Rating: K+
Spoilers: Robin's past
Timeframe: Kid!Robin
It was a clear, bright morning in Ohara. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and when it was all said and done it was shaping up to be a pleasant day. Robin cracked open an eye as sun gleamed through her window, telling the girl it was time to get up.
The good mood was not to last, of course. The night before Robin had made Aunt Roji angry, and right now the woman was on a warpath. Robin got up and dressed for the day as quietly as she could, doing her best not to upset her aunt further. There were no chores that needed to be done that morning, so she planned on going to the Tree of Knowledge. Professor was starting to teach her about burial rites of different cultures, and it was very interesting.
Robin hurried out of the house, hoping to avoid Auntie's temper. In her rush to leave, Robin eschewed breakfast, pausing only to grab her book. It was only when she was walking through the village that she remembered that Professor had an important meeting with the head of the history department of the University of the Arts and Sciences in Mariejois. He would be unavailable until later in the morning, if not early afternoon.
Her plan foiled, Robin changed direction and headed for the woods. There she had discovered a perfect reading spot, free of the dirty looks and harsh whispers that seemed to follow her everywhere else. When she arrived to the little clearing she plopped down by one of the trees and began to read, with no company save for ants and the occasional bird.
Robin had just begun a fascinating section about the Kingdom of Breeze when her stomach let out a loud grumble. She ignored it, today was not the first day she had gone without breakfast, and continued to read. Her stomach grumbled again, her body reminding her that she had also missed supper last night as punishment for upsetting Auntie.
With a quick glance to make sure no one else was around to hear her treacherous body, Robin got up. She stretched and wondered what to do. There was sometimes food at the Tree of Knowledge, but Robin didn't want to interrupt Professor's meeting. On the other hand, Robin really didn't want to go back home. Auntie was scary when she got mad, and Auntie often got mad when Robin asked for food. With no allowance to buy something at the market, she was stuck between those two choices and going without. At the thought of sticking it out, her belly let out its loudest protest yet.
Reluctantly Robin began to walk to the Tree of Knowledge. Surely if she was quiet and stayed out of the way she wouldn't bother anyone, at least that's what worked at home. Still, she walked as slowly as she could. The thought of possibly upsetting the Professor in any way made her cringe.
She hadn't gotten far when a brightly colored sphere caught her eye. Curious, Robin went over and examined the strange object. It looked like an orange apple, covered in swirls that gave it an exotic appearance. The fruit grew on a vine, which was weird because Robin knew for sure that apples grew on trees. Robin had never seen anything like it and to the hungry girl it looked very, very good.
Carefully she plucked the not-apple off its vine. The fruit certainly felt like an apple, but it had a thick outer skin much like an orange. To Robin, it almost felt like it was giving off a certain energy that compelled her to eat it. Without further thought, she peeled the fruit and took a large bite.
The taste almost made Robin gag. The fruit had the most horrible flavor that anyone could possibly imagine. Robin forced the bite down and looked at the fruit in disgust. The compulsion to eat it was gone, the bright fruit just sat in her hand as if mocking her hunger. How could something so good looking taste so terribly bad? Juice dripped down her hand as Robin contemplated just chucking the thing as far as she could when a horrible thought came to her. What if it was poisonous?
A factoid from one of her lessons sprung to mind: many poisonous substances tasted bitter to the human palate. It served as a wonderful defense mechanism for the human race, which as a whole tended not to eat things that tasted bad, as well as protection to the plants themselves.
Many poisonous animals also had bright colors as a form of defense. Did that carry over to plants? Robin had no idea. Now she looked at the fruit in horror as her stomach began to churn. Why had she eaten that fruit (was it even a fruit? Was there the possibility that it was some form of vegetable?) when she had no idea what it was? Panic began to settle in as Robin convinced herself that she had just managed the dumbest form of self poisoning in the history of the world. She stood, at a complete loss as to what to do. She had only eaten one bite, but taking her size and age into account that might be enough for toxic levels of whatever this not-apple really was to enter her system.
