"I know we've known each other for like, three weeks, but girl what the fuck how are you talking you're a literal goddamn sword, you don't have a mouth you only have eyes. That shouldn't be possible."
"Master, I already told you this. I'm a demon-"
"FOR FUCK'S SAKE NOT THIS BULLSHIT AGAIN--"
"-- And I was sealed away. For my deeds or simply my existence. This sword, my temporary vessel, was forged in a country called Wano--"
"WHAT THE FUCK IS WANO-"
"--Master, I strongly advise that you never break me. Whoever breaks me will be subject to my torment for as long as I please."
"YOU'RE GONNA BE W H A T--"
"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP?!"
At Kosai's shout, you shut your mouth and turned from the sword that Annan was sealed to, to Kosai, who was clinging to your arm like a leech. You only wanted to get to know Annan more. He was cool, anyways. And these past two weeks were getting harder and harder for you.
Considering that Smoker was nearing the end of his free thirty-day trial with you, he was making the most of it. By the time you got back home you'd resemble a wet pretzel. You really had been through the wringer, mentally and physically.
Your birthday was quickly approaching and your return to Crow Island was coming up. Maybe it'd be the start of your villain origin story, since you were looking to become a pirate after Zoro arrive and left your island.
Annan chuckled (Without a mouth, what the hell-- you still can't get over it--) and his eyes blinked in sync. "Anything master wishes to know, she will know."
"Damn, you're treating me like I'm royalty or something. Oh right..." You smugly looked at Kosai, who would never treat you like this even if he was being held at gunpoint. If he wasn't your protector, he'd be dancing on your grave and celebrating the day you died. "I am."
"(Name)'s only allowed to have ONE guardian, four-eyes," Kosai said sourly. "And that's me. That is my job and my job alone."
"Goddamn, control your jealously. You're the only one I call Babygirl anyways." You turned to the sword, tugging on the decorative black ribbon with a mother of pear flower charm at the end. You bought it the other day. Who didn't like a little pizzaz? "I can call you Bae because Babygirl is Kosai's thing."
"You only use that to patronize me! I'm not eye candy, you know!" You loved pissing him off. It was your life now.
"I wouldn't say that," Annan drawled.
"I BEG YOUR PARDON??"
"OooOooOooOOOhhhh, Kosai and Annan are flirting!!" You said while covering a snicker.
Scratch that, you started full-on cackling
The blob quivered with anger and melted back into you form, saying that he would never talk to you or the sword again. He wished for your death and went to sleep, or at least feign it, so he could ignore you. What a drama queen.
You raised him so well
("You'd be a horrible parent, (Name)!!", Kosai interjected)
"Anyways, with my babysitter gone, what do you wanna talk about, Annan? I'm down to share anything."
"Really?" He was quiet for a moment, before he thought of something to ask. "You said that you enjoy writing. What do you like to write about?"
You felt your face grow a bit hot at that. There were some things you enjoyed writing, and once you skirted out of the drafts that contained so much lemon you could make lemonade with them, you always wrote some type of romance. It usually involved tragedies, and you actually thought about his question for a hot second so that you could give him a good answer.
"Well..." Glancing around, you made sure that nobody could hear you. Even though your room had some thick walls, your screaming could usually carry. "I-I guess I'm a sucker for romance. I was writing this story about the Titanic, but not like Jack and Rose. I was supposed to publish it, but I never got around to doing it." It would've been the best queer story to ever exist.
Annan's voice wavered slightly. "Titanic...? What's that?"
"Oh, do you not know where I'm from? Do you not know about Earth??" You asked, smiling. Even going so far as to mention your home country. But... he didn't know? Oh damn, you should probably tell him that you weren't from this world, and you were kind of just here now. Inhabiting a body that belonged to a different person. Wack.
Yeah, you should probably tell him about your whole situation later. How it didn't come up before in the past three weeks, you didn't know. Probably just pure luck or Annan going along with your modern references.
But why the way he reacted to your question; you would've thought that Annan blushed with the way the sword lightly quivered. So that sophisticated side had a small crack in it? Only three weeks of knowing him and you already got him to break. Not a new record, as you made Kosai your bitch almost instantly, but you enjoyed making people blush.
It seemed like Annan became embarrassed when he didn't know something.
"No, Master, I do not." His eyes blinked at you. "Could you enlighten me, perhaps?"
"Eh... When I finally get home, I will. Not right now."
"Where is your home?"
