Chapter 56: Yay! Another chapter in a day! Hopefully I can get the fan base back T_T ugh I hope so. Hopefully you guys enjoy!


"What do you mean? She's actually going threw with the marriage? Are you sure?" Nami asked, mumbling over breakfast, eyeing the increased number of guards in the dinning area.

There was no sign of Kuki nor the Prince yet, just the rest of the crew eating breakfast and about three times more guards that there was yesterday. Zoro had just told them all about the weird events of last night, leaving out choice details but giving them the main idea of what happened.

"Well it sure seemed like that when she told me she was getting married in a few days." the First-mate growled back threw clenched teeth.

He was in an especially bad mood today after all that happened.

" But she promised she wasn't staying! Kuki wouldn't lie to me!" Luffy whined, crossing his arms.

He was obviously upset, even enough so to stop eating to listen to what his Swordsman had to say. Sanji was just in a puddle mess, mumbling about his Princess leaving him, while the others were taking part in the conversation.

"I want to know what you said to freak her out into calling you a drunk..." Robin muttered behind a classy glass cup of coffee.

Zoro growled in her direction, that woman...

"This all seems so not like Kuki-Chan... That shy girl slamming a door in your face and basically calling you annoying...you out of all people!" Franky explained, rubbing his metal chin.

"Hey!" Zoro barked.

"Oh yes, out of what I have gotten to know of Helmsman-Chan, she is a very polite girl! Yohohoho" Brooke laughed out before taking a sip of his tea.

"I want to know why these guards are looking at us like we're criminals again!" Ussop whispered, glancing at all of them watching the crew eat, "It's like there going to try and imprison us again!"

Everyone glanced around, some more worriedly then others.

"Maybe it has something to do with what happened between Kuki and Zoro last night?" Chopper asked, glancing up to the balcony that the two stair-cases connected too, " Why isn't she at breakfast?"

"From this point on we can only speculate as to what has happened to our Helmsman." the older woman explained, making everyone look to Luffy as for orders as to what they should do.

"Well we go get her and bring her back to the ship of course! Shishishi, tie her up and drag her if we need to."

Before anyone could react, the double doors up top on the balcony opened, revealing the Prince walking up to the side, looking down at them.

"I'm sorry to inform you, but I'm cutting your visit her to Tochihana short."

the First-mate stood, his hands flying to his swords, "What?"

The guards seemed to jump into action, surrounding the crew and pointing sharp looking spear heads close to their necks.

"Zoro...I know you can defend yourself but stop! Some of us don't stand a chance!" Nami hissed at him, frozen along with everyone else.

She was right, some of them would have no problem with fighting off the guards, but the others...

"Fine I don't want to stay at your stupid island anymore anyways! I'll just get Kuki and we're going." Luffy stuck his tongue out at the man in defiance, much to Ussop's and Chopper's distaste.

The Prince broke out into a small chuckle, "I'm sorry but the Princess is home, she's not a pirate lowlife like you guys. She's royalty. Do you really think she wants to go back with you guys, leave her kingdom to go out on the seas with you lot on a boat?"

"She wouldn't be the first Princess to do so." Sanji added, smirking around his cigarette.

The man glared, "She doesn't, I can assure you."

"What makes you think we'll believe you!" Brooke yelled out.

The Prince smiled slightly, as if waiting for that question. He casually stepped to the side and took a hold of a gloved satin hand, pulling a dressed up Kuki into view.

"Kuki! You're alright!" Chopper called out in glee.

She was in fact perfectly fine, except that she...didn't look like her self. Sure she had a fancy ball gown on, with makeup, and her hair done but it wasn't that simple, it was her face. The way her emotion played across it, her eyes... It wasn't their shy Helmsman, it looked like a real Princess.

"I'm very sorry but my patience with all of you has fall thin." the words didn't even sound like her, "I thank you very much for saving me and bringing me back here in time for my wedding, but I can't take the disrespect towards my kingdom or fiance anymore."

"...What?" Nami muttered.

This wasn't the same girl.

"So I need all of you to stay on your ship till after the wedding, we shall restock you full and I will help in the process of you leaving, but until you do so you are to stay on your boat."

The prince smiled down at the lost expressions on the people below him.

"What do you mean! We're family!" Ussop yelled up, confused along with the rest of them.

Her face sneered down in disgust, "Family, with pirates? No I am afraid I have no idea as to what you are getting at."

"Don't talk to him like that!" Luffy yelled up at her, face red with anger, "If you don't snap out of it Kuki I'll punch it back into you!"

He was so frustrated, all of them were. What was going on? Who was this person in place of the Helmsman they all knew and loved?

"That is the last straw, how dare you threaten my fiance!" The prince yelled down, "Guards! Take them to their ship and make sure they stay there!"


"What do we do?"

