The days following your god-awful time with your brothers, you had more pressing matters to deal with besides "apologizing to them for your actions". It was either hit or get hit in your world and Hana had that slap coming for a long time. Despite the fact that you knew him for about two weeks at the time.
Ever since then, your days were filled with training, eating, training, avoiding your family (minus your little sister), training, avoiding the village, and training. Any free time you had, which was usually before breakfast and after dinner, was spent pacing the length of your massive room, formulating plans.
Plans of which Kosai aided in, as they pertained to your memory and relied heavily upon the plot of One Piece and your own notes. Unsurprisingly, you had found yourself growing attached to the demon. He had become some sort of best friend.
Your personality apparently rubbed off on Kosai as well, as your new chaotic lifestyle along with no filter made his time with you more enjoyable. That "serious" act that he claimed he had disappeared entirely within the second week.
You were doing everything and anything that you wanted to do
Your sixteenth birthday was only a month away and after being on the island for around two months, you were very proud of how far you had come and how strong you were becoming. The first week of training (Which had felt like ages ago by this point) was probably the hardest. It was the worst in your opinion. You kept up the routine thanks to the voice in your head that constantly screamed at you if you slacked off. Thanks, Kosai.
With the combined strength of both of your arms, you could lift boulders that were half of your height. Under no circumstances did you think that a normal human could accomplish this in two months, but you figured that it was because of Kosai that you were even capable of this.
You had never felt healthier in all of your life. You didn't have access to junk food, meaning that you were actually forced to eat healthy food for once. You were changing. Changing so much. Compared to your previous life, you never improved this much in the span of a few months. You saw results that you liked, you were feeling more confident in your body, and felt a crazy boost of self-esteem. And you were having fun with your friend.
Though you did slap one of your siblings, that was relatively normal. It wasn't like you were going to beat the shit out of them daily. Only if they provoked you. You family was nice. They weren't that bad- only rough around the edges.
You were happy. Really happy. You wanted it to stay that way
~ . . . ~
Kosai wasn't any less annoying today (just as you weren't any less annoying to him on any other day) and he only increased your workload by forcing you to memorize everything from the beginning of One Piece up until where you had read last. That, and you now had to memorize your own embarrassing backstory and lore.
Seriously, when did you write this piece?
Your demon took the liberty of taking control of your lower arms and writing it out for you, since you had done so many revisions of your own stories that you didn't now cannon from non cannon anymore.
(Name) (Alias: Onihime)
Strength: 4/5
Speed: 5/5
Defense: 5/5
Intelligence: 3/5
Cooperation: 5/5
(9) S.G.T
H: C.A.O
"What a load of bull."
"Hah! Really? I think it's funny."
"Kosai, I wrote this when I was fifteen. That would've been ten years ago if I wasn't thrown back in time."
- A princess/prince (fem, male, or gn?) <-- fem I think
- She has a family curse
- From Crow Island, a made-up island that is in the direct opposite direction from Loguetown
- Only child
- Has two parents
- Real father is Captain C. Crooner
- Uses two sword style
Maybe you didn't have to be alive. Living wasn't a requirement. You were at least thankful that past you hadn't drawn anything embarrassing. You could recollect that when you were a young teen, you wanted to go to Japan so bad-- and you were desperate about it. You were one of the kids who would say "I'm moving to Japan once I'm eighteen.".
You never got the chance to go, and you couldn't, which sucked because you were-- you know, "dead". And in an entirely different world.
Shaking your head, you continued to read. Much to your dismay.
- Wears purple and pink kimono with flowers on it
- Has tattoos like Nezuko from kny
- Very strong. Never eats much + doesn't need to eat that often
- Sleeps often. She's usually in the crow's nest of the Going Merry or Sunny
- Zoro <3<3<3 (probably focused more on him even though it's a various x reader)
You know those laughs you try to hold in, but they come out as muffled giggles? The kind of laughs that you have with friends after the teacher tells you to all shut the fuck up. That laughter was currently emanating from Kosai, who was trying desperately to not let a laugh slip. He was having a grand time laughing at your embarrassment, misery, and suffering, the bastard.
"I was more of a simp back then, but in my defense, I had no friends, and I was also pathetic."
"I-I wonder wh-who your favorite character is...!"
