Chapter Text
“I have to say, Mop-boy,” you smirked as you tightened the white cloth over the black cross on your arm, “This is actually a decent plan.”
“I’m impressed he of all people was the one who came up with it.”
You snorted, earning a suspicious glare from Zoro.
“I can see the island!” Luffy whooped from his ‘seat’.
Vivi’s face lit up as she saw her homeland finally come into view on the horizon, “We’re going to stop at a port called Nanohana. We’ll have to hide the ship, did you have any visions, Miss (y/n)?”
Leaning on the railing, you shook your head noncommittally, “Not anything useful at any rate.”
“Oh come now,” she smiled at you, “I’m sure if you of all people know something, it will be very useful.”
“Well...I did get a word.”
“And that was...?”
“Sand.”
“Just sand?”
“Just sand.”
He face fell, “I see.”
Luffy pouted, “I don’t see what’s so bad about sand...”
You groaned, hanging your head, “Oh just you wait...”
“Ah.” Usopp stroked his chin, glancing around at the large sand dunes in every direction, “I think I see what you mean…”
“No shit,” you mumbled, “Some use I am…”
“Fooooooooooood!”
“Oh be quiet and listen for once, Luffy.” A hand clapped down on your shoulder. Nami smiled encouragingly at you before her eyes narrowed as she faced the rest of the crew, “Listen up everyone, ‘cause I’m only going to say this once. I expect you all to be on your best behavior at all times.”
“Okay, Nami-swan~!” Sanji grinned, waving both his arms wildly in the air.
You flinched slightly, ‘That’s a little too much, even for Flirty, right?’
“I can’t really tell. But can you really blame him?”
‘Guess not.’ Glancing down at the black ‘metal’ currently snaking round your wrist, your eyes narrowed, ‘Are we going to be alright if you stay like that, Mello? We’re not going to collapse or anything if we keep this up for too long?’
The bangle wriggled for a moment before fixing into place, “Oh Doctor Chopper said we should be fine if I don’t move too much. Being like this means that there’s lots of skin contact, and it is far more inconspicuous than the usual tattoo.”
“If you’ve had enough time talking to that freaky blood thing, Missy…”
You stuck out your tongue.
Zoro scowled, “...The guy we have to worry about ‘being on best behavior’ the most already took off.”
“FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!”
“HEY HOLD IT!! LUFFY!!!” Nami growled, clenching her fists as she watched the cloud of dust vanish into the distance.
Usopp gulped, “He’s completely inhuman...”
“Ha. That’s funny.”
“Really funny.”
“I was expecting this from you, (y/n)...” he sweatdropped, “but you’ve corrupted Chopper already?”
“Problem?”
“Oh Missy you hypocrite.”
“Ooooh look at Mop-boy using his big, fancy words!”
“Mi-”
“It is astounding that his brain can keep up with this new vocabulary. How fascinating, I’ll have to run some tests...”
“Ch-CHOPPER?!”
“What should we do?” Vivi wrung out her hands, ignoring your squabble.
“Eh, don’t worry.” Sanji smirked as he stepped up onto the railing and hopped gracefully down onto the shore, “Just go to the noisiest place you can find. That’s where he’ll be.”
“That or the nearest restaurant,” you giggled, vaulting after him.
“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Usopp sighed.
Nami placed a hand on her head, “Geez, I wish he’d remember that he’s got a bounty on his head. Especially in a country this big.”
“Oh just let him be,” Zoro grumbled as he climbed down the rope ladder, Chopper calmly perched on his head and knocking on the swordsman’s skull, “He’ll be fine. Let’s just go eat already. We’ll think about stuff later.”
Nami grumbled under her breath, before pointing a finger at you, “And (y/n)! What about your bounty, huh?! It’s almost ten times as much as his!”
“Pffsh,” you waved your hand casually from side to side, “That was six years ago. I’m sure they’ve forgotten all about that. It’ll be fiiiiine.” You scratched your head, “Besides, I’m planning on camping out in a restaurant to wait for Cap. So shouldn’t be that much of a problem, yeah?”
She exhaled sharply, “What about the fact Baroque Works is LOOKING FOR YOU!”
