Disclaimer: Simply put, I don't own One Piece.
Onward to the story.
After Alabasta
The next day
Yuuto POV
I woke up and saw that I was at the palace guest room. I looked and saw some of my crew. They were sleeping.
I didn't see Zoro, Nami, and Chopper. I figured they were up.
I needed to see the news immediately. I put my mask away.
I got outside and asked for a paper. I read it and laughed bitterly.
The news said that Smoker had captured Crocodile.
I looked at the bounties. We weren't added yet.
Hmmm. Interesting.
I walked out and saw Zoro lifting rocks. I asked him. "Hey Zoro!"
He paused his training. "Hey Yuuto. Perfect. I have something to ask you."
I walked closer to him. "Sure go ahead."
"I think I unlocked Haki. I cut Mr. 1."
I considered the possibilities. "Or you could have cut through metal." I was trying to be reasonable and not get my hopes up.
Still, if Zoro unlocked Haki then that means this crew will eventually be ready for the New World. If Paradise was already a struggle for us, the New World would be even tougher. All of us needed to get ready for it soon.
So far, I struggled because of my injury and against Crocodile. The crew will fight stronger people too.
Zoro elaborated. "When you said Haki was a will, I realized I could hear almost everything breath. Even his body."
I nodded. "Yeah. I think you unlocked Haki. When I use my Haki, I can feel your guy's presences and intent. Now you just have know how to activate armament Haki consistently. I'll keep what you said in mind when I try to unlock armament Haki." I smiled.
"So now I have to consistently be able to do this."
"Yes. For me, I have to consistently think about using Observation Haki. It's not second nature to me yet. And I've had it for about ten months now."
Zoro considered it. Haki training was incredibly annoying. In a sense, I've only used it for 4 months because for 6 months ago, I didn't really need to use it.
"I would focus on physical exercise first." I suggested. He looked at me. "I don't have a way of telling when you are using armament Haki. Besides, Haki is something that gets stronger the more you fight stronger opponents. It's a fight of wills. "
He looked at me. "Then why do you have Nami hit Luffy and call it observation Haki training? He hasn't obviously hasn't unlocked it yet."
I smiled at that. "Luffy can unlock it this way too. Also, think of it as payback for his antics. Besides, Nami also needs a way to get physically stronger. Luffy has gotten better at dodging naturally though."
He smiled knowing what I was referring to. "That might be considered as intentionally harming the captain."
"Oh please. We all know how bad you want to cut him sometimes. I have my seastone gloves on in case I needed to pound him." He nodded and went back to training.
Looking at him train, I decided to go to Chopper and check up on my leg. I went where I felt he would be.
I opened the door and saw him and another doctor. It looked like they were sharing medical advice.
"Hey Chopper." I asked.
"Yuuto. What are you doing up?" He was surprised to see me.
"I just woke up. I came here to see if you could check up on me and my leg. I got lucky and no one hurt my left leg."
"Yuuto. We all told you not to fight." He said worriedly.
"I know, but I was in a situation where I had to fight." It was true.
He sighed. "I saw part of the fight. The den den mushi still came rolling."
I sighed. That was going to come bite me. If certain ones paid enough attention to my mask, I was going to be in trouble.
I knew I was going to eventually see my former employers one way or another.
Maybe I should change my mask but keep the fox theme.
Well, my mask is custom built and it's pretty hard to break.
I looked at Chopper. "Well, he didn't hurt my left leg."
"Let me check." As Chopper began checking my leg, in came Nami and Vivi.
I looked at them they both seemed to be laughing earlier. I tensed up. They both saw me. Nami gave Vivi a smile while Vivi just shook her head.
Nami please don't play matchmaker.
Especially when I don't love her the way she thinks she loves me as I realized from my conversation with her father.
Flashback
"Now. What exactly are your intentions with my daughter?"
I gulped. "Your highness. I don't know."
"You don't know?" He didn't sound like he believed me.
"I don't know." I dumbly replied back.
"I see." He narrowed his eyes. "I remember after we came back from Reverie, she couldn't stop talking about you."
I wanted to awkwardly laugh at that but I kept silent. I was really nice to her. I played tag with her during Reverie. I intentionally spilled a drink on Wapol after he intentionally hit Vivi.
"She even declared that she wanted to marry you."
I was thankful for the mask because I was sure I was blushing at that. I didn't know about that.
"Now six years later, in the letter she wrote to me and the way she talked, I can tell she has the same kind of feelings again."
I sighed.
"Tell me. What do you think of my daughter?" I looked at him; he wasn't attacking me yet.
I needed to be honest with the king. "Your daughter is physically attractive. She's beautiful, and she would make hundreds of men fight over her. However, … she's too young for me. I don't even think I can fall in love with her." I bowed before the king.
I hoped he would not know about my inappropriate dream I had about his daughter.
I realized that just because I dreamed about it, that doesn't mean I love her. My body just had a natural reaction beyond my control.
"It's ok. You can get up." He said while playing with his sword.
"You're not going to hurt me." I couldn't believe that. Not with the sword out.
