DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE
Chapter Twenty-Eight
"Does Ace know?"
After an hour of sleep, I was rested well enough and absolutely starving. Sabo had stayed by my side while I slept, and he even went to sleep for a while, according to his own words. Sanji was working on lunch at the moment while I lounged on the deck with Sabo and Luffy, the others mingling around us. At my sudden question, some looked over and looked between my brothers and I with apprehensive expressions.
Sabo, to answer my question, hung his head and held it between his hands, that look of guilt coming over his face again. "I didn't even think you guys thought I was dead, so he's undoubtedly in the same boat."
"He's here?!" Luffy began to jump up, excited at the prospect of Ace literally being in the same boat as us.
I clamped a hand over his shoulder and forced his butt back onto the deck. "It's an expression, dork." He pouted and I thought a little harder about it all. "Well, he might show up eventually. I mean, news of my 'return from the dead' has to have reached him by now...among other people..." Other people like Mihawk. Shanks and his crew. The rest of the Whitebeards. Dadan and the family. Kidd and Killer. "Oh shit."
Brook was looking at me again from over on the stairs where he had been with Usopp, and I felt the chills running down my spine as I remembered that he knew. I didn't even need to question if he did for sure, because it was obvious and it made sense. His whole Devil Fruit had to do with some aspect of death, so of course he would sense it in me, whether or not he was looking for it in the first place was beyond me. However it was, I made it a point to no longer look at him, and focused on the conversation Luffy had been having with Law, who had come out of nowhere.
"Our alliance is becoming too crowded." His voice rang out over the deck and everyone paused again to look over. Apparently I missed whatever argument had been going on before this, and Sabo looked decidedly awkward sitting between the annoyed Law and the aloof Luffy. "With this many people, moving stealthily around and avoiding Kaido will become a feat that is out of our hands."
I was almost tempted to make a joke about him not having hands, but figured that would be in bad taste. Especially after the strong reaction from his crew at seeing their captain reduced to a one-armed man. I could still hear the angry shouts that I never thought they would direct towards their captain, nor did I believe I would ever see Law take the verbal abuse in stride, letting them get it all out before ordering them to leave it be.
"Ah, it's fine Tra-guy." Luffy stretched his arm around Sabo and clapped it on Law's shoulder with a solid clap. "The more the scarier, right?"
"It's 'merrier', Luffy." Robin called from somewhere behind me.
Law, annoyed with Luffy like he usually was, made a point to call out everyone who didn't belong in the alliance. "You've allowed Viola-ya to come along, which I told you was too much already. You're allowing Rooster-ya to stay with his crew, adding twenty unnecessary people into that." I hadn't known about that. "Now we have three Revolutionaries requesting to come along for a while," I knew about that one. Sabo ran it by Dragon at some point while I slept, then me, then Morjiana and Kureiji, then Luffy. "And your brother Fire Fist-ya will undoubtedly wish to come as well." That seemed likely as well.
"And me." I pointed a finger to my chest, feeling the need to remind everyone at that point that my being there was temporary and totally unneeded. "I don't belong here as well, right?"
Law met my eyes for a brief moment before turning his attention back to Luffy, shrugging the hand off his shoulder as he did. "At this rate, we'll all die."
My heart dropped into my stomach at his words and I imagined the terrible outcome of this in my head. I didn't want that. Not at all. But Luffy's face was turning red, his veins were bulging in his forehead, and steam was pouring out of his ears as he concentrated really hard on a solution. I chuckled, to cover my fear of the whole thing, and spoke up once again. "If it helps any, I can get Hancock to come get me early and - -"
"Got it!" Luffy interrupted, placing his hand over my mouth and silencing my words. I glared at him, but was also intrigued by his words. "I have a plan, Tra-guy!"
And honestly, we all should have known better than to believe him. Should have known that following him out onto the beach, after he had gone down to Franky's workshop area and grabbed some buckets, that this was a bad idea. But did we do it anyway? Of course. And we quickly learned the error of our ways.
