Chapter Text
Y/N POV age 8
My parents are sailing merchants in the South Blue. We sailed between islands, mostly moving goods but would take specific requests and even occasionally offer transport. We spent about as much time on the sea as we did land, but this boat always felt like home more than any island had.
But there were rules, this was a merchant ship and under no circumstances was I to be on deck unsupervised because my parents didn't want me interacting with the crew. Mostly this was due to the fact that we hopped islands so much, the crew changed frequently.
It was fun and I had all of my parents' attention when they weren't working. We lived well, in love and money, even if it wasn't overly lavish.
Which is why I was completely clueless when my mom shook me awake in the middle of the night. Her voice was panicked and even with me not knowing what was happening, I was instantly awake and trembling. My body reflecting my mothers fears.
“Y/N. You must be quiet and we have to get off the ship.” She says pulling me out of bed and moving before my feet have even touched the deck.
“Mom? What's happening?” I ask and flinch at the sudden yells and crashing noises.
“I am so sorry sweetie. But you must survive. The only thing that matters to your father and I is that you live.” Mom says lowly, dragging me down the hallway of the ship and pausing outside the door that leads to the back end of our ship.
“Mom?” I ask as my chest tightens and I feel tears in my eyes. I am scared and I don't know what's happening.
She looks down at me and tries to smile, but it's not a real smile. She crouches down to my level and puts her hands on my shoulders. “Listen to me carefully Y/N. I don't know why but the crew has mutinied, your father is trying to delay them while we escape. They intend to kill us. But you must be brave for me sweetie.”
There is a flash of lightning followed by a loud crack of thunder that causes us both to flinch.
“We are going to run out this door to the lifeboat and escape. I was able to grab these, hold onto them till we hit the water okay?” Mom said, thrusting a small pack that had been tied around her waist into my hands.
I nod and clutch the bag to my chest as mom opens the door and we run across the small strip of deck to the dinghy. It's pouring rain and the boat is rocking violently.
I jump in immediately and mom whispers, “Get down,” as she starts to pull the rope to swing the boat the rest of the way over the side of the ship.
There is another strike of lightning quickly followed by thunder. But this time there is an odd echo to it and I can hear shouting voices drawing closer to where we are.
I pop my head up to see my mom standing on deck still completely frozen. She is looking down at her hand and a huge red patch is growing on her stomach.
“Mom!” I scream, tears and rain drenching me and it comes out wet and broken.
Her head snaps up to look at me and she clutches the growing red on her stomach before moving to the lever that will lower the boat. She hits it at the same time as another shot rings out and she falls forward at the momentum of it.
The dingy starts plummeting to the sea before I even see her hit the deck.
I cry and scream as the rough waves pull me farther and farther away from everything I have ever known. Smoke plumes from the ship as I am violently pulled away into the abyss of the sea.
I can do nothing more than curl up on the floor of the tiny boat and cry. I sob and scream till my throat is raw. The storms swallow every sorrow and curse I throw out.
I feel myself give up.
I will this violent storm to take me away, take my life if that means I can be with my parents again. So I lay there, spent and exhausted, hoping I don't have to wake up. The only thing left in me is the now an indefinite loneliness.
________
But wake up I do.
Except I am not on the dingy and I am not dead. I am in some sort of infirmary, hooked up to machines I don't recognize. As my panic grows one of the machines starts beeping quicker, only heightening my panic.
Suddenly the door is thrown open and a tall woman is standing in the doorway. Her brown eyes are wide and only grow wider when they meet mine.
This is probably the largest woman I have ever seen. She takes up almost the entire massive doorway with her broad shoulders, and she only seems to grow as she steps in closer to me.
“I am a doctor, I pulled you from the water.” She says, holding her hands up cautiously as she walks up to the bed and I scoot up and back trying to decide if I can flee.
Doctor. The word rings around my head as someone I can trust. But can I really ever trust someone after what I had just seen?
