ONE PIECE : Lighthouse Empire Arc

Lighthouse Empire, Episode 6

Act 2

As the siblings sit together in their room, under the twinkling stars of Blueberry Island, a feeling of uneasiness rushes over Dani.

"I have something I need to tell you..." Aiku repeats, her tone more severe.

Dani pulls Aiku away from him and looks her in the eyes. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Aiku hesitates for a moment, shyly redirecting her gaze. "I...I'm not sure if I can--"

"Aiku, you can tell me anything. You know that." She looks to him hopefully. "We need to share everything, especially now."

Aiku nods slowly, finding her words. "The Marines. They made me do something else while I was there."

Great concern contorts Dani's face. "What happened?" 

Aiku's words catch in her throat, but she decides to spit them out as quickly as she can. "...They fed me a devil fruit."

Dani drops his hands and backs away from her involuntarily, filling with shock once again. "A devil fruit?" He whispers. Aiku nods. "Are you certain that's what it was?"

"Yes. They told me what they were going to do."

"But why--I don't understand." 

"Me neither. The man who stole my watch mentioned something about wanting to do it immediately. He couldn't wait. So they made me eat it." She drops her head in shame.   

Dani thinks for a moment. "Are you alright? How do you feel?"

Aiku shrugs sadly. "I feel fine. Nothing has happened."

"Did they tell you what kind it was?"

Aiku shakes her head. "No. I have no idea."

Dani leans closer to her again and grabs her shoulder. "I understand. This is just another thing we'll have to figure out together, okay?"

Aiku looks to him with watery eyes. "Am I going to be alright? Will I get sick?"

"No! Of course not. It just means that you'll have new, special abilities, that's all." Dani tries to reassure her, but he can tell she is still upset. "Hey, you remember Chongy ate one too, right?" Aiku nods. "He got a really cool power. I'm sure he'll come to enjoy it eventually."

A bit of hope rushes back into Aiku. "Really?"

Dani smiles. "Yeah. So you might have something cool too."

Aiku perks up. "Like flying?!"

Dani chuckles. "Well, I don't think it will be that extreme. We'll just have to wait and see."

Aiku nods, satisfied for now. "Okay."

"It doesn't mean I forgive them. But what's done is done. Nothing to do except deal with it. For now, I think we should try and get some more sleep. We can--"

Dani is suddenly interrupted by their bedroom door swinging open. He looks to the doorway, filling with new horror as he realizes three marines are standing before them. Aiku screams and grabs her brother, hiding her face from the sight. Dani wraps his arms around Aiku to protect her, his face full of rage. 

"What are you doing here?!" Dani yells to them. 

Two of the marines step forward, unveiling pistols from their long white coats. One stays by the door, keeping his face covered with a deep hood. "Are you Dani and Aiku?" One of the marines inquires.