Summary: The Gatekeeper, AKA Truth, had messed up. A kingdom on the brink of collapse entrusted Truth with thirteen souls, which included the heir to the throne, a prince, and a princess. These souls, however, were mistakenly sent to the other side of the gate. After a little over 800 years of searching the souls are found and returned to their world, with a few surprises. Will they be able to defeat the enemy that destroyed their kingdom? Or will they be beaten?
Welcome back to the next chapter of The Angel Pirates! It's kinda throwing me off to say Kaa-san and Tou-san all the time, so I'm switching back to mom and dad. Sorry if there's any confusion. Also, just because they were trained by the nin, or Alchemist, or whoever doesn't mean that said person revealed any information about their past.
Disclaimer: The only OCs I own are the ones I made.
Chapter 13 A bit of Background
Toshiko POV
I'm eating my meatless food with the crew, plus Hex, Gina, and Mina, when Tsunade walks in with a grim expression.
"I'll need you to come with me for a moment." She says to me. "The two girls as well."
I shrug and the two girls trail after me. Tsunade leads us to the Infirmary. There are beds laid out everywhere with people on them. She pulls out three cotton swabs.
"I just need to swab the inside of your cheek." She tells us.
It's over quickly. I sit with Mina in my lap as we wait. I start to run my fingers through her hair. She leans against me. Tsunade let's out an exaggerated sigh and gives me an expression of pity.
"Gina, Mina. You can go if you want." Tsunade says.
"We'll stay here." Gina replies defiantly.
"Okay." Tsunade nods. "Toshiko. These two girls are . . . There's no easy way to say this. They're your biological daughters. I'm not sure how, but they are."
"You're our mom?!" Gina looks outraged. "But dad said you died!"
"I don't know who your dad is." I tell them. "I've never. . . I don't know how this is possible."
"Dad didn't say that." Mina says quietly. "He said we didn't need to know. He said the only thing we need to know is how to uphold Justice."
"Is that what you want?" I ask Mina.
"No." She looks me in the eye. "I want freedom. Gina wants recognition."
"Shut up!" Gina scolds her. "You don't know what I want!"
With that, Gina runs from the room. I let my eyes trail after her.
"Don't feel bad." Mina says. "Gina just doesn't know how to express herself. Dad always told her that she needed to act more like me. He never acknowledged her."
"C'mon." I give her a warm smile and scoop her up into my arms as I stand. "I'll introduce you to my Nakama. Not everyone's here tho'."
"Hai." Mina snuggles up to me.
{^^~~~+= Skip =+~~~^^}
"I uhh. .have something to announce." I stand in front of my female Nakama and Hex.
"Just say it." Clover drinks some Sake.
"This is my daughter." I reveal, making Clover choke on her drink. "Etsuko D. Mina. My other daughter, Etsuko D. Gina, needs some time to herself."
"You have kids!?" Karui shouts.
"Oneesama won't want to use your name." Mina warns me. "But I'm fine with it."
"What are you going to do, ssu?" Fu asks.
"Raise them." I say simply.
"But we're pirates!" Kiyoko protests.
"So?" I respond.
"I'm still gonna drink and smoke." Clover comments.
"If the Marines-"
"I don't care." I interrupt her. "I refuse to let them grow up without a mother. Ace-niichan's mom died giving birth, mine died when I was eight, and we still don't know who Kazuki's mom or dad is."
I'm met with silence. Kiyoko nods in defeat.
"Whatever you say, TaichÅ." Kiyoko mutters as she moves past me and out the door.
"It's kind of a touchy subject." I explain.
"Why?" Kushina has a look of understanding.
"It's a touchy subject for me, Hideko, Kouki, Ace-niichan, Kazuki, Sabo, and a few others." I restate. "We each have our own reasons."
"Ace?" Clover asks. "As in Fire-fist Ace? He has parent issues?"
"It's not my place to say." I shake my head.
I put Mina down in the chair next to me and sit. Mina sniffs the food, then hesitantly takes a bite.
"It's not poisoned." I inform her. "Kiyoko doesn't like to waste food."
"It's a habit." Mina shrugs.
