Haunt 7: Haunted House
Introducing Harribel and Morgiana to Tami had been both a predictable event and a surprising one.
At first she looked at her son for an explanation, but he gestured to Shyarly as this had been all her.
A quick round of basic explanations regarding them being freed Kuja tribe members, predictions of the future and new friends later, the Lion fish Mermaid did welcome them into her home.
She herself had to go through life after losing her family, being taken in by the Mermaid Café and boarding there, so in her mind it was only fair that she passed the kindness she received forward to help two stranded girls taken away from everything they knew.
Especially since one of them was a hybrid like her own son.
The only issue was that they really didn't have much room.
Their home was essentially a large apartment above her clinic. It had a decent kitchen, comfortable little living room with a bathroom which could properly fit mermaids, a small office, a bedroom for herself and Shyarly, and Adam's smaller one since it would have been inappropriate to have a boy and girl sleep in the same room.
If they brought in the two girls, they would essentially need to sleep on the couch or work something out in the clinic. Plus there was the worries about food and storage space.
Thankfully, she was raising bafflingly competent children.
As much as Adam grumbled, he was totally a momma's boy willing to go to great lengths to give his mother a better life and make her happy, so using his savings to offer an expansion/renovation of her clinic really wasn't something he could say no to. The Kuja were almost an excuse to offer it at this point, because he never really could bring himself to suggest changing the place she had worked so hard to create and where she raised him.
The clinic had a lot of memories, but necessity trumped many things.
Tami herself was almost crying because her children were incredibly thoughtful and she felt a bit overtaken by them already having jobs, with her son somehow being rather well off from his time defending Fish-Man District and taking down Pirates.
Who knew it was such a lucrative business?
Well bounty hunters, but they usually had to deal with the World Government usually giving 'Join us or Die' kinds of deals to successful and powerful ones, or being killed when they went after 'Bigger Fish'. The only reason Adam was so successful was because Fish-Man Island was THE path towards the New World for all Pirates and it was somewhere men could get rich by capturing just one mermaid.
It was quantity vs quality situation with a sprinkle of lack of competition.
And on top of that, Tami's near adopted daughter also stated that she would help pay for food and clothes because she was the one who insisted on bringing them here. That made her scratch the back of her head wryly, wondering if she wasn't making enough money, something that she could admit was true if it came to raising four children.
Being a single working mom did limit the household income usually, but she would normally have enough to support herself and two kids with how well her acupuncture clinic had been running over the last few years. She thought she could actually give them pretty decent lives and she was very proud of that.
But now said kids somehow had jobs enabling them to support her and their own charges, making her feel somewhat conflicted on the matter.
On one hand, she totally crushed parenting and raised two very bright, independent and caring children, on the other... weren't they growing up a bit too fast?
It left her in an emotional and existential dilemma as they worked through the family's needs for the renovations.
Everyone was getting a bedroom. A new full and half bathrooms were being added with a total of four females in the house making it a basic requirement. A larger kitchen with a dinning area was included since Adam alone had a large appetite almost by necessity, and it was growing larger without the two additional mouths to feed. Wider living/lounging room for everyone to relax in. The study/library was being expanded upon as well.
As for the clinic, upgraded storage and equipment were the basics. Tami also decided to expand the clinic as a whole and to hire another specialist, maybe take someone in as an apprentice, as well as form a reception area. She had been receiving more clients, especially from the Dojo or army as of late due to her connections with the Grandmaster and Jinbe through her son, making her a bit too busy, hence why she had thought about hiring someone to at least help around.
So it was with some slightly bittersweet goodbyes that the growing family left the house while the constructions crew they had hired came.
It was emotional, but also for a better future.
Plus, it wouldn't take all too long to have the new place built. Fish-Men and Merfolk being much stronger than humans, having access to bubbles capable of supporting incredible weights, the variety of workers due to racial traits and then the fact that they were paid for quality while being commissioned by some relatively famous little stars of the Island assured them of that.
Seeing the opportunity, Adam took advantage of the group being without a house to treat his mother to experience the 'high-life' of Fish-Man Island. He wanted to help her relax for the 2-3 weeks they would need for the house to be built and furnished as requested, and he thought she deserved a vacation after being a single working mom and raising him and Shyarly without complaint.
That his mother never had a chance to experience this side of Fish-Man Island was just a plus.
So booking rooms in a high-class hotel in Fishverly Hills was natural to him.
