Jul 11, 2025
The work is overwhelming me but I'm trying to not give up on my "art" again.
How many Charlotte Effilée fans exist beside me?
I know that she appears in just one episode or two, but it was enough, I've fallen in love immediately.
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The work is overwhelming me but I'm trying to not give up on my "art" again.
How many Charlotte Effilée fans exist beside me?
I know that she appears in just one episode or two, but it was enough, I've fallen in love immediately.
Smoothie as that one leanbeefpatty's Tiktok!
It's Funny How A Decade Ago People Were Ranting How Sexist One Piece Was During The Dressrosa Saga (And Now We Have A Character Like Bonney Who Is Doing Extraordinary Things)
I remember all the discourse back in the Dressarosa arc about how sexist Oda was and how he never let his females do anything. Seriously, it makes me think if the series ended around there it would have probably gotten a reputation from those people for being quote of quote sexist. The things ranged from not giving the women enough fights to damseling to female villains getting redeemed easily to ugly and older women not getting good treatment to you name it everything they could think of. Ever since then I think One Piece itself has refuted a lot of the complaints had then by people who probably won't admit they judged too early.
Since then we have gotten peak female characters, even one people deny is female due to ideology. But we got peak interesting characters that people love and show themselves to be enduring characters who defy everything that Dressrosa critics say females in One Piece are usually restricted in. They have been shown to be physical fighters and have shown to have their own stories outside of romance despite still being tied with men. I say that even some women characters who are mothers and wives and sometimes not even attractive can have interesting characters.
I take for example Chiffon who is shown to be a mother and a wife, but she also has something outside of it where she endure years of abuse due to being Lola's twin because she walked out of an arranged marriage. And again she uses her skills to help subdue her mother when she goes on a rampage even when she wanted nothing to do with her anymore. Also her relationship with her husband is just enduring and how he goes the extra mile to save her from one of her own brothers who was going to kill her.
Also I would like to add Big Mom and Brulee who both get complexity despite being antagonists and ugly. Big Mom in particular due to she could have been one big fat joke when in reality she really is someone who is a product of people who failed her that it turned her into the woman she is today. She truly was a woman with mental problems who could have been a good person if she had good direction but now she directs a household where her children fear her and are under her whim.
Also lastly we got female attractive villains that didn't turn good like Ulti and Black Maria, while they did have redeeming qualities they still remained villains to the end. Ulti was even willing to go physical with male protagonists like Luffy.
Even though it's been over a decade since Dressrosa, I still remember those inane arguments and I think how judging this series too quickly in the middle comes off as foolish especially when you see later stuff. This especially comes to female characters because again people underestimate what Oda has in surprise and how he can grow.
// Episode 829 //
Cheese town, the town of dreams! 💖✨️
İnan kölesi olabilirim,
Gözlerime saldığın derinliğin..
Curious to learn what the ministers of Tottoland do with their power, like, what they do when they lead the country. Every child of Big Mom who is a minister seems to act like a ruler of their own island, but what do they do when the country needs them? Do they gather together? Do the different islands act like different countries that are friendIy with each other? Who is the minister of foreign connections, or is there one? What does Compote do as a minister?
Michelle Goes to Komugi Island
Whoa, sorry it took so long to get this next part out. I moved to a new city and started a new job, also this turned out way longer than I intended. Anyways, I hope you enjoy and there’s probably going to be one more part after this one.
I hope you enjoy @one-piece-dumpster-fire ^-^
Part 1 Part 2
With a heavy sigh, Michelle collapsed into the softest armchair in the main study of her and Cracker’s mansion. It gave a knowing chuckle at her obvious fatigue as she snuggled into its plush cushions. Everything seemed to ache, not just her bad leg this time. Who knew planning a wedding would be so exhausting?
Michelle supposed she should have expected this. Between her fiancé and future mother-in-law, deciding on any aspect of the wedding was always a difficult task. After all, they both had such large personalities that were hardly ever agreeable. The only part of her marriage ceremony that Michelle really had any strong opinion on was her dress, and both Big Mom and Cracker had drastically different ideas on what she should wear. Cracker wanted something sleek and sexy while Big Mom wanted a full princess ballgown with lots of details and decorations. She basically wanted her future daughter-in-law to look almost as elaborate as the wedding cake! For her part, Michelle did want to wear something worthy of the event but still with a quiet elegance that would prevent her from looking too over the top. That would undoubtedly not be up to Big Mom’s standards (or sexy enough, as far as Cracker was concerned).
The young woman really did dread the eventual dress shopping she would be doing with Cracker’s full sisters Custard and Angel, knowing full well they would have opinions of their own.
“Hiya, Michelle! Long time no see.” A familiar voice jerked her from her musings, and Michelle glanced up to see the small orange form of Charlotte Spice hovering just outside the study window. She was drifting in midair with her legs crossed and her arms tucked behind her head as though she was lounging on a chair of her own.
Upon seeing her, Michelle hastily sat up. “Oh! Spice, hello! How are you? It has been a while.”
The other woman giggled at her hurried response. “I’m doing well, but you look a little beat. Is wedding planning tiring you out?”
Michelle gave a slightly embarassed smile. “Yeah…I guess I should have expected it to be this taxing, but I hadn’t really considered it.”
“I hear you. I’ve seen my fair share of weddings in my time.” Spice replied as she straightened up and drifted closer to the windowsill. “Anyways, that’s why I’m here. I figured you could use a day off for a bit of R&R!”
Michelle’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?!”
