Chapter Text
You know I didn't actually expect him to follow me. Though I'm not complaining, he can be useful in getting the information I want.
“So how are you planning to find out who did that yoi?” Marco asks, gesturing with his head back toward the beach.
“You” I poke his arm before continuing “Are going to make them tell me” I say pointedly and drop my arm back down to my side.
Even though I didn't realize who he was at first, everyone in the village most definitely did. I know everyone in honeysuckle village is way too paranoid to not know every single pirate that has a bounty on their heads no matter how big or small. They probably even keep track of the petty criminals who aren't pirates as well.
So since they are all terrified at the prospect of any criminal even looking at them for more than a second Marco should be able to get them to tell him whatever he wants just by smiling at them.Their gonna regret not having any type of contact with the Marines now.
“Am I now?” he smirks at me and I dead pan at him. I drop my arm back down to my side before putting my hand in my pocket to run my fingers over my notebook.
“Yep! you don't really have a choice” I say in a condescendingly cheery tone.
Marco lets out a sudden laugh and reaches over to ruffle my short choppy hair. “Alright whatever you say boss” I smack his hand away and shoot him a glare which much to my dismay just makes him laugh more.
Fucking asshole
I hate how he knows exactly how to get on my nerves despite not knowing each other for less than a day at this point. It's like his sole purpose is to follow me around and find out every way to make me want to hit him. He reminds me of Juniper in that way. Maybe that's why I tolerate him. But my opinions of Marco aren't important at the moment. Right now I just need to focus on confirming my suspicions of who hurt the rooks.
“Finch i have a question for you yoi” of course he does. Well we still have a while to walk so i might as well indulge him.
“Ask away” I say as I kick a rock up the path watching it bounce and roll until it comes to a stop in a small hole that fits it perfectly.
“Why did you come to Honeysuckle Island?” ah. Should have guessed he would ask that.
“Its out of the way, not many people even know it's here and it has a lot of birds” im not lying by saying that but its not the full truth either. There is no way I'm going to tell him the main reasons, no way in hell am I doing that ever.
I'm guessing Marco can tell it's not the full truth by the feeling of his eyes boring into the back of my head. He can stare all he likes. I'm not breaking.
“Hm” ok… That wasn't the response I was expecting. He didn't even try to press me for more information. If i was him i wouldn't stop asking till i got the full truth. But I am thankful for his lack of prying. It's refreshing after having to deal with a bunch of nosey pricks who don't even like me.
“What about you” i ask
“You already know why I came yoi” he says as he shrugs and scans his eyes over me as if he's trying to see every thought I have before I voice it.
“You really want me to believe you came all the way to this tiny island for a single jar of moss that you think has some type of healing properties and nothing else? Really? I'm supposed to believe that?” and here i go prying but i did say i wouldn't stop asking unless i got the truth.
“Yes you are because it's the truth” he pauses for a moment before continuing "there's an outbreak of sickness happening on one of the islands under our protection and the only known remedy is the one in the book yoi. And the reason I only have one jar is because the medicine requires very little of it to make” Marco says, his usual casual expression replaced with the most serious look I have ever seen on him.
“Oh” is all I manage to say in reply. I don’t want to believe his explanation. Mainly because I can't fathom pirates choosing to help people. It might just be all of the government propaganda but I have never heard of that happening though I have never paid much attention to what pirates are doing unless it affects me personally. I'm much more concerned about the government.
I feel bad about not believing him now no matter how reasonable my suspicion was given the fact he was a pirate and they don't have the best track record of being honest.
Not wanting to leave our conversation off on that horrid note I decide to ask another question.
“What are the rest of the commanders like?" I ask as I look over at him again, he looks a little caught off guard by my question.
Marco regains his composure and chuckles under his breath before going on a tirade about his siblings.
The first person Marco talked about was the fourth division commander who's in charge of the cooking; Thatch. Marco talked about his cooking and baking and how if I ever got to eat it I would understand why he's talking about it so fondly. Then he mentioned Thatch's jokes and pranks and how he was often the victim of them. Man, I would love to see that. And apparently he would ‘adore me’ because he “loves the snappy ones” whatever the hell that means.
Next Marco started talking about Haruta who's head of communications. Similar to Thatch Haruta loved to pull pranks his were a lot less targeted than Thatch's though. He apparently got Uno banned from being played on the ship after a game went haywire on his birthday. Haruta was also the one who found the book about the moss which Marco can't seem to express how grateful he is for.
