The Many (Attempted) Marriages of the Sun Goddess
Me: Things are moving right along here; the Straw Hats prepare to depart here and Luffy gets her wedding dress. There's some truly magnificent fanart of her wearing it, the link will be in the chapter header over on the A03 version of the uploads!
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.
"Are you sure we can't make it a little roomier?" Luffy asked, twisting from side to side and watching the skirt of her dress swoosh around her ankles. "I can probably fight in this, but it'll be harder to kick than usual..."
The cheetah mink seamstress shook her head, somewhere between amused and exasperated with a hint of existential dread. "I've done my best, Luffy-chan, but dresses aren't meant for fighting." She zipped up the back, causing Luffy to blink and roll her shoulders. They had spent about two hours struggling with the top half of the dress – or, the steamstress Aila had been struggling while Luffy obliviously complained over and over that she needed more range of movement. Wedding dresses were a complex creation at the best of times, but sizing and creating one for a pirate who was rather expecting her potential wedding to devolve into a brawl?
Well, thankfully for poor Aila's nerves, Nami and Robin had quickly joined her in her efforts and vetoed some of Luffy's more...interesting requests for her dress, such as multiple snack pockets. The ravenette had adamantly declined a veil, saying she wouldn't wear anything but her hat and wasn't going to attach anything to it. Nami kind of despaired at the realization that Luffy honestly considered Roger's keepsake as proper wedding attire.
She was impressed, though, that her constantly energetic captain had somehow managed to endure the hours of the dress being assembled. Granted, Luffy had occasionally fallen dead asleep in the chair forcing her and Robin to hold her up and pose her while the seamstress and her assistants worked, but she hadn't thrown any tantrums about being bored or made any escape attempts. By her standards that was an incredible show of restraint!
"By marrying someone, you're promising to be with them forever," Luffy had said when Nami expressed disbelief at this. "If you don't approach it seriously, why would anyone believe your promise is real?"
"...I didn't realize you'd given this that much thought," Nami admitted after a few seconds, blinking rapidly at her.
Granted, the whole thing had still been a struggle. Luffy understood very little about clothing and its making, so she had no problem asking for outrageous things and not understanding why it gave Aila and her crew hives. Robin's steady presence helped the process along, and Nami had snapped early on and decided to dig into her own closet for 'date' outfits for Luffy so they won't be trapped in this building for weeks.
The results were quite remarkable, though. Luffy's wedding dress is a thing of beauty; floor length, sleeveless, a neck line that emphasizes her femininity without being too generous, and the layered skirt embroidered with golden suns and flowers was straight out of a fairy tale. Luffy beamed, swirling in a circle.
"Well?" Aila prompted, admirably not sounding completely exhausted.
"It's great!" Luffy exulted happily, bouncing on her heels. The cheetah mink immediately collapses into her chair in relief and her assistants cheer like they just won a war. "Shishishishi! It's so comfy. Oh, too bad Makino isn't here to see it; maybe I'll have Ussop take some pictures?"
"You... you do look amazing, Luffy!" Nami admitted, a little awed. She hadn't thought that anything could make Luffy look like a bride rather than the tomboy she was, but this...the orange-haired girl had attacked the dress up with all her energy, but she still hadn't really expected much more than making her cute! Not divine! I'm almost glad Sanji isn't here, she admitted silently. He'd faint and stay unconscious for days. "I just need to find the right necklace and it'll be perfect."
"I agree," Robin said lightly. "You should dress up more often, Luffy. I'm sure our crewmates would be rather impressed with the results."
Nami laughed dryly. "Yeah... 'impressed'." Lowering her voice to a hiss she leaned over to the archaeologist and whispered "are you trying to kill Zoro and Sanji?" Robin gave her a picture-perfect innocent smile at that. "Do not mess up my betting pool, witch! I've got a fortune riding on this!"
Luffy blinked rapidly at Robin. "Pirates don't wear dresses," she laughed, shaking her head. "This is a special exception!" She hopped up down from the changing platform, a bright smile on her face. "I can't wait to show Zoro and Traffy!"
