Ch.7-Robin: Friendship Never Dies
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, but I might if I get it for Christmas(yeah, right. Like THAT'S going to happen).
A/N: Okay, before I start this chapter, I have to admit that this one was the hardest chapter to do. I looked on multiple One Piece sites to find some more information about Robin's past except for the obvious things(her destroying the ships when she was 8) for hours, but couldn't find anything else. So, most of the things in this chapter I had to make up( for instance I called her father "Nico Robert").
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"Oh my God! It's her!" a small boy screamed, pointing at a little eight-year-old girl that had walked into town.
"Don't worry. I won't let her hurt you." the boy's mother said a bit loudly as the girl walked by.
The girl, known as Nico Robin, didn't stop to look at them nor did she cry. There wasn't really any point of crying.
She knew that she ate the Hana Hana Fruit and destroyed those Marine ships, but that was an accident. She remembered her father telling her that accidents happened, but what he didn't tell her was that there were some accidents that could not be fixed or ignored. And because of the accident she caused, the townspeople hated her.
The little girls in the town that once were her friends now weren't. Before she ate the fruit, the mothers of Robin's friends used to walk up to Robin's father and say, "Nico Robert, your daughter is so sweet and kind-hearted and I'm happy she and my daughter are friends." But now they said, "Nico Robert, your daughter is dangerous and evil and I don't want her anywhere near my daughter." And that really hurt her.
But what really hurt her was Robin's relationship with Hayakawa Seira. Seira used to be the best friend Robin ever had. The two girls had been best friends since they had been little babies and never ever fought. But ever since the accident, Seira's parents had forbidden Seira to be friends with Robin or even to speak to her. They were no longer friends.
For the first few weeks after Robin found out that she was wanted, the poor girl cried herself to sleep each and every night.
Her father, the proud archeologist, did his best during both the day and night to calm his little daughter down, but he usually wasn't successful. The pain in her heart was just too great.
The townspeople had gone up to him, wanting to get rid of Robin permanently by execution, but he refused.
Robin never understood why the townspeople didn't' turn her into the government. The government didn't know where her house was, but the townspeople did and they never tried to capture her when she walked into town. All they did was hide from her or shoot out nasty comments about her.
Robin walked throughout the town, ignoring the people staring at her. She walked passed Seira's house. Seira was sitting on the front porch sewing something. Robin wanted to wave to Seira and call out a cheerful "hello" to the girl, but Seira's father was also on the porch giving Robin a look that clearly said, "Don't' even think about talking to my daughter." So she kept walking.
Robin walked into the grocery store near Seira's house. The store was full of customers and all of them ignored her and immediately stopped chatting with one another. The customers even filed out of the store quickly to be away from Robin. Robin grabbed what she wanted to buy and walked up to the counter.
The clerk gave her a sweet smile and said politely, "Okay, Robin-chan, let's see…one small sack of potatoes…and that comes up to 25 berries." Robin placed 25 berries in the clerk's hands and picked up the sack of potatoes. "Sayonara, Robin-chan." The clerk called as Robin left for the door.
"Sayonara." Robin called, walking out the shop's door.
The clerk of the grocery store and his wife, who also worked there, were one of the few people who did not think of Robin as dangerous. The clerk was good friend with Robert and the clerk's wife was best friends with Robin's mother when she was still alive. Both the clerk and his wife knew a lot about Robin and refused to believe that she destroyed those ships on purpose.
Robin walked passed Seira's house again.
Seira was alone and still sewing, but she looked so sad and lonely. She looked up at Robin with tears in her eyes. Robin, using her free hand, waved at Seira. Seira quickly turned her head and didn't wave back. Robin frowned and sadly walked home.
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"Robin? What's wrong?" Robert asked his little daughter at dinnertime.
Robin looked up from her hardly touched plate of meat and mashed potatoes, "I saw Seira today, Father."
Robert nodded, "Well, how is she doing?"
"She wouldn't talk to me. All she did was cry and turn her head away from me." Robin answered with a frown.
"Well, of course she was crying." Robert told his daughter.
"Huh? What do you mean, Father?" Robin asked him.
"Seira lost her best friend so quickly. I'm sure she feels just as much pain as you do." Robert told her.
Robin softly shook her head, "No she doesn't."
