Freedom & Fate | One Piece x Reader

Chapter 42 | Marines

"Grandpa, are you sure about this?" the young lady asks, nervously tightening her grip around the folds of her lightly coloured apron. "I mean... you can't tell me this is the person you've been searching for all this time, right?" She looks at you accusingly, the friendly tone of her voice wavering.

"Stop it. We shouldn't discuss this in front of her, it's not her fault," her grandfather replies. He slowly stands up and walks back to his shop, fetching some utensils. With his other hand, he brings back a bag filled with clips of bullets and black powder. He sits down again in front of you, purposely ignoring the looks of his granddaughter.

You get a strange feeling from the tension in the air. What were they talking about, you ask yourself, knowing you will not get an answer if you do not speak up. But you simply watch the old man carefully cleaning your guns. "Umm..." you try to break the silence, but before you could say anything coherent, the old man spoke up.

"In the bag, there are five clips, ten bullets each. I also gave you black powder, 2F. You should prime it with 4F, everything's in there," he explains without looking up from cleaning. "It's a present, you don't have to pay."

"Grandpa!" the young lady calls out in a condescending tone.

"Be quiet! It's my shop, I can do what I want!"

You quickly intervene, "Thank you, but no, I insist on paying for this. Instead, could you tell me more about the girl you met?"

They both calm down, awkwardly shifting in their seats. The old man takes a sip of tea and clears his throat before starting to speak. "There was an indescribable aura around her. I knew it as soon as my crew and I approached her. Thinking back, we should've known that we didn't stand a chance. The fight was short. Afterwards, we were surprised that no one ended up dead." He pauses for a while. "Her presence... it was otherworldly."

Hearing him say that made you feel confused and lost. The description of the girl, even if the evidence of the pair of guns you have in front of your eyes is undeniable, seems far too farfetched and alien to be you.

"What about me? How is my presence?" you ask, wanting to confirm your doubts.

The old man glances up and looks you in the eyes for the first time. "Your presence... is weak. Much too weak compared to the Silent Gunner and even slightly weaker than normal people."

"That means..."

"That means you probably aren't the one I'm searching for. Besides, a lot of facts don't add up even though you look awfully a lot like her. Did you inherit these guns from your mother perhaps?"

My mother...

Suddenly, you feel a thumping in your head. The noises around you dulled, the only thing you could hear is the sound of your own heartbeat. Your breathing becomes irregular and you feel as if something is pressing down on your head, squeezing and mixing around the insides of your skull.

"Promise?"

You close your eyes and hold the sides of your head, hoping this agonising pain will pass soon. Blurred images are flashing before your eyes.

A person... no, two people. Why is it so dull here? There's mist, greyish white mist all around me.

"We promise we will wait for you here."

What am I searching for?

ஐ

"Miss, are you okay?" the young girl asks, tapping your forehead with a wet towel. "You suddenly collapsed, was the story too much for you?"

"How long..."

"Don't worry, it hasn't been longer than ten minutes. I brought you to my room," she replies with a kind smile. "I'm sorry if I came off as offended. To be honest, I was a bit agitated. For about a week marines have been pestering us, accusing us of having connections to someone they are looking for." She sighs and puts down the towel. "I'm afraid at this rate they'll find out that my family has pirate's blood. We'd have to escape and abandon this shop."

You could tell that tears are welling up in her eyes. "Pirate's blood or not. You two are kind people," you say and softly smile at her.

She returns the smile and wipes her tears away. "Sorry again, my grandpa is right, this isn't your fault. Please be careful around here because the person the marines are searching for is the Silent Gunner."

Speaking of the devil, heavy footsteps could be heard from downstairs. A loud and low voice shouts, "Anyone here?" The young lady lets out a silent gasp, her eyes wide with worry. She signals you to sneakily leave from the back door, but in order to do that, you have to go to the first floor unnoticed.

As you tiptoe down the stairs, the faint smell of tobacco lingering in the air is the first thing you notice. At the back door, she hands you the bag with all the goods.

"You can pay us later, for now, it's a present from the both of us," she whispers and winks. You nod and safely exit their house, carefully closing the door behind you.

To your misfortune, when you turn around, you are greeted with a bare chest. Gulping and looking up, you see a silver-haired marine smoking two cigarettes at once.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asks with the same low voice you heard earlier.

You point at yourself and ask, "Are you talking to me?" Then you proceed to laugh awkwardly.

"Yes you," he answers. "I see you're the same as ever, does this look like a laughing matter to you?" You slowly shake your head. He sighs and continues, "This time you're in real trouble. Don't think I'll let you off the hook easily like last time."

You feel your eyes slightly spinning from the confusion. You seriously wonder what you did in the past to encounter a man such as the one in front of you.

"This might sound weird but do I know you? I lost my memories and can't remember," you say shyly.

"Good one. As if I haven't heard that one a dozen times already. I'm Smoker, the marine who almost locked you in once," he replies without much care. "Seriously, what did you do to be wanted by the World Government?"

"I'm wanted?!" you shriek, throwing your hands to your head out of shock.

What did I do? That's what I'd like to know! Memories, how could you forsake me like this?!

Not only your memories abandoned you, but your ability to teleport seems to be out of whack too. With hundreds of thoughts running through your mind, you could not concentrate one bit, thus obstructing the ability completely.

In this desperate situation, a spark of hope appears in the corner of your eye. Sanji is strolling on the street, carrying a giant fish on his shoulder.

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