Windmills Turning in the East
It had taken just three days to sail back to the East Blue and two days to finally reach Dawn Island and make dock at Foosha Village.
Robin and Luffy leaned over the starboard side of the ship's railing, wanting get a good look of the straw hatted boy's hometown and the dark haired girl's new home.
Lush green hills made most of the scenery, with a dirt path and wood-picket fence winding up and down the hills. The scenery of the town was littered with small houses and windmills, their sails spinning at a gentle pace from the ocean breeze, giving off a feeling of tranquility and peacefulness.
Robin looked over to Luffy, wanting to see how exited he must be about seeing home again, only to notice a brooding scowl on his face. Looking down to what he was staring at, all she saw was the deep blue water splashing against the hull of the ship.
Then it came to her. This port they were sailing into was where that sea monster that nearly ate Luffy and took Shanks's arm was supposed to dwell. Robin looked at Luffy again with great concern.
Once the marine vessel finally docked at the island, Luffy brightened up a bit, happy to be home and looking forward to seeing everybody again.
As the two children ran down the ship bridge, Garp and Olivia followed behind, the vice admiral informing the white haired scholar of their new living arrangements.
"You'll have a house close to the bay here, situated at the far west side of the town. We can find you some hand-me-down furniture that no one is using to get you started. You'll need to find a paying job if you want to make a proper living, so we can have a chat with the mayor about that. He might be a little offended with you being a criminal, but he'll warm up to you soon enough."
"Thank you, Garp. you are doing so much for me and Robin. I don't know how I'll be able to repay you!" Olivia was overjoyed at how much of a second chance Garp had managed to persuade out of the Five Elder Stars.
"You already know how, Olivia…" Garp inquired, causing the woman to come out of her joyous mood.
"Even though you want to leave behind your life as an archeologist to be a real mother, the government has also forbidden you from ever examining another culture for the rest of your life. You can't go back to your previous life, even if you wanted to." Garp explained what she already knew, but it was still a tough pill to swallow.
Olivia watched as Robin and Luffy hopped up the steps of the dock and looked out into town. "That's fine… What matters now is that I look after my Robin and be there for her, to make up for when I wasn't."
As the two adults looked at the young ones, Luffy decided to run off into town with Robin following behind.
"Robin! Don't go running off!" Olivia panicked.
"Don't worry, they won't go too far." Garp laughed as he put Olivia's mind at ease, but not enough.
Back with the two children, Luffy and Robin ran down a street with shops along the sides and people watching them go.
"I can't wait to see everybody again!" Luffy shouted excitedly, as Robin once again did her best to catch up with the boy.
"So…when…do I meet…your bothers?" Robin gasped as she ran after him, growing aware of how little exercise she got when she spent her days reading back on Ohara.
Out of everyone Luffy spoke of on the ship, his two big brothers were who she was truly curious about.
"We'll see them soon!" Buffy called back, not wanting to slow down. "Right now, I'm hungry, and there's only one place I wanna eat!"
"But…we just…had breakfast…on the ship!" robin tried to reason, but knowing that it was Luffy she was speaking to, she knew there was no reasoning with him or his stomach.
Arriving into town, everybody the two passed by instantly recognized the boy and greeted him.
"Welcome back, Luffy!"
"Hey, Luffy! Good to see you!"
"Hope Garp wasn't too hard on you out there!"
"Things have been so boring without you, Luffy!"
"Glad to have you back, Luffy!"
Robin was surprised by this. Don't they know he ate a Devil Fruit? Wasn't he an outcast like her? Why would these people be so nice to him?
Would they be as nice to her?
"Luffy!" One voice that came from an elderly man sitting outside a house, wearing a yellow shirt and a red and white stripped hat got the boys attention, making him and robin stop in their tracks.
"Hi, Mr. Mayor!" Luffy waved.
"Has Garp finally managed to get that ridiculous 'pirate' idea out of your head?" The old timer asked. Everyone in town didn't seem to have a problem with Luffy wanting to become a pirate, but the Mayor did. Having someone from their town becoming a criminal would do nothing but give Foosha Village a bad reputation.
"Nope!" Buffy answered back. "I'm still gonna be a pirate, and I'm still gonna be the Pirate King!"
"You do that, and you'll never be aloud in this town again!" The mayor tried to warn but wasn't all that filled with resolve.
Luffy just chuckled at the old man and took off running again. Robin was caught off guard by the boy's negligence and decided to bow before the old timer. "I-It was nice to meet you, Mr. Mayor, sir!"
When Robin took off to catch up to Luffy, the mayor was caught in a state of wonder.
"Who was that girl with him?" He asked to no one.
As the two children kept running, a lone building appeared in the distance. The words 'PARTY'S BAR' were portrayed above the building's entrance, which Luffy was heading straight for.
