Author Note: Merry Christmas!

Chapter 5: First Reunion

"FINALLY! A NEW ISLAND!" Luffy roared as he landed onto the ground from Koby's ship and chuckled. Everyone at the port turned to the excited individual, giving him questionable looks before returning back to whatever they were doing. Luffy looked around and felt his entire body get excited at the chance to explore a new island. It gave him the same feelings he had when he was sailing the seas as the Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. "Yosh! Let's g-"

"Would you calm down!?" Hibari yelled as she smacked Luffy across the back of his head.

"What was that for?" Luffy yelled at her. It didn't hurt him, but he was annoyed she interrupted him.

"Did you already forget what Koby-san told you? You have to keep a low profile!" Luffy tilted his head.

"Oh right..." Luffy remembered Koby's words. "...but that's boring..."

"Who cares!?" She retorted. She sighed and placed a hand on her head. "How in the world did your crew handle you?" She wondered.

"Shishishishi!" Luffy could only chuckle. He knew he was sometimes a handful, but this was who he was.

"Now, now." Koby arrived and walked towards him. "I did say that, but as long as Luffy-san doesn't do anything to attract attention, it should be fine." Luffy grinned at his friend.

"Right!" He nodded. Hibari could only sigh, but felt herself calm down from Coby's voice.

"For now, let's head over to the Library. If we're lucky, Luffy-san might meet one of his crew mates there." At the mention of a reunion with a former member of his crew, Luffy perked up and got excited.

"Really!? Yosh, let's go!" Luffy exclaimed and tried running in the direction he randomly chose.

"Ah, wait a minute!" Hibari however, was able to stop him from going to far. "That's not the way! Why are you so difficult!?" Luffy only laughed.

Koby chuckled a bit as he walked toward the right direction. "Over this way." He called out to them. Luffy grinned and ran over to the Admiral as Hibari sighed and soon joined them.

~OP~

"You seem happy today, Robin-sensei." A wise gentleman with a white bushy beard and white messy hair noticed how cheerful his colleague was.

"Hehehehe~ Am I?" She answered, not looking away from her book.

"You certainly do look so." The man stood up, grabbing his cane. He grabbed the book he indulged himself in and walked over to the shelf, placing the book into the empty slot. "Did you discover something new?"

"No." She smiled. "I guess you may be right, Benji-san. Today does seem different. I can't really explain it. Maybe I'm happy the younger children are taking an interest in history." She remembered fondly the children who returned their books only a few hours ago.

"Hmm...well it is good to see the youth have an interest in history. Mostly thanks to you, of course, huehehehe." He chuckled and scanned the shelves for a book.

"Hehehehe~ I wouldn't say that much." Robin closed her book and stood up. She was strikingly beautiful. She had a long peach colored coat that she wore on her shoulders to keep herself warm. Under it, she wore a light purple, v-neck, short skirt dress and black leggings with black heels. She removed her glasses and placed her book down on her table. "However, I am grateful for being able to finally be free to spread the true history of the world. No more hiding the truth, I just wished the researchers of Ohara were able to be here to see that their deaths were not in vain."

The older man, who wore a white coat, white shirt and beige dress pants with brown boots, gave a warm smile. "Yes. I may not have known them personally, but I have studied their research for years when the books became public known. All thanks to you and your crew." Robin smiled fondly.

"Ee...it's been so long since I last saw them. However, I know they're all doing well and off doing their own things. I'm sure that's what my Captain would have wanted." Robin softly frowned at the memory of her Captain. She truly missed him. He was the man who helped her realize that she wanted to live. The person who helped her find her reason to live, to live for her friends. She could never forget what he and the others have done for her. However, he was sadly no longer with them.

She had always believed he didn't die that day, but the longer the years went by, the hope started to dwindle and the crew soon had to accept that Luffy was no longer alive. It was hard thing to accept, but deep down, she still had a tiny shred of hope for a miracle. Since it was Luffy, she never felt it was out of the realm of possibilities. After all, the amount of things the Straw Hat Pirates have seen and been through, there will always be hope in her heart.

However, the more the years go by, the harder it was to believe. So, Robin made sure to spend her time focused on the library. A place where more people had the opportunity to learn the true history of the world, without the fear of being persecuted. It was a success. With some help from her crew mates, they managed to build this place with her as the head librarian.

