silence is the most powerful scream
Finn stared at herself in the mirror of the giant bathroom she stood in, analyzing every little detail of her appearance. Very few minor cuts and bruises she'd gained from the fight with Buggy were on her body - thankfully leaving her face and neck blemish-free.
Well, for the most part, that is. There was a bit of bruising beginning to form around her neck where the chains choked her, but as of right now, they were barely visible. That would probably change within a day or two as they healed.
Deciding she shouldn't make the others wait any longer, she walked out and into the bedroom. The bedroom was all too familiar, as it was the main place she hung out with Usopp and Kaya when she came over.
She stopped coming over more when Kaya's new butler came around. Klahadore had always given Finn the heebie-jeebies, but it's ten times worse now that she's seeing Kaya for the first time since she left. He'd always been protective of Kaya - too protective, in Finn's opinion. But she brushed herself off as being envious nobody was protective of her the way he was Kaya. And so she let it go, not bothering to bring it up to anyone at all.
The bedroom looked just as it did before Finn left, but considering she hadn't been gone for long it wasn't a surprise.
"Nothing's changed since you left," A soft voice spoke, causing Finn to jump.
She held the white towel closer to her chest, turning to see Kaya sitting at the edge of her bed.
"S-sorry, I used your bathroom because I didn't want to wait for the others," Finn mumbled. She held the towel as close to her body as she could as if it would magically make clothes appear.
"You never have to apologize, Finley." Kaya sent a smile her way, "You're my friend. You're welcome to use whatever you need, whenever you need. Although I hope you know I am wondering why you had left."
"I can borrow something- something to wear then?" Finn asked, ignoring Kaya's statement.
"Of course you can," Kaya said again. She didn't say anything more about why Finn had been gone, and Finn was glad.
She knew she was eventually going to have to explain to Kaya why she left so suddenly, but she'd already broken down once today telling Usopp. She didn't want to break down again, but she knew Kaya deserved a reason.
It was silent as Finn flipped through the different clothing articles of Kaya's, looking for something to wear. She finally decided on something that would fit her figure. It was a pink color, which wasn't surprising as it was one of Kaya's dresses.
She stepped back into the bathroom to change, the sound of Kaya's soft voice stopping her for a moment. "You don't have to tell me if you're uncomfortable doing so, although I would appreciate an explanation as to why my best friend left me in the way she did."
Finn felt a pain in her chest as she gently closed the door, leaving it open just enough for them to continue their talk. She began to get dressed, fighting with herself over what to say before responding.
"I didn't want to leave," Finn finally said, zipping the dress up. "I was forced to. My parents decided that instead of doing what they could to pay off a debt, I was worth tossing away."
She probably didn't word it the best, but saying this was better than saying nothing at all. She didn't want to leave Kaya hanging, making her feel like she wasn't worthy enough of an explanation for her disappearance.
Kaya and Usopp were her only two friends. Finn had been friendless for the majority of her life, especially before the two came around. If it weren't for Usopp, she'd have never met Kaya, and if it weren't for the both of them she'd never have known that true friends do exist.
After she changed and slipped her shoes on again, she exited the bathroom. Kaya had a sad look on her face, very much in thought as she processed what Finn had told her.
"I couldn't imagine," She finally spoke, her sad eyes reaching Finn's. "To have such, such a sad life and to be given so easily - so quickly at that."
"I mean, it happened, you know? It wasn't my choice, I didn't choose to leave my life here behind." Finn shrugged as if it were nothing.
"Are you going to stay now that you're back?" Kaya asked, "I'm sure with enough convincing that Klahadore would let you stay here, and you wouldn't need to-"
"Kaya," Finn mumbled, cutting the other girl off. She shook her head, causing Kaya's mouth to close slowly. "I appreciate the offer, I really do, but-" She stopped herself as she felt hot tears sting her eyes. "This isn't my home anymore."
"I understand," Kaya softly spoke, tears filling her eyes as well. "And them, out there, they're your home?" She then asked, catching Finn off guard.
"I don't think so, I don't know." Finn shrugged again, "I don't know them well enough. Some aren't fond of me, but Luffy has invited me to join his crew."