Nami fumbled with her drink and spilled half of it on her boot. Cursing virulently, she gave Luffy a wide-eyed look. "Eh?!"
"The dress is part of the plan, yeah?" Luffy asked, blinking at her. "I want to show Traffy that I'm taking the plan seriously. And I need Zoro's opinions! Oh, and I want to show Ussop and Franky before they go too."
"That sounds like a fine idea," Robin said while Nami tried to regain her composure. "Shall we give the boys a call and have them come to you? Best we not get the dress dirty before we've even pushed off Zou, after all."
Luffy looked down at her outfit as if seeing it for the first time. "Yeah, that would probably be smart." She admitted casually, and Nami resisted the urge to throttle her at the implication that she would have run out to the Sunny if Robin hadn't been quick on the draw. Aila looked like she might faint!
Robin smiled serenely and pulled out a baby den-den while Luffy whirled in a circle again, seemingly enraptured. "I'm still surprised you gave marriage much thought." Nami remarked when she'd marginally calmed down. "I wouldn't have thought Miss 'I'm going to be King of the Pirates' was the type."
"Makino told me a lot of fairy tales about princesses and adventurers when I was little," Luffy said, testing a curtsy. She wobbles and almost falls flat on her back at the deeply uncharacteristic movement, snickering at herself. "I didn't care much for the whole 'locked in the tower thing' – nobody would ever be able to do that to Shanks! But what I did like was that Makino always said that marrying someone they loved made the princess happy forever." Luffy tilted her hat up and gave Nami a little smile; a bit more serious than her usual, but equally sincere. "Doesn't that sound amazing?"
"You were never worried that no one would want to marry a pirate?" Nami asked.
"Shanks was there when Roger and Rogue got married," Luffy responded, unfazed. "He told me all about it."
"Right, your pirate dad." Nami's smile grew a little strained. "I don't suppose you're planning to tell him about this 'maybe marriage' of yours?"
Luffy blinked rapidly. "...Huh! I hadn't thought... well, I'm supposed to meet him again when I'm a great pirate and give him his hat back..." Now she had her 'thinking' face on, which Nami isn't sure if she's worried or hopeful. "Maybe!" She smiled at the thought. "It would be cool if he was there... but he's probably busy with his territory...huh..."
The door swung open, admitting Chopper, Ussop, Momonosuke, Brook and Franky. Luffy pivoted to face them, beamed, and bowed – lifting her skirt just like all the pictures from Makino's book. "Hey guys, hey guys! Do I look like a bride?" She asked them cheerfully.
Ussop's mouth unhinged and dropped to the ground. Chopper gasped in awe, Momo's eyes grew really wide before he blushed red as a tomato, and Brook... literally collapsed into a pile of bones, his skull pink in the cheeks. "Wow, big sis!" Chopper blurted out. "You look so beautiful!"
"Who are you and what have you done with Luffy...?" Ussop whispered in disbelief. Was this delicate, beautiful flower his Captain and best friend?! What sorcery was this?! Had someone cast a spell on her? Sure, Luffy usually dressed in boys clothes that were practical instead of flattering, but still...!
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Luffy asked, confused and a little indignant. Ussop flailed a little, too afraid to explain and still too surprised to speak anyway.
"Wow, little sis!" Franky laughed, patting her on the head. She practically disappeared under his large hand without protest, a little giggle escaping her lips. "You look mighty fine in that! I'm impressed!"
"Well done, ladies..." Brook said from the floor. "Our captain has never looked more radiant."
"What are you all yelling about? It's just a change of clothes," Zoro grumbled as he walked into the room, still carrying a crate of food. Law trailed right behind him, muttering something about how ridiculous this was since she wasn't going to get married. Ussop had been standing in his line of vision; the sharpshooter yelped in terror at the sound of his voice and leapt out of the way.
