Chapter Text
Short Story Bit: New Forge Pirates Adventures
The Plant Kingdom was slowly but surely getting out of sight for Yosetsu and his crew. They got their payback against the Cipher Pol agents, and in exchange, they’re now wanted fugitives. Not to mention, they lost a crew member. “Hey, Ragdoll. They can’t see us from here anymore, right?”
“Nope! Hehehe, what’s with that question, little… kitten?” Ragdoll cut herself off after noticing Yosetsu trembling and tears flowing down his cheeks. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“I’m just… glad. She didn’t have to see me like this.” Yosetsu wiped his tears away. “We all knew Jack from way back. I… he’s gone. Because I got careless.”
“No, he’s gone, but not dead, kero.” Tsuyu joined the conversation after noticing her captain crying. “The marines captured him.”
“It’s no shot, ladies.” Giran also included himself in the conversation. “With a bounty like his, he’ll be at Level 6 of Impel Down. Hell, maybe even a Level 7 might get built just for him.”
“Yeah, pretty much.” Yosetsu agreed.
“Now what? We did our jobs. Do we just… go back?” Pony asked what everyone on the ship had been asking. Their goal has mostly been getting their payback with Cipher Pol.
“No, Captain Barbossa told us we’re free to do as we wish after this. Well, I intend to get stronger and travel around to learn a couple of new smithing techniques and, if possible, free Jack. How about you guys?”
“To the ends of the world with you, cap.” Tetsutetsu raised his thumb, ready to follow his captain wherever they may go. The rest of the crew smiled and nodded.
“Could use a profit right about now. Besides, I know a few middlemen who can help us a bit if we ever decide to go bounty hunting for extra cash.” Giran said, already having a moneymaking scheme in the works.
“Bounty hunting? We could use the practice. Find us a bounty below my own. We’ll hunt 'em down and deliver.”
Short Story End
“Congratulations on your engagement!” Ochako pulled out the party popper as everyone else clapped and cheered when Momo announced her engagement to Yosetsu. “When’s the wedding?”
“When all things are settled,” Momo cryptically answered. Everyone wondered what that even meant for a moment before shrugging it off.
“Where to next, Captain?” Hitoshi asked, ready to continue on with this new crew he had joined. Ochako was a D, and as far as he knows, the D clan is the bane of the Dragons. Wherever she goes, a detriment to those bastards follows.
“Nowhere yet. There’s somethin’ worth lookin’ at with this memory bubble Papa left.” Ochako showed it to the crew, gently handling it. “This is worth more than any treasure I coulda gotten from that island.”
“The last one messed with your head, Ochako.” Minoru reminded her as he pushed a chair towards her. “At the very least, take a seat before looking into it.”
“This isn’t a good idea.” Seiji voiced his worries. He wasn’t sure what a sudden influx of memories would do to a person’s psyche, but it certainly can’t be good.
“She’ll be fine. She turned out fine the first time around.” Mei tried to brush it off, but the sweat on her face was doing nothing for her.
“Okay. Here I go.” Ochako said to herself while placing her hand into the memory bubble.
It was almost instant; how the memories flooded her. The short moments of her life spent with her mother, Ginny. The moments she would hang around one of the Revolutionary Army’s hideouts, and finally, the time her mother was gone and came back dying. That was when she met her supposed big sister, who was in fact, her little sister.
Bonney, the girl she adored as her little sister. They grew up together in the church. They played, they ate, they messed with the other kids. It was fun, but… Bonney can’t go outside. That was when her father was determined to find a cure for her. They traveled in search of a cure, eventually finding their way to Vegapunk’s island. Kizaru came. Kuma was talking to someone on the phone. Her father cried in happiness, and she also cried because she knew her sister was safe.
“OH NO! She ate the merged fruit!” Vegapunk exclaimed with worry as everyone gathered around her. She only ate it out of spite because Vegapunk didn’t answer a question about mochi. It tasted bad, but she ate and ate some more.
“What will happen to her?” Kuma worriedly asked the scientist while Kizaru and Sentomaru looked on, curious. She simply tilted her head, confused on why they’re scared of the fruit she ate. It was then that she felt it. Something within threatening to burst out before it faded. That’s when she knew she had something in her waiting to be let out, and so she did. She touched Sentomaru, and as she did, everyone but her was repelled away.
“Interesting…” Vegapunk scratched his chin while observing the new phenomenon. “It seems your daughter will be safe, Kuma. A half and half Devil Fruit doesn’t seem like it would kill its new host, but I am curious how that would affect the current users of the two halves. There is that gambler and their devil fruit as well as Shiki and his…”
“Oooooh. What could have been dooooone, doc?”
