"I don't want to leave." Sabo said holding on to a blanket on your bed even though it was already late.
Honestly, you didn't want him to leave either, but you were still sleeping in different rooms, so it was not ideal for him to stay longer in your room with Rouge sleeping there.
"Get out of here, go." You ordered.
He gave a small whine in protest but you pushed him out of the bed. "Come on, please just move in with me." He asked.
"Not yet."
"Please...my pretty mermaid princess?"
A cheesy line like that, it was crazy that it got you, and you felt yourself blushing needlessly as you failed to hide it.
"Oh? Is that working?" He said turning your face back to him and making you feel the gentle touch of his hand on your face. "You should have told me if that's what you're into, you know....I can make it worth your while."
"S-stop teasing me!" You said trying to hide your face again.
"Please, Your Highness, your humble subject begs for your attention..."
"Shut up! Get out!" You attacked him with your pillow and he laughed as he slid off the bed.
"Seriously, though, you better move in soon. I don't like sleeping alone anymore now that I've got you." Sabo said before leaving.
Of course you wanted to. Sure you had reservations because you didn't want to move too fast, but your relationship with Sabo had never been a normal one. You'd been living together for over a year already, and moving into his room which was bigger and more spacious was the best choice. Perhaps it was time you thought about letting Rouge sleep alone as well as you did not want her to turn out like you.
But mostly, you really loved the idea of waking up next to Sabo every morning.
~
Koala returned from her mission a few days later than expected.
The next day, she came to help you with moving. Seeing as she was away when you and Sabo got together, she was positively itching for details on the encounter.
"I already told you everything like three times, Koala, what more do you want me to say?" You asked as you packed your clothes into Sabo's closet.
"I'm sorry, it's just that I'm so happy for him. I've watched Sabo-kun struggle so much with his guilt, especially when it came to you. I'm really glad that you were able to help him to start getting through everything." She said. "Besides, I have been rooting for the two of you since forever!"
"You have?"
"Of course I have. That idiot has never even looked at a girl before, and suddenly he finds someone that he's willing to do so much for, and not just out of his standard good nature. Of course I wanted you two to be together." She smiled.
You couldn't help but share her sentiment. "You know, carrying boxes and cleaning things up like this reminds me if the day that we first met.... That day though, moving was much easier because Robin-san was with us."
"Hmm, I'm going out of my way to help you and yet you are complaining? It's not my fault that Robin went with Dragon-san to observe the battlefield at Darting Island. So I'm sorry if I'm not good eno-" Koala started but you giggled and linked your arm to hers.
"Come on, don't sulk, you're my favourite person in the world!" You laughed.
"Don't let Sabo-kun hear that." She shook her head. "He's been training Kai for a couple of hours already, don't you think they might be hungry?"
"Yeah, let's finish up here and I'll go and make lunch for them. Rouge is gonna wake up soon too." You concurred. "She'll be waking up to a new room. I'm kinda a little scared that she'll be sleeping by herself to be honest."
"Y/N-chan, there's a simple solution to that. Stay with your cute baby girl instead of moving into your boyfriend's room."
♤Boyfriend.♤
You couldn't stop the blush that crept over your cheeks at that word. It was true, Sabo was your boyfriend now, for real and not just as a cover story. It was surreal for you to even think about and it brought a smile to your face.
"What's this? You're completely smitten aren't you?" Koala teased, picking up your bookcase.
"What do you mean smitten? I'm completely fine. Besides, about what you said, I can't just decide to not move, Sabo has been pestering me for days now, I can't disappoint him." You huffed.
The brown haired girl smiled, "You act like you were coerced into it, but you actually can't wait, can you?"
"Shut up." You said making the bed.
"Oh? This book is..." Koala muttered looking at your bookcase.
You glanced over to see that she was holding 'A Perfect World.' in her hands with a curious look in her eye.