"MAKINO!" Luffy pushed through the wooden swinging doors, leading to the inside. "I'M HOME!"
Robin made her way inside, taking in the look of the place. It was a quaint little restaurant and bar, with tables and chairs taking up most of the room of the place. At the front of the establishment, liquor bottles and a few potted plants decorated a shelf case behind a large wooden bar.
Just then, a young woman with short dark green hair, wearing a pink head scarf with red polkadots, an orange top with black long sleeves and a yellow stripe going across her chest, a blue dress skirt with large stitches going down both sides and red sneakers, came out of a curtain door to left hand side of the large layout.
"Luffy?" She asked aloud. Spotting the straw hatted boy with his large toothy grin, she immediately bee-lined over to him and wrapped her arms around him. "LUFFY! I'm so glad you're alright! What did that big bully of a grandfather of yours do to you out at sea?!"
Seeing this woman show great concern for her new friend, Robin instantly liked her. She gave off the aura of a kind, loving older sister. Makino stopped hugging Luffy and drew her attention to the little dark haired girl who instantly blushed at being noticed.
"And who do we have here?" The bar keeper brightly asked.
"This is Robin! She's a friend I made while I was gone!" Buffy beamed.
Makino took a minute to look over the small girl. Robin shuffled her feet and looked away from the taller woman, blushing as she did. Makino then placed her hands on Robin's shoulders and looked at her with a shining smile.
"Well, aren't you the most adorable little girl I've ever seen!" Makino stated happily, causing Robin to blush deeper and bow her head lower to hide her reddening face.
"So, is she your girlfriend, Luffy?" Makino cheekily questioned.
"No, she's not!" Luffy blanched out, with his cheeks being a little red as he did. Robin blushed even more at this and came close to sinking to her knees to hide her face. Makino caught on to this and made amends to make up for it.
"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie! I didn't mean to embarrass you!" Makino gently took the girl's hand and led her over to the bar.
"I'll make you something to eat to make up for it! On the house!" Makino let Robin sit up on one of the barstools, while she went around the bar to prepare some food for the little girl.
"Make me something to eat too, Makino!" Luffy chided in as he struggled to get up no one of the stools, making the bar tender giggle at the boy.
As Makino went to work in her little workplace, Robin was thinking on something deeply.
"Why are you being so nice to me," Makino turned back to the dark haired girl, wondering what she was talking about. "When I'm just like him?" Robin looked over to Luffy, who was just as confused as to what she was talking about.
"What do you mean?" Makino asked concerned. Robin decided to show a demonstration. She flicked her hand up and multiple arms came sprouting out of the bar, before disappearing again. Makino was surprised by this and Robin waited for the inevitable reaction; being called a monster and getting thrown out of the restaurant.
"Oh, my…!" Makino gasped after getting over the shock. She then turned back to Robin with her bright smile still in place. "So, you must have eaten a Devil Fruit just like Luffy then?" The bar tender chimed sweetly.
"Y-you know about…?" Robin didn't know what to be taken back by most; Makino not treating her like a freak and throwing her out, or Makino knowing about Luffy's curse and actually being alright with it.
"Of course! I was there when he ate that fruit!" Makino laughed as she went back to making her customers meals. "Luffy always has a bad habit of thinking with his stomach!"
"I didn't know it was cursed!" Luffy defended.
"You still should have asked Shanks first before taking a bite!" Makino lectured, kindly but firmly.
Robin was completely lost. Here was a woman that saw Luffy eat a Devil Fruit and still treated him like a little brother, or even her own son. Robin remembered all the times she showed her powers to people on Ohara. All their reactions weren't as positive as Makino's…
"Here you go!" Makino placed two plates of food on the bar in front of the two children. Luffy immediately dug into his dish, while Robin came out of her gloomy thoughts and began to eat as well.
"So, Robin, was it?" Makino asked.
"Mm-hmm…" Robin nodded her head as she ate.
"Where do you live?" The bar tender began to wipe up some dirty glasses as she got to know the young girl.
"I used to live on the island of Ohara, in the West Blue." Robin stated as she kept eating, while Luffy looked closed to being done already.
"The West Blue?!" Makino was shocked to hear this. "Garp took you out that far, Luffy?!"
Luffy nodded his head quickly before burying his face in food once more.
"So, what's Ohara like?" Makino continued to ask.
Robin remembered her time on Ohara, all the memories being horrible ones. She did her best to focus on the good things she grew up with and the people that cared about her.
"It's an island with a huge tree in the middle of it; the Tree of Knowledge." Robin explained. "It's the worlds greatest library! I went in there all the time to read and pick up books!" robin grew more and more at ease as she recollected her favorite place on the island.
"So, you like to read books, do you?" Makino saw that the dark haired girl was beginning to lighten up, and chose to keep the subject on books.
