So this chapter was mostly written for the girls and those that like the fluff moments. It was actually going to be a bit more goofy, but it was determined not to end up that way. So blame the plunnies for that. It was also determined to not come out on Christmas, as well as have something related to Christmas in it. So here you go. Something that's completely non-holiday related and as un-festive as possible. You're welcome.

Also, thank you guys for the good luck wishes on my exams! I did well, on all of them, thank you so much!

And now for reviews! Thanks to: QuirkyKit, ZabuzasGirl, OrangeWithAfro, jazmin4, Momochan77 (your review made me laugh!), Commando Fernando (sorry my SNK knowledge is lacking haha), and TheRealEvanSG for the reviews! A lot of you seemed happy to finally know who it was that kidnapped Hazel, as well as tearing Sanji apart for his lack of temper control.

And one more point: This has been brought to my attention again, but Hazel is not royalty. She is related to them, however, but the reason she's called 'Princess' is because it's the pirates' pet name to her, since they thought she was the princess, and kidnapped her by mistake. That is all.

EDIT: many thanks to ro781727 for catching all my sleep-deprived mistakes! You're the best!

ANOTHER EDIT: HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!

Now, onwards!


Chapter 42

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Sanji growled to himself, banging his head against the wall in the storage hold. This was where he usually retreated to when he was frustrated, and boy, was he frustrated.

He knew something was wrong with Hazel. He knew that she was most likely feeling some sort of emotional upheaval, and still, he…

He shook his head, and banged it against the wall again, only to feel something soft shielding his forehead. He opened his eyes in confusion, and stared blankly at the arm that sprouted out of the woodworking. "Wha…?"

"If you keep doing that, you'll gain a concussion and die," Robin's voice said, tinged with amusement as she stepped over from the door.

"Robin," Sanji sighed. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now, but he could hardly chase Robin out of the room. It wouldn't have been very gentlemanly of him.

"What's the matter?" Robin asked, lowering her arms. The hand holding Sanji's forehead at bay dissipated in a flurry of petals, and Sanji shook his head, not wanting to burden a lady with his problems. But despite his silence, Robin smiled. "This is about Hazel, isn't it?"

His blue eyes darted towards her in surprise, and Robin tilted her head, before moving to take a seat on a nearby stack of crates. "I can tell you're really close to her, more so than anyone else on the ship," she said with a nod at the chef. "And I heard what happened to her. So what's the matter?"

Sanji grimaced, and fumbled in his pocket for a cigarette and his matches. "I lost my shitty temper, that's what," he muttered under his breath, lighting a cigarette and inhaling the soothing smell of smoke. "I didn't mean to, but I can't smoke in her room, and it makes it easier for me to lose my temper if I don't…" He shook his head helplessly, and added, "She didn't want to tell me what the problem was, and I lost my temper."

Robin cocked her head, blue eyes understanding and sympathetic. "It's not uncommon for that to happen," she soothed, but Sanji shook his head.

"But she always tells me what the problem is!" he cried, frustrated. "This is the first time she hasn't told me what the problem was! And for some, stupid reason, she's convinced that she'll hurt me by telling me!"

"Maybe she's right," Robin said, blue eyes uncharacteristically hard. "She's an amnesiac, right?" When Sanji nodded, Robin held up three fingers. "Generally, there are only three types of causes for amnesia: physical deficiencies, head injuries, and traumatic experiences. And from what I've noticed, she's not suffering from any kind of deficiencies or injuries. Which means she's suffering from the third kind. And if she's suddenly worried that what she knows now will hurt you…"

Sanji swallowed, throat suddenly dry. It meant that she suddenly had information and knowledge that could hurt everyone on the crew. "I…" he hung his head, "I didn't think about that."

Robin gave him a small, reassuring smile. "I can understand her caution, to a point," Robin commented quietly. "I know what it's like to have information on something that could potentially hurt others." Sanji's head jerked up, but before he could ask her about that, she continued, "But she needs to understand that keeping information from others could also hurt those you care about."

"So what should I do?" Sanji croaked, feeling lost and helpless, and Robin smiled warmly at him.

"The same thing you said to me a few weeks ago," she said with a wry shake of her head. "Give her space. Give her time. Let her calm down before you go and speak to her again. Let her think things through. She's a smart girl. She'll be able to figure things out."

