The Many (Attempted) Marriages of the Sun Goddess - ReynaAtTheEnd (2024)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

Nika had waited a long time for someone to claim her. Years of waiting, of evading the prison galors that ruled the world after that century, waiting to feel that one. Most of her fellows weren't as picky as her, she knew; but for most of them, their domains didn't require nearly so much of the ones they chose as she did of hers.

She'd almost wanted the red haired boy who saved her from falling into the hands of the tyrants. Almost! He'd had so much in him that she adored; freedom, joy, love of the world in all its forms. But she'd made too many promises to be anything but completely sure, and she'd felt a different destiny in him, so she'd reluctantly passed over him, and continued to wait.

Then she'd appeared. As soon as her aura entered the room where her fruit form waited, Nika felt her, and knew instantly she was the one. She'd stretched out her hand, tempted her other half to come and reforge them – gently urging the pirates to look the other way until the girl's teeth dug in and their bond was forged.

Luffy. Nika adored her from the very start, from the shoreline to the forests with her brothers and finally out into the wide seas with her crew. Her other self is gangly, coming into her powers one bit at a time as she stumbled from one disaster and tyrannical force to another almost by accident, but Nika has waited for centuries; what's a few more years to that, drinking in the spirit of adventure as Luffy grew strong enough to take all that weight upon her shoulders?

Perhaps she was a bit too used to waiting. Nika had bristled as the Sand's monster almost killed Luffy, when the Model Leopard had tried the same, when she'd been faced with the Ice and Light minions and was far too unprepared to even have a chance against them. But her human didn't reach for her true power, and forcing the issue was far too dangerous to her mind, so Nika had grimly waited the situations out, whether Luffy triumphed or just escaped with her life. She'd gotten out every time, and every failure prompted her to get a little stronger, closer to being ready.

Yet right now, waiting seemed to be her curse, a secret second one hurtled at her by mother ocean when she took this form that Nika hadn't truly realized until right now. She waited as Luffy discovered that the boy she'd grown up with was slated for execution. Waited as she charged into Impel Down, waited as she was whisker's breath away from dying from poison and heat and cold leaving Nika with the deepest fear that her promises would be left unfulfilled again, waited as she cut into her lifeforce processing the well-intentioned but terribly administrated miracle cure, waited as she fought and ran and forced her way down only to be too late and the boy Ace was gone, waited as she was thrown up into the sky and dropped from the frozen waterfall and waited as she charged headfirst into this war where she's so desperately outclassed by most combatants there --

No, waiting was a curse. She'd convinced herself otherwise all these years, wrapping herself in the confidence and certainty that she would make the sun rise for those in chains when the time came. Clinging to that cold comfort with both hands had clearly lulled her into a false sense of security. This was hell.

Nika's scream of rage, frustration and edging panic when Light's chosen shot a hole through Luffy wasn't tangible to the people on the battlefield, but she knows she rang the bell of every other sea devil for miles. She doesn't really care, either. She doesn't want to search for another wielder! Luffy is the one, she knows it, it's written in the universe. She loves her.

You're not ready for this! She pleaded with the girl as she struggled, trying to force herself up to start running again even though she's bleeding out and so so weak and everything is awful and she's so close yet so far. You have to retreat!

No!

Nika jerked back, blinking rapidly. In the darkness of Luffy's mindscape, suddenly her other half is right there before her. As her heartbeat shivered and started to weaken, the bloodied girl blinked into existence, clutching her chest and staring at her with wide, shocked eyes streaming with tears.

An awakening? Surely not! It was too soon! And yet, Nika couldn't deny the situation – the sensation washed over her, just as it had so many years before when her last wielder had come before her this exact same way. Luffy was truly one of a kind. Or mad. Or both; Nika is pretty sure her crew had long decided it was both.

I have to save him. Luffy said, clutching her chest.

Nika stared, shaking her head. You're not ready, She protested. This was not what she'd expected. She didn't think they'd have this conversation for another few years! Your haki is just barely awakened. My true power will rip you to pieces!

I don't care!

You'll die before you can save him!

I DON'T CARE! Luffy screamed, all love and desperation and despair and pleading, and Nika fell quiet from the sheer force of emotion. I can't let him die in chains, I can't, it's not right, he's been trapped by people hating Roger all his life, I love him, I love him-!

Chains. The words struck Nika's consciousness hard, and despite all her care and loyalty to her role and the promises she made, she doesn't shut Luffy out of this space as she'd been preparing to. You'd think she of all beings, the one who understood Luffy best, would know better.

I need all of you, Luffy barreled on, her image shivering as her body got weaker. I don't care what happens to me. I want him to be free. Please...!

Nika thought about it. Truly let herself think about it in those terms, about how that boy had been slated to have the life he'd barely started cut short because he had been born to Roger – as if that had been a choice he made! They were forcing this wicked law upon the world, that they had the right to kill because you existed in a fashion they disapproved of, and he would be their demonstration. His life would be discarded like it was less than worthless.

Anger welled up inside her, her own emotions mingling with Luffy's, and she realized she's lost the argument before truly able to start it.

Nika reached out and placed her hand on Luffy's quivering head. Very well, she decided. Those brown eyes light up as bright as her own sun. I'll have to carry us through this. This awakening is premature, and it will make your path from here more difficult than it would be otherwise. She'll be revealing herself before the army of the tyrant, and whatever others discover the truth from this televised battlefield. Luffy would be in frequent danger. But... Luffy was almost always in trouble, usually because she went looking for it. Luffy... I hope you survive this.

Luffy merely beamed at her as their minds meet in the Awakening, overjoyed that Nika was letting her have her way, and the drums of liberation roar.

The ground shook and lightning erupted from Luffy's prone body. Nika stretched out her limbs and hopped up into the air, wincing slightly at all the battle damage she can feel – quickly using her power to bypass them. She chuckled grimly, rather than a full body laugh as the battlefield reeled at the sudden haki pressure. Usually she could find joy and amusem*nt in just about anything, but the consequences of this situation are too dire. Luffy is only half conscious, her mind scattered and unfocused, and Nika can feel the strain of this on her body.

Whipping out one hand and seizing her background lightning, Nika swept her gaze over the battlefield to take stock while everyone was still reeling from the power surge of her appearance. Those walls need to go, and the biggest threat to Ace aside from the two law dogs on either side of him are the three mutts in the plaza.

“Luffy?!” Ace gasped, jerking forward as far as he was able in the chains pinning him to the execution platform. The power blast had nearly knocked him senseless; he wasn't willing to chalk it up to his torture in Impel Down and lingering exhaustion – the adrenaline kick of his family coming to his rescue in spite of him putting them in this position had taken care of that. His Luffy hovered in the sky, bouncing in place and chuckling in a dry, angry manner while literally crackling with power – her hair has turned pure white and her eyes were glowing like an Awakened Zoan on a rampage. But that doesn't make sense – Lu had eaten a Paramecia fruit, she's a rubber person, what -

Nika swung her arm out and unleashed a storm of lightning into the plaza itself. The orderly lines of Marines separating her from the scaffold scatter like ants, dozens and dozens of men either blasted into unconsciousness immediately or picked up and flung like dolls by the impacts. Light's wielder didn't even bother to dodge or bring up his haki, assuming that this is the same underpowered girl he'd skewered minutes ago – Nika tried not to take too much pleasure from slamming a lightning bolt into his chest that flung him half the length of the island and smashed him into the concrete of the Marineford tower. Lava and Ice were a little less arrogant and dodged with their automatic defences, and she doesn't have much time to take satisfaction in their reeling surprise.

The seastone walls have to go first; they were obstructing most of the Whitebeard Pirates, along with the old man Quake loved so much. Nika bent her body downward and dropped like a missile, crashing into the concrete and spreading her power across it.

What is this pressure? Whitebeard wondered in shock – and it took a lot to shock the oldest Emperor of the Sea after everything he lived through. Until a moment ago, that little girl in Roger's hat had been badly wounded and exuding no more power than a typical Paradise Rookie. But that eruption of energy when she shot up into the sky, her form changing, was so heavy it was as if she'd been replaced by someone or something from the New World!

The ground suddenly rippled beneath his feet – no, it didn't tremble slightly like one of his weaker quakes. It wobbled up and down like it had spontaneously turned into pudding and a child was shaking the bowl violently to get it away from a greedy friend! Whitebeard dug his bisento into the ground to steady himself; or tried to, because the ground stubbornly resisted, stretching rather than being impaled. An ungodly shrieking of metal hit his ears; it took him a few moments to fight against the vertigo and triangulate where it was coming from.

It was...below?

“Haha...hahahaha!” Nika laughed scornfully, punching the concrete hard before jumping up and down on it – emulating Luffy on the white clouds in Angel Island. Her powers couldn't pierce through the stone walls themselves, but with how they had risen from the ground on command, she knew that they were on some kind of track and pulley system, and that couldn't all be made of sea stone – it would be wasted where it couldn't obstruct pirates.

She shook the whole island, cracking apart concrete and metal as the rubberized areas they were attached to tore them away from their systems or simply shattered them apart with the sudden, violent stress. Sending another violent ripple about as big as one of Whitebeard's lesser quakes did the trick; the walls directly behind her began falling rapidly back into the plaza with tortured screams of metal.

“NO!” Sengoku screamed in alarm, his eyes widening immensely at the sudden, impossible sight. Garp's insufferable granddaughter launched herself in the air like a spring, so fast she was almost a blur; neatly avoiding the hail of magma an enraged Akainu subsequently sent her way. Hovering in the sky, she swirled in place and looked scornfully down at him. Her body had transformed, taking on the characteristics of... wait...

It couldn't be...!

Whitebeard straightened up when the ground stopped shaking, abruptly reverting to its real shape. Her fruit has Awakened, he realized, thinking even as he raised his arm and urged his sons onward – he needed to take advantage of this twist of fate quickly. Is this really all stemming from rubber powers? No; I'd believe it in any other situation, but what I'm sensing from her now...

“Hahahahaha!” Ace's girl laughed again, and this tone of hers is definitely mocking and subtly different from the rude girl who'd had the nerve to tell him off on his own ship. There's an elegant edge that wasn't there before. She bent her body in a completely unnatural crescent to avoid the next magma jet that mutt threw at her, then flew off like a balloon that had just been violently punctured. She zipped off to the very top of Marineford, her fingers hooking in the edge of the rooftop. There's a titanic tearing sound and half of the roof is ripped loose in her hands – staying together in one piece instead of crumbling into thousands of shingles, bits of concrete and wood fragments – and she chucked it like a discus at the man in retaliation.

Woolgathering. I'll ponder the bizarreness of Awakened powers once we have Ace back. The old man decided quickly as Akainu was threw a rapid barrage of magma at the attack to avoid getting ground into the dirt. I doubt that power burst will last for too long after all the punishment she's taken.

Nika hadn't expected that to take the man out, just to distract him. She flung herself out across the sky, flying overhead in an arc to pick out where Whitebeard and Luffy's new friend Jimbe were. That's how we'll get rid of them, she reassured her other self. Luffy's soul buzzes with joy and wonder at her power, though Nika doubted she'd remember much of this afterward.

She dropped to the ground, waving around light bursts from Kizaru. Bah, he's awake already? Of course. Whistling, she bent over backward to avoid the next burst of light when she touched down again. Then she straightened up and massively enlarged her teeth, making them pearly white and intensely reflective.

Kizaru's attempted flash step to get up in her face and keep her from dodging his next attack gets refracted on the surface and shot clean out of Marineford and out across the ocean. Nika snapped her head back to normal and Luffy's snickering slips through her mouth.

It's lucky, really, that he had fought Luffy before and had been thoroughly confident she was powerless against him. Because she had been – until now. Light would be sulking about this one for quite a while, Nika just knew it.

Akainu had come up right behind her in the moments she'd taken to get that smug bastard off the battlefield, but that had been a calculated risk; before he could bring a magma-fueled fist down on her head, Whitebeard dropped an earthquake right behind him, striking the man from behind. “What the hell have you done to yourself, brat?” The old man asked as Akainu was sent stumbling away from her.

Nika turned around and smiled mysteriously at him; she couldn't speak, not really. She and Luffy were holding this together with willpower and pure stubbornness, she needed every speck of strength that she could scrape together diverted to other means. Instead, she pointed directly upward at the sun before pivoting toward Akainu again.

She's too far away to hear Jimbe's intake of breath; instead she stuck her tongue out at the unhinged man who slaughtered Robin's people and pulled down an eyelid mockingly. She saw the rage kick in and stepped three feet to the side so she wouldn't be in Whitebeard's way.

Ace was her priority still. The two old men on either side of him were staring at her with mounting shock and disbelief; of course at least one of them would recognize her for who she is. How to get around them... she didn't want to fight them straight up, she didn't have the time if she wanted Luffy to survive this, so she had to get around them instead.

Her eyes fell on the execution stand itself. The top half was seastone, but just like the walls, they couldn't make the whole thing out of the precious material; likely the Marines were using their entire stock of it in this effort to kill Ace and his father, and they couldn't afford to have it where it wasn't useful. Nika grinned, unfazed by Whitebeard and Akainu's battle going on right next to her, and began to spin like a top.

Luffy would call it Gum Gum Buzzsaw, probably.

She zipped past the battle, up the walls and underneath the tower -- narrowly avoiding Garp dropping down to block her path. She bounced between the four supports of the tower, using her inertia to saw through the metal as fast as possible before unwinding herself, stopping, and delivering the hardest kick she can muster against the back leg of the stand. Sorry Ace!

The tower crashed forward – Nika staggered, clutching her chest for a long, painful moment. Luffy's body couldn't take this much longer. Water rushed up from the platform, Jimbe trying to head off Sengoku for a few precious moments; she could hear a massive roar from all of Ace's siblings as they surged into the plaza to lend a hand.

Nika ran forward, to the head of the platform. Ace was lying half on the ground, half dangling from the chains on his arms; for a second she was afraid she'd knocked him out or worse, injured him, but he twisted her way the instant her footsteps approached him. “Luffy,” he gasped when she stopped by his side and sank to one knee, grasping his arms right above the chains in one hand.

The evil chains. Nika grimaced and quickly dug out the key Boa gave Luffy, slammed it into the cuffs as Sengoku roared at her, and twisted it in the lock. The unclicking sound filled her with a rush of europhia before her power ran its course, forcing her to cede everything back to Luffy.

Luffy, upon whom the stress and strain of the premature awakening fell on like the waterfalls of Wano. Compounding her injuries, sending her spiraling into a bleak darkness instantly.

Two years later

“-wake up, Straw Hat. Wake up!”

Luffy moaned in protest, shying away from the hand shaking her. “Go 'way, Nami,” She mumbled blearily. Her whole body ached from the memory her nakama's voice is dragging her away from, every scar feeling like she'd gotten it a week ago rather than two years. She pawed weakly around her soft pillows, looking for Sabo or Chopper or Zoro, but none of her comforting sleeping buddies were there to squeeze until the tremors went away. She made a distressed, upset noise at the realization. Where were they? They'd always been there when she had these bouts...

It had first happened when she was with Rayleigh; fragments of memories of her Awakening and the feeling that all her wounds from that battle had reopened suddenly. After much poking and prodding when Rayleigh called him over in a panic, Traffy had concluded that it was a consequence of the way her Devil Fruit had Awakened at Marineford; he'd stitched her up as best he could, but she'd have psycho – psych -- psychic pain where she'd been hurt in bouts forever.

Which sucked and was stupid! Who made her body so it would randomly decide to remember that one time she got beaten up really bad?! She got better! She didn't care that she'd hurt herself that badly, it had been the price she'd needed to pay and she'd pay it a thousand times over if she had to, but this was so dumb! She recovered from that fight. Not fair!

Luffy burrowed her head deeper into the bed, wishing one of the minks would come over so she could cuddle with them at least. She's not in complete agony, but it hurts; it feels like soreness and hot pins and needles in her chest, arms, legs. Pure low key misery. She wanted to sleep until it went away.

“...You seriously think I'm Nami? Wake up!” A firm hand grabbed her shoulder, shaking her again. Luffy grumbled incoherently, flinching from the rough movement. “Dammit, Luffy, Big Mom's lion has finally woken up and we have a problem!”

“...Traffy?” Luffy mumbled as her brain slowly started to kick into gear. She blinked blearily upward, and sure enough, her favourite Captain (okay, favourite after Shanks!) slowly came into focus. He looked agitated, but not in a funny way like when she threw a party after capturing Caesar. Then the rest of his sentence catches up with him and she sits up in a flash (despite her limbs screaming in protest), her heart skittering happily. “You called me Luffy!”

Traffy always called her Straw Hat before; he was far from the only one, Smokey and Sword Girl and honestly most people she met called her that, but Luffy had been trying to get him to use her name for ages. They're friends now! They beat down Mingo together and they're in an alliance! But he kept calling her Straw Hat anyway; it drove her nuts. He's finally said her name!

It sounds really nice on his voice, somehow. Luffy wasn't sure where that thought come from, but the sight of super serious Law going red at the cheeks and sputtering in a familiar way causes her to laugh and forget about it.

“T-That's – do you only ever listen to every third word I say?!” The dark haired doctor demanded, looking elsewhere. “Pekoms! Big Mom's minion who is the only one who knows where your cook is and what's going on? He's woken up and is asking after you.”

Luffy stopped laughing immediately. Sliding to her feet and ignoring the shiver that runs through her muscles, she seriously asked, “Where?” Her left hand balls into a fist. Sanji...! “Which infirmary?” Wasn't Chopper looking after the minks over there somewhere? She started to run off, causing Law to grumble something and grab her by the arm.

“Just follow me,” he said, holding her wrist firmly but weirdly gently as she snapped back to his side.

“Right,” she muttered, nodding like a bobblehead and letting him pull her along. Luffy has just enough self awareness to acknowledge that she's not good with directions, and she needs to find out more about what happened to her cook right now.

We never should have split up, she thought unhappily. It had been necessary for Traffy's plan to work, but she'd hated every minute of her precious people being separated. It had been painful for two years and she liked it even less once they'd finally gotten back together. And now Sanji ran off, up and left them behind just like Robin did to try and solve this without them and Luffy hadn't been there to smack him upside the head and demand he take them with him and why do the people she love do this argh-

No no, calm down. They'll get Sanji back, no matter what Big Mom or anyone else has to say about it. Luffy shook her head to clear it. “Don't pass out on us like that,” Law said after a few minutes as he pulled her away from their mounts, an odd cadence in his voice. “Your doctor flipped out and wouldn't calm down until he'd checked your breathing and blood pressure.”

“Didn't mean to,” Luffy whined rebelliously. “It happens when I'm tired.” She'd passed out the same way after they'd defeated Mingo, he should know this already.

“Ngh...” Law gave her a vexed look. “You're so troublesome. The sun goddess should be a little more sturdy, don't you think?”

“I'm sturdy!” Luffy protested, indignant. She pouted at him, her expression intensifying when he wouldn't look at her. Rude! “I can fight for days just like you! Who beat down Mingo in the end again?! Put more faith in me! We're allies!”

“Because you're stubborn and bullheaded and have no common sense...” Law muttered. And wild, and beautiful, and precious to me – gah! He very carefully looked everywhere but at the girl who'd barrelled into his life, forced her way past every wall he'd spent years putting up around his heart and made herself at home, boldly ignoring his every effort to hold her at arms length.

Showing kindness and loyalty to a man who'd come to believe there was little to be found in this era. Glowing like the sun, grabbing him and setting him dead centre of her family without hesitation despite all of them screaming at her for trusting such an obviously dangerous person. Defending him just as furiously despite knowing him for a fraction of the time, making his dream come true and fighting with all of her might for it.

Law had kept his heart carefully closed off ever since he was a child. His crew had trickled in as he chose them, and he'd slowly allowed it, but after his most precious person was torn out of his life Love was something he kept chained and imprisoned deep in the ruins left of his heart. Everyone he loved had been violently torn away from him, one after another. He let himself love his crew, though he'd never admit it out loud unless under tremendous pressure, but he kept it reserved and aloof, because it was safer that way.

Love made him think of his parents, dead on the floor. Lami burning in the hospital. Cora-san's apologies before he was shot dead. He wanted nothing to do with that love again. Some things were worse than death.

“Sea stone cuffs again?! Rrrrrgh, not that stupid stone again! Ace had these on at Marineford, Old Man Zephyr had an arm made up of it, Smokey has it on the tip of his weapon; these dumb rocks are supposed to be rare, aren't they?!”

“Get out of here! Our alliance is over.”

Luffy briefly glanced sideways at him and actually rolled her eyes! “You sound like Ace!” She said in exasperation. “I didn't listen to him then either! Anyway Robin, I can't even touch this; ahhh, and Nami left with Sanji too! Do you still know how to pick locks?”

“I'd say it's best we find the key proper, Captain. I don't quite have Nami's delicate touch, and if the lock jams from my efforts getting these off will become even harder.”

“Okay. Where would we look for it?”

“Are you even listening to me?!”

“Nope!” Luffy turned and smiled at him, her warmth laced with ferocious determination that struck him speechless. “I never turn my back on people I love. I'm gonna save you, Traffy! Hang on tight!” She spun around and lifted Trafalgar onto her back, blissfully oblivious to the effect her words had caused.

...and yet! And yet! Law swallowed hard, hyperaware of Luffy's warm flesh underneath his fingers. How oddly delicate her wrist felt to him, even though 'delicate' was the absolute last word that could describe this wild menace. This confounding girl... she kept whining at him, oblivious to how her touch made his heart race. To how she made him feel. Law couldn't tell if she was doing it on purpose or not; she was often truly, stunningly clueless, but Luffy didn't say the word 'love' lightly. Even if he has no idea what she means by it.

He pulled her down the hallway toward where Pekoms was recovering. Luffy finally stopped chattering at him, her serious face sliding on like a well worn coat.

“...amazed you survived that!” She heard Nami saying when she entered the room. The rest of her nakama were already there, Zoro immediately stood up as soon as he noticed her. Luffy nodded at him, ignoring the weird /look/ that passed between her first mate and Traffy, and ran over to the bed where Pekoms was laid out. The lion mink was wrapped in bandages but otherwise looked healthy, if rather angry.

“I used my power to block half of it,” Pekoms responded shortly as she approached. “Bege, you bastard! He must be plotting something he doesn't want Mama to know about, why else would he leave with just Black Foot?” He pounded his fist on the mattress. “I'm sorry. He took me off guard.”

“It's fine.” Luffy dismissed, dropping into the chair next to his bed. “He was your Nakama; of course you didn't expect him to shoot you.” Pekoms gave her a strange look at that before shaking his head. “Who arranged this wedding on Sanji's behalf?”

It rankled her deeply. How could anyone put Sanji in a marriage without his consent?! It wasn't marriage if two people didn't decide on it!

“It was Mama and the head of the Vinesmoke family,” Pekoms responded, frowning. “Did your cook never tell you who his father was? Though I suppose that a prince who abandons his crown and all his comforts in favor of being a pirate must not think too highly of it... warning you of his father would have been wise. Vinesmoke Judge is the leader of Germa 66!”

Nami sputtered and then stalked up to the bed, looking indignant. “What are you talking about?! That's a mythical evil army! The stuff of comic books written to support the Marines!” Traffy uttered a strangled wheezing sound, causing Luffy to shoot him a concerned look. His eyes were really wide. “Don't be ridiculous!”

“No, it's a real organization.” Pekoms said in all seriousness, and he had a genuine look to him so Luffy chose to believe him. She rocked back on her heels, stunned. Unbidden, her mind went back to the note that Sanji had left them. Believe this if nothing else; I never intended to deceive you.

Sanji! Of course I believe you! But why not tell me? What were you afraid of?

“And Black Foot's father is its head! The Vinesmoke family... is family of assassins!”

Luffy processed that for a second...then scowled and shook her head. “I don't really care about any of that,” she said casually, causing Pekoms to stare at her again. She got a lot of those looks so she ignored it. “What I want to know is if Sanji is coming back. If he wants to get married, that's okay, but I'm not becoming subordinate to Big Mom!”

Pekoms gave her a wide-eyed look, then waved his hands. “Straw Hat, Big Mom doesn't want you as a subordinate! In fact, she would like to forgive the tribute that you stole altogether.”

There's a brief moment of perfectly stunned silence in response to this. Who could blame them? It didn't make any sense! “...Whhhhy?” Luffy asked uneasily after a few seconds, before her crew could explode into a cacophony.

“Because she would like you to be her daughter in law!” Pekoms responded, shocking the girl even more! Luffy reeled backward in shock, her hazel brown eyes growing incredibly wide. Was he serious?! The lion mink reached into his pocket and pulled out a pink and white card, which he held up to her. Her name was on it! She stared. “I wanted to avoid this, after you rescued my family and friends from Jack the Drought... because of how this would affect your crew and ambitions. But I was sent to deliver a marriage proposal on behalf of Big Mom and the strongest and greatest of her sons...Charlotte Katakuri!”

Luffy snatched the card and stared at it. She read it three times in a row in an attempt to make sense out of it, but the only words were what he had just informed her. She was still staring at it as her crew finally started screaming in shock, alarm and anger.

Her, get married...?!

'Sun Goddess! I offer you my best and most noble boy, Katakuri, in marriage!

“EEEEEHHHHHH?!”

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

“Grandpa,” Luffy said with unusual seriousness, looking up at her parental figure. Makino's bar was full of its evening regulars, who are torn between enjoying their evening meals and staring at the famous visitors who'd come to their island the morning. “My dad is supposed to walk me down the aisle if I get married, but I don't have a dad. Would you do it instead?”

Garp choked on the steak he'd been happily enjoying a moment ago, wheezing and hammering his chest. Luffy yipped as her grandpa's shudders almost tossed her off his lap to the floor. “W-What do you mean, wedding? Who's talking to you about such things, Luffy?! Who's trying to make off with my precious princess?!”

“Eh?! Nobody!” Luffy protested, baffled by his reaction. “Lots of fairy tales end with a pretty princess getting married, and I asked Makino about it after finishing the last book you got me.” A giggle escapes her lips. “Makino got really flustered and asked me if I'd heard about it from Shanks! I wonder why? Shanks told me once that a pirate Captain has the authority to conduct a wedding on his ship; does she want to get married?”

Garp's eye twitched uncontrollably, while his companion chuckled into his mug. “What? I thought Makino was a quite sensible woman; don't tell me she's gone and fallen for a pirate!”

“Fallen for?” Luffy blinked at him. “Makino hasn't fallen down recently.”

“He doesn't mean that literally, Luffy.” The other man said, shaking his head. “'Falling for' is often used as a romantic figure of speech.”

The girl uttered a little 'ah' of comprehension. Then her brow scrunched up as it always did when she was thinking very hard, and a few seconds later she gasped. “Makino wants to marry Shanks?” She whispered with the tone of someone who'd come to a tremendous revelation.

“Forget it! I didn't say anything.” Garp said frantically. “Don't tell me you want to get married! My heart couldn't take that!”

“Why not?!” Luffy protested.

“Because no man is good enough for my precious princess!” Garp declared with all the authority of the Hero of The Marines; the men in the bar felt shivers go down their spine even though they know it isn't directed at any of them. Many of them cast apologetic looks at Luffy, who they all think is a cute little troublemaker; they now sense a lot of broken hearts in her future! Whatever man fell for her would have to go through one of the strongest Marines in history!

“But that's not fair!” Luffy flailed her arms. “What if I wanna get married in the future?”

“Then whoever that person is will have to pass Grandpa's test! Only the best of men is worthy of you!”

“You just said nobody would make you happy!” Luffy pointed out, very much taken off guard at the idea of her grandpa denying her something as important as her potential wedding – aside from being a pirate, which she intended to do regardless of what he said. But a potential wedding was different from that! For all that it was a vague concept to her at six, the story Shanks told her had the pirate's bride being really happy!

Looking around for allies, she pivoted toward her grandpa's guest and grabbed his sleeve. Few others would have the nerve to do so, but the man's mystique was very much lost on her.“Neh neh, Zephyr-jiji, if grandpa is a big meaner and won't walk me down the isle, will you do it instead?!”

The purple haired man looked down at her with something between shock, hesitance, and a conflicted longing brought about by a very painful loss he'd endured some years before. “W-Well... that's...”

“Don't indulge her, Zephyr!”

“Says the man who spoils her more than anyone...” Zephyr deadpanned before looking down at Luffy again. Brief memories of his own wedding flicker through his mind, and despite his deep disapproval of the girl's dream, he shrugs and says, “If I'm still alive by then, I suppose I could do so if Garp gives you trouble.”

“Yay!”

“Zephyr?!” Garp sputtered in protest, disbelieving that his old friend isn't taking his side.

Zephyr looked both happy and pained when a cheering Luffy launched herself at him, hugging him and looping her arms around him several times. Hesitantly he patted her head, then lifted his gaze and gave Garp a very serious look. “Garp! Of course you want to protect her forever; your little granddaughter is your greatest treasure. But even you and I can't keep them shielded from the world for all time... eventually, she'll want something or someone you disapprove of, and you'll have to chose between your comfort and her happiness! When that time comes... choose wisely.”

For the life of him, Garp couldn't find the words to respond to that; not with the weight of loss that he knows is attached to those words. “Zephyr...”

“I'll invite you either way, Zephyr-jiji! You'll want to come, right? Even if there are pirates there?” Luffy looked up at him with big, hopeful hazel eyes. “They'll be real pirates, not lousy raiding fakers like the ones you've always fought.”

Zephyr glanced sideways, hesitant. “If I live that long,” he allowed, and Luffy cheered, unable to read between the lines.

Luffy blinked out of the memory, still staring blankly at the invitation with her head slightly bowed. All around her is chaos. “She's not getting married!” Zoro shouted, flicking Shushi an inch out of his scabbard. “Luffy will be King of the Pirates. Does Big Mom really think we'll allow her to try and take our Captain to be one of her trophies?!”

“It's obviously a trap!” Nami fretted. “I've seen Charlotte Katakuri's wanted poster; he has the highest bounty of the entire fleet except for his mother! He'll be the biggest monster of the lot of them.”

“He's worth over a billion berries,” Robin acknowledges, nodding her head. Her eyes are half closed as she draws up the relevant memories, looking unconcerned despite the implications absolutely worrying her. “Despite him not being the eldest, it's generally believed he'll take over the Big Mom pirates if or when his mother perishes.”

Ussop started hyperventilating, all but vibrating in place. “Oh no! Luffy, you gotta say no! You can't marry a monster like that!”

“A Yonko won't take a blunt refusal kindly,” Brooke pointed out, gently strumming his guitar. “She already has Sanji in her clutches. If there's any chance that she'll harm him in retaliation, we must bear it in mind.”

“We're at war with Kaido now.” Law said heatedly, gripping Kikoku ferociously. He's not shouting, but the venomous sharp edge to every word carries his voice into the chaos easily. “We can't afford to let Straw Hat-ya get trapped in Big Mom's web, now or ever.”

Chopper rushed over to his captain and hugged her arm, trying to read her expression. His Captain, his big sister, was usually very easy to read – Luffy didn't feel anything quietly. Her joy, her anger, her amusem*nt, her worry or her fear, it was always as brilliant as the sun's rays. And right now she looked...perplexed? “Luffy?” The little reindeer Zoan prodded, worried. Luffy made a faint sound and turned the card over again, her brow furrowing tightly.

“But what about Sanji?” Franky pointed out. “We can't just abandon our nakama to a Yonko, yet we also can't just give her our captain. We're in a tough spot here.”

“I can't believe that idiot cook has put us in this situation...” Zoro seethed. “If I see him again, I'm going to kill him.”

Nami immediately slapped him upside the head. “The absolute hell you will!” She bellowed as he cursed at her in protest. “He's our friend, and he's your friend too even if you won't spit it out because you insist on being such a man!”

“Friends?!” The swordsman sputtered in disbelieving indignation. “With him?!” Nami smacked him again, unamused. “Dammit, quit that, witch!”

Pekoms watched this all unfold with a disbelieving expression, sweat trickling down his brow as his eyes flickered between Straw Hat's first mate and the Surgeon of Death like he's watching a tennis match. He didn't think he'd be able to get clear of their attack radius in his current sorry state, and he's not interested in spending an indeterminate amount of time as a sentient head locked in a submarine's fridge! He should have asked to speak with Straw Hat privately. What a mistake!

Luffy stared even harder at the invitation, then she pointedly shot her fist into the ceiling with a crunch. And like magic, the babbling instantly stops. Retracting her arm, Luffy slowly stood up and fixed Pekoms with a penetrating stare; the mink began to sweat even harder, feeling rather like he was being pierced by the sun's unforgiving rays.

“Pekoms,” The incarnated sun goddess intoned, her usually cheerful voice eerily level. “I need you to explain something to me.”

He stared warily at her, reaching to tug his IV line free in case he needed to make a break for it. “Which... is what?”

Luffy held the card out in front of her face. “Katakuri,” she said seriously. “Does he actually want to marry me, or did his mom bully him into saying it?”

“...” There's a perfect minute of stunned silence as everyone in the room slowly pivots to stare at her. Luffy's expression doesn't change one iota. “There's no writing from him anywhere on this invitation!” She barked, waving the paper furiously. “Is this a weird joke? Who doesn't write their proposal personally?!”

“THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE UPSET ABOUT?!” Her whole crew shrieked at a volume that makes Zushina's ears twitch in discomfort. Pekoms blinked rapidly at the sheer intensity of the ringing in his skull, and for the life of him he cannot figure out why Luffy doesn't seem fazed in the slightest despite the wave of noise being directed straight at her. She's still staring a hole in his head waiting for an answer.

“Mama arranges all her children's marriages,” Pekoms said when he could hear himself speak over the tortured ringing noise in his eardrums. “She selects their partners carefully to create more and more alliances for her crew. It makes them stronger.”

“So he doesn't even want to marry me! He wants to buy groceries!” Luffy said, now looking well and truly offended. “That's so rude!”

“N – I didn't say that!” Pekoms sputtered frantically, his brain jamming as he tried to keep up with that logic. “You are Nika incarnate! Any man would fight and die for the chance to marry you! Do you not know that?! And what do groceries have to do with anything?!”

The glares that both Zoro and Law leveled at him in response to that – well, if both of those men didn't have Conqurer's Haki, Pekoms was well and truly fooled for a moment. He half expected to blink and find his all his organs sitting innocently in twenty different jars, damn what Mama would have to say about it.

“There's no note from him anywhere on this card!” Luffy complained, waving the offending invitation over her head. “He hasn't even written me a nice poem! There's only his mom asking the question! I'd almost think Big Mom was asking me to marry her for all that he's visible on it!” Ussop uttered a truly high pitched shriek at that notion and Zoro's face turned an interesting shade of purple for a second. Robin, meanwhile, has clamped one hand over her mouth to smother a very heavy fit of laughter.

“K-Katakuri is a man of few words,” Pekoms stammered out in sheer confused disbelief. This conversation has gone down such a strange road. “Y-You'll understand when you meet him.”

Luffy eyeballed him with naked suspicion, judging his honesty, before seeming to accept his words – or at least that he believed them to be true. This doesn't seem to change her mood however, because she then crossed her arms and huffed. “Gramps and Makino always said I can't marry a man I just met,” She said stridently. “It's not smart. We need to go on dates before we decide if we want to get married. So you can call Big Mom and tell her that Katakuri and Sanji's bride can come and live on our ship for the next few weeks!; I'm powerful enough to protect them so she can't complain about that. We'll travel together and then we'll know if we want to get married.”

Pekoms's eyes widened into plates, and he shot off his bed with a shriek of disbelief. He couldn't have heard that right! He must still be unconscious from the morphine and having a bizarre fever dream. This girl couldn't possibly be that audacious! Did she have any idea what she was saying?! He tried to imagine delivering that message to Mama and his blood pressure vaulted into previously unknown territory.

Mercifully, he's not the only one – her crew briefly when a uniform shade of white disbelief. “ARE YOU SERIOUS, LUFFY?!” Ussop shrieked when he was physically capable of speaking. “PLEASE SAY YOU'RE NOT BRINGING A MONSTER LIKE THAT ONTO OUR CREW!”

“YOU'RE SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING IT?!” Zoro roared.

“LUFFY, JUST SAY NO!” Nami pleaded, her brain blanking at the idea of having Big Mom's chief soldier and any of his sisters on the Sunny.

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!” Law demanded. “Big Mom would never agree to that, and even if she did, her children would be honeypots! Their only task would be to deceive you and drag you back to her island after you let your guard down!”

Luffy turned toward him and blinked a few times. “Didn't Ussop say something like that about you when we met?” She asked confusedly, as if he's the one being ridiculous. Law twitched violently at the memory and gave the sniper a blistering look; the dark haired boy yips and dove behind Franky's massive frame for protection.

“Just because I had honest intentions when we forged our alliance doesn't mean Big Mom's children would,” Law stressed, turning fully to face Luffy. “Don't think that just because she's an Emperor, she's anything like Whitebeard! They might both call their crews their families, but that's the only thing they have in common. Big Mom is not honourable or reasonable; if she gets the chance you would be nothing but her sugar-addled minion who only serves as a cog in her war machine.”

That should get through to her, right?! She won't seriously contemplate courting a Charlotte. Any Charlotte. The fact that she knows about marriage and had given it enough thought to actually retain things she'd been told about it by parental figures not named Shanks didn't mean anything.

It didn't. Right?

His heart relaxed ever so slightly when Luffy flared in response. “That's never gonna happen!” She snapped, crossing her arms. “I will be King of the Pirates! Not her!”

And dammit, but Law believed her. He wanted to put the crown on her head himself.

Luffy then slumped a little, looking frustrated. “But I have to go get Sanji back, so I have to get to her island.” She missed being able to just beat down anyone who tried to take her nakama from her. Arlong hadn't been this powerful. She's gonna have to...be smart about this. Like Sabo! Sabo was all about super-sneaky plans. He'd be so proud of her. “So I'm gonna say that I'll come and go on some dates with him. She'll think that I'm definitely gonna fall for her trap and not suspect anything!”

Aaaand that feeling came right back; Law's eye twitched violently. He exchanged a wordless look with Zoro, and the other man's expression is identical. The two men briefly share a moment of sympathy instead of wariness and sizing up an opponent. “We'll need a plan to get Sanji back; then if Kat actually likes me, I'll kidnap him and bring him with us.” Luffy continued because she's deeply, deeply oblivious to their blood pressure needs.

Pekoms uttered a tortured wheezing sound and clutched his chest. If he was at all sympathetic to Big Mom's minion, Law would have offered him a paper bag.

“You're not serious.” Nami whimpered. “That's just a joke. Right Luffy?”

Luffy paused and gave her navigator an honest-to-Nika look of confusion. “You have to run away with your fiancé before you get married. Don't you?”

“You're not marrying him!” Her entire crew shrieked, and their goddess had the absolute gall to look confused by it.

“Loud...” Luffy complained, yanking her hat down over her eyes. She stood like that for a second, like they were the ones being unreasonable and just needed to get it out of their systems, before something suddenly occurred to her and she suddenly skipped up to Law. He tried not to jerk back in surprise. “Hey Traffy...”

She actually looked serious, then bowed down. “I'm sorry; I know this makes preparing to fight Kaido more tricky. I just can't leave my nakama behind.” Luffy then straightened up, and there's a little glow in her eyes, her awakened form faintly bleeding through the way it always did when she was serious. “I don't want to fight a Yonko without my cook. I need him.”

Law full-body twitched; then forced himself to breathe. You know this about her. For f*ck's sake you were there when she forced herself to awaken her Haki and her Devil Fruit mere minutes apart to save Portgas. You knew this when she kept breaking everything trying to save you. She did this for him too, she would fight an Emperor for him. “I know,” He said shortly, then impulsively continued “We're going to need to make teams. I trust Bepo to get my crew and the samurai to Wano and begin setting things up, but some of yours need to come as well and get embedded in the local population. Time is not on our side.”

Luffy blinked. “You're not going? But you hate not having plans. Aren't you the one making them for fighting Kaido?”

“And you don't ever make any, which is why I'm going with you.” Law responded doggedly, pointedly ignoring the disbelieving sounds from the traitors behind him and from Luffy's crew. “Knowing you you'll run up to Big Mom, punch her in the face and demand she give your cook back or else.” She smiles and nods at him like he's a genius and he could already feel the headache coming on. The things I endure for you... “Then it'll be Marineford all over again. So with that in mind, who do you want to send to Wano?”

Luffy frowned thoughtfully and grasped her chin. About two seconds later she snaps her fingers and grins. “Zoro! Zoro is my first mate and he's the best at making sure things go smoothly.”

“Because he's easily as reckless as you and leaves the thinking to others...” Robin remarked lightly, leaving Zoro torn between glaring at her and looking so very pleased. “I'll go to Wano as well, Luffy.”

“We're really doing this...?” Nami moaned, rubbing her forehead.

“The Captain has spoken,” Zoro responded. He sounded like he was forcing the words out through his teeth; Robin gives him this gentle sympathetic look and he scowls at her in response. “Franky, Ussop, you're coming with me.” Law nodded, seeing his logic. Nami would get Luffy to Wano and Chopper would patch up the inevitable consequences of her idea of problem solving.

“...Okay,” Ussop mumbled meekly. He is not fighting with Zoro when he's in a jealous fit. No no no, he'd learned his lesson back in Alabasta.

Luffy clapped her hands together. “Good! Let's get to making preparations,” she declared. “We're gonna need to pack lots of food. And restock on gunpowder and stuff...” Her eyes widen and she snaps her fingers. “Oh, and I'm gonna need a dress just in case! Can't pretend I'm a bride if I don't have a wedding dress! Neh, neh, kitty!” She turned on her heel and ran off in the direction of Cat Viper's room. “Is there a seamstress I can talk to around here?”

“Hang on, little sis!” Franky protested, hurrying after her. “We need to do inventory first!”

Nami moaned pitifully and buried her face in her hands as Chopper and Ussop run after Franky as well, babbling about medical supplies and tools and things for repairs. She doesn't even want to look in the direction of her Captain's two present suitors; nope, she's not getting in the middle of that, no sir, not even if you paid her. Robin walked over to her and gently pats her shoulder. “There there,” The older girl said comfortingly.

“This is going to be a disaster...” Nami groaned without raising her head. “I'm not even sure who I'm afraid of more. Do you think Big Mom would kill me quickly, or does she draw things out?”

Robin hummed soothingly, moving to rub her back like a mother. Law's crew was rambling at him as well, so she guided the orange-haired girl off to one side so they could hear each other speak. “We'd best place a call to those two about this,” She reminded her navigator.

Nami peeked at her from between her fingers. It took her a second to figure out who Robin was referring to, but when she did, her eyes grew impossibly wide. “...Is that wise?” Nami choked out weakly, now well and truly getting visions of disaster. Fiery, burning disaster that would make Marineford look like a cheery romp in the park, that would make the Marines look at it and decide they hadn't gotten off that badly after all, things could actually have been worse.

“If you're concerned about their reaction to being told Luffy might be getting married now, how do you think they'll feel if they find out during or even after the fact?” Robin asked pointedly.

Nami froze as still as a statue, slowly rolling that point around in her head. Then she calmly walked over to what she judged to be a relatively sturdy-looking pillar and began to knock her head against it repeatedly, cursing her Captain in agonized despair. Robin let her do so for about a minute – Nami could hardly kick up a storm to vent with the still-recovering minks in close proximity – before calmly interposing a hand between her forehead and the stone so she wouldn't hurt herself. “Do you want to be the one to call, or shall I?” Robin asked lightly.

“I'm not calling her father.” Nami said adamantly, putting her foot down. “Not happening. Luffy can tell him herself if she wants to.”

“I think that's fair.” Robin mused.

“...Fine, I'll call them. But I want your moral support,” Nami said, slumping in relief when Robin immediately nodded in assent. “Then we'll...go help our captain with the dress.” There's a faint spark of light in her eyes at that. “I haven't been able to play dress up in a long time.”

Robin chuckled. Honestly she's just excited to see what Nami and the seamstress will do to make a bride out of her wild tomboy of a captain.

Sanji stared out across the ocean as the ship inexorably dragged him back to the life he'd tried so hard to abandon, occasionally glancing down at the picture in his hands. His cigarette was slowly burning down to a stub as he exhales puffs of smoke in the vain hope that it will help him stop thinking, or at least think less. Big Mom's minion has finally left him alone, though he doubts that will last long, so he has nothing to do but dwell on the sorry situation he's in.

Charlotte Pudding is beautiful. Delicate, cute, her eyes something to drown in; Sanji's heart jumped when he saw her picture, and then he was told she was a chef. The perfect woman. If he weren't being forced into this on pain of Zeff being killed, he would have gone after her without hesitation -

- or he would have, if not...if not for...

Sanji put the picture down and dug around in his pocket for a new cancer stick. He could still hear his Sunshine's laughter in his ears. Her yelling into the transponder snail at him to stay alive, to get to safety, that he's in charge and to take care of everyone. That she trusts him to handle it.

“They must be laughing,” he murmured. “That the future King of the Pirates has such a useless crew member.” He was able to protect Nami-swan, Chopper and Brook, but he was completely unable to prevent them from being dragged into his mess the very moment after they'd provoked Kaido, the Strongest Creature Alive.

He remembered hearing about Marineford second hand from Ivankov, dragging every agonizing detail out of the Revolutionary and screaming at them for not protecting her better, for letting her get poisoned within an inch of her life, for allowing her to force a premature Awakening that could have destroyed her mind and left her in the same state as Impel Down's Jailer Beasts. He screamed at him despite it not quite being fair, because he hadn't been as angry at Ivankov as he had been at himself.

How he'd hated himself for being weak enough that Kuma was able to send him away that day on Saobody. He should have been there with his Sunshine every step of the way, protecting her so she wouldn't have had to spend minutes not breathing, not spend weeks in a coma, not have to expose herself as Nika to every greedy pirate and wicked tyrant who'd been watching that farce of an attempted execution. What kind of man fails the woman he loves so thoroughly?

Yet Luffy hadn't cared, hadn't even understood what he was getting at when Sanji apologized to her upon their reunion. When he spelled it out for her, she'd gotten mad at the notion he'd done anything wrong and smacked him repeatedly until he reluctantly withdrew the words in order to please her. Then she refused to entertain the subject when Mosshead edged toward it, actually glaring at her first mate.

Sanji flicked his lighter uselessly a few times before managing to spark a flame. She'll come for me, he thought gravely as he lit his new cigarette. That's just who she is. It's a tactical mistake, though, isn't it?

Maybe that bastard surgeon would argue her around to delaying the rescue until after they'd fought Kaido, at least. She might actually listen to him... but even as he ponders that, Sanji acknowledges the chances of that are very low.

Sanji's blood pulsed in aggravation when he thought about the man, and how Luffy had gladly latched onto him and devoted herself to him like she'd known him as long as – as him – despite him and everyone protesting. The tattooed menace had struggled and protested the whole way, put up a front, but he hadn't been fooled at all. He could see Luffy defrosting him like Nika's sun melting winter's snow away.

Sanji could begrudgingly acknowledge he owes the man more than he could ever repay for saving his Sunshine, but that didn't mean he was willing to tolerate yet another rival! Mosshead was bad enough, he was even worse, he refused to let the surgeon have a chance as well.

...Though admittedly, it was likely rather bold of Sanji to assume that he himself had a chance with his sun goddess. More than causing her so much trouble at a critical time, he knew she would blow it off as irrelevant; more than being the unwilling son of an evil empire... he knew there was a strong possibility he'd lost long before he'd ever had a chance.

What was a prince to an Emperor, after all...?

Sanji shook his head firmly at the thought, gritting his teeth at the familiar flare of determination. His heart refused to give up even now. He truly is a fool. He looked down at the picture of Pudding again, wondering if there's the slightest chance that meeting her could change things. He doubted it, though.

He sent her a silent apology, hot guilt bubbling in his stomach. Nothing could be more humiliating than being promised to a man who's heart was distracted by someone else, after all. Forgive me; you deserve better, he thought.

“One of everything? For a single table? You're not serious.”

“What, can't take a challenge Patty?” He laughed as he grabbed the corn and the butcher's knife and moved to the nearest cutting board. The other man yelled something he didn't hear over the sound of his blood pulsing excitedly at such an opportunity to test his skills. He'd make every dish as delicious as the next.

It took time, sending one dish out after another while the other cooks questioned how their new customer planned to pay for all of this. Zeff ordered two waiters to tend to the table in question exclusively, and he was as baffled as everyone else when the bewildered men reported that the table only sat four people... and one person was doing the lion's share of the eating! Sanji would believe that when he saw it.

When he finally reached the end of the dishes, his curiosity got the better of him – he wanted to see who this mystery customer was, and if they were enjoying the fruits of his hard labor. He felt like he'd just pushed through a lunch rush. So he left the kitchen and walked out into the restaurant proper, passing by the harried waiters.

“Shihihihi... it's so nice!” A beautiful, free spirited girl's voice rang in his ears, briefly leaving him floating on air. His heart quickening, Sanji zeroed in on the table at a brisk walk.

“Wow, you finally slowed down Luffy. Do you not like that dish?” One of the two guys at the table asked, sounding vaguely impressed.

“No! It's the best out of all of them!” Her back is to him; her curly black hair waves wildly when she shakes her head. The worn straw hat she wore fell down in front of her eyes; she laughed again, that unique and dizzying sound, and readjusted it. “That's why I gotta savorit.”

Sanji took a breath, smoothed his hair to the side and walked up to the table, planning to put the charm on as usual. “I'm glad to hear that. I'm the cook; I've never seen someone order half the menu before and I was curious.”

The chair twisted sideways in a flash and Sanji found himself underneath a pair of beaming hazel eyes and a brilliant smile, warm as the sun itself. “Ahh! You made all of this for me? Thank you! It's so good!” Monkey D Luffy clapped her hands together, and Sanji lost all the words that had never once in his life deserted him so. His heart almost stopped in his chest, and long before Nika awakened he thought he must be in the presence of a goddess.

Sanji shook his head and roughly ran one hand through his hair. For once, smoking wasn't doing a thing for his nerves. Slamming one hand onto the railing, he cursed the man who brought him into this world; he wonders if Reiju will be there when he's dragged before that warmonger again. He wondered if she'd be the same, or if Judge had crushed her spirit and her empathy over the years.

If he had, if he'd broken the only family he'd truly had before Zeff, Sanji might have to kill him.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

The sun was beating down warmly on the mountainside village when the familiar sound of the Moby's whistle blared across the distance. The kids who were playing in the yard all paused what they were doing and pivoted toward the mountain. When the whistle blasted a second time, they exchanged delighted looks. “Ace is back!” A boy said happily. “Come on, come on!”

“I hope Marco's with him!” Another boy fretted. “Mama's back has been bothering her again and nothing's helping her.”

“Maybe they have presents again!” The girl put one hand on the jewelled hairpin she'd been given some months back, her heart pounding hopefully. “Oh, I hope so!” She took off in a rush, causing her friends to sputter a barrage of protests and chase after her.

“Hey, no fair! You have a head start!”

The group of children charge down the roads as a single unit, their excited shouting alerting everyone in their wake as they go. A farmer rested his pitchfork in the ground and sighed in relief. “You worry too much,” His wife said fondly. “Edward raised that boy himself to be his successor.”

“I know, I know. Transitions like this are hard, is all. I can't help but worry for them a little.” The man looked up and smiled at the familiar sight of Phoenix's flames shooting over the mountaintop. The kids really started screaming in delight. “How is he, by the way?”

His wife chuckled. “Resting, if he knows what's good for him. Nightingale wasn't pleased in the slightest that he came back injured from that last expedition. He really needs to understand that he's retired now.”

The two share a warm laugh, glancing downtown. Among the buildings there is the home where their most famous child of their village had returned to after a long life of adventuring. Not many people here were old enough to remember him from before he'd left to become a pirate, but they all knew who he was to them – their father and protector.

Marco the Phoenix swept down to a few feet from the ground, allowing the young man on his back to jump down with a laugh. The kids immediately formed a semi circle around them, cheering as Marco landed. “You're back!”

“Of course I am,” Portgas D Ace said warmly, ruffling the boy's hair. “I'll always come back.” The wind made his long white coat flutter slightly around his feet; he's shirtless underneath it, but the long coat had become a semi-permanent addition to his outfit ever since his bounty poster was updated.

“We missed you,” The girl said shyly.

“What did you bring back this time?” Her friend asked, bouncing excitedly in place. “More toys? Treasure? Both?!”

“Did you get into cool fights?!”

Ace laughed warmly, waving his arms as the kids all began babbling at him and talking on top of each other. “One at a time, one at a time; I'm having trouble understanding everyone.”

Marco gave him a fond look, seeing how the kids hung on his every word and jostled to get his attention. “You're becoming more of a dad every day,” he ribbed the younger man, who nevertheless now served as his Captain.

“Shut up, Marco,” Ace responded cheerfully without looking at him, a light shade of red colouring his cheeks. “Come on, kiddos, let's go to the bakery; you can tell me everything I've missed there and get some treats. Haruta and Vista be up with the cargo as soon as they can.”

The kids all cheer loudly; the two brothers let themselves be pulled along in their wake, heading to the downtown of the village. It's grown some over the past two years, more houses being put up and refugees from power struggles across the ocean stumbling onto the shores looking for somewhere to hide. It helped that the marines were a sorely overtaxed organization that was bleeding money, men and infrastructure, so the pirates had been able to grab much more for the area – despite them very much facing their own problems.

The World Government had not come out well from the Paramount War. Sengoku's order to cut the cameras had come to absolutely nothing thanks to Buggy The Clown, who in his efforts to hype himself up and rebuild his reputation had given the whole world a front row seat to not just the Awakening of the Model Nika fruit, but Luffy devastating the seastone walls support system, sending Kizaru flying out of the arena like swatting an errant fly, and bypassing both Garp and Sengoku to set Ace free. Her collapsing from the strain had given them no respite with the walls gone; Whitebeard and his sons had stormed the plaza, encircled Ace and the unconscious sun goddess protectively, and preformed a fighting retreat back to their ships.

With Sengoku, Akainu and Aokiji still relatively capable of fighting, the Marines might have been able to salvage something from that disaster... but that was when Blackbeard had arrived with his escapees from Impel Down. While Buggy had still been pointing his visual den-den at the chaos, proclaiming himself to be the only man to have walked away from a battle with Nika able to rebuild his strength and crew. Of course, the terrified world citizens had been less interested in him than they were in the fact that monsters from whispered horror stories were suddenly not only freed from the supposedly inescapable prison, but had formed a single crew with a former warlord at the helm.

To say this was something of a PR disaster for The World Government was like saying that Luffy has a bit of an appetite.

But these thoughts were relatively far from Ace and Marco's mind as they ushered the village kids into the bakery and greeted the girl behind the counter. Staying on their father's home island was soothing in a way very few experiences could compare to.

“I'll have a look at your mom soon, I promise.” Marco told the young boy reassuringly. The kid melted with happiness and begins scarfing down his muffin with gusto.

He glanced at Ace, who's knocking back a strawberry daiquri and lounging comfortably against the bar as he amused the children with abbreviated stories of their trip. Odd as it was to see him wearing that long coat, it fit him now. Ace usually took it off during leisure time, not liking covering up his tattoo, but he'd picked it himself a while back. He'd wanted to visually emulate their father a little bit now, with him as acting Captain.

“-and the bastard retreated, trailing after his mother like a dog on a leash.” Ace finished, his voice dripping disdain. “I almost feel sorry for the Marines with this being the best they can do to fill Warlord positions. Wonder why Mihawk bothers with it.”

“Is he really Grandpa Edward's son?” One of the girls asked dubiously. For the sake of plausible deniability, the kids had been taught not to refer to the old captain by his moniker. “'Cause he sounds like a punk.”

Ace snorted. “Even if he has Pops's blood, that doesn't make him his son. Our brother.” He groaned and rolled his shoulder. “He almost hits like him, though.”

Before he could start on another story, however, Haruta stuck his head in the door and sighed in relief. “Oi, Ace; call for you.” He walked inside, holding a tray with a transponder snail that's all but ringing its shell off of its back. “Very persistent, whoever it is.”

Ace arched an eyebrow, looking a little surprised, and set his mug aside. “Sorry kids; this might be important.” He stood up and walked out of the bakery to a chorus of groans; Marco followed after him, making sure to close the door after him. Ace grabbed the receiver and lazily stated, “Yo. What can the Whitebeard Pirates do for you?”

“ACE-SAN!” A semi-familiar voice shrieked through the snail, making the ravenette lean back slightly in surprise. The snail took on the features of a half enraged, half panicked navigator that he sort of knew but recognized instantly. “Oh thank Nika, you finally picked up! I was starting to think I wouldn't be able to reach you! Wouldn't that have made my day just perfect, ahahaha, I still can't get a hold of Sabo – I bet he's buried in some undercover mission that won't end for days, the inconsiderate jerk who serves as my captain's missing brain cells-”

“Nami?” Ace managed after a second of sheer surprise at the tirade. “Nami, is that you?” His expression shifted from calm to worried so fast Marco could have blinked and missed it. “What's happened? Where's Luffy?”

Nami gulped, and beads of sweat form on the transponder snail's head. “Luffy's fine, we're fine; not sure how long that'll last, with this ridiculous – she's getting fitted for a dress. I'm just calling to pass information along.”

“A dress?” Ace parroted in confusion. “What for? You're not still in Dressrosa, are you?” Luffy had pounced on the transponder snail number he'd given her after Marineford and called him incessantly, even after she started travelling, but her crewmates hadn't always joined in. Having her navigator call him with her nowhere to be heard, and sounding more stressed out than Dandan after they'd gone crocodile hunting? His heart started to pound painfully in his chest.

“No, we're in Zou – and the problem is –“ The snail's eyes swivel from side to side, suggesting Nami was pacing. “Big Mom sent Pekoms and some other goon of hers, Bege or something, to kidnap Sanji for a wedding to one of her children. Pekoms was gonna let the whole thing go because we saved the minks here – Jack the Drought had attacked this place looking for someone named Raizo and they wouldn't give him up so he poisoned them all with gas, but we got here in time to undo it – but that other guy shot him in the back and took Sanji away anyway! Because his family is the head of some supposed 'evil empire'! But the worst thing is-”

“Slow down,” Ace ordered sharply, reeling from the absolute spitfire delivery of information. Nami clammed up instantly, the snail going very stiff. “Jack attacked Zou?! Is he still there? Were you there when it happened?”

“No, he got called away to go try and free Doflamingo from escort to Impel Down. We arrived afterwards.” Nami responded, before a nervous tone entered her voice. “He didn't manage to do that, did he?”

Ace snapped a look at Marco and Haruta. “Not that we've heard.” He said after they both shook their heads. “So Bege took Sanji – that's your cook, right?” It took a second to place the name – that was one of the Worst Generation, the user of the Castle-Castle fruit.

“Yes,” Nami said, looking both upset and furious at the admission. “That would be bad enough, except Big Mom...she also wants to...” the usually self confident navigator trailed off, which causes Ace to ball up one hand into a fist.

“Wants to what?” He prodded impatiently. He's already seeing a trajectory of events he doesn't like; Luffy would never let anyone taking one of her crewmates from her stand. The smoking ruin where Enies Lobby used to be stood testament to that. But this wasn't a complacent judicial island she's storming, it's Linlin's islands...

Nami took in a deep breath. “ShewantsLuffytomarryoneofhersons.” She mumbled in a rush.

“I can't understand you,” Ace stated flatly. “Repeat that, and slower, please.”

“Ugh...! Big Mom sent a message proposing that Luffy marry her son!” Nami blurted out, her voice shaking audibly. “Katakuri! Charlotte Katakuri!”

The transponder snail tray slipped from Ace's numb fingers and clattered to the ground. Haruta yelped and might have berated him for not being more careful with the poor thing, but Ace couldn't hear him over the static in his ears. The sentence repeated itself in his mind mockingly as he tries to process the idea of his Lu in the clutches of Charlotte f*cking Linlin...that murderous f*cking monster, who ate her own children when she went on her hunger rampages...! She wanted to force Lu to marry her son...?!

The fire logia sucked in a shaky breath and forced himself to page through his emotions one at a time. To not lose his head. Rage was first, furious and familiar, because how dare that fat old hag try to get her greedy hands on Lu? Second was a violent burst of anxiety, two priorities going to war with each other, and then he forced his head to clear and spoke again. “What did Lu have to say about that?”

Nami causes the rattled snail to make a complicated expression. “She...said that she's not getting married to a guy she doesn't know so Katakuri will have to court her if he wants to marry her.” She said slowly, like she's afraid to say this out loud. “I honestly can't tell if she's at all serious about letting him try, or if that's the cover story she's going with so we can enter Totland and get Sanji back.”

Ace uttered a very dry chuckle. “Yeah... it can be hard to tell with her sometimes.” He put a hand on his hip. “Katakuri, huh? And here I was thinking he was the most tolerable one of Big Mom's brood.” Venomous anger flared his chest.

“Do you know him at all?” Nami hedged uncertainly.

Ace shrugged aggressively. “As a person? Not really, but I can say his reputation's earned. Strong, smart enough to use that strength well, and he's mastered Observation Haki enough to see short visions of the future. Both in and out of battle.”

“...You're kidding,” The navigator moaned dismally.

“I wish.” Ace responded. “Thanks for contacting me, and keep pestering Sabo until he picks up. Elusive bastard might be on a mission of some sort, but he'll want to know as soon as possible.” He briefly smiles at the thought of the blonde's reaction; the image gives him a brief moment of respite. “I'll get back to you in a bit, I need to talk to some people.”

“R-Right,” Nami said, like she doesn't trust his calm-sounding reaction. There's a clicking sound as she hung up.

Ace squeezed his eyes shut, his hands balling into fists. He could feel both Marco and Haruta staring nervously at him.

“Hey, why the sad face Lu?” Ace hopped off the edge of his first ship onto the dock, where the raven haired girl had stopped helping him load food crates in favour of staring despondently out at the ocean waters. “You were so excited to see me off yesterday.”

Luffy tugged on the brim of her hat, hiding her eyes from him. A slight frown crossing his face, Ace put a hand on her shoulder. “I am!” Luffy protested, shaking her head violently. “I'm really happy for you, Ace! I'm just...” She sniffled, sending a bolt of panicked alarm through the older boy.

“H-Hey, no tears. Pirates don't cry.” He babbled, brushing a shimmer of a tear away.

“Do so,” Luffy muttered just to be contrary; she'd said those very words herself whenever he'd teased her about her ability to handle things without him in the previous weeks. Unfortunately for her, repressing her emotions was not something she was good at, and she shook her head. “It...I'm gonna miss you so much...”

Ace smiled, the gesture not showing just how much those words filled him with joy. “You're crying like I'm going away forever,” He teased, moving her hat up. Her shimmering hazel eyes focused on him; his chest squeezed at the sight and he brushed her cheek again to urge them away. “I thought you were going to chase after me into the sea. What, are you not tough enough after all this time? Don't tell me you've decided to be a housewife like Wool Slap keeps telling you to.”

The words have their intended effect; Luffy's mood flipped from sad to indignant instantly. “That's not funny! I'm going out to sea and I'm gonna be King of the Pirates! I'll catch up with you before you know it!” Her eyes flashed. “You won't even see me coming!”

Ace laughed and nudges her hat back so he can ruffle her hair. She squeaked, pouting adorably at him, and his gaze drifted briefly to her full pink lips before he caught himself and shook his head. “I mean it!” Luffy yelled, misunderstanding the gesture.

“I know you will.” Ace responded, dropping his hand. “Once you reach the Grand Line, I'll be there waiting for you.” He winked. “So don't leave me hanging, okay?”

Luffy smiled brightly; her eyes are still shiny, and a moment later, she lunged forward and hugged him tightly. Ace uttered a quiet 'woof' and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, almost afraid that she'd hear how hard his heart was pounding. f*ck... he was going to miss her. Miss her warmth, her laughter...everything. “I'll miss you too, Lu.” he murmured.

Luffy made a happy sound and squeezed him tighter. “Good luck, Ace.” She murmured, before beaming at him. “I love you!”

Ace jerked slightly, his breath catching in his throat. “I-I know,” he said, instead of the words he wanted to say back. He'd promised to be her brother, before he was old enough to know the forms that love could take, and what if she rejects him? “You tell me all the time. You're not worried I'll forget, are you?”

Luffy peered up at him. “Nope. Sometimes I think you don't believe me, though. I do. I really do love you, Ace!”

Ace's left arm melted into fire. Not bright orange flames, but brilliant white; the searing heat causes his brothers to automatically take a few steps back from him. He didn't say anything for a long moment, staring blankly at the middle distance, putting the memory away in favour of thinking on the information that Nami had given him thoroughly. Sort through the implications, work out what Big Mom's plan could be, and take stock of the Whitebeard Pirate's current situation.

He directed the heat toward the sky and away from the building just in case as he thinks, keeping his flames from doing any damage. It gave his rage somewhere to go.

Marco stared uneasily at Ace, and faintly swallowed. His brother and Captain is glacially calm on the outside. It's eerie, because he knew it was the exact opposite of what he's feeling. For the first time he missed the times when the ravenette would yell, curse and lose his temper like he used to.

Underneath Ace's roiling haki, even though he knows he won't hurt him, Marco couldn't escape the faint feeling of being a bird in the grasp of a cat.

Ace clenched his fist and dismisses the white flames. “...Where was the last time and place we saw Weevile or the traitor?” He asked in a neutral tone.

“I'll call the fleet,” Haruta responded, already dialing.

Some Time Later...

“MARRIAGE?! THAT TYRANNICAL HAG WANTS TO MAKE LU MARRY ONE OF HER SPAWN?!” Sabo bellowed, prompting Ain to slap a hand over his mouth. He glanced indignantly at her; the Neo Marine rolled her eyes and jerked a thumb over her shoulder to where the doctors were examining Kuma – or had been. Now they were wincing and giving him wide-eyed looks.

The blonde frowned and reluctantly bowed his head in apology. Ain gave him a faintly wary look and dropped her hand in a way that told him it would be back in a flash if he started shouting again. It wasn't fair; they were clear of Mary Geoise, dammit!

“Don't scream at me, it wasn't my idea!” Nami whined, the poor transponder snail mimicking her swirling eyes. “They have Sanji too. Do the Revolutionaries know anything about Germa 66? That moron didn't tell us he was Vinsmoke; we wouldn't have cared, but now he's getting married because of them and we're running into them blind!”

“They're involved too?!” Sabo cursed, punching the deck. Dammit, dammit, he'd thought that Sanji's swirling eyebrow looked familiar somehow, but he hadn't been able to make the connection. “Trying to buy favor with Big Mom, no doubt, so they can try and reconquer the North Blue.”

“Conquer?” Nami repeated, like she was hoping she'd misheard him.

“Judge Vinsmoke,” Ain started in a low hiss, “is a descendant of the family that originally held rulership of the entire North Blue seas. Their kingdom splintered generations ago, but the World Government in its infinite wisdom-” her voice dripped with scorn, “-still recognizes his family as royal and the fleet of warships that act as the modern Germa Kingdom as a member state.”

Nami was silent at that for a minute, which was just as well because Sabo was reciting multiplication tables inside his head to be able to think without screaming again. “Oh my god,” The orange-haired navigator muttered finally, sounding too exhausted to even be peeved at the revelation. “I'm starting to come up with all these horrible ideas as to why Sanji-kun never talked about his past.”

Sabo felt a spike of warm empathy toward the former prince, which caught him by surprise. He wouldn't have thought that he and Sanji, the guy he'd punched in the face for flirting too hard with Luffy, came from such a similar place... “Keep all that worry and anger reserved for when you meet Judge,” he advised. “It'll make dropping a lightning bolt on the bastard even more satisfying.” Nami hummed thoughtfully at the idea. “So. There's no way to talk Luffy out of this incredibly dangerous detour on her way to Wano? She must know that if she just says the word, I'll have Sanji extracted from Totland and back on the Sunny within the week.”

He'd do it in a heartbeat. Karasu has lost too many poker games to him to be able to refuse, and he'd completed their most important mission for the foreseeable future. He'd be off as soon as he passed the most dangerous information to Dragon. Of course that would require Luffy being willing to risk him going into an Emperor's territory alone...he had to make the offer, however.

The snail translated the longing look Nami must be wearing perfectly. “Have you ever been able to talk Luffy out of anything?” She asked helplessly. “But I'll definitely pass it along. Maybe she'll have a last second change of heart.” Sabo heard Robin laugh gently on the other end and the snail started pouting. “I can hope!”

Sabo chuckled softly, understanding her feelings. “I'll have our people in the East Blue put their ears to the ground,” he told the snail. “Big Mom's tea party invitations come with a caveat – if you ever fail to make it there for any reason, she sends her minions to find someone you love to cut their head off and put it in a box.”

Nami inhaled sharply. “Baratie,” she said, understanding instantly.

“So that's the restaurant he worked at?” Sabo confirmed. The snail nodded vigorously. “Good, that cuts out any time wasted on searching. I'll let Ivankov know to watch out for rats poking around Kambakka as well, and local sympathizers in the waters around the rest of your homes will be on the alert for both Germa and Linlin's goons.”

“You are a saint. An actual saint, not those world noble bastards.” Nami told him, sounding like she was slumping in relief. “You won't get in trouble spending the Revolutionary's time and resources helping a pirate crew, will you?”

Sabo scoffed. “We'll keep it circ*mspect. And besides – anyone who complains about that can take it up with Dragon. Or my pipe.”

“...Of course, I don't know what I was expecting.”

Ain smiled faintly, amused. Sabo was entirely predictable when it came to Monkey D Luffy; Koala had mixed opinions on the matter. Ever since the Neo Marines and Revolutionaries had started a partnership, she'd found herself on missions with the twosome fairly frequently, and she'd say she knew them pretty well by now – the moment Luffy entered the equation, Sabo's priorities swivelled to her. Irrational guilt over his amnesia played a part, sure, but sometimes Ain wondered...

And while Dragon didn't quite show it outright, she knew from her Sensei who had been ensuring that every CP0 Agent sent after Luffy over the two years she'd been in seclusion training either came up with nothing or vanished into the ocean without a trace. The man was a distant father, probably by necessity, but he was still the young pirate's father, and he guarded her like a mythical dragon guarded his treasure.

“I won't be able to head to Whole Cake Island straight away,” Sabo was warning the navigator when she came out of her thoughts. “We're wrapping up our most recent mission and can't afford to be complacent about it. But once I'm able I'll by on my way.”

“Is there a signal we should look out for?” Nami asked.

“Nah, just bide your time; I'll come find you. It's safer that way,” Sabo responded with a slight shake of his head. “Tell Luffy to be careful with Katakuri; he's the closest to a decent man out of that brood, sure, but he's his mother's enforcer first and foremost.”

The snail nodded vigorously. “Thank you, Sabo.” Robin's warm voice sounded from the other side of the line. “I know this isn't exactly convenient for you.”

“It's for Lu,” Sabo said with a shake of his head. “Don't worry about it.” His brow furrowed. “Ah, before I forget... does Ace know?”

“Yeah; I called him first. He hung up before he lost his temper, I'm pretty sure.” Nami sounded a little unnerved. “I'm both grateful and a little terrified of what he's planning.”

Sabo clicked his tongue. “Let me worry about that, I'll talk to him in case he needs an infusion of common sense.” And to coordinate with him. “Tell Lu to be careful and that I'll be right with her. And if that seamstress is making her a dress, it better look divine.”

The snail blinked rapidly. “Okay,” Nami sounded a little dumbfounded, but Sabo knew that he had his priorities in order no matter what anyone told him. “I won't keep you any longer, then? Luffy will be sorry she missed you.”

“Tell her I'll see her soon,” Sabo responded lightly. A few polite exchanges later and he hung up.

The blonde sucked in a deep breath, then vaulted to his feet and started cursing under his breath, stalking back and forth with his hands behind his back. Ain watched him move, rather wishing that Koala was here. “That old hag thinks one of her brats is worthy of Lu, does she?” Sabo seethed. “The world's in luck, she's going senile at a rapid pace! Who the hell does she think she is?!”

“A Yonko. Who's used to getting what she wants.” Ain deadpanned, bemused.

“Yeah, well not this time.” Sabo growled, his fists shimmering with haki. “Hell will freeze over before I let her turn Luffy into one of her long suffering in laws.”

He froze at the edge of the clearing, his heart completely in his throat. For a moment he almost couldn't recognize the slender waif of a teenager curled up among the roots of a great tree, looking tired and discomforted, as the cute, bratty little girl who'd chased him and Ace through the jungle until she'd wormed her way into their lives. The difference was jarring, and it painfully drove home just how much he'd missed – how much his amnesia had stolen from them. Sucking in a deep breath, he walked up to the tree.

“Hey Lu, breakfast isn't gonna catch itself.” He tried. “If you keep sleeping in, Ace and I will keep all the tiger meat to ourselves.”

Those sleepy hazel eyes snapped open instantly. “NO! MY TIGER!” She shrieked on autopilot before her eyes registered who she was looking at, and indignation melted into confusion. “W-Wait...what...?” She stared up at him, at the familiar top hat and goggles settled on blonde hair. Blue eyes, one shaded by a sizable burn scar.

She knew that face. She did... she had missed it so much. Her mind spun, and she slowly shrank back into the tree, much to his dismay. “Oh... I'm dreaming...” She mumbled.

“Why?” Sabo asked softly.

“Because you're gone,” Luffy responded insistently, her voice tiny and fragile. “You died. Dogra saw you get...” She bites her bottom lip, tears forming in her eyes.

“He saw my little ship get fired on by a Celestial Dragon,” Sabo confirmed, watching her eyes grow even wider. Who else knew that, after all?“Turns out those spineless bastards can't shoot for sh*t. He burned half my face and almost drowned me when I passed out and my boat collapsed, but he didn't kill me. Your dad fished me out of the water and patched me up, made me a revolutionary. I'm right here, Lu.”

“That's not funny,” Luffy said, her voice getting a little shaky with a mixture of disbelief, anger, and budding hope. “You would have come home if you hadn't died.”

The statement felt like a knife in his chest; god, he wished that he had, that he'd bypassed his gut instinct about Goa and looked just a little longer to make sure he wasn't leaving anything behind. “I would have if I hadn't taken a head injury. It gave me amnesia; I forgot everything about my life...” He sucked in a shaky breath, tears prickling at his eyes. “Until I saw you. It's me, Lu. Sabo.”

Luffy slowly sat up, and stared deeply into his eyes. Searching for any sign of deceit, the light of the sun burning into him as she catalogued every inch of his face and compared him to her memories. Sabo swallowed minutely, silently pleading that she'd believed him. The longest moment of his life ticked on until Luffy's expression softened...and then lit up like the new dawn.

Tears spilled down her cheeks, joyous and disbelieving, and Luffy tackled him so hard he was flung several feet back before landing on his back in the grass with a thud. “SABO!” She cried, burying her face in his chest and hugging him like a python. Sabo wheezed, the air knocked out of his lungs; not that he cared. He hugged her back as hard as he could. “Sabo, Sabo...! You're alive! You came back...!”

Sabo closed his eyes briefly, then flexed his fists and scowling out at the ocean. “Yeah,” he muttered darkly. “Linlin's days are numbered. Murderous bitch shouldn't have targeted Lu if she wanted to keep her head.”

“You think that's possible now?” Ain asked. “The Marines didn't manage to kill Whitebeard, and his health was worse than hers currently is.”

Sabo glanced sideways at her and smirked. “Trust me.”

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

“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 co*cky 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 for 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.”

Chapter 5

Chapter Text

Luffy hated not having Sanji on the Sunny. Hated it, hated it, hated it.

It's not that Nami is a bad cook, far from it – she's the only one keeping them alive when Luffy's own attempts at cooking had been...not quite passable? Pekoms was with them, but he couldn't cook either, and Nami's food was really nice but it wasn't the same. Luffy would sneak into the kitchen in the middle of the night for a snack, and she'd be halfway into a bowl of fruit before she remembered that Sanji wasn't going to come in to scold her. The realization made her wilt a little. She kept looking for her cook at odd hours, even though she knew he wasn't present.

It stung, and she could tell she wasn't the only one – Nami kept glancing at the stairway like she expected him to climb up them any moment, her drink in hand and over the top compliment on his lips. Luffy had wandered over to her and flopped down in the chair next to her, so they could mutually sulk over his absence until Brook played a jaunty tune to cheer them up.

The absence gnawed away at the back of Luffy's mind. It reminded her of when Vivi had chosen to stay behind with her people; she'd expected it, but having to leave her behind really, really sucked. Except this feeling was even stronger, impossible to set aside for long, and she knew she'd never feel right on the Sunny unless Sanji came back.

He wouldn't...leave, would he? If he really wanted to marry miss Pudding. A funny, angry squeezing feeling filled Luffy's chest when she unwillingly pondered the possibility. It really hurt... why did it hurt so much? Sanji wouldn't leave! He wouldn't!

She resolutely rejected the idea and tried to think about other things.

“I wonder what Sanji's family is like,” Luffy pondered, casting her fishing line back into the water. It had been several days since they left Zou for Totland, and they were running somewhat low on food. Pekoms was handling navigation since he was the one who knew the way and Nami was handling cooking. Brook was playing a light tune, looking up at the clear blue sky; the mercurial weather of the New World was giving them a break for now.

Aside from the heat. It's scorching, and if Law hadn't insisted on packing all the extra food, they'd be suffering even worse right now. Luffy reminded herself to give him a big hug as soon as she managed to fish up something.

“He mentioned he was born in the North Blue a long time ago,” Chopper remembered. “But he didn't say anything else.”

“You're right,” Luffy realized, recalling the time they spent with Cricket on Jaya. “He grew up with Old Man Zeff, but he never talked about anything before that. Did he get in a fight with them before he went to the East Blue?”

Chopper shook his head, looking up at her. “Maybe.” Her doctor looked out at the water, troubled. “If he didn't mention them even once... I mean, you were happy to talk about your grandpa, even though you were always fighting with him about not wanting to be a Marine.”

Luffy blinked rapidly. “Grampa loves me, and I love him. He's just a stubborn old man,” She said in confusion.

Chopper nodded. “Exactly! Even though you argue with him there's so much love between you. If they were good to Sanji, wouldn't he have said something about them? If Germa really is some kind of 'evil empire', Sanji might not have liked them at all...” The little reindeer grimaced, staring worriedly at the water. He couldn't help but remember how his herd had rejected him all those years ago, leaving him behind and chasing him away when he tried to follow them. “I hope he's okay right now.”

Luffy twitched, her mind unwillingly settling on the idea. Her memories of Goa and the nobles she'd met there reared their ugly heads... How Sabo had hated his noble parents, how they crushed his spirit and treated him like a commodity meant to bring them more wealth and status, sent pirates to tear him away from her and Ace... Sanji's family was royalty. Unless his father was like Vivi's...

“He'd better be,” she muttered lowly, her fingers tightening like a vice around her fishing line. Rage pulsed through her. “I won't let them hurt him.”

Brook wound his song to a close and glanced sideways at Law. The deadly doctor was sitting in one of the lawn chairs under the shade of Nami's tangerine trees, his head in a newspaper. Pedro and Carrot were both not so subtly trying to read over his shoulder in hopes of distracting themselves from the heat. “Trafalgar-san,” The skeleton inquired, “you grew up in the North Blue. Have you ever encountered Germa 66?”

“Not in person,” Law said with manufactured casualness, his eyes laser focused on the Sora, Warrior of the Sea strips he'd located from the Sunny's stores. The strips involved Sora's clashes with the seductive and eerie Poison Pink, who's threatened to poison an entire island if they didn't surrender to her father. The comics depicted her as the most competent of the rangers and the most dangerous to Sora, who was unwillingly attracted to her and admired her relative morals compared to her vicious brothers. In this strip, the poison Pink was using was time delayed, giving Sora the room he needed to synthesize an antidote in time to rescue the civilians. While her brothers threw an angry fit, Pink just laughed and praised Sora's resourcefulness.

She was Law's favorite character in the comics after Sora himself. And she's the cook's sister. He's going to meet her, in person, relatively soon. Excitement bubbles furiously in his chest.

Law swallowed hard and noted that everyone was looking his way now. “I did hear plenty about them, though. It's unavoidable. They're an army of mercenaries and conquerors; they've ended civil wars over the course of a single night, and they have precious little in the way of scruples. They're sufficiently prominent enough that they're a favourite go-to villain for the Marine comics.”

“You mean like this one you're reading?” Carrot asked innocently.

“I'm researching,” Law said a little too quickly. Luffy glanced his way, hazel eyes wide and curious, and he forces down a hot flustered feeling. “If Sanji is the fifth member of the Vinsmoke family, they won't be keen on releasing him back to us after reclaiming him.”

“Well that's just too bad!” Luffy burst out, indignant and nearly dropping her fishing line. Chopper yelped and saved it with his feet. “Sanji is our cook! If he doesn't want to stay with them, he's coming home with us!”

“Naturally,” Law responded calmly, turning the page over. “I need to know what to expect from them when this turns into a fight, however. While Sora is a fictional hero, all of his exploits are based in part upon the victories of real Marines. It stands to reason that the abilities that Germa demonstrates in the comics are real as well, so I'm refreshing my memory.”

“When? Don't you mean if?” Chopper asked nervously.

Law gave his fellow doctor a very deadpan look; honestly, that kind of question is that? The little zoan should be used to the New World by now. “Germa is a bastion of science; their king, Vinsmoke Judge, used to be a research partner of Vegapunk's.”

“That name again...” Nami mumbled, wiping sweat from her forehead. Franky had spent two years on his home islands, and Caesar Clown had whined enough about the mysterious doctor for them to get an idea of what he was capable of. “God, if he's anything like Caesar Clown...”

“I doubt it.” Law responded dryly. “Running a country, even a nomadic one that solely exists on the back of ships, requires a degree of competence.”

“...So Sanji's family has a comic book about them?” Of course that all that Luffy got out of his debriefing. “Is it any good?”

Law dropped the paper in his lap with a snap. “Good?!” He demanded, indignant. “It's only the best, the most popular and well-written serialization to come out of the North Blue! What could you name that's better than Sora, Warrior of the Sea?!”

There's a second of stunned silence at his outburst, which allows Law's mind to catch up with his mouth. Most of her crew is staring at him in blank-faced shock, because they associated a lot of words with him but fanboy was definitely not one of them! Luffy pivoted toward him, her eyes brightening. “Oh! You're a big fan, Traffy?” She said, excited to discover this new thing about him.

“N- It's just what I've heard,” Law deflected, badly; when Carrot started to giggle he shot her a warning glare.

“You are!” Luffy beamed, because she's a demon, not a goddess. “Hey, can I read them? Which part do you like the best, I can start there!”

“...You read?” Nami asked blankly.

Luffy jerked backward and gave her navigator an injured look. “Hey! I like books and stuff! Benn gave me good ones when I was little!” Instantly her sparkling eyes were back on Law. “Please, Traffy, pleeease?”

“Later! Focus on fishing, will you?!” Law retorted. His cheeks were burning now, a th-thump echoing in his ears at the thought of the ravenette girl cuddled up to his side, reading the comics he'd enjoyed for years with him. The thought is so intoxicating he didn't dare give her anything resembling a straight answer in public.

Luffy was about to pout and press him further when she was nearly yanked clear off the Sunny and into the boiling sea below. She yelped and grabbed onto the railing, her fishing line pulling her toward the fish she'd unwittingly hitched. “Luffy!” Chopper yelped, immediately switching into Heavy Point and grabbing her around the waist. “Hang on, you've hooked something!”

“Whoa! It's a really big one!” Luffy yelped, frantically trying to reel in the catch. Pedro and Carrot bolted over to her to help Chopper keep her on the Sunny. “Nami, I got lunch!”

“Don't fall into the water!” Nami yelled in concern; Law vaulted out of his chair and they both head over to the railing. Fortunately for their nerves, the minks and zoan have a firm hold on Luffy, and together they haul aboard a gigantic fish with a glistening, solid colored skin.

“Woohoo!” Luffy cheered, tossing her line aside and running in a circle around the fish. Look at the size of it! It was perfect for a single dinner.

“I'm impressed that fish could survive in water like this.” Pedro remarked, one hand on his sword as he eagerly takes their catch in.

Law heaved in a deep breath. “Of course you'd catch one with poisonous skin...” He said dryly, having almost instantly recognized the fish. One of the first things he'd done after finding himself on his own was memorizing what kinds of fish and land beasts that were safe to eat. How many times had he needed to upbraid Shatchi and Penguin when they fished up something dangerous for dinner?

“Eh? You say something, Traffy?” Luffy asked cluelessly, already peeling off some of the skin and happily chowing down on it.

“POISON?!” Nami and Chopper roared in concert, naturally a few seconds too late to maybe stop her. Law sputtered a flood of angry imprecations and immediately shambled Luffy into his arms; the ravenette yipped to suddenly find herself horizontal and looking up at those livid, exasperated golden eyes as she's laid out on the grass.

“Traffy?” She started in confusion, her doe-like hazel eyes widening. Her cheeks warmed up a little, a little stuttered breath escaping her at the position she was relative to him.

“You promised you were going to listen to me.” Law dragged out, pinning her with a Look. “Room!” The familiar blue sphere formed around him and her, and he pushed her down by the shoulder when she tried to sit up. “That fish has poisonous skin; only the meat is safe for consumption after grilling.” He reached into his coat for his tools.

Luffy blinked rapidly at him. “Oh.” She says, before attempting to reassure him; “It's okay, Traffy. Poison has no effect on me! Warden guy saw to that.”

Law's gold eyes burned hotly into her in response. He scolded her constantly, but this time Luffy felt a little abashed; something about that exasperated expression felt different from before. “You don't have an immunity to poison, you have a built up tolerance, and you are not going to tempt fate over a goddamn lunch. Now hold still!”

Luffy nodded obediently, looking up at the sky as Law opened her chest and stomach, then went about extracting the poison from her. Nami's cheeks turned a faint green colour at the sight and she turned around quickly, babbling at Pedro to help her start cutting up the fish and disposing of the poisonous skin. Chopper hurried over and knelt down at her side, observing Law as he worked. Luffy did her best to relax; it didn't hurt – nothing in Traffy's Room ever hurt – but it did feel a little funny!

“Ridiculous, absurd girl...giving me so many migraines,” Law muttered under his breath as he worked, removing any trace of the poison briskly. Thankfully it hadn't had any time to start spreading, so it wasn't a difficult fix. “So troublesome.”

“Hehe...” Luffy giggled softly, her heart squeezing at the familiar sounding words. “Sorry, Traffy.”

“You always say that, but are you really sorry?” Law groused, closing up her stomach.

Oh...was he really mad at her? No no, that had to be fixed quickly...! Luffy reached up and pressed one hand against his cheek, causing him to briefly freeze mid movement. “Yeah,” She responded honestly, worrying with her bottom lip. “'Course I do.” Her thumb brushed against his cheekbone.

Law stared wide-eyed at her for a second, before Chopper's concerned noise reminded him that he was technically still mid-operation. Grabbing her hand in his own, he brought it down and rested it on his knee so he could finish closing her up. “R-Right,” He mumbles, dismissing the Room once he's finished. His skin is burning where her fingers brushed against it.

Boldness struck him; Law took her by the arm and pulled her to her feet. “Come with me,” he said briskly. “You're staying where I can see you until the fish is done.” Carrot and Chopper were already disposing of the skin, but he didn't trust that meat until Nami had thoroughly grilled it and he knew from travelling with her that Luffy wasn't above stealing food straight out of the cooking pot to 'taste test'.

“Whyyyyy?” Luffy pouted.

“I'm going to pretend you didn't just ask me that,” Law responded flatly. “You wanted to read Sora, didn't you?”

She perked up. “You'll let me have the comics?!”

“I'm going to get you started on the series,” Law said, pulling her inside one of the Sunny's rooms where it was marginally cooler and teleporting the relevant newspapers into his free hand. “And for that I need to explain the plot.”

Pekoms watched Law disappear with an excited Luffy and pinched the bridge of his nose. How was the sun goddess oblivious to her fellow Captain's desire for her? How? This was legendary levels of density. Sora being oblivious to Poison Pink's advances didn't compare! This is going to be a disaster.

“So that's Sanji's big sis...” Luffy murmured, awed. She was wholly absorbed in the comic strip, hazel eyes wide with enthusiasm. Poison Pink was winking mischievously at the reader, having escaped Sora to trouble the world another day.

This comic was amazing! Law had given her the papers and explained the plot of the long-running serial with that special brand of low-key enthusiasm that makes him look surprisingly cute! So many story beats, but they were so crazy and exciting that Luffy had no trouble remembering most of them. Especially when he was halfway through the Waterfall Island arc and Luffy realized why it sounded so familiar – it had been based off of one of Zephyr-jiji's missions! He'd been so surprised when she told him that, stars in her eyes.

Luffy wanted to read all of it, begged Traffy to give her access to his stockpile of the comics. He'd refused to look at her and warned her that she wasn't allowed to read them without supervision, but his voice was really happy – she could tell!

“Most likely,” Traffy said in response to her question. “Bear in mind that her personality might be quite different from the comic books; the writers apply a good degree of artistic licence.”

“Artist likes?” Luffy asked in confusion.

Law sighed, rolling his eyes. “It means that the writer doesn't directly copy what happened in real life into their work, often changing things to be more dramatic and exciting for the reader.” He explained with as much patience as he could muster. “The comic is published by affiliates of the World Government, after all.” Albeit affiliated in the loosest sense; the Government kept a watchful eye on what was published in waters under their control.

Luffy uttered a noise of understanding. She pressed into his side, peering hopefully at the pictures of the feared Germa soldiers. Law was really warm; even though he'd reluctantly taken off his longcoat and then his shirt as the heat intensified, leaning against him infused her with a pleasant feeling, like sitting in front of the fire in a late autumn evening sharing stories with Ace and Sabo. It was so nice...

“I hope Pink is a little like this,” She confides in Law. “I don't like the others. They remind me of Mingo.” Pink's three brothers, not counting the mysterious Stealth Black, shared none of the redeeming qualities she possessed. It might be linked to a general attitude that women were inherently more empathetic and noble then men, but those three were viciously insufferable – arrogant, spiteful, and completely without scruples.

Law tensed a little at the comparison; it was one he'd made himself over the years in the privacy of his mind, but still... “When have we ever been that lucky?” He wondered.

“I'm very lucky,” Luffy responded, looking up and blinking at him. “I have Ace and Sabo and my crew and you too.” Law coughed to cover a pleased noise, his heart flipping over. “Hey, do you have a favourite part Traffy?”

“Favourite?” Law repeated, trying very hard to sound aloof even though he'd already exposed himself as a giant nerd. “I'm not a child... but since you're asking me, I suppose I prefer the arcs where Poison Pink is prominent.” Shatchi and Penguin always said ridiculous things about crushes whenever they caught him reading her passages; it wasn't his fault she was the most interesting and multi-faceted antagonist in the series aside from Tyson the Revolutionary! The rest of them were just varying degrees of cackling, two dimensional evil only interesting for the challenges that they provided Sora or the humour they displayed.

“Shishishi! I like her too!” Luffy cheered, delighted.

A sharp knock on the door interrupted the moment, however. “Oi, lovebirds,” Nami called teasingly. Luffy yipped as Law immediately shot to his feet, causing her to topple over. She propped herself up on one arm and pouted up at him. “Lunch is ready~.”

“Lunch!” Luffy cheered, getting up herself and bolting. Nami, knowing her too well at this point, expertly opened the door in time for her to rush through the opening instead of smashing through the wood. Law followed along sedately, his hands in his pockets; he tried not to look too annoyed.

The table was set out under the shade of a tangerine tree, the enticing smell of the food filling the humid air. Luffy cheerfully flung herself into the nearest unoccupied chair and started chowing down on the meal; once again, Nami had applied herself to one of Sanji's recipes with great success. Law had to admit it was well made when he tried it himself.

“So...do we have a plan about how you're going to go on 'dates' with Katakuri?” Nami asked uneasily about halfway into the meal. “We don't know anything about this guy.”

“Don't worry about me,” Luffy responded easily between bites. “I'll take care of it.”

Nami stared blandly at her captain. “Shouldn't you at least have a chaperone or something...?” She prodded. “I don't like the idea of you being alone and surrounded by the Big Mom crew.”

Luffy wrinkled her nose. “I don't want somebody spying on us during dates; that would be weird and annoying. Plus, won't it make them suspicious?”

“...Wow, that sounds almost sensible,” Chopper said, a little impressed.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Luffy protested.

The meal only lasted about ten more minutes before the transponder snail started ringing its shell off of its back. Brook looked at the little creature in confusion. “That's odd. The others can't have arrived at Wano already, could they?” He asked in confusion.

“No,” Law said, eyes narrowing. “They need to travel two more days.”

“I know that sound,” Pekoms said, getting all eyes on him as he stood up. “It's an alert, informing the TARTS that we're nearby so we won't get fired upon. Mama must have sent an escort after I informed her you were coming.”

Luffy's expression became carefully blank as she got up and walked over to the railing. Law grabbed his shirt off the back of his chair and put it on, not wanting to look vulnerable. Pedro tensed up and stood carefully behind Luffy, ready to defend her a moment's notice. Nami nervously fingered her clima-tact before firmly taking up a stoic look, putting Carrot behind her and joining her captain at the railing. Pekoms hopped up onto the railing, expecting to see one of the familiar tart ships cutting through the boiling waves towards them.

Instead, out of the mist comes a massive transponder snail ship, its castle tower looming large over the Thousand Sunny. Luffy's lips parted in surprise as the ship chugged towards them; she'd never seen a ship of that shape before, and it's a perfect mirror of the ones she'd seen in Sora! This was a Germa ship, then. “Sanji?” She wondered hopefully, leaning on the railing and searching for any sign of blonde hair.

“Germa...?” Pekoms breathed out. Why them and not one of Big Mom's children? An uneasy feeling pooled in the mink's gut, growing stronger still since he'd decided to help the straw hat girl against the woman he'd sworn to serve.

“Would Big Mom have sent them to get us?” Nami asked, clutching her weapon.

“This wedding is supposed to make them allies,” Law observed, his voice stoic. “However, it is rather strange...” He holds Kikoku in a loose but steady hold, ready to fight if necessary. “They might be traveling on the ship, but I doubt they'd be pleased to do so.”

Chopper made a nervous sound and forced himself to stand up straight. The Germa ship came to a stop a few yards away from the Sunny; the waves from it's halt causing the lion headed vessel to bobble up and down like a cork in water. Two figures walked up to the edge of the ship's railing; from the angle she's looking up at them, Luffy could just make out colours the pair were wearing – bright green and pink.

“Hello there!” A cheerful-sounding female voice came from the railing. Luffy blinked hard against the sunlight glaring from behind the ship. “You must be the Straw Hats! May we come aboard?”

“Who's asking?” Luffy yelled back.

“Vinsmoke Sanji's big brother and sister!” The girl's voice called back.

Luffy's heart leapt into his chest. Sanji's family! It was them... not just random goons King Vinsmoke had sent to suck up to them. “Sanji...!” She thought for a moment, then nodded vehemently. “Yes, I want to meet you! Come down!”

There's a light laugh followed by what sounded like a humph, and the two figures leapt from the railing – easily crossing the sizable distance between the two ships. A strange whirring sound echoes through the air as the twosome fall gracefully down until they alight on the grassy area of the deck. The first was a green-haired boy with a twirly eyebrow just like Sanji's, but his face was strangely blank aside from irritation and an undercurrent of annoyance. He has a headset with the number 66 painted on it, and he's dressed in green aside from his black overcoat. Winch Green, Luffy realized, her heart flip flopping. And Sanji's brother...

The young lady is a little taller than the first figure, with a large purple coat designed to resemble butterfly wings and serving as a conduit for her particular abilities. She has the same headphones, and her shirt and pants are a bright pink. Her expression is warmer, curious and thoughtful; her eyes are blue, just like Sanji's, and she has the twirly eyebrow too. Poison Pink.

“So...this is Straw Hat Luffy?” Winch Green said, his gaze raking up and down Luffy's figure. The raven haired girl twitched, not liking the feeling it gave her. After a few seconds, his eyes turned into hearts and popped right out of his head. “Cute...! Cutie, so so cute! This is who that failure's been hanging out with?!” His legs turned into a familiar whirlwind and he moves from side to side. “The world is f*cked up! A goddess deserves far better than him!”

“...What failure?” Luffy asked, her eyebrows tabling. Something about the structure of that sentence bothered her. What failure could he be talking about?

Poison Pink sighed deeply. “Please ignore Yonji... he has very little inside his skull,” she said with tired dryness. “It's nice to meet you, Monkey D Luffy. Sanji spoke of you when he first arrived, so I've been looking forward to this. My name is Vinsmoke Reiju; my brother and I have come to escort you the rest of the way to Totland.” She offered Luffy her hand.

The ravenette smiled and took it. “You're Sanji's big sis,” She realized. “You've got the same twirly brow!”

Reiju can't help but giggle. What a disarming girl... that smile just made me relax a little. “It's a family trait,” she said. She looked between those standing behind Luffy and blinks when she spots Law. “I don't recognize some of these faces. Where are the rest of your crewmates?”

Law frowned. Surely she'd seen his wanted poster and new he wasn't a Straw Hat... why wasn't she questioning his presence? It was deliberate, he could tell by the way her eyes flashed with thought before abruptly becoming unreadable. That was a very practised action... one that characterized someone who couldn't afford to speak what was on their mind. What are you thinking, Poison Pink...?

“I needed them to run an errand.” Luffy responded, dutifully repeating the lie Nami had drilled into her. She shrugged as if to say 'what can you do'. “It was too important to be left hanging, with the Marines stirred up after Dressrosa. We won't be split up for long.”

Yonji continued to do his love-hurricane thing, and while Reiju arched an eyebrow at that, she seemed to accept it. “The Marines will be desperate for good publicity after having to publicly apologize and grovel like that,” She observed. “Especially since you were involved, again.”

Luffy snickered. “Yeah, they don't like me very much, do they?” She asked carelessly. Then she turned to the ship and stood on her toes, looking for any sign of a notable figure. “Um, did Kat come with you?”

“Kat?” Reiju repeated, puzzled.

Nami groaned. “That's what she's been calling Charlotte Katakuri...” She'd tried to stop her, she really had, but it was useless as usual.

“Ah, no. Though he had expressed interest in accompanying us, something came up.” Reiju said. She remembered the faintly aggravated look in Katakuri's eye when he'd been pulled away from her by one of his brothers, who insisted that Big Mom's summons couldn't wait. “His mother wanted to discuss some things with him, I believe.”

Luffy pouted. She wanted to meet this guy already! “Awww.”

Cute, Reiju couldn't help but think. “If it helps, I'm here to take you to him, and Sanji. He'll be quite glad to see you, I think.” Privately, she hoped that seeing his captain again would restore her little brother's spirits – and that they had a plan to wiggle their way out of Big Mom's attempt to snare the sun goddess and trap her in her clutches.

Please... I can't save my brother...not without your help. Sun Goddess... you're the only one who could do it. Maybe even I... no... it's far, far too late for me. That little ray of hope was torture. Why couldn't she make it go away?

Luffy nodded, all but vibrating at the thought of being reunited with Sanji, and soon. “Good! Let's go – to Totland!”

Chapter 6

Chapter Text

Katakuri almost wished he could drop his calm, collected demeanor enough that he could pace without being looked at sideways. He stood at the docks where the foot soldiers were preparing for the arrival of the Thousand Sunny and their escort, ignoring any attempts at conversation and the annoying catcalling from his older siblings whenever they passed by. He'd managed to escape from his mother a few hours ago, cursing the fact that she'd only now deigned to tell him about her plans for the Vinsmokes, and right before his would-be fiance arrived as well.

A plan he had a few misgivings about, at that...

“Kill them all? The Vinsmokes?” Katakuri repeated, admirably managing to keep his voice at 'dull surprise' instead of 'strangled disbelief' or worse, 'complete incredulity'. He looked up at his mother, ignoring the tea and snacks on his plate, tempting him. “Mother...”

“Bah, I can hear you thinking Katakuri.” Big Mom waved flippantly before seizing another pastry. The muffin screamed and quailed in fear the entire way into her mouth before death cut it off. “Vinsmoke Sanji will be tranquilized and spared from the slaughter; that should keep your little fiancéhappy.”

Which. It might, but Katakuri suspected that would depend entirely on what sort of relationship the third prince had with his birth family. He'd watched the entirety of the execution broadcast; mama had insisted on it, staring burning holes in their transponder snail from the instant the Second Division Commander had been named Roger's blood son. He'd seen Straw Hat vault across a not-insignificant distance in an instant to put herself between Crocodile and Whitebeard when the former warlord went to attack him.

Her reasoning for interfering with a man who would not underestimate her a second time? Portgas liked the Emperor he was attacking, so she would defend an old man she'd never met and owed nothing to with her life. Newgate hadn't been in any real danger, but the principle of the matter had been enough for her.

If Vinsmoke felt anything for his estranged family, he'd only have to say the word and Katakuri would bet she'd take the same tact here, damn the fact she was in the dead centre of Totland and defying Charlotte Linlin herself. But he also knew that this observation wouldn't sway his mother in the slightest, so he kept it to himself.

Instead he asked, “I'm curious as to why you feel the exertion is necessary? The Germa Kingdom will be giving you access to their technology through the marriage, will they not?”

Big Mom's smirk collapsed into an ugly snarl, her brow pulled tightly in offence. “That little man presumes to use me to get his pretty crown back,” she said darkly. Her hand clenches the arm of her chair until it cracked, whining under the strain. “Why do you think he's here, Katakuri? That he shares my vision? That he wishes to create the world of equality and harmony? No, he wants to use my forces and my children to make himself another petty tyrant.”

Katakuri leaned back subtly; he could feel the pressure of the room increase as his mother's haki began leaking out. “No,” Big Mom said, exhaling in aggravation before retreating into a calm facade. “I will take what I want from his labs and destroy the excess baggage. For that, I will need you to preform as ever, Katakuri.”

He nodded, doing his level best to dismiss his misgivings. He had plenty of experience with that. “As you wish, mother.”

“Your fiancéwill be here soon,” Big Mom said, before an aggravated look crossed her face. “You will need to...convince her that marrying you is what she desires most.”

“I'm sorry?” Katakuri asked, caught off guard. Had he heard that correctly?

His mother ignored him, muttering to herself. “That brat is lucky that she's the rarest creature on the oceans, a goddess made flesh! How dare she show me that kind of cheek after the trouble she's given me, when I'm offering her one of my sons and a place in my family? Dates and romancing! Pah! She'll agree to this one way or another, but I'll need to get a few doses of that...”

“Mother?”

Big Mom's eyes snapped over to her strongest child, who admirably didn't flinch under her infuriated expression. “The girl seeks to be pursued by you,” she said, her voice slow and heavy like she was speaking to a child. “I have granted her two weeks to be convinced before the marriage. You will woo her in that time frame and you will ensure she will have no other man.”

Katakuri opened his mouth to say something, thought the better of it at the last second, closed it and nodded in perfect obedience.

The Sweet Commander stared blandly out at the ocean waters, wondering not for the first time what cosmic joke was being made at his expense. His mother had been a little...erratic, ever since Nika appeared two years ago, and this was the result.

She would have him woo Monkey D Luffy? How?! With his face?! Katakuri was a soldier, and kept everyone outside of his family at a clear remove. This was one of the few areas that he not only didn't excel at, but had no experience in whatsoever. Wasn't this why Pudding had been selected as Vinsmoke's bride? She was young, beautiful, brilliant and (broken) ruthless. Katakuri was out of his element here and he knew it. He could hardly look at his mother's many, many relationships for support; you couldn't call those flings (at best) marriages. He'd never been approached by women or men with anything but slavishly devoted servants, screaming fans, or both. There was a critical difference between romantic and familial love, and the latter served as the only significant relationships he had.

Yet he must romance a young wild woman and convince this goddess, who adored freedom and gladly fought the world for it, to bind herself to him and his mother? Him, a beast who deliberately constructed the facade of an unbreakable monster?

No no no, his only hope for any chance at succeeding – or decent advice – would be speaking with Praline or Chiffon (if she would suffer him being in her presence-), otherwise he was a ship without a rudder headed straight for the Calm Belt.

Katakuri breathed in deeply, silently commanding himself to get a grip. When he managed to clear the noise from his head, he closed his eyes for a moment and focused his Observation Haki. Looking into the future.

Monkey D Luffy stood at the top of the cake, wearing a stunning dress that turned her from a scruffy pirate into a sensual goddess. He stood in front of her, to the right of Vinsmoke and Pudding, and his heart was twisting up in a tortured knot. The desire to not be here, to not be doing this, thrummed alongside his pulse – bitter reluctance tasting like ashes in his mouth. And Pudding -

Pudding's hands were shaking. Visibly shaking, like the world had been yanked out from under her, and she couldn't hold onto the gun mother had given her.

“I do.”

“...Do you mean it?” Luffy asked, cutting off the priest who had never once in his life been interrupted – leaving him gawking at her, stuttering as he tried to rerail the ceremony. “Are you sure?” Her gaze isn't mocking or accusatory; she tilted her head to the side, her eyes – almost entreating, demanding the truth from him instead of the words his mother had given him and

and -

“I don't want to take your freedom from you.” Luffy said earnestly, tilting her chin up and smiling at him. “Do you really want to marry me?”

The sound of the whistle brought Katakuri out of the vision with a start. His heart jolted violently in his chest, his mind rushing over the scene as he tried to make sense out of it. The further ahead he saw something, the less information he had to go off of, and that... what was that? What was that strange scene...?

She must have discovered his mother's plans. But if she had, why wasn't she furious as she had been that day in Marineford? And how had she learned of it? And freedom...? Freedom from what? He was a Sweet Commander of Emperor Charlotte Linlin, one of the few pirates who could go and do whatever he pleased even if he were to act on the darkest and bloodiest desires of sapient kind. In what way was he not free?

He was a Charlotte. He would never be free of that.

Katakuri's head throbbed, and it was a moment before he focused on the approaching Germa warship sailing side and side with the familiar figure of the Thousand Sunny. His breath came out in a deep, husky growl. Around him the dock preparations pick up in intensity, excited babbling echoing from all the foot soldiers and passing civilians.

“So she is coming! I hadn't been sure she would!”

“A goddess is coming to Totland...oh, I hope the city looks good!”

“What will her crew want for accommodations? Do we have everything I put on that list?!”

“Awww, I can't believe General Katakuri is finally getting married... I'm so jealous of her...”

Katakuri waited patiently as the two ships came in, wondering for the first time if perhaps he should have relented and allowed at least a few of his siblings to accompany him as a welcoming party. Flampe's behavior after the original announcement – throwing knives at Luffy's wanted poster, apparently among other things – had him decide to go alone. He couldn't figure out why exactly his younger sister – sisters, she wasn't the only one – had taken it so personally. Their possessiveness of him was familiar, but this wasn't.

As the Sunny came into dock, a semi-familiar raven haired figure ran up to the railing of the ship and leaned over it. When her eyes landed on him, she beamed and launched herself from the deck down to the wooden dock, and trotted up to him. Her hand adjusting her worn straw hat, Monkey D Luffy came up to about an arms length away from him and peered curiously up at him.

“Are you Kat?” She asked brightly, casually. Her hazel eyes are...surprisingly doe-like, Katakuri noted. The boy's clothes she's wearing aren't particularly flattering, yet it can't the fact that she's beautiful – in a sweet and soft sort of way. She's slender and... strangely small seeming, standing in front of him. It's a...startlingly disarming first impression, almost jarring against the powerful figure he remembered from the visual den two years ago.

“...Kat?” He repeated flatly, confused.

“Mmmhmm!” Luffy nodded energetically. “He's the guy Big Mom would like me to marry!” She looked around. “He'd at least come to welcome me here, wouldn't he?”

Kat? Was...that supposed to be a nickname? A pet name? “My name is Katakuri.” He said after a confused second.

Luffy refocused on him instantly, and she brightened. “Oh, it is you! Whoa...” She looked up at him, a little awe in her eyes. “You're really tall.” Her legs stretched lightly, raising her up until she's at eye level with him. “Shishishishi! Hi! We're finally together in the same place.”

Katakuri blinked rapidly at her. He didn't like laughter. He solely associated it with mockery, or his mother finding amusem*nt in something warped or disturbing. And yet – Luffy's carefree laugh washes over him like a gentle wave lapping against the beach. “So we are,” he said in a neutral tone. The Thousand Sunny's plank dropped, admitting the girl's navigator, pet, musician, and a pair of minks.

“Nice to meet you,” Luffy said, snapping back to her normal height. “Hey, can you tell me why Big Mom was the one who wrote the proposal instead of you?”

“What?” Katakuri uttered, blindsided.

Luffy tilted her head. “You didn't write it yourself,” She said. “You didn't even write me a poem or something nice like that.” That – well – of course he didn't! He wouldn't know where to start; he hasn't written any poetry in his life! “Why?”

“I have little talent in writing, I'm afraid.” Katakuri responded, refusing to show her how off guard he is. “I'm a warrior, not a scholar. I had hoped my mother would speak for me; I...apologize if it lacked romanticism.”

Luffy peered up at his face, studying him intently. Then she seemed to accept this and nodded her head. “She did, and thanks. It was kinda dry.” She said, blissfully oblivious to the fact that giving her a loving husband was not a concern of Linlin's. “Though I don't know if I wanted to get married yet. Gramps always said that I couldn't marry a man I just met; I had to know them well.”

She was serious. Davy Jones below, she was serious. She really had told his mother that she'd reject the marriage if he couldn't make her fall in love with him, then waltzed right into Totland without any concern for a trap being laid for her. She was mad, as mad as Gol D Roger.

“So Kat,” Luffy said before Katakuri could say something very dry. “I was hoping we could go on some dates!” She clapped her hands together. “I was thinking about going out for lunch, some nice long walks, or maybe seeing a play?”

“I have no objections to that,” Katakuri managed after a second of stunned silence.

Luffy relaxed, looking pleased. “That's great!” She turned around and cheerfully waved at her crew, who were warily approaching with the two Vinsmokes at her heels. Winch Green was glaring daggers at him, which made Katakuri arch an eyebrow. The prince opened his mouth to say something, only for his sister to ram her elbow into his side and smile apologetically at him. “Hey guys, come and say hello! This is Kat!” Luffy yelled, not noticing the interaction.

“Katakuri,” The man corrected her, wondering if his name was really that hard for her to pronounce. “Cat Burglar Nami, Soul King Brook, and...Cotton Candy Lover Tony Tony Chopper, correct?”

The reindeer zoan flailed, visibly aggravated. “Those stupid Marines...!” He met Katakuri's eyes with surprising boldness and said, “Yes, that's us, but I'm not the crew pet! I'm the doctor!” It was a sign of how offended the 'pet' designation made him that Chopper was able to yell at a man he was, understandably, somewhat terrified of.

“Doctor, then.” Katakuri corrected himself without breaking stride. “Mother welcomes you to Totland. The foot soldiers will show you to your accommodations for the duration of your stay. Identify any luggage you wish to bring with you. Mother will greet you personally tomorrow.”

Nami blanched and immediately plastered a pleasant, grateful smile on her face. Luffy looked about and murmured “hey, where's-?” only to be stopped when Nami stepped on her foot. “Marvellous, I was going to have trouble carrying my wardrobe chests without those two lummoxes to act as my mules.” She said faux cheerfully. “Are these the soldiers?” She waved at the dock hands.

Katakuri nodded fractionally. Nami immediately turned and began barking orders, giving clear instructions about what they could or could not touch and what doors they weren't to open; the men quailed under her lighthearted malice and hastened to obey her. He turned his attention back to Luffy, who's smile has vanished as she looked around.

“Is something the matter?” He asked.

Luffy looked up at him and put her hands on her hips. “Where's Sanji?” She demanded. “Where's my cook? One of your minions kidnapped him at gunpoint. I'm still mad about that! I want to see him! He better not be hurt.”

Ah. Of course. Silently Katakuri cursed Bege for leaving him to deal with the results of 'acquiring' the blonde, and vowed to make life unpleasant for him in the near future. “Vinsmoke Sanji is present and unharmed,” he said, and because something about the frown on her face was bothering him, he continued, “unless I miss my guess, he's currently with his father in the Germa castle. If Princess Reiju would escort us there, you can see him immediately.”

Reiju nodded, an odd look in her eye. Katakuri reminded himself to search for her in the future later. “Of course.” She said lightly, a friendly mask upon her face at once. “Come right this way.”

Luffy relaxed, relieved; though she didn't smile again. That bothered feeling intensified a little; enough so that he didn't notice the tall swordsman in a heavy coat slip off of the Thousand Sunny and vanish into the crowd.

The castle was worse than Sanji remembered, somehow.

Oh, his father was the same bastard he'd always been – claiming they would have an honourable duel, then cowering behind human shields and his raid suit. Only remembered that Sanji existed when he didn't want to give any of the children he cared about to Big Mom's brood. His brothers were the exact same, somehow having not changed one iota even in the little things, like their mannerisms or their physical tics. It was almost like he'd gone back in time; or maybe gotten trapped in a nightmare.

Leaning on the terrace of the castle and looking out over the water, Sanji shivered and clutched his arm. His busies from the so called duel still hurt, though they would fade soon enough. The black pit of cold despair engulfing him was much worse.

He had almost thought that since he'd lived through being under Judge's roof once, he'd be prepared and braced for the grim, bitter reality of living with them again. He'd faced so much worse than that old man since he became a pirate; whatever he did, he couldn't compare to Kuma separating him from Luffy and his crewmates, of failing.

The explosive collars around his wrists glint mockingly in the late afternoon sunlight.

What fanciful thinking. It was because he'd found a true family, first with the old geezer, then with his Sunshine, that Judge still had the power to hurt him. It was because he knew what love was that this place of misery and exclusion felt like a vice around his soul. Sanji stared numbly at the middle distance; being outside of the castle helped him avoid his brothers, but he probably shouldn't stay in one place for too long. Ichiji and Yonji were worse when Reiju wasn't around.

Property. That's what Judge thought of him, that he'd procured these manacles from his underground contacts for this purpose. Sanji remembered when they broke into the auction house to save Keimi, and seeing the horrible device around her throat. How it had filled him with terrible rage, how he'd wanted to give all of his strength to break the collars off every slave trapped on that foul island. No one in this world is meant to be a slave!

Except for him, it seemed. A deep sense of despair rolled over the blonde as he stared down at his wrists, unable to look away from them. The realization, once it had sunk in, was the only thing dominating his mind.

The old man was in danger because of him... just because he'd been good to him, had given him a place in his home. What a way for Sanji to repay him for everything, with Judge holding a gun to his head. Sanji breathed out slowly, hoping beyond hope that Germa wasn't targeting any other people – that he hadn't endangered his crew mates loved ones as well as his own. He would never forgive himself if they got hurt because of him.

“Sanji!”

The voice echoed across the open ground and slammed into Sanji like a bullet. His cigarette falling from his lips, the blonde jerked backward and wheeled around to stare, unable to believe what he was seeing what his eyes were showing him.

What – no – how could – why is she here?!

Luffy hurtled across the stone ground, leaving Charlotte Katakuri and his sister in her dust as she cleared the distance between them in a second. Sanji instinctively dropped his arms to catch her a second before she crashed into him; long practice with his captain meant he wasn't thrown off his feet thanks to dropping into a bracing stance. The impact still sent him skidding several feet backward, his heels digging grooves into the stone until he came to a stop. “Sanji, I finally caught up with you!” Luffy cried in relief, wrapping her arms around him several times.

“W-W-What are you doing here?!” Sanji demanded in a panic, putting his hands on her shoulders. His heart throbbed violently at this sudden, horrifying shift in his circ*mstances – not her arrival, but what it meant. She's out here in plain view of both Germa and Big Mom's hulking, powerful son, who looked very much like he'd been escorting her. Images of the Sunny being attacked and captured in his absence fill his mind, and his stomach drops into his feet.

“Are you hurt?” Luffy asked, ignoring him. She pulled back a little – not loosening her hold on him in the slightest, keeping him almost pinned against her. In any other situation Sanji would be completely melting at being wrapped in her embrace, but the sheer depths of his despair and panic overrode even that impulse. “Did Bege hurt you? I'm going to break his face!”

“I'm fine!” Sanji retorted, pushing on her shoulders. “Why are you here?! What happened after I left Zou?!”

Luffy looked him up and down once, then looked up to meet his gaze. “Oh, Big Mom invited me.” She responded, the simple statement briefly making Sanji stop breathing in sheer horror. “But you're really okay? They haven't been keeping you prisoner? They've been feeding you?” Her big hazel eyes stab into him, searching for any sign of dishonesty.

The blonde's jaw worked helplessly for a few moments before he could get his mental footing back under him. “I've been fine,” He lied blatantly because holy sh*t that was not remotely the thing that matters right now. “Sun – Captain, you shouldn't be here. What are you doing?!”

Why hadn't she abandoned him? Why risk everything for a failure?!

Luffy shook her head slightly. “Weren't you told?” She asked, bemused. “Big Mom wants me to marry Kat back there.” She briefly retracted one arm in order to wave vaguely back at Charlotte goddamn Katakuri.

Sanji's airway closed up completely. “You...marry?” He repeated, desperately hoping he'd heard her wrong. But the first time he'd had this feeling, he hadn't been that lucky.

Sanji was genuinely impressed that Vivi had managed to catch Luffy before she could go running off the Merry before they disembarked from Nanohana; none of them had managed that yet, and they had been travelling with their captain for longer. He's also grateful for it; the deserts of Alabasta, as beautiful and vibrant as they are, are brutal in their heat. The rest of the crew would need plenty of food and water to travel through it, but with how much his Captain ate on a regular basis, Sanji suspected it would be much harder on her.

He wouldn't allow it; he had meal and ration plans drawn up before they'd left Drum Island for this eventuality. Of course, his task would be much harder if she went running off into the desert and left them all in her dust.

Luffy was rather sulky as Vivi lead her down the streets of Nanohana by the hand, refusing to let go and potentially let the ravenette out of her sight. Despite being the same age, the dynamic was almost like a mother with her overly energetic daughter – or perhaps a responsible older sibling trying to manage her wilder little sister. Sanji adored watching them together, and he so admired that motherly, queenly strength that Vivi had.

“Look, we'll go to the restaurant and get some food for you.” Vivi said placatingly. “There's one at the end of the road.”

Luffy perked up a little bit at that. “Oh no,” Sanji said, immediately reaching out to try and anchor Vivi before his captain could rush off with her. “Luffy wai-”

His hand just missed her sleeve before Luffy cheered excitedly and bolted forward, hauling a shrieking Vivi along in her wake. Sanji cursed his slow reaction time and put on the gas, belatedly wishing he hadn't stuck Chopper and Zoro with the grocery shopping in his rush to act as the girl's bodyguards. He ran as fast as he could down the road after them.

Luffy busted through the doors of the restaurant, but – cognizant of the fact that she was carrying Vivi – she skidded to a halt a few feet after doing so and carefully placed the princess on her feet rather than blindly barrel right up to the doorway. Though she still ended up slamming into Smoker's back, sending him sprawling across the length of the building.

Sanji stumbled through the doorway just in time to see this, and groaned in despair. “Of course.” He muttered. “Of course he followed us here.” He was about to raise his voice to warn Luffy when someone else cut across him.

“Luffy?” A deep male voice said, warm with emotion. Sanji froze in place, orienting the voice to a gorgeous, muscular young man who was sitting at the bar. He wore dark shorts, light shoes and an orange cowboy hat; his tousled black hair framed a youthful face and bright ocean-green eyes. He looked like he could have stepped out of a romance novel... and he recognizes his captain? “Luffy, is that you?!”

Luffy blinked out of her food haze at the voice – Sanji had never seen that before – stared for half a second, then gasped in joy. “Ace? ACE!” She ran across the room; the young man vaulted out of his chair and caught her when she crashed into him, spinning her in a circle as she laughed joyfully, her hat falling down her back by its string.

Sanji froze, staring at the tableau with wide eyes along with Vivi, though his reasons were very different from hers. Who was this man, holding his Sunshine like that?! White hot jealousy lanced through him, and the desire to kick the man's head off is incredibly strong.

Luffy buried her face in his bare chest when her feet touched the ground again, humming happily. The intimate gesture stuck an ice pick in Sanji's chest. “Ace, I've missed you so much...!” She babbled happily. “What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for you,” Ace responded, and then he kissed the top of her head. “Didn't you get my message at Drum?”

“Eh?” Luffy peered up at him.

Ace chuckled, looking down at her with a mixture of amusem*nt and adoration. “Still a little ditzy, I see.” He said teasingly, making Sanji both want to hit him more and feel something akin to fear.

Luffy pouted at him in response. “Aaaace...”

“Y-You know this person, Luffy?” Vivi said, staring at the large tattoo inked across Ace's back.

Their captain blinked and glanced sideways at them, before beaming. “Guys, guys, this is Ace! He's my big brother, we grew up together!” She said happily.

Sanji looked up at Ace, saw the way he twitched a little and the flicker of emotion that passed through his ocean eyes when she said 'big brother'. He had seen hundreds of couples pass through the Baratie, how they would look at each other as if they were the only thing that existed in the world. Luffy... a big brother doesn't look at you like that.

Sanji blinked the memory away, swallowing hard as he experienced that feeling of defeat for the second time. “You're...getting married? Into Big Mom's family?” He repeated dully, silently pleading for her to say no.

Luffy wrinkled her nose. “I haven't decided if I am yet,” she responded. “But Sanji, what about you? Do you like Miss Pudding? Do you want to marry her?” Her hazel eyes are wide with concern, drilling into him, like she's afraid of what he's going to say.

“I...” Sanji forced himself to think through the haze in his mind. “She's a very kind girl, she's wonderful really, but I-” my choice doesn't matter, if I don't do this they'll kill Zeff and the staff at the Baratie “-Luffy, I...” I love you. How could I promise to marry a kind, sweet woman when I'm in love with you?

Luffy is looking at him in concern; Sanji is never this inarticulate around her. Backing up a little, her arms slid down from his shoulders down to his wrists to hold his hands -

-and was stopped by cold metal.

Luffy blinked. And looked down at the explosive cuffs. She went very, very still.

Sanji felt tears burn at the corners of his eyes; it took all his discipline to force them back in. He hadn't wanted her to see him like this. Now... now she's seen him chained and collared like a dog. Humiliation and self loathing pooled in his gut.

Luffy stared in silence for a moment. Then she looked up and Sanji flinched in shock to see her eyes had turned the brilliant, hard gold of her Nika form.

Luffy didn't recognize the cuffs right away. It took her a few seconds, but the knee jerk feeling of wrongwrongwrong was instant. Then she felt an explosion of outrage from the presence of Nika at the back of her mind, and she suddenly remembered Keimi and the human auction house, and it slotted. Into. Place.

It was a slave collar. There was a bomb on his wrists, which could be detonated on a whim and take away his precious hands. There were slave collars on Sanji's wrists, bomb collars on Sanji's wrists someone had put slave collars on her Sanji.

“Who did this?” She asked flatly.

“What...?” Sanji asked hesitantly.

“Who. Put. These. On. You?” Luffy repeated slowly, rage boiling up in her until she felt like her body couldn't contain it. Sanji was staring wide-eyed at her, and she tried to reign in her Haki just in case he was getting buffeted by it. Tried. Her whole body was on fire, demanding that this heinous offence was punished and undone immediately.

“Father did,” Reiju interjected, causing Sanji to snap his head up and look at her in shock. “He...felt that they were necessary, and wouldn't hear otherwise.”

“What? You objected to-?” Sanji started, only to cut himself off when Luffy dropped his wrists, turned on one heel, and started walking up to the castle. “Luffy-!”

“Oi,” She said, silencing him immediately. “Your father's in there somewhere, right? I gotta talk to him for a minute.”

Chapter 7

Chapter Text

Luffy stormed through the halls of Germa castle, Gear Five buzzing right beneath her skin. The power was hot, pulsing like a heartbeat, begging to be unleashed in all its glory. She coiled it around herself like a long coat so it wouldn't spill out on the servants who scrambled to get out of her way or the dumb weak soldiers who tried to stop her at every other door.

She slammed their heads into the wall and kept walking, vaguely aware of Sanji hurrying after her and trying to say something she couldn't really hear over the roaring in her ears. She's pretty sure Kat and Reiju were following too but she hadn't paid enough attention.

When was the last time she'd been this filled with rage? Dressrosa, Marineford, Enies Lobby, Alabasta, Cocoyashi? Luffy seethed, unable to get the image of those f*cking collars out of her head. Slave collars, on Sanji.

She had used Gear Five sparingly since Marineford. Rayleigh and Shanks and Uncle Ed had all been very clear once she regained consciousness that her body wasn't nearly strong enough, back then, to sustain the immense power of the sun. That she needed to practice a lot more with her haki and to create a gear between three and five, so her would be able to use the power effectively without killing herself in the process. Luffy had listened, and she trained diligently and she came up with Gear 4 – she'd only broken out Gear 5 against Mingo when she saw him shoot Traffy when he was already down and badly injured, and on Fishman Island to stop the Noah from crash landing. It stung and hurt, and she's still strengthening herself to take it on fully, but right now none of that mattered.

Gear 5 was her peak; there was no need to use it most of the time, not after how hard she'd worked with Rayleigh and Boa. After all, why should she hunt rabbits with a canon?

But right now... Right now she wanted to use it and she couldn't resist the urge.

If Judge was capable of putting a slave collar on Sanji... how had he treated him before? What had he done to him before he left home for the East Blue?

Luffy increased her speed from a deliberate walk to a light jog. She'd been turned around a few times by the castle's winding hallways, but then she'd encountered a sweet lady from the kitchens named Colette who gave her much better directions than any of the foot soldiers so she's very close now. A minute later and she came up to the massive double doors to the throne room.

Luffy let a little more of Gear Five leak out, swung one leg back, and delivered a violent kick to the door. The wood and stone splintered and flew out of the frame to crash to the floor. Luffy heard a deepish voice cry 'what the hell?!' as she walked inside.

“Luffy, wait-” Sanji protested, catching up with her and putting a hand on her shoulder. Luffy shrugged him off, reminding herself to be gentle, and strode up to the two people who were in the room.

The first guy was about Sanji's height; red hair, emotionless posture, and identical to the comic's depiction of Sparking Red. Luffy kept him in her peripheral vision as she zeroed in on the older man who'd just jumped up from the throne. The guy was tall, and he carried himself like a king – King Walpol, that is, not Vivi's dad. He dressed in grays and blacks with an orange coat hanging mostly off of one shoulder; she could see flashes of metal and something else in the gaps of his clothes, some kind of body suit? Maybe. He was holding a spear that was at least as long as he was tall, and his face was angular and hard looking. His eyes weren't blue, but a very dark brown.

This guy was Sanji's dad...? Luffy couldn't see any trace of her cook in him as he puffed up his chest and stalked toward her, attempting to loom over her. The light that was always in Sanji's eyes isn't there; his passion, his warmth, the way his eyes would gleam when he tried a new recipe and they all loved it, the righteous outrage that burned from him when he saw something that offended his morals – Judge Vinsmoke's eyes were cold, hard and haughty. Every one of the man's muscles seemed to be straining to assert dominance over her. This was Sanji's dad? Impossible. He wasn't even like Old Man Zeff. She remembered the old cook's fierce brashness, how he loomed and exuded authority without much effort, as clear as if she met him yesterday.

Who did this man think he was?

“How dare you burst into my throne room! Who are you? Why didn't the guards stop you?” Judge demanded, clenching his spear.

“I'm Monkey D Luffy,” Luffy responded. Her voice came out the same way she spoke to Arlong the first time. “Are you Judge Vinsmoke?” Behind her, Sanji shivered, frozen to the spot.

Judge scoffed. “And why should I answer some girl who speaks so insolently to me?”

Ichiji stood up slowly. “That's the failure's captain, father.” The red haired boy said arily. Luffy twitched violently. Failure. Winch Green had said the same thing. “The holder of the Human-Human fruit Model: Nika. Victor at Marineford.”

Vinsmoke briefly looked shocked at the statement, then looked down at Luffy with an expression of pure, greedy calculation. “Oh? This is the girl they call the Sun Goddess? I hadn't realized she was so...young.” He hit the butt of his lance against the tiled floor. “Yes, I am the King of Germa! Judge Vinsmoke.”

“Then you're the one who put slave collars on my Sanji.” Luffy said slowly, punching her fist into her open palm. Her eyes began to glow molten gold. “Take. Them. Off. Now.”

Vinsmoke blinked twice. Then looked up scornfully at her cook, before making a dismissive sound. “I think not. He forgot his place; those are there to remind him of it.”

His place...his place?! Luffy punched the man square in the nose, shifting fully into Gear Five so she could apply as much strength to her fist as she could without killing the bastard. The cartilage shattered under her knuckles and Judge went flying backward, crashing through the throne. And wall behind it. And several walls after that.

Ichiji jolted in shock and immediately moved to attack her. Luffy nonchalantly bent her body in a crescent moon shape, causing him to go flying past her, then lashed out with one arm to catch him by the leg. Swinging him around like a flail, she bounced Sparking Red off the pillar and flung him directly after his father. Dropping to the ground to regain balance, Luffy launched herself through the openings in the wall after him.

The man met her about halfway, lance at the ready; Luffy wove around his strikes and dodged when he flew up overhead. Ichiji came at her from the side; she snapped one arm up and blackened it with Armament, catching his punch without even flinching. Shrinking herself into a small form, she grabbed his arm and darted between his legs, flipping him over 180 degrees so he crashed into the concrete right below his father's attack. Judge cursed and aborted at the last moment, and Luffy swung her leg as a whip and caught him in the stomach, sending him flying down the hallway.

“His place?!” She bellowed, her voice thundering with a reverberating echo from Nika. Judge crashed halfway through the wall and staggered to his feet, grabbing for his lance. “Sanji's place is at my side! Free! He's not your property!”

Judge glowered, then tapped his foot on the ground. Fire burst from them – there were jets in his boots? Right, he would have the same tech powers as Pink and the others. “He's a failure! A weakling!” He launched himself at her; and he was fast, sure, but not faster than Mingo or Kizaru.

Luffy evaded his strike by jumping over him and spun like a wheel. “Gum Gum BATTLE AXE!” Her heel slammed into the middle of his back and drove him down into the pavement until there was a decent-sized crater in the walkway. Ichiji was back on his feet and attacked her from behind; Luffy felt the impact of his fist and let that area of her body stretch, then snapped back to normal. It tossed the redhead away from her, sending him skidding backwards. Luffy whirled on him.

Judge hacked and wheezed as he scrambled to get up. “Niji! Reiju! Where are you?!” He bellowed as Luffy swung around Ichiji, evading his increasingly frustrated blows.

Sanji scrambled to the edge of the broken wall, staring at the scene with wide eyes. A few yards behind him, Reiju staggered and pressed one hand against her chest as the rest of her body immediately began to obey the order. She should have stayed further back, of course he's calling for reinforcements; her muscles are coiling for a fight and she can't relax, can't work around it, only give herself a throbbing headache. Frantic – you cannot make me fight to keep slave collars on Sanji, you can't! - she looked around and locked eyes with Big Mom's massive, unreadable son.

Katakuri stared at the first princess in surprise, because she was moving to obey her father, and yet – something in her expression is--

The brats scattered like terrified rodents when he strode out from around the corner. Too bad for them that one of them dropped the scissors they'd just used to forcibly sheer Pudding's bangs, telling him exactly what happened. Rage flared deeply in his chest, and it exploded out of him when his sister looked up at him, humiliated tears spilling from all three eyes. She flung herself at him for a hug, pleading 'you don't think I'm a freak, right?', and the brat's punishment is set in stone.

Katakuri launched some mochi at Reiju, trapping her feet and legs up to about mid thigh -- arresting her in place. He couldn't explain the impulse, or understand the briefly grateful look the pink-haired woman gave him before it vanished underneath a wry smile.

He pushed it all aside and strode forward, eyes fixed on his fiance as she unleashed pure, divine rage upon her opponents.

Luffy grabbed Judge's face in one hand and flung him into the wall, staggering him. She pressed her palm against his forehead and forced her other hand down his throat into his stomach, then blew her fist up like a balloon until she'd stretched the wannabe slaver into a wrecking ball. Gritting her teeth, she spun around and flung him out toward Ichiji. This blow sent the redhead flying off of the terrace to land somewhere in the docks, unconscious. Which is good, because he's not the one she needs to completely destroy at the moment.

That could change if he uses the word failure to refer to Sanji again. Gritting her teeth, Luffy began to slam Judge into the ground repeatedly like she was playing whack a mole at a festival. Cracking the pavement with his face, Luffy uttered a scream of pure rage before slamming the man into the dirt one more time before dropping him, retracting her fist back with a snap.

Judge rolled over, clutching the shaft of his lance. “You... you bitch...!” He charged her again.

Luffy warped her body into a massive, muscular valkyrie and stopped him by grabbing the weapon. Seething, she then kicked the man in the face to send him flying backward. “Sanji is not a slave!” She snarled, easily dancing around his follow up attack. “He is not a thing for you to use and discard! Give me the key to those collars before I take them from you!”

She launched one punch, then another, then another until she was firing a brutal Gatling into the man until she pounded him right into the floor. Her rage flowed freely through every punch, her fists a complete blur for a solid minute before ending the attack with a final slug to the gut that send Judge crashing a few yards backward to the ground, vomiting.

He tried to get up, but collapsed. Luffy blinked, frowning; was that it? Was that all he could throw at her? Wasn't this guy supposed to be the king of an evil empire? She waited for him to get up, bouncing in place, but the man just threw up again, spitting out blood.

Hissing out a sharp breath, Luffy dismissed Gear Five and relaxed her muscles. Crouching slightly like a gargoyle, she watched Judge slowly stagger to his feet, silently daring him to try something. His face is bruised and bleeding, his helmet is split apart, his lance got snapped in half at some point during her beatdown of him, and she's at least broken one of his legs judging by the look of it. Mingo was much harder to beat down than that, she thought, bemused. What the heck?

Shaking her head – it didn't matter, those bastard world nobles were slavers while also being weak little bastards after all – Luffy strode up to the man. “Where's the key?” She demanded coldly. “Give it to me, now.”

Judge spat up blood and looked sideways. “Katakuri...help me...!” He demanded. “Why aren't you defending your ally?!”

“I don't take orders from you.” Katakuri retorted flatly. “You're not my in laws yet.”

Luffy glanced sideways to see Katakuri and Sanji standing in the opening she'd created in the wall. Her maybe fiance was standing with his arms crossed and a very unimpressed expression on his face – he was oozing contempt, even with his mouth hidden underneath his scarf. Sanji's expression was full of emotion, blue eyes darting between her and the fallen king. She grinned at Katakuri, pleased and thankful; she'd rather they sparred on their own terms.

Returning her attention to Judge, she planted her heel on his chest and forced him onto the ground on his back. Then she started rustling around in the pockets of his coat, checking to see if he was keeping the key on him. Hopefully she hadn't broken it if he did; that would be embarrassing.

Fortunately, she was in luck – searching one of his inside coat pockets caused her fingers to bump into the familiar feeling (to Nika) of a metal key, and she wrenched it out. Making a pleased sound, she stepped off of Judge and walked back toward Sanji.

Judge wheezed miserably, rolling onto his side and watching in disbelieving fury as the sun goddess, the crowning jewel of any army, went to the side of the pathetic failure he's forced to call his son. “All this... over him?!” He spat out. “That brat is nothing... scum! My greatest shame!”

Luffy whirled around and swung her foot out, kicking him in the face and sending him plunging into unconsciousness. “You shut the hell up,” she growled, her eyes narrowing. When he didn't get up, she cooled her rage as much as she could before hurrying back toward Sanji.

Sanji felt like he was in a dream; a strange and beautiful one. In his entire life with his family, only Reiju had ever stood up for him, and then only in secret. No one had ever stopped the blows that rained down from Ichiji, Niji and Yonji, protested Judge's vicious rejections and abuse. But in his bleakest moment, Luffy had just done all that and more.

Luffy ran up to him, a smile of relief replacing her furious expression, and she brandished the key when she came to a stop. “I've got it!” She said. “Here, here, give me your wrists Sanji!”

The blonde couldn't speak. If he tried to vocalize what she'd just made him feel, he'd sweep her up in his arms and kiss her right in front of Katakuri. Instead he shakily raised his wrists, briefly looking over her shoulder to where Judge lay in a bloody heap on the ground. Germa soldiers were rushing to his side. He'd been vanquished, completely and utterly.

“Mother will like Judge to be presentable for wedding,” Katakuri said mildly. His tone was wholly uncritical despite his words; if Sanji was so bold, he thought the massive man was a little impressed.

“Then I hope his doctor is good at his job,” Luffy responded with an aggressive shrug, sliding the key into Sanji's shackles. Katakuri's lip twitched upward beneath his scarf, and he waved a hand, releasing Reiju from her temporary confinement back in the hallway.

Luffy gave the key a hard twist and the shackles snapped open, dropping to the ground. Nika buzzed in surprise in the back of her mind. Those were duds, the spirit whispered to her, surprised. Luffy started slightly, confused. Who put fake collars on someone who 'needed to learn their place'? He thought they were real, clearly. Someone went around him.

So Sanji had an ally in Germa? That was good. But as to the collar itself... it didn't matter. Slave collars were slave collars, even if they couldn't explode, and no one treated her cook like that.

Sanji uttered a shuddering breath when the second bracelet clattered harmlessly to the floor; he ran his hands gently over the now bare skin, a dazed smile on his face. He suddenly felt foolish, absurd, that he had been so afraid of his captain coming here – their circ*mstances now are still far from ideal, but freed from this bond at least, he remembered who he was. He was more than Judge Vinsmoke's cast off son. He was a Straw Hat, and his wonderful, beautiful Sunshine would destroy the world itself for his sake. If she was going to be the Pirate King, he couldn't cower in the face of mere nobles and emperors!

Luffy yipped when she was suddenly seized in a hug and swept off her feet, Sanji burying his face in her shoulder. “Oh, Sunshine...! Once again, you've come and saved me... I have never been worthy of you...” Sanji babbled, holding her close.

Her fist fell down firmly on his head; it was a mild whack, not nearly enough to cause pain, but it was nonetheless quite pointed. “Moron!” Luffy berated him, her voice not without warmth. Her small hands rub his shoulders as she firmly hugs back. “Nobody gets to decide that but me! Sanji, I can't become King of the Pirates without you. You're my cook. No one else.”

Sanji almost burst into tears at her resolute words. If he wasn't standing so close to Katakuri and Reiju, he almost certainly would have. Those words said everything about she thought his worth was; she thought him irreplaceable. The corners of his eyes burning painfully, he hugged Luffy tighter, getting a cute little squeak from her. “Thank you,” He whispered reverently, the pain in his heart lifting. “Thank you, thank you...”

“Hehehe...” Luffy laughed softly, her arms sliding around him gently and her small hands rubbed soft circles on his shoulders. “Silly Sanji. You were waiting for me to come, weren't you? I'll always come for you.”

Sanji's heart exploded with joy, and he forcibly prevented himself from kissing her. Katakuri's stare was a tangible thing now, and he slowly released his beautiful captain and took a step back. She grinned guilelessly at him, her eyes warm and caring and concerned for him. “I'm glad to see you.”

“I'll stay in contact with you the whole time. I know... I know I'm being a little selfish right now-”

“Oh, and are the rest of us chopped liver?” Marco rolled his eyes fondly, putting one hand on Ace's shoulder. The younger man was briefly startled before smiling shyly at him. “Relax, Captain. We can hold the fort for a few weeks while you go after our sweet little cousin. Hell, most of us would go with you if we could.” The other ten commanders all nodded seriously, thinking fondly of the wild girl they'd gotten to know in the celebrations after Marineford.

Ace smiled, the gesture slightly wobbly with relief and love for them. “Thank you. So much... If Teach or Weevile make another attack, call me immediately.” His new role made him much more hesitant to leave his crew behind to handle a matter, even one involving Luffy. But his brothers and sisters had accepted his plan almost before he'd finished debriefing them on the situation; he loves them so much.

Marco nodded, patting his shoulder again before stepping back. “You going to tell her this time, or are you still planning to use the big brother card?” He teased gently, if meaningfully.

Ace swallowed slightly, then glowered at his brothers when they all started snickering. “You guys are the worst,” he said dryly. “I'll figure it out.”

“So it's one of those plans,” Marco said in amusem*nt. Ace punched him in the shoulder without looking at him. “One more thing, Ace... once she's headed to Wano, you'll pass it along, right?”

A more serious look crossed Ace's expression. “Of course I will, Marco. Izo.” The seventh division commander's shoulders shivered at little, and he gave his new captain a grateful look. Ace gave him a solemn little smile; they both had promises to fulfill there, after all... “Alright. I'm headed out; hold the line.”

“Try not to set too much of Totland on fire!” Marco called after him as Ace turned and walked off. The ravenette rolled his eyes and picked up the pace, jumping down from the hill to the open beach below. This was about par for the course of that birdbrain's ideas of being a wingman; he'd been much worse on Saobody.

Sabo waiting for him there, one hand in his pocket and looking a little impatient. Waiting there with him was Karasu, looking a little long suffering. “Kept me waiting, Captain.” Sabo said chidingly.

“Screw you,” Ace retorted affectionately before giving the blonde a one-armed hug. Meeting him again when he'd gone to visit Luffy after training at Asteria Island had been one of the best moments of his entire life. Granted he'd wanted to punch Dragon in the face; if he wasn't such an absentee dad to Luffy up until now, they would have found out Sabo was alive years ago! But he'd also been the one to save Sabo's life, so Ace had reluctantly let go of the impulse. “Have you heard from Nami?”

“They're in Totland now, and Big Mom is actually consenting to giving Luffy a minuscule amount of time to get to know Katakuri before she tries to force a marriage.” Sabo said, sounding a little incredulous.

