#everyone deserves a friend like Ikkaku

[bumbleboa]

edit: first chapter of this fic is now available here

more sketches for the train!AU, writing snippet by @calysto1395

Law gets his phone out absent minded, scrolling through his contact list until he finds Zoro’s number. It’s 4am at this point. Much too early for a call. Too early for a text too but he has yet to actually use the number at all since he got it (unsure what to say). He does eventually write ‘Do you like chicken?’ and sends it off, regrets it immediately but someone goes into cardiac arrest before he can try to delete the message. When he checks an eternity and several disasters later, Zoro has replied with the single letter ‘y’. “Does he mean yes or why?” Law asks, pulling the scarf closer around his face. The morning after a night shift always feels colder. He shudders as him and Ikkaku emerge from the hospital, the sky is just starting to shift from dawn red into pale blue. It’s gorgeous and all Law can think of is that he’ll have to close the blinds if he wants to get some sleep at home. '‘Why’ I’d say.” Ikkaku tells him. “Which I am also wondering honestly.”

[penkura]

Hey love,

I know you are the perfect match for any penguin related stuff but i feel so bad for spamming your inbox with my ideas.

I still wanna see some enemies to lover related stuff or penguin who loves to flirt/tease with you because reader always gets super shy and flustered. Maybe he develops a crush while teasing/flirting with reader. Like it was a fun thing between friends but when he sees shachi or some other guys flirting/teasing you he gets super protective and jealous. (Yeah i read a lot of romance/lightly spicy novels right now)

Seeing you getting flustered / stuttering while he teases you with showing off some muscles or his face (i mean its hot outside right now).

I am so madly in love with him i am sorry.

I hope you have a great day <3

Much love for you

Please never feel bad about sending me prompts, I love them so much!! Obviously anything Penguin gets my attention and love. 😍 He deserves it and I'm always glad to deliver more love for him. 💚

“Hey pretty lady, can I offer you a drink, free of charge?”

“Good lord, Penguin, it doesn’t work when you both live here.”

Penguin still grins and you laugh while Ikkaku sighs with a roll of her eyes. His offer of a drink, from the Polar Tang’s kitchen, in such a flirty manner makes her want to gag even though you seem perfectly fine with it. He’s done this for so long, she wonders if you’ll ever start dating or not.

He only started flirting and teasing you a little bit when you got stood up for a date on an island, having run into you when you were heading back to the ship, looking upset. When he saw that, it almost broke his heart and Penguin started throwing pick up lines and compliments your way, trying to get a smile out of you and it worked right away. You laughed while he walked you back to the ship and kept flirting with you the whole way, making your night better and realizing himself that he only ever wants to see you smile. The flirting and pick up lines make you laugh, but when he starts really teasing you it gets your heart racing.

The day you all were relaxing outside the Polar Tang at the beach you’d stopped at, you stayed on the deck with Penguin to watch the ship, talking about where you’re going next. The heat started getting to Penguin to the point he had to strip off the top half of his boiler suit and tank top, making your face heat up seeing him shirtless suddenly. Penguin saw that right away and started messing with you about how flustered you were.

“Awww come on, you’ve seen me shirtless before!”

“Oh shut up!”

He started doing more to fluster and tease you after that, getting close when working together, a hand on your back as he led you through towns, and now bringing you drinks during parties the crew threw. If you didn’t know any better you’d think he really did like you.

Penguin leaves your drink with you and goes back to helping Clione make more for everyone else, Ikkaku leans against your arm and gives you a suspicious look.

“What?”

“Don’t ‘what’ me like you don’t know,” she rolls her eyes again while you say you really don’t know, and nods her head over to the guys making drinks, “You and Penguin. He flirts with you constantly, you can’t tell me there isn’t something going on.”

“He’s just being nice, I told you why he started that,” sighing you watch the boys alongside Ikkaku, “There’s nothing going on…”

“Yet it sounds like you want something to be going on…”

You shush Ikkaku and she laughs, making Shachi look over at the two of you, before back to Penguin, still busy helping others and giving them drinks. He knows there has to be something between you two, he’s never seen Penguin flirt with someone as much as you, though his friend won’t tell him anything no matter how much he tries to get it out of him. Penguin just says nothing, normally pretending to sleep if it’s night or running off claiming Law needs him to do something right away, it’s getting to be annoying.

So Shachi decides he should intervene a little bit, just enough to see if something really is going on. Once he sees your drink is empty, he makes his way to you faster than Penguin can, though he doesn’t notice at first.

“Can I refill your drinks, ladies?”

He’s trying so hard to sound suave and flirty, it’s about to make you laugh out of embarrassment instead of flattery this time. Its kind of weird that Shachi is doing this now, but the next thing he says gets to you.

“Sorry for wearing sunglasses inside, I’m just blinded by your beauty.”

You laugh so loudly because it’s so ridiculous since Shachi always wears sunglasses, Ikkaku gives an annoyed sigh and says it’s not that funny, but you just can’t help it. So many of the pick up lines you hear are cringe and don’t make you laugh this hard, not even if it’s from Penguin.

Speaking of, he looks over so quickly with furrowed eyebrows when he hears you laughing, seeing Shachi grinning and saying something else that keeps you laughing. There’s a feeling of jealousy even though he knows Shachi doesn’t have any romantic feelings for you, but it still stings a bit to hear you laughing at him instead. It’s not like you’re dating or anything, Penguin believes you’re just being nice when you laugh at his pick up lines and jokes, there’s not anything more there, he’s sure.

It still sucks though, to the point he’s glaring at Shachi when the red heard comes back to make more drinks. You’ve gone back to chatting with Ikkaku and now Uni, whatever the topic is has you animatedly involved and excited.

“What was that about?”

“Hmm?” Shachi looks over his shoulder ans grins, “Nothing man, just told her a joke is all.”

Penguin’s face scrunches up in annoyance, but he doesn’t say anything else. He knows that Shachi can see his feelings for you, and his friend would never do anything to get in his way, but hearing you laugh so loudly made Penguin more jealous than he ever expected to be.

As more of your crewmates slowly recognize your feelings for each other, they’ll start to meddle a bit more, though it’ll all work out one day. They’re all sure of it.

[mcrololo]

I've thought more often recently that Bleach really deserved more recognition from the shounen community, especially back in the day. Shounen fans loved to say Ichigo was a boring protagonist and that the story sucked in comparison to more beloved titles. But the first arc alone is about dealing with death and the loss of a loved one. Arguably the entire series represents finding connection with others, even through death, and isn't it beautiful that for the brief time we got to know each other, we left a mark in both our lives?

Regardless of ships, meeting Rukia was the greatest turning point in Ichigo's life. She was death in a different way than he has dealt with before. Death isn't just an ending, death is also the beginning of a new cycle, and after meeting her we see Ichigo connect more with his living friends.

Orihime, who had lost her brother to a car accident when she was younger (and no living family left). Ichigo helped both her and her brother make peace with it, and ever since, Orihime and Ichigo are connected. Without Rukia (death), none of that would have happened.

Sado, who reflects Ichigo in some way; both having lost a beloved family member and are willing to go the extra mile for others. He helps Sado help a spirit to the beyond. Without Rukia, none of that would have happened.

And even in other arcs, Ichigo leaves his mark on powerful souls! He reunites the gotei captains even when some of them aren't fond of each other. He brings Renji back in contact with Ikkaku, an old squad mate before he ranked up. He closes the gap between Rukia and Byakuya. And for most of it he doesn't even need to be the powerful protagonist... he just needs to be himself.

Which brings me to another point; his relatability. This is where he kind of suffers in terms of appealing to a fanbase which is used to high fantasy-like stories. Main heroes in shounen always dream of something bigger, whether it's a rank or a power they can unlock or something else entirely, like a treasure to find. Ichigo doesn't have a dream. He has a goal which keeps evolving. He wants everyone he cares about to be safe, and will do anything in his power to protect them.

Isn't that incredibly human? We all want our loved ones to be safe and happy. Sure, he could have dreamt big and become a captain of a squad in the living realm. But that doesn't make sense for him or the story, because we get introduced to captains in the second arc, and at that point they are the villains. It would be in the start of the third arc if we were to discover such a desire, and at that point it's kind of too late to establish.

Not to mention he would lose the simplicity of his humanity. Sometimes all you have to do is your best. Sometimes you only have to care. And that, to me, is what Ichigo represents as a main character. Even when the world spits you out, even when it seems the whole world is against you: never forget to care. Never forget to be kind. You never know who needs it the most.

And my last point on Ichigo himself and what makes him relatable: his ever evolving powers. At times it gets boring when a hero keeps receiving power up after power up, especially when there were no hints prior. But in Ichigo's case, that kind of has a purpose. He goes from human to shinigami to vizard to fullbringer to half quincy as well, and you might sigh deeply and think to yourself "really? This guy gets ALL the special powers?" Yes. Because his story is also about identity, and in turn, the struggles that go with it.

From the very day we meet him, we never learn Ichigo's desires in life. What does he want to be when he grows up? What drives him? What is he scared of? Who is he? And the truth is... he doesn't know. He's 15, and suddenly the weight of not just his friends but the whole world lies on his shoulders. He doesn't have time to pause and think about irrelevant stuff like a future career. His power ups reflect this. Who IS ichigo if he falls in every category?

And personally, I believe that is the most realistic way to write a guy stuck between worlds. Maybe it wasn't entirely deliberate, but the metaphor is there. The narrative even emphasizes it! And yes, repetitive plot points will become boring if you keep using them. However, just like his power ups, it serves another purpose.

The pathway of life. We all have lessons we need to learn to work through challenges we face, and if we don't learn them the first time, the problems will just reappear in a different manner until we find the solution to navigate. Ichigo needing to save a loved one from the clutches of evil is, in and of itself, the lesson he has to learn, as well as a challenge to face head on. He is the protector, and until he fully embraces it, he will always run into a problem like this. And we see him gradually pick up the burden of being a hero: from refusing to fight hollows to help random spirits to protecting the whole of Soul Society.

Tl;dr: Bleach's narrative is way more functional and reflective of ourselves than the anime community gives it credit for. From dealing with death and connecting to identity struggles. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk

[despairforme]

      The city was decorated in lights. Every shop window would make damned sure everyone knew it was CHRISTMAS. Nnoitra wished they’d tone it the fuck down. He wasn’t even able to appreciate all the good Christmas sales and offers. The cold, the fact that everyone around him were happily buying presents for their friends and family... It made him feel isolated. It wasn’t really the loneliness that bothered him, it was the sinking feeling that he would never have that sort of thing. He had blown his chances of being happy with someone. Maybe there never had been a chance to begin with, because he was not the sort of person who deserved to be happy. Mah, oh man, the depression was getting bad these days.

      It was cold. A stiff breeze swiped through the streets, making Nnoitra’s shoulders tense. He had at least found his coat, and wore that on top of a large hoodie. It masked his skinny build well. He was walking aimlessly. Since he was STILL crashing at Ikkaku’s place, he had a habit of staying outdoors a lot. Laying in bed in a room that wasn’t even his own... Was even more depressing. So, why hadn’t he moved out yet? Because even the thought of looking for a place to stay was too much. He didn’t have the energy. These days he was just trying to keep his head above water. He felt like any little misstep could send him plummeting to the ground. Somehow, no matter how low he felt, there was always a lower point waiting.

      How many times had he told himself to pull himself the fuck together? To just STOP feeling like this? A million times. No matter how many times he called himself pathetic and said that he could do better than this - it just didn’t work. It was like trying to swim - Nnoitra couldn’t swim. 

      He had friends, who he could hang out with - and he did hang out with them, but even when he did, there was this darkness. Something that brought down the mood - it was all his fault. He sure as shit would not like to hang out with someone that depressive. Nnoitra didn’t like pretending, so it wasn’t like he tried to act all cheerful either. So instead he just chose to spend less time around people. The few friendships that he had... He’d rather not lose them, lame as that sounded.

     He had stopped outside a shop window, bored of walking. The lights were warm yellow and inviting. He turned his back to them and leaned against the window instead. He brought his hands up and breathed out some warm air onto his fingers. There were still three hours until he he could go to work. His job was the only light on the horizon. Maybe he should... Get into some fights outside of work. It had been a while since he’d gone looking for trouble. He’d been getting all the fighting he needed done inside the cage, but, now that he had NOTHING ELSE in his life - maybe it was time he fought some more? At least that would make him feel good. Crushing someone’s face with his fist. Or his boot. He cracked his knuckles.

[ikkaku-of-heart]

The sound of Mihawk's laughter might have been one of the rarest sounds available, and Ikkaku felt privileged to have coaxed it out of him. She had to grin, inordinately pleased with herself, when he gave her permission to call herself his friend should she ever cross paths with the famed Red-Haired Shanks.

"Then I'll have to offer him a bottle of my homebrewed moonshine. As for asking me to join his crew, unlucky for him, I'm a loyal gal when it comes to captains. Law probably needs me more than him, anyway." Now that was something no one could deny. It wasn't just the fact that there were few engineers out there who could match Ikkaku's skills, especially on a vessel as rare and advanced as a submarine. It was that Law needed the people he let into his heart to stay close and keep him from taking on more burdens than he could handle.

The Surgeon of Death needed a little sunshine in his life while he sailed in the dark depths of the seas.

Leaning forward in her chair, Ikkaku intently took in Mihawk's words about his upbringing. It wasn't just that she was getting a rare glimpse into the history of a man as mysterious as the World's Greatest Swordsman - it was that his story sounded similar to her childhood tormentor's, and while that initially brought a chill down her spine, it got her thinking. "Pressure can turn coal into a diamond, or a person into a total basketcase. You're definitely the former. The latter...my oldest brother was the second option, even though he hid it pretty well. At least for a while." Pressure turning someone into a basketcase wasn't always immediately obvious, after all.

"Ushi...he kind of had a similar situation to yours," Ikkaku sighed, a gloomy cloud drifting across her features as she remembered the man. "Though, he had both our parents AND the whole island putting him on a pedestal. For as long as I can remember, everyone said he'd be a Marine hero who would put our island on the map for something other than monsters and misfortune. So he was praised for everything he did and expected to succeed. Even when he tried to kill me and crippled our brothers, everyone justified or ignored it. After all, everyone's hopes and dreams rested on his shoulders, and punishing him for attempted murder could jeopardize his enlistment. Gramps told me that would have fucked up anyone, being so spoiled but having everyone depending on him. But it doesn't excuse the shit he did or the man he became. The Marines deserve him."

She grimaced, remembering how everyone had fawned over Ushi, ignoring his siblings' fear and injuries, how dogs hated him, and the twisted things he said and did. All because they were desperate to have a diamond that shone bright enough to break through Joras' wretched reputation that hung as thickly as the fog. Yet they had only succeeded in creating another monster.

