A/N- NANI? Two updates in one week? That's new, hahahaha. Soooo I forgot putting the translated words from the last chapter, sorry 'bout that. 'Bulaklak' means 'flower' and 'bayawak' means 'crocodile'. The funny thing is, we use the word bayawak to refer to corrupt politicians, and I thought hey, that's kinda what Croccy is hahaha. Anyways, I would be replying to reviews in the chapters from here on out, so:
Merendinoemiliano: Thank you for the review, as always, I have a lot of things planned for this fic, and I can't wait to share it as well, when we get there.
Milkari: Ahhh I'm glad you like it! And, thank you for reading, I'll continue on writing and I hope you continue reading this fic as well.
SimplySupreme: Yeah, I was kinda inspired by the Dressrosa Arc, where the whole nation literally covered for the Strawhats, so if that could happen, I thought I could use it in here too.
Reviews are highly appreciated! So please leave one if you'd like.
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"Speaking"
"Thoughts"
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece nor its characters, Eichiro Oda does.
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Two kids were seen walking through the deeper parts of the forest on small cleared dirt path. Brielle, together with Robin, were heading towards her 'training grounds' turned playground.
They had been going there together ever since their first meeting, it was like their own special play area as they had been talking and playing there for quite some time now.
They walked hand in hand, swinging their arms slightly as they go. The younger of the two, had been pretty affectionate towards the older girl.
It was in her nature to blame for being openly affectionate. This includes giving and receiving hugs, holding hands, overall being a touchy-feely person. So much so that during her last life, she couldn't recall a day passing by without a proper hug.
Thankfully, Robin did not mind the other girl's open display of affection, like clinging onto her arm, and receiving her hugs. Sure she might not be as affectionate as her, but in return, she made sure to let her know she wasn't uncomfortable by the gestures, and that she rather liked it.
When they reached the clearing, Brielle put down her backpack while Robin made herself comfortable on the blanket she'd laid down on the grass.
The weather was nice, it wasn't too hot, and the sea breeze was cool on the skin. The clouds seemed to roll off the skies lazily by the wind.
It was such a peaceful day, perfect for relaxing under the gentle rays of the sun, while looking at the waves crashing against the shore below.
Brielle joined her on the blanket, and positioned herself with her head laying on her lap. She smiled contently and the two enjoyed their company in a comfortable silence.
A while later, Robin began combing the younger's wavy black hair with her fingers absentmindedly with her eyes closed, accompanied with a tune that her mother once sang to her when she was little.
Brielle a contented sigh escaped her lips, enjoying the feeling of her hair being combed. She looked up and saw her serene face, to which she couldn't help but let out a smile.
"Ahh, if only things could be this simple and carefree forever." The girl thought, beginning to feel drowsy.closing her eyes, she let her mind think things through.
"But sadly, I know it won't and it never will." She thought, she hated to be smart sometimes.
"Canonically speaking, it would never happen. I know that, we might get separated soon. If my gut-feeling says so. I don't know when it would happen, but I'm sure of it. It could be a few hours from now, a few days, a week, so on and so forth. I might as well enjoy this time together with her for as long as I can."
She kept her eyes closed, when an idea dawned upon her in a comical manner like there was a sudden light bulb magically appearing on top of her head out of nowhere.
"Ne, Robin-nee" Brielle rolled over with her eyes now fully open, she laid on her stomach across her, smiling widely and already feeling giddy of doing what she had in mind.
"Hmm?" Robin replied, placing her hand on her now empty lap, missing the warmth of the other girl's presence.
"Do you know how to make friendship-bracelets?" The girl asked, her excitement dripping at every word.
"Nope, what are they exactly, Brielle-san?" Robin asked, now curious as to what those bracelets are.
"Well you see…." Brielle continued, as she got on her knees and stood up, heading towards where she left her backpack and retrieving it back to where they sat.
"It's something special that a friend makes for their friends!" The girl said while fumbling over her belongings.