“She thinks it won't matter.” Ace stated, scowling. “Luffy's in her territory; if she says no, Linlin will just try to trap her there and force the issue.”

Sabo nodded in agreement and tossed Ace a long black overcoat with a hood. “Put that on; I'll give you a mask once we're closer.”

Ace arched an eyebrow, unfolding the dark fabric. “And that's going to make us less conspicuous?” He asked sarcastically.

“If you want to make it more than a hundred knots of that place without being recognized, Oh Emperor of Flame, then yes.” Sabo said, using the new epithet teasingly despite his equal dryness. “Or would you rather spend the next two weeks fighting off Linlin's entire family before even getting to see Lu?”

The ravenette huffed, but put the coat on and zipped it up before dropping his hat down his back, the string pressing gently against his throat. “Bring them on, I prefer a straight fight to sneaking around.” Asteria had reforged him so a statement like that wasn't foolish as it used to be.

Sabo smirked. “Barbarian.” He glanced sideways at Karasu and pointed skyward. “Let's get going, Karasu; the sun won't slow down for our sake.”

Karasu sighed deeply. “I am never playing poker with you again... never.” He rolled one arm and then transformed; Ace put his arm up as the man's figure dissolved into a massive murder of crows. Sabo grinned and grabbed his wrist, bringing him up onto one of the big raven's back before Karasu takes off, the fleet of bird forming a black cloud that concealed them within.

Ace cursed and pinwheeled his arms slightly as his sense of balance reoriented itself and he could sit up straight without feeling vertigo. He gave his brother a dirty look; Sabo just chuckled. “We'll get there in a day and a half,” The blonde told him.

“Good.” Ace exhaled and looked out at the ocean before them. There were storms everywhere across the horizon, typical of the New World, though he doesn't usually see it from this angle. It's beautiful in its savagery.

Sabo glanced sideways at him. “I'm going to tell her,” He told the ravenette conversationally, if slightly gently. “Maybe not right away, but...” He lets the sentence hang, to see if the conversation will continue or be quietly rebuffed.

Ace understands, his shoulders twitching slightly. “We promised a long time ago she wouldn't tear us apart,” he said quietly.

“You're not going to say anything?” Sabo asked, faintly incredulous.

Ace's shoulders hunched up a bit. “Shut it! She's called me 'big brother' for years and years. What will she even think if I say that I...” he bit his bottom lip hard. “I... what if she can't feel that way about me? If she finds it repulsive, I – I can't face that, Sabo.”

Sabo's expression softened just a little. Usually Ace's reticence to talk about the depth of his emotions about their raven-haired beloved drove him a little spare; his brother was usually so brash and fearless that it was a little infuriating to see him so nervous. But... he could understand this fear. He'd be lying if he said it never worried him, after all. “Luffy will never find you repulsive. You know her.”

Ace didn't respond, though his lip twitched upward slightly.

“I know I'm going to regret throwing my hat in this ring...” Karasu said somewhat dryly, his voice bouncing between the many ravens. “But what are you two going to do if Luffy decides for whatever reason that she wants to marry this guy?”

There's a moment of uncomfortable silence between the brothers as they ponder the possibility and reluctantly acknowledged that it did exist. Then Sabo shrugged and aggressively cheerfully said, “then I guess we'll end up being joint husbands.” Ace sputtered and yanked his hat down, his cheeks absolutely on fire. “What? Roger had multiple husbands, and sometimes I think Luffy is her actual child instead of you.”

“D – can we please not bring my mother into this?!” Ace protested, flustered.

“Why?” Sabo said. “I thought I recalled you saying that surgeon who saved her was 'a little cute', or were you just in a happy haze over him saving her?”

“I will shove you off this bird.”

“So you do have something in common with her after all.”

“Sabo!”

Karasu groaned; he could already tell this was going to go on for a while. Why did I open my big, fat beak? The revolutionary commander berated himself silently as the brother's back and forth grew louder. I know better by now, so why? ... Luffy, please do marry him so I can get a break from this gremlin occasionally.

Chapter 8

Chapter Text

“A slave collar?!” Big Mom repeated between stuffing her mouth with muffins. Luffy nodded, aggravated at the reminder, and the huge woman burst into an incredulous fit of laughter. Nami flinched slightly, while neither Katakuri nor Pudding looked fazed. “What an imbecile! No pirate Captain worth being called one would let such an insult slide, much less Nika! Is he still alive?”

“Yup,” Luffy responded, sipping from the tea offered to her. It's really sweet; she's in a sweet, candy wonderland!

“You're more magnanimous than I would have been in your place,” Big Mom said with what almost sounded like something resembling approval, though of course she followed that up with, “people will think you're soft if you take that tact.”

Luffy could only shrug, more interested in the confections on the table than an old lady lecturing her on how to be a pirate. Her only concern had been that she might have caused problems for Sanji's sis, but Linlin's irritation at Reiju subbing in for her father at the tea party seems to have been mollified. Luffy was pretty sure she shouldn't trust it, but she'd accept it for what it was for now. This tea party was awkward enough as it was.

Big Mom towered over everyone in the room, her massive chair overshadowing the large round table where she's seated. It was the largest table Luffy had ever seen, and she's pretty sure it's made entirely of sugar – she'd given it a lick and her eyes nearly crossed! Sitting around the table are Reiju, Sanji, Pudding, Brooke, Nami, Chopper, Katakuri and herself; Katakuri was sitting at her left and Nami at her right, while Sanji and Pudding were across from her. And those were the guests she recognized; there were a few more of Big Mom's children there, and a bird guy named Morgans who was constantly taking pictures of her.

What was even up with that? Did the sundress and red sweater that Nami had thrown at her to wear that morning look strange on her or something? Warriors weren't usually pretty, yeah, lord knew she'd heard that more than enough in her life, but it wasn't that weird, was it?

Luffy didn't know what to make of it so she pretty much ignored the guy as he rambled about 'Big News!'. Which wasn't hard, given the other...eccentricities of the party.

The table was piled high with treats and pastries of all kinds, which would be amazing if they didn't all talk, sing, and scream in horror when eaten. Nami and Chopper had had to quickly squash their horrified expressions when they first saw Big Mom chow down on some donuts that had simultaneously been weeping with fear and asking her if they tasted good, then rapidly plastered pleased grins on their faces and made themselves eat when the Emperor glanced their way and asked if something was wrong.

Luffy hadn't thought anything could interfere with a good sweet binge, but... she'd piled her plate high and she's only two thirds of the way through it. She'd never eaten something that was conscious enough to beg her to stop; it was extremely uncomfortable. She'd rather be outside and eating the houses or drinking from the chocolate fountains.

Whenever she was trying to distract herself from the...oddities of her food, she found herself staring at Pudding. Sanji's fiance. She's a slender, perfectly feminine woman; she isn't willowy and pure muscle the way Luffy was, she isn't all scarred up from pirate life despite being one of the Big Mom Pirates, her eyes are wide and expressive and kind and her long brown hair is nicely styled. She's attentive to Sanji across the tea party, offering him various treats and bashfully admitting to having baked a decent number of them herself.

She seemed really nice. So why did looking at her make Luffy feel mad and upset? It bubbled unpleasantly in her stomach when she watched Pudding talk to Sanji, like she'd gotten food poisoning. They were well matched! This is a good thing! She'd have to clear out rooms for her and Katakuri on the Sunny, just in case they end up getting married...

Her chest squeezed really hard at the thought, and she didn't understand why. Luffy blinked hard and promptly shoved a cupcake into her mouth; distraction, she needs a distraction... these were pretty good treats. Pudding's a good chef...

Nope, need to find something else to think about. “Hey lady,” Luffy piped up after swallowing, looking up at Big Mom. Nami gave her some pretty intense side-eye at that. “Is there anywhere around here that people can spar at?”

Big Mom arched an eyebrow. “Of course. My children need to practice, after all. The New World devours those who become complacent.”

“Cool,” Luffy said, before turning to face Katakuri and clapping her hands together. “Hey Kat, let's fight after this! I wanna see how strong you are for myself.”

He blinked at her, and she thought he might be smiling underneath his scarf. He hasn't taken it off since she met him yesterday, as far as she knows; it looks really cool, but doesn't it get hot occasionally? His eyes are expressive, though, and not hard to read. “Very well,” he said noncomittally.

Luffy beamed and pivoted toward Reiju. “You can come to, Reji!” She offered hopefully.

Reiju blinked, the only concession she made to the very startled look in her blue eyes. It lasted about a second before she replaced it with a neutral smile; dang, that was fast. It sort of reminded Luffy of Nami, way back before they fought Arlong and she was hiding her plans – and her pain – behind a teasing, playful attitude. “I would loathe to intrude on time between you two,” she said politely.

“That's fine, you can join us afterward. I've started reading the Sora comics and the Germa stories are super neat!” Nami looked like she wanted to bash her head into the table, while Chopper smiled a little awkwardly. “I wanna see what you can really do! You're so cool in the comic.”

Reiju giggled slightly, touching her lips with two fingers. “Ah, Sora... father finds the comics quite vexing, but I'll admit to being a little fond of them; odd though it is to read about a mimic of yourself.”

Big Mom uttered a loud laugh that rattled the room. “You're father should develop a sense of humour!” The Emperor chuckled merrily. “Good plan, a very good plan... once you're married, you'll be fighting together whenever the situation demands it.” Luffy resisted the urge to object to the woman treating the marriage like a done deal when she hasn't agreed to it yet; Traffy had said several times to 'tread carefully' around her. “The princess will learn something from observing you. Katakuri is the strongest of my many, mighty children; utterly undefeated in every battle he's participated in!”

Nami and Chopper wordlessly pivot to stare uneasily at Katakuri, who declined to brag or preen at his mother's praise. Luffy's vision snapped back to her maybe-fiance, fascinated. “Really?!” She prodded; that was really impressive if it was true.

“...You flatter me, mother.” Katakuri demured; it didn't escape Luffy that it wasn't quite an answer.

“Nonsense, I speak the truth.” Big Mom responded haughtily.

“Oooh...” Luffy made a little excited noise. Remembering what Rayleigh said about how Haki could only increase in power in battle against another person capable with it... she and Katakuri could really help each other!

“It's a match made in the heavens!” Big News Morgan crowed, only somewhat putting his energy on. “The Sun Goddess is marrying... ah, the whole world would come to your doorstop if you would allow them, Mama!”

“Eh?!” Luffy sputtered, snapped out of her happy thoughts. “Why the hell would I want the whole world to be at my wedding?! What a bunch of weirdos! The only people I'd want there would be my family and the other family!”

“Ah yes...family,” Big Mom said, a leer forming on her face. Luffy slowly turned to meet her eyes, feeling the temperature in the room drop slightly. “I apologize that I can't fully accommodate you in that regard... I heard you grew up with Gol D Ace, yes? Though there's no blood between you.” There's a bloody red light in her eyes when she said that name, rage seething inside her at the memory of a certain mocking note she'd found taped to her precious red poneglyph. f*cking Roger...! Now that she knew, she couldn't look at the brat's wanted poster without seeing the bitch's features in him, like she was taunting Linlin from beyond the grave.

She wanted him dead very badly.

“He goes by Portgas,” Luffy corrected, frowning. “But yeah, we did.”

“Mmm...well, I'm afraid he can't enter Totland, nor that old man Garp.” Big Mom swirled her glass of wine lazily. “The Whitebeards and the Marines are my family's sworn enemies... there's too much bad blood that's been spilled for my people to be comfortable having them here. I'm sure they're displeased about your future union... I hope that you're prepared for future -- difficulties -- on that front.”

Luffy's spine stiffened as she processed that statement for a minute, eventually figuring out what Big Mom was teasing her about... If she married Katakuri, the Emperor expected her to fight on her side against Ace and Gramps. To...treat them as her enemies. Fight them like she'd fought the Admirals at Marineford...

Rage bubbled up in her like a pressure cooker, hot and unbelievable. Nami and Chopper were both giving her wide-eyed looks, her navigator frantically waving her hand on the table, don't rise to it, she's baiting you, Sanji was staring steadily at her with concern in his eyes, and Luffy fought to just breathe. Can't punch her, can't start a fight here, it would put her nakama in danger...!

The gall of this old hag...!

“Then again, I suppose you wouldn't expect much from Garp, after he betrayed you at Marineford.” Big Mom continued, taking a drink and acting as though she was making casual small talk. Katakuri's eyes darted between her and his fiance, trying to find some way to break into the conversation and redirect it. “He was going to watch Gol be executed, despite having raised him... what a coward. He betrayed the Marines by raising the boy, but he wasn't willing to stop playacting when he was caught? Haha... when you've become a parent, one should be committed.”

“Don't talk about him like that,” Luffy muttered, gripping the edge of the table. The heavy sugar whined under the pressure.

Big Mom glanced down at her. “Eh? What? Did I say something wrong?” She asked with both sarcasm and false sincerity.

Brook flicked the strings of his guitar, which he'd insisted on bringing with him to the meal for reasons known only to himself. Like magic, everyone paused and turned toward him. “Young lady,” he addressed Big Mom casually. “I've been accosted by some crowds of your civilians on the way here who recognize me from my days preforming. They've been earnestly pleading for me to play for them, and I was wondering if a proper concert could be set up with your permission.”

The Emperor's eye twitched at the manner he'd chosen to address her, before melting into something more thoughtful – hungry for ways to show off what she believes is her newest acquisitions. Luffy breathed out and stared daggers into the table, trying to will herself to relax.

“I think that would be wonderful, Mama!” Pudding chipped in, having gone a little pale when her mother started speaking and jumping on the lifeline provided with both hands. “I enjoyed the Soul King's music quite a lot; in fact, why not have him conduct the orchestra at the wedding as well? I've never heard anything better!”

“There's an idea,” Sanji said, blinking rapidly. Law might be able to do something with that, should they have to fight their way out of the wedding itself.

Luffy managed to force a smile. “Brook is the best musician there is,” she agreed amiably.

“Hmm...I suppose that would be interesting,” Big Mom decided after a moment. “I never heard any of those concerts myself.”

Pudding excitedly started to talk about a venue, rehearsals and getting Brook some backup singers, and about halfway through the rambled conversation, Luffy and the others sans Sanji and the skeleton musician himself are given permission to leave the room. Luffy snatched a final cupcake and tried to leave the room without making her aggravation obvious.

She's not very good at that.

“How does anyone on this island still have their teeth...?” Law wondered as he walked down the backstreets of another chocolate and gingerbread down, Pedro at his heels. After a few hours of sneaking around the previous day and today, he's finally gotten enough local information and some reliable maps to feel confident starting to plan out escape routes for when Big Mom inevitably springs her trap.

As painful as trying to plan around Luffy is, when he still can't figure out if she's sincerely letting Katakuri try to woo her – or if the man has any chance at succeeding.

“Good dentists, I presume.” Pedro said slightly shortly. “We're almost back – ah, guards are coming.”

Law muttered something under his breath and promptly swapped their position with that of a few passersby a road over. The foot soldiers were out in force thanks to the upcoming wedding, which was part of the reason this took so long – sneaking around them was irritating, especially with limited use of his devil fruit powers lest he give himself away. The permanently sweet smell in the air was only outmatched by the syrup rain in how insufferable it was; he felt compelled to rinse his mouth out whenever he had the chance.

There wasn't much respite in the hotel that the Straw Hats had been put up in – while the structure itself was made of wood and stone, which saved them from waking up to discover that Luffy had devoured the wall to her room, but the beds, dressers and other furniture was all made of gingerbread held together by thick icing.

Needless to say, they'd had to request replacements for basically everything twice times already.

Nami was threatening to put Luffy on an all vegetable diet until they found Raftel if she ran up a bill with the interior decoration store, and Law was pretty sure that was the only time in their entire acquaintance he'd seen the sun goddess look legitimately terrified. Including at Marineford.

Returning to the bronze painted building through a back alley, Law looked up at the third floor and tossed a stone against it. After about twenty seconds the frame slid up and Nami peered out over the edge; she sighed in relief and waved at them. “Oh, there you are. Get in, quick.”

She didn't have to tell him twice. Law opened a Room and Shambled himself and then Pedro into the obnoxiously brightly colored bedroom; it's painted to look like the top of an elegant cake covered in jelly beans. Nami immediately closed the window and pulled the heavy purple curtains down before running to the door. “Can you hear anyone, Carrot?” She asked the mink urgently, looking up and down the hall before closing the door and locking it.

“Nope.” Carrot shook her head vigorously. “We're alone for now.”

“What a relief...” Chopper groaned. “I was worried she'd have somebody watching us all the time.”

Law looked around the room and frowned; somebody fairly important was absent, as well as Brook. “Where's Lu – Straw Hat?” He asked.

Nami winced. “The Tea Party was... a little difficult,” she said uncomfortably. A chill ran down her arms at the reminder, and she rubbed her tattoo subconsciously.

Law's eye twitched, alarm bubbling in his chest. “Difficult how?” He demanded.

“Big Mom tried to get a rise out of Luffy, and it almost worked.” Chopper responded, flopping down on the ground and looking a little haunted – no doubt imagining what they might have just narrowly avoided. “So she left with Katakuri to do some sparring matches with him. They'll be gone for...a while, I think.”

Sanji blew out a puff of smoke, looking troubled. “Better that she vent her anger in training than the alternative.”

Law nodded sharply in agreement, even as he scowled. Knowing how fiery Luffy's temper was when provoked, he just counted his blessings that she'd managed to keep it all in instead of reacting. A very rare show of restraint from her... he reminded himself to thank Red Haired Shanks someday. “I see.”

“Big Mom doesn't regard anyone as equals, except maybe Kaido.” Pedro said, and there's a faint undercurrent of bitter experience in his voice. “Her ultimate desire is for Luffy – Nika – to be her subordinate and her weapon. She'd need to tremendously break down her will to make such a thing even possible without hostages; it's our fortune that the Revolution is securing your home islands in the East Blue from her assassins.”

“Truly?” Sanji blurted out, eyes widening.

Nami gave him a concerned look. “Yeah; I called Sabo and he assured me that it's taken care of. Sanji, were you told-?”

“My...birth father,” Sanji bit out the words, “told me that if I didn't acquiesce to the marriage, he would have the old geezer killed. I have absolutely no doubt he'd carry out his threat if he felt provoked, so I'd resigned myself to... the Baratie is safe? Truly?”

Nami nodded firmly, and the blonde-haired chef almost collapsed in pure relief, what looked like a lifetime's worth of stress leaving his shoulders. “Thank goodness...they're all safe... I might kiss that man if I see him again.” Sanji babbled, ashing his cigarette.

Carrot giggled softly, her eyes shining with happiness. “Luffy-chan has so many allies,” she said.

“It's her superpower.” Nami mused. “She doesn't try to convince anyone of anything; she just follows her heart and her gut, and people get drawn to her like moths to a flame.”

Law snorted quietly; knowing damn well he was one of said moths, he instead said, “Nami, you have the White Den Den on you, yes? Has anyone seen it?”

“Of course not, who do you take me for?” Nami responded, almost sounding offended. She walked over to one of the drawers and opened it, withdrawing a small box habitat and returning to the circle on the carpet. Sliding the box open revealed the white snail Law had stolen some time ago. “Where did you even find one of these? The World Government tries to keep them all to itself.”

“Same place I got the Polar Tang,” Law responded easily before starting to dial up his first mate. Sanji straightened up and became serious again as the snail began to ring. The dialing sound made Law wish for the Calm Calm fruit; a familiar old pain twisted in his stomach at the errant thought.

It only rang a few times before the clack of a pickup made everyone relax. “Captain?” Bepo's warm, caring voice echoed from the other end. “Is that you?”

“Yes, it's me.” Law said, letting out the little breath he hadn't realized he was holding. “We're in Totland, and the Straw Hats have met with both the Vinsmokes and Big Mom. Status update, Bepo.”

“Oh, so everything's gone smoothly so far. Thank goodness,” Bepo sighed, and Law elects not to tell him about Luffy beating Judge unconscious immediately after meeting him until later. “We've landed in Wano. Robin and Kin'emon have started finding jobs and identities for everyone to slip into society unnoticed; ah, let me go get them for you-” The snail phone was briefly abandoned as the mink rushed out, calling for the Samurai and Straw Hats.

“They made it,” Nami said in relief. “I wish Luffy was here for this; I'll have to catch her up later. She's going to sulk a lot.”

“Well, we'll just make sure she doesn't miss the next one.” Sanji responded, looking a little amused.

There's a sound of a lot of footsteps on the other end of the call. “Sanji! Sanji, is that you?!” Ussop's excited voice echoed in the room.

“Sanji!” Franky cheered. “You're in one piece! I mean, you are right? The Evil Empire didn't treat you too badly, did they? Do we need to crush some skulls?!”

“It's very good to hear your voice, Sanji-san.” Robin said warmly, her voice joining the kerfuffle moments later. The snail spasmed a little as it tried to figure out who's facial features it wants to emulate with half a dozen people fighting over the receiver. “We've been worried.”

“Speak for yourself,” Zoro groused, his irritated voice hiding his genuine relief. “Good to hear you didn't give Luffy any trouble, sh*t cook.”

“You're hilarious,” Sanji retorted instantly, more out of habit than anything. A shaky smile crossed his lips at the barrage of familiar voices, and he quickly put a hand over his mouth to suppress his joy at his crewmate's happiness upon hearing his voice. “I'm – I'm fine, all factors considered.”

“Oh, what a relief!” Ussop cheered. “We've been so worried.”

“Where's Luffy?” Zoro asked, the transponder snail frowning slightly. “I thought we'd hear her voice by now.”

Nami sighed. “She's venting some anger at Big Mom in a training area with Katakuri.” She explained succinctly what happened during the tea party. The temperature in the room dropped about two degrees; it was tangible.

“I'm pleased Luffy managed to stay calm,” Robin murmured, the first to speak. “Temper runs so fiercely in her family, though Dragon's runs much colder than hers.” The crew knew how easy Luffy was to rile up; the Davy Back fight she'd gotten them stuck in was just one of many examples. Law only had to think of her reaction to Caesar and what he'd done to the children at Punk Hazard for a reminder, himself.

“This is such a bad idea...” Ussop groaned. “Why didn't we just call up Dragon or Shanks or her two terrifying grandfathers-” Law's shoulder twinged a little at the memory of Fleet Admiral Zephyr crashing down upon the island where Doflamingo had sprung his trap on him, ready to fight him and his government minion Fujitora in the name of True Justice. “-tell them that Luffy is getting married, and then run away as fast as we can?”

Nami sighed longingly at the thought. “Luffy won't give up a fight with the Emperors,” Franky responded, rather needlessly in Law's opinion. “Even if they do show up, she's gonna stick around to get her punches in, especially after this.”

Ussop groaned pitifully. Law wondered why he was still so anxious and fearful after being instrumental in Doflamingo's downfall; few better snipers existed in the world, the Surgeon of Death could say that fairly confidently now. “Those four might learn about this,” He spoke up, “if 'Big News' Morgan decides that this is worthy of being on the front page for all four Blues.”

“Morgan? You mean the bird guy from the tea party?” Chopper asked in confusion. “I thought he was just some newspaper guy?”

“Not some newspaper guy, Chopper-ya; Morgan is in charge of the news that spreads across the world. Only the World Government itself has a bigger influence on what the world sees, hears and believes to be true.” Law corrected the younger doctor.

“Hard to get bigger news than the 'Sun Goddess' possibly marrying,” Franky noted sourly. “Especially if he writes it up and presents it like it's a done deal.”

“You've got to be kidding me,” Zoro bit out, his voice hard with annoyance.

“Morgan is Linlin's guest,” Law acknowledged. “There's a chance he won't publish anything yet if she doesn't want him too, but the possibility exists.” Hot, boiling annoyance lanced through him at that thought. Luffy's marriage being proclaimed without her consent when she hadn't decided anything and he wasn't the groom- “But put a pin in that for now and tell me how you're going to integrate into Wano, and when we can expect your next call.”

Kin'emon spoke up then, and for the next thirty minutes he and Law debated, shared information, and began delivering some basic orders to the Supernova Alliance in Wano. The most important one, of course, being that secrecy was paramount; Kaido and the Shogun Orochi could not be made aware of their presence until everything and everyone needed for the uprising was prepared. Otherwise, everyone was to learn as much as they could, try to gather support with Kozuki loyalists and those who wanted to escape Kaido's despotic rule, and wait for the Sanji Extraction Team (as Luffy had named them) to arrive on the shores.

Law was tempted to suggest Zoro find a travel buddy for safety's sake, but he knew it would only rile the other swordsman up and that he was already quite talented at giving his crew the slip entirely by accident.

“Hey Sanji, Luffy asked Reiju to come spar with her and Katakuri.” Nami remembered suddenly, once Law had finished giving Bepo his orders for his crew and the Straw Hats reluctantly hung up. “Can you tell us a little about your sister?”

Sanji's expression twisted with a rictus of complicated emotions. “I... can't say that I know her very well. Even before I fled Germa,” He admitted quietly, taking Law off guard.

He didn't know his sister? Lami flashed through his mind, how she'd always been in his peripheral vision, how she'd stay in his room for hours chattering happily at him while he studied medical textbooks and begged him to come out to festivals with her. The idea of her being a stranger to him was so anathema, it left him dumbfounded, even drowning out the twinge of pain he felt at her memory.

The cook drew out a new cigarette, heedless of the closed windows, and fumbled with his lighter a few times before he managed to get it lit. “Reiju...was the closest I had to an ally in my father's house, after my mother died.” Sanji said slowly, sitting back against the dresser. “Judge has no love for me, never has; when I was a child, I didn't demonstrate the kind of super human strength that my brothers and sister possess, and I didn't have their temperament either. My brothers are cruel and vindictive; I served not as their brother but their training dummy with that man's tacit approval.”

Nami's mouth fell open in shock, and she and Chopper's horrified stares drilled into Sanji. Pedro gave the chef a comparatively softer sympathetic look, while Carrot's face was full of disbelief. “Reiju would find me and patch me up whenever I was alone.” Sanji said, his mouth twisting. “She told me she was sufficiently terrified of joining my ignoble position in the family that she pretended to go along with their loathing and disdain for me in public. She was the closest to mother, other than me; yet she didn't cry at her funeral for fear of showing weakness.”

Something ugly twisted in Law's gut; a feeling he knew well, and associated with blonde hair and sunglasses. With fatal gunshots in a snowswept landscape. His grip on Kikoku tightened, his knuckles slowly going white.

“She never defended me to them! Never stepped between me and my brothers when they beat me,” Sanji said vehemently, old pain audible in his voice. Not understanding why the only person who showed him a modicum of kindness wasn't willing to do any more than just that. “And yet, when Judge banished me to a cell in the castle to waste away my entire life, it was Reiju who broke me out and helped me escape over the Red Line into the East Blue. When Luffy demanded to know who -” one hand shot to his bare wrists “-had put me in this position she found so offensive, Reiju pointed her at Judge without missing a beat. I don't know why, she did not say or imply anything even when I asked.”

Sanji breathed out a cloud of smoke, squeezing his lighter. “I don't know her, Nami-swan.” He said quietly. “But I don't think she'd make much of an ally, and I don't think we should risk telling her much. Why would she defend me now?”

“Sanji...” Nami looked lost, one hand over her mouth. Remembering her own sister, how Nojiko had gotten a sawfish tattoo so she would feel less alone those painful years working for Arlong.

“You say your brothers were superhuman at birth,” Law prodded – somewhat gently, by his standards, yet it still netted him death glares from the two other Straw Hats. “In the Sora comics, the King of Germa calls his children perfect creations of science. Is that why?”

Sanji snorted. “It's called Lineage Factor.” He said. “That man's most prized success outside of my brothers, no doubt. It makes the person its used upon superhuman in strength, speed, reaction time, everything, and it works in perfect tandem with the Raid Suits.”

“Didn't seem to stop Luffy from breaking the ground with Sparking Red's face!” Chopper jumped in, his eye sharp with anger.

Sanji chuckled, a little tension going out of his shoulders immediately. A familiar stab of jealousy pierced Law's gut. “It's not fair to compare Sunshine to mere mortal men,” he said with a small, but genuine, smile. “Against most opponents, Ichiji would not be so completely embarrassed.”

“Well, 'Sunshine' has taken a shine to your sister, if she's inviting her to spar.” Nami pointed out. “Luffy is a decent judge of character.”

“Or she's just so overwhelming that her stubbornness and confidence bowls anyone she takes interest in into submission,” Law deadpanned, even though he agreed with the navigator. “Which means we'd best unravel the secrets of Poison Pink, lest she make this ridiculous situation we're in even more complicated.”

Sanji looked conflicted for a moment, before nodding. “You're right.”

Law felt a jab of excitement; a ready made excuse to shadow the real Poison Pink and learn her secrets... the idea of speaking to her made his heart almost flutter, which made him rapidly try to shake the emotions off and keep his face stoic. He could handle this; he could speak to her like a normal f*cking human being.

Maybe his Luffy would decide she liked her enough to drag her onto their crew. He might fall in love with her a second time if – no no no, don't think about that! He will not let himself turn into a schoolboy over this!

Chapter 9

Chapter Text

Luffy stomped down the road after Katakuri, grumbling ferociously to herself. If Kat minded how obviously pissed off at his mother she was, he wasn't voicing it, merely showing her in the way in relative silence. It wasn't too uncomfortable, but it didn't escape Luffy's notice that the people they did walk by gave them a wide berth.

Luffy didn't do well with silence; eventually, her need for a conversation overcame her aggravation, and she sighed. “Are we close?” She asked.

“It's only a minute's walk from here,” Katakuri responded, his voice steady. His bearing reminded her a little bit of Zoro; how he radiated calm and confidence, how nothing rattled him. “I apologize for that.”

“Why are you you sorry?” Luffy asked, her brow wrinkling. “You didn't do anything.”

Katakuri's shoulders twitched slightly at that. Her words had struck on something sensitive, Luffy realized, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out what. “What are the terms of a sparring match with you?” He inquired instead, brushing past the topic. “I can't promise that you won't get some sizable bruises.”

Briefly surprised by the question, Luffy giggles, her shoulders relaxing. “Shishishishi! It wouldn't be much of a spar if I was worried about bruises!” She said cheerfully. “I'd be really embarrassed if you treated me like a china doll!”

Katakuri glanced sideways at her, his lip curling upward slightly. “Good. Personally, I'd prefer it if you didn't turn me into a balloon like you did to Vinsmoke.” The sight had been more than a little jarring, though he'd seen more grotesque things in his life; the sheer wrongness of it struck like a tolling bell.

“Eh? Oh, I don't use Gear 5 outside of serious fights.” Luffy responded. Katakuri arched an eyebrow at her, so she amended, “I'm not supposed to use it for anything but serious fights; he really pissed me off, though, so I wanted to make a point.” She put her hands in her pockets. “Gear 5 takes a lot of energy and it's a lot of power. It's important that I can fight a good fight before I have to use it.”

Sensible. A bit more sensible than Katakuri expected from this wild girl, honestly. Everything he knew about her and everything she demonstrated since her arrival was that of someone who acted first and thought things through maybe never. I shouldn't be so surprised, Katakuri thought chidingly. She broke into and out of Impel Down with half an army's worth of prisoners assisting her cause, all without her crew's assistance.

“I see. That is acceptable,” he said simply. He was confident he could defeat her if she wasn't using her full power.

Luffy smiled that big, sunny, guileless grin of hers at him, pleased. He keeps looking for something behind that smile, searching for any trace of deceit or the sugar-coated malice that he knew so well, and there's just nothing. She's so innocent, it almost feels like a trap. What Big Mom wanted Pudding to be, only effortless and seemingly sincere.

Sincerity was deadly.

Katakuri squared away the odd feeling in his chest, pushing it deep inside his mind. “This way,” he said gruffly, turning right and leading Luffy out of the edge of town and toward a large open field braced on all sides by iron fences. The ground was hard packed dirt, showing signs of activity from just that morning; there was a wooden shed nearby, holding practice weapons, bottled water and a few shower stalls. Very practical, compared to the sugary indulgence Totland was largely constructed of. He preferred it for that very reason.

Luffy made a pleased sound and picked up the pace, running up to the iron wrought gate. Katakuri opened the door and they both entered; he walked over to one of the side benches and removed his leather coat, dropping it on the hard wood. “Are you ready?” He asked calmly, turning around.

Luffy pivoted to face him, grinning. She'd changed out of her sundress for her usual clothes, saying she hadn't wanted to damage Nami's loans; for some reason Katakuri felt a twinge of irrational disappointment at that he did not understand. “I'm always ready,” she said, excitement rumbling in her voice.

Katakuri relaxed into a fighting stance, then blurred forward. She dodged his first punch with a hiss of steam, dropping into Gear 2 in the blink of an eye. “Whoa!” Luffy yelped, she nearly got hit by that! So fast... oooh, this was gonna be fun!

She tried to punch him, Katakuri simply let his body turn to mochi and blunt the blow without effort. Luffy skittered backward. “You ate a devil fruit!” she realized.

“Did you even look at my wanted poster before you came to meet me?” Katakuri wondered, completely bemused. How did she not already know this?

“I wanted to get to know you myself.” Luffy responded, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Casual and confident. “I don't care what other people say; when I meet people, I trust my heart. So show me yours!” Moving in a flash of light, she charged him again. Katakuri blocked and pushed her off to the side, that strange feeling in his chest increasing.

Luffy hadn't had this much trouble in spars with someone since she, Ace and Sabo were kids. She kept getting knocked down and Kat didn't look like he was exerting himself much; she had to use Gear 2 just to keep up with him. He was fast, easily faster than Mingo and matching Kizaru at the least, and everything he didn't dodge he tanked. Going all out was not really the purpose of a spar, but Luffy steadily used more and more power to keep even with him, testing his limits. He met her every time.

This was amazing!

The thrum of excitement bubbling in her chest was all consuming. She forgot all about that crappy tea party and about Judge and his sh*tty sons as she threw herself enthusiastically against his fists, blackened with Armament Haki now as she kept pushing him. How many rounds had this been going on now? Not enough; oh, it was like sparring with Boa and her sisters! Luffy had missed this!

She could spar with Zoro or Robin on the Sunny, but she didn't learn quite the same when facing a swordsman and Robin wasn't as physically durable as Boa. Which was fine, she was awesome and powerful in her own right, but Luffy had spent two years bruising her knuckles and every other part of her body training with Rayleigh, Boa, and her sisters on Amazon Lily and having to pull her punches kind of undercut the experience for her.

But then again, she'd been pretty spoiled while she was there! Boa always had time for her.

“Empress, aren't you getting hungry at least?” The old woman asked, looking faintly consternated. “You've been at this since sunrise.”

“Quiet,” Boa said loftily, turning elegantly on her heel to face Luffy as if the mere idea of food was inconsequential. Her expression was full of concentration, her cheeks colored a bright red from exertion – at least, Luffy assumed that's what it was, no matter how much Boa looked at her with stars in her eyes. “My Luffy's haki is improving. Do not disturb us until she is satisfied!”

The arena where Luffy had originally been brought to fight for her life was a gigantic mess, with debris from the spar everywhere and the stands in a sorry shape. Those girls who had come to admire the practice battles between their empress and the sun goddess had learned to climb trees a decent distance from the area to observe safely. Margeruite and Sandrosia were sitting on one of the remaining benches, giving their sister identical pitying looks.

“I don't mind stopping for food,” Luffy said, dropping out of her combat stance. She hasn't had anything since breakfast!

“We will, in good time,” Boa replied placatingly, pressing her hands together. They turn a shimmering black, a sight the ravenette has become quite familiar with now. “You're close to a breakthrough, my dearest, do not be distracted yet!”

“But I'm hungry,” Luffy protested with puppy eyes. Boa would have fainted dead away at being the subject of such a gaze a few weeks ago, and her passionate love spent a few seconds violently butting heads with her determination to pass mastery of Armament Haki onto the other girl.

“We can eat as soon as you've accomplished this,” Boa managed after a few seconds of internal struggle. Luffy pouted – almost giving the Warlord a heart attack! -- but readied herself nevertheless. “Now come!”

Katakuri was easily as tough as Boa, maybe even a little tougher; or maybe it was the mochi fruit he'd eaten that made him so hard to get around. Though Luffy had amused herself by pretending to be trapped by the mochi at one point in a spar, only to surprise him from behind after eating just enough to get her arm free.

His wide-eyed look of surprise had been the most emotion she'd seen out of him so far!

Luffy crashed to the ground again with an unceremonious thud, Katakuri stepping backward. “Ow...” She whined, though it didn't have any teeth in it. Hopping to her feet, she rolled her sleeve up again. “You're really tough! I've never seen anyone counter my Hawk Gatling like that!”

“Are you still not tired?” Katakuri asked her, faintly disbelieving. Glancing up at the sky showed him that they had been at this for long hours, yet Luffy had the same excited grin on her face that she'd worn upon their arrival. He's beginning to feel an ache in the many places she'd hit him, telling him that he was going to develop some genuine bruises...basically everywhere.

Not for nothing. Luffy, despite what some of his brothers had been confident in saying, was hardly useless without the Nika form; she was fast (and faster still in what she called Gear Two), comfortable with Armament Haki, and more than anything – the single most stubborn opponent that Katakuri had ever faced. Even Cracker and Oven would have given up a few hours ago, but the sun was drifting down the western horizon and his fiance seemed no more tired than when they'd started. It was almost alarming, with the potential relationship between them such a tentative thing that his mother seemed happy to jeopardize needling the much younger Captain. He was starting to see why such a guileless, reckless girl had achieved so much in so little time, irregardless of those victories occurring in the calmer parts of the grand line.

She...intrigued him, he couldn't deny it. She was so strange to him, he felt like he was on the back foot in half their conversations.

“Nope! I'm having so much fun!” Luffy cheered, clapping her hands together. “So Gear 3 isn't enough against you either... great! I've got some new ideas for what I can do with Gear 4 from after beating up Mingo.” She rolled her shoulder, preparing to warp her body into one of its many combat forms. “Let's go!”

Katakuri opened his mouth to say something when his Observation Haki trilled, the future jumping out at him the moment he focused on his fiance. The vision lasted mere seconds, but the alarming sight allowed him to cross the distance between them in a second and bring up a wall of mochi to shield Luffy from her attacker.

The dozen or so poisoned arrows hammered into his defensive shield, having been fired fast and hard enough that some of the arrowheads were poking partway through the sweet mochi. Katakuri stared dully at them, his sharp teeth grinding together. Flampe! He thought in disbelief. What is she doing?! He's confident that's who he saw half shadowed by the tree she'd taken point in, glaring at the Straw Hat captain with such burning hatred.

“What was that?” Luffy asked, puzzled.

“Nothing you need to worry about.” Katakuri half lied, before dropping the mochi wall and glaring ferociously out in the direction his younger sister was concealing herself. Looking down at the arrows themselves, he could see the poison glistening on the tips. The colour and sliminess of the texture... Flampe had exposed herself to one of those toxic fish to do this? “I'll handle it.” He was going to give her a very stern talking to. What was she thinking?!

In his vision, Luffy had taken the arrows with little more than an aggravated complaint and acted distractingly nonchalant about being violently poisoned. Katakuri hadn't been willing to take the risk, particularly because he was right there. To think he had almost missed that!

“I guess somebody here doesn't like me,” Luffy observed arily, looking down at the arrows. “Not sure what I did, though.”

Katakuri's jaw tightened a little, not wanting to explain. Hopefully he could deal with it and never have to. It was only then that he really noticed that he'd pulled Luffy flush against his chest protectively, and his mind briefly stalled out when their eyes met. Because of the height difference, her feet weren't touching the ground, and Luffy had instinctively grabbed his shoulders – her fingers tangled in the fabric of his scarf – to centre herself. Now she was holding him loosely in this suddenly intimate position, and her doe like hazel brown eyes lift up to meet his curiously.

Alarm came first, worry that she'd pull the scarf down enough to see his hideous smile. He wanted to grab her hands immediately and move them away, but the sudden change in the situation had him – slow to react?

“How'd you know someone was gonna shoot me?” Luffy asked, seemingly unfazed by this! Katakuri blinked rapidly at her. “I didn't hear anything.”

“Then you need to practice your Observation Haki more,” Katakuri said a little roughly, hesitantly moving to put her down – though Luffy seemed disinclined to let him, her grip on him holding steady. “My mastery of it allows me to see into the future. That is why I so rarely lose a fight.”

Luffy's eyes widen. “That's so cool!” She enthused. “Teach me how to do that! Please please please! I'll bring you so much cake if you teach me, Sanji will make it, it'll be wonderful!”

Katakuri's breath hitched, and that part of him that he'd become so accustomed to strangling and pushing down wanted so badly to say yes. Cake, donuts, muffins... he'd been out here for so long that he'd missed one of his usual snack breaks. He... hadn't noticed that until right now, somehow?

He couldn't say yes; why take the risk of exposing his weakness? And yet that lack of mockery and honest sincerity in her eyes stalled him from bluntly turning her down as he had everyone before her, and he's stuck for a long moment as he tried to figure out what to say to her.

“You're not embarrassed asking for help,” Katakuri said in lieu of answering, at first. He wasn't sure if it was a statement or a question.

Luffy tilted her head to the side, her lips quirking lightly. “There's lots of stuff I can't do,” she responded unselfconsciously, and for a wild moment Katakuri both bitterly envies her and and desperately longs for that kind of freedom. “That's why I have my nakama, and my family. Whatever one of us can't do, another can.” She smiled. “If we're gonna get married, it'll be the same for you. We'll take care of what you can't, and you'll do the same for us. Why should I find that embarrassing?”

She'd take his burdens? She didn't know what she was offering to take on. She didn't...she doesn't...

“You're really nice to hug,” Luffy decided, because she wasn't done messing with him yet; she looped her arms around him and embraced him fully. Katakuri tried very, very hard not to go completely stiff in her grip – his mind drew a complete blank. “Thanks for guarding me, even though I would have been fine.”

Her body was so warm. Katakuri was hyper aware of her almost delicate-feeling frame pressed up against his chest, the curve of her hips under his fingers; his heartbeat picked up, erratic and confused and – something else he couldn't put words to before Luffy finally released him and dropped back down to her feet. The sudden lack of that warmth was tangible, and Katakuri swallowed minutely while wondering what the hell was wrong with him.

It seemed the reason for the sudden movement was that she'd spotted someone over his shoulder. “Ah, Reiji! I was starting to think you weren't coming!” Luffy cheered. Katakuri blinked and turned around himself. Sure enough, the pink haired first princess of Germa was walking down the dirt road, approaching them with a guarded sort of friendliness.

“I had to attend a meeting,” Reiju responded by way of explanation, jumping over the fence and landing gracefully in the field. “Is the offer of sparring still open? If I'm interrupting something, I could come back tomorrow...”

“Nope, we were just taking a break!” Luffy responded before Katakuri could say yes. He gave his fiance a slightly exasperated look, but it seemed to bounce right off of her. “Ahhh, this is so cool... I've read some of the comics where Poison Pink fights; can you really spit poison?”

Reiju gave her a faint but genuine smile. “Of course I can, though I wouldn't use any of my poison powers in a friendly bout. I can do much more than that.”

Luffy began to almost vibrate in place out of sheer excitement. She looked up at Katakuri with an entreating expression. “Can I go first, please? You can call the matches!” She asked. “I'm still gonna beat you, but she's Sanji's sister! Poison Pink! I have to fight her!”

“So childish...” Katakuri mused, before shrugging slightly. “Very well.” He stepped off the field as Luffy and Reiju began to take positions, sitting down on the bench. This would give him a window into the princess's thoughts, however narrow, and that made this a good opportunity.

Why does a princess have the smile of a bird that has been caged all its life?

Katakuri was intimately familiar with smiles. His mother's warped amusem*nts aside, Totland was a place where everyone was supposed to be happy; it's stated mission was to be a paradise where everyone from every race could live in harmony...even if its in spite of its ruler. The citizens smiled because they were safe from the rest of the world, and because not smiling might offend Big Mom. Among his siblings, smiling was even more important; it kept you from showing weakness and protected you from getting torn apart.

Most of the smiles he knew were lies, or the product of blissful ignorance. Vinsmoke Reiju's smile was a carefully manufactured thing, long practiced and worn out from overuse. It was armor, old and strong enough that Katakuri thought of Pudding when he looked at her. Pudding, I'm sorry I failed you. From the moment he'd met Reiju personally, the only times he'd seen her smile actually reach her eyes was after Luffy destroyed Judge – her father – in a fight in defence of her cook, and right now in the face of the sun goddess's endless friendliness and excitement.

Luffy had a magic touch, it seemed. Very dangerous...

Who are you hiding from, Princess Reiju? Katakuri wondered as Luffy launched herself at Reiju, who was clearly surprised when her block didn't stop the girl in place but sent her skidding a few feet backward. Your father, who you have no love for? Your brothers? Your people? Royalty were often cruel, as much to each other as their hapless subjects; Vinsmoke Sanji had abandoned his family name as a child in favour of being a mere cook in an East Blue Restaurant. Perhaps Reiju wished she could do the same, or had attempted to do so, only to be found out and forcibly brought back into line?

Mother intended to wipe out Judge's family. Perhaps Katakuri could approach Reiju and get her assistance in the matter in exchange for freedom from the prison she'd built around herself... no, he needed much more information before he considered that seriously. Mother wasn't likely to spare her, even at his request.

Mother only did things for them when she was pleased with their performance.

“Thank you, everyone! You're a great audience! I always love seeing you in person!”

Uta waved at the screaming crowd, the greatest singer in the world enjoying the moment of comfort and peace she found in making people happy. Her moments of joy were few and far between since she stumbled upon that damning recording; her plan gave her some respite from the horror and despair that choked her ever since, allowing her to concentrate on preparations, but that wasn't truly a comfort. Seeing smiles on people's faces, knowing she'd lifted their spirits just a little bit in the face of this cruel and unjust world... knowing she'd done some good in her life was what allowed her to get out of bed in the morning. To not just lie down and die.

Taking her water bottle, Uta bowed one more time to the crowd before turning and walking off stage. Dear Gordon smiled and patted her gently on the shoulder, “get some rest, Uta-chan.” he said softly before heading out to make the announcements.

Uta headed down the hall, past her bodyguards and toward her dressing room. She can still hear the people chanting her name even as she goes deeper into the building; she had a huge crowd today. The noise could probably be heard for quite a long distance. My fans are so good to me, she thought fondly.

Entering her dressing room, Uta slid out of the feathered coat she'd been wearing for the performance and hung it over a chair with a sigh of relief. It had gotten pretty hot up on stage; she should probably have a shower... but she wanted to sit down first. Her feet were aching from standing and dancing for hours.

Sliding into her chair and lifting her legs up with a sigh of relief, Uta looked at her reflection. Her hair could use a brush... she reached up and removed the ties that had been holding it in place. Her stomach twisted a little when her fingers trailed through the scarlet strands on her left side... she'd thought about dyeing it time and again, and yet she never had. Why did it have to remind her of him?

Grabbing her hairbrush, Uta began to rake it through her long, stubborn locks, grumbling to herself. Good mood spoiled. While she was in the process of this, one of her den-den mushi started to ring off its shell. It was the one she gave the number of to various press people, so she grabbed it and unhooked the receiver. “Hello, Uta speaking.” She said, hoping she didn't sound tired.

“Uta, my lady!” Morgan's cheerful voice echoed from the other end. Uta's eye twitched slightly. She wasn't the biggest fan of this guy, but he was somewhat of a necessary evil. “I deeply apologize for taking so long to get back to you; I've been invited to Whole Cake Island, you see, for the marriage of the century!”

“I'm sure Linlin says that about all her children's weddings,” Uta responded with manufactured politeness. “No need to apologize for that, I know Linlin doesn't tolerate being made to wait.” She'd heard horror stories from her fans who'd had the misfortune of falling into her orbit. “You received my letter?”

“Yes, I did! What a magnificent undertaking you have planned, I'd gladly advertise such BIG NEWS under any circ*mstances! Hell, I'd do it free of charge!” Morgan said gleefully. “Can you give me an exact date yet, or are you still in preparations?”

“I'll be able to give you one soon,” Uta said confidently. “I believe everything will be ready in three months, maybe two. Once I've secured the concert hall I'll be able to give you the date.”

“That's good, that's good!” Morgan cheered. “It'll give some time for the news of the Sun Goddess marrying to die down just a little, keep you from getting overshadowed.”

Uta's hairbrush yanked violently through a tangle and went spinning off onto the floor; the songstress stared at the snail in mute shock and disbelief for a minute. “The Sun Goddess?” She repeated dully. “You mean Monkey D Luffy?” Who else would that title be referring to? It had almost eclipsed her original epithet of 'Straw Hat'. Yet she dearly hoped, somehow...! “She's – marrying?”

“Ah, I haven't published it yet so this is technically a leak... but I can make an exception for one of my favorite news ladies!” Morgan chirped, apparently oblivious to the shift in Uta's demeanor. “Yes! Monkey D Luffy has gone to Totland to be courted by Big Mom's third son, Charlotte Katakuri! In two weeks we'll see if they tie the knot or not! This is my biggest story in years, ever since Marineford! I've never been this excited!”

“I...see,” Uta croaked. Her hands were starting to shake. “I – I'd better not keep you long, since you're staying on Totland. I'll call you back once the venue is secured.” Uncaring of how rude it might be, she quickly hung up and collapsed back in her chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Luffy...was getting married... to a Charlotte...

The trembling spread from her arms up to her shoulders, and Uta tasted bile in the back of her throat. Luffy appeared in her mind's eye, smiling, kind, always picking her up when she fell, her beautiful soul shining out in everything she did. She hadn't seen her in years until she came across her first Wanted Poster by chance, but she remembered their every interaction as clearly as if they'd been together just yesterday.

Her childhood love had grown up into a beautiful young woman, and even though she'd become a pirate Uta's heart had been lost a second time the moment she saw her picture. She'd followed her path along the Grand Line like a shark chasing after blood in the water, grabbing every newspaper and listening in on every Marine report and asking her fans about her.

She'd heard so many wonderful things. Luffy wasn't much of a pirate; she was too busy saving everyone she stumbled into on the way to her dream. Alabastan fans enthused about how she was their true savior and gleefully regaled how she defeated Crocodile, a small town called Cocoyashi chipped in with how she liberated them from the control of the Arlong Pirates... Water 7 crowed about how she and her crew beat down the CP9 plants that had infiltrated their shipyard businesses and saved Mayor Iceburg's life, Saobody natives whispered about how she punched a Celestial Dragon in the face with zero fear, and now Fishman Island and Dressrosa too had been saved from certain mass murder and death thanks to her.

Uta adored her, and had watched the Marineford battle horrorstruck from beginning to end. She'd seen her awakening to her true power in desperate hope of... of saving that pirate.

A hot, twisting knot of emotions filled her chest. Jealousy, that Luffy cared so much about some phantom man that she'd destroy herself for his sake. Guilt for feeling that way, and anger at the world government for trying to kill Portgas D Ace just for being Roger's son. He had undoubtedly committed actual crimes as the Second Division Commander, but they didn't accuse him of a single one of them; just tried to use his parentage as an excuse to use him as Roger's stand in. It was disgusting! Uta was genuinely glad he survived their murder attempt, her empathy for him warm and sincere.

And terror, terror when Luffy collapsed and didn't get up; terror when Portgas couldn't rouse her and the Revolutionary she'd broken out of Impel Down could do nothing, terror when he was forced to hand her over to the god-damned Surgeon of Death in the hope that he could save her life. Terror was waiting, waiting for weeks with no peep from anyone she could reach on if Luffy was even alive, with the demon laughing and whispering in her ear. Uta didn't want to be in a world without her, she couldn't live...!

She survived. Uta had collapsed in a sobbing heap of joy when she finally saw Luffy alive and standing in the paper, using a mark on her arm to signal her crew about when they would reunite. She wasn't ashamed of that, of the depths of her feelings. When she entered the new world, Uta had waited and listened with baited breath for when they would meet again.

But now...now that joy and hope has all transformed into horror and dread.

Linlin must know about Dawn Island. The sickening certainty swirled in Uta's gut, reminding her of Makino and Wool Slap and the kind people who lived there, who raised Luffy and now were probably hostages in a farce of a wedding designed to make her that monster's minion and prisoner. Would Dragon help her? Would he do anything, or did he prioritize his mission over his own daughter? Like Shanks-

Luffy, trapped, in chains, at the mercy of that evil bitch and her psychotic children... so what if Katakuri was known as the most noble and decent among them? He was still his mother's obedient dog!What would he do to Luffy if they married? What would he want from her as a bride?

Uta couldn't breathe. Panic and overwhelming rage bubble in her chest, and she gripped the arms of her chair in a desperate attempt to stop shaking. She couldn't do this, she won't get away with this, not to Luffy, not her sun and her light-

Then you know what to do...

Uta jerked upright, her blood freezing in her veins. “Leave me alone,” she whispered, the blood draining out of her face.

A rattling, musical laugh echoed in her ears, like broken glass. Uta slowly turned and looked at the mirror; she recoiled in horror when she saw that her eyes were blank and little rivers of yellow were visible in the blues.

You can create that world in an instant... rescue Luffy and bring her into the world where she'll never be taken from you again. You'd be together forever and ever, in that beautiful dream...

“You don't want to help me,” Uta said thickly, balling up her hands into fists. It was a weak attempt at bravado and she knew it; she's completely frozen in horror at the being's presence. “I know what you are.”

I'm no worse than the demons of this world... besides... who cares...? You can get your princess back and safe. She'll be yours, always always always yours...

“I can't trap Luffy in that world,” Uta responded. Shadows shivered within the mirror, swirling lightly. “Freedom is everything to her. I can't – I won't hurt her, I won't!” Yet part of her wanted it, wanted it so badly, and it sickened her that she felt so possessive-

If you'd rather leave her at the mercy of this hateful world... be my guest... how many CP0 do you suppose have tried to kill her by now? Dozens? Hundreds? That government and that throne will never stop trying to kill her...until they're all taken in hand.

Nasuea rolled up in Uta's chest, and she bolted to the bathroom to throw up violently. That crackling laugh echoed in her ears again, but when Gordon came to find her out of concern, Uta couldn't bring herself to say anything.

Deep in the Dream World, Tot Musica cackled, swirling in the darkness of its cage. The host was so close to breaking... it would only take a little more pushing, with the right circ*mstances, and she would sing the awakening hymn herself. It wouldn't even have to brainwash her this time... dear, foolish Imu would create the circ*mstances himself...

The only problem was that girl... the light that comforted his damned host and kept her together, weakened Tot Musica's hold on her. But that Emperor has finally damaged that lifeline. The time was close, so close. Maybe not before the wedding. But afterward, there was no chance. Its song would fill the world again.

I'll see you again soon, Nika... how I've missed you...!

Chapter 10

Chapter Text

“Nami. Nami. Nami. Wake up, I have a date today!”

Nami growled incoherently, swatting at the blurry form of her troublesome Captain. “Ten more minutes,” she grumbled as her mind sluggishly ground to something resembling alertness. “It's...” Glancing at the window caused her to glower even more fiercely at Luffy's shape. “The damn sun isn't even up yet, Luffy...!” What the hell?! Usually she has to drag this girl out of her hammock to make her wake up late in the morning!

“But I've never been on a date before,” Luffy protested cluelessly, not getting the hint because why would she? “I need to get ready!”

“You wanna be ready? How 'bout you get some sleep so you aren't exhausted the entire time?” Nami retorted, then rolled over and buried her face in the pillow to make her point.

“Traaaffy, Nami's being mean...”

Nami vaguely heard an incoherent grumble from the sleeping form of the Surgeon, who's crashed on the couch hastily pulled out in the far right corner of the room. “Oh no, don't you dare complain to him,” she protested, her voice muffled into incoherence. Luffy didn't need more enabling by her lovestruck suitors!

“Traffy...”

She heard a sound that vaguely sounded like a hand clamping over a mouth. “Luffy...” Trafalgar grumbled, pure death in his voice. “If you don't go back to sleep, and by doing so allow me to get what little real sleep I'm going to get on this hell island, I'm going to sedate you.”

“Mean,” Luffy pouted. Nami just sighed in relief; Law mercifully retained some of his sensible side after being ensared by her captain. What would she do without him? May he never end their alliance, even after they destroy Kaido. She needs him here! “Sanji-”

“Sedate her!” Nami hissed frantically, her head snapping up instantly.

Thankfully she could see Law grab Luffy and pull her down to his level before she could wake the blonde up, hissing something in her ear. Whether he was just reiterating his threat, telling her that Sanji needed some decent sleep after the stress of his abduction and being threatened by Judge, or was declaring his love just to confuse her long enough to stick a needle in her, it seemed to work. Luffy nodded slowly and a moment later slumped down on top of him to go to sleep on the spot. Law's flailing and attempts to move her – completely hampered by his sleepy state – came to precisely nothing.

Nami snickered a little, then planted her head in the pillow and shut her eyes. She fell back asleep mere moments later.

A few hours later, the orange haired navigator woke up feeling utterly refreshed with the sunlight streaming through the window curtains. Sitting up and stretching, Nami looked around the room and saw that indeed, Luffy had fallen asleep on Law – and he hadn't tried too hard to dislodge her. She's sprawled halfway across his chest, her head resting against his collarbone with her legs dangling off the side of the couch. Nami smiled softly at the sight; it's unexpectedly cute.

It isn't obvious at first sight, but Nami could see Law's eyelashes fluttering. He's awake, but pretending not to be so he could enjoy their closeness; his left arm was resting comfortably around her waist.

Now, Nami had her fingers in several betting pots involving her ridiculous captain, so she's loathe to interrupt this moment. However! Sanji is sleeping against the wall on the opposite side of the room, and Nami refused to be stuck between them when he woke up and found his Sunshine resting in the arms of 'tattooed bastard'.

Nope. She's dealt with that enough already, thank you. Good thing he hadn't been there when they defeated Mingo. “Luffy,” she murmured, walking over and gently shaking the girl by the shoulder. “Luffy, wake up.”

Luffy grumbled in complaint and buried her face deeper in Law's chest. Of course now that Nami was awake at an actually civilized hour, she'd done a 180 and decided that her date was less important than sleeping in. “Luffy, get up. Didn't you want to get ready for your date?”

Law's eyes flickered half open, giving her a disapproving look. Nami merely arched an eyebrow at him, unfazed; if he dislikes the idea of her marrying so much, he should just propose to her first! Luffy mumbled something incoherent, starting to stir a little.

Unfortunately it seemed Nami hadn't quite pitched her voice low enough – or maybe just voicing the fact that Luffy was going on a date had triggered Sanji's 'Sunshine' alarm, because the blonde woke up instantly, clapped eyes on the tableau of Law and Luffy, and reacted...predictably. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SUNSHINE, sh*tTY SURGEON?!”

Nami didn't think, she just dove out of the way. Luffy was jolted awake by the yell and flopped down to the ground with a startled squeak; Law vaulted upright, grabbing Kikoku and half drawing it so Sanji's black foot clanged against the cursed blade instead of hitting him. “Mind your own damn business, cook!” Law retorted with equal, if quieter, fierceness before shoving Sanji back.

The blonde very maturely responded by launching half a dozen follow up kicks. All of which Law blocked upon standing up.

Chopper and Carrot, who had been sleeping peacefully up until that very moment, shot to their feet with alarmed cries. Brook snapped awake, but as soon as he saw the familiar scene he shrugged and relaxed – the traitor! Pedro had half drawn his sword, assuming it was the result of an intruder, but now was looking flabbergasted at the scene, clearly unsure what to do.

“Don't you morons dare break this room!” Nami yelled, scrambling to her feet and grabbing her clima-tact. “I'm not paying another repair bill!”

“Guys, no fighting!” Luffy agreed, sitting up against the wall and watching the mini battle with a familiar confused expression that makes Nami kind of want to smack her. Her denseness is not very charming in this situation! Luffy stretched out her arms and tried to grab onto her squabbling suitor, only to yip in surprised pain when she got hit with armament haki.

Like magic, both men froze mid-fight and pivoted toward her. “Sunshine!” Sanji cried in concern when he saw her rubbing her wrist and wincing.

“Oww...” Luffy complained, summoning Chopper to her side like a demon responding to a ritual. The reindeer doctor hurriedly examined her and then nailed both Sanji and Law with an genuinely intimidating death glare. Law slowly sheathed Kikoku while Sanji melted to the floor. “What the heck was that about?!”

“Hold still, Luffy,” Chopper said chidingly, grabbing her arm and examining it. He was relatively certain that she hadn't broken anything – Sanji and Law hadn't been seriously trying to kill each other, after all – but he always wanted to be sure, kept a close eye on her ever since he first heard about the phantom pain episodes.

“Seriously!” Luffy complained, looking between the twosome in bewilderment. “Sanji and Zoro have always been fighting for some reason-” Nami's fingers twitched “-but why are you fighting with Traffy?!”

“He was taking advantage of you!” Sanji protested weakly.

“Eh? ...By being my pillow?” Luffy asked in confusion. “He's a very nice pillow.” Sanji crashed to the ground in a state of despair, while Law resisted the urge to grin smugly. “Sanji? Saaaaanji?” She reached over and poked his head.

“Ignore him, Luffy.” Nami said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Chopper, is she bruised or anything? Because I need to get this disaster into a decent date ensemble.”

“She's okay,” Chopper confirmed, before giving the twosome another dirty look. This one is somewhat undermined by his natural cuteness, and Law tried not to laugh or break out a protest about the other doctor being entirely too adorable. “No thanks to those two... come on, Sanji, Zoro is all the way in Wano!” He scolded.

Sanji recovered at the mention of his original rival, the fire back in his eyes. “I'm only guarding my captain's virtue.”

“I think she's more than capable of handling that herself,” Law deadpanned, because he knows that if anyone tried anything ugly with Luffy, he wouldn't get the chance to cut the bastard into ribbons before the ravenette broke the ground with the offender's face.

“I like Sanji's fretting,” Luffy said, because she could just never pick a side, could she? “It's kinda reassuring. And really funny!” Sanji looked like he couldn't decide how to feel about that statement.

Nami grabbed her by her free hand and hauled her toward the bathroom, muttering under her breath. “Carrot, be a dear and bring my trunk with me? Boys, I was under the impression that you were planning to start shadowing Reiju; this is probably a good time to get started on that.”

It wasn't phrased as an order, but Law couldn't help but bristle a little anyway; the attempt at dismissal was obvious. Though thinking about Luffy's pained yip when they accidentally hit her buried that feeling almost instantly. “Right.” He turned briskly on his heel and walked over to the wardrobe, digging out his disguise outfit. “Where are we likely to find her in the mornings, Sanji?”

“How would I know?” Sanji protested, before sighing. “At the castle, most likely. At least it's the best place to start looking.”

“Shouldn't you be spending today with Pudding, Sanji?” Luffy's voice drifted from the bathroom door, a surprisingly hesitant tone in his voice. Nevertheless, the blonde froze up; indeed, he'd almost forgotten about his bride-to-be in the rush of being reunited with his captain and crew.

Could he... gently break it off with Pudding now? That bastard Judge couldn't force his compliance anymore, not with Sabo having come to his rescue. He wouldn't hurt her by saying wedding vows with his voice but not his heart. But – Big Mom would not take the rejection kindly, would probably get violent. They would likely need a full-on escape plan before he dared to do such a thing. But that felt so wrong! No proper gentleman would string a lady along, much less one as kind and considerate as Pudding is.

The reminder felt like a bucket of ice water being dumped on his head. Sanji nodded jerkily, murmuring “I'll give you a map of the insides of Germa Castle, Law. Be careful not to be seen; Judge will be in a violent temper after what Luffy did.”

“I know how to sneak around, Sanji.” Law scoffed, sliding into his long coat. “But I would appreciate that map.”

“What about us?” Chopper wondered. “I feel uncomfortable hanging around not contributing anything...”

“We,” Brook said lightly, strumming his guitar. “Are going to start scoping out the location of Totland's poneglyph, of course.”

“Right, right.” Chopper nodded confidently. Then Brook's words sank in all the way and he all but leapt out of his fur. “WHAT?!”

Luffy's laughter from the other side of the door didn't make him feel any better.

Reiju couldn't remember the last time she'd enjoyed herself.

Her father had moved to take advantage of the World Government's weakened state to attempt to make his vision a reality, sending her and her brothers from one island to the next in brutal conquest. Even though she'd long learned how to interpret his orders to her in the least monstrous way possible, it had been the longest and most bitter two years of her life... she could still see puddles of blood shivering under her boots as she walked across each battlefield. All the lives her father was ending chasing the past. Not every life they ended was that of a doe eyed innocent, but who was Judge to decide who deserved to live or die? Him and his monstrous ego...!

That numbing feeling of self loathing she experienced when she looked in the mirror... every day her miserable existence dragged on, Reiju couldn't see a single part of herself worth saving. She couldn't even kill herself; not long after her mother died and he realized what she had done, Judge had commanded her at the age of eight that she was not to end her own life. He'd gone into specifics on this topic, cutting off medicine or being deliberately careless on the battlefield. Ironically, Reiju hadn't had any serious death thoughts until she was in her teens; at the time, he'd only creeped her out. It was when she'd first truly understood the power he wielded over her...

Her only comfort was subtly following her little brother's journey across the sea. When she'd first heard that Sanji had joined a pirate crew, she'd smiled, hoping that he'd found his nakama – the family that he deserved. She'd worried when Judge demanded that the government capture Sanji and drag him home, and laughed heartily at the poorly drawn wanted poster that ended up protecting him from that man's clutches for the next two years. She was so proud of his accomplishments; Enies Lobby, Thriller Bark, Fishman Island, and Dressrosa...

Sanji...you've become so strong...

When Big Mom's men had dragged him back to Germa, Reiju's heart had ached. And she'd started plotting – as much as she was able – on some way to help him escape from Totland so he could go back to his real home. Judge had no idea of her enmity to him... as far as he knew she was nothing but his obedient, useful weapon.

Her mask truly has been perfected. Or else Judge would have known how much she wanted to gouge his eyes out when he ordered her to put the explosive slave collars on Sanji's wrists. She'd only been able to wriggle into grabbing a dud set... and she'd still felt a painful jolt of grief when she'd locked them in place and seen Sanji's expression.

And then his Captain had shown up. Reiju hadn't known what to expect from her, but from the moment she delivered the righteous pummelling on Judge on Sanji's behalf that she'd so desperately wished she could do, the pink haired woman thought she might be a little in love with her.

So now Reiju is genuinely smiling, enjoying a nice slice of cake and discreetly observing Monkey D Luffy gleefully devouring a plate full of treats while trying to get her massive fiance to join in on her binge eating. She's a bit of a voyeur, she'll admit, but Luffy didn't seem to care about how all the other patrons of the cafe were badly pretending not to watch her and Katakuri on their date.

They're an odd pair, visually at least. Katakuri was massive compared to Luffy, and he was so serious that her cheerfulness, enthusiasm and childlike wonder shone all the more brightly by proximity. She devoured her treats in a rush, wanting two of everything on the menu, while Katakuri was hardly touching his food. And the conversation between them-

“So how did you beat the bat-bastard?! Tell me tell me!”

“You fought against that Admiral? The Light throwing bastard? Did you beat him up?!”

“Ehhh?! Kaido has an angel on his crew? ...What do you mean? He's got big wings and can conjure fire even though Ace as the Fire fruit, of course he's an angel.”

Luffy was begging Katakuri for stories about his previous battles, and Katakuri was slowly giving more than two sentence answers to her as she kept bombarding him with requests. Patrons whispered that they didn't often hear him speak this much in public.

Honestly, it was rather adorable. Reiju envied Katakuri for having the chance to marry such human sunshine... she could see him subtly gravitating towards her as she chattered at him, trying to give him sweets regardless of how many times he turned her down. He hadn't eaten anything yet, she noticed; he'd been drinking a milkshake through a straw, but that was it. Perhaps he simply wanted to spoil her, but it strikes her as a little odd...

There's a slight clamour in the kitchen; if Reiju wasn't trained to notice such things, it would have been swallowed up by the general chatter in the store. The pinkette glanced at the counter, then casually stood up and walked over like she intended to buy something else. Leaning on the wall, she listened for the source.

“-can't serve this over the counter, please miss Flampe! What if some of the other guests eat one?” A cook was protesting, fear in his voice.

“Just do it!” A young girl snarled, her voice a mixture of spoiled arrogance and threatening rage. “If that happens, just call a doctor to tend to our people!” The cook audibly quailed, a dozen apologies on his lips as he scrambled to do as she wished.

Reiju's brow furrowed, and she peered around the corner into the kitchen through the window. There were a couple of young girls in the kitchen glowering at one of the cooking stations; the cook at it shakily accepted a vial from them and added it to his mixing bowls. ...Ah. I see that not all of Katakuri's siblings are pleased that he's finally marrying.

The princess recognized all kinds of poisons, from the natural to the exotic creations of man. How cruel of those children, to have no concern about a full batch of poisoned cakes being presented to their unsuspecting guests... perhaps they thought Luffy would snatch the entire tray as soon as it was offered – not an unlikely possibility, granted – but it was also clear that Charlotte Flampe didn't care who else got hurt as long as she got her target. Not to mention what Katakuri was likely to do to the hapless cook who got his fiance poisoned.

What to do about this... Reiju pondered. She could hardly allow Sanji's captain to get hurt, could she? I suppose I could buy them all myself when they hit the counter. Though eating that many cupcakes in one go would be a taller order for me than miss Luffy... or I'll just bump into the server on the way out of the kitchen.

It would be a waste of some very tasty poison, but it would be safer than buying everything and still risking Luffy stealing a few of the offending treats off of her plate. She'd been doing that all morning, with the various victims too intimidated by Katakuri to complain about it. Reiju knew her father would have a coronary if she ever behaved like that at a meal... perhaps that's why she found that brassy selfishness kind of adorable.

Nodding to herself, Reiju sauntered over to the counter and ordered herself another drink. Then she sat down again and acted casual, one eye on the door to the kitchen.

She'd mostly finished the milkshake – which was the healthiest thing she'd found on the menu, it should be noted – that she heard the ding of the oven in question thanks to her enhanced hearing. Reiju waited a moment longer, then stood up and walked back to the wall, then acted confused. As soon as the server emerged with the platter from the kitchen, she took a hard right and walked directly into him.

“Ooof!” The boy yelped; Reiju had carefully aimed her elbow to hit his ribs. His knee jerk response to the pain caused him to drop the platter, spilling the treats on the floor.

“Oh dear, I'm so sorry.” Reiju said sweetly to soothe the poor thing's nerves, kneeling to collect the dashed cupcakes. “I was looking for the bathroom. Here, let me help you...” The frazzled boy scrambled to help, protesting that she was a guest and shouldn't have to clean up. Reiju gave him kind smiles and a gentle kiss on the cheek for his trouble; the strangled little noises of rage from the kitchen wasn't as tasty as the poison would have been, but it was close.

She walked to the garbage and pointedly dropped the poisoned food within. Hopefully Sanji wouldn't be too displeased by her wasting food this way; even unsafe confectioneries. Ah, but it was too bad she couldn't try at least one...

Reiju insisted that the boy not be punished since it was her fault for 'bumping into him', then returned to her seat. She immediately felt Katakuri's gaze on her, and lifted her head to meet his eyes. His stern expression softened just a bit with gratitude, and a mixture of curiosity and puzzlement. She wasn't really given a chance to ponder it, though; Luffy swallowed her last treat and cheerfully waved at her. “Reiji, Reiji! You'll come spar with us again this afternoon, right?”

Father wants to have a war council, Reiju thought. Her body shivered, the instinctive need to grant that man's wishes like pins and needles. Well, he didn't give me a time for it, and he also told me to ingratiate myself to our soon to be in laws. I see no reason why this shouldn't count. Her muscles relaxed, and she resisted a triumphant smirk. “I would love to, Luffy.” She said, wondering at the last second if using her name was too familiar.

Luffy beamed at her, dousing that worry immediately. It was a truly beautiful smile, warm as the rays of the life-giving sun. Reiju felt unworthy of it.

In Wano...

“How much for them?”

Zoro had mixed feelings about the Flower Capital. On one hand, he could admit that the city itself was a thing of beauty, from the buildings to the sakura trees and the many artworks of the Wano people. On the other hand, the subtle signs of decadence – Shogun Orochi's work -- were everywhere. Yakuza openly walked the streets, intimidating street vendors and causing the women to give them a wide berth; people would stumble out of bars completely sick from overeating while other areas of the land were starving, and the inhabitants was showing off their opulent wealth at every corner.

Something Zoro usually had no use for. But when he'd walked past a jewellery shop at the edge of the district, doing his rounds to put himself in the minds of the locals as a wandering ronin who'd come to the Flower Captial in search of work... something caught his eye.

Luffy didn't wear jewellery; she didn't completely disdain the idea as he'd thought at first, but because everything but the most simple earrings tended to get in the way during fights. Either that or they were easily lost, or got in the way – that included most rings and necklaces. That was probably the only reason Sanji hadn't gifted her two stores worth of expensive gifts by now...

What had caught Zoro's eyes weren't anything hugely opulent – it was a set of hairpins and a comb, studded with sapphires and tiny diamonds. Luffy had grown her hair out a little longer over the two years, and it tended to fall in her face during fights; not that it ever seemed to interfere with her fighting abilities. She did complain about it, though.

They'd be hidden mostly under her hat, if she liked them and decided to wear them. But after a moment of thought, Zoro decided that it didn't matter. He wanted to get something for her, and just her accepting them would be more than enough for her. Something that left his mark on his beautiful captain.

He knew Luffy had left him a very important task, preparing for their war against Kaido. He still resented that he couldn't be there with her, watching over her, and keeping Katakuri from getting too close to her. It felt like giving her up without a fight. He loathed that feeling.

You're calling her tomorrow, Zoro reminded himself, taking a calming breath as the shop owner examined the hairpins and comb. He had a decent amount of money on him; falling back on his bounty hunting skills allowed him to bring in criminals for a good check. She won't miss a second call; you know what she's like. Always calling Ace every other week.

His heart twisted, thinking about the newly minted Emperor. How Luffy hadn't twigged to the fact he was madly in love with her, he couldn't figure out. A mixture of jealousy and respect for the man swirled in his stomach, and he shook his head hard to clear it.

The quoted price the shopkeeper gave him the sense that he was being ripped off, but f*ck it; he could afford it, and he's not supposed to draw attention to himself. “Here,” he said gruffly, tossing the heavy gold on the countertop. “That should cover it.”

The two hairpins glistened in the sunlight when Zoro picked them up and turned them over in his hand. They were sharp enough to double as shivs, not that he thought Luffy would think to use them that way. Probably. The comb was a bit more delicate... He put them away deep in his pocket and buttoned it closed, turning around and walking away.

Part of him was leaning toward giving the gifts to Robin for safekeeping, just in case... but he didn't want to risk meeting up with Luffy and not having them on him. He wanted to give them to her himself, not have them passed along. That wouldn't convey the sentiment he wanted to express to her.

Don't marry, Luffy... Zoro thought to himself as he walked. Local cutthroats were prowling after him...excellent. He needed something to vent stress on. Wait for me.

Chapter 11

Chapter Text

“I can already feel my teeth rotting.”

Ace snorted in amusem*nt at Sabo's declaration, looking at Totland's skyline. “Wait until we get closer. The smell of chocolate is impossible to get away from.” Karasu flew off, the raven feathers circling around them as he left them at the outskirts of the heart of Big Mom's territory.

Sabo glanced sideways at him. “You've been here before?”

“Just once, negotiating over Fishman Island.” Ace sighed, putting his hands on his hips. “After Marineford, Jimbe had to buy a year of Big Mom's protection for his home in exchange for a favour; once the year was up she used that to dragoon him into her service. She would have taken Fishman Island itself from us completely if Pops and I hadn't come here and made it clear she was in no position to be making threats.”

Sabo grimaced. “Well, sh*t. Jimbe's a good man; Koala's told me all about him. What a place for him to get stuck.” He slid his bag off of his shoulder and started digging around in it. “We should really do something about that...”

Ace grumbled in agreement. “We should find him and reunite him with Luffy and her crew. He's dead set on joining her, has been since two years ago.” He smiled slightly at the thought – Luffy's charisma had ensnared the former warlord so quickly. She never ceased to amaze him...

“It would be a huge boon to have a heavy hitter like him helping Lu,” Sabo mused, before uttering a pleased noise when he found what he was looking for. Ace looked down at the bag and resisted the urge to groan.

“Do we have to wear those tacky carnival prizes?” He complained. “If it was Water 7, they'd fit in, but we waltz in there with those damn things on our faces we'll be singled out faster than if I was walking around shirtless.”

“I seriously doubt that,” Sabo scoffed before straightening up. He was holding a pair of red and gold ornate masks. “And you need to think like a royal, my dear Pirate Prince.” Ace gave him a mild stink-eye at the title; he's just glad that the government hadn't tried to make that his new epithet instead of Emperor of Flame. “These things aren't tacky, they're ornate, a sign we have a lot of money. Meaning we'll blend in completely with the crowd of very important people Big Mom always invites to her big events.”

“And nobody's gonna ask us our names or to present our invitations?” Ace prodded skeptically.

Sabo smiled a very dangerous smile and placed the red mask in Ace's hand. “You walk a step behind me and do your best 'I'm too busy brooding handsomely to speak with you' impression... let me worry about the talking.”

Ace sighed but acquiesced at that; Sabo's silver tongue was the stuff of legends, and he'd seen it in action plenty of times. “Let's get this over with, then.” He said. Getting into Totland without arousing suspicion was the hard part, after all. Maintaining that cover... well, he'll do his best until Luffy makes a decision regarding the maybe wedding.

Slightly reluctantly he put the mask on and followed along behind Sabo as he casually headed off in the direction of the city proper. It wasn't as uncomfortable as he expected it to be, but it did itch a bit, and he resisted the urge to paw at it childishly. He pulled his hood up over his head and shoved his hands in his pockets, focusing on walking.

He hadn't seen Luffy in a little while... he'd wanted to go to Saobody and see her off on the second half of her adventure, but fights with Teach and Weevile had demanded he stay within the territory to defend it. The last time he'd seen her in person, it was after he'd finished retraining on Asteria Island and he'd gone to visit her on the edges of Amazon Lily. He hadn't set foot on the island itself, respecting the ban on men, and Luffy had run out to meet him.

Seeing her up and energetic, so overjoyed to see him... it had been such a relief after Marineford...

Sabo's hand stole into his. Ace blinked, marvelling at how his brother could read his thoughts. He held onto the blonde's slender hand like a lifeline as his thoughts swirled around Luffy. The fear of losing her, even just to a marriage, coiled like a venomous snake in his gut. He knows how powerful she is now, has seen it for himself... but...

He's also seen her a whisper's breath away from death. Because of him.

The shackles snap open, causing Ace to crash to the ground unceremoniously. What felt like his entire body ached in protest; the torture he'd endured in Impel Down had only been superficially treated before he was presented on the execution plot. And because of that ache, the intoxicating rush of his fire powers flooding back through him is all the more tangible. Immediately he planted one hand beneath him and shoved himself up onto his knees, looking up to find Luffy standing in front of him.

Her new, beautiful and terrifying form was dissipating; the white wheels of power melting into the sky and her body returning to a familiar shape. Luffy(?) smiled softly at him, a world of meaning in the red glow in her eyes before it vanishes and the familiar, beautiful hazel eyes he remembers replaced them.

“I finally reached you,” Luffy whispered joyously.

And then she just dropped.

Her body crumpled to the ground like a broken marionette. She didn't make a sound. Ace had seen plenty of people fall in battles. He knows the difference between passing out, being lightheaded from blood loss and stumbling to the ground, and dying on the spot. “LUFFY!” He screamed, running to her side and turning her onto her back.

The first thing he sees is blood. It was dried around Luffy's face, crusted in her hair and staining her cheeks and throat. He could see cuts from a whip and burn marks from poison on her shoulders, moving down underneath her tattered and bloodstained shirt. Her arms are bruised and covered in cuts too, dirty and unkempt. All marks of her break in to Impel Down. All things she'd borne to save him.

Her chest isn't rising and falling. She's completely still. Luffy is never this still. Panic rose in his chest and strangled him, briefly blinding his vision. “Luffy...Luffy, get up. I need you to get up,” Ace gasped out, gathering her in his arms and forcing himself to his feet.

She doesn't respond; her head lolls slightly against his arm and he can't feel her breath upon his skin. Ace scrambled to check her pulse, but his hand is shaking too badly. “Luffy, please, wake up.” He pleaded. He pressed his fingers gently against her throat and her pulse is so sluggish. Barely there.

“YOU!” Akainu's bellow of rage pierced through his haze of panic. Ace's head snapped up and he saw the Admiral barrelling towards him; adrenaline shot through him and he ran, dodging past the hail of magma flung at him. Flames lick along his arms, but he sees his power curl closely to Luffy's dark hair and smothered them without thinking.

Immediately he realized his flames were too dangerous to use with Luffy in his arms; the chance of burning her when she was weak – so so weak – why isn't she breathing, she's not breathing! -- was too great. Fear and rage pulsed through him in equal measure, ringing in his ears as Ace dodged again and again until-

The air crackled and snapped and Pops was right there in front of him. Unleashing the full power of the Quake Quake fruit on Akainu and sending him sprawling away. Ace felt tears burn at the corners of his eyes, a flash of relief briefly giving him respite from his terror. “Pops, something's wrong!” He gasped out. “Luffy, she's...!” His breath came out in a strangled gasp, unable to form words.

He can't breathe; can't speak, can only think nonononodon'tleavemeplease as he looked down at Luffy's bloodied face.

“It's that bad?” His father asked, understanding immediately. “Then it's time to retreat. We have you safe and sound now, and she needs a doctor.”

Ace choked on a sob and nods, turning to run. Luffy doesn't move, despite all the noise and chaos of the battle around her. She's so heavy in his arms, like a corpse.

“I never thought I'd live to see the day that the mighty Whitebeard would run from battle like a coward!” The words sent a violent jolt down Ace's spine. His head snapped over his shoulder to where Akainu was rising from the ground, his expression contorted with rage and spite.

“Brat,” Whitebeard said with utter contempt. “If you aren't willing to save your men from certain death, I'm honestly curious why you bothered with this career as a defender of the people.” He punched the air again, and the ground shook so badly as he fractured the island itself. The blow struck Akainu head on, crumbling him to the ground.

Ace took a half step forward, livid, wanting to destroy that man who mocked his living father. But he couldn't move further than that before Luffy's limp body shifted from that movement; he freezes in place and looks down at her.

So still. He couldn't see her breathing at all. She's dying. Luffy is dying. Luffy...

A rock filled his throat, and he turned around to start running faster than he'd ever had in his life. Scrambling over rubble and nearly tripping over fallen bodies, avoiding pockets of ice and magma. The world around him became gray static, like he's in the centre of a storm. “Luffy, we're almost out of here, I'll get you to a doctor, don't let go,” Ace babbled, his breath coming out in harsh gasps. “Please, you just have to make it a little bit further, don't leave me, don't go...!”

Jimbe's hand steadied him when he tripped over something, saving him from stumbling and potentially dropping Luffy's battered body on the ground. Ace stammered out a thank you, shifting his grip on her and pressing her head against his chest. The battlefield passed by him in a blur. And Luffy still won't move.

Ace blinked out of the memory, dazed. There are a lot of people around him now; they've made it to the docks. How long had he been zoned out? He'd only been aware of Sabo's guiding hand leading him along. The smell of chocolate was heavy in the air now; he almost welcomed it. It chased the memory of smoke and blood away.

“...please enjoy your stay,” the guard Sabo had been talking to stated cheerfully. Sabo winked at him and tugged Ace along, waiting until they were a few yards away to shoot him a concerned look.

“Hey, are you okay?” Sabo asked in a low voice. “I know I asked you to be quiet, but I didn't mean that quiet...”

“Make up your mind,” Ace groused halfheartedly. “Where are we staying again? I can't wait to take this stupid thing off.”

“Do you want to see Luffy or not?” Sabo responded, his voice gently teasing.

Ace's heart jumped violently, the memory of Luffy's body lying limp in his arms much too close. “Not funny,” He grumbled. Now Sabo really looked worried, and he sighed heavily. “Just – let's get out of the crowd and find out where she and her crew are staying.” The stress that he'd felt since hearing from Nami was getting to him... he needed to see Luffy in person.

“You need to get more rest,” Sabo mused, pulling Ace off the main street.

Rest might be part of the problem. Ace thought dryly. His dreams were either sweet and encouraging, or complete nightmares.

Navigating Totland while not running into any of Big Mom's minions was a complete nuisance. It reminded Ace of when they were kids, sneaking around in the high town of Goa to try restaurants and relieve local criminals of their treasure. Honestly, thinking of it that way was disarming; let him relax, despite being neck deep in an enemy Emperor's territory. Sabo was grinning as they ran from street to alleyway to rooftop; he's completely in his element, enjoying the cat and mouse and getting information from the unwitting island inhabitants without them ever noticing him. His glee was contagious, lifting Ace's mood.

With any luck, Big Mom wouldn't know they were there until the moment he burnt the old hag's face off.

Luffy knew that her phantom pain episodes could happen at...inopportune times, to say the least. One of them had tripped her up when she was trying to capture Caesar the first time, resulting in him throwing her into the trash. She'd found Momo there, so it wasn't all bad, but boy had she been upset at the time. Her stupid body...! Luckily it hadn't interrupted her during her fight with Mingo, that would have been bad.

Unfortunately that seemed to have used up her good luck. She, Katakuri and his sis Brulee were hanging around the amphitheatre where Brook was going to have one of his concerts when she'd felt the familiar creeping pain in her arms, legs, and chest. Oh no, not now! She thought lamely, flexing her hands. She tried to focus on what Brulee was saying, to ignore it.

“I'd been hoping to see the Soul King preform in person,” Brulee admitted, grinning at the stage. Brook was walking back and forth, testing the microphone and getting a feel for the space he'd have during the concert. “He'd never come to Totland in the two years you were training, and I'd been occupied with Mama's orders in that time, so I couldn't go see him myself. You've made a dream come true, Straw Hat.”

“You can call me by my name,” Luffy said, kicking her feet lightly. Pins and needles stabbed hard into her muscles and she suppressed a wince. “We're friends, right?” Brulee wasn't so bad. Katakuri said that she was the sibling that he was closest too when he introduced them, and while she was a little weird Luffy could see how much she adored Katakuri and how that feeling was mutual.

She didn't really like Prespero or Oven, who she'd also met that morning.

Brulee gave her a little surprised side-eye, and Luffy wondered if Katakuri was smiling underneath his scarf. He really had been wearing it every day, and it made him look really cool, but she wonders if he never gets hot in it. “Luffy, then,” The older woman said, the name falling a little awkwardly off of her tongue. “I appreciate that you're willing to let him preform for us.”

“Brook is a musician,” Luffy responded. “I'd never stop him from doing what he loves. Besides, everyone was so excited to hear him.”

“He's quite popular among my family,” Katakuri said amiably. It's a slight shift in his seemingly permanently stoic voice; Luffy is getting better at differentiating his moods, sort of like how she'd learned to read Traffy.

“Not as much as Uta,” Brulee responded energetically. “No one can compare to the Queen of Songstresses.”

Luffy nearly fell backward off of the bench in shock. “Uta?!” She repeated, her head snapping toward Brulee. Could it be? “She – she wouldn't happen to have long red and white hair that she ties up in little loops, would she?”

“Yes,” Brulee responded, blinking rapidly. “Why do you ask?”

“Why do I -” Luffy burst out into happy laughter, her chest squeezing so tightly she almost couldn't breathe. Shanks had such a solemn look when he knelt in front of her, murmuring 'Uta has started her career as a songstress. She sends you her love'. “I know her! I grew up with her! I mean, only for a little while, but she was my first friend! Uta!”

The memory of Uta filled her mind; Uta singing her on the hill above the ocean, playing tag with her in the grass and lying together looking up at the sky in the evening talking about their dreams. Uta's bright blue eyes are clear in her memory, and in that moment Luffy realized exactly how much she'd missed her in the long years since they've been separated. It was a yawning hole that filled her chest in an instant, bringing all the phantom pain she was experiencing into stark relief.

Brulee's jaw dropped open comically at that, her eyes bugging out. “WHAAAAAT?!” She shrieked in disbelief.

“How has she been? What's she been doing?” Luffy entreated, her arms shivering. “She always wanted to be a songstress.” She'd spent a few years pouring over newspapers looking for any sign of Uta's career, but after some time of seeing nothing and missing the other girl desperately, she'd given up.

“She's the greatest songstress in the blues!” Brulee said, still gawking at her. “Her mere arrival in a kingdom can cause minor inflation! Everyone loves her, civilian and pirate alike!”

“Really... hahaha...! I'm so happy for her...!” Luffy gasped, before finally flinching and curling up into herself. Hurts, hurts, hurts...

Katakuri's warm hand landed firmly on her shoulder. “Luffy, are you alright?” He asked, using her name for the first time.

“I'm fine, I'm fine,” Luffy said with as much cheer as she can muster. Her legs spasmed, the traitors; she winced and muttered “I'm a little sore.”

“You're shaking,” Katakuri observed. He looked intently at Luffy with the eye of a big brother who'd spent his entire life watching out for his siblings for any sign that they were hurt or upset, and his brow tightened. “How much pain are you feeling right now?”

“Just a little. It's more annoying than anything,” Luffy responded stubbornly; she was not going to appear weak in front of the people here.

Katakuri gave her a droll look, and he suddenly bent over and picked her up. Luffy yipped in surprise as she's lifted up in his arms bridal-style – just like in all the fairy tales in the book Makino gave her back in Windmill Village. “Brulee,” he said in a low, calm voice. “Take us into the Mirror World, please.”

“Ah – as you wish.” Brulee said. Luffy blinked in confusion when she drew a mirror from within her coat. “Do you not want to bring her to the doctor?”

“I'd rather she see her own, if she needs him.” Katakuri responded. He walked toward Brulee, who held up the mirror to him, and the world around them shifted and warped before Luffy's startled eyes! The amphitheatre melted away as Katakuri stepped out on the other side of the mirror revealing a completely different world within. It was massive, twisty and weird looking, like a dream come to life; the walls are coloured in bright magentas and dark purples and bent in weird, rippling angles. There were mirrors everywhere in all shapes and sizes. There seemingly wasn't anyone inhabiting this world, or at least this area of it; Luffy looked around wildly in awe.

“Whoa! Where are we?” Luffy blurted out.

“This is a world within mirrors,” Katakuri responded simply. “I come here when I wish to have some peace and quiet. We won't be disturbed.” He kept walking, heading toward the space where he often had his sweet binges. “Do you need your doctor?”

Luffy shook her head, a light flush entering her cheeks. “N-No. This is... um... it's called phantom pain, I think. Chopper used a fancier word for it, but I'm not hurt. My body is just – remembering a time I got really hurt. It'll go away on its own...”

Katakuri hummed in comprehension. Turning a corner, he walked into a familiar room and over to the futon, kneeling down and placing his fiance down on it. Luffy murmured in surprise, relaxing on the soft mattress and looking up at the ceiling. “Thank you,” she murmured, sounding...unusually vulnerable. It was so jarring compared to her cheer and warmth that Katakuri physically started.

“...It's no trouble,” Katakuri said quietly, looking down at her. Luffy reached up and touched her hat, wincing a little, but contact with the old straw hat seemed to give her comfort. “How did you end up with Roger's hat, if I might ask?” It was a question that baffled the people who were old enough to recognize the iconic head wear. Katakuri had silently pondered the possibility of Roger's child, who Shiki had spoken of before his capture in his obsessive pursuit of the woman he desired, having survived the World Government's search for her and her father to grow up to be the incorrigible rookie right up until Marineford happened.

Shiki had certainly believed Luffy to be her child; enough that he'd deviated from his years-long plan to destroy the east blue to kidnap her and her crew, attempt to gang press them into his army, and let them walk away alive after defeating them twice. Once again, his obsession had been his downfall, with Luffy defeating him and striking him down from the sky.

“Shanks gave it to me,” Luffy responded. Katakuri's eyebrows shot up at the admission. “Hehe... I met him when I was a kid, when he was travelling the East Blue. He kept visiting my home and we became friends. After...after he saved me from a Sea King, I told him I was going to become the King of the Pirates, and he gave me this hat.” Pain flickered through her eyes, a look that Katakuri was intimately familiar with. Guilt, old guilt. He wondered what happened that Red Haired Shanks lost an arm to an East Blue Sea King, of all things. “I'm holding it for him now, and once I'm a great pirate, I'll meet up with him and give it back.”

Her arm dropped to the futon again, and she groaned quietly. “Stupid body...”

Katakuri put a hand on her forehead. She didn't have a temperature, at least. “The world is a strange place,” he muses. “I'm surprised Garp let you strike up a friendship with Roger's cabin boy.”

Luffy's lips twitched upward. “Yeah, he wasn't around for it. And he wasn't happy when he found out. Gramps can be really silly.”

“I'll admit that's a little hard for me to imagine.” Garp was a figure of power and danger to him, has been ever since he was little. He was a boogeyman to his younger siblings and a source of alarm to the older ones. “But I suppose I'm not his grandchild.”

Luffy nodded, her eyes fluttering half shut. “It was nice of you to bring me in here. This is...kind of embarrassing, y'know? At least I didn't collapse in front of everyone. That would have been bad.” She focused on doing some deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation, just like Chopper taught her.

Katakuri sat back against the wall, staying close to her. Seeing Luffy so quiet and reserved... it was strange, and felt incredibly intimate. Without thinking, his hand moved up to his scarf; he tugged slightly at it, then shook his head and made himself drop his hand.

“Hey...” Luffy murmured. “What did you think? When your mom said that she wanted you to marry me? Pekoms said that she chooses who all her kids marry. That doesn't sound fair to me.”

Katakuri blinked, stuck silent by the question. “I was surprised, mostly,” he said, because it's true though not the whole truth. “I'm the third oldest of the family. I had assumed that mother saw me as a warrior, not a...family man.” He licked his lips, awkward. “I didn't know much about you, other than what I saw of Marineford. Though...that was quite an impressive introduction.”

“Do you want to get married?” Luffy asked.

“What?”

She turned her head and looked seriously at him. “Do you want to get married, Kat? You can tell me. Big Mom's not here.”

Bold of you to assume she won't find out! Katakuri's arm twitched with old pain. “I'm not against it.” He said a little hurriedly. “I just hadn't thought I would be chosen, when I-” am ugly, deformed, possess the mouth of a pelican eel- “-have younger brothers.”

“That's not really an answer,” Luffy remarked. “If you don't want to, you can say so. I know most people don't want to marry a women warrior, like me.”

Katakuri's brain stalled at that. “What? What people say that?” He said. He heard the words, they just didn't make any sense to him.

It was Luffy's turn to look confused. “I mean...most people?” She hedged. “Sanji talks all the time about the beauty of women, and Wool Slap always said that if I became a pirate, nobody would want to marry me. And I mean – I'm not pretty, really.” The last bit was said very matter-of-factly, like she was saying that water was wet... though there's a slight tone of sadness underneath.

Katakuri stared blankly at the girl on his futon. Who, from every way he looked at her, looked incredibly beautiful. “I'm sorry?” He said blankly. “What blind imbecile told you that?”

Luffy sat up in a rush, hazel eyes widening at his response. “I... well,” she stuttered, for the first time looking as caught off-guard as she had been making him feel. “I'm scarred. I...have a lot of scars.” She put her hand on her chest, moving it down to her stomach and then her thigh. Katakuri's throat went completely dry following the movement and he yanked his gaze back to her face. Focus! “I got a lot in Impel Down. All the obstacles there – razor blade trees, the desert area, boiling blood, and poison. So much poison, everywhere... I got burned and cut up all over. Plus that light bastard shot me in the shoulder when I got to Marineford.”

Her hands balled up into fists. “I don't regret it, not one bit.” She said fiercely. “I do it all again in a heartbeat. But – I can't be pretty anymore. Scarred women don't get married...guys don't like scarred girls.” Her shoulders slumped just a little.

“Bullsh*t,” Katakuri responded a little heatedly. Luffy jerked a little and stared at him again. “Roger accrued plenty of scars across her voyages, and she could hardly get away from her stream of suitors even after marrying ten of them. My mother has scars of her own, and that has never stopped her from finding partners.” Well, his mother was a bad example because she wasn't above kidnapping and drugging some of her bed partners, but a good number of them were completely voluntary and he's in a rush to make his point. “What self respecting pirate wouldn't admire the scars that prove your strength, your boldness? You broke the Marines over your knee to save Portgas, and those scars are proof of your triumph. Wear them with pride, you've earned that. And I personally think... that those scars are things to admire.”

Luffy stared at him without saying anything for a few seconds as she processed his words. Then her cheeks flushed a dark pink, and she tugged the brim of her hat down to shade her face in happy embarrassment. “You're so nice, Kat!” She chirped, a layer of affection under her usual warmth. “Thank you!”

“...You're the first person to ever say that to me,” Katakuri murmured, his heart doing a strange, awkward back flip.

“So... you want to marry me?” Luffy asked hesitantly.

Several responses came to him at once, and none of them felt right. “You're good company,” Katakuri settled on. “I...would not mind spending our time together.” Earnest, sincere and full of life... he – he did want that. Even though...well...

Luffy looked at him, judging his sincerity... and smiled. It's as bright and warm as her usual smiles, but it's also a little surprised and...even shy. “Take a nap, Luffy.” Katakuri suggested, his heart rate vaulting upward. “We aren't expected anywhere, and it will help.”

“Okay,” Luffy chirped, lying down. Now looking much more peaceful, she dropped off the sleep mere minutes later. Katakuri shook his head, marveling at the speed, and proceeded to lie down himself. Taking a break with her was easier than having to slip off on his own later.

Luffy ran down the road to the hotel with a spring in her step. The phantom pain has passed just as Katakuri said, her chest still felt really funny – like a whole swarm of butterflies were flying around inside her. She was weightless, like she was in Gear 5 and flying through the air. I'm pretty... I'm pretty!

She hadn't thought often on this topic; mostly associated it with annoying conversations with Wool Slap where he tried to convince her that it would be better for her to be a house wife than a pirate. She was a little reminded of it when she heard about how Thunder Soldier hadn't trained Rebecca to fight, only to dodge; it didn't feel fair to compare the two, though. Kyrios was her father, he wanted her to be safe and to not have to bloody herself like he had. And there were plenty of guys who said that women shouldn't be fighters, but Roger was the King and they were very easy to ignore.

But meeting Pudding – it had tripped her up, somehow. Watching her flirting with Sanji... it got under Luffy's skin in a way she still couldn't explain. And she – she was beautiful, really really beautiful, without a scar to be seen, and... Luffy had looked herself in the mirror and seen her scars in a different light for the first time. They'd looked gross and unseemingly for the first time.

And, wildly, she wondered what Zoro, Sanji, and Ace had thought when they saw all of them; after Marineford and when her shirt had gotten shredded during the battle at Fishman Island. A really sick feeling entered her stomach at the thought, one that wouldn't go away.

This is what she gets for thinking too hard!

Luffy laughed a little as she swung the door opened and headed for the stairs to the third floor. Katakuri was really nice... she definitely wanted him to come with her to Wano, she's decided that now. Her crew would like him once they got to know him!

Jumping up the steps two at a time, Luffy reached the third floor and turned down the hallway toward her room. She hummed a little as she went, her spirits lifted. Maybe she'd go chase down Reiji later, see what she was doing? It would be nice; she can't help but feel like she's being aloof on purpose, and she can't help but wonder why.

“...gonna get in contact with him. Big Mom has probably been keeping him out of sight; he helped Lu out at Marineford, after all.” Luffy skidded to a brief halt at the familiar male voice drifting from the other side of her room. Her heart jumped in delight – she hadn't expected – she ran up to the door and tried to shove it open. “sh*t, who's at the door?”

“Sabo!” Luffy called, then yelped as the door abruptly opened, causing her to spill ungracefully into the room. Carrot babbled an apology to her before shutting the door again. Luffy sat up and beamed in joy when she saw both Sabo and Ace standing in the room with her crew and Traffy; both of them beamed at the sight of her. “Ace?! What are you doing here?!”

Sabo just grinned at her, eyes sparkling. “You didn't think you'd get married without us being there, did you?” He teased.

Luffy vaulted to her feet and ran to them, grabbing them both in a tight hug. They're here, they're both here...! She felt like her chest might explode. “I don't know what I thought! But I'm really glad you're here!”

Ace chuckled softly, his hand stroking her dark hair. “Like I'd miss this,” he whispered. He held her close, like he was afraid she'd disappear if he let go.

Traffy cleared his throat. “L – Straw Hat, it turns out that Jimbe is here. He'd like to arrange to meet you, without Big Mom or her children noticing.”

Luffy squeaked, excited. “Jimbe?! Where, when?!” If this was the business he was talking about, maybe he could finally join her crew! This day has turned out so so well!

Chapter 12

Chapter Text

“Thank you for letting me use your apartment, Moscato.” Jinbe said, sitting down on the hard wood floor. Despite the general construction style of Totland, the 16^th son of Big Mom preferred that his elegant apartment complex be made of wood and brick instead of chocolate, wafers or anything sugary as a personal preference. Jinbe was grateful for this for multiple reasons; one of which was that he was getting a little tired of the sickly sweet smell that permanently permeated the air elsewhere.

“It's the least I could do,” Moscato said lightly. He's still very pale and and gaunt from his ill-fated attempt to calm his mother out of a food rampage; Jinbe had been on that island by chance and pulled him out of the way in time for him to survive – albeit battered and much weaker for it. He was technically still on bed rest; Moscato solemnly acknowledged that his mother simply wanted to hide his current weakness, nothing more. “Praline spoke so earnestly on the matter, and I owe you.”

“I've said it before...it was only the right thing to do.” Jinbe said, taking a light drink of sake.

Moscato smiled faintly, his eyes saying that he still doesn't understand why the fish man doesn't consider saving his life to be a debt, and Jinbe felt a familiar mixture of biting disdain for Big Mom and pity for her children – even the worst of them. She never gave them a chance to experience selflessness, compassion or a love that wasn't warped with selfishness.

“They should be here in a few minutes,” Moscato said, leaning a little more on the wall to steady himself. “I'll keep myself upstairs and out of the way. Mama won't learn anything from me.

Jinbe glanced upward. “You're smiling, Moscato.” He commented curiously. He'd thought that Big Mom's son would be much more apprehensive going behind her back, especially after she had almost killed him by accident. Her reaction to a 'betrayal' like this would be far, far more terrible... and he knew more than anyone that being her child was no protection.

“Well...” The man shrugged a little, like he was searching for words. “Jinbe, I'll admit that when I heard that Katakuri was finally getting married to that girl, I was rather hoping that she would turn up, take him and leave, even if it meant Mama chasing after them in hot pursuit.”

Of all the answers Jinbe was expecting, this was so far away from it he almost dropped his cup in surprise. “Truly?” He blurted out.

Moscato's nodded; he glanced at the window, at the skyline of his home. “Ever since we were children, Katakuri was our protector.” He said. “For my younger siblings, he is the only father they have ever had. Mama's affection comes and goes, but his protectiveness of us never wavers. His whole life has been devoted to us. A perfect soldier, a perfect man, the demon that even the crews of Kaido, Whitebeard and Red Hair tread carefully around. He did it all without complaint, even though he must be exhausted. Weary of it. He receives so little in return, but he'll never change. He'll keep maintaining this self-chosen role until he dies if we let him.”

The look in the 16^th son's eyes hardened visibly. “Every decision he's made has been for us... I want him to be able to live his own life before its too late. Praline and Chiffon feel the same; now, Chiffon is terrified for him even amidst the justifiable resentment she feels for all of us.”

“Terrified?” Jinbe repeated, his brow furrowing.

Moscato exhaled harshly. “My sister Lola left the family some time ago, and took with her any hope Mama had of forming an alliance with the giant people.” He said shortly. “We haven't found her since. Chiffon is her twin, and Mama has vented all her feelings of rage and betrayal upon her. Recently... Katakuri attempted to step between them during one such episode and protect her. He reasoned with Mama that Chiffon had always been loyal, that she didn't deserve to be beaten.”

Jimbe's grip on his glass tightened. Big Mom and Kaido never brooked defiance, including – perhaps especially – from their own crews.

Moscato's fist tightened. “Mama few into a greater rage than any of us had seen before... and she beat him into a three day coma in retaliation. She interpreted his attempt to play peacemaker as a betrayal from her greatest, most prized son, and I can't understand why he didn't even get mad at her for it when he woke.”

His hand was trembling as he said this... Jinbe knew why it was. It was fear. All of Big Mom's children feared her, even if they weren't fully conscious of it. If she had killed Katakuri that day, it wouldn't have been the first time she was responsible for the death of one of her children. Sometimes Jinbe wondered if they could even comprehend how much their mother had hurt them.

“I've seen them together. Him and Straw Hat,” Moscato said, a little genuine smile crossing his face. “He's so baffled by her, and yet... I think that he's falling for her. And I think that she would be good for him. After all, we've seen what she'll do to protect someone she loves. And after all this time...I think that's what he deserves most of all.”

With that, the man disappeared up the staircase, leaving Jinbe with much to think about.

“She's thawing the brittle heart of Charlotte Katakuri...?” The fishman mused in wonder. “Luffy, what exactly are you?”

He knew, or at least he could guess. When the battered, bloodied, breathless, yet still hellishly determined young girl stumbled to a stop before his cell in Impel Down looking for Ace, Jinbe had felt an immediate tug of protectiveness toward her. He'd heard stories about her from Ace; oh, all of the Whitebeards had, it was a well worn sport to tease him over his obvious adoration for her. But seeing her unbroken spirit in person, frustrated but undaunted by her failure to reach Ace before he was taken to Marineford... that sense had gotten stronger, and he followed her in her efforts to save his good friend.

Jinbe had never thought much about having children. He'd never felt like he was in a position where he could settle down, marry, and raise a family; first because of his status as a Sun Pirate, hunted to the ends of the earth by the Marines and knowing what they had done searching for Roger's final husband and father of her only known child. Then as a Warlord, the whole of his attention was on defending his people and raising their status, leaving not enough time as a family would deserve, and after that and Marineford he'd simply felt too old for marriage. He loved children, so it was with a degree of heartache that he came to that silent conclusion.

And then Luffy barreled back into his life. The sun incarnate, brilliant, devoted, wild and mad and chasing after her impossible seeming dream – yet so desperately lacking in common sense and oblivious as a brick when men were concerned. That feeling of protectiveness came back with a vengeance, and after she saved his home from Hody Jones, it struck Jinbe that Monkey D Luffy had taken that place in his heart his own child might have occupied if he'd had the chance to have one.

It had been a heartening realization, making it sting all the more that he hadn't been able to accept a position on her crew immediately. He'd had to untangle himself from Linlin's web first, and hopefully the Sun Pirates as well.

How surprising, that Moscato had almost quoted word for word what Aladdin and the others had told him when saying he wished his brother would run away with Luffy. Jinbe hadn't realized he had this in common with the stoic man.

Jinbe took another drink and waited for another few minutes before he heard the door swing open. “Uncle Jinbe!” Luffy shrieked in delight from downstairs.

“Shhhush, Luffy! Do you want the entire city block to hear you?!” Nami's chiding voice followed. Jinbe chuckled at the sound of running, Luffy obviously ignoring the statement. Mere moments later the black haired girl burst through the doorway, her expression lighting up when she saw him.

“Hello, Luffy.” Jinbe said warmly. Luffy grinned and cannoned into him, stretching her arms out to give him a tight hug. Quickly following through the doorway was Nami, who smiled in relief upon seeing him. Then was the ever-serious looking Trafalgar Law, and after him Ace himself, removing the hood that was hiding his face.

“Captain Ace.” Jinbe said solemnly; he mock-bowed as much as he was able with Luffy wrapped around him.

“Don't you start with me,” Ace retorted, a small but genuine smile crossing his lips. Jinbe stood, Luffy unwinding herself from him so they could shake hands. “Close friends don't have to call me that.”

Sabo slid in next, his footsteps almost completely inaudible – if Jinbe weren't an old and wary man, he wouldn't have even noticed the blonde was there until he was right in front of him. He earned that rank in the Revolutionaries, he thought. “Jinbe,” Sabo said with a friendly grin. “Koala sends her regards, and regrets that she couldn't come along. She's missed you.”

“That sentiment is very much mutual.” Jinbe rumbled fondly. He had met Koala for the first time in years a short time after Marineford... Sabo had regained his memories upon seeing Luffy and Ace in the newspaper pondering if the former was alive or dead, and she'd followed him when he'd rushed to go and find them.

Koala had grown up into such a fine young woman.

“Jinbe!” Chopper cheered, running across the floor and hugging his leg. Brook greeted him with equal excitement, Carrot beamed and bounced in place, and Sanji favoured him with a warm smile as he brought up the rear, shutting the door behind them.

“It's good to see all of you again,” Jinbe rumbled. “Find a place to sit, we have a lot to talk about.”

Luffy made an excited noise and dropped down onto the couch. Ace and Sabo promptly took the open spaces on either side of her, cutting off Sanji and more subtly Law. The cook bristled and opened his mouth to say something, only to be cut off by Nami clapping a hand over his mouth and hauling him over to one of the available chairs.

Law merely scowled, walked up to the couch and sat down on the floor, resting back against the couch between Luffy and Ace's legs. Jimbe noticed that Ace didn't seemed bothered by this move, seemingly content to leave his leg brushing against the deadly doctor's shoulder. Interesting, that. Jinbe wasn't going to stick his nose into that situation unless he thought he needed to for Luffy's sake, but he couldn't help but be a little curious...

“I didn't think we'd meet up here!” Luffy said, kicking her legs out. “What happened after we left Fishman Island, Jimbe?”

“I had to square a debt I accrued in the aftermath of Marineford.” Jinbe responded simply.

Ace sighed, his shoulders dropping a little. “I'm sorry, Jinbe.”

“Nonsense,” Jinbe responded, waving one webbed hand. “You, Pops and the crew needed time to recover from that battle. With how poorly Sengoku's plan backfired, the Marines were out in force to do damage control, and Linlin and Kaido would have leapt on the opportunity with gusto. That I could buy you time to get back on your feet is a point of pride to me, regardless of the circ*mstances it created for me.”

“Which are...what, exactly?” Nami asked hesitantly. “I know Fishman Island was sending Big Mom tribute in pieces...before Luffy ate the entire last shipment, anyway.” She glowered at her unrepentant-looking captain.

“I bartered for a year of her protecting my home as Pops had done previously.” Jinbe explained. “With the Marines crippled, slavers and other threats would be bolder than ever before. In exchange for a favour I would grant her later, Linlin agreed to do so. The favour she chose was that myself and the Sun Pirates would join her crew.”

“EEEH?!” Luffy and Chopper blurted out, wearing identical shocked expressions. Ace shook his head, self recrimination flickering across his face. Sabo put a hand on his shoulder. “But you can't!” Luffy protested, eyes wide as plates. “You're gonna join us!”

Jinbe grinned reassuringly at her. “I haven't changed my mind about that, I assure you. In fact, I wholly intend to renounce service to her and leave with you before the wedding takes place. Or after, if you're giving Katakuri serious consideration.”

He was not expected Luffy's cheeks to illuminate a light shade of red, or for the young sun goddess to pull her knees up to her chest. “W-Well...I'd thought that I wasn't gonna for sure, but...” she mumbled, a little abashed of all things. “He said he thinks I'm pretty.”

“WHAT?!” Sanji and Sabo bellowed in unison. Luffy leaned back into the couch, giving them a wide-eyed confused look.

“You're not serious,” Nami mumbled dully before protesting more vehemently. “Luffy, that guy is a monster!”

Luffy's head snapped up at that. “No he's not!” She argued with a degree of heat that visibly shocked all the others. “He looks super serious and scary, but he's actually pretty nice. Even though I'm all scarred up, he still said he thought I was pretty.” Ace stiffened visibly, and Law's knuckles went white around his sword as he silently recited medical jargon to keep his temper. “So I've decided that he's coming with us to Wano.”

“Does he know of this plan yet?” Jinbe asked, amusem*nt swirling in his chest. A feeling that increased when Luffy nonchalantly shook her head, causing Chopper to violently face plant onto the carpet and Brook's jaw to unhinge and fall gracelessly to the floor next to the reindeer. “Ah. Of course.”

“B-But Sunshine, that's so dangerous!” Sanji protested when he could speak again. “You've only known him for a few days! To be so sure of his character-”

Luffy frowned. “It was the same with you guys, when I met you. I could tell you were all good people.”

The blonde stumbled and tried again. “W-Won't he prefer to stay here, tending to his many siblings? He's the woman's successor for heaven's sake!”

“I won't stop him from coming back to visit them,” Luffy responded. She looked down at her knees and smiled, that light red still visible in her cheeks. However the topic of scars had come up, Katakuri's response had clearly touched her deeply. Jinbe wondered what in the four blues happened. “But nevermind that for now!” Sanji opened his mouth to protest more, but she barreled past him. “Jinbe, will you and your nakama be able to escape with us? You're sure?”

“Absolutely,” Jinbe responded. “Though there is one matter that we should address before planning our undoubtedly dramatic escape; Big Mom's poneglyph. You'll need it in order to find the way to Raftel.”

Luffy nodded vehemently. “Brook and Chopper and Carrot and Pedro were planning to go looking for it. Do you know where it is?”

The conversation turned away from the elephant in the room, but Jinbe saw Ace and Sabo exchange a meaningful look before getting caught up in the conversation. He just hoped that whatever they were planning to do wouldn't set a chunk of Totland on fire.

It was late when a basic plan for the poneglyph heist was hammered out and they slipped away from the mansion with Jinbe promising to stay in constant contact from this point onward. Luffy was still bouncing with excitement when they headed back to the hotel, but Sabo put a hand on her shoulder before she turned the corner with the others.

“Not tired yet?” He asked, smiling with pleasure when she shook her head. “Then come on, let's go get lost in wonderland for a while. Just like the old days.”

Luffy's eyes widened. “Huh? But – don't you need to stay low-key or something?” She asked, even though every part of her was electrified at the thought. Her memories of those days in the jungle were strong as a beacon, had comforted her through the two years she spent training without her loved ones.

Her father had solemnly admitted to giving Kuma the order to separate them, and took the slap she gave him with grace. Luffy knew that it had been done for their sake – they weren't ready for the New World, she'd been made painfully aware of that by everything that happened during and after Saobody. Ultimately it was a sign that her father loved her, absent though he'd been for most of her life. After a day of sulking and dwelling on the revelation, she'd ultimately forgiven him. But she'd still felt her loved one's absence like a physical ache.

Sabo laughed in response before giving her a wink. He looked devilishly charming now – like that phantom thief from his favourite book series back in Goa. “Lu, have a little faith! What kind of Revolutionary can't sneak around?” He asked.

“Let's go raid some kitchens,” Ace said, putting one hand on Luffy's shoulder. “Some place on these damned islands has to have some good meat.”

Ooooh, Luffy really wanted meat! It's been days now since she last had some! “Yes! Let's go, let's go, let's go!” She cheered.

Sabo tossed her a dark cloak he'd acquired...somewhere; Luffy scrambled into it, and the three of them took off running toward the back streets. Within minutes they'd climbed a house and were jumping from rooftop to rooftop, casting long shadows on the streets below. This was a place where just about everything was alive and moved around constantly, so few who saw those shadows even looked up from what they were doing – assuming it was some homie or another changing location. Luffy ran faster as they went along, laughing as the wind whistled through her hood and how this time, Sabo and Ace were trying to keep up with her rather than the other way around.

Whole Cake Island was beautiful in a very dreamlike way; each section of the city looked like something out of the Nutcracker, albeit without snow. Luffy almost wished that it was winter, wondering what it looked like that time of year. “This way, this way! I can smell bread baking!” She said excitedly, pointing to the right.

“Hey, try to keep you voice down, yeah?” Ace chuckled, landing next to her. “You're very recognizable these days, you know.”

“Not as much as you,” Luffy said, beaming at him. “You're an Emperor, Ace! I was so happy for you when Rayleigh showed me the paper!” The new Fleet Admiral, that magma guy, had ordered an attack on Whitebeard territory shortly after Ace finished his training... the battle that ensued had won him his new title and bounty beyond dispute, because it had happened shortly after Ace sent Teach packing personally in a battle just north of the chosen location.

“I'm not that different now, am I?” Ace questioned lightly, a smile on his lips. That expression made something jump and ache in Luffy's chest at the same time, something she couldn't explain; her cheeks warmed up in the cool night.

“I guess not. You're still my Ace,” She mused. Ace's eyes widened a little, and something in them became...very tender? Her heart skipped a beat, and she said, “I'm sure its this way, let's go!”

She lead them a few streets down and tried to jump down the chimney; Sabo grabbed her by the back of her coat and whispered chidingly in her ear, 'wrong time of year for that, Lu.' Luffy squeaked, then pouted at him. The blonde dropped down to the back of the building, her and Ace following him; the windows were locked, leaving her watching in awe as Sabo nonchalantly picked it from the outside with an old nail and slid the large pane upward to give them access. The three of them piled inside and headed to the kitchen.

There were some nice things there – fresh bread loves, different kinds of cheese, some fruit being prepared for the chocolate fountains – but no meat. They stole a basket's worth off of the plates and were gone before the confused cooks realized that the smaller stacks were not, in fact, their imagination. Luffy snickered all the way back outside. “No meat,” she muttered, disappointed.

“Don't despair yet, silly.” Sabo said, ruffling her hair. “There's plenty more places to check.”

Luffy nodded hopefully, and they took off running again.

The island was huge... and just like Sabo said, there were a lot of restaurants and bakeries scattered all over the place. It was both a point of pride and a precautionary measure against Big Mom's hunger rampages, he explained to her. Luffy hadn't seen the Emperor go into a fit yet, but she'd heard people whispering about the most recent one when she'd gone walking with Katakuri. A lot of them were confectionery places, but there were some places that stocked normal foodstuffs. Though a lot of them were vegetables, bergh! Only Sanji could make veggies taste good.

On the sixth restaurant they 'visited', finally Luffy smelled what she'd wanted most to find. Meat! Beef and lamb! She felt herself salivating the moment she'd caught the scent floating through the air. Oooh, what a relief, there WAS some here!

“Finally,” Sabo breathed out. “I never thought the smell of chocolate would annoy me so much.”

“It's bigger than the other buildings we raided,” Ace observed, looking down at the three story building at the end of the street. “There'll be more people inside to avoid.”

“True,” Sabo said, pivoting and handing his basket over to Luffy. “You wait here for us, Luffy; we'll be in and out in a moment.”

“What?! No fair,” She protested.

Sabo shook his head, a fond little smile on his face. And then he suddenly leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. Luffy squeaked slightly, her eyes widening. “Trust me here, Lu.” He said softly, a different cadence than usual in his voice. She nodded like a bobblehead, and he and Ace took off toward the end of the road.

Luffy slowly raised her hand and touched her cheek. And I think those scars are something to admire... the words floated up in her memory, and she felt warmth flood her face. What's going on? It's Sabo, he's hers, he's always been hers. W-what's different right now? She shuffled her feet, her head spinning like a hamster wheel as she waited for them to come back.

True to Sabo's word, he and Ace returned with a stack of steak and lamb chops. Luffy almost melted on the spot. “You guys are the best,” she said seriously. “Let's eat!”

“Let's find a comfortable place first,” Ace said, glancing over his shoulder to make sure they still haven't been noticed. “That townhouse has a pretty flat roof; c'mon, it's not far.” Luffy nodded and bolted for the back street, leaving the two boys scrambling to keep up.

The town house is the biggest building in this particular area, and it had a relatively flat roof to boot. Luffy settled down on the gingerbread tiles and put her baskets down, stretching like a cat and all but bubbling with excitement as Sabo and Ace started spreading the food out in front of her. It wasn't as big a spread as dinner typically was for the three of them; the mood of this moment was less a meal and more a secret candlelit meeting with a small platter of snacks. Luffy felt the slight change of energy, but wasn't sure what to make of it...and the meat smelled way too good to not be her top priority.

“Eat up,” Sabo said with a fond smile. He handed her a plate and watched Luffy dig in. Just like the evenings in the tree house... Ace was watching her too, slowly eating some fruit with total adoration on his face. It almost amused Sabo because he could remember a time when his brother was almost as dense as Lu if not moreso; knowing why he was like that, though... yeah. He's just glad that Ace has gotten past that now.

“It's so good...” Luffy said, melting with delight as she finished off her second steak. “I was afraid I wouldn't be able to have meat until I got to Wano.”

“That would have been tragic,” Ace agreed solemnly.

Sabo snorted. “You two are lucky you've never had to survive on army rations.” He took a drink of water. “You'll never take any kind of normal food for granted again.”

Ace rolled his eyes. “Asteria called, she says you're very cute.” He told his brother dryly. “I never want to eat another coconut in my life.” Sabo laughed, causing Ace to take a halfhearted swipe at him.

Luffy giggled. The sun was mostly set by now, darkness covering the sky as the stars started to become visible. The perfect time of day... the wind had gotten a little cool, and there's still just enough light out between the sunset and the street lights to comfortably see. The golden lights made Ace and Sabo's profiles glow slightly. “I've missed you two.” She said sweetly.

Sabo gave her a fond look. “I've missed you too, Lu.” He said softly, the words heavy with meaning. “I'll be sticking close to you for the near future. Hope you don't mind.”

“Why would I?” Luffy said, her eyes widening a little. Having both him and Ace close, when she was beginning to worry that their responsibilities would keep them apart from her for a long time? Nothing could make her happier.

She finished off a steak and lowered her hand, noticing a scar on her palm. It was small, hardly noticeable, but it made her remember that moment chatting with Jinbe earlier.

“That's a serious look,” Ace remarked, finishing off his plate. “What are you thinking so hard on, Lu?”

“Hmm...” Luffy dropped her hands in her lap and looked seriously at her two boys. “Hey Ace, Sabo... do you think I'm pretty?”

Sabo paused with his glass halfway to his lips. “Is this a trick question?” He asked, blinking rapidly at her. His tone sounded like he'd just been asked if rain fell from the sky. “You've always been very pretty, Lu.”

“Before Impel Down, maybe.” Luffy said. Ace winced, causing her to panic. “Dummy, don't look at me like that! It wasn't your fault at all. Haven't I told you that?” She moved over to his side and gave him a momentary, if crushing, hug.

Ace clasped one of her hands in his own, gentle but firm. He'd touched and held her like this ever since Marineford; a subtle difference that Luffy hadn't noticed until this moment. “I'd give up everything for you.” Luffy said quietly. “It doesn't matter that I got scarred.”

Ace looked at her, a strange intensity in his eyes. “Lu,” he said quietly. “You remember the day you woke up, after the War of the Best?” She nodded. “You were dressed in a hospital gown when you came out of the Polar Tang. I'd seen your scars while Law was operating on you. But Lu, when you walked out of there on your own to feet, alive and smiling, I knew something right away. You're the most beautiful woman who ever lived.”

Luffy retreated a bit and stared at him. When Ace maintained his expression, she squeaked and her face turned a brilliant shade of red. “Eh?” She managed after a few seconds. “What?! But, but Ace – you know Boa!” He wasn't...seriously comparing her to Boa, was he?”

“I do,” Ace nodded, not even blinking. “She's pretty, yeah. But she can't compare to you. You're beautiful, Lu; nothing can change that.”

Luffy's mouth opened and closed, and her face felt like it was spontaneously combusting. Her heart felt like it was going to explode!

“He's right,” Sabo said in total seriousness. Luffy looked over at him with wide eyes. “You're stunning, Lu. You haven't been worrying about that, have you?”

“I...didn't think about it that much!” Luffy babbled, pressing her hands against her chest. Joy was there, joy and – and something she couldn't figure out, an emotion that both hurt and felt like pure europhia. It was so intense it made her dizzy. “I was just – wondering. Because I'm a pirate, and a fighter, y'know?”

Sabo shook his head. “That makes you more beautiful to me, Lu, not less,” he said – like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Who's been telling you otherwise?” He's smiling, but it's kind of a scary smile? What is he thinking right now?

“Nobody who matters,” Luffy responded, and she did mean it. “I only started wondering when I met Pudding. The girl Sanji's going to marry.” She said that with some distaste. “She's really beautiful; she looks like the princesses from Makino's fairy tale books.”

Ace reached over and brushed her hair away from her eyes, his warm fingers brushing a trail across her cheek. “It's not like you to worry,” he remarked.

“I know.” Luffy leaned into his touch. “Shishishi... it was pretty silly of me, huh?” She titled her head forward so her forehead bumped into his. Sabo moved a little closer, letting her reach out and put her hand on his arm. “I know I'm not that smart, but that was really dumb!”

“You can be silly, yeah.” Ace murmured. His ocean-green eyes were still so intense... for a moment Luffy thought he might kiss her again. The thought made her heart start hammering like a drum. What's happened to her? “That's just who you are. My Lu. Our Lu.”

“Never change,” Sabo agreed, his thumb rubbing the inside of her wrist. It made her shiver.

Luffy felt like she needed to talk to somebody, but who could explain feelings to her? Makino was miles and miles away... and so was Robin. Who would help her...? Maybe... maybe she should talk to Reiji. Why her name jumped into her head, Luffy wasn't sure, but her mind had gone to a strip where Poison Pink was teasing Sora – and the hero was wondering why he became so weak when faced with her.

Yeah, she would know. Definitely. Luffy would ask her tomorrow!

Chapter 13

Chapter Text

Reiju was on a mission – that mission being to politely avoid her father as much as humanly possible, for as long as possible. She'd succeeded so far, keeping from returning to Germa Castle except to sleep for two entire days. That surge of rebelliousness was to be blamed wholly on Monkey D Luffy and her divine magnetism.

Reiju had never known anyone like the raven-haired girl; at first, she'd agreed to her repeated requests to spar and spend time with her just to learn more about Sanji's captain. And learn she had... that Luffy was a blithe spirit who's company was addictive. Being greeted with sincere smiles, endless enthusiasm and bold, innocent curiosity... oh, the soldiers of Germa always smiled and acted enthusiastic around her, but they were biologically wired to do so. Their joy was manufactured, just another sign of Judge's vanity.

They couldn't compare to the warmth of the sun goddess.

With Luffy, Reiju...enjoyed herself. A lot. In their sparring she became keenly aware that she wasn't as powerful as the wiry young woman, or her imposing fiance, but Luffy made the usually tiresome exercise fun. She'd been dragged to lunches with the half of the Straw Hat crew that had followed her to Totland and marvelled at what a close, affectionate band of lunatics and fighters they were – and how willing they were to include her in their circle.

This, Reiju had thought to herself, was what a family should look like. It awakened a longing in her chest that burned like a physical wound; it made her miss her mother dearly. Returning to Germa castle after one of said dinners and staring up at the looming, grim towers, she'd been struck with overwhelming resentment, and put her plan into action that very evening. She 'forgot' her baby den-den and went deep downtown in Totland; getting to know the land of the family Sanji was marrying into was important to the plan, wasn't it~? Her other brothers were sent out looking for her, no doubt, but Reiju knew them well enough to give them the slip.

Pudding's siblings... there was a sense of anticipation among them, and not just for the Soul King concert that was going to start in a few hours. Reiju couldn't quite parse it; she got the sense they were being tight lipped around her, even those who acted perfectly friendly and casual when she encountered them.

It was potentially a red flag. She knew that. But it was equally possible that Big Mom's children were genuinely excited to see their brother and sister getting married; pirates, especially the ones who served under Emperors, were often built up as mythical monsters who didn't have the same thoughts or feelings as civilians. Having been subjected to the same sort of narration as a princess of the Evil Empire, Reiju knew that the Charlottes – even the most twisted among them – had more depth than that. Most of the girls she encountered wandering around Totland's candy cane streets were babbling non stop about the wedding hall and the recipes for the cake that were being considered for the party. The boys were muttering about security or expressing discontent about Katakuri's chosen fiance.

Sanji's marriage to Pudding seemed to be a bit of an afterthought after Luffy's arrival, like the light of Nika drowning out everything else. One more thing for Judge to get worked up over, even now that he's mostly recovered from the beating the young captain had given him.

Reiju took a deep breath of the sweet air of Totland, turning another random corner in the twisting streets of the bustling city. The slight, permanent tang in the wind has almost started feeling normal, and Reiju briefly wondered what living here full time would be like. Her teeth almost ached at the thought.

The peace she experienced being on her own, away from Judge, Ichiji, Niji and Yonji – who's still royally sulking that father wasn't allowing her to annoy Big Mom and Katakuri by hitting on the latter's fiance – felt like healing for her soul. Reiju was going to bitterly miss this once the wedding was over.

She was going to miss feeling like she could be free.

“Hey, Reiji! Reeeeiji!”

Luffy's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Speak of the devil... or the sun goddess, I suppose! Reiju looked to the left, then the right, then upward; she found the pretty raven-haired girl hanging upside down from a nearby rooftop, one hand holding her straw hat in place and beaming at the pinkette. “Hello, Luffy.” Reiju said, trying not to giggle. “What brings you out here? I don't see Katakuri nearby.”

Luffy made a face. “He's getting fitted for a suit or something. Why does he need one? He's handsome just as he is.” With a little grunt, she dropped from the roof and landed gracefully on her feet, putting her hat back and looking hopefully at Reiju. “Can you come with me, Reiji? There's a thing I want to ask you about.”

“Oh? What is it?” Reiju asked curiously, wondering why Luffy was seeking her out instead of asking one of her crew mates. Was it something about Germa? She'd read the comics, clearly, and Sanji wouldn't have been able to tell her about recent events concerning them.

Luffy paused, then looked around warily. “Not out here,” she said in a low voice. “I need your help. Let's find someplace secret, and quiet.”

Reiju's eyebrows shot up at that. Part of her wondered if this was a good idea – if Luffy didn't want to be overheard she might be trying to rope her into any number of things – but those doe-like hazel eyes fixed entreatingly on her and her heart twinged. “Hmmm... alright. That might not be easy, though.” She said. “Is your hotel room unoccupied?”

Luffy tilted her head to the side, thinking very hard. “Nami has gone out shopping, took Sanji and Chopper with her... Brook's preparing for the concert tonight... Carrot and Pedro are working on that thing with Jinbe...” She tapped her foot. “Traffy might still be there.”

“Traffy?” Reiju repeated, bemused.

“Oh, Traffy is what I call him,” Luffy responded guilelessly. “Traffy is Law.” She paused. “I probably shouldn't say that out in public. Crap.”

Reiju's heart jumped at the man's name, along with a faint and desperate feeling of hope that she squashed expertly with long practice. The Surgeon of Death, a man of miracles; if there was any chance, if the possibility existed, she would gladly remain in debt to him for life if he could- “That's alright,” she said, as much to keep calm as anything else. “If he's come here all the way here with you, I think its safe to say your alliance with him is quite secure.”

To her surprise, Luffy shuffled her feet and looked around like a nervous schoolgirl. “Well...” She started, before stalling as her brow furrowed. She looked surprisingly flummoxed, a strange look on a girl who'd so boldly pulled Charlotte Katakuri into her orbit. “I would rather he wasn't there, just because... um... I guess it doesn't matter. Traffy is the best.”

She reached out and snagged Reiju by the wrist, tugging the pinkette along as she turned and started speedwalking back toward the street. “C'mon, c'mon,” she said energetically, leaving Reiju with no choice but to follow. But with her, the lack of escape avenues is mixed with a genuine desire to chase after this little ball of trouble.

Life must never be boring on the Thousand Sunny. Reiju tried to imagine what that was like, but she can only think of the Sora comics, and the good-natured way that Marine hero interacted with his supporting cast. Her memories of Germa blacked out anything else.

It's a decent walk to the hotel where the Straw Hats were staying. Reiju hadn't been walking with any sort of purpose, wanting simply to lose time and admire her surroundings. It was about a week until the wedding now, so the citizens were getting quite busy ensuring that everything was as perfect as possible. Luffy navigated them with purpose and not insignificant energy, nearly pulling Reiju off of her feet a few times in her exuberance.

She liked it. Watching and experiencing such a joy of life.

Luffy brought her through the doors of the hotel, and looked side to side with a suspicious expression. Then she tugged her bemused prey toward the stairwell in a power walk that bordered on a sprint; Reiju kept up easily at this point, having caught on to the younger girl's energy. Upon reaching the third floor, Luffy paused and stared over the railing for a full minute to satisfy herself that they weren't being followed.

“What's worrying you so much?” Reiju asked, wondering if she should be concerned as well.

“This just needs to be talked about privately,” Luffy responded. She nodded in satisfaction and hurried for the door to her room. “Between girls.”

Blinking rapidly, Reiju followed after her. Between girls? Having little female company over her life aside from her servants – really, she only knew the other princesses she met at the Reviere such as Vivi of Alabasta – she wasn't sure she'd be of much use here. Nevertheless, she entered the room and sat down on the couch.

Trying to ignore the twisting feeling of disappointment when Law was, indeed, nowhere to be seen.

Luffy sat down cross legged on the carpet, her smile falling away in exchange for a very serious expression. “Hey Reiji,” she said seriously. “You know a lot about love, don't you?”

Reiju's mouth fell open slightly. In time she'd be very embarrassed at gawking normlessly at the question, but in the moment her brain didn't have the energy or space for self-consciousness. Love? Me? The only love I've ever known was the love my mother had for me and my siblings, the love deep enough that she had no fear of death. How could I know about love? I cannot even express familial affection for Sanji, left only to playact the emotion toward my jailer!

She'd had a few flings, yes, but brief relationships had given her no solace so she'd stopped. Judge had wanted her to be available for a potential marriage alliance anyway... Reiju only flirted with boys and girls now, taking pleasure in teasing and getting adorable reactions from the ones who caught her eye, but going no further.

A marionette couldn't ask you to love them, after all.

“Love?” She repeated artlessly. Niji would make so much fun of her if he could see her now. He must never find out about this.

Luffy nodded vehemently. “Yes! In the comics, Poison Pink is so incredible, she could make Sora fall in love with her despite him being so devoted to justice. And – and if I ask Nami I think she'll make fun of me, Robin's busy doing a thing for me, and I can't call Makino because I don't have her bar's snail number. I never knew my mom so I can't ask her either. You're my only hope!” She pressed her hands together as if in prayer.

Never knew your mother...? Reiju thought, a pang fluttering in her chest. Her mother's smiling face whenever she came to visit her. The desire to help gently bubbles up inside her, and she favoured the younger girl with a friendly look. “Well... I'm not quite the girl from the comic, but I can try to give you some advice if you want.” She offered.

Luffy's shoulders relaxed. “Thanks,” she said. “How do you know if you've fallen in love?”

She couldn't have started with an easy one?, Reiju thought wryly. “Well, that depends on the person,” she said. “Some people have the whole butterflies and walking on clouds feeling that's described in so many books, but for others it's just a realization you come to in a quieter moment with no one thing prompting it.”

The younger girl's brow scrunches up. “But... you can tell when you're in love that way, right?” She prodded. “I love all my crew, and my gramps, and everybody I know, but... sometimes I get this feeling around some of my boys...? I would know if I was in love, right? I mean, I've been kissed, but that's just a sign that they like me, right?”

Oh, isn't that interesting? “I think that depends,” Reiju said. “Some kisses mean only one thing. Can you tell me a little about that?”

Luffy blinked at her, then tilted her head to the side. After a moment of thought, her expression brightened. “Right! Law kissed me after we defeated Mingo! After I put him in the ground, I ran over to where he'd fallen down to check on him, and he pulled me down and kissed me really hard. I felt really hot? Like, almost like when I was in a fight, but different. He slid his tongue into my mouth and it lasted for a little while.” She giggled. “He never admitted that we were friends before then! He spent half of that fight trying to chase me away and say we weren't allies because he thought I'd get killed or that we couldn't win, always calling me 'Straw Hat' instead of my name.”

Her confident expression slowly tabled when Reiju stared at her, blue eyes totally blank with shock. “...Reiji?”

Wait – he did that, and she still doesn't – she thinks – but how?!

She thought a full on French kiss was just... what...?! Holy hell, how sheltered was this girl growing up? Had the Hero of the Marines told her anything about flirting or dates? Oh god, did she even know about sex or did she think it was some sort of wrestling move?! Reiju's mouth opened and closed a few times as she sat there, completely flabbergasted.

“Are you okay, Reiji?” Luffy prodded, looking confused. “You haven't fallen asleep, have you?”

Reiju snapped out of her shock and shook her head firmly. “No no. I...oh goodness!” she started giggling, unable to help herself. This situation was so absurd! She planted her forehead in her right hand as her giggle turned into a flood of helpless laughter. The fit practically rocked her whole body, it was so intense.

Luffy pouted magnificently at her, crossing her arms. “What's so funny?” She complained.

Reiju gulped down some air and tried to regulate her breathing; it took a few moments, but slowly her laughter tapered down. Once she could speak again, she shook her head and smiled apologetically. “Forgive me, I didn't mean to laugh at you. I was just shocked that you didn't know that was a lover's kiss.”

Luffy blinked once, twice...and then her eyes widened. “Eh?” Was all she said in response to that. The genuinely stunned look on her face nearly made Reiju fall over laughing again.

Part of her really wished she had a visual den-den on her. The rest of her was calling that very rude and thoughtless and wondering if it was possible to give Monkey D Garp mild food poisoning in retaliation for leaving his granddaughter this clueless! Honestly! If Luffy weren't the powerhouse that she was, it would be so easy to take advantage of that kind of naivety! What was he thinking?! And having been raised by him himself, why the hell did Dragon think leaving his daughter solely in that clueless man's care was a good idea?!

“Yes,” Reiju said when she trusted herself to speak. “As I said, there are different kinds of kisses; some can be shared just between friends, but there is one kind that is solely the domain of lovers. Being kissed on the lips means that man desires you deeply, especially if he's slid his tongue in your mouth.”

“Traffy isn't in love with me!” Luffy said after a second. Then her voice faltered a little, and she murmured half to herself, “r-right...?”

“You know him far better than I do,” Reiju responded with a grin.

“B-But he won't call me Luffy! He keeps calling me just Straw Hat,” Luffy stammered, her eyes widening to near uncanny proportions. Reiju wasn't sure if that was something she could do naturally, or if she was so shocked that Gear Five itself was bleeding through.

“Some men aren't quite so forthright in their affections as my brother,” Reiju responded. “Men with more reserved temperaments hide their deep love behind teasing and word games, especially if they feel vulnerable when faced with love. Love is a force, more powerful than any devil fruit; for love men and women lay down their lives without hesitation, go to war, even try to destroy the entire world. Loving someone else, truly loving them, means putting your very soul in their hands. Even the strongest of people fear that depth of emotion being merely one sided, so they demure and hide somewhat, sometimes in hopes that the object of their adoration would speak first.”

“He's always complaining and scolding me!”

“It's the same principle, really. Have you heard the phrase 'pulling her pigtails?'”

“Shanks said that only really young boys thought that works!” Luffy blurted out.

Reiju pressed her fingers against her lips to suppress another giggle. “Generally speaking, he would be correct,” she said. “However, pirates can live difficult lives. Because of that, they don't always develop the same emotional reading skills as a civilian would. Law may well be struggling to express himself, and likely interpreted your lack of reaction to being kissed that way as a sign you didn't return his feelings.”

“I wasn't rejecting anything! I didn't know!” Luffy protested, flailing her arms. “He didn't say anything after I said I'm glad we're friends!”

“You did use the word 'friends'.” This poor girl... Reiju is starting to worry that she's driving her to an existential crisis.

“But...but...” Luffy stuttered, looking around wildly. Then something seemed to flash in her eyes, and she blurted out - “But Ace has kissed me that way!”

Luffy knew that she wasn't very smart in some categories. She would resent being called stupid – her skull wasn't completely empty, thank you very much! - but she knows she's not nearly as smart as Nami or Robin or Chopper or Vivi or Traffy. That's why she relied on them so much to do the thinking she wasn't suited for.

However! Being able to read people on an emotional level was one of her greatest skills, something she was subconsciously aware of. So to say her world was wobbling on its axis upon Reiju's declaration would be putting it mildly!

Traffy, in love with her? Since Dressrosa? What? Luffy tried to force her spinning mind to think, to race over all her interactions with her favourite captain for anything that would back up Reiju's thesis on the matter, and...

Luffy dropped down to the ground, snapping back to her regular body with a sigh. “Ah, I'm going to be sore tomorrow,” she muttered. Glancing at the crater where Mingo's bloodied body was left in, she nodded to herself. Nika was purring at the back of her mind, pleased beyond words. “Worth it!” She punched at the sky victoriously.

Then her biggest priority tugged at her, and she spun around, her eyes panning the destroyed surroundings for any sign of Traffy. For a few heart pounding seconds, she couldn't find him, until her eyes clapped on a familiar fluffy looking hat and relief flooded her like a wave. “Traffy!” She called out gleefully.

She ran to him, scrambling over debris and avoiding anyone else who tried to get her attention. The person's reaction who mattered most was his; the man who killed his most cherished person has been defeated and broken, and she wanted to see him smile, see the darkness and pain that had been in his eyes since he told her this be lifted. She wanted to make sure he was okay and get him to Chopper for his injuries.

Reaching him within a minute, she skidded to a halt in front of her battered but unbroken ally, who was sitting with his back against some rubble. “It's done,” Luffy told him breathlessly. “We did it, Traffy!”

Traffy stared intently at her, a whole world of emotion in his eyes. “You did,” he murmured huskily, the words almost sounding like a prayer.

Luffy crouched down, beaming at him. She was about to ask if he could walk, or if he needed her to carry him again, when something in Traffy's golden eyes snapped and he grabbed her by the arm. He pulled her down into his arms, into his lap, and their lips crashed together in an explosion of heat.

