-Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty-One-
"I'm sure you're worn out from all that's happened, sorry to bother you guys" Coby apologized as we all made our way back to the building.
"Nah, it's fine" Luffy waved off his apology. "I haven't seen you in ages, we got to celebrate!" he grinned.
"Hey, you bastards! Hold on a second! You didn't recognize me at all, huh?!" the blond cried, clearly upset that the two pirates hadn't recognized him the same way that they had recognized Coby.
"Who the hell are you?" Zoro frowned.
"You must know him if he's throwing such a fit" I said.
"It's me! See?! Me!" the blond grinned as he pointed at his face as if that was meant to help the two in recognizing him at all.
"No, I don't see, just tell me" Luffy shook his head.
"Get a clue, guys—it's Helmeppo! Captain Morgan's son, Helmeppo, surely you remember now!" Helmeppo huffed. "I had you tied up, you were almost excused because of me, Zoro—you couldn't possibly forget that, could you?!" he asked as I narrowed my eyes at his words, that wasn't exactly a good way to remind someone of who you are. "Well there, now we all know who I am, right? Really, guys, stop giving me such a hard time!" he scowled. "I made empty threats, I was always talking about my daddy!"
"Oh, that guy" Zoro and Luffy deadpanned.
"What do you mean "that guy," huh?!" Helmeppo snapped.
"Yeah, right, you sucked! No wonder I forgot" Luffy huffed which caused me to chuckle as the blonde's shoulders slumped and he started to cry.
"I want to forgive them, but I just can't—I'm so sorry, Coby" Helmeppo sadly muttered.
"You just have to accept the past and move on, Helmeppo" Coby tried to comfort the blond.
"He still sucks?" Zoro questioned.
"Looks like it" Luffy nodded.
"Man, you guys are blunt" I said. "At least lighten up a little, you already got the poor guy on his hands and knees" I said.
"Hey, Luffy" Coby suddenly said. "I know that you and I are enemies now, but are we still...uh..." he nervously trailed off, looking almost hesitant to ask the question that was on his mind.
"Of course! We're still friends!" Luffy brightly smiled which caused the teen to sigh in relief.
"Now, I have a job for you boys" Garp suddenly said as he faced his men.
"Sir!" the men saluted.
"This wall...fix it!" Garp ordered as he motioned towards the hole in the wall that he had created.
"If you were going to have us fix it, why'd you break it in the first place?!" all the men snapped. It wasn't too long until all the Marines and Garp found themselves busy with fixing up the hole that was created while the rest of us silently watched them.
"So, this grandpa of yours is really famous?" Sanji questioned as I leaned my body back against Zoro, smiling a little as I felt his arms circle around me while he rested his chin on my shoulder.
"Beats me, I never really asked him about his job" Luffy shrugged.
"By the way, Luffy, I heard you met your old man a while back" Garp piped up from his spot on the floor where he was busy fixing up the hole he had made.
"Huh? My dad?" Luffy questioned with the tilt of his head. "No, I don't think so, I didn't even think I had a dad" he frowned when he was unable to recall such a meeting.
"How does that logic even work? You couldn't even have been conceived without your father impregnating your mother" I sweat dropped.
"That's a shame, I thought he'd introduced himself to you" Garp said as he started to boredly pick at his nose in the same manner that Luffy was known to do. "From what I heard, he saw you off back in Loguetown" he said.
"Loguetown?" Zoro questioned.
"I remember what happened, but I sure don't remember Luffy's father" Sanji said as I stayed silent, not having anything to say about this conversation. I wasn't with them when they were in Loguetown, they hadn't met me until after—Fair Haven wasn't too far from where Lougetown was, just a three day trip between the two islands really...it's just that many people don't realize that due to the fact that Fair Haven wasn't on any maps.
"Could you give me a hint here? What's dad like?" Luffy curiously asked.
"I'd like to know myself, I can't imagine it" Nami said, becoming lost in thought for a moment in imaging what kind of man Luffy's father is.
