ARC I WHEN DOUBTS ARE PUSHED AWAY, BEAUTY COMES OUT
CHAPTER 11
1
It happened so fast that Lù didn't have the time to react. Swapped by a powerful force, her body felt compressed in a small box. The air changed in an instant. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she struggled to breath. Blackness surrounded her. Millions of images suddenly went through her mind, burning her from the inside and drowning her from the outside. When she finally got used to the dark, a small light was seen from the farest point she could see. It began to grow as oxygen disappeared. Lù couldn't let life go because of the important pain that almost paralyzed her body.
Yet, it wasn't death at all. Overwhelming presences surrounded her conscience still battling with the lack of oxygen and the burning pain. The light grew to wrap her body in warmth. She shuddered when the powerful force finally released her. Lù fell on her knees on what seemed to be a marble floor. The light was still intense and seemed to protect her from hundreds, if not millions, of voices. The pirate didn't pass out, thankfully, and only closed her eyes on instinct alone. Thick metallic liquid spread around her form and touched her fingers. She became aware of the coming back of her injuries.
Someone gently grabbed her chin and forced her to drink something. It was good, or rather excellent. It was something she had never tasted before. The person chuckled as they emptied the glass in her mouth. Warm liquid spread through her body, healing instantly most of her injuries. Slowly, the pirate opened her eyes and almost closed them again because of the bright light surrounding the room. Someone — or was it the same person? — spoke again, prompting her to keep her eyes open.
Her blood disappeared from her sight, startling her. The room, if she could really call it that, was immense and circular. In the middle, there was a gigantic throne made of marble and some sort of shining stone. Weapons — a lot of swords, daggers, guns, and others she couldn't quite see — were hung on the floors. Her sight was suddenly hidden by someone. That person was a man of overwhelming power emanating off his entire being. He kneeled in front of her.
"Dimension travel isn't for anybody," he chuckled, grabbing her shoulders, as he rose from his feet, "I'm surprised that you stayed awake during the whole deal."
Lù didn't reply, still dazed. The man was tall, and she thought somehow that he would be even taller than humans and giants. Black hair fell on his shoulders. Red eyes were staring at her own with a tint of amusement.
"I wished, daughter, that our meeting wasn't about the prophecy you're part of with that child of Dionysus. And yet, here we are."
"Prophecy?" Lù hadn't met an Oracle yet and wasn't sure if she wanted to be part of a prophecy although somehow she knew that it wasn't non-negotiable.
"You'll have to find the Oracle," he said as he walked towards the throne intending on sitting down, "it'd be easier if you find that child of Dionysus first."
"Who…?" she trailed off as memories slammed into her mind, "Oh.. "
"Exactly, daughter."
Her eyes widened a fraction of a second when she recalled the term he used to call her. Usually, the children of her mother never got to meet their father. Big Mom never really spoke of the fathers of her children, only if someone asked. Her mother had always refused to speak of her father for an unknown reason.
"A good one, daughter," the man said as he regained his true height, pulling out of her thoughts, "I believe you have the hints to know who I am."
He carried such a strong presence. He reeked of power, negative emotions and somehow exalting feelings. The weapons on the walls were an indication. She stared for a bit at the different paintings depicting people she often read about in books about the Ancient Gods. She recalled hundreds of stories, all happening in a war-time, all speaking of one being.
Ares, God of War and Courage, patron of women.
"Good," Ares spoke again, after a moment of silence, "you are wired for war, your blood will sing for it. You are wired for Greek too, all forms, but usually your accent will be similar to the ones I speak."
"Why wasn't mama allowed to tell me?" Lù asked.
"Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to tell you such information. Prepare yourself, daughter. Our time is coming to an end. Find the child of Dionysus, find the Oracle and fulfill the prophecy. We'll see each other another time."
In an instant, the decor disappeared. Lù had so many questions. Blackness surrounded her again, smothering her as the world trembled. She found herself falling in a growing hole. Faintly, she heard the voice of Ares coming to her.
"Your crew is alive and is with you. They'll find you, daughter."
Relief washed over her. Hypnos pulled her into the world of dreams and nightmares, sheltering her from any more harm.
"... And then, I woke up in this world. I ended up meeting Xanxus and finally I met you in Canada," Lù finished talking.
Silence fell. The woman took a sip of her beer, enjoying the quietness of the Italian bar as there weren't many clients around since it was still early.
"Fuck," Usopp loudly swore, making some heads turn towards him and people raising eyebrow at him.
"Indeed."
Dionysus. God of Wine, Orchards and Fruit, Vegetation, Fertility, Festivity, Insanity, Ritual Madness, Religious ecstasy, and Theater.
The fact that a Greek God had taken part of his procreation was the response to the question he had been asking because a few incidents in his childhood had indicated to him that he possessed a few powers unknown. As a result of that question, Usopp always kept those powers well-hidden.
"... So now we have to find the Oracle. Any ideas?"
"Nope."
2
It was hard to be back within her clan. Nobody in her family would make her return easy. So far, only her father had talked with her, addressing the terrible circumstances that had almost killed her and her minimisation of the situation. Her siblings were unwilling to talk with her. However, Nana had expected it, because she had hurt them so much. The horrible words she had spoken still rang in her mind every so often. Without a seal slowly killing her from the inside, it was much easier to hear the past.
