“Then what about you, how have these last months been?”
“I’m okay…” Robin sat on the floor next to the bed, hugging her knees. “Your methods of disguise and transformation with the Flower-Flower-Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) have been very useful. Apart from the initial clumsiness that got me discovered a few times, the rest of the time was fine…”
She spoke quietly about her simple experiences over the past few months.
It’s nothing more than disguising herself, hiding her identity, avoiding the Marines, and dodging the looks of all sorts of people who covet her 79 million belly.
Liam smiled, “You’re learning fast!”
Robin replied, “You’re the talented one… I’ve been using the Flower-Flower-Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) for several years, but I’m still not as good as you were when you first started using it.”
Liam rubbed his chin, “Maybe I’m a genius with Devil Fruits?”
“Yeah,” Robin hugged her knees.
“But I’m indifferent too, I’m not interested in Devil Fruit,” Liam said casually, “It’s the direct approach that’s really romantic!”
Robin was speechless. If you’re not interested, why did you just ‘borrow’ my Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) when we met?
If you’re not interested, it’s probably because you can just take away other people’s Devil Fruit abilities whenever you want and replace them whenever you want, right? That’s just the way you are…
Robin thought to herself.
Sometimes, due to a lack of concentration, she would accidentally let the disguise of her Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) fall apart and dissolve…
Then all she could do was run away.
Hide.
Escape.
After learning to disguise herself with the Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi), Robin found herself growing more afraid and less comfortable showing her true face.
Being wrapped in flower petals made her feel safe.
But on the other hand, because she often hid behind the mask of her Flower-Flower-Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) disguise, Robin sometimes coldly couldn’t even tell if she was wearing a mask or not.
At those times, she would desperately want to find something that could reflect her own appearance, like the surface of water, a mirror, glass, anything… It was an unpleasant experience to say the least.
But even though she could disguise herself in that form, Liam could still recognize her instantly.
This inexplicably calmed Robin down a bit.
Liam casually asked, “That Navy Vice Admiral, he didn’t follow you after that, did he?”
“…” Robin fell silent and shook her head. “I don’t know. He and his ice abilities haven’t shown up…”
“You should reveal your true self now and then, let your whereabouts slip,” Liam suggested. “Otherwise, even that lazy guy might figure out that you’ve got some serious evasion skills… If the Marines find out you can use the Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) for disguise, it takes away a fun surprise.”
Reunited after a long absence, the faint sense of unfamiliarity slowly dissipated in their conversation.
It felt like a return to the days when they lived together on South Chicago Island.
“That giant marine…” Robin hesitated.
“Don’t worry about him,” Liam laughed. “That guy was even locked up in Impel Down by the Marines before, so technically he’s a fugitive now!”
“Huh?” Robin blinked.
“But that was a hundred years ago. This guy’s escape must have been so discreet that his disappearance might even be a ghost story in that big prison,” Liam remarked casually. “Anyway, Morley isn’t a real Marine. Despite his appearance, when it comes to justice, he may be more steadfast than your giant friend! I reckon in a few years he won’t be able to stay with the Marines and he might do something big…”
Robin remained impassive, inwardly startled, listening as it finally condensed into a simple, “Oh…”
As they talked, Liam noticed that the girl’s emotions weren’t quite right and that she hadn’t spoken in a while.
He glanced back at the bedside where Robin was crouched on the floor, her head buried in her knees.
After a moment of silence, the sound of a depressed girl’s voice came from beneath her knees: “Many days ago, I saw you on an island… I saw you with the Marines, you looked familiar. I…”
She couldn’t continue. Her delicate shoulders and back trembled slightly.
“Do you feel like you’re torturing yourself like this? Liam was good to me, but when it came down to it, I didn’t dare trust him?” Liam sat with his legs crossed, “Ah, I’m really like the Navy Vice Admiral said, a person who only betrays others! I’m such an annoying person, I don’t deserve anyone’s care~”
With each sentence he spoke, it was as if he was piercing a layer of Robin’s inner shell, causing her to tremble more violently.
Finally, Robin couldn’t hold back anymore and burst into tears, holding her head.
The accumulated fragility, bitterness, and self-loathing in her young heart, burdened by the sacrifices of all, her mother, Professor Clover, Saul… the difficulty of going on living… all erupted at that moment.
Robin cried bitterly, cried ugly, tears and snot covering her face.
Liam watched her cry. At the same time, he raised his hand. In the kitchen, just a few rooms away, flower petals flew off the cutting board and formed Liam’s torso, vivid and lifelike.
Robin was crying, her eyes, cheeks, and nose all red, her wailing voice growing hoarse, but eventually fading.
A steaming cup of flower tea was passed from the kitchen, passing through hands emerging from the walls along the way, finally reaching Liam’s real hand and then delivered to Robin, who had stopped crying.
“Stop thinking about these silly things,” Liam said. “When you showed up to claim your family, that was the real problem.”
“Once your fragile and sensitive nerves are touched, do you lose the ability to turn your clever brain?”
He poked Robin’s head, which had grown a lot of hair, and chuckled, “Didn’t you ask me before why I’m so good to you? I’ll tell you, being good to you means wishing for your safety and well-being, not expecting you to trust me unconditionally or like me… Pff, what do you know about fans? Back then, for Robin Nee San, do you know how many threads I tore apart on the forums…”
The first few sentences made Robin’s nose tingle and she felt like crying again. But as Liam continued to speak, his words left Robin puzzled and confused. This kind of situation had happened many times before when they were on South Chicago Island…
Liam didn’t care if she understood or not, he just kept talking half smug and half boastful.
Robin sipped at the steaming hot flower tea. It was really delicious…
…
At that moment, a green Den Den Mushi crawled lazily out of Liam’s pocket, looking like it had just woken up. Seeing Robin, it seemed to remember her too, and it wobbled over and made a few “brr-lu” sounds.
“Doesn’t it have a receiver installed yet?” Robin asked, remembering this strange Den Den Mushi, of course.
“Nope,” Liam flicked the little green creature irritably, “He is Lazy and spoiled!”
“Brr-lu!” The little green creature opened its mouth as if to bite.
…………….
As night gave way to dawn, the Fangtooth pirate ship’s sails billowed as it slowly approached an island.
The sky was still dim. As the ship neared the shore, the sound of music drifted up on the deck on the wind.
“Yō huò huò huo huo huo, Yō huò huò huo~?”
……
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