Chapter Text
Nami coughs up blood again and you blink hard to clear the tears from your eyes as you dab her mouth clean with a damp cloth.
You forgot.
You fucking forgot that she was going to get bitten by some prehistoric nightmare insect and she’s fucking dying and you remember that she was seriously ill but this seems so much worse than you remember—she wasn’t coughing up blood and throwing up every ten minutes on screen!!!—and you’re the only person on board with any medical training and literally everything you know comes from your weeks-long crash course from Crocus and the single textbook he gave you.
If Nami dies, it’s your fault. You’re doing everything you can for her and Sanji has managed to work a miracle by infusing broth with enough vitamins and electrolytes that she hasn’t died from dehydration yet but it’s getting harder for her to eat with every day that passes.
Drum Island is still so far away and at this point… you’re not sure if she’s going to last that long.
You just feel so completely helpless. If your sisters were here, they’d know exactly what to do. If you were on the Moby, Nami would already be better. But they aren’t and you’re not and Nami is slipping further and further away with every passing minute.
It’s hell.
“We’re going to find a doctor,” Luffy promises, placing his hand on her shoulder, “You hear me, Nami?”
You’d be shocked if she could hear anything, but you need to hear that just as much as she does. Luffy keeps his promises. If you can count on anything, you can count on that.
Luffy leaves after a little while to go help Usopp and Zoro on deck, leaving you, Vivi and Sanji to try and keep Nami’s temperature down. Sanji has your textbook open on his lap and reads anything he thinks might be remotely helpful while you and Vivi dip washcloths in cold water.
The ship rocks suddenly, and it’s only your quick reflexes that keep the bucket of cold water from dumping all over Nami’s bed.
“What the hell was that?!” Sanji demands. He jumps to his feet, closing the book and somehow putting it gently to the side while moving to lift Nami’s bed clear off the ground to keep it steady as the ship rocks again.
The rocking stops and the three of you look at each other.
“Is it over?” Vivi asks quietly.
You don’t hear anything, but when you take a deep breath to calm down, you’re able to stretch out your Observation past the Going Merry and you can feel dozens of new presences. You’re already on your feet when the cackling laughter echoes through the ship.
“Vivi, stay with Nami,” you say as you hurry for the door. Sanji is hot on your heels.
“Hey, what’s going on?!” Sanji demands. He stops dead when he takes in the scene, and you don’t blame him because the sight of Wapol the ugly-ass shithead of an ex-king eating a knife while dozens of his men stand on the Merry’s deck with guns pointed at your friends is maybe not the most fun sight to see, but you’re on a mission. You point your finger at him hard enough to get everyone’s attention.
“Hey ugly!” you shout. Wapol does such a big double take that it’s basically a triple take.
“Are you talking to me, you insolent little brat?!”
“Yeah, you! Do you have a snail on your ship?!”
Wapol bristles, and so do all of his men because how dare you insult their precious king?!
“Of course I do, what kind of uncivilized—”
“Okay, thanks!” you shout, relief flooding through you before you take off.
“Hey, what the—”
“Where are you going?!”
“Stop her!”
“Hey, you can’t go there!”
“Get back here!”
You ignore the shouts from Wapol’s men and the Straw Hats as you sprint across the Merry’s deck and launch yourself into the air, landing easily on the deck of Wapol’s ship. You tear through the ship, punching and shoving anyone that tries to stop you from searching through every single room you can find. It doesn’t take that long because you’ve seen enough pirate ships to know where the important stuff is kept, and in the least tastefully decorated captain’s suite you’ve ever seen—Jesus Wapol, get a girlfriend already—you find the ship’s transponder snail. He’s got a metal jaw and a purple shell and it’s an awful look, but you’re desperate and that makes him the most beautiful snail you’ve ever seen. You screech to a stop and your feet literally burn scorch marks into the deck.
“Hi,” you tell the snail, “I’m…”
You trail off before you can tell the snail a name. No, that’s probably not a good idea. So instead you smile at the surprised creature and say, “I’m trying to help my friend and I really need your help to do that. If I promise to feed you all the lettuce you could ever want, is it okay if I take you with me?”
You hold your breath as the snail deliberates with himself, because he’s a living creature and you might be desperate but you can’t stomach the idea of kidnapping a sentient being without its permission and so you just wait. The snail eyes you cautiously, but then its eye stalks swivel around to take in the room’s um… tasteful decorations (which include more female-presenting nipples than you saw in all your days of communal showers with your teammates on the track and field team) one more time and before your eyes, the metal jaw falls away with a clang and the shell fades from the same vibrant purple as Wapol’s hair to something closer to lavender.
You beam and chant, “thank you thank you thank you!” before bending down to pick the snail up, transponder set and all, and tuck him close to your chest.
It’s pretty uneventful getting back to the Merry, just more one-handed punching and shoving. You land on deck just as Luffy sends Wapol flying with a Gum Gum Bazooka, and then he turns to look and you and just kind of goes, “Oh good, you’re back.”
“What is that?” Vivi asks quietly as you pet your new friend’s shell while he sets in on the veritable feast that Sanji prepared for him.
“It’s a transponder snail,” you answer. Vivi laughs quietly.
“I know that, I’m just wondering why you needed one so badly you took it from him?”
