Chapter 116: Things don't turn up in this world until somebody turns them up

When Rick opened his eyes, he was confronted with the sight of a traditional Japanese ceiling. The kind you find in onsen, castles or temples. Looking lower, he noticed that he was inside a futon. A warm futon, too warm. He raised his arm to remove the cover and was surprised to see that his body wasn’t emaciated anymore. That was something he was glad about, that and the smell. His unwashed scent had been replied by cherry blossoms. Getting up he looked at his white kimono that fit him perfectly. A surprising color to wear if he remembered correctly the bits and pieces of Japanese culture. After all, white was the color of death.

‘Diana?’
‘What?!’
‘Wow, what a greeting.’
‘I’m busy!’
‘Busy doing what?’
‘Reading!’
‘Read…’
‘Fullmetal Alchemist! Now stop bothering me!’
‘Oookaaaayyy.’

Giving up on getting any information from the goddess he was more or less rooming with, Rick decided to open the slide door leading to a balcony. He had to admit he was impressed with the view. He clearly was on top of some mountain and in some kind of castle. Way down below he could see a bustling town, typical of medieval Japan. Taking a deep breath he enjoyed the pure air filling his lungs. It smelt like freedom. It felt like freedom. With his eyes closed he enjoyed the moment. He didn’t for how long, if it was a few minutes or an hour. He just enjoyed it. Until he felt a pair of arms gently circling his body from behind. He didn’t move an inch, and let the person behind him rest their head on his shoulder. He didn’t need to open his eyes to know who it was. The huge breasts pressing against his back, the way the hands against his midsection touched him, the feel of the chin against his shoulder. Instinctively he let his body fall back a bit, melting into the embrace, his lips letting out a content sigh. He went on like that, taking comfort more than pleasure in the moment even when he felt warm luscious lips against his neck, once, twice, thrice.

“I’m home.”
“You are.” Robin replied.

He moved his hands to grab hers, their fingers intertwining lovingly. None of them said another word for a few minutes, communicating how they felt, simply via touch, by feeling the other’s body. That didn’t mean that they didn’t have words to share. Rick had plenty for her. Mainly excuses. Again. He has been doing that a lot since they married. Always apologizing for something, for letting her down with that one episode with Momonosuke. He hated it. Not apologizing, he had no problem with that, especially to Robin. No, he hated that he had to in the first place because of the actions he took and choices he made. After eight months of hell he felt like apologizing to Robin wasn’t nearly enough to make up for everything that he had no right to.

‘Can you stop moping around? It’s distracting and unpleasant.’

Rick let out a long sigh. Diana was right. He should focus on the fact that he was with the woman he loved more than anything instead of being all depressed.

“I love you.” he said, turning his head and finding her lips with his own.
“I love you too.” she answered back.

Opening his eyes, he looked into hers and found nothing but love. That made him feel guilty.

Detangling himself from her, he kept on holding her hand. He wanted to talk but the words would come.

“What is it?”
“...” Unable to answer, he just sighed.
“Did something happen?” she asked with a hint of worry.
“A lot. Mostly… “ he stopped himself for a moment. He didn’t want to share the events from their separation to now but knew he had to. “Bad… From bad to worse actually.”

She looked at him for a moment. He couldn’t meet her eyes and looked at their joined hands. Understanding that she'd be the one to start the conversion, she pulled him inside to sit on pillows.

“Nami filled me in with what happened during Sanji’s rescue.”
“I… didn’t think about that. Didn’t even enter my mind.”
“That's alright. I’m sure more important things happened than you just getting engaged. Twice.” she said softly in a teasing tone, her smile matching it.
“Twice? Nami tricked me into proposing but who… Reiju? That was an act.”
“They both told me, though I’m pretty sure she’s serious about it. You know I don’t mind. I quite like her in fact.”
“Well, since we’re on the topic of engagement… I kinda kidnapped Vivi and gave her a ring. She beat me up first then listened to what happened to me. I think she believes me though she didn’t answer me. The same from Kaza and Tsuru.”
“Tsuru? Your path crossed?” she asked with a brow raised.
“Yes. She and uncle were guarding Kaza. Grandpa put her on Luffy’s home island. Once I was done speaking with Kaza I left. They were waiting for me outside and wanted me to surrender peacefully. Words were exchanged, nasty ones, especially with uncle. In the end, the conversation was cut short by Shiki’s appearance.”
“As in golden Shiki?”
“Yes. He… He was using his power to make an island float and steal other islands in East Blue. I kicked his ass of course and just after the fight, Tsuru showed up and I gave her a ring.”
“What about Kaza and…”
“Kaza played the scorned woman. Marines were listening, so we couldn’t talk properly. Gave her a ring too. As for my daughter? Well… She’s named Eri and she absolutely hates my guts. She refused to acknowledge me as her father. I’m just another pirate to be put behind bars to her.” he replied in a barely audible voice.

Despite the relief she felt, it was crushed by the sympathy that Robin had for him.