By some, Finn had only meant Nami. But she didn't feel calling out dislike and distrust towards her was needed, as it wasn't the topic of conversation.
"And you're joining," Of course, Kaya meant this as a question. It hadn't come out that way, however, and so it was more of a statement than anything.
"I don't know," She honestly spoke. "As I told Usopp, the only thing I even think I'm sure of is that I'm not coming back to live here. Now that my parents have given me up I have the freedom to travel the world. I can do what I want when I want, and I don't have to answer to anyone but myself. I'm my own boss, you know?"
Kaya didn't say anything, leaving the room in complete silence. They both thought over the conversation, and it wasn't long before Finn spoke up again.
"Maybe I will join Luffy's crew, and maybe I won't. For now, I'll stick around with them because of the offer, and eventually, if I decide to go on my own I'll do that. The only thing worth staying here is you and Usopp, but even then-"
"You shouldn't let that keep you from living your life, I get it." Kaya cut Finn off, smiling at her friend. "You've always been interested in Usopp's tales. Speaking on how we need to make that happen someday and instead of living through each other, we live it together. It's nice you now have the chance to do so."
Finn softly smiled at her friend, who smiled in return. She began to think of what she could respond with, but the sound of a door opening cut her off.
Usopp walked through the little servant's door, unaware of the conversation happening on the other side. "Yo," He said, walking further into the room.
Kaya giggled, her mood immediately shifted to one of joy as she looked at the boy in admiration. "You know, one of these days, Klahadore is going to figure out you use the servant's passageways to sneak in here."
"Uh huh," Usopp responded, causing Kaya to laugh once more.
Feeling a little bit out of place and as if she were intruding, Finn cleared her throat. "I'm going to go see what the others are up to, before dinner." She explained, sending a soft smile to Kaya.
"Oh yeah, right," Usopp said. "We'll see you guys for dinner."
Finn nodded and without another word took that as her queue to leave the room. She could hear Kaya giggling at something else Usopp said as she left, a soft smile covering her own features.
Her mind ran with thoughts as she went down the familiar hallways, thinking of wear the others would be. She had no idea which rooms they went to for showering, or even where they were meeting after they got dressed.
"Finn," A familiar voice called out, bringing her out of her thoughts.
Turning around, she looked back to see Zoro walking her way. He carried his three swords on his arm as he wore a silky red robe, closing the distance between them. "You've been here before right?" He asked. "Assuming since you know... you know them." He cleared his throat.
Zoro wasn't much of a talker, that's something Finn picked up on fairly quickly after meeting him. However, that being said, he's talked to her more than she expected. He seemed to be a little more open with her without opening up to her... if that made any sense at all.
He was kind, but part of Finn only assumed he was this kind to her because not only did she show him a random act of kindness when they first met, but also because of how Nami had been acting toward her lately.
"Oh, yeah. I assume since they want us dressed nice that they'll be providing clothes, so that would be-" Finn glanced around to remember where she was. "This way."
She led him toward the room she assumed the others would be in. It was silent, but she wasn't complaining and Zoro didn't seem to mind it all that much either, until he decided to break it.
"You plan on seeing your parents?"
"What?" Finn asked softly, glancing over at him. "Oh, I don't know. No." She decided after a moment, "They made their choice. I'm making mine."
"Good," Zoro said. "Shitty people deserve shitty things."
Finn didn't say anything, but for some reason Zoro's response made her feel a lot better about her decision.
Finally stopping at the door, she looked to see Luffy looking around the room full of clothes. After a moment he noticed the two in the doorway, a smile covering his face.
"Hey, Zoro! Finn!"
Finn followed Zoro into the room, the boy in front of her glancing at the clothing surrounding them.
"What are you going to wear?" Luffy asked Zoro.
Zoro looked around for a little bit more before finally stopping, looking at the curly-haired boy sitting in front of him.
"Something black."
++
Bit of a filler, hope you're not bored of this yet <3
This isn't meant to be super interesting in the beginning as it's still introducing Finn and adapting a dynamic with the Straw Hats, not to mention Sanji's not in it so I think everyone might find it a little bit boring since there'll be no romance yet LMAOOO but that's just my opinion
Anyways comment ur thoughts what would you like to see?