Chapter 91: Unexpected Opportunities
Chapter 91: Unexpected Opportunities
The first two days on Kansorn Island had been spent helping the locals recover. In truth, beyond the handful of unfortunate women who had been caught, most of the damage on the island had been to property instead of people. Both the locals and crew were all thankful for that, and Kaya and Chopper had the mistreated women well in hand and healing quickly. As a result, it had mostly been a case of lending the greater strength and odd mix of skills of their crew to getting the island back in working order.
After that, they all split up a bit.
Their month on Sixis had been extremely productive, but also somewhat confining, as they’d elected not to use Vivi’s Air Doors to visit anywhere else in their efforts to fall off the radar completely. With ‘Little East Blue’ proving to be an extremely friendly port to them, the crew had quickly decided to stay for some shore leave. A decision helped a bit by those from the East Blue being curious about the features of the island that matched up with their homes.
Which is how Kuina found herself at a remarkably accurate duplicate of her family’s Dojo, discovering unknown family history.
“So you see, your uncle, Master Kousei made it here to Little East Blue. In fact, he was critical to securing it from pirates while he was still around, but it was those same pirates who eventually killed him. Unfortunately, while he attempted to train many of those in the village, none of us ever had more than basic aptitude. I’m sad to say only a few of us tried to go farther, and we could never properly understand the scrolls he left behind.”
Kuina remembered her uncle, that particular uncle that is, only very vaguely. There was good reason that Shimotsuki Village bore their family name, as her grandfather had…gotten around. The legendary smith had never married, but certainly did have quite a few children, all of whom he’d cared greatly for. She’d counted, when she was younger, and had realized she’d had six aunts and four uncles, most of whom had themselves had at least one or two children. A considerable chunk of Shimotsuki village was made up of the Shimotsuki clan as a result, of which her father was only the eldest that had trained extensively with the sword.
Just as his half-brother Shimotsuki Kousei had.
Kuina vaguely remembered her uncle having left the village somewhat frequently, being prone to wanderlust. She hadn’t been close enough to him to wonder too much when he hadn’t returned, though those of the family who had been so likely assumed he’d died. Which was apparently accurate, but only relatively recently as such things went. If Kuina had the timeline right, he must have been here on Kansorn for at least a decade and a half. Which explained the existence of the Dojo, as well as the scrolls now laid out on a low table between her and the caretaker.
“I’m not surprised. All of these scrolls are extensions of the family art. Without a full grounding in the fundamentals of the clan style, you’d have never been able to fully utilize them. Since it is a family style, he would only have fully trained a son or daughter in it. By blood or adoption, either one would do, but I take it he didn’t have anyone like that here?”
The caretaker of the dojo, Kenta Mendo, shook his head sadly.
“No. He lost his wife in the Calm Belt journey and never even considered taking another. He seemed content to study the sword and try to teach, even if we were poor students.”
Kuina pursed her lips at that. They actually weren’t at all bad. In fact, the average student here was considerably better than the same average at her father’s own dojo. It simply didn’t seem that way to them, as the threats they’d faced here on the Grand Line were far above what would bother a small village in the East Blue. Kenta wasn’t quite as good as she’d been when she left the village, but she’d already been better than everyone but her father at that time. Coming to a decision, she nodded firmly to herself.
“I cannot teach you the full family style. But I can refine what you know with tricks I’ve picked up from other styles. If you let me copy these scrolls, I will spend the rest of the week teaching a few of you.”
Kenta looked surprised.
“Really? We intended to simply offer them to you, as you are his family. If you would help us learn to better protect the island, though, we would be quite grateful. While running into the mountains is our go-to strategy, it relies on the idea that the pirates will leave. We’ve always feared a group deciding that the island made for a good base…”
A valid concern. If not for the remoteness of the island, Kuina suspected it would, in fact, have already happened. She had no issue helping the locals learn how to better prevent that…particularly as some of the techniques described on these scrolls looked like they’d be very interesting additions to her own style. Shimotsuki Kousei must have been a remarkable talent to have come up with them all on his own.
