Kidd woke up past midnight, feeling the urgent call of nature. He reluctantly left the warm bed and went to Sab's bathroom. It only took him around 15 minutes to finish, and when he stepped out of the bathroom, he was surprised to see the bed empty. He looked around, relieved to find Sab standing on the balcony.
His foot took him to where she was, standing behind her. As the wind touched his naked upper body, he longed for some warmth. Without hesitation, he wrapped his hands around her while burying his face on her neck. She didn't protest nor push him away, which was a good sign.
Silence reigned between them, contented to the comforting silence after the verbal arguments they pulled last night. Looking back at how they ended up like this, it was laughable.
Despite the comforting silence, and Sab was adamant to break it, she figured she wouldn't have time to lay bare of the emotions welling up inside.
"Our parents..." She started, feeling the lump in her throat as she pieced each memory she failed to forget. "They died on the island. We moved there after the World Government started the purge against my father. They died when the World Government laid waste on that island, burning it to the ground,"
Kidd could feel her voice tremble, but he stayed silent, opting to listen when she willingly opened up.
"We escaped, and while doing so, we watched the island burn to the ground. We were just kids back then, but the memory stayed. And when I saw Ann in that same situation, where I was helpless, I..." She wandered off her thoughts, trying hard to prevent her tears from falling. "I, uh..." She could no longer hold back and sobbed.
Kidd was quick to turn her around, caging her in his embrace.
"I don't want to see that again. I want to kill that bastard! I want him to suffer!"
"I know," Kidd said. He could have said more, to comfort her, but words were hard to piece together when he knew she was carrying so much burden. What he could do was assure her of his presence.
"I know it was not the best plan - "
"Tell me about it," Kidd scoffed, still embracing her and he twitched when she felt her pinching his side.
"- But I just can't stomach the thought he is still alive. I am so angry!"
"Someone told me years ago that I should not let my anger get the better of me. My head should not be a decoration. For the record, I am not referring to the head of my cock because you know damn well it was useful - ouch!"
"Kidd!" She shoved him followed by a punch on his chest.
"Okay, hear me out. Damn it, you know words were not my forte, and I am the worst person you should hear this from. But! Patience is the key. If you're going to kill the bastard, kill him with every bit of intention to break him apart. You can do it without being suicidal. He'll die knowing you won, and that's the last thing he will think of before he dies. Do you get me?"
"That was the worst pep talk I've ever heard." She smirked.
"Oh, shut up." He rolled his eyes at her attempt to insult him before pulling her into another embrace. They stayed like that before Sab broke it off again.
"Kidd?"
"Hmm?" There was hesitance in her voice and he briefly wondered what she would say.
"Do you want to visit our children's graves?" It was a murmur, but Kidd heard it loud and clear. Our children, she said. While that thought warmed his heart, it also brought up the notion of their deaths.
"Yes," he said. "I'd love to. We can go tomorrow."
"Okay."
"Come on, let's get some sleep."
For the first time in a while, Sab felt peaceful drifting off to sleep with Kidd beside her.
They woke up around 7 in the morning and went downstairs to get breakfast before going to the sisters' secret base.
Heat, Wire, and Killer were on the table, talking to themselves.
"If they were going to end up having sex, why do they need to have a screaming battle?" Wire asked, shaking his head in the process.
"I wish I wasn't roomed next to them. I don't want to hear my boss having a blast while we're stuck being dry with no action." Heat said.
Sab may not see her face now, but she knew how red it was. She wished she could hide somewhere else.
"Oh, maybe it was a make-up sex." Wire pointed out quite loudly. He did not notice Kidd and Sab's presence at their back. Killer, adjacent to Wire and Heat, was clearing his throat, signaling the two to shut up. It seems they did not take the hint and continued the conversation.
"Damn. Two years, right? I heard the frustration loud and clear last night. Wild was an understatement," Heat continued.
