A/N: Soooooo it's been a while guys :P I'm sorry, but as always (recently), it's been pretty busy. We've finally gotten some more staff, so hopefully my shifts will be downsizing, which means - DUN DADADAAAAAAAA -more time for writing!
Hopefully.
I've missed you guys. So much. So, so very much. Your reviews really cheer me up, and it just sucks that I can't give you what you guys deserve so dearly. More to read, and I'm really glad that you're not all banging on my door demanding more, because I don't do well under pressure.
I mean, yeah, it takes me a few hours to throw together a chapter, but by the time I get home, it's late, and all I want to do is read manga, do my homework and go to sleep. Somehow, I need to manage my time better though, because I DOOOOO want to write more.
I have so much to say about everything, that I have no idea where to begin. You probably don't even want to hear my rants. But I DOOOOO have a negotiation?
So I mentioned in a chapter (I'm not sure if it was a one-shot or a multi-chapter story) about a certain piece I wanted you to go and vote for [[[[[It's called "Sorry" and the link is as such: http : / figment . com /books/127801 (without spaces), or, it's on my profile]]], but only one person went and actually voted. (Thank you, ShadowontheWall. Much appreciated :3) I reaaaaaalllllly need your help with this, you guys. So here's the negotiation:For every 5 hearts (votes) that i receive, and messages on my message board (not on the actual story comments themselves saying "I came here from fanfiction. Hope you wiiiin~~~~!" Or something along those lines (because, how else am I gonna know?) I'll get you out another chapter! Promise! The prize money is something I could reeeeaaaaalllllly use, and maybe I could put it towards getting published. I mean, how cool would that be?
So whadaya say? :3 Please? Pleasssse? Pretty please? :(
I mean, it's a two minute read, plus the two minutes it takes to sign up for the site (it's free~). And if you guys have any personal stories you want read, send them my way! It's an awesome site, and if you just use to to vote for me, that's just fine and dandy. It'll TOTALLY and COMPLETELY make my day.
Anyway, enough about that, I'll let you get to the chapter now. Lots of love, you guys. I'll try to keep the chapters coming, but motivation works, right? :P
Chapter 10
Back in my room, I stared out the window. Nami, Franky and Harumi hadn't forced me to go in there, but strongly suggested it. I rested my hand over my stomach, quietly waiting as they prepared to pull away from the shore.
It hadn't taken a long time to explain what had happened. How I had avoided the Marine's and had run through the forest –how I was still the master of evading them, even while being pregnant.
I sighed, looking down at my growing belly. This was my fault. I had gotten us into this. With my insistence on exploring the towns, exploring the islands –I had gotten us into this.
"This is my fault," Nami muttered, walking into the room.
"No, it's not," I told her. There was a part of me that wished I could blame someone else, but in the end, Nami was in the same situation I was, with Luffy captured, all intentions of making sure I was safe.
But I was safe. And I would have been able to explain that to Zoro if I hadn't fallen out of the tree. He would have known if I hadn't kept my excursions from him in the first place. Or if I had never left his side in the first place.
"We'll get them back," Nami said, coming to my side. "We may not be as strong as Luffy, Zoro and Sanji, but we have Franky, we can do this. Hell, when we get there, they'll probably have the Marines all knocked down and wondering what took us so long. Especially when they find out that you're not really captured."
"Do you think that they'll let Zoro get close enough to see the truth?" I said bitterly.
"You're pregnant and supposedly in danger –he'll demand to see you."
A part of me knew she was right.
"Just the same, I don't think he'll do anything to put 'you' in danger," she murmured as she walked away. She sighed. "This would be so much easier if we had Luffy here."
It'd be easier if everyone was here.
But the life of a pirate was never easy.
Why should the life of a pregnant one be any different?
Zoro
Luffy let out a heavy breath. He was frowning deeply, staring at his cuffs. His skin was pale, and he looked like he had no energy. Which was only natural. They were Seastone, after all.
"This is stupid," Sanji muttered.
"Shut up," I growled back.
"This is your fault for not watching over her properly!" Sanji spat back at me. "Now Robin-chwan is captured. Maybe cold, and starving. And I'm not there to feed her! And it's –"
"Stop it!" Usopp spoke loudly, reaching over to Brooke, who sat there motionless with the Seastone cuffs resting against his boney body. "It's no one's fault. No one could have predicted this!"
