Insomnia

Despite the flamboyant and colorful nature of the forests of the Momorio Island, during the night, like most of forest and jungles, the atmosphere could only be described as gloomy and quiet. Specially now that that Momorio Island had become the main base of the Revolutionary Army. There were rather few people that enjoyed the mysterious and tense atmosphere of these forest. Karasu, the commander of the North Division of the Revolutionary Army was one of them. He was usually an introvert and quiet man, preferring to keep his distance and thoughts to himself. His job didn´t allow him to do this as often as he would have like it, so he cherished moments and places like these when he could be free to think in solitude with out having to deal with other people. Soon they would be declaring war against the World Nobles, and while they were in theory prepared they were still outnumbered by the marines at World Government service. The Revolutionaries had the hope that they would be backed up by common people and probably some high rank marines and royals who were tired of following the orders and enduring the abuse of those insane idiots. However, that was not a guarantee, most of those hypothetical alliances didn´t exist yet and even if they existed this kind of alliances could easily break if the people involved had some kind of hidden agenda to join the struggle. The chance of success in their quest was the same as the chance of failure, and failure could mean something worse that death sentence for all the people involved. Despite the general optimist mentality of the Revolutionary Karasu couldn´t help but think about all the nefarious possibilities that that war could have if something went wrong. The scary thing about that is that in case that something went wrong he wasn´t going to be the only one to suffer the consequences, there were to many lives in risk…

¨What's up birdman? Didn´t know that you had sleep issues too. ¨

He recognized Belo Betty´s voice immediately as he turned his head to see her. Karasu had many years knowing the commander of the East Division, they had been quiet close in the past, when they had just joined Dragon in the Revolutionary Army. During those early years Karasu and Betty would spend a lot of time together, either working as a team or arguing about silly things. Their personalities were almost made to clash against each other due to Betty´s impertinence and Karasu´s short temperament. During the first years it years it was almost a routine for Betty to tease Karasu just to see his forehead veins stand out and wait for his furious answer. But in the end they it was clear that both feel respect and admiration for each other abilities. It was an odd friendship but it worked anyways. As they Revolutionary´s cause grow they were assigned to different command positions, making difficult for Betty and Karasu to keep contact, limiting themselves to short encounters and brief calls and correspondence, usually related to their missions. In some way he was glad to see her again, although that mean that he would have to tolerate her foul mouth.

¨ Is not big deal. ¨ Karasu said after turning on his speaker.

¨Wanna smoke baldy? ¨ offered Betty, with a devilish smile, while she lit her cigar.

¨You know that I can´t smoke, Betty. ¨

"Ops! Sorry, my bad. How did your adventure at Dressrosa went? ¨

¨There was nothing good or bad in particular about that, I really didn´t lay a foot there. ¨ replied dryly.

¨But you were in Baltingo when that fat-ass attacked us, didn´t you? ¨ said Betty referring to Black Beard attack to Baltingo.

¨Not really, I had to go to the North to take care of some issues. I arrived to Baltingo just to help evacuating and running away again. ¨

¨The interesting part almost always misses you, doesn't it? ¨

¨ How the things have been going in East Blue? ¨ asked Karasu changing the topic and coaxing his comrade to take over the conversation.

¨It is boring as hell, as always. I´m just tired of using my strength to fight against stupid noble snobs and useless pirates that could be overthrown by a bunch of weaklings if if they proposed it. Most of them have not valuable qualities or physical strength, it is not that hard to overthrown them! ¨

¨But they have money, money can hire armies and resources to keep people oppressed and unable to fight. ¨ replied.

¨I know that already, but it stills baffles me how the hell would some one would let himself be used to support a greedy idiot like these noble jerks from Goa. I can´t think in their followers as other thing that selfish cowards and boot-lickers, who don´t give a fuck for other people. The idiots who follow those pathetic criminals and those stupid world noble´s lapdogs seriously need a good dose of dignity or self love. ¨

¨There are hundreds people willingly following Kaido and Big Mom´s orders with outt any hesitation. I don´t see very hard to fall for a madman´s promises of reward or punishment. ¨ said Karasu.

¨Yes, there are several people following Big Mom, but that is ´cuz that bitch is crazy! Who the hell ransacks a village only for candy? And why the hell does she has so many children? I mean, is not my business to judge how many kids does a woman chooses to give birth, but I doubt that someone is capable to raise so many brats without going crazy, specially someone who spends most of her time sacking villages and destroying things just for sweets. Is obviously that all her children are brainwashed to follow her crazy orders and that they do everything she says out of fear or manipulation. These Big Mom´s kids probably don´t know anything better that following the orders of that creepy hag. ¨ said Betty.

¨What about the people who follow Kaido? Most of them have not blood connection to him. ¨ asked Karasu.

¨Well, the people who serve him are plain maniacs. Most of them are psychopaths that would have ended doing some other crime even without Kaido forcing them to do so. Plus, I think that Kaido is even creepier that Big Mom, the old hag at least seemed to act a bit decently towards some of the people of her territories, in the other hand that beast is simply sociopath and does not give a fuck about anything, not even about his own crew! ¨

¨Like Black Beard? ¨ asked Karasu. Betty frowned with disgust as she took a puff of her cigar.

