(POV: Juniper) - 3 years ago
I'm only partially aware of my tossing and turning, as I'm mostly unconscious. I'm drowsy for sure, but there's always a thought itching in the back of my head that keeps me just on the verge of being awake.
How hasn't the Navy found us yet?
Or rather, why haven't they found us yet? The old man hasn't mentioned a single thing about them since that day, but to think I could get away with attacking an admiral is delusional. It's been almost a year since we established our new headquarters in Fisherman island, hunting publicly as the Driscolgrov family.
I told the old man he was crazy for doing so because the Navy would be on our backs in no time. But he didn't even look mildly concerned.
Suddenly, I hear my bedroom door squeak open and light footsteps inching closer to me. I feel Tal's presence hovering over me. I don't bother to open my eyes.
"Hi, sis," he whispers.
I don't respond.
"Today is my birthday," he continues. "I'm turning sixteen. You remember right?"
He acts like he's talking to himself, expecting me to register the information subconsciously.
He sighs. "You're the only one in this family that understands me, and that's why I need to talk to you for a bit."
I feel my bed sink as he sits beside me.
"You're still thinking about Mama, aren't you? I do too. Every single night."
A pause.
"I guess I just came here to tell you that you're the best sister I ever had. And I love you. You've certainly made a name for yourself. You're really strong now. You don't need to rely on anyone else. But still, I'm sorry. I really am."
I hear a faint woosh. His presence is gone.
Sorry for what?
<>
"Sis. Sis."
Kal jolts me awake. I groan, opening one eye.
"What is it?"
Kal smiles. "We have a new member. I thought you might want to meet her."
My eyes widen. "Really? We haven't had anyone join in a while!"
I rush downstairs and see an unfamiliar girl talking to the old man. She immediately notices me.
"Bounty Hunter Driscolgrov Juniper!" She exclaims with wide eyes. "In the flesh!"
I blush. "Stop, you're flattering me."
She holds out a hand. "Nice to meet you! My name is Wolustram Erin. A gunslinger. I look forward to working for the best bounty hunters in the world!"
I take her hand firmly. "Working for? Come on. Starting today, you're my sister!"
She chuckles. "Stop, you're flattering me."
"Yenna," I call to the secretary standing perfectly still next to the old man. "Can you get Erin a room in the building next to us?"
Yenna nods politely. "Certainly, Ms. Driscolgrov."
As the two leave through the front door, a vague memory flashes in my mind. "Oh, isn't it Tal's birthday today? Where is he?"
The old man shrugs. "Probably at the brothel."
"This early?"
"Don't listen to him," Kal says. "Tal's probably out at the tavern hanging out with his friends."
I gasp. "He has friends?"
We share a short laugh.
"I still wanna get something for him, though," I add. "I'm probably gonna hunt some pirates and buy him that diamond watch he's always wanted."
Kal rolls his eyes. "You're too selfless. He'll lose it within the first month."
I shrug. "I can always force him to pay me back."
"Well I'll be shopping for food to cook tonight," Kal says. "You want anything in particular?"
"Nope."
"Alright, see ya."
"Bye."
I rush back up the stairs and into my bedroom. I take the binder of bounties on my nightstand and open it to search for which ones to hunt. I know at least three big pirate groups just got on this island the other day.
Once I flip to the first page, a piece of folded paper slips out and onto the carpet.
"Hm?"
I pick it up and unfold it. I can already tell from the large chicken scratch that it's from Tal. Despite the message only being a paragraph long, it takes up the whole paper.
Thank you for everything you've done sis. I really appreciate it. A part of me feels bad for doing this because now that I think about it, I rarely did anything in return for you. But please know that I'm doing this for you and Mom. If you ever need me, I'll be in the Revolutionary Army.
Hope we can meet again,
-Tal
(POV - Juniper) - Present
Something warm covers me. It feels soft and comfortable as it brushes against my skin. I almost don't want to open my eyes, but I can see the faint sunlight leaking through my eyelids. I slowly open them, surprised that they don't feel painful or heavy like any other morning.
I look down to see a blanket draped over me. No - not a blanket. A coat. Zoro's coat. The light fluttering in my chest wakes me up fully as I sit up and turn around.
He's not here.
I hear chatting down below. Several voices - the whole crew is awake. I groan, lying back down, and rest a hand over my eyes.
It feels so warm here. I don't want to get up. But it's already late.
I yank the entire coat off of me in one quick motion, expecting the cold morning air to bite at me. It's surprisingly warm, though, as if it's noon.
Is it noon?
I get up and hurry down from the crow's nest to see everyone gathered in the kitchen. Oh, they're eating breakfast. I jog to the door. Despite trying to open it quietly, every head turns in my direction. Zoro, however, continues eating as if he's expecting me to come so late.
"I almost missed breakfast," I chuckle while trying to organize the tangled mess on my head. "Sorry guys."
"Breakfast?" Franky asks. "We're eating lunch."
"Huh?!"
Robin smiles. "It looks like you had a good night's sleep, Jun-chan."
"N-no, that's not it at all," I stammer. "I kept watch the whole night. I just fell asleep once I heard Sanji walk to the kitchen to make food."
Robin glances at Zoro with a grin still stuck to her face. "Is that so? My bad for assuming that."
The Pirate Hunter keeps his eyes fixed on the plate, feigning ignorance.
"But anyway, I'm glad you got some good rest, Jun-chan," Nami observes. "You look refreshed."
"Ah, is that so? Thank you."
By the time we finish lunch and step out, the scorching hot afternoon beams on us relentlessly.
"It's so hoootttt," Luffy whines, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
Nami wipes at her forehead. "Not a single cloud in the sky. This is bad."
"I shall get you ladies some cold drinks!" Sanji exclaims before dashing back to the kitchen.
Robin nods. "I must water my flowers before they dry up."
Zoro yawns and sits down. "Perfect opportunity for a nap."
"Any time is a perfect opportunity for you..." Usopp trails off.
"Jun-chan," Nami calls. "I've stored your money in the inventory. Do you wanna help me divide expenses?"
"Yeah, sure."
As we head over to the storage room, she immediately finds the two bags - one for the crew that I gave away and the other for me.
"I think it's a miracle that you're here," she begins as we take the money out of the bag. "I didn't realize that we needed someone like you."
"Really? I can see myself helping around here and there, but your crew is full of amazing people and they look like they can get anything done."
She shakes her head. "For one, we've been broke for a long time, so..."
"Then, in that case..." I shove all of my cash at her. "You can take the rest of the beli I have."
"Seriously? No way."
"Someone like me doesn't need 1.5 billion beli all to myself."
She wipes a tear from her eye. "You're the best."
"Don't mention it."
"But anyway, you've helped in other ways too," she adds. "It's a godsend that you have such amazing Observation Haki. You can find Zoro so easily. Him getting lost all the time becomes a nuisance, you know?"
"I can imagine."
"And there's one more thing."
"Hm?"
"You see, Zoro works hard, but he also spends a good portion of his time drinking bottles and bottles of sake... and napping," she grumbles. "But ever since you came along, he barely drinks any sake and he doesn't even nap! Today is the first time he took a nap for this entire week."
I blink. "Really?"
She nods. "Most of the time he's so laid back and doesn't care much. He's so carefree whenever he gets drunk and sleeps. But lately, he's walking around like he's got a lot on his mind. And... I don't know... it's helped him be more productive."
"I see. Have you always been pissed at how Zoro acts?"
Nami leans back with her arms planted behind her. "He's a great swordsman; don't get me wrong. And he works hard to become stronger, too. But he usually isolates himself from the rest of the crew and doesn't pay mind to the rest of us."
I chuckle. "You might think so, but you're wrong Nami."
She stares at me.