She opened the bag, and emptied its contents. There was a surprisingly large amount of things that one could fit in that tiny thing. The infinite number of pockets it had must have helped.
Robin tilted her head in confusion, she'd never heard of such a thing before, frankly speaking, because she only had her books and the late professors as her friends.
She paid close attention to what the other was going to do.
There was small plastic container filled with seashells that Brielle collected with Melody, a roll of string, a pair of scissors, and a variety of colored beads.
"It shows that wherever that person may be in this biiiiiiiiiiig world, they will always be friends, and that will serve as a reminder of their friendship!"
The girl exclaimed, making a big gesture with her arms wide open to emphasize the sheer size of the world with it.
"Ohh! I get it now, that's interesting, so are we making them?" Robin caught on quickly, judging by the materials that the younger one pulled out from her backpack she made a guess.
"Yup!" Brielle replied, popping the 'p' sound loudly.
"But I don't know how to though, it might end up looking weird." Robin said honestly, arts and crafts was never her strong suit, she was more interested in reading about the history and stories behind it though.
"Don't worry, it's not that hard, plus, you've got me! I'll teach you!" Brielle beamed as her chest puffed up in pride, proud of her own artistic capabilities.
"Alright, Brielle-san." The other girl replied with a chuckle.
"So here's how you do it….."
Brielle started unwinding the string, measuring the length of Robin's wrist, and cutting it a little longer so that she would be able to make a knot and tie it securely later.
She then let Robin do the same, following and imitating what she did. Next, the two decided on picking their favorite shell from Brielle's small collection of sea shells.
"Are you sure you want me to use these, Brielle-san? I remember you telling me that these were the special ones that you and Mrs. Merlin picked." Robin asked, unsure of using something her friend deemed precious to her.
"Yeah, because you're special." Brielle said as a matter of fact, still heavily focused on choosing which one to use.
"Huh?" The older girl asked dumbfounded.
The child's honesty sure was on the next level, she wasn't afraid to express herself and allow other people to read her like an open book. She cannot say it was the same for herself.
"Silly Robin-nee, I want to give it to you because you're my friend, and you're special to me. What's the use of having pretty shells if I don't use it or give it to my friends?"
The little girl asked, now facing her with a look of confusion written all over her delicate features. Going with that logic, Robin can only feel flattered by the comment and elicit a smile.
"Special, huh?"
"I see, thank you, Brielle-san, you're special to me too." The older of the two replied, returning the same feeling towards the other girl.
They continued making the bracelets, placing the beads one by one was difficult, but they managed. They placed the colored beads alternatingly to firm a simple but charming.
After a few more minutes, they had finally finished, tying up the loose ends of the bracelets repeatedly about two or three times to secure the beads in place before the two looked at each other and smiled, extremely proud of their handiwork.
Brielle's bracelet had a striped conical seashell in the center, with two light blue beads placed on each side, continuing with an alternating mint and lilac beads.
Robin's bracelet had a similar design, but instead having a clam shell on the middle, with pastel pink beads placed on each side, with alternating yellow and peach beads that reached the knot.
"Wahhhh they look so pretty…..!" Brielle exclaimed cupping both of her cheeks in a cute manner.
"Fufufu they sure do." Robin added, marveling at their work.
"Hmmmm how about a promise to go with it?" The girl suggested, tapping her index finger on the side of her face in thought.
"That sounds good, let's do it"
Robin agreed, and with an impromptu oath taking, they proclaimed their promises to each other.
"I, Merlin D. Brielle, promise to always be Robin-nee's friend, even if we go separate our ways in the future, I will always cherish and remember our friendship!"
"I, Nico Robin, promise to forever be Brielle-san's friend, and no matter how old we are, and how many years pass by, I will always be there for you."
The two then placed their bracelet on each other's wrists, and shared a warm hug, happy and content at their newly promised vow.
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The days rolled by easily, unknown to the two children, there were many untold things happening behind the scenes.