Usopp slipped the cuffs off of Brooke, tossing them aside.
"So what are we going to do?" Chopper asked weakly.
"Wait for Nami and Franky to show up to escape," Luffy said quietly. "In the meantime, we need to get to the other ship and save Robin."
"We need to save Robin," Chopper agreed. "Stress isn't good for her body. I'm sure just being with us would relieve that stress even a little."
"She wouldn't be stressed out if Zoro –"
"Stop," Luffy said. "If it's anyone's fault, it's mine and Nami's. We were the ones that were with her, that couldn't protect her properly."
Silence.
"Say something, Zoro."
I didn't speak. I didn't want to blame Luffy. I couldn't blame him. Because he was strong enough to protect her, I knew he was. It was just dumb luck that had gotten her captured. I was sure of it. So it wasn't his fault.
But it was mine. Had I been smothering her to the point where all she wanted was to escape?
Was Sanji right?
No. Impossible. For that curly brow to have any ounce of knowledge on a realistic situation was a crazy assumption.
Besides, did it matter whose fault it was so long as we got Robin back?
Robin
I headed out to the deck, no longer caring for the restrictions that had been set for my safety. As I approached Nami and Franky at the helm, Nami glanced up at me. She watched me for a moment before turning her face back out to the ocean. Franky did the same. Maybe they understood my reasons. Or maybe they figured the danger wasn't quite here yet.
I walked past them, to the bow of the ship, leaning on the railing and watching as we broke from the bay and into the rougher waters of the sea.
"We need to cut them off before they get too far away from the island," Nami looked at Franky. "Once they're out of sight, they're gone until we can locate a log pose that will lead us to the Marine base. And on top of that, we have to take into account that they might separate all of them and place them at different bases."
"But in that case, it'll be easier for them to escape since they won't have the fear of hurting Robin –"
"Unless they set up a stable line between the bases, establishing that even if one of them makes a move to escape, fake Robin's going to get hurt," Nami interrupted. "We just need to establish that the Robin on their side isn't the real Robin. From there, I think the boys can handle escaping on their own."
"Except for the Seastone –"
"That's what Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji are for," Nami shrugged. "Seastone has no effect on them."
"And all Zoro needs to do is get a sword and then nothing is unable to be severed," Franky nodded. He turned the helm hard to starboard. I braced myself against the railing, closing my eyes, only opening them when the ship started moving straight once again.
"I see them," Nami said. "Coup de Burst, Franky. Robin, get over here."
I did as I was told, sitting in the seat in front of the helm. Nami sat on the edge, bracing herself around me to ensure that I wouldn't be jostled with the power of the maneuver. I gripped the bottom of the seat with one hand. It wouldn't be an all-or-nothing Coup de Burst, but it still made us go flying when the ship launched itself through the air. All we needed was to close the distance just a little bit. Then the paddles could take care of the rest.
I braced myself for the launch, my other hand going to my stomach.
A small sigh escaped my lips as I mentally sent a note to the ever-growing child inside of me.
We'll get back your father. I promise.
Somewhere on the Marine's ship
"Wow~ she looks exactly like her!" one Marine exclaimed. "The same outfit and everything."
"You did all this with just a glance of her?" another Marine asked.
"All I need is a glance," Robin –or, rather, a woman with Robin's face –spoke, as if they were all idiots for not knowing such a simple- fact. "After all, the Moso Moso fruit has bestowed me great powers."
The illusion faded, and Robin's face grew slightly older, her face widening ever so slightly and her dark eyes turning a brilliant blue. Her lips thinned, her hair lightened, until a girl no older than thirty-five stood before them.
"Can you do it? Make them believe that you're the real deal?" Lieutenant Hiro asked.
"I can do this," Mari responded. "I can convince the lot of them! I could convince the largest fleet to roam the New World!"
"Don't get too cocky, Mari," Hiro scolded her. "Not only is Robin their nakama, but she and one of the men are in a sinful relationship. Producing pirate spawn. What you know, knew, haven known about Nico Robin is a completely different story when you're faced with the pirates that have somehow managed to get her onto their crew."
"I'm not being cocky," Mari glared up at her superior. "I can do this."
"We'd be better off just letting them believe that Nico Robin is on the other ship," one of the other Marine's spoke up. "It'll leave less room for flaws and mistakes."