"I'm not going to hurt you. I might kill you if you make her cry but that's not your fault." He put the sword away.
I looked to King Cobra in surprise.
"Personally, I think she's just infatuated with you." I looked at him in shock. "You represent to her the ideal bodyguard. Strong, smart, loyal, dependable, and kind."
"But I'm not that. You should know that I worked for the World Nobles and the connections they have. You know what they are." I didn't dare speak them by name. "If Vivi knew what I had done for them, she'd hate me." I kneeled before him.
I have stolen many things for the world nobles. To me, stealing was easily forgivable because it could be replaced. Besides, stealing was in my blood.
I was not ok with killing people or kidnapping. I have kidnapped people for them to be slaves or perhaps even worse. To me, messing with a human's life went too far.
Unfortunately, I had to follow orders or else.
"Listen, Black Fox. You have probably done many things you regret doing while working for them. However, I know that you are not truly like that. You showed it to us. Although you have done terrible things, I can tell that you are deeply regretful of them."
I looked up. "However, I don't want my daughter to be involved with you." He continued. I nodded. "It's just because of your history."
"I understand." It really would break her heart if she knew what I did.
"You're not a bad man." he clarified.
I know. But I felt the need to redeem myself. That's why I was happy that I could help here.
End Flashback
Now that the 'job' was done. I couldn't avoid Vivi any longer.
"Chopper." Trying to distract myself. "How is it?"
"Well Yuuto. Your left leg is recovering and you didn't aggravate it."
"See what did I say Chopper." I gave him a pat on the head. He blushed at this. I knew that was his favorite spot. "Is it ok that I do my stretches here?" I didn't want to think about it.
Nami then giggled while Vivi shushed her.
Ok. I forgot they were here. Let me just leave then.
"What's funny Nami?" asked Chopper. That question made Nami laugh even harder.
"Nothing." Vivi answered quickly. "Just nothing." I didn't want to give them a look to make matters worse.
"She's right. It's... nothing. Maybe when you're older you'll understand."
You're not being subtle here Nami.
I sighed. I turned around, not facing them.
"Say Chopper why don't we..." Nami stated saying.
Vivi interrupted. "Is there anything we can do for Luffy? He's slowly getting better."
I can hear Nami giving Vivi an all knowing smirk while Vivi was trying to ignore her.
"I'll do my stretches later then. I'll go out and see if there's something we should buy at the market."
I quickly walked to the front of the door.
"That's great. Maybe Vivi can show you around." Nami suggested.
"I don't want to." Vivi said.
"Actually Nami, I'm low on cash. Maybe I'll borrow some money from you." I lied. Maybe that would help.
Instantly her eyes became berri sign. "Sure. How much do you need?" Hook, line, and sucker.
She was the sucker. Not me. No way am I borrowing money from her.
"Actually. Let's talk about it while we get it. I'll tell you what I plan on buying."
"Ok sure."
Nami had a one track mind.
As we both walked out, we walked quietly for a couple minutes.
"You're not actually asking for money are you?" Nami realized.
"Nope."
"Dang it. I got tricked." She started pouting.
"It's about Vivi."
"Oh. This should be good." she said excitedly.
I look at her. "You should try to be less obvious."
"About what."
"You seem like you're pushing us together. But you haven't really considered our feelings. I know you haven't considered mine."
"So you know ..." Nami faltered the last part.
" Yes. I know." I continued. "You made it super obvious now. As a bodyguard, I have to pay attention to details. They include interactions between people. Anyways, have you considered my feelings?"
I would never play matchmaker unless I knew for sure both people actually had feelings for each other. It didn't feel right.
She paused and sighed."I wanted her to at least confess. You seemed that you have a chance of loving her."
"I only care about her like a little sister. It's like how I am with the entire crew. You guys are like my little siblings. You're my little sister Nami. Sometimes, because of my age, you're like my little niece. Anyways, I'm not romantically in love with her. Why? Why do you care?"
"It seemed romantic and every girl's dream." I looked at Nami. There was something else there.
"So it was for your sake. It was to fulfill your desire." I said that part a little cruelly.
"No. No. Not like that." She waved her hand off.
"Then what is it?"
"Well, you know I never had a normal childhood." I nodded at that, we talked about her entire situation with Arlong. I was happy that my crew was so protective of each other when I heard what they did. This crew was a family. If someone messed with one of us, especially, the little sister of the group, there was going to be hell to pay.
"I didn't have a normal life growing up too, but I did go on dates. Albeit, they weren't really serious." I told her.
"I wanted her to take the chance I never had. I didn't want her to regret not confessing. I didn't really have a chance to go on a date let alone, an actual relationship. " I looked at her eyes. I nodded understanding where she was coming from.
You still have that chance. I was noticing her interactions with the other crew members. There was something deep. Most of the time, it was sisterly or motherly, but there was something hidden.
"Well, you do now. You could find a guy here and go on a date. I'm sure someone will say yes." I said as a matter of fact.