"That's my favourite book in the whole world. Life was hard for me as a lone teenage girl in the Grand Line, and I almost returned to the home that I ran away from. But on a certain island, members of the Revolutionary Army were handing out free copies of this book even though the World Government banned it. Reading it and understanding the author's views on freedom and what it truly means, encouraged me to not return to that toxic environment."
"I see, so this book is very important to you then?"
"Yup." You said looking at the worn out cover. "Just thinking about how my brother and I parted ways, I can't imagine ever going back to the Tombe Kingdom. "
♤After the death of your mother, you grew up in the palace, never once seeing the king's face. Nana raised you herself, and your authority figure was your eldest brother Kairo. He was very strict on both you and your second eldest brother, Larcko, caring mostly about preserving the image of the royal family in the kingdom and imposed set rules and duties for you to follow. You were ten when you finally understood why you were so different from your brothers and your father. It was then that you finally understood that you were an outsider, perhaps that was why the king did not want to see your face.
It took a lot of courage for you to finally ask Nana about your biological father. But Nana did not know much about him either seeing as it had been a secret affair. In fact all that you knew about him was what your mother had said to you on her deathbed. You finally got what she was trying to tell you about you one day possibly resenting her. You resolved to leave the Tombe Kingdom as soon as you turned sixteen, maybe you would find your father's family.
That was what you originally decided but unfortunately life got in the way and you had to leave even sooner than you'd anticipated. Your father, the king, died when you were eleven and your older brother Kairo took over the kingdom. In the summer of your 12th birthday Kairo called you up to his office to talk with you.
"You called, Brother-sama." You said bowing before him. It had been a while since you'd been able to talk to him alone like this. He'd been running all over the place trying to stabilise the kingdom as it's new ruler. It was a lot of work for him and it showed on his exhausted face. It meant that he had to make new alliances as well as to reach out to the people that the previous king was allied with, so he could keep up the alliances and the relationships that his father had built.
"Good, you are here." He said looking up. "Have you been well? Not doing anything bad I hope, seeing as I haven't had time to check on you."
It irked you how he was primarily concerned with you doing mischief than with your health, but you held it in. "I am well, how about you, Brother-sama?"
"Alright. Now, as you probably know, the three kingdom of our Island are currently in a state of peace, but I cut off some trade routes for our minerals from them. So, sooner or later, we're going to have to fight for complete domination and power in this island. I need you to play a part in ensuring that our kingdom remains standing." Kairo said formally.
"I don't understand, I don't know anything about politics." You said in confusion. "I haven't spoken to you alone in months and the first thing you say to me is about the country?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Kairo asked. "I told you I have no time to spend with children, doing whatever it is that you spend your days doing in the West palace. Well, that's about to change."
"I don't understand."
"Like I was saying, before you rudely interrupted me, we are going to need powerful allies so that we can keep our kingdom safe. Germa 66 recently left the North, and rumour has it they're looking to conquer the East Blue and then, they're going to come back here to reclaim their place here and get back some land. There is nothing better than allying with a powerful kingdom like them for a growing one like ours."
You did not say anything at first as you remembered meeting the royal family from Germa 66 at the royal summit a few years ago. It was not a pleasant experience for you.
"What does this have to do with me?" You asked.
"I will arrange a marriage between you and the youngest son of German 66's royal family." He told you.
Your eyes widened in surprise and immediately, you took a step back and got down on your knees and bowed your head. "Brother-sama, please take back that order. It's not something that I can do." You said.
"What do you mean? All I need to do is send the request to them and if they accept, you will marry the boy. It's that simple." Kairo explained.
"No it's not!" You said. "Germa is both feared and despised here in the north. You want to extend that to us as well? And besides all that, I've met the three princes of that kingdom at the royal summit before. They weren't very nice. I didn't like any of them." They were rude and insensitive to the other royal members and you steered clear of them because of their reputation as well.
"So what?"
"I'm only 12 years old! what are you talking about marriage for?" You shouted.