You slapped your hand over your mouth as you refused to look at the paper. I was a bumbling dumbass when I first started watching One Piece. I mean, I read the manga first. BUT HE'S NOT MY ACTUAL FAVORITE--
"MY ASS HE WASN'T YOUR FAVORITE"
YOU'RE SO MEAN TO ME
"I'M THE NICEST DEMON ON THE PLANET"
THEN STOP JUDGING ME
"Absolutely NOT. I will make fun of you every chance that I get. You really looked at this man, who probably showers once a week, and said "ha-ha, hot and aggressive swordsman with the emotional capacity of a rock- exactly my type-" before you wrote as much self-insert fanfiction you could."
He then began cackling.
Your face burned with embarrassment. Taking up writing as a hobby was a mistake.
FUCK YOU
"FUCK YOU TOO!! I'M GOING TO DRAW WHAT YOU DID--"
OH MY GOD KOSAI DO NOT
You were physically restraining your lower arms from reaching for the pen again. Those drawings could never be allowed to reach the light of day.
I want my next piercing to be a bullet. To the head.
"I'm just teasing you, (Name)!" He flicked you as he recovered from his laughing spell. He'd never force you to look at the drawings. Yet. "Please take a look at the changes that were made to your story instead."
"What changes?" Your eyes flew to the paper. "The ones that're bolder than all the rest?"
"Yes. I think that these are the ones that have been changed. You aren't an only child here, and your mom is dead, and your father is gone."
"Jesus Christ, you're bad at putting things lightly," you interrupted, picking up the paper. This draft might've been a decade old, but you were sure you never wrote anything about family curses. You never wrote anything about a curse of any sort.
It didn't make sense
"I still don't get the whole "family curse" thing. What even is that? I pestered dad about it, and he never said anything. Rude, in my opinion. It's not his curse, is it? Koko, do you know anything about it?"
"I'd tell you if I could. From what I've read, there's nothing even mentioning the family curse. Only instances of it are you and your father's page, and they don't even explain."
Your fingers traced the ink-stained wood of your desk. "That's another thing- the papers. Do you have them with you?"
"Yes. I have actual slips of paper of the drafts of your fanfiction with me right now."
Really? You were impressed. Kosai scoffed.
"OF COURSE NOT!"
He made fun of you for believing him so easily before diving further into the details. It's like... I can see the words themselves in front of me. Through your own eyes, even though you can't see them yourself.
You nodded along. Like Sherlock Holmes.
Kosai would be the thing that killed you one day. You had a gut feeling about that.
Then, like a monster, you stomach started making noises you didn't think were possible for the human body to make. It was like you swallowed a severely ill seagull. The rumbling and sound alone made you look down in concern.
"Food. Let me out and bring me food."
"Let you out? Hell no. You're going to beat the shit out of me. Why would I ever do that."
"So, you don't die from a heart attack with the amount of food that I'm going to consume... And so you don't gain any weight. If you're still alive."
You snickered, "Since when was weight ever a problem?"
There was a knock at your door. You almost choked on your spit as you stood from your desk to get to it.
"(Name)?"
It was your father
You ran over to the massive door to open it. You twisted the handle and opened it, so it was slightly ajar. Your father was looking down at you, concerned. For once he didn't look as tired as usual.
"I... I heard you talking. Is there someone in there?"
You opened the door even further, showing him the rest of your room. You knew that you weren't to have any guests that he didn't approve of. "Nope, nobody here. I was just talking to myself."
Kosai withered a little. "(Name), you idiot."
How else do I get him to leave me alone?? You didn't even hesitate to continue explaining. "--Just in case I have to do any public speeches. To be more confident in my own words. Was I too loud?" You head tilted in mock confusion. (You said this, confident that you'd never have a role like this ever in your life)
The king didn't have the heart to tell you that he would never let you speak publicly. In the span of a few months, you had singlehandedly destroyed your reputation. You weren't seen as a bad person, but you were seen as a witch. And a demon.
"Wait, you're supposed to be in an important meeting right now," you said while looking at the grandfather like clock in the hall. "You told us that at dinner. Why aren't you there now?"
He nodded, "That's right. I'm meeting with a Marine Vice-Admiral today. I hope to discuss more trading routes to Loguetown amongst other things."
Vice-Admiral? They could've sent a Captain. Like the one from Loguetown, who you totally didn't know about. Kosai was busy screaming at you to stop simping over men over twice your age. When could Smoker come and arrest you already? What crimes did you have to commit--
"I also conversed over my den-den mushi regarding your training."
What?
"And I also wanted to... Erm... Give you more varied opponents. You're very strong. I can see that."
