These Feelings You Already Know
"Miss! One bento please!"
"Yes! Coming right up!" replied a young woman who wore her dark hair in pigtails. She went by the name of Rika and was currently working at the cafeteria in the town's nearby marine base. She started working there about 4 years ago and enjoyed every day. The officers were very nice, an interesting bunch. They were also quite entertaining to watch.
Today, it seems as if they were having guests over, most likely very important, high ranking guests. All of them seemed to be in a hurry that morning when Rika arrived, scrambling to and fro while trying to make the place sparkle. Rika chuckled when she saw a half asleep soldier try to mop the floor with a broom. They were an amusing bunch indeed.
Things seem to slow down that afternoon, and Rika saw the usual faces trickle in to the cafeteria to order their usual meals. She learned more recipes and cooking styles by working there, growing out of her childish habit of making rice balls. Still, she liked to experiment with them and would ask some of the soldiers to try it. Because of that, her eel rice ball was put on the menu and was quite popular around the base.
She had her back to the counter, working on the next order. She spotted something on the wall and looked up. Her eyes became gentle as she saw the calendar with today's date highlighted with an asterisk.
Oh, that's right, she thought. I forgot that it was today.
She looked down in thought. Today was the day that her two friends Coby and Helmeppo were transferred to another department. She only heard about it from the other officers, but apparently, they were involved with Captain Morgan's escape with one being the hostage and the other trying to save him. Because of their bravery, they were taken in to be trained by a high ranking official. She was glad that they had to opportunity to work under someone as prestigious and strong as Vice Admiral Garp, but she became sad and angry as she had been the last to be notified. She was their friend, or she thought she was. Even if it was short notice, they could have at least told her about it.
She didn't even get to say goodbye.
They didn't even write to her. Not a single letter.
The first time she heard from them was from a newspaper that was reporting on the war on Marineford. She was frightened for them, concerned for their safety since they were put in the front lines. She was especially worried since Coby was the one who stopped the fighting after Whitebeard had already been killed. Her heart dropped as she read that part of the newspaper but was quickly relieved that his words reached them. Most of all, she was glad that they were both all right. Even if the newspaper didn't say so, she felt as if they were well. This thought made her feel better, but still a little sad that they didn't keep in touch.
Even after the battle, she still received no letter, no form of contact. The only thing that connected them to her was the newspaper clippings about their heroic antics and their promotions. She secretly cut them out and stored them in a book she kept in her bookcase at home. She was proud of them and missed them dearly.
Even if they forgot about her, she still considered them her friends. One day, she hoped that they'll come back. She hoped that he would come back. That's why she started working at the base's cafeteria.
The screeching of two of the bar stools snapped Rika out of her reverie. She went right back to making the order, not wanting to make the customer wait.
"I'd like to have the eel rice ball, please," said an unfamiliar voice.
"Hmm…then I'd like to have a teriyaki bento!" said another.
Rika looked behind, glancing at the newcomers. One of them was tall and lanky with long blond hair. She saw him give his companion a raised eyebrow from behind his sun visors. His companion, on the other hand, was smaller in stature and a little quieter, hiding his face under a standard Marine hat. He pulled the brim down over his eyes when he noticed Rika observing him. Then she gave them her best professional smile, fully knowing that these two must have been some of the guests that the others were fussing about.
"You guys are new here, right? Nice to meet you. My name is Rika," she said cheerily. "I'm afraid that you'll have to wait a bit more for your bento," she said, directing her comment at the blond, "I have a lot of orders for it, so it'll take a while."
"Darn," replied the blond, snapping his fingers. "We're a little tight on schedule, so can I change it to eel rice ball then? I hear that the one here is quite delicious and was started as an experiment by a certain young waitress."
Rika chuckled, knowing that he was talking about her. "That's what they say, but I'm glad that they at least enjoy it. If you guys want, would you like to try a rice ball I'm working on? I need fresher opinions. It's free, and I promise that it won't make you sick."
The blond nodded. "Sure!" he elbowed his friend. "How about you try it too? Pretty sure that it'll be good!" His friend pulled down the sun visor even more. He looked away and nodded.
Rika smiled. He must be shy.
After she finished the order and handed it to the hungry customer, she started working on the two newcomer's rice balls. She put the pieces of eel on the grill, waiting patiently for them to cook.
"Oh, what's that?" asked the blond. "You have something marked on your calendar. Is there something special going on today?"
Rika smiled shyly. "Oh, no. It's just a reminder for me. It's the day when my two friends were transferred over to another base. I'm happy for them, but I wish I knew how they were doing."
The blond propped his elbow on the table, his head resting on his hand. "Hmm? Sounds like they didn't contact you. Don't they write?"