"It is just an engagement proposal for now, so don't get all twisted up about it okay? It's not a big deal."
"What do you mean it's not a big deal? I don't wanna get married to some rude jerk from a kingdom of villains just so you can keep your throne! It's not my fault that you can't stabilise the kingdom on your own." You shouted Kairo stood up abruptly and you knew that you said too much when you were trying to spite him. "I'm sorry Brother-sama, I didn't mean-"
"What did you just say to me? You think you're better than marrying a member of a royal family? You? Tell me something, who do you think will want to marry something like you?" His voice was raised and he looked angry.
You trembled in disbelief. "How can you say that to me? I'm your sister!"
"Yes. But, we both know that only a part of you is human. You should just shut up and accept this. It is the best offer that you are ever gonna get."
"Brother-sama!" You said in shock at the callous nature of his words. You started stepping back, moving away from him.
"Listen, and pay close attention. I've taught you to the best of my abilities how to uphold the honour and dignity of the royal family. This is because I did not want you to end up bringing even more disgrace to us. But I suppose I can't expect much from someone whose very existence is shameful." Kairo sneered. "I'll tell you this one thing, you are going to get married and we're going to gain military strength in exchange for the minerals that we mine here because Germa 66 can use them to make weapons. Do you understand?"
"Brother-sama, Larcko has already gotten married as per your wishes. You got married as per father's wishes as well. Don't any of us get to choose the people that we spend the rest of our lives with?" You asked.
"People like us are born with the responsibility to protect our country. It's something that mother could never understand, something that you seem to fail to grasp as well. We don't get to choose how we live our lives." His voice was unwavering, unchanging and yet for some reason you could detect the faint whiff of sadness coming from him.
"Do as you're told. This is my final order, I'm going to send the proposal for an engagement to the King of German 66. You are dismissed."
"But Brother-sama-"
"I said, you are dismissed."
The palace had never really been home to you but suddenly after your meeting with your brother, it was the first time that you ever found the place to be suffocating. You felt like if you stayed there you would never be able to truly be yourself. You wanted to leave, to run from this place as fast as you could. Remembering your mother's words to always be true to yourself and not let anyone dictate your life, that evening you knocked on Nana's door.
"Nana, I'm leaving. I can't stay here anymore. I feel like a part of me will die if I continue to live in this palace." You said clearly to her.
She was surprised but the old woman was quick on the uptake. "I understand if you want to leave and I'll be coming with you." She said.
"You don't have to."
"You don't understand. You are a child under my care. You can't leave this place without me. How can I face Kairo-sama if I let you go by yourself? Besides, I promised your mother that you wouldn't grow up like her. I said that you would add lots and lots of verses to the song in your heart. That's what I promised her. So I'm coming with you wherever it is you're going." She said.
"Well alright, if that's what you want." You told her.
~
The two of you left at the end of that week. It was dark when the you left. You didn't have much that you packed really, you carried only the goggles that your mother brought you, the only gift that she ever gave you as a child and a few clothes in a backpack. You and Nana ventured across the island trying to leave but it wasn't smooth sailing for the two of you.
Kairo found you just before you were due to board a ship that would take you across the North Blue to a different island. He dragged you away from the port to a secluded part where there was no one but the two of you.
"So, you thought you could run from me, did you? Fleeing from your responsibilities, that's something that you got from mother." He spat.
"Shut up. I will not stand for you insulting our mother. She did a lot for me! Even though she was dying, she still had time to raise me. Don't insult her!" You shot back.
"Well whatever. Where do you think you're going by yourself, no with that nursemaid of yours? Do you think she can protect you from the dangers of the world after living such a sheltered life as you have?" He asked.
"I don't care. The outside world is better than living under your rule. Having the entirety of my life planned out, being watched! I can't stand that." You told him.
"Unbelievable!" He said and grabbed you by the arm furiously, making you drop the goggles that you were carrying. Your prized possession fell to the ground.
