╏016

【Dwindled Love】

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The huge castle, big enough to make room for everyone living in the kingdom, sparkled magnificently under the sun. Constructed way back in time with rare stones... it still stood tall and strong. "I wonder how much these stones would cost!" Nami exclaimed while touching the walls of the castle. The trio accepted the lady's request and made their way to the castle from the back side to avoid crossing any guards that Tiger might have. And they were successful in sneaking in. 

It was all pure luck that one of the back doors was left open, and it gave them easy access to the castle. But the bright and radiating aura that the castle gave when viewed from the outside didn't match the aura that was present on the inside. 

Everything felt eerie. The lamps were broken, and the light would flicker. The photo frames that were once on the walls were now shattered on the floor. "The people in these photos look like the members of the royal family," Nami stated as observed a family picture of a lady who looked strong and elegant with her daughter and son. Most of the photos had the faces of these three, and looking at the pictures of people who are no longer in this world made their hearts ache. 

"I don't like the feeling... It's scary here..." Chopper cried and hugged Usopp's leg, who himself couldn't help but shake. "Wha- What if we come across a ghost? What if the royal family was murdered, and now they might be haunting this place..." 

Nami sighed and faced the two with annoyed expressions, "Come on, don't say that. You'll just scare yourself." And just as she completed her sentence, one of the bulbs in a nearby lamp shattered into pieces, which startled the trio. "I TOLD YOU THERE ARE GHOSTS HERE!!" Usopp screamed as the other two quickly hugged him. "I hate this place! I hate it!!" Chopper cried. 

The three stepped back a little and felt something on their back that froze them in place. Their hands and lips trembled with fear and slowly, but hesitantly they looked behind them only to find a long iron figure standing which they mistook for a ghost and screamed at the top of their lungs while running away from the statue. 

But the realization that what they saw wasn't a ghost, instead it was an iron statue calmed the trio down a little. "Nami, let's run, please. I can't stay here!" Chopper pleaded, but despite being scared, Nami wasn't going to run away after promising the lady that she would find her daughter. 

She put her hand in her pocket and took out the picture that the lady handed her. The girl in the picture looked around the age of eighteen and had beautiful hair in the shade of pink, which was the most eye-catching feature of her. "We can't leave. We need to rescue her." 

The three stayed quiet and recollected their thoughts before moving further into the castle, but the recollection was soon interrupted by the sound of footsteps that were slowly approaching them. "Someone's heading this way" Usopp stated. 

"Quick! Hide!!" Nami instructed, and the three found a corner to hide without getting spotted. 

"There's no one here," One of the guards said while walking with his partner who came to check if someone had intruded or not because the partner couldn't stop saying that he heard some voices. "I can swear I heard someone here." 

"You are seriously good for nothing." 

"What did you say?!" 

"Exactly what you heard. Get your ears checked or something. I was about to go and eat, and you asked me to accompany you. Such a scaredy-cat." 

"Shut your mouth! I hold a higher post than you. Show some respect!" 

"Respect my foot."

"Do you know what Tiger is planning on doing? You don't right? I mean, it's obvious... He doesn't discuss stuff like this with you."

"What is he planning?"

"I ain't telli-" His words were cut off by a loud sneeze that blew away the hiding spot of the trio. They were hiding in a corner and Chopper's sensitive nose couldn't handle the dust. 

"WHO'S THERE?!" The two guards shouted and ran towards them. Usopp quickly prepared his slingshot and used a smoke screen, which gave them an opportunity to escape, but the guards weren't some sort of softies. While the three were trying to run away, one of the guards fired a bullet at them, and the bullet hit Nami's leg. She let out a cry of pain and fell to the floor. 

"NAMI!!"

"Catch them!!" 

Usopp tried to handle Nami and help her get away with them, but the guards were fast enough to tackle both Nami and Usopp to the floor. "Chopper!! Don't get caught! Find Luffy and the others!!" Usopp shouted, but Chopper was hesitant. He didn't want to leave them. 

"Usopp is right! Chopper, don't get caught!" Nami shouted too, and Chopper decided to follow their words. They got caught and gave him the opportunity to escape, so he must fulfill their request. 

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Meanwhile, a flustered Ema was sitting in front of Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji trying to contain herself from the secret that was revealed in front of them. "Why do you have so many pictures of her?" Zoro asked and Ema gave him a death glare, "Don't talk about that!" 

"You like Y/N a lot, right?" Luffy sheepishly asked, and even if Ema denied the fact... the answer was clear from her expressions. "Ye- yes!" 