“Well, from the looks of it, she can manipulate the gravity of anything she touches. It seems the gravity basis is from the Zushi Zushi no Mi while the touch activation comes from Shiki’s Fuwa Fuwa no Mi.” Vegapunk explained what was happening as the others listened close. Ochako focused a bit of her lingering power on Sentomaru. Now instead of repelling, objects were now floating towards him. “Interesting, she can manipulate the strength of gravity on a person while also being able to invert it. Although, as I noticed, there seems to be a limited range inside a sphere. Not as powerful as the original fruits, but still workable as a new kind of Devil Fruit.”
“I got powers like Papa now?”
“It seems soooo.” Kizaru nodded, answering his surrogate niece’s question. His face and tone were not in sync. He sounds upset, but his face says otherwise. Kuma couldn’t tell which was real.
Everything was burning. There was a fight between her father and Kizaru. She and Bonney hid under the box while Sentomaru and Vegapunk were trying to calm down the warlord and the admiral.
“Wait, Borsalino! Kuma! There is another way!” Vegapunk reasoned while the two stared each other down. Kizaru’s hands were still shaking from having struck his friend. Kuma felt the same. “We can… alter her memories. Replace them. Yes, she knew too much, but it does not have to end with her death!”
“...What methods do you intend to use, Vegapunk?” Kizaru asked, more than willing to go with the alternative if it meant never having to harm his niece. He lowered his hand and looked at the scientist, his eyes almost pleading for it to be a better solution.
“A way to spare my daughter’s life…” Kuma said, relief in his voice. He lowered his hands as well, not wanting to fight the admiral.
“Yes, Kuma. You can use the power of your devil fruit to push away her memories and we can replace it. Only Ochako learned of what had happened and of the secret of Marijoa. She and Bonney can be kept separate from you in your home as you travel the world as a warlord.”
“I-I don’t want this.” Ochako finally got out of her hiding spot. Kizaru looked at her, a bit saddened. Kuma frowned, not liking it. “Please, Papa. We- I- someone needs to do something.”
“I’m sorry, Ochako. There’s nothing we can do. Nothing at all.” Kuma knelt down and placed his hand on her shoulders. “There is only one powerful enough to oppose it, but he is not here yet.”
“B-But…” Tears were welling up in Ochako’s eyes. She didn’t want her memories to be changed. She wanted to remember everything. Everyone. “P-Papa.”
With no more words to say, Ochako gave Kuma the biggest hug she could. Bonney followed soon after. With the use of his fruit, Kuma gently pushed the memories away, stored in a few bubbles. The action would put Ochako in a deep coma as Vegapunk worked on creating fake memories. Enjoyable memories, but fake nonetheless. They sent her body and Bonney back to their homes while the fake memories festered in her mind. Years later, Bonney would leave, knowing her sister would awaken soon. She was eager to leave a trail for her to follow and help find their father together. Ochako awakened a few days before she herself left, not knowing she had been in a coma. Months before her awakening, Vegapunk set a small bounty to maintain the deception.
Ochako now knew why there was a weird nurse who was insistent on keeping her in the country before she flung her far away with her devil fruit power.
As real memories flooded her mind, Ochako was flung back. Hanta and Momo were there to catch her in case she fell. “How long was I out?”
“You just touched the bubble. It popped and…”
“That fast? I-” Ochako took her vice captain’s hand and stood up. Finally, she smiled, happy to have her memories back. She was also upset, but now she understood why they did what they did.
“Captain,” Minoru said carefully, “what did you see in there?”
“All the important details, don’t worry.” Ochako breathed in deeply before continuing. “The world government is even more rotten than we thought. The moon’s our next goal, but we need funds and supplies.”
“I know of one marine base we can raid. It’s a difficult one, but I’m sure it’s filled with what we need. Aside from that, it also has stashes of Vegapunk’s prototypes and blueprints.” Hitoshi suggested. Mei was instantly beside him with stars in her eyes.
“CAPTAIN WE NEED TO RAID THAT BASE NOW!” Mei yelled excitedly, much to everyone’s amusement.
“Absolutely not. A former Cipher Pol agent telling us this? What’s to say he isn’t leading us to a trap.” Momo was the first to voice her disagreement. Had it been anyone else who suggested it, she would readily agree to the challenge of raiding a marine base.
“I did not fight my own friends, betray the world government, and spoke my vow of loyalty to the captain just for you to accuse me of-”
“Hey now, no need for that, you two.” Hanta got in between Hitoshi and Momo once more, trying to ease the tension. “Momo, Hitoshi has my trust in this. Hitoshi, you gotta understand that suggesting a marine base just as we finished saving a kingdom from the government is pretty suspicious, right?”
