A/N: Hello everyone! I am rather rusty but have been recently inspired to get back into fanfiction from this one particular story by Archaelogical and a friend who has also gotten back into FF. This is a story that I'm rather excited to write, but any reviews would be wonderful to bolster my confidence in sharing it! I'm going to try to keep this updated by a schedule and will announce it in the next chapter (if y'all are interested in this story) once I've figured it out.
A few warning going into this story: Samset Ginkgo has been alive for a very long time and with One Piece 'mechanics' is very overpowered. Not invincible mind you but very OP. Ginkgo is also literally gender-fluid. There are no planned pairings yet, but we will see as the story progresses and your input!
Wavy tresses of sea foam hair fell over pale shoulders as a beautiful man bent over burdened with laughter. A pale blue shirt covered his chest and a yellow coat covered his shoulders. Denim covered his legs down to his ankles where he wore leather sandals, a few extra pieces of jewelry hanging from his right arm and left ankle.
He barely held onto the plate and fork in his hands, cake threatening to fall off delicate porcelain, "Oh, Linlin, so charming as always!" He paused to straighten adding on a little quieter, "I think?"
The woman with pink hair stared down at him, lips turned upwards despite the smaller man laughing at her, "I am quite charming, Ginkgo, so you've decided to accept my offer?"
He composed himself with a bit of effort, taking another bite of his cake while he started counting heads of small children, "Marry you? Linlin, didn't you just get married? And how many children is this now? Four…five…s- god you look exactly the same-"
"That's no problem. I can get rid of him easily."
A bemused smile crossed his face as looked up to the towering woman from his crouched position, feeding a piece of cake to one of her children. God there had to be twelve? More? Definitely more. He watched the child in front of him open his mouth wide to accept another portion of cake. What a large mouth. Well, at least he enjoyed eating. That was important. He handed the rest of it off to that child.
Wait, what were they talking about again? Right, right. Marriage again.
"You've taken seven husbands under your name," he chirped and extended his arms. A few sounds of exclamation came from around them as water left cups, hoses, sinks, even the fountain behind them all and gathered around his feet. It suddenly engulfed him, swelling up to Charlotte Linlin's height till its raucous surface immediately went taut and Ginkgo stood before her, his eyes a few meters above her own. His beautiful teal eyes glistened like the sea itself as he laughed and slipped a hand behind her waist, pulling her towards him. He took her other hand and pressed her knuckles to his lips. He looked up with a knowing smile.
"You would make me your eighth?"
"It wouldn't be like the others!" She blurted out without thinking, pressing herself closer to his body. With her free hand, her fingers curled into his coat, "You're different, Ginkgo. I wouldn't-"
"Linlin, you know I'm not fond of marriage…"
His smile didn't change and there was still a warmth in his eyes that would have made any lady swoon. His hand left hers and he lifted her chin with his fingers, thumb brushing gently over her chin. He leaned in close and some of his seafoam hair fell forward, casting a curtain around their faces.
"However, I'll consider it…"
He could hear her breath hitch and so he grinned.
"If you can catch me."
With a loud splash all of the water that had once been Ginkgo crashed onto the cobblestone street, flooding briefly but miraculously avoiding Linlin and all of her children. As the water drained away, Ginkgo was nowhere to be found and all she could hear was the echo of Ginkgo's laughter in her ears.
She pursed her lips as she looked out into the skies, "I'll catch you soon enough Samset Ginkgo."
Charlotte Linlin was caught out of her revere when a small, but confident voice spoke at her feet, "Mama, I caught him."
"WHAT!" The twenty-six year old woman's eyes bugged out as she looked down to see that sure enough her second child had a handful of Ginkgo's coat in one hand and an empty plate in the other. Ginkgo raised a hand to the back of his head, running a hand through his hair laughing with water floating in front of his other hand. Linlin wasted no time, swiping her hand down to grab him, but when she opened her hand, she found nothing but water and the sound of laughter quickly dissipated.
Traveling by the sea was fast, but tiring. There were even faster ways to travel, but that took even more energy and Ginkgo didn't really want to be caught sleeping for a few solid days straight. It was also more fun to travel aimlessly, which meant a few days traveling and hoping to find a small island or ship or even a sea monster to rest on and grab a snack.
Luckily for Ginkgo, a set of railroad tracks in the sea led to a station and a familiar face. A pair of thin feet stepped onto the station, leather sandals tied up around pale ankles and a few more trinkets dangling and chiming. White cotton pants covered thin legs and a light pink shirt covered everything but narrow shoulders where a cotton cloak sat instead. Seafoam hair was tied up loosely to reveal a few dangling gold earrings and sparkling eyes as a beautiful woman called out.