She stood, and with a graceful incline of her head, she left Sanji alone with his thoughts.

Robin had a point, he mused as he mulled things over in his mind. That was his problem half the time. He never really gave Hazel the chance to stew and think things over, to calm down before she came to him for help. Usually it was him coming to her, to check and see if she was okay.

Mind and heart settled, he gave a firm nod and retreated back to the kitchen in order to prepare lunch, before he paused.

What did Robin mean when she said she knew what it was like to have information that could hurt others?


After I managed to pull myself together again, I took a deep, shuddering breath.

It was decided. I would hunt down the bastard that ruined my life. That would be my new goal.

And I would do it on my own watch, without the others knowing. It would be safer that way. I didn't want them to get mixed up in my own problems, and hurt because of it.

That also meant I had to make myself stronger, for the sake of the others.

Decision made, I crawled out of bed and moved over to where I had thrown my axe. It was on the floor between a blooming rose bush and the steadily-growing Mescal cactus from Alabasta.

But first things first; apologize to Sanji.

I found him in the kitchen, looking a lot calmer as he molded rice into onigiri and sushi*.

I loitered by the door for a long moment, unsure as to how to approach him, but that was fixed for me when he glanced back at the open door.

He arched an eyebrow at me for a moment, before he nodded at the door. "Why don't you shut that, before Luffy comes in?"

Hesitating, I nodded before I moved to shut the door. He turned back to his food preparation, and I watched him for a long moment before I moved towards him.

I felt him stiffen when I wrapped my arms around him from behind, but he relaxed when I buried my face into his back.

"'M sorry." I mumbled against his suit, and I heard him wipe his hands on a nearby towel before he turned to pull me into his arms.

"Me too," he sighed, pressing his cheek against the top of my head. "I didn't mean to lose my temper like that."

"Same," I muttered into the front of his suit. "But…I can't tell you what's wrong. You'll only hate me for it."

"Try me," Sanji challenged, pulling back and staring me straight in the eyes. "I'm sure that whatever you say, I'll support you one hundred percent."

I hesitated. Would it really be that bad to tell him? I then withheld a snort of laughter as a thought occurred to me. "Even if I say I'm running away to elope with a dirty old man twice my age?"

I felt him shudder, and his arms tightened around me for a fraction of a second. "Except for that," he grimaced, and I giggled. "But other than that, I'll be behind you every step of the way."

I remained silent, before asking in a very small, small voice, "What about murder?"

Sanji stilled, before he pulled away. I felt my heart begin to plummet, before I realized that he didn't look too bothered by what I said. He just looked down at me with a very serious expression, before he asked calmly, "Who?"

I swallowed, and looked down at my feet. "I…I finally got a name," I confessed, feeling my heart race and my stomach curl at the mere thought of him. "The man that tortured me. That killed my father."

Sanji gazed at me for a long time, before he crouched down so he was eye-level with me. "Who?" he asked again, simply, and I gulped, before I steeled myself.

"James Francis." I said, my voice clear with strength and resolve. "The captain of the Silver-Eyed Pirates."

Sanji was silent for a long time, and I felt myself begin to shift anxiously. He wasn't saying anything. Was he disappointed? Was he mad? Did he hate me for this?

Finally, Sanji let out a sigh, before he regarded me carefully, his eyes roving over my face. "If this is really what you want…then I won't stop you," he said, and I felt my heart leap.

I felt a small, watery smile begin to split my face. "You - you're not mad? Or disappointed?" I squeaked, trembling, and he gave me a sympathetic smile.

"Is this what you've been so upset about?" he asked gently, ruffling my hair with his long fingers. "I'm not disappointed. Hell, I'd probably would do the same if I ever came across him myself. But I won't. I'll help you find him instead."

I could feel my heart swelling, and I threw my arms around him again. "Thanks, Sanji-nii," I mumbled into his shoulder, and I felt him grin against the top of my head.

"I'll always help you out, okay? Just rely on your big brother," Sanji murmured, before he pulled away. "Now, are you going to help me with these onigiri so our shitty captain doesn't complain about not having enough to eat?"

I let out a giggle despite my chest constricting, and with a inconspicuous sniffle, I wiped my eyes and beamed at Sanji.

