#shimotsuki toko | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nehswritesstuffs · 1 year

Text

fly little seagull, the world awaits - Part 5 of 5

Okay, NOW I promise we’re done, lol. I have actually two different endings for this, but the first I wrote less than a day before I read ch 1079, which then screwed it up, so you have this one now instead ahahaha I’ll also let y’all figure out for yourself what got written before and after I read 1081 last week (more before than what you might think), so... enjoy!

Chapter 1 on [tumblr] - [FFN] - [AO3]

Chapter 2 on [tumblr] - [FFN] - [AO3]

Chapter 3 on [tumblr] - [FFN] - [AO3]

Chapter 4 on [tumblr] - [FFN] - [AO3]

Onigashima shall rise and fall. A boy shall become a man. Friends shall part ways. A certain legacy shall come full-circle despite the need to be broken. [14,616 words; AU where history repeats itself in the worst way]

It had not been long and Nauja was beginning to deeply regret her decision to sneak onto Onigashima. Tengu-ya had been extremely angry when they had left and she was beginning to understand why. She didn’t have a Devil Fruit ability like Tama or Momonosuke—only her knife—and things were already pretty hairy. There was not a familiar face around as she and Tama wandered around the chaos; most of the people running by them were Beast Pirates and other lackeys of Kaidou and Orochi.

“Okay, let’s split up,” Tama decided. They were both riding on Komachiyo, having snuck off Speed’s ship when no one was looking. “We can cover more ground that way.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“We’re here as samurai—we need to find our units,” the junior kunoichi reasoned. “Your father and his men should be around somewhere, while I have to find the Straw Hats and distribute these dango.”

“Makes sense, I guess,” Nauja nodded. She and Tama high-fived before she slid off Komachiyo’s back. “Let’s do this!”

“Right!” Tama rode off speedily, while Nauja crept about in the shadows, trying to not be seen by the large amount of adults that were wandering about. Some of them were engaged in fighting, while others were simply going to and from different stations. She eventually found a large alcove where she could catch her breath without anyone around, glad for the breather. Her dirk was already getting heavy against her wrists and she wasn’t anywhere near a member of the crew.

“…a child…?” a voice marveled. Nauja jumped nearly out of her skin and turned around, raising her knife in defense. There, she saw a strange blond man standing there, his expression unreadable, but there was no mistaking him for any of the other bounty posters she had been quizzed on. “What is a child doing here…?”

“What do you want with me, Basil Hawkins?!” she snapped. Instead of answering her directly, he brought out his tarot cards, the bits of paper hanging in the air.

“A Paradise accent tempered by a conspicuous Northern lilt,” he said, swishing the cards around. “Approximately seven or eight years old, accurate identification of other pirates, bladed weapon, very short hair, yellow and black hearts on her lavender yukata, a Sora backpack and matching charm on her weapon’s sheath… probability of being a certain Supernova surgeon’s natural child or ward… ninety-seven-point-two-six percent.” Nauja shivered and a chilling smile crept onto his face. “I was correct.”

“Get lost, you creep.”

“On the contrary: I think I found my way to get back on Kaidou’s good side,” Hawkins observed. “With this offering, I might survive that much longer.” He held out his hand. “Come, child, I shall bring you to safety. All this fighting must be scary…”

“No,” she snapped. Her dirk wavered in her hands. “You said Kaidou—I can’t trust you.”

“He’s not necessarily interested in you, child, but your father,” he said. “You’re worth more to him alive, trust me on that at the very least.”

“I won’t go with you!”

“Do not make me use force—I do still have some respect for your father, after all.”

“Then don’t you dare touch her!”

Out of seemingly nowhere, a large rock seemed to teleport itself to slam into Hawkins, which he had to create a straw shield to defend against. When he brushed aside the rubble, he saw Law had slid onto the scene, looking rather worse for wear as he knelt down and brought his daughter into a hug before he began physically checking her for injuries.

“What in the hell are you doing here?!” Law scolded, panting hard from his effort to get to her side. His heart felt as though it was going to explode out of his chest. “I told you to wait with the other kids!”

“Vaor, I did wait with Tama-ya… kind of…” the girl grimaced. “She’s here too…”

“You girls are in so much trouble!” Law groaned. “After all that, you deliberately disobeyed me and now you’re in the one place I wanted you far away from?! How did you even get past Tengu-ya?!”

Nauja bit the insides of her lips and tried to look away guiltily—busted.

“Quite possibly, my fortunes have changed.” Hawkins stared at the cards in front of him before clearing them from the air. “A forty-percent increase… it’s worth it.”

Glaring at his fellow Supernova, Law held Nauja close to his side as he extended his free arm, attempting to activate a Room to get them out of there. It wasn’t working, with each attempt flickering out in his panic.

“Kaidou is going to love this,” Hawkins stated. He drew his sword, readying to strike. “Trafalgar and his brat, handed to him on a—”

Just then, a massive roar cut him off, so loud that it shook everything around them. Hawkins turned to look and instead got a face full of allosaurus tail, which cleared him through the far wall. The dinosaur slowly stomped into full view, growling lowly at the broken wall before shifting down into X Drake’s Human form.

“Are you two alright?” he asked. He saw Nauja’s eyes were wide in amazement; few kids were immune to the charm of a literal dinosaur saving them.

“It was under control,” Law hissed.

“Mmhmm, sure.” Drake watched as the other man put the child down and leaned against the wall in an effort to catch his breath properly. “Hey… can I, uh, give her something?”

“What could you possibly have to give?” Law asked. Drake bent down and picked up a pen Hawkins must have dropped when he was hit and procured a piece of paper from his inner jacket pocket. Law raised an eyebrow, knowing full-well what sort of paper it was.

“Something I never really should have had on me to begin with.” He knelt down and used the floor as a writing surface before beckoning Nauja over. “What is your name, darling?”

“Trafalgar Nauja,” the girl beamed. “Who are you?”

“Nice to meet you, Nauja. My name is X Drake, and as you can tell, your father and I know each other… in a way.”

“You sound a little like him. Are you also from the North Blue?”

“I am,” the man admitted. “I even have a father like you have Trafalgar here. Got him in a similar way, if what I hear is correct.”

“Your dad’s navigator found you and he just kind of took over?”

“More like my father’s friend found me, but close enough.” He sat directly on the floor in an attempt to hunch over more and be at her eye-level better—curse his height. “I even have a brother, although I never met him. He left our father’s life as I entered it. Although I’ll never know his laugh or hear his voice or learn what he thinks of me, I’ve been living in his shadow this entire time… seeing and experiencing the consequences of his actions. He’s like a ghost, in a way, and there’s something telling me that he would want you to have this.”

Drake held out the paper and handed it to Nauja. She looked at Law before accepting it, only doing so once he nodded. Looking down at the note, she scrunched her nose in thought.

“‘Please take care of her. Dorry.’ That’s weird. Why do you want me to have this?”

“…because one day, you might run out of options,” Drake said. “Your father is strong and capable, but even he has limits. If you ever find yourself with nowhere to hide, and he can’t help you, let this paper guide you to my father. Call him Grandpapa and give him a hug and show him this paper.” He then paused for a moment. “Do you know what a Vivre Card is?”

“Oh, yeah! We have some of those! That’s what this is?” She held open her palm and laid the paper in it—sure enough, it began to shuffle across her fingers.

“Yes. Remember: only use it as a last resort. There is only so much my father can do for you, but it’s safer than wandering around on your own. He will make sure nothing bad happens while you’re in his care… he will think of what my brother would have done—what my brother did for a scared little boy before he died—and will hide you from the bad people in the world until you are ready to face them yourself.”

“Then I’ll keep it safe,” the girl nodded. She carefully secured the note in her yukata sleeve. “Thank you, Dinosaur-ya, for this special gift.”

“…and how do I know I can trust your father?” Law asked. Drake shrugged and stood.

“You don’t,” he replied honestly. “Is this a risk? It’s a major one, but you are the only one who can truly talk to him about my brother, and that is at least worth something.”

In an instant, everything felt to Law as though it shifted violently and clicked into place as he stared at the other Supernova… this now-former Tobiroppo… there was more to him than he could have ever imagined. He wasn’t just any deserted Marine… he was Sengoku’s project after Cora-san died… Law was sure of it. His eyes went to the Vivre Card in Nauja’s hand—to trust her with it was to trust him with it, Drake clearly under the assumption that he wasn’t going to use it to attack the former Fleet Admiral. The other man’s actions were all beginning to make a lot more sense, even if all it did was make him more conflicted…

“Does he know about her…?”

“Possibly…? He doesn’t hear a lot of chatter these days, but at the same time, many of Kaidou’s officers know she exists. The intel might stay on Wano, it might extend off the island—that I can’t say. What I can say, however, is that it wasn’t me if it gets leaked.”

Just then, a massive burst of Haki came from the ruined wall, causing Drake to shove Nauja towards Law. “Hawkins is coming to; I suggest you book it.”

The little family did, not even turning around to watch Drake morph into an allosaurus and roar so loud he shook the building.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Law slashed the last of the guards down and finished descending the staircase into the lowermost basement. Nauja tap-tap-tapped her way down the rest of the stairs, avoiding her father’s unfortunate victims. The room they entered held a large blue stone, covered completely with strange symbols that made the little girl’s eyes go wide.

“This is a Poneglyph?” she marveled. Law nodded, placing his hand on the smooth, cool stone.

“It is—people have died for so much as being able to read what’s on it.”

“You can read that…?!”

“I can’t, but Nico-ya can. Her home island died because some of them could read Poneglyphs. She was the only survivor.”

“…like you…?”

“Indeed.” He let his fingertips catch in the grooves, feeling the enormous weight of the writing’s unknown message. “I wonder how many people died for this over the centuries.”

“Couldn’t they just listen…?” Nauja asked. She looked up at Law and tilted her head. “It’s whispering… you don’t even need to read it.”

“You can… hear it…?” He looked at her and raised his eyebrow. “How do you mean?”

“I… don’t… know…?” The little girl looked at the Poneglyph and tilted her head. “It’s just kinda… I dunno… humming, I guess…? In a way? I understand it.”

“…and what is it saying?”

“It’s talking about a legendary warrior and how he killed a dragon with a perfect sword, becoming a hero to all of Wano and the world,” she replied, wrinkling her nose in thought. “Do you think I can hear it because it’s part of the age-related hearing range?”

“No… I think you can hear it because of something special.” He placed his hand on her head and stroked her hair.

“Symetesia…?”

“No, not synesthesia,” he paused, “more like the Voice of All Things. I’ve heard of it being something before, but wasn’t certain about the existence of such a talent due to the rarity and lack of clinical observation.”

“Really…? It’s rare…? Then why can Momo-ya hear it too…?”

Law stared at his daughter. “What do you mean?”

“Momo-ya could hear a voice at Zou. I couldn’t make it out, so I ignored it, but he could hear it clearly. That was the excuse he used to hide in his room all the time.”

“Was it now…?” He needed something to tell her, and quickly. “If it is the Voice of All Things, then that is a rare trait, possibly an offshoot of Observation Haki if my theory is correct.” He considered something briefly, then knelt down to be at her eye level. “Does this whisper anything about the Will of D.?”

Nauja paused, closing her eyes. “No. Why? What’s that?”

“Cora-jiisan once told me that the People of the D. are the enemies of the gods… meaning the Celestial Dragons. Something the crew doesn’t know—not even Bepo-ya—is that I am one of them.”

“You… you are…?”

“Trafalgar D. Water Law was the entire name your opa and oma gave me, the name your jiisan told me to keep hidden,” he explained. He placed his hand on the cool stone of the Poneglyph again, Nauja copying him. “Nico-ya says I must search for the Poneglyphs in order to discover the truth. What you told me confirms I need the red ones.”

A low rumbling shook the floor, making the plaster above them creak.

“A sub-basement is probably not the best place to be right now, in retrospect,” Law noted. He grabbed Nauja again and opened a Room, bringing them to a higher floor again and the heat of the battle. “Those assholes better not do anything drastic without me.”

“Uh… that looks kinda drastic,” Nauja squeaked. She was pointing to some nearby rubble, which contained an arm draped in a familiar kimono sleeve.

“Shit,” Law spat. He put Nauja down and spotted the familiar allosaurus on the other side of the hall. “There’s Drake-ya. Stay with him. I’ve got some samurai to bring down here.”

“Vaor…?” He looked at her and saw that her eyes were glassy with tears. “I’m sorry for sneaking over here anyhow despite agreeing not to. Please come back.”

“I’ll do my best, famke,” he echoed. He pressed a kiss to her hair before swapping her with a rock next to Drake and himself with a splinter of wood from an even higher building level.

Honoring an alliance sure was shit.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Drake wasn’t certain as to why he had Trafalgar’s child by his side again so soon, but he definitely imagined it had something to do with the fact her father was on the roof of the building fighting with Kaidou and Big Mom. He allowed her to sit on his oversized allosaurus foot, the girl clinging to his leg as he stomped around in an attempt at intimidating people. Anyone who dared to snatch or otherwise harm her got either tail or teeth making the definitive decision for them: no.

Not on his watch.

Drake fought and intimidated the Beast Pirates while he watched over not only Nauja, but the little reindeer-doctor as he synthesized a cure for the chilly disease that was ripping through Beast Pirates and Alliance members alike, not caring about things such as sides and loyalties. He only began to relax as the Straw Hats’ doctor blasted a cure into the air. It even had a certain smell to it—sweet with a hint of spice—that brought him back to the infirmary of Tsuru’s ship, where he had been laid up for so, so long after she had found him. The girl slid off his foot and he shifted back into his Human form, looking over the scene as frozen limbs melted and the healing flames from Whitebeard’s former doctor, of all people, seas be damned, flickered out.

“NAUJA!” The girl jumped as she heard her name called, seeing Shachi run up to her and Drake, accompanied by two of Kid Pirates. He flicked her on the forehead, which caused her to squeak. “What are you doing here?! Does the captain know?!”

“He knows,” she admitted sourly. “I’m just here with Dinosaur-ya because Vaor’s up there.” She pointed at the giant hole in the ceiling. A roar just above the basement of Human hearing came from the hole, which made them all shudder.

“Impressive,” one of the Kid Pirates nodded.

“I think we can take it from here, beefcakes,” the other Kid Pirate said, giving Drake a wink. Shachi facepalmed, her crewmate ignored her, and Drake simply stared.

“We’re kind of in the middle of a life-or-death war here…” he mentioned.

“Little flirt don’t hurt,” she shrugged. She then looked at Nauja, who seemed some level of disturbed. “C’mon kiddo; let’s get you to the main of the group before shit gets too hairy around here.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Nauja replied. The adults all exchanged a quick look—yeah, kid must have been in a ton of trouble already. They left Drake’s side to head on back to the little group of Penguin, Bepo, and some stray Kid Pirates, who were fighting Beasts Pirates to the best of their abilities.

“Oh, fuck,” Penguin cussed soon as he saw Nauja. “Cap’s gonna blow a gasket…”

“Already blown!” Nauja insisted. “I think I’m grounded until I’m older than Bone-ya.”

“Sounds about right,” another Kid Pirate nodded. He then noticed a large horned person running their way. “Ah, fuck, another strong-looking one…” Except, Shinobu was there too…? The fuck…? “Hey, what’s going on?!”

“Are you the one referred to as Trafalgar Nauja?” the tall person with Shinobu asked, voice booming. The pirates all tensed, only not attacking because they knew the kunoichi was trustworthy.

“Uhh… yeah…?”

“Oh, good!” squeaked a voice from nearby. It sounded familiar…

“Momo-ya…?”

Sure enough, Momonosuke fell out of the tall person’s pant leg and ran up to Nauja, wrapping her in a hug. “I heard that you and the junior kunoichi had joined the battle! It’s so auspicious that you’re still alive!”

“It’s… auspicious… that… you are… too…?” she replied. She tried looking to the adults for answers—none had any.

“I have decided,” Momonosuke declared. He held Nauja at an arm’s length and put on his most serious face. “Verily! If we survive this and I become shogun, in recognition of your bravery and service to Wano, I shall name you as my intended!”

If the area around them all could have become quiet, it would have.