"Everyone has a different way of caring for the crew."
"I guess you're right. What am I even saying?"
"I think it's nice that you think I'm helpful, though."
She smiles before moving on. "Well, I know I'll have to divide a large portion for his sake, as per usual. And another large portion for Luffy's food."
Then she pauses with her hand buried deep in the pile of cash. "Huh? What's this?"
"What's up, Nami?"
She pulls out an envelope. "Ah, this is..."
"Can I see that?"
She hands it to me. "Is this yours, Jun-chan?"
"Not sure..."
Written on the front of the envelope, in shaky handwriting, is "from your old man". I tear it open and pull out the piece of paper inside. I laugh, tears forming at the corners of my eyes. It feels just like Tal's letter all over again.
"Um... should I leave?" Nami asks.
I blink the tears away. "Actually... can you stay?"
Her eyes dart from the letter to me. "Sure."
I begin reading through:
I'm not into sentimental things, so I'll make this as concise as I can. First things first, I think you know that you're Admiral Fujitora's daughter. I know you barely remember him because you were captured at an early age.
However, I did not get to fight alongside a respectable man like him. Instead, I was surrounded by soldiers brainwashed by their own twisted sense of "justice".
I reread the sentence. That can't be right.
You may have known me as Driscolgrov Walsh, a bounty hunter, for all your life, but years before I bought you, I was in the Navy. My real name is Covelli Axel, and I was known as Admiral Midoraion.
My eyesight blurs for a moment. I see. The old man had a soft spot for the Navy because he was in it. That's why he let Mama die. The paper crinkles underneath my tightening grip.
Nami shoots me a look of concern. "...Jun-chan?"
I continue reading.
I became an Admiral so that I could take down the world government system. But I quickly learned that even a Navy soldier in such a high position has little say about those powers. I was caught conspiring against the Celestial Dragons but was able to escape before I was executed.
The papers knew how to cover it up very well; they said that I was secretly working with pirates and that I was promptly executed. This happened 30 years ago.
What? He was keeping all of this away from me?
I disappeared. I changed my name, I changed my appearance, I had two sons, and I made my name as a bounty hunter. I realized that it was impossible to take down the Celestial Dragons.
So you are right. Your old man is a coward. Your mother was not. From then on, I believed that cowards live and the brave die. But that doesn't have to be the case with you.
I sensed it in you as soon as we met. You possess a very rare gift called Minerva's Eye, which allows for extremely advanced Observation Haki. There are only a few people in the world who possess it, but the government killed them all.
I touch my back, suddenly remembering the tattoo - or what I thought was a tattoo - inked onto my skin. Was I born with it?
The government killed them all. They didn't want them in the hands of pirates or the Revolutionary Army. They were afraid that even if they kept them alive in the Navy, those who have Minerva's Eye would find out the evils of the World Government and use their power to take them down.
The reason they weren't able to get to you was that you had only been traded among the low-level elitists. The Celestial Dragons had no knowledge of you.
However, I wasn't able to prevent their knowledge of this for long. CP0 sent a spy to hide among our family. They eventually found out about your origins and power. The government wanted to investigate us as quietly as possible, as taking the status of a bounty hunter corp gave us temporary protection.
From what I know, you are the only one left with Minerva's Eye. I can't be the one to tell you what to do with this power.
I know you can never forgive me for what I did. But I thought I owed you your 3 billion beli and the truth.
The message ends right on the edge of the paper. I set the paper down, breathing hard and trying to process everything that just happened.
My eyes trace along the blood-stained cash organized in piles around me. I thought the old man had spent all of it on his medicine. And yet here it was; unspent for me. This whole time, he was trying to save me, but I'm not sure if I should curse at his soul until the day I die or take it with utmost gratitude.
I stand up quickly and trot to the deck. Everyone turns at my footsteps. Nami follows me out but doesn't say a word.
"Everyone," I call. "Thank you for having me on your ship. I know what I need to do now."