my mouth, too enraptured by the small rectangle in my hands.Â
I laughed a little bit more, before taking it back towards myself and turning off the pass lock in the settings. He looked to be confused, and a little disheartened that I had taken it back, before I reached back and put it into his hand. He perked up again.Â
"W-Wait, what are you--"Â
"So you can look at it." I shrugged, and he stared at me with a weird look in his eyes.Â
"...really?" He looked at the little object, before looking back at me. "You mean it?"Â
The foreground vanishes â itâs dim compared to the vision before, the sun setting to cast long shadows through dusty windows.Â
Weâre back inside the shipâs main cabin, where everyone stands tense. The discussion has gone awry, divulging into a full blown argument.Â
Demanding answers for the reasoning behind Luffyâs decision, Usopp has moved past any possibility that The Captain was pulling his leg over the decision. The Sniper was wholly convinced that it was his fault we couldnât fix the Going Merry; A result of personally losing the two-hundred million berries, believing us to pity him⊠Just as heâd accused me of doing hours prior.Â
However, when all of Usoppâs feel badâs have gone, all thatâs left is to point fingers at his captain, too casual for The Snipers liking.Â
It didnât matter how much Luffy negated Usoppâs reasoning, dodging the subject (not to hurt his friends feelings, but to avoid a harsh reality that Luffy didnât want to endure a second time). In the end, The Sniper wouldnât accept an answer, not unless it was the truth.
Heâd forced Luffyâs hand â and all of my soulmates pent up emotion, masking for the sake of his crew, flooded back â the boy doesnât want to say it, but itâs obvious that he has to.Â
âThe Merry canât be repaired anymore!âÂ
The exclamation leaves Luffy heaving, as if speaking it aloud took a physical toll upon his body.Â
Everyone remains silent, watching with somber faces and solemn eyes.Â
Nobody wanted this, but it couldnât be avoided. All of us knew that.Â
âWhaâŠâ Usoppâs voice trembles, his voice hushed into a mere whisper. âWhat did you just say?âÂ
âDonât make me repeat myself.â Luffyâs words sound like a mixture between a command and a plea. âWe told you, The Merry can no longer be repaired. No matter what we do, we⊠We canât fix her.âÂ
I swallow the lump in my throat, not formed by my own willingness, and gaze somewhere else in the room. Begrudgingly spoken, Iâm all too aware that this decision had not been an easy one for Luffy. Perhaps the others knew it too, but not to this extent. They couldnât feel the near-visceral onslaught that swallowed his mind whilst watching a crewmate fall to his knees. They couldnât identify the reluctance behind wanting to leave the Going Merry in the first place⊠Not like I could.Â
He could put on a brave face and called it nothing for the most part, but not here. This rare display of weakness brandished a tremor in his tone.Â
â...Otherwise I wouldnât say something like that.âÂ
But Usopp wonât accept this â doesnât quite see the glazed sadness in Luffyâs eyes.Â
âThis ship?â Usopp whacks his hands on the wooden floorboards, as if heâd been the one ridiculed. âAre you talking about this ship that weâre on board right now?âÂ
A new back and forth is brought on, one that brings into question the validity of the shipwrights whoâd given us our assessment, along with Luffyâs lack of suspicion towards said shipwrights.Â
âEven (Y/n) was able to sniff out that those guys were a bunch of no-good dirtbags⊠Youâre supposed to be soulmates, but you couldnât figure that out for yourself?âÂ
Bewildered that he had the audacity to use me as an example when he couldnât even bring himself to look me in the eyes, my head whips back toward Usopp in shock. As much as I pitied him, utilizing me in an argument against my own soulmate of all things was out of line (especially after all the shit heâd said to me).Â
âStop bringing (Y/n) into this. Itâs not about her, and itâs not about us being soulmates eitherââÂ
âYeah, youâre right, itâs not about her. Itâs about you.â With that, Usopp sets out to lay charges onto The Captain as if heâs the judge, jury, and executioner. âYou gave up just like that? Weâve traveled together all this time! We made it through all sorts of waves and battles together! Sheâs our friendâ Sheâs one of us! Are you gonna abandon her in a place like this?!âÂ
As his voice progressively loudens, so too does Luffyâs face grow stony.Â
âAfter all weâve been through⊠Is that how little this ship means to you, Luffy?â
The Captain says nothing.Â
Silence causes a loss in focus.Â
In the haze of past events, we take shelter from falling debris â An entire ship descending from the sky, threatening to sink us to the ocean floor.Â
"Why are things falling out of the sky so much recently?!" Usopp points an accusatory finger at me, scrambling desperately at the boards beneath him while sliding around.Â
"How am I supposed to know?!" I shout back at him, clinging to Nami and the mast as I struggle to keep myself in the same spot.
"And I'm not a thing, Usopp! I'm a person!"Â
âŠJust a handful of the memories that I could look back on from here on out.Â
Stumbling to a stand, Usopp turns his menacing sights onto The Captain, trudging over with a limp in his step.Â
âThe Luffy I know wouldâve believed in the strength of the Merry first, rather than listening to the lies of a total stranger! But, here you are, acting like you know and understand everything.âÂ
Seizing Luffy by the collar, the scorned friend fitfully yanks the other boy towards him, getting right into his face.Â
I step forward, brows furrowed and ready to intervene â Zoroâs hand clasps my shoulder, pulling me back to his side and keeping me hostage there.Â
His expression is stern, telling; One screaming with certainty that I wouldnât succeed.Â
âIgnoring your friends⊠I canât believe thatâs the kind of captain you turned out to be! I thought you were better than that!âÂ
âWait a sec, Usopp!â Nami, hands outstretched in a sign of appeasement, interjects. âLuffy alsoââÂ
âYou stay out of this!â Luffy immediately rejects The Navigator's attempts, the protruding veins on his forehead and jawline proving that my efforts wouldâve been in vain as well. âIt was my call â I stand by it!âÂ
The disagreement fuels further â Luffy steadfast, Usopp unrelenting â Differences in viewpoints of the future, of the ship â But when Usopp rebukes Luffy for his selfishness, the dispute is wrangled to the floor â This is when the others move forward, including Sanji. Iâm stilled again, made to stay back by Zoro.Â
âEnough already! Donât act like youâre the only one whoâs torn up about this!â The Captain straddles The Sniperâs wounded body, jostling the other by the collar this time around. He was beyond annoyed by now, tipping past the cliff of unabated fury. âEveryone feels the same way!âÂ
âIf that was true, then you wouldnât be looking for a new ship!â Usopp grits from beneath the boy, straggling for a means to get the upper hand.Â
Itâs here that Luffy loses all manner of control â the heat of his blood boiling over â teeth bared in Usoppâs face like a wild animal.Â
âFine! If you dislike what I decide that much, then why donât you go ahead and get offââÂ
Sanjiâs foot collides with Luffyâs face.Â
Crunch!
The Captain flies into the table, colliding with enough force that the furniture fractures into multiple pieces, splinters and shavings flung sporadically.Â
âYou idiot⊠This is going way too far. What were you about to say?â Disgruntled by the matter at hand, The Chefâs cigarette has burnt out. He was sweating bullets. âIf you donât watch it youâre gonna say something you canât take back, so calm down!âÂ
My back lights up with a scorching sensation, shoulders rigid; Zoro finally releases his hold, allowing me to join Luffyâs side.Â
Sanjiâs mediation was a fruitless effort. The words had already been said, too much had been revealed. No matter how The Chef had tried to ensure that Luffy wouldnât say something heâd regret, the boy already had.Â
I can feel the remorse fizz through our bond, frying nerves like sulfuric acid.Â
The Captain sits upright as I kneel at his side, though thereâs no apparent injuries present â chunks of wood clattering to their final rest on the floor.Â
âYeah⊠Mâsorry, I justâŠâÂ
âThatâs okay, Luffy, you donât have to apologize⊠Cusâ thatâs how you really feel, isnât it?âÂ
The Sniper murmurs his claims hoarsely, struggling to bring himself to sit properly with his injuries.Â
âGo ahead and cut off useless friends one after another, and move on before they can slow you down.â
âThatâs not true!â Luffy denies vehemently, surging forwards.Â
âIf youâre gonna abandon the MerryâŠâÂ
Usopp ignored the blatant shame on The Captainâs face, openly glaring, irritation unbound.Â
âWhy donât you do that to me, too?âÂ
A small, pink shell radiates with heat, soothing my sopping, shivering body. Heâs drenched as well, though he doesnât appear as bothered.Â
ââOmg?ââ Usopp lifts a brow, shrugging. âItâs no biggie. You looked cold.âÂ
âIt means âoh my god.ââ I grin a little, âItâs⊠an abbreviation? Slang? I donât know, we used it a lot in my world. Same with âlolâ or âjk.ââÂ
âWoah, really? What do those mean?â The moment serves as a return to the normalness of the group after experiencing such a heavy atmosphere, moving forward now that it had passed.Â
ââLaughing out loud,â and âjoking.ââÂ
âOmg.â This time I smiled fully, finding it hilarious to hear it from Usoppâs mouth. âI like that. We have to tell Nami.âÂ
Every part of me wanted to scream at our friend to come to his sensesâÂ
âUsopp, you know Luffy didnât mean that!â Frustration and desperation come one in the same, grating against my windpipe.Â
âWhat did he mean, then?â Usopp retorts snidely, staring me down. âYouâre one to talk⊠I should be telling you to leave, too. You might be weak like me, but if you werenât his soulmate then youâd be in this same exact positionâ Thrown away like trash!âÂ
It was the first time heâd acknowledged me throughout all of this, and heâd once more chosen to pierce me with sharpened words; They spear through my ribcage, vaulted from the depths of his emotions.Â
Rendered speechless, thereâs no disguising the dejection that crosses my face.Â
âWhatâd you just say?!âÂ
Luffyâs just about ready to pounce, Sanji stepping between the two to halt any further aggression.Â
âTake it back, right now. The stuff from earlier, too.â The boy snarls, ignoring Sanjiâs stern expression. âI donât care about what you say to me, but Iâm not gonna stand here and listen to you say stupid things to her all because youâre too upset to understand!âÂ
âI wonât. Iâm not taking it back, because itâs true and you know it!â Â
âB-Because, I dunnoââ I cross my arms over my chest, embarrassment heating the back of my neck. I feel a bit silly having made such a big deal of it. âArenât guys normally like, grossed out by that stuff?âÂ
âSure, I guess.â Usopp shrugs nonchalantly, pointing a thumb in the direction of the swordsman. âMaybe guys like Zoro, but I have more experience with stuff like that, thanks to my mom and Kaya. It doesnât really bother me, yâknow?â
âIâve been thinkinâ about this for a while now.â Usopp speaks to the door in a defeated tone, his hands clenched into fists. âTo be honest, it isnât like what it was before. You guys are just too strong for me⊠I canât keep up anymore.âÂ
Thereâs no rashness in his words, just forlorn acceptance.
The scene is detrimental, as there I was, once again relating a bit too deeply â the observed difference in strength that Usopp was referring to representing a major part of my reasoning behind the initiation of my training sessions â Iâd had an inkling that The Sniper was feeling similarly, though hearing it straight from the source felt as if the floor was caving in.Â
He sounds so final. Like this was the last straw he could draw â like heâd been putting up with the crew for all this time, rather than seeing any of us as true friends. Â
âThereâs no point in keeping me around if all I do is cause you guys trouble.âÂ
âTea.â Says Usopp, his mouth full. Heâs holding the other cup of juice in his hand â the one that was meant for me.
âUsopp, you stole my drink!âÂ
âR-Really?â The sharpshooter looks at me, before lifting the cup to further analyze â then he glances up at the sky, avoiding my eyes. âI mean, I donât see your name on it. This could be anybodyâs, really!âÂ
âZoro was right⊠You are the world's worst liar!â
Sanji urgently chases after The Sniper, who opens the door in resolution. âHey, whereâre you going, Usopp?!âÂ
âWherever I go, itâs my business. It has nothing to do with you guys anymore.âÂ
Usoppâs palm lies flat against the door's surface, the indigo sky outlining his figure â a sore thumb draped in the off-white gauze.Â
âIâm⊠Leaving the crew. This is goodbye.âÂ
His hand parts from the door, and The Sniper leaves without turning back.Â
âWell, youâre not supposed to slap people to tag them, either!âÂ
âI didnât slap you!âÂ
âYou just did, literally two seconds agoâ You smacked me in the face!âÂ
âUm⊠You did kinda slap him, Luffy.âÂ
âHey, youâre supposed to be on my side!â Luffy whines. âWeâre soulmatesâ You traitor!âÂ
âSee? Even (Y/n) agrees with me!â Usopp berates, starting forwards. âSo itâs only fair that I get to tag you back!âÂ
My vision swims, merging the dark shapes of the night into a mesh of color â the moon shines mercilessly above, and itâs keen to illuminate the results of a swift battle.Â
Nami and Chopper sob nearby. I grip the railing before me in heartwrenching despair. Usoppâs figure is slumped against the rocky cape, and thereâs no sign of movement.Â
Itâs like deja vu, only this time with a more permanent finale, having challenged The Captain to a duel that Usopp knew he wouldnât win. It didnât matter how many tricks The Sniper had up his sleeve⊠Heâd lost.
Luffy stands by the hull of the ship, a straw hat tilted so that it covers his eyes⊠It fails to hide what he intends â his skin is bruised, scuffed and torn â and the tears that cascade down his cheeks donât stand for any sort of physical pain.Â
âItâs too muchâŠâ He chokes, voice raw with grief.Â
His emotions are so heavy I could collapse â itâs jarring to comprehend them and my own â storm clashing with storm, a tornado ripping through a hurricane.Â
âThis is what it means to be captain, isnât it?â Zoro responds, expressionless and stagnant. Though curt, I know heâs dealing with the situation in his own ways.Â
I close my eyes. The sting lingers just around the edges.Â
âDonât doubt yourself.âÂ
Through the noise of the ocean's waves, I swear I can hear Luffyâs teeth clench, stifling his tears with held breath and stifled gasps.
âIf you waver, who can we have faith in?âÂ
âOi.â
The waking world is just as cruel as my dreamscape, if not crueler. Reality isnât so cushioned by fond memories, weaving and twisting through the true-to-life nightmare. Instead, reality bites â sinking teeth into flesh â gnawing at my back as I shift against the cold, unforgiving cement.Â
Groggily, I peel my eyes open. The gunky side effects of a restless, crying sleep have glued them shut. Zoro is there to greet me, and I can finally separate myself from the vivid evocations. Once Iâve focused sufficiently (meaning enough to his satisfaction) my green-haired friend makes a vague chin-gesture towards the rooftops nearby.Â
I redirect, finding a familiar figure, one in the same exact position that Iâd seen him last â Luffy â Sat atop a building that towers above our own, hunched into a sort-of fetal position, arms wrapped around his knees. My eyebrows pinch together with concern.Â
From afar, The Captain looked no different than before, which I could only presume was hours ago.Â
Once Luffy and Usoppâs duel reached its finale, the lot of us sorrowfully gathered together in order to retrieve all of our belongings from the ship. We had to vacate the Going Merry, and could never go back to it, as Luffy had given the vessel to Usopp in a final act of mercy⊠Even if heâd lost the fight.Â
I hadnât been in this world for long, a couple of months at most⊠Even then, as I gathered up the little amount of belongings I had, my arms felt strained, and the air rang with silence. The lack of life â of happiness, and sun, and energy â had all gone. It felt alien to experience that quietude aboard a ship that had always been the opposite.Â
Looking around my room, Ivory rubbed against my calf in confusion. I had to hold my breath before I left. This had been the place where Iâd first arrived, where I first met Luffy, along with the closest friends Iâve ever had in my entire life; There were moments where Iâd never felt happier aboard this ship.Â
A couple months⊠Yet so many memories to say goodbye to.
With a swift wardrobe change, and a laborious collection of my meager items, all I could do was try my best not to cry anymore, and wordlessly follow the others into the city. We mustâve looked like ghosts to those who were keen for the night life, soundless and forlorn. Weâd used some spare funds to purchase a hotel room for the night, and⊠That was that.Â
Not everyone was keen to use it, however.Â
My soulmate hadnât bothered to join us for check-in, nor had he grabbed much of anything from the Going Merry in the first place. Weâd reached our destination, and just as soon had he slung himself into the sky without a word.Â
Depositing our items into our room, most of us would head upstairs to find him. Of course, Luffy hadnât gone far. It was just enough distance so that he could get away with ignoring those aiming to make discussion, or attempting to persuade him to come down. Heâd been up there ever since.Â
Itâs as if I could still see Ivory, pacing back and forth by the parapet and ceaselessly crying his puzzlement toward the far-off captain, only to receive silence in return. So many things were out of place⊠It was only fair for the kitten to be equally as disheveled as the rest of us. Chopper had since taken the baby, ensuring proper rest in our hotel room. I told the reindeer that Iâd be down there soon to join them. I guess Iâd lied.Â
Sanji had been up here too; Earlier, before I fell asleep. Now, Zoro and I were all who were left.
Weâd been watching, waiting, for so long⊠Trying to keep a keen eye on the boy, maintaining the knowledge that he needed to sort things through on his own (hence his self-seclusion). None of us were certain of when the right time would be to finally intrude upon his brooding. Even I, with abridged emotions, couldnât be certain of when it would be right. All I knew was that the correct moment hadnât arisen, since the stirred-up emotions inside of him never gave way. The numbness of it all had me exceedingly worried.
The dilemma had gone on for so long that my overexhausted mind eventually drifted into a fitful slumber, which had apparently lasted long into the wee hours of the night â the moon hung lower than when I was awake, and the stars glittered slightly brighter without its dominating presence.Â
Reaching into my back pocket, my fingers clasp the small rectangular object out of habit (the old ones really do die hard, I guess). Intending to check the time, I wind up blinding myself instead. Burning retinas adjust, then my heart sinks.Â
Iâd not thought about my lockscreen, a group photo taken back when everyone was still together⊠When both Usopp and Robin were still here, all of us posed on the main deck of the Merry.Â
Oh, right⊠There was also that;
Robin is gone now, too.Â
Apparently sheâd disappeared earlier in the day, prior to the events we were dealing with currently. Chopper had been so eager in finding a bookstore, and it was due to this that he hadnât noticed where and when exactly she had vanished â The Doctor eventually acknowledged that The Archeologist had gone unseen for quite some time, only then discovering her total absence.Â
Nobody had seen her since. It only added to the encompassing uncertainty that all of us were feeling as individuals. Losing the Merry, losing Usopp, losing Robin; The remaining members of the crew were totally dispirited over the day's events.Â
A tiny teardrop slides down my nose, falling to the screen with a plip. I smear the water away with my thumb, the liquid magnifying each pixel to reveal the RGB patterns beneath, and catch the little yellow sliver of a bar in the corner,
15%
I sigh deeply, closing my eyes and leaning my head back. The click of the screen comes as I press the âoffâ button.Â
There was so much going on, too much⊠Too much to think about, and I was having trouble collecting all the data in order to compile and compute it all. Whatever I managed to find, it either made no sense, or it hurt too badly to think about for long.
Robinâs case was a mesh of both. With every theory weâd concocted over her vanishing â having been kidnapped, leaving willingly, or something else entirely â there were no solid leads to build solid structure, so we had nothing to work with⊠Nothing accurate, at least, and the results were dead-end after dead-end. If they werenât, we would be turning the opposite direction, facing a twisted labyrinth of inconclusion. In other words, we were utterly lost, and undoubtedly overwhelmed. The Archeologist was last seen hours ago. That was all we knew. Had she left the city? âŠHad she left us, too?
Whenever it crossed my mind, the lump in my throat climbed higher. Robinâs teasing smiles and owlish blue eyes⊠I couldnât fathom losing our chess matches, our hypothetical discussions and late-night meetingsâ
I couldnât handle the prospect that not one, but two of our friends were leaving at the same timeâŠÂ
My heart was shriveling to dust, and it was hard to breathe. They were leaving.
This situation was deeply unsettling, in many ways. The sense of abandonment that came with their departure was too personal to ignore⊠Too particular, too familiar. For a short while, Iâd set aside these emotions with intentions to leave them alone for good. However, that didnât mean that the damages had disappeared entirely. Theyâd resurfaced with the appropriate provocations, checking off boxes as they settled back into my bones with misplaced kinship â Like hearing a voicemail from a long-forgotten friend, distinctive and jarring with its appearance in your inbox.Â
What else had I expected, though? Even if it didnât happen as often anymore, everything always came back. It was foolish of me to believe that my trauma would lay dormant once I set it to rest.Â
Thereâs no simplicity in healing⊠And bleeding wounds reopen with strain.Â
Still, this hadnât been the cause of strain. It was Usopp whoâd popped the stitches, gouging my very soul. He'd been just like them â reproached me like they did, left as they did â the ominous âthem.â Them. The reason that provided answers for almost everything that was wrong with me.Â
Itâs why I didnât chase him like the others, couldnât, no matter how much my body screamed at me to do so in the horror of my fears unraveling before me. Freeze response. I was betrayed, conflicted by the treatment Iâd received⊠I thought weâd become close, formed close bonds with one another, yet it was all thrown away in a few sentences.Â
Losing Usopp tore a desolate hole into my torso, as if heâd physically carved away the piece of him that was tied to me on his way out the kitchen door. I wasnât supposed to forgive Usopp without an apology⊠But, what if that meant I would lose him forever? Would he just be another muddled face, residing only in my tormented dreams?Â
It took a lot of optimism on my part, attempting to stay determined and committed to my previous assessment; That Usopp had been heavily influenced by his emotions, and he would soon regret his actions. It wasnât dissimilar to my emotional outbursts during Foxy Pirates⊠Was it so farfetched to guessâ To hopeâ That our friend would regain his wits? Would return and offer his considerate apologies?
The same could be said for Robin, in a way. Was it so wrong to hold hope that she, too, didnât leave us behind on purpose?Â
There was no assurance in this idea⊠But, I wanted to believe in them, anyway.Â
The markings on my forearm trace dark, even in twilight. Fingertips glide along the silky skin, like a homage to its other half â Wondering if Luffy could feel the tingling sensation alongside mine. Could it bring him the same solace as it always did for me? Was he thinking the same things, or was there something else on his mind that I hadnât speculated?Â
âŠWell, there was a high likelihood that the boy was reflecting on his own mistakes. Last weâd seen, it seemed that heâd been grappling with the concept of his role as captain, his soul echoing doubts and regrets within my own. Maybe this was the first time heâd faced this kind of situation.
âGo and talk to him.â Zoro keeps the words brief, and quiet, emphasizing the most prominent issue at hand.Â
âWhat, you mean⊠Like, right now?â Trepidation douses the syllables, and they tumble from my mouth like rocks.Â
âObviously. Why else would I have told you to?âÂ
I clench my jaw, and force myself to gaze out at my soulmate once more â still as stone.Â
I was, well⊠Nervous. Not necessarily about the fact that Luffy might turn me away â sure, that would kinda suck â moreso, I was a bit skittish over what exactly I could provide to him.Â
In all the times that Iâve spent with Luffy, I could confidently claim that every single one, up until this very night, had consisted of my fragility coming undone whilst Luffy put it back together. Heâd always reassured me, not the other way around. It was a major reason behind why I wanted to become stronger; To make up for that fact.Â
But, seeing Luffy cry for the very first time⊠It was haunting me.
His tears had poured out of him as if a dam had been broken. Witnessing him try and fail to hide them, shielding from the rest of us in order to retain the strength required of a captain â incapable of containing the severity of his despair even now â was an experience I never wanted to relive.Â
I donât want to be heartless, to come off as if I put his feelings less than mine⊠I just⊠Donât want to make it worse.
We held an empathy for each other that was unmatched. To be connected to someone like Luffy â as unshakable as a mountain, as undaunted as a bull in a fighting ring â and then suddenly feel as if the rug had been pulled from beneath your feet⊠My entire worldview had flipped as soon as the first teardrop fell from his jaw.Â
Care and cautiousness â protectiveness and panic â I just wasnât sure how to react⊠How to feel, or what to doâ I didnât want to fail him.Â
And the boyâs complete isolation didnât aid with that, with roves of atypical, dulled spirit drawn out to wrap around my heart and squeeze⊠I knew Luffy was only human, only a boy, beneath all those smiles and that bizarre strength. Heâd been so untouchable all this time, only to be sent crashing from his pillar. All of my views about my own soulmate had been set anew.Â
So, while Luffy typically took up the mantle of stability⊠Now, the roles were reversed. I was meant to play his part, and he was currently in mine.Â
It scared me, to be in the opposing situation. Inhibited by my lack of qualification, I couldnât help but question if I was really the right choice for this⊠Even as his soulmate. What would I even say to him? What would make him feel better in this scenario? What if I said the wrong thing? What if he had expected me to come to his side, and I simply hadnât done so? Had I already let him down? On the other hand, what if it was the opposite? What if he genuinely didnât want the company?Â
âŠDo I really have the capability to give that comfort that he needed?Â
I wanted to, desperately. It killed me inside, watching him, all alone â the bond physically wrenching me in his direction. Itâs like torture. I want to help him in the ways that he helped me⊠Even then, my instincts foretold that leaving him alone was the best course of action.Â
What if, after all this time, after everything weâd been through⊠I was still too broken to give everything back?Â
âMust suck for your soulmate to have someone as plain as you by his side⊠Some whiny, useless little girl who canât pull her own weight.âÂ
Insecurity was one hell of a debuff⊠Frustration would be the support I needed.Â
This wasnât what he wouldâve done. He wouldnât have even hesitated. Wouldâve done everything in his power to get on top of that roof, even if it killed him. Would I really just walk away from this without even trying?Â
Even if this was in relation to my self-set goals, I couldnât just leave him up there without doing something⊠Maybe he didnât need to talk. Maybe just being there would be enough.Â
The pocket-sized first aid kit sits heavy in my clammy palms, timidly stepping to the banisters that lined each edge of the roof. Chopper had given the box to us earlier, insisting that Luffy use it when he finally decided to leave his perch (Doctors orders).Â
The cold night air wrapped around my body, encouraging my next plan of action. It was chillier being out in the open â He must be freezing.Â
â...Luffy?âÂ
Mouselike as ever, Iâm unsure whether heâs heard me or not â Unsure of what his reaction might be.Â
I take a breath, inwardly gathering my misguided thoughts, assuring myself to the best of my ability; The higher elevation, combined with the distance, probably required more than just a peep.Â
AKA, he definitely didnât hear me.
The Captain shifts, prompting me to pay close attention. Against my assumptions, a stretchy arm extends, snaking across the way to wrap around my torso.Â
When my uninhabited palm slides against the limb in greeting, the gentle reel of his devil fruit drags me forward. I hover over the city below for a few spare seconds, soon dragged into the spot beside him.Â
(Zoro, observing this in the background, swaps his attention back to the open sky. Slowly, he closes his eyes to get some sleep of his own.)