"I really do!" Robin nearly yelled she got so exited about them. Makino smiled at the girl's enthusiasm, glad to see Robin in a lighter mood.
The sound of two doors opening and closing behind them drew their attention to the entrance of the place. Gap and Olivia stood at the swinging doors, looking back at the children and bar keeper.
"Robin!" Olivia walked up to her daughter, worry across her face. "Don't go running off like that again! I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find you!"
"Sorry Momma…" Robin titled her head down, being introduced to the feeling of being told off by her mother. The feeling of having a hand placed on her head brought her eyes back up to see Olivia smiling warmly at her, rubbing her head gently.
"It's okay, sweetheart. Just let me know next time." Olivia advised her daughter lovingly.
Robin looked back up and smiled at her mother, nodding her head after Olivia took her hand back.
"You must be Robin's mother." Makino chimed in, reaching her hand out to the white haired scholar. "I'm Makino, I guess you could say I'm Luffy's guardian."
"Olivia, pleased to meet you." She returned as she took the bar keeper's hand and shook it.
"Here on a date with your girlfriend, Are you Luffy?" Garp laughed heartily.
"She's not my girlfriend!" Luffy roared again, both him and Robin having a small blush.
"Mr. Garp!" All eyes turned to a now angry looking Makino, who came marching from behind the bar to look the older man in the eye. "Where do you get off? Taking a small boy out to sea, on a marine ship, all so you can beat, literally beat, the idea of being a pirate out of him with no one to stop you?! You, sir, are a coward!"
All the while Makino was blowing her top at the vice admiral, the man was backing up step by step, shielding the verbal onslaught with his raised hands, before tripping on a pulled out chair and falling over backwards.
"I-I only do it to get that stupid idea of being a pirate out of his head!" Garp tried to defend, only to have the bar tender scowl down at him.
"There's no such thing as a good reason to hit family!" Makino stated strongly, as the other three occupants watched on in a mix of awkwardness and enjoyment.
Garp tried to find any other excuse to fend off the woman, but knew that there was on use in trying to win a fight with Makino, no matter how hard he's tried in the past.
Makino looked down at the pathetic looking hero of the navy, her smoldering glare keeping him frozen on the floor.
"You'll be paying for the kids meals in exchange for any pain you caused Luffy on your trip, right Mr. Garp?" Makino chimed in quickly.
"Y-yes…" Garp reluctantly agreed, uncomfortable about getting caught out by the crafty bar keeper.
Seeing he had learned his lesson, at least for now, Makino lent the vice admiral her hand, which he eagerly took to help himself off the floor with her help.
"How about I get you two some drinks?" Makino turned to go behind the bar as the two other adults accepted the offer and took a seat at either side of the children, Olivia by Robin and Garp by Luffy.
"You'll also be paying for these as well, right Garp? A real gentlemen pays for a ladies drink, after all!" Makino chimed in quickly.
"O-of course…" Garp wouldn't say it, but her hated it when this woman would manipulate her out of payback for Luffy.
"So Robin? Being so into books, I'm sure you want to be something like a librarian in the future?" Makino spoke as she handed out two glasses of liquor for her two new customers.
"Actually," Robin began to correct. "My mom was an archeologist, and when I grow up, I want to just like her and study the Void Century!"
The sound of a glass being clutched tightly brought the attention of everyone present to look at the white haired scholar, who seemed to be trapped in her own thoughts.
"Momma…?" Robin grew worried at her mother's change in mood. Soon, the ex-archeologist came out of herm ind and looked around her, seeing the concerned faces of everyone present. She attempted to change the tone with a forced smile.
"Uh, Luffy?" Garp decided to make the children make their exit, sensing a serious discussion was about to take place. "Why don't you and Robin head up to Mt. Colubo and introduce her to Dadan and her friends?"
"Oh, yeah! I was going to introduce her to Ace and Sabo too!" Luffy hopped off his seat and ran out the building. "Come on, Robin!"
"O-Okay!" Robin hopped off her seat, taking another look at herm other, who still held her forced smile. Robin stared at her for a while, before quietly heading out the swinging doors next.
Olivia then dropped the smile, letting her held back emotions cross her face. Makino was looking at the two of them with great anxiety.
"Makino…" Garp piped up, catching the bar tender's attention, making her notice the grave expression on his face.
"A lot more happened on Ohara than the children have told you…"
Way high on the top of Mt. Colubo, robin could see the whole of Foosha village from where she stood. The houses and windmills looking like small toy models, and beyond them lied the wide open sea, crystal clear blue and stretching out over the horizon. It was a beautiful sight indeed.
"Hey, Robin! Hurry up!" The call from the straw hatted boy brought her back to the moment as Robin began to catch up to Luffy.