“Ah, point taken. Speaking of Baroque Works by the way, that wouldn’t be Mr 3’s ship over there would it,” You pointed towards the odd shaped ship, “It has all ‘3’ all over it and all, but I hadn’t really met him so…”
Vivi gasped, clapping her hands to her mouth.
“Well, that’s all the answer I needed.”
Sanji bit down on his cigarette “So he’s here.”
“That means trouble.” Zoro grimaced, “We’ll be recognised.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan!”
Your face fell as you watched Usopp cackle down at you, “I am not getting a good feeling about this…”
“You don’t have to be psychic to tell that, Missy…”
“Okay everyone! The coast is clear!” Usopp cried, throwing off the dust sheet.
Zoro grimaced, “We already took it off.”
“Looks like no one noticed us!”
“That would be a miracle...” Nami groaned.
“Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad you guys.”
“Do you have any pride, (y/n)?”
“Excuse me? Ex-assassin here? I’ve been crawling through a literal sewer before. A dust sheet, not so bad.”
Usopp blanched, “I did not need that mental image.”
“Vivi-chan, you’ll be safe from prying eyes here for the time being.”
She stared blankly at the ground, clearly not registering Sanji’s words.
“Vivi-chan?”
“Aaah! Y-yes? Yes, yes, what is it?”
Sanji lowered his voice, “What’s wrong?”
“I...I’m sorry.” She shut her eyes, clenching the dust cloth tightly, “I was just thinking...At least, while I was looking at the city…” She smiled weakly, “Everything still seemed to be fine. And though I can’t truly be at ease...I think it can be saved.”
“You know what, I think it can,” you smirked.
She blinked at you in confusion.
“So Vivi,” Zoro stepped up behind you, “You said you had forces to suppress the rebellion, right?”
She nodded slowly.
“Then what’s the next step? What do we have to do?”
Raising her head, Vivi’s eyes widened.
Zoro crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, “If we can still save them, we have to take action soon.”
“Y-yes that’s true. B-b-but you only promised to take me as far as Alabasta and, and-”
“Enough!” Nami gently punched the babbling princess in the middle of her forehead, “I can’t believe you’re still talking like that!”
“Yeah. We’re here aren’t we? Might as well help you out. Besides,” you placed a hand on your hip, “If you think that we’re just going to leave you to deal with this by yourself after all we’ve been through together, then consider me offended.”
“They’re right Vivi.” Usopp piped up, “Don’t get all distant on us now.”
“And I’m pretty interested in this Warlord…”
“Ah, and now their true feelings are revealed.”
“Dammit, Missy!”
Nami growled.
You and Zoro shut up.
She sighed, turning back to Vivi, “In any case, quit over-thinking this!”
“And of course, everyone except me is being hunted, too.” Sanji chuckled nervously, “That’s just how it is.”
“And if this country is crushed,” Nami’s face darkened, “I won’t get my fee for escorting you here. Understand?”
“Y-yes.”
And in that single word, the cloud over the navigator’s head was gone, “Good, you understand!”
“And now their true feelings are revealed; part two.”
“Yeah, she’s going to Hell.”
“Why thank you (y/n), Zoro. And Zoro, don’t think I haven’t forgotten your debt either.”
He bristled.
“I’ll get it from you,” she sniggered, “even if I’m a ghost!”
“...bitch...”
“Eh, what was that? Couldn’t quite hear you there. Sanji darling, could you hear what he said?”
"HOW DARE YOU CALL THE GORGEOUS NAMI-SWAN SUCH VULGAR NAMES, YOU FILTHY MARIMO!"
Clearing her throat, Vivi quickly laid out her goal to find the rebel base at the Yuba Oasis and stop the rebellion that way.
You raised a hand, “No offence Vivi, but that plan sucks.”
Nami slapped you over the head “It’s a great plan; the hell’re you talking about?!”
“Well that’s easy.” You groaned, rubbing your tender bump, “How do we know how long your ‘friends’ are going to stay there? They’re rebels after all, and only complete idiots would stay in the same place for long.”
Vivi lowered her head, “I know, but I’m willing to take the risks...”