Nami's question went unanswered.

The entire crew had been ushered onto their ship, and a whole army of guards seemed to be on the docks making sure not even one of them stepped foot back onto the shore.

"I say we run in there, grab her and leave this place." Zoro grumbled,leaning on one of the posts, glaring up the main road of the island all the way up to the castle itself.

He kept picturing that woman pretending to be Kuki, he couldn't shake that image from his head.

"We can't do that." Sanji muttered, no matter how badly he wanted to.

"And why not?!"

Ussop glared at the two men, "This isn't the time for you two to be fighting!"

they both exhaled loudly and sat facing away from each other.

"Cook-San's right. Helmsman-Chan is the only way we can leave this island, with the two air currents, and her being in the current way she is now she wont let us kidnap her and let us leave with her." Robin explained, her eyes staring off into the distance, working things out in her head.

The crew paused, accepting her words but still trying to work around them.

"It makes no sense...what happened to her?" Brooke asked, voicing everyone's thought.

"Wait...Zoro...Sanji... what happened that first day we landed here?" Nami asked.

The First-mate looked up at her with a growl, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Wait, she has a point!" Franky said, snapping his fingers, "You guys thought the Prince messed with your heads right? Like he had a devil fruit power?"

It then started to click with everyone, everyone but Luffy.

"What does that have to do with Kuki?" the Captain whined, very confused.

Robin smiled at the boy, trying to find the words to dumb it down for him, " The Prince's devil fruit power is something that messes with your head, so he did something to Kuki to make her act this way."

Luffy's mouth opened into an 'O', showing that he too 'might have' gotten it.

"So if that's the case then we can just throw the bastard into the sea and be done with this island right?" Zoro asked.

Nami looked at him, "No Zoro, how do you think we can even get close to him? See that army of soldiers just placed right outside of Sunny?! Even you can't get threw that!"

The Swordsman crossed his arms in defiance and sat down, mumbling a soft, "Watch me."

Everybody knew what had to be done but there seemed to be no way to get it done. They sat there, pondering their limited options.

"Excuse me, but I might be able to help."


Lily took out her lighter from the stained pocket of her jeans, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag out of it seemingly enjoying the experience.

"Okay, with that all sorted out there's some things I don't understand..." Robin added, looking up from their map drawings to the strange woman.

The Island resident had laid out everything, times, a map to the city as well as to the wedding arrangements, costumes to wear to blend in, and an escape route. All the Straw hats had to do was come up with a way to sneak a few members out of the Sunny without all the guards noticing. It was all coming together, they could do this.

The inventor looked over to the Archaeologist and smiled, "What want me to go over the plan again or do you not like the disguises?"

"No, nothing to do with that." the older woman chuckled, " I just don't understand why you're helping us."

The other crew mates nodding in unison. That was true, why was the royal inventor helping them escape with the Princess? Was this all a trap? But if it was then why make it so extravagant?

"Ya...aren't you close to the Prince?" Chopper asked.

The lady smiled sadly, taking another drag before replying, "Yes but I have my own reasons for wanting the Princess gone..."

Lily seemed to get lost in memories for a moment, her cheeks grew pinkish and the inventor actually looked a little bit...girly. After watching for a few moments it finally clicked for Nami, she understood instantly.

"Oh I get it, you're in love with him!" the Navigator explained, making the inventor's cheeks flame up even brighter.

"No! I just... Ugh! I don't need to explain myself to you pirates!" she muttered turning around to exit the vessel, " I gave you everything you need, now don't mess this up!"

"Wait!" Sanji called out, " Before you go, can you tell us about the Prince's Devil fruit?"

Lily jumped up onto the railing, looking over to the crew, "All I know is that he can mess with and change people's memories. That's most defiantly what he has done to your crew mate."

"Thanks." Robin added, nodding her head to the inventor, " But I thought you told me the King wasn't supposed to have a Devil Fruit?"

Her face fell, "A lot of stuff happened. That's why the Queen got so angry and cut off this island from the rest of the world."

And with that final cryptic message the Inventor jumped off the Sunny, disappearing into the group of soldiers on the dock.

"So that's why Kuki's different! He changed her memory on her!" Chopper exclaimed, cheery as to know that it was reversible, "She can go back to normal!"

"Yup, now all we have to do is decide who is all going to be in on the plan." Nami added, rubbing her hands together looking down at the maps.

She wasn't one to put herself in danger but she did want some gold from all of this and she really didn't trust anyone else to get it.

"I need two others beside myself." the navigator asked, looking up at everyone.

Zoro immediately rose his hand, by no surprise from the ginger haired girl, she smiled evily at him in which he returned with a glare.

"Okay one more."

"Me! Me!" Luffy screamed, finally getting a nod of acceptance from Nami, "I always wanted to crash a wedding."