Thank you to the kind patron who commissioned this chapter. Since commissions involving existing stories include a chapter illustration of the patron's choice, this chapter has two illustrations. Check them out on Questionable Questing, Spacebattles, or my discord.
Of course, thank you to everyone on p atreon for voting for this chapter's second illustration.
Another big thanks to you guys for reading, and to ShartMaster6969 for beta reading this chapter
X
"They say there's an island that floats around the West Blue, almost like some sort of ship," the vessel's captain spoke casually, bringing his pipe up to his lips. "Be careful if you head east! Those who step foot on its shores never return… or at least, that's the story."
"We'll keep that in mind," Olvia assured him as Shirou shook hands with a nearby sailor.
It was a pleasant conversation that was about to come to an end. These past few weeks flew by much quicker with the tall tales they were regaled with in the older man's spare time, from giant elephants the size of islands to marauders who own lands and seas. Not many rang a bell, but despite the fantastical nature of some, he couldn't claim that he found them to be entirely unbelievable.
The captain passed them by as his crew prepared to disembark, patting them on their shoulders as he did so.
"How was the voyage?" he asked them. "Smooth enough, I hope."
The man was offered two kind smiles in return.
"Of course," Olvia was quick to say.
With her back turned to him, Shirou looked at the woman with visible admiration. It was thanks to her that they were able to get this far.
They had no money and no identification that they could afford to show; with nothing to offer, no ship would let them board regardless of route or distance. When they had learned that this captain's vessel—carrying salts and spices to their primary distributor— was headed toward their exact destination, Olvia jumped on it immediately.
She navigated the conversation expertly, picking apart the captain's nature and mannerisms and doing her best to appeal to them. Somehow, she convinced him to offer them room on deck in exchange for an extra set of working hands. With so little to work with, she sold the man on two total strangers' worth as temporary sailors.
Of course, neither of them really minded doing the odd job here and there. Shirou would have made for an excellent chore boy in another life, if he did say so himself.
And so, here they were.
The ship bobbed almost imperceptibly as it lowered its anchors at the docks. Dozens of sailors and dockworkers ran about to set up a gangway for the cargo's descent.
Shirou poked his head over the nearest guardrail, crossing his arms over it to keep himself upright. He glanced warily at a Marine vessel docked nearby, but didn't think too much of it.
It was common for most islands to have a marine presence. Probably. That was the way it worked, right? He could have sworn that there was a conflict with every other marine base back when he read the story week to week. Shells Town, Loguetown… there was a marine somewhere when they were fighting that Arlong guy too, he was pretty sure.
"This is the place?" he asked Olvia. "It doesn't look like much."
It reminded him of a set from an American Western movie, frankly. From the docks, he could make out the sight of a tumbleweed bouncing down a cobblestone path leading into town. Dust was kicked up by travellers on horseback and settling on the wooden exteriors of the nearby establishments.
It wasn't anything he recognized, rather. If such a place was relevant in the One Piece manga, he didn't know about it.
"That it's 'not looking like much' is better for us," she told him. "It's easier to stay under the radar that way. It was of the utmost importance that the World Government didn't find out about our expedition, at the time… not that it worked."
Shirou kept his mouth shut. The only thing that he could offer was his condolences, and that was nothing that hadn't already been said.
The pair grabbed their belongings, few as they were, and stepped foot on solid land. Shirou, not being used to spending days at a time on a ship, took a minute to get his land-legs back under him.
Shirou stopped moving after just a few steps; Olvia followed his example and looked down at him curiously.
"Something wrong?" she asked.
"Do you know where we should look first?" He scratched his cheek, shuffling on his feet awkwardly. The question he wanted to ask wasn't coming to him. "Do you have a way to get in touch with your contact… or something?"
She pondered for a moment before nodding. Despite everything, the pause didn't inspire much confidence, unfortunately.
"As far as I know, this is nothing more than her last known location. We shouldn't get our hopes up, but… if she's anywhere, it'll be at the town bar."
He blinked.
"The bar? Why there?"
"...She's a fan."
"Of drinking?" Shirou tried.
"Of bars."
That threw him for a loop.
Was there a difference?
He stared at her silently for a moment more before the woman started walking again. He followed her lead; she clearly knew where she was going.
It didn't make much sense to him, but then again, did it really matter?