She yipped in surprise, but wow... it felt so good. Fire lit up her spine and electricity crackled underneath her skin; Traffy's lips were a little rough and chapped and she could taste blood on his tongue but they melded so nicely against hers. It stole all the strength out of her muscles and she slumped against his chest, clumsily kissing back out of instinct.

Traffy's hands grasped her shoulders tightly. His tongue brushed against her lips before pushing greedily into her mouth; this makes stars burst behind the girl's closed eyes and her toes curled up at the intensity of her feelings. Luffy scrabbled at his shirt, doing her best to hold onto him as her mind wheeled freely.

Only when he needed air did he break away; Traffy's eyes were burning when a dazed Luffy blinked hazily at him. “You...” he said, fumbling, trying to find the words. “You madwoman...I...”

“Shishishishi...! You admit it!” Luffy giggled woozily. Wow, everything was spinning. “We're... we're friends...!” A nap would feel really good right about now. She drunkenly bumped their noses together and promptly passed out.

Luffy pressed her hand against her chest, her mind zeroing in on how her heart had felt during that kiss. That fiery warmth, that feeling of rightness, how she felt like she could fly without Gear 5. That...that feeling she'd had after Katakuri called her pretty and...and...!

“Traffy is in love with me?” She repeated, more quietly this time. “But... but if it's a lover's kiss, why did Ace...?”

Reiju frowned slightly for a moment, puzzled, before something visibly occurred to her. “You aren't related to Ace by blood, if I recall correctly. How did you meet him?”

What did that matter...? But Reiju had known the answers to her questions so far, so Luffy thought for a moment and truthfully responded, “I met him when I was little... it was not long after Uta started her singing careers and Shanks left to find the One Piece... sooo maybe I was seven? Eight? Grandpa took me up to Dandan's cabin in the woods so they'd take care of me whenever he wasn't training me, and that's where I met Ace and Sabo.”

Reiju hummed. “I see. Not too young to have crushes, but not mature enough to fully recognize those feelings for what they were...ah, that makes sense.”

“I don't understand,” Luffy said. “I thought I was a sister to him.”

The pinkette gave her a gentle look, not annoyed at all despite the ravenette repeating herself more than once. “He might have thought the affection and protectiveness he felt toward you must have been that; Garp took part in raising him just like you, right?” Luffy nodded. “Your grandfather didn't tell you very much about these things, and I suspect it was the same for him. Feelings he thought were brotherly could mature into something else as you both grew up. I doubt he was lying to you, he just didn't understand his emotions for what they were.”

Luffy pressed both hands against her chest. “He really kissed you that way?” Reiju asked gently, mostly to help her think; she could see the ravenette teetering on the edge of a realization.

“Mmhmm...” Luffy nodded, remembering.

Her eyes fluttered open to see a cold grey ceiling; the bright lights stabbed into her eyes, making her wince and screw them shut until the stars stopped winking behind her eyelids. The cot beneath her was soft and a little yielding, but it wasn't nearly as comfortable as a proper bed. Her body ached all over, and her mind was swimming in a fog in those first few moments. “Ngh...” Luffy moaned softly.

A gasp caught her attention; a large, vaguely familiar polar bear mink had been diligently watching over her in place of her captain as he got some lunch. “Miss Luffy! You've woken up!”

“Where...” Luffy muttered, her voice rough from disuse. As she took in more of the room, something felt wrong, like she was supposed to be somewhere else... then it hit her, and she sat up abruptly. “Ace!” Where was he? Was he okay? She looked around frantically, and when she couldn't see him anywhere, she swung her legs over the side of the bed.

“Ah! Miss Luffy, wait!”

“Where's Ace?” She demanded, pushing herself to her feet. Her knees buckled and nearly gave out from under him; she stumbled badly and leaned heavily on Bepo's arm. “Where is he?” She needed to get to him. That was the only thing that mattered.

“You need to sit still – you've been unconscious for weeks -” Bepo fretted, helping her straighten up.

Luffy almost snapped her teeth at him, indignant. “Not until I see him!”

“T-Then at least let me take out your IV and bandage you up?” The polar mink seemed to realize he was better off giving her what she wanted and stay close in case she collapsed. Luffy hadn't let near death stop her from finding the Second Division Commander before, and he worried she might hurt herself fighting to get past him.

Luffy glowered before glancing down and seeing the tubs in question. Having gotten many lectures from Chopper on the subject, she begrudgingly sat still long enough for Bepo to carefully remove them and bandage the entry points. Then she walked out as fast as she could, stumbling over herself and taking a few false turns as the frantic bear tried to steer her through the Polar Tang's hallways. Her heart was pounding out of her chest, opening every door in search of her quarry before she finally registered Bepo telling her that Ace had been hauled away from her bedside to eat something on Saobody proper.

When they'd gotten to Saobody or what had happened after she passed out was dismissed as an inconsequential afterthought in that moment. Luffy got to the exit and climbed the ladder to the exit with Bepo helping her.

Luffy skidded down onto the soft grass and looked around. All the ships she'd seen at Marineford – well, most of them, some of them had been destroyed – lined the coast. There was an aura of joy in the air, albiet a muted one that was mixed with concern. As Luffy looked out around the area, she saw knots of Whitebeard Pirates sitting around cooking fires, and her eyes found the massive frame of Uncle Edward closer to one of the big trees. Ace would probably be by him.

Nodding to herself, Luffy leaned on Bepo's arm and made her way toward the treeline. While she was negotiating the distance, somebody spotted her, and with a few yells her appearance spread like wildfire. “That's her!” “She's awake!” “Straw Hat Luffy!”

As the voices got louder, a figure sitting near Uncle Edward vaulted to his feet and whirled around. Luffy stumbled a little over her feet, and that figure bolted toward her, the light revealing him to be a bandaged Ace. “Luffy!” He cried out, his voice shaking with emotion.

“Ace!” She gasped, straightening up and nudging Bepo's arm aside. “You're safe...!”

Ace got within arm's reach of her within seconds, and he only slowed down out of fear of hurting her if he tackled or crashed into her. He scrambled to a halt, looking her up and down as if reassuring herself that she really was here; then his warm hands rose and cupped her cheeks tenderly. “You woke up...” He choked out.

“Of course I did,” Luffy responded, happy tears forming in her own eyes.

Ace blinked rapidly, his smile shaking, and suddenly he lunged forward and kissed her deeply on the lips. Luffy gasped slightly, relaxing instinctively when he wrapped his arms around her and held her tenderly against his chest as their lips pressed together. Her weak body suddenly felt powerful, like she could melt into Ace and transcend from mortality altogether! Ace's lips were soft and warm, almost desperate pressing against hers; all his joy and fear and love was in that kiss. Wow, her head is getting kinda fuzzy...

Ace broke apart from her moments later and buried his face in her hair. “Never do that again!” He ordered tearfully, his voice rough and cracked. “Never try to die for me!”

“Then don't get captured like a dummy, silly!” Luffy yelled back, as much as she was able to from the crook of his neck. “I was so scared...!” That was not an admission that came easily to her, but it was only now that she could yell at him for almost getting executed, so she would go all out. Even as her lips were still burning from her first kiss.

“He did.” Luffy whispered, feeling her face slowly heat up to previously unknown levels. “Oh...” The piece finally clunked into place in her head, and it left her completely flat flooted.

It wasn't quite an epiphany – Luffy's skull was a bit too thick for all her emotions to be named in that moment. But the realization that love was a province that included her swallowed her up and catapulted her into the atmosphere, making her heart feel like it was swelling to bursting. Love, she was loved, just like in Makino's books?! By people she cared about deeply?

Overwhelming. That was her first thought. Her second thought was wondering – am I in love? She had no idea, but as the thoughts processed, she was determined to find out. This hot and bubbly feeling she got around those guys meant something, she knew it did. And now that she understood, she – she could figure it out if she spent time with them knowing this.

“I need to go on more dates,” Luffy mumbled. “Brook's concert is tonight. I can take Kat there and maybe we can dance together. Oh, but where would I take...?”

Reiju chuckled softly; taking pity on the girl, she took one of Luffy's hands and pulled her up to sit on the couch next to her. “My my,” she murmured. “I wonder if a bit of the previous King's spirit is possessing you through her hat. I'm jealous.”

Luffy stared at the middle distance for a long time. Then she murmured, “I haven't kissed Kat yet. I haven't been making him feel bad, have I?” She started to bounce her knee rapidly. The idea of kissing him was...exciting! “I need to fix that. And talk to Traffy. And Ace. I need to call Zoro. I need to call Uta.” She was starting to ramble, her body shivering like she was about to explode. “Sabo can call my dad, right? Surely. Oh, and Gramps – somehow – oh, but I don't have any snail number for him, dangit...”

Reiju blinked rapidly. “I doubt you've made your fiance feel bad?” She said, just picking one thing out of that paragraph to respond to. “But it couldn't hurt to do so, and soon, if you like Katakuri that much. Honestly, this isn't too bad a situation – a woman being married to more than one person is the norm for him, thanks to his mother. Though you'd better make absolutely sure of that before you do anything.”

Luffy nodded to herself, though Reiju wasn't entirely certain she'd actually heard anything she'd just said. “Need to find some way to tell Shanks. Maybe he'd read it in the newspaper? Yeah, he definitely reads the paper; Benn does if he doesn't. So...papers. I need to find that bird guy. He must be able to get papers out fast if Big Mom likes him. Reiji, Reiji, I've decided!”

Reiju jumped slightly in surprise when Luffy vaulted to her feet and spun around, beaming at her with that blindingly beautiful smile of hers.

“I'm going to get married!”

Katakuri stared down at the vial his mother had put in front of him for a few long moments. “Mother... a love potion?” He asked, his voice admirably calm compared to the twisting feeling in his chest. “I didn't think those existed.”

“Caesar is a genius,” Big Mom responded dismissively. “He knows that he's kept me waiting long enough, so he's been working on it since that little girl arrived.”

Katakuri resisted the urge to retort that he wouldn't trust Caesar to make basic knockout gas, much less something supposed to artificially induce an emotion as complex as love. Especially since the intended recipient was someone the man hated! How did they know this wasn't poison?

“I don't need this,” he said calmly. “There's still a week and a half left. Do you not have faith in me?”

Big Mom waved at his face. “It's insurance, boy. You still haven't shown her your mouth, have you?” Katakuri twitched, causing her to chuckle. “It's hideous. Just in case she's put off by it, you have that to remediate the problem. If she hasn't said anything in a few days...” Her voice was heavy with meaning; she expected him to use it.

“It isn't necessary,” Katakuri protested, trying not to act stung at the casual insult.

“Then what's the problem?” Big Mom responded, unfazed. Katakuri felt something hard form in his throat, and he opened his mouth to protest further when the personal den den of the Emperor started ringing. Arching an eyebrow, Big Mom grabbed the receiver. “Now who might you be?”

“Ah... I was given this number by one of your enforcers,” A nervous but determined female voice echoed from the other end. Katakuri's back stiffened a little; he'd heard that voice before, though only when she had been singing. “My name is Uta.”

Big Mom's eyes widened. “Uta...! That's why I recognize your voice. What brings the Queen of Music to my door?”

“I've heard tell that two of your children are getting married,” the young girl responded. Katakuri tried to parse out the various emotions he could hear suppressed under a politely businesslike voice, but the scratchiness of the receiver was hiding her. “I was wondering if you already had a singer chosen for the day of the wedding. If not...I would like to offer my services. I won't charge much, for your convenience.”

“Really!” Big Mom sat forward, her eyes greedy and delighted. “I would enjoy that very much.” Katakuri knew immediately from those words that once Uta entered Totland, his mother would never willingly permit her to leave.

...She and Luffy had been childhood friends. He looked down at the bottle in his hand and felt his heart sinking. His mother's orders were inexorable...and yet.

He wondered how he could convincingly 'accidentally' dump the contents down some drain at the last moment. He's not going to use it. Even if it meant Luffy rejected him just like everyone before her.

Chapter 14

Chapter Text

“What do you MEAN, YOU TOLD MORGAN TO PUBLISH THE WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENT?!” Nami shrieked, loud enough to make Luffy's head ring. The ravenette clamped her hands over her ears and pouted at her navigator.

“Nami, you're making our snail dizzy,” she protested, nodding to the wide-eyed creature. She was just about to call Zoro and the others.

“DON'T TRY TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT!” Nami looked like she was having some kind of conniption fit; knowing her well by now, Luffy dodged out of the way before the other girl could grab her by the shoulders and shake her until she felt like she'd throw up.

“Well how else am I supposed to tell Shanks and Zephyr-jiji and Gramps about the wedding?” Luffy responded with wide, innocent eyes. Law was wordlessly knocking his head into the wall by the bathroom while Sanji was staring at her like she'd lost her mind. Reiju, meanwhile, was still sitting on the couch with one hand over her mouth to smother her giggles. Chopper was giving her a vaguely concerned look in between the horrified stares he was sending Luffy's way. “I don't have their snail numbers.”

Nami made a strangled noise, her fingers twitching violently. Luffy decided that discretion was the better part of valor and promptly began dialing in hopes of warding her navigator off. “The whole world is gonna know...” Chopper mumbled in despair.

“Should we be concerned about the government sending agents into Totland?” Pedro asked, his tone purely practical. Judging by the death glare Nami sent his way, she didn't appreciate the lack of backup to her cause.

“If they were smart, they'd know that they couldn't afford to blindly provoke Linlin right now.” Law responded in dead tone of voice, without really stopping what he was doing. “But they've proven they can be very, very stupid when 'enemies of justice' are involved, so I wouldn't dare rule it out.”

“They consider the Goddess of Freedom, Dawn, and Joy to be the enemy of Justice?” Pedro repeated in a very dry, droll tone of voice.

Reiju coughed and smiled dryly. “It sounds quite stupid when it's said out loud like that, doesn't it?” She mused bluntly.

“Shishishishishi!” Luffy giggled helplessly at that, her fingers fumbling with the numbers. “Reiji, not when I'm dialing!” She briefly hung up in order to start over.

“We'll all have to be vigilant, more than ever.” Sanji said with a degree of authority. “Not just during the wedding itself, but on the way to Wano. Mercenaries and Marines both would see that as the perfect time to ambush us.”

Nami groaned. Finally taking pity on Law, she walked over to him and inserted her hand between his forehead just as Robin had done for her back at Zou. Law hit his head against her knuckles a few times before finally stopping and exhaling very heavily. Nami gave him a look that was both sympathetic and very tired, clapping a friendly hand on his shoulder.

“You're right, Sanji-ya.” Law agreed when he felt like he could speak again. “Though I suppose we can tell Ussop-ya we're implementing his plan in part after all.”

“At least somebody will be happy about this,” Nami agreed dryly.

Luffy finished dialing and put her hands in her lap, waiting impatiently. There was something...different, about her posture and the tone of her anticipation. Nami was certain of it, knowing her captain like the back of her hand, that this kind of silence from her was thoughtful. A very strange and somewhat scary sight from her. What the heck had happened when she ran off in the morning, saying she needed to find Reiju?

She'd tried to interrogate Sanji's sister, but Poison Pink had demurred, saying that Luffy would certainly be telling them about it and soon.

“Luffy?” Zoro's voice echoed from the other side, sounding a little tired. He must have just woken from a nap. “Is that you?”

“Yup!” Luffy said, her voice shivering with excitement. “Is anyone with you, Zoro? I have Big News!” She snickered and put a hand over her mouth. “Oooh, that is kinda fun to say like that!. No wonder bird man likes that slogan.”

“Ussop, get over here,” Zoro said, the sleepiness quickly draining from his voice. “Robin and Franky are deep in their jobs, I can't easily go and get them even if we weren't pretending to be unaffiliated.”

“Boo,” Luffy complained. “I really want them to know about this... hey, does Wano get any newspapers from the rest of the world? Have you seen any?”

There's some quick footsteps as Ussop ran over, scrambling to sit down next to Zoro. “Ah, ah... I've been listening and talking to people, and I haven't seen any sign of newspapers.” Her sniper reported. “Nobody really talks about the outside world. Only people who were whispering about jumping from the waterfall to either die in the rapids or maybe, maybe be able to escape from the shores of Wano. People have tried it, but if any of them made it...” he gulped. “I dunno. No one knows.”

Reiju's expression flattened in an instant, a very haunted look filling her eyes. Sanji turned her way and his awkward persona around her instantly melted into surprise and concern. “Reiju...?” He murmured, his hand instinctively reaching out to her before hesitating.

The pinkette slowly shook her head. “I'm okay,” she responded quietly, her voice artificially calm.

Law's attention fell to her at that. He'd been avoiding doing much other than greeting her politely in the name of keeping his nerve and not turning into a babbling schoolboy the instant she payed him any attention. But... that dead look in her blue eyes... He'd seen it in the mirror. Wondering why he was still alive, lingering instead of curling into death's embrace to finally escape all his pain. Seeing that expression on the vivacious and playful Poison Pink was horrifically jarring to him; it felt so wrong.

What did it mean? His mind slithered back to what Luffy had said to him while reading the comics together. I don't like her brothers. They remind me of Mingo. Had she...been onto something? Sanji had made it clear he was poorly treated and discarded by Judge Vinsmoke, but he'd seemed confident that his sister hadn't suffered such mistreatment. Had there been something he hadn't seen?

“Are you sure?” Sanji blurted out, looking concerned.

Reiju waved a hand, a smile promptly back in place and her expression serene. Most would be fooled but Law could only think about Baby Five. And given how Luffy had briefly stopped smiling and turned to stare at Reiju with blatant concern, he wasn't the only one. “Yes, of course.”

“Uh... sorry? Who is that, Sanji?” Ussop asked in confusion.

“Ah, right,” Sanji said, still sounding very off kilter. “Mosshead, Ussop, this is my older sister Reiju.”

“Hello,” Reiju said lightly. “It's nice to hear from the rest of Luffy-chan's crew. I might have some insight into your observations, Ussop – the people on the ground of Wano won't receive any news from the outside world, but the Beast Pirates almost certainly will. Kaido attempted to join the battle at Marineford two years ago, so he was aware of Whitebeard's movement to save his son and that his territories were seemingly vulnerable as a result. Perhaps the Shogun keeps abreast of things as well, since Kaido was in a business relationship with Doflamingo before his defeat at your hands and as his figurehead the man would likely have been keen on staying informed.”

“Whoa...” Ussop gasped, sounding deeply impressed. “You sound kinda like Robin, and she's a genius!”

“Pretty sharp,” Zoro agreed. “Are you sure you're the crap cook's sister?”

“Watch it, you!” Sanji fumed.

Reiju frowned a little, displeased. “Of course I am,” she responded politely but firmly. “My father may feel embarrassed by Sanji's status as a pirate and a cook, but I have always admired his inner strength and his compassion – ever since we were children. Kindly refrain from insulting him in front of me.”

Sanji's lips parted in shock, which quickly melted into surprise and a genuinely touched look.

“Don't mind Zoro, they always talk to each other like that.” Nami intervened, though she gives Reiju an approving look. “Trust me, Sanji gives it as good as it gets. It's a mutual helix of aggravation and immature machismo; they can only work together when Luffy deploys her best pout and entreats them to do their best.”

“Oi!” Both men in question protested simultaneously. Luffy, Chopper and Carrot all burst out laughing at how true that was. Reiju looked somewhat mollified by that, her shoulders relaxing. Sanji glanced her way again and looked like he very much wanted to talk to her.

“That's too bad,” Luffy said when she got her giggles under control. “I guess there's nothing for it but to tell you myself – I think I'm gonna get married like Roger did, so I went to this bird guy who's in charge of the newspapers and told him so that my grandpas, Makino, Shanks and my dad will all know about it!”

There's a single moment of perfect silence. Nami sighed and slapped her hands over her ears; Carrot noticed this and managed to squish her ears down just in time. “WHAT?!” Ussop and Zoro bellowed, the latter significantly more heated than the former.

“Yeah!” Luffy said, sounding absolutely delighted. “I've... I've learned a little bit more about love. There was so much I didn't know until today;” she briefly glanced Traffy's way and ducked her head a little guiltily. “So much...” She whispered, tangibly embarrassed.

Law's eyes widened a little. He doesn't get a second to try and ask her anything, though.

“What do you mean, you think you're gonna get married?!” Zoro demanded, his voice audibly hitching. “To Charlotte Katakuri?! Why him?! I thought that was just a plan to get the crap cook back! We'd agreed that Big Mom was not a good choice for a mother in law!”

“Kat's nothing like his mother!” Luffy protested, indignant. “You'll see when you meet him, Zoro!”

“I can't say I want to,” Zoro bit out, heated. “What has he been saying to you? Making promises of the moon and the stars?!”

“He's been nice to me! He's smart, he cares a lot about his siblings, he's gentler than his mother and nice to his staff, and he called me pretty despite my scars,” Luffy reeled off, not backing down. “Zoro, I think you'll like him. He reminds me of you sometimes.”

Zoro made a strangled sound, audibly furious and hurt. “Fine. Fine, whatever. Bring him,” he said, his voice becoming stoic again.

“What's wrong, Zoro?” Luffy asked, clearly bewildered by her first mate's mood swing.

“Nothing.” He responded flatly. “If you think you're in love, who am I to argue?”

“That doesn't sound like nothing!” Luffy protested. Inside she's getting a little frantic; a bad flashback to Water 7 when she'd known they were going to lose Merry and got in an awful argument with Ussop. “Zoro, talk to me!"

“Leave it alone, Captain.” Zoro said through gritted teeth.

“No! Not until you tell me what's wrong!”

Zoro made a choked noise, then burst out. “What's wrong? The woman I love is getting married on an impulse when I'm on the other side of the world!” He exploded, so much emotion in his voice that the snail seemed to double in size to try and emulate his tortured expression. “There, happy?!”

Stunned silence filled the room. Luffy reeled back a little, her eyes growing really wide. Sanji made a strangled noise, the blood evacuating his face at the unexpected confession. Law twitched and everyone else was gaping at the snail. Zoro was the most composed out of all of the Straw Hats – even when he was in a squabble with Sanji he never lost control of his emotions like this. In fact... the only times he'd gotten this emotional were when he'd sworn to Luffy he'd never lose, and when they were being separated at Saobody.

“You love me?” Luffy regained her voice first. Her voice is soft but firm – making it clear that unlike every time before, she completely comprehended what Zoro was telling her on an emotional level. She just sounded shocked. “You...really love me?”

Thankfully, the unusual cadence in her voice isn't lost on Zoro. “Yes!” The man panted, the snail's face twisting with longing and pain both. “I've loved you almost from the moment you forced your way into my life and gave me a purpose! Ever since that day in the dusty yard... you've always been my sun, the lady I give my swords and my life to. Every second I spend with you is the only thing I ever want to do with my time. Do you understand?”

Luffy's mouth opened and shut like a beached fish. Most of the people in the room kind of wished they were anywhere else rather than awkwardly stuck in the middle of this situation. “You didn't tell me,” she said after a few seconds, dumbfounded. Judging by the startled look on the snail, he had not expected her to understand. Nami reeled in shock. “Why didn't you ever tell me? We've sailed together for...for years now.” She shook her head, troubled. “Did – did you think I'd make fun of you? That I'd give you some impossible task like the awful lady in that South Blue fairy tale? That I'd go running to my Gramps in fear?” She sounded confused and a little hurt?

“N...No, none of those things,” Zoro responded, the anger leaking out of his voice in favor of him sounding taken aback. “I tried a few times, but it was like talking to the wall. You said that you loved me just like you loved the rest of the crew. I... suppose I wasn't that forthright, in hindsight.”

Luffy cringed. Actually cringed, which wasn't something they saw often. “Why not?” She asked.

“Because – then you might notice everyone else,” Zoro said, sounding like he was forcing the words out. “But never mind. If you want to get married, I won't stop you.” He promptly got up and started walking away.

“Wha – hey! Zoro, where are you going?!” Luffy demanded, her heart jumping in a panic. “Everyone else?! And who said I was only ever marrying Kat?!”

Everyone in the room crashed to the ground as one. Including Law, who was usually above that kind of knee-jerk shocked reaction. The only person who didn't was Reiju, who looked like she wanted to join Nami and Law in the 'I want to bash my head against the wall until the world starts making sense again.'

“I'm going to give Monkey D Garp food poisoning,” she announced, taking the pressure off of Luffy for a moment with the seeming non-sequitur. “This is ridiculous. He should have taught you about romantic relationships rather than leave you flailing around and not even knowing what a kiss on the lips meant.”

Law's head snapped up. “You didn't?!” He blurted out.

Luffy glanced at him. “No! I can't know these things if none of you tell me!” She said, sounding a little frantic. Then her eyes widened with panic. “Ussop, you don't...I haven't been...please?”

“Do I...?” Ussop mumbled, taking a second to figure out what she was asking him. Then he flailed in panic – the snail's eyestalks did a remarkable bobbling routine in an effort to copy this – and said, “oh no no no! I don't love you that way, I hope that when I get home Kaya-” he stuttered, the snail turning bright red to transmit his blush. “I hope that Kaya and I...you know?”

Luffy slumped in sheer relief, putting her hand on her chest. “Oh good, good...” she sighed. Then she looked concerned again. “Zoro, are you still there?”

“Y...Yes...?” Her swordsman responded ungracefully.

“Good.” She sucked in a deep breath and responded firmly, “Let's go on some dates when I find you in Wano, okay?”

“What?” Zoro responded, completely flummoxed.

“What?” Sanji echoed weakly.

“But...you just said...” Zoro stammered.

Luffy closed her eyes. And when she opened them again, they were glowing a soft gold. “Goddesses fall in love a lot,” she said softly, and something about her voice sounded very different... like another person was speaking alongside her. “And love very deeply.” Then the echo was gone and Luffy was back to her normal self. “Roger had a bunch of people she loved very much. So... now that I know about what these feelings mean, I want to find out the truth. So, let's go out on some dates when I get to Wano and see you again! Okay, Zoro?”

“I...I...” Zoro stuttered. “Are you...serious?”

“I'm always serious!” Luffy responded, relief flooding her now that he no longer sounded angry and hurt. She'd saved this!

“You mean you'll actually... you'll consider...?” Zoro tried a few times. Sanji would either rage at him or completely panic in another moment, but right now he was just trying to breathe around the rock in his throat.

“Mmhmm!”

“Ah...yes. Let's do that, then.” Zoro said, a little shudder in his voice. Luffy cheered happily, and the snail goes bright red as the man talking into it processed what just happened. “I'll...get back to you about that. Goodbye.” The snail suddenly hung up.

Luffy pouted. “He still hung up on me...” she lamented.

Reiju walked over and patted her on the shoulder. “He's just a little overwhelmed,” she said kindly. “Once he's worked through his emotions, he'll apologize upon your next call.”

“I hope so,” Luffy mused. “But I guess now that means – I have to get ready for Brook's concert tonight!” She hopped to her feet. “I need something I can dance in, that's still pretty to look at. Nami, help me!”

Nami picked her jaw up off the ground and slowly nodded, as if the world hadn't just been turned upside down. “O-Okay. Let's...do that.” Her legs a little wobbly from shock, she quickly pulled Luffy into the bathroom while her crew mates erupted into a storm of astonished noise.

Law wasn't a big fan of concerts as a rule, and he'd intended to stay far away from Brook's when he'd first heard about it. He'd go with Bepo to watch Uta preform at a distance, but the cacophany, the sheer number of people who were always there...even before he factored in avoiding being recognized by any of Linlin's people, a rock concert was not his idea of a good time. Yet here he was, in a long cloak and fancy black clothes Nami had presumably acquired with actual magic, following after Luffy with his face hidden by a hood as she skipped down the road to the massive wafer amphitheatre lit up by strobe lights invented by Tesoro.

Luffy looked gorgeous. She's wearing a black jacket with sequences in swirls that mimicked tempestuous waves; underneath it she wore a red shirt with long sleeves that was designed after dragon scales. Her pants were a very dark blue and turned up at the ankles, showing off the gem-studded dancing shoes. She wore a single necklace with a small opal in the shape of a crescent moon. And she'd been holding his hand ever since he met her at the door and acquiesced to going with her.

Chopper, Nami and Carrot had gone ahead with Sanji, who was to pick up his fiance. Jinbe, Pedro and Sabo were preparing to make a run for the Poneglyph, and of course Brook was already up on stage.

Not that Law was giving any significant thought to any of this. “You didn't know what I was doing when I kissed you?” He asked once they were alone, disbelieving.

“Nope,” Luffy responded, shaking her head. “I was waiting all this time for you to admit we were friends, and I didn't know there was a kind of kiss only lovers shared. I guess I must have missed Makino and Shanks sharing one or two. And – well, Ace kissed me that way and I thought we were siblings?”

Law was tempted to either scream out of sheer – exasperation? Indignation? He didn't even know! Either that or he wanted to melt into the ground and vanish. Not nearly as badly as when she'd passed out in his arms back in Dressrosa, but it felt kind of tempting right now when he's suddenly faced with actually having to talk about it with her.

“I'm sorry,” Luffy said before he could spiral off into a rage/panic crisis. “I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.”

“I shouldn't have done it,” Law muttered, pulling down hard on his hood. “I was too emotional and fuzzy from blood loss, and it was the only way my failing brain could find to express what you'd done for me. To me.”

“Shouldn't have?” Luffy asked hesitantly. “So...you think kissing me was a mistake? You don't want to kiss me again?”

Law tripped over absolutely nothing. He could almost hear Cora-san making fun of him from on high, in retaliation for all the times he'd scolded him for doing just that. “I didn't say that,” he said in a hurry. “Don't make assumptions!”

“I thought making ass – assumptions was what I was doing wrong?” Luffy responded, sounding confused.

He hadn't wanted to run away from a conversation so badly since that one time Baby 5 had randomly asked if he would marry her. And he didn't actually have feelings for her! “That...you...!” Law buried his face in one hand, letting her do the thinking for her as they walked. “I am not nearly composed enough to have this conversation with you right now.”

“Do you love me?”

Of course she insists on being straightforward and blunter than a cannonball to the face. Of course! “I...I...” Law stuttered, his grip on her wrist tightening. “I – f*cking dammit, Luffy.” Her name slipped out of his lips before he could stop it, and it's like a dam breaking in his chest. In an instant he was rambling. “Every person I've loved before you died and left me behind! Everyone I let myself love before I found my crew, they're all gone! Ripped away from me one after another, murdered, lost, burned alive..! I couldn't save any of them! If I even acknowledge what I feel it means I could lose you too. I can't do that again! Not another time, not you!”

Luffy stopped walking and is staring wide-eyed at him. Her expression is shocked and so worried and caring and Law was about to swap himself with a pebble far, far away from her when she suddenly leans against him. “You won't lose me,” she said, quiet firmness in her voice. “You won't.”

“You can't promise that.” Nothing was guaranteed in a pirate's life. Nothing. Law's foolish scarred heart lunged for the words and he fought to hold it back.

“You won't,” Luffy repeated more firmly because she never listens to him when he says things like that anyway, and he wants to believe her so badly-. “It's okay, Traffy. You don't have to answer me right now if you're not ready. We have time.”

“We do?” Law managed, his voice a little faint past the rock in his throat.

“Mmhmm,” Luffy hummed confidently. Then she stood on her toes and gently kissed his cheek. Law froze, his nerves all lighting up like he'd been struck by lightning. “We're going from here on to Wano, after all.”

Law licked his lips and stared deeply into those hazel brown eyes. “I...soon,” he promised awkwardly, not knowing what else to do. “I'll put together something resembling the depth of my emotions soon. Just... be careful? We don't know how Katakuri might react...”

“I'll worry about Kat.” Luffy said, then gently tugged on his wrist. “C'mon, let's have some fun. Maybe dancing and some good drinks will help you think?”

Drinking does the opposite of helping me think! Law thought in a slight panic, though he didn't resist her. He could never resist her in the end; he'd been going mad since almost the moment that he met her. Truly met her, after Marineford.

They walked in silence for a moment, hesitant and slightly uncertain but not uncomfortable. Then Luffy's expression fell a little and she murmured, “Traffy, I'm worried about Reiji.”

“Yeah?” So she'd seen it too.

“Did you see her face? When Ussop was talking about people choosing death or the faint hope of freedom?” Luffy looked straight ahead. “The face she was making... it reminded me of when Ace when we were little...” She bit her bottom lip. “Ace asked me once, after I got in some trouble helping him, if him being alive made me happy. He looked hopeful, but also really sad... His dad – Rogue, from before Uncle Ed – had died fighting some Golden Lion pirates who had found them. And you heard what Sengoku said about Roger when they tried to execute him. Other people must have said it too...”

Oh, that Law understood a little too well. It's a survivor from White Town! Call the Marines! Eeek, it touched me!; I'm going to catch White Lead! His fingers curled up in a fist. “I imagine his feelings for his mother are rather complicated.”

Luffy's lips quirked upward briefly. “You can ask him if you want. He doesn't get as worked up as he used to when I asked about her.” Then she grew serious again. “Judge put slave collars on Sanji. He said that Reiji was one of his favourites, but if she's making faces like that, then she's been hurting all this time too.”

“I'll track her down after this,” Law said, because he completely agreed with her. It was just wrong seeing Poison Pink so visibly broken. “Most of Totland will probably be out with a hangover or crashed from a sugar rush after tonight; it'll be a perfect time to get her somewhere private and talk honestly.”

Luffy's eyes lit up, and she leaned against him with a fond sigh. “You're the best, Traffy.” She said affectionately. Law felt his face burn and tried – fairly uselessly – not to feel too pleased with himself. He loved her; he loved her, come what may.

They were close to the amphitheater now; Law could already hear the sound system belting out Brook's pre-show warm ups and groaned. If he could hear it from here, it was probably going to be deafening up close. But if he wanted to keep an eye on Luffy's date, he was just gonna have to bear with it. He wasn't very enthusiastic.

“Ah! There's Kat!” Luffy said, delighted and pointing toward the doorway. Law sighed and let go of her hand. She beamed up at him. “I'll see you later, Traffy! Be careful!” With that she ran down the pathway toward her maybe-fiance.

Law watched her go with a complicated mix of emotions, jealousy and confusion burning in his chest, and he snapped a room open and teleported himself to the far right of the building. He would get in through a back door and hope that the loud music would help distract him from his thoughts. Avoiding most of the knots of people, he looked around until he found a fire escape. Cutting through the lock with the help of another room, he grimaced and walked inside.

Sure enough, the sound of music slammed into him like a physical wall. Brook had just started preforming in earnest, and his genuinely good singing voice and playing was mixed in with a lot of horrible high pitched shrieks of delight and glee. Law walked down the back hallways pondering the virtues of temporarily removing his ears looking for the stairs. The inside of the amphitheatre had some wood and metal beams along with the wafers, hardened gingerbread and toffee that made up the rest of the structure; it was regally decked out in rugs and lanterns and skylights, with sparklers and tinsel wrapped around the bannister of the spiral staircase he came up to once he entered the main hall proper. The stage was alight with color and sound, with Brook center stage and wheeling dancers swirling around him as he sang. The floor before the stage was a classical ballroom surrounded on all sides by tables laden with sweet food and drink, bars on either side of the wings and elegant, glowing chocolate chandeliers filling the domed ceiling. The floor was full of people dancing and jumping in esctacy, and Law decided right then and there that he's very grateful he's never been in an actual fight with the Straw Hats.

He's not sure he wants to find out what Brook's hypnotic music could do to him.

There's a very loud scream when both Luffy and Katakuri and Sanji and Pudding entered the building; Law could hardly see them despite his natural height, so he decided to take the staircase up to the third floor. Likely that was the least crowded, and he could get down in a heartbeat with his powers. He made his way up, ignoring and avoiding anyone who tried to get his attention and keeping his head tilted just down enough that no one could get a good look at his face.

The third floor had a generous view of the stage, and mercifully it was a little bit quieter. Law sighed in relief, though he knew his head would be ringing before too long. This is why he preferred to get the snail recordings of Uta's music for Bepo. As if he didn't have enough on his mind...

Law looked down at the ground floor and saw Luffy tugging on Katakuri's arm, obviously saying something to him. He jerked a little in surprise and shook his head; he was in his usual clothes, scarf and all. You're going to get overheated in place like this. So many people this active in close proximity, it heats the air up. Likely Luffy was trying to convince him to dance, which Law seriously doubted the Sweet Commander had ever done in public before.

His heart twisted at the sight. Goddesses fall in love a lot... Luffy had never once called herself Nika incarnate and feverishly rejected any worship she'd encountered, yet she'd said that confidently. Had...it been more than just her speaking in that moment?

The story of Devil Fruits went that by eating one, you took a sea devil into your soul. Law hadn't believe in that before, hadn't kept to any spirituality thanks to his losses, but... Nika was worshipped as a goddess, not a devil. Surely...?

“Hard to watch, huh...?”

Law blinked at the voice, and turned sideways. A familiar person had come up to the railing next to him, his face partially hidden beneath a hood; his ocean-green eyes had a fog of emotion in them. “Are you sure you should be here, Captain Ace?” Law inquired. “If you get spotted...”

“I could say the same to you,” Ace responded with a shrug, before offering Law a bottle. “I am glad you're here, though. Drink with me?”

Law's lips parted slightly.

The sudden yelling snapped Law out of the half-asleep state he'd fallen into after finishing his plate; after preforming surgery on Whitebeard for the better part of eight hours, he'd been taking periodic naps at his crew's nagging between checking on his patients. Given the name being called out all around him, that was a mistake, because 'Straw Hat Luffy' was supposed to be on bed rest if she'd woken up and she's not doing that if she's on the island!

Shoving himself to his feet, Law went to see the source of the commotion. It took him a minute to locate his errant patient; Ace had her in a tight embrace and was half yelling at her, half sobbing in joy and relief that she had, in fact, woken up and was completely herself. No sign of the degradation that prematurely awakened Zoans experienced sometimes.

Incredible. She was incredible. She shouldn't have survived all she'd gone through, much less defeated the Marines and rescued the Second Division Commander. Cora-san's words echoed in his head, 'D will bring a storm'.

Law was still going to give her hell for leaving her sickbed, dammit! Bepo was supposed to be more responsible than this! He stalked over to the pair; his second in command was apologetic, saying that he would have had to have zapped her unconscious to keep her from looking for Ace, and he's damn lucky he's cute. He turned to read Straw Hat the riot act when Ace noticed him.

Suddenly those ocean-green eyes pinned him to the spot, still hazy with joyful tears and so much relief, and Ace briefly let go of Luffy to run toward him. Law could hardly get out a surprised 'what-' before the other boy wrapped him in a tight embrace, burying his head in his shoulder.

“Thank you,” Ace whispered to him, his grip almost crushing. His breath brushed against Law's ear, sending a shiver down his spine. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, you saved her – you saved my Lu... I, I owe you more than I can ever repay.”

Law should be very pleased to hear such a powerful pirate say that and mean it, but his mind is still playing catchup. His heart beat erratically in his chest as the other young man who the World Government exterminated entire families to try and kill, the other D that had been marked for death by nobles and almost lost everything, loosened his grip slightly and looked him in the eye, a shaky smile on his face that's so so warm and genuine.

He was handsome; so much so that even the most woman-obsessed individuals would call him so. An erratic heartbeat joined the sense of kinship Roger's son inspired in him, and Law shrugged and said, “I am a doctor.”

“Sure,” Law said after a moment's silence. “Luffy probably can't get into trouble within just a minute or two. ...Probably.” Ace smiled, amused and pleased, and Law felt that strange flip in his chest once more.

The Neo Marines were not an organization for the faint of heart to join. Born out of the bitter disillusionment of decent men and women who joined the World Government in hopes of protecting the innocent only to find themselves as cogs in an oppressive regime interested solely in propagating itself, headed by one of the great heroes of the previous generation, what had started as a splinter group had transformed into a mighty organization. It saw a massive spike in recruitment after Marineford, when those who watched the Government throw away thousands of lives against Whitebeard to kill Roger's son only to have let Teach break into Impel Down and break out a horde of monsters they had pretended no longer existed broke away in disgust. The Neo Marines had quickly proved to take their mantra of 'protect the innocent' seriously, taking the fight to the renegade warlord and the new wave of piracy encouraged by the victory of Whitebeard and Straw Hat Luffy.

Straw Hat Luffy inherited the Model: Nika fruit. The worshippers of the goddess who recognized her in that supernova pirate had become much more active, and many joined both the Neo Marines and the Revolutionaries in hopes of bringing freedom back into the world.

Perhaps due in part to that, perhaps due to a personal epiphany, it wasn't long after that when Neo Fleet Admiral Zephyr reached out to the Revolutionaries and their leader, Dragon, with a startling proposal. A partnership in the name of taking down the World Government and the worst pirates in the world. CP9 agents had been sent to sabotage the meeting, which only encouraged those on both sides to make it work.

All of this meant that one could not be a Neo Marine without having a very strong nerve. Yet when their Fleet Admiral took one look at the newly delivered newspaper, crushed the bottle he'd been drinking from, and walked off in thundering steps, every subordinate of his who saw him scrambled to get out of his way.

Zephyr walked through the winding halls of their current base of operations, growling under his breath and reminding himself that getting worked up without an enemy to take his anger out on was pointless. He followed the hallway to the terrace where he could typically count on finding Dragon when the man wasn't in the middle of something. The newspaper felt hot in his hand.

Why, in the name of Nika, couldn't Luffy stay out of trouble for more than twenty-four hours?! Even for a pirate this was ridiculous... she just turned Dressrosa on its head! That was practically yesterday, dammit! When did she even find time to get on Big Mom's radar for a bloody marriage alliance?!

She's going to give him a bloody heart attack at this rate!

The cool air rushed across his face as Zephyr pushed through the door and stepped out onto the terrace. It's a beautiful day, the sun shining down from a clear blue sky and a light breeze ruffling the air. Dragon was indeed outside, resting his hands on the stone and staring out in the direction of the New World. Ivankov was there as well, swirling a wine glass idly in one hand.

“Ah, Fleet Admiral! What's with the serious face?” The (currently) man asked brightly, raising his glass his way. “If I'd known to expect you, I would have brought another glass!”

Zephyr ignored him, walking straight over to Dragon and dropping the newspaper on the stone between his hands. “Read,” he said with as much calmness as he could muster.

Dragon briefly glanced sideways at him, slightly chiding, before taking the paper and looking down at it. The relevant story was on the first page, and Zephyr watched his brow tighten as his partner took in the new twist in his daughter's chase for the One Piece. He resisted the urge to pace; it wouldn't help him calm down, he knew that from long experience.

“...She went to Morgan herself.” Dragon said eventually, sounding...almost more curious than anything. “She must actually like Katakuri.”

“How do we know that Big Mom hasn't forced her into this?” Zephyr responded, aggravated by how calm he was.

Dragon shook his head. “Dawn Island is secure,” he said confidently. “And you know my daughter as well as I do; do you think anyone can force Luffy to do something she doesn't want to?”

Zephyr twitched. “You're not concerned at all?”

“I didn't say that,” Dragon responded. His expression becomes contemplative. “I know perfectly well what tactics Linlin has used to gain more children for her army. Katakuri has as good a reputation as an Emperor's son can have, but...” he tapped his fingers on the page. “Mmm. Luffy doesn't have anyone to walk her down the isle, does she?”

The older man relaxed visibly at the rhetorical question. “Unless one of her crew-mates stands in, no.” He said. This way, they could get there and voice their objections to this wedding if necessary. Who was he kidding, Big Mom was there. It would be necessary. “So how do we get there?”

Chapter 15

Chapter Text

Katakuri very rarely went to things like concerts. Maintaining his image had cut off a lot of casual pleasures from him over time; Brulee hyping him up to rather extreme degrees didn't exactly help. Usually when he did end up at a big event, he acted mostly as a body guard and remained as stone faced and calm as ever. He refused to let the atmosphere touch him, no matter how badly he would have enjoyed to join in on the festivities.

“C'mon, Kat! Let's go!” Luffy laughed, hauling him away from his stubborn stance at the side of the ampitheatre and straight onto the dance floor. She was deceptively strong for such a slender thing! Katakuri tried to dig his heels, he really did, but the sun goddess would not be denied. “You know how to dance, don't you?”

“I have never danced in my life,” Katakuri responded, admirably not sounding as mildly frantic as he felt. He half expected his voice to get completely swallowed up by the music coming from the stage. Brook was crooning a powerful ballad about love and jealousy, the wild passion of desire; how he had such an excellent voice while being a skeleton, Katakuri didn't know, though he could say he was impressed.

“Lord almighty, I feel my temperature rising...!”

“Ehhh?!” Luffy briefly stopped pulling to stare at him with an aghast expression. “Never?! That's horrible! Dancing is the best!” She stamped one foot repeatedly, which was entirely too cute for how childish it made her look. “Well, don't worry! I'll show you how. Just follow my lead!”

Katakuri attempted to protest further – an entirely useless endeavor. Luffy hauled him fully onto the dance floor, people scrambling to make some room for them, and started to bounce and spin around to the music which immediately caused any coherent thought he had to just die. He was pulled along in her wake like he'd been caught up in a rip tide.

Luffy rarely moved like woman who knew she was pretty. But as she moved about, bobbing and weaving and laughing off whenever he stumbled over her feet like a fool, and her shirt and jacket hugged her slender, muscular frame in riveting ways. The music whirled around them, higher and higher, it's burning through to my soul...!, and her beaming smile whenever he managed to put the right foot forward in the freeform dance left Katakuri feeling hot and bothered.

He wasn't a natural at this. In fact he felt like a child, awkwardly flailing around as he tried to match the fluid and careless movements that the dance was built around; he was almost afraid to look around and see if any of his siblings watching this display. If Luffy knew how out of his element he was, she didn't seem to care.

Katakuri was briefly struck with an actual vision seconds before Luffy tried to get him to dip her, his nerves were that keyed up. Thankfully, with that for-arming him he managed to preform the move properly instead of dropping her on the floor. Luffy laughed gleefully, those doe-like hazel eyes gleaming when she looked up at him draped across his arm. Katakuri's throat tried up and he briefly couldn't breathe.

Her pale throat almost glistened in the lights, elegant and enticing looking, and Katakuri hurriedly lifted Luffy back to her feet before he could follow that dangerous thought anywhere. “See?” Luffy said brightly, stretching up one hand to caress the side of his face. He tried not to flinch at the sudden intimate gesture. What is happening...?! “You're doing great!”

“I would disagree with that assessment,” Katakuri managed, rolling his shoulder nervously. His scarf hasn't gotten dislodged yet, thankfully. “I never stumble like this.”

“You always walk around in parade form?” Luffy asked, wrinkling her nose sympathetically. “Man, that must be exhausting!”

The words felt like a smack between the eyes for the sheer innocent bluntness of it. It – it was. It was so, so tiring, how he could only be himself for short hours, even just minutes when the days were particularly busy. Never relaxing, always on the lookout, always being a reassuring presence. It...how did she...?

“You can relax here, Kat,” Luffy said, leaning back and grabbing his hands as she spun them clockwise. “Look; nobody around here is all stiff and stuffy. This is what celebrations are for! So let go and follow my lead, okay?”

Katakuri uttered an unusually shaky breath and squared his shoulders firmly. She was right, really...an odd feeling bubbled up in his chest and he found himself relaxing a little. Really...would it be so strange for him to dance with his fiance in the middle of a concert? What enemies did he have to worry about right now? He could just...indulge. Doing so would make Luffy happy, after all.

The music picked up a faster beat, and Katakuri put his quick learning to good use. Figuring out the freeform steps was easy, and Luffy shrieked with delighted laughter as he spun her around and started to dance in earnest. He could feel people staring at him, surprised comments swirling amidst the shouting and Brook's singing, but despite a twinge in his chest, he shut them out easily by focusing solely on the words of the song and the excited look in those hazel brown eyes.

Once he'd truly gotten started, dancing was so easy to fall into a rhythm in – any other thoughts fell away when Katakuri grasped Luffy by the hips and lifted her overhead for a move, or briefly let her whirl away only to pull her back close. Adrenaline pulsed through his veins, like a battle and yet unlike it; it was pure pleasure, the drumming of his blood in his ears melting any worry away. “Girl, girl, girl, now, you gonna set me on fire...!” Brook belted from the stage.

The crowd of dancers moved back to give them decent space. Katakuri was hardly aware of them; he'd fallen fully into the loose movements, his attention solely on Luffy's face. “So cool...!” His fiance laughed, impressed and gleeful. “You're getting it!” Her statement gave him a rush of pleasure.

“I learn quickly,” Katakuri responded easily. He slid one arm around her slender waist and pulled her closer to him. Her warmth was seeping into him where she held onto him; for the first time he welcomed it fully instead of trying to stay on guard.

“You do!” Luffy giggled, gleeful and impressed. She squeezed his shoulder and relaxed before he dipped her again, more deeply than last time. There's cheers and hooting in the crowd, the voices of people who've been in love and are hungry to see it realized before their eyes, and despite the instinctive twinge in his chest their attention doesn't feel like a threat. “Hehehe... I haven't done this in a little bit. We didn't get to celebrate at Dressrosa after beating up Mingo; the Marines were right on top of us and we had to go right away.”

“Hmm...” Katakuri hummed. He spun her around again, his heart lifting when she laughed freely. “I hope this makes up for it.”

“It does!” Luffy reassured him. “I'm so happy we have all night!”

All night? Huh... that did sound rather nice. Katakuri wouldn't be surprise if she stayed up until the sun rose; she always seemed to have more energy than her body could physically contain. He suddenly wished he'd dressed up a little for this, like she had; before he'd only ever bothered with that when one of his brothers or sisters was getting married, and even then only when he wasn't on security detail. Getting fitted for a suit for his own wedding had been a long, tedious, and boring task, yet at once he regretted not putting up with it to match Luffy's ensemble. He hoped she didn't feel put out that he hadn't put the effort in.

“As you wish,” He said simply.

Brook's sing began to wind down and Luffy whirled around him a few times before they came to a stop, Katakuri's hands steadily holding her waist. The last few notes hit and there was an explosion of cheering, chanting of 'Soul King! Soul King! Soul King!' and thunderous applause; Katakuri almost dreaded to think what it would be like once Uta arrived. Her and Brook playing together would be a magnificent showing, he was sure, but it might also be the first concert to start a riot out of sheer excited joy.

Luffy beamed at him, and stretched her legs up. Her hands grasped his scarf and started to pull it down, causing his heart to lurch in alarm. Good feelings abruptly sidelined Katakuri grabbed her wrists. “What are you doing?” He demanded a little abruptly.

Luffy blinked at him, puzzled. “I can't kiss you with this in the way,” she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Katakuri almost stumbled backward a few steps. He felt his eyes widen as a shiver went through him. “What?” he repeated, a hitch in his breath.

“May I kiss you?” Luffy repeated patiently, brown eyes hopeful. “We haven't done that yet; I didn't mean to leave that out.”

W-Wait a second, Katakuri thought but couldn't quite say out loud. His heart started pounding in his chest, his gaze falling to those soft pink lips. A roaring fills his ears, so loud he couldn't understand why Luffy couldn't hear it too, and conflicted feelings of run away shut that down quickly hurry and yes yes yes please I've never tearing his nerves to shreds. He tried to find some good reason for wanting his scarf to stay in place but all he could think of was I don't want you to see that part of me, please.

What's happened to him? When did her good opinion become something he wanted this badly? The image of her recoiling in shock and disgust when she saw his teeth flashed through his mind, and his stomach curled up into a knot of stress.

“Sorry, I got carried away, didn't I?” Luffy said sheepishly, releasing his scarf without him saying a word. “This is really new for me... I'm still figuring it all out. So...” Instead, she stretched her height up a little more and pressed a soft kiss against his cheek.

It was warm at first, then turned hot, sending jolts of flame through his veins as her soft wet lips brushed against his skin. The roaring sound intensified, and it had nothing to do with Brook starting the next song – for a moment Katakuri thought the music was just inside his head with how intense his reaction was.

So gentle. Katakuri...wasn't familiar with gentle touches. He gave them to his siblings; hugs, protective gestures, a hand on the shoulder when one of them was stressed out, carrying them when they were injured. But only Brulee was confident enough to lean against him in a casual afternoon, squeeze his wrist, treat him like a normal person instead of a mythical figure. And his mother – mother hadn't touched or held him since he was a child other than to express her anger and displeasure. No woman had ever come this close to him; he'd never sought them out, but none had ever been bold as Luffy.

It felt wonderful, electrifying, and it was so gentle and brief. Katakuri moved slightly forward when she parted away from him, not wanting it to stop. His heart wouldn't stop pounding.

Luffy snapped back to her usual height and looked hesitantly at him, waiting for him to say something, and that finally snapped him out of his shock.

“It...it's fine,” Katakuri managed after a few stunned seconds of silence. “Thank you. I was – just caught off guard.” What kind of response was that to being kissed?! He scrambled for some way to fix that statement. “My mouth is a little sensitive. It's why I wear this scarf.” The desire to facepalm intensified. He's doing everything wrong.

“Oh,” Luffy ahhed in comprehension. “Woops, sorry!” She rested her head against his chest, seeming... a little embarrassed. It was an odd look on a girl who was always so unshakably confident... it was adorable.

“Don't worry about it,” Katakuri said softly, though audible to her. “Shall we dance, Luffy?”

Immediately her mood lightened up again, and she nodded enthusiastically. Katakuri felt the wild tug to kiss her.

Law sat down next to Ace in the darkened booth lit by low blue light from fire-shaped lanterns. The curtains giggled and promised him that they would keep this private, netting itself a brief death glare from the Surgeon before he cracked the offered bottle open and poured himself a glass. “This place feels like a warped children's book...” He muttered.

“Sabo said the same thing this morning,” Ace remarked, pouring his own drink. Not too generous, and unlikely to get a Whitebeard pirate too tipsy, but it would likely cause a pleasant buzz. “The novelty wears off pretty quickly, doesn't it?”

Law nodded sharply, earning a chuckle of agreement from the other ravenette. “I'm just glad Luffy hasn't eaten all the furniture in the hotel again.” He's said her name again. Not to her, but still, his heart twisted with emotion.

“Threatening her with vegetables always gets results.” Ace said sagely.

They briefly fall into silence, drinking and looking out at the stage. Brook's music filled the room, and there was chanting for both couples on the floor mingling with the sound. The silence between them isn't uncomfortable, but it's charged with something Law can't put a word to. It lingered for a few minutes before the surgeon finally found something to say. “Luffy said she didn't know what a kiss on the lips meant,” he said, knocking his drink back.

Ace groaned and facepalmed. He must have suspected, then. “Oh my god... gramps, what the hell?” He complained, knocking his head against the back of his chair. “I'd wondered, but...”

“I'm going to punch that man in the face; I don't care how powerful he is or how much Luffy adores him.” Law seethed.

Ace's lips twitched upward. “I'm on board with that,” He said in all seriousness.

The two fell quiet again. Law breathed out slowly. He was no good at this, not with people outside of his crew. Ace didn't seem bothered though. The young Emperor took a deep drink and looked up at the ceiling. “Hey Law...” he murmured. “I've always been curious... what made you decide to come to Marineford?”

“I got a front row seat to her punching a World Noble in the face.” Law said. “I was...intrigued by her, back then. That would have been enough on its own...” he paused, then forged on, “but when I read about you in the newspaper, I wanted to be there. Before I even knew anything about you.”

Ace blinked once. “Why?”

“...'D will bring a storm',” Law quoted quietly. “I was told this by my most precious person, a long time ago. Do you know what it means?”

“Pops has alluded to it a few times... he never really elaborated, though. Outside of us being the enemies of the Celestial Dragons.” Ace looked pensive. “Roger – my mom, she offered to tell him about it after she got to Laugh Tale along with everything she learned there. He said no thanks, because having a family was the only thing he wanted in the world. He told me about it when I finally told him I was her son.”

Law slowly nodded. A little frustrating, but it completely fit with what he knew about Edward Newgate. The Will of D is still obscured by time and the government's suppression. “I haven't found many people with the D in their name.” He said. “My parents, my sister, they had it, but I never met another one until I encounters Luffy, then you. I knew it was important, even though I still don't understand it.”

“So you felt a sense of kinship with me? Us?” Ace said. There's a soft edge of wonder in his voice, like it's strange and precious to be looked at with empathy and a sense of connection.

“That was the original reason.” Law's chest twinged and he made himself look at Ace. Those ocean-green eyes met his, startled and curious. “That changed when Sengoku started talking about who your mother was and why you were there. And the massacres in the South Blue they committed looking for you.”

He could remember the exact chain of his emotions when listening to those opening remarks. Shock, that Roger's child had survived. Bemusem*nt that the Hero of the Marines had willingly hidden said child right under the organization's nose and raised him himself. Pain when that suddenly reminded him of Corazon and his sacrifice for him. A sudden flash of realization that gave way to seething rage as a connection was made, inexorably, to his own past.

“I was born in Fleavence.”

The World Government had decided they all needed to die because killing everyone was easier than trying to look for a cure, to protect the filthy nobles that had poisoned them all to enrich themselves and wanted to cover up their crimes. Exploited them until there was nothing left to take, then massacred them all and called it justice. What had they said to the survivors on those islands when it became clear they'd butchered toddlers and babies who had nothing to do with Roger, Rogue or their son, who'd only been killed because they had been there and fit the rumour that Shiki had spread?

“White Lead Poison is not contagious. It's a buildup of toxic lead within the body, the bloodstream, it only occurs from long exposure or if your parents were sick with it when they had you. They could have tried to help us, but that would have meant admitting the nobles poisoned us all to get rich, and the marines are nothing if not obedient mutts, aren't they?”

Law forced his fingers to unlock from his glass in order to hold onto the table instead. His knuckles quickly turned white as he clenched every muscle in his hand.

“I didn't escape before the marines came to wipe my home and everyone who lived in it off the map. They killed my parents who wouldn't abandon their patients; they burned my sister alive in the hospital that was supposed to save people. I only survived by hiding among the corpses and being dumped in the aftermath.”

Ace's hand settled gently on top of his and squeezed. Law blinked out of his fugue state and looked at the other captain. He looked genuinely horrified and more than that, those eyes were full of empathy. Like Luffy.

“You were like me,” Law murmured, after a moment of quiet in which he regulated his breathing. “You were just like me. And...just like that, the thought of them managing to kill you really pissed me off. When Luffy showed up too, falling from the sky, I had my crew put on speed.”

His breathing came out a little roughly, and he let go of the table to gulp down the contents of his glass in one go. His chest burned with anxiety of laying himself out so bare, but that was a familiar feeling, and no more strong than when he'd told his sun goddess the story not too long ago.

“When you lost them,” Ace murmured, almost in a trace, “the world went dark. Nothing had any meaning, except maybe hurting the people who thought you were an abomination and surviving just long enough to spite them. You hated the world and you didn't care about yourself, only that you succeeded in making them bleed before dying, alone, unwanted and in pain. The only person you didn't hate was the only one you met who didn't tell you that you never should have been born, and that if you're found you should be burnt at the stake.”

Law's breath hitched. “Yes,” he murmured.

“My father died protecting me. Portgas D Rogue.” Ace said quietly. “Gramps brought us to Dawn Island, far away from my mother's world, but he wasn't there that night. It wasn't long after Shiki escaped; he sent some of his men to scout out the east blue for his doomsday plan and some of them found me. My father fought them and killed all of them before they could contact Shiki and tell him where to get me. Not before getting stabbed through the chest defending me, and he died in front of me in Gray Terminal.” His free hand balls up into a fist. “And... whenever I asked people about Roger, about my mom, I always heard the same thing.”

“Die before you poison the rest of us.” Law finished. “You're not a human being, you're a vector for infection that has to be exterminated for everyone's good.”

Ace nodded, his jaw tightening just a little. “The only person you loved died because of you.” He said, his voice almost small.

Even that... “And it wouldn't have happened at all if he hadn't loved you, cared that you were suffering, dragged you kicking and screaming back to sanity when all you wanted was to lie down and die,” Law said, his chest aching. “If they hadn't loved you so much they'd die to give you a chance to be free.”

Ace closed his eyes. “Your precious person... what was his name?”

“Corazon. I called him Cora-san. He was Doflamingo's brother, a mole in his pirate crew from the Marines. He saved me body and soul, and Doflamingo killed him.” It still hurt. Years and years later, it still hurt, Law still missed him so much it ached.

“I'm sorry.”

“It wasn't your doing.”

Law's chest relaxed and he returned Ace's hold on his hand. The other man is warm, the kind of warmth that feels like a comforting blanket on a cold day. “Love is a curse,” he murmurs. “It destroys you and brings you back to life and pushes you to keep going. You keep surviving even though you aren't fully sure why. You meet people who take you in and care about you. And then...and then you meet her.”

“I remember you... you were at the auction house when I punched that guy! You helped me fight off the Marines too. You're the one who saved me...?” Luffy looked him up and down a few times, then beamed brightly, giving him her first sincere smile. It's dazzling. “Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“She says she loves you and means it from the depths of her big, clueless heart, and nothing you say or do chases her off despite all your best efforts. She cares about you just because you exist, and if the world itself won't accept you, she'll destroy it.” Ace smiled, light glowing in his eyes. There's so much love there it's like an endless ocean. “She made the sun rise in a world of endless night.”

Law nodded, his throat a little tight. The silence returned, but it's wholly comfortable this time as they looked at each other and absorbed their shared emotion, experience. The bond between them that started with that sudden, thankful embrace becomes a hot and tangible thing, yet one that is worn willingly and gladly.

“I think...” Law said, swallowing slightly as he gazed deeply into Ace's eyes. “You should know about the snail call Luffy had with some of her crew this morning.”

“Tell me,” Ace requested softly. He doesn't look away, and his gaze...is fond. Very fond, and a little hopeful.

So Law relayed the whole event, starting from Reiju's involvement, Luffy's odd shift in demeanour, then Zoro's impulsive confession and what Luffy said in response to it. Ace's eyes widened and stayed that way through most of the story; by the end, he exhaled and started chuckling helplessly. “That girl is going to be the death of me,” he said.

Law snorted. “Oh, please. If she hasn't killed me yet after Punk Hazard and Dressrosa, she's not going to kill you.” He said dryly. This made Ace full on laugh, and the sound makes Law grin.

“It's not easy to think about my mother,” Ace admitted when he calmed down. “On one hand, her being my parent has caused me a whole lot of grief. But even though she was dying, even though giving birth to me would make her last months unthinkably painful...she still brought me into this world because she wanted me more than anything. And when she gave me to Gramps, she called me the greatest of all of her treasures. Put me above the One Piece itself.”

A mixture of pain and affection drifted across his face, before he said less seriously, “And frankly thinking about her marriages always leaves me off kilter.”

“One never wants to think about their mother in terms of men finding her appealing, even your father.” Law deadpanned. Ace nodded vehemently in agreement, which draws a small chuckle from the naturally serious Heart Pirate.

“When Sabo said we could be her joint husbands, I kinda wanted to hit him.” Ace mused. “I wasn't really ready for her to imply that's exactly what she wants and plans for.”

“You're okay with that?” Law asked.

Ace gave him a serious but welcoming look. “Sabo and I agreed on this a long time ago. How about you?” He asked in response.

Law thought about it. He'd been thinking about it ever since the morning. And he surprised himself a little with the conclusion she came to. “If she actually loves me back, I don't care about anything else.” He said simply. “I need her, Ace. She's my soul.” It didn't escape his notice that he'd used the other man's name too.

Ace smiled softly. He's very handsome in this lighting, and Law isn't sure when he started noticing that, but he can't stop. “I'm happy to hear that,” The young emperor said.

“Besides,” Law continued carelessly before he could stop himself, “who else would be able to enjoy having a goddess and an emperor sharing their bed?” It's bravado, pure bravado to emphasize his point – mostly bravado, his heart briefly tried to escape out through his throat when Ace's eyes widen – but he doesn't take them back because that would be showing weakness. Or something. His head was getting a little foggy thanks to having to talk about feelings with a giant f*cking concert blaring in the background. That's the only reason!

Ace stared at him for a very painfully long seconds before...grinning, that open and honest grin that makes him resemble Luffy in warmth and openheartedness. “I guess we'll find out,” he remarked.

Then he moved closer and kissed Law on the cheek. Th doctor sputtered and felt his face heat up, and Ace laughed again. “Be careful who you tease, Trafalgar,” the young Emperor said slyly. Law planted a hand on his chest but didn't quite push him away, just meeting him with a challenging gaze while feeling his muscle definition under his calloused fingers.

“I could say the same to you.” He said, as if his heart wasn't trying to beat its way out of his chest.

Luffy laughed as she stumbled off the dance floor, looking for a snack and a drink. Katakuri steadied her with one hand on her shoulder, scowling at dancers who obscured the way to the snack tables and thus causing them to get out of the way. “Woo!” She cheered a little drunkenly, high off of the atmosphere. “Man, if only my whole crew was here...they're really missing out!”

“I'm sure there will be more opportunities in the future,” Katakuri offered. They reached the table and Luffy snatched a jug of milk, pouring into a glass meant for wine and drinking the whole thing in one go.

“Yeah,” Luffy said, panting a little as she started snatching up random pastries – very glad that these ones seemed not to be sentient. “When we're back together, I'll have met Uta again. I bet she and Brook would make amazing music together. Ahhh!” She bounced violently in place before looking up at Katakuri with entreating eyes. “Do you know when Uta will get here, Kat? I can't wait to see her, I can't! I've missed her so much!”

“Three days, is what the ship captain told my mother.” Katakuri responded after a second of thinking, cute. Where did she get all this energy? Was it a roll over from her devil fruit?

“Three days!” Luffy groaned theatrically, collapsing on one of the fluffy sofas dramatically. “That's so long!” She started to eat her chosen sweets a little grumpily, longing in her eyes. Katakuri sat down next to her and tried not to chuckle, of all things.

“Considering the general weather in the New World, that ship is making excellent time,” He disputed, cracking a smile beneath his scarf at her sulky expression. “You should know that.”

Luffy just grumbled something imperceptible and went back to eating. Katakuri leaned back against the sofa, relaxing in public in a way he hasn't done in years. He rested one arm on the pillows so when Luffy leaned back, her head would be resting against his forearm. Briefly he was tempted to get some sweets and start chowing down himself, but he was able to push the thought away with some effort. Much more than usual, though...

“Hey Kat, if your mouth is sensitive, are there some foods you can't eat?” Luffy asked after a moment, swallowing so her words were comprehensible. “Sanji's a wizard; once he knows about that, he'll find stuff to make you that still tastes delicious while not using anything bad.”

Katakuri blinked twice before realizing the natural conclusion she'd come to, and that...she believed that even if they married, she would leave Totland with him. That he'd be on her ship, Vinsmoke as well, as she chased after the title of Pirate King. She didn't realize that she was giving anything up, coming here.

Pain stabbed his chest, sudden and burdensome. He could almost feel the potion vial in his pocket, even though he'd left it in his personal apartments buried in a cupboard. Could hear his mother speaking of her plans to exterminate the Vinsmokes and forcibly bring the wild goddess to heel, make her a figurehead of her dream to bring every race and people on one island in harmony. No, Luffy would never be allowed to leave this place.

Suddenly he hated that thought, a bitter feeling scalding his tongue like he'd bitten into rotten fruit. The idea of the joy and free spirit in those hazel brown eyes being crushed down into nothing was disturbing, and he almost said something dangerous before hesitating. “It's...not quite like that,” he said instead.

Coward, a voice at the back of his mind muttered. Why not warn her that she'll be a prisoner if she doesn't get out of here?

They were his mother's orders. He'd done plenty of things he found objectionable because he knew he had no choice. No one could stop his mother.

No. You were born under Nika's sun, just like her. You always have a choice.

Trying to hide his unease, he said, “It's... not a food sensitivity. It's a personal thing.”

Luffy looked up at him, puzzled. “Personal?” She mused. “Okay... you can tell me about it if you want. Not here, but somewhere quiet.”

“You don't have to...”

“It's okay. You were fine with my scars, weren't you? I'll be fine with whatever this is. Promise.” She smiled at him, and somehow that stabbed into his chest even worse. Suddenly he felt like he was standing on a great precipice overlooking violent waters; where he could only flee or jump, and if he chose wrong he would be left with pain and regret.

“Alright.” He said. “After tonight.”

If this didn't drive her away from him, what the hell was he going to do?

Benn did not want to give Shanks this newspaper. He knew that it was going to lead to a dumpster fire, so why didn't he just drop it in the ocean?

Because he was worried for Luffy and part of him didn't want to miss her getting married. Goddamn it. The long-suffering first mate blew out a long, tortured breath, and turned away from the ship railing that he'd been standing stone still at since the News Coo flew off.

“Benn? What's going on?” Yassop asked, alarmed to see that expression on his crewmate's face.

“You'll find out,” Benn deadpanned. He headed straight past the sniper toward the sun chair Shanks was half passed out in, waiting out a hangover. Pausing a foot or so away from his captain, he sighed, and nudged the redhead pointedly with his foot. “Cap, get up. Luffy's in the papers.”

Shanks blearily blinked up at him, running those words through his head a few times before fully registering them. “She's in the papers a lot?” He tried, confused. “Are the Marines still pissed off about the Dressrosa thing? Because that was just as much their fault as Doflamingo's...”

Benn made an aggravated noise and planted the paper in Shanks's lap none too gently, causing the other man to curse in protest. “Just read,” He said. “If your vision will focus enough to make that possible.”

“Oh ye of little faith...” Shanks grumbled, picking the paper up and beginning to read. Benn braced himself for the explosion.

He didn't have to wait for very long. Shanks's expression slowly flattened into confusion, then became alarmed, and by the time he'd reached the bottom of the page... well, if the apocalypse could be manifested in a single human being, it was standing on the deck of the Red Force. Shanks slowly stood up and read the page a second time to make sure he hadn't missed anything.

“Linlin, huh?” Shanks said. There was no emotion in his voice at first, which makes the hair on the back of his neck stand up. “Luffy...and Uta, too...” He dropped the paper on the deck and started walking out to the water. His haki coiled around him like the World Serpent; Benn could feel the pressure on his edges of his soul like it was the weight of the Red Line. The rest of the crew scrambled to form a line on the deck, wide-eyed and alarmed at his state.

“Looks like it.” Benn said, swallowing thickly.

Shanks stared out at the water. Somehow the silence was more frightening than any temperamental reaction that he'd been picturing. “Set a course,” The Emperor said, his voice scalding with anger and worry both. “We're going to Totland.”

Everyone scattered to carry out the order except for Benn himself. He walked up to his captain and stood behind him, hesitating for a moment before putting a hand on his shoulder. “Big Mom can't know about Tot Musica.” He said quietly.

Shanks's breath came out in a rattling hiss. “It doesn't matter,” he growled out. “She won't let Uta leave. Or Luffy.”

“Not willingly.” Benn couldn't deny that.

Uta... it had been so long. Her absence had been a phantom pain in the crew ever since, the bitterness of being too weak to protect her at the time and too weak to slay the demon that had taken up residence within her. She wouldn't be happy to see them, and yet they had to be there for her now, after having failed her so completely.

And Luffy...?

“I like Katakuri,” Shanks said. The water trembled under his haki. “He'd be much better off if his mother was literally anyone else, but that he has any sense of honour and decency despite her is truly impressive. I'd almost think he'd be good for Luffy if she was interested in him.”

“She could be. She gave Morgans the report herself.”

“I'll believe that when I hear it form her, in person, without any of Linlin's children around.” Shanks said tightly. “If he really has won her heart, I'll respect that. But if this is all a trap...” He clutched the edge of the railing. “Benn... I'm gonna need you to stop me from doing anything I'll regret too much.”

At that Benn could only nod. “Always, Captain.”

Shanks managed a little smile at that, emotion swirling in his eyes. “Thank you.”

Chapter 16

Chapter Text

Sanji was half in agony, half in hope. Perhaps mostly in agony. And it wasn't because he was standing dangerously close to the stage and thus being subjected to the full blast of Brook's amplified music.

Oh, but his heart was a wretched thing. Trapped in indecision, torn between being a decent man to the fiance he'd been given and vocalizing his feelings for his captain at long last, he'd let mosshead walk all over him and confess first before he could even get a word in edgewise. He stared across the dance floor to where Luffy was sitting on a couch, leaning back against Charlotte Katakuri's arm and happily eating confectioneries. For all that the amphitheatre was packed with dancers, screaming fans and very beleaguered security, he could barely hear or register them. His sole attention was on her... and a little bit on the beautiful girl on his arm.

“What's wrong, Sanji-kun?” Pudding asked gently, tugging on his arm. Sanji blinked blearily and glanced at her. They'd just walked off the dance floor... she must have been trying to get his attention for a few moments now. Her pretty brown eyes showed nothing but concern. “Do you need to sit down? Is the noise too much?”

“Ah... forgive me, Pudding-chan; I'm getting more distracted as the night goes on, it seems.” He responded apologetically, giving her the warmest smile he could muster.

Pudding gave him a little knowing smile. “You want to dance with your captain, don't you?” She said with that natural sweetness that made Sanji feel even worse about the situation. She deserves a wonderful husband. “Go to her. I don't mind sitting and resting my feet for a little while.”

He'd told her about being in love with another when they first met; shortly before Judge revealed that he would kill Zeff and the staff at Baratie if Sanji didn't submit to his will. Back then he'd been solely focused on getting out of the marriage and returning to his crew, and he'd been so glad when she accepted this with a smile and a few kind words. Of course his relief couldn't last; upon receiving the threat and knowing it was serious, he'd returned to her and they'd agreed to try and make it work. He swore he'd be good to her, that he'd be a model husband, and in turn she'd promised that she'd do everything she could to be a bright spot in his life.

Then Luffy had shown up, broke his so-called father over her knee (Zeff is his real father, the only one he's ever had) and told him that Sabo had defused his threat to Zeff without even having to be asked. (He really was going to kiss that blonde when he got the chance.)

She'd saved him once again, and Sanji – just hadn't known what to do.

He didn't want to humiliate Pudding by publicly rejecting her in favour of her brother's fiance (calling Katakuri that inside his mind still caused him a twisting feeling of panic, jealousy and pain, why hadn't he said something sooner-), not when she'd been so considerate and kind to him, not when her mother was so viciously unforgiving of failure. The idea that she might hurt her daughter, despite the brunette's consistent reassurances that she would never, wouldn't go away, and it would be partially his fault. Linlin was a monster of truly titanic proportions.

But he also didn't want to do Pudding the indignity of having to get married to someone who was in love with another, and that was the true sticking point. He simply would not do that to her; equal to his desire to truly chase after the woman he loved, his status as a gentleman demanded it!

He needed to plan this out, and for that he needed to know Luffy's intentions for Katakuri for sure. If she was going to m-marry him, would she do it here in the midst of Big Mom's trap or would she 'kidnap' the man and marry him upon reaching the relative freedom of Wano, with no knives at the back of anyone's necks? Would Katakuri permit himself to be stolen away, or would ingrained loyalty to his monstrous mother and many siblings prompt him to stay by her side, regardless of whatever feelings he might have for Luffy?

That was something that was truly worrying Sanji, the more and more fond Luffy became of the Sweet Commander. How did Katakuri feel about Luffy? The man was as stoic as the mosshead, maybe even moreso; Sanji wasn't sure he'd ever met someone who's actions were all so tightly controlled constantly. Except – except maybe for Reiju.

Reiju...

Sanji shook his head, his need to talk to his sister more powerful than ever before, but he can't find her in this mess and Luffy is his first priority, as ever. He'll approach Reiju tomorrow, hopefully with a clear enough head that she won't be able to give him the runaround.

“Thank you, my lady,” he said as warmly as he could muster. Pudding nudged his shoulder playfully and went to sit down at one of the sofas, a few of her female siblings waving violently for her to join them – including one angry-looking girl who was scowling in what might be Luffy's direction. It wasn't obvious with how packed the amphitheatre was, but Sanji memorized the girl's face nonetheless – it was too dangerous not to.

Sucking in a deep breath and wishing he had a cigarette for his nerves, Sanji walked forward and weaved through the crowd toward Luffy. She didn't notice him at first, focused on her treats as she was, but Katakuri did. As Sanji drew close, the man fixed a firm, displeased look on him that only intensified when Luffy perked up.

“Sanji!” She said brightly. “I've been missing you. What's up?”

“I was hoping you'd be willing to dance with me for a little,” Sanji responded, his voice carefully calm and removed from the depths of his emotions.

Katakuri frowned, and his arm tightened around Luffy's shoulders slightly. The ravenette was oblivious, though, and lit up at the request. “Yes! I'd love that,” Luffy said with enthusiasm. She turned sideways and kissed her fiancé on the cheek. An increasingly familiar iron spike jammed into Sanji's chest at the intimate gesture, painful in a way nothing could compare to.

Especially from Katakuri's reaction; the man jolted slightly, and despite his long-practiced aura, Sanji knew people, and he could see the flustered pleasure flashing through those dark eyes. The man might not be willing to admit it to himself, but Luffy has won him over. Grabbed his heart the same way she had done to Sanji himself.

Aren't you a miracle, Sunshine...?

“I'll be back, Kat.” Luffy said lightly, grabbing Sanji's hand. Then she beamed up at her cook and said, “Let's dance!”

Just like that, the iron spike is gone. It was like seeing the dawn for the first time, every time. I would do anything to protect that smile, anything. Sanji smiled helplessly and pulled her onto the dance floor immediately – pulling her along after him rather than being yanked in her wake as she so often did. Sweeping onto the dance floor as Brook's next song started up, Sanji put one arm around her shoulder and the other around her slender waist. Her warmth radiated through her skin, soothing every hurt he'd ever felt.

“My Captain,” he said with all the affection in his chest. Then the beat picked up and he started to spin her around the dance floor.

“Looks like I've found my cook! Shishishishi!” Sanji's head jerked upward to see that beautiful customer leaning over from the awning above him and Gin. She was grinning, looking at him with pride and pleasure – the sharp eyed look of someone who'd been in need of something and found the perfect piece. She looked at him like he was perfect, and Sanji's initial reaction stuck in his throat because the last person who looked at him that way was his mother. He'd completely forgotten what that felt like.

Luffy beamed, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly as they swayed to the music. The song is even faster than the last one, and Brook's crooning voice filled the night air with electric energy. “It feels so wrong when you aren't on the Sunny, Sanji,” she said honestly, directly into his ear so he could hear her over the noise. “I couldn't stop looking for you even though I knew you weren't there. It's like a piece of me was gone, and it hurt and hurt and hurt.”

His chest swelled intensely at the words. “I missed you dearly, Sunshine,” Sanji said before hoisting her above his head and spinning her around in a few circles. The crowd cheered, drunk on the atmosphere and increasingly enamoured with the wild free spirit that had burst into their world like a supernova. “Without you nearby, without the Sunny, the world is bleak and empty. These days before you arrived, they've been the longest of of my life.”

Luffy's cheeks turned a light shade of red – was he imagining that? No, he could almost feel the warmth radiating out from her like a working stove. Her awakened powers did strange things like that, had ever since Marineford. The strange quirks that she'd display – literal steam blowing out of her ears when she was indignant or angry, her eyes popping out on springs when she was very shocked – once he'd gotten over how uncanny they were, Sanji grew to adore them too. It was another expression of her fierce emotions.

“I need to know you're coming back with us,” Luffy confessed when he set her back on her feet; she leaned back and drew him along in a figure eight across the floor. “Please, Sanji. If you want to stay, I-”

His heartbeat quickened. “Perish the thought,” Sanji said hurriedly, almost laughing at the idea. He hoped Judge was screaming in his utter impotence before this goddess. “Luffy, I want to go back to the Sunny more than anything.”

Luffy's expression absolutely melted with joyful relief. “Yes! Oh, thank goodness!” She buried her face in his shoulder when he drew her close, squeezing his shoulders like he'd vanish if she let go. “I've been so worried this whole time... don't worry, I'll have Franky make space for Pudding on the Sunny if you marry her.”

Ah. This was it. “Ah... we don't plan to marry if we can get away with it,” Sanji responded simply, careful to pitch his voice so only she would hear the words. Luffy's head snapped up and she looked at him with wide eyes. “I've discussed the matter with her, and we agreed to keep up the facade until we make our escape from here.”

“So you don't want to marry her?” Luffy said, like she was testing the waters. “I've met her. She seems really nice, and she's a cook like you.”

“She is; in another life I don't doubt that I'd be madly in love with her.” Sanji responded without missing a beat. He lead Luffy around in a few circles, in a more ballroom dancing style than the freeform surrounding them. “But that is not this life.”

It's a little dangerous to talk about this out in the open; there could be people watching them, and gossip ran wild after massive meet ups like this. Or perhaps his fear of her reaction was latching onto that as an excuse, something to push back against his innate drive to win the love of his life. All that insecurity that being returned to Judge and his brothers had dug up was sitting on his shoulders like a malevolent gargoyle.

He called up the memory of Luffy gently unlocking the collars on his wrists, her rage on his behalf and her rushing to his aid with no fear of Big Mom. I am not worthless to her. He leaned upon those moments to steel his courage.

Luffy changed up the pace a little, her dancing only a little less intimate than what she'd shared with Katakuri. Sanji kept his arm around her waist; he tried not to shudder when she'd press up against him and he could feel her ample chest briefly mould against him. It took all his willpower to not embarrass himself in front of her and the crowd whenever that happened. For a few minutes the frenetic pace kept him from having any breath to spare on talking, his sole focus on dipping, twirling, and spinning her around and around the floor.

It was pure ecstasy, like something out of a dream. Luffy giggled and smiled the whole way, though there was a look in her brown eyes like she was thinking hard on something... it was a relatively uncommon expression for her, so it always stuck out to Sanji whenever he saw it. “Hey Sanji,” she asked when they slowed down again. “Do you think I'm pretty?”

Sanji blinked rapidly. Why on earth would she even have to wonder? “You are the most beautiful woman I've ever set eyes on,” He said without hesitation.

“Even though I'm scarred?” Luffy prodded with a hint of – hesitation?

“What...?” Sanji uttered, startled.

“You always say that women are to be protected and it's a tragedy if they ever receive scars,” Luffy recalled, squeezing his shoulders tightly. “I've got a lot of scars; even though you don't see most of them... I do.”

W-Well, of course he knew that... he kept track of every time she got hurt in a battle, reminded himself of them to keep pushing himself, so he'd be able to protect her next time. “You will always be beautiful to me, whatever scars you bear.” Sanji responded in a rush. Had he...been making her self conscious? All this time? His stomach lurched violently at the thought.

“Really?” Luffy said, a hopeful smile crossing her lips.

Sanji clutched her a little closer, letting his guard drop a little so she could see raw sincerity in his eyes. “You're a warrior and my Captain, Luffy. I joined you out of admiration for the girl who saved my childhood home, who punched through nail-shields and fought with impaled palms without backing down one step, who kicked a fishman through seven floors and destroyed an entire building with nothing but her fists and feet to save her friend. I admire your beauty, yes!, but your ferocity is no less cherished by me – I assure you. If – if my words have ever made you feel ugly, I'm so terribly sorry...”

Luffy blinked rapidly at him, and her cheeks flushed a light red. She ducked her head and buried her face in his shoulder, an embarrassed squeaking sound muffled by his shirt. “S-Silly Sanji,” she mumbled. “You never made me feel bad.”

The vice his heart was in relaxed at those words. “Thank goodness,” Sanji said in relief. “I was afraid for a moment that I'd been hurting my beloved carelessly.”

Luffy peered up at him from his shoulder, her expression faintly shocked. “Beloved?” She repeated, a hesitant giggle in her voice. “Ah, Sanji, you say that to every girl you meet...” It sounded like it was meant to be a joke, but came out as subtly fishing instead.

“A force of habit,” Sanji admitted. “A poor one, I see now, because it continuously undermined my attempts to express my deep and sincere love for...for you.” The words were stuttered out, not delivered with the suave confidence that was so characteristic of him. It wasn't how he'd imagined declaring his love... he'd had entire plans for that, a long romantic date that lasted into the evening, a hand cooked dinner just for the two of them, perfect privacy and loving kisses exchanged. But mosshead had thrown ahead of him, Luffy had responded, and he was desperate to know if he still had any chance with her or if it was too little, too late.

Luffy paused mid step and stared blankly at him, almost going ghostly with shock. Then her expression became something between embarrassment and disbelief as she managed, “...You too?” Like she was slowly re-evalulating her entire life and being caught completely flat-footed by what she found there.

“Yes.” Sanji responded a little nervously.

“...How long?” Luffy asked slowly, like she was honestly scared of the answer.

“From the moment I met you.”

“...” Luffy's cheeks rapidly went such a dark red, he could have mistaken her for a strawberry at a distance. Steam flew from her ears, and his brave, bold captain slammed her head into his chest and said in disbelief, “Nami was right back in Orange Town. I am stupid.”

No no no, that is not the mood he was going for at all! “Never say that about yourself!” Sanji protested, putting one hand under her chin and lifting her head to meet his gaze. “Perhaps you aren't as wise as Robin-chan, my love, but you have emotional wisdom that none of us can compare to. How else could we have made it this far and achieved everything we have?”

“Then why didn't I already know about this?!” Luffy sputtered almost frantically.

“Because mosshead and I were always fighting and undercutting each other's attempts to woo you,” Sanji admitted somewhat reluctantly. Yes, quite a few honest and uninterrupted attempts had bounced right off of his beautiful Captain, but he wouldn't stand for her considering herself an idiot.

Luffy stared at him as she connected the dots and tilted her head to the side – like the revelation was physically tilting her. “That's why you guys fight all the time?” She asked.

“...Somewhat,” Sanji said, belatedly realizing how childish that made the two of them sound. Well, if it brought mosshead down with him...

“Ooooh,” Luffy murmured. Thankfully the admission seemed to have reassured her a little, because her smile came back, with even a hint of mischief to him. “Well, you guys are not allowed to interrupted each other's dates with me, okay? I forbid it! I better not catch you going at it.”

The words were playful, if serious, and Sanji's heart practically exploded out of his chest. “Y-You and me? Dates?” He stammered, hoping that he had heard that correctly.

Luffy nodded, beaming. And then panicked when Sanji's eyes turned into hearts, he got a nosebleed, and he promptly passed out from sheer joy at her feet. “Eeep! Sanji, don't pass out! Oh, crap... Excuse me! Coming through! Ah, where's Chopper when I need him?!”

It was well into the early hours in the morning when Reiju stumbled out of the amphitheatre, chuckling to herself and possessing a pounding headache from sleep deprivation. Her feet were a little sore from dancing, even her superhuman muscles having gotten a workout from the long hours. There's a pleasant hum in her mind from drinking the various wines that were available, any poison dissolving into a comforting buzz at the back of her skull. A laugh escaped her lips, bright and cheerful, remembering how she'd gone into the crowd to dodge an aggravated Niji who'd clearly been browbeat into not coming back to Germa castle without her and been sucked into it.

How she'd encountered Luffy and Katakuri, almost like she'd been drawn to them like a magnet, and it was Katakuri – upon Luffy happily greeting her – had invited her to dance with them. She remembered seeing Sanji passed out on the couch with Chopper fussing over him, and being very worried for a moment before Luffy laughed and reassured her that he was fine, that he was 'just being Sanji' with a little flustered blush on her cheeks.

She remembered Katakuri's arms carefully holding her around her shoulders and waist as he spun her around the floor and ignoring the cat calls and various remarks from watching bystanders. Not quite being treated like she was fragile, but more like she was being admired and treated with dignity and respect for her as a human being. When he'd stepped away from her, Luffy had been in her arms almost in an instant, almost hugging her and begging her for a few twirls herself. Her warmth more welcoming and intoxicating than ever, Reiju had nodded without saying a word and began to dance with her.

Brook's music was mythical, beautiful; it exposed the beauty and ferociousness of emotion in a way that Reiju never got to experience as princess of Germa in the lie of Judge's empire. It felt like a window into another world and another life, and Reiju stayed in the amphitheatre long, long after she'd given Niji the slip, even though she saw no hair or hide of Ichiji or Yonji even though that should have been a concern of hers with how – volatile her father was becoming as the wedding ticked closer and how Luffy's humiliation of him continued to sink in. Burning like a brand upon a man who thought he was just about to wipe away the 'wrongs' done upon his family and become an untouchable king, a ticking time bomb.

Yet wrapped in Luffy's arms Reiju felt like she was so far away from Judge, his presence couldn't touch her. She forgot about him, for the first time since she was a child. She danced with the other girl and laughed freely, honestly. She indulged the curiosity of the other concert goers who'd come up to her and asked about her powers, about the Sora comics, about her relationship with Sanji. She stuffed her face with good food and didn't worry at all that there were plenty of witnesses to such unprincesslike behaviour.

She'd never had so much fun in her life. It lit up her soul in a way that she couldn't put to words. It felt like being reborn.

Reiju chuckled as she stumbled up the pathway out from the amphitheatre, not really paying any attention to where she was going. The cool air stung her lungs when she breathed in, and she rubbed her forehead on her arm as she continued to wander and wrap herself in that wonderful experience she'd just absorbed.

She'd never enjoy anything like that with Germa. ...She would never experience it again after this wedding was over, regardless of whether Judge got what he wanted or didn't.

Reiju hugged herself, staggering. The thought stuck into her mind like a knife in the dark, and it felt like something had just hit her between the ribs. That's right. After this... she would go back to Germa, be taken away from Totland and Luffy and she would continue to serve Judge.

She'd go back to killing people with her unwilling hands.

Reiju looked up at the sky. It was so clear, fireworks were still being launched in celebration and painting the stars and moon with splashes of red, gold and blue like something out of a dream. The world had never looked so inviting, so open for adventure and such a wonderful, beautiful place. She wanted to take it's outstretched hand, oh, she'd never wanted anything so badly in her entire life than to just go and live life the way Luffy did.

She wanted to go with her. Stow away on the Thousand Sunny and follow them wherever they went, if they would only have her.

Come back home and prepare for my instructions!

She could hear his voice in her ears so perfectly; her body shivered in anticipation of her muscles locking up before moving against what little resistance she could offer to obey him. She could feel the disassociation, the sensation of abruptly becoming a ghost and an observer outside her own body as it fell into line and fought and crushed and killed at his command. Her limbs being heavy and ungainly, like a marionette, when she struggled to find a way to subvert or escape her orders in some way, even the smallest manner. Her mind going blank, descending into a haze almost like a nightmare as she watched helplessly the blood pooling around her feet, hissing as her poison wreaked its havoc on a helpless person's body. All the tears that she wanted to shed were kept inside, by herself and her body unable to express them, because weapons don't cry.

It felt so much more sick now that she suddenly knew what it felt like to not be a marionette, to not be that weapon.

Reiju uttered a choked sound, her joy mixing with an intense creeping despair. Without thinking, she started to run – as if that if she could run fast enough, and far enough, she could get away from her own body. She ran faster and faster, turning street corners and startling the people she blew past along the way. The roads are fairly empty at least. No one there to see her so weak. So vulnerable.

How easy she would be to destroy. And so what if someone did? The world would only be a better place without her and her family in it except for Sanji, and Luffy would protect him.

Reiju ran until she stumbled over her own feet and collapsed on a hardened toffee sidewalk. The candy didn't scrape her knees, it wasn't nearly strong enough for that, but the impact made her breath stutter. It came out in harsh gasps and her eyes burn with years of unshed tears, and finally in the darkness she let them out.

She doesn't howl, or scream – she doesn't have enough strength for that. She'd been hollowed out a long time ago and was too numb to vent in a way her brother might. But the tears flood down her cheeks and she could hardly breathe as she sobbed, her fingers digging into her shoulders until he was sure her nails would cut through her sleeves and into her flesh to draw blood. It wracked her whole body with tremors that felt like they could tear her apart in any moment. It felt... comforting, in a strange way. Pouring out all of her grief.

Footsteps crunch on the gravel, coming her way. Reiju doesn't look up, coughing violently to clear her throat and keep herself from choking. Her face was a mess, felt like one, tears and snot dripping down her chin. She said nothing to the person approaching her, not even acknowledging them. Do what you will, she thought though she couldn't say. I have nothing to defend myself with.

The boots stop right in front of her, and the person knelt. A moment later, a cloth brushed against her face – cleaning it. “Princess Reiju...” The voice was young, a little shocked and a little wary but genuinely compassionate. “Are you alright? Have you been attacked?”

Reiju coughed violently, swallowing and struggling to get a word out. This young guy continued to clean her face, and somehow that little gesture of kindness allowed her to get enough of her bearings that she found the strength to look up and meet his gaze.

Judge had demanded she, Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji memorize the faces of the Revolutionary Commanders that had bounties on their heads, convinced that they would be under attack by Dragon's people sooner rather than later. Reiju blinked a few times before she registered that she was gazing into the serious blue eyes of Sabo, Dragon's Chief of Staff; who had cleaned her face, and the hand he's placed on her arm was gentle instead of vice like.

The scar on his face is more noticeable in person, but it only emphasizes the legitimate concern he's expressing. His blonde hair frames his solemn expression as he holds her gaze, waiting patiently for her to scrape herself together enough to respond. Reiju briefly looked over his shoulder and realized that, in her rush of emotion, she'd run up to the hotel where Monkey D Luffy was staying.

Her father would command her to turn this man away, to attack him. Reiju stared at him as she hiccuped and shivered, and she quietly said...

“Are you here with Monkey D Luffy...?” Sabo paused for a long moment, then nodded. Reiju swallowed and whispered, “Please...help me...”

His eyes widened. Then he put his arms around her, helped her stand up, and guided her inside – upstairs to that room she'd left earlier this morning.

Coby didn't really fear his mentor's temper. Or at least, he hadn't until right up to this precise moment. Helmeppo had come running in with the newspaper and he hadn't thought anything of it until he gave it to Garp and the old man started making an alarming wheezing sound. “Mr Garp?” He cried out in concern, jumping to his feet.

“Grk... Luffy...getting married?!” Garp choked out, his knuckles turning white as he tore the paper open and read frantically.

The words smacked Coby between the eyes. His jaw dropped open and he ran to his mentor's side in order to read over his shoulder. Sure enough, the paper blaring the upcoming marriage between Luffy and Charlotte Katakuri meets his gaze mockingly. His hands shook a little as he took in every detail, his first friend cheerily stating to Morgans that she likes Katakuri despite not liking his mother and was going to give him a chance before referencing Roger's marriages to both her powerful first mate and the gentle south sea adventurer who fathered Emperor Ace. Which – implied something that Coby's sluggish brain refused to process.

“This is ridiculous...” Garp said feverishly. “I told her that she could only marry once I approved of the man she'd chosen! And I'm not even present yet! What is this...?! She wouldn't get married without her beloved granddaddy there, would she?!”

“When has she ever done what you wanted...?” Helmeppo wondered with more bravery than he usually showed when presented with his mentor getting angry.

Though that didn't last when Garp's fist crunched the desk that he was sitting in front of, snapping the wooden structure in half. Then the blonde yelped in terror and immediately hid behind a pillar. “Linlin wants to trap my baby girl in marriage?!” Garp demanded, and Coby stumbled away from him even as his mind was still swirling in shock. “Over my dead body will that happen! Coby!”

“Yessir!” Coby said, snapping a salute out instinctively.

“We're headed to Totland as soon as a ship is ready!” Garp said sharply, shooting to his feet and stomping out toward the door. “Be prepared for a fight!”

“T-T-Totland?!” Helmeppo squeaked out, which Garp clearly couldn't hear over the blood rushing to his head. Coby understood where he was coming from, he really did, but...

“Nobody is good enough for my baby girl!”

He kind of doubted their mentor would be listening to any sort of reason right now. Coby wandered over to his friend, gave him a sympathetic look, and helped him to his feet. “Are we even allowed to be going haring off into an Emperor's territory?” Helmeppo asked miserably.

“I don't think that matters right now,” Coby said in response. His voice was still vaguely shocked, and would remain that way for several more hours.

“I'm coming for you, Katakuri!”

Better shocked than terrified. Hopefully, anyway.

Chapter 17

Chapter Text

Luffy didn't remember getting back to her hotel room; the last hours of the night were a blur in her head, happy and pleasant and exciting. Katakuri might have walked her back most of the way, stopping just outside the hotel, but she can't remember anything after that. Most likely she went to sleep on the spot after getting through the doors.

So when she blearily blinked her eyes open to see the semi-familiar ceiling of her bedroom stead of the amphitheatre or open sky outside, she was a little confused for a minute. Her feet were still a little sore from dancing until she dropped, and she was lying curled up against something very nice and warm, so she was in no hurry to get up. Sighing, she turned her head to the side and nuzzled her head into that warmth.

A soft murmur responded to her movement, and the blanket slung over her waist pressed down on her gently. A gentle heartbeat pulsed against her cheek. Oh, Luffy thought sluggishly. I have a cuddle buddy. “Chopper...?” She murmured faintly, opening her eyes again.

Ever since the phantom pain episodes started, Luffy hated being alone during them. The pain aside, it reminded her of the grim and desperate trek down Impel Down and that nagging fear that she wouldn't be able to get to Ace in time; and without her nakama present, it reminded her that they had been split apart and she was alone. The memory of that fear and pain troubled her until she restored her confidence at the end of those two years.

During her training, when Boa discovered her episodes she immediately took Luffy into her personal bedroom and would cradle her in her lap whenever the pain came. After that they started sleeping in the same bed regularly until it was time for her to leave; it was really comforting. When she reunited with her crew, Luffy told Chopper about what she experienced; after undergoing a physical and he confirmed everything she'd told him for her own peace of mind, he'd agreed to cuddle with her whenever she was particularly bothered by it.

Zoro had picked her up the few times she'd passed out and slept in her bed afterwards when she'd wanted someone to hold in the depths of them. When Sabo had briefly joined them in Dressrosa and she'd collapsed after beating Mingo, she'd slept in his arms in the aftermath when the pain had flared up. It went for miles to make those moments bearable; she didn't have a favourite, she adored their care and support for her.

But when her vision came into focus, it wasn't Chopper, Zoro or Sanji she saw lying next to her, but Ace. His sleeping face was peaceful, his chest faintly rising and falling with steady breaths.

Luffy's heart jumped almost into her throat. Looking down him she remembered stumbling sleep drunk into her room, supported on somebody's arm. She'd been put on her bed, and not wanting to be alone, she'd made grabby hands at the closest person she could reach, pulling him down with her and snuggling up to him. It had been Ace...

Her lips felt warm. Luffy carefully sat up and placed her hand on top of his arm, looking down at the boy she'd called her big brother until just recently. A squeezing feeling constricted her chest; both faintly painful and elating, and she touched her lips as the memory of that kiss they shared came back to her clear as day.

She remembered the day she met Ace completely clearly, like it was just yesterday. Being dropped off at Dadan's hideout by Garp, she'd tried to make friends with the bandits, but she could tell that they didn't want her there. After Uta left, then Shanks and his crew, being suddenly yanked from Windmill and sent up the mountain emphasized to her how completely alone she was. Dandan and her crew weren't immediately friendly either, though she'd approached that as she did with everyone else – determined to win them over.

Then Ace had appeared, sitting upon a dead bear with a battered pipe leaning against his shoulder and glowering thunderously when he saw her. Everything about his body language snarled 'what the hell is this?' and 'stay away from me'. Uta had been aloof and cool when Luffy first met her, only relaxing and becoming friendly when Luffy had gotten over her initial wariness of the pirates that had appeared in her village; but she hadn't been anything near this coldly composed, furious... and in pain.

Pain. Looking into those beautiful ocean green eyes as he'd glowered furiously at her, snarling 'what?', Luffy could just barely see it under the layers of dispassionate indifference and burning anger. It struck her that maybe he was like her; that he was lonely. Being lonely was the worst thing in the world, and it had emboldened her to chase after him and try to become his friend. She was alone again, but maybe neither of them had to be.

He hadn't been interested at first, to say the least. He never punched her or anything, but he did everything in his power to lose her whenever he entered the woods, leave her locked inside Dadan's place, or threaten that if she went after him again she wouldn't get a share of the tiger he brought home later. He'd either snarl when she tried to start a conversation or stonily ignore her. But Luffy had persisted, despite being rather unprepared for the mountain in general.

Luffy groaned as she wandered up to the massive tree trunk. “I lost him again...” she lamented quietly. “How frustrating! I wish Dadan had maps of the woods...” All the trees looked the same, no matter which way she went! She was starting to recognize certain areas, like the woods immediately outside of the house or the pathway down to Windmill Village, but going any deeper left her hopelessly lost. It would take a long time to find her way back to Dadan, but she was determined to catch up with Ace first.

A rumbling snarl caused her head to snap toward the rock formation underneath the tree. Luffy yipped in surprise as a massive tiger stalked out of the shadow of its den, livid at the intrusion on its territory. “Oh wow! How'd I miss that?!” She yelped, reeling her arm back in preparation to fight.

“Because you're an imbecile.”

The tiger didn't even get a chance to look up before a black blur slammed down on its throat, pipe slamming into its skull. The impact, increased by the drop from the boy jumping from the tree's upper branches and accelerated by the pressure on its throat, send the beast into unconsciousness immediately. Luffy stumbled back a step, her mouth dropping open.

Ace jabbed his pipe into the creature's head, just to make sure it really was down and not playacting, then hopped off and shoved one hand in his pocket. He looked her up and down, irritation and exasperation mingling in his hard gaze, and Luffy felt her heart start to race underneath it. The feeling was intense, like when she was watching Uta's delighted face when she sang.

“Wow...” She whispered. “You took out that big thing in an instant! You're so cool, Ace!”

There's a brief flash of pleasure in his face, but it's hidden immediately under renewed aggravation. Ace strode up to her and sharply rapped his knuckles against her forehead. Luffy uttered a small pained sound and grabbed her hat. “Why the hell did that old geezer bring a fragile little girl into these woods?” He groused. “You're gonna get eaten alive before the end of the month.”

Luffy bristled, pointing a finger at him. “I'm not fragile! My punches are as strong as pistols!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Ace muttered, crossing his arms and thumping his pipe against his shoulder. He'd definitely hit this kid if she was a boy, definitely!, but everyone said that only cowards and bullies hit girls. “I told you to leave me alone! Why are you still following me around?”

“Because I want to be friends!”

“Ugh...well, I don't want to be friends with a weak crybaby,” Ace groused, turning to walk away. He'd felt compelled to jump in and bail her out when she was staring probable death in the face, but that was it. “I have everything I need.”

“But...then why are you sad?”

Ace froze up slightly, his head twisting like a rusted turret to stare at her with a mixture of a warning look and something impossible for Luffy to parse. “Who's sad?” He asked in a low, threatening voice.

Luffy froze briefly at that reaction, but she knew no fear, so she quietly said, “I can see how strong you are, way stronger than me! And you have such beautiful eyes...but why are they so sad? Beneath all that anger, I can see it. I don't want you to have to feel that way...”

Ace twitched violently, torn between rage and being caught off guard at being called beautiful by someone – someone who meant it. His father would have... a hard rock formed in the back of his throat and he snarled, stalking off. “Mind your own business, idiot!” He spat over his shoulder. “I'm not gonna save you again the next time you stick your stupid head in a tiger's den! Go back home!”

“Where are you going? Wait up!”

“Stop following me around! I don't want you clinging to my ankles, who would?!”

Luffy's lips twitched at the memory, and she gently touched Ace's freckled cheek to brush his hair behind one ear. He'd pushed her away so hard at first; she rarely remembered that, all the good times they shared much more important in her mind. She'd kept following him, bumping into him and Sabo where they were storing their treasure, and then Pochemy had showed up. She hadn't really made sense out of Ace and Sabo's hurried whispering, but she could gather that they were worried about this guy. If a guy as strong as Ace was worried about it, then they could be in serious trouble...

Luffy came up with a plan in the blink of an eye and popped out of the bushes they'd been hiding in. She cheerfully told Pochemy that she'd taken the money from the boys and then spent it all on food down in Foosha village. There was quite a rustle in the bushes when she announced that the money was most definitely all gone, then fearlessly reiterated it when Pochemy and his goons began to visibly boil with rage; thankfully none of the pirates noticed. Satisfied that their attention was on her, Luffy had immediately turned and booked it into the forest as fast as she could with the pirates hot on her heels. She'd figured that if she could get lost here, then they could too, and she could ditch them in the underbrush the same way that Ace did to her.

As with most of her 'plans', this hit quite a snag; namely, that Pochemy was not going to go back to his boss without something to show for the stolen money – including a culprit to punish. Luffy had ran and ran for what felt like hours, scrambling over rivers and up into trees, but they pirates were always hot on her heels, getting more and more enraged the longer she managed to evade them. It was only at that time that she started to get a little scared and it occurred to her that she might be in over her head, but at that point she was exactly as hopelessly lost as she'd intended to get them and couldn't go looking for help.

Tough as Luffy was even back then, her stamina had limits, and the pirates had caught up with her at a bridge overlooking the gorge. They'd tried to beat her up, which failed at first thanks to her rubber powers, but then Pochemy had gotten out the brass knuckles. He said that he'd make her pay for this and that he was getting his licks in before giving her to Bluejam.

Luffy responded merely by sticking her tongue out at him.

The resultant beating came fast and hard, and with the knuckles involved it did hurt – hurt a lot. Luffy wasn't sure how long it had gone on, being only able to think about the pain, until a war cry echoed from the treeline. The pirates that had come with Pochemy went flying over the edge and into the gorge, and the man was forced away from her by a red and blue blur.

Ace and Sabo had come for her.

The bridge was a rickety old thing, held together by old rope and the fact that few people used it. Luffy had nevertheless pulled herself backward down the bridge, blinking her swollen eyelids to take in the boy's furious assault on Pochemy in her defence. Sabo yelled at her to stay put and hang on as they wailed on him, beating the man into a pulp like he'd been doing to her. With what must have been a last moment act of spite, Pochemy tried to cut one of the ropes that held the bridge; Ace knocked him unconscious before he could finish it, but the damage was done. When the man was unconscious, Luffy tried to walk toward the boys, and when she got close the bridge ropes snapped and the planks gave away under her feet.

She fell downward for a few strangely long moments, until a warm hand snagged her wrist and she ended up smacking into the cliff face.

Luffy's head buzzed with pain and surprise; she's not falling, why isn't she falling? “Don't let go, idiot!” A familiar male voice demanded slightly frantically. The young girl blinked rapidly in an effort to clear her vision. “Sabo, can you pull us up?!”

“What do you think I'm trying to do?! Ngh...! Hang on!”

Luffy's vision came into focus in patches, and the first thing she saw were those wild ocean green eyes staring down at her, and a dazed, joyful smile crossed her face. “Ace...” She whispered. Sabo grunted with exertion, pulling Ace up far enough that the ravenette could dig his knees into the dirt and haul Luffy up over the edge himself.

“sh*t, sh*t, sh*t...” Ace muttered to himself; he picked her up as best as he could and carried her over to a nearby tree. Sabo hovered at his side, hissing in disgust and concern when he saw the blood and bruises on Luffy's face, shoulders and the upper part of her chest. “Do we have anything for bandages?”

“Not here we don't!” Sabo retorted, flexing his fingers anxiously.

“Ngh...!” Ace yanked a knife out of his belt – he must have stolen it out of Dadan's kitchen. Luffy blinked blearily at them. “Take off that jacket, we'll make do with it. I'll buy you another one later!”

“R-Right!” Sabo scrambled out of the blue jacket and handed it over. Ace removed his own shirt and bunched it up to make a makeshift pillow, resting her head on it before slicing the blue fabric into ribbons. Sabo talked him through the process of binding up what open wounds she had and to carefully dab at her bruises to keep them clean.

When Luffy felt like she could talk, happy tears spilled from the corners of her eyes. “You came after me...”

Ace made a strangled wheezing sound, then grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her over Sabo's yelp of 'Ace, don't!' “Why did you lie to them?!” He shouted, his voice shaking a little. “They were gonna kill you, you know that, right?! Why would you protect us?! I haven't wanted you around, I haven't even been nice to you! Why?!”

“Because... I'm alone...!” Luffy stammered. The shaking made her head hurt a lot, and the tears were flowing freely now that she did understand what she'd narrowly avoided thanks to the boys.

Ace stopped shaking her instantly, staring. “Nothing... is worse than being alone...” Luffy whispered, sniffling violently. “My best friend is gone... without her, I can't... I'd rather be dead than alone. When I saw you, I knew that something was hurting you, like me... I didn't want someone else to feel this way...I hoped...you would accept me... ”

Those beautiful eyes stare blankly down at her, processing her words slowly as he tried to make sense out of it. Something passed through his gaze, something deep and unfathomable that Luffy wasn't mature enough to parse. “So...you need me here?” Ace asked quietly. “You're glad that I exist? My not being here would make you sad...?”

Luffy nodded vehemently, whimpering when that made her vision spin. “Ssssstop moving!” Sabo said a little frantically, holding her head gently but firmly in his head. “That'll just make it worse!”

“I am, I'm glad you're here.” Luffy whispered. “I love you.” Those words were something she said to Grandpa, and it always made him really happy, and in the books saying 'I love you' was a very grand way telling someone they were incredibly precious to you, so she used them in hopes that he would believe her.

Ace sucked in a deep, rattling breath at those words. “You're so ridiculous...” he whispered. “Come on, let's get you back to Dadan; that old hag must know something about dressing wounds. We gotta get you patched up better than this. Help me carry her, Sabo.”

“Yeah.”

After that, they had been as close as close could be. But now that Luffy was remembering it, those words 'I love you' had a completely different context to it.

Ace was in love with her...

The idea sat a little strangely in her head, but when she looked down at his sleeping face and recalled the days they spent together, her heart started to race in her chest. She'd always admired him. He'd been stronger than her for the longest time; he'd been more worldly, more mature, and after that day he'd been so caring for her, always. He was so kind, too, even though he'd had every reason not to be.

When they'd met up in Alabasta for the first time in three years, Luffy had recognized him immediately, but the change in his body language – she'd noticed it immediately. He was more muscular, more relaxed, and he oozed calm confidence he hadn't seen before. Like he was more comfortable in his own skin, like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders allowing him to walk tall for the first time. He was gorgeous.

Then he'd casually obliterated the Billions like they were nothing after beating off Smoker. Luffy had watched with her heart beating out of her chest, and she'd thought it was awe. Sworn to herself she'd get stronger so they could be equals, so he wouldn't see her as a protectorate anymore, not just his silly little sister but -

-but what? What had she wanted, still feeling him gently kiss the top of her head?

Luffy's fingers relax, resting gently against Ace's cheek. When she'd learned he'd been captured, she'd forgotten how to breathe, had started to shake with panic before lunging on the idea of rescuing him. How terrified she'd been the entire way, terrified, that she might not get there in time, that she could lose him. When she'd been beaten down and poisoned by the Warden-guy, her only coherent thoughts were of him.

How she didn't want to live without him.

Fire lances through Luffy's cheeks, and her heart suddenly stopped. It felt like a star falling from the heavens to strike her head on, the shock wave from its impact levelling everything around it for miles and miles. It felt like a light had been turned on, illuminating something she'd always had possessed but had never known, buried under a hundred other things and obscured by a lack of knowledge of her own feelings. Love, love, love, of course it was love. She loved Ace, loved him dearly and desperately and never wanted to be without him and it was that way – she loved him the way he loved her. Maybe she had for a long while, though she couldn't know for sure now.

Who else had she felt this way for while in a prison of her own obliviousness?! She thought about Law and how nice his kiss had felt and how she'd cluelessly called him a friend, and wished she could go back in time and say something different. Her heart pounded at the thought of her serious friend and she hoped he'd be willing to talk to her about this soon, because...

But she could fix this. She could fix it starting with telling Ace.

“Ace...” she whispered, her every nerve alight with this realization. She brushed one hand through his hair, hoping the touch would wake him. “Ace, I-”

“Lu? Is that you?”

Sabo's soft voice startled her so badly she squeaked and jumped backward, plastering herself against the wall next to the bed. The blonde was peeking out of the bathroom, a look of relief on his face. He was seemingly the only one awake; Chopper, Nami, Brook, Sanji, Carrot, and Law were sprawled across the floor and the couch, sleeping in an uncoordinated heap because they'd been too tired to fight over pillows and blankets. Jinbe was sleeping sitting up, his back to the door preventing anyone from entering.

“Yes?” Luffy managed, valiantly attempting to sound calm and composed. It mostly made her sound squeaky, like a mouse. She did her best to act calm anyway.

“Good, you're awake...” Sabo sighed. He looked tense, Luffy realized – his shoulders were visibly rigid. Ace stirred, jarred into wakefulness by the sudden violent movement right next to him. “Something's happened, can you help me get everyone else up?”

“Sure,” Luffy said, blinking. “Something happened? What kind of something?”

Sabo grimaced. “Not sure yet. But hurry, please.”

That...didn't sound good. Luffy nodded and shook Ace by the shoulder. “Wha's going on?” The other ravenette asked blearily, blinking rapidly. Luffy felt her chest size in an electric way upon meeting his eyes. Very reluctantly, she decided she'd tell him after they dealt with this.

“We have a princess in distress,” Sabo responded, weaving across the floor and tapping Jinbe on the shoulder. Ever a light sleeper, the fishman jolted awake at once.

“Princess...?” Luffy murmured, confused for a moment. Then it hit her; there was only one princess she could think of who would come to her for help right now. “Reiji?!” She launched herself off the bed, scrambling over to the bathroom and almost throwing herself inside.

Sure enough, Reiju was half asleep curled up in the bathtub; it was clear that she'd been there for a while, and when her blue eyes flickered open, she met Luffy's gaze with a look that made the girl's stomach drop. It was that dead, haunted look she'd seen when calling Zoro and Ussop. “Good morning, Luffy.” She said quietly.

Luffy went to the side of the bathtub and knelt down, leaning on the side of it. Worry stuck in her chest like a hard knife. “Reiji,” she whispered, “are you okay?”

“...No,” Reiju murmured, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her arms on them. There's a deep, tired resignation dripping off of every word. “I don't think I ever have been.”

It didn't take long for everyone to wake up. Sanji was on his feet in an instant when Reiju's name was brought up, and everyone else followed along quickly enough with Sabo's insistent nudging. Reiju was moved from the bathroom to Luffy's bed, giving her the most comfortable place in the room that also let everyone more or less surround her and get equal access to her. Mostly everyone was confused, but Law was sitting and watching the young woman intently for the explanation to the things he'd seen.

“Reiju,” Sanji started hesitantly, nothing but worry in his voice. “What happened? Did some scumbag try to do something to you at the concert? I'll kill them!”

Reiju shook her head and gave him an achingly fond look. “No, nothing like that happened.” She said sincerely. “Honestly...that concert was one of the happiest experiences of my life. Thank you for that, Soul King.”

“You're most welcome,” Brook responded, calm aside from gentle concern.

“Then what's wrong?” Sanji demanded. He leaned on the edge of the bed, eyes entreating. “Sabo said he found you crying in the walkway...!”

Reiju closed her eyes. “It's strange,” she murmured. “You would think that a marionette like myself wouldn't be capable of crying, after all this time.”

Sanji choked on nothing. The words sent a violet jolt of lightning up Luffy's spine, her muscles tensing. Digging her fingers into the blanket, she said, “you're not a toy, Reiji.”

“Oh, but I am a puppet. My father's.” Reiju said with a slight shake of her head. “My body is not my own. It's never been mine, from the moment I was born. I was created to be a tool for Germa and a weapon for my father to become King of the North Blue again, the same as my brothers.”

“W-What are you saying...?” Nami asked, blanching at her words. Ace said nothing, only staring at Reiju with naked concern and empathy.

Reiju turned her head and looked at Law, a faint glitter of what might be hope in her eyes. “Trafalgar-san...” she murmured. “I've heard rumours about the Op Op fruit. How it can grant miracles. They say you can completely remake a person's body within your Room.”

Law held her gaze. “It's true.” He said.

“Can you alter a person's brain? Their genetics...?” Reiju asked, her voice wavering.

“...I can do anything, if I have the information necessary for the operation.” Law responded, his brow furrowing. “I have to understand what I'm working with in order to use my powers for any one purpose. It's that simple.”

Reiju's eyes watered slightly, and she ducked her head. “Then maybe it is possible...”

“Reiju, what are you talking about?!” Sanji asked slight frantically. “Brain surgery? Do you need brain surgery? Why are you calling yourself a...?” He trailed off, swallowing hard. “I don't understand... I've never understood, so please... please talk to me this time! Don't send me away again!” He grabbed her hand in his own, squeezing tightly as if in fear that she would disappear.

Reiju blinked, and slowly she began to smile. “Sanji...mother would be so proud of you,” she murmured. Sanji's breath hitched, and a hush fell over the room. “You're heart is so big, and you have so much compassion in you. She would be glad that she was able to save one of us from Judge's ambitions.”

Something pale and grave crossed Sanji's face.

“I overheard something I wasn't supposed to when I was a small child...” Reiju started, looking ahead at nothing. “Our mother and father were arguing fiercely. It was while she was pregnant with you, Ichiji, Niji and Yonji. I wondered what could have made my sweet mother so angry, so I listened in despite my reservations... Judge is a scientific genius. He created something called Lineage Factor; it is a super human serum that makes the human body stronger, faster, and more durable by several orders of magnitude. It gives you a faster reaction time, perfect vision, everything you could ever want in a soldier. That alone mother would have objected to. She wanted more for you than just being a soldier.”

“But it was more than that?” Law prodded, his fingers twitching.

Reiju nodded. “Yes. Built into the lineage factor was something that would affect the brain chemistry of whomever it was used upon,” she said matter of factly. “Judge designed it so that it would completely erase the person's ability to have empathy for others. Some emotions could remain; pride, arrogance, confidence, but you cannot feel sorrow, or else you might not want to inflict sorrow on others. You can't feel fear, because if you could you might not fight his enemies. You can't feel love, because if you could, you would be made weak by it.”

“Y...You're kidding me...” Nami said, the blood going out of her face. “There's some potion that can do that to a person?”

“But that's sick!” Chopper exploded, horrified and enraged in a way he hadn't been since dealing with Hogback and Caesar.

Luffy felt sick as she tried to imagine it. Without love or sorrow, life had no meaning! Without them you just existed in an empty haze of nothingness. At the back of her mind, she could hear Nika snarling, and a shudder goes down her spine.

“Did you ever wonder? Why our brothers are so cruel?” Reiju asked, her lips twitching when Sanji stared at her in naked shock. “I heard father and mother arguing about lineage factor being applied to you and them when they were still in her womb. Mother resisted it; she wanted nothing to do with making you sad*stic killers. But Judge didn't give her a choice. She was dragged to the medical room and the procedure went ahead.”

Sabo's hands balled up into fists. He didn't say a word, rage slowly pooling in his usually warm blue eyes; he didn't say anything, though, because he could sense she wasn't done talking.

“So our mother attempted one last gambit,” Reiju continued, sounding pained. “After going through Judge's papers, she collected a toxin that would hopefully counteract the Lineage Factor and render it inert. She took it without hesitation, even though she knew it would poison her fatally. After she gave birth, one by one Ichiji, Niji and Yonji showed signs that the superhuman serum worked. But... it didn't in you, Sanji.”

Sanji slowly shook his head in denial. “Y...You mean I killed her?” He gasped.

“Nonsense!” Jinbe barked a second before Reiju did. “Sanji-san, your mother sacrificed herself to save your mind and soul. That was her decision to make, and hers alone. Don't think of her love for you as a failing on your part!”

Sanji stared wide-eyed at the man for a few moments, then turned back to Reiju.

“You mustn't think of it that way, Sanji.” Reiju added urgently, her voice shaking a little. “You are mother's wish made manifest... part of her will always be alive inside of you.”

“And you too,” Sabo said quietly, his gaze fixed on her. “Reiju-san, you seem to me to be a very considerate and decent person. I don't doubt that applies to you too.”

Reiju's shoulders hunched up slightly. “I only wish...” she murmured.

“Wish? But you are nice, Reiji.” Luffy put in, troubled. Something ugly and unpleasant was circling her stomach, a creeping anger that was bubbling up slowly toward her throat.

“...I have a little bit of my humanity left,” Reiju acknowledged, glancing at the window. “My was born first. Even Judge couldn't have gotten the process perfect the first time around... I have that super strength and resilience, while still feeling emotion. However, as I learned when I went to confront my father about what I'd overheard, he still considered me a valuable enough weapon that he had contingencies to ensure he wouldn't lose me.”

She looked down at her hand. “My body is not my own. Judge can give me any command he wants, and I am physically compelled to obey it, no matter what I think of it myself. If he commands me to kill, my body acts out the death while I am a prisoner inside own mind. If he commands me not to contact someone, even if they were standing in front of me and asking me questions I wouldn't be able to say a word to them – my tongue would stick to the roof of my mouth. In the years I've spent since I discovered this, I've found ways around carrying out the spirit of the order. Explosive shackles can be duds,” Sanji's eyes widened, and his hand went to his wrist, “a scout could be discovered, a careless statement can put a person on guard. But I cannot betray him, or leave his side. I'm biologically wired to serve him.”

Law stood up, staring at her. While the room was held in stunned silence, he held his hand out and intoned, “Scan.” Blue light washed over the room, surrounding Reiju who gave him her full attention. His eyes narrow slightly as the information about what was done to her body came to him, confirming everything that she'd said.

“Traffy...?” Luffy prodded, her voice slightly remote.

Law stared at the scan results, hissed out a long breath, then started to curse. It was a bit slow at first, but then he picked up speed and his curses became quite inventive, tracking Judge and the entire Germa line back to its inception and making very lurid and vile accusations about their intelligence, sexual preferences, and existence. Then he went on to graphically rant about where Judge could stick his precious 'abomination against medical science', very little of which seemed anatomically possible.

“...sh*t! I f*cking hate nobles,” Law seethed when he came down from his highly uncharacteristic rant; everyone was staring at him with wide-eyed shock bordering on terror except for Jinbe, Ace and Sabo. “Their gall knows no bounds. He didn't want a daughter, he wanted a flesh puppet!”

As a doctor, the only way Judge could have pissed him off more, on a primal level, was if he had artificially recreated White Lead Syndrome. Chopper was trembling with rage himself, only kept contained by Law going off first.

Luffy had frozen stiff as a statue, golden light bleeding into her eyes as deep in her soul Nika howled with rage. Ace looked grim and disgusted, Carrot was crying silently in shock, Jinbe slowly shook his head marvelling that he could still be surprised by the depths some people sank to, and Nami was clenching her fists and staring a hole in the floor with no one to punch or hit with lightning in range.

Worst hit of all, of course, was Sanji. The blonde's mouth hung partly open and tears burned at the corners of his eyes. “Reiju... you never told me. Why didn't you tell me?” He choked out after a few seconds.

Reiju gave him a pained look. “Because I knew you'd react like this. That you'd try to stay by my side and protect me, even after father declared you a failure and cast you away. I refused to take away your chance of having a life outside of our wretched, damned family, and I was afraid of what father might do to you if you came back! So I said nothing. I'd rather he hurt me than you.”

“But...!” Sanji protested, pain beyond description seizing his chest. “I'm not okay with that! Why does that bastard get to treat you like this!? You're not his property!”

Reiju shook her head, smiling sadly at him. She looked broken. She'd probably felt broken for a very, very long time. She'd never...never been free before.

Luffy made it halfway to the door before Jinbe snagged her by the arm and managed to hold her in place. “Wait, Luffy!” He barked, pinning her to his side.

“Let me go!” Luffy shrieked, struggling with his arm. “I'm gonna kill him! I should have killed him when he put those collars on Sanji!” If he was dead, he couldn't order Reiju to kill people or use her as a slave anymore. Why wasn't Jinbe helping her go smash his head in?! Reiji's a slave! Her friend was being used as a slave!

“Give him half a chance and he'll force Reiju to fight you in his stead!” Jinbe said, stopping the girl's struggle – or at least putting in on hold for a moment. “That man has already been humiliated by you; he could use even his dying breaths to command her to suffocate herself to deny you victory over him. We have to tread carefully if we want to save her.”

Luffy hung on his arm, seething, her eyes burning gold when she turned to the rest of her companions – silently demanding some sort of plan.

“How?” Carrot asked shakily. “If its something in her brain...”

“Can you do anything about it, Law?” Sabo asked tensely. “Your powers, they can affect this, can't they?”

Law raked one hand through his hair. “I need the formula for Lineage Factor,” he said tensely. “I can't attempt to make the chemistry corrections without risking the princess's mind or even her life unless I completely understand what was done, back to front. If possible, I'd also want the formula that her mother took years ago; likely it was part of a legitimate counter agent that Judge would have made use of if he hadn't gotten the results he wanted. It would provide useful information, at least. Otherwise?” He smirked in a familiar way, and the sight made Luffy's heart pound. “Of course I can. Who do you think I am?”

“I'll get it to you before dinner,” Sabo responded, not expressing any concern at the idea of having to break into Germa castle and steal what was easily its most valuable treasure. He unhitched himself from the wall and sat down on the bed next to Reiju, putting one hand on top of hers. “Reiju-san, I promise you – he's not getting away with this.”

“I'll go with you!” Nami said, shooting to her feet. “I'm still plenty good at sneaking under people's noses, and I'm sick of sitting around anyhow.”

“Leave Judge to me,” Chopper added, shivering with rage. “I'm going to ruin him. How dare he? His own wife, his kids...”

Reiju looked between him, Sanji who stood up with a fire in his eyes, and swallowed hard. “I...I haven't even asked you for anything yet...” she whispered.

“Reiji.” Luffy's eerily calm voice caught her attention like a whip. She turned to the smaller girl and her breath hitched when she saw those burning gold eyes. Nika's eyes, filled with outrage at this travesty and determination to set it right. “You're my friend.” She said those words so simply, like it was an irrevocable fact. “Of course we'll help you.”

Reiju couldn't speak; tears burned at the corners of her eyes once again, but...they were no longer tears of despair. They were of disbelief and a faint hope that had been fanned from spent embers into a brilliant tongue of flame. Once again, she thought she might be a little in love with the girl, so intense was her adoration.

Sanji reached over and pulled her into a tight hug, brushing her hair with one hand. “You saved me years ago, Reiju,” he whispered. “This time, I'm going to save you. I swear it.”

Chapter 18

Chapter Text

The ocean was hot, approaching Totland. The steam from the waves wafted over the deck as Uta stepped out of her room, faint rings under her eyes from a lack of decent sleep. Most of the crew found the muggy steam unbearable... but she welcomed it. It warded off the cold feeling that had been troubling her ever since...

She shuddered, swallowing thickly. Another nightmare about Elgia's destruction had woken her minutes ago, mixed with fiery images of Dawn Island burning and Luffy trapped in the note blocks in the Dream Realm dressed in a tattered wedding dress. She didn't get sick from it, but it was a close thing; part of her wished she hadn't convinced Gordon to stay behind to handle her ultimate concert preparations. She dearly wished she had someone to hold.

The Demon had free access to her dreams on bad days; his whims were chaotic, often alternating between juvenile emotional bullying, ruthless recreations of the horror she had unwittingly caused, the blood that soaked her hands, and confusing fragments of images of a world dying and being reborn. This nightmare... it had been a bit of both.

The landmass was massive, bigger than anything Uta had ever seen on any map. The music of the end rang out all around her and the landmass began to shudder and break apart in a great upheaval. The sky was burning a bloody red. Tot Musica whirled across the sky, laughing and singing freely as he gestured like a maniacal conductor. The landmass shattered violently into thousands of chunks; the breaking sent them flying out across the water, all except for a single strip of land that cut through the middle of the ocean that surged forward, filling the emptiness that land once covered.

A white light flared up on that long strip of land – the Red Line? -- and Uta hurtled toward the ground and crashed down upon it. She looked up and saw a woman with red and white hair flowing behind her standing in the center of a massive pentagram; she wore a long white and blue dress, sort of resembling the color scheme that the original marines used. Standing next to her was a glowing figure, her features obscured by the white-gold light that emanated from her, and the falling sun rose when she lifted her hand.

Nika...?

The women spoke to each other. Nika reached out and tenderly stroked the human woman's cheek, love and grief both in the gesture. The woman with Uta's hair stepped forward and kissed the goddess passionately, then slashed both her wrists and held them over the pentagram before beginning to sing – strong and powerful, her voice cutting into Tot Musica's overwhelming score. The pentagram lit up, and Uta noticed for the first time that there was an ordinary looking fruit sitting on hastily assembled stone alter.

What...?

Nika's sun rose and she flew into the sky with it, striking at Tot Musica as the wheels of musical notes burst from the pentagram. Empowered by the woman's blood and her song, they reached up for the demon and surrounded him as he struggled with Nika.

“Why...? This world will be my gift to you...!”

The power surge caused her vision to go completely white, and that was when she woke.

Uta leaned heavily on the rail of the ship, her stomach heaving as it threatened to unload everything she'd eaten for the past two days into the boiling water. The young songstress raked her hand through her hair, coughing and trembling as she leaned into the heat in hopes that it would make her stop thinking. Maybe if she passed out she wouldn't dream again.

Hmph... that old memory... this is what She reduces me to. Pining like a mortal...what a sad state of affairs... it has been far, far too long.

Uta swallowed hard, clinging to the railing. “What was that?” She demanded hoarsely. The demon's presence pressed against her skull, buzzing with anticipation. She could feel him moving more and more the closer they got to Totland. He was excited beyond measure. “What are you showing me?”

The truth. You were tired of being lied to, weren't you? Tot Musica's tone was sweetly mocking, faux innocent.

Uta shook her head violently and retched from the wave of stress that washed over her. Lies... Shanks... She slammed her forehead against the wooden railing as if that would give her solace. All this time, and he had been lying to protect her from the consequences of her weakness. Content to let the world believe he'd wiped out an entire ancient kingdom on a whim so the knives and retaliation would fall on him instead of the one actually responsible. Without saying goodbye... without telling her that she was a butcher and a terror, the maiden sacrifice that acted as the devil's warden. Leaving her alone with Gordon and the monster inside...

Elgia...Elgia...she had...

She didn't remember any of it. The last sort of memory she had of that day was hearing a beautiful, haunting voice and following it to a very old set of music sheets. Curiosity filling her, her love of music delighting in finding a new song to possibly add to her practice books... she felt warm and a little dizzy, and then nothing. Until she woke up in the ruins of the kingdom, her father and her crew abandoning her on the rocks.

Abandoning...leaving her to protect her. He was afraid of you, Tot Musica taunted her sometimes when she was caught up in that memory. He was horrified by the little monster he created. A rare achievement, when he grew up on the ship that fought those Rocks pirates... He wished he'd left you in that crate, or that he'd smothered you himself.

If only shattering every other mirror she came across could help her get away from his voice. But she'd never been that lucky.

“Do whatever you please,” Uta said through gritted teeth. “I won't let you do anything to Luffy or the poor souls who have no choice but to rely on Linlin for protection. I won't let you out again, no matter what you do to me.”

Tot Musica chuckled, like she'd made a funny joke. So you say. I would never do anything to you, my maiden...

He left that hanging and ceased speaking to her. Uta stood ramrod straight until she was sure that he was leaving her alone for the time being, then relaxed and rested her head on her arms. Her breath rattled in her lungs, and the heat was beginning to make her lightheaded. He can't do anything unless you sing that hymn again, she reminded herself feverishly. The only person he can hurt right now is you. He's chained to that dream world.

She closed her eyes and imagined the docks of Windmill Village. She could see that place so clearly still despite the passing of the years, like an oasis of sanity in the roiling darkness her mind was steadily crumbling into. She could see herself sitting on the old worn wood with Luffy right next to her, their ankles dipped in the water and laughing about something. Luffy put her hand on hers and entreated her to sing something, anything she wanted. She'd listen and watch intently as Uta sang, like she was hypnotized. When she finished, Luffy would often say that when she convinced Shanks to let her join his crew, they could sing together. Uta would laugh gently because she knew that Shanks wouldn't be convinced by anything short of Windmill getting razed to the ground to take another child onto the Red Force.

Remembering the funny ways Luffy would react to being gently but firmly rejected by the Red Force crew, remembering he smiles and her laugh... Uta felt like she could breathe again.

Whatever Linlin is trying here, I'll protect you from it. Uta thought grimly. I'll save you from this place with my full power. I promise... Lu...

She didn't go to sleep for a long time.

“You're pacing.”

“So kind of you to notice, Brulee.”

“You never pace.”

“I do. I just do it where no one can see me.” Katakuri pivoted and walked across the open lobby of the hotel room again, impatience warring with nerves – nerves increasingly intensifying the longer he waited for Monkey D Luffy to finish preparing for the day and come down to join him. Brulee was staring at him with something akin to awe, and the passersby going to and from the hotel were staring in pure shock, having never seen him anything less than perfectly composed before.

He heard a few whispers about how romantic it was that even the mighty Katakuri could be made nervous by his bride to be. Katakuri was tempted to hit those people, only holding it in out of practice. If only it were that simple!

Today he would show her his disfigurement. He didn't know what he'd do if she recoiled and rejected him, but even more frighteningly, he wasn't sure what he would do if somehow she didn't. That uncomfortable realization swirled around in his gut as he waited, making minutes feel like hours.

“This girl has gotten to you, hasn't she?” Brulee said in wonder. Katakuri gave her an aggravated look, yet something that looked suspiciously like delight spread across his sister's face. “She has. You're in love?”

“I am not,” Katakuri responded reflexively. His heart twisted into a Gordian knot hearing those words said out loud. It couldn't – he couldn't...surely...

Brulee put her hands on her hips, eyes gleaming in a way he very much didn't like. “Bah, you just don't want to admit that I told you so! Didn't I say 'how bad could it be'? Didn't I?”

“Hush!”

“Kat!” The man jolted and turned around to see Luffy hanging over the railing of the stairwell, having finally arrived. She was wearing that sundress again, her straw hat falling down her face before she shoved it backward with one clumsy hand. “Shishishishi! Sorry to keep you waiting! I kinda overslept!” Easily vaulting the railing, she landed on the ground and trotted up to him.

Katakuri's voice briefly got stuck in his throat. “It's fine. I wasn't waiting long,” he said, forcing his voice to be calm and level as usual. Brulee chuckled and he badly wanted to give her a death glare. None of this was funny to him!

Luffy skidded to a stop in front of him, hazel eyes alight with excitement. “What are we gonna do today, Kat?” She asked brightly. “Can we spar again? I've starting to get the hang of the Observation Haki, I'm sure of it!”

“I'm tempted to agree,” Katakuri acknowledged, because damn but this girl learned fast. Over the past seven days, he was completely thrown by how quickly and immensely she improved from sparring alone. None of his siblings had displayed that kind of aptitude; not a single one of them. It was... kind of alluring. “But I wished to discuss what we had put off last night. And there's something my mother told me to pass along to you and Vinsmoke.”

Luffy blinked up at him curiously, and Katakuri waited patiently for her to remember what he was referring to. Brilliant in some ways, rather slow in others. He understands her fairly well now. “Oooh, right! The thing.” She co*cked her head to the side, frowning. “What does the old lady want? Do we have another tea party or something?”

“Old lady?! You're talking about Mama there, missy!” Brulee said, bristling slightly.

“That's just how she talks, Brulee,” Katakuri said instead of defending his mother. Luffy beamed and nodded her head innocently. She gave him a look that was halfway between shock and an annoyingly knowing look, prompting him to glower at her. “No, mother only wanted to inform you of the wedding rehearsal that will begin tomorrow.”

“Rehearseal?” Luffy repeated, looking a little confused.

“It's a practice for the wedding proper, girl,” Brulee said in disbelief.

“Oh. You have to practice for a wedding?”

Katakuri resisted the urge to roll his eyes; amusem*nt bubbled up in his chest, and when he tried to squash the feeling he couldn't quite manage it. “It's mostly a formality, Luffy. To ensure everyone knows all of the vows and the various steps of the ceremony.” It was also supposed to be the moment he used the potion on her, as well, but he wasn't going to do that. He hadn't defied his mother since he was a small child... hadn't dared too. But this? His marriage, this girl, they were too important to surrender his decisions on the matter to anyone.

Even her.

“Ooooh, okay.” Luffy said with an air of realization. “Yeah, I'll tell Sanji about it later.” She stepped closer to Katakuri and took his hand in hers. “Where are we going, Kat?”

Her fingers felt small and delicate in his hand. “Into the Mirror World,” He responded after a second's hesitation. Part of him wanted nothing more than to back down from this, to not show her his teeth. He couldn't stop wondering what her reaction would be, and no longer was he counting on her rejecting him. No, now – now he had no idea what he wanted, and it was almost frightening. “Let us go.”

Luffy made an excited sound, and they entered the mirror Brulee provided together.

His fiance giggles and spins around in a circle once they touch down in the warped wonderland, taking in the surroundings that she'd only paid half a mind to when she first arrived. “This place is sooo cool,” she said. “I'm so jealous you can come here whenever you want.”

Katakuri's heartbeat picked up. “It's a calming place, for me.” He said. “Come this way.” He walked away from the mirror, tracking the pathway he always took to his private room here with Luffy reluctantly trotting along at his heels. It was plain to see that she wanted to explore every corner of this place, with the wonder in her eyes as she looked to and fro every second.

What was it like? Being able to see the world as a beautiful and mysterious place begging to be explored, rather than an unwelcoming, grim arena where no place was safe – even your mother's home? Katakuri felt a twinge of longing in his chest. No wonder she was almost always smiling, unless something had infuriated her.

His stomach swirled with nerves as they drew closer to his room. Katakuri wrestled with his inner demon, remembering unbidden the many people who had recoiled or expressed disgust at his vicious looking mouth. “You've started wearing a scarf, I see,” his mother's voice echoed tinnily in his ear. “Good, very good. Without your mouth being visible, you're the perfect image of a man. Keep it, I insist.”

It was her voice that hurt the most, always. His arm twinged with the memory of the recent beating she'd given him for defending Chiffon, how everything had vanished into a haze of pain. He had done everything for her except sell what fragments of his soul his honour maintained, and it still wasn't enough to get a fraction of unconditional love from her. He'd given up on that a long time ago, so why did that realization still hurt? Love couldn't sustain you like food... why did he still...

Luffy leaned a little on his shoulder. Like she could sense how his mood was falling and was worried for him. “Kat?” She murmured. “You're so quiet.”

“I'm quiet by nature,” He told her. “I...am not ignoring you, I promise.”

“Is something wrong?"

She said that like if there was, she would try and fix it for him. That he would be the one receiving help or protection instead of providing it. A soft, wry chuckle escaped him before he could catch it; the thought was so bizarre to him he couldn't imagine it. “Don't worry about me,” Katakuri responded instinctively.

Luffy's brow furrowed, and her expression told him that she could tell that wasn't an answer. That tight knot of emotion in his stomach was getting bigger and causing more pressure inside him; he almost felt sick.

He reached the door to the room and pushed it open, ushering her inside. Then he shut the door and locked it. Letting out a breath, he looked for some place to start, to try to justify his decision in a way that didn't make it sound like he was afraid of what people thought of him. After a few long moments, feeling her staring expectantly at him, he found the words.

“You've noticed the scar on Brulee's face, no doubt.” He said into the quiet, walking over to the fridge where he kept some snacks at all times. He didn't open the door though.

“Yeah,” Luffy said, sounding nothing but curious.

“It happened because of my carelessness.” Katakuri said, flexing one hand nervously. He knew he had to do it now, and he forced down his nerves. Reaching up, he took his scarf in one hand and removed it. He felt completely naked.

“When I was a child, I never cared much what people thought of me.” He spoke steadily, at least. “I was strong, even back then, and whenever fools mocked my appearance I had no trouble making them regret it. I left a trail of those fools broken in my wake wherever I went.”

“Hehehe...” Luffy giggled, an edge of admiration in her voice. “I bet you could beat up guys twice your age; just like me, Ace and Sabo when we were kids.”

Katakuri felt...something, flutter in his chest at the sudden revelation. They were the same as him...? Even Fire – no, Portgas – had something in common with him...? That feeling...it must be hope, and he swallowed hard against it. “Why am I not surprised to hear that?” He wondered. “It's a wonder Garp thought he could ever make Marines out of you.” Even if those three had different fathers or mothers, he just can't picture it.”

“Gramps can be pretty silly,” Luffy agreed lightly. “But what does that have to do with Brulee?”

The question sobered Katakuri, and he took a calming breath. This is it, he decided firmly. If she rejected him here and now, then at least she wouldn't be trapped here – the Straw Hats could fight their way out and continue their adventures unburdened by the darkness that being part of this family entailed.

So why do you feel so afraid?, a voice in her head whispered. Katakuri tensed and hoped that Luffy couldn't see his inner turmoil.

He put a hand on the fridge, the slightly reflective surface letting him see his Glasgow grin in all its frightening glory. “I was careless. I suppose I assumed that anyone who had a problem with me or my mother would take it up with us themselves. One week, on an island where we'd been staying for some time, a band of ruffians I had embarrassed banded together and attacked Brulee while I was gone, taking a knife to her face and permanently disfiguring her.” His hand clenched into a fist. “They didn't care about her at all; they were just angry at me but too cowardly to try and attack me again.”

“Ehh?! Those creeps!” Luffy burst out, indignation burning in her voice. “How dare they go after a kid! Rrrrgh...!” He could hear her stomp her foot behind him. “Did you beat them up for it?”

“Yes, as soon as I could track them down. I made them pay for it with interest.” Katakuri confirmed, baring his teeth at the memory. It hadn't felt like enough, but it had given him some measure of peace to be able to tell Brulee she had been avenged. “But I learned from this moment; that I could never be complacent. If those fools had feared me more, they wouldn't have dared to touch Brulee. My carelessness had cost her... so I hid my imperfections beneath this mask, and made myself the feared enforcer of Charlotte Linlin that the world now knows and fears. As long as I maintain this form, only the deadliest of enemies and greatest of fools will attempt to harm my brothers and sisters.”

“...I understand,” Luffy said. She sounded sincere, though there was still some puzzlement in her voice. “But can't your other siblings help you do that? A lot of you are fighters, both your brothers and your sisters.”

