#whohoo

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Years later Franky saw his life confronted with the possibility of losing his teacher. The solution was the hardship of working, creating something unique and amazing, something that would change the world. It took them, Tom, Iceburg and himself, a lot of power, energy, time and sweat. But it was worth it every single second. He grew with this project and he used his skills to create ships with weapons strong enough to protect what was important to him. Sadly, good times rarely stay good.

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Robin's life was one on the run. Whenever she thought she could catch a breath it was only an illusion and she had to run again. There was no stopping. Her dream became clearer the more she learned about the forbidden language, the void century and where to find it. Many pirates would see her as an asset until the Marines found her again. She was threatened, beaten and hurt. Her life was nothing but hardship. That only changed slightly to the better when she met Crocodile. She did not trust him and her life was still hard and dangerous. But for the first time she actually had time to relax even a little bit. She could - ironically - focus on hardships of the future.

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Franky’s next part of life was again suffering and hurt. The weapons he had created to protect were used to attack, used by government dogs to get their dirty hands on an even bigger weapon. A weapon that should be used as a countermeasure against a child. The people of Water Seven suffered and it was all his fault and his teacher, the person who had been like a father to him, was taken away. One would think that being run over by a train and putting himself together again was the hardest and most hurtful thing Franky had to endure, but the real hardship was the knowledge and the guilt that it had all been his fault.

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The next big change for Robin was when the Strawhats appeared. As enemies they gave her and Crocodile a hard time, beating their people, helping the princess. But Robin figured they could use that. In the end she learned about her miscalculation, almost dying and so finally leaving all hardships behind her. But the Strawhat boy was unpredictable and so she joined. Again not trusting, she was still aware of the constant danger lurking behind the horizon. But what was a very important difference to before was that she could really relax for the first time. Not one of these young people would try to kill her in her sleep, she could play games and enjoy the company. Again Robin feared that it would all be an illusion but so far it was fine and she decided to enjoy it even a little bit.

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Iceburg had risen to the top, helping the citizens of Water Seven. It was surprisingly fitting. Meanwhile Franky found a new purpose in bringing the lowest lifes of Water Seven together and put them to use. It wasn’t perfect, people feared them and some people got hurt, often enough the Franky Family themselves, but at least they were off the street and their acts of criminal activity weren’t random. Some of the streets where they had lurked before became more safe again. A threat was turned into a nuisance. Every single member of the Franky Family had suffered through hardships, poverty and violence. For Franky it was a first try to do amends. Nonetheless whenever Franky visited Kokoro he still felt the guilt and how hard it weighed on him.

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The illusion burst when Robin was contacted by CP9. A threat so big that she couldn’t let the Strawhats face them. She would do everything in her power to protect these young people who had shown her for the first time what friendship and family could feel like. She would take the whole weight of this hardship on her own shoulders and carry it to Enies Lobby so the crew would be able to continue. It had been her fault that she allowed her emotions to get in the way after all. Sooner or later they would understand.

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The more Franky learned about the situation, from the long nosed child, from the blond cook, from CP9 themselves, the more he understood the hardships Nico Robin had suffered. In the end he somehow knew that their lives were intertwined, not only because they both were racing towards Enies Lobby or because he owned the blueprints of the weapon that was created to fight against Pluton, but because their hardships had been similar and then also very different. He knew that she had to survive and he could use this to redeem himself. Saving her meant saving himself and if it was the last thing he did.

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Together they fought against the world government on the bridge, they fought against the fear and they fought against Spandam. It was like an awakening for Robin, a shimmer of hope brought to her by her friends and random weirdo that was very invested in this whole quest. It was like they had been destined to meet. She also couldn’t help but wonder that, if this was the result, her fighting alongside her friends, her having a chance of being free and finding a family, maybe all the hardships had been worth it.

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This might have been the second worst hurt Franky had ever felt. A pain that again was less that of the body (though it hurt too) but finally being able to let go of the guilt. He was allowed to be happy to live his dream. And after the long nosed child had also joined with them again and they all had escaped from the Marines they all celebrated. More than once he glanced over to Robin and could see her relaxed manners. He could feel a certain happiness for her, that she – and him too – could experience something not one of them could have thought possible for them.

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The hardships continued but they seemed less devastating and became more bearable. Especially while talking about them with a certain someone who understood. And they both understood each other perfectly.

Life was still hard on this ship, but it was always with friends and purpose and a lot of fun in the mix.

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You can boo me now