Chapter Text
When it came to the "Sora, Warrior of the Sea" comics, the fans for it could be...obsessive, to say the least. They would dissect and analyze every frame, every line of drawing, every aspect of each issue and catalog it through newsletters passed around amongst each other. The difference though between them and other comic fans is that because Germa was real (albeit, very different from the fictionalized version) and the comics were based off of their real endeavors. Though, every aspect of this information was heavily edited and change as not to give the kingdom even more free advertising for their services. It would not be a good idea to tell people where exactly this guns for hire kingdom would be, especially when it came to people looking to acquire their “talent”. While the fans who could decipher this truth about Germa thankfully did not sell this information to the highest bidder, they did not do it for any gain of their own. In fact it, it seemed much more to be like a game, to see who could figure it out first and get as much details as possible, just for bragging rights. After that, the info would be sat upon.
This was all to explain why Sanji and the crew were calling upon the Surgeon of Death to let his fanboy out and tell them what he knew about Germa 66’s activities.
“…and this all relates back to the Obscure War spin off where Sora watches their partner, Suzume, be crushed in battle while they can do nothing but watch. This event was so damaging for him that it even resonated throughout the multiver-“
“So, Law, what about those latest issues of the mainline series?” Nami loudly steered the conversation back on track. Sanji silently thanked her as having to hear more than he had to about his biological family, even in comic book form and with entirely made up sections, made his stomach tie into knots. Law sighed on the other side.
“Ok, ok, fine, I got a little worked up in the moment.”
“You spent a whole two minutes talking about that non stop.”
“Anyways,” the surgeon brushed off, “me and the gentlemen from the newsletter poured over the previous arc and we think that the next place they’re headed is going to be in the West Blue. The islands they’ve been going to in the East Blue are all on a path west and from the looks of it, they're probably going to the major merchant port near the Red Line, Cinnabar Island."
"And are you absolutely sure about this?" Nami leaned closer to the snail, it's imitation of Law not changing in expression. "The newsletter guys and I have never been wrong before."
Noticing his current cigarette had burned down to a nub, Sanji brought out another one and lit it with the still burning end of the one currently in his mouth. He exhaled a plume of smoke as he replaced the old cigarette with the new one, harshly snuffing out the unusable nub in a nearby ashtray.
"The East Blue, huh? We could probably cut through the Grand Line and catch up to them."
"In less than a week? That might be a bit of a tall ord-"
"We gotta do it, Traffy!"Luffy leapt up, his shaky hand grasping the transponder snails receiver. He had recovered scarily fast from being bed ridden from the sea stone gas and was completely gung-ho about raiding Germa to get Zoro, no questions asked, but the captain was not one hundred percent back to his bouncy self.
"They took Zoro for whatever reason and I'm not having that, especially since they promised not to bother Sanji anymore!"
His legs began to wobble and Usopp rushed to steady Luffy with his good arm.
"Yare yare, I know they did, Luffy," Law drawled, "but they ARE the evil army, after all. Besides, they technically are not bothering Sanji directly."
The rubbery captain's brow furrowed.
"Even so, they took Zoro and are doing whatever they want with him! We have to raid them with full force!"
"What did I tell you earlier about how long it would take?"
"Actually, Law-bro," Franky butted in, leaning over Luffy's shoulder, "the ship does have the Rabbit Screw, meaning we could put the pedal to the metal, though it'll definitely burn up our fuel and we can't use it all the way. At least it'll give us a SUPER headstart."
"Mmmmm," Law hummed, "that sounds good, but you guys still gotta cut through the Grand Line in time before those snails start climbing. One minute too late and you're stonewalled for the time being until they get to the West Blue. It might be safest to get to the West Blue first and wait for them there."
"But that would mean leaving Zoro with them for longer..." Usopp's voice trembled. His mind was no doubtably conjuring up a movie serial worth of horrible ideas of what could be going on. The snail transponder lowered its eye stalks in a gloomy manner.
"I know, it's not ideal, but it might be the best overall."
"Well, do we at least know which island they're going to make their way to after they cross the Red Line?"
Law paused for a second, the snail rubbing its lips together in an attempt to impersonate what the caller was doing.
"That is where things get fuzzy. We don't have direct communication with Germa, of course, so we cannot know EXACTLY which island they have made a deal with at this moment, though there is a cluster of islands we think they are going to."
"And how many islands does that archipelago have?" Nami squinted at the snail.
"Over fifty. Many of which are of larger size and have their own kingdoms."
The mood between the Strawhats fell even lower now. Sanji snuffed out his now nub of a cigarette and started on another one. He didn't kill his brothers and his biological father when he had the chance to because it was just wrong for him to do that, but a darker and angrier part of him now wished he could have let them perish when he had the chance. Now...now Zoro was gone and it was all their God damn fault!
Screw Judge, screw Ichiji, screw Niji, screw Yonji and screw Reij-
No. No, that was not fair to include her with the rest of them. Sure, maybe she wasn’t a saint, but she wasn’t quite horrible to him either. He wondered if she was treating Zoro the way she did to him when he was in that dungeon himself for six months; from a distance, but better than nothing.
"Hold on," Robin's calm voice broke onto the scene, "Law, may I suggest something?"
"Ok, shoot."
"Your submarine is faster than our Thousand Sunny, correct?"
Franky looked a little hurt at that question but masked it as Law replied.
"Yes."
"And it can make long trips across the Grand Line, also correct?"
"Also yes."
"And you are near our ship?"
"Yes we ar-oh," realization hit the pirate captain before he snapped back, "wait wait wait, before we get ahead of-"
"An alliance, yes!" Luffy's eyes sparkled with renewed energy at the idea.
There was a moment of silence on Law's end, followed by a long, long sigh.
"Ok, yep, let's do the alliance thing. Again.”
“Hooray!” Luffy did a little jump in the air at this. Sanji could hear Law mumble something unintelligible under his breath.
“One condition, though,” Law managed to steady himself back into his monotone self, “We unfortunately cannot bring everyone onto the sub. Space is limited here already and adding nine more people might overdo it.”
Luffy’s mood shifted downwards a little at this but not totally. Even without seeing it, Law could pick up on the pirate king’s disappointment.
“But, I can take, at most, five of you, so discuss amongst yourselves who’s coming.”
“We can definitely do that, Traffy!” Luffy turned to face the whole remaining crew. The light and hope in his eyes was returning once again.
“We got this in the bag, guys! We’re gonna get Zoro back!”
While everyone else was having tempered excitement at the development, himself included, Sanji couldn’t help but bring the idea gnawing at the back of his mind to the front while Law was still on the line. Amidst the celebration, the blond slid over near where Luffy was and picked up the receiver.
“Hey Law, it's Sanji.”
“Oh, hey, man. Uhh, sorry for gushing about all the comic stuff earlier. I know it makes you uncomfortable but-”
“I'm not here about that, it's…look, I need your Germa comic nerd expertise for something that's eating away at me. It has to do with…’Poison Pink’.”
“What do you need to know about her?”
“What has she been doing there recently?”
The cook refused to ever in his life read the Sora comics, but they were an undoubtedly useful resource for seeing what his family had been up to, even on a surface level. With Reiju being connected to Zoro’s kidnapping in some nebulous way, any lead would be a good one. It might also allay some theories that had been sprouting around in his mind about their connection that were…crackpot to say the least. He had to laugh at himself for even thinking that there had been a long and secret love affair between the two that had only now culminated in a wedding at Germa or else he'd cry at how far his mind had gone during this whole debacle. Sleep was becoming harder and harder to get and it was showing.
“She hasn't been in any of the issues for a few months now, actually.”
Sanji’s heart skipped a beat.
“Are…are you sure?”