She loved that so many people were interested in the true history, especially younger children. It made her happy knowing that the scholars of Ohara would be so proud of her.

"Excuse me?" Robin-sensei?" A young woman's voice poked her head through. Robin and Benji turned towards the door and noticed the short, blond hair of a young woman. She wore glasses on her face, a white blouse, white skirt and white heels as she approached the two. "We have been informed that a special guest is arriving shortly to speak to you."

Robin curiously raised an eyebrow. "Guest? I don't remember there being a meeting with a guest today?" She asked.

"Yes, however this message comes from the New World Government. Apparently, it's urgent that you see them today." She handed her a piece of paper. Robin took it and glanced it over. It was definitely a message from someone high up from the New World Government.

"That is strange." Benji hummed, rubbing his hand through his beard.

"Sabo?" Robin asked the young lady.

She simply shook her head. "It doesn't seem to be the case." Robin looked back down at the paper.

"I see. Well, whatever this urgent meeting is about, it probably would be best to meet with whoever sent this." Robin folded the paper and handed back to her. "Thank you, Gabi-chan. When they arrive, please let me know." Gabi nodded her head and walked back to the main hall.

"That is a little strange, no?" Benji asked the black haired beauty. "It's not like the New World Government to suddenly arrive without any heads up. Do you know who this guest might be?"

"Hmm...no. If it isn't Sabo or Koala, then I have no idea. Should be interesting." She smiled, suddenly feeling excited. She couldn't figure out why she was feeling so giddy today. Maybe this surprise guest was a part of that.

~OP~

A short while later...

The main hall of the library was bustling with excited patrons of all different ages. The smell of books surrounded the entire hall with so many people chatting, reading books and enjoying themselves. A beautiful statue of a woman dressed in a long robe was the centerpiece of the main hall. It was a statue of Robin's mother, Olivia, who became sort of like the Guardian of the Library. While the Library had no name, some have called it the Library of Scentia, named after all the knowledge that was available for anyone to read for free.

The Hall was fairly large with rooms leading to many sections of the Library. A few spiral stairs led up to even more areas, all accessible to the public. That was the intention. It was a library where there were no secrets, nothing that the public could not have access to. While people were able to read in the library with many desks, couches and seats available to read there, a simple library card was required to rent books out. Yes, this was the goal, the dream Robin wanted to achieve after her first one was completed.

There were rooms, bookcases and rows filled with books of different genres. Some fictional, some historical, some about weather and even a section for children who started learning how to read. They even had set dates for public reading, with volunteers reading out loud their favorite stories.

How did the library survive financially? Through donations as countless of visitors donated to make sure the library was kept clean, paid the employees, even the ones who volunteered were offered some form of compensation. It was also backed by the New World Government, as they understood the importance of making sure people knew the history of the world. So that the same events could never be repeated.

The Library was an incredible achievement that was beloved by anyone who visited it. Well, almost everyone.

A hooded man walked through the main hall. His scent incredibly foul as people he passed by closed their nose in disgust at the smell. Some even moved away from their seats to get away from him. The man muttered under his breath as he slowly approached the front desk.

Gabi, the secretary and librarian, for Nico Robin noticed the man and eyed him suspiciously. He stopped suddenly and turned to head towards the right, towards the history section.

"Burn...Burn..." He muttered just under his breath. He walked into the room and was immediately intervened by four members of the security staff. Marines who were stationed there approached the man, their pistols on the side of their hip, hands hovered just over the weapon. One of the Marines approached him.

"Sir. I have to ask you to leave. You are disrupting our guests." He told the man.

"Burn...burn...I have to burn..." He muttered under his breath. The Marines felt their noses get hit by his awful stench and a couple lifted their hands to close their nostrils.

"Sir. I won't ask you again. Turn around or we'll..."

"BUUUUUUURRRRRNNNNNN!" The man suddenly shouted and lifted his reddish coat. The Marine's eyes widened when they saw explosives attached to the man. Before they could even react, the explosives were set off and a large explosion occurred. The entire Library shook and the guests all screamed and cried out as the explosion was big enough to destroy parts of the wall and even destroyed parts of the outer wall. Black smoke started spreading across the main hall and throughout the rest of the library and outside as the citizens all began to panic.

