Hello again, everyone! Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Now, there's a TON of stuff I had to look up, and even then I failed to find certain things. Also, there's internet here! But it's gov't regulated and stuff. And I obviously don't know how servers work, so either pretend it all just works or...whatever! I dunno.
Tell me what you think and let me know if I got a few things wrong. I might change it, but I might not notice. Sorry in advance.
I do not own One Piece as that belongs to Eiichiro Oda, Toei, and whomever else it belongs to.
Behind the blinds shone that ever present, burning star in the sky that they owed their lives to, but to Robin it was merely an annoyance as she woke up with it shining in her eyes.
Last night had been pretty rough, as she had expected, but the situation didn't get any better after realizing that fact. Luffy still had a fever and, not only his skin, but his hair stuck to her skin. Normally, thinking that Luffy's skin and hair were sticking to her would elicit some very nice thoughts, but unfortunately, it felt as though he were made of vulcanized rubber.
She had a few ideas why he was like this, but she needed to check in with a few friends first.
Taking another look at the man, she had to suppress a worried smile.
If he were anyone else, she wouldn't have even bothered, but he had been the first.
Clutching her chest, she made sure that she could move him safely. He felt a lot heavier, and his skin would sometimes rub hers the wrong way, causing another painful rash to form.
He had been the first to worm his way inside her heart, and only he could make her feel so worried about another.
"You crazy, old witch! How many times must I remind you to NEVER move my chair!?"
"Old?! How dare you! You're some deluded, ancient fool to think that someone like me could be old! I'm only a mere 140 years-!"
"HOLY SHIT! I knew it was bad, but are you sure you don't have some sort of mental illness?!"
"Might I remind you that I'm the ACTUAL doctor here! You're nothing but a leech! Not only do you drain the life out of me, but your methods are so old, I sooner expect you to bleed some poor fool out than actually develop some working medicine!"
Robin, with Luffy firmly affixed around her shoulders, approached the lively little building somewhere within the center of the city. The ones she was about to see were usually overlooked due to their close proximity to the government, but their skills were unrivaled. Well, one of their skills was unrivaled. The other...
Everyone needs someone to relax with, the woman supposed. She used to think that she needed nobody, but now that she had Luffy, she couldn't think of a life without the excitable young man.
Knocking on the door, she heard their quite loud and boisterous being quelled.
"A customer? For me? At this hour?"
"You fool. Who would come all this way to see you?" The sound of footsteps coming closer to the door reached Robin's ears.
"Why, our son of course!" The man laughed inside, "Ehehehe...I wonder how that little brat's doing?"
"If he knows what's good for him, he's busy studying like I-" Opening the door, Robin was met by a lady who appeared far past her prime. Wrinkles adorned her face, though she moved as if she were only 20 years old. She wore clothing most would consider to be on a teenager rather than an older woman.
"Oh? Isn't this a surprise! Hey, you old quack, come see who's here!"
"Excuse me, Dr. Kureha, but I need assistance immediately." Without waiting to be invited inside, Robin brushed past the woman and walked hastily into what appeared to be a consulting room. A man was sitting in a rather posh chair, one that was unsuitable for the room they were in. He also looked quite old, but if Robin remembered correctly, and from hearing their argument from outside, the woman was actually much older than he was.
"Why, isn't it Robin! What do we owe the honor of having one of the-"
He quieted, seeing the man draped over her shoulders and he got up from his chair, motioning her to rest the man on the nearby examination couch.
She set Luffy down on the table and Dr. Kureha walked into the room with a more serious expression on her face. The two doctors said nothing as they examined the young man, but Kureha looked back to Robin.
"What's his name?"
"His name is Lucy."
"...That's a strange name for a man..."
"We do not choose the name we are given."
"Where is he from?"
"He's a marine that joined just recently."
"Really? And how do you know him?"
"He's my beloved."
At those words, the man sputtered, and looked back to Robin in shock.
"Wh-What?!"
"Hiluluk!" Kureha shouted, glaring at the man, "Concentrate on the patient!"
Still in a state of shock, Hiluluk turned back to continue his examination.
"Still..." Kureha looked at Robin with suspicion, "I get the feeling you're not telling me something..."
"I've told you all you needed to know." Robin, her eyes filled with conviction, told the woman, "I fear something has happened to him, and I want to know...if he'll be alright."