“Well, he’s a jerk so I figured he probably deserved it,” you smile. But just for a second, then the weight of the world sets back in. You look at Nami and your heart sinks. She doesn’t look any worse than she did this afternoon—that’s the only reason you haven’t picked up the transponder yet—but you’re still a long way from Drum. If that changes, you won’t have a choice. When you glance back at Vivi, she’s watching you with the same expression you’re wearing.
“She might not make it to the next island,” you say.
“She will. I know she will!” Vivi swears with the fervor she’ll use to stop a war and bring the rain back to the dessert.
“Vivi,” you say quietly. Vivi stops. Her hands are shaking and the mask slips, just for a second. The fear in her eyes is terrifying in itself.
“I don’t know what to do,” Vivi confesses in a hoarse whisper. Her hand finds yours and you squeeze, holding each other tightly because you both know that Nami is barely clinging on by a thread. You swallow. You haven’t known her long but she’s your friend and you’re not going to lose her.
“I know someone that can help,” you tell Vivi quietly, your hand shaking where it’s clinging to hers. Marco would fly for days on end to get to you. There’s no question that he’d make it in time to save her. “But if I call…”
A spike of terror skewers you through the chest.
“It could ruin everything,” you bite out. If it’s the only choice, if there’s no other way to save Nami, you’ll do it. You won’t hesitate. But after Marco saves her, that’s it. He’ll take you back to the Moby kicking and screaming if he has to. With the Devil Fruit back on the Moby, you’re back at square one, or worse, if you try to hide it with the Straw Hats or dump it overboard, you’re just giving Teach more targets.
You breathe out, trying to fight the nausea, when Vivi suddenly throws her arms around you and your shoulder grows suspiciously wet.
“Thank you!” Vivi sobs as she squeezes you tightly, “You have no idea what this means to me. I don’t know what you’re searching for, but it means everything to me that you’re willing to risk it to help us.”
“You’re my friends,” you answer numbly.
The sight of Drum Island coming into view is the single greatest birthday present you ever could have asked for. Honestly, it doesn’t even occur to you that it’s your birthday until you catch yourself staring at every gull that flies overhead and it takes you a little while to realize why you’re surprised they’re not News Coos.
For a second, you stop and stare out over the railing of the Going Merry.
You’re fourteen now. And you’re very far from home, with a dying friend in critical condition and a stolen Devil Fruit lying in a chest at the bottom of your bag.
Marco was supposed to take you flying today.
That’s the part that hurts the most; you really weren’t expecting the fruit to show up so soon. You thought you’d have more time with them.
For the last few days, Nami’s illness has consumed your every thought. Keeping her alive long enough to get to a real doctor was the only thing that mattered. But now that the Merry is sailing steadily towards the coast and Nami is stable enough to make it through the journey, you can breathe enough for your thoughts to shift.
What’s your family doing right now? Some of them are probably sailing towards you. There’s a good chance Teach is with them. That is not what you want to think about right now. Your dad… is probably having a pretty rough day. Which sucks. In fact, your whole family is probably having an awful time today.
Guilt seizes your chest and your fingers fish around in your pocket until they close around a little scrap of paper. You pull out the piece from Thatch’s vivre card and stare at it hungrily, desperately soaking in the sight of the pristine white paper that promises your brother is alive and unharmed. Laying it flat in your palm, you watch as it crawls towards Drum Island at a sluggish pace.
As the Merry sails closer and closer, you let yourself pretend for just a second that you’re sailing home.
You’ll be back someday. When this is all over and they’re safe, you’ll go home. Everything is going to be okay.
It has to be.
Luffy wakes Nami up to tell her that they have to go up the mountain. It’s hard to watch, but you know there’s no way to contact Dr. Kureha and there’s no way to know where she is right now. Maybe she and Chopper are just one town over. But if they’re not, Nami doesn’t have time to explore the whole island looking for the doctor.
So up the mountain it is.
“I’m coming,” you announce as you climb to your feet. Sanji puts his hand out to stop you.
“No,” he says as he lights his cigarette, “I’ll go. We’ll all feel better knowing that someone is here to watch out for Vivi.”
“Hey!”
Sanji shrugs.
“Yeah, fine, and Usopp too.”
You expect to feel something—pain, fear, worry, stuff like that— as you watch Luffy and Sanji take off, Nami tied carefully to her captain’s back. But you don’t. And it has nothing to do with the fact that they make it up in canon.
Luffy promised to get Nami up the mountain.
He’s going to keep his promise.
“Come back inside,” Dalton offers.
“I’d rather stay out here,” Usopp says.
“Me too,” Vivi agrees.
You shrug.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m cold,” you say, heading for the door. Usopp and Vivi turn on you, looking scandalized.
“Aren’t you worried?!” Vivi demands.
“Of course not,” you answer honestly, crossing your arms over your chest, “Didn’t you hear Luffy? He promised to get Nami to that doctor so she can save her.”
It won’t be an easy trip. And it won’t be an easy recovery for any of them. But when Luffy makes a promise, he keeps it.
“Look, you guys do whatever you want,” you say, turning back to the promise of warmth. Rubbing your frigid hands together, you mutter, “I don’t want to spend my birthday freezing my ass off for no reason.”
“It’s your birthday?” Vivi blinks.
“Why didn’t you say anything before?!” Usopp exclaims.
How good is their hearing???
“We had bigger problems.”
“Dalton! We just got word that witch is in Cocoa Weed!”
“What?!” Dalton demands, “This is terrible, the pirates just took their friend up the mountain!”
“How far is that place?” Vivi asks worriedly.
“It’s not far from here,” the woman answers, “You may have time to go after your friends.”
“No chance,” Usopp shakes his head, “Luffy and Sanji are monsters, they’ll reach the top before we have any chance of catching up to them.”
“We’ll go find the doctor. We’ll tell her that she needs to return to the castle immediately!” Vivi announces.
“I’ll take you in my sleigh,” Dalton offers immediately. Vivi and Usopp nod and you climb to your feet with them.
“You two go with Dalton,” you say.
“You’re not coming?” Usopp blinks. You shake your head.
“I’m going to stay here in case she comes this way. Besides,” you say, letting your eyes flutter shut to concentrate on the vague unease riling up your Observation Haki. You open them again and look grimly in Dalton’s direction, “I have a feeling we might not be the only ones making landfall today. I want to stay close to shore, just in case.”
“Be careful,” Vivi makes you promise, and you nod.
“Of course. I’ll see if I can find Zoro, too.”
“Wasn’t he waiting with the ship?” Vivi asks. You give her a look. Usopp makes a despairing sound and buries his face in his hands.
“Yeah, no promises there.”
“You can’t be serious,” Dalton protests, “As much as I appreciate the sentiment, our volunteer security team has the borders covered. I doubt a single fighter will make much of a difference.”
“Maybe not,” you shrug, “But your island agreed to help my friend. The least I can do is try to repay that kindness.”
Vivi and Usopp exchange glances.
“Uh… Dalton?” Usopp offers, “I know she doesn’t look like much—”
“Hey!” you protest, your mouth dropping open at the unprompted insult. Damn, Usopp doesn’t take any prisoners.
“—but she’s the strongest person I’ve ever met. No offense or anything, but I doubt your security team could really do anything to help her.”
Dalton’s eyes narrow as he looks at you in a new light, and when he glances at Vivi, she just nods her agreement.
“Is that so?”
You’re still bristling from Usopp’s comment because you’re actively disguised to look older and carrying a massive sword at your hip like it weighs nothing and he still thinks you don’t look like much. No wonder your dad never took you seriously.
Wind ruffles your hair, bringing a biting cold that stings the top of your ears. Instead of trying to cover them, you inhale and tighten your grip on your sword. Bloodthirsty intent bubbles beneath surface of the water, getting stronger as the mass approaches, and you remember the way the enormous submarine submerged to chase their wayward captain.
“They’re coming,” you announce. The volunteer fighters shift nervously, clutching at their weapons, and they all stare at you.
“Who is?”
“Wapol and all his men.”
“That’s impossible!” One of them shouts.
“They wouldn’t!”
“Of course he would, he may be a coward but he’s a greedy one!”
“It’s a big force,” you continue, and they’re close enough now that you can separate out the strongest presences. Plus you have a rough headcount from your mad-dash through their ship with your re-homed snail. You turn back, looking at the assembled fighters. They’re volunteers; civilians with only the training Dalton could provide, brave enough to try and protect their home but lacking everything else. “They’re strong. Please stay behind me when they land. I don’t want any of you getting hurt.”
They don’t take that well.
“No way!”
“This is our home!”
“It’s our fight, not yours!”
You reach for your sword and with a pulse of Haki, draw it from its sheath. The force of your Haki sends a shockwave through the air—just a small one—that pushes the closest men back and makes them all stare at you. It’s not the same as Conqueror’s Haki but you’ve learned that Armament plus a little force makes wind.
“I trained to fight in the New World,” you tell them confidently, “I know this is your fight, but none of you are trained warriors. I won’t allow any you to get hurt when I can prevent it.”
“Well… someone should go tell Dalton!” The same man who spoke first speaks again.
“Yeah!”
“Where is he?”
“He took her friends to find the witch!”
Someone runs off to go track down Dalton and warn him, but your attention is elsewhere. The submarine is about to surface.
“Citizens of Drum Kingdom!” Wapol announces with fanfare and an ego so inflated you don’t know how it hasn’t popped yet, “Your king has finally returned! Bow to your king and welcome me home properly!”
You take a deep breath and coat your vocal cords in Haki; you learned the trick from Namur and your other fishman brothers. It’s a technique they use to make themselves louder underwater, and you’ve been using it nonstop to make your voice sound deeper. But right now, you need to be heard over the raging winds and soldiers jeering at the volunteer fighting force.
“You’re misinformed,” the boom of your voice is loud enough to shock everyone into silence, “This country has no name. Drum Kingdom was dissolved after the last king abdicated and fled the island. You’re no king, and you’re not welcome here.”
“YOU!” Wapol rages, pointing a furious finger at you, “You’re the thief that stole my transponder snail!”
“I didn’t steal him,” you correct immediately, “He’s a sentient being that I rescued from a group of pirates after he agreed to come with me.”
