Finding Myself (One Piece Fanfic)

Chapter 48: Devil Fruit Development

She nodded, "Yeah. He turned gray way before me."

I frowned, blinking at the woman. Sure, I knew that Mamoru occasionally dyed his hair. He claimed he was a little salt and pepper and he wanted it to match. However, if what Arisu is saying is true...

"Mamoru dyes his hair regularly." I muttered, blinking as I looked from the ground to Arisu who had an amused smirk on her face. "Now that I think of it, I think I'm the only one that knows that. That only being because I caught him one time."

"He always did have a complex about becoming old." Arisu hummed in amusement, a twinkle in her eyes.

Then, I was knocked off the couch, an object hitting me in the head.

For a good minute, I just laid on the ground in defeat. The cool wood felt nice to my face, especially the spot that had been hit. Looking up from the ground, I looked at the object that rolled away from me. The one that had hit my face. It was one of the squeeze bottles Arisu had been holding.

"Why do you abuse me so much?" I sighed, still not bothering to stand up from the ground. At least I wasn't a few feet under this time.

Hearing her footsteps I assumed she was walking away now. "Your fault." Was all she said.

I need to get better at dodging.

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There's a few things I've become accustomed to. Having Arisu completely tear down my artwork, then build it back up with compliments and constructive critique. I've grown used to the sneak attacks. For the most part. Even the ones that wake me up in the middle of the night, I've learned not to be a deep sleeper anymore. The constant music was easy for me to get used to. I actually suspect that it'll be even easier to sleep when I'm back with my noisy crew.

So when Kenji showed up outside Arisu's front door, I wasn't surprised. He came here everyday and asked to be her student.

And everyday she flat out denied him.

Today wasn't any different.

When the rather short, bald man greeted me this morning, all I could manage was a yawn. Kanji, simply put, wasn't the best looking exterior wise. He was quite short, standing barley at five feet, and his head reminded me of an egg. His lips were far too large for his face, and his nose far too small. The man's eyes were large and round shape, and his skin was a pale as paper. Though none of that mattered once you got to know him.

Kenji is the sweetest person I know.

Even when his dreams were crushed once he learned Arisu began teaching me, he didn't once show a shed of anything but happiness for me. He wasn't the least bit angry that Arisu had taken me as a student, if anything he was thrilled. If anything, it appeared as if it increased his determination to become her student.

However, it did confuse me as to why Arisu didn't take Kenji as her student. His sculptures were incredible, no doubt better than when I tried to make sculptures. He traveled all the way from a small town in the east blue to study under her.

That was another thing I didn't understand. Kenji had absolutely no fighting skills, yet he had managed to make it to the Artist Haven completely by himself on a tiny boat. He was the best example of someone who has perfect luck, it makes me wonder if the man ate a special lucky devil fruit.

"Good Morning Katsu!" Kenji smiled at me, calmly waiting for Arisu. "It's going to be bright and sunny today, so make sure you wear sunblock!"

I tiredly rubbed my eyes, dark bags lingering under them. Arisu had planned two sneak attacks on me last night, so I feel like I've had zero sleep.

Yawning loudly, I stretched my arms over my head. "Good morning Kenji." I managed to say before snapping my mouth shut.

He blinked at me, then nodded in understanding. "Arisu-sama kept you up all night." I nodded in a silent answer. "Well I'm sure one of the cafe's are open, you can probably grab some coffee before training."

One weird thing about Kenji was his voice. Given his appearance, one would expect the man to have a high pitch voice. Rather Kenji has a deep, masculine voice. It was actually so deep and silky smooth that he had been approached many times by the actors to do voice overs. Being the sweet person he is, Kenji agrees and takes time out of his schedule to help them when needed.

I had found it humorous when I was younger. It had resulted in Mamoru smacking me for snickering and Yume scolding me.

"Or orange juice," He corrected after a moment.

Immediately I perked up a little, "Ohh, that sounds nice." I smiled, nodding slowly.

"You better be more awake than that during training." I jumped, looking behind me to see Arisu staring at me with that famous family scowl. "You'll make it six feet under dragging ass like that."

I knew she was trying to bury me!

"Oh! Arisu-sama!" I turned to look at Kenji. His cheeks had turned a bright shade of red as he straightened his posture. "Please take me as your student!" Then, keeping his back straight, he bowed performing a perfect 90 degree angle.

Arisu walked past us, her scowl still on her face. "No." She deadpanned, not slowing to look at me.

Kenji stood up again and smiled, raising his hand to wave at Arisu. "Okay, Arisu-sama! I apologize for the inconvenience! Have a wonderful day, and if you change your mind-"

"I won't." She answered back, though Kenji didn't deflate. "Katsu, come one. There's no time for you to get coffee or whatever."

I smiled at the short man. "Bye, Kenji. We still on for dinner tonight?"

Every Saturday Kenji, Arisu, and I have dinner. None of us could cook, and I was flat out banned from the kitchen, so we typically picked a random restaurant. It had started off as just Arisu and I, and later I had invited Kenji to join us. So far Arisu hadn't banned him, so I'm assuming it's fine.

"Oh!" Once again his cheeks flushed a bright red. "Actually, I have a date tonight."

I blinked, then grinned. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"I can't say yet." Kenji shook his head, his eyes squeezing shut in embarrassment. "It's only our second date! And until he's ready to say what we are I don't want to say anything."

I nodded, then patted his shoulder. "Well, good luck!"

"You little shit!" I winced, quickly running towards Arisu.

"Good luck to you as well! I'll bring some Orange Juice by for your training later!" Kenji shouted back, waving at me.

If only Kenji weren't gay, I would probably just have to marry him.

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End of Chapter 48!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving guys! Everyone in the U.S. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I myself have baked so many pies the last few days that I'm sick of looking at them!

Anyway, so here's a new character. Thoughts on Kenji? Personally, I absolutely adore this little cinnamon roll, and Katsu will protect him with her life.

Thoughts on Katsu's training? Her wind had gotten stronger, though I don't know if it was noticeable.... You'll see more things in chapters to come.

This is not edited.