Jozu was next. He was someone I actually remembered the name of but that's just because I got obsessed with finding out what gems birds like the most and if they even have a preference and his devil fruit being what it is sorta made me stubble upon him on accident. Marco said Jozu was quiet and intimidating when you first meet him but once he warms up to you he's one of the nicest people to have around. But Marco also mentioned he's known Jozu for almost thirty years so I don't know how reliable that information is.
The only non-human commander Namur was who Marco mentioned next. Namur is the most recent of the commanders to join the crew which isn't saying much given he's been a part of the crew for fifteen years. Namur is in Marcos words “to shy for his own good” which surprised me given how big their crew is but I guess even in the largest crowd there is gonna be an introvert there.
Then he brings up Izou. who i remember seeing the wanted poster for in the village not long ago i didn't realize Izou was a man though, Marco just laughed at that and said that “most people don't till they hear his voice” that intrigued me quite a bit because if people realized that Izou was a man despite how he looked then maybe they do the same for me. Marco talked about how Izou was more on the serious end and how much of a drama queen he could be which made me laugh a little.
Sadly he was cut off by the sight of the tall and narrow buildings of Honeysuckle village coming into our view. The tall buildings always felt odd and out of place to me, like they were plucked out of a city and placed on this small quaint island.
“I'll finish telling you about them later” Marco said as he pats my head once again and just like before I swat his arm away like he's a bug.
As silence rested over us as we finished the short trek to the village I started thinking. Marco talked about his brothers so fondly that confused me a little. My siblings would never have talked about me like that, other than maybe Juniper but she didn't like talking about what she thought about anything really. I was brought back to reality when we entered the village and all of the bustle of normal life stopped abruptly and all eyes looked at us and I suddenly felt like I was four getting yelled at by my mother again.
I took a small step closer to Marco and hoped he didn't notice my spike in nervousness.
I hate having so many people look at me. It's why I avoid this place as much as possible.
“Well who should I ask first, Finch yoi?” Marco asks me as I scan over the street as people try and fail to act like they weren't watching us like we were going to jump at them and murder their mothers.
I was looking to see if I could see the person I was looking for in the crowd and I couldn't, which makes things much easier for us.
“We need to go to the fabric store” I stated just loud enough that Marco could hear me but none of the bystanders could.
Marco looks down at me confused “the fabric store..?” he questions and I realized that he wouldn't know who owns that store.
“Right um… sorry I forgot you don't know who runs it. The owner Mister Zuno is the mayor and the father of the guy who had the rooks living on his property" I say as I point at the fabric store and I don't fail to notice the people who were just standing in front of it scatter like bugs making me roll my eyes.
It's not like we’re gonna hurt Mister Zuno!
Probably…
Maybe…
He would deserve it if we did!
I had been in the store twice during my time here and both ended with me getting whacked with a cane and getting told I'm nothing but a dirty rat by him.
I didn't mind the rat part. Rats are cool.
Not as cool as birds though.
You know now that I'm thinking about it, Mister Zuno looks really old despite only being forty-three. He reminds me of a mole with how wrinkly he is.
Maybe it's all his bottled up anger that makes him look so old.
Angry people always seem to age faster than other happier people so it must have some type of effect on them.
When we entered the store it was completely empty save for Mister Zuno who was standing behind the counter with his back facing the door. It's always funny to see him behind the counter given he’s barely tall enough to fully reach everything on the counter.
“Ill be with you in a moment” He said gruffly as me and Marco approached the counter.
The shop had changed slightly since I was last in here. All of the colorful murals of a variety of animals and landscapes had been removed and the flowers that used to hang from the ceiling are also gone. The murals are replaced with paintings of Mister Zuno in a variety of different poses and outfits and the flowers with signs that talked about how good of a mayor he is.
I knew he was self absorbed but this is just ridiculous.
This shop used to belong to his wife who was the old mayor before him but she passed away a month ago so now he took over both her shop and her position as mayor. Which seemed not very legal given he wasn't vice mayor at the time of her death but what do I know?
“We need to talk to you now, Mister Zuno” I say, trying to distract myself from my second hand embarrassment by getting his attention.
At the sound of my voice he freezes and I can practically feel the anger start to emanate from the short man. Slamming the fabric he was folding down onto the shelf next to him he started to speak while turning around to face me.
“I thought I made it clear to you, brat. You aren't welcome in my shop or anywhere near-” he fully turns to look at us and as soon as he lays his eyes on Marco he falls backwards with a gasp, his eyes bulging out of his head as his jaw lays open and slack.