I look at her more closely now. She’s older, much older than my parents, maybe by decades, but it doesn’t dull her presence. There’s strength in the cut of her muscles, sharp and deliberate, like she’s earned every scar. Her skin is a deep, rich brown, and her eyes are just as dark. They hold mine, steady and unblinking, like they’ve seen lifetimes. In contrast, her hair is in long silver braids, thin and precise, cascading down her back. She’s beautiful in a way that demands attention, not delicate, but radiant with power.
“Can you tell me what happened, child?” She asks again, lowering her hands.
I shake my head no and she frowns. “Can I take you to your parents?” She tries next.
I bite my lip and shake my head again. At that she seems to stare at me for a bit before sighing and standing even straighter.
“Are they dead then?” She asks and I flinch, not wanting to answer that either.
“Very well. My name is Ingrid but call me Granny. Let's get you better and then talk about this again later?” She says reaching over to turn one of the machines towards her and the beeping finally stops.
“I should have died.” I mutter and almost immediately I am smacked upside the head and yelp as my hands shoot up to protect my head.
The woman is looking down at me with her nostrils flared and lips pressed together in dismay. “Don’t be ungrateful. Life is the only gift we ever get, be thankful I made sure you get to keep yours.”
Y/N POV present day age 23
I was eating dinner alone on deck as usual. It wasn't always like this, Granny and I used to sail these waters together. I grew up on this ship that was a little more than a sloop, although by now, none of the boards were the same, hell, I doubt there are even any of the same nails from then left.
It was a bittersweet line of thinking and I quickly brushed it off as I took a bite of the lemon fish and rice I made for dinner. I was getting low on fresh fruits and vegetables, I would need to make a stop soon to resupply.
I looked out to the sky as something caught my eye. I watched a streak of blue slowly moving across the sky, only slightly above the water.
What the...?
I tilt my head as I stare at the beautiful color appearing in the night. It wasn't a comet or anything like that. It was something much closer and smaller, and it seemed to have shifted its course. Now heading directly for me.
Pepper must have sensed that something had caught my attention because she shifts from beside me. Stretching her paws out in a bow, her long tail swishing as the rounded ears on her head twitch.
When she sees the blue flame in the sky she pulls her lips back, showing her massive fangs, and lets out a rumble in warning.
“Easy Pep,” I say, putting my hand on the top of her large head and scratching my fingers into her charcoal fur. “They may need help.”
Pep huffs at me as she sits down next to me, her tail flicking rapidly across the deck behind her, as she reigns in her irritation.
Looking back out to the water the blue flame is significantly closer, I can see now that it is actually a giant blue flaming bird dragging a tiny boat by the mast. An unconscious, or dead man lay on the craft.
I stand, motioning for Pep to stay, pushing the chair back from the little table I had on deck. This was a medical ship by word of mouth, but Granny had always taught me to be cautious.
So I hold my ground as I watch the bird bring the boat next to mine before he picks up the unconscious man and takes them both to the sky before lowering itself to the deck of my ship, gently setting the man down. Who thankfully is breathing and seemingly unharmed.
The flames and bird vanish entirely and morph into a man who now stands before me.
He has messy blond hair atop his head, striking blue eyes in a purple jacket that hangs entirely open to reveal a distinctive tattoo. That of one of the Emperors of the Sea, Whitebeard. As soon as I recognize the mark my eyes shoot back up to his and he holds both his hands up in a defensive manner.
“I'm sorry to bother you yoi. I heard you were a doctor.” He said and I felt my nerves ease slightly as I glanced at the unconscious man again. He is younger with black hair and freckles, but his chest rises and falls steadily.
“Probably not the kind of doctor you were hoping for. I treat matters of the head, or heart, some would say.” I mutter.
The man's shoulders sag and he lets out a frustrated huff. “That wouldn't work for narcolepsy would it? This idiot left his medication on our other ship yoi.”
I raise my eyebrows in surprise. “No it wouldn’t, but you're in luck. I do have something for that lying around here.”