“What the fuck,” the horned person groaned, snatching Momonosuke up by the collar. “You dragged us all the way over here to propose to your girlfriend?!”

“I’m not his girlfriend!” Nauja snapped, the boy’s words now clicking into place in her brain. “Ask Tama or Toko to marry you, pervy brat!”

“O-Tama is a vassal and it would therefore be inappropriate, as would O-Toko for being my sister’s ward,” Momonosuke stated plainly. “You are the natural choice.”

“Ooooh, Kid’s gonna want t’ hear about this,” a Kid Pirate marveled. A couple of her crewmates nodded sagely in agreement—any ammunition for their captain against the others’.

“This is stupid; Oden out,” the horned person scoffed, stuffing Momonosuke under an arm. By the time Nauja had recovered from the shock of the encounter, the other three members of the Heart Pirates were staring at her with amused expressions that made a chill go down her spine.

“Don’t tell Vaor!” she insisted. “Momo-ya’s just being dumb!”

“Love makes people do dumb things,” Penguin chuckled. Still paying attention to their surroundings, he took his polearm and used it to knock some arrows out of the air. “Look alive! We’re still targets, people!”

Nauja drew her dirk and tried to stay close to the other pirates, attempting to not get too close to any enemies. She really regretted coming along with Tama—so much was happening, everything, all at once, everywhere, and to make matters worse, she was missing the festival! For what?! Her dad being cross with her and Momo being weird? Yeah… this wasn’t one of her most brilliant ideas.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Having popped back down below the battle to regroup, Law and Kid found themselves unfortunately within one another’s company. They were going to have to figure out a way to separate Kaidou and Linlin; the only way those two could have been even more dangerous if they had been actual siblings instead of, well, whatever the fuck they truly were.

“Feck… sounds like the ol’ bird’s down below too,” Kid noted as they ran through the corridors. “Did our dirty work for us.”

“Wouldn’t know what that’s like,” Law grunted. He tried not to think about what had happened before he ran into the Southern redhead again, having been snatched out of the air by a Northern blond, who he repaid in kind by having him watch over the severely injured Wanolese Easterner. Fuck, there was a lot going on. “We need to figure out where our crews are; they’re our support system.”

“No shite, Shirley,” Kid scoffed. He raised his eyebrow, however, at the nearly distracted look on the other man’s face. “Thinking ‘bout some other orders Straw Hat gave yeh?”

“Fuck off,” Law growled. They turned a corner and saw the group that their respective crews had merged into, with Killer already there and helping protect them. “It’s about time… Penguin! Report!”

“No one else has been able to get on Onigashima,” Penguin replied as he parried a blow from a Beast Pirate. He pushed his opponent back and a Kid Pirate took over, slashing their adversary across the stomach. “Sounds like Tama’s here too, working her dango-magic.”

“I figured as much. Based on that, I figure you have her little co-conspirator?”

“I have stabbed a lot of people,” Nauja stated, popping out from behind Penguin. She was splattered in blood, but it was clear it was not her own. “This is way worse than when we show up in a Marine port…”

“Yeh brought yer bairn t’ the battle?!” Kid said, completely flabbergasted. “What the actual fuck, Trafalgar?!”

“Not on purpose, let me assure you,” he replied, marveling at the fact he didn’t have a headache already.

“Och, aye, like I’d believe yeh at this point, yeh bloody fucking twat,” Kid snapped. He then turned to Nauja and gave her a toothy grin. “Ever get tired of the pompous ol’ windbag an’ yeh can come visit wi’ yer Uncle Kid. We know how t’ treat a wee bairnie right.” The little girl giggled, making her father roll his eyes.

“He’s not your uncle; don’t listen to him,” Law deadpanned. “He’s just an idiot whose metal plate in his skull’s gone magnetic.”

“At least I don’t do any of that daft posing shite,” Kid shot back. “Yeh looked like yer at a modeling gig, not fighting for our fucking lives!” He struck a couple poses to prove his point. “At least the Straw Hat knob’s putting in visible effort!”

“Sorry my Devil Fruit requires concentration and finesse!”

“Fucking finesse yersel outwith m’sight, yeh moody-arsed beanpole! Big Mam’s mine, yeh ken?!”

“Are we speaking the same language?!”

“Awww, playin’ the daft laddie, aren’t we? Well, while yer nerd-brain’s so busy tryin’ t’wrap its processes around m’accent, I’m gon’ take t’ bint’s head mysel.”

“As though I’d let you take all the credit after all that shit I had to pull to keep you together!”

“Aye; I bet yeh’d like it all, eh? Took yer turn already, Trafalgar! Now it’s time for the lads’ lads t’shine!”

Just then, a giant spider made of straw crashed onto the scene, with Basil Hawkins sticking out of its back. It roared—somehow—and made it clear it was out for blood.

“A’ll gie him laldie,” Killer said, his voice almost mirthful. “Fucker’s mine.”

“Then let’s split up!” Kid shouted at the rest of his crew. “Pick off some officers!”

“Bepo!” Law saw his navigator’s ears perk up and the Mink took the three steps to join him. “Take Nauja and run. I don’t care where. Just get her someplace quiet.”

“Understood,” Bepo nodded. Before Nauja even had time to protest, he picked her up and ran, dodging Beast Pirates and arrows as he did his best to do what was asked of him.

“Come on, Kid,” Law scowled. “We’ve got an Emperor to distract.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Blood pounded in Law’s skull as he watched Charlotte Linlin grow both in girth and in power. He knew there were some who called his Devil Fruit abilities horrifying—and rightly so—but what was happening before his eyes was down-right chilling. She was tampering with people’s life forces; she was killing them without so much as a drop of consent. It wasn’t just the doctor in him, but his very humanity was sickened.

“All I do is for my family,” she chortled as she continued to bulk up. “My children are heirs to a legacy of greatness. As their mother, it’s my duty to clear a path for them. I’m sure you will understand as I grind your bones into dust.”

“Classy,” Law replied, rolling his eyes.

“Yer eldest is fifty, yeh dusty ol’ bint,” Kid scoffed. “That’s more than time t’ stop relying on mam to fix yer problems.”

“Say a pair of brats who don’t know a mother’s touch,” Linlin smirked. “I still have some daughters I could marry you to if you decide to do the smart thing and submit. I’ll teach you a little something about filial piety.”

“Fuck that,” Kid spat. “That shite got m’crew and me nowhere! All we got, we took oursel!”

“…and you, Trafalgar?” Her voice rumbled with power, echoed with the cries of all the souls she ripped from their hosts. “Do you wish to become Mama’s new favorite?”

“My parents never played favorites—that’s part of what made them good at parenting,” Law fired back. Kid let out a snort—fuck this was the good shit. “Besides, I wouldn’t use my daughter’s wedding as a bargaining chip. She’s too headstrong for such a thing, even if I was that shitty of a parent.”

“Roast t’ hag!” Kid cheered amongst the gasps and marveling. “Gie ‘er good!”

“What would you know about being a parent?” Linlin sneered at Law. “My intel does say you have a bratty little tag-along these days. That’s not a daughter; that’s a charity-case. What sort of pirates resort to charity, I wonder?”

“If being a father is charity, then I wonder what your children think of their fathers? What your sons think of their children.” Law drew his sword and widened his stance slightly. “I know more about being a father, being a parent, than you can ever fathom.”

“You really think she’s yours, you delusional boy?”

“More mine than whatever caused your multiple uterine prolapses are to you.”

Kid was fucking cackling.

“Have it your way,” Linlin hissed. “Napoleon! Prometheus! Hera! Let’s finish these upstarts.”

Law brought up a Room and Kid cracked his knuckles and neck. Now they were talking.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It took a while for Bepo to finally find a corridor that was relatively quiet before he felt safe enough to put Nauja down. Surprised that there was even a place still calm within Onigashima, he searched for a storage room before ushering in his littlest crewmate and closing the door behind them.

“You alright?” he asked. She nodded. “Good, now let’s figure out what we’re going to do from here.” He peeked out into the corridor to double-check and breathed a sigh of relief—no one.

“What’s gonna happen if Vaor can’t stop them?” Nauja wondered. She looked around the room in a panic, seeing that it was empty aside from some low tables, boxes, and stacks of Wanolese seating cushions.

“This place crashes into the Flower Capitol and we would have to get back to the Tang fast as we can,” Bepo replied. He looked back at Nauja and saw that she was shaking as she tried to not cry, likely overloaded by everything and regretting having come along. She was so different from the first time he saw her—a pair of curious eyes poking out from behind smears of dirt and matted hair—and it only showed him how far she’d come with them… with Law. “Listen: nothing bad’s going to happen, okay? We’ve got this.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” chuckled a low voice. The Mink scooped the child up into his arms and held her close. “Cute… as though either of you are anything other than a liability…”

“I don’t know who you are, but you’re not getting to us that easily,” Bepo announced. He put his back to the wall and tried to sniff out the other person in the room and couldn’t; the smells from elsewhere in the complex were still too strong.

“I’m surprised you don’t recognize me… little brother…”

A figure stepped out from behind some cushion stacks and both Bepo and Nauja gasped. There, standing before them as though everything was completely normal, was Zepo.

“You’re dead!” Nauja declared, pointing at the other Mink.

“How would you know?” Mystery Zepo chuckled. “What would a Lesser Mink cub know about me?”

“Enough to know you’re not real!” She looked at Bepo, who seemed completely at a loss for what to do. “Come on! We need to get out of here!”

“I… I…” Bepo breathed, his brain sputtering out. “Was Fred wrong…?”

“He can be,” Mystery Zepo replied. A large explosion rumbled from elsewhere in the castle.

“No, he’s the one lying! That’s proof!” Nauja wiggled from Bepo’s grasp and tried to shake him out of it. “Bepo-ya…!”

“…but… how can he be here…?”

“Shoot…” The small child looked around and tried to figure out what she could do to snap Bepo out of whatever it was that was keeping him from knowing that this wasn’t real. Was it a Devil Fruit? A robot? A really good imposter? She needed to figure it out, and quick.

“You’re going to let me take care of the cub,” Mystery Zepo said. He began to step forward towards the pirates, sending a chill down Nauja’s spine.

“Bepo-ya! It’s a trap!”

“Of all the people in this place, don’t you want to trust your brother?”

“Don’t listen to him!” Nauja could see that there were tears forming in the Mink’s eyes as he trembled against the wall. “I don’t know who he is, but he’s trying to trick us!”

“Why would I trick my brother?” Mystery Zepo asked.

“Your brothers are Vaor and Penguin-ya and Shachi-ya!”

It was no use—Bepo was absolutely frozen in indecision. Nauja knew she had to do something, or else they were going to fall victim to… whatever it was that mimicking the long-dead Mink.

“Bepo-ya! Look at the moon!” she shouted, running to the shut balcony door. She struggled to pull the frame open. “Look at the moon and let’s get out of here!”

Just as she was able to force the frame open, the Mystery Zepo was there next to her, having appeared in nearly an instant. He took a knife from his belt and glared at Nauja, sunglasses glinting in the moonlight.

“This is not your place,” he hissed. “Don’t you da—”

Mystery Zepo was cut off, a giant paw reaching around his skull and crushing it. Electric sparks frizzed from his body as the illusion tech broke, revealing a faceless robot in its place. Bepo, in full Sulong, casually tossed the contraption to the side and straight through the wall.

“Nothing hurts the captain’s daughter,” Bepo growled, voice low and gravelly. Nauja carefully went over to the now-ruined wall and looked at the robot, taking careful note of the markings along the side.

“PUNK…?” she wondered aloud, tilting her head. “Why’s it got the word PUNK painted on it?”

“I don’t want to hang around long enough to find out,” Bepo replied as another explosion made the building quake. He muttered a low apology as he swept her up into one paw and burst through the outer wall of the storage room, bringing them into the open air. Despite there being no change to the color, his fur was now longer and fiery, and his face more fierce.

He roared at the moon in mid-air, cursing and thanking it in one long, rumbling note that crackled in Electro.

If he ever found the people who tried to trick him with his brother’s face, he was going to rip them apart.

“Hang on, Nauja!” he boomed. She held on tight as he brought them to the ground around the palace, the clouds closing up once again once his paws were on the dirt and he shrank back to his normal size. He shuddered and coughed up some blood—one of the benefits of an underwater ship was being able to avoid Sulong and the effects therein.

“VAOR!” Nauja screeched as she saw the flames that were engulfing the castle. Bepo grabbed her and secured her against his chest—she wasn’t going anywhere.

“We have to stay out here!” he insisted. “I can’t let you burn!”

“…but Vaor…!”

“…wants you to live!” Bepo exclaimed. “Everything he does, everything the crew does, is so that you can live!”

Nauja went limp at that, knowing that he was both right and correct. Guilt settled on her, knowing that her actions, her presence was what drove Law and the crew to do a lot of what they did, and it hurt more than she could comprehend. Bepo let go and placed her on the ground, a paw resting supportively on her shoulder.

“All we want is a future you can look forward to,” he said.

“…but… why…?” Her voice cracked as tears began to choke her. “I’m just some kid you found…”

“You’re Law’s kid, the crew’s kid…” He licked her temple gently. “We love you.”

“…but… why…?” she repeated. “What did I do to deserve it…?”

Bepo stared at Nauja, completely flabbergasted. “Nauja… you didn’t need to do anything.”

“…but I’m nothing but trouble!” she cried. “If it wasn’t for me coming along, you’d…!”

“Don’t think that way!” Bepo held Nauja’s face in his paws and made her look directly at him. “There’s no reason for us to love! We just do! Why else would we let you stay? Why else would we take care of you? Why else would the Captain adopt you as his own daughter?” He saw the tears and snot running down her face and tried to wipe it off with his sleeve. “We knew what bringing a kid into the crew meant… we wanted to love you. There doesn’t have to be a reason other than that.”

“…even though I do stupid stuff…?”

“Kids do stupid stuff all the time—it’s how they learn.” He saw she was biting her lower lip in an effort to stop crying, it not really working. “The rest of the crew does stupid stuff all the time too, and they’re adults, so I don’t know why a few mistakes is such a big deal.” He licked her forehead again. “Sorry, but you’re stuck with us.”

Nauja nodded weakly and hugged Bepo, letting the Mink comfort her as they remained hidden in their spot outside the castle. The muffled sounds of war punctuated their embrace; both were drawing strength from the other, the aftereffects of the raid and their conversation completely wiping them.

Just then, a curious smell reached Bepo’s nose, then a noise that was definitely not fire.

“Is… is that seawater…?” he marveled. He and Nauja looked at the castle and saw that there was water and smoke coming out of the building—something was extinguishing the flames.

“Vaor!” Nauja gasped. She broke from Bepo and began to run towards the castle. She made her way past water-logged Beast Pirates and samurai, Bepo tailing close behind, as she searched for Law. By the time she found him, he was laying down in a pile of debris, eyes closed as he breathed heavily.

“Dinna worry; he ain’t dead,” Kid groaned as he caught sight of the child. He was laying in his own pile of debris, though had his eyes open. “The ol’ bat kicked our arses, but we got her in the end.” He gestured towards a nearby hole in the floor, presumably where Big Mom went.

“Vaor…?” Nauja knelt down beside him and put her hands on his chest, shaking him. “Are you alright…?”

“Ja, famke,” he groaned. Law struggled to lift his hand, reaching out towards Nauja. He was able to find her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb as he opened his eyes. “I’ll be alright. That was just…”

“…a lot…?”

“Yeah… it was a lot.” He offered her a wan smile, which she took as permission to hug him, clinging desperately as he rested his hand against her back. “Ball’s in your court, Strawhat-ya.”

Almost as if Luffy heard him, a gleeful shishishi reverberated throughout the castle.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

After having the sheer audacity to to return to the fray on the back of a dragon, Luffy turned into Nika to no-sell Kaidou.

Fucking hell… Monkey D. Luffy became Nika, the legendary sun god and liberator of peoples from times ancient and immemorial, while Law had a time with the hag that just wouldn’t die? And the “help” he had gotten from Kid? Had to almost carry the moron while he was staggering about and yet Strawhat-ya turned into a literal god.

