ohh hello you guys!
I'm sorry for the delay! I got your reviews asking to update, but this chapter is so long it took a while to get done.
Sorry!
My favorite opening is "fight together!" its full of emotion, and the music...
This chapter is SUPER long to make up for the delay!
Hope you have fun
Edd's age: 5 years old
Location: Grand Line; Paradise.
Growing up with the Straw Hats
Aunt Vivi
Edd was just five years old when they sailed another unexplored route of the first half of the Grand Line, this time, they were set to follow the natural path of the Log Pose without detours or using an Eternal Pose…
That morning, Nami was planning the course for the day when she noticed something….they were close to That Place… that meant forgetting about the natural route of the Log pose and using an Eternal Pose that the woman had been saving for years… such a detour would cost them two extra weeks of sailing, but….
She was yearning to see her and it was time for her to meet the newest member of the crew… determined, she went to the deck to find her captain.
Outside, Luffy stood on his back sprawled on the grass deck, his belly was inflated like a balloon while Edd jumped on it and laughed in glee as if his father was a trampoline..
"Luffy! I need to check out the course with you!" Nami called. He stopped playing and got curious since the course had been set to the next island a couple of days ago,
The rest were interested as well, listening
"Ehh Luffy I know we said we would explore the natural course of the Log Pose…" she started
"Yeah! We said NO detours this time!" he called, hands on his hips, because oftentimes they would deviate from their original destination, missing some islands along the way… and, since they intended to chart ALL the islands on the world it was important they combed the grand line thoroughly.
"Yeah I know but… maybe you'll want to make an exception… look, we are so close to his place…" and produced an Eternal Pose from behind her back.
"WOAHHH!" Luffy said, face brightening in excitement.
Edd read the words on the Log Pose. "Ara..bu...sto?"
"Alabasta!" Nami exclaimed in happiness.
"Ohh I want to see Vivi!" Chopper shouted running to Nami
Sanji's head poked outside the galley's door, as if his Mellorine detecting instinct had kicked in, "VIVI-CHUWANN!" he chanted
"We haven't seen her in so long!" Usopp said.
Seeing everyone so excited, Luffy didn't have any doubts about their next destination…
"MEN! We are changing course! Nami! Set the route to Alabasta!"
"Roger captain!" Nami said with a smile, shouting orders to Franky who was quick to take the helm, while Brook, Usopp and Zoro worked on the rigging and the sails.
"We are going to meet your aunt Vivi" Nami explained to her son.
"Aunt Vivi and Carue too?" The boy asked excitedly, he hadn't met them yet, but Usopp had told him a lot of stories about the duo.
"Yes!" Nami answered.
And so they sailed to Alabasta , and after a week of sailing shouts of emotion ran through the ship as they glanced at the sandy coast of the island…
Nami knew they couldn't just get there and ask for the princess so they made a plan. They left the Sunny in the care of Robin (who didn't want to impose on King Cobra and everyone else, as they had some…history between them) and Franky, who offered to stay back with Robin, he didn't like sand very much as it got into every nook and cranny of his robotics parts and was a pain to maintain and clean.
They arrived at Nanohana before dawn, and bought robes to travel on the desert, this time, they were able to rent camels for everyone, and although Luffy managed to get kicked from a tavern and made some commotion in the city, at the end of the day they didn't ran into Smoker or any other high profile marine so they were able to leave the city in peace.
The way to Alubarna was long, hot and hard, but they were well prepared and stocked, They had a single camel carrying all the provisions and wouldn't let Luffy near it.
Edd almost got eaten twice, Luffy got stuck in a weird sand hole when he went to a bathroom break and a giant crab tried to kill him… they dinned the crab…
Night had already fallen on the city of Alubarna, and Vivi was still sitting at her desk behind a pile of reports, working tirelessly for the sake of her country as she always had, sighing after stamping the official seal on the document she was working on, she had to look up when a large window in front of her desk suddenly bust open, a cool night breeze blowing inside the room.
She got up and walked to the balcony and decided to quickly close the window before her documents blew away….
"You are going to get sick working so hard …" she heard behind her… her eyes froze and she turned slowly… that voice, she would recognize anywhere…
"Na...NAMI!" she cried while turning, and there she was, sitting on her desk with her legs crossed, she was covered with a white robe and had a mischievous smile… there she was, her best friend in the world…
"VIVI!" Nami said jumping and quickly getting her into a tight hug, they held each other for a long time as they missed each other for so many years … since Luffy and Nami's wedding to be exact.
"Where are the others?" the princess asked as soon as she parted from her friend.
"They are hiding behind the palace… you don't have an idea of how difficult it was to bring everyone without getting in trouble, even right now Luffy wanted to just waltz into the palace screaming your name…I had to knock some sense into that fool" Nami said, growling
Vivi just laughed… she could only imagine what Nami just went through
"Nami, I'll go get Igaram so he helps me organize a welcoming party!" the princess said as she ran away, leaving Nami standing there…
Soon, Igaram ran around the palace closing some areas and moving servants away so only extremely trustworthy servants would know about the StrawHats's visit, because as much as they were their friends, their arrivals couldn't be made public…
Sneaking around like the cat she was, Nami returned to her crew and led them to the back entrance of the palace, where the suppliers made the deliveries, but it was secluded from view and Igaram was already waiting for them.