"Ahem! Ahem!" Killer was coughing loudly, eyes wandering between the two idiots in front and the looming figure at their back. "You might want to shut up." He muttered, looking away as if telling Kidd he was exempted.
"Care to say it to my face?" Kidd grumbled, looming behind Heat and Wire. Had it not been for the initial embarrassment, Sab would have laughed at how funny their paled faces looked.
"Uh, oh, Uhm, Kidd, and Sab! Hahaha. We're done with breakfast and we have lots of things to do." Wire was so quick to stand up, leaving his plate with food that he almost didn't touch.
"That's true. We're going now!" And the two left the table lightning fast.
Kidd was not mad but exasperated at his nosy men. When he looked at the blonde man in front of him, he couldn't help but frown upon noticing the wild smirk on Killer's face.
"Stop that," he grumbled while pulling a chair for Sab to sit next to him.
"Stop what?" Killer grinned. Kidd could only roll his eyes. The breakfast was going well save for a few jibes from Killer.
"We're going to visit their graves," Sab broke the teasing match between Kidd and Killer by getting the blonde's attention. "Would you like to come with us?"
"Now that I fulfilled my promise, I think I earned the right to visit their graves, but I'll save that for another time. You two need to go." Killer said.
"Okay, thank you." Sab nodded, thought drifting to the fact that Kidd would be the first person to enter their base. Surprisingly, she was not against that idea.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Luffia was having breakfast in one of her bases in the exclusive subdivision when Chopper dropped by to check on Ann. He brought his assistant nurse to make sure Ann was well taken care of.
"Do you think she will wake up today?" Luffia asked. She could not count how many times she asked this but she would not be tired of doing so even if the answer was the same.
"She was responsive for the past few days, but I cannot guarantee it, Luffia. Her vitals are normal and most of the trauma her body went through is slowly getting better. We'll see."
"Okay - "
"Doctor Chopper!" The nurse named Tristan shouted from upstairs, alarming Luffia and Chopper. They were quick to get to the second floor and as soon as they arrived there, Luffia's knees gave in at the sight of her sister's head movements.
"Ann..." Tears flooded her cheeks as she stared in disbelief at Ann.
"H-Hey, Lu." Her smile might be weak but that was all Luffia needed. At long last, after two weeks, Ann is now awake.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
Sab was quite afraid that Kidd might be bored of their long drive to their hidden base. She was even afraid of the tension in the car but it was a good thing Kidd did not ask about the twins during their drive. Their conversation threaded on different topics, mainly about their plans moving forward.
"You know, I was surprised when I heard you and Shanks were related." Sab does not have a chance to ask Kidd about his relationship with Shanks since most of the time, they ignore each other or are busy shouting at each other.
"It wasn't anything complicated. We have the same shitty father and different mothers. I took my mother's name rather than my father, hence different surnames. Good for him, he was thinking the same."
"Oh." Sab nodded, thinking about the story Shanks told them about how he met Roger when he was a teenager running away from his father's debtors. "When did you meet him?"
"When I was a child. Around 11 or 12 years old. He took me in. He might have found out after that shitty excuse of a father died." Sab realized that was also around the time her father's group disbanded.
"You didn't have a hard time before you met Shanks, did you?"
"It was alright. Adults were shitty, but it doesn't matter. I survived." He shrugged and even scoffed at the memories of him being mocked for not having a father. His mother was all he had and when she died, he was thankful to have Shanks in his life.
"That's good to know." Sab allowed a smile to grace her lips not only because Kidd was comfortable enough to talk about these things but because she had breathing room to comfortably ask him. When they were together two years ago, she felt like she was walking on a path with thorns. She had to be careful not to thread in topics that could open the can of worms. He might have felt that way too as their relationship remained enclosed in a space that barred their pasts.
"Did you get mad at him when you found out he knew about me?"
"Yes. I even confronted him," Kidd answered. "But the situation we were in was already out of control. I understood why he didn't tell me."