Now wasn’t that some straight-up peak protagonist-level shit right there?

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The aftermath of the raid on Onigashima was, fortunately, plenty less complicated than was feared. With Kaidou and Big Mom done for (Law did not want to say they were dead, as he knew he needed a corpse to do that), the Beast and Big Mom Pirates scattered like ants after a good threatening from Yamato. Orochi actually was dead, confirmed by Hiyori and Denjiro, who were there as he spoke his final words before being consumed by flames. The royal siblings were reunited and Oden’s long-lost heir proclaimed himself shogun.

Wano was free.

Oh, the celebrations that were had! Those who had been in the Flower Capitol wept in joy and relief, knowing that they had nearly become victim to a misplaced Onigashima. Parties broke out throughout the lands, bolstered by food sent from the unpolluted farms. Talk of the old ways now flowed freely, bringing with it reminisces of a society—while not perfect—was still defined by full bellies and factory work not being a death sentence. Many of the Alliance members were met with cheers and grateful platitudes, much to their derision. Pirates were not heroes, after all, and honestly had been in it for their own reasons. Whether itching for a fight or wanting information, they were not the ones that Wano should have been heaping their praises on.

Despite this, while members of the victorious forces recovered, there was a heightened sense of wonder and gratitude in the air. Adults took their first clean drink of water since childhood alongside their own children, festival stalls did not close up, and people smiled in the streets at whomever crossed their paths. It was even evident that the inhabitants of Ebisu were genuinely happy, as there was something about their demeanor that was simply right. All were thankful, even as they cleaned up the messes that had been left behind in the fighting.

Meanwhile, invitation had been extended to all the members of the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance to stay within the royal palace while things were settling down. Although Law would have rather started living in the dockyards in Tokage, he subjected himself to the Flower Capitol for a while longer as he put aside Nauja’s impending punishment and allowed her to remain with her new friends. He had taken to wandering around the palace while they were at play, doing exactly the sort of thing he knew his daughter couldn’t whilst aboard a submarine full of adults.

“Vaor! Vaor! Vaor! Look at this!” Having been examining a frieze in a quiet corridor, Law glanced over to see Nauja with Tama and Toko, the three girls striking a set of poses out of Sora, Warrior of the Sea, with the pink-haired girl in the middle with her arms up and arched, while the older two stood on either side of her, hiding their faces in the crooks of one arm while their other pointed up and towards each other at an angle, nearly touching in a point.

“Teaching them about Sora, I see?” he chuckled. “How does he compare to Wanolese stories?”

“O-Ja tells us tales of this warrior, and he seems mighty!” Tama gasped dreamily. “I wonder if he ever gets sent to the New World…?”

“Well, I like Poison Pink!” Toko giggled. “She’s really cool! And her hair’s like mine! I can wear her costume!”

“Maybe when you’re a bit older,” Law replied. Shit… he hoped the kids saw the earlier versions of the Germa 66 costumes and not the ones that looked more like the real deal. There was no way he was getting blamed for a Wanolese child wanting a neckline that passed her navel. A distraction, a distraction… “Say, how about the four of us head down to the festival before it gets too crowded?”

All three girls’ eyes became large and round—perfect.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Okay, so maybe being a chaperone to three energetic children wasn’t the smartest move after all. The trio were excitable and bouncy and not only chattered like chipmunks on uppers, but moved as such too. Between that and the fact that he was out in public, it made Law tired just existing, which wasn’t a very good look if he was perfectly honest. An even worse look would have been opening a Room just to keep tabs on them—he only had two eyes and there was three of them.

Then again… this must have been how his parents felt when they were taking him and his sister to festivals, wasn’t it?

Still attempting an aloof aura, Law smiled inwardly as he watched the girls rush from stall to stall; Nauja had friends and that was irreplaceable. They bounced and giggled and acted like normal children, making him wonder if any of them had ever been this way before… if that luxury had been afforded them. At least he knew more days like this were ahead of them… ahead of him…

“Oh, what’s that…?” Nauja asked, pointing at a stall. People were standing in front of it and lighting incense, a sight that made her tilt her head in curiosity.

“That’s some leftover incense from the Fire Festival,” Toko said. “Haven’t you ever seen any?”

“They don’t have it where we’re from,” Nauja replied. “What does it do?”

“You light it as an offering to people who’ve died,” Tama explained. “I light some for my mom and dad every once in a while. Some people say you can talk with their spirits that way.”

“Like… tell them you’re doing alright…?”

“Yeah! Do you want to light some for your mom?”

Panic seized Nauja as she came at a crossroads. What was she going to tell her friends…?

“Ahahaha! O-Tama, some people don’t have moms!” Toko laughed. “I don’t! I only had a dad too!”

“…but you have Hiyori-sama!”

“She’s more like my sister!” Toko then turned to Nauja and grinned, tilting her head to the side. “Do you have anyone you’d like to light incense for?”

“Well… um…” Nauja glanced back at Law, who nodded in permission. “My grandparents… and my aunt. I never met them, but I want to say hello… let them know my dad’s taking good care of me.”

“Then that’s perfect!” Tama gasped excitedly. She and Toko pulled their friend to the stall, their chaperone hanging back. “Three sticks, please!”

“All three of you girls are going to light one?” the stallkeeper asked, trying not to chuckle.

“O-Ja never has and we need to show her how!” Toko said cheerily.

The stallkeeper nodded at that and set out three sets of incense. Each girl got a wooden skewer, which they lit with the flame of a lantern. Nauja watched as her friends transferred the flame to the ends of the incense, which she copied, and snuffed the remaining flame on the skewer in some provided sand. She placed her hands together and closed her eyes in imitation and tried to think.

‘Uh… hi Oma, Opa, Tante Lami, Cora-jiisan… I don’t really know if this is going to work, but I wanted to introduce myself. I’m Nauja and I’m your granddaughter… or niece, in Tante Lami’s case. Law-san is my dad now, and although I’m not related to any of you by blood, I’ve heard stories about you that makes it feel like that doesn’t matter. Vaor and the crew love me and protect me and take care of me, and that’s more than I’ve ever had before. Thank you for making him so kind. Even when he’s sad, he is kind, and I know you all did that.’

She peeked at the incense sticks—only halfway.

‘Well, I know about you, so I guess you should know about me! I’m almost eight years old, I love reading Sora, Warrior of the Sea, and drawing! I want to become a doctor, like Opa and Oma were and like Vaor is now! I love drawing things like how they are in the textbooks! Clione-ya calls it “hyper-realism”. Oh, yeah, and we live on a pirate ship! It can go under the water! Vaor’s crew is made up of some of the kindest pirates out there. I know, I know, there shouldn’t be such a thing as kind pirates, but there are. All they want is to be free. There are other crews like that we’ve been meeting, and I really like it a lot!We’re good friends with so many other kind pirates and that makes our crew seem not so weird!’

Another peek—nearly done.

‘Okay, the incense is almost done! I know we’ve never met, but I love you! Thank you! Bye for now!’

Opening her eyes and letting her hands fall to their sides, Nauja watched the incense as it fizzled out. It was kind of stinky, but it was a good sort of stinky, she guessed.

“Did you girls have a good chat?” the stallkeeper asked as Toko and Tama also opened their eyes. “I’m sure whomever you were talking to loved the attention.”

“I’m sure they did as well,” Law said. It was barely there, but Nauja could hear his voice crack slightly. “Now let’s hurry back—you don’t want to miss the fireworks, do you?”

The three girls gasped—no they did not!

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

With stray mochi wrappers and broken konpeito littering the balcony, Nauja watched as the fireworks reached their grand crescendo. Tonight she and her friends were watching with Zoro-ya, Hiyori-ya, and Sanji-ya, with each child snuggled into an adult. Toko-ya was already snoring against Hiyori-ya and Tama-ya was beginning to falter in her perch on Zoro-ya’s lap; only Nauja was really awake of the three.

“I believe it’s high time we put these little ones to bed,” Hiyori-ya said sweetly as the last bit of glitter faded into the sky and smoke. Zoro-ya grunted something and stood, hauling Tama-ya up with one meaty arm and accepting Toko-ya with the other. “Did you wish to join them, Lady Trafalgar?”

“No, I should clean up here,” Nauja said, leaning out of Sanji-ya’s grasp and grabbing at some of the wrappers. “I promised I’d sleep with the Hearts tonight anyhow.”

“Suit yourself,” Zoro-ya shrugged. Hiyori-ya followed him inside, with Sanji-ya’s eyes trailing behind them in a way that Nauja couldn’t tell who he was looking at. He then turned his attention back to Nauja, taking care to stub out his cigarette before moving to help her.

“You’re such a hard-working kid,” he noted. “Does Trafalgar work you that hard with chores?”

“Technically, I’m still in trouble,” she reminded him. He nodded, knowing that she was talking about sneaking onto Onigashima. “Most of my actual punishment is gonna come after we leave Wano—I won’t get any sweets or be allowed to do anything but study or train for a while after this.” She saw that he had a curled eyebrow raised in question. “It’s… more than fair.”

“You’re a pretty neat kid, Nauja-chan,” Sanji-ya chuckled. “I mean, you were brave enough to go to begin with.”

“It’s not bravery if you go in not thinking about how bad it could be,” Nauja muttered. “All I wanted was to be with Vaor.”

“Still… not everyone can figure out who I am without me giving more facts,” he replied. “You had me sweating on Zou when you mentioned my eyebrow. No one had made the connection until then.”

“Then everyone’s stupid,” she scoffed. Sanji-ya snorted at that, which in turn made Nauja grin. They finished putting all the wrappers in a bag and left the spoiled konpeito shards for birds before heading inside. Zoro-ya and Hiyori-ya met them in the corridor, the other two adults now free of Tama-ya and Toko-ya.

“You coming?” Zoro-ya asked. Sanji-ya swallowed hard and glanced at Nauja: the final obstacle.

“I can find my dad on my own,” Nauja said frankly before walking away. She heard a door to one of the rooms slide open and shut as she made her way down the corridor, not wanting to alert her adults to the fact she knew what possibly might be going on.

The palace was quiet as Nauja padded her way through the corridors and staircases looking for her dad, the only other ones active being the staff. He was not in the large bedroom where most of the rest of the Hearts were already asleep on the giant mega-futon they made by pushing a bunch of singles together. Nor, she noticed, was he in any of the banquet halls and receiving rooms, where he had been apt to sulking in the past few days. The only ones she could find were the members of the Hearts who were off cavorting with pretty maids or the handsome footman, making her wrinkle her nose in irritation… some use they were being…

Wait! There he was! Nauja found a staircase that led down into a room that had dozens upon dozens of wooden dolls. A blue Poneglyph sat in it, whispering to her tales of Wano’s past. Ignoring it for the time being, she went down what looked like another staircase set into the floor, continuing to descend deeper and further into the rock below.

“Who is this joining us?” As Nauja’s eyes adjusted to the light, she saw that Tengu-ya was standing there without his mask, leading her Vaor and Nico-ya down below the surface. “Ah, another intrepid explorer for our group.”

“If the fireworks are over, you should be headed to bed,” Vaor said sternly. Nauja shook her head instead and grabbed hold of his coat.

“I wanted to stay with you,” she reasoned. Nico-ya giggled quietly, while Tengu-ya simply gestured to an opening in the wall where a dim light shone.

“I think there is something here that you all might wish to see,” he said. Nico-ya and Nauja proceeded to crawl in through the hole, while Vaor placed himself at the end with his Devil Fruit ability.

There, beyond a pane of clear glass, was an underwater Wano shimmering in the moonlight.

“That is Old Wano,” Tengu-ya explained. “Our nation used to be much bigger, but when the country was sealed off it was done so literally, and the rainwater had nowhere to go. The buildings you see are probably around eight hundred years old. It is good that the sky is so clear tonight, or else it would be impossible to see except for in the daytime.”

“Wow…” Nauja marveled. “Does that mean there’s even older stuff further down?”

“There is,” Tengu-ya said. The girl slid out from the opening and rushed down the staircase, the clack-clack-clack of her geta echoing against the stone-hewn walls. Once at the bottom, she gasped in wonder at what she saw in the pale moonlight filtered in past waves and glass.

There, telling her its secrets, was a red Lode Poneglyph.

“Vaor!” she squeaked. “Oh, seas, Vaor!” Nauja ran up to the fence that surrounded the stone and jumped up and down excitedly. When Tengu-ya brought Vaor and Nico-ya to the chamber, both were nearly at a loss for words.

“It’s really here,” Nico-ya marveled. She tilted her head in confusion as she watched Nauja stare at the Poneglyph in wonder. “What do you know about these, Nauja-chan?”

“It’s singing!” the girl replied cheerily. All three adults blanched. “The blue stone that was on Onigashima and the one upstairs were just whispering, but this one is singing! I can hear it clearly!”

“How can you do this?!” Nico-ya gasped. She grabbed Nauja by the shoulders and looked into her eyes, scared beyond her mind. “If this is a game, Nauja-chan, you need to tell me, now.”

“She’s been showing signs for a while,” Vaor replied, his tone calm and serious. “It’s the Voice of All Things—I think she can hear it. She did on Onigashima.”

“That legend…?” Tengu-ya questioned. He then scoffed. “Then again, look at all here that otherwise lives in folklore and whispers…”

“Why is that such a bad thing?” Nauja asked. “It’s just something I can do… it doesn’t hurt anything, right?”

“It might not to you or to the rest of us, but this means that you understand this,” Nico-ya said. She pointed at the Poneglyph, which seemed to buzz in joy. “Never tell anyone outside this room you can hear those. Do you understand?”

Nauja nodded.

“It’s like my full name: we have to hide it from the world,” Vaor added. “Never be ashamed of it, but you have to know that if a bad person discovers you can hear what these things have to say, then our travels might become more dangerous than they need to be.”

“A secret name?” Tengu-ya mused.

“You may know, as payment for this,” Vaor said, gesturing at the Poneglyph. “My name in-full is Trafalgar D. Water Law. My parents died before they could pass on the knowledge of its meaning upon my coming-of-age.”

“So you wish to search for the meaning behind the Will of D., hmm…?” Tengu-ya asked. Vaor nodded. “Then you must take care… as though this old man needs to tell you that. There is nothing of the Will in what has been passed down in the shogunate, but I believe it is something you might be able to find an answer for at the End.” He then stared at the younger man, intensely curious. “Where are you from? I was one of the few with access to newspapers, even after my escape, so I might know of it.”

Vaor hesitated. “Flevance, in the North.”

“Ah—then how fortunate that the son that survived bears such a name, and that he might be one of the heroes that graced this country.”

“We’re no heroes, and we are far from saints,” Vaor stated. “We are pirates—our goals merely aligned.”

“Hmm… strooth… however, it does not change what you have done, nor will it change the meaning behind your name.” Tengu-ya went to Nico-ya and Nauja, putting a hand atop the little girl’s head. “Now, my child, can you tell me what it is this lovely stone sings of?”

She recited it perfectly.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was the late following day and Law was returning to the Flower Capitol after having visited the dock at Tokage Port where the Polar Tang was now sitting. Ikkaku and some of the more mechanically-inclined members of the Hearts, along with Robo-ya and Nose-ya, were working on making some additional upgrades to the ship, some that put him at-ease and others that were… questionable at-best. He made it back to the palace before it was time for dinner, the festivities still going strong. How long did a festival need to be, anyhow? A quick check on Nauja—she was reading some Sora books to Tama and Toko, who presumably could not read common script, given their expressions—and he decided it was time for a bit of wandering before dinner.

…or else he would have, had Shachi and Penguin not cornered him.

“So…ooo… Cap…tain…” Penguin said, drawing out the words. “We hear the Head Brat in Charge is looking for ya; has all day.”

“I am not beholden to Momo-ya now that he’s shogun,” Law frowned.

“It’s about Nauja,” Shachi said. Law blinked at that.

“Is she still beating him up?”

Shachi grimaced slightly, making a tsk noise as his lips parted. “No… more like… I think you need to get changed into something more appropriate.”