“I was thinking you and I could have a bit of a girl’s day! There’s a new spa that just opened up on one of the islands that I wanted to try, and I figured it would be a great opportunity for you to get some time to relax.”
A spa? Michelle hadn’t been to one of those in a while. It honestly sounded really good right now.
“Alright. That sounds like a great idea,” she eventually agreed. “Are we leaving now?”
“You catch on quick!” Spice held out her hand, and after a moment’s hesitation, Michelle took it and allowed the other woman to pull her through the window and hold her against her chest, supporting them both while hovering in midair.
After giving her a moment to catch her bearings, Spice took off flying over the streets of Biscuit Island without another word.
Despite Spice’s firm grip, Michelle still clung to her like a lifeline, trying desperately to look anywhere but down. “So where is this new spa, you mentioned?” she shouted over the wind their speed was creating, hoping to distract herself from the great distance between her and the ground.
“It’s on Komugi Island!” Spice replied with a grin, “You know, my older brother Katakuri’s island.”
“Oh yes!” Michelle had a vague idea of what the island was like, although she hadn’t yet visited it.
“That reminds me…” Spice slowed down slightly, which got the other young woman’s attention, “Is it alright with you if I invite another person along for our girl’s day?”
“Oh! Uh…I suppose so. Who is it?”
Spice’s momentary hesitation melted away. “I was going to invite Sakura, Katakuri’s wife! I figured it was a good idea since you guys haven’t met yet. Don’t worry, she’s super nice and honestly like the best person to have a girl’s day out with. I bet you two are going to get along great!”
Michelle couldn’t help but laugh at Spice’s constant enthusiasm. “I certainly hope so.” She did vaguely remember it being mentioned that Katakuri was married, but she didn’t know anything about his wife, or him for that matter. It seemed like Spice’s older brother was a very private person.
“You said Katakuri’s wife was named Sakura, right?” she asked Spice. “What’s she like?”
“She’s very friendly, honestly more so than you might expect,” the other woman replied. “And she’s a whizz in the kitchen! She makes the absolute best pumpkin donuts you’ve ever tasted in your life!” Spice licked her lips at the thought, “I hope she has a fresh batch waiting for us when we get there.”
At that point, they’d reached the harbor where Spice’s boat the Peter Midnight was docked waiting for them. Spice quickly alighted on the deck and finally set Michelle down.
She wobbled a bit on the gently rocking boat, trying to find her footing again. As Michelle looked on, Spice’s body started to glow faintly with a golden light. A moment later, a series of fuzzy flashes sprouted out from her body, separating from her form and taking the shape of exact duplicates of Spice herself. The soul projections then quickly darted around the ship, getting everything ready to cast off.
Michelle wasn’t nearly as freaked out as she’d been the first time she’d seen Spice use this ability, and while the other woman went about getting everything organized, she went over to the bow where the flaming pumpkin figurehead was chuckling to itself and settled in for the journey ahead. She couldn’t help but wonder what the day would bring.
~~~
Komugi Island wasn’t quite as flashy as Candy Island had been, but it was still very impressive. The sheer size of the place was a little overwhelming for Michelle. It was said to be one of the larger islands of the Tottoland Archipelago as well as one of the most densely populated.
The young woman quickly followed Spice through the crowded streets of Hakuriki Town, the island’s capitol city. Just like on Candy Island, many of the passerby stopped to address the Sweet Commander with a kind of reverence, bowing deeply or shouting their praises.
Although, many of the civilians seem to recognize Michelle as well. Several pointed and whispered to one another behind their hands. A few offered her warm smiles and friendly waves. It would seem like more and more of Tottoland’s population was recognizing her as a member of the Charlotte Family, a position that demanded respect.
At one point, an overweight, well-dressed man took off his top hat and gave Michelle a lofty bow. She could only offer a nervous smile in return.
Eventually, Spice managed to lead her away from the downtown district and towards the city’s perimeter. Michelle was rather surprised to find that Katakuri and his wife didn’t live in the epicenter of their ruling island’s capitol. Rather, their massive estate was located a short distance outside of the city, on top of a wooded hill.
Surrounding the massive house, there were dozens of trees, which sang and swayed lazily in the wind, surrounding the large magenta building and providing plenty of privacy. Spice alighted on the grass amongst the small forest, setting Michelle down beside her (her leg had started to act up again while still downtown, so Spice had flown them the rest of the way).
As soon as they appeared in the garden, the trees all started shaking their branches in anxious curiosity while whispering amongst themselves almost as much as the people in downtown.
“You good?” Spice asked when Michelle paused, rubbing her sore hip.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She gave the other woman an apologetic smile. “I think this day was long overdue.”
“I’ll say!” Spice agreed, chipper as ever as she skipped ahead. “Sorry to make you walk so much. Are you better now?”
“Yeah, I’ll be alright.” Michelle followed along at a bit slower pace as they approached the gigantic gold and white front door to the mansion. She stared up at the building in awe, her mouth hanging open in spite of herself, as she took in the massive structure. It looked more like a museum than a house! Then again, she supposed it made sense: Katakuri was even taller than Cracker and Persopero, so he would require a larger space.
As Michelle pondered this, Spice jumped up and rapped her knuckles smartly on the door. “Hello~! Anyone home?!” There came no response. She then grasped one of the large golden knockers and tried again, this time producing a near thunderous sound that seemed to echo throughout the mansion’s many rooms and hallways. However, still no one came to the door.
“Maybe you should try the doorbell?” Michelle offered.
