One Piece: Baby Blues
One Piece © Oda
Blizzard, Monkey D. Bellemere, and Roronoa Hanako © Me
Summary- Robin recalls a time when hers and Zoro's son, Hanako didn't like Luffy and Nami's daughter Belle: when she was just a baby. Future fic.
Another beautiful afternoon on the Thousand Sunny, home to the Straw Hat Pirates.
Not a sound was to be heard on said pirate ship. Well…except for the sound of two laughing children.
"You can't catch me, Belle!" called an 8-year-old Roronoa Hanako as he ran around the lawn deck from a 3-year-old Monkey D. Bellemere, or simply Belle for short.
"Oh, yes I will!" Belle called as she chased her best friend around. "Get back here!"
As the children laughed, the grownups sat in the galley together, enjoying each other's company.
Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy, chuckled as he listened to his daughter and "nephew" playing.
"It's amazing how those two can get along so well," Luffy said as he sat next to his beloved wife, Nami.
"Yeah," Nami agreed as she drank some jasmine tea. "Those two are almost like brother and sister."
"Actually, they didn't get along all the time," said Robin.
Everyone looked up at Robin in surprise.
"You're pulling my leg, right Robin?" Zoro asked.
"Yeah, as far as I know, Belle and Hanako got along all the time," said Chopper.
"Actually, I only remember this one time that Hanako actually couldn't stand Belle," Robin corrected.
"And when was this?" Brook asked.
Blizzard looked up too, tilting his head curiously.
"This actually happened a few weeks after Belle was born," Robin explained.
"Oh, right," said Zoro. "How could I forget that?"
Flashback; 3 years ago
The Thousand Sunny was abuzz with baby love fever. A few weeks ago, Nami had given birth to hers and Luffy's first child: a beautiful baby girl they had named Monkey D. Belle. Everyone on the ship immediately fell in love with the infant, including Hanako, who was five years old at the time. After Luffy and Nami, of course, he also had the privilege to hold the baby girl in his arms, and at first, everything seemed peaceful…
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH~!"
…or so everyone thought at first.
Ever since Belle was born, all she had ever done was cry. Sometimes, she was hungry, other times, she needed a fresh diaper, but mostly, she was just fussy.
Incredibly fussy.
"This is the price you pay when you become a parent," Robin said, jokingly.
Just then, Hanako, 5 years old, came out of his room with a piece of paper in hand, and the moment he saw his father, Zoro passing by, he immediately went up and pulled on his shirt to try and get his attention.
"Hey, Dad!" Hanako said. "Look! I made a drawing!"
Zoro opened his mouth to speak, but then he heard Belle wailing again.
"Uh, that's nice, Champ, but I gotta go help your Uncle Luffy and Aunt Nami with Belle," Zoro said before he walked off, heading to Luffy and Nami's room.
"Uh…okay," Hanako said. "You'll see it later, though, right?"
Zoro was too far out of earshot to hear his son, much to his disappointment.
"I…I guess that's a yes…or a maybe," Hanako said before he sighed.
Ever since Belle was born, he seemed to like her…at first, but then he suddenly found himself being ignored by his family…even by his own parents. Everyone was always rushing this way and that around the ship to get the baby girl something, such as a bottle or a clean diaper or a toy. Hanako just didn't understand why everyone was making such a fuss about it.
As far as he knew, the baby didn't seem as much fun as he first thought. First of all, she started following him wherever he went and tried to give him a hug, even though Hanako didn't really feel like giving her one. Also, she would sometimes innocently pull on his hair (which of course was very painful), and that seemed to make her dislike her even more than he did before.
The Straw Hats didn't fuss as much when he was a baby…at least that's what he believed.
"Why is everyone making such a big deal about Belle, anyway?" asked Hanako as he turned and went to his room…feeling very lonely.
XXX
Hanako sat in his room with Blizzard lying on the floor beside his bed, reading his favorite book: Legend of the Seven Samurai. The Thousand Sunny had recently docked at an island under Luffy's protection, and since Luffy and the others (except for Robin) were gone to collect their payment, he decided to stay in his room for now.
