A/N:I'm trying my hand at something besides humor/parody! This is obviously very different from what readers of my fanfictions are used to. This fic was inspired by and AMV with the song 'Someday' by Nickelback, hence the title for this fic.
I don't know if this may just be a pointless drabble, (or maybe I'm being too hard on myself…) it's sort of a reflection/ Robin's thoughts and trying to come to a conclusion as to why she never stopped looking for nakama.I don't know if I got down Robin's personality right, so please review to tell me what you think! Constructive criticism is gladly accepted.
Sorry for the long Author's note. Please enjoy Someday, a Nico Robin fanfic.
Someday
"LIVE, ROBIN!"
"The sea is vast. Someday, without a doubt, you will find nakama who will protect you. No one is born into this world being completely alone!"
My mother's dying wish and Saulo's promise often echoed inside my mind at night as I tossed and turned in a restless slumber disturbed by visions of a burning Ohara.
How had this happened?
I spent the majority of my life alone. Those first two short years of my life with my mother were truly happy, but the rest was filled with darkness.Once mom left, I was alone. Not even my own relatives treated me with kindness.I cried at first, but soon the tears stopped. I hid my emotion where no one could see it and didn't complain.The other children taunted me. I suppose they reasoned, 'she has no parents; she's different from us.'
And then I ate the devil fruit. The teasing only intensified. Now they called me "monster" and "demon." I didn't retaliate - - although my Hana-Hana no Mi power could have easily dealt with them.
Despite this, I discovered a glimmer of hope. Professor Clover and the scholars welcomed me with open arms, and for the first time since mom left I found a place where I was accepted. Professor Clover always said that for someone my age, I was gifted with an amazing intellect. The Tree of Omniscience was the one place where that gift was respected and nurtured. Of course, as my understanding of archaeology and history increased, so did my curiosity.
It soon became my dream, to find out more about the Poneglyphs. If I learned to read them, then maybe I could go on archaeological travels with mom. Not only for that reason, but because I wanted truly to belong to the circle of scholars. I studied so hard, but it got me nowhere. I could deal with the teasing and mockery of the children, but to be prohibited from discussing the Poneglyph with the other scholars was unbearable. They said it was for my own protection, but they didn't -they could never- understand the pain I felt, my utmost wish to be accepted, even if the knowledge was forbidden, even if to read Poneglyphs meant spending the rest of your life as a criminal.
Saulo was my first friend. The giant accepted me for who I was, devil fruit power included. He told me that I should laugh more. As long as you can laugh, you'll always be happy. For the first time in my memory, I had a friend. This happiness was short-lived; soon after the giant's arrival, the attack on Ohara began. The whole day was a blur; it seemed more like an uncountable number of years than a day.
I met mom, and lost her all over again...
The tree had fallen. The scholars were dead...
Saulo died laughing, encased in ice...
Why did that Navy man let me live?
I tried to laugh like Saulo, but couldn't manage. My laughter turned to sobs as I rowed into the darkness, away from the blood red light cast by the fire, away from the burning Ohara, away from those I loved.
My name remained the same but now it carried newer, darker meaning. I am Nico Robin, the sole survivor of Ohara, the Demon of Ohara, the Demon Child of Ohara. According to the government, my head is worth seventy-nine million beli.
I ran from one place to another, never really knowing where I was going, only knowing that I had to survive. The thoughts of nakama were placed into the back of my mind. I didn't have time to think of such things when all my focus was on trying to evade capture and stay alive.
Each time I found a place to stay the night, the host called the marines. Even if I found someone who didn't, they were afraid to help me - afraid that they would end up like me.
I turned to pirates and criminals. They accepted me - more out of fear than anything- for I was an outlaw like them, and my powers were ideal for that line of work. Yet all that, only to be found by the marines time and time again. I couldn't trust anyone. Each and every time, they betrayed me to save their own skins.
If I was to find nakama, then when? Time is known to pass painfully slow and I never met anyone I could trust. They all wanted the bounty on my head. No one cared about the young child or felt any sympathy towards me; to them, I was just a devil, a scapegoat… a life to be traded for gold from greedy hands to executioners. I committed no crime when I received my bounty, save for knowing how to read Poneglyphs. That crime, however, was only because the World Government wished to keep their dark secrets safe.
I was always running, running, but what I ran toward I did not know. Every time I was betrayed, every time I was loneliest those scenes replayed in my mind, as vivid as the day they had happened.
I committed crimes – assassinations and the like – so is my soul worth saving? Do I even deserve to have nakama anymore?
My more recent – and numerous – memories say a firm and dark 'No'. I don't deserve to live. Being alive is a crime in and of itself.
There is that one part of my mind that says 'Yes' and I remember Saulo and everyone else. But those memories are from so long ago; I am no longer the little girl.
If there is no hope in finding nakama and reaching my dream is there a point in living?
And Yet…
"LIVE, ROBIN!"
The sea is vast. Someday, without a doubt, you will find nakama who will protect you. No one is born into this world being completely alone!"
I suppose it is because I can never forget them that I still have hope.
I'll have to face my demons sooner or later, but as long as I never forget -
Someday, I will find nakama.
The End.
