#so luffy wants to be reckless and charge in to help all these people he can care about so freely | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

onepdumpsterfire · 4 years

Text

Maelstrom

Reader . Straw Hat crew

Word count: 6623

Trigger warning: Death. Gore, I suppose. (spoiler: the reader dies then comes back to life)

if there are any triggers that you need specifically tagged, please feel free to tell me.

Summary: Reader was betrayed by their past comrades and left in a cage for the rest of eternity. straw hats stumble upon them and decide to help them.

Nami’s pov.

A harsh current pulled at The Sunny, dragging us closer and closer to the raging whirlpool behind us.

We raced around on The Sunny, trying to get her to move away from it, but its claws took hold of us before we could even take control from the waters. Roughly pulling at The Sunny one last time, it sucked her into its glistening wrath.

“Not like this, Sunny,” Franky yelled at his most prized creation, “You will not go down like this.” He pulled on the helm, hoping to salvage any form of power.

But the current was too strong, and before we knew it, the whirlpool took us from its lip down to its pit; swallowing our screams with its ear-splitting roar up to the very end.

We should be dead. The raging waters should have destroyed our ship and drowned us for trying to defy the sea’s fury; but it calmed at the apex of the whirlpool, making the Sunny swirl to a dizzying stop before it started moving in the same lazy path of the current at the whirlpool’s center. “. . .What . . . just happened?” I’m amazed at our continued death-defying luck, and it seems most of the crew did too. They either stood incredulous at the events or celebrated our, once again, unbelievable escape of danger.

As are many of the moments here, it didn’t last long before our captain decided to do something stupid.

“Hey! there’s an island!” Luffy pointed towards the very center of the whirlpool that caged us in. “Franky, turn The Sunny! We’re stopping at the island!” He shouted over his shoulder as he stretched out his arms on the railing. “Gomu gomu-no...”

I should have known that he would think very little about the situation we’ve gotten into. Walking over to him, I try to take hold of him before he can launch himself. “Oh, no you don’t. You are going to help-” Without a care in the world, our reckless captain slingshotted himself off The Sunny, yelling about finding a good restaurant on the island before I could finish my sentence.

“That idiot captain.” A vein practically burst out of my forehead as I shook a menacing fist at the spot where he once stood. “When I get my hands on-” taking in a long breath, I calmed myself. There’s no point in getting mad at that idiot captain right now. Let’s just anchor the ship somewhere secluded so that I can RIP HIM A NEW ONE.

Soon after, my anger towards Luffy’s rash personality dissipated and began to get replaced with a crawling sense of dread. Even before we anchored the ship, I felt there was something wrong.

The island seemed so still. So… quiet, besides the constant cascading water surrounding us there weren’t any sounds of bugs or birds or ANY animals. It’s getting hard to believe that this island was inhabited by anything, let alone humans.

To add to the ominous feeling the island gave off, the beach ended as soon as it began. The small strip of sand that surrounded the island like a halo turned into stone more than a yard in, and the few plant life that was here miraculously thrived from between the cracks on the rocky floor. No grass, no trees, just bushes, weeds, and a tall rugged mountain that seemed to be too steep to even be called that. It appeared to be more of a tower that onlooked the rest of the island. Looming over everything like a guardian that promised safety only to backhand you with its cracked and coarse hand.

Few of the bushes seemed to have some food to eat, but all of it were poor excuses for berries. Too small to carry any nutrients and too little to sate any hunger. I’m sure that even if you collected all the berries in this place it wouldn’t even be enough to constitute as a meal.

Without even looking I knew that the water surrounding us would be the same. Devoid of all life, plant, and animal alike. Had we really survived? Or do we await a less abrupt ending? One where we prolong our inevitable doom by scrounging up any food we can find or starve.

Looking over to the thrashing water that surrounded us, tumbling over itself to create an impenetrable gate, it seemed to be harsher than what we’d crossed to get in here. Was it even possible to get back out? With the way things looked if we even tried we’d get ripped to shreds. I don’t think The Sunny can survive that.

My concerns were interrupted when Luffy came running back to us yelling that he hadn’t found a town or village on the small island. “Of course not! Do you not see how deserted the island looks?”

“That’s right, Luffy!” Usopp joins in my scolding, “we should worry about how we’re gonna get out! Or what we’re gonna eat! Our food won’t last forever!” At least there’s one person here that’s reliable. I can always count on Usopp to be grounded!

“We can just eat fish-” I quiet the thundering dumbass with a hit to the head, “obviously not! There are no fish here!” With a huff, I look over to our cook, “Sanji-kun, can you ration out the food?”

“Yes, Nami-swan!” Hearts practically bulge out of his eyes as he praises my genius. disregarding that one, I need to make sure the whining resident glutton of the ship gets the message.

Glaring, I grab the scruff of Luffy’s vest, “EVERYONE’S on a diet until we get out or miraculously find food on this godforsaken rock.”

“Bᵤₜ ₙaaaₘᵢᵢᵢᵢ”

“No buts.”

“Bᵤₜ ₙaa-” Giving him another hard knock to the head, I dish out the rest of the orders.

Zoro is gonna go scout the island more thoroughly, taking Chopper with him because he wanted to see if there were any herbs he could use for medicine in between all of the weeds. Robin went to go check out the stone tower mountain with Franky and Luffy, who would have gone anyway even if I had told him otherwise. Usopp and Brook took charge of seeing if the sea was really as barren as the rest of this place in the Mini Marry. Lastly, I’m gonna go explore the island, map it out, and try and find any clues that explain why this place is so lifeless.

After an hour of looking around, I've come to the conclusion that this place makes no sense! If an underwater volcano erupted and created the island not so long ago then maybe it would make sense but by the looks of the untamed, patchy shrubs this place has been here for much longer. Not to mention, after an eruption, the first life that forms is lichen that slowly breaks away at the rock that formed; but it’s as if a sheet of rock landed on top of this island, killing everything that couldn’t claw its way out through the cracks. More so, it looks like it’s sealing everything beneath it so that no other life passes. It’s purposefully trying to keep any vegetation from growing.

The longer I walk around the island the more off it becomes. I should get back and tell the others what I found. Hopefully, Robin was luckier and found better clues about this place in the tower.

As I approach The Sunny, I can see that all of them are back and… there’s someone with them.

So there was life here?

How is that even possible?

Either way, I have a piece of my mind to give to this person about the island.

“Look who we found in the tower.” Robin gestures towards the new person in the group, “this is Y/n.”

“Thank you, Robin. I can always count on you.”

“Luffy and I were there too, y’know!” Franky yells at me.

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, Y/n-”

“Don’t ignore me!”

“- how long have you been here? How did you manage to survive? Is there anything that’s edible here, other than the barries?” I give them a look like they’re our saving grace. Maybe, just maybe, there could be hope for us after all.

Reader’s pov.

They’d introduced themselves already; the black-haired woman that initially found me in my safe haven had done the courtesy, even going as far as telling me what each of the people on the crew did. That includes the redhead that approached us with a worried expression that soon turned to absolute bliss as she laid eyes on me. She must think I can get them out of here or find them some supplies, but she will soon be disappointed.

After a small one-sided exchange from the redhead and… Franky… she bombards me with questions.

“... no, sorry. There is no food here…” The life practically saps out of her eyes as she deflates into a feeble state of worry. “You all should leave if you can. This is no place to live.”

“Says you!” the long nose speaks up. Usopp, was it? “You live here don’t you? If you’d fallen in after us Brook and I would have seen you when we were searching around the island and we didn’t see any boats or wrecks!”

“Plus, you’re all alone here. What happened to your crew?” Chopper the tanuki braves his fear and speaks from behind Zoro. Well, not quite. He’s more hiding his face than his body.

“Maybe they ate their crew.” Usopp and Chopper scream in terror at Robin’s attempt at humor. “Don’t say that, Robin! They wouldn’t... R-r-right, Y/n-san.” Stuttering, Usopp tries to give me the benefit of the doubt so as to land a better standing with me. “W-we’re all friends here right, Y/n-san?”

“Maybe I did.” Usopp ashened at my words while Chopper yelled that I’d be restrained.

Such a lively crew. It's been a while since I’ve had such a nice interaction with… Well, anyone. Looking off to the side, I make note of the time of day. It’s nearly sunset, they should get out while there’s still light, if they even can. At the very least they should die trying. What this place is… What this place becomes after dark. They won’t survive for long if they stay here.

“All jokes aside,” admitting that I was only joking seemed to calm the scaredy cats, though what I’m about to say will raise their anxiety once more. Poor them, thrown one thing after another. “It’s getting dark. There are things on this island that come out during the night-”

“The caves dug into the floor Chopper and I saw, there was something inside,” Zoro steps forward, already knowing the answer to his upcoming question. “I felt something was in there, that’s what you’re talking about, right?”

“Yes, there are creatures here who burrowed down into the rock of this island,” turning behind me, I face the tower again, “they won’t go into the tower, so if you need it, you can stay there for tonight.”

“But take anything you want from your ship, those creatures will ravage everything on it.” I raise a hand to stop their upcoming complaints, “it would be best to leave right now so that the ship has a better chance to make it over the whirlpool, but there is no helping it if you have no idea how to cross it yet.”

Letting them finally say what’s on their minds they hurl a flurry of complaints at me.

Luffy: can that thing even hold up? When we went to go see it, it looked like it was about to fall over!

Franky: I’m not leaving my baby alone with whatever those things are!

Usopp: What are those things?!?!?!?! Do they only come out at night?! Am I the only one worried about them?!!

Zoro: I’ll cut them all down.

Sanji: Nami-swan, Robin-chwan! Your prince will protect you!

Nami: Thank you Sanji-kun

Chopper: I wasn’t aware there even was an entrance to the tower.

Robin: I hope we don’t get eaten…

Brook: Same here, I doubt I’m any good. I’m all bones yohohohoho

Taking a deep breath, I try to answer whatever questions or complaints they have. The tower will probably hold. No guarantee, though. It’s the safest bet to make it through the night.

The things leave when daylight hits.

They can’t just sail around the island until those things are gone in the morning because they are a type of magical creature that learns and evolves. (The creatures would struggle to swim at first but soon enough they would become exceptional at it and catch up.)

You can’t just cut them down because they’re immortal beings that re-generate.

“Well, not quite beings, considering that they were made from magic to mindlessly attack whatever is in the cage.” I corrected myself, gaining more inquiries. “Magic? Cage? Is that what the whirlpool is? What is it keeping inside, if not those creatures?” Robin seems to be one of the more inquisitive people on the ship, considering how gung-ho the others appear to be, I’m glad they have someone that they can count on. Such loyalty and trust from comrades is one thing that I miss most from the outside world.

“Hahaha those are good questions, maybe I’ll answer that some other time,” I turn on my heel, not really caring if they take my advice or not. “It’s a long story and it’s about to get dark. We should head inside.”

I’m not gonna stay out here to be live bait to those THINGS.

Suddenly a warm, cream-colored thing snakes around my abdomen before yanking me back, full force. Nearly making me spit out my heart, may I add. What the ABSOLUTE FUCK?

Flying past the ship’s railing, I land on the hard mast, knocking the wind right out of myself. “Ah, sorry. Sorry, shishishishi.” Luffy stands above me, laughing at my expense. That stupid face makes me want to throw him into the ocean. A devil fruit user huh? I hope he sinks, bastard! I prepare to scold him, but he cuts me off, “you’re coming with us, right?”

“I- wa- No! I can’t ‘come with you’!”

“Huh? But why not?”

“Because the cage won’t let me! Believe me, I’ve tried! It just drags me right back… I can’t… I can’t leave.” Pushing past Luffy, I try to jump ship but it seems they have other ideas. His arm now tightly secured to my waist he tells me they won’t let those things hurt me. That I can leave with them. To the outside world.

His words and the full confidence looks his crew gives us almost makes me fall to my knees. How can they believe so blindly in someone? Putting so much faith in someone can only lead to betrayal. They can’t be serious. This isn’t real.

I try to worm myself out of his grasp. Pulling and pushing at Luffy’s skin, kneading away at his arm but his hold only tightens. “We’ll get out, Y/n. Don’t worry.” He isn’t looking at me, rather choosing to stare as the last sliver of light vanishing and a tidal wave of misformed creatures rushing towards the departing ship.

They were all butched, they looked like the person who made them once intended them to look human only to change their mind at the last moment. Some of the creatures looked sickly, with stick-like bodies that clashed with bulbous limbs. Dried out, pale skin that cracked under their every jagged movement, spilling blood with every jerk of their body. Their faces so sunken and hollow you could barely tell there were eyes in the black sockets that reflected back the murky color of the dim moonlight.

Others had random limbs that were too long for them; elongated further than they should have to contradict the rest of their proportions. Their skin sagged on their forms and their orifices oozed a dark and coagulated purge liquid that slopped down with their every step.

They crawled at an alarming speed with their spidery appendages, falling over each other’s tangling limbs. They pulled on each other to get to us. Gnarled limbs clawing, biting, ripping each other open to get farther ahead.

Their dark gray blood painted the stone beneath them as they healed themselves then tried to get past again. Shoving, piercing, and sinking their teeth into one another turned to push each other underwater when they got to the sea.

They took no breaths between the waves that pulled them or the body pushed them under; they didn’t even look like they cared that they were drowning themselves.

They had one objective.

Destroy the occupants of the cage at any cost.

“Oh, god! What are they doing?!” Usopp yelled from the stern, firing off a few rounds with his slingshot, kabuto. Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper stood beside him observing the horrific sight. “Stop firing at them! It’s useless, that won’t make them stop!” I yell back at him, finally managing to free myself from Luffy’s arm. Whether they heard me or not didn’t show, all four of them began to throw any attack they could at the creatures.

“Have a little faith, Y/n shishishi,” Luffy smiled at me, “we’re gonna get out of here.”

Rolling my eyes, I walk over to the railing. “If you guys wanna take your chances with the cage that’s fine, but leave me out of it.” I prepare to leap over the railing only to be pulled back again. “Are you crazy?! Those things will rip you to shreds if you go into the water!”

“No, crazy would be staying here, and at the very least it’ll give you some time to try and go through to the other side! Look!” I pointed back to the mass of bodies that dived down before springing out of the water, almost taking out Usopp when they collectively reached out for him. “I told you those things learn, it’s just a matter of time before they manage to get on board!”

I pleaded with them to just let me buy them some time. I can’t leave but at the very least I can do that! I can do one nice thing to the only people that I’ve seen in centuries! To the people that tried to save me with their stupid blind faith.

But Luffy stubbornly refused to just let me go. No matter how many times I told them I’d be fine.

The waters sped up as we neared the edge of the whirlpool, leaving the creatures to get pulled under. “There isn’t much time before they resurface, or until the curse... I need to leave. I can buy you time! Please!” I am practically on my knees begging, but they won’t even listen to me.

“Luffy! We only have enough Cola reserves to make a small coup de burst,” Franky shouted over the white noise of the gushing water, “The wind that’s surrounding the whirlpool is being sucked in from the outside. If we don’t time it right we might end up being engulfed by the waters!”

“Alright, Franky! I’m counting on you!”

“Aye, captain! I’ll do it at the last possible moment to ensure we make it through!”

Panic sets in the pit of my stomach, “no, I can’t. I can’t!” I pull and punch at Luffy, “I won’t make it! Let go of me so you won’t be left behind with me, Luffy!”

“No.”

“Luf- Lu.” I nearly choked on my own words when I got a glimpse of the wide horizon line.

I thought I’d never be able to see such a beautiful eternity again. I’ve never made it this far, the water would only get more aggressive no matter how hard I tried with whatever unlucky ship was dragged down here. It would always drag me down under or pull me back to the island.

We’re getting closer and closer, the boys in the back are holding themselves against the creatures and Luffy isn’t letting go.

Can I… Can I actually leave this place?

Can I be free?

Tears distort my vision before falling freely down my face, “can I leave? I can be free?” I look up at Luffy for confirmation. Light seemed to radiate off of him. Could you be my savior?

“Of course, Y/n! Shishishishi!” Luffy lets me go, now satisfied knowing that I won’t try to jump off. I look out into the ocean that I haven’t seen In lifetimes and I can’t help the hope that swells in my heart.

I can see the outside again.

I’m gonna be free

I am gonna be FREE

All too suddenly the familiar weight on my neck constricts my airway.

No. I’m so close. no. No. NO!

The chain that binds me to the island finally shows itself. Shortening the closer we get to freedom.

How cruel to have me believe I could actually be free.

The chain pulled me back with such a crushing force that it immediately snapped my neck.

Sanji’s pov.

We were so close. So close to leaving this hell hole and then a chain appeared around Y/n neck. It pulled them back into the water and dragged them all the way back to land. All of the creatures that pursued us stopped immediately, taking more interest in Y/n’s body that flopped in and out of the water with the dragging force of the chain. The creatures jumped on to them, injecting their claws into their soft skin to secure their hold on them.

“Stop! Turn around! Y/n fell off!” Luffy yelled up at Franky.

I agree with Luffy, we may have just met Y/n but I heard about how they were willing to jump into the water to give us time to escape. There’s no way we can leave them behind after that!

“As the navigator, I’ll make sure to keep the ship safe, captain.” With an unshaken voice, Nami assured Luffy, “Go to the island and get Y/n back. We’ll keep The Sunny going around to keep her safe until you get back!”

“D-don’t worry c-captain. I’m a b-brave warrior of the sea! I’ll protect the ship!” Shakily Usopp raised a thumbs up to Luffy.

“Yes! Leave it to us, Captain!” Brook chimed in, soul solid at the ready.

“Oi, Captain. Don’t keep all the fun to yourself. We’re coming too.” Zoro and I stood resolute on our decision.

“Shishishi alright! Let’s go! Gomu gomu-no!” Luffy stretched his arm over the railing, while the other wrapped itself around us. “No! Wait! Luffyyyyyyyy!!” Our idiot captain wants to kill us! Launching us straight into a rocky shore, this ASS!

“Stop throwing us everywhere, Luffy!” I raise my hand to give him a hard knock to the head, the moss head agrees with me by giving him one too. “Sorry, sorry.”

Sorry, my ass. Grumbling I take out the cigarette box before fishing in my pocket for a lighter. “Alright, Y/n was dragged off somewhere near the tower thing, so let’s head there to look for them first.”

“Yosh! Let’s go!” without a second thought, this reckless idiot rushes straight in, leaving us to catch up.

It didn’t even take long to reach the tower, the island was small. Which is why it surprised me how many of those things there were. How far had they burrowed under the island for there to be this many?

The mass practically moved as one when they noticed us. Descending on us with such ferocity that it would have left a weaker man feeling helpless.

“Sit back and watch, marimo! I’ll take them all out.”

“Big words for such a small man, curly.”

“You shitty- Watch me!” I ran in yelling the name of my starting attack ‘Joue Shoot’ hitting my mark right in the face and sending it, along with every creature behind it, flying.

We aren’t making any headway! Every time we push forward we are pushed back with the same strength. One after another, every enemy we took down bounced right back up, better and stronger than before.

The ones I was fighting got tougher, callused skin and became resistant to the fire from my ‘Hell Memories’ attack; and to make matters worse, those things have started learning my attacks, and a quick glance can confirm that the others are having the same luck. Luffy’s creatures are doubling their speed, increasing their bulging muscles so that they look like Luffy’s Kong Gun. Zoro’s opponents broke their arms, shanking their bones through their skin to make imitation swords.

These things are fucking monsters. They don’t seem to be able to feel any of the pain we’re inflicting. We can’t keep the same mindless pace they do! We take a hit and keep all damage from it!

“Luffy, this isn’t gonna work, we need to retreat for now!”

“Oi, shit-cook! You think these things are just gonna let us retreat!”

“Fuck off, pea-brain!” I kick one of the creatures over at Zoro, “Let’s make them chase us-” the stupid marimo threw on back in retaliation, “obviously they’re gonna chase us no matter what, ero-cook!”

“Just listen, dick head! We make them chase us around the tower; when they leave an opening we can just grab Y/n and run!” There’s no time to fight over this! I sky walk over to Luffy, “Let’s go! Now!”

“Come on, Zoro!” finally taking the hint, Luffy rushes off behind me.

The monsters bolted with us to the right, but they were smarter than what I’d anticipated. While most of them did follow, there was still a large group guarding the entrance to the tower. They knew what we came for and won’t let us take Y/n so easily. We circled around the tower. Once. Twice. Three times, and still those things didn’t give us an opening. I can’t stand this! We’re just chasing our own tails here!

Impatience at away at us, but the first one to act on it was Luffy.

“They’ll never leave the tower alone! So if they won’t give us an opening we’ll make one!” Luffy threw his arms at me, a silent command that I understood all too well. “Armée de L’Air,” I positioned myself to throw Luffy, “Gomu Shot!” Launching Luffy off with a kick, he rocketed himself straight to the center of the tower.

The tower collapsed almost entirely on itself. Luffy would have just gone straight through it if he hadn’t reached back to hold on to the base and sent himself back in a rebound, effectively clearing the rest of the tower.

Rubble and ash covered the creatures as they all rushed back to the tower. “C’mon!” The moss-head shouted over to me, having seen the opening just as well as me.

. . .There’s something wrong.

The creatures surrounded the tower but weren’t fighting back when we attacked them to get past. They weren’t even moving. Just staring straight ahead to where Luffy should be. As odd as it is, I won’t slow down just because those freaks stopped. I need to get to-

I wasn’t prepared for this. It’s not…. It can’t.

No.

Luffy had a dark shadow casted over his face as he kneeled next to a bloody and gored out Y/n. Their neck was broken by the chain that pulled them away. Skin shredded off and placed in piles around the both of them. Their bones were broken. Protruding. Piercing through in white splayed out spikes from the pink muscles, slathered in blood. Their abdomen slashed open and organs ripped out.