Just then, Hanako heard the door open, and he saw his mother enter…with a babbling baby Belle in her arms.
"Hi, Mom!" Hanako greeted Robin, happily, although his smile fell when he saw Belle. "What are you doing with Belle?"
"Oh, well, since her parents are out, I decided to watch her until they come back," said Robin.
"…but why?" Hanako asked.
"Hanako, you don't expect us to leave little Belle alone, do you?" asked Robin. "After all, we had to leave someone here to watch you when you were a baby."
Hanako huffed before he put his book down, and Belle couldn't help but notice.
"Hanako…is something bothering you?" Robin asked.
"Why is everyone making such a fuss about Belle, anyway?" asked Hanako. "How come everyone's paying so much attention to her, and not me? Even you and Dad have been ignoring me!"
"Oh, Hanako," Robin said as she gently pet her son on the head. "Just because your father and I stop paying attention to you doesn't mean we won't stop loving you."
"But still…why is everyone paying so much attention to Belle?" asked Hanako.
"Well, Hanako," Robin explained. "Babies take a lot of work to take care of. They need lots of food and attention, not to mention all the diapers that need to be changed. We were even busy when you were a baby."
"…" Hanako was silent, and Robin smiled.
"Hanako…can you at least try and give Belle a chance, sweetheart?" she asked.
"…I guess," Hanako replied.
Suddenly, RRIIIIP! The sound of ripping paper suddenly filled the air, and Hanako looked over and saw that Belle had gotten a hold on his book…and she was ripping the pages out!
"No!" Hanako cried as he tried to snatch the book away. He succeeded, but not without Belle ripping out another page.
"My book!" Hanako cried. "It's ruined!" He then turned and glared at the giggling infant.
"This was my favorite book!" the green-haired boy snapped. "Now what is my Mom gonna read me at bedtime?!"
"Hanako!" Robin scolded. "Don't snap at Belle! She didn't do it on purpose. She's just a baby."
"But Mom-" Hanako began, but Robin cut him off.
"I can always have Uncle Usopp tape the pages back up," Robin said as she took Belle away. "Now, I'll be right back. I have to give Belle her bottle, and then I have to put her to sleep for her nap."
With that, Robin left for the kitchen, taking Belle with her and leaving an irritated Hanako behind.
"…stupid baby," he grumbled.
Blizzard whimpered a bit out of concern and walked up to Hanako, gently nudging the boy's side and licking his face, which seemed to please him a little.
"Well…at least you care, don't you, Blizzard?" asked Hanako as he pet the wolf-dog on the head.
Of course I care, Blizzard thought. I'm just worried about how all this will turn out.
XXX
Later that afternoon, Luffy and the others returned in time for lunch. Today's meal: roast duck with a tangerine marinade and mashed potatoes on the side. Of course, since Belle was a baby, she only got mashed potatoes and some milk to drink on the side.
Hanako seemed pleased by this, because this meant that he could spend more time with everyone without Belle getting in the way…or so he thought.
As Hanako was preparing to take a bite out of his roast duck…SPLAT! A glob of mashed potatoes suddenly hit him in the forehead.
"Hey!" Hanako cried as he looked over to Belle, who giggled as she held up her spoon.
"Belle!" Nami scolded, despite chuckling. "How many times do I have to tell you that your food is for eating, not throwing."
"Ah, come on, Nami," Luffy said. "She's just being playful."
Hanako only grumbled before he tried to take another bite out of his food, but then, SPLAT! Another gob of mashed potatoes hit him in the nose, followed by more giggling, not just from Belle, but from Robin, Nami, Usopp, and even Blizzard. Hanako growled as he prepared to take another bite out of his food, but then, SPLAT! SPLORT! SPLOT! The boy was hit more flying globs of mashed potatoes, and soon, everyone burst out into laughter.