"Of course!"


"Really…that stupid orangutan!" I blinked in confusion as I approached where the others were working on repairing the ship. "The boat is in even worse shape now."

"What happened?" I wondered, looking around at all the splintered wood and the planks holding the Merry together.

"We got attacked by an orangutan because we kicked his brother Masira away," Chopper explained, hefting the little toolbox he was holding higher, and I frowned.

"When was this?" I asked, and Chopper shrugged.

"An hour ago? It was while you were in your room," he explained, and I nodded, holding up the plate of onigiri that Sanji had given me.

"Well, Sanji and I made onigiri," I said, and immediately, I was surrounded by grabbing hands and hungry bellies. The next second, the plate was empty save for a single rice ball, for which Luffy's hand was reaching for.

"Hell naw!" I snatched the onigiri before Luffy could, and batted his hand away with the plate while stuffing the food into my mouth like an oversized chipmunk. "…So this chimpanzee - mmphgh - so this guy attacked the ship? With what? A cannon?"

"No, some sort of sonic attack with a microphone," Zoro grunted. "Ended up destroyed his own ship even more before Luffy kicked his ass." He scowled in annoyance. "Man, this boat turned to crap in one day," he grumbled as he hammered metal planks against the mast to secure it. "Do we need a new one?"

"Maybe," I mused.

"DON'T SAY THAT! JUST SHUT UP!" Usopp shouted at us, and I stared at him in stunned surprise.

"Usopp?" I asked, startled, but Luffy grinned at us from over by another section of the railing.

"Hey, don't worry Usopp," our captain said reassuringly. "The Going Merry is our friend! We just have to work hard and repair it!"

Usopp's lip wobbled, before he reached up to wipe away tears of gratitude. "Luffy! You're such a good friend!"

Luffy grinned and hammered down, and in the process, hit the nail too hard. We watched as the section Luffy was repairing crumbled, causing even more damage than there was originally.

"Whoops."

"YOU IDIOT!" Usopp and I shouted at him as we rushed to fix the damage Luffy caused.

"You just made things worse!" Usopp howled as he scrambled to nail the planks back up.

"Moron!"


"So what're we doing now?" I asked Nami five minutes later, and the redhead pushed her hair back out of her face.

"We're looking for a man that knows something about Skypiea and someone named Norland," she replied.

"Montblanc Cricket," Robin added from the side, and Nami nodded.

"The man who talks of dreams," she confirmed.

We turned around the edge of the coast, and Usopp choked.

"Gah!"

"THAT'S SO COOL!" Luffy shrieked as a castle emerged in our line of sight.

"Is that his house?!" I demanded in shock, and Usopp shook his head.

"Then that means he's filthy rich, isn't he?!" he demanded, before Zoro elbowed him roughly.

"Stupid, look clearly," he said, and Sanji's forehead creased in incredulity as he observed the mansion.

"A man who dreams? More like a man who wants attention," he observed, and I frowned at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked, and Sanji pointed, leaning down to mutter in my ear, "Take a closer look at the woodworking on the house."

I squinted at it as we pulled up alongside the house on the coast, and my jaw dropped.

"What the hell?!"

"Ah!" Luffy exclaimed, shocked. "It's just a board!"

"What?!"

Zoro rolled his eyes as Sanji motioned me over to help pull the down the sail. "This guy's house is only half of a side, the rest is just plywood," he said in annoyance as he studied the large, billboard-like structure.

"Seems like a small a cheap house," Sanji agreed, nimble hands fixing the ropes in place as I did the same on the other side of the mast.

"What dreams did he speak about when he was exiled?" Nami asked Robin, and Robin shrugged.

"I don't know all the details, but he talked about a large amount of gold hidden here on Jaya," the archaeologist said, and as if she said the magic phrase, she had everyone's attention.

"GOLD?!"

"DO YOU MEAN THE PIRATE'S TREASURE?!" Nami drooled, eyes lighting up at the magic word, and Robin shrugged.

"Well, I don't know about that," she admitted, but it was too late. Nami, Chopper, Usopp, and Luffy were already hopping off the side of the ship onto the bank, with Nami instructing Chopper to dig into the sand to find the gold.