"No. Mother gave those to me!" You cried.
"Oh, did she now? She always gave you too much." He said, his face darkening. He stepped on the goggles and shattered them to bits. "Now you don't have anything to return home for."
"Why?" You asked. "Why do you even want me back?"
"Oh, you think I'm here to bring you back? Don't be stupid. Why would I want you back in the kingdom? You're nothing but a thorn in my side that I could not get rid of. Having you out of the way is good for me." He said.
"You came all this way to tell me that? How can you say that to me? I am a child, and your sister!" You cried. "This is exactly the reason why I left." You yanked your arm away from him and turned your back to him, leaving.
"Hmm? Is that so?" He said to your back. "Don't you want to know what happened to your father?" You stood still in a moment of surprise that he even dared to mention that.
"Your biological father." Kairo clarified as if it wasn't already clear in his first sentence.
You didn't turn around, instead, you spoke with your back to him. "He died. Father-sama killed him when he found out that he was having an affair with mother." You spoke through gritted teeth. "That's why Father-sama could never look at me, right? That's why he always he had me living the west palace most distant from him."
"What you think you know is not the truth." Kairo said. You whipped around and looked at him. "The previous king didn't kill your father. I did."
You stumbled back in shock at his words. That he would say something like that to you, and that it could possibly be true unnerved you. "What are you saying? You asked in a shaky voice.
"How dare he, a servant look at his master's wife! A mere fish like him dared to defile our mother, the Queen!" Kairo cursed with a disgusted look on his face.
"Take that back! Take those words back right now." You screamed.
But he didn't stop. "That's right mother tried to run away with him when she found out she was pregnant, but I chased them off. I wouldn't let them leave. I would have slashed her belly too, killing you before you were born, but mother pleaded with me. Can you imagine the Queen bowing down to save a child that is only half a person?"
"Half a person? Is that what you think of me?" You said trembling.
"Yes."
"Why are you like this?" You asked. "I just wanted a family, a real family, people who would stay with me. I'm your sister, how can you despise me so much?"
"Yes, you are my sister. You were born to a queen so you are a princess, I accepted that just before you were born. I had to." He said. "But you want a family? Listen to me, me and Larcko are the only people who will ever accept you in this world. Because we have to. We are your brothers. But Y/N, don't think that anyone else in the world is going to accept you. You won't find a place anywhere."
"You're wrong! My father's family-"
"You think you'll find a place among the fish? Well, you are wrong. They will not accept you either, they hate humans. Do you understand? There is no place in this world for a half-breed. When you realise that, you will come back to this place. I will be waiting for you."
"I'm never coming back! I hate this country and I hate you!" You screamed in tears. That was the first time that you ever released a sonic wave that hurt someone. You sent him falling to the ground, covering his ears.
Tears were rolling down your face and you jumped into the water and swam away. Swimming away from everything, from the pain and wishing you didn't know the truth. You swam in the ocean among the sea creatures, dodging sea kings and only coming up to the surface once in a while. You swam for days, weeks and months until you reached the Grand Line.
You did not see Nana again for years until Ace hired Ledio to find her for you.♤
"I understand." Koala said. "But didn't Sabo tell you about this book?"
You frowned. "Tell me what?"
The puzzled look on her face was replaced by amusement. "Hmm, maybe he is embarrassed. I'm sure you'll find out in due time."
"Find out what?"
"Nothing." She giggled. "Come on, let's finish up or else those two aren't going to have anything to eat when they are done."
She gave no indication whatsoever on what she could have possibly meant, so you reluctantly let the matter go.
***
The boys washed up and came in for lunch.
You made a large helping of grilled chicken with roast vegetables with a potato salad on the side.
"This looks amazing, Y/N!" Sabo could barely get the words out seeing as he was drooling so much. "Thank you for the food."
As always, it was extremely satisfying to watch him eat your food with so much zeal. All table manners forgotten, he dug in with his hands, eating as if someone might steal his food.