“What about my clothes is inappropriate?” Law threatened. He was wearing a button-down shirt, jeans, and boots, with his usual hat and his feather-trimmed coat draped over his shoulders. Just because he wasn’t still in Wanolese garb didn’t make him look inappropriate…

“Nothing normally,” Penguin said, “but come on, let’s go; Bep’s getting Momo for us.”

“I don’t like this,” Law stated as his two officers dragged him through the corridor, one on each arm. They got him to the room the lot of them had been sharing before most of the crew left for Tokage and wrestled him back into his yukata… the one he could have sworn he left on the Tang. “You two better explain yourselves, and quickly.”

“It’s probably better we don’t,” Shachi claimed. He and Penguin then pulled him along again, bringing their captain to a small meeting room where Bepo was waiting nervously out in the corridor.

“Oooh, ready…?!”

“Bepo…” Law warned. The polar bear mumbled an apology and quickly slid open the door, allowing Penguin and Shachi to literally shove him in. By the time he regained his footing, the door was traitorously shut behind him.

“Lord Trafalgar, there you are.” Law’s attention snapped towards the voice and saw that it was Momonosuke; he was still not used to the deeper timbre of his older self. “Please, have a seat.”

Law raised his eyebrow; they were the only two in the room, the young shogun already sitting seiza on a cushion while an empty one sat across from him. He complied, sitting in the Wanolese fashion in hopes that this wouldn’t take long, placing Kikoku down at his side.

“Mind telling me what this is about?” Law asked, getting directly to the point. Momonosuke swallowed hard.

“It… it’s about your daughter… the Lady Trafalgar…”

“You know you don’t have to refer to us by titles we don’t have,” Law stated, pinching the bridge of his nose. Wano was so nauseatingly extra he could barely stand it. “What did Nauja do?”

“Uh… nothing… I…”

“She and I, as well as my officers, are staying here at your request, in order to not break up the friendship she has with Tama-ya and Toko-ya while we can,” he explained. “If she has done something that needs addressing, then I shall address it as her father.”

“You see, that’s it! She hasn’t done anything!” Momonosuke gasped. Law narrowed his eyes. “It’s just that, since I’ve become shogun, I’ve been made to think of the future!”

“We’re setting sail soon; I don’t expect to return any time in said near future,” Law said. “I know Tama-ya and Toko-ya are fond of Nauja, but they’ll have to make do with letters.”

“Then… will you come back? In, say, fifteen years?”

“Why fifteen?”

“We shall be the year we both become twenty-three years of age; verily, I seek your permission to wed Lady Trafalgar upon such an auspicious reunion.” Momonosuke bowed deeply, his hair hiding his face as his nose nearly touched the tatami mat. “She is a hero to the nation, and no doubt shall become a fine woman. It would be an honor to have her as a bride.”

Of all the fucking…

“You know you’re older than me now, right?” Law mentioned, voice sharply deadpan. “You know… the man who is her father…?”

“I am eight years of age!”

“You are twenty-eight goddamned years old,” Law said firmly. “In fifteen years you will not be twenty-three, but forty-three. Furthermore, I am not the person whose permission you would need in order to marry her.”

“…then whose would it be…?”

“Nauja’s!” As a pirate and a medical professional, he had heard plenty of absurd things in his life, but this conversation was quickly ratcheting itself towards the top of the list. “She’s not some thing to treat as a token! It’s not my job to barter her away!”

“…but, I…!”

“…and what the actual fuck makes you think that, even if you were still an eight-year-old brat today, that she would want to get married to you in fifteen years?!”

“Her fortitude and dedication to this country’s freedom makes her an excellent candidate to be a shogun’s wife!” Momonosuke cried. Fuck… Law really still was bullying a kid, wasn’t he? “Her character is precisely the sort of thing that this country needs at my side, that I want to see in my own children some day!”

“This conversation is over,” Law decided. He picked up Kikoku and stood, trying to flex impending numbness from his calf muscles. “If I ever hear that you’ve come within fifty feet of my daughter without my presence, you shall learn precisely why they refer to me as the Surgeon of Death on my bounty posters. Do I make myself clear?”

“Uhh…”

“Then let me make it clearer: I don’t care that you leapt through time and this,” he gestured at all of Momonosuke, “is because of a Devil Fruit. I don’t care that when I met you a few months ago, you were still a literal child. I don’t even care that you are Shogun of Wano and Strawhat-ya’s new idkbff. Come near my daughter again and I will make you wish I killed you.”

“…o…okay…”

Law slammed open the door, finding that all three of his officers were there, as well as Hiyori, the princess looking rather irritated while the pirates all jumped at the sight of their captain.

“I told him it was a horrid idea,” Hiyori said, composure calm as only a vindicated younger sibling could pull off. Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi, however, were frightened into silence.

“How long have you known about this?” Law glared.

“Ju-just when we were s-sent to g-g-get you…” Penguin lied. Law turned his amber eyes towards the weakest link: Bepo.

“Onigashima!” The bear cracked instantly. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! We should have told you sooner, but it was low priority since we kind of had other things on our mind!”

“It was the middle of the battle!” Shachi added. “He was still a kid then! We thought it was cute!”

“Didn’t you ever propose to a girl when you were a kid?” Penguin asked, trying to brush it off. “I mean… that’s just what boys do when they find a girl that doesn’t put up with their shit…”

Completely done, Law turned on his heel and went back to change his clothes. Once he was in actual pants again, he found where Nauja was, with her and her friends trying to act out a scene from Sora.

“Alright girls,” he said, clapping his hands together. “Sleepover at the Tang. Grab your stuff. Come on, this means all of you.”

“Oh, do you think Jean Bart will bake us cookies?!” Nauja gasped.

“Wait…” Toko stared at her friend, smile still wide, but the tiniest hint of confusion in her voice. “What is this ‘sleepover’ your father speaks of, O-Ja?”

“It’s when friends all stay the night over at someone’s house!” Nauja explained. “Well, if submarine ships count as houses!”

“So… this has been a sleepover this whole time…?” Tama asked, looking around the room. That’s right—none of them really lived there.

“Yup, and now I’m returning the favor; chop chop,” Law said. The girls cheered and began to gather the stuff they would need to head back to the Polar Tang. Once he was able to corral them out into the corridor, they ran into Hiyori again, the woman giving him a knowing smirk.

“Hiyori-sama, we’re going to have a sleepover with O-Ja!” Toko grinned. “Isn’t that neat?!”

“It is,” she agreed. She then turned her attention to Law—they really had seen a lot for their age, hadn’t they? “I shall set my brother straight. He has a lot to learn.”

“A lot to learn about what, Hiyori-ya?” Nauja asked.

“Never you mind,” Law said. He took the bag that had Tama and Toko’s things and waved the girls off. “Make sure everything’s in your backpack before we go—I don’t know when we’re coming back.”

“Okay!” The three girls rushed down the corridor towards the Hearts’ room, leaving the two adults.

“Don’t fret, Lord Trafalgar,” Hiyori assured. “By the time you return to these shores, my lord brother will have long-forgotten all about his childhood crush. She’ll be safe.”

“I hope so,” he frowned, staring down the corridor. She giggled at that, catching his attention. “What…?”

“Sir Denjiro looks at me that way when I’m being particularly troublesome,” she admitted. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You’ll never stop worrying, you know.”

“I know.”

“One day, she will thank you, and it shall be about everything you’ve never told her about… this included.”

He nodded and inhaled deeply, trying to keep it together. “I know.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was well after nightfall and the dockyard was still bustling with activity. Several bonfires were lit to help with light, though they also served as gathering places for the varying pirates and shipwrights that were not currently working. One pirate in particular was utilizing the atmosphere to take to storytelling, with three pajama-clad children sitting rapt in front of him.

“Aye, so there we was, staring down this absolute unit of a granny; bigger than the whale that guards the entrance t’ the Grand Line!” Kid watched as the girls giggled at him, all three amused by his tale. “She tried t’ gie us t’ join her, but that would’ve involved marrying some kid of hers and that bloody fucking bunch of reprobates? Aye, right, I dinna ken a worse fate than being tied to one o’ them.”

“Don’t swear like that around them,” Law scowled in disapproval from his reading spot on the other side of the fire. Kid scowled right back and gave a venomless two-fingered salute.

“Yer lads cuss.”

“My lads can speak without anyone feeling like they need a dictionary.”

“Where the fun in that?” Kid then noticed Toko let out a yawn, the pink-haired girl being the first to flag. “Oi, Trafalgar, I think the bairnies here need a wee kip.”

“Is that right now?” Law asked. “Time for bed already?” Nauja, Tama, and Toko all shook their heads in a panic.

“NO!” they all chimed in.

“I thought Eustass-ya couldn’t tell you what to do!” Nauja added.

“He can’t tell me what to do, but he is part of the Inter-Seas Association of Semi-Capable Adults and therefore knows when certain children might need their sleep.” He snapped his book shut and placed it in his inner coat pocket before standing. “Now then, say goodnight to Eustass-ya.”

Pouting, the three young friends tackled Kid in a hug, not entirely wanting to leave just yet. He was able to wrap his right arm around them with a chuckle. “I can finish in the morning if yer that interested.”

“We are!” Tama replied. “Even though O-Ja and I were there, we did not see all the events unfold!”

“Yeah, and I was not there at all,” Toko said. She closed her eyes and hummed. “You’re warm.”

“You’ll be warm inside too,” Law said. He plucked Toko from Kid’s grasp and motioned for the other two girls to follow. After exchanging a knowing glance with Kid, Law led Nauja and Tama over to the side of the Polar Tang, opening a Room so he could place them by the top deck’s entrance. They went below, with Nauja leading the way to her bedroom. It had been finished earlier that afternoon, with more shelves, chests to place her things in, and a bunk bed that was sitting over a desk. The older two girls marveled at the changes, while the third was already too asleep to notice.

“Oh, wow!” Nauja gasped. “This is all mine?!”

“That it is,” Law replied. He placed Toko underneath the blankets while Nauja and Tama investigated the rest of the room. “Robo-ya and Nose-ya worked rather hard on it with Ikkaku-ya.”

“I’ll have to thank them in the morning!” Nauja beamed. She hugged Law tightly before climbing up the ladder leading to her bed. “This is so cool! I thought this place was neat before, but now… it’s the best!”

“Did you sleep here before?” Tama asked, following her friend.

“Yeah, but before that I had to sleep with Vaor, because this room was actually storage,” Nauja said. The girls allowed Law to tuck them in as they settled in on either side of Toko, the three fitting snugly. “Ikka-ya put this together for me when it was decided I needed my own room.”

“That’s neat…”

“Good night, girls,” Law said. “If you need me, I’m at the end of the corridor, to the right.”

“Good night,” Nauja and Tama echoed back at him. Law then turned out the lights and switched on the nightlight—the star-filled, mid-ocean sky illuminated the ceiling, garnering a couple little gasps before he closed the door.

Nodding, Law went over to the kitchen and made himself some coffee first before heading into his cabin. There, he sat up with his mug of liquid life and a medical tome he had acquired from the Flower Capitol, reading it to see what sorts of things Wanolese medicine did the same and different compared to others. It was a surprisingly engaging read, making it so that he almost flew through the first half of the book on only the one mug of coffee. As he put the mug down after draining it, the photos secured to the wall caught his eye. He had recently added some more of Nauja, snail-captured images of her having fun with him and the crew surrounding the ones he had of his parents, sister, and Cora-san.

“You’d be proud,” he whispered in the silence. “I’m gonna figure out this mystery myself, so I can give my daughter our true identity. I’ll teach her everything, and then she’ll do us proud.”

The photos simply smiled back.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

When it was finally time for the Polar Tang to depart, it was difficult separating Nauja from Tama and Toko. The three girls sobbed at the prospect of not being together again for a long time, with some of the Wanolese well-wishers that had gathered needing to hold the girls back. Even Momonosuke was there, wailing about not wanting Strawhat-ya to leave, though in reality, it was the same deal.

They would come back again, one day. It was a promise between friends.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

They were nearly at the next island when they ran into trouble again.

“Captain, uh, we’ve got a problem,” Hakugan stated, peering through the periscope. He, Law, and Bepo were in the navigation room, with the captain sitting in his chair.

“What is it?”

“It looks like there’s people already on the island…”

“…so…? There are people on most islands.”

“It doesn’t look like it holds a permanent settlement, but there is a small harbor. Some affiliates of Blackbeard are currently docked there.”

“Fuck…” Law’s upper lip curled into a sneer as he contemplated the new information. He didn’t want to risk pissing off anyone who answered directly to one of the Emperors, not if they didn’t have backup. Wano was one thing and this was another. “How close by can you get to the island in order to reset the magnetic field?”

“…for this place? It’s gonna have to be close.” Bepo was checking the Log Pose and comparing it to the map he had unfurled on the dash. “According to the information we got from Zou, this place has a tight reset zone.”

“Alright—down periscope and dive—I want us off their radar soon as possible,” Law stated.

“Aye, aye,” Hakugan nodded. He turned off the periscope and concentrated on a series of dials and switches, which he used to begin prepping the Polar Tang to dive. “Huh…”

“…what…?” Law raised an eyebrow. “Something wrong?”

“No… just… I feel kind of funny…” He then grunted suddenly, holding his stomach. “What the…?”

“I feel weird too,” Bepo agreed. “Do you think it might have been those pies Penguin made…?”

“The pies were cooked,” Law sighed, “you’re just being sill—urgh!” A sharp yet pulsing pain hit him in the abdomen as well, causing him to fall out of his chair and collapse on the floor. Something odd coursed through his body, making it feel as though it was changing, much to his chagrin, and they hadn’t even started to dive yet.

“Captain!?” The voice sounded like Bepo, and yet wasn’t. It was too high in pitch. “Captain!? What’s happening?!”

“I don’t know, I…!”

Law paused at the sound of his own voice, something intrinsically off about it. He struggled to his feet and looked over at Bepo, only to see that his navigator was donning a hairstyle close to Fred’s and was gaining a pear-shaped figure. Looking at Hakugan, he saw his helmsman was now sporting a cup size probably larger than Ikkaku’s. He felt his chin and discovered his goatee was no longer there, which caused him to look in the glass of the porthole at his reflection.

After all the years of his father staring back at him in the mirror, it was now his mother’s turn.

“FUCK!” he cursed. “Hakugan, dive, NOW!”

“Captain, what’s going on?!” the helmsman asked, attempting to maneuver to ship fast as he could.

“I don’t know! We’ll figure it out later!” Law turned towards the doorway and saw Shachi standing there with four mugs of coffee in his hands, now staring wide-eyed at the scene.

“What the fu…?”

Suddenly, a rumble shook the Polar Tang, spilling coffee and sending those in the control room into furniture and walls. Shachi in particular landed in Law’s new cleavage, which the captain did not appreciate. By the time he shoved off his crewmate, he was looking at Shachi alright, but a Shachi with the sort of hourglass shapeliness he’d normally be chasing instead of sporting.

“WE’VE BEEN HIT!” Ikkaku’s voice blared over the intercom snail. Sirens started to go off and a deep panic seated itself in Law’s chest.

Nauja.

“TACTICAL MANEUVERS!” Law ordered into the receiver on the dash. “BATTLE STATIONS!”

Once the command was given, Law rushed out of the navigation room and went to the engine room, seeing that Ikkaku was already barking orders, and then the mess hall, where most of the crew still were. A leak had sprung near a join—it was worse than he thought.

“CAPTAIN?!” gasped several crew members. Someone in the back was already infected, with Jean Bart changing into a bearded woman before his eyes.

“Vaor?!” Law’s head snapped towards the sound of Nauja’s voice, seeing that she was running towards him. “What’s going on?!”

“Sorry, but I’m gonna look like Oma and Tante Lami for a bit,” he said quietly. The terror in her face made him sick to his stomach, yet he kept it together as he looked at the rest of the crew and their quickly-transitive state. “What’s the status of that leak?”

“It’s hard to hold! We’re going to take on water sooner than later!”

“Shit!” Law grabbed the intercom snail and hissed into it. “We’ll need to surface!”

“…but Captain…!”

Another blast shook the ship, where transforming people got flung into walls and Nauja clung to Law’s leg.

“Captain… it’s Blackbeard himself! We have a visual!”

No…!

