The Moby Dick was massive. Far bigger than any ship she'd seen in her life. Hell, it was bigger than most buildings. It… simply dwarfed anything she'd ever seen before. Seeing it breach from the waves like the whale it was named after quickly followed by two slightly smaller vessels just made her stomach…
Strauss swallowed the lump in her throat.
It was getting hard for her to keep her composure. The sheer anticipation of this battle was sending her blood pumping. Adrenaline spiking. She kept wanting to twitch. To twiddle her fingers or tap her foot. Or punch someone. She wasn't picky. But… patience. She needed patience. Things were bound to erupt into chaos at some point. That was when she'd strike.
Otherwise it would be messy. Both figuratively… and probably literally.
The coatings on the three ships popped, breaking the astounded silence. There were murmurings going on in the crowds below her but Strauss couldn't make out what they were saying. Not that she particularly wanted to. There was something else. A solid thunk… thunk… thunk… Like the beat of an old and mighty drum. Marching forwards for war.
She didn't need to be told who that was. She didn't even need to see. It was obvious from the way the air grew denser. Making it hard to breathe. Easier to choke.
"Gurararara… It's been a while, Sengoku."
How could… she'd thought the Fleet Admiral was bad. No. Somehow this was worse. Because even though he was so far away, still visible on the deck only from sheer size alone, his voice pierced through the tenseness as if it was nothing. It was as if he was speaking right next to her.
The Fleet Admiral himself grimaced, "Whitebeard…"
"Heh." The great figure below scoffed, cocking a head that Strauss knew even from this distance was larger than her torso (it had to be… otherwise she wouldn't be able to see him) to one side, "You better tell me that my beloved son is alright."
And he laughed. He laughed with that great booming bass voice of his with such force that Strauss felt it; she physically felt the sound echo through her bones. All the way to her feet. She resisted the urge to smile. Now she knew why Ace always talked about him so much.
"I can't believe we let them get this close," hissed Sengoku through gritted teeth.
"Just wait a moment Ace," Whitebeard called up to the execution platform, "This'll be over soon."
"P-POPS!"
Oh that scream… It punched her right in the gut. The sheer desperation of it… The pain. And hopelessness. As if Ace himself knew… that this would be an impossible fight.
It made her want to scream back and demand why he'd given up so fast.
SHNK!
That great halberd, a naginata she believed Law called it, slammed into the figurehead of the Moby Dick. The blade sinking into the wood as if it were paper. Whitebeard's hands clenched. Crossing over his immense body with tight fists. And then… WHAM!
Strauss couldn't… Her eyes were working correctly weren't they? S-She hadn't gone insane… right!?
C… Crrrrr!
The air was cracking. Physically cracking. She could see the fault lines split the air. Sheer nothingness was splitting, refracting into hundreds of shards like a shattered mirror. It wasn't just the air she realised. It was everything. Including the roiling waves surrounding the island, as each wave stretched up and up and up.
She felt the colour leave her face as the shadow of an immense wave slid over her. Large enough to swallow the unthinkably large Moby Dick whole. Another wave of equal size looming up on the other side of the harbour.
This was the power of theTremor Tremor fruit, or the Gura Gura no Mi as some called it. It could cause earthquakes and tsunamis at the slam of a fist. It was easy to hear stories about it, something else to actually see the sheer power at his fingertips. And if he was like that… what about all the other Admirals?
All of a sudden she felt so small. So… powerless. A tiny fish, in an ocean full of sea kings.
Why the hell had she thought she could do anything? How could she possibly help when she was surrounded by goddamn Admirals and pirate Emperors!? The most she'd ever done was beat up a few no name pirates and break into a Marine base! That was it! S-She couldn't handle this?!
But then she turned to Ace. To the friend who had helped her realise what it was she really wanted.
The friend who was about to be executed.
Her knuckles whitened around the staff.
Fuck it.
She'd known deep down that she would have to grow up at some point if she was going to follow Sanji across the Grand Line. This was just a good a time as any. People were counting on her!
So she looked to Whitebeard. And although she knew it could only be a trick of the light, she could've sworn that he was looking at her. As if he knew that she wasn't who she pretended to be. A knowing smirk on his face.
One which despite her apprehension, she returned with glee.
Having allies was a welcome feeling indeed.
.
Strauss was… worried about something.
Sanji's eyes narrowed as he doled out another portion of stew to one of the marines (it wasn't as if he needed to actually care about serving that lot. All they really wanted was the food), his attention never shifting from the corner she'd disappeared behind almost 30 minutes ago now.
