ʀᴜʙɪᴇꜱ - ᴏɴᴇ ᴘɪᴇᴄᴇ

『7』

⤿  Ami stood tensely on the deck of Nezumi's ship, waiting for the Marine to return. He had tucked the single remaining fruit securely in his bag for now.

Soon enough, he heard Nezumi's oily voice behind him. "Hmm...did you get the chest?"

Ami turned and shook his head. "It felt oddly light - I checked inside and it was completely empty," he lied smoothly.

Nezumi nodded with a sigh. "I guess we were too late then."

Ami looked at him expectantly. "Too late? What do you mean?" he pressed.

Nezumi hesitated before explaining, "Well, since it's gone now, no harm in telling you...there were originally two rare Devil Fruits in that chest, but they do relocate occasionally. But we were trying to retrieve them before they disappeared again."

Ami nodded along as if this were all new information. "Did Arlong mention what he planned to use those fruits for?" he asked, suspicion nagging him.

Nezumi let out an ugly chuckle. "Let's just say it's better left unsaid." With that ominous statement, he turned and strode away.

Ami stared after him, deeply unsettled. What exactly had Arlong plotted for such powerful abilities? Surely nothing good for humans. 

Cold dread trickled down Ami's spine at the thought of what Arlong might have planned. 

Now, more than ever, he was determined to keep the remaining fruit out of the fishman's malicious hands.

And what safer way to do that than to take it for himself...

Ami felt a twinge of relief that the fishman fruit had mysteriously vanished. 

He wanted no part of such an ability meant to elevate Arlong's race over humans. But hydrokinesis could be incredibly useful, and seemed more benign.

Swiftly removing the blue fruit from his bag, Ami steeled his nerves before devouring it whole. 

An intensely bitter, foul taste flooded his mouth, making him gag. But he forced himself to swallow, feeling the fruit slide down his throat.

---

Hopping back onto the dock, Ami made to stride away only for Nezumi's loud cackling to give him pause.

"What are you laughing about?" Ami asked warily, not liking the ugly sound.

Nezumi just smirked. "How about you come along and see?" he suggested ominously instead of answering.

Unease stirred in Ami but he cautiously followed as Nezumi led them down a familiar forest path. With dawning horror, Ami realized it led directly to Cocoyashi Village - his and Nami's hometown.

"What the hell are we doing here?" Ami demanded, hackles rising in anxiety and anger.

"We're here to collect a debt," Nezumi revealed with a cruel smile. "Arlong's orders."

Just like that, the pieces fell into terrible place. All the money he and Nami had struggled to steal over the years...they had never been meant to buy Cocoyashi's freedom. 

"No! You can't be telling the truth! He promised!" Ami cried desperately, breaking down as his world shattered around him.

Nezumi just laughed cruelly. "You can never trust a pirate, can you?" He glanced at his crew. "Grab him! And take him to Arlong."

Ami didn't even struggle as multiple Marine pairs grabbed and dragged him towards the looming gates of Arlong Park. 

As the truth sank in, Ami cycled rapidly through the stages of grief: