Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 312 DESHAIN

I sat in one of the sofa pits, watching as she turned around wildly. Looking at any and everything the Tenryuubito didn’t notice me right away. Throwing her in the Makuramoto with her clothes on I decided torture, whether pain or pleasure, wasn’t the best option with this girl. I wanted answers, but I doubted they would be too hard for her to give up. 

“You done?” I asked, as she finally noticed me. 

“Weston! Where is this?” She asked, fear in her voice. 

“Our minds,” I admitted. “A trick I learned over the years. I thought it would be a great place to have a conversation.” I waved my hand and she appeared across from me in the sofa pit. “Popcorn? Candy?” Sitting up I made the food appear between us. 

“How are you doing this?” She asked, still freaked out. 

“Magic,” I said. “Don’t worry. Nothing is happening to your body. Time is moving faster in here. Very taxing on the mind, a little fatigue is about all you will feel.”

“How did you get in here?” She asked, her eyes wide. 

“I said my Ma-”

“No! In Mariejois?” She asked. I studied her for a moment. She had a longer nose that made her prettier. Her skin milky white she had a strong chin and some strength in her. Her hair conformed to her face. I didn't think she looked half bad, Tenryuubito or not. A nice chest and long legs I decided to play along. 

“I have other skills,” I said. “Sorry if a pirate isn’t up for giving you all of his secrets.” 

“Pirate,” she laughed. “When are you going to quit this game? You have as much royal blood as I do.”

“See, I don’t know that,” I said, leaning back in the thick cushions. “I don’t know anything. For over 2 years now I have been flying blind and making my way home.”

“Yes, the Beru,” she said, relaxing a little as well. “I remember.” 

“What’s the Beru?” I asked. I had heard Kyros mention it on Dressrosa, but forgot to ask. 

“It’s the Veil,” she admitted. “Cast on you when you’re a kid. It activates on your 18th birthday. Wiping your memories. Most all anyway. You still feel some emotions. Like your drive to get home. The more intense feelings are hard to mask.”

“Really?” I asked. “Did I tell you this?”

She bit her lip but shook her head. “My father did.” 

“Right, and who are you exactly? Sorry I didn’t catch your name last time we met.”

“Deshain. Deshain Nia,” she said with a wry smile. 

“Watanabe D. Weston,” I said with a headbow. 

“Don’t say that,” Nia said, her eyes widening.

“What?” 

“D. You should never admit to having that name,” she said. My heart quickened. 

“Why’s that, what does it mean?” I asked. I had always wondered what it stood for. My guess was Dee. That sounded like something Oda would do. 

“We are forbidden to speak of it,” she said. I considered torturing her for it, but I added it to the list of things to learn later on. 

“Moving on, what am I to you?” I asked. She frowned. “You seemed very familiar with me 2 years ago. I left you alone because of it. I would like the answer now.”

“Why should I tell you?” She challenged. “You are a pirate. Why not take the information?” 

“I could,” I said. Raising my hand I acted like I was ready to snap my fingers. “Any and everything I can think of could be in here in an instant. I could make you scream your head off in fear if you push me. Make up terrible apparitions that would make the strongest men piss themselves. Aliens with acid blood, burning you forever as they ate you. So many bad things could appear here, Nia. Don’t test me.”

“You said nothing would happen to me,” she said, fear in her voice. 

“Nothing will happen to your body. Your mind though…it could drive you insane. I could keep you in here for 2 full days. Sending monsters to chase you through a maze for all that time, allowing them to catch you right when you thought you escaped. I could do so much that you would beg me to kill you. I’ve seen it happen.” 

I was serious too. Though she was a woman I had heard the acts committed by these people from Hancock. I kept those memories forefront as I stared the Tenryuubito down. 

“You’ve changed,” she said. Shivering a little she surprised me by wiping it away. Becoming more relaxed in the sofa she studied me for a time. “You are so very different than the last time I saw you.”

“Which was?” 

“16 years ago,” Nia said. “4 summits ago. You came with your father and mother to the World Summit. It was big news because the Leton monarchy was finally looking at joining the World Government.” 

“So?” I asked. She squinted her brow. “Why does that matter? Your 20 families have been in power for a long time. Why does it matter that my supposed kingdom joins up?” 

“The World Government is old,” she said with a sigh. “We learn the histories in school. But yes, made of 20 families, everyone here can trace their lineage back to the founding of Mariejois. One thing not many people know is that there were supposed to be 21 families.” 

“My family, I’m guessing?” 

“Yes,” Nia said with a nod. “The Watanabe’s were to join us, but there was a lot of turmoil then. The king had died, and his next in line had been on his own Grand Voyage.” 

“Which is what I guess I am on,” I said. She nodded. “Great. What was the deal then? Why did my dad say no?”

“No idea,” she said. “I was 5 back then. I didn’t care.” 

“Then how the hell do you know me?” I asked. She blushed, looking away for a moment. I waited for her to find her voice. 

“You were my first slave,” she said. I grew annoyed by the casual way she said that, but kept my anger back. Biting my tongue I let her continue. “The World Summit was going on. You were with some advisors but escaped from them. Looking around the city. I too was bored by the whole thing, so I was wandering. I came across you and you didn’t bow…” 

She looked up at me, and I was surprised to find a fiery passion there. This woman wanted me. I wasn’t sure if it was sexual or as a slave, but I guessed not bowing made quite the impression on her. 

“You were the first person I met that didn’t bow or scrape their nose on the ground when I approached. Hell you came up to me and asked if I wanted to play. Some silly game, I don’t remember what it was, but I was stunned. My guardian appeared and yelled at you, but you didn’t care. You were focused on me,” she said the words, smirking as she recalled it. 