“You’re a lying thief and you have the gall to stand in my way?! I am the king and this is my country! Now beg me for your life and I might decide to spare you!”
“I’ll give you one warning,” you stare Wapol down. He glares back at you, fuming that you have the gall to challenge him, “Leave this island. Don’t ever come back.”
“You dare?!?! Just for that, I’ll kill you first! And then every one of you miserable upstarts!”
You raise your blade, gripping the hilt with both palms, and exhale as you widen your stance.
“Wrong choice.”
You’re a pretty bad shot. But with your blade? You never miss.
The blade of your sword is nothing but a streak of black Haki; the flying slash crosses the distance in a heartbeat, throwing Wapol’s soldiers backwards into the snow by the dozens and hitting your target dead center.
The flying slash blows through every one of Wapol’s men and hits the ex-king square in the chest and he… screams.
It’s a sound your family tried so hard to keep you from hearing, but sometimes they had no choice but to eliminate a threat and couldn’t lose the time to take you far away first.
Your attack cuts him down in an instant.
Blood sprays into the air like a grotesque fountain, staining the white snow crimson.
Horror punches you in the gut and your grip on your sword slips.
You’ve never killed anyone.
You never wanted to kill anyone.
You… just killed Wapol.
For the next few seconds, it’s pure pandemonium.
“DOCTORS!” Kuromarimo hollers once he’s gained his bearings but still in a near-complete panic, “SAVE YOUR KING!!!”
You can only stare as gloved surgeons descend on Wapol’s fallen form, surrounding him like vultures to carrion, and hope seizes your chest that they can work a miracle.
“GET THAT BITCH!” Chess screams, launching three arrows straight at you in a single shot. You’re too panicked for Observation, but your reflexes swing your sword in time to cut through the projectiles. But that eats up precious time because Wapol’s soldiers are charging at you, vengeance in their eyes and if you run, they’ll massacre every person you promised Dalton you’d protect.
Your sword sings with the promise of bloodshed and for the first time, the two of you are out of sync. With the blade pulling on your Haki, it’s a struggle to force it to dissipate. The first of Wapol’s men reaches you and with a surge of willpower, you clamp down on your Haki and force it away because if you don’t, you’ll kill them. A sword swings down at your head and you sweep your sword up to meet it, powered by nothing but the muscles in your arms and legs.
The blades clash and the power behind his strike makes your elbows and wrists spasm and you can feel it ache all the way up your arms to where your shoulder blades meet your back. Fuck, without your Haki, you’re just a child against a grown man. And these guys might not have Haki, but they’re still well-trained Grand Line fighters and a hell of a lot stronger than the rank-and-file bounty hunters Crocodile pulled from the Blues.
Your arms and shoulders ache but you’re a better swordsman and you’re still strong enough to fight back.
For now. But there’s wave after wave of soldiers and you can’t use a shockwave of Haki to throw them all back at once because all the doctors will get caught up in it too, and anything that disrupts the 20-surgeon open surgery on Wapol could kill him.
That’s the reason you can’t just drop your sword in the snow and charge in with Haki and bare hands like you did at Whiskey Peak. Instead you split your focus between keeping just enough Haki around your elbows and wrists to strengthen yourself, and all the rest is focused on disarming. The flat of your blade and the pommel of your sword are your greatest weapons, even as soldier after soldier tries his very hardest to chop your head off your shoulders.
Using your Haki like this is exhausting; keeping your Armament focused on only your wrists and elbows, Observation stretching out as far as you can to stay ahead of the barrage of attacks, shoulders slowly starting to burn under the strain of a long fight. You’ve taken out two dozen men so far, each one unconscious and safely thrown clear of the throng, none of them sporting so much as a paper cut. You’ve also been dodging Kuromarimo’s balls of black moss (which are disgusting, by the way) and the barrage of flaming arrows Chess fires off at you. He keeps aiming at the crowd of villagers behind you and between the soldiers swarming you and protecting the volunteer fighters behind you from the arrows, bullets, and flaming moss balls, you can’t do much to stop the volunteers from joining the fight.
“Don’t fight them alone!” you manage to snap out in between disarming one soldier of his rifle and dodging out of the way of another staticky moss ball. The one saving grace is that they listen to you; the soldiers are still much stronger, but the villagers have a better chance in teams of three than one-on-one. Besides, enough of the soldiers are attempting to dog-pile you that there’s not too many to go after the volunteer force.
It's honestly good exercise; if not for the panic that you might have accidentally murdered someone and the hyperawareness that any of the volunteer fighters could be injured at any second, you’d almost think this was just a training session and not a battle with thirty-five trained soldiers trying to kill you where you stand.
The only good news is that Wapol is going to be just fine. He’s already back on his feet and shouting at the doctors to get out of his way so he can come kill you himself. He’s not very grateful, that one.
A familiar voice shouts your name and it could not come at a better time.
“Dalton!”
He calls your name again and comes charging up to stand beside you.
“Leave Wapol to me!” he announces, “I’ll rid this country of him once and for all.”
“All yours,” you tell him. Dalton blocks a sword strike and your sword jabs in and twists just right to disarm the soldier and send him flying into a faraway snowbank. “Fair warning, he’s extra pissed right now.”
“I can see that,” Dalton observes as Wapol hollers and shoves at everyone in his path, “What happened?”