¨Oh! That fat-ass is flour from another sack. I am sure that he is even more cruel that Big Mom or Kaido, even if he pretends to be friendly and takes care of his crewmates. Plus that fucker is ambitious as fuck and his actions are impossible to predict. Sometimes it looks like if he had no idea of what he was doing, but other times he looks like if he had some kind of unknown byzantine plan. I would love him to fall under its own weight, but at this stakes of the game it seems unlikely. ¨

¨If Black Beard somehow finds the One Piece and becomes Pirate King I am sure that the whole world would enter in a total state of chaos and violence. A person with that amount of power would be able to easily overthrown the Government and become a ruthless tyrant. ¨ replied Karasu agreeing with Betty worries.

¨I hope that Dragon´s kid manages to become the Pirate King and stop that toothless hairy man-child. ¨ said Betty with an optimistic smile.

¨That guy is also Sabo´s adoptive brother. It looks like if the Straw-hat boy has an interesting family. ¨ said Karasu.

They stayed in silence for a while, just contemplating the dark night in the rosy-colored forest. Betty sat down in the grass as she finished her cigar and Karasu did the same in a subconscious way to not tower her too much. Karasu noticed that Betty was a tall woman, almost as tall as himself, it was a little detail that he had never paid too much attention, but somehow this time he was able to notice. He also noticed that she was not wearing her hat nor her jacket, letting him see her breasts and torso. It was a bit strange that he didn´t notice about it at first, most of men would probably had noticed that immediately, but he didn´t bat an eye about that. He felt her lack of clothes too natural to paid much attention to it, although some years ago he would have nagged her for not wearing any brassier and he would have tried to unsuccessfully force her to wear a brassier and a modest shirt. Now that he thought about it he didn´t try to force her to wear that because he felt uncomfortable with the human body, but rather because he didn´t want other men to see her like if she was just a sexual object, nor having her to deal with indecent perverts. He didn´t want to make her feel bad or something, he just wanted to protect her, like if she was his little sister or his girlfriend. ¨Belo Betty my girlfriend? ¨ through to himself. It was a surreal idea, he had never had a truly intimate relationship with anyone and the combination of his dangerous job and his fearsome appearance made it a very unlikely candidate for any romantic things. Although he had to admit that he had lots of curiosity about having some kind of serious relationship in the future, that if he survived to all the Revolution turmoil.

¨Can I ask you something? ¨ said Betty turning her eyes to Karasu.

¨What? ¨

¨How do you think that the things are going to go in Levely? ¨ said Betty in a seriously tone.

¨Do you want the honest answer or the politically correct one? ¨ said Karasu placing his gaze on Betty´s eyes.

¨I want to know what you think. ¨

¨I have a bad feeling about it. ¨ answered Karasu with sincerity.

¨You have a bad feeling about everything, don´t you? ¨ said Betty.

¨I am trying to be realistic. ¨ Karasu had been a pessimist almost since he was a fetus, he wasn´t going to change more than forty years of pessimism now, less in this circumstances.

¨You said that Sabo wasn´t going to get better from his burns. ¨ said Betty rolling her eyes.

¨That was many years ago. Besides he still having troubles with his left eye. ¨

¨You also said that Ivankov and Inazuma were going to be executed in public for aiding the revolution. ¨

¨They were very close of death you know. ¨ Karasu answered annoyed.

¨But they didn´t die, did they? ¨

¨I know, but this time is different, we are going to infiltrate to the most important monarchs meeting, which is going to happen in one of the most guarded and fortified locations that I can think of and then we are going to fight in a direct confrontation with the people who founded the World Government. There are so many things that could go wrong…¨

¨And many other things that could go right! We could free the slaves of these Nobles and get Kuma back! ¨ interrupted Betty.

¨It would not be an easy task Betty, Kuma may never get back and even if he gets back he would never be the same! ¨ said Karasu with a pessimistic tone.

¨ We could try!"

¨You don´t understand. If things go wrong, we can make worse our situation. ¨ said Karasu staring to get angry.

¨How the hell the world could be worse that now? ¨ screamed Betty.

¨Things can always be worse, Betty. I am older and I have more experienced than you, I know this of first hand. ¨ said Karasu

¨You are just eight years older than me, stop pretending to be an old sage! ¨

¨Betty, if something goes wrong we could end worse than dead. And it is not only about us, but also about the rest of our men and the people that are oppressed by those stupid World Nobles! ¨ growled Karasu.

¨What could be worse than death? ¨ replied Betty with anger. Karasu didn´t answer her, he just proceeds to turn off his speaker and started to carefully take off his mask. When he took his mask completely off of his face Betty just stared at him with wide eyes. Betty had already seen his face before, but it didn´t help to make it less gruesome. His whole mouth, part of his nose and cheeks were deformed and scarred with the mark of World Nobles. The remains of his lips were only a thin and disfigured commissure and Betty could notice that he had many missing teeth.

¨This is much worse than death. ¨ whispered Karasu.

