I do not own One Piece
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3RD POV
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The best word Katsu could use to describe this island they were approaching was simple, unimpressed. She wasn't sure if it was simply because this island comes after the ever exciting Fishman island, or the traumatizing Punk Hazard. Never-the-less, nothing about the island in front of her stood out.
At most it resembled the island she had grown up on as a child. Which, considering they were in the New World, she found that a bit disappointing.
Normal cottage styled homes and buildings filled the village. The port was filled with open market styled shops, which seemed to bustle with life. Towards the back of the village surrounded by free roaming livestock were tall windmills.
A few ships were docked at the island. One which she recognized as a normal fishing ship, the other seemed to be a visitor. No jolly roger nor marine symbol marked the ship. Instead it was painted a rich royal purple with gold trimmings and the head mast was a hand carved owl. It was a beautiful ship, which Katsu was certain must be a merchant ship.
A sigh escaped her as the crew was slowly starting to gather up on the deck. Nami was assigning the pairs while handing out the allowance and giving instructions. However, when they started bickering about a comment made from Luffy, Katsu rolled her eyes and jumped off the ship.
She hopped on the air once before landing softly on the wooden port of the island. They wouldn't be angry if she went ahead, so long as she doesn't cause trouble. Besides that, she has her own stash of money that she had hidden on the ship. Selling paintings as Mitsu and traveling with the worlds best artist didn't come with no rewards. It was easy for Katsu to state she had more than enough money now.
Katsu was surprised Nami hasn't sniffed out the money already. Perhaps more surprised than the the fact she can locate the money on the ship repeatedly. She just hoped nobody else looked for the small landmarks she had placed around the ship.
Looking around the port, Katsu scanned through the opened shops before shrugging and walking towards the closest one. Katsu locked eyes with a plump young woman was arranging the stacks of fruit on the stand. When she smiled warmly at Katsu, she decided to approach her.
"I see you just docked on our small island," The woman greeted, her cheeks showing an indent as her dimples appeared on her face. "We don't get too many visitors here, far too close to those bigger cities."
"Oh, like Dressrosa?" Katsu attempted to keep the conversation going, her eyes narrowing down on the stacks of oranges. "Can I get some of those please?"
"Sure thing!" The woman nodded and reached around to grab a bag. "I suppose we're not too far from Dressrosa, but I was talking about the Kingdom of Purpura. Though either one still require some travel time, we see more travelers from Purpura. How many oranges do you want?"
She couldn't say all of them. Right?
"Seven." Katsu answered. Surely Sanji would stock up on oranges. "Do you know where an art supply shop is?"
"Seven, gotcha." The woman nodded and began to place the oranges in a bag. "Just go all the way down this street, and at the very end you'll see a big colorful sign. You're quite lucky, we've got a great art supply shop here. I believe they said they studied on some fancy art island for a while, don't know why they decided to just sell art supplies in the end though. You need to look at the color dyes. They actually go to the Kingdom of Purpura on occasion and get the expensive ones."
Handing over the money, Katsu offered a smile. "I guess that place has some good dyes?"
"Ohh!" The woman nodded, "The best in the world! If you get the chance, you should look into it. I'm no artist, but even I can appreciate the color on those dyes!"
"Noted," Katsu nodded, "Thanks!"
Turning in the direction the woman had pointed to Katsu began to walk. Shoving her hand in the bag of oranges, she pulled one out and bit into it. She swiped the back of her hand across her chin as juice ran down her mouth.
"Ma'am! It's the other way!"
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Katsu admitted that directions didn't make sense to her. Both with navigational skills as well as simply following rules. Nevertheless, she typically always found her way. Even if it likely took a little longer than necessary.
While she felt as if she had made it here in record time, her excitement towards her faster than average timing quickly switched towards the store in front of her. The sign hanging over the art store had a symbol in the corner which Katsu instantly recognized as a secret logo of Artist Haven.
Whoever owned this store was from there.