“Then yoi, do you mind if I tie off the Striker?” He says, motioning to the smaller ship he dragged here that has started to drift off in the waves.
“Go for it.” I say as I watch him partially transform, only his arms morphing into wings. No surprise a Devil Fruit user would be on a Yonko’s crew, and he was clearly good at sailing since he was able to tie their vessel off and get back on deck with no assistance from me. Not that I was planning to offer it.
“Pep, stay with him.” I tell her and nod toward the sleeping man. She blinks at me once before dropping her head down to the deck harder than necessary.
“Follow me,” I say and turn my back to him to walk to the stairs that lead below deck.
He pauses next to his comrade, probably skeptical Pepper would eat him, before following me below deck.
The air is slightly cooler down here, carrying the ever-present scent of salt and aged wood, but beneath that, there’s something distinctly mine. Herbs dried and stored over the years, a faint trace smell of ink and parchment, and the lingering warmth of countless days.
At the base of the stairs, the lounge sprawls out in cozy disorder. The couch and two armchairs, softened by years of use, sit atop a thick, slightly frayed rug, framing the low coffee table at the center. Knife marks and ink stains mar its surface, each one a story I could probably recall if I tried. Along the walls, three towering bookshelves groan under the weight of their contents, filled with as many memories as words.
To the left, the small kitchen is neatly arranged, if a little mismatched. The cast-iron stove, sink, and refrigerator are pressed against the far wall, their surfaces worn but well maintained. Opposite them, a wooden bar stretches out, three stools lined up beneath it, old and worn now but too many memories in them for me to part with.
On the opposite side from the lounge however, lies a mess that only I can truly navigate. Crates and boxes are stacked haphazardly, some half-open with bundles of dried herbs spilling from their burlap sacks. Drawings and hastily scrawled notes cover the walls, pinned up at odd angles, their edges curled with age. In the farthest corner, a narrow path winds its way through the chaos, leading to the chemistry bench shoved against the back wall.
This was Granny’s domain first. She was the real doctor, the one who could pull men back from the brink of death with nothing but herbs and sheer willpower. I had learned from her, though never with the same devotion she had. While she worked to heal, I spent my time unraveling the mysteries of my Devil Fruit, testing its limits, seeing how far I could push it.
Still, her knowledge remained, both in me and in these notes, and for something like narcolepsy, I wouldn’t even need to mix a new batch. Granny’s remedies could last a decade, sometimes longer.
I move through the clutter with practiced ease, sifting through crates, scanning the faded labels in her scrawled handwriting.
“Some pet you got there yoi” The man says, finally breaking the silence.
I continue shuffling through the boxes as I respond “Yeah, found her as a cub when I was younger.”
“And your parents let you keep a Thylacoleo yoi?” He asks and I am surprised, most people just call her a cat and don't actually know what she is.
“Something like that…Ah,” I exclaim as my fingers finally brush against the right one.
I haul it onto the bench, pry the lid open, and run my fingertips over the smooth glass of the vials inside.
“Do you know what his dosage was?” I ask, finally looking up at the man who is staring at me in shock. He blinks himself out of it before answering.
“300mg once a day yoi.”
I frown, “that is kinda high, have you tried 100mg twice a day?”
“Getting him to take it once a day is hard enough, twice a day would be an impossible task yoi.” He says back with a wince and I nod.
“Fair enough.” I mutter before pulling out two bottles of the equivalent and set them to the side before closing the lid and stacking the box out of the way again.
“Here you go.” I hand him the bottles, his confused eyes meeting mine as he looks up from them. “Once everyday, another if he feels an episode coming on.” I add as I pass him and make for the stairs back to deck.
“Thank you yoi. And… please don't take this the wrong way, but aren't you a little too trusting? Especially to be alone yoi.” he said trailing behind me.
“What's your name?” I ask, momentarily avoiding his question.
“Marco.” He says and I stop to turn and look at him once we are both on deck again.
