Finding Myself (One Piece Fanfic)

Chapter 12- A New Adventure Awaits!

I don't own One Piece.

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It amazed me how Nami was able to direct us out of the castle. Perhaps she had managed to find some map. Then again, she was a navigator like Mamoru, maybe they had special navigating powers? I made perfect sense to me.

While we were on out way out, we managed to run into the crew that had split up. Robin had a few scratches on her, but otherwise she appeared fine. It appeared the only one injured was Nami, which was my fault.

Zoro appeared bored with his fight, though that wasn't much of a surprise. Zoro had a bounty of 120 million for a good reason.

I looked at Robin, wondering who the guy beside her was. His white hair was grown out a little, looking rather messy. His light blue eyes had a spark of hope in them. The white shirts long sleeves were flared at the end, and appeared ripped and stained with dirt. Resting on his shoulders was a royal purple cloak, which also appeared dirty.

"Ne, Robin," I finally asked, "Who's that guy?"

With me asking, it caught my crews attention. However, Robin didn't need to answer as the man smiled at me.

"How rude of me, I should have introduced myself." He took my hand and brought it to his lips to kiss, making me blink. "I'm Nicolas, prince of this kingdom. It's thanks to you pirates that we're saved and I regained my voice."

Wrinkling my nose, I snatched my hand away from him with narrowed eyes. The hand kissing was a Sanji move, was this prince a pervert as well? Luffy, who stood beside me, grinned. "We only did it because of some kid. And they picked a fight with my crew."

As we approached the entrance, Nicolas's eyes bugged out of his head as he screamed. "What happened the the gates?!"

"Zoro cut them down, they got in the way." Luffy responded.

Nicolas twitched, his hand resting on the wooden gate that had been cut down. "This gate stood for hundreds of years. All the way back to when we first established our kingdom, it was built by the whole kingdom. Everyone  had a part in helping build it... Now, it's just gone."

I shrugged, "Oh well. It's your fault for not having an army strong enough to protect you from weak pirates." He sagged down at my words, which resulted with a hit to my head. I cursed, glaring at Nami as I rubbed my head.

"What was that for, Nami?!" I shouted.

"Apologize!" She ordered, "He's already upset, and doesn't need you  making him feel worse!"

I puffed out my cheeks, "It's true though."

Nicolas waved his hand, a small smile on his face. "It's fine, really! She has a point. Honestly,I had just been focused on other things that I abandoned defence."

"Stupid," I muttered, only to receive another hit from Nami. "Stop doing that!" I growled, "Let's just get you to Chopper."

Listening to me, Nami followed after our crew. The prince paused, having his attention brought to the kingdom. The vibrant colorful houses didn't reflect upon the pain they had gone through the past year, though now it matched the loud cheers and joyful voices. Though I could see a look of relief on his face, there was also a look of mourning.

"So, I'm guessing you're no longer a prince." I muttered, pausing a moment. I didn't look towards the prince as he glanced at me, instead I watched my crew walk away.

"No, I guess not." He whispered. "I... I wasn't even the next in line, my sister..."

"Well." I interrupted, not liking the strange sting I felt at the mention of a sibling. It made me feel like I was missing someone, someone who I can't remember. "They gave their lives for the kingdom, trusting it to you. I don't need to hear your story, so don't bother." I glanced at Nicolas now, a small smile formed on my face. "It's up to you to protect what they left behind. Build a better army, and don't let any wimpy pirates try to take it away from you."