Had the monsters been eating them?

Their arm missed its hand. The leg was torn off. A stray foot laid across from them, mangled. Bitten.

If those things wanted to eat them they had done it already. They had plenty of time!

But they didn’t.

Looking into the horde of creatures. They all stood still, watching us. Grotesque faces with gnarled teeth bared at us…. Smiling. They're smiling at us.

"Damn it all! Those things were just toying with us."

The creatures went wild at my words. Screeching and shoving each other, but never passing the remaining debris of the pillar that still circled around us. They’re waiting for us to get out of here.

“We can’t stay here,” Zoro pointed at the back of the throng, “some of them have already left. Probably towards The Sunny.”

“Luffy, we can’t bring Y/n with us. They’ll be safe if we leave them inside the circle. In the morning we can bury them but for now, we need to head back the ship.”

No words were exchanged on the trip back. All three of us fought as much as we could against the wave of creatures that pursued us, eventually making it back to the ship by sunrise.

The creatures hissed and hollered in pain when the soft rays of the sun became too much for them to handle. Their gray skin almost seemed transparent in the growing light.

Those thing’s bodies looked like luminescent meat bags carrying distorted skeletons inside. Too warped and bent to look anything like the humans they were initially mirrored after. The things clawed at their eyes, blinding themselves as they rushed back to hide in their caves.

After the last of the nocturnal creatures retreated, we docked the ship again.

Then the dreaded question came.

Nami asked if we’d managed to retrieve Y/n but she was only met with grim looks that turned the exhilaration of having won another breath of life sour.

“It’s not fair! Y/n just wanted to be free… they just wanted...” Luffy trailed off, glancing back to where their body should be laid. “We should take them with us and bury them out of here.”

“It won’t be that easy, Luffy.” Zoro tried to reason with him.

“We can’t just leave them in this cage!”

“We don’t even have a coffin! Are we supposed to just stuff them in a box and keep them in the freezer until we can find the next island?!”

As much as I’d like to take them with us, Zoro does have a point. We can’t just carry around a brutalized body with us. “Luffy, we don’t know when we’ll reach the next island. It could be weeks! We can’t-”

“Yo,” A voice greets us from beside me.

“Hey,” I give them a quick glance before getting back to what I was saying. “Anyways, we can’t t-”

Was that?

. . .

“You’re supposed to be dead!”

“Oh, shit. Am I?” Y/n’s tone was light, as if they hadn’t just been mauled to death by beasts. “The hell do you mean ‘am I’!?”

Reader’s pov.

After being magically resurrected, one would think that people would be surprised, confused, or maybe astonished? But curly over here seemed pissed.

“Thanks for the warm welcome, bud.” Putting on the saddest looking face I turned around, “guess I’ll just crawl into a cave and die again...”

“N-no, that’s not what I-” Sanji reached his hand out to stop me.

“Ahahaha I know, I know. Don’t worry about it….. Though I suppose I do owe you guys an explanation for this.”

It’s been so long since I had to explain to someone what happened that day…

No.

It wasn't just that day. Things were off since before that, but I didn’t pay attention to the signs. God, why didn't I?

I keep asking myself that.

Why didn't I back out when I had the chance? Why couldn't I just let sleeping dogs lie?

Either way, on that day, everything went wrong.

Long ago, when the world was in a time of mystic and wonder, the practice of magic was common throughout the four blues. Most things that could be done with magic were done with magic. Magic was so common that even the most secluded tribes used some form of it. And so, as with any type of power, people began to abuse it. People began to use dark magic to rule and terrorize.

Don’t get me wrong, magic isn’t inherently evil, but neither is it good. Magic is a form of science. It follows its principles and has its limits. People’s intentions, though, can be either-or.

Order had to be put in place. A council of the noblest, wisest, and strongest magic users was made. They became the authority; their rule was final. And in an act of democracy, they input a system that would not let them become all-powerful.

That’s where the seven covens come in.

The seven covens (separately) ruled over the four seas, the new world, the grand line, and the calm belts. The members of the covens were chosen by the people and, unfortunately, that’s where it started.

After magic regulation rules and laws came into place, people were angry that they couldn’t use it freely and unchecked as they did before. When the ones who were strong stood on top of those who lacked it. They couldn’t rule over people as tyrants or terrorize others for their amusement and gain; but it also meant magic couldn’t be used to ease everyday life either. Magic was monitored, you had to seek permission from a coven to use stronger types of magic for your work and some forms of magic were even banned.

Curious people that tried to see how far they could push the boundaries of magic were furious when their research was trashed. With magic now limited, underground organizations began to arise. I was part of one.

Since magic is a natural part of the world like waterfalls or clouds, that’s why I wanted to explore all of its nooks and crannies! It’s the same as when man first evolved enough to wonder what was beyond the island we were born into.

We wanted to explore the whole world back then! And this should have been the same as that. It’s normal to want to know our extent of power and knowledge. I just wanted to explore magic’s limits and push past them. It should be like training to sword fight or lifting weights. It should have been the same.

We could have used our findings for so many wonderful things!

But I was naive.

Banning together with a group of people whom I thought shared the same passion for the unexplored and unknown….

In the shadows, we did our research and found so many new ways to use magic! So many new types! We were doing so good.

We wanted to find a way to bring what we’d found to the world.

We wanted this.

We…

I wanted this.

As much as I want to believe otherwise, the signs were there from the beginning. But they were my colleagues. . . my friends. I gave them the benefit of the doubt at first.

We came up with a plan to get ourselves elected for the coven. We wormed our way in like maggots then ate our way up.

We were going to instill new rules. Be more lenient towards magic usage for businesses. Introduce a research team for magic that would take us out of the underground. Slowly release our findings.

That was as far as I would go. They left me in charge of the research team while they went behind my back and found new dangerous and unstable magic. They used it to hurt people and to gain authority.

They’d cart away lost civilians, people who were so forgotten from society that if they were to disappear no one would notice.

They breed them to keep their human supply going. Then they’d used them as guinea pigs.

Eventually, I did find out what they were doing, but by then it was too late. The plan had gone too well and now they were inside all of the covens except for the ones in east and west blue.

I tried warning the council, but my old comrades found out before I could.

They branded me a traitor and punished me with never-ending torment. Sealing me away in a whirlpool that would cancel my powers, where as long as I was inside I would never age. I would never die.

They put me on this island that would never bear enough fruit but would always have enough to have me desperate for scraps. Lastly, they added those things so that I’d fear their wrath and power for the rest of eternity.

Between slowly dying of hunger or dehydration over and over again and being mauled to death, the thing that hurt most was them branding ME as the traitor. They betrayed ME.

They USED me.

The people I thought of as friends.

Taking a deep breath, I finished off my story.

“...Y/n… that was a really sad story and all, but what do you mean magic?” Out of all the questions, I didn’t expect Usopp to ask that one.

“... what do YOU mean?” I shared a look with all the members of the crew. How could they not know about magic? It’s everywhere??? “Y’know magic. Like what brought me back to life and is keeping me from leaving this place.”

“Like witches, with wands and brooms?” As much as it worries me that they don’t know about magic, I have an even bigger question, “what the fuck do brooms have to do with this?”

“Ah, well witches fly around... on them…” With every passing word, Usopp’s face got redder and redder, a telltale sign of his growing embarrassment under my judgmental gaze. “Of all things someone could make fly, why a broom?”

“I uh… I don’t know…”

The conversation carried on until finally, they told me about the outside world. Apparently, the most magical thing that there was out there were the devil fruits that granted their users powers, like Luffy’s rubber body.

In a way, I was kind of glad that almost all traces of magic were gone. That meant that my comrades from back then failed.

My guess is that after their reckless abuse of power, magic was banned; or at the very least only used by those of the highest standing.

In time, magic must have dwindled, little by little until it just disappeared.

With so much time passed and with how things turned out, it’s hard to believe that any of my former friends survived.

That must mean that they tethered my cell to an object. If whatever the object is gets destroyed... I could have a chance of leaving this place.

“... Luffy… do you… do you still want to help me escape?”

Luffy’s voice didn't waver.

He said it as if it was the most obvious thing.

No hesitation. No doubt.

At that moment, I swear, the sun shone brighter than it ever had in this cage full of torment. His bright gaze made it feel like every horrid year I had spent trapped had somehow vanished. It gave me something that I hadn’t had in a long time.

He gave me such a knee-bending sense of hope that I could have cried. He had such conviction that it made me believe that I would soon see the outside once more.

In the evening, after I gave them some information that could help them find the object that kept this cage alive, the straw hats tempted the ferocious waters again and this time I wasn't on the ship.

Before they left they made me a promise.

One day, they will be back.

They will set me free and we’ll explore this new world together.

I’ll keep waiting.

No matter how long it takes, until that day.

29 notes · View notes

itsthemoofacewriting · 4 years

Text

Black Cat, Part Two

Can this be classed as an epilogue when it’s as big as the main story? This just ran away from me. I wanted to tie up some plot points I couldn’t get in the first part… but honestly, I just wanted to write the lemon that I couldn’t justify in the first part.

Maybe we’ll call this a two-shot instead?

Part one. This can also be found on AO3 and FFN

Rating: M for language, grief and le sexy times. Words: 21K, get comfortable.

A huge thank you to everyone on FFN, AO3 and Tumblr who supported this story, it’s meant so much to me. To those who wrote such wonderful reviews/comments, I cannot thank you enough.

This is for all you lovely people.

Enjoy.

------------------------------------

“Stealth, throw me.” Black Cat shouted, sprinting towards Stealth Black.

He pushed the man in front of him back and whipped his head around to look at her in complete bewilderment.

Did she just ask him to throw her?

Black Cat rolled her eyes, her pace not slowing. “Launch me,” she explained, “on your leg.”

His head turned and found stray criminals attempting to flee the scene, but she could still see him thinking about his next move. They didn’t have time for this, especially as the guy in front of Stealth Black was starting to get up.

“Stop hesitating and do it now.”

Whether it was what she said or that she was still charging at him, he finally got into position. He extended his leg just as she was jumping and when she landed, he launched her with all his might. She understood his hesitation, but at the same time, it’s something that could get them both seriously injured or killed in battle.

She soared through the air, quickly catching up to the fleeing men ahead of her but Stealth Black had overshot it, and she overtook them. As she started to descend, she sent out a strong gust of wind to soften the landing. The men looked stunned at her sudden appearance but before they could fight or flee, she was running at them. Extending her clima-tact she dug it into ground to swing herself around on it and hit one of the guys, sending him into the man next to him. One of them wasn’t expecting it and cracked his head against the pavement.

One down.

The other one was quicker on his feet and was up pulling out a small blade. Aggressively he was attempting to stab Black Cat, growing more and more desperate when she blocked him with her clima-tact. He swept his foot out to trip her, but she dodged it, flipping backwards and pointing her clima-tact skyward to start forming black clouds. The man didn’t stand a chance when she took aim, swinging down and electrocuting him where he stood. He crumpled to the floor in a black sooty mess.

Looking around, Black Cat could see Stealth black finishing up with the last standing criminal. She took the opportunity to tie up the two passed out men in front of her, ready for the police to pick up.

Since Arlong and his gang had been taken down just over a month ago, it had quietened but there were still new organisations attempting to recreate the drugs. They’d been spending their time taking down small drug rings and feeding back to the police.

What had helped is with Arlong behind bars, people they caught were more talkative and just last week one of them had let slip about the type of vehicles being used. What was alarming, is how many of these vans they’d seen since then. They’d started patrolling to look out for them. Some of the vans they had stopped were just civilians and had been very grateful for the work they were doing, but most of them had dangerous men with guns and ingredients for drugs in.

With the last criminal tied, she started to drag them towards the others also bound to leave them with the van for a smooth handover with the police.

“Let me.” Stealth Black said, coming up beside her and trying to take the men from her.

He wasn’t looking at her, but she still rolled her eyes. “Thanks, but remember your ribs? They should have healed by now but took longer because you refused to take it easy.”

After their clash with Arlong, she’d left the clinic before Chopper could give her a run down of Stealth Black’s injuries, but it hadn’t taken long to realise the bad state of his ribs. He had tried to keep himself composed but he couldn’t stop from cringing when he breathed too deeply or moved at a weird angle.

“It’s been two weeks since the pain resided and I’m fine.” He muttered. To be fair, he was right. She’d watched him like a hawk because he’d downplay anything wrong with him and he hadn’t flinched at all in that time.

“Still, let’s have Chopper decide that when you see him later. Get the drugs from the van and we’ll leave it with them.” He hesitated for a moment but knew it was an argument he’d lose based on her tone.

She wished he’d look after himself better, she thought as he moved towards the van.

It was only as she was gathering the tied-up criminals together that she heard something. Was someone calling her name? Her civilian name?!

When she turned, Luffy was charging for her, arms waving frantically above his head and broad grin on his face to greet her. It was him?! How many times had they had this conversation?

Mask on, Black Cat. Mask off, Nami.

“OOOOOIIIIIII!” Luffy shouted, completely ignoring her panicked look and arms flailing to get him to stop. “Naaa-”

Luffy was abruptly shut up as he face-planted the floor. In his single-minded focus to get to Black Cat, he’d missed Stealth Black sticking his foot out to trip him and stop him revealing her identity. Black Cat sight in relief, from what she could see the criminals were still out cold and police and news reporters hadn’t arrived yet.

As she made her way over, Luffy was picking himself up and pouting. “What’d you do that for?” He asked grumpily, glaring at Stealth Black.

“How else am I supposed to stop you running your big mouth? Next time why don’t you bring megaphone.” Stealth Black crossed his arms.

Just as Luffy was about to retort, Black Cat put her hand up to stop anything else being said. “Luffy, why are you out on your own? Where’s Z-”

“Oi, I told you to wait until I stop the car before getting out.” Another agitated voice called out. The three turned to see Zoro walking towards them, a frown marring his face.

Since Arlong had been put away, Luffy had been in awe of the work that Zoro did and had promptly resigned from being firefighter to become a police officer like the green haired man. What Black Cat couldn’t understand is who on earth thought it would be a good idea to put Luffy and Zoro together as partners. Maybe it was punishment for Zoro, make him babysit Luffy but if anything, it just spurred both of them on. She’d heard countless stories of the reckless things they both did.

Yet they were still the best officers she knew. That’s probably why.

Luffy was back to pouting. “But we’d been in the car so long already,” he whined.

Black Cat sighed; she’d been around them long enough to know what was going to follow.

“Ohoooo, got lost did we Marimo?” Came Black Stealth’s teasing remark. She gave him a side eye and she was right; a shit eating smirk was on his face. How that was possible behind his mask was beyond her.

And here came his angry response. “I did not get lost, you pervert! There were diversions…”

Rolling her eyes, she knew one was about to threaten the other and they so did not have time for that right now. “Enough. Stealth put the drugs with them,” she then pointed at Zoro, “they were transporting drugs, feedback for police to start stopping vehicles like this,” and finally Luffy, “use our superhero names, Luffy. It’s the last time I ask nicely.”

The boys did as she asked, although Zoro made a point of grumbling about bossy witches under his breath.

An arm wrapped around her waist as sirens were heard in the distance, “I think that’s our cue to leave,” Stealth murmured into her ear.

She knew well enough by now what this gesture meant; he was about to take off. She nodded and braced herself for what was to come until Luffy interrupted.

“See you guys tonight right?”

They both agreed, confirming the time and location.

Black Cat knew they were against the clock, but she couldn’t stop herself. “Perhaps this time Zoro, you’ll be able to keep up with me when we drink.”

He gave her the reaction she wanted. Complete outrage. “I had work the next day, you know that!” He fumed. When Stealth Black next to her started to snigger, Zoro turned on him too. “And what are you laughing at? One drink and you’re under the table, pervert.”

Whether it was the sirens getting louder by the second or the way she squeezed him as her arms wrapped around him, Black Stealth took off without a word.

Nami and Sanji were walking hand in hand towards the bar where they were meeting their friends. Sanji had used the opportunity to cook her dinner beforehand but she also wondered if it was to calm himself. He was trying not to show it, but he was nervous, his free hand kept clenching and unclenching. He hadn’t met Usopp yet and whilst Nami hadn’t meant to, she’d made it clear how close the two were. It was incredibly sweet to her that Sanji was so intent on winning over her best friend.

He’d passed with flying colours with Chopper and Robin.

In all fairness, Chopper wasn’t that difficult, all it had taken was for Sanji to compliment what a good doctor he was and for someone so young.

He’d met Robin when he’d come over to the apartment Nami and Robin shared. The older woman had been out and came back earlier than expected, so Sanji didn’t have a chance to work himself up. Robin normally appeared quite cold until you knew her well enough to know she didn’t mean it like that. However, Sanji hadn’t been phased. He’d instantly offered her some of the dinner they had left over, heating it for her so she could sit with them and that had been it. Conversation had flowed from there and although Nami was technically supposed to be the host, Sanji had made sure to keep their wine topped up the whole time. Robin had been won over.

Nami was brought out of her thoughts when Sanji squeezed her hand to get her attention. “You should prepare yourself; you’re going to meet the perverts of the group.” He warned, in a mock serious tone.

She didn’t even hesitate. “I thought I already had, that title belongs to you, no?” Nami smiled cheekily up at him and if that had been from someone else, he’d probably swear at them. Instead, he chuckled, amused by her wit.

“I have nothing on them.”

“Well I’m sure you’ll swoop in to save me.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him.

Sanji couldn’t resist that look. He stopped walking and turned her towards him, his hands resting loosely on her waist. When her hands came to rest on his chest and she leaned in, he took the invitation to press his lips to hers. His hands tightened and brought her in closer as her head tilted, deepening the kiss. Just as his tongue swiped against her lips, Nami pulled away.

“Come on, we don’t need to be arrested to public indecency.” Regardless of her warning, Sanji still tried to score another kiss until Nami put her hand over his mouth. “We’re going to be late.”

When they started to walk, almost at the pub, she added as an afterthought, “Also, I know you’re worried about meeting Usopp, but you really don’t need to be. Seriously.”

She smiled secretively, refusing to tell Sanji what she meant by that and dragged him forward by their adjoined hands.

“It’s you! It’s really you! In the flesh!”

Nami tried to keep an innocent smile on her face, instead of outright laughing but she couldn’t hold it. Between Sanji looking uncomfortable at the overwhelming attention he was receiving and Usopp starry-eyed at meeting the infamous superhero, it was too much. They’d barely taken a step in when Usopp had pounced.

“The way you fly through the air is so cool and the power in your kicks!” Usopp continued to gush. “It’s so unfair that Luffy and Zoro get to see you in action all the time!”

Sanji’s cheeks had gone red by this point, which only added to Nami’s amusement. It was probably mean not to tell him that Usopp was a fanboy when he’d been nervous about meeting him, but how could she miss this reaction from Sanji? The only time his cheeks went red with her was when things got a bit too heated.

“Thanks but the clima-tact you made is far more impressive. How did you do it?” Sanji asked, desperate to get the attention off himself.

Usopp’s chest puffed up in pride at that comment and Nami knew what was coming. Whilst he was her boyfriend, she would happily abandon ship and leave him to suffer this alone. She squeezed Sanji’s hand before pulling away and at his questioning look, she pointed to the bar where Robin was. As she walked away, she could hear the start of a long drawn out tale and she sniggered, the poor fool didn’t know what he was in for.

Approaching the bar, Robin turned, Nami’s favourite wine already in hand and offered out to her. Honestly, that woman had a sixth sense.

“How’s it going Nami?” Robin inquired.

Scanning her eyes from her new position, she could see that Franky (who Sanji had pointed out, before Usopp had jumped them) had now joined Usopp and Sanji, the three laughing at a joke Usopp had told. From the other side of the bar Zoro was drinking with Luffy and Chopper shoving straws up their noses next to him. It was unsettling how quickly Nami and Sanji’s group of friends had meshed together after only meeting a few times. It’s like it was meant to be.

It made her happy, her previously fractured life felt like it was starting to come together.

“Better than I expected.” Sanji caught her eye and gently smiled at her, before his attention was stolen back by Usopp.

“And you and Sanji…?”

Nami’s mood instantly soured at Robin’s comment, it was the last thing she wanted to think about right now. She turned towards the bar and took a long drink from her wine.

“I just don’t get it Robin. At first his ribs were cracked, so obviously that put a damper on things and don’t get me wrong, I can wait. But he’s normally the one that initiates but just as clothes are about to come off, he pulls away.” Nami lamented. “It wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t give such mixed signals.”

Nami and Sanji hadn’t had sex yet.

Ever since that night in Sanji’s apartment when she came as Black Cat to give him information, that was the furthest they’d ever gone. His reasoning then had been to get to know each other and when she’d thought about it with a level head, he was absolutely correct. He’d more than lived up to his words from that night. He’d wined and dined her and more. She couldn’t imagine being with anyone else other than him.

Yet, when things became too heated, he would pull away. He would be the one coming to her to cuddle when they were hanging out at his or her place, he would be the one to press just that little closer or give the first grope. When she reciprocated or he felt he’d gone too far, crossed the invisible line that he’d drawn, he would freeze and pull away, making an excuse. We both have work, it’s getting late, Robin will be back soon. He always found a way. But she saw how he was when he pulled away. Breathing haggard, his pupils blown wide and looking on edge. He’d also need time to, ah, calm himself… after he pulled away. He could try to hide his tented trousers all he liked but it was still there.

“Well he seems very interested, so you don’t have to worry there. He looks over at you every couple of minutes.” Robin observed. Nami didn’t doubt it; Robin did have a keen eye and Sanji had no shame in showing his interest in her, even if they were together. Which made it even more confusing.

