I made this fanfic because reasons!
It is in no ways connected to my other story, 'Once dead brother of mine'. Therefore, In this little plot bunny, Ace and Sabo never met, sooooo~
oooh! Look a penny!
A dry gust of wind fled across Baltigo as the revolutionary's ship pushed itself into the harbor. On the deck, behind a windbreak on a sofa overloaded with cushions and blankets was the pirate Nico Robin, 80,000,000 berri bounty, the archeologist of the scattered strawhat pirates. She had come here to Baltigo to become stronger, ready for when the strawhats met up in two years time to head to new world. She was nervous about meeting her captain's father, Dragon, the leader of the revolutionaries and so called "Worst criminal in the world". She hoped he would be very easy-going like her captain, but she didn't hold much hope for that. Bunny Joe approached her cautiously, well aware she was deep in thought. "Nico Robin-san? We've arrived"
"So this is Baltigo... I didn't expect it to be so barren. But you have more important things to attend to than gardening" She thought back to her little garden on board the Thousand sunny, hoping they would do well over the next two years.
"Dragon-san said that we should give you a tour of the base before going to see him, so you won't get lost quite so easily"
"That is fine, please lead the way, Bunny-kun"
"Of course, this way" He began to move, and made motion for her to follow him. They visited the infirmary,where the doctors were hard at work tending to soldiers, the kitchens, where the cooks were beginning to whip up lunch and the training ground where hundreds of soldiers were being trained in various methods of combat. Eventually they reached the barracks, where many of the men came out of their rooms to see her. She even got a few wolf whistles, which were hurriedly shushed. Bunny Joe knocked on a few doors and introduced her to the various commanders. Eventually they came to a door with the letters ASL sloppily painted on, the paint looked at least 10 years old, and the letters looked like they had been painted by a child. The door also had a beautifully crafted wooden knocker with SABO carved into it. It looked hand made, and she marveled at the craftsmanship. Bunny Joe had spoken with some of the commanders about someone having locked himself in his room. She hadn't heard the name of the person, but she could tell by Bunny Joe's worried glance that this was the one. "That's the chief of staff, Sabo's room. The door is always slightly open when he is in and awake. If it's closed he's likely asleep or not in, we'd best not disturb him if he is sleeping. We'll go to the command center and meet with Dragon-san next" He glanced quickly at the door and she got the message 'We should hurry and go, before something happens'. She was quite curious as to what that something would be, but she followed after Bunny Joe regardless, wondering about the man behind the door.
Once she had been introduced to the eagerly awaiting crew of the command center, she was told to go through the door at the back of the room. She stepped out and a surprisingly cold breeze caught the ends of her coat. Before her stood a man in a green cloak. He was very tall and ruggedly built, His long black hair fluttering slightly in the breeze. "Nico Robin, I presume. It is both an honor and a pleasure to meet you"
"And I may return the same back to you. I have heard many impressive things about your army, but you seem to manage to stay in the shadows yourself. It is good to finally meet the man behind the army" She smiled and shook his proffered hand. She noticed he had a tattoo along the left hand side of his face, and remembered that both Luffy and Garp have scars around that same eye.
"It is a good to have you here on Baltigo-" He stopped his greeting when her gaze grew more serious. "Is something the matter?"
She sighed lightly, allowing a small smile to tug at the corners of her lips "Sorry, but this is only going to be a temporary arrangement. I hope to meet up again with Luffy and the rest of the crew in two years time. However, I will endeavor to support your army over these two years and hopefully grow stronger myself." His shoulder sunk slightly, but he managed to keep a slight smile on his face.
"That should be fine, it will raise the men's morale to no end, having the light of revolution working with them." He paused, taking the time to gauge her reaction. "There is one man on the island that seems to be very upset about the recent happenings in marineford. He is my chief of staff, his name is Sabo. No one seems to know why he is so upset about the war, but they are worried because he doesn't come out of his room for anything, even to eat. I would like you to try and cheer him out of his slump. This should make his subordinates much more at ease."