"But eventually they'll demand to see her anyway," Mari countered. "If we make it a short visit, a guard watching over the situation and then 'forcing' me to leave when things get complicated, I think we'll be okay."
"There's no guarantee that it'll work though," the Marine spoke up again.
"There's no guarantee about anything," Hiro muttered, bringing out a cigarette, lighting it and bringing it to his lips. He exhaled slowly, the smoke rising before disappearing into the air. He sighed, "At least, we can't guarantee anything about the Straw hats."
The room was silent for a moment.
He sighed again, "Mari. You're in there. We'll take the risk this time."
As he walked away, the Marine turned to Mari –"It's all on you if you mess this up."
"I won't mess up," Mari said firmly. Her features faded and she once again became Robin. "Because my disguises are flawless."
Brooke
The most difficult thing with Seastone was the fact that you lost all your power the moment it touched your skin.
BUT I had no skin for it to touch! Yohoho!
But it still had an effect, so I could do nothing but hover above and around my body until Usopp removed the cuffs from my boney wrists.
"How are you feeling?" Chopper asked me.
"I have nothing to feel with! Yohoho!" I chuckled.
"He's fine."
"He's fine."
"He's fine."
"Shishishi."
"He's fine." They all agreed.
"So –"
There was the sound of the lock turning, and I made my body go limp. Usopp grabbed the Seastone cuffs, hiding them behind his back.
"Get in there," one of the Marine's growled, kicking someone in.
Robin fell to the floor, her hand instantly going to her stomach to protect it.
"Robin!"
"Robin-chwan!"
Luffy and Zoro were a bit more reserved with their greetings.
"Take a look at her boys, because this is the last glance you'll see of her until, perhaps, the day you die," the Marine laughed maliciously.
Zoro glared at him, then his gaze settled on Robin. She held her cuffed hands against her stomach, avoiding everyone's gazes.
"It's not your fault, Robin-chwan~!" Sanji said, sensing it immediately. "It's dumbass's fault for not taking better care of you!"
The vein in Zoro's temple looked ready to burst as he turned to Sanji and half-growled, "Don't you know how to shut up, love-cook."
"Don't you know how to take care of your child?" Sanji spat back.
All the while, Luffy remained silent.
"Brooke," Usopp got my attention. "Get rid of the Marine."
"I'm supposed to be dead," I whispered back.
"You're dead no matter how you look at it," Usopp muttered.
"YOHOHO!" I exclaimed, jumping to my feet. "You're right!"
In an instant I was by the Marine, who was surprised by my sudden shout, and perhaps the fact that a skeleton was standing and moving ever-so-lively. I grabbed his sword, tossing it to Zoro as he got to his feet to shout at Sanji. He didn't hesitate to catch it, and with nothing more than a fierce gaze and the blade in his hand, the Marine paled and in an instant put the door between us and him, locking it behind him with the solid click.
Robin, too, was pale, her hands clenched in fists. She looked like she was going to be sick. In an instant, Zoro was there beside her, making sure she was all right.
"Did they do anything to you?" he asked her, while Chopper checked her over.
"I'm fine," she murmured. "Just nauseous."
"They didn't do anything?" Zoro verified.
"They threatened, but nothing happened," Robin looked up. "I promise."
He searched her gaze for a long moment. The entire scene was so heart-wrenching –that is, if I had a heart!
"Isn't this great, Luffy?" I looked down at him.
Luffy only looked up at me, that unsettling frown set on his face.
"Who's she?"
A/N: On a side note, completely different than above, I have no idea how Haki effects the... effects of Seastone cuffs and the like. So until further notice, Luffy remains weak-ish. So does Chopper, and so on and so forth. If you actually know (and can prove it?), then please bring it to my attention :P
Also, I won't be responding to reviews that I haven't responded to already this time around. It's just been so long, I wouldn't know where to begin. I promise to start replying more immediately from now on. Gomenasai~! But I dooooooo really appreciate them all, and it really makes me smile to read them. So from now on, I'll DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY DEFINITELY respond. Promise. Promise promise promise. Because I need to shape up and balance everything, and if I don't make the effort it'll never get done. It's an awakening, you guys. Feel free to bask in the light as I shine ;)
But seriously, please vote for me (insert cutesy heart here)