Zoro set eyes on Luffy and dropped the crate on his foot. His eyes widened into disks and he stared speechlessly at the ravenette, who stopped making any sound under the intensity of his gaze. The swordsman's mouth went completely dry. Beautiful... The hot spike of desire that swamped him in an instant was familiar, but more powerful than ever before. He wanted to take her into his arms and entreat her to choose him, tell her everything he'd tried to convey ever since that day in the dusty yards of Shells Town-
"Zoro, you dropped the food!" Luffy cried, scandalized. Her swordsman kept staring at her, like he was in a trance, and the girl felt her cheeks heat up intensely along with her heart suddenly beating like a fleeing rabbit. A sound that might have been Nika snickering echoed in her ears. "Z-Zoro...?"
"He's never seen you in anything but boy's clothes. Has he?" Law asked, drawing her attention to him. How the man was capable of speaking, he wasn't sure; his sun goddess was drowning out the whole world. It would be so easy to shamble her into his arms and kiss her; he'd half raised one hand to do exactly that, damn how many people were watching, when the moment was shattered.
"Luffy-hime, you're so pretty!" Momonosuke cheered, running up to her and jumping up to hug her. Luffy grinned and wrapped her arms around him, lifting him off his feet. The young boy immediately buried his face in her ample chest, his childish crush on his rescuer amplified by budding adolescence and a lewd boldness.
The death glares that pierced him from behind – well, how the kid didn't drop dead on the spot Ussop couldn't figure out. A black aura that dimmed the light around Zou swirled around Zoro and Law, livid at the little brat taking advantage of Luffy's obliviousness like this and wondering if they could get away with turning the would-be Shogun into a pile of talking limbs.
"Thanks Momo!" Luffy said cheerfully, promptly dropping Momo on the ground. The boy yipped in disappointment. Her sense of balance restored, she waved at Law. "What do you think, Traffy?"
"Wha?" The Surgeon of Death stuttered at question, snapping out of his rage fit in an instant. "Of...the dress? It...suits you," He managed lamely. Zoro chuckled mockingly, causing him to snap a glare at him.
"Good!" Luffy said, a little bewildered. Nami wordlessly walked over to the wall and started knocking her head against it. "This is all I needed; now that I look like a bride, Big Mom will definitely think I'm gonna marry Kat no matter what." She turned to Zoro. "I gotta talk to you for a second, Zoro, about going to Wano. Just give me a sec to change back!"
Zoro nodded jerkily. He wouldn't be able to focus on anything she said while in that dress anyway.
The Seducing Woods were avoided by even the most daring of Totland's citizens, which included many of Big Mom's own children. Only the most powerful among the officers went there for any reason, which made it perfect for the purposes of Charlotte Katakuri – who was just about sick of his sibling's screaming about his upcoming wedding. The tall man sat alone on the edges of the water, a pile of newspapers sitting next to him while he paged through the expose on the Straw Hat's raiding of Enies Lobby.
Katakuri read through the descriptions of the crew's assault on the judicial island and snorted in annoyance. Trying to get actual information to analyze mixed in with the slurry of propoganda and blatant lies the World Government peddled was harder than finding sea stone in a Sky Island, but it was the only source of information on his now-fiance he could get his hands on. Within the paragraphs trying to portray her as some sort of diabolical mastermind – around the same time they'd given Marshal D Teach a Warlord position, if he remembers correctly – Katakuri picked up that the only reason that Luffy had attacked the island was because they had kidnapped her archaeologist.
'Do what you want with the world, I just want Robin back!'
Usually it was his mother, or Newgate or Kaido, who leveled entire islands when someone they put value on was taken. That girl had only been sailing for six months yet she challenged the entire world government and succeeded?
She was described as a wild card and a viciously unpredictable danger. There were rumours that she was the one who had defeated Crocodile, not Commodore Smoker, only several weeks before that. She had destroyed the Marines attempt to execute Roger's son and she was the holder of the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika.
Loyal to and protective of her crew. Aside from that, Katakuri couldn't figure out exactly who Monkey D Luffy was.
"So this is where you've been brooding."