"What do you see in him?" Koala asked exasperated as Sabo swallowed a chicken leg, bones and all, in one go.
"My sentiments exactly." Kai said as he began to eat too. "Y/N-san, is it my imagination, or is my food a lot more than sensei?"
Sabo turned sharply to inspect Kai's plate and reached out to take a piece of meat from his plate, but you stopped him.
"Stop. I gave a lot to Kai because he helped us so much. We might not be together if not for him." You said. Of course this earned you a complaint which you weren't able to hear because Sabo's mouth was full. However, you had a pretty good idea what it was all about. "You can have seconds, I promise."
That seemed satisfactory enough. The rest of the meal was pleasant as you finished feeding Rouge her potatoes and had your own meal. You then brought seconds for Sabo, and quite a few more plates too. He managed to out eat everyone else on the table combined.
"He's a monster." Kai said walking to the kitchen to wash up.
You started collecting the dishes when you were sure that he was done eating.
"Thanks for the food." Sabo said and then in a whisper that only you could hear, he added. "Your Highness."
You gave him a death glare which did not match up to what you were feeling inside, an uncontrollable heartbeat and a need to hear him say that again.
He chuckled slightly, and continued his conversation with Koala.
"I meant to ask you about this earlier since I didn't get everything from your report yesterday. Were you able to find anything out before they ambushed you?" Sabo asked.
Koala shook her head. "Not a lot. We were supposed to be doing some recon, but if not for Tetsu spotting those ridiculous masks that CP0 wears, they might have caught on to us. We had to lie low for a couple of days."
"Well, as long as they didn't see you, that's fine." Sabo said.
Suddenly, you felt an intense emotional surge from Kai. For his emotions to reach you even when you weren't looking for them, meant that something was wrong. You turned sharply to him and found him with blank looking eyes, hands on his head. He doubled over and fell to the ground.
"Kai!" You shouted in alarm and ran over to him.
He looked completely pale, as if all the blood had been drained from his face as he said in a shaky voice, "Three...seven...five...nine."
And then he fainted.
"What's wrong?" Sabo asked also coming to the kitchen.
He crouched down and took Kai's pulse. "He seems fine." He said and then he raised Kai's legs and the boy stirred.
"Can you hear me?" Sabo asked.
Kai opened his eyes and then abruptly closed them again.
"Yeah, sorry, I just feel a little lightheaded." Kai said monotonously. "I think I just need some rest."
"Are you sure that you're okay? You look pale still." You asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, it's just a headache." He muttered, eyes still closed.
"Alright, then get some rest in there." Sabo instructed and helped him up, taking him to sleep in Nana's room.
~
"He's not saying anything, and he was making strange pained sounds. I'm sure something's wrong." You said to Sabo a few hours later.
"Y/N, he says it's just a headache. According to him, he just felt faint, and he's not sick or anything. I must have pushed him too hard in training today." Sabo sighed scratching his head.
You shook your head, convinced that there was something else going on here. "If it was just fatigue, then what was up with the sudden rise in emotion that I felt. I couldn't tell what emotion he was emitting because I wasn't searching for it, but I feel like this is a bad omen... I think he might have had a memory. I need to talk to him."
"He doesn't want to talk. Even if you're right, and it is a memory, I don't think there's anything we can do about it if he doesn't want to talk." He had a serious look on his face. "Memories are delicate things, and it's not always easy to share your past with others. He'll tell you what's wrong on due time."
A frustrated groan escaped from your mouth, "I'm going in." You said pushing open the door.
An unexpected wave of upheaval hit you when you entered Nana's room. It hadn't changed one bit despite its own not being here anymore. Seeing Nana's stuff all over the room, untouched, like she would walk in here any second and scold you for getting into her room without knocking was overwhelming. You trembled slightly and held on to the door for balance.
"Y/N-san, are you alright?" Kai said sitting up on the bed. You straightened up, trying to hold in the feelings that were threatening to overcome you any second now. After all, this was not about you.