Sab could only nod, relieved that she didn't cause a rift between the brothers. Their topic about Shanks fell through when Kidd pulled over the entrance of the sisters' base. Sab opened the gate through the remote control she kept.
"You're the first person to visit this place." She said as soon as they got out of the car. "No one, not even Shanks had been here." The revelation surprised Kidd and that's when he realized the weight of what Sab said. The sisters don't trust anyone to bring them here. His presence here signified a trust placed on his shoulders. "Let's go to the back garden."
Kidd took the initiative to hold her hand firmly while the other hand was holding onto the flowers he bought along the way. If it was to support her or to ask for her support, he couldn't tell.
With hands clasped tightly, Sab brought Kidd to the gardens where their twins' graves were located. She hesitantly looked at Kidd to see how he would react to the graves. There was a visible pain in his reddish-brown eyes, a frown decorating his brows while looking at the graves of the children he didn't know till recently. She regretted the fact that Kidd didn't manage to feel their children kick inside her belly. She would have done anything for Kidd to experience that feeling.
"T-They would have been a little over a year old by now had they lived." Sab's voice quivered.
Kidd was still silent, digesting the turbulent emotions swelling in his heart at the sight of his children's graves. He badly wished he had known about them. At some point during his silence, he wanted to tell Sab again that he would gladly stay in prison for years just to make sure they were safe.
But what was the use of saying that over and over again when it can't bring back the lives of their children?
He looked at Sab and could see the regret, guilt, and pain in her eyes. If he was feeling shitty about losing his children, he couldn't imagine how much pain Sab went through when they died.
Without a word, he placed the flowers on top of the stone while keeping his hand on Sab's.
"I'm sorry if this is the first time I visited." He said. "Your mother and I were not on best terms before." And it wouldn't have happened had he been powerful enough for Sab to lean on. Had he had the influence rivaling Shanks', Sab would have been comfortable enough to depend on him.
"Kidd..."
"But we're alright now. We're going to bring down our enemies. And I would offer their heads as a tribute to the two of you."
It sounded extreme even for Sab, but she knew he meant it. He was the type of person who would cause a bloodbath. And he had more reason this time.
After spending about half an hour in front of the grave, Sab received a call from Luffia.
"Hey, Lu?"
"SAB!" The blonde lawyer winced at the high-pitched tone from the other side of the line.
"What's the matter?"
"It's ANN!" Sab frozed for a second.
"What happened?"
"She's awake!"
"Really? Okay, okay. I'll be there. We're about to leave anyway." Sab quickly ended the call and ushered Kidd so they could leave.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Ann is awake."
"Then, what are we waiting for? I'll drive you to your sister's house."
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
The ringing of his phone annoyed Zoro to no end. He looked over the caller ID only to sigh in irritation. How many times has she called since yesterday?
He was clear that their friends-with-benefits relationship would never progress. Not now, not ever. After all the things she pulled against Luffia, he doubted he'd ever trust Tashigi. He would be blind not to notice her feelings for him but he could not bring himself to reciprocate these feelings.
When the phone started ringing again, he knew he had to put an end to this.
"What do you want?" His irritable voice was obvious as soon as he answered the phone.
"Zoro, listen to me - "
"What the fuck do you want, Tashigi?" Each diction of his word carried the weight of annoyance he bottled up. It was a good thing he was in his house in case Tashigi tracked this call. Call him paranoid, but risking Luffia's base where Ann is would be disastrous.
"You have to know this. This is about the people who killed your family."
Zoro was silent, processing her words. He vaguely felt cold water splashed on his face, calming his annoyance. For a brief moment, he berated himself for forgetting about that. Had he been so occupied with helping Luffia that he forgot about the Mafia King's group?
"Fine. I'll listen, but if this is nonsense I swear I am blocking you!"
"It would be better to tell you in person. I will provide you the necessary evidence as well in case you think I am lying."
"Fine. When?"
"I'll drop by your house tomorrow morning." She said.
