I do not own one piece
Trigger Warning!
Abusive Family, Mental Abuse, Starvation, Physical Abuse
Please be on the lookout for these trigger warnings. During this arc there will be a lot of trigger warnings, but there will be chapters updated without any trigger warnings, those chapters will likely involve the rest of the Straw Hats. However, should you not want to chance reading over something that would be triggering, Chapter 121 will be when we finally get around to the Straw Hats meeting back with Katsu. I want to make sure that everyone can still have a good reading experience, so please do pass over these chapters if you do think they may become mentally painful for you. And if there is an instance where I missed a trigger warning in a chapter that does need one, please do not hesitate to comment for me so I may fix it!
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I winced, my hands digging into the metal choker around my neck. Any energy I had was gone, as well as my devil fruit abilities. The metal lock sealing the choker rattled as I tried to loosen the thick cuff choker around my throat.
"Bitches." I growled quietly, collapsing onto the bed in the room I was placed in.
I'll consider my luck slightly better than normal, considering we didn't run into any other of my crew members. Likelihood is things would have gotten messy if it wasn't just Usopp that had seen my encounter. Though the woman did seem prepared to avoid the Sunny, considering we had taken some other route that lead to the owl ship resting along a river.
Unfortunately that did not come as comforting as I thought it would, considering she also knew well who my crew was. There were two options of who these people were. Either the government, though why they would try to single out just me or why they would hold Sato over me as blackmail made no sense. However, if it was the family that Shanks and Sato made clear I need to stay out of and be in the dark with, it would make more sense.
Now that poses another question, what kind of people is my family made out of?
I had expected to be thrown in a cell. However, they had forced me to shower as soon as I boarded the large ship. I didn't mind that as much, but I still found it insulting. After I had showered, which only consisted of ice cold water, they had given me a change of clothes and shoved me in this room.
The room was bare, with nothing but a bed in the middle. No windows either. While it was certainly better than a cell, it held the same feeling. Especially since they placed the sea prism choker on my neck.
The choker had been a nasty surprise. As soon as I had walked out of the bathroom I was shoved to the wall and it was placed on my neck then dead bolted. It had all happened in a second, and I couldn't get my barrings straight enough before I felt my energy drain.
It was embarrassing.
Arisu would have been disappointed. Hell, I was disappointed and angry.
No longer did I have my weapons, and no longer did I have access to my devil fruit. Sure, I can still use haki and fight back, but even that drains me. With the sea prism already draining me, I don't think I'll be able to really hold my haki for long.
Besides that, I can't overstep my boundaries. Sato's life is at stake, and I was not going to chance anything. I have to be on my best behavior, which is going to be nearly impossible for me. I have always been bad at following rules.
However, until I'm standing beside him I'll just have to do what they say. If they want me to wear this sea prism cuff, I'll wear one without complaint. They want me to wear some stupid robe like clothes, I'll wear them. They want me to wear shoes, I'll wear shoes and hate every second of it.
So long as Sato is okay.
The metal door to my room opened, making me lift my head only to drop it back down on the pillow. It was that white haired woman again.
"I believe I need to lay down the rules." She said, stepping in and shutting the door. A faint click on the other side alerted me that it was locked. "First, when someone higher ranking than you speaks, you pay close attention. But never make eye contact. They are higher than you, you don't deserve to look them in the eye. Punishment for that varies, going from a week without food, to a simple slap of correction."
I narrowed my eyebrows, pulling myself up with my arms to look at her. "And who would that be?" There was only one person I considered 'higher ranking', though it's more like I respected him the most. That person being my Captain. However, Luffy would be upset if I didn't look him in the eye just because I believed he was higher ranking.
Also, when the hell did withholding food become a punishment?
"Until your Coming of Age ceremony, and you've completed all of your lessons, almost all of the guards and of course King Italius, Princess Ayami, and Tatsu-sama. Especially no eye contact will be made with those three I have mentioned. Even after you pass the Coming of Age. You will always be lower than them. You must remember the bastard pirate blood that runs through you making you inferior to them." The woman answered, making sure to put more emphasis on the word 'always'. "Rule two, you do not speak unless spoken to. Until you officially learn your title, you have no opinions and absolutely no say. To make sure this is very clear, your punishment will be handed to Sato."
My grip tightened on the sheets under me. That was going to be hard, and already I wanted to call out that rule.
What kind of stupid shit is this?