"Coral!"
The door immediately slammed open and an older woman burst out with and frustrated shout, "It's Kokoro!"
They both stood there for a few seconds in silence.
"Ginkgo?"
"Cola? You're proportions have-"
"It's Kokoro!"
"Grandma? Who's that?"
A small girl with twin braids and small dress hopped out, a pink blazer folded over her arms. She plodded over to them, trading her grandmother for her half-empty bottle of alcohol for her blazer.
Kokoro sighed, slipping her arms through the sleeves, "You are Ginkgo, right? Not some absurd lovechild?
She just grinned and then turned her attention to the smaller girl. She knelt down to rest her arms on her knees.
"Oooh, she looks just like you Carol. I think." Ginkgo squinted for a bit observing her features. She shrugged and straightened, "Is this your daughter?"
The older looking woman stared at Ginkgo for a few solid seconds. God, Ginkgo really meant it. She laughed and grabbed her alcohol, swinging it to point in her direction, "Are you deaf? This is my grandkid, Chimney. Remember, that man that I met in Water 7?"
To the woman's credit, it did look like she put some thought into it before answering with a short, 'no.'
"Ah, but that's right, Water 7 is nearby!" She clapped her hands together, her bracelets chiming together against her wrist. She looked around for the island in question and Kokoro walked over to the edge of the station.
"Follow these tracks and you'll be on your way to Water 7. Just be careful for Enies Lobby."
Ginkgo stared at the tracks for a long time without saying anything for a while, watching as it swayed with the waters just under the surface. Steady. Unwavering. Her hand shivered and turned to water as a large bottle of sake fell out. Her arm snapped back into form just in time to catch its neck and set it down gently.
"I read the papers. Sorry, I wasn't here sooner."
For a few seconds, Kokoro didn't say anything and Chimney looked between them questionably.
"It's a big sea out there, you can't be everywhere," she sighed, shaking her head, "Be careful. It's almost time for the Aqua Laguna."
The other woman laughed this time, "Oh, I know. I can feel it coming. Stay safe, Kokoro."
And then she sprinted off the station and dove into the sea, Chimney running to the edge in alarm, "G-grandma, she's not really going to swim all the way to Water 7 is she?"
Blue eyes stared fondly at form disappearing under the water, "Don't you worry, Ginkgo can take care of themself just fine."
There was no one to question Ginkgo's sudden arrival at Water 7, suddenly launching herself onto the shore and immediately being dry. Well, there was a ship docked, but there didn't seem to be a soul in sight. She walked about it for a little while. It was a cute ship but it probably wasn't going to last much longer.
She turned toward the city and started making her way further in. The Aqua Laguna was soon. Hopefully, there would still be an open shop for something to eat.
As she was walking by, she passed a well-worn man carrying supplies back to the shore she'd just come from. She stole a glance back at him, but said nothing. He was either brave or crazy to be trying to fix that ship so close to Aqua Laguna. She shrugged her shoulders and continued onwards, a bit dismayed to find that most of the shops were already boarded up or in the process of being boarded up.
It almost seemed like a lost cause till she finally found a small bar. She almost cried for joy, though for the sake of saving her tears she gave a good spin on her heel and entered the establishment only a little teary eyed-and then immediately cried out, "Kolako!"
"It's Kokoro!"
Ginkgo trudged over to the bar like her body was made of lead and crawled into a barstool, pouting as she rested her head on the wooden bar, "How'd you get here before me?"
Kokoro shook her head with a chuckle before taking a good swig of her drink. She glanced over at the bartender, not missing the way he stared Ginkgo down for a few solid seconds before continuing to act natural. She turned to Ginkgo, giving her glass a few taps in seemingly random succession and then spoke, "Well, I'm sure you spent plenty of time running around to each shop. I, on the other hand, knew exactly where to go!"
Ginkgo only groaned rolling her head away to look at the bartender. She tapped on the wooden bar with two fingers. Twice. Then once more. There was a strum of three fingers against a glass mug.
She was being watched.
The woman waved lazily at the bartender, "Excuse me, do you have a menu? I'm starving-"
"YEOW!"
Before the man could open his mouth to reply, a man came in with quite the show. Everything about him was loud from his appearance to his volume to his partners. What disproportionately large hands…The women beside him also had an interesting choice in hairstyling. Was that hair? Hats?
Ah! A menu. Ginkgo gave the bartender the most gracious look her eyes could gleam and started looking it over. A meal! She could have a cooked meal! She'd really drowned the man out, turning to the small Chimney at her left. She waved the girl over who scooted closer to the edge of her stool.
"Can you read this for me!"