Astonished by the ready acceptance, it takes me a moment to collect myself. Finding enough steadiness to not wobble off of the rooftop, Luffy removes the binding, returning his hand to its previous position; Tucked to himself.Â
He doesnât look at me at all. I take it as a sign to heed his space, for now.Â
Neither of us say anything. Pausing to look out over the city, just as he was, I press my thumbs into the first aid kitâs front, the white cross creasing. All that thinking, and I wasnât even sure where to start.Â
The city is dark for the most part, save for those few houses whose inhabitants dwindle in the midnight hour. Shadows dance under the clouds that cross over the shine of the moon, and a sudden gale of wind blows them off to the abyss.Â
The newfound illumination lets me turn to assess the state of his body, having taken a fair beating in his own right. All in all, Luffy looked quite similar to Usopp⊠The physical sensation of each twinge, withering in the brush of the wind â the prolonged aches that dwell in the darkened smudges of his flesh â help to magnify the gut-wrenching sensation that had summoned in our proximity to each other.Â
Conscientious of his unknown preferences, I reach forward unsteadily, a baseless trepidation shaking my finger tips.Â
Nothing happens when fingers meet skin â I donât implode, and they donât fall off â they smooth over Luffyâs wrist, and Iâm watching him all the while, slowly untucking his arm so that it's back in my vicinity. Luffy doesnât retract, but he doesnât give any reaction at all. He merely stares, and breathes.Â
My heart sinks. In any other circumstance he wouldâve been elated, even going so far as to pull me in closer, reveling in our bond; Iâd registered him to be heavily based in the âphysical affectionâ category, so such a contradiction was bizarre. Itâs hard to explain the way his eyes donât appear to shine or glisten, even with the beacon thatâs steadily lowering in the darkened sky. The complete lack of energy, of Luffy, wracks me all over. These emotions worn on him didnât seem possible, and I hated every bit of it.Â
Every one of my movements are measured. The words in my mind refuse to take shape. Waiting in silence as I figure it out, the atmosphere is horrifically awkward.Â
â...Do you, umâŠâÂ
Clutching the toughened skin of his palm, I run my thumb over his knuckles, painstakingly avoiding the one thatâs been split open. I swallow at the sight of it.Â
â...Do you wanna talk about it?âÂ
Luffy says nothing, does nothing.Â
Iâm reminded of times past, of what it felt like to be in his shoes â it was not a position I wished upon anyone, much less my soulmate.Â
âWe donât⊠Have to talk about it, either.âÂ
No response.Â
I keep the hand resting in my lap, steadied on my knees. His silence works well enough for an answer.Â
In an effort to not be dissuaded, I move to distract myself. With a pop, the medical kit opens, and I reach for some sterilized wipes. The cloth comes in contact with his bloodied flesh, and despite the sting I could feel reflected on my body, Luffy doesnât even flinch. His eyes never stray from the city's outlines.Â
This is because Luffy is thinking rather heavily⊠Ruminating, really.Â
The sadness heâs so typically unacquainted with steels his blood like iron, limbs heavy and mind whirling. Frustration sometimes comes to liquidate and boil, the lava-like heat only quelled when the cycle repeated, and melancholy cools his molten veins back into their solid form. Itâs why the boy has sat up here for so long, fighting to untangle the state of disarray that his mind was entrapped in.Â
Heâs not upset with Usopp, not entirely. Luffy is more upset with himself â upset by the situation as a whole. This was Usoppâs choice. It was what his friend had set up for himself. Luffy didnât make Usopp say the words that he had spoken, to you or to the captain himself⊠Though Luffy wonders if his own actions had been a factor. No, heâs certain that they were. Heâd said some stupid things as well, and itâs those things that play over and over in his mind like a looped voice-recording.Â
âFine! If you dislike what I decide that much, then why donât you go ahead and get offââÂ
Luffy wished he hadnât said it at all. If only Sanji had stopped him sooner.Â
Would things have turned out differently, then?Â
Heâs all too aware that youâre here, of course he is. Luffy was the one who brought you up, the one who heard your voice and reached out to you without thinking much on the matter. The Captain doesnât even know why he brought you up here, really; He just did.Â
You werenât much better off than him, he figured. It was why heâd stayed away for the most part â that, along with the fact that he was the captain. Luffy was meant to stay resolute, to not let any doubts hold him, like Zoro stated. That was what it meant to be a leader; To guide others, to give his peers a way to move forwards from here on out⊠Yet he couldnât find how to do so.Â
It was his job to navigate the aftermath, to decide on the crewâs next move, and heâd hit a wall.Â
âŠWhen did his role become so difficult?Â
This was never expected. Having a friend want to leave his crew because they felt inadequate had never crossed his mind. Luffy questioned himself, as captain and as friend, what went wrong. He tried to seek the answer, and wound up blaming himself, blaming Usopp, blaming the situationâ
Except blame wouldnât help. All of that was over. It was said and done.Â
Wherever or whatever ânextâ meant, it wasnât so simple to figure out. There were too many layers of the problems you all faced, and those problems couldnât rely on a solitary solution. The captain felt disorientated, reevaluating the definition of his title.Â
Luffy was young, naive; Believed captaining a ship was the best way to live life freely, without worries or burdens. All this was mostly true. Being a captain meant freedom for yourself, yes â and yet it could also clash with the freedom of others, from time to time. Originally he thought heâd respected the others' freedom well enough⊠Yet in this case, with Usopp, where heâd made a decision without prior discussion, his friend wound up taking the notion of his freedom in order to do something unexpected. He took his freedom to leave.Â
Luffy let him. He didnât want to hold Usopp as a prisoner over his beliefs, it wouldâve been wrong to do. Regardless, the boy felt like a failure, losing a friend like that was stupid.Â
Being captain was not what he thought it out to be. The role was being reformed before his very eyes, and he was floundering to adapt. With this in mind, heâd purposefully avoided the others in order to work this out on his own, just as he always didâ Just as he wanted to.Â
So, again⊠Why were you up here right now?Â
Luffy thinks, and thinks, until the moment where your soft fingers smooth a bandage across his split knuckle. The movement is so precise, so tender; All sense of you wraps around the gash, and soothes the pain. Itâs⊠Lighter, almost.Â
â...Did you believe what he said?âÂ
When his mouth opens, a monotonous voice drones, low and dull in the dark. I think Iâm imagining it at first, having moved onto the scratches that are spread over his elbow and the back of his forearm. Luffy still hasnât moved, hasnât averted his sights, but heâd definitely spoken.Â
âYouâre one to talk⊠You might be weak like me, but if you werenât his soulmate then youâd be in this same exact positionâ Thrown away like trash!âÂ
As if playing into his own demise, Luffy already knew the answer.Â
Heâd watched it happen, the way your face dropped from such fierce defence to something smaller, more vulnerable. Naturally it would be the first question to pop into his head, and he speaks as if heâs a machine; An automatic reaction, one that he himself didnât fully understand⊠Maybe it was because the boy had been dwelling on it for a while. He just remembered seeing your expression, and his stomach turning sickly.Â
I have to think about it for a minute.Â
To say no would, well⊠It would be a lie.Â
And yet, to say yes⊠Well, it needed some explanation.Â
âUm⊠Yeah, at first.â The admittance is feather-light, the words dwindling in the air as consideration keeps them afloat. Thereâs no harshness, no criticism; Only honesty. âLike, i-in an irrational sort of way. If that makes sense.â
Again, nothing. I rush to explain, not wanting to relay the wrong idea.Â
âB-But, I mean⊠Um, a-at the same time, I donât know if that really matters. You always tell me that weâre soulmates, and⊠Thatâs what Iâm trying to sayâ That weâre soulmates, so it doesnât matter. Because it⊠It would never actually happen.âÂ
Diligent movements come to roll another bandage over his marred skin. Your warmth seeps down through Luffyâs pores, raising the hairs on his arms. The melancholy within him sways, stubbornly settling back in place.Â
âIâŠâ On the basis of his question, inferred by the despondency that reverberates within his very soul, I take a shot at what he was really asking â What truly laid under the surface of his words. âI trust you, Luffy. More than anything, right now⊠We all do.âÂ
Luffy feels a little better hearing you say that.Â
The face of the alcohol-smelling pad spreads a chill down his arm as it washes away the grime and soot, clearing a methodical path as you trail to seek out any hidden sores. You were always so specific with these things, tending to him like this. Luffy wasnât accustomed to it, led by a rough-and-tough lifestyle⊠Nonetheless, he didnât dislike it, either.Â
âUsopp was⊠upset.â I find myself repeating the words that Iâd used to console myself earlier, âHe probably said a lot of things that he didnât actually mean⊠Yâknow?âÂ
Your grip is loose when thereâs no more to clean, left with nothing to do when you donât discover any new injuries. Setting the medicine aside in favor of holding his one hand between your two, you trace the bandaid on his knuckle, then the chapped lines of his fingers.Â
Iâm not certain that my soulmate even wants to hold hands, however it almost feels necessary; As if filling in the blanks that Luffyâs lack of physical affection left behind. He barely moves his fingers, except he doesnât pull away either⊠That was a good sign, right?Â
Luffy steals a glimpse from his periphery, but only once, debating your suggestion. Youâre looking at his hand.Â
â...I shouldnât have said that to him. Before Sanji stopped me.âÂ
Luffy swaps back to the lights of a tavern, which are flickering out. The last of its patrons had left twenty minutes prior, drunken laughs emanating through the tunnels of empty streets.Â
When Luffy officially speaks it aloud, I find myself sensing what heâs going to say before he says it â The swarm of remorse revving like insects wings through our connection.Â
âUsopp, you know Luffy didnât mean that!âÂ
Iâd known, ever since the moment after Luffy had said what heâd said, that he would be dwelling on this if on anything.Â
â...But, you didnât mean what you said, either.âÂ
Itâs instant, the way he recognizes your resolve on the issue. Luffy feels it rush down his spine when it leaves your lips, confidence. Rare, coming from you, which makes it all the more powerful.Â
In the back of his mind, Luffy understands why youâre saying this. Youâve done the exact same thing before. Usopp didnât mean what he said earlier â And so, compared to the Davy Back, you also hadnât meant what youâd said. It sounds like youâre saying you can relate, not just to Usopp, but also to Luffy.Â
Were you trying to share the weight? Was that what you were offering? Were you trying to declare that this wasnât entirely his fault?Â
Itâs weird⊠His arms arenât so heavy, but they arenât so hot, either. Itâs just warm enough that the tension in his body is loosening. Melting.Â
It catches me by surprise when, out of nowhere, Luffy reciprocates. His hand steadily flips, catching only one of my hands in his other. He finds a scratch on its back, rubbing it briefly.Â
Peering at him, my soulmate has slowly shifted in position. Luffyâs head raises, redirecting his attention to the spot between us. His eyebrows have remained furrowed, although I spot something flickering in those obsidian pits.Â
The boy's legs begin to slide from his chest, bit by bit.Â
âIâve said things I donât mean.â You affirm his suspicions, âDoesnât make you a bad person⊠Does it?âÂ
No. He wants to say, since that would make you a bad person, and you werenât⊠In turn, this meant he wasnât a bad person either. He already knew that, and yet hearing it from youâ Why was that so much better than knowing it himself?Â
Going back, Luffy wasnât ignorant to how important the ship was to Usopp (or at least he thought he wasnât). Even so, there was a choice that had to be made, and The Captain maintained the simplicity of his âpoint a to point bâ method of contemplation; The ship couldnât sail anymore, so they needed a new ship. That was that.Â
Honestly, he believed heâd given it more thought than heâd ever given anything else⊠Luffy loved The Merry, he wasnât lying when he said heâd agonized over the choice â Still, the boy supposed that he hadnât taken much consideration for the deeper issue at hand, since he wasnât always good at that part. You were more than aware of that.Â
To Usopp, The Merry was like Luffyâs hat â like Zoroâs swords, Namiâs tangerines, and even Chopper's own hat â with this fact in mind, Luffy wondered if he hadnât given the ship enough respect after all. Self-doubt is odd for him to process⊠Well, at least to the extent that his self-doubt has progressed.Â
â...It wasnât your fault.âÂ
And then you say it outright.Â
âThere wasnât any other choice⊠Because if the Merry canâtââ He hears your words catch, stumbling. Guilt bounces back at him â Itâs not his guilt. âI-I meanâ Just⊠Usopp was lashing out like that before we got back, soâŠâÂ
His eyes zip to your face immediately. âThen itâs not your fault, either.âÂ
âN-No, I knowââ Trying to spit it out is harder than it seems. Then again, miscommunication never ended well. âIâm justâ Iâm trying to say thatâ That I can kinda see where heâs coming from, and Iâm sort of wondering if⊠Since he didnât mean it, I dunno⊠Maybe heâll come back and apologize?âÂ
The harsh lines on Luffyâs face mellow out, all-out staring at your face â analyzing you â though heâs really somewhere else at the same time, the city long-forgotten in the background.
And he feels⊠Relieved, whilst debating the prospect of his friend coming back.Â
â...Yeah.âÂ
The metal on Luffyâs bones softens, and he no longer feels like heâs been rusted together in the frigid air. He wants to hear more, though. More from you.Â
âWith the Merry⊠You think I shouldâve asked Usopp first?âÂ
Luffy canât process your consolation and his worries all at once. Even so, everything you were saying and doing was making him feel better⊠You were making him feel better.Â
âWell⊠Probably. O-Or, err⊠Maybe. But also maybe not?â Iâm not entirely sure how to answer, though I could see why he asked â Likely pondering a what-if scenario. Iâd done the same throughout the night. âItâs⊠Tough to say. Not saying that Usopp didnât deserve to know, but he wouldnât listen to either of us, regardless of the ways we told him, so⊠E-Even if you had asked before making the choice, Iâm still not sure that it wouldâve gone well? I mean, I donât think the outcome wouldâve changed, andâŠâ
The awkward grimace on your face makes him huff under his breath, finding it funny â All the while sensing your want to reassure him clashing with the urge to remain truthful.Â
Your eyes focus on him at the noise, and he hums slightly, urging you to continue.Â
âBut⊠I just keep thinkingâŠâ Locked in his gaze, I find myself blurting the words. â...That most of us wouldnât have been able to make the same choices that you did. I-I mean, youâre strong, Luffy. I donât know if I couldâve done it in your place.âÂ
His heart swells. Weird.Â
Under the wind, a slight laugh hitches my breath; My next words are partially joking, partially not. âProbably wouldâve still been thinking about it for the rest of the week.â
The hand around mine shifts, coiling in spirals, wrapping tight enough that Luffy can gradually pull me into his side.Â
I have to slap my hand on the medicine kit before it risks a fall from the roof, whilst Luffy swaps grip from wrist to waist. Unknowingly, my breathing starts to flow easier â subconsciously aware of the height â grounded once my soulmate provides his stability.Â
Heâs warm, despite the cold around us.Â
âYou wouldâve. Youâre strong, too.âÂ
âN-Not that strong, no.â Randomly, your giddiness at his touch is conveyed through a surge of diluted-playfulness. âUm⊠Not like a captain.â
Pride chases your words, pumping from his chest into his skull. Had you ever actually called him by the title before? Luffy doesnât think so.Â
Your emotions reflect similarly once The Captain notes the way you avoid his face, pink twinging the tips of your ears. The double-whammy combination of positivity has the corners of his lips quirking upward.Â
Fumbling with the loose packaging in my hands, aiming to avoid his ever prying eyes (I was happy that he was back to normal, but damnâ His gaze was always too intense to handle), the muddled vision of his other arm caught my sight. It looked just as riddled with wounds as the other, and so I aim to remedy this in my antsy disposition.Â
Luffy willingly allows you to continue your medical-ministrations, even if he doesnât see much of a point to it. Your touch felt nice, and neither of you seemed able to sit still in these kinds of situations. If it was what you wanted, thatâs all that mattered.Â
Smiling to himself all the while, The Captain watches you slide the malty, pungent wipe over the dust coating his skin, finally reveling in the reestablishment of his usual self. Itâs like you had cast a spell over him, or something⊠But, there was one more thing that had been bugging him. Luffy wanted to get it out of the way now, if it meant not having to bring it up later.Â
âWhat about you?âÂ
Disregarding his change in mood, the lowered tones of his voice never strengthens. Luffy doesnât want the atmosphere to change, and he debated on whether his loudness would offset the calm that youâd curated.Â
The question threw me off, pausing mid-bandage â there was a nasty gash right above the bones of Luffyâs wrist â where I returned my eyes to his, deer in headlights style.Â
What about me?Â
The boy snickers, âIâm asking about you, now. Are you okay?âÂ
âOh.â Blinking as if it would recalibrate me or something, my movements stutter as I finally slide the plaster into place. âUm⊠Yâknow.â Shrugging, the ointment beneath causes it to slip, and I scurry to try and fix it. âI-Iâve, like, done this before, so⊠I dunno. It does hurt that heâs gone, but itâs alsoâŠâÂ
Familiar. Both of you know the word youâre trying to say. Neither of you say it.Â
âIt just feels⊠Weird.â Conceding to my conflicting emotions, I take a deep, steady breath. Then, reach for another bandaid. âNot to say itâs the same, but I kinda feel how you do, and I also kinda donât. Itâs⊠Iâm justâ Just upset that Usopp felt like he did. Like I did, o-or, uh⊠Sometimes still do. I guessâ I guess I can relate? Which is, umâŠâÂ
Just as Iâve pasted the next band-aid, our position swaps from being at Luffyâs side, to being at his front. On my knees between his open legs, my soulmate isnât smiling like before.Â
âHeâs gotta apologize.â The fully treated hand comes to your side, and Luffy intentionally guides you to lean against his propped knee â a more secure position, where you heed his silent demand and sit side-saddle â here, you arenât at risk of losing balance and falling. âTo you, too. Not just me.âÂ
âYeah, I know. You said that, justâŠâ A slight sigh as you move towards the next set of scuffs and bruises. âIf he apologizes to you, wouldn't that be enough? Youâre our captain, soââÂ
âNo. Itâs not enough.â Luffy interrupts without a second thought, miffed at the idea that youâd even think that was a possibility. Usopp had said more awful things to you than what heâd said to Luffy â and for seemingly no apparent reason, making it all the more imperative for the ex-crewmate to seek forgiveness. âYou shouldnât settle for anything else. Even if you do, heâs not allowed back on the crew until he tells you heâs sorry.âÂ
â...Right.âÂ
Silence, for a moment. Luffy sees your brows furrow, and knows thereâs something else on your mind, tracing over the edge of the thickest bandage on his skin.Â
âWhy do you think⊠He wanted to fight you?âÂ
Itâs a loaded question, one I didnât initially plan on asking. It had been chewed over and spit out each and every time the thought surfaced in my brain â surely Usopp knew he wouldnât win a fight against his own Captain. What was he trying to prove? Why would he fight over something so fruitless as a ship that we were going to leave behind anyway?Â
It had been on Luffyâs mind too, anyway. âUsopp said it was about the Merry.âÂ
âBut⊠That doesnât make any sense, especially ifââÂ
âHe knew he would lose.â With an air of conclusion, Luffy ensures you that he does understand what youâre getting at by literally finishing your sentence. âYeah, I know⊠Been thinkinâ about it, too.â
The answers lead to nothing other than more questions â just like everything else, right now. Another added issue to an ever growing list, and the two of you have lulled into a meditative stillness.Â
You donât want to visualize anymore dreadful hypotheticals for the rest of this night, and Luffy responds in kind, so you both say nothing at all. Sitting on this roof, lofting above the world below, there lies some potential to just forget about it all for the few meager hours left until dawn comes.
With this in mind, the boy has one more topic to cover â Just one, until he can submit to a quieter mind. He wants to take that opportunity, if he still can. If you both were to truly move forward from the muck of todayâs events, then it would be required to cover everything.Â
âBy the way, what was up with you earlier?âÂ
Luffy sounds as if the matter is trivial, if only to shift the mood so that the bags beneath your eyes wouldnât darken further. Youâre tired again. One day he hoped that exhaustion wouldnât pester your every waking step.Â
Once youâve successfully completed his other arm, Luffy raises that hand to push the rogue strands of hair from your eyes, not missing the way you hold your breath and stare all over his face. He never quite got how the itchy tendrils didnât bother you.
âHuh?âÂ
Craning my neck, drowsiness dotting my vision, I find myself completely missing what Luffy had said. Rather, the aftermath of the duel is made clearest as I trace all about the dirty patches of his face and neck. Iâm not fully cognizant of the fact that Iâve been staring at his face for a solid minute, inspecting. It wasnât as bad as the rest of him, for sure, though some of those bruises looked like they hurt.Â
Luffy chuckles under his breath, and I snap out of it â Embarrassment creeping at the back of my neck once I recognize that my investigation required full-on gawking at his features.Â
âWhen we met Square-Nose guy, and that guy with the talking pigeon.â Absent-mindedly, Luffyâs fingers twitch at my side, where theyâve rested for the duration of this conversation, curling around my hip to press into the fabric of my shorts. âNâ Usopp mentioned somethinâ about it, too.âÂ
âEven (Y/n) was able to sniff out that those guys were a bunch of no-good dirtbags.âÂ
âOh, right. Um.â With a swift shake, I get my head back on straight. That ordeal had almost been entirely forgotten, so it was good heâd remembered⊠Even better that he noticed. That factor in particular is what fuzzes my brain more than it already is. âYea, so I⊠Itâs kind of a long story? Lemme think about what happened first, Iâm likeâ All jumbled up right now.âÂ
âSure.â Luffy grunts, able to distinguish your candidness for himself. Surprisingly, he waits with unknown patience, thumb rubbing at the bone of your hip all the while.Â
You pop open the little box of supplies for the third time, inside a mess of torn wrappings and used alcohol wipes, which are mixed all amongst those that have remained packaged in their sections. Luffy watches you curiously, wondering why you were fishing out more cleaning material, when all of a sudden a newly exposed alcohol wipe is being pressed to his cheek.Â
One swipe, two swipe. He blinks. You stop moving, apparently recognizing the movements as your own, and draw backwards a bit, almost like a flinch. Your mouth opens, then shuts. Luffy sees the way your pupils flick around his face, gauging for something â his reaction, probably â his expression stays unchanged.Â
The boy doesnât push, doesnât prod. The Captain wants to see what youâll do, can see the thoughts unfurling behind your eyes, considering your next move as your anxious mind struggles to wrap around the withheld instincts. It was like watching the animals in the forest when he was younger, determining their behavior.
Eventually, you bite down on your bottom lip, and your hand moves â it stops once, second-guessing â and reaches forward again. Luffy feels the frigid moisture sweep the dirtied skin, and he laughs to himself.Â
The captain is pleasantly charmed by the unpredictability of your actions, elated by the prospect of how far youâve come to be so content around him⊠Going so far as to initiate this time around, when usually he would be the one to do so.Â
Having accomplished what Iâd set out to do, I go on to describe the day's earlier events to Luffy, doing my very best to not falter each time his cheek leans into my touch. Fulfilled by his restored vigor, ease returns to my tired soul. The exchange is casual, comfortable, and itâs astoundingly hard to ignore the surreality of this moment.Â
This was nothing like those fragile times when weâd first met, sharing passing glances, dancing around each other as a duo who never truly believed themselves as partners. Weâd since worked through that, molded to the lessons we had learned, and were still learning; Yet this was entirely new to both of us. There was this abstract recognition that my sense of self had grown, knowing that a few weeks back I didnât hold the courage enough to reach out first⊠Presently, I had done so twice in one night.Â
It resounds in my security with him. To be around Luffy was to be my best self. Two halves of a whole, made one. With him, absorbing him, listening to his words, I was building upon myself in the process. Assertiveness was a stranger to me, up until Iâd witnessed the way my soulmate spoke, acted, and even breathed. In turn â striving to act upon these emotions he so often expressed â I was able to help him through his patch of darkness, one he struggled to process by himself.Â
Having said that⊠My soulmate's smile appeared to be different, right now.Â
So many times it felt like Luffy was smiling just to smile⊠Here, it felt like he was truly smiling at me. For me. Those dark, tired coals coaxed each word from my lips â his grin mild, yet sweet in its gentleness â Docile, when he was always so rambunctious. It wasnât like before, and as a whole, something about him was inconsistent.
â...There was something off about those two. I donât know why, but they just⊠Really scared me, I guess.â Leaning my head to my shoulder in a half-hearted shrug, my lips purse as the last bit of dried blood is wiped from Luffyâs jawline â Where he lifts and angles his head accordingly. âAnd then, Usopp and I ran into this girl there, too. She was so mean, and⊠And she said a bunch of stuff about him, and then about me.âÂ
The bob of his Adam's apple, joined by the junctures that line the column of his throat, have my heart ready to run laps.Â
âUm⊠Basically, she said that I looked bad on my wanted poster, a-and that I, uh⊠Was plain looking, and shouldnât be by your side, I-I guess.âÂ
âShe said youâre plain? Like, you donât have enough decorations or something?â Luffyâs expression tilts like a dog. âWhaddya need decorations for, anyways?âÂ
âNo, no⊠Like, she was saying that Iâm ugly.âÂ
âHuh? Wait a minuteâŠâÂ
â...Nâ she mightâve also called me useless, too.âÂ
Luffyâs eyes bulge, gobsmacked, untilâ
â...What?!âÂ
Leaning forwards, Luffyâs hand, located at my hip, glides over my back and spine. Chest to chest, I can sense the rumbling snarl within his sternum, vexed at the reveal. Pulling back, he drags me along with him, glaring sternly into my face as if Iâd personally wronged him somehow.Â
âWhy the hell is everybody saying all this rude stuff to you today?! And how come you didnât tell me about this earlier?âÂ
âI-It was right before Usopp disappeared!â The justification rubs Luffy the wrong way, along with how you wrench your neck to avoid looking directly at him. âI didnât think it would matter with everything that was going on! A-And I didnât wanna say anything in front of Galley La or Icebarg, so I⊠I mean, I-I just ended up forgetting about it!âÂ
Huffing at the lost attention, Luffy eyes the junction of your twisted neck, and sparks an idea â One that was a surefire way to regain your concentration. The captain hunches, curving his face around yours in order to plant it in the desired location (your clothed shoulder) once there, he opens his mouth, and bites.Â
(Hey, you did it to him before. That means he gets to do it back, right?)
Something like a yelp slips from your throat, cracking through the quiet night like a whip. You squirm away from the sensation with an agitated cry of his name, and Luffy lets up â He didnât bite you that hard, did he? He could feel it⊠And no. You were just being a baby.
âYouâre fine,â The boy murmurs into the cloth, keeping you imprisoned in his arms. Okay, maybe he did feel a little bad⊠But not that bad. âMore importantly⊠Next time you gotta tell me about this stuff sooner! I wouldâve kicked that ladyâs ass if I heard her say that to you.âÂ
âI-I know that, but youâ You ran away before I couldââ You shift away, barely able to defend yourself with his breath tickling your shoulder.Â
To no avail. Luffy buries his head further, relentlessly refusing to move. You were so warm, and smelled so goodâŠÂ
âWhat? Should I kiss it better or something?â Childishly, Luffy pouts into your shoulder, planting a kiss on the same spot as heâd suggested, pecking the bitten area over your shirt. âI wanna stay here.âÂ
Instantaneously, you stiffen.Â
âI-I⊠I mean, youâ YouâreââÂ
âPlease?â Luffy whines, laying it on thick to get his way. âI like it like this⊠Youâre comfy.â And he was doing a great job at it, wrapping tighter around you as a method of convincing â the predominance of his closeness swaying your discomfort â Luffyâs gotten to know your weaknesses fairly well by now.Â
Even so, it takes a while. A long while.
âFine...Y-You can stay.âÂ
Like butterflies wings, your voice airs overhead. Where his head rests, just beneath your jawline, he can faintly discern your rapidly beating pulse. You always psyched yourself out of doing these things with him, even though you always enjoyed it and Luffyâs glad he manages to dissuade your brain from self-destructing.Â
Slowly but surely, the boy feels your hands crawling up and over his chest. They ghost over his back, arms wrapping so that fingertips can skim the back of his neck. He doesnât realize your goal until the moment your deft fingers thread through the fine hairs at the base of his neck. He shimmies at the tickling sensation, anticipation brewing excitement at the soothing jitters.Â
Your nails scrape at his scalp, detangling the knotted locks with the cautiousness of defusing a bomb â Strategic, meticulous â And, damn. That feels good.Â
Posture slumped like a snoozing sloth, the boy nuzzles his head into the crook of your neck as if trying to bury himself there. With each heavy sigh released, each comb of your fingers, the edge of sleep grows closer.Â
Thoroughly satisfied, Luffy groans outwardly; You jolt at the noise. He'd be purring if he was Bones, right now⊠The Captain is almost jealous. Was this why the animal was always around you? He couldnât believe it, but this was just about as good as eating, and nothing could ever compete with eating for Luffy. Well, aside from you. So, perhaps this wasnât too much of a surprise.Â
Subconsciously, the boy had laid a significant portion of his body weight on you, distracted and unaware. Heâs practically drooling by the time you finally speak again.Â
âLuffyâŠâ He hums, in-and-out of bliss, managing to hear your voice through the haze. âYouâre a good captain⊠I hope you know that. Even if itâs not always easy, you do your best for everyone⊠Thatâs all that matters.âÂ
You stop playing with his hair, hands gliding down his neck. Luffy opens his eyes, and listens close.Â
âI just⊠I really donât want you to be upset over things that you couldnât control. No matter what, it wasnât your fault with Usopp, or the Merry⊠Or with Robin, either.âÂ
Itâs the final piece of the conclusion youâve been working up to, ever since the beginning of the conversation â Ever since heâd first brought you up to the rooftops.Â
â...You can always talk to me, too. Iâm always here.âÂ
The whispers, meant solely for him and him alone, reach the darkened shadows within The Captainâs soul.Â
Heâd gone off on his own, stayed up here for your sake â for everyoneâs â although maybe that wasnât what heâd needed, in the long run.Â
âYouâre a good captain.âÂ
How funny⊠Luffy hadnât realized how badly heâd wanted to hear those words until youâd said them aloud.Â
â...Yeah.â Luffy murmurs, closing his eyes again. âThanks, (Y/n).âÂ
â
At long last⊠It was there, basking in the solace that you so effortlessly provided, that the pieces of the puzzle in Luffyâs mind began to resemble a visible picture.Â
The image wasnât complete. Absent chunks of the jigsaw left massive, gaping blanks, while some of the finished segments were missing the smallest of fractions â making it nearly impossible for Luffy to fully wrap around the significance of what was happening⊠But the outline was there, and the center was steadily being fleshed out.Â
The Captain was so close to understanding all the questions in his mind, he knew it. Luffy just didnât know what he had to do in order to surpass the final stretch, what the trigger would be for him to wrap everything into one piece.Â
Against his chest, Luffy feels your body twitch.Â
You mumble something â Heâs not sure what â And sluggishly twist to curl further into his warmth, hands tucked between your chests and knees pulling inwards. Luffy collects you, grinning to himself as the dream-fit subsides. Your cheek rests against his collar bone, and you fall quiet once more.Â
If the boy had to guess, itâs been roughly an hour since youâd joined him atop the building. Youâd fallen asleep about twenty minutes ago probably, which was fine. Heâs certain that you arenât aware of whatâs happening and hadn't meant to fall asleep in the first place, even if Luffy knew it was bound to happen sooner or later; particularly when the two of you traded spots, with you leaning against him.Â
Already tired, the conversation turning sparse, your head had bobbed beneath his in a battle to stay awake. Eventually, Luffy stopped speaking altogether, letting your tiredness run its course. It was the best way he could make up for everything youâd done for him tonight. Plus, the boy liked holding you, heâd told you as much, so he was happy for it all the same.Â
And it was so, so odd⊠The stillness that came with you falling asleep. It was within him, yet all around him at the same time â all-encompassing â and it was you.Â
Luffy couldnât fathom how you were doing it, but the more he was affected by the enchantment, the less he cared about how weird it was. It mattered less, because he loved whatever was happening to him.