"You…actually…live…out here?" Robin wheezed as she tried to keep up with the boy.
"Yeah! Grandpa made me live here with some mountain bandits and said he'd beat me within an inch of my life if I tried to run away!" Luffy informed, which Robin became quickly aghast to. Forced to live with bandits under the threat of a beating?!
The more Robin heard of the mistreatment of Luffy, the more sick of it she became.
Upon spotting something over the hill they were climbing, Luffy made a mad dash in its direction. Robin seeing this, picks up her pace so as to not lose the boy.
When she finally got to the top of the hill, what she saw was quite an unimpressive sight. A run down old shack that looked close to toppling over at any minute, sat in the middle of a clearing of the surrounding jungle that grew around the mountain.
Luffy was currently running around the place, as if he was searching for something.
"DADAN! GUYS! I'M BACK!" The straw hatted boy bellowed loud enough to make na echo.
"He's gonna find us…" A scared voice whispered from somewhere.
"If you keep flapping your gums, he will!" Another hushed voice spoke, this time coming from inside the shack.
Luffy and Robin caught on to this and made their way over to the barely standing house.
"Hello?" Luffy went inside while Robin stayed out in the clearing, slightly afraid that the house might cave in.
The inside of the shack was dark and barely lit. Luffy looked around the place, wondering where everybody was.
"Achoo!"
"Bless you!" Luffy happily chirped as he turned to leave, only to stop in his tracks. "Wait a minute…!"
Looking up, Luffy spotted Dadan, an over-weight, middle-aged woman with thick orange hair and a cigarette clenched in her teeth. She was currently propping herself up on the support beams that ran across the ceiling, along with a large number of dirty looking men also propping themselves up against the beams as well.
"HEY GUYS!" Luffy happily called, causing all the occupancy of the ailing to fall into a painful heap.
"He found us, boss…" A bandit groaned as he was crushed under the weight of bodies.
"He found us because one of you sneezed!" the woman growled as she sat up, making the men under her cry out in pain from her size, not that they'd dare to say it out loud though.
"HEY DADAN! I STILL HATE MOUNTAIN BANDITS!" Luffy greeted and reminded.
"I DIDN'T ASK!" The thug of a woman barked as she stomped over to Luffy. She then noticed the small dark haired girl standing outside, looking quite fearful.
Dadan grabbed Luffy by the back of his shirt collar and hoisted him in the air, Robin reaching out in vain to stop her.
"Luffy, who is that?!" The woman yelled, not in the mood for any stupidity of the like.
"That's Robin!" The boy pointed as he turned back to Dadan. "She's a new friend of mine!"
Dadan looked back at the small girl and scowled. "Is she another one of Garp's grandkids or something?!"
"Nah! She lives with her mom!" Luffy smiled.
"Good!" The woman finally dropped Luffy, as robin darted over to the straw hatted boy to see if he was all right. "The last thing I want is another brat to waste time over!"
Robin took great offense to this. Seeing the large lips taking up most of her face, the age wrinkles and the cigarette clenched in her teeth, this woman reminded her a lot of her rotten old Aunt Roji. Robin did not like this woman at all.
As Luffy picked himself up off the ground as if nothing had happened to him, he smiled as he looked at the bandit woman again. "Hey, Dadan! Have you seen Ace and Sabo anywhere?"
"Those two troublemakers ran into the jungle to catch dinner for all of us tonight! With any luck, they got lost and won't find there way back!" The thug of a woman grumbled, with just a slither of concern in her voice. Robin didn't catch on to this and her dislike for the older woman grew.
"Thanks, Dadan! C'mon, Robin!" Luffy instantly ran straight for a thick brush of the surrounding jungle, forcing Robin to run after him. Before the girl disappeared too, she looked back at Dadan, who only scowled at her back. The two stared each other down, before the dark haired girl ran into the jungle next.
"I don't think she likes you, boss…" a bandit behind her voiced.
"LIKE I CARE!" The bandit woman bellowed as she walked back inside, feeling just a little hurt at the notion, but didn't dare show it.
"Luffy, do you actually live with that woman?!" Robin asked as the two made their way through the jungle, climbing over thick vines and pushing branches out of their path.
"I used to but not anymore! Besides, she's not all that bad! If anything, she's more afraid of me or one of my bothers hurting her then the other way around!" The straw hatted boy laughed, making Robin worry if all the times he was hit on the head had done some damage to Luffy's mental state.
The dark haired girl then shook her head as another thought entered her head "So wait, if you don't live with her and those bandits anymore, and you're not allowed to go back to the village, then where do you live?!"
Luffy pushed one final branch out of the way, letting robin go first. "Here!"
Robin made her way past Luffy and looked up at a ginormous tree, not as big as the Tree of Knowledge but big all the same. Illuminated by the sunshine breaking through the leaves above, there sat a make shift treehouse, made from the remains of old shipwrecks.