“No way. It bites.” Spice pointed to the indicated object mounted beside the door. The little button had a small snarling face and it hissed at Spice and Michelle.
“I guess Katakuri’s out, but I wonder where the servants are.” Spice glanced around, “Well, he doesn’t keep many staff on anyways.” She shrugged, “Come on, we can just go in the back door.”
“Are you sure that’s okay?” Michelle asked as Spice hopped off the porch and started making her way around the house.
“Of course! Katakuri doesn’t mind, and I’m sure Sakura left it open.” Spice replied simply. Michelle could hardly argue so she followed as close behind as she could.
It took a few minutes from them to make their way around to the back of the house; however, it wasn’t long before a rich delicious smell wafted through the air towards them.
Spice paused, inhaling deeply. “I was right! Sakura is making her pumpkin donuts!”
“Those smell heavenly,” Michelle exclaimed, feeling her mouth start to water.
“I told you! Sakura makes the best donuts in all of Tottoland. She even puts Streusen to shame. Katakuri swears by it, and he’s something of an expert on the subject.” Spice grinned before taking Michelle’s hand and pulling her to the rest of the way to the back door.
It was indeed propped open with a large stone doorstop that was chanting “Hold the door! Hold the door!” over and over as they passed. Spice wasted no time with stepping over the threshold into the kitchen, and Michelle was pulled along as well.
It was immediately apparent that the kitchen was the most important room in the house, and Michelle was shocked to find that it was even bigger and fancier than the one she had worked with alongside Giuseppe in Cracker’s mansion. The room was long like a bowling alley, and counters and stoves lined either side with dozens of cabinets mounted on the walls above them. Everything was painted in rich browns and cream colors and there were two long tables in the center of the room. Against the back wall, there was a gigantic oven the size of a fireplace that was currently pumping a dense heat into the room as it baked whatever the source of that spicy autumnal aroma was. It was also immediately clear to Michelle that the kitchen was a mess. The countertops and tables were covered in flour and some of what looked to be the purest, brightest sugar she’d ever seen. It almost seemed to sparkle like crystal. There were dozens of mixing bowls filled with the remnants of batter and frosting stacked on the countertops and piled up in the sink along with seemingly hundreds of dirty utensils. Streaks of chocolate and caramel sauce along with small piles of multi-colored sprinkles covered the floors and there was even a splattering of some sticky syrup staining the ceiling as well as a cooking spoon dangling haphazardly from the center of the stain.
Michelle gawked at the scene. Giuseppe would have a fit if he saw the state of this place.
Her attention was soon drawn to the sound of a person rummaging in one of the cabinets on the other side of the kitchen. Her eyes followed the noise and soon spied a large figure crouched down with the open door mostly blocking them from her view as they shuffled through the contents of the cabinet.
“Sakura! Hey!” Spice called, finally letting go of Michelle’s hand and rushing towards the other person, waving her arms.
At her words, the figure straightened up to her full height. The kitchen suddenly felt a little smaller as Michelle took in the woman before her. She was well over twelve feet tall with a broad, full chest, muscular arms and thick thighs and hips. She had a pretty, yet stern face framed by wavy emerald green hair and accented by sharp, yellow eyes. Although, her most imposing feature was the pair of large white, bull-like horns that were growing out of the top of her head. However, as Michelle looked at her longer, she realized that her somewhat frightening form was shrouded in a rather contrasting color palette: she was clothed from head to toe in different shades of pink: including an intricate bubblegum pink kimono dress with an adorning sash and a paler pink apron covered in more flour and stains. She was also wearing large cherry blossom earrings with matching necklace and rings. Her makeup was intricate and just as “girly” with sparkling eyeshadow and richly colored lips.
The massive woman looked down at the other two, wiping a bit of sugar off her cheek before her eyes instantly lit up. “Spice! Hello!” she exclaimed, speaking with a heavy accent Michelle couldn’t place.
“It’s so good to see you!” Spice laughed as she rushed forward and jumped into the larger woman’s open arms, hugging her around the waist. “It’s been too long.”
“It sure has,” the woman, whom Michelle concluded must be Katakuri’s wife, then glanced back up at her. “This is Cracker’s fiancée then?”
“Yep, this is Michelle,” Spice gestured back to her. “Come on over and say hello.”
“Yeah, I don’t bite,” Katakuri’s wife added, although she bared her rather sharp teeth as she spoke.
With a small amount of caution, Michelle made her way over as the woman bent down to shake her hand. “Charlotte Sakura, it’s so nice to finally meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too,” the smaller woman replied as Sakura shook her whole arm rather than just her hand. As she did so, Michelle noticed that Sakura’s nails were long and sharpened like claws but also painted pastel pink.
At that moment, a loud clatter reverberated across the kitchen, and the three women all turned to see several kitchen item Homies were jumping out of another cabinet and a few of them had knocked some of the baking pans off the table.
Sakura gave a shout and ran over to the mess, waving her arms and yelling at the Homies in an unknown language. Spice laughed as she fretted over the mess, finally shooing the Homies out of the kitchen with a broom.
“Still not used to the Homies, huh?” Spice giggled.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to them.” Sakura spat, “Pesky little yokai.”
“It took me a bit of time to get used to them too,” Michelle admitted.
“Little shits need to stay out of my room,” Sakura grumbled under her breath as she made her way back over to the massive oven. As if on cue, the machine dinged almost as soon as she reached it.
“Yay! Donuts are done!” Spice exclaimed.
