MULTIFANDOM yandere Content

Johan was a terrible man. The worst of the worst. Yet, you could not help but be attracted to him. Johan had been a good friend to you. That was before he revealed some of his true colours (he only let you see what he wanted you to see). Every word he uttered was perfectly thought out and said with such gentleness and at times you wanted to rip out your eardrums. His face was that of an angel. Pale skin with zero imperfections, soft blonde hair that looked like silk, light blue eyes that were captivating and somehow were able to look into your soul. His face was slim, almost feminine, with high cheekbones and a sharp jaw. To say he was beautiful was an understatement.

Your back was straight as you watched him carefully. His long fingers were elegantly holding a silver tea spoon with carved roses which he stirred around in his teacup with slow motion. He had been stirring his tea for what must have been five minutes. His movements suddenly stilled and lifted his hand and folded it together with his other hand as he rested them on the table. His back was straight, but relaxed. He was confident and that showed. A stark contrast to you.

“Are you not going to drink your tea, my love?” Johan asked as he tilted his head in curiosity.

You swallowed before you parted your lips that felt as if they were sealed shut by tar. “I have already had a cup today” your voice was lower than what you had intended, but your tone was still sour.

He let out a soft melodic laugh. “One more wouldn’t hurt. You are a tea lover, are you not?” he pulled his lips up into a sweet smile. Behind his lips rested the fangs of a beast the feasted on the ones unfortunate enough to catch its attention. He started at you for a moment before his smiled widened. “Don’t tell me… Is there perhaps another reason as to why you won’t drink it?”

You did not let yourself break his intense eye contact. “What makes you say that?” you asked innocently. You both knew why you hadn’t touched the tea that was calling for you. It’s scent was heavenly and you wanted nothing more than to take a sip. He had by no doubt drugged it. The moment you would place your lips on the thin rim of the white porcelain with blue floral motifs, your faith would be sealed. You would have given yourself to the ravenous devil.

He only smiled in return. “You truly are fascinating. I have never met someone quite like you. Take it as a compliment” he took a sip of his own tea. He closed his eyes as the light brown liquid hit his tastebuds. He hummed delighted before he sat the cup down. “It’s truly a magnificent blend. You should try it. I think it will be to your liking.”

“Did you truly just want to have a tea party with me?” you glanced at the three tired cake platter that was filled with varied cakes and sandwiches.

“Would that be so wrong?”

You let out a strangled laugh. “Why not go to a cafe? Why rent a hotel room?”

“Why not? It is a lovely hotel. One of the best if I might add” he picked up a pink cake before he paused and placed on your plate. “Their desserts are delicious” he said before he took a bite of his cake. He sat his fork down with a clink then wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“You know what I mean. I know there is something else going on” your brows furrowed in irritation.

At that his eyes got an unreadable look. “It appears so indeed.”

“Are you the reason for my friends disappearances?”

He stared at you smiling. The sun behind him cast its rays onto his hair, making it appear as a halo. He leaned back in his chair as his eyes looked you over. It was impossible to know what went on inside his head. “Do you really think of me in that way?”

“I do” your answer was curt.

Johan laughed at your answer. “To answer your question” he leaned forward and reached his hand over the table. His palm was facing upwards, waiting for you to place yours in his. You hesitated for a few seconds, before you placed your hand in his awaiting palm. The second your skin made contact with, his fingers wrapped around your wrist, ensnaring you like a snake. His grip was gentle but firm and his hold only tightened when you tried to wiggle your hand out of his grasp. You stopped your struggling when you saw his expression.

“I was indeed the reason for their disappearance. But that does not matter” his thumb gently stroked over your pulse. You were sure he could feel your hammering pulse.

Hot anger filled up in your veins and you were about to sneer at him, when he raised his other hand for you to be silent. You clenched your teeth together as you glared at him with both fury and fear.

“You can get them back” his voice softened. “I wouldn’t want you to suffer my dear. You know that, don’t you?” he raised your hand and planted a gentle kiss on top of it. His lips were soft and his kiss almost felt like a blessing from above. “Everything that happens is for your own good.”

Your voice was but a small whisper “How do I get them back?”

“You drink your tea” his thumb continued to draw soothing circles on your skin.

Drink your tea. He could have just place a bucket of rat poison in front of you and ordered you to drink it. You stole a quick glance at your cup. Its scent was still prominent.

“It’s a simple condition really” he hummed.

You looked up at him. His face remained unchanging. His mind was made and he would not compromise his condition. “What happens if I drink it?”