“If we keep going down, the water pressure will crush us!”

“Let’s surface!” Law ordered into the Den Den. “Prepare for battle, and be quick about it!”

“Vaor, what’s happening?!”

“I don’t know, famke,” he frowned. The girl watched as Law finally realized what was going on and used his Haki to bust through the forced gender flip, going back to his normal self. Once he did, the others in the room began to change back as well.

“How the fuck…?” Law whispered. He looked at his hand, then at his crew, as they went through changes at different rates. A sense of dread filled him like nothing he had ever felt before.

They had made it into the ship without so much as boarding.

Blackbeard’s crew had made it on the ship without boarding, and was about to make them surface.

“Shit—Nauja, backpack, now!”

Squeaking in reply, the girl scampered off, dodging crewmates as they ran around the ship, popping back to normal and panicking about the condition of the Polar Tang. She made it to her room and found her Sora backpack, putting in it all the things that she knew she needed: Professor Nanuk, books, photos of the crew and her family, the envelope with money and some Vivre Cards, her dirk, a jacket…

“Nauja, move!” She jumped and looked over at the door; Law was standing there, his arm outstretched and his face stern. He grabbed her soon as her backpack was secured and carried her through the ship.

“Vaor…?! What’s going on…?!”

“I need you to listen to me, Nauja,” he murmured in her ear, voice softer than she expected. “The crew loves you. Can you remember that?”

“…but Vaor…!” She looked around and saw that suddenly they were in the loading bay. “What’s going on?!” He set her down on the floor and knelt before her, ignoring the blaring klaxons and flashing warning lights all around them.

“Repeat what I said,” he demanded, voice shaky. She nodded weakly.

“The crew loves me.”

“I love you.”

“You love me.” She clung to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Vaor… Vader… Dad… please…”

“It’s going to be too dangerous from here on out,” he said. He gently placed her on a chair in a sort of… thing…? She wasn’t sure what, but he strapped her into a harness and kissed her hair and forehead. “Be good, alright? You’re going to grow up to be an amazing person, Trafalgar D. Water Nauja. It’s a shame I won’t get to see it.”

“Vaor…?!”

“I love you, Nauja, with all my Heart.”

Nauja’s eyes went wide as Law hit a button on the wall and the seat turned into a capsule. She screamed for her father as she struggled against the harness, although he couldn’t hear it thanks to the workmanship of the pod. It sank onto a track and another wall slid down between them, a glass panel allowing them to keep eye contact as the capsule settled into place and tears streamed down their faces.

Fly little seagull, he said silently. The world awaits.

The escape pod jettisoned itself, whisking Nauja far away from the current battle. The torpedo chamber filled with water as the contents were all forced out until only air bubbles and the sea remained.

Law set his face and exhaled heavily—it was time to take care of Blackbeard and, if he was lucky, at least his crew would survive this.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Nauja stared at the folded Vivre Card in her hand, then up at the building in front of her. Everything her father ever told her came rushing back all at once, as she knew she shouldn’t be there. It was the Marine Headquarters, which was precisely not the place for a pirate to be, even a little one. She was glad she put her boilersuit in her backpack a while ago to blend in with just her t-shirt and shorts—this was going to be leagues more difficult than infiltrating the okiya.

Knowing she wasn’t going to get anywhere with hiding in the wharf, Nauja stepped out into the sunlight and began to walk up to the Marine Headquarters with her head held high. Recruits and minor officers all stared at her, wondering whose kid she was, all the way until an elderly lady with kind eyes stopped her.

“Where are you going, my dear?” she asked. “I think you’re a bit young to be signing up.”

“I’m here to see my grandfather,” Nauja said. She held up the folded Vivre Card and it shuffled on her palm. “My uncle gave this to me because I don’t remember what my grandfather looks like.”

“What is your grandfather’s name? That might help.”

“Uhh… Grandpapa…?”

The woman chuckled; oh, the innocence of children. She then noticed that there was writing on the inside of the Vivre Card. “What’s that?”

“A… erm… a note.”

“For whom?”

“It’s for Grandpapa from Uncle Dorry.”

The elderly lady inhaled sharply, her eyes going wide for just a moment. Nauja began to panic, only for the woman to reach out and grab her arm.

“I know your grandfather; let me take you to him.”

“You… you do…?”

“Yes. I knew your Uncle Dorry before your grandfather knew him.”

A light went on in Nauja’s head—this was the friend that Dinosaur-ya had mentioned. She nodded and let the woman take her hand, bringing her through the maze-like corridors of the Marine Headquarters. She eventually found an office, where there was an elderly man sitting at a desk doing paperwork.

“Tsuru, what’s this?” he wondered, sitting fully upright. He watched as the little girl detached herself from his old comrade’s side and approached him, holding up a Vivre Card. It spun in her hand when she was directly next to him—it was his.

“I think you should read that, Sengoku,” Tsuru suggested. He picked up the Vivre Card and unfolded it, seeing the familiar, distinctive script inside.

‘Please take care of her. Dorry.’

“Where did you get this, child?” Sengoku asked gently. Nauja shuffled in place nervously.

“Your son gave it to me,” she said. “He knows my dad, and we met not too long ago, and he gave me that saying that if I were ever in any trouble Dad couldn’t handle, that I should find you.”

“Did he, now?”

“Yeah; he said something about his brother, and how although they never met, his brother would want me to have this.” The adults both looked at one another, which allowed the girl’s eyes to wander towards the photo frames on the desk. “That’s him! That’s Uncle Dorry!”

“Yes, it is him, isn’t it?” Sengoku nodded. He pulled the photo frame closer, allowing Nauja to see both the portraits clearer. She gasped when she saw the other one in the frame, before it having been shielded by glare from the lights. “What’s the matter?”

“That’s Cora-jiisan!” she realized. Nauja went into her backpack and pulled out an envelope, from which she presented a copy of a photo she last saw on her father’s wall. “He was Dad’s dad! Like how Dad is my dad! Dad needed Cora-jiisan and he took care of him, like how I needed Dad and he took care of me!”

“Is that so…?” Sengoku marveled, looking at the photo. It was something he had never seen before, with his son taking the photo of himself and a sour-looking teen with white patches on his face and in his hair. He wasn’t sure there was a time he had seen that sort of smile on him as an adult, and it made him nearly want to cry.

“Yes! This is Dad and me!” Nauja said. She held out another photo, this one of her and a very familiar-looking pirate. It was the teen from the first photo, no longer sick and now the adult taking the picture. Sengoku stared at the photos side by side, then stared at Tsuru, terrified of what was happening.

“I did not know,” he apologized to the child. “Since I’ve retired from my normal duties, I don’t hear a lot of chatter about who is in what crew these days. That this man has a child is news to me.”

“Dad didn’t really think he was my dad until very recently, but now that his adoptive uncle’s in prison, we’re safe to be a family! Well… kind of…”

“What do you mean by that?” Tsuru asked.

“Well, there’s this big, mean, ugly guy who made his crewmate turn all the guys on the ship into women! After he fixed it, Dad had me get my backpack together and he put me in an escape pod. I… I’ve been going by this ever since.” She tapped the now-still Vivre Card on the desktop. “Now I’m here! Why do you have a picture of Cora-jiisan?”

“He was my son, before your Uncle Dorry came into my life,” Sengoku said. “I found your Cora-jiisan, he found your father, and your father found you. We are family.”

“Then maybe,” Tsuru said, “this is a chance to make things right.”

“Indeed.”

Sengoku stared at the little girl for a moment, wondering what he did to deserve such a sweet and innocent thing as this. He had done so much wrong by his son—by the boy he had taken in without thought of reproach from the Celestial Dragons—and the kid he’d decided to take in. That Flevench boy should have grown up to become a Marine… should have been allowed to do great things, and yet he had squandered it. He, Sengoku, had squandered the future of a young man he’d never met—Trafalgar never truly had any autonomy when it came to this—and now the man’s daughter was here… in his office… in need of a place to be safe and free.

“What is your name? I can’t introduce my adorable little great-granddaughter if I don’t know what her name is.”

“Trafalgar D. Water Nauja,” the girl said firmly, head held high. “My dreams are to become a medical illustrator and get justice for Vaor and the crew and the ship that was our home. Dinosaur-ya—erm—Uncle Dorry said that you can keep me safe while I grow up. Is that true?”

“It is,” Sengoku nodded, “and it shall be. No one, pirate or Marine, will know what hit them.” He brought her into a hug and the girl broke down into sobs. Tears flowed from them both as the finality washed over them, unaware of the note that had been slipped into her backpack, tucked between the pages of a book about a city long-razed, written on the back of a photo taken while neither subject had been paying attention as they read together in the sun.

You shall fly, my little Nauja, and the world shall know your name.

5 notes · View notes

nehswritesstuffs · 1 year

Text

fly little seagull, the world awaits - Part 4 of 5

Fucking hell, I reread Wano for this.

Also, you’re reading that title line right. It’s now five chapters instead of four, because otherwise I’d have a 20k+ word chapter and I don’t want to subject everyone to that level of bullshit this time around lol (I am also SOBBING at ch. 1081, btw, so there’s that)

Chapter 1 on [tumblr] - [FFN] - [AO3]

Chapter 2 on [tumblr] - [FFN] - [AO3]

Chapter 3 on [tumblr] - [FFN] - [AO3]

Doflamingo is in Impel Down. Strawhat-ya is going to rescue his crewmate. The Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance has begun shifting gears. An entire nation is ready to break its shackles and rise. Law just wants to keep his daughter safe through it all. [11,188 words; AU where Trafalgar Law gets forcefully assimilated into the Unconventional Single Dads Club]

The submarine was full of dread and excitement as it made its way towards Wano. While the Heart Pirates were all glad to be back with their captain, none was more glad than Nauja. She stayed close to Law as they sailed towards the unknown land. Even the guests on the ship were aware that something had shifted, that there was a new element hanging in the air, and that it involved the captain and his newly-discovered daughter. They regarded her presence carefully, not wanting to spook anyone.

“That is truly a disastrously cute kid,” Usopp said, sitting down with Robin and Franky on the top deck of the Tang. Nauja was on the other side of the deck, sleeping curled into Law’s side as the captain himself napped against Bepo. “Really does make sense of his fury when he discovered what Cesar was doing to the kids at Punk Hazard.”

“He makes a good father,” Robin nodded. She handed Usopp a map of Wano’s capitol to let him study it.

“I wonder where she was during Sabaody two years ago.”

“Probably hidden in the ship,” Franky said. “She’s a clever thing—I doubt she’d do anything to reveal herself unnecessarily. That’s what you do when you’re raised by pirates.”

“What’s that you’re working on?” Usopp asked. He looked at the schematics on Franky’s board—it was of the Polar Tang. “I thought Ikkaku didn’t want anyone touching her baby.” He pat the bit of the deck next to him; the submarine was a unique one.

“Well, yeah, but I want to help her make a super special space for the little one once we get a bit of downtime,” he explained. “Space is tight, so I’m trying to think of something to grow with her, as well as some other additions and modifications, as a thank you to Torao for being such a super ally.”

Usopp stared flatly at the cyborg. “Don’t tell me your idea of an alliance is the same as Luffy’s.”

“Fine then; I won’t.”

Robin chuckled quietly at the interaction, glad that the quick repeat separation from the others was not doing anything to hamper their morale any more than it already did. With Zoro sulking in the galley and the concept of losing Sanji forever looming over them, it was good that this at least was easy, that it was as it always was. She then went back to her book only for a shadow to block out the sun.

“Nico-ya.” She quietly closed her book and glanced up at her host captain. “A word.”

“Of course,” she replied. Her eyes found Bepo and how he was now napping with Nauja curled atop his chest. She felt a slight tug and suddenly they were in the empty infirmary, away from prying ears. “Oh, it must be serious.” She took a chair and sat, crossing her legs. “What is on your mind? Is it related to what we discussed earlier?”

“No; Kitsune-ya was giving me some background earlier on the current state of Wano,” Law stated as he leaned against the counter. Robin tilted her head curiously. “He is concerned for Nauja’s safety, as it is no place to bring a child at the moment unless necessary.”

“As her father, I’m sure you have similar fears,” she nodded. “This is not like normal islands, where you can simply leave her in the ship.”

“Precisely.” He felt his face grow warm at the verbal affirmation that he was, indeed, her dad. “That is why I have an extremely important favor to ask of you. It might be a while before Strawhat-ya catches up and I wish to ensure my daughter’s safety in the meantime.”

“…and you trust me?”

“…yeah.”

The infirmary was quiet for a moment while Robin mulled the request over. “This is truly something you wish to entrust with someone from another crew? Alliance or not, you would be putting your child’s life in my hands, and you and her both know me far less than your own crew members. That’s not something to consider lightly.”

“I am not putting my daughter’s life at the mercy of a Revolutionary, nor someone the Marines refer to as the Devil Child, nor even another pirate. I want Nauja to stay in the capitol, where there is plenty of safe food and water, under the care of someone else who knows what it’s like to be the only one to survive.” He saw tears well in the corners of her eyes as she tried to not allow the admission to hit her too severely. “I know about Ohara, what they did, and that it led to you running until you found Strawhat-ya and his crew. Flevance was very much the same, if you turn pursuing knowledge into slowly being poisoned and a Buster Call into bullets and arson. Nauja represents something that can’t change those facts, but can make them easier to live with. You can’t even imagine how often I think of just taking her and leaving all this behind… letting someone else deal with it.”

“Every time you look at her, at the very least,” she replied. He blushed more, averting his gaze.

“Both our crews love her, and there’s no doubt in my mind that they wouldn’t protect her with anything less than their lives, but you alone understand what she truly is to me… what she is to an entire nation she will never meet.”

“This is an honor I do not accept lightly,” Robin said. She made eye contact with Law and he could see the silk and steel that kept her composure steady. “Where exactly am I to keep the Heir to Flevance safe?”

Law allowed himself a small, appreciative smile, knowing full-well that he made the correct choice.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“So, you wish to learn the geisha arts?” the old woman hummed. She regarded the younger woman bowing before her—so regal despite her tattered clothing—and nodded. “You already hold yourself well for someone never trained; I see promise. Tell me something first.”

“Anything, Tsugaru-okaa-san.”

“Why do you wish to learn?”

“My family was ruined and I have been on my own since I was a child. I wish to be free of such uncertainty once and for all.” The woman lifted her head and sat up straight and seiza. “We were with trusted friends, but I made the decision to break from them, as they cannot help me provide what I must. A geisha, on the other hand, does not live by the whims of men and their quarrels. I wish a better life for my ward than a lifetime ruled by the pettiness of men.”

The older woman raised an eyebrow. “You have a child?”

“I did not birth her, yet she is under my care.” She turned and beckoned a child into the room, having her sit next to her and bow. “O-Ja has no mother of her own and is nearly the same age I was when I first found myself alone in the world. It was fate.”

“Quite.” The older woman watched as the child shook in fear, seiza sloppy and hands stained by dirt. “You have curious names and come to me from nothing. Who are you?”

“Refugees who go from place to place, the last being the ruins of Kuri Castle. Please forgive our poverty and ignorance, as it was borne of isolation.”

“We will work hard!” O-Ja exclaimed, face still turned to the floor. “O-nee-ya says young girls can become shikomi and help their geisha sisters! I want to help her gain an audience with the shogun!”

“Is this true, O-Robi?” the older woman asked. O-Robi replied with a nod.

“If I can gain an audience with the shogun before the festival, I would be most honored, as it would show my ward an irreplaceable lesson.”

“Which is…?”

“The value of hard work, how buds blossom and turn into fruit worthy of pride.”

Silence fell over the room, punctuated by noise filtering in from the okiya’s courtyard and corridors. The old woman looked at the poised O-Robi and the trembling O-Ja, thought for a moment…

…and cackled.

“You girls sure have spunk!” she laughed. “O-Robi, if you work hard at this and prove yourself worthy, I shall present you to the shogun as a special case before continuing on as a sort of advanced maiko after the Fire Festival. O-Ja, then you shall become her shikomi, and one day we will be glad to see you graduate to maiko, and then, after much work and training, you too shall become a geisha and be free.”

