(Nico Robin POV, Post Ohara.)
Life was never easy for me.
The first thing I ever remember was walking alongside my mother, of course I was too young to remember her face back then but I didn't needed to, just begin with her eased me and made me happy.
Then she had to leave, I was so sad I cried for days, my uncle, aunt and cousin didn't comfort me, I spent the entire night all alone crying on the floor.
The following days weren't any better.
My aunt appeared to have an inferiority complex against my mother and often lashed out on me for no reason. My uncle, who was my mother's brother, didn't defended me once, either agreeing with his wife or just leaving me thereto cry. And my cousin was the worse, you see, at least my aunt would leave me alone when I was out of her sight, but my cousin would torment me day after day just for the kick of it.
That wasn't my home, and they weren't my family.
Once I understood that it got easier to just ignore them and roll with their punches. For years I "lived" on that house with them, sometimes I would get sick but had to pretend I wasn't or else they would throw me out until I got better.
Other times I wouldn't even have a piece of bread to eat and would fast for days. What's worst is that the rest of the villagers only watched at the scene and never intervened, my only solace were the scholars who would aid me sometimes but couldn't be with me however long I needed.
I hated Ohara.
I hated the people living there.
I hated all the pain and sorrow that I've experienced there!!!
Why?!
WHY WAS I BERATED AND PHISICALLY ABUSED BY ALMOST ALL OF THEM?!!!
WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE SUCH A THING?!!!!!
TELL MEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
SOMEONE TELLLLLLL MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!
…
…
…
Alas… the answer never came.
As years passed these feelings only grew bigger and bigger within myself, with the exception of Professor Clover and the rest of the scholars being my only happy place in the island, yet those feelings remained inside of me.
I think I may be a bit messed up, I find things cute where others find disgust, I find intriguing gore-ish scenes and like describing them as others get scared. Perhaps, I AM indeed a demon like everyone said, I was just fooling myself being human…
At least, that's what I believed until I met you.
"I know you're behind that tree, show yourself." Kaizo.
Those were the first words you spoke to me.
Just like me you had no father nor mother and were outcasted by the kids in town, you lived in an orphanage but left to live your own life however you saw fit.
I was intrigued.
I wanted to know more about you, how could someone on the same conditions as myself could smile so brightly?
And thus I met you… Kaizo.
"I'm Kazuto D Kaizo, and I'll become the world's strongest person! You better remember that!" Kaizo.
That single phrase may very well define your whole as a person. You always looked forward no matter who was against you, always doing it for your own sake without being tied to anyone nor anything.
I respected that unattainable freedom that you always had, but more than anything, I cherished the bond we shared together as friends.
Little by little, day after day, the pain in my heart, my soul, was being relieved… your smile, your passion, your discipline, your klutziness… there was no aspect of you that didn't bring me joy.
And then we talked about dreams and you made me realize, I didn't have to be some important person in this world to dream, so long as there's a will within me, I'll overcome whatever gets between my path, and you showed me that just because we were friends.
Year after year you would celebrate my birthday, told me stories of people I've never heard before, defend me when I was being bullied.
Looking back, it seemed as if the Gods themselves brough you here as my ultimate gift.
I felt like a normal girl, living a normal life with her normal friend, we would've sailed away from Ohara and look for adventures together, just the two of us, and perhaps there was already something in my heart I never believed possible.
I loved someone for the first time, not in a platonically way.
I knew in that instant, Kaizo, that I wanted to be with you no matter what…
'It's time to go, Robin.' Kaizo.
But now that's impossible.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
WHYYYYYYYYYYY?????????!!!!!!!
WHAT'S THE POINT OF GIVING ME EVERYTHING IF YOU WERE GOING TO TAKE IT BACK!!!!!!!
MY MOTHER!!! PROFESSOR!!!! SAUL!!!! KAIZO!!!!!!
'FIRE!!!'
'It's Buster Call Time!' Spandine.
THOSE GUYS TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!!!!!!!
THEY ROBBED ME FROM ALL THAT BROUGHT ME HAPPINESS IN THIS GODFORSAKEN WORLD!!!!!!