Opening the wooden door Katsu found herself grinning as she instantly recognized the supplies that stocked the shelves. All of which were unique to Artist Haven and quite difficult to get a hold of unless you have direct access to the island.
"Welcome!"
She paused, her smile dropping for a moment as her ears recognized the voice. Looking in the direction she blinked. The woman in question paused as well as both took a moment to process.
It took Katsu a fraction of a second to take in the details of the woman. Her dark emerald hair was shorter than the last time they had seen each other, clearly having been chopped off to give her a pixie cut which framed her face perfectly. Katsu was nearly certain the woman had grown taller as well, given she now stood nearly a foot and a half taller than her and Katsu was certain she herself had not shrunk within the last year.
"Katsu?"
"Holy shit!" Katsu grinned, pointing at the woman. "Tsubasa!"
The woman smiled instantly, opening her arms as she walked towards Katsu. "Jeez kid, I never thought I'd see you here of all places!"
Katsu welcomed the greeting hug for a moment before the woman instantly pulled her away and narrowed her eyes at her. "You lost weight. Why do you look like you've been dragged through the underworld?"
Tsubasa was another upcoming artist that Katsu had the chance to meet and befriend while on the island. However, in the end the woman had not been able to perfect her techniques and had instead decided to leave the island.
Katsu's face was turned side to side as Tsubasa analyzed her. "You're not sleeping well either. Last time you looked this bad it was because Arisu was keeping you up for days on end." She paused, then looked back at the door with an excited look. "Is Arisu here?"
"I'm fine, and I haven't lost that much weight." Katsu answered, though she didn't want to comment on the fact she had lost more than she was already comfortable talking about. She needed to start eating more protein, especially if she wanted to keep her muscles that she had worked so hard on. "The past couple of weeks have been a bit rough, but my crew is helping me through it all. I'm sleeping far better than I was with Arisu, trust me on that. Also, no she is not here. I'm here with my pirate crew, the Straw Hats."
Tsubasa had a tendency to ask a lot of questions at once.
Her smile dropped for a moment before she looked back at Katsu with wide eyes. "Your pirate crew?! Really? You made it back to them?"
A smile crept up on Katsu's face as she nodded, "Yeah. They're even stronger than before too."
"You have to have them stop by the shop! I'd love to get to meet them!" Tsubasa grinned, not noticing that Katsu was slowly removing Tsubasa's hands from around her face.
"I'll be sure to do that. But I want to get some stuff first." Katsu nodded, "I doubt I'll be able to get any other supplies as good as these for awhile."
"Oh! Yes! You also need to get some of these fabric dyes! They're the best in the world." Tsubasa turned around and rushed towards the back. "I'll be sure to hook you up, besides I'm expecting another shipment of supplies soon."
Katsu couldn't believe her luck. It was certainly perfect that the crew had landed on this island before heading over to Dressrosa.
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"I don't think I can carry all of this back to the ship myself." Katsu mumbled, tapping her cheek as she looked at the crates they had put together. The supplies should last her at least half a year before she needs to get more.
Tsubasa was kind enough to give her a discount on top of everything and threw in some of the dyes she had mentioned. While she didn't give Katsu a bunch of dyes, Katsu was still grateful for it. Especially after learning Tsubasa has to travel to the Kingdom herself in order to get the products.
"Can you hold it here for a bit? I'll see if I can get some of my crew here to pick it up."
The woman nodded, "Of course. I'll see you later then!"
Waving at the woman Katsu began walking back in the direction of the other houses. The shop was at the very end of the street, which made it the last building before it was filled with fields. It made navigating somewhat easier for Katsu, since all she had to do was follow the houses.
"Mr. Husband likely won't mind picking up the crates and getting them to the ship." Katsu mumbled, reaching down in the bag for the last orange. "It would go faster if Mr. Hottie helped though."
The shift in the air felt electric as I instantly stopped. My toes curled into the cobblestone path as I looked up to see narrowed red eyes. Chewing the orange I stayed silent as I took in the woman in front of me.
