Oh.
Is what Law said when I told him we were being tailed.
Seconds later, I realized that the ship which had been tailing us was sliced right in half.
They were very precise and careful in keeping off our radar, which is why nobody noticed.
But the one time they happened to show on the radar was in those few seconds I took to scan the monitors.
Tough luck.
It's been seven days since we met with Keita; the plan is official. Tonight is the night the operation begins.
The time needed for this operation: 2 hours.
If we aren't out by then, it'll be a nightmare.
In 5 hours' time, we'll all be in our positions.
The ship is oddly quiet today, I walk through the darkness of the hall, heading towards the dining hall for a final briefing of the plan and perhaps a meal for the journey.
Thanks to Law and his love for meticulous planning, the weight I once had on my shoulders and the stress digging in my head is much lesser and easier to handle.
Even Penguin, Shachi and Bepo's usual quarrels and nonsense seem to be having a positive effect on me.
I reach the dining hall, and oddly enough, there is no sound, no light, no nothing apart from the lingering of the smell of Utah's cooking. I glance around, the ship's blue glow illuminating the walls and objects lying strewn across the floor.
Is everyone taking a quick nap?
I slowly open the door, a welcoming warmth touching my skin. I walk in, looking for the light switch, and failing miserably as I've never needed to turn on the light since it's always lit.
I can sense other people, a muffled bundle of excitement and mischief is definitely evident in the room.
"Hello? Guys?"
Suddenly, I get pushed into a tall figure, which I recognise as Law, and then I feel my feet get swooped out from underneath, a floating sensation surrounding me.
I yelp but my voice is overthrown by cheers and laughter, sounds of explosions and of music.
The lights flicker on and the room erupts into colours, and instantaneously, firecrackers, streamers, balloons, flowers, (and food?) are thrown simultaneously through the air.
"Happy birthday y/n!" I glance down, still floating in the air, at the faces of each member of my crew members. My crew.
A smile slowly creeps onto my face, I can feel my eyes sparkling, my heart widening.
These guys never fail to surprise me, and they never fail to cheer me up regardless of how down or worried I might be.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Utah wheeling out a cake.
A cake with thick blankets of icing, puffy clouds of whipped cream, sprinkles like little diamonds and my name, standing on top like the queen of the castle.
I sure feel like a queen.
Law sets me down right in front of the cake, and they all start to sing.
Surprisingly, they all sing it in tune, it's no lie when they say pirates can sing, they sound amazing.
I can feel tears welling up in my eyes, I can't believe that they would put in all the extra effort into organising this while also juggling all the preparations for the plan.
They're just incredible, absolutely wonderful.
I never imagined that I would be able to celebrate my birthday with such joy again, with my friends, my family, the ones that I love.
I used to recall the birthdays I spent with my family as I lay, staring at the blank ceiling, always hanging onto a tiny thread of hope, believing that that day would come.
For thirteen years, my birthday has been filled with memories, the small spark of hope would ignite, but it slowly faded away as the year went by, before being reignited the following year.
Now, the hope has sprouted wings and is soaring through the cloudless blue sky, hugged by the warm sunlight, and blessed by the salty winds.
Law wipes the tears from my eyes, and I bury my face into his chest, half laughing, half crying.
The singing stops and they all erupt once again, into cheers and whoops and claps.
Utah hands me a knife, a pretty big one, and gestures for me to cut the cake.
Everyone silences, the anticipation hanging in the air like a single cloud in the sky.
They all watch as the tip of the knife slowly, slowly sinks into the cake.
The second the blade hits the bottom, everyone shrieks, Penguin and Shachi's voices cutting through the air like a blade sharper than the glare they were receiving from both Law and Utah.
Utah slices the rest, and hands out plates of the glorious sugariness.
Penguin and Shachi march up to me, the crowd parting like a wave as they strode across. Bepo tails them, holding a long stick-like object, which I recognised as a sword, an oddly familiar one as well. It felt like reuniting with an old friend.
"Y/n, on behalf of the crew, we would like to make a toast!" Penguin exclaims, his hands in the shape of finger pistols as he 'pew pew'ed around the crew.
Shachi clears his throat and holds a crumpled piece of paper up to his face.
"Dearest y/n," he squints at the paper, "uh... we wish..." he glares at Penguin and angrily whispers at the poor guy.
I hear a combination of 'why is your writing so messy' and 'what does this even say' and 'please give us cookies??", before Shachi stuffs the piece of paper into Penguin's mouth and takes a gulp of air.