You were boring holes into this man's skull. "Dad? What did you talk about with the Vice-Admiral? What did you say about me?"
"I figure you'd like to have some time off Crow Island. At Loguetown. You've never left our island before, and you are a growing girl. From what I understand, teenagers of your age like clothes and fashion. I can give you an allowance during your time there."
My time there? My time on Loguetown? Oh my god I've been sold to the One Direction of One Piece.
"For god's sake, calm down! You haven't been sold!"
How do you know?
"He said that he wanted you to have more varied opponents! My guess is that he wants to send you to Loguetown under a Captain's supervision so you can learn Marine combat. Maybe your father thinks that you want to be a Marine."
You had to fight back a laugh. You already trained with Kosai every day-- and he was the only one you were able to spar with. On top of that, he switched his forms all of the time, meaning that you had to learn a new strategy to fight.
With more burly forms, you went for the legs or the parts of the body that would be considered the weakest points of the body. For thinner forms? You went for the knees.
This also didn't count as Kosai "harming you", which would be going against his entire purpose of protecting you
"So... Did you ask them to bring other Marines here? To like, fight?"
"Yes, to fight."
"You're serious? You're not joking, right?"
He nodded. You actually laughed this time-- and hoped he saw it as a more shocked laugh than one of arrogance. You had low expectations about the outcome.
"Are you serious? They'll flatten me like a pancake."
The king kept eye contact with you. Oddly enough... his eyes shined a bit. You barely caught the emotion flicker in his eyes. "I believe that you are strong enough to beat them."
"I... I don't want to be a Marine, though. If that's what you're implying."
"No, not at all. I only want you to learn how Marines fight."
You already knew!
"Please, (Name). Just listen to me for a moment."
You softly sighed. Your father already had to deal with everything that you were. Who were you to deny him? He wasn't mean at all. He was earnestly thinking of you and what you enjoyed doing. "Alright, I'll listen."
"Thank you."
He smiled
"A Captain in Loguetown agreed to watch over you if you chose to go. He will teach you some of the basic fighting techniques of a Marine. But only those of lower ranks. I doubt that he'll teach you the techniques of more experienced Marines- like commanding officers and other Captains. It's your choice."
You opened your mouth to speak but paused. What were the chances that it was actually Smoker who agreed to teach a spoiled brat like you? You finally spoke. "What if I agreed? How long would I be there? This matters for plot reasons." He's bringing this up too quickly for my liking. I'm suspicious.
"DON'T SAY PLOT, (NAME)."
"A month."
"A month, WAIT W H A T--"
He stopped you from screaming as he continued. "There are some things that are going on here that I prefer you stay out of if you chose to go. I would feel better knowing that you are off learning something important rather than stressing about what is going on here."
Holy shit your plans
Holy shit, all of your plans were being thrown out the window
A month. "So, I'd be back before my birthday, right?" Like that question mattered.
At least he nodded. That didn't even comfort you. Zoro showing up when you were "around sixteen" meant that he could show up literally whenever. He could show up tomorrow. He could appear the day before you were supposed to come back.
You knew that you didn't have a choice in that, even though your father had suggested that you could say no. There were things going on here that he didn't want you knowing about. You didn't even care about that in all honesty. Kosai was in the same boat. He was trying to figure out how you could get out of this.
"I promise that if you go, I'll give you enough money so you can buy whatever you please."
Uh, that isn't the problem! You were smiling and gripping your hands behind you back. "Uhm, sounds great! When will they arrive?"
"They're already here."
You slammed the door in his face
"UM, COOL. I'LL BE OUT IN A MINUTE."
You waited until you heard the king's receding footsteps before you started a full-blown panic. KOSAI, KOKO, LOVE OF MY LIFE. WHAT DO WE DO.
"YOU THINK I KNOW?!"
You practically ripped off your shirt to get to the tattoo that was on your chest. Thank God you weren't given the Nezuko tattoo- you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if that happened. It was only a simple black eye with a pupil. More cartoonish than realistic, but it was the same color as Kosai.
Gripping the edge of the corner of the eye, you tore the tattoo off like a sticker. Kosai's blob form oozed from your hands as bulbous eyes gazed at you.
"Go check how many there are! What's the size of the ship?!" You whisper yelled, before throwing him at your window. You were now furiously throwing open your clothes draws to look for a shirt that would hide your lower arms and would also let you fight comfortably.