Shaking her head, Ikkaku looked at Mihawk, expression softening, her warm, compassionate demeanor returning. "Your parents sound like good folks. It's pretty obvious they loved you, and you love them. I think that made you stronger than any amount of pressure. Having someone to fight for makes our will to survive stronger. And if you'd asked me a year ago, I'd have probably been on your dad's side, but nowadays...well, considering my captain joined the Shichibukai club, I can see why some pirates might choose this path." Even if Law's ultimate goal would be to betray the World Government, part of the reason he'd joined was to protect his crew. Even if Ikkaku had her doubts about how effective that would be.

It wasn't often that something could make him laugh, but in this case, the swordsman couldn't help it. A deep laugh left his lips, his entire form relaxing completely now as he leaned back in his chair. The sentiment was much appreciated, though really, there was no need to ever try and turn Shanks into a drunken bear buddy --- he was doing that kind of job quite splendidly on his own.

In the end, the swordsman, feeling slight embarrassment, turned in his chair away from her once the laughter subdued, trying to catch his breath and compose himself at least somewhat before he'd even think about continuing the conversation. He truly hadn't laughed that much for quite some time, and not even Shanks could manage to get such a reaction out from him on his best days.

❝ If you ever come across Akagami on your travels, he's the friend in question. Shove whatever bottle of liquor you have on you under his nose and you'll become his best friend in an instant. And if he gets suspicious about it, just tell him you're my friend. Beware though, that might cause some unwarranted invitations to join his crew. ❞ It was something that Mihawk himself admired so much about Shanks, the ease in which he approached people and made friends. The little Straw Hat, he noted, shared the very same aura as the man who inspired him to become a pirate in the first place.

He, on the other hand, liked his friend circle small and practically unchanged. There were a handful of people Mihawk felt comfortable with being in their presence and that's where it all stopped. There were very rare cases where somebody new would be considered part of that friend circle, which was the case and point with Ikkaku, despite their vastly different personalities and age difference. From a very young age, he simply started disassociating himself as much as he could, finding friends to be an obstacle on his way to becoming the best swordsman the world had ever seen. Only when he grew much older did he realize that it was a mistake, so he tried to make up for it whenever he could, even with being as introverted as he was.

❝ If only I had a motivational speaker like you when I was younger. ❞ Another chuckle escaped him. ❝ The biggest irony is that usually parents put pressure on their children to live up to their vision of how one is supposed to be. In my case, it was everybody else who saw what I was doing and knew what I wanted to achieve that put so much unnecessary pressure on my shoulders. I tried to ignore it, but I like to think that the pressure helped in one way or another. After all, diamonds are made under pressure, no? ❞ Not that he was a diamond, but what he'd been through shaped him into the man he was now.

❝ My parents were always lenient about it all. They didn't care what I did, as long as I did what I liked. My mother would always worry I'd get myself killed when I first started out, and my old man being a retired pirate wasn't too thrilled when I became part of the Shichibukai, but he came to see reason. Part of why I did join was to protect them. ❞

[yumichikah]

Sexual identity and transphobic traits TW!

I think it’s finally time I write this headcanon out since it’s been developing in my head for ages, but thanks to it’s controversial nature, I’ve left it to mature some.

Anyone who has read the tybw as manga knows that Yumichika commented on Giselle, calling her a man even though she identifies as a female. Now that we do have an active Giselle in the rpc, I’d like to discuss it. In all honesty, I think the whole transphobic attitude that is shown in that scene does fit Yumichika’s character. He himself isn’t the most friendly and understanding dude and we see him having issues with Charlotte’s version of beauty earlier in the series too. He is a very self-centred and closed off man, who quite often projects his insecurities outwards by putting others down(i.e. calling them ugly). With Giselle it was clear to him that she is an enemy and quite deserving of loathing thanks to her using others as her weapons instead of fighting traditionally like the whole of Eleventh usually does(and what they swear by). With such a person Yumichika would definitely not feel bad if he did hurt her feelings – hell, one could argue that that’s exactly what he was aiming for in the first place.

Now also there’s the issue of this ass of a man being really feminine himself. He grew up in a very hostile and violent place with that unconventionally pretty face and definitely had issues with rougher guys harassing him thanks to it. For what I have imagined his past to be, he would’ve gotten called a girl countless times, his skills as a fighter getting questioned constantly and him having to prove himself to everyone all the time. Surrounded by criminals, he most likely started to fight simply to defend himself from men who saw a petite long haired boy as easy prey. Such a thing would leave just about anyone struggling with their own identity as he did find more traditionally feminine things more appealing than masculine ones, but hated being called a girl thanks to creepers. Yet he most likely did use his looks to lure those people into traps so he could kill them and steal whatever he wanted from them too… so being almost like a girl had it’s advantages when surviving and staying alive, but damaged him mentally a lot. It’s one mess of a sexual identity that boy developed in the Rukongai, to say the least.

And with that said, Yumichika noticing a person who has accepted themselves and their sexual identity, who isn’t afraid to be who they want to be and present themselves how they want to be seen as would be triggering as hell to him. He would be going through all the years of living almost with two gender identities among predators that treated him like garbage. He would remember how much it hurt when he was told how he looked like a woman, while he definitely profited off of it at the time. He knew it was confusing and made you doubt everything you are when you got gendered wrong – and that’s why I think he wouldn’t regret misgendering Giselle at all. He wanted to hurt her. He wasn’t trying to buddy up an enemy and his own frustrations with his own mess of an identity and all the insecurities were there to amp everything up. He was letting out his own hurt in the form of looking down a person he pretty much wanted to be – a someone who is confident in their identity and who isn’t hiding themselves away in fear of getting rejected.

To conclude; Yumichika has transphobic traits, yes. It’s not because he is incapable of accepting others, but because he has trouble accepting himself. He will look down at anyone who reminds him of the years he struggled before meeting Ikkaku and he won’t be apologetic about it as long as the said person doesn’t become a friend. He still has no idea what or who he truly is himself.

This does NOT mean that I as a mun agree with him on this topic!! This is a very strong case of MUN DOES NOT EQUAL MUSE.

[anubislover]

Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Nami-ya chapter 19: Lying Hearts

“How can anyone stand to live in a city like this?” Nami grumbled as the light glinted off of yet another painfully white building. True, the setting sun had lessened the glare slightly, but after an entire afternoon of it, she was developing quite the headache, even with the sunglasses.

Law shrugged and continued walking at a leisurely pace, still unaffected. “I’m sure if you’re born somewhere like this it’s easier, but people can learn to tolerate almost anything given enough time, I suppose.”

“Do you think you’d be able to learn to tolerate bread?”

“I said almost. I’d sooner die of starvation.”

She shook her head with a chuckle but kept pace, following his lead. Instead of heading straight back to the submarine, Law had insisted on a few detours through Atifakuto—partially in case anyone had grown suspicious and decided to follow them, but also to scope out potential escape routes under the guise of sightseeing. Nami, for her part, had been exceedingly helpful in this, mapping out in her head which stairways lead where and pointing out various places to hide. If Law found her compliance suspicious, he didn’t say anything; it was in their best interest to work together, especially with some potentially valuable goods on the line, so her behavior was easily rationalized.

For her, however, there was more than artifacts or even belli at stake. This heist had to go well. She needed Law to trust her enough to open up about why he was so obsessed with Amber Lead. Perhaps if he could do that, she wouldn’t even have to sneak into his quarters to take a look at the ledgers. She could just ask and he’d let her in like a rational human being.

Of course, in order for either of their plans to succeed they needed to know where the vase was. Luckily, the rest of the Hearts hadn’t been sitting idle on the submarine. They’d been investigating every possible gallery, art collector, museum, and auction house their prize could possibly be at. The second they had a lead, they’d call on the mini Den Den Mushi.

Until then, though, Law and Nami were forced to meander about the city, planning and killing time.

“So, while we wait for some intel, what else are you going to buy me?” she asked as they wandered the fourth level. They’d passed quite a few shops, and while most had stocked dull business suits similar to the last store, Nami felt her bags were tragically light. They were in a beautiful-if-blinding city, and she was walking away with only one outfit? What a travesty.

Snorting dismissively, Law glanced down at her with a clear look of are you kidding me? on his face. “Nothing. I told you I was only getting you one outfit. I’m your captain, not your sugar daddy.”

“You know, for a man who wants this little job to go well, you’re not putting in nearly the effort you should,” she quipped, a sly smile on her lips, eyelashes fluttering prettily. “I’m supposed to look professional and put together if I’m gonna pull off being your lovely assistant. That means I need matching shoes and accessories. Maybe a cute leather purse or briefcase to really sell it.”

“If you want those so badly then buy them yourself. Or,” he smirked, halting his pace to turn around and catch her chin between his fingers, tilting her head up towards him as he stepped in close enough so she could feel his body heat, “you earn them by doing certain favors for daddy.”

Her cheeks only pinkened a little at his innuendos while she stuck out her tongue and shoved him away. Last night’s dream wasn’t quite as close to the forefront of her mind anymore, but that didn’t mean his smirk didn’t do things to her she’d rather ignore. “Pass. You should know by now that it takes more than clothes for me to play nice.”

“Mmm, I do. That’s what makes it so much fun,” he purred, gold eyes glinting in wicked amusement. One gloved hand was shoved into his pocket while his free arm slung itself casually over her shoulder as he continued stalking along the fastidiously clean road. “But since you’re currently insisting on being a strong, independent woman who doesn’t need a man to provide for her, you can instead borrow some shoes from Ikkaku, and she might still have a pair of glasses or something from the time she pretended to be a receptionist at a Naval base.”

Brown eyes widened at his statement. Not because he was suggesting that she borrow clothes or anything, but the bombshell he’d just casually dropped in light of her recent discovery.

“Was this for one of your plans?” she asked, shoulders stiffening.

He shrugged like it was no big deal, though he did give her a curious glance at the way she tensed beneath him. “Yeah. We needed someone on the inside, and they’d put out an advertisement for an attractive female in her early twenties. It’s not like Uni or Penguin could do it.”

“But…holy shit, Law, are you serious?” she hissed, dragging him over to an unoccupied part of the street behind a solitary gated tree so she could scold him in private. There weren’t too many people about, but the last thing they need was to get unwanted attention because they’d caused a scene, even if Law totally deserved to get chewed out at the top of her lungs for being such an asshole. “Ikkaku has Marine brothers who want her dead and you sent her into the lion’s den? What the fuck?!”

Caught off-guard by her anger, Law’s eyebrows shot up briefly before furrowing. “She told you about them?”

Damn. In her shock and anger on her friend’s behalf, she’d forgotten that this was a subject she wasn’t technically supposed to know. But instead of admitting guilt, she doubled down and threw on her best poker face.

“Yeah. She told me,” she lied easily. Too easily. It came as naturally as it had back in the days she’d been working under Arlong, getting close to pirates by lying through her teeth and then robbing them blind. How many crews and captains had she deceived before Luffy? Nami had honestly lost count, but once she’d joined up with the Straw Hats, lying to a supposed ally hadn’t been quite as instinctual.

But this isn’t Luffy, and Law’s keeping way more secrets than I am, she rationalized. It’s just a little white lie anyway. He’d be way more pissed at Shachi and Penguin for telling me. I’m looking after those guys.

Law’s expression hardened, and for a moment she wondered if he’d seen through her bluff. She didn’t think she’d gotten too rusty in the lying department, but Law was smart and distrusting in general, so she couldn’t quite tell. Trepidation hung heavy in the air as she waited for him to speak, mind going a mile a minute coming up with new lies and explanations to appease him. Worse came to worst, she could throw the guys under the bus, even if she didn’t really want to, but they were his best friends, so Law would doubtlessly be more forgiving towards them, right?

Thankfully, it seemed his anger came from a completely different place, as he snarled quietly through clenched teeth, “Nami-ya, I am, as you have pointed out rather frequently in the past, a control freak. Do you really think I would devise a plan that required sending my top mechanic into a Marine base if there was even a chance she could be recognized? Especially by her utter shit of a brother?”

She flinched at the vitriol in his voice. It seemed she’d touched a nerve, and unless she wanted to lose all the progress she’d worked for, she knew it was best to back down. “Sorry. You’re right.”

“I’ll accept your apology if you tell me what prompted her to tell you,” he stated, crossing his arms. “It’s not information she makes widely known, even to those who are permanent members of my crew.”

Well. At least this was easy enough to justify, and she’d be doing both Law and Ikkaku a favor, right? Sure, the guys would obviously tell him later, but being the first to warn him might earn her a few more crumbs of trust. “There was an article in the paper about Marine reinforcements coming to the Grand Line. Ushi was interviewed. He seemed pretty intent on taking down the Heart Pirates.”

Law froze, his frown deepening into a dark sneer. The tic in his jaw and the way his fists clenched reminded her of his reaction to Ikkaku having been attacked on Grimm. “That fucker will stay away from Ikkaku if he’s got any brains in him.”

“You’re pretty protective of her,” she said. Sure, he’d perhaps phrased his defense in a way that implied his priority was the plan, it was clear from the hiss in his voice that Ikkaku’s safety had been genuinely considered.

The brim of his hat hid his eyes as he stated, “I’m protective of all my crew. She’s just…it’s hard to find submarine engineers, let alone ones as skilled as her. Ikkaku’s hard to replace.”

Well that stinks to high heaven of bullshit, she thought. Sure, the Surgeon of Death had a rightly-earned cruel reputation, but he’d shown time and again his crew meant a lot to him. Stepping in close, she used her finger to lift his hat enough to see his expression unobstructed. “Is that why you let her sass you? Because if she walked you’d be dead in the water?”

The gold orbs glared down at her, though the held no heat. “Everyone on the crew is a vital component. Like gears in a well-oiled machine. You’ve gotta take care of them to make sure they don’t break.”

When Nami merely raised a disbelieving eyebrow, he sighed, body deflating slightly. “Look, Nami-ya, everyone on my crew, we’ve all got shit in our pasts. Some have overcome it. Some still carry the scars. Ikkaku…hers is one of the few that’s actively still trying to get her. So yeah, maybe I’m a bit more protective, but it’s for a damn good reason.”

Ok, now that was a fair point. “I’m surprised you haven’t just killed him.”

“Oh, I want to,” he snarled. “No brother should try to hurt their siblings. They’re supposed to look after them. The only reason Ushi-ya still draws breath is because Ikkaku begged me to spare his pathetic life.”

It suddenly dawned on Nami that, despite his criticizing Luffy for not being more bloodthirsty, Law was…surprisingly merciful in his own ways, too. He didn’t murder Ikkaku’s brother, despite having clear reason to, just because she asked. He rescued Jean Bart from a life of slavery despite not knowing him. And while she didn’t fully understand the Ope Ope no Mi’s powers, she wondered if his cuts didn’t draw blood because he didn’t want them to?

She wasn’t sure if he had a complexity addiction or if he genuinely wanted to minimize bloodshed, but once again another side of the incredibly fascinating man had been revealed.