“I will release your friends” he was not going to state the obvious.

“You promise?” your hands were shaking like leaf in the unforgiving autumn wind.

“I promise. I will release them.” He placed the teacup in front of you with his free hand.

You picked it up. Your reflection stared back from the light brown surface. The sharp blade of the guillotine was resting on your neck. Your hands were shackled and you could only look at the man responsible for everything with a sneer. His smile was still present, though it was now sincere. With trembling hands you placed the rim to your lips. You started into his sky blue eyes as you tipped the teacup slightly. The tea was still warm as it met your sealed lips. Your open your mouth and the hot liquid poured inside. The taste of apples were almost overwhelming. You finished the cup in fast gulps before you sat it down so hard the cup almost shattered.

“That wasn’t so bad now was it? I told you the tea would be to your liking” his other hand found yours and wrapped its fingers tightly around yours. He gave you a squeeze.

Whatever he had put in the tea was much more stronger than what you had expected. Your vision started almost immediately to fog up and all sounds became muffled. You could almost no longer hear the opera that had been playing in the background the whole time. The sound of a chair scraping against the floor caught your attention. You needed to get away. Your words died on your tongue.

A pair of cold hands came down on your shoulders. They somehow grounded you and you became a bit more aware of your surroundings. The hands moved to under your arms and they slowly pulled you up from the chair and onto your feet. You were wobbly and your balance was almost nonexistent. You leaned against him as he carefully guided you to the canopy bed that stood waiting. He laid you down on its soft and comfortable sheets. His hand stroke a few hair strands away from your face. You looked up at him and somehow his eyes were the only thing you could see with clarity. You tugged on his brown turtleneck sweater.

Words bubbled up in your throat and you had to concentrate extra hard to push them out. “Were… you telling… the truth?” your voice was weak and it hurt to speak.

“I was” he cupped your cheek.

“Are they alright? Are my friends alive?”

“No. They are not” he smiled gently.

“You lied” venom was laced within your words.

He shook his head “I didn’t. I never said they would be alive, only released”. “My love, you really should learn how to word your requests better in the future. Misunderstandings are bound to happen” he kissed your forehead. He didn’t seem to mind the cold sweat that had been gathered at your skin. “Don’t worry, I will take care of you.”

The fallen angel was the last thing you saw before slumber took over your body. His face was burned into the back of your eyelids and he was the only thing you saw in your dream. His soft voice was the only music you heard and his touch the only embrace you felt. You were his everything and he had made him your everything. He had granted you salvation and you were not capable of rejecting it. You doubted he even was human. Johan was something else entirely. He was an ethereal being that had descended upon human soil. You had been the unfortunate soul that had had the misfortune of being the thing his black heart desired.

You were one of the few children that lived in Shimotsuki Village who hadn’t come from the doujou — one of the few children he knew that (at least to the best of his knowledge) had a thing called family. A mother to braid your hair, a father to chase the darkness away, a warm bed and a kitchen that always smelled of freshly made rice. And perhaps it was jealousy, or some other more complicated emotion that had been then too big to name with one single word, but he’d never gone out of his way to befriend you like the other kids from the doujou did — fascinated as they were by your soft hands and round cheeks and the bright, glittering array of homemade sweets you’d bring with you once every couple of weeks.

He’d learn later on that it was because Shimotsuki-sensei had saved your father’s life at some point in time; the story now lost to the annals of legend and withering memory, but back then, he’d only assumed it was the natural way of things. Of waking up for kata practice and then settling in for lunch, and then maybe, if it was to be a good day, you, with your basket of sweets and your blue-bell laughter.

And perhaps this is why, years later, when he meets you again in a dark, nameless village tavern, he doesn’t recognize you — not at first. Because you’d looked so different. Gone was the roundness in your cheeks, or the natural star-bright light in your eyes. Gone, too, were the bright braids that your hair had always been set in — he remembers so clearly, watching the other boys from the doujou jab their fingers into the rings of your pinned up braids, pulling down just to hear you squeak. He hadn’t said anything then, stupidly thinking him above it all, watching as you tried to jerk away, but laughing when the boys finally relented with half-hearted apologies.

You always threatened to take their sweets away; you never did, in the end.

But there, then, in that tiny tavern, you’d been thin, your hair dark as an oil spill, loose and inky as it cascades over your shoulders, your eyes lightless as the windows to an abandoned house — the hollowness made all the more visceral by the light he knew once inhabited them. The way loneliness is always more potent when coming back to it, the second time around.

