#Ikkaku would make the most fun of Kid though

[vergina-spva]

okay but... one piece characters... dressing up as other one piece characters for Halloween. But not like their friends, but like other pirates or marines or whatever, just to mock them or because they genuinely think it’s a scary costume.

[chromatic-lamina]

chapter 1081 spoilers—okay, angst is fun and all but...

Shachi literally means orca in Japanese. Ikkaku means narwhal. They can dive deep (Narwhals, deeper than most submarines go, I think) and survive. Penguins are pretty good underwater for a while (though I don't know about depth). The ocean is the home of sea urchins and sea angels (Uni and Clione). And have we forgotten how hardcore Penguin and Shachi went here?:

And do you think that Jean Bart looks a little fishman here? ( A little Namur-like).

Now, I don't know about snow geese, but we'll give Hakugan some magical properties. So while it is heartbreaking that the Polar Tang

will no longer sail the seas (and, yeah, the boys had had it forever, but this is the sub's own Going Merry moment, perhaps), I think we should believe Bepo here:

where he urges Law to have faith in the hardiness of his North Blue crew in the depths of the ocean. His concern is more with Law (but we know he'll be okay):

Bepo urges Law not to die, but the Hearts will continue to overcome. I don't know that they'll be captured either, but they must've almost escaped because Jean Bart was on land, right? In chapter 1064:

But look at this instruction (also from 1064):

where Law urges Penguin and Shachi into the water. The Hearts are fine, but I understand the angst (it's glorious, isn't it?!). I think Law's worried, obviously, but I also think he picked his crew and mode of transport for a reason beyond just remaining hidden.

But, the Polar Tang:

the Victoria Punk

the Jewelry Margerhita?

Although, the Wiki says they don't know what happened to it after Bonney was captured by Blackbeard way back when, but in Egghead Jinbei does ask her:

where her ship and crew is. She states that her ship (which might be the Jewelry Margherita) was eaten by the monsters (controlled by Lilith, right?) outside of Egghead, and that she came alone.

The wiki says: (according to Vivre Card - One Piece Visual Dictionary (Card #0511), Information about Bonney is revealed), that:

Bonney seems to prioritize her own safety over her crew's as she managed to escape Marine detainment but chose not to rescue her subordinates.

That's stark contrast to Law, and we've mostly seen her operate alone, but I'm not gonna believe the Vivre cards just yet.

Also, Kid's obviously alive if Law is and if their losses were similar in wording and visuals. I think Kid's crew have saved him, if not Shanks' crew.

BUT, once Law recovers, he'll not be sequestered in a cell for ten years before he becomes relevant again (poor Kid. Damn!).

As @purplehairedwonder pointed out, the Polar Tang was carrying Law's poneglyph copies, and I bet that the crew is carrying them. Hope so. He'd be wise enough to have them waterproofed. BUT it makes more narrative sense to have them destroyed.

Now, someone was talking about how a Klabautermann is only seen when a ship is doomed (this wikipedia article supports it, but that's as far as my sources go) and therefore they didn't include images/stories/prompts about it for the Polar Tang. I can't remember who it was! Ahh, well it seems that the Klabautermann of various ships have been very busy lately.

Kuzan, too. Kuzan is cool (haha). I'm glad we saw him. And the dialogue with the Blackbeard pirates and Kuzan. OH, I almost forgot, this angst:

where Blackbeard taunts Law with the fact (yes, fact!) that there are a hundred pirates on Pirate Island still without their hearts, due to Law, and BB would be thrilled to punish Law for the fact, can't help but stir the whump-writer's heart (I'm sorry, Law).

AND, Koby and Law were in cahoots in some way, I'm sure of it (probably be disproven). Something similar to Luffy and Smoker at Alabasta, perhaps? Anyway.

Side note, do you think that Chopper used Caesar Clown's science and ego to help produce the rumble-ball like power-up he gave Bepo? If so, I wonder if this will come to play in the future when Caesar and Judge enter the fray again, if they do.

[makemake22]

Mafia AU

Headcanon

Law as the leader of the mafia in modern era! And his past before become a mafia. I just realize i write more about it haha

warning: novel spoiler

Law was the leader of Heart Mafia. He specialize in science and medicine. Invest some of his money to the hospital or scientist that made medicine.

of course, if they ended up running away without giving result, Law would drag them back and torture them

have Penguin, Shachi and Bepo as his bodyguard. There's no way they not. I bet Shachi or Penguin were once gonna be his subordinate but they said it's no fun, so after several yapping and begging from two of them, Law agree they would be his bodyguard

No joke, he actually scared they gonna die. They're his friends after his fate drag him around. Losing his parents and his mentor. He can't even believe he still have good life when an old man name Wolf adopt him

Wolf might teach Law about using technology and stuff since Law gonna get revenge on Donquixote.

Yep, they are also here. Law's house got burned by the police that conflicted with his dad. His dad doesn't wanna give the kidney to the rich guy and decide to transplant it to the poor kid that is already on the verge of death.

But damn, the rich father got mad and decided to burn the Trafalgar house. That's why Law didn't trust any police anymore.

When he was wandering off the street, he met Donquixote leader, Doflamingo. Of course he agree Law be the member of his family because Law want to eradicate the government that corrupt by greed.

But, Doflamingo's brother, Corazon, believe otherwise. That's Law can live a normal life and run away with him. Doflamingo, angered by it.

And time passed as Law know Corazon was undercover police and it makes his rotten mind about police got recover a bit. He still doesn't believe in police though.

I actually don't know if i should include his disease or not...

When Corazon get killed, Law decide to indulge himself in the world of mafia. Using his knowledge when he was in Donquixote family. He also discreetly buy a gun, but Wolf know about it.

He reluctant to let three of his friends join him. He doesn't want them to die just solely for revenge.

But three of them insisted. So yeah, back to the present world.

He stil meet Doflamingo in mafia meeting or mafia banquet, unlike the canon.

Even though he doesn't want to admit it, allying with Luffy really give headache and benefits. Doflamingo got defeated in the end

His subordinates are the same as canon. Ikkaku would be wearing a tuxedo and wearing her hat. She's more into the mechanic of vehicles. Bepo would most likely be the driver. Or became a pilot more cool? Or a sailor just in case Law needs to go to another country with a ship?

Part two with reader?

i realize that i actually writing Law hc and forget about reader. hahah...

Anyway, I added more in here because tumblr makes me can't add paragraphs with Bluetooth keyboard

[gay-pirate-anime]

On the subject of the Girl!Law episode, I actually find Toeis changes to be really... interesting.

Like... in the Manga Law seemed to be the least affected by the transformation. There's enough wiggle-room to claim he only wasted energy on curing it because it was throwing his crew off. Meanwhile, in the anime, he shirks his duties to pout at the wall for five minutes.

Also: big difference between Shachi and Penguin squeeing over Law before vs after they're transformed. Being distrected from an enemy attack by your captain being so cute, is different from being distracted from ogling your friend because that same thing making you ogle him is actually distressing when it happens to you. One lightens the mood, the other turns it into body horror.

At least we get background ikkaku to give us Sapphic vibes, but it's just... not as fun?

It would've been great if Law had to track down Chopper for a cure though. Especially if *Sanji* had the cure from the HRT recipes.

Oda shoulda' just left em like that imo. Or just Law. I think it would have been a great narrative choice. It's a controversial subject having any character have their sex changed against their will, especially when you begin to question what that change says about gender and trans rep in media, but I've always felt like most of Law's major character ark was resolved already in Dressrosa, and then capstoned later in Wano with the Luffy/Kid/Law alliance against Kaido. Having him instead explore his gender, now that he's had his resolution re: Corazon's death, would have been a super interesting direction to take. For example: Seeing how other character's regard for him would have changed now that he's in a 'female' body, how Law's own toxic masculinity has affected his ability to have relationships/friendships, among other possible ideas.

That's not even to bring up the mad props I'd give to Oda, who's usually on my shitlist for not drinking his respect women juice, even though he sometimes accidentally writes great women and trans characters. Making a fan favourite character who is that strong permanently 'female' yet harbour exactly the same strength as before would just be a power move. idk. That throw-away line they had in the anime where he said his body was weaker was utter bs. The whole scene just came off as distasteful fanservice.

TLDR: it was already a cheap gag, the anime made it worse, but that gag had potential to be so much more. not just for law's character but for oda's rep with writing non cis-men.

Not surprised but still disappointed.

[ikkaku-of-heart]

A few random headcanons about Ikkaku’s modern!verse.

🚗 Despite her frequently arguing with her boss, Ikkaku does enjoy working at Kid’s garage and gets along with the majority of her coworkers. She especially likes working there because Kid never asked for legal stuff like social security numbers or valid references. He tested her skills on a car, she passed, now she’s one of his best mechanics.

🚗 Ikkaku is decently proficient in firearms, though she prefers to use a taser. She also can make Molotov cocktails. And can make improvised weapons pretty easily. Also has a lot of other survival skills she doesn't like to talk about.

🚗 She drives a yellow 1970 Ford Mustang that she absolutely adores and cares for like it's her baby. Kid is the only other person she allows to work on her car.

🚗 Her grandfather, Tomasu, served in the military (won’t say which branch) before working for an unnamed family (I like to imagine Whitebeard crime family as they’re the only kind of mafia I could imagine being ok with someone deciding to leave) before then retiring from criminal life to become a lighthouse keeper/doomsday prepper. He adopted Ikkaku because her parents got involved with a cult and he refused to let his granddaughter suffer. He was sadly unable to rescue his grandsons (though he was finally able to get the twins out when they got older). He raised Ikkaku in basically isolation out of fear that the cult would come for her (his body count says he was right).

🚗 Tomasu lives humbly but is decently well-off. Most of his assets are in gold and overseas banks. Ikkaku herself never questioned how her grandfather was able to afford so many guns and classic cars for her to work on. He told her that the money came from selling the cars once she’d had her fun fixing them.

🚗 Arashi died due to doctors not taking her illness seriously. This instilled both Tomasu and Ikkaku with a deep distrust of doctors. Law is the first doctor she’s had a good experience with in nearly twenty years.

🚗 When Ikkaku decided to move away to the big city, Tomasu gave her his blessing and also the keys to an underground bunker stocked with MREs. Ikkaku makes occasional visits to this bunker (”camping trips”) to make sure everything is still in good shape in case she needs it.

🚗 Ikkaku likes to joke that she’s got an assassin on speed dial. She doesn’t realize that she actually does (@ephxmerall‘s Zoro). She also doesn’t realize that she also has a black market organ dealer on speed dial (@medicus-mortem‘s Law). Or that most of her friends and colleagues are involved in the criminal underworld. Most of them would prefer to keep it that way.

[cebwrites]

my, my (how can i resist you?)

a/n: the vacation and tenderness they all (i) need (them to have)-

oc x canon, post-wano, nakamaship and fluff, poly (implied, and shown) he/they law word count: 1.3k

Tang and Strider dock, both Hiraishin and Heart Pirates heave a collective sigh of relief. The island they’ve found themselves on seems to be uninhabited with little to stock up on in terms of supplies but in comparison to the hell that awaited them upon leaving samurai-country - this was virtually time off.

The combined crews waste no time in off-loading onto the island and slip into relaxation mode; Law said that they’d only be able to spend a few days here but that only meant that everyone would have to make the most of it. Usually he’d disdain such lackadaisical behavior, but frankly at this point if Law hears one more word of Strawhat nonsense, mucking up yet another perfectly good plan, he’d combust into stress fueled flames.

So distraction is given a pass for now.

Everyone eases into their impromptu holiday without a second glance; respective first mates have abandoned their duties in lieu of beach-time fun (although some stick to their responsibilities out of habit more than others), typical friend groups all huddle up to discuss their interests with lots of overlap from other circles as the night draws on, couples, trios, and quads find a nice little corner to simply spend time with each other without needing to worry about work - even typically more solitary folk come out of hiding to enjoy the ambience.

Soon “a few days” turns to a week, but Law still can’t bring himself to tell everyone it’s time to leave yet. Not when he sees Tetsu and Shachi playing Shoulder Wars with Bepo in the water, Penguin chatting amongst Reiji and Rio, the latter with his legs across Migi’s lap, Mitsu exchanging recipes and laughing with his own beloved cooks. Across the beach Coco squawks in response to her girlfriend’s teases and Ikkaku’s all the happier to pile them on. 

Law can see Noire and Nabiil desperately trying to keep Fritz from falling into the water as he windsurfs, Alto and Uni help get sunscreen on the parts of Jean-Bart’s back that he can’t reach, while various Heart and Hiraishin crew members try to haggle a bargain from their resident tattoo artist, Izzy, too.  Least of all when he spots Kirin out of the corner his eye, napping in various spots throughout the day but always wearing a slight smile even in his slumber.

They’re all on a well-deserved vacation. Especially after de-throning two Emperors and fending off the fallout therein. Plus, with Dofla-fucking-mingo rotting in Impel Down, Law reasons, although the knowledge that this vile creature was alive at ALL made their bones ache with a decade-long rage, he has nothing else to worry about other than zeroing his focus on the One Piece, or rather, the Will of D, at his own pace.

Still, Kirin finds Law sulking away from the liveliness as usual, tucked away in their office among piles of old but well-kept books.

“Hiding away before the party even starts? It might be our last day here, you know. Our crews wanna have at least a little fun with both captains present.” 

“You’re leaving? When? It’s the first I’ve heard of this.” Laws brows furrow as he looks up to meet Kirin’s gaze, placing down his favorite bear-themed pencil.

“Nothing’s set in stone yet but Rio wants to get a move on before those kids get caught up in another storm. You know how he is. It’s fine, we need to get to another town to stockpile tools for repairs anyway.”

“Mugiwara-ya? Him and his ilk cause problems wherever they go,” Law snuffs, “Wonder when we’ll see the end of his competitive streak, though, if at all.”

Kirin cocks him a grin, brow raised and eyelids slack, “Who, Rio? I don’t want to hear that from you, Tora-o.”

The corner of Law’s mouth twitches at the accursed nickname, Kirin laughs. They will admit though, at least secretly and only ever to themself, that hearing it from his lover, his amor, in such a sweet tone despite the intentional mockery makes them all but want to kiss this insufferable man. So he does. Hooks his fingers into the loop of Kirin’s belt buckle, pulls him to sit on the arm of his chair, and leans up with clear intent. Kirin’s more than happy to oblige.

It’s only when Law swipes his tongue across the inside of the other captain’s mouth and Kirin makes an undignified noise in response that he realizes their true intentions.

“Law! You had coffee before I came in, didn’t you?” 

Kirin feigns offense but it’s hard to stay mad with his partner’s rare and ever-sweet laughter ringing wonderfully through his chest and ears. Almost as if... they were wedding bells. Kirin’s caught off by his own thoughts, brushing the idea far away for now and hoping that Law didn’t see his expression change. God, where did that come from? What would’ve been a mock scowl now sits as a mere toothless pout on tan features. Law’s head rests against their own jolly roger inked on Kirin’s shoulder, fingers intertwined as he lets the last huffs of laughter empty from his chest. He’s still smiling though, and Kirin wouldn’t do anything to jinx it for the world.

“I take it you still want me to go out there and socialize for our last day on this carefree island?”

“You don’t have to, Heart, but it would be nice. We wanna have fun with you, too.” Kirin brings up their knuckles to smooch with all the tenderness and devotion his heart can manage - Law tips his chin for a proper kiss on the lips, after. Had he been born with the ability to, Kirin’s wings would’ve fanned out in a flurry of ruffled feathers at right this moment.

“Hmm, since my darling asked so nicely, who am I to say no?”

Heart Pirates cheer at the sight of their captain emerging from the sub to join them - Kirin close behind, standard smirk of a smile already in place; his crew keeps their teasing about Law’s hermit habits to a minimum if only because of the warning look their own captain briefs over them when Law is too preoccupied with Bepo shoving plates of fresh food into his arms, well into the party mood.

The buccaneers greet the transition from dusk to nightfall with raucous laughter, excessive drinking, and gorging themselves on the bounty of seafood they could find by fishing and diving around the waters surrounded them, though the island itself was almost devoid of any edible meat. At least, not enough to justify hunting to feed a party of more than 30 grown adults when they already had more than enough fish and crustaceans to last. Plenty of herbs, however.

They herd Bepo into the Tang with his tipsy, giggly partner once the clouds seemed to roll away from to avoid another Sulong incident, although whatever those two got up to in the privacy of their sub was none of anyone’s business. A few others had disappeared with their own arrangements, too, but Kirin was content to simply lay on this blanketed patch of beach listening to his intoxicated boyfriend ramble about all the ‘funny fishies’ they saw while trying to catch tonight’s feast.