"Yes she does. Being forced to forget a best friend in one of the most painful feelings in the world." Robert told her.
Robin let out a small smile, "Okay, Father."
Robert patted her small head, "Good. Now eat." Robin nodded and started eating.
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A few days later, on the 15th of December, Robin took a walk through town. As she passed Seira's house, she had noticed that her former best friend was not out on the front porch like she had been a few days ago. She wanted to talk to Seira so badly, but deep inside she knew she couldn't.
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Later that day, Robin was standing by the old well near her house. The well was where Seira and Robin used to meet up when they wanted to play. Robin had a feeling that there was some history behind the old well, something big, but everyone else didn't think so. The only people that really believed her theory was Seira and Robin's father.
Robin dropped a pail into the well and started to pull it up, but the pail got caught on something in the well. Robin looked down and saw something sticking out of the wall. With her powers, she had extra hands come out of the well's walls and pull out the thing in the wall. Her extra hands carried the item and the pail up the well and place them on the ground outside the well.
Robin picked up the item, a very old and damp box. Quickly, she ran to the house, leaving the pail at the well. "Father! Father!" she screamed.
Her father quickly ran outside, "What is it? What's wrong?" Robin held up the box she found in the well. Robert took the box and looked over it, "Where did you find this?"
"The well." Robin answered.
Robert knelt down to his daughter's height and opened up the box. Inside the box laid two stones: one white and one light blue, with a chain around each stone, making a necklace.
"Ohhh…" Robin gasped, moving a hand near the stones, "Father, what are these?"
Robert looked hard at them, "Looks like a diamond and an aquamarine." Robin placed her hands on the stones and all of a sudden, a vision filled her head.
- - -VISION- - -
Two girls were standing by the well wearing the stones. A blue haired girl was wearing the aquamarine. A black haired girl was wearing the diamond. Both girls were crying.
"Mother and Father say that I'm not allowed to be friends with you anymore." The blue haired girl sobbed.
"Why not?" the black haired girl asked.
"They don't want me playing with someone whose family's opinion is different from the town's and…they are making me get rid of my aquamarine." The blue haired girl cried.
"What are they going to do with it?" the black haired girl asked.
"They want to sell it." The blue haired girl answered.
"No! They can't do that! That'd be like selling our friendship!" the black haired girl cried.
"Then, what are we going to do?" the blue haired girl asked.
The black haired girl thought for a moment then ran to a house near the well. When she came back, she was carrying a wooden box. The girl opened the box, took off the diamond, and placed it in the box.
"Put your aquamarine in here. We'll hide the box in a place that nobody else will look in." the black haired girl said.
The blue haired girl placed her aquamarine in the box and closed it, "Where do we hide it?"
"The inside of the well." Her friend answered, "I'll stand in the bucket while you lower me down into the well. I'll hide it in the wall and when I say to, pull me back up." The blue haired girl nodded.
The black haired girl stepped into the bucket while her friend dropped the rope. She stopped when the black haired girl was halfway down. The girl placed the box in an empty hole then called out, "Pull me up!" The blue haired girl pulled her up. The black haired girl stepped out of the bucket and stood before her best friend. With one last cry, the girls hugged and said, "Best friends forever." The blue haired girl ran off.
- - -END VISION- - -
"These stones…they were a token of friendship…" Robin said, removing her hand from the stones.
"Yeah, probably." Robert said. He closed the box and handed it to his daughter, "This is yours. You found it, so you should keep it. Just be careful with what you do with it."
"Thank you, Father." Robin whispered. She dropped the box off into her room and ran back to the well to get the pail.
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A figure ran up to the Nico's house nine days later at about 7am. The figure slipped a folded piece of paper under the door then ran away. Robin and her father had been up at the time and saw the paper slide under the door, but no the figure. Robin lifted up the paper and read the back.
Written in childish letters was the word, "Robin-chan." Robin opened up the paper and looked deeply at the inside. There were no words, but a drawn picture of the well, a sun, Robin's house, a Christmas tree, and two girls: Robin and Seira. Robin knew the message. She understood all of the drawn messages that Seira sent. She was so artistic that it'd be impossible NOT to understand the message.
Her father looked over her shoulder and stared at the beautifully drawn picture and got the message even if it didn't include him at all.
