Chapter 5

"Nana!" Garp yelled as soon as he landed and looked around the silent island. "Huh? Usually, she's here to greet me." Garp looked up as the trees started to creak with his jaw dropping as he saw the giant transformation of Nana. Her giant red body towered far above the trees as her nine tails swung wildly around the island. "Brat?" Garp muttered and watched as she lowered her head down to his level and huffed in his face. Causing his hair and clothes to flutter around them. "Oh, it's a long time since I last saw you like this and in control." He laughed and rubbed her snout, happily greeting the demon fox without fear. "Where's your pet?"

Nana opened her jaw and spoke, "He's gone on an adventure." Her voice was deeper but it was undeniably hers. "I sent him on his way so I could practice keeping in my form without losing control." She explained before licking Garp's cheek. "I've missed you old man."

Garp laughed and hugged her large snout. His arms nowhere near wrapping around her large snout. "I'll never get over how magnificent you look in this form." He pulled back and jumped on top of Nana's head.

Nana stood up tall and walked them back to her cottage easily. Lowering her head to the ground for Garp to get off and waited for him to return with her cloak before morphing back into a human. Nana kept to her kneeling position and waited for Garp to cover her up before standing. "Luffy asked about me?" She asked excitedly as she followed Garp inside.

"He did." Garp nodded as he put away the supplies he brought. "He wants to meet you, Nana." He turned and saw her discomfort immediately and sighed. Gesturing her over so they could sit and talk. "Nana, it's only a matter of time before you leave this island. Sooner or later somebody is going to come here and discover you and what you are. I might not be alive when it happens and I won't be able to protect you."

Nana looked down at her hands. "I know." She whispered. "I just don't want to believe it. I'm not strong enough to leave here yet. I'd leave in a heartbeat for our boys but nothing else." she confessed and ringed her fingers together. "I shouldn't be here, Garp. You should've killed me when I lost control all those years ago. I almost killed them."

Garp kept his eyes straight as he folded his arms. Whenever he visited their conversations always lead to this. "I don't regret my choices with you, Nana. Including not completing the bond with you." He knew his words stung her but she needed to know. "I'm not the one you're looking for Nana and you know that. The other demons avoid wanting their bond mates but you're different."

"I just want to grow old, Garp," Nana muttered his name and felt his eyes on her. "I should be wrinkled and grey by now but I'm not. It's hard watching you grow older each time I see you and soon enough Ace will be older than me." Nana stood and made her way over to her knitting equipment. Grabbing the red scarf and walked over to Garp and wrapped it snuggly around his neck.

Grap gently grabbed her hands in his and said softly, "Luffy isn't afraid of you. He told me that himself." He caught her blood red eyes and the tears the threatened to spill. "I've spoken with Ace a while ago in passing and he also wishes to see you again. They don't hate what you are, brat." He laughed when she started to cry and call the boys idiots. He released her hands and pulled out a golden pole from his pocket. "I almost forget. Here it's all yours." Garp handed it over to the sobbing woman and watched as she held it close to her chest. "The grass has grown back and I had my boys bury them all."

Nana flung herself into Garp's arms and cried on his chest. Overwhelmed by the odd vice-admiral. "Thank you!" Nana choked out. She pulled away and twisted the golden pole and out expanded her shakujō (monk ringed staff). She looked over the small nicks that littered its form.

"It's been over 50 years but I managed to find her in the temple where you first transformed," Garp explained and patted the scarf happily. He patted her head and said, "You can only go up from here, Nana. Don't let your demons hold you back."

Nana nodded and held the staff tightly in her hands. "I don't want to imagine the life I would've had if you hadn't gotten to me first."

Garp sadly grinned, "Neither do I. The World Government must never get their hands on another Demon user."

"Another?" Nana frowned and looked up at Garp. Sensing his uneasiness, she stayed quiet till he was ready to talk.

"Yes. The Marines raised him from a young age. He's a formidable opponent." Garp explained. "He's an Akuma (Street Fighter)."

"The original demon," Nana whispered.

"Nana I want you to kill him when the time comes," Garp asked the red-headed woman and saw her eyes harden in understanding. "He will pose a problem in the future and the Marines have trained him to the point that he's unstable and uncontrollable."

"Who did he bond with?" Nana questioned.

"His names is Sakazuki. Codename Akainu and a powerful admiral." Garp muttered as he lost himself in the thought of the two evils of the Marines. "He's not a man to mess with, Nana."