Law sits next to them a short while later, drink in hand and pleasantly buzzed, but not nearly as drunk as the unconscious red-faced samurai between these captains.

“Did Pen and Shach ditch you to go make out?”

Law snrks in response, “No worse than Tetsu and Izzy leaving you for the, what, broom closet where they ran off to? Usually we’d be racing against them.”

Kirin’s snickers muffle against the kiss he presses to Law’s cheek; Reiji shifts a little with something unintelligible muttered in his sleep below them - Kirin smiles, moving to lay his head on their mutual boyfriend’s chest.

“’M not really up for it tonight. Hate to say, but all that food’s made me sleepier than anything.”

“Yeah? Well, we’ve got the world’s best pillows right here,” Law shimmies a little lower too, resting on their elbow as the buzz sinks in from the last gulp to finish off his cup.

“I don’t know about sleeping on the beach, though, all that sunlight is going to make our hangovers murderous,” Kirin doesn’t get to finish, they’ve already been shambles’d into his room, Reiji and all.

“Oh, so you can get sand in my bed but when I drop a single crumb in yours-”

Once again Law cuts his train of thought short, this time with a kiss. Their head swims with a familiar airiness and both captains smell pleasantly of sake; they break to smile at each other, then Reiji’s slumbering face. The cap’ts press tipsy (one more so than the other) kisses to either of his cheeks, before each laying on a tit and knocking out for the night.

All things considered, it was a vacation well spent.

[anubislover]

Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Nami-ya chapter 19: Lying Hearts

“How can anyone stand to live in a city like this?” Nami grumbled as the light glinted off of yet another painfully white building. True, the setting sun had lessened the glare slightly, but after an entire afternoon of it, she was developing quite the headache, even with the sunglasses.

Law shrugged and continued walking at a leisurely pace, still unaffected. “I’m sure if you’re born somewhere like this it’s easier, but people can learn to tolerate almost anything given enough time, I suppose.”

“Do you think you’d be able to learn to tolerate bread?”

“I said almost. I’d sooner die of starvation.”

She shook her head with a chuckle but kept pace, following his lead. Instead of heading straight back to the submarine, Law had insisted on a few detours through Atifakuto—partially in case anyone had grown suspicious and decided to follow them, but also to scope out potential escape routes under the guise of sightseeing. Nami, for her part, had been exceedingly helpful in this, mapping out in her head which stairways lead where and pointing out various places to hide. If Law found her compliance suspicious, he didn’t say anything; it was in their best interest to work together, especially with some potentially valuable goods on the line, so her behavior was easily rationalized.

For her, however, there was more than artifacts or even belli at stake. This heist had to go well. She needed Law to trust her enough to open up about why he was so obsessed with Amber Lead. Perhaps if he could do that, she wouldn’t even have to sneak into his quarters to take a look at the ledgers. She could just ask and he’d let her in like a rational human being.

Of course, in order for either of their plans to succeed they needed to know where the vase was. Luckily, the rest of the Hearts hadn’t been sitting idle on the submarine. They’d been investigating every possible gallery, art collector, museum, and auction house their prize could possibly be at. The second they had a lead, they’d call on the mini Den Den Mushi.

Until then, though, Law and Nami were forced to meander about the city, planning and killing time.

“So, while we wait for some intel, what else are you going to buy me?” she asked as they wandered the fourth level. They’d passed quite a few shops, and while most had stocked dull business suits similar to the last store, Nami felt her bags were tragically light. They were in a beautiful-if-blinding city, and she was walking away with only one outfit? What a travesty.

Snorting dismissively, Law glanced down at her with a clear look of are you kidding me? on his face. “Nothing. I told you I was only getting you one outfit. I’m your captain, not your sugar daddy.”

“You know, for a man who wants this little job to go well, you’re not putting in nearly the effort you should,” she quipped, a sly smile on her lips, eyelashes fluttering prettily. “I’m supposed to look professional and put together if I’m gonna pull off being your lovely assistant. That means I need matching shoes and accessories. Maybe a cute leather purse or briefcase to really sell it.”

“If you want those so badly then buy them yourself. Or,” he smirked, halting his pace to turn around and catch her chin between his fingers, tilting her head up towards him as he stepped in close enough so she could feel his body heat, “you earn them by doing certain favors for daddy.”

Her cheeks only pinkened a little at his innuendos while she stuck out her tongue and shoved him away. Last night’s dream wasn’t quite as close to the forefront of her mind anymore, but that didn’t mean his smirk didn’t do things to her she’d rather ignore. “Pass. You should know by now that it takes more than clothes for me to play nice.”

“Mmm, I do. That’s what makes it so much fun,” he purred, gold eyes glinting in wicked amusement. One gloved hand was shoved into his pocket while his free arm slung itself casually over her shoulder as he continued stalking along the fastidiously clean road. “But since you’re currently insisting on being a strong, independent woman who doesn’t need a man to provide for her, you can instead borrow some shoes from Ikkaku, and she might still have a pair of glasses or something from the time she pretended to be a receptionist at a Naval base.”

Brown eyes widened at his statement. Not because he was suggesting that she borrow clothes or anything, but the bombshell he’d just casually dropped in light of her recent discovery.

“Was this for one of your plans?” she asked, shoulders stiffening.

He shrugged like it was no big deal, though he did give her a curious glance at the way she tensed beneath him. “Yeah. We needed someone on the inside, and they’d put out an advertisement for an attractive female in her early twenties. It’s not like Uni or Penguin could do it.”

“But…holy shit, Law, are you serious?” she hissed, dragging him over to an unoccupied part of the street behind a solitary gated tree so she could scold him in private. There weren’t too many people about, but the last thing they need was to get unwanted attention because they’d caused a scene, even if Law totally deserved to get chewed out at the top of her lungs for being such an asshole. “Ikkaku has Marine brothers who want her dead and you sent her into the lion’s den? What the fuck?!”

Caught off-guard by her anger, Law’s eyebrows shot up briefly before furrowing. “She told you about them?”

Damn. In her shock and anger on her friend’s behalf, she’d forgotten that this was a subject she wasn’t technically supposed to know. But instead of admitting guilt, she doubled down and threw on her best poker face.

“Yeah. She told me,” she lied easily. Too easily. It came as naturally as it had back in the days she’d been working under Arlong, getting close to pirates by lying through her teeth and then robbing them blind. How many crews and captains had she deceived before Luffy? Nami had honestly lost count, but once she’d joined up with the Straw Hats, lying to a supposed ally hadn’t been quite as instinctual.

But this isn’t Luffy, and Law’s keeping way more secrets than I am, she rationalized. It’s just a little white lie anyway. He’d be way more pissed at Shachi and Penguin for telling me. I’m looking after those guys.

Law’s expression hardened, and for a moment she wondered if he’d seen through her bluff. She didn’t think she’d gotten too rusty in the lying department, but Law was smart and distrusting in general, so she couldn’t quite tell. Trepidation hung heavy in the air as she waited for him to speak, mind going a mile a minute coming up with new lies and explanations to appease him. Worse came to worst, she could throw the guys under the bus, even if she didn’t really want to, but they were his best friends, so Law would doubtlessly be more forgiving towards them, right?

Thankfully, it seemed his anger came from a completely different place, as he snarled quietly through clenched teeth, “Nami-ya, I am, as you have pointed out rather frequently in the past, a control freak. Do you really think I would devise a plan that required sending my top mechanic into a Marine base if there was even a chance she could be recognized? Especially by her utter shit of a brother?”

She flinched at the vitriol in his voice. It seemed she’d touched a nerve, and unless she wanted to lose all the progress she’d worked for, she knew it was best to back down. “Sorry. You’re right.”

“I’ll accept your apology if you tell me what prompted her to tell you,” he stated, crossing his arms. “It’s not information she makes widely known, even to those who are permanent members of my crew.”

Well. At least this was easy enough to justify, and she’d be doing both Law and Ikkaku a favor, right? Sure, the guys would obviously tell him later, but being the first to warn him might earn her a few more crumbs of trust. “There was an article in the paper about Marine reinforcements coming to the Grand Line. Ushi was interviewed. He seemed pretty intent on taking down the Heart Pirates.”

Law froze, his frown deepening into a dark sneer. The tic in his jaw and the way his fists clenched reminded her of his reaction to Ikkaku having been attacked on Grimm. “That fucker will stay away from Ikkaku if he’s got any brains in him.”

“You’re pretty protective of her,” she said. Sure, he’d perhaps phrased his defense in a way that implied his priority was the plan, it was clear from the hiss in his voice that Ikkaku’s safety had been genuinely considered.

The brim of his hat hid his eyes as he stated, “I’m protective of all my crew. She’s just…it’s hard to find submarine engineers, let alone ones as skilled as her. Ikkaku’s hard to replace.”

Well that stinks to high heaven of bullshit, she thought. Sure, the Surgeon of Death had a rightly-earned cruel reputation, but he’d shown time and again his crew meant a lot to him. Stepping in close, she used her finger to lift his hat enough to see his expression unobstructed. “Is that why you let her sass you? Because if she walked you’d be dead in the water?”

The gold orbs glared down at her, though the held no heat. “Everyone on the crew is a vital component. Like gears in a well-oiled machine. You’ve gotta take care of them to make sure they don’t break.”

When Nami merely raised a disbelieving eyebrow, he sighed, body deflating slightly. “Look, Nami-ya, everyone on my crew, we’ve all got shit in our pasts. Some have overcome it. Some still carry the scars. Ikkaku…hers is one of the few that’s actively still trying to get her. So yeah, maybe I’m a bit more protective, but it’s for a damn good reason.”

Ok, now that was a fair point. “I’m surprised you haven’t just killed him.”

“Oh, I want to,” he snarled. “No brother should try to hurt their siblings. They’re supposed to look after them. The only reason Ushi-ya still draws breath is because Ikkaku begged me to spare his pathetic life.”

It suddenly dawned on Nami that, despite his criticizing Luffy for not being more bloodthirsty, Law was…surprisingly merciful in his own ways, too. He didn’t murder Ikkaku’s brother, despite having clear reason to, just because she asked. He rescued Jean Bart from a life of slavery despite not knowing him. And while she didn’t fully understand the Ope Ope no Mi’s powers, she wondered if his cuts didn’t draw blood because he didn’t want them to?

She wasn’t sure if he had a complexity addiction or if he genuinely wanted to minimize bloodshed, but once again another side of the incredibly fascinating man had been revealed.

Taking a deep breath to calm his anger, he gave Nami a sadistic smile. “Doesn’t mean I let him off the hook with a sternly-worded warning, though. Wanna know what I did to him the last time we met?”

Nami turned a bit green as she remembered Jinzo’s still-beating heart in his hands. Complex and caring towards his crew or not, he was still a twisted bastard. “Fuck no!”

Briefly he pouted at not getting to regale her with the gory details before shrugging. “Pity. It was quite the eventful evening. In fact, it was also the night of mine and Drake-ya’s first kiss.”

“How the hell are those two things connected?!”

“Well, I had to distract him somehow. He was guarding my poor mechanic like a dragon would a virtuous princess.”

Before she could demand more details, or even snort at the idea of Ikkaku being virtuous, the sound of the mini Den Den Mushi reached their ears, interrupting the conversation.

Looking around to make sure there weren’t any eavesdroppers, Law pulled out the little snail phone and clicked down on the top. “Guessing you’ve got something for me?”

“I do,” the snail answered, and Nami recognized the faint accent that indicated they were speaking to Cousteau. “Only one place that specializes in North Blue history. Jubilee & Atlas Antiques. It’s an auction house and gallery on the fifth level, a block away from the Elevate Deliverer Restoration Church.”

“Well that’s a needlessly long name,” he quipped, rolling his eyes. Mentally, Nami had to agree, though it also sounded vaguely familiar. “At least that makes it easier to find. Anything else I should know? Other landmarks, nearby guard stations, that sort of thing?”

There was a moment of hesitation before Cousteau replied, “No station, though there would probably be at least a few guards wandering around at night. It’s, uh, right by a fountain. Blessings from the White City.”

Nami’s eyes widened a little. Oh. Now she remembered. That had been the church with the huge stained-glass windows. The one in her book, by the tribute to Flevance.

“…I see.”

The little snail chewed its lip, clearly concerned. “Captain, if you want, I can do all the surveillance—”

“It’s fine,” he cut in, tone sharp before smoothing out, “I saw it earlier. In fact, I’m glad it’s so close. Nami-ya and I will check out the gallery. We’re nearby and I’d rather see it with my own eyes to get the lay of the land. Unless anyone else has a better lead, you and the others can head back to the ship.”

“Understood, sir. Anything else you need?” he asked, sounding relieved.

“Just tell Clione I might have a job for him later on, so don’t make any evening plans.”

“Aye-aye, Captain.”

The call ended, and Nami peered up at Law, expecting signs of the same darkness that had crossed his face when they’d visited the fountain earlier. Instead, his face was totally blank, staring down at the tiny snail, expressionless.

Somehow, that was far, far more unnerving.

“Law?” she asked, touching his arm hesitantly.

As if awoken from a trance he shook his head before smirking down at her. “Well, hope you don’t mind one last detour before heading back to the ship? I know it’s more stairs but look on the bright side; at this rate, the definition of your calf muscles will be a thing of beauty.”

He didn’t wait for her to respond, turning on his heels and heading towards the direction of the stairs to the next level. Frowning, she began to doubt whether or not this was all a good idea. She didn’t know exactly what his deal was, but she really felt like he was too close to this. But she had the feeling trying to talk him out of it would be an exercise in futility, and would set her back far more than any lie she might spin.

Oh well, she sighed internally, jogging to catch up, so long as he doesn’t do anything stupid. He’s sensible enough to keep a cool head, no matter what his problem is. It’ll be fine.

While it wasn’t far, it took longer than either of them would have expected to actually find Jubilee & Atlas Antiques. Mainly because it was a surprisingly nondescript building compared to the opulent churches and museums nearby. Honestly, based on the exterior, one could easily have passed it by. Like everything else the building was pristinely white, the windows boasting small arches over them and flower boxes containing white impatiens. Really, the most impressive thing about it was the marble plaque out front boasting the company’s name in gold leaf.

But the two pirates didn’t really care about the appearance; it was what was inside that counted. That, and the information board out front, which stated in bold, black letters that there would be a showing and auction of North Blue artworks at 8pm that evening.

“Why don’t you just Scan the place, grab the vase, and walk away? Seems like that would be easy compared to putting on this charade?” Nami asked, eyeing the building. It was hardly Harpin’s mansion; it would take almost no effort for Law to use his powers to steal every item of value inside it, replacing artifacts, paintings, and money with pebbles and potted plants with a mere flick of his fingers, then teleporting them away to safety.

Really, if he weren’t such an ass, Trafalgar Law would be a thief’s dream partner.

Of course, he was an ass, so he gave her a look that implied he considered her question to be phenomenally stupid. “Because there’s no guarantee that the vase is even in there—for all I know it’s being kept in a secondary location until the actual event for security or health reasons. It is a relic from a city that suffered a notorious death toll both before and after the World Government had quarantined it,” he explained lowly. “On top of that, my Room would draw too much attention, so if it’s not in there, we’ll have blown our whole cover and probably the operation.”

Though disappointed that they couldn’t just whisk it away with his powers, she conceded that he had a point. Versatile and useful as they were, the Ope Ope no Mi’s abilities did have their drawbacks. Actually infiltrating the auction house was a safer move.

Yet for a moment, she saw Law glare at the building, as if he were equally frustrated that they couldn’t just grab their prize and go. Perhaps even a great mastermind like him sometimes wished to take the direct path. “At least we can be sure it’ll be presented at this auction,” he reassured, almost as much to himself as her as his hand rested on Nami’s lower back while he escorted her away. “Makes it easier to come up with a plan and contingencies when I actually know the target. My crew did good.”

She twirled a strand of hair around her finger in thought. She supposed he was right, and the pride in his voice when he mentioned the Hearts’ contribution…well, she knew better than to argue with that. Seemed the lesson he learned on the last island was sticking. “Still too bad we don’t have blueprints like Harpin’s house, though.”

“It can’t be helped. That was a job I’d been planning for months. This is more…spontaneous. Why? Scared and looking to back out?” he asked, glancing down at her with a challenging grin.