"MOM! DAD!" Hanako shouted. "MAKE HER STOP!"
"Hanako, calm down!" Zoro said.
"She's not doing it on purpose!" Robin added. "She's only playing!"
"But it's not funny!" Hanako retorted. "It's disgusting! Uncle Sanji, you should be mad, too, you know! I thought you said you don't like it when people throw food!"
"Belle's only a baby," Sanji argued. "She'll learn not to throw food when she gets older."
"But…but…!" Hanako said.
"Come on, Hanako," Robin said as she took her son to the bathroom. "Let's get your face washed."
"Thanks, Mom," Hanako said, obviously still upset.
XXX
After lunch, Hanako would later find that his day was going to get even worse. The boy came outside with his favorite soccer ball and found Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper out on deck, sitting in a circle.
Hanako smiled, eyes beaming with hope. He didn't see Belle anywhere, so maybe this was his chance!
"Uncle Luffy! Uncle Usopp! Uncle Chopper!" the boy called, gaining there attention.
"Oh, hey, Hanako!" Luffy said as he stood up and approached him and noticed the soccer ball in his hand. "Oh, perfect! You've got a ball! Just what we needed!"
"Really?" Hanako asked, eagerly.
"Yep!" Luffy said as he took the ball…and walked back to Usopp and Chopper. Hanako seemed confused at first…but that's when he spotted Belle, sitting in between Usopp and Chopper!
"Yay!" Belle cheered once she saw the ball.
"Now we can play catch with Belle!" Chopper said.
"But…but…I wanted to play soccer!" Hanako said.
"Hanako, we'd love to play soccer with you," Usopp began, "but we're playing catch with Belle right now."
"We'll play with you once Belle is tired enough to take her nap," Luffy said. "I promise, okay?"
"But…you said that before," Hanako said, sadly, "and you still didn't play with me! You were too tired!"
"Yeah, we know, Hanako," said Chopper, "but Belle tuckered us out."
"But in the meantime, you could play with Blizzard instead, okay?" Usopp asked.
Blizzard walked up to Hanako and licked his face, but all Hanako did was sigh as he watched his uncles roll the soccer ball around with Belle, who would occasionally pass it back with a little drool on it.
XXX
Later on, Hanako found someone else he could play with while Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper were busy playing with Belle: Nami! The two decided to play a little game of hide-and-seek, and right now, Nami was just about finished counting.
"98…99…100!" Nami declared as she uncovered her eyes. "Okay, Hanako! Ready or not, here I come!"
Just when the Pirate Queen was getting ready to go look for the Roronoa child…
"Oh, Nami~!"
Nami turned and saw Luffy…wearing a nose plug, and all she could was heave an exasperated sigh.
"Ugh, Luffy…don't tell me that Belle has a stinky diaper, again!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, so do you think you could…?" Luffy asked, hopefully.
"Luffy, I'm busy playing hide-and-seek with Hanako!" Nami said. "Can't you change Belle's diaper for me, just once?"
"Don't you remember the last time I tried to change her diaper?" Luffy questioned.
"…alright, I'll change her," Nami said, "but I gotta be quick!"
With that, Nami went to go and change Belle's diaper.
~40 minutes later~
"Ugh…" Nami groaned as she sat down in the Aquarium Bar for a rest. It took her a good while to change Belle's diaper, but after that, the baby girl got hungry, and of course things got a little messy, so Belle had to take a bath afterwards.
However, at that moment, she suddenly remembered something: she never went to look for Hanako!
In a slight panic, she quickly got out of her seat to go look for the boy in question, but then she found that there was no need…because he was standing right in front of her with a very irritated look in his eyes.
"…Aunt Nami," Hanako said. "You never came to find me! I was hiding underneath the kitchen sink for forty minutes!"
"H-Hanako, I know!" Nami said. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart! Why don't we play again, and this time you can be it!"
"Don't bother!" Hanako said as he turned and walked away. "It's too late to play anymore, anyway. It's almost dinner, and then I have to get ready for bed."