When did it start? The Captain isnât sure.Â
When he talked to Robin, Sanji and the others? When he learned about kissing on the lips? Or, was it before then? Has he always felt like this?
âHmn⊠LuffyâŠâ Â
No. Definitely not.Â
Again, your voice sounds under his chin, out of sight â How could he mishear it when you whisper his name like that?Â
Limbs become weak, his insides mushy, so much so that he fears he may lose his grip on you and has to tighten his hold. Luffy did not want to move. Something so simple as you sleeping on him, as you speaking his name in the way you did, felt good⊠So good, it almost hurt.Â
Earlier, when youâd begun to âadviseâ him, it was as if each and every word was curated for him. He listened, and listened, and Luffy felt his mood lift with each passing question that heâd asked. It was exactly like that time at Navarone, when you talked him out of his guilt for endangering you; However, this time seemed to hold more impact. He felt your words deeper, absorbed them into his skin like the ones scrawled on his arm. By the end, it was as if the captain was seeing you in an entirely new light. Seeing more.
Amazed, in a sense â Because youâre amazing.
The mark tingles, drawing his attention. Looking at it, there was no obvious change.Â
Luffy understood that what the tattoo represented was much more just than a handful of words tattooed on his skin⊠But, why?Â
A soulmate had always been something so straightforward for Luffy. You were his soulmate â but⊠you were his soulmate â thatâs how everyone said it, anyways. He hadnât made the distinction before.Â
His. What did that mean? He didnât own you, soâ
You huff, breath warm against his throat.Â
Itâs driving him crazy â That feeling again, the one that flutters in his chest, somersaulting his stomach and breathing new air into his lungs. Although, this whole time, talking with you, being with you⊠Itâs been differentâ
The electric excitement that generally tends to drive the feeling isnât there⊠Something else is in its place; Velvety, cushioned like a downy blanket filled with seagulls feathers. Peaceful, sorta.Â
Different.
Thereâs no bubbles, no fizzing. Itâs subtle.Â
Just the same as the way you melted The Captain earlier, he finds himself becoming malleable; warm rubber that droops his eyelids and softens his smilesâŠ
The Captainâs becoming obsessed with this sensitivity for you â knows his own greed well enough that when it goes away, heâll crave this feeling all over again â eager to feel more. Itâs a part of himself that Luffy hasnât ever explored before, brought out by your nature. Adoration, infatuation⊠The boy doesnât know the names of these fresh emotions, or what they might mean, but heâs eager to welcome them with open arms, always accepting of a new adventure.
Luffyâs completely enamored by you in this moment, and he doesnât even know it himself.Â
Revisiting his theories of when, of why, the boy ultimately lands on the topic that always appeared at the forefront of his mind. Kissing.Â
The way everyone kept bringing it up was supposed to be different than just kissing on the face⊠On the lips â wasnât that it?Â
Maybe⊠Maybe if he tried it, if he kissed you like thatâ Would he be able to figure it out, then? That confounding differenceâŠ
Girlfriend, boyfriend⊠Dating⊠KissingâŠ
His soulmate shivers, returning him to the real world. If he could turn into a blanket in order to keep you fully covered, he would.Â
Once more, the answer is no. Luffy couldnât do that, at least not at this exact moment. He figured you should be awake for that, considering how you normally reacted to his kisses. The captain could only imagine what would happen if you woke up to his lips on yours.Â
At the thought, his heart skips a beat.Â
The Captain sighs under his breath, âThis is driving me crazyâŠâÂ
As if replying, you murmur something into his skin. Luffy laughs quietly, maneuvering so that he can see your face â You look peaceful, relaxed, despite your mindâs annoying habit of keeping your mind occupied.Â
âYouâre driving me crazy⊠Yâknow that?âÂ
You donât respond of course. His soulmate. His.Â
Leaning forwards, Luffy presses his lips to your forehead with a tenderness not often found from him. As he parts, the stars slowly twinkle from existence in the lightening sky, signalling the sunâs near arrival at hand. The boy decides it's better to let you sleep a bit longer.Â
Even if he didnât know what was going on yet, Luffy swore he would figure it out.Â
He would figure it out soon.Â
â
Tidbit Today!!
This is a featured tidbit from one of the winners of a previously held event!! Congratulations @/OliveTheOliveTree!
While (Y/n) was searching for her soulmate, she would often make herself fall down at random for the small chance that her soulmate would catch her.Â
For example: Imagine (Y/n) âtripsâ randomly, only to not be caught, and has to get back up on her own rather awkwardly⊠Then later makes herself fall again.Â
âU-Usopp, wait a second!â My pleading voice dies across the vacant area, nothing to echo off.Â
The rocky capes hold a stark contrast of nothingness, bordering the city of Water 7 like the thickened frame of an artwork in the museum â Something to contrast the business inside.Â
âPlease, you have to think this through!âÂ
The Sniper doesnât respond, limping forward with shoulders that heave, joints creaking with every wobbling step. His tanned skin is battered, blemished with aching violet, crimson winding down his arms and face in drying, clotted trails.Â
Usopp was in bad shape, on a war path â driven by his self-claimed insufficiency to belong as a member of the Straw Hat crew. It was hard to watch, but so much harder to stop.Â
I knew how he felt, speaking from experience; my own bottled emotions that reflected his in kind. However, Usopp was in a much worse state than I. Heâd reached that self-destructive level of hopelessness, and believed there was only one way to fix it; By putting himself in immense danger.Â
The looming structure of The Franky House was enough to make my knees buckle. Goofy, patch-worked design choices â Green and yellow paint, blue tiled roof, goggled windows, claw-like machinery, all topped off by the crescent moon jutting at its peak â Like a quilt handed down through generations, this was the place where a band of thieves were said to have lived⊠Money hungry, grievance-causing, and infamous bounty hunters. They had already beaten Usopp half to death once, and we were headed straight for them a second time.Â
I couldnât believe my eyes, Usoppâs actions were inconceivable. If I was spooked by the thought of being captured by bounty hunters (known to seek out prized-pirates in order to earn a quick buck), how wasnât Usopp terrified by the notion of marching toward the bandits domain, especially after all heâd been through? Even without his lack of courage in question, his physical state was in poor condition. He shouldn't have been able to move with the state that Nami and I had discovered him in.Â
The Sniper was effectively out of his mind, and as much as I sympathized, empathizedâ Or felt whatever other emotional connections I harbored with his plight, I feared for the repercussions of what his current actions would lead to.Â
My back had been turned for only a handful of moments those few hours back when Usopp vanished in Dock 1. It didnât take me very long to notice that he was gone. Initially Iâd believed heâd been diverted by some amazing gadget, or drawn in by a shipwright and their awe-inspiring work (as the boy had been nerding out during our walk amongst the workers). Eventually, once I spoke with a shipwright â Then two, then five â Iâd begun to learn that my theory was incorrect. Not a single one of those men had noticed The Sniper in the immediate area. The only ones who had, had seen him with me.Â
Easily distressed, I thought the worst; Our run-ins with old enemies making themselves known as I searched like a madwoman through the Dock. Iâd called his name, searched as far as I could â To no avail.Â
The dread that sank my chest to my stomach became fully realized once I raced back to Luffy and Nami, aiming to relay the little information I knew so that we might all search together. Even so, Usoppâs disappearance would be temporarily overshadowed by more terrible news.Â
Kaku returned with his assessment of the ship, all while I was panicking to find my missing friend.Â
The message was simple, imparted to us with a significance that couldnât be measured;Â
Our boat couldnât be fixed.Â
The Going Merry had set its final course.
Stumbling into the clearing with disregard to the others, it had caught me off guard when I heard it at first. The blonde-haired Kaku had to repeat himself multiple times for it to stick, even for the others. Bombarded by my friend and soulmate that his words couldnât possibly be true, the two accused him of feeding us false information about our vessel.Â
Their rebuttal wouldnât last. He had no reason to lie. After all, what would he gain? We had money⊠He couldâve easily taken it and left us to turbulent seas and stormy waters â According to him and his comrades, even the slightest of currents would lead to our demise if we continued to sail.Â
It was the keel; âThe backbone of every ship,â Galley-La had called it. Once the keel was out of order, so was the rest, as it held everything in place. Ours was in one of the worst states that Kaku had ever seen, and to that end, there was no point in patching up something that was already too much of a lost cause.Â
Only once Icebarg himself confirmed this did Luffy cease berating the workers, out of respect for the man who had shown such hospitality. I could sense Luffyâs denial, his rejection of the facts, the evidence, entirely. The Going Merry had been fine, and suddenly now she wasnât? Since when? It didnât make any sense.Â
But⊠It did make sense, if you thought about it.Â
Deep down in Luffyâs soul, I think he knew it, too. I think we all knew, we just didnât want to admit it; Never entertained the thought in the first place.Â
The Going Merry was old, even I knew this. In her wizened years, our ship had taken on damage that rivaled the durability of even the youngest ships. She had sailed for a lifetime prior to its gifting to the Straw Hats, and then sailed another whilst with us on our travels, keeping us safe for all of the hardships her body had faced.Â
Weâd seen it first hand⊠The weathered grooves that were always so hard to clean when we swept, the rough landings weâd endured from Skypiea to Navaroneâ Hell, right when weâd arrived at this very island, Zoro had gone to raise the sails and the mast had splintered under such a simple, commonplace action.Â
There wasnât any way to deny it, not anymore. Weâd come here for the help of a shipwright, and we got it.Â
They spoke with kind words, and sympathetic gazes:
âNo amount of money could ever fix her.â
The Going Merry wasnât able to function any longer,Â
And everything was going to shit.Â
Luffy and Nami had the two briefcases that were previously in Usoppâs possession by the time Iâd returned, a suspicious sight that had my pulse skyrocketing â A kind shipwright had noticed them and returned them dutifully, having overheard the thieving-predicament earlier on. By that time, I could finally gather myself, reeling with despair that piled higher and higher with the manifestation of another crucial issue, I blubbered my concerns to them with a stone in my throat.Â
The situation escalated to the extremes. Nami interrogated our whereabouts; Where Usopp and I had gone in the past ten minutes, who weâd talked to, when Iâd last seen him⊠My answers were less than satisfactory. Then, Luffy upped the ante, popping the two trunks open in his suspicions of how weightless they felt in his grasp.Â
Stunned, my wide-eyed soulmate dropped the open cases to the ground with a loud clatter.Â
Both cases were empty.Â
Like I said, everything was going to shit.Â
Now completely losing it with more at stake, combined with a crowd that was there to watch the ordeal unfold, the Mayor orchestrated a swift search that luckily yielded an eyewitness; A man had seen a few of the Franky Family prowling the back alleys of Dock 1.Â
âLuffy, wait! Where are you going?!â Nami shrieked as The Captain hurtled over the fences that gated off Dock 1 from the people, racing towards the city with a hand covering his hat.Â
He didnât seem to hear her whatsoever. âUsoppâ Money! Just wait, Iâll come get you!âÂ
Just like that, our group was split into not two, but three parts â Luffy immediately taking off into Water 7, a frantic spur in his step.Â
This left Nami and I on our own to actually formulate some kind of plan. (Really, who knew what Luffy would get up to without somebody to watch him? He was probably running around like a maniac as we speak.)
Having boarded the Yagara to cover more ground, Nami and I desperately scoured the canals of Water 7. She begged the beast to go faster, ensuring our navigation through the streets whilst I kept a keen eye, the two of us trading our speculations on The Sniper's whereabouts and working towards determining what to do next. It wasnât likely that the bandits would take both the money and Usopp, they didnât have a reason to take our friend â Yet that was a problem itself, meaning our time frame was shortened by the possibility that the Franky Family wound up using the money for themselves. Out of all our propositions, this one had the most backing; We needed to find Usopp, to see if he knew where the thieves had stolen off to. He was our best chance at retrieving the two-million berries â Even still, my mind wandered. What if he hadnât been able to thwart the Franky Family? What if theyâd taken him, against our predictions?Â
Simultaneously, Nami had instructed me to track down Luffy via our soulmate bond; It was no use. He was far off by then, and while I could sense the general direction, I wouldnât be able to pinpoint him in this maze of infrastructure. He was scrambling for options, just like we were. His lack of presence made me uneasyâ The thought of encountering our enemies without him being there was daunting. Â
It was pure luck when we came upon the small crowd, huddled around an obscured figure who lay limply against the back walls of the scarcely populated area. There wasnât much traffic, and following the instincts that lurched at the glint of a familiar eyepiece, Nami swerved into a stop. We sprayed everyone in the vicinity due to the force of the Yagara wrenching backwards. Some of the crowd complained; We ignored them.Â
âUsoppâ Hey, say something!â
âO-Oh god, Usopp!âÂ
Broken, and battered. Splayed out like a starfish left to dry in the hot sun, Usopp laid limp â He wasnât moving.Â
âHey! Are you alright?â Kneeling beside our injured friend, Nami fitfully reached her palms to cup his face, the blood staining her pale skin as tears bubbled in her eyes. âOpen your eyes!âÂ
Tracing my sights over his body had me sick to my stomach, the burning of my waterline a signal that I was not far behind The Navigator. My fingers quiver as they reach forward, not sure where to place them â Every inch of him was marred, like somebody had beaten the hell out of him, and then some.Â
I wrap my fingers around his hand, and he shows no sign of answering our combined efforts.Â
The group around us couldnât contain their morbid curiosity, murmuring amongst each other, considering their own bravery, and whether or not they should ask the questions that sat impatiently on the tips of their tongues.Â
âE-Excuse me, are you guys pirates, by any chance?â A man ventured to finally speak up, uncertain in his approach.Â
âShut up!â Whipping around with a snarl, Nami snapped at the unwanted company, shifting to cradle The Sniper and all his wounds. âStop staring and mind your own business!â
Noting the redheads' viciousness, the crowd steps back with a chorus of gasps. They stay quiet after that.Â
Throughout the commotion, Usopp has begun to heave in his wakefulness, though each one pries from his lips, thick as smoke â Burning his lungs, straining with the slightest movement and wincing when his mouth fails to operate. I canât do much else than wait, staring at him through the blur of devastated tears.Â
âOh, noâŠâ Nami despairs, her teeth grit â infuriated. âUsoppâ Was it the Franky Family who did this to you?â
A hard, scraping gasp, and then anotherâŠÂ
âIt⊠It wasâŠâ Itâs difficult to hear his pained whispers, but the confirmation is certain. Nami and I hadnât ever considered that theyâd perform the baseless torment such as this.Â
Tears dribble from his eyes and snot drools from his crooked nose. Usopp sniffles, bracing himself as the syllables choke and his mouth falters.Â
I bite my lip, squeezing his hand. He still doesnât reciprocate.Â
âB-Because Iâm⊠Iâm weak⊠They⊠They took⊠All the moneyâŠâÂ
I squeeze again, less this time. The point of view, so painstakingly similar to my own, automatically has me opening my mouth to deny it, just as Iâd taught myself to do in light of promises to my soulmate.Â
A sob, and then his tears stream like rivers. âYou guysâŠâÂ
Jaw tight, streaks lining the fresh blood thatâs caked to his face, Usopp inevitably opens his eyes to look at us.Â
âHow⊠How will I face the others?âÂ
No amount of words could describe the agony of that moment.Â
Nami says nothing. I say nothing. Mouth gaping, the practiced-consolations turn to ash in my mouth.Â
It hits, and it hits hard. The resounding question was pinching and pulling, stapling the walls of my throat together. It was a horrific concoction of despondency and delinquency â Piercing together the comprehension of his forlorn words, resurging emotions that were meant to be locked away â Incredulous that, for some reason, we could relate our woes.Â
 â...We were about to⊠to have Merry repairedâŠâ With a whimper, The Sniper tilts his head back, avoidant of our eyes once again. He attempts to shout his words, with nothing but a hoarse yelp emitted. âIâm⊠so ashamed⊠D-Dammit!âÂ
His wailing turns my saliva to acid; Burning my palate, all the way down to my belly.Â
Thereâs no comfort in the comparison bridged between Usopp and myself. Instead, a nausea sits in its place, threatening to endure the longer I stare at his demoralized expression⊠With it, thereâs a guilt thatâs driving the stake further into my throbbing chest.Â
Not long ago Iâd been in Usoppâs shoes, hadnât I? Iâd remained in that desolate environment, ruled over by a vicious psyche, for monthsâ Years. At my lowest points, Iâd been lucky to have support, to have my inner turmoil reconciled by my friends' reassurances, and come to the beginnings of self-repair.Â
By doing so â I mean, by indulging my focus on fixing my unrest, to better myself â Had I been neglecting those who had helped me get there?Â
I was so focused on my own grievances, that Iâd completely disregarded somebody elseâs â Usoppâs â Whoâs fears were alike to mine, so much so, that the disgruntled utterances of his mouth had birthed a visceral, trained reaction.Â
My friendâ A best friend, whoâd always been there for me and not the other way around. Heâd done so much for me, only to find out I couldâve returned the favor⊠Couldâve been doing the same for him.Â
But I hadnât been. Iâd been too focused on myself. Even now, I was enveloped by self-remorse â Guilt.Â
It smothers me up, and the acid floods my veins. It keeps me locked in place, useless.
Had I really been so self-absorbed, all this time?Â
â...I understand.â Nami comforts, her breath hitching. âDonât worry about the money. Weâll get it back together.âÂ
Here, she thinks quietly to herself. I can see the inner workings of her mind flickering in the depths of her brown eyes; Debating, consideringâŠÂ
I still canât figure out what to say, if thereâs anything else I could possibly say in the presence of Namiâs calmâ Iâm grateful for it. Sheâd always been good at comforting people in a way I couldnât quite manage. Here, going so far as to put away her obsession over money for the sake of her friend, is a prime example of her skill.Â
It stands tall, a model for everything that I was supposed to be doing. What had I done? What could I do? I was too shell-shocked to help, and that in itself was vexing.Â
Everything, everyone â All today, had brought out the worst of me within mere hours â Why was I so often reminded of things Iâd been working to bury? Why couldnât I cope with these experiences that were so kindred to memories that still plagued my very existence? Why couldnât they just go away?Â
That âsteadily mounting uneaseâ from last chapter had officially collapsed, just as Iâd forecasted. The freeze-response was in full throttle, and I couldnât escape myself for the sake of others if I tried.Â
No matter how I tried, no matter how much I had fought to work on myself, nothing had changed, had it?Â
Deadweight.Â
âWe should move himâŠâ The Navigator shifts, nudging me to follow her lead. I do so, monotonously shouldering underneath one of his arms. âUsopp, stay here just for a while. Iâm gonna go back to the ship to get some help, Chopperâll have you fixed up good as new in no time.â
Sheâs not calm, I realize â That doesnât make it better, or worse either. Thereâs a nervous edge in Namiâs tone, a greyish-maroon tinge around her eyes.Â
âAnd donât worry about the stolen money, all right? I heard their hideout isnât far from here. Weâll crush them and thatâll be the end of it!â The redhead makes an effort to confirm that Usopp isnât too disquieted by his self-proclaimed faults; He doesnât respond, slumped and frowning against the cold-bricks.Â
Next, she rushes to address me, harried by the invisible timer that ticked away the seconds. âYou should stay with him until I come back. Chopper taught you some medical stuff back at the ship, right? Do whatever you can, Iâll hurry and be back soonââ
I nod, the movement unregistered to myself, puppetted by practiced movements in an uninhabited body.Â
The recognition of her commands are delayed, though eventually understood; How could I help Usopp? I couldnât even notice when my friends were faced with analogous troubles⊠Disregarding that on its own, there was the recollection that I carried no medical materials on my person â Combing through the tangled wrinkles of my brain yielded no results on how to use those medical materials in the first place, anyways.
Either way, I canât argue. Namiâs already moving towards the Yagara to pursue her plans.Â
âHey! The showâs over!â Nami berates the onlookers, eyes blazing with determined fury. They all move from her path, wary of her wrath. âGet lost!âÂ
Itâs quiet. Usoppâs fallen quiet, and everyone is looking at us. Without Nami to serve as guard dog, I faintly grasp the situation that the two of us, alone, are faced with.Â
I focus on The Sniper, a seriously wounded and likely incapacitated crewmate, feeling unfortunate for him to the degree that heâs been left with the only person of our group who has little to no fighting skill â Me, myself and I.Â
Although I donât know how to face him, or how to speak, in time I would force myself to recalibrate. Usopp was hurting, and I needed to help.Â
I wasnât making enough progress, that much was clear. Whatever medical practices Chopper had recited couldnât be conjured, as each concept summoned yielded a head-on collision with another â A backed-up highway that piled on more and more until the columns groaned from the building pressure.Â
I breathe, the shuddering column of my airway a grounding force. With one of Usoppâs hands in my own, Iâve been zoning out, staring at him as teardrops roll.Â
Ivory meows inside of the satchel at my back, and I snap from my daze.Â
Some of the crowd has dissipated. It allows for an unobstructed view of the canal, and something clicks. The ocean.Â
I needed a cloth. My fingers fumble at my skirt, contemplating.Â
âI-Iâm sorry, IâŠâ Reaching lamely towards a kind-looking couple, appearing more concerned than some of the others, I take a gamble â Feeling like a beggar in the streets. âI need⊠Do you have a knife I could borrow? P-Please, Iâll⊠Iâll give it back right after butâ But heâs hurt, and IââÂ
âHere,â The hilt lands in my open palm assuredly, âIâm not sure what you need it for, but if it helps at allââÂ
Rrrriiiiipâ
The thin strip is cut from the cloth of my skirt faster than the man can finish.Â
Crying over the outfit would be a wasted effort. At that moment, I didnât have anything else available in order to tend to support other than this. Thatâs the only thing that mattered. I could always get another outfit â But we could never find another Usopp.Â
âTh-Thank you,â I blubber, barely handing the knife back to its owner once Iâve stumbled towards the water, soaking the cloth.Â
Ivory sits before Usopp, somehow leaving my backpack when I hadnât noticed, pawing at The Sniperâs leg. Itâs an almost human endeavor to gain attention. The tanned boy had been the one to make each and every one of Ivoryâs necessities, including his toys, and the kitten seemed curiously aware of this fact â His âtoymakerâ wasnât responding.Â
Gently lifting a listless arm from the ground, I gingerly swipe at a small gash, awaiting a sign of discomfort. Usopp doesnât show any such signs, anxiety seizing my entire being as I ponder whether he mightâve passed out.Â
âU-Usopp⊠Please wake up.â I whisper, dabbing at the scraped off surface of his skin cautiously. It looked like it stung. âIâm sorry⊠I-Iâm so, so sorry.âÂ
The apology has more than one meaning, ones that I wasnât sure heâd know â Iâm sorry this happened â Iâm sorry youâve felt like this â Iâm sorry I didnât realize â Iâm sorry for being a bad friend â Iâm sorry for not being there.Â
Cleaning his wounds like a deliberately trained machine, his lack of retort leaves my mind to wander further; If Iâd been more attentive, if I hadnât turned my back for those few moments, would this still have happened? Would the money have been stolen? Would Usopp have been safe?Â
My mind embarks to unburden itself, twisting and turning about the âwhat ifsâ and the âif onlyâs.â It only serves to worsen my state of mind. Â
Slowly but surely, the wiping of his flesh reveals fresh splotches that darken and yellow in reverence to the light, and I fear I might actually throw up, becauseâÂ
Oh, god⊠Usopp still didnât know.Â
The Merry.Â
The Going Merry couldnât be fixed⊠And Usopp would be ruined.Â
With poor timing, The Sniper randomly shifts away from the drenched fabric. I glance down, momentarily baffled by the myriad of crimson that's stained the intricate stitching, then glance at him â Alarm bells ringing whilst Usopp is dragging himself to a stand.Â
âW-Wait, what are you⊠Usopp, we still have to wait forââÂ
âWe need the moneyâŠâ Usopp rasps, a vehemence in his tone that Iâd never heard before. âI need to get it backâŠâÂ
We wound up at the Franky Familyâs place; Located nearby, just as Nami had mentioned.Â
âYouâre already too hurt, Usopp!â I screech at his back, âYou canât fight all of them, pleaseâ J-Just wait!â
Usopp trudged forwards, never once sparing any sign of surrender. This had been the drill ever since we left that empty back-alley â My endeavors to end the ordeal met with nothing but silence, along with the dark spots seeping into the cloth on his back.Â
No matter how often I called, or begged, or screamed â Usopp never answered, and he never stopped. There was no convincing him.Â
He would hurt himself, evidently. In that crumpled state, what the hell would he be able to do against all those opponents? Heâd lost to them already, out in the openness of the city â This was their home, the place where all of them lived, not just the five-or-so that Usopp had encountered prior. The threat was greater, and we needed back up.Â
Our friends. They would be here to assist just as Nami intended⊠Of course, Usopp refused the idea, ignoring each and every mention of them whilst ceaselessly marching on.Â
I was out of options, near to tears for the second time today. Frustrated by my inability to do something more, fast approaching the Franky House (we were so close, only twenty feet from the main entrance); Imagining what would happen when those doors eventually opened was terrifying.Â
There were so many indecisions, too many reasons to stall; It felt like we had swapped rolls, for once. One of us was listing reason after reason to not continue, whilst the other turned a deaf ear.Â
If Usopp opened those doors â If he challenged The Franky Family for the money â I didnât know what I would do. My natural deterrence toward fighting grappled with the notion that I undoubtedly owed Usopp for what was occurring, a pop-up quiz sneaking into my brain relentlessly.Â
How many people waited on the other side of the door?Â
Would I be forced to use the weapon that I was already conflicted to wield?Â
We didnât know their values, their ways of living⊠What if the bandits killed people? What if I was at risk of dying?Â
What about my pledge to stay alive â For Luffy, for the others â In the circumstance of combating new enemies?Â
And then, conversely, what if Usopp was at that same risk of death? It was more likely, considering the state of his woundsâŠÂ
What then? Who was I supposed to choose? Usopp, or myself?Â
Was that selfish? No⊠No, it couldnât be. Luffy told me not to get myself involved in the fights I couldnât win. Right?Â
But, at the same time, Iâd been training recently â Was it really a valid excuse to say that I wouldnât fight because my soulmate said so? What kind of friend was that?Â
Shit. This dilemma was getting worse the longer I dwelled over it. I needed to do something â I wasnât about to sit back and watch either of us meet God.Â
âHold on, Usopp!â Surging forward, my hand claws at his arm to wrest backward, the nails biting unceremoniously. I wince at the unintended aggression, worse when it causes the boy to stop in his tracks. Maybe Iâd been too assertive about thisâŠ
The Sniperâs muscles are taut beneath my fingers, and I lessen my hold, lost for words. The sensation of dry-mouth worsens still, Usopp refocusing his gaze to my own. For the first time, his eyes subject me to a feeling not unlike disdain, pupils sunken and small, bound by his bloodshot eyes.Â
The person staring back at me, hellbent and hardened, is not the Usopp that I know and love.Â
His eyes, his expression; Itâs as if Usopp had resorted to numbness so that he might cope with the suffering endured, though he was driven by it all the same.Â
âPlease⊠Letâs just wait for everybody to get here.â A gentle approach was necessary. Without physically releasing Usopp from my hold, I desperately implore the boy to hear my request, softened in the wailing wind. âThe others wonât be upset about you losing the money. Even if they were, then we can all get it back together, right? W-We canât do this by ourselvââÂ
Face gaunt, unappreciative of my entreaty, Usopp doesnât want to hear the rest;Â
âWe need that money back.âÂ
Itâs the first words heâs spoken since we began moving. In what had felt like hours, all sense of sorrow is gone from his tone â The words are final, inarguable.Â
His piercing stare never lifts.Â
âUm⊠I-I know we do,â Unsure of whether or not Usopp had heard me in his unsettled state, an unspoken tension clogs the conversation, limiting its beneficial potential. For the first time in a long time, I feel awkward speaking with The Sniper. âBut, just hear me out. Having the others here could help out a ton, i-if we justââÂ
âIâm not waiting.â Another interruption. âYou can either fight with me⊠Or you can stay out here. Thatâs your choice, so take your pick.âÂ
Usoppâs assertion is coarse, like diving head-first on roller blades for the cement to gnaw your skin.Â
My heart sags, gripped by anxiety, biting my lip at the uncharacteristic strictness of Usoppâs suggested ultimatum â Characterized by the war in my mind â He was going to make me choose.Â
âListen to meâŠâ I hush, contemplating whether or not the influence of Usoppâs emotions had conquered his system â I knew that feeling all too well as per past events â If I could salvage him from stubbornness, make him see reason, maybe we could come back from this cliffâs edge. Nevertheless, I couldnât manage to disguise the urgency. âI-I understand. I understand so much that it hurts. Really, I-I promise I do, but⊠You canât go in there, please, Usopp. We just have to waitâ Justâ Just wait for everyone else. The others are stronger than we are, and those bandits already hurt you, I donât want you toââÂ
âIâm not asking for your pity, so donât bother.â The Sniper snaps, just as that of a crocodileâs maw on a squirrel's tail. The sharpness of its teeth leaves me stunned. âAre you with me, or not?â
Heâs not in his right mind. I remind myself of this fact, and I know it well â Itâs personal. Relatable.Â
If I couldnât convince him otherwise, I would be responsible for whatever occurs nextâ I had to make a choice.Â
âI-IâŠâ Donât know what else to say. I feel like an idiot.Â
The quizzing repeatsâÂ
What the hell do I do? Do I fight?Â
If I tried, I would only be a hindrance; I barely had enough knowledge to defend myself.