Professor Clover would know what to do, he always did. Taking the fruit with her for identification, Robin ran to the Tree of Knowledge as fast as she could. She took the quickest route she knew, ignoring the cries for her to slow down from the people she saw. She didn't feel any weaker, which Robin could only take as a positive sign.
Robin made it to the tree in record time and burst open the doors in her hurry to find the professor. Rint sat at the front desk, taking notes from a book. The large woman smiled as heard Robin arrive, only to look startled as she saw the state Robin was in.
"Are you okay?" she asked as she walked towards Robin, who by this time was nearly in tears.
"I-I need to see Professor!" Robin gasped, her lungs burning from her sprint to the library.
"Professor Clover is busy right now. Can I help you?" Rint asked gently.
Robin showed her the fruit, "Do you know what this is?" she asked in desperation. Rint's eyes widened and she let out a soft gasp.
"Where did you find this?" she demanded.
"I-in the woods. I took a bite, is that bad?"
Rint's eyes got even bigger as she took the fruit from Robin and examined it carefully. She muttered something to herself before addressing Robin again, "Did you show this to anyone else?" Robin shook her head and Rint nodded to herself, "I'll go get the professor for you. Wait here."
Rint hurried out of the room, leaving a confused and scared Robin behind.
Clover's meeting with the department head was not going well. The man had come offering a partnership between the university's history department and the scholars found at the Tree of Knowledge. With flowery prose, the slime ball had described how such a partnership would financially benefit both institutions and how greater transparency within the scientific community would benefit the world.
While the pretty words painted the picture of a glorious new venture, Clover could see the truth behind them. The University of Arts and Sciences was directly under the government's control. By greater transparency he meant complete supervision, and by financially beneficial he meant money from the aristocrats within the high nobility. And while Clover had nothing against wealthy patrons backing an institution, he wanted nothing to do with money gained from human trafficking and the corruption that abounded within the upper echelon that were the Celestial Dragons.
So in a way he was thankful when Rint interrupted his meeting without as much as a knock. The department head sneered at the harried looking woman before giving Clover a sharp look.
"Didn't you tell your people that you were busy?" he said, his voice dripping with scorn. Rint ignored him and addressed Clover directly.
"I need to talk to you." Her voice had a clipped tone that was hardly ever present in the generally jolly woman. Clover gave her a concerned look before standing.
"Wait! We're not finished here!"
"Yes, we are. I'm sorry, but please tell your superiors that the Tree of Knowledge is not interested in any sort of joint venture at this time. We feel that we are best served in retaining our independence. Have a good day, sir, I'm sure you can show yourself out." After giving him a stiff bow, Clover left the man sputtering in his seat and followed Rint into the hallway.
"That'll come back to haunt you," she muttered.
"We were already under suspicion; this doesn't make much of a difference. Now, what did you need?"
"Robin came in, said she took a bite of this." Rint held up an orange object that looked almost like an apple, but no apple had those distinctive swirls that indicated only one thing...
"Dear Lord," Clover breathed as he took the Devil Fruit from her.
"She seemed pretty upset. Do you think she knows?" Rint asked, looking more and more worried.
"We haven't covered Devil Fruits in our lessons together yet, but at the rate that child reads who knows what she knows. But if she did know, I would think she would've brought it in…" Clover's train of thought wandered as he took a good look at the fruit.
They reached the main room. In one of the corners Robin sat, head in her hands and shaking like a leaf. By some blessing from above she didn't seem to be crying, but it was by far the most distressed Clover had seen her.
"Pretty upset, huh?" Clover said with a cocked eyebrow. Rint gave a shrug, and he sighed, "I'll take care of this. Would you please make sure that our friend from Mariejois makes his way out safely. We would hate for him to get 'lost' somewhere and find something he shouldn't." Rint gave a sharp nod and left him with Robin. Devil Fruit in hand he approached her, wondering how he would break this to her.
"Robin?" Clover said carefully. She jerked up and quickly wiped her eyes with her hands. Maybe she had been crying after all. Damn.