“Excellent. Then let us begin. First, we need to patch a hole that I exploited in each of your spars earlier. When you parry with your blade, you need to…”
… … …
Kaya had, once she’d dealt with the last of the physical injuries of the villagers, been drawn to the eerie copy of her family mansion. Not just because it was a copy, either. No, she’d noticed a lingering and potent feeling of spiritual energy coming from the place, as well as trailing after an older woman who she’d seen moving around town. The feel of the woman’s energy wasn’t nearly as potent as she knew her own to be, or even that of Maya from Asuka Island. Yet it was familiar in a way that Kaya had almost instantly realized meant the woman must be from Asuka at minimum, and more likely a member of her own family line. The mansion, after all, was a bit of a giveaway that someone from her family had been here.
She wasn’t really surprised someone had known she would be coming. She was surprised that the young girl waiting for her felt faintly of that same spiritual energy. Not to mention that she looked quite a bit like Kaya herself had at twelve or so. The girl, who had been waiting on the steps of the mansion, smiled hugely at her.
“You’re finally here! Grandma wants to see you, but she wasn’t up to waiting on the steps! Come on, I’ll take you to her!”
Bemused by the liveliness of the girl compared to herself at that age, Kaya allowed her hand to be grasped and her body to be towed along after the child. They passed through the main hall, and Kaya quickly started noticing differences between this mansion and her own. While the exterior and entrance hall had been similar, the decorations were all different as they passed through the halls towards the study. The results of very different people living here, as well as different levels of access to things from the East Blue.
Even more odd to her own senses, was that this was a clearly a home. One that was well lived in. There were no servants like Merry present, but instead at least half a dozen people of three different generations. One, who looked on with amusement as Kaya was pulled past her, was so obviously the younger girl’s mother that Kaya easily connected the dots. This mansion’s space felt different due to being an active family home with multiple generations in residence. At least a few of which had some level of their family’s gift.
When they came to the study, which true to form was in the same place it would have been in her own mansion, the girl stopped and waved her on.
“Go on! Granny said to show you to her and leave you be for now. Even if I really want to hear all about your adventures!”
Resisting the urge to give headpats to the adorable kid, who she was virtually certain would be listening at the door, Kaya thanked her and entered the study. There, sitting at the desk, she immediately spotted the older woman who she’d seen around town already. Perhaps a well-preserved sixty years of age, the woman gave off both a feeling of welcome…and a feeling of understated spiritual strength. Not in the same league for raw power as Kaya knew herself to be, but with a depth that spoke of skill Kaya was still in the process of gaining. In recognition of that, Kaya bowed lightly as she introduced herself. The woman chuckled at the introduction and waved Kaya to a seat in front of her desk. After Kaya was seated, the woman finally spoke.
“I admit, I had wondered if the main branch of the family would ever stumble upon our little contingent here. I imagine you’ve got quite a few questions, no?”
Kaya nodded, even if that very comment, along with the extreme similarity of appearance the girl who’d led her in had to her younger self, had already answered the biggest one. Deciding to be up front with that, she forged ahead.
“In truth, my largest question is already answered. You are clearly related to me in some fashion, though I’m afraid I myself am all that is left of the ‘branch’ that resided on the Gecko Islands.”
The older woman grimaced, shrinking at little, but not seeming overly surprised.
“I had feared as much. Given how much effort had gone into being invisible to the World Government for so many years, I could only assume that there was no one left of the main branch but you. Otherwise, you’d have put them all at risk by drawing attention.”
Kaya flinched, suddenly worried she might have put these people at risk, but the woman preempted her with a raised hand.
“Not to worry, dear. I was presumed dead a long time ago and the World Government abandoned even the most basic of Marine presence on this island years ago. Little Yoko’s late father was the last, staying behind when the rest of the Marines left, and that was over five years ago. No one will connect you to us anytime soon.”