What about Usopp? What happens if he goes in there alone?Â
âUsopp takes my lack of response as an answer in itself, twitchy while he redirects, sights set back onto the Franky House.Â
âFine⊠But, Iâm not waiting a second longer. I canât face the others like this.â Disregarding the concern Iâve shown over his well-being, Usopp turns his back on me once again. âWe need that money, for Merry. And because Iâm the one that lost it⊠Now I have to get it back.âÂ
No matter how he pronounces them, thereâs no masking the already-wilting fragility of those claims. Usopp blamed himself â And in his shoes, I likely would have done the same â He blamed himself on the money being stolen, and the prospect of us not being able to save our home.Â
âŠAlthough, he didnât know the truth, did he.Â
Usopp wouldnât be to blame at all.Â
The Going Merry could not be fixed in the first place.Â
I mull over this aspect of his determination for a loaded, arduous moment â Speculate if I should be the one to tell him such an agonizing truth in the midst of his breakdown, or if there was another member of our crew better suited to it â Usopp loved the Merry, slaved over its well being, doted on its damages and break-downsâŠ
Would it be cruel to extend that knowledge to him? Or was it a means of mercy?Â
Usopp was at his lowest. To extend the knowledge that the most important token heâd attributed to the Straw Hats travels â Gifted by those closest to him on his old island â Would no longer embark on any more of our adventures⊠I didn't know if that would be the right decision to make, or the entirely wrong one.Â
The Sniper was hurting â Parallel in that he was out of his mind⊠Was it right to tell him now? To kick him while heâs down?Â
Coincidentally, however, what else could stop him? He wasnât listeningâ Not to sympathies, or cares⊠Was this the proverbial kick in the ass that heâd need to conceive the mistake he was bound to make? This was dangerous, and yet he paid the danger no mind, putting himself at great risk.
I ascertain on my own behalf⊠I donât know what else to do.Â
âTh-The MerryâŠâÂ
With a gut-wrenching distress, I inhale the salty air, trepidating the 50/50 shot of a bad reaction.Â
â...The Merry canât be fixed, Usopp.âÂ
The dust settles. Itâs as if the very world itself is holding its breath, baring witness to the entire ordeal.Â
Usopp halts, his foot hovering in the air. The sweat beads over my brow; Itâs a pregnant pause that holds still, and braces.Â
The Sniper doesnât make a sound.Â
I take that as motivation to continueâ To further explain the reasoning behind such a fundamental profession.Â
â...Even if we had the money,â Examining his figure with bated breath, heâs been rendered statue-like, and I canât begin to guess where his thoughts have circled. âWe canât fix her. Sheâs too⊠Broken.â
My hands grow fidgety, whispering words replaced by billowing gales that tussle my hair and rake at our clothes.Â
Quiet. The waves crash at the rocks in the distance.Â
The atmosphere fractures. I spot The Snipers shoulders twitch.Â
â...What the hell are you talking about?âÂ
His tone is low, catching me off guard â full of warning. The disappointment that rings in my ears like alarm bells isnât a sound thatâs suited to Usopp. Itâs not that of the petty or cranky responses heâd give any other day⊠It hitches my breath, rattles my bones in how dead-serious he appears.Â
âIs that your plan? Was that seriously your best way to convince me?â Usopp snarls; An unkempt, disheveled stare has me stepping away for a second. âYou thought making up stupid lies was gonna work? Thatâs what you think will get me to wait for the othersâ To hurt my feelings, to scare me so much that Iâll be too upset to even try? It is, isnât itâ Thatâs exactly what youâre trying to do right now.âÂ
That wasnât what I had meant.Â
The Sniper was lashing out. Heâd misinterpreted my claims as nothing but an inhumane method of persuasion.Â
Usoppâs bottom lip quivers, eyes glossing. He doesnât want to believe me â My eyes burn in tandem.Â
It wasnât what I meant.
Overwhelmed in the spotlight of accusation, bewildered at the prospect of Usopp believing that Iâd purposefully attempted to hurt him, each word is like a blow to the ribs. âN-No, Usoppâ I wasnâtââ My mind jumps to assumptions, a lapse in logic as I straight panicked; Did he really believe Iâd do that? âI-I would never do thatâ I was just⊠Itâs the truth. Just, I-Iâm not⊠Lying, Usopp, Iâm sorry. I know The Merry means a lot to you, andââÂ
âYou know what?â Throat shuddering, Usopp swallows down the tears, glowering with so much ire that mine start pouring down my face in his stead. âDo whatever you wantâ Maybe you might be fine with just sitting back and letting the others do the work, but Iâm not!âÂ
âU-Usopp, I didnâtââÂ
I make more effort to save this swiftly spiraling conversation â The Sniper refuses to let up.Â
âIâm not going to fall behind like some useless stowaway while everyone else gets stronger!âÂ
It takes a moment to set in.Â
But it starts with the tiniest crack, layered in the deepest cavity of my chest. A delicate crack that pinches, bursts into a hairline fracture â It punctures, spreading like spiderwebs over a glass heart.Â
Useless.Â
It wasnât the exact word that Iâd been avoiding â worthless â the one that Luffy had me swear to never label myself under⊠Yet it was related, swamping my consciousness just the same as its insinuating cousin.Â
âScrew them.â Luffy finalizes. âYou have me now, and the crew. Who cares what they said? None of us thinks that about you.âÂ
He was wrong. Apparently, one of them did.Â
Everything I worked for seems to crumble. To be reproached by one of the people whom Iâd laid my faith into â Believed that he would never think of me in this way, going so far as to indicate that I was a nothing but a useless stowaway â Itâs more than enough to resign to silence.Â
And as we stand before each other, wordless, Iâm just uncertain of everything thatâs led up to this point.
All I wanted to do was help Usoppâ To stop him from getting hurt, or worse. Yet all Iâve done was make things worse.Â
Itâs just like beforeâ Just like beforeâ
âCanât you do anything right?âÂ
Fuck.Â
I canât revert back to before â I canât. I canât let it get to me.Â
Easier said than done; Bordering hysteria, the expression of a disdainful father flicker over The Sniper's face â Why was he looking at me like that?Â
He looked like he hated me⊠Like all the rest â Like he wanted to leave.Â
My throat tightens. It feels as if Iâm back in that dingy room again, the striped walls like iron bars.Â
âSuit yourself⊠Iâm going to get that money back, and fix Merryâ With or without you!âÂ
I hear his words, although I donât assume this realm of being, practically incorporeal as Iâve honed onto the emotions that were newly buried, ones Iâd sworn to remain there for the rest of my life. Resilient as ever, theyâd clawed their way out like zombies from the grave, dirt beneath their broken fingernails.Â
With arms that can barely pull back the rubber of his slingshot, Usopp snarls.Â
Aiming a gunpowder star at the doors of the Franky Family house, he releases the ammo with reckless abandon.Â
Ka-BOOM!
The building shudders, and the wooden doors smash to bits.Â
â
A heaving breath grates against my windpipe, vocal chords reacting with the combined strain that came with having to lug a limp body opposite from the apparent danger. For the second time today, Usopp lost against the opponent.Â
The strangled retch of my throat fills the gaps between each avalanching sob. Visions of Usoppâs brutal defeat replay in my head, held against my will from afar to watch on â It was some sick form of entertainment for the bandits, who took great pleasure in delivering a reckoning by order of their leader.Â
âToo bad for Straw Hat LuffyâŠâ The man, a towering figure that brought about an aura of foreboding, pierced Usopp through the eyeholes of his sinister mask.Â
Though gaudy, the orange and blue get-up was worn with reason â A bassist voice ensuring that the man wasnât one to be screwed with, comparable to the rolling grumble of an engine â He was the leader of the Franky Family.Â
We were in his domain, for the time being. In other words, we played by his rules.Â
âHeâs got himself a useless underling who canât even handle the simple task of guarding a little money⊠Such a shame.â Belittling The Sniper for his failed attempts at retrieving the suitcases, the manâs bare foot sweeps up, striking Usopp beneath the chin.Â
With an arrogant scoff, the impact sends him reeling. I struggle against my entrapment, calling my friendâs name, but the man behind me never loosens his grip.
The Sniper tumbles, soon to be surrounded by the rest of the Franky Family cronies.Â
Their leader turns his back, money in hand, and heads for the door.
My face is soaked, briny tears wetting my face. You mightâve thought Iâd dunked my head straight into the ocean.Â
I readjust my grip under Usoppâs arms, sweaty hands slipping against his bloodied flesh, grunting feebly. The progress Iâd made cleaning him up prior had been for nothing.Â
âGo on, take your little weakling friend and get out of here!âÂ
Mocking and ridiculing from the demolished entrance of their hideout, our enemies tossed us out onto the dusty ground once theyâd had their fill; Me first, then Usopp. He was like nothing but a used-up doll, cast aside for a better one.Â
I could make out the stamped shoe-marks that those thugs left behind, their soles printed on Usoppâs overalls. One only knew the plethora of injuries that lay hidden from sight.Â
âYouâre lucky you didnât get the same treatment as he did, little girl! You better hurry up before we change our minds.â
Forced to drag Usopp away, threats and sneers thrown about as we went â he was heavy, and I was scared.Â
However, I feared even more for the consequences of disobeying their insulting orders â Wary of the odds of them acting on their remarks â What else were they willing to do? Where did the depths of their depravity end?Â
âYeahâ Buzz off before we bust up that pretty face of yours, too!âÂ
Despite all of the venom that Usopp had spat at me prior, I couldnât just leave him to their cruelty. He was still my friend⊠Wasnât he?Â
With my birdseye view of his head sagging, chin dipping towards his collarbone, the conflict that burdened my aching body raged on. The men had only struck me once â Or twice, I couldnât recall â It didnât matter, the invisible wounds had festeredâŠÂ
Still, I would never forgive myself if I chose to leave Usopp behind.Â
I blamed myself. I blamed the Franky Family.Â
I shouldâve done more. I shouldnât have been so weak.Â
âAnd be sure to let your little boyfriend know about all that money you guys so generously handed over! Our Bro sure appreciates it!â
Luffy would be disappointed to learn about the way I thought of myself right now.Â
I dug my teeth into my lip, unable to resist bawling my eyes out. The slightest thought of my soulmate rising the tides behind my eyes; Longing for his appearance most of all, pining for everything that was him and came with him. If only he was here, then all this would never have happened. I needed him here.Â
ShhrrrkâŠ
With another slide of Usoppâs body against the gravel, a shallow divot sends me tumbling onto my back as I lose my footing. Squeezing my eyes shut, the breath punches from my lungs as I wheeze, and they pop back open at the strike that lights up my tailbone.Â
A writhing yowl emits from under my back, Ivory squirming away from the probability of getting squashed under my weight. His cries rung loud in my ears.Â
Between the loss of air and the uncontrollable wails that ripped from my throat, I couldnât get enough airflow. My head spun.Â
The kitten tapped at my face, sliding his cheek against mine in concern.
Usopp fell on my legs, and in the haze of my skull, the only tell that The Sniper remained amongst the living was that of his body heat. I couldnât give up until we were beyond the bandits reach â hadnât been able to stop and feel his pulse, nor discern his respiratory rate, as Chopper had once taught me in the quiet days back on The Merry.
Even now, I was terrified that the men would see how Iâd fallen in my task, and come after us once more.Â
I donât know what to do. The goals are there, theyâre necessary, and yet I canât fathom how Iâd be able to muster up any sort of ability that would allow me to drag Usopp all the way back to The Going Merry â Look at how well it was going so far.Â
I wanted to shut down, to call it quits on this abominable day, and give up. Nothing could be worse than this.Â
The dirt and dust pasted to my sweaty skin, itching my exposed thighs. A torn sleeve tickles my arm; My outfit was in shambles on top of everything⊠I suppose that was no fault other than my own. Iâd ripped the skirt earlier, hadnât I? Yeah⊠For Usopp. What about the sleeve?Â
Squinting at the cloudless sky, tears gliding warmly from the corner of my eye to my hairline, grieving all that there was to grieve, I lay there unmoving.Â
I needed to get up, I needed to get Usopp the medical attention that he required. My fingers tightened into fists at my sides, tenacity unwilling to grace my soul with its vigor.Â
Mrrreow!
Whiskers twitching along with his nose, Ivory perks his little ears â Then, he bolts.Â
âIâ W-Wait,â I croak, froglike, having torn my voicebox apart. âI-Ivory!âÂ
Craning my back, uncomfortably twisting my torso to discern where the kitten has run off to, Iâm nearing a heart attack when I figure heâs sprinting towards the entrance to the city. The last thing I needed on this damned island was for him to be stolen.Â
I spy his tiny white body gunning it towards the cityâ
An immediate double-take has my (e/c) eyes bulging from the sockets.Â
Four figures saunter forward through the blur of heat that simmers off the rocks in the sunlight.
â...Luffy?â His name breathes life into the link we share, an electric jolt that both shocks and soothes.Â
Lo-and-behold; A blonde clad in black, a green headed man with three swords at his hip, a brown-furred creature whose pink hat sticks out like a sore-thumb, and a figure clad in red, his straw hatâs pallor glaring in the broad expanse of land.Â
Ivory speeds towards the latter, zooming two whirling loops around Luffyâs legs, belting the loudest cries before booking it back towards me â As if leading the way for a rescue party.Â
Hiking onto my arms for a better look, the confirmation that Iâm not totally hallucinating comes in a violent shimmer of energy once we lock eyes. It punctuates the end of all this needless suffering â Luffy was finally here, and so were the others.Â
My bottom lip trembles, and the misty-eyed blur takes full-force. I glide my hand over Ivoryâs silky head when he returns, his self-satisfied purrs comforting under my quaking fingers, rewarding him with the soft praise of âgood boyâ under my breath.Â
By the time they reach us, Chopper kneels to gauge Usoppâs state of health â Which is poor, judging by The Doctorâs discomposure. Heâs in his âhumanâ form, fingers adeptly prodding and searching.Â
The others stand motionless, no reaction portrayed. I glance from Luffy, to Chopper, to Sanji, to Zoro, and repeat the motion warily. Itâs almost uncanny.Â
The spark of outrage has been lit, I can feel it in the tremor of my bones. Itâs so intense that eventually I canât manage to look at any of them, the gravity of the situation heavy enough to tilt my gaze toward the fallen victim.Â
âIs he breathing, Chopper?â Luffy takes the initiative, a grave edge to his tone that rasps tenuously â My soulmate was incredibly upset. I could sense the fervency burning through our bond like a dry twig.Â
Sanji, whilst puffing a cigarette between his lips, sheds the black vest from his back. Wordlessly, he offers it to me, nodding to my tattered skirt. I take it to rest over my lap, its silky threads sheening in the sunlight. Thankful, I nearly whisper my appreciation, throat hoarse. ââŠThank you.âÂ
âHeâs unconscious, butâŠâ Chopper verifies, which is another major source of relief. âYes, heâs breathing. Heâll be okay. I can save him.â It sounded as if he were attempting to convince himself that everything would be alright in the end, even though heâd been the one to give the evaluation.Â
Stoic, the reindeer is less than pleased, his voice warbling with ire. In fact, I think it was the angriest Iâd seen Chopper thus farâŠ
âWhat happened?â Coming off as accusatory, I unwillingly flinch at Zoroâs inquiry.Â
Tentative to return his gaze, I clutch Sanjiâs vest to pacify my apprehension.Â
Although The Swordsman's regard is steely, Iâm eased to find that he harbors no form of resentment. I wouldâve hated to see any hint of contempt on his face, not only as his trainee, but also in more considerable ways â We often interacted like brother and sister, and that was only solidified with every training session. The green-haired man had practically taken me under his wing over the last couple of weeks.
As annoying as he could be, Zoro had grown on me in ways that were irreversible. So, out of everyone, he was probably most aware that this predicament was out of my league⊠As little comfort as it mightâve provided.Â
âI⊠I, umâŠâ Trailing off, Usoppâs mutilated face causes me to grimace. If only I couldâve done more. âI-I tried to stop him from going, I tried⊠But I didnât⊠I-It wasnâtââ Regret swims in my vision. I avert my eyes to the ground, unable to look at The Sniperâs crooked nose any longer. âI-It wasnât enough⊠They took the money, andâŠâÂ
I bite my lip and peel away at the skin, metallic regret flooding my tastebuds. The outcome of this event had instilled everything that I couldnât measure up to â Ruminating, obsessing over my flaws.Â
âI-Iâm⊠Iâm sorry.â Involuntarily whimpering the lamentation, Iâm not quite sure who the apology is meant for⊠Usopp, for obvious reasons â Also Chopper, for not retaining his lessons when it matters most â Zoro, for failing to uphold our training â Sanji, for something as simple as having to sacrifice his coat â And, for Luffy, who I could never amount to, who I wouldnât deserve for as long as I remained the way that I was.
Zoro gruffs, annoyed. He shifts his swords to the side and furrows his brow in exasperation. âThe hell are you talkinâ about? Sorry for what?âÂ
âThe only ones who should be sorry are the people who work under the Franky Family. A lady like yourself can only do so much, but you did what you could.â The Chef lights a new cigarette. âThatâs all that matters.âÂ
âHeâs right.â Chopper affirms, and as he stands, I spot the blooded patch of my (f/c) skirt poking out of his pocket. âYou did your best.âÂ
Given no chance to respond, something shades over my head, the scratchy material cupping the back of my scalp, pushed to cover my eyes as Luffy walks onward.Â
âJust wait out here a bit, both of you.â The Captain commands more-so than offers, gruffing the unspoken promise of a swift return. âTheyâre the ones who are gonna be sorry.âÂ
The pressure of his palm lingers, until it slips from place. Leftover tingles work to shiver the negativity from my body, like a full-on relapse.Â
Lifting the brim of the Straw Hat with newfound repose, I understood; I would get my comfort soon. For now, avenging Usopp took utmost priority, and I was meant to watch over him until the group was finished taking their dues.Â
Luffyâs crew follows dutifully â Zoro tying back his bandana, Sanji smoking nonchalantly in the breeze, Chopper huffing steam from his nose⊠Even Ivory trots at the boys heels, as if excited to contribute even in his small size â Luffy leads the charge with knuckles cracking and a vein sticking from his forehead, zeroed in on the neon-paint of the bandits hideout.Â
âWeâre gonna go level that stupid house to the ground.â Luffy growls, and thatâs the last I hear from him as he leaves the premises.Â
The Franky Family was toast⊠He was pissed.Â
Thereâs only so much I can perceive from where Iâm located, far enough where I canât make-out any conversation that might be made. Despite this, itâs relatively easy to find out when the battle begins.Â
They approach the door, and with an absurd sensation of deja-vu, I watch Luffyâs arm reel back into an elongated stretch. It reels back, further and further, and I wonder if heâs aiming to bring down the house all at once⊠That wasnât really The Captainâs way of doing things, though.Â
An unfortunate soul happens to open the door just as the boy releases his punch â a jetted-attack that knocks away both man and door, which swings straight off its hinges, previously repaired from the one-man onslaught that Usopp had incurred beforehand.Â
Itâs this action in particular that brings about the building's demolition.Â
With the door gone, thereâs nothing blocking the five from waltzing straight inside, where I lose sight of them â Including Ivory. Though Iâm a bit unnerved by the idea of him joining the fray, I was certain heâd be safe amongst the four and their protective tendencies.
Unlike the last time, thereâs no laughter, or jeering; Muffled noise echoes from the inside of the structure, yet Iâm unsure of what exactly it entails.Â
Iâm certain that Luffyâs wrath reflected in the bond means that heâs enacting his goals â Thereâs no pain, aside from the tenderness of my knuckles, and no danger being signalled â Pure adrenaline guiding his torrential bombardment. I lay my faith in him and wait as patiently as Iâm able, analyzing for some kind of development.Â
In the meantime, antsy and incapable of sitting still with nerves as my only company, Iâve just managed to lay Usoppâs head in my lap, where both our faces can be shielded by the sun via Luffyâs hat.Â
Boomâ Boom, boomâ
The cannon-fire is unmistakable, but thereâs not much else than a fading smoke that alludes to their usage.Â
The battle is ramping up, escalating in short phases that garner the walls to brittle â The explosions widen in range, or backfire entirely, bursting at the seams â From the doors, the windowsâ
The ground shudders, and thatâs all it takes â The entirety of the Franky House erupts with the firepower of an enormous bomb. The noise hurts my ears, the shockwave slapping my body after a breath.Â
The building ruptures, splitting apart; A collection of plaster, metal beams, and ashen wood collapses to the ground. The acrid scent of gunpowder and burning paint singes my nostrils, even from the distance Iâm sat.Â
Iâm too enamoured by the sight of the dismantling to really care.Â
In such a short time, my crewmates, my soulmate, had taken down an entire group of well-established bounty hunters, bulldozing their home alongside them. Luffy had a monstrous amount of strength, inhuman â I donât know how I hadnât grown used to seeing his strength, but witnessing it combined with the others was almost impossible to comprehend â Astonishing beyond belief.Â
I mean⊠Four people, against at least fifty others? And they kicked ass.Â
Wtf? How the hell was I supposed to catch up to that?
The first to show face is Chopper, reverted to his normal, shortened figure. The Doctor clomps over at high speed, readying to treat his damaged patient with a clenched jaw and an apprehensive gaze.Â
âI need help moving him, quickly.â Chopper sets down his blue medicine sack, the white cross-marking matching that of his hat, wasting no time as he grabs one of Usoppâs arms.Â
I obey the orders, and maneuver so that Usopp lies flat on the ground, albeit a tad stiff with my taut muscles and scabbing scuffs.Â
âWere you able to administer treatment earlier?â The Doctor inquires, already reaching for his custom-made salves, at the same time acquiring multiple rolls of clean-bandages, including a bottle of alcohol to clean the wounds appropriately â An imperative step that was required before anything else could get done. Healing required sterility.Â
âUmâŠâ I grapple to answer him, hesitant to reveal my pitiful methods of care. âNo, I, uh⊠I-Iâm sorry. I didnât have any first aid, so I tried to clean him up a bit, butâŠâÂ
âOh, right.â Chopper nods curtly, dabbing a cotton swab atop the jar, studiously taking up one of Usoppâs hands. âI forgot we didnât pack any medical supplies in your bag, cusâ with Ivory you wouldnât have had any room.â
âYeah⊠Right. I-I guessâŠâÂ
âWell, itâs good that you managed to clean some of his wounds, before heâŠâ Chopper pauses, looks at the swab, and then back at me. His words dangle precariously in the air â Overcome with emotion, he decides to switch topics. âA-Actually, I could probably use some more water before I start cleaning the larger injuries. Would you mind grabbing some for me really quick? Iâll need some help wrapping him up after that, too.âÂ
The closest water source is an outcove that resides next to the remains of the bandits home. Given a directive, I follow it tirelessly, unsure of what else to do with myself.Â
On my way there, a new trouble forms in the cognizance that Iâve left Sanjiâs overshirt back with Usopp and Chopper, hurried by the sense to redeem myself. The ripped skirt, I register, is much shorter now â A detail thatâs made clearer now that all sources of danger have been eliminated â And I tug at the frayed ends with each step, which are causing it to ride further up my legs.Â
In the end, I resorted to planting one half of the fabric to the side of my leg with white knuckles, wobbling towards the water â Like a penguin, or something.Â
Perched at the peak of the crescent moon, now blackened with smog and smut, my soulmate maintains a steadfast position, one that stares out upon the sea's horizon. My sights are glued to his figure while I move, eerily silent and eerily still, as Luffy had never stood so quiet for so long.Â
Heâs⊠Resolute, yet reserved, I think, even after reigning hellfire throughout the duration of the fight.Â
It did make sense⊠Luffy was goofy, joyful and carefree for about ninety percent of his interactions. The other ten percent rose to the surface whenever a perceived threat arose to harm those closest to him, so his fury had been rightfully placed.Â
It was the quiet that alerted my radar that something different was going on. It wasnât unheard of for Luffy to take a moment of quiet in moments of unrest, although it had never been so tranquil. Melancholy hushed the typically hectic undertones of our connection, the essence of my soulmate otherwise peeking through no matter the circumstance; It felt like reflection, profound and unknown.Â
Wrapped around his shoulders sits Ivory, who assumes the position in a way thatâs somehow regal, having managed to mimic Luffyâs aura completely â Happy as a clam. It was jarring, considering the two were at odds with each other so often recently.Â
Luffyâs black hair whips in the wind, the straw of his hat scraping my back as if the two were permanently attached even from afar. I wanted to know what he was thinking.Â
Approaching the area, I take note that The Captainâs right and left hands are lounging around the rubble. Whatever theyâd been discussing is cut short, as Sanji shifts to a stand and steps nearer;
âHere, let me.â Extending a hand, the other tucked into the pocket of his trousers, The Chef insists on taking the flask in my hand. âI can take over. Take some more time to rest, Iâll help Chopper instead.â
Embarrassingly, I remember that his overcoat has been left in the area Iâve just parted from â Though it probably wouldnât have done much for me without any sleeves to wrap around my waist. Regardless, I take him up on the offer, placing the flask in his waiting hand. âYeah, uh⊠Sure, thanks. Sorry, I left your vest over there.âÂ
âThatâs alright. A dirtied vest is nothing compared to the satisfaction of ensuring a ladyâs comfort.â With that, Sanji smoothly takes his leave.Â
Sighing at his back, at odds with my friends accepting my apologies without so much as a soft scolding, a grunt of disapproval summons my attention â Zoro â And I wonder if Iâd been too quick to assume. Maybe it was better that they had reacted so leniently.Â
âOi, donât pretend you canât hear me.â The man sounds vaguely annoyed, but not entirely aggressive. âWe gotta talk about somethin.ââÂ
Instinctively, I find my shoulders pulling closer towards myself. â...Am I in trouble?âÂ
âDepends.â The Swordsman snorts, arms crossed. âYou still feelinâ sorry for yourself? Cusâ it sure seems like it to me.âÂ
I purse my lips, aware of the answer awaiting me. Weâd grown closer with more and more frequent training sessions, and I could determine most of his moods fairly easily at this point.Â
My admittance is a simple murmur, not ready for him to lay into me. âSo⊠I am in trouble.â
âJesus, woman.â Zoro huffs, fed up with my self-derogation. âNo. But you are being an idiot.âÂ
I frown childishly, brows furrowing with an arm reaching to rub at the other. Okay⊠Maybe I deserved that, but that was also a little hurtful.Â
âYou donât have to get so upset over not being able to help out during the fight. \Weâve only been training for a few weeks, youâre not strong enough for that yet.â Zoro, spitting facts, lends his⊠Advice? Observations? Insight? I dunno, but itâs helping.Â
âOkayâŠâ I relent, dropping my hand from my arm to the other, tangling my fingers and wringing them anxiously. âUm⊠Yeah, I guess, butâ But still, shouldnât I have done, like, more? I just feel like Usopp wasâ Well, heâs really hurting, and I just⊠Felt like I owed him, and I just kept making everything worseââÂ
âWhy the hell would you owe Usopp anything?â Zoro interjects, cutting me off mid-spiel. âUsopp can choose for himself, and you donât have the right to blame yourself for the choices that he makes. It was out of your control, so whatâs the point in moping about it?âÂ
âI-Iâm not moping,â A lie, and Zoro likely knew it. âI just⊠When Nami and I found him in the city, he told usâŠâÂ
The Swordsman lifts an inquisitive brow, waiting for me to spit it out â Internally, I debate on whether I should really be sharing Usoppâs circumstances without him being around to hear it himself⊠Itâs settled soon enough.Â
âHe told us that he was afraid to face you guys after losing the money.â I blurt the words roughly, dying to get them off of my pounding chest. That indescribable unworthiness holds me in a chokehold â I needed to be useful to everyone, and I couldnât be. âA-And I feel so guiltyâ I-I mean, I know it probably sounds self-centered, but after he said that⊠I justâ I think this whole time, Usoppâs been feeling just like Iâve been feeling, and I never noticed, like, ever⊠Uh⊠All Iâve ever done is doubt myself, almost exactly like thatâ And because Iâve been so focused on myself, I canât help but wonder that maybe if Iâd been paying more attention, then, um⊠Then maybe none of this wouldâve happened? O-Orâ Or maybe if I was stronger, orââÂ
âThere are times where youâre going to have to focus on helping yourself in order to help others. By staying out of it, you got to drag Usopp outta there, and both of you survived.â Matter-of-fact, Zoro effortlessly thwarts my doubts, aiming to put them to rest. âIâm not gonna tell you not to push yourself. Just push yourself when it matters.âÂ
If youâd have told me when I first joined the crew that Iâd be having regularly scheduled therapy sessions with Zoro â The stiff-shouldered ex-bounty hunter that could fry you under his blazing stare â I wouldâve told you that you were crazy. Nevertheless, here we are.Â
In a literal sense, The Swordsman was referring to my physical inabilities. I did what I could, and that was enough â âsave your energy for later,â and I would be able to push myself when it was most dire. This situation in particular was not the case, with them having arrived to deal with our enemies, if only a little late to the party. If Iâd chosen to fight, then the both of us couldâve wound up a lot worse; Ultimately, my best option was to wait and depend on the others.Â
Metaphorically speaking, the same could be said for my mental state, held hostage in a roller coaster that was a constant up and down. Believe it or not, training sessions were a battle of both spirit and strength, and a sizable portion of Zoroâs teachings involved developing a toughened will, which I struggled with immensely. This could be applied to the âhelping myself firstâ section of his speech, as I couldnât help anybody if I was in the wrong state of mind⊠People who were upset typically made rash, hasty decisions â Just like Usopp had done today.Â
His no-nonsense attitude had a resounding, grounding effect that was a vital piece of our lessons together â Student and teacher. The neurons in my mind settle their uproar, coaxed into a docile state as they process the meaning of Zoroâs guidance.Â
âAnd stop getting your feelings hurt. Even our idiot Captain said you shouldnât be worrying about what other people think.âÂ
Head snapping to meet his penetrative gaze, Zoro seems to infiltrate the conversation to its most ingrained source of strife. The suggestion is mind-boggling, not because it was false; Because I intentionally hadnât mentioned it once.Â
No stranger to your past issues, heâs sniffed out that thereâs something else you havenât told him â That being Usoppâs antagonism from earlier â After all, to Zoroâs knowledge, that tactic was one that worked best against you.Â
He wouldnât pry about the details, though he pondered how low Usopp mightâve stooped to have caused such stirrings in your psyche.Â
âAbout the shipâŠâÂ
Out of nowhere, The Captain speaks.Â
Authoritatively, the sandy tone declares attention from all the way across the wreckage. The conversation between Zoro and I is left on the backburner without a second thought; Thereâs something alarmingly subdued in Luffyâs manner of speech, and I get the impression heâs been thinking about the current predicament, regarding our ship, for a lot longer than heâd let on. Â
âIâve made a decision.âÂ
Luffyâs husky pitch bids chills to race all about my form. The moment takes precedence over all others â A conclusion to the problem weâve all wanted answering to;Â
What were we going to do about The Going Merry?Â
Seagulls cry out with a lust for the drama, wings flapping, maneuvering to swoop lower as they risk themselves for the chance to hear more â All about the gossip of the land dwellers below pertaining to their worldly problems.Â
âItâs time to part ways with The Merry⊠Letâs say goodbye to her here.â Â
There isnât a hint of sorrow in the final words of his announcement, merely a stagnancy that sets the orders in stone â Yet, this doesnât hold up in our tethered wavelength, betraying his facade with a nearly imperceptible tremble.Â
Finally, his dormancy slips, and a somberness sinks to its final resting point. It drags at him, pulling and prodding to be fed so that it might grow to engulf the rest of his emotions.Â
Heâd never allow that to happen, of course⊠However, it brings about the recognition that, heedless of Luffyâs resolve, the verdicts sometimes required of a leader could be burdensome for anybody to undertake â Even for someone as unyielding as our Captain was.Â
I couldnât fault him for this split-second, waning resolution⊠Our ship was home, transport, a beloved member of the crew; She was integral to everything that the Straw Hats were. The Captain didnât want to have to let go of the beloved vessel, but there was no other option. The Going Merry couldnât be fixed.Â
Any apprehension I mightâve been holding to this command is swayed by something akin to pity. I knew, in his shoes, I wouldnât have stood so tall in the shadows of the inevitable⊠Even then, the least I could do was stand behind him in any way that I was able.Â
At the end of the day, when you put aside all his toughness, Luffy was still just a boy.Â
He drops from the crescentâs tip, stretchy arm affixed to the spot above in order to swing forwards, resembling tarzan. It lowkey reminds me of his shenanigans back in Skypiea⊠If only the mood was reflected similarly, and not so darkened by solemnity.Â
A puff of soot forms a mushroom cloud under Luffyâs sandals when they stamp at the ground, landing not far ahead of Zoro and I. Having scaled the entire fifty-feet-or-more of the ruins in the span of three seconds, Ivory flees The Captainâs shoulder, ruffled by the steep drop â With a disgruntled yowl he retreats to me, ducking and weaving between my legs with chirping purrs.Â
âThe heck are you whining about?â Luffy grills the kittenâs cowardice disapprovingly. âYou were fighting all those guys just fine a while ago, why are you acting like such a baby all of a sudden?âÂ
The animal appears to glare, exposed over his mischievous attempts to garner some affection from you.Â
âIvory was fighting?â Appalled by the news, I looked around the trio for confirmation. Ivory was still just a baby. How the hell did a kitten manage to fight?Â
Zoro shrugs.Â
Luffy does the same, uttering simply; âSure. Why?âÂ
Ivory meows â Yes. Yes I did. And Iâll do it again. â Too bad Chopper wasnât nearby.Â
âUm, okay. Wait,â Beside myself, I shake my head and close my eyes. âYouâre telling me that a kitten helped fight off a bunch of big buff dudesâ The same dudes that I literally couldnât fight earlier?âÂ
Zoro shrugs again, pursing his lips with a considering nod. âWell, when you put it that wayâŠâÂ
âHang on,â The Captain cackles at long last, his dazzling smile meant to break the depressed haze and draw me in â Though all manner of doing so leaves my system with his next words. âDoes that mean youâre weaker than a kitten?â
Zoro grins when I donât answer, and Luffy is busy laughing at the discovery⊠My face was red as a beet.Â
On the bright side, at least Luffy was happy? Itâs like everything had never happenedâŠÂ
The switch flipped a little too fast for me to be satisfied, though, and I didnât really love being the butt of the joke after everything Iâd endured. âUgh⊠Fml.â I groan, spinning on my heel in order to hide my humiliation, ready to storm toward Chopper and Sanji, away from Luffyâs make-fun-of-(Y/n) session.
Always my escort, Ivory comes along with head held high and tail whipping superiorly.Â
âHey, where are you goin?â I hear my soulmate inquire as my once-undaunted stride steadily transforms to an awkward hobble. This damn skirtâÂ
The slap of his sandals closes in momentarily. Itâs an easy mission to achieve, my speed significantly downplayed by consistent fidgeting and careful steps.Â
âWe gotta head back to the ship to tell the others, nâ I wanted to talk to you before⊠Uh,â Befuddled by my odd behavior, the boy catches onto my discomfort without much trouble. âAre you itchy or something? Why are you walking like that?âÂ
Apprehensive, I deliver another firm yank so that the fabric stays put â It fails.Â
Obligated to admit my issue, the level of embarrassment is lethal. âI uh, had to rip my skirt earlier⊠I-Itâs too short now, so it keeps⊠Like, umâŠâÂ
âGive her your shirt and then carry her back to the ship when sheâs ready!â Sanji, having caught wind of the problem at hand, instructs The Captain from afar. I swear, he could sniff out these situations like a hound. âWe need to get Usopp back as soon as we can. Mosshead, get over here and help us carry him.âÂ
âI donât take orders from second-rate line-cooks.âÂ
âDonât make me come over thereââ The Chef doesn't fully deliver the warning to Zoroâs out-of-pocket ridiculing.Â
Luffy, matching his right hand's energy, is just as boisterous and stubborn.Â
âWhy does she need my shirt? (Y/n) is having issues with her legs, not her arms. Thatâs dumb.âÂ
âItâs so she can cover herselfâ And your shirt doesnât even have sleeves, you damned imbecile!â Fuming, Sanjiâs eyes burn in the dry heat of the rocky cape. âShow some human decency, stop arguing, and do it before I kick your sorry skull in! Do you want some creep to ogle her beautiful body?! Seriously, I canât believe you of all people landed a soulmate⊠It shouldâve been me!âÂ
Luffy blinks, taken aback by the outburst and altogether uncertain of what to make of it. Meant to remind and ingrain that he needed to be more mindful of these sorts of things â Else another âKyleâ situation might arise, at worst case. Be that as it may, the significance behind the blondâs words is lost on the boy.
âI donât get it.âÂ
Shuffling slightly, I take the initiative to remove his hat from the place itâs slung around my neck. He takes it happily, eyes scanning mine and awaiting an assist to further his understanding of Sanjiâs instructions â Looking to me for whether or not that was actually what I wanted, and not just what the crew thought I wanted.Â
âItâs not for me to wear, itâs⊠Iâd use it to tie around my waist so that I donât, um⊠Flash anybody, o-or something.â Saying it aloud is much worse than I couldâve predicted. I didnât know a wardrobe mishap could be so mortifying.Â
Luffy cocks his head to the side, not quite seeing the big picture. To him, accidentally flashing somebody didnât seem like that big of a deal⊠Nevertheless, you looked uncomfortable, so his clumsy fingers pry at the first of the buttons on his shirt. Â
Plucking them apart one by one, gaze swapping between you and the task at hand, the next topic summons easily. âHow come you wore that anyways? It feels like you donât even like it that much.â Â
âI-I like itâŠâ Frazzled by the bluntness of his tone, personally perceived as him showing dislike for the outfit that Iâd chosen to wear â Particularly sensitive after fretting over it this morning (and over his reaction to it) â I withhold a pout of disappointment. âNami said I should wear it today⊠I dunno, I thought it was cute.âÂ
The red vest is handed over shortly, and I nearly give myself whiplash when I catch a glimpse of how much tanned skin suddenly shows in my periphery, cranking my head the opposite way⊠Save for one quick peek. (What? Iâm only human, and he is my soulmate⊠Donât judge me.)Â
Avoiding any and all physical contact or otherwise, the recognition that heâs now bare-chested stands at the forethought of my mind. Fiddling with the garb, which is slightly warmed due to his body heat â Though not nearly as warm as my face â I find myself tongue-tied.Â
âI just⊠I-Iâm uncomfy because itâs ruined, yâknow?â I force myself to clear my throat, the silence unbearable. âA-Anyway⊠I told Nami it was a bad idea. I figured it was gonna get ruined one way or another, I guess. Probs looks like a mess⊠And itâs super hard to move in, I dunno.âÂ
Rambling under the intense fluster thatâs been cast over me, I wrap the vest around my waist in an effort to distract myself; Fingers fumbling with the button when I realize I wonât be able to actually tie it without the sleeves, but fastening a button or two should work just as well; Sortaâ like a pair of jeans.Â
It works well enough, Luffy maintaining a broader figure than I, so I donât have to pull or tug to make the fabric fit. Itâs loose, but does the job. âUm⊠Thanks. Iâll give it back when we get back to the ship, after I change and stuffâŠâÂ
When you do turn back to him, The Captain moves closer in preparation to lift you into his waiting arms â Instead, he halts, taking the moment to thoroughly observe the state of your dress, your lamenting enough for him to pay it some mind.Â
You were right, it was in rough shape. Torn in some places, threads poking out in some bits, the cloth was dusted with dirt, alongside a spattering of dirtied-crimson that made him uneasy. Reassuring himself, heâs sure the spots arenât from you, more likely they came from Usopp, after youâd had to carry him so far.Â
Careful scrutiny leads to the details of your face; Specifically the rawness around your eyes that fades with every minute, persistent in the crevice above your cheekbone where the tears naturally flow into the curves of your skin. Your splotchy cheeks are soaking back into the muscles beneath⊠The dried tear-streaks havenât dissipated yet, which ticks him off.Â
The boy raises a hand to smooth his thumb over the irritated spots absentmindedly, furrowing his brows. Youâre looking up at him, perplexed, but not bothered, lashes darkened with moisture. He smiles. Despite the building acknowledgment that youâd been crying for a while before they got there, you were fine now.Â
âWhaddya mean? You said you liked it, so why does that matter?â Pulling away, Luffy watches as you adjust, departing your dazed-eyed stupor and clumsily reaching to scoop up Bones for easy transport. âJust cusâ itâs dirty doesnât mean it looks bad. You look pretty in everything you wear.âÂ
You freeze, staring at him with your lips parted. With you being so flummoxed by the truthfulness of Luffyâs statement, his carefree grin widens at the fluctuating sensation of pure elation and dopamine that runs through the bond in rapid spurts. The unseen affiliation between you two skips, jumping around excitedly.Â
He didnât know what heâd said to gain it, but Luffy loved this reaction, every single time. The buzzing giddiness that reinvigorated his mind, body and soul â It never got old.Â
Luffy laughs, the need to enact on all your shared, bubbly energy surging him forward to snatch you up. He slips the backpack from your body onto his â Thereâs no complaints when his forearm cups the back of your knees, and your deft fingers reach to clasp at the junction where his shoulder and neck connect, surprised, though soon content with the change.Â
Jostled by the terrain as you lounge in his arms, Luffy sets off back toward the ship, unbothered by the effort of carrying extra cargo. Ivory grumbles in dissatisfaction.Â
â...Do you really think so?â Bashful, youâre not even looking at him when you ask. Your utterance is no more than a murmur, which throws him off.Â
Itâs not just you being shy. No, heâs put off by the repressed skepticism thatâs mixed in between the vowels like poison. Where the heck did that come from? You never reacted like that to his compliments⊠At least from what he remembered.Â
In any case, it had drastically dampened your intoxicating mood, and there was no way in hell Luffy was going to let that slide.Â
ââCourse I do.â Pensively, he dug a little deeper. You did feel a little skewed, abstracted in a way that only Luffy could recognize. Every few steps there was a hitch in the invisible string that was woven between you, as if plucked like a harp just a little too harshly for the melody to sound as gentle as it was meant to be.Â
The Captain could acknowledge that the day had been fairly stressful for everyone. As for the source of your stress, there were many options to pick from, though for the life of him he couldnât nitpick what specifically was the subject of your anxiety.Â
âHey, you okay? Feels like somethingâs up.â The examination is meant to be lighthearted, unserious in the sense that Luffy wasnât probing for anything severe (since it didnât feel like there was anything major at stake right now); However, he left the opportunity for an open answer if it turned out that was the case after all.Â
To his disgruntlement, you donât answer right away. Then, the connection loses its vibrance altogether.Â
A hollow cavity forms instead. It tears through your torso, ruminating inside of him like an old enemy. Luffy had nearly missed it â Diverted by the temporary solution of proximity that had always nullified your wounds, physical and mental.Â
Ultimately, something had happened, and it had been much worse than heâd expected⊠Determining how much worse was his primary concern.Â
The two of you are fairly ahead of the others, Zoro and Sanji bickering over Usoppâs transfer through the city. This leaves Chopper at his wits end, barking orders to ensure their carelessness didnât lead to an accident. It fills the space thatâs otherwise absent of noise, as you donât answer for quite some time.Â
âWhat happened?â Unconcerned over whether the others overhear your discussion, Luffy pries a second time, possessing a low affinity for patience â And your silence was deafening.
You werenât going to hold back from telling him anything, that much he knew; He just didnât like how long you were deliberating over the unknown issue. You thinking too much never turned out well.Â
âItâs, um⊠Itâs about Usopp.â The confession escapes your mouth with the urgency of an inmate fleeing a prison cell. Luffy doesnât get why it took so much time to fess up, especially if it was pertinent to one of the crew.Â
Where you would usually have the buttons of his shirt to fiddle with in the apparent inability to sit still, your nerves have you searching out something else â The pearls on your outfit. A few are already missing, and Luffy wonders if theyâd fallen off during the ordeal before, or if youâd been the one to remove them yourself. The behavior raises a red flag.Â
âWhat about him?â Eager to know more, Luffyâs curious about the situation, a tad bewildered on how one of your friends couldâve messed with you to this extent.Â
âI was gonna tell you when we got back, cusâ I talked to Zoro about it a little bit, so, um⊠I-Itâs not anything that serious anymore,â You were downplaying whatever it was that was bothering you â A half-truth, Luffy acknowledged, choosing not to say anything quite yet. âUsopp just⊠He was really upset⊠Yâknow, about the money. He said he couldnât face you guys without getting it back first, soâŠâÂ
Things were slowly coming to make more sense. Luffy got the gist, understanding of his crew members' insistence to retrieve the stolen money; Usopp likely held himself accountable enough to feel at fault, although it was odd that heâd outcast himself in the process. Itâs not like theyâd be mad about losing the money⊠Well, maybe Nami would.Â
You hold your breath here, drawing in courage to continue with your chopped-up story.Â
âI-I told him that it wouldnât matterâ Nami and I both told him that he didnât need to worry about you guys, or us⊠But he just, like⊠He wouldnât listen.â Your words are mellow, yet constricted. Luffy can sense what youâre going to say before you say it, regret rising to the surface like oil in water. âI tried to get him to stop and wait for you, it just⊠It wasnât enough. Zoro said that it wasnât up to meâ That Iâm not strong enough yet, a-and that it was Usoppâs choiceââÂ
âZoroâs right.â Luffy doesnât let the âbutâ slip past your lips, not allowing you to go back on yourself. âThat was Usoppâs choice, it wasnât your job to interfere. We talked about this already, with Ice Guy, remember?â
âYeah, with Aokiji⊠I remember.â You murmur glumly, staring out at the busy streets of the city as the two of you pass the threshold. âI-I didnât end up fighting with him, even after he asked⊠I-It just feels like, because I worried so much about myself, that maybe Usopp wouldnât be⊠UmâŠâ Downcast and frustrated, visions of what transpired show a play-by-play in the lights of your eyes; Luffy wishes he could see it for himself.Â
While you debate over what to say next â That, or whether or not you should say something (itâs unclear to Luffy which is on your mind exactly) â The Captain takes what you said into consideration.Â
Usopp asked you to help him fight? That was weird, cusâ Usopp was always too scared to fight⊠Nevermind asking somebody else to join him. Apparently, youâd thought yourself as selfish for denying the invitation, guilty, even though The Captain had been the one to instruct you not to run into danger so haphazardly.Â
That didnât feel like the root of the problem, however; Your shared, innate coherence told him so.Â
Luffy adjusts so that youâre hiked a little higher on his arm, pressed a little closer to his front â Your hand finds its spot at his shoulder once more, and heâs content to find youâre reciprocative of his touch, at the very least. First and foremost, he needed to dissuade the lingering doubts in your mind.Â
âYou havenât been training long enough to fight off that many guys. It wouldâve just made things worse.â Uncharacteristic of the battle-ready Captain, he relents â Typically, he would always encourage others to fight, but you werenât ready for that kind of battle just yet. The idea of you eventually being capable of fighting excited him; A fleeting dream that was postponed by the number of wounds that youâd sustained in the past, far outweighing his desires. âThatâs not your fault. We told you not to do stuff like that.âÂ
Luffy didnât give a crap about his limits, but he cared about yours â He believed one day youâd be able to fight by his side, but that day wasnât today.Â
âI-I know, Zoro said that too. Iâm just⊠Still upset? And I actually didnât tell Zoro about this part, but Usopp said some stuff, a-and a lot happenedâŠâÂ
âWhaddya mean?â Luffy spots the way your report phases into nothing, and heâs convinced that the statement plants an irrevocable pain that burdens the void in your chest â One he was not keen to recognize. âWhatâd he say?â
âJust⊠Donât be mad, okay? Um⊠I donât think he actually meant to say it, I mean, I-I told him about the Merry to try and get him to stop, then it like, set him off o-or something, andâŠâ The excuses rubbed him the wrong way â It sorta set him on edge that you seriously believed Luffy would be upset by whatever it was you were going to tell him. He knew very well the sort of things that made him mad when it was in accordance with you, and if this problem aligned with any of thoseâŠ
The realization of this fact has him stopping in his tracks. He needs to know exactly what Usopp said to you â Like, right now.Â
âWhat did Usopp say? It doesnât matter if I get mad, just tell me already!â Unbeknownst to himself, his frown has morphed into an all out scowl, aimed indirectly at you, fingers pressing tight into your skin whilst unable to ball them into fists â He couldnât help it, he was already annoyed.Â
Youâre apprehensive over the smile being gone from his face, displeased with the way this was unfolding in the way you hadnât wanted. Dithering, your sights flicker between his steely eyes, as if you want to take it all back.Â
All in all, you donât want to break your promise â And finally give in.Â
âHe, uhâŠâ Your voice quakes, and a visceral hurt stems from your very core, tearing apart your insides. âUsopp kinda said⊠He mentioned somethingâ About⊠A-About being a âuseless stowaway.ââ
Luffyâs head snaps towards yours, eyes like saucers and mouth slackened. To you, it doesnât even appear that heâs breathing.
Scanning your face once, twice â Then, as per your speculation, a rage steams in his lungs â The Captainâs pupils constrict into dots, seething.Â
âHe called you a what?!âÂ
The commotion draws attention from every angle, the outburst leaving you at a loss for words.Â
Youâd expected him to be angry, but not that angry.Â
The boy all but drops you back to the ground, barely ensuring youâve landed on your feet â Out of all of the things that Usopp could have said, it just had to be comparable to the one insult that Luffy would not stand for.Â
That night youâd sobbed to Luffy on the boat, venting about the worthless views you upheld for yourself, was the night that heâd vowed you to never feel the same way ever again. The Captain had asserted this on the condition that he and his crewmates wouldnât hold anything against you in a similar manner, and yet here he was, hearing the complete opposite directly from your lips.Â
âIâll be right back,â Scanning for the distant forms of those carrying his target, he intends to make it right. âIâm gonna make sure he takes it back, stay right here while IââÂ
The sound of his arm gradually stretching gains his attention â Heâd gotten about ten feet before heâd truly noticed that youâd grabbed him, however. When the limb resisted pulling any further, Luffy glimpses you at the other end. Â
âJustâ Just, wait a sec, Luffyââ Itâs a miracle that youâve held onto him for that long, the boy quite like a bull whoâs seen the color red.Â
âLemme go,â he blabs, bull-headed. âUsopp needs to apologize!âÂ
âU-Usopp isnât even awake!â You exasperate, yanking on the limb in a meager effort to pull him back to you â As expected, it doesnât work, and you huff your frustration. âYou canât just storm over there andââÂ
âWhy not?! He hurt you, so he shouldââÂ
âHeâs already hurt enough.â Pointing out the obvious, you remind him of the fact that his crewmate was pretty run-down⊠Heâd sorta glazed over that fact in his aggravation. âI just feel like heâs already paid for his mistakes in full⊠Yâknow? Plusâ I told you, I donât think he really meant what he said⊠I donât even know if he said it to purposefully hurt me, it was more than likely just, like⊠A mistake⊠He was really bad, Luffy.âÂ
You donât stutter at all in the midst of your beseeching. Rather, your voice is clear, your words concise. What was done still bugged you; Even still, you werenât resentful about it.Â
Steadily, your clarification appeases his temper. The Captainâs arm goes slack so that you no longer have to struggle to hold him at bay.Â
âItâs kinda like what happened with us⊠When we all played in the Davy Back, and I said all that stuff⊠I-I mean, at least thatâs what I figured.âÂ
Oh, right. That made sense.Â
Thoughtfully, Luffy builds off of your resolve to form his own conclusion â Reaching a sort of agreement. He couldnât deny that your argument wasnât valid⊠He couldnât just wave the situation away, either.Â
âYeah, youâre probably right.â With unusual curtness, Luffyâs voice lowers into a childish, groaning grumpiness â Rapidly constricting his arm around yours and ripping you forwards.Â
You go along willingly, and in no time the boy has you back in the air and on the move. Heâs murmuring under his breath, cursing Usopp for being so stupid.Â
Pacified with the knowledge that youâd successfully de-escalated the precarious situation, youâre intent to settle back into normalcy⊠Luffy, not so much. Heâs got one more question before that can happen.Â
âWhat he said⊠Did you believe him?âÂ
You purse your lips, and peer up at him beneath your lashes â Yes â The answer is hard for him to stomach.Â
âUm⊠Yeah, I-I did for a while, canât lie.â You shrug, as if the affliction can be removed so easily.Â
âYouâre not.â Unhesitant, as always.Â
âYeah⊠I know.â You nod, and Luffy feels your eyes hover over his face.Â
Had he looked down and met them, he wouldâve seen your concealed doubts swimming in their depths. There's admiration there, too â It idolizes, reveres â Inadvertently goes against your oaths, ensuring the idea that you are undeserving of the boy that holds you in his arms⊠Less than.Â
He is oblivious to it, perceives it as leftover emotions from the discussion at hand.
Itâs as if the two of you are muted, stewing in the aftermath. You gaze at him for a while, not like he minds. Thereâs not much left from his previous grudge, coaxed into a relatively calm state of being, the atmosphere a lull of passive, contemplative thought.Â
After a while, Luffy feels you shimmy. Believing youâre uncomfortable or something, he arranges for his arms to adjust to your movements. You clamber upwards so that your face might be in proximity with his, and he turns his puzzled expression to determine what it is that youâre doing (again, not that he cares, he just wants to know).
Itâs with this movement that your breath tickles his cheek, up until the tingling sensation of your lips contacts his skin.Â
In a whirlwind of warmth, that wonderful feeling floods his system once more, and the boy's face breaks out into a toothy grin â Closing his eyes, all melty and giggly.Â
You part from him soon enough, cheeks dusted with the rosy hue of flowers; the color something akin to cotton candy. He laughs again, âWhat was that for?âÂ
âUm⊠Nothinâ really.â You divulge, eyes darting about his face and nowhere all at once. âI mean, itâs just weird to see you upset, soâŠâÂ
Luffy chuckles, having not considered that heâd been that serious over such a broad stretch of time. Itâs endearing⊠Youâre endearing, and for once, heâs glad to experience your constant worrying for others.Â
Reciprocating, The Captain happily leans to paste his lips over your forehead. Itâs only natural he return the favor.Â
âThanks. I feel a lot better now!â A skip in his step, the boy sets off.Â
âMhm.â You hum, tucking your head down and under his.Â
Luffy spies the soft smile as you go, unaware that youâre just as thankful as he was to you⊠But for so many things, and more.Â
â
Tidbit Today!!
This is a featured tidbit from one of the winners of a previously held event!!
Zoro has noticed how poorly (Y/n) handles herself in a battle, and has since taken some consideration to train her, thinking no one else on the crew would be fit to do so.Â
He starts off fairly brutal, but both come to a mutual understanding of her abilities, and eventually their sessions become something like second nature.Â
(Y/n) will soon feel more confident than ever while training with Zoro â And has begun sharing things with him that havenât been told to anyone else, not even Luffy, such as the reasoning behind her desires to become stronger (in regards to becoming worthy of being his soulmate).
Zoro hasnât shared her concerns with Luffy out of respect for (Y/n) wanting to pursue this on her own, rather than completely relying on The Captain (However, if Luffy ever asked, Zoro would reveal it in a heartbeat).Â
The Doctorâs hooves stamp the brick-laid ground, gazing every which way as more and more is revealed to them â The Archeologist walking leisurely by his side. Not taking too much effort to hide himself, though remaining wary, Chopper struts forward in his quadrupedal form; A full-on reindeer wearing a hat, pants and rucksack. Somehow, others found that it was less suspicious than walking around in his default appearance.Â
Thereâs so much going on, too much. Itâs for that very reason Robin notices before he does.Â
âDoctorâŠâ The woman starts, a subtle eagerness in her tone as she raises a slender finger to the sign, a decorative display portrayed mainly by the symbol of a book at its center. âSee that? I think thatâs a bookstore!â
âReally?!â Chopperâs head whips forward, excitement bursting in his veins as his mouth opens into a breathy gasp. In record time, the reindeer shoots forward, leaving behind a cloud of dust â Even in the face of his eagerness, however, he waits by the store's entrance, ecstatically looking back to his friend in restless confirmation. âCan we go inside now?!â
Robin laughs at the youngest crew memberâs enthusiasm, adoring that his thirst for knowledge is enough to prompt this sort of reaction. Still, she canât help but feel a tad exasperated by the strange looks they receive from onlookers, mystified by the quickness of the strange creature whoâd drawn too much attention to himself.
âOf course!â So that they might flee the prying eyes, she urges the reindeer onwards. âLetâs go inside.âÂ
âToday is the best day ever!â Chopperâs voice quivers, his squeal rising higher in pitch, wide-eyed and jittery. With that, he retreats behind the doors of the shop, not needing to be told twice.
The Archeologist, smiling tenderly, makes to follow after The Doctor. Ready to get some new tomes for herself â along with the ones that youâve requested â She takes only a couple steps, nearing the storeâs doors.Â
Then, an elaborately costumed-figure passes her by.Â
Anyone wouldâve thought nothing of it, and the duo had traversed Water 7 long enough to find that the streets were crawling with these masked figures. Nonetheless, there werenât any quite like this one.Â
An apparition â A phantom â Soundless in the way their steps donât scuffle at the ground, subtle in the way their lips are hidden from prying eyes. Youâd be none-the-wiser to their presence, barely sparing a glance in the nonchalance of it all, not unless you were their designated target.Â
This was the kind of thing that Robin noticed, stuffed in the masses and forced to constantly listen-in for anything that brought forth danger â Sheâd perceive it in an instant, if that was the case.
And perceive it she did.Â
âCP9.â
They say nothing else. The word renders her still, all the same.Â
Robin doesnât move, staring vacantly at the busy streets of Water 7. To her, the people that stood there had now vanished into nothing but a white canvas â Blank faces with features easily forgotten, and itâs all so trivial after hearing that one cursed word, because the danger woven between such initialism implicated devastation for the dark-haired woman.Â
The sweat cools on her brow. Finally, she movesâ Turns to see where the stranger moves nextâÂ
Theyâre gone. Thereâs nobody there.Â
Her vision blurs for a second, acutely aware that no⊠There is, somewhere. Somebody remains, watching. She can feel their eyes.Â
The conflict unraveling in her mind isnât one that lasts long, even if there were too many questions. Robin wouldnât be allowed to ask the howâs, the whyâs, whatâs, whereâs and whenâs. Time was of the essence, and the government was a threat that held immense power over everyone, including her crewmatesâŠÂ
Could her new friends face the peril? The disaster that followed? There was no chance â Nobody else had survived it before, and nobody ever would.Â
Robin could never let you all face that in her stead, she couldnât abandon you like the others.Â
And she knew better than to wait.Â
A shaky breath, one that hesitantly releases from the womanâs lungs. Theyâd found her, and there was no other choice.
