𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 ➳ 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐚 (one piece fanfic)

Chapter 111

"What's your plan for the rest of the day?"

"I'm thinking of going to see the three brothers," she answered, slowly clenching her fist and then unclenching it—an exercise she did almost reflexively by now to relax her muscles.

"Say hello to Luffy for me, will you?"

Konan nodded, glancing at the red head beside her. He was staring off into the distance, a faraway look on his face. The time to face Luffy hadn't come for him yet, so he would have to be satisfied with keeping up with the news. His promise held weight, as both Luffy's role model and one of the four emperors. Shackles he had put on himself.

"Stay alive," Konan mumbled before dispersing with the wind.

Shanks hummed, staring at the space she had occupied in thoughtful silence before turning away to join his crew. She would be back.

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"Heard you were dead."

Konan chuckled, her wings disappearing as she landed softly in the middle of the jungle. "Not yet." She glanced at her surroundings, taking in the lush greenery and the subtle scent of blood permeating the air. "I'm glad to see you again, Dark King."

"The feeling's mutual, Paper Angel," he chuckled at her wince, "Everyone's talking about you nowadays," he vaguely waved his hand in her direction.

"I heard, yeah." With a sigh, she came to sit in front of him, spreading her Haki to keep an eye out for the brothers.

A thin silence stretched out as neither said anything, before Rayleigh broke the tension. "Thank you for saving Ace."

Konan froze for a second before it clicked. "Right, you were part of his crew." Former Pirate King and more importantly Ace's father, Gol D. Roger.

Rayleigh nodded slowly, "He wouldn't have wanted this fate for his son."

"Unfortunately, a parent's reputation follows their children."

"... This one is particularly heavy to bear," Rayleigh commented, gazing up in reminiscence. They had caused quite a lot of troubles during their prime days.

Their conversation was interrupted by a moving chaos heading in their direction, voices, yelling, trees being busted down, the sound of heavy footsteps chasing something.

The moment they appeared in the clearing, they immediately froze, eyes fixated on the new presence, "Konan..." One of them whispered. That was all it took for Ace and Luffy to burst into tears.

"What a state you three are in..." she sighed, taking in the two sobbing brothers and the blonde one shuffling awkwardly a bit further away. All three with varying degrees of injuries. "What have you done to them, Rayleigh?"

Rayleigh only laughed, shrugging dismissively, "They wanted to become stronger."

Konan hummed, hiding a wince as she moved her arms up to welcome them in a hug. Ace and Luffy carefully latched onto her, while Sabo took a glare from her before joining his brothers. Her wings came out to cocoon them for a bit, patting their backs gently. They didn't take long before melting into her embrace, she ignored the wetness of her shirt, pressing them closer against her.

She could sense how careful they were around her arms, not daring to press too much, or move much for that matter. A vast difference from how they usually were.

Rayleigh leaned against a jungle tree, fiddling with a tree bark, watching them, more precisely watching the black tint Konan's arms had. He hadn't missed the way she was using her Haki to protect and move her arms. He had seen the war, like everyone else, had watched from afar, and knew what had happened to her.

Once the three brothers had somewhat calmed down, though they remained very close to Konan, he spoke what was on his mind. "Your Haki is good, but if you want to go against the giants of this era, it won't be enough."

Konan frowned, that was something she had fully experienced in that war. Had her Haki been stronger, faster, and more complete, perhaps she wouldn't have suffered such a bitter loss. She had won, but at what cost? She was too weak. Surviving was an easy matter, the problem came when she had something to protect, when everyone was against them. That was when she tasted the limits of her own abilities.

For the first time since she came to this world, she truly felt how limited and neglectful she had been with her training. If she wanted to keep up and be able to protect the people she held dearest, she would have to step up. Now that she had truly entered the limelight, she had to be prepared for any eventuality.

It had truly been a while since she last sincerely put her life on the line to improve her skills, dragging her battered body through hours, days, months of harsh training. It wasn't like she had a double life to keep up anymore, now all she had to focus on was getting stronger, while compensating for her arms. With the bright red target on her back, it was high time for her to get into shape.

They all chatted around the fire till the sun went down and the chill of the night came over. Soon enough, Ace fell asleep, Luffy soon following suit.

Konan stared at the crackling fire, enjoying the heat that licked her skin, illuminating the surrounding. Shadows danced around them, lurking in the darkness of the night.

Rayleigh soon excused himself tactfully, sensing Sabo's unspoken glances.

Once they were truly alone, Sabo sat down beside her, his gloved thumb reflexively rubbing his scarred face. "They blame themselves, you know."

Konan winced, glancing at the two brothers. She hadn't missed their awkward glances, their unusually careful gestures around her arms. Their shame was blatantly obvious.

Sabo continued with a frown, "They think that if they were stronger this wouldn't have happened." And she paid the price for them. "I can't say I don't understand where they are coming from..." As a member of the Revolutionary Army, it was this very frustration against injustice that drove him to fight everyday.

"I would give up my arms any day if it means they could live another day," Konan smiled, ignoring the sharp throbbing in her arms, "You three are my precious family after all." She ruffled his hair, ignoring his whining.

Sabo begrudgingly allowed her physical affection before speaking, "I have to leave soon."

Konan hummed knowingly. "Dragon wants his precious subordinate back I guess?"

"This is an important moment since the Marine is currently weakened."

"Right," Konan nodded, not asking any further questions. Even though she wasn't officially attending the core meetings of the R.A. she could easily predict Dragon's next course of action. He would probably call upon Ko's abilities once needed.

Sabo looked down at the two brothers, "They want to completely master Haki before leaving..." As a non-devil-fruit user he had always focused on mastering Haki so he was far more advanced in that domain than they were. "They will be fine without me."

"They're strong, they will get back up," Konan agreed. They both weren't the type to stay down lamenting on their situations, eventually they would find their purpose again and become stronger.

She stared at Sabo's somber face, "You know where to find me if you need me, don't be too harsh on yourself."

Sabo snorted, "There is so much to do and so little time, I don't have much of a choice." He stretched as he got up, "Duty is calling."

"Not going to say goodbye to them?"

"I won't be able to leave if I do," he chuckled before turning to her. "See you soon, Konan."

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A.N.

sometime i forget how to write lmao

anyways, have a nice day everyone ! :)

PS : thank you for 700k reads !!! ♡⁠(⁠Ӧ⁠ｖ⁠Ӧ⁠｡⁠)