Rika shook her head as she got about 6 scoops of rice from the rice cooker and placed them on a clean plate. "I didn't get any yet, but they must be busy with all of their duties. It's hard to be a member of the Marine."
The blond glanced once at his friend before replying. "Yeah, but they could've made time. Sorry to hear about that though. What are they like? Maybe we've met them."
Rika looked thoughtful. She scooped up the cooked eel and placed them in four of the scoops. Then she sprinkled on some spices and a special sauce. Then she covered them and formed them into the traditional triangular shape, facing the newcomers as she answered them.
"I don't know what they're like now since it's been a while. They were also older than me, so it's possible that they might've changed somehow. But when they were younger, one was blond like you but with shorter hair. He was…How do I put it? He was prideful. He was also quite rash and rude when I first met him," she laughed at the memory of Helmeppo's disgusted expression as he commented on how sweet her rice balls were. It was her fault for mixing up the salt with the sugar. "Hopefully, he's become better in his temperament. He was always a hothead," she continued. The blond newcomer laughed in return.
"Then my other friend," she said with a gentle smile, "He has pink hair and glasses and looks a little dorky, but he's quite knowledgeable and polite. He seemed a little timid and downcast at first, but because of a person's influence, he started to become braver and courageous. He was also really determined and motivated to be a Marine. It was really admirable how hard he worked. But then he'd also get easily embarrassed, so it was quite funny whenever he did that."
"Did you like him?" the blond asked bluntly. His companion looked at him, startled by his question. Rika's eyes widened as she felt the heat forming on her face.
Rika heard a thump from behind the counter. The blond keeled over, nursing his leg. His comrade must've kicked him for his rudeness. "What? I was just wondering! The way she said it looked like she did," he defended himself.
She smiled shyly. "To tell you the truth, I actually did," she admitted as she hid her face behind her hands in embarrassment. She turned around, not wanting to face them.
"I know that it's most likely one sided on my part," she said quietly, as she took her hands off her face so that she could keep working. "Even when we were kids, he was busy studying and training so that he could meet the person who set him on the path to his dream. But still…you know? It would have been nice to receive letters."
It was one thing to admit this to herself, but to tell a complete stranger was downright embarrassing. She wondered if she said too much. Rika finished the orders quietly, placing three rice balls on each plate. Two of the three were eel, and the last one was the special one, an experiment. She hoped that they would enjoy it.
She didn't hear any other questions from the blond, probably because his companion shushed him every time he tried to ask. She chuckled as she turned around with the finished order, placing the plates in front of them. She also put a glass of iced tea in front of them.
"Hope you guys enjoy it. Here's some iced tea on the house. Sorry for having you listen to my story," she grinned.
"Nah. It was interesting to know. They sound like someone we know, but they might not be them after all. Sorry about that," the blond said as he took a big bite from the eel. His friend nodded as he nibbled on one. Then they started to take bigger bites, surprised at how good it tasted. Rika smiled at their reactions. The other Navy soldiers were the same way when they first tried it.
"I can't believe how good that was," the blond said, sad as he finished the last bite. He reached for the surprise rice ball and took a bite. He was taken aback by the taste.
"Woah. It's sweet! What is this?" he looked inside the rice ball. "Is that mango? No way. This is seriously good!"
Rika beamed. "Thanks! It was an experiment. I wanted to make a rice ball to give the marines a little variety and some nutrition. They've been only eating meat and more meat, so I wanted them to at least have some vegetables and fruits in their diet," she whispered the last part.
The blond laughed out loud while the quiet guy chuckled.
"That's brilliant!" he exclaimed. "I've been feeling a little too greasy with all the meat in my system. It's really creative of you! Maybe we should recruit her in our department, eh?" he elbowed his companion once again, wiggling his eyebrows. His friend coughed as he finished his last bite, punching his chest. When he was settled after taking a swig of iced tea, he was already getting up to leave.
"Thanks for the meal. It was delicious," he said quietly as he left his payment and a tip. Then he walked away and started to head towards the exit.
"Oh, hey! Wait for me!" the blond gulped down the rest of his iced tea and put his share of the payment on the counter. With a thanks and a nod, he took his unfinished rice ball and ran after his friend. Rika laughed at his antics, enjoying their amusing display. They had an interesting relationship, those two.
The rest of the day was uneventful. She didn't see the two newcomers again, but she saw glimpses of unfamiliar faces as they passed by the cafeteria. They looked in and waved at her and her coworker, but then were ushered to hurry on to the conference room. They must've had a serious meeting to get to. She also heard the regular soldiers talk about it, too.