Robin quietly turns away from the book store, and walks off into the crowd â Deep inside, a writhing snake snaps at her innards, and a finality flows in its venom. She could face it, if it meant everyone else would stay safe.Â
This would, unfortunately, be her goodbye.
â
Shiiinkâ Clang!
Two swords unsheath at once, separate owners clashing as the silvered-metal collides, grating against one another in a display of equalized strength â Or rather, an imitation in strength, one that the green haired swordsman used to test the opponent whoâd so rudely awakened him.Â
âPity⊠I thought we were attacking you in your sleep.â The pale man bears his teeth, red-lensed goggles thinly concealing an anger that stews behind a foiled plan.Â
âYou got a lot of nerveâŠâ Zoroâs face molds into a snarl, eyebrows bent and a wrinkle in the bridge of his nose. Fierce eyes glare up into his assailant with nothing but pure malice â Demonic, enough to make the weaker man shiver in his boots. âWho are you?âÂ
Before the guy can answer, Zoro thwarts him off with the sharp twang of his sword, no sweat off his back. Wordlessly, he reaches for a second katana, readying it in the case that heâd feel challenged enough to use it. Based on these strangers' expressions, it was becoming more and more likely â How thrilling.Â
Staggered, the smiling scumbag rejoins his ranks. Although wary, he seems to receive a boost of confidence amongst his allies. âYou donât know who we are?â He boasts, âCusâ we sure know you, Pirate Hunter Zoro.â
The addressed observes closer, analyzing the tense, rigid movements of his newfound enemy. They wear the strangest clothes; skin-tight overalls made of some kinda black leather, buttons dotted up the front and sides, with gloves and boots to match. Most of them wear regular pants, but the one before Zoro wears fishnets as a substitution⊠A little weird, but he wasnât about to question somebody else's fashion choices in the midst of a stand-off.Â
There is one thing that each member of their little group have in common â The presence of multi-colored stars, pasted randomly on their bodies. Another odd detail. Was it the sigil of a gang or something? He didnât recognize it from his bounty hunting days, though he didnât care enough to think back on it for long.Â
âWeâre bounty hunters! Babies start crying when they hear our nameâ Weâre The Franky Family!â The leader reveals, raising his sword high into the sky as if the title was some major accomplishment. âYour headâs worth sixty-million berries, so weâll go ahead and take that off your hands. Then, when weâre done with you, weâll wait inside of your ship and ambush the rest of your crew in one swoop!â
Then the man laughs, all-too gleeful, failing to realize the slight movement from his adversary. To Zoro, they were just like all the rest heâd encountered; a bunch of losers who brandished themselves as high and mighty, people who typically bit-off a lot more than they could chew.Â
âHow luckyâ Weâll be rolling in the dough soon!â The Goggled Leader rushes forward, thinking himself capable â An overcompensation of pride.Â
Zoro halts the single-man onslaught with one arm, expecting the action before itâd taken form. Their supposed leader is forced to employ maximum strength to push forwards, both arms in use â And the green haired man doesnât budge. Whatever charge that had been in store, prepared by the rest of the men so that the group could pounce on an assumed-unsuspecting swordsman, has startlingly fallen flat.Â
ââLucky,â huh?â The green-haired swordsman repeats the word lowly. Many of the assailants falter.Â
It's a tone that has each of the men swallowing the dryness of their throats, an aura of something unholy pulsing the air as Zoro looks up, and grins devilishly.Â
âWeâll see about that.âÂ
â
With a rough landing amidst the teeming streets of Water 7âs market â almost homely in their reminiscent chaos of the city-scape back in NYC â our group aimed for the next step in our mission.Â
It was time to cash in our riches from Skypiea.Â
Naturally, there were a few pit-stops. The initial break came when Luffy and Iâs Yagara sniffed the air, making a mad dash towards a food stall selling âwater-water meat.â The delicacy was, according to the kindly saleswoman behind the bar, the beasts favorite food â Even if it was typically sold for humans. The Berries left my pocket for Luffy, then for the Yagara when the boy refused to share any with the creature, despite it having been the one to seek out the shop in the first place. Of course, Usopp ended up asking for some of the snacks from Luffy, receiving the same hopeless answer. So, more money was spent, although The Sniper was keen in relaying his thanks, claiming that he owed me one. I was just thankful that weâd be getting more money soon, otherwise I could forget about buying anything for Ivory, or for myself either.Â
Iâd stolen a few bites from Luffyâs stock as we made our way toward the elevator that would bring us to our desired destination, as the boy stated heâd âonly share with me if I wanted.â Regardless of his greediness, I was appreciative that The Captain didnât harbor those practices regarding me â And Iâm happy to report that the water-water meat was delicious. They were briny, having been roasted, boiled and soaked in sea water, yet at the same time Iâd never had a red-meat that was so juicy and soft, falling right off the bone without strain. It was a satisfying discovery for all of us (including Nami, whoâd snagged one of the meats from Usopp when he wasnât looking).Â
The elevator itself was gargantuan, solely operated by a directress who controlled the flow of traffic with its rise and fall. The inside was dim, with the only sounds heard being that of the mumbling people around us and the heavy flow of water somewhere down below. While the gates to the elevator were shut, the liquid didnât have any place to escape, thus the rushing water effectively brought its patrons to the top level of the city. The doors opened, blinding us with the abrupt appearance of the sun's rays, and we were able to witness the incredibly awe-inspiring, gorgeous fountain that sits upon the city's peak; The same one weâd only glimpsed at when weâd arrived to the island. Up close, the massive structure was magnificent⊠My eyes hadnât done it the proper justice before.Â
To keep a long story short, avoiding the unnecessary details, weâd successfully accomplished our primary goal thatâd been set. Thanks to Nami and her terror-inducing bartering efforts, that hefty sack of ancient gold had been cashed into â not one â but three large suitcases, each filled with their respective one million berries. Iâd never been in the presence of so much money in my whole entire life.Â
âYouâre amazing. Absolute queen.â I address the red-headed girl giddily, practically skipping with every step. âWeâd be lost without you, I fear.âÂ
âOmg, donât make me blush!â The Navigator cups a hand to her cheek, giggling at my speech as she responds with her own lingo, still in the process of adapting to my teachings. âIt was nothing, really!âÂ
âWait, why are you calling Nami queen?â Luffy wonders, ears perking at the title. In one of the boy's hands his assigned suitcase swings in wide circles, spinning rapidly at the joint in his shoulder. âThat doesnât make sense. Youâre gonna be the Pirate Queen, not Nami.âÂ
âShe was giving me a compliment, you jerk!â Nami barks, arms straightened at her sides. âDonât ruin this for meâ Besides, you already almost cost us two-hundred million! You canât just agree to whatever anybody says, yâknow!âÂ
âItâs sort of a joke⊠Like the stuff I told you about from my old home, the ones I told you about?â I offer the explanation to the clueless boy, who tilts his head at me in wonderment, ignoring Namiâs berating. Seeing him so lost, I take the next step, and try to revive his memories with the specifics. ââOmg, fr, tbh, youâre cookedâŠâ Remember? Zoro got mad about all of them, especially after âreasonable crashout.ââÂ
The Captainâs eyes light up. âOh, yeah! I remember that! Thereâs more?âÂ
âMhm.â I hum, grinning slightly. âLotâs more. I can teach you some more another time.âÂ
âHey, Luffyâ Cut it out!â Usopp reprimands, the suitcase heâs responsible for clutched awkwardly to his chest. The Sniper is unsure, fretful that the money might fall into the wrong hands, thieving hands that would steal the funds that we needed for ship repairs. (Valid).âYouâre making me nervous, if you flail it like thatâŠâÂ
Swsh⊠swsh⊠swshâŠÂ
âWell, whatever. Iâm glad it went well! We got our money now, and thatâs what mattersââ Luffy doesnât heed Usopp whatsoever, too busy soaking up the newest development of being filthy rich⊠Seriously, three-million was the type of money people could only dream of in the modern world. Â
SwooshâŠ
With my eyes already on him, I donât miss the way Luffy grunts in surprise, before lowering the empty hand to his face with bewilderment â Heart-stoppingly absent of the suitcase mentioned seconds prior.Â
My jaw drops, head cranking backwards to look into the sky, where the luggage hovers derisively.Â
Well⊠Two million was still pretty good, I guess?Â
âThe river!â Nami and Usopp screech at the top of their lungs, a harsh harmonization that has Ivory ducking into the solace of his hidey-hole.Â
The hundred-million berries descends, a daunting shadow cast over the canal â Promising to be lost forever in its depths. With the speed of light, both figures teleport to the harrowing position of saving our earnings, hands outstretched without concerning themselves over the waters below them.Â
âDonât let it fall in the river!âÂ
âMy one-hundred million berries!âÂ
With near perfect accuracy, the two manage to launch themselves directly beneath where the suitcase wouldâve landed, which was impressive, but wouldâve is the key-word here.Â
Luffyâs stretchy arm snaps back in place before I can blink, the once-tossed suitcase firmly at his side⊠Leaving Nami and Usoppâs hands grasped at open air.Â
âPhew⊠That wouldâve been bad if the money got wet, huh?âÂ
The others, for the sparse few seconds that they have left in dry-air, keep silent, staring absently. And thenâÂ
Ker-splashh!!Â
Both are mercilessly dunked head-to-toe in the salty sea, sharing an unsteady cry of dismay.Â
The two of us are left with the three suitcases, and I watch in horror as our soaking wet crewmates gradually rise from the water. They showcase nothing but their eyes and noses â A pair of crocodiles stalking oblivious prey.Â
âUh⊠Luffy,â I deliver a choke, the anxious edge of my voice not lost on the captain â now wracked-with nerves â Captain. âYou might be cooked.âÂ
The boy utters his apologies rigidly, foreseeing the beating that was most-certainly promised once the two got to him; One that was likely completely unavoidable.
â...Iâm sorry.âÂ
â
âSo, what brings you youngsters to the dock today?âÂ
The friendly man, dressed in an orange and navy quarter-zip jacket, greets us in an old-timey fashion. Itâs an odd comparison, as he looks so young in respect to the accent being used.Â
Unfortunately for him, his golden-aged approach falls on deaf ears. Nobody can spare much of a greeting in response â All of us distracted by the long, strikingly familiar projection that stems from the center of his face. Iâd never expected to run into a person whoâd developed a nose as long as Usoppâs, much less one that was square. In spite of that, life was just chock-full of surprises; Especially considering the others hadnât expected it either, apparently.Â
âCâmon Usopp, I know itâs you!â Luffy responds shrewdly, hands on his hips whilst radiating the conviction that heâd discovered his crewmates newest trick â Which is laughable, seeing as Usopp was literally standing beside the dimwitted boy.Â
âHey!â Usopp raises an offended hand, smacking Luffyâs cheek repeatedly. âIâm right here, Luffy!â
I grimace, the sting of The Sniperâs palm echoed on my skin. Having dealt with the shared pain under both Usoppâs and Namiâs relentless fists due to Luffyâs lack of care â prolonged for more than Iâd preferred to endure (I could still feel an ache in the base of my skull) â I lurch forward, vehemently crossing the space between Luffy and I whilst snatching up Usoppâs wrist. Â
âStop it! Enough with the hittingâ It still hurts from before, yâknow!â I was over their pointless tendencies of smacking him around whenever they got angry, as if that had ever taught him to behave differently.
âOops. Sorry.â Usoppâs face drops, stony hand held midair. âI get so mad I just forget sometimes.âÂ
I huff, releasing my hold to favor the burn of my cheek; not from embarrassment, but swelling. Itâs exasperating, yet I nod anyways, accepting his apology. Eventually theyâd start to think twice about it, so long as I reminded them⊠Hopefully.Â
âWhat a strange band of folks. Never heard of sharing pain before, is that some kind of devil fruit ability?â The man, somewhat nosy in his question, pries back into the conversation.Â
Itâs a strange ask, albeit not entirely unwarranted. If soulmates were uncommon, then it was bound to happen that people wouldnât know every minute aspect that came with them â And if this world was anything like my old one, a soulmate bond could vary in every way imaginable. There was no telling unless you had one yourself.Â
âOh, no. Itâs nothing like that.â Usopp takes the charge on my behalf, an effort to make up for his mistake, gesturing to Luffy and I. âThese two are actually soulmates. One of their âabilitiesâ is that they share each other's pain.âÂ
âReally? Now ainât that something!â The blond-haired man expresses his astonishment, unabashed in turning to Luffy and I, the subject-matter. âFascinating! Iâd love to hear more about it sometime, if you wouldnât mind. Itâs not every day you run into a pair of soulmates.âÂ
âSure are!â Pridefully, Luffy giggles, slinging an arm around my neck and pulling close. I teeter into his side, clasping at his wrist. âYou can ask us anything, we donât mind!âÂ
I donât say anything, canât conjure it up like Luffy doesâ If there was any motive to reply, it doesnât get to leave my lips, clinging to my throat and wadding with my saliva like paper.Â
My focus had been overencumbered by something Iâm not supposed to have seen, of that Iâm sure â Initially.Â
Shaded beneath the white baseball cap that covers most of his summer-blond hair, dark eyes contrast the cordial approach.Â
Itâs indistinct, something well-disguised and difficult to pin-point â Instinctively, part of me is aware Iâm being heavily scrutinized, not in harmless observation â Something comparable to being sized up by a monster, like standing in front of that enormous snake all over again. I can feel itâs sticky breath on my skin, the foul odor of its past meals singing my nostrils, see its shadow seeping over the lightened groundâ
Then, all at once, it dissipates.
His sights lighten, and the man turns away to resume pleasant conversation. Itâs like nothing happened, nothing at all.Â
What⊠What the fuck�
Mind-boggling, too brisk to fully comprehend â I wonder if Iâve somehow mistaken it, misconstrued the experience â Because whether or not the feeling of his penetrative eyes are all just a figment of my imagination, the hairs raising all about my skin tell a different story entirely.
âAnyways, weâd like to meet Icebarg, if thatâs alright.â Namiâs voice breaks the muddled haze, and I realize thereâs a tightness in my chest, caused by the breath unconsciously being restrained.
âIs that so, little miss? Are you one of Icebargâs customers?â He responds, retaining that guarded persona at the mention of the name.Â
Guarded persona be damned, Nami hands over Kokoroâs referral â Hoping beyond hope that this guy would recognize the useless scribbles of a drunkard. I canât help my examination of every movement, an irrational strike of panic derived in the barely-there brush of my friendâs and the strangers fingertips.Â
âOh, I see. Not every day that a couple youngsters get a reference letter from Granny Kokoro at the Shift Station.â He beams at the paper, though no one was exactly sure how the hell he could discern what was on the page (It was genuinely worse than the kids drawings back at the orphanage).Â
âUh⊠Hang on? Are you an old guy?â Luffy questions â stepping forward to get a good, exaggerated-sideways glance at the man before us â bamboozled by the guy's odd way of speaking.Â
âIâm twenty-three, why do you ask?âÂ
âTwenty-threeâŠâ Usopp deadpans, slumping his shoulders, energy sapped by all the odd characters we constantly seemed to run into. In other words, The Sniper was done with everyoneâs shit. âYâknow, for somebody hardly any older than us, you talk like an old man.âÂ
The blond laughs whole-heartedly. âI get that a lot.âÂ
I couldnât wrap my mind around it â More concerning, there was no ignoring it either.Â
Watching, waiting⊠Nothing happened. This man was so nice, extremely accommodating and open to our requests; Almost unbelievably so. In the same turn of events, could I believe my predispositions without any semblance of doubt? Heâd given no signs of instability, none, other than a few fleeting seconds. There was nothing else to go on that could reasonably condemn him of the incident, which I was only half certain actually took place. My confidence waned. Was this a case of being too cautionary? A sudden development in trust issues? âŠEr, maybe not so sudden, but you get what I mean.Â
Just⊠What was I missing? Or was that the problem? Was I really just overthinking this? Weâd met so many new faces, some pretending to be friends, others openly hostile⊠Each one whoâd harbored ill-intent made my skin crawl, just like now, and just like it always had.Â
It was a practiced tactic, something Iâd developed and wielded under the harsh gazes of my old foster-parents, and I couldnât find the means to stop using it throughout the rest of my life â A defense mechanism that never left, a concise manner of trusting my gut. Itâd always given me the correct signals, what had changed?
The man, having grown increasingly chipper at the mention of his boss, proceeds to describe Icebargâs entire character. My mind twists in the tangled strings of his character, barely able to keep up with the influx of information. I could feel the headache coming on soon.
A prominent figure, Icebargâs most important title was to enact as the current mayor of Water 7 â At the very top of the âwhoâs in chargeâ list. Beloved by the city's residents, he served additionally as The President of the Galley-La Company. This was the shipwright company that resided in Dock 1, where we were now, and another major source of admiration from the proud townspeople. As Kokoro mentioned, the best of the best in the shipwright profession resided in the city. They not only provided revenue, but also lended fierce protection against those who attempted to take advantage of this. This rule stood for both factions, pirates and marines. Â
On top of these two substantial accomplishments, Iceberg also managed the sea train. With that amount of power in his hands, so came a lot of responsibility, and the blond informed us that due to this fact Icebarg would be incredibly difficult to track down. The Mayor was a busy-body, as it was imperative to care for so many tasks.Â
âI understand. In short, you want to talk about having your ship repaired, right?â Our second long-nosed acquaintance chuckles at the apparent urgency, Namiâs many inquisitions clueing him into what exactly we were seeking â An opportunity to have the Going Merry repaired, which heâd guessed.
Unbuckling his toolbelt, the man lays it gently over the pale, worn brick-ground, a line of chisels clinking against one another as it settles in place. Next, he slides out a leg, dropping to a squat with the other, assuming the stretched-out position with little to no effort. Our group awkwardly watched him all the while, unsure of what the man was trying to accomplish.Â
âWhereabouts did you anchor your ship?â The blondâs voice strains with the extension of the muscles in his legs.Â
âUh, over by the Rocky Cape.â Providing an answer, Usopp loosely points in the same direction heâs implying.Â
âWell then, Iâll skedaddle over there real quick. If I take a gander at your ship beforehand, you can start talkinâ cost with Icebarg right away. As I said, heâs very busy, so Iâm sure heâll be grateful as well.âÂ
âWait⊠âSkedaddleâ like how?â The Sniper asks, skeptical of the manâs ambiguity. âOn a Yagara, or what?âÂ
The option to go without one hadnât even crossed my mind. How else was this guy gonna travel from here, all the way down to the Rocky Cape? Was there some other way to travel without a Yagara?Â
âI thought we were trying to save time.â The man cackles smugly, clearly knowing something we didnât. âIf you folks can hang tight for ten minutes, I should be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail.âÂ
Secretive, I debate. Or perhaps putting on a show?Â
âJust ten minutes?â Not necessarily disbelieving the man, Nami voices the thought aloud, unsure of his claims. For good reason, too; Itâd taken us a few hours at least to get up here, tourists or not.Â
âThatâs rightâŠâ He bends at the waist, palms flat on the ground â a lunging-stance. âTen minutes, or your money back.âÂ
With startling speed, like a shaken soda can building carbonation, the long-nosed man erupts forward, limbs moving faster than humanly possible.Â
âWoahââ Luffy gasps, hand planted atop his skull so that the wind thatâs kicked up doesnât blow his hat from his head.Â
Usopp startles, reeling at the vision of the man whoâs sprinted fifty feet in five seconds. âH-Heâs fast!â
Astoundingly, the man exceeds everyoneâs expectations even further, taking a great-big leap into the air and hurtling himself over the city's colossal walls. The movements are effortless, gliding through the air like fabric in the breeze.Â
âWait, whereâs he going?!â Alarmed as the realization spurs, Nami forewarns, âIf he jumps over that, heâs gonna fall!âÂ
Heedless to any potential worries over his safety, the man disappears from view with a haughty laugh, arms spread wide as if to embrace his demise. We wait a moment, and hear nothing else. The foreboding merges into the mood, haunting our imaginations with the idea of his body â visions of it colliding with the grounds below, or falling into a canal, only to be swept out to sea.Â
âAmazingâŠâ Not everyone shared the negative outlook⊠Luffy awes at the absence of our aid, glued to the spot heâd vanished, gaping.
âYeahâ But is he gonna be okay?!â Usopp, weighed by the severity of the situation, frets over the idea of having possibly witnessed a man's death.Â
âI-I mean, he wouldnât have just jumped without a plan, or something⊠Right?â I murmur back, not sure what to think. Was he suicidal or something? This had gotten pretty intense.Â
âDonât worry. He runs freely through town.â A voice â Smoky, wizened with age â Pipes up behind our backs. âPeople call him âthe Mountain Wind.â Heâs a shipwright of Galley-La Companyâs Dock 1, the carpentry foreman.âÂ
The intonation is simultaneously assuring, yet stern, and all of us turn to the new face thatâs appeared.Â
âHis name is Kaku.â Immediately my eyes flick to the eye-catching, bright purple hair that sits atop the manâs head. Itâs styled professionally, slicked back and combed neatly, the sides shaven so that the tiniest wisp of a curl can stand out amongst the rest. The stubble at his jawline and above his blue lips are carefully trimmed in a similar manner to his hairstyle, tanned skin leaving the saturated-features glaring. The manâs clothing is orderly, ironed so that no trace of a wrinkle might be found; An orange undershirt, topped by the striped button-down that adds even more flair to his already flamboyant character design.Â
The abrupt emergence in combination with his put-together attire â I could spot a man like him a mile away, given my life in NYC â A man of importance, a man who held more net worth than most were able to contend with.
âIâve never seen someone jump that far before!â Ever the extrovert, The Captain easily picks up conversation despite the lack of introduction.Â
âWell, donât make light of my shipwrights. Theyâre the best in the business for a reason.â His shipwrights? As in a person who employed the shipwrights? As in the subject of a discussion weâd had moments ago, one that explained that said person was also literally the Mayor of the city?
Iâd had my suspicions on this being an important figure⊠I wasnât implying that he was âthe man we were looking forâ important.Â
Trying and failing to be discreet, Luffy blinks in contemplation, leaning towards Usopp and loudly whispering behind a hand. âCome to think of it⊠Who is this guy?âÂ
âIn order to build a stronger, faster ship quickly, ordinary physical ability isnât good enough.â The purple-haired man picks up right where he left off, dismissing Luffyâs question â That, or he genuinely hadnât taken notice.Â
Either way, in a manner thatâs relatively aloof, he turns to the right and addresses a woman who stands-by diligently.Â
âBy the way, KalifaâŠâÂ
Kalifa is a blonde, sophisticated woman â again, reminiscent of the business women in NYC, who barely spared any time to the average passerby â Pale skin, sharp features, and a voice that stiffened with every syllable, she was the textbook-definition of a capable assistant (You would probably find her exact image on a successful resume).Â
âYes, Iâve already finished the background check.â She raises a few pointed fingers to adjust her glasses, holding a sapphire-blue covered agenda between the others, hovering the booklet above her yellow-jacket clad chest.Â
Without directly addressing us, Kalifa thoroughly catalogues a detailed assessment on who exactly we were, obeying the unspoken orders given at an exceptional pace â To a tee.Â
âThe one in the middle is Straw Hat Luffy, alongside him stands his soulmate, (L/n) (Y/n), both sharing a bounty of one-hundred million berries. His crew also includes Pirate Hunter Zoro and Nico RobinâŠâ
The purple-haired manâs eyes widen a fraction, taken-aback as all the muscles in his face and upper body harden. In no time at all, he plays it off as nothing, and Iâm unable to dwell on the trivial factors â But itâs not too good for my psyche. Second timeâs a charm, I guess.Â
âTheir combined bounty is two-hundred thirty-nine million. They have four other members without posted bounties, and their crew was formed in the East Blue. Named after their captain, theyâre known as the Straw Hat Pirates.â All things considered, Iâm somewhat satisfied that Kalifaâs long, stressful list about the lot of us is coming to a close.Â
Usopp appears alarmingly rattled, sharing similar feelings about the situation, incapable of hiding the disturbed expression in the face of reality; They really knew who we were, not quite like the others that weâd run into in the past. Not only did they know our bounties, but they knew about the people who didnât have bounties.Â
My stomach swirled, curling around itself to grow more and more nauseous. It would be fine, right? They accepted pirates here as clients along with everybody else, no discrimination⊠Or, was that why everyone was so off?Â
âI see. Iâm glad you came.â In the end, the man turns back to meet us with proper formalities â A sudden change of heart now that heâd gained intel on our background. âWelcome, my name is Icebarg. Iâm the Mayor of this city.âÂ
And there it was, the confirmation that this man was the person we were looking for; Icebarg⊠Wait, is that why his lips are blue?Â
Churrrâ Squeak, squeak!
At the peeping intrusion, our attentiveness diverts to Icebargâs shirt pocket, the cloth squirming and writhing with life. The shivering lump halts, before a teeny head pops into existence from the spot.Â
âAnd this is a mouse I found earlier.â Icebarg introduces, extending a finger to rub its miniscule head. âItâs name is⊠Letâs seeâŠâ
The Mayor considers for a moment, before landing on his choice. In the back of my mind I register Ivoryâs breath, puffing against my bare shoulder â Whiskers tickling my neck.Â
âTyrannasaurus.âÂ
âŠAll right then.
Hey, it wasnât a bad name, just not what I personally wouldâve pictured. Perhaps I just didnât see the vision.
âIâll need to prepare some food for him, as well as a cage.â Icebarg speaks decidedly. In any case, heâs not required to lift a finger in order to retrieve said items.
âIâve already taken care of that, Icebarg.â Kalifa assures, once more adjusting the lens over her eyes.Â
âWell, thatâs my Kalifa.âÂ
âJust doing my job. Speaking of whichâŠâÂ
The press of a paw digs into the juncture between my neck and shoulder, drawing a harsh ache that spreads to the tissues onward. Itâs distracting, an inconvenient position for the kitten to take, drawing me away from the conversation at hand.Â
Aiming to remedy the discomfort, I shift, inaudibly sending a message for Ivory to step off. To my dismay, the kitten simply purrs at me instead, his body vibrating to such an extent where I can feel the physical reverberation from his vantage point.