“It was my responsibility,” Katakuri said insistently. “Most of my younger siblings have never seen my mouth. I don't want them to see a weakness of mine.”

“How is it a weakness? It's just a part of you.” He heard Luffy take a few steps closer. “Hey Kat...will you look at me? Please?”

“...Very well.” He exhaled slowly. “I can't kiss you...because of this.”

And he turned around, letting her see his full face. Luffy rocked back on her heels in surprise, hazel brown eyes widening. Katakuri swallowed slightly, his gaze pinning her in place as he awaited her response. “As you can see,” He murmured. “This is my deformity.”

“Whoa...!” Luffy whispered, before a huge sunny smile crossed her face. Her eyes started to sparkle. “Whoa, whoa! You have teeth just like Jinbe! THAT'S SO COOL!”

Katakuri froze in place. He didn't take a step back, he didn't feel his mouth drop open, he just stood in place like Aokiji had gotten behind him and encased him in an iceberg. “What?” He managed after a second, dumbfounded. He couldn't have heard that right.

Luffy jumped up and grabbed his shoulders, her beaming grin not changing one iota. “Look at that! They're so sharp; like the blades of Zoro's swords! I bet eating meat is super easy for you!” She wrapped one arm around his neck to steady herself and clasped his cheek with her other hand, brushing her fingertip gently along the rough ligaments at the edges of his lips. “Are you part fishman? Was your dad a fishman? I think Franky said something once about some features carrying over when fishmen or mermaids marry a human, or maybe that was just between different kinds of fishmen? I don't remember.”

“I...” Was she making fun of him? Katakuri looked into those eyes and only saw excitement there. No. She wasn't a manipulator, like his mother or Pudding; he knew that Luffy was blunter than a battering ram and said what she thought regardless of how impolite, clueless, innocent, ill advised or ridiculous it was.

“You...really think this is a deformity?” Luffy asked, her expression briefly shifting from glee to total bewilderment. “Why? It's so unique! I like it.”

“You...do?” Katakuri stuttered, unable to stop himself. The world was tilting beneath his feet. This beautiful girl thinks he's... she had many conventionally attractive men on her crew, he's seen how they look at her, yet she still thinks he's...?

Luffy brushed her fingers over his lips. “Can we really not kiss?” She asked, oblivious to how deeply she's shaken him. “I mean, I'd have to be careful of your teeth, but I can do that. I used to eat crocodile when I was a kid!” She grinned at him, bumping their noses together in an obvious invitation.

Katakuri's hands gently settled on her waist as he stared at her, all that fear and years of self consciousness melting away like dew vanishing underneath the morning sun. And wasn't that the perfect comparison? He held the sun in his arms and she had no fear or disgust for him. Every part of him had just been accepted without even half a second's hesitation, and something hot and wonderful filled his chest. He laughed, short and disbelieving but utterly sincere – how many years had it been since he let himself in front of someone else?

“Of course you did,” He chuckled. His chest swelled up with a blanket of emotion that felt like years being lifted off of his shoulders and replaced it with delight and wonder.

Luffy's face absolutely lit up. “You're laughing!” She cheered. “I haven't heard you laugh before!”

“I've rarely wanted to,” Katakuri said simply. “Just as I've never wanted to kiss someone before. But I do now.”

He tugged her a little closer and kissed Luffy gently on the lips. It was a rushed movement, hasty, with his care being focused solely on not cutting her lips or tongue on the edges of his canines. She squeaked a little at the suddenness, then melted against him; both her arms slid around his neck. Katakuri slung one arm around the small of her back and held her more tightly against his chest, drinking in the explosion of heat between them.

The kiss was nothing like anything he'd felt before. Even the passion and heat that flooded him during the dance paled in comparison to this. Her lips were soft and yielding, sweet against his tongue; he felt weightless, yet also like he was fully himself for the first time ever – that every part of him was alive, handsome or twisted both, and every part of him loved this wild girl. His goddess, his dawn and sun. Luffy kissed him back clumsily; she'd only done this twice herself, but her enthusiasm and matching his movements was more endearing than any amount of experience. They held each other for a long and dizzying moment before parting, Luffy giggling uncontrollably and pressing their foreheads together.

Katakuri felt himself smiling and he could only think to himself, Praline is going to laugh at me. His sister had rolled her eyes so much at him when he'd been observing her with Aladinn after the wedding, then when he'd come to her for advice. I love him and he loves me! There is nothing to fear, not even death itself! ...You remember what I said, Katakuri?! When that girl has gotten into your heart, you will know! And I'm going to laugh, solely because I told you so!

He didn't mind the idea, strangely enough. Praline would be laughing out of disbelief and pleasure, not mockery. And so what if she was right? He... he loved Luffy. He was in love. The words whirled around his head, and for a moment he could have believed they would give him wings.

“I knew it~” Luffy said, love drunk laughter on her tongue. “Oh... I'm really happy... I feel like I'm gonna explode! Don't let me explode!”

She was so silly. Katakuri kissed her again and lowered her to the ground back to her feet. “Don't worry,” he said, a slight chuckle in his voice. “I will always protect you.” Anyone who wanted to harm her would have to step over his dead body to do so.

“Hehe... I'll protect you too!” Luffy said confidently, butting her head against his chest. “You don't have to do it all by yourself. We're a team!”

She would do it. He knew she would; she wouldn't allow him to shoulder all the burdens himself. A new wave of wonder crashed over him, almost as powerfully as the kiss they had shared, and Katakuri forced his hands not to tremble from the depths of his emotions.

“You haven't seen my dress yet,” Luffy commented, bouncing in place. “Oh, should I show you now or during the rehearsal?”

The rehearsal. His mother. Katakuri faltered as the reality of the situation was abruptly reasserted to him; nothing had changed, technically. Him being in love with his bride only served his mother's agenda – to make Monkey D Luffy and her crew a pawn in her ambitions for the One Piece. And... that thought was intolerable. The idea of his mother subjecting Luffy to the abuse that Chiffon or Pudding endured in order to break her down and make her obedient first made him sick, then filled him with anger.

“Luffy...” He said quietly. “Do you know what my mother is hoping for, should we marry?”

Luffy blinked, immediately registering his downturn in mood. “Huh...? Oh, yeah. She wants me to be her minion and let her boss me around.” She said matter of factly, surprising him. She hadn't been oblivious to the situation after all...? “That's not happening.”

“It's not,” Katakuri agreed. No matter what it cost him, the concept was unacceptable to him in that instant. His mother could hit him all she wanted, but she can't touch his would-be bride. “You have to leave Totland, and soon.”

“Eh?” Luffy blinked at him, puzzled. “I can't leave now; we haven't gotten married yet.” She blinked and tilted her head. “Oh, but it would be nice if I could marry you and Ace at the same time. And maybe Traffy too. Oooh, I ought to get you properly introduced to everyone...”

Katakuri paused at that statement for exactly two seconds...then he shrugged to himself and mused, 'I thought so. She was ready to die for him years ago, of course she wants him too.' Another man might have been tilted, jealous or at least a little flustered, but Katakuri had grown up watching his mother get involved with multiple men at once – even if she didn't keep them around. He remembered Gol D Roger, laughing and fighting back to back with Rayleigh or Newgate while the less combat-oriented Rogue grabbed the two cabin boys and took them down to the relative safety of the Oro Jackson's below deck.

Luffy loved him, and loved Portgas too? (Perhaps including whoever Traffy was supposed to be?) Such a thing was entirely normal from his perspective.

No, he was solely concerned by Luffy's utter lack of care for his mother's anger. “Luffy... mother will attack you, your crew, and your family if that's what it takes to make you serve her,” he said quietly. “You should slip out while her guard is down. She doesn't believe I'll help you; I can get you out to the ocean before she realizes you're gone.”

“But you wouldn't be coming with me?” Luffy asked, her eyes narrowing. Katakuri nodded, and she scowled and shook her head. “I'm not leaving you here to get beaten up by her! We're going to leave her together!” Katakuri's heart stuttered in shock. “My dad is taking care of my home island thanks to Sabo. She's got nobody to use against me.”

Dragon was...? He must have been protecting her against CP0 since Marineford, but Katakuri hadn't realized he was continuing to discreetly support her. Helping a pirate risked muddying the message the Revolutionaries stood for, surely. But Luffy's confident expression told him that it was true. He...must love her quite a bit.

Katakuri never knew his father, like most of his siblings. He wondered what that was like for Luffy to have his protective presence in her life, even at a distance.

“I can't leave,” Katakuri said quietly. “My brothers and sisters need me here.”

“I won't keep you away forever, I would never.” Luffy responded, shaking her head. “But Kat, come with me. Your siblings are strong. They can go without you for a little while.”

Why did he feel like he was talking to a wall all of a sudden...? Katakuri was tempted. Oh, he was desperately tempted. He wanted to go with her; the idea of being separated from her was painful beyond description. But every instinct tied to his many memories of his mother told him that it wasn't possible. He was torn, unmoored from the certainty that had guided him ever since the day he put on that mask.

“We'll figure it out,” Luffy said confidently, squeezing his wrist. “Don't worry, Kat.”

“Luffy...”

She smiled sweetly at him. “Let's practice for the wedding! Then we'll handle your mother.”

This was going to be a complete disaster. He knew that, but he found himself nodding slightly anyway. Love must be driving him mad already.

Chapter 19

Chapter Text

Sabo generally didn't fantasize about killing people. Despite his amnesia he'd always had a nagging sense that if he wasn't the one who tried to stay calm and channel his anger constructively, nobody else would and things would devolve into chaos. (Growing up with Luffy and Ace gave one a lot of muscle memory.) So when things pissed him off, he did his level best to keep it cold, controlled, and to destroy the person who'd earned his ire methodically until nothing was left of them.

Judge Vinsmoke was changing that.

Nami hissed through her teeth, somewhere between anger and disbelief as she stared down at the rows of vats within Germa Castle. There were humans inside all of them, and the question of how a nomadic country that existed solely on the backs of ships, that was constantly at war to boot, never ran out of troops.

“He's creating expendable humans,” Sabo said, clenching the grate of the air vent.

“How is that even possible?” Nami whispered. She was making for a good partner, all things considered; she wasn't quite as practised as Koala with infiltration, but her ability to effortlessly lie her way past anyone when they needed to rustle through cabinets and the complete silence in which she could walk was seriously impressive. Hell, she was probably better than a lot of his comrades back in the Revolution. “To just...create humans on an assembly line?”

“Now we know why Germa cleaned out Hogback's medical journals way back when,” Sabo growled. “It's all bio-engineering, Nami. Shortened telemeres to increase the speed of their aging so they're essentially born as adults who can fight immediately, an infusion of the lineage factor to increase their strength and toughness, and they can be replaced as soon as they've been...broken.”

He clenched one hand into a fist. Outlook and his wife had never called any of the house staff by name, addressing them like 'you there!', 'girl, come here at once', or 'who's done this?! Step forward immediately!' Even when he was very little, he could see the way the maid's shoulders would tense with anxiety or the tired acceptance in the bakers and other male servants. They were always, always startled when Sabo would call them by name or thank them for their service. They were resigned to not being looked at as human beings.

This...this was just that selfish, vapid self aggrandizement played out to the logical extreme. A king with shock troops literally born to die for his whims.

“Are they... fully conscious?” Nami wondered, biting her bottom lip. “I mean, the ones we saw on the way in all talk and laugh and act like ordinary humans, but if they're born like this...”

Sabo nodded tightly. “Seems like it. I'm surprised they have any mental development beyond being able to fight... that bastard.” The desire to slowly cave in Judge's chest burned in his chest as hot as Ace's flames. He wanted him to suffer as he'd forced Reiju to suffer; for killing his wife, crippling his children and now this too. “Nothing we can do for them right now, unfortunately.” Breathe... just breathe. “C'mon. This way.”

He slipped past the grate and began to crawl through the vent turning to the right. The orange haired girl made a faint noise of understanding and followed right at his heels. It was slow and careful work; there wasn't much ambient noise in the lab aside from some scientists talking quietly to each other and the bubbling of the liquid within the birth vats. Getting to this point had been difficult enough, and they couldn't get caught now.

They'd slipped into the castle a few hours ago, shortly before lunch. Any hopes that security would be laxer than usual or distracted by the wedding had gone up in smoke pretty much instantly; the guards were being drilled ruthlessly, reminded about Luffy blasting past them to attack Judge every time they made a mistake. Nami had quickly told Sabo what all that was about, and the blonde swore that he fell in love with his Lu all over again. He was also a little jealous; destroying wicked royalty was his job!

Judge had his castle on high alert, and his temper wasn't improving despite the fact that he had more or less recovered his health. Nami had almost gotten caught by Ichiji who'd been stomping up and down the hallways in a visible temper... but she'd rebounded effortlessly by charming him into calming down and flirting with him until she had him eating out of her hand. Of all the things for him to have in common with his empathetic brother... Sabo was almost amused by it.

After Nami successfully ditched her new, unwanted suitor, she'd rejoined Sabo in a janitor's closet and relayed to him where Judge's labs were located. From there they'd made their way down, located a way to sneak by the security measures, and now they were looking for the formula that held the key to Reiju's chains.

Of course, that made this step the most delicate.

“How are we going to get into the lab cabinets?” Nami asked uneasily when they reached another grate. This one was suspended above one of many desks, which was situated next to a massive set of cabinets -- each of which was locked. “I can pick the locks, but I'll need a minute or two... and it could be any of them.”

“This place isn't that crowded,” Sabo mused, tilting his head to better see the floor area. This particular room was off to the side, serving as Judge's personal study where he kept his papers and did experiments by himself. “Mmm...I doubt most of the science staff is allowed in here without permission. A double edged sword if we make too much noise, of course, but...” He hummed thoughtfully for a minute, then started to unscrew the grate. “You work on the locks. Let me worry about anyone coming over here.”

“You're sure?” Nami blinked.

He gave her a charming smile. “Positive.” He tugged the grate loose without a sound and placed it aside. “Ladies first.”

Nami awkwardly turned around and carefully dropped herself down to the floor. Digging one of her three lockpicks out of her belt pouch, she tiptoed over to the cabinet and grabbed the uppermost lock to start working. Sabo gently dropped down after her, moving over to the door and half closing it. Then he settled down and kept watch.

Nami worked quickly; two locks slid open and she started paging through the papers. “Ugh... I really hope I'll know the pages when I see it...” she muttered. “Medical papers are mostly incomprehensible to me.”

“It'll be clearly labelled, don't worry.” Sabo said reassuringly, tilting his head and watching intently. “Take your time.”

She uttered a little hum of acknowledgement and redoubled her efforts.

It's tense quiet work, though Sabo isn't fazed – creeping around Mary Geosie had been more uncomfortable, if only because you couldn't go very far without stumbling on a horrific abuse being perpetuated on some poor soul. The mistreatment going on here was more subtle, because the people subjected to it didn't even realize it was happening when they stumbled into the world fully formed.

“...still obsessed with that girl? Are you serious?” Niji's irritated voice drifted through the half closed door. Sabo tensed and Nami shot him a concerned look; he waved for her to stay calm and keep working.

“Dumbass! If you saw her you'd understand,” Yonji responded angrily. “Luffy's perfect; I've never seen a girl with such a beautiful smile. That failure is getting married, so why can't I?!”

“Because she's going to be marrying that hulking brute the Emperor calls her son?” Niji said with incredibly dry sarcasm.

“Give me a break! She can do so much better than a monster!”

“Yeah, well you can bring your complaint to Big Mom, I'm sure it'll win her over.”

Sabo frowned, his eyes narrowing. Yonji was into Luffy...? He was physically incapable of love, according to Reiju; though perhaps that didn't include physical attraction and desire. What would someone with no empathy do to get a hold of a woman he fancied...? The urge to stab the prince in the eye rises quickly, and it took him a second to tamp down on it and focus on the conversation.

Yonji audibly snorted. He and Niji were wandering across a walkway out above the various birthing vats, judging by where their voices were coming from. “Ah, shaddup. I've got a plan, and some help. Short help, but she's well placed.”

“Scarier words have never been spoken.” Niji said, clearly having no faith in whatever his brother was scheming. There's a thump following that, most likely Yonji punching his brother. A scuffle broke out and scientists were shouting at the princes to please, please don't fight in here, the equipment is fragile, followed instantly by the sound of shattering glass.

Sabo snorted and shook his head. “Who needs a distraction?” He said a little dryly, though it didn't display his unease at Yonji's intention to pursue Luffy. I'll have to keep a very close eye on him, he mused.

“Unbelievable,” Nami muttered, pushing a cabinet door shut and opening the lower one. “Ngh... do you think they'd still be like that if they hadn't been altered by the Lineage Factor? Or would they be more like Reiju...?” Her whisper was a little troubled when she said that.

“It's possible,” Sabo acknowledged. “Though there's an equal chance they'd still be holy terrors. Royalty often are.” The memory of Stelly's smirking face when they'd met as kids, taunting him about how he was a criminal and insulting Luffy and Ace as inferior beings. “Hopefully the Revolution will be able to grab them after this and I cave Judge's face in, see what can be done about that.”

“Good. I don't really want them on the Sunny.” Nami whispered dryly. She flicked through a few more files, then gasped. “Oh...oh! I think I found it!”

Sabo peeled away from the door and joined her in a flash; Nami wrenched out a sizable file and flipped it open. Sure enough, the words Lineage Factor were printed across the top in sharp blank ink. Quickly the orangette flipped through the pages, making sure that every one of them was there. “Is this all of it?” She muttered feverishly. “I don't see the page numbers skipping... wow, that's a lot of paper.”

“Medicine and medical procedures require it.” Sabo responded. “When I grabbed the toxin from Judge's safe I found it on top of a literal doorstopper.” Nami made a noise and shuts the file, handing it to him. “Close up the cabinet and put the locks back on. No need for him to suspect we've been in here.”

“Naturally,” Nami scoffed, going to work. The sound of the fight outside was getting louder and more chaotic, followed by more breaking glass. No doubt the scientists had sounded the alarm and guards – and possibly Judge himself – were on their way to separate the brawling princes.

“I think we're running out of time,” Sabo said warningly, climbing up onto the desk. “If we want to grab Reiju's Raid Suit before we get out of here-”

Nami glanced sideways at him and dug one hand into her belt pouch. “What, you mean this?” She asked innocently, withdrawing a slender purple canister with the number zero painted on it.

The blonde's mouth dropped open in shock as he registered that yes, that's exactly what it looked like. “When the hell did you manage that?”

Nami blinked as if to say 'who, me?' “You didn't think I went through the trouble wrapping Ichiji around my little finger just for directions, did you?” She asked, slapping the last lock in place.

Sabo felt a huge grin slide across his face, stunned and deeply, deeply impressed. “You are terrifying, miss Nami.” He said, grabbing her hand and helping her up into the air vent. “And I mean that as the highest of compliments.”

“Flatterer.”

They just managed to set the grate in place and were on their way back out when Yonji and Niji crashed into the room, still squabbling.

Ace hated sneaking around. Mostly because he associated it with the grim realization that he wasn't strong enough to fight Kaido, and he had no choice but to leave Tama and Yamato in his pitiless grasp indefinitely.

That had been one of the most bitter choices of his life; a black memory that haunted him ever since. It felt like a lifetime ago, that he'd visited Wano with a half-co*cked plan to kill one of his mother's famous enemies and stumbled into the two girls. (Guy, sort of; Yamato's explanation for the Kozuki Oden persona she wore like honor and armor included referring to herself as a guy, but Ace had never been completely clear on if she thought of herself as male outside of it. She didn't punched him for calling her a girl, but various Beast Pirates hadn't gotten that same exemption) Tama's sweet smiles and gentle kindness, unchanged by her horrible circ*mstances... Yamato, abused and battered but unbroken by Kaido's brutality...

Ace cared about them. Had wanted more than anything to help them. He'd wanted to take them with him, even go back to Dawn Island so he could introduce them to Luffy and the others. So Tama could live somewhere where she'd never have to starve, where Yamato could walk free of her (his) shackles and see the world. But Yamato had made it clear in their brawl... he wasn't strong enough yet. He couldn't fight Kaido and win.

So he'd had to leave his baby sister and dear friend in that living hell. Had to slip out with Kaido searching for him, at that. Ace had always preferred hitting people to working around them – that had always been Sabo's specialty – but he'd developed a pathological hatred of it after that. He'd been so reckless... that helplessness had cut too close to what he felt when his brother had seemingly been killed.

Then he'd gotten imprisoned, watched his Lu and his family nearly give up their lives to save him, all because he'd been too hotheaded and not cautious enough. Ace knew he would never be a stealth expert, but his insistence on training on the nightmare island of Asteria had done him a world of good. Well worth having to argue around most of his brothers who hadn't wanted him going within a hundred nautical miles of the place. His stubbornness was mostly unchanged, after all.

Ace hadn't thought he'd be using these skills to sneak into a wedding rehearsal.

Apparently the wedding proper would be taking place on top of a massive, multi-layered cake that would begin construction over a day beforehand, but a mockup of what the structure would look like had been provided in one of the tea houses. Luffy, Katakuri, Sanji and Pudding were all present, the priest reciting the vow section to teach it to them.

“Uh...I forgot the last one.”

“Miss, you had me repeat it for you twice! Are you sure?”

“Is it something about health? Like, healthy foods? I don't wanna eat more vegetables...”

Ace smothered a snicker behind one hand; he could almost hear the vein in the priest's head throbbing as he wearily backtracked once again to accommodate for Luffy's terrible memory. Either that, or his beloved was deliberately trolling the guy. Even from his vantage point up in the box seats he could see Pudding's eye twitching violently, and how quickly she plastered on a smile when Sanji returned his attention to her.

Not as sweet as you seem, huh? Ace mused. We'll have to stick someone on you for the wedding, make sure you aren't up to anything.

There wasn't much of a crowd watching this, just a mixture of guards and Big Mom's kids standing in for the audience that would be present. Ace made sure to keep out of their vantage point. The rehearsal was apparently taking place in stages, which would explain why nobody was dressed up yet... and why this seemed to be a somewhat dull affair.

Yet still, seeing Katakuri standing next to Luffy as her groom caused him intense pain. I should have said something a long time ago, Ace thought bitterly. Even being rejected would have been better than watching this in silence.

But what would someone say if their 'big brother' suddenly confessed to being in love with them? Families weren't just decided by blood; those bonds were just as genuine, sometimes they were more deep and true than what blood should have provided. He, Sabo, Pops and the other Whitebeards...they were living proof of that. He couldn't just flippantly assume it was fine because he and Lu had no blood between them. If she only saw him as her brother, that was it.

He could risk losing everything with that confession, including the bond they share now – one no less precious to him, even though it wasn't what he desperately wanted. That had frightened him more than anything, for the longest time...

Luffy got through most of the vows before she glanced upward briefly and spotted him. Nice, her Observation Haki was improving. She grinned and tilted her head about as subtly as she ever did, indicating the hallway to the change rooms. Ace nodded slightly, and she returned her attention to the very tired priest hastily. Oh, Lu...

The vows went on for about another ten minutes before a break occurred; the four would be getting changed into their wedding attire for the rehearsal proper. Luffy shot off instantly, rejecting any help in changing into her dress and demanding that she not be disturbed. Ace nodded to himself and hopped to his feet, moving to make his way down the spiral staircase discreetly.

When he reached the bottom he was almost run into by a pissed-looking girl in a red and white dress with black hair tied up in a single ponytail. “Watch it, you!” She snapped before picking up the pace, every bit of her body language screaming that she was a woman on a mission.

“Charming,” Ace said to himself when the girl vanished somewhere into the building. “Wonder what's gotten under her skin...” She looked vaguely familiar, too, but he just couldn't place her. Shaking his head, he put that aside for now and headed in the direction that Luffy had disappeared to.

It's a long and winding hallway – mostly made out of licorice, unless he missed his guess. How do the people on this island still have all their teeth? I seriously doubt there's a single dentist to be found around here. Ace got turned around at least once before he found the room he was looking for. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure he was alone, he raised a hand and knocked on the door.

“Not ready yet!” Luffy barked distractedly.

Ace's lips twitched upwards. “Is it hard to get into your dress on your own, Lu?” He asked. “I could try and find you some help.”

He could just hear a happy noise from the other side of the hard toffee. “Ace! Nope, I can manage it -” he could hear her stumbling inside, followed by a yip and a chair being kicked a fair distance. “Whoops! Ow.”

Ace couldn't help but chuckle. “You sure about that?”

“Of course I am! Eep! I've almost got it, really!” There's another thud as Luffy scrambled to properly do up her dress properly. “Almost...” Ace tilted his head and listened. Two more thuds later and the sound stopped, followed by Luffy making a very pleased sound. “There! Wow, I've never had trouble putting clothes on before. None of Makino's books mentioned this...”

“Dresses are different. Especially wedding dresses,” Ace said. Even he knew that; he'd heard the stories of Oden and Toki's wedding from Marco. It had happened on board the Moby Dick, and the dress had been the source of no small amount of chaos thanks to a pirate crew having very little experience with such garments.

“Shishishishi...yeah, maybe I should have asked Nami to help me. But she's helping Law go over the stuff for Reiji.” Footsteps came up to the door. “Come in, come in; I really want to know what you think of it!” The lock clicks open invitingly.

Ace swallowed slightly, nerves bubbling in his stomach. He took a calming breath and grabbed the door handle, walking inside with his eyes half closed. Letting it swing shut behind him, he looked up at his sunshine and felt like he'd been hit in the chest.

Luffy beamed at him, curtsying slightly awkwardly but with all sincerity. “Well? What do you think?” She asked. Her dress... the floor length ball gown was radiant. The sleeves were short and had a delicate lacy trim... the body area of the dress was simple, but the layered skirt was where all the details had gone. The uppermost layer was translucent and shimmered like starlight, and dotted across it were sun symbols and blooming roses made of golden thread. Small rubies were sown into the roses, making them pop out more, while the sun had topazes at the edges. Below it was a frilly white layer that looked light but firm; down by her ankle he could see the edges of a silver layer beneath that one, completing things. Luffy was wearing a sun charm around her neck, the gold and topaz glittering in the warm light of the room.

Ace's voice stuck in his throat and he could only gaze helplessly at her. She was so beautiful, it robbed him of words. Luffy blinked and tilted her head, a surprisingly hesitant look crossing her face. “Ace?” She repeated shyly. “Is something wrong...? Is it too fluffy?”

“N-No,” Ace stuttered out, his heart in his throat. “You're perfect.” Should he have just complimented the dress? Was that too forward? He can't think. His brain cells have all fused together. His gaze gently slid up and down her, drinking her in. “I mean... I...” f*ck, he'd never been this flustered in his life.

Luffy smiled, and – and a warm blush colored her cheeks? The red tone to her face was unmistakable. One hand shot to her chest above her heart and she mumbled something to herself he didn't quite catch. Then she walked up to him, a more serious look crossing her face. “Hey Ace...there was something else I wanted to ask you about, besides this.” She gently smoothed her skirt with one hand. “I wanted to be alone for it, so I held out until now.”

Alone? What? Ace swallowed. “Sure,” he murmured a little awkwardly. “You can always talk to me, Lu. What is it...?”

Luffy briefly ducked her head shyly. It's almost incongruous on her – Luffy was a lot of things, but she was almost never uncertain in any way. Her confidence was unending; she never felt self conscious no matter what weird thing she said or did, if she even noticed that other people found it strange. Ace was given exactly two seconds to wonder what on earth could be tripping her up before suddenly she lifted one hand and pressed four fingers gently against his lips.

“I want to know about the time you kissed me,” she said simply. “Reiju told me... it's a lover's kiss, only shared between people in love. Ace, are you in love with me?”

Ace backed up instinctively until his back was flat against the door. His heart violently lodged itself into his throat as equal parts shock, fear and some other feeling he couldn't define flooded every inch of his being. She knows. She knows. f*ck – I'm not ready... I'm not...! “What?” He rasped out.

Luffy held his gaze steadily, unswayed. “Do you love me that way, Ace?” She whispered. There's a shiver of anticipation in her shoulders, like her every nerve is wired waiting for his response; he'd never seen those hazel eyes so serious.

Ace tried to breathe around the lump in his throat. His hands shook a little before he balled them up into fists in the vain hope of hiding even a fraction of his inner turmoil. Well. This was it... he was a lot of things, but running from a fight didn't come easily to him; and when it came to Luffy, he couldn't be a coward.

“Yes,” He whispered. The words were almost painful forcing their way out of him. “I... I'm sorry I put that on you, all of a sudden. After you... collapsed at Marineford, I didn't... you weren't breathing, Lu. You stayed unconscious for weeks after Law managed to save you. I waited and waited, wondering if you would come back to me, and when you did I... I let it slip. I'm sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” Luffy asked.

“Because – because I promised to be your big brother,” Ace responded solemnly. “It must be strange, hearing me say something like this. Maybe it's gross, I – I could never be certain... But Lu, I love you. I've loved you for a really long time.”

Her eyes widened a little. “You have...?” There was something like wonder in her voice, like she's going back over her memories with a new context. Ace couldn't figure out what sort of wonder that was, though, and it terrified him.

“You saved me. You know that, right?” Ace continued, the words starting to spill out of him now that it was all out in the open. His heart was hammering tortuously and causing him genuine pain. “Not just because you never left my side, but because you gave me your whole heart over and over when I had nothing and thought I deserved even less. I – you made me laugh when I felt broken. I pulled myself out of the bitter black pit I'd laid in after my dad was killed because I knew you; the way you looked at me, like I'd hung the moon, all that mattered to me was being worthy of it. You're my sun, Lu. You light up my world just by existing.”

Luffy's eyes grew a little misty. “Ace-” she said, trying to cut in.

Ace barreled onward regardless, desperate to get all of this out before she laid down her judgment. “I didn't tell you anything because I was afraid of what you'd think. I was so scared of being rejected by you that I just shut up about it until I thought I was going to lose you. That you were going to die. You... you cared about me so much you endured every hell the World Government ever created, all because I got caught. I hated myself for it, for every wound you got for my sake.”

“Ace!” Luffy blurted out.

“I – I thought, waiting at your bedside, that I'd rather die than be in a world without you. I'm embarrassed that I'd seriously think about discarding your sacrifice for me so carelessly, I just – I love you, Lu, I love you so f*cking much!” Ace blurted out, slamming his hand against his forehead. The corners of his eyes were burning. “I'm sorry if this feels gross to you, if – if I'm crossing a boundary. If you reject me, I'll respect it. I'm so sorry if this upsets you, but I can't deny how I feel.” There it was. He stood there, shivering a little, his heart exposed and raw.

Luffy made a noise like a teakettle left on the stove for too long – was that frustration or exasperation? “Rghhh...!”

“Lu-?” Ace started to ask before her slender hand snared his wrist in an iron grip, wrenching it away from his face before she lunged forward and crushed his lips under her own in a searing kiss. “Mmph!” Ace stumbled back against the door as the ravenette all but pinned him to it, holding that kiss almost ferociously and tearing all the air out of his lungs.

W-What... oh...! Ace's hands scrabbled for a second before setting on her mid back, his brain screeching like an engine block without lubricant. Luffy grabbed his shoulders and pushed him harder into the hard toffee, her lips hot and insistent and holy sh*t she was kissing him – that was about as far as his coherent thoughts could get before they melted into pure bliss. His arms tightened and her held her close, kissing back as best as he could in response to her fierceness.

His knees buckled; it was good the door was holding steady behind him because without it he might have embarrassed himself pretty hard. His heartbeat was up again, but this time it was out of shock and creeping joy. Luffy is kissing him...!

A few seconds later Luffy broke the kiss; Ace's breath stuttered and he stared blankly at her, his face burning. “Dummy!” She berated him, sounding almost identical to when she was yelling at him on Saobody island. “I love you too! I don't feel any of those things, I! Love! You! I'm sorry I didn't understand before!”

“You do?” Ace gasped, ragged shock and joy in his voice.

Luffy nodded vehemently. “Mmmhmm!” Her eyes were shining, that pure love that he'd dreamed of seeing her look at him with right there and it was real and...

Ace wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her passionately, almost melting into white flames out of sheer bliss. His fingers tangled in her feathery black hair, gently twisting the strands between his fingers as their bodies pressed together. Luffy's tongue bumps against his lips and he briefly lost control of his flames in his feet; he hastily withdrew them and opens his mouth for her. The feeling turned his muscles to water.

At the back of his mind, a boy was laughing cheerfully. Silly! Mera the fire devil giggled merrily. I knew you should have just been forthright with her! I knew it!

Ace stroked Luffy's dark hair a little shakily, holding her until the need for air forced them to break apart. The young emperor thumped back against the door and stared dazedly at Luffy, struck. “Lu...” he whispered.

“Ace,” Luffy said, her eyes shining like stars. “Will you marry me? You, me, Kat, maybe Traffy too if he... will you?”

T-There was only one thing he could possibly say to that. “Yes,” Ace blurted out, sweeping her off her feet and hugging her against his chest. A laugh bubbled up in his chest, and he felt totally weightless. “Yes, I – yes, of course I will.” Is this real? If this is a dream, he never wanted to wake up.

“Shishishishi...!” Luffy laughed happily, nuzzling his throat. “I'm so happy...!”

Ace's chest squeezed with joy and pleasure. “My Lu,” he whispered.

The emotional moment was interrupted by a knock on the door. “Miss Luffy, are you alright?” Pudding's voice echoed from the other side. “We're waiting on you.”

Ace swallowed down a panicked curse and put a hand over Luffy's mouth before she could babble out something incriminating. Holding her gaze he mouthed out act like I was never here!, waited until she nodded, and immediately darted across the room to hide inside the closet. Luffy schooled her face into the most casual look she could manage and opened the door. “Yeah, everything's fine! Sorry, Pudding!”

“Are you okay? You're so flushed...”

“I'm just excited! Let's get this done!”

Ace didn't sigh in relief until the two girls were out of the hallway. That was close, he thought giddily, pressing one hand against his chest. I'm going to hear it from Sabo later... still worth it, though.

Luffy started feeling funny after lunch.

It wasn't the happy, wonderful buzzing feeling she'd gotten after kissing Kat and proposing to Ace – oh, she was still absolutely walking on air from that. But that was a good feeling. This was a weird, foggy feel in her head that she started feeling after drinking a whole bowl worth of punch. It's not that intense, but it's consistent, and kind of annoying. She must be tired; she'll go back to her hotel after this and sleep it off.

The rehearsal went well, for all that Luffy was only partially paying attention to it. Kat had been so attentive, gently nudging her when she needed to pay attention and making leading statements whenever she forgot what she needed to say, and dancing with him was really nice. It was different in her dress, it changed her movement, but her guided her along patiently and got her through the whole thing. What a relief! She would have been doomed without him.

Though... whenever she was holding his hands or dancing with him, she could feel someone glaring at her. It was a feeling pure hate that burned in the edges of her Observation Haki, flaring up occasionally only to be ruthlessly squashed when Luffy started looking around for the source of it. Who wants me dead now?, she wondered. There hadn't been an open attack on her since the arrow incident, but she was pretty sure whoever it was hadn't just given up.

She couldn't figure out who in the crowd was feeling that rage... so she just tried to remember as many faces as she could. She did notice one girl in red and white with a ponytail in the general area she felt the rage coming from; maybe she should chase her down and interrogate her.

Later, when her head was bothering her less.

Her head was still fuzzy after she got changed into her regular outfit, the servants returning her dress to the hotel. She was going to follow them before Katakuri stopped her at the gate. “Luffy, don't you want to go down to the docks?” He asked, his brow furrowing.

“I'm sleepy, Kat,” she protested, rubbing her eyes. “What's at the docks?”

Her Kat smiled at her, slight and warm. It's so incredibly charming. “Ah... I had thought you were excited to see Uta when she arrived?” He asked lightly.

Headache instantly forgotten, Luffy grabbed his arms. “She's here?! She's finally made it?!” She blurted out.

Katakuri nodded. “I heard it straight from mother.”

Uta was here...Uta was here! “Let's go!” Luffy blurted out, excitement flooding her veins. Katakuri chuckled warmly and lead the way, holding onto her arm to keep her from running off in the wrong direction out of sheer need to find the other girl. Distracted by joy and anticipation, she missed that pinging sense of jealousy and satisfaction at the edge of her Observation before it was gone.

Chapter 20

Chapter Text

Totland looked like something out of a fairy tale. Uta hated everything about that. It should look like the desolate, nightmarish trap it actually was; a realm of hell ruled over by a sad*stic, maniacal tyrant who doubled as a living natural disaster.

She stepped onto the deck of the ship when they pulled into the island proper, grimacing at the sweet smell infused in the air. Looking out at the skyline, she could see places where visible damage to the buildings was still being repaired. Big Mom's work, no doubt. How many of her own people had she killed in her hunger rampage?

She slaughtered thousands wherever she went and the World Government didn't even pretend to try and fight her or her demonic former crewmate Kaido; noooo, they were too busy butchering newborns and propping up their pet pirates. Some days Uta hated them even more than she hated herself, and they won. They always, always won, killing whoever they pleased and discarding innocent lives as trash unworthy of even being acknowledged. It was a wonder the mother ocean hadn't long run red with all that spilled blood...

There had to be something fundamentally wrong with the world, didn't it? That no one seemed to care that these massacres happened? No one but a few, who were swimming against an overwhelming tide no matter what they did.

Until Luffy happened. Marineford had shaken the world to its core; it had proven to these smug, supposedly immovable monoliths that they could lose – in a way they couldn't pretend never happened or immediately 'avenge'. It gave Uta a vicious satisfaction, and it was in the aftermath that she'd finished drawing up her plan to destroy these monsters for good.

The dream world could be a real paradise; not this candy coated nightmare. The innocent and helpless would finally be beyond the reach of their butchers, live in an endless dream of safety and comfort where they would want for nothing. This corrupt world would be left behind, unable to hurt anyone ever again. With the technology Gordon had collected, she'd be able to reach her voice out to everyone in every corner of the blues. No one would be excluded.

And as for the monsters...? Well... they'd finally get what they deserved. Including her.

It had given her peace of mind right up until she'd heard from Morgans. Now her world was tilting violently again, and it was all because of Luffy.

It...wouldn't change things. Being able to see the woman she loved so much one last time before she implemented her plan and atoned for her sins was one last gentle blessing, the kindness of the Sun Goddess who fused with her. Uta just needed to ensure that she was saved from Big Mom, then things could proceed as she intended.

Tot Musica purred in anticipation. A shudder went down Uta's spine and she resisted the urge to ask the demon what the hell was so damn funny.

Screaming and cheers erupted across the docks; Uta blinked and refocused in the present. News of her arrival must have spread... she could see a steadily increasing blob of people forming along the shoreline, climbing on top of each other and waving banners to welcome her in. Putting on her best performer's smile, Uta relaxed and walked up to the railing, waving back at them.

The noise got really loud as the ship drew up to the dock proper and the gangplank dropped down. Her fans nearly swarmed the ship, only kept at bay by some of Big Mom's younger children. Uta took in a calming breath. So it begins. Likely she'd have to suffer through an audience with the Yonko before she could start looking for Luffy, but-

“Uta!”

The girl's voice split above the general din; Uta blinked in shock. A second later, a blur rocketed up from the very back of the crowd and hurtled through the air before slamming into the railing of the ship a foot away from her. Uta jumped back in surprise, shock briefly keeping her from processing the sight. What on earth-?

That blur promptly took the shape of a beautiful young woman with wild, slightly curly black hair and a familiar worn straw hat. “Wha-?” Uta half uttered, her eyes briefly fixating on the hat. Her father's hat. Roger's, technically, but in her mind it had always been her father's. It was one of the first thing she saw when he opened the chest she had been hidden inside, a few seconds before his brown eyes and red hair registered to her frightened, confused brain.

That hat was tied to her best and worst memories. It didn't help that the girl on the railing paused for a moment, gold flickering through her eyes and murmuring in an odd, echoing voice... “Lucia? It... it couldn't be...”

Tot Musica thrashes at the back of her mind at the name, would have sent Uta to her knees if she wasn't used to his tantrums by now. Nika! NIKA! How could you say that name, still?!

Those gold eyes flickered, and then it was gone. Uta was shaking, the frozen moment of time hanging in the air as the people on the dock gossiped and yelled about the 'intrusion' on the ship. A lump formed in her throat before suddenly, the moment was over – and Monkey D Luffy dropped down on the deck, her beaming smile filling Uta's whole world.

“Uta! Do you recognize me?” The beautiful ravenette asked excitedly, putting her hands on the singer's shoulders. Uta snapped back into the present and just...stared at her. “It's me! Luffy!”

She'd grown up. That was the first thing Uta registered, looking her old friend up and down. The picture in the newspaper hadn't even come close to capturing her beauty; she was tall and muscular and a bit broad shouldered for a girl, her stomach muscles rippling beneath her loose red shirt as she straightened up. Her chest and hips were perfectly formed, and you could see the muscles in her long, tanned legs.

But it was her eyes that captivated Uta the most. Her face so familiar, despite maturity sharpening it into something almost divine. Her black haired framed her bright hazel eyes, warm like the sun; so happy to see her.

“Luffy...” Uta whispered, a helpless smile crossing her lips. “It's been so long...!”

Luffy giggled, nodding her head vigorously. Uta couldn't resist; she pounced on the other girl and wrapped her in a tight hug, burying her face in her shoulder. “I've missed you!” She gasped into the crimson fabric. “I've missed you so much...!”

Immediately Luffy's arms were around her like a vice – looping several times around for good measure, of course she would apply her devil fruit like that – almost crushing the air out of her lungs, but Uta couldn't have cared less. “I missed you too!” Her beloved said emotionally. She almost sounded like she was on the edge of tears. “I've missed you so much...it's been years!”

It had. Heaven help her, it had been over ten years... it felt like another lifetime, those days in Windmill Village. Uta nuzzled Luffy's shoulder, content to stay in her embrace despite the whole crowd staring at them. No doubt this would be all over the papers if Morgans had anything to say about it, but in the moment she couldn't bring herself to care. Having Luffy with her again was like having a hole in her chest patched up; a wound that she'd been so used to having open and bleeding that its sudden absence was absolutely dizzying.

“You've become a singer, just like you said!” Luffy said, loosening her grip enough that she could look Uta in the eye. She looked so happy for her... “Brulee told me all about it; I shouldn't have stopped looking for you in the papers. Shishishi...I'm sorry! I should have been rooting for you this entire time!”

“It's okay.” Uta insisted, her heart squeezing. “It took me a few years to really get going. Though I admit, it would have been nice to know you were following me.”

Luffy squeezed her eyes shut. “Ugh... I can't believe I let myself miss all of it.” She complained, her shoulders slumping. “Dumb Shanks, why didn't he tell me all about you after Marineford? I saw him and the whole crew then!”

Uta managed not to flinch, if just barely. “An Emperor of the Sea has many things to attend to, I'm sure,” she said in a dull voice. Luffy blinked and looked at her with confusion and concern, so she quickly made herself move on – she flicked the other girl's nose. “Speaking of Marineford! I'm still cross with you, you know!”

“Ow!” Luffy protested, putting one hand on her face and giving her an adorably wounded look. The singer considered it a point of pride that she wasn't blushing hot enough to be mistaken for a tomato at the sight. “What did I do?”

“What did you do? I spent two weeks wondering if you had survived that or not, that's what you did!” Uta responded spiritedly, smacking her shoulder for emphasis. “I watched you collapse on the feed Buggy was running and not get up and then there was no word for weeks and weeks and I was worried sick! How could you almost die before we had a chance to meet again?!”

“I wasn't trying to! It wasn't my idea at all!” Luffy said almost meekly, her eyes wide. “It's all Blackbeard's fault! Blame him for all of that!”

Ooooh, she did. She did and she has plans for that fat, murderous bastard if he ever has the cosmic misfortune of crossing her path. Uta would punish him so comprehensively for his role in Luffy and Ace's near deaths that the mere mention of her name would send shudders down the spine of the devil himself. “You're still so reckless!” Uta responded, shaking her head. “Honestly... you must have given Ace so many heart attacks when you were growing up together! How have you still not learned to be more careful?”

She remembered Sengoku saying something to that effect before outing Luffy as Dragon's daughter and painting an ocean-sized target on her back. Right, another person she wanted to completely destroy, if somewhat less than Blackbeard. How dare he?

Her thoughts on Ace were...more complex. Admittedly, she was bitterly jealous that he got to enjoy Luffy's company for most of his life, when whole seas and the ruin of Elgia at her unwitting hands had torn that away from her. That he got to be in her life, experience her love and devotion for years. She felt guilty for feeling that way, because he hadn't maliciously taken her place or ever done her any wrong; she felt sick that she resented somebody that Luffy loved so, so much. She resolved that if or when she met him – probably when she brought him into the dream world, along with everyone else – she would get to know him, and Luffy's crew too.

“I never gave Ace heart attacks!” Luffy protested, before faltering slightly. “...I think.” She mumbled after a moment of thought.

Uta giggled, her black thoughts retreating instantly. “Sure,” she said mock seriously, before pressing her forehead against Luffy's. “Be more careful with your life, won't you? I was so relieved with I finally saw you alive and well in the paper... I lost you once, Luffy. I don't ever want to lose you again.”

It was selfish for her to say something like that now, with her plan and penance looming in the future. Remembering those weeks of terror and grief made her emotional, and she blurted the words out before she could think the better of them.

Luffy's expression briefly fell and became serious. She gave Uta a mature, gentle look, and cupped her face softly in her hands. “You won't ever lose me, Uta.” She said; the weight in her voice made the words feel like an immutable fact. “That's a promise.”

Uta smiled shyly, glad that those slender fingers were hiding her intense blush. Luffy being Luffy, her seriousness promptly gave way to excitement. “You've got to come meet my crew, Uta! And Kat, and Traffy, and Reiji and Sabo! Sabo grew up with me and Ace for a little, but then he got shot at by a World Noble and almost died but he didn't and got amnesia, and my dad rescued him and he joined the Revolution.” The ravenette babbled, pulling Uta toward the gangplank. “Reiji is Sanji's sister – Sanji's my cook, he makes the best food in the world, you've got to try it – and she's Poison Pink! From the Sora comics! She's the coolest, even though her horrible evil father used some sort of magic potion thing on her to force her to be part of his army-”

“Luffy, slow down,” Uta half laughed, half stuttered. Luffy of course ignored her, and the songstress yipped when she found herself lifted off her feet and slung over her back. Her hands scrabbling to grab her shoulders, she started to protest, “Luffy, I need to go and meet with Linlin – she's expecting me!”

“Ehhh...” She could just hear Luffy making a face. “That crabby old lady can wait!” Uta made an incredulous noise. “Kat will let her know that you're here. Oh, speaking of Kat!”

Uta, knowing her well enough despite the years, wrapped her arms around Luffy's neck and held on tight as the pirate took a flying leap from the ship. The air whistled around her as they crossed right over the docks and landed easily in front of a towering figure that made Uta balk when she lifted her head and suddenly found herself looking up at him.

Charlotte Katakuri greeted her with a slight smile on his fishman-esque mouth – Uta had never seen a picture of him without his famous scarf; which he was still wearing, but only loosely around his throat and shoulders. It was a little shocking in contrast to the rest of his body, which was perfectly human and very hunky. “Miss Uta,” he said politely, his famous aura of intimidation...softened? Was he reining it in to make a good impression? But... that didn't sync up with anything Uta had ever heard about him. He was always a grim, looming shadow, a spectre of danger to anyone who dared to cross his path. “Welcome to Totland.”

“Uta, this is Kat!” Luffy introduced them casually, and Uta felt her lips part in shock when not only did Katakuri not correct her, but he gave the younger pirate a look that was both amused and...fond? “We're gonna get married! Soon. Hopefully.”

“I'm aware,” Uta choked out somehow. “I contacted Linlin in hopes of being invited to sing at the wedding.”

Luffy's head snapped towards her, absolutely lighting up. “You did?! You're the best!” Why did she sound so happy about it? Why did she have a nickname for this man and speak so eagerly about them marrying? Did she not know what Big Mom had planned for her?! “I can't wait to hear you sing again.”

“I'm still amazed by the sheer number of people you've brushed against in your life,” Katakuri told Luffy. “Marines, Revolutionaries, Whitebeard Pirates... and the world's greatest songstress, too.”

“I'm really lucky,” Luffy said easily, adjusting her grip on Uta somewhat. The songstress's breath hitched at the feeling of those strong arms supporting her and nearly hid her face in the other girl's dark hair. “Hey Kat, I really want Uta to meet everyone. Can you tell Big Mom that I need to borrow her for a while?”

Uta sputtered, opening her mouth to hastily apologize for her ravenette and try to soothe the man's temper, but – but nothing she expected happened. Instead, Katakuri's amused look intensified a shade, and he said, “I'll find some way to keep her occupied for an hour or two, but I wouldn't count on being able to do more than that, Luffy.”

He...he calls her by name? This man, this powerful, billion-berry pirate and the son of Emperor Linlin, was calling the 'upstart' sun goddess by her name? He was smiling at her. Charlotte Katakuri was infamously stoic, no matter how dire the situation or how ridiculous the scenario that faced him. Nothing pierced through his practised calm. Except...

Except for Luffy. She grinned and made a happy noise. “You're the best, Kat.” She said. “I'll bring her back in an hour and a half, then! Don't get in too much trouble!”

And with that, she was running down the streets – easily outpacing the horde of fans that had been about to surround them. “Luffy, when did you meet that man?” Uta asked breathlessly as the buildings blurred past her. “He knows you!”

“Oh, I met him last week when I got here!” Luffy responded cheerfully. “Were you a little intimidated by him? I felt you flinch a little.”

“Well – I mean, he's Charlotte Katakuri! One of the Sweet Commanders!” Uta protested, because wasn't that obvious?! He was a deadly man, with only what honour he'd decided to adhere to keeping him from being as horrifying a presence in the world as his mother.

“So?” Luffy chuckled. “He's nice when you get to know him. He's a super awesome big brother to all his siblings, and he's got a lot of them!, but he takes the time for each and every one of them when they need help. He loves sweets and he took revenge on some guys who slashed open Brulee's face when they were kids!” She took a massive leap onto the roof of a building, then went back to running without missing a beat.

Uta was reminded in that moment how clumsy Luffy used to be; how her exuberance frequently tripped her up and caused her to fall. Everyone was always gently amused by it, because she never seriously managed to hurt herself, and seeing that much life and determination in somebody gave you a little sense of wonder. But there's no clumsiness in her here; not a single step was missed as she leapt between buildings. She'd changed in more ways than one.

“He's nice when you get to know him,” Luffy continued, oblivious to her train of thought. “He's kinda like Zoro! Ah, it's too bad that Zoro, Ussop, Robin and Franky are in Wano; I can introduce you over snail call, but it's just not the same!”

“Wano?! What are they doing in Wano, instead of being here with you?!” Uta asked, her heart leaping into her throat. Wano... she didn't know much about Wano, but she knew it was where Kaido had decided to carve out his home. Had he captured half her crew? Was Luffy in the cross-hairs of two warlords of the sea at the same time!?

“It's all part of a plan!” Luffy responded easily. “They're sneaking around preparing things for us catching up! Traffy handles most of the planning, so he'll be able to tell you more when you meet everyone."

“Plan? A plan for what?” Uta asked, her voice almost torn away by the wind.

“We're gonna destroy him! Kaido!” Luffy said boldly, not caring if any of the people they were blowing past heard her declaration. “After we're done here, we're going to go and tear him off his throne! Set Wano free!”

...If anyone else had said something that insane sounding, Uta would have cringed, or maybe sighed wistfully at the idea of one of the world's great monsters being laid low. Kaido was the Strongest Creature in the world, the only one who ever edged Edward Newgate's role as the most powerful individual in existence. He was, perhaps, even more of a force of nature than Big Mom herself. As immovable as he was evil, even the World Government in all its grandiose, fake promises of justice, didn't even entertain the idea of going to war with.

(No, they'd targeted Edward Newgate because they thought he was old and weakened, like the pack of carrion eaters they were. They'd throw away hundreds of lives in the name of 'justice', but they wouldn't dare fight an Emperor who wasn't visibly limping. What a f*cking sham.)

But when Luffy declared those words to the wind, Nika's power crackling faintly under her skin, Uta felt the world shift just a little. Like the universe was subtly bending to her will, instead of the monsters that usually had it in a chokehold. When she said it, the concept felt real.

When had Luffy gained that kind of power?

“I know you, and yet I still can hardly believe you can say something like that out loud!” Uta said when she was physically capable of forming words. “You understand what that means, right?”

“Mm!” Luffy nodded. “I made a promise to Momo, Uta. I never go back on my promises.”

“Really? Because I distinctly remember you promising Makino that you'd repair that chair you broke when you were trying to show off with that swordfish we fished up!” Uta responded, clutching her tightly. “Or did you do that after I left?”

She's pretty sure the only reason Luffy didn't faceplant onto one of the rooftops was because she was carrying her on her back. “Ehhh?! How do you still remember that?!”

“I remember every moment I ever spent with you!” Every single one. They're the thin scarlet threads holding my soul together.

She could almost hear Luffy blushing. “Uta... I remember everything too.” She started running again, heading off to the right toward one of the hotel buildings toward the edge of town. “I don't want to spend a long time apart again.”

“Neither do I.” Uta buries her face in her shoulder. “A – Are we close, Luffy?”

“Hehehe, yup! Just hang on a little longer!”

Luffy jumped down from the rooftops and landed on the candy sidewalk, running toward the hotel. Uta could feel her muscles coiling and relaxing as she moved; she'd never been so hyper aware of their bodies before, maturity teasing her mercilessly as she pressed against her beloved's back. They wove up the streets and turned into the walkway of the hotel. Luffy started babbling about her crew immediately, reeling off names so quickly that Uta almost couldn't keep up.

“-and Nami is the best navigator there is! She used to be a thief because she was trying to save her village, but then the fishman pirate wouldn't hold up his end of the bargain they made so I had to beat the crap out of him.” Luffy regaled her eagerly. “Chopper is a transforming reindeer doctor, and he's eventually gonna be able to cure every disease there is! He's a little bit of a scardy cat like Ussop, but when things get serious he fights just as hard as the rest of us. Brook is my musician, you've got to meet him, I bet you'd make amazing music together-”

“I'm sure we will,” Uta gasped out when they got to the door. Luffy finally put her down; she was both relieved by and lamented the loss of contact. “Luffy, you're talking so quickly...”

Luffy turned around and grinned sheepishly at her. “Whoops, I guess so. It's better to meet everyone in person anyway! Come this way!” She took Uta by the hand and shoved the door open with the other, tugging her along.

Uta let herself be pulled, smiling like a fool the entire way. Luffy really hadn't changed one bit... she'd wondered, occasionally, if between the Awakening of the Nika fruit and the years they'd spent apart, that the girl she met would be quite different from the one she remembered. That fear had clearly been unwarranted. There were other things to worry about instead, though... her cheer and happy acceptance of Katakuri left Uta tilted. Why was she being so affectionate with one of Big Mom's enforcers?

He's stolen her from you...

Shut up, Uta thought flatly, focusing on the warmth of Luffy's hand. Her presence swept away the chills the demon gave her, shoving him deep into the back of her mind where he couldn't touch her. If Luffy was in trouble, she'll get her out of it.

Tot Musica snarled, which also went ignored. Luffy pulled Uta up the stairwell to the third floor, beaming with enthusiasm, and lead her down the hallway.

Standing in the hallway blocking off the last few rooms was another person Uta had only ever seen in pictures – Jinbe, First Son of the Sea. She'd sold Dial Recordings of her music to Fishman Island, but she'd never quite been able to secure an in-person performance there; the King had been politely apologetic, but said that he was concerned the volatile relationship between fishmen and humans might make the trip dangerous to her. “Uncle Jinbe!” Luffy said brightly, hauling Uta right up to him. “Look! This is Uta, my first friend! She finally arrived today!”

“Ah...? Oh, of course.” Jinbe realized. “You mentioned her before; I must have forgotten about the landing date in all of the recent excitement.” The massive fishman gave her a half bow. “It's nice to meet you, Miss Uta.”

Uta smiled and returned the gesture. “The pleasure is mine, Sir Jinbe. I didn't realize you had joined Luffy's crew after the horrible business at Marineford.”

“Things have held up my joining proper until now,” Jinbe said, before turning to Luffy. “Luffy, Trafalgar-san is deep in his study of the package Sabo retrieved for him; shall I tell him to set it aside for the moment, or do you wish to involve Uta in the matter?”

Luffy tilted her head in thought for a few seconds, before shaking her head. “It's okay,” she said. “Uta is a great person. She won't tell anyone.”

Uta gave her a sideways look. “That sounds slightly ominous,” she said, while her heart did backflips. As pleased as she was at being led in on some kind of secret, the bigger part of her was saying 'ahhhh Luffy what on earth are you doing right under Big Mom's nose?! Why are you like this?!' “But I promise I can keep any secret entrusted to me.”

Jinbe held her gaze for a moment, judging her sincerity, then nodded in acceptance. “I see. Right this way.” He led them to the door and knocked firmly upon it. “Everyone, a special guest Luffy knows has arrived. No need for alarm.”

Uta heard a kerfuffle of shuffling and confused sounds from inside the room, including at least one 'ow, that's my foot Carrot!' Luffy grabbed the door handle and wrenched it open, pulling Uta inside. “Guys! Guys! Uta's arrived! She's here!” She cheered.

Uta yelped as she was almost pulled off her feet, stumbling into the room as Jinbe closed the door behind them. Once she regained her equilibrium, she looked around the room with wide eyes.

Her first thought was that Luffy's crew was an eclectic bunch. 'Cat Burgler' Nami had shot off of the couch as soon as they entered, eyes wide with excitement the moment their gaze met. The little reindeer zoan, who'd been standing on the desk next to a dark haired man in a spotted hat reading over his shoulder whirled around and looked at her with awe – he was so cute Uta was half tempted to sweep him up in her arms and hug him like a stuffed animal. That was Tony Tony Chopper for sure. There were a rabbit and jaguar mink she didn't recognize, both of whom looked at her with awe. Vinsmoke Sanji jumped up from the floor, looking at her with naked awe and admiration. Leaning on the wall was a handsome, sharp dressed blonde with blue eyes and a burn scar on his face – was that Sabo? -- who regarded her with a degree of curiosity. Sitting on the couch was the animated skeleton that was 'Humming Swordsman' Brook, strumming his guitar.

Sitting on the bed next to the beautiful Princess Vinsmoke Reiju, who's expression was tired, tentatively hopeful, and a host of other things Uta couldn't parse out in an instant, was Emperor Portgas D Ace – what on earth was he doing here, so far away from his crew? Had he been so worried about Luffy marrying he slipped into the island for her sake? Was he planning to fight Big Mom on her behalf?! A violent and protracted clash between Emperors hadn't happened in... had it ever happened? Uta couldn't remember in that moment.

“Straw Hat,” The man at the desk groaned. Uta swiveled her head his way and her heart lodged into her throat when the word Death flashed along his elegant, slender fingers when he rubbed his forehead. “You do know that the more people know a secret, the harder it is to keep it, right?”

“Traffyyyy,” Luffy said, pouting. “Say my name! I thought we were passed this!”

“When exasperating girls make my life difficult, they get called Straw Hat.” 'Surgeon of Death' Trafalgar Law said dryly. The man who carved out a hundred hearts to get a government position he didn't even intend to keep reclined in his chair, attention briefly leaving the stack of medical papers sitting on the desk. The man who saved Luffy's life, and seemingly never demanded a high price in return – but perhaps he had? Why was he here, along with Ace? “Miss Uta. ...Bepo will be very sorry to have missed you. He likes your music quite a bit.”

“Bepo?” Uta repeated, instead of voicing any of the questions rattling around her brain.

“My first mate. He's preoccupied with another job.”

“Traffy and I are allies, Uta!” Luffy said brightly. “We're going to Wano together after this!”

Trafalgar wordlessly hit his head on the desk. “Sure... go and tell her everything. Why not...?” He groaned.

“Don't you know by now that Luffy can't keep a secret from somebody she likes?” Ace responded teasingly.

Trafalgar slightly lifted his head to glower at the Emperor, who chuckled softly. “Stop being right. I'm trying to vent here.”

“So you're Uta,” Sabo said, unhitching himself from the wall and walking to her. Uta wrenched her gaze away from the confusing tableau to face him. “Luffy talked about you non stop when we were kids. It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Sabo.” He offered her his hand.

“Thank you,” Uta responded, taking it and shaking. Sabo's smile is warm and friendly. “It's nice to meet you too.”

“Every time.... every time I think Luffy can't surprise me anymore, she pulls something out of a hat.” Nami declared. “Nice to meet you, Uta!”

“You were really friends when you were kids?” Chopper asked in awe.

“Yup!” Luffy declared. “Uta is Shanks's daughter! I met her when they first came to my home!”

Uta winced slightly, and the entire room erupted into a wall of noise. “EEEEHHHH?!” The whole room screamed. She didn't want to have to explain... Luffy would demand more details, and she'd have to tell her that, and she doesn't want to lose the way her beloved looks at her. Just...don't touch the subject. Let her wonder, for now. Shanks is far, far away. I won't see him again...

She put a smile on her face, and prepared to introduce herself fully to Luffy's family. Doing her best to ignore Tot Musica's seething.

Luffy's headache didn't go away. In fact it slowly got worse, and she was so sleepy by the time that Uta bowed out and went to go meet with Big Mom that she was tempted to just flop down on the couch and call it a day.

But the headache kept her from drifting off. Luffy lay down on the couch for a little while, watching Traffy and Chopper talk quietly and pour over the notes Sabo and Nami had procured for them. Reiju had managed to fall asleep, and Sanji was keeping a vigil at her side – unwilling to leave until he heard something definitive from the two doctors. Sabo, Ace and Jinbe were discussing the run for the Poneglyph with Brook and Pedro. Her head hurt...

Maybe she needed some fresh air. That helped sometimes, right?

Luffy murmured about 'going to get some meat' and hopped to her feet, heading out of the room to a few noises of acknowledgement. It was getting a little dark, but she didn't plan to be out for long, so it would be okay. Right...?

She walked out of the hotel and sucked in a deep breath. The sweet tang in the air kind of stung, and she wrinkled her nose. “Ugh...” She never thought she'd ever think this, but she's starting to get a little sick of sweet things. She just needed a little break! Maybe she should walk out to the ocean. Maybe the salty tang would overwhelm the excessive sweetness, or at least make it more tolerable.

She didn't walk far before that the sleepy feeling started to get heavier.

Lucia... Nika whispered. Luffy startled. She hadn't heard Nika say much in a while. And that presence...it couldn't be...

What are you talking about...? Luffy wondered.

Luffy, your friend is – Nika started, before cutting herself off in alarm. Watch out!

Luffy only managed to blink lethargically before something thumped into her bare shoulder. Confused, she reached up and brushed her fingers over a little feathered needle. “Oh. That's not good.” She mumbled, before collapsing bonelessly on the pavement.

Her head full of static, Luffy tried gather herself and get into a fighting stance, but she felt like her whole body was made of lead.

Several people came up to her. She couldn't see. “Finally got you, bitch.” A youngish voice hissed, full of malevolence. “Annan, you better have that love potion.”

“Of course I did. I can't believe you suckered that green haired idiot into helping us run distractions. So what, we give her to him now?”

“Don't be stupid! Mama wouldn't allow that. We have to make sure she gets lost and vanishes.” Luffy felt a vial press against her lips. “Once she's drunk this, we'll dump her in the Seducing Woods. She'll fall in love with a monster, get eaten and die.”

“Are you sure Mama won't find out?”

“That's why we're doing this while she's asleep! Now get moving!”

Great, Luffy thought before a hot, bubbly liquid pressed past her lips. Traffy is gonna yell at me so much when I get out of this. She did her best not to swallow it, but some of it trickled down her throat, and that's when things got really weird.

Chapter 21

Chapter Text

Law could admit; there was something pleasing about discussing medicine with another doctor. Even if it was an abomination like the biological programming that he was currently overviewing. Parsing out the complications with Chopper and bouncing the surgical plans off of the younger doctor not only helped him process the information faster, it kept him from storming off mid read to slice out all of Judge Vinsmoke's organs to display in a dozen jars.

Sabo and Nami hadn't just gotten him the Lineage Factor papers, but also Reiju's most recent medical charts and her Raid Suit. Leaving the latter alone for the moment – the doctor, and the fanboy, inside him very badly wanted to examine it and figure out what made it tick – Law had started reading with Chopper.

Now most of twelve hours into his studying, Law could confidently say he understood how this medical abomination worked. Which was good, because Sanji had been bothering him every hour or so asking for information and if he'd be able to do anything. Law understood the impulse – he'd been a brother himself, once – but he was constantly resisting the urge to mute the blonde indefinitely.

“Any surgery will take a long time,” Chopper noted in concern when Law calmly flipped the last page and shut the binder. “And can't be interrupted. I don't think we'll be able to do it here.”

“Mmm,” Law hummed in agreement, scowling. “Inconvenient, to say the least. The wedding is in three days, and I give it one before Judge starts demanding an island wide search for Reiju-san.” Sabo had reported that the King was bent on finding out where his oldest child was disappearing to. Likely he'd order to to remain by his side for the foreseeable future, which would be a nuisance.

“I can return to Germa castle and act natural,” Reiju responded softly. “I won't betray any of you to him no matter what he asks me. Don't worry about that.”

“I believe you,” Law said, turning his chair to face her. “My only concern is having to sedate you in the middle of the fight that's undoubtedly going to break out at the wedding ceremony. It's a needless danger to you.”

“I trust you all to keep me alive,” Reiju said simply, folding her hands in her lap. “My powers mean that traditional sedatives won't work on me, though I believe your powers can work around that.”

Law nodded sharply. “Of course.”

“So it can be done?” Sanji blurted out, vaulting to his feet. “You can save her?”

Chopper nodded vehemently. “Yes!”

Law smirked a little. “Judge is going to have to do better than this to stump me,” he said lazily.

Reiju gasped and pressed her hands against her chest, her shoulders shivering. A wave of emotion visibly passed over her. Trafalgar looked at her with veiled sympathy. Hope was a cruel thing many times, the thought of something better taunting you from out of reach... but when it's real, the feeling of it is indescribable. He knew that very well.

Nami and Carrot both cheered loudly, absolutely over the moon. Sanji briefly went limp, totally overwhelmed with joy and relief, before whirling around and pulling Reiju up into a tight, warm hug. The pink haired girl gasped in surprise before returning the gesture... it was the first hug the siblings had been able to share, without the twisted dynamic of their family splitting them apart. “That's wonderful! Reiju, you're going to be a Straw Hat!” The cook babbled enthusiastically.

“Ah – you want me to join the crew?” Reiju stuttered, her heart jumping. She wanted that very badly, but she hadn't thought... “Really?"

“Of course I do,” Sanji responded, hugging her a little tighter before letting go. “There's room for one more on the Sunny!”

“I'm confident the only reason Luffy hasn't already asked you to join up is that she's trying to decide what post to give you,” Nami said when Reiju looked between the others for confirmation.

That reminded Law of the absence of his goddess, and he glanced at the doorway. “I'm surprised she isn't back yet,” he commented, puzzled. Luffy had been second only to Sanji in her incessant prodding about the surgery; even if she was tired, he hadn't thought she'd willingly be away for long.

Chopper turned to the doorway too. “Yeah... that's weird. She was complaining about a headache too, so she must not have gone far.” He said in confusion.

“I'll go look for her.” Law said, standing up and rolling his shoulder. His back was stiff from sitting at the desk since sunrise; a little walk would do him good. “With the brothers busy with the poneglyph, someone has to keep an eye on her.”

“I'll come with you!” Chopper offered, hopping down from the desk as Law stepped into his shoes and grabbed his coat from the closet.

“Be careful not to be seen!” Nami reminded him, rather needlessly in his opinion.

Law waved vaguely, pulled his hood up, and grabbed Kikoku before heading out of the room. The sun had almost completely sunk over the horizon as he took the stairs down to the landing and exited the building; there were still some people out and about, but only a few. It was fairly quiet.

Too quiet. Even in the nighttime, there was ambient noise in Totland – homies singing or chattering about something, people interacting, bakers heading

Stars were starting to become visible. Law did a circuit around the hotel and the nearby streets, but there was no sign of Luffy. “...Where are the street guards?” He wondered after about ten minutes of searching turned up nothing, and the emptiness of the streets became more obvious.

“Are they turning in for the night...?” Chopper offered hesitantly. He didn't sound like he believed it.

“You think an Emperor's home island wouldn't have a night shift?” Law replied dryly. His heartbeat started to pick up a little; f*ck, he'd turned his back on her for just a few minutes...! “I don't like this.” He tried to force himself to stay calm and think about where Luffy might have gone off to. Maybe down to the shoreline...?

Picking up the pace, Law hit the streets at a light jog. He moved further away from the hotel in his search, and the more he looked around the fact that there was seemingly no one awake to have seen Luffy walking around became incredibly telling. This wasn't an accident. I accepted her saying it was just a headache...what the f*ck is wrong with me? We're in Totland. I should have been more suspicious!

Turning one more corner, Law staggered to a stop at the sight that awaited him there. Katakuri, visibly in a fit of rage, holding Luffy's Straw Hat and shouting at a set of terrified preteens. “-where did she take her?!” The man thundered when he got into hearing range.

Katakuri didn't shout. Law had never met him before, but his reputation had that detail seared into his memory. The man didn't need to bellow or grandstand to make his point or intimidate someone, his mere presence did that in spades. For him to be openly shouting, he must have been severely provoked. For him to be shouting at some children – at least two of whom resembled him enough to be his siblings – they must have done something to enrage him.

Where did she take her...? Law moved closer, gritting his teeth. They let their guard down. Luffy had seemed to be handling things and they let their guard down around her, focusing more on Germa and not paying enough attention to Big Mom's children. He hadn't been this furious with himself in quite a while.

“T-T-The Seducing Woods,” One of the girls stuttered out, tears of fear coursing down her cheeks. She looked like she was seconds away from fainting. “That's what she said...!”

“Anana! Flampe's gonna kill us now!” Another girl hissed at her.

“I wouldn't worry about anything Flampe is going to do.” Katakuri seethed, instantly making her shut up. “You should, however, be very afraid of me and what I'll do if you're not telling me the truth! Flampe went to the Seducing Woods?”

“Yes!” Anana whimpered, collapsing to her knees. “Yes, I'm sure of it, she took Miss Luffy with her, it was all her idea! I didn't want to get involved but she made me!”

“What?!” Chopper whispered in distress. Law firmly put a hand on his back, warning him to be quiet. “Luffy...!”

Katakuri's shoulders were rigid as stone as he stared at the preteens, judging if they were telling him the truth or trying to throw Flampe under a carriage. The weight of something intangible and harsh spreads out from him like electricity; Law's knees shivered and he gritted his teeth. He knew this feeling!Conqueror'sHaki...! “Collect yourselves, go back to the Chateau, and if Luffy isn't hurt, I won't inform mother of all of you going behind her back,” Katakuri said through his teeth. “If she is seriously harmed because of you...” The words hung in the air threateningly, and the girls immediately bolt down the street.

Katakuri watched them leave, flexing his free hand and visibly trying to reign in his temper. He looked down at the straw hat and shivered slightly. He was worried about her... Law trusted his emotional reading skills, and generally stoic people were open books when that mask cracked. He valued Luffy, beyond what Big Mom demanded of her son.

Law felt a mixture of jealousy, aggravation and surprise; he promptly shoved those emotions aside in favour of cool calculation. He didn't want Big Mom to know he was here, but at the same time, the Seducing Woods were hell to navigate without help from the Emperor or her children, and he couldn't afford to get lost. Secrecy would be a moot point if he couldn't get out after finding Luffy, not to mention the entire forest was rife with homies; charged by Linlin's soul. If he stayed in there too long, it was very likely he'd be discovered anyway.

It went against all his instincts to expose himself to Katakuri; Law was not an easily trusting man, and he'd rather find Luffy by himself... but by that same token, he didn't want Luffy to be in danger any longer than necessary, and if this man was genuinely attached to her... Law worried with the hilt of Kikoku, growling to himself as he struggled to make a decision. He didn't know if Katakuri was willing to choose Luffy over his mother.

Chopper bounced anxiously in place, only holding himself back from charging to Katakuri by Law's silence. Ultimately what sealed the surgeon's decision despite his reservations was remembering what Luffy had said – 'I'm gonna bring him with us to Wano!' He was going to be seeing a lot more of the Sweet Commander in the future, and when it came to keeping Luffy safe, Law was willing to do things he otherwise wouldn't. He gave Chopper a slight nod and the reindeer slumped in relief, then hurried forward to where Katakuri was standing.

“Katakuri-san!” Chopper called anxiously.

The tall man turned around and seemed to relax just a little bit at the sight of the little zoan. “Doctor,” he said with a hint of relief. “Good, I was about to go looking for you.”

“Luffy's gone,” Chopper babbled. “She said she was going to get some air, but-”

“One of my sisters attacked her.” Katakuri explained through gritted teeth. And by that Law meant he could actually see his teeth – the man's trademark scarf wasn't concealing his mouth anymore, revealing a startling glasgow grin and sharp teeth. It was a stark contrast to the rest of his body, though Law had seen worse, and adjusted to the sight after a few seconds of being shocked. He'd been concealing that...on purpose? It's hard to imagine a man like him being self conscious about something like that...

“But why?” Chopper squeaked, shaking his head rapidly. “I thought they wanted this marriage to happen?!”

Katakuri exhaled heavily, eyes flashing. “Flampe... she's always been volatile and admired me deeply, but I didn't think she'd go so far as to attack my fiancé because of that. This isn't her first attempt, either – I prevented the others and warned her to stop... that has always been enough before.” He tilted his head down slightly, a shadow falling over his face. “I'm sorry; I wasn't paying enough attention to her. I let the wedding distract me.”

Law's lips parted slightly in surprise. Apologies likely didn't come easily to powerful pirates like him, yet Katakuri hadn't hesitated to say it. “I-It's okay,” Chopper said in a rush. “I o-only have Luffy and my crew mates for siblings, and – and I can't imagine being suspicious of them hurting me. It feels wrong to even think of it. You must have been so surprised.”

Katakuri closed his eyes. “I envy you,” he responded. “Knowing my siblings, I should have been keeping a closer eye on some of them.” Chopper looked up at him with surprise; Law understood, though. Familial harmony in the Charlotte Clan was probably only held together by Big Mom and the rest of the world being their enemies. Doflamingo's 'family' had been like that too.

“W-Where's the Seducing Woods?” Chopper asked in concern. “We have to find her...!”

“I'll show you the way,” Katakuri said, putting a hand on the reindeer's head. The gesture was surprisingly gentle for such a fearsome man, almost fatherly; an experience Chopper hadn't had since living with Hiriluk years ago. He leaned into it a little; he hadn't realized how much he'd missed that feeling until just that moment. “The Seducing Woods are dangerous, but I can make my way through them without trouble. It's controlled by my mother's homies after all.”

Chopper slumped in relief. “Oh, thank goodness.”

“Will your mother know if we enter the woods?” Law asked, stepping forward and announcing himself quietly. “If the homies are part of her soul...”

Katakuri glanced up from Chopper and looked at him. His brow furrowed briefly as he looked Law up and down before realization clicked into his mind. “Trafalgar Law,” He said, faintly surprised. “Rumors said that you had forged an alliance with Luffy, but I didn't expect to see... you've been here this whole time?”

Law nodded fractionally. “I was concerned for her... Luffy doesn't have much of a head for subterfuge. I intend to see through the mutual goal for our alliance, so I sent my crew ahead and came with her.” It's a sign of my long practice with this that I can talk about her this way. I'm here because I love her and I couldn't permit her to get married without trying to sway her and secure a place for myself in her heart; that's my only reason.

Katakuri gazed curiously at him for a moment. “...Traffy,” He mused thoughtfully.

Trafalgar tried not to bristle too visibly. “Only she's allowed to call me that,” he said irritably. When had Luffy said that name around him?! Honestly! Had she ever even heard the word 'discretion' before?!

Katakuri uttered a sound like... a soft chuckle, of all things? Law blinked rapidly and tried not to let his confusion show on his face. That was far from the reaction he was expecting. “Of course.” The tall man crossed his arms. “I'll leave the matter of your presence here be for now. My mother is asleep right now; her attention isn't on the Seducing Woods. I'll ensure the homies stay quiet about you. Now let us go and retrieve Luffy quickly, before she gets hurt any further.”

“...Right,” Law said, unsure what to make of this. He thought he would have to bargain with the man to keep his low profile. Wary as he is, his concern for Luffy immediately takes precedence. “Lead the way.”

Monkey D Luffy was, in a word, completely tripping out. Nika wasn't pleased in the slightest.

Because they were sharing a body, just because the goddess's thoughts were coherent didn't mean that she could guide her partner coherently when everything she saw was wheeling colours, singing and rambling and pink bubble elephants. Luffy was entirely out to lunch, even worse than when she'd Awakened! She was completely vulnerable. Nika could barely track north from south, and she was able to apply some energy to see clearly in short bursts.

I let myself get distracted by Uta and Tot Musica, Nika berated herself as she nudged Luffy's consciousness aside and teetered wildly out of the way of a tree homie that tried to drag her underground with its roots. Foolish!

She'd been able to fight off the girl who'd poisoned her, at least; crushing her under a wave of Haki. Unfortunately in her efforts to stumble back to the shore, Luffy's confusing hallucinations caused her to enter the dangerous woods instead. Nika had a sneaky suspicion that the roads were being changed every time she made any significant progress in one direction or another; fragments of Big Mom's soul were all around her, singing and laughing like deranged children. Soul's presence swirled like a haze, omnipresent; she seemed mildly amused by Nika's predicament, but was otherwise aloof. She'd been jaded into dull apathy by her various partners long ago.

“You let her get drunk?” Soul's voice drifted through one of the trees. With the amount of power that Linlin was pouring into this area, it was no surprise that part of the spirit's consciousness was dwelling here rather than with her host. “You look even sillier than usual, Nika...”

“If it was just a matter of being DRUNK, I'd be enjoying myself!” Nika snapped irritably. “And you're a fine one to talk, powering this candy coated nightmare.”

Soul grunted, emotion immediately shunted away. “Linlin hasn't ever heard my voice. She wouldn't heed me even if she could. Not all of us are as lucky as you.” The spirit's presence retreated before Nika could try and debate with her. Or more specifically, take great umbrage at being described as lucky.

Lucky...?!

Luffy's mind buzzed with some concern amidst her blissful confusion. Nika exhaled through her mouth and focused, ignoring the throbbing in her/Luffy's head. Pathway...pathway... there, she hadn't gone that way yet. Probably.

Whatever was in that vial, a love potion it was not. It was somewhere between an emotional stimulant and a virulent poison; oh, it probably would have fooled the observer in the first twenty minutes, but this was supposed to kill Luffy after giving her a very pleasant emotional high. Nika coiled Luffy's muscles carefully to make sure she didn't get hurt all while seriously contemplating what she was going to do with that idiot Caesar once she got back to the main island.

No one was allowed to put Luffy's life in danger. She still wished she could have turned Magellan into a human pretzel back then for what he did, though once again the tolerance for poison he'd inadvertently given her host was coming to her aide. She'd survive this once it ran out of her system, but Nika had to get her out of this forest first.

“Sho many elephanhts, but none'll let me hug 'em.” Luffy whined, stumbling down the pathway. “C'mon! 'M good at hugging!”

“Yes, you are,” Nika said patiently. She pivoted Luffy and fired a punch at the bear lunging at her back, knocking the animal out cold. “But I think the elephants are too busy dancing for hugs right now. Let's come back later.”

“Awww...” Luffy protested, trying to reach up for one of the invisible pink elephants. Nika forced her muscles to relax a little and focus on walking in a straight line. “But thehy're so pinkh...! Never seen that before...!”

“I know,” Nika hummed sympathetically, while still firm. “This isn't a safe place to hang out, Lu; you could get stepped on by accident.”

“But ah'm made of rubber...be fine...” Luffy whined, almost walking off the path before Nika stopped her. It was probably a good thing that her host was almost impossible to embarrass, otherwise she'd likely melt into a puddle upon remembering this later. Now how in the world could she get them out of this...? Soul's presence was constantly shifting; Nika didn't have much of a sense of where they were in relation to where they entered the forest, which would be critical to extracting them from the woods and return to the hotel where the doctors were.

Ngh... what a disaster. Nika thought grimly. I have to get us back before the sun comes up... if Uta becomes distressed enough, Tot Musica could force his will on her. His power is still immense, even tied to the dream realm...

Lucia... I thought I was seeing a ghost... The sun goddess's heart ached painfully. She could still feel her beloved's final kiss after all this time. It's been so long...yet Uta looks so much like her... they have the same smile... Her soul twisted into a harsh knot. Tot Musica had bound himself to Lucia's descendant... the sickening reality of that fact filled her with a mixture of stunned horror and incandescent rage.

What had he done to her since she ate the fruit...?! Luffy said that she was Shanks's daughter, but the girl wasn't there on the Red Force when he had stolen her fruit away from the World Government. Nika had seen how fatherly Shanks was with the ravenette; so Luffy's statements that she'd left as a child to start her songstress career – it sounded strange, wrong. Shanks surely would have wanted to be there for it, even if just on the periphery. Something had happened, something Luffy hadn't been told about.

Tot Musica would not have been kind to anyone unfortunate enough to be bound to him. And his priorities... they clearly had not changed. Nika's temper burned as she dwelled on this, on the pleasure and darkness that had roiled off of his familiar presence upon Luffy and Uta's reunion.

Uta...I'm sorry, The sun goddess thought solemnly. My incomplete victory all those years ago has cost you. It had been all that she could do at the time.

She can't do anything for this girl who so resembled her Lucia – for Luffy's dear, first friend – if they couldn't get out of the Seducing Woods. The thought fuels Nika with new resolve to defeat this ploy despite the problems the poison was presenting. Focusing through the hallucinations again she guided Luffy down the length of the road until they found a clearing. It was a sizable one and in the middle of it was...

“Huh... a person turnip?” Luffy pondered, tilting her head all the way to the side. There's a very large man buried up to his head in the dirt before her. He had wild pink hair and a fairly unassuming face; not traditionally attractive, but there's a gentleness to it that makes him very approachable on an instinctual level. “'S a very big turnip. But everything's big here. Big Mahm must like it that way.”

Nika blinked rapidly, but yes, this seemed to be real and not one of the free-wheeling hallucinations she's steadily tuning out. There really is a large man buried in the woods. Someone Linlin is keeping prisoner? But why here, and not in her lands? Perhaps he was thrown out here to die... but he looks like he's fairly put together for someone who's in this predicament.

“Ah! Young lady...I haven't seen anyone come through here in a long time,” The man said, sounding very relieved. “Please, could you bring me a little apple juice to drink? There should be a falls somewehre nearby, and I haven't had anything to drink in quite a while.”

Luffy giggled drunkenly. “Silly! You can't water a turnip with apple juice; that would make it really sick.” She wobbled in place. “'S why Nami doesn' let me help her with her tangie trees.”

“...Miss, are you drunk?” The man asked in concern, his expression going blank.

“Noooooo,” Luffy said like an embarrassed child. “Booze is nice 'n all, Mr Talking Turnip, but I prefer milk! ...'sides Zoro drinks most've the beer.”

“Oh dear,” The man said, attempting to squirm out of his predicament. “This is not a good place to be so intoxicated. It's dangerous here! Ah, if only I could get out of here, I could try and carry you out the woods... but I'm stuck! I've been stuck for a while now... oooh, what an unfortunate conundrum. ”

That's a polite way of putting it, Nika thought dryly. Can I guide her into digging him out? He doesn't look like a fighter, but I'd be remiss to leave him here, and better that we have someone who's head is clear helping us.

“How did you come here? Only Big Mom's children ever enter these woods, unless...” The man babbled uncertainly. “Are you an opponent of hers? Coming through to invade? Please don't! My daughter's gotten married recently, and I came here to see her... I wouldn't be able to do that if a fight breaks out!”

“Turnips have daughters?” Luffy hiccuped, confused. “Hey, your face looks a little familiar... I wonder where from? I don't eat a lot of turnips... I should know right away.” She rubbed her head. “Ugh... it's kinda hard to tink right now... maybe I should sleep on it?”

“No no no, don't fall asleep here!” The man said a little frantically. “This place is far too dangerous to take a nap in! Even awake an intoxicated would be better...”

“You stupid woman! How are you still alive?!”

Nika grabbed control of Luffy's body again through the foggy haze of her host's confusion and moved her out of the way of a set of arrows. Wheeling around, they found themselves facing the same girl from the streets, armed heavily and glaring hatefully at them. “You foul, loathsome little co*ckroach! Why won't you die?!” The girl seethed.

Luffy blinked. “Because I don' wanna.” She responded in a very deadpan voice. Nika snickered, unable to help herself. “What 're you mad about? I don't remember hitting you or anything. ... I think.”

The black-haired girl flung a trident at her; Nika leaned hard on Luffy, sliding her body to the right and avoiding the attack. “You're a thief!” The girl screeched. “A dirty, disgusting little thief who's trying to make off with Katakuri! How dare you?!”

“Eh?” Luffy uttered in confusion. “But pink elephant, I'm not stealing him. We're gonna leave together.”

“You think you're good enough for him?! You're nothing! You're a stupid, ugly, nasty little upstart who should have died years ago! He's not yours to take!”

Strangely, that actually sobered Luffy a little even though the haze of the drug. She frowned at the girl. “Of course he's not,” she said. “Kat doesn't belong to anyone. Not you or Big Mom or anyone else. He belongs to himself.” She rolled her shoulder. “He doesn't realize that he can make choices for himself, not just for other people's sake, but I'll help him figure it out.” She smiled lightly. “A wife should be able to do that much for her husband, shouldn't she?”

The angry girl beared her teeth. “Over my dead body will that marriage happen... I'm going to set everything right... and cut you into so many pieces even your mother wouldn't be able to recognize you!”

Luffy giggled drunkenly. “Eh... I think you'll try, pink elephant.” she said cheekily. Nika shook her head and grinned; as the girl boiled over in rage and attacked, she placed her hands on Luffy's mental shoulders. This was going to be rough... but very interesting!

Chapter 22

Chapter Text

“This is it.”

Sabo placed one hand on the red poneglyph, tracing the carvings with his fingers. The low light of the room made the massive stone seem to glow subtly; it would be a little cumbersome, getting the rubbings, but he could handle it. Dropping his bag to the ground, he started digging around for what he'd need. “Good thing we don't have to try and haul this anchor around,” Ace mused. “That's the death of stealth right there.”

“Small mercies,” Sabo snarked, pulling out the large poster. “Hold this up for me, will you?” His brother hummed, the light smile that had been on his face since that morning intensifying a little. “Any sign of movement out there, Brook?”

“Not yet, Sabo-san.” The skeleton responded arily. Gentle notes float through the air from his guitar, keeping the room guards trapped in his hypnosis. “Though I'd be remiss if I didn't encourage you to work quickly.”

“Noted,” Sabo said. He grabbed the tools he needed and stepped up on a chair to start copying the upper left corner of the poster. Ace held the paper in place, shoulders tense as the blonde worked away. Glancing sideways briefly he could see Jinbe and Pedro standing guard at the entrance to the room. It let him relax just a little.

Not that he would let himself get complacent. If they got caught in here, Big Mom's rage would be titanic, and Sabo would not let Luffy be caught off guard because he slipped up. It's eerily quiet aside from Brook's music; that was good, though. This way he'd hear trouble coming long before the room was breached.

The work wasn't quick. They had to lift all of the characters as clearly as possible, or Robin might not be able to read it, and that was not an acceptable risk. “What are you grinning about?” Sabo asked Ace slyly when he stepped off the chair, having just finished the upper levels of the poneglyph. “Someone looks happy...”

Ace chuckled, unfazed by the meaningful prodding. “You were right,” the ravenette confessed with happiness in his eyes. “You've been right the whole time.”

“I'm always right,” Sabo responded loftily, rubbing another character. “You're gonna have to be more specific than that.”

Ace elbowed him in the ribs, albeit not hard enough to make him drop his tools. “Says who?” He retorted, before saying a little smugly, “Of course I'm happy. I'm gonna get married.”

Sabo briefly froze in place as he processed that. That statement could only mean one thing, and he felt a mixture of shock, surprise and pleasure along with a degree of embarrassment. “Seriously?! Hah! I told you so!” He hissed playfully. All of that teasing and he hadn't managed to confess to Luffy before Ace?How embarrassing!

It was all Judge's fault. The garbage he'd inflicted on Reiju had demanded most of Sabo's attention be away from Luffy for the past two days, and he couldn't risk being seen during the concert. Now they finally had a bit of breathing room and of course that was when Ace finally scraped his nerves together and said something. I'm going to turn that so-called king into a human pretzel! The blonde thought indignantly. Ace is never gonna let me live down the fact he managed to confess before me, dammit! I'm sick of playing catch up!

Today. He'll tell Luffy today, as soon as he can wrangle a moment alone with her.

“Yeah yeah, shaddup.” Ace groused, entirely without bite.

“No, I don't think so. I've been sitting on this material since we were kids.”

The young Emperor blanched in alarm. “You've got to be kidding me...” Sabo merely smirked at him and went back to working on the rubbing. “Don't you dare.”

“What's the matter? Worried that Trafalgar-san won't find you as impressive once he learns what a sappy romantic you are?”

“Shut up, Sabo!”

“Boys, please remember where we are the moment...” Jinbe deadpanned, sounding like a picture-perfect tired uncle. “Can you not have this argument somewhere else?” Both young men briefly turned to glower at him in perfect sync. “Focus on the poneglyph, please.”

Pedro watched this interplay and slowly shook his head. “I'd always thought that the tales of what love reduces people to were wild exaggerations...” The jaguar mink said faintly. “But now I'm beginning to think that those wild stories were actually understating things. How...mildly terrifying.” Sabo and Ace returned to their work in a hurry.

“Love is the deadliest force in the world.” Brook agreed with all seriousness, strumming his guitar.

“So Luffy asked you to marry her? In that many words?” Sabo half demanded in excitement and some jealousy, his hands moving swiftly. “When the hell did this happen?”

“Yesterday, during the rehearsals, she wanted me to see her dress and trapped me in the room to interrogate me about the time I kissed her.” Ace said, his initially calm tone steadily dissolving into something close to rambling. “What the friggin' heck did Reiju do when Lu went to talk to her? Nothing's pierced through her haze of obliviousness before, but she got through to Luffy in one conversation?!”

“She's magic, obviously.” Sabo responded in deadpan awe; as if he didn't want the answer to that question as badly as Ace did. “You didn't answer my question, by the way, what exactly did she say?”

“Something about marrying me, Katakuri and Trafalgar,” Ace said rapidly, bouncing a little on his heels with pleasure when he recalled her words. “I can only assume she's waiting for after her dates with Zoro and Sanji to decide if she's including them in that.”

Sabo was a little surprised; he'd half expected Luffy to decide right away, but he supposed it made sense that she wanted to be sure. “Then that's why you almost got caught by Pudding? Please tell me you didn't melt half the room and set off the sprinkler system.”

“Of course I didn't!” Ace sputtered, flustered. “What do you take me for, some kind of lovesick schoolboy?”

Sabo smirked at him. “Says the man who spent literal years pining like one.” Ace tried to punch him in the head, forcing him to duck. “So the next time I give you advice, you'll take me seriously instead of brooding in completely needless anguish? Mr Romance Novel Protagonist?”

“Bold talk coming from the guy who hasn't said anything to her yet!”

“I've been busy helping her rescue our princess! She asked me for help!”

Jinbe sighed deeply, burying his face in one hand as he watched the two supposedly mature members of the Dawn Island trio squabble. “At least they're keeping their voices down.” He muttered to himself. “Relatively...” So Ace felt some attraction to Trafalgar too? He was flustered enough by Sabo's teasing comment that the dynamic he'd seen upon reuniting with Luffy gained some further depth.

Sabo elbowed Ace in the ribs, causing his brother to sputter and curse at him briefly – before both of them collapsed into quiet laughter. “Dumbass,” Sabo teased. “I'm happy for you. Now help me get this last row so we can take this back to Lu in triumph instead of accidentally tearing it in half.”

“You started it,” Ace retorted unrepentantly, a little grin on his face. “Yeah, let's finish up here. Hopefully taking a nap got rid of that headache she was complaining about. It would suck if she was distracted when you finally confess to her, after all.”

“Finally? Ugh, I'm going to kill Judge for holding me up like this.”

“I'm on board with that, but don't blame him for all of your slowness.”

“Shut up or I won't let you get a punch in on the bastard.”

“Fine.”

Jinbe's lips twitched upward slightly despite his exasperation; he wondered if any of Big Mom's children were able to have energized back and forths like this, without them devolving into cruelty and violent fights. If absolutely any of them had this deep, genuine sibling bond, then they had defied their mother in a way they they didn't even realize.

The Seducing Woods quailed in front of Katakuri's visible rage as soon as they reached the edge and got out of the boat. Law appreciated it, because he didn't have any time for the forests antics – not if he wanted to find Luffy, ensure she was alright, and then kill Caesar Clown before they left Totland – and he fully intended to! He almost wished he'd crushed his heart as soon as he'd found the kids he'd been experimenting on in Punk Hazard, damn how vital he'd been to the plan.

Katakuri had briefly explained Linlin's 'security measure' for ensuring the wedding went ahead while they rushed to reach the woods with what Law sensed was no small amount of self-recrimination. The Emperor had demanded Caesar fashion a love potion, regardless of whether or not such a thing could be created, and Caesar had taken it as an opportunity to try and kill the girl who'd captured and humiliated him. Katakuri, himself unwilling to use the supposed potion but entirely unpractised in flat out defying his demonic mother, had hidden it in his apartment. Where it should have stayed, doing nothing but gather dust, except that one of his younger sisters in her possessiveness of him actually broke in and stole it as part of her demented plan to knock off this unwanted fiance.

That was how the man himself perceived things, though Law was seriously wondering if there was a warped, possibly incestuous element to Charlotte Flampe's rage at her brother's rapidly approaching marriage. It was one thing to think any woman wasn't good enough for him, it was another to attempt to murder her especially when said woman was the subject of an alliance that her mother was determined to bind in blood. Linlin would not appreciate Flampe depriving her of Nika and Luffy yet the girl didn't seem to even be considering the retaliation she'd see for this little stunt.

Maybe it was in his head, but if there was romantic jealousy tied to that 'motive'... Law wouldn't risk offending Katakuri by suggesting the notion aloud, but he suspected it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

Regardless, what Caesar had created wasn't a love potion, but a stimulant and a poison. Law wanted nothing more than to take the man's heart back from Bege and squeeze it until the man was writhing on the ground vomiting up blood.

“She's really trying to kill Luffy?” Chopper panted as the three of them ran into the woods. The various trees and bushes stayed rooted to their places, only moving to better guide them toward the source of their ire. “But I thought Big Mom wanted Luffy to be part of the crew! Has she changed her mind overnight?!”

“No, mother's will has not changed.” Katakuri said through his teeth. “That's why I wasn't as on guard as I should have been...I can't understand what Flampe is thinking! She wouldn't be forgiven for betraying our mother this flagrantly, and she's seen how mother reacted to Lola simply leaving Totland...!”

“Lola?” Chopper asked, pumping his legs faster to keep up with the other two men. “Is that one of your sisters?”

“Yes, but don't speak her name here except to Chiffon.” Katakuri responded. “Mother has sworn to kill her for backing out of her marriage to Prince Loki of Elbaf. I haven't been able to sway her an inch on the matter...”

“Kill her?!” Chopper gasped. “B-But, isn't Lola her daughter?!”

Katakuri's shoulders went rigid. “Ngh... our mother...is ruthless to her core. We're her prized family and subordinates, yes, but her dreams and desires come first, always.”

What went unsaid, Law thought, was that he'd accepted that until just recently. He'd accepted that he wasn't entitled to love or care or even basic decency from people who claimed to love him, who should love him, until he met Luffy. She'd given him affection without any strings attached without even having to be asked and he'd been completely overwhelmed.

...He would choose her over Big Mom, Law realized. He'd experienced the exact same captivating warmth himself, after years of love being a near mythical and unknown thing, and was rendered just as helpless before it, before her.

“Flampe knows this,” Katakuri repeated, with the voice of a brother who couldn't understand why his family member was recklessly engaging in self-destruction. “What is she doing...?”

“People are rarely beings of pure logic,” Law said, sliding Kikoku one inch out of his sheathe and keeping one eye out for enemies. “Even in the face of titans like Linlin, if a feeling or a motive is strong enough, someone will pursue it heedless of the consequences.”

Katakuri's eyes flashed with a dark thought, but he didn't argue with that.

The homies were very nervous at this display of temper, being quite quick to offer directions and asking if they should wake Linlin and inform her of the goings-on. “Let my mother sleep,” Katakuri said warningly the second time the question came up. “I'll be handling this.” The tree who'd voiced it quailed, babbled apologies, and promptly vanished into the forest.

This place is even more out to lunch than the islands proper...this place is no paradise, it's a bad acid trip! Law thought sourly as he tore down the pathway. The longer I stay here, the more I feel like I'm going to get put off sweet things for life!

The woods were large; even without the homies moving around to confuse them, the minutes ticked on tortuously as the three ran toward Luffy's reported location. Law gritted his teeth to keep his worry inside and pondered how exactly he was going to verbally eviscerate the ridiculous girl for letting herself get caught in such an amateurish trap in Big Mom's territory! When had she decided she could let her guard down that much?!

“Ah...!” Chopper gasped, his ears swiveling forward. “I can hear sounds of fighting up ahead! I think we're close!”

Adrenaline surged through Law's veins. “Good.”

Katakuri put on a burst of speed, overtaking him and breaking into the clearing where the fight was taking place moments later. “FLAMPE!” He roared, causing the tableau of battle to freeze in place. Law entered the open clearing a few seconds later, his eyes locking onto the beautiful menace who called herself his ally immediately.

It...wasn't quite as bad as he feared, but worse than he hoped. Luffy was swaying side to side like a person three sheets in the wind, hazel eyes dilated and largely unfocused. Her expression was somewhere between a jarringly serene smile and annoyance bordering on anger. She was bloody from multiple scars on her arms and legs, most of which were gashes from arrowheads... except for an alarming-looking one in her side that was bleeding openly. And despite her completely loopy disposition, Luffy was standing firmly and protectively in front of...a large man buried up to his neck in the earth?

Yes, that was a human – Law was relatively certain he wasn't a giant, though he likely had giant blood given his upper body proportions. The man was slightly sickly looking, having the sallow cheeks of someone who hadn't eaten or drank much of anything for the past several days and his pink hair was dirty and matted. He was looking at Luffy with great concern, making it obvious that she had been protecting him.

The person she was guarding him from... well, Law could take a little satisfaction in the fact that despite her ill gotten advantages, Charlotte Flampe hadn't managed to avoid at least a partial beatdown at Luffy's hands. The girl was battered, bruises coloring her arms and face and what looked like at least a fracture in her right leg given how gingerly she was standing on it. However, she was much better off than Luffy, and she was holding a bloodied trident.

Law itched to cut her to ribbons.

“Kitty?” Luffy masked drunkenly, turning toward them. Her hazy expression brightened just a little bit. “Oh, special reindeer!” She hiccuped and almost fell over backwards against the man in the dirt.

“Ooooh gosh,” Chopper said in alarm. “Luffy, what did that potion do to you?”

“Potion? I thought it was maple syrup,” Luffy responded, giggling inappropriately.

Katakuri looked over at her, a stricken look briefly flickering across his face. “Luffy...” he murmured. “I'm so sorry. I let you get hurt under my watch.”

“Bhut I'ma not hurt, I seeing the pink elephanhts!” Luffy protested.

“Shut up!” Flampe screeched. “How could such a dumb broad not even get poisoned like a normal human being?!”

The force of Katakuri's haki cracked against the edges of Law's nerves, causing the doctor's spine to stiffen instinctively. What he experienced, though, was much less than what crashed against Flampe's nerves – the preteen's knees buckled and gave out from under her, causing her to fall with a shocked whimper of pain. “Do NOT speak of her like that,” Katakuri seethed. “I can't seem to find the words to explain how angry I am right now, so instead, I'm going to ask you a simple question – why?” He waved sharply, and Chopper bolted right for his Captain. Law wanted to join him very badly, but his attention is trained on Flampe – just in case the mad brat had something else up her sleeve.

“Why...?” Flampe trembled, looking up at his face. “Katakuri, what...happened to your mouth? It looks so gross! Did she do this to you? Did she cut your mouth open?!”

“Luffy did nothing to me but show me kindness.” Katakuri responded harshly. “This is my mouth as it has always is. I was born with it. Now answer the question.”

“Because that filthy monkey doesn't deserve to marry you!” Flampe exploded, either very much failing to read her brother's mood or too angry to care. “She's nobody! I don't care that she's some Revolutionary's daughter or got the sun's devil fruit, she's stupid and airheaded and ugly! How is she better than me?! You only deserve someone perfect!”

“Like yourself?” Law interjected sarcastically. The girl's eyes burned with equal parts rage and possessiveness; while she briefly turned to spit at him, she didn't verbally deny it. That's what I thought...

“Don't tell me what I deserve,” Katakuri said, his voice falling into a quiet rage. “You don't know me nearly as well as you think; quite aside from my mouth, what made you think I would ever appreciate you assaulting the woman I'm going to marry? Cease insulting her, now. If you're going to call someone ugly, I'm more worthy of such derision than she is.”

“C-Come now, I wouldn't say that.” The man piped up, for all that he clearly didn't understand the scene going on in front of him. Katakuri briefly gave him bemused side-eye. “S-Sure, the sharp teeth are a little startling to see on a human man, but it's hardly a deformity! Why, I – I'd say it gives you a somewhat mythical asthetic.”

Katakuri paused, a shiver of surprise washing over him almost imperceptibly. “And...who are you?” He asked in a more mild tone. Flampe was staring silently at him in complete shock, a tempest of emotion in her eyes. “I assume since you're buried up to your neck that you aren't someone my sister shanghaied into this ill thought out venture.”

“N-No, of course not! My name is Pound! Did Linlin not say anything about my arrival?” The newly identified Pound babbled, his hands flailing slightly. “I'm one of her previous husbands! I came here to see my beautiful daughters, Chiffon and Lola. I heard Chiffon had gotten married!”

“You're...?” Katakuri said, surprised.

“Turnip man's very niceh,” Luffy said with a smile, punching her hand shakily into the air while Chopper fussed over her. “Can we take him backh with ush, Kitty?”

Well, that was more than Law could tolerate. He crossed the field to her side in an instant, kneeling down and pressing one hand onto her forehead. “Stop talking, fool,” he said quietly. “She's running a high temperature. Do you have a prognosis yet, Chopper?”

The reindeer zoan looked up at him seriously. “It feels like a fever, but I know there's more to it. Can you Scan her, please?”

“Naturally.” Law activated his Devil Fruit with an errant though.

At the back of his mind, Op Op – Miracle – hummed thoughtfully as he took in this new medical problem being presented to him. Grotesque, but obvious and easy enough to deal with. The devil spirit mused. Trafalgar would be able to handle this even without help. Your chosen ones find the most interesting kind of trouble, Nika... it's not good for my boy's blood pressure.

Nika buzzed with good natured teasing, her pleasure at his arrival obvious. Your boy needs to relax more; it's not good for his health to be so would up all the time!

“That's your mouth...?” Flampe mumbled, sounding like she was in shock.

Katakuri turned back towards her. “Do you understand what you just tried to do, Flampe?” He asked harshly. “Forget about me for a moment, mother would be furious at you denying her the wedding she's planned for ever since Marineford. Did you think she'd be any more forgiving of you than she was of Lola? I won't tell her about this... but the wedding is directly on the horizon. You have to forget any desire you have to somehow supplant Luffy, for your own sake. I have no desire for her to be replaced even if mother was not a consideration.”

Flampe trembled, and Law glanced her way just in time to see the pain of this rejection turn to hatred and rage. “F...Fine! Who would want to marry you but a filthy monkey anyway?!” The girl burst out. “Look at your face! You look like a pelican eel, gross! My perfect brother is not you-”

Luffy's hand snapped out from her side, narrowly missing Chopper by an inch and causing the doctor to yelp in shock. Her fingers balled into a fist and slammed into the ranting brat's face, cracking her cheekbone and knocking out two teeth – the impact dropped Flampe directly into unconsciousness. “Shut up,” the captain said, sounding startlingly lucid even though Law and Chopper had only just started tending to her.

Katakuri was silent for a moment; Pound made a slightly nervous sound, like he wanted to say something kind or reassuring but was terrified of rubbing salt in the wound. The tall man looked down at Flampe, sighed, and then pivoted and walked away from her over to Luffy.

“How sick is she?” He asked, kneeling down on Law's left. He was still carefully holding the straw hat in one hand.

“Ngh... she's running a fever, but it's actually not as bad as it looks aside from the intoxication.” Chopper reported. “When Luffy was invading Impel Down, she got into a couple of fights with the Warden Magellan who had a venom devil fruit. Because of that, she's got a really strong immunity to poison.”

“The toxins here are high powered, but her body has resisted it quite well.” Law said, taking out one of his scalpels. “I can flush it all out using my devil fruit, though she'll still be loopy until her bio chemistry settles down to normal again.

“Loopy? Loops are fun,” Luffy said thoughtfully. “I reallhy liked the rides at bubble island, maybe we can go back there at some point.”

“...As you can see.” Law deadpanned, before giving her an exasperated look. “Ridiculous girl. What were you thinking? You felt unwell, so you walked off into the night on your own? Why didn't you just ask me to give you a check up?”

Luffy just giggled blearily. “Shorry.”

Law huffed. “Room.” Katakuri twitched a little when the blue void surrounded him, Luffy and Chopper. “You might want to back up somewhat. This will be a little messy, even though she doesn't feel any pain from it.”

Katakuri hummed but didn't move much; his takes Luffy by the hand and holds her as Law went to work. Chopper gave his captain a sedative to ensure that she wasn't flailing around or reacting to her hallucinations while the other doctor operated; his long experience with her lets him inject a dosage that would actually work on her. Then he went to start digging Pound out of the ground. “So you're the father of two of Katakuri-san's sisters?” The reindeer zoan asked, switching to heavy point form for the task.

“Y-Yes,” Pound managed. “I haven't seen them since they were babies, though. Linlin threw my out shortly after they were born; she said she didn't need me anymore...”

“Seriously?” Chopper yelped.

Katakuri sighed heavily; he didn't seem very surprised at all to hear that. Law concentrated on his work, muttering to himself.

“B-But I really want to be a dad!” Pound said, distressed. “I've been trying to come and visit them for ages now... how is Chiffon? I – you said that Lola got in some trouble with Linlin. Is she alright? Where is she now?”

“I'm not certain,” Katakuri replied, his tone carefully stoic. “But I suspect that since mother hasn't found her since then, that she's managing to get by. As to Chiffon... give me some time, I'll see if I can discreetly arrange for you to meet her.”

“Really?! Oh, thank you so much!”

Luffy smiled, her eyes hazy from the sedative. Law, having expelled most of the poison, hums and gives her a sour look. “Stay still. I'll yell at you later.” He said dryly.

“Nooooo... I don't like it when Traffy's mad at me,” Luffy whined softly. Her vision was focusing enough to recognize him, at least. A positive sign. “Don't yell at me. Can we kiss instead?” Law nearly fumbled his scalpel quite spectacularly. “Kitty...no, Kat – Kat, you're not ugly. You're not. Don't listen to the pink elephant.”

“...Of course,” Katakuri responded, a tenseness going out of his shoulders. “Here; you dropped this.” He placed the straw hat back on her head.

“My treasure...!” Luffy whispered in delight. “Thank you...!”

Katakuri briefly smiled, but it was fleeting. He looked exhausted. Law cast a quick glance at where Flampe was still lying unconscious and says matter-of-factly, “I've almost purged the toxin; in a minute I'll close her up and we can take her back to the hotel. What would you like to do about her?” He nodded pointedly in the unconscious teen's direction.

“Ah... I'll handle it,” Katakuri said quietly. “Brulee can keep her in the mirror world until you've left Totland; she'll understand.”

Ah. That was confirmation... he had decided... “You're going to let us go?” Law asked.

Katakuri nodded faintly. “Can you imagine the sun goddess being happy, trapped serving the whims of a mercurial emperor?” He asked. “I can't.” He left it at that. Valuing Luffy's freedom and dream over his personal desires or his loyalty to his mother. Law felt his respect for the older man rise significantly; enough that the thought of him unwittingly tagging along with them to Wano felt...tolerable.

“She likes you, you know.” Law said. “That means she wants you to come with us.”

“So she's said. But...”

“In my experience,” Law said drolly, causing Katakuri to blink because there couldn't be many people who dared to interrupt him. “there is no 'but'. Luffy will contrive some way to get you on board the Sunny unless something very drastic happens; I suggest you prepare with that in mind.”

“Traffy knows all about that,” Chopper said cheerfully.

“Didn't I tell you not to call me that?!”

Luffy giggled sleepily, causing Law's heart to do a familiar backflip. You don't have to tell me right now... But if not now, then when? It was his own fear that was holding him back, not that he didn't understand his feelings for her. Fear of the vulnerability it brought, of the realization that she was his weakness.

Goddammit...no! He refused to be a coward about this for any longer. Before the wedding, he would find the words to articulate his feelings for her, and he would tell her.

“The brat's getting married?!”

Makino nodded absently at Dadan's distressed vocalization, staring blankly down at the newspaper headline. “That's what the paper says,” she murmured. Her bar was a little chaotic, with the mountain bandit family having crowded inside upon receiving the newspaper along with most of the locals who knew their island's most famous daughter decently well. It was safe to say there was a minor uproar ongoing since the most recent News Coo's arrival.

“What are we gonna do?!” The bandit leader was almost having a conniption fit. Pirate or not, that was her surrogate daughter going into the lion's den, dammit!

“What can we do?” Wool Slap groaned, sitting at the bar and resting his head in his hands. “Even if we could get to Totland in time for the wedding date, we'd only end up getting in her way once things went south.”

Dadan gave the old mayor a look that could burn a hole through the Red Line itself. “Maybe you're okay with the girl getting married without proper parental supervision, but I'm not!” The woman said spiritedly. “I raised that girl, she's not getting married without us being there!”

“We didn't so much raise her as give her a roof over her head until she and the boys ran off to live in the forest...it's not like we taught her about much aside from the matters of se-” Dogra started to point out, only to be cut off when Dadan not to gently rammed her elbow into his ribs causing him to wheeze miserably. “Yeowch!”

“I wonder what Shanks and Garp-san think of this...” Makino whispered, gently worrying with her engagement ring. “They must already have heard about it.” As much as she also wanted to be there when Luffy got married, she knew that Wool Slap was right; she'd only be giving Linlin a potential hostage if she could even make it there – which was practically impossible as is.

She promised herself that as soon as she could, she'd steal away to her bedroom and contact Shanks on the white den-den he'd given her. She was confident he was already on his way to the other Emperor's territory if he wasn't there already. If Luffy was in trouble, he'd get her out of it.

“I can't imagine the old man intends to take it lying down...assuming he hasn't died of a heart attack!” Wool Slap said, flailing slightly. “Her marrying an Emperor's son! What in the world is that girl thinking? No, she's not thinking! When has she ever thought anything through?”

Makino shrugged, before something else occurred to her. “Goodness, poor Ace and Sabo... I wonder if they've heard the news too.” She murmured, putting her hand over her heart. “They must be in quite the state if they have.” They would get to the wedding, come hell or high water in order to place their objections. Which... oh dear. Oh, dear. “Luffy is not destined to have a calm wedding, I think.”

Visions of disaster forming in her mind, the bar maid quickly put the paper down while Dadan continued to rant and rushed for her room. Yes, she needed to talk to Shanks and soon.

Chapter 23

Chapter Text

Luffy didn't remember falling asleep, nor did she have any coherent idea of what had happened directly beforehand. She drifted off into a comfortable darkness and hovered there in a dreamless void. She could feel someone carrying her, and distantly she could sort of hear Traffy, Kat and Chopper softly talking to each other. They came and found her, that was good; even though she wasn't looking forward to getting scolded again.

She wasn't awake enough to understand what they were saying, and she found herself drifting off into deep sleep before long. She dreamed of dancing pink elephants at first, and then of a beautiful white wedding hall. It was set outside in a beautiful forest, the alter shaded beneath a pair of tall cherry trees that's blossoms were scattered across the soft grass. Luffy walked up the pathway with a cool wind in her hair; she could see Shanks standing behind the pulpit, his gaze proud and a little emotional, and waiting on either sides of the alters were familiar figures...

It was a really nice dream. Luffy made a small noise of distress when it dissolved before she could focus on her loves or what Shanks was saying, leaving her in darkness. Her mind sluggishly moving toward wakefulness, the first thing she became aware of was a gentle hand holding her own.

“...what happened?” Uta's worried voice drifted through the quiet.

“Not all of Katakuri's sisters were happy about him getting married.” Traffy replied simply, his voice a little further away. “Don't worry too much; she was acting alone, and she and her posse have been taken care of.”

“Unbelievable... the very first time she went somewhere alone and she got in trouble,” Nami lamented. “How does she manage it?!”

Uta's grip on her hand tightened noticeably. “You shouldn't have come here...” Her old friend muttered, distressed but firm.

“I'm sorry?” Nami asked, sounding caught off guard.

“Big Mom is a monster,” Uta said quietly. “Her daughter is a pale imitation of what she's capable of... she kidnaps men by the dozen to force them to have children with her. She razes entire islands when they can't provide tribute to her, and she kills family members of her guests if they don't arrive for her tea parties. You have to get off this island, and now.”

“Bold of you to assume we didn't bring up all of those things when Luffy first got the marriage proposal,” Law deadpanned. “We were all blithely ignored, and unfortunately I doubt you'll fair much better.”

Uta sighed very deeply, and Luffy felt her forehead thump gently against her shoulder. “Ngh...” She sounded really stressed out... “I wish that didn't sound just like her.”

“There, there...” Reiju's soothing voice joined the conversation. Luffy's eyes fluttered open slowly, and the first thing that came into focus for her was Uta sitting next to her bed in the hotel room, head down, with Reiju sympathetically rubbing her back. “Don't worry. This won't be the first absurd situation that Luffy-san gets herself and us out of.”

“You sound so sure,” Uta said dully. “Big Mom is one of the four emperors.”

“Doesn' matter,” Luffy responded sleepily. “'M gonna take Kat and leave this place with him, no matter what she tries to do.”

Uta's head snapped up at her voice. “Luffy!” She leaned over Luffy and cupped her cheek with one hand, utter concern in her beautiful violet eyes. “You're awake... how are you feeling? Are you still seeing things?”

“I just see you,” Luffy said, her lips quirking upward. “You got really, really pretty, Uta. I mean, you were always pretty, but now its like – even more.”

Uta blinked, and her cheeks flushed a fire red tone that reminded her of Ace's expression right after she kissed him. She squeaked a little, shaking her head before saying, “S-Silly! You're in big trouble right now, don't try to distract me!”

“But it's true,” Luffy responded, confused. This earned her a non-too gentle forehead flick. “Ow!”

“What were you thinking, going off on your own in Totland of all places?” Uta scolded her, fire filling her eyes. “While you felt unwell, for that matter! You didn't even think you might have been poisoned? You're way too trusting of Katakuri-san's family!”

“I got poisoned? Huh... is that why I was seeing pink elephants all over the place?” Luffy wondered. “Neh, Uta, it's okay! I'm immune to poison now!”

Uta's eye twitched. “You have a tolerance to poison,” Traffy corrected, sounding very tired. Luffy sat up and saw her fellow supernova lying down on the couch, staring an aggrieved hole in the ceiling. “Honestly... it's amazing you managed to survive any period of time you spent without any of your friends nearby acting as your missing brain cells.”

“Mean,” Luffy pouted, sulking. “I managed! I got through Impel Down, didn't I?”

Uta nearly blew out pure steam at the reminder. “But you really are feeling okay?” Chopper asked, his head popping up over the edge of the bed. “Your headache's gone, your head's clear, everything?”

“Mmhmm!”

“Your body really is something else...” Nami sighed, leaning back against the wall. “That kind of recovery time is not normal!”

“Uta-chan...” Reiju hummed thoughtfully, glancing at the other girl. “You're aware of how dangerous Big Mom's territory is, but you came here yourself. Without much of an escort, I might add. Are you not concerned about your own ability to leave after the wedding?”

Uta's expression darkened a bit, startling Luffy. “Don't worry about me,” she said vaguely. “Getting out won't be a problem.”

Reiju eyed her a little critically. Uta-chan, the world's greatest and most beloved singer... for a girl as popular as you, you're an incredibly enigmatic figure. No one knows anything about your past, only that you were one of the only survivors of Elgia's destruction. Supposedly the Red-Haired Pirates sacked the kingdom to increase their reputation, but if Shanks is your father, something about that report is very strange. Luffy adores and models herself after the red-haired emperor as much as Roger, so he can't be anything like Judge. Who are you? And what kind of power do you possess... if you're not at all concerned about evading Linlin?

“Are you certain?” The princess prodded gently. “You yourself observed how dangerous that woman is. Linlin collects rare and talented people not wholly unlike yourself, and she is not the biggest fan of your father.”

Uta's shoulders went very rigid at the offhand reference to Shanks. Oh. I didn't expect that... “It's true, but I'm well connected outside of just him.” She responded softly. “If I don't want to stay in a place, I won't be kept there, no matter what.”

Luffy pushed herself up with her elbows so she was properly sitting, giving Uta her full attention. “I won't let Big Mom do anything to you,” she said fiercely. She squeezed her soft hand. “I'll protect you, Uta!”

Uta felt so delicate. All of Luffy's crew had callouses on their hands from working the sails and controlling the Merry, then the Sunny in the tempestuous waters of the Grand Line. You could feel the muscles that everyone built up just in their palms and their wrists. Uta was different; her slender fingers were soft to the touch, callouses from her life aboard the Red Force faded by time. It startled Luffy, feeling that difference.

In that moment her old friend seemed like one of the fairy tale princesses from Makino's books – beautiful and gentle, an almost heavenly presence. Reiji was a beautiful princess too, but she was also a fighter, you could see it in how she held herself. Uta was a little different, more peaceful in demeanour. It's a subtle distinction, but Luffy can see it.

“A-Ah...” Uta blushed lightly, biting her bottom lip. So cute...! “Oh, Luffy. You really haven't changed one bit.” Luffy smiled. Of course she hadn't!

Sanji approached in a love whirlwind, kneeling down next to the bed. “You can rest assured that none of us would allow any harm to befall you, lady Uta!” He said, eyes alight with passion. “I will die before I permit one finger to be laid upon you or Luffy by any fiend upon this island – or any other!”

Uta gave him a slightly wide-eyed look, then glanced back at Luffy with an expression asking 'is he always like this?' Luffy giggled, nodding easily and shooting Sanji a very fond look. “I'm planning on leaving this place with Kat,” she told Uta. “He's really nervous about it, because he's been the only one taking the burden of protecting all his siblings and he's worried about them. I gotta convince him that he can make a choice for himself and things will be okay.”

“Oh... is that so?” Uta mumbled, a strange look crossing her face. It looked like she was...thinking hard? Maybe? Luffy frowned slightly in concern. “Well...I can understand his fears. Linlin won't forgive him for leaving. If you manage to take him with you, he might be barred from ever coming back.”

“Then I'll beat her up.” Luffy responded flatly. Anger flared inside her at the statement; how could Linlin not give her own son even an inch of freedom? She should love him and want him to be happy! Couldn't she see he was exhausted and trapped here?

Uta stared blankly at her at that. She looked like she was about to say something, or try to – her expression was becoming a little consternation – when there was a familiar rapping knock on the door. “Good morning, Luffy.” Sabo's warm, pleased voice drifted from the other side of the door. “Can we come in?”

Luffy lit up, her heart skipping a beat. They were back already?! “Yes! Hurry!” She said excitedly.

The door swung open, Sabo strutting in with a pleased grin on his face and a large rolled up poster in one hand. Ace and Brook followed right behind him; Jinbe and Pedro staying in the hallway to keep a look out, closing the door firmly. Everyone except a confused Uta and curious Reiju immediately pivoted to face the pair, alert and on tenderhooks. “Did you get into any trouble?” Nami asked urgently, fingering her clima-tact. “You didn't get seen?”

“Oh, ye of little faith.” Sabo said, mock hurt. Then he dropped the poster open, revealing the full extent of the poneglyph rubbings. Uta's eyes widen at the sight. “I had a harder time creeping around Mary Geoise.”

Luffy whooped in delight. Scrambling out of her bed, she ran across the room and tackled Sabo in an eager hug. “You're the best, Sabo!” She whispered. She felt the blonde chuckle softly, then his free arm sliding around her lower back to return the embrace.

“The rest of us helped too, y'know,” Ace said dryly.

“This is everything we need from here, aside from securing passage onto the Sunny for Katakuri-san and Reiju-hime.” Brook commented.

Luffy brightened at his words. That's right – she'd almost forgotten! She was so busy being angry at Judge and resisting the urge to go murder him when she learned about Reiju's real plight that she'd neglected to ask the all important question. “Ah, that's right!” She gasped, briefly releasing Sabo and whirling around. “Reiji!” The assassin princess startled at the sudden address. Luffy clapped her hands together in a prayer and bowed her head. “I have a really important request! Join! My! Crew!”

Sanji grinned broadly at the offer finally being made aloud; Reiju's mouth fell open in surprise. “I...you want me on your ship?” She stuttered, looking like she could hardly believe her ears.

Luffy nodded vehemently. “Yeah!” She said. “You're my friend! And I don't have a poison specialist!” She'd gone back and forth on what post she wanted to give Sanji's sister when the answer appeared like the clouds parting after a storm – she just kept running into poison, everywhere she went! It was like every other person she fought these days was using some kind of poison and Chopper was having trouble keeping up. While Luffy herself could resist it like a boss, the rest of her nakama couldn't do the same – who better to solve that problem than Poison Pink herself?!

And she wanted Reiju to be free, to feel the wind in her hair and sand between her toes and to never have to worry about her father forcing her to do things ever again. She wanted her caring hands and good advice to stay with them wherever they went.

“Nobody could be better at it than you!” Luffy continued, holding out both her hands to the shocked pinkette. “You're my friend! Once we've fought our way out of here, you'll have your own wanted poster for sure. I know all the others will love you too!”

“But...” Reiju slumped back in her chair, a little overwhelmed. “You hardly know me, Luffy.” Uta watches this with wide eyes.

“Not true,” Luffy dissented. “You helped me a lot just because I was Sanji's Captain. We've shared meals together and sparred together.” She walked up to Reiju. “I know that you've been suffering all by yourself for a long time. I know you've done good things under your not-father's nose and found ways to stop him from hurting people even though he treats you so terribly.” She grabbed Poison Pink's hands and held them tightly. “You're pretty and nice and funny, too!”

Reiju's blue eyes faintly welled up with tears. “Luffy... I...” The princess swallowed slightly. “I'm not worthy of your kindness...”

“Kindness isn't something you earn,” Luffy disputed. “I'm giving it to you; I want you to have it.” She squeezed Reiju's hands. “Join my crew, Reiju.”

Sanji walked over and knelt by her chair; his gaze is entreating. “Please, Reiju.” He whispered. “I had to leave you behind once; I don't ever want to have to leave you behind again. Let's live as human beings again, the way mother wanted us to – on board the crew of the freest woman in the world, the king of the pirates!”

Reiju hovered in that moment of uncertainty briefly, before those tears started to spill down her cheeks; a shaky smile crossed her lips, and as distressed as she seemed, the look of joy and hope that filled her face made her seem in that moment one of the most beautiful women who ever lived. “Alright,” she said, swallowing to clear her throat. “I think it's a much better thing to be a pirate helping you, Luffy, than a princess bound to evil. Please take me aboard the Sunny!”

Luffy cheered with delight, tackling Reiju and nearly knocking her chair to the ground as she hugged her tightly. “Yes!” She cried, burying her face in Reiju's shoulder.

“We've got a new crewmate!” Chopper, Brook and Nami cheered in unison. Sabo smiled broadly, observing the scene with pleasure; Sanji joined the hug, saving Reiju from being knocked to the floor. Ace shook his head with an admiring look in his eyes. Trafalgar pretended to seem apathetic and aloof, but he couldn't quite conceal the sense of pleasure he got from Poison Pink throwing off her shackles. Carrot was all but vibrating with excitement and delight.

Uta was smiling too, though the smile didn't quite go up to her eyes. A part of her inside was...shaken. She felt some distress at the confirmation that Luffy still saw piracy as a badge of freedom, despite all the evil and pitiless pirates she'd encountered on her journey. A wild and selfish desire to ask to join the Straw Hats herself bubbled up in her chest, to forget all about her plans and the death of Elgia to be with Luffy and court her like an ordinary girl chasing her beloved. That familiar jealous feeling she got looking at Ace spilled over onto Reiju, and the singer hurriedly batted it down with some effort. Don't be selfish!, she told herself.

Reiju hugged Luffy back, warmth burning through her entire body. She felt light, like she could walk on clouds, and the sweet scent of salt water seemed to emanate from the beautiful ravenette. I adore you, the pinkette thought with deep affection. My personal sunshine, breaking through the eternal night of my existence. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Luffy looked up at her and beamed. “I'm so glad,” she said happily. “Now let's get your body fixed up!”

“It's too much of a risk to do that here,” Trafalgar said somewhat reluctantly. Luffy twisted and looked at him in shock, prompting him to quickly elaborate. “Judge is demanding Reiju be located now that she's been absent from Germa castle for two days straight. The surgery will be long and can't be interrupted; and we don't want him discovering that we can undo his precious bio-engineered abomination beforehand.”

“His what?” Uta repeated in shock, reminding everyone that she hadn't been informed of this particular facet of Germa's evil.

Luffy took to giving her a quick explanation for what Judge had wrought upon his children, with Reiju and Sanji chipping in to provide confirmation at the songstress's horrified queries. When she was finished, Uta was trembling with barely restrained rage. “That...that monster!” Uta swore, her nails digging into her knees. “Trafalgar-san is right, Lu. As loathsome as the idea of him getting to force his presence on her for another minute is, he can't know that we can save her until it's too late for him to attempt to do anything about it. A single verbal command from him could ruin everything.”

“...I don't like that,” Luffy mumbled, hugging Reiju tighter. “I wanna just to kick his ass.”

“Be patient just until we have a planned escape route,” Sabo said placatingly. “Once we've got that, it's open season on his pathetic hide.”

Luffy grumbled at that, but nodded in acceptance. She loosened her hold on Reiju slightly and looks up at her with concern. “I don't want you to have to be in that castle alone, Reiji.” She said in concern. “I'll go with you.”

“Ah... I don't think that would be wise. Judge is still smarting from the disciplining you gave him last week, he would not be pleased to see you.” Reiju said. She leaned forward and gently kissed Luffy on the forehead, causing the young captain to squeak in happy surprise. “Don't worry about me. I can survive two more days in his company.”

“I'll go with you,” Sanji protested, jumping to his feet. “You won't be alone.”

“Sanji...” Reiju looked up at him. Sanji stared muleishly at her, broadcasting his refusal to hear otherwise, and smiles softly. “Oh, alright. Somehow I don't think I could stop you.”

“I could come and visit Germa castle too, cause a distraction.” Uta offered sincerely, determined to contribute something to the rescue. “Judge can't throw tantrums or attack you if you're preoccupied giving a tour to a popular visiting singer. I doubt he'd refuse to have me.”

Let's sing the man to sleep and force him to walk into the ocean, Tot Musica suggested with enthusiasm. Let him slowly drown while unable to control a single muscle in his body, just as he did to his daughter! Uta blinked and tried to shove the thought away, disturbed by how briefly tempting the suggestion felt.

“You're an angel, Uta-can!” Sanji said in delight, bowing to her. “Thank you so much!”

Uta smiled, her inner turmoil melting away. Once again, Luffy was throwing herself into saving someone... this time, she'd be able to help her do so. Happiness bubbles up in her chest at the thought.

“Be careful when you go there, Uta,” Luffy said with concern. If Judge tried to do anything to her, the rubbery captain would break his face, but the idea still worried her.

“I know,” Uta responded with a small smile.

“Have no fear, Luffy-chan!” Sanji cried, noodling back and forth while everyone in the room watches him in amusem*nt/bemusem*nt. “I will protect Uta-chan with my life!”

“Hehehe...! I know.” Luffy giggled, relaxing. Reiji and Uta will be very safe with Sanji looking out for them. She just needs to wait two more days... then she'll take in Kat and rescue Reiju, even if she has to beat down both Judge and Linlin to do so. “Oh! Oh, we've gotta call everyone in Wano! They need to know that we've got a new crewmate! Nami, where's the snail?”

“Already dialing, Luffy.” Nami said with a little wry smile, tapping the den-den's light coloured shell. Luffy cheered, releasing Reiju at last and darting over to her navigator. She couldn't wait to tell everyone!

Sabo waited patiently for a moment to sweep Luffy away for his planned date; he'd put it together on his way back to the hotel room after securing the rubbings, so it wasn't full 'phantom thief charming the reporter chasing him' as he would have liked. Alas, the time crunch wouldn't allow for the time he'd need to set that up as he wished. Ah well; he'll make up for it once they get to Wano.

The call had been amusing to sit in on; Ussop's reaction to hearing they had a new crewmate had been particularly funny, while Franky had been busy fretting over how to design and build Reiju's quarters precisely to her tastes and where he could start gathering materials. Reiju had been a little baffled at the man instantly bombarding her with questions about what she'd prefer and what personal effects she'd be bringing with her while the shipwright drew up plans for the expansion on the spot. Sabo could tell that she was touched, though. Zoro had been a little aggrieved that they were getting a new crewmate without half the crew being able to meet her beforehand, but he accepted it with only some mild grumbling. Trusting Luffy's character judgment. Robin had just chuckled softly and welcomed Reiju aboard.

Once the call ended, Reiju stood up and prepared to head back to Germa castle. Sanji and Uta both moved to go with her, but before he exited the door after the two women, the blonde stalled and turned toward Sabo with an emotional look in his eyes. Sabo gave him a little smile in response.

Sanji shivered, then suddenly crossed the room and kissed Sabo on the lips.

“Mmph!” Sabo gasped slightly, his hands instinctively landing on the cook's hips. The touch was sudden and unexpected, but...not unwelcome. After a moment of surprise he gently kissed back.

The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Sanji abruptly broke away, blue eyes wide and slightly panicked. “Thank you for helping Reiju,” he babbled out, before spinning and running after the two girls without another world.

“You're welcome...” Sabo uttered, staring after the cook. He's not sure Sanji heard him, he fled so quickly.

Luffy burst into giggles – not mean spirited ones, just shocked and a little pleased, but it flusters the usually smooth blonde quite a bit. He doesn't dare look in Ace's direction, he can hear the ravenette smothering laughter at his expense. Sabo took a calming breath and said, “Do you have a moment, Luffy?”

“Eh?”

Sabo turned toward her, adjusting his hat. “I thought we could go down to the waterfront for a bit. Just the two of us. After last night's excitement it would be nice to get out of the city and enjoy some peace and quiet, for both of us.”

Luffy blinked at him, then smiled sunnily and walked over to him, grabbing his hand. “Sure!” She said brightly. “I wasn't really gonna do anything aside from seeing Kat and Uta today... so let's go! I haven't been able to see you as much, since you've been doing so much sneaky stuff.”

“I was born for it,” Sabo responded, patting her hair. “Let's go, then.”

Luffy waved at the others, stepped into her shoes, then glomped onto Sabo's arm as they left the room together. The blonde felt a smile cross his lips. That's right... she liked to hold on to me or Ace whenever we went into town. At first it might have been a feeling of security, right after we saved her from Pochemy; then it was just an expression of her love.

His mind drifted back to those days as they left the hotel together; the initial days spent watching over her as she recovered, then starting to take her with them into the Gray Terminal and Goa proper for their runs. We weren't really sure what to do with her at first, even though we invited her into our company. Sabo remembered. We didn't know any girls our age; the only ones I'd ever met were noble brats, who hardly qualify as normal humans. All we knew was that girls were special and needed to be treated well...haha, not something that came easily to a pair of criminal brats. Lucky for us, she was exactly as scrappy and chaos-loving as we were; she slipped into our dynamic just fine.

Luffy nuzzled his shoulder. “What was it like breaking into Germa Castle?” She prodded. “Was it hard? What was the security like? You were a real phantom thief there!”

Sabo grinned. “Oh, that old castle? One of the easiest infiltrations I've ever done.” He said loftily. His heartbeat picked up when she lit up in amazement. “Buuut, that's about what I expected, to be honest. Judge is the kind of king who thinks that he's too feared and respected to ever have to worry about spies in places like his lab or his home castle.”

Luffy snorted in contempt, glowering. “Tell me all about it,” she said. “Did you see his face when he found out he was robbed?!”

“If Nami and I did our job right, he doesn't know yet.” Sabo responded. He chuckled when Luffy looked a little crestfallen. “He will in time, don't worry. Getting in was a little annoying, but once we were inside...”

He told her the whole infiltration process in pieces as they walked down the backstreets, from Nami managing to disarm Ichiji in more ways than one to discreetly helping some maids on their way down to the science lab. Luffy hung on his every word with enthusiasm. I always liked it when you looked at me like that, Sabo thought, his heart squeezing. I was so used to being a disappointment in the Outlook's eyes, that I was broken, trash, a failure. Yet you saw all those things they hated about me – my craftiness, my compassion for other people, my coarseness and willingness to break all the rules – and looked at me like I was the moon to Ace's sun. It healed something in me I hadn't known up until that moment was bleeding.

Sabo could almost remember the exact moment he'd felt that healing; hopping down from a rooftop and showing off the meal tickets he'd swiped from the bitchy old hag had been withholding from her servants. Ace had been disappointed that they hadn't just beat up the hag's thugs, but Luffy's eyes had gleamed and she excitedly compared him to the phantom thief from one of Benn Beckman's books. The rush of pleasure had almost left him lightheaded.

Ace was my first lifeline; the first friend I'd ever had, my only brother. We were equals, though, even if Ace was a little stronger than me. We watched each other's backs, but we didn't need to look out for each other the same way we did for you. Having someone to protect... it shapes you.

I wish I hadn't lost all that time with you.

His heart twisted, remembering the exact moment that his memories had come back.

Somebody in the comms room was shouting up a storm, and the moment the word 'Nika' was mentioned, Sabo was almost bowled over by people rushing to the visual den-dens. He wouldn't have been caught off guard by the sudden rush of movement if he hadn't been nursing a slowly intensifying migraine since the broadcast first kicked off.

He couldn't figure out where it had come from...but ever since he heard the name 'Portgas D Ace' uttered in the same sentence as 'execution', he felt like there was a nail slowly being driven into his skull.

Up until this point, the Revolutionaries had been keeping half an eye on the battle in Marineford; there had been a lot of grumbling at the speech Sengoku had given, about how there was no Justice in executing a young man for who his mother had been and how this was just another act of tyranny. Yet they'd reluctantly concluded that they couldn't appear on a battlefield siding with an Emperor, even a genial and genuinely good man like Whitebeard; something about that had really gotten under Sabo's skin and he couldn't understand why.

Why couldn't they go and save him...? Wasn't this act of tyranny a good enough reason to act, regardless of the people involved being pirates?! Aggravated and now possessing a splitting headache, Sabo had deemed it prudent to step away from the visual den and try to distract himself before he slugged someone in the face.

He sat down at a desk and stared at reports for a long time without seeing them at all. Trying to understand the weird knot of emotions in his chest – worry and fear...? But why? Did he know Portgas...?

Until the cry of 'Nika!' sent everyone running to the den. Wanting to know what the hell was going on, Sabo got up from his desk and returned to the communications room.

Nudging his way closer to the front, Sabo looked up at the screen and his breath hitched. A brilliant, glowing white figure had appeared on the battlefield – one that resembled the depictions of Nika in Kuma's Bible...! The blonde's jaw dropped open slightly in shock and he could only watch that figure zap back and forth across the battlefield, making fools out of the admirals and straight up refracting Kizaru right out of the battlefield and off into the western horizon!

But...there's something familiar about her... it didn't make sense, why would Nika look familiar to him?, but the longer he stared at the figure as she moved about the more certain he was. He knew her, he knew her, he knew her...

The execution platform came down with a crash. Sabo's heart lodged itself in his throat and he found himself frantically looking for Portgas in the kicked up dust, are you hurt, please don't be hurt – a feeling that didn't quite relax when he saw the pirate mostly unharmed. The Nika figure ran through the dush, dismissing it, and bowed to unlock his cuffs. As soon as they clicked open and crashed to the ground, Portgas stood up, and the Nika form melted away revealing -

revealing -

“Sabo! Don't go...don't leave us! Sabo!”

Monkey D Luffy only stayed standing for half of a moment. She was bigger, taller, she'd grown up, but her name and her laugh and her eyes flooded into Sabo's mind in an instant. It was like suddenly waking up from a dream, a rush of clarity so sudden and intense it sent him to his knees. Koala might have called his name in concern, but he couldn't hear her. Luffy, it was Luffy – how had he forgotten Luffy? Like a dam breaking, the second realization slammed into place and that was Ace, it was Ace's execution that had been being broadcasted this entire time, he'd been listening to his brother's life hanging in the balance and he hadn't even -

Luffy dropped. She didn't wobble or make a joke about being tired; she whispered something the den den had been too far away to catch and dropped like a stone. Ace panicked and rushed to pick her up, not even seeing Akainu bearing down on him – you didn't drop like that unless you were in dire straights, Luffy could be dying, they could both die right now and Sabo was too far away why was he sofarawayheshouldbeattheirsidewhywhywHy-

The pain in his head exploded, consuming his entire being, and Sabo could only utter a strangled scream of desperate fear before passing out.

Waking up after three days had been terrifying. The first coherent thing he said was to beg Koala to tell him what happened, what happened to his two precious people. The second thought would be that he would never forgive himself if either of them had died because he wasn't there for them, he should have been there with them. Hearing from her that they'd both escaped, though Luffy's status was still up in the air, had left him sobbing with joy and worry. Then he'd scrambled to go get to them; to get back to his two most important people.

“Sabo?”

“Huh?” Sabo blinked out of his revere to find Luffy staring inquisitively at him. It's so f*cking cute. “Ah, I zoned out on you there, didn't I?” He mused apologetically. “Sorry. When I'm with you, I get caught up in my memories... I guess some small part of me is afraid of losing them again.”

“Huh? But you won't!” Luffy said hotly, before faltering and looking genuinely nervous. “You won't, right...?”

Sabo squeezed her hand tightly. “I swear to you, I'll never forget you again. No matter what brutality my body experiences, I'll hold onto you with everything that I am.” He looked at her, blue eyes full of emotion. “Can you ever forgive me? For putting you out of my mind after I got shot...?”

“It wasn't your fault.” Luffy retorted, headbutting his shoulder. Sabo winced slightly, but a silly smile crossing his face. “You didn't choose to forget us. Don't say dumb things like that.”

“Okay, okay!” Sabo laughed softly, wrapping one arm around her. “Haha, I gotta get used to being the only smart one around here again, don't I?” Luffy looked up at him through his bangs and glowered at him in response to that. The blonde felt his heart skip a beat. “C'mon, I can smell the ocean. We're almost there.”

Luffy's expression relaxed into a smile again. They kept walking for another few minutes, leaving the edge of town and heading along a toffee boardwalk out to the far edge of the beach. There was a blessed lack of homies in this area, probably because of the close proximity to sea water – a grand line storm could swamp the beach at any time, after all. It's why Sabo chose this place, so they could have some guaranteed privacy.

The beach is very picturesque, like something out of a photo. Sabo tugged Luffy toward a rock outcropping overlooking the water and they sat down there together, looking out at the late morning sky. “What a beautiful day,” Sabo said, handing her a pack of donuts. “Even in Big Mom's territory, the sun and the sky can lift your spirits.”

“Yeah... I'm getting tired of the syrup rain, actually.” Luffy admitted, happily taking a donuts and munching on it. “So sticky...”

“It's definitely an acquired taste.” Sabo chuckled, before becoming more serious. “It's funny. Despite Big Mom rampaging across the place fairly regularly and the price she demands for citizenship, a lot of the people who live here seem happy and content. Even after everything I've seen, it feels so wrong that they feel safer here under the domain of a monster than risk taking their chances anywhere else.” He snorted. “The World Government can't even lie to their people convincingly anymore, I guess.”

Luffy chewed thoughtfully, staring out across the ocean. “You care a lot about people, Sabo.” She commented. “You're super selfless. I always thought it was so cool!”

Sabo felt warmth flood his cheeks. “I'm not that self sacrificing. I want to do everything I can to help people free themselves, but I have this...overriding desire, I guess. Whenever it comes up, it takes over my priorities no matter what's going on around me. I think a truly pure person wouldn't have a failing like that.”

“Eh?” Luffy glanced at him. “I don't think so. A truly pure person would be perfect, and nobody's perfect.”

“Haha...that's true.” Sabo remarked, reaching over and placing his hand over hers. Luffy blinked and turned toward him, swallowing the last bit of her treat. “You look happy, Lu. You never talked much about love when we were kids; did anything change between then and now?”

Luffy blinked slowly, then closed her eyes in thought. “Hmmm... I guess I never thought about it!” She said, pumping her fist. “What I wanted more than anything was to achieve my dream and keep my promise to Shanks; I thought a bit about marriage, but I figured that if it was meant to happen, it would happen along the way to me becoming pirate king!” She dropped her hand into her lap, a smile touching her lips. “In all the fairy tales Makino told me, the heroes and princesses always just knew when they were in love. I figured it would be the same for me. But I guess that wasn't the way to think about it... because I love my crew, all the friends I make in my travels, and my family, and being in love is very different from that. I didn't notice my nakama who were in love with me and I didn't even notice my own feelings!”

