A/N: Howdy, ya'll! I've been playing reading One Piece as of late, and this idea sort of just came to me in a dream, as it were. I've been suffering through bad surgeries, heart attacks, and I must've eaten some weird hospital foot, or watched WAY too much of the anime, because I had a weird dream.
Naturally it gave me an idea, and so I made a few tweaks to it. I'm honestly bracing myself for the backlash of even trying this, but in all honesty, I simply couldn't bear to let the idea die.
I thought of doing a Naruto crossover with this-let me know if I should!-but then I realized I've done that aspect to death. One Piece self inserts can go one of two ways; they can either be truly good, or truly bad. Hopefully, this is the former.
Anywho, I'm sure ya'll know the places and people by now, and if you don't, be sure to watch the show yourself or at least familiarize yourself with it...
...else you'll be hopelessly lost. I'm going to be straight as laces with the aspects of my life here it to ya'll to guess which aspects of my life written here, then we'll jump in! Sorry if its short! Expect much more to come! As this is my second self-insert story, PLEASE BE NICE! I worked really, really, REALLY hard on this!
I'm also trying my best to go for Oda's classic One Piece Humor here =D I Hope I succeeded! WARNING! This one's a little sad...BRACE YOURSELF FOR THE FEELS!
Sorry if its short, but suffice it to say, this story has been revived!
"What passing bells to those who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns, only the stuttering rifle's rapid rattle."
-Wilfred Owen.
Wanted
I failed.
This is the great Neon's second journal entry, and already, the taste of defeat is bitter on my tongue. There's no point in trying to be funny about it. I lost. Badly. Ass? Meet kicked. The only thing I managed to change was the death of Spandine-not sorry for that!-and the place as well as the timing of Olivia's death. I think I might've scarred poor Robin for life.
Crap.
Now I'm crying. Stupid, stupid, stupid! What good is this power of mine if it can't save anyone? I know I shouldn't care; until a week ago I thought of this world as little more than fiction, a place I could open and shut at my own convenience. But its not. Not anymore. This world is all too real. My bruises are real. So are the feels. Go ahead. Laugh.
My loss is real, her pain is real and so is mine. I gave my all, and the universe laughed at my and ripped everything away, despite my efforts. This. Is. Real.
The little girl who cried herself to sleep tonight in my arms, she is real. This is real. This, whether I like it or not, is my new reality.
I can't pen events to the way I choose; this time, I'm as much a victim of the tides as any other man.
I never wanna feel this way, ever again...
...and I swear to god that I won't...
...even if I have to sell my soul.
"Chigau!"
Robin woke abruptly, dark orbs fluttering open with a start.
Blearily, she blinked sleep away from her eyes, scrubbing her face with the back of a dirty hand. Distantly, she became aware of the hard wood floor of the boat beneath her back. The quiet creaking of the boards as the waves lapped against the hull of their tiny dingy. She felt cold. Hungry. Exhausted. When she finally dared to raise her gaze, the scene was about as bleak as she felt:
Gray.
The gentle rays of the morning sun were just peeking over the horizon, lending light to the otherwise grey afternoon. It tried so hard to shine through and light the day but dark grey clouds, much like the fog of her own despair, took the light and choked it down to a faint glimmer. Just enough to see by, little more. It was a bleak, dismal scene; one that made her want to curl into a ball and fall back into slumber, if only to escape away into her dreams and what little comfort they offered.
But sleep would not come, no matter how long she lay, how hard she scrunched her eyes shut, it wouldn't go away. Eventually, she gave up and rose, searching for her companion.
Clearing her head, she spotted a dark shape at the end of the boat, hunched over against the oars.
"No, no, no. That won't work," he was muttering, "Gotta get supplies first...
'Neon...?'
He was muttering and fussing over a large piece of paper, looking absolutely livid as he scribbled upon it. Was it a map? Had he prepared that far ahead? Or perhaps it had been left for them? No, that didn't make any sense. Aokiji-and her heart hurt just as the thought of that awful man-decided to let them go at the last moment, on a whim. So it stood to reason he'd brought-stolen-it before they'd set out for their journey. As close as she was to the parchment she could see it, even from here.