She laughed at that. "I know I'm cute that people would line up to go on a date with me. But what if I fall in love with one of them? Then you guys wouldn't have a navigator." She winked at me jokingly.
First, I wouldn't be losing a navigator. I would be losing a sister if that happened.
Second, I'm sure people will say yes if she asked. I doubt she would actually fall in love with someone with one date. Unless the man had a lot of money.
"I wasn't talking about a stranger, why don't you ask one of our crew members?"
She looked at me disbelievingly. "None of them would want to. Don't say Sanji because he will date any woman. I don't think I need to say anything about the rest of the crew. You're off limits and you're not my type anyway."
I agreed with the last bit. However, if she knew I had a bank account, I would suddenly become her type. I wasn't so sure about no one on the crew interested in her. "How about I tag along with you and another crew member. I'll disappear a bit if that ever happens."
"That's not gonna happen."
I gave her a smile. It was like a challenge. I wasn't going to do anything on purpose, but I had a feeling she would go on a 'date' with one of us eventually. "Sure."
"That's not the point. Now what do we do about Vivi?" She asked me, wanting to change the subject.
"Nothing. I have to be the one who takes care of it. If she asks me, I will tell her the truth gently." I sighed. I emphasized the last bit.
"I'm going to charge you 1,000,000 berris for breaking her heart." she threatened.
I didn't have an answer to that. I didn't want to break her heart too. "Let me go walk around Alabasta and see what we need."
Nami nodded. She understood that I really meant that I wanted time by myself to think. "I see. See you later Yuuto."
"See you Nami. Don't tell Vivi. Just next time, don't get yourself involved in this situation."
She pouted. "What. I can't help my big brother find a nice wife?" She playfully punched my shoulder and went back.
I was happy she called me big brother. However, considering the situation I let out a breath. "Guys like me don't deserve it." I said to the empty hallway. [1]
Nami POV
As I got back to the room from my conversation with Yuuto, I couldn't help but feel sad.
The fact that Yuuto called me his sister really did feel nice. We had gotten close ever since he joined. He had been helping train me, and he would listen to me rant about the others. I never called him a brother, but all those times he helped me, realizing it now made me feel like he was my brother.
But poor Vivi.
I didn't want to be the one who gave Vivi bad news that Yuuto only saw her as a little sister.
Here this entire time, I've been trying to encourage Vivi to confess, not really thinking that Yuuto would actually reject her.
The fairytale I had in mind didn't come true after all.
I sighed.
Even though I'm 18, I couldn't help but start believing in fairytales again. Especially after when I had been saved from my personal hell about 3 weeks ago.
The way Luffy and my crew had saved me was really similar to a fairytale. All of them were like my knights.
Ever since I met them, I couldn't help but be happy. When they saved me from my dungeon, I couldn't help but join their crew.
And here, I was trying to share my experience with Vivi.
When I realized who Vivi was and how Luffy and my crew came to her, I couldn't help but feel how similar it was to my situation. Her land was secretly oppressed by Crocodile like mine was with Arlong. However, hers was much worse, causing everyone in the country to distrust one another.
At least, my hometown distrusted only me.
Vivi spent her last 5 years trying to help her country like how I tried to help my hometown. I even realize how helpless Vivi felt when she realized there was a bomb. It was like the time I went to Luffy for help.
Luffy won soon after that. Kind of interesting how similar the story is.
This crew, especially Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Yuuto, is strong. Luffy with his strength. Zoro with his loyalty. Sanji with his kindness. Yuuto with his strategy and experience. Usopp with his cleverness. Chopper with his innocence.
It was a good story.
And here I was, trying to add to the story with love. I laughed bitterly.
Maybe fairytales weren't complete.
As I walked back in, I see Vivi wetting a towel for Luffy's small fever.
Vivi really was a compassionate girl. I walked over and stared at her.
Vivi noticed me staring, "How much did you lend him?"
I quickly lied, "Not much. About 10,000 berris."
"So he needs to pay you back 30,000?"
I smiled. She knew how I worked. "Yeah. Something like that."
Seeing me, she quickly asked. "Did you say anything?"
"Nope" I answered quickly. "How's Luffy?" I added. That was more important.
Chopper told us, "He's recovering slowly. He'll wake up either this afternoon or tomorrow."
Suddenly, my den den mushi rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey Nami. It's Yuuto. Is Luffy awake?" That was quick.
"No. Why?"
A slight pause. " We got trouble. I heard that marine "Black Cage" Hina is after us. We should leave soon. I'll come back and plan."
"Ok."
"Bye." He said hastily.
Vivi looked. She didn't hear the conversation. "It was Yuuto. Apparently we should leave soon." I said the last part sadly.
I didn't want to leave.
"Oh. But we haven't celebrated yet. Luffy hasn't eaten his share of meat." Vivi also looked sad too.
At those words, we saw Luffy rise up. He opened his eyes and said "Did someone say meat?"
I sighed. He was such a kid.
"Good to see you're up." I said.
"Yeah. I slept so well. What time is it?"
"It's almost time for lunch."
"That means I missed 3 meals!"