Nami sighed. “He makes it obvious that he is, that’s not my worry.”

“If I may offer some adv- Are you ready for your interview tomorrow?”

Nami looked at the other woman quizzically, baffled as to why she changed topics so abruptly and just as she was about to voice her confusion, an arm slipped around her waist.

“Sorry to interrupt ladies, but I wanted to introduce my gorgeous girlfriend to Franky.”

Ah, so that’s why.

Nami turned in Sanji’s arm and now in full view, her eyebrows shot up. The bar was fairly crowded earlier and although he was tall, she’d only seen his shoulders and head but now… well. He was wearing the tightest shorts she’d ever seen, and his top was completely unbuttoned, who had let him in dressed like this?

Sanji laughed at his girlfriend’s obvious reaction. He had warned her. “Nami, this is one of the perverts I was telling you about, Franky.” He lowered his voice with his next words so only their friends could hear, “He’s the man who keeps my suit up to date and adds anything… but of course, you already knew that.”

Franky didn’t seem offended by the way Sanji introduced him, if anything Franky seemed flattered. “This guy, he’s such a charmer!” Franky’s hand rubbed behind his head. “But you, finding out who I was, that’s sneaky! How did you do it?”

Sanji interrupted before she could reply. “She was following me; she did have the hots for me after all.” He said teasingly, waggling his eyebrows.

She elbowed him in the stomach for that and rolled her eyes. “Hardly like I can deny it, look at where we are now.”

“Now if you lovebirds will excuse me, I need to buy this lady a drink.” Franky said, looking at Robin and putting his hand at the small of her back to guide her further down the bar. Robin was already at the bar seated, but it was obvious Franky just wanted some alone time with her.

Robin looked back over her shoulder to throw Nami a wink, amused by her stupefied look.

Nami then looked to Sanji for further explanation and was even more surprised that he didn’t look shocked. “Did you know?!”

He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll be honest, I thought you knew. Don’t you two live together? Franky told me about his interest in her, figured she’d do the same.”

Nami was still trying to process the information. Robin and Franky? Since when was that her type but as she looked over at them, she could kind of see it. Robin was quite aloof, and the other man was a bit ridiculous. They almost balanced each other out. Still, Nami couldn’t help but be resentful that she’d missed out on gossip. But then she could almost hear Robin’s voice in her head, you didn’t ask. It was annoyingly flawless logic from the secretive woman.

“Wait, did Usopp know?!” Her gossipy best friend better not have held out on her. They had a pact.

“From what you’ve told me about him, most likely not, unless Franky and Robin want it broadcast.” Okay, he had a point.

“Well, if Franky has Robin’s interest then he must be a decent guy. So, two perverts down, where’s the third?”

“You’ve been spending too much time with the directionless-wonder.” Sanji said. It was meant to sound like a bad thing, but Sanji was actually pleased that she had connected with them so quickly. And she got under Zoro’s skin occasionally, which was just another win if you ask him. “But he’ll be here-” Sanji was cut off as the lights went down and a tall, slender man took to the stage. “-now. That’s him.”

The fairly crowded pub felt like it had multiplied as people started to pack in, moving towards the small makeshift stage.

Nami was standing on tiptoes to try and get a better look when Sanji moved her in front of him, moving his arms to drape across her shoulders. He could still see over her and there was a gap for her to see through. She sent him an appreciative look. “You didn’t tell me he was a musician, is he any good?”

“Luffy befriended him, saying he’d always wanted a musician friend. He’s an odd one but he’s incredibly loyal and occasionally funny, but don’t tell him I said that.” If Brook knew, he’d never hear the end of it or his puns.

“Yohohoho, my my, look at this place. You’ve all come to see me!” The crowd cheered back, arms waving. “This song goes out to my good friends that are here tonight. Get ready for binks sake.”

Nami’s hands came up to clasp Sanji’s arms around her shoulders and they swayed to the song. Sanji was right, the man was good. The previously rowdy pub had quietened so that you could almost hear a pin drop as the sweet notes came from his violin and his voice lulled you to sleep.

They both basked in the rare moment of peace, where they could enjoy each other’s presence, without having to think about their jobs or superhero counterparts. She should be enjoying it but when Sanji’s arms tightened around her and he dropped a kiss onto her cheek, she couldn’t stop her thoughts from leading down that path, the one she tried not to dwell on. Their non-existent sex life.

Although, as she thought about it, it was always him making the first move before pulling away. Maybe he thought she wasn’t ready… but then why not ask? Maybe it was a gentlemen’s code or something he had. Hm, perhaps she’d make the first move, it was her after all that had kissed him first. But then, she didn’t want to pressure him.

Clapping brought her out of her thoughts as the song ended and the previously quiet audience launched back into their rowdy nature. They began to chant, “Soul Par-ade, Soul Par-ade.”

Questioningly, Nami looked to Sanji for an explanation. “It’s one of his most popular songs, you’ll see why.”

And she did. He swapped his violin for an electric guitar and the crowd in the bar somehow became even louder. The peaceful atmosphere changed as everyone started to jump, the energy in the room tripling as Brook took off, fingers moving quickly along the fret of the guitar. Soon the crowd started to jump along to the beat and the heat picked up.

Luffy waved them over, their group of friends coming together to finish listening to Brook’s set. Nami sat down at the bar next to Zoro as he slid her a beer and Chopper caught Sanji’s attention asking about his cracked ribs.

It was 20 minutes later when Brook was giving a bow and exiting the stage. He stopped to chat to people and sign some autographs before he joined them. Luffy was instantly on him, saying how much he’d missed him whilst he was away.

Another 10 minutes and Sanji was deep in conversation with Brook, leading the older man towards the bar to meet Nami.

“Oh my, you are as beautiful as Sanji said.”

Nami could feel heat crawling up her neck, she was used to the compliments she sometimes received but to have it said to her in front a group of people was fairly embarrassing, especially as other people round the bar turned to look at her. “Your set was great by the way. How long have you been on tour?” She asked, changing the topic to give her cheeks a chance to calm down.

That was how the rest of the evening progressed, their friends chatting and catching up. Brook at one point asking Nami about the colour of her panties and Sanji shouted at him to knock it off. God knows how he even managed to slip that casually in, she almost spat out her drink, but she shouldn’t have been surprised, she was warned.

Slowly, their group of friends started to dwindle after that, the evening turning into the night as the sky grew darker. Sanji offered to walk Nami home when she tiredly rested her head against his shoulder, fighting back a yawn. Walking back hand in hand, they chatted idly until they were in front of Nami’s apartment.

It was then that Nami decided to put her thoughts into motion.

Leaning up on tiptoes she brushed her lips against his, her hands coming to rest against his chest. She could feel his heartbeat starting to pick up and she smiled to herself, she didn’t think she’d ever get sick of his reaction to her. Growing annoyed at the soft touches, he pressed their lips together with more force and her hands slid their way around his neck as his came to rest low on the small of her back.

Breathing heavily, she pulled away to look at him. His cheeks were flushed and his bright blue eyes hazy as he looked back at her. “Do you want to come up for coffee?” She asked, suggestively pressing herself against him and biting her lower lip teasingly.

It worked when his gaze lowered to her lips and he groaned, hastily pressing their lips back together. His hands grasped her hips, causing her to gasp and start to walk them closer to the door of her apartment.

When her keys came out, it seemed to wake Sanji up and he pulled back from the kiss. “You have an interview tomorrow, you should sleep.” His hands moved from her hips to rest at her waist, seemingly trying to control himself. She didn’t miss the way his eyes flicked from her eyes to her lips. “Call me when you’re done, I want to know how it goes. I have my fingers crossed for you.”

Nami was baffled. One moment they’re basically making out on the street and the next he was talking conversationally about her interview, as if she hadn’t just invited him up and he shot her down. It was hard to keep up.

Her mind was still reeling but she realised she’d nodded at him, agreeing to call him. He parted with a lingering kiss and a longing gaze that left her wanting more.

Well that solved nothing and now she was hot and bothered.

She needed to talk to him, she was done tip toeing.

The talk never happened.

It was pushed to the back of her mind with everything that had happened the next day; her job interview, being offered the job, the newspapers slandering Black Cat and Sanji ranting on the phone to her.

The interview had gone as well as she’d been hoping for. It turned out they’d both gone to the same university and were catching up about the professors still lecturing there. They’d been laughing and chatting together before even getting to the interview questions but when the lady saw the recommendation from one of the professors that they’d both been taught by; it’d sealed the deal.

She’d been asked to wait outside for the next stage, but when she was called back in it was to inform her that they wanted to take her on and confirm a start day, should she accept. She did so without hesitation. She’d be crazy not to. To have a job offer on a first interview was something she’d never imagined, she was planning on using this as a test run.

When she left, she was on cloud nine. She’d be starting in a week and would be spending her time predicting weather patterns and climate change to either the government or to research projects. It was something she’d dreamt about when she was younger, and she was being paid for it! No more pouring coffee for her.

She paused mid-step, peering into a news agent when the daily newspaper headline and picture caught her eye. It was her. Black Cat.

Drug gang takedown by Black Cat and Stealth Black. Is Black Cat a new superhero trying to atone for her past or attempting to escape the laws she broke?

After everything and they were still harping on about this? She was starting to feel like her past would never be forgotten. She went in to buy the newspaper, to see what else they wrote and perhaps she shouldn’t have.

Sitting down on a bench near the park, she read what they’d written. They spoke about investigating her, taking her to court and slamming the police for not doing more.

But then, the police were still under investigation themselves. Zoro had told her a higher up had already been fired, although they said he took early retirement. Paid off by a dangerous gang with no intention to do anything about them and then completely let off. And she was supposed to be the criminal?

Her relationship with the police force had been contentious. She attempted to avoid them for the time being. They never had much of a chance to pursue her, she was normally leaving when they arrived, and they had their hands full with whatever her and Stealth Black had rounded up for them. The one time they had seen her, they’d shouted her name in outrage and she’d had to hold back Stealth Black, he’d been furious.

Sighing, she put the newspaper down to try and forget about it for the time being. This should be a happy day for her. She sent a text to Sanji to tell her she was out of the interview and a second later his name was lighting up on her screen.

“Hey, how did it go?” His voice was tight, although he was trying to keep it light. He must have seen today’s paper.

Sanji was very vocal to her about how appalled he was about the newspaper doubting her. He’d offered countless times to make a statement through Stealth Black, but she refused. She didn’t want them dragging his reputation through the mud too.

She paused for a moment, attempting to lighten the mood by being dramatic. “I got the job! They offered it to me on the spot.”

“Nami! That’s fantastic! Let’s celebrate. What do you want to do tonight?” His voice had lightened considerably with her good news.

“It sounds boring, but I’d actually just like to stay in with you.” In all fairness, she did want to but there may have been an ulterior motive there as well.

“If that’s what you want. Come over whenever you’re ready and I’ll cook dinner.” He sang happily.

“Okay, I’ll get changed and head over.” She looked at the time, it was almost 4. “So, based on your previous tone I take it you read today’s newspaper?”

That was all it took, and he was growling in frustration. She couldn’t see him, but she knew he’d be pacing and running his free hand through his hair. “I’d just forgotten about that. How can they still be writing this absolute trash? You’re doing a better job than the police and they still continue to doubt you.”

“They’re dragging the police through the mud as well.” She added.

“They deserve it. This was supposed to be their job, and we’re still cleaning up after their mistake.”

She knew that no matter what she said he wouldn’t change his opinion and honestly, she didn’t want him to. She’d never had someone believe in her so wholeheartedly, he never doubted her.

“At least you’re not going down with me.” She shrugged, relieved they’d left him alone and trying to see the bright side in this.

“I’d take the fall for you in a heartbeat.” He said with no hesitation and complete conviction. Sometimes his devotion worried her, but she tried not to dwell on it, there was no changing him.

She was almost at her apartment, so they wrapped up the conversation and she said she’d be seeing him soon.

40 minutes later and she was walking down the street towards Sanji’s apartment. She had something that she needed to bring up with him and was thinking about the best way to do so.

He must have been keeping an eye out for her because when the doors of the elevator opened for her on the fourth floor, he was waiting for her at his door. He’d clearly snapped himself out of his mood because he was opening his arms and encouraging her to run towards him.

Normally she’d wave him off, conscious of other people around but she threw caution to the wind and was running towards him, giggling like a child the whole time.

To his credit, he didn’t budge a bit when she leapt into the hug. His arms came around her and he swung her around in circles, her giggles filling the quiet hallway of the apartment complex. When he came to a standstill, he didn’t release her, and she didn’t pull away.

He gave some of the best hugs she’d ever received, they were warm and comforting. He also smelled fantastic, which was a lovely bonus. Whether it was his constant cooking or perfume, he never smelled like smoke, even though he did so regularly. She melted into his embrace, feeling all the tensions from the day slip away.

“Congratulations on the job, my love.” He said, kissing the side of her head.

She pulled back a few moments later and he stepped aside to let her into his apartment. Putting her bag down she could smell orange wafting through the air.

“Desserts done but I wasn’t sure how long you were going to be, so I held off on dinner. It’s still early so it shouldn’t take too long.” Sanji explained.

“That’s okay. Come on, I’ll help, it’ll be quicker this way.”

Sanji never argued against her helping him and she had the suspicion that he enjoyed it. She was no professional chef, but she could cook fairly well, Robin always enjoyed what she made. In all fairness, this was also something she enjoyed too. Sanji had poured wine for them both to sip on as they worked, the radio was on low and they peeled in comfortable silence. It was relaxing.

Cheekily, she hip-checked him when she was finished with the carrots, moving away before he could retaliate to put the peeled vegetables into the pan. Sanji seared the beef and put it in the pot with the carrots, adding the last few ingredients before putting it in the oven to cook.

Once he’d finished, Sanji turned towards Nami to say something but she interrupted him. “So, there was something I wanted to talk to you about.” His face grew serious, it was rare that she started a discussion this way. “I’ve been thinking about going home.” She paused; his face was odd, like he couldn’t pick an emotion. Was he upset? But why would he be? She went over her sentence again, oh. “Wait, no, I mean- visit. I haven’t been home for a while and now this is all done, I wanted to visit.”

Exhaling loudly, he felt his shoulders relax. He would of course never argue against her if she wanted to move back home but in that brief moment it crossed his mind that she might be breaking up with him. They’d been, officially, together over a month, but it still crossed his mind. She was, well, there wasn’t enough adjectives and he- she was out of his league. “You definitely should then, I’m sure your family would be happy to see you. I can patrol as Stealth Black alone.”

Bless him. “Well, I actually wondered if you wanted to come with me. You’ll have to meet them at some point, so why not now?” She took a sip of her wine.

“Really?” He spluttered, trying to stay composed. “You want me to meet your family?” That was certainly a big step but there was hope in his chest.

“Yeah, I was thinking maybe a week? I’ve got a week until I start my new job, do you think you’ll be able to get the time off?”

He shrugged, he couldn’t see why not, off the top of his head no one else was on holiday.

Nami put down her wine glass and rolled her shoulders. She mentally prepped herself. One down and one to go. Time for the biggen. “There’s something else too.” She paused, thinking about how to phrase it. But there was no other way to phrase it, other than, “I took some of Arlong’s money.” She rushed out.

“Okay.”

Wait.

What?

Where was the anger? He was looking at her like she was discussing the weather. “As in, money that I didn’t hand over to the police. That I kept for myself.”

“Yeah I get that.” He shrugged and had the audacity to smile at her reassuringly.

“Why aren’t you angry, or at least shocked? I’m pretty sure what I’ve done isn’t legal. You’re supposed to be a good guy!” She was expecting him to be even a little disappointed or angry and yet here she was angry with him for not being angry with her. If she wasn’t so surprised, she might have even laughed at the situation.

He walked over to her, placing his hand on her neck. She lifted her head to look at him, waiting for an explanation.

“Because it’s you. You’ll have done it for a reason and I’m sure it’s a damned good reason too.”

She breathed out, laughing lightly at his reasoning. She’ll add overwhelming faith to the list. She’d even thought about this today too. Moving his hand up from her neck to her cheek, she turned her head to the side to kiss his palm.

“You ridiculous man.” She said fondly, beaming at him. “But you’re right. It is for a good reason. I want to give the money to my village when I go back home. It’s for everything Arlong took from them. I can’t go back just to see them struggle when know I could help… and I’m not relying on the police to sort this out.” She finished, winding herself up. He hadn’t asked for an explanation, he trusted her, but she wanted him to be in the loop.

“I think that’s great and if you’re really sure, I’d love to come with you.” Sanji’s other hand came up to cup her other cheek and bring her into a soft kiss. It would be nice, Sanji thought. To see another part of Nami’s life that he didn’t get the chance to be a part of.

“Now, tell me more about this interview.”

Genzo did not like Sanji.

Nami’s father figure made it crystal clear in his critical gaze and steely expression. There was definitely more beneath his dislike, mainly that Sanji was Nami’s boyfriend and the day she decides to return home after years she brings along someone else.

To his credit, Sanji tried to ignore it. Nami could see his nervous behaviours, the clenching and unclenching of his hands, but that was just to her trained eye. He addressed Genzo as sir when they met, extending his hand and giving a friendly smile, not even dropping it when Genzo didn’t reciprocate the smile. Nami kept throwing Genzo looks but the man ignored her.

All was going well before their meeting. Clearly word had spread of Nami’s visit as villagers were approaching without surprise, asking plenty of questions and even teasing her about the man accompanying her. She waved her hand at them, cheeks red as she introduced Sanji to them.

It felt like she’d never left, seeing the faces from her childhood chatting as if they’d seen each other earlier in the day. Sanji fit right in, friendly and genuine as always. She rolled her eyes as he eagerly engaged in a conversation between two elderly women about home recipes they had. That’d be him out of action for a while.

Perhaps it was a good thing because she heard her name being yelled. Turning to look in the direction of the voice, she could see her sister running towards her. Nami chuckled to herself, clearly Nojiko had the same idea as herself, her previously short blue hair now running past her shoulders.

Not a second later and Nami was running towards her, meeting in the middle for a tight hug. Nojiko squeezed her, trying to catch up on years of missed hugs.

Pulling away, she slapped Nami’s shoulder. “You didn’t reply to me with your arrival time, it took someone coming to the house for me to know!”

Nami laughed. “It’s been hard enough getting through the village as it is, I didn’t need a herd.”

“Can you really blame them? It’s been long enough.” Nojiko said.

Sanji had broken away from his conversation with the two women with all the commotion to watch them reunite. Nami didn’t miss the way he picked up on Nojiko’s comment, the length of her absence had been mentioned many times since their arrival. She wasn’t sure she was ready to have that conversation.

Realising they weren’t alone, Nojiko turned towards Sanji. “Hi, I’m Nojiko, Nami’s sister.” Extending her hand.

“I’m Sanji, Nami’s told me plenty about you.” He replied, shaking her hand.

“Don’t believe all the bad things she says, I’m the good one out of the two of us!”

He laughs lightly at the unintentional joke Nojiko just told. “Oh I can believe that.” He sends her a smart smile at the end, no doubt referring to their superhero alter egos and all the grief she gave him.

Nami rolled her eyes at the pair of them. “Where’s Genzo?”

“Well, if you’d told us a time, he’d be here to meet you. He’s back at mine, let’s go.” Nojiko started to walk towards her home with Nami and Sanji in tow, along the way pointing out new additions to their village or filling in Sanji with memories.

And that’s what had led them to this moment.

Nami and Nojiko sending each other looks whilst they tried to disperse any tension, mainly from Genzo. Nojiko engaged Sanji in conversation, asking him how long he’d been a chef, whilst Nami asked Genzo for a word in private.

Once outside the room, Nami settled him with a flat look which Genzo refused to look at.

She rolled her eyes, not in the mood to talk to him about this right now. Something was a bit more pressing and Genzo would come around, he was just being stubborn.

“Don’t make a big deal out of this, but I have some money for you.”

His eyebrows shot up, mainly in surprise. “Why are you giving me money?”

“It’s not for you, I’m giving it to you for the village. After everything,” she waved her hand, vaguely referencing previous events, “I’ve been collecting money, so no one has to struggle anymore. I know you’ll put it to good use.”

He looked concerned. “Is this what you’ve been doing all this time? You don’t owe this village your life, keep the money.” His voice was firm, not budging.

She expected this. “You know I’ve been doing other things; I got my A-levels and degree in that time, didn’t I?”

“And after that? That was years ago, what have you been doing since?” He’d expressed his concerns whenever she called about what she was doing now university was over, he was never impressed by her vague answers. She’d never told them about her alter-ego, the last thing she needed was him to worry or lecture her, which she was somewhat getting now.

“I’ll explain that in a second. Are you going to take this money or not? I will give it to the village, with or without you involved.” She needed to be firm as well if she wanted him on board, he normally knew when to give in and when to push.

He gave in. “I’ll take it but if you ever want any of it, for anything, this is your home too. You deserve some of it.”

“Who says I haven’t already taken my cut?” She winked at him, grinning cheekily.

He laughed, shaking his head. So like her mother, he thought. He’d missed having her around.

“Come on, now that’s over with, I’ll fill you and Nojiko in. Just,” she paused, mulling over her words, “keep an open mind, would you?”

He frowned, now concerned with what he was about to hear.

When they entered the room, Nojiko and Sanji were laughing. Nami’s eyes zeroed in on the photo album, trust her sister to do this in her absence. “Nojiko!” Nami said, outraged.

Nojiko didn’t grace her with a response, just heartily laughed and quickly flicked to an embarrassing baby photo before Nami snatched the album away.

“Nami, you were such a cute baby!” Sanji sang teasingly.

Nami puffed her cheeks, pouting and refusing to look at the pair. Sanji wrapped his arms around her shoulders, attempting to calm her down and only doing the opposite.