"How are you feeling?" You asked with a forced smile.
"I'm feeling refreshed after a little sleep. I appreciate you guys letting me sleep here, and I'm sorry to impose." He smiled.
His eyes had life in them again, no longer blank slares like they had bewn earlier. This was a relief to you. You searched for something unfamiliar in his emotions, a lie perhaps? However, you detected nothing of the sort. "You just up and fainted, do you know why?" You asked.
He stiffened slightly and tried to laugh it off. "Ha, maybe you should tell your boyfriend to take it easy on me."
A lie.
"Kai."
"It's nothing to worry about, I just remembered something unpleasant, that's all." He said turning away.
"Will you tell me about it?" You asked.
"It was strange, like I was seeing the real me coming out through my memories. It scares me, because it feels like something terrible is gonna happen." He shuddered. "An omen, like some kind of a warning for a disaster to come."
"Kai, what do you-"
"No." Kai sat up. "I should go, I've imposed enough."
"You can stay the night." You offered.
"No. I gotta go. Sorry." He practically jumped up, out of the bed, leaving quickly as if he would rather be anywhere else than here right now.
***
It was nighttime now and Sabo sat at his desk doing some paperwork as usual. You sat on the bed sighing as you watched him.
"Is Her Royal Highness sulking because I'm not paying attention to her?" He teased without even turning to look at you.
You pouted. "What's all the paperwork anyway?"
"I feel like Dragon-san purposely leaves the island when there's a lot of paperwork to be done, so that it all remains to be done by me." Sabo shook his head. "Now he's out and I'm the one in charge so I'm the one that has to read and interpret all the mission reports and complete all the relocation records."
"I don't think Dragon-sama is that sly." You smiled. You stood up and went to stand by the window looking at the darkness outside. "What are you so busy with anyway?" You asked.
"I suppose it won't hurt to tell you." He said closing the file. "The truth is we're moving our base of operations from Baltigo."
"What?" You asked sharply, turning back to him.
"Yeah, we are currently trying to find places to move everyone because not everyone can go with us to the new base."
"What do you mean? What about all the refugees, the students and all the people who live here?" You asked.
"I mean if there are people who want to live here they can continue staying here, that's fine but we won't be bringing back any refugees back to Baltigo. Right now we are doing missions like the one that Koala was on, in which they scout out different islands and see how suitable they are for receiving refugees. As for the officers and the soldiers, we're just going to have to move them to different bases that we have around the world. This is just the main one, but we have plenty of others in the four blues and also here in the Grand Line." Sabo explained.
"But then why move at all? It's okay if you can't tell me." You added.
"Hmm, we're planning something big for next year so we need to get closer to the Red Line."
"I see." You said turning back to the window. "So this place isn't really home after all. Where are you gonna go?" You asked.
You felt him come up behind you and stand there. Sabo put his arm around your waist from behind and you could feel his chest on your back.
"I think you mean, where are we going to go." He said into your ear and you shivered slightly at both his closeness and the impact of his words.
"Yes, where we going to go?"
"Probably Momoiro Island." He told you.
"I like that place." You said. "Honestly though, I don't care where we are as long as I'm with you and Rouge. Where you are are that's where my family is, so I guess that's my home."
"You are so sweet." He smiled. "Tell me, what's with the frown lines? What's wrong?"
"Do you think Kai will be okay? I mean he said something about a warning. I'm really worried about him." You said.
"I know." Sabo agreed. "I'll check in on him tomorrow. I think we need to keep an eye on him. It's very dangerous for him if he really is getting his memories back and they're unpleasant. We just need to watch him for a while."
"Alright." You said. "I hope nothing goes wrong."
"I hope so too."
***
A/N: I don't have a lot of time to relax and write seeing as I'm currently interning at the hospital all day. I am in need of a massage because the work is exhausting and my shoulders are killing me😭.