The doctor, still staring at Robin, sighed and turned to Luffy, "Alright. Well, I can see you certainly care a lot about him." She snickered, "Who would have thought the "Arms of the Government" would have developed feelings for someone?"
"I'm not aware of that nickname."
"The people who fear you call you that. Young Lady, you've always struck me as cold," She smiled at Robin, "but it's nice to see that you can also experience love."
The doctor saw the small smile that formed on the woman's face and she faced her colleague, who looked grim.
"Kureha...he's..."
"Yeah, I know. Hey, Young Lady, I bet you already know what's happened."
"...I have an idea..."
"It seems as though his skin has turned to rubber..." Hiluluk took a needle out from a drawer and tried to stick it into Luffy's skin.
The needle didn't get far into his skin, and Hiluluk looked unwilling to force it deeper, so he slowly extracted the instrument.
"Is he unconscious?" He pulled a penlight out of a pocket and directed its light into the man's eyes. If Luffy was awake, he certainly wasn't affected by the bright light in his eyes.
"Unresponsive. This is odd. He also has a fever." Kureha put a hand to his head and frowned, "Normally, a temperature like this would kill a man. However, he's breathing alright, if not a little labored."
"How far do you think he's affected? I mean, if he truly has become...rubber, then would his brain be alright? I fear that signals from his brain might be dulled by his body's new properties..."
"Hey, wait!" Robin shouted, raising her voice and startling the two doctors, "What do you mean by that?! Do you think he might become-?!"
"Quiet, Girl!" Kureha yelled back, a little frustrated that the woman had surprised her, "He'll be alright, I think. We're-" She glared at Hiluluk, who shrunk from her gaze, "Merely voicing thoughts. I have a good feeling that he'll be alright, but he might change due to this affliction."
She and Hiluluk finished their examination, finally confirming their diagnosis of the man.
"He's been "cursed"."
Robin's eyes narrowed at the word, and Kureha didn't have to guess why she would.
"Now, I don't think I have to go and tell you what that means. I suppose you knew this, but you just wanted to make sure. Am I correct?" Kureha's piercing gaze scared Hiluluk a little, but Robin didn't even flinch.
"...Yes. I had a feeling that was what it was."
"As far as I can tell, he'll return to normal. At least, somewhat. The curse he has is special. It might affect his body, but over time, he'll get used to it. Until then, he might seem strange, or even a completely different person."
"I see..." Robin muttered, looking at the man who laid on the examination couch. He still seemed unresponsive to the world around him, and his fever still had not died down.
Kureha relaxed her stare, and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry, Robin. He'll be alright. After all, he's got such a beautiful young lady looking after him! If he doesn't get better, than he probably doesn't deserve someone like you!"
Robin, realizing that she was trying to cheer her up, smiled.
"Perhaps, but I feel as though I'm the unworthy one here."
Hiluluk, knowing that he had a few warnings to tell her, coughed, and by doing so he caught their attention.
"I have a small concern, Robin. Now, since he's made of rubber, you might notice that...certain acts may be...a little out of reach."
"Pardon?"
"Well...I mean, considering his circumstances, acts that a young couple in love such as yourselves might partake in...might bring amount a large amount of pain."
"What he means is, no sex."
"Gah! Why do you have to be so direct about that sort of thing?!"
"Why don't you have the balls to just say it!"
"If it's alright with you two, I'll just take my leave." Robin announced as she hefted Luffy back onto her shoulders, already putting one foot through the door as they argued.
They continued, as if they didn't notice her and she left. As she walked away, the two stopped fighting and smiled.
"I'm glad that she's finally found someone that she can rely on." Hiluluk sighed as relief swept through his body. He had been worried at first at the man's condition, but it was common for people to go through an "adjustment" period after they had been cursed.
"Still. Lucy?" Kureha didn't look convinced, "I think that boy is much more than he seems."
She watched Hiluluk pulled out a bottle from one of the cabinets along with a couple of glasses.
That would be for another time. They should celebrate their friend's happiness.
"Make sure that's the right bottle, fool. I don't want to die due to your mistake."
"I think I can tell the difference between a bottle of fine rice wine from ethenol. I don't suck that much."