"Okay. This better be worth it, Tashigi."
"And you might not want to bring Luffia with you because what I'm about to tell you had something to do with her." Zoro gritted his teeth but agreed.
He thought quickly ending the call would get his mood back to its usual state but he was wrong. Ideas kept popping in his head about the possibilities of what Tashigi had in store.
The phone started ringing again and he mentally swore that if it was Tashigi again, he would be pissed off. A relieved sigh escaped him when he saw it was Luffia.
"Luffia - "
"ZORO! Ann is awake! She's awake!" Her joy was contagious because the next second, Zoro was smiling as if he hadn't had that conversation with Tashigi a minute ago. A picture appeared in his mind of Luffia jumping for joy, shouting at the top of her lungs with a wild grin on her face.
Given how she spent two weeks feeling down, this got to be the best news she heard in two weeks.
"OK. I'll go there. Just give me an hour."
"Okay, I'll see you!"
It didn't take him an hour to get ready and leave his house to visit Luffia's. Even after the knowledge that she owned this exclusive village, he still could not fathom how she ended up in her position. Not that he ever doubted her, but the journey couldn't have been an easy one.
Zoro had seen 'wannabes' in the streets and failed to measure how the world works. Most of them end up being swallowed by a different group. But not Strawhats. Many tried but failed. It shows how strong their foundation was.
He could have asked about these things to Luffia but, he felt as if he might not get much information as he wanted. Despite Luffia trusting him, he knew that she was still hiding something.
Driving the doubts away, he got off his bike to get inside the house. Seeing Kidd in the living room didn't surprise him. They nodded at each other as a greeting.
"They're upstairs." The red-head said.
"Why are you here in the living room?"
"I already went to see her then, left them alone. They need it." Zoro nodded in understanding before going upstairs. Inside Ann's recovery room were Sab and Luffia receiving a stern lecture from Chopper about not stressing Ann too much.
"Zoro!" Luffia perked from her seat and high-tailed to Zoro, jumping into his embrace. "My sister's awake now! Shishishi!"
"I can see that." He said with a soft smile, happy to see Luffia being herself again. "I just dropped by to greet your sister now that she's awake."
"Thanks." Ann managed to respond, voice still hoarse.
"What?! You're leaving already? But you just got here!" Luffia pouted.
"I'll be here till afternoon, then I have to be somewhere." That seemed to sit well with Luffia because the next minute she was all over Ann again much to Chopper's annoyance.
True to his words, he spent lunch here and left around 3 PM. Same with Kidd who looked reluctant to leave Sab. The redhead thought that the sisters needed their time together after Ann had been through.
Zoro was left to do a few things on his own namely meeting Johnny and Yosaku who never failed to tease him about finally getting together with Luffia.
"We thought you would never grow some balls!" They jested him one time and earned a deadly glare from Zoro. After getting information from Johnny and Yosaku, Zoro went home to sleep, successfully setting aside the impending meeting with Tashigi.
He woke up feeling great come morning. At first, he forgot about Tashigi until he received a text message reminding him about her stopping by. He groaned as he mentally prepared himself for whatever this was about. It might be a good thing that Luffia was occupied lest Zoro would have told her about his meeting with Tashigi. He would honor his word of not bringing Luffia with him, but he would have told Luffia about this.
Around 10 AM, Tashigi arrived at his house, bringing a folder filled with evidence as she claimed.
"Do you need coffee? Tea?" Zoro was still playing the host by offering her refreshments even though he was tempted to kick her out of his house. It's not that he hates her, but he could not bring himself to trust her at all or be on friendly terms after what she pulled before. Granted, it brought light to Luffia's secret identity, but he still did not appreciate it. Call him an ingrate if you will, but he would never thank her for that. And he knew her motives were far from what she let on.
"No, thank you." Her smile was irritating. It was as if she knew she was holding something to keep Zoro at bay.