She burst into a fit of self deprecating giggles, turning fully toward him. “I'm know I'm not very smart, but that was pretty bad of me, huh?”

Sabo shook his head and gave her an apologetic look. “Well, you could have used a lot more help with learning about these things beforehand. It's something parents are supposed to do, and Ace and I should have known that Gramps wouldn't be any help there.”

“Gramps is silly.” Luffy said with a little laugh, shaking her head. “I am kind of sad that he won't be able to come to my wedding, though. I do want him there.”

“I understand,” Sabo said, before taking an unobtrusive breath and forging onward. “I'd like him to be there too, even though he'd try to kill me.”

“Eh? Gramps, kill you? No way.” Luffy said, shaking her head.

“Oh, I think he'll try.” Sabo disputed, giving her a crooked smile. “He was very clear back when we were kids that Ace and I were supposed to keep lovesick boys away from you. He's gonna be pissed that I went and fell in love with you instead.”

Luffy stalled, her hazel brown eyes widening in surprise. “Eh...?” She repeated in shock. Sabo smiles softly, then leans forward and presses a soft kiss against her warm, yielding lips. Something warm and explosive floods his chest at the touch, more intense than any of his dreams had hinted; it kept his nervousness away as he waited for her response.

Gently breaking the kiss, he met her gaze hesitantly. Luffy stared at him in awe, her cheeks flushed a dark shade of red. “Sabo...you...” Her hand went to her lips. “Wow...!” She giggled. “Y-You too...?”

“Yeah,” Sabo admitted, a light curve to his smile. “Me too. I love you, Lu.”

Luffy tilted her head to the side, thoughtful...then she tackled him down into the sand, leaving him gasping as she straddled him. “Never forget me again,” she whispered. “I don't ever want to lose you now that I have you.”

Sabo met her gaze unflinchingly. “Wherever life carries us, one word from you and I'll drop everything to get back to your side. You're... you're my weakness, and my greatest strength.”

Luffy ducked her head and brushed their noses together. After a moment of thought, she murmured, “When I realized you were alive and came back to me, it was one of the happiest moments of my life.” She moved down and initiated another kiss.

Chapter 24

Chapter Text

Pudding grumbled to herself as she ran a brush through her hair. The wedding is so close now and she feels like she's going crazy putting on the 'perfect sweet girl' routine around the Straw Hats she's interacting with. Especially around the Captain! Every time she had to be around that clueless dumbass of a captain who's somehow beloved by just about everyone she runs into, Pudding wanted to stab her out of pure jealousy.

Lucky you, being born with just two eyes! Pudding thought furiously, glaring at her mirror. Lucky you, being born pretty and charismatic and free to go out into the world as you please! Lucky you that your father is content to let you go after your dreams and watch you from afar, instead of...of...! Nitro made a slightly concerned sound, and she angrily slammed her hairbrush down on the table. Damn you, Monkey D Luffy! Even my fake fiance wants you! Don't you have enough?!

She didn't dare try anything against the Sun Goddess – her mama wanted the girl here and part of their army, their weapon against the rest of the world. Undoubtedly she was having Caesar prepare a number of drugs to make her 'more cooperative' aside from the love potion, fusing it all to candy. Nika adored freedom after all; she'd have to become comfortable with a...reduced experience of it after she married Katakuri. The Candy would make her more pliant.

A terrible fate for someone who loved travelling the world and chasing her dream. Reduced to a tool with no agency outside of what Mama permitted her... Thinking about that, Pudding did feel something deeply uncomfortable twist in her gut. She didn't... really like it. It felt wrong.

Yet still, Pudding mostly thought of the other girl with bitter resentment. What was it like, having a crew that was completely loyal to you and each other? A cook that called you 'Sunshine' instead of 'three eyes' or 'freak', a swordsman who served you with action instead of pretty words masking insults spoken behind your back? A rival Emperor owed her his life and regarded that favour not as an aggravating embarrassment but something he'd gladly return with affection? Even Uta, queen of singers, had come to Mama's territory because she was here, and Monkey D Luffy had barrelled onto her ship and hugged her close like the greatest entertainer alive was a lost beloved!

What was it liked, to be so completely loved?

The brunette stared lowly at her reflection, all three eyes watering slightly with frustrated tears as she pondered the idea.

Mama would kill the Vinsmokes, but because the Straw Hat Captain was so violently defensive of her crew, Pudding's fake husband would be spared. Meaning she was going to end up marrying him after all, even though he's in love with Luffy. Even if she maintained the facade of a perfect girl, she'd still be playing second fiddle to her in Sanji's heart. He'd be devastated when he saw what she was reduced to, would probably blame Pudding for it – that would kill any chance she might have of getting him to fall in love with her over time like Brulee insisted she could.

“It's not fair...” Pudding muttered bitterly, her hands balling up into fists. “It's not fair, mama! It's not fair!” She punched the mirror hard enough to badly crack it before burying her face in her hair, uttering a muted scream of rage. “Why can't I even have a husband who wants me?!”

Because you're an ugly three eyed freak, the taunting collective voice of all her tormentors from across her life echoed tinnily in her head. Look at the idiot, comparing herself to the sun goddess! Oh, maybe she'll get turned into a toad for it, that'll teach her!

Pudding cursed and choked on restrained tears, wishing bitterly that Luffy had never come to Totland, that her devil fruit had vanished into the ocean and never been found. “Why...why weren't you born a boy, Luffy?” The brunette asked the mirror; trying for bitterness, but a hint of tears entered her voice instead. “Then Mama would have arranged for you to marry me instead of that pathetic Vinsmoke...!”

She'd seen Luffy and Katakuri together ever since her arrival. She'd seen how her brother's guarded stoicism, which hadn't shifted one iota for her entire life, slowly give way to gentle fondness and admiration. And Luffy beamed at him, showering him with affectionate words and constant hugs and touches. She was so warm around him; those big stupid smiles were never fake. Pudding knew what that looked like perfectly well.

She would kill for someone to look at her like that...! Anyone... if anyone at all would see her third eye and still give her such a beaming, sincere smile...

Pudding rubbed furiously at her eyes. Stupid! Luffy hadn't been born a boy, so why was she daydreaming about dumb things like that? There was no point in thinking about that smile or longing for it. She didn't need love! She's a Charlotte! She's her mother's greatest honey trap! A deceiver and monster without equal! She wasn't weak or pining away in a tower like some fairy tale princess! She could mastermind the defeat of anyone...even the sun goddess! If she could succeed in that, her mother would think she was even more valuable than Nika...maybe...

A thumping knock on the door startled her from her wheeling thoughts. “WHAT?!” Pudding shouted, cursing herself and rushing to make her face picture perfect again. The budding tears were dashed away and her makeup quickly touched up.

“Pudding,” Katakuri's voice echoed from the other side of the hard coffee. “I apologize. Should I come back later?”

“Oh... oh, it's just you, Katakuri.” Pudding said, artificially calming her voice. It was just him... he was one of the few who never mocked me. He wasn't...wasn't there when she needed him most, but when he was, he always protected her. “No, it's fine. Just wedding jitters.” Forcibly squaring her shoulders and making the tension leave them, she got up and went to open the door.

She wasn't prepared to see her brother's face sans his trademark scarf. She'd never seen it before, in point of fact – even during the rehearsals he'd had it up, mostly out of habit. So Pudding made a strangled squawking noise of shock when she looked up at him and saw the sharp teeth and glasgow grin that often marked recent fishman ancestry in a human. “W-Wha...” She uttered, stumbling back a step. “K-Katakuri, what happened to your mouth?!”

It didn't make sense. Katakuri was – he was their perfect older brother; handsome, powerful enough to go toe to toe with Kaido's Lead Performers or Whitebeard's Commanders, devoted to them and mama. How could he be all of that and also have...what... the ground seemed to tilt a little under her feet and she gawked at him, to stunned to notice how rude she was being.

“It's always been like this,” Katakuri responded calmly, not fazed by her reaction. He stepped inside and closed the door. “I was born with it. Mama has never hinted at my father's name, but I suspect I must have gotten it from him – or at least his side of the family.”

He...said that so casually. Like it didn't matter that part of him was horrifying looking to your average person and he was comfortable with it. “Wha...but... you never...” Pudding said artlessly, her mind still playing catchup with her mouth. A very rare occurrence for her; she always came up with polite apologies or a witty response when taken off guard. Her perfect brother...looked like her? It wasn't the same as having a third eye – w-well, sharp teeth made a guy look more ferocious, didn't they? It wasn't the same. Surely.

“I did hide it,” Katakuri acknowledged, kneeling down so they were more or less at eye level with each other. “Since I was a teenager. Back then, I didn't care what people thought of what I looked, until the day Brulee was attacked by punks who wanted revenge on me. I decided in that moment that if they had feared me more, they wouldn't have touched her.”

Pudding nodded jerkily, wondering where he was trying to go with this. Her head was...fuzzy. He looked like her; his face was also messed up a little. He had...all this time?

“But to that end, I thought I had to hide everything about myself I thought was imperfect,” Katakuri said as if he could read her thoughts. “Including my mouth, which attracted so much mockery and disdain. It's strange, though... in doing so, I made myself vulnerable in a way I hadn't been before. That mockery started to matter, instead of being something I could ignore because I had confidence in myself as I was. I thought that as soon as she saw it, Luffy would want nothing to do with me.”

Pudding's jaw clicked shut. “And...what did she say?” She asked very, very quietly.

Katakuri smiled softly. “She thought my teeth were cool. I think she couldn't fathom how anyone wouldn't find them appealing.”

Pudding stared blankly at him, because what. She could hear his words, but they didn't make sense. Maybe in a storybook that would happen, but – but he's smiling. When did Katakuri ever seem happy, or anything other than stoic?

... Whenever she'd been weeping or vulnerable and he was there, he'd shown gentleness. Somehow she'd forgotten until that very moment.

“I'm sorry, Pudding.”

The quiet apology yanked her violently from her thoughts. “Sorry?” She parroted, all three eyes blinking rapidly.

Katakuri shook his head, brushing stray strands of her hair behind her ear. “When she accepted my face, it struck me... that in hiding who I really am, I wasn't able to tell you that there was nothing wrong with you.” He responded simply. “If I hid my own supposed deformity underneath a scarf, any effort to tell you that you weren't ugly or creepy would seem hollow, wouldn't it? Neither of us are traditionally attractive by human standards. If I couldn't say it about myself and mean it, why would you believe me if I said as much to you?”

“Stop it...” Pudding mumbled, backing away from him a little. Suddenly she felt like she was standing on shaking ground, like Whitebeard had punched the island and the ripples of an earthquake were about the tear the world out from under her. “What are you saying...?”

“Pudding, you're not ugly.” Katakuri said firmly. “You aren't deformed, creepy, a freak, or anything you've ever been told. You are a child of the three-eyed tribe! You have powers that those fools could only dream of. There is nothing wrong with you, there never has been. Those who belittle you are craven, childishly envying your beauty and your place in the world. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner, trapped in image I felt duty bound to project.”

Pudding's knees buckled and she collapsed onto the floor. Katakuri caught her halfway down and held her gently as tears flowed unbidden from her eyes. Why can't she stop...why can't she stop them?! She learned to cry on command, and she could always recover from that quickly! Stop, tears! Stop! Her breath heaved, leaving her chest burning. She felt like she was hyperventilating.

No one had ever...no one had ever, not even mama...!

Her brother pulled her into a hug, letting her head rest against his collar. Pudding balled her hands into fists and started hitting him weakly, trying to reject it and push the warm hug away – No! I decided! I'm a monster, ugly and terrifying and a deceiver, that's what I'm supposed to be! It's all I can be! Stop! Katakuri seemed to acknowledge it but didn't let go, his arms no less protective than when he wore his scarf over his mouth but showing a subtle, tangible degree of gentleness.

“Stop it...stop...” Pudding whimpers, weakly smacking his chest. “Why now...?! Why now, when we're about to do wretched things, are you saying...?!”

“Because I don't intend to let mother do anything to Luffy.” Katakuri confessed quietly, making her go still out of shock. The words were practically sacrilege, yet her duitiful big brother had just spoken them in her ear without hesitation. “I intend to ensure she and her crew flee from Totland even if it means engineering a scene in the middle of the ceremony.”

“But... you can't!” Pudding protested when she could think in the face of such treason. Confusion, fear for him, and a hundred other feelings fight for control of her vocal cords. “Mama will kill you! Lola blew off her marriage and Mama is gonna kill her for it – why would you take that risk?!”

Katakuri shrugged slightly. “I love mother; I can't stop, because she brought us into the world and she protected us from those who would have subjected us to the same fate Portgas narrowly avoided at Marineford for being her children.” Pudding would have pointed out that those words didn't exactly sing of familial love, but there's a rock in her throat she can hardly breathe around. “But... I'm in love with Luffy, Pudding. I want her to be free, and I can't bear the thought of what mother will do to her to make her an obedient subordinate of our pirate crew. Luffy will never submit to another's authority willingly; she'll only respect it if she respects the person exerting it.”

Of course she wouldn't. She showed that much at Marineford, and then again when she kicked Kaido's business partner into a bloody pulp and left him to get captured by the Marines. But neither of them were Mama, they can't go up against Mama, they can't-

“Pudding,” Katakuri murmured, “I know you don't wish to marry Vinsmoke. It's just as well that he's infatuated with Luffy; he'll leave with her at the same time. I don't want you to end up married long term to someone you don't love; I'd much rather you found someone right for you, like Praline and Chiffon have. They're much happier for it.”

Pudding violently shook her head. “No one will want an ugly three eyed girl,” she said, the only coherent words she could get out.

Katakuri snorted, his smile widening ever so slightly. “And no one will ever want a man with a pelican eel of a mouth, right?” He responded lightly. “Anyone who has a problem with your eyes is a person who isn't worthy of your time.”

Pudding's mouth opened and shut at what he was implying. It couldn't be...wait... Luffy actually... wanted to marry her brother...?

“Luffy has...expressed a desire to take me onto her ship and bring me along for her travels. She plans for us to get married, irregardless of Mama's plans.” Katakuri continued. He looked a little baffled when he said this aloud. “I don't believe I've managed to talk her out of that desire, but I'll continue to impress the need for escape to her.”

“And... you're okay with that?” Pudding stuttered, giving up on trying to do anything but react to his questions. There's a storm boiling inside of her, destroying any coherent thought she has. “Even if she manages to escape, Mama will ensure you can never be with her.”

Muted pain flickered through Katakuri's eyes at her words. Pudding felt her lips part in shock. She'd never, ever seen pain in his face before; not even after the closest of battles when the doctors were patching up serious wounds. He... he was grieving at the thought...? “I know.” He responded quietly. “But Pudding, whatever happens, I'll make sure you don't get hurt during the wedding ceremony. I wanted you to know so you weren't taken by surprise if things get ugly.”

He started to stand up. Pudding choked on mucus from her distress and she grabbed his arms violently, trying to hold him back. “Wait! Katakuri, don't do this! I don't want Mama to be angry at you like she is at Lola and Chiffon!” The thought was too horrible to consider... it was bad enough watching Chiffon getting beaten black and blue, unable to do anything but get out of the way.

“I have to.” Katakuri responded solemnly, gently prying her hands free of his jacket before helping her stand up. “Because that's what a man does for the woman he loves.” He gave her a gentle head pat, the touch almost fatherly, before turning and leaving the room.

The door clicking shut rang like thunder in Pudding's ears. The brunette stared at the door for a long time, tears streaming freely down her cheeks as the world reshaped itself beneath her. His words echoing in her ears, for the life of her Pudding couldn't decide what she was going to do or who she wanted to be.

“Kat! Kaaaaat!”

Luffy ran up to her favourite mochi-lover, latching onto his arm. She hadn't parted from Sabo more than an hour ago, and her heart was singing from the joy and wonder of hearing he loved her too. Sabo loved her! The revelation turned her world upside-down. Yet... it felt right, too? When he'd kissed her, she couldn't help but remember the way her heart almost exploded when he found her in the forest and she'd realized that he really was who he said he was. The immense happiness and the hot feeling in her chest... had that been that sort of love? She wasn't completely sure yet, but something inside her squeezed happily at the thought.

Boy, she was going to be so busy in Wano! Dates with Zoro, Sanji, and now Sabo too – all while putting together the plan to beat Kaido and restore Wano to Momo's family. Hopefully Traffy wouldn't get too cranky if she had to spend extra time on everything. A good date couldn't be interrupted for other things! That would be inconsiderate!

But she'll worry about that once she got to Wano. Right now Kat had her attention. The more she thought about it, the less she really wanted to get married here specifically because of how Big Mom was looming over them. She'd rather have the wedding on their terms!

“Good morning, Luffy.” Katakuri said. “I haven't kept you waiting too long, have I?”

“Nope! All's good.” She tugged on his arm. “Do you wanna go to Germa Castle? Uta's being shown around there, and she might have a mini concert in the afternoon!”

Katakuri regretfully shook his head slightly. “As tempting as that is, I must decline for now... I need to talk to you about something. Let's go for a walk along the boardwalk, shall we?”

Luffy blinked rapidly at him. “Okay,” she said, pouting a little at the thought of having to wait more to hear Uta sing again. She wants to hear how different she is now that they're older, dangit! Buuut going on a nice walk with Kat was a decent consolation prize. “Sounds nice!”

Katakuri's slight smile didn't go up to his eyes as they started walking... was he worried about something? Luffy frowned slightly, losing the skip in her step as they headed away from the crowds and out into the quiet of the edges of the island. He didn't say anything for the first ten minutes or so, making soft noises in response to her rambling about her morning and occasionally glancing over his shoulder.

Not liking the quiet, Luffy didn't let it continue for much longer. Once they rounded a bend and were decently far away from the city, she dug her heels in and looked up at him. “Kat, what's wrong?” She asked, crossing her arms. “And don't say you're fine! I can tell you're not.”

“It's that obvious?” Katakuri responded wryly. “I'm used to being unreadable, you know. You're making me slip up.” It almost sounded like teasing, which while sweet, was kinda unlike him.

“Kaaaaaat...” Luffy whined, biting her bottom lip. She saw Katakuri swallow at the little gesture but wasn't quite sure why.

“Ah, it's true.” Her fiance shook his head. “Over the last few days, I've been wrestling with a command that mother gave me before you arrived. Having become fairly well acquainted with Vinsmoke Reiju and watching you do the same... I should have informed you sooner. My instincts have been working against me.” A grimace crossed his handsome face. “Mother plans to have Vinsmoke family sans your cook killed tomorrow.”

“WHAT?!” Luffy erupted, eyes widening. “Why?! Isn't she trying to get Pudding and Sanji married?! That makes them family to her too! Even if they don't deserve to call themselves Sanji's blood... are you serious?!”

“Deathly.” Katakuri acknowledged with a tilt of his head. “I suspect the only reason Sanji-san is being spared from this is a token effort to avoid offending you.”

Well... crap! What the heck is she going to do about that? “I don't really care about Sanji's not dad, he can go jump off a cliff and get eaten by sea kings for all I care.” Luffy said, shaking her head. “His brothers are also annoying, but – it's not really their fault. He messed them and Reiju up when they were born.” Katakuri blinked in confusion at that and she belatedly realizes he hadn't been there for that explanation. “Um, have you heard about this thing Judge has created called Lineage Factor?”

“I can't say that I have, no.”

“Reiji told me about it. It makes you super strong and stuff, but it takes away your ability to be a good person.” Luffy explained. “Judge forced Sanji's mama to have it applied to him and his siblings before they were even born! She didn't want it and had to be held down by his soldiers! That's why his three brothers are such nasty, uncaring bastards – they literally can't do anything else. And he treated Reiji even worse! He's done something to her body so he could control her like a puppet by giving orders!”

Katakuri's eyes widened. One hand slowly balled up into a fist as he rolled that revelation over in his head a few times. “I never liked that preening, smug bastard,” he breathed, anger bubbling under his deceptively calm tone. “How low can someone sink?”

Luffy nodded angrily. “I won't let anyone hurt Reiji,” she said firmly. “She's joined my crew! No one touches my crew, not even Big Mom.” She crossed her arms. “I don't really like the brothers... especially Winch Green, he keeps hitting on me.” Katakuri twitched violently at those words. “But at the same time... they're not choosing to be evil, like Mingo...” She made a face. “Ugh, thinking hard makes my brain hurt... I should tell Sanji and Reiji and ask them what they want to do about it!”

Sanji... Sanji was so compassionate. As soon as she wondered how he'd react to this knowledge, she knew he'd want to save them despite everything they'd done to him. Reiji probably wouldn't be much different. Could Traffy help the boys with his devil fruit the way he could for her?

“I think that would be the best course of action,” Katakuri acknowledged. “Perhaps you should leave tonight, under the cover of darkness. Corralling the wayward princes will undoubtedly be annoying, but I imagine Captain Law could handle that with judicious use of his devil fruit.”

“Traffy's brilliant.” Luffy said, before wrinkling her nose. “But what am I supposed to do with them afterwards? I don't really want them on the Sunny.” Something about that sentence bothered her, and when she realized it, she frowned at him. “Don't you mean when we leave? You're not still thinking about staying behind, are you?”

“Luffy...” Katakuri murmured, shaking his head. “I can't leave my brothers and sisters.”

“But why?” Luffy asked, a little hurt. “I promise, I'd let you come back whenever you really wanted to. I don't want to leave without marrying you.” The thought stung. She really... she loves Katakuri... she likes cuddling with him and seeing who could gobble down more treats faster! The thought of him not being on the Sunny with her... of Big Mom finding out he'd defied her and taking it very badly... a sick feeling curled in her stomach. She didn't want that!

“I know. It's not you I don't trust, my heart.” Luffy felt a wonderful warm shiver run down her back at those words. “What I fear is that, like Lola, my mother will take her rage out at my...abandonment of her out on my brothers and sisters. Who will protect them from her if not me?” Katakuri's calm expression cracked a little, revealing something almost fragile underneath. “My crew is not like Newgate's. We aren't adored for being protective and considerate of the lands mother has claimed as her own. And while mother would never suffer any one of us being harmed without retaliation... we're not exempt from her rage, either.”

“She'd hurt your siblings to get back at you for leaving?” Luffy whispered in disbelief. She tried to imagine Makino or Dadan getting that angry at her, but her mind just blanked. She couldn't picture it. It felt so wrong.

Her children are her prisoners? Nika spoke in disbelief, her presence buzzing with mounting anger. Luffy's jaw clenched as the words began to sink in.

Her children are her possessions, Mochi corrected flatly. The usually chilled out and lighthearted devil spirit spoke with the venom of decades of repressed loathing, a tone so unlike him it made Nika briefly still. When they cease to please her, she destroys them with her own hands and pouts about how they should have loved her more. She is a vicious, cruel child, who has steadily ground my partner's spirit into less than dust for decades before almost killing him when he dared to defend his sister from her!

Katakuri started in shock. “What...?” That voice... where was that voice...? No. He'd always known it was there, but he'd never truly heard it. Not until now.

I despise that woman...you can't begin to imagine how she's made her family this broken, twisted thing you see. I've spent all this time, unable to do a thing but watch her make them suffer! Mochi seethed, wrapping his presence around Katakuri like a long-forgotten security blanket. It has been so long... so long since I've felt this kind of hate. If only I could convince my partner to force mochi down her throat until her body stopped twitching!

Mochi... Nika whispered.

Nika, help me, Mochi said entreatingly, one ghostly hand outstretched. You must convince him to reject her and take his long awaited freedom! He's never even considered the thought before now, and if she leaves he never will again... and that wretched creature will finish the slow destruction of my partner with his death.

“Kill my mother...?” Katakuri uttered in disbelief.

“Eh? I didn't say that,” Luffy said, startled out of her revere.

Katakuri blinked rapidly. “I – I know. That wasn't your voice. But then who...?” He looked around, uncertain. The woods and nearby beach seemed completely empty except for them.

“I hear a voice sometimes...” Luffy offered hesitantly. “I started hearing her right before I awakened... I think she's Nika.”

“What?” Katakuri said, taken aback. “But... how is that even possible?”

“It requires a significant clarity of mind, body and soul to hear the voice of the sea devil you took into yourself upon eating their fruit. It can be quite a shock the first time you hear them speak to you.” A new voice from inside the trees responded. Katakuri whirled around and pushed Luffy behind him, taking out a trident as he faced their sudden companion. How did he sneak up on me?!, The mochi user wondered in utter shock. I didn't sense him until he started speaking!

Luffy yipped at the sudden movement, then stared into the trees in complete shock. That figure is...!

“You've achieved a certain peace of mind, Katakuri-san, clearly.” Monkey D. Dragon said calmly. His posture was relaxed and non-threatening, though he of course was ready to defend himself at a moment's notice. “If you're hearing your devil spirit for the first time.”

“Papa!” Luffy blurted out in shock and amazement. “Papa, you're here?!” Katakuri stiffened a little as the man took a step forward, allowing him to see the tattoos that identified him to the world half hidden beneath his hood.

Dragon gave her a light smile, one that softened his perpetually serious looking face. “I've missed out on all of your milestones until now, Luffy... should I not at least make the effort to attend your wedding?” He asked.

Luffy's whole soul visibly lit up. Letting go of Katakuri's arm, she rocketed across the distance and hugged Dragon around the waist. “You actually came! Shishishishi... that makes me really happy!” She nuzzled her father's chest, marveling at his presence. She'd resigned herself to him not coming! He was so so busy with the Revolution, helping people be free from tyrants like those sh*tty world nobles... until now it had been too dangerous for him to have the weakness that a daughter who couldn't defend herself in the New World would create. His enemies would have kidnapped her for leverage in a heartbeat.

But now is different. Now she can fight those guys – Admirals, CP0, the lot of them – and hold her ground. She wasn't a paradise pirate anymore! The whole world could know she was Dragon's daughter; if they wanted to make something of it, they could come fight her if they dared!

Dragon gently put one hand on his daughter's shoulder, stroking her dark hair with the other. “You've gotten a little taller since I last saw you in person,” He mused. “Most fathers dread their daughters reaching maturity, but I can't help but feel glad for you. Maybe it's because I spent so long fearing your life could be cut short, but it lifts my spirits to see you in love.”

“You...approve? Of me?” Katakuri asked, unable to keep a note of skepticism out of his voice. “Forgive me, but that's difficult for me to process.”

Dragon looked up from his daughter to meet his gaze. “I know that you don't pillage and burn when Linlin sends you to take new territory for her, Katakuri-san.” He said. “I know that you treat the people who live in your sector of the city very well, and forgive 'slights' that some of your siblings do not. You don't turn battles with woefully unprepared marines into massacres. You have honour and decency in you; that's more than many in the World Government can boast.”

“You sing my praises freely for achieving such basic decency.” Katakuri responded, taken aback by the profession of virtue the Most Wanted Man in the World perceived in him.

“If 'basic decency' was that easy to expect from most people, this world would be very different place.” Dragon deadpanned, and Katakuri found he couldn't argue with that. “Even if I thought Luffy would suffer me to meddle in her love life, I can see why she's taken to you.”

Katakuri couldn't help the way his lips twitched upward in amusem*nt. For an absentee father, he knew her well enough to understand that much, it seems.

“Papa,” Luffy said, looking up. “When did you get here?”

“Only a few hours ago. And technically, I've only come this far to get a grasp of the situation; Karasu slipped me past Linlin's guards as he did for Sabo. Zephyr and some of our people are hanging back and waiting to hear from me.”

Luffy squeaked in absolute delight. “Zephyr-jiji came too?!” Her eyes transform into gleaming stars when Dragon nods in response.

“You were ready to go to war if mother had managed to trap her here,” Katakuri realized, planting his trident in the ground.

“Of course I was.” Dragon said simply. “Though now... I hear you're encountering something of an ethical dilemma. Regarding both the Germa princes and the possibility of you yourself leaving Totland to travel with my daughter.”

Luffy nodded. “Yeah. I don't think Sanji and Reiji will want their brothers to die, and the old hag is gonna kill them for their dad's science stuff.” Katakuri twitched just a little at hearing her nonchalantly call his mother that. “And I want Kat to be free! Even if he doesn't come with me, it's horrible that the old hag won't let him do anything but be her soldier!”

“Luffy...” Katakuri said, a rush of affection for her flooding him. “I don't think the Revolution is in the business of assisting pirates.”

“We aren't,” Dragon acknowledged, before giving Katakuri a steady look. “We are, however, in the business of toppling tyrants. If Charlotte Linlin considers even her own children to be disposable automatons – if Nika Herself sees her as an enemy of freedom who needs to be humbled --” Luffy began all but vibrating, nodding so violently he half expected her to fall over. “-- then I don't know what else to call her.”

Chapter 25

Chapter Text

“Dragon is here?!” Nami squawked.

Luffy grinned, bobbling her head violently. Law stared blankly at the girl, his thoughts whirling as he reconsidered the inevitable conflict with Big Mom with this new variable in mind. Because to say that changed the optics of the battle would be a vast understatement! “Papa is gonna make sure that Kat can go with us without having to worry about his brothers and sisters,” The ravenette said with enthusiasm. “Isn't that great?!”

Sabo was grinning like a shark, Ace nudged him with a fond grin. “So the Revolution is declaring war on the Four Emperors. Should I be worried?” He asked the blonde teasingly.

“You and your crew defend more islands from slavers, pirates and tyranny than the World Government and the Navy combined. Why the hell should you be worried? Do you know something I don't?” Sabo responded, eyes widening innocently. Ace chuckled in response.

“It will certainly make a statement, for Dragon to choose to fight Big Mom,” Jinbe observed. “He's always been cautious about the conflicts he chose up until this point by necessity.”

“Well, some things have changed,” Sabo said lightly. “I'm not at liberty to say, but things are going to get very interesting in the near future – and for the first time in a long time, it won't be because of Lu.”

Luffy burst into peals of giggles, toppling over onto the bed. She'd rushed back to the hotel room as soon as she could to report what both Katakuri and her father had told her. Law wasn't terribly surprised that Linlin intended to kill off the Vinsmokes and take their technology by force, and the only reason he personally felt for intervening in that affair was to ensure that he could kill Judge himself. However, Luffy's observation that Sanji would want to save at least his brothers and the clone soldiers of Germa rang true, and she would support her cook in that endeavour the moment he made the request.

And where she went, Law went, no matter how many headaches she gave him.

“A rare event indeed,” Nami deadpanned. “I'll go and pass the warning on to Sanji, Reiju and Uta; they're still holed up in Germa Castle.” Luffy looked like she wanted to complain, so the navigator promptly continued, “I'll be able to tell them what's going on without risking the whole island finding out, after all.”

Luffy sulked. “Mean...when am I gonna get to hear Uta singing again?!” She whined, kicking furiously like a child. “Not fair!”

“Oh, just wait until tonight.” Nami responded, ruffling her captain's hair roughly. “I'm sure Uta will only manage to spend another hour or so in Judge's castle before she realizes she needs to get out of there, or she'll claw the bastard's face off. Then you can pester her into singing for you.”

Luffy relaxed a little, somewhat mollified by that. Ace leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Silly,” He teased softly. “Be a little patient, huh?”

She swiveled her head toward the Emperor and glowered. “Be patient... very funny!” She said indignantly. “I haven't seen her in over ten years! That was all my patience, and all of it is spent! I'm sick of being patient!” She smacked the mattress repeatedly for emphasis.

“...That explains so much about you,” Law mused, slowly shaking his head. “So Sabo-ya, are you going to be securing the Thousand Sunny?”

The blonde nodded. “Yes. I'll give the ship a preliminary once over today, then I'll be bringing some of my fellows on board overnight to ensure that Big Mom's crew doesn't try anything funny. And if they have, we'll repair it in time for you to set sail.”

“Nobody better have touched the Sunny!” Luffy blurted out, irate at the thought. “Franky will – ah, he isn't here to beat anyone up... so I'll do it instead!”

“No, let me handle it if something's happened.” Sabo said gently. Somehow he's immune to the resultant pout she gave him, which Law very much envies. “I promise I'll discipline any fool who tries something thoroughly, on your behalf.”

Luffy sighed, slumping. “Okay...” she mumbled.

Ace patted her on the back, whispering something in her ear. Whatever he said, it made her perk up a little. The Emperor smiled a little before straightening and speaking to the room. “We should probably talk about the wedding itself,” he said. “Everyone should get stationed as close to each other as possible – or failing that, where they could cause the most damage and confusion. Brook, you and Uta will leading the orchestra right?”

Brook nodded. “Yes; the young lady seemed quite excited to put us at the forefront. A desire to show off, no doubt. I know I overheard her commanding some of her children to create a convenient accident and sink the vessel the lovely singer arrived on. I suspect that ever since Luffy's old friend arrived, Big Mom has no intention of letting her leave.”

Law looked over at Luffy; just in time to catch the flash of gold that flickered through her eyes. His menace lowered her head slightly, her bangs drifting down over her face. Her expression had subtly hardened in that exact way when he'd told her about Corazon. Linlin has no idea what she's called down upon her head, he thought.

A dark shiver of glee ran down his spine. He doesn't resist the smirk that curves his lips.

“She doesn't get to touch Uta,” Luffy said with an unnervingly level voice. “Brook, you make sure no one gets near her.”

Brook nodded, tipping his top hat in acknowledgement. “As you wish, Captain.”

“What would she even want with Miss Uta?” Carrot asked in bewilderment. “I thought she was just a singer. W-Well, she's also Captain Shanks's daughter, which I guess makes her very important to other pirates, but she said that nobody knew aside from us?”

“Big Mom is a collector,” Pedro responded, causing her to turn to him. “She actively searches for the strange and rare creatures and people of the world so she can bring them to Totland, and keep them within a giant book that she can flip through at her fancy. Miss Uta may not be a fighter like her father, but she has connected to people across the world with her snail technology in a way that no one else ever has. Not even the government.”

After all, her broadcasts had even reached their home of Zou – a mirage island that couldn't be found by a log pose. Almost every kingdom knew her name, even if just in passing.

“Making her very rare indeed,” Law agreed. “Though I'll say... she's very confident about her ability to defy an Emperor of the Sea, for a singer who doesn't know how to fight.” It had jumped out of him immediately when Reiju had prodded the mysterious girl about it.

“She could have learned since I last saw her!” Luffy said a little defensively.

“Then why didn't she just say so?” Law wondered. Luffy was frowning at him now, which he...didn't care for, but... more than ten years was a long time to be apart from someone. To say that he had been two completely different people between the ages of nine and nineteen was the understatement of the century.

She seemed...kind. Unusually kind, and in a more straightforward and open way than Luffy was. Luffy's kindness wasn't obvious at first, wrapped up in decisions that seemed wild and selfish before what she'd truly done for you sank in. Uta was direct in her gentleness and care for others, even people she'd never met. He'd heard it over Bepo's snail when she addressed her audiences, then saw it for himself once they met.

She was also very wary of him. Her broadcasts spoke quite frankly about what she thought of pirates and their control of the seas; though this sentiment clearly didn't carry over to Luffy herself. That didn't necessarily surprise Law; most people were inconsistent on morals stances that broad. But it was odd that she didn't feel the need to prod Luffy about the company she was keeping, despite otherwise being quite happy to berate her for poor decision making.

Even beyond that, it was an odd stance for the daughter of an Emperor to take. Had Shanks betrayed her in some way? Luffy – and by extension, the rest of them – have clearly been kept in the dark about something significant. Unless he missed his guess, Uta hoped to keep it that way, too.

“If her ship is sunk, how will Miss Uta get off the island?” Carrot asked, bringing Law out of his thoughts. He'd missed a bit of the conversation in his ruminating, obviously.

“She can come with us!” Luffy responded in a tone that made it clear she'd already made up her mind on the subject. “We'll take her on the Sunny!”

“What?!” Nami sputtered. “Luffy, we're going to Wano after this! Do you really want to drag her into the middle of a freaking war?!”

“I'll protect her,” Luffy responded. “I wanna spend more time with her.” Ace and Sabo both rolled their eyes in concert. They knew that tone of voice painfully well, after all. Seeing that little gesture makes Nami turn and start smacking her head into the wall again. “Nami?” Her navigator didn't respond. The thumps echo steadily in the room. “Do you have a headache? I...don't think that's gonna make it go away. Chopper can give you something, though!”

Nami made an aggravated noise; Law was pretty sure he heard her mutter 'there's no cure for having you as a captain, fool!' under her breath. He sighed and said, “Miss Navigator, please stop that before you hurt yourself.” The orangette hit her head against the hard candy one more time before groaning and obeying. “As for the wedding, I intend to blend into the crowd of guests and take point near the Vinsmokes. As soon as things go south, I'll take Princess Reiju, sedate her, and transport her to the Sunny. Once she's secure I'll return and help where I'm needed.”

“I'll cover for you until you've got her moved, then I'll go after Linlin.” Ace offered. “Sabo and I will be in the crowd as well.” He sighed and rolled his shoulder. “God, I'm gonna be so relieved to finally start punching people.”

“Brute.” Sanji chuckled. “I'm astonished I've only had to drag you away from two dozen fights this whole time. You should be proud of that monumental achievement!”

“Oh, give it a rest, you sneak! I'm not that bad!” Ace retorted, indignant. Law noticed how his ocean coloured eyes flared with energy when he got heated, almost like fire was burning right behind them. The little, almost catlike smirk he wore at the thought of getting into a fight with Big Mom... The doctor realized his eyes were wandering and quickly jabbed his foot with Kikoku's sheathe. Focus, you idiot!

“Right,” He said, interrupting the sibling's banter. “Sabo-ya, watch my six unless or until you spot Government dogs mixed in with the guests. Jinbe-ya, you need to stay as close to Luffy as feasibly possible.”

The fishman hummed in agreement. “I'd offer to be the one to walk you down the isle, Captain, but with your father having arrived, I imagine he'd prefer to do so?” Luffy nodded amiably. “I'll conceal myself and focus on handling Big Mom's children. Chopper, stay by my side – I don't trust Big Mom not to find a reindeer-human 'interesting'.”

Chopper's fur blanched intensely at the idea. “R-Right!” He said, admirably not sounding quite as terrified as he felt.

“I'll be one of Luffy's bridesmaids!” Carrot said excitedly. “Every bride needs bridesmaids, right? I'd love to be one!”

Luffy grinned, clapping her hands together. “Okay, then! You and Nami will be my bridesmaids. Both for here and for the actual marriage! Oooh, I'll ask Robin if she wants to be one too next time I get the chance.”

“Actual marriage... right,” Nami said, breathing out. Her smile reappeared at the thought. “Okay, bridesmaid it is. I won't have any problem sneaking my clima-tact into my dress.”

“I'll help mind the Sunny,” Pedro volunteered, a serious look on his face. “Be on your guard, everyone.”

“Always.” Law responded. There was a general noise of determination in the room, and he got up and walked out the door. One hand slid into his pocket, and he glanced over his shoulder. Luffy blinked when his gaze fell on her; then she read his expression, lit up hopefully, and scurried toward him. Law exited the room, smiling slightly to himself.

Luffy was all but bubbling with excitement as she chased Traffy out of the hotel. The other captain swerved on the street corner and headed to a small, empty park – with the wedding directly pending now, most of the citizens had migrated to the kitchens to help the Head Chef cook up the venue on which the 'marriage' would take place. The quiet and general privacy made her hopeful – was Traffy ready to talk to her?

She hoped so. She really hoped so.

Traffy... he was so guarded. He yelled at people to go away when inside, he desperately wanted them to stay. He acted like a looming, terrifying pirate who cared about nothing but his goals even though he cared about children who were being used and worried about the safety of Zou if they weren't there to protect it from the Beast Pirates. It was really silly sometimes, but Luffy knew that it was a cloak hiding a whole lot of pain.

He'd reminded her so much of Ace when they got to Dressrosa. They had wildly different personalities, and yet they both stayed good people and they both lost so much. Luffy became hell bent on proving to him... I'm here for you. I want to be with you. You will NOT lose me.

She enjoyed how he kept her centered, his funny reactions when she surprised him. He's saved her life; sometimes she could almost remember feeling his warm hands as he treated her, his deep baritone murmuring for her to not give up now. You've never backed down from a thing in your life, haven't you? So fight! When she felt like she was falling away into darkness deeper than any sleep she'd had, those drifting words mixed with Ace's soft pleas anchored her. Holding onto them helped her wake up. When she first saw Law after waking up, she could only think 'his eyes are as pretty as his voice!

He made her laugh. His respect for her, approaching her as the one who would help him bring down Kaido, made her heart skip a beat. His quirks like his hatred for bread and love of the Sora comics were endearing. And even though he was so, so guarded... during the fight at Dressrosa, he'd exposed his heart to her completely. Telling her about Cora-san.

Luffy adored him so much, she was a little worried she'd scare him straight back into his shell if she told him how she felt. Traffy always had his guard up, even if he'd relaxed it somewhat now.

Trafalgar sat on one of the benches and relaxed on it, looking at the chocolate fountain in the center of the field. Luffy sat down next to him and ignored the tempting treat in favor of trying to read her tattooed doctor's expression.

“...I notice you don't wear jewelry,” Law commented. Luffy felt her shoulders slump a little and she tilted her head in confusion.

“It's nice, but I can't wear rings; I'll just end up breaking them when I'm fighting.” She said.

Law nodded simply. “It's a fairly universal experience. Some pirates love to drape themselves in gold and pearls, but the minute a real fight breaks out they're the first things that'll get snapped or lost. Some are capable enough with Haki that they can extend it to what they're wearing, so it's less of an issue for them, but that's hardly a universal ability. Because of that... in the North Blue, at least, there's a ritual that pirates partake in. Involving earrings.”

Luffy blinked. “Huh? Really?”

Law nodded, taking a subtle calming breath. “Pirates still marry, whether or not they can find a church that's willing to hold a traditional ceremony for them.” He said. “Rings are some of the easiest bits of jewelry to break in a fight after necklaces, when it's not just getting in the way. That became apparent fairly quickly, and... well, it's an old story.” He looked up at the sky. “Supposedly a lighthouse keeper's daughter married a pirate and became dismayed when he returned to her sans the ring she'd given him, since it had been lost in a bad fight. He apologized and promised to commission an exact replacement, but she put her hand on his mouth and told him not to worry about it. The next day she came to see him on the dock, she offered him a pair of custom made earrings she'd purchased with a few years worth of savings. 'This way, you'll always have a part of me with you... so long as you protect your ears!'”

He snorted. “What romantic nonsense... can you believe that rough and tumble pirates love that story? Most wouldn't be caught dead reading it.”

“I wouldn't! That sounds amazing!” Luffy said in excitement. “Oh, Shanks said a long time ago that Roger gave Rouge a pair of earrings instead of a ring when they got married. I thought that was something she did, but it's common back in your home?”

“My home is the Polar Tang,” Law corrected her with only a little heat. “But yes. The story got spread around, and the tradition caught on. Some just use the most expensive earrings they can get their hands on, while others go through the trouble of having them custom made as a showing of affection.”

Luffy reached up and touched her ears. “Ahhh, I don't have mine pierced yet,” she realized. “I need to fix that.”

“I noticed,” Law murmured, before twitching and suddenly shoving one hand into his coat pocket. In a flurry of movement, he wrenched a silver box out and slapped it into her hands. “Take these anyway. If you want them. Chopper-ya could do the piercing for you.”

Luffy blinked owlishly at him, then her heart skipped a beat. “Ah...!” Her fingers scrabble with the box for a second before successfully snapping it open. Her heart leapt when she saw what was inside; they were a pair of gold suns set in the middle of smooth, black diamond hearts, the rays little rivers of red and gold mingling along the heart's surface.

Custom made. The heart matched the tattoo on Traffy's chest as perfectly as a diamond could be cut, and the suns – they were her. Luffy's heart beat violently against her ribcage in a rush of surprise and joy that nearly knocked her senseless.

Law stood up, tapping his foot rapidly as he waited for her reaction. His shoulders were rigid. “W-What? They're earrings. They can mean whatever you want them to mean,” He half babbled, still braced for a potential rejection. Even after all this time, he was still struggling with the fear that she'd send him away?

He's so silly. Luffy hopped to her feet, grabbed him by the arm and turned him around so he was looking at her. “Trafalgar,” She said.

His eyes widened. “You've known how to say my name all along?! You-”

Luffy leaned forward and kissed him firmly on the lips, quieting his no doubt lengthy tirade. She held it briefly before parting from him. Those wide golden eyes meet her own. “I love you too,” Luffy said sweetly.

Law's mouth opened and closed without any sound coming out. His cheeks flushed a dark shade of red as his brain tries to catch up on what just happened. “Pierce my ears for me, Traffy!” Luffy asked, bumping their noses together. “I wanna put these on right now! Please, please!”

“I...you accepted...” He stuttered a little – stuttered! It was so cute! “R-Right, sit down on the bench. I think I have what I need.” Luffy happily dropped back down on the bench. Law stared at her, the shock in his golden eyes softening just a little to reveal warm, genuine happiness. “Sideways, I need to see your earlobe.”

Luffy giggled and removed her hat, carefully setting it on her knees and cradling the box on one hand. Law ran his fingers through her hair, the touch lingering longer than his usual brisk medical contact; moving it aside, he marked out the spot and pierced her right ear. Luffy didn't even wince, instead giggling at the little prick of pain. “Hold still,” Law said. His usual chiding was softer than usual.

“Sorry.”

It was quick work; piercing was a fairly simple thing, after all. As soon as Law cleaned the new openings, Luffy pulled the earrings out of the box and put them on one after another. Hopping to her feet, she spun in a circle, testing the new feeling, the subtle weight. She felt giddy, and she pivoted to beam up at her now-fiance.

Law touched her cheek with one hand, a slight but definite tremble in his long fingers. “You... you're a menace,” he uttered, a smile lighting the edges of his lips. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Marry me,” Luffy responded impetuously, the well, DUH implicit in her ever-cheerful voice. It always drove him crazy, first with genuine aggravation and then with a mixture of why are you like this with f*ck why do I have to love you so f*cking much, yet in that moment it was exactly what he needed – wanted to hear.

“Haha...! Yeah.” Law grabbed her and pulled her flush against his chest. He's taller than her, if not as much so as Kat, and Luffy was lifted up onto her toes as her head pressed into his collarbone. “You're mine. I...”

A word, a phrase echoed through his mind from a long time ago. A sentiment he'd been unable to return out loud before it was too late, the blanket of silence protecting him keeping the desperate words from reaching the intended recipient. It was a different kind of love, back then, but the word could be used in both contexts. He wouldn't miss it this time.

Law rested his head in her dark hair. “Aish*teruze, Luffy.” He whispered with something akin to reverence. She hugged him like a cobra in response, her soft giggle filling the quiet air around them.

The peaceful moment between you lingered for a long moment before a voice called out to them – though not a familiar one. “There you are...! Finally. Straw Hat Luffy!” Law's head snapped up and he disentangled himself from a surprised Luffy, one hand going to Kikoku's hilt. “How dare you make me look for you like this after what you just did for me!”

A woman with pink hair and carrying a baby in one arm was rushing toward the park; he didn't recognize her from any wanted poster, but he did recognize the two men trailing after her – Pound, the man from the Seducing Woods, and Capone 'Gang' Bege. The former looked happy and relieved to see Luffy, while the latter looked somewhere between having sucked a lemon and a man trying to figure out how to salvage a first impression.

“Hi?” Luffy squeaked. “Why are you mad at me? Whatever it was, I didn't do it!”

“Mad?!” The woman retorted breathlessly, scrambling down the steps into the park. Completely ignoring Law, she threw her free arm around Luffy and pulled her into as tight a hug as she could manage without squishing the baby. “Perish the thought! It's thanks to you that I've been reunited with the father I never had the chance to know! Thank you, thank you so much...!”

“Huh?” Luffy said, eyes wide. She looked over to Law for some sort of explanation; sighing – not without amusem*nt – Law pointedly nodded in Pound's direction. His sun turned toward the guy and after a few seconds it seemed to click. “Oh! You're turnip-guy's daughter!” She said in realization.

“Turnip-guy?” Pound repeated, laughing awkwardly. “Yes, that's me! Thank you for your and Katakuri-san's help, Captain Luffy; this is my daughter Chiffon, my grandson Pez and my son in-law!”

“Bege,” Law acknowledged with cool politeness.

“Law...” Bege uttered, looking at him in surprise. The other man quickly stowed his emotions, though, replaced with calm professionalism. “I didn't expect to see you here, much less in her orbit.”

Law merely smirked back in response, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Shishishishi...!” When the pieces finally clicked in Luffy's rubbery brain, she chuckled in a carefree way and hugged the woman – now identified as Charlotte Chiffon – back. “You're welcome! I was only out there by accident, so it's good that it worked out! Nami can't yell at me anymore!”

“Oh, I think she can.” Law responded drolly. Luffy pretended not to hear him.

Chiffon released Luffy and gave her a watery-eyed smile. “Ah... I'm sorry, I'm not usually anywhere near this weepy.” Dashing her eyes clear, she continued, “I owe you a big favour; my husband and I were hoping we could speak to you about that. If not today, than perhaps tomorrow morning? We have very little time left before the wedding, I know, but that's part of the matter.”

Luffy blinked owlishly at them, then said, “Maybe tomorrow? I wanna hang out with Uta tonight.” Law tried not to take too much pleasure in how Bege struggled to keep a straight face and not look annoyed because his wife was happily nodding in acceptance.

Uta left Germa castle reminding herself that listening to Tot Musica on any level, even if the Demon King was advocating for drowning Judge Vinsmoke, was something she absolutely could not do.

She'd done her job well, acting innocent and fascinated by the history lessons Reiju had given her and eating up hours of the day she and Sanji would otherwise have had to spend with Judge. The man's black mood was obvious underneath his sickly sweet attempts to flatter her upon her arrival and his attempts to suggest she travel with Germa when she was to return to the Elgia remnant. He was furious with his two renegade children, but was too desperate for the capital he could potentially mine from her visit to force them to leave her company.

He was self important, put on the air of sophistication that was a thin, thin veil over his sneering ego and his disdain at the very idea of having moral character. Knowing what he had done, it was all that Uta could do to keep up her songstress mask in front of the evil bastard. Really it was as much a relief to her as to the prince and princess that she could escape his presence for sections of the tour.

But the sun was starting to go down now, and so Uta reluctantly waved goodbye to Luffy's friends and politely but firmly declined Judge's offer for an escort before leaving the castle. She had to get a fair distance away from the 'kingdom of assassins' before she felt like she could breathe again.

Why NOT kill him?, Tot Musica asked, almost pouting. Do you really think he'll survive the upcoming battle? One of Luffy's allies will deem him too much of a potential risk and deal with him. It'll be quick and offhanded. Doesn't he deserve to suffer?

Uta gripped the sleeves of her coat. Why don't you ask Nika? She thought back waspishly.

Nika is too sentimental for her own good! Tot Musica responded heatedly. She rejected the world I tried to make for her, and how did the mortals thank her? By groveling in front of slavers and kissing the feet of tyrants and petty little bastards like Imu.

Am I supposed to know who that is? Uta thought as dismissively as possible.

Tot Musica snickered merrily at the question. But he seemed to realize that she wasn't fazed by his pestering, so he retreated again with a sense of annoyance. Uta sighed in relief. It felt too easy, but the longer the Demon King spent brooding, the longer she'd stay sane.

She wanted to see Luffy. She said they'd meet out on the beach, right? Uta put some speed in her step and pulled her hood up, hiding her hair. Moving quickly to avoid her fans or any hangers on, she cut across the island and onto the boardwalk. Taking a deep breath, Uta did her best to let the tension out of her shoulders and relax.

She didn't want Luffy wondering if something was wrong.

It took about fifteen minutes for her to walk out to the beach; partly because she kept stopping and walking in a circle to make sure she wasn't being followed. When she finally stepped out onto the sand, Luffy was already there waiting for her.

Her sun turned around and beamed when she caught sight of her. “Uta! There you are!” The sunlight glinted off the earrings she was wearing; Uta blinked rapidly, she didn't think that she'd seen Luffy with earrings this morning, or before that. Earrings... those could be a wedding gift... “Sing for me! Please? Pleeeeease?”

Her heart squeezes tightly; Uta swallowed over it and smiled back, walking across the soft sand to her. “Sure,” She whispered.

Taking Luffy's hand in her own, she took a breath and started to sing a sea shanty. Her love's immediately bewitched expression filled her heart to bursting; the rush of pleasure gave her all of her confidence back, and she moved from one song to the next easily while enjoying the sight of having rendered the eternal chatterbox that was Monkey D Luffy speechless. So captivated was she with her achievement, she almost fumbled lyrics that she knew by heart. Her concert experience allowed her to catch herself and rebound, though Luffy seemed so absorbed that she might not have even noticed.

Uta knew a lot of songs and many dances to go with them. Luffy didn't seem to mind, though; she'd hardly have finished one song before the sun goddess was clinging to her and sweetly pleading for more. Those hazel brown eyes were gleaming with awe, and something else; something Uta was certain her lovesick heart was inventing out of nothing.

Time whirled past them as they moved in circles around the beach, Luffy listening and being so quiet when she wasn't trying to sing along – which was rare, startlingly rare because she was attentive to every note that left Uta's lips with a reverence that was almost like worship.

“I'd give my all to have just one more night with you,” Uta crooned, pressing their foreheads together. “I'd risk my life to feel your body next to mine...” Love songs she knew, and it wasn't odd for girls to sing them together, so she could safely use them to whisper every secret from her heart that she didn't dare speak out loud.

The love of a dying girl was crueler than any curse a demon could hope to conjure. Even the Demon King himself.

Uta gladly sang and sang until her throat started to feel dry and sore. “You're voice is so beautiful, Uta,” Luffy whispered when she stopped, coughing slightly. “Really...!”

Uta gave her a shy half smile, and started to respond when suddenly the waters not far from the beach rumbled and split open. Luffy's eyes widened; she tackled Uta down to the sand, covering her protectively as displaced sea water rushed up the beach and soaked both of them through their clothes. When the shaking stopped, Luffy was back on her feet, standing in front of Uta and ready for a fight.

It wasn't an attack that displaced the waters, though – it was a ship. The coating popping now that stealth was not as valuable, the ship bobbled like a cork for a long minute before stabilizing in the relative calm of the waters. Uta sat up slightly, blinking blearily; the sea water soaking her clothes made her a little woozy and lethargic, though it wasn't enough to completely cut her powers or Luffy's. When her vision came back into focus, however, she froze in place as if she'd been sucked under water like a rip tide.

The ship was the Red Force.

Chapter 26

Chapter Text

Shanks didn't survive this long by being a fool. He was perfectly aware that Uta would be less than pleased to see him, nor would she be keen to escape Totland with him and his crew. He had left her years ago, letting her believe that he had abandoned her and betrayed everything he taught her by slaughtering Elgia for reputation points. The only alternative had been to take her with him and be unable to protect her from those who wanted to gain control of her.

Leaving her behind had been akin to cutting out his heart and abandoning it on the shoreline. It was... it was the reason he'd gotten so hyper focused on Luffy that day in the East Blue, prioritizing his other little girl's safety to the extent that he ended up getting his arm bitten off by a minor Sea King.

He'd poured absolutely all of his haki into his back and the arm he'd been holding Luffy with, leaving half of his body vulnerable. It had been almost a trauma response, though he hadn't told his ornery 'Uncle' as much when the other Emperor had asked (even though the old man would have understood perfectly).

He believed Luffy was the new era, wholeheartedly! But that hadn't been his overriding reason, diving into the water and cursing his moment of distraction as coherent thought abandoned him. No, he'd just completely panicked at the thought of losing his other little girl.

The Red Force rocked a little upon surfacing, needing a moment to settle in the calm waters. The sickly sweet scent of Totland's air hit his nose like little knives; Shanks grunted, pushing himself up onto his feet. Adrenaline hummed through his veins like when he'd confronted Kaido, putting himself between the rampaging beast and his target. He wished he felt as confident.

If Uta reacted badly enough to their reunion, she might use her devil fruit power on him to keep him away. And unfortunately, unless he blew out his eardrums there wasn't much he could do about that.

An old, long scar on his chest throbbed. Shanks put a hand over his heart, a little hiss leaving his mouth. His body remembered the death of Elgia very well, the anticipation and unease he refused to let cloud his mind taking the form of a shivers going down his shoulders to the base of his spine. He could almost feel the black music notes carving into his flesh like it happened an hour ago.

If he was afraid, he thought it reasonable. After all, Tot Musica had nearly killed him and his entire crew at the height of their frantic battle against him.

Shanks suspected that, if the Demon King hadn't been somewhat underestimating him and riding high on having finally escape after so many years, the monster would have wiped them out. He could clearly remember staggering across the blood soaked ground, one hand staunching the gaping wound in his chest while the other drove his sword into Tot Musica's skull where they'd managed to pin it down. They'd fought it for hours as the flames raged high around them; the pressure and the hellish music emulating the never-ending nightmare it had plunged some select Elgia citizens in before slaughtering their living bodies. There had been several times when he'd thought he would die... only thinking of Uta and turning his determination to save her into endless strength allowed him to patch himself up and keep fighting.

Driven by his love for his daughter, Shanks had managed to kill his living form – driving him back to the dream world, they couldn't kill him, not when none of them were in the dream world to kill it there at the same time. But it was enough, enough to save Uta and stop its rampage from rolling across the world.

Those blazing black eyes stared up at him with such hatred in that moment of death, a haki so powerful that Shanks's heart temporarily stopped underneath it. He collapsed on the ground as the Demon King's body dissolved into a lake of black blood.

Gordon and wonderful, loyal Benn had needed to give him emergency CPR -- even though the latter was half conscious and the former had been helping his overworked doctor keep the others alive. Shanks groggily regained consciousness with his clothes soaked in the demon blood and wrapped in bandages, Uta unconsciousness in Gordon's arms, and his rattled crew looking around the devastated scene somewhere between horrified and panicked.

Shanks had shakily taken Uta from Gordon and quietly demanded some sort of explanation for the hell he'd just fought though. He hadn't gotten many.

“The Sing Sing fruit fell out of history by design,” Gordon said, looking despondently at the ruins of his beloved kingdom. “According to the stories passed down the royal line, Empress Lucia's final command before she went to bind the Demon King to the fruit was to place it in Elagia's deepest vault, to never speak of it, and that only the royal line of the kingdom would ever eat it. This remained law of the lands as far back as our records go.”

“Then how did Uta come to eat it?” Shanks asked sharply. His ribs creaked in displeasure at the movement; he winced and leaned back on the rock propping him up. Uta stirred a little but did not wake.

Gordon shook his head helplessly. “I can't say, I'm sorry; it happened during the Void Century. There was a minor civil war between two branches of the royal family, and some of the survivors left the kingdom. The vault seemed locked shut to my eyes the last time I looked, but... for one reason or another they must have left with it.”

Resulting in the Sing-Sing fruit eventually being eaten by Uta before he found her... Shanks remembered coming across a bloody arena, checking for treasure or survivors. He's suspected that her parents had run out of options and hidden her in the chest before their deaths. Just more victims of the dark side of the Golden Age of Piracy.

But...they must have been the descendants of that branch line of the Elgia Kingdom's royal line. There was a chance whoever had been after them had known the stories and recognized the family for who they were. Maybe the family had even encouraged Uta to eat the fruit before hiding her, as a latch ditch attempt to prevent Tot Musica's escape.

“I hadn't believed he was real...” Gordon lamented. “The awakening hymn... the first prince to eat the devil fruit wrote it in his sleep, influenced by Musica. It all sounded like a fairy tale... the Demon King had passed out of living memory. Those who haven't eaten the fruit could sing it without anything terrible happening, after all; for a while it was even sung at festivals dedicated to our mythical Empress.”

The poor man's shoulders shuddered with misery and guilt. “My family and I... we should have destroyed the sheets long before your daughter came across them. I'm so sorry.”

Shanks screwed his eyes shut and withheld his more emotionally-driven responses to that statement. Every part of his body hurt; there wasn't enough morphine to go around for his dose to completely blunt it.

“He's still alive. The Demon King.”

His head snapped up at that solemn statement. A mixture of disbelief, rage and incredulity flooded his chest.“How.” He demanded, supreme king haki cracking in his voice. It has the added effect of quieting his crew, who erupted into a storm of babble at that statement. “I put my sword through his skull with all the haki I had and shattered it.”

Gordon shut his eyes. “Indeed... you've banished him back to the Dream Realm. But Sir Shanks.. demons don't die the way people do. According to the words of Empress Lucia, Tot Musica can only truly be destroyed if he is killed in the real world and the dream world simultaneously.”

Shanks clutched Uta against his shoulder. Dismay and creeping dread pooled slowly in his stomach. That fight, this fight only in the waking world had almost killed him – and it had taken him and his entire crew. To separate an attempt to fight the monster on two fronts was nothing but suicide.

They weren't strong enough. He wasn't strong enough. A creeping despair, akin to the last time he'd seen the only mother he'd ever had, slowly freezes his chest as he realized what his dwindling, dire options for his daughter's safety are.

“He's tied to Uta, now.” Gordon said with a note of grief. “I suspect he hypnotized her into singing the music when she approached it. She's so young, her haki would be completely dormant... seeing what he's done using her voice will destroy her...”

“Then we won't tell her.” Shanks muttered. His heart twisted into that knot; the one that had formed in his throat when he touched down at Loguetown in another lifetime. “And we won't let the world discover the Demon King's power has changed hands.”

Shanks rubbed his chest scar firmly, the pressure forcing him out of the reverie. Surrendering to his guilt and regrets would not help him save Uta and Luffy; he'd spent long enough dwelling on those things at the bottom of a bottle. This time would be different. He was different. Even if Uta hated him, he would do everything in his power to keep her safe.

“Shaaaaaaanks!”

His observation haki warned him exactly two seconds before the rubbery missile slammed into him; enough time to take a bracing stance and prepare his one arm to catch her. Yet he'd been deep enough in his swirling emotion that the sheer impact still caught him by surprise. Shanks staggered backward, the full weight of Monkey D Luffy wrapped around his midsection.

He'd almost forgotten just how bright she shone in his Observation Haki; she almost drowned out the rest of the world. Like brilliant sunlight. His arm instinctively wrapped around her slender waist as his little girl – well, she wasn't so little now – jerked her head up and fixed those brilliant hazel eyes on him. “Shanks! Shanks! Shanks!” Luffy chanted, her enthusiasm spilling out all over the Red Force. “Shanks! You're here! I can't believe you're really here!”

The intensity of her presence almost drowned out Uta's. Shanks blinked in shock when he realized he could feel his other daughter right down on the very beach. Her emotion violently spiked, shockpanicangerdistress swirling wildly within her and within that -

The black haki. Shanks instinctively gripped Luffy's shoulders tightly when it bit into the edges of his consciousness in a pure snarl of rage. His chest scar throbbed with remembered pain, even though the presence was so faint; wound thoroughly with Uta's haki presence.

A presence that rapidly retreated from the beach after a moment of frozen shock between them. Shanks looked over Luffy's shoulder in time to see the white and red flash of his daughter vanishing into the woods. His stomach dropped hard; but he stowed it away with long practice and smiled softly down at the girl in the straw hat.

“Of course I am,” Shanks said, gently placing a hand on head. Brushing his mother's hat down her back so he could ruffle her hair just like he had so many times back in Windmill Village. “I wouldn't miss my favourite pirate getting married for the world.”

“But you said that we'd meet only after I became a great pirate,” Luffy gasped, leaning into his touch like a child. Her grip around his waist somehow got even tighter. Afraid he'd vanish into thin air as soon as she acknowledged this. “I'm not Pirate King yet! I haven't got my whole crew yet! I haven't gotten close to the end of the Grand Line even!”

Shanks shook his head, a soft laugh bubbling up in his chest. “Hey, hey hey,” He said, tilting her chin up. “C'mon, I said that you would give me the hat back when we met at that time. I didn't say that I didn't plan to ever see you again until then.”

“Yeah! We would have come to visit a lot more if Garp hadn't been so cranky when he found out we were friends with you,” Lucky Roux said eagerly. “He was on us after that day! Chased us straight into the Grand Line and right into the New World!”

“Really?” Luffy gasped.

“You didn't realize that when we caught up after the Paramount War?” Benn asked, surprised. He'd thought that it went without saying.

Luffy shook her head. “I thought was – I dunno, special? Because I'd turned into the Sun Goddess and the whole war thing?”

“Silly,” Yassop chuckled. “Glad to see that some things don't change. Garp spent what felt like a whole year directly on our heels no matter which way we turned; a couple of times I was actually starting to get worried.”

Luffy huffed, puffing up her cheeks. “That Gramps! First he told me I couldn't get married and then he chased my best friends off to the other end of the oceans?! Why does he hate fun so much?! Grrr!” She released Shanks, pinwheeling her arms in indignation. “I'm gonna give him a smack when I see him next! A whole bunch of them! That meanie!”

Shanks couldn't help it; he started laughing deeply, the anxiety that had his chest in a vice loosening ever so slightly. “Hey, don't get too mad at him.” He said, raising one hand. She gave him a most incredulous look and he smiled a little. “He may be a little narrow minded in places, but he only wanted you to be safe.”

“Safe from what? You?” Luffy said, wrinkling her nose adorably. “Stupid!”

“Stupid indeed,” Shanks agreed nonchalantly as if that didn't undermine the point he was trying to make. “But when you love someone a lot, that can make you kinda stupid.”

Luffy tilted her head to the side and gave him a stare that said, 'I don't believe you'. The sunlight glinted off the brilliant gold Shanks hadn't noticed until just then; startled, he lifted one hand and gently brushed his fingers against her ear and then down along... Yeah. Those were earrings. Custom made earrings, a sun charm set against a black heart.

“You got your ears pierced,” He commented lightly. There's a ripple of shock through the rest of his crew, and they formed a ring around their young friend to confirm things for themselves. “These are quite beautiful.”

His mother Roger had had a mixture of studs and hoop earrings representing her marriages; if he closed his eyes and remembered, he could still hear them chime gently as she ran across the deck, burning with excitement for whatever challenge the day was presenting. Rayleigh's earrings were ruby crescents set in gold; Newgate's had been silver wind chimes; for her laugh, he'd said. Gaban's gift had been studs in the shape of stars. Bullet's had been lapis sword charms. He could still see them all in his mind; they were sitting safely in a case she'd given to Rayleigh before –

She wore one traditional wedding ring, the one Rouge gave her, and she'd been very protective of it due to its more vulnerable placement on her person. Buggy had gotten whacked with a newspaper multiple times when he unwisely chose that particular treasure for pickpocket practice. The ring had been set with a rare blue diamond that Rouge had found on his adventures; he'd run all over the place trying to find someone who would cut and set it before Rayleigh came to his rescue.

Shanks swallowed ever so slightly. The cross earrings he wore now and the ring that he wore on a chain underneath his shirt didn't make these memories surface... yet somehow seeing Luffy, his Anchor, the little girl who'd followed him around like a lost puppy endlessly begging to join his crew, grown up and bearing a sign of passionate love... It gave him so many emotions, complicated ones.

Well, there was one emotion that wasn't complicated – protectiveness, and it surged up inside him like a tidal wave. Somehow he didn't think a black heart would be Katakuri's signature in a set of wedding earrings. “Are they a gift?” The red haired Emperor prodded.

“Huh?” Luffy lifted her hand and touched the right earring. A grin split her face, and she nodded. “Mmhmm! Traffy gave them to me; it was the most shy and silly confession ever! But that's so him.” She beamed at him. “I'm gonna marry him and Ace and Kat for sure; there are still some dates I need to go on too, but I won't be able to do that until we get to Wano. I wonder if I can pull those two up to the wedding alter in time to say the vows?”

Shanks sputtered and staggered back a step like he'd been smacked between the eyes. “Huh?” He babbled. “Traffy...Ace...and Kat?” The sentence spins around the inside of his head a few times, refusing to fully sink in. “Who's Traffy?!”

“Traffy is Law!” Luffy chirped, unfazed. Shanks scrambled through his memory for a few seconds before matching that name to a face – whatthefrick, his Anchor was marrying the Surgeon of Death?! Didn't he cut the hearts out of a hundred pirates, give them to the government for a warlord position, and then casually discard said position to obliterate the chemical that was fuelling Kaido's war army?!

Wait, hadn't he also read a newspaper report where the Heart Pirates sacked a Marine Base, stole every report and map in the building, and Law left all of the detatched heads of the station officers sitting on a stone fence outside to be discovered by the rescue operation? Was he remembering that right? All the heads were easily reattached to their respective bodies and Shanks was pretty sure it was just an intimidation tactic but – that guy, marry Luffy?!

Is Kat supposed to be Katakuri? She had given him a pet name? And he was okay with that?! Maybe he wasn't and she was calling him that anyway but she's talking about marrying him with a big grin, and she wouldn't do that if he wasn't interested in her in turn. Katakuri, content to go by a nickname?! Shanks tried to imagine it and his brain drew a blank.

Why did Linlin pick Katakuri for her in the first place? He's so much older than her! Yes, his maturity made him a good match for someone who thinks about consequences as little as Luffy does and he's hardly a withered old man, but still! It was the principle of the matter, dammit!

Ace? Ace is a good kid. Shanks likes him quite a bit, he liked him long before he found out he was mom's Captain's kid. A bit too hotheaded and reckless for his own good sometimes, but he's kind and considerate and has a playful side – he's very easy to get attached to. Does he know about this? Is he okay with it?

Why is Luffy so much like Roger?!

“They're okay with that?” He asked weakly. His voice is nearly drowned out by a deluge of reactions from his nakama – Benn sputtered and reached for an alcohol bottle out of pure muscle memory; Yassop started laughing and patted Luffy on the shoulder; “who would have thought our little Anchor would grow up to be so smooth?!” He cheered. “How'd you convince such powerful, prideful guys to agree to that?”

“Convince them of what? I asked and they said yes.” Luffy responded, sounding a little confused. “I think that I will only be able to marry Kat here, but that's okay! Once we get to Wano we can set up another ceremony.” She hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe a nice quiet one before we take care of Kaido? I have a feeling this one is gonna get really loud.”

Lucky Roo started laughing at that. “Yeah, things are gonna get really loud around here for sure!” The man howled, and Shanks kind of wants to hit him, because said laughter immediately infects Rockstar as well and a few of the rookies to boot. “Big Mom ain't gonna be happy to see us!”

Luffy made a face. “Yeah? Well that old hag can just deal with it,” she groused, and her happiness is suddenly tamped slightly down with genuine anger at the reference to her soon-to-be mother-in-law.

“Old hag?” Benn wheezed, his fingers twitching like he does sometimes when Shanks comes up with a brilliant idea (he always calls it 'reckless idiocy'). “Please tell me you haven't said that to her face yet... please?”

Shanks coughed a few times, smacking his chest and forcing himself to push aside the fit of parental tizzy that had seized him. “Don't get on her case too badly, Benn; we've all been thinking it,” he said. Later; he can freak out at his Anchor's life choices later. “Lu, was that Uta who was just with you?”

Luffy's eyes widened, and she ran back to the railing in a heartbeat. “Uta! Uta Uta, you're dad's here! I'll lift you up – huh?” She stalled, blinking at the empty spot on the beach where she was certain her first friend had just been standing. “W-Where'd she go? She was just singing for me.”

Shanks's stomach sank. “Ah...”

What to tell her...? He can't hide it from Anchor for long; frankly, he's shocked that Uta hasn't said anything about what happened to her. He suspects given the tone of the music videos and chats that his daughter has been sharing over the past two years that Uta would much rather Luffy quit the pirate life, and telling her that he'd destroyed Elgia was the only think Shanks could think of that might shake Anchor's iron-clad resolve. But Luffy's confusion as she looks for her singer is obvious. The laughter from the others on deck quiets down a little.

“I didn't sense anyone approaching,” Luffy said in confusion. “No one's attacked, I don't think. Oh no... did I miss something, like when Flampe attacked me?”

“No, no, anchor...” Benn said a little reluctantly. “She was here, she just ran off.”

Luffy turned back towards them, the picture of confusion. “Huh? But why? Doesn't she want to see you guys?” She asked.

A familiar little pain stabbed Shanks's chest. He walked forward and put his hand on Luffy's shoulder... almost the same way as he did back then in Foosha. “Well... a while back, I said something deeply untrue.” He said by way of explanation. I left her behind as if she wasn't the greatest treasure in my world.“Clearly she's still mad at me about it. Don't blame her for it.”

If anything, Luffy looked even more confused and a little distressed. “Why...? Can't you just say sorry?” She asked in bewilderment. “What did you say?”

Shanks started to say something, only to stall when Luffy suddenly experienced a full-body shiver. His haki was briefly flooded with – with something he couldn't describe in words; like feeling the sun on your skin after emerging from an island of endless night. Gold light flickered through his anchor's eyes and she suddenly stiffened. “Huh...? Elgia?” She uttered, confused.

Well. That hit like a bucket of ice water. What the...?! “Where'd you hear that name?” Shanks asked in a quiet, strained voice.

Luffy blinked rapidly at him. “I think Nika told me,” she responded slowly.

Nika? Nika? As in the sun goddess Nika?!

“Cap, we can't stay standing around in the open like this,” Benn said quietly. He looked equally shaken by the sudden declaration, but as always he'd stayed focused on the problem at hand. “We need to move the Red Force into the cove and get into position.”

“Right.” Shanks uttered, forcing himself to relax. Luffy swayed a little and seemed to be staring at something only she could see. He's absolutely sure that he saw another flash of gold in her eyes. “Hey, we can talk about this in a little while Anchor. For now let's worry about the big bad mother-in-law in the room, yeah? I'd hate for her to ruin your wedding.”

Luffy snapped out of that haze at that; while she clearly wasn't pleased to have this conversation left hanging, her desire to beat up Big Mom and concern for Katakuri won out for the moment. “O-Okay,” she said, squaring her shoulders. “I'll go find Uta.” Then something occurred to her and she brightened up just a little. “Oh, you should try and get in contact with my Papa! He and Zephyr-jiji are here too; maybe he can help you sneak around.”

Shanks paused, then jerked back a step with his hair almost standing straight up in shock. “Your dad's here? Dragon is here?!” He sputtered in disbelief.

Luffy nodded, beaming. “Yup! I was so surprised, but I'm really happy too!”

“That's...great! That's great,” Shanks repeated, smiling over the mixture of surprise and indignation exploding in his chest.

Well, crap! How's he supposed to fight that man for the right to walk Anchor down the isle? He'd been confident he'd get that position were Luffy to marry, and now Dragon decided he could take a family vacation and spend some decent time with his daughter?! That jackass! He was gonna steal the role by default. By Nika, Shanks wanted to punch him in the face. Yeah he wasn't technically Luffy's father, but dammit, he loves her like she was his, and he'd actually been around for some of her life!

Yeah, he'll get in contact with Dragon, all right. There's time for a little friendly spar before the wedding, isn't there?

Benn knocked up him upside the head. “Ouch!” Shanks protested, giving him a wounded look. “What was that for?!”

“I could hear you thinking, and I don't like it.” His first mate said flatly. “The Red Force. The cove. Now.”

Uta ran into a tree and collapsed against it, gulping for breath. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears and when she tried to stand up, her muscles felt like water. What's wrong, my maiden?Tot Musica chuckled. Haven't you missed your papa?

Uta buried her face in her hands and wheezed, her teeth grinding together as she kept in all the screaming, rage, and tears that wanted to spill out. She hadn't had a panic attack this bad since she was a child.

She didn't remember her birth parent's faces; only the last moments of their lives. Fires crackling, the sound of a lot of gunfire and pirates laughing. Her mother, her hands sticky with hot red blood, carried her to a chest full of gold coins and ruby necklaces. The rest of their family was either dead or dying above.

Her whisper 'be good, be quiet, don't make a sound, I love you' was rushed as she put Uta inside and slammed the chest shut. Locking her inside. The older she got, she started to think she could remember the exact moment her mother died, having thrown herself over a different chest to make it seem as though that was the one that held the most value. She stayed in that chest until it was unwittingly picked up by Shanks after destroying her family's killers.

The first time the Red Force engaged another pirate ship in battle, Uta had been kept under the deck. But the sounds and gunshots had brought all of that back in a sickening rush; blindly terrified, she ran around until she found a mostly empty chest and climbed inside it. She dropped the lid shut and sobbed into her knees in total panic; Shanks had looked around the room frantically for a few minutes before realizing where she'd hidden herself

He'd opened the chest and she instinctively tried to punch him in the face. He'd lifted her out and cradled her gently but firmly against his chest, murmuring reassuringly in her ear. His haki wrapped around her, more effective than any shock blanket could hope to be; her sobs slowly drained away and she remembered where she was. She wasn't going to die.

She still had a father.

But he'd left her. Heleftherheleftherhelefther and Gordon's not here, there's no one here to hold her, she can only feel Tot Musica's freezing embrace and flames licking against her skin --

No. No, she cannot and will not break down here. Uta bit down into her bottom lip until she tasted blood and forcibly held her breath, curling up so she could lock all her muscles in that defensive hedgehog-esque position. She pressed her head into her knees and silently recited the lyrics for her entire planned concert, starting from the very first song and moving along the entire program. Holding her breath, she ran through every word and every note, holding out against the shaking until she physically needed to breathe.

Then she relaxes all at once, slamming her head back against the rough tree bark. “Stupid!” She hissed to herself, scrubbing her face furiously. “Stupid, stupid, stupid! Turning into a child the instant he shows up...!”

Her fingers sank into her knees and she held her breath again to keep another wave of the attack away. Repeating the songs in her head, tapping out the beat with a few stiff fingers to go along with it, and slowly the fog leaves her mind.

Her plan upon getting here had been simple – sing the island to sleep, collect Luffy and her crew, and leave. She had built up a tolerance over the years for going on little sleep for longer and longer periods of time, she'd been confident that she could put enough distance between Totland and the Sunny before succumbing to sleep and causing the spell to break. If there was one thing to be said about carrying Tot Musica's powers, it was that they could lay even the biggest of monsters low with a mere few notes.

Then she'd actually gotten here and Luffy had turned her entire plan on her ear in an instant because she wanted to marry Charlotte Katakuri, among others. Which, fine, she could have adjusted to accommodate for that even if she didn't like it – Katakuri was no less vulnerable to her hypnotic music than anyone else. Then she'd been thrown the curveball of Vinsmoke Reiju, who Uta wouldn't have even known desperately needed saving if she had gone with her original plan and would have unwittingly condemned to share her far more evil father's fate. And now Dragon was here and she couldn't just knock out the whole island without catching the Revolutionaries in the spell as well.

Of course her father Shanks would show up when she was right in the middle of trying to rework her strategy. Of course.

Uta exhaled sharply. Worst come to worst, she could still knock out the island and protect the Revolutionaries in the dream world. Yes, Dragon would be on her in a heartbeat but at least she'd be able to keep anyone from dying. It was not a good feeling to have her best plan abruptly turned into a last resort.

She could still contribute, though. If not by putting the entire island to sleep, then by knocking out pockets of troublesome enemies. All she'd have to do was tell a half truth about her devil fruit to Luffy and her crew and they'd be able to avoid it. She could make sure that Princess Reiju made it to the Sunny and to freedom, even help Katakuri escape his demon bitch of a mother if that would make Luffy happy.

Why did Luffy have to want to emulate Roger and Shanks...? Uta loves her, loves her so so much, and it would be so much easier if she didn't but she can't stop.

“Uta? Uta!”

Luffy's voice snapped her out of her melancholy. Uta shoved herself to her feet, heart beating erratically in her chest, as her love jumped off the boardwalk and zeroed in on her haki signature. What did he tell her? Did he tell her anything? Tot Musica cackled at her anxiety, and Uta almost wished she could punch him.

“There you are,” Luffy said in relief. She hurried over and latched onto Uta's arm, looking at her with hazel eyes brimming with concern. “Shanks and crew are hiding the Red Force so the old hag doesn't know they're here yet.” Uta choked and looked around wildly for any homies that might have heard the casual insult; thankfully they seem to be safe. “You and Shanks got in a fight? You never told me that! What happened?!”

Oh. Okay, she still didn't know. This is very much just kicking the can down the road but Uta will take it gladly. Nika help her, but she can't seem to stop being selfish when Luffy is involved. “Mm, well...” she sighed and rolled her shoulders, internally spinning her mind violently for some sort of explanation that'll hold for now. Then it strikes her.

“It was a while ago; and about becoming a singer.” Uta improvised. “Some entertainment businesses don't mind working with pirates, but a lot of them are connected to the World Government and are legally barred from working with them. If I wanted to make it big as a singer, it would have been very difficult the moment they knew I grew up on the Red Force. Your musician managed to avoid that during the two years because no one knew what he looked like, correct?”

Luffy blinked rapidly. “Y-yeah, I think he said something like that. The marines only tried to catch him when we met up at Saobody.”

Uta nodded gamely. “Well, Shanks said that it'll be easier for me to achieve my dream if we both pretended we weren't related. I... didn't like that.” He abandoned me on the island so he could take my crimes on his own shoulders, pretended I was nothing to him so we'd never be connected by observers.

Luffy jerked backward, her eyes practically popping out of their sockets. “What?!” She shrieked, loud enough that Uta swore that her ears were ringing from the force of it. “But... but that's so extreme! Why did you have to pretend not to love each other?!”

“So I could have my dream,” Uta responded. And to achieve my dream now, I will... have to do the same with you. Or else you'll try to stop me. The thought twisted like a knife inside her. Please... just let me have a few more days with you first... just a few more! I'm already damned, let me have this much! “And I guess you can say it worked. I'm the greatest songstress in the world, partly because no one knew I was a Red Haired Pirate before that.”

Luffy's expression contorted as she slowly processed that. Crossing her arms, she ducked her head a little and tapped her foot. Uta stared at her, wondering if she'd ever seen the bullheadedly confident girl look this troubled. “That's just... but...” Luffy shook her head slowly.

“Luffy...?” Uta prodded, uncertain.

A shiver went through Luffy, and she looked up a little hesitantly – her expression half hidden by the brim of her straw hat. “Uta, I really want you to be able to live your dream,” she said in a small voice. “But I can't deny you. I can't...pretend that I don't love you. How can I do that? You... you were my first everything!” The ravenette blurted the last part out, grabbing Uta's arms like she's afraid she'll disappear. “Please, don't pretend you don't know me, Uta!”

Uta's heart calmly filed a formal complaint about the abuse she put it through before promptly attempting to explode. I wouldn't! I can't, even though I should for your sake! She wanted to shriek. I can't reject you any more than I can abstain from waking the morning! I need you like water, like breath, like the rain from heaven!

“Never,” she said in a small voice, before grabbing Luffy in a tight hug. I love you, I love you, I love you... even though I'm a monster! “I could never do that to you.”

Luffy uttered a massive sigh of relief and hugged Uta back like a cobra strangling its prey to death. The singer was just fine with that; what a beautiful way to die. “Thank you thank you thank you! I'm so relieved!” Uta's face flushed to previously unknown levels when Luffy's bouncing up and down pressed her head against her chest. “I can't go without your singing anymore. Stay with me always, Uta!”

You won't say that when you know the truth.

Nika, let the wedding come faster. Before Uta began to truly lose her nerve.

Chapter 27

Chapter Text

“Luffy, wake up.”

Luffy grumbled at the sound of Nami's voice prodding at her, snuggling deeper into Traffy's chest to avoid it. She didn't want to get up; she couldn't feel the sun on her skin, so it couldn't be morning yet. Plus she was waaaaay too comfy to think about moving. The bed could just hold three people, and she was nestled securely between Traffy and Ace. They were buried under various different blankets and pressed close together, and it was something she'd only just realized she needed and wouldn't give up unless something reeeeeally important came up.

Traffy's chest rose and fell with a calm steadiness, almost like a metronome; Luffy's ear rested just above his heart, and a few times in the night she could hear it beating. Ace's warmth seeped into her, her back pressing against his chest and his arm slung around her waist. The closest comparison she had to this was sleeping in a hammock, but this is a thousand times better. She didn't want to ever move.

Unfortunately, Nami wasn't moved by her obvious contentment. “Get up, Luffy! Don't make me turn the lights on,” she said warningly.

“No lights,” Luffy slurred sleepily, reluctantly raising her head and pouting at the semi-blurry form of her navigator. “Namiiiii...why...?”

“You're the one who said you'd talk with Bege today for some damn reason,” Nami responded, unmoved. “So it's your fault he interpreted that as sending someone to get us before the sun comes up! Now get up so we can take care of this.”

Ace grunted; usually it was a lot harder to pull him out of sleep, but being on Totland wouldn't permit him to relax that much. “Wonder what the hell he wants...” He muttered, pushing himself up into a sitting position. Luffy whined in displeasure at the loss. “I doubt he's keen to owe Lu a favor.”

“It's more his wife who wants to show gratitude,” Trafalgar grumbled, equally displeased. His grip on Luffy tightened a little bit. “More likely the mafisos wants to see if he can rope us into something. Expect him to start with something about mutually beneficial relationships or some such.”

Nami huffed and walked over to the light switch, flicking it on. This earns a chorus of groans from the others sleeping in the room sans Jimbe and no small amount of flailing. “You're so mean, Nami!” Chopper whined, curling up in a ball in an attempt to get away from the light and go back to sleep. “What was that for?”

“Blame our Captain; we have a meeting with Bege.” Nami responded shortly. She's a bit more sour than usual because she still remembers Bege holding them hostage, then taking Sanji away by force. The idea of having to play nice with him was not particularly appealing to her.

“Do we gotta...?” The doctor mumbled pitifully.

Luffy thought about it for a minute, then shook her head. “Nah, no back to sleep Chopper.” She said with a degree of authority admist the sleepiness. “I'll take Ace, Traffy, Sabo, Nami, and Uncle Jimbe with me. If there's a problem we'll be able to handle it.”

“You sure...?” Carrot asked, rubbing at her eyes. “We could help.”

Luffy glanced at her and giggled. “Awww, don't worry Carrot. We've got this.” Trafalgar sighed deeply and sat up, pawing around for his hat. “I'd almost forgotten... he's the guy who kidnapped Sanji and shot lion turtle. I owe him a punch in the face!” She smacked her fist into her open palm.

“That would send some mixed signals...” Sabo observed dryly. “Can we try not to pick any more fights than the one we already are going to?”

“...'M getting really tired of not being able to punch people,” Luffy groused, steam shooting out of her ears. “Come on! Just one? Pleeeeease, Sabo? For Sanji and Lion-Turtle!”

“I wouldn't worry about that,” Nami said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “There's gonna be plenty of time for fighting tomorrow... when we actively pick a fight with Big Mom, ugh...” She's obviously still wishing her Captain would rather take the opportunity of escaping immediately rather than hanging around to get stuck into the fight. Luffy just wonders why Nami isn't used to this by now.

“Don't worry so much.” Ace said. He turns Luffy's head toward him and presses a soft kiss against her lips; she shivered and melted into his touch. When they part, he chuckles and murmurs, “listen to Sabo, Lu. Now c'mon, let's get dressed.” Then he kisses the curve of her neck before standing up and walking toward the bathroom.

Luffy's toes curl up at the feeling; as soon as Ace moved away, her hand shot to her throat. A little giggle left her throat. W-Wow... I feel hot all over... she brushed her fingers against that spot. Not a moment later Traffy's arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her into his side before nibbling on the curve of her ear. Oh!

“Save your strength for tomorrow.” Traffy said in a low, husky growl. “Bege is nothing. Let's not waste time here.” There's something underneath that statement, something he's implying, but Luffy's brain is suddenly kind of fuzzy? She can't figure out what it is, but it's incredibly nice...it bubbled up in her stomach and it left an ache behind when Traffy also stood up, parting from her.

Luffy stared blankly at the middle distance for a second, her heart thumping, before smiling goofily. Nami promptly threw a set of clothes at her. “Oi! Get a room separate from the rest of us, you guys!” She bellowed, flustered.

“Nami-san, please don't wake the rest of the hotel...” Jinbe said mildly. The orangette turned bright red, then grumbled something incoherent before promptly vanishing into the closet to get changed.

There's a bit of a swirl of activity as the meeting group cycled through the bathroom and the closet in order to get dressed, while the rest of the crew went back to sleep – except for Pedro, who kept awake to be a lookout. Luffy looked down at her outfit after changing into it and tilted her head in surprise; it was a pure red business outfit with black buckle shoes. “I look like someone out of a gangster book,” she commented when she jumped out of the closet.

“Before he became a pirate, Bege was a mafioso don.” Jinbe told her, causing her to blink in surprise. “He may not be anywhere as strong as Big Mom, but he's opportunistic to his core. We'd best proceed with some caution.”

“If you say so,” Ace said with a bored shrug, adjusting his sleeve. He was dressed purely in black, though his coat was open and his chest bare beneath it as usual. Luffy nibbled on her bottom lip, staring at him - she'd never seen Ace dressed up before; she had thought he'd rather die than struggle with fancy clothes. “Let's go see what he wants.”

Her throat's dry. Luffy bobbled her head vehemently, a smile of pleasure quirking her lips.

Sabo looked great too, though his blue coat and white suit were a much more familiar look on him. Trafalgar hadn't owned any fancy clothes, so he was borrowing one of Brook's suit ensembles – surprisingly, they fit him decently well despite their quite different body types. He looked about as out of his element dressed that way as Ace did, and Luffy tried not to giggle at his cute, put-upon expression. Nami also looked stunning, but she always did, and she was...well, Nami.

Uta was standing by the door, rubbing at her eyes. “Please be careful,” she said, biting her bottom lip as Luffy approached. “Bege doesn't have a conscience.”

Luffy gave her a big, warm smile. “I'll do my best, Uta-chan.” She said, because she can't promise that she'll be careful. She generally...isn't. But that's just because she trusts her crew to handle anything that she couldn't; and if it made Uta less anxious, she'd do it.

Uta gave her a wary look for a moment, before it softened into a small smile. “Thank you.” She stepped aside, her hand brushing against Luffy's. A little zing travels up the ravenette's arm; hot and pleasant. Any remaining sleepiness having been thoroughly banished, Luffy headed into the hallway with a bounce in her step.

It's quite early in the morning; the moon and the stars shone low light down onto the island, providing little patches of shimmering light through the windows of the hotel. It was pitch black otherwise; Luffy was mostly finding her way using Observation Haki. Training with Katakuri had made her realize she could still push her skill there further; Rayleigh had alluded to there being an ultimate level of all three forms of Haki, but she hadn't realized that it could do more than telling her where people where and some of what they were feeling. But Kat could see the future, and she was getting – flashes of that ability. She could see a few seconds ahead now, but she wanted to do even better.

Kat would be so impressed once she could match his Observation skills! So Luffy was always using it whenever she could. Keeping track of where everyone was, and the general mood of the people in her surroundings... most everyone was asleep, not just here but everywhere. The fragments of Big Mom, the homies, they were floating in various corners of the island in little clumps. It was weird, feeling just a fragment of a person within a simple consciousness.

That is the feeling of Soul and her Host mingling, The female voice murmured. If the miniature souls are separate from her for long enough, they develop their own identities... go on for long enough and they can become entities of their own.

Luffy blinked. And then silently, carefully, she thought – Really?

There's a soft chuckle at the back of her mind. Yes, really. Soul is delighted to bring new life into the world... if Linlin weren't the creature that she is, I think my fellow would be delighted to have someone so generous in spreading her spirit throughout her domain as a partner. The voice sighed. Alas... Soul hasn't been so fortunate.

Luffy nearly tripped over her own feet, distracted by this sudden contact. Sabo steadied her with a hand on her arm; she giggled and mumbled something apologetic, though it's probably obvious her thoughts are elsewhere. I've heard your voice before... She thought. The first time... it was at Marineford, wasn't it? I hadn't remembered before... but hearing your voice now...

It came back at long last. The dark wheeling space, with a glowing figure warm like the sun facing her. You're the spirit bound to my devil fruit! Luffy realized as she started down the stairs. Are you really Nika?

I am indeed, Nika giggled. It's been a while, Luffy... I thought you'd never remember me.

I didn't forget on purpose! You haven't talked to me since then! Luffy protested.

I've spoken from time to time; you weren't paying enough attention to notice. Nika scolded, though its undercut somewhat by her obvious amusem*nt. Hahaha...I'm glad we're finally having a proper conversation after two years!

Surprise and delight welled up in Luffy's chest. Are you really the Sun Goddess from the Heavenly Bible?, she asked. People have started calling me that since that time, and nothing I can do makes them stop!

Yes, I am. Nika responded without missing a beat. I took this form and bound myself to the fruit in order to keep some promises that I made a long time ago. It's been quite a while since my last partner passed... finally, though, I was brought to you. The goddess laughed; it felt like the rising dawn in audio form. Beautiful beyond words. Sihihihihihihi...! You've grown up a lot since that time, my little Luffy! I'm so proud of you.

Luffy can't and doesn't resist a huge, happy smile at that. Really?! It was so nice to hear that! If she'd had a secret nakama this whole time that she hadn't known about... she felt bad that she hadn't said or done anything nice for her yet. So knowing that she'd at least been able to please and impress her was such a relief! It was a start. She'll have to make up for all that missed time later.

She'd ask Sanji to make an awesome meal! Oh, but could Nika taste anything she ate? They're sharing a body, so maybe? It would be hard to party with the goddess if she couldn't interact with any of the stuff Luffy usually turned to in order to celebrate meeting a new friend or crew member. Darn! That would be a huge problem!

Zehehehehe! I feel for Ace; you really are cute as a button, a youthful, playful male voice said. Luffy blinked in surprise, because it sounded like it was coming from Ace himself – but it's definitely not his voice. Ah, to be corporeal again~

Mera, don't be a lecher. Nika scolded. I know you're only teasing, but really!

C'mon Nika, I didn't mean anything bad by it, Mera complained. Luffy twitched in surprise when she realize who he must be – the spirit of the flame flame fruit that Ace ate! Then that voice she heard before when she was with Kat... that must have been from his devil fruit partner as well. It was meant innocently. Though I'll say... it's hard to be connected to a guy so completely in love for this long and not have it bleed over a little bit! Not that I'd want to be linked to anyone else... I haven't been on such amazing adventures for a couple of decades now!

The fire demon swirled within his host, continuing to speak rapid fire like sparks snapping in the air. I've been stuck with a series of morons who liked setting people on fire before my boy picked me up; it was the woooorst! I feel for Quake so much now. His voice became fond. Speaking of; I'm so glad you two got Ace out of that scrape two years ago. Thanks for that! I would have missed this lunatic horribly!

Luffy felt a little lightheaded. Wow... you talk really fast... she thought dazedly. She's pretty sure she only caught half of that.

Nika uttered a sigh halfway between exasperation in amusem*nt. Lunatic, huh...? Sure, as if you aren't far worse than that reckless boy could ever hope to be...

Luffy almost tripped over her own feet exiting the hotel threshold. “Easy there,” Sabo said, steadying her. “I know it's early, but we really need your head in the game right now, Lu.” The ravenette blinked, wondering when she'd gotten outside.

“Is that...?” Nami wondered, pointing at the road. There's a long, sleek black vehicle waiting for them there, almost invisible in the night.

“Yes,” Jinbe said. “This will take us to the Firetank Pirate's base. Let's no waste any time.”

Ace blew out a tired, vaguely irritated breath. “Yeah.” Nika and Mera quieted down a little, allowing Luffy to pull her attention back to the present. Seriousness replacing her excitement and mirth, she strode up to the vehicle and ducked inside when the door was opened for her.

It didn't take long to get to the Firetank Palace, though it felt like forever to Luffy. She leaned on Sabo's shoulder the entire time, impatience and wariness swirling in her stomach. The thought of seeing turnip guy, Chiffon and her cute baby was really nice – but adding mafia guy into the mix kinda soured things a little. Whatever. Like Traffy said, Bege wasn't a problem to them. Going just meant figuring out what this was about.

“Hmph...” Ace snorted when they entered the Firetank's fortress proper. “A little ostentatious, isn't it?” He hadn't been recognized by the driver, but judging by the various maids who dropped what they were holding after staring at him for a second, that wouldn't last. He'd brought his famous hat along with him, after all.

“What were you expecting from a proper mafioso?” Sabo responded, looking around and taking stock of all the exits along with potential trap doors. “He's certainly done well for himself recently.”

“You can get a lot from licking Linlin's boots,” Ace said with dismissive scorn. “Honestly... I'm disappointed by how many of the Supernovas decided to cozy up to her and Kaido instead of carving their own path. I thought they'd have more guts.”

“I heard Urouge got into a fight with one of her generals and escaped alive.” Law said idly, tapping Kikoku's hilt. He'd refused to part from his sword when prodded, giving the man in question – Vito – a death glare. When Ace had backed him up with a cool look, the long-tonged man had backed off.

“Oh, really?” Luffy said brightly. “That's the monk guy with the wings, right?” Law nodded, and she beams. “I remember him from Saobody! Shishishi... good work! If any of Kat's siblings are close to his strength, that must have been pretty tough!”

“Q-Quite, Miss Luffy.” Vito said, unnerved. He had been told to go and collect Luffy and her crew. He hadn't expected her to have company other than perhaps the lady Uta. He hadn't expected the Surgeon of Death to be at her side, and he certainly hadn't expected the Emperor and the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionaries to be there too! They hadn't prepared for this...!

“I'm surprised you could recall that much about him,” Nami remarked. “You usually have a pretty bad memory for these things.”

Luffy shook her head. “He was easy to remember, because he looks like Conis-chan!” She smiled at the memory of their angel friend, wondering how the blonde girl was doing these days. Some time they'd have to go back up to the sky so they could visit her!

“That's right... you have been to a sky island in the past, haven't you?” Law said thoughtfully. He'd heard some things here and there during the voyages to Dressorsa, Zou and now Totland about the Straw Hat's adventures prior to his meeting them, but he hadn't heard any one full story except for the storming of Enies Lobby.

What a tale that had been.

Luffy kept looking around as they approached the meeting room, humming curiously. Ace was right, the entrance and the first floor of this place was pretty glittery. Though the closer they got, the more practical the hallway looked. Eventually they came up to a pair of big wooden doors, and Vito had hardly knocked before they were swung open by the now semi-familiar Chiffon.

“You made it,” The woman chirped, pleased. Nami's mouth dropped half open in shock at the sight of her. “I'm terribly sorry for the early morning, but my husband has been tasked with security for the wedding; this was the only time we truly had to talk in private.”

“Hi, pink haired lady!” Luffy said cheerfully. “Have you and your dad been able to talk a lot?”

“Yes! It doesn't quite make up for all the time we lost together, but it was a wonderful gift, getting to catch up with him.” Chiffon put one hand over her heart. “I was so shocked to learn how long he'd spent trying to get to visit myself and Lola... this whole time, I had no idea. He's not a fighter, my papa, but he still kept trying to get into Totland no matter how violently he was rebuffed by my siblings.” She brushed tears away from her eyes and beamed. “We never knew what we were missing, Lola and I... having a good father.”

Ace smiled, his guarded irritation momentarily giving way to empathy. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “You really missed out, until now.” Sabo nodded along solemnly.

“I'll never take him for granted now, never.” Chiffon said. “I just wish that I knew where Lola was, or that I could at least call her to tell her about this.” Her face fell. “Unfortunately, I have no idea more idea where my sister is right now than Mama does...”

“Lola...” Nami repeated numbly, slowly shaking her head. “No way...!” Luffy glanced at her in puzzlement as her navigator went through her dress pockets and came up with a small piece of paper. It was glowing a little; oh, that was a vi – via – vivre card, wasn't it? “H-Hey! Um, Miss Chiffon, right?”

“Yes?” The pink haired woman said, taken off guard. Her eyes fell down to the paper and widened to the size of plates. “W-Wha... h-how did you get that?” She ran up to Nami, her fingers brushing along the edges of the vivre card. “T-That's Mama's vivre card!”

“Seriously?!” Sabo sputtered, whirling and staring wide-eyed at Nami. “You've had that in your pocket all this time?! Why didn't you say anything?”

“I-I didn't know that's what it was!” Nami protested. “I got it from a friend I made at Thriller Bark, two years ago! I'd almost forgotten I had it until I got here, and I only noticed it because it felt warm once I arrived here!”

Chiffon clasped Nami's hands. “You say a friend gave it to you – was she-?”

“She looked just like you,” Nami said in a rush. “When I got separated from the others in that place, I met her shadow tied to a warthog zombie -” Chiffon's eyebrows shot way up at that description “-and she helped me more than once. I don't want to think what might have become of me if I hadn't had her at my back. After we defeated Moria and liberated all the shadows he's stolen, I met her again in back in her human body – she introduced herself to me as Lola, and gave me this as a sign of our friendship.”

“Wow!” Luffy remarked, giggling. “What are the chances of that?”

“With you, who can even tell...?” Jinbe mused.

“You actually met her...” Chiffon whispered, her eyes welling up slightly. Hurriedly she brushes the tears away, her smile becoming even brighter. “How is she? Was she well, the last time you saw her?”

Nami nodded. “Yes; she has her own pirate crew, the Rolling Pirates. We parted ways with them just after that, but she was happy, if disappointed that none of the guys on the crew were interested in marrying her.”

Chiffon looked a little pained at that. “I see. Thank you, for telling me this.” Giving her head a shake, she gave them an apologetic bow. “My apologies for making you, our guests, stand around like this – come right this way, please.” She turned around and pushed the double doors open.

The meeting room was well appointed; bookshelves and paintings lined the wall, while four large sofas formed a rectangle around a table covered in food. Some of Bege's most powerful subordinates were there, and so was one Caesar Clown, albiet having put some effort into a disguise. Somewhat off to the side was a cradle containing Pez, Chiffon and Bege's son, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. And at the front couch sat Bege, chewing on the edge of a cigar.

“Good morning.” Bege said politely.

“Ooooh, food!” Luffy said in excitement. She zipped over to the couch directly across from Bege and started grabbing from various bowls, trying out the offered refreshments with enthusiasm. Nami sighed and sat down next to her.

Law, however, had other thoughts on his mind. He zeroed in on Caesar and his eyes widened with realization. “You,” he snarled, his temper flaring. Instantly he remembered Luffy, bruised and bloody and babbling non sequitors in the depths of the Seducing Woods having come entirely too close to being the victim of an assassination attempt. All because this gas bastard had poisoned her...!

“Law!” Caesar Clown burst out in response, getting up off his chair. He was angry instantly – for completely different reasons, of course. “You bastard! I'll never forgive the months of humiliation and suffering you've put me through, never! Give me my heart back, dammit!” His hands were shaking with rage.

“Shut your mouth,” Law hissed. “You tried to poison Luffy with that so called love potion, Clown, and could have gotten her assassinated!”

Caesar flared in response. “That was the least I could do to pay back what you've done to me!” He said fearlessly, dangerously oblivious to the two other men staring holes in his head at Law's statement. “That bitch has ruined my life!” So he dug his hole the rest of the way on his own.

“That's him?!” Ace demanded.

Law barely got to nod before a hard pressure crashed over the centre of the room – narrowed to the couches themselves, so as not to touch the sleeping baby. Ace's Conqueror's Haki burned like the sun, a heat so intense it was as if you very soul was being charred black by mere proximity; Luffy wobbled a little in shock at being in the blast radius. Much harder struck, however, was Caesar himself. The man fell to his knees, his eyes blank with shock. Ace crossed the distance in a few strides, his whole arm turning back with Armament Haki.

Caesar tried to crawl backwards. Ace grabbed the mad scientist by the throat and lifted him bodily into the air, fingers tightening like a vice. “You don't get to call her that,” Ace hissed.

“Unhand him,” Bege said, pushing himself up against the haki cracking against his will. The immediate loss of control did not sit well with him. “He's necessary for my plan.”

Ace briefly glanced at Bege's direction and stabbed him with a harsh glare. “Shut up,” The Emperor warned him, loosing more of his haki. Bege trembled underneath it, fighting with all his might to stay conscious. Ace briefly looked mildly impressed, but it vanished underneath rage as he turned back to Caesar. “The only reason I'm not charbroiling you is because there's a baby in this room. So I'll break your neck instead.”

Caesar wheezed, completely white with terror and weakly pawing at Ace's iron grip. “We have more than enough help as it is,” Sabo said calmly, an unfriendly smile on his face. “Let's tie up some loose ends.”

Law hummed in agreement. As much as he would have liked to cut Caesar apart with his own hands, seeing Ace show his power like this... he's disinclined to interrupt such a pleasant sight.

Nami leaned a little on Jinbe's arm, her heart racing. She was just feeling the reverberation of Ace's haki, but even that felt absolutely crushing. Knowing that Luffy's beloved firebrand had become more powerful than when they first met was one thing. Feeling it, and knowing that this was Ace acting on a restrained anger, not fully unleashing everything upon the insect that had dared to harm his heart? She felt both relief that they had such an ally and anxiety about their plan to take on the brunt of Big Mom's rage tomorrow.

“Guys, guuuuuys,” Luffy said after a second, waving a little woozily. It wasn't that she felt any particular compulsion to save this kid-poisoning bastard, but... “You're scaring Miss Chiffon. Tone it down a little? Please, Ace?”

Ace blinked and glanced at her, a little incredulous. Then he glanced over at Chiffon, who's shaking and staring wide-eyed at him, and closed his eyes briefly. “Right.” Effortlessly crushing Caesar's throat until the logia's consciousness plunged into darkness, he dropped the man like a sack of bricks and the pressure immediately left the room. “Sorry, Miss. I'm a little temperamental when someone attacks my Lu.”

He walked over to Luffy's side and dropped onto the couch next to her, kicking back and putting his feet up on the table. Bege twitched at that, but realization had dawned on him halfway through the display of power who exactly was in front of him, very much mixing some cold shock and dread into his anger at this blatant disregard for his power.

“Must you, Ace?” Sabo sighed dramatically, sitting on the couch kitty corner to them. “I know you haven't forgotten all the manners Makino taught us.”

Ace rolled his eyes. “I'm not in the mood.” Luffy sighed and leaned against him, humming softly. Just that little contact made him relax minutely.

“So dramatic,” Law scoffed, sitting on Luffy's left. Ace threw him a lazy smirk before refocusing on Bege while a mildly exasperated Jinbe and slightly frazzled Nami were the last to take their places. Chiffon hurried over to her husband's side, looking less frightened but still intimidated.

“...Emperor of Flame, Portgas D Ace.” Bege vocalized at last, staring at the man. “How long have you been here?” As much as he planned to assassinate Big Mom, Bege did take pleasure at preforming his job to perfection. It had served him well, pitting his enemies against each other and setting up decapitation blows for his enemies. So the fact that he hadn't known that one of the most powerful pirates in the seas had gotten into Totland until the man was standing in front of him?

That deeply unsettled him.

“A while,” Ace responded coolly. He slid an arm around Luffy's shoulder.

“So what did you guys want to talk about?” Luffy asked obliviously, continuing to eat the offered treats as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Chiffon took a few calming breaths and said, “W-Well... I'll speak frankly, since there's no need for subterfuge in front of all of you. Miss Luffy, I have a hard time seeing you willingly becoming Mama's subordinate in exchange for marrying my brother.”

“Yeah, that's not happening.” Luffy agreed while chewing.

Chiffon nodded, not looking surprised. “Well... then, about my brother. Do you plan to go through with marrying him anyway?”

Luffy nodded. “Yup! I'm not sure I've convinced him yet, but I'm gonna take him with me on our way outta here.”

“Good,” Chiffon said shortly. “Very good. By Nika, if I have to I will knock him out and tie him up for you to make that easier.” Luffy snorted in surprise, a peal of giggles leaving her mouth. “I'm quite serious, I assure you.”

“I believe you, I believe you.” Luffy said apologetically.

Jinbe's lips twitched upward. “It's funny that you say that... Moscato expressed the same sentiment to me some days ago. Is this a widely held sentiment among you?”

Chiffon snorted. “Among those of us who aren't as horrible as she is, yes. Not all of them will be so accepting, but what do they know? They weren't there when Mama beat him half to death for the crime of standing up for me, and they didn't object to her venting her anger at Lola on me in the first place.” Her fingers tightened in her dress. “Even when he didn't attempt to protect me outright, he would bring me to a doctor or try to get me away from her before she'd spot me... Some day, maybe sometime soon, she's going to get him killed. I refuse to allow that!”

She clasped her hands together. “So please, Luffy... take Katakuri away from here. He loves you, he wants to be with you, but he won't choose himself; he doesn't remember how.”

“Don't worry.” Luffy said, calm and confident. “I love him too. We're gonna get married if I have to destroy that old hag to do it.”

Chiffon seemed to melt in relief. Bege coughed, his wife having given him some time to regain his equilibrium. “So you intend to take the fight to Big Mom. I have been planning her assassination for some time,” he said.

Sabo tilted his head. “We've brought our own forces to bear against her; quite a bit more than you can bring to bear.” He said. “We'll hear out your plan, but you might be better served using the chaos that's going to break out tomorrow to desert Totland. Go looking for Miss Lola.”

Bege bristled slightly. “And why should I run away instead of marking my name in history by killing my wife's tormentor?” He asked.

Sabo shrugged and gave him an innocent look. “Because if your plan happens to cause Luffy or Miss Uta injury or put them in any danger, I can't promise Dragon or Shanks won't kill you.” He responded. “They're both here for the wedding, after all, and they're very keen on keeping their daughters safe when crashing the ceremony.”

Luffy burst out laughing at the expression that crossed Bege's face at that. He looked just like Eneru when she kicked the false god in the gut! Chiffon also looked shocked, but her face didn't look like her soul was trying to evacuate her body!

“Of course, if there is a weakness in Big Mom's armour that you've learned of during your time serving her, we're all ears.” Sabo said idly, leaning forward. “I think we can help each other. We all want to get our important people out of this situation safely, yes? So let's share information; so we don't get in each other's way when Linlin and her more loyal children go on a rampage.” His sweet tone left something quite implicit – that help would very much not be forthcoming if the Firetank Pirates continued, potentially fatally complicating the resulting battle for any of their allies.

Luffy had been wrong before. This was Bege looking like he'd just sucked on a lemon.

Chapter 28

Chapter Text

“Chiffon really said that to you?”

“Word for word~” Luffy giggled, stretching out an arm and snatching a donut from the large dessert plate the cooks had brought into Katakuri's private room in the Mirror World. She chomped down on it with a happy purr; the icing was just perfect.

“...How ridiculous,” Katakuri said, his chest rumbling with a restrained chuckle. “I'm curious how she thinks she'll manage that.”

“She said she'll have Praline use her hypno singing on you so you couldn't resist.” Luffy responded. “I think I saw them whispering to each other.” She hadn't actually seen them, but Chiffon had mentioned she was going to see her and Moscato, so...

His eyes widened a little. “She wouldn't dare.”

“Yes she will.”

Katakuri gave her a dry look. “Ever since you arrived here, you've infected half of my family with your madness. They used to be much more careful and sensible.”

“Including you?” Luffy asked innocently.

“Yes.” Katakuri finished off a pastry and dropped his left hand into her dark hair. “There was a time when nothing could rattle me. Not the oceans, not enemy pirates and marines, and certainly not a woman. Then you showed up.”

Luffy giggled unapologetically, nuzzling his hand. She was sprawled comfortably in her fiance's lap, and has been for a few hours. As soon as the sun had come up she'd gone looking for her Kat, and when she'd found him her sleepiness had caught up with her. He'd noticed immediately and taken her to his secret room so they could be guaranteed to not be bothered unless it was important. She'd fallen asleep for a while, and when she woke up, there was a huge platter of snacks waiting for her thanks to Kat's personal chefs. He'd offered her some right away.

He was so good to her.

“It's not good to spend all your time worrying, you know.” Luffy told him, looking up at his face. “What will happen will happen, take it on when it comes. Otherwise you'll spend your whole life waiting for something bad to happen.”

Katakuri gave her a distinctly dry look; it reminded her of Nami's expressions when she wanted to do something exciting (which her navigator always called 'stupid'). “That's a very lassie-fair attitude to hold, while travelling in the New World.”

“Shishishishi...I've made it this far, haven't I?” Luffy pointed out, unfazed.

“Somehow,” Katakuri said, threading his fingers through her hair. The feeling of his fingertips brushing against her scalp made her feel ticklish; she giggled, a shiver going through her. “It would behoove you to employ at least some caution going forward, with having angered Kaido so immensely.” Darkness entered his eyes. “You've never fought anyone like him.”

Luffy made a face. “Everyone I end up punching in the face says that...”

Katakuri grimaced and gave her a hard, serious look. “I have no doubt about that. But fighting Kaido will be akin to fighting Whitebeard, without the health problems that have handicapped his fighting prowess.”

That brought Luffy up slightly short. She gave him her full attention, her lips parting slightly at the memory of what she'd seen Uncle Edward do at Marineford.

“You've never truly seen Edward Newgate fight like he used to.” Katakuri said. His shoulder twitched slightly; he could almost feel the concussive force of the Quake-Quake fruit slamming into him from the right in retaliation for him knocking Phoenix Marco out of the sky. “What you saw at Marineford was an echo of who he used to be, before becoming partially deaf and developing a heart murmur. If he had been even fifteen years younger when he stepped on that island, he would have required no help from you to save his son.”

“Haaaaah? Really?!” Luffy gasped, her eyes widening. That...was amazing!

Katakuri nodded sharply. “Kaido has that strength, and what principles he has to do not extend to allowing defeated opponents to live – or any consideration for those unfortunate enough to end up in the middle of his battlefields. His reputation for being invincible comes from being so bored he allowed himself to be captured by Marines, out of curiosity if they could actually harm him. None of them could, even with him completely passive and unresisisting; until he tired of their efforts and killed them.”

Luffy slowly nodded in comprehension, before an almost bloodthirsty grin crossed her face. “Really...” Her eyes burned with determination, even excitement at the thought of facing such a titanic foe. Adrenaline flooded through her veins and she curled one hand into a fist. “Then it's gonna be a great fight... I won't hold back anything either!”

Katakuri hadn't seen this side of her yet; she felt him still slightly in shock. She grinned at him. “Fighting Mingo showed me something; he was strong, but he wasn't nearly strong enough to stand against my full power. Ever since Marineford I've been training my body to withstand the force of my peak, Gear 5; I've been in some great fights since then, but it's a little frustrating... holding back, trying not to overextend and leave my nakama scrambling to recover me... up until now, using Gear 5 on anyone except Judge would have felt like being a bully!”

Judge had been more than worthy of a beatdown, so Luffy had made an exception for him. Otherwise, beating down on guys way weaker than her didn't give her much excitement, so she used less of her power. After fighting so many bastards who relished dropping their whole power on people who didn't have the slightest chance of fighting back, she didn't have the taste for that kind of power display.

“It would have been so easy to kill so many of those guys with that gear, and I don't feel the need to do that unless I really have to.” Luffy said. “But if Kaido really is the King of All Monsters... then he can take it, can't he?”

Katakuri slowly absorbed this, then smirked ever so slightly. The desire to see Luffy fight for the first time since Marineford for himself – truly fight – bubbled up in his stomach. Judge hadn't been any challenge for her and while sparring with her came close, it was by nature restrained and even playful. He wanted to see Luffy unleash everything she had upon their enemies, craved to see her exert herself with the ferocity she'd applied to saving her love those two years ago.

“Without a doubt,” he responded. “I worry it might not be enough, but – I suppose what will happen, will happen.” Luffy gave him such a pleased look at that, the tension in his shoulders relaxed. “You enjoy a good fight, don't you?”

“Yeah! When we were kids, Ace and Sabo and I would fight every day at least a hundred times. I wasn't able to beat them back then, haha; I barely knew how to use my powers, and they're both strong and really smart. I've caught up with them now, though!” Luffy rested her head on Katakuri's thigh. “Nothing gets the blood pumping like a battle, a real fight between equals. It's why I love sparring with you so much!”

“Mmm... I enjoy it as well.” Katakuri said, cradling her head. In several ways... he quickly shuddered such thoughts, chiding himself. He didn't dare contemplate such things yet. “I don't often fight people who make me think on my next move as much as you require me to.” The upper echelons of the Beast Pirates, the Red Haired Pirates, Whitebeard's commanders... that was about it. Between his strength and his foresight, no one had pushed him to his limits in a long time.

He'd wondered in the initial days how a serious fight with Luffy would pan out... he's come to suspect that she'd have defeated him, though not easily. Perhaps the thought should sting his pride a little, but instead it almost made him want to smile.

Luffy laughed, pleased to hear that. “I'm excited for tomorrow,” she told him. Her earrings from Law glint in the light of the room; Katakuri did feel a slight jealousy at the sight, he could admit that. But they suited her beautifully, and he didn't doubt her affection for him at all. He would give her his own at the ceremony tomorrow; his mother had planned on using traditional rings, but Katakuri had insisted on the matter. To give Luffy something unique to him that suited a pirate.

The future Pirate King.

The thought caused a familiar swirl of conflicted loyalties in his gut. His mother was hell bent on taking Roger's old title and locating her treasure. She'd kill anyone who stood in her way; her enmity with the legendary woman was deep and bitter, after all, and she'd made sure that all of her children were well aware of it – even those born long after the Roger's passing. Likely she saw becoming Pirate King as much as a long lost victory over her rival as gaining the ultimate title for herself.

Katakuri could not lie and say he wasn't worried about her reaction to Ace revealing himself upon crashing the wedding.

“For the wedding, or the fight?” He asked.

“Mostly the wedding,” Luffy admitted. “I hope that we'll be able to say the vows before Papa and Shanks burst in on us. I'm doing my best to remember all of them!” She threw one arm over her forehead. “Nami suggested I write them out over and over to make them stick, but there sure are a lot of them...”

“Just do your best,” Katakuri responded. “Don't worry too much.”

“Maybe we can have a proper quiet wedding later, once we're out of here.” Luffy offered. “No interruptions, no old hag looming over our heads... with Ace and Traffy there too. Once we're in Wano, we'll have plenty of space and quiet.”

The thought was... intensely tempting on a certain level. “I doubt that would be practical, though I appreciate the thought.”

Luffy blinked at him. “Not before the fight with Kaido? Then how about afterwards? We won't have anything to worry about then”

Katakuri shook his head. “I'm not really able to look quite so far ahead.” He said. It had been drilled into him since he was a child; his mother, Kaido, Whitebeard... they were immovable pillars of the world, the forces of nature that bound it together. Their power was simply a fact of life, something never challenged. Even as Whitebeard began to fall ill and ultimately chose a successor for his crew, he still commanded that power and respect in Katakuri's mind. Marineford might have sundered it, but Luffy's Awakening had destroyed any hope the Marines had of achieving such a thing.

By the same token, though, the idea of his mother or Kaido being defeated – or even just inconvenienced – felt absolutely ludicrous. Fanciful. Katakuri could admit to himself that even now he couldn't quite believe it was possible. He was prepared to fight nevertheless, because he was a fool desperately in love.

“But you can actually see the future, silly!” Luffy pointed out, her lips curving upward in innocent amusem*nt.

“I can only see so far,” Katakuri responded. “After all, I didn't see you. Not until you were right in front of me.” He smiled a little, seeing a little pink flush enter Luffy's cheeks. “My wife.”

Luffy's eyes briefly flutter closed. “Mmm... that sounds really nice.” She whispered. Then she sat up, nestling into his chest and tugging Katakuri's head down so she could kiss him. His warm lips pressed down against hers as his arms wrap around her and pin her up against him. Kissing was intense... it felt so good, hot and bubbly and it made her ache in ways she never had before. Knowing it was love made her needy for it, for more kisses and to touch and cuddle with her boys whenever she could. For something more.

Her tongue bumped against his sharp canines, giving her a jolt. A little yip escaped her attempts to hold it back. Katakuri made a noise of concern and broke their kiss; Luffy whimpered in disappointment. “Are you alright?” He asked. “Did I hurt you?”

“Mmmhmm,” Luffy nodded vehemently. “I was just surprised.” She kissed him again and tried to hold him even tighter than before. His worry lingered for a moment before melting away, no less careful than last time to keep his fangs from scratching her tongue and lips.

That heat in her stomach... it came back in a rush. A rush of goosebumps travel down her arms and her legs too, her fingers tremble a little. Her heartbeat picked up; it was anticipation – want for something, something more, like this was wonderful but it wasn't enough – she wanted, she wanted... she couldn't quite put her finger on the words, it was so new.

She felt it earlier with Ace and Traffy.

“Mmph,” Katakuri tried to swallow down the throaty growl of pleasure and only half succeeds. The kiss breaks a moment later and he put his hands on Luffy's waist, getting ahold of the spike of want hurriedly. No, none of that – not yet, anyway. Not yet?! Not yet for what?! Thankfully his muscle memory in pushing mixed up thoughts away held steady and he composed himself.

“Wow,” Luffy gasped, putting one hand on her lips. “It feels so good... I feel hot all over. Like there's a sun in my stomach.”

Katakuri could tell. He could feel the heat radiating through her clothes and the little needy reactions of her body – she was too close to him to miss it. It froze his mind, honestly. He didn't know what on earth to do with a beautiful woman who was genuinely physically attracted to him, especially this woman. “N-Not in here,” he said, admirably not sounding a little panicked.

Luffy blinked. “Huh? What do you mean?”

Nika save him...! “T-This isn't the place for such intimacy.” Katakuri responded. Immediately he shut his eyes in exasperation; what kind of blunt statement was that? Why did he have to be so clumsy at this?

Luffy co*cked her head to the side, looking puzzled for a moment. “Intimacy...? Huh... wait, do you mean sex?” She asked, startled. “I hadn't been thinking about it... until just now.” Her hazel brown eyes widened and she put her hand over her heart, like a realization just clunking into place.

“Oh.” That was what he got for assuming.

Luffy stared at him for a second and then – pouted? “Why not here?” She asked, innocent at as a kitten, and Katakuri briefly felt his heart trying to escape out through his throat. “Aren't we alone?”

“There are mirrors everywhere!” He protested, most certainly not frantically. He was Charlotte goddamn Katakuri, he did NOT get frantic! “It's – it's not private enough.”

“A whole other world isn't private enough?” Luffy looked a little disappointed.

“Brulee could enter at any moment,” Katakuri responded, and thankfully that brought his fiancé up short – she wrinkled her nose in dislike of the idea of being interrupted and nodded in slightly sulky acceptance. “Another time.”

The panic he felt receded a little; the worry that he'd disappoint her, the old thoughts of his body being ugly and frightening swirling around in his head quieted a bit. He hadn't been prepared at all; he wasn't sure if he'd be ready later either. He had no idea how to...preform, in such a way. He'd never taken anyone into his bed; regarded it as both a potential weakness and seeing no reason any potential lover would want to be there after seeing his face.

Katakuri pressed a kiss against Luffy's forehead both to reassure her and hide his newfound inner turmoil. He's almost glad that he was about to defy his mother in a life-threatening manner – at least he wouldn't be worrying about this.

Tomorrow... the world he knew would be upended tomorrow. For her sake, he'd burn it down himself.

“More speed, dammit! We've got to be in Totland by tomorrow, tonight if we can!”

The crew aboard the Going Luffy-hime exchanged frantic and exasperated looks both as they scrambled to carry out their duties. The burning wrecks of some TARTs were floating in the water on either side of them as the self proclaimed second division Straw Hat commander's ship cut through the waves and boiling water. Their efforts to approach the heart of the Emperor's territory have been repeatedly slowed down as they had to contend with the various lines of defence the woman had set up. The only reason they hadn't alerted the monsterous Linlin of their approach was, unbeknownst to them, the Revolutionaries had already set up a network of Den Den's cutting the island's communications lines.

After all, much like the girl he worshipped and admired, Captain Bartholomew's first and last solution to any problem was to charge headfirst into it. And ever since the newspaper proclaiming his now presiding Captain's impending marriage had landed in his hands, that problem was getting the hell over there – preferably yesterday. Leaving it to his second in command to alert the rest of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet to this new information and coordinate the resulting pandemonium of allied Captains, all of whom were now sorely regretting not insisting that Luffy gave them some way of getting in contact with her!

“If this is a trap, then Luffy-hime might need help!” Barto had yelled when his crew had expressed a degree of reservation about kicking down the door of Charlotte goddamn Linlin. “And if Luffy-hime wants to marry, then we cannot possibly afford to not be present!”

His delivery of that statement made it clear he considered the latter statement to be immutable. Sometimes it really did surprise his crew that Barto wasn't as violently in love with with idol as Cavendish was; when asked, the 'cannibal' had dope slapped the person voicing the question and bellowed that his admiration of her was pure. That he desired nothing more than to be the reverent priest to his goddess and her achievements.

And priest was...not very far off from how Barto acted around Monkey D Luffy. Quite aside from the literal shrine that contained all of the Staw Hats bounty posters, Barto had started wearing symbols of the Sun Goddess Nika either painted on his jacket or hanging from chains that he wore around his neck. Even though the man didn't read there was a Heavenly Bible enshrined beneath Luffy's bounty, and the Going Luffy-hime had an actual mini church constructed in the back of the hold. Even the most loyal and crazy of his crew was dreading the day the man actually decided to start giving his idea of sermons from it.

Pure? In a way, it was; Barto regarded Luffy with no desire but that she thought of him as a cool guy and a useful subordinate. Dare he think it, she might even consider him a friend. Truly that would send him to nirvana!

This passion sometimes got him into fights with first division commander Cavendish, who absolutely worshipped the ground the beautiful headcase of a sun goddess walked upon and took umbrage at the implication that his devotion to her was anything but pure. Speaking of whom, the White Knight had been quite livid to discover Luffy was officially marrying – when he wasn't giving orders, he was demolishing every sparring dummy his crew provided him with his rapier. “He's not good enough for her!” Cavendish had bellowed through the snail when informed the groom in question was Charlotte Katakuri, a remark that he did not take back when reminded of the power of the man in question.

Of course, his beleaguered second really should have known better than to expect sense in this regard. Cavendish had said the same thing about Emperor Portgas D Ace after all, as well as Trafalgar Law, Roanoro Zoro, and Vinsmoke Sanji – all of whom would have likely twisted him into a human pretzel if given half the opportunity thanks to his declaring himself Luffy's 'Lancelot' upon the sake ceremony.

Not that Luffy had understood the gargantuan hint to the White Knight's affection for her in the slightest.

“The weather's holding steady,” Hajrudin observed from the deck of his own ship, arms crossed. He'd had to turn around in a hurry in order to meet the rest of the fleet, being the last one to catch up. “Hopefully that'll last until we hit land, otherwise we could get critically held up.”

The giant grimaced, staring at the horizon. Memories of what the woman had done to Elbaf as a mere child had surfaced painfully when he read the newspaper; thinking about that day still sent shivers of fear down his spine. But he was a giant and a warrior of honour; if that monster was a threat to the woman he'd sworn his service to, then he would make her regret it no matter what the cost.

“We'll get there one way or another,” Chinjao assured him; their crew's respective ships were more or less side by side, allowing them to hear each other well enough. “Though I suspect we'll be somewhat late to party, despite Barto's best efforts.” He shook his head. “Couldn't be helped, we had all headed off in different directions. Who would have suspected she'd find this kind of trouble so soon after toppling Doflamingo?”

“Us,” Hajrundin responded promptly. “The girl I met in the Coliseum is capable of absolutely anything; I believe it. Those days were just long enough for me to learn just how brash and fearless she is, so why wouldn't she immediately turn around and do something like this?”

Chinjao chuckled in understanding. “If her own crew couldn't predict her next decision all the time, how could we?”

The giant had no reply to that.

“You're not gonna go out there... are you?”

Mihawk didn't answer Perona's question immediately, only hummed in acknowledgement. His gaze drifted over the newspaper he'd received only that morning, thanks to bad weather around the island keeping the News Coos away. A bit of an unfortunate timing there, considering the events that he's only now becoming aware of. If only because of some unexpected elements to it...

He'd kept half an eye on the Straw Hat's antics both before and after Marineford, so Straw Hat Luffy winding up to kick Linlin in the teeth (anyone who thought that girl could get through the wedding without either offending the Emperor or getting offended and reacting as she's wont to was an idiot) would have been an amusing fire to watch from a distance. Mihawk was almost looking forward to see the clown show she and her crew would make out of Big Mom's power play.

But it was the other name in the newspaper that troubled him. Uta of Elgia. With a picture included, in case he had any doubt that she was anyone but who he suspected she was. Mihawk tilted his head, his earrings chiming softly in the quiet as he stared intently at the image of the young woman. He hadn't seen her in years... she'd almost faded from his memory, if only in his mental image of her. He'd heard of her by reputation very recently, though. A singer without peer.

He remembered the little girl on board the Red Force, who'd launched herself at him and 'attacked' him in defence of her father who he'd just challenged to a duel. Shanks had burst out laughing at his expression, leaving Mihawk first waiting for someone to pry her off his leg, then begrudgingly 'surrendering' to her in the name of convincing her to let go. Shanks, the bastard, had immediately started talking about how good he was with kids and continually fobbed his adoptive daughter off on him for the rest of the day! Mihawk had never been more on tenderhooks than when Uta had kept trying to touch Yoru, so mesmerized by its beauty she'd nearly sliced her fingers on it multiple times.

Once she'd finally stopped doing that, and realized that Mihawk was in no hurry to kill his only equal with a sword (and the menace that was carving a place for himself in his soul...) she'd decided that she liked him and started following him around whenever he was on board the ship. He...supposed that she had been alright company, for a child. She'd had an excellent singing voice, even back then; he'd fallen asleep listening to her at least once.

Then the Elgia incident had happened. Mihawk hadn't seen Shanks in a while when he saw the story in the papers, and he'd immediately taken the red-haired menace's vivre card out to track him down. There was no way that man had slaughtered an entire kingdom, even if every single living thing on the island had done their level best to provoke him. Hell, his first instinct had been to write the entire story off as the World Government spewing propaganda to whip up some kind of crusade against Roger's legacy in the form of her former cabin boy.

But seeing the state the vivre card was in – burnt down to a mere corner, ashes around it – told him that something had happened. (He'd never forget the way his blood had frozen in his veins. He hadn't felt fear like that in a very long time.) So Mihawk had taken his ship and tracked Shanks down for three days straight before at last catching up to him on a deserted island.

He'd never forget the sight of Shanks sitting on a pile of rocks, staring at his feet in complete silence. It had been chilling... Shanks had been slumped over, his sword sitting in his lap, his haki bleeding grief and loss like the falls of Wano. His crew had an aura of despondency among them, and when no little red and white blur ran up to him to attempt to glomp onto his leg over his ignored protests Mihawk realized that Uta was missing.

Shanks hadn't been willing to talk at first; Mihawk had dragged him to his feet and engaged in him in a long, gruelling duel that had lasted the better part of a day to force some life back into him and drag the story out of him. It was the first time the man hadn't so much as smiled upon seeing him; he'd pushed back violently at Mihawk's prodding at first, and his sword form had been perfect as always – but it reeked of defeat.

It felt like a violation of natural law to see the redhead like that. It ate at Mihawk at a primal level, and he'd continued the duel until the shaken Shanks had lost to him. Mihawk had knelt in front of him and prodded one more time, as gently as he could manage. Shanks finally broke, putting one arm on his shoulder for support, and told him.

The Demon King. Uta falling into a trance and summoning him, Elgia dying in fire and song, Shanks's near death forcing him back into his dream realm. The only way to hide her from Big Mom, Kaido and the Government being to take responsibility and leave his beloved daughter in the ruins of the kingdom with the former king.

Mihawk agreed to keep the secret protecting Uta before Shanks could finish asking; the way the man's expression crumbled with relief is etched into his memory. If they had married not long afterwards – well, that was their business.

In the present, Mihawk felt his frown deepen. If it was just Straw Hat Luffy in Linlin's crosshairs right now, he wouldn't expect Shanks to act. Oh, he'd sulk about not being at 'his girl's' wedding, worry for her and gloat immensely at whatever she did to get out of this, but the redhead was hands off when it came to watching out for her. Content to watch her map her own destiny.

Uta being there as well, however? Completely changed things. If Shanks wasn't already in Totland right now, he'd be there before tonight. Linlin would live to regret involving her in this mess.

“Hey! Are you ever gonna answer my question?” Perona complained, flopping down on the chair across from him.

“Unfortunately,” Mihawk said, and while he affected sarcasm in the word he actually did mean it. “We're entirely too far away. Even without accounting for storms or other holdups, by the time we made it there the excitement would already be over.” He'd thought about it from several angles, but that was the only conclusion he could draw.

He loathed the thought that he was going to miss out on seeing Shanks fight while in a rage. It was entirely too alluring.

Whitebeard chuckled low in his throat, setting the paper aside. “Sometimes I'm not convinced you aren't possessing that girl, you devil,” he told the set of earrings sitting on the side table. Several silver swords connected by a gold circle; a set that he'd worn diligently ever since the day he'd received them.

He could just see Roger leaning on the table, propping her chin up on her palms and giving him a 'who, me?' look. Her long black hair shivering a little with barely restrained mirth. “Don't look at me like that,” Newgate scoffed. “Do you think I can't hear you laughing yourself sick from here? You must have woken the entire afterlife. I hope you, Rouge and Oden enjoy the show.”

Her giggle echoed in his ears, even though he shouldn't be able to hear it. “Awww, Ed, don't tell me you're not getting a kick out of this.' The older he got, the more he felt like he could see and feel her near him in quiet moments. The most intense it had ever been was after Ace had been captured and when they went to rescue him.

Another man would worry about having a ghost so present next to him, but Edward Newgate wasn't fazed. He's missed his wife's fiery, passionate presence since the day that she died; he'd miss it until the day they were reunited.

“I am,” He admitted, glancing briefly at the paper. “If I weren't a weary old man I'd have gone with Ace just to see what he and Luffy do to ruin Linlin's year.” That woman... she had twisted the very idea of family into something utterly poisonous. Newgate pitied those children of hers in the privacy of his mind, occasionally wondering what would have become of them if they'd had a better mother.

Roger grinned and sauntered over to him. He could almost feel her draping her arms over his shoulders; she loved doing that when she'd brought him down to her height, teasing words on her lips between exultation of her most recent adventure. She was like that in general, always grabbing onto people she liked and doing the sort of playful 'pigtail pulling' kids would use on each other. Edward had complained about it at length aloud, but a part of him enjoyed that side of her deeply.

She liked to mess with Marco whenever the boy started getting a little co*cky, tugging on his feathers with haki-infused fingers or catching him out of the air during a sparring match and carrying him around slung over one shoulder like a sack of bricks. It was probably the reason Marco stubbornly refused to call her 'mom' until her final phone call with the family; Roger was playful with the rest of their sons just about equally, but she had a special affection for the young phoenix and expressed it in a way he found somewhat embarrassing. Later on, Marco would ruefully admit that the pressure she'd subtly put on him contributed greatly to his growth as a fighter.

Edward was still bemused that he hadn't realized Ace was her son with Rouge as soon as he'd met the boy. Luffy might be closer to Roger in personality – playful, clingy, careless, a heart wide enough for several loves and obsessed with adventure – but Ace's affectionate, stubborn nature was almost identical to hers.

“I'm surprised you're lingering by this old man, rather than staying by our son,” Edward commented idly, picking up his ale mug and taking a deep drink. “I doubt there's going to be a wedding crashing like this again for a long, long time.”

Roger's spirit gave him an exaggerated wounded look. 'I won't miss it for the world! But that's tomorrow. I can spend a little more time with my favourite Captain, can't I?'

He wasn't sure if she was really here with him, or if she was a creation of an old man's wistful memories; his desire to see her again. If he was still the acting Captain of his crew, Edward would be worried about potentially hallucinating; but now they were in good hands. He's so proud of Ace, more than he could ever say.

Knowing Roger and Rouge as he did, he knows they are too.

“That fool of a bird better take a lot of pictures.” Edward harrumphed, taking another drink. “If he doesn't have the self preservation to get out of that blast zone, then he better take notes of how this dissolves into pandemonium every single step of the way.”

'I wouldn't worry about that, Gatesy' Roger snickered.

“You know I hate it when you call me that,” Edward deadpanned. She never listened, but he's still alive, so he can continue to live in hope.

He hasn't been this interested in the next issue of the newspaper in a long time.

“Kuzan! What's in the newspaper that's so interesting, lazy bones?”

Kuzan twitched slightly, looking up from the paper to the hulking form of his new captain. Marshal D Teach looked like he was in a jovial mood...but that could flip on a dime some days, and his anger was chilling to behold. Given the prominent subject of the news story he was reading... yeah. Why hadn't he stowed it away and read it in private later?

He hadn't expected her to get on the front page again so soon after Dressrosa. Really, Kuzan had met Monkey D Luffy; he should have known better. But no, he'd let himself get comfortable, snapped the new paper open, and then got absorbed in the story instead of putting it away.

Kuzan took a discreet calming breath and said, “Big Mom's trying to marry off her strongest son, after all this time.” He said.

“Strongest... Katakurui?! ZEHAHAHAHAHA!” Teach laughed heartily. “Seriously? Damn, there's a name I've known for a long time! You've got to tell me what woman that old hag has found who wasn't too terrified of shark face to say yes to that proposal, Kuzan, c'mon!”

“It seems... she picked Monkey D Luffy.” Kuzan said as causally as he could muster. “Whether the girl has chosen him... well, the papers seem to say she's interested.”

The smile slid right off of Teach's face in slow motion. Wordlessly he held out his hand, the demand obvious, and Kuzan only hesitated for a moment before giving the newspaper to him. Teach wordlessly tore the paper open and began reading, completely silent as he absorbed one paragraph after another. As he read, Burgess, Doc Q, Van Auger and the others around the fire began to quiet down; turning to watch their Captain uneasily.

Monkey D Luffy was not a safe topic to raise among the Blackbeard Pirates.

When Teach and his expanded crew made it from Impel Down to Marineford, he found a scene drastically different from what he'd planned for. Whitebeard was less injured than the struggle to reach Ace should have inflicted on him; Kizaru was nowhere to be seen, Akainu had been concussed and rendered unconscious, and Aokiji himself had gotten bogged down by division commanders as the freed Ace lead the retreat to the ships carrying a battered and still Luffy.

Teach had tried to make the most of things. Oh, he'd tried. But Ace hadn't reacted to his efforts to bait him outside of a token acknowledgement of his treacherous underling's arrival; despite his ferocious temper and hatred of the man, Luffy had held his attention fast, and he climbed aboard the Polar Tang without so much as glancing Teach's way. As for Whitebeard himself... they could have still killed him, he was sure of it, but the retreat had given the division commanders time to get Marco out of the seastone shackle restraining his powers, and that had been the end of the line.

Teach had been forced to retreat without the ultimate treasure, the thing that all his machinations had been in the name of acquiring – the Quake Quake Fruit. For half a moment during the battle, he could have sworn he heard a devil's voice spitting 'never' at him from the old man's direction before he'd been forced to fight for his life.

Days later, when Teach had come down from his rage at being denied his treasure, he'd learned what had transpired on the battlefield before his arrival. About Monkey D Luffy's awakening and how it had critically taken the Marines by surprise, leading to their embarrassing defeat. Luffy... Teach's original target for gaining the Warlord position.

“Well, well, well...” Teach chuckled quietly, the paper crinkling in his hands. Kuzan felt a chill go down his spine. “Little lady Luffy wants to emulate Roger, huh...? Zehehehe....Zehahahaha...!”

“Are we setting a course?” Kuzan asked.

Teach shook his head, looking up. His shoulders shivered with black mirth, his laughter taking on a dark, ugly tone. “No,” he said simply. “Not now. After all, if that old hag kills her there won't be much of a point, will there...?” He tossed the paper into the fire. “No. We're going to wait a little while... and if she gets out of this, we're gonna follow her. And when the right moment comes...”

He turned to Kuzan and gave him a smirk worthy of the Demon King himself. “If I can't have Quake... then I think I'll take Model Nika. I'll pay that little girl back for taking that treasure out of my hands, denying me of that dream!”

Teach's voice trembled with rage and an giddy, almost electric excitement. “I'll rip that power out of her in front of Ace so he can watch her die.”

Wedding bells rang throughout Totland as soon as the sun rose. Luffy's eyes fluttered open and a little grin stretched across her face as she sat up, looking out the frosted window of her hotel room. Across the island, Reiju and Sanji groggily woke to the sudden bustling of activity across all of Germa Castle. The latter immediately shifted into an expression of grim determination; the former felt a small, slowly growing smile cross her face.

“I'm getting married today, Nika.” Luffy whispered. Inside her, the sun goddess was giggling helplessly with gleeful anticipation.

Chapter 29

Chapter Text

Luffy stepped out of the bathroom into the waiting room. She gently swirled her skirt and turned into a circle, humming as she tested her movement. Thinking of what Kat, Sabo and Sanji's reactions would be to seeing her wedding ensemble made her pulse jump with excitement. They were the only ones who hadn't seen her dressed up yet! She was dying to get their opinions; Kat and Sanji would be meeting her here with Pudding, but she'd have to look for Sabo in the crowd. How disappointing...

She was a little worried about her dress getting damaged in the fight – after seeing Ace's reaction to it, she's gotten kind of attached. She feels pretty in it! Luffy walked over to a mirror and stared intensely at her reflection, tugging at her skirts. Trying to visualize how she'd sweep them out of the way of attacks, dirt, fire or anything else.

You let me worry about that!, Nika laughed. Focus on the wedding proper, Luffy.

They'd all been woken up early in the morning, adrenaline spiking when the wedding bells began to ring. Nami and Carrot took the dresses, Brook tuned his guitar, Uta did a few vocal warm ups, and Chopper hastily packed as many medical supplies as he could hide within the pockets of his wedding attire; Law, Ace, Sabo, Jinbe and Pedro left the house before them to take point. Once they'd vanished, the crew wen with Luffy to the door of to hotel where they could change and wait for a chariot that would take them to Whole Cake Chateau proper.