Both Melody and Alexander rarely left the house, and as a result either Chiko or Ophelia dropped by to provide the couple goods and brief them of the current status of the stationed marines just a distance away from them.
Robin continued staying with the family, and considered it her happiest days of her life besides her reunion with her late mother Olvia.
Brielle's parents treated her much like their own kid, and Robin would be lying if she said she didn't feel loved. The whole family had been so generous and caring, Robin couldn't ever think of a way to repay them.
During her stay, Robin had also befriended Byron, a shy boy who came by occasionally. He introduced himself as Brielle's friend and the son of the friends of Mr. and Mrs. Merlin that always visited every other day to chat with them.
He was always attached to Brielle like glue, and she observed that the boy liked Brielle very much, but she didn't know if it was platonic or not. She wasn't there long enough to make a solid hunch.
She just thought that he might be one of those kids that are a bit clingy, it was excusable though, as he was a child, and children usually basked in other people's attention.
Despite his childish behavior, the boy was polite and friendly, and the two of them got along well. She also found out the boy liked reading about various kingdoms and how it came to be.
This piqued her interest, and that served as their mutual ground and had them share some stories from the books they've read.
The three of them started playing together, and it was the most fun she'd had. Who knew having friends was so much fun?
What Robin also observed was that, in a way, Brielle was very nurturing and caring of others. Not only towards Byron, but surprisingly with her as well, despite her being the youngest of the three.
Sure she had her childish bouts here and there, but there was something at the back of her head that believed she was much more mature and adult-like, she just didn't show it, and it was like she was putting up a front.
She didn't know why she thought about the other girl that way, but that was just the results of what she'd observed about her. It didn't bother her though. She was just a little curious how and why a child her age has that level of maturity.
The days turned to into a week, and the week turned into two weeks, and before she knew it, she had completely blended in with them.
Still, she hasn't used her devil fruit powers at all, mainly because she thought that it was better to leave it way, she already had Brielle, so she didn't mind if she was the only one that knew about it.
But when it was only the two of them in the clearing, she would let her powers flourish, Brielle insisted that she should train with her, earning a confused look from hearing it the first time she'd asked.
She hadn't expected her to give her a full length detail on why she should, and how important it was to train in essay form, and it amused her to no end.
She agreed training with her to strengthen her physical strength, mostly because Brielle had convinced her that she might need it someday.
Before she could decline, Brielle just had this look of pure determination or plain stubbornness that made it impossible for her to say no.
And so she agreed, it was hard as anticipated, but Brielle's presence made it bearable. There wasn't a boring moment with her around.
To her surprise though, the little girl was actually quite athletic and had a high-level endurance. It made her wonder how long she had been training to gain that level of muscle strength.
It was something that poked her curiosity regarding the other girl yet again. She was such an open person, but at the same time, she was an enigma. She was interesting person to Robin that all she wanted was to get to know her better.
Secretly though, Brielle actually wanted her to train, not only because she wanted her to become stronger, but also to give her a head start in preparing her for the future, and giving her a head start wasn't a bad idea.
There was this lingering feeling that wouldn't settle in her stomach by wasting another day of doing nothing.
It made her feel guilty of the time she was spending with Robin, which wasn't wrong by all means, she enjoyed chatting with her, but she felt they needed to do something more than just lazily talking the day away.
She didn't want to become rusty, she must not become accustomed to this laidback kind of lifestyle. After the hell of a training she'd received from her mother, she was sure after things settled down, they'll go back to training.
And there was a 99% chance it would be a lot harder, and tougher than ever before, considering her long 'training leave'.
She felt that there was something going on behind her back. Her mother had become preoccupied with things she normally doesn't do, like often stocking groceries more than the amount she usually kept.
Her father also felt extremely, vigilant?
Was that the word for it?
Brielle thought, he just seemed paranoid at times. One night he was calling him for dinner, but his eyes were fixated on whatever was outside their window. It took her a full minute to get his attention.
