Archive of Our Own

No words could be uttered out.

Nothing he tried to voice out made it out of his throat.

Those few words he desperately wanted to say.

How do I explain?

(He’d only managed to say it to one person, and only one person, as embarrassing as it was to admit.)

Explain what? And why? His true face, the truth, the not always nice treatment subjected to him as a child? What would he even explain?

He’d done this before to someone much more understanding. Naturally, they did not comment on how he’d looked, or how pathetic he was.

(Nothing ever stood past him, after all.)

How could he ever explain what he did not know? How could he explain something so bizarre it would break the hearts of those who truly loved him, and cast aside his reputation and power.

How do I explain?

How?

(Only one person would ever understand. Only one person.)

How should he say it? He’d only done it once.

The phrase “I love you (too).”

——

He’d been on Wano many times in the past, where Mama had invited him along as one of the two sweet generals present, merely to intimidate their equals in Wano. And work wonders it did.

An alliance was formed almost immediately, right after roughly five hours of a non-stop of sweets and booze, enough to intoxicate both old people into forming an alliance, calling a truce to their lifelong hate in just some pastries and alcohol.

——

That day, Mama had brought Katakuri along with his two other triplet brothers, Daifuku and Oven, as well as Perospero and Smoothie. Katakuri supposed that the only reason Mama had brought him and his brothers instead of the last general, Cracker, was that both of them were more well known, possibly more mature, than that dimwitted younger brother of his.

While Cracker was powerful, his ego was greatly inflated. Katakuri was sure that his hubris would be his downfall. How he longed to pull out a pin with an exceptionally sharp tip, and pierce it into Cracker, just so that all his pride would fade away, and hopefully become humbler, but alas, his pride was what made Cracker who he was.

He stepped out onto the port from the boat, casually striding across the wooden planks, his spiky leather boots causing a hollow thumping sound to arise from the wooden planks as he took a step forward. The people of Wano stood in the port eagerly and excitedly, craning their necks and turning their heads to catch even a slight glimpse of Big Mom, and emperor of the seas, and her famed, powerful pirate crew.

Katakuri was merely the first, Oven, his hair blazing red, following soon after, walking down the steps of the ship and swinging his arms with the dignity of a soldier.

Daifuku also stepped down, his steps portraying a slightly more elegant aura than his other two brothers, considering his slightly less stocky build.

All three of the wore a serious expression on their faces, devoid of all emotion, indicating their sole purpose there. To do business, and nothing else.

Everyone remained quiet for a few second when the triplets alighted; they had clearly recognised them. Charlotte Katakuri, Charlotte Oven, and Charlotte Daifuku.

Meanwhile, while the three formidable siblings walked across the wooden planks of the port, Smoothie, the only girl on the ship aside from Big Mom, walked down, her long legs shining brightly amongst Wano’s warm shining sun. On her face was a look of determination, almost as if she was determined for every last one of them to leave successful with their missions and nothing else. As they did for the previous three, the people around gave Smoothie a respectable amount of space and remained solemnly quiet as she followed her brothers and walked down as well.

Perospero got down eagerly, his tongue sticking out of his mouth as he plucked a lollipop from his hat and licked on it, savouring its sweet flavour. He was likely the most relaxed out of all five siblings, despite being the oldest. The shortest and most outstanding out of them five, he strolled through his siblings and took his place in front of them, indicating the amount of trust Mama had in the oldest of them all. All while doing so, despite his actions being playful and childlike, he embodied great power and respect, causing all Pleasures and Gifters alike who had started to gather around, to immediately cease all incessant chatter for a brief moment.

Finally, the star of the show stepped onto the deck. The moment her foot hit the wooden boards with a loud crash, everyone around halted their chatting and kept silent: for good this time around, when the massive woman climbed from her ship and onto the grounds of Wano.

Big Mom was as massive and terrifying as usual, her big heavy steps creating a steady rhythm across the floor, planks creaking under her weight, as if threatening to snap at any given moment. Her long pink hair flowed in the wind, as her special homies, Zeus and Prometheus circled her body, crackling and rumbling respectively. Her mouth was shaped into an especially evil grin, her eyes portraying malice and nothing else.

Less than half a minute later, Kaido’s very own crew had arrived in port, Kaido and his three lead performers flanking his side and front, all to greet Big Mom.

“Hello, Linlin.” Kaido let out a deep growl the moment he had finished uttering that name. His sheer contempt and hatred were practically dripping from that one line of his speech, oozing an unfriendliness that made the people in the docks shrink back further upon hearing Kaido’s words.

“Hello, Kaido.” Big Mom replied, the malicious grin on her face growing wider by the second. It was clear of the hatred and contempt carried in her response to Kaido’s not-so-polite greeting.

Katakuri stood there, analysing Big Mom and Kaido as they dragged each other away for a slightly more private conversation, just far and soft enough that Katakuri could merely observe, and not hear. His brothers and sister had taken a liking to Queen, the apparent plump and round figure with that idiotic makeup on his face.

Currently, they were immersed in Queen’s stories, too busy to try to catch a glimpse or even so much as a peer into Big Mom and Kaido’s private talk.

The man that Katakuri assumed to be Jack, stood unsurely in place, turning merely to throw off the imminent boredom radiating off him, with just the slight bit of unsureness and anxiety,

Showing fear and anxiety while faced with enemy forces… Not a very good sign… Katakuri thought to himself rapidly. I hope his powers make up for his cowardly attitude.

The only one there remaining was who Katakuri assumed to be King the Wildfire, considering he looked the most intimidating and distinguished among all three, showing no flaws and radiating a string sense of battle and seriousness, befitting his shiny dark outfit. Like Katakuri, he also had not said a word when they first set foot in this place, and like Katakuri as well, he too, was also observing Big Mom and Kaido’s conversation, which had become increasingly more hushed and aggressive among the two old people.

Katakuri secretly observed the man standing in the shadows, watching intently as he gazed at his master, Kaido. He radiated the energy of someone who had been annoyed far too many times, about to snap at the slightest disturbance.

Just then, King turned his head, and met Katakuri’s gaze, returning it as coldly as the former’s original glare. As their eyes met, both simultaneously turned their heads away, choosing to focus on their captains instead.

Finally finishing their conversation, Big Mom and Kaido beckoned for their companions to join them as they walked to Kaido’s residence, and rather loudly at that. Jack, Queen and the Charlotte siblings immediately obeyed, trailing their captains.

This left King and Katakuri behind, both of them slowly releasing themselves from the passive-aggressive stance they had been in and strode on, slightly lagging behind the rest.

The both of them looked into each other’s eyes again, and Katakuri and King both grumbled slightly under their breaths before focusing on the road, both not eager to be dragged around.

Arriving at the residence, Kaido made a beeline for the banquet hall, Big Mom following suit. The rest of them patiently waited, as some gifters guided the Charlotte siblings and the two other Lead Performers into the Banquet Hall.

Soon after, Katakuri and King arrived together, walking into the hall by themselves instead of waiting for the guidance of the successful S.M.I.L.E. fruit users. Each one of them pushed open one of the heavy metal doors in ease, almost shocking the gifters who had to struggle to even lift the door handle. Mama was sat down on the left, with Kaido on the right.

Big Mom had brought some common soldiers with her, no more than twenty, at Katakuri’s rough eyeball estimate. Not only that, she had also brought along quite a number of homies, making Big Mom’s side of the room more cheery and intimidating at the same time.

Meanwhile, on Kaido’s side of the room, it was filled with many different types of animal-human hybrids, body parts of different animals growing out of various parts of their body. The many soldiers behind him were roughly the amount that Big Mom had brought along, according to Katakuri’s observation haki.

Queen, and Jack were seated next to Kaido, with some Tobi Roppo members that Katakuri didn’t bother to recognise. His other two triplet brothers were seated along the table on Big Mom’s side, Smoothie and Perospero flanking her side.