“Well Marco, when you have been around all types of people you pick up on the good and the bad ones. Besides, if I really wanted to, I could have you on your knees crying in only a second.” I say with a smirk.
His eyebrows have shot up and I can see he thinks I am joking. “That is a bold claim yoi. I like to think I am good at judging people too, and with all due respect, I can't see a beautiful woman like yourself being able to do that so quickly. Now Pep on the other hand…”
I let my smirk grow and take a step closer to him, keeping my eyes locked on his. “It’s Pepper, and are you sure about that? I can show you?” I whisper, keeping my voice low.
They always underestimate me. But it's not me they have to face.
“Prove it yoi.” Marco whispers, his own voice dropping low. Clearly affected by my approach.
I raise my eyebrow and tilt my head, in a gesture of ‘oh well’. I bring my hand to his neck and activate my Devil Fruit as I feel myself slip into his mind. This wasn't what I really used my Devil Fruit for, but it was something I learned that had been my go to attack move since.
People’s worst fears were always the easiest to pull out. They were in the back in a dark corner. All I had to do was pull the image forward and it would now look like they would be watching their greatest fear unfold before them.
Marco's, while sad, was a common one. He stood alone, before a pile of bodies, each with the face of his loved ones. A massive figure stood tall above all the rest, blood pouring from every crevice of his face and multiple wounds scattered across his body. This man was badly wounded and on his last breaths.
“ Marco, where were you? ” the man asks, voice filled with longing and betrayal as he looks at Marco pleadingly.
“Pops!” The Marco in the illusion cries out, his voice cracking and broken. He drops to his knees before me and tears are streaming down his face, but his eyes are unseeing from the vision I am showing him.
My hand slips from his neck as he falls and Marcos eyes clear as he blinks rapidly, the tears stopping. He gasps in a breath and falls forward catching himself with his hands. He remains on his hands and knees for a moment as he sucks in air before looking up at me.
“What was that yoi?” He asks, his voice hoarse.
I meet his gaze steadily. “I ate the Kokoro Kokoro no Mi. It gives me the ability to navigate people’s fears, traumas, and memories. I don’t usually use it like that, but when I’m threatened, it’s a pretty effective defense.” I shrug, like it’s nothing.
“I try to use it to help people work through their stuff. Like a psychologist, y’know?” Did I have formal training? Not really. But my Devil Fruit? It was a hack for that kind of thing. The brain can’t lie.
Marco still kneels there, blinking, caught in the aftermath of what just happened. He runs a hand through his messy blond hair, looking like he wants to say something but not sure what before getting back up on his feet.
I let him gather himself. There’s no rush. It’s not like I’m going anywhere, and we’ve all got our own battles to fight.
Finally, Marco exhales again and shakes his head. “I don’t know what to say about that, yoi. That’s some crazy power you’ve got.” His voice is hoarse, almost as if he’s still trying to convince himself that what just happened wasn’t real. But there’s a mix of awe and respect in his tone.
I don’t reply right away, instead turning my attention to the other man, who is slowly coming to. I can hear the faint sound of him shifting, groaning softly as he begins to wake. His eyes flutter open, a little dazed at first, before he looks around wildly.
“Wha-!” He starts but pauses when he finally sees Marco.
Marco holds up the pill bottles and shakes them so they rattle against the glass and I walk over to the table with my abandoned dinner to grab my untouched water and carry it over to him.
I watch him take it before I eye them both. Ideally I would like to make sure he is good after taking one. Weeping heart and all that.
“Well my dinner has gone cold. You both hungry?” I ask and they both snap their heads to look at me.
“Yes!” The now awake man shouts, scrambling up from the deck and onto his feet.
Pepper stands as well, always following when food is involved.
“Whoa!” The younger man exclaims “You're bigger than Kotatsu!”
“Her name is Pepper and she bites. Come on.” I mutter and head back down below deck, everyone trailing behind.