"Oh, Hanako," Nami said, her voice full of guilt.
XXX
Later that night, after dinner, Hanako was lying in bed with his mother at his side…with his favorite book all repaired, thanks to Usopp taping the pages back in. Blizzard also lied on the floor, waiting to hear the story.
"All right Hanako," Robin said. "Are you ready for your story?"
"Yes, Mom!" Hanako said, eagerly.
Finally, he thought. I have Mom all to myself.
Robin opened the book to the first page and began to read.
"Once upon a time," she read, "long, long ago, there was a sleepy little village in a-"
All of a sudden, Robin was interrupted by the sound of familiar wailing. She looked up in concern, but then she looked back at the book to try and keep reading.
"As I was saying," she said. "Once upon a time, there was a-"
Robin was once again interrupted by wailing.
"Oh, dear," she said with worry before she put the book down.
"W-wait, Mom!" Hanako said. "W-what about my story?"
"Hanako, I'm sorry, but I have to help your Aunt Nami and Uncle Luffy with Belle, first," said Robin. "She's always fussy when she has to go to sleep. I promise, I'll read you your story when I come back, okay?"
"…okay," Hanako said.
With that, Robin left to go help Nami and Luffy put Belle to bed. It was about a good hour-and-a-half when she came back to Hanako…but boy, did she look tired.
"Alright then," Robin said as she sat down and prepared to read the story to Hanako. "Once upon a…time…there was a…"
She stopped to let out a yawn.
"There was a village, Mom, remember?" Hanako asked. "You read this story to me almost every night!"
"Oh, Hanako, I'm sorry," said Robin, "it's just…I'm so tired after helping taking care of Belle all day." She then yawned again. "But…I can still read your story for you."
"No you're not."
Robin and Hanako looked up and saw Zoro, looking just as tired as the former.
"Dad?" Hanako asked.
"Hanako, look, can't you go to sleep without one story?" asked Zoro as he went over to Robin. "Your Mom and I are tired after helping your Uncle Luffy and Aunt Nami take care of Belle all day. We need to rest, and you should do the same."
"But…but Mom said-" Hanako said.
"I'm sorry, Hanako, but your Father's right," Robin said as she got up and followed Zoro out. "I'll read to you, tomorrow. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Champ," Zoro said.
"…goodnight," Hanako muttered.
With that, his parents walked out and headed to their room to retire for the night. Hanako sighed sadly as tears began to form in his eyes. Blizzard looked up at Hanako, whimpered and licked his face.
"It's not fair, Blizzard," Hanako said. "They're my Mom and Dad…so why is Belle taking them away from me?!"
She's not doing it on purpose, Blizzard thought. She's only a baby. They need lots of attention until they're older.
"If only I could talk to you like Uncle Luffy and Uncle Chopper can," said Hanako. "Well…goodnight, Blizzard."
With that, Hanako went to sleep…or at least he tried, because later through the night, he was awoken by Belle's wailing, again.
"Oh, come on~!" Hanako complained.
Blizzard moaned as he tried to cover his ears with his paws in an attempt to drown out the sound, and Hanako tried to do the same with his pillow, but so far…it didn't work.
~The next day~
11:24 am.
Hanako finally woke up later that morning after he had to sleep through most of the day, due to Belle's late night crying. However, when he went to the bathroom to brush his teeth…he was in for a bit of a surprise when he looked into the mirror.
"MOOOOOOOOM! DAAAAAAAAAAAD!"
Robin and Zoro, who were resting after helping put Belle to bed for a nap, suddenly awoke to see Hanako, standing in the doorway of their room…his face covered in various colorful scribbles.
"Look what Belle did to my face!" Hanako snapped.
"Oh, dear," Robin said.
"How did Belle even get out of her play pen?!" Zoro questioned.
"Mom, Dad, I've had enough of this!" Hanako said. "I don't want Belle here, anymore!"
Robin gasped at this.
"Roronoa Hanako!" she scolded, but not too loudly.
