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"Why do you keep living?"
The question caught the large man off guard. A child asking such a dark inquiry, it felt solemn. He struck a concerned look at his daughter, and saw she held a ghost of a smile across her lips while keeping her gaze to the Moon.
"For you."
He simply answered while looking back at the sky. The stars seemed to shift under the Moon's dim glow on tonight's cloudy sky, making him feeling like he was in a slow and calm merry-go-round. He heard a small giggle at his answer.
"Then why must I keep living?"
"For your dream."
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Sea stone cuffs were rung tightly around her wrists and ankles, and every second that passed with them on only made her weaker and weaker. A black eye adorned her face on her left eye, with bruises and cuts decorating her night gown and body. She had absolutely no idea where her sword had went, which made her worry even more. Tied up against the railings of the deck, Marco sat next to her to make sure she didn't get near anybody, and nobody went near her while in her rather pitiful state. With the first commander next to her, nobody dared to even glance at her.
Her eyes were half lidded from exhaustion. From sailing across half an ocean, to facing Whitebeard, to getting thrown to the floor by the yonko. Her head bobbled around every so often, her horns scratching the wooden rails and earning a scold from the phoenix each time.
"Honestly, what kind of idiot are you to ask Pops a favor, then try to fight him." The blond said while looking disapprovingly at the tall young woman. She simply laughed with a big ol' grin on her scarred face. The chains from the cuffs jingled at her action.
"I was just trying to see if he was as strong as the stories say." Her voice was still smooth despite her burly appearance. To this, the commander sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose. He was glad she somehow survived the geezer's punch, but angered at the fact she tried to disrespect him at the same time. All his feelings towards her felt...complicated. The poor man couldn't quite understand himself despite him basically being the therapist of the crew.
"I can't heal you until you stop tryin' to battle him, yoi." A small blue and yellow glow emitted from his palm. As soon as the first ember escaped from his hand, the young woman tried to free herself knowing it'd be no avail. Fear clouded her eyes with a frown forming upon her face. "G-get that away from me." she muttered while curling her knees up to her chest. The man instantly put out the flame and watched as her eyes unfocused. She slowly shifted back to her initial place while ducking her head low.
"I really do want Whitebeard to help me," she mumbled under her breath, but just loud enough for the blond to hear her. "I'm looking for my Sun."
"You have a son!?" The phoenix exclaimed, jumping to his feet with a ridiculous look. He had stupidly said it a bit too loudly, which caught the attention of his other crewmates, including a certain young man with black hair. At his outburst, her face quickly flushed in embarrassment of the stares.
"No I don't have a son, you idiot! I'm talking about the giant ball of fire, and it's a metaphor." She rolled her eyes to the ground once again. She glanced back at the pineapple head, who still looked confused. The woman sighed, as if she's explained this over a million times. Repeating herself more than once had always irked her.
"It means I want to find my other half." She didn't feel embarrassed about explaining her simple goal. And she wouldn't describe it as looking for a lover, she would describe it as finding her soulmate whether it be platonic or romantic she didn't give a single flying fuck about. Her collective eyes started to admire the Sun that started to dip in the horizon, painting the skies from orange to purple with the Moon rising in the distance. It always made her heart swell in glee, whenever seeing the Sun ad Moon in the same sky. It gave her hope, knowing there would be somebody by her side like them even after millions of years.
"But why ask Pops out of all the people in the sea, yoi?" He rose his pencil thin eyebrow while looking at the woman. She simply shrugged in response, eyes still glued in the distance. The phoenix followed her stare, also admiring the horizon where the sea and sky meet. He's seen in countless of times, and today he didn't see anything different.
"You're looking in the wrong direction." He heard her say with a monotone voice. "Look up." And he did. Something he didn't expect stared back at him. The stars looked back at his beady black eyes, and it was like there was nothing else. Amongst the thin red clouds, he could see white dots scattered in a messy pattern that seemed like a piece of art. It was like the stars were only meant for them two, staring deep into their souls and grasping their heart. The stowaway softly chuckled at the silence after her comment.
As night finally settled along with more clouds. Only a select few stars peeked out of the wisps, but the Moon still illuminated the seas. The pineapple man left without another word while pushing himself off the railing with hands in his pocket. He left her there under the starry, no healing, no key to her hand cuffs, and no other words exchanged. His mind was buzzing at her simple words, and it confused him. She simply looked up while admiring the stars that waltz in the sky.
Hours passed by like minutes to her as the entire Whitebeard crew fell into their hammocks asleep. There was complete silence besides the sound of susuration from the waves and low breathing. Despite all the events that happened in a single day, her eyes didn't feel so heavy. And of course she didn't mind one bit.
