Chapter 1

She plays a game with the blue haired dancing wonder...

(Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece)


Tonight you're mine, completely. You give your love so sweetly…

Tonight the light of love is in your eyes. But will you love me tomorrow?

She made the first batch of coffee for the day. The sun was finally out after a few straight days of rain and she looked forward to finally getting around to planting her early spring flowers. She smiled while she watched the coffee pot, waiting anxiously for her first fix of the day. She looked over at the bed, he looked like a big lump underneath all those thick covers. He was a big and intimidating man during the day to begin with, why should his presence be perceived otherwise while asleep?

Is this a lasting treasure or just a moment's pleasure?

Can I believe the magic of your sighs?

Will you still love me tomorrow?

He had a bad habit of snoring, quite loudly on top of it. It was no surprise actually, seeing how much he smoked on average. She would have to air out her apartment today, she could still smell the foul stench wherever she walked. Normally she doesn't allow him to smoke inside her apartment, but last night was their three month anniversary and they had gotten quite drunk. Too drunk to even remember just exactly what happened last night actually. She acts so unlike herself when he's around, she's starting to wonder if he's her "rebellious phase". She normally did everything possible to avoid trouble.

She doesn't know how they could have possibly lasted three whole months, when she never intended for it to go past the first week. He seemed sketchy to her from the start. The way he dresses, his other entity as "Crocodile", the seemingly endless pool of money and how he'd always have an ape or two tag along with them whenever they go out. She was definitely not her usual cautious self and it was working on her last nerve. Was this behavior a secret cry for help? Is she secretly yearning for parents to nag and tell her how he's bad news? How she could do better?

She shook her head at the stupid thoughts and poured herself a cup of coffee to bring her back to cruel reality. There were no parents. There were never any parents. Besides her few good friends, she was alone.

Tonight with words unspoken… You say I'm the only one.

But will my heart be broken when the night meets the morning sun?

I have to know that your love is a love I can be sure of. So tell me now, and I won't ask again.

Will you still love me tomorrow?

The radio was playing softly in the background. When her alarm went off this morning he hadn't moved a muscle, still snoring away, but yet the sound of Ben E. King singing oddly enough got him stirring.

"Oi! Will you please shut off that racket already?! Damnit!"

She frowned at him. She disliked it when he was rude. He was a rude and vulgar man, so what did she expect? So why did she associate herself with him again?

Tonight the light of love is in your eyes. But will you lo-

She shut off the radio and walked right out into her little backyard, slamming the sliding door shut behind her. She could hear his swearing from her bedroom, it wouldn't surprise her if her neighbors could hear it as well. The cool and crisp morning air was refreshing, it didn't matter that she was only wearing a robe. The warmth of the sun made up for the cold air. She sipped her coffee and leaned against the wall of her apartment. This was what she needed, a moment to herself, just a moment. She closed her eyes and started to let the euphoria of life sink in.

"Robin… ROBIN. Where the hell are you?!"

That didn't last long…

She rolled her eyes and took another slow sip of her coffee. She cautiously eyed the sliding door, waiting and seeing if he was going to come out any time soon. Or if he was going to keep yelling like a lunatic in her apartment. She waited in silence for a moment longer before it became clear to her that he had picked the latter. Lunging her body forward, she strolled casually toward the sliding door and faced the mess that was her life head on. She kept a straight face when she found him still in bed. It didn't look like he had moved an inch, or that he was planning on moving any time soon.

"Hey, I was calling you. You hear me?" He said while sitting upright, the scars on his chest no longer covered by the sheets.

"I didn't." She answered nonchalantly and took a sip while her eyes looked around her bedroom. Clothes everywhere, her precious books knocked off her desk, his cigar box and lighter on her bedside table next to a few lines of cocaine. Her head twitched and she choked on her coffee as her brain processed what her eyes had just witnessed. Cocaine? Why was there cocaine in her apartment?

"What's wrong with you?" He asked when her coughing ceased and she regained some composure. His eyes went over to where hers was and spotted his cigar box.