I couldn't help but smile at that. Luffy and his simple-mindedness still made me laugh.
Luffy Pov Change
I looked around. I saw Nami, Vivi, and Chopper around me.
"I'm hungry!"
Chopper told me to calm down while he would check on me.
The door opened and I saw the Curly man who was with Vivi at Whiskey park.
He was alive.
"Hey. You're alive!"
Vivi laughed. "No. She's Terracotta. Igraham's wife. By the way Igaram came back this morning. He's actually alive."
Zoro had walked in and muttered something I couldn't hear clearly.
Terracotta said, "I heard that you eat a lot. I've been working here for 30 years. I won't disappoint your appetite."
I smiled. I was going to eat a lot of food.
Dinner time
I quickly stuffed my face with whatever I saw. I grabbed food from Usopp.
He wasn't going to finish that. Otherwise, he would have started eating it.
"Hey Luffy. You just took my plate!" Usopp yelled.
Yeah but you were't eating it. You were staring at it for too long. You stared at it for 3 seconds too long.
I grabbed another plate of his.
When I took a bite, I started breathing fire. I noticed the other guards complimenting how loud we ate.
Food is meant to be eaten happily with your nakama. Of course, I want all the food, but it is fun to eat with others.
I saw Vivi's father and asked him if he was. Just to make sure.
He looked at me as if he didn't understand what I was saying. I always spoke very clearly when I was eating the meat.
"Take it easy. We can talk after eating." He decided.
"Oh right." I then grabbed ten more plates. We had a great time.
After dinner, the king invited us to a shower room.
That was a great experience. It was really relaxing. The floor was nice and slippery. I raced Usopp around. Zoro was cleaning Chopper. Yuuto was talking to the king.
I heard Sanji ask, "Hey. Where's the woman's bath?" to Igaram.
"Are you nuts? Why would I tell you that? Vivi's there." Igaram responded.
The king happily pointed out, "It's behind that wall."
I noticed everyone except Zoro, Yuuto and Chopper go over there. I became curious about why everyone went there, so I went there. It must have been interesting.
I looked and saw Vivi and Nami talking there. Nami noticed us and faced all of us.
I was completely caught off guard with what she did next.
She said, "100 thousand each." She dropped her towel and all the guys who walked over there, including me, got nosebleeds
She stood. Completely naked. In front of us.
It was quite a sight because I have never seen a real woman naked.
The Mr. 2 guy does not count.
As I laid on the floor, I was wondering something. It really wasn't that interesting, but I don't understand why my body reacted like that.
My body felt that this experience was better than meat. I shook my head. That's crazy.
Women can't really compare to meat. Meat is so much better. You could eat it, chew on it, and swallow it. It tastes really good.
You can't eat women. It's not fun.
I thought back to Makino. Makino had told me that I shouldn't ever see a woman naked unless I really loved her.
I love Nami but I don't think that's what Makino was referring to. After all, it was the same kind of love I had for all my friends. Makino laughed at me when I asked if it was the same kind of love I had for Ace, Makino, or Dadan. So I knew it wasn't referring to that.
I tried to think more because I felt I broke a promise to Makino. I ended up getting a headache. I was kind of feeling uncomfortable.
I looked over at Zoro and Yuuto. Maybe, I'll ask them because they probably didn't look otherwise they would have been uncomfortable.
This feeling I had was really weird.
I'll talk to Zoro about it if I remember. Yuuto probably didn't know this kind of stuff.
I suddenly heard everyone call the king a "pervert old man."
The king suddenly bowed before us.
Zoro asked, "Hey hey. Is it alright for you to do that as a king?"
Yuuto questioned, "What are you doing?"
"I am thinking as a father with a citizen's heart. To thank you."
I smiled at that.
After that, we went back to our rooms.
"Luffy. We need to leave tonight." Yuuto said. We, including Vivi, had gathered around the room.
Zoro nodded. "I also think this is the right time to go too."
I heard Usopp say, "Luffy. It's up to you."
"I want to stay and eat another meal before we go!" I cried. Food was too good to pass up. We could stay longer.
Nami whacked me in the head. "We must go now! You idiot!"
Ow. That hurt more than usual. I looked at Nami.
She started saying "Yuuto already mentioned to me that we have a marine captain known for capturing pirates around the Alabastan shores. She's been very successful. We shouldn't get caught." She moved forward toward me, and I felt that I had to agree with her.
I sighed. "Fine. Let's leave. But what about Vivi?" We all looked at Vivi. She looked confused. "You should come with us." I smiled. "It'll be fun."
Vivi seemed unsure. Nami spoke up.
"Vivi. We'll give you 12 hours. When we get our ship back at Sandora River, we will meet you at noon through the east coast. If you like to come with us, that's the only time you can come aboard."
I smiled at Vivi. "You have to come with us! Ok Vivi."
We all got ready to pack and were about to leave. However, she asked, "Can I talk to Yuuto privately before you guys go?"
It seemed that Sanji was upset about it. Chopper and I looked confused. Everyone else except Yuuto seemed to have expected it while Yuuto, who was sitting down, sighed. We all looked at Yuuto.