Genzo looked on at the scene fondly. He hadn’t heard a great deal of laughter in this house for a while. Nojiko was happy, of course, but not like this and as for Nami. Well. She’d been gone for years and after their Mothers death, she’d barely ever smiled, let alone laughed. Yet here she was, head now thrown back, seemingly laughing at something Sanji had said.

He sighed to himself. This man made her happy, huh?

Their laughter subsided and Nojiko was soon asking a question. “I asked Sanji, but he gave such a boring answer.” Nojiko whined. “You live in the city where the superhero’s Black Cat and Stealth Black also live, you must have some sort of gossip?”

Nami stiffened, not expecting it to be brought up this way. Now she understood. Poor Sanji, having the navigate that alone. She’d told him before coming here that her family didn’t know but she was toying with telling them, if he was okay with that. He’d said to do whatever felt right. She looked at Sanji and he was looking at her apprehensively, but he shrugged. Okay, so that meant it was her call.

That didn’t stop her from toying with them. “Well, I suppose I might have something good for you.” She took a pause, making Nojiko crane in with bated breath. Even Genzo was, poorly, trying to disguise his interest.

“I’m Black Cat.” She announced, grinning broadly.

Nojiko and Genzo gaped at her, trying to process what she’d just said. Their reactions differed after that. Nojiko threw her head back, laughing and Genzo looked horrified.

“Trust you to do something like that!” Nojiko exclaimed.

“You’re what?!” Genzo challenged, not believing his ears and proceeding to having a meltdown.

Gleefully, Nojiko turned to Sanji. “And that means you’re Stealth Black. So this is true then.” She produced a gossip magazine from the pile of papers on the table, laying it in front of them so they could see the headline.

Black Cat and Stealth Black spotted gazing into each other’s eyes, is this the confirmation that they’re dating?

Nami snorted, she hadn’t seen this one yet. How desperate were they? The photo the trashy gossip magazine had used was the both of them facing each other and talking after they’d rounded up the last criminal. Nothing romantic there at all.

Well, it probably looked romantic to the untrained eye, Sanji did give his full attention to her whenever she spoke and it could be intense, but they didn’t know how much deeper it actually went. Not that she was complaining, for the most part, Nami had never had a boyfriend that paid her so much attention.

Nami and Sanji had discussed whether Black Cat and Stealth Black should reveal themselves as a couple but had decided to postpone it for the time being. They were just starting a relationship themselves and whilst their civilian identities weren’t famous, the timing would be so close, they didn’t want to run the risk of anyone connecting the dots. Rumours flew around like lightening in that city.

It didn’t stop Nami from teasing them, of course. Letting her hand linger on Stealth Black a fraction too long or standing a bit too close and he definitely didn’t complain. Kept her admirers at bay for the time being too.

“How’s that for some inside gossip-”

“You’re parading about in- in that?!” Genzo exclaimed, interrupting Nami and pointing at the magazine accusingly. His daughter, in that suit, in front of all those men in the city.

A thought suddenly occurred to Nojiko, whilst Nami was shrugging at Genzo and attempting to wave him off. “Wait, didn’t you guys just take down the Arlong gang?”

The room went silent after Nojiko’s question.

Any joviality from Nami’s previous announcement died down to be replaced by a heavy atmosphere, as the weight of what Nami had done settled in.

Nami gritted her teeth, refusing to look at anyone. She knew what their expressions would be; sympathy, grief and hurt for her. For what she’d had to go through to achieve this goal.

Looking her Mother’s killer in the eye and pretending everything was okay; her tormenter and the man that ruined their lives. All alone. She closed her eyes, pushing out those thoughts.

Genzo looked troubled and his heart broke. When she’d left, he’d wanted her to live again. Yet she’d done the exact opposite. “That’s what you’ve been doing,” he croaked, piecing everything together. “The money… that’s where it’s from, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

That single answer was deafening, in the eerily silent room.

Nojiko approached Nami, not saying a word as she wrapped her up in a hug. Tears were streaming from Nojiko’s eyes and Genzo joined them, wrapping his arms around both of his daughters. Even his eyes were misty.

Sanji was content to hang back and let the small family have this moment together, it wasn’t his place to get involved. He was proved wrong though when Genzo pulled back, extending his arm in invitation for Sanji to join them. Still surprised, Sanji walked over to stand on the opposite side and cocoon the two sisters in the centre.

Genzo’s hand came to rest on Sanji’s arm.

Sanji stirred, his hand searching for the warm body that should be next to him and found himself alone. Funny, this hadn’t happened since she’d stayed the night as Black Cat, she’d never had a reason since then to leave without him. He laid there, thinking about how much had changed and could only smile. She was the best thing that’d ever happened to him.

Finding himself now fully awake, he rolled on his to see what the time was. 5.03am bleared at him from the alarm clock. Whilst he wasn’t concerned at first, he was now. He’d just suspected she might be with her sister, but even Nojiko wouldn’t be awake at this time.

Quietly, he got dressed and left the house. The last thing he wanted was Genzo asking questions, technically Nami shouldn’t have been with him and the older man would query that.

When sleeping arrangements had been mentioned, Genzo had made a fuss about Sanji taking the spare room at his house. It was one of those moments where Genzo wouldn’t give, stubbornly looking back at Nami. She’d relented with a huff, muttering about what a prude he was.

That didn’t stop her from sneaking through the window into Sanji’s room later that night when Genzo had gone to bed. Sanji had sniggered, even Genzo should know better by now.

Although odd, he suspected that she’d be at Nojiko’s and if she was, he’d more than happily give her the time with her sister, he just wanted to make sure she was okay. Nami liked to get up early, but this was extreme for her.

Hands in pockets, he strolled through the quiet village, a stark contrast to the daytime. It was relatively small, but the people were boisterous and busy. He could see why she was so fond of them all, they’d been more than welcoming towards him and were absolutely thrilled to see her.

It was a short walk, he was in front of Nojiko’s house and he could see the orange trees swaying in the gentle breeze when a noise piqued his interest. He was stuck between continuing on but also checking what that could be. Life in the city as a superhero had ruined him as he changed directions, now walking down a little dirt path shrouded by trees. He became alarmed when he could hear someone… were they crying?

The dirt path opened up, the trees now behind him and a vibrant field in front of him. The field cut off at the end to make a cliff edge overlooking the sea and whilst it should be picturesque, what he saw made his stomach drop and heart break. The dirt path continued onwards, cutting through the fields and at the end was a wooden cross with Nami sitting in front of it.

Her back was to him, but he’d be able to recognise her orange hair anywhere. Her shoulders were shaking, and he could hear her sobbing.

That was what he’d heard before.

Sanji had always known this would happen, whether it was here or back in the city. When she’d said she was going to visit her village, he’d kept an eye on her. Since Arlong had been taken down, she hadn’t shed a single tear. Not in grief or relief. He’d wondered if maybe she’d done it when she was alone or perhaps this had been processed when she was younger. But then, to come face to face with your mother’s killer was surely going to bring something up. He’d been as supportive as he could without pushing for anything, letting her go through the motions at her own pace and this was it.

Well, she wasn’t going to do it alone.

Strolling towards her, he sat down next to her. He didn’t say a word, but she did jump and tried to hastily wipe her face.

“O-oh, Sanji. How did you find me?” Her voice cracked halfway through, desperately trying to compose herself.

“Tell me about Bell-mère.” It wasn’t a question and he wasn’t expecting a response, but he didn’t want her to think she had to stop mourning just because he was here.

Nami had tried to keep it together when he appeared, tears still streaming down her face, but no sound came out. When Sanji said her mother’s name, she couldn’t stop the sob escaping her mouth. She was done trying to be strong.

“She-she was so-,” Nami choked out, her chin trembling and hands dragging down her face, “She was so young.” She wailed. That was all she could manage as her body shook and another onslaught of tears started.

Sanji could feel his eyes starting to well up as the woman next to him became distraught. He felt no shame as they started to track down his face and he joined Nami in mourning, what he imagined, was an amazing woman.

Seeing him crying as well, just seemed to encourage the hot tears to multiply and streak down her cheeks. Her head came to rest on Sanji’s shoulder and that’s all he needed for his arms to wrap around her, pulling her to him. She didn’t hesitate as she sat up, shuffling towards him as his arms guided her into his lap. She curled herself up in his arms, tucking her head under his chin as his cheek came to rest against top of her head.

Fully cocooned in Sanji’s arms, they both wept in front of the cross. For Bell-mère’s shortened life, for Nami’s lost youth and for a family torn apart by tragedy.

Laughter filled the air as Nami finished telling him about a story from her childhood, where Bell-mère would make Genzo flustered to distract him from scolding her. It helped Sanji understand why Genzo was so prudish, he always had been and by the sounds of it, living with these three women didn’t help.

Once Nami and Sanji’s tears had slowed, they’d stayed sat in front of Bell-mère’s cross, enjoying the silence until she’d broken it by reminiscing. The pain was still there, and she knew it always would be. But she hadn’t allowed herself to think about her memories with Bell-mère before today, instead she’d used her image to drive herself forward; too focused on Arlong.

It was nice to think about her again. Her heart ached in sorrow but also in joy for the time she did have with her.

Sanji had sat quietly, listening and laughing with her. Asking questions and soaking in every bit of information she gave him. Her eyes were puffy and red, face drawn but there was beauty in this vulnerability that she hadn’t ever shown him before today. She was beautiful. He wanted to burn this moment in his mind forever.

Unbeknownst to Sanji, Nami was having similar thoughts. She was horrified when he’d arrived at first, for him to see her so weak but now she felt stronger. More connected to him. He knew when to be silent, when to squeeze her just that bit tighter and when to speak. She was thankful to have him.

He was looking out at the sea when she turned her attention to him, a quiet, comfortable lull settling between them and it was in that moment that she realised she was in love with him. She’d felt this before, but it hit her so abruptly in that moment that it couldn’t be overlooked. The quiet letting it sneak up on her. Now wasn’t the time to tell him, but it made her feel content.

Feeling eyes on his face, he turned towards her. “Hi.” He said, bashfully when he saw the look on her face. He’d never seen her look at him like that before.

“Hi.” She replied softly. “Thank you, I really needed that.”

His hands rubbed along her bare arms. “You don’t have to thank me, I wanted to be there for you and I really enjoyed hearing about your childhood.”

Maybe it was the sound of the ocean making her feel at peace, being in front of her mother or her newly realised love for him, but she continued to share unprompted. Perhaps it was all three. “I haven’t dealt with my grief for Bell-mère very well. I remember crying when she died but I never did again after that, until today.” She paused, thinking about the last couple of years.

Sanji nodded, running his hand up and down her arm soothingly.

“I know you caught what everyone has been saying to me. Because I wasn’t coping, I did the only thing I could think of, I left- to avoid having to deal with… all of this.”

“How long have you been gone?” He asked, quietly, not wanting to ruin this moment.

“I got a part time job when I was 16 and completed my A-levels and university degree in different cities… but- it wasn’t enough.” Her eyes clenched. “To think he was out there, doing this to other people and parading around, scot-free, after what he’d done to her.” Memories started to flick through her mind, unwanted memories of the worst day of her life. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

“And you haven’t been back since?”

“I couldn’t. I needed to do this.”

“You’ve been gone so long.” He felt sad. Sad for her youth and what little she actually had of it, not only the grief she’d carried with her but shouldering this. He’d never imagined it was so long.

She shrugged. “It was my choice. I called and sent letters.”

He squeezed her and she continued. “I moved around a lot after university, but it was difficult because he’d gone underground. I had my big break when I moved to the city. Usopp and Robin helped a lot and honestly, I don’t think I could have done it without them.”

There was a lot to take in, but his instant reaction was sorrow. His heart ached for her and he wondered if it would ever not after this. There was nothing he could say though, nothing would make it better for her. He still tried though. “I’m just so sorry-”

“Don’t be. Whatever you’re about to be, don’t.” She interrupted softly. “Out of all this has come Luffy, Zoro and everyone, but most importantly you. My life’s good now and that’s what I live for.” And it was true. She’d thought this a lot lately but everything bad that had happened seemed to finally fruit some good news.

“That’s a lovely way to think about it. I’m thankful to have you in my life too.”

They lulled back into silence, enjoying the sound of the waves and the soft breeze.

Nami looked back up at Sanji, the morning sun rising, making his blonde hair bright like the sun and eyes blue as the ocean. He fussed over her a lot but sometimes she wondered if he realised just how handsome he was. From his thick hair to chiselled jaw, it’s a wonder he wasn’t snagged up before she came along. Perhaps fate was on her side after all.

He boyishly smiled at her and in that moment, her brain ignored all filters it possessed, and she blurted out, “Why haven’t we had sex yet?”

The smile melted off of his face and she felt Sanji go rigid underneath her. For a brief second, she wondered if his eyes would pop out of his sockets and hair stand up from the shock.

“ah- uuuh, what?” He asked, desperately trying to compose himself. He’d heard her alright, but he just needed a second.

“Well, you always seem to want to when it leads that way but then you pull away, I’m just a bit confused. I mean, if you want to wait that’s fine! No pressure. I’d just like us to be on the same page.” She could feel heat on her cheeks, but she imagined it was nothing compared to Sanji’s face. His was rivalling a tomato at this point.

He couldn’t be surprised with her asking. When they’d gotten heated the last couple of times, he’d seen the look on her face and knew she was beginning to wonder. “You’ve been through a lot recently and I wanted to give you time-”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve given enough indication that I’ve wanted to.” She pressed

He wasn’t sure how to phrase this, but he sighed, knowing she’d see through anything else. “I didn’t want you to regret it at first, because we’d just dealt with Arlong and I knew you probably wouldn’t be in the right place. I kept telling myself that and then I just freaked myself out the longer I waited. I mean, I built it up more and more, so yeah.” He finished with a shrug, feeling self-conscious.

Her arms wrapped around his neck, squeezing him and she laughed lightly, relieved. Pulling away, she cupped his face in between her hands, “You ridiculous man,” and pulled him in to kiss him. “It’s us, we’re a team, we’ll be fine whatever’s thrown our way.”

“A team on and off the field, huh?”

“Exactly.” She said before pulling him back into a kiss.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be having this conversation in front of Bell-mère’s grave?” He was suddenly aware of where they were having this conversation.

Nami laughed, completely forgetting where they were when she’d blurted out her question. “She’d be lecturing us both for taking so long, especially you, denying her darling daughter.” She winked, teasing him.

He turned to the grave, bowing his head. “I’m sorry Bell-mère, your beautiful daughter will be denied this,” his free hand waving down his body, “for another week.”

Snorting, she shoved his shoulder and he laughed. “Too right, Genzo’s getting old, we don’t want to finish him off.”

Packing the last bit of clothing, Nami couldn’t help but feel sad. Their time visiting her village had gone incredibly quickly but it’d been great. She’d tended to Bell-mère’s grove with Nojiko, spent some time with the young children in the village with Genzo and cooked with Sanji for her family.

But she wouldn’t miss it too much, the city was calling out to her.

Sanji was putting the last of their luggage in his car, as Nojiko wrapped her up in a tight hug. “Don’t be a stranger.”

“Maybe you can visit us, stop being such a hick and join us city dwellers.”

Nojiko laughed, “Temporarily perhaps, but I like small living.”

Meanwhile Genzo had walked over to Sanji to speak to him. They were out of earshot so Nami couldn’t overhear but based on their faces, it was a serious conversation. Since their initial meeting, Genzo had warmed up to Sanji, considerably thank god. Nami didn’t need that for their week here.

“I approve, just so you know.” Nojiko smirked.

Nami rolled her eyes, about to make a smart comment but Genzo and Sanji had finished saying their goodbyes with a handshake before making their way over to the sisters.

Soon they were both walking towards Sanji’s car, turning around to throw in a wave whilst they still could.

Nojiko’s voice boomed, cutting through the peaceful afternoon air, “Next time I see you, I want a ring on your finger or at least a little Nami or Sanji in the oven.”

Both Nami and Sanji spluttered, whipping around to face a smug Nojiko. Genzo was equally flustered next to Nojiko.

“I’m too young for that!” Nami choked out, shaking her fist in the air and trying to stamp down the blush. Sanji was losing his battle, stuck between flustered and delighted, no doubt at the thought of an adorable little Nami.

“Ignore her, she likes to tease, and she’s got a lot to make up for.” Nami said to Sanji.

His hand reached out to hold hers. “It’s a nice thought. Not for now, but the future perhaps.” He kissed her hand and opened the car door for her. She was too stunned to reply and thanked him as she entered the car, the door closing behind her.

They’d driven back in a comfortable silence and Nami watched as vast green fields soon started to turn into houses, train tracks and skyscrapers the closer they got to the city.

Making their way through the city towards Sanji’s apartment, they noticed a lot of police sirens going past them every few minutes. They both looked at each other concerned but were interrupted when Sanji’s phone went off.

“Could you get that please Nami?” Sanji asked, eyes still on the road.

Leaning into the backseat for his jacket, she fished around and just as she grabbed the phone, it started to ring. Looking down Zoro’s name was lighting up, she frowned, that couldn’t be good.

“Zoro? What’s up?” Sanji looked at her questioningly, Zoro hardly ever called him.

“Hey, are you back yet?” He asked calmly, ignoring what she’d said. She could hear Luffy in the background shouting obnoxiously and trying to take the phone from Zoro to speak to her. Zoro sounded like he had his hands full.

“Yeah, we’re just driving through the city. Why are there so many police sirens about?”

“There’s a hostage situation downtown. We’ll probably need your help.” He still sounded so calm; how did he do that? Perhaps all the time spent on the force.

“How did this happen!?” Sanji threw her an alarmed look as she raised her voice.

“No time to explain, I have to go.” And just like that, he hung up.

Turning to Sanji, she quickly relayed what little information she’d received, and he was warning her to brace herself as he put his foot on the accelerator to speed towards his apartment.

Bursting through the doors, their luggage abandoned in his car for the time being and trying to find their suits.

“Sanji, please tell me I left a suit here!?” She didn’t want to think about having to make a trip to her apartment right now, considering the situation.

“I picked it up from Usopp last week with the repairs he’d made to it, it’s in the safe, 0307.” He rushed out, going into his room to change into his suit. “You’re clima-tact’s in there too.”

If they weren’t against the clock, she’d probably tease him for using her birthday as the combination but secretly she was touched.

A few minutes later, she left his office, clipping on her belt and was surprised to see Stealth Black already at the door. “And here I thought I was quick; how do you do that?” It was sweet he hadn’t rushed her.

He followed her to the window, checking for anyone around. “Trade secret. When we have some time, maybe I’ll show you.”

She pouted but held on when his arm came to wrap around her waist. Not moments later and they were soaring through the city.

They landed with a bang on a police car outside the bank. Black Cat sniggered when a few officers almost jumped out of their skin, but they all turned their head around to look at the new additions. She could see Zoro and Luffy off to the side, she tried not to look directly at them but almost laughed when she saw Zoro smack Luffy’s hand down when he tried to wave to her.

“What’s the situation?” Stealth Black asked an officer in front of them, diving straight into the matter.

“What’s she doing here?” The officer sneered back, jabbing an accusing finger at her.

Stealth Black started to rile, and she knew that would lead nowhere helpful. She put a hand to his chest and looked towards a different officer. “Well? We’re against the clock here.”

He looked hesitant but answered her. “A lot has happened in your absence. One of the guys you handed in last week was chatty and told us there’s a new leader in Arlong’s place. His name’s Hody Jones. We stopped a van that we’d been warned about and he was in there too. A shoot out started, and they ran into the bank. They’re been in there for 30 minutes; we’re waiting for the negotiation team.”

Black Cat could kick herself. They’d been off relaxing for a week and there was a huge lead that had now led to a dangerous hostage situation. “Do you know how dangerous Hody is?” She’d only heard of him, when Arlong was about he was a small fry, not even worth mentioning. This development was surprising, but if he’s taken any drugs, it might be a different matter.

“As far as we know, not very. Not smart though, to be moving around in the open.” The officer replied back.

“Anyone dead?” Stealth Black asked.

The officer shook his head. “Not yet, or that we know of. We suspect some are probably injured.”

Black Cat was thinking whilst they spoke, trying to strategize how to resolve this with minimum damage. “At least they’re not organized, probably trying to think about what they’re going to do now. We could probably use this to our advantage.” She looked at Stealth Black.

He nodded back at her, now thinking about how to move forward. “Have you got floor plans of the bank yet or know the layout well?”

The snotty officer from the start spoke up. “And have a thief go into an unguarded bank?”

He was ignored.

Another officer stepped forward, nodding and giving them the layout of the bank, drawing rough illustrations in her notebook.

“Stealth, we can use the door on the roof to get in. They’re not prepared, they may not even know it’s there. They’re probably not even expecting us.”

He nodded. “Do we know how many there are?” Asking the officers in front of him.

“There’s probably 6 or 7. Definitely under 10.”

“Okay, leave it to us then. We’ll get hostages out alive.” Black Cat said, her arm wrapping around Stealth Black as he got ready to launch them to the roof of the bank.

Another voice interrupted them before they could. “Why are we relying on a criminal?” The snotty officer again.

Okay, he was getting on her nerves now.

Before either of them could say anything, Zoro was storming over to grab him by the front of his shirt. “Quit your whining. They’re about to go in there and take direct fire, do you want to do that? Are you bullet proof?” He pushed to officer away and turned towards the pair. “We’ll back you up where we can. Take this and keep in communication.” He said, handing them a walkie talkie.

Black Cat clipped it into her belt and smiled at him. A few officers wishing them good luck as they took off. Seemed a few of them were coming around, at least.

Landing on the roof, Black Cat was prepared to move away when Stealth Black tightened his grip on her, his hand moving from her waist down to rub along her rear.

