Destined for Flames (One Piece Fanfic)

Truth And Consequences

Raya's POV

People all around us are shouting about capturing the four pirates featured in the newspaper. They seem to think the Red-Haired Demon will be the easiest to ambush, seeing as how she has the lowest bounty of the crew. She's just a little girl, they reason. So what if she's related to Shanks? It's all just talk! We can take her easy!

I have to keep my hat tipped down to shadow the obvious smirk curling my lips.

I would love to see these people even attempt to come after me. Yeah, I was freaking out earlier. But I thought about it. Average citizen against battle-hardened, Logia Type Devil Fruit user? Hmm. Wonder how that would go....

"Do you really think Robin's leaving on Puffing Tom?" I ask Sanji, who's busy peering up at a notice board that holds the times of arrivals and departures for the famous sea train. He looks down from the board, shifting his eyes to focus on me. He sighs and tendrils of smoke curl out into the air from his lips.

"I hope not," he says. "It's already hard enough searching in just Water 7...."

"I wonder why she left...." Chopper says dejectedly. "Did I make her mad when I went to the bookstore?"

I sweat drop. "Er, no, Chopper," I assure. "That's pretty much impossible." He continues to sulk, leaving me to sigh and pat his head in a comforting way while Sanji turns away to ask passersby if they've seen anything of Robin. When his efforts bear no fruit, we start down the streets again.

"I wonder what happened to Luffy..." Chopper sighs.

"Luffy is fine," Sanji replies dismissively. "It's Nami-chan I'm worried about.... This place looks so deserted now," he notes, glancing around the seemingly abandoned canals and streets. "The wind is getting stronger too.... Everyone probably evacuated."

"That's something we should consider doing," I remind them. I rub my arms apprehensively. The air feels charged with tension and it's setting me on edge, keeping my teeth gritted in anticipation. "Once we find Robin, we should bolt. I don't think Water 7's really safe for us anymore, but without a boat...." I sigh. "This has gotten way too complicated. What happened to just finding a shipwright and getting some repairs?"

Sanji casts me a sympathetic look, but doesn't respond. I adjust my hat as he calls out for Robin, like she's just gonna pop up outta nowhere and smile, like, "Oh, hey guys! Sorry I was gone so long. I pulled a Zoro and got lost!"

That's about as likely to happen as--

"Huh?"

"Chopp--" I cut myself off when I catch sight of what Chopper's staring at. Across the canal, standing stock-still.... is Robin.

I break into a blinding smile. "Robin! You're ok!"

"Robin-chan!"

"ROBIN!!"

"Where did you go?!" Sanji demands emphatically. "Everyone was worried about you!!"

She says nothing.

My smile flaters slightly, but I pick up the pieces and wave to her, managing a slightly less-than-ecstatic grin at her. "Whatever's up, it's nothing," I say reassuringly. "Trust me, we've had our fair share of drama since you disappeared. So just wait a minute and we'll come and get you, and then we can go back to the hotel--"

"No. We're fine where we are."

We? Who the hell is we?

"I won't go back with you...."

The three of us freeze up, each pulling a blank stare without a hint of understanding.

"Let's say our farewell here.... in this town," she says softly.

"Robin?!" Chopper gasps.

"Er... what are you saying Robin?" Sanji asks uneasily. He looks on the verge of total panic. "Ah! Is this about the papers?"

"Forget about that!" I shout, crossing my arms in an X shape for emphasis. "We know it's all a big misunderstanding. The Straw Hats had nothing to do with Iceburg being shot!"

"Yes," she says, sounding quite tired of the conversation already. She tilts her head, eyes closed, as though she can't stand the sight of us any longer. "You guys were falsely accused of the crime. However.... For me, it is the truth. I did, in fact, infiltrate the Mayor's office last night."

"Huh?" Sanji and I breathe. Chopper gapes as if his jaw has lost all support.

"I am shrouded in a darkness that you have no knowledge of. And that darkness will eventually be the death of you."

"That woman's curse will bring that day to pass soon enough. Here's proof: Every group that Robin has ever associated with has ended up completely annihilated."

Cue our shocked and disbelieving stares.

"Always leaving her as the sole survivor. Why is that so, Nico Robin?" he asks, shifting his gaze away again.

Aokiji's words ring in my ears. He warned us, told us that she would come to be a curse to our crew. The words sounded empty back then, without a shred of truth to back them up. But hearing them come from her lips....