"The name of your father is Monkey D. Dragon—the Revolutionary" Garp revealed which caused me to almost choke on my own spit.
"Dragon, huh?" Luffy questioned as the men outside were clearly taken aback.
"T-that Dragon? The Revolutionary has a son!" one of the men gaped.
"Even though he's famous, Luffy didn't know" Coby remarked.
"Wait, Dragon is Vice Admiral Garp's son? What kind of crazy messed up family do they got?" Helmeppo nervously asked.
"Come to think of it, I've never heard Dragon's full name before" one of the men admitted.
"What's the big deal, you guys?" Luffy frowned. "Why is everyone freaking out so much?" he asked.
"Are you kidding? You're trying to tell me you've never heard of Dragon before?" Sanji gaped.
"How could you not? He's practically infamous!" I gawked.
"He's a dangerous man, like really dangerous" Nami said.
"Um...Robin?" Luffy looked to the raven-haired woman for answers.
"I'm not exactly sure how I should explain this one, pirates like us are enemies with the Navy, but we don't usually attack them on our own" Robin started. "But, there is one group directly opposing the authority of the World Government—the Revolutionary Army, and the man at the head of that group is Dragon. By now, his ideology has spread to many nations, causing worldwide rebellion" she explained. "Would you consider your island to be people in support of or even a part of the Revolutionary, Skylar?" everyone turned their heads towards me as I shook my head.
"Nah, they may hate the government, but those people aren't going to even attempt to fight back against the system—they're just not going to be a part of it" I said, dismissively waving my hand. "With each passing generation of children that are born on that island, though, a large majority of them find themselves attracted to the idea of being a part of the Marines. They may be taught by the older generations to hate the government, but they still hold some respect to the men that fight to protect, not every generation is going to follow in the exact footsteps of the island's founders" I explained.
"I see" Robin nodded her head before going back to her explanation. "The government's hold has already collapsed in a number of regions, naturally the government is furious—they've labeled Dragon as the world's worst criminal and will stop at absolutely nothing to hunt him down" she said. "The problem is that no one knows a single thing about him, he's very mysterious and yet..."
"And yet? What?" Luffy tilted his head when the raven-haired woman suddenly grew silent.
"Uh...that was a mistake, huh? I probably shouldn't have said all that stuff!" Garp laughed as if trying to sweep away the tension that had been built up inside the room thanks to what he had said. "I take it back, forget it, okay" he said with the dismissive wave of his hand.
"What?!" everyone shouted.
"Anyways, Luffy" Garp said which caught the rubber man's attention. "Since you're my grandson, I won't capture you and turn you over to the government—it's fine if I tell them that, I'm sure everyone will understand" he said. "Can't put work before family, right?" he asked.
"That's not an excuse, sir! Let's just say they got away!" one of the men quickly suggested.
"I mostly came here as a favor for Coby and Helmeppo, you boys take your time and chat it up all you like, I'm heading back to my ship for now" Garp said.
"Alright, so long" Luffy said only to be struck in the head by his grandfather.
"Is that all you're going to say?!" Garp snapped. "At least pretend that you care, I'm your grandpa and you haven't seen me in ages!" he huffed, annoyed that his grandson wasn't giving a more heartfelt goodbye.
"But I'm happy that you're leaving!" Luffy frowned. "All you've done is yell and hit me!" he snapped.
"I still want my grandson to love me, you idiot!" Garp snapped back as Nami, Sanji, and I sweat dropped. "I'm not as heartless as you!" he scowled.
"Uh...?" Chopper tilted his head.
"Quite a way to say farewell" I muttered.
"I see stubbornness runs in the family—immaturity too" Nami grumbled as we all nodded our head in agreement.
"That old man blew in and blew out like a storm" Sanji remarked as he sat down a cup of tea, having made some after Garp had left. I only hummed in response as I mindlessly stirred my spoon around in the cup in front of me. Silently listening to how it clinked and scraped against the inside of the glass. It was just him, Robin, Chopper, and I seated around the table while Zoro was seated near the open window.