"Alright. If you don't want anything to drink, let's get down to business. What do you need to tell me?" He gestured for her to sit on the couch, anxiously waiting for her answers.
"The Mafia King wreaked havoc in Grandline." She started. "It devastated the status quo and the advantage of the World Government because of his influence alone. His influence caused many lives. One of them was your family."
Zoro winced, remembering the death of the Shimotsuki Clan until there was nothing left besides himself, forcing him to change his surname to Roronoa.
"Get to the point, woman."
"His group members are still out there, hiding in the dark. Bidding their time to wreak havoc."
"Yes, because the last time I heard even the World Government cannot track all of them." His sarcastic remark did not faze Tashigi. She even smiled at him.
"And do you know who is still alive aside from his members?" A warning alarm rang in Zoro's head after sensing her tone changing. He frowned but remained silent. "His children."
"They should be dead. Besides, why should I want anything to do with his children? They didn't kill my family."
"That is true, but they have the support of his members."
"And what do you want me to do about it?"
"Don't you understand? They are roaming free! And they will kill thousands if not millions just like their father." Their conversation was growing irritable for Zoro's taste.
"Don't push your ideals on me, Tashigi. If you came here to bring me this nonsense, you better leave now while my patience allows you to. This is - "
"We've uncovered the identities of his children. His daughters." Zoro stopped in his tracks, gasping at her diction of daughters. Her eyes danced around, telling Zoro something. And his instincts were telling him a very frightful idea.
"Daughters?"
"Roger was very smart. He faked the birth certificates of his children, making it as if he had sons when in fact, he had daughters. Three daughters." Little by little, Zoro felt his body go numb. "He had twins. Fraternal twins. Then the youngest."
He gritted his teeth while waiting for Tashigi to give him all the details. But even without it, he had an idea who she might be referring to.
"Gol D. Ann, aka Firefist. Gol D. Sab, aka Atty. Sab Regor. And lastly, his youngest daughter, Gol D. Lu - "
"Stop!" He was gasping for air even before Tashigi could finish her sentence. "You're lying!"
"I know you would say that. So, I brought here a valid DNA test for you to see. And all the details you need." She pushed the folders onto Zoro, encouraging him to see it for himself.
Part of him wanted to dismiss this idea, but the better part longed for the truth. He took the folder and scanned the contents, paling at every word that screamed the truth to his face.
The details included Luffia's fake identity as an orphan in Fuscia Orphanage. Some of the contents detailed her connection to Shanks who was Roger's apprentice, and not only that, it included questionable transactions tracing back to Silvers Rayleigh and Scopper Gaban.
Every word he read felt as if his strength was zapped out of him.
"Being a vigilante would have made sense if she was seeking revenge, but she founded the Strawhat group, rising to an Emperor level. Did it not occur to you why she managed to do that? In a few years! None of the Emperors managed to get to their levels as quickly as she did! She had her father's members supporting her in the dark. They are bringing back Roger's influence and Luffia is at the helm of this scheme! Letting them roam Grandline will cost lives. Many families will suffer. The Grandline is already in turmoil with many Mafia Groups causing chaos all over the place, but her force will only make things worse."
"Enough!" He slammed his palm on the coffee table but surprisingly, Tashigi did not flinch.
"She had been fooling you for a long time. Keep your friends close, and your enemy closer. Such a conniving bastard, right? She deflected the hunt against her group by using you while knowing what her father did to your family."
Zoro badly wanted to refute her words but nothing came out of his mouth. He was too stunned to speak. His brain had not caught up to the reality that Luffia fooled him.
"Get out." He muttered, eyes looking down at his feet. Tashigi's eyes flashed with pain, not expecting Zoro to push her away even after the revelation. But her hesitation quickly dissipated as she mentally reminded herself that this shocking news would need more time for Zoro to digest.
"I'll leave you be for now. But if you still have an ounce of love for your family, you should cooperate with the World Government to capture Luffia and her sister. Grandline is better off without them."
And she left Zoro to process the reality.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===