Momo and Hitoshi glared each other down for one last time for the day before going to the opposite corners of the room.
“Guhehehe…” Ochako chuckled a bit before facing the rest of her crew. “Regardless of whether it’s a trap or not, we’ll be gaining something from raiding it. Be it money or information; I say, we go for it!”
Five Days Before the Marine Base Raid…
“What are you making?” Kinoko looked over Minoru’s shoulder, curious about whatever he’s doing.
“Before we answer that, can I touch your boobs?” He asked nonchalantly without looking at her. His question would normally have disgusted Kinoko, if not for the fact that he casually asked it.
“...No.”
“Well, it’s a super stick substance I’m working on right now. Enough to stick a grown man on the wall for hours.” Minoru explained it as he checked the test tube of his work. Kinoko was still in shock by the question he had made.
“Wait, are we just gonna ignore what you just asked?”
“Kinoko, please, no means no, as my mother said.” Minoru raised an eyebrow, confused why the crew’s new chef and musician was still lingering on the question. His mother always told him to ask first to not be rude. “Boobs are soft, ya know.”
“They are,” Kinoko admitted. “Your mother is a wise woman.”
“She…” Minoru’s voice trailed off. “She was.”
“You have to understand, even if you’re asking for permission, girls are gonna think the worst of you, right?” Kinoko pointed out. Minoru actually stopped what he was doing to consider what she said. “I think even if you do ask permission, you’d have fewer chances to touch boobs. And if you did so without asking at all, they’d probably try to kill you.”
“Huh. I never thought of that.” The most amusing part of it all was that Minoru was dead serious about that tone. Kinoko chuckled, finding him naturally funny. She could tell that he was smart, but he was also an airhead for social events. “Thanks. For telling me. I’m sorry if what I did came off as… I don’t know how to describe it.”
“Pervy?”
“That’s the word. I’m sorry.”
“It’s good. Better than just outright groping them.”
“Ew no. I’d… very much prefer if they would love me to do so.” Minoru wasn’t comfortable with the idea of groping anyone without their explicit permission, which was why he always asked. His sticky substance was already done, and he was already working on something else. He handed it to Kinoko. “While you were here, I… well, I thought you’d like a welcome gift from the crew so I made you these.”
“What is this?” She held up the device. It looked like a spray bottle, but the inside seems warmer than usual.
“I heard mushrooms grow better in warm and humid places. Mei and I worked on a mini-heater to keep the water inside that warm,” Minoru explained to the newest crew member. “I hope it’s helpful.”
Kinoko looked at the device once more and smiled. She gave him a big hug from behind, causing him to freeze up in shock before relaxing. “Thanks!”
“Y-Yeah… Please stop hugging me.” Minoru pleaded as Kinoko separated herself from him.
“Oh, sorry about that! I get huggy when I’m thankful. Thank you for the gift, Minoru!”
Four Days Before the Marine Base Raid…
“What the hell type of crapsack program did you just get us into, Izuku?” Katsuki grumbled as he turned over his resignation and identification code.
“It was either we joined SWORD or Kizaru kills us.” Izuku wasn’t all too worried about this at all. “It’s not up for debate.”
“What’s up for debate is that you got a higher rank than me now, Captain.” Katsuki complained, but he wasn’t too upset. Being a part of SWORD did mean they can do what they want and need to do so long as it helps people. That also includes disregarding orders from people he doesn’t like at all. He was also promoted despite his actions earlier.
“Don’t be too upset, Commander.” Izuku smiled, teasing his best friend who was now in the lower rank than him. Not that he actually cares. He still thought back to Kinoko’s words and the smile disappeared.
“Oi, don’t get all gloomy on me now, moron. At least now we can keep chasing your girlfriend, right?” It was Katsuki’s time to tease his best friend now. Izuku scoffed at him and looked away.
“Ochako is not my girlfriend.” He snapped back after thinking about it.
“I didn’t even mention her name.” Katsuki laughed at him. “Whatever. My fiance’s safe and you got a girl you’re after for totally justified reasons.”
“Katsuki, please.” Izuku pleaded to his best friend not to tease him any further. “She's selfish, a criminal, dangerous, and definitively too strong for a bounty like that.”
“Is that a compliment I hear?”
“Come on, man!”
“Right. Right. Don’t make me say ‘I told you so’ when you inevitably become lovestruck.”
“I’m so done with this.” Izuku shook his head and walked away.
← To Be Continued…