"Now," she goes on calmly. "You will be my scapegoats for this incident. I will leave soon, and the situation will worsen--"

"WHAT THE HELL, ROBIN?!"

She blinks, her cool demeanor slipping if only for a moment as she takes in my piercing stare. I try to lunge forward, completely forgetting that a canal fifteen feet across separates us, and I feel Sanji's arms lock around my waist, holding me back. I struggle and writhe to get away, all the while glaring at Robin with an intensity never before seen by the Straw Hats. This is a look, however, that Bayer experienced often during our time together.

"We all have baggage, you selfish bastard!" I growl, still kicking like a wild, bucking animal. "There's darkness inside every one of us! Do you know why I originally set out with Luffy?"

Something flashes in her eyes, and I can tell she's thinking back to the first time I told her about my dream.

All I want is to make Luffy the Pirate King, I'd said. My dream is to be a part of the Pirate King's crew! Not for the fame, or the fortune that'll come along with it, but because of the freedom. With Luffy as King of the Seas, we'll be free to do as we please. Doesn't that sound great?

She giggled at my childish excitement and smiled softly. It does, Raya. It's a wonderful dream.

I'd grinned and laughed. Plus, being known as the most powerful pirate crew in the seas.... We'd be legendary! Imagine how exciting that would be. I bet we'd have people challenging us to fights all the time.... Oh wait. That doesn't sound so great....

She'd just laughed.

I narrow my eyes as another feral growl vibrates in my throat. "That's true enough," I say. "But a person can have more than one goal in mind when they set out to sea. One of the reasons I went with Luffy was because I have someone I need to kill. In cold-blooded vengeance. I won't be satisified till his blood's spilled around me, and the death of my parents can finally have closure. Does that sound like something a Straw Hat would want?!"

She simply blinks again.

"I'd call that darkness wouldn't you?!" I growl. "It isn't just you! So why, Robin?! Why--"

"Why am I doing this?" she finishes. She seems to have slipped back into her unruffled skin, the very same from when I first met her as Miss All Sunday. My upper lip lifts in a snarl. "Yes, there's no need to tell you that."

I curse under my breath and turn away, going limp in Sanji's arms. Damn her....

"Robin-chan!!" Sanji cries. "You're not making any sense!! Did something happen to you?!"

"Robin let's go back together!!" Chopper wails.

"We haven't known each other for very long," she says, completely ignoring the boy's protests, "and after today, we won't see each other again. Say hello to everyone for me. In the time I've been with you, you have treated me well. Goodbye." She turns on her heel and walks away, the click of her boots overly loud against the impenetrable silence she's thrown at us.

Sanji releases me after making sure I'm safely on the ground, before turning back to the quickly disappearing Robin.

"Wait a minute!! Robin-chan!! This isn't funny!" He dives straight into the canal and swims strongly for the opposite bank, while Chopper and I are forced to wait and watch as she continues on without a second glance in our direction.













"She's gone...."

"Yeah...."

I try to drown out Sanji and Chopper's voices. My forehead is pressed to my knees, my arms thrown over me like a shield against the heartache Robin's forced upon me. My jeans are already thoroughly soaked through, with both tears and (grossly) snot. But I don't care enough to lift my head and wipe down my face.

Sanji sits beside me on a set of steps leading down to the water. He's drenched as well, though from his dip in the canal. His vest lays spread out between us, and he wrings out his orange pinstripe shirt in his hands, squeezing excess water from the cotton.

I don't even give a damn that he's shirtless or that he's smoking.

"Chopper."

"Huh?"

"Find Luffy," Sanji orders. "Tell him exactly what happened. Don't miss a single word."

"What about you Sanji? And Raya?"

Kami, they're talking like I'm not even here.

"I have a plan," the cook answers. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. As for Raya...." I feel him place a dripping-wet yet strangely warm hand on my arm, and the sudden human contact makes me jump, falling back with my head cracking against the pavement. I wince slightly, but just shake my head and sit up, looking expectantly at Sanji. He takes one look at me before turning his head away. As much as I liked to say it's true, he isn't bashful because I look disgusting from all the tears and other less desirable human drippings. It's because I look so broken.