"You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up." He said. He tried to act like this was no big deal.
As we left through the window, I couldn't help but think that was weird.
Yuuto POV
Everyone left. I was not ready for this. I was prepared to only talk about age as a reason.
If I told her my full history, it would probably ruin our friendship.
"Yes, Vivi? What do you -" I was cut off.
She gave me a quick innocent kiss on the lips. I felt nothing.
I was going to die by her father.
I looked at her with guilt. "I'm sorry. I don't..."
"I know Yuuto."
"You know?"
"I was kind of expecting it." She said. She started sniffling.
"Oh." Awkward silence. "When did you start expecting it?"
"My father kept staring at you during dinner. That's also when I realized that you tried to avoid me since we left on the Going Merry."
Oh. "Why did you kiss me then?" I was confused.
"That way I could move on." She said sadly.
"Listen Vivi." I paused, choosing my next words carefully. "If I had first met you when you were older, maybe I would have fallen in love with you. You are growing up to be a wonderful woman." I tried smiling at her.
If you were older and looked like my dream's version of you, you were going to have lots and lots of suitors.
However, if you were older, would you accept me for what I did before?
She nodded and tried to smile back.
I continued. "But a part of me will always see you as the 10 year old princess I protected 6 years ago. I think I will always see you as that." I said that part sadly.
Vivi started to cry a little.
I wanted to comfort her but I was afraid that would send the wrong message. I looked at her worriedly and she stopped almot immediately.
"Listen. I will always be your friend. If you need help beating your future boyfriends, you can call on me. I'll do that for you no problem."
She laughed at that.
As I got ready to leave, I said this last part. "I hope my rejection doesn't change your decision to join us. I would still be happy if you did join us." I looked at her eyes when I said that.
I didn't want to get my hopes up too much. It would have been awkward between us if she did come.
Still, I know how happy she was when she was traveling with us.
"The last week, really made me think of you as a great friend and like a little sister." I hoped she was ok with that.
She nodded. She had a lot on her mind.
I quickly gave her a hug before I left through the window. "I'm sure you'll meet someone better than me. Trust me." Not many people will have as much baggage as I do.
She nodded and waved good-bye. I quickly left.
I had way too many issues in my past.
As I left, I wondered. Would I see her tomorrow? [2]
At the Going Merry
"So what was that about?" Zoro asked me when I came in. I ignored him. He never seemed to pay attention to that sort of thing.
"Did you hurt her Yuuto? I'll never forgive you if you did." Sanji came close to me.
Nami pulled Sanji back. "Yuuto's not the type to do that... intentionally." She did look at me with hints of both anger and sadness.
"Don't worry about it." I said. I would tell Nami when I had the chance.
"Is she going to join?" Luffy asked.
I wasn't sure. "We'll see tomorrow. It seems that we have unwanted guests here." I glared at the door.
"Who me? " cried out Mr. 2. " I thought we were friends. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have this ship right now." I was expecting him however. He had called us earlier saying he got our ship.
"Not you and your crew. I'm talking about her." Observation Haki has its uses.
"Who?" everyone asked.
I groaned and walked inside the ship.
I came out with Nico Robin behind me.
Flashback
Right after I left Nami, I walked around the Alabasta town square without my mask on. I was trying to blend in. I was looking to see if there were any bookstores or dojos for me to learn any martial techniques.
Sure enough, I found a bookstore and looked around. They had a book on bojutsu techniques.
Perfect. This should help with Nami.
I should ask Nami how her fight went and see if there were any problems. The weapon that Usopp made for her was best suited for long range. However, she would need a way to fight in case the enemy got close to her.
I took the book and also saw a book about makeup and disguises.
We were going to need that book soon. We were definitely going to get bounties, and we needed them. Hopefully, someone on the ship would be good at them.
I wasn't really good on applying make up. I felt that I did an average job doing so. As I went to cashier to pay for the books, I felt that I was being watched. As I turned around, I didn't notice anything out of the blue.
As I paid for the books, I walked out. I felt that I was being watched again.
Trusting my instincts, I activated my observation Haki and was surprised to find who was watching me. I walked to the nearest alleyway and put on my mask.
"Come out. I know you're there."
"Man, I must be getting sloppy if you found me." Out came Nico Robin.
"I'm surprised you figured out who I was. What gave it away?"
She gave a smirk. "I was walking through the bookstore. I noticed your hairstyle and you had the same build."
She was very perceptive. I didn't think about wearing a wig. I guess it was time for the crew to practice wearing some disguises. "What do you want?" I threatened.
"I wanted to see if your captain still wanted me to join his crew."
"You're joking." I couldn't believe her.
"I'm serious." I looked at her. She was too hard to trust.
"Why?"
"'Black Cage' Hina is patrolling the seas now. Looking to lock up some pirates." She said.
I see. "So you want to use us as protection." Still, this was useful information.
"You can think of it that way." She coldly replied.
"No." I said plainly.
"That's not up to you to decide. Your captain wanted me to join right?"