He wanders up to the bar, slates you a glance before rapping his knuckles on the worn wood to catch the bartender’s attention.

“I’ll have beer and a refill of whatever the lady’s having.”

You shift slightly, shoulders hunching towards your ears.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” you say, shifting to shield your face from his gaze.

Zoro cocks his head, tossing a few Berry towards the bartender as they set down a stein of beer and a champagne flute to replace the one in front of you.

“Can’t a guy buy a girl a drink?” Zoro asks, rolling his shoulders as he reaches out for his beer. You eye him warily.

“Not for a guy that’s been tracking me for three weeks straight.”

Zoro hums, thumb poised on the hilt of his swords.

“We just happened to be going in the same direction.”

You reach out to run a forefinger along the rim of the thin champagne flute before swirling it once by the base. You watch the bubbles fizzle before leaning in to take a dainty sip.

“And they say chivalry is dead…” you murmur, almost too softly for him to hear. Zoro scoffs, allowing himself a twinge of a smirk before his mouth falls flat.

“You let me track you for three whole weeks.”

There’s no question in his words, only a harsh, accusatory certainty.

You lick your lips, leaning back in your stool, tugging your glass of champagne with you.

“Maybe I wanted the company.”

“Or maybe… you wanted me to follow you here.”

Every muscle in his body is tense, drawn taut as a tightrope, coiled tight as a spring.

You sigh, twisting a single lock of your hair around a finger, examining the ends as if looking for split hairs.

Then, quick as a flash, you’re at each other’s throats — him with a sword poised at your jugular, you with a knife pressed against his stomach.

“One move —” you warn, digging the knife slightly further into his skin. Distinctly, Zoro feels the pressure slice through his thick linen shirt, the cool kiss of the blade against his abdomen. And he’s killed enough by now to know that you’ve picked a major artery — one that would hurt, and take minutes for him bleed out. Just long enough for him to suffer, but not enough to get help.

The edge of his mouth ticks upward — not bad.

It’s then, in the infinitesimal flicker of your eyes meeting his, that he realizes who you are.

He nearly topples back, jerking away slightly with the revelation. Your eyes go wide, jolted by his sudden movement. But he’s quick enough to evade the sharp jab of your knife and a second later, you’re on either ends of the tavern, drawn blades and bared teeth.

“Y-you!” the word rips from Zoro like an unripe scab, thick and hard and still bloody underneath.

You lick your lips, eyes narrowing to slits beneath your long, lanky hair.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The hell you don’t.”

“Oi! No fighting in the bar!” the barkeep’s voice is gruff and loud, and for a second, Zoro wonders if you’ll listen. The next, the sharp clang of metal on metal stuns him backwards a few steps as you wrest your knives from between two of his katanas, snarling.

“If you’re so much of a gentleman — let’s take this outside.”

“Ladies first,” Zoro spits out as he whips both swords through the air before sheathing them. He makes a show of holding the tavern door for you as you stalk out in front of him, your hackles raised, your knives jutting out from your belt like so many pairs of sharpened claws.

“What do you want?” you ask, as soon as you’re both out of the bar and standing in the moonlit street outside, the wharf to your left, the strip of small, rundown taverns to your right.

The air twangs with the metallic smell of fish and the thick, oppressive sweetness of rotting wood.

“An explanation,” Zoro says, crossing his arms and planting his feet.

“I don’t owe you anything.”

Zoro nods, “Sure. But that doesn’t mean I don’t wanna know.”

You lick your lips, glaring at him for a second longer before turning and marching down the rickety boardwalk. A moment later, Zoro levels himself with you as you round a corner onto a small stretch of beach, pillowed against a backdrop of sharp, unrelenting rocks, the tips bleached white by the round, silver moon.

“There was a beach just like this,” you say, stepping onto the tide-soaked sand, leaning down to pick up a fragment of a broken seashell, washed ashore by an errant wave.

It takes Zoro a second to realize you’re talking about Shimotsuki village, and the tiny little beach on the other side of the dense, cedar wood.

“Yeah. A bunch of us used to play there — see who can throw rocks out the furthest.”

“You were always the best at that,” you say, your voice softer than he’d heard all night.

“Yeah, well…” Zoro shrugs, leaning down to pick up a piece of rock, weighing it in his palm a few times before whipping his arm back to snap it into the gentle, shushing waves. You both watch as the rock skids out over the water before plunking into the sea, “Guess I’ve always been kind of a show-off.”

The sound of your laughter sends summertime sparklers racing up his spine.