Insomnia has always been her best friend. The feeling of exhaustion riddling through ones whole body, but the mind's "refusal" of sleep. She didn't want medications for this. She didn't want to fix her sleep schedule. And she didn't want nor need anybody to help her. She enjoyed staying awake, despite feeling tired. Her highest record of not sleeping was about two months.
As she continued to stare into the endless sky, two heavy pairs of steps approached her. They watched as her blank and unreadable stare kept pointing to the stars.
Whitebeard and Ace stood in front if the woman who was bound to the ship. Her legs curled up to her chest as an attempt to ignore the oceans frigid and harsh winds like every night. Whitebeard should have been in bed, but he snuck out of his nurse's chokehold just to see the woman with horns. Along with Ace, who was supposed to be in the crowd nest as night watching duty. They both silently watched her every breath, how her muscular shoulders slowly rose up and down.
"Might as well take a picture, it'll last longer." Her voice was dripping with the distaste of their presence, unlike her sweet voice when conversing with Marco a few hours ago. Though she only moved her lips, the air around the three thickened and shifted. The two men were quick to notice and kept their guard up.
"We just have some questions before we help ya, lady." The young man with noir hair said rather roughly while placing a hand to his hip. "So do I." She simply stated. This time she slowly started to face them. As she sat on the wooden deck, the two pirates towered over her effortlessly. Especially the man with a white mustache who looked like a giant from her view. Though she wasn't used to people being taller than her, she didn't mind it.
"What's your name?" Ace didn't mind her spunky response from before. He was actually bemused because of the woman. She reminded him of himself, bold and reckless. He covered his adoration well with furrowed eyebrows and a frown etched in his face. He saw a calculating spark in her eyes.
"It's rude to not share your name first." She said calmly. Patience already running low, he scoffed and answered with his own including the yonko's title. "Now would you tell us?" The lady sighed while softly closing her eyes.
"[Y/N]." The young man furrowed his eyebrows.
"No last name?"
"I'll tell you once I trust you, Ace." [Y/N] seemed to loose her patience as well. And for fucks sake they were on the first question.
"Place of origin?"
"Classified."
"Species?"
"I don't know, dinosaur maybe?"
"Why'd you sail out to sea?"
"By accident."
"How-? Never mind. Any family?
At that question she paused. Only two people stirred in her head at the question. The realization of her grave mistake of sleeping on a stupid boat gave her goose bumps. 'They're both probably crying right now.' She thought with a sigh. Ace didn't fail to notice the tired look at the mention of family while looking to the floor.
"Just two." She mumbled quietly. Whitebeard studied her face and he was piqued that he couldn't understand her expression. He couldn't tell if she loved them, with a strange glint in her eye. Or didn't give a care in the world for them, with her frowned lips. Once again, she did something that interested him. She swear she wasn't doing it on purpose. And it always made the geezer happy to see brave youngsters, so of course he just had to say,
"Become my daughter."
Her head snapped back up as she looked at the old man. He held a slight toothy grin beneath his mustache while his soft gaze while looking at the beaten woman gave her tunnel vision. Ace, absolutely flabbergasted at the yonko's demand, choked on his own spit. He sputtered, coughing and pounding his chest.
"Pops!" He finally exclaimed while also looking up at him. "We barely know her!" The old man ignored his son's protest and continued to study the young woman's gaze. Something about the way she gave a glare made him amused.
"I already have a father I love." She broke the long staring contest and looked past him. Now Ace didn't want her to join the crew, but it was another thing to reject Whitebeard. Honestly, what audacity did she have to humiliate a yonko like this? The hot headed man was ready to yell out another retort, but the the older man gave him a glance which shut him up.
[Y/N]'s eyes were conflicted. She knew her father had done bad things, but everybody does. She just had to forgive him every time, which didn't bother her much. But her brother definitely did. Ever since a fateful day when her older brother tagged along with her father for "work", he had begun to despise him ever since. He'd rebel almost everyday and try to escape the island. It was ironic, how [Y/N] wanted to stay on the island in content but somehow escaped while as her brother was still chained to it.
"If you really want me to be your daughter," she looked back up with a cold gaze, "Then you must know a few things about me." She gave a side eye towards the human torch, signaling the yonko to make him leave. Which Ace did, but not without a string if curses and the stomping of feet like a child. Ace felt as if he'd been excluded, and he was certainly invested in the woman and her strange ambition of finding her other half.
Now it was just them two with the stars watching history being made from above.
"Who exactly is your father?"
The woman glanced around, making sure there were no shadows or souls spectating.
"My father is—"
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Shorter chapter this time, sorry! I've been taking part in my school's marching band so I've been a bit more busy