This time around I opt to shimmy him off, slightly irked that the animal hadnât budged. Not interested in dislodgement, I feel the pinch of his claws curve to keep hold.Â
A sharp turn of my head, ready to chastise him poor behaviorâÂ
Ivory springs from my shoulder, aimed headfirst for Icebargâs shirt pocket. Dread extinguishes the physical pain in milliseconds.Â
The mouse. Shit.Â
âWhat theâ?!â The Mayor stumbles backwards at the flurry of white fur and extended claws. Wide-green eyes are blown out, irises practically solid black whilst Ivoryâs want for the fuzzy rodent overpowers every instinct. The kitten had only recently shown signs of developing into a hunter â The âjobâ he was meant to uphold as a member of the crew â However it hadnât been this prevalent. A clear oversight on my part.Â
âIvory!â I shriek, throwing myself after him, desperate to stop his reckless pursuit.Â
Adding to the havoc, Nami and Usopp cry aloud in the background, witnessing Ivory miss his target by a hair, Icebarg clumsily sidestepping the frontal attack; My crewmates canât manage to help, of course.Â
âWhyâs Bones suddenly gone crazy?!â At least my soulmate steps up to the plate, tailing me so that he might assist in my efforts of regaining control over the situation.Â
âHow barbaricâ That animal is out of control!â Kalifa scoffs vehemently, âThis is sexual harassment!âÂ
The cat lands, skittering on the rock below â We can make out the sound of his claws skritching against the man-made terrain, contorting his body to refocus on the designated target.Â
I go to scoop him up as he speeds towards Icebarg a second time, but he dodges easily, juking me so hard that I fall to my knees.Â
Luffyâs a bit more adept with the cat's animalistic agility, and anticipates the dodge â Albeit clumsily. Luffy goes for Ivory, nearly tripping as the kitten swerves around the attempt, yet thankfully manages a hasty, unintentional fake-out to the overzealous cat, grabbing him up when caught unawares.Â
Ivory isnât necessarily going easy; In fact, the cat resembles a tornado of yowling fur, misbehaving talons pulling at the boyâs rubber skin in contempt, vengeful over the lost chase. Frustrated, I start to make my way over.Â
âAlright, now stop beinâ soâ Hey!â And Luffy isnât very gentle in comparison, wrangling the young animal without mercy. He struggles to keep hold of one place â Under the kittenâs arms, wrapping around his stomach, dangling him by the scruff of the neck â But the reddened chicken-scratches keep coming. âQuit it. Your stupid claws are painful, yâknow!â
âWhat did you just say?!â Furious at whatever Ivory supposedly said, The Captainâs eye twitches. âYou want to go in the river? You littleââÂ
âLuffy!â
â
âSo, whatâs up?â At the inquiry, Usopp scans over my disheveled figure, none too orderly himself. Heâd picked up on my disturbed state, and it had rubbed off just as always. âI mean, itâs not like I mind walking around with you, but donât you usually do this with Luffy? And I didnât think youâd really be into all this ship-stuff.âÂ
I shrug, sparing a cautious glance behind us as we stroll through the bustling area, Dock 1âs passionate workers a constant blur of movement. Everywhere we look the craftsmen aim to undertake a new project; Whether that be a singular cannon, or a vessel fit for a-hundred men. They call out across the way to their friends for materials, or to share relevant skills needed for projects â Spouting jokes and gut-laughing in the faces of those whoâve taken the brunt of them.Â
All of this, and I canât manage to glue my focus onto anything other than the group standing a ways off⊠Weâd been granted a tour by Icebarg, the big man himself, who stands amongst his employees, chatting with Nami about something that I hadnât had the chance to overhear â Not that I really cared to.Â
âYou guys arenât fighting again, are you?â His words deadpanned, The Sniper openly reserves his exhaustion over the potential issues.Â
I shake my head. âNo, weâre good.â Initially addressing the last piece of his questioning, I maneuver to the next topic apathetically, the prominent issue popping at my skull like a woodpecker. âNâ ship-stuff isnât all bad. You taught me a lot about the ship too, so⊠Just⊠I feel like something is, like, wrong.â
Pause.Â
Sorry to interrupt such a serious moment, however before we get too deep into that, Iâd like to make it apparent that The Author just canât keep up with the pacing! She apologizes â Sheâs been making summaries left and right to keep you guys up to speed, yet more and more just seem to keep coming, and itâs hard to find proper placement for them. Water 7 truly is packed to the brim with action, not to mention an overabundance of intermingling stories and sidequests. Itâs a lot, and due to that there will be lots of summaries. Knowing this, please stay with me here, and letâs run a quick flashback of the important stuff thatâs happened since the last cut-off, so that you all can keep track of where weâre at cannon-story-wiseâŠ
Kalifa â In misunderstood defense over her employer when Luffy made an offhanded remark about Icebargâs âlazyâ attitude regarding his duties â delivered a barrage of swift kicks in the general area of our small group. This resulted in Usoppâs face being smashed in, Icebergâs face smashed in (as she had terrible aim), and two of the suitcases being tossed into the air. Since nobody had taken notice of the last problem in particular, it had then snowballed into a much bigger one when a group of thugs (who were later named as the Franky Family) snatched up the two-hundred million and were making a swift getaway.Â
Not to worry. Although itâs a bit of an up-and-down story, we did retrieve the cash in the long run.Â
It began when a shipwright by the name of Paulie chanced upon the thieves by pure coincidence, landing on their Yagara-drawn carriages in order to evade the debt collectors chasing him down. All too soon, our âsaviorâ was deemed just another swindler â and thinking back on it, this made sense, considering his predicament beforehand. He wasnât the best with his monetary decisions, according to his peers, and now we had yet another fiend to apprehend.Â
âThat son of a bitch, Iâm gonna catch himâ!â Fist pulled backwards, readying a gum-gum attack to remedy the dire situation, Luffy roared his promise at the thieving-stowaway furiously. Our funds were slowly growing further and further from our reach â An appalling two-thirds of it.Â
If this man got away, weâd be losing two-million berries, and we could forget about getting the Going Merry her necessary repairs.Â
Except, Luffy isnât the one to enact that promise.Â
Iâd never quite experienced the sensation before that moment. You hear the term used most often in those cheesy TV shows or Youtube videos. Self-claimed ghost hunters who explore abandoned places tend to say it most, claiming to feel the energy of something thatâs not really there; A static that envelopes over your epidermis, seeping into your pores to smother every inch it can pry into, making a home for itself where there otherwise would be none⊠Parasitic, in that sense.Â
A presence. Thatâs the most accurate recounting I could make encountering him.Â
The ground drops out from under me out of nowhere , as if Iâd missed a step in a path that I wasnât even walking.Â
From where Iâve stood next to my soulmate, a hand extends through the spot between our heads, close enough that I can feel the heat of his arm emanating just over my shoulder. Even so, neither of us had seen it coming whatsoever. To be able to sneak past Luffyâs uncanny radar was rare.Â
Itâs a slow movement⊠Too precise, too calculated. It feels as if my eyes might be playing tricks on me as my gaze slides over to the protruding limb, clasping firmly around the boy's fist in order to effectively stall his attack, almost unnaturally so.Â
Mechanical. Inhuman.
That sense of foreboding washes over me, and I canât even place a reason behind it â Out of body and mind. With my nervous system physiologically backpedaling, like playing freeze-tag with a monster, his pallid skin sets off the threat response. Adrenaline punches its way through my veins almost painfully, an agonizing conflict of stress management that screams at me to run and stay still at the same time.Â
What the hell was going on?
Luffy turns before I do, bewildered. He feels your panic, endurance for the jarring emotions more efficient.Â
âIâll get your money back.â The croning, inhuman speech that offers its assistance is not at all what I expect. Thereâs no doom-laced baritone, no tremorous accent â Itâs comical, squawking hoarse confidence.Â
Notwithstanding his jovial nature, my agitation fluctuates when Luffy doesnât seem to find it funny, as he normally would.Â
âWhat? Wait. A⊠A pigeon?â The Captain stumbles over the words as the newcomer withdraws, the boy's hand relaxing into its natural poise.Â
If anything, thereâs no trouble abound based on Luffyâs reaction. The notion is reassuring, a semblance of ease mitigating the pressure in my soul when I acknowledge further that heâs still at my side. Itâs not instant, but I do manage to conjure the teaspoonâs worth of courage within myself to face the stranger along with my soulmate.Â
And for the first time, my soulmateâs evaluation has given me a false sense of security.
This man is tall, unsuspecting at first glance â Slender, with long legs and arms, and a broad, relaxed stature â The display of a thumb hooked in his pocket conveying an unbothered attitude. A closer examination reveals thereâs definition in the musculature of his body, undeniable strength even in the slightest flex. Heâs⊠stiff, I understand. A lot like Kaku. In the same respect, nearly everything about him is unassuming. Aside from the brown pants, yellow suspenders and greyed shirt, the single unusual addition is that of a white pigeon who wears a red tie â The bird contrasting against his dark, crow-feather hair and matching goatee.Â
Of course, I had seen this once already.Â
Itâs his eyes. âWindows to the soul,â theyâre often referred to as⊠and if that statement is valid, Iâm certain that this man doesnât have one. Theyâre hooded, ominous â Frigid, unblinking â Bearing no emotion. Inhuman. The word rings and rings, unrelenting and dissuading any other label.Â
Worse than Skypieaâ Of being stalked through the jungle, of Eneruâs unforgiving leer. When he turns to cast his eyes over me, trading my figure in for Luffyâs, Iâm pinned to the ground by the soles of my feet.Â
The glint of life, the one that all living beings maintained, was not present. Inherently, I know that the void of his very being has swallowed them up forever.Â
The muscles in my neck cinch, locking my jaw and forcing myself to stare at the ground in avoidance. My hands, forehead and neck rapidly turn clammy â the skin cold and hot all at once. I canât meet his eyes.Â
Unable to gather my wits, the only notion that proves Iâm not completely and utterly insane is Ivoryâs similar reaction. Instead of going after the enticing animal that sits on this manâs shoulder â As the kitten had done with Icebargâs mouse â Ivory wants nothing to do with the bird. His ears flatten, and the animal disappears from my hands like out of a magic act, seeking refuge in the rucksack.Â
Thatâs it, though. Nobody else, nothing else pays any mind to the one before us⊠Not even as he radiates his muted-malevolence. I can only assume that itâs because this man does a terrific job of keeping it concealed, deranged as it may be to think so.Â
I think myself insane, since I couldnât discern how that could be. How could nobody notice this? Feel this? How could they look this man in the eyes? How could no one see it, aside from me?Â
Had I lost it? Had I lost track of myself? Was this world getting to me? Was the pretense of betterness guised as me losing my fucking mind?Â
Luffy pokes my shoulder. I jolt, glancing up to him in alarm. The warmth scrapes away the scales of fear, and I peer around the area hastily.Â
The man was gone. He mustâve left while Iâd been stuck in my head.Â
âWoah, why are you so jumpy all of a sudden?â The boy prods with a frown, evaluating my expression as I turn back to him, sighing deep from my nose.Â
âUhâŠâ I murmur, finding our audience staring at me. Nami and Usopp look worried â I canât determine what Icebarg and Kalifa are thinking. The sharpness in the womanâs inspection specifically makes me feel no less better than before. Was she the same as the others? Was Icebarg?Â
Twitching fingers reach for Luffyâs hand, facing away from their lingering stares, hopelessly on the verge of a panic attack (if I hadnât had one already). Under any other circumstance I wouldâve held back the urge to do so, too embarrassed to pursue any form of affection. Nonetheless, I needed the foundation to rebuild steadiness, to curate calm and be able to think straight.Â
Luffy doesnât hesitate to reciprocate, palms clasping as fingers bump one another in the process of interlinking. Relievingly, the bond functions as intended, and roves of goosebumps aid to rid the tautness of my body.Â
âHey,â My soulmate's voice drops with severity, perceptive as ever, even more so with the contact. His heart hammers in his chest, not a response, but a reflection. âWhat happened?âÂ
Dithering, I find the words difficult to form. There was so much going on, so much I didnât know⊠The unknown was fifty-fifty, and I wasnât positive enough about either side to make a claim â Especially before the people (Galley La Co.) that Iâd essentially be putting on blast.Â
What if they werenât guilty, and this was my brain creating non-existent problems? What if they were, and I exposed them in the light of day? We didnât know these people.Â
Was it better to play this off for now?Â
âN-Nothing. Iâm fine, sorry, umâŠâ It was better to wait, right? For us all to get back to the boat. âWas just thinking about something. Guess I freaked myself out? I-Iâll tell you about it laterâ Like, when we get back to the ship.âÂ
âYou sure?â Whether it be the fault of my rambling, my skittishness, or the overall effect of our soulmate bond â Luffy wasnât buying my excuses. âFeels like youâre scared of somethin.âÂ
Iâm thankful for the lessons weâd learned previously about each other. Luffy might have pushed for an answer; However, if the opposite were the case, he wouldâve pushed a lot more forcefully.Â
Naturally, nothing would stop him from stating his mind, though thatâs what worried me.Â
âN-No, Iâm fine. Reallyâ It was silly, donât worry about it right now.â I gently squeeze at his palm, offering a pointed expression and a weak smile, partially recovering my constrained sense of self to get the message across. âThe Merryâs more important. We can talk later.âÂ
The excuse isnât nearly enough to put the boy off the scent â And inwardly, Luffy hasnât budged. This wasn't the only time youâd freaked out today; The first time heâd brushed it off, only because you seemed to get over it pretty quickly, so he didnât push. Stuck in your head, he figured. Then, the second time around was a red flag, and he decidedly stepped in when it grew extreme.Â
You just didnât want to talk about it right now, and though it slightly bothered him, he knew you would tell him later. There was a reason why, but you couldnât tell him right now, and so he couldnât know what it was yet⊠Kinda like what you and the others talked about when they hung out with Split-Head.
All the same, Luffy didnât like any of it â That you were scared of something, and that he didnât know what that something was. Obviously, whatever it was, you didnât want anybody else to know. More girl-stuff then? That didnât make sense, though. You were never scared of the girl-stuff before.Â
Later â He repeats in his head, impatience already clawing at his thoughts.Â
In time, the anxieties settle â Never fully⊠Just enough.Â
Before I know it, the dark-haired man returns, his hard-up coworker along with the suitcases in tow. From the corner of my eye, I find Usopp receiving our stolen money gratefully, but my pulse never lessens.Â
It didnât matter whether or not this was all in my head, I needed to get out of here ASAP.Â
And so, here I was â Walking with Usopp and completely avoiding the man who went by the name of Rob Lucci. As soon as our little crowd had slowed their pace in order to discuss the ship and its needed repairs, I made a hasty retreat to, well⊠Anywhere else.Â
Though, not without compelling The Sniper to follow.Â
I was dying to confide in someone about this, someone who could relate, without potentially causing a scene⊠Subtlety was key, and Usopp was the most reliable out of the three, at least in that department. Love Nami, and I adore my soulmate, but they had kind of a big-mouth attitude at times that would likely lead into a direct confrontation â That was the absolute last thing I wanted to happen.Â
Usopp was perfect for the specific reason of keeping it lowkey, so long as he wasnât surprised by anything sudden. He was a friend that I could share similar negative feelings with, and potentially gain some comfort from our shared experience. Perhaps heâd also caught wind of these new characters and their strangeness? Or, if not⊠If all of this was merely in my imagination, would he be able to help rationalize my thoughts in some way? To come up with a valid reason regarding me losing my mind?Â
âWhaddya mean wrong?â Usopp barked, arms raised with a suitcase in each hand â The Sniper had been carrying both ever since Luffy lost the privilege to do so himself. âD-Donât just say stuff like that, are you trying to freak me out or something?!âÂ
Did I say he could keep it lowkey? Yeah⊠I take it back.Â
âShut up, Usopp!â The whispered-screech scratches at my throat, and I peek behind us to see if anybody picked up on his panicked exclamations â Coast is clear. âCould you make it any more obvious? I-I was trying to be a little more nonchalant than that!âÂ
âYou shut up!â Usopp shrinks, veering in every direction as he looks around for potential assailants. âWe just got our money stolen like, not even twenty minutes ago, and now youâre telling me thereâs something else weâve gotta worry about?!âÂ
I sigh. At the very least I was accurate on the whole âUsopp would be just as scared as me,â part. âListen, I-I donât even know if itâs an actual problem or notâ I just wanted to talk to you about it⊠In case Iâm just, overreacting. I-I guess I justâ I just figured maybe youâd seen it, too.âÂ
Pitifully, the words die in my throat, ashamed of my own inability to recognize something so detrimental. I canât see the look on his face, either, head ducked to glare at my sneakers. This was getting blown way out of proportion⊠I didnât even know if these doubts factually existed outside of my mind.Â
Slowly, an air of understanding shimmers in the air.
âOh.â The Sniper visibly relaxes at your admittance. He thinks on it, back-tracks â maneuvering to an attentive approach this time, remaining a bit apprehensive and never betraying his true nature â Before eventually resonating with your woes and anxieties. âI mean, I donât think I saw anything weird. So⊠Whatâs the matter then?âÂ
Unresolved of my original intentions of telling him, I cast one more wilted glance, where his eyes stare intently while his limbs seem to stagger with each troubled step.Â
âC-Câmon, Iâm being serious now! You canât just drop a bomb like this and leave it at that.â Thereâs a desperation in The Sniperâs eyes, one that somehow convinces me to speak following the heavy moment of silence, assured he would apply restraint if it meant it would be to his benefit. âI swear, I wonât freak out this time.âÂ
âWellâŠâ I breathe, speaking soft with another wary glimpse to the surrounding area. I felt like some kind of obsessed, paranoid freak. âIt was really weird⊠And like I said, I dunno if itâs just all in my head, so maybe just⊠Take it with a grain of salt?â
I pause, look at Usopp. He nods, go on.
âI felt it with that guy, Kaku, first⊠He had this really odd look in his eyes, like maybe he was hiding somethingâ B-But it was too quick for me to really tell.âÂ
âScary!â Usopp quivers, listening with intent, horrified â Now weâve swapped stations, and heâs the one checking behind us every five seconds. âH-Hiding what, exactly?âÂ
âI donât know, but then I felt it again, with, umâŠâ I lower my voice, keeping it subdued beneath the hustle and bustle of the area, afraid that the man might hear my mention even from so far away â It was implausible. âLucci. It was so much worse though, I met his eyes once, and I-I couldnât move at all. He just⊠He scares me, Usopp, and I donât even know why.âÂ
âYou couldnât move?â Usopp squeaks, eyes as wide as saucers. Heâs hushed his voice in tandem with mine, the atmosphere growing tense. âWhat, like he has some kind of freaky devil fruit ability or something?!âÂ
âI⊠Donât think so. That doesnât explain why I felt the same way with Kaku, kinda. Does it?â I shake my head tepidly, unscrambling my thoughts as I revisit the memory. âCanât only one devil fruit exist at a time?âÂ
âBut then what are you suggesting?!âÂ
âI just feel strange around them, thatâs all Iâm saying.â I huff, wrapping my arms around myself as a self-soothing mechanic â There, fidgeting fingers twist and pluck at the decorative pearls on the bodice of my outfit, where some have already met their demise (sorry, Nami). âAnd it feels even weirder because theyâre helping us right now, which doesnât make any sense. Why would I feel so uncomfortable around them if theyâre so nice? I feel it around Kalifa, and I think Icebarg too⊠And Iâm just so confused. You donât find this weird, like, at all? You didnât notice anything?â
Practically pleading for The Sniper to support my claims in some shape or form, I stop walking and grab his arm in order to redirect his focus to something other than his own terror. This only partially works, sweat beading down his forehead and jawline.Â
âWell, now I do, after all that!â Usopp relents, teeth grit as he grumbles the words in my face. Overly involved, The Sniper does indeed begin to back my ideas with some of his own. âThinking about it, normal people donât just leap over entire cities, and they canât break the ground with just their fingers, either! You might be right⊠These people really might be a bunch of bad guys!âÂ
He was referencing Kaku â And in part Lucciâs statuesque hand-stand performed during battle, supported by a single arm as all five of his fingers jammed into the compact bricks of the sidewalk. Theyâd crumbled in his grip like chalk.Â
I nod slightly, ready to contribute some of the other off-putting details Iâd noticed.Â
A shadow promptly covers the ground between us, and the information dissipates on-the-spot.Â
Our combined theorizing would have to be postponed.
âBad guys?â A feminine voice scoffs. Neither of us move.Â
Her words bite at our prickled skin. When she speaks next, itâs animal-like â A low growl that could be compared to that of a rabid dog.Â
âWhat? Canât speak now that you got caught talkinâ shit?âÂ
Usopp zips around to face the woman, dropping the suitcases as his hands lose function, flapping his arms around like a flustered chicken. âW-Where the heck did you just come from?!â
âI work here.â The woman snarls, a clear warning laced in her sharp words.
All the bravery in Usoppâs body gets sapped away by those three simple words â Fuck.
Nonetheless, he continues to dig the hole deeper. âY-Yeah, well⊠D-Donât you know itâs rude to sneak up on somebody like that? Iâll have you know, that Iâve gotââÂ
âManners?â Flabbergasted, she barks the word with a short laugh. âYouâre the oneâs bad-mouthing my coworkers, or am I wrong?â
Caught red-handed. Double fuck.Â
Thereâs no mistaking the hostility in this womanâs voice, a passive-aggression that she doesnât bother to mask. Itâs a stark contrast from her coworkers, who kept their deviant auraâs veiled â Still, without even looking at her, Iâve accepted that sheâll wear the same vibes as those prior.Â
âAlso, your little friend hasnât even turned around to say hello yet⊠Why donât you two show some respect so I donât get your asses thrown out of here.â The undeniable assessment of power imbalance, a guillotine held over our necks at the chopping block, leaves no room for argument.Â
Not wanting to further ruin my already poor impression, putting at risk the chance to fix the Merry, I brace myself to face the pressure head-on.Â
Turning to greet her menacing smirk wasnât exactly on my bingo card for today.Â
Iâd assumed that sheâd be glowering, absolutely pissed, considering the harshness behind her words â However, her haughty smile expresses a sadistic glee, unnervingly so. I felt as if I was in my first year of high school all over again, tormented by arrogant upperclassmen who thought themselves better than everyone else.Â
Standing at a lofty 6â2â (about 188 centimeters), her dirty-blonde hair â Striped with dark browns and heavy blacks â Adds to that height significantly, collected into a high-ponytail near the top of her scalp. Stray, choppy strands poke out this way and that, which are shown most prominently in shaggy bangs, splayed around the base of her skull and nape, or sticking out from behind her ears. A flicker of malice darkens the icy-blue of her iris, a spark of recollection. Surrounded by tan, darkened skin, the color pops; The illusion of her staring straight through our souls enhanced by the framing of her lighter-colored hair.Â
Breathing deep, itâs to my surprise that I find it significantly easier to match her sights than with those previous, considering her overwhelmingly negative approach â Even so, Iâm apprehensive of the antagonism.Â
â(L/n) (Y/n).â The woman chuffs a laugh, a condescending lilt in her tone as she raises a thick, rounded brow. It sounded like feigned astonishment. âFor someone with a-hundred million bounty, I expected more than this. Youâre nothing but a little bug, huh? I bet you're just leeching off that kid's bountyâ Donât have to bother seeing him in person to know that much.â
She spits the words in my face, and Iâm immediately taken aback, flinching at the venom. After all, this was our first meeting, and yet she spoke as if she held some vendetta against me; What the hell did I do?
Bewildered by all the pent-up aggression directed at me, I find myself tongue tied, unable to reply. Her jabs have caught me off guard.Â
âHey, now wait just a secondâ W-What the heck is your problem, lady?!â Usopp blurts, a face full of faux courage as his voice shakes.Â
âZip it, you scrawny wimp.â She rasps, fed-up with The Sniper opening his mouth. âI could smell your bullshit from the moment you walked in, and Iâm honestly surprised you canât sniff out the warnings Iâm giving you with that nose of yours. So, Iâll make this clear just this once, Iâm not talking to you, so why donât youââ
âD-DonâtâŠâÂ
It slips before I register it, and both whip their heads in my direction, witnessing me falter in my friend's defense as I wince at myself.
The woman snorts, âReally proving my point here. Is that all you have to say? OrâŠâ
I bristle, her taunting plucking at the sensitive strings of my emotional state. Itâs enough to strengthen my resolve.Â
âDonât talk to him like that.âÂ
Thereâs no turning back â Iâve acted upon the aggravation thatâs bloomed whilst watching Usopp curl into himself, a momentary swell that burns behind my sternum.Â
I steady myself, mustering a feeble glare; Stay resolute. Even if weâd been caught talking about the others, this was over the top â She couldâve just thrown us out, rather she was intentionally aiming to intimidate us.Â
âYou⊠You donât even know us.â I press, urging that I was not about to put up with her bullying. Iâd dealt with it before, allowed myself to be stepped on, but not this time â I could do this, if not for myself, for my friend. Girls like her were all bark and no bite, right?Â
Arctic gaze on me, her nose wrinkles in disgust â I was blatantly deemed as lesser in the scale of whatever absurd power dynamics she followed, and the longer this interaction dragged on, the irked twinge of my jaw drew tighter.Â
âPlease, your face is pasted on every wanted list, every newspaperâ Bawling your eyes out like a child.â That strikes a nerve, and she knows it, grinning with a quick up and down. âMust suck for your soulmate to have someone as plain as you by his side⊠Some whiny, useless little girl who canât pull her own weight. Oh, yeah. I know exactly who you are.âÂ
Usoppâs jaw drops. Never before had he come across someone so petty, so hellbent on being the one in charge â And to say something like that to somebodyâs face? To your face?Â
Oh, god. Any more of this and youâd probably start bawling.Â
He flips between you and the stranger, a dilemma unfolding on whether he should leave you to get the others or not. The attempt to speak on your behalf hadnât worked, and Usopp wasnât ballsy enough to try again. At the same time, the sniper couldnât just leave you with this random psycho!Â
Man⊠At least now he knew you were right to assume that these people were crazy.
Iâll admit, her belittling was getting to me â It hurt.Â
Useless.
That last personal attack though? It was a boiling war inside my very bones â That fucking word, useless. Whyâd she have to use that one, out of every option available?Â
A simmering anger fires off the insults in repetitive motion⊠The wallowing of my self-consciousness makes an effort to drown it out, to cool it down to warm coals.Â
One would inevitably win out over the other â Anger and sadness â And guess what?Â
It was not the one that would be victorious IRL.Â
âRightâŠâ I murmur, barely able to utter the response at first as the anger leaves me momentarily delirious.Â
Then, my next words are relatively clear-cut, derisive.
âYou can absolutely go fuck yourself now.âÂ
Hopefully, Luffy was somewhere close by.Â
Usopp nearly passes away on the spot. Out of everything you couldâve done, everything he expected you to do, that wasnât part of the roster.Â
Even Iâm not sure where the hell that came from, blinking stupidly in my spot for a hot second. The regret would return in full swing, soon enough.Â
The womanâs eyes widen a fraction, pupils shriveling to pin-pricks. Itâs the only sign she gives when the fuse ignites.Â
âWhat the fuck did you just say to me?âÂ
Abruptly, a hand comes forward, too fast for me to dodge as it seizes one of the knapsack straps at my shoulder, tugging me closer in brutal fashion.Â
My head snaps back to stare up at here, wide-eyed â All that irritation flushes straight down the drain, recognizing that she was much, much stronger than I was.Â
âYou little shit. You really think just cusâ youâve got a bounty from that soulmate of yours, that youâre worth anything more than an insect between myââÂ
âRachel.âÂ
The air oscillates around every syllable that Rob Lucci speaks.Â
All three of us are rendered still â Nobody moves.
My savior had not been the one Iâd hoped for, and once again, the breath is tortuously ripped from my lungs.Â
A glimpse of Usopp tells me heâs not in a dissimilar experience, knees buckling and eyes zeroed into the ground. Surely he knew what I meant now, as unfortunate as it was that he had to perceive it himself.Â
Preoccupied with ensuring the safety of myself and my friend, Rachel is the final subject of my attention. Her grip doesnât weaken, her sight never moves⊠And yet, much like myself, sheâs not quite seeing. Itâs as if Iâve morphed into the background, camouflaged, or entirely see-through.Â
Iâm not really there for her, disturbed by the recognition of such a similar habit, one that I found myself trapped in more often than not. Sheâs not breathing, either.Â
It isnât rocket science to decipher, not for me â Itâs familiar â An old victim, face to face with the new.Â
Cautionary â For your sake â Thatâs what Lucci is implying. The intent is not for what her actions will invoke for others, but what it will invoke for her.Â
Nonetheless the message has been received, and received well.Â
Noiseless, Rachel releases her grip without argument. Not one more word is shared, and the tan woman turns tail in a manner thatâs almost mindless.
She doesnât bother to approach the man whoâs reprimanded her, rather traveling somewhere the complete opposite. The entire interaction feels forced, reproachful. It makes me sick to my stomach for the very reasons that were buried deep in the confines of my soul, analyzing the complete lack of emotion as Rachel disperses from the scene, a vacant husk.Â
Weâre more alike than I thought.
Shaken, itâs the first time I find myself able to meet Rob Lucciâs gaze, a cavernous ache gaping loudly, stretched across the expanse of my body. We were more alike, and it was his fault.
âHoly crap, are you alright?â Usopp peeps, grabbing at my shoulder to garner my attention. âThat got crazy for a second⊠I canât believe she said all that stuff.âÂ
I donât answer until Lucci has averted his stare, fingers blindly reaching for the strap that Rachel grabbed with a newfound awareness of her actions â They werenât exactly excusable⊠Nevertheless, now I had an explanation, a reason. âYea⊠Yeah. IâŠâÂ
Canât find the words.Â
Up close like that â The look on her face, the way Lucci said her name â It resurfaces memories that I wouldnât, couldnât think about. Harsh words so ingrained inside that there was no scuffing them out, evoking recollections that one could get lost in for hours if not careful.Â
A labyrinthian root system.
âShould I get Luffy?â Usopp pries, snapping me from the trance. Heâs worried. âYou look super pale still, are you sure youâre good?âÂ
âN-No, no.â I rapidly decline, the idea somewhat startling â Of course I wanted to go to Luffy, but he sure as hell would not be pleased to hear what happened. Would he really understand the situation at full length? Not unless I took the time to explain it to him⊠âIâm okay, I just⊠I-I think we should talk about it later.âÂ
Then again, this was the second time Iâd done this. Iâd need to talk to him soon, if only to rid myself of this steadily mounting unease.Â
It would topple over otherwise.Â
â
Tidbit Today!
Icebarg forgave (Y/n) and the group for Ivoryâs misdeed, but only in exchange for being able to see their soulmate markings. Even with all the many people that live in Water 7, there isnât a single pair of soulmates that the population knows of. Because of this, Icebarg let his tendency to be curious get the better of him.Â
The hours spent in preparation of our arrival had passed as if they were minutes â Half of them spent trying to catch up on rest as per Chopper's insistence â But Iâd never been more glad of such a short passage of time than I was now.Â
It was dazzling, unfeasibly beautiful as the ship's velocity dragged; The closer we inched towards the island, the slower we lagged, a lack of wind flow that subtly petered out under the shadows of such a monumental piece of architecture. I was thankful for the slowed approach, holding my breath as wide eyes absorbed the world-wonder that was set before us.Â
Save for the clusters of light-bleached red roofs joined by white-plastered houses, the entire island could be perceived as an enormous fountain. There was so much water, well suited for its title. Surges of the liquid cascaded down from the very top of the island's design, where the water was distributed via numerous waterfalls, and the flow followed down one, two, three tiers; Each enormous bowl decorated with ornate inscriptions carved into the stone. You could see the patterns glistening in the mist even from so far down below, sparkling like silver in the sun beams. At the base of this upper-structure the water continued along its path, where slanted, stretching rows streamed down towards the very bottom of Water 7, finally returning to the vastness of the ocean with even more waterfalls. The grand wall in front of us, where the water inevitably joined itself through the dark tunnels embedded within it, was labeled with multiple gates. Each bore a respective number, and were at least five-to-ten times the size of the Going Merry. Attached to their substructure was a ramp, and I questioned if that was where they released the ships that were made within the city's impenetrable fortification.Â
Once again, I was enamoured by everything that this world had to offer. Skypiea was fantastical in itself, completely unheard of back where I originated â Here was something that bordered on the laws of both reality and fantasy, something that I could only wonder if feasible back where Iâd come from.Â
The sun burns bright, reflections of it bouncing off of foamy-spray to form rainbows in its wake, and Iâm reminded that in the end, it didnât really matter. I wasnât in my old world anymore, was I?