"You…live here?" She asked bewildered.
"Yup! Me, Ace and Sabo decided that we've got to learn how to be 'self-relpy-ant' if were gonna go out to sea one day!" Luffy grinned proudly.
"Self-reliant, Luffy…" Robin corrected the boy.
"That too!" Luffy laughed, making Robin worry more for the boy's state of mind.
"Hey, Luffy!" A voice from high in the treetops called out, catching the attention of the two children below. "You finally back from that trip with Garp, huh?"
"Ace?" Luffy's smile grew.
"I hope Garp didn't pound the idea of being a pirate out of your head while you were with him!" Another voice came through the trees.
"Sabo?" Luffy grinned, happy to hear his brothers again.
Suddenly, two figures leaped down from they're hiding places and landed in front of the two young ones.
One, a ten year old boy with jet black hair, freckles on his cheeks, wearing a light red tank top, black shorts and brown shoes, with a grin that just spelled 'trouble'.
The other, another ten year old boy with shaved blond hair, wearing a silk hat, a blue petty coat and black boots, having a smile on his face that showed off a missing tooth.
Both of them were carrying a lead pipe each, which Robin could only guess that they used as weapons from time to time. If Luffy was right and they do live out here , it would certainly be wise to arm yourself. But how could a lead pipe be a practical weapon against a wild animal out here in the jungle, she wondered.
"Hey guys!" Luffy ran up to his two older brothers, happy to see them again after being apart for such a long while.
"Good to see you again, Luffy…" Ace said as he rubbed the younger boy's mess of black hair.
"Yeah, we were starting to worry about you!" Sabo spoke as he shook the his little bother by the shoulder.
Luffy snickered joyfully at the attention he was getting, until he remembered he didn't come alone.
Luffy turned and ran back over to the girl watching from afar with his smile brightening on his face and showed her his hand. "Come on, Robin! These are my brothers I told you about!"
Robin's skeptical at first, but then found some courage and took his hand, letting lead him over to the two older boys.
"Ace! Sabo!" Luffy declared. "This is Robin! She's a new friend I made while I was gone with grandpa!"
As Luffy let Robin step forward, the girl began to shuffle her feet and look down at the ground in shyness.
"It's nice to meet you…" she managed to speak. "Luffy's told me a lot about you both…"
Ace and Sabo looked at the girl in front of them, eyeing her up and down.
"She's cute…" they both spoke a little louder then they wanted to. Robin blushed at this, while Luffy felt something inside him that made him…uncomfortable…
Suddenly, Ace hopped right in front of Robin, taking the girl by surprise. "Hey, I'm Ace! Nice to meet you!" he said as cooly as he could.
He was then pushed out of the way by Sabo, who took his place in front of Robin. "I'm Sabo! It's nice to meet you too!" He said a little to giddy to be considered normal.
As Ace and Sabo began to fight for the right to talk to Robin, the girl was feeling quite lost in awkwardness by the whole spectacle. Luffy on the other hand was not liking the way that Ace and Sabo were talking to Robin. He thought they'd treat her like a friend, not…this!
The straw hatted boy decided to squeeze in between his brothers and friend, wanting Ace and Sabo to stop fighting over Robin and change the subject. For what reason, he didn't really know…
"So, guys!" Luffy brought the two out of they're fighting. "Find anything for dinner tonight? Dadan said you were looking for food!"
"You bet we got dinner, Luffy! Check it out!" Ace bragged as he knocked his fist hard on the tree of their house and two massive figures fell out of the branches. The figures being two massive wild boars, bigger than any natural sized boar that Robin could think of. The dark haired girl was perplexed. Two ten year old boys did this, to two giant wild boars, with lead pipes?!
Luffy on the other hand, was more focused on the animals that fell out of the sky. "Oh, boy! Wild boar! My favorite!"
"Anything that's meat is your favorite, Luffy!" Sabo chuckled as he walked around to start pulling the boar by its tail, heading for Dadan's shack.
"So, Robin?" Ace asked the girl as he went and threw the large tusked pig over his shoulder, possibly wanting to impress Robin. "Where'd you come from?"
Robin was feeling quite shy, finding difficulty in talking to others os casually. "I-I came from the island of Ohara…It's in the West Blue…"
"The West Blue?!" Ace grew shocked by this, then turned to Luffy who was walking between him and Sabo, with Robin next to him. "Garp took you out that far, Luffy?!" The straw hatted boy replied with a 'Yup!'.
"Wait…" Sabo did some calculating in his head. "Luffy! That means Garp took you through the Grand Line!"
"I know, right?!" Luffy beamed as the fact came to mind once more. "I sailed through the sea that Gold Roger did!"