The quiet pools between you like spilt blood, rank and dripping.

“So. You go by Ms. Double Nines now, I heard,” Zoro says, in a flagging attempt to be casual as he turns to glance at you, both his hands resting on the hilt of his swords.

You stand next to him, your eyes focused on a point far out on the horizon, still as statue.

“What’s it to you?”

Zoro sighs, looking down. In the pale, cool moonlight, his earrings glint like baring teeth.

“What happened?”

You suck in a breath.

"Life happened,” you say, turning back towards him with a steely glint in your eyes. Zoro stiffens, his grip tightening on his swords as he sizes you up. He does the mental calculations — you’re just far enough for him to defend against an attack, but close enough where if things were to go south entirely, he’d have a hard time getting back to safety.

You grin, seemingly noticing his rough internal calculations.

“Do yourself a favor, Roronoa — and don’t ask questions you don’t wanna know the answers to,” you say, flicking out one of your blades and tossing it up into the air, only to catch it around your finger, swinging it round and round, the sharp edge of the blade nicking the air just shy of your cheekbone.

“Who said I didn’t want to know?” Zoro presses, bracing himself for a fight.

You chuckle, the sound harsh and mirthless.

“If you’d wanted to fight me properly, you wouldn’t have waited till I got you onto this stretch of deserted beach.”

“Maybe I just wanted a quiet place to kill you.”

“Or maybe…” your voice is so low Zoro almost doesn’t catch the stomach-wrenching longing in your words, “I just wanted a quiet place to die.”

The sharp shink of blades being drawn is heart-rendingly familiar, but the bone-rattling clash of metal on metal still shakes him to the roots of his teeth. Zoro grunts as he parries a blow from either side, before crossing his swords to catch your assault down the center.

You’re fast, he’ll give you that, your body smaller and quicker. You slip through the shadows with the comfort of a person who knows nothing but and he can’t help wondering at the life you’ve led that had pushed you to this point.

To having a mark on your back, a bounty on your head.

You’re a good fighter — this much, he acknowledges. But good isn’t usually good enough to best him. This much, he also knows. Yet somehow, you’re keeping up, somehow, you’re pushing him back, forcing him to retreat one step and then another. It’s not until you duck beneath one of his pin-wheeling blades and force yourself into a knife’s-breath of his space that he realizes — it isn’t that you’re good, it’s that you’re reckless.

Reckless with your own body in a way that makes him stumble back at the realization. Reckless, in the way you charge forward and thrust your body into spaces where he’d easily be able to slip a blade between your ribs — and later, when he’s wiping his swords clean of your oxidizing blood, he’d wonder why he didn’t.

Still, there’s something terrifying in the way you barely flinch when he knicks your arm, drawing a dark line of blood through your clothes, or how you jerk yourself forward when the tip of his sword catches your stomach, almost as if daring him to impale you in one fell swoop.

“You — you used to be… someone else,” he says, panting as he steadies himself against a sharp jut of moonlit rocks. Behind you, the ocean churns, dark and foaming as it throws itself onto the jagged reefs.

You lick your lips, wiping a smear of blood from your cheek. Your chest heaves with the exertion, but there’s a pale, flickering ache behind your eyes that sets Zoro’s whole body on edge.

He shivers as you grin, savage and unrecognizable as the tiny girl with mochi-round cheeks who had once upon a time offered him sweets in a hand-woven basket.

“Yeah? Well — so did you.”

Subtle flirt(straw hats x flirtatious reader)

Abandonment (Zoro x reader)

Decayed (law x reader, luffy x reader, kid x reader. MULTI ENDING)

Candy (luffy x sweet tooth reader)

Mis (Alex g song vers| sanji x reader)

Past & future (luffy x f!reader)

Broken facade (straw-hats x F! Reader)

Explained distance (zoro x f!reader)

The one who thinks (straw hats x mind reader)

Forced Family (zoro x reader)

Hidden love (sanji x reader)

A Familiar horizon (zoro x reader)

The Moss and the Muse (zoro x reader)

A quarter masters heart (zoro x reader)

The straw hats gentle heart (straw hats x reader)

Oblivious compassion (zoro x reader)

Order up, love (MODERN!sanji x reader.)

sirens secret on the sunny (Strawhat pirates X reader )

A stoic heart (zoro x reader)

the sunny’s silent embrace (zoro x reader.)