'Make no mistake, I'm not your friend and the moment you fall under the world government's radar I'll be the first one to hunt you down.' Kuzan.
SURE! GO AHEAD AND TRY!!!!
I'LL SURVIVE THIS, JUST LIKE I'VE SURVIVED BEFORE!! AND WHEN THE TIME COMES, I'LL UNLEASH THESE WEAPONS YOU FEAR SO MUCH UPON ALL YOU WRETCHED ASSHOLES!!!!
'Stop that, Robin.' Kaizo.
......................................................
I don't want to admit it, but I may be a violent person.
When I ate my Devil Fruit by mistake, everyone made fun of me for becoming useless on seawater. Kaizo helped me train my fruit to a moderate level but the insults continued.
One day I snapped.
I still remember the scene of all the bullied being grabbed by my limbs on trees as another hand clutched their necks. I felt elated.
Those disgusting expressions of mockery were now replaced with those of fear and despair, I didn't even know the fear of others could feel this good.
I FELT their heartbeats through their necks and since my ability allows me to feel what every limb of mine touches I felt all of their heartbeats in the grasp of my hand.
Just one clutch and their lives would've ended.
'Stop that, Robin.' Kaizo.
If it weren't for Kaizo that is.
'Don't cross that line, Robin.' Kaizo ordered sternly.
'Why? Why should I stop? The moment I close my hand I'll get rid of those who tormented me all these years.' I declared calmly with a wicked smile on my face.
'I don't have a problem with killing, but these are kids, their future is still changing by their present actions, taking their lives out of our own whims won't make you feel better.' Kaizo explained.
'I'm tired, Kaizo. Tired of everyone bothering me, judging me, hurting me, that's a fraction of what they've done throughout my life, are you planning to stop me from paying back what they owe?!' I answered in anger.
Kaizo didn't said anything but just walked towards me, I wanted to spawn more limbs to detain him but then I saw his eyes. Those kind eyes of him never exuded neither hatred nor disappointment on me, only sadness and caring.
He placed his hand on my shoulder and gave me a warm smile.
'Hatred is inside of us, Robin. There's no covering or faking it, even I feel that hatred towards these kids. They're arrogant bothersome gnats that always pick on us and no matter how much we beat them up, they always come back.'
Kaizo looked at me.
'But that rage is too much for people to handle, it'll consume you and transform you into someone you're not beyond repair. They insults are just words, their stones won't hurt us, if they attempt against our lived we'll beat the living snot out of them but they're still just kids.' Kaizo spoke with his calm tone.
'It's not fair. *I muttered* It's not fair! I never did anything to them yet they always bother me, bother us! Why can't I just show them just show them what being a demon really means?!' I lashed out at Kaizo in anger.
'Because you're not a demon.'
Not a demon.
Funny, I was so mad at them and wanted to crush their throats but… I couldn't… not after Kaizo said that.
No matter how much time passes the scars that their words gave me kept piling on within me, but Kaizo always knew what to say to heal my heart.
I remembered falling to my knees as I cried in Kaizo's arms. He was so warm… felt like I could lower my guard and be extremely vulnerable without fearing anything.
I cried until I fainted, when I woke up Kaizo told me that he managed to gaslight the entire town, and my victims, that their injuries were from various wild animals.
How he did it?
Apparently there are some hallucination mushrooms in the forest and Kaizo fed them those, they were sick for a whole week but essentially forgot all about my attack.
I'm sorry, Kaizo.
I wanted to try being a good person but the world wants me to be a bad one. I'll live researching the history that we all loved and were intrigued by, but I may shed other's blood to achieve it.
I'm sorry Kaizo, it seems that until the very end I was never meant to be free…
I woke up from my sleep and checked my supplies, they were enough for me to reach the next island (hopefully) Kaizo really did prepared everything from water to dried meat and nuts.