“It's the fur wasn't it, Pepper yoi?” Marco asks and I roll my eyes, not that he can see it. I was 16 and not very original but it stuck. Pepper's fur was a charcoal black but she was dusted with grey spots down her side and a grey masked face.
I head straight to the kitchen and Marco props himself on a stool at the bar as I open the fridge and dig out the rice from earlier. I pull out a carrot and a jar of peas as well as three chicken thighs.
“This is Ace by the way yoi. Thank you for your help with him.” Marco says as Ace waives a hand in my direction taking in the layout down here.
I nod back and work on de-boning the thighs, tossing them to Pep to crunch on.
I zone in on preparing the chicken fried rice and 20 minutes later I pull out three plates and turn to set them on the bar. Marco is still sitting there staring at me, his hands resting under his chin. Ace is picking up crates across the room and sniffs the one in his hands before sneezing loudly.
“Foods ready.” I say and Ace immediately sets down whatever ingredients he was looking at and bolts to an open chair at the bar.
We sit at the bar, the three plates of fried rice steaming between us. I watch them both dig in like they haven’t eaten in days. Marco, a little more composed, using chopsticks, while Ace is just shoveling it in like he’s worried someone might snatch his plate away.
“This is amazing,” Ace mumbles through a mouthful.
I nod, a small smile playing on my lips. “Granny taught me just about everything. Cooking, stitching wounds, how to barter with sleazy dockworkers… and how to bluff my way out of a fight when I was too small to win it.”
Marco hums around a bite. “She sounds like a real piece of work, yoi.”
“She was.” I smile at the memory, then glance away, suddenly feeling the ache of her absence a little more sharply. “She picked me up after… Well, she raised me on this little ship she had turned into a floating clinic. We traveled the Blues, helping people, fixing what we could.”
Neither say anything so I continue, it's been a while since I talked to anyone other than Pep.
“It was just the two of us for a long time,” I let out a huff of a laugh. “Until we picked up a couple of strays. A boy my age and his guardian along with a younger one soon after. They’re like my brothers in a way”
“They weren’t your real brothers?” Marco asks, voice curious but gentle.
“No. Not by blood,” I say softly. “But it didn’t matter. After a while… we were just us. Chosen family, looked out for each other, loved each other.”
I pause, letting that sit for a moment, before adding, “I haven’t seen either of them in years.”
“That’s kind of how it is on Whitebeard’s ship yoi. All brothers, none of us by blood, but… ya know, it doesn’t really matter.” Marco adds, but his smile tells me he understands my feelings with found family.
Ace leans back in his seat, patting his stomach like he’s finally full, then looks over at me with something bright in his eyes. “You know, I’ve got a younger brother like that too, grew up together before the pirate life.”
I raise a brow. “Yeah?”
Ace’s smile turns a little softer, a little sad. “Luffy. Kid’s a mess. Always diving headfirst into trouble, but he’s got a good heart. Stronger than people give him credit for.”
He pauses, tapping a finger on the bar. “Sometimes I worry about him. He’s going to be out there chasing his dream soon, and I can’t be there to watch his back.”
“Sometimes all we can do is wish for the best for them.” I add quietly, sending out my own thoughts of safety to my brothers.
Marco nods and I can feel the weight of shared experience pressing into the space between us now. Me with my brothers, Ace with his, Marco with an entire ship full of siblings.
And it’s in that quiet moment, that shared understanding, that something shifts between us and I am suddenly desperate to change the subject.
“So you're both Devil Fruit users too?” I ask.
“Yeah yoi. You saw mine earlier and Ace has the Flame Flame Fruit.” Marco says as Ace grins wildly and his finger turns into a flame as he holds it out for me to see.
“I showed you mine so you show me yours.” Ace says, extinguishing the flame on his hand and leaning closer to me.
“Not a good idea yoi.” Marco mutters and I can't help but let out a laugh at his reaction.