It was her damn captain's fault. He knew that much. They'd left together for a little bit a while ago, and when they'd returned… Well. Strauss did not look okay. She hadn't been physically injured or anything, in fact her face seemed quite impassive on the surface. Impassive but… tense. As if she'd been given a piece of rather unwelcome information. Which meant his imagination was going into overdrive trying to figure out what that asshole had said to hurt her.
Maybe an order for her to stop interacting with him? Nah. With a sigh, he poured another ladleful of stew into the marine's proffered bowl. As much as it pained his ego to say it, this probably didn't involve him in the slightest. If it had, she would've looked at him. Or at least shot a hesitant glance in his direction. And most likely, come straight over to talk to him about it. She hated making decisions without both parties being present.
So the fact that she was bottling it up like this was worrying to say the least.
But he wasn't going to bother her. No. He was going to be a good friend, and wait for her to bring it up on her own. Although…
He glanced down at the massive pot of stew he'd created.
She hadn't come for any food yet. And she must be hungry, she was always hungry. And it wasn't like Strauss to pass up any food if it was on offer. Neither of them would. But if she was torn up and stuck in her thoughts… If he really was a good friend, shouldn't he bring some for her? Make sure that she actually ate something, and not just the dregs like he knew she'd try and insist on. If her body was healing she needed good nourishment!
Yeah! Puffing out his chest Sanji gave a broad smile. That was what he'd do! And by giving her some food, she'd know that there were no hard feelings between them! They would even get a proper chance to talk slightly away from the main group. This was perfe-
Strauss marched out from her little corner. Grim determination set on her face.
Sanji's jaw fell slack, the ladle almost falling out of his hand. But she wasn't moving towards him in any way… if anything, she seemed to be storming towards where Trafalgar Law was moping with a bowl of stew next to that damned line the marines had painted. He practically groaned in disappointment. Of course she was going to her captain. He knew that that asshole had pissed her off somehow! It was about time that she stood up to his bullshit already! Either that or she wanted something to do which, knowing Strauss, was equally as likely. Law had already mentioned trying to leave as soon as possible- as if he could try stop Luffy if he wanted to party. Sanji almost laughed in his face.
Strauss walked straight past Law. Not even sparing him a sideways glance. And was instead stopping by…
W-was he seeing things right? This wasn't just his eyes playing tricks on him… right?!
Why was she talking to Smoker of all people? Why was he downing his stew like that? And why were they leaving to go to some private corner together?
Now the ladle actually did drop from his grasp, landing in the stew with a mild splash and many mutters from the queue of Marines before him. But Sanji paid it no mind. He stared blankly in the direction Strauss and Smoker had left. Brain completely left without explanation.
…
Huh?!
"What was it like eating a Logia fruit?"
Smoker practically had to blink away the visible confusion from forming on his face. Out of all the things he'd expected her to talk about when Strauss had dragged him to this private area… it sure as hell wasn't that!
Strauss stood before him. Arms crossed and a brow raised in patient but agitated intensity. It was obvious that this wasn't some simple question. She wouldn't have bothered asking him away from prying eyes for one. But the question then was…
"Why do you want to know?" He narrowed his eyes down at her. "You don't happen to have a devil fruit would you?" And even if she did, how did she know it was a Logia? Most people didn't know what fruit they had until they ate it. As far as he could tell, Strauss had touched no small amount of Sea Prism Stone without being affected. So she wasn't a devil fruit user.
Yet.
That was the dangerous thing wasn't it.
She wasn't a devil fruit user yet.
"I believed I asked a question first." She cocked her head, somehow managing to seem tall despite how much shorter she was than him. "You answer mine, and maybe I'll think about answering yours."
His teeth gnawed on his cigars, "We have already toed a lot of lines with you pirates today… like hell I'll just let you walk out of here with a devil fruit."
"Okay, how about I ask you a different question." Her face soured. "This entire thing has taken what, a few hours? And you were there since almost the very beginning. When the hell did I have an opportunity to just get a devil fruit since you showed up? It wasn't as if there was just one sitting around out there, otherwise don't you think I would've eaten it already? Especially considering I almost died multiple times out there."
It… made sense. Even though part of him still reminded him that she'd effectively dodged the question. Tashigi had told him how the Straw Hat swordsman had been the one to take down Monet, long after Strauss had left, so it wasn't as if she'd stolen that fruit. Not that he even really knew how devil fruits passed from one user to another come to think of it… The only time he'd seen it happen was at Marineford. And that incident was a blatant anomaly and should not be counted.
"So you don't have a devil fruit," he pressed.