"I understand," Nana replied and moved back to her chair. "The stone isn't repairing itself either." She mentioned to Garp. "Some days it will slowly repair and other days it looks as if it will crumble."

"Who's stone?" Garp asked. Deciding not to harass her about creating ritual stones. "Mine?" Nana shook her head. "Luffy?"

Nana gripped the edge of her seat and shook her head once more. "Ace." She whispered. "I don't know what's going on but in due time he will be in danger to the point there's a chance of him dying by a powerful foe. He could already be captured at this point and tortured or he's on his way to death's door. That's all I can tell you." Nana looked away bitterly. "I wasn't the one who could read the stones and I don't remember how to make them."

Garp patted her head with affection. Causing her to glare at him and he just laughed. "You've done more than enough. You were never as cute as your sisters." Garp laughed when she lunged at him. Tears spilling out of his eyes as she choked him but he refused to stop laughing.

"I'll kill you old man!"

"Who's an old man?! You devil woman!" Garp stopped laughing and began throwing his fists back at the fox woman. Prepared to have a good old duel with her. Just like old times.

___________________________________________________________________________

Nana grumbled as she just finished cleaning up the mess Garp and her created in her cottage. "That shitty old man." She nailed up the large hole in the wall he had thrown her through and stood up. "Argh jeez." Nana groaned as her bones all clicked and stretched up high. "I guess I should be thankful that he stayed an extra day to help clean up." Nana shrugged her shoulders and was going to make her a hot cup of tea when she felt them. Her head perked up and looked in the direction of the shore. She frowned a little when she felt an extra presence with Mihawk and Pumpkin. Someone powerful. Nana bit her lip in worry and slowly made her way over to the shore. "He promised to kill me if they caught me or when I lose control." She muttered more to herself and pushed her aching legs over the snowy hill and caught sight of Mihawk's odd looking boat and slid down the snowy dunes.

"Nana!" Pumpkin shouted loudly as he saw the approaching red-headed figure dressed in her heavy brown clothing. "Nana! We're home!" He called over the sounds of the ocean and wind.

Nana cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted back. "Okaeri!" She walked faster towards the docked boat and opened her arms wide as Pumpkin jumped into her arms. "I've missed you so much!" She confessed to the crying tiger.

"N-Nana?"

Nana froze and turned slowly. Her eyes widening as she took in the familiar red hair and kind brown eyes. "S-Shanks?" Nana spoke in disbelief.

"OH, it is you, Nana!" Shanks yelled out in surprise and dropped the supplies he was carrying. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Nana felt her heartbeat increase as Shanks approached. "N-no stay back!" She screamed and tried to escape and failed as Shanks pulled her in for a tight hug. Nana tried pushing his grinning face and hollered, "Let go of me, Shanks!"

"Why?" Shanks said happily before a sinister look appeared on his face. "Oh is it because of this?" He rubbed his hand across her shoulder and laughed when she turned beet red and a pair of fox ears appeared atop of her head followed my nine swishing tails. "You look adorable as always," Shanks mentioned and rubbed one of her fluffy tails.

"You-" Nana clenched her fists before connecting one to Shanks' cheek. "You bastard! You know I hate it when you do that! Who the hell do you think you are?! Greeting me like that after all these years!" Nana quickly grabbed Shanks ankles with her tail and began slamming him about. "I ought to kill you!"

Mihawk watched Nana in interest. Recalling Pumpkin's words of Nana's partial transformation being beautiful. He had never seen such a sight, even though she was angry and beating Shanks around. She would be the definition of an animal kink."At least she's not killing me." Mihawk mentioned to the tiger cub.

"You know?" Pumpkin looked up to Mihawk in awe and saw him nod.

Mihawk spoke too soon as Nana gripped him by his collar. "You never called me, little red." He said calmly to the red-faced woman. He smirked when one of her ears twitched and her tails stiffened. He was tempted to reach out and touch one of the nine but refrained from his desires.

"Bastard number two." Nana hissed, "I said to bring wool back. Wool! Not a grown man." Nana was about to throttle the man when she took in his lack of reaction. She stepped back and released his collar. "You know now."

"I know a lot." Mihawk nodded and got a gentle smile from the redhead in return. He patted her head and felt the soft furs of her fox ears rub against his hand. "You went through a lot, Head Priestess."

Nana wrinkled her nose at the title. "Haven't heard that in years. Doesn't sound right anymore." She laughed and helped with the supplies.

"Oi Nana~" Shanks complained and grabbed the supplies he dropped. "How come you're so nice to Mihawk?"