Turns out, Luffy's brilliant plan wasn't what Law was looking for. The plan: paint everything camouflage because he heard that it 'made things disappear'. He was halfway through splattering a very willing Bartolomeo with various shades of green paint before we all decided to put an end to the madness and cast a vote. Unanimously, it was decided that Viola would be sent back to Dressrosa with the aid of the majority of the Barto Club. Bartolomeo himself would stay, and his crew would meet up with us later. They'll be able to add some manpower when we get into it with Kaido in the future. That was the argument that won Law over on that one.
Sanji, in an attempt to prevent his precious princess from leaving, tried to make his vote count thirty times. Nami convinced him it wasn't worth it, and he allowed his 'darling Viola-chan' to go with a heavy heart. It was all for her own safety, we had to remind me numerous times.
By noon that same day, the Barto Club (minus their captain) and the princess were gone from the alliance temporarily, and all Law had to worry about was the three Revolutionaries that didn't belong to either crew. And when I tried to say that I didn't belong either, I was ignored. Every single time. Things died down after the tearful goodbyes, and everyone went back to what they had been doing before, minus Luffy, who had been all but dragged over to the sub so he could have a serious and uninterrupted conversation with Law about the alliance and what we should do next. Apparently, having Sabo, Kureiji, and Morjiana here was fine.
I spent my time sitting against the railing, my back to the beach and my nose buried in the book I had started the night before in the galley. Luffy, in desperate need for an adventure, convinced Usopp, Tino, Sabo, and a very willing Bartolomeo to go out on the island to explore as soon as he was finished strategizing with Law. He pleaded with me for a while about it, but I was absolute on staying where I was. I didn't want an adventure yet, and I promised that I would go on the next island. Words that I would probably end up regretting, because Luffy won't forget, but I didn't care.
The day was rather uneventful. We ate lunch, minus the four explorers that had their own lunchboxes. I spent some time with Robin in the infirmary while her injuries were checked by Law and Chopper. Kureiji and Morjiana talked to me a bit, questioning the bruise and then turning murderous when I explained that Nate slapped me. It took all I had to convince Morjiana not to go rip his throat out.
Nate, I realized as I explained how we made up, had been absent the entire time. He never came up for the party the night before, and I hadn't gone to sleep in the room because I lounged out on deck that night. He didn't come up for breakfast or lunch, and when dinner rolled around, I didn't have much hope that he would show up.
I sat in the galley with Sanji once again, revelling in the silence as he cooked the great dinner for both crews and the Revolutionaries. We didn't talk much while we sat. I studied my hands, flexing them and wincing when the scrapes on my knuckles tugged and cracked. When I looked back to Sanji, sitting and sipping some wine that he poured us not too long ago, I frowned and thought hard for a moment.
He noticed my face and approached with a worried expression. "Are you alright - - ?"
"I'm gonna leave." I met his eyes and frowned. "I have to leave."
I really didn't expect him to question it, but I also didn't expect him to just nod and sit across from me with a look of complete understanding. "When?"
"Fuck, I don't know." I held my head in my hands and took a breath. "Soon. I have...people that I need to find. Friends." I snuck a glance at him and looked to the door when I heard a voice too close for my liking. No one came in. I looked back to Sanji. "I need to make sure they're alive."
Sanji nodded and leaned back, checking the food over his shoulder and lighting a cigarette. "You said you told the others on Dressrosa that you quit, right?" I nodded. "Luffy convinced you to stay, and he's not just gonna let you leave yet. He's too childish for that."
I snorted and sipped my wine. "You think I don't know that?" I shook my head and rethought my words. "I just need to slip away for a while. A few days. Maybe a week or two? I have to find them and make sure everyone made it out alive." He looked confused and, since he already knew a lot more than everyone else, why not? "There was about fifty people that escaped two months ago. I helped with the escape plan alongside my cell mate. In the end, something went wrong and everyone but me and two others got out."
"Is that when you died?"
I shook my head. "No no, I died in the beginning of the two years. Within my first two weeks at the facility, I think." I shivered then, remembering everything that happened after I was dragged away from the hole that had been covered by rocks so they could get out. Being strapped to the table. Asked over and over and over again where they went. "No, but I was in trouble for it." He almost went into a literal fiery rage, but I changed course quickly to prevent that. "Not the point right now. Thing is, I need to get to a certain island and find out who made it." Find out if Howl made it.