A bright smile flew across her eyes and a fire lit in her heart, she had been hoping to solve the mystery of the man behind the locked door. "Of course I will, I had been wondering what he is like since I walked past his room earlier" She turned and went back through the control center towards the barracks, a serious look in her eyes.
By the time she got back to the door, everyone had left to go get lunch and the corridors were empty. Tentatively she lifted the delicately carved knocker and brought it back down to the door three times. "Go away. I don't want anything" A muffled voice called from inside the room.
"Is that Sabo-san?"
"That's a new voice. I am Sabo. Who are you?" She heard him shuffling towards the door as he spoke, his voice becoming clearer as he approached.
"Dragon-san sent me to talk to you" She tried to be deliberately vague, trying to coax him closer.
"I don't need anyone to talk to me, I just want to be alone."
"Now you're just being stubborn." She smiled and put her hands on her hips. "Just like my captain." She added in a quiet voice.
"Captain?" He sounded curious, and she heard him stop as he reached the door.
"Yes, my captain, Luffy." That had caught his attention. She heard a slight gasp from behind the door.
"L-Luffy?" the door creaked open a little, restrained by a small chain. She could see a single eye in the darkness, quietly surveying her
"Do you not know him?" She took off her coat, stowing it under one arm and squeezed the paper that had been in her pocket through the crack in the door. "See, that's him there" She pointed to the picture on the front page, it had picture of luffy standing in marineford offering a silent prayer for those lost in the war.
"Oh, I know him. I know- Knew him well. A long time ago." The eye looked at the paper, almost swimming with sadness. "You are one of his crew, you say?" His voice had a tint of curiosity in it, and no longer sounded quite so defeated.
"Yes I am. May I come in?" She smiled, raising an eyebrow.
"Sorry. It's a bit of a mess right now, you don't really want to come in here right now." The man laughed quietly, and then his stomach growled.
"Well then, how about I get us both some lunch whilst you do some tidying?" It wasn't really a question. She flung her coat back on, leaving it unbuttoned and calmly walked over to the kitchens, a small spring in her step. When she got there, everyone was finishing and going back to their jobs. She slunk through the crowd with very little effort and ended up at a stainless steel counter on the very edge of the room at the end of the long tables. A portly woman was standing behind the counter waving a ladle at her fellow chefs.
"We have to get ready for dinner now! Chop chop! No dilly dallying!" She turned and saw Robin leaning on the counter "Ah, Robin-san! you're a little bit late, almost everything is gone now..."
"Don't worry about it. I came down to see if you had any lunch to spare for Sabo-san" She winked and the woman's jaw fell to the floor
"He wants to eat? It's been to weeks since he ate anything I sent up there!"
"Well, his stomach growled like an untamed lion, so I'll take that as he wants something to eat"
"Of course I can send something up! You go ahead and tell him it'll be up right away."
"It's probably better if I take it up, he's still refusing to talk to people... He just seems a little curious about me, and I'd like to take the opportunity to help him out." She talked as the woman began to collect dish after dish from the left-overs.
"I don't think you'll be able to carry it all, my girl, he eats like a horse!" The woman chortled.
"I know a few men who can probably eat more than him, and plus" She used her devil fruit ability to pick up all the plates the woman had prepared "I have a few helping hands!". She passed the plates to the multitude of hands that had sprouted round her torso, before proceeding to return to Sabo's room.7
Once she got there, she found the door slightly open and a light shining from it. Everyone had gone about their daily routine, so once again the corridor was empty, bar a few stragglers. She was about to attempt to push the door open with her hip when it was pulled open from the inside "Ah, Robin-san! You're here! Come this way, I cleaned up the table so you can put the plates down". She turned to see a man pulling on a dark blue- almost black- jacket that reached to his knees. He had curly blond hair that was unkempt and falling into random, some slightly longer than other, curls. He had a large burn scar covering the left hand side of his face, reaching up into his hair line and down towards his chin. She looked down, continuing her analysis of him, to his broadly muscled chest, which could be seen beneath his still open jacket, unbuttoned white shirt and untied white neck cloth. He had black trousers tucked into black boots with gold buckles. She placed the plates down on the table and removed her coat, before sitting down in the free chair.
