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leftsidebonfire · 8 months

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Wild Blue Yonder

Part 1

The thought of a dungeon inside the Germa castle was terrifying. That was where all the bad people went. Killers and monsters. But, Unaek was going to be eight soon. And that meant that she could be brave.

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The Germa fortress was a modern marvel. The castle was vast, expansive, and impressive. Solid stone, rainwashed into a faded gray. Then again, the sky around it always seemed to be gray, as if the clouds above recognized the sort of people kept inside. Gray, all around, trapped there like an eye inside a hurricane. Calm, deadly, quiet, always wondering when the hammer will fall next. It was a marvel in the same way a volcano's eruption would be. The way the magma creeps along, deadly and unyielding, taking everything in its path with it.

Judge Vinsmoke, the leader, hardly an excuse to be called a leader, though. Leaders through history were revered as nobles, freedom fighters, historic legends like Gol D. Roger himself. Judge Vinsmoke deserved no such titles, but he, unfortunately, was a leader all the same. Standing at just over 8 feet tall, the menacing leader oversaw the kingdom with an iron fist. And what a death grip he held upon it.

Inside the castle that reeked of death, evil, lies, and cover ups, were also hundreds of workers. An army, at that. Responsible for warmongering and many unprovoked attacks. The evil deeds of the Vinsmoke army could not be overstated, from less-than-moral experimentation on children, to the lives they claimed with their wrath in search of technology useful enough to command an unstoppable army.

Two admirals for the Vinsmoke army, Agnar and Solveig Seveer, were among the top of the rankings. Which put them just below Judge Vinsmoke himself in terms of unjust cruelty.

Agnar and Solveig were some of the very few outsiders among the soldiers, joining their forces to test experiments on the legendary Devil Fruits. This, in hindsight, was likely the only reason they conceived and were allowed to birth a child under the reach of the Germa kingdom.

Born merely seven months after the Vinsmoke princes— Seven months to the day, at that— Unaek Seveer, firstborn daughter to the Seveer family, came into the world and regretted it ever since. A pointed-ear phenomenon like her parents, an abnormality, some sort of marvel to the world. Only six months after her birth, the anomaly was fed a pureed Devil Fruit with the expectations of her parents and the entire Germa Kingdom riding on the hope that this child would be a natural super-soldier, having been equipped with her Devil Fruit nearly her whole life.

The disappointment was immeasurable the day the child made it clear she wanted nothing to do with fighting, and Agnar left a sizable hole in the wall beside her head, and a very palm-shaped red mark across her cheek.

Instead of taking an interest in fighting, using her natural-born ability to fight, the girl chose gardening of all damn things. The Devil Fruit's power allowed her to make any plant sprout from anywhere within sight, in an array of plants even from ancient books, any fruit or vegetable imaginable, and vines that moved like extra arms, and the toddling child sat there sniffing her goddamn roses with the stupidest smile on her face. To say the Seveers were disappointed was an understatement.

Despite daily training, in which Agnar, her father, and Solveig, her mother, traded off in a fighting ring, the girl would never lift a hand to them.

Agnar would recall to Judge, one night, over a strong glass of whiskey, how he had even gotten a strike with a wooden rod to the girl's back, and she was never once inclined to fight back. She'd crawled away, weak and scared, and wouldn't even stop crying long enough to take a strike with her own staff. Something about "I can't hurt you, dad," or some other pathetic excuse. To which Judge deeply commiserated.

Eventually, Unaek began to seek out any way to escape from daily training. She'd take the opportunity whenever her parents were experimenting to wander the halls. It was a big, expansive castle. Very lonely and easy to get lost in, and yet somehow, the three Vinsmoke princes always managed to find her. Niji in particular always found great pleasure in dragging Unaek across the floor by her little pigtail braids, and Yonji would step on her fingers until she bloomed flowers for them, at which point they would destroy every last petal while Unaek wept.

It went without saying that Unaek did everything in her power to stay far, far away from the Vinsmoke brothers. She would take her walks at different times every day, hoping to explore around alone when the boys were doing their training. She could at least guarantee they would be away for at least an hour. Luckily for her, the Germa guards seemed wholly uninterested in her, so she rarely had to duck away from them when she saw their cowls walking down the halls.