âWoah, nobody told me that it was gonna be this cool!â Luffy gasped, lost for breath under the majesty of the island, just as I was â Though that would never stop his excitement from bleeding to the surface, never one to hold back. âCheck that thing out⊠I didnât know they made fountains that big!âÂ
I shake my head, still dumbfounded as a laugh huffs from my lips, absorbing his happiness like a drug in my amazed-haze. âNeither did I⊠Itâs amazing.âÂ
âThatâs nuts! Iâve never seen anything like itâ Itâs definitely an industrial city!â Usopp yelps â teeth clenched in anxious tension as the fountain loomed intimidatingly overhead â as per his character.Â
âNo wonder⊠And I thought the sea train was a big deal!â Sanji mutters gruffly, engrossed by the sight before him.Â
âWow, that is a lot of water!â Chopper notes, hanging over the rail beside me with a wide smile. âWhere does it all come from?âÂ
âSeems to be coming from the ocean.â Robin observes, coming to stand at the reindeer's opposite side. âIt looks like the water comes from the fountain, goes through the canals and falls back into the sea.âÂ
âHey, you come from a place of âindustrialism,ââ Nami pokes my side with a teasing grin, the overall good mood bringing about her playfulness. I could tell that The Navigator already knew the answer to whatever question she was going to ask. âEver seen anything like this back in your old world? Betcha havenât! Thousand Berries says so.âÂ
âNami, Iâm not going to take a losing bet.â I scoff, soon laughing as she sighs despondently. âBut, no⊠I donât think anybody back in my world was creative enough to build something like this.âÂ
âSounds pretty lame to me.â Zoro shrugs with a smirk as I turn in his direction, rolling my eyes with a grin.Â
âYeah, yeah⊠Whatever, I donât have to listen to somebody whoâs got a lower bounty than I do.âÂ
âHey!âÂ
âHey!â Luffy shouts in tandem with his right hand, immediately catching all of our attention, despite the fact that heâs addressing Chopper. âOnce we get there, do you wanna race on those water slides?âÂ
âR-Race?â Chopper stutters, his head creaking towards the âwater-slidesâ in question. In time, a motion-picture flashes behind his eyes, the imaginated scenario apparently scary enough to shed tears; As it ends with The Doctor inevitably sobbing, pressing against his ears as they stream down his furry cheeks. âNo! Th-Thereâs no way Iâm doing that!â
Chopper whirls around, ramming his small body into my legs, drenching my knees as cloven hooves struggle to wrap around the limbs, unable to gain any traction.Â
Then, he rears his head back, wailing at me pitifully. âP-Please donât let Luffy make me race, (Y/n)!âÂ
Astonished by the abrupt change in attitude, I quickly try to garner the youngest memberâs attention â A fruitless effort to refocus him so that heâs not so fearful over something so unlikely⊠Well, probably unlikely. âH-Hang on, Chopperâ Nobody's gonna make you race!âÂ
âDream on, idiot.â Zoro gruffs, judging The Captainâs statement hard. âEven if that was a water slide, you canât even swim.âÂ
Luffyâs eagerly-pointed finger drops to his lap, having been seated on the figurehead. His smile falls, blank-faced, tone devoid of emotion. âOh. Good point.â
I gesture towards my air-headed soulmate, who also happens to be our Captain, with as much nonchalance and reassurance as I can muster. âSee, Chopper? No racing.âÂ
The reindeer sniffles, considering. In the end, he winds up nodding languidly in self-assurance.
In a wordless exchange, he tugs me along with him, distrusting of the final verdict in spite of my confirmations. Regardless, I go along without argument, and the two of us head downstairs, aiming to prepare for departure just as the rest of the crew have set out to do.Â
â
Groooan⊠CRUNCH!
In the midst of packing a medicinal bag, as well as a backpack stationed for a certain kitten, Chopper and Iâs heads whip around at the obtrusive sound that emits from the mast. Zoroâs barely able to catch the thick pillar on his shoulders as it bends under the weight of the sails. He sweats, extremely frustrated with the circumstance as the others blame him for damaging the ship on purpose.Â
âAre you trying to break the ship?!â Usopp, bug-eyed and panicking, yelps at his green-haired comrade.Â
âNo! All I did was pull the rope like I always do!âÂ
Weâve only just managed to anchor on a cape somewhere off the rocky shores of Water 7, and itâs already been proven the exact reason as to why we needed a shipwright, and soon. All those readily available rush to get the Going Merry back in order, but it takes a lot longer than anticipated.Â
To bring everybody up to speed⊠All of the girls had a quick wardrobe change, where Nami insisted that I wear one of her favorite outfits that sheâd picked out for me a while ago (claiming that it was perfect for the âbig cityâ and a warm day). The ensemble was (f/c), and appeared as if it were two separate pieces â a thinly strapped crop top and skirt that connected via careful threads at the center â complete with a set of detachable sleeves, and littered with small pearl-like ornaments woven into the fabric. At first I was tentative, concerned that the clothing would be ruined at some point due to one chaotic reason or another, yet The Navigator didnât budge. She, too, was wearing a rather expensive set of clothes, as was Robin (both of them were wearing skirts of some kind too, so matching included)⊠Eventually, I yielded. The set was pretty cute, anyway.Â
So, after donning the garb and looking at myself in the mirror, I could confirm that it was definitely very cute. I didnât want to admit it then, but the idea that I actually felt pretty had my mind straying to other opinions; Opinions that werenât mine, but could be considered alongside my own.Â
What would Luffy think? Would he think it was cute, too?
I shook my head, dismissing the thoughts. No, probably not. Heâd never really cared about what I wore, or about what others wore, whenever we were out and about.Â
I slipped on a pair of white sneakers, trudging out onto the main deck in order to rejoin Chopper. He was already there, waiting for me with a happy smile, along with two bags that were awaiting our attention.Â
As I mentioned, the medicine bag was prepped by this point. Our next task was fairly vital as well; making this next, old backpack more comfortable.Â
Ivory would, in the end, be coming with us. He was still too little to stay on his own for too long, and notorious for following me around wherever I went â We might not have been leaving the ship all at once, but there was no telling what would happen if we left him on his own, for what we suspected would be an unknown amount of time. There was never telling what could happen, and so it was unanimously agreed that the kitten should travel with me for now, only until he developed a bit more self-dependency.Â
Just as Iâve finished adjusting the scruffy blanket at the base of the bag, Chopper is handing me a small tin of Ivoryâs food, along with a bottle of water. I thanked him quietly, pocketing them in a place that seemed suitable. Like a conveyor belt, The Doctor offers the next item in line â Some of Ivoryâs handmade toys. I cringed at the state of some of them, dilapidated and in desperate need of upgrading. Iâd have to grab some more for him at some point during our stay.Â
Nami, sighing deeply, summons the crew with some worries. âBy the way⊠It doesnât seem like theyâre scared of pirates at all here. Isnât that strange?âÂ
Her doubts weren't left unanswered for long, but it was a valid concern. The crewâs short passage through the city on the way to the current location was littered with people who were all-too friendly. Some of the others had a concise theory on why this was, each adding their reasoning one by one in order to quell any potential worries of running into law enforcement â Zoro, Robin, Sanji â Something about needing to make money for the shipwrights.Â
However, Luffy had zoned out before the question even left Namiâs lips.Â
Truthfully, The Captain had his sights locked on you, as you kneeled next to Chopper and fussed over each other's ruck sacks. He hadnât really noticed or cared to figure out their contents; Luffy had been way too enraptured in the newness of Water 7 to notice anything at first, a jitteriness in his bones that left every ounce of him antsy and ready to leave, sparing nothing but a single glance when you first came out on deck with the girls. Youâd changed outfits with them, he realized, but didnât think anything of it.Â
Except then he stole a glimpse.Â
Then another, and then another after that.Â
By that point, it wasnât just simple peeking anymore. Against his knowledge, the boy found himself looking, then looking more, noticing more details about what you were wearing the further he observed.Â
It was your favorite color, he recognized, and an outfit that he didnât think heâd seen you wear before. The fabric looked soft, hugging tight around your waist just where the skin reveals. There were also these teeny-tiny pearls dotted in different places. Luffy didnât know why anyone would bother with such a small detail, yet he didnât seem to mind it much if it was on you.
Oblivious to himself, along with the reason as to why, Luffy was now all-out staring. Inherently, The Captain knew that you looked good, but heâd never once thought otherwise, because you always did. Pretty was the word that came to mind when it came to you, whether it be your expressions, your movements â your eyes, your smile â just about everything about you, really. So, why was it even more apparent here, at this moment? What was so special about youâ What was different right now?Â
Your clothes. That was it, he knew. But, what did clothes matter?Â
Different. He returns to the word, the one thatâs been bouncing around his head every so often over the past few days. This was different, like the concept of kissing you on the lips, instead of where he usually kissed you. Different like how he felt about Not-Sanji wanting to kiss you like that, or in any way, really. All of it resonated, but it all blurred together, and made it hard for him to focus on one aspect at a time.Â
The intensity of The Captainâs gaze must draw yours, the silent buzz between you and himself increasingly prominent while he analyzes. He watches you blink down at the bag a few times, a rolling shiver causing your shoulders to jolt, ultimately turning your eyes to his.
Itâs slow, almost hazy the way your (e/c) irisâs glide to his darkened coals â Natural with an instinctive fashion that only you and Luffy could understand, unnatural to the onlooking eye. With a soft tilt of your head, eyebrows twitch downwards gently. Something disquieted casts over your features, confused as to his initially-perceived vacant stare.Â
Regardless, the boy doesnât move, and he doesnât speak, and he doesnât stop, either.Â
Though he may not be facing your exact direction, his eyes certainly are. Legs crossed, chin propped upon his open palm, that sidelong gaze never wavers; Scrutinziing. Thereâs too much heâs thinking about, eyes flitting from your face, then down and over your figure for what mightâve been the thousandth time, never halting his consideration over the peculiar anomaly thatâs confounding every inch of his mind.Â
However, as soon as you freeze in place, Luffy snaps from the daze. That familiar, rosy hue flushes your cheeks, wide eyes dilating as delicate eyelashes bat at the air in dazed astonishment â However, itâs only a matter of time before your parted lips snap shut. The boy lifts head from hand, surprised when you avert your eyes, spare glances partially hidden behind the hair thatâs usually tucked behind your ear, now down to the front of your face.Â
When you blushed like that it was a good thing⊠Well, it usually made him feel good, which was why it was good. Yet, if he thought about it hard enough â really thought about it â that was just another thing he didnât really understand.Â
Usually it didnât matter to him â he felt that way because he felt that way, thatâs all there was to it â but Luffy wanted to know. Why was he so drawn to you suddenly, and whatâd he do to get that kind of reaction?Â
He was only looking at you because he wanted to figure it out. Maybe you liked it when he looked at you like that, or something? Then, whyâd you look so shy now?Â
Whack!!
Luffyâs head flings forward, shoulders bent as Namiâs hand collides with the back of his skull. (So much for trying to figure it out. Even if he wanted to keep looking at you, all he could focus on was the floorboards as his eyes bulged with pain.)
âIdiot! Stop staring at your girlfriend, weâre talking about something important here!â Nami snarls, aggravated by The Captainâs inability to hold attention for more than the span of three seconds. She had been explaining to him about her gameplan for cashing in their gold stash, just to find the boy completely ignoring her spiel. âAre you even listening to me right now?!âÂ
âO-Ow!â Luffy squawks, raising his head with a hand cupped at the base of his neck. âWhat the hell was that for?!âÂ
âI already told youâ Now shut up and listen!âÂ
âI can look at her if I want, sheâs my girlfriend!âÂ
âI said shut up! And didnât we tell you this already?! Sheâs not your girlfriend yet! You donât even know what that means, so stop throwing it around as if you do!âÂ
âWhat are you talking about?! You just said she was two seconds ago!âÂ
âN-No I didnât!âÂ
âYou liarâ I heard you say it!âÂ
âUh, Nami⊠You definitely said it.â Usopp adds, unamused by his crewmates' antics.Â
âYeah, I heard it too.â Chopper includes, unsure of how to proceed when it came to The Navigatorâs well-known wrath â Regardless, his sensitive ears never lied.Â
âWhoâs side are you even on?!âÂ
Out of the corner of his eye, Luffy catches the movement of you getting up from your seat on the ground, blushing and borderline teary-eyed. You shuffle away timidly, bag in hand and retreating to Robin, who grins down at you knowingly while you hide your face in your hands. Embarrassment has him clamming up, the emotion not originating from his psyche, but yours.Â
âI-It doesn't matter, what matters is us getting all our gold and trading it somewhere in the city so that we can get the Going Merry the repairs that she needs!â Nami, standing on business (ignoring her blatant mistake), continues â Red-faced and aggravated. âWhat Iâve been trying to tell you is that you, (Y/n), Usopp and I will be heading out to do that right now! Not to mention we have to get this reference letter from Kokoro to that Icebarg-guy. So get your ass moving and letâs go!âÂ
At the mention of entering the city, Luffy leaps to his feet. Chipper with the prospect of heading out, the dilemma heâd been debating before is forgotten, and he wholeheartedly agrees, âOkie dokie, sounds good to me!â
Nami and the others facepalm at the strange, yet expected change in his attitude. Meanwhile, The Captain turns back towards you, ready to snatch you up and make a break for itâÂ
Youâre mid-apology with Robin, something about how you âwonât be able to go to the bookstore with her after all.â The woman waves you off leisurely, gifting a few comforting words as you mindlessly reach for the hem of your skirt â fidgeting, he believes, as you tug it to stretch further down your thigh.
Then youâre plucking at one of the thin straps that clings to your nearly-bare shoulder.Â
Nope. Uncomfortable, he registers. Why, though? Man, this was getting frustrating again.Â
Whatever. It was time for a new adventure, he would have to think about it during a better time.Â
â
This place reminded me of Venice, or at least the pictures of Venice that Iâd seen on the internet. Minus the romantic atmosphere, it was a near-perfect copycat, something Iâd once thought my only chance of witnessing was through the pixels of a digital screen.Â
Tight-knit communities with small street-ways â The cities main form of transport depending on the usage of water-filled canals â An atmosphere that bustled with both residents and tourists alike â Bridges that arched over the wider expanses that connected one block to another â And childrenâs squealing laughter echoed through the slim spaces of the main roads. Their parents smiled overhead, hanging clothes-lines in a way that I feared the drying-apparel might fall into the ocean below; However, there was such an array hung above us, they swayed in the winds like flags. It was a blatantly common practice, so my reservations were likely null and void.Â
Everyone here was so joyful, welcoming us with open arms and kind words, calling from their stalls with a convincing exuberance. Weâd received directions from more than a few people who appeared all too eager to help us out. It was a refreshing change, uncomfortably used to the typical reaction that came with being a pirate, where others would turn tail and run⊠Though, the men of Water 7 were a little too friendly, sometimes.Â
Even so, it had been smooth sailing thus farâ Er⊠I suppose sailing wasnât exactly the correct term here.Â
With slick fingers running over the brawny, scaly neck of the beast before me â A Yagara as they called them in Water 7 â I acknowledged that no, sailing wasnât the right term at all. Moreso we were being escorted.Â
Once weâd left the ship, our first stop was reached; One of the entrances outside of the walls of Water 7 was labeled as a âRental Bull-Shop.â Perplexed by the implications, all four of us waltzed in without knowing what awaited us.
The shop owner was just as friendly as the rest of the people who lived in this city, a perfect preface to what we would encounter soon enough. With a brief introduction, and in the process explaining to him what our goals were in the city, he described to us that we would need to acquire something called a âYagara Bullâ in order to attain the full experience that lay ahead; You couldnât get very far in the city without one, as they were a necessity for travel.Â
Still, hearing them described as âbullsâ couldnât have prepared me for what the creatures would look like whatsoever.Â
An uncannily-adorable mixture between horse and fish, the beasts resembled something like the mythical-hippocampus, just less regal than you might picture; The head of a horse, meshed together with the chunky, but oddly muscular bodice of a large fish, or perhaps a seal. They came in all sorts of sizes and colors, some painted with different patterns and separated via pens. Plus, with their heads above water, they bore teeth in a scarily-perpetual smile â Hence why I say uncanny, as the unblinking eyes werenât helping their case, either.Â
Their cuteness, nevertheless, came with their good-natured temperament. Not only did they listen well without a hint of aggression, but they were also rather mischievous; Upon picking our steeds out for travel, one of the beasts came right up to Luffyâs face and licked a long, playful stripe from his chin to his forehead. I couldnât help but giggle to myself thinking back to it, as it was the same exact Yagara that we were riding with currently.Â
At the utterance of the sound, the being in question cranes its gilled chin to face me, the frill on its head shading my vision, where I swear its eyes gleam comically â More human looking than anticipated. I wondered if they had that sort of intelligence⊠A lot of the animals that weâd run into so far were fairly smart, enough to understand human speech at times. Shelly was the main culprit that popped into my head at the thought, and werenât these technically some kind of aquatic-horse species as well?Â
Luffy mustâve caught on, his face leaning in from over my shoulder, the weight of his front pressing against my back. âWhatchaâ laughing at?âÂ
Since there were four of us, a massive sack full of gold, and a rather stingy navigator, weâd only rented two Yagaras and their respective boats. Each ride had two seats, and with our bag of treasures being so large, that meant Luffy and I were both wedged into the front seat while the gold sat crumpled in a heap in the back. The predicament was fine altogether, but nevertheless cramped, my legs wedged up to my chest as I sat between the boys legs, who never ceased squirming with all the energy swarming around us.Â
Ivory, having been lounging in my bag, yowls at the sudden constriction. With a swat from his tiny paw, Luffy reels backwards and away from the cat's personal space with an aggravated âhey!â No longer squishing the kitten in his napping place. The two donât stop there, though â Continuing to bicker in a way that only Luffy and Ivory could, snarling and spitting at each other in resentment. Theyâd been doing this on-and-off for most of the ride thus far.Â
âGuys⊠Can you please just stop with the fighting?âÂ
âNo way! Bones is the one who started it!âÂ
âMiaow!â
More bickering â And I canât fathom how itâs continued on for what feels like ten whole minutes, considering that theyâre essentially speaking two different languages â Before a voice calls out from above.Â
âOh, hello my beautiful mademoiselle!â A man croons, his voice sultry and smooth, singing praise to the skies. Nami and I spot him quickly, uncertain of whoâs attention heâs trying to grab, and Iâm distinctly reminded of Sanji at that moment. âHow about dinner with me tonight?âÂ
Itâs clear that the man has his sights set on Nami, which Iâm slightly thankful for. Both The Navigator and The Sniper look wildly uncomfortable by the unwelcome cat-calling, meanwhile, Luffy is preoccupied with something else thatâs caught his attention and isnât at all aware.Â
All of us watch, stunned, as an arm reaches out of the window that the misbehaving-husband has appeared from, swiftly pinching his ear and dragging him back to the depths of his home with a high-pitched yelp. What follows suit is a series of grunts, groans, and the classic clamor of a man being pummeled by a rogue fist. The wife pops out of the window soon enough, taking the manâs place whilst claiming ânot to worry about himâ and that âthe men around here say it like it's a greeting.âÂ
âDeserved, I guess?â I mumble, uncertain of whether or not we just witnessed some form of spousal abuse.Â
âYeah, what a creepâŠâ Usopp grunts from across the way, staring around in wariness. âItâs not that I donât appreciate a warm welcome, but the people in this town are so friendly that itâs kinda weirdâŠâÂ
At that, he continues to glance around, eyeing every stranger with such suspicion that youâd think someone was about to pull a gun on us. Then, his head lifts, and swerves in my direction at the remembrance of something important.Â
âNow that I think about itâŠâ The Sniper starts, before curving forward with a hand cupped over his mouth â Like sharing a secret between only us two, despite the fact that Nami and Luffy could most certainly hear his less-than nonchalant whispering. âDid you bring it? Yâknow, that thing I made you?âÂ
The satchel strapped around my waist seems to weigh heavier at the mention. I nod carefully, fingers twitching as they slide down my waist and over the leather straps. The âitâ in question was my new weapon, something that heâd whipped up in the few days before our arrival here. Due to the short production time, it was meant for emergencies only; meaning when I was separated from the others, and had to rely on my own self-defense, which was still significantly lacking. Usopp was likely asking out of his own concerns for our wellbeing if it so happened that the townspeople did turn on us, jumpy as ever.Â
Still, I couldnât exactly blame him. All that mention of marines during our talks with Chimney and Granny Kokoro had me on edge, silently wishing that Iâd pushed myself a little harder during the sparse training held with Zoro. We'd only begun our sessions about a week ago⊠Not that it mattered. A week wasnât nearly enough time to form endurance, build stamina, or master any techniques â I barely knew the basics.
My stomach churned at the thought of having to use my weapon with little to no experience, that I had to rely on something that didnât quite sit right in my hands yet. Selfishly, all I could do was hope that I wouldnât have to actually use it â Still, I knew protecting my own safety was of the utmost importance. I couldnât just depend on the others, knowing what was at stake. I needed to prove that I deserved this, deserved Luffy, by staying alive for him in order to ensure that he stayed alive himself.Â
The strain at my shoulders randomly lifts away, metaphorically and physically, as Luffy reaches for the satchel and plops it into my lap â A necessary distraction that would halt my wandering mind from taking a deep dive. Ivory, disgruntled by the gesture, aggressively licks at his paw to correct the stray tufts of fur that have lifted all about his furry head.Â
Itâs here that Luffyâs palms circle around, embracing me from behind and pulling me further into him. He snickers, shuffling to place Ivory between our legs on the cleared floor, resting his chin on my scalp and retrieving the reins once more â Exactly as heâd been leading us throughout our journey so far.Â
I shrink a bit, the pressure of his head over mine in combination with the rigidity of his upper-half against my back both grounding and nerve-wracking. With a lack of coverage over my shoulders â that being Ivoryâs bag â I find myself fiddling with the thin straps that lay underneath, somewhat self conscious. Face reddening, I hadnât yet determined whether or not Luffyâs staring from earlier was good or bad, and my pessimistic mind had jumped straight to a negative outlook. Did he hate it? Was it too thin? âŠToo short? Did it just look bad on me?
âUh, a hill is coming up.â Usopp speaks bluntly, clear warning in his tone that instantly drags me from my thoughts. âWeâre about to go against the flow, is that okay?âÂ
Ivory pokes his head from the bag at the same moment, both of us staring at the water ahead with odd expressions, though for different reasons Iâm sure. (The baby didnât seem keen on getting wet, avoidant of our surroundings. He hadnât left the bag a single time.)Â
There are two, water-slide-like ramps beside each other, the one on the left raised slightly higher than the other, in both of which the water flows in the opposite direction of where weâre currently headed. Had this been some sort of one-way street or something?Â
With a snort, followed up by an overjoyed whinny, the Yagara at the front of our boat surges forward with a great big stride â I squeal as our ride jerks roughly towards the left side, a screeching Nami and Usopp trailing behind. Â
âWait, wrong way! Go rightâ Right!â The Navigator begs the animals to turn back around, however the two refuse to listen, adamant on continuing our adventure in an upward stride, racing against the current.
âAwesome! So it doesnât matter even if the water is running downhill, huh? What canât you do!â Thoroughly impressed by the Yagara and their abilities, Luffy is thrilled by the current happenings. I grip the sides of the boat, white-knuckled as he throws both arms into the air, cheering gleefully.Â
With my stabilization lost, I can only hold my breath while my heart thump-thumps in my ears and the tightness of my joints, bracing my legs against the floor so that Ivory doesnât go flying with each rapid turn or steep drop. The kitten is terrified, fur spiked on his back whilst clinging to the fabric of the bag so hard that his claws leave indents, and I can relate. The paint on this thing was definitely chipped, now.Â
âLookâ The canals even go to the top of the buildings!â Luffy cackles like a madman, and with our awkward position I nearly lose my place as we whip around the next corner â far too close to ramming against the side of our small vessel and toppling overboard. The Captain hooks an arm around my side with a âwoahâ and jostles me back into position, unfazed. âYou gotta hang on or else youâll fall off!âÂ
My face must be white as a sheet. âI-Itâs not like Iâm trying to!â I squeal, hand clasping at The Captainâs arm as the path before us swerves into an elevated s-shape. He grunts in response, adjusting his hold where Iâm firmly wedged in my spot.Â
âWeâre going the wrong way!â Nami shouts with a venom in her words. âWe have to go to the shopping district first!âÂ
âWhy? Whatâs the rush?â Luffy genuinely ponders, momentarily distracted by the girl's concerns. Still, his arm never leaves me, planted firmly around the base of my torso and wrapped taut like rope. âThis is a rare opportunity! You wanna see the rest of the city, donât you?âÂ
Nami and Usoppâs Yagara nickers â A whining-squeak that sounds more like a dolphin call than a horse â Alerting all of us to the sprawling path ahead.Â
None of us pick up on their warning at first, but the closer we grow, the more I can make out the implication of our next stop.Â
I hear the staticky, rushing undertone, and it drudges up bad memories immediately. My blood flashes cooly in my veins.Â
Usopp says something about it first, screeching at the top of his lungs; âHey! Lookâ Look ahead! Do somethingâ T-Turn around!âÂ
We couldnât see how steep the plunge was from here, inching towards it at a nauseatingly slow pace, like a roller-coaster right before a drop â And honestly, it probably wouldnât be much different.Â
Still, out of everything, why did it have to be water? A fall into water, at that?Â
âYou ready?â A soft nudge, the question asked just over my shoulder whilst I dead-stare the end of the canal with dread. A deep breath in.Â
âDunno.â And I wince at the crack in my voice. This was stupid. It was just water.Â
âCâmon, itâll be fun! Trust me.â The boy pushes. Weâre almost at the end, now; Ivory ducks into the cover of the rucksack, readying for the ride ahead.Â
Itâs difficult to convince myself of his claims.Â
â...Promise you wonât let go?â I mumble timidly, squeezing his arm in reference. At this point, Luffy probably wouldnât allow us to drown, right? Not after everything in Navarone â and heâd proven it too, during the Davy Back. âO-Or crash, or anything?â
Luffy chuckles, elated that heâs apparently persuaded me. He grabs up the reins once more, hunching forward so that Iâm utterly encased by him; crowded completely, or basically as much as heâs able. âYeah, donât worry. I got it!âÂ
Weâre so high up. Far above the faded-brick-red rooftops, which tower over the streets below. Even the great wall that separates this area of the city from the next seems insignificant at this height.Â
I release my breath, taking in the view with a confidence thatâs not my own. Or maybe it wasâŠÂ
I glide my hand against the rubbery, warped skin of Luffyâs forearm, the sense of stability that comes with his grip astoundingly surreal; Incomparable to moments before, where I had to rely on my own crumbling foundation. Was he right? Would it be fun, like those times we swung around the ship, supported by nothing but him?Â
With a triumphant shout from The Captain, the Yagara finally tips us over the hill â My stomach sling-shots into my chest as we plunge.Â
The water flings out from under the bellies of the Yagara, charging straight down the decline without hesitation. Nami and Usopp are full-on sobbing, but I canât really hear it over Luffy and his delight. It rolls over my back in roves, swelling from his soul and spilling over into mine.Â
âFaster!â The Captain urges, mouth open in a wide smile.Â
In seconds, the vomit-inducing sensation of plummeting at such a fast pace fades into butterflies, and a splash of salt water on my cheek fully wakes me from the burden of anxiety.Â
Reaching a dip in the path where my stomach lurches, I unsuspectingly belt out a laugh when we peak another hill.Â
âSee?! I told you this was gonna be fun!â Luffy calls over the sound of us cutting through the wind and air, leaning into another turn so that we might zip around it quicker.Â
âTh-This is fun but scary!â Usopp wails, adamant on the experience ending asap.Â
This was insane â Way better than any rollercoaster Iâd been on. Whether it was a shriek or a squeal, I couldnât tell what noise I made in response to my soulmate, allowing myself to remain absorbed in nothing but fun despite my crewmates' discomposure. For the first time since weâd gotten here, Iâd felt completely at ease â No worries whatsoever, and I was relishing it for as long as we could make it last.Â
Unfortunately, that meant the others also noticed.Â
âY-Youâre just as psychotic as he isâ Youâ You traitor!â Nami cried, and Iâd never quite seen her as distressed as she was now. âGet me off of this thing!âÂ
âYouâre not actually enjoying this, are you?!â Usopp adds, snarling as thick tears burst from his water-line.Â
Luffy and I both laugh at their horrified faces, him fueling the fire with a pointed finger and full-on howling. I knew Iâd regret it later, but right now was more important⊠Probably.Â
Usopp, inarguably scared out of his mind, now pissed beyond belief, shrieks at us with one final cry;Â
âYou both are nutsâ KMS!â
â
Tidbit Time!!
(Y/n) â after learning about budgeting from Zenny, and begging many, many times â Helps Nami sort out the funds for each of the crew members' designated allowances whenever they reach a newly discovered island. She never argues with The Navigator, and serves more as a second set of eyes than anything else.
Each time this happens though, Luffy tries to convince (Y/n) to make sure that he has more to spend than the others (where she usually just combines her share with Luffyâs in order to avoid the money-obsessed Navigator's wrath).Â
And yes, this happened before departing for their exploration in Water 7, as well.Â