A search for a rumored Vegapunk weapon leads the Kid Pirates to an unexpected new crewmate, with a bloodlust that rivals their own and an incredible power.
CW: Please check AO3 for all current warnings, but general warning for smut, slow burn, serious gore, and really dark themes. AFAB reader, she/her pronouns.
Masterlist || AO3 || Chapter 1
Chapter 38 - Hea-T Go Home
Heat helps you with a painful problem, and Kid pulls his head out of his ass
A/N: uh.. had to add lactation kink to the tags cos of this one. Sorry/you're welcome?? Also don't deal with mastitis this way lmao, it's an old wives tale, some people swear by it but new research suggests other methods are safer. Probably just see a dr, tbh.
You could see the body of Dawn's mother laying on the rocks, red pouring from her body, limbs in unnatural positions, her eyes staring straight at you, boring into your very soul, making your blood run cold. The waves lapped at her misshapen body, her blonde hair almost glowing against the dark water under the half moon. “THIEF!” she suddenly screamed up at you, making you almost fall to meet her as you lost your footing for a moment, dirt and stone falling from the tall cliff and dusting her body. “YOU TOOK MY BABY! YOU STOLE HER, YOU KILLED ME AND YOU STOLE HER! YOU'LL NEVER BE HER REAL MOTHER! BARREN WHORE, NO WONDER HE DOESN'T WANT YOU!”
Her body flickered, as though it was hologram, and suddenly you were looking down at your own body, lilac strands stained scarlet as they bobbed in the rise and fall of the ocean. “It should have been you,” you spoke, cold pink-grey eyes filled with fury, “you should have died, they're all better without you”
Heat hovered over you as your eyes opened, a strained gasp escaping you as you struggled to catch breath. He was straddling your waist, careful not to put any weight on it, your wrists held firmly against your chest by his warm hands. The skin on your chest under them stung like you'd been clawed by a feral cat, your lungs heaving with every inhale and exhale that came hard and fast. You were hyperventilating, you realised. Heat made exaggerated movements with his mouth, trying to get you to follow his breathing pattern, trying to get you to slow your rapid breaths. You focused on his perpetually sad face, his dark eyes full of concern as they stared down at you, his expression relaxing as you finally synced your breathing with his. He let go of your wrists, flopping back to lay beside you and pulling you in close to his chest as a sob wracked through you, followed by more as tears began to spill. He held you close throughout, pressing kisses into your hair and rubbing soothing strokes up your back till you found the strength to calm down.
“You're okay now, Yin,” he soothed, “I'm right here. You're safe, you're loved, you're held”
You nodded in affirmation against his chest, his skin bare but wet with your tears. Your chest was burning, not just from what you realised were self inflicted scratches, but from the sheer pressure of milk in your breasts.
“Heat, it hurts,” you whimpered. He let you fall back a little so he could examine you. Your chest was red with grazes, but you hadn't drawn blood. Your tits were another problem on their own though, the left one entirely swollen and inflamed, almost solid under the pressure. He pressed the back of his hand to your breast and pulled it away quickly.
“You're burning up,” he replied, full of worry, “fuck, hang on”
He practically leapt from the bed, taking one moment to glance at Dawn and check she was still soundly asleep, before rummaging through his shopping bags. It'd only been a few hours since he'd gotten back, you'd barely both been asleep before your pained whines had woken Heat, finding you clawing at yourself and weeping in your sleep as the nightmare plagued you.
He found a book he'd been searching for and started flicking through it as he returned to the bed, brows furrowed in concentration as his finger ran down the index page in search of a relevant term before turning to the indicated page. “I think it's mastitis,” he told you after a moment of silent reading, still scanning the page, “it says it could happen if you didn't fully drain the milk or uh bacteria from baby's mouth or stress, there's other causes but I think those are most likely. It says we should drain it to relieve the pressure but you probably need antibiotics.” He sighed and put down the book, pinching the bridge of his nose, “we're gonna have to go see Mohawk. We can't just go back to the hospital here, the sudden baby is too suspicious and you can't walk there on your own while I stay with her, you're too delicate right now. It'll have to be Mohawk”
“Maybe we just start with draining and then see how it goes?” You suggested. You didn't want to go back to the ship till at least Kid apologised, maybe you could wait it out and he'd crack before you absolutely needed to see Mohawk.
“Okay,” he said nervously, “um… it says the best way to drain is with a pump or baby, but uh..”
“We don't have a pump, and baby is asleep and not hungry,” you realised, finishing his train of thought.
“Well, we do have a pump, the store clerk told me you'd need it,” Heat explained, “but it has to be charged, and all the parts need sterilising”
“I can't wait any longer,” you whined, “it hurts so much”
Heat could see the pain all over your face, and it broke his heart. He had to help you. Was it something he desperately wanted to do anyway? Perhaps, but he wasn't going to just steal from a starving kid. But you needed it, so he was allowed, right? Anxiously, and doing his best to not seem overeager, he brought his mouth down to your breast. You let out a gasp as he took it in his mouth, groaning around it as he suckled and the first warm spurts of sweet, thin milk coated his tongue. With a hand on the back of your head, he guided you to lay flat, the hand moving to caress your other breast, just breezing over it, he didn't want any of your milk to escape unless it was for his consumption.