Kosai could luckily speak when he wasn't a part of you. "(Name)?"
"It's a full-sized ship, isn't it?"
He didn't even have to reply. You yanked a shirt over your body and arms with a groan. "They really said, 'fuck it' and threw our plans out the window. Goddamn it!"
"...They really did."
"Ugh! Fuck me!"
~ . . . ~
Whoever put you on this mortal plane was fucking with you
They were fucking up your plans so much and you had to contain all of your anger and rage so you could use it for your fight. Your plans to stay on the island and train until Zoro arrived was ruined, and now you had to face off some Marines because your father was hellbent on sending you off to discount One Direction. "It's your choice." Like hell it is.
Your father wasn't even going to watch the match. He was off discussing his own plans and whatnot. He had his own secrets which he wouldn't share with you. Why not? You'd only laugh a little.
Now you were standing in front of your opponent, whom you were supposed to fight. This whole ass man was well over 190 cm, standing over six feet tall. Did they want you dead now before you even started your journey?
Did someone snitch and say that you used boulders instead of weights now?
You were pondering this as you flexed and stretched your fingers, staring down the man. He stared right back at you, his own will unwavering. Damn, he was going to beat you into the ground, wasn't he? He was a decent mix of muscular and lean, like most of the people in One Piece. And that whole thing about you only fighting one guy?
Well, that was a lie
Considering that there was an entire ring of more Marines -probably of differing ranks- forming a sort of circle for the two of you. You were sure that one by one, they'd rush you if you managed to take out the guy in front of you. It was definitely going to turn into a brawl. Could you win against all of these Marines at your level right now?
If you were being honest? You had no clue.
You bowed your head slightly. "Please treat me like you would treat a pirate," you requested, cracking each of your knuckles with your thumbs.
He nodded.
Either I'm about to get bodied or I'm going to body him, because I can't use my other arms.
They twitched underneath your shirt
Kosai's voice rumbled through your mind, clearing it.
"Go for the knees. It's a man's natural weakness."
Well said. You shifted from side to side, sizing up the man in front of you. He did more or less the same.
"Begin!"
You shot forward like a man with a death wish
~ . . . ~
King Sai of Crow Island was many things
But he was not a man who was made for work. He put up a confident front that made it appear that he could complete any task given to him. Sai wasn't the best at completing work, however. He needed someone else to help him lead his country. Both someone to stick by him day and night to keep him from spinning out of control.
Luckily, he already had someone like that. But because of his eldest daughter, he was nearly falling apart at the seams trying to keep everything together for the next month. Not to mention, but (Name) was already putting a strain on... certain relationships.
The king sighed shortly as he rubbed his temples, not minding the man in front of him who witnessed his actions. The Vice-Admiral looked over the papers that he and the king had completed signing. Both of the trade deal, and the deal that his daughter would be safe during the time that she would be spending at Loguetown.
The Vice-Admiral picked up his tea. "You should take a break. Excuse me, but you look exhausted."
Sai gave a small smile. This was one of the few men who didn't fear of offending him, even with his 'pardon me for saying this' and 'pardon the interruptions'. "I try. Tea is one of my only vices."
"I can see that," he yawned lightly. "This chamomile is making me tired. Earl Grey for next meeting will be better. But I mean it. Take your mind off of things."
"I suppose so. Again, I try..."
"..." The Admiral swished around the tea in its container. "She'll be fine. You said so yourself, didn't you?"
Sai nodded. He was confident in his daughter's abilities. "I believe in her."
He hummed in response before standing up from his chair. It had been around two hours since the meeting started, and it had just now ended. Meaning that (Name) must've been done by now, her fight with one of the combatants finished. The Vice-Admiral thought that she'd be able to handle it. He didn't expect her to fail. King Sai obviously didn't think so either.
(Name) was turning more and more into her father as each day passed. She was becoming a bit louder. Definitely a bit prouder and more honest. It was clear that it was an overnight switch and a result from the curse taking place. He couldn't be happier how much she was growing.
She could never disappoint him. Even if it seemed like it during the hardest times. She was the next generation, and he was proud that he had the chance to help raise her. That man. C. Crooner. He was a wonder for helping bring (Name) into the world. Hell-- he even left a message for (Name) that would tell her to find him in the future.
Sai would give you that letter when (Name) returned from Loguetown. It hurt him a bit to send her away. But he had to do it. How else would she learn about the Marines?