Robin laughed a little at Luffy's excitement, only to notice Ace look down in what she could only describe as depression and…shame?
"So, Robin?" Sabo called back, wanting to change the subject. "How did you and Luffy end up meeting?"
Robin looked back at the silk hat wearing boy, figuring that he wanted to stop talking about the Grand Line and Gold Roger. But why?
"I helped save her home island from blowing up!" Luffy deadpanned.
Ace and Sabo stopped and stared at their clueless little bother, who was smiling his toothy grin like a loon, then over to Robin, who was shuffling her foot in the dirt with a nervous smile.
"How…did…what?!" Sabo tried to analyze what Luffy had stated.
Robin cleared her throat to try and break the silence and went into explaining the whole story.
"W-well, the long story is Luffy found me out in a forest, when some kids were picking on me…"
"Oh my…!" Makino had just heard the whole story from Garp and Olivia, each taking a swig of their drinks to help with telling the more difficult parts of the ordeal on Ohara.
"It's a lot to take in, yes…" Garp was in agreement with how Makino was blown away by the tail told.
"That poor girl…Poor Luffy!" The bar tender was starting to feel a little weak at the knees and used the bar to hold herself up.
"Those two are lucky to be so young…saving an entire island from certain doom, and they just forget about it in a matter of days, as if it instantly became a distant memory." Garp rubbed his head, letting the hardships of the last number of days wash over him to help them pass all the quicker.
Makino looked at the woman with misty eyes. Out of all the people that were caught up in the madness, the bar tender considered her to be one of the main that suffered most, along with the two children.
Makino reached her hand over to the one Olivia had around her glass, making the white haired scholar look her in the eye.
"Your'e an amazing woman, Olivia!" Makino complimented. "After everything you've been through, you deserve a happy outcome such as this! You and Robin are going to be so happy living in Foosha Village!"
Olivia smiled slightly at the kind words, then a thought shocked her to her senses. "Wait! Where is Robin?! It's starting to get dark!"
"Don't worry, Olivia!" Garp spoke as he pulled himself from his seat and walked to the doorway of Makino's bar.
"I think I've got a good idea where those two ran off to…"
As the moon of the night sky shown down on Mt. Colubo, the two older children were just hearing the last of Luffy and Robin's adventure.
"Whoah…" Ace exclaimed bewildered.
"You guys actually saved an entire island from being blown up?!" Sabo couldn't fathom it himself.
The two younger ones only nodded their heads, Luffy with a proud grin and Robin with a flattered smile.
"Way-to-go, Luffy!" Ace slapped his little brother on the back. "Saving the day and getting the girl!"
"She's not my girlfriend!" Luffy screamed with a blush on his cheeks once more. Robin was starting to get sick of Luffy saying that. It just felt…hurtful.
"I wish I was there to see that green suit wearing jerk get close-lined by your grandpa…" Sabo muttered in a curiously venomous tone.
"Wait, something's bugging me…" Ace put his hand to his chin in calculation. "How'd you manage to trick that CP guy into going in another direction, if you were hiding in the bush behind him?"
"Uhh…Well…" Robin had left out the part about her having powers, not wanting to be shunned by Luffy's brothers. Luffy wondered why she did the too, he knew they'd accept her like they him.
Before the matter could go any further, a voice roared out from the lit up shack they were arriving at.
"It's about time you showed up! I'm so hungry, I'm starting to wither away to skin and bones!" Dadan barked at the kids as she stood at the doorway.
"Seems like you've still got a long way to go until that happens, Dadan!" Ace smirked as he tossed her his dead boar.
Dadan was fuming at the comment while the kids made their way inside. Dadan caught one look at robin and stopped her by putting a hand in front of her face.
"And where do you think you're going, young lady?!" She snarled with her cigarette in her large lips.
"I was going to come in and eat…" Robin spoke in a small voice. The way Dadan acted and looked was almost a spitting image of her horrid Aunt Roji.
Dadan looked down at the girl, her resolve weakening at how precious the little dark haired girl was, looking up at her with those big blue eyes…
Reluctantly, she brought her hand back to let robin pass, only to stop her again.
"If you wanna eat, you gotta fight for your meal! That's how it goes!" The thug of a woman warned darkly.
Robin looked up at the old bandit woman, noticing the kindness in her words through the tone she used.
Once Dadan stopped blocking her path, Robin stepped inside and looked back at the thug of a woman.
"Thank you for having me!" She brightly smiled as she made her way over to Luffy and his brothers.
Dadan didn't show it, but she was inwardly gushing at how adorable this girl was.
"FOOD'S READY!" A bandit called inside the shack, bringing Dadan back to reality.
Dadan rushed back indoors, ready for whatever fight came her way for a piece of that succulent roast boar.
Soon enough, the run down shack in the middle of the jungle was lit up and erupting with activity.