Nami scoffed. She was a thief that specialized in robbing pirates. Sure, she was a scaredy-cat, but when treasure of some kind was at stake, there were few risks she wouldn’t take. “Not a chance. Just pointing out that we’re going in more blind than last time.”

“Maybe, but at least our prize will be out in the open and not in the home of a former Marine with tentacles. Hell, we might even get it legally.”

“Law,” she started, brow furrowing. She wasn’t scared, but she did have a reasonable concern, especially with how intent he seemed on this one item. “What are we going to do if we don’t win the vase?”

The pair stopped by the Flevance fountain, Law taking a long moment to stare solemnly at the beautiful white angels. Without a word he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small coin, pressing it to his lips before flipping it into the water.

When he turned back to her, his gold eyes were as hard as the statues’ and twice as cold.

“Simple; we take it from whoever did.”

XXX

Hidden in a small cove on an unpopulated section of Atifakuto’s coast, the sight of the Polar Tang’s sunny yellow hull was a welcome relief after a whole day of the city’s stark white walls. Law seemed to agree as his tense posture relaxed into a comfortable slouch, even giving a few of the guys a small grin when they called out to them. To Nami, of course, the submarine was still far from the Sunny and thus would never be home, but she couldn’t help but smile at Law’s reaction. The Dark Doctor really did have some softness deep down.

Of course, that didn’t last long, as the moment they were within the safety of the cargo bay he was once more all business. “Dinner is in an hour. Rest up, brush up on your notes, do whatever you need to prepare for the auction tonight; I’ve got a few more dominoes to put in place,” Law stated. He’d been silent for most of the walk back, though Nami attributed that to him mentally filing through all the information they now had and formulating his plan. Much as she missed and loved Luffy, having a captain who didn’t just go rushing in like an idiot was a nice change of pace.

That didn’t mean she appreciated his tone, though. “Say please,” she quipped, hip jutting out. She might have decided to be more compliant for the sake of gaining his trust, but that didn’t mean she was going to let him boss her around.

Besides, if she were too accommodating, he’d probably grow suspicious and then she’d be right back at square one.

He scowled but apparently decided it would be a waste of time to argue. They were on a tight schedule, after all, so her attitude would have to be tolerated. For now. “Please,” he grumbled before marching off, beckoning Clione to follow him. The biologist glanced between the two, bewildered, but smartly said nothing before chasing after his captain.

Flashing a self-satisfied grin at Law’s retreating back, Nami practically skipped to her quarters. Even though they weren’t as prepared as she’d like, so far, things were going well. Perhaps they couldn’t just use Law’s powers to swipe the vase, but by obtaining it through legal means, they wouldn’t have the authorities after them, which would be nice. Besides, it wasn’t her money that would be spent at the auction.

Her research of the North Blue had taught her a few things, including just how valuable things from Flevance were. After all, things made from the white ore had been in high-demand during the city’s heyday; now that it was in ruins, any remaining artifacts would surely triple in price. And, admittedly, if that fountain had been anything to go by, the vase could very well be extremely beautiful. Something any art collector or historian might want for themselves.

Once more, she wondered why the hell Law wanted it. He collected coins, not art, so she doubted it would be something he wanted just for the heck of it. What was his obsession with Flevance—

That train of thought was derailed when Nami walked into her room. She blinked then rubbed her eyes, certain her vision was still messed up from the sun, because Ikkaku was still sitting at her desk, working on some little device, practically in the same position as that morning. Really, the only difference was the lack of towel around her head, though her curly hair was a tangled bird’s nest.

“Have you even moved today?” Nami exclaimed loudly, flabbergasted.

The mechanic jumped a few inches out of her chair, a pen cartwheeling through the air before falling back onto the surface of the desk with a clatter. Apparently since she’d had the room to herself, she hadn’t felt the need to put the earplugs back in, leaving her vulnerable to Nami’s loud voice. “Damn, girl, you scared me,” Ikkaku said with a breathy laugh. She glanced around, noticing the time on the clock and the fact that her hair had dried completely. “Guess I was in the zone.”

“You haven’t been working all day, have you?” Nami asked, plopping her shopping bag on her bed. “At least tell me you had lunch.”

“Sounding an awful lot like Law there,” she teased, pushing away from her desk to stretch. There was an audible pop from her back, and her dark eyes closed in relief. “Like me, too. The boys and I are always bugging a certain workaholic captain to eat something and not subsist solely on coffee and aspirin. But to answer your question, yes, I did have lunch.” She pointed at an empty plate that had been shoved into the far corner of the desk, a few grains of rice stuck to the surface. “Bepo brought me some onigiri.”

“Good. If you didn’t, I’d be dragging you into the galley and force-feeding you a sandwich, then charging you a cooking and inconvenience fee.”

Snorting, Ikkaku cracked her knuckles and rolled her shoulders, further releasing the tension sitting hunched over in one spot for hours had built up. “Dinner’s soon enough; even if I hadn’t eaten, I could have waited. And good luck making a sandwich with no bread on board.” Despite her dismissal tone, though, she gave a wry grin. “But thanks for caring, I guess, even if it does come with a price tag.”

“What are friends for?” Nami shrugged with a smile that was a little forced. It was such an alien feeling, this sudden awkwardness. Since first arriving on the Tang, she and Ikkaku had gotten on like a house on fire. It was almost inevitable, being the two women on the ship surrounded by men dealing with that insanity together. Hell, even if that hadn’t been the case, Ikkaku had practically sacrificed herself for her back at the club on Grimm. A companion like that was more than she’d even dared to dream of before she’d met Luffy.

Was it really right for Nami to act like she didn’t know about her brother? Should she just tell her that the guys told her about Ushi? Really, what was the point of keeping it a secret? It wasn’t that Nami thought she’d slip up and spill the beans—lying was her specialty, after all—but Ikkaku wasn’t some mark or stranger. She was her friend.

Hell, even if they were on opposite crews, she’d even dare to call her nakama.

The issue resolved itself, however, when the other woman’s expression turned a little melancholy. Ikkaku sighed as she rested her cheek on her fist, her other hand idly playing with the pen. “Heh. Funny, I used to ask myself that question a lot when I was younger. I didn’t really have friends back on my home island. I lived with my Gramps in a lighthouse, so besides the occasional trip to town, it was a pretty isolated life.”

“What about your brothers?” Nami asked, masking her interest by taking her purchases out of the bag so they wouldn’t wrinkle before the auction. A swell of relief surged through her. If Ikkaku talked about Ushi herself, the whole charade of pretending not to know about him wouldn’t even be necessary! She just had to carefully press for the right crumbs of information, maybe even offer up a couple tidbits about her own life in exchange. No big deal. Tit for tat, right? “Nojiko was my best friend growing up. Hell, probably my only friend until Luffy came along.”

A dark look crossed Ikkaku’s face. “Yeah, well, Nojiko on her worst day was probably a way better sibling than all of them combined.”

“I don’t think you’ve talked about them much. I basically just know that they exist and said you wouldn’t really make it as an engineer because you’re a girl.”

A long sigh escaped her lips. “That’s…the nice version. Didn’t want to unload my shitty childhood on you, especially since yours sounded worse. I mean, my island was never taken over by pirates, and I didn’t work for the guy who murdered my mom.”

Well, that was certainly true, but then again, people with healthy, normal childhoods seldom became pirates. Or at least, those that did rarely lasted long on such cutthroat seas. Nami should have realized there was more to the mechanic’s past than some run-of-the-mill misogyny. “Maybe, but I don’t mind. We’ve all gone through some rough shit, right? We wouldn’t be in this line of work otherwise.”

“True. I just…I guess I just like to pretend he doesn’t exist most of the time.”

“He?” she asked as if she didn’t already know.

Ikkaku’s calloused hand dropped the pen to instead clench into a tight fist, and there was a haunted look in her dark eyes as she stared off into space. “Ushi. He’s the oldest. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t afraid of him. Spent our childhood making our other brothers use me as a punching bag. When he wasn’t doing that, he gave me almost hourly reminders that I was a burden on the family, that no one really loved me, that I’d never amount to anything.” There was a hitch in her breath and a pause, and Nami noticed her close her eyes tightly for a moment. As if she were fighting back tears. It was a look she’d never expected to see on the tough, vibrant woman’s face. “Then, when I was seven, he tried to kill me.”

“What?!” Nami exclaimed, dropping her blazer to the floor in shock.

“Yeah. Joras had a huge fucking forest, and he led me into it to look for mushrooms or some shit. Can’t remember. Next thing I know, he’s shoved me into a pit, and by the time I’d climbed out, he was long gone and it was night. I think…I think it was supposed to be my grave, ‘cause it was really fucking deep. Or at least it seemed that way. Maybe I’m misremembering.”

Somehow, Nami doubted that. Sure, memories could get warped with age and fear, but some details remained solid for the rest of a person’s life. “But, you got out, right? And I’m sure your parents must have been worried sick!” She could almost picture it. A young Ikkaku, sticks and leaves caught in her messy curls, knees and elbows scraped, face covered in dirt and tears, frightened but once more able to smile when she was finally found, her mother and father scooping her into their arms, scolding her for worrying them but just so relieved she was safe…

At least, that’s what Bellemere or Mister Genzo would have done if Nami had gone missing.

From the bitter laugh that escaped her throat, Ikkaku hadn’t been so fortunate. “I spent three days wandering around those fucking woods, scared and cold and wondering if I was gonna die out there. My parents didn’t even notice I was gone.” After a long moment of silence, her fist unclenched and some of the tension eased out of her shoulders. “Gramps found me, though. When I didn’t come home after two days and a storm rolled in, my brothers Nausagi and Fukuro ran two miles to the lighthouse to tell him what Ushi had done. Maybe they realized he’d gone too far. Or they were scared I’d come back as a vengeful zombie. Either way, Gramps rescued me and demanded custody. Mama and Pops were glad to hand me over. One less mouth to feed, and I wouldn’t be causing their Future Marine Hero any more trouble.”

“That’s…that’s horrible.” And yet Nami could tell she was getting the abridged version of the story. “Tell me your grandfather was a better guardian.”

Despite the childhood trauma she’d just confessed to, Ikkaku merely shrugged, a small grin tugging at the corner of her lips. “Yeah. He was. Gramps was crazy, but he loved me and taught me how to fight. Told me to never lose my smile, ‘cause that’s my best protection against a world that’ll try to break me.”

“Bellemere said something similar to me and Nojiko. ‘Whatever happens, never lose your ability to laugh. If you can survive, happy times, lots of ‘em, will come your way’.”

“Smart lady.” She tried to casually run her fingers through her hair, only to find them caught in the tangled knots. She let out a light chuckle at her predicament and added, “I think she and Gramps would have gotten along pretty well. Well, assuming she liked salty former smugglers who had the gumption to threaten Law with a shot gun. Not that he didn’t deserve it a little.”

Nami had to smile at that, and she could only imagine what he’d said that had nearly gotten him shot. It was definitely something snarky, a shit-eating grin on his face while he provoked a protective grandfather just because he could.

Noticing Ikkaku’s hair situation, she abandoned her suit to instead pick up a wide-toothed comb. “Well, I’m not sure about Bellmere, but I’d certainly love to meet him.”

“Of course you would.” Leaning back in the chair, she allowed Nami to carefully put her thick curls to rights. “How was shopping? Boss show you the blinding sights of the city?”

“It was…enlightening,” she said cautiously. There was still so much to sort out, and every time she thought she had an answer to one of her questions, four more popped up in its place.

Grabbing the pen she’d been playing with earlier, Ikkaku handed it to her over her shoulder. “Here; I made you something, since I doubt you’ll be able to bring your Clima-Tact with you. Kinda why I was so focused—I wanted it to be ready by tonight.”

Curious, Nami inspected the item. It was a plain black ballpoint pen maybe a bit longer than her hand. There was an almost unnoticeable jolly roger engraved into the middle, and she ran her thumb over it idly. “You spent the whole afternoon making me a pen? I could have just as easily brought my stylus.”

“Oh, but a stylus is only good for writing. This is so much more useful. ‘The pen is mightier than the sword’, right? Click the top.”

She did so, and instead of an ink-filled nub, a small syringe, similar to an epi-pen, popped out. Her eyes widened in realization as Ikkaku explained, “Inside’s a powerful tranquilizer. Should knock any fool out in minutes if injected into the bloodstream. Takes longer if it’s ingested. It’s non-lethal to humans, so it should be safe to use on anyone you’re looking to knock out. Assuming they aren’t really Fishmen in disguise.”

“Why? Does it react differently for them?”

She grimaced. “Yeah. Severe allergic reaction. Anaphylactic shock typically. So, unless you want that on your conscience, humans only.”

Tucking the pen away for later, Nami nodded in understanding and went back to combing her hair. “Gotcha. Doubt it’ll be a problem, though. Jean Bart said this place is pretty humans-only.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s impossible for someone to have that kind of bloodline. If it’s diluted through a few generations, a lot of the time you can hide it and pass for human.”

“Hmmm, hadn’t thought of that.”

There was a moment where Nami could tell she was mulling something over. Even faced away from her, Ikkaku wasn’t hard to read, and it was only a matter of time before she voiced whatever question was on her mind.

While she waited, the ginger took the time to appreciate the texture of Ikkaku’s hair, combing out each curl individually so it wouldn’t frizz. The thick, black locks were coarser than her own, yet surprisingly soft despite her hard life at sea. Hair maintenance was extremely difficult living on the ocean, the salt and fluctuating weather of the Grand Line wreaking havoc on Nami’s much finer strands. And while Ikkaku was far more feminine than one would expect upon first meeting her, in the time they’d roomed together, she didn’t seem to put much more extensive care into her shiny locks than some leave-in conditioner.

Guess she’s just got some good genetics, Nami thought appreciatively. Either that or she’s hiding some amazing shampoo formula, and damn if she is I’ll never forgive her!

When Ikkaku at last broke her silence, the hesitation in her voice was palpable. “Hey, it was a Fishman who held you prisoner all those years, right? You ever…blame all Fishmen for what he did?”

It was an unexpected question, but a fair one, Nami supposed. Arlong had committed a crime so heinous she knew she’d never forgive him, and she knew there were plenty of people, especially ones who spent years abused by such a monster, who would project that hatred onto an entire race. But why even ask?

“I…not really. I mean, I can’t say I never lumped them all together in my head, since Arlong and his crew were my only baseline for Fishmen for a long time.” She bit her lip, thinking. “But that was when I was a kid. My view of things was a lot more black-and-white, mostly because I was bitter at my situation. As I got older, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was stupid to think all Fishmen were like him. He was the one who hurt me, so he’s the only one who should get my hate.”

“So, you don’t hate them all?”

She shook her head. “Nah. Hell, I was even able to forgive a member of his crew. I’m sure you heard about how Luffy punched a Celestial Dragon?”

Ikkaku craned her neck up to look at her, dark eyes widening in shocked understanding. “Yeah? You saying the Fishman he defended—”

“One of Arlong’s crew. Hatchi. Like all of them, he hurt me too, but it was on his captain’s orders, and he clearly regretted it.” Well, it had been a bit more complex than that. Hell, when they’d first encountered him again, she’d nearly gone back on her promise to Camie to rescue him. Even if he hadn’t abused her like the others, he’d still been complacent in it. Still destroyed villagers homes, held her hostage, attacked the Navy ships that tried to come to the rescue. He hadn’t been blameless in the least. She would have had every right to demand that he be left to be killed or enslaved. That it was karma come to bite him in the ass.

Yet what had swayed her, apart from Camie’s determination to save him, was her own friends’ reactions to seeing him again. Those who knew her past had immediately been ready to turn the ship around and leave Hatchi to his fate. Of course she’d expected Sanji to be her knight in shining armor and want nothing to do with someone who had abused a lady, even by proxy. Zoro and Usopp had been a bit more surprising, though perhaps it shouldn’t have been. They knew what she’d been put through. Had fought and bled for her. Despite their sometimes heated disagreements, Nami knew she could count on them to always have her back.

The one who shocked her the most was Luffy. He might have flip-flopped between reason and his stomach, but the fact was, her loving, forgiving captain had actually held a grudge on her behalf. Hatchi and Arlong hadn’t done anything to him personally, but his nakama had suffered, and that wasn’t something he’d easily set aside. That genuine show of solidarity and loyalty to her had melted what ice had still been around her heart, which allowed her to truly forgive the octopus Fishman.

Yes, Hatchi had hurt her, but her hatred was solely reserved for Arlong, not his underlings who genuinely felt remorse.