They stepped foot in a saloon, its swinging doors swaying to and fro for a moment before closing behind them.
Shirou's immediate impression of the place was that it looked pretty empty. No one was here aside from the owner, who was busying himself sweeping the floors, and a young girl in a marine uniform behind the bar, grumbling obscenities to herself as she struggled to pin a new round of bounty posters to the wall.
"I wasn't expecting company this early in the day," the owner remarked, looking past them to get a better look at the recently-docked merchant ship through his nearest window. "How big's the party?"
Olvia shook her head.
"Sorry, we're not with the sailors, just passersby. We're looking for someone, actually. I was wondering—"
SLAM!
"Damn it all to hell!"
The woman cut her question short as they all faced the marine having a conniption at her task. She kept fumbling around her stack of papers, dropping one or two all the while.
It was a funny sight. She didn't look any older than he did right now, Shirou thought, despite the full sleeve of heart tattoos peeking out from under her uniform. Her apparent young age paired with the way that her fluffy black hair was held down by her marine cap made her come across as more of a spastic kitten than an officer with anger issues.
"That's rough," he remarked to himself jokingly in a low voice.
"Excuse me!?" the marine snapped, pointing a finger at him. "What's rough? I'm doing just great, thank you very much!"
Wait, what?
She angrily glared at him from under her remarkably long eyelashes. Shirou caught himself staring dumbly at the girl a few seconds too long.
She heard him? That was actually surprising.
He raised his hands placatingly.
"Sorry, sorry, I was just—"
"Can it!" she snapped, not having any of it. "What, you think I'm having a bad time? That I don't like my job? I love my job!"
"I didn't insinuate anything like that!" he defended himself incredulously. What was she jumping to all these conclusions for? They had caught her at a bad time, it seemed.
The marine girl scoffed and crossed her arms.
Olvia looked like she wanted to say something, but what was there to say? She was visibly just as thrown off as he was.
The barkeeper frowned.
"Missy, you've been heckling my customers since yesterday. Let me put up the posters so we can be done with it already."
"No way!" she shot him down immediately. "I'm a marine and it's my job to do this. You do your job and I'll do mine."
He sighed. This clearly wasn't the first time they'd had this discussion.
"Come, now, Doll-chan. You're here again?" a new voice interjected airily. It was said with a certain degree of familiarity. "You already put up the big ones yesterday; I'm sure your supervisors would rather you leave the rest to the barkeeper and move on to other things."
It was another woman. It was difficult to guess her age, in part because of the smoothness of her skin, but mostly because of how distinct she looked: she was quite tall for a woman and her clothes were loud.
The newcomer brushed her fingers through her bob-cut hair, crushing a cigarette under her foot before passing through the saloon doors herself.
Only Shirou noticed the way that Olvia froze up the moment she saw this woman; he kept it to himself for now.
The marine girl looked down to her feet bashfully.
"I suppose you're right…" she trailed off uneasily.
She gave in so fast!
Maybe this could be an opportunity for him to get a word in. Shirou's expression softened.
"Sorry if I said something to offend you, Doll-san."
"Don't call me Doll!" she snapped back, her indignance returning with inexplicable fury.
Wasn't that her name?
Shirou took a sheepish step back. The marine made a move to take a step forward in turn, but the woman with the bob cut hair placed her hands on her shoulders to keep her in place.
"We'll talk later," the older woman promised with a smile. "Okay?"
There was an underlying message there. "Hurry up and go", more like. Whatever their relationship, the woman didn't want her to cause a scene. Was she a commanding officer? She didn't strike him as a marine.
The younger girl closed her eyes and exhaled sharply before turning to the barkeeper.
"I leave it to you, then," she announced simply in what was presumably her own way of offering her blessings to carry out the task she'd been hyper fixated on.
"Good riddance," was the sentiment his expression conveyed to the young marine's back as she stomped out the door.
Shirou would have liked to take a moment to reflect on just how strangely his first encounter with an actual marine had transpired, but he was interrupted by the bob-cut woman pulling Olvia into a tight hug.
"You're alive. I'm so glad."
Huh?
A weary smile split Olvia's face.
"Shakky…!"
The two women pulled away from each other. The other woman—Shakky—shot the barkeeper a quick mock-salute.
"Two old-fashioneds," she asked before taking a quick glance at the younger red-head.