“Oh, thank you so much, okaa-ya!” O-Ja cried.

“Yes,” O-Robi said, bowing again. “The information we shall learn in your care shall be invaluable.”

“Right then,” the older woman grinned. “Let’s get to work!”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The street was busy as Penguin leaned against a building, looking as though he decided to rest and people-watch for a while. The Flower Capitol was a busy place, that was for certain, and he was glad that the crowd was able to hide his presence easier than in a normal port.

“Oh, oji-ya!” He raised his eyebrow as a small child popped out of the crowd and approached him. “I’ve been looking for you! You’re nee-ya’s friend!”

“If I’m nee-ya’s friend, then you can call me nii-ya,” he deadpanned. This acting like they didn’t know one another shit was precisely that. The little girl laughed, fishing an envelope out from inside her yukata sleeve.

“I don’t know about that, oji-ya” the girl said with a grin. Fuck… she really was the Captain’s kid, wasn’t she? He pocketed the envelope and sighed; there had to be a better, safer way to pass information along. “Is there anything you want nee-ya to know when I tell her I completed my errand?”

“Yes—tell her that we have a special errand for you to do soon, and that we hope you both are learning well.” Penguin pat the girl on the head and offered her a smile. “This is a very brave thing you’re doing.”

“I know it is, but I’m a member of the crew, and I gotta do what I can!”

“That’s a good kid,” he chuckled. “Now run along and tell nee-chan that it’ll be in three days’ time.”

“Gotcha!”

The girl vanished back into the crowd, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. He stayed where he was for a few more moments before making the trip back to the edge of the city, where Law popped him back outside the gate.

“Got the goods?” he asked. Penguin nodded. “How’d she look?”

“Just fine—they must have good food in the okiya. She’s faring better than Bush-Bog Bepo at any rate.”

“Then the plan’s going well,” Law stated. He seemed to exhale in relief under the tengai basket, glad that at least one thing in the gods-forsaken place was still going smoothly. “Alright; let’s move out. I want to be at the farm by nightfall.”

“Shame we can’t empty it all,” Penguin shrugged. “It’d make a statement, that’s for sure.”

“We’d get caught.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like we’d be hogging it all; we’d be like the Witching Hour Boy I keep hearing about…”

“Enough of the stupid fucking Witching Hour Boy,” Law grumbled. “We’re not doing that—we’re pirates. Pirates doing good things for civilians makes me sick.”

“Cap…? Isn’t that kind of how you got yourself a kid…?”

Penguin couldn’t try to outrun the Room’s reach fast enough.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Entering the bedroom, Robin felt absolutely exhausted. She sat down next to a low table and exhaled heavily—every part of her body felt as though it hurt from practicing her posture, movements, and dancing. It made her glad that she had been given a room to herself, sequestered from the other oikya residents as she endured her rigorous training.

While it wasn’t the first palace she had gone undercover to infiltrate, it didn’t mean that this one was going to be any easier.

“Nee-ya, I’m back,” Nauja said as she entered the room. She hugged Robin and immediately went to work on getting the ornaments out of her hair. “Did you learn much?”

“I did,” she sighed. “This is a job for those with solid constitutions and silent tongues.”

“Is it?”

“That it is.” She heard each of her hair ornaments get placed upon the corner of the table out of her sight. “What did you learn on this fine day?”

“I learned of histories of Wano that I did not know,” Nauja replied. She then frowned. “Nee-ya, why can’t I attend school?”

“School is for those with money, which we decidedly are lacking,” Robin explained. “Cheer up; who did you hear this history from?”

“One of the customers—he was one of the yakuza’s men, and he said how Wano when you were my age was a very different place. Shogun Orochi had yet to make a pact with Kaidou and his men, and a fool danced in the streets to protect the people.”

“That is how I understand it,” Robin replied, careful of her wording. Even there, where the other okiya residents were very warm and accepting, they needed to watch what they said in case of spies. “Then again, I was only a child, so there are things I do not recall as well as others might.” She felt the final pin slip from her hair and the strands all tumbled down her back. Nauja then grabbed a brush and began to untangle it. “Have you been making yourself useful?”

“Of course, nee-ya!” the girl grinned. “I clean tables and help the geisha and maiko get customers more drinks to pour or food to eat! They tell me I am cute and a hard worker! Okaa-ya says that I am doing well.”

“Maybe, when I have accomplished what I meant to, I might have the time to educate you myself,” Robin said. “I know many things that a geisha does not—my first true family was a scholarly one before it was set to ruin—and I might be able to impart some of that knowledge.”

“Really…?!”

“I do not doubt the ones you were with before my care, but if things go a certain way, I might be able to do so.” She felt the girl hug her from behind and she smiled privately. If only she had been given such luxuries as a loving and supportive family at Nauja’s age; would things have been different? “Now, how about your hair?”

“It’s easy to keep when it’s this short,” Nauja beamed.

“You don’t want it to be longer? A shikomi can do much with longer hair.”

“Yeah, but I had long hair when I was little-little, and I had to get rid of it.”

“You did?”

“Oh, yes, but I don’t mind,” Nauja said. “I like only having to brush it in the morning.” She helped Robin out of her kimono, who in turn helped her out of her yukata. It was good that they had stolen actual clothes instead of Kin’emon’s disguises; they did not need someone coming in to find them sleeping in what should have been dayclothes. They set up the futon once they were in their nightrobes and went to bed huddled together against the chilled evening air. “Should my hair be long?”

“It should be exactly how you like it,” Robin chuckled. She kissed the girl on the forehead and snuffed the lamp before settling in and whispering, “Good night, Nauja.”

“Good night, Nico-ya.”

Robin held the girl close as they eased off into sleep—there was no way she was allowing Torao’s treasure feel anything but secure in her father’s absence.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was Strawhat-fucking-ya. Again.

Law really didn’t know what ever possessed him to think that an alliance with the other pirate captain had been a good idea. The kid was absolutely batshit insane, could not follow even the simplest plan, and was incapable of any sort of subtlety, all of which had been repeatedly proven time and again. It had yet to be an entire day and everything was already falling apart and their covers were blown, causing Law to very quickly ditch the wandering monk guise and get Nico-ya to pass off his daughter so they could vacate the Flower Capitol while flirting with capture.

“I need you to stay here with the other children,” Law said. He, Nauja, Penguin, and Shachi were in Amigasa Village, where Momonosuke and Tama were currently hidden, while Bepo was guarding the remainder of the crew in the meantime. “Tony-ya and Kiku-ya will take good care of you.”

“…but Dad! They didn’t figure out that I’m one of you yet!” the girl pouted. “I can still do recon work for everyone from the okiya!”

“No—you are staying here with Tama-ya and Momo-ya,” he replied firmly. “Not only is it no longer safe there, but it’s bad enough you’re not on the Tang.” He leaned in close and whispered in her ear. “You might not be strong physically, but just like the rest of the crew, you are a seasoned pirate. Help Tony-ya and Kiku-ya keep Tama-ya and Momo-ya safe. Okay?” Nauja sniffled and nodded. “That’s my girl. We’ll be back soon.”

“Must I be left here in this place?” Momonosuke frowned. “I would be best served darting about from one locale to the other, learning what I can from those who are paid no heed. Verily, the courtesans and cleaning women are to have much information spoken recklessly in their presence. Even the girls may come and be of service.”

“No sale, you pervy little shit,” Law hissed. Momonosuke harrumphed in irritation. “Be glad you’re even being left with my daughter at all. One toe out of line and I don’t care what you’re heir to or what alliance I joined—you’ll be dead from starvation before they find all the pieces to put you back together.”

“Papa Law is so scary when he’s protective,” Penguin snickered. “I wonder what will happen when real suitors come calling?”

“Let the man live in parental bliss for now,” Shachi joked. “Eight or ten more years and we’ll have plenty of new, young, virile recruits to vet.”

“Are they here to serve under the best captain in the world, or here for the chance to court his lovely daughter?”

“We’ll have to even keep an eye on the women, for who knows who would want the delicate bloom for themselves…”

“I will murder both of you and no one would know the difference,” Law threatened.

“Cap, you are a grown-ass man threatening a child,” Shachi noted.

“You did not watch him motorboard every woman he could while on the Sunny—the child is mentally ill and raised by poor examples, therefore needing a firmer hand in order to correct it.”

“How dare you, knave!” Momonosuke charged at Law, only to collapse into little pieces thanks to a Room. “This is treason!”

“I literally cannot commit treason in or towards Wano despite the alliance—maybe Kiku-ya will be kind enough to explain it while we’re gone. She seems fairly knowledgeable.”

“Vaor…? What are you talking about?” Nauja wondered, an expression of deep confusion spread across her face.

“Remember Nauja,” he said gravely, “you can punch him.” Law then opened a Room and he, Penguin, and Shachi were replaced by leaves.

Huh. Dads sure were weird. Uncles were too… but dads… definitely weird.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“Please play nice while this one has a conversation with our esteemed physician,” Kiku requested gently before heading into one of the empty houses with Chopper. This left Nauja, Tama, and Momonosuke to poke around Amigasa themselves. They found an old dojo with child-sized equipment, which they hauled out to the clearing near the house.

“Verily, this shall be good practice for whilst we await the rest of the adults,” Momonosuke grinned. He took a shinai and beat it against the practice dummy, the thwap it made satisfying him. “You two may watch or serve as a lookout.”

“There’s more than one shinai,” Nauja noted. She picked up the other one, feeling the weight of it in her hand. It felt… right. “Maybe we can spar?”

“I do not engage in battle with women,” Momonosuke huffed. Nauja and Tama exchanged unimpressed looks—even they knew it wasn’t a practical tactic. “If you wish to spar, practice ninjutsu with the junior kunoichi. A sword is unbecoming of you.”

“Kiku-ya’s your samurai—why can’t I fight with a sword too? I already use a knife.”

“O-Kiku was a loyal vassal under my father. You are just a stupid girl.”

Quickly, Nauja used her shinai to hit the other out of Momonosuke’s hand, then spun around, stopping her swing when the practice weapon was nearly touching the side of his head. Tama gasped loudly, while Momonosuke’s eyes went wide.

“I am not stupid,” Nauja insisted. “Besides, I am not the one who can barely hold a sword.”

“That’s no fair! I wasn’t expecting that!”

“Bad adults are not going to care if you’re ready or not!”

“That is why a shogun has vassals!”

“That is how people die!”

“Wait a second! What’s going on out here?!” Chopper shouted as he came out of the house, Tama pulling along Kiku close behind. “Why are you fighting?!”

“This insolent wench decided to attack me,” Momonosuke hissed. Kiku gently took the shinai from Nauja’s hands and stroked the girl’s hair.

“Tell this one what is the matter, Lady Trafalgar,” she insisted, cradling the girl’s face in her palm. “Why do you quarrel?”

“He’s an asshole,” the girl said. Momonosuke went to charge at her, only for Chopper to turn into Heavy Point and hold him aloft by the back of his collar.

“That’s not nice either,” the reindeer sighed. “We need to work together if we’re going to stop Kaido and Orochi.”

“That is correct! My father’s country is at stake! I must become shogun!”

“You’re just a kid!” Nauja snapped. “What do you know?!”

“I am Kozuki Momonosuke, next Shogun of Wano! You are nothing!”

“I am Trafalgar Nauja and I am not nothing!”

“Of which house do you belong, Trafalgar Nauja, that has you believe you can speak to me in such a manner?!”

“Not one run by spoiled brats!” Momonosuke stuck out his tongue and pulled on his lower eyelid, while she gave him a two-fingered salute. “I’m not here to baby you! Grow up!”

“Verily,” Kiku sighed, “we should all take a walk to settle our nerves. This one knows of a path to the beach. We can let out our frustrations against the sand.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” Chopper agreed. He was beginning to regret being left behind with the children, but at least he had Kiku as backup.

With that, the two adults marched the three children single-file down towards the beach. Salt still carried on the air from the ocean, while sand began to overtake the ground beneath their feet. Tama could feel the tension between Momonosuke in front of her and Nauja behind her—it wasn’t good.

“Maybe,” she said as she fell into step beside Nauja, “you should apologize to Momo.”

“Why should I?” Nauja scoffed. “He’s an idiot.”

“Even if he is, we’re here to help him.” The junior kunoichi gave her friend a kind smile. “Then, how about if he’s ever doing something stupid, tell me instead!”

“What good would that do?”

“It’d make my shogun less cross with you.”

“He can be cross if he wants,” Nauja huffed. “Shogun or not, he can’t go pretending rules don’t exist when he wants to; I didn’t go through all the trouble I did just for him to treat me like shit.”

“Strooth, however, it gives none of us license to treat him poorly as well.” Tama looked at the other girl and tilted her head. “Where do you and your father hail from, might I ask?”

“Well, he comes from the North Blue, from a country that doesn’t exist anymore. I used to live on an island called Water 7; that’s on the other side of the Grand Line.”

“It no longer exists…? Was it merged with another kingdom…?”

“No. It was killed. The whole country. Vaor… Dad… he escaped.”

“So… you could be the last of the kingdom’s line; prestigious,” Tama nodded. Nauja never wanted to hear anything ever again about sounding like an old lady for using big words and calling people -ya; she wasn’t even certain Tama knew what some of the words she was saying meant… not that it was her fault… “What of your mother? Is she still in the Seven Waters?”

“Tama-ya, I…” Nauja was nearly about to tell her friend that sometimes people didn’t have moms when Momonosuke and the adults all gasped.

They were at the beach alright, right near a beached whale named Charlotte Linlin.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Queen the Plague was gone, having taken the unconscious Emperor with him. Tensions were still high in Udon’s prison, all the way up until Momonosuke accidentally revealed himself. There was a hushed gasp around the yard and nearly everyone dropped to their knees in reverence around the boy.

“…what are they doing…?” Nauja asked, wrinkling her nose. Tama raised an eyebrow at her.

“They are bowing to Momo,” she replied, as though it wasn’t obvious. “I know you don’t get on, but he is still the old shogun’s son.”

“Yeah, I really don’t care about that,” Nauja scoffed. She tried to act aloof in an imitation of her father. “He’s still a brat.”

“You call me such names despite being younger?” Momonosuke snorted. “It is plain to see that you are merely jealous, as commoners often are.”

“Uh-huh, sure, you piece of shit.”

“O-Ja!”

“Oh, to have the quarrels of children again,” one of the prisoners chuckled. Many of them were looking at the pair with laughter in their eyes instead of the insult that Tama feared. “You shall learn of the Kozuki Dynasty’s might and honor soon enough.”

“I’d rather not.”

“They would bow to you as well, you know, if you were my betrothed,” Momonosuke smirked devilishly. Nauja tilted her head in confusion, having never heard that word before. “Oh, come now—fifteen years and I’m sure you’d make a lovely bride… although probably flat-chested as tomboys tend to be…”

“No wonder Vaor said I can punch him,” Nauja said to no one in particular. She gathered up her wits and drew her dirk. “I’m only seven, you idiot! You can’t tell any of that, as though it would even matter!”

“…and I am but eight years of age—we would mature together.”

“Get lost, pervert!”

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Wano, Trafalgar D. Water Law felt a chill go down his spine and inexplicably desired the ability to murder something.

“Could Momo even marry O-Ja…?” Tama wondered. “Even if she wasn’t a foreigner, I think there would possibly be too big a class difference.”

“Yeah—I’m in the class that can kick his ass!” Nauja went to charge at Momonosuke, but was deftly intercepted by Kiku, who scooped the girl up into her arms. “Lemme go! I gotta teach the idiot prince a lesson since no one else will!”

“You are staying with this one, Lady Trafalgar,” Kiku giggled gently. “How spirited you are is a reminder of this one’s childhood, raised by men good of heart but rough of language.” She held Nauja as one would a stuffed animal, which made the girl pout. “They too taught girls to be forceful with their emotions and follow their passions as they grew into confident women. Such excellent role models they made...”

“You sure about that?” Raizo deadpanned. He looked at Kawamatsu, who gestured at the children still mocking one another. “She is the daughter of an ally; brusque yet formidable.”

“If the child is that bold and fearless, her parent must be a force to behold,” the kappa shivered.

