The mess hall was in uproar.

Not that this was in any way unusual. The mess hall of the Moby Dick was generally in had long since gotten used to it. The general atmosphere of back-slapping, rib-tickling, punch-in-the-belly camaraderie. It wasn't his style, but he could never quite bring himself to walk away from it either. Even Oden himself had gotten up to his own antics many a time back in Wano..

Today, it was the object of all the attention that got on his nerves.

"I'm telling you! We were talking about buying our own ship!"

The green-haired youth was going to every ear he thought would listen, face redder than the twilight and trying to convince his new family members that what had happened the night before was not what they thought it was. He was failing miserably.

"A ship of love!"

"The loooooooove boat!"

"Love! Exciting and new!"

The pirates around them roared with laughter at their own jokes. Midoriya Izuku looked like he wanted to sink into the deck and disappear as his face met the table, his meal beside him untouched.

Izou watched from the opposite side of the mess hall; his face set in its usual glare. He did not like Midoriya Izuku, but it was nothing personal. It wasn't that Izuku had actually said or done anything, hell if he was honest the young teen was quite pleasant and friendly to everyone else. Yet…

"Was I ever that young?"

Yes, technically. Those had been good times, when he and his sister Kikunojo had been retainers of Kozuki Oden. Yes, his lord had embarrassed and infuriated him at times. Always wandering around, doing whatever he felt like, ignoring his duties, scorning the dignity of his birth and office. He had even abandoned his country, his people, his responsibilities, to go sail the seas as a pirate!
But those had been good times.

His lip curled as he remembered those other, grim days. He, the son and heir of the finest dance school in Wano, reduced to performing in the streets for a few coins. Prancing around in patched kimonos and improvised makeup, while faces leered and cackled. How amusing it must have been for those lowlifes, seeing the children of a well-to-do family dancing in the street. What Kiku had to go through to become-

He stopped, not liking to remember those times looking at Izuku. But that wasn't his fault. Izuku had done him no wrong. He couldn't help what he looked like. The boy was green both literally and figuratively and would only grow with time.

Her on the other hand…

It was all he could do not to snarl as he saw Yamato sitting there right beside him, looking so innocently bewildered. Yamato, the daughter of Kaido, an oni; yet no one seemed to notice. She just wandered around the ship, cheerfully doing whatever chore people gave her, wide-eyed and innocent as a child. And everyone just loved her, just as they had loved Lord Momonosuke, and Lady Hiyori.

Those two… compared to that monster and her… enabler!?

Why could they not understand? Why hadn't they listened to Lord Oden's stories about the Oni of old? What they had done? Why could they see what she really was?

Because there was nothing to see. They weren't from Wano. He was the only one left on the ship who was. They would never understand the way he did. They would never know what those creatures were. It wasn't their story.

Lord Oden hadn't made them understand. He had told the stories in a cheerful way, slapping his thigh and laughing at the horrid deeds of the ancient Oni. They were just old stories to him, stories to share and enjoy, not warnings from history.

And even if they hadn't been, he wouldn't have told them like that. He hadn't hated the Oni, nor had he feared them; any more than he feared anything, at least until Kaido appeared on their shores.

Izou gritted his teeth, and looked down at the newspaper on the table before him. It was a special edition, all about the Siege of Doyle. He read on, glad of the distraction, taking in every detail. The Finalems sneaking into the harbor pretending to be an innocent merchant ship. The treachery of the Marine base commander. The long siege, and the desperate ploy by King Bach; luring the pirates into his own palace, trapping and destroying them. The role of two pairs of mysterious warriors; two in the palace, and two at the gasworks. All four had long since disappeared, leaving only names and a legend behind them.

He turned the page, and paused as he saw the full-page picture of King Reichen Bach. Yes, he was Whitey Bay's son all right. In every feature he could see her; the eyes, the hair, all of it.

"Excuse me! Mr Izou!?"

Izou forced him not to pull out his pistol and fire it. He snapped up his head, ready to yell at the good-for-nothing who had disturbed him.

And saw her. Yamato, standing over him, looking down at him with a nervous smile.

"That's Commander to you." he snarled. What did she want now?