Relieved at that, Kaya nodded. Searching for another topic that might be less sensitive, she decided to ask a question aimed at her other major interest here.
“Well, I can feel your ‘branch’ has regained some of the family gifts. Did you know, I managed to visit and help cleanse Asuka Island recently? Would you like to hear what I learned about our family there, and share in a few tricks I learned from the one priestess still present there?”
The older woman’s eye had gone wide at the mention of Asuka island. Her voice was bemused when she spoke again.
“Well, that’s certainly a thing. I had wondered a time or two what became of the island. Why don’t you tell me about it, and perhaps we can compare notes afterward about those gifts you mentioned? I’m sure I have at least a few things I can share with you in turn.”
Delighted at stumbling into someone else she might be able to learn from, Kaya happily began to tell the older woman about their adventure on Asuka Island…
… … …
Sanji had come to the local iteration of the Baratie with high standards and a complete willingness to destroy it utterly if they failed to be met. The true Baratie was the culmination of Chef Zeff’s hard work and dreams, and someone dishonoring it by making a mockery of that effort was more than enough for him to risk being scolded by his Captain. He had, frankly, largely been expecting to burn the place down, stomp on the ashes, and possibly beat a few fools halfway to their graves for the insult.
That said, these were Chefs, and they were feeding people. So he’d also come with full intention of giving them the chance to explain themselves.
What he hadn’t expected to find was an original member of ‘Red-Leg Zeff’s’ crew. Until that surprise introduction, neither he nor Zeff had believed any other member of the Cook Pirates had survived. Yet the man, who introduced himself as ‘Mitsuboshi,’ had not only known all about Zeff…but knew many of Zeff’s secret recipes as well. According to ‘Mitsuboshi, who was down an arm much like Zeff was down a leg, he had ended up on Karsorn Island after a series of small adventures, after the loss of the ship in the storm. Already missing an arm at that point and finding himself among other East Blue natives, he’d decided it was time to settle down rather than trying to find a crew that would take a one-armed chef on. For a while, Mitsuboshi had worked in the inn in town as a cook, just as skilled in that field as all of the Cook pirates had been.
Then he’d heard about the Baratie and Zeff.
Delighted that his Captain had lived, but unable to cross the Calm Belt to go to him, he’d sought after all the information he could about the Baratie and built his own mini-version on Little East Blue. One which served many of the same recipes the real Baratie did, made with skill Sanji had to admit was genuinely beyond any of the Cooks at the real deal other than himself and Zeff. Unsurprising, truly, given Mitsuboshi’s starting point as a member of the Cook Pirates.
Then, with Sanji no longer even slightly mad, Mitsuboshi had started rhapsodizing about all the incredible recipes and unique ingredients he’d been able to acquire by being on the Grand Line. Kansorn might not be a major stop, but it did see a trickle of people coming through, and Mitsuboshi had spent over a decade trading with such people to collect rare Grand Line ingredients and the recipes to use them. Sanji, quite interested in what sort of things that might entail, had asked to try such a dish. Mitsuboshi had whipped up something called a ‘Simsim Whip’ and…
“So much FLAVOR! It’s the very essence of sweetness! Like being wrapped in fluffy sunshine, your mind just melting away!”
Mitsuboshi’s hearty laugh barely registered, but when the man invited Sanji to something call ‘Food Wars,’ a competition they held every week for who could make the best dish with the exotic ingredients gathered from the Grand Line and cultivated on the island, he snapped out of it. He had to participate! There was so much to learn!
… … …
Luffy had to admit that Yamato was utterly adorable when she was simultaneously trying hard both to be a ‘proper lady’ and not to bounce around in glee. Her naturally exuberant personality was very at odds with what she seemed to have decided was ‘proper’ behavior for a lady on a date. Which left her trying to act reserved and dignified…when what she clearly really wanted to do was shout her joy from the mountaintop. She’d virtually exploded in happiness when he’d pulled her aside and explained that he, Nami, and Robin were willing to give things a shot with her. Though it had taken a while to get across that he wanted to do at least a little of the whole ‘getting to know you’ dating thing rather than jumping straight into bed with her.