He felt suddenly possessive of you, making small satisfied growls as he suckled, his hips rolling against the bed almost on their own as his erection grew. His eyes had fluttered closed as he drank you, hand sliding down your front over your bandages, running over the front of your panties. He knew he couldn't enter you, but fuck did he want to. He wanted to be deep inside you, pistoning you with his throbbing cock and feeling your cunt squeeze around him while you came, all the while drinking down your warm life giving liquid. You'd made it for him, he thought greedily, only him. Killer hadn't tasted you like this, it was all for Heat. You whined as his hand ran under the waistband of your panties, touching you with every bit of care he could manage, you back arching as his tongue lathered your breast and nipple, pulling every drop of milk you had. He wondered if this feeling was why you were always so keen to swallow his cum, the lewd and arousing notion of consuming fluid made by another. No wonder he loved eating you out. Fuck, that made him wonder what other kinks he didn't realise he had.
He almost choked as a thick glob of solidified milk hit his tongue, his eyes growing wide as you let out a whine, and suddenly it was like a dam wall had broken, your milk practically gushing into his mouth now that the clogged milk duct was open, milk escaping the corner of his mouth and dribbling down his chin as he greedily suckled. He ground his cock hard against the mattress, his peak so close, but you quickly found a way to break him, running your hand through his hair and moaning “good boy”.
He came with a deep groan, mouth unlatching from your breast to take a heavy breath, face pressed to your collarbone as his hips rolled and he rode out his high. All he could manage were stuttered curses, his pants soiled and sticky with cum. You pulled his hand from your pants, it'd felt nice but the doctor had told you strictly no sexual activity, warning that the strain of an orgasm on your muscles could cause injury. Quietly he returned his mouth to your breast, draining you completely before moving to the other. It wasn't swollen like the first, but what kind of man would he be if he didn't drain it anyway, just to be sure, for the good of your health of course. You happily let him continue, laying sleepily against the pillow as he suckled, your eyes heavy with sleep thanks to your nightmare and the contented feeling of Heat's mouth lavishing your chest. At some point you drifted off, Heat still fondling and suckling from you, a far more pleasant dream taking you this time.
Hours had past when you woke, and you sat up with a startle, on one part immediately concerned that you'd neglected Dawn, on the other confused that Heat was no longer beside you. Soft splashes of water and singing in a deep, scratchy voice caught your attention, coming from the bathroom where the light was on and the door was open. You didn't recognise the song, but you recognised Heat's voice. You'd only ever heard him sing a few times, when he was drunk enough to not care how hoarse he sounded, but it was definitely him.
You quietly slipped out of bed, taking wobbly steps to the bathroom door where a soothingly domestic scene was unfolding. Heat had some sort of pop up bucket thing setup on the bathroom counter, holding Dawn carefully in it with one hand so she wouldn't slip below the water, the other hand carefully tipping water over her hair with a cup to wash away soapy suds, the blonde tuft of hair slicking down with the water. Dawn was content trying to eat her fist, Heat's singing pausing for a moment so he could giggle at her and say “is that a tasty widdle hand?”
“You two look the picture of a family,” you said softly as you walked up behind them, wrapping your arms around Heat's waist.
“I didn't know you were awake,” he blushed, doing his best to finish washing Dawn but entirely distracted by the way you were nuzzling your cheek against his back. It was still bare, you guessed that was probably by design so he wouldn't get his shirt wet, though there was a small towel slung over his shoulder.
“Mmm, thanks for letting me sleep,” you mumbled, “does she need feeding?”
“Nah, gave her a bottle of formula,” he replied, “I hope that's okay, I was gonna ask but you looked so exhausted and the book said the mastitis was probably making you even more so. How are you feeling?”
“A little tender, but mostly okay,” you replied, “formula is fine, I never had much chance to think about it anyway, I just went straight to breastfeeding cos it's all I had”
“I got everything washed and sterilised, and the pump should be charged by the time you next feed,” he reported as he opened the towel a little and lifted Dawn to his chest, wrapping her in the soft white fabric. You let his waist go so he could move and giggled as he turned and revealed the towel was in fact hooded, with a tiny embroidered animal face and little bear ears.
“Cute!” You squeaked, absolutely overcome by how sweet Dawn looked with the little ears and her little wide eyes.
“She should be awake a little longer if you wanted to spend time with her,” Heat said as he moved back to the main bedroom where you saw now he'd laid out a padded changing pad on the dresser, nappy and clothes already set next to it, “She's been awake for a little bit. I fed her and changed her nappy, and we had some tummy time, the book said she needs a few minutes on her tummy a couple times a day, and then she did possibly the most explosive shit I've ever seen in my entire life, so we had a bath didn't we Dawn?”
“Ah, the infamous blow out,” you laughed, getting comfortable back in bed so Heat could hand her to you when he was done dressing her. You weren't supposed to lift anything, baby included, for another week or so. “Thanks for dealing with it, baby”
Heat blushed almost neon pink at the pet name, quickly finishing dressing Dawn and bringing her over to you. He was still pink as you took her, and you squinted playfully at him. “You okay babe?”