"Rule three, your appearance must always be nothing short of perfect. It reflects badly upon the royal family if they are seen dirty, with torn clothes, a rude mouth, or anything messy." She wrinkled her nose at me. "You'll likely have a problem with that one in general, considering you're far from perfect. However your appearance can perhaps be masked with make-up, and you'll learn to keep clean. Punishments include a beating, or loss of food privileges."
So now food is a privilege? Last I checked it was a necessity.
It was then that I realized just what she had said. Royal family? Sato absolutely never mentioned we had ties to any type of Royal family.
"Rule four. Until further notice I am in charge of you. Therefore, you follow every order I give you. That also translates to, I am higher ranking than you." She stated, watching as my eyes narrowed more. "Even an idiotic ex-pirate should be able to follow these simple orders. Especially considering how low you were in the crew status."
"Ex-pirate?" I glared, standing up quickly and ignoring the wave of dizziness that hit me. Gripping the material on my shoulder, I yanked it down to show my tattoo that covered the brand. "I believe I'm still a pirate. I will always be a pirate. I will always be a Straw Hat."
For the moment I was going to ignore the insult she threw at me regarding 'crew status'. Luffy never made any of us feel inferior to each other. He saw all of us as equals. We were nakama.
I could feel the attack coming, but I wasn't fast enough to dodge it, my moves more sluggish. My head snapped to the side and my body flew into the wall with a crash. This was also the moment I realized the wall was also made of metal. Stinging, throbbing pain shot through my face.
"I see you're as dumb as your father. Let's hope your skills make up for that." She glared at me, wiping her hands on the neckerchief she kept in her pocket as if just touching me dirtied her. "Clearly you've forgotten rule two, Sato will lose food privileges for a week. I hope he survives another week, it's already been a month since he has been allowed anything. And no, you're no longer a pirate. It would reflect badly on your family. As a matter of fact, we'll have to cover up that disgusting mark on your shoulder."
I stood back up, recovered from the hit. Though I wanted nothing more than to attack the woman in front of me. My hands balled into fists and were starting to coat themselves in haki.
"Ah, ah." She smirked, "If you want Sato to live, you'll use that dumb head of yours. I understand it might be hard to do such, considering your low intelligence." She watched as my fist tightened then released, as did the haki. "Good. Maybe you'll learn quicker."
With a twist on the balls of her feet, she walked to the door. Her hands landing on the doorknob before she paused. "Since you need to learn your place, and bring back this wild spirit of yours, you'll go the rest of the trip without food. You need to see that you're no longer some filthy pirate who does what you want." She glanced back at me. "Hopefully, you're strong enough to last a month without food. I'll be back tomorrow for some training."
Then she unlocked the door, opened it and slammed it shut. The soft click was the only indication that she had locked it and I was once again left alone in my room.
I leaned back against the wall with a sigh. My hand clenched my tattooed shoulder. One that I was proud to show the world, only to be forced to cover it.
It's never my own choice.
"Sorry Captain." I mumbled, my knees pulling to my chest as I leaned my head down to rest my forehead on my knees. "I'll eat my meals and get better later."
My breath hitched as I tried to keep calm. The longer I sat in this room the more it reminded me of the operating room I had been forced in as a child. The choker on my neck began to aggravate me more, and I wanted nothing more than to claw at it.
"Calm breaths." I whispered, biting the inside of my cheek.
"I am Katsu." I whispered to myself, "I am the adoptive daughter of Mamoru. I am the daughter of Sayomi. I am the sister of Sato and Makoto."
I took another breath, clenching my hands around the purple hue robes I was dressed in. "I am the student of Arisu. I am an artist. I am a Straw Hat."
"I am a pirate." I mumbled, closing my eyes for a moment.
Never will I not be a pirate.
I can't allow these people to crush my spirit. Not when I just got it back. It may be damaged, but it is mine and will not be crushed anymore. I will retrieve my brother, and we will make it out of whatever mess we're in.
Then I will return to my crew and everything will be okay.
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End of Chapter 104!
I'm pretty excited for this whole arc! It's gonna be a bit of a tough road for Katsu though... The next chapter will have more information towards the family, but I would love to hear the ideas. I'm pretty sure ya'll can already figure it out by now though.
This also means that a certain crew will finally be able to step in soon and meet Katsu. Or rather, see Katsu again. When they come back I'll be sure to post a little recap of the crew, since it has been a little while. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed!
This is not edited.