"You should go with Chopper," he says gently. I take a moment to swipe the back of my hand under my nose, nodding. "Sure," I murmur. I climb to my feet and move to stand with Chopper. Something, though, makes me pause. "Don't do anything stupid, Sanji," I warn him without turning around. With that said, Chopper and I leave him behind to whatever plan he's cooked up.

As we walk, I try to compose myself as best I can. It's a very arduous process. The entirety of my anger's drained out of me, as it usually does after I explode as I did. Now I'm only full of an aching sadness. My shoulders slump, and I feel weak in the knees.

Chopper must notice, because the next thing I know, he's in Heavy Point, and I'm sitting on his back piggy-back style. I drop my chin onto his muscled shoulder and close my eyes, unwilling to watch the world go by any longer.

"Why would Robin say things like that?" Chopper squeaks after a long stretch of silence. My first response is a simple shake of the head. Then I reconsider, and sigh. "I don't know, Chopper," I admit softly. "But I wish I hadn't gotten so angry with her. Obviously, that wasn't the Robin we've come to know and love. I just don't know what's wrong...."

He nods, accepting my answer, as he knows it's the best one I can give right now.

I pull my glasses from my pocket and put them back in place, pushing them up the bridge of my nose. My hat is still firmly placed atop my head, and no one's noticed me yet. I'd like to keep it that way.

It isn't long until Chopper picks up Luffy's scent, along with Nami's and Zoro's. I groan, knowing the time for the truth to come out is soon. First Usopp, now Robin.... Luffy's reaction already worries me, and I haven't even seen it yet.

Chopper tracks the trio down to a bridge built over a different canal than the one we saw Robin at, and after looking around for a moment, leans over the edge to see underneath. We're greeted with Luffy's startled, upside down face. He's clinging to the underside of the bridge with Zoro and Nami sitting on him like he's some sort of bench.

How.... awkward.

We help pull them up onto the stone walkway, where they all take a seat apart from me. I choose to stand facing the water, hat tipped down as yet another way to hide my face. I haven't felt this vulnerable since Shanks first told me he was my father. It's not pleasant.

"I think it's clear now," Zoro says.

"Clear?" Nami echoes, sounding disgruntled to the extreme. "This is all your fault!" she snaps at the Swordsman. "You were being chased by so many of them! And then you got us spotted too!"

"I couldn't help it!" he snaps back, akin to a wild dog. "There's just so many.... It's impossible to stay out of sight...."

"Which is why you don't stay out of sight," I mutter, pressing my palms down to the cool stone walls of the walkway while I lean over it, taking deep, soothing breaths of the cool air drifting off the water. "You blend, Swordsman. Hiding in plain sight is much more effective."

"That would explain your disguise then," he replies. I can hear the smirk in his voice.

"Exactly," I say, not responding to the sarcastic air around the word disguise. "How do you think I stayed out this long without getting hounded by the lookouts around here? My picture's in the paper, too, you know."

There's a lull in our conversation that doesn't affect Nami, Luffy and Chopper in the least. I feel his scrutinizing gaze on me, and attempt to hide my taut face by pulling my cap down further. This, however, does no good, because he just stands up and plucks the hat from my grasp, snatching the sunglasses along with it.

"You've been crying," he states. I don't try to deny it. "What happened when you were out with ero-cook and Chopper?"

"Ah! That's right!" I hear Luffy gasp, probably having caught only part of Zoro's words. "Where's Sanji?"

I look over my shoulder at Chopper, who's shrunk back down to his smaller size, and we lock gazes for a moment. He nods, answering my silent question. While he faces the others, I sneak a glance at Zoro. His eyes are hard as he continues to stare at me, waiting for me to answer.

"Just wait," I murmur. "You'll hear it in a second."

He cocks a brow, folding his arms across his chest.

Chopper recounts our encounter with Robin in detail, giving no pauses for lapses in memory or ridiculous dramatic effect. It only takes a few minutes, but it feels like eternity to me. Especially when he brings up my outburst about my own darkness, my hunger to kill Blackbeard. All eyes snap to me at that point, and I stare at my boots, unwilling to meet any of their gazes. I'm not proud of that decision, but there's no going back on it now. I've committed myself to seeing Blackbeard dead, preferably by my own hands. But I'll accept Ace's capturing of him as enough. He feels it's his responsibility as well, after all, to bring down that monster.

"IS THAT FOR REAL?!" Luffy yells upon hearing the end of Chopper's story. "Robin really said that?!"