Rika wiped the sweat off her brow when she finished the last order. Once the customer left, the other waitress flipped the sign so that it said closed and began to put the chairs on the table so that she could start mopping the floors. Rika also started to clean the kitchen before helping.
When they were done, the sun was already starting to set. Rika put away the clean dishes and started to wipe the countertop. She waved to the other waitress who was already on her way out the backdoor. Rika sighed as she looked toward the sun that was setting on the horizon of the sea. It was beautiful with the way the oranges and the red hues mixed and reflected on the water. This was her favorite view out of the whole town. She was glad she discovered this when she stayed later to clean.
She stretched her muscles, surprised to find them actually sore. Well, she did have more orders than usual, so of course she would be tired.
Her attention was brought to the voices that echoed in the hall. They started to grow louder as they neared closer.
"Man, that meeting was extra long, wasn't it? It makes me angry that they have to go through formalities before getting to the real topic," said a voice. Rika recognized it to be the blond newcomer from that afternoon.
"Well, it has been a few years since we've seen them, and we came back with a higher ranking. So that's just them showing respect. I'm just surprised that they still recognized us after all this time," said another voice. Rika thought that the voice belonged to the quiet companion, but it seemed as if he changed his whole demeanor.
"It's too bad that Ms. Rika didn't recognize us though, am I right? C'mon, that's what you were thinking," jested the blond. Rika was a little confused but curious at the same time. Was she supposed to know who they were? She silently opened the door and poked her head out to see the blond with his arm around his companion's neck. They were laughing.
"And what's with this hat? She would've recognized us sooner if you hadn't worn it! Why I thought I'd play along with you is beyond me!" the blond had his hand on the sun visor and yanked it off of his friend's head, revealing pink hair and a yellow bandana. His round blue glasses fell on the floor, sliding towards Rika's feet. She stood in the middle of the hallway, stunned by what she saw.
Both of them stopped as they spotted her, equally as shocked. Silence passed between them.
These were her two friends that left without saying a word, who left without her saying goodbye and good luck. These were also the same people she revealed everything to earlier that day. Her eyes drifted on each of their shocked faces from the x-shaped scare above Coby's brow to the raised eyebrows and gaping mouth of Helmeppo. She became angry at herself for not recognizing the blond earlier. She even pointed out his hair before when she was describing him!
But more than that, she became embarrassed and saddened that these two tricked her, that they had the gall to done a disguise and pretend not to know her. More so than that, she became angry that she revealed to them that she liked Coby!
Tears swelled up in her eyes as she picked up the glasses from the floor. She fought to contain the tears, but she still sniffled. She looked up at them, angry and hurt at what they did. She threw the glasses at Coby, who caught it with surprise. Then she dashed back into the cafeteria, closing the entrance and escaping through the back door. She heard their fists bang against the cafeteria door and their voices carry through the room, but she didn't stop even after the back door closed.
She just ran towards town, ran towards home. After all these years, she wanted to see them, wanted to know how they were doing, if they were getting along, if they were eating right, and if they were happy. She especially wanted to know if he was getting enough sleep, if he felt saddened by something, if he was happy by something, and if he was trying this best every day.
She also wanted to at least see Coby one more time before she buried those feelings for good, her one sided feelings that were probably never going to be voiced and never going to be returned. But now that they played this trick on her, she never wanted to see both of them ever again. Her heart twisted painfully as she remembered those days where all three of them spent their afternoons studying and having a picnic. Never will those innocent days come again.
Rika stumbled backwards as she bumped into something. She wiped away her tears and was about to apologize when she looked up to find a big man grinning wickedly at her with a bunch of men standing behind him, most likely also drunk. He held her thin wrist to prevent her from falling.
"What do we have here, guys?" he drawled. Rika's nose wrinkled as she smelled alcohol on him. "Lookie here. It's a sad kitty, pro'ly lost. What say you, kitty?"
Rika struggled to free her wrist. "No, sir. I'm not lost. Please let go of me," she said.
"Ohs, what's this? Little kitty's saying something," he said as his other hand gripped her chin. His comrades laughed behind him. The man brought his mouth to her ear, whispering, "She's so cute. Why don't I show kitty some good petting to cheer her up, eh?"
Rika took her chin away from his grasp and bit down on his hand. He yowled as he let go of her wrist. She turned to run, planning on taking a shortcut to lose them. Then she heard the wind pick up and some slashings. Behind her, she heard the yells of the men before their bodies made a loud thud on the ground.
She stopped midway through her run and glanced behind her. She now recognized his tall, built form and the way the night wind brushed away his short pink hair. He dusted off his hands and then rested them on his waist. Rika was surprised at how strong and fast he became. All the men, including the drunkard, lay unconscious at his feet. His face half turned towards her, his eyes glancing at her.