"Shouldn't have said that," I muttered to the older woman, and Robin smiled in amusement as she watched the others head ashore.

"So this Montblanc guy just lives by himself out here?" Sanji asked, and Luffy shrugged, before he walked over to the door and yanked it open.

"Hello! I'm coming in!" Luffy called, and Usopp spluttered, before chasing after him.

"Hey! Just don't walk in there!"

"He's not here!" Luffy called from inside the house, and frowning, I hopped down from the ship as well.

"Hey, look, a picture book!" Nami exclaimed, heading over to a stump and picking up a book. "'The King of Liars, Norland'." She let out a giggle as she began to rifle through it, just as Usopp exclaimed, "Ohhh, that sounds like a very interesting book!"

"It should," I jeered. "It sounds just like you!"

However, instead of taking it like an insult, like I meant him to, he swelled up with pride. "Of course it does! Because I am the next king of liars!"

I sagged. "I give up."

"'The King of Liars, Norland'," Sanji mused, taking a seat nearby and shaking his head in fond remembrance. "That brings back old memories. I used to read it a lot."

"Wait, you know about this book, Sanji?" Nami asked in surprise as I settled myself down in his lap. "But it says it's published in North Blue."

"Yeah, I was born in North Blue," Sanji hummed. He pulled out my ponytail, ran his fingers through my hair, and started to braid it. "Didn't I tell you?"

"This is the first time you've said anything about it," Usopp replied, hands on his hips as he pondered this new information. "I thought you were from East Blue."

"I grew up in East Blue after I was eight or so," Sanji agreed, his fingers still braiding my hair. "But this story is pretty popular in North Blue. People say it's just a kid's story, but I've heard that this Norland guy really did exist." He tapped my shoulder as he reached the end of the braid, and obediently, I passed him a hair tie from my wrist to keep my hair in place.

"Did you know about this, Hazel?" Nami asked with interest, and I nodded. How could I not? Sanji even told me the story himself, once, when I had a nightmare and I couldn't go back to sleep. "Do you know the story?" I nodded again, leaning back against the chef while Nami cracked the book open.

"'This is a very old story'," she read. "'A story that happened over four hundred years ago. In a country somewhere in the North Sea, there was a man named Montblanc Norland. He was an explorer who always spoke of past adventures, but the people of the village didn't know if these tales were true or not. Norland came back from one expedition, and went to report to the King.

"'"I discovered an island across the mighty seas that has a mountain of gold," he said. The King, wanting to see this himself, commanded two thousand soldiers to come with him. The King and the soldiers then set sail to cross the mighty seas. They braved huge waves and many giant sea monsters. Then, after going through many hardships, the King, Norland, and one hundred soldiers arrived on the island. But the only thing they saw on the island was an ordinary jungle.

"'Norland was blamed for this and sentenced to death for all his lies. Norland's last words were, "I know! The mountain of gold sunk into the sea!" The King and the villagers couldn't believe it. No one believed Norland anymore, but he continued to lie until his death'."

There was a moment of silence as everyone processed the story that Nami just read, and Luffy gazed down at the water in contemplation.

"So the pathetic liar died," Nami sighed, before gazing directly at Usopp. "Without becoming…a true warrior…of the seas…" She sighed again, and Usopp started in realization.

"DON'T LOOK AT ME!" he exclaimed, and I sniggered while Sanji snorted and played with my new braid. "And stop making all that stuff up!"

"She's not making stuff up if it's true~" I taunted from the side, and Usopp whirled on me.

"Don't start!"

Splaaaasssshhhh!

"Waagh!"

We jolted upright at the sound, and Nami whirled around. "Luffy fell into the water?!"

"What're you doing?!" Usopp demanded, stomping towards the water and the idiot that fell in. However, he gasped, and scrambled back as a large form that was most definitely not Luffy rose out of the water.

"Who the hell are you?!" the large man demanded roughly as the rest of us scrambled to our feet. He was clad only in a pair of pants, he had sun tattoos on his arms, and, oddly enough, he had a chestnut growing out of the top of his head. "You punks got a lot of guts to come and enter my territory without permission! This is my land!"

"Usopp, go save Luffy, now!" Sanji commanded roughly, and gulping, Usopp nodded and dove towards the water.