A killers Promise (straw hat pirates x reader)

the gentle demon (StrawHat pirates x reader)

beyond the blade (zoro x reader)

drawn to you (nami x reader, ussop x reader)

Fringes to Family (Straw hat pirates x reader)

Oath of the sea (zoro x Reader)

recipe of reassurance (Sanji x reader)

Claws of chaos (straw hat pirates x reader)

echoes of starlight in shadow (straw hats x reader)

scent of affection (zoro x reader)

More then a kiss (zoro x reader) SUGGESTIVE

A mothers watch (Straw hat pirates x Reader)

+Part two! (more of an add on)

unspoken pedals (Robin x Reader)

In close quarters (sanji x reader)

A weightless wonder (straw har pirates x reader)

A whisper in the walls (Straw hat pirates x reader)

The artist’s unraveling (straw hats pirates x reader)

The scholars fury (nico robin x reader)

hazardous hearts  (zoro x reader)

Echos of emotion (straw hat pirates x reader.)

Scales of bondage (straw hats x reader)

Unsheathed truths (zoro x reader)

Crimson tide (straw hat pirates x Reader)

When a Myth Met a Monster (straw hat pirates x Reader)

Queen Of Chaos (Straw hat pirates x reader)

Navigating love and luffy (nami x reader)

Reluctantly Yours (Luffy x Reader)

sweet beginnings (Straw hats x candy reader)

A harpy’s shiny obsession (straw hats(zoro) x reader.)

Speaking in silence (robin x reader)

A Fiery Misrepresentation (straw hat pirates x reader)

Sun-kissed secrets (straw hats x reader)

When confidence crumbles (straw hats x reader)

The ghosts feast (sanji x reader)

The deepest devotion (robin x reader)

A kiss to remember (Luffy x Reader)

A Bounty On His Heart ( Luffy x Reader)

A breathless pursuit ( straw hats x reader)

The Blind Bandit (straw hats x reader)

The Logbooks Latest Hatchling (straw hats x reader)

Scars of the sky (Straw hats pirates x reader)

Hugs Ahoy! (Straw Hat pirates x reader)

Whispers of a Warrior (Straw hat pirates x reader)

The Sea’s Strongest Vow (Luffy X Reader)

Under the Sirens Spell (Robin x Reader)

A recipe for forever (sanji x Reader)

The Scarred Survivor (Straw Hat Pirates)

The Weight of Tomorrow (Straw hat pirates x reader)

A bullet for a bloodline (Luffy x Reader)

In-Law of the Sea (Zoro x reader, father!jinbei)

ᯓ★ WhiteBeard Pirates

Unveiled strength (white-beard pirates x reader)

The secretary storm (thatch x reader)

A pirate’s heart, a singer soul (WB pirates (ace) x reader

rekindled fire (ace x reader)

Admirals paradox (Whitebeard pirates x reader)

Scars and Solace (Marco x Reader)

tethered flames (ace x reader)

The Echo Of Us (Portgus D. Ace x Reader.)

ᯓ★ The Heart Pirates

Decayed (law x reader, luffy x reader, kid x reader. MULTI ENDING)

A shift in this grip (law x reader) 

ᯓ★ Red Haired Pirates

The red haired pirates love (shanks x reader)

Ties That Time Couldn’t Cut (shanks x reader)

Aboard the Red Force ( red haired pirate x reader)

The Anchor (shanks x reader)

ᯓ★ Kidd Pirates

Decayed (law x reader, luffy x reader, kid x reader. MULTI ENDING)

ᯓ★ Marines

A secret and a government agent (Lucci x reader)

The princess and her shadow (Rob Lucci x Reader)

Admirals and Ashes (Akainu x reader)

^ part 2!

Limitless and Lighters (smoker x reader)

my beautiful possession (rob lucci x reader)

ᯓ★ Misc.

Tallest (ASL x f!reader)

Wife of the Mayer (Iceburg x f!reader.)

The anchor in the storm (asl x reader)

SOFT HEARTED (OP villains x reader)

Rekindling the embers (sabo x reader)

(🧠)ASL as yanderes! (ASL X READER)

(🧠A tiny obsession (King!Katakuri & Knight!RobLucci x reader)

You can still remember the shrieks of laughter that burst from Luffy as you both clambered into barrels—it made sense that he would wind up into trouble on the sea, but the first day takes the cake!

Your life has been non-stop ever since. From the very moment you both step foot on Shells Town with Koby in tow, the crew grew and grew to numbers that made your pride in Luffy bloom.