Gabi, immediately stood up on the desk and started shouting instructions to evacuate the library. "Everyone! Please listen to me! Calm down and head to the nearest exits! If you require assistance please let the staff know so we can help you evacuate!" The staff all nodded and went to help any civilians hurt by the sudden explosion. The patrons headed toward the nearest exist they could find, screaming and some even crying to get to safety. Some had to put their hands over their mouths to prevent any of the black smoke from entering their lungs.

The civilians followed the instructions from the staff. Some ignored and were screaming as they ran for the exists, pushing people out of the way. Structures of the wall collapsed and pinned some people as staff did everything they could to remove the debris off of them.

Int he room that the explosion occurred, the marines that were caught in the explosion were scatted across the room. Their bodies laying almost lifeless with burns across their skin. They were fortunately still breathing. However, the situation was not good as a fire began breaking out, enveloping some of the bookcases and beginning to spread.

One of the staff members just outside the explosion area went inside to rescue the marines. When he saw the fire, he knew the safety of the marines were first. However, he also knew he couldn't let the damage get too much or they'll lose some important books about the history of the world. Valuable books that Nico Robin risked her life to save.

"Damn it!' He groaned and put a hand over his mouth to stop smoke from going into his body. He managed to spot a marine officer and got over to him. He slung his arm over him and dragged him out of the room, into the waiting arms of another staff member. "Take him! There's three more in there. They all are pretty banged up, but still breathing. However, there is a fire. We need to extinguish it before it spreads to the entire building."

"Right! We contacted the Marines about the situation and they should arrive shortly," The other staff member replied.

"Hopefully they get here in time. I'm gonna go grab the others before it's too late." The two nodded to each other before heading in separate directions. One to help the other officers and the other to get the secured officer to safety.

Panic continued to set in as the commotion and chaos continued to developed in the library.

~OP~

"Was the explosion we just heard your doing, Benji-san?" Nico Robin calmly said as a cane was placed at her throat. Her arms were behind her, cuffed by sea stone cuffs that he latched onto her right wrist swiftly a few moments ago. Robin was fairly impressed with his slight of hand, thought the distraction of the explosion made her fail to see his swift movements to get the cuff onto her.

"Now, why would you say that?" He smirked. "I'm only an old man who has a thirst for knowledge. I don't know anything about explosives." Robin frowned at his words. She knew Benji for a long time, five years in fact, so it certainly took her by surprise when he suddenly grabbed her hands as soon as the explosion occurred. "Though, I am surprised. I didn't think it would be this easy to grab you. I think you've gotten stale, Nico Robin."

"You shouldn't talk to a woman like that." Robin replied. While she may look calm and collected on the outside, she was beginning to feel the effect of the sea stone. It was making her feel weak.

"Sorry, but I don't care." He replied. "Now then, you will do as I say or I will order another set of bombs to explode inside this building." Robin didn't show it on her face, but she was mad. She wasn't mad that she didn't catch on to what Benji was trying, but mad that the place she built was being attacked by someone who she worked with for a long time and respected as a fellow scholar. There were only two things Robin hated. Someone hurting her friends and destroying books.

"What is it that you want?" She asked him. He pressed his cane closer to her neck, earning a slight flinch from her.

"The books you have hidden in your chambers. I want them." Robin didn't react as she figured this was going to be the case.

"You really are a fool." She replied. Benji glared at her and pressed a secret button on his cane. A tiny blade came out of the cane and Robin noticed a small dab of some purple liquid on the tip of the blade.

"I would be careful what your next words are. Killing you would be no problem for me. However, I need you alive. You have those ancient books hidden somewhere in your chambers and I need you to show me where." He threatened her.

If it weren't for the sea stone cuff he had on her, dealing with him would be easy for her. However, she currently had no choice but to do what he said. She was worried about the safety of the people outside the room, as well as the state of the library. However, she knew if more bombs were set off, it would be harm more people and cause the library to suffer even more damage. She could not let that happen. "Fine."

"Then, let's go."

~OP~

"W-What happened?" Koby asked as he, Hibari and Luffy arrived at the library and saw the chaos. Hibari quickly ran over to a marine officer and asked him for any status report. When she got it, she headed back to Koby and Luffy.

"It seems there was a man who had explosives and set them off inside the library." Hibari informed them. "Four Marine officers stationed here were hurt pretty badly, but the staff was able to pull them out and are now being looked at by doctors."