The man that had come out of the water regarded us with narrowed eyes, seawater dripping off of him like that of a rising sea monster. "You're after the gold, right?" he accused, before he sank into an unmistakable fighting stance. "Then prepare to die!"

He lunged at Sanji with a front, stiff kick, one which Sanji narrowly avoided. "Whoa!" he yelped, before he quickly sank into a crouch to avoid a follow-up roundhouse kick.

However, the man recovered quickly, and before Sanji could react, he jabbed four stiff fingers into Sanji's side.

"Ooomph!" Sanji grunted, and I started forward, seizing my axe.

"Sanji!"

"Wait!" he grunted, and the man paused. My eyes widened when I saw that Sanji had gripped the man's retreating hand with his foot.

"Keh," the man scoffed, before he dug into his pocket, and pulled out a gun.

"Sanji!" I shrieked, and the chef's eyes widened before he leaned back, barely avoiding the bullet and losing his grip on the man's hand in the process.

The others yelled in alarm and concern, and Sanji grunted, landing heavily on the ground and panting at the near miss.

"Don't worry," he said, rising to his feet again. "He missed - ARGH!"

The man shot again, and Sanji nearly fell over trying to dodge the next round of bullets. "Hey! Just wait a damn second!"

"Sanji!" I shouted, and Zoro sneered.

"That's what the idiot gets for taking this guy on," he muttered, and he drew his sword. "One three, got it?" he said to me. "One -"

"YOU'RE GOING DOWN!" I yelled, charging in towards the man and ignoring Zoro's spluttered yelp.

"H-hey -!" However, after a moment, Zoro shook his head and charged in, just as I deflected a bullet from my axe and into the nearby sand.

The man growled, tossed away his empty, smoking gun, before he…

…Tipped over and fainted with a groan.

The rest of us paused and stared at the guy in complete confusion.

"Uh…" Hesitantly, I moved over and began prodding him with my toe. "Guys? I think he's dead."

"Or going to be," Sanji commented, moving over and crouching down beside the fallen man. He peered into the man's eyes, and I noticed that they were completely red with blood. "Because that can't be healthy." There also appeared to be blossoming red patches on his bare arms and chest, patches that looked like they were growing darker by the second.

"What?" Chopper wandered over, and gasped. "Hurry, we need to bring him inside!"


"Bring more cold towels. And open all the windows, too."

"So what's wrong with him?" I asked, helping Nami dip the rags we could find into the cold water Sanji was providing.

"Dysbarism," Chopper explained, taking the cold, damp rags and placing them all over the man's body.

"You mean he's sick?" Luffy asked in interest, flitting around the fallen man, and Chopper nodded.

"Yes, it's various symptoms divers experience sometimes. It's a decrompression sickness. But it's not a long-term illness, so it should pass."

"So what does it do?" I asked curiously, shivering a little when I remembered those blood-red eyes and the mottled patches on his skin. They seemed to be disappearing now, which was a bit of a relief.

"It happens on a diver's descent," Chopper explained as he hovered over his patient. "When excess nitrogen enters the body's blood and tissue. And then, on the ascent the chemicals diffuse out in the form of bubbles, causing various symptoms."

"Yeah, weird sick stuff," Luffy agreed, staring out the window with disinterest. I don't think he processed a single thing that the little reindeer said.

"He must've been diving every day," I realized, "since he wasn't letting the bubbles to dissolve properly. Or diving too quickly."

"Why would he?" Nami asked worriedly.

"I don't know," Chopper said heavily. "But it is very dangerous. He must've had a very important reason to do this."


Not ten minutes later, the door slammed open. "HEEEY, BOSS! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"

We all froze, Sanji, Zoro, Usopp, and I just standing around the bed, while Nami held damp rags, Luffy carried a bowl full of water, and Chopper pulled away from checking on his patient.

There was a brief pause as we stared at the two monkey-like men standing in the doorway (one of them I recognized to be Masira), before Usopp and Chopper began to scream.

"AHHHH! THEY'RE HERE TO KILL US!"

"AAHHHH!"

The two monkey men stared at us in confusion, before anger crossed their faces.

"What are you doing here?!" one yelled, and Masira nodded, clenching his fists.

"What did you do to the boss?!"