His question hit you hard for some reason. You answered Crow Island, which of course, he had never heard of. He had probably been busy slumbering, collecting dust in that sword shop. Home... You called many places home. Home was the mansion that your family lived in. Home was where you trained with Kosai. It was here, where you slept in your room and talked with Tashigi (and sometimes) Smoker.
And when you were in the real world, your home went wherever you did. It was at a hotel. An apartment. A friend's house. You always asked, "when will we be home?"
You never really specified. Actually, you never liked specifying in the first place. Let the people be confused.
An idea popped into your head. You had never asked this question to Annan. You had asked Kosai, but he told you to shut the fuck up.
"Hm... Annan, do you have a home?"
"I... Suppose. I was not born anywhere, as I am a coalescence of hatred and souls of the damned repurposed, but in my earliest days, I resided... in the sky. There is an island in the sky, if you believe me."
"Oh shit, you mean Skypiea?" Annan's from Skypiea?! That's fucking cool.
His eyes widened. "Master (Name), you know of it?"
"Yeah! I heard stories about it. I just assume that a lot of things are real because of all the wild shit that happens here." What, did he think you were stupid or something?
He was about to ask if you've been there– but stopped. Of course you haven't been there. It would contradict what you just told him. That you had heard of it, and assumed it was real.
"It's a wonderful place. Hopefully I will be able to lead you there in the future."
"That's sweet of you..." When looking around the room, your eyes landed on the clock. "Ah, fuck, where does the time go?" Thirty minutes until you had to go meet Tashigi for dinner. "I should probably shower-- can't be dirty for the date-- come on, let's go."
Annan let you put him back into the scabbard with no protest, and you snatched your towel and headed towards the showers.
With your Haki, you could tell that nobody was in the woman's showers. Which was amazing. You didn't really like bathing that much with people around. Showering with a thin curtain being the only thing hiding people from seeing your body didn't reassure you either.
While you walked past one of the mirrors, shirt already off, you noticed something. You looked down at your chest in confusion before double checking in the mirror. When the hell did that happen?
Weird... Last time I checked, there was only one eye. You thought as your fingers traced over the tattoo in the center of your chest. Instead of the one that you expected, there were now eight. They were all identical to one another, and they all encircled a black circle.
"Kosai. Are you seeing this shit?"
He didn't reply right away. You took that as a sign of confusion as well. "I have no idea why the tattoos on your chest have multiplied. It's not because of me. I blame Annan."
"How dare you."
Maybe it was his fault. Blaming him was the last thing you wanted to do. You should probably ask him, just in case. Before that, you walked over to one of the showers and turned the shower handle. Cold water spilled from the shower head, and you waited for it to heat up before walking back over to the corner mirrors.
...Is it because I'm getting stronger? You pondered, eyes going to the sword that you had thrown your towel over.
Before you unsheathed him out of the scabbard, you made sure to throw the towel over your shoulders and cover your chest. You felt kind of bad for constantly using Annan as a towel rack whenever you went to the shower. You took him out of the scabbard.
Annan's eyes were closed. Huh. He must've been asleep.
You gave him a light shake.
"Annan. Annan."
The eyes scrunched shut a bit before they opened slowly. "Master...?" His eyes lingered on your form for a second. you paid no mind to the action. "Why are you... partially naked."
"I was going to take a shower, but I wanted you to see this." You gestured to the center of your chest with your lower hands. "I've never gotten a tattoo before --and you've already seen the first eye-- but more of these keep on showing up and I don't know why."
"... It looks like a flower," Annan's eyes squinted slightly, "Or a sun. I don't think I've seen this before either. Maybe it's a part of your curse?"
It's always gotta be about the curse. You grumbled out a thanks and put him back into the scabbard. You placed him into the corner before throwing the towel back over him. "Sure, sure, because I'm cursed, random marks are going to start appearing on my body. What's next, eyes on my hands?"
"Well... you have two eyes. Annan has four. There are eight on your chest, so maybe it represents the three of us? I rarely have two eyes, however."
"Never hurts to wonder, I guess. Welp!" You threw the curtain to the side and looked at the steaming water. "It's not gonna kill me, so I'm gonna forget about it for now."
"Beats me. Go take a shower now, you're dirty as hell."
Still salty from my comments, I see. You sighed to yourself and stretched (your spine let out a worrying crack, but you brushed past that), groaning in slight frustration. One day you'd learn about your curse. All of the ins and outs of it.