He also booked appointments for spa treatments and beauty salons as an additional surprise, much to her future delight.
Of course, he wouldn't be really taking a vacation himself. His Master wouldn't permit such things easily, so everyday Adam would head out to Fish-Man District to continue helping out there.
Harribel initially was very interested in joining him as her now prophesied teacher, but he stopped her simply by stating that he wouldn't take her anywhere without testing her skills, also cutting off Morgiana due to the District being an incredibly dangerous place for her simply by virtue of her needing a bubble to survive and being human. Instead, he threw them to his mother and Shyarly so they could go shopping, with permission to use his funds if needed.
They needed clothes and Tami could get the chance to enjoy herself.
Not a bad conciliation prize for the duo considering even Kuja women loved fashion.
Might be skimpier and much more revealing fashion in general due to their lack of modesty from having no men on their island, but they had a love for clothing and fashion nonetheless. Hopefully Tami and Shyarly would be enough to help the Kuja girls choose relatively modest outfits.
Not that many Fish-men or Merfolk wore more than swimwear though.
Regardless, Adam continued with his daily routines, which both Kuja attempted to follow along to, only to find themselves incapable of even finishing a quarter of the warm-up.
"You two need to realize that you can't just start at my level." He chided them as they panted on the floor, sweating heavily and unable to move. "I was born much stronger than others on top of having been training intensely ever since I was three under my master.
You need to form proper bases first. Especially you, Morgiana, since Harribel at least has the innate strength of a Fish-Woman."
"*Huff huff* How?" Harribel intensely questioned with great spirit in her eyes over her not willing to be so weak.
Her fellow tribeswoman was in much worst shape, being unable to talk at all, but she also was determined to grow stronger.
This was good to Adam.
If at least one of them was 'destined' to be on his crew, he would not accept them to be quitters.
He desired to essentially challenge the world itself to sail it freely, and no one without sufficient will could follow him on that kind of journey.
"Start from the beginning." He simply answered. "We will start with basic body conditioning and development, then I'll ask to see if you can both join the Dojo to better yourselves technically.
I will not lie to you, it will be difficult, especially for you Morgiana as you lack racial qualities, but with enough will, I guarantee that you will grow stronger."
Earning a groan of agreement and silent nod, an agreement was struck.
From that day on, Adam oversaw their training using everything he had learnt from his mother and master to adjust it to their levels, receiving advice from both to not over or under do it since the later had a much more experienced eye for these sorts of things.
And to their credit, they never faltered. In fact, they seemed to be hungry for more the longer things went on, burning with desire to continue progressing as they were.
It seemed to be something innately present in Kuja women.
The desire for strength.
They were almost the opposite of Fish-Men and Merfolk in this way, being born with true superiority in almost every physical way but most lacked spirit, while the Kuja held a superior spirit enabling them to seek strength and utilize Haki with much greater ease than any other tribe.
So they progressed quickly through the exercises.
Not as monstrously as Adam himself for various obvious reason, but rapidly catching up to adult Fish-Men at least.
And in the meantime, the new house/clinic was professing well according to their visit of the site.
Fish-Man District was slowly becoming a dangerous fort with mounted forces, artillery capabilities, and a developing system to defend themselves.
Many current and/or former residents who had served in the kingdom's army pitched in their experience and knowledge regarding organized forces and a military, improving the general efficiency of everything. It was significant progress as they began needing fewer and fewer interventions from Jinbe and Adam to face pirate forces.
They still suffered losses and sometimes did need help for stronger, smarter or better equipped crews, but the fact that the raiders were limited in how many could attack at once helped them manage relatively well.
To make up for the lack of combat, Jinbe took his Junior to face the creatures of the deep in combat, allowing him to hone himself against being of pure might instead of humanoids. An interesting experience to be sure, and an excellent way to get some meat.
Sea Cows were delicious.
Even raw, which wasn't as tasty but certainly good as Fish-Men were fine eating raw meat from an evolutionary trait built in due to just living underwater making it rather hard to cook things.
During his more relaxing time with the girls in Fishverly Hills, Adam did do his best to get to know the two newest additions to the household outside of training.
Which ended up happening after morning training.
"You know... since we will be living together on top of training together, I would like to be able to know a bit more about the both of you." Adam carefully opened with as he wiped some sweat away. "You've heard a lot about me from Shyarly's bragging and Mom's... stories, but we haven't heard much about yourselves.
