"I think you should come live with me,
And we can be pirates,
Then you won't have to cry."
In which Cheshire escapes the Wonderland Crew and discovers that one doesn't have to hurt to belong to a crew.
- One Piece: Live Action
- Season One -
- One P...
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CHAPTER ELEVEN - Bandits -
TEN YEARS AGO
Nina was avoiding Shanks. Childish, sure, but she wasn't sure she could face him without an answer to his question.
She paced through the shorelines of Windmill Village lost in thought, the looming ship of the Red Haired Pirates peering out over the dock. She couldn't help but stare at it, a sigh passing her lips. Could that be her future? Is that what she wanted?
Nina gazed over the dock, finding Luffy sat near the shoreline, poking at different crustaceans with a pout. The siren swam over.
"Having fun there, Luffy?" Nina asked, as she shuffled through the soft sand. She watched the boy poke at a passing crab with a stick and without acknowledging the siren. Nina sat down next to him, nudging him and catching sight of the obvious distress that still remained on his face.
"Stupid Shanks," was all Luffy muttered.
Nina sighed. "Come here," she murmured gently, curling an arm around Luffy's shoulders. She held him tightly, the boy's shoulder trembling as he let out all that pent up frustration and the sadness infecting his heart. It was going to be a long day, that's for sure.
Nina held him until he stopped crying, his head resting in the crook of her neck as the water continued to wash by their feet. She rubbed his arm and squeezed every now and then with a kiss on top of his head.
"Will you go with him?" Luffy asked finally after a few minutes of tender silence. He pulled back from Nina, but still remained in her gentle embrace, watching her intensely.
Nina smiled softly, a smile that didn't reach her eyes as the reality settled and she grieved the same loss as her sweet boy. "No," she declined with a short shake of the head. "I'll stay here with you, my sweet boy."
The look that crossed the poor boy's tear stricken face made Nina uncomfortable. He didn't seem to like the idea of her staying in Windmill Village.
"But... you love Shanks?" Luffy said, his statement tumbling from his quivering lips like a question.
Nina nodded along. "Of course I do."
"So, why would you stay?"
The siren paused, debating on whether she were to actually tell Luffy that she wanted to go with Shanks. "Luffy, do you know what it's like for a siren in the real world?"
The young boy tilted his head. "I know they live under the ocean."
Nina couldn't help but laugh at the innocent answer. The small smile that had followed fell into a frown as she gave the actual answer to her question; "sirens can't interact with the surface world. We're not meant to."