“Did you really just cop a feel?” She asked in incredulously, as he let her go.

“Perks of the job.” He leered down at her, acting like it should be common knowledge.

It was amusing how even in such a tense situation; he was ready to try and lighten the mood. With that reasoning in mind, she let him get away with it.

Bending over the roof, she tentatively looked through the glass skylight to the second floor.

Behind her, Stealth cocked his head looking over the form in front of him, and murmured to himself, “Definitely a perk.”

“I heard that. You’ve had your look, pay attention now.”

He joined her looking through the skylight, they were silent for a second as they observed. “I know you’re blaming yourself. I could see it on your face. We have to live as well.”

“It’s just that-”

“I know, believe me. But we’re only human, we have to rely on the police sometimes.”

She knew he was right. Even she knew it deep down. They were only two people.

Shaking any other thoughts, they both discussed their next move; pointing out rooms on the second floor they’d need to clear and the staircase they could see leading to the first floor. They both agreed invisibility would be key for this, whilst they were still undetected. As soon as hostages were involved, they’d go visible to take the attention.

“We need to speak to Usopp and Franky about bullet proofing you’re suit.” Stealth Black said, his eyes skimming her suit in concern.

“I’m pretty quick on my feet,” she joked but he didn’t look convinced when she looked at him. “But really, don’t worry. We’ve done worse.”

Stealth Black took the lead, after Black Cat had picked the lock on the roof door leading to the second floor. They were slowly sweeping through the second floor, using the heat tracking in their glasses to see if there was anyone in the rooms. Just as they thought, unorganized, everyone was on the first floor.

They were reminded to not be overconfident when they heard footsteps coming closer behind them. They just managed to dodge out of the way, pressing tightly against the corridor walls as one of the hostage-takers walked past them.

Clearly, they were starting to get their bearings if they’d sent someone to sweep the building. However, this was a great chance for them to pick off one of them.

Black Cat extended her clima-tact, electrocuting the man upon contact and Stealth Black was there to catch him before he hit the ground and alerted the others. They tied and gagged him, leaving him in one of the rooms.

Moving down the staircase at the side, they were met with an empty front room. There was clearly panic when the hostage-takers had moved in, chairs thrown, plants tipped over and, by the looks of it, guns fired. Hopefully they were just warning shots. Like they’d suspected, hostages were taken behind the cashier desks, into the large space behind. The officer outside had been correct, with the guy upstairs, there was only seven in total. Black Cat recognised one of them to be Hody Jones and pointed this out to Stealth Black.

“We need a distraction.” Black Cat whispered to Stealth Black. “Draw them apart.”

“Good call, it’d be safer like that.” He pondered. “For once I actually want one of Luffy and Usopp’s toys.”

“Stealth! You genius.” She was turning him around, rummaging through the compartments of his belt. “Luffy is always playing with your belt when he’s around, he must have crammed something in here… and here it is.” Triumphantly, she held up a small wind-up toy Usopp had made of, funnily enough, Stealth Black himself.

“For once, I’m thankful for his snooping about. I’ll go set it off, deal with them and come back.”

“I should come with you for backup.”

“One of us needs to stay here, in case they catch on. We can’t have them shooting hostages.”

“Okay, that makes sense. I’ll move closer in case.” She only wished she could see their faces when the hostage-takers found that small toy and then found the real version.

Moments later and everyone was freezing as a sound erupted from the second floor. The hostage-takers all looking at each other.

“What the fuck was that?!”

“Shit, is someone else in here? Another questioned. “Where is Tom, by the way?”

“Maybe it’s him? He is doing a parameter?”

“And he’s been at least 10 minutes, the building isn’t that big… you don’t think- y’know…”

“Nah, can’t be. They haven’t been active all week.”

“They have to come back some time.”

“Right, I’ll go check, you two come with me. Everyone be on guard until we’re sure what it is.”

Hm, so they were clever and somewhat organised. Wouldn’t matter though, Black Cat thought to herself, moving along the length of the cashier desks to manoeuvre behind the hostage-takers and hopefully get the attention of a hostage. When half of them ran up the stairs to the second floor, she became visible and peered around the corner, successfully making eye contact with a hostage. She signalled to move to the other side of the room, but they made the mistake of nodding.

“What the fuck are you nodding at?” One of the hostage-takers asked hotly, already paranoid and looked in that direction but found nothing. He started to walk over; gun raised.

He was just at the counter when there were thumps coming from upstairs, thumps that sounded like bodies being thrown around. She pinched the bridge of her nose but flicked her clima-tact and watched as fog started to erupt from it.

“Oh shit. Oh shit. They’re fucking here.” One of them screamed, panicked. “Grab one of the hostages.”

“Move to the back of the room, now.” Black Cat yelled and she vaulted over the cashier desk, clima-tact spinning between her fingers to deflect bullets as they started to fire at her.

The hostages scrambled to the far end of the room.

And chaos erupted.

Black Cat couldn’t get an opening to properly take any of them down. There was only three of them, but they were either trying to hit her or grab a hostage, so they could bargain their escape. She was having to play offence and defence.

A game she couldn’t keep up with when one of them finally clocked her across the cheek and whilst she was stunned, they managed to trip her. The next moment she found a gun in her face.

“You’ll make a nice hostage. Now, where’s Stealth Black?”

“I’m offended, I’m not enough?” Black Cat said, in faux hurt, pouting at the man in front of her. “That’s quite rude.” She kicked her leg up, knocking the gun out of his hand and as the man in front of her dived to try reclaiming the gun, he was stopped by an invisible wall.

Slowly the invisibility faded, and Stealth Black was revealed.

Fuming, Stealth Black shoved the man back and kicked him sharply, sending him into the wall across the room. Turning around, Stealth Black looked to where Black Cat was, but she was gone, already dealing with the two men left before they did anything to the hostages.

“Black Cat, get the hostages out; I’ll deal with them.” He called to her and she nodded, falling back to the hostages.

Running over to them, their faces turned from fear to sheer relief as the situation was becoming less dangerous. “Can everyone walk okay?” Black Cat’s eyes scanning across them, looking for any injuries. They all nodded. “Good, everyone up and let’s go.”

Although the coast was clear, it didn’t hurt to be cautious considering she didn’t know whether Stealth had time to bound everyone upstairs. A normal person wouldn’t get up from a kick of his, but she liked to be sure. At the door, she was ushering out people, reminding them to be quick when they kept stopping, trying to thank her.

She went still as a voice behind her spoke. “You’ve fucked everything up. First with Arlong, then tipping off the police about our vans and now this.” He spat. “Your dead body will be payment enough.”

A gun clicked behind her and the remaining people left inside the building was scrambling away, screaming.

Across the room, Stealth Black stilled at the voice. Finishing off the guy in front of him he turned and felt dread fill his stomach. Black Cat was now on her knees, arms up, with a gun behind her head. And the guy behind her was someone he had finished off upstairs, one of the tougher ones he had a problem with.

Hody Jones.

He knew he should have bound them, but he wanted to get back to her. He could kick himself.

He was about to take off across the room when someone caught his eye behind Hody. Looking back at him was a familiar set of amber eyes, mischief dancing across them. He let out a sigh of relief and instead started to run towards the hostages left.

When the gunshot went off, Black Cat’s image faded away and Stealth Black had huddled the remaining hostages in front of him, using his cape to deflect any other gunshots.

Hody was confused as the woman in front of him faded away but didn’t have a moment to respond as Black Cat jumped behind him, her arms hooking around his shoulders and throwing her legs around to use the momentum to knock him to the floor. She kicked the gun away. Hody was quick to recover, his hand grabbing her ankle to take her to the floor to join him. He was over her in the next instant and she managed to block his fist aiming for her face just in time. Although she blocked it, he hit hard, her arms dully throbbing, and she was starting to wonder if he’d taken the drugs.

Hody didn’t get the chance to attempt to hit her again as a foot hooked into his side, kicking him off Black Cat.

“Are you okay?” Stealth Black asked, his hand extended to her to take but his eyes remained on Hody Jones. He wouldn’t take any risks right now.

She accepted the hand, standing next to him. “I think he’s taken the drug.”

He nodded. “I think so too. He’s the only one from upstairs to get back up.”

Hody started to hack as he got up and blindly ran at them. It appeared he wasn’t as skilled as Arlong and the drug wasn’t nearly as effective. He swung for Stealth Black, but he flipped back, leaving an opening for Black Cat to hit Hody with her clima-tact.

Their time working together had paid off, they fought off Hody in sync. One of them would create an opening for the other to land a hit and vice versa. Hody managed to throw them off a few times but it was quickly over when Stealth Black delivered a powerful kick into Hody’s chest, sending him flying over to the lightning strike Black Cat had set up.

“You should walk out with him, it’ll help.” Stealth Black said, both of them stand over Hody Jone’s battered and blackened body.

“You’re overthinking this.”

Clapping and cheering filled the air as they exited through doors of the bank onto the street, Hody in handcuffs in between Black Cat and Stealth Black. Police moved past them into the bank, to round up the others left inside and take them into custody.

She wasn’t sure how to react. Considering the bad press and hostility she was usually met with; this was a breath of fresh air. A group of children with black cat ears came running up to her, screaming her name and asking her to sign pictures or have photos with her. She must have looked shocked because Stealth put his hand on her back to gently push her towards them and nodded, trying to reassure her.

Bending down, she cooed and awed at their costumes whilst photos were being taken by the press all around her, trying to ask her questions. It was a bit uncomfortable but as the children chattered at her, it was easy enough to ignore. She looked around and Stealth Black was with the police, handing over Hody Jones and most likely debriefing them.

A loud ruckus caused her to divert her attention and she had to supress a shudder at the sight. She’d met this… fan, before. He was… passionate… to say the least, and that was being kind. Whilst she appreciated the backing, in all honesty, he gave her the creeps. With all these camera’s around, she’d have to be polite.

“Black Cat, Black Cat! Do you remember me?” He called, pushing past people to get to her.

“Ah… uh, yes. Zap, right?”

“Yes!” He screeched. “Well actually, it’s Zappa, but you’re so close! You really remember me!”

“How could I forget.” She deadpanned.

“Would you sign this? It’s new, I look at it day and night.” She would never understand how he managed to get such good photos of just her, she was normally with Stealth Black. Maybe he was good at photoshop. She dreaded to think what he actually did with these photos. “You’re a vision of beauty today, is that a new suit too?” He asked, leaning closer and closer, she actually had to tilt backwards to give herself some space.

A familiar hand wrapped itself around her waist, pulling her away and into a warm body. She let out a sigh of relief, knowing she was being bailed out. She didn’t miss the way Zappa’s face became agitated with the new presence, but then she imagined Stealth Black didn’t look much different. A glance up confirmed that. The two men glaring at each other and silently arguing.

“Oh, Zip, right?” Stealth Black said smugly, like he did when he taunts Zoro.

“It’s Zappa, actually! Or Zap, but that nickname is just for Black Cat to use isn’t it cute? She just gave it to me.”

Steam was virtually coming out of Stealth Black’s ears at this point, he always did get awfully jealous. She had no idea why, but he usually handled it fairly well. The tension between the two men was only getting thicker and thicker by the minute. She figured she might as well help out Stealth a bit, and maybe get Zappa off her back. With Stealth’s hand around her, she curled further into him, one arm coming up behind his back to rest on his shoulder and the other resting on his chest to get his attention.

Innocently, she asked, “What is it that you wanted by the way?” If Zappa looked agitated before, he looked downright foul now. Stealth, on the other hand, now looked like he was about to turn into a pile of goo.

He cleared his throat, trying to compose himself. “The press wanted to ask some questions, so I came to get you.”

Stealth Black led her away towards where the press was waiting, holding her hand. “You’re going to out us you know.”

He ignored that comment. “I hate that guy.”

“No, really? You hide it so well.”

He barked out a laugh. “I can’t help it, he’s just so overly familiar with you.”

“He definitely eggs you on too.” She leaned in closer to whisper to him, “But remember who gets to take me home.”

They came to a standstill as he stopped walking and gaped at her. She tugged him forward by their joined hands. “Come on, we don’t have time for that now. Can’t have the press saying I’m tardy too.”

They’d answered a few questions before handing over to the police to finish up. Both of them starting to fatigue, after dealing with criminals, zealous fans and then them. They’d nodded at Zoro and Luffy as they went past, giving a final wave to whoever was still around to see them before Stealth Black launched them skyward bound.

She’d never quite get used to that, she thought when they made it into the apartment, her hair no doubt a bird’s nest on her head. It must have been because Sanji came up to her and tried to smooth it down. She didn’t know whether he was doing a good job or not, but it was so relaxing having someone play with her hair. Her hands came up to rest on his chest but frowned when she felt something damp.

Looking at her hands, they were a brownish colour. “Sanji… are you bleeding?”

She felt him cringe and his hands left her hair. “I might be a little, but really, it’s just a graze.”

“We stayed that whole time afterwards and you’re bleeding?! Bathroom, now.”

She didn’t give him a chance to respond, his shoulders slumped as he followed behind her.

“Sit and take your shirt off.”

“You should take yours off,” he said, voice muffled as he pulled his shirt over his head and sat on the toilet lid.

“Maybe you can do that for me later.” Any previous anger dissolving as she took a look at wound. It really was just a graze.

Nami went to the cupboard over the sink and to grab the disinfectant and bandages. Normal people probably have skincare and other toiletries in their cupboards, but he had medical supplies in bulk, she should probably tell him Chopper would give him a good discount.

Walking back to him, he opened his legs for her to stand between and his hands came to settle heavily on her hips, pulling her in to stand as close as possible. There was a hazy look in his eyes. Knowing him he was now imagining her topless after her comment back to him. She rolled her eyes; he’s bleeding and that’s what he’s doing. He’d need that blood if that’s what he’s got in mind.

She set about disinfecting it and wrapping it. His breath was heavy against her collarbones and his gaze penetrating, it was taking everything she had to focus.

“How did this happen?” She asked as she worked, trying to distract herself.

“It was upstairs, I wasn’t quite quick enough when one of them starting shooting.”

“And you were worried about my suit being bulletproof.” She smirked down at him, she could joke about it now that she knew it wasn’t anything serious.

“The irony isn’t lost on me, m’love.” He squeezed her hips in retaliation but still looked just as amused as her.

She finished wrapping, bending down to kiss just above the bandages. “All done.”

“I’ve never had a personal nurse before.” Sanji stood back up to full height, leaning over Nami, his gaze intense.

“I’m not surprised, we are expensive.” She winked at him. “I’ll add this to your bill.”

“Worth every penny.” And his lips were diving in to capturing hers in a searing kiss; he couldn’t resist her anymore.

She didn’t waste any time in roaming her hands across his bare chest, the last time she’d had him topless was all those months ago when she’d stayed the night as Black Cat. His hands were pawing at her hips and he was slowly walking her backwards, only pulling away to breath before diving back in. She gasped when her back made contact with the tiles of his bathroom wall and he used the opportunity to sweep his tongue into her mouth. Her hands moved from his chest to around his back to press him closer, if that were even possible at this moment.

Sanji’s hands moved from her hips, one of them running from her behind, down her thigh to bring it against his hip. He repeated this and she jumped to make it easier, locking her legs around his waist. If she thought they were close before, they were even closer now as Nami could feel Sanji rubbing up against her through his trousers. They both moaned when she rolled her hips.

He panted into her neck and started placing kisses there, whilst her hands threaded through his hair. She was going to kill him if she kept wiggling her hips like that.

Her hands were pulling his face away from her neck. “Are we really doing this?” She panted out.

He took a second to organise his thoughts, willing his scrambled brain to piece together what she was asking. Nodding once he finally had, “Well, if you want to of course, I don’t-”

She interrupted him by pulling him into another long kiss that left his legs a bit weak. “We’re going to need a bed then.”

That’s all it took, and he was kissing her fiercely, whilst he moved them both through the apartment towards his bedroom. She was giggling along the way when he stumbled in his haste.

When he laid her down on the bed and hovered over her, he became nervous.

Sensing this, Nami’s hands ran along his arms, careful of the bandage, to rest on either side of his face and bring his ear near her lips. “You said something about taking my top off?”

All moisture had left his mouth and he almost wheezed. Off of the top of his head, that was probably the most erotic thing she’d ever said. Good god, this woman.

She kissed him again to distract him and his hands ran slowly along her sides, squeezing the side of her breast before finding their way to the zip. He slowly dragged it down and as more of her creamy skin became visible, he was painfully becoming aware of something else. “Are you not wearing a bra?”

Shaking her head, she attempted to look up at him innocently, even batting her lashes at him. “I never do.”

“Never?” He wheezed out. This was it. He was going to die. Happily.

She laughed and shook her head. He was such a lovable idiot and as hilarious as his reaction was, this was moving too slowly for her. She bucked her hips up and that seemed to bring him out of his daze.

Sanji’s hands resumed their previous job. He kissed down her neck, to her collarbone and, when he was done with the zip, he kissed the top of her breasts. He pulled the leather away from one of her breasts and teasingly avoided her nipple, kissing and licking around until Nami whined above him. Only then he took her nipple in his mouth and flicked it with his tongue, he was rewarded with the loveliest of moans from her. His other hand rubbing and squeezing the other neglected breast.

The way she was saying his name was heaven and ever since he’d started playing with her breasts, she’d started rubbing against his thigh. Just from that he could feel how warm she was, he could only imagine how wet she was.

“Sanji- mmm- more.”

As if he could ever deny her that. “I think it’s time to get rid of this.” His hands pulled at her leather suit. First, he unclipped her belt, throwing it to the floor.

The hard part was the suit. How on earth did she get this on so quickly? Whatever mood they’d created was quickly diminishing as he struggled. He’d just managed to get it off her upper body and that was hard enough, it didn’t help that he’d stopped to ogle her now free breasts. She’d nudged him to continue when she’d realised.

Boots were unzipped and joined her belt on the floor. It was the rest of her catsuit. Now he was trying to pull it from her legs, and he couldn’t blame the suit for wanting to stay, she had lovely legs, but he wanted to see them unclothed.

Nami didn’t help either, she was now laying down giggling at the sight. “Sorry- it’s- just, your face! And, well, this is so funny.” She managed to get out before fully laughing. This hadn’t crossed her mind when he’d suggested taking off her suit, but it was lovely that they could laugh whilst in the heat of the moment.

Sanji joined her, laughing at this ridiculous situation. She was propped on her elbows, cheeks red from laughing and half dressed, the leather of her suit stuck around her thighs. He imagined he didn’t look much better with one glove still on, no top and ruffled trousers. He couldn’t be any happier in this moment.

“How do you get into this thing?”

Once she’d stopped laughing, she responded. “Lots of practice. You’re more than welcome to help in the future.”

“I’ll help you get out of it.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal. Right, I’ll do this, you get out of your trousers.”

He was supposed to be taking off his trousers, but he couldn’t pull his eyes away from her. More skin being revealed by the second. His eyes bulged when she took off her thong and shot it at him to get him moving. Trousers and briefs were off in record time after that.

Nami crooked her finger at him and slowly opened her legs for him, inviting him in. As desperate as he was to join her again, he had to take a moment to take all of her in. His eyes scanned up her body, lingering along the way to finish at her face where she was giving him a smouldering look and biting her lip. Okay. This had to be the most erotic thing she’d ever done.

He had to remind himself not to pass out.

Resisting the urge to dive back in, he took his time working his way up her body. Kissing up her thighs and teasingly lingering before moving on to leaving open mouthed kisses on her hip bones and listening to her breath in sharply. He ghosted his lips along her stomach, and she whined at the lack of pressure, arching her back but he didn’t give in, continuing to follow the path between her breasts up to her ear.

“You make the sexiest noises,” he whispered into her ear, placing a kiss just underneath and she shuddered in pleasure. “I’m going to make sure I get every moan from you.”

She kissed him firmly, eager for him to follow through and her hands began roaming down his back, greedily taking in his muscles.

Sanji’s hands slowly moved back down her body, retracing his previous path, caressing and making her gasp until his hand arrived at the intended destination. His fingers played with her lips before running along her slit. He groaned when he felt how wet she was.

Being a professional chef was really paying off for Nami, she knew he had talented hands from watching him cook but he was demonstrating that right now as he stroked her. They’d stopped kissing, their faces still close as their breaths mingled with each other. Sanji was focusing on bringing her all the pleasure he could and Nami didn’t know what to do with herself, moans tumbling out of her mouth.

Continuing to stroke her, Sanji moved down, kissing a path past her breasts, down her stomach until he was reunited with his fingers. He looked up and Nami was looking down at him biting her lips with hazy amber eyes. He smirked up at her before his tongue made contact with her.

She threw her head back when his tongue played with her nub and she moved her hips in rhythm with him, when his fingers entered her. She could feel heat starting to build in her stomach as his pace picked up and as good as this was and he was, she wanted something else right now.

Pushing back on his shoulder he looked up at her worriedly, “Is something wrong?”

“No, no but, can we- you know-” how old was she? Why couldn’t she just spit out the words. She took a breath in to compose herself. “I want you in me.”

Sanji stilled and even his imagination was nothing compared to her actually saying it to him in real life. He climbed back up her body and gave her a brief kiss before leaning over to his dresser to pull out a condom.

With shaky hands he tore it open and Nami’s hands joined him, smoothing over his hands to stop the shaking. She was smiling up at him, so sweetly that he couldn’t stop the smile crossing his face. He reminded himself in that moment that he knew her, they’d been through so much and this would be another thing they shared together.

He breathed out, relaxed at that thought. With the condom now on, he rested on his elbows over her. “You’re sure?”

She nodded back at him. “Are you?”

He mirrored her previous response. “If you want to stop at any time, just say.”

“You too.” Her hands cupped his cheeks and brought him into their softest kiss so far.

He lined himself up and slowly entered her, eyes scanning her face to make sure she was okay. It was a difficult task though, she tasted great but felt even better and he was trying to control himself from just pushing all the way in. He scattered kisses along her face and was graced with her giggling.

Fully settled in, he waited for her to make the next move. She gripped his shoulders and wiggled her hips, drawing a gasp from the both of them. He gave a tentative thrust and was rewarded with a moan, her legs wrapping around his waist to keep him locked in place.

The temperature in the room spiked and Sanji felt like he was going to melt. He was panting into her neck, she felt incredible. So wet and hot. Each thrust rewarded him with a wanton moan from Nami. Her cheeks were flushed, and hair splayed out on the pillows, her hands had moved from his shoulders to run up and down his back.

He pulled away from her neck to look at her face and he wanted to commit it to memory, the pleasure on her face was almost enough to push him over the edge. His pace started to pick up and he could feel himself almost at his end, but he was intent to get her there first. One of his hands moved to stroke down her leg, catching it behind the knee to lift it onto his shoulder and the reaction was instant.

She started to chant his name and her fingers digging into his back trying to anchor herself to something. The small shift had caused him to hit the right spot inside her and she couldn’t get enough of it. She could feel her stomach starting to coil and heat building, what tipped her over was when Sanji started to whisper into her ear about coming and how she felt. She should feel embarrassed but, in that moment, it was exactly what she needed.

Feeling her clench and pulse around him, her cries as she came, was all too much for him and he found himself quickly following after her. His hips bucking to prolong her ecstasy and for him to come.

It was a few moments later when he finally came too, realising he was probably crushing her and leaned back onto shaky forearms so he could look down at her. Her eyes were cracked open, still coming down from her high and he mentally congratulated himself at the blissed look on her face.

“Are you okay?” His forearms and back were begging him to lay down, but he wanted to check on her first.

She didn’t respond, just nodded and gave him a satisfied smile. That was all he needed to see as he laid down next to her, gathering her up to pull against his bare chest. It didn’t take long for her fingers to start dancing across his chest.

He could kick himself for waiting so long to take this step with her. There were very good reasons not to at first. He really did want to know her, and he did have cracked ribs but after that, he’d built it up so much he wasn’t quite sure how to get down from his unreachable expectations. But she was right, they were a team, and this had been better than he’d imagined.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt her shift in his arms, she rolled onto her front propping her chin on her hands over his chest. “Sanji, that was…” Lost for words on how to describe it.

“Amazing, fantastic, annoying that I’d held back for so long when we could have been doing this so much sooner?” His hands now played with the hair falling down her back.

“You forgot to add mind-blowing but that all sounds agreeable too.” And it was true. For all his hesitating, he’d more than made up for it and the longer she laid there, the more she wanted a second round.

“I’ll add it to the list.” Leaning down to press a kiss against her forehead and her eyelids fluttered closed. “You have your first day tomorrow, it’s still early, I can make dinner and I want to put some ice on your cheek.”

It’s wasn’t too sore, but she knew he was right, it wouldn’t be a great first impression to show up with a swollen cheek. She had other things in mind right now though. “Dinner sounds great, but,” she propped herself up and ran one hand teasingly down his chest, watching as goose bumps erupted on his skin, “you gave me such thorough attention earlier and right now, I want to repay the favour.” His eyes widened when her hands reached their intended destination and cupped him.

He recovered quickly. She felt him twitch in her hand and he pounced.

It was a while until they actually made it out of his bedroom but the lure of food and quickly diminishing time hurried them along.

After eating, they were both washing up, even though Sanji had tried to keep her away with the lure of wine and relaxing but she honestly didn’t mind helping. He washed anyway, she just dried.

He was draining the water from the bowel as she was drying the last plate, walking over to put it in the cupboard overhead. It wasn’t a moment later that he was pressing up against her from behind, his hands resting just below her breasts.

Something about her in a domestic setting just did it for him, especially the kitchen. He’d definitely need to take her in here at some point. He turned her around and pressed her up against the counter, lips hurriedly finding hers. It wasn’t long until she was hoping up on the counter and he quickly filled the space between her legs. Sanji’s lips moved from her lips to leave a scorching path down to her neck.

Nami was aware of where this was heading, and that time was getting on. “I’m going to need to sleep at my place tonight, my work stuff is all there for the morning.”

He nodded but didn’t let up from peppering kisses down her neck or caressing her breasts.

“You know- mmm-” letting out a moan when he paid attention to the sensitive area behind her ear. She lost herself for a second, her hands eagerly running through his hair to press him closer. She regained her thoughts when she felt him pressing against her, “- Robin’s not home toni, ah, tonight, maybe you can stay at mine?”

That got his attention. “Do you mind if I bring some clothes so I can go straight to work from yours?”

“Not at all, grab a bag and we can go. Then we can break in my bed.”

He left her with a kiss and took off across his apartment in haste.

Considering their previous evening, it still wasn’t enough for Sanji and in the morning Nami found herself having to bat his hands away when she tried to get up to get ready in the morning. He was definitely making up for lost time or he had a big sexual appetite. The second explanation wouldn’t be a bad thing. But one of them had to be responsible, otherwise they’d never make it out of the apartment.

Getting ready together was easier than she’d expected. She’d allowed him to shower with her, but only if he agreed to behave himself and he did, mostly. Soon enough they were both at the front door, gathering the last few pieces they both needed and Sanji was packing the lunch into her bag he’d made her.

Locking the front door, they walked out to the street and stopped to say their goodbyes, both heading in the opposite direction.

Sanji reached out to hold her hand. “Have a good day and maybe if you’re free I can see you after work?” He wanted to know all about her first day and, if she could come, he wanted to discuss something fairly big with her.

“I should be done by five, when do you finish?”

“I finished at five today too, we’ll see who makes it back to my place first.” He challenged, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

“You know I can run in heels.” She reminded him, all too happy to give into the childish competition.

Shortly after they were saying their goodbyes, wishing each other a good day and parting with a kiss far too brief for Sanji’s liking.

Whatever nerves she’d had that morning had vanished when she’d met everybody in the team. They’d been so friendly and welcoming. They were just wrapping up a project, so she shadowed one of her colleagues in the morning and in the afternoon, they briefed her on their next project they’d be starting soon. To track the weather was a dream come true. And to think she got paid for this.

Now she was on her way to Sanji’s apartment and replying to a few texts from her friends she’d received throughout the day. They knew it was her first day and had been asking questions and wishing her luck. She was getting out the lift and walking towards Sanji’s door when she sent her last text to Robin. Considering she lived with the woman, she’d barely seen her, both of them involved with other people had taken up their time. Nami would have to arrange a girl’s night for them.

The door opened before she could knock. He’d beaten her home but not by much from the looks of it, suit jacket and tie still in place.

Eagerly he pulled her through the door and wrapped her up in a hug, welcoming her back. “Well?”

“It was great! Everybody was so nice, and the next project looks so interesting.”

They’d pulled apart and Sanji was leading her towards his living room to sit on the sofa. “I’m so pleased for you. Do you want anything to eat or drink?”

Ever the gentleman. But she nodded, asking for a tea and orange that her sister had given to her before leaving. Actually, she didn’t have many of them left. Nami wondered how much it would cost for her sister to ship them to her. Nothing beat the oranges from her grove.

Sanji came back with her tea in hand and orange, a newspaper tucked under his arm. He put them down onto the coffee table, moving around to sit next to her and slowly unfold the paper. “This might just add to your good mood, it certainly did mine.”

She looked on inquisitively as she was handed the newspaper.

Commissioner of Police officially drops investigation into Black Cat after successful hostage situation downtown.

Nami gaped down at the newspaper, barely believing the words staring back at her. She’d never expected this day to come. Her eyes continued scanning below the title.

This news follows after Arlong’s protégé, Hody Jones, was arrested by the superhero duo just yesterday. Black Cat has previously worked with Stealth Black to take down the illusive Arlong Gang, who were running criminal activity and producing body altering drugs.

She could feel tears starting to swim in her eyes but what finished her was the next sentence.

Multiple sources confirm that it was actually Black Cat who pursued Arlong, working undercover, and Stealth Black merely aided.

Sanji’s arm wrapped around her shoulders and he pressed a kiss into her temple, overjoyed for her. She was stuck between wanting to cry and sheer happiness. To not be affiliated with Arlong was a weight off of her shoulders, to not be linked with that vile man.

For people to know the truth.

“This really does add to my day.” They both leaned back on the sofa, basking in the news and Nami used the opportunity to start peeling her orange.

“You’re getting low on those.” He said softly, not wanted to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere that had settled over them.

It was sweet he’d noticed. “I was just thinking that myself. Between here and my apartment, I think I maybe have three left?” She’d made a point of spreading out her oranges when she’d gotten the chance, she spent so much time in between the two places.

Sanji stood, walking over to the door that lead to his outdoor balcony. “I had a thought earlier, and you definitely know more on this topic than me, but I was thinking you should use one of them to grow an orange tree.” He gestured to outside. “There’s more than enough space for it to grow out here and in the winter, we can just move it inside, just outside the balcony. I’ve been doing some research…”

She watched him as he continued to talk about growing an orange tree and explaining what he’d learned. Whilst it was a wonderful idea and she’d happily talk about this all day; the feeling was back. Just like it had been when he came to Bell-mère’s grave.

It came over her so quickly. For him to take the time and research this just to make her happy. All it took was a tree to push her over the edge.

“I love you.”

Whatever he’d been saying was cut short at her interruption. Did he just hear that right? That look on her face was back again. She’d directed that look at him a few times, but he could never figure it out.

It was so open and warm. And now it made sense, the final piece revealing itself.

It was love.

He didn’t bother to finish what he was saying. He strode over to her, leaning over her to cup her face and kiss her full on the lips, trying to pour all of his feelings into it. “I love you too. I think I’ve loved you ever since I first set eyes on you.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s just the leather suit talking.”

“Have you seen yourself in that suit? But I’m pretty sure I knew for certain the moment you swooped in and saved that boy.”

“I was having a good hair day, so I don’t blame you.” She teased, purposefully ignoring what he actually meant.

His hands came down to lightly tickle her sides in retaliation as he settled over whilst she squirmed underneath him. She screeched when he hit a particularly sensitive spot and as Sanji looked down at her, her eyes watering and crinkling from his ministrations, he couldn’t be any more in love with her.

It was true that he’d known for a while, but he never wanted to say it first. He’d wanted her to come to terms with it and have the freedom to say it whenever she wanted. Before Nami, he’d always been unlucky with love. Whatever relationship he had never lasted with his alter ego, he’d learnt the hard way that balance would always be an issue. But she made it so easy, almost like breathing. To have someone to share all of this with.

He could say with confidence that she was the love of his life.

He let up when her hands started to smack at his and she was breathing heavily. He laid down, moving her so she was resting on his chest and catching her breath, whilst one of his hands played with the exposed skin on her side.

The late afternoon light filtered through the room and Sanji had never been more content. He wanted this all the time.

Maybe now was the time to broach this.

“This is nice.”

Nami hummed back at him in agreement, her eyes closed. She almost looked like a cat stretched out, basking in the warmth, and the irony wasn’t lost on Sanji.

“I’ve also been thinking about something else, for a while now, and maybe I’m moving too fast- and this is completely your decision, I won’t be offended if you want to wait or-”

“Just say it.” Her chin now resting on his chest to look at him, aware that he wanted to discuss something. He was so considerate of her feelings, but he had a tendency to work himself up because of it.

“Move in with me.” He blurted out.

Her eyes widened, not expected that at all and when she went to speak, Sanji smoothly cut in.

“It doesn’t have to be right away, there’d be a lot to sort out. Like Robin, we can give her the time to find a new place or roommate- but I have a bigger place and it’s the same distance to work-”

She cut him off with a firm kiss. He was starting to ramble and as adorable as it was, she wanted to enjoy this moment with him. He followed after her when she pulled away, trying to prolong the kiss.

“I’d love to.”

Love is in the air! Hearts are broken around the city as the newly formed superhero duo Black Cat and Stealth Black are confirmed to be a couple.

Black Cat snorted as she read the magazine headline. Stealth had finally snapped when her fans had almost doubled after her investigation was dropped and she was announced as a superhero. They’d been waiting for her after their most recent gang takedown with all new photo’s, eager for her to sign with Zappa was right at the front. All rumours were put to rest when he’d kissed her square on the mouth, the camera’s flashing to get their front-page shot.

The rest of the crowd had gone crazy.

What still tripped her though was the superhero part. It’d jarred her a couple of times when newspapers used it and people, whether police or fans, used it in conjunction with her name.

She was pulled from her thoughts, when Stealth Black came up to her, wrapping his arm around her and asking if she was ready to go. The radio had just warned them about a highspeed car chase moving through the city.

As they soared through the city, the air rushing past them (no doubt tangling her hair) and wrapped around the man she was sure she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, she couldn’t help but think…

Yes, she was technically a superhero now and her life had finally found peace; but if a few jewels went missing along the way… well, old habits die hard.

--------------------------------------

And that’s a wrap folks.

I spent ages picking the perfect font to differentiate between the newspaper and magazine headlines... AO3 wouldn't let me use the magazine font, FFN and Tumblr this just chose a different font... *sigh* For anyone that's interested, I picked Lucida Calligraphy, apparently for only my enjoyment.

The idea of a prequel or sequel is definitely something I’m chewing on but not for now. I want to unwind; write some smaller things and work on other projects I have ongoing. I post updates on my profile on FFN if you ever want to check in, or just shoot me a message/ask (FFN, AO3, Tumblr, take your pick)- I’m always happy to chat!

Can you even imagine a cop comedy with Luffy and Zoro? The absolute chaos. I also enjoyed sprinkling in Luffy’s inability to keep a secret. The concept of a secret identity is lost on him.

Do you guys remember me saying I was inspired by the Sam Smith song, ‘To die for’? Do you even know how many times I almost killed Sanji/Stealth Black? My angsty fingers were begging. But I’d made Nami suffer enough and I don’t like writing anything that can’t end happily.

Thank you for waiting patiently for me to write this. Please forgive any errors; I write and eyeball this by myself, I do the best I can.

I hope everyone is well and keeping safe.

Until next time.

#sannami #sanami #sanjixnami #nami #sanji #opfanfic #onepiece #fanfic

20 notes · View notes

genogenocrazycatman · 5 years

Text

Stillwater - Chapter 1

Stillwater [Archive of Our Own, FanFiction.Net, Mibba]

Characters: Original Female Character, Monkey D. Luffy, Rorona Zoro, Vinsmoke Sanji, Nami, Usopp, Tony Tony Chopper, Nefeltari Vivi

***

"We build as only children know to build

We made a way where there's a will

No slowing down or standing still

Innocent and reckless

"How did we get so old and never notice

How did we gain the world and lose the moment

Rise and fall, the tide surrounds us

And drowns us all"

-Hands Like Houses

***

“Are you sure, kiddo? You’re still pretty banged up.”

I smiled at the inn keeper. “I’m very grateful for everything you’ve done for me. I can’t possibly take up one of your rooms for another night. After all you have guests to host. I’ll be fine. This is nothing.” I gently tapped my wrappings. “Another day or two and I’ll be good as new.”

She was skeptical. I didn’t blame her. Normal people didn’t get over broken ribs in three to four days, but I wasn’t normal. Three days after the initial breaks, my ribs were already at the half way point. The cuts had all healed before her husband found me, and the bruises had already faded from deep purple to an ugly yellow is green.

I reached into my bag and pulled out a handful of gold coins. It was way more than what was necessary, but I was truly thankful to these people. They didn’t know me, yet they had still been kind enough to take me in and tend for my wounds for a few days until I was back on my feet.

“For your trouble.”

Her eyes widened and her brows up under her bangs. “That is-“

“A fair price if I say so myself,” I cut her off. “I would never have been able to bandage all of these wounds so neatly myself.”

The woman seemed hesitant still to accept my offer. I placed the coins in her hand, curling her fingers around them. “Thank you once again.”

I let go of her hand and went for the door.

“Take care of yourself,” she said, when my fingers touched the handle. “I don’t want my husband to find you washed up on the beach again.”

“I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try my best,” I said over my shoulder, shooting her one last grin, before exiting.

The second I was out of sight, my smile fell.

I was sore, I was tired and most irritatingly I was frustrated.

I had been at the inn for days with nothing to do other than think. The only think that had been on my mind was my failure.

I had lost to that my father again, and in fairly short order. That bastard, who had hurt me, my mother and so many others, had avoided retribution for the nth time.

I had known before I’d gone after him that I would lose though. I hadn’t gone into the fight with the proper mindset, but it was hard. How the hell do you believe that you can still win, when you’ve been beaten down again and again? It was demoralizing.

I thought about everyone back home. They were all probably preparing for me to come back, listening to Cal as she barked out orders about bandages, splints and medications, all while internally preparing her lecture about how stupid this plot of mine was.

Either that or they thought I was dead, that he finally killed me. Even if they didn’t I was sure that they were going to, when I didn’t came back.

I was in the East Blue in Logue Town of all places, a long way a ways from my island in the New World. It was the first time that I could remember that I had left the Grand Line, though I shouldn’t really say left. I hadn’t chosen to leave. I had been forcefully ejected.

I had washed up on the beach outside of the inn I had just left. The owner’s husband, a fisherman had seen me there and brought me inside, where she had tended to me.

I had read about Logue Town. The Town of the Beginning and the End, the birth and death place of Gol D. Roger. It was a strange place.

I was just outside of the Grand Line. I couldn’t tell if it was an act of mercy or a cruel joke. I was so close, but so very far.

I was on my own and without a ship. Even if I had a ship, I didn’t have a crew. It would take forever for me to get back to the New World on my own. Sure I had the time, but that wasn’t how I wanted to spend it. Plus I didn’t even know if I wanted to go home. I’d be greeted by what? Pity? Disappointment? I’m sure everything was under control with Cal in charge.

I was only vaguely aware of my surroundings as I walked. As I neared the center of the town, the buildings got closer together and the streets got busier. The people bustled around, completing their daily activities.

By the time I finally pulled myself out of my pity party, I had reached the town square. Looming over the area was the execution platform.

‘So this is it?’ I thought. ‘The place, where Roger lost his life.’

I thought about the crew that had shown up on my islands randomly all those years ago.. A storm had caught them and swept them on to our shores.

The pirates that ended up on my island were strong. You had to be to make it that far down the Grand Line. Some had been good. Some had been bad. None of them had been like Roger though. He had this energy about him. If the others were stars twinkling in the night, then he was the sun burning bright.

Even though he had been dead for over twenty years and the town subdued by Marines, I could still feel his radiant energy, his warmth over the island, stronger here than anywhere else. It was as if he was here, just waiting to wreak havoc of some sort.

My gaze was torn from the platform, when a body slammed into mine, the force of the impact knocking me to the ground. My ribs protested against the new abuse. I gritted my teeth and groaned. I should have listened to the inn keeper.

“What are you doing on the ground?” he asked, staring down at me.

“You ran into me,” I responded, forcing myself up, swearing under my breath the entire time.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked, when I didn’t just spring back up.

I nodded. “Just a little beat up.”

“Did you get into a fight or something?”

“Or something.”

He nodded.

“You here to see the execution platform too?”

“Why do you want to see the execution platform?” I asked.

“Because I want to see, where the king of the pirates died.”

I didn’t respond. It was like a gravestone almost. It attracted those, who wanted to pay their respects. It attracted the average person, who simply wanted to see proof of a legend. It attracted Marines, who saw it as a monument to their greatest victory.

“One day,” the kid said, breaking the silence. “I’m going to be the king of the pirates.”

I examined the kid. He didn’t look like much. He was small, unassuming, dressed in a red shirt, cuffed shorts and sandals with a straw hat on his head, but he was special. I could tell.

“You think so?” I couldn’t help the condescending tone that slipped into my words. I had heard people declare that they were going to be the next pirate king time and time again. None of them had done it. In my opinion, none of them were worthy of the title to begin with.

“I know so.”

I nodded my head. He had conviction if nothing else.

“The Grand Line eats people alive,” I warned him. “I’ve seen it again and again.”

“You’ve been to the Grand Line?” he asked amazed.

“I live there,” I explained.

“That’s so cool! Then why are you in the East Blue?”

My mood soured as I remembered why I was here. “I had some things to take care of.”

“Are you done?” he asked.

“For now.”

“Then join my crew.”

I looked at him, shocked. “What?” That had come out of nowhere.

He grinned. “I could use someone like you. The rest of us have never been to the Grand Line.”

He didn’t even know me, yet he wanted me on his crew. ‘Unbelievable.’

“We can take you home after we find the one piece.”

“It was a way home I realized. That being said I had yet to be sold on the prospect of going home.

This kid had a lot going for him. He was wide eyes and optimistic. He was determined. No doubt existed in his mind that he would achieve his dreams. It was admirable. That wasn’t a guarantee though. I had seen others like him, and with the exception of the late Pirate King, none of them had made it.

I’d seen enough to know how this was probably going to end. The thought pained me. I was tired of seeing such promise swallowed by the seas. Plus, I still had Daddy Dearest to contend with. The last thing I wanted was to drag an innocent pirate crew into that.

“I like you,” I told him. “I don’t want to watch you end up like the others. What’s your name?”

“Monkey D. Luffy.”

“Zale Mira Kai. It was nice meeting you Luffy, but I have to go look for a place to stay for the night.”

“If you change your mind, we’ll still take you,” he called as I left, before turning to face the platform once more.

Felt strangely rejuvenated after my conversation with Luffy. Instead of thinking about what I had happened, I focused on what I was going to do. I slipped in and out a couple of shops picking up enough clothes and toiletries to get me through the next couple of days until I could really get on my feet.