"Am I going to die?" she whispered.
"Die? Whatever gave you that idea?" he asked.
Solemnly she pointed to the Devil Fruit, "That's poisonous, isn't it? And I ate some," Robin replied sullenly.
"Now Robin, I don't know what you've read about Devil Fruits, but they aren't poisonous."
"Devil Fruit? That's a Devil Fruit?" she exclaimed. They looked at each other in confusion.
"All right, it's obvious I don't have all the facts here," Clover began slowly. "Why don't you tell me exactly what happened and why you think this is poisonous."
Clover sat down beside Robin as she told her disjointed story. He almost groaned when she told him the reason she had eaten an unknown object.
"Robin, why didn't you just come here if you were hungry? You know we keep food in the back room." he asked when she finished her story
"You said you were in a meeting, and I didn't want to be in the way," came the quiet reply. Clover frowned at her line of reasoning.
Clover put his hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye, "Robin, listen to me; this is very important, you are always welcome here. Even if the other archeologists and I are busy, we trust you enough to be in here by yourself. Do you understand that?" Robin gave an unsure nod so he continued. "Good. Now back to the matter at hand. Do you know anything about Devil Fruits?"
"No. You said that we'd talk about them later, and no one else believes in them."
"Well, we're going to learn about them today. Wait here a minute, I need to grab some things." Robin nodded again, and Clover got up and left for several minutes. When he came back, it was one very thick book, a notepad, and some pens. He handed her the paper and pens before showing her the book.
"You can use those for notes," he said before settling into his teaching mode. With a dramatic thump, he sat the book (encyclopedia, really) on the table. Robin peered at the cover for a moment before waiting for him to continue. "This is everything we know about Devil Fruits."
"That's not very much," Robin noted.
"You're absolutely right, which is why there is such a great misconception surrounding them. You can ask ten different people what a Devil Fruit is and come up with ten different answers. Now, to start off with…" and with that Clover taught Robin everything he knew about Devil Fruits. He tried to set it up as just another lesion between the two of them and thought he did quite well considering the circumstances.
They ended their lesson by looking up the specific fruit Robin had eaten. Luckily, its abilities were known and after a moment examining the picture and the description of it.
"Hm, Flower-Flower. Bit of a misnomer, but it seems like a pretty handy ability, if you pardon my pun." Robin gave him a small smile. Now that she was convinced she hadn't poisoned herself she looked much calmer. He returned her small smile with a big grin of his own, "Do you want to try it out?" he asked playfully. She gave a big nod before closing her eyes in concentration.
As if by magic, a hand grew out of the table. Clover heard a gasp of surprise from behind them. Robin's eyes snapped open and the hand disappeared leaving only petals behind.
"Sorry to distract you. I just wanted to see how ya were doing," Rint said sheepishly.
"We just finished our lesson." Clover said before glancing at the clock, "My goodness! Look at the time. You should probably be heading home, dear."
Robin suddenly looked stricken, "How will I tell my aunt and uncle?" she asked nervously.
"Would you like it if I came with you?" Clover asked kindly.
"Yes, please."
"All right. Oh, and you can take this with you if you want," he said as he handed her the encyclopedia. Robin's eyes widened as she took the very rare and valuable book from him and held it close to her chest. Then Clover turned and addressed Rint, "I'll be back soon, if you need me."
"We'll be fine. I'll just head back to the basement with the others. Got quite the mess down there that needs cleaned up," she said to Robin with a wink. Clover rolled his eyes. The only thing in the basement was a poneglyph that they were attempting to decipher. Still, Robin accepted her explanation and slid out of her chair.
The walk to Robin's house was a silent one. It was late in the afternoon, and people all around were getting ready to go home and eat supper. They were given a wide berth, but Clover was used to such things by now and didn't give it any thought. But as they got closer and closer to the house, the more Robin withdrew into herself. Clover, only used to seeing her at the Tree of Knowledge, watched her as she clutched her book so hard her knuckles turned white.
Why was she so scared?