Marco waves at him as he smiles with his eyes closed “Hello there” His tone was so flat and unkind compared to his smile that it caught me off guard.
“You- I thought they were lying! No this can't be happening to me!” Zuno was muttering rapidly under his breath, eyes flipping from me to Marco over and over.
So I was right about everyone already knowing who Marco is.
Marco started slowly walking towards him and I followed only a few steps behind him.
“We only need you to answer a few-”
“Who fucked with my birds?!” I cut Marco off, making him send me a look.
I ignore him in favor of glaring at Mister Zuno trying to be as intimidating as I can be.
“B-birds?” he rasps out still staring wide eyed at Marco.
“The birds that lived behind your son's house. Who hurt them” a look of realization dawns on him and a scowl crosses over his lips as he finally looks at me. The look in his eyes is so intense it makes me feel small.
“Well?” Marco says as he leans against the counter.
Mister Zuno stands there in silence for a few moments and right when im about to speak he interrupts me.
“How- how much is she paying you? I'll triple it if you kill her”
A cold flash goes over my entire body, my eyes go blurry and bile rises in my throat.
I had been doing so well hiding the fact I wasn't born a boy this entire time.
I just wanted one person in the stupid world to view me as a boy and now it's ruined because some hairless mole looking old man can’t keep his stupid mouth shut.
…..
There's a sudden movement beside me and a few seconds later I see something hit the counter.
It's blood.
Blood?
I blink rapidly and look back up and realize is now behind the counter with Mister Zuno who now has a deep slash across his face.
Why did he do that?
Actually better question, how did he do that to Mister Zuno? He doesn't have any weapons.
“My brother didn't pay me anything” Marco says as he shoots me a look I can't decipher.
Brother?!
Since when was I his brother?!
Wait if he called me his brother that means he sees me as a boy!
I feel like that's not the thing I should be focusing on right now but still it's a win!
“That- that brat is a Whitebeard..?” Mister Zuno whimpers out, staring at me like I'm the one who slashed him across the face.
No im not-
“He is now yoi”
What.
I didn't agree to that at all.
I hear the door to the shop open behind us and I turn my head to see one of the ladies who owned a fruit stand right outside of the fabric store.
She stares at me then at Marco and Mister Zuno before slowly walking backwards and closing the door.
There are too many things happening right now.
I'm getting a headache.
“Im going outside” i mumble out barely audible over the buzz in my ears.
I hear Marco say something to me but I'm too out of it to actually understand what it is that he said. I turn around and leave the shop to plop down on the curb.
The street is completely barren now even in the few seconds it took for me to follow the lady out of the shop.
They all probably think Marco’s going to kill Mister Zuno and he might i don't know he seemed pretty pissed.
I place my face in my hand and let out a deep sigh.
So many things just happened in a matter of seconds and i don't know what to address first.
Ok deep breathes.
Easiest thing to process first.
Marco just attacked the god damn mayor because he misgendered me.
That was… I mean it was cool but I feel weird about it.
No one has ever done anything remotely close to that for me, not even Juniper.
And now a pirate who i have know for less then a fucking day is treating me better then my own family ever has.
Speaking of family… Why did he say I was his brother?
Was it just to intimidate Mister Zuno? Or did he actually mean it?
With how weird this all is i wouldn't be surprised if he did.
And he wouldn't need to say that to intimidate him, he's literally the first division commander he is plenty intimidating on his own he doesn't need Mister Zuno to think im part of his crew.
But that still doesn't make sense to me. All ive done is be suspicious of him, call him creepy and forced him to help me with stupid birds!
No, the birds aren't stupid you shouldn't take my confusion and annoyance out on them.
I rub my eyes till I start to see dots and I stop to look up at the sky.
What the hell is my life?
I close my eyes again and wrap my arms around my legs pulling them up to my chest and resting my chin on my knees.
I'm not sure how much time passes before I hear the door open behind me.
Footsteps slowly approach me before stopping beside me and I hear him sit down.
I open my eyes to glance over at him and see him looking up at the sky so I decide to do the same as we sit in silence.
“Did you kill Mister Zuno?” I ask barely audibly from behind my arms.
“No I didn't. Do you want me to?” he ask it so casually that i don't doubt for a second that if i said yes he would.
….
“No” i don't like Mister Zuno but he doesn't deserve to die.
Marcos nods and is quiet for a moment before speaking again.