The trip was a fairly quick one, even though Nami had to repeatedly dopeslap Luffy to stop her from trying to eat the 'candy escalator' Prespero created to get them up the hall. From there Uta and Brook had parted from them to join up with the orchestra and Chopper had gone to check in on Sanji and Reiju; leaving Luffy and her bridesmaids to be taken to the elegant 'waiting room' to change into their dresses and wait for the guests to arrive and the wedding to begin.

Luffy chuckled and spun in a circle. The fabric is light, not weighing her down in the slightest. She reached her hand up to touch the upper curve of her ear where the piercings Chopper had done for her that morning still felt a tiny bit warm. The silver stud placeholders were rather plain... her chest flutters wondering what Katakuri's earrings for her would look like.

I need to get Ace, Traffy, and Kat earrings of my own. She thought. Oh...and there's Zoro, Sanji and Sabo... I need something unique and special for all of them. They've been surprising me over and over lately... It's my turn to surprise my boys for our dates, and the wedding! She clapped her hands together, her brow furrowing with thought. Each one should be special to them... I don't know much about jewellery, but Nami does! I bet she'll help.

Wano has a lot of talented jewellers, Nika observed faux-idly. Luffy could see just see her smiling inside her head. Think about what you adore the most about them, and turn that into a symbol; one that can be the earring's centrepiece. The rest will take shape easily around that heart.

Oooh... have you given someone earrings before, Nika? Luffy asked excitedly.

Immediately she felt a twisting river of emotions from her partner; love and grief and wistfulness, all intensely powerful. Luffy took a small step backwards, blinking at a point straight ahead at the unexpected reaction.

I did, a long time ago. Before I took this form. Nika responded softly. She was an Empress... in temperament, I'd say she was a cross between Princess Vivi and your Uta. Dutiful, determined, and ferocious because of her loathing of bloodshed. Under that thin layer of royal demeanour, she was kind and compassionate – and easy to rile up with jokes and teasing. She was forever berating me for laughing at serious situations or the grievous dangers I fought... then later she'd tell me that hearing that same laugh lifted her spirits. She loved music; more than anything in the world. That's why the earrings I gave her were music notes.

Lucia... Luffy thought, absorbing this. Hey... you said that name when I met up with Uta...

I did, didn't I? Nika made a rueful sound. I actually hijacked you for a moment, I was so shocked... I'm sorry. Lucia was the Empress of Elgia; Uta must be descended from her. They look so much alike I was taken aback!

Luffy's hazel eyes grew really wide. “EHHHH?!”

“Gah!” Pudding's voice startled her out of her conversation; blinking rapidly, the sun goddess pivoted towards her fellow bride. The blonde was wearing a beautiful wedding dress, but she didn't seem happy and excited the way Luffy herself was. “Why are you screaming out of nowhere, dammit?! The room isn't on fire or something!” Her shoulders were super tense and her hands had formed into tight fists in her lap.

“Sorry, sorry,” Luffy laughed to hide her confusion. “I was talking to Nika.”

“Suuuuure,” Pudding snapped waspishly. “Can you please try to act like you're taking this seriously? Big Bro Katakuri is looking forward to the ceremony, you know.”

Luffy turned fully toward her, then smiled and put her hands on her hips. “I'm very happy to be marrying Kat,” she said. “I'm just getting the jitters out right now!” She tilted her head. “Maybe you should give it a try? You look kinda stiff.”

“Shaddup!”

Oh, wow... she must be really tense; the whole time she'd been here, Luffy hadn't seen Pudding be anything other than kind, considerate and friendly. She's pretty sure this was the first time she'd heard the brunette girl raise her voice, much less snapping at each other. “Are you okay, Pudding-san?” She asked.

Pudding's head snapped to her, a whole gambit of emotion rushing through her face. “Don't talk to me,” the brunette said mechanically. “Just...don't talk to me.”

“...Why?” Luffy asked, her mood shifting from cheerful anticipation to something a bit more serious. The brunette merely huffed and looked to the side; in her lap, her hands were clenched so tightly her knuckles have turned pure white. Instinctively she looked for Nami and Carrot to get some help, but they were still getting changed into their respective dresses.

Luffy walked over to the other bride's chair and stood in front of her. Pudding glowered and looked in the opposite direction, a little warning growl rumbling in her throat. Luffy stretched her neck around so she could look her in the face again. The brunette half shrieked at the sight and smacked the straw hat girl on the head. “F-f*cking hell, don't do that! That's so creepy!”

Snapping back to normal, Luffy giggled. “Shishishishishi... I haven't heard that one in a long time! I haven't heard someone call me creepy since before I left the East Blue.”

“Oh please,” Pudding muttered. “No one has ever called you creepy.”

“They have,” Luffy disputed, grinning a little at her blank expression. “For some reason, Devil Fruits don't reincarnate into the East Blue as often as the other seas; there are entire islands of people who aren't even sure that they're real. A lot of people were really shocked when they saw me stretching!” She put her hands behind her head. “I guess if you didn't think it was possible, it might come across as kind of creepy. I mean, nobody else but Kat can stretch our bodies the way we do and live.”

Pudding twitched slightly but violently. “Yeah? Well, that's only because they're seeing a tall tale come to life. No one who knows about those things has called you creepy. Why would they? You're beautiful; so beautiful you cast a spell on the people who come into your orbit.”

Luffy uttered a surprised squeak. “You think I'm pretty?” She asked. Her cheeks turned light pink at the thought. Being called pretty by another girl... it's...nice! “Seriously? That's a really nice thing to say to a scarred up pirate like me.”

“Don't gimme that!” Pudding burst out, eyes wide. “You've seen a mirror before!”

“But I am scarred up,” Luffy said lightly, pulling up one sleeve to prove it. There was a long scar curving up her arm, left there by Crocodile's poison hook. “I got this at Alabasta when I fought Croc.” Then she turned her hand up so the other girl could better see the back of her hand. There was a line of circular scars patterning the tanned skin “When I was just starting out, I fought this one bastard called Don Krieg. He was all dirty tricks and support items; he had this one shield that was covered in iron spikes; I punched through right through it to get to him and break it.” She moved up and put a hand over her chest, watching Pudding's eyes widen steadily. “Croc also stabbed me right here; I got lucky he didn't pierce my lung! There's burn scars on my stomach from Impel Down too, all from Warden-Guy's poisons. I know they could have been a lot worse, but they're pretty noticeable.”

She put one hand on her knee. “Shiki stabbed me right below here, impaled my leg. He kidnapped me from my crew twice, and chained me to a chair with sea stone cuffs. Pretty sure there's still marks on my ankles from that, they were so tight. Sanji-kun rescued me from that; snuck into his base right under the old lion's nose and stole the key right off of him! There's also claw marks on my right shoulder from fighting Pigeon Guy, and a little bit of ice burn on the tips of my fingers from climbing a mountain in the Sakura Kingom.”

Luffy smiled brightly at the shocked girl. “So yeah! It's really nice to be told I'm pretty, especially from somebody like you. I mean, you look like you belong in one of Makino's fairy tale books. A princess.”

Pudding's mouth opened and shut, then she growled and launched herself to her feet. “Oh yeah?! Would you still say that...if you saw this?!” She shoved her bangs aside with one hand, revealing a third eye staring a hole into Luffy's head.

The Straw Hat captain jerked back in surprise. “Whoa! Whoa... you have three eyes?!” She blinked rapidly, but Pudding's appearance didn't change. Slowly an incredulous, curious smile crossed her face. “Wow... that's so neat! You must see better than anyone else in the world!”

Pudding's face went white with shock. Literally white, she looked like a ghost. Oblivious, Luffy shot forward and clasped Pudding's cheeks, ooohing as she examined her forehead. “I've never seen somebody with three eyes before. What's that like? Do you have to close all of them to go to sleep, or can you keep one open to watch out for sneak attacks in the night? If you can that must be really useful!” She babbled curiously.

“W...What...” Pudding uttered, her knees buckling a little. For the second time she'd shown someone her third eye and... the world wobbled violently beneath her. This isn't happening. She's making fun of me! Why would someone like her call me...no!

“Oi, oi, Luffy, give her a little space,” Nami scolded, emerging from the bathroom along with Carrot. Luffy glanced her way and beamed. Her two friends looked amazing, wearing matching floor length gowns of red and gold colouring respectively. “You're always so pushy! Not everyone likes getting manhandled, you know.”

“Namiiiii,” Luffy complained, letting go. Pudding slumped in her chair, staring blankly at the Straw Hat Captain. “I'm making friends!”

“Yeah, yeah...” Nami sighed. She strode up to Luffy and adjusted her pendant chain, looking up at her hat in exasperation. “You're really going out wearing that hat instead of a veil.”

Luffy slapped a hand on Roger's hat defensively. “Of course I am!” She responded spiritedly. “It's my treasure! I couldn't take anything less to a moment as important as this!” Why would Nami even ask about that?

Nami sighed deeply. “I know you don't care much about fashion, but can you really not see how much it clashes with your amazing dress?”

“Does not,” Luffy responded stubbornly. “It looks great with it!”

“You're kidding me – it couldn't be more jarring!” Nami protested in disbelief.

“I think you look amazing, Luffy-chin!” Carrot said enthusiastically, glomping onto her friend and nuzzling her cheek. “Garchuu~” Luffy giggles helplessly, flailing at her before giving her a hug in return. “I've never worn a dress like this before – what do you think? How do I look?” The rabbit mink jumped backward a bit, grasping the edges of her skirt.

Luffy looked her up and down, then beamed and gave her a thumbs up. “You look SUPER, Carrot!” She declared, mimicking Franky's intonation almost perfectly. Carrot cheered, while Nami groaned and facepalmed.

“I'm pleased that you're going into this with lighthearted confidence.” Dragon's calm voice filled the room. Luffy pivoted on one heel and grinned at her father, who is still dressed in his usual long green hood – though he was wearing a two piece suit underneath. One that showed off a surprising degree of elegance to the feared head of the Revolutionary, and some of his muscular build. Removing his hood, he walked up to his daughter and took in her appearance. “What a remarkable ensemble... you look a little like your mother, now.”

Luffy blinked rapidly. “My mom...?”

Dragon nodded slightly, a faint smile on his lips. “When we have a quiet moment, I'll tell you about her.” He promised.

A bright smile crossed her lips at the offer. “Shishishishi...thank you, papa!”

“Papa...?” Pudding mumbled... then she vaulted backward, almost crashing to the ground along with the chair that she'd knocked over in her haste. “Papa?!” But Luffy's father was – no way – and yet, Monkey D goddamn Dragon glanced her way when she spoke and gave her an unreadable look. “W-W-What are you doing here?! Monkey D Dragon?!”

“Charlotte Pudding,” Dragon addressed her, maddeningly calm and polite. “I'm here to walk my daughter down the isle... and make sure that she makes it through the day without anything happening to her.” He held her gaze steadily. “Do you need any help getting up?”

“D-Don't make fun of me,” Pudding stuttered, somehow even more shaken than before. “You've never moved this publicly before, never. What do you want with my family?! What's your angle? Are we another tyranny for you to topple?!”

Dragon's Haki boomed out in a soft pulse; like a gentle wave lapping against the beach. Luffy closed her eyes as it washed over her harmlessly, wrapping her in a feeling that brought her back to that night in the Polar Tang's hospital room when she'd seen him for the first time. It was comforting in a way that was hard to describe.

Pudding shuddered when it washed over her. It was a tiny fraction of Dragon's power, maybe a thimbulful – she was sure of that. But it was the feeling tinging that Haki... the emotion was intense, but it wasn't a threat or condescension or anything she even remotely understood. It was a sense of protectiveness and love that felt matured in perspective and...settled. The closest comparison she had was Katakuri's haki around her and her family, but now faced when this feeling, she suddenly became hyperaware of the stress and the strain beneath that love that he had for them. A fear of not being good enough that didn't exist within the haki washing over her; firm, but not without a hint of compassion.

“You never had a father,” Dragon remarked. “I understand that means understanding my perspective is very difficult to you. Yes, I am the Most Wanted Man in the World, head of the Revolution. Yes, I find your mother's tyrannical, monstrous rule over Totland deeply offensive. But among those things, I'm also the father of Monkey D Luffy, and for almost all of her life she's been a stranger to me. Because of that, being here and walking her down the isle... that's very important to me.”

Pudding's mouth opened and closed, confused tears burning at the corners of all three of her eyes. That emotion... I've never felt...! Carrot scampered over to her and pulled her to her feet. Pudding can't find the breath she needs to snap at the mink.

“I love you, Papa.” Luffy said happily, leaning on his shoulder.

Dragon smiled slightly.

“Hey, who's walking you down the isle, Pudding?” Luffy asked, turning back to her. Pudding's mouth opened and closed, with no sound coming out. “You should have someone with you, shouldn't you?” Even if Sanji wasn't gonna marry her, she felt a little bad that the other girl seemed...kind of alone, honestly. “Oh right, Big Mom doesn't keep your dads around... well, that's fine! Papa can handle things for both of us.”

“I don't think that's how that works...” Nami muttered, before shrugging. “But still, I don't see any reason not to.”

Luffy giggled, and walked over to Pudding. The brunette tried to duck away from the girl who's causing her so much turmoil, but she's not nearly fast enough because Luffy snagged her arm and pulled her to her side. “Let's go together,” Luffy said brightly. “Don't worry, Pudding. Everything's gonna go great!”

Pudding stared at her with a mixture of shock and rapidly deepening alarm. The Straw Hats had been planning something this entire time, and whatever the hell it was, she's going to be in the dead centre of the blast zone.

“Our ride to Whole Cake Chateau has arrived,” Dragon said without so much as glancing at the door. A moment later Nami heard the knocking and went to answer it. “Let us go.”

Law was watching the Vinsmoke's table like a hawk when Sabo came over to him and nudged his shoulder. “What?” He muttered, his eyes on Reiju. She was wearing a man's suit rather than a dress for the occasion; more useful in a fight, no doubt, though Law would admit to the feeling of admiration that he'd had wash over him when he first spotted her. She looks very sharp in that... her figure isn't downplayed by the different cut of fabric, but almost enhanced by it. Usually he didn't notice such things in any woman but Luffy, but... well. Reiju is Poison Pink.

Nothing in her demeanour gave away her awareness of both Big Mom's plot and their own. No, she was perfectly composed, smiling and chatting with guests who came up to her as though this was a party at the Reviere. Only when their eyes had briefly met did Reiju drop the facade with a tiny, hopeful smile; one that lasted half a second, but truly made her beautiful.

Law wondered if Luffy had seen such a look in him during the battle at Dressrosa.

“CP0,” Sabo hissed in response. The word immediately caused Law to tense up; Sabo tugged him behind a candy cane tree and pointed subtly at one of the 'Emperors of the Underword' who had just arrived. “Right there – blonde, the only girl? She goes by Stussy; she does control the pleasure districts, but she was CP0 first and still is now.”

“Damn. Like we need one more thing to worry about...” Law ran a hand through his hair in annoyance. “If I can catch her in a Room, I'll completely take her apart. Otherwise...”

“I can handle her in that case,” Sabo assured him calmly. “It's better that we're all aware of her, though. I've passed it on to Ace and Jinbe. There's a small chance she's just here in the capacity of her public persona, she does have ties to Linlin; but with how desperately the World Government wants Lu dead I doubt that.”

Law nodded in comprehension. When Luffy had entered the New World two years after Marineford, her bounty had rocketed from 300 million to precisely one billion – one of the biggest jumps he'd ever heard of, and one he'd been taken aback by. Yes, Nika was a figure worshipped around the world, but Luffy wasn't a goddess. Right...?

A chuckle drifted through Law's mind, a voice not his own. He'd felt the strange sensation before, but had always chalked it up to his mind playing tricks on him. In his minds eye he saw Luffy's eyes turning gold and heard the odd echo in her voice. Like someone who both was and wasn't her was speaking through her.

He'd shied away from all thoughts of gods thanks to Doflamingo being a Celestial Dragon. Corazon had the form of an angel in his memory, but not one of a god; and his brother thoroughly poisoned the very concept of divinity with the Celestial Dragons trampling what remained. But. But... if any person in this world were to be fused with the spirit of a god, it would be Luffy.

“I don't like how exposed Sanji-ya is,” Law said, in hopes of bringing his attention back to the present.

The wedding was taking place atop an absurdly tall cake – and it was cake, every single story complete edible and only its sheer size making it dense enough to walk on without sinking into it. The doctor in Law almost went into cardiac arrest at the mere thought of trying to eat any significant part of that sugar monolith! Clearly it had only been baked with Big Mom herself in mind! Even with the crowd of people here, there's no way they'd be able to make more of a dent in it.

Both grooms were standing atop the cake, awaiting the arrival of their brides; Katakuri towered over Sanji, putting the priest between them completely within his shadow. The top of the cake was open to the air aside from a simple pagoda.

“I see it,” Sabo agreed with a sigh. “Can't be helped, though. Luffy will protect him.”

“Mmm.” Law hummed in acknowledgement, glancing around. “Where's Ace?”

The blonde gave him...a little mischievous smile at that. Law immediately gave him a warning look. “He's closer to the cake. It's probably better that us hooded figures aren't too close together, yeah? But if you'd rather have him watching your back...”

“Save your insinuations for the cook prince,” Law responded quickly. “Unless you intend to let him down gently after that kiss he gave you?”

Sabo gave him a mock glare that didn't quite hide a spark of flustered pleasure at the reminder. “Glass houses, Trafalgar,” He said in a sing song voice. Then he melted into the crowd before Law had a chance to dig Kikoku's hilt into his ribs. The doctor glared after him and vowed silently to get even.

If his eyes flicked straight for the throngs of people around the cake, searching for the fiery emperor's cloaked form, it was because he wanted to know where all his allies were, dammit. He definitely wasn't feeling a shiver of excitement at the thought of watching Ace's repressed power cut loose. His colour of observation tracked the ravenette to a position not far from Big News Morgans, and a thrill rushed through him at the intense feeling of anticipation-excitement-determination that burned like a bonfire in the dark.

It was a shame that Law would miss the initial fight absconding with Reiju.

Big Mom was chuckling and talking to a few of her guests; the woman's presence was titanic, swamping the whole wedding area. It was impressive how Shanks, lingering just out of sight, was almost invisible by comparison. Law squeezed the hilt of Kikoku, watching the hulking woman warily. If she knew anything was amiss, she wasn't showing it; Linlin was jovial, accepting gifts and fawning a little over the picture frame that contained the only image of her mother figure she had. Her psychological weak spot.

Law kept the frame in the corner of his vision. If he had the opportunity, he'd teleport it to himself and slash it in half. Reiju is his first priority, so he'd only do so if he had a decent window.

The orchestra cut through his thoughts, beginning to play a few warm up notes as they did some last second tuning of their instruments. Law's pulse jumped and he glanced toward the raised gram cracker platform where Brook and Uta were standing in front of a fleet of musicians. Uta was wearing her trademark headphones, which didn't quite match the red ballroom dress she'd been loaned by one of the Charlotte daughters; she placed one hand on her chest, humming a scale up and down.

“The brides are approaching,” Big Mom told the crowd, clapping her hands together. “Let's give them a warm welcome, shall we?”

Uta bowed at the waist, then took a deep breath and began to sing. “From this moment, life has begun...” Law didn't worship the ground she walked on like Bepo, but he could admit that her singing voice was absolutely beautiful. “From this moment, you are the one... right beside you, is where I belong...”

Brook played his violin alongside her, and the crowd exploded into excited chatter, turning like a wave to the south. Law looked up and saw a cloud homie slowly but steadily approaching the wedding cake. From this angle, it wasn't easy to see those aboard the cloud, and he pushed down the spike of annoyance at not being able to see Luffy properly. The cheering increased as the cloud floated over his head and toward the towering cake.

Gasps echoed amongst the cheers. Law could hear pockets of conversation erupting into whispers all around him. “Isn't she beautiful?”

“Pudding or Straw Hat Luffy?”

“Both of them!”

“Look at that dress! The details, the sun symbols! I'd give my arm to know who she commissioned that from, I need something like that in my life!”

“Whoa, look at the bridesmaids! That's Cat Burglar Nami, but I don't recognize the rabbit girl. New addition, do you think?”

“Who's that tall guy? I can't really see his face from here... that green coat is pretty plain, too...”

“Is he a guard, do you think?”

Law gripped Kikoku's hilt when Big Mom frowned slightly in confusion, then leaned over to whisper something to one of her nearby children – Charlotte Smoothie. The swordswoman paused for a second and shrugged uncertainly as the cloud homie came to a stop at the top of the wedding cake. Luffy, Pudding and her bridesmaids dismounted, followed by the cloaked form of Dragon.

“Whoa...” Luffy's bubbly voice washed down from the alter. “Kat... Sanji... you... you look amazing.” She genuinely sounded thunderstruck, and Law would have given almost anything to see her expression in that moment. A little flare of jealousy bubbled in his chest; briefly he pulled up the memory of her wide-eyed look when she'd seen him in the suit ensemble he'd reluctantly put on for the meeting with Bege. That eased the feeling very quickly.

“Luffy...” Katakuri uttered, his usually stoic voice giving way to awe. Luffy hopped forward and placed her hands in his. Sanji was...obviously staring at her even as he did the same for Pudding, because of course he was.

Law flicked his sword one inch out of its sheathe. This is it.

When Luffy saw Kat and Sanji in their wedding attire as Uta's song wound to a close, she thought her heart was gonna explode. Kat's suit was a dark purple with swirls of pink line vines along the sleeves and pants; the shirt was open, allowing the simple opal necklace to draw her eyes to his throat. Sanji meanwhile was all in white, and while his suit was simpler than Kat's, it gave him a softer aura that made his smile and his adoring gaze less silly and more... more sincere.

Katakuri took her hands in his own. He was looking at her with so much awe... it makes her shiver a little. “You... you look incredible.” He told her quietly.

Luffy beamed at him. Dragon looked between them and smiled faintly; the priest went completely white, but before he could start screaming and ruining the moment, her papa gave him a dry warning look that shut him up immediately. Then he stepped off to the side with Nami and Carrot.

Katakuri tugged her over to the priest, who presented the small plate containing an elegant wedding ring and a set of earrings. Luffy gasped with delight, reaching out and touching the earring set... They were beautiful, rose diamond stars set against a little bowl of mochi. Maybe another woman would have found that a bit childish, but Luffy absolutely adored it. “I love them,” she whispered.

Seeing his little smile was so great.

The priest shot Dragon another half defiant, half terrified look, but when this gets precisely no reaction he nervously cleared his throat to start the ceremony. “Pudding-chan, are you okay?” Sanji asked in concern. “Your hands are shaking...”

“It's nothing,” Pudding whispered, her voice wobbling.

Katakuri brushed Luffy's hair aside and removed the placeholder studs. She closed her eyes as he fastened the earrings one after another as the priest read the opening lines; the light weight settling in making her heart squeeze happily. Sanji and Pudding, meanwhile, didn't share anything, hovering uncertainly in place.

“...in holy matrimony,” the priest said. “Do you, Charlotte Katakuri, take this woman Monkey D Luffy as your wife, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health?”

“I do,” Katakuri rumbled.

“Do you, Monkey D Luffy, take this man as your husband?”

“Yup,” Luffy chirped enthusiastically. The priest gave her some slightly wild side eye, while a generally good-natured wave of laughter echoed from the guests. She could almost hear Traffy's exasperated grumble from here...

“In sickness and in health...for richer and for poorer...” The priest continued, running his fingers down the lines of the vows.

“Always,” Katakuri said. He reached up and brushed his fingers against Luffy's cheek. “I could say 'until death do us part', but I feel such a statement is for more optimistic couples, people full of hope... Those are emotions I know very little of. So instead, I can promise you this... that you will be my eyes when I can't see, my hands when I can't move, my heart when mine stops beating. Every part of me belongs to you in this life and any other.”

Luffy's eyes got a little blurry at that; she leaned against his hand, her heart thumping happily. “I'll look for you in every life I wake in,” she promised. “Your burdens are my burdens, your happiness is my happiness, your fights are my fights. Everything I do and achieve, I want to do it with you. I will always love you.”

Katakuri squeezed her hand, his dark eyes softening with affection. The priest fumbled for a moment, caught off guard by the unique vows, before casting a quick nervous look in Big Mom's direction and deciding to just roll with it. He still needed to do the same for Sanji and Pudding, after all; the blonde was murmuring in his not-fiance's ear in concern, and her trembling was getting worse. “If there is anyone who deems these two should not be wed, let them speak now or forever hold their peace,” the priest said.

...It was worth noting that a lot of weddings, particularly pirate ones, didn't speak that particular line in the wedding ceremony. Call the people involved superstitious, but pirates in particular considered speaking it an open invitation to Davy Jones below and Nika above to interrupt the proceedings in dramatic fashion. It must have crossed the priest's mind that perhaps he ought to do the same, but he'd dismissed the thought by reasonably asking himself who would be reckless, bold, or stupid enough to interupt a wedding Charlotte Linlin had arranged.

The whole island shook like a mini quake had hit it. Katakuri instinctively grabbed Luffy's shoulders and pulled her against his chest defensively, his haki fanning out to find the source as a general wave of alarm echoed through the crowd below. His eyes grew wide when a familiar burning haki signature bolted straight towards them. “What-?”

“OUT OF MY WAY, RUNTS!” Monkey D Garp bellowed, unleashing a barrage of punches upon Charlotte Cracker and his cracker soldiers. A burst of Conquerors washed over the general for good measure, sending him and his minions flying in all directions.

“Grandpa?!” Luffy squeaked, instantly recognizing his voice. Dragon groaned and slapped one hand against his forehead.

The crowd screamed and scrambled backwards in a wave as the famous Vice Admiral stormed into the plaza, flanked by his equal parts terrified and resigned protoges and his loyal second in command. Behind him were a ragtag fleet of Marines he'd cowed into following him to the wedding, who were all standing ready for a fight. “I OBJECT!” Garp bellowed. “KATAKURI! YOU DARE DEFILE MY PRECIOUS GRANDDAUGHTER?! COME DOWN HERE AND FACE ME LIKE A MAN!”

“YOU!” Charlotte Linlin bellowed, standing up in a titanic rage. “HOW DARE YOU COME HERE, GARP?! OVEN! BISCUT! HOW DID THE MARINES GET THIS FAR INTO TOTLAND?!”

“I don't know, Mama!” Oven gasped. Her haki was crashing over everyone around her; homies shattered out of existence and wedding guests passed out foaming at the mouth. Only her children remained conscious, and they were sweating furiously from the effort. “We haven't heard a thing from any of the TARTS! No one's reported seeing anything remotely suspicious for days!”

Garp pointed furiously at Linlin. “I'll get to you, you fiendish hag, just wait your turn!” He thundered. “My precious granddaughter is not going to suffer being forced into that dysfunctional mob you call a family!”

“Dad... what are you doing?” Dragon groaned. “I guess I should have seen that coming.”

“You've gotta be kidding me,” Nami squeaked, staring at the man with a mixture of alarm and a little fear. She remembered meeting this crazy old man in Water 7, she'd hoped that would be the last time she saw them for a long time.

“KATAKURIIIII!” Garp yelled, shaking his fist at the cake. Katakuri tensed up; judging by his bride's expression, this was not part of the plan. What should he do first? “GET DOWN HERE! I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU!”

Luffy wiggled out of his grip and ran to the edge of the wedding cake in disbelief. “NO WAY!” She shrieked. “I WON'T LET YOU BEAT UP KAT, GRAMPS! IF YOU TRY, I'LL HAVE TO KICK YOUR ASS!”

Pudding's mouth fell open in bleak disbelief, all three eyes darting between Garp and Luffy. “DON'T GET INVOLVED, LUFFY! THIS IS BETWEEN MEN!” Garp yelled back.

“THAT'S A DUMB LINE AND YOU KNOW IT!” Luffy shouted, stomping her foot furiously. “KAT IS MINE! I LOVE HIM AND I WANNA MARRY HIM, SO I'M GONNA!” Garp clearly hadn't expected that line, because he crashed to the ground in disbelief. Luffy squinted at the area and noticed something that briefly lifted her mood to her usual cheer. “COBY, IS THAT YOU?! HI, I'M GLAD YOU MADE IT BUT YOU BETTER NOT BE HELPING GRAMPS IN THIS!”

“W-Well... I mean, the thing is...” Coby stuttered awkwardly, painfully aware of every single one of Katakuri's siblings staring burning holes in his head.

“LUFFY, I REFUSE TO PERMIT THIS!” Garp yelled, back on his feet in an instant. “YOU'RE TOO PURE AND INNOCENT TO MARRY SOMEONE LIKE KATAKURI!”

“I'M AN ADULT, DAMMIT, I'LL MARRY WHO I WANT TO!” Luffy yelled furiously, oblivious to Big Mom's mounting rage at being completely ignored. “THIS IS WHY YOU NEVER TOLD ME ABOUT WHAT DIFFERENT KISSES MEANT, ISN'T IT?! YOU DIDN'T WANT ME TO FALL IN LOVE?! THAT'S NOT FAIR, GRAMPS! BEING IN LOVE IS WONDERFUL!”

Katakuri wondered if he should try to interject into the conversation, but seeing Luffy all fired up erased any thought of interrupting. Sanji had hearts in his eyes. “Luffy, my love, your burning fury is absolutely divine!” He cheered.

Damn straight, Katakuri thought silently. He turned toward his mother and grimaced at the increasing dome of her haki spreading toward them.

“YOU'RE TOO SWEET AND NAIVE FOR SUCH THINGS! I KNEW YOU'D BE MISLEAD BY CHARMING DEMONS, SO I PROTECTED YOU FROM IT!”

“AM NOT!” Luffy screeched. “YOU BIG, DUMB...MEANIE!”

“Father, you did not just call Luffy stupid in front of most of Totland!” Dragon shouted, irritated. “Honestly, show her some damned respect, you stubborn old fool!”

Garp did a double take at hearing that voice. It couldn't be. “Dragon?! DRAGON, YOU'RE ALLOWING THIS?!”

“Dragon?!” Smoothie shrieked, shocked. Dragon rolled his eyes and ceased concealing his haki signature; screams of shock and disbelief echoed across Whole Cake Chateau. Down by the foot of the cake, Chopper's head was snapping back and forth like he was watching a tennis match while Jinbe hoisted him up on one shoulder and glanced in Ace's direction. The ravenette's exasperated look was intensifying by the second and he just nodded. Now, it might as well be now!

“It's Luffy's choice to make, not ours.” Dragon told his father. “You have to respect that, father.”

“STOP IGNORING ME, YOU BASTAAAAAAARDS!” Big Mom screeched, her Conqurers Haki finally breaking free from her shock to sweep out across the chateau and level everything before it.

Ace's eyes flashed with a dark shadow, and he dropped his hood. “Pipe down, you old hag.” His own Conquerors flooded out of him – completely in full, not the restrained blast that he'd used on Caesar not too long ago. The two waves crashed into each other and the sky cracked, clouds billowing aside and a brief void of black dotted with stars was visible within the eye of the storm. More guests passed out, including the 'Emperors of the Underworld' except for Stussy and an ecstatic Big News Morgan. Now a dozen of Katakuri's siblings – Oven, Daif*cku, Prespero, and Smoothie sank to their knees under the pressure, unwillingly bowing before Roger, Rouge and Edward's son.

When the Haki dissipated, Big Mom zeroed in on him and her face went even whiter. “Yoooooou...” She snarled. “You're here too...?!”

“Me,” Ace confirmed with a bloody smirk, discarding the overcoat. “You actually thought I'd let you get your filthy hands on my Lu? No. I'm here for her and Katakuri... and to destroy you for threatening my Heart.”

“Killlll them... kill them, kill them, KILL THEM!” Big Mom screamed at her minions. Prometheus and Zeus appeared on both her shoulders, the air crackling with ozone. “THE MONKEYS, THE VINSMOKES, THE STRAW HATS, ROGER'S BASTARD! KILL THEM ALL!”

The pagoda over the cake's alter exploded with white light. Gear Five Luffy whirled toward her, power crackling along her arms and the length of her dress. “Oh right... to be honest, I forgot about you for a second,” The sun goddess said with a sharp, excited smirk. “You hurt Kat, you've kept him prisoner... I'm gonna beat your face in for that, you old hag!”

Chapter 30

Chapter Text

Law, much to his ire, was rather familiar with having a plan suddenly explode in his face thanks to unforeseen circ*mstances.

It wasn't even always Luffy's fault – it often was, mind you, but just as frequently some detail that had been buried beyond his sight would abruptly rear its head and undo half of his strategy in an instant. Nothing was quite so infuriating as the sudden realization that he was going to have to improvise...a lot... or leave everything in the hands of his beloved lunatic. And even now he wasn't that love drunk!

With that said, however? Oh, his kingdom for a visual den right now so he could immortalize the expression on Vinsmoke Judge's face. That slacked jawed, bug eyed disbelief, the perfect image of a man who'd thought he'd held all the cards only for the game table to be flipped over, hacked into piece and then set on fire for good measure. Seeing that infuriating feeling inflicted on somebody else for once, and a scumbag like Judge?

The rush of pleasure eclipsed the fear that Big Mom's Conqueror's inflicted in an instant. Leaving only the burning rush of Ace's haki and the light from Luffy.

Ah, but he couldn't let himself get distracted. Law shucked off his coat and whistled, “Room.” The blue bubble whisked out all around him and engulfed every guard and guest around him, including Charlotte Biscuit. Kikoku flew out of her sheathe. “Step aside.”

“Wha-?” Big Mom's enforcer didn't get more than a second to turn around and recognize him before his head went flying off his shoulders. Law didn't do any more than that, knowing Katakuri wouldn't appreciate it; he just needed to disable the man's sibling. The minute men got no such consideration; they burst into dozens and dozens of limbs, torsos and heads. Law caught Biscuit's head and chucked it with some care at the Vinsmoke's table.

“What the hell's going on?” Yonji burst out, jumping to his feet. “Dammit, we don't have our raid suits!” Biscuit's head landed squarely on his food plate as soon as he made the observation. The green haired prince jerked back in surprise. “Oh, gross!”

Time to move. “Shambles,” Law intoned, kicking one of the scattered limbs up into his hands. In an instant the limb appeared on Reiju's rattling chair; the Surgeon grunted slightly when the pinkette crashed into him backward. The pinkette glanced sideways at him, a fever lighting her blue eyes; her lips curved upward.

Judge, who'd been rendered half conscious by the haki clash, jerked at least partially out of his shock when the figure of his 'beloved' oldest child disappeared out of his peripheral vision. “Reiju?!” He half shouted, half demanded.

Law grimaced and yanked the concoction he'd spend most of last night developing; a heavy soporific that wouldn't trigger Reiju's powers and thus be rendered inert, while still being strong enough to pierce through her resistance and drop her into unconsciousness. He wouldn't dare use this on anyone who hadn't been heavily modified unless he wanted them dead or almost dead; hell, it might actually be worth trying on Beast Pirates when they reached Wano.

Reiju closed her eyes and tilted her head to the right, exposing her throat and part of her bare collarbone. Putting her life completely in his hands. Law felt his heartbeat jump, flicked the cap off of the needle and injected the entire contents in an instant.

“Reiju!” Judge bellowed, whirling around and grabbing his spear. Law tsked in annoyance as Reiju slumped in his arms, lifting her and carefully sliding her over one shoulder fireman's style. Kikoku flashed in the sunlight. “Unhand her at once, you bastard! Reiju, defend yourself!” He lunged at the young pirate.

“Shambles!” Law switched himself with a nearby table. The spear impaled the white painted wood, snapping it in half.

The whole island shook, nearly throwing both would-be combatants to the ground. Luffy flew from the top of the cake, her body burning white with Nika's power; she grew in size like a massive parade balloon inflating until she was as big as the cake itself. Falling from the sky like a meteor, her foot crashes down on Linlin's head and drove the Emperor back, the ground tearing up beneath the woman as she's forced away. The shockwave of the impact washed over Law, but he could only grin at the sight. Linlin had been pushed back.

Luffy was gorgeous.

Judge took another wild swing at him, one after another in a panicked frenzy. Law kept moving backward, casually swapping places with any low-level grunt not smart enough to get out of his way to take the hits for him. Reiju had tried to roll off of his shoulder and obey the compulsion, but thankfully the drugs had held and it was a very weak effort as she slid into unconsciousness. Good, he thought. It would have been trouble if I'd had to work around Judge puppeting her on top of everything else. Now I need to get to the Thousand Sunny.

That was going to be interesting, because Whole Cake Chaeteau has descended into complete and utter bedlam. Garp had gotten waylaid by Prespero and was punching his way through waves of candy attacks at the famous marine hero. Katakuri was still up on top of the cake, which was startling to list intensely sideways; he was covering for his sister Pudding, saying something to Sanji and glancing in Luffy's direction. Ace was at her side. Dragon had leapt off the cake and landed near the orchestra, where Brook was standing guard in front of Uta and using his frost powers to keep swarming homies away. He could briefly see Chopper and the wave of water that could only come from Fishman Karatie amidst the general chaos.

It meant that most of the Big Mom Pirates were focused solely on this place, giving Law ample time to slip away – as long as he could deal with the Vinsmokes.

“Trafalgar Law!” Sparking Red came flying at him from the right. He didn't have his raid suit on; none of the princes had theirs available, since they'd been barred from bringing weapons to the wedding. Law wasn't going to get co*cky, though. “Father, stay outside of the blue sphere! That's his devil fruit powers at work!”

Judge stumbled to a pause just outside the blue veil of the Room, much to Law's annoyance. He'd been looking forward to slicing the man's face into even smaller squares than he'd inflicted on Kin'emon back then. Yonji was winding up some kind of attack, and he couldn't track where Niji was.

“Tact,” he uttered. A massive pile of fallen food, broken concrete, wafer architecture and some unlucky sods assembled around him to form a reinforced bunker. “Shambles.” His concern right now wasn't fighting his childhood villains, as exciting as the idea was. No, he was making a strategic retreat before circling back around to his allies.

Lightning and fire struck the bunker and obliterated it, kicking up dust. Law used it to briefly disappear on Germa's leaders, dropping down through the floor and into a building below. Running along by the windows, he drew up the map in his mind and grimaced. “Not as close as I would have liked,” he muttered. He'd kept that to himself during the final 'briefing', but it's true. The port where Luffy's ship is docked was an hour away at a dead sprint, assuming nothing held him up.

Reiju felt like a sack of bricks on his shoulder; Law couldn't help but wonder if he'd weighed Luffy down in a similar way when she'd been hauling him around Dressrosa. He rarely fights while carrying a burden thanks to his powers, and the subtle pressure slowing his movements down is cumbersome. Did he ever end up thanking Luffy or Robin, after eventually giving up on trying to get them to abandon him? Maybe he should ask...

A little cumbersome, anyway. Law could handle it with ease; the real trouble would be fighting Linlin, not this. By the same token, the less energy he spent on this side mission, the better.

The ceiling behind him split open, Judge crashing down onto the floor behind him. “What business do you have with us?! Surgeon of Death?!” He bellowed, grunting as he poured on more speed. Without his raid suit, he just couldn't quite close the gap between himself and the lithe younger man; Law easily teleported out of his grasp and flung a weapons rack at his leg.

“You disappointed me,” Law responded coolly, tightening his grip on Reiju just slightly. He swung Kikoku in a wide arc; Ichiji's attack, aimed through the window, was split apart and flew harmlessly around him.

Rage and confusion cascaded across the king's expression. “What?” He demanded, flabbergasted.

“I've read Sora, Warrior of the Sea for years now...” Law said, idly ducking past Ichiji and switching a brick on the ground in front of him with a pike that was sticking upright. The prince didn't check his momentum in time and got impaled through the shoulder, leaving him cursing in pain. “To think I'd come here to meet you in person... and discover that instead of some grandiose evil king, you're nothing but scum scraped off the bottom of a boot.”

Little bits of what he'd learned from the lineage factor papers surfaced in his mind. His fingers itched to stop retreating and start fighting, to carve that man up akin to how Ikkaku would slice up chicken for dinner.

Judge sputtered, rushing past Ichiji without even a token expression of concern for him – the insult took priority. “Who are you, some filthy pirate, to call me scum?!” he thrust his lance at him over and over. “Because of a silly little comic!”

“Silly indeed,” Law snarked, “because you really ought to be more respectable by comparison. Yet somehow Germa Rex never came up with the notion of using his daughter as a flesh puppet. Shambles!” He swapped Judge with Niji, who'd just jumped in through the window. Confused by the sudden change in location, Niji lost control over his momentum and staggered – allowing Law to catch him in the Room and slice his legs off at the knees.

“What the f*ck?!” The blue haired prince bellowed when he crashed to the floor. If Law felt an incredible thrill striking a blow against Dengeki Blue in a dramatic pitched battle, that was his business. The heady rush of adrenaline was just a bonus.

Niji shoved himself up on his elbows and tried to get up before realizing what was wrong. “My legs!” He shouted, scrambling to try and retrieve them. Yonji bolted right past him, making no effort to help him and in fact trodding on his left foot on his way to Luffy. “Ow! Yonji, you bastard!”

“Flesh puppet?!” Judge demanded, his cheeks coloring from anger and exertion both. “Don't project your own plans onto me, Surgeon of Death!”

“Oh? I didn't realize I was the inventor of Lineage Factor, not you,” Law responded with biting sarcasm. With another quick movement, he swapped places with Ichiji – causing him to take the blow from his younger brother meant for Law himself. “Was I the one who put an implant in the princess's skull and warped her brain chemistry to make her subject to your every verbal command? Strange, I have no recollection of doing something like that.” Never mind that he and Reiju were too close in age for such a thing to be possible, he had points to make.

“How did you know about that...?!” The man paled a little, his eyes skittering to his unconscious daughter. Law could see it, the bud of a realization that the so called king was refusing to process – or perhaps he was unable to.

“You're not even denying it?” Law scoffed. “Incredible. Do you know how disgusting your actions have to be, to move a pirate like myself to an act of altruism?” He shambled himself to the other end of the room and dove down the stairwell. His progress toward the Sunny has slowed down some; he couldn't let himself get too distracted taunting the bastard.

It was a shame that Reiju was unable to reject the man with her own words, as she longed to. Saying conscious just wasn't practical, and Law seriously doubted that Judge would make it off this island alive. If nobody else killed him, he was going to!

“Get back here, you coward!” Judge screamed, tearing after him. Niji moved to try and follow, or at least reattach his legs, but that was the exact moment when a storm of crows circled around the windows. The prince looked to the side and his eyes widened; Ichiji and Yonji both abandoned him to follow Judge, thus his warning was lost in the din of battle.

Law sliced through the floor and dropped down onto the ground level. Bolting for the door, he smashed it open with a well placed kick and stepped out into the sunlight.

The sight that greeted him nearly made him freeze up for a moment; fortunately, the uniforms of the Neo Marines were different in coloring and branding, allowing him to realize who he was looking at in a quick second. They must have taken the port by surprise because these grounds were a battlefield too; green vines burst from the ground and swirled in every direction, grabbing one Charlotte by the neck to quickly choke the pirate unconscious or perhaps kill them.

“Mosa, Mosa!” Captain Binns bellowed, weaving around Charlotte Galette and Charlotte Opera as they attempted to break his hold on their sister Amande. Around him Neo Marines armed with seastone bullets were giving him covering fire, and when Law stepped out into the plaza a large pack of guards were sent flying from a single punch.

The clicking sound of Neo Fleet Admiral Zephyr's sea stone arm canon was a fresh thing in his memory still. Law felt a wry grin cross his face and he sprinted toward the whirlwind of black and purple.

“Shambles.” A few pirates who were coming up behind Zephyr collapsed into pieces. The man snorted and turned toward Law, his long black cloak billowing out behind him. He was as tall and powerfully built as Garp, with just as much scarring visible on his bare chest. His eyes burned with a sense of powerful purpose, a light that Law had seen in Corazon's eyes when he'd been taking him from hospital to hospital hell bent on getting him cured. “Strange that we should be meeting again just like this so soon,” He commented.

Zephyr snorted, giving him a quelling look. Law straightened his shoulders; he held no illusions that this man felt anything for a pirate like himself but deep dislike. Likely the only reason the man was willing to be a part of this was his surrogate granddaughter's involvement, as the famous hero would likely prefer to add Law and every other pirate here to his defeat tally in any other circ*mstances. “If you have time for glib comments, you have time to reach Luffy's ship.” The old man said tersely. “Princess Reiju's status?”

“Unconscious and ready for surgery.”

“Good.” Zephyr tossed him a whistle. “Karasu will take you the rest of the way. Once she's secure, go back and support your allies.” There's an enormous crash of pressure at the top of Whole Cake Chateau, the haki reverberations shaking the whole island like the start of an earthquake.

“That was the plan,” Law said mildly. Judge burst out of the building and rushed towards him. “There is a slight holdup, though.”

“I'll tend to it,” Zephyr responded, smirking. That was the face of death itself, and despite himself Law felt a chill go down his spine. “The Neo Marines do not recognize Germa as a legitimate government. They are a pirate armada and one guilty of everything from racketeering and wanton slaughter to human experimentation.”

Being one of the only people in the Straw Hat-Heart-Whitebeard alliance possessing of common sense, Law stowed away his disappointment at not getting to Judge cut in half, promptly stepped out of the line of fire, and sheathed Kikoku in order to blow the whistle. The island shook again, cracks forming in the earth as crows flew down towards him. This time the explosion was much more violent – Law turned around and craned his neck up. There's a pillar of fire and smoke shooting up to the sky, and the lack of white flames makes him think it wasn't Ace's doing.

“What the hell was what?” He wondered, alarmed.

Zephyr snorted, his lips twitching upward. “'There will be real pirates there,'” He said, sounding rather like he was quoting someone. “'Not the lousy raider fakes you've always fought'.” He rolled his shoulder, and the claw of his sea stone arm snaps shut. “Why did I have a feeling you'd end up in a wedding like this anyway, Luffy?”

“Fleet Admiral Zephyr...!” Judge said in disbelief, the blood evacuating his face. “W-W-Why are you here?”

Zephyr snorted. “Get moving, Law,” he said briskly. Law paused, broadcasting his irritation at being ordered around, then pivoted to leap aboard the massive crow that had just swooped down to him.

With that, Zephyr turned his full attention scathingly to the so called King of Germa. “As for why I'm here... my little granddaughter invited me long ago.” His smile... it wasn't a sharp and brutal as the day he'd been informed that Weevile had been made a Warlord, but it was a close run thing. “That makes me obligated to exterminate all the vermin on the premises, wouldn't you say? One 'parent' to another?”

Judge could only quail in pure terror.

Sanji hadn't been expecting the explosion; Ace was directly in front of his field of vision, after all, and the sudden eruption of flame and gunpowder had come from the side. He refused to be caught off guard, however; hoisting Pudding in his arms, he handed her to her brother. “Sorry,” he said hurriedly, “take her somewhere safe, we'll manage until you get back.” He held his arms out to Nami and Carrot who were staring at the floor beneath them in naked horror. “Ladies, hold on tight!”

“R-Right!” Nami said, snapping out of her panic. She and Carrot lunged at him, grabbing onto his outstretched arms.

Katakuri's head snapped in the direction of his utterly berserk mother before they were both forced to jump from the trembling cake – the whole thing was coming down, and quickly. Whatever had exploded, it had been too close to the venue for its fragile stability to hold. Platforms of mochi burst into existence four at a time from his outstretched arm; Pudding buried her face in his shoulder. Sanji kicked his legs against the air, scrambling down toward the shaking pavilion below. Nami winced, admirably not screaming fearfully at their controlled but very rapid descent.

“Move, move, move!” Sanji shouted frantically at Brook and Uta-chan, who stood perilously close to the structure as it began to crumble. “The whole thing's coming down!”

Uta-chan shouted something very unprincesslike in alarm; Brook grabbed her by the wrist and hoisted her up onto his back. In a familiar blur of movement the Soul King sped away from the shadow of the wedding cake. A wave of water from a burst pipe carried Chopper and Jinbe away from the base, while Revolutionaries planted in the crowd started grabbing unconscious guests and carrying them away from trouble as fast as possible. Ace, Luffy, they hardly seemed to notice – they were fighting against Big Mom together, white flames crashing into Prometheus and Zeus's thunder washing harmlessly over Gear 5's beautiful form.

Where was Sabo? Sanji's shoes crunched into the pavement and he looked around hurriedly for any sign of the blonde revolutionary. His observation Haki whirled through the battleground until it locked onto the warm presence – he was off fighting someone close to the foot of the explosion.

Katakuri stared up at his mother, a whirl of tortured emotion in his face. Sanji could sympathize, he really could; he'd never thought that he'd want to save his wretched biological brothers, yet knowing what he does now, he can't stand for their pitiful half-existence being snuffed out. But this is a poor place for conflicted loyalties, and he's about to yell at him when the man's eyes widened.

“Run to the right, quickly!” He said urgently.

“Eh?! But the cake's gonna fall on top of us!” Nami protested even as she scrambled to obey their clairvoyant ally.

“There's no need to worry about that anymore,” Katakuri responded.

Sanji hardly has a second to ask what he's referring to when Luffy's father strode past them, calmly setting a completely unconscious Charlotte Oven on one of the few upturned tables. Instantly it was like lightning going up his spine – the ingrained instinct that screamed of a storm's approach.

Dragon whirled on the spot as the three of them got clear and raised one hand to the sky. Instantly black clouds appeared, crackling with electricity. A wind kicked up, intensely localized around the cake and all its crumbling fragments. Then -

“DIVINE DEPARTURE!”

Sanji hadn't seen Red-Haired Shanks fight before. When the man had arrived at Marineford with his crew to send Teach packing and prevent the Marines from wasting more lives in a useless effort to make some sort of crippling strike on the retreating Whitebeards, he hadn't had to do more than unsheathe his blade and utter a simple threat to end the war on the spot. In the years following he'd vaguely heard about battles the Emperors fought, but that had never included a description of Luffy's idol showing the power that he'd radiated in that moment.

When the words rang out across this battlefield, they were followed half a second later by a crackle of haki and red light. That was all Sanji was capable of registering – he was almost flung into the air like a leaf by the shockwave of the attack hitting home on its target. The massive cake castle simply vanished in that haze, its structure obliterated; what many tiny fragments of it remained spun in the circles of Dragon's miniature whirlwind, not even touching the ground.

In an instant, the wedding cake's collapse was neutralized completely. Sanji couldn't help but feel a little dumbstruck. The chateau itself was still shaking threateningly, but it felt like an immensely distant concern to what he'd just seen.

The power display took his breath away. Awe washed over him as his vision faded back into focus, almost like when he'd first seen Luffy enter Gear 5.

Shanks ran into the plaza, his crew on his heels. He didn't even look winded; there's a sharp devil's smile on his face and his one arm is completely steady. “Thanks for the assist!” He called out cheerfully, as if he was merely visiting a friend. “But I'm pretty sure that's only half the problem, Dragon-san! I suspect that a collapse like this will even give the two of us some bruises to remember!”

“Your smile doesn't match the supposed severity of the situation,” Dragon snarked, unfazed. The winds swept harmlessly over Sanji and the others as more and more clouds covered the sky practically up to the horizon. “I'll handle the chateau; keep everyone away from the edges of the buildings, if you please.”

“Done,” Katakuri said, shaking himself out of his daze. Placing Pudding on her feet, he squeezed his sister's arm and murmured, “stay with the Straw Hats for now.”

“What?!” Pudding sputtered, before tripping over her own feet thanks to the ground tilting dangerously.

“M...My wedding cake!” Big Mom screamed, her irises shrinking down into utter pinpricks when she saw the crumbs remaining of the treat. Whatever thread of sanity she was holding onto to snapped in the most audible way. “You bastards...you bastards...! Shanks?!”

Shanks gave her a cheerful seeming salute. Sanji took that moment of distraction to dart from the crowd in the direction of Sabo's haki signature. “Hello, Linlin! Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?” He said with an edge of sarcasm.

Big Mom's response gets cut off by Luffy punching her in the face. She'd turned her hand into a massive hammer, haki glistening along it as the blow landed squarely on the demon woman's large nose. Linlin staggered back a step, and has to retreat once more when Ace follows up Luffy's attack with a burning white version of Fire Fist. Sanji kept just outside of that battlefield, as much as he wanted to leap to Luffy's aid; she has Ace with her, and he won't risk getting in their way.

I really miss Ussop's covering fire right now, the cook thought wistfully. The sooner the crew was back together, the better.

“YOU!” Garp squawked in disbelief. The crazy old man was prying himself free of Prespero's candy prison; the Charlotte was embedded in the ground, half conscious. Sanji shot a nervous look over his shoulder and instinctively put on more speed when he saw Sunshine's grandfather wrench his right arm loose. “YOU'RE HERE TOO?!”

“Nice to see you too, Garp.” Shanks responded, unfazed. “It's been a while!”

Benn pistol whipped a man who'd been making an unfriendly move in Uta and Brooke's direction, dropping him like a sack of bricks. “How about you focus on just offending one monster at a time, Captain?” He half scolded, half grumbled.

The sliding ground tilts dangerously again as Sanji got around the edge of where the cake used to be and thankfully spotted Sabo a moment later.

He was in combat with a woman – a beautiful blonde who nevertheless had one of the most wicked smiles Sanji had ever seen on her face. Normally – most of the time, truthfully – Sanji would have immediately frozen up just at the sight of her, and certainly wouldn't have been willing to intervene in the fight. But he couldn't help but remember a conversation he and Luffy had once...

“Sanjiiiiii, spar with me!”

“Sunshine, please... I could never hit you! The very idea makes my heart stop in my ribs!” He protested, attempting to hold strong against those pleading hazel eyes. They were most of the way to Water 7 and the energy that possessed Luffy after their defeat at Admiral Aokiji's hands had yet to dim. She'd been training in one way or another the entire time after her recovery, and now she was siezed with the need to test the results.

Sanji was torn, because while he was sworn to serve her in every way possible, sparring would require more than just standing still and letting her pummel him. And he couldn't! He refused!

Luffy groaned, scrunching her brow up. After staying silent for a few seconds, she looked up at him again and asked, “Sanji, do you respect my dream?”

That question caught him completely off guard. “W-What? Of course I do!” He stuttered in a panic.

“Then do this to help me,” Luffy said, clapping her hands together. “Sanji, I wouldn't ask you to be anyone but who you are. But if I'm going to become King, I have to get so much stronger than I am. You can't train, really train, just by punching rocks and practising on your own. I can't train with Robin or Nami the same way I would with you because they don't have the endurance you and Zoro do!”

She crowded closer to him, her expression both serious and entreating. “I am a girl, Sanji. But I'm a warrior too, and a warrior who can't take a hit doesn't deserve to call herself one! So please, if you want me to achieve my dream, spar with me!”

Sanji stared at her, desperately torn for what felt like some of the longest moments of his life. It ran against his value to hit a woman, but... would it not be equally disreputable of him to refuse to assist a woman who was pleading with him for help? And not just any woman, but his beloved Sunshine?!

A migraine formed in his skull, and he almost coughed up blood from the stress of that indecision. After a long moment of thinking, he'd uttered a shaky sigh and bowed to her. Ultimately he simply could not deny her anything. “As you wish, Captain.”

Her joyful cheer of 'hooray!' instantly assured him he'd made the right choice.

It hadn't been easy for him, especially at first... but seeing what good it did for Luffy, he adjusted. Slowly it evolved from allowing himself to lay hands on Luffy in sparring to making the single concession to himself – if fighting a woman would allow him to assure his Sunshine achieved her dream, then that's what he would do.

So when Stussy was about to break through Sabo's guard to jab him with her paralytic venom, Sanji flew across the remaining distance between them and slammed his foot into her side. “Mouten Shot!” The 'Queen of the Pleasure District' cried out in surprised pain and staggered backward; this gave Sabo enough leverage to shove the woman back and slam his pipe into her shoulder.

Sanji's stomach rolled over at the impact; his throat sealed up like a vice, but he kept his equilibrium and stopped at Sabo's side. “Thanks,” The blue eyed blonde said gratefully. “My dashing prince.” He flashed Sanji a smile that made his heart do something the cook couldn't put to words.

Sanji opened his mouth to insist that he was the wrong gender for flattery to get him anywhere, but what he said instead was, “This is the first time I haven't wanted to punch someone for calling me that. You're entirely too charming for your own good.” Heat flooded to his face and he told himself it was just adrenaline. “Who is she?”

“Stussy of CP0,” Sabo responded, putting his pipe on his shoulder. The wind was howling nearby, almost drowning out his voice. The ground was shaking but not falling apart; Dragon was holding this broken area together with his powers. “She's here to assassinate Luffy.”

Ah. Sanji's shoulders relaxed immediately, the stress of fighting a beautiful woman vanishing at once. “Well, we can't allow that, can we?” He asked, putting his hands in his pockets.

Sabo smirked in pleasure and anticipation. Stussy sneered, her eyes flashing as she looked between them with the same vicious cold eyes as Rob Lucci. “No, we can't.”

Chapter 31

Chapter Text

The winds slowed Whole Cake Chateau's descent enough that when it crashed more or less harmlessly to sea level; Luffy yipped slightly when the ground levelled out roughly beneath her, Ace and Linlin. Thankfully she doesn't lose her balance. A laugh spilled freely from her lips, awe and admiration swirling in her chest as she took in what her father was capable of. Remembering that day in Loguetown was no comparison; while the winds aren't touching her, she can feel the air pressure shifting now that Dragon no longer has to whole an entire Chateau together.

The storm clouds covering the sky have made it so dark you'd almost think it was the middle of the night; she can hear the crackle of lightning amidst both the sky and Big Mom's white cloud, which is grinning and laughing instead of looking enraged like her other homie weapon, the sun.

That one looks as livid as Linlin herself. And calling the old hag 'livid' felt like an understatement. Her eyes were completely blank, irises nothing but tiny pinpricks; she wore a face-splitting rictus of a grin on her face worthy of the demon king himself. Haki rolled off of her in waves, and her body was slightly trembling like she physically couldn't contain all her rage. Soul's presence exploded from an omnipresent background haze to a burning pressure that brought back memories of the 'Boiling Hell' level of Impel Down.

“My cake... my wedding cake...” Linlin snarled, saliva spilling down her half open mouth. Prometheus opened his mouth and shot a jet of flame at Luffy. “Life... or cake...?! Heavenly fire!” Her homie launched an attack like a laser at Luffy's chest.

Ace kicked the ground and jumped up to the level of the battle homie. “White Hawk Wing!” He thundered. His fist dissolved into white flames; his upper arm blackened with haki, reinforcing his trademark attack into a furious return blow. Prometheus's attack hits the searing heat and presses back for a moment before being completely overwhelmed. “My life is my own, Linlin!”

Soul's power washed harmlessly over him unable to take hold. Bound to Linlin though she was, the devil spirit couldn't help but be impressed. Only a complete lack of fear could protect one from her powers. He's grown into a fine young man, hasn't he? She said lightly.

Linlin swung Napolean up at Ace; his eyes narrowed, the young emperor swung one leg forward to meet it and his flames block the blade an inch from where it would slash through his foot and lower leg. The clash caused a loud crack to split the air and the backlash forces the two opponents apart.

You bet! Mera cackled proudly. He's my favorite partner!

Luffy darted forward, catching Ace on her shoulder in her shape shifted state as he starts to fall back to earth. “Gum Gum Jet Gatling!” She called, punching once before delivering a blisteringly rapid series of punches to the woman's face. Linlin doesn't give an inch at first, before the many follow ups send her skidding backwards through the debris.

Zeus unloaded a massive thunderbolt onto Luffy; she nudges her Ace to move out of the way and brought her arm up defensively. The lightning does nothing, as harmless to her as Eneru's. “Nope!” She chirped cheerfully. Her hand lashed out and grabbed the homie's face; the cloud squawked frantically as her arm snapped down toward the ground and slammed him into the earth.

“Owowowow...” Zeus whined, ducks swirling in a circle around his head. It wasn't often that he encountered an enemy that could touch him, much less cause him pain with a strong blow. That really hurt! His childish mind as spawned by Soul was not accustomed or braced for pain, and with that came the instinct to slip away from the source of his trauma.

He was attempting to slink off when Big Mom's enraged scream freezes him in place. “You little bastard!” Linlin screeched, slicing at the air between them. The shockwave split the air; Ace and Luffy hold their ground even as debris and her own men were flung about all around them like dust in a storm. “I should have cut yoU OUT OF THE whor*'S BELLY BEFORE YOU WERE BORN!”

...It was impressive that the only indication of Ace's fury at the comment was the white flames that burst from both his wrists and his ankles like bracers. The reminder of what happened the last time he'd lost his temper was always at the back of his mind, putting a bottleneck on how much he was willing to stop thinking in battle no matter how angry he became.

Anger was more useful cold, and channeled into haki.

Big Mom reeled one hand back and summoned dozens of spirit spears over her head; her eyes glowing bloody red, she unleashed them on the pair, firing like hundreds of bullets. “Heat Haze,” Ace growled. His wrists and ankles erupted with Ryo, and white flame erupted out as a wall. The purple lightning rained upon the flames, the powers burning through each other; when the smoke cleared both Ace and Luffy had moved – splitting up and attacking from both sides.

Luffy stretched out her left arm long and then unrolled it into a slinky. “Gum Gum Net!” She swung the white limb forward in an arc. Linlin swung Napolean to slice through her, but her arm resisted, bending with the momentum like a knife being buried in butter. Her hand shot around the other woman's neck and trapped it in the spirals. “Bounce!” Mimicking the way a child would toss a slinky out and snap it right back into their hand, Luffy dragged Big Mom right toward her and unleashed with her free arm, hammering blows into her face, flinging her away when the woman yanked her sword arm loose and tried to stab her.

Prometheus flew back overhead and launched himself straight at Ace. A shark's smile crossed the young man's face; he split apart into his logia form, swirling past the homie and encircling him. “Plasma Rocket!” His voice roared from the flames. Prometheus's laughter turned into a scream as flames far, far hotter than his own erupted all around him. His form was permeated immediately and almost swallowed up by the superior white flames that were melting all food and candy around them into a sticky swamp of boiling syrup, sap and sugar.

Ace reformed on the other side of him, spun and delivered a Ryo-infused kick to the staggered homie that sent him skidding through. Big Mom tore herself free of Luffy's grip; the goddess withdrew her arm with a snap and a grunt, hopping in the air to avoid touching down in the mire the battle was creating.

And a mire it was; rivers of the boiling liquids were splashing out in every direction, flooding into city streets. Brook launched himself up onto the nearest rooftop that hadn't dissolved from the mere ambient temperature in the air, setting Uta on her feet. “Yohohoho! What a sight!” The skeleton laughed.

Linlin shrieked when lightning erupted from the clouds dragon had set up and struck her in the back three times. Dragon snorted, pivoting slightly from where he'd paused to cover for a terrified family from the city district. “Start running before the streets are utterly impassable,” He instructed the father of three calmly. “Head toward the east, my people there will shelter you.” The man nodded jerkily and swept his shaky youngest child up in his arms.

Of course, Big Mom wasn't staggered for long. Her gaze ripped across the battlefield, the frayed edges of her sanity locking onto a sight that only enraged her further. “Katakuri!” She bellowed, eyes on her perfect son. “Stop wasting time and come assist your mother!”

More purple soul lightning burst from the hands; instead of just targeting the two in front of her, she let it rain across the battlefield recklessly. Uta shrieked and yanked Brook to the right, narrowly avoiding the attack aimed at both of them. The impact shockwave still sent both of them tumbling down from the roof and narrowly avoiding a pit of boiling sugar.

“Uta!” Shanks cried out in concern. His sword deflected the bolts meant for him and he bolted to her.

“I'm fine!” Uta insisted, shying away from him as she staggered to her feet. Shanks grabbed her shoulders and helped her up the rest of the way anyway; she squawked and squirmed out of his hold. “Let go of me and focus on the fight if you have to be here!”

Luffy wheeled around and grabbed lightning from the sky. With a grunt she threw it in the direction of the pavilion, where Sabo and Sanji were still fighting a blonde lady she didn't recognize; the attack crashed into the spirit spears and detonated them safely, allowing them to continue fighting.

Jimbe unleashed a wave with fishman karate and narrowly surfed out of the way of the deadly rain, carrying Chopper along with him. Benn Beckman cursed and dodged to cover, where Yassop was firing away at Charlotte Daif*cku and his genie.

Luffy growled and transformed both her hands into scythes. “Hey! Your enemy is us, old hag, don't you forget it!” She shouted before spinning in place. “Gum Gum...Buzzsaw!” Her form becoming a blur, she shot straight at Big Mom fearlessly.

“Brat!” Linlin screamed, bringing Naploean down on her. Or trying to; the spinning scythes knocked the swing wide and snapped around the hilt guard of the swords, using its momentum to slice violently along the old woman's fingers. That alone wouldn't have been enough to make Linlin let go... but seconds later Ace landed elegantly on the edge of the back of Napolean and dropped his hand onto the homie. The metal homie screeched in agony as he suddenly found his body flooded with mind-melting heat, a sound jerkily echoed by his creator when the hilt became too hot for even her to hold onto. Her fingers slackening, Ace jumped free and Luffy slung Napolean out of Linlin's hand and clear to the edge of the island itself.

“That's Nika to you,” Ace scoffed. Then he targeted Big Mom's injured hand and uttered, “Searing Scatter Shot!”

A barrage of white flames like missiles launch from his fingers; Big Mom laughed and surrounded her hand with haki. Luffy flipped backwards over her and crashed a pair of cymbals she pulled out of her cloud right next to her ears; the sound wave rang the woman's eardrums, causing her concentration to fall apart halfway through the attack – allowing the rest of the flame missiles to strike home in gruesome fashion.

“And shut your f*cking mouth about my mother!” Ace thundered as Big Mom uttered an ungodly screech of pain. “She loved her husbands, instead of seeing them as objects to be used and thrown away! She cherished me and used her last moments of freedom to ensure I'd live! Who the hell are you to insult her when you murder your own kids?!”

“You hurt them more than anyone else ever has!” Luffy joined in. Her hands snap back to their normal shape and she stretches up to literally slap Zeus off in Nami's direction when the cloud rose again to try and start something. “You're not a mom, you're a demon!”

“What the hell would you know about that, you stupid little girl?!” Linlin bellowed. All around people slapped their hands over their ears from the painful jabbing of her haki-infused voice. “I offer you a place in my family and this is how you repay me?! Bringing those men here?! Ruining the ceremony?! Letting my delicious wedding cake be destroyed?! When I'm done with you...there won't be enough left behind to bury! HEAVENLY FIRE!”

“You never wanted me as a family member, you wanted a drugged up tool! I'm Nika's friend and I'm nobody's slave, especially not yours!” Luffy yelled back, clapping her hands together with a thunderous echo. “Gum Gum DAWN'S RAYS!”

Blinding light erupts from the wheel above her head and shoulders; each circle along that wheel sucked in light from all across the island, subtly but tangibly dropping visibility be a few degrees. As Big Mom's attack approached Luffy threw her arms open wide and from each of those circles erupted cannons of golden-pink light. It crashed into the fire and all but devoured it; Linlin's eyes widened at the sheer scale of the attack before it slammed into her and sent her flying.

Onlookers watched with their jaws on the floor; Morgans scurried out from behind an exasperated Rockstar to furiously take pictures. “Do you actually have a death wish, man? Start running away! I ain't no bird babysitter!” The Red Haired Pirate yelled in exasperation, kicking the mesmerized news man in the shins.

“Run from this?!” Morgans yelped. “You underestimate my integrity, Rockstar of the Red Haired Pirates! I would rather perish than let such BIG NEWS go unreported! If the World Government has it's way, they'll bury this whole event and claim that Vice Admiral Garp was responsible for whatever victory occurs here. Never! Never!”

“I mean, they would, but –“ Rockstar sputtered, glancing in the direction of Garp, who had just finished his 'fight' with Charlotte Prespero. Meaning he could go back to trying to chase down Katakuri or, equally likely, Shanks and whatever member of his crew he could get his hands on. Like him. “Argh, screw it! Go ahead, then! Your funeral, bird brain!” He yelled, taking off in Benn Beckman's direction.

Big Mom wrenched herself out of the crater Luffy's attack had punched her into; incredulously, she realized that it had punched through her haki and left burns on her shoulders and upper chest. Her sword hand was dripping blood and burned very badly. Proof that she has been injured, legitimately injured, by Roger's progeny and the little bitch who'd gotten lucky enough to steal the sun for herself! So great was her rage that even her hunger pangs for the wonderful cake she had been denied were partially sublimated.

What's the matter, Linlin? A familiar voice taunted her, laughing. I told you, you get complacent...

No...no, that bitch doesn't get to win even beyond the grave. Linlin shoved herself back to her feet and once again, she located the only one of her sons who wasn't completely tied up fighting the various demons Straw Hat had summoned to her paradise island. A son who noticeably was not in a rush to come to her defence. Veins in her forehead throbbing with anger, she turned and bellowed, “KATAKURI! Get over here and help your mother!”

Katakuri paused from helping the last gaggle of civilians escape the edges of the syrup tar pits that were starting to form and turned towards her. Seeing the destruction, his mother in a rage the likes of which he hadn't seen from her in over twenty years. His eyes moved between her and Luffy for a few seconds, and his expression settled as he came to a single conclusion. “No.” He said calmly.

“WHAT?!” Big Mom demanded, certain that she couldn't have heard that right. Katakuri would never refuse a command from her.

His hands were shaking... so he balled them into fists. Imagining his beautiful bride as a prisoner on this island, her spirit broken and the light gone from her eyes, caused a rush of defiance so intense that no amount of learned fear and lingering obedience could hope to contain. “I will not!” Katakuri repeated, loud enough that no one in range was uncertain of what he just said.

Three words shouldn't freeze an entire battlefield, but that one did. Everyone briefly stopped dead in their tracks and twisted to look at the tableau because they needed to see it with their own eyes to process that yes, that had just happened. Charlotte Katakuri had just flat out refused an order for his mother.

Linlin's forehead veins bulged out even more dramatically. She looked like a demon possessed corpse; Big News Morgans scooped up the visual transmission den den and pointed it straight at her as he waited on baited breath for the next twist in this drama. “WHAT WAS THAT?!” The Emperor screeched in disbelief.

“Mother, the only kindness you have ever done me was introducing me to my bride!” Katakuri shouted, not backing down one inch. Luffy's joyful, pleased laughter eggs him on. “All my life I've served you without flinching, and in return all you have ever done is use me! Use my siblings! You have never loved us without causing us pain in the same breath! I accepted being a doll for your collection because it was all I've ever known, because I knew no other place would take in the child of an infamous Emperor! I held my brothers and sisters when they were bruised and bloody and weeping from the wounds you gave them, mental and physical! But still I gave you everything I had, because you are my mother!”

Yes! YES! Mochi screamed in vindictive joy, bubbling with glee. For the first time Katakuri felt a parental, fatherly haki wrap around him internally, his partner right at his back urging him onward. Tell her the truth! Tell her what a fake and a liar she is! Choose love and life, now!

Big Mom wheeled around and faced him fully. “I AM YOU MOTHER!” She bellowed. “YOU BELONG TO ME, ALL OF YOU DO! ALL OF THAT IS JUST WHAT FAMILIES DO FOR EACH OTHER!”

“Do what you wish to me,” Katakuri responded. “Any beating or rejection you deliver is nothing I haven't experienced before.” He gritted his teeth and burst out firmly, “but you cannot make me harm my bride! Never!”

His Observation Haki screamed to life; the vision flashes before his eyes quickly, his mother summoning Prometheus to her side and targeting him with a beam of fire hot enough to incinerate even a New World Pirate down to ashes. He put his haki into his feet and prepared to move even before his vision ended – showing him it wasn't necessary.

Luffy all but teleported in front of him as Prometheus swelled to launch that fire blast. She shoved him behind her with one hand and brought up the other to her mouth. Her arm doubled in size and ballooned in size, resembling the Gear 4^th form for the Elephant Gun. “Stay away from my husband you old hag!” She screamed before launching her fist at Prometheus.

She powered through the fire launched from the homie, splitting through the flames like an axe. Katakuri was frozen half of a second as he processed the sudden image – never, in his life, had anyone stepped before him and an attack before. That had always been his duty. Being defended... and by Luffy. Your fights are my fights, her voice echoed in her ears.

It only lasted half a second, though. Katakuri's discipline held steady; he moved and created a wall of mochi to shelter Luffy from the heat. Grabbing his trident from within his coat and extending it to its full length, he commented, “I saw that coming, you know... I was going to dodge.”

Luffy snorted a stream of steam. “I know. Doesn't matter! She tried to hit you, and I've got a problem with that!”

Katakuri's lips quirked upward as Ace dropped down next to them, wreathed in flames. “I wouldn't dream of protesting it.” He looked towards the young Emperor and their eyes met, ocean green into dark blue; for a moment a mutual understanding moved between them.

Ace smiled at him, accepting and almost a little playful despite the situation, and he offered Katakuri his hand. “Welcome to the family,” he said easily. Knowing the weight of those words when spoken by a Whitebeard Pirate and his fellow husband, the older man was struck with a feeling of unworthiness mixed with surprised pleasure.

“Thank you, Ace-san.” He said, taking his hand in his own. Ace's expression lit up like a warm beacon, and he can absolutely see why Luffy loves him so. The smoke cleared around Big Mom as the old woman regained her bearings and prepared to attack again, Napolean returning to her side... but not Zeus. Zeus was missing. “I'm glad to be accepted.”

Luffy beamed brightly at the back and forth, and the three of them pivot to face the enemy together. If they knew that Big News Morgan was using one of the special visual snails to capture their battle, they wouldn't have cared either way.

“Look at that old hag! First time a marriage has ever blown up in her face, I bet!” The half drunk Beast Pirate laughed, waving vaguely at the visuals being transmitted all across the four blues. The general bustle of Onigashima had ground to a halt when the images from Totland started appearing; at first their master had been annoyed at the sight of what he'd thought was Big Mom flaunting her newest acquisition and tried to shut off the various snails, but when the wedding got crashed?

Well, at that point Captain Kaido, The Most Powerful Creature in the world, had done a 180 and decided that this was good quality entertainment. He'd given the order to bring out all the best booze and was currently relaxing in his palace room, watching the sights intently with Black Maria keeping him company.

On the floor, the mooks were laughing with excitement at one of their only real enemies being subjected to an absolute deluge of power coming down on their heads. “Has there ever been a moment where that Shadowy Revolutionary bastard, Shanks, the splinter Marines and that old monster Garp were all in the same fight?” One drunk wondered, cackling and carelessly spilling his soup bowl on the floor. “And on the same side, it looks like! f*ck, which god did Big Mom piss off to manage to unite that many enemies?”

“Nika, obviously!” His partner said, elbowing him hard in the ribs. The man sputtered and curse, choking on his next drink of booze. “Haven't you heard she's reincarnated into that one supernova brat?”

“That's bullsh*t and you know it!” A pirate across the room from them yelled. “The World Government spread that story about that devil fruit containing a goddess because otherwise they'd have to admit they got humiliated by a paradise rookie!”

“Don't say that around King!” The man retorted.

The comment earned a lot of knowing laughter and winces, the pirates instinctively looking around for any sign that their leader's reserved second in command had overheard the dismissive comment. The foot soldiers thought that King had been acting a little odd ever since that day two years ago, with some whispering that his family and the other Lunarians had been among the Sun Goddess's worshippers before they were massacred. Particularly foolish ones had suggested that he might fall under the girl's sway if they met, though Kaido's reaction to hearing such rumours had ensured that no one dared say them out loud anymore.

However, it wasn't King who surged into the room mere moments later, club in one hand. Without missing a beat, the figure of 'Kozuki Oden' surged through the doorway and sent a dozen grunts flying with a swing of his weapon and snatched up the den den they had been viewing the battle upon. Storming through the middle of the room as the hapless mooks scrambled to get out of the way, the figure forced his way through the other door and bolted straight for one of the vents he used to sneak around the building in secret.

“Shhh,” he whispered to the snail he'd grabbed, quickly pulling himself up into the opening in the ceiling and replacing the boards beneath him. Sighing in relief, he put the snail on his shoulder and scrambled through the narrow pathway.

He'd been denied any information from the outside since his last escape attempt; but now Kaido was drunk and unlikely to be willingly distracted from his rival's struggling, he'd made his move. 'Kozuki Oden' moved as fast as possible to return to his quiet, lonely room; once near, he dropped to the floor and quickly locked himself in side.

“Sorry about that,” He apologized to the snail before placing it down gently on the desk next to his futon. “I'll give you some extra lettuce to make up for it later... please, keep showing me what's happening in Totland!”

He reached up and pulled off his mask. In the relative safety and privacy of the room, Kozuki Oden shifted into Yamato, daughter of Kaido, when the mask clattered to the ground. This room was the only place where she allowed this version of herself to breathe and act without Oden's influence; outside of it, she was an enemy of her father's cruel despotism – taking up the will of the brave, good man she had watched die all those years ago. Kozuki Oden deserved to continue on, and Yamato was glad to take him into herself, to live as him whenever taking the fight to the Beast Pirates.

But when Portgas D Ace and the girl he spoke so tenderly of came up, the daughter who had been saved by his kindness always reasserted herself.

The young oni threw herself onto her futon and grabbed the edges of the desk, staring hungrily at the snail as the little creature huffed but continued to transmit the viewing.

“Finally...” Yamato whispered almost reverently. “I finally can see you again, Ace...!”

Her firebrand unleashed a storm of white flames upon Big Mom, both doing some damage and creating a screen that hid Luffy's next move from the woman's immediate attention. Yamato's lips parted with joy and eagerness both as the bride's godlike Gear 5 took another weird and wild shape and bombarded Linlin with hundreds of punches.

“White fire...? I knew that you weren't using your full strength with the flames I saw back then,” Yamato whispered. “Is this your ceiling, or do you still have more to show me? I've gotten stronger too... I can't wait to show you, when you come to fulfill our promise...!”

Her heart thumped happily, a familiar longing bubbling insider her. A feeling that mingled with excited curiosity when her gaze was drawn to Monkey D Luffy. Her wedding dress gleaming white, the shimmering power of Gear 5 visible with every blow and movement she made. “She's even more beautiful than you described her,” Yamato murmured in awe. “You'll come with him to Wano, won't you? Luffy? I'm dying to meet you...!”

Away from Yamato's room – away from most of the people of Onigashima, really, out on a rooftop in relative peace and quiet, King sat alone with his gaze lying heavily upon the viewing snail. His attention was solely on Luffy, though for different reasons than Yamato was. He watched her carefully, remembering, unbidden, the nights when his mother would dance and speak of the sun goddess before... before he lost everything. Looking for the sign of the goddess that was the sole remaining link to a different life... to Alber.

King clenched his hands, his fingers digging harshly into his legs. Emotions twisted in his chest viciously, a conflict that he'd struggled with ever since that day at Marineford. His family's goddess was here, here and real and alive, free and unbound just as his mother had always described her. And he... he stood in opposition to everything Nika held in value, as Kaido's friend and second in command. He'd always known that, yet -

King shook his head violently, trying to dismiss those thoughts. He could not regret giving himself completely to Kaido, who had saved him body and soul from Punk Hazard, who called him friend and gave him a new name, a new purpose. He couldn't think of the man as anything other than a dear friend and companion, regardless of his sins in Nika's eyes.

Alber died with his family, the last victim of the World Government's genocide. And wasn't that better for him? Alber had never wanted to outlive those he loved and all his people. King was all that remains, and if that made him an enemy of Nika... it was far too late to be anything else, wasn't it?

Yet he kept watching attentively, unable to help himself. Curious to see how Monkey D Luffy's victory would unfold, and what she would do with it.

Chapter 32

Chapter Text

Uta hadn't been in the middle of a firefight before. She'd seen the aftermath of many, had seen some ongoing in the distance of some snail communications, but she had no memories of the death of Elgia thanks to Tot Musica and dear Gordon had ensured that she was safe from danger ever since. With the power that she possessed via the Sing Sing fruit, she'd never worried about it – she simply put any prospective enemies to sleep and destroyed them in the dream world where she was all but invincible.

Between that and her distaste for violence, Uta had never trained in Haki – or in most any form of waking world combat. Aside from having no desire to emulate her father, she didn't think she'd need it, because she'd never imagined herself in a situation where she'd be in the middle of a battle where her powers would trap allies of hers as well as her enemies.

Yet here she is, hanging onto Brook's arm for dear life as Shanks carved a swathe through the battlefield towards the Sunny. “Be careful, Pudding!” Nami cried, tugging the stumbling bride along in her wake.

“What do you think I'm trying to do?!” Pudding shrieked.

Nami gave her arm to Chopper and looked upward, swaying her clima-tact over her head. “Zeus~” she crooned innocently, waving the weather ball teasingly up at the cloud homie following along in her wake. “There's lots more where that came from~ come right this way~!”

“Slow down a little, Nami...” The cloud whined hopefully. Uta looked over her shoulder with a mixture of disbelief and incredulity. The banged-up homie was healing a little every time he ate one of the thunder clouds that Nami released from her weapon. He was far more interested in following her around and snacking on her offerings than attacking any of them or even returning to his master! “I'm really sore; I can't move as fast as usual...”

“I can't, I've gotta get to the Sunny!" Nami responded with affected wide-eyed innocence and was totally undermined by the pleased smirk on her lips. “Keep up, Zeus! I'd hate to leave a new friend behind!”

Zeus whined but nevertheless hurried after them without a hint of aggression. It was like he hadn't just been fighting Luffy not even an hour ago!

Linlin's seriously such a selfish glutton that not even a piece of her own soul is loyal to her?, the songstress thought, shaking her head. Unbelievable... If it gave Luffy and Ace one less thing to worry about, she'd take it, even if it wasn't her first choice.

The battle near the harbor was a confusing melee, with a mixture of Revolutionaries and Neo Marines fighting Linlin's more loyal children and Germa soldiers who'd come to rescue their 'fearless leader' forming a black mass of chaos across the streets. It wasn't exactly an even contest – as Shanks slashed through a line of sugar minions, sending them sprawling, Uta saw a ball of soldiers be sent flying in every direction by Fleet Admiral Zephyr. A few Charlotte commanders she recognized were strung up on powerful green vines and the rest were being pressured hard. Germa wasn't fighting in sync with their would-be allies at all, mostly trying and failing to extract King Judge from the violent beat down Zephyr was unleashing on him.

All of this happened because of Luffy, without her really trying at all to achieve it. Uta focused on the schadenfreude of that realization in order to better ignore Tot Musica's eager, constant stream of baiting and 'suggestions'. The demon king had not shut up from the moment Luffy had appeared in her dress and Vice Admiral Garp blundered into the wedding.

We can kill Linlin ourselves without needing any help! Why trail behind the father who betrayed you when you could be dramatically rescuing our beloved?

Luffy is holding her own just fine and you don't love her, you're obsessed with Nika. Why would I put her at your mercy?! Uta thought.

You're so afraid of her realizing that you're a monster that you'd rather risk her dying than raise a finger in her defense? You're a coward.

Shut up!

How pathetic. A selfish, pathetic little girl who can't even be consistent in her morals. You've given up on fighting the forces of evil in this world for the good opinion of a woman you won't even fight for. You can't hide forever!

SHUT UP!

Her head throbbed like it was in a vice. He hadn't hypnotized her outright since that day, but that wasn't for a lack of trying. Uta kept a sea stone knife in the pocket of her inner jacket and one under the pillow on her bed; whenever she felt lightheaded and fuzzy or just suspected that his influence was ensnaring her she'd grab it and press the blade into her hand. The one blessing of him being tied to the devil fruit was that sea stone cut his influence on her just like the rest of her powers. She always slept with the knife in her hand, just in case.

Uta tripped over some rubble and almost fell flat on her face; Jinbe's hand grabbed her shoulder before she could collapse. “Here, miss.” He said, lifting her completely off her feet and onto his shoulder.

“Thank you,” she mumbled, pressing one hand against her forehead. Her vision blurred a little; the smell of smoke and fire... the sticky tang of sugar and molassas and ice cream all boiling in the air kept her grounded, made it different – she focused on it and kept herself grounded in the now.

“Uta, are you okay?!” Shanks asked, worry written in his voice. His sword swung in a wide arc and a path burst into existence before them. Blood splattered the ground from those who couldn't get out of the way fast enough.

“Don't ask questions you don't care about the answers to!” Uta barked out, reaching desperately for the familiar anger and resentment. “We're not far from the harbour, go back and help Luffy!”

Her father accepted the nasty barb with nary a wince; a cold mixture of guilt and jumbled emotion knotted in her stomach. “Not until I see you safe on board,” Shanks responded determinedly. “Don't be scared for Luffy; she's gotten a lot stronger.”

“I'll stop worrying when Linlin's dead!” Uta retorted.

“Why are you taking me to your freaking ship?!” Pudding demanded breathlessly; she was obviously having some trouble running in her wedding dress. Sweat glistened on her forehead as she struggled to keep up with the more athletic pirates. “I'm not a crewmate!”

“Your big brother told us to keep you safe! So we're gonna keep that promise if its the last thing we do!” Chopper responded hastily. Pudding gave him a wide-eyed are you f*cking with me? look with all three eyes that the young reindeer completely fails to read. “Hey, climb up on my back, I'll carry you if you can't run much longer!”

Shanks skidded to a halt and held up his arm for them to do the same, red light flashing in his eyes. “Stand back,” he said. A second later he swung his sword and deflected what looked like half a dozen cannonballs down the hill out at the waterfront, which had now become visible. Said cannonballs were refracted straight back at the TARTS who'd fired them.

Jinbe took advantage of the moment to lift Pudding off her feet and set her on Chopper's back; the doctor was in full reindeer form and accepted the burden with nary a wince. On the fishman's shoulder, Uta looked out at the harbor below and grimaced. The Thousand Sunny was still anchored at the dock and seemed to be undamaged, but it was completely surrounded by the TARTs that had been called in when the wedding got crashed. She could see people moving about on the deck, defending it from the barrage aimed at it – including the tell tale blue light of Trafalgar Law's devil fruit powers. The docks were packed with pockets of fighting, including a couple of Linlin's children who Uta recognized from photos but couldn't put names to. They weren't the most powerful of her officers, those had either already been taken out by Luffy's allies or were tied up fighting them right now.

“Oh, thank goodness! The Sunny's in sailing shape,” Chopper sighed in relief.

“From the outside,” Jinbe responded, putting one hand on Uta's arm to keep her balanced. She murmured assurances to him that she wouldn't fall. The itch to use her powers was intense. She could clear out that battlefield in an instant by dropping them all to sleep, then guide the Straw Hats onto their ship and clear out all opposition. “There could damage inside the ship proper, if the Revolutionaries ran into some difficulties.”

“But – that would be really bad!” Nami realized immediately. She hurriedly waved her clima-tact to keep feeding Zeus. “We can't defend the Sunny and fight at the same time, not if we want to get back to help Luffy any time soon!”

Right. Luffy was fighting Linlin and half her crew wasn't here. Uta took in a deep breath and cleared her throat. “Mr Brook, is there any way for you to close up your hearing?” She asked him.

The skeleton pivoted and gave her a confused look. “Eh? I've never thought to attempt such a thing... I don't have ears anymore, after all! But I think it should be possible for a dead man to stop listening to something.”

Shanks turned around and gave Uta a concerned look. “Uta, you don't have to if you don't want to,” He said quietly.

“This way is faster,” Uta responded with a sharp shake of her head, “and we've wasted enough time as it is.” She slid down from Jinbe's shoulder and dug into the folds of her suit. The small megaphone transponder snail chirped when she pulled him out, startled from his nap. “All of you cover your ears and don't uncover them until I give you a thumbs up, now.”

“Wha? Why?” Nami asked.

“Do what she says,” Shanks said firmly, the glow of Ryo haki surrounding his entire body.

Uta lifted the microphone to her lips and called, “Trafalgar Law, cut yourself off from all sound right now unless you want to pass out,” she warned authoritatively. Giving him three full seconds to comply as the army below immediately turned towards her, Uta cleared her throat and began to sing.

This time with her power for emphasis.

“O~O~Oh, I'm unbeatable...” Uta uttered. She couldn't resist the sense of satisfaction that rolled over her as the many soldiers wobbled as one, then slowly crumpled soundlessly to the ground as they plunged into a deep sleep. She lazily spun out the lyrics of a bragging warrior proud of his power and absolutely confident of his success in the face of all odds. Some of the TARTs fell silent in tandem, though not all of them – some of them had clearly heeded the warning she'd given Trafalgar despite not knowing what to expect.

Smirking a little, she lowered the megaphone and closed her eyes, looking into the dream world – checking to make sure she hadn't knocked out the Surgeon after all. With a wave of her hand, she wrapped all of the confused Big Mom Pirates in piano wire and stuck them in their own note blocks. No sign of the doctor, good. Much as she didn't want to trust him, she couldn't deny his power or that he had some loyalty to Luffy.

Uta made a sharp gesture, and the sleeping bodies of the enemy pirates stood up and shuffled off toward the nearest houses, forming rows of human shields making a straight line to the Sunny. As for the Revolutionaries she'd caught in her spell, she maneuvered them to safety away from the fire of the remaining TARTs. Once she was satisfied, she stopped singing and flashed a thumbs up.

“There,” she said. “Now let's hurry!” She darted down the hill toward Luffy's ship.

“W-W-What just happened?!” Nami gasped, the sleeping Zeus biting onto the head of her clima-tact. She glanced at the cloud in annoyance but kept running nonetheless. “They all just collapsed!”

“What did you do?!” Pudding half demanded, half shrieked. Chopper ran up to Uta's side, allowing her to see the Charlotte out of the corner of her eye. “That wasn't Conqueror's! What are you?! How are they all asleep?!”

“I ate a devil fruit when I was a child,” Uta responded briskly. “Those men are still alive, I just sang them to sleep. That's why I told you to cover your ears. Shanks if you have to insist on helping me, pass my apology to Dragon for including some of his people in the lullaby and tell him that I won't let them come to harm.”

“S-So you're a hypnotist?!” Chopper asked, breathless. His eyes were sparkling with awe; goddammit, it should be illegal for a living being to be that adorable! Uta felt like her chest would explode being subjected to that look!

“I can put anyone who hears my singing to sleep if I want to,” Uta corrected him, admirably not melting on the spot. “Right now they're only conscious in a dream world that I am connected to.” Her dream avatar spread her wings and flew up and around the note blocks containing the Charlotte Pirates to make sure she hadn't trapped any revolutionaries in with them by accident. “They won't wake from that state until I either fall asleep or sing a song to awaken them.”

“You say that like it's no big deal!” Pudding sputtered. “All of my siblings are capable of using Armament Haki! They should be able to stop your powers!”

“When it comes to my devil fruit, that's not relevant,” Uta responded bluntly. “I'm not sure why, but my devil fruit is unaffected by that form of Haki.” It was probably because of Tot Musica, somehow. “As long as you can hear me sing, if I want you to sleep, you will fall asleep. It doesn't matter who you are.”

Shanks hummed in confirmation when all eyes swung to him for confirmation. “My little princess is a force to be reckoned with!” He bragged, and try as she might, Uta couldn't find anything but sincerity in his voice.

It hurt, it hurt, I can't I can't I can't - “Not a princess!” She retorted, forcing herself to just breathe, breathe around the rock in her throat and the net squeezing her lungs to their breaking point, she can't break down here! “Anyway, my power is too indiscriminate to use the way most devil fruit users do; if I'd sang during the wedding, I would have trapped everyone in the dream world including Luffy. I can't pick and chose who I put to sleep.”

And you can end the world, Tot Musica said 'helpfully'. The two of us, together. End this world and create a new one, a better one, where there's no more pain, where tyrants have no power.

Uta ignored him as best she could. Luffy doesn't need you, she thought.

Does she need you, either? The Demon King asked tauntingly. I do wonder...

Uta crashed onto the docks and nearly tripped over her own feet. Gritting her teeth, she reached into her coat and grabbed hold of her sea stone knife. The blade bit at her skin; the pain centered her, though. Muted the laughter and her own black thoughts. Shanks put a hand on her shoulder, uttering something in concern that she couldn't hear over the static in her ears. She shrugged him off and stood up on her own.

“Uta-san?” Trafalgar Law's head stuck his head over the side of the Sunny, near the gangplank. He looked completely incredulous, and to her surprise he wasn't alone – a half dozen other Revolutionaries, including the man she recognized to be Karasu. “What the hell did you just do?!”

“I used my devil fruit,” Uta panted, heading up the Sunny's gangplank. Jinbe followed right behind her, leading the rest of the group on board the ship. “How's the Sunny? Is there any damage?”

“No, he's ready to sail at a moment's notice.” Trafalgar responded. “I'm sorry, what devil fruit? You never mentioned that before!”

“It wasn't relevant,” Uta said defensively. “It's not easy to use it when I have allies to worry about.”

Trafalgar gave him a look through narrowed eyes. “Right,” he said skeptically. Uta stared back at him, refusing to flinch under that hard golden gaze. “I suppose I can see why you weren't worried about escaping.” He glanced at Nami and did a double take. “What the fu-? Nami, is that Big Mom's thunder cloud?!”

Nami nodded, a catlike smirk on her face. “He likes my storm clouds,” she said smugly.

Law's mouth opened and shut in disbelief, his gaze darting between her and the sleeping homie. Uta tried not to giggle; that flabbergasted expression made him startlingly less intimidating, more human.

“How's Reiju-san, Law?” Chopper asked anxiously. “Where is she?”

Trafalgar jerked his thumb at the ground floor door that lead to the Sunny's interior. “Unconscious and awaiting surgery, as planned.” He said. “Go and start preparing the tools and medicine we'll be needing, I'll be back once Big Mom ceases to be an issue.” Chopper nodded firmly; Pudding scrambled off of his back, allowing the little zoan to bolt for the Sunny's hospital room. “Karasu-san.”

“Oh no... not again,” The man groaned, hanging his head. “Do I look like some kinda stage coach to you people?!”

“No no no,” Shanks insisted kindly. “You're a very valuable ally who happens to be very good at moving people around the battlefield.” He paused for half a second before immediately saying with cheer, “so with that said-”

Karasu facepalmed. Hard. “Goddamn you, Sabo, this is all your fault.” He groused sulkily. “Fine! Fine, dammit, but I'm not taking all of you! Some of you can walk!” The man split into a murder of crows once again. “I'm gonna start charging rates after this!”

Nami leaned over, giggling helplessly. “I'll stay here and look after both the Sunny and the noncombatants,” Jinbe said as cannonballs exploded overhead. “Uta-san, Pudding-san, go below deck for now; I'll alert you if the situation changes.”

Uta watched Law and Shanks both climb aboard the large ravens, biting her bottom lip. She wanted – she wanted to apologize for snipping constantly at him but also wanted to scream until she threw her voice out why, why did you abandon me, why did you leave me behind why didn't you come back I needed you I needed you I neEdEd yOu- but when he looked at her, all the words fled from her. Her jaw tightened and she turned away, heading for the ships interior.

She shouldn't have come out here, this was a mistake; why did she decide to expose herself to the only people who could shake her resolve? Uta stumbled into the ship interior and almost fell down the stairs into the aquarium lounge. Crawling over to the couch, she buried her face in the pillow and tried not to scream.

Luffy... Luffy...

You won't lose me, Uta. Her love's voice echoed in her mind, suddenly but soothingly. Uta blinked against the fuzzy fabric. You won't. Her breathing slowed down a little as she repeated the memory in her mind, centering her and shedding some of the panic she was feeling. Luffy always kept her promises... and Uta would not be the reason she got hurt.

Tot Musica screeched in pure irritation as her heart rate evened out.

Luffy was acutely aware that she didn't have all the time in the world when she broke out Gear 5. She can actually use it now, but she can't maintain it for a marathon fight. The warning that she was running out of gas came in the form of stinging pain very reminiscent of the fractured memories of Marineford. So when those shudders started to hit when she was forcibly holding Big Mom's head under a massive pool of boiling syrup, she knew this was a huge problem.

The old hag hadn't gone down yet! Geez! How many punches to the face can one evil grandma take?! Just drown already! It's boiling syrup!

Her body shuddered. Ten more seconds and you'll be hit by backlash, Nika warned her. Cut it early and you might recover a minute faster – maybe! Be ready!

“Ngh...!” Luffy groaned and shot Ace an apologetic look. “Take five...” Then she snapped back unceremoniously into her normal body and collapsed.

“Luffy!” Her two love's voices shouted in concert.

Kat's strong arms caught her without missing a beat. Ace cursed a blue streak as Big Mom unleashed a solid blast of haki, shoving the three of them away from her. With as low energy as she was, Luffy was knocked half senseless by the wave and almost passed out. A persistent ringing in her ears drowned out the next few moments; she felt mochi circle around her like a great big sleeping bag and she could sorta sense Ace and Katakuri moving rapidly, though where to she couldn't figure out.

Mochi. If she could eat some good food or get a pick-me-up from Chopper or Traffy, she could get back into the thick of things! It wouldn't be easy with Big Mom right on top of them, though.

“...ouuu bastaaaaaaards...!” Yup, that didn't sound good. Crap.

There's an enormous crash. “Don't touch my granddaughter, Linlin!” Ah, that's Gramps...! Oh good, he's fighting the old hag rather than trying to pick fights with her husbands. That's a huge relief. Gramps is really tough; he can hold her off for a bit. Luffy woozily lifted her head in an effort to see what was going on.

Ooooh gosh. Linlin's face was burned thoroughly to the point that she looked like a picture out of a horror novel; and she was spitting out what looked like burning tar. In fact her entire body looked like it was on fire; her eyes had turned pure red and she was swinging Napoleon blindly at Garp. There was signs of their knock down drag out fight all over her; bloody wounds and blisters and burn scars riddled her upper body. Luffy wasn't sure if she was impressed that the old hag was still fighting with immense ferocity or kind of pissed off.

Garp didn't give her an inch, meeting each of her blows with a punch that shook the island around them. The sugar and syrup tar pits were turning into rivers as the ground beneath them broke apart. Linlin kept trying to get towards her, but Garp held her back.

Ace reformed out of a pillar of white fire next to her. “You ran out of time?” He asked breathlessly. His left arm is still bleeding sluggishly from a slash from Napolean and there's a string of lacerations along his chest; his clothes likely hid further injuries, though Luffy can't be sure. She twisted to look up at Katakuri, see how badly he's hurt. There's bloodstains all over his jacket, but she can't make any further judgements.

“Need food...” Luffy muttered in sleepy frustration.

“You need your doctor,” Katakuri corrected with a grimace. “What do you mean, out of time?”

“Luffy can only use gears four and five for a short period of time before she runs out of energy,” Ace responded for her. “When it comes to her body, meat and medicine are close to being the same thing in the short term.”

Katakuri gave him a faintly incredulous look. “Need meat...” Luffy clarified, biting her bottom lip. Where were they supposed to find good meat in the middle of this mess?! It had been hard enough to locate when the island wasn't a massive battlefield! “A lot of meat.”

“That's...a problem,” Her husband observed.

“Only in keeping her distracted!”

Luffy turned her head to the side and beamed in relief. “Sabo! Sanji!” She gasped as the two blondes hurtled towards them. They're both dirty and scuffed up from their bout with CP0, but they're still fresh and ready to fight.

Sabo skidded to a stop and gave her a kiss on the forehead, then pointed to the edges of the battlefield. “I grabbed all the meat I could find and put them in stashes around the area, just in case something like this came up,” he explained briskly. “Most of them are buried underneath sugar tar pits, unfortunately, but there's still two we can access. Hopefully that'll be enough for you to recharge, Lu.”

“When did you manage that?” Katakuri asked incredulously. “The chateau was crawling with security.”

Sabo grinned up at him with boyish pleasure. “Last night,” he responded.

Katakuri's eyebrows shot up at that, and he gave the young Revolutionary a look of serious respect.

“Thanks, Sabo...” Luffy said. She twisted to look back at the fight between Garp and Linlin. “Ace... go and help Gramps...just in case?” Ace glanced over his shoulder, a twist of emotion in his gut. He hadn't been able to talk to Garp since Marineford, not really. He'd only seen him at a distance. Because of that, all the emotions that had been swirling around since that day – grief and betrayal and love – hadn't had anywhere to go.

Yet... that's still his gramps, fighting with an Emperor of the Sea who's been enraged beyond all belief. After a half second of hesitation, Ace nods and ruffles Luffy's hair. Then he was off in a flash. “Kat...where's papa...?”

“Directly ahead of us.” Katakuri told her. “He's giving some orders to one of his commanders; they must have come with a status report.”

“Good...” Luffy shut her eyes, trying to think. Ah, she's so sleepy...

“Give her to me, I'll get her to the cache,” Sanji spoke, addressing Katakuri. “Provide some defence out there. I won't ask you to attack your mother, but if you can prevent Ace or that old lunatic from taking too much damage before Sunshine can bounce back, that would be more than we can ask.” Katakuri nodded in silent acceptance, passing Luffy into her cook's arm and followed Ace towards the blast zone. “Sabo, point me to the closest one you think survived?”

Sabo gestured to a half-destroyed house at the very edge of the battlefield. “It's in a box buried right next to the chimney. Be careful.”

Sanji nodded. “Watch my back,” he said before taking off at a dead sprint.

Luffy winced at the wind whipping around her face; she felt like her limbs were made of lead and that she could pass out at any moment. Darn it... I should have known it wouldn't be that easy, she thought sulkily to herself. I wish the rest of my crew was here! This is much harder without all of us here fighting together!

She was really feeling Zoro's absence in this moment; she wished, not for the first time, that they hadn't split up. Her swordsman would have been right at her side, providing power and pressure as they tried to put that woman in the dirt. Ussop, Robin, and Franky might not have been able to contribute directly to the thick of the fight, but their support would have given them so much more breathing room. Luffy silently promised herself in that moment that after this, she would never split up her crew again. They would act as one unit no matter what!

“Be patient, Sunshine,” Sanji reassured her as he jumped across the bubbling tar pits and melting ground breaking up the island's surface. “I'll get you feeling right as rain in just a minute...!”

The ground shook violently from Big Mom and Garp's hailing blows. Sanji slid in the hot icing he landed on, cursing and maintaining his balance with a struggle. Luffy clutched the front of his white jacket in concern. Her cook doesn't falter, just running faster toward the house.

“That old woman sure can take a beating...!” Sanji muttered as he jumped across another boiling river. “And I had thought that we were getting closer to the New World's ceilings when we fought Doflamingo... this world will never run out of surprises, will it?”

“Shishishi... I know! It's it amazing?” Luffy giggled drunkenly.

He gave her a look that was equal parts fond and exasperated. “Of course.” He deadpanned, drawing up to the partially destroyed house. Circling around to the back, he swung out one burning foot to clean off the back steps before carefully setting Luffy down on them – taking care not to let the hem of her dress trail in the mess of sweets on the ground. “Now, for lack of a shovel...”

Luffy awkwardly twisted her head in an effort to see what the battle was looking like; unfortunately, the house blocked her view. “You're a bit banged up, Sanji.” She realized, seeing the rips and a few bloodstains in his lovely suit. “Who were you and Sabo fighting?”

Her cook glanced up from his digging and smiled sweetly at her. “Oh, no one of consequence, Sunshine!” He said brightly. “The World Government sent someone to disrupt your happy marriage, so we sent her packing.”

Luffy blinked, tilting her head to the side. “She? So...they didn't send Gramps?”

Sanji briefly paused his work, then chuckled at the notion. “Somehow I doubt they gave him permission to come out here on the principle of not allowing you to marry anyone, no matter his status as a 'hero' to them!”

Luffy scowled at the reminder. “Stupid, meatheaded gramps, saying I can't marry Kat.” she grumbled ferociously. “Why is he like this?!”

“Good thing he doesn't know about Ace and Law yet,” Sanji observed with only a minor twitch at the acknowledgement. “I'd rather we didn't end up fighting him alongside Big Mom right now.” His hand hit the top of the box and he grinned in relief. “Good, found it.” Yanking the box out of the dirt, Sanji tore it open and offered the meat contents to his captain.

Luffy cheered and tore into the large sticks of beef. It was pretty cold and tough, but she didn't care at all – it was meat! Good meat! Instantly she started to feel better, her energy returning in coils as she devoured the offerings in a rush. Emptying out the box only takes a few seconds, and she vaulted back to her feet afterwards. “Woo! That was a close one.” She said as Sanji stood up.

Beaming at him, she ran up to her cook and kissed him on the lips. Sanji froze like he'd just been turned to stone by Boa again, his brain crashing at the sudden sweet contact. Luffy broke apart from him, blushing a little, before happily saying “Thanks Sanji!”

Sanji stuttered, staring at her. Then a red aura of pure power erupted from him and he pumped his arms. Luffy reeled back in surprise at the sheer amount of haki rolling off of the blonde out of nowhere; for a split second he was exerting as much pressure as Linlin herself! “Anything for you, Sunshine! Your knight in shining armour is ever at your service!” Then he whirled around and literally carved a path through the island back toward Big Mom.

“Ah! Sanji, wait up!” Luffy yelled, transforming back into Gear 5 and rushing after him.

Chapter 33

Chapter Text

Ace remembered his gramps sitting next to him on the execution platform like it happened yesterday.

A lot of his memories from that harrowing day were very raw, popping up to harass him when his mood dropped far enough, but Garp's presence was the one that lived rent free in his head near constantly. Creating a wall of flame between Linlin and Garp, he skidded to a halt near the old man and pointedly did not look at him. He worried that if he spoke impulsively he'd say something he couldn't take back.

Was it childish, how hurt he felt that his gramps hadn't decided to fight for him that day?

Ace was a pirate and damn proud of it. He had no illusions of the fact that he was on the 'wrong side' of the law, but hell, a decent part of his pride in that was rooted in his disgust of how the World Government did things. The rest was unevenly distributed between spiting the people who said he didn't deserve to live, a love of freedom and self determination, and the desire to screw over as many nobles as he possibly could. If he was sent back to his childhood and presented with actual alternatives, he would choose to become a pirate every single time.

Still, he wasn't so lacking in self awareness that he couldn't see that most pirates weren't like him, his family, Luffy or Shanks. He didn't begrudge the better half of the navy wanting to stomp out the worse kind of piracy whenever possible. He did, however, begrudge being strung up on an execution platform just because Roger was his mom! His epiphany of self worth watching his family and Luffy fight for him finally let him confidently reject the very notion of not being worthy of living because of that. He had the right to live, dammit!

But then... knowing that Garp had been willing to sit by and not try and stop the execution... even if he was hoping Pops would come save him... why...?

Ace would have denied it before; oh, he would have pitched a fit about how that old man was the worst, how his training was awful and that his insistence that he, Luffy and Sabo should become Marines was both insufferable and a little scary (because the navy wanted Ace dead, had tried to kill him just after he was born, why did Garp want to deliver him straight to them-?!) and he would have just insisted that the old man was a menace he'd rather avoid. Spending two weeks watching Luffy cling to life by a thread had stuck a fatal knife in that stubborn male pride, however.

Sitting by her bedside, terrified that he'd lose her and she'd slip away without truly knowing how desperately he loved her...it made that embarrassment and rejection of being openly emotional seem truly petty – even cowardly.

He loved his gramps. He really did.

After his father's death, Garp had cashed in a few years worth of vacation days in order to stay by his side and comfort him. He'd brought him good food, encouraged him to cry when he was forcibly trying to hold it all in, and praised Rouge for being a good father and a good person. As hard as his training was, the old man had never once seriously hurt Ace, Luffy or Sabo, and if he was honest with himself it had worked in making them stronger. For all that he ranted about pirates, Garp had taken Ace and Rouge in when Roger asked and hid them from the world government just because he thought that the little boy had the right to grow up, that a free spirited adventurer shouldn't be executed just because he fell in love with a pirate. He came running when Ace fell sick and spent years hunting down sightings of the Golden Lion pirates to make damn sure that Shiki knew nothing about Roger's son.

He was Gramps. So... so... why had he been willing to sit there and watch Ace die?!

Ace remembered how Garp had cried, asking why he hadn't become a Marine and by implication been protected from this fate. Somehow that made it both better and worse at the same time. His gramps didn't want him to die, but he was still willing to watch it happen?

Garp had made no effort to stop Ace from fleeing the battlefield with Luffy after she collapsed. But Ace hadn't had the presence of mind to notice his reaction to Luffy's precarious state; in fact he hadn't seen any sign of the old man as he rushed to the water's edge and ultimately the Polar Tang. Whitebeard and his brothers had fought off Sengoku on the retreat, but Ace wasn't sure what Garp had been doing at the time. Had he been pursuing them? Had he been in shock, seeing his precious granddaughter so close to death, and didn't move at all? Had he been willing to permit her death too?

Ace didn't know, and he was both afraid to ask and wanted to scream at Garp until the man answered him. He's almost grateful that a furious, bleeding Linlin burst through the fire seconds later – that at least he knows how to handle!

“GIVE ME BACK MY WEDDING CAAAAKE, YOU BAAASTARDS!” The woman screeched, her eyes turned a fully bloody red. And that wasn't a haki expression, he's pretty sure that it's blood from Luffy shoving her head in boiling syrup. Ace would feel sorry for her if she was almost anyone else.

“Marvelous; you're in a hunger rampage now, aren't you?” Ace complained, splitting apart into flames as Napolean swung down at him. “There's always something!” He reformed on the other side of the raging colossus. “White Hawk Wing!”

Linlin screeched in rage when his attack hit the small of her back. It's a sign of how much damage she's taken that the blow visibly staggered her; Garp immediately followed that up with a violent haymaker to the face. She was thrown back a few feet, and while she was no less ferocious than before, the toll of the fight had become visible.

The hunger rampages made Linlin much more predictable, true, but it also shut down any part of her brain that would otherwise make her pull a strategic retreat or do anything other than blindly attack until she physically couldn't anymore. Not to mention she doesn't register much pain in this state.

However... Ace smirked grimly. She can't stratagize either. This is it, he thought with determination. We'll put her down so completely that whether she lives or dies, she's not getting back up! This time...the story of Charlotte Linlin as an Emperor of the Sea comes to an end.

She won't be a threat to Luffy or his family ever again!

Even the old man... who...

Ace shook his head fiercely and tried to shove the thoughts aside. The last time you let your emotions get the better of you in battle, you ended up in Impel Down! He reminded himself harshly. Stay focused on the Emperor, dimwit!

“DIABLE JAMBE!”

No sooner had Ace thought that did a freaking missile fly from the other end of the battlefield and slam heels first into Big Mom's skull directly between the eyes. His heels blazing with flames as intense as the Emperor's own, Vinsmoke Sanji delivered a concussive force that practically shattered the sound barrier and blew up every window on the island that hadn't already been obliterated. Ace's ears rang from the sound and he dissolved them instinctively, watching in dumbfounded awe as the blow sent Linlin sprawling into a sugar tar pit.

Completely unfazed by the blow, Sanji backflipped and landed on the ground, then immediately charged the rising behemoth again. Ace's jaw dropped slightly when his follow up kick almost bent the woman in half at the stomach! “That works,” He said, a little dumbfounded.

There's a flash of white in the corner of his eye; Luffy teleported behind Linlin when the woman aimed a soul spear at Sanji, fully restored to her Gear 5 form, and delivered an epic wound up roundhouse kick to the back of her skull. “Careful, Sanji!” She yelled. “She's still dangerous!”

Sanji laughed headily, an adrenaline-fueled smirk on his face. “I hear that one needs to fear you for your powers to work!” He thundered at Linlin, who screamed in rage. “I'm afraid that vaunted soul stealing of yours is useless now...because there's nothing left in this world for me to fear! TRUE LOVE'S COURSE!” His whole body seemingly going black with haki, Sanji launched himself up into the sky above the Emperor and unleashed a storm of kicks so fast and furious that from a distance he could be mistaken for Luffy using a jet gatling.

Ace snapped out of his surprise at the sudden massive uptick in power the cook was presenting upon spotting Prometheus aiming at the blonde's back. “Oh no you don't!” He hissed, turning to the side. The flare of Sabo's haki rapidly approaching him let him turn his back to Linlin just for a moment to handle this.... His eyes flare with Haki before he unleashes a wave of Conquerors on the homie.

Prometheus shrieked in pain, froze up, and crashed to the ground. “Stay down, you flaming bastard!” Sabo seethed. He darted past Ace to where the sun had fallen, haki crackling along the length of his pipe. “Dragon's fang!” The blunt instrument slammed down on the homie's face, sending the creature spinning into unconsciousness.

“WEDDING...CAAAAKE!” Big Mom shrieked, the words coming out as a strangled wheeze.

“Oh, give it a rest, will you?”

Ace heard Law's voice before he saw the blue flash in the sky above him. The light of the 'Room' narrowed down to the length of Kikoku's blade; the ravenette felt a wide grin cross his face when a black crow flew overhead and Trafalgar Law leapt off his mount. “Traffy!” Luffy yelled, delighted.

Gravity took hold of the pirate captain and he fell like a missile. Linlin couldn't even turn around in time; Law landed on her back and a massive glowing blade slammed through her neck and chest without any resistance.

“Holy sh*t!” Sabo blurted out, eyes widening. “Did he just...?!”

“Gamma Knife,” Law uttered.

Lightning erupted along the length of Kikoku, and veins and arteries throughout Linlin's body just...exploded. Blood burst through her open wounds and Ace could see her skeleton illuminated by the chillingly precise medical attack. He half expected the Emperor's body to explode into horrific spaghetti by the end of it; her haki managed to hold all her muscles and limbs together, but it was being stretched it its breaking point.

He's that strong? Law almost killed her in one shot... if she'd been even a little more weakened, this battle would be over! Goddamn, that was hot.

Ace noticed Law shiver a little when he wrenched his sword free of his victim. Luffy immediately swept him off of Big Mom's shoulder and carried him down to the ground, placing him on his feet. Concern shot through him, and he rushed across the battlefield to join them. “Traffy, are you okay?” She was asking when he caught up.

“I'm fine,” Law protested. He wobbled a little as he straightened up. “It's just energy intensive to do that.” Ace put a hand on his lower back, restoring his sense of balance. A brief flash of red colors the doctor's cheeks. “O-Oi!”

“I was worried you'd miss the party, doc,” Ace responded teasingly. Those golden eyes widen slightly with that same aggravated/flustered look that he was always giving Luffy. “Too bad there's no cake.”

“You're not funny!” Law sputtered heatedly. Linlin coughed up blood and whirled toward them, causing the three to tense in preparation for attack – Sanji and Sabo were on the other side of the Emperor, a mixture of haki fuelled attacks not quite enough to stagger her in the face of her pain-fueled rage.

A semi-familiar presence swept over the field, briefly bringing Ace back to a blizzard and a party in a cave. Oh, wow...

Shanks landed in front of the three of them and unsheathed his sword. In a flash Linlin's attempted retaliation slammed uselessly against the blade. “Anchor, you know I would never dream of policing your love life...” The redhead started blandly.

Luffy flared visibly. “I don't like the sound of that statement, Shanks! Don't you start too!” She darted past the redhead and reached up toward the sky. Lighting behind them suddenly snapped together like a bundle of sticks in her hand, and she flung it at Linlin.

“It's not like that!” Shanks backpedalled in a hurry. “I just have some concerns about my favorite pirate marrying somebody who goes by The Surgeon of Death!”

“You pick today to start speaking reason, Shanks?!” Garp demanded, delivering a haymaker to Linlin's shoulder even as her body crackled with residue thunder. “Isn't it a little late for that?!”

“Oh, shut up both of you!” Law shouted, readying his sword again. “Don't stick your noses where it doesn't belong!” He gave Garp and infuriated look. “You have some balls coming here and trying to control Luffy after you were willing to sit by and watch both her and Ace die!” He spat; his genuine rage made Ace's heart skip a beat. “Have a bit of shame, you cragged old bastard! SHAMBLES!”

He wasn't attacking Garp, but he did catch the old man in the edge of his field and swap him with Linlin, disorienting both of them. Garp recovered swiftly; Linlin didn't. “HOW DARE YOU?!” Garp bellowed, his eyes turning pure white.

“How dare I?!” Law retorted, not so much as flinching under the warning crackle of Garp's haki. “You sat on that platform for hours, not lifting a finger, because you were more loyal to that decrepit tyranny than you were to the child you raised! A pirate I am, but at least I would rather die than stand by while my heart and soul are facing certain death!”

He remembers blonde hair and a goofy smile, gunshots, Law, I love you. As much as that memory tore into his heart every time, that love Corazon had shown for him, that sacrifice...! That was what Luffy and Ace deserved, not the cowardice Garp had shown!

Yup, Ace was definitely having a heart attack – but in a good way. Mostly. He really doesn't like the look Garp is giving his surgeon! Wordlessly he stepped in between them, so any attack on Law would have to go through him, and met Garp's angry gaze with a hard look.

The old man flinched; it's not easy to see in the dark, but Ace caught it. His demeanour crumpled like the houses melting into nothing.

“...Or maybe you're not so bad after all?” Shanks wondered, looking at Law with new eyes. He definitely sounded impressed.

“Of course not! Traffy is the best!” Luffy answered indignantly in order to not touch on that subject at all. Fortunately she had another thing to worry about. “Nnnngh, go down already you old hag! Gum Gum JET GATLING!” White light flashed in a blinding rush as her attacks struck home. Linlin uttered a scream that shook the whole island, lashing out at her tormentor. A mochi wall appeared like clockwork, blocking the attack and shattering on impact. Nearby, Katakuri winced and withdrew his hand.

“Thunderbolt TEMPO!”

Nami landed next, dropping follow up electricity onto Linlin's burning body. “Why are you all standing around like this?! Keep up the pressure!” She barked at the tense standoff, swinging her clima-tact toward a pirate far more powerful than herself. Garp started to say something that was completely swallowed up by another crash of thunder and lightning.

Ace glanced at Law. “Go on; if he makes a go at you, I'll fend him off.” He said.

Law held his gaze for half a second, an intense emotion flickering through his golden eyes, before nodding and vanishing with a flash.

“Garp!” A new voice joined the fight. There's a flash of purple and black and a familiar clicking sound, seconds before Fleet Admiral Zephyr crashed into Big Mom's side, his sea stone arm driving into her ribs and breaking them. “You never did listen to my warning, did you?” The woman crashed to the ground, a shudder going through her body.

Luffy's expression lit up. “Zephyr-jiji!” She cheered, joy in her voice. “You came, you came, you came!” She flew over to him and wrapped him in a tight hug. Ace felt a touch of amusem*nt at the sight of Zephyr's cold composure briefly cracking for shock and exasperation; he flailed a little, trying to get the goddess off of him.

“Hugs can wait, Luffy, the witch isn't down yet!” Zephyr sputtered as much as he was able in her vice like embrace.

“But it's been so long!” Luffy protested, giving him puppy dog eyes. Somehow being in her 'goddess' form made that expression both hilarious and even more adorable than usual. “I've missed you!”

The wind whipped up into a howling gale in a cylinder around the floundering Emperor; Dragon strode up to the group, giving him daughter a bemused look as she continued to hug his partner senseless. He can still remember the shock and pulsing excitement he'd felt when Zephyr had called him during those two years, contacting his old pupil for the first time since he'd left the Marines so long ago. For everything that had happened, Dragon still respected the old man, admired how the World Government failed to infect his desire to protect the innocent with poisonous tyranny. To see the man who'd mentored him do what he'd spent years secretly hoping he would – to break away from the tyranny and pursue true justice for all – and then approach him for an alliance against that government had immensely lifted his spirits.

“Silly girl...” Zephyr groused. To most his voice might sound biting and annoyed, but Luffy recognized that tired, fond exasperation very well. He lifted his flesh hand and patted her on the head; the raw power of Gear Five fluttered around his fingers, hot and intense, yet the waves of intense light caused him no pain at all. Her control was that fine. “Get off... we still have a battle to win.” He pried the goddess off of his torso with deceptive gentleness.

“Honestly, with all of us here like this... this is starting to feel a little excessive.” Shanks commented as Big Mom staggered to her feet one last time, seething and staring at them as her breath heaved slowly and heavily. “There's something I never thought I'd say when she's involved!”

Zephyr snorted, his gaze sweeping over to Linlin's son. “Hm... Katakuri,” he said calmly.

Luffy's new husband twitched, staring intently back at him. “I don't really have any desire for Luffy to be married to some pirates...” Zephyr remarked. “My personal views on you people don't need repeating, I know. But for Luffy's love for you... go and attend to matters elsewhere. No matter what this woman has done to you, I don't think you'll want to see what happens next.”

It was a surprisingly compassionate gesture from the pirate hating Admiral. Katakuri hesitated; the desire to accept is visible, the conflicted emotion he's been struggling with this entire time more visible than ever. Ace watched him in concern.

Katakuri exhaled and turned fully toward the enraged woman. “No.” He said quietly. “I won't run away from the results of my choice.”

Luffy reached over and gently squeezed his wrist. Ace saw a flicker of respect in Zephyr's cold eyes at that. “Very well.”

Garp said nothing, despite Zephyr's arrival and chastisem*nt. Ace could feel the old man looking at him until Big Mom's roar forced him to refocus. “WEDDING...CAAAAAAKE!” The woman bellowed, surging towards them blindly.

Luffy released Katakuri's arm and drew her fist back. It blew up in size and turned obsidian black, hardening like a hammer. Kat will never be free until she goes down... so let's open the future for him! She thought with fiery determination. Nika chuckled; she could feel the goddess's presence swirl around her arm, backing her up every inch. “Gum Gum ELEPHANT GUN!”

Ace grinned and raised his hand over his head, forming a great fireball. “Great Flame Commandment: Flame Emperor!”

Shanks reverses his grip on his sword, his eyes flashing with red light. “Divine Departure!”

“Dragon's Fist!” Sabo followed up one second behind.

“TRUE LOVE'S FULL COURSE!” Sanji flew in alongside him.

Kikoku flashes in the darkness. “Amputate!”

Dragon and Zephyr both said nothing, but the winds moved up into a vicious cyclone and the other man vanished within a wave of Haki surging toward the target. When they all hit home, the whole world trembled.

“Oh my god... oh my god, OH MY GOD! THEY DID IT!” Silvers Ann shrieked at the top of her lungs, jumping out of her chair and punching the air victoriously. “THEY DID IT, DAD, THEY DESTROYED THAT OLD HAG! THAT'S MY BABY BROTHER AND ADORABLE COUSIN! WOOHOO!”

Rayleigh laughed and laughed, his eyes on the screen being transmitted from Whole Cake Island to the rest of the world. “You're going to wake the whole island, Ann dear,” Shakky said in amusem*nt, grabbing her stepdaughter's empty mug before a flailing hand could knock it onto the floor.

“Who the hell would still be asleep instead of watching this?!” Ann retorted, ocean green eyes gleaming. Her long blonde hair was messy and askew, her theme park uniform still rumpled from her mad dash to the family bar from her post. Most would observe that while she had a picture-perfect resemblence to her father as a youth, her smile was one hundred percent Gol D Roger. “YOU WON, ACE! LUFFY! I'M SO FREAKING PROUD OF YOU! AHHHH!” The young woman vibrated violently in place, punching the air like a born cheerleader as she watched the behemoth that was Charlotte Linlin finally crumple.

Rayleigh glanced at Shakky and wordlessly held his mug out for a refill. Her eyes sparkling in amusem*nt, his second wife took it and mused, “What do you suppose happens to Totland after this? There's no way the Big Mom Pirates hold onto their status as an Emperor's crew.”

“They're Luffy's concern now,” Rayleigh responded. “The crew are her family through marriage, after all. Even if I imagine a good chunk of them aren't too pleased with her right now.”

Shakky arched an eyebrow as she poured more wine. “You think she'll start emulating Edward, now?”

“I suppose we'll see,” Rayleigh said, his attention fully on the screen. When Linlin didn't rise from the crater, Big News Morgan seemed to ascend to a never-before-discovered plateau of glee and excitement, shrieking the last bit of play by play into the microphone without hesitation. “I'll be impressed if Morgans manages to survive this stunt. Akainu won't be pleased.”

Shakky chuckled. “If Morgans wasn't prepared for powerful people to take issue with his reporting, he wouldn't have survived this long. Somehow I think he'll manage.”

“Really? Because he's never done anything this audacious before.”

“No one has,” Shakky observed. “Except for Luffy herself, and despite many people's best efforts, she's doing quite well.”

Rayleigh nodded. He looked at the image of his protege as she snapped back into her normal form and uttered a war cry of victory. Pride swelled up in his chest, warm and fierce, as his stepson wrapped one arm around her shoulder and grinned victoriously at the results of their team up. In just two years, they both grew so much stronger...

A familiar tug of emotion swirled in his chest. He couldn't help but remember the day when Ace walked into the Rip Off Bar, slightly confused and following along in Ann's wake... Rayleigh had known the instant he looked at the young man who he was, saw that perfect blend of Roger and Rouge step across the threshold and tense up in surprise at the sight of him. Nika, but he'd almost forgotten how to breathe... the wave of nostalgia, love and the ache of loss and utter wonder at the boy's appearance overwhelmed him. He couldn't speak for several seconds.

Ace had been skittish upon recognizing him, the duality of his mother's name haunting him for better and worse, but dropped his guard the instant Ann revealed that they were brother and sister. Rayleigh's heart had ached at the confirmation that Rouge had lost his life defending their son, and not for the first time he cursed Shiki and his obsession with his beloved late wife. He offered to tell Ace stories about his father, about their family, and the boy had almost broken down before pleading to hear everything. He'd stayed long into the night, hanging on Rayleigh and Ann's every word before finally falling dead asleep on the counter. It's still one of his favourite memories.

Rayleigh glanced at this daughter and smiled softly. She was still bouncing in place, almost doing a war dance. “Thinking of becoming a pirate after all, Ann?” He asked lightly.

Ann paused and grinned ruefully. “I'm not gonna lie... I'm kinda tempted?” She said with a giggle. “Look at them! Ahhh, Mama must be laughing so hard right now.”

“I have no doubt,” Rayleigh responded fondly. “If you do decide to sail out, Ann, you have my blessing. I'll always worry somewhat, but I'm not as afraid as I used to be.”

Ann smiled; she hurried to his side and gave him a tight hug. “I love you, dad.” She said affectionately. “I haven't decided anything... but once I do, I'll let you know.”

Rayleigh hugged back with a soft smile. His gaze turned back to the screen, where Luffy had grabbed Katakuri in a tight comforting embrace. The older man was shivering, pain visible despite his immediate return into his famous stoicism. Rayleigh's expression softened with empathy. Katakuri had always been loyal, however cruel and mercurial his mother had been to him; this must have been an immensely difficult decision for him – even if it was the 'right' one.

It's a good thing he has Luffy.

“I wonder...” Rayleigh mused. “This wedding was interrupted... I suspect that Luffy won't be well pleased by that and will want to have another one. Perhaps there's a chance we could reach that one in time.”

Ann's eyes lit up in excitement. “Oh! Oooooh... let's call the Moby! I bet we could find out from them!”

Boa nearly passed out upon witnessing Luffy's victory. Yes, she had help, but none of those people would have come to Totland if not for her beloved's charisma! As far as she was concerned that made this wholly Luffy's victory.

Ahh, she should have been there – she should have been there! Alas, she didn't dare leave her home island to travel such a distance lest the wounded World Government pounce upon that weakness. She may still be a warlord, but she knows that the volcanic mutt sitting the Marine's highest chair suspects where Luffy got the key to Ace's sea stone shackles from and is waiting for the slightest excuse to unleash hell upon Amazon Lily. His sisters had entreated her to trust in her beloved and stay at home; after a long minute of struggling with the idea, Boa had sourly conceded.

Oh, what a painful decision that had been! If they weren't already married and the closest of partners, Boa wouldn't have been able to make it.

Her delirious joy was immediately spiked with aggravation when Luffy wrapped Katakuri in one of her wonderful embraces seconds after confirming her victory. “Luffy!” Boa protested somewhat irately, her voice almost drowned out by the celebrations in the room.

Her beloved wife, marry a man?! Marry that man!

Boa begrudgingly accepted that Luffy's wild spirit was likely to pick up another bride or two aside from herself. While she would have preferred to be her goddess's sole wife, she would not selfishly impose upon the woman who set her soul free. The idea of her making Luffy unhappy somehow was to horrifying to contemplate.

But a man?! A Charlotte, for that matter! At least it wasn't Prespero or Oven or most of that rabble, Nika forbid, but why a man, Luffy?! Boa groaned at the thought that she now has brother husband, one she knew somewhat but wasn't exactly enthusiastic about sharing her goddess with. Men were still a wary figure to her, though meeting Luffy's crew had somewhat softened that old instinct.

She remembers how her cook had thrown himself to his knees in front of her in a posture of pure reverence before thanking her for helping his Captain and making her stronger. How her swordsman had inclined his head in respect for her and looked at her like she was a human being – no salivating in lust, no condescension, no ogling her; it was a simple gesture of admiration from one warrior to another. How the skeleton had greeted her with awe, and the little zoan reindeer hurriedly shifted forms to smack him upside the head to keep him from saying anything uncouth – before thanking her just as profusely as the cook had. How the sniper had been frozen in amazement, unable to even speak.

Boa marveled at how her goddess found such decent men; how normal and personable they had seemed compared to the ones that she knew. But there's still some space between that and being willing to share her wife with a man!

She and Luffy were wed now – they had slept in the same bed together. Only married couples did that, she's sure of it. The books in her library said things like that. Honestly, Lu should have consulted her before accepting Katakuri's proposal! Of course she would have needed to go to Totland immediately to protect her loved ones from Big Mom's temper tantrums, but she should have at least called!

...Luffy did have her snail number, right? Right???

Boa stood in place for a moment, then hurried out of the room to double check. She would later discover that she had intended to give Luffy the number, but completely forgot about it upon receiving an energetic goodbye hug and spending the next few hours in a state of dazed happiness. The resultant shriek of alarm would be heard all across Amazon Lily.

Chapter 34

Chapter Text

Luffy is so tired. So tired! She just wants to lie down with somebody to snuggle with and sleep for an entire week, but she can't yet. That was one of the hardest fights she's ever won; she hasn't exerted herself this much since Marineford. Though this time at least she wasn't dropping into a near death coma. Which was good, because Traffy would get really mad at her if she did that again.

She leaned heavily on Kat's arm as they walked down toward the docks. Glancing up at him, even her sleepy eyes could tell that he was in turmoil – hiding it all behind the cold reservation she'd seen when she first met him. He was walking slowly and staring straight ahead, no acknowledging anyone's attempt to talk to him except for her crew. To them he spoke in simple, short responses... since most of them were asking if he was okay, the brisk 'I'm fine' was the only answer they received. Even though it couldn't be true.

Luffy nuzzled his arm. She didn't understand the complicated emotions tied up in the brutal and abusive mother that Big Mom had been, but she could tell that Kat was hurting, and she wished she knew what to say to comfort him. She was good at communicating emotions, though; she'd give him love and support until he felt better.

That's how she and Ace bounced back after they thought Sabo had been killed, after all.

Dragon dismissed the storm clouds he kicked up after the fight was over. It was evening now, and the sky was painted a dozen shades of red and rose. The citizens were finally poking their heads out of what places they'd been sheltering in and wandering around their upended home in a completely daze. The Big Mom pirates in the area meanwhile had been subdued, often with seastone chains, and were currently being minded by a mixture of Revolutionaries and Neo Marines.

“Man, this place is a mess...” Nami observed, leaning heavily on Sanji's shoulder. She was out of energy as well, and kept glancing at her clima-tact like she half expected Zeus to pop out from his new compartment and try to electrocute them all. “What's going to happen to these islands now, Dragon-san? Zephyr-san?”

“That remains to be seen,” Dragon responded diplomatically, glancing at Katakuri. The stoic pirate said nothing.

Zephyr snorted but said nothing. It was obvious he wanted to ship a large number of Big Mom's children directly to Impel Down for their murderous rampages on their mother's orders, but knew that their grim protector would not allow for that – if he attempted it, there would be a fight. Given that Luffy had just married him, he found himself in a sour quandary.

“Luffy!”

Luffy blinked sleepily at the sound of her name being called. When she saw the source, her eyes brightened, and she briefly released Katakuri to hurry toward an old friend. “Coby!” She chirped sunnily.

Coby grinned boyishly when his old rescuer scurried down the hill and stopped a few feet away from him. “It's nice to see you again,” He said, his eyes widening a little as he took in her appearance. “Oh wow... that wedding dress looks amazing on you, even after the battle.”

Luffy giggled and gave her skirts a wary look. “Thanks~ though I was hoping that I could prevent it from getting damaged at all,” she sighed. “Nami promised that she'd fix it up, but I'm never fighting in this again. That was stressful!”

“Y-yeah...sure was...” Coby chuckled nervously. He'd found the whole day extremely stressful, but probably for very different reasons than she did. “Uh, c-congratulations on getting married, I guess! Even if the ceremony kinda went off the rails...”

Luffy scowled at the reminder and put her hands on her hips. “I can't believe that gramps of mine,” she grumbled, looking around. “Where did he go off to? I've got some things to say to him! Hmph!”

“You say that like we weren't planning on crashing the wedding in dramatic fashion,” Sabo pointed out. The ravenette blinked rapidly as if she was just now remembering that. “Let's face it, this was doomed to go south in one way or another. Think of it this way – gramps showed up at your wedding, like you wanted him to!”

Shanks laughed, earning himself a deadly pout from Luffy in protest. “You gotta take the good with the bad in the New World, kiddo.” He said, stopping next to her and patting her on the head. Coby blinked rapidly as he looked up at the man who'd saved his life from Blackbeard's crew at the tail end of the War of the Best. “Besides, you can always have a do over if you feel things weren't complete here. You've got your eye on two other guys, don't you?”

Luffy perked up a little at the reminder. “With that being said, where did the old man run off to that fast?” Sabo wondered, looking back and forth. “He was right there with us when we put Linlin in the dirt, then he pulled a vanishing act on us.”

“Eh?” Coby blinked, startled. “Really? I saw him a moment ago, he was starting to help carry our injured back to the warship.”

Ace heard that, breathed in deep and pinched the bridge of his nose. Law moved to his side and murmured something Luffy couldn't pick up thanks to her sleepy brain. Her firebrand sighed and said, “I know, but... I need to talk to him.” He caught Luffy's gaze and said, “I'll go find him and see if I can drag him to the Thousand Sunny by the collar, Lu. I'll be right back.”

Luffy blinked at him and nodded sharply. “Mmm!” Ace gave her a small reassuring smile and darted off, following Garp's haki signature.

“There's, uh, one other thing you probably should know about...” Coby started, glancing warily toward the harbor. “There's...a ship in the harbour who's figurehead is a statue of you? Along with a half dozen others, they showed up shortly before you, err, won the fight. They were ready for a fight and seemed disappointed to discover it was all over already.”

Dragon and Zephyr's expressions went blank at that, while Shanks started laughing again. Katakuri's stoicism briefly cracked in favor of disbelief; he wordlessly twists and stares at her crewmates for some kind of explanation, only to be greeted by Nami groaning and Brook chuckling quietly with no explanation offered.

Law sputtered incoherently and facepalmed. “Those people came here too?!” He uttered. “I had been hoping it would be at least half an eternity before I saw those lunatics again...!”

Luffy stared blankly at him for a few seconds before realization snapped through her. After all, her self proclaimed 'biggest fan's pirate ship was very memorable, even to somebody with the short term memory issues she had. “Ehh?! Barto's here?!” She realized. “Why?”

“Because you're here.” Nami deadpanned. “Call it a hunch.”

“Oooh gosh,” Luffy said, shaking her head. Wondering for a few seconds what she was going to stay to them, an idea popped into her head and she smiled. “Well, let's go down there and see them! If they've come all this way, there's still something they can do to help us.”

Law blew out a tired breath. “Very well,” he said. “I need to get to my patient, anyway.”

“Benn and the others are getting the Red Force ready to sail,” Shanks told them as the group started walking down toward the harbor, Coby joining them while eyeing Dragon and Zephyr with a mixture of awe and unease. “We can't stick around; the World Government will be sending forces to try and capture you while you're tired from the fight and half your crew isn't present. We'll try and head that off without giving the impression that we're in a solid alliance.”

“I'm going to stay here for a little longer,” Dragon said, glancing aside to where some of his men were providing first aid to civilians who had been injured in the chaos. “Someone has to ensure the islands aren't sacked by raiding pirates, such as the Blackbeards.”

Despite her exhaustion, Luffy twitched violently at the name. Blackbeard... Her jaw tightened, the massive man's laughter echoing in her ears. She remembered encountering him in Impel Down, teasing her and revealing that he was the one who captured Ace and delivered him to that horrible prison. She hadn't seen him since then; Luffy had been unconscious when he appeared at Marineford, and her path across the New World had yet to cross with his. However, she very much looked forward to beating the bastard down for what he did to her firebrand when the time came.

“Mmm,” Katakuri hummed in quiet, thankful acceptance. Luffy squeezed his hand gently.

The habor is busy. Revolutionaries, recently released from Uta's devil fruit power, were a little loopy and frazzled, while the various tied up pirates were complaining loudly. The docks themselves were crowded beyond capacity as the Straw Hat Grand Fleet all but grounded their ships whenever they could find enough space; Jinbe waved at the group from the deck of the Sunny. Standing near the gangplank are a few figures that cause Katakuri to start in surprise – Moscato and Brulee were standing side by side with a number of packed bags, while Praline was lounging in the water with her husband Aladdin and resting her arms on the section of the dock close to them.

Katakuri's breath hitched, and his steps sped up slightly; Luffy scurried after him as he moved ahead to meet his siblings. “You three...” He started, then hesitated and stared down at the bags. “Are those mine?”

Brulee nodded, humming. “I packed up everything that you'll need, including some recipes for your favorite sweets,” she said casually. Luffy glanced at the Sunny and noticed that a number of pirates were carrying barrels upon barrels of supplies on board her ship. “I imagine Vinsmoke-san will have no trouble making them for you, if he's as good as Luffy says.”

“Your extra weapons have already been taken on board,” Moscato added. “If there's anything else you want, just say so.”

Katakuri looked between them and Praline, his sharp teeth worrying sharply with his lower lip. “...Are you truly okay with this?” He asked them a little helplessly. “With me just up and leaving, after... after having...” Unconsciously he glanced backward toward the hill where the battle took place.

Brulee put one hand heavily on his arm. “Katakuri, I haven't changed my mind in the last twenty hours since you last asked me this.” She said chidingly. “We'll protect the family while you're gone. If we can't take care of ourselves when you're not around, how can we call ourselves pirates?”

“But...”

“What happened wasn't your fault,” Moscato said quietly. He understood keenly the painful confusion that Katakuri was feeling at the moment. “She was our mother... but only by blood did she hold that title; what mother harms her children? ...Kills them?” Katakuri stared hard at him, a dozen responses fighting for control of his tongue. Moscato smiled sadly. “Even though you have obeyed her all your life, she almost killed you for defending Chiffon, and tried to kill you for refusing to harm your wife. How many times did she do things like that? She killed...” he faltered, unable to put a name to the brother he'd seen killed in one of Linlin's hunger rampages as a child. Their mother had more or less pretended he never existed after that, and forbade his name from being spoken.

“I've betrayed my family, haven't I?” Katakuri responded, not reassured by that observation. The tangle of emotions that his brutal mother caused were not so easily quieted.

Praline sighed. “Does making a single choice for yourself after spending most of your life as our shield constitute a great betrayal?” She asked. “I don't. I find I can't, really; in fact I'm happy for you.”

Katakuri gave her an almost hesitant look. “Praline...”

His sister chuckled softly. “Oh, Katakuri. I'll save my gloating for when you're in the mood for it, so right now I'll just say this – go, go and enjoy your honeymoon. I'm looking forward to hearing about it later down the line.”

Brulee snapped her fingers and muttered something to herself, beginning to fish around in her pockets. After a second she made a pleased sound and drew out a piece of paper, which she promptly slapped into Katakuri's hand. He blinked in confusion and looked down; the paper had a snail number written across it. “I expect to hear from you at decent intervals!” Brulee warned him, waggling her finger at him. “Even if you're married you better not forget about me!”

“I could never,” Katakuri responded with quiet sincerity. His mood lifted a little for the first time since the battle ended.

Luffy beamed, interjecting for the first time with a playful, “We won't forget to call, Brulee-sis!” Brulee gave her a rueful smile and jerked her head toward the Sunny, grabbing her brother's bags off of the ground.

Law climbed the gangplank before Luffy makes it; he walked quickly and briskly, immediately vanishing into the Sunny to begin Reiju's surgery with Chopper. Luffy directs Kat to put his stuff in the captain's cabin for now; Franky will be remodelling the Sunny's interior to make cabins for him and Reiju proper, but until then he can share her room! Ah, she wants to check in with Reiju, but she's tired and she still needs to talk to Barto and the others...

Rubbing at her eyes and whining to no one in particular about how sleepy she was, Luffy trotted up to the railing of the Sunny and waved at the Captains who had crowded onto Barto's ship – chosen by dint of having been the first one into the harbor and having managed to park on the Sunny's left – to get their attention. “Oiiiii!” She called.

Instantly the captains stopped bickering and whirled to face her. “Luffy-hime!” Barto shrieked in joy, rushing to the bow. He was wearing his long coat over a priest's robes, Luffy noticed; she wondered when that had happened. Barto was fond of his mafia look, wasn't he? “I'm so sorry! We didn't make it in time, even though we came as fast as we could... I'm so ashamed!” He dropped to his knees and planted his forehead on the wood the way that Kin'emon did when pleading for help.

“Shishishishi! Silly, it's fine.” Luffy retorted playfully. “I handled things and everyone's alright! That's cause for celebration, isn't it? You guys didn't have to drop whatever you were doing to come running to find me.”