Before he got to think about it too long they reached the house. Robin knocked on the door before entering. They hadn't even made it past the doorway when Roji's voice reached them.
"Where have you been?" she screeched from somewhere in the house, before she could even see them. Robin shrunk down even more.
"She's angry," Robin whispered to him.
"And who is this? What are you doing bringing strangers home?" Roji asked as she rounded the corner.
"Hello ma'am. I'm Professor Clover from the Tree of Knowledge. I've been tutoring Robin," Clover said in an attempt to pacify her. Roji squinted her eyes at him. Before Clover could say anything else her husband came from down the stairs.
"Honey, what's the matt-oh? Hello there Professor. I didn't expect to see you here this afternoon," Oron said as he gave Clover a firm handshake.
"You know this man?" Roji asked, still eyeing him suspiciously.
"Sure! He's the one that taught Olvia. He's the head honcho over there at the big tree. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Oron said offhandedly. Roji's stare intensified. Apparently bringing up Olvia had been a mistake. Robin seemed to catch this, and halfway hid herself behind him. Inwardly Clover frowned.
"Do you mind if I come in? There's something happened today that we need to inform you of," Clover asked. Oron looked surprised, and if possible Roji's glare deepened. Moving as little as possible she allowed him into her home and guided them into the living room. There a girl sat, playing with some dolls. Robin's cousin, Clover presumed.
"Okay, if there's something you need to say, say it," Roji all but growled, arms folded across her chest. Oron gave Clover a small shrug as if to say 'what can you do?' Taking this as an invitation to talk, Clover began to explain what had happened to Robin earlier that day. The entire time Robin stood beside him, looking very nervous.
When Clover finished his story, Roji burst out laughing. It was a cruel laugh. When she got herself under control she looked at him and said, "You expect me to believe that the brat ate some sort of fruit that lets her grow extra body parts? I don't know what kind of game you're playing, Professor, but if you're trying any funny buisness you had better leave."
Clover looked from Robin to her family. He gave the girl a small nudge of encouragement, before addressing them, "Well, this is settled easily enough. How about a demonstration?"
Robin looked up at him in disbelief, and he gave her his warmest smile. He had faith in her ability. Again she closed her eyes to concentrate and lifted one of her arms. After a few seconds a second arm grew from her elbow, and then a third.
The effect was immediate. Roji and her daughter screamed, and Oron placed himself between his wife and Robin. The look on their faces were clear. Even though Clover had just explained the concept of the Devil Fruit to them they still thought Robin to be a monster. The extra arms poofed away, leaving Robin with a look of raw hurt before she stared at the floor.
"Now wait just a minute, you're taking this wrong. Nothing has changed here, Ro-" Clover exclaimed before Roji cut him off.
"That girl just grew extra arms out of her elbows and you're telling us we're taking this wrong?" she hissed before pointing to the door, "I think that you need to leave." Oron nodded in agreement with his wife. Clover looked at Robin and then her family, unsure of what to do.
"It's okay Professor. I'll be fine," Robin said from his side.
"If you don't leave within the next thirty seconds I'm calling the Peace Officers! You are not welcome here!" Roji shouted.
Unsure if he was making the worst decision of his life, Clover left.
Clover did not see Robin the next day. He spent his time pacing up and down the Tree of Knowledge. His colleagues, by now aware of the situation, tried to calm him down with little success.
Another day passed with no word. He called the house twice, only to be hung up on both times.
As the third day almost came to a close, Clover decided to go back to Robin's house, Peace Officers be damned. There was no way he could stand another second not knowing of Robin was okay. He tried to call one more time before he left, and this time there was no answer.
The house was dark when he arrived. He knocked on the door and waited.
And waited…
and waited….
For what seemed like an eternity. Finally the door opened a crack and Robin looked up at him. A weight that must have been a thousand pounds was lifted from his shoulders.
"Hello Professor," she said softly.
"Hello Robin. May I come in?" he asked.
"I don't think my aunt would like that very much," she said, eyes dropping.
"Is she home?"
"No. They all went out for the evening, and won't be back till late."