I groaned. She was technially right. I took out my den den mushi. "Fine. I'll call and see if he's awake." I called Nami's.
She picked up.
"Hello?" I heard her voice.
"Hey Nami. It's Yuuto. Is Luffy awake?" I was going to straight to the point.
"No. Why?"
I paused slightly. I didn't want to tell her about Nico Robin. I slightly lied. "We got trouble. I heard that the marine 'Black Cage' Hina is after us. We should leave soon. I'll come back and plan." I said that part in a hurry.
"Ok."
"Bye." I said the last part hastily. I quickly hung up.
"Well, he's still asleep." I told her.
"He's recovering from the poison. That's to be expected. He's lucky that this poison doesn't cause him to bleed internally, causing organ failure. " She said the last part morbidly. She started leaving.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"I thought you didn't care." She fired back.
This woman was very witty. "I don't."
She continued walking away.
I hesitated. "Thanks for the headsup." I knew who Hina was. She wasn't super strong, but she had a great reputation for catching pirates. I continued, "If you are serious about joining the crew, bring a peace offering next time." I said the last part jokingly.
End Flashback
And now she's here. I just looked at her. Here again.
"Are you here for revenge?" asked Zoro. He put his hands on his swords.
Nami put her hands on top of her face. "Why are you here?"
"Ahhh! Another pretty lady"
Usopp got out a megaphone. "Enemy. Enemy on board."
Chopper scared hid ... the wrong way again. I need to teach him how to hide better.
Luffy looked at here. "What. It's you. You're not dead?"
"Miss All Sunday? Why are you here?" asked Mr. 2.
She disarmed Zoro. "Don't point these dangerous things at me." She walked closer to Luffy. "Monkey D. Luffy." She got out a chair and sat in it. I sighed, knowing what to expect. "You didn't forget what you said did you?"
"What did Luffy say? Hey Luffy tell me. I'll beat it out of you." Sanji got closer to Luffy. I intervened.
Luffy picked his nose. "What did I do? I don't remember."
Luffy's not the type to take advantage of a woman. He's clueless.
I sighed, telling the truth. "Our captain asked her to join our crew."
"What?" Usopp cried out.
"You knew about this Yuuto?" Zoro asked looking at me. He looked calm.
"How come you didn't tell us?" Nami asked. She was angry.
I gave a sigh. "She rejected it at first. Then she came back. I didn't tell you guys because I didn't think she was actually coming to join."
Chopper was confused. He didn't really meet her before.
"Not just that. It's Luffy who made me go on when I wanted to die. That's your fault. I have nowhere to go." Robin continued.
"Oh." My captain dumbly replied. "If it's like that, then there's nothing I can do."
Usopp and Nami yelled angrily. Zoro looked angry. He looked at me to help say something. I motioned that I would help keep an eye on here. Sanji was happy.
"Don't worry." Luffy said. "She's not as bad as you think." He said with a smile.
Mr. 2 started crying, "This might be the start of a beautiful friendship."
No. Idiot. It's not. [3]
Mr. 2 and his crew went away to help ready his plan to distract Hina.
Usopp took the time to interrogate Robin. I walked over to Zoro, ready to hear what she said.
Robin was already playing around with Luffy and Chopper. She seemed particularly interested in Chopper. Chopper realizing this, tried to hide behind Luffy.
I need to teach Chopper how to hide. In case we ever have stealth missions.
Then again, when Sanji and Chopper were telling me how Chopper evaded Crocodile I was pretty proud of him. Good thing Chopper had 2 forms he could use to walk.
I sighed. She was smart already playing with them. We needed to keep our guard up.
"Pay attention!" Usopp started the interrogation.
"Answer my questions honestly. I'll ask you one more time. What's your name?" Usopp paused a bit at her stare. He then introduced himself.
I smiled at Usopp. He's come a long way. To be able to be willing to interrogate a threat like Robin was a good start to his dream.
"My name is Nico Robin."
"Ok then Nico Robin. What is your occupation?"
"An archaeologist." I nodded at that. I remember she mentioned that she could read Poneglyphs. I gasped. I remembered some pirates had mentioned that Poneglyphs were important to becoming Pirate King.
If that's true, then Luffy needs her to stay in the crew.
Could we trust her?
"An archaeologist?" Usopp questioned.
"I come from a long line of archaeologists. After I became an archaeologist, I became a criminal. That was when I was 8. Since then, I've spent the past 20 years hiding from the world."
Usopp nodded and looked at me. He gave me a thumbsup to say as if the information I said about her before Little Garden made sense.
I shrugged.
He continued. "Since 8? How did you survive?"
"You're right. There's no way for a child to survive at sea. So, in the end, to protect myself and achieve my goal, I've chosen to follow various rogues." Nami and Zoro had listened to that part.
"Thanks to that, I've become good at doing things behind the scenes? I'm sure I'll help you guys."
"You seem so sure of yourself. What exactly are you good at?" asked Usopp.
Robin put her head on head and tilted. She said, "Assassination."
Usopp then screamed. "Luffy, I have considered this woman is dangerous!"