Honestly, it wasn’t that he wasn’t tempted to do the jumping into bed version.
It was just that his own sensibilities were a little less…abrupt…than that. Nami had actually been a good fit in that regard, since her own idea of ‘romance’ was fairly similar to what his original world would have thought of as normal. Though, admittedly, Nami’s version was more prone to going X-rated quickly and had room for far more expansion to include others. Robin was an odder case in which she didn’t really have a baseline culture. She’d been ostracized on her original home island from a young age and then bounced around the West Blue and Grand Line both. The result was that she’d known more about using her body for seduction than dating, which had oddly worked out. By signaling so strongly to Luffy and Nami that she was interested, but taking her time to work up to it carefully, she’d sort of accidentally produced an equivalent to dating. One that honestly made Luffy wonder if that was how the concept of ‘dating’ had come about in the first place.
It would be sort of ironic if the historian had accidentally reproduced the conditions for a cultural norm to come to be, come to think of it.
One way or another, with both Nami and Robin, the ‘getting to know you’ phase of dating that he was used to had happened somewhat naturally. With Yamato, that concept just wasn’t really part of her cultural makeup to begin with, so it had required some careful phrasing and explanations. Essentially putting it to her as ‘testing their compatibility.’ Thankfully, even if he was fairly sure she still didn’t totally get it, she was more than happy to go along with any idea that led generally to the ends she was seeking.
Thankfully, Luffy had a solid plan for how to turn this date from ‘awkward,’ with Yamato acting a part that didn’t suit her, into the sort of ‘getting to know you’ adventure it should be. A plan that had them ascending to the summit of the mountains that encircled most of the island. Something that would have been near impossible for the locals, but was trivially easy for the pair of them. Just as it had been trivially easy for him to come up the night before and put out the items that would hopefully make this work. Any moment now, his little setup should come into sight.
“Ah, here we are!”
Yamato looked startled as he grabbed her hand, not letting her have time to react as he towed her to the large pair of easels and canvases he’d set up the night before. Positioned on an overlook that would give them a fantastic view of the setting sun in just a few hours, both were lavishly equipped with art supplies of all kinds. He whipped off the covers he’d put on them to protect them from morning dew, and presented them to Yamato with a flourish.
“I thought it would be nice to make a bit of art together! I’m mostly technical in my drawing, but kinda want to try expanding to see if I can be a little more creative, and I know you’ve made a lot of progress with Usopp giving you tips. I suspect the sunset over Little East Blue is going to be quite spectacular, so why don’t we try to capture it together?”
Yamato looked both confused and excited, as she looked over the art supplies. Which is about what he’d expected. Getting her to let go and simply chat was always going to be a slightly uphill battle, but she was genuinely passionate about her drawing these days. So, if anything would do the job, this was it.
“Come, let’s see which of us can capture the sunset best, hmm? I’m betting on you, personally, but I’ll give it a fair shot myself! No time to dally, the sun won’t wait for us! It will start setting in a few minutes.”
Captured by the idea of needing to hurry to get the best view, Yamato’s attempt to be super formal shattered and she rushed in to get to grips with all of the supplies. Smirking, Luffy settled into his own canvas. This would be a nice start to the evening, he thought…and he had a picnic dinner squirreled away in his inventory for afterwards. Triple portions for both of them, of course. He was pretty sure from how excited she was that his idea was a hit, and conversation about the art they’d made should easily carry them through the dinner afterward…
… … …
“So, princess, when are you going to ask Luffy for a date of your own, hmmm?”