Zoro was tough with a sword and reliable when you need him, but his difficulty with directions always made your head spin. Nami was quick with her hands and quicker with her mind, just like how she could never stand to let a Berri slip by. Usopp was sharp as a tack with his constant innovations and steady sharpshooting, even when he ran at ten knots an hour away from danger. Sanji was nothing short of a first-rate chef and one of the strongest men you knew, despite how often he lost himself in the wild pursuit of women.

Then there came the Grand Line. It brought Vivi, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, Jinbei; thinking about the people Luffy drew to himself never failed to bring a smile to your lips. It's not like you could ever speak against them for their affection towards the captain—it's what brought you away from the safety of Foosha Village as well, skirting past the World Government you hated and feared for all your life.

It's like second nature, how much you love Luffy. Every single one of you would give anything for your captain.

"Anything" changes for you sometimes, though. Late into the night, long after the moon took its place in the sky, you wrestled with the dark. Could you keep this secret from your captain? From Luffy, the person you've known all your life?

(No, you'd remind yourself, not all your life.)

You think of the little boy you grew up alongside with, with a smile so bright you had to shield your eyes. The wind whipping his hair and threatening to carry away his straw hat as he lights up with laughter. You think of how your captain looks at you with the stars in his eyes, declaring that he will be the next King of the Pirates, and you believe him with all your heart.

Even after Ace died, his flames swallowed up in magma, you were there two years later. Luffy had gone through hell and back with you—couldn't that be enough?

It was thoughts like those that kept your secrets to yourself.

It was some foolish, childish part of you that thought you could have kept it up forever.

~

The day was as usual. It was nice, even. You had just finished helping Sanji with the groceries—to his chagrin, of course.

As much as he adores your company, he detests making such a sweet lady do manual labor for him, and he lets you know. Often. It was charming for the first while, but by the time you help Sanji put away the groceries, you're just glad it's over with.

The snack he rewards you after with, though, makes you sure that you'll help him next time. After he waves you off to begin lunch prep, you're quick to escape back to the docks.

You have some time to kill, you think. It's the last stretch until the log pose is finished setting and you've sort of lost track of the group... Thinking back, Zoro and Usopp got tied together, so you don't have to worry about searching for the poor swordsman. Nami stole Chopper to carry the clothes she was planning to get with Robin, while Brook and Franky were the ones assigned to watch the ship. That just leaves you with... Oh, seas.

There's a burst of screams that tear through the town's square, punctuated by a shriek of excited, almost maniacal laughter.

You're missing Luffy.

You're off like a shot towards the commotion before you can even think, weaving and pushing your way past the people. The crowd thickens as civilians shove past you. It's like swimming up river, but with every step you take, that familiar laughter gets closer.

When you finally burst from the mob, your feet catch on an unconscious marine. You stumble forward.

It's like breaking through a shield into a bubble—a ring of civilians gather to enclose Luffy as he's circled by marines, too duty-bound to flee but too cautious to fight.

Your captain hasn't put nearly as much thought into his approach. He barrels fists-first into the nearest hoard; the soldiers go flying like playing cards against a cannon. Sure it's charming, but he was supposed to be on board the Sunny, like, a hour ago.

So, Luffy deciding to gather the marines?

It sure isn't ideal.

Gathering your courage and tossing aside your exhaustion, you steel your nerves to storm the castle and extract your captain. And speak of the devil; Luffy whips his head around to stare at you.

"Oh! Hey!!" Luffy yells, with just a bit of manic glee. Great. You step forward—

—And a marine steps in your way. Really great.

As you fall into your fighting stance, you watch your captain dart from view. Well, whatever. You'll find him after you kick this guy's ass.

The marine wielded an odd weapon, like brass knuckles with claws soldered onto the palm. He hadn't bothered to clean the last victim's blood from it, and if the rust near the joints were to tell you anything, it was clear that he neglected to clean the blood of anyone from the weapon.

It feels like a warning.

It feels like a trophy.

Your captain rockets past him without a second thought (it's unlikely there was ever a first thought) to explode into another group of soldiers. It's like dynamite dropped in a haystack, the way navy officers go flying here and there.

The marine's eyes fall on you.

You can barely remember the fight afterwards, shamefully. You remember how it starts though.

He lunges at you with the speed of an animal, his clawed hands outstretched to sink into your flesh.

You dodge, he pivots, you aim to strike before he finds his footing—every move you make is to drive you closer to Luffy so you can cut and run.

Your mindlessness makes you sloppy. You don't even notice the way you're babying your secret, cradling it away from the fight. Of course that fucking marine notices.