“I’m not a saint or anything but hating Hatchi…it seemed pointless. He wasn’t the one who killed my mother. And blaming all Fishmen for the actions of one seemed pretty shitty. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t kill Arlong if I had the chance, though.”

Nami could practically feel the tension drain from Ikkaku’s shoulders, and she couldn’t hide her smile before she looked away. “That’s good to know. That asshole deserves it, from what you’ve told me. He and my brother should meet, then get sacrificed to some kind of horrible sea monster. Plenty of hungry Sea Kings out there to feed.”

“Couldn’t happen to a nicer pair of guys,” Nami giggled as she ran the comb through the last strand of hair. “Though, that might be cruel to the Sea King. Poor thing deserves a better meal than shit like them.”

“True. We’ll just have to think of something else then. We can ask Law; he’s always got great suggestions.”

A shudder ran down her spine, though she had to admit, it wasn’t as horrified as she’d like. She justified it with the fact that Arlong was scum who deserved whatever painful death the likes of Law might propose. So did Ushi, from the sounds of things. Though, Law had said Ikkaku had begged him not to kill her brother. Why? Did she still care about Ushi due to their familial ties? Or was there something else?

Maybe she just doesn’t want her brother’s death on her conscience, Nami thought, putting the comb away and proceeding to raid the closet for shoes. I just hope that doesn’t come back to bite her someday.

XXX

Dinner on the Tang was certainly livelier and noisier than breakfast. Mainly because the crew didn’t have to walk on eggshells while waiting for Law to get his caffeine hit. Most of the time about a dozen different conversations could be heard, utensils clattered against plates, insults were tossed about, and laughter filled the air. But at the moment, the whole galley was silent save for Nami, who was telling the Heart Pirates—save for a few who’d been sent out on last-minute errands—all about her crew’s wild adventure on Skypiea.

“…so, after Luffy beat the crap out of him, Enel flew off to the moon in his gold airship, and we escaped the island with the help of an octopus balloon, our ship loaded with treasure!”

There was a pregnant pause as the Hearts stared at her in a mix of awe and disbelief. She’d had their undivided attention ever since Law announced that the Straw Hats had found Noland’s lost city of gold, all but demanding she tell the tale and not skimp on the details.

Naturally, those details made the story even more bizarre, practically unbelievable, but she gave them what they asked for, so they couldn’t complain. Even Law’s jaw had dropped once or twice in incredulity. Mostly at the part where Luffy’d been eaten by a giant snake and thus been hidden from Enel’s senses.

Finally, a few of the crew managed to find their voices.

“An orangutan nearly wrecked your ship with singing?” Shachi asked, face utterly baffled.

Penguin grabbed his hat and smacked him over the head with it. “That’s what you’re stuck on? That’s from way back in the beginning of the story!”

The ginger punched him in the shoulder in retaliation, which quickly devolved into a childish slap fight. “Well it’s weird, ok?”

“Weirder than Straw Hat punching Kami or the knock-up stream business or the ship that flew to the moon?”

“Yeah! You ever met an orangutan that could sing?!”

“No, but that’s not the point!”

“You met Monte Blac Cricket?” Ermine interrupted, eyes so wide the whites could be seen even under the rim of their hat, though their mouth quickly split into a smile. “Holy shit, I’d wondered what had happened to him!”

“Wasn’t he your friend or something?” Seiuchi asked through a mouth full of rice.

They shook their head, looking a little wistful, a faint blush rising to their cheeks. “Just a neighbor. The people of Lvneel were dicks to his family and anyone who associated with them didn’t get treated much better. But I always thought there had to be some truth to Noland’s story.”

“Because a city of gold is so fantastical it’s gotta be real?” Nami asked, amused. She’d half-expected everyone to laugh at her like the people on Jaya when she’d asked about Sky Island—she’d even glossed over that part, finding no reason to recap such a blow to her pride. Yet instead, they’d been respectful, even entranced by her tale. It seemed to help that she’d been able to fill in a few blanks with what she remembered from Noland’s ledger, thus adding credibility to the man himself instead of just imagining the lying fool the king’s slander had reduced him to.

Usopp would probably love these guys, she thought fondly. Not that they’d likely believe his fantastical lies, but they’d probably at least let him spin his yarns to his heart’s content.

“Because you don’t tell a king about a city of gold unless you’ve got something to show for it,” Uni interjected wisely, ladling some more curry onto her plate. He paused to smile at her with his eyes, the bottom half of his face still distinctly covered by his bandana despite it being dinnertime. This close, Nami couldn’t help but try to subtly look for signs of scarring, and in fact could spot a line of slightly-paler skin peeking out just over the edge. “That, and history’s rarely all that accurate. Full of lies and twisted to suit a certain narrative.”

“That’s the World Government way. I’m sure we’ll see plenty of it tonight,” Law stated, leaning back in his chair as he munched on some onigiri. The bulge in his cheek might have been comical, but the glint in his eye was humorless. “Can’t wait to hear the dumbass assumptions people make about us Northerners.”

Murmurs of agreement echoed throughout the room, though an angry tic formed on Nami’s forehead.

“Are you saying the stuff you had me study is going to be a load of crap?” she demanded, pointing her finger accusingly. Of course she knew history was skewed at best, but she’d spent days cramming! Had weird sexual dreams about him because of it!

Yes she was blaming the book for that and no one could stop her.

He shrugged and took another bite of rice, unbothered by her irritation. “It’s the information you’ll need to be able to regurgitate if anyone asks you about the North.”

“Yeah,” Penguin chimed in, nodding sagely. He and Shachi had finally been pulled apart by Jean Bart and had resumed eating like nothing had happened. “These people aren’t interested in the truth. They just want to feel superior to the ‘uneducated masses’.”

“Buncha pretentious pricks,” Shachi sniggered, balancing a spoon on his upper lip. “Bet they’d have a fucking fit if they found out El Dorodo’s not only real, but in the fucking sky!”

“I mean, can’t say I’d blame them,” Jude grumbled, playing a bit with his food like a grumpy child. “I figured we’d be the ones to find it, but this whole time we’ve been sailing around in a submarine for nothing!”

“You got something to say about my ship?” Ikkaku snapped, glaring at her crewmate. Behind her, Crozier, Cousteau, and Ermine made slashing motions across their throats, silently reminding him that disparaging the Polar Tang in any way in front of its chief engineer was a sure death sentence.

Before he could say anything, Uni thwapped him on the forehead with the spoon, apparently taking just as much offense. “How can you say it’s been for nothing—we’ve found tons of cool shit down here! May not have been El Dorado, but there have been some amazing sunken cities. And fish! We’ve discovered more aquatic animals than any other ocean explorer,” he pointed out excitedly, Cousteau nodding in agreement. “I mean, we’ve seen deep-sea fish not recorded in any book! Extracted hallucinogenic venom from puffer fish! Taken samples of bioluminescent plankton! We’ve seen octopi punch fish!”

“You ever figure out why they do that?” Shachi asked, cocking his head.

“Best I can figure? Spite.”

As weird as this little tangent was, Nami found herself giggling a bit at how excited Uni was. She didn’t know him too well, given how he was one of the quieter, more reserved members of the crew, but it was endearing to see him so animated and giddy as he discussed marine life.

“Plus, it’s cool to study navigational currents and everything, and underwater topography. The maps I can make from that kind of intel are really good,” Bepo added, twiddling his claws a bit beside her.

“Right! And if that’s still not enough to convince you, who needs a city of gold when you can get your hands on more sunken treasure than most pirates see in their lifetimes?” Uni asked, puffing out his chest.

She couldn’t help it—Nami’s eyes lit up with belli signs at the thought of how many sunken ships the submarine probably came across, all that gold theirs for the taking. Most treasure was basically lost once it hit the bottom of the ocean, but the Hearts’ ship and diving equipment turned the ocean floor into their personal piggy bank.

It seemed Jude had the same thought. “You’re right, you’re right,” he conceded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, it’s a great ship, and we’ve definitely found more than a city’s worth of loot—and yes the fish are cool Uni put the spoon away—but it’s still annoying to find out that we’ve been searching the wrong place this whole time.”

“Eh, happens to every pirate crew,” Jean Bart said, sipping his drink. “You find a treasure map only to discover the gold’s already dug up. Same with legends of lost cities. The fact that the Straw Hats actually found El Dorado and came away with a profit just means they’ve got the Devil’s luck on their side.”

“Or the favor of some god. Probably not that Enel guy, though,” Shachi said with a smirk. “And hopefully nothing from Joras, either.”

There was a murmur of agreement among the crew at that, though Ikkaku looked more uncomfortable than amused. Nami wasn’t the only one to catch that, though, as Uni reproachfully smacked the side of his head with the spoon.

“Dude. Don’t joke about the eldritch horror gods, yeah?”

“Sorry,” the ginger said, blushing slightly as he wiped away the curry splattered across his face.

“Eldritch horror gods?” Nami asked, recoiling at the thought. What the fuck?! Joras sounded vaguely familiar and given the context she guessed it had to be someplace in the North Blue, but she sure as hell didn’t recall reading anything about that! Was this something related to Northern culture, or were the guys just fucking with her?

“Nothing to worry your pretty little head over, Nami-ya,” Law stated with a smirk, though she didn’t miss the glare he sent Shachi’s way. “We’ve been sailing under the ocean for over five years and I’ve yet to see a sleeping god who can turn you mad with terror.”

“No, just an underwater ruin or two that talks about him,” Ikkaku muttered, picking at her food.

Underwater ruins with tales of sleeping gods? Sounds like something Robin would be interested in, Nami thought, nervous sweat running down her neck. Not that she’d be able to blame her. Sure, the archeologist was macabre as hell, but Nami could appreciate her thirst for knowledge, creepy or not. Who knew what history and cultures had been lost to the seas? Maybe there were even Poneglyphs down at the bottom of the ocean!

Damn. Robin and Law would probably get along great. She wasn’t sure if she was frightened or comforted by this thought.

Uni seemed to notice her unease and patted her shoulder. “We’ve seen some strange stuff down there, but nothing more dangerous than Sea Kings. Which, I mean, aren’t exactly friendly guppies, but they’ll leave us be. The Tang’s Seastone coating and electrical defenses ensure that.”

Though she still found the whole concept horrifying, she was appreciated how hard Uni was trying to keep the peace and not make things needlessly frightening for her. The whole crew had a morbid sense of humor, but while she’d mostly adapted, she still found this whole conversation creepy. It made her feel a little guilty for wanting to pry into his business. Yeah, it was annoying to know the crew was hiding stuff from her, but Uni deserved a little privacy, right?

“Yeah, and if there were anything more, Uni’s fish buddies would warn us ahead of time!” Malamute added.

“Fish buddies?” Nami asked, eyebrows lifting to her hairline in surprise. So much for respecting his privacy. “Wait, can you talk to fish?”

The man in question stiffened beside her. “I, uh, I can understand fish a little,” he said, looking nervous. His large hands twisted the napkin in his lap, and he refused to look at her. “It’s a Haki thing.”

“Haki can do that?” she asked, surprised.

“Observation Haki can do a lot of things, and Uni’s the best at it on the ship,” Law cut in harshly, glare brokering no argument. “It’s a skill that’s saved our asses plenty of times.”

Nami blanched at his defensive tone. “Hey, I’ll take your word for it, but you don’t have to act like I insulted his mother or something.”

“It’s ok, Law,” Uni said, shrugging a bit, though his face seemed to sink a little further into his bandana. “I know she didn’t mean anything by it. It’s a fair question, and it is a weird talent.”

“It’s not weird. It’s fucking useful as hell and I won’t hear anyone belittling my crew.”

“I’d never belittle him—” Nami snapped, starting to stand up to give Law a piece of her mind before Bepo’s heavy paws fell on her shoulders, gently but firmly keeping her seated.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized softly. “Law doesn’t mean you. It’s just…the last person outside the crew that found out, he was extremely cruel about it. Beat Uni to a pulp and even threatened to sell him as a freak show attraction before Captain found them.”

“Oh my god,” she replied, anger cooling quickly as she covered her mouth in horror, imagining Uni bruised and bloody on the ground at the hands of some bastard. Well, that would sure as hell explain why Law had taken such offense. If such a thing had happened to Chopper because he could speak to animals, she’d likely be just as pissed. From the scowls on the rest of the Hearts’ faces, the whole crew felt similar. Her gaze flicked to the fuming captain. “I’m guessing he ended up on your operating table?”

“I wish,” he growled, gold eyes glinting in fury as he crossed his arms. “Marines showed up before I could cut out his heart. Must have been his lucky day, but luck won’t be enough to save him if I ever run into Hyena-ya again.”

“Hyena?�� she asked, the name not ringing any bells.

“Bellamy the Hyena,” Bepo explained, snout wrinkling in distaste. “He’s also from the North.”

Oh. My. God, Nami thought, wondering if the world was really so small. “You said Bellamy, right? Blonde hair? Spring powers? Asshole with a stupid grin?”

Law cocked an eyebrow in mild surprise. “Seems you’ve encountered him before.”

She ground her teeth as she remembered the way he’d mocked Luffy’s dreams in the bar. “Yeah. On Jaya. His crew laughed at me for asking about Sky Island and his first mate tried to buy me. Later he stole Cricket’s gold, so Luffy went after him. I didn’t see the fight but given what an ass that guy was…yeah, Luffy wiped that stupid smile off his face.”

Once more the room fell silent, but quickly broke out into thunderous applause.

“Hah! I would have paid good money to see that!” Ikkaku laughed, spirits lifted.

“If he hurt Cricket, I’m glad he got the beating he deserved,” Ermine said with a grin.

Uni smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling happily. “When you see Straw Hat again, shake his hand for me! That guy’s a dick.”

Even Law was put in a better mood, though there was still a malicious edge to his smirk. “Good on Mugiwara-ya. Still wouldn’t mind doing some permanent damage to the fucker myself, though. Bad enough he insulted my crew, but that bastard should pick his idols more carefully.”

Nami’s brow furrowed at that. His idols? The hell did that mean?

She didn’t have time to vocalizing that question, though. Sweat ran down her neck when said smirk then took a more lecherous edge as he rested his chin on his fist, eyes glinting with mischief. “But Sarquiss-ya tried to buy you? I might have prioritize kicking his ass, then. I’m the only one who gets to be your sugar daddy.”

“Oh shut up! You didn’t even buy me new shoes!”

“You got her a suit but no shoes? For shame, Boss,” Ikkaku giggled, getting up to help Seiuchi and Jude clear the tables. “I thought you were supposed to be a ladies’ man.”

“I’m a cruel bastard who doesn’t do something for nothing. She can borrow yours.”

Sauntering over, she playfully poked him in the forehead. “Says who?”

Law snorted and childishly poked her right back. “Me. Your captain. The guy who pays your salary.”

“You pay me to keep the submarine running and sass you when you’re being an idiot.”

“I don’t pay you for that.”

“Mmmm, you’re right; that’s a service I provide for free.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say those two were siblings,” Nami chuckled under her breath.

“Right? When I was first recruited I was convinced they were secretly related,” Uni agreed.

Bepo gave them both a smile and said quietly, “I think it’s good for them. Especially Law. I think he secretly likes having a little sister again.”

Brown eyes widened at that little tidbit. Law had a sister? What happened to her? Bepo had stated the past tense, so there was either some kind of falling out or…

…oh no, she thought, turning to watch Law continue to bicker good-naturedly with Ikkaku, his expression annoyed but the glimmer in his eyes belying that he was enjoying himself. Another piece of the puzzle that was the Surgeon of Death had fallen into her lap, but it wasn’t a particularly happy one. Sure, people died or were killed all the time, but Nami couldn’t imagine what she’d be like if she’d lost Nojiko. And depending on how young they’d been or how she’d died, that could really fuck with a guy.

“Nami-ya.”

Her attention was yanked from her musing as Law called her name. He was on his feet, plate clean and smirk dangerous as he regarded her. Nami wondered whether this would be the last time she’d see him in a genuinely good mood for the rest of the evening. “It’s seven o’clock. Time to get ready to watch history be defiled by pretentious morons. And for your obnoxious thunder god’s sake, make sure you’re wearing shoes you can actually run in.”

( @ninhaoma-ya, @awesomi, @vannahfanfics)

[pinkhairedlily]

Blue Fire Tree

Prompt: Everlasting (last day omgggg) | Gift for @tinaillustrations ! Hope you like this fluffy piece! I enjoyed writing this one. 🤗| Happy HitsuHina Week! @hitsuhina-week 💛💙

“Fire trees should be blue not red,” Ichika mumbles while filling in the traced pattern of the tree on the canvass as Hinamori gathers her unruly red mane into a semblance of a bun. Her charge was a Shinigami apprentice and had the hodgepodge attitude of both of her parents. She was sarcastic, blunt, inquisitive, passionate, and kind.