"Well, then I think what she doesn't know won't hurt her. What do you think?" Robin glanced up at him, hesitating, before opening the door all the way up.
For the second time, Clover was led to the living room. Together they sat on the sofa in an uncomfortable silence.
"Are you all right?" Clover asked when he found his voice.
"Yes," Robin said, unable to bring herself to look at him.
"We miss you at the library."
"I'm grounded for awhile."
"Would you like it if I brought you something to read?"
Again Robin paused, before nodding her head. Clover couldn't help but smile as he looked down at his student.
And then he saw it. A dark bruise on her shoulder; not quite covered up by her dress or hidden by her hair, where an adult hand had grabbed her hard enough to leave a lasting mark. A flash of fury went through him, directed both at the perpetrator and himself. Suddenly several things clicked: Robin's demeanor, her hesitation, her nervousness at the thought of going to her home.
How long had he been blind of the signs?
And why could he do nothing to fix it?
Again there was a long silence between the two as Clover tried to think of something to say to the girl. Robin just sat. She looked more than just unhappy, Clover thought, she had the look of someone defeated.
"You know, Robin, there's something very important that I want you to know," he began as he stroked his beard. Robin looked up at him, a miserable expression on her face, "you are, and always will be, welcome at the Tree of Knowledge."
"Even though I'm a monster?" she asked.
"Nico Robin, you are not a monster," Clover said sharply. She flinched at his tone, and he forced himself to calm down, "You are not a monster. You have a power, yes, but who you are is based on how you use that power. You are the bravest, most intelligent little girl I have ever met, and I am honored to be your teacher."
Clover had been trying to make Robin feel better, but for some reason his words made her cry. And while he was a brilliant archeologist with an extensive knowledge of most of the cultures in the history of the world, he had no idea how to console little girls in horrible circumstances. So he did the only thing he could think of and wrap one arm around her and pull her close until Robin cried herself to sleep.
It was getting late, and he didn't want to risk another run-in with her aunt and uncle. With a grunt he picked Robin up, who barely stirred from her sleep, and went in search of her bedroom. Thankfully it was easy to find, so he laid her in bed, tucked her in, and left.
He couldn't help but notice the Devil Fruit encyclopedia propped open to the page featuring the Flower-Flower fruit.
A beam of sunlight coming through her bedroom window let Robin know it was time to wake up. At first she couldn't remember why she was in her bed, but then the fuzzy memory of Professor carrying her up the stairs flashed in her mind's eye.
Robin turned and saw the open book Professor had let her borrow. Slowly last night's conversation began to come back to her. She was deeply embarrassed, crying like that in front of him like that, but it felt better knowing he was actually proud to be her teacher.
She closed her eyes as she tried to call up her power. It was hard to concentrate on making extra arms or eyes or ears, but it was getting easier, and when she could feel the extra hands she made she opened her eyes too look at her work. It was strange, her real hands could feel what the copies could, but she was getting used to that too. Robin let her extra hands disappear, watching as little petals (cherry blossoms, maybe? She would have to look it up) drift down onto her bed. Today was a new day, and she resolved to make the best of it.
Downstairs she heard Auntie making breakfast. She was still mad, and Robin did her best to stay out her way, but eventually Robin knew she would calm down, and then she would be free to return to the Tree of Knowledge.
The only place Robin knew where she actually belonged.
AN: Since One Piece takes place in what kind of equates to our past, I can only assume that child services don't exist. So, even if the archeologists knew about how Robin was being treated (and I assume that they do) there isn't really much they can do about it. Hence their propensity for surprise parties in her honor. Again, I've left Robin's age deliberately vague, not that it really matters.
Also, Professor Clover is one of my favorite flashback characters, along with Bellemere. It is my personal crack theory that there's a tradition in the West Blue where older men have hair styles that say something about themselves in some way. That's why Clover hair's clover shaped, and Hiliruk's (originally from the "far West") is shaped like a medical cross. Either that or the two are secretly brothers and they grew up in an eccentric household before tragically parting ways.
Let me know what you think.