“I… might have almost killed him?” you say, a little bit like a question. Dalton gives you a bit of a side-eye as you take the opening he gives you to finally sheath your sword and coat your fists in Haki. The doctors are done now, and maybe it’s hypocritical but you don’t have any problem with Dalton taking Wapol out for good. Although there’s a huge difference between ending a tyrant as an act of justice and killing someone by accident because you didn’t realize how much stronger you were.
“And that’s a problem?”
“I don’t kill. Especially not by accident.”
Dalton fully stops to stare at you.
“How old are you really?”
You pause (with the exception of your fist, which slams into the soldier rushing at you and punches him backwards into the three men behind him and all four of them go crashing to the ground) and meet his eyes.
Before you can answer, the ground underneath your feet starts to tremble. It doesn’t just stay in the ground. There’s a rumbling sound, one that starts behind you and gets louder and louder as it begins to echo off the mountains.
Dalton’s eyes widen.
“It’s an avalanche!” he shouts, turning to warn the villagers behind him, “Everyone, get out of here! The whole village will be swallowed up!”
He’s too focused on warning them to see Chess take advantage of the chaos to notch another set of arrows. And you suddenly remember in full picture the way that Dalton took a bunch of them straight to the chest in canon and you charge forward, drawing your sword again as you slice the flaming arrows out of the air.
“Stand still and die!” Kuromarimo shouts as he launches more and more of his moss balls at you, and they’re staticky enough to stick to your sword so you have to dodge them and the barrage of flaming arrows that Chess fires your way.
“There’s no time for that, you fools!” Wapol shouts as he clambers onto the back of his giant… snow hippo thing, “Chess, Kuromarimo! Get on, we’re going!”
With that, Wapol and his cronies are gone. Most of the villagers have made it a good way away, but covering them and Dalton cost you valuable time to run. The rumbling is getting stronger and your Haki blares in a way that’s intensely familiar; it’s exactly like the landslide on that island with the treasure hunt where the mountain broke apart to form an army of rock monsters.
Only this isn’t an army of monsters. Probably. It’s an avalanche.
You look around frantically, trying to figure out where to go because you’re strong but you’re not stronger than a fucking force of nature.
“Dalton!” you shout, reaching out to him. His eyes widen and he sprints at you, transforming before your very eyes.
There’s barely even a second between when a massive, fur-covered mass slams into you and pushes you underneath him and when the avalanche hits. You brace yourself and summon a thin layer of Haki over every inch of your skin in the best imitation you have of the Iron Body Technique, but Dalton’s hybrid Zoan form protects you from the worst of it.
By the time Vivi, Usopp, and for some reason a shirtless, half-frozen Zoro show up, you and Dalton have already dug your way out of the snow and are just about done fishing out the unconscious soldiers.
“I’m not even going to ask,” you shake your head.
“I stopped asking a long time ago,” Usopp sighs.
“Usopp…g…g…give me your coat,” Zoro stammers out, shivering from head to toe.
“No way!” Usopp literally jumps out of the way as Zoro makes a move to grab it off him. You turn to the side to glance up at Dalton.
“Any chance you have an extra coat?” you ask. But it’s really bothering you because you can’t even imagine the amount of lost he had to get to end up on a snow-covered mountain with no shirt and no shoes and you have to know. “Zoro, why are you naked?”
“’m not naked.”
“Half-naked.”
“Went for a…” he has to pause while he shivers violently again, “training swim.”
“Oh, okay,” you nod your head, looking back at Dalton, “He went for a training swim with no clothes on.”
“I see that,” Dalton gives Zoro a wicked side-eye, “Unfortunately not.”
“D…d…dammit…”
That’s not the end of it though, because then Zoro’s eyes lock onto the nearest soldiers (beaten, bruised, unconscious, lying helplessly in the snow, wearing very warm coats) and he grins his most maniacal grin.
You grab him before he can take more than a step.
“What are you doing? Lemme take one of theirs!”
“No!” you snap, keeping a tight hold on each of his wrists even though they feel like icicles under your palms. “Do you have any idea how much effort I just put in to not kill these guys? I am not letting them freeze to death because you decided to go skinny dipping in the Arctic Circle!”
“So you’re gonna make me freeze to death?!”
“You did it to yourself!”
As you wrestle with Zoro in the snow, you become increasingly aware that you are blowing your cover as a grown adult. But you are stressed and homesick and still jittery from the adrenaline rush of being buried under an avalanche and you almost killed a guy by accident forty minutes ago. Besides, it’s your birthday and you desperately miss your family and if Zoro’s voice sounds a little like Ace’s when you squint, that’s nobody’s business but yours.
Alright, fine! You’re not fooling anyone. It’s fun to lock hands with your swordsman rival and throw each other down into the snow and if you close your eyes, it could be any one of your hundreds of brothers playing with you.
(He’s not actually going to freeze to death; you know all the signs of hypothermia and he’s nowhere near there yet.)
Vivi, ever the peacemaker, cuts in.
“Dalton, I hate to ask this, but you have a Zoan transformation, correct?”
“I do.”
“Would it be possible for you to transform into your Zoan form so that you can stay warm and Zoro can borrow your coat?”