"We are taking care of him, so leave us alone!" Luffy told them bluntly, while Nami, Chopper, and Usopp began to run towards the window.

"They won't listen! They're beasts! Everyone, escape through the window!" Usopp urged, but his shouting was unnecessary.

The two monkey men started to bawl. "They're such great guys!" they cried, just as Usopp, Nami, and Chopper crashed into the furniture in shock.

"I think they listened," I commented dryly.

After all the commotion had died down, Luffy and the two monkey men moved back outside to talk, and from the looks of it, were getting along fabulously.

However, after a couple minutes of them talking, the man woke up. I stuck my head out of the door, just in time to hear one of the monkeys say to Luffy, patting Masira, "…Even so, you are so small and yet you can send this guy flying with a kick! Such an impressive deed!"

"Really? You could do it too," Luffy said simply, and the orangutan-like man paused.

"Eh? Really?"

"Yup!"

"Luffy?" I called, and Luffy's head swiveled towards me. "He's awake."

"He's awake?" Luffy asked eagerly, rising to his feet, just as the orangutan kicked Masira and sent him flying with a meaty thwack!

"Oh, he really flew!"

I snickered, and followed Luffy back inside as our captain greeted, "Mr. Chestnut-head! I want to ask you something!"

As polite as ever, Luffy. I resisted the urge to shake my head, but the man didn't seem to be too bothered by the rude greeting.

"Thanks for your help and sorry for all the trouble," he said, bowing and placing a lit cigarette into his mouth - one of Sanji's, I realized. "I thought you were like those fools trying to steal the gold."

"Gold?! You have gold?!" Nami squealed, and Usopp smacked the back of her head.

"Don't act like those fools."

"You wanted to ask me something, what is it?" the man demanded gruffly.

Luffy then beamed. "We want to go to Sky Island! Please tell us how to get there!"

The man stared at us, before he started laughing, loudly. "Gyahahahaha! You guys actually believe in that?!"

Usopp and I had had to dive on top of Nami, to prevent her from socking the man straight in the face. "Stop, stop! He's sick!"

"Sky island doesn't exist?!" Luffy exclaimed, disappointed, and the man, still chuckling, shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know either," he said to us, his gaze distant. "But I knew a man who said it does. He was known as a great liar, though, someone who was always being laughed at."

There was a pause, before all of our gazes turned to Usopp.

"IT'S NOT ME!" Usopp yelped.

"Norland, the King of Liars," the man elaborated. "It's an old story, though." We nodded, but after a moment, Usopp realized that Luffy was still staring at him in confusion.

"It's not me! The name is different!"


"Wait, wait, wait, hold on!" I exclaimed, shocked. "Your name's Montblanc Cricket?! Like, Montblanc, as in -!"

"Yes, Montblanc Norland," the newly-named Montblanc Cricket affirmed with a sharp nod. "I'm a descendant of his."

"Descendant?!" Nami said aloud in shock. "That story took place here on Jaya?!"

Cricket nodded. "Yes. He was my great-great grandfather. It's an annoying legacy that goes so far back, there isn't a trace of his lineage in me." He sighed and glared at the rest of us, as if challenging us to comment on it. "The whole Montblanc family was exiled to a life of shame, and even now we're still badmouthed for it. However, nobody hates him for it."

"Why not?" Chopper asked in confusion, and Cricket gave us a rueful shrug.

"Because Norland, despite everything, was still a very honest man."

"Huh?" I asked, startled. "How does that even work if he's known as the 'King of Liars'?"

"He's only known that way because that's how the King dictated it," Cricket explained patiently. "The King didn't want to be known as a fool for taking on a quest that lost him almost all two thousand of his men, so he discredited Norland for it. So the storybooks showed him with a grinning face, but he was actually shedding tears of hate and injustice when he died.

"The island that the King and his men went to was really just the place where Norland himself found the golden city. It was definitely not just his imagination." Cricket shook his head with another sigh. "Norland claimed that the golden city had fallen undersea because of the shifting of the landscape from earthquakes. However, everyone thought he was just making false claims and nobody believed his gold city story. His death penalty was carried out, surrounded by the witnesses' sarcastic laughter."

"T-then you're attempting to prove that Norland was innocent by trying to find the golden city?" Usopp asked eagerly, bolstered by the very idea and clenching his fists in determination.