"Forget that stupid thing, allow me to start again. Y/n, I'll be frank," he pauses and clears his throat again, "we" he throws his arms around in big circles, "are truly, truly grateful that you are a part of this crew. Ever since you came onto this ship, our Captain," points at Law, "as well as this entire crew are much livelier and happier than ever before."
Penguin shoves Shachi to the side, the orca-hatted pirate falling flat on his face.
"We'd like to thank you for putting up with the mess and the noise and the racket we make every day, from sunrise to sunset, and most of the time even early and later than that." He parts to the side, only to get into another brawl with Shachi, and Bepo hobbles in.
"Um... your hugs are really nice, " flowers bloom all around him and collective 'awww' surges through the room, "and this is for you. A tall blonde man gave this to us on the last island, he said that it's a present for y/n. We checked it over and didn't find any faults or suspicious stuff. Uhh... so, Happy Birthday!"
That was probably the first time I heard Bepo say so much without apologizing out of the blue.
Keita gave the sword to them?
He hands me the sword and I take it, thanking him and then proceeding to examine the weapon.
My name, along with 'happy birthday' and 'hooray' echo through the room as everyone takes turns in saying them. They chant and sing and dance, reminding me of little fairies twirling atop spotted red mushrooms.
I take the katana out of its sheath and I hear a voice in the back of my mind.
Happy birthday y/n! Take care!
It is Keita. I search for his voice but it disappears like it did on the island and I completely lose him. It was an oddly suspicious sensation, he just disappeared, almost like that person who shot at us in the navy camp.
Before I could dig myself deeper into my thoughts, Law pulls me to the side.
"Y/n," Law hands me a little box, "this is for you."
I open the perfectly wrapped gift to find a silver necklace, it held a pendant with my name engraved on it. On the back, read:
For my one and only
I will forever be with you
He brushes my hair back and slips it around my neck, and I give him a hug.
"Thank you." Is all I need to say for him to understand all that I wanted to say.
After the talking and such, we sit down and dig into the cake.
Utah had made Law a special cake just for himself due to his dislike for sweet things. I don't know how or why he doesn't like them, he just doesn't. It's always black coffee and dark chocolate darker than a black hole.
The dining hall is filled with yelling and laughing as the crew fights to the death for the last few slices of cake, they're even fighting over who gets the crumbs.
Me, Utah, and Law sit, chuckling at the sight and placing bets on who would win. It was a whole war out there.
I busy myself with my newly acquired katana, trying to figure out what was so familiar about this weapon.
It was quite a long sword, about a forearm shorter than Law's nodachi. The sheath was a deep blue, a section wrapped with mint green coloured rope.
I turn the weapon around, and a glimmer on the sheath catches my eye.
Engraved in gold read:
For our beautiful angel, you are a miracle
I almost drop the katana.
I suddenly remember that fifteen years ago, I touched my first sword. It was a toy from my father. I remember him telling me that he would teach me how to wield a sword, and then he'd gift me a real one when I turned 10.
How did I forget?
It seems that the people who took me desperately tried to erase my memories. Some things were hidden very well, while others resurfaced and helped me survive through that hell.
It scares me to think what else I might have forgotten.
It angers me to know that they tampered with my precious memories.
The hilt of the katana was wrapped tightly and neatly with a piece of stitched clothing. I recognise it as pieces of clothing from my earliest years.
A piece from my old dress. A piece from Keita's summer button-up. A piece from Mother's beloved tablecloth. A piece from Father's work apron.
This was the reason it felt so familiar.
I grip tightly onto the hilt, it felt as if my family was finally in my reach.
Later
After some more laughter and fun, we decided to have a rest, have a bit of time to relax and change our mindsets.
I sat on Law's bed, sinking into the soft mattress and familiar scent.
Keita said that the White Rooms will have traces of Sea Stone, so Law won't be able to use his Devil Fruit nor will he be in his best shape.
I also cannot guarantee that I will be fully operational when I am in the building, I hate to admit it, but the psychological trauma I received is still present somewhere in the back of my mind.
Regardless of how hard I try to erase that, it's not as easy as I hoped.
And now, another heavy feeling sat like a rock somewhere in my guts.
Only time will tell what this frightening feeling is.
Despite Law's wishes for me to remain outside the building as far away as possible, I want to be a part of this mission. If my crew is willing to risk their lives, then so must I.
I stand up and head upstairs.
On the way out, I grab my new weapon.
It's time.