Searching for Brothers [One Piece fanfic]

Chapter LXV: Reasons

Chapter 65:

A/N: THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONG ARC, GUYS!!! YAY TO CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!! Also, it's just a filler. I wanted to post it before school starts up again on Thursday.

Word count: 2.1 K

THIRD PERSON P.O.V.

A large yawn escaped Roki's mouth, his lips curling and revealing his sharp canine teeth for a brief second. The feline blinked his eyes lazily, eyeing the crew of the Heart Pirates gathered on the other side of the deck in disinterest. His attention then moved to his master that was curled into his stomach.

The sky was high above all of their heads, yet it only brought warmth and no unbearable heat. With the crisp wind that blew around them, it kept them cool, proof that they were traveling near a fall island in the New World.

Clementine had her face buried into Roki's stomach covered in soft fur, inhaling deeply and filling her lungs with the scent of sunshine. Her fingers played near the area where the hair was short because of the surgery her companion had to go through, the teen silently wishing it would grow faster. The scar was a pale pink, but Law had assured her it would become unnoticeable because of Roki's thick fur around it. Nonetheless, it still made Clementine miserable.

The blonde's eyelids felt heavy. The warm sun that was usually not accessible when the sub is submerged is a lovely welcome against her pale skin. The rocking of the wave wasn't helping either, her mind slowly beginning to drift to sleep. Something her body still needed, although she was on the path of recovery.

"Is everyone here?"

Clementine blinks drowsily, pushing up on her arms and lifting her upper body. However, she's quick to give up, grunting and falling headfirst into Roki's stomach. The woman eventually forces herself to roll onto her back, now using the white feline as a support pillow so she can somewhat sit up.

The Heart Pirates, who were rowdily speaking just a minute ago, all closed their mouths, giving their full attention to their captain. Law had returned to their submarine less than an hour ago from a nearby island. The man adjusts the fluffy hat on top of his head before taking a seat against his first mate, who seemed clueless about what was going on as he napped away.

"It's about time I told you all about our next goal," Law begins, discarding the fact that Bepo continued to sleep with a bubble coming out of his nose. He pauses for a brief moment, his eyes moving over his crew to make sure they were all listening to him. His lips twitch in slight amusement when his grey orbs land on the drowsy female who barely has her eyes open.

Nonetheless, he continues. "You all know how we have been collecting the hearts of pirates over the last few weeks." The dark-haired man raises up one knee, resting his elbow on it in a lazy manner while his eyes catch how many of his men nod. However, no one spoke up, waiting for their captain to continue.

Most, if not all of the crew knew about the bag of hearts that was growing larger in the safe of the submarine. While no one had questioned it because their captain had his unexplainable moments, many of them were curious about the collection of pirate hearts, seeing as it was unusual.

Clementine also hums to herself, knowing precisely what Law was talking about. Her drowsiness was long gone as her brain began to turn its gear, trying to understand where this conversation was going.

Law's unusual action of him collecting the hearts of pirates was one of the main reasons the young woman was able to track down his crew when she had said her goodbye to Shanks and his team. The newspaper had listed a few battles the Heart Pirates had participated in, and that had allowed her to narrow down where they were heading.