"How are you gonna get to whatever island? I mean, do you have a way to - -" He was silenced when I held up my hand, holding a small slip of white paper in between two fingers. "A Vivre Card."
I gave a nod, slipping it between my breasts once more. "It belongs to one of the Marines that had been in there with us. He slipped it to me a few days before the escape. I don't even know how he got it in the first place."
Sanji hesitated, but he asked the question that was burning in the back of his mind anyway. "Where...have you been keeping that?"
My face turned a brilliant shade of red and I downed the rest of my wine in one go. "You don't want to know."
We went into silence again after that. Sanji went to stir the stew while I stayed at the table, thinking of how I could slip away and not cause a panic and a search party. Maybe I could talk some sense into Luffy? Let me head out alone for a while if I promised to meet back up with him? Ah, but knowing him, he wouldn't want to miss out on an adventure, and would insist on coming along.
"You could wait it out." Sanji suggested as he finished cooking up the fish the boys had caught earlier. I asked him to elaborate, and he did as he seasoned them. "We'll probably get closer to whatever island you need to get to. We can look at some maps in the library and try to figure it out, and I'm sure we can get Nami to go in the direction you need to go."
It wasn't a bad idea, I guess, but there were plenty of holes in it. "How would we do that? Get her to go whatever way, I mean."
"The island, is it gonna be quiet or full of danger?"
"Quiet. Definitely quiet." He made a gesture as if to say 'there's your answer' and I nodded. "Fine. Meet me in the library tonight? You're on watch, right?" He nodded. "Good." He met my eyes and I gave a smile, genuine and small. "Thanks, Sanji."
His smile was just as small, and not at all obnoxious. I could get used to this Sanji. "You're more than welcome, Mara."
8888
Nate and I stared at each other for a long time. I had gone inside the sub after dinner, heading to bed with a wink to Sanji as a reminder to meet me later in the night at the library on the Sunny. I figured, since I hadn't had the chance to sleep in my old bed yet, I would get some sleep tonight. And I hoped that Nate was still okay with me sleeping in there. When I opened the door, it was apparent that he was just leaving, towel hanging over his head and boiler suit pulled down off of his torso, leaving it bare. This was not the reason I was staring at him. I was staring at him because he was staring at me. Like he had never seen someone wearing borrowed clothes before.
"I can still sleep in here, right?" I gestured to my old bed when he still looked confused, and he gave a quick nod, stepping aside, even though it was completely unnecessary. I entered the room and sat on the edge of the bed, memories flooding inside of me at once. Sitting up late and talking, wrestling with the guys on occasion, getting in trouble with Nate when I wouldn't make my bed in the morning.
I felt his eyes on me and, when I looked over, he looked nervous, unable to take his eyes off my bruised cheek. "I'm, uh, gonna go shower. I'll be back in a bit."
Waving him off, I laid back and sighed. "Take your time. Lord knows you need a shower." An attempt to make things more normal and less awkward between us. When he laughed as he left, I knew it worked. He shut the door behind him and I felt my own smile fall slightly. He probably didn't think much of it, since it appeared to have happened a while ago, but...his back…
Deep, thick scars covered the span of his back, coming from a clawed hand with at least four fingers. Running from the left shoulder to his right hip. Angry marks causing puckered skin, reminding me horribly of a larger version of the marks on Shanks' eye. He had been hurt. And so horribly. And had said nothing about it. I shouldn't be mad, since I hadn't told him things either, but I sure as hell wasn't flaunting it about like it was nothing!
Ten minutes later, I turned the light off and took my pants off, crawling under the blankets and relaxing. It wasn't my business what happened to him. I could ask when he got back in the room, but if he didn't want to answer, I wouldn't pursue. Hell, it wasn't like I was coming forward with answers anytime soon!
So I waited. Fifteen minutes. Twenty. Thirty. Forty-five. Nothing. I began to drift off into sleep, reminding myself again that I needed to meet with Sanji later. Closing my eyes and evening out my breathing, I was just beginning to really fall asleep when the door was opened and I saw the silhouette of Nate walk in. He moved quietly, probably thinking me to be asleep as he tiptoes over to his bed with a towel wrapped around his waist, digging in the drawers for clothes. The faint light of the open window gave me a clear view of his back and I had to close my eyes and hold back my nausea.