“Yup! I'm great!” He quickly replied, fleeing to the bathroom before the pink on his face could spread any further. You heard water draining as he emptied the little collapsible baby bath, and you realised from where you were that you could see his reflection in the mirror. You couldn't help but smile fondly at the goofy grin he had on his face, before his eyes flicked up to the mirror and met with yours. You stayed like that for a moment, just staring at each other, and it made you feel warm. You could feel his love, even from there, even through a reflection, and it made your smile grow even wider, his own grin reflecting yours.
A knock at the door ruined the moment, Heat's head perking up and looking at the door suspiciously as he approached it.
“Heat, I know you're in there, open up,” a gruff, frustrated voice came from the other side. Heat looked at you with a scowl, the sour expression not for you but for the man on the other side of the door. “I'm not here to fight, I just wanna talk” the voice continued.
“Unless you're here to apologise, you can get fucked,” Heat spat back. The uncharacteristic reply caught you off guard.
There was a heavy sigh from the other side, and a small thunk like a forehead was being rested against the door. “I am,” the voice replied, “I fucked up, please let me in. I can't just sail out of here without you, you're family, both of you. All of you, I mean”
Heat let out a sigh of his own and looked to you for confirmation. You gave him a short nod and readjusted your hold on Dawn, making sure she was held firmly in case the temper of your visitor changed. He threw on a shirt, and there was a click as Heat unlocked the door, opening it slowly to reveal Kid, his head hung in shame as he looked back at the firebreather.
“Package deal, Kid,” Heat reminded him as he stepped aside for the captain to enter, “her and the baby come with us, or I don't come back at all”
“I know,” Kid replied softly, “please come back. I know I said some fucked up shit, but I was just angry, I didn't mean it. I'm- I'm sorry Yin. I failed you as a captain. It's my job to keep you safe, nobody should be hurting you, not even the first mate, certainly not yourself. I should have been there too. I know I'm not your boyfriend or whatever but I'm your captain and your friend and I should have been there to support you when you were hurting. If you want this baby, I'm not gonna fight you on it. I know it's… I know it's not his but she's still yours so I'm still gonna treat her like any uncle should. If you can forgive me, and come home. The ship doesn't feel right without you guys”
You stared blankly at him for a moment. You hadn't honestly expected him to apologise, you were prepared to leave the ship for good. He had his soft side, you knew that, but he was also stubborn and arrogant and pig headed. It shook you a little, to hear him be so genuine and forlorn.
“And… Killer?” You asked hesitantly.
“He wants you back, needs you back,” Kid sighed, “but he knows it's not gonna happen overnight. He knows he fucked up, he's doing what he can right now to make things right for when, if you come home”
“He pulled his head out of his ass then?” Heat tsk'd.
“I think you did a pretty good job of pulling it out for him,” Kid replied, “he told me what you said. It was all true, and he needed to hear it”
“You talked to him?” You asked Heat.
“More like chewed him out,” Heat sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed next to you, “I bumped into him when I went for your mask”
“I know it means fuck all coming from me, Yin,” Kid continued, “but he's sorry, he really is. He probably would have come here with me but he's busy moving all his shit to your old room so you and the baby can have his”
Now that surprised you. “He's… giving me his room?” You asked, confused as to why he would do that.
“You can't fit a cot in that shoe closet,” Kid shrugged, “he said he's gonna keep good on his promise to turn that cupboard in the nav room to a nursery but for now you need the space his room offers. Wire already picked up a crib and he and Double are putting it together. We're just waiting for you three to come home. Mohawk managed to snag an eternal pose to the next island, so we can raise anchor whenever we want, but we didn't want to leave without you all”
It touched your heart to hear they could have already sailed away, but had chosen to stay. That in itself spoke volumes about the situation when you knew Kid was always eager to move along. Every day wasted was just another delay on his plans, and he was a highly impatient man.
Kid stood quietly while you thought about it, awkwardly shifting his weight between his feet. Heat looked at you discerningly, waiting to hear your decision. He would follow you to the end of the earth, he knew that now, so whatever you wanted would be what he went with, even if it meant abandoning the men he'd known as family for the last decade and a half. He'd leave them, for you, such was his love. His eyes widened hopefully though as you took his hand.
“Let's go home,” you smiled softly. He smiled and nodded back, relief washing over him. Kid let out a heavy, relieved breath.
“Thank fucking god, I thought I was gonna have to knock you both out and drag you back to the ship,” he admitted.
“You know you're no match for me,” you tutted. Heat was already up, packing all your things. He looked at the pile, then at you, then he forcibly pulled Kid's metal arm away from his body and started threading shopping back handles over it.
“Oi!” He protested.
“You want us home or not?” Heat scowled, continuing to pile bags up on Kid's arms, “she can't walk that far, she's still recovering from surgery. One of has to carry her, and it ain't gonna be you, you're not gentle enough”
Kid huffed indignantly but stopped his protesting, letting Heat load him up with bags till his arms were at capacity and he had to hold the last few against his chest. Heat really had bought a lot of baby shit.
He did one last check of the room before helping you into some loose pants, sticking your mask on your head and picking you up bridal style, Dawn held securely in your arms. Kid stared awkwardly at Dawn as Heat approached, seeing her in daylight for the first time, her blonde hair now dry and fluffy, her blue eyes wide and alert.
“Why does she look like him?” He asked, almost too quietly to hear, but you heard, and your face turned to anger.