Katakuri uttered a faint irritated sound at his sister's voice. Brulee strolled out of the Seducing Woods and sat down next to him, making a face when she saw the newspapers. "You weren't expecting to get any decent information out of the government's rag, were you?"
"It would be a reprieve from knowing nothing." Katakuri responded shortly, not looking at her. "Don't you have wedding preparations to work on, Brulee?"
"Now now, is that any way to speak to someone who's worried about you?" Brulee said. Katakuri stared straight ahead. "It's strange to see you caught so flat footed."
"I'm not."
"Oh yes, that's why you're cribbing the government's notes on your bride to be and snapping at anyone who tries to talk to you about your engagement."
Katakuri twitched, and tossed the newspaper aside. "Why is mother marrying me off now? We have brothers closer to the girl's age. Ones who don't -" he violently shook his hand in front of his scarf-covered mouth. "-have this to disgust and horrify her."
She'd never want to touch him, once she'd seen his mouth. And how long could he conceal it from her in the first place? Up until the wedding, if he was lucky. His hands balled into fists, frustrated, and angry that he'd let himself believe that his mother wouldn't ever try to marry him off. He'd avoided the subject as much as possible and hoped, as he'd gotten older, that she would focus on his sweeter, more attractive siblings to hook allies. And why did it have to be that girl...?
"Nonsense," Brulee said sharply. "There is nothing wrong with you."
"In your entirely unbiased opinion?" Katakuri asked, though his tone was tired, not biting.
"She's a fool if it disturbs her!" His sister retorted spiritedly. "You are everything a man should be. You're a protector, a warrior, you never lose. Why wouldn't she want to marry you?!"
Katakuri didn't say anything, frowning. Yes, Nika would be so pleased to be forced into a subservient role in our pirate crew. Can't Mama see that this won't get her what she wants? "Mother never asked me if I wanted to marry this strange girl. Perhaps I don't wish to marry at all."
Brulee sighed and put a hand on his arm. "She never asks any of us that," She acknowledged. "We do everything we can for her because she gave us life and protects us. You knew that." She bumped his shoulder, something she hadn't done since they were children. "How bad could it be, Katakuri? Haven't you seen how happy Praline is with her new husband?"
"She is," Katakuri admitted, slightly begrudgingly. He'd watched the Sun Pirate like a hawk after the honeymoon, but he's never been anything but a perfect partner for his sister. "But I am not her."
"Of course he's not coming out to town," Oven laughed, very amused at the idea. "Katakuri's face is so horrifying he couldn't even buy a woman!" Cracker burst into a howling fit of laughter, and Katakuri resisted the urge to do any more than twitch his fingers. The only thing worse than this brothers insults was the fact that they were right.
Brulee was definitely frowning now, and Katakuri knows that he's said too much. He was the reliable one; he needed to be the one she leaned on, not the other way around. "You haven't met the girl yet." She offered. "She might be alright."
"Her crew must suspect why Mother is making the offer." Katakuri said. "Perhaps they won't come. Fire First would take them in if they made for his territory."
Brulee scoffed. "That child? Mama would crush him."
"Don't be so overconfident." Katakuri rolled his eyes. "Didn't you see what happened to the Marines when they presumed that they couldn't possibly fail?"
"He was captured and strung up in the yard like some Paradise pirate! His family had to come and save him. He's just another cocky logia who got the captaincy because he was Whitebeard's favourite." Brulee said scornfully.
"He was captured by Marshal D Teach." Katakuri retorted, annoyed at her attitude. "How do you fancy your chances in a one on one fight against that freak? A freak who used to be your brother, who you trusted unconditionally?" Brulee fell tellingly silent. "He won't have a mental block like that fighting us, I assure you."
Fire Fist... the man Luffy had nearly sacrificed her body, mind, and life to save without hesitation. Her desperation to rescue him so powerful she awakened her fruit. Something twinged in Katakuri's chest, an ugly feeling he didn't know how to describe, and he ruthlessly squashed it and put it from his mind. "The girl doesn't seem to be the type to run, not when her cook is here," he acknowledged, before Brulee could read anything into his expression. She, among all his siblings, was the one who knew him best. "But we have to at least consider it."