"I admire her a lot. When we were kids, she would always talk about her plans for the future. Her father was a pirate and whenever he would visit, he would tell her stories about his journey and that inspired Y/N to become a pirate. My father and I helped her escape the kingdom, and she set sail at a very young age. After that, I made sure to keep up with every news related to her. Unlike her, I had no idea what I wanted to do, but there was one thing that I wished..." 

"What was it?" Sanji asked. 

"I wanted to be with her and help her with her dream." 

"You should've set sail with her then. I seriously can't imagine a nine-year-old in the sea alone." Zoro stated. 

"I wanted to go with her, but my father didn't allow it. He said he had something planned for me. He said that I shouldn't try to find my dream in someone else's." 

"You missed a nice opportunity!! The sea is great!!" Luffy exclaimed, "There are all sorts of things out there!!" 

"Yeah... I know but... Setting sail without her would feel empty." 

"You sure love her a lot, don't you." 

"Yes! Can I please come with you to search for Y/N? I want to meet her really badly!!" She requested, and the trio gladly accepted her request. 

The four of them left the house, and it was as if their search ended before even starting because the dark clouds over the cliff were a clear indicator of Y/N. "Looks like we found her..." Zoro stated, which left Ema confused, "What do you mean?"

"Seriously... you just talked about her a lot and can't figure out what those clouds mean?" 

"Hey! Marimo that's no way to talk to a lady!" Sanji scolded, but the swordsman couldn't care less about his words. "Ema, that's the result of Y/N's devil fruit powers. If those clouds are over there, then that means Y/N also must be there." 

"Wait... if she is using her powers, then it means she is in danger! She must be fighting someone! WE NEED TO HURRY!!" Ema panicked and quickly started running in the direction, with the other three following her. 

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The sky was pitch black, representing the things that Y/N felt. Blood splattered around and on her face as she continuously punched Maverick's face. The match between the two was completely one-sided right from the start. Unlike him, she had done training under the strongest people of the sea and not to mention the devil fruit she had, which wasn't even awakened yet. 

"Y/N- St- Stop..." He mumbled, but his words weren't reaching her. She had completely lost it. The slight smirk on her face as she punched him and the bloodlust that was radiating from her created a scary aura around them. But she had all the good reasons to do this to him. Not did he only attempt to get rid of her at a young age... he also had a hand in the death of her family... and she couldn't forgive him for that. The voices in her head made her go into complete maniac mode. 

"Y/N, LIVE YOUR LIFE FREELY!" 

"WHAT WILL YOU CHOOSE? DUTY OR FAMILY?" 

"BIG SIS, I'LL GET STRONG ENOUGH TO PROTECT YOU WHEN YOU ASCEND THE THRONE!" 

"DON'T WORRY Y/N... I AM PROUD OF YOU."

"PRINCESS... THE QUEEN AND THE PRINCE... ARE-" 

"Y/N! Y/N!!!" 

"Y/N! Stop it!" A voice that didn't belong to Maverick spoke up, and the person stopped Y/N's arm. The female took deep breaths as she came back to her senses. Her vision got clearer and seeing the almost dead man under her widened her eyes with shock. 

She looked ahead of her and saw Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji standing in utter shock. They definitely couldn't see her in the same way. Luffy's hat cast a shadow over his face, making it difficult to understand his expressions. He placed his hand over the hat, preventing it from flying away due to wind, and walked forward towards Y/N. 

Zoro drew his swords because he considered Y/N a potential threat. Sanji, even though presents his love most of the time, would be lying if he said that Y/N looked appealing in any way. But if someone felt grief, then it would be Ema. The way she hurried over thinking Y/N was in danger and ended up seeing her beating her father was the most heartbreaking thing. She had mixed feelings about Y/N. 

"Y/N..." Ema spoke up as her lips quivered and tears formed in her eyes. "Why... why would you do that?" She asked. All the love and admiration she had for Y/N was slowly disappearing. She wanted to believe that it was a dream. 

Y/N got up on her feet and faced the female who was grabbing her arm. "E-Ema?" Y/N questioned, which made Ema glare at her. "I waited for you for so long! I wanted to meet you and the first thing I see is... You beating my father?!" 

Luffy knelt down and examined the male who was on the verge of his death, "We need to take him to the doctor!!" 

"There's no need to do that," Y/N stated which made Ema slap her right across the face. "Shut your fucking mouth." 

Sorry for the veryyyyy late update •́  ‿ ,•̀ But I hope you enjoyed the chapter <3