Renji thought she was the best person to teach his daughter common spells to start off her training. Not that Hinamori disliked being the resident kido expert. She particularly loved the monicker, but there were times she felt she didn’t deserve the title. Like today when, for some other reason, Ichika and her was blindsided by arts and crafts.

“Wouldn’t you like the flowers to resemble your hair?” Hinamori clips the last of the strands and looks over the child’s shoulder. The colors spill out of the lines and the scenery seems to change from summer to winter.

“But blue is the hottest color. Imagine trees blooming with the brightest flames, the most intense warmth, and the most lasting flowers.” Ichika finishes the piece with a last dash of blue paint. The apprentice turns to her and asks, “Does it look so desolate?”

“No, not really. To me, winter has always been warm.“

Someone coughs behind them to get their attention. Hitsugaya Toushiro, captain of the 10th Division, stands awkwardly at the entrance of the dojo with a tray of tea and pot of biscuits. It doesn’t escape her notice that he used the tea set she gave last Christmas, and this observation makes her feel giddy inside.

Maybe I’m just appreciative of people who use my gifts, Hinamori justifies to herself.

“Hello, Captain Hitsugaya. Is that for us or for Vice-Captain Momo?” Ichika greets him as she takes the tray off his hands.

The blush creeps on the captain’s face just as quickly as his brows furrow in annoyance. He quickly glares at the mischievous remark of Ichika and redirects his gaze to his equally flustered childhood best friend. “This was not of my own good will. I was threatened by Byakuya to take good care of his precious niece, and it just so happens that this space is under my jurisdiction.”

Hinamori tilts her head in a slight apology. “I hope we don’t bother you too much. Would you like to join us for some art session? Ichika loves to paint today.”

He almost says something, but he stops himself. His stance goes from alert to rigid, and tension fills the air. “Maybe some other time.” Ichika glances from her current teacher to the captain and back to her teacher again.

“Oh, sorry for taking up your time.” Hinamori slightly bows, unsure of what transpired just now, and Hitsugaya nods in return. Before he is completely out of her sight, she calls out to him again.

“Shiro-chan?” He glances back at the sound of his nickname. “Thanks for the tea.”

He smiles in mild annoyance before he flash-steps out of their sight. “It’s Captain Hitsugaya to you.”

--------------------------

“Something’s bothering you,” Rangiku says to Hinamori as she slides beside her in the ramen booth. “Your treat in exchange for my wisdom.” She proceeds to order her usual ramen and sake combo.

“How was your trip to the Land of the Living?” Hinamori asks, obviously skirting the issue she wishes to raise.

“Kazui is subdued and gentle like his mother, but somehow, he manages to get into fights with bullies on the street. It’s his Ichigo genes.” The combo meal arrives along with two shot glasses. “How are you doing with the chaotic devil spawn Ichika?”

“She’s progressing really fast with the kido, but she gets so distracted easily. It’s cute though that Renji and Rukia are not pressuring her. Great parents. How nice it must be.”

Rangiku side-eyes her while slurping the thick noodles. “How nice what now – “

Hinamori plays with her empty bowl and fidgets with her chopsticks. “To not be alone.”

She chokes on her noodles and quickly downs half of the sake bottle. “Oh, this is great news! I have someone on my mind who would like to be in your company forever.”

Hinamori gives no response and instead continues fiddling with her bowl. “How nice it is to be also like Shiro-chan, content and busy enough to be single. How do I become like your captain, Rangiku?”

The smile fades from the woman’s face and is replaced by a bustling vein near her temple. “I’m sorry what did that short man do or say to you?”

“I asked him if he would like to do some art with us, you know, help me with babysitting for a few minutes, but he literally stiffened like a stick. Seems like he doesn’t want to waste time with kids or do any family-related activities. Or maybe he’s just too busy, captain duties and all.”

And yet he took the time to bring you tea, a voice screams inside her mind.

“That’s….rude,” an exasperated Rangiku remarks. She pours a glass for Hinamori and decides on a plan. “Unless you’re seeing him as….?”

“Huh? Oh no no no.” Hinamori downs the liquid in one gulp, suddenly embarrassed by her friend’s insinuation. “We’re just friends, childhood friends. I…don’t see Shiro-chan that way.”

“Sure, whatever you say Momo. Do you want me to introduce you to some people?”

Hinamori looks up at her, doe-eyed.

“I guess that’s a yes.”

--------------------------

Hinamori actually forgot about her request to Rangiku as she and her student started to settle in a rather serious kido training. The plan apparently was set to happen after a week when she came across a bulletin announcing her quest for a perfect match through a one-day interview application. This was the first time Hinamori wanted to be swallowed by the void and never return to Seiretei.

She finds herself visiting Division 10 HQ every afternoon but to no avail since coincidentally, Rangiku has some errands to do in Karakura, and won’t be back until the date of the interview. Or maybe it has also something to do with Hinamori avoiding Hitsugaya and having to do all the explaining. And so she had no choice but to wait for the inevitable day.

“Uhhh Vice-Captain Matsumoto, you said introduce, not organize a whole dating screening process!” Hinamori’s voice goes a pitch higher for each word, but Rangiku is too busy arranging the people lining up to notice her.

Her current captain, Shinji Hirako, chuckles beside the blondie, amused by the growing line of eligible Shinigami singles in their HQ. “You are quite the eye candy in our division, huh. Didn’t expect you’d have this many suitors.” He squeezes his vice-captain’s shoulder as form of reassurance. “You should have told me, Hinamori. I could have set you up in an arranged marriage.”

“Captain, that’s atrocious!” Hinamori protests. She walks over to Rangiku to disperse the line, but Yumichika and Ikkaku move to her side and grabs her midway through her litany of objections. They lead her to a makeshift container with two chairs facing each other and a table in between.

“This is ridiculous,” Hinamori mumbles her breath, her energy already defeated by the two dumbasses in front of her.

“Well to be fair, Hinamori, this is a long time coming,” Yumichika says.

“And the result necessitates this kind of method so stop mumbling and screen your admirers, babe,” Ikkaku supplies. Irritated, Hinamori chases them off with two fireballs.

The first ten Shinigami ‘applicants’ were too insufferable as they were clearly aiming for the prestige of her position.

“If dating a vice-captain would give me a higher seat in Gotei 13 then why am I still single?” she bats the question to the 11th person who sat across her. When they didn’t give her an answer, she sighs, “Next please.”

“Would you know what’s my favorite brand of tea?”

“Uhh, Robusta.”

“I believe that’s coffee. Next please.”

“Hello, vice-captain Hinamori, I brought you peaches. They’re my favorite.”

“I’m allergic to them. I’m sorry. Next please?”

“What are your strengths?”

“Well, I can do shunpo.”

“That’s basic Shinigami skills.”

“…………..”

“…………..”

“I’ll see myself out. Thank you for your time, vice-captain.”

“I know you’re traumatized by Aizen-“

The container collapses as Hinamori summons Tobiume.

--------------------------

“I think I will be forever alone.” Hinamori looks on as her fellow vice-captains clean up the mess she incurred over the unfinished statement earlier.

“I’m really sorry if I did the whole thing over the top,” Rangiku tells her sincerely. She hugs the raven-haired girl and waits in silent for the commotion to die down. “Though the last one was really foul, and you were valid to be angry.”

“I was afraid I’d burn down Captain Shinji’s quarters.”

“You can, just to piss him off. The whole process is so draining, huh?” Hinamori nods at the observation. Rangiku continues, seemingly voicing her own thoughts, “It’s hard to put yourself out there especially when they don’t know batshit about you. Would be easier if you have common interests or when they’re already your friend.”

The last phrase is said so pointedly that Hinamori’s mind automatically pictures Hitsugaya. She runs along with her imagination. How easy it would be indeed to spend the rest of her life with him. And as if her mind conjured him, the 10th Division Captain comes into view alongside Ichika. It looks like her student dragged him to the unfortunate event.

There’s an angry glint in his eyes that Hinamori noticed. It was the torn expression he wore when she wounded her knees back when they were kids, the same frown when she told him she would kill for the traitor, the same worried eyes when she almost died. But his eyes refuse to meet hers.

“You missed all the fun, Captain.” Rangiku stretches out her arms as she stands up. She gestures for the rest of their friends to come nearer so they could re-group and go home. “It was a bad plan, and I owe Hinamori one. So we’re kinda ready for your scolding.”

Hitsugaya stays silent throughout the shuffling of his fellow Shinigami, in fact he remains frozen for too long that Ichika elbows him to get a response out of him. “Come on, you ruminated one week for this, and I had to physically stop you from harassing the interested applicants.”

“Shut up, Ichika,” the silver-haired captain mutters.

“I’ll tell on you to Uncle Byakuya!” the redhead sticks out her tongue and runs over to the side of Rangiku.

More annoyed than ever, Hitsugaya grunts and storms off towards Hinamori. “I’m not here to scold anyone. I’m here for the….dating application,” he gulps amid the collective gasps that ran through the group and the muffled laughter of Rangiku who clearly foresaw this.

“Well, what can I say, but fucking finally!” The blonde swigs a new bottle of wine from inside her robes and goes to do a little crowd control.

Hinamori’s eyes get a little bit bigger, and she stares at him with mouth agape, but she lets him grab her hand, in a gentle manner that he usually does, and brings her to the farthest fire tree in the area.

“Shiro-chan, what did you mean……” She continues to stare at his hand who somehow refuses to let go of her yet.

Ironically, he is also staring at the same hand, unsure whether to let go right now before he can actually say something. “I don’t know why you had to go through all of that.”

“I’m..I’m still confused, to be honest. It was just a passing feeling of loneliness, and I rambled to Rangiku which she took seriously….” Hinamori knows she is starting to word vomit out of nervousness, but she halts when he finally lets her go. Maybe she has misunderstood his presence again.

Hitsugaya raises his palm to her. “Would you let me…uhhh…word vomit this time?”

She slowly nods, rather shocked at his insistence, and even more so when he chooses to ramble.

“Momo, I have a cold reiatsu. My touch is never warm. But I know you like green tea, steeped in warm water for exactly 10 minutes, and that you don’t put sugar. You are afraid of storms, and you need a blanket around you to calm down. You like watermelon, but I think it’s because I subjected you to multiple summers of conditioning. You’re my childhood best friend. You’re hardworking. You are a kido expert. You earned your right to be a vice-captain, and you’ll do greater things.

And I know it’s not enough to say that I know you, I’ve always known you, but will it be enough for you to allow me to stay beside you?”

Hinamori leans against the trunk of the fire tree, breathless from his train of words. “Oh my god, this is too overwhelming. I thought you hated being not single.”

“What?” Hitsugaya looks at her with a puzzled expression.

“You don’t like Ichika. Or doing art…with kids.”

“Well, Ichika is a brat to me, but she’s a good student and will be a good Shinigami like her parents.” He nurses his temples for the growing headache. “Momo, listen to me.” He steps closer to her and makes sure she’s only looking at him. “I panicked because I visualized you and me….and you know. It wasn’t right when I haven’t even told you anything yet.”

“Oh.” The moment of realization dawns on her. “Oh, that’s great.”

“So we can finally go back to how we were.” Hitsugaya lets out a shaky breath as he sits on the grass and watches as the red petals of the fire tree shower them lightly.

A blushing Hinamori crouches down to his level. “Well, not quite. You should know, Shiro-chan, your reiatsu has always been warm and comforting to me.” She reaches out to take his hand and intertwines their fingers.

Hitsugaya smiles as he silently thanks himself that he outgrew her by two inches so he could easily slip a kiss on her forehead. “It’s Captain Hitsugaya.”

--------------------------

Ichika tries to see beyond the wall of spectators but Rangiku is not letting anyone through. She huffs indignantly, wanting to know whether her incessant prodding and pestering of the oblivious Hitsugaya bore some fruit. She has no choice but to juice out all the details later on from her uncle.

On second thought, maybe she won’t have to. Blue petals swayed with the light breeze of the wind, and on the far edge of the Fifth Division’s HQ is a lone blue fire tree.

[m34gs]

For that ship ask: 6, 7, and 9 for Ikkaku/Yumichika.

Thanks for the ask friend! (regarding this post) hehehe, I am so excited to answer these questions. I love Ikkaku and Yumichika as a ship, and these are some great ideas!

6. Single parent AU: Which one is the single parent? (Alt. if they’re both single parents: Which one is open to starting a new relationship from the start? Which one is never planning on finding love again… Until they meet the other and are instantly smitten?)

So, while I think that they both would be great parents, I think Ikkaku would be the one to be the single parent. Maybe he messed around a bit without thinking everything through and had a surprise baby with someone who wasn't interested in staying to raise the child, or maybe tragedy struck and his first love was taken away too soon. Either way, he now has this adorable little child, completely dependent on him. And damn it, he is gonna be the best dad. His kid is never going to want for anything, he will teach them how to fight, how to play, how to do everything they need. He isn't as good at some things, like cooking (I like to think he gets impatient and either undercooks things or turns the heat too high and burns everything), but he makes sure his kid gets the four food groups at every meal and snacks in between, even if it's pre-cooked or take out. (Which, in my opinion, there isn't anything wrong with those, and his kid is happy so Ikkaku is happy).

Ikkaku spends so much time doting on his kid that his friends worry about him, saying he still needs to take breaks and time for himself. Ikkaku is nervous at first (he would die before admitting it but he is worried about his kiddo), but he reluctantly lets someone (probably Orihime, who he is friends with through Ichigo) baby sit his little one and goes out to a pub with some friends to just have fun and relax. And damn if he doesn't see the most beautiful man he's ever met serving drinks and food to customers there. He's literally tonguetied. This man is so pretty, and he knows it. Lucky for Ikkaku, he is also a catch, and this man is bold. He slips Ikkaku a paper with his drink, and it has a name and a phone number on it.

They meet up a few times for coffee. Orihime is steadily becoming Ikkaku's number one baby sitter. (He trusted Renji once. Never again.) And Ikkaku is really into this guy. He doesn't have to pretend to be all tough, the guy, Yumichika, he gets it. He admires his strength, but also calls him beautiful and that is something Ikkaku is not used to hearing, but it definitely makes him blush. And he really enjoys his outings with Yumichika.

Then, comes the moment of truth. Ikkaku was open from the beginning about having a kid. He had to be. His kid is his world and he would never want to be with anyone who wouldn't love his child like their own. So Yumichika has been asking to meet his kid, and Ikkaku finally arranges it. He is more nervous than he was for the first date. He wants this to work so badly, but what if his baby is having an off day and acts shy or scared or throws a tantrum and scares Yumichika off? Or what if Yumichika is uncomfortable around children?

But then, Yumichika arrives. And Ikkaku introduces him to the kid. They stare at each other for a long time. Then Yumichika kneels down and offers a smile to the little one. The kid looks up at Ikkaku, who prompts him forward with a nod. So Ikkaku's child walks up to Yumichika and says, as is typical of children, the first thing on their mind, which is "can I wear colours on my face like you do?" (referring to his eye shadow and make up, which is of course flawless) and Yumichika is all for this. hell yeah. He says 'of course' and they spend the day doing make overs together, while Ikkaku watches them with a soft adoring expression he never shows for anyone else.

7. Doctor AU: Which one is the longsuffering doctor? Which one is the patient?

Yumichika is the doctor. He most definitely is. I think, he'd be a surgeon, maybe plastics? And Ikkaku is the patient. Ikkaku came into ER, severe work-related injury, needing immediate treatment, blood transfusion, and prophylactic antibiotics, the whole works. He got his leg crushed under machinery, there's blood and bone everywhere.

Once they get him stabilized, admitted, treated, and he's starting to heal, plastics is consulted. The top Plastic Surgeon, Yumichika Ayasegawa, is sent a referral, and he, of course, accepts, because he never turns down a challenge.

He finds Ikkaku attractive at first sight, but Yumichika is a professional. He would never date a patient. Instead, he focuses on his work, and does an amazing job. After about a year, Ikkaku's leg looks awesome and he's ready to be discharged from Yumichika's client list. Sure, there's scars (there always will be from an injury like that) but Ikkaku is highly impressed with Dr. Ayasegawa's work. And also his face.