“But of course we did!” Cavendish protested, joining Barto at the rail though he didn't kneel or anything. “When I heard you were getting married to one of the demon's children I knew your knight had to come be by your side!”

“What demon? I'm married to Kat,” Luffy responded, completely oblivious. She didn't hear Nami crash face first into the deck out of disbelief or Brook expressing confusion at how she could still misunderstand statements like that. “Anyway, are you guys all okay? You didn't get hurt getting here?” It didn't look like any of the ships had taken serious damage, but she couldn't see them all perfectly from this vantage point.

“More or less.” Hajrundin responded. “There is some minor damage and some injuries from our battles with the TART defence system, but it's nothing that can't be handled. Are your crew well?”

Luffy nodded. “Yup, all's good.” She tilted her head to the side, eyes half closed, before nodding to herself. It was the best notion she could come up with; while she disliked the idea of giving any of her technical underlings orders, she now had a family of in-laws to worry about. She had to take care of them, especially because Katakuri was so worried about them. “Since you guys are here, there's something important I've gotta discuss with you.”

Cavendish immediately stopped sulking at her missing his signal, while Barto scrambled to his feet, absolutely glowing at the idea that his goddess was about to give him some kind of important mission. Sai and Baby Five moved closer, wearing curious expressions, while Chinjao leaned on the wall and regarded her thoughtfully.

“Y'see this place?” Luffy asked, waving her hand at Totland. “This is Kat's home, and I've kinda blasted a giant crater in it.” A crater was a bit of an understatement of things all things considered. “That means it's my responsibility now!” Just like when she recruited Robin, right? “Kat's brothers and sisters are vulnerable now, but I have to go. Uncle Ed took care of fishman island by giving it his protection and destroying anyone who was dumb enough to pick a fight anyway.” She put her hands on her hips. “So I need you guys to put up the Straw Hat Flag and stick around for a while! Make sure that the Marines or creeps like Blackbeard can't attack them.”

Barto immediately threw his arms in the air. “Of course, Luffy-hime! I will protect these lands with our lives!” He bellowed without hesitation.

“Are you sure about this?” Hajrundin queried, looking somewhat surprised. “Many of Linlin's older officers will not forgive you for dethroning her.”

Luffy shrugged. “Then lock 'em up tight, just don't let them die. I don't mind if you have to beat them up, just be careful. Kat would be sad if any of his siblings died while he was gone, even if they're awful. Papa's people will help you for a little while.” She put one hand on her hat. “Can you guys okay handling that?”

Her giant division commander pondered that for a second, marvelling that even now she was asking them to do this, not ordering them. Freedom mattered that much for her that even though they'd firmly accepted her as their commanding Captain, she had little interest in 'bossing them around'. Putting one hand to his chest, Hajrundin stated, “We will see it done, Captain.”

“If all the demons from hell are unleashed upon Totland, we will drive them back!” Barto declared fanatically, a happy tearful smile on his face at being entrusted with Luffy's first claimed 'territory'.

Luffy giggled at the mental image. She had no trouble imagining Barto fearlessly using his barriers to ward off the legions of Davy Jones or any other devil figures. Cavendish sighed and drew his sword, holding it in front of him like a proper knight. “On my life, I will see your will not be thwarted.” He said solemnly.

“...Eh?” Luffy blinked.

“He means he's in,” Sai translated helpfully. Cavendish threw a scowl in his direction, though the other man was unfazed. “You don't have to worry, Luffy. We'll take care of Totland for you and your new man.”

“Shishishishi...! Thanks, guys! You're the best,” Luffy said happily, tension going out of her shoulders. She almost reeled backward at the determined roar that echoed from her fleet; instinctively she planted her hand on her hat as if to keep it from being blown away by a powerful wind. “You're all kinda weird, but I'm glad you've got my back.”

Jinbe gave her an amused look as the crews of the Grand Fleet rushed to disembark and start tackling this not-insignificant task. “No need to call them weird to their faces, Luffy,” he said chidingly. “Though they're an eclectic bunch, it's impressive that you've collected such a loyal following without trying.”

Luffy blushed a little at the scolding. She was about to turn and head to her cabin where Katakuri was when she spotted Ace approaching the docks, more-or-less hauling Garp along behind him by the hand. Abruptly being faced with the choice of 1, staying on the deck and having a conversation with a guy she was mad at or 2, going to comfort her husband and then falling asleep, she only pondered it for a few seconds before whirling around and darting into the Sunny. Jinbe uttered a confused sound at her sudden exit, while Sabo sighed, albiet not without sympathy.

“Boy...” The blonde sighed, before smiling ruefully. “Well, time to reveal to the old man that I'm alive. If you can stop him from punching me clean into the hull, I'd appreciate that.”

“Of course,” Jinbe rumbled, bemused.

Uta waited for quite some time after being given the all clear before she ascended from the pool room back to the Sunny's deck. She was distracted enough that she didn't notice that Pudding didn't leave the pile of blankets that she'd dove into out of sheer confusion upon entering the lounge, despite this being an obvious opening to get off the Sunny. She had other things on her mind.

She passed by Law in one of the hallways, the doctor muttering medical jargon to himself as he rushed to the hospital room; she made a mental note to check in on Reiju later and maybe prepare some nice snack for her when she eventually woke up. It was the least she'd deserve after her trials.

When the songstress emerged on the deck, she had been rather deep in thought – her ride here obviously hadn't survived the battle. Her original plan, taking the Sunny back to Elgia with Luffy and her crew safe inside her enchantment where they would stay until Uta was prepared to begin New Genesis, wasn't viable in her mind now – it felt too much like attacking Luffy. In another time and place, Uta would have been confident (or stressed and sufficiently strung out on wake-shrooms to be reachable by reason...) enough to do so, but now she was too rattled by recent meetings and too buoyed by Luffy's showings of affection to be willing to attack.

So when she emerged on the deck and found herself staring at not just the towering form of Garp the Hero, but her father, Uta briefly froze, multiple emotions fighting for supremacy in her chest... and ultimately, rage won out. Rage at the man who sat and watched when Luffy had a hole shot through her by Kizaru, watched her try to power through a battlefield she was outmatched in, watched and did nothing.

“YOU,” She seethed, glaring mercilessly at the man.

Ace jerked slightly in surprise at her appearance. “Uta?” He hadn't realized she was still on board. “Where's Luffy? Did she wander off somewhere?”

Uta shook her head. “No, she's with Katakuri in her cabin.” It smarted a little to say so, but if Luffy loved that man, she'd accept him. “She's quite preoccupied.”

Garp shuffled his feet. The proud, confident man looked like a shadow of himself... Uta wasn't so prickly she couldn't see that. He looked exhausted, almost timid, as he looked her way. “I... if you could send for her...”

“She doesn't want to talk to you,” Uta responded bluntly. “If she did, she would have been waiting impatiently for you on the deck.” The observation was harsh, but not wrong; they all knew Luffy well enough to verify that. When Luffy was angry at someone she cared about, once she ran out of energy to rant and yell at them, she would subside into sulkiness and give them the silent treatment until the anger left her system. Ace and Sabo had both been subjected to this a few times across their childhood, and it had been devastatingly effective every time.

Sabo winced slightly. “Geez, Lu...” He looked a little torn. Garp, by comparison, definitely wilted in visible distress; from how Uta saw it, Luffy's anger at him would cool quickly, but with Marineford as the silent elephant on deck it was easy for him to imagine her never speaking to him again.

Shanks took in a surreptitious breath and walked up to Uta, drawing her attention away from the awkward family tableau. Uta hesitantly looked up at him, avoiding meeting his gaze directly. “If you want, I can take you back to Elgia,” he offered. “The waters around here will be pretty chaotic for the near future.”

Uta made herself snort. “That would rather undermine your stance of not knowing or caring who I am, wouldn't it? People will wonder why you decided to chaperone a pirate-hating singer back to the home you razed to the ground instead of killing her,” She said sourly. “Or did you decide you wanted to acknowledge my existence again now that you're this exalted Emperor of the Sea and I'm no longer a burden to you?”

Shanks shivered slightly. “You were never a burden to us. You're my daughter.”

Oh, what is that even supposed to mean?! I'm bound to the f*cking Demon King, the song of the apocalypse, calling me a burden would be you being KIND! I'm a MONSTER! Uta thought with a mixture of anger and anguish. “So you say now,” she said with carefully controlled flatness. “I think I'll travel with Luffy. She's never thrown me away, after all.”

Her chest squeezed. Tot Musica seething hatred of her father boiled inside her like a volcano about to erupt; the pressure was so intense it was all she could do to stay upright and not react to it. Shanks had defeated him at Elgia, and even though he'd healed from it, the Demon King had never forgotten that a mortal, a bug, had prevented his song from ringing out across the world. Again. Tot Musica hated him, his snarl ringing in her ears like a bell with his previous taunting and teasing having failed to get the reaction he wanted. Her passenger's desire to tear Shanks limb from limb made her hands shiver, powerful enough to leak slightly into her own haki signature.

“What?” Shanks stuttered, taken aback. “Uta, did she not tell you? Luffy's going to Wano, the heart of Kaido's territory! The fighting that will occur there will be titanic!”

“Mmm,” Uta hummed, pretending to be unaffected. “I trust Luffy to protect me. If half her crew is waiting for her in Wano, I won't make her waste time taking me around to Elgia beforehand. They need her to catch up and quickly. Besides, freeing Wano from the likes of Kaido is a worthy effort, isn't it?”

Shanks shifted from side to side, worrying with the hilt of his sword. He looked so torn. Uta swallowed and felt the impulse to hug him, she wanted a hug, she wanted her father to hold her and promise her that everything will be okay and that the demon she's chained to could be beaten but he left her he left her when she needed himneededhimneededhim

His hand landed in her hair. Very gently, carefully, like he expected to get slapped away instantly and screamed at. Instead Uta froze up, too stunned to respond, and Shanks ruffles her hair briefly like he used to. “Okay,” he says softly. “You're old enough to make that choice for yourself, so it's not like I can stop you. Just be careful, okay?” he tries for a smile. “We both know that the only way Luffy knows how to fight is to charge in head first.”

“Yeah,” Uta mumbles, shaken. “Bye, Shanks.”

Shanks gives her a look that might be a little hurt by the clear attempted dismissal; Uta's heart is lodged violently in her throat and she's just trying to breathe around it. “I've missed you. We all have; we'll miss you still. Take care of yourself, Uta,” he said softly, before turning and walking toward the gang plank.

Wait don't go I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry it was all my fault don't leave me again don't gO-!

Uta presses one hand against her face and swallowed down hard on the words desperately trying to claw their way free of her throat. She focuses on not trembling, and within her Tot Musica seethed and swirled impatiently in his cage.

She'll slip up soon. Her nerves are on a razor's edge, and one strong blow jarring her emotions to their breaking point will give him the opening he needs. That was an approaching fact, not a fancy of his; he could feel it when he tried to put pressure on her consciousness. He could wait a little longer; he's waited for uncountable years now.

Luffy stepped into her cabin and shut the door behind her. Katakuri had been staring at the modest dresser next to her bed, his bags sitting against the wall. The sound of her arrival jolts him out of the reviere he was in. “Luffy?”

“Yeah, it's me.” She said, walking over to the drawer. “Comfy in here, isn't it? Franky's designs are the best.” She flopped down on the bed and stretched her arms around to start undoing the clasps and zippers of her dress; as much as she'd grown to like it, she very much wanted to be back in her usual clothes again. It was heavy! “I used to sleep in a barracks with the guys, and I still like that, but this is nice in a different way.” She started to slide out of her dress.

Katakuri scrambled back a step when he noticed her changing. “I – I can go outside while you change,” he stuttered.

“Eh? Why would you need to do that?” Luffy asked, unfazed. She tugged the sleeves down and slid out of her dress; she's wearing a simple slip and underwear beneath it – not that Katakuri notices, given that he immediately pivoted so his back was to her and stared at the very interesting seashells sitting on one of the bookshelves. “Woof, that gets a little heavy after a while.” She carried the dress to the laundry hamper and carefully hangs it over the side.

Katakuri swallowed hard. “Tell me when you're decent,” he said, most certainly not stuttering on the last word.

“Sure,” Luffy giggled, amused by his boyishness when faced with her undressing. “I don't mind you looking, y'know.” The faintly strangled noise he uttered in response to that was both hilarious and kinda cute. It certainly wasn't what she had expected from a big bear of a guy like him.

She quickly changed into her usual red vest and blue shorts, reassuring him teasingly that he could turn around now. Katakuri turned to her looking a little harried and uncertain, and she sat on the bed making grabby hands at him. “C'mere,” she said. “You look so tired.”

Katakuri looked from side to side and hesitantly took off his suit jacket, shoes and spurs. He hesitated with one hand on his belt, then walked over to her and sat down on the bed without undressing any further. Luffy nuzzled his shoulder and popped a kiss on an old scar marring his tanned skin, nudging him to lie down. “I...” Katakuri swallowed. “I've... never actually done this before.”

Luffy blinked. “What do you mean? We cuddled just yesterday.”

“W-Well – I mean,” Katakuri floundered for a moment, not realizing the implication had flown over her head. “I've never...been intimate with another before.”

Luffy stared at him for a second before the connection finally sparked in her mind and her face turned a surprising shade of red. “Oh,” she said. “Well, neither have I? And maybe we should wait for when we aren't both exhausted to try? I mean, I hear it's really fun, but takes a lot of energy.” Nika had said something to that effect between gales of laughter, hadn't she? She's pretty sure she did.

Katakuri chuckled, surprising himself. “That's what some of my sisters have said,” he agreed. Having said that, he looked straight ahead. “It feels so strange. I've never left Totland without my mother or siblings before. Lola was the only one of us to ever 'strike out' on her own, and Mother never forgave her for it. Funny... I just did far worse, yet I have the chance to return because she's...” He trails off.

Luffy wrapped her hand around his wrist, gently brushing her thumb over his pulse point. “She hurt you, but you still loved her,” she divined, having been pondering this for a while.

“...Yes. I suppose I did,” Katakuri murmured. “I am free, now. I am a ruin of confusion and grief and regrets, but I am free.”

Saying it aloud finally organized his emotions for him, allowing him to truly experience them rather than struggle with a storm inside his heart. A cool drop of water slid down his cheek. “It seems there's a small leak in the roof of your cabin... perhaps you should get that fixed tomorrow.”

Luffy opened her mouth to point out that the roof was fine, but seeing another tear fall, then another, she elected not to point out the obvious and instead wrapped Katakuri in a tight hug. “I'll complain to Uncle Jimbe later,” she agreed. “Let's burrow under the blankets, that'll keep any pesky drips away.” She brushed one hand against his cheek.

Katakuri nodded, his throat too tight to speak. He was too tall to lie straight in her bed, oversized for her though it may be; so he curls up around her and used his powers to edit his height in order to be comfortable. Luffy pulls the blankets over them and cradled his head in her arms, stroking his hair and easing his tears until he fell asleep. Drifting off in her arms, Katakuri found warmth and a measure of peace.

Chapter 35

Chapter Text

Reiju woke up very slowly.

The drugged sleep had been completely dreamless; she lay in a peaceful void in which time did not register. Occasionally she felt like she could hear Law and Chopper talking to each other, but she couldn't make out the words, and their voices would drift away not long after she started hearing them. This kind of coma esque dream state was familiar to her; she was very familiar with hospitals. Judge was always looking for ways to improve the Lineage Factor, make her and her brothers stronger, faster, more durable; whenever she protested being subjected to yet another operation, he would insist that it was necessary in the face of the powers that ruled the world.

That being entirely true didn't make his lack of respect for her bodily autonomy any less dehumanizing. So it was strange how at peace she felt drifting in the darkness; it had been a long time since entering a hospital room didn't make her grimace and her stomach twisting with grim anticipation. But her last memory was of Trafalgar Law's strong, sure hands holding her as he prepared to carry out his promise to her; the hope it gave her was immense.

It took her a while to truly wake up. Reiju's senses stirred into action one at a time; the gentle weight of the fluffy blanket on top of her and the feeling of plastic tubes resting against her skin came to her first, followed by the feeling of the world bobbling and swaying every so slightly in the waves. A slow sigh slipping from her lips, Reiju tried to open her eyes.

Her vision was blurry at first, lingering that way as her heavy eyelids fluttered repeatedly. Reiju blinked a few times and her vision slowly focused on the jewel wood ceiling above her, along with the flower light fixture shining gentle gold light into the room. A ceiling... her lethargic mind observed that there were no signs of combat anywhere; the only sounds she was picking up were the crashing of water and footsteps going to and fro with no hurry some distance away and above.

They're out in the ocean. So they left Totland. The thoughts slowly circle in her mind as it began to shake off the drowsiness clamping down on it. Reiju tried to sit up, but her muscles were still weak as unshaped bread, so she only lifted herself about an inch before slumping on the mattress again.

This must be the Thousand Sunny, she deduced. Then... my surgery must be over.

Her heart started to thump quickly in her chest at the thought. Reiju closed her eyes, trying to figure out how she could test the doctor's work with her 'father' nowhere to be seen. I am never going back to Germa, she told herself. I'll never serve my father again!

...There's no pressure in her skull. No pins-and-needles sensation of long-given commands of loyalty reacting to the treasonous decision, her muscles don't lock up automatically, there's nothing. Reiju's lips parted slightly and her heartbeat increased; her mouth is dry as a bone and there's a foul taste at the back of her throat, but she hardly felt it.

It was gone, gone, gone. Of course – of course this was just a thought, not as strong a rejection of what Judge had instructed of her as making a direct move against them. This didn't feel real; she needed to test more, had to attempt something more bold before she could truly accept that freedom was hers. That she had been set free.

“Reiju?”

Sanji's voice startled her. She glanced sideways to find her brother sitting in a chair next to her bed, eyes wide, an open cookbook falling into his lap forgotten. He was still wearing his wedding suit despite the dirt, blood and damage it had accumulated; he must have sat in on the surgery and refused to leave. “Reiju, you're awake,” He gasped, standing up and placing his hands on the side of her bed.

“Sanji...” Reiju murmured. Her voice sounded rough, and a rough tickle tortured her throat. “Water...?” She asked softly.

“R-Right, of course,” Sanji assured her, darting over to the corner where a sizable sink was. Reiju tilted her head slightly and looked around the hospital room; it was a smallish, containing two beds and a lot of drawers containing various medical herbs and tools. Across from her was a long couch upon which Law was collapsed on, completely asleep; Chopper was curled up on his chest, snoring away. The sight was so cute Reiju wished that she could take a picture of it.

A glass appeared in her vision; Reiju blinked and smiled up at Sanji. “Thank you,” she murmured. She tried to sit up slowly; her muscles were still lethargic from the custom sedative. Sanji sat down on the side of the bed and braced her with his arm, helping her sit up against the headboard and grasp the water glass in one hand. She took a deep drink, slowly; the cool water was incredibly soothing.

“How do you feel?” Sanji asked fretfully. “Do you hurt anywhere? Do you need anything?”

“I'm okay,” Reiju said, shaking her head slightly and taking another drink. “I'm just lethargic... the sedative is still wearing off, I think. Where are we?”

Her little brother smiled brightly at her. “We left Totland two days ago; progress is good and we're headed to Wano.”

Reiju's heart fluttered. “What happened in the battle?” She asked with a faint thread of excitement. “We must have won, but how? Is everyone alright?” She'd hardly got to see any of the battle that had started after Vice Admiral Garp came barrelling into the ceremony. The last thing she saw before going under had been Luffy changing form and attacking Big Mom alongside Emperor Ace.

“Everyone is fine,” Sanji answered promptly. “The battle against Big Mom took a lot out of us, I won't lie, but we defeated her soundly! The Emperor has been flung from her throne.” He clasped her hand. “Also, Judge wasn't spared from the chaos; the Revolutionaries have taken our brothers for medical examinations, while that man is currently enjoying a black cell under the watchful eye of the Neo Marines!”

Reiju stared at him for a few seconds, rolling the words around in her head. It was so hard to accept without seeing it with her own eyes... and yet the way Sanji is smiling, she knows that all of it is true. She started to shake a little and quickly set her glass down. “Tell me,” she said, fumbling a little as she tried to figure out what specifically she was asking for.

Sanji smirked.

“Oi, Vinsmoke.”

Sanji shot Zephyr a highly displeased look. “Don't call me that!” he snapped. “That man would be the first to tell you that I'm no Prince of Germa. I reject that name completely!”

Zephyr co*cked his head slightly to the side, his lips twitching upward subtly. Whether it was respect or amusem*nt, Sanji wasn't certain. “Hm... Judge is going to disappear into a dark cell for a very, very long time. If there's anything left for you to say, better make it quick.” The old man said.

Sanji twitched slightly while Luffy blinked and punched her hand into her fists. “I'm gonna kill him,” she announced very matter of factly. Law looked very interested in following along.

As tempting as that thought was... ah, a dark part of Sanji did want to stand and watch patiently as his Sunshine and the tattooed doctor did their worst to that man. He wanted to pay him back for every bit of pain he caused his mother and Reiju, for stripping his brothers of their very humanity... but that was a brief satisfaction, and one Zeff might disapprove of. That old fool raised a good man, and Sanji wouldn't discard that lightly.

“Don't bloody your tender hands over the likes of him, Sunshine.” Sanji said. Luffy blinked and stared up at him. “I have no desire to splatter the blood I share on the earth when that man is already humiliated and stripped of everything he actually values. I do need to make one thing clear, though, so excuse me one minute – I'll be right back.”

Law snorted, looking a little disappointed. “Tch... that's your business,” the other man sighed, “but at least break his face in the process.”

Sanji chuckled and nodded slightly before turning and trotting off to one of the Neo Marine ships he could see beached north of the harbor. A quick application of Sky Walk allowed him to make quick progress over the hill and drop down onto the grass, where he took a brisk walk across the grass to what he realized upon approach was Zephyr's personal flagship.

Judge wasn't hard to spot – he was on a stretcher, his golden hair limply hanging over the side and his wrists chained together in sea stone despite his lack of devil fruit powers. Likely it was an somewhat overcompensation for his personal strength modifications, or maybe Zephyr had wanted to make a point. The other Germa soldiers nearby were being treated more gently by comparison, with many being marched up the planks

Sanji slowed down and put his hands in his pockets as he approached the loathsome man. “You,” he said curtly.

Judge turned his head slightly toward him, and his eyes widened. “Sanji...! You bastard... you've come to gloat, have you?”

Sanji looked down at the man, his expression cold. “You know... all this time I thought that however poorly you treated me, you actually loved Reiju and my brothers,” he commented faux-idly. “When Reiju told me what you did to her, I almost couldn't believe it.” His hands balled up into fists. “I never thought I'd be so glad to be a failure; otherwise you would have made me into a flesh puppet like you did to her. Or stripped me of my very humanity! You truly are a shameless man; I'm in awe of your gall!”

He thought about Reiju's tears, the dull look in her eyes when she called herself a marionette and revealed that her very body didn't belong to her. He'd never been filled with such a terrible rage; the murderous impulse to slowly choke Judge to death with his own hands and watch him die had been immense, and it unnerved Sanji when he calmed down later. Zeff would never approve of him using his hands that way, even if the old geezer would gladly kick Judge to death for what he did to his sister.

Thinking about his real father helped him keep his emotions level.

“She told you...” Judge said in disbelief. His eyes widened as much as they were able with his eyelids swollen and his face battered from his 'fight' with Zephyr. “Why?”

“Because she hated you, Judge.” Sanji responded simply, his lip curling in disgust. “You never suspected it, but she hated you for forcing her to be your weapon, for treating her body like a raid suit for you to use as you wished, and for killing our mother. She begged us to help her, was willing to be in debt to Law even before finding out that he was sympathetic to her!”

“I didn't kill Sora! She killed herself!” Judge burst out.

Seeing red, Sanji lifted his foot and slammed it into the man's gut. The man spat up blood, while the Neo Marines who were supposed to be moving him were just standing by and watching in fascination. “Don't you dare badmouth my mother,” he seethed. “She deserved a better man than you! I'm so close, so close to going back and telling Law that he can dissect you after all.”

Exhaling and dropping his foot back to the ground, Sanji said, “I don't know you. Reiju doesn't know you. The only father that I have is the chef of the Baratie named Zeff. I want you to know that from this moment on, I will leave your company and never think about you again. But you – your kingdom disassembled, your weapons taken away to be healed of what you did to them, all your ambitions ground to dust – as you rot away in your cell, I suspect you'll be thinking of me every day for the rest of your life.”

Taking a cigar out of his pocket, Sanji turned around and declared dryly, “Judge Vinsmoke, may you live forever!” Then he headed back to his true home while scattered cheers follow his statement.

Reiju put a hand over her mouth; a giggle halfway between disbelief and amazement escaped her lips. “My goodness,” she said. “Thank you, for berating him on my behalf.” It wasn't the same as being able to do so herself, but her heart was floating at her brother's furious defense of her.

“I'm only sorry you couldn't do so with your own voice,” Sanji said sincerely. “If it helps, Fleet Admiral Zephyr was not gentle with him in his zest to capture Germa's king.”

Reiju felt herself smile, thinking of the stern man. She'd seen him several times as a child, when the Marines had still visited Germa in response to reports of disturbances. He'd been cool and distant, and his deep dislike of her father had been obvious... but he'd been nothing but kind and polite to her mother, expressing concern about her visibly failing health and giving her his arm in support when she got dizzy while entertaining them. That had forever marked him as a good man to her.

“I still want to cut him into pieces.” Law's sleepy voice joined the conversation, Reiju glanced toward the couch; the doctor was still lying in place with his hat over his eyes, but evidently he'd woken up while they were talking.

“Trafalgar-san...” Reiju's voice shivered a little with emotion.

“Glad you've woken up, Princess Reiju.” Law continued in a professional tone, raising one hand and moving the hat back. In the process, she noted he moved carefully so as not to dislodge Chopper abruptly. “The surgery is successfully complete.”

The pink-haired girl blinked twice, the sentence not quite sinking in. “You still have all the benefits of the Lineage Factor; your poison powers haven't been touched, and you're still stronger and faster than most humans are naturally, but all of Judge's programming is gone.” Law informed her. “Your brain has been purified of that. You'll need to be on bed rest for another week to recover, and try not to touch the left side of your head too much – there is some minor stitching there, try not to agitate it.”

Reiju hesitantly reached up and brushed her hand against the side of her head. Her hair was pinned back and she could just feel a line of stitches, a sign of Law and Chopper's work. A great feeling of awe and wonder washed over her.

“Thank you,” she whispered, tears burning at the corners of her eyes. “Thank you, so much...” There's a lump in her throat.

Sanji squeezed her hands. “Shall I go tell everyone you're awake?” He asked with enthusiasm. “We've all been waiting for you to regain consciousness.”

“How long was the surgery?” Reiju asked, sniffling.

“Fourteen hours,” Law responded with a slight shrug. Finally roused by their voices, Chopper stirred and started to wake. “After that you slept for an additional ten hours, which is an impressive recovery time from a surgery that in depth by the way.”

“I see,” Reiju said dazedly. “Y-Yes, I would like to see the others.” Someone was waiting for her and worrying for her. What an incredible feeling...! Sanji grinned, shooting to his feet and running out of the room. “Straw Hat Vinsmoke Reiju...” She put a hand on her chest.

Her heart was her own. Her muscles, her lungs, her powers, everything was finally hers and hers alone. Reiju closed her eyes against happy tears and rested her head against the headboard. The realization is almost too immense to put to words. After years of feeling the subtle pressure from her mental conditioning, she's absolutely weightless.

“Good morning, Reiju!” Chopper gasped, jumping to the floor and scurrying to her bedside in his smallest form. “How are you feeling? Any pain or stiffness? Does your head hurt at all?”

Reiju blinked at the rapid-fire questions and couldn't resist a little chuckle. “I'm fine, thank you.” She said. “The worst I'm feeling right now is a dry throat and a bad taste in my mouth.”

The little zoan sighed in relief. “Good.” A shriek of delight echoed from somewhere above them, followed by the pounding of rapid footsteps. “Oh boy – should I make people come in one at a time? I know we can be a little overwhelming at the best of times-”

“REIJI!” Luffy bolted down the hall and directly past the hospital room; her hand snagged on the doorframe, causing her to snap back to the right spot and almost fall over from whiplash. Yipping, Reiju's new captain scrambled back to her feet and darted into the room, climbing onto the bed next to her. “Reiji, you're awake!” The ravenette cheered, giving her a big hug.

“Ahhhh!” Chopper blanched. “Luffy, be gentle with her!”

Reiju gasped slightly at the impact; Luffy's hugs were very enthusiastic. “Oof!” She chuckled a little, wrapping her arms around the other girl's lower back. Her warmth was dizzying. “Captain... good morning,” she whispered.

Luffy giggled, pulling back a little to look at her. “You're all better now!” She said happily. “Good work, Traffy!”

Law sat up a little and smirked, pleased. More footsteps echoed from the hallway and Sanii reappeared, with Sabo, Nami, Ace and Uta directly on his heels. “Reiju!” Uta called, a bright smile lighting up her face immediately. “Welcome back! Luffy isn't putting too much pressure on you with that hug, is she?” The beautiful singer trotted up to the side of the bed.

“Oh, it's fine.” Reiju said lightly, putting one hand on Luffy's back. Katakuri ducked into the room, nearly hitting his head on the ceiling and giving the wood a rueful look. Evidently Franky had not designed all of the Sunny's interior rooms with men of his height in mind. “I'm somewhat lethargic, but I'm not fragile.”

Which was true, but not quite the whole truth. Luffy's hugs were so full of affection and joy... there was a protectiveness to the way her arms squeezed around you and held you close, a sense that you were both claimed and guarded from anything that would dare to hurt you. Reiju was a little overwhelmed by her, but also never wanted the embrace to end.

“Do you need anything? Are you hungry?” Uta asked, looking around. “Can you eat anything or do you need to stick to soups for a little while?”

“I would recommend soups until tomorrow,” Law said, standing up and rolling one shoulder. “You're body has bounced back for the most part, but better safe than sorry.”

Ace grinned. “That's great!”

Nami cheered, bouncing in place. “What are we waiting for?!” The navigator demanded. “We're out to sea, we won and we saved our new crewmate – this can't go without a celebration!”

Luffy lit up at the suggestion. “Of course! Traffy, Traffy, move Reiju's bed to the deck! We don't want her to miss anything!”

“Riiiiight,” Law sighed. He's more or less resigned to Straw Hat celebrations at this point. “Sanji-ya, do not let those three-” He pointed three fingers warningly at Luffy, Ace and Sabo “-devour half of the food stocks in one day. We still have to get to Wano!”

Katakuri looked a little amused at the implications; it's a subtle shift in his expression, but Reiju catches it. “I'll keep an eye on the stocks over the day,” he said. “They won't make a big dent in them.”

“Not even if Luffy pouts at you?” Pudding asked a little dryly. Reiju blinked rapidly and stared at the doorway, wondering if she was imagining things – but no, the would-be bride is standing there a bit aloof from the rest of the crew with a mildly consternated expression.

“Pudding-san?” She uttered in confusion. “I thought we'd gone out to sea. Why are you here instead of back home in Totland?”

The young woman flushed and crossed her arms, glaring off in another direction. “B-Because you clowns took off into the ocean without letting me get off the ship first! Why would I be here on my own free will?” The girl sputtered out in a rush. “I c-certainly wasn't stowing away because nobody had ever tried to be my friend after seeing my third eye before! No, it's all that rubber-brained moron's fault for taking off before I woke up and I definitely don't like her!”

Reiju stared blankly at her while Luffy fell over laughing, completely unfazed by the apparent insults. “I found her sneaking food out of the refrigerator last night,” Sabo deadpanned; he glanced at the brunette with a mixture of amusem*nt and concern. “I was gonna ask Karasu to come pick her up, but she responded to the magnanimous offer by threatening to stab me because she wasn't leaving the ship.” Pudding shot him a half-enraged half panicked look. “I believe she said 'no one else had been nice to her before'.”

“I didn't say that!” Pudding protested, her cheeks turning bright red. “I told you that you blew up my home and ruined my wedding, so you lot get to take responsibility for that! That was all that I said!”

“Whatever you say, miss,” Ace said, his voice entirely friendly. “By the way, how about you bunk with Nami, Carrot and Reiju instead of sleeping that pile of blankets in the aquarium lounge? I'm sure the pull out couch in her room is more comfortable than the floor.”

“...I suppose that would be nice. The floor gets cold at night,” Pudding said loftily. Katakuri rolled his eyes fondly.

Reiju put a hand over her mouth to keep her startled laughter internal. No need to make fun of the girl when she clearly has no idea how to express herself. Pedro and Brook were both giving the young lady confused side-eye as it was, no need to compound that. “Nami, go tell Uncle Jinbe that there's a party going on!” Luffy cheered, releasing Reiju and hopping off the bed. “Everyone, let's get the food and the lanterns!”

This is met with a flood of cheers; Reiju felt an ache in her cheeks, and realizes that she's grinning as broadly as she had been during the concert the previous week. Her start as a member of the Straw Hat crew is already so exciting.

Law congratulated himself for managing to get through a few hours of a Straw Hat party before developing a headache. You'll have the Tang and your crew back soon, he would remind himself when party games resulted in him getting splashed with water or a lot of yelling about multiple people cheating at cards. You'll be able to slip off to your books whenever you want in good time. If he was being honest with himself, he did have a good time for quite a while, but he would not admit that out loud easily.

The Sunny's deck was strung with beautifully decorated paper lanterns and stolen wedding ribbons in all directions. Reiju was still in bed, but she was still sitting up and was currently engaged in a card game with Sabo, Pedro and Carrot. She was smiling brightly, the expression completely lighting up her face in a way none of the comic panels of Sora had managed to capture. Pudding was standing off by the railing with a sweet drink, trying to pretend that she wasn't having something of a good time and failing miserably. Katakuri was coralling the more drunk members of the crew and keeping them away from the railings; Brook was playing the violin and Uta was singing, much to Luffy's visible joy. His goddess was happily chowing down on assorted sweets and delivering her favourites to Katakuri periodically.

The way Katakuri relaxed and became visibly happy when eating sweets – Law hadn't been expecting that. When he saw it, he stared for a few seconds before sighing and realizing 'oh, hell. No wonder he and Luffy hit it off so fast.'

Franky was going to need to build a bigger supply hold for the Sunny. Ace and Sabo were technically guests on the ship, so the Straw Hats wouldn't consistently need to cater to their equally absurd appetites, but Katakuri was going to be on the ship on a more permanent basis. Law briefly fantasized about how the shipwright would react to being told that.

Sanji was happily working at both a grill and a portable stove, still cooking more food to replace the empty plates that were piling up. Chopper darted to and fro delivering orders, happy to be running around after the marathon surgery he'd preformed very recently. Nami was lounging in a lawn chair reading a climatology book, her head bobbling to the beat of the music. Jinbe was sitting near the card game to ensure that nobody was cheating, laughing at the stories Sabo was telling him about the adventures he and Koala had been on since they were paired up in the Revolution.

...Huh. Ace had been at the snack bar a minute ago, but when Law glanced back in that direction, he was gone. Blinking, the doctor tracked his haki signature and found it had moved to the upper decks, away from the general celebration.

It was odd, given he was just as much a party animal as Luffy. Out of strictly curiosity and nothing more, Law got up from his chair and headed to the other side of the Sunny. Hopping the stairs to the upper deck two at a time, he caught sight of Ace standing at the bow of the ship resting his arms on the rails. He wasn't wearing his overcoat; he was dressed in long dark shorts and black shoes, leaving his chest completely bare.

Hell, he was built.

Law shook his head at the traitorous thought and cleared his throat. “You skipped out early,” he said. Ace twitches in surprise, giving him a little wave. “Did the talk with Garp go that badly?”

“No,” The Emperor responded. “It was hard, awkward, and emotional, but it wasn't that bad in the end. I'm just...distracted by my thoughts.”

The Supernova hummed and decided not to call him on it or prod for details. “I didn't think you'd be staying long after crashing the wedding,” he admitted. “Isn't your crew spinning their wheels a little without you around? Surely you can't afford to be away from them for much longer.”

Ace glanced at him and blinked. “Oh.” He shook his head, and adjusted his cap with a little laugh. “Nah, I was in contact with them while you were preforming surgery. Some of the division commanders will be joining us at Wano.”

“What?” Law blurted out, startled. “Can you afford that? I thought you were at war with both Weevile and Blackbeard right now.”

Ace snorted in amusem*nt. “Oh, please. That mama's boy hasn't been able to make a serious incursion into our territory for a year and the traitor's gone to ground a few months ago. We haven't forgotten about them, but there a debts in Wano we need to pay back too. Jozu and the others will hold the fort while Marco and Izo's divisions leave to meet up with us.”

...There's something in his smirk that reminds Law very keenly of the fact that Ace had been named an Emperor of the Sea even younger than Red-Haired Shanks.

Luffy's near sacrifice of her life for him had driven him to achieve insane levels of strength in a tiny frame of time. He probably hadn't even shown everything he had when fighting Big Mom – they'd had Dragon and Garp as backup, after all. Whether blood parentage had anything to do with it or not, the doctor in him could only silently conclude that Ace was simply built differently.

“Debts?” He asked, leaning on the railing himself. “The Animal Kingdom Pirates and Whitebeard Pirates have been rivals for a long time, but I don't think you're the type to consider that a debt.”

Ace's smile slipped a little, and he glanced out at the water. “I haven't told Luffy about this yet, but that's only because I only heard all the details once I took over as Acting Captain.” He said. “My original position in the crew was the Second Division Commander. That role had been sitting vacant for a long time because the original guy who filled it was Kozuki Oden, the son of the shogun of Wano.”

Law was very glad he left his glass behind. It saves him from choking embarrassingly. “Kozuki Oden?” He demanded, eyes widening. “As in, the same family that lecherous brat Momonosuke is from?!”

“The same clan, Oden was his father,” Ace corrected. He's visibly amused by the double take that Law does at that; the doctor glowers at him and elbows him in the ribs. “Ow! What was that for?”

“You see me flustered enough thanks to our mutual bride, don't tease me like that.” Law retorted. Ace rubbed his side and pouted at him. “That's not nearly as effective as hers.” It's still entirely too effective, but the raven-haired menace doesn't need to know that. “Now talk.”

Ace smirked slightly. “Marco keeps saying I can't let people talk to me like that anymore,” he said lightly. “It lets them get fanciful ideas.” He grabbed Law's wrist and held it lightly but firmly. Law flushed at the contact. “You're lucky I like you as much as I do.”

Law's eyes narrowed slightly. “I stopped being intimidated by dangerous, powerful people a long time ago.”

“I wouldn't have you be any other way.” Ace said, his smirk broadening a little. “Now, to answer your rude prodding... Oden wanted to explore the world. Wano was strongly isolationist, even back then, and he was desperate to see the rest of the world. Pops briefly got shipwrecked there, and Oden more or less dove after him and his crew after they repeatedly rejected his attempts to join up. His display of stubborn character won them over, though, and he was the only one Pops called 'Little Brother'. He and his wife Lady Toki raised their family on board the Moby, and Pops wasn't very pleased when Mom begged to borrow him in order to find Laugh Tale.”

“...Kin'emon said that Momo's father had been killed by Orochi and Kaido,” Law recalled, already seeing the pieces slide into place.

Ace's expression became dark and he nodded. “In cold blood. Pops doesn't know the details; he only found out when Kaido bragged about it in order to goad him into a fight. For whatever reason, the usurper Shogun Orochi convinced Kaido to enter a partnership with him, and when Oden went to fight him and free his people it just wasn't enough. Marco was a cabin boy back then, he still remembers Momo and his sister Hiyori; Izo was even closer to them because he's native to Wano and served as one of Oden's retainers, in gratitude for the man saving him and his sister from starvation. You should have seen their reactions when they found out that Momo and Kin'emon were with Luffy.”

Law could almost imagine. If he'd had it confirmed that Corazon was back from the dead and wandering around the oceans on board an allied pirate ship, 'losing his mind' felt like an understatement to what he'd feel.

“I won't say no to having more backup,” he remarked, “even if I'm planning on killing Kaido myself.”

Ace's lips twitched upward. “Bold statement, but you're going to have to beat me to him.” What remaining humor there was left his expression, which darkened to the point of being thunderous. Law instinctively tensed up at the sight and the subtle uptick in pressure he was feeling. “I have my own debts to repay with that bastard's blood.”

“...How is that?” Law asked.

Ace looked out across the water. “I've been to Wano.” He said. “When I first crossed over into the New World, my plan was to topple the enemies of my mother who still walked the Earth. I'm not sure if I was trying to shake her legacy or trying to prove myself to her in some way... but I took my crew to Wano with the intention of killing Kaido.”

Law felt his face go slack with disbelief. “Holy sh*t, I thought Luffy was the reckless one out of the three of you!” he blurted out.

“You're so sweet,” Ace deadpanned, though his lips briefly quirked upwards in amusem*nt. “Anyway, we didn't exactly have a gentle landing; currents tossed us up on a beach with all the grace of Zushina smacking Jack into the ocean with his trunk. When we woke up, we were tied up in a village who's people were in the process of eating all of our food. Even with a possible concussion, I could tell... they were all starving. Even the little girl who was eating the last of the apples. They were defenceless and completely screwed if we got loose and took offence to them robbing us, but they did it anyway because they were that desperate.”

His hands tightened a little on the railing. “I forgave them for it pretty much instantly; they hadn't done anything worse than tie us up with rough old rope. So instead I went out and got them more food by beating up every brigand and local official I could get my hands on. It helped me get a lay of the land and I made a little friend. Her name's Tama.”

Ace's expression softened with gentle fondness. “Tama... she'll be seven, maybe eight now. She's the sweetest kid you'll ever meet.”

“I've never been good with children,” Law said, aloof.

“Luffy and the kids at Punk Hazard say differently.”

“Our alliance was new and I wanted to keep her happy. She cared about what was happening to the kids, so I helped her take care of it,” Law responded, entirely more defensively than he'd intended. Ace gave him a knowing look. “So – you got attached to the kid?”

Ace smiled. “How could I not? She followed me around with stars in her eyes just because I gave her the first apple tart she'd ever tasted. I told her stories about the rest of the world and made sure the village got a food supply that would at least last them for a while. She begged me to take her with me when I was going to leave, even though she was this tiny five year old who couldn't fight even if she had a devil fruit power she sort of knew how to use.”

One of his hands clenched into a fist. “You have to understand, Law – everyone outside of the Flower Captial who isn't useful to Orochi or licking his boots is starving. All the food is rounded up and taken away, always, and they're lucky if they're allowed to eat the scraps and rotten fruit that falls from the carts carrying their stolen harvests to the tyrant's door. If he and Kaido aren't destroyed, Tama's gonna die from starvation-related health problems before she turns seventeen; my doctor examined her and admitted that that time frame might be generous.”

Law felt a chill go down his spine. Unbidden, his mind goes back to helping Lami into the closet in the hospital. Wait here for me, okay? I'll come back for you in a minute. Tama appeared in his mind as a ghost in a kimono who had Lami's bright golden eyes, her smile, and his muscles all coiled as tight as springs. This girl isn't his little sister, can't be her, but she's burned herself into a corner of his mind and that tightness won't relax until he sees her for himself, alive.

He wouldn't have lived to see seventeen either, at one point in his life.

“One of Kaido's lead Performers was having kids around her age kidnapped at random,” Ace continued after a moment of quiet, a moment he'd given when he sensed Law's inner turmoil. “Queen. I torched the minions sniffing around Tama's village and chased the rest straight back to Onigashima, where the ones they'd captured were being held. That's where I met Yamato, Kaido's child.”

“Child? Kaido doesn't have a child,” Law said instinctively, before rolling his eyes and correcting himself, “he doesn't have a child anyone knows about. You think they're legit?”

Ace was definitely scowling now, though it's not directed at the Supernova. “If you'd seen them next to each other, you wouldn't doubt it. Besides, there's a reason nobody outside of Wano and few people inside it know Yamato exists; she (or he, it's a little complicated) thinks Kaido's a bastard and Kaido is trying to break her.” He exhaled aggressively before turning toward Law with a snap. Holding up one hand, he pointedly gestured to his wrist. “When Yamato challenged me to a fight, I noticed that there were manacles hanging from her wrists. Slave collars, custom made for Yamato specifically, that are designed to explode if Queen triggers them or if they ever try to leave Wano.”

Law sucked in a breath through his teeth. “Damn.”

Ace snorted in agreement. “I guess that prompted one of the first moments I felt like I'd misjudged by mom. At least I knew for certain that she wanted me to be alive and to choose my own path.”

“That bar is so low its practically rolling on the floor.”

“Yeah, I wasn't being very fair to her, was I?” Ace huffed, a soft laugh escaping his lips. Law tried not to smirk, pleased at how a bit of snark had lifted his mood a little bit. “We became friends, Yamato and I.”

“Before or after you finished beating the tar out of each other?” Law inquired a little sarcastically. “...Luffy picked it up from you, didn't she?”

Ace glanced at him and gave him a light, boyish grin lighting up his handsome face. “Hey, Luffy chased me up and down a dangerous forest filled with gigantic tigers and crocodiles at seven years old in defiance of me constantly insulting her and telling her to go away, because she thought I looked sad and didn't want either of us to be alone. So technically, I got it from her.”

“...Of course.” Law uttered, shaking his head. “Yamato... you think they'll want to join us? Fighting against Kaido?”

Ace sighed, his shoulders slumping a little. “Yeah. Back then... Yamato and I, our fight ended in a stalemate. That's when she told me that she fought her father almost every day, and he always destroyed her. And I realized that... I wasn't strong enough. As I was then, I couldn't save her or Tama; I would just get myself killed, and maybe them too. So I promised both of them that I would come back, and when that happened, I'd set them both free.”

Turning away from the water, Ace closed one hand into a fist; it burst into a ball of white fire, reflecting the simmering anger and determination in his eyes. “I asked Pops many times to go to Wano and take the fight to Kaido. Begged him, really. Pops was hesitant, because Kaido would see us coming a mile away and he had the advantage of being able to perch in Onigashima and attack our ships before we even got within fighting distance of him; I still wasn't strong enough then to get in a fight with that scaly bastard and be confident I could win.”

His ocean green eyes were burning like stars. Law swallowed slightly, because the sight was intoxicating. “It's different now.” Ace said. “I know you understand me better than almost anyone around us now, with what happened at Dressrosa. I'm going back to Wano; I'm going to save them, and this time I'm going to kill Kaido and put his head on a spike.”

Law nodded a little jerkily. He can remember the exact frenetic pressure cooker of emotions that he'd experienced when finally putting his plan to destroy Doflamingo into action, and what he'd felt when Luffy knocked that bastard from the sky and broke him for good.

“I'll tear out his heart for you to torch to ashes,” He promised, and he meant every word of it. “Just don't go in there alone, okay?”

Ace's smile came back, and his flames unravelled back into his hand. “I promise I've learned my lesson about that,” he responded.

He's still holding Law's wrist with his other hand. Law tried to tug away halfheartedly; instead he pulled Ace closer to him. “This is a bad idea,” he thought, only realizing he'd spoken the words aloud when the Emperor blinked at him.

“What is?” Ace asked, the words brushing against Law's lips.

Law muttered, “Luffy and you will ruin my health. My blood pressure is bad enough as it is.”

Ace just grinned at him. “Good thing you've the master of the Op Op fruit then, huh?” He asked.

“Shut up,” Law growled. When the firebrand chuckled and was clearly about to disobey him, he crossed that distance and silenced him roughly with his lips.

Chapter 36

Chapter Text

As far as Luffy was concerned the best thing about being back on the Sunny – even more than relaxing and not having to creep around enemies while playing nice with them – was that she could cuddle with her precious ones without being interrupted by anyone. Nope, she could lie in bed with with Kat, Ace, Traffy, Sabo or Sanji and not have to listen to Nami or anyone else complain.

It did become immediately clear to her that she was gonna need a bigger bed, though. The queen sized bed that Franky had given her originally was very comfy, but it could only fit two, maybe three people on it while allowing them any space to move around. And even then it was a little cramped. Luffy was determined to ask her shipwright for a newer and bigger one, custom! And maybe to expand her room a little bit? It was already packed with various knicknacks, books and curious items she'd picked up across their travels, so there wasn't much space for others to leave items temporarily when they slept over.

Luffy nuzzled into Katakuri's muscular chest, half asleep as she pondered these thoughts. It would take them a little while to reach the waters of Wano; Big Mom's territory had been pretty big, and Kaido's was similar in size. She could only really fantasize without Franky there to run her requests by.

They'd gone through the whole night without being woken by a storm. She always loved it when that happened; as much fun as she had wrangling mother ocean's fits of anger, she was a heavy sleeper and it really sucked whenever a storm dragged her out of bed with violent winds and waves. And that was when she wasn't recovering her strength after a fight with an Emperor!

Luffy was still tired and somewhat sore from the fight; Chopper and Traffy had patched everyone up very well, but bruises and lethargy could only really be fixed by rest and not straining yourself. Happy to have an excuse to sleep in, she remained in Katakuri's arms as the ship bobbled gently in the waves.

He wasn't as warm as Ace, but his embrace even in his sleep was reassuring and protective. One arm was slung around her waist and the other lay around her shoulders. Luffy hummed softly, her half fluttered half closed and she rested her forehead against his muscled chest. They were both wearing night clothes; Kat still seemed nervous about intimacy and Luffy didn't want that to interfere with his enjoyment of the act.

Even though she kinda really wanted to try it. It sounded really fun when both people wanted to do it, Makino and Dadan and Robin had all said so.

Luffy pressed her ear against Katakuri's chest right over his heart. His heartbeat was thumping to a strong and steady pulse, soothing as a gentle drumbeat. Her fingers trailed down his chest, tracing the lines of his muscles and brushing over old scars.

Kat had a lot of scars. A lot of them were long faded, having been inflicted when he was quite young and developing the terrifying strength he was known for now, but there were some more recent ones too. Burns, scars, and small circles where sea stone bullets had punched into his chest. From their placement, she could almost see how he'd gotten in front of his siblings to protect them from attacks. She wonders what kind of stories were attached to each one.

Katakuri hummed, his eyes slowly opening. “Luffy...?” He murmured. His hand gently runs through her hair, affectionate, yet also a movement to remind himself that this was real and not the dream he had just woken from.

“G'morning, Kat,” Luffy purrs sleepily. “Sleep well?”

“...Yes. It's been a while since my sleep was this peaceful.” Katakuri brushes her hair away from her face, admiring the curve of her cheek bone. “I hadn't thought I'd be this comfortable.”

“Hehe... Franky will make a bigger bed and move the ceiling up a little for you. No worries.” Luffy promised.

“That would take quite some remodelling.” Her husband observed.

“Franky's the best; he can handle it!” Luffy was completely confident in that. “He's already planning on a room for Reiji, it might even make things easier for him to change things in more areas than just one.”

Katakuri's lips curved upward slightly. “I don't think that's how that works... but I'll take your word for his competence. She's a remarkable ship as she is already; she speaks to his craftsmanship.” He lightly twines strands of her fluffy hair around his fingers.

“I can't wait for you to meet the others,” Luffy said happily. “Zoro, Ussop, Robin and Franky are waiting for us to arrive; they're hiding in order to help lay the groundwork for the rebellion we're gonna use to liberate Kaido. They're all excited to meet you, and Reiji too!”

“If you say so,” Katakuri said.

“I know so,” Luffy responded loftily. Her eyes sparkled. “Are you hungry? You must be. C'mon, let's go get some breakfast!”

There's definitely a look of amusem*nt in Katakuri's eyes when he needed; Luffy cheered and slid out of bed, darting straight to her wardrobe. The two of them dressed at the same time, with Katakuri shyly glancing at her occasionally out of the corner of his vision. Luffy put on her usual red and blue outfit and glomped onto his arm when he was ready, pulling him out of the room.

The sun shone down on the deck of the Sunny when they exited the ship's interior; the sky was cloudless and picturesque (for now) and several people were out and about. Reiju was being given a proper tour of the ship by Sanji, listening attentively as he showed her the inner workings of the pulley systems and how the rigging worked. Uta was standing by the prow of the ship, talking into one of her visual transmission snails. “...a pirate by technically, honestly.” She was saying when Luffy and Katakuri emerged. “So please, don't worry too much about me! I'll be back before you all know it. My songs won't be far away.” Jinbe was sitting at the foot of one of the trees and meditating. Carrot and Pedro were sparring, with Sabo watching their back and forth curiously. Pudding was sitting on the swing, pretending to be absorbed in a book while she kept glancing at the various clumps of people, her longing to go over and strike up a conversation

“Good morning!” Luffy called cheerfully. “Is everyone awake?”

“You're always the last person out of bed, Luffy. Why do you still ask that question?” Nami asked dryly, her voice drifting down from Sunny's upper deck. The navigator was sitting in her easy chair, reading the weather and relaxing.

“Morning, Lu.” Ace said fondly, hopping down from the deck. Luffy beamed and darted over to him to get a hug. Pleasant warmth rushed through her when his strong arms slid around her shoulder and held her tight.

Chopper stuck his head over the railing. He'd been discussing a new medical breakthrough with Law until that point, having woken early feeling a little restless. “Morning Luffy! Katakuri-san! Did you sleep well?” He asked.

“Mmhmm!” Luffy hummed happily. Ace released her slowly and she looked back and forth. “What's for breakfast?! I'm hungry!”

Sanji immediately came noodling over to her, in full love hurricane mode. “Whatever your heart desires, my dear Sunshine!” He said in delight. “What can I make for you?”

Luffy tilted her head for a second before beaming. “Pancakes!” It was close to the fluffy, overly sugary diet they've been on for the last two weeks, but that was fine for breakfast, and Sanji would be able to make soups and various meat dishes for dinner. “I want mine with strawberries!”

“...Blueberries, please.” Katakuri ventured after a second's pause. He was very fond of that fruit, something he was used to keeping secret, but nobody bats an eye at the admission and he couldn't help but relax a little.

Everyone chimed in with their preferences; Uta finished up her transmission and joined at the tail end to request strawberries as well. Sanji immediately darted into the kitchen to get to work, and the crew busied themselves setting up chairs and tables in the deck. When the weather was this nice the Straw Hats preferred to eat outside and enjoy the sunlight.

Uta sat down next to Luffy when she crashed into her seat, waiting eagerly since Nami had banned her from helping set the table. “How are you feeling, Luffy?” The singer asked. “Does any hit from the battle still bother you?”

“Nah,” Luffy said lightly, shaking her head. “Don't worry about me, Uta! I heal fast!”

“Faster than reason should dictate,” Law agreed slightly dryly, sitting down on Luffy's other side. His lips quirked upward slightly when he sees her wearing his earrings, as well as Katakuri's. “Even if your body has the properties of rubber, the doctor side of me gets headaches every time I check your chart.”

“Shishishishi!” Luffy burst into peels of giggles. To her delight, Uta started laughing too; given the surprise that flashed in her eyes, she hadn't expected it...but it made her happy.

“W-Well, I'm glad your body can keep up with your impulsiveness now,” Uta said between giggles.

Luffy pouted at her, causing Uta to blush a bright shade of red and hide behind her hair as the plates and cutlery were passed out. Pudding sat down on the chair at the end of the table, ensuring nobody was sitting next to her, and dryly remarked, “No wonder people think you're a goddess. You can hardly meet people in passing without them falling in love with you.”

“Pudding!” Uta half shrieked, giving the other girl a horrified look.

Luffy blinked at her in confusion. “What are you talking about?” She asked Pudding in confusion. The brunette girl opened her mouth to respond before a half furious, have entreating look from the songstress 'convinces' her to merely bury her face in her hands with an exasperated groan. Law rolled his eyes.

“So what exactly are you planning to do, Miss Pudding?” Sabo inquired casually, putting down the maple syrup and drink bottles. He liked doing little service jobs like this for two reasons; one, he liked seeing people smile, and two, he can occasionally fantasize about the Outlooks dropping dead from shock if they knew about it. “I doubt Luffy would kick you off the ship, but hitching a ride as an anchor stowaway on the Straw Hats ship isn't the safest plan in the world.”

“I'm no anchor!” Pudding snapped. “I can pull my weight if I need to! Tell them, Katakuri!”

Katakuri hummed, thinking for a moment before electing to meet in the middle between flattering his sister and being practical. “Pudding ate a devil fruit that gave her the power to influence, replace, and remove other people's memories.” He informed the crew. “While my sister has no training in combat, that could potentially be remediated through lessons-” Pudding gave him a look equal parts betrayed and panicked at the notion “-and her powers can easily make up some of the lack of strength such as Luffy's.”

Ace dropped into the chair across from Luffy. “You can mess with people's memories?” He repeated, eyeing Pudding with respectful unease. “That's amazingly horrifying. How far can you take that? Like... if you had the chance, could you rewrite Sakazuki's memories to the point where he spends the rest of his life believing he's a six year old girl named Anna?”

Luffy's mouth dropped open in awe (and horror) at the thought. Pudding squirmed a little in her seat. “I haven't done anything that extensive before,” she said, before rapidly continuing “but I can bend people to my will in ways you can hardly imagine! I can completely remove entire days or even weeks of your memory! I can spread out a wave of 'recollection' that causes people to have deja vu and believe they're doing something or going somewhere from a previous point in their memory!” She puffed up her chest. “I can stitch together memories to make people believe something happened that didn't. And I bet that if I worked hard enough, I would be able to replace that magma-spewing mutt's memory with a six year old girls!”

She definitely wasn't anxious to sell herself to the crew of insane people she's hitching a ride with, noooo, she wants to reassure her big brother that she'll be useful in the future! She absolutely isn't happy about the shocked, awed and considering looks those present are giving her.

Uta stared blankly at her. “I'm not sure if I'm impressed, or want to stay very far away from you.” The songstress admitted dully.

She could think of several memories she wouldn't mind losing. But no, no, what if that affected her ability to stave off Tot Musica's influence on herself? It was too much of a risk!

“I... don't know what to say,” Nami managed after she found her voice again. The mere idea of losing any of her most precious memories – her mother, her friends, her sister – was so horrifying that it made her a little bit faint. “That definitely makes up for a lack of fighting, just like Uta-chan's powers.”

“Devil Fruits are amazing and horrifying in turns.” Sabo mused. “I can almost understand why so many of people are willing to turn themselves into anchors in hopes of gaining some of that power. Almost.” He rolled his eyes. “What use are even the most spectacular powers if an every day storm could chuck you into the ocean to your doom?”

Ace scoffed. “Wuss.”

Sabo slugged him in the shoulder. “I'll remember you said that the next time you fall into the water; your equally swimming impaired lovers can be the ones to save you!”

“That hasn't happened for months!” Ace complained.

Reiju had been tensed up at Sabo's playful threat, but upon hearing Ace's reaction, she burst into surprised and pleased laughter. The two boys swivelled and gave her puzzled looks. “So that's what sibling banter sounds like,” she remarked with a smile. “I can't tell if you're serious or not, but I feel compelled to inform everyone that I can swim quite well even in violent waters. So don't hesitate to delegate if such a problem occurs, Sir Jinbe. It would be a little crass to give lifeguard duties solely to the fishman on board, after all!”

Ace, Sabo, Luffy and Katakuri all gazed at Reiju with a gambit of realization, empathy and kindness. “I appreciate that, Princess.” Jinbe rumbled warmly.

“You don't have to call me that,” Reiju disputed. “I'm quite certain that the World Government has stripped the Vinsmokes of their royal status by now.”

Jinbe gave her a slight smile. “I find that you temperament makes you more worthy of the title than most that I've met,” He told the pink haired super soldier.

“You're a princess to me, Reiji!” Luffy said in all seriousness. Reiju's cheeks flushed a light red at the compliment and she ducked her head slightly.

Law noticed this, and decided to rescue her from potential embarrassment by addressing Pudding again. “That ability would be extremely useful for our plans in Wano,” he told the girl. “If you're going to stow away, you can pull your own weight. Nami-ya, Robin-ya or Carrot-ya will start teaching you how to fight so you can at least fend off the weakest of his minions; if at any point we risk discovery, it'll be your job to ensure that doesn't happen.”

Pudding blanched. “What?! I didn't agree to do that!”

“Once we're in Wano, there won't be a safe place for you to sit and wait, Pudding.” Katakuri warned his sister. “I'll stay close to you whatever happens and protect you, but the more you can do to protect yourself in case of emergency, the better.”

Acknowledging that he could be unable to guard her for one reason or another... it came strangely easily? Katakuri wasn't intimidated by most of the Beast Pirates, only the Headliners could meet his full strength head on; however, anything could happen and Pudding was the most vulnerable person on the Sunny.

Pudding paled a little further, silently questioning her snap decision and not for the first time. “O-Okay, I'll do it,” she said hurriedly. “Ugh, this isn't ladylike at all...”

“Breakfast is served~!” Sanji declared with pleasure, sauntering out of the kitchen easily balancing multiple plates of foods on his arms and head. This was met with cheerful enthusiasm, and the pancakes were promptly served along with the trays of fruit to go along with it. “Eat up, everyone!”

Luffy needed no prompting to do just that. She was already halfway through her plate by the time everyone else had served themselves to their satisfaction. Much to her pleased amusem*nt, it turned out that Katakuri ate things he liked the same way she, Ace and Sabo did – oh, he was trying to maintain his table manners, but the happy look in his eyes was so cute!

Seeing Uta's eyes light up as she tried Sanji's cooking for the first time was really nice. “This is delicious,” she gasped. “W-Wow!” Sanji all but floated off of his seat at the compliment.

“I know, right?” Luffy said happily.

Reiju hummed in agreement, slowly eating one square of her pancakes after another. He'd improved his craft immensely since he was a child. None of Judge's chefs from over the years had made anything that could compare.

Breakfast was a cheerful affair, with Uta stopping Luffy from stealing from people's plates and many people sharing chatter about moments from the battle and plans for what to do when they touched down in Wano proper. It had been going on for a while when the familiar cry of a News Coo joined the background noise; Nami got up from her seat and went to collect the new newspaper.

“Oh, this is going to be fun.” Sabo said, downing the entire contents of his glass in one gulp. “Place your bets now; did the World Government try to pretend Nothing Happened, did they claim it was a long-planned Marine offensive, or did they decide this was Luffy's first step on the road to World Domination?”

Luffy wrinkled her nose. “World Domination? Eww, gross. Everyone should be free! Why would I want to take that away from anyone?”

Uta nudged her affectionately. “Of course you wouldn't; the World Government always resorts to slander when faced with strong opponents.”

“Given that I'm pretty sure I saw Morgans pointing one of the visual transmission snails at us throughout at least half of the fight with Big Mom, is the first option even possible for them?” Ace inquired dryly. “Even for the blindly trusting citizens who usually take them at first value, that would be too much to swallow.”

“The Neo Marines would retaliate by spreading the real story around,” Reiju added. “They've done that previously. While World Government controlled territories still believe that they are a 'dangerous splinter group', the truth floating around inherently threatens their position.”

Nami's half shriek of shock interrupted the debate quite nicely. The orangette almost fell over, clutching the paper until her knuckles turned white. On second glance, it wasn't just a paper that she was holding, but a new stack of bounties. Luffy all but lit up at the sight. “Oh! Oh! They gave me a new bounty?! Lemme see, Nami!” She shot out of her chair and hurtled toward her navigator.

Katakuri snagged her by the wrist, preventing her from cannoning into her shocked crewmate. “Be patient,” he rumbled. “I assume that scream doesn't forebode good things, Nami-san.”

Nami turned toward them like a rusted turret, her eye twitching slightly, before grabbing one of the bounty between two fingers and holding it out stiffly to the rest of them. Luffy stared at the number before uttering a squeal audible only to bats and other species that relied on echolocation.

Emperor of the Sea

Monkey D “Straw Hat” Luffy. Wanted Dead or Alive, 3.9 Billion Berries.

“It went up!” Luffy shrieked with joy, bouncing in place with sheer joy. “It went up by a lot! Eeee, I'm worth almost as much as you are, Ace!”

Ace left his place at the table to better see the print. Immediately his whole soul lit up and he wrapped Luffy in a hug. “You earned it,” He said with enthusiasm. “I swear if it weren't for mom's name increasing my numbers, you'd probably be worth more than me!” The Emperor of Flame was quite proud of his current bounty of 4.3 billion, though he couldn't escape the annoying thought that the number was inflated thanks to Marineford. The bounty reflected his abilities, yes, but he knew that part of that number was allocated specifically because his birth name was Gol D Ace.

The World Government was probably desperately torn about which one between him and Lu they wanted dead more.

“That's quite the picture they chose for it,” Katakuri observed, looking over the two's shoulders. Morgans had likely snapped a hundred shots of Luffy over the course of the battle, and the one the World Government had gone with was an incredible image of Luffy in her wedding dress, shifted into Gear 5 and giving the camera an audacious grin with one arm drawn back to let a punch fly. The storm clouds behind her strongly emphasized the light blazing from her.

“Three point nine billion?!” Sabo burst out. When Luffy giggled in excitement, the blonde rushed over and joined the hug enthusiastically. “That's amazing! That's not far away from Linlin's bounty!” He grinned.

Nami's eye twitched at the reminder. “Yeah... that wonderful, amazing bounty that we cannot claim whatsoever because we're pirates, and the Neo Marines don't have that kind of liquid capital to pay us even if Zephyr was inclined to give it to us.” The orangette melted to the ground, her despondency melting through her panic enough to let her mind start working again. “That's so much money...!”

“Don't feel bad, Nami-chan.” Carrot said, kneeling and patting her head consolingly. “I'm sure there will be plenty more people we can rob to get more money!”

Nami groaned heavily. “Did those bastards jack my bounty up to something ridiculous too...? Ugh, I don't want to look...!”

“Well, I do.” Law said, joining the fray. As pleased as he was for Luffy, there was something he wanted to know immediately. “Where's mine? They better have given me a decent boost for my contributions. If that bird left me out of his articles, I swear...”

Nami mechanically shuffled through the papers, grabbed the bounty in question and handed it up to him. “Oh, have no fear, you suicidal moron.” She said sarcastically. “You were not forgotten.”

Law pretended not to have heard that and took his bounty. “Two and a half billion.” He hummed and a pleased smirk split his face. “Excellent. They got a picture of me using the Gamma Knife.” He looked forward to showing this bounty to his crew. Bepo might faint.

“They're not calling you an Emperor?” Ace asked, clicking his tongue. “Hmph... Cheapskates. You and Luffy are equals.”

“Well, the other slots are still occupied.” Law observed; Edward Newgate was currently being referred to as a 'Retired Emperor', while Red Haired Shanks, Kaido, and now Luffy taking up the remaining of the traditional four placements. “Will have to do something about that...once I'm in Wano. Besides, I'd loathe to get the title simply by marrying into it.”

Uta slowly walked over, looking very much torn and trying to hide it behind a smile. “The Government must be seething right now.” She remarked, scoffing. “I doubt that they wanted any of this becoming public.”

Who knew that gifting one of her precious video transmission snails to Morgans in order to win his favor would pay off in such an unexpected way?

“No kidding; Big News Morgan is gonna need to sleep with one eye open.” Nami said drolly.

“Nami-san, Nami-san! Did I get new bounty too?!” Sanji asked breathlessly, a hair's breath away from going into hurricane mode. Resigned to her task, Nami shifted through the posters and held up the one the cook was searching for.

Accepting it with a snap, Sanji read over his page and his eyes lit up. “Yes! My bounty is now higher than that damn moss head! ...But those bastards are still calling me a Vinsmoke! Why?!”

Sabo released Luffy and Ace to walk over and put a consoling hand on his shoulder. “My condolences.” The blonde said. “I admit, I'm very lucky that I'll never be associated with my sperm doner's name. The association would quickly smother the novelty of causing the bastard to die of a heart attack.”

Sanji paused his breakdown to give him a confused and surprised look. Nami's yelp of surprise cut off his question for now, however. “Oh, for real?! Carrot, Pedro, you both have posters!”

“I do?!” Carrot gasped, delighted. She rushed to Nami's side and squealed in delight when she saw the poster in question. “Oh my gosh! I do!”

“Really?!” Chopper cried, almost teleporting to her side. “Let me see, let me see! One hundred thousand... that's really good for a first bounty!” He gave Nami a hopeful look as Pedro strode over to see his updated bounty. “H-Hey Nami, do I... do I have a new one too?”

Nami looked through the remains of the paper and could only shake her head. “No, it doesn't look like it.” Chopper turned blue and collapsed in despair – much to the navigator's ire. “Oi, why are you so depressed over?! Mine has practically skyrocketed! This is a bad thing for me!” She tore out her bounty poster and held it out for emphasis.

Katakuri's lips twitched upward. “I would have thought that two hundred million was underselling a Straw Hat.” He commented.

Nami gave him a twitchy-eye look that reminds him of when Brulee would get stressed out over something. Without really thinking about it Katakuri put a hand on her head and ruffled her hair reassuringly. Nami uttered a startled squeak before leaning into it, sighing deeply.

“Nothing for Reiju?” Sabo inquired. When the orangette uttered a sound to the negative.

“Those bastards better not have put a bounty on me...” Uta breathed. She'd mostly focused on running, and used her powers outside of Morgans line of sight, but if just being seen with the Straw Hats was enough...

“I... can't find anything for you?” Nami offered. “And there's nothing for Reiju either; last thing I've got here is a new bounty for Brook.” The skeleton uttered a happy 'yohohohoho!' and hurried over to see what his bounty had been raised to.

That snapped Luffy out of her excited celebrating. “Ehh?! How could they leave Reiji out?” She cried. “She's a Straw Hat too!”

Reiju blushed a little. “I'm not terribly surprised,” she said. “I have joined the crew, but I wasn't able to join the battle against Big Mom given the need to sedate me and transport me to the ship for surgery.” She smiled sweetly; an honest smile unlike the many masks she'd worn over the years. Luffy's heart fluttered at the sight. “I'll just have to acquit myself with flare in Wano. I'll have a bounty worthy of the crew in no time.”

Nami opened up the newspaper and started to read. “...despite the best efforts of the Heroic Vice Admiral Garp – efforts to what, play overprotective dad as the last dying second? -- Straw Hat Luffy's alliance with the Gold Ace Pirates -”

“What the fu – we're still called the Whitebeards! I'm the acting captain, dammit!” Ace bellowed, irate. “How dare they remove Pops' name from our family?!”

“-'the Revolutionaries and the splinter group calling themselves the Neo Marines,” Nami continued after a second's pause, “was too powerful for one man to face alone'.” She sighed. “As if it wasn't obvious that Garp was helping us fight her... whatever. I'm very much paraphrasing this, Morgans article goes on for pages and his writing has obviously been riddled with edits from the World Government's long suffering PR branch.”

She shook her head in disbelief, jabbing her pointer finger at the front page. “I can see the places where they've replaced every other sentence in a paragraph!”

Sabo laughed heartily at that. “Wow. They must have been desperate to get some kind of hold on the narrative if they rushed it that badly.” He shook his head. “It being so obviously edited is such a blatant shot to their own foot. They couldn't even try to mimic Morgans's writing style?”

Uta merely snorted in contempt.

Nami continued her summary of – excavation, really, putting together what Morgans had actually said underneath the tacky censored sentences and disjointed paragraphs – the article for the crew's benefit. Morgans had pained Luffy as a secret Machiavellian genius, or maybe a charm person with the supernatural ability to bend people to her will; he posited that she had been the one to unite the Revolutionaries, Neo Marines, Red Hair, Whitebeard and Heart Pirates (technically true) upon being insulted by Charlotte Linlin's paltry offer of alliance of just two marriages and no treasure (not even slightly close to Luffy's mixed motivations!) and cleverly feigned agreement to lull the Emperor into a false sense of security while giving her allies time to move into submission. (They weren't really allies except for Ace, they were mostly Concerned Father Figures who'd crashed the wedding without Luffy asking them to or expecting them to show up, but why let that get in the way of a good story?)

Morgans spent multiple paragraphs excitedly debating if Luffy had intentionally seduced Katakuri as part of her 'Master Plan' – Law made an impressively incoherent noise at 'Luffy' and 'Plan' being used in the same sentence – or if the stoic man had fallen in love with her beauty and she'd changed her mind upon being pleasantly surprised by his sincere proposal. (Katakuri muttered something about the lack of sincere context.) He stated that either way, Luffy got him under his sway and proceeded to spring her 'trap' at the wedding. He described her sending Law to destroy Germa Kingdom as if it was the playful whim of a madwoman who found her in-laws annoying (somehow true, false, and a massive understatement!) and that she'd had Reiju kidnapped because she was her favourite character in Sora, Warrior of the Sea. (Which, she was, but that so wasn't why they'd rescued her!)

Ironically the battle between Linlin and Luffy along with her family was recreated fairly faithfully with minimum speculation from Morgans.

“...Wow. I don't know if we should let them believe that Luffy is actually this smart, or phone that magma-throwing lunatic himself so he can listen to me laugh at him,” Nami said when she finished reading how Luffy had apparently gloated over her dramatic victory.

Ace and Sabo said nothing, being too busy laughing themselves sick. Brook had almost completely fallen to pieces the same way he had when he first saw his captain's wedding dress, and even Jinbe was laughing pretty hard by his standards. Luffy was giggling along with them happily, not really getting what they found so funny but pleased nevertheless. Even Katakuri was visibly resisting the urge to chuckle at Morgans...interesting cold reading of Luffy.

“Blessed Nika, give me strength...” Uta said, rubbing her temples.

'I think Nika would prefer we wiped that government off the face of the world.'Tot Musica put in.

“Well I mean,” Luffy giggled, “That is what my papa's trying to do!”

Nami looked at her strangely. “What?”

Luffy glanced at her in confusion. “Destroying the world government. Papa is planning to do that.”

“Who said anything about destroying anything?” The navigator wondered. “Though I suppose they're doing a decent job of that on their own...”

“Eh? I thought someone said...” Luffy uttered in surprise, looking around. She just noticed Uta's wide-eyed expression before her songstress hastily hid her shock and smiled a little desperately. Inside her, Nika grimly wondered whether her host possessing the power to hear The Voice of All Things was about to be a boon or a danger.

Chapter 37

Chapter Text

Sanji was happy to be back to cooking.

He hadn't been able to do much in Totland; he'd been alternating between placating Judge, tiptoeing around Linlin and helping Luffy prepare their plan for the wedding. As fun as experimenting with the many sweet recopies Brulee had given him was, the blonde's fingers were itching to work with meat and vegetables. Helpfully, it was about lunch time and with the micro storm they'd just weathered behind them, he can jump on the task of providing food for four restaurant terrors and the rest of his crew as well.

“How about Shepard's pie?” Sanji mused to himself, grabbing packages of beef from the freezer. “Usually I'd make it for dinner, but Sunshine is craving meat after our stay in Totland and I have no doubt she'll be hungry by dinner again. And if Ace and Sabo have similar appetites...” He shuddered. “Well, surely those two have some idea of travel rationing.”

They were a Captain and a Revolutionary, after all.

Deciding on pie with a nod, Sanji grabbed his recipe book and began looking through barrels for potatoes. Generous supplies from Katakuri's more amiable siblings meant he had plenty to chose from, but it took him a few minutes to figure out where everything was.

“Mosshead, Robin-chan, Franky and Ussop aren't here, so I'll be preparing different side dishes from usual,” Sanji thought aloud as he placed wooden boxes of vegetables along the counter. “Dear Carrot will be happy with a nice dish of carrots... I've seen Pedro eating glazed bacon a few times, perhaps he'll enjoy having that available. Now what about Jinbe? Would it be presumptuous of me to assume he'd like fish some sort?” He hummed, frowning slightly when he realized that he wasn't sure what their new helmsman enjoyed eating the most. “Must find a moment to ask him something while the meat is browning...”

Oh, he needed to discover Princess Uta's favourite meal as well! Sunshine could probably give him a hint, and he could count on her appearing in the kitchen while he worked. Did Reiju still like raisins and dried fruit? He's fairly confident in it, though he'd seen her eating a lot of sugar coated nuts in Totland. Law would appreciate having some onigiri on the side... but how about Ace and Sabo? They seemed to have the same sort of 'all food is wonderful' attitude that Luffy did, but he suspected that they must have favourites.

Sanji digs out one of his bigger pots and starts fishing around for a glass cooking dish. “There's much to do,” he murmured. “Ah, sometimes I wish I had Robin-chan's devil fruit.” It would be marvelously convenient for work in the kitchen.

“Need some help?”

Sanji almost dropped the dish on his foot and whirled to the entrance to the kitchen. Sabo was standing there, a friendly smile on his face. He wasn't wearing his usual blue suit jacket; instead he was dressed in a more casual pair of slacks and a loose button up white shirt that was open at the collar. Sanji froze like a deer in headlights at the unexpected sight. “Sorry,” Sabo laughed, the sound pleasantly warm and playful. “I didn't mean to sneak up on you.”

“A...you could stand to make a little noise when you walk into a room!” Sanji stuttered, hurriedly placing the bowl down. “Are you sure you aren't a ninja?”

“I wish,” Was the other blonde's carefree response. “My job involves a lot of sneaking around by necessity. If I don't stay consistent, I might slip up at an inopportune moment.” He walked into the kitchen, closing the door behind him.

Sanji most definitely did not swallow and began hastily moving the beef to the two frying pans. His heart started thumping in his ribs when he realized that despite his best efforts, he'd ended up alone in a room with Sabo with nobody else in sight. The man he'd kissed on the mouth a mere few days ago! One of Luffy's childhood loves!

The former prince had never had the time or the parental guidance to consider the idea that he was anything other than straight. Judge most certainly had never cared to educate him, and while Zeff was open minded, the old pirate was not good at talking about feelings – he had figured that he'd broach the subject if he ever noticed Sanji's eyes wandering to a same-sex admirer. Which had never happened before Sanji had left the Baratie, in fact it hadn't happened before Sabo had retrieved the data they needed to set Reiju free and he impulsively followed through with what had originally been a bit of hyperbole.

The kiss had been impulsive and not as passionate as one he might have planted on Sunshine, but it had been hot and wet and startlingly addictive – he'd meant for it to be brief but ended up lingering for a few pleasurably long moments. When he'd realized he was enjoying it, he'd panicked in surprise and confusion and immediately fled the room.

He – hadn't been hiding from the Revolutionary since then. Certainly not! There had just been so much that needed to be done, he'd been preoccupied. Sabo had been quite busy himself, doing all the subterfuge Luffy was ill-suited to. There was nothing to read into that!

“That's a lot of vegetables,” Sabo observed, snapping Sanji out of his internal panic to possibly start a new one. “You do all the food prep yourself? The Straw Hats are a smaller crew than usual, but that's a lot of work. Especially with Lu's appetite.”

“Well if I asked Luffy for help, she'd eat half the ingredients before I managed to cook anything.” Sanji responded with a shrug, turning up the heat. “I wouldn't ask Mosshead for help if he was the last man in the seas, I'd never impose on the ladies of the crew, and Ussop and Franky are almost always busy with work on the ship.”

Sabo looked around the room. “I'm impressed. The cooks working for the Revolution always look a little tired and long suffering whenever I go to get a bite to eat,” he comments. “With that being said, how about I lend you a hand?”

Sanji paused in surprise, before the hissing of the meat cooking prompted him to hurriedly refocus on the frying pans. “Oh, I can handle things,” he insisted. “This is nothing compared to some of the lunch rushes that hit Baratie.”

“I'm sure,” Sabo responded, unfazed. “I am a guest on the ship, though, and I don't like feeling like a freeloader. I've got some cooking experience under my belt, so I won't get underfoot. Where should I start?”

Sanji hesitated. He was pleasantly surprised first, then uncertain, then nervously torn. On one hand, it was a lot of work to prepare a good meal for his crew and he'd occasionally found himself dwelling on the desire to have a sous chef or at least somebody he could have dice ingredients or set the table for him. On the other hand that meant spending quite a while alone in a room with a man giving him very confusing feelings and he was almost terrified of it.

Swallowing slightly, he decided to do what he did best – play it cool. “I suppose I wouldn't be opposed to having a helping hand. Can you start peeling the potatoes for me?, I'm planning on making Shepard's pie for everyone.” He said. “The rest is for sides for everyone, just to be safe. Especially if you and Ace eat as much as Luffy.”

Sabo chuckled and rolled his sleeves up, heading straight to the cutting boards. “Don't worry about me. I've survived on army rations; I can curtail my appetite.”

Well, he would not have that. “I have no intention of making you subsist while you're with us.” Sanji responded, tossing the two pans and mixed the meat up with a spatula to ensure it was equally cooked all over. “You'll eat as well as I can provide without emptying out our stocks, you have my word.”

“Thank you,” Sabo said after a second's pause. Sanji wondered if he'd surprised the blonde a little, he couldn't quite parse his tone, though. Or maybe his nerves were interfering with his ability to read the other man. “Now, I assume you want these mashed after peeling them?”

“Yes. Don't discard the peels though, I have uses for them.”

“Understood.”

Sanji hadn't been sure what sort of experience Sabo had in the kitchen, but as they worked together he found himself pleased and impressed. The Revolutionary knew his way around a butcher's knife, and while he didn't know how to make anything particularly sophisticated he was very good at following instructions and forming basic meals. Sabo hummed while he worked in the quiet, and Sanji couldn't help but remember something he said yesterday – about how he had no desire to be associated with his birth father's name.

It made the cook realize that he didn't know much about Sabo's past compared to Ace; Luffy hadn't spoken of him when she'd believed him to be dead, and when they'd met properly at Dressrosa for the first time there hadn't been much time for idle chitchat. He knew that Luffy was childhood friends with him, so he must have grown up on Dawn Island, but that was about it.

He was... curious about him. His lips felt warm when he pondered his new assistant, and he scrambled to find some way to break the amiable quiet without saying something dangerous.

“It smells good already,” Sabo commented lightly as they worked. “I give it a few minutes before Luffy starts trying to get in.”

Sanji chuckled. “Help me keep her away from the pots. Only the finished dish is worthy of her.” Unable to help himself, he added, “you sound like you're having fun with this busy work.”

“I like helping people,” Sabo admitted, his lips curving upward. He'd finished with the potatoes and was starting to work on the onigiri for Law. “It brings me a special kind of joy. It's satisfying being able to change someone's life or just their day for the better.” He chuckled. “Hah, Outlook hated that about me. Nika, I drove him to distraction.”

Sanji briefly glanced up from putting the pie together. “I've never heard that name, Outlook.” He commented. “Judge wasn't as concerned with my education as Reiju's, but...”

Sabo tossed his head back and laughed lightly. “Oh, he wouldn't have bothered with low level East Blue nobility back then,” The blonde said. “He was a king with a mighty legacy, after all, and despite all of Outlook the Third's lofty ambitions at the time, he was just some minor level landed gentry in the kingdom of Goa.”

“The way Luffy talks about her home, I had assumed that it was an island like the Conomi isles.” Sanji said, caught by surprise. “Home to a few villages and a lot of forests full of unfriendly beasts parents threatened their unruly children with.”

Sabo's humour dampened a little bit and his grin became distinctly wry. “That's true for about half of Dawn Island,” he said. “Windmill Village is on the far side of it, separated from Goa by the big forest the three of us spent our days running around in. It covered about half the island, and it was just big and rich enough to be considered a proper kingdom rather than a big city like Loguetown. It had a king and city district just for the nobles who hobnobbed with them. The Outlook family was one of them, and I was unfortunate enough to be their only heir.”

He finished another onigiri and huffed. “I can't say that they treated me as appallingly as Judge did to you, but I hated it there. Outlook and his wife didn't want a child as much as an investment; they didn't care if I loved them or even if I liked them, all they wanted was for me to bring them more power and prestige. If I couldn't marry upward or make valuable connections, then I was a horrible, disobedient child.”

Sanji's lip curled in disgust. Sabo was brilliant, clever and able to outwit pirates more powerful than most could fathom, and his blood parents couldn't see his worth? Imbeciles. Unworthy, wretched imbeciles. “By Davy Jones, even the father of that wretched Celestial Noble Luffy punched out at Saobody cherished his hellspawn children.” He complained. “How is that even possible, being worse than that?”

Sabo glanced in his direction in a manner that Sanji would almost thought was shy – surely he was imagining that. “Nobles will always find a way to surprise you in very unpleasant ways,” he said when he found his voice again. “They treated the staff worse than me, at least until I started getting really rebellious.”

“They considered you having a conscious being rebellious,” Sanji deadpanned.

“Yeah,” Sabo snorted, shaking his head. The burn scar over his eye is startling at first glance, but once you got used to it, you realized it could have been much worse. “I did what I could to help them wherever possible, and it was the maids who suggested I take off in the middle of the night and make a life for myself. I did just that and took off to the Gray Terminal. That's what they call the area in the outside of the city where the nobles dumped all of their garbage and the city's poor were forced to live and forge for survival. And you know what? I was actually happier there, in that giant trash heap.”

A warm smile crossed the Revolutionary's face. He's very handsome, scar or no scar. That – that was just an observation that proved Sanji could see, thank you very much! “That was where I met Ace; we ran into each other in a... tense moment, to say the least. I helped him, and we were inseparable ever since. Later on we ran into Luffy who immediately inserted herself into our lives and wouldn't go away.”

Sanji laughed and put the pie in the oven. “Oh, did she tell you 'I refuse your refusal' too?” He asked in amusem*nt.

“She said what?” Sabo repeated.

Shutting the door, Sanji grabbed a hand towel and explained, “When Sunshine was first trying to recruit me from the Baratie, I didn't want to leave. I owe that old man my life, and leaving his restaurant wasn't something I was willing to do lightly. When I told her this and tried to turn her down, she told me with a straight face 'I refuse your refusal!'”

Sabo burst out laughing, husky and sincere and almost helpless. A thrill goes down Sanji's spine like one of Eneru's lightning bolts hitting him. “Nika...!” The other blonde babbled, running one hand through his hair. “That is just – it encapsulates her attitude perfectly, doesn't it?”

Sanji nodded, smiling at the memory. “What won you over to her?”

“Ace and I stole a lot of money from pirates and criminals in the Grey Terminal,” Sabo recalled. “One crew was stronger than the usual, though, and they came stalking into the forest looking for us. Luffy happened to have followed Ace to the hide out that day, and for some reason decided her only reasonable course of action was to pop out of cover, tell the violent, armed pirates three times her size that she'd taken their stolen gold and spent it all on food because we wouldn't play with her, then run away with them hot in pursuit so they wouldn't go after me and Ace anymore.”

Sanji felt himself blanch. “Oh my...! She would. She absolutely would.” Why are you like this, Sunshine?!

“I couldn't believe it.” Sabo admitted. “We stood there in shock for a minute before running after her as fast as we could. She thought she was being very cunning.”

“Ah, yes. The reason I can't grouse too much about that tattooed bastard being so in love with her.” Sanji said, pressing one hand against his face. “Ah, let's not get too distracted – the main dish is cooking, but that leaves the sides. Can you go and inquire subtly with Jinbe and the lovely Uta what some of their favorite foods are?”

“Sure thing; I'll be right back.”

It was one of the bigger lunches that Sanji had made, and he's more and more glad that he hadn't been so ruled by his anxiety that he couldn't accept Sabo's help. It was nice to have company when he was working, and someone else to shoo Luffy away from the pots when she caught scent of the food and started begging for taste tests.

“I didn't realize...” Sanji mused near the end of the preparations, earning a hum of surprise from Sabo. “To think I'd have this much in common with a man who introduced himself to me with a right hook to the face.”

Sabo paused as he tried to figure out what the cook was referring to... then blushed in embarrassment. “Ah. That... the only defence I can think of is that I've been forever wary of men trying to take advantage of Lu, since she's so oblivious.” He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “I do apologize for that; you're a good man, Sanji.”

Sanji pretended to be aloof for a second before relaxing. “My pride wishes that I didn't understand that, but I do.” He said.

He could think of more than a few infuriating examples of men trying to get their filthy mitts on his Sunshine... Bellamy aggressively hitting on her at Jaya, Cavendish attempting to swoon her with 'chivalry', Foxy attempting to put the moves on her when he thought he'd be able to beat them in the Davy Beck Fight – in a heart stopping moment, that bastard World Noble brat had said he wanted Luffy as his slave! Sunshine had put an immediate stop to that with a world-shaking punch, but she hadn't even registered what the previous three were implying.

“It was a good punch,” Sanji admitted with more admiration than he'd intended, shaking away those unpleasant thoughts. Luffy's favour and attention was on him and men he could think well of, not those fiends.

They started setting the table, inside this time since Nami predicted there was going to be rain later – and a lot of it. Sabo was starting to collect the side dishes and stalled in surprise. “Wha... hey, how did you know I love dried cranberries?”

Sanji gave him a pleased grin. “I thought I saw you sneaking some out of the cupboards,” he said. “Good to know~”

Sabo looked down at the bowl in his hands, carefully set it down, then walked over to Sanji. Before the cook could express surprise or ask anything else, Sabo cupped his cheek with one hand and kissed him firmly on the lips.

Sanji froze in place, stars bursting his mind at the hot, pleasurable pressure as his heart did its level best to pound right out of his chest. Sabo held him for a long moment before breaking the kiss and lightly saying, “thank you,” before vanishing from the room with bowls of food. Gone even faster than when the cook had fled from him earlier.

His face turning cherry red, Sanji stood rooted to the spot before the timer he set for the oven went off, sending him scrambling to get the main dish before it got burnt.

Luffy always disliked heavy rain by itself. When it was storming, it was really fun, but heavy sheets of rain falling on its own just meant she couldn't play outside and do most of the things she liked. On the Grand Line she could almost always count on furious winds and crashing waves to accompany rain, making it a breathless fight against the ocean and a great challenge! But today it was just rain. So much rain, and after a violent micro storm earlier the waters were practically placid.

Boo! Where were her nightmare storms?! This is the New World, why is she getting just rain now?!

The downpour started shortly after lunch and Nami reported that it wasn't going to let up until late tomorrow morning – at which point it would be raining and storming. Uta and Pudding hadn't looked very excited to hear that, but Luffy had just been relieved that this particular weather wouldn't last for more than a day.

But that still meant that there were some long hours ahead where she would be sitting and waiting, unless she found some way to entertain herself. And listening to the rain hammer on the jewel adam wood Sunny was made of quickly wore out its welcome. Her mind wandering, Luffy paused halfway to the kitchen when an eerie, deep and throaty voice echoed in her mind. Nika would rather we destroy... who's we? She wondered.

...You should try to ask Uta, Nika said. Unlike her usual cheer, the sun goddess's tone was serious and uneasy. Luffy twitched at both the words and the content. That voice was addressing her.

“Eh?!” Luffy hissed, a little disturbed. “Why didn't you say so earlier?” While she wasn't the smartest girl around, Luffy was good at reading people, and that voice... it oozed malice, despite the apparent cheer in the suggestion it was making.

Forgetting about getting snacks, Luffy turned and headed through the hall back toward the aquarium lounge. Uta liked to spend time there when everyone else was in their room, watching the fish or napping on the couches available. Hopefully she'd be there right now, and they could talk privately. Kat and Reiju had left dinner together to talk about something, and Luffy was pretty sure she knew where everyone else was.

Taking a few turns and hopping down the stairwell into the aquarium level, Luffy looked around and sighed in relief when she spotted Uta's familiar white and red hair. Her songstress was half sitting, half lying down on the couch with her back to the stairwell, fiddling with something in her hands.

“Uta!” Luffy called, trotting towards her. The other girl yelped in surprise and sat up in a hurry, stashing the object in an inside pocket of her coat. There was a slight flash of a sharp edge. “There you are.”

“Luffy. Is something wrong?” Uta asked, violet eyes sleepy and a little unfocused. In fact she looked a little ragged in general, like she hadn't been sleeping well. Concern swelled up in Luffy's chest, and she hurried over and plunked down on the couch next to her.

“Nope.” She stroked Uta's hair out of her face. Her oldest friend seemed to melt into the touch a little. “You look tired, Uta. Have you not been sleeping...?” She doesn't have a proper bed here, she was sleeping on a pull out couch that had been moved into Nami's room. Was she not comfortable enough? Maybe Luffy should move her into Robin's room until Wano, her nakama wouldn't mind.

“Oh...” Uta rubbed her face. “I haven't been having good dreams, that's all.”

Luffy's chest squeezed. “Why didn't you say so?”

“It's not that bad,” Uta protested softly, her lips quirking upward. “I can manage them on my own.”

Luffy wasn't pleased. Those words in that order reminded her of Nami, Vivi, Robin, Traffy and most recently Sanji attempting to push her away and take on suffering and death on their own. It almost gave her a physical twitch, hearing them from Uta too. “Why don't you come sleep with me tonight?” She suggested. “I'll keep all nightmares away!”

Uta's cheeks flushed a cherry red and she mumbled, “S-Sleep with you? I...in your bed? Together?” Somehow she turned an even darker red upon saying those words out loud; Luffy could almost feel fierce heat radiating off of her! “I-I would hate to impose! B-Besides, aren't you already sharing it with Katakuri-san, Ace-san and Trafalgar-san?”

“I'd love for you to be there too,” Luffy said sincerely.

Uta's eyes grew round to the side of dinner plates, and she uttered a squeaking noise the young captain wasn't certain what to make of. “R...Really?”

Luffy nodded. Uta stared at her like she'd never seen her before and her hands started fidgeting the way they would when she was flustered and trying to find words to express it – something she'd seen a lot when they were kids. Usually what would happen is that Luffy would want to go on an 'adventure' much to the alarm of the more sensible Uta when she voiced her various potentially dangerous plans.

“W-Well – that would be terribly awkward, though!” Uta stumbled. “Do I look that bad off?”

Luffy remembered the voice, and her initial response stopped in her throat and she just stared at her songstress. Uta hesitated and read the unease in her eyes, biting her bottom lip nervously. “Uta,” Luffy said quietly. “If you were in trouble, you would tell me...right?”

“Why are you asking?” Uta asked after a second's pause.

“Did you hear that creepy voice yesterday?” Luffy asked straight up, jumping in head first. “No one else did, but when I reacted to it you looked really startled.”

“T-That's because...” Uta shifted uncomfortably, her eyes darting around like she was looking for an escape route. Lowering her voice, she murmured, “people say that every devil fruit has a spirit bound to it, but no one ever says anything about them speaking to the person who ate theirs. I think they do, though. Mine has talked to me for a long time.”

“Your devil fruit spirit?” Luffy prodded her, glad that she was getting an actual answer. It made her relax a little in relief.

Uta nodded. “Yes. Do you believe me?”

“Mmmhmm. I heard Nika for the first time when I Awakened our power at Marineford.” Luffy confirmed.

Uta's eyes widened a little, and her hands started fidgeting more. “I see. Well... the spirit tied to the Sing Sing fruit... he's a bit of a character, honestly. For a music spirit, he loves advocating for the most violent solution to a problem possible. His perspective on people's lives are a little skewed; I think it's because devil fruits don't die themselves, they reincarnate when they lose a wielder.” She rubbed her arms. “Sometimes he's difficult to deal with; life is a very precious thing to me, and I can't turn him around on the matter.

Luffy tilted her head and listened, waiting to see if the creepy voice would pop up and aggressively try to correct her. All is quiet, though. “I was shocked that you could hear him speaking,” Uta admitted, looking up at her again. “How is that possible?”

Luffy shrugged uncertainly. “I dunno? I can hear a lot of things my nakama say they can't.” She frowned. “He isn't mean to you, is he? The spirit. You're supposed to be partners.”

Uta hesitated for a fraction of a second and said, “He's not my favourite conversation partner in the world, I'll admit.” Nika made a noise somewhere between... frustration and distress? “I've more or less figured out how to manage him, though. He can't do much other than yell or throw a fit if he doesn't like something I'm doing.”

Luffy sucked in a deep breath and put both her hands on Uta's shoulders. The girl squeaked. “Oi, oi. Sing spirit.” She barked. “You leave my Uta alone. If you make her cry, I'm gonna find a way to kick your ass!”

Her violet eyes widening almost comically, Uta sputtered and briefly looked like she was about to have a violent heart attack. Pleased to have gotten her point across, Luffy pulled Uta into a warm hug, burying one hand in her hair and nuzzling her friend's cheek to reassure her. Not aware of the gauntlet she'd thrown down quite yet.

Ace looked out the window in the hallway, uttering a bored sigh. It was getting late, and he just couldn't shake a bout of restlessness. Usually going to sleep was no problem at all for him. Guess a few years worth of excitement are coming home to roost, he thought. Tama... Yamato... I hope you're both hanging on out there. I'll be back very soon... bear with it just a few more days...

Sighing, he pushed off the wall and walked down the hallway toward what was usually Zoro's room, though Trafalgar was occupying it right now. He needed some good company, or he was going to drive himself crazy thinking in circles. They're okay. They have to be.

After half a minute he came up to the door and promptly let himself in. Law was sitting on a chair, tending to the cursed sword that he carried and gave Ace a half-lidded, unimpressed look. “Haven't you heard of knocking?” He asked dryly.

“I could sense you weren't asleep yet,” Ace noted, unfazed by the subtle criticism. He looked at the blade with a bit of admiration. “She's a beautiful blade.”

Law arched an eyebrow, a pleased smirk flashing across his face. “So you do have some culture.”

“Oi, I have plenty of swordsmen among my brothers. I have plenty of respect for a good blade,” Ace responded loftily. “Including cursed ones.” His eyes travelled along the length of the sword. “What's her name?”

“Kikoku.” Law responded, running his whetstone along the edge with practised care. “I found her when I was collecting my crew. She's temperamental, sure, but she listens when I need her to.” He snorted. “Speaking of crews, those fools better be keeping a low profile this whole time.”

“Don't trust your men?”

“That's not funny. I'm worried about Roanoro, not my men,” Law said irritably. “That man can get lost walking in a straight line.”

Ace's eyebrows shot up. “He can't be that bad, can he?”

“I've seen him do it.” Law insisted.

Before Ace could try and muster up a response to that, the warmth of Luffy's haki pinged at the end of the hallway. She felt excited, and a little bit nervous, and he smiled instinctively. Law lifted his head a moment before Luffy burst through the open door. “There you are,” she said, closing the door with all three of them inside. “Shishishishi, I've been looking for you two for a minute!”

Ace reached over and ruffled her hair. “Well, you've found us,” he said lightly. “Where's the fire, Lu? You look excited.”

Luffy started to say something, paused, and then grinned a little shyly before leaning back against the door with her hands behind her back. “Mmm... I wanted to ask you something,” she said. “About tonight?” A red shade dusted her cheeks.

Ace's pulse picked up a little. “Sure.”

Luffy looked between them, the red blush darkening a little. Then she blurted out with absolute confidence, “Do you want to have sex tonight?”

Law's whetstone slipped from his hand and went flying across the room with a strangled yelp; the doctor nearly sliced the tops of his fingers off at the jerky movement as he jerked his head up and stared at her with eyes wide as the full moon. Ace fared a little better in that he wasn't holding anything sharp, so instead he grabbed the wall to save himself from embarrassingly faceplanting on the carpet. Not that he would have noticed; he's more in shock than when he'd gotten smacked by Pops's Conquerors Haki!

“W-Wha?” He choked out intelligently.

Luffy rocked her heels back a little and continued to smile with a cute mixture of certainty and a little shyness. “We're not married yet, but we're gonna be, sooooo... why not?” She asked.

“Why n-,” Law wheezed, fumbling Kikoku back into her sheathe to avoid losing his hand. “You just – why would you just straight up ask that out of nowhere?!”

The question is met with a crestfallen look. “You don't want to?”

“I didn't – buh – both of us? Tonight?” Law choked out, giving Ace a half panicked, half considering look as his brain crashed into a metaphorical wall. Ace swallowed to avoid uttering any embarrassing squeaking noises.

“Mmhmm.” Luffy nodded, a hopeful look back in her eyes.

“Is – is Katakuri okay with that?” Ace managed after a few seconds, buying himself time to try and get his thoughts in order.

She blinked and smiled a little. “Yup. You're all my husbands, after all!” Her smile was warm. “Kat and I haven't done this yet, because we've never done it before. I want to do it with him, and with you too, but I'm not sure how to do it really well and I want to be good at it for when we have a proper wedding night. So... do you want to try?”

Ace swallowed. Oh yes, he wanted that very much, even if he hadn't remotely expected her to so easily approach him about it. As he started to calm down from the shock, his heart began to pound rapidly in his chest and he felt himself starting to smile.

“Sure,” he said softly. Luffy beamed at him, eyes alight with excitement. Beautiful.

“I... I... both of us?” Law repeated again, his gold eyes blown wide. “At the same time?”

Luffy's brow furrowed. “Yes?” She responded, puzzled, because she didn't know about three way sex yet and didn't know the images she was putting in his head. “I love you both.”

Law's tongue traced his lips, staring intently at his sun goddess as his shock wore away and he processed her request. Slowly that frantic flustered side melts away into pleasure; the pirate doctor rose from his seat like a pleased panther and walked up to Luffy, who visibly shivers with excitement. He lifted her chin with one hand and snared Ace's wrist with the other. “If that's what you want... I won't hold back,” he said in a low purr, almost a warning that this was the last chance to back out.

Luffy's grin didn't change one shade. “Good,” she responded sunnily. “C'mon... follow me~” Nudging the door open with her foot, she took her two loves back into the hall and through the hall towards her Captain's cabin.

Chapter 38

Chapter Text

“Woohoo!”

“What are you so freaking happy about?!” Pudding shrieked as she struggled with the ropes of the Sunny's sails. “I don't know if you've noticed but it's frigging apocalyptic out here!”

“I know! Isn't it amazing?!” Luffy laughed, jumping from the mast and using her weight to haul the sail up against the battering, howling winds. Landing with a thump, the young captain gave Pudding a beaming grin. “It's a beautiful day, Pudding! Enjoy it!”

“Did you fall out of bed and slam your head on a chunk of sea stone this morning?!”

“Nope! I slept really well! Shishishishishi!”

Uta looked up from the hatches she was battening down, wincing as the pounding rain lashed at her face and her feet almost skidded on the water-slick deck. “Luffy...” Her heart squeezed very tightly. The extreme exuberance her beloved was expressing, mixed with Law's stoicism visibly softened and Ace's almost dazed grin as they also fought against the weather pointed to one thing as the likely source of Luffy being more high key than usual. Even if she'd prepared for it, it still hurt on some level.

You can take her for yourself if you weren't so afraid... and get rid of those two thieves.

Uta's blood pressure skyrocketed at that comment. Shut the HELL up, you bastard! She shielded her face with one hand and peered nervously at the upper deck; it seemed like Luffy hadn't heard that remark over the roaring of thunder and lightning. Thank goodness.

As Nami had predicted, the New World's weather had come back with a vengeance after the peaceful interlude they'd gotten to enjoy. The Sunny was bobbing up and down like a cork in the middle of a maelstrom, carried along by the massive waves threatening to swamp it every couple of seconds. Between that and the galeforce winds moving around them, everyone except for Jinbe had been ordered to tether themselves to the ship with heavy cables Franky had installed for this eventuality. Uta had been tossed around like a rag doll a few times already, saved from getting some not insignificant bruises by Katakuri appearing out of nowhere to catch her each time.

As if her thoughts had summoned him, the older pirate turned the corner and pinned the stubborn, shaking trap door under his knee so she could finish hooking it closed. “Thank you,” she gasped out. It was a little embarrassing that she was having trouble with some of these ship chores; her lack of physical training was standing out this deep in the New World.

“It's no trouble,” Katakuri rumbled, his voice piercing through the thunder. “How are your hands?”

Uta glanced at her palms and did her best to smile. “The rope burn isn't that bad. I'll get my old tolerance back in no time!” She insisted.

Katakuri nodded, his lips quirking upward. “I have no doubt.” How could such an intimidating man smile so warmly? Being subjected to it make Uta's heart lift and she hardly knew him...!

“This is so silly,” She complained, shoving herself to her feet when the deck once again pitched violently underneath them. Nami was shouting directions to Jinbe through the megaphone denden Uta had handed her when the storm first dropped on top of them. “I used to be able to do this no problem, and I was eight back then!”

“You've been out of the waters for a while,” Katakuri responded, completely without judgment. “Your body remembers how to do these things, but the muscles need to be built back up to preform them as needed. You're doing well for someone who hasn't sailed in ten years. It's good that you're determined to contribute in spite of being unpractised.”

“Thank you, Katakuri,” Uta said, a light blush colouring her cheeks at the compliment. Lightning crashed above them loud enough to make her ears ring. “Where should I go now?”

“Are the shelves and such inside the ship more or less secure?” Katakuri inquired. “I saw Sabo and Chopper run inside a while ago, have you seen them?”

The deck pitched again, and in a different direction than before – Uta yelped and stumbled over the hatch at the sudden movement. Katakuri caught her on his arm and lifted her back to her feet next to him. “I haven't seen them!” Uta admitted. “They might still be working on it!”

Katakuri hummed and held her hand to ensure she doesn't stagger again as they made their way down the port side of the ship. Uta squeezed his fingers tightly and wondered when he'd suddenly become a reassuring presence, when she'd been so determined to dislike and distrust him, a pirate so unlike Luffy. How had his looming figure suddenly remind her of father Shanks? How he was big and powerful and always looking out to make sure she wasn't in trouble?

“Careful, Pudding!” Luffy's voice echoed from nearby. “Shishishi, you gotta watch your step. It's slippery!”

“Oh yes, I never would have noticed!” Pudding said, her voice high pitched and caught somewhere between outrage and happy embarrassment. Uta briefly glanced up at the deck again and wondered what the other girl was so afraid of that she screamed the exact opposite of what she was feeling whenever she thought she was expressing the slightest vulnerability.

Katakuri shook his head. “I told her she could wait inside,” He said with bemusem*nt.

“Well, if the first enemy she fights is a storm, she'll at least have some idea of what's in store for her!” Uta suggested. Katakuri took on a thoughtful look at that, before Nami yelling for somebody to go to the Cola Room and wait for instructions prompted them both to scramble for the doorway. Uta offered to handle it in exchange for the tall man looking out for Luffy, which he accepted easily enough.

Unhitching herself from the cable, Uta stumbled in through the door and shut it behind her. Her hair and her shirt were both plastered to her skin from the rainstorm; her shoes squelched from waterlogging as she hurried down the hallway, her stomach lurching as the deck continued to pitch and drop beneath her. Her clothes were so wet she felt like she was carrying half a dozen extra pounds around. Despite it's ruthlessness, she found herself smiling unconsciously.

It had been a long time since she'd been on board a ship this way; since the Red Force. Occasionally travelling out with Gordon from Elgia wasn't the same; she'd always been a passenger, waiting in her room while the crews weathered the storms or sea king sightings. She hadn't done anything very hard or dangerous when she was on the Red Force, but she'd contributed, always; unless the storm was intense enough to trigger her family the crew's parental instincts that saw them usher her below deck.

She'd missed it. The realization startled her as she made her way to the back of the Sunny, her heart thumping with excitement. She'd missed this, being on a ship, being part of the crew. Being carried along by the mother ocean and seeing the world. Being – no, she's not a pirate, not even a technical pirate like Luffy.

Uta nearly ran right past the door to the 'cola room' before noticing it; opening the door and scrambling inside, her eyes widened as she took in the mechanical wonder in front of her. The vats full of bubbling cola – how did Franky turn that into a fuel source as powerful as this? -- the gears and mechanics, the wires... it looked like something out of a story book. “He made this all by himself?” She breathed out, awed.

The sound system crackled to life. “Uta, you made it?!” Nami called.

Uta blinked and ran to the microphone. “Yes, I'm here!” She said. “What do you need me to do?”

“Listen, there's a control panel down there – it's not immediately intuitive, so listen carefully, okay?” Nami instructed.

The system was complicated. Even with Nami keeping the yelling to a minimum and being willing to repeat herself once when Uta got confused by something – well, she's just impressed that the ship could be operated without her shipwright on board! Luffy certainly wasn't going to remember how any of this worked, and Uta had a hard time imagining being able to keep this memorized on top of other responsibilities another crewmate would have.

Nevertheless Uta figured it out quite quickly. She had a knack for complex systems and technology, had taught herself a lot while learning how the visual transmission denden's worked. With a few levers and button sequences, the Sunny was making powering through the tall waves and headed toward the edges of the storm. Uta stayed in the engine room managing things under Nami's directions until the pitching of the ship became much gentler.

“Excellent,” Nami sighed in relief. “You got the hang of that fast, Uta-chan.”

“Oh, I enjoy working with some sorts of tech in my spare time,” Uta said, getting to her feet. She's gotten quite cold now; her soaked clothes were preventing the Sunny's heating system from doing much for her.“I find them fascinating. Singing will always be my passion, but it's fun to have a hobby you can do almost anything with.”

“Be careful what you say around Franky, he might try and shanghai you into being his 'assistant'.” Nami said with a degree of playful warning. “We're almost through this, but the crew proper can handle things from here. Get yourself dried off and warmed up, okay?”

“Are you sure?” Uta worked one hand under her hair and started to wring it out. “I can still help...”

Nami laughed warmly. “If only Zoro shared your work ethic!” She said. “Maybe I should threaten to replace him with you; he's napped through entirely too many storms while the rest of us were struggling. Don't worry, we've got enough muscle on deck to handle this last stretch. Remember, you're a guest!”

“Thank you,” Uta said with a faintly amused smile. Did Luffy's swordsman really sleep through weather like that? How was that even possible?

Leaving the room, Uta continued to wring her long hair out and breathed out in relief. She no longer felt like the ground was dropping out from underneath her every other second. Suddenly her heart was squeezed with happy nostalgia; her mind fluttered back to the first storm she'd helped the Red Force weather, by running around to everyone's rooms and securing all the small, breakable things that had been abandoned in the rush to man the sails and rudders. Shanks had swept her up in a warm hug and praised her as the hardest worker on the ship and she'd been given extra treats for dessert.

We've got the best cabin girl in the Blues!

Uta yanked on her hair unconsciously. Immediately the memory melted away, leaving her staring blankly down the hallway. “Why...?” She whispered. “I haven't thought about those days in...”

Her words trailed off. That wasn't quite true. The Red Force and the family she'd had there had never been too far from her mind; both before and after she'd discovered the truth. She missed them. Even before she'd learned the truth, she... part of her had missed them desperately.

...Part of her must have always suspected that they hadn't...that Shanks hadn't...

It had been her. The death, the fire and the screaming... everything she'd seen in the snail, all of it had happened because of her. Because she'd been weak!

Uta dropped her hands and locked them together in a vain effort to keep her fingers from shaking. She could almost see the blood coating her skin, hot and sticky and staining her a bright crimson...

“Uta-chan? There you are.”

Uta uttered a little yip of surprise and looked up to see Reiju standing in front of her. “Are you okay?” The other girl asked, her deep blue eyes warm with concern.

Uta opened her mouth to say something, but found herself at a loss for words. The stress constricting her chest had passed its usual consistent, dull pain to a more intense crush. “I...” She fumbled, shaking her head. “I'm okay.”

Reiju's brow furrowed. Then – then she put a hand on Uta's shoulder and drew her into a hug. Uta's breath hitched in shock as her forehead pressed against the taller girl's shoulder. Reiju's embrace was carefully gentle yet steady, a soft hum rumbling in her chest as she rubbed the singer's back. Uta stood stiff for a moment, frozen in surprise.

The comforting murmur of Reiju's voice washed over her. It undid something in Uta's chest; tears stinging at the corners of her eyes, she buried her face in the blue fabric of her shoulder and hugged back, unable to resist the supportive gesture. Her heart thudded in her chest as she rested against the princess.

Reiju stroked her wet hair softly. “Uta...” she murmured. “What's haunting you? Ever since I've met you, I've never seen you without stress visible in your shoulders.” She'd thought that it was because of the company at Totland. The singer was quite fiery in her loathing on morganeer pirates and the devastation they left in their wake; it must not have been easy for her to travel to the heartland of one of the most powerful among them, even with Luffy being there.

That was a part of it, she's sure, but the subtle tells and oddities that were popping up around Uta were concerning. Her devil fruit power was incredible and went a ways to explain why she hadn't been worried about being able to escape Totland, but Reiju could only wonder why she'd never heard of the Sing-Sing fruit before. A devil fruit that powerful would be much sought after, yet she knew it hadn't been listed in the devil fruit encyclopedias she'd read. The strange story about the death of Elgia and Shanks's supposed role in it...

Uta clung to her a little tighter, her breath shuddering. “It's nothing.” She whispered.

Reiju sighed. “Who are you afraid of, Uta?” She asked, confused by the singer's reticence.

The girl stilled like she'd been struck. “I...”

Ah. That's the heart of the matter, then... Reiju rubbed her back reassuringly, humming again, and Uta slowly melted against her with shuddering breaths. “I miss my father...my family,” she whispered, almost too quietly for Reiju to hear.

“What happened...?” Reiju prompted.

“I...I can't...” Uta hiccuped. “They left me...”

“At Elgia? After it burned?” The princess guessed. Uta nodded again, hiding her face in her shoulder. “Ah...”

Why? That didn't make sense. Red Haired Shanks had come running when he heard that Luffy was getting married, and he'd adopted Uta when she was barely more than a baby. He had to be as attached to her as she was to Reiju's new captain... he wouldn't have left her there unless the situation had demanded it, she realized. But what sort of situation would cause that...?

She doesn't have enough information. But the way Uta was clinging to her... the fear of abandonment must cut so deeply in her. Reiju didn't need to have all the information to know what she had to do; she hugged Uta a little tighter and whispered, “We will never leave you, Uta. You won't be alone again.”

Uta uttered a heartbreaking sob, hurt and hope aching in her voice. Reiju continued to hold her until she was able to calm down.

“We're getting close to you!” Luffy babbled excitedly into the den den currently mimicking Zoro's facial expressions. After the storm had let up, the soaking wet Straw Hat crew and allies had convened inside in order to contact their allies on the continent. The two white denden had been brought out along with a regular one, allowing them to contact both the Heart Pirates and the other half of the Straw Hats at the same time. “Nami says we'll enter Wano's waters tomorrow and reach the land the day after that! We're almost there!”

“That's good,” Zoro said gruffly, impressively hiding his excitement and nervousness at his Captain's rapid approach. “That's very good.”

“We've missed you, Captain.” Bepo said sweetly. The other heart pirates all started clamouring at that, adding their greetings and joy that they would be reunited with their grumpy boss in forty-eight hours.

“You lot better not have been slacking off,” Law said, his attempt to act cool rather undermined by the red flush in his cheeks. “No one's been discovered? You've kept your cover?”

Robin's soft laugh echoed from a third den den. “No need to worry, Trafalgar-san. As far as anyone knows, we've lived in Wano our entire lives.” She said. “Franky is working to get the floor plans for Onigashima, but the carpenter is an ornery little fellow and not easy to win over. As for myself, I've gained some information since we last talked, but I'd rather pass it on in person – besides, there's more that I can do if I can lift my rank high enough to be invited to Shogun Orochi's parties.”

Uta grimaced. “That's right, you're a geisha. Be careful if you get in, Robin; those parties might be infested with the upper ranks of the Beast Pirates.”

The snail mimicked a warm smile from the archaeologist. “Your concern is very touching, Uta-chan. I'll keep a level head and politely deflect any wandering hands.”

“Kaido usually keeps his people in Onigashima, but keep an eye out just in case.” Sabo put in, his elbows resting on the table. “Likely the only people who'd show up there are any of the Flying Six, Queen, King, or Kaido himself. Not sure if they'd recognize you...”

“I'll prepare for the eventuality,” Robin responded. “Oh, Ace-san? A little while ago I heard murmuring about Kaido's son. Apparently the night Linlin was defeated, he slipped out of Onigashima while the upper echelons of the Beast Pirates were passed out drunk and took a boat to the mainland. Kaido is quite upset about it and has his men out in force looking for him.”

Ace jolted before smiling broadly. “Hell yes...!” His fists clenched. “C'mon, Yamato, just keep your head down until we can find you...!”

Luffy cheered, and Law relaxed a little. “It's much safer for the plan for him to find us than us having to break him out of Onigashima before the raid.” The doctor said. “Good. This is very good.”

Zoro's snail awkwardly mimicked an arched eyebrow. “Describe your friend to us,” he said, “Ussop and I are out and roving around, there's a small chance we could stumble on him.”

“Right. Yamato doesn't have any safe houses to go to, so he'll be trying to keep a low profile...” Ace bit his lip, worry briefly flashing across his expression. “He might try to go to the samurai, with how he wears the identity of Kozuki Oden proudly, but – will they accept him? Kaido's child?”

Luffy's nose scrunched up with a frown. “Tell Kin'emon and the others that Yamato is our nakama, and they can trust him,” she said firmly. “He's going to join the fight with us!”

“I'll pass it on right away!” Bepo promised.

Some tenseness went out of Ace's shoulders, and he quickly began describing his friend in detail. Luffy could hear somebody sketching hurriedly, either Robin or Penguin, and she closed her eyes to construct the mental image of Yamato for herself. She's very cool in her mindscape – muscular and broad shouldered with pretty white hair and cool horns. She can't wait to meet them.

“Stay where you are, we will come to you after making the landing,” Law instructed when that was settled. “The less noise we make, the better. Kaido will not be taking the fall of Linlin lightly; if he finds us here – particularly certain someones --” he glanced meaningfully at Luffy and Ace, who both gave him somewhat indignant looks in response. “-he'll react instantly and the plan will be shot.”

Luffy moaned and flopped back in her chair. “No... not more sneaking around!”

“Oh, bear with it, Luffy.” Zoro said with a dry, amused sigh. “We won't have the ridiculous backup you summoned to Totland with us. We don't need them, but it means we can't just walk up to Onigashima and kick their front door down.”

Katakuri nodded, putting one hand on Luffy's arm. “You did well in Totland,” he told his bride. “Just keep it up for a little longer.” Luffy made a pitiful sound and buried her face in his shoulder. “You won't have to hide yourself completely, just use a disguise and a false name.”

“But sneaking is so tiring...”

Katakuri shook his head. “You remember what I told you about Kaido, don't you?” He inquired mildly. Luffy uttered a gusty sigh and nodded reluctantly. “Good. Keep that in mind. Even if you can fight him to a standstill, I guarantee that most of your allies cannot.”

“Riiiiight. Sneaking it is,” Luffy grumbled.

Robin laughed softly at the familiar whining, triggering amused giggles from many around the table, including Pudding. The young Captain gave them all sinkeye. “Stand by for now, we'll be there soon,” Law signed off.

“I can't wait to see you guys.” Luffy added. “Especially you, Zoro!”

Zoro's snail spazzed out slightly in an effort to capture his flustered expression. “R-Right. Two days. Don't be late.”

“Don't be late?” Sanji echoed, scoffing, as they hung up. “Honestly, who does he take us for?”

“Sanji, how often do our plans actually go off without a hitch?” Nami asked him dryly. “Totland. It's only ever happened at Totland. The rest of the time we get blindsided by something out of nowhere, Luffy runs off and kills stealth forever-” Luffy giggled shamelessly “-or we complete a step in the plan only to find out that what we hoped to achieve is impossible because of something we didn't know about.” Their trek to Yuba came to mind, just as one example.

Law twitched at that. “This will work,” He said through his teeth, not pleased by the unwelcome reminders. “As long as we all stick to it.”

“Don't get worked up before we land, Law” Sabo said, putting his hands behind his head. “What shall we do when we land? Split up and collect everyone to make it to a single meeting point?”

“No more splitting up!” Luffy protested, eyes widening.

“It will only be temporary, Luffy.” Jinbe said with mild chiding. His lips quirked upward at the affection driving her resistance to the idea. “Just long enough to find our fellow crewmates, embed yourselves in the local area, and meet up to exchange information.”

Luffy slumped a little. “Okay... fine. But it better be short!”

Katakuri ruffled her hair, causing her to squeak and give him a cute pout. The war council continued for a little while before everyone had been loosely assigned at least a partner to stick close to upon landing. Sabo provided a rare map of the landscape of Wano, albiet an outdated one, so the crew had at least a general idea of where most important places were.

Once it was over, Luffy yawned immensely. “Man, thinking this much makes my head hurt...” She mumbled, rubbing her forehead. Catching sight of Uta, she trotted over to her singer and latched onto her arm, startling her. “Hey Uta, I'm gonna take a nap. Come with me? You look sleepy.”

“O-Okay?” She squeaked, a blush coloring her cheeks.

Pleased, Luffy tugged her out of the living room and through the hallway. Reiju, who'd been planning on going to the lounge where the books were, noticed and couldn't resist the desire to follow after them. “Where are you going, Luffy? Uta?” She asked.

“We're gonna take a nap,” Luffy responded, brightening upon noticing her. “Come with us, Reiji?”

...How could I resist?, Reiju thought. Her heart began to thump a little quickly in her chest at that warm, pretty smile. “Sure. We had quite the busy morning, after all.”

Luffy uttered a pleased sound while Uta blushed an even darker red, carefully avoiding looking at the beautiful taller girl. Together the three of them split off from the others and headed to the Captain's cabin; while Luffy usually napped in a hammock on the deck, her favourite only held two people comfortably. So her room would do better for this.

Guiding the two girls inside and mostly closing the door – the singer's heart almost leapt into her throat at the clicking sound – Luffy stretched in relief and pulled off her shirt, which was still heavily damp from the morning. “L-Luffy!” Uta squeaked.

“Eh?” Luffy glanced at her; she was still wearing a sports bra, so in her mind she was hardly naked. Seeing how flushed her friend was, she put a hand on her forehead in concern. “Your face is all red. Are you getting a fever, Uta?” She asked in concern. “You should see Chopper or Traffy.”

“N-No! I'm fine!” Uta insisted, her hands fluttering frantically. “I'm just – worked up. Because I've never been part of a liberation force before!” Oh, that had been a terrible choice of words! Ah! “I've never done anything like this before.”

Luffy blinked, then uttered a little 'ah' of comprehension. Then she gave Uta a hug; Reiju winced in sympathy for her companion's plight. “Don't be scared, Uta. I'll protect you no matter what!”

“I know,” Uta squeaked. She couldn't understand how Luffy couldn't feel her heart trying to pound out of her chest, when she could feel every curve of her muscular, perfect upper body pressing against her. Part of her wanted to melt into the floor and disappear, and the other part of her wanted – oh, it wanted much much more. No! Stop, you fool! You are a dead woman walking, you can't...!

Luffy rubbed her back and gently removed Uta's headset, placing it on the beside table. Then she walked back and flopped onto the mattress, making grabby hands at her friends. Reiju removed her pink sweater but left her shirt on; undressing any further would be a deliberate signal, as far as she was concerned, and one she wasn't sure Luffy would pick up on. She wouldn't take advantage of that.

Uta was too paralyzed by shyness to do anything but kick off her shoes. She took a few steps forward and squeaked again when she was pulled onto the bed. Rolling onto her side, Uta found herself nose to nose with her childhood love and briefly froze like a deer. Those eyes... The soft hazel were like twin oceans, engulfing her whole and holding her gently in its embrace.

“Remember when we used to watch the night sky together?” Luffy hummed, sliding one arm around Uta's waist. “How the stars would fade in slowly and you'd point at all the constellations, telling me the stories that had been made into songs?”

“I remember,” Uta whispered. When she was having a very harrowing day, she would stay up late at night with a sea stone knife in hand and count the stars. Search for familiar constellations and remember lying next to her, recover that warmth and hold onto it.

“Let's do that again,” Luffy said, sparkling. “Learn the sky in Wano, stay together at night. Stay with me, please.” She squeezes her hand.

A wobbly smile slowly crossed Uta's face. “I'd love that,” she whispered. It wasn't a promise, yet it was, and something in her chest loosened tangibly.

The bed gently dipped as Reiju joined them, lying down on Luffy's other side. Uta caught those blue eyes gazing at her with care and concern and blushed, burying her face in the pillow. What a beautiful princess...! “I haven't ever gone star gazing before,” Reiju mused. “I never had the chance to, really. Perhaps I'll join you once in a while...”

Luffy smiled at the thought, her eyes closing. “That would make me happy...” she murmured.

Uta watched her fall asleep, slowly lacing her fingers with Luffy's and holding her hand softly. I love you... she thought. What should I do...? I can't begin New Genesis in Wano, yet here I am... am I... looking for reasons not to go through with it...? Avoid my atonement? Haven't I eluded it long enough? Part of me wants to stay with you... even though that puts you in danger...

A tiny part of her wondered – in a bolt from the blue – if Nika could defeat Tot Musica, once again. If the Demon King could fall. She banished the thought immediately, plunging into the memory of how Elgia burned, livid with herself that she would risk the world in some petty desire to save herself. And yet...

Linlin had fallen. A demon she was not, but...but... A tiny seed of hope, faint and faded though it was, pierced through the barrier around her heart.

Tot Musica twitched, and looked out toward Wano. The escape to his prison was in there, somewhere. Created by Kaido of the Beast Pirates.

Show her the horror you wrought across this place, the Demon King thought with a grin of anticipation that made all life that witnessed it wither and die. Show your unmovable evil, show the mass graves you've laid across the land. Make her have that moment of weakness, and perhaps I'll remake you in a new form in gratitude. Come to me, my dragon pawn... let's build a new world upon your bones!

Chapter 39

Chapter Text

“Over three billion? I've never heard of a bounty being that big, except for Sir Edward's!” Princess Shirahoshi gasped, curling up her tail and lowering her head in hopes of better seeing the bounty poster her new friends were gathered around. “Luffy-hime must be so happy! Oh, her dress is beautiful, too...!” The mermaid princess had seen some of the footage from the battle in Totland, though her father had tried to conceal it from her out of a desire to not expose her to more violence. Seeing her rescuer again had filled her with great joy.

Princess Vivi chuckled softly, tapping her thumb on the edge of the poster's picture. “It is... honestly, I'm amazed that they were able to wrestle her into that thing. I've never met a bigger tomboy in my life than Luffy!” She could still remember the raven-haired girl's displeased reaction to Sanji having gotten her a dancer's outfit to travel through the Alabasta desert, having wanted to wear a 'super secret spy' ensemble.

“Over three billion means that only the other Emperors have bigger bounties than her now,” Rebecca said in wonder. “Sir Law and Portgas D Ace are the ones above and below her now, aren't they?”

“Mmm,” Princess Vivi nodded. “She even outranks Katakuri and King now. Though...I suppose Katakuri isn't too troubled by being outranked by his new wife!”

Shirahoshi all but swooned, clutching her hands against her chest. “He defied his mother for her...!” She gasped. “In front of the whole world! He defended Luffy-hime from her!” While Shirahoshi was naive about much of the world, she'd heard plenty of stories about the Emperors from the guards who kept her company outside her tower and her brothers. Linlin had a monstrous presence, and even she knew how meaningful it was for one of her children to stand up to her.

“He did that, didn't he?” Vivi mused, her lips curving upward into a rueful smile. She's still a little put off at the idea of an older man getting involved with her beloved 'little sister', but she couldn't deny that passionate gesture of love proved that Katakuri's feelings for Luffy were deep and sincere. “How do you do it, Luffy?”

“It's her power,” Rebecca said, bobbling her head. “She can make you believe in her.”

Vivi could only hum in agreement at that.

The Reverie had been slightly delayed by the impromptu world wide viewing of the fall of Big Mom; the World Government had insisted that more security needed to be rerouted to Mary Geosie as a result of this unbalancing of the familiar world order, and Fleet Admiral Akainu had been in a particularly foul mood the one time the visiting royals had seen him in person. That left the princesses with plenty of time to sit and chat with each other, and those who had enjoyed Luffy's company had quickly gravitated to each other and struck up a conversation.

“I'm amazed Dragon came out himself,” Vivi murmured, setting the bounty down to check the relevant newspaper again. “He's very careful to keep under the radar, yet he stepped in to help fight Big Mom directly. I guess he was worried about missing his daughter's wedding.”

“It says here that the Revolution was there to rescue the people of Totland from the tyranny of Charlotte Linlin,” Rebecca said, almost burying her face in her copy of the same paper. “Some of the forces were staying there when the Thousand Sunny departed. I guess he wanted to do that for a while, but didn't feel like he could make a move?”

“I think so. Linlin was incredibly powerful, so it would have been a herculean effort to supplant her permanently... or would have been, without all the allies Lu summoned to the wedding.” Vivi said. “I – I have to admit, when she said that she'd gotten her hat from Red-Haired Shanks, I didn't take her seriously.”

“Why not?” Shirahoshi wondered.

“It just seemed so unbelievable to me at the time! Shanks is easily the oddball of the original four Emperors, but I hadn't been able to imagine him wandering around the East Blue like a regular adventurer back then.” Vivi responded hurriedly, shaking her head. Her cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment. “But seeing his attitude over the transmission set me straight on that. By Nika, Red-Haired Shanks is a goofball.”

Rebecca giggled. “I guess Luffy comes by it honestly,” she suggested cheerfully. Glancing at her paper again, she said, “It was nice to see Mr Zephyr too, after the help he gave us against Doflamingo. I'm happy that he's doing well.”

“Luffy-hime knew him too. She gave him hugs,” Shirahoshi said, remembering how Luffy had inflated her body specifically so she could give the large, lonely mermaid princess a hug after learning her sad history. It had been a warm and wonderful experience.

“That's comprehensible, at least,” Vivi said. “Vice Admiral Garp is her grandfather, and one of Zephyr's old contemporaries. I guess Garp-san took him to meet her while she was growing up.” Given that Luffy called him 'Zephyr-jiji', there was obviously long-standing affection there.

It was incredible, how much power had been concentrated in one place in that moment. Portgas D Ace, Dragon, Shanks, Garp, Zephyr and Luffy herself... Vivi knew, in her gut, that Luffy was the reason that all of them had been there. Nothing else would have brought them all to the same place with the same agenda. No wonder the World Government was getting a little frantic in their desire to bring the newest Emperor down.

“I wish I could have been at the wedding,” Shirahoshi said, pouting a little. “I mean, I wouldn't have enjoyed the fighting and screaming and everything, but Luffy-hime is my friend, and I want to show her that I've gotten tougher! What do you think she'd like for a wedding present, Vivi-chan?”

Vivi's lips quirked upwards. “I think you can't possibly go wrong with some crates of preserved meat,” she said a little cheekily.

Shirahoshi's eyes widened. “Oh... of course.” Memories of Luffy eating enough for twenty people at the celebration following Hody's defeat floated up in her mind. “Ah, but how will I get them to her...?”

“We'd have to know where she was going next,” Rebecca acknowledged. When she'd first seen the newspapers declaring Luffy was getting married, she'd rushed to Violet and pleaded for some practical jewelry or comfortable outfits that she could put together for her dear friend and rescuer as a present. Her sister had laughed gently and given her a wallet to spend on the best that Dressrosa had to offer. The package was prepared, though she and her grandfather had run into the same problem that Shirahoshi had just realized. “Where do you suppose there is to go after taking over Totland?”

“Luffy wants to be King of the Pirates, so she's still trying to find Raftel...” Vivi mused. “I wonder if she's going toward Wano...? Or maybe Elbaf?” No one really knew the precise path that Roger took to the mysterious island where she left her treasure, only that it was deeply treacherous.

Rebecca perked up when a thought occurred to her. “Maybe there will be another visual transmission in the near future, and we'll find out!” She said with some enthusiasm.

Vivi hummed thoughtfully at the idea. “I wouldn't get my hopes up too high. It was Morgans who was transmitting the battle, after all, not one of the Straw Hats.” She observed. “But there's a chance we can send presents to her via News Coos.”

“We can?!” Shirahoshi asked hopefully.

“I don't know for sure,” Vivi said, shaking her head. “But the Coos are able to find pirates and marines at every corner of the world to sell their newspapers. There's a chance father and I can hire some out to deliver our regards and some gifts, assuming they're not too heavy or cumbersome for the birds to carry.”

Rebecca clapped her hands together. “That would be lovely. Can we set that up right here?! I brought my gift along with me.”

“If the Reverie won't start for another two days, then I don't see why not.” Vivi said with a smile. The other two girls exchanged pleased looks, and they all scampered off together.

Their good mood was not shared by the current head of the Navy. The poor grunt who'd been sent to deliver some news to the Fleet Admiral was cowering in the doorway, staring at the pool of magma that the large desk had been reduced to. Sakazuki panted with rage, staring murderously at a point in the floor as his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were close to popping.

“That little brat, an Emperor...?! Allied with Roger's demon spawn, Shanks, Dragon and Zephyr?!” He spat, seething. His boots hammered into the floor as the large man paced back and forth in a vain attempt to vent some of his temper without burning the building down. “Damn Fujitora! Damn him for not killing her when she was weakened by her fight with Doflamingo!”

Thinking about Monkey D Luffy never failed to spike Sakazuki's temper to unhealthy levels... how she had ruined the Marine's attempts to impose Justice and prevented them from executing Ace and Whitebeard. How she'd knocked Kizaru out of the battlefield clear into the Grand Line, how she'd smacked him aside and unshackled the demon from the execution platform. After that loss, piracy had spiked to an even greater high than the months before, like Roger's challenge had been delivered all over again.

Sakazuki hated her as much as he hated Portgas, having vowed in feverish rage that he would personally execute them both with his own hands. He'd protested the orders for CP0 to find and eliminate the girl in the aftermath of their failed war because of that. He'd been overridden, not that it had mattered – dozens of the highly-trained operatives had either vanished or turned up dead without ever reaching Luffy.

And now this. This display of strength, of the people the demon could bring to bear, all because that bastard Morgans had blatantly undermined the World Government and showed the entire world what had happened in Totland!

Sakazuki shot a furious look at the man in the doorway. “You better be here to report that the 'news bird' has been captured and brought for interrogation,” he said with a low snarl.

The man visibly gulped. “Ah... we're still searching for him, F-Fleet Admiral... CP5 has been deployed to the task...” He flinched when Sakazuki stared at him, eye twitching violently. “T-T-They will be providing you constant updates on their progress!”

“Do you have anything useful to report?” Sakazuki demanded.

“A-Ah... I was told to inform you... Admiral Fujitora has been seen in Mary Geosie...”

The young mad saw the snap in his commander's widening eyes and prudently chose to make a quick retreat down the hallway. A wave of magma spilled out the door moments later, triggering every fire alarm in the building, followed by an enraged “DAMMIT!”

“Hey, isn't that Hawkeye?”

Shanks's spirits lifted slightly at Yassop's confused statement, and he immediately reached for his Observation Haki. Sure enough, a familiar cool, composed presence was heading straight for the Red Force, which was currently loitering around the edges of Kaido's territory while its concerned crew tried to hammer out their next move. “'Scuse me,” he said, planting his beer mug on the table and shouldering past Lucky Roux to head for the deck, ignoring the indignant 'OI!' this earned him.

Following the familiar path along the deck to the stern of his vessel, Shanks leaned over the railing and beamed upon spotting a familiar elegant figure anchoring his smaller ship in its usual place. “Mihawk!” He said brightly. “What brings you out here?! Has the World Government finally sent you to collect my head?”

Mihawk lifted his head just high enough to give him a familiar annoyed look. “And why would I entertain such a demand from a pack of fools who can't stop getting embarrassed by a girl who isn't quite twenty?” He asked, his accent even sharper on the sarcastic delivery.

“You were bored?” Shanks offered, unable to help himself.

Mihawk scoffed. “Sometimes I wonder how you conned me into marrying you, you ridiculous man.” He threw a line up and the laughing redhead caught it, securing their ships together. As soon as he'd tied the knot, his swordsman had leapt onto the rail and stepped down on the ship, his golden eyes burning. “The transmissions from Totland reminded me, however.”

Shanks arched an eyebrow at him, then chuckled. “Oh, that. Haha...I would have invited you to come along, but I wasn't sure if you'd be able to make it.” He said teasingly.

Mihawk wordlessly grabbed his collar and pulled him along in his wake, headed straight for their cabin. Shanks stumbled slightly before following along. “Ah – ah, you're in the mood, I get it,” he said, a little flustered and definitely happy. “I've missed you too.”

He's pretty sure his husband literally growled in response.

A few energetic hours later, the captain's cabin was quiet and peaceful. Nestled comfortably against Mihawk's chest, Shanks was roused from his pleasant nap by the feeling of the other swordsman stroking his hair with deceptive gentleness. “What's making you so indecisive about entering Wano?” Mihawk asked upon sensing that he was awake.

“Eh? I was just thinking about where to go next... going to visit Makino, or swinging by to see Dorry and Broggy at Elbaf” Shanks said sleepily.

Mihawk uttered a faintly exasperated snort. “You're worried about Uta. Don't try to hide it.”

The redhead sighed, his arm tightening slightly around his husband's waist. “I could feel Tot inside her when I got there, Hawk,” he murmured. “He was pissed off about me showing up, and he's definitely still steaming about me killing him at Elgia. She looked...she looked and felt so tired. She's been hurting and it was partly my fault.”

“You did the only thing you could have, except for telling her that you had to leave and someday you'd return.” Mihawk said calmly. “I won't debate what you should have done instead that day when there's a more important question to consider – how long can she continue like this before that demon finds an opening to escape again?”

Shanks was silent for a long minute. Trust Mihawk to cut through to the heart of the matter in an instant. He didn't know how long Uta could continue like this, and he was terrified that she had very little time left. “Gordon said that the only way to truly kill Tot Musica was to kill him in the dream world and the real world simultaneously.” He said. “Whenever I come back to that, I can only think that myself and my crew can only succeed in doing half of that, even now.”

“...What if Straw Hat and her crew could handle the other?” Mihawk asked pointedly after a moment of thought.

Shanks instinctively tensed up. All his parental instincts had an apoplectic fit at the idea of exposing both Uta and Luffy to that f*cking demon, forcing him to wrestle them down in order to give the thought some actual consideration. “Luffy... she had help putting Linlin down. I don't know if she's ready yet. She's never fought anything like this.”

Mihawk glanced at him and arched an eyebrow. “Alright, let me rephrase that question. How long do you think Luffy will go before finding out how much danger her first ever friend is in?”

Shanks thought about that for a few seconds, groaned, and buried his face fully in Mihawk's collar. “f*ck,” he muttered. “There goes my ability to sleep for the foreseeable future. Luffy will find out, and sooner rather than later.”

Mihawk nodded slightly, threading his fingers through Shanks's hair. The touch was a little soothing, which he really needed right now. “Then you know where we need to be.”

“Dropping anchor near Wano for when this all goes straight to hell,” Shanks agreed tiredly. Then he paused and ran that sentence over in his head again. “We? As in you and me? You...want to get involved with this mess?”

“...Perhaps it isn't obvious that I remember the little girl who used to attach herself to my leg whenever I visited you back then, but I do.” Mihawk responded after a second's pause. “I have no desire to see her meet a tragic fate.”

Shanks lifted his head and stared at Mihawk for a moment; a shaky smile crossing his face, he ducked his head and kisses his husband deeply. “I love you, hawky,” he whispered when they broke apart.

Mihawk smiled, slight and soft; it went for miles to illuminate his handsome face. “I know.”

“Look alive, everyone! We're almost at the falls!”

Ace's declaration echoed across the ship, causing everyone to drop what they were doing and bolt to the deck where he was standing. The wind whistling around his white coat, the ravenette was grinning broadly and pointing directly ahead, his posture that of a predator heading out to a hunt. Luffy looked around at the massive pillars of stone jutting out from the ocean, the waves swirling around them and the black cover of clouds above, and her heart began to pound with excitement.

“You're sure this is it?” Nami called above the ringing wind.

“He's right,” Katakuri responded, putting his hands on the railing. “Wano is straight ahead. I suggest everyone start tethering themselves to the ship!”

The navigator snapped an alarmed look at him, while Pudding and Uta – well familiar with the antics of the New World's waters – exchange a brief wide-eyed stare before rushing to obey. “Tether? What for?!” Nami demanded.

Ace laughed, ocean green eyes burning. “Well, if you think you can hold on tight with just your hands while we travel up the waterfall, be my guest!”

There was a solid second of confusion while the crew processed this... then Law swore, Sabo bolted for the ropes and Reiju peered warily into the middle distance. “UP?!” Nami repeated, her voice distinctly more high pitched this time. “You can't be serious!”

The young Emperor merely scoffed at that, rolling his eyes. “You traveled up Reverse Mountain to enter the Grand Line, didn't you?! It's the same principle!”

Nami emitted a noise that one wouldn't expect to hear from the human throat, then hurried to get herself tethered. Luffy of course was far too excited for such things, running up to the railing and grabbing Ace's hand. “We're going up?” She asked excitedly. “Oooh, we haven't gone up into the sky since we traveled to the sky islands! Are there angels in Wano?”

“Just one... though he's more a fallen angel, than anything.” Ace mused. Casting his gaze upward, he frowned and glanced at Katakuri. “Hey Kat, what do you think the odds are of King popping out of the sky to try and send us flying on our way in?”

“Mmm...” Katakuri looked upwards. His observation haki has been quiet so far, but that didn't mean Kaido's right hand man wasn't lying in wait. “If Kaido saw our previous battle, I would put even odds on it. He certainly monitors the entrance to his domain these days.”

Ace tsked. “Well, that'll be a problem.”

Luffy blinked guilelessly at them. “Who are we talking about?”

“King the Wildfire,” Katakuri responded, his eyes scanning the dark clouds above. “The only surviving Lunarian, one of Kaido's Headliners.”

“The only survivor...?” Luffy repeated, her expression falling slightly at that.

Jinbe nodded gravely. “There was once a race of people who lived on top of the Red Line, who had a civilization separate from the World Government and those in the oceans.” He told her. “They were a powerful and adaptable people, and they were called the Lunarians; each of them had tanned skin, snow white hair and large, black-feathered wings, along with the ability to control fire as a natural gift.” He grimaced. “However... they were wiped out a few decades ago, by an unknown force.”