It was a map of all the Blue seas.
What was he doing with it?
But before she could inquire, he looked up, noticing her.
"Morning." it was a grunt, then he returned his attention to the map.
"How long was I asleep?" she asked.
"Three days." came the answer.
"Three...?"
"Yup."
Was that even possible?
The last thing she remembered was the soul-crushing despair of losing her mother, the soft sound of Neon humming as he held her close. Her own tears. Then blackness. Still, to sleep for so long...to simply pass out, to not wake up...the thought worried her. That meant they hadn't eaten in three days. Neon hadn't eaten in three days, and his heart...
"Oi, eyes up."
Robin blinked, following his finger as he raised it and stabbed at the paper.
"After we reach this island, we'll need to go to Loguetown, in East Blue." he said, tracing the lone digit across the map. "From there we'll hit the Reverse Mountain and enter the Grand Line. After that we need to secure an Eternal Pose to get us to the Drum Kingdom so I can get my heart looked at. Hopefully that annoying little shit Wapol isn't in charge just yet...
Despair gripped her heart in a vice.
"It's impossible." she wailed. "We'll be lucky to get to the next island, let alone-ow!"
"None of that!" he swatted her on the head firmly. "We're not giving up!"
Robin looked down, charigned. The marines. This was all their fault!
"I hate them...
"I know."
This time, when his hand descended it was far more gentle.
Rough fingers mussed her hair soothingly, stroking her scalp as she pressed her head against his chest, burying her face there. She felt hot tears sting at her eyes again but this time she fought them. Crying only made the pain worse. She didn't want to cry. Stubbornly, she bit her lip. With every fiber of her being she beat back the onslaught, refusing to let her weakness show.
"You're not one of them, right, Neon?" it was a whisper.
"I am not a pirate," he sulked. "But I ain't a marine, either. I don't know what I am."
"You're my friend." she interjected.
His eyes shone softly in the waxing light. "Well...yeah. Guess I am. So far...
She didn't miss the slight wince as he touched his chest.
...are you dying?" she asked, tremulously.
"There's a very good chance of it, yes." he said quietly in that gentle slang of his. "I've always had heart problems. Should be fine, long as I don't overdo it.
"You can't!"
"Robin, I don't-
"NO!"
She curled up into a tiny ball against him and shouted, drowning out his reply.
"Aw, c'mon now, don't cry." he sighed, "No more tears. We've had enough of those. Hey, you wanna hear a song?"
Her cries must've shocked him, because he did something most strange...
...because he started to sing.
I want to state, that, for the record, I am a terrible singer...
"Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho!" I began softly. I croaked, my voice little more than a dry whisper in the deafening silence. "Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho! Binkusu no sake o, todoke ni yuku yo Umikaze kimakase namimakase. Shio no mukou de, yuuhi mo sawagu Sora nya wa wo kaku, tori no uta...
I paused, falling silent as the rest of the words escaped me. Argh! How did it go again?! It had been so long since I'd last heard the lyrics...
"...Sayonara minato, Tsumugi no sato yo DON to icchou utao, funade no uta Kinpa-ginpa mo shibuki ni kaete Oretacha yuku zo, umi no kagiri..." I nearly tripped over myself when the mournful sound of Robin's voice rose to continue the song, piping up with the next verse, her soft, feminine voice lilting in the sudden silence; a perfect harmony with the melody. Idly, I became aware of her small hands fisting against the corners of my shirt, silently urging me on.
Gulping, I forced myself to continue, a slow, steady rhythm rising as her voice joined with mine.
"Binkusu no sake o, todoke ni yuku yo Warera kaizoku, umi watteku Nami wo makura nii, negura wa fune yo Ho ni hata ni ketateru wa dokuro!" Despite myself, I had to quell an inane bout of mirth; because the idea of actually being comforted by Robin, however slightly,, had me singing even more horribly off-key than before. I tried not to choke on the words, or my own tears. "Arashi ga kita zo, senri no sora ni Nami ga odoru yo, DORAMU narase Okubyoukaze ni fukarerya saigo Asu no asahi ga nai ja nashi!"