“Do not say that again,” you growled, “she is not his”
“S-sorry,” he stuttered, using his devil fruit to unlatch the door and opening it with his foot so Heat could carry you past. He followed behind you, staring at Heat's back, his mind swimming and busy but at least a little lighter with the promise of bringing you all home.
Killer was on deck as you all returned, watching silently from the sidelines as Heat carried you to his your room, followed by Kid carrying mountains of bags. Just another way he felt he'd failed you, Heat had even had to provide for your baby, that should have been Killer's job. He sighed as he sunk back underdeck, returning to his room, still decorated in purples and yellows as you'd left it, and collapsing onto the dusty, long unused mattress with a heavy sigh.
Finally made sketches of Cody with my new FAV character.
@cf8wrk4u-us ‹= idea by. Kid found Cody in the sea alone but he only ¨helped¨ the kid because of the Griffin Hoverboard. Cody is not up for a bad time, but he can't leave his new (only) friend along with a crew of maniacs, and after having his encounter with the Marine, being with Kid as a cabin boy is not far away as his old home.
Cody does his best to survive in this new environment not wanting to make mad anyone in the crew. Kid by far is the hardest to content and, of course, the scariest to disappoint. Thought, Kid changes a bit his mind when he learns that Cody had Observation Haki.
But on top of that Kid always has on his side the little hoverboard giffin like a parakeet.
Killer is the ¨most¨ calm and helps to keep Cody in line so he doesn't get in any trouble. Killer gives him food, ropes that had to be adjusted so Cody could wear something and a little place to sleep. But Cody also learns a few things from Killer, or at least something to defend himself alone.
Heat is scary but he doesn't mean it all the time... he likes Cody when he is not getting in trouble, and sometimes feels bad for him. Heat doesn't understand him, is the life of a pet more valuable than his own?
Wire doesn't say a lot about Cody, but feels like the kid shouldn't be here even if it is for a friend.
Things will get strange once Cody learns how to use Observation Haki... @sonicasura I'll use that one quote you gave.
Deicide (54762 words) by VickytheSnake, thesavagesabretooth
Chapters: 14/?
Summary: In the aftermath of the raid on Onigashima everything changes. The path to the One Piece is a course that can only be charted by those who agree to join together as friends and fight without taking the easy way out.
catch up here.
-
Buggy the Clown had finally slipped away from his fawning masses, his fans and the following he’d gathered as ‘Emperor of the Sea’ and Cross Guild’s figurehead of a leader.
They’d dealt a crushing blow against the Marines the night before– stealing a whole battleship’s worth of former Marines, and the White Hunter and Black Cage themselves. Things were really fucking looking up for what used to be Buggy’s Delivery Service!
But something still gnawed at his mind now that the hangover finally subsided. That guy they brought with them, the one under lock and key in the infirmary.
Was he still loyal to the marines? He was a double agent, wasn’t he? He had to figure out where he stood.
There were a pair of Buggy's own men guarding the door to the infirmary– likely Crocodile had put them there— and they happily saluted and made way for him as he arrived.
Buggy grinned, slapping them each on the shoulder.
“You boys are doin’ good work. I’m real proud of ya.” He grabbed the door. “Give me a little privacy. But stay close.’
There was a snappy round of agreement as they retreated a little further down the hall, and Buggy headed into the room.
An antiseptic smell hung in the air here, and Buggy saw a shape laying under the covers of the infirmary cot. The guy probably wasn't very comfortable. Croc had mentioned they clapped seastone on him just in case.
“Heh, hey there.” Buggy sauntered in and bent over the bed with an open mouthed grin. “You awake, big guy?”
"And if I am?" the shape under the covers asked.
“Then I wanna talk to you! You missed the big party, so I thought I’d drop on by! Come on, flashily say hello!”
With difficulty the figure sat up. The famous 'Drake'--- supposedly of the Worst Generation, now known to have been a Marine spy all along. His red hair was tousled and his narrow, scarred face pale and covered in small bandages.
Buggy actually knew a little bit about him. Drake's father had been a rather famous marine who defected to piracy. What a family trajectory.
Drake ran his fingers through his messy hair.
"You're Buggy, aren't you? Forgive me for saying I haven't had good experiences with my chats with pirate Emperors, lately."
Buggy snorted with a wide grin. “Well, I’m different. I’m a new kinda emperor. A flashier, friendlier Emperor. Mostly. Nice to meetcha! Buggy the Clown at your service!”
"At my service," Drake drawled. "Somehow I'm disinclined to believe that, Buggy. But I suppose I appreciate the gesture."
Drake was hard to read. There was a twitch at the edge of his lip that might have been a smile.
Buggy sent his hand out to drag up a chair, laughing as he plopped himself down in it.
“I came to see how you were feelin’. I’m magnanimous like that. Holding up alright? Need some fresh bandages?”
"That's terribly gracious of you," Drake said, looking Buggy over with his unreadable expression. "I'm not feeling at the top of my game, but I couldn't tell you if it's the wounds or the seastone cuffs your men have me in."
Buggy leaned on his hand. “Sorry about that, your buddies got the same treatment, too. It’s a precaution, ‘least for a bit. That’s part of why I’m here.”