"He doesn't piss me off like you do," Nana replied and nudged his shoulder with a shy smile. "Though it's nice to see you again, Shanks."

Shanks grinned before turning serious. "I heard what happened. You could've come to me, Nana." He saw her shake his head and said, "My offer still stands."

"No thanks." Nana quickly declined. "Where is your crew?"

"Waiting at one of the islands," Shanks said and opened the door for Nana and joined her inside the homely cottage. "You've been living here for a decade?"

"Yup," Nana replied and started to put things away. "Tell me everything about what's happened to you." Nana requested and laughed when Shanks pulled her to the bed to tell her about his tales.

Mihawk stayed behind the two and watched them talk. He knew it was a good idea to bring Shanks. Perhaps the man would visit Nana too. Mihawk placed his items away and placed the wool in the knitting basket before starting the fire. He heard Nana laugh, yell and swear at Shanks yet she kept her partial transformation in place. Mihawk grabbed a cup of wine before sitting in his appointed seat and listened to the two catch up.

"Your tails are as soft as always." Shanks awed as he wrapped himself up in her tails. Gently running his fingers through the soft fur and looked up at Nana. "Ace came and saw me a few years ago. He wanted to thank me for saving Luffy and if I had any information on where you were."

"I'm sure he did," Nana muttered and touched the shoulder where Shanks missing arm once was. Not minding at the moment that Mihawk was listening. He was bound to find out sooner or later about the family she wanted to protect. Nana saw the curiosity in Shanks' eyes and sighed, "I lost control and ran away."

"That idiot still hasn't bonded with you, has he?" Shanks said in annoyance and untangled himself from her tails. "How about you bond with me instead?" He offered and held his hand up when he saw she was about to reject him. "I mean it, Nana. It must be lonely here and I can protect you till you're ready to face the world. You'll be able to see the world again."

Mihawk looked over to the cozy redheads and was about to interfere when Nana spoke up.

"It's not time for me to leave." She said sternly. "Besides, I have Mihawk here. I'll be fine." She said.

"Ouch." Shanks held a hand over his heart jokingly. "What a way to turn a man down, Nana, but my offer will always be there for you." He ended the conversation lightly. "It's just great to see you again, Nana."

"Nana," Mihawk called and got the attention of both the redheads. "What is the idiot talking about? Bonding."

Nana hummed in thought, wondering how to explain the process. "Well, now that you've done your research I guess I should explain it a bit more. The world knows about the three types of devil fruits: zoan, paramecia and, logia. There's also the rare mythical devil fruits. However, there is a more rare type of devil fruit: Demon devil fruits." Nana explained and folded her tails around herself, stroking them comfortably. "Consuming the demon devil fruit comes at a cost. Your sanity and humanity slowly fade into nothing if you don't find someone to bond with. By bonding with a somebody the user is able to keep themselves grounded and control the demon's bloodlust and you retain whatever sanity and humanity you have left. However, in lost texts, there have been demon users that refuse to bond with someone and end up causing mass genocide. My people protected the Kyuubi devil fruit for centuries."

Mihawk looked at Shanks and saw the torment in his eyes. He looked back to Nana and said, "It's been 50 years for you yet you're still sane."

Nana sighed and replied, "I've always had someone spiritually stronger than me to keep me in place. I've tried bonding before but got rejected." She shrugged her shoulders. "Although I wanna beat him to a pulp for constantly rejecting me, he's right. A demon user needs to bond to the right person or they might cause more damage than necessary."

"That's why~" Shanks said dramatically, "I said to bond with me."

"It's not that easy!" Nana whacked Shanks over the head with one of her tails. "The person needs to be someone the demon user considers a master or lover."

"Oh nevermind then." Shanks rubbed the back of his head as he answered sheepishly. "Didn't think you'd see anyone as a master. Much less Garp of all people." Shanks laughed when Nana looked away in embarrassment. "Aren't you two the same age? Don't tell me...you've finally seen a naked man?!" Shanks laughed louder when Nana hid under her bushy tails and heard her hiss at him. Shanks wiped away a stray tear and poked at the fluffy fortress. "Oh come on, Nana. I'm just teasing. I'm sure there are other 70-year-old virgins out there." Shanks laughed more when he heard a choked squeal and slapped his knee in jest.

Mihawk narrowed his eyes and Shanks. Wondering how much the man knew about Nana. He sipped on his wine and stroked the fur of the amused cub. Mihawk didn't want to kick Shanks out just yet. He was able to get more information with him around and now that Shanks had mentioned the boys Nana took care of and her 'father' it gave him more reign to talk to her about her past.