Many heads turned to face their way as both men walked into the room, and took their places against the wall in the corner, intending to keep their distance from the others and act as somewhat bodyguards. Interpreting their intentions clearly, Big Mom and Kaido immediately turned away and started the feast.

“Bring in the booze!” Kaido yelled, as servers brought in the saké and idk started the meeting.

Within minutes, Queen had already begun a performance, his main audience the wide crowd of gifters and intrigued homies. His siblings had already made themselves comfortable, performing various tricks for the people present.

Perospero had created candy animals in various shapes, sculpting an elaborate statue to flaunt to the gifters watching in awe at his insane skill of being able to produce candy infinitely. Of course he could, with the Pero Pero no mi.

Smoothie had already wrung out quite a few different objects that the gifters had given her, and was producing different unique and tasty drinks by the dozens for the eager awaiting hordes of gifters. Of course, her being a woman that Mama herself regarded to be rather attractive, might have helped her gain a more male-centred crowd.

Oven had already cooked up some things, clashing with unlucky and drunk soldiers of Kaido, the common warriors tasting defeat over and over. Daifuku added to the fun by getting the soldiers to each place a bet on who might win the match, and funding them after it was over, but only if they deserved it or won it.

Meanwhile, on Kaido’s side, Jack had turned into a mammoth, and was now enjoying the homies climbing all over him, or at least that was what Katakuri assumed, considering his inability to express anything other than unsureness. Completely unbecoming of a high ranking officer of Kaido’s.

Big Mom and Kaido had already started drinking and eating, both old people drunk and wolfing down food and sweets. Apparently food and booze would always be more important than a political conversation to these people.

The one other person besides him who had not changed position was obviously King. He stood silently in the corner, analysing the whole room. He seemed to express disdain when he got a glimpse of the sorry state of his comrade Jack and the wild Queen.

For a split second, Katatkuri wondered if King felt the same way he did. That he felt that gathering of this scale were exceptionally noisy and unnecessary, if not given an order by his captain then he would not choose to show up at all.

Exasperated, Katakuri continued to stand in silence as he watched the performances drag on, the music grow increasingly louder, his tolerance slowly thinning with each second.

All of a sudden, when Katakuri had just started to contemplate leaving, Big Mom and Kaido both simultaneously called for their men.

“Katakuri!”

“King!”

After hearing their captains call upon them, both King and Katakuri got up from the wall, and strode over to heed their captain’s request.

“What is it, Mama?” Katakuri asked patiently, something almost unmanageable due to most of it being spent on having to witness the full-fledged party.

“Both Kaido and I are planning something, you two get along, you’re going to need that in the future.” Big Mom’s words were unclear, and she immediately went back to feasting, as did Kaido on the opposite end of the table with King.

After being dismissed and still in confusion, the two men walked off, Big Mom and Kaido’s gazes resting upon them both as they proceeded to walk in the opposite direction of each other. Sensing the watchful eyes upon them, they both sighed and walked towards each other. Seemingly contented, the captains returned to their feasting.

The two tall men made their way to a corner of the room, staring blankly into each other’s eyes.

What are we doing here?

I don’t know, do you?

“Greetings.” Katakuri said simply, in an attempt to please his mother’s orders.

“Greetings to you too, as well.” King replied, as uninterested as Katakuri was. “Are you enjoying the music?” he added sarcastically, trying to make small talk.

“No.” Katakuri replied instantly, earning himself a small chuckle from King.

“Me neither.”

“You enjoying the shows?” Katakuri asked his own question this time.

“No.”

“Same.”

They stood there awkwardly, backs against the wall, eyes avoiding the other’s gaze. “So… what are we supposed to do?” King broke the silence, slightly startling Katakuri.

“I do not know. We sit?” Katakuri responded, also unsure of any further actions as both of them sat down onto the floor in the corner, facing each other.

“I’m not very good at this conversation thing.” King rubbed his neck, as Katakuri agreed to his statement. “Is Queen annoying?”

Katakuri raised an eyebrow at the question before wholeheartedly agreeing, and much to his surprise, earning himself another chuckle from the masked man.

“I hate the shows he puts on, it’s always so flamboyant and loud, not for me. Actually, would you like to go outside? It would be much quieter if we were out in the garden than here.” King’s words found its way to Katakuri and they both got up and left the banquet hall, escaping in the midst of the noise and chaos.

Trudging along, Katakuri decided it was his turn to ask the questions. “I notice you’re wearing a mask,” he stated, his eyes not straying from the oath they were taking.

“I notice you’re covering your face too.” King added, still slightly uncomfortable about talking to someone he had never met before, and was forced to get along with. To tell the truth, Katakuri felt that way as well.

“Guess we both have something to hide.” King absentmindedly pointed out.

“Yeah.”

——

“Katakuri! Did you beat up those kids again?” Perospero demanded, practically fuming as he reached for his younger brother’s collar, trying to grab him by his unbuttoned vest, but to no avail.

“So what if I did?” Katakuri monotonously replied, tone harsh and playful.

“Of course you did! Now I have to go explain to everyone again, Kata, it’s so annoying! Will you either stop beating their asses or actually kill them?” Perospero whined, shutting his eyelids tight in frustration.

“Was I not supposed to torture them and let them go alive?” Katakuri questioned curiously, eager to know if he had permission.

“You may have been able to kill them, but you have to ask Mama first. But I bet my bucks that Mama would downright agree with those scumbags and say that your mouth is indeed hideous and you would be better off covering it up. Which, in a way, they’re not wrong.” Perospero pointed out, reminding Katakuri that he was still a subordinate of the all-powerful dictator, Big Mom.

“Fine. Have it your way then, Perospero.” Young Katakuri remarked, no attempt at intimidating the older boy.

“Do you know how hard giving explanations are? You need to start taking things seriously, Kata! You can’t just say you’re not good with words and walk off!” Perospero yelled at the already disappearing figure of Katakuri, who only scoffed and rolled his eyes at his older brothers words.

Katakuri honestly couldn’t care less. He’d beat all those who dared to laugh at his horrendous protruding fangs, and stitched mouth. The stitches were only there because those stupid doctors thought the dislocation was in his mouth, so they sealed the partially ripped lips at the sides.

He secretly hated those people who stuck that needle and wire in his face. The scars it left were absolutely mortifying. It took him some time to get used to, especially since his fangs and mouth used to be his only redeeming quality.

After that change in appearance, the townsfolk started to talk smack about him.

“I bet Katakuri is a pelican-eel fishman hybrid, look at his face! It says it all!”

“He’s so ugly even the mirror refuses to look like him when he stands in front of one!”

“I wonder how much those teeth of his will fetch me on the market, him being a son of Big Mom after all. But he hasn’t come of age yet, there isn’t any way that he could fight me back if I try to rip out those money-making tusks, will I?”

Life sucked at that point, still did now, but it sucked more than usual at that point in time. And since he didn’t “have a way with words” as compared to his present self, of course he never explained; didn’t know how to, plus would never take a blow to his ego just for the sake of an uncertain ally.

He’d never quite known how to voice out his feelings, just like his father, Big Mom would always comment. A stupid idiot when it came to time to talk, and while in actual battle mode, they were relentless.

Most resolved their ways with their words, their mouth.

But Katakuri used his fists and spear, and it would stay that way till his weapon rusted over, and only then there will be just his fists.

No explanation was needed. His mouth was the reason why this happened to him in the first place, why would he use his mouth to solve this whole situation?

And for young Charlotte Katakuri, no more than 10 years old of age, the second son of Big Mom, fighting may not always have been the answer, but it was certainly his version of a letter of affirmation.