Vivi, sitting across from Robin at one of the outdoor tables of the mini-Baratie, turned scarlet at the suggestive tone the question was delivered in. She didn’t deny her desire, of course. Nami and Robin had pinned her down about the possibility before their little desert date in Alabasta. She still stammered a bit when she replied, though.
“U-um, I don’t…will he even…I mean with Yamato too…”
Robin smirked, even if she really wanted to sigh instead. Despite what Nami and Luffy clearly thought, she was self-aware enough of her own issues when it came to the romantic attachment part of their relationship that she wasn’t going to throw stones at Vivi’s uncertainty. Yet, the girl was absolutely being silly.
“Princess, the only reason you aren’t already warming our bed is that Luffy’s the sort to do things right. Well, that and it turned out he’s from a culture where harems are a bit unheard of, but Nami and I got him straightened out on that particular bit of nonsense.”
Vivi blinked at that, startled enough that her blush actually faded a bit.
“Wait, but he was already with both you and…?”
Robin’s smirk was much more mischievous this time.
“Yes, our poor Captain was apparently very willing, but very confused about that. He was quite cute, really, when he finally asked why Nami and I were so okay with it. I admit, I feel a little foolish for not having considered the possibility before. He did seem a bit worried, at times. I suppose, with Nami never balking at all, I took it for granted he had a similar enough background.”
Vivi pursed her lips, then seemed to wilt.
“I hadn’t even thought…but then is he really…”
Robin snorted and blatantly abused her Devil Fruit to make an arm and hand specifically to flick Vivi in the forehead. The princess flinched away and whined, but that’s what she got for being silly.
“I said we got it sorted out, Princess. If we hadn’t, he wouldn’t be taking Yamato on a date, now would he? The only reason that’s not you, instead of her, is that you have yet to be upfront with him that you want to join in. Yamato made it very bluntly obvious, so he wasn’t going to leave her hanging. But if you want in yourself you’ll need to take your own steps. Perhaps a certain type of dance that I know you’re quite familiar with?”
Vivi’s blush returned with a vengeance, her eyes focusing off in the mid-distance as she clearly pictured herself performing certain dances from her own Kingdom’s culture for Luffy. Well, at least it was getting her mind pointed in the right direction, even if Robin suspected it would take her a while to work up the courage. That was fine, Luffy would have his hands full with Yamato for a while yet. In more ways than one, Robin thought a little salaciously. Nami was right in that Yamato’s breasts were just begging you to plant your face in them…
… … …
As his bow rasped across the strings of his violin, Brook allowed instinct for a song played a thousand times to guide his fingers. It was an instrumental piece, which the crowd at the local inn was clearly enjoying. Not quite as boisterous as his usual fair, he had to admit, but there was a reason for that. Luffy’s control of sound and Kaya’s help with controlling the spiritual energy produced by his Devil Fruit had combined to give Brook more than a few ideas. Ones his own crew, bar possibly Perona, were a bit too strong willed to test on.
Music had always been hypnotizing to Brook. He’d just never considered before that it might be possible to lean into that and make it literal.
Now, as he let his instinct guide the music and focused on weaving spiritual energy into the tune, he was certain he was onto something. It was subtle, at least for now, but the entire crowd was more than just enjoying the music. No, they were responding to it. Their emotions were changing with each song, all of them in a perfect harmony that couldn’t be attributed just to the music alone. He was weaving an illusion, of sorts, though one he thought was going to need a lot more development before it was useful as more than a party trick.
Still, it was progress on the idea he’d had, and that was enough for now. He’d have to talk to his Captain and Kaya to see if they had any ideas what he might due to enhance this little trick he was developing…
… … …
Perona wasn’t exactly sure what she thought of her current lot in life. She fully realized now that she hadn’t been in the best state of mind when she’d decided to join her new crew. Which wasn’t to say she actually regretted it, oddly enough. Which, in turn, was precisely why she wasn’t quite sure what she thought of aforementioned current lot in life.