"Kaizo, I promise you that I'll unveil all of the past's secrets, I'm sorry but I'll probably kill a lot of people in the process. Some might deserve it but others might not so, what I'm trying to say is, don't hate me too much…" I swore in the sky as the stars reflected on my blank eyes.
No one was stopping me from achieving my dream and anyone who tries… IS DEAD.
(Kaizo's POV, During Ohara.)
"One bad day… All it takes just one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day." The Joker.
I know the quote was technically said by Alan Moore but come on, we know it mostly due to this clown.
I never actually believed in such a line, life's tough for everyone bitches, toughen up and stop whining about how sad and crappy your lives are.
But now… I can see a little of where they're coming from…
One second we're having a wholesome friends moment with a ginger giant, the other we go through a whole rollercoaster of bad outcomes and worst outcomes that destroy the island.
How can one escape a place that the whole world is going to destroy? I didn't know how, but I also had other priorities, Robin.
I've had a crappy life, but I'm mentally an adult so, crap became easily to digest over the years, but Robin was just a child, forgetting the love of her mother, being subjected to the "education" of her uncles.
Poor kid needed a break, and she trusted me enough to help her.
I care for Robin, maybe a bit more than I would for a friend, but even I can't find the solution for happiness when the odds are these against us.
'It's Buster Call time!' Spandine.
Oh how I dread my loose aim, just a shot at his back yet I was aiming for the head! Stupid retro muskets. Not much I can do about that now.
Robin just had reunited with her mother and they had to be separated again… permanently this time…
Fuck.
I really don't like this… this feeling of weakness, impotence… it makes me so mad…!
And now Ohara is disappearing.
Not gonna lie, many folks around here are assholes but even then I never wished for them to die. Ever told you the time Robin almost killed a bunch of kids? Yeah, had to pull out my best gaslight yet.
I saw her degenerate to such extent and it really hurt me, she was losing the qualities of a human, she stopped caring for other's lives.
Look, I'm not the most righteous person and neither should everybody else be, however, there are some lines we mustn't cross at this young age.
I mean, killing a kid while you're 8? You know the kind of detrimental damage that shit can do to you at that age? That's how psychopaths are born and I wanted to help Robin avoid that.
'Ice Block Partisan!' Kuzan.
I could tell he was strong the moment we met, Logia-Type Devil Fruits are a pain for me to deal with, their OP immunity to attacks and even worse absolute control over the elements can be entirely a nightmare.
Worse part is that I'm pretty sure that normal fire won't be enough to damage Kuzan. Which means that we only have the noble choice of running.
'I can explain my superiors about one survivor, but two are a crowd and my head will roll for it, one of you must leave and the other one will remain. I personally don't care which one is so, it'll be for you two to decide.' Kuzan.
Not gonna lie, super dick move bro.
The day was already shitty, but now you were forcing us to kill each other for survival? This guy has some major lazy issues, as well as some mental ones.
Still, there was no way I'd let Robin die, I promised her mother to take her out after all. She was shaking from fear, fear from leaving everything behind and moving on her own, I could see as much from her expressions and actions.
I tried to comfort her but I know this'll be the bigger emotional scar I've ever caused.
Now, I need to survive.
The typical plan would be the small basement I dug at our treehouse's area but the forest is aflame and I'd die from inhaling carbon monoxide rather than the fire.
But I also need to get this asshole, Kuzan, out of my slack for good… the world government can't know I'm alive or the pursuit for Robin could intensify.
I grabbed my "special" flask and started drinking sea water. In the rare case a pirate with a Devil Fruit arrived at Ohara I had prepared myself with a flask filled with fresh sea water for me to use it against them.
It tasted horrible and I could feel dehydration creeping in my body, not the most pleasant experience. Once I got used to it however, I needed an opening to get a rise out of Kuzan.
'You're an undecisive, cowardly pawn that would commit innocent genocide for the sake of his orders.' Not gonna lie, I'm proud of that one.
With Kuzan grabbing me by the collar, I spat the seawater at his face, weakening him.
I noticed something curious about his freezing… he can freeze at high speeds what he touches, yet when he froze Saul he did it slowly. Whether he did that to allow him to speak or it's a limitation of his abilities is unclear to me, but considering how fast he made the partisans I'm inclined to believe the latter.