As soon as Luffy saw the princess he launched himself to her
"VIVI!" He screamed and practically flew, the princess braced herself as Luffy gave her a death hug and fell on top of her, laughing.
"Luffy!" And suddenly, she was sitting on the floor with everyone fighting to give her a hug
"I wanna hug Vivi too!" Chopper said jumping to her arms as Sanji cried
"Move I wanna hug Vivi!" he was going to jump into her arms when Vivi noticed little Edd behind his father and she kneeled in front of the boy, Sanji flew over her and landed on the floor, empty-handed.
"Ohh hello there little one," she said, the boy was covered with a dark orange robe.
"Are you aunt Vivi?" the boy asked with curiosity.
Vivi felt moved and put her hands on her cheeks, "Oh I'm an auntie now! Of course, I am come gimme a hug !" she said, giving him a big hug, never shy, the boy returned the gesture.
"Luffy he looks nothing like you" Vivi joked as she parted and glanced at the boy, noticing that indeed his hair was a shade lighter and the eyes a deep brown, just like Nami's
"See Nami? I told you he had your eyes"
Vivi had intended a joke but found the gesture so sweet she smiled, the boy then, looked at her in the eye and said…
"SO… are you going to give me a gift, aunt Vivi?" he asked with a wide, angelic smile. The girl opened her eyes in surprise and blushed
She knew of course, through the news coo that Luffy and Nami had a son, but hadn't expected them to visit, so of course she didn't have any gift prepared for the boy.
"A.. gift?" she asked, surprised.
"Yup, all my uncles always give me lots of gifts! But don't worry aunt Vivi if you don't have one now…" his face changed to a smirk, "You can give me two gifts later"
Vivi sweatdropped, started to laugh nervously and said
"Nami… he is your son"
"Yup!" the whole crew chorused while fanning their hands quickly.
"Ehh… well, I will give you two gifts later then" Vivi said smiling and patting the boy's head… he nodded, pleased
"You guys are spoiling him way too much" Zoro grunted as he lowered their bags from the camels, he was in a bad mood and needed something to drink.
Luffy kind of agreed with Zoro so he was quick to say, "Hey, Edd, it's not okay to demand gifs from your friends like that" He said, hands on his hips as he regarded the boy with a serious face
Edd looked down, a little ashamed but then Luffy said
"You have to ask them to bring you a bunch of meat and delicious food!" the boy's face brightened as the rest of the crew shouted
"THAT'S ALSO NOT OK!" they said rising their arms
The princes just started to laugh, enjoying their company,
"I'm so glad to see you guys… buts lets go inside!"
At the Palace's back door stood Cobra, looking very old and frail, and Jaka and Pell. Over the years, Vivi had seen Luffy and the rest on a few occasions, but Cobra hadn't seen Luffy since the pirate was a skinny rookie.
Now, in front of him there stood a Pirate King, not only because he had grown, but the way he walked, the power and security he radiated as he went up the stairs with his crew following close behind.
And yes his face was slightly more mature, and was that a small fuzz of beard on his chin? Cobra smiled as Luffy bumped a fist with him, as if they were long lost pals.
In any other situation, saluting a King like that was unacceptable but… now for one, Cobra didn't care and on the other hand… Luffy was a king too.
"Luffy-kun!" Cobra greeted, "I'm sorry to be receiving such important people through the back door"
"Yeah, I don't care about that ossan… but please feed me!" he said, tongue sticking out his mouth… formality totally unnecessary.
And yes, soon they were led to the dining room where Igaram and his wife had organized a feast and the place quickly got rowdy as the crew started to party.
Brook's appearance was terrifying for the residents except for Vivi who had met him in the past, but as soon as the Skeleton started to play some music, that aspect of the musician was soon forgotten.
Vivi and the rest hadn't had so much fun in years as food flew and Usopp described them tall tales of big adventures and feats… the princess gasping when Nami told her those tales were true…
Edd ate a lot and enjoyed the party with the rest of the group but at some point had crawled on Nami's lap and was now sleeping cuddled on her chest as the mother patted his back.
"Nami, why don't we take him to the guest room so he rests a bit and then we come back to the party?"
Nami nodded and Vivi led her to the room they originally had occupied when they first visited Alabasta so many years ago after the battle with Crocodile.
The mother tucked the boy in a bed and kissed his forehead, sighing when she saw how peaceful he was.
"He is so cute," Vivi said with a smile.
The navigator smiled proudly but sighed heavily, "Yeah… but… you don't know how much work he is… like his father…"
"Hihihihihi" Vivi snickered.
"For real Vivi, now he is like this because we traveled through the desert for hours and he is very tired… but you don't want to deal with him after eating sweets… I don't know how my hair isn't white by now" she joked as they closed the door behind them, leaving the exhausted little boy to rest.
They partied all night, telling Vivi about new and exciting places, drank, danced and laughed at large, making up for lost time…
Finally, after the long day they were dead tired, and when Nami stepped into their room… she groaned when she found Edd's bed… empty.