"You shouldn't say that!" Zoro added.
"Well, it's true!" Hanako said, his voice rising with anger. "She's done nothing but make me miserable ever since she was born!"
"Hanako, I thought you liked Belle," Robin said.
"I did, at first, but that's before I realized how much a pain she was!" Hanako argued.
"Look, Hanako, we know it's hard, but you're just gonna have to get used to her," Zoro said. "And, please, keep you voice down!"
"No!" Hanako snapped. "I will not keep my voice down! I'm tired of Belle always taking you guys away from me!"
"Roronoa Hanako, that's enough!" Robin snapped. "You're going to wake Belle up!"
"I don't care!" Hanako shouted. "She's always crying anyway, and she never stops! You guys keeping saying everything's gonna be okay, but they won't! NOT AS LONG AS THAT STUPID BABY IS HERE!"
Zoro and Robin gasped, and not long after this, they heard Belle wailing again, followed by Luffy and Nami complaining, as well.
"Zoro! Robin! Do something about your son!" Nami shouted from below the floor. "He just woke Belle up after we just put her to sleep!"
"Now we have to put her back to sleep, again!" Luffy added.
Zoro and Robin both glared at Hanako, who glared back at them.
"Roronoa Hanako…go to your room, right now!" Robin ordered.
"…fine," Hanako hissed…with tears forming in his eyes, much to his parents' shock. "You…you obviously love Belle more than you love me!"
"What?!" Zoro questioned. "Hanako, we don't-"
"Just forget it!" Hanako snapped before he turned and ran to his room.
Zoro and Robin glanced each other…suddenly feeling incredibly guilty.
XXX
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! Robin knocked on her son's door with Zoro standing beside her.
"Hanako?" Robin asked. "Can we come in?"
No answer.
"Well, you know what?" Zoro asked. "Too bad! We're coming in anyway!"
With that, Zoro opened the door, but when he did, he soon spotted Hanako…packing up a suitcase.
"Hanako, what are you doing?" Robin asked.
"I'm leaving," Hanako said. "You obviously don't want me around anymore. You'd probably like it better if Belle was here instead of me."
"Hanako, we never said we loved Belle better than you," Zoro said.
"I don't care!" Hanako said as he put his stuffed dragon, Ryu, into his suitcase. "You know that you're not Belle's mom and dad, but you keep going to her, anyway!" He sniffled as he said this.
A slight pause came.
"…Hanako?" Robin asked as she sat down on the bed. "Come here."
Even though he was very upset at his mother, Hanako complied and sat down on the bed next to her, and Zoro sat next to him.
"Hanako, we're so sorry," said Robin. "I guess we were busy helping your Aunt Nami and Uncle Luffy…we forgot to make time for you."
"It's not fair," Hanako said. "I mean…it was bad enough when she pulled on my hair, and ripped up my book, and threw her food at me, and kept me up at night with her crying, and scribbled on my face while I was sleeping…but then it got worse when you guys started ignoring me! That's when I had to put my foot down!" He wiped away a few tears. "I'm afraid that…with Belle around…you guys are gonna forget all about me!"
"Oh, Hanako," Robin said. "We could never forget you."
"Yeah," Zoro said. "We just had our hands full, Champ. We love you."
"You weren't acting like you loved me, earlier," said Hanako.
"Well, we were just irritable because we were so tired from trying to put Belle to sleep," Robin said. "It's not easy, you know."
"Yeah," Zoro said. "You used to be the same way, you know, always crying and keeping us awake."
"I don't remember that," Hanako said.
"Of course you don't," Robin said. "You were only a baby, just like Belle…and you know what?"
"What?" asked Hanako.
"Even though you've grown a little, you're still our baby to us," Zoro said as he gave Hanako a hug.
"That's right," Robin said, also hugging her beloved son, "and you always will be."
"…I love you guys," Hanako said with a smile.
"And we love you, too, kiddo," Zoro said.
Just then, Brook came in, clearing his throat.