I sighed. Well Usopp, you have improved a lot. You interrogated an enemy for a while before she started saying something slightly scary.
"I'll take it from here." I put on my mask and replaced Usopp.
"Hello Fox. What's your real name?" She asked.
I'm doing the interrogation. "That's not important. Could you please tell me more about your dream?"
"Why should I when you won't tell me your real name?"
I groaned. Refusing to take the bait. "Maybe your dream might help. If you can read Poneglyphs, then you can help Luffy become Pirate King."
"Oh?" She seemed interested hearing that.
"She can?" everyone said, listening to that part.
"The location of the final island, Raftel, is found by finding 4 Road Poneglyphs. Raftel is where One Piece is." I had done business with some underlings for the Beast Pirates. They mentioned that piece of information to me.
Nami asked, "If it's determined by these 4 Road Poneglyphs, how come no one has found One Piece yet?"
"Because. No one has gathered all 4 yet. Even if they did, no one knows how to read the Poneglyphs. Well no one except you right Miss Nico Robin?" I said the last part a little sarcastically.
A slight pause."Yes. That is correct. I am the only one in this whole world who can read them."
"Not to mention, if they are found, they will be heavily protected." I looked at her.
Even though she was an enemy, she could be the only one who could direct Luffy to find One Piece. Then, it was up to Nami to navigate the way.
For the sake of my friends and their dreams, I will make a deal with whoever.
"Let me offer you a deal." I straightened up.
"I'm listening." She seemed to also pay attention.
"We help you find your Poneglyphs and protect you from the World Government; in return, when we find the Road Poneglyphs, you tell us the truth about how the four lead to Raftel. It does seem that we have very similar interests. Whether we trust each other is completely different." I took off my mask as I said that. I looked her in the eye to show her that I was serious about this.
She closed her eyes and smiled. "It appears we do. How do you know about these Road Poneglyphs? I've never heard about them nor how important they are."
"I'm from the New World. My previous job." I gave a curt reply.
"Right. Protecting the World Nobles." She reminisced.
"I never liked it." I gave her one look. She was way too similar to me.
She must have a dark past too.
The government must have a reason if she had a bounty at such a young age.
She then smiled. "Then, It appears we have a deal. Guess I don't have to worry about you kidnapping me anymore." I frowned at her but I still shook her hand. I stood up to leave. I saw her using her abilities to tickle Luffy and Chopper. She laughed at her antics.
Seeing this, Nami began speaking "I still remember you used to be the vice president of an evil organization. You can fool Luffy. But you can't fool Yuuto and me. If I see anything suspicious, I'll get rid of you."
I was happy to hear that Nami wasn't going to trust her so easily.
"Ok. I'll remember that. In that case, I'll keep these jewels for myself."
I heard running footsteps. "Wow, older sister. I really like you."
I shouldn't have mentioned a peace offering. I then saw Sanji walk by happily.
I groaned. He was hopeless from the beginning.
I turned to Zoro and Usopp. Usopp gave a determined look. Zoro said, "It seemed that we are the castle."
Usopp said. "I'm not going to be fooled by her. Those guys really need someone to take care of them."
I nodded.
"Hey Usopp." Luffy called out.
Usopp turned and started laughing. Luffy had hands as antlers. He joined in laughing.
"Guess it's just us two then Zoro."
"Yeah. We're surrounded by idiots."
"And a troublesome woman." I added.
Robin walked close to us. Zoro visibly flinched. "This is a nice change. Are they always this lively?"
Zoro and I both sighed. "Yes." we both responded.
"Really?" She then smiled.
I didn't trust that smile. It seemed fake. Plus, her track record was not very good.
I looked at Zoro and could tell that he was thinking the same thing.
"Anyways, we should get going. We have to escape from Hina right now."
"Wait we need to go pick up Vivi." Luffy called out.
Robin looked confused but then quickly replaced it with a serious look.
Well, she was going to get used to whatever our captain did.
We met Hina head on. Interestingly enough, she wasn't going to capture us immediately. I told Robin to hide herself down so that no one would know that she joined us. Also, it would have been awkward for her to see Vivi.
Hina was going to offer Luffy a position of the Schibukai. Crocodile lost his position, and Luffy was offered to replace it.
Luffy didn't know what it meant. Everyone tried explaining it to him, but he didn't seem to get it.
I told him that he would have to take orders from the World Government if he accepted. That was the important part.
He said no to that which was what I expected.
When Hina heard that, she announced that our new bounties would be revealed once she reports back to base and they decide. Assuming we could escape.
The marines had us trapped. Mr. 2 came up with the plan of distracting them while we went to go see if Vivi joined us.
As we made it to the east coast, I couldn't help but wonder if she would join us. I wanted her to join us, but it would have been weird. Not just me but also having Robin on the ship. It was complicated to say the least.
We made it to the coast, and we heard Vivi speak.
Vivi POV
I heard my speech start as me and Carue ran toward the ship. We saw the Going Merry, but we were far away off.
"I recently went on an adventure."