The bicycle-powered gondola delivers you all easily up the mountain (and Vivi very kindly does not say anything about you clinging to her arm the entire ride because fuck this thing goes high up and you hate heights and Marco isn’t here to catch you if the ropes snap and you all go hurtling to your deaths). You hop off the gondola the instant that the death-trap of a transport vehicle comes to a complete stop.
“I’m going first!” Usopp shouts, pushing past you to run up the stairs. You and Zoro look at each other and then keep walking.
At the end of a tunnel, which pops out of the mountain through a metal bunker-looking thing, a snow-covered castle stands proudly. Not that Usopp would know, he’s busy cowering behind Zoro in Dalton’s borrowed coat. While Zoro tries to pry Usopp off him, you crane your neck back and stare all the way up to the top of the castle, where the sight that greets you pulls a huge smile to your face.
It’s a Jolly Roger. It’s a little shredded, both from flying in the elements and the aftermath of the battle, but it’s unmistakable. Pink cherry blossom petals behind a skull and crossbones. Dr. Hiruluk’s flag.
It’s over.
Luffy won.
Your Observation pings and you take five steps backwards toward the bunker.
“—aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!”
A Luffy-shaped rocket comes hurtling through the air, landing with a huge boom in the exact spot where you were standing. And the spot where Usopp and Zoro were wrestling. An explosion of powdery snow flies into the air on impact. When it clears, Luffy’s entire upper half is buried in snow, and all you can see of Usopp and Zoro is a nose sticking straight up in the air and a small patch of green hair.
Okay. Now it’s over.
“aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!”
“REEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIINDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!!” Luffy’s shout isn’t enough to mask the comedically menacing sound of his sandals slapping against the stone floor as he chases poor Chopper down.
“Psst!” you hiss through the partly open door, holding up a corner of your blanket, “In here!”
Desperate for a rescue, the tiny reindeer doesn’t hesitate to throw himself through the door and scramble underneath the blanket on your lap. You adjust the cover to hide the gap as little hooves settle on the back of your calves, a warm mass of fur pressing against your legs.
The door practically explodes as Luffy bursts into the room a second later.
“Hi Luffy,” you smile as you lean back against the couch, relaxing into the warm cushions.
“WHERE’D THE REINDEER GO?!?!?!?!” Luffy yells, still wearing Nami’s shredded coat. The missing sleeve doesn’t seem to bother him much, not with all the sprinting around he’s been doing.
“The little guy?” you ask, waiting for Luffy to nod his head so fast you see three of him, “I ate him.”
Under your blanket, Chopper quakes. At first you think he’s afraid, but then you hear the tiny little snickers and clear your throat to hide the noise of Chopper giggling. Luffy’s eyes bulge out of his head like a comic character.
“WHAT?!?!?!!?!”
He charges across the room and scrambles on top of you, one sandal on your leg and the other on your stomach as he leans in; he jams his fingers through your teeth, pulls your mouth open and practically sticks his face inside. You wait patiently, a bear trap lying still amongst the tall grasses.
“REINDEER GUY?!” Luffy shouts into your open mouth, “ARE YOU IN THERE?! I’LL GET YOU OUT!!!”
“Hmwsts teebsobfk aorkf,” you say reasonably as Luffy attempts to figure out how to rescue his new friend from your stomach.
“I WANTED HIM TO JOIN MY CREW!” Luffy yells.
“Fnj baem afhierk ladfvb.”
“NO IT ISN’T! I’LL GET HIM OUT!”
He takes the bait and sticks his hand into your mouth. You coat your teeth with just enough Haki that he’ll really feel it and bite down hard on his rubber fingers.
Luffy yanks his hand out of your mouth and hollers, “OWWWWWWW!!!! OW OW OW OW OW!”
“Oh, hang on, you said reindeer,” you pretend to realize as Luffy hops around the room, clutching at his lightly chomped hand, “I thought you said beef stew. Yeah, the reindeer went that way. He said something about how you were too slow to catch him?”
You point in a random direction and Luffy immediately forgets about his hand, straightening up and shaking himself off.
“REINDEER!” He hollers, taking off again.
You count to five.
“He’s probably on the other side of the castle by now,” you say lightly, “You can come out.”
“He’s pretty of stupid,” Chopper giggles, emerging bravely from under the blanket. You can’t help your grin.
“I mean, I just let him stick his gross fingers in my mouth, so I don’t think I’m any better.”
“You did that for me?” Chopper asks quietly as he looks up at you.
“Nah, I just like messing with him. It was worth it for the bit,” you joke. Get it? Cause you bit him?
“Who are you, anyway?” Chopper hops up on the chair across from you. You pick the blanket off your lap and wrap it around your shoulders. Usopp invited you to play in the snow with him but as fun as it sounds to build a giant snowman while you all wait for Nami to be discharged, you’d rather be warm and toasty inside the castle in front of the cozy fire.
It reminds you of the library inside the Moby, curled up on your brother’s lap, strong arms wrapped around you as they read you a story to the sound of crackling flames in the fireplace. It was a tradition whenever the ship docked at a winter island for longer than a few days. Thatch’s World-Famous Hot Chocolate, with homemade marshmallows and a spicy cinnamon mix sprinkled over top of the whipped cream. Dozens of siblings gathered on the couches, listening to whichever lucky bastard got to read to you.
