A Pirate's Life For Me! We Need A Musician!

Part 2 of a 4 Part Saga

by Aoikami Sarah

Chapter Eight – Robin's Song

The following morning, Luffy and company were at it again. They begged Harmony to play for them. When she hesitated to answer, Nami put her hands on her hips and assessed the situation.

"You guys, the poor girl hasn't had a moment to herself since she came on board! Give it a rest!"

"But she's our musician!" Luffy argued. "Don't you want to play for us?"

Harmony wove her fingers into one of her curly pink bangs. "It's not that I don't want to play…"

"Why did you decide to join us, Ojou-sama?" Sanji asked as he took off his pink Doskoi Panda apron.

"I wanted to get away from the casino," she said quietly and held out her hands. "Don't get me wrong, I love to perform but they wouldn't let me decide when I wanted to. And when I told them I wanted to leave, they threatened to destroy my music box," she admitted.

Sanji opened a fresh pack of cigarettes. "Is being here any better?" he asked, tapping the pack against his palm to pack the tobacco down.

"It's different here, that's for certain. It's fun…"

"But you're still not free," Robin added quietly. Luffy stared at the girl intensely from under the brim of his straw hat. He took a deep breath, but said nothing.

Harmony worried her hands. "I just want to have some time with Vincento to myself, that's all. I'm sorry."

Robin's eyes grew wide. "Vincento…?" she whispered.

"Vincento?" Usopp asked. "Who's that?"

Harmony put her hand over her mouth.

"Do you mean that the music box has a name?" Robin asked, calmly.

"Ah, yes!" Harmony answered quickly. "Just a funny name I gave him. He's like a friend to me."

"Leave her alone," Luffy commanded, changing the subject. "Let her do what she wants to do." To Usopp and Chopper's surprise their captain wrapped his arms around them and dragged them out of the galley.

"Thank you, Captain Luffy," Harmony said with a bow. Robin followed her out of doorway and watched her as she went to the waiting box. She unbuckled its straps and opened it up. The bellows filled with air and the box hummed happily. "Ok, Vincento," Harmony whispered. "Let's work together, shall we?" She pulled out a knob and pushed three blue keys down. Her fingers touched the black and white keys and the sound of real piano issued forth. Robin leaned against the main mast and listened as Harmony picked out the melody, a somber yet sweet lilting phrase that left the older woman with a lump in her throat. She decided to find her deck chair and listen for as long as Harmony played.

.X. Flashback

Harmony peered out from behind the box into the darkness. Deep in the hold of a merchant vessel bobbing on the tide, the eight year old was too frightened to blink.

"Daddy?" she whispered. A man's form in the darkness turned and pressed his finger to lips. The gesture was not reassuring. Overhead, footsteps ran over the deck and closed in on them.

"Stay here, Harmony," his voice urged. "Whatever happens, stay close to Vincent.

"But, Daddy…!" she protested. The footsteps stopped.

"Richard Sairen!" a gruff voice bellowed from above. "We know you're in there. Come out!"

"Stay here," her father said again with short, rapid words. His voice was even and calm. He was ready. "Stay quiet and they won't find you. Take care of Vincent." He stood up and went to a rope-ladder hanging from the hatch. "I love you, Sweetheart."

Terrified beyond the ability to speak, Harmony watched her father's silhouette walk to the ladder.

Ever how much she tried, even five years later, she couldn't remember the events that happened next. They resided only in her nightmares, somehow fortunately erased from her conscious mind. The next thing she knew, a strange, pale-skinned woman with purplish tentacles for hair was wrapping her in a blanket and carrying her off the ship. "Daddy… Vincento…" she whispered. The shapes of four large men carried the box in front of her.

"Don't worry, Dear," Lilly Marlene soothed. "Your instrument is safe. We'll take care of you both."

.X. End Flashback

Before lunch, Robin looked up as the music stopped. Harmony was looking over her shoulder at the mandarin orange trees on the upper deck where Sanji twirled around Nami barraging her with pleasantries. She caught Robin's eye and quickly turned back around. Of the two tunes she seemed to have been working on all morning, Harmony switched to the more somber one. "Robin Nee-chan, I think I finished your song," she called.

"Oh?" The older woman got up and stood next to the girl. Her fingers gently touched the keys and her eyes closed.

"Even in this place

Like a drop

Time falls

Silent history begins"

"Kono basho ni mo

Shizuku no you ni

Toki ga ochite

Shizuka ni rekishi hajimatte yuku"

"Real Ponegryph is my

Ongoing, never-ending search for the truth

My real life is spun into

The very corner of the great halls of time"

"Riopo-negurifu watashi no

Eien ni tsuzuku shinjitsu sagashitai

My real life tsumugarateyuku

Ooinaru toki no katasumide"

.:o:.From "My Real Life" Nico Robin character vocal song.:o:.

More to come...