I grabbed a map as well, and asked the locals some questions.

I didn’t know how long I was going to be there. Regardless at least for the time being I needed a place to stay and a job.

Once I made all my purchases, I found a place to sit eat and sort out my newfound information.

The people in the restaurant were buzzing. Apparently today had been an exciting day. There had been a duel and a cooking battle. A massive storm seemed to be forming up over the ocean and was likely to blow in soon. A pirate with a massive bounty on his head was on the island somewhere and the Marines led by Captain Smoker had been busy all day.

I was able to ignore most of it. That was until a man burst through the doors, out of breath.

“Leo, did you run here?” one of the patrons asked.

“Captain Buggy of the Buggy Pirates is about to kill that Straw Hat pirate!”

My head shot up from the paper I was reading.

‘Straw-hat?!’

“The square’s been taken over by pirates.”

I tossed some money on the table and stood up

“Where are you going?” a woman asked me.

“To see what’s going on.”

There’s no way this kid was going out, before he even made it to the Grand Line. I couldn’t believe it.

“You’ll be killed,” another protested, trying to stop me.

I rolled my eyes. “I’ll be fine.”

I pushed through the doors and on to the street.

The clouds above were thick and back occasionally lighting up with a flash of lightning. There was no rain yet, but the threat hung heavy in the air.

I reached the edge of the crowd and wiggled my way closer. I could see the platform. Luffy was up there, head and hands trapped in the pillory. I recognized the pirate standing up there with him. He had been one of Roger’s way back then.

“Since you have a big audience, do you wanna say something before you die?” Buggy asked.

Luffy said nothing. He looked annoyed more than anything.

“Well that’s okay. Whether you want to say something or not doesn’t matter because you’re gonna die.”

Luffy took a breath before bellowing “I’M THE MAN WHO’LL BE KING OF THE PIRATES!”

The crowd was shocked. Here he was about to be executed in the home of Gol D. Roger, exclaiming that he was going to take the late Pirate King’s crown.

It was a ballsy statement.

He still believed that he was going to be king of the pirates. Not even death could deter him from his ambition.

“Well then, I guess I’ll do it now, you dam rubber-“

“Stop the execution!”

All eyes turned towards the two men at the opposite end of the square. The one I had recognized, the Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro. The other, a blonde in a nice suit with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth I had never seen.

“Zoro! Sanji!” Luffy exclaimed excitedly.

“His crew?” I questioned. They had to be. No one would just throw themselves into the fray for a pirate they didn’t know.

“Shame on you,” Zoro scolded. “There’s a limit to how much you can fool around, Luffy.”

“If you’re starting a sideshow, let me join you,” the other, Sanji, said. “What we have to do for now is drive those damn pirates away.”

The onlookers, terrified at the Pirate Hunter, fled leaving only the Buggy Pirates to deal with. I was sure that the Marines were there, but they were likely biding their time. It was a smart strategy, let one crew take out the other. Then you only had one beat up group of pirates to deal with.

“So you’re here, Zoro, but you are a little too late.” Buggy raised the sword.

There was no way that they were going to get to Luffy in time, even if all they had to do was run, but there were other pirates to contend with.

“Not even Roronoa Zoro can stop me! This is the end of your captain!” Buggy laughed manically.

“Zoro! Sanji! Usopp! Nami! Sorry, I’m dead,” Luffy said. It wasn’t his words that struck me, but the large grin plastered on his face, even though death seemed certain.

My brain flashed back to that paper I had received the man on that same execution platform, a smile gracing his features.

I realized in that moment what I had felt earlier wasn’t the last remnants of Roger’s spirit. It was this kid.

I couldn’t let him burn out like all the others, but I didn’t have enough time to help him. I was too far away.

The sword came down, as did a bolt of lightning. It struck the platform, which burst into flames and collapsed, the metal supports groaning as they gave way.

At last, the rain began to fall.

Luffy’s hat floated down from the sky, landing on the ground, where the boy picked it up and placed it back on his head.

“I’m not dead after all.”

I laughed. Of course this kid wasn’t dead.

“I got lucky,” he said.

He joined up with his crewmates.

The signal must’ve been given for the Marines to make their move, because a large number of them came pouring into the square surrounding everyone who remained.

Luffy and his two crew members took off, a group of Marines following him. Of everyone, they were the biggest threat, which meant that the captain was probably in pursuit as well.

This kid was at least going to make it to the Grand Line. I was going to make sure of it.

My stupid ribs hurt like hell, which affected my speed. I took to the rooftops, so that I could avoid any unnecessary obstacles. I was slow enough as it was.

When I finally caught up my midsection was on fire. My ribs strained against the push and pull as my lungs rapidly expanded and contracted with my breathing. When I finally got eyes on Luffy, he was on the ground, a marine sitting on his back. He wore a captain’s jacket.

‘That must be Smoker.’

I couldn’t make out what was saying, but I could see him reach for the weapon on his back.

I reached out forcing the water droplets in the air to follow my silent commands, but before I could strike, a cloaked figure grabbed the hilt.

I stopped. This person was powerful and dangerous. Their presence was strong, invasive and uncomfortable. It demanded to be felt.

I couldn’t see their face. Their back was to me.

They and Smoker exchanged words.

The rain ceased, causing me to look up at the sky in confusion. An incredible gust of wind tore through Logue Town. It picked up and tossed everything, debris and people including myself.

I cursed my sorry state. If I had been fully healthy, I would’ve been able to handle this. I would’ve been capable of doing something other than being tossed around like a rag doll. Hell, even if I had had a few more hours to truly get my wits about me I would’ve been better off. But I was caught off guard, my mind wasn’t processing everything as fast as it usually would have, and I was exhausted both physically and mentally.

I tried to brace myself for impact as I flew, but there was little that could be done other than flail about. When I finally hit, it was nowhere near as bad as I had anticipated. It still wasn’t pleasant. I had managed to avoid more serious injuries.

I hissed and groaned as I sat up and realized that I landed on a person, the blonde from earlier. “Oh my goodness,” I said. “I’m so sorry,” I apologized.

He opened his eyes, which were filled with hearts. “Are you okay, beautiful?” he asked, swooning.

“Uh…”

That wasn’t the reaction I expected.

“What happened?” Luffy asked, looking about. His eyes landed on me and he grinned. “Hey, Mimi, you decided to join after all.”

“Mimi?” I questioned. “Wait I-“

“Mimi, what a gorgeous name for a gorgeous lady!” Sanji sang.

“What do you mean join us?” a guy with a really long nose asked.

“Mimi’s our newest crew member,” Luffy said.

I hadn’t actually agreed to that, but it wasn’t like I had a better plan, and I needed to make sure that he made it to the Grand Line. I couldn’t explain it, but I was drawn to Luffy. I felt a need to protect him.

“Now’s not the time to be recruiting. We have to get to the ship, before it’s blown out to sea,” Zoro said.

Sanji nodded in agreement. “You’re injured,” he said to me, kneeling, back towards me. “It’ll be faster, if you let me carry you.”

He was right. It pissed me off. No one should’ve had to tote me around.

I hopped on his back, wrapping my arms around his neck. He hooked his arms under my legs and along with Long Nose and the Pirate Hunter started in the direction of the ship.

Luffy took off in the opposite direction. The others paused, turning back to look at him. He ran towards a railing and grabbed a hold. His momentum, kept his body moving, his arms stretching out.

“Gum-Gum…”

“What?” Long Nose asked, sounding panicked.

“Wait…” Sanji trailed off.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Zoro muttered

“The gum-gum fruit,” I said in amazement. I had seen many devil fruit users, but never the gum-gum fruit.

“Rocket!”Luffy yelled. His arms snapped back to their normal length, sending his body flying towards us with an insane amount of force.

“I knew it!” Zoro yelled, trying to run out of the way.

Luffy crashed into us, sending us flying out over the ocean towards the ship.

We were caught by one of the sails, before we landed on the deck with a hard thud.

I was on my back, Sanji on top of me. I groaned. The rush I had, trying to help Luffy had faded, and I was feeling everything hit me full force. I tried to focus on something, anything else, eventually settling on the pitter patter of rain drops hitting my skin.

“Mimi, are you okay?” Sanji asked, worried. “Damn it, Luffy! She’s already hurt!” he yelled.

“Who is she?” a girl asked.

“I’m tired,” I said. “I just need to sleep it off.”

“I’ll take her inside,” Sanji said. “You’re gonna be fine, Mimi.”

“Mira,” I corrected, before falling asleep.

***

Master List | Mobile Version

#teroin writes #stillwater #one piece #fanfiction

0 notes

theotherscandystore-blog · 7 years

Text

And I Have You

(Part Two)

Pairing: Zosan

Description: “What I’m trying to say is that I won’t ever be able to understand the pain that you’re going through, but I understand the feeling of being so helpless, that you just want to give up. It’s so much easier than to keep on fighting; to slip away and never have to deal with the burden that weighs on you…. You’ll always have to fight it, and sometimes it’ll seem like it’s unbearable, but if you’re able to fight back, then why not try and live?“

Warnings: swearing, depression, blood, attempted suicide (other warnings will come later with each chapter)

As the weekend rolled over and Monday came along, Sanji could barely contain his bubbling anxiety as he bolted out of the bus doors and into the school, completely unaware of his friends shouting after him in question. Upon entering he scanned the room for a head full of green, but was met with the view of his empty seat.

The bell rang and Sanji reluctantly sat down, feeling a bit defeated. Dread ate away at the pit of his stomach and he knew that his stressing over Zoro wasn’t him just over thinking. There was something wrong, Sanji didn't know exactly what it was, but he knew that Zoro wouldn’t miss class unless it was for something important. Albeit, he did skip class for sleeping, but Zoro would even come to school being dog-shit sick and looking like hell just because he didn’t want to miss more school than he had too. While he had scorned Zoro for this, angrily shouting about the possibility of getting the girls sick, Sanji would rather have Zoro puking on the floor right now, even puking on his dress shoes, then to see his seat empty again.

Zoro’s prolonged absence was abnormal, so much so that even Luffy asked everyone during lunch if they had seen or heard of Zoro since last Thursday. A resounding no was said from the group and there was a sudden and immediate tension at the table. Sanji could feel Usopp still beside him and looked across to Nami, who looked lost for words.

Sanji felt as if his heart had crawled up his throat and was choking him as he looked back to Luffy and saw his usual bright grin was replaced with a more severe expression. Sanji knew his intuition was right if Luffy was serious about the swordsman's absence. Luffy was somehow the unspoken leader to their friend group, the glue that kept them all together when everything was falling apart. Time and time again Luffy was able to help each of his friends, no matter what the situation, but Sanji wondered if Luffy knew how to deal with this one.

“Zoro’s capable of handling himself,” Luffy reminded them with a smile and the building pressure of stress slowly seeped away. However, Sanji’s nerves still buzzed within the back of his head, granting him no reassurance. “If anything comes up, then come to me first.” Luffy stood, looking over everyone before leaving the table and his untouched food.

It wasn’t until Thursday that week before they received anything on why Zoro was missing. Luffy woke up that morning, and in his usual meat deprived state, didn’t realize that there was a letter addressed to him sitting in the middle of the kitchen table until Ace pointed it out. In a frenzy, Luffy grabbed the letter and ran to school as fast as he could, texting everyone to meet him at the school now, now, NOW!

"I'm doing fine, don't worry about me," Luffy read after opening the paper and Sanji was seething. He was pissed at the audacity Zoro had to write this note and expected them to not worry over him while giving them as little information as possible to explain where he had been, what he had been up to—and still not show his face. Sanji wasn’t just enraged by Zoro’s prolonged absence, but for the fact that Zoro was suffering, yet refused to allow his friends to support him in his time of need.

Sanji felt the urge to rip the note apart and burn the remains, as if damaging the note would somehow irritate Zoro enough to come and yell at him—to just do anything to him. Zoro could kick him, punch him; Sanji would be okay if Zoro wanted to cut off his head at this point, as long as he was able to see the damn mosshead and make sure that Zoro was alright. To see Zoro again would be such a relief off of his shoulders….

Luffy put a careful hand on Sanji's shoulder and looked up at him with reassuring eyes, to let him know that he understood, that he wanted to run off and find Zoro just as much as he did. Sanji’s heart beat slowed, almost as if time was stopping as some of the worry fell off of his shoulders. He turned to each person and saw the same agonized looks in each of their faces. His heart was crushed in cruel irony; while he didn’t think about anyone else’s pain other than Zoro’s, Zoro burdened his pain by himself and refused to accept help. Friday came along and Sanji didn’t expect to see Zoro in his seat anymore. Whatever he was doing, it was taking up a lot of time and Sanji began to accept this. It would have been some sort of miracle for him to show up to their first class on time anyways.

Zoro didn’t believe in that type of mythology though: miracles, God, religion, faith. Zoro let his life be guided by “fate,” as he had said so many times before. ‘Whatever,’ Sanji thought, ’Zoro’s always reckless.’

He found himself praying to whatever God that was out there, to anyone who might have been listening to his silent wish, for just one miracle. It’s a good thing he never believed in divine beings anyways, otherwise he'd have been let down.

Monday rolled around again and Sanji’s stomach dropped. Zoro’s absence was starting to get ridiculous and it made Sanji want to grip at his hair and start ripping it out. He wanted to grab chairs from the classroom and throw them around, not caring who it might hit. Sanji was raging, and wanted nothing more than to scream at the top of his lungs.

Without thinking, he marched over to Zoro's seat and sat down, choosing to cross his arms over his chest and glaring at the front of the room than to make himself look like he was going insane. No one said anything as he did, only looking over at him with pitiful looks.

As the week kept moving, people started acting as if Zoro hadn’t ever been a part of the school to begin with. The rumors about why he’d gone missing died down as everyone started forgetting about him. Zoro had vanished without a trace—other than the note he had written last Thursday. Even Sanji found himself wondering at times if Zoro was going to come back or if he was going to stay gone forever. He was losing hope that one day he might walk into first hour and see Zoro there.

As much as Sanji fought with Zoro, he’d rather bite off his own tongue than to keep looking at his empty seat. The swordsman's absence was worse than his presence, and it was driving Sanji into madness. Hell, he didn’t even care at this point if Zoro did or didn’t give an explanation for being gone for so long, just as long as he could see him again….

Friday came along once again to save everyone from the an agonisingly slow week, yet also set them in a funk as it also marked the second week of Zoro’s disappearance. Luffy forced everyone into a much needed relaxing time where they all would hang out and have fun; not that anyone would have disagreed anyways after the stress they’d been going through. The plan was that they’d all meet up at the movie theater and afterwards, would walk back to Luffy’s place to order pizza and have a sleep over.

Once there, everyone had bought their tickets, all except Luffy, who was late and nowhere to be seen. The group was instantly set into a panic, wondering if he was going to disappear like Zoro as well. Was Luffy in danger? They all knew that Luffy was more than capable of holding his own in a fight, but after Zoro being missing for so long, his tardiness didn’t set in right with any of them.

“Hey guys, come here and look at this.” Usopp gestured towards where he stood, gazing out of the window. As they neared, trying to see what Usopp was talking about, they saw Luffy running towards them and shouting something, but he was too far away to hear.

Nami brushed it off, saying that it was probably some joke that Luffy was trying to pull in an excuse as to why he was late. Although, as Luffy sprinted closer to them, Sanji noticed the red that covered his hands, the panicked look on his face, the way his whole body was just too tense. Sanji burst through the door, heaving his way to reach his distressed friend.

Luffy was hysterical; a crying, blubbering mess of tears, snot and blood. Everyone may have been worried before, but now they were horrified by their friends state of being. Luffy never cried, yet he stood in front of them, tears freely streaking down his cheeks. He tried to rub them away, but that only caused the blood on his hands to smear over his face and Sanji inwardly cringed at the sight.

They crowded around him in a shocked silence while Robin stood in front, trying to calm Luffy down, and all Sanji could manage was to gape at his friend and listen to Robin’s quiet words of reassurance. She asked him what had happened, who’s blood was on him since he didn’t have any sightable wounds, but Luffy wasn’t able to form any words, let alone a sentence.

Sanji was crushed with a petrified fear that clung to him like hooks sinking into his skin. His chest heaved in unstable breaths and his lungs felt as if they were being constricted by his rib cage, enclosing his windpipes like iron bars of a prison.

“Where?” Sanji gasped and Luffy lifted a trembling hand and pointed. That’s all it took before Sanji left, rushing past his friends and charging down the street. He ran faster than what he thought was possible, ran even faster when his mind supplied him with images that he didn't want to believe, but when he rounded the corner and looked down the alley, his mind shut down all images and replaced it with static. He wasn’t in control anymore, almost as if he was put on autopilot as he neared the body that laid on the ground. Even before Sanji was able to see his face, he knew who was lying there.

His swords laid around him, like he had dropped them and forgotten about them. ‘Like Zoro didn't even care,’ Sanji's mind supplied for him. There was blood on his swords, there was blood all over his chest, there was blood on his face, there was blood pooled around him--there was too much red around Zoro, and not enough green.

Sanji felt as if his heart had shriveled up inside his chest and he felt like he was dying. He didn't hear Nami scream, didn't hear Usopp throw up, didn't hear Chopper yelling at Franky to call an ambulance. All he noticed was Zoro's ragged, shallow breathing and the wound that went across his chest. Sanji saw movement in his peripheral vision, and watched as Zoro's fingers flexed, almost as if he were trying to reach—

"Sanji." He heard him breathe out, so quietly that he almost didn't hear it. Falling to his knees, Sanji knelt next to Zoro and grabbed his hand. Zoro's grip was loose and Sanji was terrified of the idea of possibly losing— No. He wouldn't think that—couldn’t think that. Zoro was strong. No matter what he got himself into he fought tooth and nail to come out on top. He never lost, pride always getting his way no matter how much it hurt, and seeing Zoro this hurt—

"Why are y-…. You. Crying?" Zoro said between shallower breaths. Fingers brushed over his own tears and Sanji wondered when he started crying, not noticing until Zoro had pointed it out.

"Because some idiot decided to fight a bear, apparently." Sanji sarcastically remarked, surprised that he could even utter out a word. Zoro tried to smirk, but a fit of coughs wracked through his body and he started spitting out blood. “Hey, Zoro—Zoro.” Sanji said, panic settled in like ice in his veins. Zoro’s body spasmed as more blood spilled onto the ground, soaking into Sanji’s clothes. Sanji held Zoro in his lap, clinging to his hand as it if were his lifeline, the only thing keeping him grounded.

When the ambulance arrived Franky had to pry Sanji away from Zoro as they put him on a spinal board. Je failed, screaming and sobbing as they loaded Zoro into the ambulance and shut the doors. Sanji didn’t want to let go in fear that if he did then that might be the last time he'd ever get to see Zoro or his ridiculous green hair. Never get to hear him yell back at him for calling him an idiot. Never get to see him become the world's greatest swordsman that he sworn he'd become since he was little. His heart ached to see the swordsmen, and hoped that watching them close those doors wasn't going to be the irony of the situation's outcome.

(Part One / You are Here! / Part Three / Part Four)

#one piece #zosan #zosan fanfic #one piece fanfiction #second chapter #swearing #depression #blood #attempted suicide #roronoa zoro #sanji #mokey d. luffy #usopp #nami #chopper #nico robin #franky #brook #and i have you

3 notes · View notes

genogenocrazycatman · 5 years

Text

Stillwater - Chapter 8

Stillwater [Archive of Our Own, FanFiction.Net, Mibba]

Characters: Original Female Character, Monkey D. Luffy, Rorona Zoro, Vinsmoke Sanji, Nami, Usopp, Tony Tony Chopper, Nefeltari Vivi

***

"We build as only children know to build

We made a way where there's a will

No slowing down or standing still

Innocent and reckless

"How did we get so old and never notice

How did we gain the world and lose the moment

Rise and fall, the tide surrounds us

And drowns us all"

-Hands Like Houses

***

“Unbelievable,” I muttered, now alone in the jungle.

Not surprisingly, we had come across a dinosaur, another t-rex from the looks of it. I had delivered on my promise. I had engaged it and beaten it. I hadn’t killed it. It wasn’t like it had done anything to me. It was just looking for something to eat. Regardless, it wasn’t a threat anymore.

That didn’t really matter though, because the cowardly duo had bolted the second they saw it. I had been keeping track of them by their screams, but those faded as the distance between them and myself grew. I had no clue where either of them were by this point.

“Nami! Usopp!” I called, receiving nothing in reply. ‘Idiots.’

Our goal was to track down Luffy and the others. Nami and Usopp were capable, scared, but capable, and I was sure that they would be able to track down our captain. That meant if I found Luffy, I’d probably find them as well. I had a general idea of, where he was.

I returned to my earlier thoughts. If I focused, I could probably pinpoint his location. I still wasn’t sure if that was the route I wanted to go. His presence shouldn’t have even been a blimp on my radar to begin with. Zoro and that damn cursed blade of his shouldn’t have either. Was my control slipping? If so, then my ability to focus was probably shot. The other option was that Zoro and Luffy were a lot more special than I thought. If that was the case and they were really that strong, then it was likely that trying to focus on them was going to knock me on my ass.

I let out an irritated groan. It was frustrating.

I took a second to lean against a tree and think. Finding Luffy would be easier, if I wasn’t doing it by myself. With that, I made my decision. I closed my eyes, and concentrated on the aura that Sandai Kitetsu gave off. Feeling what little of it had slipped through what I thought were my impenetrable mental defenses was nothing compared to now. It was thirst like I had never felt before. Immediately, my mouth and throat went bone dry. It was distracting, consuming my thoughts. It was enough to drive a weaker soul mad. I blinked my eyes trying to focus, trying to stem the feeling once more. Not entirely. I still needed to find it. I clamped down on that channel, just enough that it was manageable and followed the feeling, trudging through the jungle.