"I admit, the part about Dragon certainly surprised me, and here I thought my family history was odd" Robin said.
"Same..." I grumbled as I stopped stirring and just stared down at the liquid—not really in the mood to drink it anymore as I became lost in my thoughts.
"Something wrong, Skylar darling?" Sanji curiously asked as Zoro gave a low growl in annoyance while I peered up from my cup at the blond and offered a small, forced smile. "Is the tea not to your liking?" he worriedly questioned, looking ready to take the glass from me and get me a new one.
"No, it's wonderful" I assured him as I forced my smile to widen, silently watching as he swooned about how "lovely" of a smile it was.
"Where's Luffy?" Chopper curiously asked.
"He's out front with Coby and that other guy" Zoro answered from his spot on the floor.
"You don't want to see him too? You're old friends, right?" Sanji questioned.
"Well, this does bring back memories, but Luffy's the one that saved Coby—not me" the swordsman answered as I directed my gaze back down at my drink.
"But you still know him, don't you?" I asked which only caused him to hum in return.
"Huh? I wonder where Nami ran off to" Chopper pondered aloud. "She said something about getting info from the Navy, but I guess she changed her mind" he said.
"She said she went to the pool with Kokoro and the others" Robin and I answered as I looked back up again before quickly slumping down in my seat the minute I saw a heart shoot by.
"Pool?" Chopper questioned.
"Galley-La has a company pool in the back for all of its employees to use" Robin told him.
"What?! Does that mean Nami's in a swimsuit?! I better bring her a drink!" Sanji excitedly cooed as he disappeared in a whirlwind of hearts, not wasting a second in heading towards the company pool just so he could catch sight of Nami in her swimsuit.
"And the pervert has been released" I breathed out which caused Zoro to snort as he leaned back against the wall.
"Skylar" Robin suddenly said.
"Yes?" I hummed, looking towards the raven-haired woman who had now directed her attention towards me.
"May I speak to you in private?" she suddenly asked as she stood from her seat and motioned for me to follow.
"Huh? Sure, I guess" I shrugged, standing up from my seat as I now followed closely behind her.
"Where are you two heading off to?" Zoro curiously asked.
"You're leaving us as well?" Chopper tilted his head.
"We'll be back, Robin just wants to talk about something" I told the two before fully leaving the room, following closely behind the woman until we both took refuge in one of the other rooms located in the building. A room that was clearly far away from the others and ensured that none of them would be able to easily eavesdrop unless they had followed us. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
-Robin's P.O.V-
I didn't exactly know how to bring up the subject at hand, to ask her the questions that have been nagging at the back of my mind since the discovery of the posters and her father. Would she try to deny everything? Try to walk away and act like what I had to say never happened? There was only one way to find out.
"You're Admiral Varen's daughter, are you not?" I asked, deciding not to even bother playing around or drag this out.
"W-what?" and just like that, her face drained of any color as her muscles tensed up. "H-how...what...when...." she stumbled over her words, not really knowing what to say as a look of fear and dread flashed through her eyes—she looked like that of a child the way she drew back and almost shrunk in on herself as her mouth opened and closed, no sound coming out as if she was having a hard time finding her words.
"I'm not wrong, am I?" I asked, watching how her shoulders slumped and her gaze averted towards the ground as she sadly nodded her head. "Why?" I inquired with the tilt of my head.
"Why what?" Skylar mumbled, just barely looking in my direction as she now started to shuffle her feet around as if she could no longer stand still—as if she was tempted to just turn and bolt at any moment. Once more did she look like a child in my eyes, a child that had just been caught doing something they shouldn't have or being forced to admit to whatever terrible thing they had just done.