"Edd isn't here" she announced, deadpan.
"What! But where is him!" Vivi said, looking around and a little scared.
Instead of getting nervous or hysterical, the mother just massaged her temple as Luffy closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating in something
"He is in the palace somewhere," he said.
"Damn it.." Nami said, "I thought he was so exhausted he would sleep all night…"
"Don't worry Nami! I can smell him!" Chopper said transforming into his Walk Point, he started to smell the floor and followed a trail…. Only to crash on a wall… he started to laugh by himself as his eyes turned swirly… apparently the doctor had had too much to drink.
Vivi was surprised everyone was so calm! They just lost a five year old in an enormous palace, he could be anywhere and they were on a higher floor!
"Guys, this place is so big what if he gets lost?" she said, worried.
Sanji lit himself a smoke and said, "Vivi-chan, that brat does stuff like this daily, he will turn up eventually"
"But…"
"Shishishsi, it will be fine Vivi"
VIvi shook her head in disbelief… so they were as crazy and as carefree as ever… she wouldn't have them any other way tho…
Edd had woken up in a strange place, he wasn't on a ship, noticing that immediately since he was used to feeling the soft swaying of the sea and wasn't able to hear the sea either…He got up, under his feet the world felt strange, too rigid…
For a normal person, being on a ship was a weird feeling, for him, having lived on a ship since such a small age, he felt strange being on land..
He needed to go to the bathroom and since he was a big boy now (he considered himself so) he went to look for one.
He ran through wide, dark empty corridors, the servants had been dismissed to give the StrawHat crew some privacy, and therefore, he didn't run into any adult.
He couldn't find a bathroom and decided to pee on a large pot that had a palm tree planted.
Relieved, he began to explore this new and exciting place that was so very different from the places he had visited in the past… his eyes huge as he glanced at the decorations, admiring great statues of bird and dog men, which for him looked very cool.
He wondered where his family was, because he could remember being in a party with them and his new aunt but he had fallen asleep….however he wasn't scared he knew his dad would eventually find him, he always did.
He followed a corridor that opened up to an enormous courtyard and climbed the balustrade, looking down, he saw he was at least five stories up…
"Woah!" he said as he glanced at the night view of the city of Alubarna that extended beyond the palace's gate, with the desert expanding beyond it and a big white moon behind it all. It was a spectacular view
Looking down, he noticed a big patio on the lower level, and smiled when he saw his aunt Vivi and his dad walking through it.
Vivi glanced around the patio
"Are you sure he is around here?"
"Mmm.." Luffy said looking around, he knew he was close, but the voice of all things wasn't like a radar, he just felt his son was close.
"Daddy!" the boy shouted from the upper floor, both adults looked up and there he was! Standing on a balustrade on the fifth floor of the palace.
Vivi's hair stood on end,
"What are you doing there!" she screamed, scared
"He is exploring", Luffy answered all naturally, like it was normal a five year old went around climbing the ledges of a five story building.
"Edd-chan dont move from there! We will go get you!" the princess hurried to say, she was afraid of him falling down.
"Shishishishi, Don't worry Vivi, Edd! Come down now!"
"Okay!" the boy said, JUMPING down while shouting
"Wuhuuuuu!"
Luffy stretched an arm, grabbed some banister from the first floor and launched himself to the air, he catched the boy in the middle of his free fall and secured him on his chest, as they fell .
He landed next to a horrified Vivi that looked at him like he was a monster while Edd laughed
"Again daddy again!"
"LUFFY THAT WAS SO DANGEROUS!" the princess shouted
"HAHAHA don't worry Vivi Edd is very strong"
"Yeah Auntie Vivi, I'm a pirate too and look I can do cool stuff! Daddy! throw me!"
He asked. Luffy nodded and, with a hand on the boy's feet, pushed him up in the air making him fly.. The boy flipped on the air twice with great agility and landed on the floor flexing his legs on a perfect 10-10 landing…
Stunned, the princess started to clap in slow motion…
But recovered and shouted with shark teeth, "THAT WAS ALSO SO DANGEROUS!"
"Give it up Vivi…" Nami said walking to them, "He is as stubborn as his father" she said tiredly.
"Mommy!" the boy ran running to her, he started to tug at her arm
"I just saw some HUGE statues of a dog man and a bird man!"
The woman smiled but then pinched his cheek, "And why were you running around the palace by yourself young man? You know you are to stay with the crew"
"Awwii… but MOOOM I didn't know where everyone was and I had to pee!" he explained somewhat petulantly. Nami took his hand and started to walk inside, with Vivi and Luffy following close behind, the princes just had to smile at the cute scene.
"Let's go to bed, we have a long day tomorrow," Nami said.
"But mommy, ~I'm not sleepy anymore~"
"Edd, listen to Nami" Luffy said calmly, he wanted to drop dead and sleep too.
The boy flinched slightly when his parents agreed on something it was so very difficult to get his way….
So he glanced behind over his shoulder, his huge eyes searching for Vivi
"Aunt Vivi~ can I stay up playing?"