The air was cold on your skin, and it would no doubt be colder once you stepped out of the shower. Just a quick shower before you got dressed for the dinner Tashigi invited you to. Speaking of which; you hope it went well. If not, and you ended up embarrassing yourself, you'd be swimming home in shame. Why?
Well
You mayhaps have developed... certain feelings... for her
MAYHAPS
"Who are you kidding? You're a simp for that woman."
I DIDN'T KNOW THIS WOULD HAPPEN, OKAY??
You stood under the hot water from the shower and started scrubbing at your arms with soap. You would be forever grateful for the nice clothes that you packed. Also, you knew it was just a hang out. Tashigi wanted you to have a break.
She was so considerate (and clumsy) it made your heart burst. Whoever didn't like Tashigi needed to be put in prison until they understood why they were wrong. But of all people, considering that you were usually surrounded by cute young men and women when you trained, and a few did flirt with you, you didn't expect to be getting run over by the Tashigi feelings train.
You actually thought you wouldn't be catching feelings for everyone. Like that worked out ever.
"It's just a hang out, it's just a hang out..." You put your forehead on the wall right under the shower head and shakily exhaled. "It's just a hang out."
"Calm the fuck down. You're going to be enemies later anyways."
A pang of guilt struck your heart. UGH! DON'T REMIND ME!
~ . . . ~
"(Name)? Are you okay?" Tashigi asked as she set down her menu. "You look nervous. Something wrong?"
"Huhu, no," you said intelligently. GOD FUCK SHE KNOWS SOMETHINGS UP.
Kosai was irked. "Use your inside voice. Order the pancakes."
You would not be doing that. "Uh, time really flies, huh? Only a week left. It kinda makes me sad, to be honest. I made a lot of friends here."
"Fuck your friends. GET THE PANCAKES."
Tashigi smiled, a bit sad as well. "I hope you can come back soon. I finally find someone who's eager to learn how to be a swordsman, become great friends with them, and they already have to leave soon. I hope your father lets you come back soon."
You died at 'friends' ("(Name), you're fifteen!), but you nodded along absentmindedly. The next time you'd be seeing her, you'd be a wanted criminal. Sounds epic. She'd also want to take Annan away from you since he's a great sword. He's your friend, though, so that wouldn't be happening.
And he's also your future husband, Kosai.
"I WILL HIT YOU"
YOU WOULDN'T DARE
"OH, REALLY??"
Tashigi definitely saw your lower arms spasm, but she didn't even comment on it. Must be a 'plagued by curses' thing that she wouldn't understand. You were internally dying because Kosai had punched you in the stomach at the speed of light. Throwback to when he told you he wouldn't do anything more than 'punching or pinching'. That warning made sense now.
Die in a hole, Koko.
"You're stuck with me forever, Einstein."
Fuck off. You were going to go apeshit.
Perfect timing, the waiter arrived. You both gave him your orders, and against Kosai's will, didn't order the pancakes. Because fuck him.
You spent the time waiting for your food by just talking to Tashigi. You, trying not to show too much of your emotions and hoping she didn't pick up on the fact that you gave her more attention than anyone else at the Marine Base, and Tashigi, excitedly rambling about how far you had come in regard to your sword training. Watching people talk about their passions were always interesting for you.
Your Four Sword Style was something you didn't even expect to learn. It wasn't hard and was definitely easier than using one or two swords. Which you found to be more difficult because your lower arms had nothing to do. You didn't think you'd be naming any moves you made. Then your enemies would know exactly what you'd be doing and counterattack or some shit. You couldn't have that happening.
Not when you already knew how they were going to attack. Only you could have the upper hand. Perhaps you should keep it a secret that you know everything about the enemies that you'd be facing. And that you had gone into Smoker's room when he was out to go through all of his shit. Not only was it nerve wracking and fun, but you did discover a bit more about some trade deals and secret operations that Smoker was a part of. You had completely forgotten that he already had his eyes on Alabasta.
(Litte did you know, your father, King Sai, was waiting for you at home, hopeful that you had done your job as a nosy teenager and respected nobody's privacy)
Alabasta seemed so far away
Yet it was almost within your reach. Both excited and afraid of what the gods had in store for you, along with your slightly new friend, Annan, you couldn't wait for everything to begin. Maybe you could... let loose. Not only would you finally be hanging around people your age, but you would be traveling the world with them. It was a dream come true.
(Speaking of PLOT, your mortal enemy, you haven't been keeping up on your notes-- and you were getting worried that small plot details would end up being overlooked--).