"I see. Thank you, Hibari." Koby nodded and walked forward. "Everyone! My name is Admiral Koby! Please listen to me! You must get away from the building. If you are injured in anyway, let us know. We have doctors ready to look over your injuries!" He announced as some relief and hope were seen on some of the faces of the civilians.

However, moments after his announcement, a piece of the outer wall of the building began to fall and right under the building were two children. They froze in fear as the debris was falling down on them. Koby noticed and was ready to move as fast as he could to rescue them, however someone else beat him to it.

Luffy pumped his legs, entering Gear Second and dashed towards the children, grabbing them and diving away from the spot as the debris crashed to the ground. The children held onto Luffy's shirt as he fell back first to the ground, protecting the children on top of him.

"That was close." He told them as the two children, a boy, with black messy hair and a girl with pink hair looked up from his shirt and at Luffy. He grinned at them, reassuring them that it was alright. They had tears formed in their eyes as Luffy stood up and ran away from the building to safety. He let them go and they thanked him before running off and finding their parents.

"Lu-I mean Grunt! Are you okay?" Koby asked him as he ran towards him.

"Of course!" He grinned at Koby as he sighed in relief.

"Right. Thanks for saving them."

"Un!"

Koby smiled and looked at the building. He couldn't believe this happened. It made him worried and knew he need to evacuate everyone from the building first. "Hibari!"

"Hai!" She saluted the Admiral.

"You're in charge of everyone's safety. That is top priority." She nodded. "Luffy..." He whispered. "There's something you need to know. I wanted to keep this a secret until we got here, but the situation changed."

"Hm?" What?" He asked, noting the serious tone.

"I went ahead and sent a letter to let a certain someone know you're coming. When we received word that they were going to let us meet them, I was able to confirm it. I also don't see them anywhere among the civilians, so I think she might still be inside."

"Who?"

"Luffy...this library...it was built by Nico Robin."

"Ah..."

~OP~

"So, where is it?" Benji asked as they entered Robin's private chambers. Her room was fairly large with bookcases surrounding the room. Hundreds of books were inside the shelves. She had a desk and a bed to sleep in and a door to the right that led to a large dressing room filled with her clothing. Another door, on the exact opposite side, led to her bathroom.

Nico Robin was pushed inside as Benji kept the cane with the small blade sticking out from the hole in the center at her neck. "Just tell me one thing. What do you plan on doing with those books?"

Benji smirked. "Isn't it obvious. I'm gonna sell them. From what I hear, these books are considered the holy grail that you treasure so much. If even you kept them a secret from the world, then they must hold some valuable secret that you don't want the world to know."

Robin stared forward as she took in what he told her. "You're a fool..."

"Watch it..." He glared at her and growled threateningly. "...I'm the one in charge here, Nico Robin. Now, tell me where those books are!"

Robin sighed before turning her head towards one of the book cases. "Secrets of the Hondra Sea." Benji looked over and saw the book she was referring to. "Take it out and a secret room will open." He smirked at this.

"Perfect." He then pulled her along with him and they both walked to the book case. He turned her and pushed his cane towards her neck again and pushed her back to the bookcase. He then used his other hand to grab the book she mentioned.

*Click

A sudden mechanism was heard and the bookcase to the left of them began moving back into the wall. It then slid to the left, disappearing behind another bookcase, revealing a secret room. Benji smirked and dropped the book to the floor and then grabbed Robin's arms. He moved forward, into the secret room and inside he saw four books neatly placed inside glass cases on four stands. His eyes widened.

"Finally...finally...I knew you were hiding something, Nico Robin. These will definitely go for a fortune each. I'm going to be rich!" He laughed as the images of him swimming in money ran through his head.

"Pathetic..."

"Huh?" Benji glared at Robin.

"To do all this. Attack the library, hurt innocent people and even burn books...all for money...you really are pathetic." Robin told him. He gritted his teeth in anger.

"What the hell do you know, you bitch!" He yelled and tossed her backwards as she fell to the floor with a scream. He hovered above her as Robin glared up at the man. "You really think I cared about some useless books about history!? Knowledge is power! No! Money is power! You think because of what you and your dumb crew and Captain did would change that!? Society doesn't change because some pirates decide to destroy some old regime. Money will always rule! Money is what separates us from insignificant bugs to kings! That will never change!"

