Chapter Text
A gentle ray of afternoon sunshine made its way through the curtains of the office and caressed his skin while dust particles traveled without hurry through the air. These were the types of afternoons Katakuri enjoyed the most, but in his mind, a sea of doubts prevented him from enjoying a second of it.
He sat at his desk. In front of him, piles upon piles of papers littered the candy-themed oak table of his office. He finished examining the content of one: a petition to lessen the amount of candy tax due to famine striking an island under Big Mom’s protection.
He sighed, thinking how much of The Big Mom Pirate’s affairs revolved around his mother and her cravings. He wished he could change policies, even if only while she was away.
Now that half their forces were out and didn’t show any sign of coming back soon, they needed more manpower and more weapons to protect their territory, not more candy.
He left the paper on the table, not wanting to make a decision that could cause the ire of his mother.
He looked outside at the round balcony and then at the horizon beyond it.
The afternoon light was warm and pleasant, and very few of the sounds of the population and staff could reach him there, on the highest point of the donut-shaped upper castle. He closed his eyes for just a moment to enjoy the quiet and warmth of the moment, before a tap on the window made his eyes shoot open.
Outside, on the floor of the balcony, stood a News Coo, who, once noticing his attention, flew back and stood at the railing, waiting for him to pick up the newspaper.
He stood up solemnly and walked up to the balcony doors, opened them, and stepped outside. The News Coo was terrified in front of a man of such height, but offered the massive paper to him nonetheless.
He paid the bird, and it went flying away as fast as it could, almost tripping on its takeoff.
His eyes widened when he read the front cover.
That can’t be, he thought as he skimmed through the pages as fast as he could.
He was frozen. The paper remained in his hands, but his gaze was lost somewhere else.
He rushed inside and frantically looked for something. He found it hidden at the back of a wardrobe, a chest with little ornamentation. He grabbed it and quickly placed it on the table. He then searched for the key in one of the drawers, scrambling papers carelessly as he looked.
He managed to sense and hear two sets of footsteps approaching before the doors to the study flung open. “Big brother!” “Katakuri!” He recognized the voices of Brûlée and Oven.
“I know.” He replied, an urgency in his demeanor that his siblings had very rarely seen before. He started dumping out the contents of the drawers, scattering and forgetting about them in his search.
“But how is that possible!? It must be just rumors; there’s no way Mama was defeated by Straw Hat. Even if he had help, they just ran for their lives while leaving our territory not that long ago!” Oven stormed in, anger and confusion in his voice.
“Do you think Straw Hat really did it? Defeat both Mama and Kaido?” Brûlée chimed in, holding her own paper in her hands.
Katakuri finally found the key he had been looking for and rushed back to turn the lock.
A flame erupted from the chest as the embers inside got fed the oxygen it had been craving. The three siblings stood in silence for a moment before Katakuri spoke, his gaze fixed inside the chest, “I’m not certain… The paper mentions others; he wasn't alone.”
After a moment of silence, something finally dawned on Katakuri. “I should’ve gone to Wano. Now half our siblings are missing, Pudding got taken, and Mama…”
“It wasn’t your fault, Katakuri,” Brûlée spoke with softness in her voice, reassuring his older brother. Oven spoke as soon as she finished, “We couldn’t have known; if you’re going to blame yourself, then blame me too! I was with you trying to stop Germa when—“
“Enough.” Katakuri stopped them with a tired but stern voice. He appreciated his siblings more than his words could express, but he didn’t need their sympathy now, now that they finally knew the fate of Big Mom.
He reached inside the chest and pulled out one of their Mother’s Vivre Cards, a big piece of it missing, but still half of it intact. The fire consumed it slowly, more slowly than he had expected.
He let out a short sigh. “We still have to assume the worst if they’re naming Straw Hat a new Emperor, and her Vivre Card is burning.” He handed the smoldering paper to Brûlée, who took it between her slender fingers with great care.
He returned his attention to the newspaper and read the fine, small words printed on the inside.
Brûlée followed his example and started reading further into the article as well. “There’s no mention of our siblings…”
“That must mean they didn’t play a big role in the fight… There’s a chance they might not have been involved at all!” Oven proposed, but the hopeful possibility did little to calm Katakuri’s worries.
He closed the paper and left it on top of the desk. His eyes closed in contemplation and exhaustion. Too many thoughts were rushing through his head to count, but one made its way to the front over the rest.
“Brûlée, I’m going to need a mirror.” He spoke after a moment.
“What for?” She asked while opening the closest mirror as a portal to the Mirro-World.
Katakuri straightened his back and addressed the guards stationed at the entrance of the room. “Get a battleship ready.” He turned to his siblings, their confused faces slowly morphing into those of understanding dread before he could start speaking.
“I’m going to Wano.” He declared.