The fights over it were legendary. Your dad had to step in the first and only time it came to blows, but that just opened the doors to all kinds of trades and bribes and intense negotiations before Marco decreed that reading rights would be by an assigned rotation.
Of course, you always had veto power. And you used it shamelessly. Blenheim is a born narrator, with a knack for silly voices and a rounded tone that blends words together to create vivid scenes that draw you in like nothing else.
It’s been a long time since anyone read to you—everything just got busier as you got older and you really weren’t in the mood for it during your punishment—but you’re pretty sure Blenheim is still smug about being your favorite.
Your chest twists and you give Chopper a half-smile.
“I’m traveling with the crew,” you tell the little reindeer, “I met them a few weeks ago and Luffy offered to take me where I’m trying to go.”
You hold out your hand for him to shake and introduce yourself. Chopper looks down at your hand and gives you his hoof.
“I’m Tony Tony Chopper. I’m a doctor!”
“It’s nice to meet you, doctor.”
“Are you a pirate?” Chopper stares at you and you have to resist the urge to throw your arms around him and bury yourself in his silky soft fur. You only got a brush of it when you shook his hoof but holy shit those cute little eyes are as wide as dinner plates and they shine with admiration. He’s ever cuter than you imagined in your wildest dreams. “Nami told me how strong you are! And how you defeated those bounty hunters all by yourself! She says you’re even stronger than Luffy!”
Yeah, it’s official. You would do anything for him. It hits you suddenly what kind of power you’ve been wielding against your family with your mastery of puppy eyes. You’ve never been on the other side of it before, but watching the way Chopper’s face lights up, you can actually feel your heart melting. You want to go find Wapol and slam his face into the mountain another dozen times.
No, a hundred more times!
“I’m not a pirate. But I want to be one someday.”
“I… do too,” Chopper admits.
You tilt your head at him curiously.
“So what are you going to do?” you ask. Chopper suddenly finds the floor fascinating, and he’s sort of swaying back and forth on the chair as he hems and haws.
“I can’t be a pirate! Even if I wanted to, no matter what Luffy says! I can’t be one!”
You shrug.
“Okay then.”
Chopper’s head snaps up and those devastating eyes lock onto yours. Ugh, he’s so cute it makes your stomach hurt. Or maybe it’s just a post-adrenaline stomach ache. Or you’re just hungry. Whatever.
“You’re not going to try and convince me?” he asks, brows furrowed in confusion. You shrug again, making an unconcerned face as you shake your head.
“Nope. That’s your business. You should do what you want to.”
“Alright, young lady. Let’s see it.”
You blink at Doctor Kureha in confusion; you’re still hanging out by the fire, waiting for your friends to be ready to go (you’ll be able to tell by Luffy’s triumphant yelling), and the old doctor just barged in without any warning.
“See… what?”
There’s no intent to harm, so your Observation Haki doesn’t protect you from the painful swat to the head.
“OW!”
“That’s what you get for hiding an injury from your doctor!”
“What injury?” you snap, rubbing at your aching head. Kureha scowls at you.
“Chopper says you’re bleeding and that nose of his is never wrong. Now show me where you’re injured.”
You blink.
You’re not bleeding and you’d definitely know if you were hurt. Maybe you’re a little sore from the fighting, and maybe your stomach has been cramping a little bit but why would Chopper think you’re…
“Oh,” you say, putting a hand to your stomach reflexively. You look down at your body—your fourteen-year-old body that you’ve been training like an Olympic-level athlete since you were five, that is strong and lithe and a little… late to develop.
Fucking hell. Did you seriously just get your period for the first time? Crap, you did not miss this bullshit.
Doctor Kureha is about as sharp as they come and the disapproving look in her eyes hardens into full-on anger. Without warning, she plants her palms on your shoulders and shoves you backwards into the chair behind you before looming over you menacingly.
“I thought you were reckless before, but I never imagined you could possibly be this stupid!” she spits at you in fury, “What possible reason could a child have for running around the Grand Line by herself?!”
“I’m not a child, I’m fourteen!” you retort.
“I’m a hundred and thirty-nine, you think a few measly years make a difference?!”
You try to stand up but Kureha knocks you back down with a kick to your kneecap that makes your leg go numb. You have no idea how she’s getting around your Observation Haki and you’re pretty damn sure she’s not going to tell you if you ask.
“Stop hitting me!” you snap. Kureha glares at you with the force of a thousand disappointed parents and your face burns.
“You, little girl, are going to tell me everything.”
“Don’t call me little girl,” you glower, “I’m stronger than I look.”
“Do I look like I was born yesterday?” Kureha demands, “It would be one thing if you’d found a nice strong crew to keep you safe, but that Monkey boy was clear as day that you refused to join him. Start talking.”
You glare up at her.
Doctor Kureha watches you sternly.
“Fine, then,” her eyes narrow, putting a hand on her hip, “Don’t tell me. The Marines are always looking for runaways to pad their ranks, I’m sure they’d be happy to come take custody of you.”
Your eyes widen and your heart skips a beat.
She’s bluffing. She wouldn’t.
“Don’t you dare,” you hiss, hands curling into fists.