"Don't listen to him Vivi" Nami warned, "And don't look at him in the eye or you will falter"
But… it was too late… how can she say no to those big, round, pleading eyes…. (the same eyes he used to manipulate all his uncles and that some times, even worked with Zoro).
"Ehh.. Edd-chan" the princess began.
"Be strong Vivi" Luffy said. But she just couldn't! He was so cute! She bit her lower lip, making great effort to stay firm but she couldn't take it anymore.
"Don't worry you guys! I'll watch over him, you guys head up to bed, you had a long day"
It was four in the morning, they had traveled all day below the scorching sun to get to the palace and then partied like crazy… of course they were ready to drop on a bed and sleep like a rock.
"Are you sure Vivi?" Nami asked with a worried look.
"Of course I am Nami! Come on Eddie! Aunt Vivi has some things she needs to finish up, you might be able to help me, ne?"
She offered her hand to the boy, who ran to her and took it quickly… he smiled pleased that he got his way, he always did.
"Dont say I didn't warn you Vivi" Nami said, sighing, "We will go to sleep". Nami put her hands on her hips and regarded the boy with severe eyes
"Be good with your aunt Eddward" she said in a strict, motherly tone. The boy nodded but everyone could notice at first glance he couldn't care less about the warning, as he pulled from his aunt's arm and asked her if they could have a snack.
First things first, Vivi took him to the kitchen and roaming the fridge found some ice cream, which of course resulted in a very happy little boy.
"Come on Edd, let's go to my study, I have to finish up some letters and have the messenger send them early, I want to get work done quickly so I can have the rest of the day free to be with the crew"
The boy followed her down a hall, skipping at first and then running at full speed. Vivi let him be.
A while later, the princess sat at her desk, finishing up some letters while she asked Edd to help her stamp the royal seal, teaching him how to ink the Royal emblem and pressing it on random paper so he could see how it was done.
She remembered doing that with her father when she was little, and it evoked a fond memory, she enjoyed having Edd there, his smile was bright while he stamped yet another paper.
Some stamps ended up crooked, others a little smeared, but for Vivi, it was worth the moment.
"Aunt Vivi, why do you have to write so many letters?"
"Well… as Princess of Alabasta I have many responsibilities, and one of them is answering important requests made by other cities or countries".
She explained as she finished up arranging her documents while the boy climbed an armchair, looking at the objects on a shelf.
"It sounds boring," he said
"Hahaha, you sound like your father"
"Dad is so cool because he always does whatever he wants! He is so strong and punches all the bad guys away with a GOMU GOMU PISTOL!" and he started to make noises and punch the air imitating Luffy .
"Watch out Edd!" The princess shouted when the boy, playing, punched the sofa… which was a very sturdy and heavy piece of furniture… but to Vivi's surprise, it moved violently and pushed a coat rack… which fell over and fell on a shelf… where it made a row of books fall in a domino effect…. Falling and falling all through the enormous shelf until the last book tipped over pushing a small statuette of an Eagle that sat on the edge of the shelf…
It swayed back and forth as Vivi stood up and ran, hand outstretched… while the statuette fell and shattered on the floor.
Vivi fell on her knees…"oh...god…"
"Oops! Sorry aunt Vivi"
The princess ran to the statuette and picked up the pieces, looking at them with a horrified expression… she sighed, shoulders sagging.
"Don't worry Edd… it was only… a thousand years old…" she said sighing. She couldn't bring herself to be angry at the boy, it had been an accident.
"Woah, A thousand years?" he said, it did sound like a lot!
Vivi noticed the sun was rising and the morning air was cool and pleasant..
"Ne Edd-chan, how about I give you a ride on Carue? We can explore the city and it will be our secret" she said, winking
"Yeah!"
Vivi put on a dark blue robe, covering her entirely, it wouldn't do if people knew the princess was just strolling the city, she took care of putting a robe on Edd too, and the duo was soon heading out the palace
Edd was sitting in front of Vivi, while Carue quaked in happiness and flapped his wings, making the boy laugh, for him it was so much more fun traveling on duck than it was traveling on Camels!
When Carue felt how much fun the little boy was having, he ran even faster and wanted to show off… so Vivi ended up having such a blast as her friend ran at full speed.
A while later the princess had to stop to buy some snacks for the child, as the city street merchants were starting to open up and the smell of freshly cooked food floated on the market.
She was careful to hide her identity while she got some meat skewers to the boy, which he consumed quickly.
"Woah aunt Vivi, this city is so big!" he said glancing around.
"Yes, but I'm sure you have been in other big cities before?"
"Yeah… we have been in soo many places! I miss Sunny tho… I wonder what aunt Robin and uncle Super are doing" he asked himself.
Vivi smiled, she was marveled at seeing such a little boy handling the weird reality of his daily life and being so adjusted to it, she was proud of her friends as they were doing a good job raising him.
They explored the market with Vivi holding Edd's hand while Carue followed them from behind… the boy was marveling at all the weird trinkets and food the market had to offer and once again Vivi had to stop to buy him some candy
She got distracted for only a moment, just enough for the little boy to find something curious,
"Look aunt Vivi! It's a weird spider!" he said as he took a scorpion by its tail, the insect snapping its pincers trying to reach the boy who just laughed while he held it showing it to the horrified princess.
"Kyaaa drop it Edd! It's venomous!" she shouted.
"Ohh ok" he said tossing the scorpion away,
"Are you afraid of bugs too Aunt Vivi? Mom and uncle Sanji are afraid of bugs, but I think they are great"
"Uf… Edd..you are going to scare me to death" Vivi said sighing when she saw the scorpion crawl away under a rock… She took the boy's hand and pulled him away from that place.
"Why do my uncles always say that?"
Vivi sweatdropped… she could only imagine why they said that…
They kept walking around, and the princess was thinking about what could she give to the boy as a gift, wondering what would he want, she asked
"So Edd, what would you like as a gift?"
"Something cool!" the boy answered, Vivi just had to smile, and said, "alright, let's keep searching"
Vivi stopped at a book merchant's stall when she noticed a children's book she had read when she was little. It was a Classic Children's story book with fairy tales unique to the Arabasta kingdom and she was happy to get it for the boy.
"Aunt Vivi, auntie Robin always reads stories to me but since she is not here, can you read them to me later?" he asked. Vivi was moved by the request, Edd had known her but a few hours and already regarded her like any other of his uncles and aunts… she had to wonder if Luffy had been so cute at his age too.
"Of course I will!" she said.
They walked until they reached the end of the market, and Vivi decided it was time to go back to the palace, as they turned a corner, she felt a presence behind her, and suddenly there was a dirty old man dressed in a ragged robe wielding a knife, waving it in front of Vivi.
"Alright young girl, give me your money and I won't harm you" he said coldly, his small crazy pupils shaking were the only thing that could be seen below his robe.
"Hey, take it easy oldman, there's no need to resort to this" Vivi said with confidence…. Automatically taking Edd's arm and pulling him behind her.
"You don't understand me girl, gimme your money" he said as he advanced and tried to press the blade closer to Vivi.
The girl knew she could defeat this small time thug.. But she was more worried about the fact that the man had resorted to mugging to survive, she had to wonder if they were doing a bad job with her father… Alabasta was doing well… and people didn't need to steal to survive.
As she mussed at this, the child behind her unexpectedly stepped up.
"Hey ossan leave my auntie alone!" the boy cried suddenly jumping to the thief and biting his hand… the man reacted by kicking the boy who fell back on his knees while Vivi wrestled the knife away from the oldman's hands.
"Aghh stupid brat!" The man cried, grabbing his hand in pain, while Vivi pointed the knife at the bandit.
"Edd are you alright!?"
The boy sniffled a little, having scratched his knees… Vivi knelt next to him as she glanced at the thief, Carue, scared, quaked crazily at their back.
"Yeah…" he muttered as his lower lip trembled a little….
"Oh baby" Vivi said, pulling him into her arms, her eyes never leaving the thug's frame.
Vivi stood up holding the child with one arm, the boy hiding his face on the crook of her neck as he sniffled, and Vivi pulled her robe back, revealing her identity.
"It would be best if you surrender to justice now", she said. The man was startled to see her and threw himself to the ground, his forehead touching the sand, terrified. He was sure he was going to be executed.
"Pri-... Princess Vivi!"
"Your name, sir" she demanded
"I'm Garaj Porsam my lady" he said, trembling
"You will present yourself at the palace and request an audience with Igaram, we will give you a decent job. If you fail to appear in the palace within the next twenty four hours I'll see you put into a dungeon, understand?" she ordered with complete authority.
She was outraged, Alabasta was going through a time of prosperity, there was no excuse for someone to resort to vandalism, there were enough jobs for everyone.
"Of course Princess… how merciful! God bless you princess!" he said while he crawled away in all fours…
Vivi put the knife on Carue's saddle bag and patted Edd on the back,
"You okay sweetie?"
"Yeah… but it hurts" he said, sniffling as he scratched away some tears from his eyes.
She sat him on Carue and checked him out, his knee was bleeding… and getting kicked had probably hurt too, she felt terrible so she kissed him on the forehead.
"Thanks for protecting me, you are so brave," she said.
The boy smiled, sniffled the last of his tears as he felt better,
"Dad says we have to protect our nakamas...and you are our nakama right aunt Vivi?"
She smiled. and poking the tip of his nose with her finger she said, "Of course I'am, I'll always be your nakama too" she said and the boy smiled brightly at her.
She mounted Carue and they went back to the palace where Igaram was already awake and scolded the princess for escaping the palace… she told him about what happened with the thief and Igaram helped her clean up Edd's knee.
After their adventure on the city, they met with Cobra for a late breakfast and to discuss the matters of the day.
"Good morning father" she said
"Good morning Vivi" he said as he watched the boy standing on a chair and stuffing his face with food, he sweatdropped, "His resemblance with Luffy-san is uncanny," he said
Smiling the King asked, "So Edd-kun, how are you liking Alabasta?" He was delighted to have a kid back at the palace, it had been far too long.
"Oh we did a bunch of fun stuff with aunt Vivi! But it's hot and there are sand bandits and I hate them!" he said with honesty, stuffing another muffing in his mouth.