What an adventure it was with the Strawhats. I smiled at that.
"It was an adventure over deep oceans and dark tides in search of 'hope'."
That was reflecting how I first started out. In my country's moment of crisis, I needed to investigate Baroque Works.
"The ocean that I faced was vast. It is full of unbelievable islands with creatures I had never seen."
I smiled faintly at Little Garden. It was fun exploring that island with Luffy.
"And sounds of waves. Sometimes, they're peaceful as if trying to cover the troubles around us."
I pause a bit thinking about Yuuto.
"Sometimes, they're violent, as if laughing at the week."
I angrily remembered Crocodile.
"But in the darkness and storms, I found a tiny ship. That ship pushed me forward. That ship always found a way out of the darkness. It was as if it danced, sailing across the seas.""
That was Luffy telling me that I could count on the entire crew for them.
I wonder how they are right now.
"In the end, even though it seems like it's drifting, they can only go forward in time against the wind. In the end, it will raise its flag and say. 'Look there is light!' With that said, …."
Carue and I approached the ship. "Everyone!", I yelled happily. That got their attention.
Luffy was happy. "I knew she'd come."
I saw everyone else waving at me.
I was conflicted; everyone else was excited.
"I'm here to say good-bye." I then paused.
Everyone started crying a bit.
"I can't go with you all. Thank you all for what you have done for me!" I looked at everyone of them when I had said that.
To Luffy for being the hero.
To Zoro for his strength and bravery.
To Nami for becoming my closest friend.
To Usopp for making me laugh.
To Sanji for getting the eternal log post and saving me from the okama.
To Chopper for being so cute to play with.
I continued. "Even though I still want to go with you, right now, …"
I looked at Yuuto when I said that.
To Yuuto who gave me hope again.
I really did want to come along with them for adventure.
"But I really love this country."
I love this country more than I loved Yuuto.
"So I can't come along." I was about to start crying.
My country needed me more than I needed the Strawhats.
Luffy nodded understanding.
"Even though, I want to stay here." I started crying. "But if there is one day where we meet each other, will you take me as a friend?" I said the last part hopefully. I didn't care if I said this in front of the marines. This was important to me.
I wanted to make sure about our friendship.
Luffy was about to yell something, but Nami stopped him.
What was going on?
Nami was whispering something. Luffy heard her and started becoming sad. Slowly, all of them had their backs turned on me.
I started crying.
This hurt more than being rejected by Yuuto. Just as I was about to fall down, Carue quacked pointing at them.
They raised their left hand, and I saw the cross mark on their arms.
Crying tears of joy, Carue and I raised our left hands out, showing the mark of our eternal friendship, as we said good-bye to them. [4]
AN:
[1] I know I didn't write a lot of interactions between Yuuto and the crew, but you have to consider a lot of things happen in the part I'm not writing about. It's similar to how we don't see every interaction in the crew.
I would say that Yuuto's really good friends with Nami and Zoro the most. He's good friends with Nami because he actually helps Nami in trying Luffy to be responsible. Zoro and Yuuto are really similar in terms of seriousness. Yuuto helps inspire Usopp with some of his inventions. Chopper looks up to Yuuto like how he looks up to Zoro. Sanji and Yuuto have a mutual respect for one another. Yuuto is a mentor to Luffy.
[2] I made the decision for my OC to reject to Vivi's confession because it would be awkward for a 26 year old to be in love with a 16 year old. Also keep in mind, that my OC met her when she was 10. This was planned from the beginning.
Asking a couple oh when did you guys first meet, and you answer when I was 20, she was 10, is very awkward.
If my OC was 30 and he met Vivi when she was 20, I would have probably been ok with writing the relationship.
Sorry to the people who may have wanted the relationship to happen, but coming from the reasons I addressed didn't feel right.
Whether my OC has another love interest, I'm keeping that to myself.
[3] An ironic statement that my OC has no idea that it will come true. It will be the start of a beautiful friendship.
It's a rough start because of the situation, but after Enies Lobby, it's a beautiful friendship.
[4] Vivi not joining the crew
I made the decision very early when I was outlining my story. Sorry to the one who has been very vocal about it.
It's an important part of the story that she doesn't join the crew because of Reverie, and I'm waiting to see what Oda has in store for Reverie. There is some foreshadowing and it involves our favorite princess. Read the manga if you haven't already. I have a couple ideas/theories already.
Her joining the pirate crew and then being able to go to Reverie would make zero sense because she would have gotten a bounty with the Strawhats. That would also cause more problems with Alabasta seeing that the Neferati family is considered as traitors already.
She will be part of the story again later once we get there. She was definitely fun to write. I look forward to writing when Vivi meets the crew (assuming I get there of course).
Anyways, I'm looking forward to adding Robin's POV. I look forward to writing the interactions between her, the rest of the crew, and Yuuto. Especially with the awkward past.
Here's hoping I do a great job with Skypeia and then Water 7. Both arcs are important with Robin.
Pay attention to Robin's development throughout the next arc. It is meant to set up Water 7.
Please leave a review about any parts you liked or disliked.