Yumichika still wants to be careful. He may be in the same city, but he remains aloof and keeps his distance for a couple months afterward, but he can't help but flirt when he finally does see Ikkaku again, in the grocery aisle. Ikkaku is totally into this (the doctor has the most beautiful face he's ever seen!) and he ends up with Yumichika's number by the end of it.

9. Pirate AU: Who is the pirate? Who is the member of the royal family who did not sign up for this?

OOOOOH THIS! PIRATES! YES! HELL YES! THANK YOU FOR ASKING THIS ONE I LOVE PIRATES!!!

OK, ok, so. I have IDEAS. First, Ikkaku is totally the prince, first Prince of the kingdom and set to inherit the throne. Meanwhile. MEANWHILE. Yumichika is the King of Pirates. Yes. Yes. He is the most powerful pirate on the sees, with a notorious reputation for targeting any rich merchant or nobility he comes across on the seas. Ikkaku at first thinks this man must be fearsome and terrifying to look at, and he's a plague to the people. It makes his blood boil (and his heart race at the promise of a thrilling fight). He sets out on an expedition to hunt down this pirate king! But. When he finds the Pirate King, he is surprised (and entranced) by his beauty. And also a little confused, because even though Yumichika is beautiful and the Pirate King and says he loves to collect beautiful things, he doesn't seem to have retained a single piece of the wealth he stole. It's confusing, until Yumichika captures Ikkaku and brings him back to Yumichika's home island, where the wealth has been split among the people and shared. They are an island under the current king's rule, and they are heavily taxed to the point it is difficult to make any profit or survive. Yumichika shares all his spoils with them.

Ikkaku confronts him, demands to know why? Why, if Yumichika values beautiful things, is he giving wealth away? It doesn't make sense. Is this a set up to trap Ikkaku and manipulate him? And Yumichika just shakes his head at him and gestures to the people. "They're smiling," he says. "Is there anything more beautiful than a genuine human smile?" And that is when Ikkaku falls head over heels for this beautiful Pirate King.

Whew! This is a bit lengthy, but there you have it! I hope you enjoyed my answers and thoughts to those questions!! Feel free to ask more if you like, friend!

[the-heart-pirate-shachi]

@ikkaku-of-heart continued from here

“Hmm, let's see,” Shachi began, gently reaching a hand around Ikkaku to stroke through her still slightly wet locks. It wasn't often that he got to talk about the time spent on Swallow Island so finding the right words was hard. Everything seemed interesting enough to talk about if it was never brought up before.

“I think you should already know how we met, right? Law pretty much just saved all our lives and then Wolff took Peng and me in as well as Bepo. Wolff was a really weird guy but I still liked him. He always wore those weird colourful shirts. Like that one Marine, Songeku, or whatever his name is. Uh, I guess you know who I mean. Anyway, we spent living at his place until I was... nineteen or twenty, maybe. So we lived there together for about five to six years,” Shachi smiles softly at all the memories resurfacing.

“Law was always really grumpy and a little shit most of the time, but he had his nice moments just like nowadays. If you believe it or not, his revenge plan only started shortly before we set out to sea. Before that we all just kinda lived our lives. Peng and I never really had any plans to leave the island but we swore to follow Law around forever. But we still had a lot of fun even if we have always been his 'subordinates'. We were still friends even if it took some time for him to really acknowledge it but I for my part never doubted it.”

“We spent most of our time working once we got jobs thanks to Wolff. It's how I actually learned to be a hairdresser like my dad was. Whenever we had time off we spent training, fighting and sparing. Bepo was always the physically strongest and once Law finally started growing up I ended up being the weakest,” he admitted the last part with a slight sigh and a huff, hanging his head in defeat. “But at least I was really fast, I guess.”

Shachi looked back up, gazing upon the horizon and the sun reflecting on the ocean waves.

“When we weren't training we spent a lot of time sitting near the port to watch the ships come and go. Law already knew a lot about ships so when we asked him he could explain to us what was going on and stuff like how to furl sails. There was this one time we wanted to try it so we snuck down to the port at night and tried to furl the sails on one of the ships but we... well it didn't go too well,” Shachi laughed at the memory.

They had some really great times and a lot of fun during those few years and Shachi really liked reminiscing about it. For now, they didn't have any plans to ever go back there. Shachi didn't and he was sure the others didn't either. Of course it was possible that they would one day go back to visit Wolff and everyone else again but the decision was Laws. Shachi liked to think that Wolff and the others on the island still remember them and read about their accomplishments, if you could call them that, in the newspapers. Wolff was no longer a fan of pirates but he probably at least hoped the four kids he lived with for years were doing okay.

“Once Law grew taller and all that almost every girl on the island seemed to have crush on him and I think he shot pretty much all of them down. It was a shame, really. There was this one girl I really liked but she also had a thing for Law. I still ended up dating a few girls but just for a couple months at max. I think it was rather similar for Peng. We ended up with... well we had our reputations,” he laughed sheepishly while kicking some sand in front of him. Talking about those things was nice.

“We also helped Wolf take care of the garden. Law was honestly really terrible at it though. Oh and his coffee addiction had started really early on too. Peng and Bepo always ended up having to clean up the mugs he left literally everywhere. We also occasionally spent some time hiking and stuff like that, practising survival skills. I remember taking really long to learn how to make a fire.”

Shachi smiled fondly at the memories as he continued to move his hands through Ikkaku's hair. Thanks to the still warm sun and him brushing it with his finger it was almost dry.

He shifts a little, moving to see whether she was still awake.

[midasgutz]

we finished the bleach anime. it was alright, the ending definitely suffered from the problems every shounen anime inherently does towards the end. i hear the manga actually continues to escalate after this, i might be interested in seeing what that looks like since i hear the anime is coming back. im pretty disappointed in a couple things though. we didnt get to see nel again, which is just utter bullshit. after she transformed, she had her little fight and Lost. and then we never saw her again. i consider that a plot hole to be honest. to my knowledge, we didnt even see orihime heal her. she was a fantastic and fun character, she needed more time to be her self. her little self, if you ask me. another thing, they killed gin like right after the first time he ever did anything. he was such an empty character and they never explained him. why would a kid decide to do what he did? what happened to make rangiku love him so much? this dude basically threw his whole life in the trash to pursue one single goal that he could have achieved if he just opened up to the other soul reapers. i cant decide if this was always the plan for his character, or if kubo just forgot about him so long he decided to make him a secret good guy. like, oh this bad guy has never done anything bad... i guess he's a good guy now? he never got any resolution to his character even though the twist was actually pretty cool and it could have been awesome if they bothered to explore it for an episode or two. but they really didnt, it was just a shallow twist even though i sorta saw it coming. i was always defending him to my mom cause he rly never did anything. she hated him cause he was a douche but you have to be kind of a dick to roll with aizen so... anyway the visoreds really fucking suck. we hardly even saw any of them release their zanpaktou, and even though they were incredibly cool characters they never did anything. hiyori was an amazing character, with a lot of personality and great jokes. who never did anything. she was literally around only so she could job to ichigo once or twice in training, and fail at every single thing she ever does. shinji was the most developed visored, and he didnt do anything. his release was cool but we never saw his bankai. when they revealed that he was a captain, it was a really big surprise! but he never ever measured up to the best of the current captains. kenpachi would destroy him. byakuya would destroy him. he might be able to win against toshiro or the badger guy, but i kind of doubt it. he has to have a bankai to be a captain but he never even tried to use it on aizen, who he has a fucking super grudge against. the dude ruined his life and permanently changed his friends. he got him sentenced to death! but shinji couldnt do anything, anything at all against aizen. to be honest, he seemed a lot weaker than mashiro who was an actual joke character. then, and i consider this another plot hole, they game kaname a resurreccion. the fact that he, as a visored, has a bankai and a resurreccion strongly implies that EVERY visored has one. including ichigo himself. and shinji, hiyori, mashiro, all of the visored crew. so the fact that we never see any of the visoreds bankai OR resurreccion..

why even have them fight? we have interesting characters who dont fight in this show, why even bother? i dont get it. the coolest and best character in bleach, in the whole show, turned out to be ikkaku madarame. who initially appeared to be a fuckup only meant for ichigo to waste an episode or two on. the guy has an interesting set of priciples, he has a distinct goal and not to mention a really cool underused bankai. we only saw it once, but it was amazing and it really suits him. he was such a cool guy and he doesnt get to do anything either. he had 1 real fight against an arrancar who to my knowledge wasnt an espada. but hiyori? nothing. she fought a couple fractiones and couldnt even beat any of those alone. not even 1 of them. those fractiones probably had better backstory than she did. urahara was really mysterious through most of the show. im not sure if i really like his motives more than i liked him as a mysterious force pushing the plot forward for unknowable reasons. yoruichi was never ever explained, like at all. her motive was just that she wanted to help urahara. like i get rescuing him from his death sentence, i get wanting to help the visoreds. but she left everything for him? she really never got to be her own person after that. she was a shallow character. and another super power character who never lost, but doesnt have a fucking bankai! what!!! if she or urahara whipped out their bankai the show would have just been over. seriously they always could have beaten aizen, up until he became a monster by fusing with the hogyoku. even then probably! they NEVER lost a single fight!!! how am i supposed to believe they couldnt play a bigger role, or even solve the problem themselves? i dont even think i ever saw them seriously injured. they're invincible, over a hundred years old, definitely have bankais but never use them... but they spend all of their time manipulating people into doing their work for them.

[recurring-polynya]

Bleach 136 and 137 were created in a lab to make me, personally, angry.

So, as we go through these filler stories, you may notice that each member of the Advance Team gets one. Rangiku’s sucked, but at least it was long. Toshirou beat some adolescents at soccer, Ikkaku beat some teens at kendo, Yumichika poisons Renji and Chad. There was even a Kon ep, which is more than Kon deserves. Later on, Rukia will get it on with some feral dude she meets in Hueco Mundo. So what does Renji get? THIS GARBAGE.

The problem is that these two episodes constantly skirt greatness and take a hard left every time. Let’s just jump in.

We open up with some 3rd string Arrancar, Patras, who is just totally pissed about how he didn’t vote for Aizen. He literally complains about how he misses the good ol’ days when he got to eat souls and crush Soul Reapers and immediately, I am here for this dude. He steals the Hogyoku and his sidekicks just beat the crap out of Ulquiorra. Yes. Yes. Look at Ulquiorra’s surprised Pikachu face! Eat it, sad boi!

Cut to the ol’ Urahara Shoten, where Urahara and Tessai are about to go shopping (for days, apparently?) and they are taking Chad with them. Everything about this seems like a huge lie and they are actually planning to take Chad to a Turkish bath.

We don’t get to see that, instead we get the Shoten kids trolling Renji. At one point, Jinta tries to fight him. I honestly would have enjoyed that. On the bright side, Renji is wearing the Red Pineapple shirt, which I unironically love. Where did he get it? I want to imagine that he and Rukia went thifting and she found it and they both lost their minds over it. It seems like the sort of thing you would only find in a thrift store, or maybe like the lost-and-found of an ice rink.

Anyway, they get the Arrancar alert, everyone mentions how happy they are that the process for gentai kaijou has been simplified (I told you they mention it a million times!). We also get an appearance from Renji’s lavender spirit phone, which we last saw in the Bount Arc. Look at this majestic thing:

It turns out that Patras and the Heartbreakers are just here because they are trying to find someone who knows how to use the Hogyoku. The sidekicks end up fighting Hitsugaya and everyone, but Patras gets directions from Kon and heads straight over to the Urahara Shoten. Renji never got very far, so he comes back to fight him.

Let’s get this clear: Patras has the Hogyoku and he wants Urahara to show him how to use it. This seems... fine? I would be like, “Ah, very nice, you want to come in and have some tea until he gets back?” Unfortunately, this is the part of the episode that I hate because Renji is an utter buffoon.

For the next episode and a half, Renji is just completely incompetent. He has the most inane dialogue you’ve ever heard and he just gets the crap beat out of him by this clown in a daring midriff. They always do this to Renji so that the Mod Souls can “help him out.”

I want to make this absolutely clear: Kuroda always turns into Renji. He doesn’t have Renji’s reiatsu, though, so it’s really obvious to everyone who the real Renji is. This is not me headcanoning, Patras points this out. Renji tells Kuroda that he thinks all this is “creepy”. It is, in fact. Oh, and if this wasn’t bad enough, Ririn makes an illusion of 1,000 Renjis. I hate this so much, it’s so terrible.

Getting back to that dialogue thing, here is an actual exchange they have:

Renji: OK, get up. Unless you’re already dead.

Patras: This is a very interesting shop you have here.

Renji: I’m glad you like it.

I am overcome. Here are some good things that happen:

1) There is a great deal of Hihiou Zabimaru. They coilin’. They screechin’. Renji has apparently been working on his rhythmic gymnastics.

2) Renji destroys Urahara’s van. I have been making fun of that van for six seasons now. PCHEW!!!

3) Gentai kaijou!!!!

3) Even though he’s a moron, I still love him.

Anyway, the Mod Souls figure out the secret of Patras’ attack and stop him from doing it while Renji hits him with his cero attack Hikotsu Taihou.

Then Urahara shows up and explains that Patras was an idiot, it wasn’t the real hogyoku, Aizen played him. Also, Patras never actually beat up Ulquiorra, that was an Aizen illusion also. (Let us pause to think about how much fun Aizen had lovingly crafting an illusion of Ulquiorra getting utterly whupped). How does Urahara know this? I guess he ran into Ulquiorra down at the Pit, and U spilled the tea? At this point, everyone involved is tired of this.

They threw in this because the filler arcs are always trying to make Chad/Noba happen:

I’m just mad because they could have made an episode about Renji really kicking some ass and instead they just made him dumb and incompetent so the Mod Souls have something to do and this is not the first nor last time.

LOOK. If they had put me in charge of Bleach Filler, here is the Renji episode I would have written: It turns out that Tessai’s license is revoked for [CLASSIFIED] and Urahara is Too Gay to Drive, which is why no one ever drives that van, so they make Renji go to driving school so that that he can deliver Jinta and Ururu to their clarinet lessons. It could still be full of Renji buffoonery, except that he would be running over traffic cones and doing donuts in the van. There would be a scene where he has to attend a parent teacher conference for Jinta and it would be shot-for-shot that part of Overboard where Goldie Hawn yells at the kid’s teacher. A Menos would show up in the last five minutes. The van would still get blown up.

Anyway, RIP Patras, You Had a Good Point, I’m sorry you were stupid and sucked.

Advance Team Filler Masterpost

[bleachlists2]

Live tweets from Ichigo and Orihime’s first date

Requested by @midnight-lightt :)

Looks like Ichigo and Orihime are finally going out on a date! But what if their friends decided to spy on them? Or all of the Gotei 13 are watching their date live from Soul Society? Well, let’s see what they have to say about it!

1) Rukia

“Tonight is Ichigo and Inoue’s first date, and we’re broadcasting it live in Soul Society!”

#omg omg #i totally called this #Ichigo better not mess this up!

2) Ukitake

“Good thing I brought enough popcorn, it’s a full house in Squad 12 tonight! Thank you @ mad-scientist-12!”

#young humans on a first date #this will be so much fun!

3) Kurotsuchi

“@ twin-fish-secrets: I didn’t even give you permission to use my lab as a viewing theatre, you insisted until I agreed to shut you up.”

#I might as well stay #wouldn’t want Kenpachi’s lieutenant to break anything here

4) Renji

“Ichigo’s outside Inoue’s house now, dressed up like a punk!”

#really embracing the delinquent life? #or trying to look cool? #black shirt with ripped sleeves #jeans with small tears #he kinda rocks the punk look #he’s also got a grocery bag for some reason

5) Renji

“Whoa! Inoue’s also got a punk look going on!”

#purple blouse #jean skirt #spiked choker and spiked boots #they both trying to look cool tonight?

6) Renji

“Pfft, the moment they saw each other, they started blushing.”

#dorks #seriously #human teenagers are so cute sometimes #so much for trying to look cool

7) Yumichika

“I have to admit, Inoue Orihime looks stunning tonight!”

#her matching aesthetic with Ichigo is quite lovely! #even if they look punk

8) Kenpachi

“They heading out for a fight or something?”

#Ichigo looks like he’s ready for a fight #is the girl gonna cheer him on or something like that?

9) Rukia

“OMG. Ichigo just held up the bag and said that he bought two bento boxes for dinner tonight!”

#seriously Ichigo? #you couldn’t take Inoue out to a nice restaurant or something like that? #but at least Inoue looks happy #what is their date anyways?

10) Rose

“Well, no wonder they’re dressed like punks. Their first date is a rock concert! Ichigo sure has good choices in dates!”