“Not to mention that if Baroque Works is as big as you say it is, and let's face it it's probably bigger, who’s to say that they haven’t got operatives planted in the rebel army, huh? They’d make it impossible to meet with the leader.”
She clenched her fists, “Again, I am fully aware of that-”
“Really? You sure? Because I don’t think that you’re looking at the bigger picture here.”
Usopp gingerly prodded your back, voice warbling, “Uuuh, (y/n)...Keep your voice down...You’re going too far…”
Spinning on your heel, you glared at him, “No, I don’t think I’ve gone nearly ‘far’ enough, actually. There are way too many unknown variables that we just don’t know about. Hell, there could even be operatives placed in the royal arms and the King’s guards. The more the merrier, eh?”
Nami thwacked you again, harder and on the same spot as before, “Show some sensitivity!”
“And what good would that do? Spare someone’s feelings?” You raised your arms casually behind your head, “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in the middle of a civil war.”
She growled, “That’s the entire point, and you’re just trying to make things difficult.”
You laughed disjointedly, “Me? Difficult? I’m the only one here who’s actually experienced infiltrating a country like this, Miss I-Don’t-Care-For-Anything-But-Money, so don’t you tell me that I’m being difficult.”
“Which is precisely why you should calm down and explain yourself to them-”
“I think I’m doing a fantastic job of explaining myself to them, Mello.” Raising your right arm to gesture vaguely at your crew, you raised an eyebrow at the bangle on your left, “We’re planning. Isn’t this how it’s normally done when people plan? By immediately pointing out all the flaws in a suggested plan? It's what we normally did.”
“NO! That was just CP9-I’d thought you’d have realised that by now! Now if you can please just take a deep breath-”
“Fine then,” Vivi snapped her head up and marched towards you, prodding you in the chest, “What do you propose then, Miss Ex-Assassin?”
Tilting your head back, you crossed your arms, “Simple. We go straight for Crocodile. He goes down, entire organisation goes down. Problem. Solved.”
Nodding slowly, Zoro grimaced, “She’s got a point…”
“I’ve actually been thinking that’s the best option for a while now.” Sanji mumbled, rubbing his head in embarrassment, “Apologies, Vivi-chan, but I’m with Miss Mysterious.”
You snorted.
He winked.
"Now's really not the time you two."
Chopper hopped up onto a section of the collapsed wall, “Big Sis (y/n)’s right…That option seems the most efficie-”
“BUT THAT WON’T STOP THE WAR!”
Usopp gaped, “Vivi...”
Pointing a finger in your face, she sharply lent forwards towards your face, “And what happens in wars, Miss ‘Ex’-Assassin? People die. I am not sacrificing a single one of my people for a pointless war; that is my entire reason for spending my time rotting in that horrible organisation. You may be correct-”
“Of course I’m-”
She pulled your face towards hers, “Oh I’m not quite finished! You may be correct in your line of reasoning. But you, as you have been so very kindly keep pointing out to us, were an assassin. Or in other words, a murderer. Your line of reasoning doesn’t care if innocent people get killed. What’s one more to your extensive death toll. And I’m wondering if you really are an ‘ex’-assassin as you say you are, and if you truly regret your actions. You made a promise never to kill again, correct? As much as that is admirable, are you really going to stick to it? Because I think that you’d break that promise without a second thought.”
You grimaced.
“Uh, Vivi…” Usopp stepped in between you, waving his hands frantically, “This is getting out of hand. You don’t know anything about what (y/n)’s been through…”
She shoved him aside without a glance, “From how you’re currently acting, I’d say that mentally you’re returning to your previous profession. Not caring about the blood that gets spilled, as long as the job gets done, is that correct? Luffy's right. You are a true psychopath…Actually, that’d be a compliment for some...someTHING like you.” She turned away, “I know you want people to see you as a person rather than by your actions, but if you don’t respect life, and can talk about ending someone without so much as batting an eye...I don’t see how you possibly could be considered alive, let alone human.”
Breathing heavily, the princess of Alabasta met your gaze with no hesitation.
A pause.
“Is that it?” You barked out an unamused laugh, “Are you quite done telling me that my life’s goal, the entire reason I’m even here right now, is completely pointless and I should just give up already? Because if you’re not finished, please continue and smash the rest of my hopes and dreams to bits.”