"It's an understandable precaution, considering." He shrugged, sitting up a little further. "I get the feeling that the situation aboard this marine ship has changed."
“Sure has, buddy!" Buggy laughed companionably. "See…Smoker and Hina and their guys and gals? They’ve seen the light and come around to the pirate way of thinkin’.”
"They've defected to piracy," Drake's face showed no hint of emotion, though he glanced away. "I should be surprised by that."
“I mean, probably, but at the same time can you blame ‘em? I mean…the Marines.”
He tugged at his collar with a low euughhh sound. “They’ve been gettin’ worse and worse haven’t they? I mean, I’m a pirate, I’m an asshole, but those guys are assholes who act like they’re saints.”
Drake chuckled under his breath and stared off into the distance. "I see I'm getting 'the pitch'."
“I mean, I imagine you’ve already gotten it from other people, given the whole ‘pirate but not really’ thing you had goin’ on!” Buggy grinned. “But I thought I might try an’ work my ol’ Buggy Charm on you.”
"I have heard that you're very charming," Drake admitted with a thin slice of a smile. "I've heard you described as having 'a mad and twisted charisma.' Would you say that's right?"
Buggy slapped his knee.
“Mad and twisted? I guess ya could call it that!” He pointed his thumb to his chest with a grin. “I’m the flashy, friendly clown of the high seas! The man who’s gonna help change the world! Would you call that ‘mad and twisted?”
"I suppose that depends on if you're going to change the world in a mad and twisted way," Drake mused. "As I imagine the Marines and the government would attest."
“They’ve got no imagination.” Buggy huffed, holding his hands up. “None at all! I mean…what’s really mad and twisted when you take into account what they’ve been up to? Buster calls? Marineford? Impel Down?”
Drake waved a hand.
"You're trying to appeal to my sense of justice, aren't you, Emperor Buggy? To convince me that the pirates are as– or more– 'just' and noble as the bloody, vicious marines. You don't really need to bother. I've known they were the same since I was a little boy."
He finally looked back and caught Buggy's eye. There was something dark and sad in his gaze now.
Buggy’s unceasing smile didn’t lessen, but he did meet the man’s eyes. “Then you’ve got a head start…your old man was a pirate, right? A pirate who used to be a marine.”
"And not any kinder and sweeter a man as a marine than he was as a pirate," Drake said. "The night he died, my fate fell entirely to chance. I was found by the marines. It could have just as easily been… someone else who found me."
Buggy rubbed his chin. “I can kinda relate. I don’t remember my old man very well…but I remember the man who found me, and the life I wound up leadin’ because of him.”
"Do you regret it?" Drake asked quietly.
Buggy thought about life on Gol D. Roger’s ship; Shanks, the adventures they had and the excitement mingled with tragedy.
“I have some regrets,” he murmured. “Mostly with the way things ended with some folks— but broadly? Not one bit. I’d taken to the life, I wanted to be the best damn pirate I could be. Just like Roger, or better. I felt free whenever I took to the sea.”
"Just like Roger," Drake murmured. "You sailed under him back in the old days, didn't you? In the days before the so-called 'great pirate age'."
“Sure did! Me and ol Emperor Shanks were his number one…” he cleared his throat and murmured under his breath ‘cabin boys’. “We sailed on that infamous ship, and almost saw the One Piece with our own eyes!”
"It sounds exciting," Drake sighed, a sad half smile on his lips. "Romantic, even. More so than anything my father did in ill-fated tenure as a pirate. Do you know why they let me go undercover, Buggy? The navy?"
Buggy leaned on his hands with a grin.
“Why? I gotta admit, Drakey, I’m interested.”
"They thought I hated pirates because of how much I hated my miserable father," he said, a quiet intensity growing in his voice. "They thought they'd never have to worry about me turning, but that pirates would easily believe 'like father, like son'. What do you think of that?"
Buggy’s smile grew a little wider.
“I think it speaks to how fuckin’ stupid the Marine brass really are.” He leaned forward towards him with a grin. “Your father sounds like he was a real piece of work…and on top of that? A shitty pirate.”
"I hate him, Buggy," Drake said. He sat up fully and swung his legs with difficulty over the edge of the bed so that he was facing him.
"I have always hated him. I hated him when he was a pirate. And I hated him when he was a marine. He was a tyrannical man from under whose thumb I could not escape until he perished. He was a miserable failure of a man whose failure I have always known reflected on me. They'll say as much, if I returned to the marines. Of course Drake lost his whole crew, look at his father. Well, no matter— they were pirates. And then I'll be given desk work."
Buggy’s smile turned to a grimace as he nodded.
“Yeah. They would. They got a specific way about ‘em. You know, deciding that where ya come from is more important than who you are. Your old man sounds like a right bastard…an absolute bastard who’s gone and tied your future to his shitty name.”
His eyes met Drake’s. “But you know what you can do?”
"Please." Drake's smile hitched a little wider, and he leaned forward. "I wonder if you're going to suggest the same thing I was about to."
“Give ‘em the finger. Give your old man’s legacy the finger, too.” Buggy grinned widely as he offered his hand. “Make a new name for yourself. Your name. As a pirate of Cross Guild burning the Marines down to the ground together.”
"How funny. That is what I was about to suggest." He raised his hand, and hesitated. "You'd have me as an ally, then?"