"Finally found it. You mind if I light one up?" It didn't seem like he intended to wait for her answer since he already had a cigar in his mouth and was playing with the lighter trying to get the thing to light up. Whatever composure she had regained was lost the minute her eyes caught sight of the lines of white powder again. Horrified, she clutched her robe tightly and headed straight for the bathroom, ignoring his yelling at her for her to come back. She inspected herself in the mirror and checked her pupils for signs of cocaine use, even if there was no possibility of her still being high at this hour. She shook her head and turned on the shower, quickly disrobing and started scrubbing herself clean. She barely heard him knocking on her bathroom door.

"Will ya relax? You didn't snort anything last night, so calm the hell down."

She didn't answer him, but after getting out of the shower she wrapped herself in a towel and put on the same expressionless mask she always did. She finally addressed him when she opened the door and saw him in her tiny kitchen.

"I have to go to work, so please leave and please take 'that' with you if you would be so kind."

She turned and headed straight for her walk-in closet, grabbing her phone and dragging along its cord on the way, not planning on coming out until she was certain he was out of her apartment.

"Hey Nami, sorry for calling so early but would you like to go shopping? Yeah right now…"


Risin' up back on the street. Did my time, took my chances.

Went the distance now I'm back on my feet. Just a man and his will to survive...

His boomblaster was at full volume as the crowd of kids cheered him on, some were joining him as he danced to the most popular song on the radio at the moment. It looked like they were all having fun, enjoying the music. Not a care in the world…

It's the Eye of the Tiger,it's the thrill of the fight. Rising up to the challenge of our rival.
And the last known survivor
stalks his prey in the night.And he's watching us allwith the Eye of the Tiger.

Just 10 minutes ago he was collecting cardboard boxes and piling them up on his little cart. From her seat on the patio of the coffee shop across from the crowd, she peered at him secretly every time she took a sip of coffee from her mug. He was no doubt the colorful character who liked feeding the birds in front of her building in the morning. Did he ever stop dancing? Could it be that drugs had permanently messed up his brain that he had achieved an everlasting high? Though he didn't look like a crack head. She shook her head as she was painfully reminded of this morning. She emptied out the last of her coffee in the big round mug and started feeling a little restless.

Face to face, out in the heathangin' tough, stayin' hungry.They stack the odds till' we take to the street.

For we kill with the skill to survive.

"Hey Robin, I think you've had enough coffee for today. You don't look right. Did something happen between you and Mr. Bigshot last night?" She asked looking bored as she grasped her straw with her tongue, sipping up her strawberry milkshake.

"Please Nami, stop calling him that."

She looked around to make primarily sure that nobody she knew was around and that nobody was able to hear their conversation over the loud music across the plaza.

Risin' up straight to the top

had the guts, got the glory.Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop.
Just a man and his will to survive
.

"I found a few lines of cocaine on my nightstand today…" She said with a straight face and a low voice. Her eyes glued to the blue haired dancing wonder across the street. As expected, the straw fell out of her open mouth as she was registering what Robin had just said. She shot Nami an eye, telling her not to make a scene about this. She knew Nami enough to know she could get very loud when upset. Thankfully she got the hint, but started whispering harshly at her.

"I suspected that maybe you would go a little wild while you were with that… that guy. But he's corrupted you so much that you're doing cocaine now?!"

"I didn't do any of it." She assured her friend, all the while a little voice in her head reminded her that that statement was based on what he had told her. She had no real proof of it. She was assuming that everything was alright since physically she was feeling normal and she had absolutely no desire to snort anything at the moment. She looked over at Nami, she could tell by her expression that she wasn't completely convinced.

"Really, I'm fine. Besides, I'm going over to his place tonight breaking it off with him. I think I've finally outgrown my rebellious phase." She admitted with her trademark smile. Nami kept the same thoughtful expression as she once again captured the straw with her tongue and took a long sip.