“Sanji, I have read all the comics and am completely caught up. Got an encyclopedia of everyone's appearances in my head and I know for certain that she seemingly dropped off the maps in the latest issues. Which kinda sucks, she's one of my favorites…outside of Sora, of course, because fawning over such a villain over the hero would be-”
Sanji had tuned Law out, letting him ramble, as the weight of what he said sunk onto him. If she wasn't in the comics…where was she then? Where was she that no one could see her even as his father and brothers went into battle? A stinging and awful thought struck him. Had they finally found out about what she did during the wedding? How she knew about the double cross and let it happen so they could all be destroyed? It would count as high treason for Judge and he would not take that from even his own children. Perhaps she was imprisoned, or maybe even…
“Whatcha doin’, Sanji?”
Feeling Luffy hop onto his back finally broke the cook from his train of thoughts. His captain was staring back at him with curiosity while Law still kept going on his end.
“Luffy, can I make a request to add a secondary goal to this mission?”
🦋🦋🦋⚔️⚔️⚔️
In all fairness, Yonji should have planned ahead when he chose to spar with the world's greatest swordsman. He did assume that because weapons would not be given to him, the match would at least be more in his favor. He probably should have factored in that a pirate of all people would go for low blows. Now, he was in his room, legs wide open as he sat on his bed and his gonads resting on a packet of ice. The doctors said that his family jewels would be intact, but they would be bruised and sore for the next few days. His father also came into the medical area to chide him for letting himself get humiliated like that in front of everyone and told him to do better. And of course, Niji was giving him shit about it all day. If Yonji had to hear a ball related pun one more time, someone was going to get their neck snapped.
God damn that Zoro...it was real fun to fight with him, but...he had LOST in the end. Vinsmoke Yonji did not LOSE, he was the pinnacle of raw strength, he had years of grappling and throwing under his belt, he was called WINCH GREEN, for fuck’s sake! Even if he had a worthy opponent, the match should have always been in his favor because he was his father’s success, not a failure.
But right now, he could not prove that worthiness and success to everyone while he recovered from his injury, which would be a little before they got to the next hit. The best he could do for nursing his ego at the moment was to indulge in some good old fashioned punching someone in the face. And he knew who exactly to enact that upon.
Shoving the pack of ice into his underwear, hissing as the cold made contact with his injured area, and marched out of his room, servants diving away out of his war path. It would be a bit of a trek to get to the dungeon, but it would all be worth it in the end. Yonji finally began to plan what exactly he would do to the green haired swordsman. He was not going to kill him, obviously, but he had to do something that would not grievously wound him. The prince already got enough of a tongue lashing from this father and did not want more of that if he broke Germa's new workhorse/toy. So that meant no broken bones (this time at least) and hurting him so much that he would not move the next day (again, at least this time). Hmm, perhaps just messing up his face would be enough. Hell, maybe he could return the favor and get a few ball shots in too. A grin creeped on his face from that thought.
By the time he got to the dungeon entrance, he kicked the door open, not caring if he broke it or not. He just wanted to catch the attention of the prisoner inside. When he went down the stairs, though, he saw that his act had not perturbed Zoro in the slightest. The man was in what looked like a position for meditation, eyes closed and posture stiff. The aloofness he displayed was pissing the bigger green haired man off. Hands in his pockets, he walked up to the bars and kicked them, ringing out a loud clang as his exoskeleton made contact with the metal.
“What’s up, fuckface?” He snarled. No reaction from Zoro.
“Hey, answer me, mossman.” Still no response. Yonji’s lips curled downward into a frown. So, he was going to play the silent game, huh? He would have to escalate things a little to get the response he desired, then.
Rolling up his sleeves, he gripped two of the bars and with some effort (the bars had been reinforced after Sanji had escaped initially) managed to bend them enough to fit his broad shoulders through. This was not enough to stir the swordsman, even as Yonji walked up to him, looking directly down at his mossy looking hair.
“You know, you really embarrassed me back there during our sparring match.”
“Good.” So, he was finally able to yank an answer from Zoro, though it was not one he wanted. He decided to escalate things by giving him a relatively soft kick in the stomach. The swordsman twitched for a second but returned back to his meditative mode.
Oh, he was not having this.
Yonji grabbed Zoro by the shoulders and shoved him against the wall. Zoro finally opened his eyes, staring back with a deathly glare, but not because of the show of strength. He seemed more annoyed than anything from being interrupted, like he was looking down on the bright green haired man.
"Do you even know what your little toothy attack has done to me? Not only do my balls hurt like a bitch, but I've lost face!" he snarled, baring his teeth at Zoro.
"Oh yeah, and who's fault is that?" Zoro spat back, "I'm not the one who decided to keep someone's teeth in biting distance to their groin."
Truly pissed now, Yonji pulled the man back and slammed him into the wall hard enough to crack some of the stones behind the swordsman. Zoro grimaced but held steadfast.
"You think you're hot shit, don't you? You got one little nip in and you think you're better than me? Pfft, don't make me laugh."
"At least I actually worked for my strength instead of cheating my way through."
Oh. Oh no he did NOT. This was a level of disrespect that needed immediate correction. Yonji wound up a fist and aimed it directly at the swordsman's nose.
"You take that God damn back."
Zoro spat at him, a wad of spit hitting the prince's cheek.
Hmph. He gave him a chance at least.
His fist shot forward, intending to smash Zoro's nose to bits. But in the very last second, the prisoner moved his head out of the path, Yonji's fist going straight into the thick wall. With this momentary mistake, Zoro seized the prince's other arm, the one pinning down his shoulder, and, with the flexibility and skill of a very muscular monkey, wrapped his arms and legs around the appendage in order to get the prince off kilter and pull him down with his body weight. It worked and Yonji yelped as Zoro fell on his back and the green haired prince flat on his face. Fuck, he was majorly off his game!
When he felt the swordsman’s teeth graze his knuckles, ready to bite, Yonji pulled his arm back, jumping back onto his two feet and using his body to block the entrance he made out of the bars.
"You little fucker!"
"Back off, big man," Zoro coolly responded, "I'm gonna get out of this cell one way or another, and it can end with either you stepping aside or me forcing you there. I've got someone I gotta see."
The bigger man backed himself up until his shoulders nearly touched the bent bars. Like hell he was going to let this asshole out. His father may be distracted at the moment as he argued with Caesar on some footage the goat dude took, but he would hear about any attempted escapes and trace it back to him quickly. Things were already bad enough today.
"Like hell I am! Who the hell are you trying to get to, anyways? Assassination attempts are not gonna work around here, pal."
Yonji put up his fists in expectation of any future blows. His balls were starting to hurt again from moving around so much but he ignored the pain as he watched Zoro's face harden into a look of determination.
“Your sister.”
Huh?
“You wanna assassinate my sister? The one bearing your kid? That’s fucked up, bro.”
The blush never left Zoro’s face even as his expression rapidly twisted into one of disgust and confusion.
“What the fu-Of course I’m not going to kill her, you dumbass! I have…other reasons…” he tapered off, shutting his mouth so fast his teeth clicked, like he remembered that he should be sharing this to one of his captors. Yonji pressed his lips together and raised a swirled brow.
“Then what’s your angle?”
“I just want to…I just…I wanna…” it almost seemed like his brain was clicking and clacking like a mechanical calculator on what to say next, “I just wanna…see her, if you catch my drift.”
The drift would not be caught by Yonji until a few seconds later. In doing so, his face scrunched up.
“Oh my God, don’t talk about banging my sister in this dirty ass cell!”
“Wha-You asked!”
“Well I didn’t know it would be THAT!“
The vein on the man's temple throbbed again but he vented some of that mounting frustration by clucking his tongue.
“Will that be enough for you to let me by? I know you fellas can be horny bastards yourselves, so you should understand.”
Another thing Yonji did not appreciate was being talked like this by someone who was not his family. While Zoro was right that he understood the urgency of one wanting to get their dick wet, he still did not want a dressing down from his father for this, and most importantly, would not be ordered around by some…commoner, right hand man of the Pirate King or not.
“Understood or not, you’re still not getting through these bars without getting through me.”