Taking a deep breath to calm his anger, he gave Nami a sadistic smile. “Doesn’t mean I let him off the hook with a sternly-worded warning, though. Wanna know what I did to him the last time we met?”

Nami turned a bit green as she remembered Jinzo’s still-beating heart in his hands. Complex and caring towards his crew or not, he was still a twisted bastard. “Fuck no!”

Briefly he pouted at not getting to regale her with the gory details before shrugging. “Pity. It was quite the eventful evening. In fact, it was also the night of mine and Drake-ya’s first kiss.”

“How the hell are those two things connected?!”

“Well, I had to distract him somehow. He was guarding my poor mechanic like a dragon would a virtuous princess.”

Before she could demand more details, or even snort at the idea of Ikkaku being virtuous, the sound of the mini Den Den Mushi reached their ears, interrupting the conversation.

Looking around to make sure there weren’t any eavesdroppers, Law pulled out the little snail phone and clicked down on the top. “Guessing you’ve got something for me?”

“I do,” the snail answered, and Nami recognized the faint accent that indicated they were speaking to Cousteau. “Only one place that specializes in North Blue history. Jubilee & Atlas Antiques. It’s an auction house and gallery on the fifth level, a block away from the Elevate Deliverer Restoration Church.”

“Well that’s a needlessly long name,” he quipped, rolling his eyes. Mentally, Nami had to agree, though it also sounded vaguely familiar. “At least that makes it easier to find. Anything else I should know? Other landmarks, nearby guard stations, that sort of thing?”

There was a moment of hesitation before Cousteau replied, “No station, though there would probably be at least a few guards wandering around at night. It’s, uh, right by a fountain. Blessings from the White City.”

Nami’s eyes widened a little. Oh. Now she remembered. That had been the church with the huge stained-glass windows. The one in her book, by the tribute to Flevance.

“…I see.”

The little snail chewed its lip, clearly concerned. “Captain, if you want, I can do all the surveillance—”

“It’s fine,” he cut in, tone sharp before smoothing out, “I saw it earlier. In fact, I’m glad it’s so close. Nami-ya and I will check out the gallery. We’re nearby and I’d rather see it with my own eyes to get the lay of the land. Unless anyone else has a better lead, you and the others can head back to the ship.”

“Understood, sir. Anything else you need?” he asked, sounding relieved.

“Just tell Clione I might have a job for him later on, so don’t make any evening plans.”

“Aye-aye, Captain.”

The call ended, and Nami peered up at Law, expecting signs of the same darkness that had crossed his face when they’d visited the fountain earlier. Instead, his face was totally blank, staring down at the tiny snail, expressionless.

Somehow, that was far, far more unnerving.

“Law?” she asked, touching his arm hesitantly.

As if awoken from a trance he shook his head before smirking down at her. “Well, hope you don’t mind one last detour before heading back to the ship? I know it’s more stairs but look on the bright side; at this rate, the definition of your calf muscles will be a thing of beauty.”

He didn’t wait for her to respond, turning on his heels and heading towards the direction of the stairs to the next level. Frowning, she began to doubt whether or not this was all a good idea. She didn’t know exactly what his deal was, but she really felt like he was too close to this. But she had the feeling trying to talk him out of it would be an exercise in futility, and would set her back far more than any lie she might spin.

Oh well, she sighed internally, jogging to catch up, so long as he doesn’t do anything stupid. He’s sensible enough to keep a cool head, no matter what his problem is. It’ll be fine.

While it wasn’t far, it took longer than either of them would have expected to actually find Jubilee & Atlas Antiques. Mainly because it was a surprisingly nondescript building compared to the opulent churches and museums nearby. Honestly, based on the exterior, one could easily have passed it by. Like everything else the building was pristinely white, the windows boasting small arches over them and flower boxes containing white impatiens. Really, the most impressive thing about it was the marble plaque out front boasting the company’s name in gold leaf.

But the two pirates didn’t really care about the appearance; it was what was inside that counted. That, and the information board out front, which stated in bold, black letters that there would be a showing and auction of North Blue artworks at 8pm that evening.

“Why don’t you just Scan the place, grab the vase, and walk away? Seems like that would be easy compared to putting on this charade?” Nami asked, eyeing the building. It was hardly Harpin’s mansion; it would take almost no effort for Law to use his powers to steal every item of value inside it, replacing artifacts, paintings, and money with pebbles and potted plants with a mere flick of his fingers, then teleporting them away to safety.

Really, if he weren’t such an ass, Trafalgar Law would be a thief’s dream partner.

Of course, he was an ass, so he gave her a look that implied he considered her question to be phenomenally stupid. “Because there’s no guarantee that the vase is even in there—for all I know it’s being kept in a secondary location until the actual event for security or health reasons. It is a relic from a city that suffered a notorious death toll both before and after the World Government had quarantined it,” he explained lowly. “On top of that, my Room would draw too much attention, so if it’s not in there, we’ll have blown our whole cover and probably the operation.”

Though disappointed that they couldn’t just whisk it away with his powers, she conceded that he had a point. Versatile and useful as they were, the Ope Ope no Mi’s abilities did have their drawbacks. Actually infiltrating the auction house was a safer move.

Yet for a moment, she saw Law glare at the building, as if he were equally frustrated that they couldn’t just grab their prize and go. Perhaps even a great mastermind like him sometimes wished to take the direct path. “At least we can be sure it’ll be presented at this auction,” he reassured, almost as much to himself as her as his hand rested on Nami’s lower back while he escorted her away. “Makes it easier to come up with a plan and contingencies when I actually know the target. My crew did good.”

She twirled a strand of hair around her finger in thought. She supposed he was right, and the pride in his voice when he mentioned the Hearts’ contribution…well, she knew better than to argue with that. Seemed the lesson he learned on the last island was sticking. “Still too bad we don’t have blueprints like Harpin’s house, though.”

“It can’t be helped. That was a job I’d been planning for months. This is more…spontaneous. Why? Scared and looking to back out?” he asked, glancing down at her with a challenging grin.

Nami scoffed. She was a thief that specialized in robbing pirates. Sure, she was a scaredy-cat, but when treasure of some kind was at stake, there were few risks she wouldn’t take. “Not a chance. Just pointing out that we’re going in more blind than last time.”

“Maybe, but at least our prize will be out in the open and not in the home of a former Marine with tentacles. Hell, we might even get it legally.”

“Law,” she started, brow furrowing. She wasn’t scared, but she did have a reasonable concern, especially with how intent he seemed on this one item. “What are we going to do if we don’t win the vase?”

The pair stopped by the Flevance fountain, Law taking a long moment to stare solemnly at the beautiful white angels. Without a word he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small coin, pressing it to his lips before flipping it into the water.

When he turned back to her, his gold eyes were as hard as the statues’ and twice as cold.

“Simple; we take it from whoever did.”

XXX

Hidden in a small cove on an unpopulated section of Atifakuto’s coast, the sight of the Polar Tang’s sunny yellow hull was a welcome relief after a whole day of the city’s stark white walls. Law seemed to agree as his tense posture relaxed into a comfortable slouch, even giving a few of the guys a small grin when they called out to them. To Nami, of course, the submarine was still far from the Sunny and thus would never be home, but she couldn’t help but smile at Law’s reaction. The Dark Doctor really did have some softness deep down.

Of course, that didn’t last long, as the moment they were within the safety of the cargo bay he was once more all business. “Dinner is in an hour. Rest up, brush up on your notes, do whatever you need to prepare for the auction tonight; I’ve got a few more dominoes to put in place,” Law stated. He’d been silent for most of the walk back, though Nami attributed that to him mentally filing through all the information they now had and formulating his plan. Much as she missed and loved Luffy, having a captain who didn’t just go rushing in like an idiot was a nice change of pace.

That didn’t mean she appreciated his tone, though. “Say please,” she quipped, hip jutting out. She might have decided to be more compliant for the sake of gaining his trust, but that didn’t mean she was going to let him boss her around.

Besides, if she were too accommodating, he’d probably grow suspicious and then she’d be right back at square one.

He scowled but apparently decided it would be a waste of time to argue. They were on a tight schedule, after all, so her attitude would have to be tolerated. For now. “Please,” he grumbled before marching off, beckoning Clione to follow him. The biologist glanced between the two, bewildered, but smartly said nothing before chasing after his captain.

Flashing a self-satisfied grin at Law’s retreating back, Nami practically skipped to her quarters. Even though they weren’t as prepared as she’d like, so far, things were going well. Perhaps they couldn’t just use Law’s powers to swipe the vase, but by obtaining it through legal means, they wouldn’t have the authorities after them, which would be nice. Besides, it wasn’t her money that would be spent at the auction.

Her research of the North Blue had taught her a few things, including just how valuable things from Flevance were. After all, things made from the white ore had been in high-demand during the city’s heyday; now that it was in ruins, any remaining artifacts would surely triple in price. And, admittedly, if that fountain had been anything to go by, the vase could very well be extremely beautiful. Something any art collector or historian might want for themselves.

Once more, she wondered why the hell Law wanted it. He collected coins, not art, so she doubted it would be something he wanted just for the heck of it. What was his obsession with Flevance—

That train of thought was derailed when Nami walked into her room. She blinked then rubbed her eyes, certain her vision was still messed up from the sun, because Ikkaku was still sitting at her desk, working on some little device, practically in the same position as that morning. Really, the only difference was the lack of towel around her head, though her curly hair was a tangled bird’s nest.

“Have you even moved today?” Nami exclaimed loudly, flabbergasted.

The mechanic jumped a few inches out of her chair, a pen cartwheeling through the air before falling back onto the surface of the desk with a clatter. Apparently since she’d had the room to herself, she hadn’t felt the need to put the earplugs back in, leaving her vulnerable to Nami’s loud voice. “Damn, girl, you scared me,” Ikkaku said with a breathy laugh. She glanced around, noticing the time on the clock and the fact that her hair had dried completely. “Guess I was in the zone.”

“You haven’t been working all day, have you?” Nami asked, plopping her shopping bag on her bed. “At least tell me you had lunch.”

“Sounding an awful lot like Law there,” she teased, pushing away from her desk to stretch. There was an audible pop from her back, and her dark eyes closed in relief. “Like me, too. The boys and I are always bugging a certain workaholic captain to eat something and not subsist solely on coffee and aspirin. But to answer your question, yes, I did have lunch.” She pointed at an empty plate that had been shoved into the far corner of the desk, a few grains of rice stuck to the surface. “Bepo brought me some onigiri.”

“Good. If you didn’t, I’d be dragging you into the galley and force-feeding you a sandwich, then charging you a cooking and inconvenience fee.”

Snorting, Ikkaku cracked her knuckles and rolled her shoulders, further releasing the tension sitting hunched over in one spot for hours had built up. “Dinner’s soon enough; even if I hadn’t eaten, I could have waited. And good luck making a sandwich with no bread on board.” Despite her dismissal tone, though, she gave a wry grin. “But thanks for caring, I guess, even if it does come with a price tag.”

“What are friends for?” Nami shrugged with a smile that was a little forced. It was such an alien feeling, this sudden awkwardness. Since first arriving on the Tang, she and Ikkaku had gotten on like a house on fire. It was almost inevitable, being the two women on the ship surrounded by men dealing with that insanity together. Hell, even if that hadn’t been the case, Ikkaku had practically sacrificed herself for her back at the club on Grimm. A companion like that was more than she’d even dared to dream of before she’d met Luffy.

Was it really right for Nami to act like she didn’t know about her brother? Should she just tell her that the guys told her about Ushi? Really, what was the point of keeping it a secret? It wasn’t that Nami thought she’d slip up and spill the beans—lying was her specialty, after all—but Ikkaku wasn’t some mark or stranger. She was her friend.

Hell, even if they were on opposite crews, she’d even dare to call her nakama.

The issue resolved itself, however, when the other woman’s expression turned a little melancholy. Ikkaku sighed as she rested her cheek on her fist, her other hand idly playing with the pen. “Heh. Funny, I used to ask myself that question a lot when I was younger. I didn’t really have friends back on my home island. I lived with my Gramps in a lighthouse, so besides the occasional trip to town, it was a pretty isolated life.”

“What about your brothers?” Nami asked, masking her interest by taking her purchases out of the bag so they wouldn’t wrinkle before the auction. A swell of relief surged through her. If Ikkaku talked about Ushi herself, the whole charade of pretending not to know about him wouldn’t even be necessary! She just had to carefully press for the right crumbs of information, maybe even offer up a couple tidbits about her own life in exchange. No big deal. Tit for tat, right? “Nojiko was my best friend growing up. Hell, probably my only friend until Luffy came along.”

A dark look crossed Ikkaku’s face. “Yeah, well, Nojiko on her worst day was probably a way better sibling than all of them combined.”

“I don’t think you’ve talked about them much. I basically just know that they exist and said you wouldn’t really make it as an engineer because you’re a girl.”

A long sigh escaped her lips. “That’s…the nice version. Didn’t want to unload my shitty childhood on you, especially since yours sounded worse. I mean, my island was never taken over by pirates, and I didn’t work for the guy who murdered my mom.”

Well, that was certainly true, but then again, people with healthy, normal childhoods seldom became pirates. Or at least, those that did rarely lasted long on such cutthroat seas. Nami should have realized there was more to the mechanic’s past than some run-of-the-mill misogyny. “Maybe, but I don’t mind. We’ve all gone through some rough shit, right? We wouldn’t be in this line of work otherwise.”

“True. I just…I guess I just like to pretend he doesn’t exist most of the time.”

“He?” she asked as if she didn’t already know.

Ikkaku’s calloused hand dropped the pen to instead clench into a tight fist, and there was a haunted look in her dark eyes as she stared off into space. “Ushi. He’s the oldest. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t afraid of him. Spent our childhood making our other brothers use me as a punching bag. When he wasn’t doing that, he gave me almost hourly reminders that I was a burden on the family, that no one really loved me, that I’d never amount to anything.” There was a hitch in her breath and a pause, and Nami noticed her close her eyes tightly for a moment. As if she were fighting back tears. It was a look she’d never expected to see on the tough, vibrant woman’s face. “Then, when I was seven, he tried to kill me.”

“What?!” Nami exclaimed, dropping her blazer to the floor in shock.

“Yeah. Joras had a huge fucking forest, and he led me into it to look for mushrooms or some shit. Can’t remember. Next thing I know, he’s shoved me into a pit, and by the time I’d climbed out, he was long gone and it was night. I think…I think it was supposed to be my grave, ‘cause it was really fucking deep. Or at least it seemed that way. Maybe I’m misremembering.”

Somehow, Nami doubted that. Sure, memories could get warped with age and fear, but some details remained solid for the rest of a person’s life. “But, you got out, right? And I’m sure your parents must have been worried sick!” She could almost picture it. A young Ikkaku, sticks and leaves caught in her messy curls, knees and elbows scraped, face covered in dirt and tears, frightened but once more able to smile when she was finally found, her mother and father scooping her into their arms, scolding her for worrying them but just so relieved she was safe…

At least, that’s what Bellemere or Mister Genzo would have done if Nami had gone missing.