"Didn't I just explain why it makes no sense that I would?"
Urgh she was annoying… She'd been bad enough before, and now that she'd spent time with one of the most frustrating pirates on the seas she'd just gotten worse. Not for the first, or the last, time Smoker cursed that she wasn't a Marine. She'd double the IQ of the rest of the G5 marines single handedly.
He groaned, running a tired hand down his face. It had been a long day. "Fine. You win. Why do you want to know about eating Logia fruits? And why from me?"
"Call it curiosity." For a moment her eyes flicked towards the main party. Then almost instantly back. "Why not you? Doesn't it make sense to hear about Logia fruits from someone who's actually eaten one?"
"You didn't ask Portgas?"
Her lip twitched. "It never came up in conversation. Now-" with blazing eyes she glared up at him- "are you going to give me an answer or has this been a waste of both of our time?"
Sucking in a breath, he decided to bite the bullet. What harm could it possibly do? It wasn't as if this was any top secret information. Even if she did have a Logia fruit and wasn't telling him… might as well help her out. Tashigi would have his head otherwise. And to be honest, he was surprised that someone had even asked.
Most people focused on the 'glamour' of Logia fruits. The flashy powers, and general spectacle of it all. Not really the how. Maybe some were curious about when he'd eaten the fruit, but that was it. Never really about what came after. They didn't care about the vigorous training, or the headaches, or the late and sleepless nights.
It almost made him feel… proud. Proud that his effort was finally going to be noticed. Even if he probably couldn't articulate it properly.
"It took about a week to get fully used to it," Smoker said finally, puffing a small cloud out the corner of his lips that shifted in mid air to form a vaguely humanoid shape that kept separating and rejoining its limbs. "Being able to control your body when it constantly wants to turn into smoke and split apart from itself ain't exactly a walk in the park. You keep trying to train only for your fists to disintegrate into smoke whenever you punch something."
Those same fists flexed now. Sometimes flesh and sometimes smoke, but nonetheless under his own control. Like they had been for so many years now.
"You find yourself having to change the way you live in order to deal. I picked up smoking to start getting used to the stuff, only to find it helped calm things down a little. By inhaling smoke I could understand smoke. And after a while it became another weapon that people don't expect."
She nodded towards the cigars, "Is that why you've got no health complications with those things? Since Law practically has an aneurysm every time he looks at you."
"Heh." He couldn't resist a snort at that mental image. "The moment I breath it in, this stuff's a part of my body. I get to decide where what goes, which just makes it the same carbon smoke that comes from a regular fire."
"Hmmm…" For a moment she was silent. Eyes slightly glazing over as she internalised that information for some unbeknownst reason. Eventually, her brow furrowed. "Does it hurt then? The first time your body split into different pieces?"
"It ain't a physical issue to worry about. Your body won't feel a damn thing, there's no pain receptors. The problem is up here." The small smokey figure morphed into a hand, which reached up to tap at his temple. "Your head can't keep up with your body suddenly not being one thing anymore, and being in different places with different feelings and so on. If you've got good mental training you're fine, but folks who don't have a hard time keeping it together."
"Is it similar to having your limbs severed from your body and still being able to control them afterwards?"
He was abruptly filled with morbid curiosity about what sort of horrific experiments Trafalgar Law performed with his crewmates if it meant they could talk about something like that with perfect calmness.
"Well…" The smoke figure he conjured dissipated in the breeze. "Yeah. But multiply that by a billion. Or a trillion, I dunno how exactly it all works. Just know it's a lot." Both literally, and metaphorically.
"I see." Strauss shifted for the first time that conversation, hand moving up to drum careful beats against her cheek. Something about what he'd said had got her brain whirring.
For several moments Smoker stood there in silence watching her. Blank face and arms crossed. "Is that," he eventually grunted, "all you wanted to talk about?"
"Unless you've got anything else to share, yeah. It is."
He didn't. Not anything he felt comfortable sharing with a pirate at least. Muttering frosty curses under his breath, Smoker turned and began stalking towards the main noise of that stupid party. He hadn't exactly been expecting much when she called him out, but this was completely pointless. Even if the very fact that she'd asked him something like that was information enough by itself, it wasn't as if he could do anything with it. Logia fruits… logia fruits…
In a moment of stupidity he stopped where he was and turned. Memories coming back from the last time he'd seen her. Two years ago, sprinting across the icy battlefield before Marineford with a face splattered with blood.
And an expression of empty devastation.
