𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 ➳ 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐚 (one piece fanfic)

Chapter 68

"It's good to see you again Konan," Benn said, rugged fingers holding his cigarette.

Konan paused for a second before sighing, "Despite it not being in the best circumstances, I'm happy to see you three again." She nodded to Lucky who grinned while eating. They went to an inconspicuous bar to try and avoid gazes.

The breeze gently caressed them while soft noise filled the background. It was peaceful.

Finally she turned her head toward Shanks, "Please stop trying to pierce my skull with your gaze, Shanks."

He sheepishly smiled, downing a cup of sake before opening his mouth. "I'm very intrigued you know."

Konan knew what he was talking about so she used Observation Haki to make sure no one else was looking before papers detached themselves and her face reconstructed itself.

"Wow," Shanks bent over the table to look closer at her new face, "This is eerily accurate." His hand stretched out to poke Konan's skin, his rough nail scratching softly her cheek, before he retracted his hand.

Lucky's mouth dropped open as he found himself looking at two identical faces, "Captain?" The two faces turned to look at him with an eerie likeness, both with scarlet hair and the distinctive scars his captain sported.

Even Benn squinted, trying but failing at deciphering a difference. "This is one scary power to have..."

"It's useful." Konan shrugged.

"I can imagine that," Shanks agreed, tilting his head to better stare.

Benn peered at her, exhaling smoke through his mouth, "I'm not sure I want to know what you've been using that power for."

Konan chuckled, returning to her original appearance and stretching. It had been a while since she went back to this form. "It can get exhausting at times."

Her fingers tightened around the glass of water, staring at the droplets forming around the edge. The coldness helped straighten her thoughts. Weirdly enough, she didn't mind revealing this secret to them—or at least she didn't feel the need to retract onto herself.

"Did we interrupt something important?" Shanks asked, sipping his drink while observing her muted reactions.

Konan closed her eyes for a few seconds before shaking her head, "Nothing I can't deal with." She looked up at Shanks, noticing injuries that weren't there previously on his arms, "Found someone you couldn't manage?"

Shanks grinned, "We met Mihawk on our way here." He shrugged nonchalantly, "He's frustrated he hasn't met you yet, but well even we have a hard time getting a hold of you." He raised an eyebrow. "Though I guess now we know why."

Benn leaned against the table. "Is this your real appearance?" There was no malice or reproach in his voice, only mild curiosity.

Konan hummed. "This is my original appearance, and my original name as well."

Benn stared at her for a few seconds before it finally clicked in his brain, "If I remember correctly, your other appearance is called Nanko, isn't he?" He remembered hearing about him once from Whitebeard—he's a funny and strange one.

"I'm bad at names..." Konan rubbed her neck sheepishly, easily revealing the truth.

"Wait..." Shanks' mouth dropped open, "Did you really just base your whole cover on a simplified anagram?" When she didn't answer, he started laughing, "That is a whole other level of dumb."

Konan's eyebrow twitched as she leaned back in her chair, "It worked pretty well for the past decade though."

"Excuse me," a child interrupted, a plate of glasses held firmly in his hands. "Here are your dran-drinks." He blushed as he stumbled upon his words.

"Thank you," Konan bent down slightly as she smiled at him, "Here." She slipped a piece of gold in his hand as she took the plate.

Shanks watched the scene knowingly, not missing the coin. "You're really weak with children..."

"They're cute." She shrugged.

Lucky's head snapped up suddenly, and he nearly shouted his question through his food, "Is Ko you too?" His captain froze visibly.

There was a beat of silence before she smiled, "Maybe, maybe not, who knows?" Her eyes communicated a clear warning though, don't pry.

Ko was a dangerous identity to bear, perhaps at a similar level to the former pirate king. She was a singular figure of authority that had an unusual amount of information that could threaten the world system. Plus her newspaper, Masked Truth had an extraordinary reach as the top newspapers in the world.

However, Konan knew that nothing good would come out of revealing everything at once—to release all the dirt the government had tried to cover up—human trafficking, deep-rooted corruption, illegal experimentations. She had learnt as much a long time ago and she was fighting alongside Dragon to slowly uproot everything.

Only chaos and mayhem would ensue if it became public knowledge; no one could predict the consequences of such a mouvement. Revolts and revolutions could make the current system collapse and as much as some wanted to see such a thing happen, oftentimes a regime born out of a revolution would become a worse tyranny.

Some islands would probably choose to live on in ignorance, blissfully ignoring the atrocities committed, while some would choose to take on the fight, risking their lives in hope of a better world. While they all had a right to the truth, in reality, many would choose to deny the facts while the government would mercilessly slaughter any spark of revolutions—the celestials wouldn't remain still.

The Revolutionary Army wasn't strong enough yet, and it wasn't her fight to endorse. Never was.

For a lot of reasons, Ko was a figure that had to remain hidden and undercover. With her growing importance it also explained why she appeared less and less in the public eye.

"How long are you staying here?" Konan asked.

"I don't know, you?" Shanks rubbed the hem of his saber, staring at the entry of the bar. "Someone is coming."

Konan frowned as her face morphed back to Nanko's face. "Not a word." Nanko's lips lifted up into a grin as he walked up to the entrance. "Hina."

Hina lifted an eyebrow, looking beyond his shoulder to find a bunch of renowned pirates smiling at her—the way a tiger would smile at a prey to appear harmless.

"What did we say again about meeting world-renowned criminals?"

"That it was a bad idea?" Nanko grinned like it didn't matter anyway.

"You're paying," Hina declared before sitting down beside Nanko's empty place and taking a large glass of beer. "Tonight I'm blind."

"Perfect!" Nanko plopped down on his stool.

As Shanks chatted with his crew, Hina leaned against Nanko and whispered, "I heard you're being assigned to a special group temporarily."

He frowned instantly scouring his information network before his mouth parted open. "CP9."

"Who are they?" Hina asked, noticing Nanko's grimace.

"An annoying and secretive bunch."

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just finished high school today, feels weird