Sakura laughed at her sister-in-law’s enthusiasm as she opened the oven door and pulled out a baking pan laden with warm orange-brown donuts. The spicey pumpkin scent filled the room to the brim, and Michelle thought it was absolutely heavenly.
“I’m so excited!” Spice was hovering a few inches off the ground, unable to contain her eagerness.
“Don’t forget they’re very hot,” Sakura reminded her. Despite this statement, she proceeded to pluck the donuts out of their holders with her bare hands and place them on a cooling tray.
“I can cool them down!” Spice offered, bounding over and hovering above the donuts. She sucked in a sharp breath before blowing on the freshly baked sweet. From her mouth came a sudden gust of icy wind that sent chills down Michelle’s spine. The steam from them started to fade almost instantly, and Spice quickly patted one to see if it was still too hot to eat. “That better?”
Sakura rolled her eyes. “Impatient as ever.” Michelle then watched, rather startled, as Sakura raised her hand and waved it over the donuts. As she did so, white powder seemed to pour out from her hand like snow comes from a winter cloud and alight on the donuts in a pleasing glaze.
“Whoa…” she whispered.
“I know right,” Spice gave her a knowing smile. “Sakura ate the Sugar-Sugar Fruit. How fitting is that?!”
“It’s what makes my donuts so special,” Sakura agreed with a proud smile, placing one of the aforementioned sweets on a plate and handing it to Michelle. As she turned away, Spice grabbed two more. “Do you want one?”
“Yes, please.” Michelle quickly accepted the offered pastry and took a bite. The flavor that washed over her tongue was heavenly. It was rich and warm and strangely nostalgic in taste, reminding Michelle of cool fall evenings beside a crackling fire. It was near indescribable, there was something distinctive about it that set it apart from most other sweets she’d had in the past.
“Well?” Sakura eagerly asked.
“It’s delicious,” Michelle exclaimed, “I’ve never had anything like it!”
“I’m glad you like them,” Sakura replied, dusting her hands on her apron. “My husband can’t get enough of them.”
“Where is Katakuri?” Spice asked through a mouthful of her third donut.
“Out.” Sakura shrugged. “You know how he is.”
“Speaking of which,” Spice stuffed one more donut in her pocket before turning to the other two, “Shall we get going?”
“Of course! I wanted to try out this new spa for ages!” Sakura exclaimed, quickly hanging up her apron and washing off any lingering sugar or other ingredients from her face and hands. “I need to get my nails done anyways. My cuticles are a mess.”
Michelle couldn’t help but giggle at the sight of this big, scary woman complaining about her nails. She was then rather shocked to see Sakura go into a closet by the door and pull out two massive swords that were each nearly twice as tall as she was. One of them had a gold hilt with spikes jutting out on all sides of the guard and the other had a white sheath and a silver, crescent-shaped guard.
“You’re taking your swords?” Spice inquired, hovering in the air.
“Of course! I never leave home without them.” Sakura replied as she then attached the silver sword to her hip and slung the gold sword over her shoulder. “Alright, let’s be off!”
~~~
It was very easy for Michelle to see why Spice and Sakura got along so well. They were both chatterboxes. It didn’t take them long to fall into a face paced conversation, walking side by side as they jabbered away. Or rather, Spice was floating in the air at the level of Sakura’s elbow in order to lessen the absurd height difference a little bit. For her part, Michelle couldn’t help but trail behind, huffing and puffing as she tried to keep up with the speed not only of their walk but also their words.
Spice was enthusiastically describing an incident that occurred in Sweet City, the capitol of Whole Cake Island and in fact all of Tottoland, where a great vat of molasses had exploded and flooded the whole city.
“It made an awful mess and mother was furious, but the citizens had a lot of fun swimming in it,” Spice explained cheerfully as though a gigantic tidal wave of sticky, oozing molasses flooding most of a major city was really no big deal at all.
As far as Sakura was concerned, she bounced off of Spice’s rambling remarks rather effortlessly, although it was already apparent that the “common tongue” was not her first language. She would occasionally slip in and out of the language she’d spoken before in the kitchen, one Michelle neither understood nor recognized, and make exclamations in this strange tongue.
She really did want to ask her about it, but Michelle was having a hard time keeping pace as it was. She was already really out of breath.
“H-Hey!” she called up to Sakura, trying her best to race walk behind her to keep up with her long strides. Sakura and Spice both looked back down at her call. “Y-Your accent, I don’t recognize it. Where are you from?”
Sakura gave her a curious look. “Hey, do you need to take a minute?’
“Huh?” Michelle panted, feeling her face go hot both with exertion and embarrassment. “N-No, I’m fine.”
“Nonsense,” Spice asserted, floating over to her, “Sorry about this, Michelle! I should have had Sakura give you a lift from the start.”
“Th-That’s okay.” Michelle started to protest, but Spice promptly picked her up by the waist and gently floated back up into the air before placing her on Sakura’s broad shoulder. Michelle instinctively grabbed the hilt of Sakura’s large golden sword strapped to her back to steady herself.
“Better?” Spice inquired, floating around the other two women like an energetic bumblebee.
“Uh yeah. This is fine,” Michelle replied, slightly nervous in spite of herself. Sakura was tall; it would be a long way down if she fell.
“I’ve got you.” Michelle looked over to see Sakura smiling at her. Now that she was eye level with her, she could make out her sharp yellow eyes a lot more clearly. There was something strangely familiar about them.
“So, what is it you wanted to ask me?” Sakura inquired.