Seas, you don't even know this marine's name, and yet he could still read you like a fucking book.

It's your last mistake.

When he slips to the side, too close for comfort, you jump back. His hand raises to tear out your eyes.

You raise your arms to guard, falling for the feint—the marine weaves past you, bearing his claws, and digs into your flesh.

It's over before you can even feel the pain.

You barely hold back a yell as you leap back, clutching your body. Warm blood trickles down the strike until it stained your clothes, sending panic shooting up your spine.

Like a curse from whatever gods left, that damn marine had struck you where you were weakest. There wasn't any time—by the time you whip around to clutch the wound, to hide your shame, it was too late.

"That pirate! She's... branded!"

A chorus of gasps tear through the crowd like a terrible symphony. You cling to the ribbons of your ruined attire like it could still save you.

Shadows claw at your vision as you struggle to breathe. Warm blood trickles down your limbs and your mark aches with a fresh, searing pain—it's grown with you, stretching over your skin in a reminder you can only try to forget.

You hear Robin gasp like she was struck herself. Oh seas, when did she arrive? You want to tuck yourself into a ball and hide from the prying eyes boring into your skin. You're sure she understands, if only because she shares your terror of who gave you this cross to bear, but it scares you. Somewhere, Usopp murmurs to her, "what is that?"

They know. They know.

The marine barks out in a fit of laughter, teeth bared and fingers curled around his claws. "What the hell is Straw Hat doing with government property?"

You think of Foosha Village, dodging your family and bathing in the river at night. You think of the clothes you had to give Makino back, too ridden by fear to wear them.

You think of your crew, sleeping soundly while you were working up the nerve to change your clothes in the dark. You think of Nami, with her skin graft and her new tattoo and the jealousy so strong you choke on it every time you see it. You think of how no one knows what was before that pinwheel tattoo except for the people she wants to know.

You think of your captain. You think of Luffy.

Oh seas, Luffy.

Tears cloud your eyes as you struggle to breathe. When you turn to your captain, you can barely see him—your vision swims, revealing splotches of color you'd recognize anywhere.

His haki rolls off in waves, so suffocating you can taste his rage on the back of your tongue. You see soldiers buckle and civilians collapse.

Your words escape before you can even think.

"Luffy, help...!"

A fist rockets past you. The sound of crunching bone hits you as air whips your cheeks. A mangled yell of pain is the last thing you hear from the marine.

"She doesn't," your captain growls, "belong to anybody."

~

You're brought into the medbay as soon as the Sunny left the docks. The silence is suffocating. You could barely look at Chopper as you shed your clothes, letting it slip until your shame was bare.

If you could guess, you'd bet it was nothing but professional courtesy that's keeping Chopper from reacting. That fucking mark takes up almost the entirety of the flesh, like a wound that can never heal.

The young doctor is kind when he cleans the blood. His touch hovers above your laceration when you hiss and tense. He's patient too, only continuing his work when you allow him to.

You hate this. Seas, you fucking hate this. You slump forward when Chopper continues his work.

You both pretend to not notice the tears that fall.

When he backs away, wound cleaned and bandaged, you don't turn to look him in the eye. You just turn your head and nod at Chopper.

The doctor straightens up like he always does after he works, but there's a new nervousness to him. His hooves are pressed together, like he's trying to quell the shaking. It makes you grit your teeth.

"The wound isn't bad," he says quickly, "but you'll need to rest. As for t-the rest, I couldn't..."

You nod. "Thanks, Chopper. You don't have to worry about... that. You're the best."

You watch the tension evaporate as he grins at you, leaning side to side. "That doesn't make me happy, you bastard!" He giggles, spinning. He sways a bit longer before he tamps it down, clearing his throat.

"But," he says clearly, "you can talk about it—"

"—Chopper—" you try to say.

"—Listen! It's important!" Chopper stands straighter like it'll give him the confidence his next words demand. "I-If you don't want to talk about it to me, it's okay. But... you should talk to someone. Nami, or Robin, or maybe- maybe if we call Jinbei, he would understand—"

"Chopper," you cut through. It hurts your heart to see the young doctor wilt. "It's okay. Thank you, but I'm alright."

"Okay... But- consider it? Please?"

You look away. "I will," you murmur.

Even though you don't see his face, you know Chopper knows you're lying. You know he won't push you farther, though. He hops down off his stool, shucks off his doctor's coat, and offers you the spare clothes Nami had lent you. She was kind enough to waive the fee this time too. You can't find it in you to appreciate it.