Knowing that he has to kill an "innocent" kid must've already put him on an emotional distress, that alongside my punch and taunt sealed the deal.
His freezing this time will be more external than internal, I need to focus on not losing consciousness even if my body forces me to.
I gathered air and expanded my chest area full of air as the cold started to envelop me, the moment I felt that I released the air and allowed the ice to freeze solid my clothes first, allowing them to receive the full impact of the freezing.
I was then enveloped by the rest of the ice, albeit on a lower scale than of that full impact, the biggest issue however was retaining consciousness.
As one freezes the body tries to conserve as much energy as possible, shutting other bodily functions for the sake of keeping more important organs like the heart and brain operational and warm.
I started drifting into unconsciousness… to dream forever and ever… once again...
BUT I REFUSED TO!!!!
The moment I felt myself faint I bit my lip and remain conscious, I couldn't see well since I closed my eyes to minimize damage but I could still feel his presence nearby, the shockwaves from the cannonballs were also a nerve cracking experience since I could feel them and I was also fairly certain they would shatter me whole.
The moment Kuzan left I started vibrating my limbs little by little, now, I'm not The Flash so I'm not trying to phase through solid matter, I'm just trying to generate heat from moving my body to melt some of the ice.
Fortunately I was relatively close to the burning forest so it wasn't that hard… this time.
Once I felt that I had the chance to break the ice I didn't doubt, I mustered all my strength and roared with all my soul.
*SHATTER*
"RRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as the ice broke around me.
I still had pieces of ice around me but I was out of my prison, and just in the nick of time as the cannonballs were zooming into my position.
I immediately dug underground as deep as I could and I continued to hear the explosions. I had to minimize my oxygen consumption for a while but it was worth it! A few more minutes later and the Buster Call seemed to be over.
I made my way upwards and carefully looked at the distance, the warships were leaving as if nothing had happened. This was my chance to look for some proper medical supplies.
My body is rigid from the hypothermia and I lost some small chunks of my skin with my later stunt, once the warships were out of sight I emerged and took a big breather.
The whole island smelled of burnt everything, bark, stone, books...people...
Not something I wish to breathe, but at least I'm alive. Slowly but surely I made my way towards what remained of my home, the decorations around the trees were burnt alongside everything else, the whole tree fell for Christ's sake.
Luckily it didn't fell on the spot my bunker was hidden. I carefully dig through the ground, since my whole body aches with unimaginable pain, until I saw to wooden planks.
I stood up and grabbed said planks and moved them out of the way and entered the bunker, it was a small place, barely a storage, that I built with Robin's help, having the ability to spawn hands anywhere is extremely useful for building.
I almost fell from the tiredness and pain but I needed to tend my wounds, I took some wood charcoal and lit it up to warm myself. It took everything I had to not fall asleep on the cozy gravel-like ground but I needed to check my injuries.
Fortunately, none of my limbs were necrotic so I was relieved about that before I fainted near the fire. But my mind wasn't done yet, I still had in my mind the only other survivor of this tragedy: Robin.
My mind went back to Robin… she's really one of the best things to ever happen to me here.
A true friend that I've shared happiness and sadness with, irreplaceable to my life and I'm eternally grateful to her. She made me feel the camaraderie friends have, it was everything I dreamt and more.
Just her presence made this childhood all the more enjoyable, otherwise I would've just trained forever until I was old enough to leave the island.
Is it weird that even though I'm physically 8 my mind is that of an adult... whatever! She's my friend and if things DO go beyond that then… oh man… I fell for Robin.
Dammit, and now I've left her alone in this dangerous world while I chill on my bunker. Great, not I can't think about anything but her.
'Robin, life is bound to be hell for you even more than it's going to be for me, you'll do stuff I won't like but that's fine, I'll forgive you. No matter what I'll forgive you…' Those were my last thoughts as my mind finally rested.
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Shoutout to Kingsmen851 for his great feedback.