Michelle blinked. “I was just wondering about your accent. I don’t recognize it. Where are you from?”
Sakura’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second before she smiled. “Me? I’m from Wano.”
Michelle almost fell off Sakura’s shoulder in the way she gaped at her in shock. “W-What?! Seriously? You mean the Wano Kuni, the kingdom that’s been isolated for almost seven hundred years?!”
Sakura laughed at Michelle’s reaction. “The very same. Is that really so surprising?”
“Well, yeah. I mean people aren’t allowed in or out of that country, right?” This explained why she didn’t recognize the language Sakura was speaking. It was Wanonese, a tongue known only to those native to the Kingdom of Wano.
“That is usually true, but I guess you could say my dad has some influence with the Shogun.” Sakura winked at Michelle, which only confused the other woman more.
“Hey! We’re here!” Spice suddenly piped up, having flown a short way ahead of the other two and was waving her hands frantically, while hovering in midair.
Michelle had become so engrossed with her conversation with Sakura that she hadn’t even noticed they reentered the bustling downtown district of Hakuriki Town. Spice was drifting in part of a massive pink palace-like building that had dozens of multi-colored bubbles drifting out of white spiral-shaped towers jutting out of the twisty cream-colored dome roof.
“Oh wow! It’s so cute!” Sakura exclaimed, her eyes sparkling as she took in the impressive structure, all decked out in her favorite color.
Michelle waved aside some of purple bubbles that were floating in the air around them. Her fingers popped one of them as she did so, and the air was instantly filled with the scent of lavender. “Ooh nice.”
“This place looks great!” Spice proclaimed, finally alighting on the ground in front of the door. “Can you fit, Sakura?”
“I might have to duck to get through the door but the inside looks spacious enough,” the taller woman replied as she abruptly reached up and grasped Michelle by the back of her sweater, lifting her off her shoulder and gently setting her down on the ground.
“Thank you,” Michelle whispered before following Spice through the large pink double doors after she pulled them open with the massive handles. Sakura ducked in after them, careful not to brush her horns on the top of the door frame.
The front room of the spa was filled with even more multi-colored bubbles than the outside. The ceiling was high enough to accommodate Sakura, but the bubbles kept popping on her horns, periodically filling the air with
A short, plump receptionist draped in waves of fuchsia fabric greeted the girls on the front desk and quickly beckoned a small group of white and pink clothed employees to usher the into the back room once Spice had signed them in.
The Sweet Commander had to insist on paying, even though the woman urged her not to, saying the spa’s treatment was offered to the Charlotte Family free of charge. However, Spice gave her the money anyways, declaring she wanted to support the business.
The young female attendants in their pink and white candy cane stripe uniforms lead Michelle, Spice and Sakura through the coral pink halls of the spa, lined with rooms on all sides.
The ladies lead them into one of the rooms and directed them to little cubbies where they could put their clothes and shoes and replace them with fluffy white robes and flip flops.
Michelle couldn’t believe how soft the bathrobe was; it felt like she was wrapped in a cloud.
“Sakura, no. You can’t take your swords with you,” Spice was saying to her sister-in-law.
“Why not?!”
“It should be obvious why not!”
Michelle giggled to herself.
~~~
The rest of the afternoon was a flurry of steam, soft benches, sweet-smelling perfumes and more colorful bubbles.
The three young women were all given massages and body cleansing treatment. Michelle felt as though she could melt into the table as the masseuse worked at the tense muscles in her back and shoulders. Her bad leg didn’t even seem to be hurting her anymore.
After that, the girls were given some time to unwind in a sauna, which left Michelle feeling nearly boneless if a little stuffy from the steam.
Finally, the last thing on the roster were manicures and pedicures. Michelle picked out a royal purple nail polish for her fingers and toes, a color Cracker had said looked good on her in the past.
Spice choose pumpkin orange of course, and Sakura predictably picked bubblegum pink.
The three girls all sat in large highbacked recliners with soft cushion lining while the workers cleaned their feet with the help of small bubbling tubs mounted on the floor.
Sakura and Spice were once again filling the air with their rigorous flow of conversation. It was almost as erratic and colorful as the clouds of bubbles drifting over their heads. Michelle was more than content just to listen, leaning back in her seat as the employee doing her pedicure rubbed a sweet-smelling cream onto the soles of her feet to smooth out any dry skin.
“Where are you from, Michelle?” Sakura’s voice suddenly jerked the other young woman out of her reverie.
“Huh?”
“Spice tells me you’re not from Tottoland originally,” Sakura elaborated at Michelle’s confused expression.
“Oh. No, I’m not.”
“So where are you from?”
Michelle smiled almost wistfully. “I don’t really have a home country. I was born on a ship on the Grand Line. My parents are merchants, and me and my little brother traveled around with them our entire lives.”
Sakura’s eyes widened. “That’s unbelievable! So, you must have been all over the world, huh?”
Michelle nodded, surprised at the other woman’s enthusiasm. To her, her life had always been her own and had soon grown rather boring, which was why she had decided to settle down in one place in Tottoland. She would sometimes forget that it probably sounded fantastical and strange to other people. “I’ve been through most of the Grand Line and some parts of the New World, also the North Blue a few times.”
Sakura seemed absolutely enthralled. “Can you tell me more about the places you’ve visited?” she inquired, leaning forward slightly in her seat with an earnest smile.