From the bitter laugh that escaped her throat, Ikkaku hadn’t been so fortunate. “I spent three days wandering around those fucking woods, scared and cold and wondering if I was gonna die out there. My parents didn’t even notice I was gone.” After a long moment of silence, her fist unclenched and some of the tension eased out of her shoulders. “Gramps found me, though. When I didn’t come home after two days and a storm rolled in, my brothers Nausagi and Fukuro ran two miles to the lighthouse to tell him what Ushi had done. Maybe they realized he’d gone too far. Or they were scared I’d come back as a vengeful zombie. Either way, Gramps rescued me and demanded custody. Mama and Pops were glad to hand me over. One less mouth to feed, and I wouldn’t be causing their Future Marine Hero any more trouble.”

“That’s…that’s horrible.” And yet Nami could tell she was getting the abridged version of the story. “Tell me your grandfather was a better guardian.”

Despite the childhood trauma she’d just confessed to, Ikkaku merely shrugged, a small grin tugging at the corner of her lips. “Yeah. He was. Gramps was crazy, but he loved me and taught me how to fight. Told me to never lose my smile, ‘cause that’s my best protection against a world that’ll try to break me.”

“Bellemere said something similar to me and Nojiko. ‘Whatever happens, never lose your ability to laugh. If you can survive, happy times, lots of ‘em, will come your way’.”

“Smart lady.” She tried to casually run her fingers through her hair, only to find them caught in the tangled knots. She let out a light chuckle at her predicament and added, “I think she and Gramps would have gotten along pretty well. Well, assuming she liked salty former smugglers who had the gumption to threaten Law with a shot gun. Not that he didn’t deserve it a little.”

Nami had to smile at that, and she could only imagine what he’d said that had nearly gotten him shot. It was definitely something snarky, a shit-eating grin on his face while he provoked a protective grandfather just because he could.

Noticing Ikkaku’s hair situation, she abandoned her suit to instead pick up a wide-toothed comb. “Well, I’m not sure about Bellmere, but I’d certainly love to meet him.”

“Of course you would.” Leaning back in the chair, she allowed Nami to carefully put her thick curls to rights. “How was shopping? Boss show you the blinding sights of the city?”

“It was…enlightening,” she said cautiously. There was still so much to sort out, and every time she thought she had an answer to one of her questions, four more popped up in its place.

Grabbing the pen she’d been playing with earlier, Ikkaku handed it to her over her shoulder. “Here; I made you something, since I doubt you’ll be able to bring your Clima-Tact with you. Kinda why I was so focused—I wanted it to be ready by tonight.”

Curious, Nami inspected the item. It was a plain black ballpoint pen maybe a bit longer than her hand. There was an almost unnoticeable jolly roger engraved into the middle, and she ran her thumb over it idly. “You spent the whole afternoon making me a pen? I could have just as easily brought my stylus.”

“Oh, but a stylus is only good for writing. This is so much more useful. ‘The pen is mightier than the sword’, right? Click the top.”

She did so, and instead of an ink-filled nub, a small syringe, similar to an epi-pen, popped out. Her eyes widened in realization as Ikkaku explained, “Inside’s a powerful tranquilizer. Should knock any fool out in minutes if injected into the bloodstream. Takes longer if it’s ingested. It’s non-lethal to humans, so it should be safe to use on anyone you’re looking to knock out. Assuming they aren’t really Fishmen in disguise.”

“Why? Does it react differently for them?”

She grimaced. “Yeah. Severe allergic reaction. Anaphylactic shock typically. So, unless you want that on your conscience, humans only.”

Tucking the pen away for later, Nami nodded in understanding and went back to combing her hair. “Gotcha. Doubt it’ll be a problem, though. Jean Bart said this place is pretty humans-only.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s impossible for someone to have that kind of bloodline. If it’s diluted through a few generations, a lot of the time you can hide it and pass for human.”

“Hmmm, hadn’t thought of that.”

There was a moment where Nami could tell she was mulling something over. Even faced away from her, Ikkaku wasn’t hard to read, and it was only a matter of time before she voiced whatever question was on her mind.

While she waited, the ginger took the time to appreciate the texture of Ikkaku’s hair, combing out each curl individually so it wouldn’t frizz. The thick, black locks were coarser than her own, yet surprisingly soft despite her hard life at sea. Hair maintenance was extremely difficult living on the ocean, the salt and fluctuating weather of the Grand Line wreaking havoc on Nami’s much finer strands. And while Ikkaku was far more feminine than one would expect upon first meeting her, in the time they’d roomed together, she didn’t seem to put much more extensive care into her shiny locks than some leave-in conditioner.

Guess she’s just got some good genetics, Nami thought appreciatively. Either that or she’s hiding some amazing shampoo formula, and damn if she is I’ll never forgive her!

When Ikkaku at last broke her silence, the hesitation in her voice was palpable. “Hey, it was a Fishman who held you prisoner all those years, right? You ever…blame all Fishmen for what he did?”

It was an unexpected question, but a fair one, Nami supposed. Arlong had committed a crime so heinous she knew she’d never forgive him, and she knew there were plenty of people, especially ones who spent years abused by such a monster, who would project that hatred onto an entire race. But why even ask?

“I…not really. I mean, I can’t say I never lumped them all together in my head, since Arlong and his crew were my only baseline for Fishmen for a long time.” She bit her lip, thinking. “But that was when I was a kid. My view of things was a lot more black-and-white, mostly because I was bitter at my situation. As I got older, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was stupid to think all Fishmen were like him. He was the one who hurt me, so he’s the only one who should get my hate.”

“So, you don’t hate them all?”

She shook her head. “Nah. Hell, I was even able to forgive a member of his crew. I’m sure you heard about how Luffy punched a Celestial Dragon?”

Ikkaku craned her neck up to look at her, dark eyes widening in shocked understanding. “Yeah? You saying the Fishman he defended—”

“One of Arlong’s crew. Hatchi. Like all of them, he hurt me too, but it was on his captain’s orders, and he clearly regretted it.” Well, it had been a bit more complex than that. Hell, when they’d first encountered him again, she’d nearly gone back on her promise to Camie to rescue him. Even if he hadn’t abused her like the others, he’d still been complacent in it. Still destroyed villagers homes, held her hostage, attacked the Navy ships that tried to come to the rescue. He hadn’t been blameless in the least. She would have had every right to demand that he be left to be killed or enslaved. That it was karma come to bite him in the ass.

Yet what had swayed her, apart from Camie’s determination to save him, was her own friends’ reactions to seeing him again. Those who knew her past had immediately been ready to turn the ship around and leave Hatchi to his fate. Of course she’d expected Sanji to be her knight in shining armor and want nothing to do with someone who had abused a lady, even by proxy. Zoro and Usopp had been a bit more surprising, though perhaps it shouldn’t have been. They knew what she’d been put through. Had fought and bled for her. Despite their sometimes heated disagreements, Nami knew she could count on them to always have her back.

The one who shocked her the most was Luffy. He might have flip-flopped between reason and his stomach, but the fact was, her loving, forgiving captain had actually held a grudge on her behalf. Hatchi and Arlong hadn’t done anything to him personally, but his nakama had suffered, and that wasn’t something he’d easily set aside. That genuine show of solidarity and loyalty to her had melted what ice had still been around her heart, which allowed her to truly forgive the octopus Fishman.

Yes, Hatchi had hurt her, but her hatred was solely reserved for Arlong, not his underlings who genuinely felt remorse.

“I’m not a saint or anything but hating Hatchi…it seemed pointless. He wasn’t the one who killed my mother. And blaming all Fishmen for the actions of one seemed pretty shitty. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t kill Arlong if I had the chance, though.”

Nami could practically feel the tension drain from Ikkaku’s shoulders, and she couldn’t hide her smile before she looked away. “That’s good to know. That asshole deserves it, from what you’ve told me. He and my brother should meet, then get sacrificed to some kind of horrible sea monster. Plenty of hungry Sea Kings out there to feed.”

“Couldn’t happen to a nicer pair of guys,” Nami giggled as she ran the comb through the last strand of hair. “Though, that might be cruel to the Sea King. Poor thing deserves a better meal than shit like them.”

“True. We’ll just have to think of something else then. We can ask Law; he’s always got great suggestions.”

A shudder ran down her spine, though she had to admit, it wasn’t as horrified as she’d like. She justified it with the fact that Arlong was scum who deserved whatever painful death the likes of Law might propose. So did Ushi, from the sounds of things. Though, Law had said Ikkaku had begged him not to kill her brother. Why? Did she still care about Ushi due to their familial ties? Or was there something else?

Maybe she just doesn’t want her brother’s death on her conscience, Nami thought, putting the comb away and proceeding to raid the closet for shoes. I just hope that doesn’t come back to bite her someday.

XXX

Dinner on the Tang was certainly livelier and noisier than breakfast. Mainly because the crew didn’t have to walk on eggshells while waiting for Law to get his caffeine hit. Most of the time about a dozen different conversations could be heard, utensils clattered against plates, insults were tossed about, and laughter filled the air. But at the moment, the whole galley was silent save for Nami, who was telling the Heart Pirates—save for a few who’d been sent out on last-minute errands—all about her crew’s wild adventure on Skypiea.

“…so, after Luffy beat the crap out of him, Enel flew off to the moon in his gold airship, and we escaped the island with the help of an octopus balloon, our ship loaded with treasure!”

There was a pregnant pause as the Hearts stared at her in a mix of awe and disbelief. She’d had their undivided attention ever since Law announced that the Straw Hats had found Noland’s lost city of gold, all but demanding she tell the tale and not skimp on the details.

Naturally, those details made the story even more bizarre, practically unbelievable, but she gave them what they asked for, so they couldn’t complain. Even Law’s jaw had dropped once or twice in incredulity. Mostly at the part where Luffy’d been eaten by a giant snake and thus been hidden from Enel’s senses.

Finally, a few of the crew managed to find their voices.

“An orangutan nearly wrecked your ship with singing?” Shachi asked, face utterly baffled.

Penguin grabbed his hat and smacked him over the head with it. “That’s what you’re stuck on? That’s from way back in the beginning of the story!”

The ginger punched him in the shoulder in retaliation, which quickly devolved into a childish slap fight. “Well it’s weird, ok?”

“Weirder than Straw Hat punching Kami or the knock-up stream business or the ship that flew to the moon?”

“Yeah! You ever met an orangutan that could sing?!”

“No, but that’s not the point!”

“You met Monte Blac Cricket?” Ermine interrupted, eyes so wide the whites could be seen even under the rim of their hat, though their mouth quickly split into a smile. “Holy shit, I’d wondered what had happened to him!”

“Wasn’t he your friend or something?” Seiuchi asked through a mouth full of rice.

They shook their head, looking a little wistful, a faint blush rising to their cheeks. “Just a neighbor. The people of Lvneel were dicks to his family and anyone who associated with them didn’t get treated much better. But I always thought there had to be some truth to Noland’s story.”

“Because a city of gold is so fantastical it’s gotta be real?” Nami asked, amused. She’d half-expected everyone to laugh at her like the people on Jaya when she’d asked about Sky Island—she’d even glossed over that part, finding no reason to recap such a blow to her pride. Yet instead, they’d been respectful, even entranced by her tale. It seemed to help that she’d been able to fill in a few blanks with what she remembered from Noland’s ledger, thus adding credibility to the man himself instead of just imagining the lying fool the king’s slander had reduced him to.

Usopp would probably love these guys, she thought fondly. Not that they’d likely believe his fantastical lies, but they’d probably at least let him spin his yarns to his heart’s content.

“Because you don’t tell a king about a city of gold unless you’ve got something to show for it,” Uni interjected wisely, ladling some more curry onto her plate. He paused to smile at her with his eyes, the bottom half of his face still distinctly covered by his bandana despite it being dinnertime. This close, Nami couldn’t help but try to subtly look for signs of scarring, and in fact could spot a line of slightly-paler skin peeking out just over the edge. “That, and history’s rarely all that accurate. Full of lies and twisted to suit a certain narrative.”

“That’s the World Government way. I’m sure we’ll see plenty of it tonight,” Law stated, leaning back in his chair as he munched on some onigiri. The bulge in his cheek might have been comical, but the glint in his eye was humorless. “Can’t wait to hear the dumbass assumptions people make about us Northerners.”

Murmurs of agreement echoed throughout the room, though an angry tic formed on Nami’s forehead.

“Are you saying the stuff you had me study is going to be a load of crap?” she demanded, pointing her finger accusingly. Of course she knew history was skewed at best, but she’d spent days cramming! Had weird sexual dreams about him because of it!

Yes she was blaming the book for that and no one could stop her.

He shrugged and took another bite of rice, unbothered by her irritation. “It’s the information you’ll need to be able to regurgitate if anyone asks you about the North.”

“Yeah,” Penguin chimed in, nodding sagely. He and Shachi had finally been pulled apart by Jean Bart and had resumed eating like nothing had happened. “These people aren’t interested in the truth. They just want to feel superior to the ‘uneducated masses’.”

“Buncha pretentious pricks,” Shachi sniggered, balancing a spoon on his upper lip. “Bet they’d have a fucking fit if they found out El Dorodo’s not only real, but in the fucking sky!”

“I mean, can’t say I’d blame them,” Jude grumbled, playing a bit with his food like a grumpy child. “I figured we’d be the ones to find it, but this whole time we’ve been sailing around in a submarine for nothing!”

“You got something to say about my ship?” Ikkaku snapped, glaring at her crewmate. Behind her, Crozier, Cousteau, and Ermine made slashing motions across their throats, silently reminding him that disparaging the Polar Tang in any way in front of its chief engineer was a sure death sentence.

Before he could say anything, Uni thwapped him on the forehead with the spoon, apparently taking just as much offense. “How can you say it’s been for nothing—we’ve found tons of cool shit down here! May not have been El Dorado, but there have been some amazing sunken cities. And fish! We’ve discovered more aquatic animals than any other ocean explorer,” he pointed out excitedly, Cousteau nodding in agreement. “I mean, we’ve seen deep-sea fish not recorded in any book! Extracted hallucinogenic venom from puffer fish! Taken samples of bioluminescent plankton! We’ve seen octopi punch fish!”

“You ever figure out why they do that?” Shachi asked, cocking his head.

“Best I can figure? Spite.”

As weird as this little tangent was, Nami found herself giggling a bit at how excited Uni was. She didn’t know him too well, given how he was one of the quieter, more reserved members of the crew, but it was endearing to see him so animated and giddy as he discussed marine life.

“Plus, it’s cool to study navigational currents and everything, and underwater topography. The maps I can make from that kind of intel are really good,” Bepo added, twiddling his claws a bit beside her.

“Right! And if that’s still not enough to convince you, who needs a city of gold when you can get your hands on more sunken treasure than most pirates see in their lifetimes?” Uni asked, puffing out his chest.