But it wasn’t till Brûlée was attacked that changed everything. For the first time, Katakuri understood the expression “seeing red” perfectly. The distraught and shock when he had seen Brûlée, badly injured, carried away on a stretcher, a cut across her face, which would remain in place for the rest of her life.

All the pent-up anger, distraught and sorrow combined with the emotions he had felt when witnessing his beloved younger sister get seriously hurt because of his negligence and sloppiness all fused.

Suddenly, he was wary of the pointed fangs jutting out of his mouth. Were they always that big, and that obstructive? Were they always so obnoxious, and so horrendous? And were the scars on his face, and the sewed cheeks of his, all that terrifying and disgusting? Was everyone right all along?

Maybe he was horrendous… but there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t sit down and weep, it was against his morals and character. He couldn’t simply cut it off, it would cause permanent damage and serious problems in the long-term.

Instead, he chose to wrap a piece of fabric along his neck, covering enough of his jaw and mouth to disguise the ugliness, but just enough to breathe. He only felt one emotion at that moment when he thought of poor Brûlée being carted away by the medics while he’d simply stood by, stunned.

Rage. Rage. How dare they hurt his innocent little sister? How dare they take out all the anger they’d wanted to express on him, on her instead? Were they that cruel, what were they thinking? Harming an innocuous girl, even causing permanent scars on her face. How dare they, how dare they, how dare they!

Grabbing his spear, he brisk walked towards the men responsible for Brûlée’s injuries. His vision was tinted red, his anger fuelling his whole body to act, to move.

“Huh, look who decided to show up? Only after we beat up your sister eh? She was defending her ‘big brother’ and saying that he was the best ever, and some random stuff other than that.” One of the guys mocked, while simultaneously cracking his knuckles.

“I will never forgive you for beating up my poor sister, and I will never forgive myself for not dealing with this earlier, and causing her this much pain and anguish. Because of me, she has had to suffer, and for that, you shall pay the price too!” Katakuri yelled, punching two of the men into the ground, knocking them out cold.

The anger, rage, fuelled him on, motivating him to keep hitting them again and again, till no less than every drop of blood on the floor. Till he finally moved away and the red tint disappeared, he could only see the bodies of the men, pools of blood so close together they merged to form one whole shape of blood, the men barely breathing and unconscious on the ground.

But he hadn’t yet finished. He still needed to end them so they wouldn’t ever go after Brûlée, or any of his family members, ever again. He would never allow it.

Just as he was about to stab one of the three razor-sharp points of his trident, into the man’s flesh, his vital point, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Kata. Give it a rest.”

He spun his head around, fangs still bared under the cloth wrapped around his neck. Perospero.

“Oh, good, you’ve followed my instructions and covered up your mouth. And I don’t think Mama would be extremely pleased when she sees what you’ve done to her precious citizens.” He nonchalantly stated, retracting his hand from Katakuri’s shoulder, watching his younger brother’s eyes widen and glare change from shock to pure rage, even more intense than before.

“I don’t care. They attacked Brûlée, they pay the price. No one hurts my family.” Katakuri growled, kicking away one of the men writhing and crawling on the ground, reached for the weapon laying on the floor.

“Well, you do need her permission before you kill them, and I don’t think she would like it when she finds out you stained her island’s ground with their filthy blood.” Perospero retaliated, gesturing to the men on the ground and slumped against the wall, all unconscious but alive.

Katakuri growled, but there was nothing he could do. Slamming his trident into the wall in frustration, a spiderweb pattern of cracks appeared on the stone-like material, as the trident hit the wall. Pulling it out of the wall, the stone-cake structure almost toppled, but was held together by Perospero’s hardened candy, quick enough to prevent the crumbling of the wall.

That was the first and last time. He’d never show his face, ever again. Even though bullying wasn’t as traumatic in comparison to the horrors of a childhood others had had, it certainly wasn’t helpful that most of the people who respected his mother did not respect him. Or that even his siblings would hate him should they find out the truth. And that he’d only recently realised that he’d been manipulated all along to becoming the “perfect” child, “perfect soldier”, “perfect man”.

With his growing power, it only made things worse as more and more people began to fall under the impression that he was what they should strive to be, a powerful, loyal, and morally good citizen. Should they ever find out the truth, they’d be horrified and abandon all hope in him. How could someone so hideous and so much like a monster ever be great and successful?

But that was what Big Mom liked, she wanted him to be her loyal little soldier, do her bidding, and take all the pressure and stress to her entertainment. And how foolish was he, to believe she was a fit ruler, a fit mother, no less.

And no matter what, he could not and would not, explain to her, that he had known, that despite being regarded as an ideal to others, he was nothing more than a pawn on his mother’s chess board.
——

“Apparently our captains want us to get along.” They both said in unison, shocking each other.

“We’re going to need it in the future? Some kind of joke.” Katakuri lightheartedly added.

“I apologise for my colleagues behaviour, those gifters never know what it is to stop partying. Queen should learn that too. He’s been hosting his stupid concerts and blaring that music since forever, and just so happened to do it again now of all times.

“Not to mention Jack, that guy can’t even take care of himself, letting himself get swarmed by those weird cartoonish creatures.”

“Homies.” Katakuri corrected him. The other man shrugged it off. “And I’m sorry for my siblings being so dramatic. If they had all gone diplomatic and serious, we would have been much more powerful and well known by now, and not be a hindrance to anyone.” Katakuri sighed, figuring it out to be his turn to share his struggles with the other.

They both had a small laugh at the complete similarities in the reaction towards their crew’s actions, both of them frustrated and tired of it.

Katakuri was overjoyed to have found someone else who could share the burdens of being surrounded by people who never got him at all. In fact, the poor guy probably had it worse than Katakuri ever would. Having to deal with a timid subordinate and a super-annoying heavy metal rockstar, as well as the many rowdy soldiers that in the drunken state Kaido was always in, would never be able to subdue them.

After listening to King gradually open up more and more about the never ending antics of his crew, he began to pity him more and more. Anyone left to manage hundreds of drunk and high fools would snap under the pressure or just the sheer thought of doing so, but only if it were anyone but King.

“… so Queen left me to clean it all up, and I had to go give a lecture to everyone present. Furthermore, it’s not even something I was involved in, just some stupid gifters deciding to muck around with Queen’s selection of plagues and look where that ended them up. And if you think that was crazy, guess how many times it happened.”

Katakuri raised out his hand to where his chin was supposed to be under his scarf, imitating a look of deep thought, before answering, “I don’t know, how many?”

King sighed, holding up both hands. “More than ten times. After the tenth I stopped counting and left them to rot and die of whatever plague they inflicted upon themselves.”

Katakuri stifled a snicker as he watched King over dramatise the situation, making him curious. “What plagues were there anyway?” Katakuri’s curiosity got the best of himself, and he let the question slip out of his lips.

“Let me see, there was the one that made you laugh till you suffocate, one that makes your intestines melt and dissolve from the inside out, and I think the worst of all are the ones that turn them into what they hate the most. Worst mess to clean up. And forgive me for saying this, but I think one of them turned into Big Mom.” King listed a few of his favourites, hoping it would be enough for Katakuri’s information.

“Is that even a plague? Sounds more like a curse to me,” Katakuri wheezed in between short sharp fits of laughter that had racked his body the moment King had uttered those unfathomable diseases. “And I don’t really mind someone hating Mama, she’d be the one who would be offended.”

“How many more plagues can you think of?” Katakuri dared, not even knowing what he just said.

“Let me see.” King smirked, at least that was what Katakuri assumed him to be doing under that black spiky leather masks of his and he braved himself for a list of plagues more than the amount of family members he had.

——
“Let’s get out of here, kid.” he could hear Kaido’s empathetic voice ringing in his head as those big, muscular hands worked on the shackles binding Alber to the board.

Finally free, Alber hopped off the board to which he had been previously pinned, stumbling on the new weight being put on his legs, almost falling if not for his black, feathery wings, flapping and balancing him on the ground.