"Hehehe, well it is a desert country so it's true I can get too hot, but we do have a very nice bathhouse, I think you will have a lot of fun there," he said.
"I DONT LIKE BATHS!" the boy snapped.
"Ahh but, don't worry these are not normal baths, these are very fun" the king explained, having been a father he knew how to deal with stubborn little children.
"We can go and have a party in the baths later, how about that?"
"Oh! OK!" the boy said, "So ossan are you a king like my dad?"
Cobra smiled and tried to explain, "It's different, I'm king of this island, and your dad is considered the King of all seas"
"Ohh so my dad is better" the boy said and resumed eating, Cobra sweatdropped as Vivi and Igaram laughed heartily, of course the King didn't take offense to the words of a five year old boy.
The crew woke up afternoon, some, like Usopp and Chopper, nursing heavy hangovers but of course the first thing they did was storm the dining room.
Vivi had taken care of Edd all morning and had a great time with the child, even though he would make her nervous with his antics… such as climbing everywhere, touching everything and running off when he discovered something of his interest.
When the pair walked into lunch, the crew was already eating and Edd ran to his father.
"Daddy! We did a lot of fun stuff with aunt Vivi!" he cried, and then he noticed a big chunk of meat on the bone on Luffy's hand.
"Hey gimme meat dad!" he said jumping up and trying to steal the piece from his father, Luffy just dodged his advances as he nibbled at it like a dog.
As the child kept trying Luffy put a foot on his chest halting his efforts as they struggled.
"THIS IS MINE GET YOUR OWN!" Luffy roared.
"Don't be selfish you bastard!" the boy said, trying to reach the piece.
"Edd language!" Nami yelled, throwing a shoe at her kid.
"Don't call your father a bastard, brat!" Luffy snapped back
Another shoe flew in Luffy's direction, "Don't be miserable with your son Luffy!, give him some meat Igaram is going to bring more soon!"
As the duo of father and son growled at each other, Nami groaned and fell on the table, she had a mild hangover and was in no mood to deal with their kicking and screaming.
Vivi smiled nervously as the table succumbed to chaos and things flew everywhere, she could swear Nami had thrown like four shoes and wasn't sure where she was getting them.
Sitting next to Nami, the princess tried to make conversation and said,
"Edd, why don't you tell your father how we defeated that bandit that attacked us at the market?"
The boy stopped trying to get to Luffy's meat and his face brightened
"Ahh yeah! We were in the city with aunt Vivi and then an ugly old man came with a knife and he wanted to get aunt VIvi's money! But we kicked his ass!" he said-
"Really?" Luffy said, surprised, and then he noticed a bandaid on Edd's knee.
"Yeah he was so brave! He jumped into the bandit and bit his hand!" Vivi said with pride.
"Good job Edd, a man has to protect the ladies!" Sanji said, giving him the thumbs up.
"What about the others eh?" Usopp demanded.
"They can eat shit, protect yourself" Sanji told Usopp with a gangsta face. Usopp ignored his comment, knew deep down Sanji would protect any friend even with his life.
"Don't teach him bullshit! cook" Zoro grunted, "Edd, a man always has to protect their nakama, so you did well kid," the swordsman said before entering in a duel with the cook…
"Shihsishhi, Zoro's right, well done" Luffy said… giving his piece of meat to the child whose face lit up and started to munch at it like a little starved puppy.
Luffy just grinned and decided to make up for his lost meat stealing from everybody else… the table turned into chaos again. They chatted for a while as food flew, plates broke and laughter echoed in that room.
By the third day, Vivi had grown quite fond of the little boy, and so had he with her, since he spent a lot of time with the princess, at night… Vivi would read from the storybook she had bought Edd and the child would suck up every word… of course, Luffy would sit close by, listing and enjoying the stories too.
Of course Cobra had grown even more eager for Vivi to finally settle down and get married… pestering her about grandchildren every five seconds...the Princess just tried to avoid the requests but knew about her responsibility with her people, she had to produce an heir for her country at some point…
Watching Nami tucking Edd on the bed at night, her happy smile as she blew kisses on the boy's belly as she made him laugh… it could be said it made her yearn to start a family…
Her relationship with Kozha had changed in the last couple of years, he worked as a minister and they usually had to expend a lot of time working together on matters regarding the wellbeing of their country… they made a great team and the public would approve of their union…
Maybe it was time to take the next step...
The third day, after dinner, a Den Den Mushi started to ring on Usopp's pocket, the snipper pulled it out and it had an adorable strawhat on its head.
"It's from Sunny" he said
Luffy was quick to reach for the speaker, "Here Luffy, Pirate King" he said very seriously
"BE MORE DISCREET!" Igaram, Vivi and Cobra shouted.
On the other end of the communication a very distinct female laugher could be heard
"Fu fu fu, Good even Captain, here's our report from the Sunny Go, Everything in order"
Robin said
"AUNT ROBIN!" Edd shouted to the speaker, "Hey auntie! We have so much fun here and I kicked a sand bandit's ass!" he said.
Robin's soft laughter could be heard but behind her, the booming voice of Franky roared, even changing the little snail's face.
"THAT IS SO SUPER! CHIBICHAN!"