Vivi paled, “Oh my gosh I’m so so-”
“‘Oh my gosh I’m so sorry, I had no idea’.” You deflated, smiling softly, “Spare me the lies. Because guess what, you’re absolutely right.”
Zoro frowned, “Missy…”
You raised your arms, shrugging, “It’s as you said...that’s just how I work. I’m no saint y’know. I’m a weapon, it’s literally in the name. And as much as I may have convinced myself otherwise...I guess that’s all I’ll ever be.”
Shoving your hands in your pockets, you stalked past your friends and onto the street, “I’m going to find that restaurant now. I’ll come back when I find Cap, so no one needs to come with me. Go plan without me, obviously I make things a lot more difficult than it needs to be.”
“(y/n)-chan...”
“I said no one, Sanji.” Brushing off his hand, you waved limply over your shoulder, “Just...gimme a bit of time, ‘kay?”
“GAH! Kronos I’m such an idiot.” You whined as you thumped your head on the bar top.
Gulping, the waiter put down your drink and inched away as fast as politeness would let him.
“Now now, it is not your fault.”
You rolled your eyes at the metal bangle, “Yes it is. If I hadn’t just shown a little sense and not gone off on Vivi like that, she wouldn’t hate me right now.”
The metal buzzed, “Oh don’t be foolish, she doesn’t hate you. Everyone knows that you have as much tact as a steel mallet.”
“Okay that was uncalled for.”
“Well someone must have had a rough day to end up talking to themselves.”
Flipping your head to the side, you glared up at the stranger.
“Woah, easy.” He chuckled, holding up his hands as he sank onto the stool next to you, “Just trying to be a good guy, y’know. Geez, it’s like your eyes are lasers or something.” Propping his head on gloved hands, he grinned warmly, “I’d buy you a drink, but I’m pretty certain that I’m going to end up broke in about 5 minutes anyways. That or get chased out of the restaurant...”
You raised an eyebrow, quickly taking in the appearance this weirdly confident stranger. For all you knew, he could be a Baroque Works agent.
He wasn’t from Alabasta, that much was certain by his clothes. The long desert headscarf was nowhere to be seen, leaving short, spiky, unkempt hair fully on display with a long black cord the only thing keeping it out of his face. It was a little strange that his hair colour was similar to yours, if not a little lighter, but you shrugged. It's the Grand Line after all, any possible colour of hair can randomly show up.
Frowning slightly, you sat up from the bar top, “Sorry, but do I know you from somewhere?”
“You know what,” He grinned, rubbing the back of his neck, “I was actually wondering about that myself. I just saw you over here, and I dunno, something in me told me to talk to you.” He winked, “Guess it’s fate, huh?”
A hand thwacked into the back of his head.
“So this is where you’d run off to. Some friend you are, dumbass.”
You gaped as Fire Fist Ace, THE Fire Fist Ace, slumped onto the available stool on your right.
Rubbing his head, Spiky-Hair grimaced, “I seriously thought you were right behind me. Narcolepsy musta kicked in or something...”
Ace rolled his eyes, “Right, I just think that you wanted to at least have a try with the ladies before I entered the room.” He tipped his neon orange cowboy hat discreetly towards you, “I’m really sorry if he disturbed you.” Taking in your appearance, he raised an eyebrow, “Damn you two look similar. You related or something?”
You shook your head shakily, eyes glued to the massive Whitebeard tattoo on his back.
“Nah dude!" You could have sworn the guy flinched, "You know I don’t have a sister.”
“Shame. She’d be the only woman who’d ever actually care for you.”
“Apart from you, obviously. You’re too much of a sissy to be a real man after all.”
You blinked blankly as the two continued to banter on aimlessly over the top of your head, ‘That can’t be Fire Fist can it? Not really. Naaaah...’
“No...it is most certainly Portgas D Ace. The tattoos and the trademark hat makes it undoubtedly Fire Fist.”
‘Right...So how did I get in this situation again?’
“I’m afraid that I have no clue, Missy.”