"I hope you're hungry, she prepared rather a lot of food" His stomach growled in response and he began to put away the food at lightning speed. She laughed at how quickly the food was disappearing, and took a sip of the coffee she had asked the chef for as an after thought. He swallowed the last mouthful and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.
"Sorry. Where are my manners" He laughed heartily and offered a hand across the table. "My name is Sabo. It is a pleasure to meet you" She shook his hand, and a huge smile broke out on his face.
"And my name is Nico Robin, the pleasure is all mine. Though I have to ask why we are introducing ourselves, we already known each other."
"Sorry, My bad" The stupid grin was still slapped across his face. It was strangely familiar... "So, you're a member of Luffy's crew... How do you do it?" The smile relaxed slightly as he lent back in his chair and his head tilted in questioning.
"Do what?"
"Deal with his stupidity of course!" He laughed again "I know what he is like. Headstrong, unthinking, and a magnet for trouble!"
"You know him?"
"He's my little brother!" This time the smile reached his eyes and he was beaming, the scar around his left eye crinkling. Her mouth dropped open slightly. "His... Brother? But how? I know that he and Ace aren't blood related, are you-?"
"No, we're bound together by something stronger than blood!" The remaining smiled dropped from his face, and instantly she realized why he had locked himself away. He had been mourning Ace's death. She looked to the paper she had given him, which was now spread on his bed. He was probably as relieved as I was to see Luffy alive. She peered around the room. Two of the walls were plastered with carefully torn newspaper articles. Many of the ones on one wall had the achievements of various revolutionaries. On the other featured two men, whom she recognized as being Luffy and Ace. These articles were more carefully arranged, with larger sections of text. She spotted her own wanted poster among the other strawhats. She didn't realize that he had lent onto the table whilst she looked around in thought.
"What does the '3D2Y' on his arm mean? It's not a fashion statement, that's just not like him."
She started when he spoke, but quickly composed herself, a light smile gracing her lips "Ah, that is our promise, and our orders. We had planned to meet up at our ship after three days, but we were spread across the world by Bartelomew Kuma, and then the war happened" She looked back towards her lap chewing her lip a little "It's crossed out to say that we won't meet up after 3 days, as we had originally planned, but instead after 2 years. To give us time to gain the strength needed to survive new world." She looked him in the eye, a fire burning in her soul "We will become stronger. so that he never has to go through something like that ever again."
"Good, good! I see why he chose to have you in his crew! Maybe I can go with you to see him in two years time. I wonder what his reaction will be" He gave a nervous chuckle. "It's already been 10 years..."
"10 years since what?" She looked up at him, her confusion written all over her face.
"Since I died and the revolutionaries picked me up." He looked up towards the ceiling in thought.
"You died?" She was morbidly curious now. Had this man been to hell and back?
"Not literally." He guffawed, trying desperately trying to contain his amusement at her taking that comment seriously. "10 years ago I set sail from Goa... 10 years ago I was shot down by one of the tenryubitto for interrupting their arrival ceremony... 10 years ago I was assumed dead by everyone on the island, but was actually plucked from the rubble of my ship and brought here to recover from my wounds. I wanted to grow stronger before going back... But before I knew it, I was one of the revolutionaries and 7 years had passed. Ace had set out to sea so I resolved to become even stronger before meeting him. Then Luffy set out and it just kept getting harder and harder for my to pluck up the courage to show them I was still alive... And now here we are. Ace is dead. And I couldn't even let him know I was alive" He drew his knees to his chest, hugging them. Robin got up, walked around an patted him on the shoulder.