¨I see…¨ mumbled Betty sadly.

Karasu just sighed. ¨Great, you played the victim and now Betty feels pity for you! ¨ though bitterly. He hated to be pitied by other people, it maked him feel powerless and vulnerable, just as he had felt before when he was a slave. He sometimes whished that he had some kind of severe amnesia so he could forget everything about that period of his life, but at the end he knew that it was simply not possible. Those horrible memories were going to be inside of his head as long as he was conscious.

¨That is why we must slay those fuckers! They have to pay for all the damage that they did you and all the people! You can´t let those who ruined your life ruin others people's life! I don´t care about the risks I would go and fight for freedom and if I get killed or enslaved for it I will it will be because I tried and not because I couldn´t fight against them. ¨ said Betty looking directly to Karasu´s red eyes.

Betty voice was sorrowful but determined, Karasu couldn´t find a trace of pity in it, she may feel sad about him but she was not going to feel pity for him.

¨Betty…¨ mumbled Karasu.

¨You are just as those weaklings from Lulusia, you are much stronger that you give yourself credit for. And honestly I feel kind of relieved that you said that you had a bad feeling about this thing, it is nice to meet people who actually say what they think. I am sorry if I said something that I should have not said to you is just that I am very…¨

¨Nervous? ¨ asked Karasu with a soft and almost inaudible voice.

¨Yes, I am nervous and angry at the whole situation, I would like to think positive and actually believe what I have been hearing and saying to you, this is too fucking difficult. ¨

¨I know. ¨ replied Karasu whispering his answer. He didn´t have anything else to say so he stayed quiet as he put his mask on again. Tried but unable to sleep Karasu lied his back against the pink grass and Betty followed him. They both stayed in silence for a long time, looking at the trees and stars without saying a word. Betty placed her hand in Karasu´s hand and he almost instinctively grabbed her, enjoying the warmness of her hands.

¨You know; I think that I have a thing for quiet guys... ¨ said Betty smiling.

¨What are you trying to…¨ he was cut by Betty how continued talking.

¨…honestly I wouldn´t mind if you and your fluffy bird coat were the first thing that I saw when I wake up in the morning…¨

¨Betty what the…¨ Karasu didn´t finished the sentence when Betty returned to her monologue.

¨I wouldn´t mind if you are not the romantic kind of guy because honestly I am not that kind of woman, and I probably I would get sick if you tried to compose a poem or give me hundreds of flowers and useless rubbish…¨

¨Please explain…¨ Karasu got cut again by Betty.

¨In fact I would love to be the mother of your children, that if you like kids and everything, if not we can be just you and me. ¨ said Betty smiling.

Something inside of Karasu made click, he had forgot to turn on his speaker, that is why Betty was not paying attention to his questions.

¨What do you mean with all of this? ¨ asked finally with his speaker.

¨I freaking love you! And while we have not keep close contact for years I just can´t get you out of my head. I know that you are the kind person that would put his life at risk just to protect others and that is the best thing that anyone can have. Listen me now Karasu, I do not know if we are going to survive this, but regardless of the consequences of tomorrow, I want to live with out regrets; that is why I want you to know that I love you. ¨ said Betty as she squeezed his hand tightly.

Karasu breathed hard under his mask. He wasn´t expecting that Betty would said that to him, specially after all the tense situation that was happening around them. Karasu loved her too, it was a deep feeling that he tried to forget or disguise as friendship or comradery during many years. He liked her for her strength, kindness and confidence, he even sometimes liked her rudeness and her impertinence. However, Karasu knew that he could not say her yes, not until the war was over and he could be able to compromise himself. But, would they survive to the war? He was not sure of the answer of that question, but instead he was hundred percent sure that he loved her and that he wanted to die with out any regrets.

¨When this whole war is over I promise that we will make our future together. ¨ Karasu said as turned to her side and hugged her.

¨I promise that we will make pay those bastards for everything they have done to you. ¨ said Betty determined.

¨Or we will die trying."

XXXXXX

I hope you guys have like this thing, hehe. This is the first fanfic that I write entirely in English. I usually write in Spanish and then, if I have time or patience I make an English versión of it. So if there is any grammar mistakes please excuse me and correct me.

Personally I liked to write about Karasu and Betty a lot (seriously, they are both husbando and waifu material), they look like very interesting characters and there are lots of crazy theories about them. There are some people saying that Betty may be transexual due Ivankov powers and there are other people saying that she may be actually Luffy´s mom and Dragon´s lover. And Karasu… that guy is just awesome! Is like if Itachi had shaved his head and stared to take steroids while using a medieval doctor mask. Plus he looks very suspicious and misterious (sexy?) and there are some ultra crazy theories about him. Is Karasu a spy working for Kaido? Does he uses his mask to protect his identity or some past scar or injury? What kind of DF he has? Is he Katakuri´s missing brother/father? Or just Kuina using a disguise to fool everyone? Ok, just kidding.

I know that this ship is totally crack, but honestly most OP ships are crack so what´s the problem? Besides I think they would look adorable together. (I like this ship more than Dragon x Betty.)

As always I am open for critiques and comments!