"I…"
No. His fists clenched. How dare he apologise. He was a Marine! A proud upholder of justice! It would go against everything the Marines stood for to try and express any hint of remorse for Fire Fist's death, let alone trying to sympathise with a pirate. Fire Fist was a danger to society. Someone who would've turned the world on its head if he was allowed to be left alive! Someone who…
…
"Everything alright?" Strauss was watching him sceptically, eyeing him with no small amount of caution. "You… were saying something."
Smoker's knuckles grew white under his gloves, then relaxed.
"No. It was nothing."
And picking up the pace, he continued back to the loud noise of the party. Hopefully to grab a glass of whatever spirit he could get his hands on. He needed a stiff drink to try and stifle the rising mess of feelings he was too pissed off to try and identify.
Meaning he completely missed Strauss pull the abnormally blue fruit from a hidden pouch and stare at it blankly between her fingers.
Law watched Smoker stomp back from around the quiet corner he'd disappeared behind with Strauss, taking a long sip of stew to hide the surveillance. Smoker merely rolled his eyes and snatched up his own long since discarded bowl before stalking off towards where some Marines had pulled out large caskets of rum.
As he should. He was beginning to ask unwanted questions that Law was getting tired of dodging.
Speaking of dodging…
"So-" he took another sip, keeping his gaze resolutely ahead of him- "did you get the answers you wanted?"
"As much as I could without seeming suspicious." Her voice came from right behind him, even though he hadn't heard her approach. Strauss always had a way of moving silently even on crunching snow. "I got enough to start thinking about at least."
"Just remember; whatever your decision, you're not allowed to eat it until-"
"Until my shoulder is healed." A pause. "Oh I remember."
"Good."
He never understood why devil fruits weren't studied as much as they should. Not creating ways to make them, like that fool Caesar had… but learning about existing ones. How they ticked, and physically affected the body. There were so many untapped questions, one of the most pressing being if the state of the body as they ate the fruit got transferred into their devil fruit enhanced self. Monet had told him (or rather she'd told Strauss, who then told him) about how her sister had been frozen into a childlike appearance forever. Just because she'd eaten a devil fruit.
If there was a chance Strauss's bone fracture could be permanently manipulated by eating the Snow Snow Fruit or whatever people called it, then it wasn't worth risking it. He was happy for the extra time anyways. Having to wait minimised the risk of impulse decision making. It would mean that she was fully prepared for the consequences.
Plus it was another way of making sure she remained on his crew. Emotional manipulation was not one of his strong suits… but a devil fruit was a pretty hefty card to hand over. He could use that to his advantage.
However he couldn't help but notice that the deal hadn't been mentioned yet. Specifically, it hadn't been brought up by her. The only time she'd talked about it was when he'd actively prompted her to. Which was a little surprising. He would've thought that she would bring up something so obviously to her benefit. Narrowing his gaze, he subtly turned his head to take in her expression.
Not subtly enough, he realised, as her eyes flicked down to meet his. "Something the matter?"
"No." He took another long sip of stew. "Not at all."
"That's the second time someone's decided not to tell me something in the past few minutes. You guys are ridiculous." Huffing, she finally moved to stand by his side. "I'm not leaving until this is all over you know?"
Law paused. And raised a single questioning brow.
"Did you really think I would do all that work with you to take down that damn warlord after all these years and ditch you because of a verbal contract we had?" Strauss shifted her weight, arms crossing tightly in front of her chest. "Not a chance. I'm invested now. There's no way I'm backing out, no matter how much of an asshole you're being about it."
Something inside him clenched. Even after the past few years together, he could never understand why his crew had chosen to trust someone like him. He wasn't a 'good person', if a pirate could even be 'good'. He was callous, calculating, and in a near permanent state of sleep deprived grouchiness. But they followed him still. Despite all odds.
"Besides-" she smirked at him- "It's not like anyone else can deal with you. You need me to make sure you don't dissect Straw Hat before we get to Dressrossa."
The laugh escaped him before he even realised he was smiling. "A bold claim. What makes you think you could stop me?"
"One word: coffee. And having someone sane to talk to I suppose."
"Hmph… point taken."
They remained like that for a bit. Silently listening to the ongoing party before them while Law sipped on the dregs of his stew. They both knew that their decision only put off the inevitable, and this conversation would have to return in a few weeks once they'd toppled Doflamingo. But right now this agreement would be good enough.
Eventually, Strauss reached a hand towards his bowl, "Do you want me to get you another serving, Captain?"
He smirked. And raised it for her to take. "I'm good. Get some for yourself Strauss-ya-"
And the bowl exchanged hands.
"-since after this, we've got work to do."
Her lips curled into a broad grin. "Good. I hate sitting around doing nothing."