"True," Brulee said after a few moments of silence. "But I'm not worried. Nothing will get past you, big brother."
Katakuri exhaled slowly, his scarf hiding a small smile. As exhausting as his routine is, as draining as maintaining this facade of perfection was on him, to protect her and his other siblings... it was worth it.
Chiffon is screaming, pleading, and he bolted toward her voice, down the hall and into the room where his sister is being beaten black and blue. When he saw her assailant, he staggered to a stop instinctively. He stood there for a moment, frozen; Chiffon seeing him and pleading him with her eyes help me, you always protect us, why are you just standing there, please-! He moved forward and reached out to the assailant's arm, without a plan and moving entirely on instinct, and then-
hOw dArE YoUuU-
Katakuri's breath hitched, and a phantom shiver of pain ran down his arm. He flexed his hand instinctively, chasing the memory away. "Do we know when the girl will be here?" He asked, his calm firmly in place in an instant.
"We haven't heard from her," Brulee admitted. "But she won't keep Mama waiting long."
Katakuri nodded in agreement. He wondered how long he had until he would be face to face with the sun goddess. This strange, unbalanced feeling...would it go away once he met her? Perhaps then he could properly square her away as an asset or an opponent. Perhaps once she raged at them for taking her cook and rejected them from the outset he'd realize how much he'd been overthinking things.
Yes... surely that would be it. She wouldn't get close enough to even want to see his face; he'd never have to wonder if maybe she might be odd enough to – no. He wasn't a child anymore.
"Stay in contact with us, alright?" Zoro asked Luffy, watching as the Sunny and the Tang finished their final travel preparations. "Be discreet about it, but whatever goes wrong, I want to know about it."
Luffy nodded confidently. She's back in her usual red cardigan and shorts, and she looked slightly more serious than usual – fully understanding that she wouldn't have her trusty first mate at her back for this adventure made her a little uneasy. "I know. Nami's in charge of the snails." She said, because she knows she forgets things like this but the orange-haired girl won't. Then she pivoted slightly to the other man and said, "Kine, I'm trusting you with my nakama. Make sure the plans go smoothly! And take care of Momo."
Kin'emon bowed deeply. "You have my word, Luffy-hime. We will be waiting for your and Sanji-san's arrival." This wild girl had done the impossible...she'd given him hope. When he'd seen her determination, her ferocity, the depths of Nika's powers, he'd truly believed that defeating the monstrous Kaido was possible.
Luffy clapped her hands together, a beaming smile on her face. Zoro's heart twisted itself into a familiar knot. "Great! Thanks; we'll be there before you know it!" Kin'emon nodded and hurried off to speak with Bepo and Law.
Zoro looked his captain up and down. He'd been with her the longest, her first crew mate; he could read her better than almost anyone. Luffy couldn't shake of that little bit of concern she felt for them as the crew separated; it was because of Kuma and how he'd forcefully split them up two years ago. Luffy had forgiven him for it now, knew he had done it to make them ready for the new world on Dragon's orders and he had protected the Sunny in their absence, but for a girl who's greatest fear was being alone the separation had been traumatic. It had never shaken her confidence in them, only in herself and what might happen if she wasn't there to protect them.
Zoro had been sorely tempted to take Kuma apart and turn him into a stereo system when he realized this. "You're worrying too much." He told her.
"Eh? I'm not worried!"
"Sure," Zoro rolled his eyes before putting a hand on her slender shoulder. "Robin will make sure none of us are conspicuous. We'll be discreetly connecting with any Kozuki loyalists and getting the lay of the land. The Beast Pirates won't think anything of it."
Luffy dropped her arms to her sides. "I know," she said. "Traffy told me a couple of times."
Zoro took in a breath so he could say something he didn't want to. "Well, try to listen to him as much as you can in Totland, please?" He asked. Law was an adept strategist; he can admit that, even if it felt like nudging her closer to him. "Big Mom won't be like anyone we've fought before. She has the same level of power as Whitebeard; you remember what he could do, don't you?"