Both Chopper and I nod silently.

"It's time for everyone to wake up."

All eyes turn to Zoro as he holds out Wado, still held securely in his sheath, as though testing his weight. Obviously, that's not what he's doing at a time like this, but I can't figure out his real intention with the blade.

"Robin started out as our enemy," he reminds us. "Then we let her on our ship. She wouldn't have left us out of fear after all this time. Before the sun goes down, we need to figure out.... is that woman friend.... or foe."

I swallow thickly, my hands clenching into fists. I need to stop crying over all this. Tears aren't going to do shit. Breaking down will only makes things worse for everyone else. If Zoro can take this all in without flinching, and still think so calmly and rationally, than the least I can do it keep up a brave face, even if it's false.

The situation will worsen.... After today.... we will never meet again....

"Robin really said that, right Chopper?"

"Uh huh."

"She said we won't meet ever again after today," Zoro says. "It sounds like she's announcing that she's going to do something to makes things worse for us. The attempt on the Mayor's life has already caused this much of an uproar.... If someone wants to make matters worse, there's only one way."

"She's going to make sure the Mayor's finished off this time," I supply dryly, earning a nod from the Swordsman.

"That's the natural thing for us to think... But now that we know she's framing us for the crim this could be viewed as a trap to lead us to the crime scene. If we're found at the scene of the crime, then we'll automatically be framed."

"Wait!" Nami interjects shrilly. "You sound like you're already thinking of Robin as the enemy!!"

"I'm just talking about the possibilities," Zoro replies. "I'm not really on either side. Whether to believe or not...." He presses a thumb against Wado's hilt (as it's now back at his side), lifting the blade partially from its sheath with a soft hiss. "If I pick one side and the truth is the opposite.... The instant in which I make my move, I'll be slowed down. If something's gonna happen, it's gonna happen tonight." He locks eyes with each of us. "Do we go to the crime scene?"

"We go," is Luffy's immediate answer.

Nami looks to Luffy. "I don't mind if you do," she begins, "but we have a problem."

Yes, because we really need any more things to deal with. 

"Sanji said he saw Robin walking with someone," Nami reminds us. "Iceburg said the same thing. A masked person. That's not any of us. Maybe he's the reason for Robin's sudden change."

"Did he do something to Robin?!" Chopper squeaks. "To control her?!"

"That's the optimistic guess," Zoro answers plainly. "The pessimistic guess would be that Robin and that guy are actually partners."

"But just knowing about a masked person doesn't help us," Nami admits. "What's our goal on this trip?"

"To catch Robin."

I look at Luffy in surprise. "We're going to capture our naka.... Robin, I mean?" I ask, stuttering over the word nakama. Seems I can't trust anyone to remain at my side any longer. A depressing thought, really, when I was the one who originally recommended Robin to be on our crew. 

"Otherwise we'll never know the truth," my captain explains.

I bow my head, hiding my face again. "You're right," I murmur. "It really is just pointless to sit here and talk about it. It won't solve anything, won't give us any answers. I guess capturing her is the only way to go, since she won't talk to us."

"But then," Zoro says, scratching his head with one finger, "she's someone the who the World Government has tried and failed to catch for twenty years."

"Yes," Nami agrees. "But this is the only way for us to find out the truth."

"Ok! I'll try my best too!" Chopper vows.

I glance up at my crew mates through my bangs and offer them a fraction of my usual smile. "She may be elusive, but she's never gone up against the entire Straw Hat crew when we're this fired up." My hand slips down to Honoo's hilt and I feel her hum her agreement. "I'll give it my all."

What I neglect to mention is the fact that we aren't the entirety of the crew, without Usopp and Robin herself. But right now, this is us, the Straw Hats. And the others seem to accept that as a fact, at least for the time being. 

We all stand, ready to move.

Luffy gives us a determined nod, then turns around, looking out at the city that's caused us so much trouble.

"Then let's go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gah! I'm sorry it's so short! But it's late, I've got school tomorrow, and I think it makes sense to stop it here anyway. Get the suspense up another notch. But the next one will definitely be longer. And we're getting closer to the fiftieth chapter! I've got something special planned for that one, and as long as I don't change my mind any time soon, you should expect alcohol to be heavily involved. 

Yes. That should be fun.

Anyway, I'll see you guys (not literally, that'd make me a stalker) later and I hope you liked the chapter!