"I'm going to try to talk to Gina." I stand and leave.
"Good luck. . ." Mina's voice trails after me.
{^^~~~+= Skip =+~~~^^}
Gina is sitting at the head of the ship when I find her. I don't say a word, just sit beside her. Briefly, I glance at her before looking out to the sea.
"I understand." I begin. "You probably think I don't, but I do. I'm going to tell you something that I haven't gotten around to discussing with my crew or siblings."
I can sense her staring at me now. I take in a deep breath. This is difficult to talk about.
"I can recall my past life." I confess. "The one I had before I was born as I am now. My name was Jessica. I . . . I had two younger siblings, a sister and brother. My parents were divorced, but dad still let mom live with us. I say he let her, because . . .well if I'm honest, she was a lazy, bitchy, disappointment of a mother. And my dad had to work most of the day, every day so we could keep our house. I had to step up. My younger siblings hating me for trying to fill the gap that mom left. It hurt. I never let it show, but it hurt me deeply. So deeply, that I cut myself off emotionally. Even now it's hard for me to truly connect with other people."
Gina had a shocked look on her face. There were tears forming in both of our eyes.
"I refuse to act like that woman." I give her a determined look. "And the mom I got here makes up for dad not being a part of my childhood. My dad here, I mean. She was my hero, my role model. Before her there was no one in my life I looked up to. I'm so sorry that I wasn't there for you or Mina before, but I'm here now. The only thing I want is a chance. It's your decision, not anyone else's."
"Hn." She wipes her eyes and looks off into the distance. "I guess I'll give you a chance. One! And if I decide that I'm better off with dad, then you have to take me to Water Seven."
"I understand." I wipe my eyes, smile, and pull her into a hug.
Gina stiffens for a minute before relaxing and returning the hug.
"Thanks. . ." Gina mumbles.
"I should be the one saying that." I chuckle.
She laughs. Then she stops. There's a glint in her eyes that I don't like.
"But. . ." Gina begins. "You have to help me train to get stronger!"
"I've only really taught once before." I want her. "And that was my little sister."
"I have an aunt?" She asks in disbelief.
"And two uncles." I grin at her. "What do you want to learn?"
"Swords." Gina replies without hesitation. "I want to know how to use one better. And Haki."
"Sure." My smile turns warm.
"Maybe you aren't so bad. . ." She rolls her eyes.
"What?" My smile turns devious.
"Go away." Gina pouts and turns her head.
"Come, my lady." I pick her up bridal style. "We feast!"
"You're so weird." She mutters.
"Oh no. . . !" I gasp in mock-horror.
"What?" Gina asks a bit warily.
"Here comes. . .the Tickle Monster!" I laugh and start to tickle her silly.
"No! Hahaha! Sto-haha! Stop!" She squeals and tries to get away.
{^^~~~+= Three Days Later =+~~~^^}
After the Marines recovered, half of them jumped ship and the rest decided to join. Toshiko had spent all of her time playing with her two girls. Hex became attached to the women, especially Toshiko and Hinata. For some reason that they chose not to ask about, he absolutely hated men. They had to remind him repeatedly not to attack their new male crewmembers. The men of the crew were due any minute now.
Kiyoko POV
"This is so fucked up." Clover takes a shot of whiskey.
I glance over to where Toshiko is playing with her daughters. They look so happy together. Gina was still opening up and Mina was a bit cryptic at times, but anyone could see that they cared about their mother.
"I mean, she's supposed to be a pirate captain!" Clover continues. "And she's over there playing house! It's weird. . ."
"She's a natural." Kushina smiles warmly at the family.
"Ah man. . ." I wince as I remember something. "I can't believe I forgot!"
"What did you forget?" Tsunade raises an eyebrow.
"It's just that. . ." I sigh. "I don't think taking down the World Government is actually her dream. Not her greatest one, at least."
"If that's not her dream then. . . Does she want to take them down for revenge?" A dead serious expression appears on Ino's face.
"Maybe." I reply sadly.
"Wait." Kushina frowns. "Do you know what her actual dream is?"