“I told my guardian I wanted you. She didn’t care who you were. Dragging you along with us she was ready to have you branded then and there. We took you back here. You came to my room. The very one I am in now. And we played,” she said. “I think it was Marines and Pirates. You demanded to be the marine. I thought it was scandalous,” she laughed. “Me a pirate? I couldn’t imagine…You said you were playing Garp, and I was playing Big Mom or someone. I refused but you were firm about it. You set up a fort on my bed. And I used pillows as a fleet of ships. It turned into a pillow fight soon after that. And I…” 

“What?” I asked, surprised to have a smile on my face as well as she told the story. It resonated with a part of me I couldn’t identify. 

“I don’t think I ever laughed so hard,” she admitted. “When the pillows were scattered everywhere you changed the game to Devil Fruit.”

“Devil Fruit? How do you play that?” I asked, intrigued. 

“It’s simple. If you have eaten a devil fruit you can’t swim. The pillows are islands, and you have to jump between the pillows without landing on the ground or you drown,” she said, blushing as she explained.

I barked a laugh. It was the One Piece version of the Floor is Lava. “Sounds fun,” I admitted. “Anything else?”

“We broke for tea then, I think,” she said. I rolled my eyes. Rich people and their tea. “You told me about your island. Telling me I should come by.” She shook her head. “I reminded you that you were my slave, but you brushed it off. Said slavery was dumb. You would prefer to be around people that wanted you around. You shouldn’t have to force them to be with you.” 

“Young me sounds smart,” I said.

“Uh yeah,” She said, moving her hair behind her ear as she quieted. “After that your father appeared. Took you away.” 

“I’m guessing he wasn’t happy I was enslaved?” I asked. She shook her head. I let out a long relieved sigh. The more I learned about my dad the more I liked him. It was hard to know that he was probably dead when I knew nothing about him. 

“What now?” She asked after a long pause.

“I don’t know,” I said with a shrug. “I’ll put you to sleep and go about my-”

“No!” She yelled, surprising me. 

“What?” 

“I want to hear about you,” she said quickly. 

I frowned. “Why? Nia, you seem less like an asshat than the Tenryuubito I’ve heard about. But why would you care?” 

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I -I just do. You were my first friend. I want to know what you’ve been up to.” 

I rolled my eyes, but honestly it was free time. “I only know stuff over the last 2 years,” I warned. 

“I don’t care.” 

Maybe it was that part of me that was under the veil of the Beru, but I had to admit that part of me wanted to tell her as well. So I did. I spoke about meeting the Straw Hats. Fighting Don Krieg, Arlong, going to Logue Town. All things she had no idea about. I talked about the first islands on the Grand Line like I had been there. Little Garden with the giants. Baroque Works. Drum Island. Alabasta. Crocodile. The things I had seen. The bad guys we had beaten. 

She laughed for some of it, frowned for others, but she always asked questions. Attentive as I spoke I found myself liking her. Not in any sexual way, but liking her enough that I wouldn’t destroy her and everything she knew when I came back to Mariejois to eliminate it. 

“That’s about it,” I said.

“What about the prison?” She asked. “How did you get in?”

“Secret,” I said. I had said that quite a few times in the story. 

“Then where have you been for 2 years?” She asked, desperate for more information. 

“Training,” I said. “Getting stronger to take and beat the New World. Like my captain has said from the beginning, we are after One Piece.” 

She didn’t like that answer. “One Piece is a myth.” 

“You think so?” I asked. “Kind of stupid name for a treasure, isn’t it?” I asked. “But still, it's out there, and I plan to find it.”

“Even if you won’t like what you find?” 

“Especially then. I’ve spent years waiting to find out what it was,” I said. Oda had been writing for decades. I planned to get the answer in this world. Whether it was his answer to One Piece or not. 

“There is no way to dissuade you?” She asked, resignation in her voice. 

“I don’t know why you would care,” I said. “But I appreciate the sentiment.” I was growing bored by the situation. “Well it was good seeing you. I have things-”

“Wait,” she said, sitting up again. “Don’t go.”

“Why should I?” I asked. 

“I-I can help you,” she offered. “What are you doing here, anyway?” I was surprised she offered to help without knowing my goals. 

“Just saying hi to my family while they are here,” I said. “I don’t think I’ll need your help, but again, I appreciate the offer. I’ll put you to sleep-” 

“Weston, please, don’t go,” she said quickly. Fear in her eyes. 

“Nia, what’s going on?” I asked.

“Nothing, I just. I wanted to meet you for so long and…” she looked around, refusing to meet my eye. 

“Nia, you seem nice. I’m sorry I don’t remember you. But we are on opposite sides. I might have wanted to be a marine as a kid. Not anymore. I could never be a part of such a corrupt group that lets you Tenryuubito get away with rape, murder, and pretty much every crime they kill pirates for doing.”

She appeared surprised by the information. Her eyes big, mouth moving in wordless motions, she gripped her hands in anger. 

“I haven’t had a slave since,” she got out. “Since you. I haven’t taken a single slave.”

“Good,” I said, nodding. “And when this is all said and done, when I have my memories back I hope to reminisce with you again. But there is a secret you Tenryuubito have kept from the world. I plan to find it, expose it, and free every single slave on this blood soaked land. When I am done this place will be called the Unholyland. Every sickening act committed here will be known by the whole world, and your people won’t be allowed to set foot off of it…Or I could be wrong, and the secret wasn’t that bad in the first place and we can meet as friends.” I eyed her. “I think we both know that is unlikely though.” 

With that I snapped my fingers and put her into a Genjutsu of sleep. Slouching on her bench back in her real body I picked her up and laid her on her bed. Letting the whole thing feel like a bad dream to her as I jumped out the window.