Michelle nodded. “Sure. I can do that.” She was more than willing to indulge the other woman; after all, if Sakura really was from Wano like she mentioned, she probably hadn’t been to many other places growing up. So, Michelle soon found her stride in telling Sakura and Spice stories from her childhood of travelling around with her family. She tried to be as descriptive as possible so as to paint the clearest picture of her “adventures”.
For her part, Sakura listened with rapt attention, her eye shining all the while.
By the time they’d gotten done with their pedicures and manicures and had moved to sitting at low tables while their fingernails dried under lights, Michelle had pretty much exhausted all of her stores.
Sakura was beaming. “So, you said you have a brother?”
“Yeah, I have a little brother,” Michelle replied, “He’s still a teenager. Do you have any siblings?”
“I do!” Spice piped up, blowing on her pumpkin-colored nails.
“We know,” Sakura shot back with a snort. “I have an older brother. He’s my twin actually.”
“Oh really?” Michelle intrigued.
“Yeah, we’re nearly identical but he doesn’t think so,” Sakura continued, lifting up her own nails to inspect if they were properly dried yet.
As she did so, the sleeve of her fluffy white robe slipped down slightly, and Michelle could make out a large intricate tattoo on the inner forearm of her left arm.
Sakura glance up, catching Michelle staring. “What is it?”
“Oh nothing. I just noticed your tattoo.”
“Hmm? Oh yeah this?” Gently, Sakura pulled down her sleeve further to show the tattoo off better. It was a beautiful piece consisting of a large dragon with glittering azure scales coiled around a phoenix with brilliant multicolored flaming feathers creating a kind of balanced Ying Yang effect.
“Oh wow. So pretty.”
“Thanks.” Sakura smiled proudly, “It’s my parents.”
“Huh?” Michelle glanced back up, confused. “What do you mean?”
“The dragon is my dad and the phoenix is my mom,” Sakura explained, tracing her fingers along the details of her tattoo.
“Who are your parents, Sakura?” Michelle asked innocently, “Do they live here in Tottoland or are they back in Wano?”
“They live in Wano. My dad pretty much runs the place.” Sakura gently folded her arms, looking rather smug.
Michelle’s eyes widened. “Runs Wano?! Who is he? He must be very important.”
Sakura chuckled. “You could say that. My dad’s Kaido.”
CRASH!
“Michelle! Oh my god!” Spice jumped up, quickly flying over to Michelle and helping her off the ground from where she’d fallen out of her chair, scattering the rainbow bubbles.
“I’m fine. I’m okay.” Michelle assured her. “I was just…surprised.” She looked back at Sakura, who was staring at her with a rather amused expression. As she looked at her, really looked at her, she realized why her sharp yellow eyes, almost reptilian in nature, looked so familiar, because she’d seen them staring out at her from a Wanted Poster for man worth over 4 billion berries. Honestly, she supposed the horns would have been enough of a tip off.
Michelle had to laugh. “You’re serious? You’re Kaido’s daughter?!”
“Michelle, quiet!” Spice urged her, glancing over at the spa workers who were all giving them pointed looks. “We’re not supposed to be making too much noise.”
At this, the other young woman felt her face grow warm, realizing that the sound of her falling out of her chair in shock had probably already made enough of a racket.
Sakura stood up. “I think we should get going.”
~~~
Before she knew it, Michelle found herself once again on Sakura’s shoulder, walking through the streets of Hakuriki Town with Spice zipping around above their heads. She gripped the fabric of her yukata as tightly as she dared, listening to the almost rhythmic clinking of Sakura’s weapons against her body.
“I didn’t know Kaido had any children….” She finally said.
Sakura barked a laugh. “I surprised you that much, huh? Is it that hard to believe? Big Mom says I look like my father. I don’t know if that’s a compliment or not, but it’s certainly something.”
Michelle glanced around as they walked, seeing people were ducking out of their way to avoid Sakura’s large strides, noticing, as she hadn’t before, the fear on many of their faces accompanying the usual awe and respect for members of the Charlotte Family like Spice and Cracker.
“I don’t know. I guess it’s just surprising because Kaido’s a terrifying monster, an Emperor of the Sea rumored to be unkillable and the strongest creature in the world. And you’re just so…” she trailed off as she looked at Sakura.
“Not what you would expect?”
Michelle laughed nervously. “I guess not.”
“I suppose my brother Yamato would fight the mold a little better. I’m bigger than him but he and my dad both like to hit things with heavy clubs. They have that in common, at least.” There was a certain edge to her voice that implied some deeper layers to that statement.
“What’s your mother like then?” Michelle then inquired. She remembered now that Winter and her sisters Crystal and North had discussed meeting Kaido’s wife and that she wasn’t very nice to them.
However, at the mention of her mother, Sakura’s face filled adoration. “My mother is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. She’s well-read and has medical training; she also speaks four languages! She insisted my brother and I learn the Common Tongue before I even came to Tottoland. She’s a powerful force to be reckoned with, although in a different way than my father, and he adores her.”
Michelle was very curious by all of this information. “I’d like to meet her someday.”
Sakura grinned at this. “Maybe you can! When I get to go home to Wano for a visit, maybe I could take you with me! Wouldn’t that be fun?!”
“It sure would be,” Michelle agreed.
“Hey guys! Look at this!” Spice, who had flown a few yards ahead of the other two, was pointing out towards the docks on the edge of the city. The massive main pier was densely packed with a heavy crowd of people all gathered around booths for some kind of festival celebration.