After returning home, she made sure that Luffy was comfortable. It was regrettable, but she had to go to work. If she didn't, bad things would happen fast, and she didn't want Luffy to suffer due to her mistakes.
First, she had to clean up. Earlier, she had forgotten about her own needs as Luffy took precedence before her. It didn't take long for her to shower, and dress in a business suit that she always wore.
The trip to her office wasn't bad. She saw a few favorable co-workers and engaged in a little small talk. She wasn't the most social of people, but even she understood the necessity of maintaining good relations with people she didn't hate.
Of course, she had to also avoid a few select people. As an employee to the government, she had brushed against several former superiors as well as people who she had worked with in the past.
Grudges last a long time, and even if she hadn't directly crossed them, her reputation surely turned several people she would have preferred to not piss off against her.
Even worse, she was a woman. Many people had looked down at her due to her gender, despite her more than stellar performance in the field and in her office.
And others looked not down at her, but as if she was an object they could manipulate and even play with. Those unfortunate enough to not be well known were never heard from again, but those who had a higher position than hers were untouchable. The only way she could deal with them was to never confront them.
Finally reaching her office, she closed the door that held no name-tag on it in a secluded part of the Capital Building.
The Capital Building was in the center of the city. It was a very large, and very venerated building that the government used as a central hub for all of their activities. It was a place of trade, diplomacy, politics, and even the military used it to position their men all across the city so they could prevent total anarchy from enveloping the city.
Of course, it was also the place the government could use to hide all of their illegal activities. Things like assassinations, hacking, and subjugation of leaders would take place here.
Her office lights were turned on, and she would have turned them on if not for the shadowed figure sitting in her chair.
"Nico Robin. We have another assignment for you."
Without missing a beat, she took off her jacket and took the seat in front of her desk.
She never liked how her superiors sat in her chair. They always wanted to appear as though they held power over her and could do whatever they wanted.
In some ways, they did.
"You are to assassinate a certain right hand man in the North-West quadrant of the city." He put a folder on the desk, which she opened up. A picture of a man wearing a purple shirt, unbuttoned, and blonde hair smiled up at her.
"When do I-"
"Immediately." He interrupted her. The man held the air of impatience and arrogance as he got up, "We...appreciate your efforts to prevent the enemy from hacking into our servers. Of course, we don't understand completely why they would want the servers when they can't even access our harddrives, but then again, we don't usually question the motives of criminal scum."
Robin knew why they wanted the servers. The government regulated internet access and any communication device within the city, but if outside forces had taken a server, it would have been troublesome to shut the particular server down to prevent anyone from using it to transmit data to anyone else. Thousands, if not, hundreds of thousands of people would have lost access and the government would have another headache to deal with.
The one that tried to break in was very skilled. In fact, it had taken all of Robin's intuition and skill to even discover and repel the intruder. Whoever it was, they were not only intelligent, but they had the gall to even attempt such a thing, even if she was unable to discern the true identity and location of the hacker.
Even if this man didn't respect such courage, she did.
"...Understood. I'll prepare right away-"
"Oh...and just so you truly "understand"." The man leaned in closer and Robin had to resist the urge to destroy the man.
"Don't disappoint us. You don't want to end up like your traitorous mother now, would you?"
"...No, sir. My mother was a disgrace, and I will prove that I am different."
She could see the distrust and scorn in his eyes.
"Then get to it, Nico Robin."
He left in a hurry. She thought that he must have more important matters to attend to than hand out orders to their lap dog.
She got up and walked behind her desk. After unveiling the hidden compartment in the side, she felt disgust well up inside her as she thought of her circumstances.
She had learned early on that they didn't care about her. If she died, they would never acknowledge all that she had done for them. Not that she would want to be accredited with those horrible, and terrible things she had been forced to do.
Robin thought of Luffy and her heart felt lighter, and heavier at the same time. Would he love someone like her if he knew what she really was? A monster? A slave to his enemies?
She hoped he would never find out. Even if they were supposed to be enemies, he was the only one she would stand with, but for now...
The mask she took out of the compartment slid on, and the porcelain froze her skin.
Robin would kill her heart and do as she was told, if only to see that smiling face once again.
Hope you enjoyed!
Now, you might be thinking that "Some of these characters are OOC" or "OC" or whatever. I can't remember the lingo at the moment, but well, I don't even know how they act as they are. I thought I got close...