“Whoa.”

“Still getting used to walking huh? Must be hard being tied up like that all of the time, being run tests on.” Kaido commented, seeing the state Alber was in. It was not a good one, that was for sure. They’d been careful to leave their precious lunaria alive and healthy enough, considering he was one of the last of his precious kind.

Still, the condition he was in was far from good. He had scratches all over his body, Marks clearly caused by the many needles punctured into his flesh, injecting or extracting fluids from his body. His body was weak and frail, looking to be severely underweight, and his legs way too small and powerless to support the entire bulk of his upper half. All the energy and strength a child of his age was supposed to have, all sapped out from the many tests and experiments run on him.

No one would ever understand what it was like to be a lab rat for Vegapunk, for the world government, as most never lived to tell the tale, or at least weren’t in the right state of mind to. Fortunately, Kaido had broken him out at an early age, before the permanent changes settled in.

“C’mon kid, let’s get out of here. I figure you’ll like it a lot more in the outside world.” Kaido sighed, gently helping Alber up, as the both of them started to make their escape.

They escaped. Just barely. Had it been anyone else who tried to come after them, or had it been anyone else helping him escape, they would have been done for, and he’d have to be placed under even tighter security and never be allowed to taste freedom again, not even the slightest bit. Thankfully, Kaido was strong, although not as smart, his brawn made up for the lack of brain.

Panting from all the running, Alber plopped himself down onto fresh grass, letting the rays of the sun soak into his skin. He was currently so malnourished, so weak, he couldn’t even summon the strength to generate the signature lunarian flames of his.

He was happy to be alive, and grateful towards Kaido. As they made their escape on a ship stolen from a bunch of unsuspecting sailors, Alber watched as the silhouette of the laboratory at Punk Hazard got further and further away, becoming a pitch black shadow and disappearing into the distance.

The corners of his mouth twitched upwards, as he thought of leaving the island for good. But the enraged yelling of the scientists when they had found out the new subject they’d placed in the same confinement area as Alber had led the both of them to escape, Alber suddenly felt terrified.

The angry shouting and screaming rang in his ears, painful, traumatic memories suddenly being dredged up like fish in a net. His breathing grew erratic and his grip on the ships wooden rails intensified.

The needles, piercing into his skin as he screamed in agony, begging them to stop, cease this torture. He almost felt as if he could hear them again. Those beasts, telling him everything was fine, and that what they were doing was actually good for the world. Lies. How gullible of him to believe them. He could still hear them laughing evilly, as they tricked an innocent kid to be their test subject forever and ever.

He could feel his heart palpitating wildly in his chest. Was his heart too big for his body, was his chest tightening? He didn’t know. His vision had been reduced, distorted, the view before him filtered through a fish-eye lens. Dizziness overcame his mind as he fought to remain steady. His breathing more and more rapid; short, sharp breaths being taken in, as his mental image distorted yet again to another cruel memory.

His confinement was made of glass walls, enabling him to see through to everything the scientists were up to. It also meant that while he was pinned to the board, shackles on his ankles and wrists, witnessed the horrors taking place outside of him cell.

Clones, tests, experiments, all being run. Bloody messes, floating in test tubes and confinements with some preservative fluid they were floating in. All of them, the humanoid ones all sported darker skin, pale white hair, and black feathery wings. They were made from him. His genes, his DNA. The monstrous horrors they were doing with him in their possession.

His vision distorted, as he looked around in slow-motion, sick to his stomach as he saw the failed attempts at recreating lunarians again and again, in a way, reminding him that something of the very same had happened to the rest of his kind. All brutally murdered, killed, in an inhumane way, and each time, leaving only him as the sole survivor.

Why. Why him. Why was it him that had to suffer? Why wouldn’t the earth just swallow him whole and send him down to the fiery pits as with the others who had once sinned? Why wouldn’t they put him out of his misery? Why, again and again, he had to be the last man standing, the one watching as everyone around him departed the realm of the living.

Nausea overwhelmed him, and he reached the hand that wasn’t latching a firm grip to the wooden railings to his chest, grabbing the heart that felt like it was way too big for his chest cavity, currently palpitating way to fast. Sweat rolled down the side of his face, slowly starting to accumulate everywhere along his forehead, trickling down his face. His body suddenly felt warm, and even more uncomfortable.

Why? Why had it always been him spared? Why did he have to live on, when so many others were already given the opportunity or were forced to their end? It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair.

His whole body was trembling, and he felt his chest constrict even more, and the ship somehow felt smaller, too small for him, and he fought for air, his breaths now audible gasps, as his hand grew numb and let go of the railing, clutching his brain as he desperately tried to force the bad memories away, into the depths of his mind, but they remained buoyant and ever present. He fell to the deck with a thud, eyes wide as he tried to overcome the impending sense of doom and intense fear.

He couldn’t hear anything, just his heartbeat and out of control breathing. His vision no longer distorted, now reduced to something like tunnel vision, the scenery in front of his eyes warped and small.

“-ey, hey, HEY, listen to me kid. Listen to me.” Kaido tried to reassure Alber, who he had finally realised, despite his awful spatial awareness, was having a phenomenon known as a panic attack, or so it would seem.

Alber continued to breathe erratically, his heart still feeling like it was double the size of his chest cavity and ticking like a time bomb, eyes still wide and mind still in an awful state of fear and disarray.

“It’s gonna be okay, kid, it’s gonna be okay. You’ll never have to go back to that place again. Your life will be better. Breathe, kid, breathe, normally. It’s gonna be okay, you’re gonna be okay.”

Alber apprehensively took a shaky, but deep breath. Then another, at Kaido’s command, another. Although Kaido’s words did nothing to help the boy, he still tried his best. His way of resolving crisis was with his fists, never his thoughts or empathy, but, seeing as the boy was in some serious mental distress, did his best to comfort him.

The mental images popped up again in his mind, causing him to relapse and hyperventilate yet again, this time, even worse, even more vivid, almost like no matter how hard he tried, they would always be there, to haunt him, to torture him, to get back at him for leaving. Almost like he couldn’t leave them, and they would find him and place him back in that hellhole again. Again. Again.

“Listen kid. Listen to me. You’re gonna be fine. You’re going to be okay. Most importantly, you’re gonna be free. You can have all the freedom in the world, so just listen to me and just me, okay, you’re never going to meet them ever again. I’ll take care of you. You don’t have to go through this alone, I’ll help you. It doesn’t matter what they used to do to you. You’re free. You won’t ever meet them again, I’ll make sure of that. So just calm down. Please.” Kaido comforted him, encouraging Alber to take it easy.

Somehow, his words got through, and although what he said was of no use to Alber, he knew that Kaido was genuinely concerned for him and cared about him, so Alber started controlling his breathing, focusing on Kaido’s voice. Freedom. He would finally be free. They wouldn’t ever reach him again. The slow, deep breaths were no longer shaky, and his heart rate slowed to normal. The tightening sensation in his chest relieved, and the ringing in his ears subsided.

“There we go, kid. No need to be afraid. I’m here.” Kaido patted the now recovered Alber on the back. So overwhelmed with emotion, he let out a huge sigh and apologised and thanked Kaido at the same time. Apparently, he had been in this state for around twenty to thirty minutes from the moment Punk Hazard was outside of the line of sight and till their boat needed just around another ten minutes before they got to shore.

(Though to some, the words Kaido had uttered shouldn’t really be much of use to people in this situation, but for King, after hearing harsh and insincere words and tones his whole life would very much prefer someone who tried to be empathetic and helpful towards him.)

But Alber snapped and started sobbing, his emotions a mix of different positive and negative ones. Kaido was so kind to him, he didn’t deserve it. He was still grateful to him for bringing him into the outside world.