Her back was pin straight as were her arms that rested to her sides, yet she appeared as if she was relaxed. She looked prepared to fight, yet was assured that there wasn't going to be physical conflict. While she has yet to act out physically, I could sense the need to not move.
Her clothing clung tightly to her, not a single wrinkle out of place. While her hair wasn't perfectly in place, the ends curling and giving more of a freed look, I could see it was styled to be as such. The small braid that rested just at her shoulder was the longest strand of hair on her head. A bronze owl pin rested on the corner of her shirt. A leather belt rested at her waist, the leather etched with intricate vine like designs and a holster carried a pistol. Another belt rested across her torso, holding a large axe to her back. Katsu recognized the owl symbol as the same symbol she had seen on the ship at the dock.
The woman's red eyes were narrowed on Katsu as she appeared to take in Katsu's appearance as well. It took a moment for expression to fill the woman's expressionless face and when it did all Katsu received with a curled lip of disgust.
"Oi, move." Katsu finally said, wiping the juice of the orange from the corner of her lip. She didn't dare take another step until the woman moved out of the way. Her observation haki ringing in the back of her head like warning sirens.
"Mitsu, correct?" The woman stated, her voice as firm and steady as her appearance. Katsu recognized the tone from the woman, she wasn't asking.
An unsettled feeling bubbled in Katsu's stomach as she realized her birth name had been mentioned.
"Katsu, actually." Katsu felt herself stiffen as she felt someone else approach. She was nearly sure it was Usopp. Leaning forward, Katsu took a step forward, hoping to walk past the woman. "Sorry to disappoint."
However, she quickly stopped, moving her head back an inch as the woman's arm swung out. The large axe now in her hand with the blade facing down towards the ground. Had Katsu not moved the inch she would have been cut.
Katsu's eyes shifted back towards the woman, now just as narrowed as the woman's. The wind around them shifted as Katsu readied to fight.
"I wasn't asking, Mitsu." The woman responded, her short white hair swaying in the wind. "You look a lot like your twin, Sato. Though I suppose you're less intelligent."
Katsu's eyes widened as a chill traveled up her spine. She had gained Katsu's full attention now. As far as she was aware, the government had yet to realize Sato and her were twins. At the very least, the information that the government was aware was yet to be released.
However, it has easily been almost a month since Katsu has heard from Sato. Considering he tries to call every other day, or at least weekly, Katsu has been worrying about him.
By now Katsu could see Usopp walking towards them, his eyes narrowed as he realized the woman in front of Katsu was holding an axe. Thankfully, he slowed his pace and turned down an alley to watch from a distance.
Rather, Katsu mused to herself, the sniper was hiding down the alley as he didn't want to get dragged into a fight.
"Twin?" Katsu rose an eyebrow, pulling a smirk on her face. She was pulling the woman's bluff. "You're pretty damn crazy if you think I have a twin in the first place. I mean, I don't think the world could handle two of these." She moved her hand motioning to herself up and down with a shrug.
Katsu thought about the irony of the statement. Sure, she was lying now, but a few years ago she would have said the same thing and thought the truth of it.
"So you don't mind if I go ahead and give the call the execute him then?" A cruel smile formed om the woman's face as she pulled up a transponder snail in her free hand.
Katsu almost flinched at the thought. She was certain this had to be a bluff. There was absolutely zero chance of Sato having been captured. Shanks would have mentioned something to her by now if that was the case. If not her Uncle, then surely Makoto would have contacted her.
Besides that, Katsu knew Sato wasn't weak. He was strong enough to be able to avoid any fate like that. The government couldn't have gotten a hold of him that easily.
Though that didn't stop the reminder of what happened in Marineford.
"Chikao." Katsu's eyes snapped back to the woman, who had yet to break her cruel stare. Her smirk widened. "Are you with our dear Sato?"
"Yes. He's being a bit difficult." A man's voice grunted through the transponder snail. "Though I suppose that's to be expected."
"Sato, dear, what's your sister's name again?" The woman called out, her voice raising mockingly as she kept eye contact. "Mitsu, correct?"