“I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault.” he replied with a shrug. “ Anyway. I quickly left the scene to not get caught and made my way here. I stopped to visit Amazon Lily on the way. Hancock is pregnant again. Or was. Since she started showing a bit.” he said with bitterness. Not enough to miss Robin squeezing his hand from a brief moment when she heard that the Pirate Queen was carrying another child.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Nothing. I just… wonder how many children the two will have if every time you reunite you knock her up.” she replied.
“I’m good with children for now. What’s the point if I can’t be there for them?”
“...”
“I didn’t stay long, a few days at most, I think. I flew as much and as fast as I could to get here. When I arrived, only two weeks had passed since my separation from the crew. I… I was so tired to be honest but the simple thought of seeing you again lifted my spirits up. It distracted me however and I got knocked out by a pterodactyl in leather. When I came too, I was in front of Kaido. He ordered me to join him and of course I refused. Didn’t even bother to give him a reply. I broke my seastons chains and tried to flee. He got me good. Then when I woke up next, I was blindfolded and crucified in a damped cell. Couldn’t do a thing because the bastard nailed me with seastone nails. And then… Then…” his tale began to slow down, the closer it came to talking about his incarceration. Robin let him take his time to compose himself to say the rest, listening attentively and patiently. “I was alone with myself and my thoughts. Why my guilt and with my despair. Thirst and hunger, Robin… they change you… Not for the better. The worst…The worst was being away from you. It became so bad that I heard it again. Taunting me, aggravating me, playing on my fears, playing on my guilt all so I would let it out again.”

Rick was gone now, his eyes looking far away, stuck in the past. So much, that he didn’t even notice Robin, changing her sitting position and pulling him down so he could rest his head against the top of her breasts.

“The only reprieve I got was Oden’s occasional visit. He… brought me a bowl of rice and a glass of water whenever he could but more than that… He distracted me. He unknowingly made sure that I wasn’t stuck in my head by simply asking me to talk about what’s beyond the borders of Wano. I… could sleep easier after his visits. At least at first. With time… it changed its tune making it harder. Waking me up whenever. I didn’t know if I slept for a day or for a minute. I was utterly tired regardless and it kept pushing for me to give him control. It became so bad that I started to talk to it, to deny it what it wanted. Until one day, he let some things slip. It, identified as a she and was the ruler of the lost kingdom.”

Robin didn’t say anything at that but her eyes grew wide at the revelation.

“Apparently the people at the time thought of her as a goddess since… Well… she created the devil fruits and all. She wanted control of me for two reasons. One, because she wants revenge on the Celestial Dragons for destroying her home and killing her people. Two, because Apparently, when she’s not in control, she’s in total darkness, not feeling anything. She hears nothing, sees nothing… All of her senses are gone and that’s maddening. I was so bad that… I felt sorry for her. In the end, after many more conversations, she proposed a deal.”
“Oh, Rick, tell me you…”
“We would link our soul together, allowing her to always experience what I’m experiencing with my senses and in exchange… Well, I was a bit heavy on the conditions of the deal. She could not take control of my body without my permission, she would not let a finger on you and the crew. She’s quite fond of you by the way, since you’re the only one that can read her people’s language. And finally, she stopped blocking my powers.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“‘One fruit, one power per person’. That’s her rule. That I have two angered her greatly, so any particularly strong use of my abilities was completely draining me. So far she has respected her part of the deal. When Zoro freed me, I felt different when using my powers. It’s like… it’s natural, that I don’t have to force it anymore.”
“You really took the deal…” she whispered.
“I know… Now that my mind is clear I realize… How dangerous and stupid a decision it was. She’s a devil, she enticed me by telling me whatever I wanted to hear. She had kept her word though. At least for now. I think… I believe her and seem genuine. She’s bossy as hell though sometimes and quite irritated when I bother her while she’s reading.”
“Reading? Reading what? And how does she…”
“Every book I read? She’s reading them through my memories. Or something like that.”

Robin took a moment to think about the many revelations that she had just heard and couldn’t make a lick of sense of it, except the part about Rick giving in. The devil or goddess or whatever it was had played on his greatest weakness, her, and won.

“That was… quite an ordeal.”
“Yeah…”

They sat there in silence, each lost in their own thoughts until Rick looked up and with one hand brought her head down to kiss her.

“I’m sorry.”
“What for?”
“Being careless resulting in being away from you for so long. Honestly… I feel like the worst husband ever. Always doing stupid shit that I have to apologize to you for. I can’t seem to do everything right.”
“Now that’s not true.” she replied with a frown. “You always, always come back to me. That’s an apology in itself that I will always accept because you’re keeping your word. Breaking that promise to me is the only thing I will never forgive you for. Thankfully, I have you on an admittedly long leash and trained you well, so I don’t have to worry about it.” she said naturally with a smile that he couldn’t help but reciprocate.
“That you do.”
“We’re on the same page then, good.”
“I have one last thing to talk about before you tell me all about your time on Wano.” he said with seriousness.
“What is it?”
“If… someone, some day, came to you and told you… things that would make you reconsider your own existence or the reality of the universe we live in and that they had proof. Would you listen to what they have to say?”

Robin was taken aback by what her husband asked. That was unrelated to anything he had spoken just before.

‘Or perhaps it is related.’ she thought after a moment. With a goddess involved, thinking it may not have been rong. “No… I wouldn’t.”
“...You’re smarter than me then.”
“That was a given. Our reality is… real. I am real, you are real for the simple reason that you can’t fake feelings. The love I have for you can’t be anything but real, it can’t be an illusion, it can't be made up. The world… it may not be quite the way we perceive it but it is real. Whatever proof that person has, it’s no real, irrefutable proof.”

Rick searched something in her eyes and found only conviction. He suddenly had an idea and considered it. For a moment he hesitated about doing it or not but ultimately went with it. He opened the system, to get to the shop and buy something. It would materialize out of thin air and maybe prove Robin wrong. It wouldn’t be doing it for that but it was the last secret he had about himself and he wanted to share it with her. That is if he could in the first place. He quickly found out he could when Robin spoke.

“What is that?” she asked.
“What?”
“That… window floating in the air in front of you?”