“I-I’m sorry…”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about kid, that much experimentation and harsh treatment when you’re that young can’t be good for you, mentally and physically. I’ll get you some food, you go take a nap or something, I hear it helps you. It’ll be good for you, okay? Rest up, and you’ll feel a lot better.” Kaido patted King on the head, earning a nod from the kid who was still feeling an influx of emotions.

That was the first time. It’d occured many times across his time with Kaido, but he got over it after less than a decade of being with Kaido, though thinking too hard about it would trigger yet another episode.

Kaido was kind, caring, and was willing to help Alber. He even gave him a new name, King, and made him a mask to protect his identity and safety, seeing as he was still cautious and untrusting.

He’d forever be grateful to Kaido, and though through words he would never be able to explain his gratitude for everything Kaido had done for him, he’d been able to produce flames again. His mind was no longer tortured with the endless repeating cycles of test runs on his frail body. His body grew stronger day by day, strength increasing.

He’d owe Kaido even more. He’d helped shape him into the man he had always wanted to be, someone strong, and just like the Kaido he had grown up to admire. Although said man had changed over time, with depression, guilt, and old age plaguing him, just to name a few, King, formerly known as Alber, was not annoyed by the fact that he now was the one who had to take care of Kaido.

He owed this man his life, in more ways than one, and would, without any further explanation, give up everything just for him, just to pay him back.
——
After King had told Katakuri his fair share of stories, he thoughtfully asked Katakuri, who had surprisingly listened attentively to the whole thing, to share his own stories.

“I have 84 siblings, so that’s many stories to tell. Still want to hear it? You can always back out if it’s too much.” Katakuri warned King, in a playful teasing tone of voice, giving King the option to save himself before it was too late.

“I’m very much sure, thank you. Now begin.” King ordered. “I told you my stories now you tell yours.”

Katakuri sighed contentedly before proceeding to tell the happy tales and memories of his childhood, silently hoping King would find his sharings as amusing he found his.

“… so she married off yet another one. And that meant at least another good 15 jellybeans lost due to being shot into people’s skulls.” Katakuri added, trying hard not to brag.

“Jellybeans? Seriously?” King incredulously muttered out.

“If you flick them with enough speed and force, you would be able to penetrate even the toughest of armour of the thickest of flesh, and leave a devastating, lasting impact.” Katakuri hoped the information was helpful, but he knew it would never be. Only he killed with small sugar candy as a substitute to bullets. A “proper” warrior used the real deal, but jellybeans were easily made and easily overlooked.

“Jellybeans must be pretty practical weapons should you ever be too lazy, huh?” King pointed out, and Katakuri immediately nodded in agreement.

“Jellybeans work wonders against foes.”

“When the guy dies, I’ll make the others clean up the body and stuff, and maybe fill them in on the obituary details. But the terrible body cleanup aside, I like being security.” Katakuri admitted and stretched his arms, almost eager for target practice yet again.

“I see. So that’s what you do at weddings and tea parties? Just sit on the gate at the entrance, using your refined observation haki to predict the future, and kill people? What about being a regular guest? I mean, whenever we host such a formal gathering, I do security too, but not to the point where I spend the whole time at the entrance, waiting for the ceremony to go by. I would at least steal some food to eat.” King lamented, summing up Katakuri’s routine and problems.

“If only I could eat as easily as you can…” Katakuri muttered under his breath, almost cringing when he heard the hint of jealousy and resentment in his soft statement.

“Hmm?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Katakuri reflexively dismissed, and as Kin was fortunately one of the rare understanding beings of this universe, he simply abandoned all the questions pooling up in his mind at that moment and chose not to pry further. Who knows what would have happened had he overstepped his boundaries.

——

Their chat went on for a very long time. After all stories suitable to be shared were said out, they both reclined in the soft grass around them. For example Big Mom almost never being a great mother figure, breeding and raising the kids in a hive mind, each to be gaining great power and obeying her and her only, or the fact that Kaido had gone through a midlife crisis and was now an irresponsible drunkard, a mere fraction of the man he once was.

(Switching locations was the best decision to make, for peace and quiet would be imminent in this location.)

“Ah, looks like socialising with you was easier than I thought.” King chuckled, and Katakuri definitely knew by now, that he had a way with words that was way better than his own style of speech.

“I feel like I know everything about you now.” Katakuri joked, letting out a semi-forced laugh, which King returned, slightly more sincere than his.

Within the span of the time they had used to get to know each other, both of them had developed pity for the other for having to endure such a terrible task almost every day, and perhaps it was that mutual respect that strengthened their hasty friendship.

“So… remember what we said about masks while walking here, I was thinking…” Katakuri hesitated, waiting to get King’s fullest attention before it was drawn to a completely different subject.

“… if we maybe showed each other our faces?” Katakuri lowered his voice down to a whisper. He had stolen some booze while making their way there, and Katakuri was ready to drink away the image if King told him to forget about his true identity.

King contemplated for a moment. He had felt strangely safe with Katakuri, and bonded together even more when they discovered they both had similar problems with their crew mates. Usually, he would be against anyone ever witnessing his full, true form, but Katakuri was an exception. The man had pushed all the right buttons and had gained his trust and respect, even if he used to be a sworn enemy (not by their choice) until recently. He certainly would not mind showing his face, on the condition that he got to see Katakuri’s too.

“I’m not really against the idea, but I don’t want anyone to find out, so what do we do then?” King asked, accepting the proposal of revealing his true identity head-on.

“I’ll make a hut or a box out of mochi, I have the Mochi fruit powers at my disposal anyway, I should have no problem crafting up a huge box for both of us to stand in.

King was about to raise an eyebrow to Katakuri’s claim, but suppressed the urge when he actually did it, and made a box from the ground, created by none other than Katakuri.

“Oh wow. I didn’t think you’d be true to your word.” King muttered in awe as he invited the other to walk in to the box, bad enough to fit the two of them with ease.

“You really gonna take that mask off; I heard it’s leather.” Katakuri mumbled to himself.

“I’m true to my word.” King smiled and placed his hands strategically on his mask, taking it off slowly as Katakuri started to untie the knot holding the scarf together on his back at the same speed.

Every part of their bodies were screaming “NOOOOO” to them showing off their actual faces to each other. But it did not matter. The mask was off. The scarf was off, and now they could only study each other’s builds and possibly looks.

Katakuri stared into King’s face, determined to find a single flaw in it. But alas, it was to no avail, not a single imperfection was to be found. Katakuri wondered why such a handsome man like him was hiding his face behind a mask, though Katakuri was sure it was for personal reasons, and that alone, meant he could not pry further for fear that a severe punishment would come out of picking a fight with King, Kaido’s second-in-command.

Meanwhile, Katakuri could feel King’s eyes resting on his face, then his mouth, moving onwards to his fangs, his scars, the unnecessary stitches, everything. How he wanted so much to just cover up his mouth again as King studied the proportions with admiration.

“Why do you hide your face? You have no real reason to it, and besides, I think you look rather fine without that fur covering your chin.” King went straight to the point, hitting Katakuri with a compliment he had never received before.

“Y-you aren’t disgusted by my mouth? Really? I-I thought…” Katakuri stammered, losing his cool as his mind struggled to process what King had just told him.

That he liked his mouth.

What kind of blasphemy was that? No one liked his mouth. Not even himself. King merely shrugged. “Well, I’ve seen worse than your mouth anyways, so I’m not surprised. And besides, your mouth just makes you more… admirable, I guess. I’m not sure. But I definitely don’t feel disgusted, not even the slightest bit.” King truthfully answered.

Katakuri inhaled and exhaled sharply, about to hyperventilate from the shocking discovery. Someone like King, beautiful, with long, lustrous locks of silky white hair, chiseled masculine features that gave his face both prettiness and handsomeness at the same time, an elegant mix of both; that floral tattoo circling his left eye, increasing his attractiveness ever so slightly.