She always asked him if there was something wrong, but he'd always reply saying it was nothing to worry about, and that he was just thinking about something.
Her aunt and uncle's visits were also increasingly frequent. It wasn't like she was unhappy that they were visiting, it was because she found it rather odd.
They would often come by at around nine a.m. and the four of them started their 'adult talk' that ended in playing with both Robin and Byron upstairs in her bedroom, far away from their discussion, or it would be just her and Robin her playing in their usual play area, a.k.a. their training grounds.
Her singing lessons had been pushed aside for a suspiciously long time, but she was hesitant to ask Melody, as she was always doing something, and she didn't want to bother her.
It was only when she stumbled upon one something unsuspectingly, when things started to fall into place. Her parent's peculiar behavior, the frequent visits, everything.
It all suddenly made sense.
One uneventful afternoon, her father asked her to kindly fetch one of his files on his desk. She complied, with a quick nod, and went to his room to retrieve what was asked of her.
She took the files, and when she was about to go back downstairs, something caught her eye. It was a crumpled paper that was stuffed somewhat hurriedly inside one of his drawers, slightly ajar.
The way she saw it in there, just waiting to be investigated, she couldn't help herself.
She knew it was wrong to snoop on other people's belongings, and she certainly didn't want others to do that to her stuff, but her curiosity took over and caused her to take a peek.
She wished she didn't.
Immediate regret came soon after, what she saw, the crumpled thing was actually a newspaper clipping. In it, showed Robin and his father's wanted poster.
The papers in her hands dropped on the floor, and the girl collapsed on her knees.
She had understood Robin's bounty, but she didn't expect in her lifetime that her father also had such a high bounty. It was a hard pill to swallow, and she tried pinching herself to try and wake up if this was just some nasty dream, but it didn't work.
She was definitely awake, and the one hundred million belly bounty was still there on the paper. 'WANTED: Merlin Alexander- Ex-marine Captain / DEAD OR ALIVE' in bold black letters, taunting her.
"H-How?" Brielle whispered-shouted to herself.
The girl was so shocked that her mind went into a million places at once.
Is this the reason why he arrived a week earlier?
Is this the reason why he was so on edge lately?
Why did they hide it from her?
Didn't she also deserved to know?
She felt like a complete and utter fool.
All this time she was on cloud nine with her blossoming friendship with Robin, and she was feeling so happy too.
At surface-level everything was alright, but that was just the very tip of the iceberg.
The twenty-two year old in her understood, that they didn't need to worry their child about such pressing matters, but the child inside her wanted to throw a nasty fit.
When she didn't reply to his father's calls, he decided to go upstairs himself and check on her.
"Brie? Are you okay? Did you see Daddy's files?"
Brielle finally snapped out of her thoughts and immediately shoved the crumpled paper back inside the drawer. She hastily picked up her dad's fallen documents and immediately rubbed the tears that started to form on her eyes.
"Y-Yes, daddy. I'll bring them there." She tried her best to control the flurry of emotions that might seep through her voice.
She'd kept a poker face and met her father by the stairs, about to go get the files himself. She handed him the papers, and walked downstairs in a hurry.
Robin was currently reading one of Alexander's books, when she noticed Brielle running downstairs with a frown, which was sacrilegious. The girl was always smiling, and seeing that removed from her features only meant that something was wrong, seriously wrong.
All of a sudden, Brielle hurried off, running as fast as she could, in a few seconds, she was already far away from the house.
Robin was worried, she had never seen the other girl like that.
She asked Melody if she knew where she went, and she replied that she said she wanted to go back to the clearing, saying that she had forgotten important.
Melody thought it was something really important because she practically sprinted out of the door. Robin, gave a quick thanks and asked permission if she could go there too, and of course the answer was yes.
She found her way back there, swiping away stray branches that obscured her path. Just a few feet away from reaching the clearing, she could already see her friend sitting near the edge of the cliff with her figure facing the ocean.
