Hello! :D Chapter 20 man! :O I didn't expect it to be this long… but I guess it is lol! And sorry for the wait… Well here's the next chap!
Chapter 20:
Akane laid in her bed, full of thoughts. After what Law said Luffy made everyone get out, including himself, and her nakama left her alone for a while. Though, she could hear the whispers on the other side of the door. She turned to the side and sighed for the 3rd time- what Law said after everyone left caught her interest even more; after she told them where they were he told her that they were actually really close.
"The log pose sets in about 2 more days- which is enough for you to come here." Law explained. "I will wait no longer than that Miss Akane." He stated and then hung up.
"He said that I could meet my father…?" She turned once again to the other side of the bed. "But then Law said that he's the one who killed my 'mom'… I'm so confused in what to do!" She buried her head in the covers and screamed in anger.
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Everyone jumped at the sound of the scream from Akane. "Wh-What do we do? She seems really bothered about this…." Chopper questioned everyone.
"What could we do? It's her problem…." Usopp sighed.
"But still, we could help! I mean we all help each other when we're in trouble, right?! So why not now?!" The reindeer cried out.
"Doctor-san. This is different." Robin explained, sighing.
"Oh she'll be fine!" Luffy interrupted, clapping his sandals together.
"Luffy? What are you talking about?" Nami asked confused.
"Weellll this is Akane we're talking about! Just watch! She'll come out here soon and act like nothing happened at all!"
"Oh my poor Akane-chwan…." Sanji sniffed. "I'm going to make her favorite food!" He jumped up and ran towards the kitchen.
"So what do you plan we should do, Strawhat?" Franky questioned.
"I just told you Franky! She's gonna be fine! Just act normal!" The captain assured everyone.
"I don't know Captain-san…. It seems much worse than that…." Brook disagreed.
"Just leave her alone." Zoro interrupted, making everyone turn their heads.
"What would you know?! You just joined!" The navigator snapped.
"Nami…." Usopp sweat-dropped.
"I think Bushido-san and Captain-san are right. If we just act like nothing happened and not talk to her about it, it should be fine." Robin agreed.
"I think we're thinking too much about this!" Luffy declared. "It's Akane! Don't worry!"
"Luffy….."
Page break~
After an hour or so, Akane stepped out of the room. She wasn't surprised at all from everyone's behavior though. They were doing their own things like usual- Luffy, Chopper and Usopp were playing cards, Nami was sunbathing along with Robin, Zoro was sleeping, Franky was building something in a corner, Brook was playing the violin, and seeing as Sanji wasn't around he was probably cooking. She smiled weakly and went towards the kitchen to get a drink. After she closed the door to the kitchen everyone, excluding Zoro and Robin, went towards the kitchen and opened the door slightly in interest.
"I-Is this okay?" Chopper whispered.
"Shhh!" Usopp put a finger over his mouth.
"AKANE-CHWAN! I MADE YOUR FAVORITE FOOD!" Sanji spun around.
"Thanks Sanji." She replied with her normal expression, much to the relief of the cook. "I'll eat later though. It's still pretty early, right?"
"Whatever you please!"
The first-mate chuckled and grabbed a drink from the fridge. She then turned and left the cooking place, while everyone quickly went back to what they were doing; though she left the door of the kitchen open. But of course, the girl already noticed them in the kitchen and began to laugh lightly. "Hey guys!" She called out. "The next island is where Law is… so I'm going to meet up with him there and then go to that woman's grave. Okay?" She simply stated and walked away- back into the woman's quarters.
"That was pretty surprising…" Usopp gasped.
"I told you!" Luffy laughed.
"I-Is this okay?" Chopper gulped.
Page break~
The crew had finally reached the island and they all went ahead, leaving Akane and Zoro- who was the lookout- at the ship for now. "Aren't you going to go?" Zoro questioned.
"What? You actually heard? I thought you were asleep…."
"I was half-asleep."
"Oh. Yeah I'm going to go… soon enough…."
"What's the big deal anyway?" Zoro asked, confused. "You don't even remember her so why does it matter?"
"That's not the problem Zoro." Akane sighed. "He's here too…."
"He? Who? Your dad?"
"Yeah…"
"And…?"
"He's the one who killed my mom!" Akane blurted out. "He's beaten me to a pulp- and I figured out my mom ran away from him trying to save the both of us- but then she had no choice but to leave me in the middle of the snow. She hoped that someone would find me and of course Shanks did. But after that, that bastard… killed her." She explained, sighing.
"….." Zoro didn't know what to say but sigh once again. "So is he in jail?"
"No. According to Law, they needed proof that it was him. And since there wasn't any proof- he's still roaming around like the drunkard he is."
"Ok so just kick his ass." Zoro simply stated. "You're fists are urging just to hit him right?" He noticed.
"Zoro…. You-"
"I don't see the big deal." He crossed his arms and yawned. "Sure, he beat the shit out of you- and killed your mother- but you're alive now. And you have Shanks and Makino right? They're your parents- not that bastard. And then there's Luffy, Chopper, Usopp, Nami, Franky, Brook, Robin, that ero-cook, and- well-there's the rest of us here too."
"Zoro!" Akane's eyes widened in realization.
"Ah?"
"You're the best! I just thought of what I'm gonna do!"
"Ah?!" He repeated.
"Thanks!" She patted his back and ran off.
"What the hell!?"
Page break~
Akane ran towards the location Law had texted her- after a while of searching she finally found him. "Oi Law!" She called out, waving her hand. He turned around not surprised and walked towards her quietly.
"I knew you would come Miss Akane." He smirked.
"Yeah, yeah. Shut up!" She mumbled. "So… where is it?"