How could such a man like that, the epitome of beauty itself, ever like such a hideous creature like him? A machine fooled by the system for far too long to let go, a perfectionist fooling everyone into thinking he was never a beast or an ugly monster.

He was way too confused. “You’re so pretty, and… and beautiful. How could you ever admire someone me? I’m just, so awful, so insincere, hiding who I really am when people all around worship me like some kind of god.” Katakuri let out his emotions, the unspeakable mental burden he had carried along with him over his whole life showing itself for the first time in many years.

King was slightly taken aback by Katakuri’s reaction. Normally, most people, when receiving a compliment, would smile back if they were modest, or at least admit the compliment as of it were actually true. He had never expected the man to be in denial. Maybe the Charlotte family was more of a crew than a family, after all, if the toughest of them could be reduced to such a mess due to some random stranger admiring his real looks.

Then again, King doubted Katakuri had received this often, or even received it during his life. “It’s okay, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to provoke you.” King wholeheartedly apologised, shocking Katakuri.

Pacing himself, Katakuri waved his hands in disapproval and denied King’s apology. “No, no I’m sorry. Reacting that way when someone says they like my real face, that was very immature of me, I’m really sorry. I’ve never had anyone say that before, not even my triplet brothers or Mama…” Katakuri sheepishly admitted, making the truth clear to King.

“Oh and by the way, I think you’re beautiful. But if there are other reasons to wear a mask than to hide your looks, I’m willing to listen if you would let me.” Katakuri regained his usual calm, composed self, a stark contrast to that messy bundle of emotions he had been just a few minutes ago.

“Since you trusted me with one of your deepest, darkest secrets, seems right for me to tell you one of mine. When I was younger, I was captured in Punk Hazard and experimented on to get my DNA and the rare blood that flows within me and the previous others in my race. Kaido helped me escape and since then I wore this mask to hide my face so that I don’t have to keep up my reputation as the second best, behind Kaido, and hide from the government while gaining fame.” King explained clearly, talking about it as if it were nothing, and definitely not his last trauma and what had shaped him to become the feared rogue pirate he was today.

“Ah,” Katakuri let out a noise of understanding, and he stayed silent, glancing up at King just momentarily with sympathy before remaining silent.

“I’m sorry you had to go through so much when you were so young.” Katakuri mumbled, just loud enough for only King and him, within the small confined box to hear.

“It’s okay, it’s all in the past now. They have no idea that their prized lunaria Alber, that’s been on the run for so long is King, a lead performer of the Beast Pirates anyway. And it doesn’t concern me anymore, not when I’m under Kaido’s care.” King didn’t mind Katakuri being sympathetic towards him, which was strange, since usually he would hate it whenever someone pitied him.

“That’s nice to hear. Have people always liked you?” Katakuri was curious, he really wanted to know. Maybe King’s crew was much more understanding than his own.

“Yeah, they have I guess. But I think unlike in your case, they’d probably be confused as to why I’m wearing a mask; I think the government pretty much covered up all evidence of my escape to protect their reputation of course, so I don’t think most of us would know why I’m wearing this thing,” King paused briefly, pointing to the spiked leather mask he held in his hand. “Besides, my break out was a very long time ago, so I don’t think anyone would remember. So I’m generally quite well liked, probably only because I look normal enough to not be suspicious to them. No offence.” he had to add that last part when he met Katakuri’s gaze.

“None taken.”

“Wonderful. And you? Have people liked you?” King was generally interested, as Katakuri had shown himself to be quite insecure when it came to his face, and he had said before that if people were to ever find out about his true face, they would think of him as the complete opposite; from their legendary, powerful hero, to a monster harbouring a dark, deceiving secret.

“That’s subjective. When I was younger and shameless, I would go about with my mouth exposed, and just not care about everyone who ridiculed me I guess. At the very least they’d leave with broken limbs if they took it a step too far. Then after they came after my sister, I started covering my face. So I can say people never really liked me when I was a young child. I just acted like my mother, evil, manipulative, and beating everyone up if I didn’t get my way.

“But then after that I matured, I guess. So I became who I am now, a nice person who devotes himself to his family. But I don’t ever think I’ll be truly nice. And I don’t ever think people will stop hating me anyway, despite the many who think of me as the perfect person and like me a lot.” Katakuri hadn’t meant to make it all about himself, it just slipped out of his tongue; all that rambling.

“Uh… oh, I’m sorry, I rambled on too much. Please don’t tell anyone I told you any of this, please.” Katakuri apologised and begged at the same time. He couldn’t be more confused at what he should feel.

“No, no it’s okay, I understand that this is probably the first time someone who’s seen your real face has been kind afterwards, hasn’t it?”

“Well, yeah… I guess. Even my older brother and two younger brothers kept pestering me to cover my hideous jaw and get some friends, and in a mean way, but I know they have good intentions. Maybe if I’d done that from the start, I’d be a better person.” Katakuri mused, reflecting on whatever happened many years ago.

“Huh.”

“Enough about me. You’ve never had any real problems right? Like with others?” Katakuri asked.

“No, not really, I usually solve the problems relatively easily if there are any. So far I think the only people are probably the scientists working with the government and the government itself. Kaido raised such a ruckus the day he brought me out, I don’t even think anyone who survived our break out can forget him.”

“Ah.”

Only now did Katakuri realise they’d spent too much time talking.

“I think we have to go back, our captains are probably going to search for us soon.” Katakuri said, reaching for his scarf.

King nodded slowly in response. Just when Katakuri was about to pull the layered fur scarf over his head, his observation haki picked up a glimpse of the near future.

His face flushed almost immediately after reading the vision. King smirked a little when he saw Katakuri flustered, he’d probably seen the future. Perhaps his observation haki was simply that refined.

King wasted no time pulling Katakuri to face him, and bend down just a little, so their faces were on the same alignment. Katakuri stared into King’s red eyes, glowing with passion and desire. He felt his face grow hot again, as the corners of King’s lips turned upwards, ever so slightly.

Their lips were placed together, interlocking as King, despite Katakuri’s fangs, had somehow managed to melt into the kiss, that he did not feel the slightest bit discomforted. King felt the warmth of Katakuri’s lips on his, and craved for more, as he pushed in deeper, fulfilling his desires.

Katakuri liked the warmth of King’s soft lips on his, and the fact that King had chosen to ignore the ugly protruding fangs at the corner of his mouth. He would never admit it, but as he sunk deeper into the kiss, tasting King’s lips, he felt a sense of comfort and warmth seep into his soul.

He felt King’s mouth twist into a smile, before he forced his tongue into Katakuri’s mouth, turning the kiss intimate, as Katakuri began twisting his tongue with the one that had invaded his mouth recently.

They pulled away, both slightly out of breath and saliva dripping from their tongues, they both sighed in relief.

“That was so good.” King whispered just loud enough for Katakuri to hear. Katakuri, who had out his scarf on properly again, had his cheeks tinted in a warm tone once again as he heard King’s statement.

“I always wondered if you tasted sweet.” King pondered aloud.

“And did I?” Katakuri couldn’t help himself, he was genuinely intrigued by what had propelled King to do such a thing.

“Of course you did.” King replied, a sparkle in his eye that Katakuri couldn’t identify its source. Perhaps it was a spur of the moment thing.

“Why’d you do that?” Katakuri finally summoned the courage to ask.

“Do what?”

“… kiss me?” Katakuri mumbled.

“Well, I’ve never met anyone who actually made me feel happy talking about things like this, and let’s be frank, I’m sure you feel the same too.”

King was spot on.

“Besides, I think I like you. Let me make this clear, you will not allow yourself to feel weak, and if you do, just remember you have me here to come back to should you ever feel that way.” King diverted the subject the moment he got the chance, meaning that the kiss they had just shared was a truly passionate kiss, and hadn’t just been from King’s curiosity.