Zoro chuffed, cracking his neck and knuckles.
“Fine by me.”
Yonji braced for impact as Zoro rushed up on the man, slamming his body at full force into his, clanging his back and shoulders fully against the cell bars as the sound of his exoskeleton hitting metal rang in the prince’s ears. Then the pushing began. Zoro was using all his might to try and push Yonji through the hole, grunting in the struggle. The youngest Vinsmoke stood his ground and grinded his heels into the floor, but he could feel himself sliding against the stone. He tried to counteract this by pressing his weight down onto Zoro to stop him. It didn't work and Zoro thrusted his body forward, suddenly pushing Yonji’s butt and legs out of the bent bars.
Shit shit shit! He was not about to take two humiliating blows in one day! He grabbed at the swordsman’s arms, attempting to push him away, which was a fruitless effort. Zoro reeled back for a second only to shove himself into Yonji again, this time his elbow hitting the larger man’s sternum. It probably hurt the swordsman more than it did the warrior prince himself, but it brought him off kilter long enough for the pressure applied by Zoro to sweep him off his feet and push both men out of the cell.
Shiiiiiit, no no no! Once out of the cell, Zoro quickly regained his bearings and rolled off of Yonji, making a beeline for the stairs. Pure animal instinct took over Yonji and he reached out and managed to grab Zoro by his ankle, making the man fall over flat on his face. Finally! An advantage!
Pulling the swordsman over, he immediately got on top of him, pinning him down with his weight. He sat on top of his stomach , ready to start whaling on him at any second. But, since he had some power over the man, he might as well treat his bruised and battered ego to some lording over.
“What are you gonna do now, sword boy? I'm gonna beat your face in so bad Reiju wouldn't want you unless you put a sack over your head.”
“Fat chance, greenbrow.”
“Heh,” Yonji closed the distance between his face and Zoro’s, grinning cruelly, “and just what are you gonna do about that?”
The next events happened so fast, as if in one smeary blur.
Zoro, his eyes showing a glimmer of an awful idea returned his smile with one more evil and demonic. The swordsman brought his head closer to Yonji’s, the prince expecting a headbutt, and was blown away when Zoro made contact with his slightly open mouth with his own.
He was…kissing him! And he obviously had experience with it, with the way he sucked and nibbled on his lips and had his tongue enter and maneuver in his mouth. Yonji should have been pulling away, walloping the swordsman for daring to do that, but…how could he even describe the feeling? It was so alien he couldn't put it in words.
Soon enough, though, his hands found their bearings and pushed the ground hard enough that he popped back up onto his two feet, stumbling back a few steps as if the ground was shaking. It at least felt like it. The world was spinning too. Another man just kissed him and he had no idea how to feel about it. Well…he didn't hate it at leas-
Out of the corner of his eye, Yonji caught a human shaped blob of pink at the top of the stairs and refocused his vision to the point of interest. It was…Reiju, wide eyed and baffled, like she had…seen…everything…
Fuck.
🦋🦋🦋⚔️⚔️⚔️
Well...that was unexpected. She did not know what she expected when she could hear Yonji’s voice from the hallway leading to the dungeon, but Reiju definitely did not predict that her brother would be mashing lips with the father of her child. And he seemed to not expect it too, considering the blank deer in the headlights stare he was giving her. She was in the beginning of formulating how to respond to this when in the blink of an eye, Yonji kicked away the swordsman and dashed up to her, screeching to a stop when his face was only inches away from hers. He grasped her arms with desperation as he brought his head closer to her until their noses almost touched. His blue eyes were wild with bubbling anxiety.
"HowmuchofthatdidyouseeReijuhowmuchhowmuch???" The question came out as a long string of rushed syllables. His grip was starting to hurt now.
"I, uh, saw the kiss and strange position you were in?"
This seemed to not be the proper response as Yonji slumped back, releasing his hold on her as he buried his face into his hands and moaned.
"Nooo, NOOOOO!" his wails echoed throughout the stone walls. Good thing she closed the door on her way in. His self pity only lasted a few seconds as he sprung back into an upright stance.
“Hold on, just what the hell are you doing here?” He tried to shoot her a scrutinizing look despite being obviously shaken.
“I could ask you the same, especially considering the scene.”
Yonji blushed, stuttering up an answer.
“I just, uhhh, wanted to see the prisoner and rough him up a little. I'm mad at him and that's all I feel about him, ok?”
“Oh, you were roughing him up, alright.”
Yonji groaned and facepalmed for walking right into her punchline.
“Ok, just, don’t tell anyone about this, ok? This is just something you, me, and…him know about.” He side eyed Zoro, who was getting back up and finding slight amusement in the chaos he had caused, but was mainly focused on the princess in the room.
Oh…oh wow, she had no words for this. What could Reiju possibly say about the greatest opportunity just plopping in her lap like this so casually? After spending the last few days wracking her brain on what to do with Zoro now that many of her resources and privileges were restricted or revoked, this little incident just now suddenly showed up and practically handed her some good blackmail.
It was not something she used on her brothers, mainly because shame was something they rarely felt, no matter what they did, but there were things that did push their buttons in specific ways. One of the ways was their manly pride. Like her father, their sense of masculinity did not simply tiptoe near the line of chauvinistic male pride, but stomped all over the line and then walked past it. Why else would the second son be called the “first”? In this situation, something like being caught kissing another man and being in such an intimate situation with him would cause a bomb drop to their egos if spread around…
“Oh, so this is something we have to keep under wraps, huh?” She pondered with a false innocence, “Better not let Ichiji, Niji or Father get this information to their ears, right?”
“Yeah, exactly.”
“Well, dear brother, you can rest assured that I would never spill such sensitive information to them, I promise you that…however…”
Yonji’s body tensed up, his posture straightening as he took in what she was insinuating. Even Zoro leaned in to listen better.
“However?” Her green haired younger brother echoed back, as if to prompt her to continue.
“However, I cannot guarantee that such juicy gossip would not reach the ears of the servants. You know how they love to talk amongst each other about what happens with the royal family they serve. I’m sure such a ‘rumor’ would spread like a wildfire amongst them ,too. And you know how those whispers eventually get to everyone’s ears.”
Reiju prepared herself for a blow up at this obvious flexing of blackmail material. She had built surface level rapport with Yonji over the years, but this would definitely smash it like a sledgehammer to glass. She could sacrifice that, take in his anger at her for holding such a thing over his head.
What she had not expected was for his reaction to be much quieter and not angry at all.
It was one…of betrayal. Of feeling betrayed. The shock of her doing this, followed by the look of a sad dog who had just been kicked by its owner, even if just for the briefest seconds. If the reaction had taken her aback, she shoved it down before it could show. She had to focus on her goal after all.
“Alright, what do you want?” Yonji asked her robotically. At least when he knew the cards were not in his favor, he would jump straight to business.
“One white and one horned transponder snail. I will also need access to the treasury after I have made my calls.”
Despite Reiju having the upper hand here, Yonji still furrowed his brow and exhaled in exasperation.
“That's a tall order, considering that everyone will KNOW when that vault is opened.”
“I know that,” Reiju limply waved her hand, “which is why I will tell you after my call when you will do it.”
Her brother’s gaze hardened like steel, as if trying to see through her like an X-ray. He'd find nothing though, as she had been living under such a gaze for years.
“It sounds to me like you wanna elope with Greeny over there.”
“Why would you care if I do? You're not in any place right now to try and bargain with me.”
Yonji shrugged his shoulders, not meeting Reiju with eye contact.
“I mean, this is gonna throw away a lot of stuff for you, stuff you've done for us, stuff you've worked for, all down the drain when father sees you conspiring with the prisoner. I'm not totally concerned with what you wanna do with your life, hell if I care, but it'd suck to see father be more pissed than ever.”
