Freedom & Fate | One Piece x Reader

Chapter 21 | Shepherds

You are walking down a path as you scan the picture in the magazine. The directions are written on the page, so all you have to do is follow them nicely. Arriving at a street sign, you plop down on the ground and rest for a while.

Walking is going to take forever.

You look at the picture again.

If only I was there already.

Then suddenly... poin. You are standing right in front of the shop. The sudden change of scenery makes your mouth drop. You never imagined your ability could work like this. Relief washes over you as you think of how you don't have to walk all the way back either.

ஐ

The kitchen is the place you decide to port back to. You hope nobody is currently in there, washing dishes or preparing food. Seeing you suddenly appear will surely scare the hell out of them.

Luckily, no one is in the kitchen. You tidy your attire and search for Merry. You see him watering pot plants in the living room.

"I'm back."

Merry shrieks and drops the watering can.

I scared him nonetheless...

He quickly picks it back up and wipes the spilt water off the floor with a handkerchief. While receiving the delivery, he rubs his head awkwardly.

"Good job! Young mistress placed this order herself, it's a present for Kurahadol," he explains. "Tomorrow will be his third anniversary here at the mansion." Merry reminiscences of the times he shared with him.

"All the other staff members are on vacation starting this evening. Why don't you take a little break too?" he suggests.

"Sure," you answer cheerfully. "Goodbye, Merry."

You know this is the perfect time to leave. Before walking out, you take a last glance at the mansion. You don't wish to stay any longer as a servant, but somehow you felt warm while inside there. Warm... and familiar.

The moment you close the door behind you, you flinch. No mistake, you heard a gunshot. You run towards the yard and to your shock, you see Merry holding the gun. The one he shot at was Usopp, who's running away while clenching his forearm.

"Everybody, he went that way!" Merry shouts. "Don't let him get away!"

This is getting out of hand.

You run after Usopp. As you and Merry pass each other, you see how furious he is. Disappointed, you avert you gaze from him. When he sees you, a sudden wave of remorse and shame washes over him.

ஐ

With a lot of exertion, you finally catch up to Usopp. You pant heavily as you stand in from of him.

"You're so fast," you say after you catch your breath.

He is looking down, but you could see tears running down his face. You grab his bleeding forearm and put your right hand over the wound.

"W-What are doing?!" He tries to tug his arm away from you, but you hold him still.

"Good thing it only grazed you. The wound wasn't deep," you say and smile softly. You rip off a piece from the underside of the dress and wipe away the excess blood with it. He gasps at the now closed wound.

"Tell me what happened."

ஐ

Usopp told you about Kurahadol's wicked plan to kill the young mistress. He wants to hypnotise her, so she will dedicate her will to him. That way, he will lead a peaceful life in the future. When Usopp told Kaya what he heard, she didn't believe him. In fact, nobody believes him because of the lies he told in the past.

"You remind me of characters from children's stories," you say. He looks at you confused. "Never heard of Pinocchio or The Boy Who Cried Wolf?" He shakes his head. You put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. All it takes is a single trusting shepherd to save the boy."

"Oi! Captain Usopp!" someone calls from a distance.

You chuckle a bit. "In your case, it's a group of shepherds."

"Y/N!" Luffy yells when he spots you. He runs up to you but stops in his tracks when he sees you more clearly. Zoro turns his head away but takes a few glances at you here and there.

"There you are! I thought you ran away," Nami says. "More importantly, why are you in a maid outfit? And a ripped up one at that..."

You look down at yourself and realise you forgot to take it off before you left the mansion. You quickly grab the rim of the dress and motion to pull it over your head.

"Oi, what are you doing, woman?!" Zoro agitatedly yells.

Nami hits all three of them on the head, causing them to look down on the ground. Bumps appear on their heads. You take off the maid outfit only to reveal that you are fully clothed underneath it.

"Why did you hit me?" Luffy whines.

You blink confusedly at the three boys rubbing their heads, while Nami just sticks out her tongue innocently.

ஐ

At the shore, Usopp came up with a plan to stop the pirates from attacking. He plots to pour oil over the only slope that leads to the village. This will give you guys a definite advantage while fighting. After hearing this plan, you feel more assured about the confrontation you are about to have.

"Kurahadol is going to be back at the mansion anytime soon from now," Usopp speculates. "Y/N, since you're someone they trust, can you please make sure that Kaya is unharmed?" His eyes are glowing with commitment, you could see it in them.

"Leave it to me."

poin

Usopp's chin drops to the ground. He couldn't believe his eyes, even though he clearly saw you just disappear into thin air. "H-H-How..." he stutters as his shivery finger points at the empty spot you once stood in.

"Awesome!" Luffy's eyes are sparkling.

"Definitely weird to witness," Nami comments.

"Agree," Zoro adds.

✘