Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of the characters.

Warning: Rushness; Grammar; OOCness; Yaoi; Lemon; swearing; repetitiveness (I'm a repetitive person) and anything you notice that isn't on this list but is on this list. I will also not take responsibility for any problems the readers have experienced. Eg. Puking rainbows.

Not promising perfectness, if you expect it. You know where the back button is. Sorry.

IMPORTANT! REPLY TO REVIEWS

x-BlackButterfly-x: Why hello, I'm glad you like it. :)

CeinSemek: Good question. Surprisingly I can't answer this for this is answered in this chapter. Did you think the story had finished?

krito1389: It's not over 'til the fat lady sings. The story continues...

Rina: Yup, it's continuing. You'll know when the story ends when I change the status to 'completed'.

Yet to be re-read and edited

Word count: 4,053

Chapter 17: Renee

Everyone couldn't help but grin as their two normally arguing duo, kissed passionately in front of them. All feelings of hurt and betrayal long forgotten now by the love being passed between them.
Luffy didn't stay angry at Sanji for having been prepared to die, instead he looked at the bright side; Sanji was still alive and ready to cook meat for them all. Mainly him though, and if Zoro got in the way of him, his meat and Sanji cooking his meat, then he and Zoro would be having words…

Robin was just as happy as everyone for the two, she watched the scene with mild amusement, she had suspected something like this would happen sooner or later, but she wasn't content at all by what had happened.
Surely they should have lost Sanji if he had his memories back, not that she wanted to lose him, he was a valuable member of their crew. She had no ill-will to him, it just left many questions unanswered.

She looked at the tattered fabric that hid something from their eyes beneath it, it must be something that could very well have the answer to what she wanted to know and she wanted the answer; which meant she had to disrupt the two.

"As much as this scene is romantic cook-can, Swordsman-san. What is that?" Robin spoke up, interrupting the two, pulling them back from their own little world and to them once more.

Sanji's eyes snapped open upon hearing his lovely Robin-chan speak to him. He shoved Zoro violently, sending him flying and away from him as he remembered exactly where he was, who he was with and what he had originally wanted to do. Damn that Marimo for distracting him.
Robin chuckled as the blush spread across his face. He had been so lost in the moment with Zoro he had forgotten about the object on the deck as well as the crew. It seemed he had been forgetting them quite often recently.
The blush continued to grow as he realised that they had all just witnessed Zoro and Sanji's first kiss and confession to one another, such an intimate moment for the pair. Oh…how embarrassing…now Nami-swan and Robin-chan will be heart broken that their Prince was in love with a brute like Zoro!

"Nami-swan, Robin-chan! I'm sorry about the past few days! I have missed you, and compared to the shitty Marimo I love you both more!" Sanji sang, dancing to them both.
Nami smiled, she somewhat missed this side to Sanji, but she knew it would soon grow old again.
"It was nice to see your affectionate show with Zoro just now. What is beneath the fabric?" Nami asked this time.

"Her, her remains!" Sanji quickly stuttered, answering his Nami-swan as quickly as possible, his tone of voice slightly high from his renewed embarrassment. He coughed and regained his composure once more.
"I don't think her intentions were to kill me once I got my memories back. I think she just wanted help in return for having helped me." Sanji explained his thoughts, the image of the beautiful maiden pointing beneath the water flashing in his mind. If she had really wanted to kill him, she wouldn't have pointed to her body, no, she would have just taken him then and there.

"But Robin had said she would kill you." Nami spoke thoughtfully, cringing slightly as she looked at the remains. She just didn't want it to suddenly move and get up, they already had one moving skeleton and they didn't need another on the ship.

"Actually, I had gotten my information from an old lady who recited the story that was passed through her generations." Robin spoke, explaining to them how she had learnt the information from days ago.

"And like Chinese whispers the story changed…"

The crew looked at the interrupting voice of the ghost, who had suddenly joined their conversation, walking gracefully up to Sanji; she smiled gently up at him. "Thank you so much"
Sanji smiled back to her automatically, his eyes turning into hearts. Oh how beautiful she was, he would forgive a lady for taking his memories from him when she was as gorgeous as this.
"Anything for a maiden like you! I would dive the sea a million times to help a lady in distress!" Sanji cooed, if he could he would grab her hand and kiss it.
"Shitty cook..." Zoro glared at the blonde, he did not miss this prissy attitude one bit, but this was the cook and nothing would change that. He didn't want to change it.
"Huh?!" Sanji yelled, his head turning to face the green haired man who clicked his tongue.

The ghost turned back to the rest of the crew and nodded in greeting to them as they all glared at her like she was here to take Sanji away from them, but she wasn't and she made no motion to harm Sanji instead she continued to talk, ignoring the shimmering Sanji was doing as he swooned around her.

"I helped everyone who would drown in these waters. Many of them were not villagers. The village would take care of them until they remembered and they would come back here to get their memories, but they wouldn't go back to the village." She sighed, "They would leave straight away and so, over time villagers began to think that I would kill them."

"So they would leave because of their regrets?" Ussop mumbled, thinking thoughtfully about it. Piping up from the entrance of the kitchen with Chopper, where they had yet to move from.
She looked at Ussop, smiling at him as well. "Yes."

"So why did Sanji have to fulfil his instead of remembering it? Yohoho~ Can I see your panties?"
The ghost chuckled, ignoring the latter of Brooks question.
"One of his regrets was similar to mine, and unlike most other regrets, he had the chance many times to fulfil his. So I thought I'd get him to fulfil it..."

She smiled shyly, in a way she had butted in on Sanji's romance. She glanced at Zoro. "All he had to do was remember he loved him and confess…" She smiled at Sanji. "And you did."

"Why did you never ask the ones you saved to find you?" Luffy asked, his face serious. All of this could have been avoided if she had been found sooner and put to rest. The ghost looked at Luffy, her eyes speaking to him.
"You couldn't could you?" Luffy asked as she nodded her head slowly.
Sanji spoke to her again. "That's why you pointed to your body, you couldn't actually tell me you were there. But why?"

"To save a life, I must take something from you. To give it back, I must not say anything. I have to hope that you're willing to help me without asking." Her answer remained vague.

"I don't get it..." Luffy mumbled, pouting slightly. Why did this ghost have to not answer their questions directly, or give full blown answers without having to be so vague.
"She's limited to do things, Captain-san. We wouldn't understand unless we were in her position." Robin spoke, mentally thinking that the world and afterworld had so many things to unravel.

Luffy nodded, somewhat understanding and somewhat not understanding, but he didn't care anymore.
"So, what happened to you?" Luffy questioned again. "Why did you die?"
"I too, would like to know what happened years ago." Robin smiled at her, she would learn the history of this town of many years ago from someone who was there and not from a story that would repeatedly change over time.

The ghost smiled once more, never speaking as she waved her hand, changing the scene around them all. She vanished and they watched as the quiet dock they were at began to change until it was lively; full of ships and people as they unloaded cargo, preparing to take it into the village.

The crew looked all around them, watching the hustle and bustle and yet, they were ignored; unseen by the people around them, as if they weren't there.
"This is the past?" Nami mumbled, following the rest of the crew off of their invisible ship as she watched a group of kids run past her.
"It seems like we are seeing her memories. Important memories?" Robin replied back to Nami.

"Letters! Letters are here!"

A young boy ran through Franky and Brook - surprising them slightly - to a long black haired girl who had been standing beside a trader, talking to him. She had just sold a few old weapons she no longer needed to him for a fair price.

"Letters?" She spoke turning around to face them, her eyes going through the crew and instead were focused on the boy that came up to her, his eyes sparkling in excitement, lifting his little cap slightly to grin up at her.
"Looking beautiful as always Renee! Here's your letter, it has his seal!" The boy cheerily spoke, not moving at all as Renee smiled at him taking the letter and opening it.
"What does it say!? Does it say when he's coming back?!" The boy cheerily spoke once more, jumping up and down in an attempt to see what it said for himself. He pointed slightly, she held it too high for him to get a good angle of the letter.

She laughed at him, he could pout all he wanted, but the letter was for her; her eyes quickly skimming the letter, a smile playing on her lips. She gave the young boy a little bit of what it said, some of it was private.
"He's coming home today. He wants me to meet him at our place on the cliff."
"The cliff? But the arch is closed, they've warned everyone that it's too dangerous to go on…" The boy mumbled, looking up at it, Renee wouldn't be as stupid as to go on it would she?

The straw hats looked up at where the boy had glanced at, indeed there was an arch over them, it was part of the rock, something they didn't know had existed prior, something must have happened to it.
"Don't worry, I'll take the longer route if it makes you feel better." Renee spoke, patting the boy on the head. He somewhat doubted her words, but he wasn't going to question her. "He'll be more mad if you go on the arch..." The boy mumbled.
"He would be just as mad if I didn't go." She chuckled, flicking the boy's hat gently, "Go on now, don't you have more letters to deliver?"
"Ah! I'm running late!" The boy yelled slightly, running off as he waved back to her.

The straw hats didn't know how to explain it, but the scene around them suddenly changed and they were in the town beside Renee as she talked to a few villagers, greeting them before having small pleasant chats. The town looked fairly new and different to how they remembered it, the houses looked like they were built differently. Small corner shops and smaller houses. The town was also quiet but friendly, not as busy and noisy as the present day either.

They watched as Renee helped around the village, carrying heavy boxes for the elderly, playing and dancing with the kids.
"Renee, if you weren't engaged I'd have wanted you as my granddaughter." An old woman spoke sadly to Renee, interrupting her dance with a young girl. She laughed, smiling at the old woman, taking the bags from the woman's hands, carrying it for her.

"I would have been honoured." she spoke, thanking the woman. The crew then noticed it, the ring on her finger.
"Thats right!" Sanji clicked his fingers. "Renee-chan had a photo of her with a blonde man in her home. She had said that was her fiancé."
"Blonde man?" Robin asked.
Nami spoke up as well, "Wasn't the hero of this town a blonde man?"