Like, how is Amazon Lily?
I am rather curious since it is one of the other Islands many sailors say they dream of seeing."
"The Island is great!" Morgiana excitedly answered with sparkling eyes. "We have these great jungles to play in, with the great warriors training us on how to hunt and fight!
There's the Battle Ring, which is the place where the greatest warriors and even the Empress fight!
The snake pits are filled with the cutest baby snakes too!"
"That's right, I heard Kuja are usually accompanied by special snakes that can even be used as weapons." Adam remembered, thinking to Boa Hancock's even acting like a portable chair. "Did those bastards take yours away?"
"Too young." Harribel answered directly with a shake of her head.
"Makes sense. What about the Island itself? You told me about the jungle, but what's in it? What kind of place is your city?" The young Fish-Man curiously asked as his pure desire to see the world shone through his usually martial oriented heart.
He usually kept it carefully under wraps so as to avoid feeling his intense wanderlust. The need to be on the seas again, challenging the world for the right to experience it all.
It was incredibly strong, hence why he focused his desires into a sub goal; to become stronger. It helped manage this drive to leave the Island on the next ship he could stow away on.
His mother certainly helped on that front as well, since he would never just leave without telling her.
"Oh! In the jungle, there are these really pretty waterfalls that the older girls sometimes took us to swim in! Harribel really liked to it, but now I get why. No one really knew Fish-Men were real, or really what men were like because they aren't allowed on the island even if one could somehow reach it." The more energetic redhead answered, causing her stoic companion to blush mildly.
"Really? You didn't even know you were part Fish-Man?" That surprised Adam as he didn't expect the girl's mother to not tell her about why she was different.
"No. Mother never said. Also a Kuja sailor with the Empress." Harribel responded in short bursts, with pride at the end.
Although it shouldn't be a surprise since Kuja worshipped strength and only the strongest sailed with the Empress as they raided the ships of men. The fact that she was likely always on the sea could explain why she never told her daughter about her heritage, that and the fact that most Kuja are completely clueless about anything relating to men.
Adam was generally surprised that it was that bad in canon since at least the older ones should know. They come back either with kids or pregnant, so they had to at least know how that happened and some of the anatomical differences between sexes. So he wondered why none of them passed along the information.
"Well, I'll be happy to help you learn more about your other half." Adam earnestly offered, gaining a small nod of acceptance. "So you mentioned that your mother was a sailor, is that how you ended up here?"
"Yeah..." Morgiana answered with obviously less excitement. "It's something they do for everyone. We get to go out at sea and see more than just the Island, but then the ship was attacked by a lot of giant ships with white sails and a weird cross, forcing even the Empress to fall back because she couldn't protect everyone.
We made it to this town, and I was so excited to see so many new and strange people.
They had these really long arms.
Harri kept me company, but then something hit us and we woke up on that ship.
And it's...It's all my fault. *Sniff*"
By the end, young Morgiana was sniffling as she tried to hold back her tears of guilt.
Seeing that, Harribel moved closer to her tribe member.
"Their fault, not ours." She clearly stated, hugging the younger girl reassuringly.
"I do agree. It sounds like you were on an Island of with longarm tribe members. They don't have the best reputation, but that may just be human racism again since I've never met a member of their tribe myself." Adam informed the two before forming a wry smile. "I mean, you two are nice girls, but if I showed up on Amazon Lily I would probably be attacked on sight just for being a male."
"Hn. Snake bows are very effective against men." Harribel commented as if she'd seen it happen.
"Nice to hear you'd stop them from shooting me." The boy deadpanned.
Giggle*
"That was a Harri joke." Morgiana informed as she broke out of her sad state, earning a pleased nod for the blonde and an Adam who was just rolling with that possible lie. "But thanks."
Giving her an analyzing look, Harribel nodded in acceptance of her Ok state.
"Sorry for bringing it up. How about I tell you about the time the Pirate King and his crew stayed on the Island and I got to learn from them while they were here?" Adam offered, gaining wide eyed interest immediately.
Even the Kuja had heard of Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King.
They respected strength and the man had enough to accomplish something no one else ever has.
Going into the tale, which Morgiana was lapping up with abandon and with Harribel showing interest in the mentions of his 'samurai' father, mostly for the swordsmanship aspects, Adam told them how full of life they all were and their strength.
"They lived lives exactly how I want to when I'm old enough." He sighed with a smile on his face. "I want to sail the seas freely and see everything this world has to offer.
