𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 ➳ 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐚 (one piece fanfic)

Chapter 36 ✨✨

Nanko was walking around the palace, a faint alcoholic scent drifting from him as he walked by. Everyone was asleep, save for the few pirates that lasted through the alcohol. He found himself walking to the forbidden area despite himself, the guards simply warning him not to wander too deep in.

He frowned when he saw a familiar crooked silhouette creeping in the darkness, "What are you doing here?" He asked sharply.

As if surprised by the silent person who suddenly appeared, the man stilled before slowly turning around. "I was looking around," Teach smiled innocently, raising his hands in a show of peace.

"Around the treasury?" Nanko's voice was dangerously low, his smile hinting he was screwed and they both knew he was lying.

"I got lost," Teach pacified as he swiftly walked past him, in the perfect direction to get back to the almost banquet.

"Don't even dream of stealing from here," Nanko warned, pushing the hilt of his katana, revealing a sharp blade. "Disappear now before I change my mind." He stood with his back to the fleeing pirate before relaxing once again and pushing his hair back behind his ear. He respected Otohime and her pacific ideals too much to allow a pest like him to ruin everything. Though Konan had never succeeded, she too once dreamt of a peaceful world, and if she could help another achieve their peace, she was always happy to assist.

A few days later, they departed with Otohime to the famed island of Mary Geoise.

"We shall meet again, one day," Whitebeard laughed as he patted Nanko's shoulder in a sign of goodwill, "Let's drink again then, young man." If they weren't enemies then was implied.

The journey took a couple of days, during which Nanko chatted with the Queen and Hina about what she wanted to achieve there. Along the way, they picked up a World Noble, Donquixote Mjosgard, a Noble who changed his prideful ways after meeting Otohime—and once trying to kill her, though that was less important. He was their key to success, as he liked to remind them often.

Once they finally arrived, after passing through a series of gates and controls, they set foot on the pristine pavement of the city. The air was clean as they were on cloud level, the streets were even cleaner, not one speck of dirt could be seen. Though if one looked closely, beyond the white streets to the hidden back alleys, it was a different story—furtive eyes closely watched their arrival.

"Don't stray too far, Queen Otohime." Nanko leisurely walked closer to her, sending a glance at Hina who immediately understood and placed herself on the other side.

"Oh..." Otohime quickly understood and restrained her excitement at being so near to her goal. She straightened up and quickened her pace.

Their group wasn't at a numerical advantage, they were only allowed a restricted number of people, Otohime, the World Noble, Hina, Nanko, and a few guards Otohime took with her. The rules were strict to prevent any threats to the World Nobles and the higher-ups.

Once in their accommodation, Nanko verified the rooms, checking if they were bugged, and to his non-surprise, they were. He quietly warned everyone, not wanting to alert those listening on by destroying the devices.

"You'll be safe here with my partner, I want to take a look around, if I may," Nanko asked for permission before leaving them, he wanted to take a good look around the city, to grasp its cogs. Though he left behind a few inconspicuous papers just in case.

His long black coat—a gift from Hina—floated in the wind as he walked around, hands in his pockets. The atmosphere was tense, wary glares sent his way along with harsh whispers. The only people he could spot were all ones who wore black metallic collars. They knew not to whisper about their masters but that didn't mean they couldn't criticize a marine officer wandering around.

Nanko frowned internally at the scars he could glimpse through their bloodied clothes.

A little girl suddenly ran out of her hiding place, half-withered flowers in hand, her skin was stuck to her bones from starvation and malnourishment, still, she wore a bright smile, though a bit forced.

"Good morning sir, two berry for these flowers!" She exclaimed, a bit out of breath. Before she could fully stop, she tripped on a rock and the flowers fell on Nanko, covering him with half-dead petals.

"She's dead," someone whispered with a bit of pity, though no one stepped forward.

The little girl started trembling, not daring to look up. "I'm sorry sir, I'm sorry-" she started apologizing, knees already touching the floor along with her head. She knew what happened to useless slaves that made mistakes. She had seen it happen, countless times. However, if she wanted to eat and survive, she had to try and earn money.

Nanko sighed, he knew that the Nobles were pieces of trashes that even took young girls as slaves but seeing it in person was even worse. She was covered in bruises and scars but the worse was the red traces he could see along her thighs. He felt like murdering someone.

Perhaps her instincts were sharper from all the mistreatment but her trembling worsened, and soft muffled sobbing could soon be heard.

Before he could bend down to reassure her, an enormous figure stepped out. "Please forgive her." The bear-like man bowed deeply, a bible in hand. "Take out your anger on me, if necessary, but spare her."

Nanko stared at the man, feeling that he was stronger than he was letting on, the man was familiar too.

Without any word, Nanko bent down to collect the flowers one by one, the heavy silence weighting down on the child and the giant. "Thanks for the flowers," he smiled, handing 5 berrys to the little girl.

She looked up in gratitude, snatching the money from his hands. "Thank you, sir." She bowed one last time before fleeing.

"Why the Bible?"

"To remember," he answered as he got up.

Nanko smiled silently, a vague answer befitting its mysterious owner. He was sure of it now; the man was a former pirate and officer of the Revolutionary Army. Though he had never encountered him before, he was probably on some sorts of mission he was unaware of.

"Can I see it?" Nanko slowly walked closer to the giant.

Kuma hesitated for a second before presenting the old book. His hand remained tightly on the edge of it, as if afraid he would steal it. The thick cover bible was a mix of gold and orange, its edges worn out from use and the rim of the pages were slightly crumbled.

"It seems to be dear to you," Nanko commented kindly, his hand reaching out to touch the worn-out book. From a glance, he could see it was a relatively old book, still its pages held on well and the cover was carefully polished.

"It is-" Kuma paused to choose the right words, "my oldest companion."

Nanko gently touched the dent in its sturdy cover. "Do you want to repair it's cover?"

"I don't want to damage it further," there was a hint of sadness in his voice, he had been searching for a way but no one could fully give it its former splendor.

"Alright, I like you, so this will be my gift to you," Nanko winked at him, his hand pressing over the dent, hiding it from sight, and when he uncovered it, the dent was gone.

"Take good care of that book, and see you one day! I will repair your book again if it's damaged in the future."

___________________

a bit longer than usual but I didn't want to cut it earlier

btw, I'm not really sure timewise where kuma is at that period of time but I'm going to assume he's undercover on a mission (maybe involving vegapunk?). i couldn't find information on that so yeah I improvised