"Shut up!" Katsu's eyes widened as she felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach and she felt as if the air in her lungs had been forced out at the voice of her brother. "You don't get to say her name!"
"Sato..." Katsu found herself whispering as she felt her stomach knot up. Sato had been captured. Her brother. She needed to tell Shanks.
The woman hummed for a moment, seeing the reaction from Katsu. "Chikao, go ahead and finish him off."
"Of course-"
"Stop!" Katsu instantly growled out, the air around them picking up. "What the fuck do you want?!"
"Mitsu?!" Sato's voice cried out from the snail, the eyes of the snail going wide as panic became clear on the snail's face. "Shit! Run! Don-"
The woman hung up mid way through Sato's yelling. "Well, there's all the proof I need, bastard liar." She pocketed the snail. "If you want to give your brother a fighting chance to live, you'll come along."
Katsu glanced up towards the alley that she had seen saw Usopp go into. He made eye contact with her and shook his head. She glanced back at the ground, letting out a sigh. At the very least, she knew her crew would know the reason for her disappearance.
"Fine." Katsu bit out. "Why is the government so interested in my twin anyway?"
She held up a hand before Katsu could take another step towards her. "First, drop your bag and weapons." She ordered, shifting her axe to point towards Katsu.
"I'm leaving with you willingly-"
"Yes, but you're a bastard liar, and a pirate." She continued, "Now drop it or I'll call back and have them finish the order."
Katsu's glare hardened as she clenched her hands for a moment before she roughly grabbed her fans from her belt and bent down to placed them on the ground. Her fingernails dug into the dirt for a quick moment. She stood back up and took her bag off of her shoulder before plopping it down beside her fans. Reaching down she opened the bag.
"Close it. You take nothing."
Katsu froze, her grip tightening on the bag for a moment. She sketch book was inside her bag.
Closing it she looked back up for a moment. Her eyes locked with Usopp's for a moment. His eyes were wide with fear and worry, and Katsu knew he had heard the conversation. She looked back down at the bags then back to him before standing up. She only hoped he understood her silent plea.
The woman didn't react to Katsu's strange behavior, assuming the pirate was insane. "Good." She nodded and turned to the side. "Do anything stupid, and it'll cost you your twin's life."
"Understood." Katsu huffed, her hands tightening into a fist.
She looked Katsu up and down once more. "First thing to be done is change you. You're no where near presentable." She rolled her eyes, nodding for Katsu to start walking. "Italias-sama won't allow such filth, and to show such ugly," She shot a disgusted look towards Katsu's exposed stomach, "scars. Your clothing must be different, and you must have shoes."
"Oh no, I don't do shoes." Katsu shook her head, catching a glimpse of Usopp running down the street to grab the things she had been forced to leave.
"You do now." The woman stated, "Unless you wish for your twin to have no need for shoes."
Katsu bit the inside of her cheek as she felt the need to threaten the woman who had just threatened to cut off her brother's feet. There was one thing Katsu was certain of.
She could not afford to piss off this woman.
For now, Katsu needed to get to her brother. Then she would worry about getting back to her crew. She just hoped they would understand.
"I'll be generous enough to answer that other question you asked earlier." The woman started, not bothering to look towards Katsu. "I'm not affiliated with the world government."
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End of Chapter 103!
Two chapters out today!
I'd love to hear ideas everyone has on what is to come!
Also, I'm taking a little liberty with this being a fanfic to manipulate the time frame a little. I'm not completely certain how long it took the Strawhats to get from Punk Hazard to Dressrosa, but I feel like it shouldn't have taken a day or two. So, with it in mind that this is a fanfic, I've extended the time frame. I hope that doesn't upset anyone. After looking at the events that have happened in the New World, this seemed like the only time I'd be able to fit in Katsu's arc and keep the overall flow of the story, especially considering I want the whole crew present AND I don't want to keep everyone waiting ages more for Katsu's Arc.
That does mean, sadly, Katsu is about to experience a lot more trauma very closely after Punk Hazard...
This is not edited.