"Of course I do," Luffy said, sounding a little offended. "Uncle Ed is so cool." Zoro almost wished he could have been a fly on the wall the first time Luffy had no doubt casually called The Strongest Man in the World that mid-conversation.
"Just...don't let you guard down," Zoro said, knowing that asking her to be careful was pointless.
Luffy smiled and bobbled her head. "I won't." She stepped closer and peered at his face, her brow furrowing. "Are you worried, Zoro?"
"Worried? Me?" He scoffed, trying to sound insulted. Luffy giggled in response, her eyes sparkling like she'd just heard an inside joke. His heart skipped a beat when she shot forward and hugged him tightly, looping her arms around him. Her slid one arm around her waist, inhaling her scent; he didn't know how long they would be apart. Two years had been agonizing; when he'd returned, he'd sworn that nothing would ever make him leave her side again.
The hunger snarling in his stomach was torture. He'd gone without eating for periods of time between bounties, but never for this long. Zoro silently cursed that spoiled bastard's cowardice and threatening the little girl and her mother; his head throbbed painfully and his throat was on fire. The heat of the sun beat down on him with unforgiving intensity. The last time he'd had any comfort was a night or so ago; the girl's mother had made a habit of creeping into the yard under the cover of darkness and bringing water cans from him to drink from. She was grateful for his sacrifice, and lamented that this was all that she could do for him in return.
He'd snorted and told her to not to lose sleep. He met this challenge with sheer stubbornness. The brat was going to have to do worse than this if he wanted to kill him. His promise to Kuina was all the food he needed.
He dozed off a lot. That morning he was roused from a half sleep by a ladder clacking against the stone wall. Bemusedly he half lifted his head to see Rika making her way into the yard. A boy was whisper-yelling at her to come back, only to utter a full shriek of alarm when a red figure easily vaulted the wall and followed after Rika.
"Hey," a cheerful girl's voice rung gently in his ears like a church bell. "Is that food for him?"
"Huh?" Rika glanced up at her. "Yeah, I made it myself. Big brother got in trouble for helping me..."
"Ohhh," The girl hummed. "Coby says there's a sign saying nobody's allowed in the yard. How about I go bring the rice balls to him? Since I'm a pirate, I'm already in trouble, and you won't have to be."
"Oh, you would?! Thank you onee-san!"
"Thank goodness," The boy gasped. "Come here, girl, I'll pull you back up-" Footsteps come towards him as the silly girl was hauled out of the yard and out of danger, and Zoro permitted himself to look up. His breath caught in his throat.
The girl in the straw hat smiled brightly at him, her hazel eyes amused and curious. She's dressed in boys clothes, a red vest and short blue shorts, she's long limbed and muscular and perfectly formed from her toes to the feathery black hair that framed her heart shaped face. There's a scar under her eye that stretched a little with her smile; a sign that she was a fighter, that she was fearless.
Zoro had never felt anything towards a woman before; his goal consumed his whole being. Yet the only word his stunned mind could cobble together was beautiful. He'd never seen anything so beautiful in his life. "You're Roronoa Zoro?" The girl asked him, a little giggle spilling from her lips. "Shishishi! I didn't think I'd find you all tied up like this! You're a scary demon, aren't you?"
Zoro rested his face in her hair. He wanted to go with her so badly; but he can't. They can't afford to forget about Kaido, and Law and Kin'emon's plan didn't have much room for error. "That cook better not give you any trouble when you get there," he muttered, remembering Robin and CP9.
"Shishishishi...!" Luffy giggled into his neck. "Silly Zoro. You worry too much."
"You don't worry enough," Zoro groused, before releasing her and making himself take a step back. If he doesn't do it now, he wouldn't be able to. "I'll see you in Wano."
Luffy looked like she wanted to go for another hug. "See you, Zoro."
End Chapter
And they're off! Katakuri has made his first appearance!
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