"Wah?" That was a familiar sound of astonishment. Nonetheless, Chimney took the menu from her hands, "Can't you read?"
"Nope!" Ginkgo chirped, swiveling in her seat, "I can do many a thing, but I can't read dried ink on paper alas-" She exaggerated, leaning back on the bar table, hand across her forehead as she recounted her tragedy.
Chimney giggled at the display before finally nodding and reading out the menu aloud. Ginkgo happily picked a stew that sounded nice from the menu. She was watching as Chimney enthused about something she'd seen the other day until this Franky fellow said some rude stuff about Kokoro. Her head snapped up and she stared the man down. Leather sandals soundlessly touched the ground as she stood up, ready to teach him a lesson when a hand patted her thigh a few times. Kokoro laughed and waved her off so she sat down with a frown and waited for her food to be done. She squinted in his direction, mildly displeased the whole time.
He offered drinks on the him. She ordered the most expensive drink there was to spite him.
She listened on and between Chimney's story and Kokoro's conversation. Kokoro mentioned something about CP9 and Franky seemed to think it was just a rumor. But Ginkgo knew better. Kokoro knew better. CP9 existed. Ginkgo didn't know who filled their ranks now, but she'd had a few run ins with them before. She had long since forgotten why they would try to catch her when they ran into each other, but it didn't mean she'd just hand herself over either.
She nursed her drink, still a little spiteful, until a hot stew and bread came out and she gladly dug in. A spoonful of fresh stew hit her tongue and she let out a sigh, relishing the taste and warmth in her mouth. You couldn't go wrong with a well cooked meal. Ah, bliss. It was only remembering what manners and common etiquette were that stopped her short from inhaling the food.
"By the way, who are you, miss? I can't say I recognize you."
Oh.
He was trying to provoke her wasn't he? First bullying Kokoro and now trying to interrupt her meal. She tore off a piece of bread and dipped it into the stew, tossing it into her mouth and maybe making more of a show to her relishing the meal. A few weaker men had to turn away with a few nosebleeds and flushed cheeks as she let out a moan and crossed her legs. She turned to him while leaning against the bar, knuckles tucked against her cheek, spoon dangling in her other hand.
"Just a lady trying to enjoy her meal…" She pressed the spoon against her lips and switched her legs around, "You wouldn't be trying to interrupt would you?"
Franky was quiet for a few seconds before suddenly exclaiming, 'SUPER!' and some other string of words that she really couldn't be bothered to follow with her warm meal awaiting her. The potato fell apart in her mouth perfectly and the meat was soft and tender. Oh, a carrot! Ah, the stock was delicious too. Ginkgo didn't have time usually to sit and cook a meal so when she was on an island she always made sure to get a cooked meal.
"-you join us?"
"Oh, I wouldn't try your luck with this one, Franky," came from a bemused Kokoro.
It wasn't until a hand tried slipping around her waist that she acted. Ginkgo suddenly fell apart into a puddle of water, eliciting a few sounds of surprise as she disappeared and reappeared on someone else's table. Legs crossed with a frown as she bent down to pick up a piece of bread from a man's plate. He gawked at her dumbly for a few seconds as she leaned down and gave him a nice view of what hid behind her loose shirt. His hands shook as he reached out to grab her and she disappeared onto another man's table.
"Join you?" She let out a little hum as she leaned back on one hand, the other sliding up her thigh, "Mmm…I'll consider it…"
She disappeared again as another hand reached for her and she appeared between the two women who had accompanied Franky and slid a hand on each of their waists. She winked at him.
"If you can catch me."
Ginkgo disappeared for the last time in that bar with the echoes of laughter. She'd had her fill for now, it was plenty time to leave the bar. She knew that bartender had been looking at her rather intensely when he thought no one could see. Well, of course she saw. Not the same way others did, but she certainly felt that gaze. A hunt. It was always the gaze of a predator. She laughed as she spun in the rain, skipping around town aimlessly, with no fear of the Aqua Laguna. Maybe it was time for some fun?
"…Grandma, can I look now?"
Kokoro sighed and peeled her hands from Chimney's face, the girl eagerly taking to her refilled soda. Some things never changed.
For a city that should be getting ready for the Aqua Laguna, there was an awful lot of people running around like chickens with their heads cut off. There was this one group that seemed to be running around in particular that interested her. Following a swordsman perhaps?
She followed behind at a leisurely pace, watching as the crowd dispersed looking for one person. She stared for a bit and then turned down the alley she knew he'd gone down.
He was mumbling about something while hunched over behind a box of some sort. She soundlessly stepped onto it and peered over his shoulder despite not being able to read what was in his hands.
"Ooh, are you a pirate on the run? How exciting!"