Yonji could be stupid sometimes, but he was not dumb and quite observant, in fact (when his mind was not being ruled by his ego or his other head). The plan she had come up with would have pre-pregnancy her pulling her aside and making sure she was mentally fit enough to even be thinking. And truth be told, she was having reservations about the current escape plan she was cobbling together. The reward (freeing Zoro) was about equal to the risk (losing any and all privileges she had at Germa, maybe even some rights, too), but still had the sticky question of getting their daughter out of here too. This was time sensitive and she couldn't have both getting Zoro back with his crew and getting her daughter out of here without involving herself at one point.
“Well, that's tough. If you don't like what I'm doing, then I'm not going to force you. But I will let the staff have a juicy morsel of gossip that they can chew on for years to come.”
This had the intended effect of making Yonji bristle. He closed his eyes, real tight, and made a strained humming noise considering his options. She’ll let him weigh the pros and cons of giving in. While that happened, Reiju took a momentary peek at Zoro, who was now sitting on the floor. She could see some bruises mainly around his shoulders and back from the sparring earlier, but nothing much worse, which was a good sign. His singular eye, the iris as black as coal, stared her down during her observation, wanting to say so many things to her but holding back so Reiju could finish her dealings with Yonji.
“Augh, fine,” Yonji spat, “I’ll see what I can do to get what you need!” He threw his hands in the air for dramatic effect.
“It’ll take a minute to do because your boy toy used my nuts as a chew toy, so I’m officially off the clock, but I’ll get it done as long as you keep quiet about this on your end about this…incident, alright?”
Reiju flashed him a smile that dripped with sweet insincerity.
“Cross my heart and hope to die.”
The younger brother simply huffed in response and shoved his hands into his pockets. He turned to waddle back upstairs but he turned back around to face the pair.
“Reiju…” The green haired prince seemed hesitant and embarrassed to force the next few words out of his mouth, “when you’re…satisfied with him, and all that, clean yourself extra well. The stink of the dungeon can get into your clothes pretty deep.”
With that, he left without another word, leaving Reiju confused on what the hell he was referring to.
Ahh, to hell with it. If she had the privilege of having emotions for herself right now, she would have felt giddy about how things were finally looking up for her plans, but again, not the time. Right now, she had a soon to be father to talk to.
“So…” Zoro started after waiting a bit for Yonji to truly storm off, “it…sure is something to see you again.”
The princess turned to directly face Zoro, promptly sitting down in a seiza position.
So. This was it. A face to face meeting between her and Zoro. For a moment, they said nothing and drank in each other's presence, as if to make sure they were really here. It was only when Zoro's eye migrated from her face to her midsection did the interaction truly start.
His eye was focused on the swell of her belly, mainly on how big it was. It was twice the size of when he last saw her. The swordsman looked up with true fear in his eyes.
“Is it…is it multiple?”
Oh, right. It had completely slipped her mind that she had hidden a satchel with food and supplies under her dress. She quickly went to untie the knot on the back and let the leather bag flop to the floor. Zoro breathed a sigh of relief at seeing that her stomach was the size it should be for one baby.
“Ok, phew, I thought for a second the whole quadruplets thing was hereditary. I…honestly have no idea how I'd handle that.”
No, it couldn't be genetic since the boys were made invitro-
And then Reiju remembered that she could not speak to the man. All the words drove right into a pile up in front of her closed lips and teeth. At least she had figured out a workaround that could possibly work. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a medium sized notebook, still with that new book smell, and a ballpoint pen. Zoro gave her pen a quizzical look but let her write. She tried to jot it down fast but still make it legible. Once finished, she handed the open book to Zoro.
My apologies that I could not speak to you earlier when you got here. Judge has ordered me to not speak to you and I quite literally cannot disobey what he says.
“Ahh, I get it then,” Zoro flopped the book down on his lap before handing it back to Reiju, “So this is the only way you can communicate with me for now.”
Reiju nodded.
“Well…if it works, it works. So…if I may be forthcoming, do you know where they are keeping my swords?”
Reiju frowned slightly at this. She did know their location, but unfortunately, once the swordsman’s swords were taken to the treasury, her rights to enter it had been revoked and the passcode and locks were changed. She wrote in the notebook again and handed it back.
I do know where it is, but I unfortunately have no access to it.
“Well, if you tell me where it’s located, maybe I can find them myself.”
Reiju shot Zoro a withering look, as if to say “Really?”.
”God, not you too!” Zoro groaned, “Why does everyone keep thinking I’m bad with directions, I follow them to the-oh come on, don’t roll your eyes!”
The princess could not help herself.
Would you like the short or long list of every way that plan could go wrong?
”…No list, please.”
Despite his objections to even the insinuation of being chronically unconsciously wanderlust, he knew this was not a war he was going to win. Besides, this was not the time to squabble.
This is precisely why I am having Yonji get us access to the treasury when the time is right.
The swordsman snapped his fingers at the realization.
“Ahhh, so that's why you asked Yonji to getcha access there. Hold on, you already have an escape plan cooked up, with the snails and everything?”
Reiju nodded again, though with less enthusiasm.
Sort of.
Zoro looked up from the notebook semi confused.
“Sort of?”
Finding the words to explain what problems she had was hard. Everything else she was on board with and if done right, could get Zoro and her daughter off of Germa and back with the Straw Hats. The only issue was that since her child still needed time in the oven, Reiju herself would have to go with them. She would have to free herself and be out there for once in her life and the prospect…the prospect should have elicited excitement in her but all it did was terrify.
There was no mincing words about it, she was a monster. A monster who was self aware of her nature and had no choice about it, but still a killer beast no less. Nevermind how that would affect the Strawhats to have her galavanting around with them while Judge would be hot on their tails, imagine how it would affect her daughter if she had to bear the weight of her being her mother in more than just blood. She didn’t deserve to be released from her prison but her innocent child did.
…Of course, she could not tell Zoro any of that. Instead, she wrote down an alternative answer for him. One that was truthful but not the entire truth.
I need to work out any back up plans in case something gets in our way. For example, Caesar and his incessant obsession about out.
“Ugh, yeah, that fucker’s had his eyes on me since day one. Probably still mad cause we stopped his experimenting on kids…oh fuck.” He exclaimed as his eyes migrated down to her belly. Yet another reason Reiju needed to get out of Germa, at least until the baby was born. With her father and Caesar combined, she did not want to think about what terrors for experiments and training they would unleash onto the baby girl.
“Yeah, we need to get the hell out of here as soon as possible. Though…fuck, it’s not like I don’t wanna see my crew again…but…I’m not sure how to feel about seeing erocook again.”
Reiju cocked her head, questioning his trepidation.
”It’s like…he always gets on me when it comes to how I interact with any women, even the most normal of things I do. Just because I don’t get stupid when I see a pair of boobs and a pretty face, well-“ he flicked his eyes down to the swell of her belly again, “not all the time, it doesn’t mean I’m some hater of women. But he’ll never hear that. And you're the only family he has left that he still likes, so I just know he’s gonna nail me onto a cross when I get back on the Sunny.”
Despite his tone, something flickered in his eye that was along the lines a deep fondness even if his words did not match that.
I’m sure Sanji would be very understanding of the situation. You’re still part of his family despite it all.
“Hmph, yeah, he’ll be understanding that he’s going to put his foot up my ass. But I shouldn’t be thinking about that,” he sighs, “dare I say, I miss him trying to burn me with those ‘flames of passion’. I’ll take being burned everyday by them if it means getting out of here.”
And I can promise you that I am going to make that happen. Now, I want to get down to some brass tacks on the plan while we are together right now.
“Right, right, gimme the low down.”
It was getting a bit harder to write everything down so quickly the longer sprints Reiju had to do. But she had no idea if anyone else was coming if Yonji sauntered down here before she did so it had to be done with haste. She gave him back the book, hoping her more manic scribbles were still legible.