"You have a lovely catch my dear, your fiancé is quite the man saving many towns from those mischievous rascals."
"You mean pirates."
"Yes those my dear." The old woman laughed. "It will be nice to see him soon."
"He'll be back today, soon." Renee blushed, it had been so long since she had seen him, their house was ready for him. She was thankful that he was quitting his job to settle down in the town with her.
"Ah, young love, I remember those days. I hope to see little children soon."
Renee laughed. "We have yet for our wedding!"

The scene around them suddenly changed again and they were in a cave, watching Renee dip her feet in a small pool of endless water. The cave sparkled from small crystallised salt on the walls as she sighed sadly.
"You're late…" She mumbled quietly to herself, she had been waiting for him for a few hours now and there was still no sign of him. She was sure the letter said he would arrive today, unless something had happened to him. No, nothing could have happened to him, she was sure of that.

Sanji looked at the walls closely, realisation kicking in of where they could have came from. "All blue?"
Everyone looked at him. "Sanji?"
But Sanji didn't respond as everything around them suddenly shook violently, as if explosions were being set off.
They didn't know what was going on, but it seemed like Renee had a rough idea of what had happened. She jumped up immediately, leaving the cave as fast as she could, running away from it and along the cliff top until she stopped, the colour of red reflecting in her eyes.
"No!" She gasped, she couldn't believe her eyes and nor could the crew as they came right up behind her.
From the cliff she could see the village, the sight had always been amazing, so breathtaking, but this time it was a tragic sight. The village was under attack and had been set ablaze, she could hear the screams admitting from it all.

Everyone stood in shock, watching as it happened with no ability or choice to help or stop what was going on right before their eyes.
"The village?" Renee whispered. She looked around her, and she saw it, a fleet of pirate ships, they had been invaded. Pirates were attacking the village, when had this happened? How long had they been attacking for? She gulped she had no time to think, she needed to get to the village and help as many people as she could. If she got their quickly, she could still save and evacuate many of the villagers.

Renee turned to run away from the arch, she couldn't cross over that, she would have to take the long way back but be as fast she could.
"Hello there."
Her eyes widened as they landing on two pirates who stood right where she wanted to go. She remained still, watching them as they slowly walked closer to her.
"We were told to scout the area for any escapees, I was starting to think we wouldn't find anything 'til we saw you running sweetheart."
"Would you like to come with us sweetie?" The other man spoke, grinning from ear to ear.

Renee narrowed her eyes, her heart beating rapidly, she needed to run away from them and get to the village. She attempted to run past them but was thrown back by the duo who laughed at her pathetic attempt.
"Let me go!" Renee yelled at the two, standing up once more, they chuckled.
"How cute!" They laughed once more

The straw hats watched in silence as Renee looked at the arch and at the two men, contemplating whether to take that way back to the village or to attempt to run past them once more. It seemed too impossible to run and escape them. She decided she would choose death than to be caught by these men. The only man she would ever go with or ever be touched by was her fiancée.

She ran, twisting her entire body round and back to the arch. She screamed slightly as they threw little pellets at her, that exploded as soon as it touched something solid. She was risking it as she ran across the arch, but as the pirates threw more explosives at her it shook the arch causing it to begin to crumble under the pressure. She jumped, trying to get to the other side as quickly as possible, but it wasn't possible, the cliff had been too far away and instead she fell with the crumbling rock.

"Yuudai!"
Her scream echoed throughout the entire island along with the laughing men until it all went eerily quiet as she fell into the waters below, hitting the side of a ship as she did.

Everyone watched in shock and horror, watching as the scene faded away until they were back in the present day.
They stood in silence for a moment, sightly mourning her death those many years ago, they waited for her to reappear again, but she never did, and Robin brushed it off as something as one of her limits.

Sanji shuffled himself slightly, looking down at the remains before he gathered them back into his arms. He knew how she felt now, and she too had known how he had felt. He had been saved by her, yet there had been no angel to save her when she had died, he had every right to be grateful to her, and at the very least Sanji could do was be her angel now and help her so she could rest in peace.
"I regretted in my dying moments that I could never tell the shitty Marimo my feelings."
Zoro looked up and at Sanji, watching him intently. He could help but think about that ghost's fiancée, if that had been Zoro he would have searched for Sanji and he too wouldn't be able to rest until he saw her, would that be the same for him?
"I'm sure she regretted that she could never see her fiancée again and I'm sure, she wants to be with him." Sanji continued, as he jumped down onto the sand and began to make his way to the town.

"She deserves to be near him, and I will help her with her regret." He didn't know where he would take her, but if he had been coming back to this town, surely he had died here too. Even the villagers would know where he was buried.
Zoro jumped down from the ship as well, chasing after Sanji who was then followed by the rest, they were curious to, to how her story would end.

Just what had happened to the hero that night for him to have never shown up nor even to have found her?

The names and why I choose them.

For the ghost.
I wanted to name her Serena, at first but then I searched for name meanings and I wanted her name to mean second chance as that it what she would give people by saving them. I couldn't find any names meaning that until I found Renee, which means "rebirth" and I thought that was as close as I could get.

For the hero.
It was either Gabriel which means "gods hero". or Yuudai which means "One who is a great hero."
I did look for names which meant sun hero. Couldn't find any though or any I liked so, I stuck to Yuudai.