"What happened?" I whispered, unable to open my eyes and see it again. I felt his gaze turn to me, and the questioning hum he gave in the silence. "You're back. What…?"
He was silent for a long time. I heard his clothes rustling, and kept my eyes closed so I wouldn't see that. And then I felt him approach, and I opened my eyes wide just in time for him to sit on the edge of my bed, his shirt still absent from his body and showing me his scars in all their glory. They looked worse up close. I felt bile rising up in my throat at the sight.
"We stopped at an island. Pretty calm, nothing much that we could see as a threat." I listened closely to his hushed words. "The Drake Pirates were there. It turned into a fight. Law was about to be hit hard. Bepo saved him the first time, but Drake just..." He swung his arm out violently. Suddenly. I jumped. "I was close enough and figured hey, I might as well do something, right? So I jumped in the way and took the hit myself. Better me than our captain and doctor."
I didn't answer. Instead I reached out and touched my fingertips to the puckered and raised flesh, frowning hard. His skin broke out in goosebumps. "You're an idiot."
"I've been told." He chuckled and turn to give me a grin over his shoulder that reminded me so much of the old Nate and how it used to be when we travelled together and fuck if I didn't start to tear up. And of course he fucking noticed. "Mara..."
Tears spilled over and I rolled onto my side, turning my back to him and covering my eyes with my arm. "You're so dumb." I choked out, collecting myself before sitting up and pointing a finger at his cheek, scaring him enough for his eyes to be the size of dinner plates. "And I'm mad! I should slap you!" And I did. But not hard. Just a light slap on his cheek before I grabbed his shoulders and turned his body towards me, barrelling myself into his arms and holding tight. He was frozen, and I was shocked at my own actions. But then again, I wasn't too shocked. I craved intimacy, what can I say?
His arms wrapped around my back while mine wrapped around his shoulders and we stayed like that for a while. My chin stayed in the crook of his neck and his stayed in mine.
"I missed you." He whispered, pressing his wet cheek against mine. "I missed you more than you can imagine. I love you, freak."
I chuckled and pulled him down onto the bed, gathering him under the covers and snuggling into his side. "I'm sure I missed you more, dick face." He made an indignant noise, but didn't try moving away. "I love you too. Now, will you sleep with me tonight?"
"Of course." He readjusted himself, his one arm resting behind my head while the other rested over his stomach. I turned on my side to face him, bringing both arms up to my chest and patting his side. "I have to ask. Is Law gonna come in and kill me for being in bed with you?"
I rolled my eyes. "Hardy har har, dumbass." Law wouldn't even come in here, most likely. Sanji, however, was a different story entirely.
8888
He looked pretty...relaxed, compared to how I thought he would react. Sanji knew I would be spending the night in my old room on the sub, so he had asked if he should come get me during the night. I was fine with it, because walking alone at night, even though I was around a bunch of people whom I knew and trusted, made me slightly uneasy. So he came to get me, came into the room, and we stared at one another for a few moments. I hadn't been asleep for about an hour at that point, but hadn't moved because Nate's head was resting on my chest.
"You look comfortable." Sanji whispered, looking between Nate and I with a wide eye. "Still up for some studying?"
I nodded, grabbing Nate's head in my hands and flinging it onto the pillow. He was still a heavy sleeper, thank God.
We made our way off the sub, moving to the Sunny in silence. My mind was whirling, trying hard to remember the name of the island specifically as well as the names of the islands around it. My mind was blanking and I was panicking, but I was sure that looking at some maps would jog my memory...hopefully.
[A/N]: So it's been a while since I've updated, and that's because the family desktop is completely done for and it cannot be used any longer, so my laptop has been taken over by my stepdad. I mean, school is more important than writing this, so I'm not too mad about it, but like damn, he don't even ask if he can use it anymore.
Anyway, this one is kind of short, and more of a filler/segue chapter, so it's really not that exciting, but I'm setting up a lot of shit to happen here, so it's still important to the plot. I promise. I hope you guys liked it though! I'm trying to give some insight on what's been up with the Hearts over the last two years while they were still with Law.
Please please please REVIEW, FAVORITE, and FOLLOW my story! It makes me happy when you all do that :)
Love you all and see you when I see you~
XoXoXoXoXo