“What are you going to do to stop me, little girl?”
You jump up, lashing out with the full force of your Haki, and this time the force is enough to throw her back. Kureha flies backwards, slamming into the bookcase against the far wall with a crash as books and ingredients and measuring supplies tumble to the floor.
One hit isn’t enough to keep her down, so you chase her across the room, sword drawn and ready for the counterattack.
“You saved my friend’s life,” you say coldly, your blade frozen directly over the old woman’s jugular. She doesn’t look remotely concerned enough about the fact that you could slit her throat with a single twitch of your hand. Then again, your Haki is still absolutely useless at predicting her movements and she keeps pulling out more surprises. Also, there’s the fact that you’ve never killed anyone in your life and you’re not about to start now. Also also, you’re not killing Chopper’s mom, what kind of shithead would you have to be to even consider that? “But threaten me like that again and you’ll regret it.”
You’re not expecting Kureha to give you a wide and delighted smile, but the old bitch is so crazy you’re not really surprised by it either.
“I had to keep my conscience clear,” she tells you, rolling her shoulders once and easily brushing off the debris. Any concerns you had about hurting her with your attack evaporate; you’re not sure if she even felt that. Her eyes track up your blade until she’s staring at the hilt, “Course, with a sword like that, I should’ve guessed you could handle yourself. Where the hell’d you get it?”
Suddenly, you’re struck with the urge to hide your sword away where she can’t stare at it anymore, and you split the difference by lowering it and sheathing the blade at your side.
“None of your business.”
Kureha scoffs and climbs easily to her feet. She brushes dirt off her sleeves and stares at you curiously. You do not care for the way her eyes linger on your face.
“Come on, girlie. No one just finds a sword like that lying around, especially not that sword.”
You swallow nervously but don’t answer. Even though you just sent her flying across the room, you suddenly feel like all your strength and Haki aren’t remotely enough to put a dent in her. The doctor sees your hesitation and smirks at you.
“How about this, you tell me who gave it to you and I’ll tell you its name.”
Your sword has a name?
You stare down at it, taking in the slightly curved blade and the golden hand guard that wraps from the hilt to the end of the diamond-patterned grip, and you wonder why it never occurred to you that your sword already has a name.
It’s a really awesome sword. It’s better quality than just about every sword you’ve come across since leaving the New World, with maybe the exception of Wado Ichimonji because that katana is absolutely sick, but you never wondered why. It’s a present from your dad, he wasn’t going to give you something shitty to protect yourself with.
“How would you know its name?” you demand, narrowing your eyes at her and focusing on your Haki as hard as you can. Kureha leers at you for a second before something shifts and you can suddenly feel all the cues you were missing. She’s amused by you and that kind of pisses you off a lot.
“I’ve seen it a few times. Not in many years, but I patched up that idiot more than once.”
“The sword?” you blink at her. Kureha rolls her eyes again and whaps you on the head. Seeing it coming in your Haki doesn’t make it any easier to avoid.
“No, you idiot! The idiot who had that thing before you.”
Oh. Okay, that makes sense. If she knows the sword’s name, it’s probably because she met the guy who named it. Damn, you really do want to know, maybe it’s something super hardcore.
“Fine. My dad gave it to me.”
Kureha’s eyes widen in immediate recognition and she snaps her fingers while she nods, clearly delighted at putting the pieces together. Your heart stops.
“That’s it, I knew I knew that face! You look an awful lot like him, even if you’re a bit small to be his.”
“You can’t tell anyone!” you demand, your cheeks flushing bright red. The old doctor fixes you with a Look that makes you bristle.
“If you’re strong enough to look out for yourself, then your business is your business. But fair warning, if your Pops comes a-knockin’ then you’re delusional if you think I’m going to lie to him. I don’t like you enough for that.”
You scowl.
“I don’t like you either.”
“Can’t imagine why,” Dr. Kureha winks. You just scowl deeper. “Aw, don’t get twisted up about it, you and your friends should be long gone by then. Anyways, a deal’s a deal. That piece of metal you got?”
She stops talking to stare at you expectantly, and it takes you a second to figure out that’s your cue to draw your sword again.
It looks the same as it always does, the metal shines in the reflection from the lights and the grip is a familiar weight in your hands even if it took you a long time to get used to it. You always have to hold it in two hands, you’re too small to wield it in one even if Vista said the style of cutlass could be used that way.
“He used to call her his ace.”
You wait for Kureha to continue, but yeah, no, she’s done.
“Wait, that’s it? His ace?”
Kureha shrugs.
“That’s all I got for you, brat.”
“Wait, his ace or—”
“Just ace.”
Ace.
Your sword’s name is Ace.
You’re too annoyed at Doctor Kureha to outright laugh in front of her, but the smile tugs at your mouth anyways. That’s kind of funny, now you’ve got a sword named Ace to go along with your brother named Ace.
You swing Ace through the air, and maybe it’s your imagination but to your Haki it almost feels like the sword is thrumming with excitement to be recognized properly. Cool. When you’re somewhere private, you’ll officially introduce yourself to your sword and apologize for not knowing her name sooner.
“Well, thanks,” you tell her as your put your sword away, “So, uh… do you have any tampons or—”