“In a frickin’ heartbeat, Drake. Kaidou didn’t know what he was wastin’ with you.” He held his hand out. “join our crew, and let’s put the fuckin’ torch to the Celestial Dragon’s gilded cages.”
Drake grabbed his hand with force Buggy was surprised he could muster between the injuries and the devil fruit.
"Then you've got me. By hell, I'll be a real pirate this time."
Buggy gripped his hand tightly with a cackle and a grin.
“An unholy terror of one, Drake! Now lemme get those cuffs off ya and I’ll grab you a drink! You’ve got a hell of a night to catch up on!”
Drake grinned, the reserved smile wiped away by the relieved, eager expression. "I've got a damned lot to catch up on. I'll start with the drink, thank you."
-
The fall of the Beast Pirates was a swift and brutal whirlwind. Before Speed knew it, the gang that’d been her whole life since she’d signed on with Kaidou was a sunken ruin at the bottom of the ocean.
It was even crazier to think about the fact that for her ‘mistress’ she’d gone and helped burn it down herself. As the dango started to slowly wear off with the kunoichi’s constant attempts to ease its effect, she’d been almost surprised to see Speed still wanting to hang around.
She wasn’t especially broken up about the Beast Pirates and Otama had been a ray of light in the otherwise bleak situation of Wano, so she’d resolved to continue dedicating herself to the teenage ninja.
Maybe that’s why she was fuckin’ surprised when Otama had joined the first pirate crew to say ‘yes’. Of course she followed along, she was well suited to the life wasn’t she? But it had not been anywhere close to her expectations for life with Kurozumi Otama.
She wasn’t about to complain. The Kid Pirates were rough and tumble. Rude. Crude. Violent— it was comfy. Like a cog slipped back into a mechanism, finding its right place again. It was on her mind as she helped them load the ship, carrying boxes slung over her equine back with rope up the gangplank and to the deck.
"Mind helping me out with something else when you're done hauling that, Speed?" Kid's first mate, Killer, asked her as he settled some crates of his own. "I need a spotter."
“Huh?” Speed looked over at him, the dark half of her hair falling in her eyes as she reached up to adjust her goggles. “A spotter huh?”
She grinned at him. “Sure. I used to spot for a friend back in the Beast Pirates.”
"Not for an assassination," Killer said. She couldn't see his face but she got the feeling he was amused. "Just to make sure I don't drown like a fucking idiot."
Speed’s eyes flicked to the ocean, the bane of Devil and SMILE fruit users alike.
“You’re gonna, Killer. I mean…even if you ain’t stuck smiling and laughing all the time, the ocean’s still got you cursed, right?”
"That's what I want to find out." He grabbed a length of rope from the deck and started to tie it around his midsection. "Come on."
Once she was free of the boxes she was hauling, he led her down the gangplank and back to the shore, handing her the end of the rope that he'd tied himself to.
Her hooves clacked against the wood of the gangplank as she awkwardly trotted after him, grabbing the end of the rope as she settled onto dry land.
“Hell of a test. Does your cap know about this?” she asked with a lopsided grin, lifting her goggles to settle in her two-toned hair.
"Nope. He's busy." Killer shook his head, starting into the foam of the tide. "Besides, it's not really dangerous with you here, right?"
Speed wrapped the rope around her hand and her elbow, giving herself a bit of purchase as she winked.
“Not really. Only danger is to your dignity if I gotta drag you out kicking and sputtering. Don’t worry. I won’t tell a soul.”
"My dignity's feeling pretty fucking robust today now I've got my good old scowl back.". He tracked out into the water until he got up to his knees. "Nothing yet."
Speed held to the rope like a lifeline— she knew all too well the weary exhaustion the ocean brought on you.
But Killer seemed fine.
She smiled a little wider as she watched him, her back foot gently stamping the ground.
“It’s a pretty charming scowl, sir. You’re really not feeling anything? No ‘weak at the knees’ feelin’?”
"Nope. Feel fine. Normal, even." He waded in further, up to his hips. By now, the devil fruit's exhaustion should certainly at least be apparent. "Doc said he took the whole damn thing out of me. I want to see if it's true."
Speed leaned forward, the rope going slack for a moment before she caught herself and kept it steady.
“Holy shit…you can do that? Like, that’s fuckin’ possible?”
"Apparently," he shrugged, still going deeper as the rope spooled out. "He said he probably wouldn't be able to do it with a real devil fruit. But the SMILE fruits were a different story."
“Huh….” Speed chewed her lip as her ear flicked. The SMILE fruits were…troublesome.
Even for 'gifters' like herself, the lucky ones who didn’t turn into monsters, or lose the ability to do anything but smile. It was like you’d taken a zoan fruit and made it suck.
Zoan users, like Ulti and Page One, could shift their form. Speed had been stuck with an unwieldy horse body that she couldn’t shrink down to her old set of legs.
“That’s pretty crazy, actually. They always told us it was permanent.” Idly, she tugged the rope. “Feel like the ocean’s tryin’ to eatcha yet?”
Killer was up to his chest now. "Nope. I feel like I can float."
In fact, he started paddling.
Speed grinned and clapped her hands together with a clop of her hooves again.
“You’re really cured, you lucky bastard! Hot DAMN!”