“My Devil Fruit works inside the head of the person I am targeting and in three main ways, I can show you actual memories, I can force a vision of your greatest fears compounded into a single moment or scene, or I can add a hallucination into what you are currently seeing.”
“I don't understand yoi?” Marco says, clearly not having realized there is more to it than just the brief image I had shown him.
“Yeah, same” Ace says.
“Okay, you've seen a butterfly right?” I ask Ace.
“Yeah?” he says back.
I reach out and touch his hand and his eyes are moving across the sky above him like he is tracking a butterfly. Well he is, but only he can see it.
“Oh shit this is cool!” Ace says bringing his hand up, but touching nothing.
“Right, that is the hallucination. Now since Marco has already seen what I can do with fear, I won't subject you to that.” I said with a laugh.
“What was that other thing you said you could do?” Ace asked, still pretending to play with the butterfly I am showing his subconscious.
“Memories, I can pull out memories. However, they tend to not be good ones. They are usually traumatic moments actually. Which is how I picked up ‘psychologist’ I guess. After doing this so much I think I have gotten pretty good at helping people work through mental barriers.” I say
“Do me, I wana see!” Ace says and I feel my face twitch slightly at the bad idea.
“Ace, I don't think-” Marco starts but Ace cuts him off.
“Oh come on! She said it's not as bad as whatever she did to you that has you acting all skittish!” Ace defends.
“I can't guarantee it will be pleasant A-” I try, looking to Marco for help here.
“Just do it!” Ace shouts excitedly and Marco lets out a huff before he waives his hand in a whatever gesture.
“Okay” I say with a sigh and shift from showing him the butterfly to pulling out a memory. I don't focus on anything particular, letting my Devil Fruit drag forward the one it feels needs the most attention. We both watch the memory start to unfold before us.
Once in this state, I have to willingly release them for it to stop. And while I am aware of what is going on around me outside the memory, I am also watching it. While the person is experiencing their memory again in real time, unaware of reality. It leaves both me and them in a relatively vulnerable state.
Ace, a young child in this memory, is in a bar. “If Gol D. Roger had a kid what would you do?”
I feel Ace push against me mentally, but there was nothing he could do. When they are under the memory like this they cant move their actual body. He wanted this so we will see if I can help with it.
“Kill him.”
“He'd be an abomination!”
"A monster!"
“Why ask such a stupid thing?”
Men shout and yell at him in the bar. I can tell Ace in the memory is hurt by this, even if he is keeping a brave face. After more of this, one man kicks Ace and he tries to fight back. Ace is getting beat up by an actual adult and suddenly a blonde boy runs in, dragging him out of the bar as they both flee.
I stare in shock at the little boy I am looking at. Messy blonde curls peeking out of his top hat.
Once they are free of the bar and in the woods, the blond boy whirls around to Ace. “What are you thinking?! Do you have to keep up this death wish?!”
Ace huffs back annoyed but still emotionally raw “Sabo, you don't understand.”
My brain has shut down. The similarities were uncanny, but to confirm it was actually him? It's mind blowing. I've tried to help Sabo since we were kids, and suddenly answers just fall out of the sky?!
I feel Ace mentally pushing against me harder. He doesn't want to show me more and under any other circumstances I would have backed out by now. But I can't, I just keep staring at the blonde boy unwilling to process what I was seeing.
“Ace, you're my brother! Why is mine and Luffy’s love for you not enough?!” Sabo screams, not letting go of the thrashing Ace.
“Your parents suck but mine was the worst of the worst! You can't understand what I feel being that man's son!” Ace roars and Sabo looks like he is about to cry or scream. An expression I recognize clearly.
I feel Ace mentally throwing himself against me again and this time I finally release him. Letting the memory slip back into its place in his subconscious. I turn to look at the older Ace next to me, keeping my face neutral as my heart beats erratically in my chest.
“No, no, no,” Ace starts muttering as his eyes try to focus on me, fear, sadness, and anger swirl around his face.