Once the boars that Ace and Sabo bright back were skinned, cooked and placed on the table, the war to not go to bed hungry begun. The three brothers, Ace, Sabo and Luffy, easily managed to grab a good load of meat, leaving not very much behind for the bandits, Dadan and Robin, who was sitting far off from the ongoing chaos.
The three boys were digging into their food, when Luffy looked over at Robin who hadn't eaten anything yet.
"C'mon, Robin!" Luffy encouraged. "You have to try and get something, or else it's all going to disappear!"
"I-I'm fine, thank you…" Robin politely played off, only to have her stomach grumble and a blush of embarrassment come to her cheeks.
Luffy frowned at his friend's behavior, only to have an idea pop into his head. He leaned in close to Robin's ear, making the girl blush more. "Robin, why don't use your powers?" He whispered.
"What?! I can't do that!" She hissed back.
"Why not?! I did!" Luffy argued as he bit into his meat once more.
Robin was against using her powers, afraid that she might be exiled by Luffy's brothers and everyone else here, even if they were bandits. Then she thought of Makino, and how accepting she was of her came to mind. If someone like her could accept her for what she had, then could these bandits?
Robin looked back at Luffy, who was enjoying his dinner next to his older brothers. The dark haired girl then decided to take a chance and made her Hana Hana pose.
Luffy seeing this, nudged his brothers next to him, getting their attention. "Hey, guys!" He said in a hushed tone. "Watch this!"
As the rest of the bandits kept fighting for their meal, a row of hands began to sprout out of the floor, making a trip leading all the way to the pile of meat. Suddenly, all eyes were on the row of limbs, as one hand grabbed a hunk of meat and passed it down the row of hands behind it, leading all the way back to Robin, who simply took it in her own hands, while the rest disappeared into thin air.
"I ate the Hana Hana Devil Fruit…" She reluctantly admitted. "I can grow body parts anywhere I see…"
Silence went through the shack, everyone staying still in shock. All eyes were now on Robin, who was afraid of what might happen next. She knew she shouldn't have used her powers!
"That…" Ace began.
"Is so…" Sabo continued.
"AWESOME!" They both finished, making the girl jump in surprise.
"Is that how you lost that green suited guy in the forest?!" Sabo asked excitedly, Robin nodding quietly in he stupor.
"That was some good thinking!" Ace complimented, making the girl blush at being praised.
"Multiple arms are way better then starchy ones, any day!" Ace took a shot at Luffy, easily ticking the boy off.
"Don't make fun of my powers!" Luffy shouted, thus igniting another small fist fight with his older brother, something that wasn't a rare occurrence.
"No fair!" The comment brought Robin's attention to the bandits.
"First we had to deal with Luffy's stretchy arms and massive appetite, now we've got a little girl that can grow arms out of the ground!"
"There's no way were gonna be able to get a full meal now!"
"Having a Devil Fruit power is practically cheating!"
Robin's good mood started to sink, until the voice of Dadan ringed out over the moaning of the bandits.
"That's enough! That girl had an ace up her sleeve and she used it! You all would have done the same! She got what she wanted and she did it fair and square! At least on our terms! So quit you're whining, take what you can get and be happy about it!"
All the bandits hung their heads, feeling bad for their words. Dadan took advantage of their distracted state and grabbed a few chinks of boar, enraging her men and bringing the fight for food back on again.
Robin was surprised but warmed by the thug of a woman's words. She may have acted and looked like Roji, but Dadan was at least a little bit nicer than her miserable old Aunt.
"Robin!" The new voice came from the front door of the shack, belonging to Robin's mother, Olivia.
"Momma!" Robin happily called as her mother rushed over to her and wrapped her arms around the dark haired girl.
"Did any of these men hurt you?!" The white haired scholar panicked.
"No, Momma!" Robin laughed. "They've been really nice!" All the bandits had currently stopped to stare at the white haired beauty that had rushed into the room.
"I see dinner is in full swing!" Makino then stepped into the barely holding house, causing all the bandits to swoon at the sight of the pretty bar tender, along with the gorgeous white haired scholar.
As the men were distracted, Robin made another row of hands and grabbed a piece of meat, bringing it back to Olivia.
Once she had the boar in her hands, Olivia looked at her smiling daughter and then smiled as well, seeing the confidence her daughter had in using her powers.
The new change in scenery was helping after all, along with the fresh new faces that didn't discriminate her baby girl. The ex-archeologist could cry at how much good fortune was being bestowed to her and Robin.
"I trust you've been treating this young girl well, Dadan?" That was a voice that made Dadan and her man spit their food out in complete and utter horror.
"G-Garp!" Dadan blanched as she got to her feet and stood at attention, as if mimicking a soldier. "O-Of course we have! I wouldn't let a single hand land on such a pretty little girl's head!"