Shanks stopped laughing as his denden mushi sounded and quickly took the call before sighing. "Ne Nana, I have to get going." He said and watched as she came out of her tails. "It's good seeing you again and I'll be sure to visit you." He handed Nana a piece of paper and said, "It's my vivre card and I've written my number down too. Mihawk, walk me back." Shanks said and quickly grabbed the man before he could decline and dragged him to the shore. Shanks released Mihawk and released a sad sigh. "How long has she been here?" He asked the swordsman.

"Too long," Mihawk replied and watched as Shanks ship came into view. "Any later and she would've been long gone. Not even Garp would stop her."

Shanks rubbed his face tiredly. Filing Mihawk's words away for later. "Thank you for finding her. She's very dear, Mihawk, so don't mess around with her otherwise I will kill you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mihawk said calmly and prepared his sword.

Shanks jumped atop of Yoru, prepared to be launched towards his ship. "You've never gained an interest in women, Mihawk. I'll leave her in your care." Shanks said seriously and bent his knees.

"I don't need your permission," Mihawk muttered and swung his great blade. Sending Shanks flying towards the ship and headed back to the cottage quietly. He could hear the voices of Pumpkin and Nana and walked inside and saw the two looking at a picture.

Nana looked up to Mihawk and grinned. "I know Pumpkin showed you my photos but I want you to look at this one." She patted the space beside her on the bed and moved her tails out of the way. Waiting till he sat down and wrapped her tails around them as Pumpkin sat in Mihawk's lap. "You can touch them, y'know." Nana offered up a tail. "I saw you looking at them whenever Shanks would pat them."

Mihawk nodded and brought one of the tail to his lap. Surprised by how thick yet soft her tail was. It was dark orange in colour though others might consider it red. "They're wonderful." He said and looked at her. Seeing her watching him with interest. "What is it that you wish to show me?"

"Oh yeah, here." Nana handed over the photo she held. "This is what I used to look like before I ate the devil fruit. I think I was 20 and this was when I first met father." She said, pointing to the grinning fool in the photo. "We hit it off straight away and became good friends ever since. He was the first person from the World Government permitted into the holy temple."

Mihawk looked at the colour photo. "That's unexpected." He wasn't focused on the young looking Garp but more to Nana. The black haired, black eyed Nana. She didn't look as exotic as she does now but she still looked beautiful. She looked like another beautiful young woman filled with hope and happiness yet she still held that aura of danger. "The red is the result of the fruit."

"Yup," Nana replied and popped the p. "I like to look at what I used to look like sometimes. I started calling Garp father when we both realised I wasn't aging and he started to grey. It was a joke at first but now..." She shrugged her shoulders.

"I saw a collective photo of you and the Holy Forces." He said, "You were sat right in the middle and they called you the head priestess."

Nana nodded her head. "Yeah. I wasn't as talented as Serena or peaceful as Tabitha but they chose me. They were my sisters." She whispered and exhaled slowly. Nana leaned her head on Mihawk's shoulder and curled her tails around them snuggly. "That celestial dragon only saw Serena in passing and claimed her as his 13th wife. Serene refused and that damn dragon shot a child right in the head. Serena tried to defend another child he aimed at...the shot was fatal and Serena bled out in seconds." Nana gripped Mihawk's arms tightly as she recalled the screams of her people and the gurgled breaths of her baby sister. "She died in my arms and that bastard only laughed and said he'd have me instead and before I knew it, I had that dragon's heart in my hands and I killed him. They were never supposed to come. They knew the rules but thought since I had invited Garp to the sacred temple that they could come and do as they please. I did what I could but they were so overwhelming and slaughtered even the newborns." Nana felt her eyes burn as tears spilled down her cheeks. "I was the last one standing and they were coming for the sacred treasure. I tried to burn it but it wouldn't burn. I had no choice. I couldn't let the World Government get it so I ate it and I killed them all. Garp managed to stop me before I shattered my home island and he's been hiding me ever since."

Mihawk wrapped an arm around the shivering fox lady and held her close to his frame. "You have more control than any other being that would've been in your position. Many others would've run straight to the fruit but you withheld knowing the dangers. It's a hard decision to make, Nana, and had you eaten it first everyone would've died and the World government would have their hands on a powerful devil fruit."

Nana wiped away her tears and looked up at Mihawk. "Thanks. Sometimes you're not such an asshole."

Mihawk flicked her forehead at the comment and ignored her curses. "I know."