"Yeah. . ." A warm smile spreads across my face as I turn to look at Toshiko. "She wants to be a simple housewife."
{^^~~~+= Somewhere in Amestris =+~~~^^}
A curvy woman with black hair in micro-braids and piercing black eyes sneezes.
"Are you alright dear?" A large man gives her a concerned look.
"I'm fine." An evil smile appears on her face as she cracks her knuckles. "I bet those Elric brats are talking about me."
{^^~~~+= Somewhere Else in Amestris =+~~~^^}
A blond boy with golden eyes and a suit of armor suddenly feel a cold chill.
"Brother, I have a feeling that teacher wants to hurt us." The suit says with a scared tone.
{^^~~~+= Back on the Ship =+~~~^^}
Toshiko POV
"Captain." Clover looms over me and my daughters with a shadowed expression. "We need to have a talk."
Standing beside her is Tsunade, Kushina, Fu, Mei, and Ino. They all have stony expressions.
"Why don't you two see what Hinata and Hex are up to?" I smile at my girls.
They grin and run off. I watch them go for a few minutes before facing my female Nakama.
"What's up?" I stand.
"Let's go below deck." Tsunade says.
We follow her to an empty storage room. They stand in semi-circle in front of me.
"There are two, possibly three choices that you can choose from right now." Clover begins. "You can drop the kids with a nice, caring family or we can drop you and the three kids on an island together so you can raise them."
"What?" I stare at them in shock.
"The third option is to keep them with us." Mei speaks. "But. They will most likely gain a wanted poster or be kidnapped to be used against you."
"There's no way in hell that I'm just gonna leave my children stranded somewhere." I scowl at them. "Hex wouldn't last a week on his own. And until I bring down the World Government, I refuse to sit back and watch my Nakama go head to head with them! They're staying dammit!"
"That's another thing." Ino looks somber. "Why do you want to take them down?"
"Why?" I respond, confused. "Because they're corrupt to the core! Because they do whatever they please and get away with it! Because of all the families and lives they've destroyed! I won't turn a blind eye while they let people like those damn Tenryubito treat others like they're nothing but the scum beneath their feet! Does that answer your question?!"
"No." She says, shocking me a bit. "When did you first decide that you wanted to take them down?"
"Why does that matter?" That wasn't relevant.
"It just does." Ino persists.
"Well -"
"Captain!" Kiyoko's voice interrupts me. "Captain, we need some help up here!"
"On my way!" I brush past the group of women and head for Kiyoko.
{^^~~~+= Skip =+~~~^^}
The male portion of the crew had returned. Hinata and Kiyoko were trying their best to calm down Hex. For some reason, Gina and Mina were glaring poisoned daggers at Kiba. What the hell happened?
"What's going on?" I ask no one in particular.
"I don't think Hex likes men very much." Erika says.
"We already knew that." Karui comments sarcastically.
"Where did the kids come from?" Jiraiya asks.
"Apparently. . ." Tsunade begins. "Those two girls are Toshiko's daughters."
"Nani?!" The male half of the crew shout in disbelief.
Some of them look disturbed. Others seem solemn. Kiba and Jiraiya, however, appear to be nervous about something.
"Did they say something to you?" I ask the two girls.
"The perverted old man said something about dog-boy 'getting into Toshi-chan's pants'." Gina glares at the two men.
"Oh really?" I turn to Tsunade. "Would you mind. . . ?"
"Absolutely." She cracks her knuckles and the two men blanch.
Tsunade then begins to chase down Kiba and Jiraiya.
"Did you finally manage to ditch the Marine?" I grin at the remaining males.
"Uhh yeah. . ." Minato nods. "Something like that."
"What's the next island?" Akihiro asks.
"A place called 'Little Garden'." Manabu declares. "I managed to snag a couple of poses."
"Why is it called Little Garden?" I frown.
"Because of the giants." Mina answers, offhand.
"Giants!?" Many of the crew shout in shock.
"Where the hell did you find this people?" An amused grin has worked its way onto Clover's face as she gestures to the stunned crew.
"East Blue." I respond with a shrug and a smile. "It was an uncharted part of the sea."