Face it all with my strength and crew, turning the world upside down if we had to.
It's my dream and why I seek strength.
Not for strength itself, but so those in power cannot hold me down."
"Wooow!!" Exclaimed Morgiana in twinkling awe. "I want to see the world too! Can I come?!"
"Well...if we become good enough friends and you get stronger." Adam answered with a chuckle at her enthusiasm.
"Then we'll be the best of friends! I'm sure I'll be super strong too!" She declared without much hesitation. "You're coming too right, Harri?"
Looking at the stoic girl, her face might remain the same, but her eyes were alit with a fire.
"Hn. I will be the strongest sword in the sea." She declared with her eyes aimed at Adam expectantly.
"I can help you get stronger, but I haven't even figured out my own style yet, so you'll need to figure that out partially on your own. And who knows? We might be able to help each other grow stronger when we start forming them properly!" The boy exclaimed with a boisterous bout of laughter, quickly joined in by Morgiana due to its infectious nature and caped off by Harribel forming a small smile concealing a very quite chuckle.
The small trio got up after that and returned to the hotel for showers and changes of cloths.
Interestingly, Morgiana was fond of one piece dresses and Roman sandals, but Tami also forced her to wear shorts underneath her dress due to her preference for kicks during training and combat, while being adverse to underwear.
Harribel preferred belly shirts and baggy pants, preferably in colors which clashed well with her skin, also wearing scarfs around her neck to conceal the lower half of her face.
After that, they split off to continue with their days, Tami taking both girls under her wing to try and round out their educations about the world and in regards to social settings, something the youngest had the least amount of troubles with as Morgiana tended to be rather upbeat and approachable. Harribel though, her taciturn nature made it a challenge, but she did learn rather quickly even if she preferred to avoid others.
Days quickly passed for the girls as they slowly acclimatized themselves to this whole new world, with Harribel gaining the most out of this forced relocation, learning a great deal about herself and slowly starting to understand what having a mother's care felt like. Many people around her assisted in improving her swimming, something she instantly adored beyond words after being able to do so with freedom beyond compare, feeling at home in the water. The mermaids of the café we're excellent in helping coax her out of her shell through the activity as well.
Morgiana though the most upbeat, was also the one who lost the most from the two Kuja. She admitted to having a mother and sister on Amazon Lily and having been a social girl with many friends, so losing them had been hard on her. Luckily, Shyarly was happy to gain herself a friend, with Tami filling the world of mother well enough while many people her new guardians knew welcomed her warmly as well. It was still surprising to her when she felt harsh rejection from some of the Islanders due to racial hatred however, something which took a good deal of time to explain to the young girl, but she persevered nonetheless.
Over the couple of weeks waiting for the new clinic to be built, the little family got to know the girls better.
Like Harribel very much preferring meat and being surprisingly quick to want to protect others even if she was almost always stoic in expression. This was displayed when some drunk pirates tried to mess with Shyarly's booth one day due to having received a prophecy regarding future humiliation which had come to pass, but the young hybrid firmly stood before them, not budging an inch while they tried to shove her out of the way until a very angry Adam showed up with full Conqueror's causing the offenders to instantly break down in fear before fainting.
The event endeared the older girl greatly to Shyarly, allowing them to grow closer, while Harribel's admiration towards Adam's strength increased exponentially.
It also had the effect of having a Haki lesson that night to explain how he caused those pirates to faint without touching them, raising that high opinion even further when hearing how rare Conquerors was and the control he showed to not affect anyone but his targets.
The youngest little redhead on the other hand was very fond of fish and sweets, especially liking the pastries and dishes available at the café. During training or everyday life, she's demonstrated an abnormal amount a leg strength and speed for a human, being a complete natural in parkour exercises, jumping, running and agility training, with her kicking strength actually matching and surpassing Fish-Men surprisingly enough.
It was both surprising and somehow not.
Especially when dealing with a tribe of warriors who tended to fall for strong men as well. One could expect individuals being born stronger than others. Boa Hancock being a fine example as incredible beauty, which Adam still wasn't totally certain her devil fruit hadn't influenced, with prodigious talents as she certainly was an incredibly strong woman.
Morgiana's upper body did not match her lower one however, but Adam would be doing his best to balance this fact. Having glaring weak points wouldn't do, even if Sanji had been capable of being part of the infamous 'Monster Trio' without using his own hands for direct combat. The little Kuja had no such self-inflicted limitations, so she would train her upper body even harder than her lower one.