Firstly, we’re going to make a call to your crew since they are a sea separated from us right now. That’s what the extra snails are for, as all lines on Germa are monitored out of the gate. We will make our location known to them and the circumstances surrounding your capture. We keep in contact to be constantly updated on their location. If they can make it to our next major stop before hitting the Red Line, Cinnabar Island, the next phase of the plan can start immediately.
Yonji will let us into the treasury, we will get your swords back, reconvene with your crew who will be nearby, and get out of here.
Zoro hummed after reading the plan over.
“I see, I see then. Sounds like a pretty solid plan AND I get to kick some ass. I hope Caesar just so happens to get himself caught in the crossfire, but knowing the fucker, he'll hole himself up in hi-huh?”
His train of thought was stopped as Reiju put up one hand and frantically wrote down with the other.
Please try not to kill anyone. I mean it.
She tapped the page with her pen for extra emphasis
“Well, hey, if things are going to get violent, I can't guarantee that my blades won't want to get a taste of blood.”
I know, but minimization is the key if we do not want more problems for your crew. If even Caesar is lost, Judge will follow you to the ends of the Earth to crush you, not accounting for the already apparent reason he would chase you all once this plan goes through.
“Hey, don't doubt us, we’ve handled big bullshit like him before.”
I understand that, but there is someone else we have to think about now, too.
Her hand slid down the curvature of her stomach, her daughter kicking in response. Zoro's expression hardened along with his spine stiffening.
“...Alright, then I solemnly promise to not rough your family and Caesar up too much, at least not enough to kill.”
Reiju breathed a sigh of relief. She already had a gut feeling that Zoro was the type to not break a promise when made.
“I do have one question for the plan, though,” Zoro raised a finger, “how are you going to juggle opening the treasury to cause chaos and getting me to my swords? I feel like shit is gonna go down once that place is opened and I'll be stuck here until you get me.”
Ahh, yes, she did need him to be right with her when the final part of the plan was enacted. Though that would be tricky since Judge pulled out all the stops for them to be close…unless…unless…
Ah. She had an idea on how to get Zoro and her together, but it was going to hurt.
She started writing again and took a few minutes (thank goodness for Zoro being patient), but her idea was finally hastily inscribed onto the paper as she pushed the notebook back into the swordsman’s arms.
I have an idea for that middle part: I have a lot of paperwork in my office/storage space that needs to be moved to the main paperwork storage building. It is about a year’s worth of documentation of costs, casualties, tax forms, etcetera. This is along with all the other responsibilities I have with tracking expenses around here. Usually I would do the main task, the storage transfer myself, but am unable to do so because of extenuating circumstances. So I need someone to assist me with that. I cannot nominate you for that now, but father does not trust other people either for this job, slimming it down to just me and my brothers.
Essentially, I will choose the one I know is the worst out of the three when it comes to manual, “boring” labor and have them be my assistant for a day and only day so they can make things FUBAR enough that I'll be “forced” to ask father for a replacement of my own choosing, which will be you. Due to the nature of the work too, he will also be forced to lift my talking restriction, which is great because I think my hand is cramping up “talking” to you right now.
On that note, Reiju tried shaking the feeling back into her hand. She could write fast, but she was more of a long distance writer rather than a sprinter.
After finishing the text, Zoro gave her a look of genuine concern.
“I'm not trying to poke holes in your plan, Reiju, I do trust your intuition, but…can you really handle being around one of those jackasses for a whole day while also doing hard work? You've been handling them for years, I'm sure of that, but the circumstances are different and I'm just…I'm…” he was trying to force out the right words for this, “I’m just worried they might hurt you and the kid in some way and I won't be there to do anything about it. I'll probably be cleaning up the snail breeding caverns again tomorrow while you're dealing with one of the shitty evilbrows. I’d never be able to live with myself if I let my own kid get hurt like that…”
His tone was solemn and deadly serious with the slightest tinge of worry he was trying to smoosh down that emotion. Reiju herself was frozen in place. It was not quite shock that she felt, as she already knew Zoro was a protective man and was the type who actually cared about his offspring no matter what, but still…hearing some sort of care even tangentially thrown her way would always surprise her.
I have handled my brothers for over 24 years. What’s one more day?
Zoro analyzed her face and body language for any trace of hesitation or doubt of her words. Reiju knew he would not find anything, though.
“If you say so…just don’t choose greenbrow for that, it’ll make things awkward.
Ahh, Yonji. She had already struck him from the very short list because of his groin injury, but now that they were on the topic of him…
So what was that scene I walked into earlier?
This seemed to catch the man off guard, raising his hackles.
“Well, the dumbass wanted to go for round two again and I was not having that so we…tussled.”
So was the kiss a new fighting style? One Tongue Style?
Zoro groaned loudly and long. Again, Reiju was grateful that the door to the dungeon was closed or she would not have gotten this funny reaction out of the swordsman.
“Look, it was a bit of an underhanded tactic I had to use because the tub of fuck was on top of me. What the hell do you guys feed that dude anyways, bricks? Anywho, I did that to leave him dazed so I could suplex him and run out of this dank place. I have to say, though, he's not a good kisser at all. It was like tonguing a dead fish.”
Reiju elected to ignore that last comment.
You had a plan for after knocking him down?
“Ummm, kinda. I just knew I wanted to see you again, but not much else.”
Well, I appreciate the thought at least. Even though you would have been caught immediately.
“Yeah, yeah, I know, not the best idea, but it's all I had.”
And while we are on the subject, I also would like to know what Yonji was talking about earlier satisfaction when he left us be.
“Oh, that, well…I may have made a little fib when I accidentally revealed too much to greenbrow so I tried to say I was actually looking for you for…for…” It was surprising to see the swordsman actually look hesitant on finishing his answer, “augh, look, I tried to insinuate that I wanted you for sex and he bought it. Just to throw him off my trail.”
Oh. Huh. Reiju filed that tidbit of information away in her mind robotically, not really knowing what to do with it.
“I didn’t mean it of course, sorry if that somehow got your hopes up, but…ugh, again, not my best plan.”
It’s okay. And my hopes were not brought up by that.
Things were quiet for a few seconds after that. What WAS she supposed to say to that? It’s not like…well Zoro was quite a looker, yes, but…it was just…god damn, she couldn’t even get her thoughts to be coherent for herself.
She could not feel things for him again, not in that way, not ever since…
“Hey, while we are here, can I ask a stupid question?”
Reiju pursed her lips and thought about it for a second.
Go ahead.
"Well, don't be offended when I ask this," Reiju braced herself for what Zoro was going to say, "but why did you even go to bed with me in the first place? You seem like someone who is usually pretty cautious, so why take such a chance with me?"
Ah. Well, that was most likely the worst question he could have asked her. It was the one thing she absolutely did not want to answer even if a gun was pointed to her head. But Zoro’s want for an answer was worse than any firearm, so she would have to answer. God, where should she even start without sounding so…dumb? Ridiculous? Preposterous considering what she was usually like? Reiju thought back to the night that started it all…
🦋🦋🦋⚔️⚔️⚔️
Despite being a practiced actress due to her living situation, one act Reiju struggled with was playing the drunk. It required being able to be loose and unpredictable, two traits that were the polar opposite of her very core. There also was the fact that her body considered any and all alcohol “poison” and filtered any and all of its effects. It was like she was drinking flavored water.
It was why when at the celebration party for the Straw Hats, Reiju simply took hummingbird sips of the hard apple cider in her hands. The apples on this island had to be some breed that had been cut off from the others in cultivation as it had a pleasant aromatic scent to it and the taste was like that of the scent of apple blossoms in taste form mixed with very sweet but with hints of tartness, along with the alcohol content, to bring you back down from the sugar high.
All in all, she would give Innsmouth Island’s cider an eight out of ten.
But the cider was not why she was here. Going between the crowd of bodies, Reiju was finally able to catch sight of the reason why she was here: Sanji…who was unfortunately making a fool of himself in front of women again, but that was a part of his charm, was it not?