But it'd only be two years until you got to watch your captain kill a Floridian because Luffy has the luck of the gods on his side or something. You would be letting him do that while you made it your personal problem to go after people who weren't even interested in you.
Your future rival, Kaku, was going to fall victim to your power and sheer awesomeness. He had scarred you for life anyways. You could never look at a giraffe the same way again. Kosai, who sadly had access to your thoughts 99% of the time, commented on your bloodlust for giraffes. And anyone who had a long nose but Usopp.
"Your hatred towards Kaku is alarming. From what I know, the only thing that SOME people might find unlikable about him is his appearance. But even then, fans of the show like him."
He has many fans and I am not one of them. I hope that fucker trips and breaks his nose.
The demon deadpanned. "Along with your lack of compassion for him... You are truly an unpredictable person. Where does your attitude for him come from?"
It comes with being a hater. I hope I never see him again after Enies Lobby. You have to help me plot his downfall anyways.
You snapped out of your thoughts when Tashigi waved her hands in front of you. "Oh, sorry, did you say something?" You asked cooly. In reality, you had started sweating anxiously.
"You spaced out for a second. What are you thinking about?"
Upon being caught off guard, you flushed. "Sword techniques. Just thinking about what I can do. Do you only use one sword?"
She nodded. "I don't like using more than one."
"I see."
"I'm... a bit jealous that you can wield four. But I bet it's harder for you because of the extra weight. Aren't they all different in weight?" Tashigi leaned forward in interest. You hummed.
"I guess so. I don't really notice because I always hold them in the same order."
Ehh, sometimes. Your non dominant hands were all used to the weight of the other three (hopefully) non sentient swords. You always held Annan in your dominant hand, and you kept three swords on one side whereas Annan was always separated from the rest. He got special treatment.
The ravenette pushed her glasses up. "Well, when you come back," That sentence hurt you too. "--We can work more on your main style. I don't think Smoker will let you have that same room, though," the young woman laughed nervously. "You were more of a guest this time. But I feel like he's going a bit soft on you now."
Are we talking about the same person? He almost dislocated my shoulder yesterday. You mimicked her expression and let out a chuckle. "Ah, I figured. I'm spoiled by you two."
"W-Well, we try to treat you like everyone else!"
You deadpanned. "Literally everyone else knows that I'm the only one who gets specialized training from Smoker. Nobody else here would survive that."
A cloud of depression floated over her head. "Ah... maybe we're too obvious..."
You waved her off. "No-- it's fine. It's not like I was being picked on because of that."
That was a relief on her end. You couldn't tell what she was thinking, but her slightly saddened expression was worrying you. You reassured her that you'd expect nothing less than equal treatment if you returned.
She leaned forward once again, her arms propped up on the table. "But... time really does fly. You're right about that, (Name). It's gone so quickly..." Tashigi sighed.
You smiled. In the short time you had alive, you'd be living every second however the hell you wanted. Last time, you worried over everything. You never took risks. You stayed in the background and watched others have the time of their lives and have fun, when you thought it was dangerous.
You hadn't lived at all before this
"I'm gonna miss you guys. The others didn't know that I'm, well, a princess," you muttered, "And you've treated me like I'm just a regular person. Thank you."
Tashigi gave you an award-winning smile. You contemplated just quitting right then and there and legitimately becoming a Marine. (You were kidding, of course-- Luffy's crew sounded like heaven on earth, and you wanted to torment Zoro for the rest of your life).
"We'll always be friends, right?" Even if our dreams make us take different paths?
You asked the last bit in your head. If you said it aloud, you'd give your true intentions away
"Of course!"
She noticed that you looked uneasy. Maybe a little unsure. You reached over the table. "Promise? You can't take it back. This is your last chance, Tashigi."
Tashigi laughed. The ravenette would never truly understand your weird and funny ways. "Yes, I promise." She reached over like you did and shook your hand. You grinned back at her.
"Stop being gay. The food's here." Kosai cut in, completely ruining the moment for you. You looked to the side and indeed saw that the waiter was bringing your food over.
Well, Tashigi would always be your friend. You trapped her in a promise, and you didn't like breaking promises. She better keep her side of the bargain since you'd claim that you were her best friend until you died. You watched as she dug in, and you looked down at your own plate. Hesitating to start eating.
Well...
...This was it, wasn't it?
The turning point
Or the point of no return
You shook the thoughts from your head and picked up your fork. Bone apple teeth, I guess.
I'm so sorry, Tashigi.
"I'm not, lmao."