Robin's voice, now more serious, announced, "Captain, we have intercepted a communication from the Marines in this area, Vice Captain Hina is suspicious of our whereabouts and is looking for us…"
Luffy nodded, sighed and put on his hat, "Time to go then"
"But Luffy! You guys just got here!" Vivi cried in protest, but knew she wouldn't be able to change his mind.
Ignoring Vivi, Luffy continued with his orders, "Robin, we'll see you guys tomorrow at down on the place where we said goodbye to Vivi last time"
"Roger captain" was the archeologist's reply, she knew where that was.
"See you guys there" *cacha*
Vivi was looking downcast so Luffy hurried to say.
"We are pirates Vivi, if we continue here we'll get you in trouble. But, I'm happy to see Alabasta doing so well and you guys are doing well too" he said with a bright smile.
Vivi nodded while unshed tears glistened on her eyes, she clenched her jaw tightly.. And she knew that she had been lucky to have them over for a few days, it was an enormous gift and privilege.
"Vivi…" Nami whispered… also sad.
Sanji took a drag from his cigarette and said, "Luffy's right Vivi, from Nanohana to Alubarna, we can see how prosper Alabasta has become"
"Yes" the princess began, "We have worked very hard with my father and we are far from those days were Crocodile was ruining everything"
"You did a great job Vivi" Luffy said, grinning brightly.
The princes grinned back
"Vivi, come with us to the sea so we can have a proper goodbye"
"Of course," the princess said, nodding.
….
So it was, a few hours later, loaded with provisions and gifs, they rode on the duck squadron, crossing the desert at night at full speed. At first, Edd was awake but ultimately fell asleep while riding in front of Vivi.
They finally reached the shore just before dawn, and Sunny got as close as possible.
Edd woke up when Vivi called for him softly and helped him off the duck, the boy's face brightened when he saw his home.
"Sunny go!" he shouted in glee… but when he turned… he noticed the adults were too serious… his mother looking crestfallen and his aunt Vivi trying to hold back tears.
"Guys… I'm going to miss you all so much" the princes mumbled while her voice shook.
Nami hugged her tightly and they were like that for a while, nobody dared to interrupt their moment.
Finally Vivi pulled back and opened her arms to get hugs from everyone else…
"And you guys too!" she said as everyone but Zoro jumped on her to get hugs… but he couldn't escape when one of Luffy's arms stretched, surrounded him and pulled him into a big mess of arms and hugs.
Edd glanced at everyone silently and thought they were being weird, because he was so small and couldn't understand that how hard this farewell was, he was so innocent still that he had no idea it could be years before they saw Vivi again, and even then, being pirates there were no guarantees if this was going to be the last time.
The princess noticed the boy's curious gaze and separated from the rest of the crew, kneeling in front of the boy to make eye contact with him.
"Edd-chan, I'm going to miss you too" she said
"Me too aun Vivi" he said with a big, trademark Monkey D. smile.
Vivi Nodded, reaching for something inside her robe, and pulled a small, round silver object that she presented to the boy.
"Edd, this is a gift for you, this is for being so brave and protecting me the other day, here" she said, placing the object on the children's hands. It looked like a silver pocket watch, with the emblem of the Kingdom of Alabasta engraved on its cover.
"Look, if you press here, it opens," she said as she demonstrated the mechanism to the boy.
Nami, curious, glanced at the object and gasped when she noticed the interior, moved by Vivi's gift. Inside a glass encasing, there was a small needle that at that moment, wasn't moving, because it pointed to that very island, Alabasta.
It was a pocket Eternal Pose, very expensive and difficult to obtain, only the best craftsman in the world could produce them. There was a smaller circle that had a small regular clock as well. But what moved Nami the most… was that in the inner side of the lid, there was engraved a simple X symbol.
"This Eternal Pose Edd, it's the symbol that wherever you are in the world, you know that in Alabasta you have an aunt that loves you very much, so if you ever need me, you can always find your way to me with this. We'll always be Nakama"
Edd was still small and innocent, but, he understood, this was important, a treasure.
"Woah aunt Vivi, thank you!" he said, giving her a hug.
Luffy pouted, looking very childish as he watched the scene with a jealous gaze.
"Why does everyone always give him awesome stuff?" he complained.
Vivi laughed and stood up, "For you, there's another hug, you will have to settle with that Luffy" she said opening her arms
"Well it will have to do!" he answered, giving her a big hug, everyone laughed and finally… they parted… with Vivi and Carue watching as they sailed away.
This time, with no enemy ships close by, they managed to wave goodbye at her as they sailed away… but… just before losing sight of them, they turned and rose their right arm in the air… with Edd on Luffy's shoulders also raising his little arm.
Vivi's eyes filled with tears, she rose her arm along with Carue waving at her friends in that emblematic farewell.
They would always, always be Nakama, no matter what.
Several years later, Queen Vivi, "The Fair", heard a disturbing report from Katorea, apparently, a very dangerous crew had attacked the city. They had arrived directly to loot and plunder the prosperous merchant city, opening cannonfire without warning…
She was close by on Nanohana, and when she heard the report, no matter how much Pell and Chaka protested, she led her small personal army directly to Katorea at full speed and didn't take long to arrive.