She couldn’t help it—Nami’s eyes lit up with belli signs at the thought of how many sunken ships the submarine probably came across, all that gold theirs for the taking. Most treasure was basically lost once it hit the bottom of the ocean, but the Hearts’ ship and diving equipment turned the ocean floor into their personal piggy bank.

It seemed Jude had the same thought. “You’re right, you’re right,” he conceded, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, it’s a great ship, and we’ve definitely found more than a city’s worth of loot—and yes the fish are cool Uni put the spoon away—but it’s still annoying to find out that we’ve been searching the wrong place this whole time.”

“Eh, happens to every pirate crew,” Jean Bart said, sipping his drink. “You find a treasure map only to discover the gold’s already dug up. Same with legends of lost cities. The fact that the Straw Hats actually found El Dorado and came away with a profit just means they’ve got the Devil’s luck on their side.”

“Or the favor of some god. Probably not that Enel guy, though,” Shachi said with a smirk. “And hopefully nothing from Joras, either.”

There was a murmur of agreement among the crew at that, though Ikkaku looked more uncomfortable than amused. Nami wasn’t the only one to catch that, though, as Uni reproachfully smacked the side of his head with the spoon.

“Dude. Don’t joke about the eldritch horror gods, yeah?”

“Sorry,” the ginger said, blushing slightly as he wiped away the curry splattered across his face.

“Eldritch horror gods?” Nami asked, recoiling at the thought. What the fuck?! Joras sounded vaguely familiar and given the context she guessed it had to be someplace in the North Blue, but she sure as hell didn’t recall reading anything about that! Was this something related to Northern culture, or were the guys just fucking with her?

“Nothing to worry your pretty little head over, Nami-ya,” Law stated with a smirk, though she didn’t miss the glare he sent Shachi’s way. “We’ve been sailing under the ocean for over five years and I’ve yet to see a sleeping god who can turn you mad with terror.”

“No, just an underwater ruin or two that talks about him,” Ikkaku muttered, picking at her food.

Underwater ruins with tales of sleeping gods? Sounds like something Robin would be interested in, Nami thought, nervous sweat running down her neck. Not that she’d be able to blame her. Sure, the archeologist was macabre as hell, but Nami could appreciate her thirst for knowledge, creepy or not. Who knew what history and cultures had been lost to the seas? Maybe there were even Poneglyphs down at the bottom of the ocean!

Damn. Robin and Law would probably get along great. She wasn’t sure if she was frightened or comforted by this thought.

Uni seemed to notice her unease and patted her shoulder. “We’ve seen some strange stuff down there, but nothing more dangerous than Sea Kings. Which, I mean, aren’t exactly friendly guppies, but they’ll leave us be. The Tang’s Seastone coating and electrical defenses ensure that.”

Though she still found the whole concept horrifying, she was appreciated how hard Uni was trying to keep the peace and not make things needlessly frightening for her. The whole crew had a morbid sense of humor, but while she’d mostly adapted, she still found this whole conversation creepy. It made her feel a little guilty for wanting to pry into his business. Yeah, it was annoying to know the crew was hiding stuff from her, but Uni deserved a little privacy, right?

“Yeah, and if there were anything more, Uni’s fish buddies would warn us ahead of time!” Malamute added.

“Fish buddies?” Nami asked, eyebrows lifting to her hairline in surprise. So much for respecting his privacy. “Wait, can you talk to fish?”

The man in question stiffened beside her. “I, uh, I can understand fish a little,” he said, looking nervous. His large hands twisted the napkin in his lap, and he refused to look at her. “It’s a Haki thing.”

“Haki can do that?” she asked, surprised.

“Observation Haki can do a lot of things, and Uni’s the best at it on the ship,” Law cut in harshly, glare brokering no argument. “It’s a skill that’s saved our asses plenty of times.”

Nami blanched at his defensive tone. “Hey, I’ll take your word for it, but you don’t have to act like I insulted his mother or something.”

“It’s ok, Law,” Uni said, shrugging a bit, though his face seemed to sink a little further into his bandana. “I know she didn’t mean anything by it. It’s a fair question, and it is a weird talent.”

“It’s not weird. It’s fucking useful as hell and I won’t hear anyone belittling my crew.”

“I’d never belittle him—” Nami snapped, starting to stand up to give Law a piece of her mind before Bepo’s heavy paws fell on her shoulders, gently but firmly keeping her seated.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized softly. “Law doesn’t mean you. It’s just…the last person outside the crew that found out, he was extremely cruel about it. Beat Uni to a pulp and even threatened to sell him as a freak show attraction before Captain found them.”

“Oh my god,” she replied, anger cooling quickly as she covered her mouth in horror, imagining Uni bruised and bloody on the ground at the hands of some bastard. Well, that would sure as hell explain why Law had taken such offense. If such a thing had happened to Chopper because he could speak to animals, she’d likely be just as pissed. From the scowls on the rest of the Hearts’ faces, the whole crew felt similar. Her gaze flicked to the fuming captain. “I’m guessing he ended up on your operating table?”

“I wish,” he growled, gold eyes glinting in fury as he crossed his arms. “Marines showed up before I could cut out his heart. Must have been his lucky day, but luck won’t be enough to save him if I ever run into Hyena-ya again.”

“Hyena?” she asked, the name not ringing any bells.

“Bellamy the Hyena,” Bepo explained, snout wrinkling in distaste. “He’s also from the North.”

Oh. My. God, Nami thought, wondering if the world was really so small. “You said Bellamy, right? Blonde hair? Spring powers? Asshole with a stupid grin?”

Law cocked an eyebrow in mild surprise. “Seems you’ve encountered him before.”

She ground her teeth as she remembered the way he’d mocked Luffy’s dreams in the bar. “Yeah. On Jaya. His crew laughed at me for asking about Sky Island and his first mate tried to buy me. Later he stole Cricket’s gold, so Luffy went after him. I didn’t see the fight but given what an ass that guy was…yeah, Luffy wiped that stupid smile off his face.”

Once more the room fell silent, but quickly broke out into thunderous applause.

“Hah! I would have paid good money to see that!” Ikkaku laughed, spirits lifted.

“If he hurt Cricket, I’m glad he got the beating he deserved,” Ermine said with a grin.

Uni smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling happily. “When you see Straw Hat again, shake his hand for me! That guy’s a dick.”

Even Law was put in a better mood, though there was still a malicious edge to his smirk. “Good on Mugiwara-ya. Still wouldn’t mind doing some permanent damage to the fucker myself, though. Bad enough he insulted my crew, but that bastard should pick his idols more carefully.”

Nami’s brow furrowed at that. His idols? The hell did that mean?

She didn’t have time to vocalizing that question, though. Sweat ran down her neck when said smirk then took a more lecherous edge as he rested his chin on his fist, eyes glinting with mischief. “But Sarquiss-ya tried to buy you? I might have prioritize kicking his ass, then. I’m the only one who gets to be your sugar daddy.”

“Oh shut up! You didn’t even buy me new shoes!”

“You got her a suit but no shoes? For shame, Boss,” Ikkaku giggled, getting up to help Seiuchi and Jude clear the tables. “I thought you were supposed to be a ladies’ man.”

“I’m a cruel bastard who doesn’t do something for nothing. She can borrow yours.”

Sauntering over, she playfully poked him in the forehead. “Says who?”

Law snorted and childishly poked her right back. “Me. Your captain. The guy who pays your salary.”

“You pay me to keep the submarine running and sass you when you’re being an idiot.”

“I don’t pay you for that.”

“Mmmm, you’re right; that’s a service I provide for free.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say those two were siblings,” Nami chuckled under her breath.

“Right? When I was first recruited I was convinced they were secretly related,” Uni agreed.

Bepo gave them both a smile and said quietly, “I think it’s good for them. Especially Law. I think he secretly likes having a little sister again.”

Brown eyes widened at that little tidbit. Law had a sister? What happened to her? Bepo had stated the past tense, so there was either some kind of falling out or…

…oh no, she thought, turning to watch Law continue to bicker good-naturedly with Ikkaku, his expression annoyed but the glimmer in his eyes belying that he was enjoying himself. Another piece of the puzzle that was the Surgeon of Death had fallen into her lap, but it wasn’t a particularly happy one. Sure, people died or were killed all the time, but Nami couldn’t imagine what she’d be like if she’d lost Nojiko. And depending on how young they’d been or how she’d died, that could really fuck with a guy.

“Nami-ya.”

Her attention was yanked from her musing as Law called her name. He was on his feet, plate clean and smirk dangerous as he regarded her. Nami wondered whether this would be the last time she’d see him in a genuinely good mood for the rest of the evening. “It’s seven o’clock. Time to get ready to watch history be defiled by pretentious morons. And for your obnoxious thunder god’s sake, make sure you’re wearing shoes you can actually run in.”

( @ninhaoma-ya, @awesomi, @vannahfanfics)

[imaginesandall]

ACExOC Headcanons cuz im bored and sad

BASICS

Her name is Queen.

She is part of the Heart pirates.

Law saved her life once and she devoted herself to him and the crew.

Queen had a bounty before she met the Heart pirates.

'Queen of hearts ♔'

She may have had a thing for ripping out the hearts of a couple of assholes that did wrong on her eyes.

No devil fruits, no powers, just raw force.

Pure coincidence that she ended with the heart pirates after she got her nickname, but the crew loved it and liked to tease her about it.

'It's destiny our dear queen!'

'Shut the fuck up Penguin'

The crew also loves to call her 'queenie' (minus Law ofc)

ACEEEE

When the crew gets to land they separate to get supplies, or whatever it is they need (sometimes what they needed was just getting drunk).

Queen loves her family but she also likes her personal space (sometimes it gets a bit suffocating on the sub).

So being on her own and exploring a new island, she found the cutest freckled boy she has ever seen.

Unconscious.

On the middle of the street.

And well she may be a murderer but she was not heartless (pun fully intended).

So while the people gathered around him whispering what could have happened she took it upon herself to check if the boy (man?) was still alive.

He was.

He just opened his eyes and she almost died of a heart attack.

Like a gentleman (that makino teached him to be) he offered an apology.

But Queen wanted a compensation so she dragged his ass to a trip around the market for supplies.

Queen does not take a no for an answer(just from Law cuz when he enters the DOCTOR MODE then she may as well be doomed).

They went around town on a shopping trip and well... it was nice, and the conversation was funny.

Later that night the Heart pirates and the second commander of the whitebeards were drunk on a small bar singing and dancing.

Law is still not THAT famous so Ace doesn't know him at all, but Law can recognize Ace from the wanted posters and the news (Law is a very well informed man. He has to be).

The crew likes Ace.

Queen likes him even more.

THE BEGINING

After their first meeting it seemed like they were always on the same places.

They parted on an island? Well they are gonna see each other on the next one.

The heart pirates don't interact much with him but they do tease Queen about it.

'ohh there is your boyfriend'

'geez Ikkaku not you too'

'are you gonna get married?'

'Shut up Bepo'

'I'm sorry :c' (this poor boi)

So every time they see each other they have a small activity together.

Both of them are too stubborn to call them dates.

Both of them are also dorks and blush almost at anything.

Ace has trouble trusting people and has self-esteem issues so the even though he likes Queen he thinks he doesn’t deserve anything that makes him happy. And she does make him happy.

So Queen is the first to confess. It takes her a week on the sub (and Ikkaku yelling at her to stop being so dumb) and two days on an island with him to actually confess to him.

‘ I... I wanted to... but Uhh I mean’

‘Please promise me nothing will change after this...’ she kept quiet after saying that.

Queen refused to look at him in the eyes, was shaking like a leaf and then... she ran.

Cue a poor confused boi.

So for everyone else it might have been obvious what was happening.

But this boi thinks he doesn’t deserve love so he just thinks queen catched a bug or something.

The next day she finally confesses and while poor Ace is stunned, he likes her too.

It takes Ace a couple of month to fully accept that yes, Queen likes him and yeah she is being sincere.

Sometimes he still feels like it’s gonna end on a horrible note.

Queen reassures him that she indeed likes him and she is not going anywhere.

THE RELATIONSHIP

Both of them are hopeless romantics but new to relationships.

While ace has had casual flings he never had something serious, as for Queen, well you can’t have a lot of time for anything of that nature while you are running from your life.

Ace always gets Queen small trinkets that makes him think of her.

Little turtles craved on a rock, small shiny rocks(like a bird), food, and other stuff that sometimes he has no idea what they are but they reminded him of queen.

Sometimes Ace feels self conscious that they are not enough and he is fucking things up.

But Queen loves every single weird thing he gaves her and keeps it on a drawer on the polar tank.

Queen also likes to give him gifts but she finds it hard to get something he would like (jokes on her Ace would love anything she gets him).

They love to cuddle.

She loves to trace his freckles, she finds him absolutely adorable.

They get drunk together quite often.

They are the fun™couple.

THE BIG REVELATION

So it took Ace some time to get the courage to tell Queen about his dad.

He tried to make it as natural as possible.

'So what would you say if Gold Roger had kids?'

'The pirate king? Well I mean... I don't know "

'Was he even the kind of pirate that just goes around leaving women pregnant?'

'I mean what kind of woman would like to... well he was the pirate king so...'

'Jeez Ace why would you ask me about his sex life?!'

'I ASKED ABOUT HIS KIDS NOT HIS SEX LIFE'

'HOW DO YOU THINK BABIES ARE MADE?!'

it was not subtle at all.

They were both very red and embarrassed.

Ace had to be very direct with Queen.

He had a breakdown.

He started yelling at Queen about his cursed blood and yelling at her to leave.

Queen stopped him by grabbing his cheeks and giving him a small smile.

'For a guy so smart you sure are dumb huh?'

Queen had to give him a big talk.

'Who gives a crap about who your dad is Ace?'

'You are the things you love, your family, your crew, your friends, the sea, your freedom. The only reason why your dad has such a hold on you is because you let him'

Ace cried for hours while Queen held him.

It broke her to see such a trivial thing in her eyes hold him down like this.

Ace felt better but even after that he had been carrying that burden for so long that it was not gonna dissipate just that easily.

But it made thing easier in their relationship.

'You do look a bit like him tho, I'm guessing you got your pretty looks because of your mom'

[ikkaku-of-heart]

"Jean's been dealt bad hands for a long damn time. I'm glad Straw Hat turned his luck around and he was able to join our crew. Even gladder that I didn't have to make major modifications to the Tang to accommodate his size. I'd do it because everyone on my crew deserves comfort, but it would have been a lot of work. And I'd be really salty if I'd had to do it again after your captain rampaged through the halls after the war," she added, though there wasn't much of a grumble in her voice anymore. Yes, she'd been pissed at how he'd gone on a blind rampage upon waking up after the Paramount War, but given what had happened...yeah, it wasn't his fault. Poor kid had been grieving and still in combat mode. Unfortunate, but understandable.