Nanako, or rather Nana as she preferred nowadays, stood alone on her balcony. She hoped that her son was okay although her father had assured her that he was okay, only in the hands of the healers and a few members of the clan. Kenshi, her twin, was taking care of him. Nana wondered how her clan would react to the fact that her son would be the next Vongola Don. It was unfair when she thought about it. Her son should never have suffered from the fate of being sealed. Tsunayoshi was preparing for the ceremony of introduction to the Akatsuki clan.
The clan was part of the fifteen powerful clans that controlled Asia and Australia. Their influence extended even to Europe, America, and even Africa. It had been two hundreds years since the last war of clans.
The compound was impressive. Tall walls of stone surrounded multiple houses glued together, their colorful roofs illustrating the trees that were spread through the compound. Small gardens decorated the buildings and small paths of stone brick were seen. There was one large mansion towering the town, its colors — the crest was a black cobra with yellow copper scales— attracting all looks and curiosity. Nostalgia hit Nana the moment she stepped inside the small town, remembering the times where she had played with her siblings and the children of Tsuki.
The town was located in the middle of nowhere, on an isolated island much like Namimori was, wrapped in thick layers of mist.
"You know, you're supposed to beg for forgiveness," her twin drawled as he stepped outside of the chamber.
"And you know that I won't beg for forgiveness. I was terrible to all of you."
"So was I," Kenshi sighed as he went to stand beside her, "I was too much of a coward to stand up to father and mother. I had dreams too, but I gave up on them."
"It wasn't even worth it," Nana whispered, thinking of the charismatic blond-haired man ruining her life, "I was an empty shell, unable to help my son because he was bullied, I was useless."
"That's not what he told me. You have done everything you could for him, and it was enough for him."
"Not enough, Kenshi. He tried to kill himself."
Her brother tensed beside her at her words. Silence fell over them as Nana looked at the busy town.
"I tried to find you for months," Kenshi said as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, "eventually father dragged me to home."
"I'm sorry."
It was soft and low, but the man heard it and pulled her closer. Kenshi was a bit taller than her and muscular, his long brown-haired hair was tied.
"Mother wants to talk to you," he whispered as he led her inside the building, "don't leave me again, Na-chan."
Her mother looked well. Better than her, in fact. Nana felt miserable and still suffered from the consequences of the seal. Kenshi left her at the doors, snatching the last tears off his cheeks as he told her he would meet her afterwards for the preparations of the festival.
"Sit down, Nanako."
Sharp and cold.
Kenshi didn't forgive her despite the behavior he had displayed. Nana promised herself she would make up for the hurt she had given to him and to the rest of the family. She had missed him so much.
"I'm sure your father has explained to you your long-overdue-punishment."
Her father requested her to be an information broker for ten years, mostly based on Tsuki as he wanted to keep an eye on her — he didn't trust Vongola at all — and she was to be the organizer of the festivals. It didn't sound like a punishment at first, but when Nana had heard of the rules concerning what she had the right to do, she found herself wordless. It was like being a child all over again.
"Yes. How does my son fit in all though?"
"This is a matter we will be discussing, do not worry."
Her mother's chamber was circular. It was colorful, but not quite in the bad way, full of various paintings coming from centuries of existence of the Uzumaki clan. Her mother's red hair shone in the light of the fresh day. Fresh air filled the room.
"I should have understood you better, Nana. I should have listened to you when you asked for a compromise. My parents never let me choose what I wanted. The only good thing was your mother," Emiko sighed, rubbing her hands, "I stupidly thought I could do the same to you. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize, moth— Emiko-sa—"
"Please, Nana, call me mother or maman as you used to say when you were a child. You deserve more than you believe," Emiko cut her off with a sharp tone, "we should have hunted you down so you would have been freed earlier."
"And we should have been more open to our children's desires," the familiar voice of her father chided in.
"And now that you're back, Nana," her mother continued, smiling softly as Hoshi joined them around the table, "we will work together to make it work."
"What's the name of the fellow who hurt you?" her father asked.
"Sawada Iemitsu, he's the CEDEF of Vongola."
"He's a dead man walking."
3
BIG MOM ATTACKED AND SANK MARINEFORD
"Now, this is interesting," Shanks commented as he read the article about his fellow emperor while his right-hand was smoking, "I wonder who messed with her."
"Might be because of the disappearance of the Burning Wolves," Ben Beckman said, eyeing a few members of the crew messing around.
"Charlotte Lù, hm.. What a weird name! Though, Big Mom gives them weird names."
"You ain't better, Shanks. At least, I have a normal name."
"You're mean," the Emperor mumbled as he set down the newspaper, "it's a shame we weren't invited to sink Marineford. I'd have come."
"Only to drink with her and Whitebeard."
"Oh yes, I know that Whitebeard would have loved to spend some time drin— uhh destroying Marineford with Linlin."
Ben rolled his eyes.
"Anything interesting in the newspaper?" he asked in hope to find some information about the sniper of Luffy as he was the only missing person of the crew.
"No. Still nothing."
"I can't believe that with the Revolutionaries, the Whitebeards and their allies, and us, we have no information. It's like he has disappeared from thin air."
"That's worrying, Ben," Shanks mumbled, looking at the image of Charlotte Lù in the newspaper, "just like her. It is mentioned that Linlin is searching for her."
"Could the two cases be linked?"
"I don't know."