“He paid some travelling merchants to deal with the rooks, their already long gone yoi. I'm sorry Finch” Marco says apologetically as he places his hand gently on my shoulder using his thumb to rub circles.
Perfect.
Just perfect.
I went through all this trouble only to not even be able to get revenge for the rooks… maybe it's for the best though I had zero plan on how I would get revenge in the first place. I probably would have ended up injured or worse if I did try anything given my lack of weapons.
“Don’t apologize, it's not your fault.” I mumble against my arms with a huff.
“Does everyone here treat you like that yoi?” His question caught me off guard.
I never really thought much about how they treated me. I mean this is the best I've been treated my entire life so i thought this place was the best i was gonna get. It's not good in the slightest but it's better than what my life used to be.
“I mean yeah. They treat me a lot better then anyone else has so i don't mind that much” i say with a slight shrug.
“You don't mind? Finch you looked like you were gonna throw up in there” Marcos voice raises and i flinch away from him slightly.
“Why do you even care?” I snapped, raising my head up to actually look at him. “You don't know me, I'm just a random ass street kid who dragged you along to help get revenge for some birds! Do you pity me or something?!”
“I don't pity you finch not in the slightest. Almost my entire family was in a similar position as you before they joined our crew. I would be disappointed in myself if I didn't help you out” he says exasperatedly.
I feel like he's lying. But there is no reason for me to think that he’s been nothing but honest to me.
This is all Juniper's fault. I don't know how but it is.
I let out a huff and dropped that thought. I already have enough on my mind I don't need to be thinking about her on top of it.
“Is that why you called me your brother then? Because I remind you of them?”
“No I did that because you're coming with me back to the Moby yoi” he states like it was the most obvious thing he could ever say I just look at him owlishly.
“What? I never agreed to that!” I say with confusion lacing my voice.
“I know. There is no way I'm leaving you here with people who treat you like that” he takes his hand off my back and uses it to gesture to the store.
“What if I say no?” I question tilting my head to the side.
I most definitely am not against the idea of getting off this hell hole of an island but I don't know if I want to be a pirate. I mean it seems sorta… difficult to be one. You have to worry about the Marines, other pirates and the unpredictability of the sea on top of it.
“I'd have to refuse your refusal yoi” he says with a smile tugging at his lips. I scrunch my nose and squint at him.
“That's kidnapping” I said blankly.
Marco shrugs as his smile grows “Thatch thinks the term 'surprise adoption’ fits more” he says making quotation marks with his fingers.
“That is so dumb” I say, not being able to hold back my laugh any longer.
“Hey there we go! You're not moping any more!” he says as he pats my head ruffling my hair.
I stop laughing and scoff before shewing away his hand.
“I was not moping, I was thinking!” I say defensively as I send him a dirty look.
“Sure you were Finch yoi” he said teasingly.
“I was you dick head!” I whine out pouting.
“Mhm sure” Marco said as he stood and brushed himself off.
“Alright i need to do something, you should go back to your cave and get all your stuff” he's already walking away from me before he even finishes talking.
“Huh? Why?” I ask as I shoot up and quickly follow after him.
Oh wait that is a pretty stupid question after he literally just told me he was gonna kidnap me.
“We’re leaving tomorrow to meet up with my crew yoi”
Maybe this island has made me go crazy because I don't hate the idea. Obviously I don't voice this fact as I huff and speed walk past him.
“I didn't agree to that” I snapped as I continued to quickly walk away from him out of the village.
“Right, that's why you're going to do exactly what I told you?” he says and i can just hear the smirk in his voice.
“I'm hungry! I'm going to get something to eat!” it's not entirely a lie. I am getting pretty hungry.
Marco just snorts and I hear him turn into an alleyway.
I wonder what he's doing?
Actually i don't wanna know.
I just told him that everyone here treats me like shit and with how he treated Mister Zuno i wont be surprised if he does something to a few other people.
Wait.
I was just stuck in my own head feeling like shit and Marco made me entirely forget my bad thoughts.
I wanna be mad at him for that but I really can't be. Juniper was the only one who was able to do that.
I wonder what she would think of this whole thing?
She would have probably called me stupid for getting this worked up about birds. She would also be pissed off at me for not standing up for myself and having to have someone else do it for me.
She always thought I was too soft on the people who treated me badly. She used to stand up for me but as we got older she stopped because and im quoting her "I won't always be here to protect you! You need to learn how to defend yourself before it get to that point”
I guess she was right. I just let everyone here walk all over me now.
But who knows that might change soon.
I'll just have to wait and see.