Also unfortunate but understandable was the revelation that Straw Hat had been on Big Mom's shit list since Fishman Island. "Of course he pissed off a Yonko before Law even made the alliance. Sounds like you were dealing with trouble BEFORE you met my captain. Law's innocent of all crimes you're accusing him of, bub," she replied, nudging Brook back playfully.

They reached the communal showers, and Ikkaku ushered the skeleton inside. The showers were large and open, though there were small dividers between the shower nozzles to give a small bit of privacy. At the back of the room was a large, sunken bathtub that was usually used by those who had medical injuries or who had sore muscles and limbs that were alleviated by soaking in the water. There were a few members of the Hearts who had chronic pain, so it was a necessary thing, but no one minded if it was used for other purposes, like if someone just needed to relax or just sit instead of stand.

That would be very necessary for Ikkaku to fully attend to Brook's hair, considering how even if he sat in a chair, she'd have a hard time seeing the top of his afro without a stepladder. Indicating that he sit in the tub, the engineer unzipped the top half of her boiler suit and tied it around her waist so she could get to work.

As she started to apply the mask to his hair, she mulled over his explanation over why it was so important to him. Her assumption had been pretty accurate, it seemed, though she hadn't considered the specifics. "Yeah, I guess your hair is pretty recognizable since you don't have skin or anything," she agreed. All the more reason to do a good job and make sure his hair stayed healthy, even if he was dead. "I'm sure this friend of yours would know you even if you were bald and naked. Your voice is pretty recognizable, for one, and nothing seems to be able to take that away. But I agree, the afro is too iconic to lose. You'd look utterly ridiculous bald," she giggled. Well, really, he'd look like any old skeleton since they were all bald, but Brook was so unique that seemed like a ridiculous concept. The man was simply made to stand out, from his height to his hair to his clothes to his personality.

Massaging the nutritious mask into the hair follicles, she set about checking for any burn spots or damage. It was very thick and coarse, allowing it to stand up easily, but she could see a few small patches that could use some extra TLC. "You're thankfully not looking too burned, but I'll put some extra stuff on those spots so they can recover," she said. "Did you have people doing your hair and stuff on your tour last year? I can only imagine all the travel and being on stage under hot lights must have been a lot for your hair to handle."

"Oh yeah! Jean Bart-san!" The skeleton snapped his fingers, remembering the hulking man that has been partying with them for a while now. "I see, that must have been such a relief for him!" Brook smiled. The musician himself felt incredibly lucky that when building Thousand Sunny, Franky didn't skimp out on the wood and made the ceilings tall enough for the lengthy skeleton to feel comfortable. Though some doorframes were still a little small, but Brook wasn't the one to complain.

"Yohohoho! Oh, we angered Big Mom waaaaay before we came to Whole Cake Island!" The old pirate shook his head. "Would you believe it, Luffy managed to start a war with her back at fishman island!" The skeleton wasn't there to witness it himself, but the tearful story he heard from the members of his crew left quite an impression on him. Brook sighed. "We've been jumping from one troublesome situation to another, constantly on edge ever since Punk Hazard in fact... Ever since we have encountered your captain actually!" The skeleton softly nudged Ikkaku with his elbow in a teasing manner.

"Well, Luffy-san is certainly having all the fun he can and the rest of us... We are just relaxing before the final stretch, I suppose. The target on our backs, as you say, will become even larger as we set off towards Raftel. And after that? We will probably be the biggest reddest target in the whole wide world! Yohohohoho! But I suppose I sound a bit too optimistic there."

"Oh, how dare they tell you to cut it off! Your hair is absolutely gorgeous!" The old pirate shook his head.

The skeleton paused as Ikkaku made her assumption. A slightly sad look on his face as he gently held the rest of onigiri in his hand. "Oh, well, that too, of course. But the main reason is different. You see, there is someone out there on the other side of the world that is waiting for my arrival. I am making my way to him as we go, but I also realize that... I am quite hard to recognize now that my face has no flesh on it. This afro is the only thing that's left that might remind him of my old self. He liked this afro very much and... As long as I have it, I feel like he will always recognize me."

The musician looked at the mechanic with a gentle smile. "Plus, I would look positively goofy without it! A bald skeleton! Now that's absolutely ridiculous, don't you think?"

[kuronanox]

New Years - Gin Ichimaru

"Happy New Years!" (Your Name) cheered popping out of the door as he came back from his captains duties.

Gin eyes opened a bit shockingly before it closed again as he pull her into a embrace. They've spent the last 5 New Years together and this one marked the 6th.

"How was work? You got back early! We should watch the fireworks." She suggested as he stretched a bit and leaned onto her a bit exhausted.

"Hmm watchin firework with ya seems fun." He says getting into a simple yukata she had bought him a few months ago.

Oh how Gin was lucky to snatch her into his life as she was falling apart. She had accepted his weirdness, although a lot of people were not fond of Gin and found him a odd fellow she thought different.

It was a small crush, he didn't think it would actually turn into something.

She was a shy girl that had transferred into his squad after resigning from the 4th.

(Your Name) quickly befriended Kira and slowly she gradually befriended her Captain.

"What are you thinking about?" She asks him as they walked with link arms to the hill.

"Yer first few years." He answers as she scoff and lightly hits him embarrassed.

As they reached the top other Shinigamis were already gathered with friends and significant others to watch the fireworks.

"Oh it's Rangiku!" (Your Name) says watching the busty women linked arms with no other than Shuhei Hisagi. At first the lady didn't want to give the poor man a chance but after his long efforts of pursuing she finally gave in and it was safe to say they have been happy ever since.

Of course (Your Name) knew of Gin and Rangiku past relationships but he has never gave her a reason to question anything.

Gin was of course happy for Rangiku she had deserved infinite happiest after the roughness of their childhood growing up.

They were both in a really healthy long term relationship.

"Seems like everyone is here tonight."

"It don't bother me much." Gin tells her as he laid his head on her lap as they gazed up into the stars before the showing.

When the fireworks started to show up everyone jumped and laughed around. It was a good time and they didn't have to think about any invasion or threatening enemies.

Gin never understood what was the big deal of New Years but every year since being with (Your Name) he enjoyed it.

At first he would just watch from his window at the barrack but being up on the hill with everyone else gave it a different meaning to him.

Watching the lights explode he looks up to (Your Name), she was smiling and enjoying herself. Looking into her eyes he could see the reflection of the sky as he softly smiles and pushes some hair out of her face.

"Hmm?" She says as he pulls her down slowly and gives her a New Years kiss.

"Happy New Year." He responses back as she laughs and then goes back to looking at the sky.

A soft knock on her door woke her out of a trace as she sees Rangiku appearing with a wide smile. "Hey! How have you been?"

"Good actually! I can't believe it's going to be New Years soon. Seems like yesterday I spent it with him."

Rangiku sadly smiles and sits across from (Your Name) grabbing her small fingers and holding it with her motherly one. "I know, I can't believe it's been 2 years without him. You haven't been back to the hill since then either. But why don't you go with me and a few of my friends! I promise it will be fun!"

"I don't know, it won't be the same but I do want to celebrate New Years and not be alone unlike the past 2 years." She laughs a bit.

"I'm providing drinks! Come on! I know Gin would want you to celebrate just as y'all use to do!" The older women pouted as (Your Name) nodded. She agreed to go because being alone was something she was afraid of going back to.

"Kira is coming too! You won't be alone."

Kira Izuru one of her closest friend and someone she shared a close bond to because they shared a lot of similarities when it came to their mental health. Kira was hurting as much as she was so it was the least she could do.

Both of them encouraging each other.

"I got you something small for New Years!" She cheered as they got back home.

He raised a eyebrow and followed her, she directed him to sit and close his eyes. He left open both his hands as she placed a small box into his hands.

Gin looks down to see it was neatly wrapped in red as he opens it to see some dried persimmons.

"Our tree died this winter and I know they are your favorite so I went to a store that specializes in candy to get them. It's not much but I hope it's okay?"

Gin was truly happy with this gift, to anyone it might seem meaningless but dried persimmons brought him back to his childhood and it was something he always craved.

"I love it." He answers setting it down and snaking his arms around her body as he smelt the fresh fragrance of lavender she was wearing.

Caressing his hair she kissed his head. She felt extremely lucky to have him by her side.

She dressed in a simple Kimono and walked to the hill, the firework showing was in another hour but Rangiku told her to get there early so they could drink before it.

Rangiku had many different types of sake and a bottle from the human world she made Ichigo get her for this special occasion.

"You made it!" She says hugging (Your Name) tightly rubbing her back knowing New Years was something special she spent with Gin every year.

"I'm excited! Looks like everyone is here too!"

"(Your Name)!" Shuhei says waving to her as he passed her a shot glass. "Kira!" He yells as (Your Name) turns around to see her lieutenant pull up with some bottles also.

"Kira and alcohol are meant to be."

"Everyone let's enjoy ourselves!" Rangiku cheers as they four took the first shots. After Ikkaku walked by pestering why he wasn't invited.

(Your Name) smiled and looked around, everyone was having fun and she was glad to have spent time with new friends. She was grateful for Rangiku also, they both lost someone precious they held in their heart.

"(Your Name) I'm glad you came we haven't been able to hang out!" Kira slurred his words hanging his arm around her already drunk.

She giggled a bit and held him up straight offering him some water.

"Me too Kira, I'm able to come back here now."

(Your Name) found Gin on deaths door lying on the rough concrete floor as she cried and picked his head up lightly and laid him on her thighs as he always did.

"Why did you do try to attack Aizen! Why didn't you tell everyone your intentions! Everyone will think you are a traitor!" She yells at him as the tears fell on his face.

Gin struggled to lift his arm as he held her face and smiled lightly saying "I was already a traitor when I left the most important thing behind."

(Your Name) struggled to breathe, this wasn't what she planned after not seeing him for so long.

Rangiku was by their side also in the same state as (Your Name) as she cried.

"I love you (Your Name)." He says before his arm went limp and he looked at Rangiku one last time before closing his eyes.

The two broken girls cried for him and for each other as they held each other hands.

"Are you okay?" Kira ask tilting his head as she spaced off and she smiled to him.

"I am now."

"Look look the fireworks are about to start!" Rangiku cheered as (Your Name) looked up amazed at the light show.

Every year it was a different show so it lifted everyone out of their feet wondering what they were going to see.

"Here's a sparkler!" Hisagi passed to her as it lit up and she smiled warmly. It was pretty, bright and dangerous.

Holding the sparkler up to the sky with everyone else they all cheered to the New Year brightly as they all kissed their loved ones.

"Come on (Your Name) we are close enough to give each other a hug!" Kira says even though she knew he was drunk the man lost just as much as her. His arm were open for her to embrace.

She gives him an warm embrace for the New Year until Rangiku yelled at them and joined into the group hug.

(Your Name) was overwhelmed with so many emotions as the two embraced her she wanted to cry tears of happiness but nothing came out. She was thankful this year she spent it with them because at the end of the day they all cared and loved each other.

"Happy New Year (Your Name)."

She hears a familiar voice softly says in her ears as she looks up into the sky. He was watching over her, protecting and encouraging her in spirit.

"Happy New Year Gin."

(Author note: wow this is my 20th chapter! I gotta say I'm proud of myself! Also who's your favorite girl character? Mine would be Rukia, Rangiku and Nel!)

[bleachbleachbleach]

Do either of you like any bleach ships? Which ones if so?

@whipplefilter's answer: I’m not a shipper, and a lot of that probably has to do with the fact that I’m unclear on the concept of romance just like, generally, lol, and shipping tends to imply some kind of romance. But I am very invested in relationships! It just doesn’t really matter to me whether the relationship is romantic or non-romantic, and I really love it when non-romantic relationships get focus and airtime. But I’m certainly not anti-ship! I probably consume more fannish shippy content than non-shippy content, by pure virtue of the fact that there is more shippy content, and I’m perfectly happy about that because if it’s about characters I like—and to have my cake and eat it to, about relationships between characters I like—then I’m probably excited about it.

Personally, I don’t feel strong distinctions, or a strong need to identify distinctions, between what’s a ship and what’s a friendship. I think that’s part of the reason why shipwars always take me by surprise. I don’t feel like a character not being in a romantic relationship with someone automatically devalues the relationship they have. I mean, I think if the character thinks about their relationships in that way, then that’s what happens. Or if the character tends to be a single-minded kind of person, such that they really can’t imagine themselves having multiple intense relationships of varying stripes. These aren’t Bleach examples, but in Nana, Hachi treated her friends like complete shit in pursuit of/focus on her romantic partner. In that case, yeah, she was totally the one devaluing her friendships! Or in Chihayafuru, Taichi ends up heartbroken because Chihaya doesn’t reciprocate his confession of love, and he knows that Chihaya is a one-track-mind kind of person.

By contrast, I see Ichigo as someone with huge capacity to have, well, a mountainload of intense and meaningful relationships, in ways that distinguish him from a lot of "one goal to rule them all" 15-year old manga protagonists. (No shade to single-minded love! I mean… We run a very monogamous and single-minded Bleach blog.) I’d say the same is true of many of his friends.

Beyond that, I do think my level of excitement re: shipping varies in terms of how central romance feels to [my interpretation of] a character. Like, in terms of how important *I feel* their love life *feels to them*. XD (And also how proximal the "things that make this pairing tick" are to the "things that excite me personally about this character.") So like, I am very excited by the idea of Hisagi/most fucking anyone, because, paraphrasing @ippoddity, his desire to make connections and be perceived is both important to him and to my investment in him. I think Hisagi is thirsty for any kind of connection, but I think he’d really like it if some of them involved romance. Also sex.

As a writer, I’m pretty committed to gen, because it’s my fave and there doesn’t tend to be as much of it in fandom spaces and I want it to exist. In one of my other fandoms, I have run a gen fic exchange for over a decade and people are still unclear on what "gen" even is! People constantly confuse gen for "anything that’s not porn" and submit shippy stuff lolol. Though, on the flipside… long long ago in a kingdom far far away, I did once run, like, THE Naruto porn meme of its time. XDDD Which is weird to look back on, but I think that was really because I happen to be pretty good at organizing things and it was a way of hanging out with my horny friends, LOL. Porn itself does nothing for me outside of its potential aesthetic value, and/or its potential to show me things about the characters/their relationship. And while a lot of porn is interested in both those things, if it weren't also very interested in the actual fucking then what would be the point?

-----------------------------------------

@ippoddity's answer: I'm on a similar page as @whipplefilter when it comes to shipping. It's not like I don't ship, because I certainly do have preferences, but I am more invested in (and interested in) relationships (whether they be romantic or not).

I really love that in canon, Ichigo's relationship with Rukia is deep and meaningful, but not necessarily romantic. I really like the idea of soulmates (or twin stars or twin flames or whatever you want to call them), but like, not romantic soul mates. I think what makes IchiRuki so appealing to many people is that they have a close connection. And I'd love to see more of that explored (not just in regards to IchiRuki, but all relationships in general), sans romance.