"Set the course, Manabu." Ino eyes me. "We need to finish our conversation."
"How about I finish it now?" My mood has turned sour. "I'm the captain. It doesn't matter why I came to the conclusion of taking down the W.G. That's the only answer you need."
Kiyoko POV
"What did you ask her?" I frown as Toshiko storms off with Mina and Gina.
"We need to know what her motives are for taking down the W.G." Tsunade reveals.
"Her motives?" Jiraiya asks. "Do you actually believe she has a darker motivation?"
"Revenge." That one word set all of the ninja on edge.
"I doubt that she would end up like-"
"Don't." Ino interrupts Kiba. "It might've happened a long time ago, but those memories are still fresh."
"Sorry." Kiba apologizes with a sullen expression.
The ship is quiet for a minute, leaving all the non-nin confused.
"What's wrong with you guys?" Kouki asks.
"We had a comrade once that abandoned our village in order to seek revenge." Itachi speaks, surprising them. "He put himself in league with a very dangerous person and tried to kill the people who cared about him. If he hadn't left, had trained to become strong beside his friends. . . Our countries wouldn't have suffered so much."
"Toshiko wouldn't try to kill us." I scowl, startling a few. "She's a good person. Yeah, she's gotten into fights, but even then she pulls her punches 'cause she doesn't like hurting other people. She was the one who held our group together. She's the one who made you laugh when it seemed like there was nothing left to be happy about, when things got rough! Don't you dare say anything bad about her!"
"But Kiyoko. . ." Mai spoke this time. "Was she happy? Did you ever see her truly upset or sad about something? Or was she always smiling to make you feel better?"
That question stunned me, along with everyone else. I can faintly see Iruka, Kushina, Minato, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Tsunade gain troubled expressions. I try to think back to our previous lives. No, I realize. She was always, always, smiling. Even when her own little sister said she hated her, or when someone said they didn't want her there, or when. . .when we heard the news about her mother trying to kill herself. Wait a minute. Whenever I saw her sitting by herself or walking down the hall. . .she always looked kind of sullen. Maybe Mai had a point.
"She never wanted to put that burden on you." Clover says. "She just hid it."
"This is Toshiko we're talking about." Kouki says.
"And maybe she pulled her punches. . " Clover continues. "Because she thought she might enjoy hurting someone? And end up killing them?"
My eyes are locked on the sea. There are too many thoughts racing through my mind. What if. . . ? What if Clover is right? If Toshiko really does bottle up, or hide, all of her negative emotions like that. . . She could snap and kill someone. Or even develop a split personality. Toshiko could resent us.
What should I do?!
"We need to talk to her." Kakashi says.
I didn't realize I'd spoken out loud. I glance at him.
"All of us." The silver-haired man says.
"What if we make her snap?!" I ask harsher than necessary.
"We'll deal with it then." Tsunade says.
Aaannnnddd that's it for this chapter! Sorry I took so long. I got distracted and then contracted a nasty dose of 'writers block'. Please forgive me! Don't forget to REVIEW! Oh, the name 'Jessica'. It was the number one name for girls in 1996. That's why I chose it. Hope no one out there named 'Jessica' minds. Just a little insight on what things were like for her. Okay, so about their father. They were taking them to him. On a certain island. But. The person Gina and Mina think are their father, is not actually their father. Look at the girls personalities so far and compare them to Toshiko's. Then certain men of the One Piece (or Naruto) characters.
Mina: I could tell them.
Me: No! You'll blow it!
Hideko: 'Blow'? What did you just imply?
Me: Get outta here! You haven't even been introduced yet!
Hideko: Just wait! As soon as I am, I'll-
Me: Toshiko! Get her outta here! Before I bring out the Homunculi!
Toshiko: *Appears out of nowhere* On it! But you owe me candy!
Me: Maybe later! *Stage whisper* You crazy psychopath. . .
Toshiko: *swivels to face me with maniacal grin* What was that?
Me: *Sweating profusely* N-nothing! See ya later guys! Wish me luck!
Toshiko: *drags me and Hideko away* Let's play a game. . .
Mina: *just standing there* Mom forgot to take her pills again. . .