“The giant bird called her Trafalgar?” Kawamatsu and Raizo glanced over to see Eustass Kid, who was watching the children fight with interest. “Yer havering; dinna ken the bastard had a wee bairn of his own. Don’ seem the type.”

“You are acquainted with her father?”

“I wouldn’t say something as nice as ‘acquainted wi’, but aye, arsehole and I butt heads when occasion calls,” Kid snorted. He looked at the girl carefully. “Must’ve knocked some poor thing up when he was still barely a nip himself.” He paused and clearly did some mental calculations. “Feck… she didn’t plop out of his mechanic, did she?”

“Her mother is unknown; Lady Ikkaku is more of an uncle to the child than an aunt or mother,” Raizo explained. “I would not test your luck, as he is extremely protective of her.”

“…and how’d yeh ken this, crag-face?”

“Her father’s underwater vessel was my transportation back to Wano; I have seen them interact.”

Huh. Interesting.

“Well, not my bloody fucking business if he uses this as a fucked-up family holiday,” Kid scoffed. “Oi, Killer, let’s go round up the lads—we’re gonna have some fun.”

“Faffaffaffa,” Killer chuckled before cringing. “Have’t untangle this fucking fankle before shite really goes down. Y’ken Heat and Wire gonna have a conniption…”

“Feckin’… see yeh losers up the road.” Kid and Killer both sauntered off, deciding that they were going to use this new information, but how was the question.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“You know, I’m gonna kill Law once we get a hold of him,” Penguin grumbled. He and Shachi were running through the woods, trying desperately to get through Kuri as quickly as possible. “We seriously could have busted his ass out by now!”

“He’s better at getting information,” Shachi reminded him between gasps of air. “We just have to ‘take care of the crew’ until he makes it out.”

“…and it’s his fault for getting us used to teleporting,” Penguin argued. Before long, Amigasa was within sight, the operation being much more crowded since the last time they were there. Some of the people there they did not recognize glared at them as they made their way through the encampment, suspicion being lifted as they finally found Nauja and she paused her katas to run up to them happily.

“You’re back!” she grinned, hugging both of them at once. “Penguin-ya, Shachi-ya, come meet my friends! We were just practicing!”

“We gotta get going, kid,” Penguin said. Instead, she latched onto his wrist and dragged him over to what looked like a sparring area. The purple-haired Tama was trying to beat up a practice dummy, while a pink-haired girl they’d never seen before was sitting off to the side with a shamisen and an unsettling grin.

“Tama-ya, Toko-ya, these are two of my uncles, Penguin-ya and Shachi-ya,” Nauja said. Both children stared at the men and the men stared right back.

“Where’s Momo-kun?” Shachi asked. All three girls silently pointed in the same direction, off to where a house was to the east, where the boy was poking his head around some shabby curtains to stare at them. Ah. “Is he being a dumb boy again?”

“The dumbest boy!” Nauja groaned.

“O-Ja has beaten him up a lot!” Toko laughed. “He doesn’t like to learn his lesson!”

“Momo and O-Ja quarrel unnecessarily and they are often separated by the adults,” Tama admitted. Nauja simply grimaced at being immediately tattled-on by her friends.

“Then let’s change the equation,” Penguin decided. “Get your backpack—we’re leaving. Captain’s orders.”

“…but, I want to stay with Tama-ya and Toko-ya!” Nauja insisted. “They’re neat! It’s Momo-ya who gets in the way.”

“Trust us, okay?” Shachi insisted. He was beginning to sweat—the last thing they needed was someone like Nami or Chopper coming over and asking questions about their captain, as they were liable to crack underneath even the slightest pressure. “Now come on: get your backpack.”

Except, she didn’t need to, as a chain of arms sprouted from the ground and brought it over to her.

“What the fuck…?” Shachi marveled. “How did she…?”

“Don’t underestimate me,” Robin giggled from right behind them, making the two men jump. “I promised Torao I’d watch over his daughter unless it was to pass her off to another appropriate guardian, of which I believe you both count. Between O-Kiku and myself, you can report that she has been well-cared for these past few days.”

“Uh… thanks…” Penguin replied, not really knowing what else to say. Another chain of hands brought over a furoshiki cloth containing some bento boxes, which she handed to a now-excited Nauja.

“It’s a long road back to the Flower Capitol; don’t eat anything you can’t trust.”

“We shall!” Nauja said. She then handed the lunches to Penguin so that she could hug both her friends goodbye. “Promise we’ll meet later?”

“Yes!” Tama said. “We’ll both get strong and help fight as samurai!”

“I’m not strong, but I’ll make sure to not die!” Toko giggled. The trio hugged and Nauja went with Penguin and Shachi, her dirk at her side and Shachi carrying her backpack.

“Fight as samurai, hmm…?” Penguin asked once they were outside of the town. “You’re not a samurai; you’re a pirate.”

“…and Tama-ya is a junior kunoichi, but that doesn’t matter,” Nauja nodded. “We’re gonna help everyone fight! It will be the element of surprise!”

“Do you think your dad will seriously let you join us during the raid when he almost died in Dressrosa and you bullied him into coming along here?” Penguin sighed. “Kids don’t belong on battlefields.”

“…but Tama-ya…!”

“…is probably going to stay here along with Toko and that old guy with the platform sandals. She just doesn’t know it yet.”

“Tengu-ya wouldn’t…!”

“Something tells us that he would,” Shachi replied. “Listen: we’re not doing this to punish you. Children shouldn’t be soldiers, is all.”

“…but that’s the thing! The enemy wouldn’t be expecting someone like me or Tama-ya! We would have the element of surprise!”

“Nauja.” Penguin stopped walking and knelt down, looking the girl directly in the eyes. “Shachi and I were young kids when our parents died and we were taken in by pieces of shit who made us do things that no kid should have to do. Your dad was only a kid when he experienced war, where he watched people he loved die all around him… do you think we’d simply let you walk onto Onigashima with us?”

The young girl looked at the ground. “N-No…”

“That’s right,” he affirmed. “We’re taking you back to the Flower Capitol because we need to keep you safe, and right now, that means to keep you moving.” He stood upright and held out his hand, which Nauja took in order for them to walk along. “Tama and Toko are your friends now?”

“Yeah,” she admitted quietly. “It’s nice having friends my age.”

“It really is,” Shachi agreed. “Looking at the three of you kinda reminds me of me and Peng and your dad! How old are they?”

“Well, Tama-ya is already eight, and Toko is six…”

“Shit, if you’re seven still, then you really are just like the three of us,” Shachi laughed. “Now all you need is a Mink toddler and you’re set!”

“All they do is poop their pants and electrocute people,” Nauja frowned. “Maybe when the Mink is my age, then we’ll talk.”

She didn’t expect them to laugh as hard as they did. What was honestly so funny about that?

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Done with attempting to torture more information out of Hawkins, Law decided to leave the prison. Most of the other man’s blood was coating the floor and the bottoms of his zori as the fortune teller remained within a hair’s breadth of death. He went through the door into the corridor of the torture wing, only to see that X Drake was standing there, simply watching him walk away. The former Marine made no move towards him and Law sensed nothing that could be described as either bloodlust or a desire to recapture him.

“If letting me go is part of your plot,” he said, “then consider me a willing participant.”

“Oh, I’m certain I’ll be seeing you soon,” Drake said. There was something about the tone of his voice that made Law hesitate, turning around on his heel in curiosity.

“Why let me go? I’m an invaluable piece to the puzzle.”

“Let’s just say I don’t like making kids cry,” Drake quipped. A protective ire crossed Law’s face and he chuckled. “Then the rumors were true: you do have a kid.”

“Nowhere you can get to, you overgrown lizard.”

“Relax, Trafalgar. I said I don’t like to make kids cry. Hearing about the two of you makes me nostalgic, is all.”

“Nostalgic? For what?”

“You really want to know?” Law raised an eyebrow and sensed around them with Haki—nothing was raising flags, let alone was there anyone else in the prison’s torture wing. He nodded, allowing the other Supernova to continue. “It reminds me of how my first dad was before my mom left. I have another dad now—a foster father, if you will—but I got him as a teenager. Although I can’t deny what he gave me, there’s nothing like being a little kid whose dad cares, whose parents in general care, and I’m not about to get in the way of that.”

“Didn’t peg you for being a softie,” Law scoffed. “Daddy issues, yeah, but not soft.”

Drake snorted. “Oh…? Of all the things, daddy issues was what you went with?”

“Rare is the Northern kid with a rebellious streak that doesn’t have heavy daddy issues, in my experience. The only difference is if they’re willing to talk about it or not.”

Rolling his eyes, Drake chuckled at that. “Is this you warning me about your crew somehow?”

“Possibly—time will tell.” Law then rested Kikoku on his shoulder and turned to walk away. He made it to the door and popped out of sight, being replaced by a pebble.

Pebble, discarded doll, dango skewer, cat; Law kept moving himself along the streets of the Flower Capitol, searching for any sign of his crew. He found nothing as he scouted the area, nothing until…

Ah! There! He felt a familiar presence within the city and began to make his way towards it. When he finally arrived, he was standing outside an old soy sauce brewery, the windows and doors shuttered. He went around the back and was able to slip in through some loose boards. It was dark as he made his way through the building, going mostly off of how his Haki felt than anything else. He eventually came to a storeroom, where it appeared to be nothing more than some old barrels and busted crates. All it took was a Room and he was able to disassemble one of the barrels, revealing Nauja having been hiding in it.

“…and why are you back in the capitol, young lady?” he asked.

“Uh… if I stayed with Momo-ya for one more moment, I’d crack a shinai over his head?”

“While I like that answer, it’s still the wrong one.” He opened up another room, this one bigger, and decided to takt Penguin and Shachi out of the walls. “Why is my daughter back in the capitol?”

“We needed to make sure she was alright after not only were you captured,” Shachi defended, “but you also said that we needed to take care of the crew.”

“Plus, we heard about a prison uprising in Udon and that one of the people we left her with had been there, so it was something of a security measure in case the village’s cover was blown,” Penguin added. “There’s a lot of people there now—we don’t know if they’re there on borrowed time or not.”

“Shit… and there’s not long until the raid…” Law mused. He allowed the Rooms to drop and Penguin and Shachi landed on their faces while Nauja landed on her feet. “We need to gather the others and lay low for a while, which shouldn’t be too bad as long as there’s a place big enough for us…” He glanced around and frowned. “Where’s the rest of the crew?”

“Hunkered down in Ebisu for the time being,” Penguin replied with a groan. “Bep’s with them.”

“Yeah, we were mostly waiting for news that you escaped so we could figure out what to do,” Shachi agreed.

“Plus, we found this place as a hideout!” Nauja grinned. “Isn’t it great?! Even Jean Bart will fit!”

Law looked around the old brewery again—it was spacious, that much was true, but there was still the fact it was in the middle of town. “It’s big and abandoned, but we’ve got too many people to house and feed to remain under the radar here. This place might be able to accommodate six or seven maximum without drawing attention, not twenty-two.”

“Then we need a big-ass place,” Penguin surmised. He and Shachi were now both standing, covered in wood splinters and plaster dust. “You have to admit that our spatial needs are… unique.”

“I wouldn’t say unique, simply a mild challenge,” Law said. The sight of Nauja jumping up and down with her hand up caught his eye. “Yes…?”

“I know a place!” she said happily. “It’s big, and it’s still in the Flower Capitol, and we can use it to gather more information while we prepare! It’s very useful!”

“That’s my girl,” Law replied, a prideful smirk across his lips. He patted his daughter on the head and she grinned up at him, which was enough for Shachi and Penguin to stare at one another, unimpressed.

“So then, where is this magical place, squirt?” Shachi wondered.

Oh… they did not like the look on her face one bit.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was in the early hours of the morning as Tsugaru woke from her slumber to a silent okiya. The elderly woman had gone to bed early the night prior, which accounted for her early rising more than she would like to admit. She shuffled from her room to the bathroom, refreshing herself before going to sit on the courtyard porch and look at the moon. It was impossibly big and beautiful for its partial phase, lending a serene air to the early hour.

Times like this made her glad that she was free.

After a while of sitting there, Tsugaru heard a peculiar noise. It wasn’t a mouse, nor a cat, but it was trying to get in at the gate. The lock rattled—an intruder.

“Well, okay, out of ideas,” a man’s voice said quickly.

“You know I can take apart the lock, right?” another man deadpanned.

“No, no, throw me over!” a child’s voice insisted. Tsugaru paused; the child sounded familiar. “Okaa-san might be angry if you force the lock! She’s really nice when she’s not angry!”

“We are not throwing you over,” the second man replied sternly. “You could hurt something.”

“Won’t know until we try!” a third man said. There was a sudden scuffle—the second man was apparently restrained—and the sound of the child squeaking as she was tossed in the air and tumbled down into the dirt. Tsugaru looked in the direction of the yard and saw a small girl running towards her…

…and it was O-Ja…?

“Okaa-ya!” the girl gasped. She looked terrible, as though she hadn’t bathed or eaten her fill in days, befitting someone who had suddenly gone missing. “Please! I need your help!” Tsugaru brought the girl close into a hug, her ire resurfacing—how dare that villain use a mere child for her schemes?!

“O-Ja… O-Ja, listen to me,” she held the child at arms’ length, “did you know that O-Robi was a lying, thieving spy?”

“Okaa-ya, I’m a spy,” the girl admitted. Wait… what…?! “We never lied to you, though! We’re here to help Wano be free… free like geisha are!”

“If you walk away from that life right now, then I will let you stay here at the okiya without O-Robi,” Tsugaru said. “We will act like nothing happened… like you didn’t show up here with a wanted criminal…”

“I can’t. I have to help how I can! I’m part of the alliance—I can’t let it fail!”

Tsugaru raised an eyebrow. “The alliance…?”

“Yes! The Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance! We’re helping the Kozuki Family!”

“Whatever offshoot has you fooled is just a bunch of nonsense causing you trouble,” the old woman claimed, shocked the child spoke a name long-taboo in the Flower Capitol. “The Kozuki Family has been gone for twenty years—they’re not doing much of anything these days.”

“That’s because they just got here,” O-Ja said. She took a photograph from her sleeve pocket and showed it to Tsugaru. “Is this proof enough?”

There, in the photograph, was O-Ja alright… along with a small girl with purple hair, a smaller girl with pink hair, and… Kozuki Momonosuke…!

“If this is a prank then it’s not funny,” Tsuguru scowled.

“It’s not—I just need to convince you to let my family in for a little while we hide from Orochi’s men!”

“…and why me…?”

“…because you might be strict, but I know you’re good and kind! Why else would you take in strangers before?”

Tsugaru looked in the direction of the gate, then back at the child. “There are men with you.”

“My dad, and the crew, and they promise to behave and not bring you trouble.”

“Your father…? Then you lied about that as well…?”

“I told you: we never lied! O-Robi said I had no mom, which is true! And if you thought I was an orphan, then that used to be true too before Dad gave me his name! You were too important to lie to, okaa-ya! Well, other than my name, but it was close enough!”

“Too important…?”

“…and if anything, then Dad at least wants to thank you for taking care of me, because he might be a pirate, but he still knows manners!”

Tsugaru stared at O-Ja, both of them trembling. She looked in the child’s eyes and tried to see something… something that could justify her sounding an alarm and getting the yakuza’s attention. Nearly an entire minute passed and she made her decision.

“Open the gate and bring your family into the banquet hall,” she said. “I’ll get the others.”

“Right!” O-Ja rushed to the gate and opened it, bringing the Heart Pirates inside the okiya’s domain. By the time Tsugaru led the okiya’s other residents into the hall, the pirates were all sitting seiza as they waited. Several gasps escaped them—it was the missing shikomi, with a group of rough-looking strangers! Tsugaru motioned for her staff to sit facing them, with herself sitting directly in front of O-Ja and a man who looked like their leader.

“Now tell me,” Tsugaru demanded firmly, “why are a bunch of foreign pirates darkening our door?”

“For one,” the man next to O-Ja said, “to thank you for caring for my daughter and giving her a means of acquiring good food and water as well as information for the assignment she insisted on participating in.” He bowed deeply in the Wanolese fashion, which seemed to unnerve the others who were with him. If Tsugaru believed that the child had not been eating her fill of food, then the adults appeared to have eaten even less.