“Oh, it’s a Flour Festival!” Sakura explained as she and Michelle drew closer. “A bunch of the island’s chefs and bakers set up booths to advertise their newest creations. It always turns into quite the party.”
“It looks so fun!” Spice called, turning backflips in midair with excitement. “Let’s go check it out!”
“Sure thing.” Sakura turned to Michelle, “Have you ever had a crepe?”
~~~
“I didn’t know these things could be filled with ice cream!” Spice exclaimed, licking a bit of chocolate sauce off her check with her tongue.
“They can be filled with whatever you want,” Sakura replied through a mouthful of her own pastry. “How’s yours, Michelle?”
“Delicious!” Michelle said of her chocolate and strawberry crepe. Who knew pancakes could be made even better?!
The sound of nearby music caught the three women’s attention and they all glanced towards it from where they were sitting on the sea wall at the edge of the pier, surrounded by side eyeing seagulls.
“Sounds like there’s a performance going on,” Sakura mused.
“There’s an ethnic group of nomadic people that travel around Tottoland and do street performances for money,” Spice explained, stuffing the rest of her crepe in her mouth and jumping to her feet. “They do really impressive acrobatic stuff. Let’s go take a look.”
“Sure, sounds fun,” Sakura got up as well before glancing back down at Michelle. “Are you coming?”
“I’ll be with you in a minute. I’m just gonna finish my food first.”
Sakura smirked at her. “Spice moves really fast, huh? It’s almost hard to keep up.”
Michelle laughed. “You got that right.”
“We’ll be over here when you need us,” Sakura continued, gesturing towards the crowd of cheering onlookers, enthusiastically watching the acrobatics of a bunch of brightly dressed people flipping across the pier. “Just look for the horns.” She added, pointing at them.
“I will.” Michelle replied as she watched Sakura walk off towards the dense throng of people, not being nearly as consumed by them as Spice was, her horns were still clearly visible.
With this in mind, the young woman turned back to her crepe and continue happily munching as some of the strawberries giggled, saying it tickled when she speared them with her fork.
A slight breeze drifted off the nearby ocean, gently ruffling her hair and the edges of her dress. It was a lovely day; the sky was a clear cloudless blue and the breeze from the sea was subtle yet refreshing.
A loud explosion suddenly went off directly next to Michelle. A huge, dark shape had smashed into the sea wall with a thunderous crash, shattering the stone and sending dust and bits of debris flying into the air.
Michelel shrieked, her half-eaten food falling from her grasp as she toppled backwards off the sea well. She was suspended in open air for the space of a heartbeat before she hit the moist sand of the beach below the pier.
Shaken, she scrambled to her feet as quickly as her bad leg permitted, reeling as she looked around wildly, shaking wet sand from her hair. A large cannon ball had impeded itself in the sea wall and people beyond the massive hole were running around in a panic just as another cannonball struck one of the brightly colored booths lining the edge of the pier and it burst into flames.
Michelle could feel her blood pounding in her ears, she hadn’t fallen very far so she wasn’t badly injured, but she was struggling to regain proper control of her bad.
The sounds of splashing made her whirl around to see a crowd of people stumbling through the water off of a series of life boats drifting amongst the small waves. They move through the shallow water like zombies, and Michelle felt her heart in her throat as she watched the men stagger towards her. They were all bone thin with sallow grey skin stretched across their inisdes, their eyes were black and hollow, staring almost lifelessly towards her. There was a spark, however, of something savage and wild in those empty eyes. The backdrop to this horrifying display was a large dark pirate ship drifting in harbor a good distance out. It cut through the water like a ghost with ripped sails and a battered hull, it looked like it would fall apart any second like paper mache.
“Who are you?!” Michelle blurted out. “What do you people want?!”
At her words, the one closest to her suddenly latched out and grabbed Michelle by the arm. She felt the cool steel of a cutlass against her throat before she had time to react. “Food…We need food and…and supplies,” he choked out, his voice hoarse like he’d been gargling sea water.
“Give us whatever we ask for or we’ll blow this whole island to smithereens!” added another of the pirates, lifting his own sword over his head but he hardly looked strong enough to wield it.
Michelle felt a slight pang of pity before another cannon ball struck the pier, having been fired from the ghost ship in the distance.
It hit the wood of the pier, splintering one of the supports and sending the whole thing off kilter. More terrified cries came from the crowd above
“Did you hear me, lady!” the man shouted in Michelle’s face, redirecting her attention. “Give us the stuff we need or I’m gonna kill you!” She felt the pressure of his sword at her throat again
“Michelle!” She glanced up at the sound of her name in time to see Sakura drop out of the sky like a bird of prey.
The sound of her sword slice through the air like a lightning strike, and the man holding Michelle fell back with a stream and blood spurting from his chest.
She fell back hard on the wet sand and her body was suddenly eclipsed by Sakura’s massive form standing between her and the attacking men. She had both of her swords drawn, their silver and gold exterior glinting in the late afternoon sun.
Two more of the ragged men lunged at her to avenge their fallen comrade. Sakura’s body hardly seemed to move at all before both men had hit the ground, their blood soaking the sand.
“W-Wait! Stand down!” one of the men further back yelled as more of the ravaged crew rushed her. “That woman is the Oni Princess, the daughter of Kaido. She has a bounty over 1 billion berries!”
Michelle’s jaw dropped in spite of herself, but she quickly regained her wits and scrambled out of the way as Sakura continued to slash at the advancing invader pirates. She flipped over one man’s head as he tried to bring down his axe on top of her, alighting neatly behind him and slicing him in half. Now facing Michelle, she could see the blood splattering Sakura’s pink form, flecks of it hitting her face and she felt more than a little queasy.