The rope went slack as he paddled in the tide.
"Shit, looks like I really am. Didn't think I'd be able to say that. Thanks for the help, Speed."
She dropped the rope, snapping a salute with a grin. “Hey, anytime Killer. We’re crewmates now, right? I didn’t JUST join ‘cause Otama was.”
"Nah?" He paddled back to the shallows and started walking toward her. "Not just, huh?"
Speed shook her head, her hair tousling in the wind as she put her hand just above the seam where the horse began and her old human form ended.
“Nah. I liked you guys. I liked fightin’ with you during the big skirmish, too. Even if I was kinda taken in by Otama’s dumpling power, I could tell I respected your grit.”
"Hell of a power she's got," Killer nodded. "Was good to fight with you in that fracas too. Hell of a fight."
“Hell of a power,” she agreed with a lopsided grin. “Helps that she’s a real charmer, too. Makes a girl wanna fight for her even without the magic.”
She shook her head before she stretched and started reeling in the rope with a nod. “I never thought I’d wind up standing against Lord Kaidou, you know? I’d pretty much long made my peace with workin’ for the guy.”
"How long was that, anyway?"
Killer dripped with sea water as he untied the rope from around his midsection and passed it to her. She took it, wrapping it up with a chuckle, even if the saltwater soaked into the rope sent a tingle of weakness through her fingers before she threw it over her back.
“Few years. I used to be a pirate too, ya know…of my own I mean.” She brushed her hair over her ear. “I wasn’t born in Wano, I just wound up here after Kaidou sunk my ship and snatched my crew.”
"Common story I guess. Glad to be getting out of here?"
Speed crossed her arms with a slight smile.
“Honestly, yeah. If I wanted to be stuck in one place forever, I woulda stayed home in Water 7, wasting my life away at the Galley-La canteen.” She looked over her shoulder at the blooming cherry trees. “No, I’m gonna be happy to say goodbye to Wano…it’s got its share of memories, good and bad.”
"For me, they're pretty much all bad. But I'm glad that's not the case for ya"
“Sorry about that, Killer.” Speed hissed softly through her teeth. “...we’ll just have to make up for it in other places, eh?”
"No doubt. What about your fruit? Is that a good memory or a bad one?"
She ran her hand through her hair.
“....it’s….” she hesitated. She was lucky. Damned lucky. She was a gifter. One of the elite chosen by sheer luck.
But…
“It ain’t the best memory. I was terrified I was going to wash out when I ate it. And when it worked, well…” She gestured behind her at the furry flank of her horse half. “It’s useful…there’s parts of it I really do like, but it ain’t exactly …”
"Ain't exactly something you woulda fucking picked?" Killer said.
“I don’t even hate the horse part!” she laughed, pushing her goggles up with a grin “it’s just…it ain’t a zoan fruit, you know? It’s got drawbacks that people like the Topi Roppo never had to deal with.”
"You know…"
She trailed off as he spoke, before she tilted her head, ear flicking. “Hmm?”
He waved a hand. "Nah, it's nothing. Well… I was just fucking thinking…"
“....and didja get any thoughts cooking?” Speed lowered her hands to her hips, her eyebrow raising.
"I mean if you wanted to you could see if Trafalgar could take the smile fruit out of ya," he said. "Donno if it'd work for you like it did for me, but it popped into my head. If it did, you could try again with a real fruit."
Speed whistled low under her breath.
“A real devil fruit, huh? If we could get our hands on one, that’d be…”
She chewed her lip thoughtfully, making a low and horselike huff in the process. “Y-yeah. Actually, d’ya think you can convince the guy? I’m willing to give it a shot, worse comes to worse it doesn’t work, right? And I’m right back to being fuckin’... ‘Horsealina’.”
"Yeah, worse comes to worse he tells you he can't do shit and you go on about your day," Killer nodded. "Go ahead and ask. I'll cover for you with the captain if you need me to."
She trotted in close to grab his shoulder with a wide, ear to ear toothy grin. “Killer, you’re the best! Thank ya! Make sure he doesn’t ship off without me, alright?”
"Got my fuckin word on it."
-
Speed felt…weird.
Weird was an understatement. She felt like her whole center of balance had been thrown off all over again. But it was a good weird, honestly.
She walked down the gangplank of the Thousand Sunny on feet that didn’t clop or click, her hand carefully on the rope strung up alongside it as she grinned widely in the sunlight. She caught herself from tripping on her own two legs and thanked Law, Caesar and Chopper for their help before she headed back to her own ship with effort.
It’d take time— time to readjust to being fully human again, no longer bound forever to the unwieldy horse form that Kaidou had gifted her. But it was worth it. She could swim, she could eat a proper devil fruit should she find one…she could further help Otama without that strange power making her feel awkward about it. Life was looking up.
Her two-toned hair rustled in the breeze around human ears as she peered towards the jolly roger of Kid’s pirate crew– her crew– and quickened her shaky pace back to them.
Killer was the first one to see her, waving to her from the deck of the Victoria Punk.
"You get it done, gal?"
She spread her arms with a wide grin, and stood tall on her long, human legs. “Whatta YOU think, Killer?”
He gave her a thumbs up as she headed his way. "Looking good, Speed. Got a new lease on life."
She flushed, tucking her hair over ear with a broad and toothy grin.