"That's good!" Garp replied. "Because this girl and her mother are under my protection. If anything were to happen to any of them, I'd be inclined to return any harm done to an extended degree…"
A cold shiver ran down each of the bandit's spines at the hero of the navy's words.
"Are we clear?" he finished.
"YISSIR!" The bandits chorused, not wanting to try their luck with the vice admiral.
"Splendid!" Garp returned to his jolly demeanor, walking over to the pile of meat to grab a bite.
"That's Robin's Mom?!" Sabo was blown away with how beautiful Olivia was.
"So that's where Robin got to look so cute!" Ace whispered into the silk hatted boy's ear, who only nodded his head in agreement. Luffy heard this and then bit into his dinner with more ferocity, as if he was upset about something.
The small party went on long into the night, putting the agitation and stress that the ones who returned from Ohara to one side, letting the gathered occupants laugh, sing and dance for just the sake of it.
As the small party went on, the children were still munching away on what meat was left over, until Sabo decided to try and talk to Robin again, this time without sounding so nervous with any luck.
"So, Robin," Sabo mumbled as he chewed on a bite of boar. "Being from an island all about being smart, you must really like books!"
"Yeah! The Tree of Knowledge was my favorite place on the island! The only place I miss if I had to be honest!" robin stated as she ate.
"How come?" Ace innocently asked as he kept biting into his boar. The sudden quiet from the girl got the attention of the three brothers, looking at robin who had a sullen face on.
"The rest of the island wasn't so nice to me…" robin explained sadly. "The kids all made fun of me, because of my powers and because I liked to read."
As Robin told of her harsh background, some of the noise died down so that some could here her better.
"My Aunt Roji would always beat me and call me a waste of space…" The dark haired girl went on.
Hearing that only made Olivia all the happier for snapping that horrible woman's arm.
"And all the townspeople would just glare at me all the time, whenever I went to the library…Like I didn't belong with them…" Robin bowed her head in sorrow.
Upon hearing this, Ace and Sabo became motionless at the girl's words. They both looked down at the floor, a painful understanding filling they're hearts.
Makino wiped away some shed tears, along with most of the bandits that listened in on the little girl's sad story. Garp looked at Robin then at Ace, seeing a great deal of similarity in the two's history.
Robin sat in her place with a down look in her eye, until a hand placed on her shoulder brought her out of her mind. Looking back up, she saw Luffy smiling at her.
"Well, now you're with us, Robin! We don't think you're a monster, a freak, or anything like that!" Luffy beamed.
Ace and Sabo both got up and walked in front of the little dark haired girl.
"No matter how different you are, we'll have your back no matter what!" Ace hiked his thumb toward himself, implying his resolve with a confidant grin.
"We'll make sure that no one hurts you like that again, robin! That's a promise!" Sabo clenched his fist in determination, showing a smile with his missing tooth.
Robin looked to the three boys, then at all the adults amount her, all of them showing concern and admiration on their faces. All for her…
Robin wiped the mist from her eyes and let a smile break out, showing just how happy she was to be with so many wonderful people.
"Thank you…" She spoke with an emotional voice.
Luffy decided to pick up his glass of juice and lifted it in the air, proposing a toast.
"TO ROBIN!" He cried, initiating a chorus of the same words from nearly everyone in the shack.
For the rest of the night, dinner turned into a welcoming party for Foosha Village's new occupants; Nico Robin and Nico Olivia.
As the party went on, Olivia decided to step out for a breath of fresh air, looking up into the starry sky above.
"Is everything alight?" The new voice caused the white haired scholar to turn and face Makino, who had come up from behind.
"It's wonderful…" Olivia sighed. "So much good fortune couldn't be summed up to simple 'dumb luck'…"
Makino smiled at this, then remembered something that had been birthing her fro a while.
"Olivia," the bar tender asked. "When Robin said she wanted to be an archeologist, why did you get so tense?"
The question made the mother turn around, giving Makino her full attention.
"Archeology made me give up so much and left me with nothing but heartache," Olivia explained. "To see Robin do the same, following my example…I don't want to see her go after a cause that anointed to nothing but bloodshed! Something that could lead her to being…" She couldn't even finish, the thought was so horrible.
Makino took Olivia by the shoulders, trying to ease the white haired scholar.
"It'll be alright, Olivia," Making spoke softly. "With all the luck that you've been getting, Robin might forget all about the ponoglyphs and enjoy her new life, being with her new friends and family!"
Olivia could only hope that that would be the course that life would take. The Void Century can stay void for all she cared. Now that she had been given a second chance to be a mother, she didn't plan on making more of a blunder in Robin's life than she already had.
All that mattered was keeping her daughter safe in this quiet town of windmills, and as happy as she looked while she laughed along with her new friends.