“Michelle!” At the sound of her name, she turned to see Spice flying over to her, alighting in the sand beside her. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.” Michelle had scarcely gotten the confirmation out before Spice had rounded on the invading pirates. “Hey assholes! Eat this!” A ball of flaming golden light strangely shaped like a Jack O’ Lantern suddenly burst from her palm and shot into a small crowd of the ragged pirate crew. It exploded on impact and sent several of them flying backwards. They didn’t get up again. Meanwhile, Sakura continued to cut down more of the attackers one by one, her moves practiced and seemingly effortless.
However, a second later, another cannon ball hit the sand and erupted upon hitting the ground close by, spraying shrapnel and dust everywhere.
“Michelle, get down!” Spice quickly shielded her from the explosion before whirling around on Sakura. “We gotta take out that boat!”
“On it.” The other woman replied simply, having just cut down the last of the attacking pirates. She then turned and held calmly sheathed the smaller silver sword before taking the large gold one in both hands. Poised to strike, she aimed at the ghost ship drifting several yards from the shore, seemingly reading its cannons for another bombardment.
“Shokuryu!” Sakura yelled before bringing the sword down hard, slashing through the air and creating a strangely beautiful golden arc through the air. It rocketed across the shallow waves at breakneck speed before colliding with the ship and cutting it neatly in two. The ship exploded into two large pieces, splintering apart into dozens of others as it hit the waves. More distant screaming could be heard from those left on board as the pieces were slowly consumed by the ocean’s waves and then there was just an eerie silence.
Michelle stared at Sakura as she looked on at the carnage she created, surrounded by the corpses of the ragged pirates. She was breathing heavily, standing with her sword still firmly grasped in both hands and her clothes covered in blood and also staining her face and hands. However, as Michelle looked on she could see that Sakura’s eyes were bright, wild, even feral. She was also grinning broadly from ear to ear.
A shiver passed through the other young woman.
Spice looked at her. “You good?”
Michelle exhaled. “Yeah. I think so.” Still a little shaken, she managed to make it to her feet with only minimal support from Spice.
Meanwhile, Sakura wiped the blood from her sword and slipped it back into it’s sheath on her back. Absentmindedly, she wiped at some of the blood drying on her cheek.
“Sakura!” A deep familiar voice suddenly called out from across the beach.
The three girls all turned towards it to see Katakuri hurrying towards them. He was holding his black trident Mogura tightly in one hand and his half-hidden features were tight with concern.
However, upon seeing him, Sakura’s expression immediately returned to the bright cheerfulness that she had exhibited before the fight. “Katakuri!” she bounded across the beach towards him in two strides, jumping into his arms and causing him to drop his weapon in the sand.
“Sakura-” Katakuri repeated, slightly taken aback as she wrapped her arms around his neck, grinning at him while he supported her by the waist. “Are you alright? You’re covered in-”
“It’s not my blood,” Sakura interrupted. “Don’t worry, we’re all fine. We took care of it.”
“I see.” Katakuri let go of his hold on Sakura and she pulled her hands back from his neck.
“I can handle myself, Katakuri. You keep forgetting that.”
“Oh wow…So Katakuri still can’t see the outcome of events involving Sakura,” Spice whispered from beside Michelle, causing her to turn towards her in surprise. “His future sight is clouded around her.”
Michelle felt a strange feeling as she took this information in, watching Sakura interact with her husband, smiling and laughing as if nothing had happen. She remembered what the invading pirates, who had been ravaged by the New World so much, they had been desperate enough to try and raid an island in Tottoland, had said when they saw Sakura. She was the daughter of Kaido, the Oni Princess with a bounty nearly as big as Katakuri, the strongest Sweet Commander and the most powerful of Big Mom’s many children.
It now made sense to Michelle why Big Mom had wanted Sakura to marry her son. Despite her outward appearance and personality, she was a monster, just like her father.
“Hey! Do you guys wanna stay for dinner!” Sakura called over to Spice and Michelle, jerking the latter out of her thoughts.
“Yeah. Sure!” Spice called back. “That’s okay with you, right Michelle?”
“Yeah, it should be fine. I think I should call Cracker when we get back, so he knows where I am.”
“Awesome! Let’s go!” Sakura grabbed Katakuri’s hand and pulled him past the other two girls towards the steps that lead off the beach and back up onto the street.
“Sorry about how today went,” Spice apologized as she helped Michelle up the steps after them. “I was hoping you would get some time to relax.”
“No! It’s alright. I still had a great day,” Michelle reassured her. “It was a lot of fun hanging out with you two.”
Spice’s expression brightened. “Really? I’m glad.”
As they made it to the top of the steps, Michelle could see that Katakuri was now walking in step beside Sakura, leading her along with his arm wrapped lightly around her waist. She also caught a glimpse of his face, mostly hidden by his scarf and could see that his cheeks were slightly flushed as he listened to Sakura explain the day’s events.
The way he was looking at his wife, even so subtly out of just the corner of his gaze, a warm light could still be seen in his eyes.
Michelle smiled to herself as she and Spice walked along behind them. “Cute.”
To be continued in “Michelle Goes to Yakigashi Island”
Juste one of my many OCs in One Piece. This little girl loves candies, this is job. She creates many differents sweet in the better places for that, Totto Land ! Well don’t annoy her because she know how to use her sword.