"Why run away from such a luxurious life?" that was the only way I could think to put the question. It made no sense, I've racked my brain for answers, but each one made no sense. She didn't seem like the type that was childish or bratty nor did she look like the rebellious type that would trade a comfy life for that of a commoner—I couldn't think of any reason as to why she and her brothers would have just upped and left, just ran away and abandon a life of ease and comfort that many nobles were known to live.
"Luxurious life? Ha! That's a good one!" she sneered, a flash of hatred and annoyance passing through her eyes as her lips slowly began to quiver before she forced them up into a strained, crooked smile. "You must think I'm a selfish little brat, don't you? Thinking how shitty and ungrateful I am for running away from a life of riches, huh?" she suddenly asked.
"No—"
"I don't blame you, it's only common to think they way when you hear stories of noble children running away" she cut me off, harshly glaring at the ground. "You want to know the reason why? The real reason?" she asked as she finally looked up at me. There was a glossy look to her eyes as if she wanted to cry, but was holding back as if she couldn't bring herself to let the tears fall this time. I silently nodded my head, watching as she heaved a sigh and shuffled over towards one of the chairs in the room, tiredly throwing herself down onto it and tilting her head back—she hadn't said anything yet, and already did she look drained.
"Would you even believe me? Can I trust that you won't turn your head and deny the words that I speak—that you won't just turn around and tell me that we're the ones to blame? That everything was our fault?" the questions threw me off guard, but I said nothing. With another tired sigh, she let her eyes flutter shut and began to regale me with her tale. The words she spoke were underlined with venom as her face scrunched up into a look of pure hatred and disgust only lightening up into a bittersweet smile whenever she'd mention certain events—events that didn't sound so bad, events that sounded almost sweet and comforting despite the circumstances that surrounded them. She did not leave a single detail out as if wishing to let me know every nook and cranny about her life as if to justify her reasoning in the choices she's made throughout it...or was she trying to convince herself that her reasonings weren't wrong?
I felt uncomfortable, unable to keep myself standing as I was quick to find a seat as well just as she came to a finish and her eyes fluttered open. Her gaze stayed locked on the ceiling above our heads as if she didn't have the courage to face me—as if she was terrified that if she looked me in the eyes she'd see something she didn't like. I could see the way her body slowly started to shake the longer I stayed silent, quietly watching how the tears finally started to overflow within her eyes and race down her cheeks as her lips began to quiver once more and twitch downwards this time.
"Say something, dammit!" I jumped the minute she choked out those words, her hand smashing down on the nearby table while her head snapped in my direction, our eyes finally making contact. It was then that I saw it—I saw the way her eyes shined with years of pain, but also a certain kind of unstableness that sent shivers down my spine. Not the kind that would be associated with the illness that is insanity, but the kind that lets one know that she wasn't all there...that she was lost in a world of her own, a world that wouldn't leave her be.
"Why...why didn't you tell any of us?" I quietly asked wondering why she hadn't thought to share this information with any of us—why she had chosen to just keep it all inside and let it build up. Silently did I watch as her lips suddenly turned upwards and she started to laugh.
"Why do you think? Because I'm scared, do you know what the others would think to know they have an Admiral's daughter on their ship?" she asked, voice wobbly as the tears continued to fall. "No less the one that's going to be his successor, they would lose all trust in me! Think I was working with the government—they would toss me aside just so I wouldn't be a hindrance! Just so they wouldn't have to risk my existence on this crew destroying their hopes and dreams!"
"No, they wouldn't!" I couldn't help but scold her for her line of thinking. But she didn't really seem to hear me, her fingers now raking through her hair, roughly yanking at the knots they would snag on as her breathing started to pick up.
"I shouldn't have joined—I shouldn't have listened to them or let them egg me on into thinking that going out to sea would be a good idea! I'll bring nothing but trouble, he probably now knows about my whereabouts because of the run-in with Admiral Aokiji and CP9" her breathing started to pick up which caused my eyes to widen as she seemed to look around in a frightful daze. Was she about to have a panic attack? "I knew this was going to happen, but...but...but..." I jumped at the loud sobs that started to rack through her body. Her hands now flying up to her face as she tried to curl up on herself and cried.