#they’re standing outside an arena in a line now #I guess Kurosaki wanted to get here on time and beat the line? #gotta give him props for thinking ahead

11) Hisagi

“First date is at a concert? That’s awesome!”

#but does Inoue like rock music? #and does this mean we’re getting a free concert to watch as well?

12) Rangiku

“Omg, they’re eating dinner in the line now! And Ichigo just fed Orihime-chan a roll of sushi!”

#so cute! #Ichigo was also blushing while doing that #i swear #those kids are so adorable!

13) Tatsuki

“So far, so good. Orihime-chan hasn’t started crying yet, and Ichigo is doing a pretty good job at making her smile.”

#he’s acting like a total doof right now #for all his attempt at being cool Ichigo is a total dork

14) Ishida

“I still can’t believe Kurosaki chose to have a bento dinner, instead of taking Inoue-san out to a restaurant!”

#I mean seriously 

15) Chad

“@ the-last-quincy: It’s beautiful, actually. And besides, it’s the thought that counts.”

#This suits Ichigo anyways #and Inoue looks happy

16) Shinji

“Oh god, watching those two flirt... it’s both adorable and kind of embarrassing.”

#human teenagers #always so awkward with one another

17) Yoruichi

“Ichigo/Inoue flirting no.1: Inoue smiles at Ichigo, Ichigo blushes and says, ‘you have eyes’.”

#facepalm #seriously? #someone needs to take Flirting 101

18) Yoruichi

“Ichigo/Inoue flirting no.2: Inoue says, ‘you look pretty today. April Fool’s, you’re pretty everyday!’. Ichigo flusters again.”

#someone help these kids

19) Keigo

“Whoa, is Ichigo smiling?? I’ve never seen him actually smile like that!”

#he looks so... happy #such a goofy smile

20) Mizuiro

“I think Inoue’s brain just reset.”

#Ichigo smiling #a rare sight indeed

21) Byakuya

“Inoue Orihime’s face is redder than Renji’s hair. And that’s saying something.”

#reminds me of when I first took Hisana out to dinner #and I told her she looked pretty #it’s actually very... sweet

22) Kyoraku

“@ flower-noble: Young love, am I right?”

#Ichigo and Byakuya both are/were awkward teenagers

23) Rukia

“Looks like they’re finally going inside the arena now!”

#they got their tickets scanned #and a wristband around their wrists

24) Rukia

“They’re up at the front of the stage?? And there’s a whole lot of people in there!”

#just who is this band anyways? #are they really that popular?

25) Rose

“The house lights went off! It’s finally starting!”

#i miss concerts! #best part of the Living World!

26) Kensei

“Looks like the band’s taken the stage now. Their music sounds pretty heavy, and they look really Gothic, kinda.”

#Ichigo’s into this kind of music? #or Inoue? 

27) Hisagi

“That band looks so cool.”

#gotta check them out next time

28) Renji

“Oh wow. Both Ichigo and Inoue are eyeing the band members and blushing!”

#gotta love it when both partners appreciate how good-looking someone looks

29) Byakuya

“This music is so barbaric; so much growling and screaming, and it’s so loud. How can either of them like it?”

#but Kurosaki Ichigo and Inoue Orihime seem to like it

30) Ikkaku

“Damn, this music makes me wanna have a fight!”

#sounds badass and awesome! #Ichigo and Inoue have good taste in music! #how does that guy growl like that?? #humans are amazing!

31) Rukia

“... I did not know this band liked doing fanservice.”

#but Ichigo and Inoue’s faces? #priceless #they’re both stunned and blushing so hard!

32) Rose

“Last song of the night already? Ah, how fast a concert goes.”

#how time flies when you’re at a concert!

33) Kira

“This song is a lot slower. Is it a love song?”

#also sounds really sad

34) Ukitake

“Inoue’s started crying now, and I can’t blame her. The song is pretty sad.”

#makes you think about life and love... #music: always manages to tug at the heartstrings

35) Rukia

“Omg, Ichigo’s teared up as well!”

#he’s trying to hide it #not doing a good job though

36) Rangiku

“Awww! He’s pulled Orihime-chan closer into a hug! Now he’s rubbing her back and letting her cry into him!”

#omg omg omg #he just kissed her forehead!! #my heart can’t take this anymore! #i’m gonna die of cuteness overload!

37) Hitsugaya

“@ beauty-cat-10: geez, stop being so dramatic, Matsumoto!”

#i guess this is kinda... sweet #human teenagers #so emotional and awkward

38) Soi Fon

“Crying over sad music? How weak. This sort of weakness would never be allowed into my squad.”

#i say as i tear up a little bit #no i’m not crying! #i’m a captain #captains do not cry!

39) Kyoraku

“The concert is over, and now Ichigo is walking Inoue home under the starry sky.”

#romantic #reminds me of the days when Jushiro and I dated like this #Inoue is thanking Ichigo for the date

40) Renji

“Holy damn... Ichigo just kissed Inoue! HELL YEAH!!”

#so proud of him! #was a little clumsy #but nice work Ichigo! 

41) Rukia

“Everyone is celebrating now. Ichigo kissed Inoue and it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

#they look so happy! #ah i’m so proud of them! #all in all a successful first date!

42) Byakuya

“I suppose this was rather sweet to watch.”

#i’m leaving now #i’ve been in Squad 12 long enough

43) Yumichika

“So the princess and the hero have finally come together.”

#hmmm #Princess and Hero #nice ring to it

44) Yoruichi

“About damn time Ichigo kissed her! Finally, he’s done something right!”

#but those flirting skills... #they really need to improve

45) Orihime

“@ strawberryprotector15: Thank you for the date, Kuro- er, Ichigo! I loved it so much, and I can’t wait to do it again!”

#we’re on a first-name basis now! 

[shadowsnlace]

Hahaha, I loved your answer to the fandom asks! May I have a part 2? The same thing, but with the lieutenants? Thanks, hun! Happy writing! Sincerely, Happy Anon

I can’t believe how popular that ask was! And it was so much fun to write! Thank you for send that and this one too, dear Happy Anon! *rubs hands together* Now, let’s see about the lieutenants! :)

Nanao - Annoyed. Very annoyed. Not only does she have to contend with Shunsui’s fangirls zipping around the division, now she’s got them hot on her heels too! The power of the glare is strong with Nanao, she can halt a fan in their tracks at ten paces. Most of the pictures on her website are “the glare”. It’s a whole thing, there are poems, songs, and art dedicated to it. However, Nanao does go on the website to interact with her fans – those that are book lovers like her. There is a section for Nanao’s book recommendations, and even a book club  forum where her fans can read the same book she’s reading and once she’s done they all discuss it. She loves it.

Omaeda - His website has 11 followers. Ten of them are on his payroll, the other one is a complete mystery. Rumors fly that the one unpaid “fan” is really Sui Feng monitoring him; that it is a woman that has her sights set on his wealth and is gathering recon to lure him into marriage (this one started by Omaeda); and the biggest rumor, the one spawned by Sui Feng scoffing, “It’s probably his mother.” The content is all uploaded by Omaeda. There was the one time his mother posted embarrassing baby pictures in the comment section of one of his posts. They were immediately deleted. He buried himself in fried rice crackers to deal with the “trauma”.

Izuru - Is shocked to his toes. Upon first seeing his fansite, he not only smiled, but he was happy the rest of the day. He always blushes a bit when fans ask for him to pose with them for pictures. Surprise of surprises, Izuru always smiles in all the pictures. So many fangirls – those blue eyes, that blonde hair, that tender poet’s soul…women swoon over him. Once a week he posts a new poem and his fans are all over it. The amount of hearts that stream through the comments is staggering. Trolls are not allowed. Anyone that dares to troll one of Izuru’s poems is destroyed by the fans like it’s their favorite sport. Rose is trying to convince him to do a “Win a Date With Izuru” contest like he did on his fansite. 

Isane - Like Izuru, she’s really shocked. She turns bright pink when she first sees the fansite and how much adoration there is for her. Retsu encourages her to interact with her fans, hoping it will bolster her confidence. Fan pictures are a mix – many show a startled, pink-cheeked Isane looking a bit unsettled, while others are able to make her comfortable enough to smile happily. Either way, she’s still quite the beauty. The new attention rattles her sometimes, especially if someone very attractive tells her how beautiful she is. So much so, she tripped on air and landed right in the arms of a very cute officer from the 5th division. This led to a date and a rather hot kiss goodnight. Isane definitely thinks this website might be a good thing after all.

Momo - Is pretty tickled that she has fans. She’s pretty easy-going so asking her for a picture or having some interaction with her isn’t a hard thing to accomplish. Like Nanao, she loves books and has linked to Nanao’s book club forum where her and her fans interact with Nanao and her fans. She has her own reading recommendation list on the site. As a very good artist, she often posts some of her artwork, much to the delight of her fans. She loves getting art from her fans too. She’ll pick a piece of fan art every week to showcase on her fansite with compliments from her. Is really into memes. She loves them especially if they’re cute. Rangiku always manages to post at least one or two a week aimed as Toshiro. Momo loves them.

Renji - Has mixed feelings about it all. While he’s flattered by the attention, he’s also a little awkward about it. He’s not accustomed to being in the public eye and looks to Byakuya for clues how to handle the fame. Along with his close friends, Ikkaku, Shuhei, and Izuru, Renji has a constant swarm of fangirls that follow him everywhere – to work, to meals, to futsal. And, I do mean everywhere – one fan snuck into Renji’s bathroom while he was soaking in the tub. She was trying to get a picture of his famous tattoos, to see if he really has them everywhere. Renji’s angry snarl scared her so bad she dropped her camera and ran like he’d set his bankai on her. Byakuya had some questions about why a young lady was seen running from his bathroom, screaming. And, before you ask, yes, there are some die-hard fans that have gotten tattoos just like their beloved Renji. He visits his fansite once or twice a week to check in. He’s an active guy, busy with work, friends, and his own interests, but he drops in if he’s bored just to see what’s going on.

Tetsuzaemon - Boasts that of course he’s got fans, how could he not, being such a manly man and all. On the inside is secretly thrilled, now he has confirmation that he’s all that and a bottle of sake. If you thought his ego was swelled before, it’s about to pop any minute now. He brags about all the followers he has. (He knows the exact number and always double checks before meeting up with friends anywhere) Ikkaku likes to razz him by photo bombing his fan pictures. It irks Tetsuzaemon to no end when he’s taking a picture with a cute girl and here comes Ikkaku’s gnarly feet or bald head. Drives him nuts. On the fansite he interacts with his fans as much as he can, which is a few times a week when he’s not busy with work. He’s very genuine and rather humble when talking with fans. Has been carrying on a very heated private online affair with a mystery lady who really gets his motor running during their conversations and with her sweet nature. He really hopes he’s not being catfished. 

Shuhei - Turned about 5 different shades of pink when he first saw his fansite. The women – oh my god, the women that want him is on par with Kensei’s following. The fan pictures are so focused on his scar, his tattoo, his physique, and his style it’s mind-boggling. He can’t believe the things these women are saying they want to do to him. He has to be really careful where he reads comments or fan mail, hard ons at work are not only awkward, they’re distracting. He tries his best to be approachable and easy-going, but a lot of his lady followers are just as shy as he is so he gets a lot of pink-faced ladies stammering, stuttering, or talking so fast he can’t understand them. The minute that deep, rumbly timbre of his makes an appearance, it’s time to faint or melt on the spot for the fangirls. Is sometimes overwhelmed by it all, but manages to get along just fine. He’s a sweet guy and does his best not to hurt anyone’s feelings. 

Rangiku - Are you kidding me? She has taken to this like a duck to water. She is in her element – attention galore. She loves it. And, she loves going to all the other lieutenants’ fansites to post memes about them. She’s got quite a sense of humor and an eye for details. Don’t let the laziness fool you, she’s far from it, she just doesn’t like paperwork and part of her likes getting Toshiro all fussy. She is rather dedicated to her fansite and making people feel welcome there. They all love her and post pictures, art, poetry, songs, and even fashion stuff that would look good on her with where to find it. She made a whole section dedicated to her fans called “Drinks with Rangiku” and it’s all pictures of fans having a drink with her. She nearly crashed the server from all the pictures that have been uploaded. 

Yachiru - Is pretty nonchalant about her fansite. It is dedicated to her power of cute. Most pictures include some part of Kenpachi since she’s with him so much, Someone even managed to get a picture of her on her scooter in the Kuchiki mansion. The main benefit for her is that her fans keep her heavily supplied with candy. They leave offerings for her at Kenpachi’s door where she gathers them up everyday when they come home. Once in a while, though, she’ll go visit Ikkaku’s website to upload pictures of his bald head that she’s captured to look like a lamp, or the setting sun, or a smeared selfie of her biting his head. She posts them on her website too because she knows Ikkaku will delete them from his.

Ikkaku - He’s the tough guy, nothing fazes him, especially not some website. Yumichika is the one that reads everything to him. He scoffs that he’s not interested, but he still listens to every word and looks at every picture. He doesn’t mind the pictures, or the fan art. But, like Kenpachi, he really likes the videos of his fights. Those he will sit and watch for hours, looking for flaws in his technique, studying his opponents. He’ll hog the laptop until the battery dies and then has to deal with Yumichika being pissy because he didn’t get to use it. Likes to scare the group of fangirls that follow him around just to hear them squeal. He finds it hilarious. They’re all used to it now and often play it up for him. He gets Yumichika to do a daily sweep of any of Yachiru’s silly pictures. He’s not embarrassed (yeah, right), but he’s got his pride.

Nemu - Not much reaction. She sets to work gathering all kinds of statistical information from the fansite, like how many fans to picture ratios, how many memes, how many pictures are in the lab and out of the lab. You name it, she can quote you a statistic about it. She hides the information from Mayuri, knowing he will react much like he did for his own fansite. She’s very willing to pose for fan pictures. While she doesn’t smile, she doesn’t look interested and kind. She secretly talks online with her fans and has begun to grow close to a few. She’s tentatively open with her new friends and finding a bit of emotional freedom she doesn’t often get around Mayuri.

Akon - Mr. Laid-back-as-fuck checks in on his fansite during breaks at work and sometimes in the evening if he’s bored. Numerous pictures of him are all over the site. There are lots of discussions about his horns: where they came from, are they sensitive, how sexy they are. He gets lots of chuckles and lets them all stew in the mystery. Most of the fan pictures show him smoking because they always seem to catch right after he lights up. Has more than one rather ardent fan. He knows when they’re watching, stealing little mementos of things he’s discarded, one even went so far as to steal some lab notes he’d written and then threw away. She auctioned them off to other fans after keeping some for herself. Akon is, as always, very calm in the midst of it all. His fans are, for the most part, pretty laid-back too. He enjoys the fan art, and the ones that ask science questions. 

Rukia - Loves her fansite. There are bunnies galore. Her fans know her love for bunnies and use an app to make bunny features on their faces: ears, whiskers, nose, and mouth. Rukia even posts pictures of herself all ‘bunnied up’. There is fan art that she loves because she knows how much her brother admires art. She tries her hand at it too. It’s still crap, but her fans love it and call it a great example of expressionism. As long as she’s not working, she’s happy to stop and take pictures with fans or chit-chat for a bit. Everyone is really nice which is a welcome change from the stuffy Kuchiki brood she’s exposed to all the time. (Byakuya has loosened up a lot, but the rest of them are still stodgy old farts.) One of her fans created an “Angry Bunnies” game a lot like “Angry Birds”. It features Rukia hurling bunnies to take down snakes and monkeys. She loves it. Renji thinks its silly but still plays it just to try to beat her high score. 

[kazashiniwielder]

Kenpachi’s kids part 1

Kurosaki Ichigo

Zaraki headed toward the training room, hearing the yelling. It wasn’t the normal fighting but like two fools were bickering. “Hey.” he called, opening the door to see what the noise was about. Many of the division members quickly greeted him, but Zaraki ignored them. They weren’t the one’s he was interested. He was focused on the two men standing in the center, bokken crossed in a halt from a spar. “What are you doing Ichigo?” he asked, curious. Last time he checked, Ichigo was still significantly injured and therefore unable to fight.

“Ichi how are you?” Yachiru yelled from his shoulder. Zaraki decided to rephrase the question to get at what he really wanted.

“Have your wounds healed?” he asked. Ichigo’s face went from confusion to understanding, then pride as he turned to Zaraki.