Sitting at a wooden table and bench, she watched as the festivities were going on for the pirate crew saving the island from the old god that had been terrorizing it. She had tested her disguise out before on another island to see if she would be recognized and thankfully, her makeup and outfit coordination skills were good enough that no one had ever thought she was the Poison Princess. A reputation like that barred her from as many opportunities as it opened up.
So here she was, being another face in the crowd watching her brother from a distance. It has been three years since she last saw him in person, three years since the wedding disaster. The only times she had been able to get a look at her baby brother were in news articles and some of the newfangled film serials. And it should have stayed that way. She would keep her distance and he would live his own life. A fair (at least for Sanji) arrangement that made everyone happy.
And then she almost died. Slowly. Painfully. Her nearly last moments swarmed with visions of the last person who actually cared about her turning his back and finally calling her what she already knew she was and never wanted to hear him say.
Needless to say, breaking an arrangement to bring herself out of the post recovery tar pits of despair was an understandable breach on her end. Seeing her brother flourish in an environment that actually wanted him and his talents was the only medicine she had for this.
Her second to last youngest brother was a light shining in the darkness, figuratively and literally so with the way the lights bounced off his golden hair. He was offering to feed the cat burglar, Nami, some of the soft and light colored pudding from the feast, overhearing his reasoning being “So your sweet hands do not have to do anymore work ”. The redhead relished in this attention flagrantly and it was no secret on the Grand Line that she basically used Sanji as a servant. But he never minded this, or hell, maybe he knew already and just kept on doing it because he was such a kind man. The kindest in the world, even.
Laying her head on the table, the world going sideways, she reminisced on the days she spent with her mother when she was bedridden, how the woman enjoyed anything Sanji made for her and did. He really was the greatest boy in the world. The greatest man in the world. A far better person than she could ever b-HOLY MOLY!
Her self-deprecating thoughts were tied up and shoved into a closet faster than the eye could see as her brother turned to yell at the captain’s right hand man, bringing him into the princess' focus. She had seen the rest of the Strawhats she could not meet in the papers and bounty posters, including the swordsman, but this was her first time seeing all of them in person in one spot. And Zoro’s poster…did not do the man justice.
The pair was loud enough that she could hear their conversation from her spot.
”What the hell would you understand about treating a woman, shitty marimo!?”
”Not to act like a brainless servant monkey when one is around you.”
“At least I’m not a heartless gorilla who-“
Their squabbling was interrupted by Nami conking both of them on the head and yelling at them for trying to start a physical fight with each other. Reiju almost wished they would start fighting so she could see his muscles ripple and move under his skin like-
All her muscles tensed as she tried her damndest to push away the thought. Where the hell did that come from? In all her life, she had not had any attraction to any person, but this pirate was making her feel all…warm and tingly inside. These feelings were for people who did not have their entire lives tied to a military mercenary empire. Besides, she should not harbor such feelings for one of her brother’s shipmates. That was his real family there and she needed to keep hersel-Oh Lord, look at those lips work that mug of cider!
It took all her energy to not slam her head right into the table for that one, prompting instead to simply laying her face down on the wood as the crowd around her went on with their merriment.
This was ridiculous, she shouldn't be acting like a dog in heat just because she had seen a well built man. She had seen plenty of them on Germa with the soldiers and it's not like the Straw Hats were barren of any other good looking men (sans Sanji, because eww to think of her brother in the proximity of sexiness). But there was something different about the swordsman…
Observing him, she could see how sweaty he was, undoubtedly from the recent battle and heat of mid spring on the Grand Line, how his clothes stuck to his body, which had every muscle defined like they were from an anatomy textbook-
Maybe she should stop looking at him. And stop looking at Sanji too because he was so close to the swordsman and her treacherous eyes would migrate away. She should focus on taking a peek at some of the other crew members she did not get a chance to see during the Big Mom incident. The cyborg, Franky, was quite a looker, both in an aesthetic and a showman sense, and was quite good with kids with the way he showed off the abilities of his implants to the children. The long nosed one too, Usopp, was easy on the eyes, albeit, the effect of that was dampened as he fought off Luffy from stealing off his plate like the pirate king was a naughty dog.
And then there was Jinbei…Jinbei~~~-alright, time to redirect her attention away from him too.
Finally, there was the enigmatic Nico Robin. The Demon Child, who had been a key player in finding Laught-God damn she was sitting next to Zoro!
It was at that point that Reiju felt something warm and thick down her top lip down to her chin. Wiping it away, she found that it was blood.
Oh God.
She was acting just like Sanji when he was around women.
Slugging down the rest of her cider, she tried to fill her mind with unsexy thoughts to flush out all the feelings she had for the gruff swordsman that were beginning to make her panties wet. Ok, ok, the snail breeding caverns, that was a good start, uh, uhhh, wheat biscuits, yes, very effective, very unsexy. The idea of the swordsman’s abs were still popping up in her head, though, so she needed a true bomb to salt the earth of her lavicious mind.
And then her brain popped in the idea of her father naked. And that seemed to be the key as she physically cringed at the idea and dried up any feelings of lewdness along with her nosebleed. Reiju felt that it was enough to stymie those feelings from resurfacing again since the imagery her mind forced onto her was…something she wished never to see in real life.
Now was probably the time for her to take her leave. She wanted to stay longer to refill her will to live by watching Sanji, but she knew if she stayed any longer, she might do something unwise because of the-
OH
MY
GOD.
Out of the corner of her eye, Reiju had caught the swordsman flagrantly pulling his shirt off, the sweaty cloth being too much for him and he tossed it behind him. Sanji was yelling at him again but her own brother got pushed to the wayside as she locked into Zoro’s delicious muscles. His abs were so defined as a classical statue’s, and as chiseled as the stone they were made from, and his pecs were like a pair of dirigibles!
Reiju's eye twitched as more blood gushed from her nose. Her grip on the table tightened so much This was not simply a horny bomb on her psyche, it was the fourth Ancient Weapon! She could feel her sense and logic being locked up and the key thrown away as lust took the reins.
And then it happened. Her system overloaded with smut and newly awakened sexual passion, her gaze turned into a heart bulging out of her eye socket, her body soft and wiggly and her voice raising a few octaves in an over the top display reminiscent of the mating ritual of tropical male birds.
Her now limber waved side to side, arms in the air, as she shouted:
“Zoro-kyuuuun~!”
All the villagers in the vicinity turned to face the seemingly crazy woman and even Zoro himself glanced in her direction, but she was gone before anyone could find who just screamed to the captain's right hand man in that cutesy way.
Reiju had managed to fight the horny urges in time and dove under a table to catch her breath and manage herself. What in the hell did she just do? Why was she feeling this way at the worst possible moment? God, maybe she should bang her head against a rock until she stops being so stupid. But at the same time, doing that would ruin her makeup and she had no time to reapply it so she would just have to internalize the need to scream. While wrestling back for control, she still had the indelible carnal need for the green haired swordsman. Her insides felt so hot, she needed some release or else she would have her organs twist into knots. Stupid sexy Zoro!
Now she could not leave, at least not immediately. She could not go back to Germa all horned up like this as she already knew self pleasurement would not be enough. She did not simply want the man now, she NEEDED him.
Making her way out from under the table, she brought her raid suit canister nearer to the opening of her jacket so she could easily pull it out when she got to the point where she could take off back to the nearby Germa ships. Looks like things would have to prematurely end.
She wanted to stay longer, to soak up a little more of the sunshine so she could keep on living and surviving, but she would have to take what she could get. Reiju only was able to keep going the way she had done all these years because she had control over herself and losing that control for the briefest of moments back there was disconcerting. Without it, she would have been…well, probably locked away in a dungeon like Sanji had all those years ago. Having her body take the reins even if just for a second, it was quite terrifying.
…But…maybe, just maybe…a little taste of that was not so bad.
Reiju stopped dead in her tracks at that thought. Of course it was bad! It would have meant that her over twenty years of “good behavior” was all for nothing! All those years of masking and all the years she would continue to mask would be all for naught!