“What?!” “No, you’re not!” They complained in unison. Both of the Devil Fruit users rushed to him.
Brûlée wanted to grab her brother’s arm to keep him in place, but only held her hands in front of her, almost afraid to touch him. Oven, on the other hand, defied his triplet, standing in front of him and fuming, teeth bared in a grimace of anger. “Half our family went to that forsaken place, and we haven’t received a single word from them except for our mother’s defeat. What makes you think you will have any chance?! Don’t be so arrogant!” The heat radiating from his brother’s powers made it uncomfortable being faced by him, but Katakuri stood still, looking at him with severe eyes.
“I’m in charge until either Perospero or Compote returns. Do I have to remind you that I have the final say?” His voice boomed in the room, his threatening presence filling the big office, making it feel claustrophobic for both his siblings. “Will you challenge my authority?” The words came as the air became heavy, almost crackling with the power of his haki.
Oven stepped away from his brother’s face. His angered mask fell, revealing concern in the middle of his eyebrows. Katakuri looked at Brûlèe and saw his little sister with a transparent expression of terrified worry. His eyes softened, and he sighed, realizing his display of power and authority had been exaggerated due to stress and that his siblings only worried about his own safety and the chance of losing another loved one.
“I won’t go to challenge the country of Wano.” He clarified. “I will go to look for our siblings and bring them back. There’s a chance they didn’t make it into the country if they weren’t mentioned in the paper. It’s impossible that they wouldn’t have fought for Mama if they were by her side.”
Brûlée sighed heavily, both in relief and worry, placing a hand over her chest. Oven’s expression changed for a moment before speaking, “What about Mama?”
Silence fell in the room as an unspoken twister of feelings of concern and helplessness invaded them.
“I won’t be able to rescue her alone.” He admitted. A shadow of shame fell over his eyes above the scarf. Both his siblings knew him well enough to notice.
“Katakuri…” Brûlée said in almost a whisper.
“Our priority is finding our siblings.” He looked up, determination winning over his battling emotions.
“I’m the only one who can handle this type of mission.” He turned around and looked out of the balcony window. He considered who should be left in charge while he was away.
The answer seemed obvious: Oven was the oldest son left, and one of the strongest, but his hotheadedness could present a problem if left to make all the decisions himself.
“You two will remain in charge while I’m away.” Their lost gazes focused on their brother. “Once Cracker recovers from his injuries, he will be in charge of military operations, but you two will make the decisions for our territory together.” He turned to look at them. Two of his most beloved siblings, with eyes that seemed lost, brought back childhood memories. He loved them so much.
“I promise I’ll return.” He assured them. His eyes softened to a caring look that would’ve been lost to eyes other than his closest siblings’.
“…You better.” Oven replied, defeated, with his arms crossed and his annoyed mask back on.
“Please do; I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to keep your brother from burning all of Totto Land.” Brûlée added with closed eyes and a hand over her cheek in fake uncertainty. “Hey now!” Oven shot her an angry stare and faked annoyance. Katakuri smiled under his scarf.
“If I get too close to Wano and see no signs of them, I will return and trust that they will make their way back after hearing about Mama’s fate themselves. There’s also a chance I’ll find them on their way back if our guesses are correct.” He thought out loud for himself, but then a darkness crossed his eyes. “There’s also the possibility that they all perished alongside her; we have to be ready for that as well.”
A dark silence fell over the room once more. The mere thought of it weighed heavily on their hearts.
“We’ll manage in your absence.” Brûlée looked up at his brother with determination in her eyes. “But please come back; we’d be lost without you.”
Katakuri nodded and looked at Oven, who gave him a determined nod in return. “I’ll go tell the rest about Mama’s Vivre—“
“Don’t.” Katakuri interrupted his triplet. With an urgency none of them were expecting, least of all himself.
The words left his mouth before he could even think of a reason why. He just didn't want anyone outside of them to know.
“If the word gets out and citizens know Mama is in mortal danger, there will be those who will pressure us to save her and those who will want to leave her to her fate. We can’t have a conflict from the inside, not while our forces are so depleted and spread out.”
Katakuri was confident in his answer, even if he had to come up with it on the spot. He had trained to pretend he had thought of everything beforehand all his life; this was just another instance among many.
“You'll have to fake uncertainty. Tell them that we know as much as they do and that you’re doing everything you can to get more information. Tell them I didn't let you see her Vivre Cards if you have to.” He gave the situation some more thought.
"Everyone will know that Mama was defeated before long. Chaos must've already broken out among the citizens, and you're going to tell them I'm going to get answers."
“Sweet Commander, the battleship is ready!” Announced one of the guards outside, just in time.
Katakuri looked forward and started walking decisively towards the mirror Brûlée had activated. After he crossed it and the ripples on the surface calmed down, both of the siblings stood still, looking at their own reflections where seconds before had stood their brother.