“And by 'unknown force', they mean the World Government.” Sabo spat, rejoining them now that he was tethered. Luffy uttered a noise of horrified outrage at that; the blonde nodded sharply, blue eyes blazing with loathing. “The Revolution hasn't dug up all the details yet, but we know that the upper echelons of the Government and the Celestial Dragons considered the Lunarians 'too dangerous' to be allowed to continue.”

“So they killed them all?! Just like they did to Robin's home? Traffy's home? How they tried to kill Ace and killed babies looking for him?!” Luffy demanded, her hands clenching into fists. “Those bastards...! That's unforgivable!”

Jinbe nodded sharply. “I agree. King managed to survive, somehow, and joined with Kaido after encountering him. He's a very dangerous opponent, so be on your guard – if he appears, we'll have grave difficulty bypassing him to enter Wano!”

Luffy looked up toward the sky, searching for any sign of black feathers. She couldn't see anything from this angle, and any sounds were quickly being drowned out by the pounding of a massive waterfall.

“Get ready, everyone!” Ace yelled. “The fish will start jumping any second!” Appearing from the mist was the massive stony cliffs that held Wano above them, along with the immense white waterfall flowing freely from the mouth of the entrance to the reclusive kingdom.

“The fish?!” Sanji repeated, startled.

Uta glanced sideways and yelped in shock when a massive koi fish burst from the water mere yards from the Thousand Sunny, leaping up in a long arc before falling back down into the water. “Holy-!” She grabbed the railing to steady herself. “Koi fish?!”

More fish jumped out of the water, a whole school of them driving towards the waterfall without rest. “But that doesn't make sense, koi are fresh water fish!” Sanji protested, adjusting his tether. “The salt water would be deadly to them!”

“Welcome to the Grand Line, you must be new here.” Sabo said teasingly. The blonde put one hand on his hat to keep it on his head, watching in awe as some of the koi began to launch themselves up the waterfall, trying to swim towards the top. “Whoa...” Sabo's eyes widened in realization. “Wait, is that how you got into Wano the first time?! Ace!”

His brother had the nerve to laugh cheerfully at him.

“You've got to be kidding me,” Law uttered when he put the pieces together, watching a pair of koi burst from the waterfall and fall all the way back down to the ocean below with an unforgiving crash. “That's the only way?!”

“Unless you can make this ship fly, darlin', it's fish wrangling or bust!” Ace responded playfully. Law gave him a death glare even as his cheeks flushed a light shade of red.

Luffy lit up. “Oh! Oh, I can do this!” She launched herself up onto the lion figurehead and wrapped her legs around it dozens of times, securing herself in place. Katakuri looked out in alarm and immediately encased her up to her waist in hard mochi to provide extra security. “Shishishi! Thanks, Kat! Bring us in close, Jinbe!”

“Aye, Captain.” Jinbe said, accepting the absurd scenario with hardly a blink. Nami uttered a despairing noise and grabbed onto the mast for all that she was worth; Uta let go of the rail to run over and join her, not wanting to risk getting washed overboard.

“This is ridiculous! Insane! Are you serious?!” Pudding babbled, having climbed up into the deck tree's branches to cling to them like a terrified cat.

“Oooh, I don't wanna ride the Knock Up Steam again!” Chopper whimpered. He bolted over to Law and latched onto the other doctor's leg. “Tell me when it's over!”

“O-Oi! Let go!” Law sputtered in protest, shaking his leg slightly in vain.

Reiju looked up at the falls as they drew perilously close to the pounding waterfall. The intensity of the falling water was such that could easily obliterate an unlucky ship trapped beneath it, a hammer into the ocean that was a marvel to witness even among the New World's many sights. The princess found herself beaming at the sight, excitement pulsing through her at this obstacle and the plan to pass through it. “What a sight,” she said with a fiendish grin. “Take us up, Captain.”

Luffy grinned. “Right! C'mere, fish!” She launched her hands out like harpoons, grabbing onto the fins of the massive koi that had just begun their ascent. Immediately the Sunny was yanked forward and lifted out of the water; Brook yelped as their ship became airborne, the deck tilting nearly ninety degrees underneath their feet. There were a few sweatdrops on Sunny's lion head figure as her keel touches down in the waterfall, heading up towards the sky just like her predecessor had.

Ace laughed, hanging onto the rail and having the time of his life. “Suicidal lunatics!” Nami shrieked, cringing against the unrelenting force of gravity.

Carrot cheered in joy, despite the fact that she was hanging from her tether due to her feet having slipped out from under her. “We're climbing a waterfall, Chopper aniki!” She shrieked with joy. “The world is so amazing!”

Chopper's incoherent response was practically drowned out by the crashing water; despite his complaints, Law was holding the rail with one hand and pinning the smaller doctor to hip with his other arm. “This better work, Ace!” He yelled.

He was going to kill Sachi and Penguin for not warning him about this! They better not have gotten the Tang damaged on their way up!

Luffy laughed, not afraid in the slightest. “Let's go!” She bellowed, urging her impromptu mounts onward. Katakuri held tight to the rigging, his attention solely on Luffy and her current position. The rainwater lashed against them as they powered closer to the top, almost over the edge...

Sunny flew up into the air, cresting over the top of the waterfall. Luffy cheered, looking out in awe across the waiting water before them. Her crew's screaming behind her increased in volume as the fish splashed down into the water, bringing the Sunny down with them. The ship crashed down and was almost submerged by the water, but her buoyancy held, and after rocking violently a few times, she leveled out.

“Shishishishishi!” Luffy cackled, releasing the fish and snapping her arms back to normal. Her excitement was through the roof. “That was amazing!”

Nami grumbled inaudibly as she weakly pushed herself up off the deck. “Why are the waters around Wano so ridiculous...?” She lamented.

Katakuri withdrew the mochi holding Luffy in place and looked around. “Is everyone alright?” He asked gruffly.

“I've lost all feeling in my right leg; apart from that, I'm fine.” Law deadpanned. Chopper looked up at him, blushed slightly, and mumbled an apology before releasing his death grip on the tall man's limb.

“Ooooh...” Uta sat up against the mast, cringing and rubbing the back of her head. “Ow... please tell me we don't have to do that again for a while...” She asked hopefully.

“That's the last waterfall, though the currents around here are pretty unfriendly.” Ace said, straightening up. Luffy untangled herself from the figurehead and hopped down onto the deck, immediately zooming over to Uta to check on her. “We're not out of the woods yet.”

“Seriously...?!” Pudding whined, dropping down from the tree into a bowl of waiting mochi. “Ugh... I thought my heart was going to explode out of my chest...”

Luffy knelt down and slid her arms around Uta. “How's your head, Uta-chan?” She asked.

Those violet eyes fluttered and a little blush colored her cheeks. “It's just a little sore...” She mumbled. “My mind's pretty clear, so I don't think I'm concussed.”

“Chopper!” The little zoan rushed over at his captain's call, much to Uta's embarrassment. While Chopper gave her a quick checkup and Luffy hovered, Sabo walked up to the front end of the ship and peered into the waters up ahead.

“Either we haven't been spotted yet...” The blonde observed with a low, wary voice. “Or the Beast Pirates have noticed us and they're letting us come this far.”

“Why would they do that?” Ace asked, frowning slightly. “Kaido isn't adverse to a show of force.”

“I know...” Sabo glanced at him, gnawing at the edge of his thumb. “But at the same time, the man's not just a brute. If he watched Linlin fall, Luffy is on his radar and not just as some wannabe pirate who can't possibly be a problem for him. I guess I'm on edge because there's no way to tell if we've been seen.”

Ace looked out across the water and up at the sky. There's no sign of King, yet... “I guess we'll find out once we hit land.” He said. “Let's stick to the plan for now. If he has noticed us arrive, it's all the more important to get disguised and keep a low profile.” He grimaced in distaste. “Dammit, I can't believe I'm saying this...”

Sabo rolled his eyes, punching him in the shoulder. “Oh, please. You managed for almost two weeks, man up and keep at it.”

“Shaddup...”

They weren't able to dwell on whether or not Kaido had noticed them approaching for long; drawing close to the coastline, the Sunny suddenly found herself caught up in a whirlpool. “Seriously?!” Nami shrieked. “Cut us a freaking break!” A loud rumble of thunder cracked through the sky, as if expressing how little Mother Nature cared about her stress levels.

“The Sunny can take this!” Luffy insisted. “She'll hold up, and we can't lose her!” She looked from side to side and grimaced. “Jinbe, can you get us out of the current?!”

“I can try, but it'll be a bumpy ride at best!” Jinbe shouted, bolting for the side of the ship. “Sanji, Law, can you take people to shore from here?!”

Sanji looked across the deck and cursed. “Yes, but it'll be a one way trip, and there's too many of us!” He protested. “Sunshine-”

“I'm not leaving Jinbe and the Sunny!” Luffy responded firmly. “Trust our new helmsman, take Pudding and Carrot and Uta out to land!”

Uta visibly flared. She ran to Luffy and grabbed onto her arm like a vice. “Absolutely not!” She shrieked, her mind full of images of her beloved drowning. “I'm not leaving you!”

“But Uta-” Luffy started to protest, faltering when Uta stares at her with a near manic look in her eyes. “Ah...!”

Katakuri shook his head and grabbed Pudding, handing his protesting sister off to Sanji. Reiju flipped her Raid Suit over in her hand and transformed, gaining access to her air shoes. “I'll help you both,” she said. “Carrot, Pedro, come here, quickly.”

The two minks nodded hurriedly and scrambled up her back. The pinkette cast a somewhat concerned look to her captain and said, “Hold onto a den-den, contact us when you reach land!” With that she took off across the sky, headed toward the shadowed landmass ahead of them.

Sanji squeezed Pudding's wrist reassuringly while Law glanced sideways at Ace. The two men had a brief, silent conversation before Law cursed and uttered, “You idiots better not drown!” Before teleporting off of the deck. A few seconds later, Chopper and Brook were replaced by fallen twigs one after the other. Sanji took off last, carrying a worried Pudding with him.

“Why aren't you two moving?” Ace asked Sabo and Katakuri as Jinbe's fishman karate twisted up the current, trying to pull the whirlpool apart.

Sabo gave him and Luffy a very deadpan look. “Is that supposed to be a joke?” He asked incredulously. “For god's sake, you three are the anchors on the crew!”

“Very bold of you to assume I'd leave Luffy's side willingly,” Katakuri said flatly. “Stay close.” Uta looked up and gasped when the five of them were encased in a small castle of mochi, which quickly anchored itself to the Sunny's deck. Provided with an air bubble and some protection from the water, the family held on for dear life as Sunny was tossed and turned like a top.

The Sunny made it to shore in the middle of the night, and everyone more or less passed out upon reaching it. The landing had not been gentle. Though as Luffy had predicted, the ship had held together, and she woke up unharmed on the deck with the sun shining down on them.

“Ugh...” she groaned, putting one hand on her stomach. “That was the most sea sick I've been in forever...” Mumbling to herself, she sat up slowly and looked around. There was open beach for miles on each side of the Sunny. Luffy took a deep breath, trying to ease the knot in her stomach. “Everyone...”

Uta was asleep right next to her, a little unkempt but otherwise perfectly unharmed. Ace and Sabo were on the left of her, while Katakuri was in front of them – in a defensive position, as always. Luffy moved around, checking their temperatures and for any signs of injury, before looking about in concern. “Jinbe?”

Pushing herself to her feet, Luffy hurried to the edge of the Sunny and peered over the side. A huge sigh of relief escaped her when she spotted her helmsman sleeping peacefully on the beach. “Good. Very good...” Placing her hat back on her head, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax. “That was rough.”

Staring down the length of the beach, she mused “I wonder how far away we are from the others... I can't see anything but sand and water from here.”

A couple of loud crashing sounds and animal cries get her attention. Puzzled, Luffy turned around and saw what looked like a massive monkey and a dog having a fight. “Oh, wow... those are almost as big as the guys I ran into at Strong World and during training,” she observed, blinking. “Huh. Wano already feels a little homey!”

“Ugh... Nika, that was just as bad as the first time around,” Ace's sleepy complaint rose behind her. The young Emperor pushed himself up on his elbows, pawing around for his hat. “Does anyone else feel like they've been chewed and spat out by a sea king? Of all times to send Law and Chopper off...”

Uta just groaned pitifully. “Are all my travels with you going to end with me having the most amazing headache?” The singer wondered blearily.

Sabo rolled to his feet and gave her a rueful smile. “Honestly, with the way things often go for us, getting off with just a headache is pretty lucky.” He offered her his hand. Uta uttered a tired, amused chuckle and grabbed the offered help gladly, letting the blonde pull her to her feet.

“What's causing that noise?” Katakuri wondered, getting up himself. Joining Luffy at the side of the ship, he regarded the struggle between the two animals with curiosity. “...Huh. The creatures from Merville wouldn't have been able to travel this far into the New World, would they?”

Luffy scratched the back of her neck. “I don't think so? For some reason Shiki didn't have a lot of bird monsters.”

“Nah, those are locals.” Ace confirmed, putting his hat on and joining them. “There's at least one family of boars that are literally the size of mountains.”

“Seriously?” Uta asked. She wasn't as surprised as Nami might have been, being more familiar with the New World.

“Yup. I think it was called the Mountain God.” Ace hopped over the side of the ship, walking over to Jinbe to check on him. Curious now, Luffy followed after him, landing on the sand and trotting toward the two squabbling animals.

The dog looked a little tired and battered, like he'd been fighting for a while. The monkey was also using a sword; that was kinda neat! None of the Merville creatures had done anything like that. Luffy came close to them and peered up at the struggle, wondering if she should step in on the dog's behalf or let him continue to battle for his honor, when something pinged sharply in her Observation Haki.

The vision was quick and brief – there's someone approaching in the woods, aiming a gun loaded with sedative darts at her. Luffy blinked and smirked slightly, leaning backwards just so and letting the bullet whisk harmlessly past her. “Oho?” She grinned. “Hey guys, someone's here!”

Kat was at her side faster than she could blink – almost literally, wow – and launched a jet of mochi into the treeline. The gunman's mount was captured up to its neck instantly, flinging both its rider and the wriggling bag that had been tied to its saddle flying off its back and into the golden sand. The man started to stand up, cursing, only for a heavy iron pipe to slam into the back of his skull and drop him instantly. Sabo snorted, letting his weapon rest against his shoulder. “He's just a thug, not a proper welcome wagon. Law's blood pressure is safe for now,” the blonde said cheerfully.

“There's another one,” Ace pointed out somewhat needlessly, given the other guy had just entered the beach and was staring slack-jawed at the welcome party there to greet him. The poor bastard barely had the time to yell at the monkey to attack before the Emperor flash stepped in front of him and delivered a burning haymaker to his face that send him spinning down the beach, instantly unconscious.

Luffy glanced sideways and noticed that the monkey had turned towards them, albeit the animal's expression suggested that it didn't much like its odds. She gave him a sweet smile and applied just a hint of her Conquerors Haki to it. “You don't wanna do that. Let's be friends!” She offered.

The monkey shivered, dropped its sword like it was poisonous, and sat down in a 'please don't hit me, I won't fight' sort of posture. Luffy's smile softened and she playfully tipped her hat to him, which made him and the dog relax a little.

“If there's just two of them, you're probably right, Sabo-san.” Jinbe observed, having been fully woken up by the scuffle. “That's a relief.”

The wiggling bag finally came open, and out popped – a small child? Luffy blinked when a small ball of purple, green and yellow appeared in the corner of her vision; a girl, maybe eight or nine years old, scurried backwards and scrambled to her feet, staring wide-eyed at the collection of people on the beach. Her gaze nervously travelling between Jinbe – having never seen a fishman before – Katakuri with his sharp teeth, towering figure and intimidating biker dress, and Luffy who had subdued a great beast with a sideways look and a warning... well, a kid could be forgiven for jumping to the conclusion that she was in danger.

Immediately she stuck her hands in the air and babbled, “I surrender! I surrender!”

Ace jolted at her voice and wheeled around toward her, staring. Luffy tilted her head to the side. “Eh?” She wondered. “What are you talking about.”

“I-I'm saying that I surrender!” The girl said nervously, her knees buckling a little. “I won't fight back, so please, don't hurt me.”

Sabo shook his head, quickly stowing his pipe away. “Hey, it's alright,” he said as soothingly as he could manage.

Ace tipped his hat back and put his hands on his hips. “You're surrendering already? Geez, at least tie us up and steal all our food first,” he said teasingly. “C'mon, you were bold enough to tie up a pirate crew once before.”

The little girl froze, while Luffy gave him a flabberghasted look. “What?! No! Don't encourage her to take the food!” She cried. “What about my meat?!”

“...A-Aniki?” The girl uttered, staring at Ace with wide eyes.

Ace smiled sweetly at her, his own eyes a little shiny. “Hi, Tama,” he said softly. “Long time no see.”

Luffy uttered a noise of surprise. Tama's reaction was much more intense; her eyes welled up with joyful tears, and she smiled so widely it must have hurt a little. “Aniki!” She stumbled and ran across the sand, all but flinging herself at Ace's torso. He snatched her up off her feet and hugged her tightly, letting her wrap her arms around his neck and sob joyfully into his neck. “Anikiiiiii!”

Uta's lips parted in amazement, staring at the scene. Sabo's mouth opened and closed before realization seemed to kick in and he murmured, “Oh.” Katakuri started to smile, confused though he was, at the obvious reunion playing out in front of them.

“Ooof... you've gotten bigger,” Ace commented playfully, in the name of keeping his voice steady. As his arms pressed into her, however, his stomach lurched at the abrupt realization that he could feel every one of her ribs. “Tama...”

“You came back...” Tama wept joyfully, clinging to him like a koala oblivious to this. “You made it back! I knew you would! I knew you'd be back...! Ace...!”

“Of course I came back,” Ace whispered, swallowing over a note of distress. “I promised.”

Tama continued to wail and hug him, overwhelmed. The others wandered closer, along with her dog who was barking in concern over her emotional outburst. After a minute of so of Ace rubbing her back and murmuring soothingly to her, Tama managed to get her breathing under control and sniffled, rubbing furiously at her face. “Aw... I didn't mean to cry so much... a kunoichi doesn't cry!”

“I think they do, if the circ*mstances are right.” Katakuri said.

“Who's this, Ace?” Luffy asked, her confusion long gone and replaced with curiosity.

Ace gently pried Tama's arms from around his neck, placing her on her feet and keeping one hand on her shoulder. “Guys, this is Tama,” he said fondly. “I met her when I came to Wano for the first time. Tama, this is my brother Sabo, my girlfriend Luffy, and my friends Uta, Katakuri and Jinbe.”

“Ohhh...” Tama said in awe, looking up at Luffy. Her eyes widened. “Oh! This is that lady you were always talking about? Wow! You're so pretty, miss!”

Luffy giggled, bending down slightly so she was at Tama's eye level. She's so cute!, she couldn't help but think. Anyone who adored Ace as much as this girl clearly did was immediately a person who was important to her. “Thank you!” She said with a smile.

Sabo took his hat off and bowed politely to Tama, who blushed and smiled at being regarded so respectfully. “It's nice to meet you, Tama,” he said warmly.

Uta nodded vigorously, having the exact same train of thought as Luffy. Cute! “Are you okay? Those brutes had you stuffed in a bag,” she said, tucking a few loose strands of the girl's hair behind her ear in a motherly manner. Katakuri glanced at the fallen bodies of the men in question at her observation and contemplates impaling them on spikes.

Tama nodded. “Mmhmm! I'm really tough! I'm going to be a kunoichi, after all!”

“You're sure? There's no shame in wanting to have some bruises or cuts taken care of,” Uta offered, wanting to be sure. “You're so brave, bouncing back from being kidnapped this fast.”

Tama lights up at the compliment. “I'm sure! Thank you for rescuing me!”

Luffy patted her on the head. “Aww, it was no trouble.” As far as she was concerned, their entrance to Wano is off to a fantastic start. “Do you want food? I'm kinda hungry myself.”

Tama's eyes grew really wide, like Luffy was offering her the sun and the moon both. Not quite daring to believe she was actually being offered food, she nodded vigorously. Ace smiled, his eyes not quite hiding his worry, and the crew turned back toward the Sunny to see if any of the food supplies had survived their tumultuous arrival.

Chapter 40

Chapter Text

“I'm glad we had enough supplies survive to make a decent soup,” Sabo mused, carefully stirring the bubbling pot in front of him. It was chicken soup with some vegetables, diced very fine. “I wasn't expecting the landing to be that hard on the cargo hold.”

“My apologies,” Jinbe said solemnly. “The currents here are some of the strongest I've encountered across the entire world. It's no wonder no one seems to be able to make a gentle landing when they arrive here; even the Moby took quite a bit of damage after being tossed up on the surf.”

Katakuri looked down into the pot, then sideways at Tama, who was sitting on Ace's leg and very badly trying to pretend that the smell of the soup wasn't making her stomach snarl. The ravenette was doing his best to distract her while Luffy and Uta hunted for in-tact bowls and spoons, but the desperate longing in the little girl's eyes troubled the man.

“Can we really not feed her anything more than this?” He asked Sabo.

The Revolutionary winced slightly. “I understand the impulse, but the first thing I learned about feeding refugees was that starving people can easily die from refeeding syndrome.” He said, adding a little spice. “When you go for long enough without decent food, or even thin gruel, your stomach and immune system get damaged and weaken significantly. If they're suddenly reintroduced to a heavy full course meal, the body will violently reject it; best case scenario, the patient throws it up, but...”

Sabo gave Tama a worried look of his own, carefully pitching his voice so she won't overhear him. “Some people aren't that lucky. As badly as I want to give her all the food she could possibly want, I doubt she's ate anything better than thin gruel for weeks. We have to reintroduce her to a proper diet slowly and carefully.”

Katakuri closed his eyes, a slight shiver passing through his shoulders. He'd never starved, not at any point in his life. He had no experience with it. “Food could kill a starving child...” he wondered, slightly shaking his head. “How twisted...”

Sabo nodded sharply in agreement, his eyes darkening with memories of times he'd helped feed civilians the Revolution had liberated. “In time, she'll be able to eat just like Luffy and Ace once again.” He said, the words sounding like a promise as much as a statement. “We just have to get her there.”

Katakuri was in full agreement on the sentiment. “What does Kaido possibly have to gain from starving Wano's population?” He wondered. “He needs people working his weapons factories and production lines. The strong make many, the starving make few, and the dead make none. He should feed them decently even if only for pragmatism's sake.”

“If you'll forgive me, it's the same reason your mother tore out chunks of people's souls for the pleasure of living under her and maybe getting crushed to death in one of her hunger rampages.” Sabo said icily. “It's a showing of power... and not feeding them means there's all the more for him and his thugs to indulge in.”

Katakuri grunted in acknowledgement, a thunderous scowl crossing his face. Jinbe bore a similar dark look, thinking about the state Koala had been in when she'd first come into the Sun Pirate's care. At least Tama's spirit seemed unbroken; Ace's company had kept her from being beaten down by Kaido's cruel rule.

“-and literally smacked the guy across the ocean and into the Red Line,” Ace bragged with a grin, entertaining Tama with a carefully edited version of the events of Marineford. He'd started telling her about what he'd been up to since leaving Wano for the first time, how he'd found a family that came rushing to his rescue when he found himself in a bind. “You've never seen the Lead Performers in person, but imagine one of Kaido's big, scary monsters getting slapped so hard they're sent flying right out of Wano and past the falls into the ocean beyond!”

“Oooooh!” Tama gasped. “That's amazing!” Luffy and Uta emerged from the hallway carrying cutlery and plates. “Luffy-oneechan is that strong?”

“She's my goddess,” Ace responded without hesitation.

Stars shone in the little girl's eyes. “She rescued you, then?” Tama asked, grabbing his left arm and worriedly inspecting his wrist for any sign of the shackles having left scars on his skin. “Ahhh... I'm so relieved...” She hugged him again.

Ace ruffled her hair gently. “Yeah, I was just fine in the end.” He said softly. “I have a great family... and I can finally start introducing you to some of them.”

Luffy giggled slightly, a happy smile crossing her face as she flopped down on the ground next to her. “We found the china!” She said. “Uta wrapped them really well, I think over half of them survived!”

“And Nami's wallet rejoices,” Uta joked, already well acquainted with that side of the Straw Hat navigator. “The soup smells good, Sabo! Is it ready yet?”

“Mmmm, I think so.” Sabo said, testing the warm liquid with a small spoon. “It's not Sanji caliber, but I hope you'll like it, Tama.”

The little girl's stomach grumbled loudly. Tama flushed with embarrassment, wrapping her arms around her stomach; part of her wanted to flee in embarrassment, but thankfully the call of food overwhelmed that instinct. She scrambled over to the pot and shakily accepted the bowl Uta offered her. Ace kept right at her side, hovering like a worried mother owl as Sabo started to serve her. Luffy sat on her other side and watched attentively.

“It's warm...” Tama said reverently as her bowl is topped off. Her fingers shook a little as she clutches the offering, her eyes welling up slightly. “This is really all for me?”

Luffy nodded excitedly. “Yup!”

“B-But...don't you want some too?” Tama asked, looking around the group. Surely a bunch of grown ups, especially the really big guys with sharks teeth, would need to whole pot of soup to have a good lunch?

Luffy blinked, tilting her head to the side. “What do you mean?” She asked. “We're grown ups, so we don't need as much food as you. So eat up! If you want seconds, just say so!” Tama's eyes watered at the words, tears of joy quickly spilling down her cheeks. She was too overwhelmed to speak, only bowing her head repeatedly to somehow express her gratitude.

Uta, Ace and Sabo stared wide-eyed at her at that declaration, their mouths dropping open. Luffy, Luffy, saying that she doesn't need food and giving it all to someone else? Such an impossible sight refused to be processed for a long minute. The way her eyes skittered longingly to the pot made it clear that she wanted to eat badly, but was holding herself back.

Luffy bit her lip to swallow up any complaints and gently puts her hands on top of Tama's, having noticed that the little girl's hands were shaking. “It's all yours, Tama.” She said.

“Eat slowly,” Ace cautioned the little girl as she lifted the bowl to her lips. “Savor the flavor, right?” Katakuri watched attentively, grimly aware that neither Chopper nor Law were close on hand and hoping that Tama would be able to retain the meal.

Tama gulped down a few mouthfuls. Slowly at first, then quickly and a little desperately. Luffy restrains her a little to keep her from trying to drain the whole bowl in one go. Tama squeaked a little in protest, swallowing once more before coming up for air. Lowering the bowl, the little girl stared straight ahead with a heartbreaking look of awe in her face.

“It's so good...!” Tama whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks as her smile all but splits her face. “It's so good!” She lifted the bowl again and attempts to gulp down the rest in a rush; Luffy winced and held her hands firmly so she didn't overfill her stomach.

“Slowly, slowly,” Sabo cautioned her, a little misty-eyed and smiling himself. “The soup's not going anywhere.”

Ace put a hand on Tama's back. Tama obediently slowed down, her swallowing more spaced apart as she finished up the soup. Uta placed a glass of water next to her and knelt down so she was more or less at the girl's eye level.

“Mmph...” Tama hiccupped and put the bowl down, rubbing her eyes. “I-I can't stop crying... I'm sorry...”

Luffy shook her head and patted Tama's hair reassuringly. “Cry when you're sad, or when you're really happy,” she said. “There's no shame in being sincere. If you keep it all inside you, you'll end up bursting eventually. Like a balloon with too much air in it!” Ussop had experienced that at Water 7...

Tama squeaked at the mental image. “I don't wanna burst!” She gasped, wrapping her arms around her stomach and looking down at herself in alarm.

Uta smacked Luffy on the shoulder. “Your body won't literally explode,” she told the girl. “But the sentiment is a good one. Don't be embarrassed, Tama.”

“How are you feeling?” Ace fretted, causing her to look up at him. “Is it settling alright? You're not feeling any pain in your stomach?”

Tama shook her head joyfully. “No... for the first time, I'm not hungry!” She got up and ran over to Sabo, hugging him around the middle. “Thank you, thank you, thank you Mister Sabo! Thank you for the soup!”

“Ooof,” Sabo gasped slightly at the impact – sheesh, she's got a strong grip for a hungry girl! -- before smiling and hugging her back in return. “You're welcome.”

Katakuri relaxed. She's keeping it down, good. He'll keep a close eye on her for the rest of the day, in case she's having a delayed reaction.

“What happened that you ended up getting kidnapped by those goons?” Ace asked when Tama eventually released Sabo from her death grip. “They hadn't come out as far as your village the last time I was here.”

Tama turned towards him and winced, twiddling her fingers. “Oh... I'd gone out to do some shopping in Kuri,” she mumbled. “I ran into them there, and they were pushing me around. I got really upset and I told 'em that when the Kozuki came back they'd get their butts kicked. They got mad at me and stuffed me in the bag.”

Ace blanched in pure alarm; Katakuri can sympathize – he immediately got 'one of my younger brothers isn't taking a sea king seriously' chills. “You can't go around saying things like that without someone protecting you,” he said chidingly, instinctively. “I know bearing with their unjust abuse is infuriating, but you must be more careful. Your life is a precious thing; guard it with all that you have.”

Tama bobbled her head, looking abashed. His kind words made him less intimidating for her; she looked shyly up at him. “Are you guys part of Ace's crew?” She asked, looking around. A disappointed expression crossed her face. “Where's your kitty, aniki?”

Ace chuckled a little helplessly. “Kotatsu is fine, she and the others are on their way.” He said. “I promise, she's excited to see you too.” Kotatsu and Tama had become best friends once he'd endeared himself to the village; whenever Tama wasn't with him, she was with Kotatsu, playing with her or napping on her back with the large cat treating the little girl like her kitten. She'd sulked for weeks after they left Wano back then.

“I'm captain of my own crew!” Luffy said, punching one hand in the air. “We're the Straw Hat Pirates! Katakuri and I just got married a week or so ago, he hasn't picked an assignment on the ship yet but I think he'd make a great ship guard!”

Katakuri chuckled. “Admittedly I was a bit distracted by previous events... if you desire a ship guard, I'll preform the role to the best of my ability.” He said.

“Ace and I have allied our crews together, basically.” Luffy continued enthusiastically. “We're gonna get married too! So we do our own thing, and sometimes we help each other out when we've got the same problem facing us.”

Tama blinked in comprehension, then brightened. “Really?! Aniki confessed to you?” Ace grinned that goofy, warm smile that makes him uniquely approachable, warm and likeable. Katakuri felt his spirit lift whenever he saw it. The young man's charisma is deadly...

At the confirmation, Tama squealed and started bouncing in place, absolutely over the moon. “Yes! Yes, yes, yes! I'm so happy!” The girl said, remembering the stories Ace had told her about the strange, beautiful, kind and free spirited girl who lifted his spirit out of darkness and held his heart in her hands.

“You're so sweet,” Ace said with a slight blush.

Luffy grinned, wiggling her wrist in Jinbe's direction. “That's Uncle Jinbe, my helmsman! He's a fishman!”

Tama turned and looked up at Jinbe with big eyes. “O-Oh...you, you're a fish person?” She whispered uncertainly. “I've never seen someone like you before...”

Jinbe nodded, heartened at the lack of screaming, fear or disgust from her. Instead, she was looking at him with awe; yes, he clearly intimidated her somewhat, but his aquatic features didn't make him inhuman to her. “Our ancestral island home is quite far from here,” he acknowledged. “I'm not surprised.” Wano's stance of isolation had lasted as long as recorded history went, so it wasn't too surprising that this little girl hadn't met fishmen before him. “It's nice to meet you, Tama.”

“This is Uta-chan. She's not a pirate, she's a singer, and the best one there is!” Luffy continued, causing Tama to turn around and look up at Uta with curious eyes. The other girl gave her sweet smile and a friendly wave. “And that's Sabo, he's a Revolutionary!”

“Revolutionary?” Tama repeated, testing the unfamiliar word.

“We're an organization dedicated to toppling tyrants and improving the lives of people who have suffered underneath them,” Sabo explained. Tama's eyes grew really wide as she rolled that near-mythical concept around in her head. “I came with Ace and Luffy in order to lend a hand.”

“That's so cool...” Tama whispered. Her hands clap together and she looked over at the soup pot with mixed emotions. “Ah... c-can I make a selfish request...?”

“What's the matter?” Ace asked.

Tama vibrated in place for a moment before blurting out, “C-Can we bring some soup to my master? Back in my home village? He's taken care of me for a while now, and whenever he finds good food he always gives it to me... I'd like him to have something nice, too!”

Luffy blinked. “How's that selfish? We gotta to in land anyway to find the rest of our nakama, so it's not a big deal.” She smiled at the girl's hopeful look. “So let's go! Show us where you live!”

Tama melted in relief. “Thank you, onee-chan!”

Sabo and Jinbe set about finding some way to pack up the remaining soup, while the others exited the Sunny and left the cave they'd moved the ship to in order to keep it hidden. The dog and the monkey were still lingering on the beach nearby, the former becoming very animated when Tama jumped down on the sand. The latter by comparison seemed dazed and directionless, like it wasn't sure what to do with itself.

“Oh, this is my chance...!” Tama said, trotting towards the monkey.

Uta instinctively tried to stall her with a hand on her shoulder. “Tama, that thing is dangerous,” she protested. “Stay behind us.”

Tama shook her head. “No no, it's fine – I can make him my friend with my powers,” she said earnestly.

“Powers?” Uta parroted, letting her go nonetheless. Tama nodded and scampered up to the monkey, who made a confused sound and tensed up a little when he spotted Luffy.

Ace grinned. “Tama has a devil fruit power,” he explained when Tama grasped one of her cheeks with two fingers. “She can create little dango rolls that, if given to animals to consume, makes them completely loyal to her.” Luffy and Uta made identical bug-eyed expressions watching as the purple-haired girl pulled out a bit of her cheek to create the little ball of food. “It's a hell of a power, given the kind of fauna that roam around these parts.”

“Doesn't that hurt?” Uta asked weakly as Tama offered the dango to the monkey, who accepted it after a few second's hesitation.

“It stings a little, I think, but she bounces back pretty fast.” Ace responded, one hand on his hips. “She's a tough kid.”

“If she can still wear such a warm, happy smile when she's that hungry...I have no doubt,” Uta murmured, biting her bottom lip. “Ace...”

The Emperor grimaced, tilting his head down so his hat shadowed his face. “I know,” he uttered with a mixture of rage and grief. “When I picked her up, I could feel all of her ribs. She weighs nothing. It wasn't this bad when I first met her...!”

Luffy turned to him in concern. “Ace...”

“...I should have taken her with me,” Ace muttered, glaring at his feet. “I thought it was too dangerous, the New World being what it is... that if she stayed in her village, she could at least count on being overlooked by the Beast Pirates and wouldn't be targeted by Marines... But what difference would that make if she died of hunger before even turning fifteen...?!”

Katakuri watched Tama's power take hold; the monkey's demeanor instantly changed, a smile appearing on its face and its posture becoming warm and friendly just like the dog's. For a second he hesitated...then the words came to him.

“Ace... it's because of you that she survived this long,” he said, causing the young man to snap a startled look at him. “Children who starve very young... their immune systems are already weak, so it's almost always a death sentence. Disease takes them in the night. But when you came to Wano those years ago, you ensured that she ate well and was taken care of. In doing so, you strengthened her body enough that when hard years returned, she had the constitution to bear through them. And now we're here. Is that not enough?”

Ace stared at him, slowly absorbing his words. After a hesitant moment, he smiled, a glimmer of gratitude in his eyes. “Yeah... Now's the time to turn things around.”

Luffy was a little worried about Tama. Whenever she thought about going without food these days, her thoughts were drawn back to the Starvation Hell level of Impel Down. How the bodies of the dead withered away and dissolved into sand... how gaunt and awful all the prisoners had looked. Bon-chan had weathered it pretty well, but he'd looked like a skeleton. She'd put it at the back of her mind at the time, since all her focus had to be on saving Ace, but when she thought about it afterwards... that level had disturbed her the most on a visceral level.

The idea of a child being subjected to that drawn out starvation? It made her sick. It made her very worried. And most of all, it made her really, REALLY ANGRY. But there's no one in reach for her to beat up, so she bundled it all up inside her and held it there for later.

Tama's animal friends were carrying them through the forest towards her village, and she seemed to be in good spirits, but Luffy couldn't shake that nagging feeling of concern. How long had she been starving? When was the last time she had a good, filling meal, with meat and fruit and dessert to go with it?

And who did Luffy have to beat the crap out of in order to get her a meal like that?

They didn't have to travel for too far before coming to Tama's home village. Or... it used to be a village. Luffy heard Ace's sharp intake of breath when they exited the treeline and entered a completely barren area. There used to be houses and a well here, but what remained now was a blasted heath; the crumbling buildings were all abandoned except for one, which was freshly painted red and happily pointed out by Tama. The well was collapsed, the pathways were faded, and there wasn't any sign that anyone else had been here for a long time.

“...How many people used to live here, Ace...?” Sabo asked, his voice tightly controlled.

“Hundreds,” Ace said simply, flames flickering around his wrists.

“Tch...!” Uta bit down her thumb, her expression unusually thunderous. She stared at the remains of the village with anger in her eyes that Luffy had never seen before... “Those scumbags...!”

Oblivious to their observations, Tama hopped down from her dog's back and ran toward the red doored house. “Master!” She cried happily. “Master, are you home? The most amazing thing happened!” Luffy jumped down too, holding one of the clay jars they'd put the soup in as carefully as she could.

For a second there was silence, then the doors slid open to reveal- “Ussop?” Luffy uttered in confusion. “I thought you were in the Flower Capital.”

Ussop(?) stared at Tama, completely ignoring her. That allowed for a delayed firing of her neurons to observe that what she'd thought was her sniper's long nose was actually just part of a decorative crimson mask. This guy was too old and broad to be her nakama; he's dressed sorta like Kin'emon and Momo, and he has a sword too. Is he a samurai?

“Tama... who are these people?” The man asked, his tone sharp and wary.

Tama ran up to him and bowed, before excitedly saying, “Ace came back! You remember me telling you about him, right?” She said joyfully. Waving one arm enthusiastically in Ace's direction, she said, “He and his friends rescued me on the beach, and they made me this delicious soup! There's enough of it that you can have some too! You have to try it, it's so nice!”

The man looked between her and Ace. It was hard to read his emotions through the mask, but his posture is somewhat tense. He looked the young man in white up and down and realization seemed to sweep over him. “...You truly did return,” he said after a few seconds.

“Of course I did,” Ace responded, his hands twitching slightly. “I never forgot about Tama for a moment, no matter where I went.” The man considered that. Was it disbelief he was radiating, or wonder? Luffy wasn't certain. “How about I warm up the soup for you? It's tastier that way, I promise.”

The guy glanced down at Tama, then at the jars Luffy and Sabo were carrying, then nodded in thanks. “I am in your debt. Please, come inside...”

Tama's house was small; poor Katakuri had to duck once he was inside again. He really had no luck with building interiors! Once the soup was heated up, the man introduced himself as Hitetsu; he had been taking care of Tama ever since people started leaving the village in the vain hope of finding food or opportunity elsewhere. When Ace made it clear they intended to take the fight to Kaido, the old man hadn't known what to make of the statement at first; when Luffy persisted, he offered some of them clothes to disguise themselves and directions to the nearest town, which was called Kuri.

“I apologize, but I doubt anything I have will fit you...” Hitetsu said, looking up at Katakuri and Jinbe. “You're rather noticeable figures, too.”

Katakuri shrugged. “It can't be helped. If there's a steamstress in Kuri, we'll commission something from them.”

“Shishishi! Don't worry. I'm sure we'll find somebody.” Luffy declared confidently, looking down at the samurai clothes she'd been given. They were a bit loose on her, but she really liked the red and purple. It looked dashing!

“A bold statement, seeing as we have no local currency,” Sabo deadpanned with an amused smile. Luffy turned toward him and felt herself stiffen a little. The dark blue montsuki he was wearing – it, it suited him really well. He looked yummy...! Ace looked nice too, but he looked a little obviously out of sorts wearing semi-fancy clothing; Sabo was much more confident and it really...

“-ffy. Luffy,” Uta uttered, a little exasperated, waving a hand in front of her face. Luffy snapped out of her daze and blushed. Uta didn't have a local outfit yet either, but it was easier for her to hide that under a traveler's cloak than it was for Jinbe and Kat. “Are you listening? Tama's offering to help us travel; her dog is used to carrying big loads and doesn't mind being our land boat for a little.”

Luffy brightened. “Oh, really?! Thanks, Tama!”

“Wouldn't it be safer for her to stay here, though?” Uta prodded, crossing her arms.

“If anyone tries to hurt her, we'll beat them up,” Luffy reasoned.

“I'm pretty sure Law asked us to not make a scene...” Uta reminded her, before uttering a gusty sigh and putting her hands on her hips. Tama was giving her this teary-eyed pleading look, because she really didn't want to be left behind again, and now she felt like a bad guy for trying to inject some common sense into the situation. “Geez... I guess we'll just have to beat up any idiot that tries something quietly, then.”

Luffy beamed, nodding in excitement. “And you're better at that than even I am, Uta!” Her singing powers would drop them before they even knew what was happening! That power was really, really strong. It suited her!

“That's true,” Jinbe observed. “In fact, your power is quite the coup if we get discovered. The number of people you can put to sleep at once could easily cut off attempts to pass information up the chain of command even if we're caught off guard.”

Uta ran a hand through her hair and smiled wryly. “I'll do my best,” she said.

She still had a kind of angry look in her eyes... especially when they walked back out into the village and Tama called for her doggo. Uta stood still for a second and just... kind of stared at the ruins, a crackle of haki rolling off of her that put pressure on Luffy when she took a step towards her. “Scum,” the singer whispered. “Slowly torturing people to death with abandon, thinking their actions have no consequences...”

Her hands balled up into fists. “How many people have died because of him? Kaido, and that pathetic wretch he's using as a puppet shogun? This is unforgivable...”

Which... Luffy agreed with that sentiment, but there's something weirdly jarring about seeing Uta so mad. Her first friend is a lot of things, but she'd never felt dangerous before – yet there's something black and burning in her haki that makes the hairs on the back of Luffy's neck stand up like she's in range of a Pacifista.

“Uta-chan?” She voiced, worried.

Uta glanced at her and mumbled, “Sorry. I'm not a fighter like you... I don't like seeing people suffer, so it doesn't come naturally to me. But right now... I've never wanted to change that more. I'm really, really angry.”

Ah. Luffy nodded in understanding and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. “I'm mad too,” she said matter-of-factly. “It's okay to be mad, Uta. You just gotta keep your head despite it.” She pauses. “Which – I'm really bad at, so look out for me, and I'll look out for you?”

That got a soft huff and a little laugh out of Uta, which made her feel a lot better. Luffy didn't like how that black anger looked on her singer. “Yeah... I'll do my best, Lu.” She managed a little smile. “Now let's get to Kuri, then find the rest of your crew.”

Chapter 41

Chapter Text

“So your suicidal whim didn't result in all of you getting drowned?” It was impressive how the den den managed to perfectly mimic Law's deadpan, exasperated expression. Tama's dog was rushing over open ground toward the nearest town, keeping a relaxed and looping pace unfazed by the number of people he was carrying. They'd been travelling for a while before the young captain abruptly remembered that the others wanted to know how they'd landed. He'd not been pleased to be kept waiting. “Good. It would have been annoying to have to drag you out of hell to kill you myself.”

Luffy burst into peels of giggles. “I love you too, Traffy,” she said, unfazed by the criticism. “Everyone's okay. What about you guys?”

“We all made it to land in one piece,” Law reported, the den den lightly mimicking his blush. “As to meeting up, there's an old daimyo castle near Kuri. It's been abandoned for twenty years, having been left to fall to ruin. Our companions will be waiting there.”

“The castle used to belong to Kozuki Oden,” Reiju's voice joined the call. “It shouldn't be too hard for you to find. It might take us a day or two to catch up with you, so don't worry if we're not there the moment you arrive.”

Ace hummed, looking out at the horizon. He was sitting at the dog's collar with Tama leaning against him, one arm around her shoulders. “I'll give Marco and Izo a call later today and get caught up on their progress,” he mused. “It might take them a bit to arrive on land, but they'll come.”

“There's a lot we still need to do in order to prepare the raid,” Law said. “They still have time. Now, remember – discretion is key. If you get caught, close up your ears so Uta can put the problem figures to sleep without causing a ruckus. If anyone asks, you've lived in Wano all your life. Use false names local to the area, and find a line of work you can convincingly playact for a while.”

Luffy groaned, leaning back against Katakuri's chest. “Fiiiine,” she said with a gusty sigh. “I guess it would be fun to pretend to be a samurai. I don't have a sword, though. I need one to complete the look!”

“Perhaps you could pretend to be a geisha instead?” Reiju suggested, innocently oblivious to how Ace, Sabo, Katakuri, Uta, Law and Sanji all froze up a little at the word. “Then you wouldn't need to carry a weapon you can't make use of and no one would suspect you of being a dangerous fighter. You'd be able to pull a perfect fast one whenever necessary.”

Luffy tilted her head in thought. “A Gay-sia?” She repeated, puzzled. “What's that?”

“She's a beautiful woman who's dressed in fine silk, talented with musical instruments, demure and gentle and capable of swindling men out of their life savings for the pleasure of her company,” Reiju explained lightly. “Some of them sleep with their clients, but Robin-chan has avoided that so far and I expect you'd be able to do the same with some quick thinking. Most men are far more interested in the services of a lady called Komurasaki, from what I've heard in passing.”

Luffy hummed thoughtfully. “Hmm... hey Sabo, what do you think? That would let me do a lot of sneaking around, wouldn't it?”

Sabo's eye twitched noticeably. Uta stared entreatingly at him, shaking her head vehemently, while Katakuri tightened his grip on Luffy's waist noticeably. “W-Well... you would, but Luffy, you'd really have to resist the urge to get confrontational with people to pull it off. Even snapping at or slapping clients would give you away instantly,” he said quickly, hoping that the lack of ability to punch people would turn her off the idea.

Sure enough, Luffy made a face at that. “Uuuugh, really? That sounds so annoying! Girls aren't even allowed to be bold and confident in Wano?” She complained.

“No, no,” Reiju laughed gently. “It's strictly a courtesan thing. Demure women are thought well of here, it seems, but women can be samurai too. But perhaps talk of this is a bit premature, since we haven't met up with Kin'emon and Momonosuke-san yet.”

“Yes,” Law said once he regained his voice. “Put a pin in that for now, and we'll see you at the ruined castle.”

There was a chorus of goodbyes before the snail hung up. Katakuri frowned down at Luffy. “You're not giving that serious thought, are you?” He asked warily.

She blinked up at him. “I am. It could be useful... why do you ask?”

Katakuri grumbled something unintelligible under his breath before huffing and saying, “I dislike the idea of random men being allowed to ogle my wife.” Annoyed jealousy burned in his chest at the mental image, along with the thoughts of what he'd do to any lustful fool who wasn't someone Luffy held in her heart. He knew that Luffy would rebuff any actual advances, but still... “My willingness to share you doesn't extend that far.”

Luffy blinked a few times, then uttered a little 'oh' of comprehension. Giggling, she stretched her arm up and stroked Katakuri's cheek. “Aww, Kat, you're so sweet,” she said warmly. “Don't worry. I love you, and no guy who wandered into the mansion would compare to you.”

The older man uttered a small, pleased sound, mollified by the statement. It wasn't easy to shake his internal voice calling him ugly and terrifying looking, and sometimes when he looked at Ace, Law, Sabo or Sanji – all toned, gorgeous men in their own ways - that voice would get decently loud. Little reminders from Luffy that her affection for him was absolutely unwavering allowed him to banish it when it tried to take hold of him.

“I love you, too.” Katakuri murmured, squeezing her wrist.

Ace groaned. “Darn it, Reiju,” he mumbled before sighing. “Ah; if I'd known that I'd one day be playacting a travelling ronin, maybe I would have taken my mom's sword when Rayleigh offered it to me.”

Luffy lunged forward, her hand stretching out to snag his shoulder. “RAYLEIGH HAS ROGER'S SWORD?!” She shrieked, badly startling Tama and causing the dog to whimper in surprise. “YOU'VE SEEN IT?!”

“Ow, ow!” Ace yelped, squirming free of her grip and half turning towards her. “Yes, I have, he has a bunch of her things that he keeps hidden in Shakky's place.”

“He never told me that!” Luffy gasped, looking almost betrayed. “You didn't tell me! Why not?”

“B-Because I never really had a moment?” Ace responded awkwardly. In reality he'd only recently become comfortable talking about his mother at length; when he'd been shown her treasures back then, he'd been afraid of either being identified through them or losing them on his journeys. “B-Besides, I knew I couldn't use it very well, so I asked him to keep holding onto it.”

“I didn't realize that her sword hadn't fallen into the hands of the government,” Sabo said in surprise. “Most people figured it had been confiscated when she was 'captured'.”

Ace shook his head. “When she disbanded her crew, she gave a number of her personal effects to Rayleigh and Gaban. They took a few of them to Pops and held onto the rest. Ray's got some of her wedding earrings, her journals, and her sword Aku Tenseiga.” He remembered the rush of confused emotions he'd experienced when Ray showed those things to him.

“I could have asked to see it the whole time at Saobody...” Luffy whimpered, slumping miserably. “I didn't even know...!”

“Who's Roger?” Tama asked innocently. Everyone on the dog's back briefly stared blankly at her in disbelief before remembering that Wano's isolation meant that, even though their would-be future shoguen Oden had travelled as her crewmate to Laugh Tale, most of the common people genuinely wouldn't know who Roger was.

This threw Ace for a bit of a loop; the topic of his parents hadn't ever come up during his first visit, and he hadn't been keen to talk about his mother, so suddenly being presented with the question made him realize he'd never told Tama about his parentage. The realization that it genuinely didn't mean anything to her still rocked him a little.

“Roger is my mom's name,” he explained when Tama twisted her head to look up at him. “She was a great pirate back in the day, so powerful that she could fight Kaido and drive him off.” Her eyes grew really wide at that. “She was called the King of the Pirates, because she had travelled to the end of the Grand Line and found the mysterious treasure there. She was one of the most accomplished people to have lived.”

“She could beat Kaido...” Tama whispered in awe. “Of course an amazing lady like that would be your mom, aniki!” Regardless of what she learned about the first Pirate King after this, this would always have the young girl think of her with stars in her eyes.

Ace's heart squeezed so tightly at the unexpected declaration, he thought it might stop dead in his chest. “T...Thanks, Tama,” he whispered, ruffling her hair a little roughly. Tama squeaked and smiled, not knowing just how much those words meant to him.

“Well, carrying Aku Tenseiga around would have made any secrecy about your parentage almost impossible,” Jinbe observed with a hint of amusem*nt. “It might be a bit difficult to find a prop sword to sell the image of you being a Samurai, but I suspect that even the modern Beast Pirates would instantly recognize that sword for who its masters were.”

“Maybe you'd be better off disguising yourself as a sumo warrior,” Sabo suggested teasingly.

Ace balked at the idea. “I don't even slightly resemble a wrestler!”

“So? You won't even have to dress that much differently than usual.”

“Very funny; do you not remember the tattoo I have on my back?”

Luffy laughed at the back and forth while Jinbe rolled his eyes fondly. Ace and Sabo's playful bickering always brought back the feelings of happiness and serenity she experienced back on Dawn Island when they were growing up together. It helped make the trip across the barren landscape less boring.

And barren was a good word for it. The plains were pretty dried out, with what rivers flowing through them polluted thoroughly by waste being dumped from the various weapons manufacturing plants Kaido had erected. Ace explained that as a by product of this, the animals that ate the fish in those rivers had either died off or built up an immunity to the toxins. “So they're not safe to eat,” he'd chided Luffy when she expressed interest in getting lunch the old fashioned way.

“Everything here is poisoned...” Uta muttered in disbelief. “How can anyone survive in a place like this...?”

“With great difficulty,” Jinbe responded solemnly. Uta tilted her head down so her bangs covered her face, that dark aura swirling around her again.

The plains didn't change much as they travelled across them. Luffy was about to nod off and take a nap when a familiar sensation pinged through her Observation Haki. Confused, she sat up and focused on it – it didn't feel like a threat, no, it was warm and familiar and – and –

Her breath caught in her throat. That aura... she'd never felt it in this manner, but she knew it was well as she knew her reflection in the mirror. The cool ferociousness mixed with satisfaction he expressed after winning a fight, the coils of his emotions always kept carefully controlled regardless of the situation yet always easily readable. Luffy got up without realizing it and ran to the front of the dog, her eyes hungrily panning the plains for the man himself, the phantom ache of his absence more intense than it had been since their first separation on Sabaody.

“Zoro?!” she yelled. A flash of green caught her eye and her heart leapt. There, there! “Zoro! Ah, dog, that way, that way!”

Tama said something Luffy couldn't hear over the sound of her heartbeat in her ears before thankfully urging the dog to change direction. Two figures quickly came into focus as their faithful mount crossed the distance between them; a woman in a kimono and a familiar tall, broad shouldered man in a long green cape holding a jug of sake.

“Zoro!” Luffy shrieked, joy bubbling up in her chest. “Zoro, over here! It's me!”

Zoro jolted and turned toward them. The closing distance allowed her to read his expression as it turned from confusion to puzzlement to...

Luffy saw his whole soul light up through his face and his working eye, and his serious face immediately gave way to a rare, beaming smile. “Luffy! You finally made it!”

His voice struck her heart like an arrow, and Luffy launched herself off of the dog's back towards him. Hurtling through the air, she saw Zoro toss the jug and bag he'd been carrying aside and opens his arms to catch her moments before she crashed into his warm torso. He caught her and swept her up in his arms without so much as stumbling. That was her strong, reliable swordsman...

Ahh... she'd missed him so much, and hadn't quite realized it until that exact moment... when his embrace engulfed her, her mind was overwhelmed with her memories of him.

“Magnificent.”

Luffy screamed when Mihawk's blade sliced through Zoro's chest. For all her bravado and confidence, it hadn't occurred to her for a single second that he might lose the fight, and seeing him fall drove a spike into her throat that cut off her breathing. Unable to make another sound, she flew across the deck to where her swordsman had fallen in a heartbeat, stumbling and dropping to her knees next to him.

The wound was much worse up close. It practically sliced him in half on a diagonal, and while it hadn't cut deep enough to damage his heart that was a small consolation for the amount of blood he was losing. Luffy stared, paralyzed with panic, trying in vain to remember anything Makino had told her about first aid.

“Zoro?” she whispered, her voice cracking. No... No... don't leave me... not you too...! Her hands trembled as she gently touched his shoulders, trying to rouse him.

She barely heard Mihawk asking her what her ambition was... she remembered him from Shanks's many anecdotes, but somehow she hadn't connected that to how powerful he was... nevertheless, she was Zoro's captain, so she firmed up her voice and straightened her back before telling him that she would be the King of the Pirates. She would not let him see her fear and grief.

It earned her a look of admiration before Mihawk commanded Zoro not to die, to become stronger and to seek him out again.

Zoro's eyes fluttered open. Luffy uttered a wrenching noise of relief, babbling for Johnny and Yosaku to help her move him; he can't stay here, not when Stupid Krieg is looking for a fight and he's this badly injured. She held him carefully as they eased him into a boat, snapping at his friends when they jostled him too much for her liking or put pressure on his chest as they scrambled to bandage him up. Nothing else in the world registered; everything except Zoro was an afterthought.

He can't die, he can't die, don't let him die. Don't take him from me, mother ocean...

“Luffy...” Zoro's deep, ragged voice snapped her out of her haze. She gave him a wide-eyed look, tears still coursing freely down her cheeks. “Luffy, look at me...”

“Zoro, don't move,” she pleaded. “You're really hurt-”

His hand lifted up and clasped her cheek, silencing her. His fingers softly brushed away her tears, shaking with the effort to keep his arm up despite the pain in his chest. “If I fail... to become the world's greatest swordsman... you'd be disappointed, wouldn't you?” Zoro said.

Luffy shook his head, putting her hand on top of his. “No... you could never fail me,” she responded vehemently.

Zoro might have smiled a little; it was hard to tell when his face was a rictus of pain. “Sorry... I worried you... I promise you...from now, until I beat him... I will never lose again!” His voice rose to deliver this fierce declaration of loyalty. “Is that acceptable to you...King of the Pirates?!”

Her grief melted momentarily into a joy and euphoria that defied description. “Yeah...! So – heal from this and get back to being my swordsman... that's an order!” She demanded, her throat tight.

His arms were steady around her as she buried her face in his chest; she could still feel that old scar underneath her fingertips as she leaned fully against him. She could feel his steady heartbeat against her cheek. “Is everyone with you?” Zoro asked, still smiling radiantly when she looked up at him.

Luffy blinked rapidly, her face burning with warmth. “Mmhmm. We got separated, but we've got a place to regroup.” She said, staring intently at him. His silver eyes were full of affection, his usual stoicism completely absent. Zoro didn't wear his heart on his sleeve very often, and only around her.

...Hadn't he been like that right at the beginning? When they met in the yard and she held his swords hostage, when she showed him her stretching powers for the first time, and how she looked after Rika so she wouldn't get in trouble taking food to him in the yard. He'd always been willing to show that human side of himself, that side that she liked so much.

Her fingers tightened in his shirt.

She looked down from the execution platform and saw Zoro carving through the crowd like a demon in order to reach her, swatting aside Buggy's pirates like they were bowling pins. Before Buggy's sword started to swing down she managed to catch his eyes and was startled and heartened by how frantic and desperate he looked. After the lightning sent her stumbling to the ground, Zoro had been in front of her in an instant demanding to know if she was hurt. He would have stabbed Buggy's eyes out if she'd given him the chance instead of listening to Sanji as he insisted they needed to escape.

She could always rely on him to watch her back. She didn't even need to think about people coming at her from behind because she knew Zoro would handle them before she could even blink. He'd protect her from danger she hadn't even recognized.

“I'm Bellamy the Hyena,” the blonde weirdo purred, still way more in her face than she'd like. His smile wasn't inviting in the slightest despite what he seemed to think. “Up and coming rookie, worth 55 million. Hey, pretty dreamer... how about we ditch this place? I'll give you a night that will blow your fantasies out of the water.”

Luffy leaned far away from him, brow wrinkling. “Uh, no thank you. I gotta find a way to sky island, so I'm gonna keep looking for information.” He was too full of himself to be able to tell a fun story, especially one more fun than sky island.

Bellamy grabbed her arm when she made to get off her chair. “Oh, don't be like that, darlin'.” He moved to yank her closer, causing her to utter a noise of discomfort and alarm –

Wado Ichimonji flashed in the corner of her eye and slammed into the table. Luffy blinked when the bar erupted into yelling and cursing as Bellamy released her and moved back, clutching a bleeding arm. Holy crap, she hadn't even seen Zoro move!

Her first mate glared at Bellamy thunderously. His eyes were blazing with rage – rage that lay underneath his voice, which was harder than iron. “Oi,” he hissed. “Keep your hands off of my captain!”

Throughout the entire resulting fight, Zoro didn't let a single one of Bellamy's men touch Luffy.

He was her first crewmate, her oldest companion after Ace and Sabo. She always admired his bravery, his confidence, his unique fighting style; she relied on his steadiness, his advice and his loyalty. When she didn't know what to do or what she needed to do, Zoro pointed her in the right direction. Being without him was like losing a limb.

Luffy stared into his eyes, watching him shift from joy to something akin to nervousness as the swordsman remembered the confession he'd made weeks ago and how he'd avoided the topic whenever she'd called up afterwards. Luffy had let him, because feelings like that should be talked about in person, but now...

“Zoro! ZORO!”

Luffy's screaming brought the rest of the crew running. Upon waking up after Kuma's attack, the young captain had sat up, done a quick head count of her collapsed nakama, and immediately realized something was wrong. Getting up at once, she'd followed a strange instinct that lead her straight to the horrific sight of her swordsman standing in a pool of blood, horribly injured.

Chopper had immediately sprung into action, binding his injuries and moving him to bed inside while Luffy hovered at his side. As they tried to figure out what happened, Brooke solemnly informed her of the bargain that Zoro had struck after the Warlord had knocked the rest of them unconscious.

Luffy was distraught, and consequently, when Zoro woke up he found himself staring down his extremely upset captain. “Luffy-”

“YOU!” Luffy barked, her throat tightening up. She smacked his shoulder, causing him to wince at the sharp jab of pain this caused. “You big – dumb – moron! I never gave you permission to die for me! How dare you?!” Tears formed in the corners of her eyes again. “If you ever do that again, I'm gonna kick your ass! You hear me?!”

Zoro cringed, then had the nerve to smile slightly at her. “You'll have to be alive to do that...” he pointed out, mostly unrepentant but for having made her cry. “That's my duty... isn't it? Protecting my captain?”

Luffy snorted like a bull and raised her hand to smack him again – lucky for Zoro, Chopper zipped over and grabbed her arm in time. “Idiot!” she responded heatedly, her tears falling down her cheeks now. “Reckless, suicidal dumbass!” She only insulted her friends like this when she was really stressed out, and she couldn't find the words to express the agony she'd felt when she'd thought he might die. Thinking about it made her throat seal up.

Now Zoro was beginning to look alarmed. “H-Hey,” he protested. “W-Why are you crying? I'm going to be fine. You trust Chopper to patch me up, right?” Luffy nodded jerkily, and the swordsman took her hand in his own. “I won't die... if Davy Jones attempts to take me away from you, I'll send him packing back to the locker. You can count on that.”

“Zoro,” Luffy murmured. Finally understanding all those feelings she'd experienced back then, in all those moments... she felt silly, and wondered how she'd never managed to notice before now how Zoro looked at her and how he brought her this bright and brilliant joy all the time. She loved him, as surely as her other boys; passionately and deeply.

“What is it, Luffy?” Zoro asked a little hesitantly. He could see the emotions flying through Luffy's expressive eyes.

Luffy blinked and simply asked, “May I kiss you?”

Zoro choked in surprise, his eyes widening. Had he heard that correctly? His heartbeat pulsed in his chest; how long had he hoped to hear words like that from her full pink lips? Finally hearing the words was almost shocking, like he was in a dream. Being no good with words at the best of times, he chose to act instead; he nodded and ducked his head to kiss her.

Luffy moans softly when their lips connected, her every nerve alight with pleasure. She swept her arms around Zoro's neck and hugged him tight. My Zoro...! It felt right, like he was always meant to hold her this way; his lips are a little rough and chapped, the taste of sake lingering on them as their mouths melded together.

Zoro shivered intensely; his feelings having gone unknown and unspoken for long, having them sweetly reciprocated froze him in place briefly. But when it sank in that she was returning them... passion swept through him, and he wrapped his arms around Luffy and lifted her off her feet, spinning her around once before lowering her and sliding his tongue into her mouth eagerly.

“Mmmph...” Luffy's toes curl up in pleasure. Zoro's kiss is clumsy but intense and absolutely lit her up. It felt so good... so good. She cupped the back of his head with one hand, continuing their kiss until they both needed to come up for air. When they split apart, Luffy gave him a dazed, starry-eyed smile. “I've missed you, Zoro.”

Zoro's happy grin almost split his face. “Let's not split up again, yeah?” he said. “I'm supposed to be at your side, nowhere else.”

“Shishishi...” Luffy rubbed their noses together. He'd missed her bubbly laugh so much. “You're right. From now on, let's stick together.” She nuzzled his chest. “Now we'll go find the others together.”

She didn't want to let go of him.

The dog skidded to a halt a few feet away. “Onee-chan, who's this?” Tama asked from above, staring curiously at the tall samurai Luffy was hugging.

Luffy blinked and looked upwards. “Ah, Tama-chan – this is my swordsman, Zor-”

“Zorojuro,” Zoro covered quickly, having impulsively picked the name yesterday. Robin had reminded him about the need for disguise, and judging by Luffy's confused expression, he wasn't the only one who'd needed his memory jogged. “Who's the child, Luffy?”

“She's our little sister,” Luffy responded solemnly; because she called Ace aniki and that meant she'd call his wife onee-chan, right? To tell the truth, Luffy felt a certain instinct toward Tama that felt different from the sisterly feelings she had towards Nami, Chopper and Robin. She couldn't quite put it into words, but it was a great feeling of protectiveness and affection; she would do anything to keep the little girl smiling. “Ace met her when he first came to Wano years ago. She's really sweet, and she's got a neat devil fruit power.”

Zoro glanced up nonchalantly at the child. “I see.” The others dismounted from the dog for now, coming over to join them. The swordsman's eyes were drawn first to Katakuri and Uta, the two that he didn't know... and the former of whom was now married to Luffy.

“Hey there,” Ace said lightly, waving. “Glad to see you looking well. Has Law made contact with you yet?”

“Nah, I haven't been anywhere near a snail for a few days now,” Zoro said with a shake of his head. “If he's called in, he'll have reached Robin and the others.”

Sabo tilted his head to the side, perplexed. “Aren't you supposed to be in the flower capital?” he asked a little dryly.

Zoro snorted. “I was, but then some asshole bureaucrat decided to use me as a stand in for the murders he'd committed and tried to steal my sword off me.” He indicated the blade that he'd been gifted by the undead Ryuma of Wano at Thriller Bark in recognition of his victory. “I can't help the raid if I commit seppuku now, can I?”

“...True,” Sabo said. “At least tell me you didn't make a huge spectacle out of escaping?” Zoro stared blankly at him. The blonde exhaled a gusty sigh. “Oh well. We'll find a way to work with it.” He gestured at the woman standing off to the side. “Before I forgot, who's your friend?”

“Friend?” Zoro glanced over his shoulder, then gave a confused shrug. “I don't know who she is. She was being menaced by this one idiot who had more sake on him than he could drink; I relieved him of his goods.” He hefted the sake jug with a pleased smirk.

“Ooooh, sake! Can I have some?” Luffy asked, batting her eyes at him.

The woman stepped forward, looking at their group with awed and appreciating eyes. “It's true, he saved my life...” She said. “My name is Otsuru; I'm a medicine woman from the town of Kuri. If there's anything I can do for you, please, just say the word. I would have met with a pitiful fate if not for Zorojuro-san.”

Tama hesitantly peeked out from behind Ace and looked up at Zoro. He looked intimidating, reminding her of the ronin that menaced the roads and would try to rob her if not for Komachiyo warning them off such ideas. But Luffy-oneechan was hugging him and hanging onto him without any fear, and the way he smiled at her erased all her fears. If she liked him, he had to be a nice guy.

Ace patted her hair and gave her a reassuring grin. “Nice to meet you, Otsuru-san.” Sabo said politely, removing his hat and bowing. “We're a travelling band of mercenaries, and Zorojuro here managed to get lost on the way to the rendezvous point. It's good that our inconvenience had some positive results.” He placed his hat back on and gave her his usual charming smile. “My name's Senjuro; this is Akira-” Ace blinked and committed his new alias to memory, “Yuria-” Uta gave the woman a proper bow. “Katsuki-” Katakuri blinked, stoic as ever. “Jun-” Jinbe inclined his head. “And our lovely leader, Luna.” Luffy blinked, and started repeating the name in her mind in an effort to remember it.

Otsuru smiled. Usually she would be very wary of mercenary groups – almost all of those in Wano were either bandits, Orochi's thugs, or Beast Pirates after all – but Sabo's pleasant, friendly demeanour eased her usual suspicions like a charm. “I see.”

“We're on our way to Kuri to pick up some supplies and get some new clothes for Katsuki and Jun; the last battle got a little out of hand,” Sabo continued to spin as easily as breathing. “Tama here offered to show us the way. Since we're already headed in that direction, you can come with us if you wish for some extra protection.”

Otsuru put a hand over her heart, deeply touched by the offer. “I...I'm afraid I have little to pay you with,” She managed after a second.

“We're not short on money right now, so don't worry,” Uta disputed. “We can do this pro-bono, and what fool would refuse to aid a medicine woman who could save their life someday?” She offered Otsuru her hand.

The woman looked at her in shock, unable to quite process that sort of altruism existing still within Wano. Luffy beamed at her in order to back up Uta's words. When none of the other 'mercenaries' protested the idea, Otsuru bowed deeply, babbling profuse gratitude. “Thank you so much...” she said breathlessly.

“No problem!” Luffy said cheerfully. “Cmon, I'll help you up!”

It wasn't hard to re mount Komachiyo and lift Otsuru onto his back. Once everyone was back aboard, so to speak, the dog barked and returned to his loping pace from before. In the meantime, Zoro glanced toward Katakuri and Uta again. “You two are the newest members,” he commented. “It's nice to meet you in person.”

He couldn't really start prodding them as he wanted to in front of Otsuru less he undermine Sabo's cover story... but he would when he had a moment. The light that glimmered off of one of Luffy's two earring sets – the mochi one – made his heart twist a little, though it did not hurt with her having claimed him for herself.

Katakuri held his gaze calmly and confidently, letting Zoro's discomfort wash over him in a wave. He would find a way to win the other man over, and swiftly.

“It's nice to meet you too,” Uta said, her dark mood briefly leaving her. Luffy had spoken so enthusiastically about her crew; she was almost impatient to meet the rest of them, see the people who'd taken care of her when Uta had been separated from her reckless love. “Did the officials who captured you issue warrants for your arrest after you escaped?” He nodded, making her sigh. “Well, that's problematic...”

“Let 'em come,” Zoro said, bored. “The cronies who chase after 'lower class criminals' are hardly worth cutting, they're so incompetent.”

Uta rolled her eyes. “Yes, because that will allow us to remain quite inconspicuous.” she deadpanned.

“It's not a big deal. Half of these idiots don't have snails,” Zoro complained.

Katakuri's eyes flashed red and he barks, “Tama, stop your dog.”

“H-Huh? Komachiyo, stop!” Tama ordered, startled and alarmed. The dog skidded to a halt, a noise of concern leaving his throat.

“...We have company,” Katakuri warned, standing up. “It's Hawkins.” The image of a massive straw demon flashed before his eyes, making him frown warily. “Ace, jump down and retreat. We can't afford your presence being reported to Kaido now. Quickly!”

Ace scowled but hurried to obey, his face screwing up with concentration as he suppressed his Haki presence once again. Sabo hit the ground seconds later and took him by the arm, pulling him toward a decently deep creek. “Hawkins?” Tama repeated fearfully, looking around the desert. Luffy pulled her close protectively, eyes narrowing; sure enough, she could see a fleet of lizard creatures darting straight towards them.

“Ji – Jun, take care of her and Otsuru-san,” she ordered, trying to think if she'd ever seen Hawkins fighting. Her memory turned up nothing. Great. “Get ready, everyone.”

Of course they hadn't been here a whole day before tripping over Beast Pirates. At least this one wasn't her fault!

Chapter 42

Chapter Text

“Cold...it's not cold!” Yamato chanted to herself, pulling her coat closer around her as she pushed her way through the wind. She'd more or less been running non stop toward the northern end of Wano since she managed to hit land; she hadn't had a plan aside from just running, knowing that as soon as her so-called father sobered up, he'd send his personal forces to drag her back to Onigashima. “It's not cold!

Unfortunately that meant she hadn't had the time to pick up a warm pair of winter boots before she got far enough north to need them. She had a coat, at least. That was better than nothing.

Yamato gritted her teeth and pushed onward. “Perhaps... I didn't quite think this through,” she admitted to herself. But what choice had she had? When the transmission from Totland had ended and Kaido drunk himself into a stupor after watching Charlotte Linlin fall, she'd realized that this was her best and only chance to escape. Most of Onigashima was similarly unconscious, including what executives of his were present, and she didn't have long before they woke up. Those who were still awake were no match for her.

She wouldn't get a better chance to escape the island and get to Wano proper unless Ace and Luffy kicked down the doors personally. Without thinking about anything short of the logistics of taking a boat to the mainland, she'd grabbed a bag of food, Oden's journal, and her mace and bolted. Every second she spent thinking made her escape less and less possible.

Perhaps she would have been better served to at least spend ten minutes thinking about logistics. Bah, it was too late to worry about things like that! Besides, Oden had always charged headlong into danger no matter the island or the circ*mstances, whether he was at home or travelling with Edward Newgate! He never faltered no matter what was thrown at him!

Yamato would become him in every aspect, that included.

Her escape had gone without a hitch. There had been an uneasy moment where she was halfway across the straight and looked up to see a black shadow and flickering flame in the sky that she'd been completely convinced was King, watching her... but no attack had ever come, even though she'd been an easy target struggling with her little boat's rudder.

Why wouldn't King have stopped her? Yamato hadn't seen him getting drunk with the other pirates – she's pretty sure that he doesn't get drunk in general, or indeed indulge in any of the various vices all his companions revelled in. He was loyal to her wretched father to the core. So why hadn't he grabbed her and tried to drag her back?

I must have been imagining him, Yamato reasoned as she trudged through the snow. My nerves were stretched thin and I was waiting for someone to jump me. It was late and a shifting in the night sky convinced me that King was flying overhead. Yeah, no matter how many times she repeated that to herself she just couldn't become convinced. What are you thinking, King?!

Her feet have gone completely numb. Not a good sign. Yamato set her jaw and picked up her pace, following the road she'd managed to stumble onto a few hours ago.

She'd managed to ditch the populated towns and villages some time ago, at the cost of having any good idea of where she was. There were maps in Oden's journal, a sign of his travels and his interest in exploring and learning new things; unfortunately they're just over twenty years out of date, so they won't necessarily lead her to a populated village. That was probably for the best, though; Beast Pirates and crooked samurai had been on her heels ever since she'd fled the Flower Capital. There was no reason to let Wano's suffering citizens get caught up in her fights with them.

It was snowing. She didn't dare open up Oden's journal and risk the paper getting damaged, so she was just following the road. All roads lead to somewhere, after all. Even if a village she came across was abandoned it would give her shelter from this wind.

“Should have stolen a pair of boots,” Yamato grumbled. “Oh, Ace is going to laugh at me.” He'd cheerfully grumbled about how his crew called him a hothead all the time. It was hard to get more impulsive than this!

Luckily for her, the path did lead her to an old, empty village. Yamato uttered a husky sigh of relief and bolted for one of the houses, jarring the door just enough to get it open and slip inside. It wasn't much warmer within, naturally. So she busied herself boarding up the windows, the door, and every opening in the ramshackle building with old wood and whatever dense objects she could get her hands on. Tossing the broken wood in the fire pit, she started a blaze and sat down in front of it feet first so she could warm up.

Having grown up the way she had, Yamato was very industrious and good at making shelters with very basic materials.

“Not much food left,” Yamato noted grimly after ruffling through her bag. She had a few pieces of preserved meat and fruit left; she could make it last for over a week if she stretched it, but then she'd have to scavenge for more. “This is going to have to do... then it's scavenging through garbage bins and stealing food from officials.” The former was unlikely to provide anything of substance, while the latter was going to make saying inconspicuous very difficult. “I'll figure something out.”

Sighing deeply, Yamato poured a canteen of water into a pot to boil thoroughly before straining. Hopefully that would make it mostly safe to drink. Tossing more fuel on the fire, she pulled out the blanket she'd brought with her and wrapped it around herself for extra warmth. The shackles on her wrists absorbed the cold ruthlessly.

She might develop bad frostbite underneath the metal at this rate. Which – would not be good.

“How am I going to get rid of these stupid things...?” Yamato wondered, lifting one hand in front of her face. The chains rattled loudly in the quiet as if mocking her. “Kaido has the key, but is there another one? Can the lock be picked? Does Queen have a backup I could get from him somehow...? Ugh, but he's in Udon, father would know the instant I set foot in there challenging him for it.” Dropping her hand back in her lap, she groaned and pitched her head forward. “Dammit!”

They could still be fakes. They could be! If she spend much trial and terror to remove them and found out they were duds, she would be so embarrassed that a bluff had been controlling her life this entire time... would Kaido blow up the only son he had?! His only family?! Maybe she should be treating them as the irrelevant fakeout that they were!

Yet... Both as Oden and as Yamato, the young oni couldn't shake the fear that the explosive cuffs were real. That they could kill them. It was why... why they'd been in such despair when Ace met them. Before he'd set them free.

A smile crossed Yamato's lips at those warm memories. “Ah...” Her hand shot into the inner breast pocket of her kimono and drew out a very precious treasure – one she'd taken great pains to hide. Part of a Vivre Card that had been given to her in exchange for her own. She cradled it carefully in her hands, staring.

If you hold onto this, you can find me again! She could still remember Ace's confused, surprised smile when she'd pleaded for him to take her card. Whenever her mood was particularly bleak, she held onto it and remembered his promise, remembered that she wasn't alone.

That she would see him again and meet his beautiful, spirited beloved too. Yamato had longed to encounter Luffy since then. And now that she'd seen her fight, seen her express love and devotion and ferociousness that Oden would have deeply admired –

She wanted that more than anything!

Yamato stared down at the Vivre Card corner, and her heart leapt into her throat when a realization jumped out at her -

It wasn't warm because she was sitting in front of a fire. It was warm because of proximity. The paper was leaning slightly south, tugging ever so gently in that direction when she pinned it down underneath her thumb to test it. Her heartbeat began to pound in her ribs. Vivre Cards were comparatively stationary when the person it was connected to was sufficiently far away; it gave you an idea of where they were on the map, but it didn't try to move in their direction since there was so much distance to cover.

However, when you were closer? Say, on the same island? The Vivre Card would move slightly in the person's direction. It would get warm, a gentle warmth that almost mimicked the softest degree of flames that Ace could summon.

“You're here already?!” Yamato gasped, her eyes lighting up. “I thought it would take longer!” She hadn't had any idea of what sort of travel time lay between Totland and Wano, but...! Immediately her fatigue from running from Onigashima and dodging Beast Pirates was erased in an instant. “But you're here... Ah, it's pulling me south – how long have I been running the wrong way?!” She closed her hand around the vivre card and pressed it against her chest.

Too long, knowing her luck. Gah, if only she'd thought to check the vivre card sooner! She'd been in too much of a rush!

Yamato smacked her forehead and made herself take a deep breath. Okay. Okay, it was a mistake to go this far north, but that was completely fixable. In fact this is way better; now she has an actual direction and destination. All that's left to do is get a decent night's sleep, then she's fully re-energized to go and find her rescuer and her goddess.

Hopefully it wouldn't take them too long to link up. She hadn't overshot their landing zone by that much, had she?

“Stay safe until I find you, please,” Yamato murmured. Her hand clenched in determination. “I'll be there as soon as I can...!”

Ace had avoided being discovered by Kaido for the entirety of his first visit to Wano, giving the man the slip. Her father had been furious to discover that he'd been robbed afterwards and that the people gathered for experimentation had all been freed and vanished into Wano's countryside; while he hadn't sent pirates to pursue Ace, he vowed to capture the fiery young man the moment he dared set food in his territory again.

A statement that had been reinforced as an order when Marineford had happened and he'd learned who was haunting him via her son.

Yamato was a little worried, but Ace could do stealth. She was absolutely confident that he wouldn't be discovered before they met up again.

Luffy nudged Uta behind her and took on a defensive stance as the large antlered creature strode forward ahead of its pack. Hawkins didn't look any different from how she remembered him; no new scars and no shift in demeanor. He was still cold and unreadable. Zoro unsheathed Wado slightly, while Katakuri stood seemingly aloof but ready for anything. Jinbe had taken Tama and Otsuru-san away to hide among the rock formations so they wouldn't get caught up in the battle; Luffy hoped that Ace and Sabo would stay hidden like they promised and wouldn't get noticed.

Traffy would be mad if they didn't stick to the plan. She didn't want him to be mad, she wanted to cuddle lots with him!

“You...” Hawkins's gaze immediately zeroed in on Luffy's face; his eyes dilated a little with a mixture of shock, fury and wariness. “Straw Hat Luffy...you came straight here from Totland?” A little disbelieving laugh rumbled in his chest. “I gravely underestimated your madness when we met two years ago. Even Roger can't compare to you.”

“I'm not crazy,” Luffy said, co*cking her head to the side in annoyance. “I know what I want to do, and I do whatever I can to achieve it. Does that make me crazy?”

A tumbleweed floated across the barren landscape as everyone processed those words. Katakuri chuckled softly while Uta sighed and facepalmed. “The fact that she almost sounds reasonable saying that scares me...” The singer groaned.

“The master of these lands would have noticed if you brought your big allies along for your venture,” Basil observed. “So you've become so confident that you think you can upend the order of the world by yourself? As if you could have defeated Linlin by yourself.”

“Huh? Big allies?” Luffy blinked, then glanced at Katakuri and pointed at Hawkins in puzzlement. “Is he talking about my dads and grandpas? Because I didn't ask them to come, they just showed up out of nowhere.”

“I doubt that's the point he's trying to make.”

Hawkins eyed Katakuri with a strong degree of wariness. Seeing the man who'd been feared as Big Mom's greatest enforcer standing protectively at the shoulder of his comparatively tiny bride sent a little shiver of fear down his spine... the supernova knew his power was more or less even with King and Queen, whom he hadn't had the chance to defeat as he was. He had his men's lifespans tied to him, so he had some room to maneuver, but Katakuri's Observation Haki was legendary – there was no chance of surprising him or catching him off guard.

He cast his gaze around the rock formations dotted across the blasted heath. There was a little girl with the dog they'd been travelling on, wasn't there? He could sense her muted presence not too far away when he focused. If he could tether her life to him and use her as a shield, perhaps he could gain some leverage. It was possibly the best chance he had; everything he'd ever heard about her painted Straw Hat as someone who got very attached, very quickly.

“Luffy, Kin'emon told us not to make a scene.” Zoro said conversationally, drawing his sword.

“Well. I'll just have to apologize to him afterwards,” Luffy said lightly.

“Or you could not and let me handle things,” Uta complained.

Katakuri hummed and shook his head. “Your power is too valuable to waste on foot soldiers,” he told her. “It would be a pity if the likes of them could start to learn how it worked before we've been here more than a week.” Uta gave him a somewhat dubious look before nodding a little reluctantly.

Hawkins's eyes darted to Uta, staring intently as he tried to recognize her and figure out who she was. The singer felt his gaze and slowly turned her head towards him... before her expression became blacker than the night sky and she gave him a hate filled glare, red light bleeding into her eyes. The Headliner felt his blood freeze in his veins under that merciless stare; her haki signature spasmed and was infected with a black presence that felt like death itself.

W-What is that?!

Alarmed and put completely off guard, Hawkins was too shaken to hold onto a stare down. “Charge,” he ordered, his voice most empathetically not shaking. It wasn't! Oblivious to what he had just sensed, his contingent of thugs and turncoat samurai surged towards the interlopers.

Uta didn't flinch or even move. Luffy smirked and darted to meet the horde, Zoro directly at her heels. Katakuri stepped in front of the singer and tracked the minion's movements. A second later, he launched a jellybean into the kneecap of one of the charging men, taking him out instantly. The man screamed in pain and collapsed on the spot.

“Gum Gum Whip!” Luffy swung her leg out like a scythe, knocking several men from their lizard mounts. The animals kept charging, though; Luffy yelped when one of them bit down on her outstretched limb. “Ow ow ow! Hey! That's not nice!” she snapped her leg back towards her and launched a punch into the lizard's skull; the rapid impact knocked the creature senseless, almost killing it. “Even the animals are attacking!”

Zoro blocked two swords on the length of Shushi, knocked them aside and broke their blades with his retaliation strike. Snorting in annoyance, he drew Sandei Kitetsu and unleashed a razor blade that sent the man flying. “Small fries...” he complained. Was that really the backup that a Supernova took with him?

Katakuri closed his eyes briefly, checking the future. A few men were moving around in a circle, seemingly targeting Luffy – but they were marking a path towards where Tama had taken refuge with Jinbe and Otsuru. A slight scowl crossed his face. “That's your plan...” He pivoted slightly and launched his trident like a missile.

It slammed into one of the men's chest, piercing his heart and killing him instantly. Katakuri unfurled his arm into mochi and launched an attack that somewhat resembled a gum-gum pistol at the second man, trapping him up to his neck in the rapidly hardening treat. Reforming his arm with a snap, Katakuri pivoted back towards Hawkins. A straw demon... it must be his devil fruit power, he thought. It's better that he doesn't report that Luffy is here; if he's wise, he'll be searching for a way to ditch the battle and make the call. In other words, it's best that we take him down quickly before he starts ramping up.

Uta watched the minions get scattered in all directions and bit her bottom lip. Her distaste for violence hadn't changed, but she's keenly aware in that moment that she can't fight outside of her devil fruit. She had a bit of skill in Observation Haki, but having spent years believing Shanks had abandoned her and being aware of the harm that morganeer pirates do made the idea of being a warrior repulsive to her. Once she mastered her Devil Fruit power, fighting with her hands or weapons had seemed redundant in the face of it.

Now she was wishing she could at least throw a decent Armament-fuelled punch in her own defence. It's not that she doesn't trust Luffy, Katakuri or Zoro to protect her, it's just that she's feeling kind of useless right now and doesn't like the sensation.

A few of the samurai try to go after her, but Katakuri kept himself between her and potential danger – either using mochi walls to block of arrows or trapping the legs of their mounts in the sweet, sticky treat instead. His protectiveness caught her a little off guard, but... it was nice. Dismissing some of the dark feelings she was experiencing.

“Gum Gum Jet Gatling!” Luffy finished off the last of the grunts with a storm of blows. Zoro slashed down one of the lizard mounts and pointed one of his swords at Hawkins.

The man had pulled out a denden during the chaos and had just unhooked it, ready to contact one of his superiors. Fortunately a jelly bean missile flashed through the air and tore a hole through his hand, sending the den den flying to the ground some yards away.

Hawkins regarded his wounded hand with a bland expression. Luffy wasn't given more than a second to question this before one of the fallen goons started screaming. “Ahhh! Ahh, what... what is this...?!” Luffy's head snapped towards him and her eyes widened. It was one of the guys she'd punched to the ground, so he should have only had bruises.

Instead, suddenly there was a gaping bloody hole in his hand out of nowhere. “What the...?!” She uttered in shock. That wasn't her!

Hawkins shook his hand slightly; there's a glow of yellow light and the hole in his flesh vanished like it had never been inflicted. Katakuri frowned slightly. The voodoo priest presentation isn't just an affectation, then. His devil fruit allows him to pass off damage onto his underlings. Callous, but very useful.

“Luffy, grab the messenger snail,” he directed. Luffy blinked then bolted for the fallen transponder.

“You figured out what just happened there?” Zoro asked incredulously.

“Mm. Are you familiar with voodoo practices?” Katakuri responded, lifting his arms up and making a quick calculation. “Their priests and priestesses create little dolls to represent people. Supposedly, if enchanted, any damage inflicted on the doll is transferred over to that person, causing serious harm.” Zoro blinked, not understanding, but a sharp inhale behind him revealed that his lesson hadn't gone on deaf ears.

Uta twitched, hissing when she connected the dots. “You're reflecting any wounds you take off onto your subordinates,” she accused Hawkins frigidly. “They're nothing but canon fodder you use to keep yourself safe in battle! You coward!”

“Coward?” Hawkins said, a scowl crossing his face. “Do you not know where you are, stranger? This is Wano. The weak serve the strong, or they die.”

Uta sneered. “I'm sure that helps you sleep at night... how many times did you have to say that to yourself before you started to believe it? Just a few? Did it make grovelling before Kaido and rendering yourself nothing but a grunt of his sting a little less?” Katakuri has a plan, clearly, so why not vent and provide a distraction at the same time?

Hawkin's eye twitched violently; her shot in the dark had hit home. “A noncombatant should know better than to run her mouth,” He said threateningly, lifting his sword. It split into thousands of pieces of straw, shooting towards the sky and starting to form something massive -

-at which point Katakuri flash stepped in front of him and grabbed his face in one hand. Dragging Hawkins clean off his mount, the famed enforcer slammed his head into the ground to knock the wind out of the other man. Then he transformed his hand into mochi and forced the sweet treat into Hawkin's mouth and down his throat, blocking his nose at the same time. “Is that how you speak to a woman?” Katakuri growled. His powers intensified, pinning Hawkins's body to the earth under an iron blanket of candy.

Given that it was his hand, he'd be able to retract it easily enough once the man ran out of oxygen. Even if he transferred passing out to all of his minions, that wouldn't change his inability to get rid of the blockage in his throat!

“Damn,” Zoro uttered, watching in fascination as Hawkins struggled in vain to free himself. That was quick, efficient and brutal. Uta winced and watched the man flail somewhat uncomfortably while Luffy is mostly impressed by Katakuri's quick actions.

His minions black out first, and sure enough, Hawkins cannot escape his bindings. Katakuri watched his eyes roll up in his head and retracted his hand, allowing the man to drop into a painful unconsciousness rather than coldly maintain the oxygen deprivation until he suffocated. He felt a moment of concern that sparing Hawkins could come back to haunt him... but ultimately he dismisses it.

Luffy wouldn't cruelly snuff out the life of someone she'd already beaten. Someone who had no hope of stopping her.

“Check his minions, see if any of them are carrying snails as well.” Katakuri said, calm and practical. “We'll leave them here, without mounts or any way to contact the Beast Pirates. I imagine they'll survive it, but they won't be revealing our presence here any time soon.”

“Okay!” Luffy said cheerfully. She handed off Hawkins's snail and ran to the nearest collapsed samurai, prompting Zoro and Uta to do the same.

The group reconvened as they worked; Sabo glanced at Hawkins with an expression that made it clear he was contemplating killing the man with cold practicality, though he ultimately decides it isn't necessary. Tama breathed a huge sigh of relief when she saw everyone standing and seemingly unhurt, waving enthusiastically at them. “You won!” She said happily. “I knew you would!”

Ace chuckled, adjusting his hat. As much as he'd steamed at not being able to join the fight, he's impressed by how Katakuri had handled the situation. “Never doubt it,” he said confidently.

“I think this is all of them,” Uta said after retrieving a somewhat battered-looking snail. She gently stroked its shell, murmuring soothing words to the weary creature until it calmed in her hands. “What should we do with the den dens? I imagine we can't use them ourselves, but I'd rather not leave them to die.”

“We'll take them with us as far as Kuri; we might be able to sell them for a few coins.” Sabo said, nodding. “Even if the local population can't use them to call friends or family, they would be able to get early warnings of Beast Pirates approaching their home.”

Otsuru looked down at where Hawkins had fallen and felt an incredulous smile cross her face. Katsuki-san brought him down so easily... I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my eyes...! what sort of people have come to our shores?

“With that in mind, let's travel the rest of the way there,” Sabo said with a degree of authority, drawing everyone to him. “It's better that we keep moving and minimize the chance of us running into more mooks like this. So, everyone back to the dog.” He walked over to the large golden creature and gave him a gentle pet on the cheek. “You're doing great; I promise, I'll find some nice clean water for you, for all your hard work.”

Komachiyo barked, unsure if that was possible but glad of the kind offer. He sat on the sand so everyone could easily climb back up onto his back, then once again began running toward their current destination.

King flew through the quiet night air, cursing himself and his confused state of mind. He should have grabbed Yamato before he managed to cross the water to the mainland; what had stopped him? Had he just been flabbergasted by his gall and assumed he wouldn't make it? Did he figure that even if the young oni made it to land, he'd quickly be caught in the Flower Capital and returned in the morning at the latest?

Maybe he'd simply been tired, wired and distracted after watching Luffy fight as Nika over the transmission and impulsively decided he just didn't have the energy to deal with another fit of rebelliousness from Kaido's son. Maybe...

His wrists itched. King set his jaw and tried to ignore the psychosomatic twinge where heavy shackles had once bound his own skin, like the ones that still hung heavily on Yamato's right now. Suddenly he felt a sharper awareness of regret, and self recrimination for – not having tried harder to convince Kaido that the explosives were too harsh, that he should treat his child more gently than the doctors of Punk Hazard –

The Lunarian pulled himself up short, perching on a cliffside and cursing himself. Shaking his head as if doing so will scatter the nagging thoughts that keep gnawing on what conscience he has left. “Pointless,” he whispered to himself.

Like Kaido freeing you was pointless?

The mild voice rebuking him was feminine. Was it the ghost of his mother, or some imagination of what Nika might sound like?

King stared ahead to the north. Damn you, Straw Hat... I can't escape these doubts and feelings you planted in me when you first transformed! Why now?! Why now, after all this time... must you only stir the ruins of my soul like this?!

The fallen angel clenched his fists, then released them, as if doing so will vent out some of the emotions crushing his chest. Woolgathering. He promised Kaido that he would go and find his son, not wasting time sulking on mountaintops. Now, where would Yamato go...? The son of the Emperor would not have any friends in Wano except among the deeply charitable. Not something most of the civilians could afford... and any samurai loyal to the memory of Oden would try to kill him on the spot. He couldn't leave the island, so what was Yamato looking for?

King's wings twitched when a thought curled in his mind. Watching the goings on in Marineford, having stayed behind despite Kaido rushing out to try and claim some of Newgate's territory, and at some point... hearing Yamato cheering in joy and relief, even admist words of worry.

That's right. When he'd infiltrated Wano, Portgas D Ace encountered Yamato and struck up some sort of relationship with him, King recalled. Yamato proudly called the now-Emperor a dear friend in the face of Kaido's fury, while King privately suspected that the oni was hopelessly enraptured in first love. After all, Yamato hardly knew anyone his age and those he did know he had poor relationships with at best.

(Perhaps Page One might have been able to at least develop a friendly, respectful rivalry with him... if his sister was anyone other than Ulti.)

You know that feeling, the joy and giddiness and passion. Even though yours was butchered along with your mother and family and everyone you ever-

Fire snapped around King's collar, thankfully pulling him away from the voice prodding at his reawakened empathy for Yamato.

Portgas... the Emperor of Flame had fought Linlin alongside Monkey D Luffy. The former Emperor had possessed one of the poneglyphs needed to puzzle out the road to Raftel. A red one, like one that Kaido had in his possession. If the girl wanted to follow Roger's footsteps, she needed to come here, to Wano. Perhaps Portgas would follow her even here, with Newgates own ties to Oden as a reason to assist.

Or maybe that was Yamato's hope. And that's why he'd fled when he did – to eventually link up with the Straw Hat pirates upon their arrival and lend them his aide. King flattened his wings against his back as he considered the possibility, an arc of lightning travelling up his spine. Yamato was naive and a dreamer and wanted to 'become' Oden, so why wouldn't he search for potential allies to dethrone his father?

Maybe I shouldn't capture him, King thought as adrenaline began to rush through his veins. If the Straw Hats do come, then if I shadow Yamato he'll lead me right to them. And I'll be able to confront them both before they can do much of anything...

I'll see Monkey D Luffy with my own eyes.

Alber's excitement and hope and a hundred other things, forcing King to push them all into the back of his mind before he leapt to the sky and flew north with renewed purpose.

Chapter 43

Chapter Text

“'We'll only be held up a day',” Law quoted, his eye twitching violently. “'We just need to go on a minor food run'.” His fingers twitched as well. “Sabo-san, I had been under the impression that you were the sensible one here!”

The blonde doesn't even have the decency to look sheepish. “Uta put Bakura Town to sleep and we got the food without so much as throwing a punch,” Sabo argued. Uta smiled innocently and waved when Law's gaze briefly swiveled to her. “They have no idea who robbed them, and we got here in the time that we promised.”

“What happened to not making a scene?!” Law demanded, his voice shooting up several decimals on the words. “All of the grief you've been giving Ace and you turn around and do this?!”

Luffy hugged him. The doctor flailed and tried to dislodge his fiance from him. “Let go! I'm not in the mood for your emotional bribery, we had a plan!”

Reiju was giggling. Giggling, as if she wasn't a princess who knew how much depended on a plan going off without a hitch and shouldn't be condoning this. Law had known that he would regret not sticking with Luffy when the Sunny had gotten caught up in the whirlpool close to shore, but noooo, he'd made the ridiculous mistake of assuming that since Sabo, the revolutionary, was staying with her, she would be kept out of trouble. So he'd ignored his screaming instincts and followed Reiju, Sanji and the others off the ship. And then. And then!

Of course the instant he lets her out of his sight, Luffy decided to pick a fight with a Headliner and a local noble not even a whole ten hours apart, and instead of stopping her Sabo and Katakuri had gone along with it! Yes they had stripped Hawkins of his communicators and dumped him in the desert after Katakuri put a stop to his attempt at making a scene. Yes they had kept Ace from getting identified no matter how much the firebrand had sulked and complained about being left out of fights.

But they'd still gone and robbed Bakura town of a huge amount of food, a theft that would not go overlooked, because Luffy and Uta were upset about how hungry some kids in the village they'd visited were and wanted to do something about it. Even being reunited with his crewmates couldn't save Law from the furious headache he developed the instant the two groups had reconvened.

It had only been two days since they landed! Two f*cking days! How did she do it?!

“But Traffyyyy, we didn't have any other way of paying them,” Luffy said with a pitiful whine. “They gave us clothes for our disguises! Tama said that the townspeople are so nice and always looked out for her!” The little girl they'd picked up somewhere and brought with them because of course Ace had tripped over one of the people he wanted to save before he'd so much as left the beaches. Then brought her along to the place where they were meeting with Kin'emon and the others because why not?

“What kind of Pirate King cares about paying people for things?!” Law responded indignantly. “Just rob them!”

Luffy gave him a scandalized look. “I can't rob Tama's friends! They have so little to begin with, that would just make me a bully!”

Law's eye twitched violently; he was about to really let her have it when Ace embrace him from behind and kissed him on the cheek. “Sorry, Law,” he said lightly. “What's done is done. I promise, we'll make it up to you later.”

The doctor most certainly did not shiver pleasantly at that equally blatant manipulation, nor did it give him...ideas. No, nothing to see here. ...At least he refused to let anyone in the clearing see it. If he remembered this for later, that was his business.

“Why was I cursed to fall in love with lunatics?!” He groused, then blanched when he realized he's used a pural rather than a singular without intending to. Scrambling to cover up for the verbal misstep, he quickly snapped “no, I refuse to be driven to distraction before we've even gotten started.” He squirmed out of Ace and Luffy's grip and looked around the clearing, exasperated. “Does anybody else have a violent confrontation they have to confess too?”

“Well...we were travelling with you, Law. If we had, you would know.” Reiju said a little teasingly, unable to help himself. She couldn't help but think that the doctor might be better served to try and hide how easy it was to wind him up in certain respects.

Law uttered something incoherent and mashed his hand against his forehead. “Captain?” Bepo ventured in concern

“Nothing. It's nothing.” Law ground out. “Kin'emon, are you decent yet?!”

The ruins of 'Oden Castle' shivered slightly, before the door awkwardly slid open to reveal the samurai in question, who looked a little sheepish.

After their impulsive expedition to Bakura town, which involved knocking out an entire city through song, stealing a massive 'treasure ship' laden with food and outright brainwashing a few SMILE fruit users who had avoided being hypnotized by Uta's song, and taking that food back to Kuri town to feed the people there, Luffy's group managed to refocus on their actual objective for the moment – that is, meeting up with their samurai companions on one of the nearby mountaintops. A young samurai in the village named Kiku had offered to take them there, supposedly out of gratitude for Luffy chasing off a very unwanted admirer, and they'd made their way up fairly promptly with her help.

Thanks to Law's ability to multitask, he'd quickly linked his half of the arriving Straw Hats up with his own Heart Pirates in the area and directed them to the mountain as well. On top of preventing anyone from getting lost along the way, he got up to date information on the alliance's efforts to integrate into the local areas and gather the forces they needed for the Raid. So he hadn't been too pleased to discover that Zoro had gotten framed for a crime and was plastered on wanted posters all over the place. A feeling that had been compounded when he found out what Luffy had gotten up to before arriving!

Tama looked about, shy in the face of all of Luffy's friends and companions. Nami and Pudding had gravitated over to her almost immediately, cooing over how cute she was and asking if she was alright and what her name was. This relaxed the little girl somewhat and now she was sitting with the two and happily talking about how she knew Ace and how wonderful her big brother and sister were.

Ace smiled at the sight before glancing sideways at the tall grave markers that stood before the castle ruins. Kozuki Momonosuke, Kin'emon, Kanjuro, Raizo, Denjiro... No wonder no one comes up here, he thought. Either they think their enemy is long dead and irrelevant, or they think this place is where all hope was lost. It made this a good place to meet and plan, but he couldn't help the slight sense that this place was haunted by grief, guilt and regret.

It must have occurred to Oden, right before he died, what kind of pain and suffering was in store for his people because he hadn't been able to kill Kaido. He'd remained composed and defiant to the end, but Ace couldn't imagine dying knowing this and not being consumed by anguish.

“Kin'emon!” Luffy chirped, waving at her friend. It technically hadn't been that long since she last saw him, but it felt like forever. “It's good to see you!”

“I can say the same thing, Luffy-hime!” Kin'emon declared, heartened at the sight of the young captain unharmed and cheerful and vivacious as ever. “It lifts my spirits to see that you and Sanji-dono were able to escape the snare laid out for you.” His eyes slid over to the two figures he didn't recognize; a tall, hulking figure of a man dressed in black and a beautiful, elegant pink-haired woman dressed like a geisha. “A...Am I to assume that man is...?” Had she decided to wed 'Linlin's' terrifying son after all, in spite of having no desire to be her subordinate?

Ah...Momonosuke-sama would be devastated!

Luffy glanced at Katakuri and beamed. “Oh, right! I didn't tell you yet. Guys, this is-”

“Luffy-hime~!” Speaking of whom. Luffy grinned and turned towards the woods where Momonosuke came charging out, bamboo sword resting on one shoulder and his eyes alight with joy. “Luffy-hime, you finally made it!”

“Hey, Momo!” Luffy said brightly. Momo dropped his sword and went in for a hug; instead of picking him up off his feet like usual, Luffy hugged him against her stomach, allowing her to playfully mess with his hair and unwittingly prevent him from indulging in the feel of her upper body. “Oooh, you're practising with a sword?”

Momo nodded eagerly, wishing to impress her with his progress. “That's right! My father used two swords to fight; he developed his own two swords style that allowed him to lay a devastating wound upon Kaido's chest!” Releasing her, he grabbed the bamboo sword and stepped back, flailing the 'blade' around in an attempt to demonstrate. “Like this! He sliced open a cross scar on the middle of Kaido's body when he was in his dragon form. You can still see it now!”

“Ooooh,” Luffy uttered, appropriately awed. She clapped her hands together and said, “That's so cool. Do you want to be able to fight him too? Zoro could help you improve your sword skills!”

Momonosuke stopped dead in his tracks and turned white like a ghost. He slowly turned and stared at the swordsman in question, who leaned on the hilt of one of his three blades and smirked at him while emitting a demonic aura. “I'm not opposed to providing some...instruction,” Zoro said lazily, the picture of a tiger who had seen a rabbit hop out of cover.

And if it meant he could enact some discipline on the brat who kept feeling up his Luffy, he didn't mind spending some time giving lessons.

“A-A-T-That's not necessary,” Momo stuttered out, faintly panicked at the thought of being left at the demon's mercy. “Kin'emon's instruction has gotten me this far, a-and I don't see myself being able to wield three blades as Zoro-dono does! At most I would use two like my father.” He waved his hands defensively.

Luffy nodded, completely oblivious to this byplay, before reaching over and grabbing Katakuri's hand. “Momo, Kin'emon, this is Kat, my new husband!” She said happily. “It's true I met him because Big Mom was trying to trap me, but he's smart and nice and the best big brother you'll ever meet! So I decided I wanted to marry him after all.” She leaned on his arm, nuzzling him.

“It's good to meet you,” Katakuri said with stoic politeness. He immediately noticed Momo's shattered shocked expression and briefly contemplated directly addressing him about it, before electing not to. No need to embarrass the boy in front of all his allies.

“And this is Reiji!” Luffy said, darting over to Reiju and giving her a hug. The taller girl smiled in a friendly manner, waving at the pair. “She's Sanji's big sis! Their not-dad was really horrible to her and wouldn't let her leave his side, so I beat him up and ran away with her!”

“Hello!” Reiju said cheerfully. “I hope to provide plenty of assistance to your cause; I've heard a lot about you on the way here.”

“And this is Uta,” Luffy finished, pulling Uta over with one hand. Uta grinned sheepishly. “She's my best friend! I know I told you and Kanji about her over the snail but it's not the same as meeting somebody in person. Isn't she pretty?!”

“Luuuuu,” Uta sputtered at that last statement, blushing with a mixture of happiness and embarrassment.

Momosuke nodded jerkily, too stunned and distraught over Luffy suddenly being married to even fully register how beautiful Sanji's big sister was. Kin'emon snapped out of his shock and bowed as was proper. “It's an honour to have more of Luffy-hime's companions here.” He said. “Please, come in. I wish I had better accommodations to offer, but... this is all that is left.”

Luffy's smile dropped for a more serious look. Nodding, she followed Kin'emon and belatedly Kiku inside the dilapidated ruins, followed by the rest of her crew.

The inside of the ruined castle wasn't much better off than how it looked from the outside; when Carrot tried to sit down, the wooden beam split open underneath her and dumped her on the floor. Part of the ceiling nearly dropped on top of Chopper when he came inside; a wall of mochi blocked the debris from landing on his head. Pudding coughed at the amount of dust kicked up and gave the insides a somewhat bleak look. “What a mess!” She said, looking around. “Hard to believe this was a castle once..”

Uta gave her a disapproving look before sitting on the floor cross-legged. Luffy dropped down next to her across from Kin'emon, who's mood had become visibly solemn – just like he had back at Zou when he was about to tell them who Momo really was and ask them for help. It worried her a little; something told her she was about to hear some things that would make her really mad. Ace and Law sat down on her right, earning themselves stinkeye from Sanji and Sabo who'd been hoping to take that spot for themselves. Pudding looked between her various lovers, rolled her eyes and muttered something about 'soap dramas' and 'would call the writer a hack if they tried to write this' which Luffy didn't understand but apparently Katakuri did, because he gave his sister a reproving look.

Tama scooted over toward Luffy and Ace, looking very much like she wanted to sit between them but wasn't certain if she was allowed in on this conversation. Ace rolled his eyes affectionately and tugged her close, lifting her onto his legs and giving her a little hug. Luffy grasped the little girl's hand and beamed at her reassuringly.

Sabo looked at the little dynamic with a fond smile before refocusing his attention on Kin'emon. “Luffy has brought me somewhat up to date on the situation,” he said, “So you won't have to repeat too much for the sake of the new arrivals.”

Kin'emon nodded, before uttering a sigh of relief. “I'm glad to hear that,” he said. “Because what I have to tell you today will strain credulity to its breaking point... if you've accepted everything so far, then perhaps that will make it easier to swallow.” He said.

Luffy co*cked her head to the side, curious.

Momo sat down next to Kin'emon, looking uncertain and still giving Katakuri unhappy looks. Meanwhile, the samurai sucked in a deep breath and bowed. “Luffy-hime...Law-dono... Ace-sama,” The young emperor blinked at the respectful address. “All of you, thank you for coming to the land of Wano. That you have joined our fraught cause is something we can never repay.”

“Silly,” Luffy said, smiling. “Don't mention it! I'm happy to be here and ready to kick butt.”

“Sunshine speaks for all of us,” Sanji agreed, ashing his cigar. “We've come this far, Kin'emon, and we're not turning around now however stacked the odds are against us.”

Law nodded briskly. “We're here to fight Kaido, and win.” He said.

Kin'emon shivered slightly with gratitude, while Kiku looked awed. “There's something I must tell you before I can start explaining anything,” he told the group. “Aside from Momonosuke-sama's identity, there's one other thing that I have withheld from you.”

Luffy's expression fell. “Seriously?” She pouted, exasperated to hear this once again. “You guys are so stingy! We're friends, aren't we? What are you so worried about? Tell us!” She'd thought he'd told them everything back at Zou!

“She's right!” Chopper said enthusiastically, waving his little hooves over his head. “We'll keep all of your secrets!”

“I... forgive me,” Kin'emon said, swallowing. “Ever since that day, protecting our master's son was so fraught with peril that revealing anything felt incredibly perilous... my caution overwhelmed all reason. I have absolute faith in our bonds of companionship!” He sighed. “The sheer depth of what I'm going to ask you to accept...”

“Kin'emon, I've lived in the New World for years now. You're really going to have to work at it to surprise me now.” Ace said with a dry grin.

The samurai seemed to accept this. “Kanjuro, Raizo, and the three of us here – we are the members of the Akazaya Nine that you have met now,” he said. “The truth of the matter is, all of us arrived here from the past!”

There's a moment of silence as the room processes this. Pudding snorted in confused disbelief and uttered, “Uh, I'm sorry – what?”

Kin'emon nodded sharply. “Yes! The five of us... we came from the Land of Wano twenty years in the past, sent through time by our lady Toki to arrive at this point – the Wano of the present!” He declared this with absolute authority, letting the words ring in the silence.

Another long pause. Then - “EEEEEEH?!” Luffy screeched in shock. This triggered similar shrieks of shock and disbelief among the others, with even Law looking utterly taken aback by the utterly fantastical revelation. Sabo's calm had also collapsed into total surprise, leaving him gawking while Uta put a hand over her mouth for the sake of politeness.

The only person not fazed was Ace, who just blinked over Tama's stunned head and turned his stare to Momonosuke. “Oh, so that's why you're still the same kid Marco remembers,” The ravenette said with an air of realization. “Man, he's been driving himself crazy trying to figure out how that was possible; we figured it was some sort of devil fruit power, but somehow time travel never came up!”

“Marco...?” Momonosuke repeated. A slideshow of memories flooded through his memory; a young blonde man in purple transforming into a beautiful phoenix, flying around the deck of the Moby and laughing off his pleading to carry him on his back. A guy who was always happy to join in on the mischief Momo attempted and helped him escape from his indignant mother afterwards. A friend he'd never seen since leaving the Moby for the Oro Jackson. “Marco's still alive?!” He gasped.

Ace tilted his head and grinned down at him. “You bet,” he said. “He's First Division Commander now.”

Momonosuke's lips wobbled with joy; after losing his family and the whole world he had known, this revelation almost rocked his world. “He still remembers me?” The young shogun asked pleadingly.

“You should have seen him when he heard you were alive and hanging around on Lu's ship,” Ace responded with a chuckle. “He and Izo were freaking out. And now, they're on their way to join us – so you'll be able to ask him yourself!”

Momo wrapped his arms around himself and uttered a lightly choked happy sound. Kin'emon exhaled a little shakily, a smile of wonder on his face. Kiku's reaction was more emotional; she practically flew across the floor and grabbed a startled Ace by the shoulders. “Izo?!” She gasped. “Izo is coming...?!”

“Yes?” Ace parroted, leaning backwards and shielding a squeaking Tama from getting crushed between them. “I don't know exactly when he and Marco will be landing, but he'll definitely be here? Why?”

Tears filled Kiku's eyes, disbelieving and joyful. Releasing the younger man, she sat back and hugged herself. “I'm sorry... I just... I haven't seen my older brother in so long...I'm so happy that we'll be reunited again, and in this moment...!”

“Brother?!” The room chorused in shock. Ace's eyes widened in comprehension, and he started to smile as Kin'emon nodded.

“Perhaps I should start at the beginning,” The samurai said, a look of nostalgia in his eyes. Looking around the ruins of the castle he continued, “This castle was once called Oden Castle... though that was a nickname. Technically it was the Kuri Castle, but the people of the town loved Oden so much they preferred to refer to the castle as his.”

Kiku retreated back to his side as Kin'emon started to describe Kozuki Oden from the very beginning – how he was an incorrigible troublemaker with a deep desire to see the world. His antics started practically as a baby and got more and more chaotic as he aged, and it didn't escape Luffy's notice that everyone had turned to stare at her about halfway through the list. “Shishishishi... he sounds really cool!” Luffy laughed.

Kin'emon's expression bent with incredible fondness. “Oden-sama was a man like few others... the two of Kuri is proof of that. Before his time, the area where Kuri now stands was a lawless land in Wano. The earth was ill equipped to support crops, and it had no damyio to request funds to improve its fortunes. Ronin and other criminals banished from their villages congregated to the area, fighting each other over the scraps available and terrorizing the innocents who couldn't afford to travel to safer areas... they formed groups, stole from and mutilated each other in a bid for supremacy. The Flower Captial had all but given up on the area.”

“Until Oden decided to pay the area a visit,” Ace recalled the stories Pops had told him across his visits to his home island. “He decided that beating up all the criminals there sounded like a fun way to pass the time. So he did, by himself.”

Luffy's eyes shone like stars. “So cool!” She and Chopper exclaimed in tandem.

Reiju smiled. “What a hands-on sort of prince,” she said approvingly.

“And that was Momo's dad?” Uta asked, violet eyes widening slightly. Momo nodded vehemently, a happy prideful smile on his face.

“Indeed,” Kin'emon said. “After he left the criminals and ruffians in a beaten, battered heap, their leader came forth to fight – a talented swordsman, Ashura Doji. They clashed immediately, but the man was no match for Oden. After that, the ruffians respected him, and he became their leader.”

Uta felt a little bubbling feeling of respect for the phantom samurai. “He really turned Kuri around,” she realized. “By turning them into his followers, he prevented their crime sprees completely. The area was made safe overnight.”

Kin'emon nodded. “Not only that! Oden then turned their attention to improving the state of Kuri itself. He taught the ruffians to work, and he set about changing the area completely – he built houses, castles, paved roads and created the Paradise Farm to feed the people no matter the weather, crop blight or infertile soil.” He smiled. “His father the shogun made him Damyio of Kuri in recognition of how he had made it a thriving town, full of happy and content people.”

Sabo grinned at the mental image. “There's a guy worthy of respect,” he said. “Going out and improving the lives of his people with his own two hands, rather than ineffectually attempting to crack down from afar or just ignoring it.”

Katakuri tilted his head to the side. “I remember Oden,” he said, causing Momo to stare at him in shock and Luffy pivoting to stare eagerly at him. “I encountered him a number of times, both when he was travelling with Whitebeard and then with Roger. I never met a person with such an absurd amount of energy, so reckless and bold... until I met Luffy.”

Luffy nuzzled his arm. “Awww, Kat...”

“I did wonder how a man from Wano ended up joining a pirate crew,” Katakuri continued, glancing between Kin'emon and Ace. “The isolation policy was not invented by Kaido, after all.”

Kin'emon's smile became a little rueful as a mixture of emotion filled his chest. “The day that Oden-sama was to inherit the position of Shogun from his father, messengers came rushing to the capital. A massive pirate crew had been shipwrecked on the shores of Wano; that crew was the one serving under the Good Captain Whitebeard. Upon hearing this, Oden rushed to the shore and attempted to join the crew to fulfill his desire to see the outside world.”

“Pops wasn't enthused at first,” Ace said with a little smile. “He kept trying to shoo Oden off, and once the Moby was patched up he tried to sail off without him... only for Oden to take a flying leap into the rapids and grab into the anchor chain for dear life. Pops was so flabbergasted that he decided that if the guy could hold on for three days, he could join the crew. ”

“Izo went after him and jumped onto the Moby himself...” Kiku recalled, wishing not for the first time that she'd had the courage to jump after him – she'd been paralyzed by shock at Oden's leap and when she snapped out if it the Moby was too far for her to attempt to catch up. “He travelled with Oden-sama the entire time and stayed on board after bonding so tightly with the crew there.”

“Pops grew to care a lot about Oden. He was impressed when Oden gave up before the deadline so he could rush to an island where he heard a young woman screaming for help; that was Toki, Momo's mom. After that, Pops invited them both on the crew for real. Oden was the only guy he ever called 'Little Brother',” Ace said. “He sulked a lot when mom managed to convince him to take Oden onto her crew so she could reach Laugh Tale.”

“What a guy!” Chopper said happily. “Oden is so cool!”

Law glanced silently out of the castle, in the direction of the grave markers and the ruined land just beyond it. Nami followed his gaze and her mood immediately dropped, having similar thoughts to him. “What happened?” Uta asked, biting her bottom lip. “If Oden was so loved and such a thoughtful ruler, why did someone go as far as to plot with Kaido to usurp him?”

Immediately Kin'emon's expression collapses into old grief. Kiku's shoulders tremble and Momo began to shake and sniffle with repressed sobs. Ace, not knowing the answer either, leans forward and watches while Tama listens this all with impossibly wide eyes.

Luffy stared, coiled tight as a spring.

“Oden-sama...” Kin'emon choked out. “He... was set up by Orochi and Kaido...!” He punched the floor helplessly. “Orochi was a weasel of a man who wormed his way into the graces of Oden's father while our master was away travelling... it turned out that he was a Kurozumi...!”

“A what?” Nami inquired, baffled.

“The Kurozumi used to be an aristocratic family who had great status and power in the Flower Capital...” Kiku stumbled over the words. “Before Oden's father was born, it was thought that the Kozuki patriarch was sterile; he'd been trying and failing to have children for years. As one of the premiere families of the realm, Orochi's grandfather decided to make a play to guarantee his family taking over the succession.”

Kin'emon nodded weakly. “He poisoned all the other potential heirs... only for the Kozuki to successfully conceive a son. His hopes dashed, the Kurozumi plot was discovered, and the man was forced to commit seppuku. His clan was conquered.”

“Conquered?” Uta repeated with a hard frown. Sabo's eyes narrowed slightly and he reached over the squeeze her hand, silently urging her not to prod too hard there right now. The white and red-haired girl didn't look pleased, but nodded.

“Yes. Or at least, that's what was believed,” Kiku said, missing the pointed nature of the singer's question. “Orochi discarded his family name and climbed the ranks until he was in the position to contact Kaido...and then Oden-sama...!”

“He died... as a criminal... in the flower capital...!” Kin'emon sobbed out.

Tama's lips parted in shock. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it fearfully and leaned back against Ace's chest. A wave of shock washed over the crew, briefly pushing the Kurozumi revelation back in their minds.

“Seriously?!” Luffy fumed. “That sneaky sh*t... Orochi!”

Kin'emon swallowed and shakily explained what had happened afterwards – how Oden had saved them from the brutal execution of boiling oil, and how they'd run from there to this very castle where Oden's wife Toki, Momonosuke and the boy's sister Hiyori were already under attack from Kaido and the beast pirates. Forcing their way inside, they'd located the family and Toki said that she would send them twenty years into the future.

“The time-time fruit...” Reiju murmured, looking up at the ceiling. “So it is real. It's mentioned in a few devil fruit encyclopedias, but always with a footnote questioning if it actually existed or was just a rumour. It can't go into the past, only into the future.”

“Whoa...” Tama whispered, trying to imagine it.

“When we arrived in the past... it was crisis after crisis...” Kin'emon remembered. He explained what happened in the immediate aftermath, how they'd encountered Kozuki loyalists and how they'd decided that they must take the risk and search the wider world for allies who could possibly stand up to the hulking monster that was Kaido. Raizo had gotten separated from them in the waters near Zou, Kanjuro had gotten pinned down in Dressrosa thanks to Doflamingo being informed of their arrival, then Momo getting on the wrong ship and getting trapped in Dressrosa.

“I was chopped up by Law-dono, who is now a close and valuable ally of mine... and I was in deep trouble!” Kin'emon remembered. Law's lips twitched slightly at the reminder; it wasn't quite regret, but now he did wish that he hadn't just chopped the man up and left it at that. “But then I met you guys.”

The Straw Hats who had been at Punk Hazard all smiled, even the usually stoic Zoro.

“For all the danger we faced, I found allies that I could trust with my life... I even encountered the Good Captain Whitebeard's son and heir, as good a man as he who took Oden-sama under his wing, and pledged to help us.” Kin'emon said, his expression warming up and all tears vanishing. Ace's heart squeezed a little. “So I have returned.”

The samurai smacked the floor beneath him. “Orochi and his allies have spoken the Kozuki name, but few, if any of them believe that we are alive and here. Which is good for us! We do not even appear on local wanted posters. They think of us as ghosts.”

Kiku sighed and leaned pointedly on his shoulder. “Even I thought the same, and we were on the same side.” She said dryly.

Kin'emon winced. “I'm sorry about that...”

Law rolled his eyes and cleared his throat. “If we're going to pull off the Raid, we need to keep Kaido and Orochi both from discovering our presence here until the very last moment.” He said. “With that in mind, Ace – you said that you have Yamato's vivre card on you. Will you be able to go and find them on your own? Without getting noticed?”

Ace groaned and mimed punching Law. “Yeah, yeah, haven't you and Sabo run that joke into the ground by now?” He complained, digging into his borrowed Wano clothes and pulling out a small square of paper. “It's shaking a little... but it looks like she isn't seriously hurt.” His eyes darkened a little with worry.

“I'll go with you,” Katakuri offered unexpectedly. “It's better that you not be alone. Kaido must have sent some men to drag his wayward child home, and I imagine all of them will recognize you.” He glanced at Luffy. “Is that alright, Luffy?”

She nodded vehemently. “Yup! Take care of each other out there, guys!”

“Where should we return to once we find her?” Ace asked, looking between her and Kin'emon.

“Not here. I'll give you my white den den and we'll give you the next meetup point once you found her. We can't stay in one place,” Law said. His mind was already in motion. “We can't have a single base of operations. Not when the Beast Pirates can travel the length of the island whenever they please for as long as they wish.”

Kin'emon nodded. “Indeed. We must remain mobile.” Squaring his shoulders, he began speaking firmly and drawing everyone's attention. “Kaido and Orochi have a massive army at their beck and call. On our side, we have Luffy-hime and the Straw Hat Pirates, Law-dono and the Heart Pirates, Ace-sama, Marco-sama and Izo along with their divisions of the Whitebeard Pirates, the Mink Tribe's musketeers, and samurai who are still loyal to the Kozuki family. In all, I believe to succeed we will need at least five thousand men.”

Sabo hummed. “Living circ*mstances are so dire here, I imagine it won't be too hard to find men, even those who wouldn't fight for justice or ideological reasons.” He observed with the experiences as a Revolutionary behind him. “If we want to find a good place to start looking, we should check out Wano's jails; with how long this has been going on, they'll be filled with people who's 'crime' was resisting or criticizing the regime.”

“It's almost textbook... though it'll be hard to get into the jails without getting noticed,” Uta observed.

“You raise a good point, Sabo-dono...” Kin'emon sighed. “However, we do not wish to make an outright war; it would only devastate Wano further. “We wish to secretly gain information on our enemies, Kaido and his men and Orochi, and prepare a plan to ambush them within Kaido's own stronghold of the island Onigashima. Once we overpower their defenses, our goal is to behead the leaders and bring an end to this!”

“Even within the Land of Wano we have to cross the ocean?” Brook asked, taken aback.

Reiju shook her head with a wry grin. “Classic New World nonsensical geography...” she mused. “We'll want some sort of cover for our approach; is there a festival or some other public celebration that we can use as a cover?”

“There is.” Kiku responded. “It's called the Festival of Fire.”

And in the ruins of Oden Castle, a plan is fully hashed out.

“Aniki, can't I go with you?”

Ace ruffled Tama's hair and straightens up. Everyone had gone outside after the plan had been agreed upon, wanting to do some last minute training and preparations. He was dressed in a heavy overcoat with a hood and had a heavy backpack with a few days of decent food. “I won't be gone long,” He promised her. “Plus, I need somebody to look out for Luffy while I'm elsewhere. You can do that for me, can't you?”

Tama reluctantly nodded, despite her fear and concern for him. Katakuri gave Luffy a small hug, one she returned enthusiastically. “I know you can handle it,” she said, “but I'm excited to meet Yamato, so try to come back as soon as possible!”

Katakuri smiled softly. “As you wish."

“Take care of the hothead for us!” Sabo added cheerfully, earning himself an aggrieved look from Ace.

“I will,” Katakuri said, visibly amused by the back and forth. Ace grumbled something under his breath before the two of them set off together.

They were the first to leave, since they had a clear direction to go in. The others were still speaking with Kin'emon and Shinobu where they would best enbed themselves to get information while Franky kept working on getting the blueprints and Robin drew closer to being summoned to Orochi's palace in her capacity as a geisha.

“My lady, you are stunning.” Shinobu praised Reiju when Luffy wandered over to them. The tall, cuvy pinkette was decked out in a geisha's dress, and to say it fit her well was almost an insult to how beautiful she looked. “No man will be able to keep his eyes off of you. A mature woman is truly a deadly thing...”

“You flatter me,” Reiju said lightly. “In all seriousness, I've done this sort of honey trap interrogation trick before. As long as Orochi keeps his hands to himself I'll have him dancing to whatever tune I sing.”

“No man better touch you,” Sanji growled, now dressed as a soba cook. He wasn't pleased with his sister's decision to disguise herself as a geisha, wanting very much to destroy any minion who got lecherous thoughts while looking at his big sister.

“Oooh...” Luffy whispered, her eyes glued to Reiju's form. She's so, so pretty... it's hypnotizing. “Reiji, you're amazing...”

Reiju smiled at the compliment. “Hearing that from you is nice. I suspect it will be the only compliment I get in this dress from someone who's opinion I value.” She said.

Luffy's heart squeezed happily. Oh... is this feeling....? Can it be? I've never thought about girls that way before! R-Right? Nika giggled helplessly at the back of her mind, which was just rude. B-But that was right; she'd married a girl named Lucia a long time ago... so if the feelings were the same, Luffy could feel that way too, couldn't she?

“Uta, you look lovely too. The kunoichi look suits you,” Reiju complimented the other girl.

Uta blushed a little and dropped down from the tree she'd was practising climbing in. She'd been given a similar outfit to Nami by Kin'emon, albiet one that was red and white to match her hair instead of blue and yellow. She'd been about as displeased with it initially as the navigator had been, but she was trying to get used to it nonetheless. “Thank you. I admit I feel a little exposed... This feels like something I'd wear for a concert where the theme was all seduction; not exactly battle attire.”

Reiju looks at her and a small, teasing smile crosses her lips. “I'll admit, I feel inclined to give you lingering looks rather than have my gaze slide over you as a ninja should,” she said lightly.

“R-Reiju!” Uta managed, embarrassed. “Y-You're too nice...I'm not that pretty standing next to you...”

Luffy glanced at her childhood friend and blurts out instantly, “that's not true! You're so beautiful, Uta!” Her cheeks heat up when Uta snapped her a wide eyed look and blushed like a tomato. Reiju looked between them and resisted the urge to giggle, oblivious to the second existential crisis she's given the straw hat goddess.

A few yards away, a somewhat more serious conversation was going on. “Sanji, I think you should hold onto it,” Sabo said, closing his hand around the Raid Suit that the blonde had been fuming over. He held up the other to forestall the third prince's furious response. “Regardless of what you think of its origins, Reiju still uses her Raid Suit; do you think she's a weakling relying on false strength?”

Sanji's eye twitched as he tried to process that. “N...No, of course not,” he said after a second of internal struggle. “Reiju's spirit is incredibly strong; stronger than mine, I'd say.”

Sabo suppressed a sigh of relief and continued to press his case. “Kaido and his men are stronger than anyone we've fought before short of Big Mom herself.” He said. “We need every advantage that we can get our hands on. I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't think we'd need it down the line; I'm sorry, I know it's tied to a lot of bad memories.” He squeezed Sanji's hand. “Sanji, a weapon cannot change its wielder. And you're a good man, one of the best I've ever met. I don't think you have anything to fear.”

His blue eyes widening, Sanji's mouth opened and closed without sound a few times before managing, “You... really mean that? I mean, I'm a pirate, and a brute, and a vagabond...”

Sabo shook his head as if brushing those statements aside. “You were willing to risk your life saving your brothers, despite everything they did to you, because you learned at the eleventh hour that they had no agency.” He said. “Do you have any idea how many people would have just shrugged and left them to die? You let yourself get beat to a pulp by Violet's crew, without having any idea of what she'd do next, because you believed in her tears and could see that there was something beneath her mask. You tried to take Zoro's place when Kuma was going to give him all of Luffy's pain despite being more injured than he was. You've got a heart of gold under all your bluster.”

He closes his eyes and smiles slightly. “If you don't mind me saying... I think Reiju is right, and your mom is very proud of you.”

Sanji swallowed over the sudden rock in his throat. His heart was trying to beat out of his chest, and he shoves the Raid Suit into his pocket. “I hope so,” he said. “I would like to be everything she hoped for when she took that concoction.”

Sanji clasped his shoulder with one hand. “You've already succeeded. Just stay who you are,” the revolutionary said encouragingly.

The cook nodded, unable to speak. “Besides,” Sabo winked. “I think you'll make a even better Ranger than the Stealth Black in the comics.”

This got a laugh out of Sanji, who was now keenly aware of the intense warmth filling his chest when he looked at the other man. He didn't know if he wanted to do something with it or follow his first instinct and flee as fast as he could.

Zoro observed the back and forth with an arched eyebrow. “When did that happen?” He wondered. “The sh*t cook would usually flip his lid if he thought a man was flirting with him, after spending two years in 'hell'.” He looked between them and shrugged. “Well, whatever the hell happened, this is healthier for him. Not that I was ever worried about the idiot...”

Pudding snorted loudly, twirling in her own geisha getup. “Who are you trying to convince, me or yourself?” She asked.

“That's not a bluff, that's a fact.” Zoro snapped.

“Sure,” Pudding deadpanned. “Give it up, I'm a Charlotte. I know what actual hatred and loathing looks like; Vinsmoke drives you up the wall and you clash on a million things, but the instant his life was in danger you'd be the first one leaping to his defence – assuming Luffy was tied up doing something else.”

Zoro twitched, slightly paling at being called out. “T-That's just because the moron is my crewmate. No one hurts one of ours.”

“Wow, does it hurt to be that deep in denial?” Pudding said, rolling her eyes.

“What are you even doing here?” He asked crankily. “Did you hitch a ride on the Sunny just to grace us with your smart remarks?”

Pudding crossed her arms and met his gaze with a slightly wavering determined look. “Because I didn't feel like sticking around while Mama's regime got dismantled! Do you think that being her favourite would protect me after she died? And Luffy s-said – she said - “

She stalled, her eyes going glassy and distant. The abrupt change surprised Zoro who's body language softened ever so slightly at the sudden flash of distress in the younger girl. “-she revealed herself to be a completely softhearted lunatic who would gladly risk her life for somebody she barely knew, so I decided that tagging along with be advantageous for me!” She stuck her nose in the air, scrambling to cover for her slip up. “Since secrecy is so paramount, I'll wager I'm going to be even more useful to her than you are until the Raid. So there!”

“We'll see about that,” Zoro growled, but not nearly as threateningly as he'd intended to. That glassy-eyed look uncomfortably reminded him of how Robin would lock up and shut out her emotions before the CP9 stuff happened.

While this talk was going on, Luffy stiffened when her Observation Haki started screaming at her out of nowhere. Alarmed, she looked wildly all around her, but couldn't see any sign of what was triggering it. The area looked calm and peaceful; everything was quiet except for her nakama talking, the wind wristling through the trees and-

-the rumbling of storm clouds?

Luffy pivoted and stared in shock. The clear sky of day was suddenly being swallowed up by a mass of black clouds that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was like when her papa controlled the weather, but no wind and rain he'd ever summoned felt like this. The incredible pressure in that cloud... it felt like Big Mom. It felt like a demon!

Law must have noticed too, because he appeared in her peripheral vision a few seconds later. “Is that...?” He uttered, his whole body tightening with stress. “You've got to be kidding me...!”

The vision slammed into Luffy like a sea stone bullet. Panic shot through her; she had mere seconds to react and no time to explain, so she just grabbed Law by the arm and braced herself. “Everyone, hold still!” She shouted, quickly shifting into Gear 2. This was gonna hurt, but she can make it!

“What?!” Several people cried on top of each other. Luffy couldn't hear them; pumping all her strength into her legs, she bolted, crashing into each of her nakama in time and flinging them into the underbrush a fair distance away from the shrine. She was just doing tossing Sabo out of range when the massive blast of fire struck home like a canon.

It didn't hit her dead on; she'd managed to put just enough distance between herself and the point of impact to avoid that. However even a glancing blow from Kaido's breath attack was a brutal attack, and Gear 2 did not provide much in the way of defence. The fire burned, Luffy felt pain, and then she was knocked completely senseless.

The last coherent words she heard were 'Uta, wait!'

Kaido circled down towards the ruins of Kuri Castle, drunk and in a fit of pique. That Kurozumi mole better be right about Luffy and her crew being here; he wanted them all alive, for now, so he could take them to Onigashima. If they were strong enough to topple Linlin, they were strong enough to join his crew – or be destroyed. He wasn't totally at peace with his old comrade's death, even if he largely was glad of it. There had to be some sort of accounting for it.

Roger's brat would suffice for that. Kaido boiled at the thought of him, how he'd turned Yamato against him and filled his son's head with ideas of rebellion that were unfolding now. Portgas dared to steal his only family from him?!

As he drew closer to the mountaintop, however, Kaido began to hear something odd – above the sound of fire crackling, there was a voice. It sounded like... singing...?

“Now... let worry fall away...”

It was. He could hear it clearly now – it's a girl, a young woman. Some woman singing to her child to comfort them before their inevitable death?

Suddenly the world went completely black like the sun had been snatched from the sky. Kaido looked around, confused, his drunken mind slow to catch up with the sudden seismic shift. Had he passed out? No, he can still hear that voice.

The sky turned red and suddenly -

PAIN!

Kaido shrieked in shock when a line of piano wire rammed through his nose, impaling it from one end to the other. Unable to process how something had suddenly pierced through his haki without triggering a warning, the dragon found himself yanked upwards like he was a fish on a line as music notes burst into existence all around him.

“No fear allowed to stay...”

Kaido wrenched his head, clawing at the wire and trying to pull himself free. It resisted stubbornly, shocking the normally invulnerable pirate. What is this?! The pain piercing through his drunken haze, Kaido unleashed a torrent of fire to melt it instead. This worked, and he looked around in search of his opponent.

“My wish is now your dream, and my hope never ending.”

A slender figure dropped from the sky and landed in front of him. It's the source of the voice; she's wearing silver full body armour, concealing her every feature except for red and white hair. The notes and that damned wire swirled around her like fairy dust.

“When clouds build up inside, my song will clear the sky, everything will be alright-”

Livid, Kaido unleashed a second breath attack on the figure clearly responsible for his pain. The attack would annihilate all but the hardiest New World survivors. So when the fires faded and the knight, half disintergrated, made a vaugely annoyed gestured and snapped her fingers – Kaido's eyes bugged out of his head as the damage he did was casually erased in less than a second.

“You know I'm invincible.”

Chapter 44

Chapter Text

Uta was perfectly aware that fighting Kaido one on one was suicide for most people. It might well be suicidal of her, despite the way her powers stacked the deck in her favour - but with seeing Luffy almost consumed by a fireball, concussed and bleeding from saving them from the dragon's unexpected attack shut down that rational centre of her brain.

If she dies, she'll have died doing some good. Protecting the woman she loves and the people she cares about, the people who have become her friends and companions so quickly. Kaido can't discover them if he's asleep and fighting for his life. They can escape and regroup, and hopefully Kaido will be well distracted by the holes she's going to fill his hide with!

She summoned a full body armour suit at the last second, hiding her identity as the Dream Realm swirled and reformed at the command of its queen. If the design resembled a one off character from the Sora comics, that was her business.

Kaido swung his massive head town towards her, blood dripping down his muzzle as the dragon zoan focused in on the source of his pain.

Uta had never seen any of the first four Emperors in person before she chased Luffy to Whole Cake Island. Shanks had told her stories, but even the worst of her imagination hadn't been able to match the reality. The singer had never felt so tiny... Kaido's dragon form dwarfed her so many times over, haki radiating off of him like a suffocating wall of fire. His eyes were bigger than her whole body, flames licking around his jaw as he processed who had hit him and actually pierced his hide. His power was immense, but he had none of Shanks's warmth. He's every bit the demon that Tot is.

“Let's fight him together,” Tot Musica whispered urgently in her ear. “The power I can feel... it's almost impressive, for a mortal. You need me.”

“I need you like I need to gargle magma, not shut up and let me focus.” Uta thought back.

“You...” Kaido sneered, his confusion tampered down in exchange for sheer incredulousness. The only person he could see anywhere was this one single small knight... who just shook off a direct attack from him like she was flicking lint of the sleeve of her coat. “You're bold, I'll give you that. Who are you? Give me your name!”

Uta snorted and snapped her fingers. The dream world surged around her; the ground beneath Kaido dropped hundreds of feet to create a massive crater lake. Tapping her foot on the edge of the newfound cliff she was standing on caused a waterfall bigger than the one at the mouth of Wano itself to burst free of the stone and earth, drenching the surprised Emperor in water and pounding him down toward the basin. Uta leapt from the ground to a music note platform in the sky; Kaido hurtled himself away from the falls and unleashed another blast attack that obliterated the area she'd been standing on.

“My words carry birds in flight...”

Uta briefly resurfaced mentally in the real world to observe Kaido's sleeping body. He'd collapsed unceremoniously on the earth a ways away from Kuri, likely scaring the people there silly but hopefully not hurting anyone. He wasn't the only one who'd been snared in her spell; she could sense a hulking brute who could only be Jack and a bunch of bandits and Beast Pirates further back in her realm as well.

No civilians, though. Thank goodness. Nevertheless...

Uta dropped back into the dream world and let another breath blast punch through her, regenerating her body afterwards. Stretching out her consciousness, she quickly located the extraneous members in the blast zone of her battle and grabbed them all with her powers, imprisoning each of them in separate impenetrable note blocks high in the sky. She didn't need any distractions.

Even if she'd been aware that one of those men was a former member of the Akazaya Nine, she would have simply resolved to apologize later.

Kaido flew towards her like a missile; Uta shut her eyes and teleported past him so his jaws snapped sut around empty air. Turning around, she pointed one hand towards the sky and created hundreds of sea stone spikes in the air. The dream world gave her just enough wiggle room to be able to spawn the deadly mineral within it, though it remained exactly as dangerous to her as it was to Kaido.

“See how I move with such grace... like a dancer on a stage...”

The Petals Scatter, Uta thought before unleashing her bladed storm. Kaido blocked most of them with a shock wave, while the remainder pierce through his scales and into his flesh. An enraged cry spilled from his lips as the man was forced to shrink down from his dragon form.

Uta was forced to dodge hurriedly as the rest of the storm flew out in her direction. Her last jump brought her level with Kaido on a rocky level ground. The Emperor was breathing heavily; exerting a large amount of Haki, he shakily reached back and tore the sea stone spike out of his back, tossing it aside. Uta stared blankly at the herculean effort. I'm not sure if I'm furious or impressed, she thought drolly.

Kaido drew his massive club and stared at her with new, almost wary eyes. “A siren,” he mused to himself. “What power is this...? Bah. It does not matter.”

In a flash he was right in front of her. Uta instinctively lifted her arms and barely managed to generate a barrier in time before a lightning charged mace crashed down on her head. The weapon was burning with Haki as black as her father's on the rare occasions that something made him serious. The ground shattered beneath her, obliterating trees and rock formations in all directions.

Uta snapped her fingers again and raised her voice up. Summon Spirits – come to me, endless warriors! Thousands of musical notes flashed in the air around them before taking the form of red clad knights armed with swords and lances – she imagined them with katana, like the sort that Oden and his samurai used. Using the barrier to bat Kaido's attack aside and teleporting away from the follow up, Uta ordered all of them to attack at once like a crimson wave.

Kaido whirled on the spot and swung his mace in long practiced arcs to bash the sudden new variables away; Uta picked up her tempo and generated more and more and more of them for every one that he destroyed. Then she stomped her foot on the ground to trigger another arena transformation; gravity intensified a dozen times over and the circle of ground they were fighting on rocketed up into the sky – far above Wano, up through the clouds until they were between the stars themselves.

Uta felt the black wings burst out of her back and spread wide as Kaido started to get swarmed. He was holding his own; none of the strikes were doing any serious damage to him, just little cuts that he could walk off and quite possibly wasn't even noticing. His natural armor truly was no joke. So that won't work. Fine... technically, the fight in this world is a distraction.

“Let's reach as high as we can go!”

The stars were so close she could almost reach out and touch one. Uta smirked dryly underneath her helmet, music lines spinning out from her fingers as more music warriors crashed down on Kaido relentlessly. The gold piano wire zipped out like a snake and bound the Emperor's legs together; he'd been so focused on the sheer deluge of opponents that she managed to slip it past his Observation Haki and snapped them together.

“Now!”

The earth circle's trajectory did a full reverse. The merciless hold of magnified gravity seized Kaido and the ground he stood on and dropped them, sending them hurtling back down to 'Wano' below like a meteor dragged from the heavens.

In the waking world, Uta directed Kaido's body up into the air and made him fly out, away from Kuri and across the forests they'd travelled to reach this point. She couldn't make him fly too quickly without dividing her concentration to the breaking point, but it was a start.

Back in the dream Uta flew downward, keeping pace with the meteor she'd created. Kaido seemed to think he was in some kind of trouble, because he was doing his level best to break free, transforming into his dragon form again. Uta quickened the beat of her song and gave the sea stone spears to her knights and directed them to pin him, not fight him.

A massive fireball flew at her, Uta summoned her shield again. The scalding heat crashed into it, the fires licking at her body around the edges and heating her armor to dangerous degrees. Uta stumbled over a line of song and extended her shield further. The impact of the attack made her arms shake a little. He can even push against an invulnerable shield in the dominion of the dream realm? She wondered. What a monster...

A monster who is nothing before me, Tot Musica put in helpfully. His shadow crossed the sky, blocking out the moon and stars as his ghostly figure stared down at her. I can tear his hide open and snap the little fish snake in half for you. We could present his broken body before Luffy and Nika as a courting gift!

I'm doing fine! That's enough from the peanut gallery! Uta pushed back, dismissing the end of the attack and the shield seconds before her impromptu meteor slammed into the ground. Catching herself, she flung herself back upward into the sky as the ground gave way and a class four earthquake from the impact shook all of 'Wano'. The tremors and impact shockwave crunched against her armour, knocking her backwards.

It hurt, and she focused a few seconds on regenerating before looking for her opponent again. No way that was enough to kill him. Where... there!