…Then again, was that not all the more reason for her to give herself a little treat?
Reiju could feel her heart beating so hard it thrummed in her chest and the core of her body was so hot now it felt like a furnace, hot enough to melt steel.
No, she did not deserve a “little treat”, she deserved to suffer the way she had for years. She was not a good person, or even just a person, so why should she-
Why should…
Why…
Why not?
How long had she gone without any pleasure in her life? It had been so long that she could not remember any start point for it. She always had Sanji’s wellbeing and thriving life to take pleasure in the knowledge of, but when had she done something for herself? Never, that was for sure. A little nibble was not something she should worry about. After all, she would go back to the sterile Germa for either option she chose, so why not go with the fun one?
Reiju was not sure at this point if it was her or her hormones doing the talking, but either way, the argument was sounding more convincing. She had lived spartan enough and would continue to do so. Not much else in life gave her any sort of stimulation that was not the sort of flight or fight response for survival, and drugs and alcohol couldn't be a distraction considering how her system filtered all their effects out. And it was not like her father would know this happened, considering he is asleep and quite a bit away now. And this was her first time, too! The first time she's ever felt this passionately for someone that was not familial. A temporary passion maybe, but the swordsman’s presence was enough to override all her cautiousness and drive up her hormones where no one else was able to. He was special, that was for sure.
Reiju made a U-turn away from her destination (though it turned into a W-turn when she debated on going back), but did not go back directly to the banquet. She still had her lower face covered in blood from the nosebleed and went to find a water source to wash it off. The closest thing she could find was a water fountain and thought it might be her best bet as no one would be drinking from it anyways. As Reiju wiped her face, not caring about ruining some of the makeup now since it was better than trying to woo someone while looking like one got out of a pub brawl. As she flecked the residual drops off of her hands, she looked at her reflection once again in the water, the moon being the only source of light now.
She really did not look like herself when in the disguise. The makeup did some heavy lifting, covering up her tattoos and curly eyebrows, but the way she parted her hair, the way she had dressed and the accessories she wore like her sunglasses all combined together to form an entirely different yet somewhat similar person.
He would not recognize her, which was good (though, it was not like the swordsman had actually seen her before in the first place), as she need not to entangle herself anymore with the Strawhats’ lives than she already has. Well, has and will do soon. But that would be temporary. The warmth inside of her had spread, making her entire torso feel hot to the touch and ready for action.
All that was left now was finding the swordsman, which…could be hard considering his infamous ability to go in the opposite of even clearly explained and laid out directions, but since he was with his crew they probably would at least keep him reined in for a certain area.
As soon as Reiju went to look for him, though, she quickly stumbled upon him leaving the celebration and going to the outskirts of it and into the village with an evident pep in his step. Reiju watched, wondering what he was doing until he went into an alleyway. Ahh, he had to take a piss…well, better now than never.
Reiju stopped once more before making her move. Every muscle in her body ached to be taken by the man's strong self and her mind was awash with perfumed ardor, yet the one part of her mind, the one that was always aware, always vigilant, always afraid, clung on the idea of “Don't do this” like a piece of driftwood. Perhaps she could get away with this moment of passion if the swordsman wanted to do it too, but it was still uncharted territory for the woman. She knew how to be flirtatious and bend and mold others emotions, yes, but physical acts were something else entirely. Reiju had no idea how to be in control of such a thing or even if it was something to be in control of.
But these arguments were swept away by one thought: feeling this way, towards another person, was it not very human? Was it not human to want and not to need? To do something not for survival, not for fitting into the fold, but out of pure desire and feeling comfortable enough to express that?
Reiju may have been a monster, and always would be, but maybe with this newly started passion, she could play pretend, just for one night…
🦋🦋🦋⚔️⚔️⚔️
Reiju still could not believe that he agreed to such an act then and there, but she also had to consider all the factors such as adrenaline and the good times going on that would contribute to such acts of passion. God knows it was not her skills at seduction that got her that far. Or maybe he was also horned up like her at the time and she just could not see it, making it a happy coincidence for them both.
Well.
Not quite happy now, but still…
In the end, she decided to put down the much shortened but also true answer.
You are an interesting specimen.
“That’s, uhhh, certainly a way to put it.”
Well, she was not expecting an enthusiastic reaction to her response, but it was better than saying she went full Sanji Mode at the sight of him.
“Huh, now that I think back to that day, I feel a little bad that we screwed in that alleyway.”
Huh?
Huh?
Zoro shrugged nonchalantly.
“I mean, if they ask one day about how we met or something, what do we even say? I’d personally wanna give them the truth, but I know the witch would never let me hear the end of it so I gotta think of something else.”
Reiju could not tell if the swordsman was joking or not, but she leaned towards not once observing how contemplative his expression was.
But the other thing that put her off kilter was the implication of “we”. Both of them, together in their daughter’s life. Reiju needed to make sure that did not happen, but she would have to keep that to herself from now seeing as Zoro was implying otherwise.
I guess we will just have to wait until she is old enough to learn the truth.
Zoro quirked his brow right as Reiju registered what she had written down.
“‘She’? It's a girl?”
The woman slowly nodded.
“Oh…oh wow,” Zoro combed his fingers through his hair, soaking in the gender reveal, “wow.”
Reiju meant to tell him the child’s gender soon, though she wished to tell him when she got her voice back. It was something she felt would be better revealed through words than the much colder form of writing.
“How long did you know?”
Only since yesterday.
“Ahh,” Zoro crossed his arms, staring contemplatively at Reiju’s stomach. She wished more than any other moment now that she could crack open his head and see what the man was thinking. While not quite enigmatic, he still was not the type who wore his heart on his sleeve like Luffy or Sanji. Was he mad at her for all this but just pushing those emotions into a corner for their daughter? Was he more interested in having a son instead of a daughter? The questions started to swirl in her mind.
“Hey,” Zoro’s voice penetrated through the clouds, “can I…feel her?”
Reiju looked back at him, analyzing his face. While his expression was steely as usual, she could sense a tinge of uncertainty. Despite that she nodded and scooted closer to the man. Zoro inched an open hand closer to the swell of her stomach until his palm and fingers fully touched her midsection. It was at that moment that their daughter decided to give a hearty kick, right on the part of Reiju's stomach Zoro was touching. He pulled his hand back fast, as if he touched a hot iron, eye widening a little. The baby girl kept up her movements until Zoro worked himself up enough to feel her again. This time when he felt the kicks again, he inhaled and held it in his chest.
Reiju could relate. Feeling their daughter moving for the first time almost didn't seem like it was actually happening, like she had mistaken some other bodily process for it. Knowing that someone else’s life depended on you was something she was familiar with before, only now with a different context.
“Huh, strong kicks,” Zoro mused, “just like her uncle…”
The pair stayed silent for a moment, the only sound now being a “drip-drip” noise coming from somewhere.
Zoro brought his legs into a criss-cross position and brought his hands back to plant them on his knees. He corrected his expression to lose some of the emotion he was showing.
“So…Reiju…I trust you know what you're doing with your plan and if you have faith in it, so do I. Even so, though, I have one thing to ask…well, there are more things I want to say, but one that relates to the plan: please do not bite off more than you can chew.”
The swordsman did not have anything else to say in that respect, only tilting his head forward slightly to emphasize his grave look. Reiju made a mental note to keep her distance (but not too much) for the first part of her plan tomorrow.
Okay then, I can do that.
“Are you sure?”
Affirmative.
With the way his head was positioned, a shadow covered Zoro’s good eye.
“Ok…” he took in a deep inhale and let out an equally deep exhale, “ok…just make sure you’re both safe and I will do my part.”
Reiju hummed and nodded. She could understand his fears, especially when he could not be there, but the princess still had enough confidence in handling her brothers. For the most part.
“Oh right, my other question,” Zoro’s gaze softened a little, “did you think of any names for her yet?”