Chopper turns away as you get dressed again, which makes you smile. It makes you feel like you have some control again.

(You can't help but study your bandages. They're wrapped snug around you, but the edges of the brand sticks out like a hand print seared into your skin. You can still see the three pointed claws under the stark white of gauze.

It's the first time in a while you've really observed it. Every other time you forced yourself to look, all you could see was the red-hot brand and the wicked smiles of the demons who held it.

It's just as ugly as you remember.

You wish you had killed that marine, even if it wouldn't have changed anything.)

When you finish getting dressed, you signal to Chopper. He turns around, offers you a smile too bittersweet for someone of his youth, and reaches for the door.

"Oh, Luffy," Chopper comments idly. You can't stop how you flinch at the sound of his name.

You were dreading seeing him. It makes you want to cry again; how long has it been since you've dreaded being near Luffy?

The ringing in your ears swallow up the gentle words Chopper offers. Your bandages crush your ribs as you try to breathe—there isn't enough air, like that fucking marine took it all when he- when he—

The hands on your face smell like sun-warmed rubber. It's hard to say they're cradling your face, when Luffy just smacked his palms against your cheeks and squished them together until you were looking at him. When you blink, he blinks back at you.

"Are you there?" Luffy asks simply.

"Um, y-yes Captain," you force out. He nods thoughtfully.

Though, Captain isn't the right moniker. You aren't talking to isn't Captain Monkey D. Luffy, world-renowned Worst Generation pirate, capable of toppling kingdoms and challenging the World Government, feared by the powerful and adored by the powerless.

No, the boy in front of you is simply Luffy. The Luffy you've cherished since you were small, with a smile so bright and a heart so full—for all your life, you've never known how you got so lucky to have him.

Luffy pushes you to sit before he flops down next to you, bobbing with the mattress springing under his weight. You avoid his eye.

"You have something," Luffy states simply. It isn't a question, nor an accusation. It makes you flinch regardless—through all your tears, you can barely see the way your hands ball into fists in your lap.

He waits until you can find your words once again. It's kinder than you deserve.

"D-Do you- want to see it?"

"I don't care." Luffy just sort of... tilts his head at you. "I want to see you."

It's such a simple sentiment. It makes you feel like you've swallowed a thousand blades.

"I'm-... I didn't- I'm sorry, Luffy," you force out. The nails you dig into the stark white gauze don't put any pressure into the skin below it. Luffy frowns anyways.

"You can't apologize," he states simply. "You don't have to."

"But I- I lied—"

"It's okay." Luffy kicks his feet out. "I know you. I don't care about the rest."

All your words slip from your mind. If Luffy minds the silence, he doesn't show it.

Shame floods your chest. All these years hiding your past, unraveled just like that. You stare at your lap.

"They," you admit softly, "had me for so long. I- I never thought I'd be free."

He doesn't respond. You don't need him to—the words rush out before you can think. You stare into your open hands.

"W-When I escaped, I promised myself something. I said, they'll never control me ever again. But- I just... I've always been so scared! It's like- It's like I never even left—"

"Sabo is dead," Luffy says suddenly. "Ace is dead."

When Luffy looks forward, it isn't at Chopper's desk. It isn't at the medicine scattered along its surface, nor is it the kit the doctor had used to patch up your wounds. No—Luffy's gaze pierces farther, looking past the desk and the ship and the sea.

When Luffy looks forward, it's into the fire he left behind.

"But you aren't. You escaped. You're here with me."

Even without words, you understand. You can see the fire, too. "I am."

"You're not theirs anymore. You're mine," Luffy says just as suddenly, "but you aren't mine."

You don't respond. You wouldn't know how even if you tried.

Luffy turns to you with the same inferno that swallowed up your shared home. "You're my crew. You're my first mate. But I don't own you. No one does. That brand doesn't mean anything."

Before you can gather your thoughts, you feel Luffy's hand press his straw hat into your lap. It feels as warm as the sun he had been standing in just moments before. Luffy grabs at your hands to wrap them around its brim.

"You don't belong to anybody."

You could cry.

Luffy shakes your shared hold. "Say it."

"I-I..." You sniffle, "I don't..."

Luffy's eyes don't look away from you. They aren't mean, nor are they worried—they're fierce, just as sure of your power as they were the day he met you.

"I don't," you say finally, "belong to anybody."

When you collapse into his arms, shaking with every sob that wracks through your body, there is no shame when his hands brush over your mark. All you feel is warmth as he pulls you tighter.

You're not property. You're free.