Freedom & Fate | One Piece x Reader

Chapter 43 | Dread

Your eyes wander back and forth between Smoker and Sanji. The cook is passing by quickly, threatening to leave you behind with a stranger who seems to know you better than you do yourself.

"Let's stop with the chitchat," the marine captain says. He grabs your wrist, slightly pulling you away from the wall. "Handcuffs are a hassle, don't do anything stupid."

"Wait, wait!" you call out, trying to stall for some time. "What's going to happen with the onee-SAN and the oJI-san in the shop? You won't harm the one-SAN and the oJI-san, right?"

"What's with the weird pronunciation?" he asks, luckily not suspicious of your behaviour. "And you should worry about yourself." Smoker stops listening to the other things you have to say and walks forward, taking you with him. You thought of shaking him off but you could feel how secure his grip is around your wrist.

That hand is not going to let go anytime soon.

You whip your head back, hoping to catch a glimpse of Sanji coming to free you, but behind you is only an empty alleyway. Just as you are about to give up, something fishy comes closer at a speedy rate and smacks the marine in the back of his head. Smoker's grip on you loosens due to the surprise and you slip out.

"Was the fish still alive?! It jumped right out of my hands!" Sanji shouts, grabs his giant fish again and makes a quick escape with you. "Really sorry about that, bye!"

Smoker grunts as he tries to wipe the slimy substance out of his hair. "Some great new friends you have there," he mumbles sarcastically.

━ 21 months ago

"Captain Smoker! Captain Smoker!" a marine shouted while running down the hall of the Loguetown Marine Station.

"Stop yelling already, I can hear you!" Smoker grunted, clasping his lips tighter around his cigars.

"T-The 16th division of the Whitebeard Pirates were sighted!"

"Aren't they just headed to the Grand Line?" he asked and leaned back onto his stool.

"No, their ship halted in the near waters, we suspect they are getting supplies."

A heavy sigh left Smoker's mouth. "To think that I have to deal with big shots like them," he mumbled while heading out to apprehend the pirates.

Out on the sea, he neared the ship of the Whitebeard Pirates. In East Blue, sightings of a Yonko's crew have been quite rare. That is why Smoker was wondering why they are here. As his boat got closer to the pirate ship, nobody on deck seemed to be alarmed in the slightest. Just as he predicted, the crew of a Yonko would not budge at the sight of marines.

'That's why they're such a pain,' Smoker thought.

On board, a few members of the crew were even waving at the gruff marine. Those silly antics annoyed Smoker quickly, but he was trying to keep his temper in check.

"Can I speak to your commander for a second?" he asked calmly. The crew ignored him and went on with their usual routine. With no one taking his question seriously, Smoker could feel a vein on his forehead pulsating out of anger.

Fortunately, his annoyance dimmed when a girl stepped out from the ordinary crowd.

"Commander Izo isn't here at the moment," she answered, the only one who bothered to. "Do you have business with him?"

"Nothing specific just wanted to know what you were doing here," Smoker said as he felt his muscles relax. 'At least one person here is smart enough to take responsibility.'

"We are getting supplies," she responded. "Since we didn't exactly set foot in Loguetown, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Tell him vice commander!" someone shouts.

"Oh, come on, I told you guys to stop calling me that!" she whipped around, confronting the ones who were teasing her.

"Vice commander, huh?" Smoker mumbled. "Then I guess I can lock you in with that position."

The girl stared at him for a second and then started chuckling. "Vice commander... as if that's possible," she said while laughing. "I've only been here for a few months, how could I be vice commander?"

Smoker walks back into the gun shop, where he sees Tashigi interrogating the owner.

"Captain Smoker!" Tashigi says surprised. "Did you catch her?" she whispers.

"Her little pirate crew came to her rescue," he responds, still annoyed by the fact that he was slapped with a fish.

"But the examination-"

"Leave it, we can deal with this later." The other marines follow their captain out the shop and onto the busy streets of Loguetown. According to a report, there is a big commotion at the town centre. Several pirates are causing a ruckus. In the middle of this dilemma, a familiar red-nosed clown is taking the spotlight.

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While you are running, you are surprised that Smoker is not chasing after you. After you took a few turns left and right just to make sure nobody was behind you, the two of you stop to take a breath.

"Thanks... Sanji..." you manage to say in between huffs. "For a second I thought you didn't hear me."

"How could I not have heard you," he responds, "A pretty lady like you draws my attention immediately."

Ah, there he goes again, you think and chuckle slightly. You find it amazing that he is trying to show off his charms despite carrying a humongous fish on his shoulder.

He catches you staring at it. "Oh~ you have a good eye. This is called an elephant tuna, I'll prepare an exquisite meal for you tonight!"

"Alright, I'm looking forward to it," you answer. Suddenly you notice heavy footsteps getting closer and you instinctively turn to see if it is the marine. But to your relief, it is just a normal citizen passing by. "I wonder why they didn't follow us..." you whisper questionably.

"They might try to cut us off by our ship," Sanji suggests. "The strange thing is... how did he know you were a pirate?"

"That's what I'd like to know too," is the only answer you could give him at the moment. Now that you are thinking clearly again, maybe it would have been a good idea to get the marine to tell you more about... well, you.

A pirate... Was I really a pirate? What have I done to be wanted by the World Government?

Knowing the information Smoker did give you, you suddenly feel a knot in your stomach. Even if you have been sailing with pirates all this time, the idea that you yourself could have been one did not cross your mind once. The more worrying aspect is, that despite the Straw-hats are pirates, they are good people, but you could not say this about yourself for sure.

Thus, a certain dread of regaining your memories engulfs you.

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