Robin frowned at how deprived this man's mind became. She never believed for a second that the world and how society viewed it would change. She just didn't want the world, the people to continue living in the shadows. She wanted people to be informed of the destruction the old world tried to hide from them. She wanted the world to know the truth, so that it never be repeated again. That's what she fought for.

"I never expect it to change, nor do I expect you to change. It's too late for you. You've become obsessed with money and hurt people. You destroyed this library that I built to preserve the true history. So that we never make the same mistakes again. You...you wanted to ruin that for money. You truly are pathetic." Robin proclaimed with pride.

Benji glared and gritted his teeth in anger. "Continue believing in that nonsense! As time passes, the world will forget the past and people will forget this library, this history you want to preserve and protect." He took his hand and removed the lower half of his cane to reveal another blade, this one sharper, longer and dabbed a bit more of whatever poison he was using. "I don't like a quick death. I rather watch you suffer as the poison slowly kills you." He menacingly glared down at her.

"How nice of you..." She smiled softly.

"Your smile is pissing me off! Die, Nico Robin!" He raised his arm, the blade rising above his head. He took aim at her before bring his blade down to strike her.

Robin closed her eyes. She knew there was no way of getting out of this situation. The sea stone cuffs made her too weak to move out of the way. As the blade descended, she thought back about her life. Her mother, Saul, the rough past she had to endure for so long and then the happy memories of her beloved crew. She missed them dearly.

Her last memory however was that of her captain. She wondered what he would think of her giving up like this.. She was to weak to move, but she wondered if Luffy would have told her to try anyway. She missed him. She missed his cheerful smile and antics that not even she could predict. He, along with the others, brought back her smile and joy. She was forever grateful for him and the others.

Now that she was near her end, maybe she might see him again, in the after life. If she could, then she was honestly okay with meeting her end here. Her only regret, was never being able to say goodbye to her crew.

'Everyone...thank you...especially you...Luffy...' The blade was a foot away from stabbing her in the chest when suddenly, a voice was heard.

A familiar voice.

"GOMU GOMU NO...PISTOL!" Robin's eyes opened wide as she witnessed an outstretched arm punch Benji right in the gut. The man spat out blood as he was hit hard in the abdomen. The force of the hit sent him flying into the bookcases behind him. He destroyed the bookcase and was met with a large dog pile of books that covered his entire body. The cane fell out of his hands and onto the floor. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as he groaned from the excruciating pain he felt from the attack before losing consciousness.

Robin stared at Benji's body, but her thoughts were not focused on him. Instead, they were focused on that very familiar voice. The voice she had heard thousands of time. A voice she thought she would never hear again. The voice of her former Captain. The person she thought died seven years ago.

She felt weak, but used every ounce of her strength to sit up and turn her body towards the door. Her eyes widened. Tears formed in her eyes.

Luffy walked into the room and raised his arm, clenching his fists as he glared at the man. "DON'T YOU DARE HURT MY FRIEND!"

Robin couldn't believe what she was seeing. She could tell. Even with the long hair and the marine outfit he wore, she could never forget him. His appearance may have changed, but the familiarity, the voice, the aura, the sense of hope that she felt all those years ago was now standing in front of her. Alive.

"L-L-Luffy..." She managed to get out as the man lowered his arm and looked down at Robin. He then gave her his famous toothy grin.

"Hey, Robin! I'm back! Shi shishishi!" She lost control at that point and tears quickly ran down her face.

"LUFFY!" She cried out. All the emotion and pain she felt for the past seven years erupted. She couldn't believe it. He was alive. She really hoped this wasn't a dream. She really did. It would have been one cruel dream that she never wanted to wake up from. She suddenly got a small burst of strength to stand up and stumbled towards him. Luffy quickly got over to her and caught her in his arms as she cried into his shirt.

Luffy smiled at her and rested his hands on her back. He slowly lowered her down and let her cry into his chest. He wasn't a dream. She could feel the heat emitting from his body. She could smell his musky scent. He was actually here, alive and breathing. That joyful feeling she felt all day was now clear to her. While this was the last thing she expected to happen, it truly made her overjoyed more than anything else that could have happened. Her Captain was alive. That was the greatest gift she could ever receive.

END