"Oh ummm, Commander Izou. I-"

"I didn't hear a 'Sir' in there, chore girl." He glowered as he sipped from his tea. Yamato flinched and took a deep breath. Izou paused, as he felt eyes upon him, and glanced towards Izuku. The youth was looking directly at him.

Izou's lip curled. Let him stare. Let him glower and glare. He was nothing but a sneaky little rat, good only for robbing Emperors in their sleep. His only battle honors were one frothing madman and a pair of posers. What was he compared to the Whitebeard Pirates? What was he beside Oden's proud samurai?

No better than that sniveling serpent Orochi.

They said a broken clock was right twice a day. Perhaps the inverse was true too.

"Commander Izou, Sir," Yamato forced herself to speak. "I was hoping to talk to you, sir."

"About what?"

"Sir…I wanted to tell you, in person…how sorry I am about Kozuki Oden, and everything that's happened."

Izou's heart froze over. If it had not, it would have exploded.

"Oh you are, are you?" he almost sneered. "You are taking responsibility for everything, are you?"

"Sir…"

"For everything your kind did to mine?" His pulse was starting to race. "For everything that happened eight hundred years ago? For what your kind have done to this world? For what your father did to my country? My lord? His family? My Comrades. MY SISTER!"

He hated her, as he hated all her kind. He wanted to kill her, to pull out his pistol and blow her head off! How dare she stand there and try to make peace with him!? How dare she act as if she were a feeling being, and not a ravening monster!?

"Sir…I…" Yamato looked hurt, like a child who'd been slapped.

"As far as I'm concerned, you are that monster's spawn and nothing else!" he snarled. "Even if Pops can…!"

"Back off!" Izuku strode up to stand beside Yamato. "Commander Izou, with all due respect, I'm not letting this slide!" Izou was caught off guard. When did he get here so fast?

The ice shattered. Izou slammed back his bench and leapt to his feet; his pulse hammering in his head as he glared down at the green haired boy, his left hand already resting against the handle of one of his pistols.

"You dare speak to me like that?!" he roared, rounding on Izuku. "You have the…!"
"There a problem here?"

Izou froze, as Thatch came strolling up, all smiles, yet his eyes were sharp like daggers. Around them, the mess hall had fallen silent, and all eyes were fixed on them.

"Izuku, Yamato, Izou," Thatch looked from one to the other. "Is there something wrong? I could have sworn that I heard yelling."

Izou's heart hammered, but he could not move. Before him, Yamato looked miserable, and Izuku was still staring at him. All around, the crew were staring too.

They were staring at Yamato. With sympathy. They were sympathizing with Yamato! They, his comrades, were siding with that!

"You must have heard wrong, Commander Thatch," Izuku said, without moving his eyes. "We were just leaving."

"Oh, that's good." Thatch smiled. "Almost thought we had a problem here! Anyway, you kids run along, and I'll just have a quick word with my fellow Commander here about that strange noise that didn't exist."

Izuku put a hand on Yamato's arm, and the pair strode out of the mess hall without looking back. Thatch sat down opposite him, and the others returned to their meals and their conversations. Thatch gave him a look, and Izou sat down.

"Something you wanna tell me, Izou?" Thatch sat casually, legs crossed, arm on the table; but there was nothing casual about his eyes.

"Nothing, Thatch," retorted Izou; hating himself for sounding so petulant.

"Nothing?" Thatch looked at his fingernails. "I'm not stupid; That wasn't nothing, Izou. I seem to remember pops telling you not to think those thoughts, let alone speak them." He looked back at him, smile gone. "Yet here you are, letting the shit on your face you call lips do a great impression of your ass with what's coming out of them."

Izou glared.

"I also saw your duty list. All of the stuff that you've taken on," Thatch remarked. "And yet, instead of doing something more constructive or even relaxing, you're still holding onto your grudge against Yamato despite Pops giving her the all clear. Can't exactly ignore that."

Izou momentarily swallowed his tongue, knowing full well he had no argument. Pops word was final and absolute, he'd had that drilled into his head years ago and followed it dutifully for years…but that girl!?

