Title: Tattoo
Characters: Vivi-centric, Pell
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: Do we really still need these? Nonetheless, I don't own One Piece, Oda does.
Summary: They may never come her way again, but that's fine, because their marks have already been made, both in her heart and on now her skin. And she will never, ever forget.
Pell is standing over her, with a face full of worry, crouching slightly because his head will break through the ceiling if he doesn't. The room is dank and dingy, a secluded little store in one of the rougher areas left after the rebellion, all manner of maps and tools and knick-knacks covering the walls. She sits on the red leather medical chair smack in the middle, dressed in her boyish civilian clothes and feeling that same pre-adventure rush bubble in the back of her brain.
"Are you really sure about this, Vivi-sama? For a princess this kind of thing is..." Pell says. Being a noble warrior of the kingdom and all, he's clearly opposed to the whole ordeal. There's certainly merit to his words- for a princess of their culture something like this is downright unacceptable. However the fact that she and the kingdom in its entirety have done many unacceptable things as of late so this should be fine and no papa won't mind, is her slipshod reasoning every time he objects. But questionable as it is, it gets Pell to let her come this far so it's more than enough.
"I don't care," Vivi says, uncharacteristically forceful, "I'm going to do this." And those are all the words she speaks, since she knows that no matter how well the falcon knows her or how well she might explain he can't possibly understand. It's not a want at this point, but a need. A need to have a reminder, something solid to hold on to so that even when she's old and gray and even if they've never come back once she'll know that every single second of it was real.
"Hey, hey now!" the artist says around the lit cigarette in her teeth. "I won't have you arguing in my shop again! Vivi-sama, I apologize, but if you aren't sure right this second I'll have to ask you to leave."
"We-"
"I am sure, Alonis-san." The girl says, cutting Pell of before he can begin speaking properly. "I'm going to do this." There's steel in her eyes that, to Pell, is very unfamiliar, yet for some reason incredibly fitting. It's the gaze of a warrior, fierce and determined, and it pains him to think of what it might have taken to place such an expression on his princess' face. His protests end then and there. Against that look in her eyes it is his loss all the way.
"Roll your sleeve up then please, My Lady." The smoking woman says as she prepares a brand new cartridge of pitch black ink. Vivi feels a damp cloth swipe over the skin of her upper left forearm, disinfecting the area with cool alcohol.
"No," she says, shaking her head, "I'm not a princess right now, only Vivi, Alonis-san." Just for today the girl doesn't want to be royalty, she wants to be herself with no titles or filters, the way they had always seen her as.
"All right then. Since it's just your arm it shouldn't hurt too much, but all the same there'll be a sting." Alonis says, smiling kindly, the needle already buzzing in her hand.
"Try not to flinch because it might ruin the design, simple as it is. Ready, Vivi-chan?"
A nod later and the point is humming against here pale skin, leaving dark marks in its wake. The sound takes her back to a ship with a sheep figure head, and the crazy crew of pirates that sailed on it. The girl closes her eyes and hears a new hum, the one of the sea and all it's endless waves, a chorus loud and off key voices singing old sea shanties in the background. As the needle travels over her skin she travels back in time. First to Yuba and it's dirt houses, then the hot desert, then the dead green city, and then the fragrant ports of Nanohana. The instrument continues its journey and Vivi relives her own. She sees a snowy country full of unparalleled doctors and and monstrous rabbits, an ancient island of dueling giants and dinosaurs, a land of bounty hunters and enormous cacti, the stomach of a giant whale and finally the deck of the Going Merry in all its damaged glory, its crew laughing and dancing as if it was their last day on the Earth.
"All done, Vivi-chan." Alonis says, snapping her out of her stupor. "I'll go grab some bandages, make sure not to touch it." The woman tosses her a smile as she exits the room, leaving her and Pell alone.
"Vivi-sama," he says hesitantly, "may I ask, what exactly is the meaning of all this?" She wants to narrate the whole thing like a novel, to go over every specific moment and intricate detail. She envisions Luffy-san's smile and Zoro-san's serious face, Sanji-san's calls of mellorine and Ussop-san's outrageous stories, Nami-san's devious smirk and Tony-kun's bashful dance.
We're your nakama!
In her mind plays their ridiculous antics despite being in the middle of battle against giant monsters or the hordes of Navy soldiers. Their endless laughter that screamed to "we are free", even when everyone in the world seemed to be hunting them down, rings true in her ears.
Try risking our lives with yours!
She recalls the warmth that crept up when she was called to dinner or when Ussop-san pulled her into their games or when Luffy-san screamed that she was one of them. She feels the shadow of the tears that ran down her face when they raised their arms to her, silently declaring their answer. A storm of emotion hits her. There is pain and freedom and sorrow and the most joy she has ever felt in her life all at once.
Oh, so it turns out you do cry.
There are so many words, so many phrases she could use and even then Vivi knows that her vastly extensive vocabulary will never be able to do the story justice.
If we ever meet again, will you still call me your friend?!
"It's proof." She says, staring lovingly at the thick black X now permanently drawn on her forearm.
This mark proves that we're nakama!
"I don't understand what you mean, Vivi-sama..." Pell says finally, puzzled and worried.
"That's fine," she says to back him, her smile at that moment bright enough to light cities, "because I will never, ever forget."