“What's going on yoi?” Marco’s voice says loudly as he stands and moves around the bar to rest a hand on Ace’s shoulder as he looks at him in worry.
“No!” Ace’s voice is louder, stronger, and even more terrified than his earlier mutterings.
“Ace, my number one rule is to respect people's privacy. I can see anyone's worst moments, biggest fears, life altering regrets, with a touch of my hand. I never discuss the things I have seen with anyone, but if you want to talk about it, that is what I do.” I say my voice coming out low and slow, ensuring each of my deliberate words break through his subconscious.
“No.” Ace yells again with wide eyes.
“Okay.” I say back, with total seriousness.
“Okay?” He asks back, seeming to calm down some finally.
Marco’s eyes are darting nervously from me to Ace, assessing me yet again.
“How do I know you won't say anything?” Ace asks, looking more skeptical and less fearful. Well that was an improvement at least.
“Hmmm.” I think for a moment before I got to my feet and walk up the steps to the main deck, both of them on my heels and Pepper bringing up the rear.
“Wait here” I say as I keep going past the helm and back to the single room at the rear of the ship. I open the door to my bedroom and walk over to the nightstand. I sit on the bed and open the top drawer. I shift through all the pictures, trinkets, and notes stuffed in here trying to find my Vivre card.
Once my fingers find the specific paper I pull it out and rip the portion I have left in half. There were already three pieces missing so there wasn't much left.
I stand and walk back out onto deck, where the two seem to be whisper arguing with each other.
Ace and Marco drop their conversation when I return.
I rip the piece in half and hand them each one. “It's my Vivre Card. If you think I told anyone, hunt me down.”
Marco's eyes blow wide and he takes it from my hand and lets it rest in his open palm. When the paper drags in my direction he looks up at me in utter shock. “To trusting yoi.” he mutters back, almost like a warning.
I raise an eyebrow and turn to look at Ace who tentatively takes it. “Don’t think I won't.” Ace says back, looking at me seriously.
I smirk and stroll over to the table on deck. I toss the cold fish to Pepper who eats it happily.
“Glad we have an understanding. Now, not that this hasn't been fun, but how long should I expect you to be staying? It's late, and I am rather tired.” I say looking between them.
“I see we have overstayed our welcome yoi.” Marco says back with his own smirk.
“On the contrary, please feel free to stay the night and leave in the morning if you want. There is a couch down there and everything.” I fire back, feigning innocence.
He seems to believe it though as his smirk wavers “That's very kind of you yoi, but we better be off. Pop’s expects us in a few days.” Marco says looking at Ace who is already moving.
“Aye, let's get to it!” Ace says before leaping off the side of the ship and into the Striker.
“Thank you, yoi. If you're ever in the New World, let us return the favor yeah?” Marco asks, looking at me.
“Oh, an Emperor owes me a favor? I like the sound of that.” I say back with a smirk and Marco rolls his eyes but has a smile on his face.
Pep strolls up next to me, rubbing against my side but keeping eye contact with Marco.
“It was nice to meet you yoi.” Marco says with a smile. “You as well Pepper,” before he leaps off the side and lands on the Striker with Ace.
“Yeah! Nice to meet you Y/N! Hope I don't have to hunt you down and kill you!” Ace yells out as flames ignite out of the back of the Striker and the little boat is suddenly soaring through the waves at an impressive speed, quickly carrying the two men away from me.
I pet Pepper on the head as we watch them leave. In only a few moments they are just an orange speck on the horizon and yet I continue to stare off into the distance. I can't believe this. We spent years trying to uncover Sabo’s lost memories. A total void, even to my powers, and the answers just fall onto my deck.
Granny’s words are ringing in my head. 'Sometimes life will yank you in a direction you never expected. All I can say is, go with it.'
And there is no other choice is there? This is my younger brother we are talking about here and turns out he had similar ‘siblings’ before he came to us.
I have to do this, there’s really no question on the lengths I was willing to go for my brother. Even if it meant having to sail on the Grand Line.