Reiju was about to write again when she realized she never actually thought of any yet. She's been so focused on worrying about what she was to do with her child and her well-being that it never occurred to her that she should be thinking about things such as a name for her girl. Reiju was batting zero so far at being a good mother.
She shook her head.
“Well, if you don't have any in mind, I can suggest some. I mean, you can veto any of them if you want, but I think the kid should have a name if she's got a gender now, you know?”
The princess nodded in agreement. She was about to transcribe them until she thought that it might be better if Zoro wrote them down himself. He could write it down the way he wanted it spelled and all that.
“Oh, me? Wouldn't your handwriting look better?”
Reiju was practically shoving the book and pen into his chest.
“AUGH, fine, fine, I'll do it,” he did not seem displeased despite what he said and took the items from her hands. The princess could practically see the gears turning in his head as he looked at the page, tapping his chin with the pen.
Inspiration struck him and he started to write, though part way through the process Reiju could see him crossing out one of his options. After a minute he gave her both the pen and book back.
“There we go. Sorry if they're not…the best names out there, but I never thought I was going to have a daughter that I'd need a name already thought out for. But I think these ones would be nice.”
Reiju poured over the list.
Tsumi
Hato
Tsubame
Tachi
Kuina
Suzume
The Germa princess’ first thought was how Zoro was not slick for trying to stick what was obviously a sword name onto the list of regular names, so she immediately crossed that out. The second thing she noticed was how he seemed to backtrack immediately on the “Kuina” with a great fervor, the scribbles he crossed it out with almost covering the entire thing. She made note of the detail but decided not to press the issue.
The other names, though, she really liked the sound of them, especially “Suzume”. Something about it just rolled off the tongue and felt right. Reiju would still consider the other two, but her heart was set on that one.
I like these quite a bit.
Zoro smiled.
“You can add some of your own if you want, but I thought these ones were just…nice. Something I feel like a kid wouldn't hate being named.”
He did not think a kid would not want to be named after an ancient sword? Well, swords were his things after all so maybe Reiju could not fault his logic too much.
Since she was going to throw the book in the fireplace once she got back to her room to destroy any evidence of this conversation, she ripped out the page of names and folded it up, placing it in her bosom.
Her gut told that she should probably make her leave about now, since the guards being distracted by her father and Caesar fighting would not last forever, but she still had to give Zoro one more thing, one of the things she came for before getting off track with the other subjects. She cleared her throat and got up, Zoro jumping up to attempt to assist her with rising. Reiju frowned slightly, as she was not a total blimp who would need that help yet.
“You’re leaving already?”
Have to. I’m still expected to do my job around her despite everything.
Zoro hummed in understanding. He looked back at his cell, the two bars still bent. He sighed.
“And I guess I should go back in there for the plan to work.”
He walked over and back into the cell and turned around in front of the bent bars.
Reiju knew what he wanted her to do and went over to bend the metal back into place. She attempted to put them back at the same time, but found difficulty doing it one handed each. Zoro looked down at her with concern.
“Do you need he-” a glare from Reiju quieted him. She could still do this, she just needed to work smarter about it since the metal bars were probably reinforced since the last escape sixteen years ago. Steeling herself, she pushed each bar back into place with greater effort than before, putting both hands on each piece. Once back together, she took a second to breathe and reached down for the almost forgotten satchel she brought. Zoro looked on curiously until he saw what she had brought. Covered tightly by a steel lid was an ornate meal tray, to which when Reiju pulled off the lid, revealed a meal tray with a balanced but rich (in the monetary sense and food sense) meal. Lots of brown rice next to ratatouille and a cut of filet steak. She could see the green haired man’s eye brighten for a second before it was snuffed out.
“Hold on, that looks like a full and well balanced meal.”
Reiju nodded hesitantly. Shit, did he figure her out already? Zoro crossed his arms and shook his head.
“I appreciate the effort, but I’m not taking the food out of a pregnant woman’s mouth.”
The warrior princess groaned as she set the tray near the entrance of the meal slot. Figures he was sharp enough to know she would definitely be unable to request any more food than what was allotted to her. She attempted to push it through the food slot, inching it forward while keeping eye contact, but Zoro just blocked it with his hand.
“Look, I can survive going without food for while. You, no way.”
There was a finality in his words that made any ways to argue back die on her fingertips. For the most part at least.
I’d rather not see you go hungry and let said hunger get in the way of the plan.
Not the exact truth, as in reality she could not stand the thought of letting starvation be added to Zoro’s list of troubles because of her, but it could work. Surprisingly, Zoro dryly laughed it off.
“If you try to force it on me, I won’t eat it, even if I know Sanji would kill me if he found out.”
And that was the true bookend for that. Zoro was not the King of Hell, he was the King of Stonewalling.
Reiju took the defeat as gracefully as she could and put away the food back with its cover and into her bag. Packing everything up and ready to eat and go to bed, she turned to Zoro and waved him goodnight instead of writing it seeing as her hand was starting to cramp from her frantic scribbles. He waved back and got back into his meditating position as she left. Once out of his sight and earshot, Reiju let out any remaining tension in a long sigh while leaning up against a wall. This plan…was a bit of a slapped together job. But she reminded herself that the escape she orchestrated for Sanji as a child was also on the seat of her pants but it still went well.
She also had to remind herself, though, that these circumstances were different. She did not have the strength or stamina that she used to, and if all went well, she would be forced to leave Germa, forced to leave everything behind, including never seeing her mother’s gravestone again, all for the sake of others.
Gathering her bearings and walking back to her room, making sure she was not seen, she thought about the afterwards, how she would find it hard to detach herself from her daughter so she could have a better life, but it would need to be done, it was inevitable, it was for the better.
It was something she could absolutely never tell a soul about. This heritage was her cross to bear, after all. Not Suzume, not Sanji, not anyone else.
All Reiju could hope was that Zoro would not pick up on her end game.
🦋🦋🦋⚔️⚔️⚔️
Yonji was having trouble sleeping and it was all stupid Reiju and stupid Zoro’s fault!
He tossed and turned in his extravagant bed, unable to find a sleeping position that just worked for him. Granted, his injury played a part in that, but the events that had just transpired were eating at him too. He had just been kissed by the captive and Reiju was now holding it over his head to get her way. It would be a cold day in hell before he let Niji and Ichiji get more material to jab him with so his hands were tied. It was either get the stuff she wanted or have his moment of weakness revealed.
The prince grit his teeth in anger. He hated feeling stuck because he was strong, he was one of Judge's beloved sons. There shouldn't have been any problems he couldn't bash a hole through and yet, here he was. Stuck between a rock and a hard place and now would be the fall guy for his sister’s machinations. He knew he'd be implicated for getting her the snails and opening the vault and the fallout from that…unless…
He could just lie later down the line, saying Reiju forcefully got the code for the treasury out of him, but that wouldn't be too believable since father ordered him and his brothers to not tell her that piece of information…
Yonji punched his pillow and swore under his breath. What did Reiju even find so captivating in that swordsmoss anyways, enough that she'd betray her own country over him? Sure he was strong and muscular and handsome and had soft, plush lips, but-
The green haired man stopped his train of thoughts and backed up. What the hell did he just think? Soft, plush lips? Like hell he did! That fucker smelled like sweat and dirt from all the work they put him under and was an animal compared to the Vinsmokes! He would never be attracted to someone as magical and delightful as hi-
Yonji buried his face into his pillow, screaming his mixed emotions out before putting it back and flopping onto it. What the hell was this feeling? It was…warm and fuzzy and directed at Roronoa Zoro. It wasn't hate but it wasn't amusement, it was something deeper, something he couldn't put his finger on. What he could say is that it felt nice. Feeling his lips with his fingertips, he traced around them, wondering why he did not feel so bad about that kiss…
…Bah, he was starting to sound like Sanji! All soft and mushy. He forcefully shut his eyes to try and get some sleep as the days ahead of him were going to be hard.