She was also to always be accompanied by an adult when doing anything in the kitchen. Her talents at creating disasters in one were simply too risky otherwise.
And with group managing to grow closer, their new house was finally finished as they neared the three week mark, which was an impressive feat.
The house/clinic looked rather different, but still had a some flare from its old incarnation.
Now standing at three stories tall, with a spiky sea conch style roof, and much wider base, it actually resembled a blown up version of the old clinic.
Inside, they found a nice reception area with a curved wooden desk facing the door and a few chairs around. Shyarly squealed as she noticed a built in section for her booth with a small decorated table with a purple pillow on it, surrounded by colorful fabrics and with a chair before it for customers.
The young mermaid ecstatically hugged Tami for that, earning a gentle and happy smile as she hugged her back carefully.
Moving deeper, Tami excitedly went through her new practice, checking out the rooms and storage areas for anything missing, but coming out pleased as she found her books, supplies and furniture all where they needed to be.
It didn't take long to move upwards to the first level of their new home however. Coming in to begin touring the place to get to know it anew.
The inside was far less narrowed or cluttered than it had been before, with plenty of space for the mermaids of the house to move about, even in the kitchen which had been rather tight for Tami before.
One of her favorite excuses for her lack of prowess on that battlefield. Ignoring the occasionally poisoned dish.
Said kitchen having brand new appliances Adam appreciated, testing the oven and checking out the fridge for possible ingredients they could need. Officially being the only member capable of cooking good food, it had become a bit of a habit really.
Shyarly on the other hand went to 'test' the new sofas and chairs in the living room, also going out on the new balcony which looked out above the main entrance and to the town around them, soon joined by Morgiana.
The group of females found the first full bath, being very happy with what they found, while Adam was happier with the study's size and the space he now had available for new books.
Moving upstairs, Tami found her master bedroom while the rest claimed their own rooms, which were very similar to each other in terms of dimensions and storage, needing personal touches to really make them their own. Neighbors being like this: Morgiana Harribel Adam Shyarly Tami Morgiana.
The second full bathroom was soon discovered as well, so was a nice balcony which faced the back of the house, a guest bedroom currently being left unclaimed, and a free room that was going to remain a blank canvass for now.
Overall, the group was quite happy with their new home and looked forward to truly living in it for the foreseeable future, confirmed by Shyarly.
Adam still worried that he might inadvertently begin gathering people due to his 'job' and trying to house them himself when they had no homes to return to or any means of reaching it however.
He still felt a bit paranoid about it even after Shyarly predicted that this house would be good for years to come at least, but since new actions might change that, or other actions she might not have seen could have helped him avoid having to use his saving to build a new house once again, Adam began looking into the possibility of building a large dormitory/apartment building.
But that was for the future.
Author Notes:
This chapter was more for initial bonding and introduction of these versions of Harribel and Morgiana.
I'm trying to make them somewhat different since Morgiana obviously hasn't suffered through her piece of shit owner or the full horrors of slavery in this run, while Harribel isn't a negative side of a dead soul having gone through likely thousands of years of cannibalistic evolution in a survival of the fittest world before being galvanized by an insane sociopath with aims at godhood, becoming an aspect of death revolving around Sacrifice.
This will change them.
I just liked their apparences and thought I could fit their general selves, abilities and whatnot into One Piece relatively well as Kuja tribe members.
As for how they got captured, I'd say that the current empress shouldn't be too impressive as it is between Shakuyaku's and Boa's reigns, so having two Kuja being taken under her watch, somewhat like how the Boa sisters were, shouldn't be too crazy.
And why would they go to Fish-Man Island with them? Simple, Greed and wanting to appear big by bringing two rare and lucrative types of slaves at once to earn bigger paychecks by catching the eyes of the big fish.
Beyond that, the new house was just a necessity, plus I thought Adam generally doing something nice for his mom would be good to show he appreciates her, while her internal struggles for having kids not even in the double digits of age being able to support themselves is just amusing to me for some reason.
The fact that it's not just Adam makes it even better.
Likely going to have a time skip to the next major event for Fish-Man Island next chapter since it's mostly going to be routine work for Adam and the Girls after this bit, trying to move forward to the real deal as he begins to grow beyond the isolated island's scope.
Hope you enjoy.