"Heh." Law stood, swinging Kikoku over his shoulder and beginning to saunter towards where the new prisoners were. "Now that makes two of us."
"Bye bye!"
"Thanks for all your help!"
"I'll miss you Dr reindeer!"
The reworked tanker was safely away from shore now, carrying all the children back towards their respective families. Sanji lowered his hand with a wistful smile. They were good kids. Hopefully they'd move past this traumatic experience and grow up happy. It was the least they deserved. The Marines too, funnily enough. Maybe this would be the push they needed to actually get off their asses and do some real good in the world. Who knew?
"Alright," Luffy turned once the tanker was finally reaching open water, "shall we go?"
Sanji made to follow him, only to pause in his tracks. There in front of him stood Strauss, a small but familiar satchel slung over one shoulder. She cocked her head as the rest of his crew moved past her, each of them chatting about various things that would need to be done once they were aboard, "Are you coming?"
His feet scrambled, any semblance of coordination a mess as his body tried to keep up with his heart, "Are you… going with us?!"
"Well… yeah?" As he became level with her she fell in next to him. Practically shoulder to shoulder. "Our captains do have an alliance after all."
"O…Oh." Sure enough he finally noticed Trafalgar Law ahead of them, a few steps behind Luffy. "I… uh…"
For a moment he tried to get his thoughts in order. Trying to line things up again and get that strange idea out of his head. Thinking like that was stupid. Strauss had made her stance on things very clear, and besides. She was part of someone else's crew now. And unless Trafalgar was an utter idiot (which, let's face it, Sanji had a sneaking suspicion he was), he'd fight tooth and nail to make sure she stayed on his crew. Since she was amazing. Anyone should consider them lucky to have her.
Sanji knew he would.
"I know."
Hm? He blinked, swivelling his head to properly take in her expression. "You know… what?"
"That… this…" She emphasised with a lifeless hand. "The whole… me being here, and… on someone else's crew and everything. I get it. It's… weird." Lips pursing together, she smiled. Not one of her fake smiles or one of her joyful ones. This one seemed… wistful. As if she was afraid of what he'd say next. "I… missed you though. I really did."
And that was it. Any apprehensions or stray thoughts he had just vanished. How could they not, in the wake of something like that. All those doubts and false wishes were gone, and in their place? Relief. Hope.
Excitement.
"So did I. I never had the chance to say this but-" Sanji reached out and slung an arm across Strauss's shoulders, making sure to be cautious of her injured one- "I'm really glad you're here, Strauss. I missed you too."
The trepidation left her face, resulting in a bright broad grin. Just like the ones he remembered. Her own arm stretched out and gripped his own shoulders, mirroring his pose, "I can't wait to talk to you more."
"Neither can I. Hey, just make sure you mentally prepare yourself before you go aboard our ship, it might overwhelm you."
"Considering I came from a submarine… that's probably fair enough."
"Yeah, but we have a fish tank for fresh fish aboard. And a bar. All connected to the kitchen by a dumbwaiter."
"...You're kidding. A dumbwaiter!? Really!?"
"No joke. Just wait until you see it."
"Oh man, Zeff would flip out if he finds out you have one of those."
"Ha! Damn right he would!"
And together, they continued behind the rest of the group towards the Sunny. Almost as if things had never changed between them.
A/N
Yaaaay! I'm back! Phew that took a while to get out... That last section honestly took me two days to write, because I couldn't decide how to properly transition off Punk Hazard and find a chapter ending I liked. That alongside life stuff. Which was really rough the past month, not gonna lie to you guys. Going back to uni for a Masters and figuring out finance stuff is not fun! Not to mention that the scene I thought would start out this chapter ended up being cut for time since it wasn't really necessary or doing anything... phew. Rough time over here. But I brought myself some chicken plushies so all's good.
In either case, I'm glad this chapter was written. Its a bit of an inbetweeny chapter, but one I was thinking about a lot. Especially that conversation with Smoker. That felt important to me. The rest was... hah... Kinda important but also not important? Mostly me getting back on my writing feet, so let me know what you think about it.
Also I completely forgot to mention it last update, but we've blown straight past our 3rd Anniversary! Strauss is 3 years old! (... you get what I mean). I might still do an anniversary update buuut I'm kinda stumped on the inspiration front and really want to keep this story moving. If anyone has any prompts though, more than happy to oblige! You guys are way smarter than me ^_^.
Anywhoo thank you so much for reading! I hope wherever you are, you've had a great summer, and that you are looking forward to continuing this journey with me. See you next time!
