Finding Myself (One Piece Fanfic)

Chapter 39: A Family of Marines

I don't own One Piece

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"Come on," Arisu said, opening the wooden door and walking inside. Taking one more glance at the town, I followed after.

The cool air greeted me as I walked through the door, shutting it behind me one the way. Blinking my eyes I adjusted to the lighting. Once I could see clearly, I found myself looking at the pictures which lined the walls.

Most pictures were quick sketches which were held up by a simple thumbtack. Though there was a few clusters that caught my attention.

One was an old wanted poster, which I recognized as Mamoru. This one must have been his first one, as it was only around three million, and the Old Man looked in his teens. It surprised me to see a grin on his face, as well as the lack of an eye patch. I suppose some part of me just imaged that Mamoru always wore an eye patch. Beside the wanted poster were three pictures, these also seemed quite old.

One was of two children. A baby wrapped up in a dark blue blanket being held by a girl which looked around five. A big smile was plastered on the girl, who also sported a marine cap too big for her and fell over her left eye. Her lack hair reached just below her shoulders and was left down. The girl's face was still round from her baby fat and a light dusting of pink lingered on her cheeks.

The next photo was also of the two children, though a man stood by them and they looked older. The man held a stern gaze at the camera, though I could just about make out a faint smirk. His hair was buzzed short, and a marine cap sat on his head. On his left side stood the girl from before. Her black hair had grown longer, this time styles in twin braids. A small smile played at her lips, which differed from the grin from before. The old marine cap was still present on her head, though it looked dirtier than it did in the last picture. On the other side of the man stood a boy with black hair, clearly he must have been the baby in the last picture. A big grin played at his lips as he looked at the camera with his arms crossed over his chest. I could immediately place the grinning boy, though it was weird to see him with two eyes and with a grin that wide.

Finally I looked at the last picture. It was of the two kids from each other picture. However the girl was a teen now, at least seventeen. Her baby fat from earlier was gone, giving more definition to her heart shaped face. Her black hair was now pulled into a tight bun and a new marine cap sat on her head. Her clothes consisted of new marine white clothes. Though it was the girl's face that really caught my attention. The smile had fallen more, and all that was left was a tiny smirk which appeared to even be a struggle to manage. It wasn't hard to see she wasn't completely happy. Standing beside her, reaching her shoulders stood the boy. A scowl sat on his lips as he crossed his arms looking away from the camera. His black hair appeared freshly buzzed.

I could feel her turn towards me before she spoke. "That's Mamoru and I as kids. The last one was the last picture of him and I."

I turned my attention away from the pictures and towards Arisu. Her own attention was solely on the pictures, her lips pulled tightly together. She was quiet for a moment, then she blinked quickly and took a deep breath.

"What happened?" I blurted before I could stop my curiosity. Mamoru had never mentioned having a sister, and clearly she still thought dearly of her little brother. I've just remembered my brothers and I couldn't imagine the pain of them never speaking to me again.

Arisu didn't appear upset at my question, thankfully. Though she did sigh and turn around. Shrugging her shoulders, she let her marine coat fall off her and caught it with her right hand. Her footsteps clanked against the wooden boards as he boots made contact with the ground.