This isn't to say that I don't also consume shippy fanworks! I do it all the time! I am sort of an equal opportunity shipper, and will try out anything at least once. I feel like I can appreciate a good piece of content, whether it's for something I ship or not. Like GrimmIchi works?? SO MUCH GOOD STUFF OUT THERE (y'all are amazing). It's not necessarily a ship I'm actively sailing on or contributing to, but I'm there for the fun ride. Like my co-blogger said, I also think that Hisagi can be shipped with almost anyone. The poor man is just so desperate for connection and acknowledgement. So if someone is gonna give him a relationship that gives him what he wants, I'm down for it. And something else I've gotten into since starting this blog? Akon/almost anyone. He has so much potential and I've really gotten onto this Akon stan train.

When it comes to shipping or not, for me the most important thing is "does this relationship make them happy?" And that's really all I care about. For example, I think Renji's happiness very much weighs on his connection with Rukia, so I'm happy that he's happy with her (if that makes any sense at all). For the same reason I'm down with IkkaYumi, because I love Yumichika and think he deserves to be happy and I think his relationship with Ikkaku makes him happy. LOOK I JUST WANT HAPPY ENDINGS FOR EVERYONE.

(ngl I was scared of writing this post because I didn't want to get stuck in between some kind of shipwars. The fervor of shipwars honestly baffle me because I do not think I could ever feel so strongly about a ship that I get dragged into hateful discourse, especially for series that ended a long time ago?? But I am also very against confrontation to begin with, so I would probably just apologize and bow out anyway.)

--

ALSO we are sorry we are so bad at answering asks in a timely manner! But I assure you, we are DELIGHTED every time we receive one and love interacting with everyone! Our asks are always open!

[unohanadaydreams]

So, it’s time for some more re-read updates bc I’m incapable of not dumping my thots kthx.

The thing is, seeing this entire scene play out makes me even more depression that this was never taken full circle in terms of Rukia and Ichigo’s connection to Kaien being revealed to them.

Like, you’re telling me glutton for punishment Rukia Kuchiki wouldn’t have felt even MORE guilt after finding out Kaien was related to Ichigo? That she robbed one of the most important people in her life of having KAIEN to help him?

And her confronting Ichigo with that and telling him abit about Kaien and he’s just like ‘I can tell you learned a lot from him, he sounds just like you’ and she just can not handle that and breaks down because holy shit? She really has passed on the heart Kaien gave her to Ichigo and she’s kept his memory alive all this time. His heart is in her and it’s made it’s way to Ichigo THROUGH her.

Like 😔 where was Rukia’s final catharsis moment and taking Ichigo to the Shibas, alive. Where was her not leaving this time, not carrying the blood of a teacher but the shoulder of a student. She isn’t the reason a Shiba is dead now. She’s the reason one is alive.

You think Gin and Luppi had a lot of meaningful conversations about uuuuh…..hot bods. Like part of me thinks Luppi is one of the only Arrancar who could stand Gin and also that Gin does not mean this bc he saw those tentacles on Rangiku.

Personally I think Gin encouraging Luppi to attack the human world to ‘assert his new rank’ or whatever is an awfully good way to off some strong Arrancar from Aizen’s army especially since he would KNOW about sealing procedures among captains/lieutenants.

Gin’s happy ending is you dying, Ulquiorra, isn’t that nice? 💕

I love how he contradicts himself instantly. Why are you treating your brother’s wounds if he’s just a box and you only cared about the data? Why did you single out the guy who killed him?

Science men in Bleach are positively PHOBIC to looking like they have meaningful connections.

Szayelaporro “I’m too mature to care about things that aren’t me, myself, and my science” Granz stfu

This confuses me. Like, WHERE is that good score counting towards??? Sure as fuck not the kido corps. Like, this further lends to my theory that lots of students are getting offed for not being strong enough in the academy because going back to the rukongai isn’t an option.

No way this academy is getting full classes of new students every single year and yet they only have a handful of thousands in the gotei 13. Especially considering that for, presumably, the original run of Bleach, it was canon that soul society was THE ONLY soul society, for all human dead. Which is honestly less confusing than every country having their own bc like…..borders and shit have changed so many times just in the past 1000 years, how do you even go about deciding which humans go to which soul society (and like are there multiple versions of Hueco Mundo? Of Hell? It’s too much)

This scene hits, but it would be even more devastating with a fade in and out of that month they spent together just saying Kubo it’s okay to give us content of two women talking about not Ichigo.

Also, I love that Rukia still finds a way to think about Kaien’s lesson and apply it to herself in a negative way. Like you can not get a bad grade in dying, ma’am. You’re doing your best.

Also Orihime seeing Rukia almost die is ❤️ very angst much horror thank you.

This entire line of thought was so unnecessary and held up exactly 0 percent. It wasn’t even needed for Ichigo to go after Aizen bc like…..he already took Orihime???? Why make him a little bit more mad about her reputation?

You can not tell me that Aizen, who has been playing 4D chess for hundreds of years, was like ‘yeah it’ll be very convincing that this teenage girl decided to jump to my ship after I had numerous people she loved almost killed and my goal is definitely to have Soul Society not help Ichigo and co under that premise. I’m not planning anything, Soul Society and definitely not moving up the war love u xoxoxo.’

Yamamoto could have just straight up said ‘I’m not sacrificing my soldiers for one human girl but gl with Aizen bitch.’ Because that’s what it really comes down to. Yamamoto is trying to fake out Aizen and seem on lockdown/like he’s waiting until Winter—the whole Orihime Is Traitor thing makes very little sense in that regard.

I will say that Hueco Mundo arc really upped the casual violence and body horror in Bleach as a whole so yet another win for this arc.

Also I love how Grimmjow is one of the villains in Bleach that even the most ‘problematic characters haters’ will simp for when this is his baseline when it comes to just annoyance. He is so hot he transcends dumb fandom discourse. This man is causally annoyed so he’s slowly and purposefully breaking Lollys leg so she fully understands before he does it. The ultimate vindictive bitch.

I know that she probably is freaked out about her leg coming back because it’s a bat shit amount of power involved in doing that, but I think she’s infinitely more horrified that Orihime not only healed her, but does so without a word, almost devoid of emotion.

She freely cusses Grimmjow out, tries to barter with him, tries to persuade him, and generally feels comfortable running her mouth because she knows violence is happening regardless. She is afraid and doesn’t want it to happen but she knows the song and dance.

But she hits Orihime with a lot of fear behind it, barely able to say more than get away. And despite that, plus the beating (AND BROKEN FUCKING PINKIE just hanging there bent) Orihime was given, Lolly is given her leg back. And she says nothing. She doesn’t ask for anything. Or want anything.

And in a place with a violent ridden caste system, I imagine that would be a lot. How do you reconcile your everyday life and how you treat everyone around you and how they treat you when you’re faced with a person who doesn’t adhere to those rules. How do you face the realization that some human girl can give you back a leg and bring back your only friend and do it not because you deserve it, but because you’re alive and need help and that’s all the reason needed. Kindness can be a curse. Cornered dogs bite and then ache for the hand upon their head again.

Renji does this twice in this arc so far, this being the first time. This man is like ‘I may not be the strongest but I can take second degree burns and falling buildings like a fucking champ and that’s about to be your problem’. You can’t tell me he doesn’t play chicken with Ikkaku by standing way too close to fireworks after they’re lit and seeing who’s less fucked up after. Sake of course included.

Also Szayelaporro and Uryu are like rival theater kids in this fight trying to bang out the best one liner and pose. Too bad Uryu wasted time trying to run away instead of pulling out his sewing kit to outdo Szayelaporro’s costume change.

Actually, I’m Frankenstein, not Frankenstein’s monster :/

[ikkaku-of-heart]

Kaido might have been a violent, dangerous menace that put her boss in the hospital and wrecked VP Garage so badly it was going to be shut down for repairs for several months, but as a gearhead, it was hard for Ikkaku to be fully mad at him when he so clearly cared about his motorcycle. The mechanic's face brightened when he talked about how good the engine now sounded thanks to her work. Her cheeks even turned a faint but pleased pink at the acknowledgment of her skill.

"Glad she's running so smooth. She's a beautiful bike and deserves all the love in the world," she stated with a grin, managing to dodge a flying ashtray. The floor was already covered in broken glass, the crunch under her feet worrisome and a reminder that this biker was even worse news than the average Hells Angel. It was absolutely for the best that the conversation was staying light and he appreciated her work - Ikkaku wanted to leave the bar with minimal injuries.

At least Kaido seemed to be focusing his annoyance on his men and the other gang they were beating up. More importantly, he shut down the worst of the fighting, though it wouldn't surprise her if things got rowdy again. Ikkaku's gut twisted a bit when a few of the men gave her a leer when Kaido referred to her as one of the "prettier patrons" but she doubted any would approach so long as she was on good terms with their boss. So best to stay that way.

Plus, the bar's owner was going to be busy for a while serving the gang that was looking to stick around for a while, and she didn't want to head out into the night alone just yet. Not when there was another gang outside licking their wounds. Best to wait until everyone had cleared out. Plus the owner would likely need some help cleaning up the mess anyway.

For now, Ikkaku decided this conversation was a good way to keep things friendly with Kaido. "My Gramps always said I've got a gift, but one I worked hard to perfect. He taught me everything he knows about engines, and he got me all the tools, manuals, and old cars he could get his hands on so I could keep getting better. He even convinced some old associates of his to let me work on their cars. Not that they regretted it - Uncle Newgate even offered me a job as his personal mechanic, but I wanted to get a job on my own merits and not just because he's an old friend of Gramps."

Realizing she was rambling, she switched gears and pulled out a business card. On it was a cell phone number she used only for clients, along with Buranku Ikkaku - Mechanic printed neatly across the yellow cardstock. "Hopefully your girl won't need a tune-up for a while, but if you do, here's my business number. Though, uh, we'll have to work on it somewhere other than VP Garage."

Kaido ducks his head as a stray glass is thrown over his head, throat still bobbing with the pulls of alcohol he'd been drinking down before he was interrupted by his men's antics. It would seem he'd have to be involved sooner rather than later.

"Oh she's purring all right. She rides so smooth as though it was the first day I got her." This conversation though, was worth it until something more sizable like a chair was tossed. Since the mechanic besides him had proved her worth previously, he just might block any incoming projectiles should she stand in the way.

"I have never seen someone fix her with that kind of magic touch before. straighten her out yes, but not to that extent. What you got going for you girl is something special."

Complements aside, one more glass and a table flipped is more than enough to pull Kaido's ire towards the source of the nonsense.

"Enough!" He barks, immediately getting the attention of his men. "Stop playing with your food men, you're making some of the prettier patrons uncomfortable." Casting a brief side eye at Ikkaku, Kaido watches as his men obey his orders, even going so far as to toss their opponents out. Unless they were specifically banned by the barkeep, they planned on staying put.

[kenpxchi]

Contrast to the moment he'd last screamed her name, the few days after the war seemed to go awfully silently. It had bothered him in the day of aftermath of course, but for not a word to be uttered on the next was simply worrying. "Oi, Taichou." Which means, it was high time to touch upon the subject. Looking the taller man straight in the eye, the 3rd Seat steeled himself. Many of their ranks were lost to the Quincies, it made sense that this one did too. But the thought was, unpleasant to say the least. "..." A moment of hesitation before Ikkaku decided to cut straight to the chase. "...You of all people shoulda been worried the most. But we heard nothing."

"...Where's Fukutaichou?"

It feels like forever, but the war almost a Millennia in the making is at an end. Kenpachi finally has a chance to recover from the innumerable wounds he suffered during it. His arm’s been reattached and it works like new. Wouldn’t be the first time. Still, the physical wounds are the easier things to deal with. The rest of it...

It’s hard, sometimes, being the man who never falls. But he can’t. It’s in his name. He has to stand firm against the endless barrage of pain, to face it and strike back, no matter what. To do so would be to disrespect the title he carries, the only name he’s ever had, the only one he’s ever truly earned. How tragic, then, that he have earned something that so many are simply given, and how terrible a price to pay for it. Sleep hasn’t come easily for him, if at all, nor has discussion. In the wake of such loss, Kenpachi has drawn inward, unsure of what to do in a time where his Division needs him. But how can he face them, so few in number, when he let so many of them die? How can he face the medical staff that attended to him in the Fourth, knowing who he took away from them and how much she meant to everyone? But he has to. Because no matter how many times you cut him, he can never fall. That’s what the title of Kenpachi means, and as its true successor, having torn it from its maker with the point of his own sword...

His own sword. His truest companion, never leaving his side since he tore it from the corpse of a Shinigami all those centuries ago. All this time, mistreated, lonely, ignored by him. And yet, by his side she stayed, ever since he found her wandering Kusajishi. He can’t imagine how awful it must have been, to have called and screamed and begged to be heard, but to be completely ignored for the guise of Yachiru. Confronted with his soul, he gave it a false name, branding it with the woman who wounded him and changed his life forever. He neglected her true nature, and as a result, he hurt her. Now that he knows what she truly is, who she truly is, dread fills him. He did the one thing he swore never to do from the moment he met her. He neglected her. He wanted so badly to give her the childhood he never had, a reward for her bravery, when in truth, he was completely blind to her calls. Kenpachi knows her now for who she truly is, but he hesitates to contact her, because of that one horrific question plaguing him, threatening to tear him asunder:

Did he even deserve her after what he did?

He can’t show it. No one can know. With so many of their peers gone, the Eleventh needs its invincible Captain. He can’t let them know that the man they idolized, that they wanted to mimic, who inspired them all to strive for greater heights of strength, is ultimately fallible. It would shatter them. The Eleventh Division needs its Kenpachi, the Seireitei needs its Kenpachi, the whole of Soul Society needs its Kenpachi. And he’s the only one left wearing the name. Again, it’s a question of deserving. The title was born in blood and steel, and in blood and steel it is earned. But with the death of Unohana, it carries more. Unparalleled strength. That he was able to take it for his own proves it. If he was able to do so, he should be able to take down whatever comes next, right? He’s the Soul Society’s greatest defense, its impenetrable shield and all-slaying sword, right? He can’t be a human being with thoughts, doubts, and fears. All of them are gone, right?

This is why he wanted to be weak. The strong are never allowed to relate. They are meant to be idolized, inspiring awe wherever their names are spoken, or terror, with their names carrying the weight of their might. Even amongst the Eleventh, few have called him by his first name, instead calling him Captain Zaraki, a falsehood designed to keep a name with so much weight out of their mouths. If they wanted to get it right, they’d call him the Captain from Zaraki... from the place where he was nothing more than a monster, butchering everything in his path. He should have known better. Kenpachi couldn’t escape being a monster forever. Now, he’s just the Seireitei’s beast, arguably worse than being his own free monster. At least as that demon child, he had no expectations, no obligations. Now, he’s just as much a demon, but chained to a brutal regime.