Cautiously, she took a few steps closer. She could see her shoulders shaking and heard the girl crying. This broke her heart, as the precious sunshine had suddenly became a gloomy rain cloud.
She quickened her pace, and called out to her gently.
"Brielle-san….are you, okay?"
She could hear her crying temporarily stopped, and the other girl slowly turned her head to look at her. She wiped her tears and wore a heart-breaking fake smile that never belonged to her face.
"A-Ah, Robin-nee, I-I'm okay, I was just-"
Before she could make any more excuses, she knelt down, and gave her a hug. The action surprised Brielle, but her words only made her cry even more.
"You can tell me everything, or nothing at all if you prefer. I just want you to know that I'm always here for you. I promised, didn't I?"
"R-Robin-nee…" Brielle cried, her eyes puffy, and her nose runny, she hugged back.
When she calmed down, and debated whether or not she should tell her about what she saw. She was contemplating hard in silence, with Robin next to her as company.
It was a hard topic to discuss, and she didn't even know the reason of his father's bounty, but she knew there was something amiss and that Robin deserved to know.
And so, she told her. Explaining how a kid like her could know what a bounty meant can wait, she could lie about it later, this was much more important at the moment.
She told her in detail, that the marines framed her for a crime she didn't do, and that there was a 79 million belli bounty on her head, and that was certainly a bad thing.
Robin froze, it took her a solid ten minutes before the information sunk in, and when it did, she wanted to get angry, angry at the government for making up such a lie, but she knew she had no power to do so.
She had already anticipated being wanted, as Professor Clover had already warned her before.
About Brielle's parents hiding this from her, she did not resent them, she understood that it was better for her not to know, because she knew her parents only wanted to protect her. Her mother would probably do something like that in order to keep her safe.
What she didn't understand was why Mr. Merlin also had a bounty. He did not look like, nor acted like a man deserving of such a high number.
This was also the first time that she knew of his occupation. It offed her a bit, having a quick reminder that they were the same kind of people that killed of an entire island.
But she also remembered Saul, who gave up his life for her, so doesn't that mean, not all marines are war-ridden killers?
She decided to leave it in her own judgment, she knew the man personally, and she knew that he was a good person at heart, if her time she spent with him meant anything.
There was a sick feeling that told her he was in the same boat as her, like there was some parallel between the two of them.
It touched her that Brielle was crying for her safety, but she wanted to reassure her that, her parents surely had an explanation.
Brielle was silent, she took her time clearing her head. Robin stayed with her, not saying anything and just sat there with her, assuring her that she had someone to lean on, like she once did for her.
"She's taking the news better than I had originally expected….." Brielle thought.
To be honest, she didn't know how she would react to hearing that kind of information about her.
Turns out, it was just her, acting like a spoiled brat. Getting all worked up and angry at her parents from hiding it from her, when she didn't even have any business meddling with that kind of adult matters.
She was just so shocked, and she couldn't wrap her head around the fact that his father was now a wanted criminal.
Whatever he did, she knew he did nothing wrong. He knew his father. He was not that kind of man.
She grit her teeth, thinking about how the Navy pulled their corrupted strings yet again, much more than Doflamingo did on a daily basis.
When she deemed herself ready to go back and act like nothing happened, things went from bad to worse, real fast.
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Marine ships began appearing out of the blue.
They took advantage of the thick and opaque Toroan fog encircling the land mass just a few meters away from the shore, as a means to hide themselves under the radar of the unsuspecting residents of the island Toroa.
The fog was the result of the bombing of one of their neighboring islands that altered the atmospheric state of the island, but even without it, it was still a normal occurrence. It wasn't anything unusual that might attract suspicion from its people.
For two weeks they had been waiting there, patiently. Ready to strike, and unleash a large military force at their superiors' command.
Unit six had been dispatched to take care of a particular ex-captain.
A week prior, they had heard no news of the man, except for his sudden appearance at the release of the daily newspaper.
It was a picture of the man, wearing a cloak just barely covering his eyes, looking away from the camera, beneath it, was a whopping one hundred million belli bounty reward for his head.
They hadn't felt the same ever since his suspension, and they would have been left guilty, until they heard of what had happened, and all remaining respect for the man had been obliterated.
They bathed in channeling all of their guilt and negative feelings toward hating the man instead. Being assigned to arrest the man only fueled their misplaced anger.
The unit had undergone an immense change under the last two weeks, shortly after the suspension of ex-captain Alexander, a new person had stepped up, and took the role as their new and improved leader.
Their newly appointed captain was a cunning man, like a cat purposefully letting their prey go, giving them a glimmer of hope to escape, only to pounce on them later for the kill.
They never saw the man in that light, and he had only gained much admiration from the bunch after he displayed his physical and intellectual prowess that he'd never shown before.
He was responsible for guiding the unit, and it was only fitting that he himself devised a plan so fool proof that he could proudly state that their mission would only result in a complete success.
He was haughty like that.
But he chose not to, because had an image maintain, he had to have some level of restraint.
The truth is, the moment he was ordered to pursue the ex-marine captain a whole two weeks ago, he refused to take action just yet.
Even if he already had the exact coordinates and location of said man, he didn't make a move.
It went along the lines of 'giving him a false sense of security before attacking him at his weakest and when he least expected it'.
The plan was to leave the man to his own devices at his hometown for now. He had information about his family. The man could easily seize them if he had to, and by all means necessary to drag his ass with him, struggling or lifeless.
Attaining such crucial information was certainly a breeze, considering he had done his homework and he had his connections here and there.
He left the few stationed marines on eastern side of the island on hold. They were not to draw any attention to themselves and make it seem they were unaware of the wanted man hiding in their premises.
He knew that he was a capable man, strong no doubt, and the subtle undetected arrival of reinforcements was a must.
Therefore explaining the fourteen day wait just for that very purpose. But now things were about to go down in full swing.
Unit six had finally received the green light to operate a mass-scale siege on the island. The first batch of marines that already set foot on the island were to alert the citizens go to the evacuation area located on the east coast.
They didn't need to draw confusion and stupidly allow the fugitive hide under the panic of unknowing townspeople. They needed to be careful in delivering the message.
The entire island was also completely surrounded. There was no way a man can slip away from an all-out attack on all sides.
He knew he was a smart man, and if he had any common sense, he would surrender immediately.
Or would he rather face the consequences?
The thought elicited a sadistic smirk from the marine captain that sat on his office chair.
He stared at the news article sprawled on his desk regarding Alexander's breach of conduct, his unhinged behavior, alleged harassment of his crew, and involvement in the burning of an innocent passenger ship that once carried the supposed evacuates of Ohara.
The smirk plastered on his face widened as he reread the headline so many times.
"Oh, what a pity, that man. Don't worry, it'll all be over soon."
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A/N – I feel like this fic has become much more dramatic than I've planned it to be lol, rereading the first chapters made me feel like, darn, it was so light hearted back then! But anyways, I liked writing the angsty-feely parts unexpectedly. I don't wanna spoil you guys too much, but I have to say I have a lot of things planned out for this fic, and I have about literally ten pages filled with plot points, and I wanna get to the good stuff soooo bad, but I want to make it progressively, bit by bit as to not make it feel rushed or awkward if I suddenly shoved the plot out of the blue.
I want to thank you guys for being patient with the story up until now, because when I was reading other fanfics, I realized that by about 50k words into their story, they were already at the major stages and looking at mine, I feel like I'm going waaaay behind. So again, please leave a review if you feel like it's going too slow, and I'll quicken up the pace. That is all, and thank you again for the reads, follows, and the reviews. Those really spike up my motivation to write, and have a good one! - Diwata
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Word Count: 4,829
Date of Publication: April 16, 2020