"But luffy is still there, isn't he? In just two more years time, you will certainly have built up the courage and strength to tell him 'I'm still alive!'"
"He'll probably punch me." He looked away from her.
"He'll probably bawl his eyes out, then start a party." She tittered, "Now then, we should go see your comrades, they're all worried about you."
He wiped a small tear from the corner of his eye. "Yeah. You're right." He stood up, and put his hand on her shoulder "Thank you. For giving me back my hope."
"It's no problem" She smiled "It was something that Luffy returned to me fairly recently as well, just pass it on to someone else as well eventually, okay?"
He picked up a top hat adorned with a pair of blue goggles. "Thanks, I plan on it." He began to reach for the door, but the handle wobbled slightly before his hand got close "Now, I wonder who it is." With his eyes shadowed and a mischievous grin, he had the air of someone that knew exactly who was behind the door, but had to said it anyway for the fun of it. In one swift movement her opened the door and lept back to reveal a pile of revolutionaries who fell on top of each other the moment their support, in other words the door, had been removed.
A young girl with a brown bob and huge eyes, wearing a paperboy cap with goggles in a similar way to Sabo was at the top of the pile. She pushed herself up and a huge grin broke out on her face "Sabo-san! You're back to being, well, you!" She sprung to her feet, hugging him before a word could escape his lips "We were all so worried about you..." She pushed herself away from him and lent sidewise around him, so that Robin could see only her head. "Thank you for returning him to his senses!"
Robin raised her hand, as if to brush away the thanks. "It was the least I could do"
The rest of the motley crew of revolutionaries rose to their feet, each of them wearing some sort of goggles somewhere on their person. Judging by this and their relieved expression, she safely assumed these were the worried subordinates that Dragon had spoke of. They each took their turn to welcome their chief of staff 'Back to the world of the living' and afterwards, thanked her for 'showing him the light'. She chuckled and waited for them to bring him back up to date with the news.
By the time they had finished filling him in, night had already fallen on the revolutionary base. Looking at the clock, she saw they still an hour before it was time for dinner. She turned back towards the group when it finally fell silent. Then after an uncomfortable few minutes silence, the young girl (who she now knew was called Koala, for one reason or another) spoke up "You know, Sabo-san, if you'd told us, we'd have kept you posted on what was happening. I know you were injured when the world found out about the execution, and I know, you would have gone anyway, and we would have followed, but..." She squirmed under his penetrating gaze, before finally blurting out the end of her sentence "But we all know that it wouldn't have changed anything!". She hung her head as the words rung true with her fellow officers, and Robin released a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Koala is right. No matter how much we wished we could have fought, we know we do not hold the power to have changed the outcome. She raised her head to gauge Sabos reaction, and saw that his gaze was a complex mixture of anger, sorrow and acceptance.
She cleared her throat, in an attempt to break the second awkward silence in as many minutes. "I think-" All the heads in the room snapped towards her, dragging themselves out of their respective whirlpools of thought. "I think that we should go see Dragon-san" She looked at Sabo, who looked back down guiltily "He seemed quite worried." The group murmured their agreement, and rose to their feet.
Sabo was the last to rise, a cold fire burning in his steely gaze. "You're right. I should apologize. And explain as well, I owe him that much." He turned and strode out of the room before any of the others could even blink. They quickly followed after him, their rhythmic footfalls echoing down the empty corridors.
By the time they'd navigated their way through the winding passage ways, Sabo had disappeared out of sight. In his wake was a trail of Revolutionaries leaning out of their doors with their mouths open. I guess word doesn't travel as quickly as I thought here. Maybe it's because this has all happened between mealtimes. Robin was still pondering when they reached the command center, where many of the occupants were hurriedly exchanging money. She giggled when she realized that they were the winnings of multiple bets, many of which were being handed to Terry Gilteo, who was happily leaning back in his chair, puffing on a cigarette whilst counting his winnings. The door at the back of the room swung on it's hinges slightly, and she could swear that if she listened she could hear some sort of crying. She hurriedly maneuvered herself between the rooms occupants and the door, quietly closing it so that the conversation could not be heard. A small smile crept onto her face. Those boys really don't know how to hide their emotions.