Ikkaku’s voice snaps him from his reverie. He turns to look his old friend in the eye. He can see the anger. It’s righteous, at least. The words don’t register at first, and his thoughts wander. Was he angry at so many of his fellow men being cut down while Kenpachi was either battling Unohana, or recovering in between fights? Was he angry that Kenpachi had been holding so much of himself back, and now he wanted to test himself against that strength? Or, worst of all, was it an anger born of fear, having seen the blood-skinned demon tearing a god in half with a single swipe of his sword?

No, it’s somehow worse. Because Kenpachi has always been an abysmal liar. He’s proud, at least, that Madarame has a similar level of insightfulness that allows him to see through deceptions. There’s no point in lying, anyway. His visible eye closes, and a deep, shuddering sigh passes his lips. It vaguely sounds like the death rattle heard so many times coming from the mouths of those unlucky enough to experience a slow death on Kenpachi’s own sword, which he slowly unsheathes from its hilt at its side. He doesn’t bother to see Ikkaku’s reaction to the sudden glint of rusted and chipped steel. It would kill him if he saw his old friend flinch away in fear. Kenpachi doesn’t think Ikkaku a coward, but after what he’s seen, with that old animalistic bloodlust on full display... Kenpachi wouldn’t blame him if he were to show a trace of fear.

Slowly, he turns the weapon over, his mouth closing, his eye opening. He catches his own reflection in the blade. He has to be sure he isn’t crying.

“she’s... right here, ikkaku.”

“she’s always been right here. i just wasn’t... giving her the right name.”

He has to stay standing. He can’t fall.

Even if his heart is gone.

[gunnerpalace]

It is Time to Kill The Common Understanding of the Dome of Las Noches Fight Once and for All

I’ve been thinking about @starrdustcrusader​‘s post making fun of BBS’s interpretation of Full Hollow Ichigo, and while it is very good and covers a lot, I felt that I had something further to add. Please go read that post first so you are on the same page.

I also invite you to go read chapter 350, The Lust 4, and the next few chapters as well.

Now, like I said, the post in question does a very good job of pointing out what’s happening here: Full Hollow Ichigo has less than zero concern for Uryuu or Orihime. He is not interested in protecting them whatsoever. Indeed, he directly attempts to kill Uryuu, with that attack being very likely to kill Orihime as well. It is only stopped by Ulquiorra’s intervention.

And why did Ichigo attack Uryuu? Because he was a threat.

When you are doing dispassionate threat analysis, whether that be tactical or strategic, when you are thinking with an essentially military mindset, motive stops really mattering, because it cannot be taken for granted. What matters is capability. What someone says their intentions are, or what their intentions seem to be, often matter less from this perspective than what they can do, or are doing.

What is Uryuu doing in this fight? He is interfering with Full Hollow Ichigo killing Ulquiorra. And that is Full Hollow Ichigo's only goal. Thus, Uryuu is an enemy and is also to be killed.

And so is Orihime (if “merely” as collateral damage).

It's that simple. This is again pointed out in the original post. In the same way that Ulquiorra earlier said to Ichigo that, "Killing you is synonymous with protecting Las Noches," killing Uryuu and Orihime at this point is synonymous with “protecting,” because they are in the way and are actively impeding the mission. (”Protecting” what? We’ll come back to that.)

I haven’t said anything new yet, now have I? So let’s get to that.

Here is Orihime demonstrating several flavors of hubris, and also completing failing to do anything to save Uryuu from his imminent demise. What do I mean? Well, let’s take apart her statements:

“Because I said that, Kurosaki-kun is trying to help me.” This is an assumption on her part, and it is wrong.

“I trained because I didn’t want to be a burden to him.” Mind you, she also says this in both the Xcution and TYBW arcs, and is a burden and fails in both as well (the infamous ”Why am I crying?” and “Her shield didn’t work” moments). This should have been a learning moment for her and it was not.

“I came here because I wanted to protect him.” There are other meta posts that detail the selfishness of Orihime’s actions in Hueco Mundo and in general. I would also like to point out that this was also her exact same logic in going to Soul Society. She didn’t learn anything from that experience either.

“So why? Why at the very end did I depend on him?” A great question. One that she never truthfully owns up to, given (2). But there was a reason Kisuke told her to stay out of the war. You may recall Rukia's statement to Orihime in chapter 228, Don't Look Back, that "In a battle, the ones who get in the way are not the ones that lack power, but the ones that lack resolve." She went on to say "Of all the battles in Soul Society, no one was a burden to anyone else. Not Ichigo, nor Sado, nor Ishida, and neither were you, Inoue. If any of you were less than who you are, I wouldn't be where I am today." This was very charitable of Rukia, because Orihime's contribution to her rescue was negligible and was, to reiterate, not why she was even there. Furthermore, Orihime didn't listen to her here either: she is once again demonstrating a lack of resolve, as she will continue to.

So Orihime doesn’t learn. Great. But maybe you’re thinking about (1). What do I mean she was wrong? I mean, doesn’t the manga confirm she’s right?

This is the crux of that argument. And this is also one of the cruxes of IchiHime as a whole. The thing is... it’s complete and utter bullshit.

This is the exact same scene in the original Japanese:

Now, I don’t speak or read Japanese very well at all. I’m still a novice at it. What I can do, however, is use optical character recognition and translation tools.

(よ)呼んでる - Yonderu - Calling

(よ)呼んでるんだ - Yonderunda - They’re calling

(き) 聞 こえる -  Kikoeru - I can hear

(た)立てよ - Tateyo - Stand up

(た)立 て - Tate - Stand

(おれ)俺が - Ore ga - I will

(おれ)俺が - Ore ga - I will

俺が護る - Ore ga mamoru - I will protect

(The parentheticals are furigana used as a pronunciation guide.)

Now do you see a single instance of “her” or “she” in this dialogue, particularly when it comes to the final line of “I will protect”? No, you don’t. Because it’s not there. It was never there until a biased translator inserted it into the dialogue. I’m not alone in this analysis, by the way.

Quite some time ago, @kodoku-no-maria​​ did a wonderful analysis about Ichigo’s instincts (”Mistranslations that Created the IH Fandom”) that also covered this (using anime quotes instead) and came to a similar conclusion. It’s a great post and you should read it. 

This isn’t the post she mentions in hers, but there is one done specifically of the manga by a deactivated account. You should read this post too. (This also notes other things, such as how Orihime says “Help, Kurosaki-kun!” and not “Help me, Kurosaki-kun!” so we can take it that the Mangastream / Mangareader English translation is just generally dodgy all around at this point. Which may well impact the points I made above about Orihime’s character; but I think given the events of the Xcution and TYBW arcs that it is evident she did not in fact learn anything, so I will stand by the basic thrust of them.)

Okay, so I’ve marshaled my evidence on the battle and provided corroborating analysis. (I have also reblogged all three of these posts because they’re good, although the links are to the original sources or as close to them as I could get.) 

Ichigo didn’t turn into Full Hollow Ichigo because of Orihime. She had nothing to really do with it. Great. So what?

Well, let’s now move on to my theory.

Now, you might be thinking that it is fairly obvious that all of those lines are Ichigo’s inner monologue. But I don’t think it’s so obvious. In fact, I would suggest to you that it is actually a dialogue.

On the second page, with the third panel, it suddenly zooms in to the wound in Ichigo’s torso. This notably later becomes Full Hollow Ichigo’s Hollow hole. You notice here the dialogue changes, from commands (e.g., “Stand”) to personal pronouns (e.g., “I”).

I would submit to you that the first three lines are Ichigo’s. But I don’t think the last five are. I think they belong to two other entities. Especially the last three. First, let me steal two of Maria’s highlighted panels to make a point:

So who is talking? It’s simple:

Do you really think it’s a coincidence that Zangetsu (Hollow Zangetsu) shows up wearing the exact same outfit as ‘Full Hollow Ichigo’ after Tensa Zangetsu gives a speech about how:

I don’t think so. Ichigo "fell into despair and halted [his] progress" and Zangetsu, as 'Full Hollow Ichigo' is "the "source of [his] despair." (This is the same despair that Rukia noticed when Ichigo came down from the top of the dome to confront Yammy.) As has been previously pointed out in the linked posts, we see this despair on the dome after Ulquiorra’s defeat in Ichigo’s attitude. Starrdust covered these, but let’s go over them again:

He’s doesn’t seem all that shocked or concerned here, to be honest.

He’s a lot more shocked at what he did to Uryuu.

But the thing that really gets him is that he’s gone and killed Ulquiorra. That’s his despair.

This is the first time he’s out and out killed somebody. (And yeah, Ulquiorra is dead because he had his bits vaporized with a cero, not purified.)

He finally has to learn this isn’t all fun and games, that you can’t turn everyone to your side and redeem them and be friends with them afterward, as he did with Ikkaku, Renji, Kenpachi, Byakuya, and even to an extent Dordoni and Grimmjow. This is exactly what Dordoni was warning him about. This is the lesson he will be forced to learn again after weakening Aizen long enough for Kisuke’s kidou to work on him.

And it is why later, his determination to “save everyone” in the Xcution arc by cutting Ginjou down and killing him (even if he turns into a Plus as revealed in TYBW, undermining the whole symbolic importance of the act) is a big deal for his character development, and one of the few redeeming aspects of that arc: it shows that Ichigo learned a lesson from this fight: sometimes to protect you have to kill.

And who taught him that lesson? Zangetsu.

Who was speaking in the 4th and 5th lines in that transformation sequence? My bet is “Zangetsu” (Quincy Zangetsu) or Tensa Zangetsu. And who was speaking in the 6th, 7th, and 8th lines? Zangetsu.

What was Zangetsu protecting? Ichigo. That’s his instinct. That’s all he cares about protecting, just like Tensa Zangetsu. He sure the fuck wasn’t protecting Orihime or Uryuu. And the mask of ‘Full Hollow Ichigo’ is there to protect those instincts. And the mindless rage of ‘Full Hollow Ichigo’ is Zangetsu’s rage at Ulquiorra for trying to kill Ichigo.

We of course know from much later, in TYBW, that zanpakutou spirits aren’t some separate entity from the wielder, but are the wielder (hence why we go from “The Blade and Me” to “The Blade IS Me”) which Ichigo will affirm in the reforging of his into the “two Zangetsus.” So this can ultimately be read as self-preservation instinct. These are the aspects of Ichigo that were willing to do what he himself consciously wouldn’t in order to stay alive.

(Also, Uryuu was an idiot and wrong to stop Zangetsu as Ulquiorra still clearly constituted a threat, so he frankly got what he deserved, if a bit harshly.)

In summary, not only did the fight above the dome in Las Noches not have anything to do with protecting Orihime, but it was entirely about Ichigo’s character development and relations with the personifications of his powers, and everyone has been reading it completely fucking wrong for years and years.

If you don’t know, now you know.

[recurring-polynya]

I have a lot of favorite things that happen in Bleach, but today I want to talk about my *favorite* favorite thing that happens in Bleach: the time Renji dodged Ichigo’s carefully thought-out attack.

So, we’re in the Soul Society Arc. Now, I do not want to belittle Ichigo’s dedication to the cause here, but up until now, he has treated all of this a bit like a game, which is nowhere so obvious as when he tells everyone else to go ahead so he can fight *Ganju* of all people. He’s working hard, of course, but he’s also kinda havin’ some fun, and if this is not your first read-thru, you know that This Kid Does Not Know What He’s In For, Even Though People Keep Telling Him. 

This is basically the Big Ichigo Mood:

The Renji fight actually demarcates the point of the arc where Shit Gets Real. In fact, that is the entire point of this fight. It is a very common fan experience to hate Renji up until about this point, and a lot of his actions seem incomprehensible and mean, this fight included. Why does Renji go to fight Ichigo? It’s clear, even by the start of this fight that Renji doesn’t want Rukia to die-- why doesn’t he just throw in with the ryouka? And the answer is that Renji doesn’t believe they can win. The problem is, Renji is also coming to the realization that he can’t win by staying within the lines, either-- Byakuya is no help, his friends are all loyal to their captains, and he’s trying to decide if he should blow up the life he’s worked for in order to die for a lost cause or if there’s even a point in living on as a part of an institution that didn’t just take away his best friend, it pointlessly executed her, as well.

There is another theme that’s going on at the same time. Remember waaay back in the beginning of Bleach, when Rukia tells Ichigo that you must kill a Hollow from behind, so that you never learn its identity? This is a great piece of advice that Ichigo never takes, and it’s not just relevant to Hollows. Who has Ichigo fought in Soul Society so far? Jidanbo, whom he immediately felt sorry for defeating. Ganju, who probably reminds Ichigo of someone, say, who tries to kick Ichigo in the face first thing every morning. Ikkaku, who immediately points out that they have the same character in their name. Ichigo’s number one characteristic as a protagonist is his radical empathy, and he’s about to go up against the one other person who feels exactly the same way about Rukia as he does: she changed his life, he’s not sure he deserves to be in hers, but he can’t let it end like this. The only difference is that Ichigo, a fool, thinks he still has a choice and Renji doesn’t.

Up until now, this show has been about a doofy, stubborn teen who blasts through his opponents by an unwillingness to listen to reason and sheer, stubborn cussedness. At this point in the arc, Ichigo is just… on… the cusp… of being stupidly OP. I mean think about it: this untrained kid, wailing his way through a bunch of ancient, powerful spirits. It would just be dumb if it continued on at this point. But instead, we have this fight.

Ichigo goes into this with utter confidence. He’s beaten Renji before, he’s beaten Ikkaku, how hard could this be? He’s pressed almost immediately, but he always is. Power suppressor schmower suppressor. Ichigo starts strategizing. We get a flashback to Urahara training him for just this situation. He’s got a trick up his sleeve-- Renji’s got a max number of moves, obviously, before he has to retract Zabimaru, and Ichigo has his number. The manga spends FOUR WHOLE-ASS PAGES building this thing up and then--

Ichigo: I...worked on this story move for a year whole day...and...he just...he tweeted it out dodged it.

And it all comes roaring home what a basic-ass, beginner move Ichigo just tried to pull on Renji. That believe it or not, these Soul Reapers are not just a bunch of buffoons. That experience matters, and that’s not something Ichigo can just pull out of his ass, not this time. The look on Ichigo’s face. This is such a horrifying moment, it changes everything. 

Now, as it happens, he pulls a patented Ichigo Rally, beats Renji, and moves forward, but I think there’s a huge change after this fight. It’s not a game anymore, shit just got real. Shinigami are not video game bosses, they are people, with motivations and histories and years and years and years of combat training Ichigo doesn’t have.

I would love this, even if it existed all by itself, but it gets better. FORTY manga volumes later, Jackie Tristan tries to pull this same shit on Ichigo and--

I love this character growth for him. 

I am sure he never, ever told Renji this happened.