Second Wind

34

The silence in the room was suffocating. Although it was quite cramped in the infirmary of the royal palace, one could be claustrophobic and not even give it a second thought, as whatever discomfort the lack of space induced was dwarfed by the scene in front of them. The doctors were visibly distracted from the work they were supposed to be doing as they observed the conspicuous evidence of bad blood in the palace.

Vivi didn't glare often. She was much too reserved and polite...most of the time. But there was no mistaking the scowl on her face as she refused to pull her distrustful eyes away from Robin, who had been ignoring the hostility since Vivi had first seen her in the palace.

Luffy wasn't really sure what to do in this situation. He sighed, and then he turned towards Zoro and gave him a meaningful look. It was one that Zoro had seen before, one that always meant one thing.

Zoro, cut it, was his captain's order. But he wasn't exactly sure what to do with the command right now. He looked at Luffy quizzically.

Cut what?

Luffy motioned to Vivi and Robin in response. The tension.

Zoro rolled his eyes. You're an idiot, he conveyed back. Luffy pouted childishly.

Finally, Robin sighed and turned towards Vivi, looking into her eyes unflinchingly.

"If you think glaring will allow you to rid yourself of my existence, believe me, you're not the first, and you won't be the last." Vivi didn't respond, and although the room remained silent, Luffy winced upon hearing the words, and Zoro stiffened as well. Finally, Vivi spoke, albeit briefly.

"Where's Igaram?" she asked quietly.

Robin looked like she just wanted the day to be over, but she answered the question. "I set up the bombs so that the explosions wouldn't reach him," she explained. "I left him a Log Pose, so he should make it back soon. But I can only guess when."

Vivi's eyes were narrowed, but she turned away from Robin to face Luffy. "Luffy-san, why is she still here?" she asked simply.

Many people put in the same position would have hesitated to answer. But Luffy was not one of them. "She's going to join our crew," he replied.

The crew's reactions varied. Although Seal seemed indifferent, Usopp and Chopper fell over in shock, Nami looked like she wanted to protest, Sanji looked like he wanted to celebrate, but suppressed the urge for the sake of sensitivity, and Zoro just kept a blank face through it all. Robin, who was subtly observing them all, was slightly taken aback at seeing the lack of surprise on the swordsman's face.

But the most profound reaction was Vivi's. Her eyes had widened, and her mouth was agape as she looked back and forth between Luffy and Robin, wondering if she had heard right. Finally, her objection came.

"Luffy-san, you can't be serious! How can you trust her so easily!?" she came close to shouting.

"Because she's already proven herself," he said simply. "With her power, she could have helped Crocodile kill me, but she didn't."

Robin stared at him curiously. "You really couldn't have gotten out of that hold?" she asked skeptically.

"I could have," Luffy admitted. "But I wanted to see what you'd do." Robin nodded in understanding.

"That doesn't excuse what she's done," Vivi said. "She worked for Crocodile and helped bring Alabasta to ruin! Am I just supposed to forgive and forget!?"

"You worked for Crocodile too," Luffy reminded her. "And you tried to kill us." Vivi flinched upon hearing that, and Luffy continued. "She had her reasons just like you. I wont ask you to forget. Not ever. But I will ask you to try and forgive." Vivi looked conflicted.