She could admit, at least to herself, that she’d largely drifted through life without any actual direction until the destruction of Thriller Bark. Moria had given her a home, of sorts, but she hadn’t exactly been a critical member of his crew with proper duties and goals. Perhaps inevitably, once the shock of her father figure’s death had worn off, she’d started to drift back to her pervious ways. No one had cared about her renewed obsession with cute things. Well, no one but Chopper, who’d taken to avoiding her after she tried to kidnap him as a new minion a couple of times.
When she’d tried to slack off, though, things had been different.
Luckily, instead of the Captain or First Mate noticing and taking her to task, it had been Mistress Hina. She’d felt very small when the former-Marine had taken one look at her childish defiance…then threw her forcefully over one knee and spanked her. It had been shocking, even humiliating! Which was why it had confused her so greatly why it had also turned her on more than anything else in her entire life! Sure, it had been a while since she got any of that sort of attention, but she hadn’t even thought she was into women before!
Mistress Hina had proven different.
The eye she’d kept on Perona had been stern, but just as ready to reward as to punish. The more the older pinkette had taken her in hand, the more Perona had wanted to be taken in hand. The attention had been a type she just couldn’t do without once she had it. There had been a little jealousy of Sanji, too, at first, for taking some of her Mistress’s attention. But he was very cute when begging Mistress properly. So his presence with her and Mistress Hina been accepted eventually.
Hand raising to play with the choker that was locked with Mistress Hina’s Devil Fruit, Perona’s uncertainty settled, as it always did these days with that reassuring reminder in place. She was pretty sure her new crew were all crazy. They were far too accepting of the heat from being blamed for killing a bunch of Celestial Dragons, after all. But, at the same time, some of them were crazy strong, to an extent her adoptive father hadn’t been even at his best. Luffy and Yamato, in particular, were absolutely terrifying when they decided to go all out.
With them as protection, and the rest of the crew not exactly being weaklings, maybe it would be okay? Well, one way or another, she was going to get stronger herself, for Mistress Hina’s sake. If the rest of them all got themselves killed, she’d at least make sure her Mistress got out safely. If that happened, she was sure they could find somewhere to hide out for a while, until the World Government forgot they existed. She was sure Mistress would be okay with that, if Perona was an Extra Good Girl while they laid low.
Hmmm, come to think of it, this island was remote enough maybe it was somewhere they could come hide if it came to that? Though, since neither of them were from the East Blue, it might be a problem. The locals all seemed to be connected to that sea somehow…
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
A/N 1: The Dojo was only mildly changed from the movie tie-in episode Kansorn Island is from, with some more direct connection to Kuina's family added. That this let me give her an upgrade item, of sorts, was the main point.
A/N 2: The mansion was completely overhauled from the anime filler episode. Since I've built up Kaya's family background far more than canon, I was able to use that here to provide both a better reason for the mansion to exist and, again, provide Kaya with a place to pick up some new tricks from.
A/N 3: The Mini-Baratie was the next most modified, after the Mansion. Frankly, the original bits in the filler made ZERO sense, as it implied far, far easier travel between the Grand Line and East Blue than is ever indicated as possible anywhere in One Piece. I altered it both to make a great deal more logical sense...and to give Sanji a start on building his own version of Attack Cuisine. I kinda feel it's a shame that Oda seemingly completely abandoned that angle for Sanji, with him only ever showing 2 of the 99 tricks Sanji learned and giving him a completely different ass-pull power up post-timeskip instead. In my version of the timeskip, Sanji will be visiting the Food Wars challenge semi-frequently, and I might even show a few of them, building up his skills. No, he won't get the full Okama Recipe book. Instead, he'll end up with an eclectic mix of copied recipes and ones he figured out on his own. It's not like Oda actually told us much of anything about the Okama version anyway.
A/N 4: Yay, Yamato got a first date!
A/N 5: A bit of insight into Perona's thought process was a bit overdue, I think.