He froze. Shirou felt like an animal being watched by a predator, somehow. Like he was being sized up. Evaluated. He couldn't put his finger on why that was; there wasn't anything particularly intense about her gaze.
"Maybe three," Shakky corrected.
Shirou nodded silently, not feeling too strongly about it either way. The barkeeper took it as confirmation enough and slipped behind the bar to grab three glasses.
The pair of women slipped onto the nearest stools while the boy took the one next to Olvia. Shakky leaned forward a little to get a better look at the redhead; the bartender saw no reason to hover over them and walked toward the turntable in the corner and threw on a record. Satisfied once the blues tune filled the void left by a lack of clientele, he busied himself by wiping off the tables on the other end of the room..
"So who are you, kid?"
There was that strange feeling again.
Before he could answer, Olvia gave one in his stead.
"He's the one who saved me. I'm only alive because of him."
The way she said it with such a straight face made Shirou's ears turn a bright shade of red. Shakky stared at him, blinking owlishly, before dropping her chin onto the palm of her hand with a grin.
The feeling of trepidation went away.
"Mm. That so? Thank you for being there for her, then."
Shirou was still certain that the lackadaisical attitude belied something more calculating.
"Why are you still here?" Olvia asked her, changing the subject. "As much as we were hoping you would be, I'm shocked that you hadn't taken off after not having heard anything from us for weeks."
Shakky's smile dropped.
"I heard what happened—to Ohara. I'm so sorry."
"Then—"
"Barkeeper," Shakky called out in a louder voice so as to be heard, "Could you hand us that bounty, please? The one on the top right" she called out
The man perked, put down the cloth in his hands on the nearest table and slipped behind the counter. He quickly turned to snap the poster off his wall before placing it on the bartop between them.
It took Olvia a moment to recognize what it was that she was looking at. When she did, however, her eyes widened in horror.
Shirou leaned over to get a better look. He knew what he was looking at that very same instant.
There was a little girl on that bounty poster worth seventy-nine million beri. Nico Robin.
He kept his mouth shut. Whether he had something to contribute to this conversation or not, he didn't know what sort of relationship Olvia had with this Shakky person. Olvia hadn't shared much about what happened on Ohara, so it probably wasn't his place to divulge anything unnecessary. For all he knew, he could accidentally mention something that he shouldn't have that would spell trouble for them later.
"I don't understand," Olvia muttered. She grabbed the bounty poster with trembling fingers. For such an even-keeled woman, it was a reaction that shared likeness with when he found her back on Ohara. "Why? Why is she…"
The barkeeper gave them a look, but a quick hand-gesture on Shakky's part had him rolling his eyes and turning his attention back to the drinks.
Three glasses slid across the polished wooden countertop; the barkeeper walked off and disappeared behind the door at his back. It probably led to a storage space or something of that sort.
Shakky reached into her pant pocket and pulled out a rolled up envelope. She pulled out its contents and spread them out: a bounty—a copy of the very same one they were already looking at—a photograph, and a hand-written note.
"I was going to leave," she admitted. The woman picked up her glass and watched the well-carved ice cube tap against the side of its container. "One of my eyes sent this to me not long ago. He also sent me this: that bounty poster, a transcription of the official report sent back to Navy headquarters with regard to their mission on Ohara, and a photograph that he took himself from an island close to this one."
With that being said, Shirou and Olvia looked down at the picture. They were surprised to see a blurry image of themselves near the docks back at the other island. It had beaten them here, somehow.
Olvia gasped.
"This is—"
"Don't worry," Shakky reassured her with a hand on the shoulder. "The World Government doesn't know. Or at least, they shouldn't. In the eyes of the world, you don't exist." Another look was directed at Shirou; the uneasy feeling returned. "Neither of you."
"I don't get it…" Olvia trailed off, her brow scrunched tightly. "What does Robin have to do with this? She's just a child!"
The frown that Shakky levelled her way didn't spell good news.
"By the time the next newspaper circulates, everyone will know that the Island of Ohara is gone. It says as much in the letter. As for why 'Nico Robin' is the one they will pin it on, Miss 'Nico Olvia', I certainly have my guesses. If they think she knows about—"
"The Void Century," Olvia finished with dread in her voice, trembling fingers digging into the edge of the bar so strongly that their joints turned white. "In the end, it's all about the Void Century, isn't it?"
Shakky sighed.