However, when she got there, she was received by a local captain,
"How is the situation?" Vivi asked, worried, her hair in a tight bun, a gold grown pinned on it, her robes elegant and her gait regal as she rode Carue.
"The pirates were defeated my Queen!" the captain announced
Her eyes widened, "Really? How? I heard the situation was dire"
"It was my queen, but another pirate crew arrived, a single man in a Straw Hat dealt with them quickly!"
"A man in a StrawHat?" she said, smiling brightly. "Where's he? Where is the rest of his crew?" she asked hurriedly, smiling in a very excited and unqueenly way.
"I didn't see the crew, your highness, but the man is eating in the tavern over there" he said, pointing to a tavern at the end of the street.
"Soldiers, leave me while I thank our savior" she said, raiding Carue at full speed to the building…
She hurried in, opening the swinging doors and there he was on his back eating on the bar, a tall pile of plates surrounding him…
"LUFFY!" she shouted with enthusiasm! It had been what.. Five years perhaps?
The figure froze… and lowered the plate he was eating… turning around
Vivi's eyes widened
"AUNT VIVI!" the young man shouted, Luffy's grin with her mother's chocolate eyes
The boy was wearing black military shorts, heavy boots and a belt with his initial on its buckle, with a holster with some type of weapon and ammunition, an open blue shirt showing his young but strong built. On his neck rested a pair of silver headphones, known in the seas as I-Mushis, it was the latest in entertainment and very expensive.
Vivi smiled when she noticed the chain of the pocket loge-pose hanging from a belt loop and going inside his pocket.
The woman ran to him and hugged him tightly,
After parting slightly, she had to ask, "Edd are your parents alright?" she asked, concerned.
"Yeah of course they are! Hahaha, Didn't you hear about the New World? My gramps Dragon is going to have a fit"
VIvi sighed, "Luffy never changes… but will you look at you so be gotten so big! What are you doing here in Paradise by yourself?"
"Ehh…"
The young man took off his hat and glanced at it, smiling…
"You are looking at the StrawHat Crew's first division commander!" he said with a smile, "currently recruiting! You wanna join my crew aunt Vivi?" he asked cheekily, placing the hat back on his head.
Vivi smiled… "Fist division huh… that hat looks good on you"
The boy smiled blushing slightly, but before he could say anything Vivi's face changed.
"And you, always getting into trouble! Don't think I haven't seen the newspapers!" she said pinching his cheek playfully while he complained, "Awwwchichichi"
"MONKEY D EDWARD!" a female voice roared as a woman entered the tavern, pushing the swinging doors violently, the boy backed a step, clenching his teeth.
The blonde girl was wearing a yellow robe on the style of the island, it covered her frame completely,
She grabbed Edd's ear and pulled it, "How many times do I have to tell you to wait until we dock before flying away!"
"BUT I WAS HUNGRY!"
"YOU ARE ALWAYS HUNGRY EDD!"
A moment later a masculine laugher boomed in the room and an enormous fishman also covered with a robe stepped inside, he had light grey skin and a strong build.
"Leave him be, I rather have him eating than bored and looking for problems," the young Fishman said with a smile.
"Where are the others?" Edd asked.
"Well, taking care of the ship as it should!" the blonde snapped, one day she was sure she was going to have a stroke taking care of her commander… even though her aunt Nami told her Edd was not nearly half as irresponsible as Luffy had been in the past, it was difficult to believe.
"Hey aunt Vivi, these are my nakamas, she is..:" *crash* the bartender had noticed the queen in his establishment and dropped a pile of plates, "'s daughter" Edd finished.
Vivi's eyes opened in surprise, how come his daughter, she didn't look like him at all!
As she watched the three young pirates arguing, Vivi couldn't help smiling, reminiscing of times long past. She started to laugh at their expense.
"Come to Alubarna with me, I'll offer you guys a banquet in gratitude for defeating that crew"
"Gratitude?" the fishman asked.
"Of course, Edd defeated a pirate that was giving us trouble, my soldiers told me his wanted amounted about 300 hundred million!" Vivi said,
The fishman boy seemed angry, "Edd, leave some fun for us too! asshole!" they began to argue again, and Vivi interrupted.
"Let's go to Alubarna, I'm sure my daughter Kiki will want to meet you guys. Edd,Kiki hasn't seen you since she was five, but she keeps collecting your Wanted posters I think she still has a crush on you so don't try to recruit her ehh" Vivi warned playfully while winking her eye at the boy who just laughed.
Some days later, the Queen, hidden in a cloak along with her daughter, a pretty ash-blonde girl, sat on their ducks as they waved a Straw Hat flagged ship,
As she waved her arm, Vivi sighed…
"We will always be nakama…."
To be continued…
Alright I want you all to keep in mind this mall glimpse into the future is just a possibility, the future isn't set in stone!
I hope you all had fun with this chapter! I know I did even tho it was so long! I just didnt want to split it in two!
-
We might get to Boa in the next chapter,
any idea of who the blonde girl on Edd's crew was?
(if you have read the spanish version of the fic, dont spoil it!)
review if you can! It gets me fired up writing!