Then she remembered about her previous encounter and turned to continue her escape. She faintly heard the wind blow, and her face crashed into his chest. His big hands wrapped around her wrists, preventing her from escaping.
She struggled in his grasp with her face down as her tears cascaded down her face. She couldn't contain her feelings anymore. She was hurt, she was scared, she was downright angry. Most of all, she was ashamed that he now knew of her feelings for him. She was frightened of what he would tell her.
Finally, she managed to free herself, but she stood there before him, knowing that if she ran he would catch her. She lifted one fist and then the other. Then she started pounding angrily on his chest. He let her.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid," she repeated over and over with each blow.
"I know," he said quietly, taking each blow. "I'm sorry."
She looked up at him with her tear streaking face.
"Sorry? SORRY? After all this time," she hiccupped, "After all these years, you guys didn't even send me one letter! Not. One. Letter! Do you know how much it hurt to find out things through other people? Do you know how painful it was, not knowing if you guys are alive? Not knowing if you were alive?"
She clung to his shirt, her head resting on his chest. Her tears spilled on to his shirt and the ground, but she didn't care.
"I didn't even say goodbye! I didn't even get to tell you how I felt! Do you have any idea what it felt like to not even tell you my feelings?" she exclaimed.
"Yes, I do," he replied.
Startled, she looked back up to see his sad eyes staring back at her.
"At first, I was so absorbed in my studying and training that I forgot about the person I left behind. When I finally remembered, I also remembered having this warm and comforting feeling here," he put his hand over his heart. "I don't know when it started, but I kept thinking about you. So I wrote letters to you, but I was afraid to send them. Helmeppo even wrote some letters, but he kept messing up. Both of us thought that you might have moved on, found some other friends, found some other happiness. Since we weren't part of your life anymore, we thought that you forgot about us," he explained. She shook her head.
"You guys are my friends," she explained, "I never forget my friends."
"And we didn't forget about you. I didn't forget," he whispered.
He brought his hand to her face and wiped away some of her tears. Then he brought his face closer to hers, planting a soft kiss on her forehead. She closed her eyes, savoring the feeling.
He drew back, smiling gently at her.
"I'm really sorry that we pretended not to know you, especially me. I was so nervous to return that I thought that you might not want to see me, so I hid myself. I'm really sorry," he apologized.
"I know that I'm young and that there are still many things that I have to learn," he continued as he put his hands on her shoulders. He locked eyes with Rika, showing that he was serious. "But I hope to come back here – with Helmeppo, of course. We'll have picnics and outings every day like we did when we were younger," he promised.
"But until then," he said nervously, "Is it okay if I start seeing you?"
Rika's heart skipped a beat.
"Of course, it's perfectly okay for you to say no," he said as he hid his red face behind one hand while waving the other in front of him. "I mean, I understand if you don't feel the same way after all these years. I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind. I mean, if you would like to – "
She smiled at his embarrassment. He was still the same old Coby she knew from before.
She wiped the last of her tears from her eyes as she caught his hand and brought it to her cheek, smiling gently at his warmth. He took his hand away from his face and looked at her.
They stood that way for a few minutes, before Rika was ready to give her answer.
"My feelings," she said. "You already know. You already have your answer, Coby. Yes," she smiled, "I will wait for you to come back."
For the first time in years, she saw a full smile bloom on Coby's face. It made her heart swell that he also felt the same way.
Her feelings he already knew.
And his feelings she now knows.
The End
Author's Note:
Hello, hello! This is my first time writing a One Piece fanfiction. Hope you guys enjoyed it! I'm surprised that no one has tried to write about this pairing before. Although it's probably because Rika only showed up in a few chapters and in a handful of chapter covers. I never forgot about her either, so I was quite happy when Oda drew that chapter cover about Rika being the waitress at the Marine's base. That's kinda what sparked this little oneshot here. :)
Ayy! I forgot to add in what happened to Helmeppo. Guess he would ruin the beautiful ending, huh? Well, Coby separated from him because he used Soru and because he wanted to clear the misunderstanding between him and Rika (also used his Haki to locate her). Helmeppo wanted to help too, but he didn't know where to go. He still doesn't have Haki or is still in training for it (to which he expresses his envy over the sudden and early appearance of Coby's Haki) and probably searched all over town for those two. When he caught up to them, he was very exhausted but glad that everything went well between the two. He also apologized to Rika for tricking her and that he had no ill intention behind it. She forgave him. Since then, she made them promise to write letters to her whenever they could, especially Coby.
Hope you guys enjoyed this story! Please review and let me know what you think!
P.S. Eel rice ball is really really really really good. I'd love to eat them every day, but I'm afraid that I'll get tired of them. :)