"GAH!" The man kicked the box so hard it slammed into the alley wall and splintered into wooden planks.
Ginkgo easily dodged, landing quietly on the other side of the man.
"Over here!" "I heard something this way!"
The man cursed and ran past her. Ginkgo stared briefly before grinning and running after him.
"Mm, why are you running?"
He let out another sound of alarm, swatting at her to no avail as she slipped out of his reach to return again.
"Tsk, we're being framed-"
Ginkgo nodded her head as if she understood completely, which she didn't. She didn't even know who this was. But it was currently the most interesting thing on her plate right now. Ohhh, another plate of food sounded really nice right about now.
She watched as something suddenly reached out from under the bridge they were running across and wrenched the swordsman off his feet. He let out another shout that was quickly muffled.
Oh?
A mob of Water 7 citizens came running across the bridge making a general ruckus while Ginkgo slid over to the walls of the bridge, sitting down and crossing her legs to stay out of the way as people stampeded across.
"Have you seen any pirates running down this way?!"
Ginkgo smiled and shook her head, "I'm sorry, I can't say I have!" She shrugged her shoulders, "But if you all are coming from the west, you might want to check the eastern docks before the Aqua Laguna!"
There were a few gruff sounds of agreements before a few men tried to usher her off to a shelter, but she laughed and said she wanted to wait a bit longer for the Aqua Laguna. Soon enough the crowd of frenzied men left and Ginkgo looked up to the sound and presence of a large figure sniffing the air.
She raised a brow at the action. He turned to her and she could tell the man was tense, stressed. She put her hands up to gesture that she meant no harm. He hesitated before wordlessly moving to the other side of the bridge and leaning over it-
SPLASH!
Ginkgo waited all of two seconds before breaking out into laughter. Tear-inducing laughter before helping the fallen crew out of the water. There were four of them in total and one was a lithe woman who was in the middle of scolding a 'Luffy'. She hummed a bit following them until they all stopped and turned to her.
"Uh...who is this?"
"She's not your friend?"
"I thought she was friends with Zoro…"
"Ha?"
Ginkgo happily chimed in with her name, "Ginkgo! I just came into port and I've been looking for something fun to do!"
There was the briefest of pauses before 'Luffy' laughed aloud and patted her shoulder. Well, he was going to until 'Nami' and 'Zoro' stopped him abruptly, Nami slipping behind him and Zoro standing between them. She heard the shink of metal and he thumbed a sword free. Chopper who had become a shorter statured creature looked between them nervously.
Ginkgo whistled innocently while putting her hands in her pockets.
"Hey, guys, what's the big idea,"Luffy stretched his head to look over Zoro's shoulder.
"G-Ginkgo…?" It was Name who spoke instead, not giving the other man a clear answer, "Jewelry made from the blood of his enemies with hair like the shore and eyes the color of the sea...That Ginkgo?!"
"Tsk. I heard Samset Ginkgo was a man…"
"Hey, hey. I don't wear the blood of my enemies. That sounds awful," she brought her hand up and kissed one of the bracelets dangling there, the 'metal' rippling away to reveal a deep red flowing beneath, "I wear the blood of my allies."
Nami and Zoro tensed even more, Chopper freezing in place and...Luffy didn't seem otherwise bothered.
"Okay."
His head was immediately thwacked by the woman behind him and Ginkgo raised a brow at how his neck stretched. Well, it wasn't the first time he'd seen that ability.
"Don't just say okay!" Nami shouted at him and shook him. She wrenched him closer and hissed, "Dead Sea, Ginkgo is one of the most wanted men on the Grand Line. How do you not know who he is…"
Nami trailed off to stare at the woman in front of them. Lithe figure. Curved hips. Definitely breasts. A tense silence followed. And then she shouted at Ginkgo, shoving Luffy forward.
"You're obviously a woman!"
"I already said that dammit."
"Don't scare us like that!"
Ginkgo laughed Nami and Zoro yelling and took a step back to spin on her heel, arms extended. Her clothes rippled like water and the figure that faced them afterwards was definitely a man, features a little sharper and curved a bit softer.
"You only recognize me if I'm a man? That's rather sexist of you don't you think?"
There was barely the sound of a sword being drawn before Zoro lunged forward. And sliced a streetlamp in half. It creaked dangerously before crashing into the waterway and the street.
Ginkgo let out a small chuckle from behind Chopper, playing with the bounce from his hat, "I'm sorry to say, I'm not interested in fighting you." His form melted away into his more effeminate counterpart and his voice slipped back into that smooth alto, "I just want to come along if it's interesting enough."
She paused, stepping back to straighten with her arms crossed, "What say you?"