"I don't want to go back!" she wailed, repeating the words over and over as she desperately continued to gasp for air with every breath she sucked in before releasing it all out in choked out sobs.
"It's alright" I quietly murmured, gently reaching a hand out towards her before stopping when she shakily looked up at me with puffy red eyes, more tears already welled up in the corners of them as snot leaked from her nostrils. She looked so young and frightened, she looked so terrified and small—she looked like a little mouse that has just been caught and tossed into a cage, forced to curl up in the farthest corners in an attempt to hide from its captor.
"His words are still in my mind" she sniffed which confused me. "His words are still bouncing around in there..." she mumbled, slowly lowered her hands from her face and brought them down to her neck. I looked at the bandages that were wrapped tightly around it, recalling how she had begged Chopper to wrap it—to hide the fingerprint shaped bruises that had appeared on her flesh once everything was said and done. When everything had calmed down after the fight and Merry's parting...I could still hear Zoro's raged filled shouts upon finally noticing the bruises. It had angered him to know that someone had been able to easily wrap their hands around her throat and squeeze it enough to leave such ugly markings.
Slowly did my eyes widen, watching as she suddenly started to scratch her own fingers down her bandaged neck as if trying to tear away at the bandages...or perhaps her mind wasn't aware they were there, perhaps the reality of the situation was that her fingers were trying to tear at the flesh of her own neck.
"I don't...I don't...I don't...." she could barely get the words out as her fingers started picking up speed, already pulling and loosening the bandages the longer she tore away at them—she would have fully ripped them away if I hadn't brought my hands up and firmly took hold of her wrists, stopping her movements altogether. Such a violent reaction, if I had known she'd react this way to relaying such memories, I wouldn't have asked—I would have kept my mouth shut because it wasn't my intention to put her through such a hell, I had only wanted answers. I had only wanted to understand.
"You're not going to go back—the others will make sure of that" was all I could think to tell her as I pulled her to my chest. No matter how you looked at it, she was still the second youngest member of the crew—she was still nothing more than a child. Doesn't matter how rough she looked, doesn't matter how mature her words sounded sometimes, she still had the emotional state of a sixteen-year-old. An emotional state that still didn't know how to handle such a stressful situation and sudden flood of bad memories—an emotional state that wasn't yet mature enough to process and accept all that it had been through.
"Robin..." she murmured after a moment of silence, her arms loosely wrapped around my waist as I gently stroked my fingers through her hair. It seemed to calm her down just a bit—just the mere act of my fingers gently running along her scalp and through her hair was enough to relax her just a little to calm her crying and settle down her panic.
"Yes?" I hummed, keeping my voice low as not to trigger any more violent responses from her.
"Promise...promise you won't tell the others....I...I don't want them to know" I stayed silent for a moment after hearing her request, knowing that I shouldn't agree and knowing that the others deserved to know. But, instead of listening to my rational side, I slowly nodded my head.
"I promise."
-Skylar's P.O.V-
The walk back to the kitchen was silent, neither one of us speaking about the events that had just taken place in the room we had left behind. By the time we reached the kitchen, we both sort of just went our separated ways. I didn't bother to see where she was going as I walked over to the open window when I saw Zoro leaned against it and poking his head out. Leaning my body against the sill, I rested my head on his shoulder which caused the swordsman to hum as he tilted his head to the side so that it now rested against my own, both of us now watching Luffy as he exchanged words with Helmeppo and Coby.
"What? You guys are going back already?" Luffy frowned. "Stick around for dinner at least" he said, not wanting his friends to leave just yet.
"At the end of the day, we're still enemies—we can't be too friendly with each other" Coby reminded him. "By the way, I was wondering if you ever heard the name they use for the second half of the Grand Line?" he curiously asked.