"Maybe we should take this conversation elsewhere."

Izou looked up at Thatch, noticing his eyes focused downward, only to finally notice his hands were clenched so tightly they'd started to bleed, yet he hadn't felt even a slight pinch. And he knew there was little way to argue with Thatch, given how he'd acted and now this.

With an angry huff, the Kimono clad pirate got up and followed Thatch above deck. Once up stairs and getting a breath full of crisp and cool air, Thatch quickly gestured to the lower members to clear the deck for a moment before the pair took a spot by the rails.

"Look Izou, I'm not gonna pretend I understand what you're going through or all that stuff. But, you can't keep acting like this, like it or not Yamato is a part of this crew and you've gotta accept that."

"You don't understand. You don't know them." Izou snarled, glaring back at his peer. "What they have done to my people."

Thatch however quickly held his hand up to cut Izou off. "And let me stop you right there. We've been over this and I get it. The Oni were basically the stuff of nightmares for your homeland and you've got a bias against them. But Yamato isn't like them, can't you just put your hatred aside?"

"Easier said than done." Izou snapped, glaring out into the distance where Wano lay far beyond his gaze. "If it were simply the old stories from the past, of creatures I'd never laid eyes on and who'd never done me or my kin harm, maybe. But they aren't just stories anymore."

Izou's vision was replaced by those of fire, smoke choking the air and the screams of countless villagers and people. His expression hardened and tightened as countless large horned shadows started to descend upon him, his heart started to race.

"IZOU!"

The geshia's eyes opened again, finding Thatch's hand on his shoulder and seeing that once again he'd reached for one of his guns, this time having pulled it out and cocking it on reflex. Taking a few deep breaths, he uncocked the pistol, yet still stared angrily at it.

"They're not just stories! Kaido is living proof of that," he growled. "And he wasn't the only one. I saw some when Kiku and I fought against Kaido's army. Oni, burning my country to the ground and ravaging its people just like the days of old. My childhood nightmares made reality."

With a sigh he finally put his pistol away, yet his hand still shook ever so slightly.

"And that's what you see when you see Yamato?" he asked. "Dude, you've got the wrong Oni. Sure, she likes her food and her booze, and I'm betting she'll be hot stuff in a fight. But I'm telling you, there is no malice in her. Look, I can hardly believe she's Kaido's daughter either. But I've seen evil in my time on this ship, and I'm not seeing it here."

He rubbed the back of his head. "Hell you've been on this ship longer than me dude. You gotta chill. I've never seen you like this."

Izou lowered his head. He hated what this was doing to him. He knew he was acting like a bad-tempered idiot instead of a Division Commander. But he couldn't stop himself!

"I know it's hard, hell if I was in your position I'd probably feel similar as well. After what they did to Oden, Toki, Hiyori and Momo, not to mention Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, I'd like nothing more than skin and filet every member of Kaido's band. But I'm not asking you to accept all the Oni in the world, just the one on this ship who wants to make amends for what her dad did to you and your people." Thatch spoke, offering Izou a concession, but the former Samurai merely continued to glare and seethe.

"She shouldn't have come then."

"She was offering a fucking olive branch and that's your excuse?"

"She's one of them!"

"She's your Sister on this crew!"

"NEVER!" Izou barked, eyes wide. "That thing will never replace Kiku! Never, in a hundred years!"

Thatch sighed, hand to his face.

"Good God man…" He looked to the side. "Look. I'm not the hammer when it comes to the law, I'm the forebear. Okay?" Thatch glared. "I get it, you're angry. Your family in Wano. Your lord who took you in, you're mad. You've avoided them for a month and you just wanted to explode. Guess what, I'm your man." He raised his arms up. "You wanna vent to me? Go right ahead. I can take it. I know when to drop things over bullshit like you blaming her for something beyond her control. And you had a moment of weakness. Fine. But let me make this clear Izou." He stepped forward, eyes glaring hard as Izou stood his ground. "You better drop this, right now. Or better yet, you should have dropped this matter the moment Pops said so, and Yamato offered peace. This whole fucking tantrum of your's is making your head spin."

