Forever His

Prologue (Letters in the Dark)

"Screw the Navy. Screw the Marines."

I woke up, sweat dripping down my face. Forgetting where I was, I looked around. Oh, right, I was on a Navy ship heading back to G1.

"Caw, caw." I heard coming from outside. My crow, Umai, was perched on the outside of the porthole, a hidden letter tied on his body. I opened the porthole, letting him in.

"Thank you, Ummi. Here's a treat." I muttered, handing him a piece of dried meat. He cawed quietly before grabbing the meat from my fingers. Gently untying the letter from Umai's body, I carefully unfolded it, smiling. It was from him.

<A, I hope this letter finds you well. I didn't expect to hear from you since we haven't written any letters to each other in the past two years. I hope you are doing okay, my old friend. The only thing I've heard about you is that you survived the Paramount War. I'm happy about that, knowing that you aren't dead. In your letter, it said that you were being closely watched by your father. I guess that explains why you didn't contact me sooner.

<I've heard about the return of the Straw Hat crew. Needless to say, I'm not particularly happy about that, they've always been a nuisance. I just wanted to let you know that the crew and I are doing good. Well, for the most part. I want to see you, it's been too long. I know that it's almost impossible for us to meet up, but I can hope, right?

<I await your reply, K>

I hid the letter in my bag, making sure no one would be able to find it if they dug through my stuff. Grabbing a pen and a piece of paper, I sat down at the desk and started writing a letter.

<K, I'm glad you replied to me quickly. I am currently on a ship heading back to G1 as I write this. I do not bring good news. My father has decided to have me marry a Marine Officer. Ugh. To be honest with you, I am done with this Marine life. I cannot stand it, it is corrupt and I feel like a bird trapped in a too small cage. I want to be free.

<The wedding will be televised, with quite a few Visual Transponder Snails stationed around. The wedding is going to be in twelve days, and I have devised a plan. It's going to be a gruesome one, heheheh. One that will satisfy something that I've been suppressing for far too long.

<I hope to meet up with you sometime soon. You will know me when you see me, so tell your crew to keep an eye out for me. Oh, do not send me a letter after this, nor send Umai back. Keep him happy and fed for me, okay?

<Yours, A>

"Umai, here." I commanded as I folded the letter into an intricate, tiny square. Umai gave me a little glare, which I returned. He nipped at my hand gently as I tied the letter to him, hiding the paper. Before I let him go out the window, I handed him a few large strips of dried meat.

"Be careful flying back to E. Make the meat last however long the journey takes. Stay safe and fly swiftly. I do not want you to return to me or G1 after you deliver this, okay?" I whispered to him, gently stroking his feathers. His bright black eyes stared into mine, intelligence flowing from them.

I brought Umai back to the open porthole and set him on the ledge. He looked at me once more before swiftly flying off. Smiling gently, I closed the porthole and laid back down on my bed. I pulled a pendant out from under my pillow and stared at it in the moonlight. K had given it to me before the Paramount War, in a letter he sent.

"This will hopefully lead you to me one day. I have an exact copy of it." The letter said. "Keep it safe and keep it hidden."

Putting it back under the pillow, I sighed and fell back asleep, a small smile on my face.

Hey, everyone! This is my first time writing a One Piece fanfiction! I apologize for this being such a short chapter, and I hope you all don't mind. This story will mostly take place before Wano. I hope you all enjoy! Oh, there will be mature content, just letting you all know.

--Pip Baker