How else would she sneak around and stick her nose into business that she wasn't supposed to?
The Vice-Admiral snapped the king out of his thoughts when he suddenly stood from his chair, tilting his head back and throwing the rest of the tea down his throat. He placed the cup back onto the table and stretched. He then sent a knowing look at the king.
"Yes, I've already sent maids down with her clothes. You needn't worry about that."
He hummed. The king rose from his own seat and followed. His thoughts drifted back to the boisterous captain that he had met oh-so long ago.
Her late mother had gone through quite a shock after discovering that Sai had known Crooner for a while- and was even his childhood friend. It was obvious that (Name) would answer the sea that was clearly calling to her. She was following a path like Crooner's, but not the same.
And as he wearily looked at the tall form that walked in front of him, Sai was reminded of why he was doing this. Why (Name) had to leave for a while.
(Name) had to go. He knew what (Name) was going to become, and he wasn't going to stop her. They were her dreams. Who was he to deny her of that? Ever since that night, something happened. He didn't know what -aside from the curse- but it was something important. It gave her the push that she needed.
He was going to help (Name) become a pirate
~ . . . ~
You were doing great. Absolutely peachy. Coughing, spitting out blood, bleeding from your nose. You know, the usual for you. The whole idea of "not showing your arms to anyone" was immediately ruined around five minutes after the fight had started. You were painfully aware of the cool breeze on your lower abdomen.
"You pushed yourself too hard, dumbass!" Kosai reprimanded you, oozing back onto your leg and beginning to fuse with your body again. The eye appeared on your chest again. "You've certainly seen better days! What happened to maintaining a good reputation?!"
Your only responded by spitting out a gob of clotted blood onto the ground. The taste of it had never made you sick before. Hell, the taste of blood didn't even bother you.
Waves of exhaustion hit you all at once. Sure, you won, but at what cost. You defeated about a third of the Marines around you, but you had been knocked out about nine times-- each time where Kosai woke you up again and again. He wouldn't let you lose.
Your own luck astounded you. It new no boundaries. You wouldn't lie, you forced yourself to take any hits that were thrown at you. If there was something you didn't like doing, it was dodging attacks. You only did so if you had to. So, your luck came into play whenever a particularly painful looking punch was sent your way, you'd somehow dodge, and it would nail some unfortunate soul behind you.
As for your opponents, the one third of the Marines that you fucked up, you made sure that you never broke anything. Not even a nose. The rest, who didn't look like they were there for a fight in the first place (anymore, at least) were staring at you like you had just executed their comrades. You noticed that people staring at you was a running theme.
Their mouths were still agape as you unknowingly stood menacingly above the unconscious bodies of the other Marines. Blood dripped from your form, and most of it wasn't even yours.
You did half of the work. The other half was done by Kosai. It appeared that these Marines weren't classified as actual threats- thus the reason that you were pretty banged up yourself. Kosai was doing a great job at keeping you alive.
"And for that, we say..." He awaited your thanks.
"Thank you, Koko," you spoke aloud. You may or may not have stricken more fear into the men who stood before you.
"What kind of demon has she been worshipping" was what some of them were thinking as you were being ogled.
"I dare you to turn around right now."
Your head snapped to the side so fast it let out a satisfying crunch. You immediately regretted that choice- as you felt your fingers go numb for a second and a chill shot through your body. But you also regretted turning around because you now knew that your father walked in on the scene of your crime. Welp, there goes your reputation. You're fucked.
Kosai was focusing on other things. "The maids. Who would've guessed?"
Fully turning around, you faced your father fully. The chill didn't go away from your neck cracking, and you wobbled on your feet.
"Hey, sit down!"
Like you could do that. You felt one of your knees give out.
But you didn't fall
Kosai's own thoughts went deathly silent.
That chill, it wasn't from you almost killing yourself from breaking your neck. You usually felt an electric sensation as the tips of your fingers tingled. No, no, the air was colder than usual. The word Vice-Admiral made the breath catch in your throat.
OH MY FUCKING GOD IT BETTER NOT BE WHO I THINK IT IS.
You didn't dare turn around. Hell, you didn't even care that he had saved you from falling (when you preferred that he let your face smash into the ground), because the feeling that he had grasped onto the back of your shirt made you uncomfortable. All of your arms were tensed, squeezing against your chest.
"I'm not surprised... You're strong. But you don't dodge attacks much, do you. Why?"
"(Name), meet Vice-Admiral Aokiji."