"If you say so…"

The both of them turned their attention to the crowd suddenly scattering about as the sound of police sirens interrupted their little dance fest. The blue haired man just looked a little annoyed that his dancing was interrupted and quietly turned off the boomblaster and put it on his cart, rolling it away along with a couple of cardboard boxes.


Darkness was all she could see, it clouded her judgment and made her lose her composure. She stood there looking at his 1962 Thunderbird, his precious little car. The anger from a few moments came flashing back to her. The woman, the ridiculous smirk on his face, the other woman, the cigar smoke fogging up his living room, the third woman on his lap…

"Well if it isn't Robin baby, how's about you come and join us? It's gonna be a hell of a party, right ladies?"

She shuddered by just remembering that. It could have just ended like that and she would be on her merry way home, 200 pounds of useless boyfriend lighter, but it was parked on the way to the nearest bus stop. She just couldn't help but stop and look at it. She had never felt so humiliated in her life and had stormed out of his place without a word, not dignifying his question with an answer. She stood there and stared at the car in silence with an unreadable expression.

After a moment she tilted her head to the side and noticed something, there seemed to be a tiny little bug sleeping on the windshield of his car… It might not be a bad idea to do him this favor and squash it for him as a goodbye present. Her expression turned somewhat serious as she looked around for something to complete the task at hand. Despite the darkness her eyes didn't let her down and soon enough she spotted a wrench resting on the backseat of his own car. She took it into her hand and got into position.

"Don't do it." On instinct, she had heard the footsteps before the sound of his voice reached her ears but she wasn't thinking straight or else she would have normally tried to hide herself. She turned to look at who interrupted her and instantly recognized the styled blue hair and Hawaiian shirt. It was the blue haired dancing wonder.

"I beg your pardon, but this is none of your business."

"Well technically it isn't yet, but as soon as that wrench right there lands on that windshield over there, you'll be making me into a witness to destruction of private property." There it was, there was no denying it. His words was the mirror she needed to see right now, a reflection of herself right now. She was about to commit a crime just because that worthless man had insulted her. Her usual composure had failed her and all she wanted was to crawl into bed and never come out of it again. She tossed the wrench aside and silently turned and started heading toward the nearest bus stop. There were a set of footsteps following hers so she assumed he was heading in the same direction as her, possibly to the bus as well.

"So hey, I see you around all the time. In front of the New World building but a lot more at the coffee place near the library. The name's Franky, it's a pleasure."

"Pleasure." She said curtly. She was only concentrating on getting home, it was all she wanted.

"So you're not gonna tell me your name eh? Don't tell me you're going to make me guess. It'll be a super challenge but I'll get it eventually, you'll see."

She flashed her trademark smile and nodded politely at him. Silently and tiredly accepting his challenge. She could spot the bus stop and the bus coming in the distance.

"Anna?"

"Louise?"

"No? How about Kate?"

"Definitely Sarah. Ehh? No?"

"Joan."

"Hey, you're not lying to me are you?"

She smiled and shook her head one last time before the doors of the bus opened up for her. She could still hear him shouting names from outside the passengerless vehicle. She guessed he wasn't taking the bus after all. A part of her felt a little disappointed, he had lifted her spirits a little with his silly little game and wished to continue it a little longer.

"Okay last one for tonight, I'm betting it all on this super guess. NICOLE!" From the window she could see how he raised his tattooed arms in the air for dramatic effect. A little giggle escaped her throat when she saw the hopeful look on his face.

"Close!" She shouted through the open window as the bus was leaving.

"SUUUPER!" The last thing she saw was him striking a weird looking pose while yelling out that one word. No matter how she tried, she couldn't get rid of the silly smile on her face for the rest of the night.


That was the first chapter, I hope I've lived up to some of your expectations.

Yes, the dbag is indeed Sir Crocodile. It was supposed to be Zoro at first, but I have too much love for Zoro so I couldn't go through with it.

Here are the song lyrics used for this chapter:
Will you still love me tomorrow? - Ben E. King
Eye of the Tiger - Surviver

Please be kind and review me! I'll be kind in return :3

~Snikee