“You too. I may be kind of soft, but I’m still reliable.” Katakuri half admitted. King smiled once again at Katakuri’s words, as he himself put on his own, spiked leather mask.

“We should do that again sometime, have a nice chat session and kiss again,” King joked, as Katakuri destroyed the mochi box. The mochi melted into a viscous, fluid sort of substance, and trailed back from the ground to Katakuri’s arm, recalling the unwanted mochi.

“You’re really hoping for something huh, Kaido’s number 1?” Katakuri had to chuckle at that statement. Deep down, his mind and heart were both screaming gleefully in agreement with King’s proposal.

(Not a marriage proposal of course.)

“But sure, if we ever meet again someday, we’ll do that again.” Katakuri agreed wholeheartedly, taking more pleasure in having business with the lunaria than he dared to admit.

“Alright, sure. You agreed to it, Big Mom’s number 1.” King joked alongside Katakuri, taking his hand and walking back to the banquet hall, to resume their corner spot.

“Hey, don’t assume I’m the number one just because I’m the strongest out of all my siblings!” Katakuri exclaimed, hitting King’s arm playfully as he heard the man utter the statement.

“You’re not?” King was actually confused. Didn’t they do the ranking by power there? “Don’t you rank by power? That’s what Kaido does.”

“Nah, she runs on reliability and love. She’s a real strange captain.” Katakuri closed his eyes in reflection as he let the words run off his mouth.

“But are you her number one then?” King questioned once again, having not yet gotten a real, truthful answer.

“Maybe. Who knows, certainly not me.” Katakuri stated simply, as the two continued their banter till the banquet hall doors.

——
They creaked open the iron doors in unison, letting the heavy metal slam hard on its hinges. As the drunk people of the banquet hall within let all hell break loose, Katakuri and King went to a particularly secluded corner, hopefully it was secluded enough, and continued talking, as if they had been there all along.

Both Big Mom and Kaido noticed their most reliable soldiers chatting away amicably with each other, and grinned from ear to ear.

“Well, looks like they socialists after all.” Big Mom laughed, downing yet another bottle of sickly sweet liquor. “Keep the flow coming!”

More homies delivered sweet pastries to the table before Big Mom, as well as more bottles of the liquor in her hand, the sweet one she was very fond of.

“Worororo, I think so too.” Kaido drunkenly laughed, downing even more saké. He too, bellowed and demanded for more alcohol, which was brought to him immediately by gifters who were on standby for Kaido’s alcoholic outbursts.

“Mamamama, the plan will certainly go along well after.”

The two continued laughing menacingly till they clouded their brains once again with even more of their preferred beverage.

Perospero and Smoothie were still handing out drinks and candy, but this time both were drunk and barely stable, almost managing to fall in their drunken stupor. Perospero was making candy I’m whatever shape he could, he didn’t care what it was anymore.

Smoothie had started wringing a lot of things, making some rather delectable drinks, that tasted no different when it was done hastily and haphazardly. Of course, as Smoothie was a pretty lady, she had privileges. Men came to guide her to a chair, but did not stop her from having fun and wringing out as many objects as they brought her.

Oven had gotten even more rowdy when he was drunk and forgot to control his strength. Soon, the men collapsed by the dozen at his hands. Daifuku was also rather drunk too, yet unlike his siblings, he was a rather calm and controlled drunk, and handled his liquor better than the others. He continued collecting betting money, and watched as Oven continued to pummel the men streaming towards him, eager for a fight, as Daifuku toughed out the urge to pass out from the alcohol right there.

Queen’s ongoing performance still seemed rather rowdy despite the lead performer obviously affected with alcohol, but it seemed the drinks had benefited him, for now his music was louder and more confident than ever, getting lost with the last bits of him he could call sober, as he took a sip from a bottle, smashed it on the ground, and continued belting out lines, his hands strumming the guitar more and more vigorously.

Jack had allowed himself to black out, now surrounded by homies all wishing to play with him as her slept through the chaos.

King sighed in exasperation. “I forgot what the point of coming back here was. Outside was way better. I mean look at Queen. Look at Jack!” he exclaimed in frustration.

Katakuri let out an elated sigh. “Well, what can you do. They’re a couple of weird drunk men. I feel like we’re the only sober people in this room. Just how much alcohol does Kaido have?”

King stared at him, dead serious. “You would be surprised at the sheer amount still left in the storehouse even after this.”

“Alright. You want some drinks?”

“Sure.”

——

The previous night, everyone continued the partying till late at night. After grabbing a few bottles of booze, Katakuri and King had left again while everyone was passed out drunk.

Both of them had snuck into an empty room to drink out their hearts without prying eyes witnessing their true faces.

Both of them awoke the next day by each other’s side, all while Big Mom and Kaido were happily continuing their drunken chat.

After another lengthy discussion, the Big Mom pirates set off back to Tottoland from Wano.

All the people they had brought from their capital to Wano slowly started retreating into the ship, hungover and still in a daze. The homies skipped along cheerfully, guiding Big Mom to the ship.

Katakuri had been pulled by King away from the rest of the crew. “Hey, uh King?”

“Hmm? This is where we must part ways for now, I assume.”

“I assume so too.”

“If you really are going to go for now, please allow me to say this. It might seem spontaneous, but, I like you, and I mean it. I know it seems rushed, but I really do feel something different with you.” King confessed.

“As do I. Maybe one day when I get the chance, I would like to spend more time with you. I do like you too.” Katakuri smiled, and his eyes squinted slightly, as did King’s as both grinned like madmen after each other’s confession of love.

“Still, we shouldn’t be throwing out that statement ‘I like you’ so carelessly, should we? We’re pirates, aren’t we? Romance is a treacherous subject in our profession. Even so, let us meet again, once we come back to Wano yet again, and if we still feel the same, the confession that comes from both of us will be genuine, and genuine through and through.” Katakuri stated, pointing out something King had been trying to avoid when he first met the eyes of the Big Mom pirate.

The man had been so perfect and like him, with more similarities and likeable traits than King could ever wish for, but it was also easy to forget that the man also had his own feelings, aside from King’s feelings of him.

“Alright. Anything for you then.” King chuckled slightly, pecking Katakuri on the palm before waving a small goodbye to him. Katakuri sighed contentedly, as he prepared to board the ship back to his hometown.

As the ship grew smaller and smaller in the horizon, King and Katakuri’s eyes met once again, and they stared, mesmerised by the other’s eyes, until they were out of each other’s line of sight.

Katakuri wouldn’t admit it to anyone else, but he actually also returned King’s feelings. But naturally, for someone you were forced to interact and bond with, one must take certain precautions before proceeding, unless you wish to risk becoming a lovestruck idiot.

Maybe if they one day met again, and still felt as strongly as the time they had had their first passionate kiss, maybe then was the love real, and tangible.

Both continued staring into the distance of where the other used to be in their line of sight.

Oven snapped his fingers in front of Katakuri’s face, which only made Katakuri’s eyes blink as slight bit more rapidly than it was supposed to.

“Hey, Kata. You there?” Oven asked, his tone of voice somewhere between annoyance and concern.

“Yes, I am here Oven, thank you very much.” Katakuri replied, whether his statement was supposed to be sarcastic or not was up to Oven to interpret his sentence.

“Loosen up, we just had one hell of a fun party! Now, come be normal and walk around with the rest of us!” Oven, now more obviously still slightly drunk from all the booze in his system.

Sighing, Katakuri placed his head in his hand, and shook it slightly. “So outgoing and cheerful. You really do make more trouble than you solve, Oven. I know damn well you’re about to use yourself as bait again, only to almost sink to the bottom of the ocean before we could haul you back up.” Katakuri muttered under his breath.