“You used a child for espionage. By any moral and legal code, that is unacceptable. Who is to say I shouldn’t turn you over to the yakuza right here and now? We do that and the girl would be mine to raise in a safer and more stable environment than you could ever provide. She would be free of you, and all I’d have to do is lift my hand.”

“You won’t,” he replied, sitting up straight.

“…and how do you know that?”

“…because although I don’t trust you, my daughter trusts you, and she tends to be a good judge of character.” The man’s piercing amber eyes sent a chill through the okiya’s residents. “Our second reason for being here is that we need a place to hide for a few days and she suggested this okiya. If you do not consent, we shall be out of your hair immediately and you shall never need to think of us again.”

“You’re really doing it, aren’t you?” Tsugaru wondered. “You’re really planning on helping bring the Kozuki Family back from extinction?”

More gasps and murmurs from the staff.

“It is a goal that aligns with our interests, yes. I have done plenty more foolhardy things in the past—none of them involve Nauja being in the line of fire.”

“So that is your name…? Nauja…?” The girl tightened her fists as she avoided eye contact. “Then why, O-Nauja-chan, are you so young, yet you believe in this cause so much?”

“Dad doesn’t care about it as much, but I do,” O-Ja said. She then looked at Tsugaru, expression steely despite her young age. “Momo-ya’s a dumb boy, and I don’t like him one bit, but under him, Wano would be free! No more Kaidou, no more Beast Pirates, no more SMILEs or poisoned factories or poisoned food or wondering when you’ll get kicked out of the Flower Capital for not being important enough! Okaa-ya took O-Robi and I in because we said we wanted to be free, and that’s the truth! We want Wano to be free of these evil people! Free like pirates! Free like geisha!”

The adults in the room all stared at O-Ja, impressed and moved by the child’s conviction. They only saw honesty in her, which moved some of them to tears. Tsugaru frowned before clenching her fist in determination.

“Alright!” she decided. “You can stay!”

“…but okaa-san…!” someone gasped.

“Most of you don’t remember, but business was better under the Kozuki Family,” the old woman said. “Think with your hearts or with your purses—the answer’s the same. We will hide you for as long as you need—Orochi will pay for his maltreatment of the ones who he lauded power over. His laws mean nothing if we are not freed by them… and living in fear of falling out of his favor is no way to live.”

The man next to O-Ja grinned. His gamble was turning out to be a fruitful one.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“I don’t like this,” Shachi scowled. Feeling naked without his hat and sunglasses, he tried to flex his shoulders in an effort to get his kimono to shift—no sale. Between that, the cosmetics on his face, and his hair having been straightened and done in an elaborate manner, he was severely uncomfortable. “I want to touch my face; it’s itchy.”

“No touching,” Ikkaku warned. She was busy applying blush to Clione’s white-painted face, both men having been volunteered alongside her for informant duties. “If I have to redo your makeup too often, I will murder you.”

“I’ll be honest,” Clione said, “I didn’t even think you knew how to do this sort of stuff.”

“Never had the patience to do it very often, and that was before landing a spot on a ship where I’d sweat it all off in half an hour anyhow,” she shrugged. It was then that Nauja came into the room, brandishing a mannequin head wearing a blond wig.

“I got okaa-ya’s extra hair!” she cheered. She waited for Ikkaku to put the finishing touches on Clione’s cosmetics before handing over the wig, which got secured on the man’s head. “Oooh… you look pretty, Clione-ya!”

“Thanks…?”

“…and don’t worry Shachi-ya! You look pretty too!”

“That’s not as much of a compliment as you think it is, kiddo,” Shachi deadpanned. He tried to wriggle his face muscles in order to alleviate the itch, only for Ikkaku to threaten him with the powder brush.

“I will end you,” she threatened. She then finished with Clione’s wig, the three adults now looking no different than many of the other maiko wandering about the okiya. “Okay then, star helper-child—bring us to the goods.”

“Right!” Nauja beamed. She led them through the corridors to one of the dining halls, where there were customers already eating and drinking away. “Nee-ya, I brought the new maiko.”

“Very good, O-Ja-chan,” smiled the geisha who was in charge of the room. “Bring them in.” Nauja did, directing the new hires to be seated on cushions along the wall.

“I’m surprised that Tsugaru-san is willing to take more in after that disaster,” one of the customers scoffed into his drink. “That would have ruined any other okiya, geisha or oiran.”

“That is an astute observation,” the lead geisha admitted. “However, we are taking extra precautions now because of it. There shall be no special exceptions unless we see fit, not because someone requested them. These maiko shall be tested here for as long as it takes before they are allowed to be sent to the shogun. Tsugaru-okaa-san takes pride in her craft and does not permit others to make a mockery of it. If one is to judge this okiya, it should be on the consistent quality we have beholden ourselves to over the years despite our station, not the actions of one snake who found a path through the grass.”

“Didn’t the kid show up around that time?” the customer mentioned, staring at Nauja. The child held a shiver down as she gathered plates to be brought back to the kitchen.

“This cutie-patootie?” another customer giggled, face already red from drink. He ruffled Nauja’s hair and pinched her cheek. “Are you kidding? She’s going to run this okiya one day.” He then shifted and looked at the newcomers before attempting to wave them over. “Don’t be shy! You learn by doing!”

“With respect, our profession learns by watching,” the lead geisha stated.

“Nonsense,” the second customer snorted. “Long as we don’t touch, I think it’s alright to give these gals a taste of what’s to come.”

Customers and subordinates alike turned towards the lead geisha, looking for instruction. She knew the position she was in, as well as the “newcomers” in question…

“For a moment,” she agreed, motioning towards the Hearts. Ikkaku, Clione, and Shachi stood, taking positions next to customers while attempting to seem shy. While the first two secured seats between customers who merely bowed their heads in greeting, Shachi ended up sitting next to the man who gave the suggestion, feeling his eyes claw up and down him.

“Nice to see Tsugaru-san is diversifying again,” the second customer said, staring wistfully at Shachi. “I’d like to get a hold of you in the middle of the night, darling.”

Yeah, and the near-twenty pirates hiding under the tatami mats in the crawlspace would be ready to help make him regret those words.

“Can we go to an okiya without being subjected to your taste in bedmates?” a third customer groaned loudly. He leaned over to Ikkaku and sighed. “He’s a menace, I swear. He gets us kicked out of restaurants for groping the waitstaff.”

“A place with rules should help rein him in then,” she replied with a smirk. She looked at Nauja, who was placing trays by the door, then at Clione, who was trying to not die, then at Shachi, who was not only really trying to not die but was also trying to figure out how he was going to talk his way out of this one considering the timbre of his own voice. They were only supposed to be watching silently from the sides…

“You can’t get her to reply,” Nauja said as she collected more dishes. “O-Chi-nee-ya and O-Line-nee-ya aren’t allowed to speak yet. They sound like farmers.”

…and the kid comes in clutch, thank fuck.

“O-Ja-chan,” the lead geisha gently chided, knowing how big of a save it was. “You must work quietly.”

“Yes, O-nee-ya,” the girl replied. “Forgive me.”

“She is just a young girl; Tsugaru-san has time to mold her into shape,” another man said nonchalantly.

“Speaking of young children,” someone piped up, “I heard the craziest story yesterday, you know… about those whispers involving Lady Toki’s prophecy.” The rest of the customers jumped at the change in conversation, seizing it tightly.

“Tch. Conspiracies.”

“They say that Oden’s son leapt through time and has shown up as a child.”

“…as a child? You know that has to be a pretender, right?”

“A grandson, mayhaps, if the boy had survived?”

Aaahhh… there they were… now maybe all the sexual harassment was going to be worth something.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was two days until the raid on Onigashima.

Moving stealthily in the middle of the night, Law returned to the okiya to retrieve his daughter and the last of his crew. He had moved the other half the night before, while keeping the ones who were helping gather information in the game for one more day. Once he was within the okiya’s walls once again, he allowed himself a smile as Nauja ran to him and jumped into his arms.

“You ready to go?” he asked.

“I am,” she said, clinging to him with her arms around his neck. He saw the rest of the crew were all ready, with Tsugaru standing in the doorway.

“I am truly in your debt,” Law said, bowing his head slightly towards the elderly woman. “They are all I really have.”

“Then protect O-Ja and put the better-paying shogunate back in its place,” she demanded. “Go, and don’t come back until you’ve done precisely that.”

With another nod, the Heart Pirates left the okiya and dispersed into the city. They all knew of the meetup point outside the Flower Capitol’s borders, as traveling in a large pack would do more harm than good. Going out different doors and headed in varying directions, most of the Hearts pretended to not know one another side from a few small groups.

“Otou-san, can we get some soba?!” Nauja asked excitedly, seeing a stand sitting in front of a textile shop. Chuckling, Law shook his head.

“It will spoil your dinner,” he gently chided, playing along with the ruse. “Maybe we can have some on your birthday.”

“Oh, I would like that very much,” she said. She held his hand as they wandered through the streets, pretending to be out on a stroll, only pausing when she stepped in front of him and held her arms up. “Please…?”

“You’re getting big for that, aren’t you?” he chuckled. She merely grunted and did a little hop in place. Giving in, he picked her up, careful not to remove the furoshiki cloth that was hiding the Sora design on her backpack. “Better?”

“They’re behind us,” she whispered in his ear.

Taking her claim seriously, Law slipped into a nearby alley and began to run. Using his Devil Fruit at this point would be a potential disaster, while breaking out into a fight in the open was only asking for even more trouble. He eventually found himself blocked in, a certain blue-haired yakuza boss staring him down.

“Kyoshiro,” he growled.

“Public Enemy Trafalgar,” the other man replied. He watched as the pirate drew his own sword, holding it one-handed as he kept Nauja close to him. “Turned to kidnapping, have we?”

“Can’t kidnap what’s yours.” Law tried to flex his fingers to see if he could open a decent Room without dropping his daughter—no dice.

“I beg to differ; kidnappings can come in all forms, as do bluffs.” Kyoshiro looked at the way Nauja clung to the younger man’s yukata and frowned. “What’s to stop me from rescuing that child and bringing her into my household, raising her to be a proper lady?”

“As though a yakuza has any room to judge.” Reaching out with his Haki, Law felt that they were surrounded. “Then again, your wards tend to be… troublesome, from what I hear.”

“You talk of my pride, joy, and heartbreak,” Kyoshiro replied, staring at the pair carefully. “How very astute of you—she was like a daughter to me, wasn’t she?”

“It’s difficult watching them do what they please, isn’t it?” Law said. “It’s difficult and hurts, both heart-wrenching and rewarding, and yet is one of the easiest and best things in the world.”

“Poetic.”

“Words from someone who knew what he was talking about.”

Kyoshiro continued to stare at the little family, his eyes narrowed and tired as he examined the situation. He sheathed his own sword, which only served to confuse his men.

“What are you doing, boss?” one wondered cautiously. “We have him right where we want him!”

“Yet is there not something… familiar about them?” Kyoshiro said. He stepped forward and Law tensed. The other yakuza adjusted their grips on their own swords, hoping that they would not need to rush in to defend their boss. “Let me ask you a question—your reaction decides your fate.”

Law did not answer, instead narrowing his glare at the taller man. Kyoshiro, figuring it was as close to consent as he was going to get, bent down and whispered in Law’s ear, so lowly not even Nauja could hear.

“Long live Kozuki Momonosuke, brother to my ward as she lives and the true shogun of Wano Kuni.”

Law sucked in a breath—fuck—this Kyoshiro was not entirely as he seemed. They exchanged a glance as the older man straightened. He sheathed his sword and created a Room with his now-free-hand, father and daughter being replaced by leaves.

“Shogun Orochi’s not going to be too happy about this,” a subordinate grimaced.

“Then he shall never know,” Kyoshiro stated. “It was a favor, one father to another. That child needs her father, if only for a short while longer.”

“…but what about…?!”

“We all have our part to play,” Kyoshiro nodded. “Now let’s get the fuck back to base—I’m exhausted from all this running around.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“You must listen to your father, child,” Hitetsu said gently. Nauja was sobbing on the shore near Amigasa Village, with the elderly man at her side and her father staring her down. Tama and Toko both awkwardly stood a short distance away, wanting to comfort their friend, but being too intimidated by the adults to do anything.

“I want to go along!” Nauja insisted. “I’ll be good and stay on the Tang!”

“No, you are going to stay here, with your friends and Tengu-ya,” Law countered. “You already shouldn’t be here. I can’t risk you any more than you have already.”

“…but I’m strong! I can take care of myself!”

“This has nothing to do with how strong you are and you know it.” Law exchanged a look with Hitetsu and the older man nodded, instead heading towards Tama and Toko. “I thought you were okay with staying.”

“Momo-ya gets to go,” she whined. She then breathed deeply and swallowed to clear her nasal passage. “Why is he going…? He’s pathetic.”

“That’s not my decision to make,” he replied sourly. He really wished that the brat was also staying behind, but he understood the tactical advantage of bringing a physical manifestation of the old dynasty into battle, even if he didn’t agree. “This is why I wanted you to stay on Zou with Alana-ya and Yepo-ya… so that we could avoid this.”

“You keep almost dying,” she reminded him, letting herself lean against his legs. “I’m sick of you almost dying all the time.”

“…and what would you rather me do?”

“Live, with me, someplace not here,” she mumbled. “Just be my dad.”

“Except, when we took down Doflamingo, we took down Kaidou’s supply of drugs, and I highly doubt he’s going to let that one slide,” he explained. Law knelt down in the sand and held his daughter by her shoulders. “I need to look for something there anyhow, and I don’t think I can find it, help take down Kaidou, and protect you.” He gently turned her chin upwards so as to look her in the eyes. “Listen, famke, I love you, and I am different because of it in all the best ways. I plan on coming back, whether it’s to celebrate a victory or to grab all three of you girls and run. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

“Good.” He kissed her forehead and gave her a smile. “I love you, Trafalgar Nauja.”

“I love you too, Vaor.”

“Now go enjoy the festival.” He opened a Room and disappeared, being replaced with a pebble that was on the deck of the waiting Polar Tang.

“Now that’s settled, let’s begin to prepare for our journey to the Flower Capitol for the Fire Festival,” Hitetsu announced. Nauja sat on the beach instead, watching the Polar Tang slip beneath the surface of the waves. The old man sighed heavily—how he wished comforting the child were but a simple act.

“Let us pack!” Toko grinned as she bounced up towards Hitetsu. He saw that Tama was heading towards Nauja and he took solace in at least that.

“Yes, do lets,” he agreed, letting the child lead him back towards the village. They were both well out of earshot before Tama sat next to her friend. Both girls stared out at the horizon, watching the waves gently crest and reach out towards the tide line, never quite touching their toes.

“I get it,” Nauja croaked out as she tried not to cry, “but he doesn’t think he’s coming back.”

“How can you tell?” Tama wondered. Nauja wiped her nose on her sleeve.

“He looked at me like that before,” she said. “That time he went alone to fight the guy who grew the SMILEs for Kaidou. Now he’s taking the whole crew… everyone but me. They even took Momo-ya, and that little brat trips over his own geta.”

“I don’t remember how my dad looked at me, verily,” Tama admitted. She let out a little chuckle, trying to hide her own tears. “My parents died so long ago now that I don’t even remember their faces. I like that you have a dad… that I saw him look at you, because I can imagine that’s how my dad looked. It’s really nice.”

“Tama-ya… I…”

“Nah, it’s fine,” the junior kunoichi said. She stood up and stretched, reaching high as she could into the air. “Wow! What a great day! Verily, it would be a shame to waste it!”

“That’s why we’re going to the Fire Festival, right?” Nauja asked. Tama grinned instead, pointing towards the treeline.

Speed was there.

Speed had a boat.

Speed still did everything Tama asked of her.

“The adults might want us to stay here, but I wanna help create a Wano that doesn’t have Orochi, where we can eat our fill every day, not just on festivals and birthdays. You in?”

In…?! Nauja couldn’t stand up and hug Tama fast enough.

1 note · View note