‘Just checking…’
“Hellooooo,” Someone waved a hand in front of your eyes, “Anyone home in there?”
You grimaced.
“So tetchy,” Spiky-Hair giggled, before jerking his thumb towards his companion, “If you can stand it, I’d actually scoot over this way a bit if I were you. Ace, powerful as he is...really isn’t the tidiest of eaters.”
Eyes boggling at the large array of dishes and the smirk on Ace’s face, you hurriedly moved the stool as far as you could.
The fire user pouted, “I am so not a messy eater.”
“Nah you are,” Spiky-Hair rolled his eyes, “You just don’t realise it.”
Grumbling menacingly, Ace snatched up his cutlery and started to attack his food.
Although he ate fast, you noticed, he still managed to get everything into his mouth. You shrugged, “He’s not that messy. My captain’s way messier”
“Oh you just wait for it,” Spiky-hair held up a finger, stifling giggles.
“Oi, shuddup you dumbass! I said I’m no-”
Thump!
You snorted into your drink.
The sight of Fire Fist Ace face planting into his food mid-speech, arm outstretched to eat another morsel, was enough to drive anyone to fits of laughter, let alone an emotionally unstable ex-assassin.
It worked for Spiky-Hair. Slapping the bar top repetitively, he just howled at the sudden food debris strewn along the counter, “I told you didn’t I?! Such a messy eater!”
“Have to admit, that’s pretty bad,” you giggled, raising an eyebrow, “he’s so quiet though... And what’s with his arm”
Everyone else in the Spice Bean quickly backed away from the limp body. The chef hurried forwards gingerly to tap you and Spiky on the arm, “You do realise that your friend here may have unwittingly eaten a type of spider called the Desert Strawberry. It’s a poisonous breed of spider which resembles a strawberry. If you happen to eat one, you’ll just suddenly die a few days later.”
You rolled your eyes, taking a grateful sip of your drink. Alabastan alcohol wasn’t that bad, if not a little dry. And quite frankly, it’s just what you needed.
“Eh, just give him a bit,” Spiky droned impassively, swiping Ace’s glass and downing the entire contents. “Sweeeet, that hit the spot! But the dude’s tired, just let him rest.” Whistling to himself, he slid one of the many plates of food in front of his friend towards him, “I’m actually going to get to eat something for once! Score!”
The chef blinked, “Well, that’s the problem, your friend is at the point of eternal slumber.” He took off his hat, holding it to his chest, “I am so sorry for your loss, but I recommend the two of you vacate the premises immediately...Now that he has passed, the Desert Strawberry’s highly contagious poison will spread from the corpse, immediately affecting anyone in close proximity...”
“How the hell is he keeping this thing upright?” You flicked Ace’s arm experimentally, curious to see whether it would flop to the side.
As soon as your finger touched his arm, everything went blurry. You gripped the bartop as hard as you could to stop yourself from keeling over backwards. For a split second, all you could hear was screaming, sobbing and an animalistic guttural wail before a burning sensation erupted in your chest and…
It stopped.
Gulping, the poor chef stumbled off, complaining shrilly about ‘the common sense of tourists’.
Someone prodded your back.
Breathing heavily, you wiped the cold sweat off your brow, glancing gingerly to the side.
“You alright?” Spiky drew back his hand hurriedly, his face strangely pensive.
You nodded slowly, reaching for where the fiery heat had burned through your chest.
‘The hell was that Mello…’
“I think you know as well as I, Missy.”
Ace took this very opportune moment to abruptly sit bolt upright once more.
“HE CAME BACK TO LIFE!”
“HE PASSED THE TOXINS OVER TO THE GIRL!”
“Wait...can he do that…?”
Spiky rolled his eyes sarcastically as Ace blinked the last bits of sleep away.
A serving girl cautiously stumbled closer, making sure to avoid you as best she could.
Ace slowly turned to face her as she got closer.
“A-are you okay?”
She shrieked as he simply picked up her skirts to wipe the remnants of food from his face.
“Man…Damn...” Cocking his head towards Spiky, he shovelled another mouthful of food into his mouth as if none of that had ever happened, “Yo Cas, I fell asleep again, didn’ I…”
“Yup. Like a baby.”