"I remember hearing you speaking of her. That you were in equal parts excited about and dreading the day when the two of you were reunited. And then… I'm sorry it happened this way."
Shirou, still silent, watched them like a hawk as he tried his best to figure out their dynamic.
The Void Century. It was important enough for the World Government to be willing to destroy a whole populated island in order to keep its secrets, just as it was important enough for Shakky to back an expedition in its name risking such destruction. If they had known that this was a possibility, did that curiosity outweigh any moral dilemma? Or maybe it was the opposite: maybe it was a moral obligation that led them down this path at the risk of their own lives.
Or perhaps something else entirely.
Olvia was comfortable enough with Shakky to share such details about her daughter with her, but he wouldn't know how far beyond that their relationship truly extended. He could only assume they shared the same goals, but—
"You're not a marine," Shirou remarked simply.
Shakky stared at him dumbly at a moment before bursting into laughter.
"Of course not!"
Olvia sighed.
They shared a moment of silence: one that Shakky was the first to break.
"I don't know what really happened on Ohara. I can only assume it was something of the World Government's own doing. Regardless, you've survived, somehow, and I won't bother you for the how. What is important is that you don't linger here any longer than you must."
"Any particular reason?" Olvia asked in a fashion that was supposed to be casual but came across a little alarmed.
"The 80th Marine Corps are on this island," the other woman revealed. "That girl from before is with them."
Olvia shot up from her seat; Shirou watched her cautiously.
"She was here at this bar!" Olvia all but shouted. "We shouldn't be having this conversation here. What if—"
"You're fine," Shakky assured her. "They don't have a strong presence in town. Local law enforcement doesn't take too kindly to outside authorities, or so I've heard. Doll-chan is just a kid who's been attached to my hip for one reason or another; her sticking around is probably my own fault for doing the same. Just don't run into any Marines on your way out, is all."
Shirou crossed his arms. That begged the question…
"If they don't like the marines being here, then why are they here? Did something happen?"
Shakky sipped her drink.
"You caught that, did you? The thing is… this is Robin-chan's last known location. This was where they took that picture of her."
Olvia looked ready to rush out the door.
"We have to—"
Shirou grabbed her by the wrist to stop her. Before she could tear it away, the boy explained his reasoning.
"She won't be on the island anymore. If the bounty posters are out, then she would have had to get away before the marines came. If they haven't found her in the weeks they've been here… she's gone."
The woman clearly wasn't pleased by the explanation.
"She's just a child," she stressed. "That's too much to expect from her. We have to—"
"She's your child, isn't she?" Shakky asked rhetorically. "I'm sure she's plenty smart if she made it this far."
Shirou felt Olvia's resistance waver, so he let her go and watched her arm drop back down to her side defeatedly. She looked like someone had punched her in the gut.
Slowly, her head tilted forward as her bangs obstructed the view of her face.
"Shakky… you have connections, right? They should be able to find Robin, right? You can do something. I know you can, so please… please help me find my daughter. I'll do anything to repay you."
The desperation in her voice made Shakky cringe. The woman spun around in the stool so that she could stare at the archeologist dead on.
"I'm sorry, Nico-san. All I can do is keep an open line if ever I hear something," she told her honestly. Clearly dissatisfied by her own answer, she tried, "When's the last time you spoke with her? Maybe she said or did something—some sort of clue—"
"The poneglyphs," Shirou interjected. They both turned their heads to the boy who stared dead ahead with an expression set in deep concentration.
They wouldn't know anything, but he did.
"Shirou?" Olvia uttered his name with a mix of confusion and hope.
"I know her," he revealed. "Not personally—I've only ever… seen her around—but well… Robin can read those things. The other archeologists tried to keep her out of it, but more than anything, she wants to be an archeologist and she wants to research the Void Century just as much as anyone from Ohara. I'm sure of it."
The look on Olvia's face wasn't quite one of betrayal, but it was evident now that if he had any intention of pretending to know anything about Nico Robin, that probably should have come up much sooner than just now. It made it seem like he was keeping things from her when in reality everything was just too confusing for him to wrap his head around. He didn't think the woman would make it into an issue now, but he'd probably be hearing about this later.
A light sparked behind Shakky's eyes.
"The poneglyphs… then…! If what the kid's saying is true, then there's a good chance that looking for them might lead you to your girl."
Olvia grimaced.