She had read a long report on what happened in the war whilst on the ship to Baltigo. They had included almost every word that could be heard from the den-den mushi, every action that each person in view had made. They had even managed to get some eye-witness accounts from some of the new-world pirates that had taken part in the fight. The detail was so exact and gruesome, that you almost thought you were there. She knew that Sabo would read it eventually, something she noted as being very different to Luffy. Sabo seemed to love to know about everything and everyone. All the revolutionaries that spoke of him seemed genuinely relieved that he was feeling better. But his quest for knowledge seemed even more vast, he had all manner of books stashed around his room, from history to cartography to anatomy. She hadn't seen some of those history books before... I wonder if he'd let me borrow them...
After spending a few minutes lost in thought, the door behind her creaked open a crack. "Nico Robin. Would you come out here for a minute?" It was Dragon, his voice low and rumbling like a stampede in the distance. She waited quite a while until she saw sure that no one was watching (They were all caught up in a game of cards) before exiting the room. Sabo was sitting on the balcony ledge, legs swinging in the breeze, staring over the vast plain past the docks and out into the ocean. Dragon was sitting in a small deck chair, quite obviously asleep. She lent on the balcony next to Sabo, her gaze following his to the huge ship with a dragon for a headpiece that was appearing on the horizon. A smile lept to his face as the ship sailed into the port. Without any warning, a hand was placed on her shoulder. "Robin. How about you work in Sabo's unit? He's still short a few men, and you seem to get along well". It was, of course, Dragon, his lids still heavy with sleep.
Sabos eyes lit up in surprise, and then his mouth widened in joy "Really!? I get to work with her!? Thank you!" He turned to Dragon, his face being swallowed in a huge smile. It quickly disappeared when he turned and saw her calculating stare. "If that's alright with you, of course, Robin-san"
She couldn't help but giggle. He is battling within himself, a wild young boy against a calculated and studious young man. I guess a part of him never grew up. "Of course I will join you! It sounds like fun!" He literally jumped off the railing and caught her in a bear hug.
"Thank you! I won't let you down!" He stopped, apparently lost in thought. He still held her high in the air in a vice like grip. "Maybe I should put you down though." All three of them laughed as he placed her gently back on the ground. "The others will be happy to hear you're working with us." He paused again, thinking deeply before walking towards the door. "I wonder how much money has changed hands already, and how much more is going to change hands after I tell them you've joined my division..." His arms crossed behind his head whilst he was leaning back and turning towards Robin, one foot in hanging in the air where he had stopped mid-step. "I'll ask Koala later, she likes to keep track of these things. You coming?"
She sighed lightly. What have I gotten myself into this time? They're so alike, it's hard to believe they aren't related by blood. "I'll follow you diligently for the next two years. You'll be sick of my company before long."
"I find that hard to believe. Just keep up, okay? Wouldn't want you getting lost" His smile widened further than she thought was possible when the large bell tolled signaling that dinner was ready. "Aw yeah! Just in time for dinner! Let's go!" He stretched up in a victory pose. "We'd better get there before all the good seats are gone! And by good seats, I mean-"
"The ones right next to the kitchen, right?" She walked beside him, opening the door
"Yup! You read my mind!" He jogged through the room, a beaming smile on his face. She walked fast to keep up, jogging around the corners to keep sight of him.