"Father? Do you think it's possible for me to have any friends at all now that I'm dangerous?" Robin asked her father.
Robert smiled at her, "Absolutely. Friendship never dies."
Robin was put to bed early that night, on Christmas Eve. She really didn't see the point of being in bed that night so early. Even though it was Christmas Eve, she didn't expect herself to be getting a lot of presants since it was just Robin and her father, but she obeyed her father and went to bed whispering over and over again, "Friendship never dies."
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The next morning was Christmas morning. Like she had expected, Robin didn't get very many presants, but it didn't matter. She had something else more important she was going to be doing. Before she left the house, she slipped the diamond around her neck and held the aquamarine in her left hand. Her father placed a small cake in her right. "This tastes better when eaten with a good friend." He told her. Robin nodded and left.
Seira came to the well just a minute after Robin did. Over Seira's shoulder was a baby blue purse. She handed Robin a white one, the thing she had been sewing days before. On the back, in sewn baby blue letters was "NICO ROBIN AND HAYAKAWA SEIRA. BEST FRIENDS FOREVER" Seira's purse had those same words, but written in white thread.
Robin gave Seira a deep hug and handed her the aquamarine.
Seira's eyes widened ask Robin slipped the aquamarine over her neck. The beautiful stone matched her lovely hair. The presants didn't stop there. Seira placed a rolled up piece of canvas in Robin's hands. Robin unrolled the canvas and stared at it in shock.
Seira had painted a picture that was originally taken before Robin ate the Devil Fruit. The picture had both girls sitting in front of the old well. The two of them had large smiles on their faces. Robin was missing a tooth.
"This was taken last summer after we beat the boys in a huge game of hide-and-seek." Robin laughed. Seira laughed, too.
Once the laughing stopped, Robin held up the cake, "Father says it tastes better when eaten with a good friend." Seira nodded. Both girls split the cake in half and ate their parts. The cake was just a simple pound cake, but Robert was right. It did taste better when eaten with a good friend.
Robin stuck her hand in her purse after she ate and pulled out a piece of paper with a poem and a note written on it:
The two of us are true best friends
We love to scream and shout.
And although the things we like are different
We always work them out.
The two of us tell secrets
And giggle like friends do.
Which really proves to us two that
The friendship we have is true.
One day life will be real cruel
And split us both apart.
But you'll always be my very best friend
Deep inside my heart.
Nico Robin, you are the best friend I've ever had. Merry Christmas.
-Hayakawa Seira
Robin looked at her best friend, "Seira…"
"Mama and Papa said that we will never be friends again…" Seira cried.
Robin shook her head, "We'll always be best friends. Father says that friendship never dies. So, best friends forever?"
Seira smiled, "Best friends forever." Both girls giggled and hugged each other.
"I should go. Mama and Papa are probably looking for me." Seira said as the two friends let go.
"I'll miss you." Robin said.
"Me too." Seira answered. Seira started walking towards the town. She stopped, turned around, waved, and called, "Merry Christmas Nico-san, Robin-chan! Sayonara!"
"Merry Christmas, Seira-chan! Sayonara!" Both Robin and her father, who was now next to his daughter, called. Robin kept waving until Seira was completely out of sight.
"Robin, that little girl over there is one of the best friends you'll ever have. Your friendship will keep going even after you two stop talking to each other." Robert told his daughter.
"Really, Father?" Robin asked.
Her father nodded and patted her small head, "Absolutely."
Robin smiled. She had a feeling he was right.
Robin went to sleep later on that night with the diamond inside the box and Seira's picture on the wall and, for some reason, she was very happy she ate the Hana Hana Fruit because without it, both Robin and Seira would never have learned that friendship never dies.
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A/N: Okay, that's what I got. Like I said before, I don't know much about Robin's past, so I had to make some of the stuff up. Oh, and Seira's poem is actually a poem that I made up(I know it probably sucks, but I'm not a very good poet).
Okay, a little bit of info on the next chapter: it will be sort of a bonus chapter. Chapter 8 has to do with a Christmas lesson of Emily, the main character in my story The Melody of the Seas (for those who HAVEN'T read the story. Emily is a slave bought by Zoro and becomes the Straw Hat Pirate's new musician).
Next chapter: Emily