I barked out a soft, bitter laugh as we continued to sing this sad, bittersweet song. I wasn't a pirate. I refused to become one. And yet, I couldn't help but sing this song, Bink's Sake, the only song I truly knew how to so much as say in Robin's language.
"Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho...
We kept singing until we finally reached land.
...Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho...
The "island" that Aokiji had spoken of wasn't quite an island.
It was called Slate.
As the name went, it was as flat and unimaginative as one might think, a hive of scum and villainy. Composed of little more than rough port and a shantytown, it wasn't much too look at. The smell was worse. I daren't go into detail on that, because even now, the smell of this place makes me gag. We stumbled into Slate starving, half dead, exhausted...
...and right into trouble.
"Hey, ain't that the girl the one their lookin' for?" A man sauntered up to us, his piggish eyes gleaming.
"Aye, I think it is." his friend was no more worthy of description in his greasy clothes; as if someone had crossed a human with a weasel.
My spine stiffened.
"This is not the girl you're looking for." I waved my hand at his face. "You want to lay back down. You WANT to lay back down."
"The hell?" the thug scowled.
"Eh. Worth a try. Have you ever been punched?"
"Huh?"
"In the face?"
In the next instant my hands shot up, and they were dead to the world. They'd have a hell of a headache besides, but they'd live...maybe...
Robin sniffled softly. "You...you're not going to leave me, right? Neon-san?"
"Oi...
I sighed, crouching down with her in the alley. My hand found her hair, mussing it.
"Its fine. Its not like we're wanted...yet...
My voice trailed off as I saw the poster on the wall, Robin's face staring back at me.
WANTED!
DEAD OR ALIVE!
Nico "The Devil Child" Robin.
Eighty Million Berries.
She started crying.
"Hey, I'm not going anywhere. Even if I die, I'll crawl out of hell to find you." When she didn't reply, I shook her gently. "The future ain't dead yet. We're living proof of that. Listen, Robin, no matter what you say, no matter what you do; I will, absolutely, never reject you! So don't cry," I begged. "Please don't cry."
"Its not that," she sniffled, wiping a tear away.
"Eh?"
She turned and pointing, indicating the poster opposite hers.
"Its just...Neon...you have one, too..."
I stared at the picture in disbelief.
It took me a full thirty seconds to realize I was looking at my own face. I recognized the scene back in Ohara, me standing over Spandam's body, covered in blood. Wild eyes, fierce and angry glared back at me, teeth pulled back in a vicious rictus of a snarl, leering vermilion daggers at the one taking the picture.
WANTED!
DEAD!
Neon "The Trigger" Ryan.
One Hundred and Sixty Million Berries.
I promptly blew a smoke ring and passed out.
Where should we go?
To the right where nothing is left? To the left where nothing is right? Up where everything is down? Or down where everything is up...? One thing's for sure...
I AM NOT A BLOODY PIRATE!
A/N: VOTE FOR WHAT HAPPENS NEXT, FOLKS! TELL ME ABOUT IT IN YOUR REVIEWS AND PM'S! I WANT TO HEAR IT ALL, AND IT'LL BE ADDED TO THE PREVIEW!
Aaaaaaaaaaand there we go! My very first try at a self-insert story for Once Piece*blushes furiously*and I pray to god that I didn't do to badly. I REALLY WANTED THIS TO BE ENTERTAINING HERE FOLKS! I'm a master writer when it comes to Naruto, Bleach, and other works of fiction, but they be just that. FICTION. This is me inserted into this story, bits of my life plumbed out before you, and, well, to be honest, its a tad embarassing. None of the oddity I did with Not a Hero. Just simple insanity...and now I'm stuck as a kid...who can't swim...hint hint hint!
That was hard as hell to do, considering I had no idea where to start and now...WHERE in blazes do I go?!
Ideas?
Naturally, I plan to go more in depth with certain characters than most...including new events and all sorts of chaos as I plunge into the the wild, wacky, sad, awesome world of One Piece! It will make ya laugh too, I promise! God, I really am going to ruin time as we know it in this one...and all ideas are welcome!
So, in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review, Would You Kindly?
...hope ya'll liked it!
R&R=D