Most of the seats in the corners were taken, but the table on the far side (nearest the kitchen door) was mainly empty. Sabo made a beeline towards the seats at the very end of the table, sliding over the tabletop and taking the seat closest to the door. Most of the people in the room were smiling. The mood in the base seemed to have lightened since they had left Sabo's room. "Take any seat you want, the others usually just sit where there is a space" He was still smiling and humming happily, and she concluded that this was his natural state of being, rather than the serious young man she had met at first." The others burst through the door before clutching their sides or doubling over, trying to catch their breath. One of the men collapsed on the floor, sweat streaming down his face. He was easily the youngest of the group, a boy really, his clothes were still stiff and new and you couldn't see a scratch on him. The boy's name was Dwyn, as she recalled Koala calling him earlier.
He looked at her in disbelief, and began to speak in between his still heavy breaths "How?... How... can... you... keep... up... with... him!?" The looks on the others face, echoed his statement. She elegantly walked around the table and took the seat directly to Sabo's right.
"How... huh. Maybe... " She steeped her fingers, resting her chin on them her eyes narrowed as she considered her question. A small sigh escaped her lips when she realized the conversation had captivated the attention of everyone in the room. She saw Dragon slip into the room, and she closed her eyes. Her next words were little more than a whisper, but they filled the silent room. "Maybe it is because I have been running all my life" She opened her eyes and saw the weight of her words sink in. The young boy slowly made his way towards the table, cautiously sitting on the seat opposite her. He played with the words in his head, taking off his hat and fiddling around with the position of the goggles that sat atop it.
"Well then, you should let us make it so you never have to run away again!" He looked downwards, his cheeks flushing bright red. She smiled, ruffling his hair as the others sat down around them.
"I would love that, but I think it will take a couple of years yet. It isn't easy to topple a well established government. First you should learn their history-" She raised a finger, pointing to him as a school teacher might. The many conversations broke out once again, and she relaxed a little now that their attention wasn't on her. "Once you know that, you know the basis of their rule, an you can worm your way into the cracks. Then-"
Dwyn's eyes shone brightly "Will you teach me the history?" She chuckled. He seemed keen enough to learn but...
"There is one problem with that, though" She had a mischievous glint in her eyes as she lent forward towards him. "Even I do not know the true history of the world government. I do not know how, or why they formed the alliance of the twenty kingdoms. That is what the government destroyed my home, Ohara, for. They had uncovered much of the true history by deciphering the poneglyphs, which are written in the ancient language, which is now thought of as extinct" The quiet conversation had caught the attention of those sitting around them. Koala was leaning on one hand, and Sabo had crossed his arms on the table and was leaning on them. The others all had their heads turned towards her and were leaning on the table or their knees.
Sabo then spoke up, trying to fill the gap in the conversation. "You can read them, can't you? That's why the government put a bounty on your head at such a young age." The jaws of the group dropped in disbelief.
"I thought it was because you sank six battleships?"
"No, That would have been impossible, for I was only eight at the time. And yes, I can read them. Though, I haven't seen nearly enough of them to even begin to see the whole story. I believe that the Rio poneglyph lies on the final island of the Grand line, in New world. Raftel." A slow smile spread across her lips
"And you plan on going there with Luffy, right?"
'I knew that question was coming' was what she thought, but she didn't say it. Instead she said "Yes, though I will be happy to share what knowledge I have. And if you show enough intelligence and drive, I might teach one of you guys to read them too! We could revive a dead language." A small bell rang from the counter beside the door
"Are you guys going to come get food or not!?" A clatter of chairs followed this statement, but their group had the advantage of being right next to it, and they got to the counter first. "Help yourself to as much as you like, there's not likely to be much left after they're done" It was the head chef who had given her the lunch for Sabo. She began piling her plate with the assortment of foods, not taking too much. "Oh, and there is coffee at the end too" She smiled at this. It seems her love for coffee had already been expressed to the chefs by Bunny Joe. She carried her tray to the end and poured herself a large coffee. It was still piping hot, so she wouldn't be able to drink it straight away, but she was pleased by the aroma. She balanced it on the tray and made her way back to her seat, avoiding the jostling crowd of men attempting to get the last pudding.