“I wish King was here instead. Less worrying, more enjoyment.” He thought to himself. As Katakuri envisioned a fake scenario of King on the ship right now was certainly an impossible future. Unbeknownst to him, the right hand man of Kaido was secretly doing the same thing with Katakuri instead.

King still stared into the distance, where Katakuri’s silhouette used to be. He cold almost imagine him back together with him, just so he could plant his lips on the other man’s, licking the tips of his protruding fangs, for his personal gain and his only.

“Hey, ya there?” Queen waved a hand in front of King’s face, catching his attention. “Indeed I am, Queen. Is that much of a surprise to you?” Sarcasm was one of the only things King had mastered, and when it came to beings like Queen, he didn’t dare hold back.

“Nothing nothing, just that you seemed to be staring at someone who was on board that ship. You find that long leg girl there attractive perhaps?” Queen playfully suggested, back to his usual, annoying and carefree attitude and tone of speech.

“No. Not in the slightest.” King replied coldly, for it was the truth. The girl was not what he was after. It was her older brother he was yearning for.

Despite these feelings of a familiar feeling of attraction pooling in his chest again, it took him quite a while to realise, that he did like Katakuri as much as he meant to say.

But however much King wanted him to stay, Katakuri had been right. It was clearly uncertain of whether they would ever be able to meet again.

Even so, both would continue to acknowledge their similarities, and hold their feelings close, for they had just found someone they could relate to even more than others.

(Secretly hoping they could lock lips again.)

——

A year has passed since then. Katakuri has kept his feelings bottled up till now. So has King.

After all this while, Big Mom agreed to host yet another meeting with Kaido, bringing the same five people along with her. As calm and expressionless Katakuri was, he wanted to meet King badly.

Arriving on the docks as usual, the Lead performers greeted them, instantly leading them to the banquet hall with no explanation, not that any was required. A simple day-long meeting like last year. It would suffice.

King and Katakuri stayed behind once again, as they watched the others head off before them. This time, they stared menacingly at each other no more, the malice in their eyes replaced with acknowledgement and mutual friendship.

“How’s life?” King joked, grabbing Katakuri’s wrist lightly and dragging him along before the others got too far away. Katakuri opened his mouth to react, but no sound came out.

“… good, I guess. Same old things. Cheery tea parties. None of that atrocious music, at least.” Katakuri replied after his voice box went right back to functioning.

“Wonderful. If that’s what you’ve been doing the past year, then I’m pretty much the same. Only replace the tea parties with many boring diplomatic meetings and you’ve got it.” King responded, happy to know Katakuri was doing well.

“That’s the same thing, though, tea parties and diplomatic meetings. Except one is dark and bleary, and the other is disturbingly fairy tale-like.” Katakuri pointed out, earning approval from King.

“So… do you… still…” King was unsure still, hoping that Katakuri still did reciprocate his feelings. It’d been over a year, so Big Mom damn well could’ve married him off, or offered him marriage.

“Yes, of course. You sure get to the point huh? Of course I return it, you think anyone else but you would like my mouth? Mama doesn’t dare marry me off because she would lose her best fighter, and I was considered to her to be way too deformed to be sold off for bonding anyway.” Katakuri nonchalantly said, letting King heave a sigh of relief.

“You want to, when they have the meeting… to you know, escape again?” Katakuri offered, and he swore he could see King’s eyes squint into a resemblance of something like a smile or a grin.

“Of course.” King agreed, smiling widely under his leather mask. Both started to walk after Big Mom and the two others.

“I’ve always been wondering, ever since that day a year ago, I have had a feeling I cannot explain in my heart. It almost always comes out whenever I envision you.Have any idea what it is?” Katakuri pondered aloud, giving King something to talk about.

“I don’t know…” King sheepishly admitted, wishing he had an answer to Katakuri’s sincere question.

“How do I explain it, it’s ah… a warm, feeling of comfort I guess.” Katakuri mumbled, just loud enough for King to pick out parts of his speech.

“I can’t explain it at all, that’s weird, just like I can’t explain that I’m born with this jaw or how much I like you back, maybe…” Katakuri mumbled softly once again, just so only he himself could hear his own words.

“I think the feeling your trying to tell me is love.” King answered truthfully.

“Huh?”

“Love. Yeah. You told me even though you had a huge family, you barely felt loved, and got bullied a lot. So it’s only natural for you to be unfamiliar with this feeling.” King gave his honest opinion, which just amused Katakuri even more.

“Maybe. Well then, does that mean an upgrade from ‘I like you’ to ‘I love you’?” Katakuri asked jokingly.

“Indeed.”

“Wha?”

“You don’t have to do anything anymore. Just be with me for a while. Let’s love each other, Hmm? After all, we made a promise a year ago, didn’t we? Besides, I love you more than you could know, and I bet you do too.” King reminded him gently, causing Katakuri’s records of that day to resurface.

Well, King wasn’t wrong. Correction, he was in no way wrong just now.

“Huh. Alright then. You can be persuasive sometimes.” Katakuri chuckled to himself.

Ah, how nice it was to have someone else he could talk to like this, casually and carelessly, once again.

King let out a contented sigh. “You don’t have to explain that you haven’t said those words to anyone in a long long time.” He thought to himself.

“Let’s go then.”

“I love you.” King whispered, lifting his mask just slightly to press his lips against Katakuri’s forehead.

“Hey, isn’t this way too little buildup?” Katakuri asked, face flushed from the intimate contact.

“Do I look like I give a damn?” King questioned, pulling his mask back on. “I like to get straight into it, we just got an upgrade for upholding our promise, didn’t we?”

“True. But next time, when we’re alone, okay? Not when we’re trailing your colleagues and my family.” Katakuri cautioned, patting King’s back of immense stature.

“I love you too.” Katakuri let out, confessing his love for King as well.

“We’re even now then. But later, bring some booze with you when you leave alright, I want to get drunk before we get wild.” King added, winking at the last part.

“Hey… sure. Hey!” Katakuri cried, secretly enjoying everything.

So, that night, both truly feeling for each other, after a small simple promise. They’d leave with bottle of alcohol in their hands to kiss and get wild.

Katakuri would never admit it, but as he was kissed by the same person the second time, he realised something.

As he pulled away from the hot kiss, he breathed out, “maybe ‘I love you’ isn’t so hard to say after all.”

“Never has, never has been.” Was all King said before he shoved his tongue down Katakuri’s throat again.

And Katakuri let him.

For he wouldn’t ever have to explain, why he’d never uttered “ I love you” before. Well now he had, and there was no changing it.

They sat there in the swaying grass, the moonlit night. “There’s much to each other we haven’t yet said, have we?” Katakuri stated, earning a nod of affirmation from King.

“Like, our past?”

“…”

“…”

Katakuri was the first to speak up after the period of silence, awkwardly apologizing. “Uh… I mean if you’re not comfortable, you don’t have to…”

“I could say the same about you, you look a bit distressed.” King pointed out, causing Katakuri to blush and hide his face in his hands.

“Do you trust me?” Katakuri asked, a short, simple sentence, the answer just as powerful and unsophisticated as its question.

“Let’s make a deal. Even if someday we are to become rivals or enemies in any way, we will not spill a single secret we have told each other. Deal?” King proposed, with Katakuri agreeing, sensing that both the deal and the person making it was reasonable.

They’d both been first mates to two exasperatingly high maintenance Emperors of the Sea, a reliable figure to the rest of their crew, pressured into high expectance and roles of leadership and great power, to the point of perfection and precision. Despite the short time they had known each other, both had mutually sensed that the other was trustworthy, after being suspicious of anyone and everything for so long.

“Okay, now explain to me.” Katakuri clasped his hands together.

“How about we both start off, then we divide into details accordingly, whenever you see fit.” King suggested, and Katakuri agreed.

“How do I explain…”

-end.