"Err, pardon my interruption," the skeleton said, "but I do believe that Mister Luffy and Miss Nami are in need of your assistance, Mister Zoro and Miss Robin! It appears that young Miss Belle is in a bit of distress, once again!"
"Again?" Zoro asked. "What could be wrong, this time?!"
"We better go see," Robin said as she and Zoro got up to follow Brook.
"Wait!" Hanako exclaimed. "Uh…c-can I come, too? I wanna try and help!"
Zoro and Robin glanced at each other, but then they smiled.
XXX
In Luffy and Nami's room, everyone has gathered inside, trying to get a crying Belle to settle down, but nothing seemed to be working. Not even a funny face from Luffy seemed to work!
"I don't understand!" Luffy said, obviously frustrated. "We just fed her and burped her!'
"We checked to see if she had a messy diaper!" Chopper chimed in.
"I even made her that little mobile to put over her crib!" Franky added.
"Well, whatever's wrong with her, I hope we find out soon!" Nami said, rocking Belle in her arms. "I'm losing my hair, over here! Literally!"
Belle suddenly reached up and yanked on her mother's hair, causing her to yell in pain.
"Ouch, ouch! Belle, let go of Mommy's hair, please!" Nami cried.
Just then, Zoro, Robin, and Hanako came rushing in.
"What's wrong with Belle, this time?!" Robin asked loudly.
"We don't know!" Luffy replied. "We've tried just about everything!"
Hanako looked up at Belle, who continued to cry, but then she spotted him…and almost instantly, her tears ceased, much to everyone's surprise. Then, out of nowhere, she started squealing and giggling, and reaching her tiny hands out to Hanako.
At that moment, Robin seemed to finally understand.
"Nami," Robin said. "Give Belle to Hanako."
"Uh…okay," Nami said as she handed Hanako the baby girl. Hanako reached up and took Belle into his arms, and soon, Belle started to relax.
"Well, I'll be," said Luffy with a smile.
"I don't believe it," said Usopp. "All this time…she just wanted Hanako."
Belle suddenly let out a yawn and rested her head against Hanako's chest, much to everyone's adoration.
"Okay…that's cute," said Sanji.
"Yeah…for once, I agree with you, dartboard," Zoro agreed.
Hanako then went over to put the snoozing Belle in her crib, making a soft hum, and Luffy walked up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"She really is a sweet, Uncle Luffy," said Hanako. "You should really be proud."
"I am," said Luffy.
"And we're proud of you, too, Champ," said Zoro as he pet his son on the head.
"Well, I realized that a baby takes a lot of work," said Hanako, "and Aunt Nami and Uncle Luffy need all the help they can get…right?"
"That's right," Robin answered.
"And you know what else, Hanako?" Nami asked. "When a family gets bigger…our hearts get a little bigger…so there's plenty of love for everybody."
Hanako smiled before he went and hugged Nami, who returned his embrace, and everyone soon joined in the hug, together.
Flashback end
"BWWAAAAAH~!" Franky bawled. "What a touching story~! I'm not crying, you jerks!"
"Wow," Nami said. "Now that you mention it, that does sound familiar."
"I'm just glad everything worked out good in the end," Luffy said. "I mean…we didn't mean to ignore Hanako THAT much."
"I'm just glad that everything turned out okay in the end," said Chopper.
"I'm glad it did, too!"
Everyone turned and saw Belle and Hanako, standing in the doorway.
"How long have you two been standing there?" Luffy asked.
"Long enough," Hanako answered.
"You used to not like me, Hanako?" Belle asked her big brother.
"Well, I got used to you pretty quick, after that," said Hanako. "Besides, it's like your mom said: when a family gets bigger, your hearts get bigger, too, so that there's more love for everyone!"
Belle smiled before she hugged Hanako, who hugged her back, and the grownups soon came and pulled them into a loving embrace as well. A new edition to a family always takes some getting used to, but as Nami and Hancock had said…there's always enough love for everyone.
THE END
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