I was not meant for the damn jungle, at least not one so dense, and I had to be especially careful, because of my leg. The last thing we needed was for me to strand myself. It took me a lot longer than I would have liked to get to Zoro, but I managed.

He wasn’t alone. Nami and Vivi were there too. All three of them were standing on what looked like a massive birthday cake. It had multiple tiers. The top was a spinning bowl-like structure with candles all around the edge.

Broggy was laid out on the ground, nearby. A weird white substance was coming from the cake thing, floating through the air in the clearing and accumulating on Nami, Zoro, Vivi and Broggy.

I reached from behind the tree that I was leaning against and touched it, rubbing it between my fingers.

“Wax?” Then it clicked. “Damn it,” I swore.

Luffy was there as well, firing off attacks, but not hitting anything other than a red mark on the ground.

“What were you aiming at?” Zoro yelled pissed off.

“I just can’t let you break it,” the little girl said. “Mr. 3-“

“Baroque Works,” I grumbled.

Of course they had followed us. It wasn’t surprising. Ms. All-Sunday, Nico Robin , whatever the hell she was going by knew we were coming this way. It was the only way we could go with the log.

“-Wouldn’t be happy about that at all.”

“What’d you do?” Luffy asked.

“During a bullfight, a bull can’t control his urge to attack the red cape. Likewise, you can’t attack anything other than the circle. That’s what I did.”

‘So she uses colors to control people.’

“AHHHHHHHHH! OKAY THAT DOES IT! I’M MAD NOW! GUM GUM BAZOOKA!” Luffy stretched his arms back and shot them forward, but instead of hitting the cake thing, he hit the circle again and with very little force.

This was not how I wanted this day to go. I could take her. She was just a little girl. I had the physical advantage. I was pretty sure that I was immune to her paint power too. I thought I had gotten away from the crew’s questioning, but this was going to start it all over again.

I stepped into the clearing.

“You’ve got some real talent there with that paint brush,” I commended the girl. “Captain here’s screwed with you around. I guess that means I have to get rid of you.”

“Mira!” Nami yelled in relief.

I broke the trap. “I’ll take the girl? You get them free?” I asked.

Luffy snickered and shot me a grin. “You got it, Mimi.”

I nodded at him, and turned my attention back to the girl. “I never much understood art,” I admitted. “I’ve always performed audio to visuals.” I stalked towards the girl.

Luffy geared up for an attack.

“We’ll mix the laughter yellow on your back with a little sadness blue to make the last colors trap, tranquil green,” she said, swinging her brush and sending the color flying towards Luffy.

I stepped in front of the blue paint.

“Mira, don’t,” Zoro barked at me.

The seal it me, which was better than Luffy. I looked down at the color on my shirt and started laughing.

“Oh no!” Vivi cried.

“Damn it! Now Mira’s down.”

“See I told you, you should’ve posed, but you wouldn’t listen,” Zoro chirped at the girls. “Now, it’s too late you’re gonna die like that.”

“No need to worry about poses yet,” I said, looking up.

“Your eyes!” Nami cried out.

I ignored it. We could discus my eyes and everything else later. I protected mine, and if that meant that I had to reveal some of my secrets or punch a kid in the face, I was more than willing to do so. I charged the girl, cocking my fist back and thrusting it towards her face.

She let out a wail, falling out of the way. She quickly scrambled up ducked under my next swing, taking a brush and running it across Luffy’s back. The color on it blended with the one on her brush as she hurriedly made a seal.

Luffy hit the ground.

“Tranquil green,” she sputtered.

“Sneaky brat.”

“This is nice grass,” Luffy said, settling into it on his stomach.

I looked over at Vivi and the others. They were completely covered. Clearly, they had to be my priority. I went after it, but was knocked on my ass by Usopp and Vivi’s duck, who came flying out of the jungle with two people that I had never seen before on their asses. I assumed they were more Baroque Works agents.

“Shit.”

I had to get them out. I couldn’t hit it without worrying about hitting them. Zoro would probably survive the hit, but not the others. I didn’t have and fresh water on me, and now I was too far away from the river to use water. Even if I did, I wasn’t precise enough to cut the wax and not them. If anything, I’d tear through their flesh with the water pressure, or wouldn’t use enough and only harden the wax.

“Special attack exploding star!”

The two agents were still on Usopp’s tail. The one fired off a gun. The shot hit Usopp and exploded on contact. Usopp’s shot nailed Luffy.

“What an idiot. He attacked his own friend.”

“Usopp!” I called.

“Did- Did Luffy snap out of it?” he asked.

Luffy, free of the trap stood up. “Yeah. I’m good now.”

“You guys are the idiots,” I fired back at the Baroque Works morons.

Luffy rose up too. “I’m tired of your stupid paints. You’re through. I’m not going to let you hurt anymore of my friends. Now I’m really mad!” he growled out.

The guy that had fired at Usopp started laughing. “Oh. You’re mad are you? Look at your friends. Being mad won’t do them any good.”

“Oh yes it will! They’re still alive!”

I nodded in agreement. I could feel Zoro. How long they were going to remain that way was still up in the air. We had to move quickly.

“Are they now? Look again. All they need is some of Ms. Goldenweek’s paint and they’ll be perfect wax statues. Face it. You’re too late to save them. They’re gone and you know it.”

Something started knocking down trees. It was big, its steps shaking the ground, the sound of them rumbling throughout the island.

“Mr. Five is right about that. You’re friends are finished, because you were too late to help them and now it’s your turn to die,” a high pitched male voice said.

Finally, the trees on the edge of the clearing fell, revealing a guy in a massive suit made of wax. “I’m guess he’s the wax one,” I said, eyes on the flame on his head.

“Uh huh.”

“It’s time for candle champion,” Mr. Three declared.

“What the heck is that?” Luffy voiced my thoughts.

Five answered us. “That thing. That’s what he used one time to take someone down with a forty-two million berry bounty.”

“That’s Mr. 3’s greatest work of art,” his partner added.

“Time to use your talents, Ms. Goldenweek. I need a very special paint job for my armor. And don’t forget to be artistic.”

“After that can I take a break?” the brat asked.

“Why yes. You can go get some tea. I prefer that you’d stay out of this. When I’m in this armor I’m nearly impervious to harm. This suit is nearly as hard as iron. It may be made of wax, but it fits like a glove, and it’s impossible for anyone to pierce, and you don’t stand a chance against it. This artwork is flawless!”

“Wow that’s so cool!”

I rolled my eyes. “Now is not the time to be impressed.”

Usopp echoed my sentiments. “Fight!”

Luffy went after the candle guy, while I headed towards the three wax figures. I needed to stop that thing. They needed air.

“Just where do you think you’re going?” the chick with the umbrella asked. “Five-hundred kilogram drop. She swung her leg around and hit me in the face, her heavy calf pinning me to the ground, crushing my throat.

I struggled to breathe. If it wasn’t for the ground giving beneath me, no doubt my skull wouldn’ve been crushed. That startled me. I was nearly killed by a human. It had been a long time since man had presented an actual threat to me. Then again, I hadn’t expected anything like this in Paradise. Admittedly, I hadn’t taken any of these threats too seriously, a mistake on my part. While they may have paled in comparison to the threat that was always lingering over my head, they were still worth acknowledging.

Heavy or not, the limb was still made of flesh. I opened my mouth and sank my teeth into her leg.

She cried out in pain, leg lifting, giving me a chance to break free.

“Fire! We need to use fire! It’s just wax it’ll melt,” Usopp explained.

His observation was confirmed by the brat.

Before I would land a hit on her, she floated away, lightening herself so that she could be lifted by her umbrella.

Five fired at Usopp, who looked to use an exploding star to melt the wax off of the others. “When we say that you don’t stand a chance, it’s best to believe us.”

“Exactly. Thousand kilogram drop!” I barely rolled out of the way. The impact of her landing, created a huge crater. She floated up out of it over to Usopp and Carue.

The duck took off, something in its mouth. He was fired upon by Five.

Blondie sat on Usopp. She was increasing her weight, crushing Usopp.

“I’ve had enough of you,” I grumbled, swinging my leg around and cracking her in the back of her head, causing her to fall forwards off of Usopp.

My leg, having held up surprisingly well throughout everything finally gave out on me, causing me to fall. My good leg was still draped over her back.

“You okay?” I asked, Usopp.

“Yeah,” he said.

Luffy came running towards the wax thing, dragging Three by his hair.

“That tiny little flame isn’t gonna work quickly enough,” Usopp said to Luffy. “The rope that Carue has, light that on fire.”

“A rope, how is that supposed to help us?”

“Just trust me on this. I covered the whole thing in oil.”

“Alright everyone, it’s time to wake up.”

“Usopp, you’re a genius, but this is gonna suck.”

Usopp grunted in agreement.

Luffy lit the rope and the entire thing burst into flames.

Three panicked and ran, cursing Luffy, taking the little brat with him.

“Damn it! How dare you mock Baroque Works agents!” Five yelled.

Blondie had snuck away when everything went up in flames. She came crashing down on my chest, knocking the wind out of me, while kicking Usopp.

“That’s it! Playtime’s really over now! I’m gonna crush your stupid little necks!” She flew up into the air. “Ten thousand kilogram guillotine!” She went into a split, one leg positioned over Usopp’s neck, the other over mine.

I couldn’t get out of there, still gasping for breath, trying to re-inflate my lungs. Even if I could’ve crawled out of the way, I wasn’t going to be able to get Usopp out of there. I wasn’t just gonna leave him to die.

Vivi and Nami jumped out of the flames, each of them wielding their respective weapons. The pair knocked Blondie off of her flight path, away from Usopp and myself, and knocked her out.

“That was really hot,” Nami said, “Couldn’t you have thought of another plan?”

“You’re being a little picky here, don’t you think? Aren’t you at least a little bit grateful?” Usopp asked, standing up.

“You have a point there. Thanks.”

“It’s amazing. I can’t believe, we’re actually alive,” Vivi said.

“Hmmm,” I hummed.

“Got out of the wax, did ya? Well, I’ve had enough. We simply cannot afford for you to screw up our mission anymore.”

“Hey, Mr. Five! Special attack, exploding star!”

Usopp fired another shot off at Five, who simply swallowed it.

“You fool. Haven’t you figured out that you’re pathetic explosives don’t affect me at all. They’re nothing to an exploding man.”

I finally sat up, having regained my breath.

Five started to sweat, face turning red. I chucked at his misfortune.

“I’m sorry. I told a little lie. That wasn’t an exploding star. That was my special tabasco star.”

Usopp laughed as Five suffered. “I had to learn how effective that was the hard way.”

“Damn you, stupid pirate! I refuse to let you make a mockery of me!”

Usopp squeaked in fear, realizing that provoking him wasn’t the brightest idea. He tried to run, but Five caught up and grabbed a hold of him quickly.

Vivi and Nami took a defensive stance, ready to protect Usopp.

I attempted to stand and failed. “I can’t walk right now, so can you just hurry up and take care of this, so we can head back to the ship?” I asked.

The flames, swirled, as the air feeding them was manipulated by the swift movements of three blades.

“Flaming, oni giri!”

Zoro emerged from the flames, commanding the fire enveloping his body as if it was his own, looking truly like a demon, rising from the depths of hell. His movements sliced Five of course, but setting him on fire as well.

“You know these flaming swords aren’t too bad,” he said.

“How in the hell do you carry that thing?” I asked, glaring at Sandai Kitetsu. Remembering how it felt, the flames that licked at my skin were nothing compared to that sword.

“Curse starting to scare you?” he teased.

“That curse should kill you,” I told him. “I used it to find you. I thought it was going to kill me.”

Broggy, free of the wax got up.

“Hey there. Glad to see you made it out alive,” Zoro said.

“Yeah.”

Broggy looked over at his fallen comrade sadly.

“Master?”

Usopp seemed to snap Broggy out of this thoughts. “Now, it seems that there are only two foes left.”

“Luffy can handle them,” I said.

The others all made noises of agreement.

“Zoro, we need to stitch you up,” I said, noting the gashes in his legs. I didn’t get how he was even standing.

“I think you’re stitches need redone as well,” Vivi said.

“Probably,” I looked down at the red spot on my thigh. “We need to find an island with a store. I need clothes.”

“I can lend you some until we get to a store,” Nami offered.

“Don’t do it,” Zoro said. “She’ll charge you out the ass.”

Vivi walked over to me and helped me up, supporting me, so that I could stand up.

Luffy returned, confirming that Baroque Works was gone for now, and that at the moment, we were safe.

With the threat gone, Broggy could finally take in the result of his duel. It didn’t matter that they had spent a century fighting. They were friends, brothers in arms at one point. They had sailed the seas together. Broggy had won, but he had also lost. He was alone now, at least until he returned to Elbaf.

The giant sat down, the weight of his victory crashing down on him, and began to cry. His wails were loud, painfully so. Tears poured down around us like rain. It was heartbreaking to watch.

That heaviness vanished, when Dorry sat up, shocking all of us.

“Dorry! You’re alive!” Broggy exclaimed.

“I must’ve lost consciousness,” he said. He was still heavily wounded, and his breathing was labored.

“How are you still alive?”

“The weapons, the saved me,” Dorry answered.

I nodded in understanding. It made sense. Even with the proper tools to take care of them. It was impossible for the average weapon could survive a hundred years of dueling. The weapons were dull, better suited for bludgeoning than blades at this point.

“It’s a miracle really,” Usopp said.

Broggy pulled Dorry into a tight embrace.

“Broggy, will you let go? I’m a little sore here.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so glad you’re still alive, Dorry. It’s amazing.”

“Oh come on. This isn’t a miracle. The fact that those weapons are even in tact after a century of fighting is the miraculous part. They should be scrap by now. I’m surprised they lasted this long.”

“What a day this was! Thank you, god of Elbaf for this wonderful day!”

“Oh is that true Broggy? You think that fighting me while I was injured, cutting me down and knocking me out was all wonderful?”

“Don’t be an idiot, Dorry. That’s not what I’m saying and you know it.” He hit Dorry in the shoulder.

“Would you keep your hands off my wounds?” Dorry asked, chuckling and hitting Broggy in the chest.

The pair threw light blows back and forth, steadily increasing in power.

“You try doing that again and see how far you get!”

“Yeah I can take you down in a heartbeat!”

The two giants were in each other’s faces ready to go once more.

“You two are ready to fight already?!” Nami called out.

I shook my head at their antics. “YO!” I called up at them. “How about we all take care of ourselves and then you can brawl? Usopp’s got burns. Luffy’s got burns. I got burns. I need stitches. I don’t know what Zoro did, but he needs them too. Sanji’s still missing.”

“She’s right,” Vivi agreed.

We headed back to camp, after sending Usopp and Luffy to grab supplies. Once they did, I went to work patching everyone up. Broggy took care of Dorry. I stitched up Zoro’s legs, berating him the entire time for his stupid idea.

I then fixed up my leg, happy to see that it wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated. Nami and Vivi helped everyone apply salve to their burns. Usopp ad Luffy continued to questioned Broggy and Dorry about everything their lives as pirates, their bounties, while munching on snacks that they had found. They ended up wrestling on the ground, while Zoro and Nami pondered what to do about the pose.

“All of you helped to save us from those other guys. If we can, we’d really like to return the favor,” Broggy said.

“Well maybe you guys can do something about our log pose, so that we won’t be stuck here.”

“Negative,” I said from my spot in the grass.

“I’m afraid the log pose is the one thing we can’t help you with.”

“Waaaa ha ha! Nami my sweet! Vivi my love! Mira my dear! And all the rest of you.”

I looked up at Sanji, happy to see that he was okay.

“Hey Sanji,” Luffy greeted.

“You’re all alive. I’m so happy.”

I snorted, watching as he bumbled towards Vivi and Nami. He quickly sobered up from his love drunk buzz, when he saw Dorry and Broggy.

“What the hell is going on? And is one of you Mr. Three?”

“Luffy kicked Three’s ass,” I explained. “They’re Dorry and Broggy.”

“How do you know about Mr. Three anyway?” Nami asked.

Sanji’s eyes nearly popped out of his head, when they landed on Nami, who was still in her bra. “Whoa! Nami, you look absolutely amazing in that outfit.”

Nami balled up a fist. “Say that again,” she threatened.

“Now Nami, if you stand around dressed like that all day, you’ll catch cold. Here. Take my coat.” Sanji handed her his jacket.

“Oh. Thank you.”

“And they say chivalry is dead,” I chirped.

Sanji sat down on one of the logs we were using as a bench. “So I just finished talking to that Mr. Zero guy over a transponder snail.”

“Mr. Zero?!”

“Yeah. That guy. I was talking to him in this weird hide out place I found in the jungle. He thought I was some guy called Mr. Three and I thought it would be a good idea to let him believe it, and since I had him on the line I went ahead and told him that we were all dead.”

“So he thinks he doesn’t have to send people after us anymore,” Vivi realized.

I smirked. “Clever boy.”

“So you mean we’re finally free of people chasing us now that we can’t go anywhere anyway? Oh that is just perfect.”

“Better than being sitting ducks with an endless number of agents coming after us,” I offered.

“We can’t go? Why? Or is there still something that we need to take care of here? That’s a real shame after I managed to get a hold of this thing.”

He pulled an eternal pose out of his pocket.

“Cheeky boy.” My grin widened.

Everyone else’s jaws fell slack in shock.

“An eternal pose to Alabasta! Alright!” Luffy cheered, the others joining in.

“Thank you Sanji! I was getting really worried!” Vivi pulled Sanji into a hug.

“Now now it was all my pleasure. I’m just glad I could make you happy.”

I chuckled at his dopey grin, letting him have his moment. He earned it.

“Here.” Zoro extended a hand to help me up.

“You nearly cut your feet off, take it easy,” I said, getting up on my own.

“Whatever. Suit yourself.”

He and Sanji started in on each other about their hunting contest once more.

“Boys.”

“Giant old guys, it’s been a lot of fun, but we have to go,” Luffy said to Dorry and Broggy.

“Of course. Right. We can tell you need to get going.”

“It’s too bad that you have to leave so soon. I hope you get to your homeland in time,” Dorry said to Vivi.

“Me too. Thank you.”

“It was nice meeting you,” I said, waving as I walked off with Luffy and Nami.

“Is your leg alright?” Nami asked.

“I’ll be fine,” I said.

“Mira, my dear,” Sanji sang, picking me up. “I’ll make sure you get back to the Merry without aggravating your injury.”

“Sanji, I can- You know what. Never mind. Sanji, walk me through a soufflé what’s the process?”

We made it back to the Merry with no incidents. Every one cleaned themselves up, showering, changing the works. When I came back out on deck, Sanji and Zoro were arguing over who had caught the bigger beast, Nami yelling at them for their arguing.

The anchor was lifted, the sail unfurled. I grinned as everyone bickered and squabbled as we made it down the river out to sea. We reached the mouth of the river. Dorry and Broggy stood on either side of it, the pair looking out at the ocean.

“Hey, look at that. It’s the giants. They must’ve come to say goodbye.”

“A great danger still lies ahead of you,” Broggy warned us.

“It is an obstacle that has always been here, trying to prevent people from reaching the next island. Every one of you fought like true warriors, trying to protect the pride of our duel,” Dorry added.

“And because you were willing to do that, no matter what enemy you may face-“

“We will never let them destroy your pride friends.”

“You must have faith in what we say. Go straight. No matter what happens keep going straight. Understand?”

“Yeah. Got it,” Luffy answered.

“What was that about?” Zoro asked.

“Yeah, I don’t understand.”

“No matter what happens keep going straight,” Luffy reiterated.

“Is that an order, Captain?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“You heard him,” I said to the others.

We sailed out to sea.

“This is goodbye.”

“Until we meet again one day.”

“Absolutely.”

“Look over there!” Nami pointed out, where something massive was surfacing.

“Hello, Island Eater,” Dorry greeted the creature.

“You will open the path! In the name of Elbaf you will open it!”

“Island Eater?” I questioned.

I looked behind us. The two giants raised their weapons.

The creature finally broke through the water, and to say that we were all shocked was an understatement.

“That is a gold fish,” I said, not believing what I was saying, despite the proof in front of my very eyes.

“Usopp, what are you doing? Go inside and work the rudder or else we’re going to be eaten.”

“Yeah, but we have to go straight ahead. Isn’t that right, Luffy?”

Luffy hummed in affirmation.

“Don’t be a moron, Luffy. This isn’t going to be anything like what happened with Laboon,” Nami yelled.

“Yeah, I know. Now calm down. Here. I’ll even let you have the last rice cracker.”

“I don’t want the last rice cracker! If we don’t turn around right now, that thing is going to eat us!”

“Nami, just give it up,” Zoro said.

Nami gave up, eating the rice cracker and crying.

“Luffy, you really sure we can trust those little pals of yours?” Sanji questioned.

“Little,” I scoffed.

“Yep.”

“Are we really going straight into that beast’s belly?”

“Uh huh. It’s too late to turned now,” Nami cried.

We headed forward, the light disappearing as we entered the gold fish’s cavernous mouth. I leaned against the railing, trying to figure out what Broggy and Dorry’s move was going to be. I ignored the others.

The darkness was disrupted by a blue and red light. It ripped through the gold fish, allowing us to sail out the other side.

Nami and Vivi both collapsed on the deck, relief taking over.

“I thought we were going to die,” Vivi said.

“Me too,” Nami whined.

“Better get used to it,” I chimed, heading inside.

***

Notes:

***

Previous | Next

***

Master List | Mobile Version

#teroin writes #stillwater #one piece #fanfiction

0 notes