"First I want you to see him." Law told her.
"Oi wait a minute!" Akane stopped him. "I want to see the grave first!"
"Ah?" Law narrowed his eyes. "No one tells me what to do, Miss Akane."
"I know, I know! But I feel like if I see the grave first, then I can beat the shit outta that asshole!" She explained, smirking. Law looked at her surprised but then smirked.
"Very well."
Page break~
Akane stood at the grave of her mother. Her face was expressionless and she just stared at the stone. "So this is where she is…?" Akane sighed once again.
Meanwhile, Law, who was standing behind her, eye's twitched. "How long is she going to stand there?!"
Suddenly an unknown voice called the girl, "M-Mizuno?!" Akane turned around confused to see a man in about his 30s. Somehow he looked like her- black hair, brown eyes, kind of tan- and pretty tall. The man ran towards the first-mate and dropped the flowers in his hand; he placed his arms on her shoulder. "M-Mizuno!? That's you right?!"
"Ah?!" Akane shoved his arms away in horror. "Who the hell are you?!"
"Y-You're Mizuno aren't you?! Don't pretend!" The man demanded.
"Mizuno?! Who the hell-"
"Oh I see." Law interrupted walking towards the two in amusement. "I never thought the possibility of this."
"Eh? Law… is this man… my father…?!"
"Of course not." Law shook his head.
"You're Mizuno aren't you?!" The man repeated.
"Shut up!" She snapped. "Lemme listen to him!"
"E-EH?! Mizuno?!"
"Relax Miss Akane." Law half chuckled. "This man isn't your father but…. Since you look exactly like him… and I heard you looked exactly like your mother… I'm guessing this is your uncle. Besides, I do remember someone mentioning that your mother name was Mizuno."
Akane's eyes widened along with her 'uncle's. They both looked at each other for a while until her uncle teared up. "Y-You're my niece?!" He hugged her immediately, crying for a while. "I-I went and looked for you for so long! Before your mom died, she told me to look for you! You don't know how many months I searched!"
"E-Eh?!" Akane blurt out as she was suffocated from the hug.
Page break~
After Akane's uncle settled down a bit, the three decided to go to a café. "You're name's Akane now?!" He questioned, surprised.
"Eh? Now?"
"Yeah, your name was Misaki before… your mother named you." He smiled sweetly.
"Eh…so what's your name…?" Akane questioned awkwardly.
"You can call me Uncle Neji!" He smiled, pointing to himself and then sighed. "But Mis-no Akane… you don't know how worried I was about you. That bastard…. What he did is unforgivable. I'm still trying to get him arrested somehow- but he's smart." Uncle Neji put his hands on his head and took a deep breathe. "To be honest, when I was looking around for you…. I was so afraid that a pirate would've found you."
"E-Eh?!" Akane blurt out, sweat-dropping while a laugh escaped out of Law's mouth.
"Yeah. You see your fa-no I can't even call him that. That bastard was a part of a nasty pirate crew and he could come rarely. I stayed with you and your mother- your mother was the best sister in the world." He smiled weakly. "But one day he came all drunk and angry 'cause his crew got beaten and only he managed to escape. That's when he went crazy and your mother decided to run away. I only regret that I wasn't there at that time, I was at my job."
"So that's what happened." Akane drifted away from the talk about the pirates, but it came anyway.
"So what were you doing this whole time?! Who helped you?! I feel like a whole weight has been lifted off my shoulders!"
"What… have… I…. been… doing….?" Akane repeated. "It seems like he didn't see my wanted poster… what do I do?! I don't have the heart to tell him I DID get taken up by a pirate… but it's Shanks!" The girl turned to Law who was trying his best not to laugh any more. She looked at him with a pleading look but his reply was a shrug and a smirk. "You bastard." She mouthed.
"Yeah! I want to catch up! It's too much of a coincidence!"
"Uh well… this guy picked me up and raised me…. He took care of me really well! And then I made a lot of friends and… we're on a trip for school!" She told him nervously.
"Ehhh…. That's quite an easy summary." He chuckled. "So I'm guessing this guy is one of your friends from the trip? And who picked you up? I'd love to get in contact with them and thank them!"
"What the hell?! I understand why he's doing this… but he's too nosy!" Akane twitched her eyes and twirled her hair around her finger. "Uh you see…. This guy here isn't really important so don't worry about that." She shrugged off Law who glared back. "As for the man who took care of me… he's really busy! He doesn't have time to answer my phones!"
"Eh?! Th-Then you must've been s-s-so lonely…." Akane's uncle sunk into depression. "It's because I didn't find you…"
"EH?! No! That's not the case!" Akane assured. "I have a mother too!"
"Y-You do?!" His head shot up in angst. "How is she?! Can I talk to her?! Was she kind?!"
"Of course she was!" Akane assured. "Ah- but she doesn't like electronics so she doesn't carry them around…." She lied.
"Ooh not bad Miss Akane." Law chuckled once again while this time Akane glared at him. She HATED lying.
"Oh that's too bad. So, what about your other friends? Are they around?"
"Eh? Well they're probably looking around-" Just as she said that familiar voices called her name.
"AKANE!" The girl cursed to herself and turned to see everyone, even Zoro, walking towards her.
"SHIT! Even though he doesn't know me, he definitely knows Luffy! For sure!" She shook her head unnoticeably and mouthed for them to go away, but being the dull captain that Luffy was, he just kept coming towards them.
"Who's that guy?" Luffy questioned with meat in his mouth.
"Luffy, you idiot!"
To be continued! Whoa, surprised? Me too! :O Somehow I just added an uncle…. Lol well until next time! :D