“Well yeah, and I was just about to...” he started, but Zaraki had already drawn his sword and sliced the bokken in two. He didn’t need the wooden training weapon anymore. Zaraki had been wanting to fight Ichigo again ever since their first battle. It wasn’t that Ichigo was the strongest opponent he ever fought, because he defiantly wasn't. There were many more powerful people that Zaraki had fought and killed over the years. Even Unohana Yachiru came to mind as someone who would kill Ichigo in a heart beat if they were to fight.

No, what attracted Kenpachi to him was his growth rate. Most warriors Zaraki had fought had decades to master the art of combat. Ichigo had only a handful of months. After a few months of training, he had caught up to and surpassed a number of people who spent at least three times the boy’s life time if not more training. At the rate Ichigo was improving he would leave them all in the dust in a few years.

“That’s good to hear. That means, we can fight again!” Zaraki said, bringing down his zanpakuto. The floor exploded with the force of his swing, kicking up a cloud of dust. As it settled Zaraki frowned, seeing Ikkaku laying on the ground where Ichigo should have been.

“Ken-chan, this way!” Yachiru called, and he looked up to see Ichigo running out the window. Zaraki grinned, a chase was an excellent way to start for him. He ran after Ichigo, intent of fighting him. Ichigo was a prodigy in fighting but he wouldn’t improve if he didn’t gain the experience he needed. Zaraki wanted to see exactly what he would become, and he wanted to be the one to help get Ichigo to that point.

Ichigo was still young, and a human at that. In a few decades he would die and end up right in the Soul Society. Zaraki was sure the other divisions would want him, but it was already decided. Ichigo would come to the eleventh where he could fight every day. Zaraki was going to force him to grow, if for nothing else but to give him the fight he was dreaming of, that feeling he got when he first crossed blades with Unohana all those centuries ago.

Yasutora Sado

Kenpachi quickly lost sight of Ichigo. The kid could use shunpo, something Zaraki had no skill in. It was a little annoying. As he rounded a corner he nearly ran into a young man. Looking over him, Zaraki recalled he was in the prison that they broke into. That made him one of Ichigo’s friends. If his memory served currently, this was the boy who put the majority of his division in the fourth.

When the seated officer came to make the report that the majority of their division had fallen to the hands of a sixteen year old boy, the division members were expecting Zaraki to get mad. That just wasn’t his style though. He actually found it hilarious. The overconfident idiots under his command would go back to training, their pride much more damaged than they’re bodies. He even thought of asking the kid to train them. Of all of Ichigo’s friend, this one was the visual representation of strength. Just by looking at him, you could tell this boy was well built and powerful.

“Zaraki-taichou.” the boy acknowledged. Now that Zaraki thought about it, he recalled they called him Chad.

“Boy, did Ichigo pass through here?” he asked. The teen thought for a moment before pointing back the direction Zaraki came.

“No, but he’s in that direction.” the teen said. Zaraki nodded his thanks. He was about to charge off to find Ichigo when he looked back at Chad.

“Where are you off to?” he asked. Maybe the kid could go beat up his men again now.

“West Rukongai. To see a friend.” Zaraki nodded.

“You should come by the eleventh when your done. Looks like my soldiers need someone to train them.” he offered. The teen looked thoughtful, then gave a small nod. Zaraki smirked. Having this kid around wouldn’t be bad at all. Then he took off to find Ichigo.

Inoue Orihime

Zaraki ran through the streets, hoping he was going in the right direction. There was a powerful force this way, but there were powerful forces everywhere. “Oh, Zaraki-taichou!” he stopped at the call of his name to see the human girl, Inoue he recalled, walking with the tenth division fukutaichou.

When she first came to the eleventh with one of his seated members, Zaraki hadn’t thought much of her. She was Ichigo’s friend, and that meant keeping her close would bring Ichigo near him. That was all there was to it. He helped her go get her other friends, mostly because sticking with these reckless kids would bring more fights to him.

However the girl surprised him. She had very little offensive abilities, minus the basic martial arts that she used to take out a few division members and a single combat skill she said she didn’t like to use. She still had a shield to protect her, which was good since she ran headlong into danger to remain by her friends side. That determination was something respected in the eleventh. He also knew Yumichika had liked the girl, saw her as someone he could talk to in the bustle of the eleventh.

“Where’s Ichigo?” he asked. The girl smiled, apparently seeing him as no danger. The only other women that weren’t afraid of him were strong powerful fighters like Unohana, and even Yachiru. To have a girl like her not be afraid was amusing.

“I think he went that way.” she said, gesturing. Zaraki nodded, noting the direction she pointed. He recalled how he invited her other friend to the eleventh, and if he was planning to drag Ichigo there later it would be a good idea to bring her too. With her he could fight without restraint since she could patch Ichigo up as many times as needed.

“Come by the eleventh later.” he said. She looked surprised but then nodded.

“Sure.” she said.

Ishida Uryuu

Zaraki decided to give up. He had been searching for Ichigo all day without any luck. He started back toward the eleventh division, ready to have dinner, maybe a spar or two, and head to bed. “Inoue-san?” he heard. So he wasn’t the only person out looking for people?

Zaraki came around the corner to see a boy with glasses. He was the last of Ichigo’s group. At first Zaraki hadn’t spared the boy much though. He looked like the weakest of Ichigo’s male friends. Too small and delicate. He had heard that this kid took down Kurotsuchi but that guy was a weak and creepy bastard to begin with. However he was impressed when the kid came up to the confrontation on the hill.

Zaraki wasn’t the best at using his reiatsu for spells and fast movement, but what he was good at was assessing those in front of him. He had been able to tell the moment he came in contact with the kid that he had no reiatsu to speak of. If the kid took down a taichou, that had to mean he lost his reiatsu recently. The kid had charged up into a battle field without any means of defending himself and with no one knowing that he couldn’t defend himself. That kind of recklessness and bravery was always welcome in the eleventh.

“Hey kid, your Ichigo’s friend right?” he called. The kid looked surprised.

“Zaraki Kenpachi-taichou. The eleventh taichou right?” the boy asked. The kid had a good memory. Zaraki recalled how he invited the kid’s other friends to the eleventh and knew they should be there about now.

“Let’s go.” he said, deciding this kid was going to come to. He looked surprised for a moment, but gave a small nod. Zaraki wasn’t sure if it was because the kid knew there was no point in arguing with him or if the kid actually was ok with going, but he really didn’t care.

Eleventh Division

Zaraki and Uryu arrived to see a party going on on the eleventh grounds. Orihime was sitting and talking to Yumichika. Ikkaku and Chad were sparing with the division drinking, eatting, and watching with a roudy disposition. The boy with him, Uryuu, looked a little unconfortable but soon melted into the conversation with Orihime and Yumichika. Zaraki himself sat to watch the fight, Yachiru taking her place on his shoulder. As he looked around he couldn’t help but think things should be this way.

Zaraki made up his mind then. He didn’t care what the others said, he was laying claim to Ichigo, Orihime, Sado, and Uryuu. They were his kids now. They each fit right into the eleventh and were all strong and brave kids. They were reckless too, which was good in some doses but too much led to death. While the eleventh liked fighting and getting into trouble, dying was something they weren’t about. You couldn’t fight if your dead. If you die in battle, then you met a good opponent and had fun but that was the end. Someone had to make these kids stronger so they wouldn’t just die. Zaraki knew he was just the guy to do it too.

[inexchangeforyoursoul]

Well... I did finish the second chapter, so I better revise this shit before it gets uploaded to a fitting site...

As for what this is, here, a link for clarification’s sake.

“Sorry again for the inconvenience.” she sighs while awkwardly standing around in the girl's room with Nami, who's been cleared up on the situation a minute ago. Usopp and Chopper, along with Carrot who was with the navigator at the time, are on their way to give a briefing to the rest of the Strawhat crew. She already feels like a burden, and is not even wearing her own face, which makes this already so much easier. Having another body is one thing; being the cause of even the smallest problem is... another animal altogether. A scary, ever-looming nightmare animal that silently bares its teeth all the time, but never gets to bite.

Shachi and Penguin offered her to get Ikkaku's help, but the only women she ever talked to past a 'hello' were Nami and eventually Robin. As such, it would have been especially awkward and uncomfortable to ask elsewhere. Ikkaku also was... a tomboy who partied alongside the guys all the time, and Kat likes her good night's sleep. The submarine manhole as a whole wasn't exactly inviting. The other ship was only one notch better, but she saw enough to know that the guys did not dare to anger the girls, so chances were that it's a quieter place to stay at.

“Never mind, it's not an issue. Nor your fault. Really, though... I can't believe Torao did something stupid like this.“ The other woman answers, pulling out covers from a cabinet for her to take, then proceeds digging into the back for the stray backup pillow they should have.

“Not that I know him that well, but I agree. Didn't think him to be the type to pull stunts like this. Like... if I suck, we could be stuck like this forever.“ She gives the material a quick stroke; a little rough from the sea air, but smells nice enough. She considered going down to the aquarium to sleep, the place was nice and the bench cushioned, after all. But damn if the chances aren't higher to be woken up in the middle of the night. Had enough of that during the brief year spent at college.

Floor of the girls' room it is.

Nami gives a chuckle. “He does have his own brand of dumb, but generally? This is not his style... oh, this should be it.” she murmurs, pulling out a fluffy pillow. And a bunch of other stuff along with it...

“Um... can I help?” If Kat didn't feel out of place till that, she sure as hell does now.

“Yes- you can take this.” Nami says, shoving the pillow into her face, then sticks the bulk of fabric as-is back to where it came from. Kat cracks a half-smile beyond the feathery boundary and feels a little better about the situation. She's also happy that there's no reason to hide it here- keeping a straight face when seeing something she finds amusing is always hard. And because of her sense of humor, sometimes just a wee bit inappropriate.

“I'll just... huddle up in a corner, then.” she states, considering ways to include an armchair into her hopefully short-lived resting place.

“Are you honestly expecting me to be okay with that?” comes the expected question with a side of crossed arms.

She knows what Nami has in mind- they caught up to her and Carrot when latter mentioned being on the lookout for the night. In conclusion, there'd be enough space on the beds, but...

“Not really, but, uh... it would be pretty awkward to sleep right next to you guys like this, right?” She alludes to her “state”, and can see that Nami leans towards agreeing a second later- after a long enough pause Kat assumes that she'll keep that to herself. “If it's any consolation, I haven't slept near another person since I was a baby girl, so I probably wouldn't be able to rest anyway. Actually, sometimes I fall asleep on a single pillow, so it's nothing out of the ordinary.” Apart from, you know, being quite a bit bigger, needing two metaphorical pillows.

A sigh of a small defeat is all the redhead can muster, followed by Kat's suppressed sigh of relief. She wasn't lying about being uncomfortable with the idea, after all. Well, she probably would care much less than Nami and Robin would, even with the high likeliness of her being woken up by their movements. Either way, she's really trying not hide her opinions- less lies just come with less and quicker pain and fewer misunderstandings.

“Let me get that chair out of the way, then,” Nami offers, pulling the object to the side and suspiciously checking the floor for wild dust bunnies. Seems clean enough. She steps aside and Kat plops down the one too many blankets and one pillow into a rather inviting pile. She does like making and sitting around in these, alright.

“This kinda feels like a sleepover.” she states, having nestled herself into her one-pillow-fort. The bag which she brought along today is now behind the closet as to not be in the way of anyone. “Haven't had anything remotely similar since... well, some school excursions.”

Nami sits into the other armchair, in case Kat would consider joining her in the one she just moved. “That sounds nice... our village did not have a school. Me and my sister were taught the basics at home... and most books we had were either ancient scraps, or, well... *cough* stolen.” Kat chuckles. “I was pretty bad at the time and got always caught, though, so they were paid for in the end.”

“All I ever stole was some chewing gum or straight-up change, because mom wouldn't buy us treats... eventually I got found out, too. The shitstorm, man... Anyway, what you had sounds way better to me.” She says, eyes pasting the unidentifiable distance. “I wasn't exactly a fan of school... being bully target extraordinaire and all. Then the one new girl I made friends with in second grade left another two years later.”

“I see... being alone like that is no fun indeed.” She also stares a hole into the wall for a moment. “Meanwhile I was the one to beat up every kid who pissed me or Nojiko off.”

Kat can imagine the scene very well. “Heh, I wish I had a cool friend like you. Wouldn't have helped with the actual problem at home, but it would have been really nice nonetheless.“

Nami raises an eyebrow, and Kat catches the look she's being given.

“Um... how to put it... home wasn't exactly... better, you know. The older I got, the more I realized how much worse it made everything that happened at school. Everybody always screaming... abusing... and being wrecks themselves. At one point... I just stood in the house while everyone was away, and it just hit me. I realized I had no love left for anyone in there. Haven't had an actual conversation with them for years, either... then, after I dropped out of college and got my last load of being a disappointment, I got a job in the cafe. That’s been maybe two years back already... haven't called since. Nor visited.“

Nami stays still for a bit longer than comfortable. Kat thinks back to what she just said, and... whoops, did it again, didn't she.

“Ah, sorry, I... keep getting way too deep into personal stuff when I can relate it to a topic.” she apologizes, red with embarrassment.

“It's fine, I like how honest you are.” Her eyes light up, which makes Kat feel that whatever Nami is saying is as honest as her outbursts. “I can see why your manager keeps you around- talking clear text when something's wrong... that's a healthy business principle, if you ask me. The place is fabulous and comfortable, and I bet you had your hand in quite a few changes since you've been there. The people of Fumei love it, too!”

“Ah... thanks...” She's got another reason for being embarrassed now, and her color shows. “Sometimes I'm really afraid I get obnoxious with that. It adds nothing to the point, after all. The long list of places I didn't get into were on the same page about that.”

“You really shouldn't care.” Nami nods. Then looking at the flustered Kat, she also cracks a big smile. “By the way, you make an extremely adorable Torao.”

“I do?” She asks, squishing her face. This is silly, but that's her middle name- or would be, if she had one. Nami starts laughing and Kat couldn't be happier- that's a success if she's ever heard one.

“I hope it takes a while for him to get his body back... weird fever dream Trafalgar Law won't get old any time soon.”

“Will do, ma'am~” she states proudly. After a minute of silent laughter she gets an idea; “Oh my god, you know what I should do? Law impressions. When people least expect it.”

“... you are an evil mastermind.” Kat almost expects Nami to start rubbing her hands together. “If you can pull it off, that is. Doesn't really make sense otherwise.”

Kat nods. She needs to be seriously serious when the time comes. Only... “Too bad I cannot keep a straight face to save my life.”

“See, that's indeed a problem.” comes her new confidant’s answer. “You almost laughed when dangling in front of the blind guy who had no qualms killing you when his subordinate made that unfortunate pun about eyes, too.”

She shrugs. “Couldn't help it. High quality situational comedy is always a godsens, even if I literally have to stuff my fist into my mouth. Not even the errand guy saw that right hook coming.”

Nami groan-cackles, and Kat starts laughing at her amusement, too, which in turn makes Nami laugh again because of the dissonance between what's the usual Law and this current mess of a not-Law. This self-fueling nonsense goes on for about five minutes, until both of them are out of breath. After another minute, Nami breathes “...you're horrible.” And so was the double pun at the expense of a very seriously injured man.

“I know... phew. And I'm also done for today.” She sighs, then yawns a bit after. “Surely you also wanted to do something else before we stormed you and Carrot?”

“Right...” she says, also with a hint of exhaustion in her voice. She looks at the clock then towards the ceiling. “Wanted to write a log entry before bath... then go to sleep.”

Kat groans, massaging her temples. “If Law keeps to his hissie fit for another day or two, I'll also have to ask you to let me bathe over here.”

“Hey, consider negotiations done.” Nami flaps a hand nonchalantly.

“Thanks. I'll wait the time limit out, though.” With that, she falls to the side and drags out one of the covers from under her. Be it freezing or cooking, can't sleep without a partial blanket at least, this one.

“Whatever you want, Kat. Willing or not, you are the guest here.” With that she stands up, and walks to the exit. “Want me to turn the lights off?”

She hums and the room gets dark. Maybe even half an hour passes as she's listening to the creaking wood, distant shouts, the faint thuds of occasional footsteps and the muffled sound of the sea outside before she drifts into sleep.

Another thirty minutes later Nami tiptoes back and turns on the nightlight. She takes a peek at her, and can't help but breathe a silent 'aww'.

As she's turning around, the door opens with Robin coming through. The navigator starts to point at the corner with great enthusiasm. Taking a look, the other smiles gently.

“Curled up like a kitten.” she states.

“I knew you would appreciate it.”