“YOU FELL ASLEEEEP!?”
“T-that’s not possible! In the middle of a meal and conversation!?”
“And he just starts chewing again…”
“Oi!” Spiky-Hair-now-known-as-Cas glared back at them, “The guy’s narcoleptic, alright? Knock it off, this woman is actually in tro-”
“I’m fine.” You grinned, massaging your temples as you eyed Fire-Fist warily, “Just...got a little scare is all.”
Cas’ eyes narrowed as the crowd grumpily dispersed, “That was a pretty intense reaction for ‘just a little scare’.”
“Huh? Are you alright, miss?” Ace glared at Cas, “You didn’t do anything funny when I was asleep, did you dumbass…”
“Oh please, everything I do is funny.”
Ace narrowed his eyes, still shovelling food into his mouth at an alarming rate.
“It wasn’t his fault.” You giggled, motioning to the chef for another glass of whatever, “As I said, just a little scare.”
“And I’m still calling bull!” Cas pushed back his empty plate.
‘Hang on. When did he eat that?’
“If he has to compete with that fiery powerhouse, I’m truly not surprised.”
“Aaah!”
True to Mello’s word, Ace dropped his cutlery down onto his amazingly large pile of empty plates.
He groaned, leaning back with his arms behind his head, “I’m full! Oh,” His eyes widened as he bought a sheet of yellowing paper out of his pack and placed it in front of you, “This guy hasn’t come to this town, has he?”
You blinked.
“A pirate wearin’ a straw hat...you seen him?”
‘That’s Cap…’
“Congratulations for stating the obvious, Missy.”
‘No but I mean, what do they want with Luffy?’ Your brow furrowed, ‘This could end badly.’
“I guess you don’t have a problem with eating in public.” A very familiar voice droned, “Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Second Division. Portgas D. Ace.”
You almost spat out your drink, letting your head thump down onto the counter.
Thump.
Hurried murmurs rippled through the bar.
Thump.
“As per usual, you’ve got your right hand man, ‘Dreamweaver’ Caspar, with you.” Smoker continued, “What business do infamous pirates like you have in this country?”
Thum-‘Hang on a second, did he say Caspar?’
Your jaw dropped.
Whipping your head up, you stared at Spiky. Now that you thought about it, Ace did have a point earlier, the two of you really did look similar. And the black cord through his hair…‘Oh Kronos I’m such an idiot.’
“No..I can confidently say we could not have seen this one coming…”
‘Hang on...he said he didn’t have a sister though…’
A familiar tendril of smoke twirled around your face.
You giggled nervously as you turned on your stool, “Oh hiya...Smokey…Fancy seeing you here.”
Smoker growled, “I see you got rid of your tattoo again. What are you doing here Missy?”
“Eh,” You shrugged, trying your hardest to calm your nerves. This was bad. This was so so bad. “They have good booze here. And the company’s not bad.”
Ace smirked, dipping his hat.
“M-Missy…?!” Caspar raised a shaky finger at Smoker, “You called her Missy, yeah? Not, like...y’know...THE Mis-”
You stared at him, "So it really is you..."
“Her name is Missy Sai, deadly assassin.” Smoker pinched his nose in disdain, “I won’t ask you again, (y/n). What. Are. You. Doing. Here.”
Caspar giggled nervously, and boy was that sound familiar now you’d made the connection, “Aaaaace...”
“‘sup?”
“Sooo...you know we came here to find your little brother…”
“Woah woah woah,” Waving your hands hurriedly, you snapped your head towards Ace, “Luffy, have I got that right, Luffy...is your little brother?!”
His face lit up, “You know him?! Where is he?! How’s he doing?! Has he got a crew yet?!”
“Woah woah woah,” Caspar mimicked your action, staring incredulously at you the entire time, “I know you’re excited and everything dude, but for Kronos’ sake let me say this dammit!”
Ace stopped his babbling to glare at him, “Yeah? Then spit it out already! This is the closest I've ever got to hearing about my adorable little brother in years!”
Caspar sucked in a tired breath, “So you know we came here to find your little brother, yeah?”
“Yeah. So what?”
“Weeell...We may have accidentally found my little sister instead…”