"That's easier said than done and you know it. The only reason we were about to go on our expedition is because your contact—our sponsor—offered us access and safe passage to his research site. There's no way of knowing how many poneglyphs are out there; the Grand Line isn't the sort of place for any sane person to jump into blindly."
"You're better protected than you think," Shakky argued, giving Shirou a look that came across perhaps a little too knowledgeable than it should have. "And if you think it'll help…"
A tiny slip of torn-up paper was handed to the white-haired woman. She and Shirou looked down at it curiously.
"This is a vivre card," Shakky revealed. "It will lead you straight to our 'mutual friend'. If there's anyone who'll be able to tell you more about the poneglyphs, it's him."
Olvia's eyes widened.
"You mean—I thought he wanted to keep his identity a secret?"
"Yes," the other woman admitted, "but that was more to protect you than it was to protect him. After what happened, I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Just tell him that Shakky sent you."
"Who are we looking for?" Shirou asked.
"Silvers Rayleigh."
A deathly silence took over immediately.
While Shirou didn't recognize the name, Olvia clearly did. Her face paled and drops of sweat pooled down her face.
"Silvers Rayleigh… From the Pirate King's crew?"
Oh.
Olvia seemed caught up in her thoughts. She looked absolutely miserable and visibly overwhelmed by the task ahead of them.
Shirou wanted to ease her heart. He reached out both of his hands to clasp hers between them; she turned her head to him with a startled snap.
"Everything will be okay," he promised. "Silvers Rayleigh can't be all bad, right? If nothing else, your goals were in alignment."
"He's not that bad," Shakky offered in confirmation. "He's a little silly sometimes, though."
"See?"
The boy's warm smile melted her frigid posture. She sighed.
"...Yeah. Thank you, Shirou. You… can let go now."
It was his turn to freeze up. He jolted back with a blush.
Shakky started laughing again before once more hugging Olvia. To Shirou's surprise, the woman pulled him in too.
"I'll be rooting for you. I'm not supposed to do this, but…"
Another paper was slipped into the archeologist's palm. She tried to take a look, but Shakky held her fist closed.
"That's my den-den," Shakky told them. "If something comes up, call me. If it's nothing urgent, though…"
"You won't hear from us," Olvia promised. "We'll take your advice and head out now, then."
'Still, check-in sometimes. I'll let you know whatever I find on your daughter''
Shakky squinted brightly and waved to them.
"Bye bye Nico-san. You too, Shi-chan."
He gave her a stink-eye for the infantilising nickname, but decided against making a fuss about it the moment he saw her amused grin. He just huffed and followed Olvia out the door.
As they left, Shakky's eyes landed on the two untouched drinks resting on the counter where they sat.
Shakky sighed. She thought they were worth trying, at least.
The barkeeper finally came back into the room. He found Shakky sitting alone, grumbling about something or other as she downed the last drops of her old-fashioned.
"Did your friends leave already?" he asked.
She didn't answer. Instead, she hummed and stared calculatingly at the empty cup.
"This wasn't bad. How much do you think I could charge for something like this?" she asked him in turn. "A hundred million beri?"
"That's way too much!"
"Hm? Seriously?"
The entire building rumbled. The two, startled, looked to the door in confusion.
Something had happened.
X
A crowd had formed outside the saloon. Shirou and Olvia looked around in uncertainty as dozens of scared-looking locals formed a ring around some sort of brawl.
…On second thought, perhaps "a brawl" was a poor way to describe it.
There was a man—one taller and lankier than Aokiji even—holding a comparatively diminutive person up by the neck. He was dressed innocently enough, Charlie Chaplain overalls and tophat, but his expression was anything but. He was snarling. A ghastly thing, considering the way his hat cast a shadow over his black, beady eyes.
The person he was holding was—
"Doll?" Shirou exclaimed before he could stop himself.
The young marine tried to look his way, but it was impossible. She could only choke and claw at the arm holding her in place.
The tall man could turn toward him though. He did.
Both Olvia and Shirou were immediately unsettled. So were the onlookers, who took a good few cautious steps back.
"All the marines on this island…" he started. "Bothering my peace of mind… the peace of mind of my good citizens… they said they would leave, and yet you lot are still sticking around, huh!?"
He squeezed. A strangled gasp escaped Doll's throat.
That was enough. Shirou acted without thinking about it much longer.
"Trace, on!"