“Damn right I do. I’m a new woman!” She hurried over, and started up the gangplank, before she stumbled and caught herself. “Well. I will be in a bit, when I get used to the legs again. It’s been a few years.”
"That long, eh? You musta been one of the fucking first in line." He reached out and put his arm under hers to steady her.
“Yep!” Speed laughed as she steadied herself against him and started up the stairs. “...my crew was one of the early ones to fall against him. I signed on, he made me one of his top field agents, and when he got the SMILE he threw one my way first thing. I’m damn lucky it was a good one.”
"Guess you damn well were," he nodded, patting her on the back. Despite his threatening mask, and his brutish demeanor, she was already finding that he was a pretty nice guy– as long as you were one of his friends. "Wanna see something?"
Speed laughed, genuinely glad to have found her way on the other side of that…to being one of his friends.
“Yeah, why not. Is it somethin’ good?”
"Could say so." He kept ahold of her, steadying her as she walked as they headed down below deck into the belly of the ship.
Her legs were still shaky ‘like a newborn foal’ Law had laughed. But she’d been assured that she’d find her center again fast. Likely within a day. But she wasn’t going to complain about Killer’s help.
She grinned. “Is it treasure? Maybe a masterwork sword?”
"No sword," he shook his head. "But it is treasure. Stole a little something from Onigashima before we got out of there. Kaidou's hoard."
Speed nearly did a double-take, looking at him with wide eyes “you raided Kaidou’s hoard??”
He turned his masked face back to her and cocked his head. "Yeah, obviously."
“Bad-ass,” Speed nudged him with her elbow. “I'm surprised you had the time when the world was burning down.”
"You gotta make time for treasure, Speed. S'what being a pirate is all about."
He pushed a narrow door open, and led her into a small private cabin that must have been his own. There was a messy bunk, and a few personal items here and there, but mostly it didn't look like it had been used for a while.
But there was a metal chest sitting on the rough hewn little table at the side of the room.
She snorted playfully.
“It’s been a while, maybe I’m rusty. I’ll get back into the pillaging mindset in no time.” She whistled when she saw the chest. “Handsome little thing. You open it yet?”
"Uhuh. Guess what's in it." Killer let go of her arm and swaggered over to the table, putting his hand on top of the chest.
“Probably not gold, or berry.” Speed tapped her chin. “and it’s too small for a good sword. Kaidou wasn’t exactly an ‘arts’ guy, that was more his girl Maria…”
She pointed to it “devil fruit?”
He flipped the chest open, and inside were sitting, exactly as she had guessed.
A pair of devil fruits.
"Bingo. You win the prize, Speed."
“...Well I’ll be damned!” She whistled with a broad grin, looking up at him with a lopsided smile. “what’s the prize?”
He waved a hand. "You want one? I can only eat one of 'em."
Devil Fruits— especially of the sorts that Kaidou coveted and held jealously to for his top-rankers— went for hundreds of millions of berries at minimum. They were treasure of the highest order, utterly unique from one another.
She’d never had the opportunity to even see a real one in person, let alone have the chance to have one.
The SMILE had always been her best gamble after Kaidou had taken her. Her one shot at real power with a price. She hadn’t expected a devil fruit at all, much less this soon.
And he was offering it to her after only a few days on his crew. She blinked owlishly at them before looking back up at him with a wide grin.
“Really? You’d…you’d gimme one of them? Do you know which ones they are? Do you have an encyclopedia?”
They came with a price…but it was a price she’d been paying for two fucking years of being stuck as a horse woman. Two years of jokes, and being unable to fit into normal clothes, and the ocean’s dark call threatening to eat her the moment she touched the shore.
It was easy to be willing to risk that price again.
"No fuckin clue," he said, shaking his head. "They come from Kaidou's shit so I'm assuming they're zoan fruit but hell, even that could be wrong."
She peered down at them with a smirk. “I have to buy you the encyclopedia sometime soon, man. But until then…you wanna take a gamble?”
"I've been tossing around whether to eat it now or later, myself."
Speed stretched with a lopsided grin. “Feel like taking a dip in the ocean? If not…I’m willing to give it a go right off.”
"Never was much for a swim," he nodded. "Already talked to the cap, and he said go for it. So what the hell, eh?"
Killer pulled off his mask, the blond hair cascading around his face and shoulders.
“What the hell,” Speed brushed her hair over her human ears and leaned over the chest to inspect them both with a grin. “...thanks for this, sir.”
"Figure you're owed something for all the years you spent on that shithole. Besides, you'll be more of an asset to the crew." He clapped her across the back.
She stumbled forward with a grin, and reached back to slap his arm in return.
“damn right I will! Let’s see if my ol’ luck holds out, eh?” She grabbed one of the fruits at random “....here’s to glory, Killer.”
"Cheers, Speed. Here's to glory."
Speed looked down at the fruit, with its glossy and wing-like curls over its surface, and swallowed thickly.
This was her second major test of her luck– the SMILE had turned out in her favor, even if it wasn’t perfect…so would she prove to be lucky again?
Only time would tell. You didn’t rise in the Beast Pirates, or Kid’s pirates either, by being afraid.
She grinned at him one last time as a woman the sea didn’t abhor, and took a bite of the fruit.