There was a pause as Montblanc Cricket regarded Usopp, before he whipped out his gun and pointed it at the sharpshooter. "Quit talking shit!"

Usopp let out a panicked squeal and fell over, trying to get out of range from the gun, face white and limbs shivering.

"Usopp!" Chopper yelped as the rest of us tensed, but Montblanc Cricket pulled his gun back.

"Whether or not my ancestor was an honest person or a great adventurer, has nothing to do with me!" he snarled angrily, before stowing the gun in his belt roughly. "Just for being his descendant, one gets teased by strangers! Could you understand how a kid in that situation feels?! My entire childhood was like that!"

I stared at the man with fear, anger, and strangely enough…sympathy. At first, during his rant, I was confused as to why I felt sympathy, until faint memories floated through my mind.

"I don't think that's how it works, freak."

I clenched my fists as Cricket finished his rant, and I swallowed harshly.

"You're wrong."

Everyone in the room stilled at my quiet outburst, before I lifted my head and glared at the man that was twice my size. "You think you don't know what it feels like, to be made fun of every day for just existing?! Well, I do! And lemme tell ya, I'm sure what you went through was a walk in the park compared to me!"

Cricket glared at me, expression closed off and cold. "Go on then, girl, educate me," he challenged, and I glared right on back.

"Hazel -" Sanji began, reaching over to gently grasp my shoulder, and I shrugged him off.

"No!" I snapped. "This guy needs to realize that what he's doing is not helping anybody! You're mad you got a shitty childhood?! That you got made fun of and teased because you're descended from someone that not even half the world know?! Well, guess what?!" I spread my hands out, and displayed the scars on my hand for all to see, and gave him an ugly grin. "I got made fun of and teased too - and you know what? They also thought they'd have fun - by throwing knives into my hands and torturing me for just being different. And you don't see me attacking the people that weren't involved like you do, you bastard -!" I cut myself off, my chest heaving. The others were staring at me in horrified shock, and I knew, that if I continued talking, I wouldn't be able to even look at any of the others.

"Who your ancestor was, or your family was, has nothing to do on your actions," I announced after I took a deep breath. "You feel like you had a crappy childhood? Fine. Take it out on those that ruined it. Not people that are only trying to help. Usopp meant nothing when he asked you about your relationship with Norland. He was just curious. You had no reason to pull a gun on him."

And with that final statement, I stalked out the door, hands buried deep into my pockets. I needed some time to myself.


"What the hell is wrong with me?!" I demanded some time later, kicking my foot into the trunk of a tree in the nearby forest. "I'm getting upset at every little piece of shit that comes my way…ouch! Damn it!"

I hopped on one foot as I cradled the other, having accidentally scraped it on the rough bark of the tree.

Seriously, though, what was wrong with me? It seemed like I was getting upset at every little thing, either angry, or driven to the point of tears…

I sighed, sat down, and groaned, massaging my forehead. "Damn it," I grumbled tugging on my bangs in frustration. "Maybe I'm just not getting enough sleep these days or something…"

And that's when I looked down. And saw my entire lap was covered in blood.

I froze, and stared at the crimson stains spreading across my lap, and scrambled to my feet. Sure enough, where I had been sitting, there was a growing pool of blood.

"Oh god," I wheezed, turning white. "Oh god, what's happening to me?!" I tried to find where the bleeding was coming from, but I couldn't see it, which meant it was probably on my rump somewhere.

"Chopper," I mumbled, dazed and steadily falling into a panic attack. "CHOPPER!"

And with my heart thumping loudly in my chest and blood falling off my lap, I raced back towards the Going Merry, and my crew.


And there we have it! I'm sure some of you'll be able to guess what happened to Hazel at the end!

*Something that's very relaxing, for those of you that have never made sushi or onigiri. It's easy to take your frustration out on a little ball of rice, strangely enough :)

Hope this was a good enough chapter for you guys! My computer kept freezing for some reason, so it was very hard to get this chapter out. And Happy New Years to all my readers!

Please, comment, critique, review, etc! And make sure to eat as many holiday sweets as you can! Because remember, holiday calories don't count!

Posted: 12/28/2014, 9:29 PM

Edited: 1/1/2015, 1:00 PM