Izou was silent, glaring back but the Fourth Division Commander didn't budge.

"Pops found them worthy, and if it's good enough for the rest of us, it should be good enough for you too."

The black haired clenched his fists and ground his teeth. Thatch sighed.

"Izou, I say this as your friend, and I don't like saying this but right now?" Thatch warned. "You are on thin ice." He pointed at him. "People have noticed the way you treat those two, people like you on this ship, but there will be murmurs."

"No one said a word to me!" snapped Izou, anger and dread warring within him. "If people have something to say, they should say it to my face!"

"Yes, they should," replied Thatch, with infuriating calm. "But Pops gave you a chance to cool off, but what you did back there was out of line. She was trying to make peace with you, and you threw it in her face. And you openly questioned your Captain's judgment in front of the crew, and you pulled rank on Izuku when he called you on it. You are this close, Izou." He held his fingers close. "Don't test Pops again." The unspoken words of "or else" hung.

He stood up and turned towards the door.

"I can't do it!" Izou blurted out. "How can I after everything her bastard father did to me and my people?"

"Then don't," retorted Thatch bitterly. "Besides that was her father. Not her."

He heard the brown haired man sigh.

"Look. Just haul it in, Izou," Thatch said again. "You're hurting and I get it, but don't screw yourself over for a chance to screw him over. It's not fair, and it's not worth it." He turned and walked to the door, and stopped.

"You know…" Thatch mused, as Izou turned towards him. "I came into this little room as your brother and friend… now?" He shrugged, still facing away as Izou's eyes widened, his heart clenching as if someone was gripping it. "I don't know anymore. And I say this, as a crewmate, give her a chance." Thatch sighed, and closed the door behind him.

…

Give her… a chance?

The shame. The shock. The pure indignant anger of it all.

Izou walked through the ship, silent and ignoring the recognition for others. He found himself in the bathroom, stripped, and walked into a shower. He didn't know how long it took.

Give her a chance.

He stared at the wall, letting the water pour down his form at full blast as the words resounded inside his skull, like a madman trying to escape his cell. He didn't even raise the temperature as his hair came undone and his makeup washed off; Thatch's words echoing in his mind as it overtook the running water and the beat of his heart.

The memories of the past month of how his family was being deceived. Tricked.

By that cow and her serpent. No better than Wano's ruling oppressors. How the last of that damned and cursed Kurozumi line used his silver tongue to overthrow the rightful and proud line of Wano. Oden gave him a chance, and now the Kozuki line is dead, and demons rule his homeland.

Now that brat, the smarter one between the two, had used his silver tongue somehow, and he had taught that thing too, and worse, Pops fell for it. Just like Oden.

All because their hearts were too big.

And now, the whole crew was turning against HIM. Because he saw what was happening. History repeating.

He spent over twenty years on this ship. Became a Commander, revered and loved. Now they were being turned against him.

Give them an inch, and the cow and the serpent will take the whole fucking country and people.

Give her a chance.

Give a chance to an Oni. A demon. One of those who finally took his homeland, and were making his people suffer.

Who had killed the man who saved him; and his comrades.

Then Lady Toki and her children.

Kiku…

A chance.

Give her a chance?

…

"I refuse."

Written up by Juubi-K and me adding bits and pieces, with great edits by WildJoker000 and IKnowNothing . Thanks bros.

But yeah, Izou is not in the best head space right now. We have definite plans for him, so get prepared to see more of him as we go along the story. Considering how Izou and Yamato didn't interact in canon, we have carte blanche to how he would react, especially considering he knows how his sister and Lord's family and friends died. And more importantly, carrying on the One Piece tradition of Sins of the Father that we see so mcuh throughout the world. We don't see it within the Straw Hats since they have no reason too. The only closest example I can make of is Nami but she was able to mend fences with Hachi in Sabaody, and then truly bury the hatchet at Fishman Island.

We have another set of short chapters, about 4 or so before we get to the two big main fights of this shortie Acclimation Arc. Then there will be a wind down of about 2-3 chapters or so and then we are off to the next big Arc. We will see as we go along.

Hope you all enjoyed. I'll see you all in the next one.