Unaek tiptoed around all the same, even when she was alone. She was afraid of making too much noise. Sometimes it would remind her parents that she existed, and they would come into her room to scream at her. She would never forget the time she was found playing with her vines, making them tickle up her fingers and arms, and her parents took her bed for a week because she was giggling too loud and disturbed them. So she had become all too keen to enjoy things quietly— whenever the world had something for her to enjoy. And currently, her enjoyment came from being left alone to wander the halls.

They were well decorated, if not pretty bare. Dark black banners with the symbol for 66. Long, dark hallway runners in a deep purple. The carpet certainly helped Unaek walk quieter. Her feet padded along the floor, toe then heel. It was how she learned to walk quietly. Step with her toes and gently roll the rest of her foot to the floor. It was slow work, but she could creep along silently, which was what she needed to do when her parents were asleep and she wanted to go outside.

Today's adventure was a creepy-looking door. She had passed it in her travels before, but was always too scared of it. Tall, wooden, braced with black metal. And naturally, it was labeled Dungeon. To the little gardener, the thought of a dungeon was terrifying. That was where all the bad people went. Killers and monsters. But, she was going to be eight soon. And that meant that she could be brave.

She hovered there at the door for a long time, creeping closer as if the door itself was going to jump out and bite her. She was really curious about it, especially because it seemed unlikely any of the Vinsmoke princes would come down there to torment her. And her parents would probably be happier if she was stuck down there anyway…

It was a long debate outside of the door, that was only quickly forced into an answer when she heard footsteps coming down the hall. Not taking any chances to run into the workers or any of the Vinsmokes, the decision was made for her and she quickly ran inside, prying open the big door and shutting it behind her, leaving her in pitch darkness. Her heart was thumping in her chest, doing little flips as she felt it trembling against her ribs. It didn't feel like it was beating right. She squinted to try and see, waiting for a hazy outline in the dark to come into focus. Her back was against the cold wooden door. It felt smooth and yet it prickled along her delicate back like every splinter of wood was dotting out along every single freckle she had.

Unaek did not hate Spiders or bugs, but yet she couldn't help but imagine being swarmed by them, smart and scary evil ones, as big as her fist, crawling up her. She shivered. The dungeon was so cold and she was only at the top steps. Her breathing was shallow. It really was terrifying down here. She understood why murderers, thieves, and evil people were sent to the dungeon. This was an awful place.

Just as her heart had stopped racing, she froze up again as she heard a noise. It was shallow, hard to pick up, and sounded like it was echoing off the stone walls and coming from everywhere and nowhere at once…. Someone was in the dungeon. It sounded like wailing. A ghost? Was it a ghost? An old sailor haunting the castle??

The cries continued, but they sounded less terrifying the more she was frozen to the spot listening. Complete with hiccups and sobs, like the crier was out of breath and still wailing. She couldn't turn around and go back out now. She'd risk getting caught snooping in the castle and her parents would surely beat her again. Her hands and knuckles still stung from that. And what if someone was hurt? Even if it was a ghost, it sure sounded sad, and the sad sobs were going right through her like a knife. She wanted to help. She wanted to help so badly.

Slowly, she started to creep down the long staircase as her eyes began to adjust to the darkness. She held the wall for support, delicate little fingertips brushing the cold, slimy stone. She sang to herself, mumbling beneath her breath. "When I sing, I'm not afraid, when I sing, I can be brave…" whispering it over and over in the quiet as she approached the sound of crying. It no longer sounded like it was coming from all around, but a designated point now. Just around the bend of a long staircase.

One missed step caused her to stumble for a moment, and her feet slipped on the stone. She felt her heart leap into her throat and a tingle of adrenaline zap up her body like electricity, starting at her toes and going all the way up as her heart pounded so loudly that she could hear it in her ears. The crying stopped immediately as soon as she caught herself, and there was a long moment where it felt like she and the crier were both holding their breath. She didn't dare to move a muscle. She held the wall, toes curling in her shoes in fear as she tried to keep from slipping. She kept her breathing shallow despite wanting to yelp in fear.

"Dad?" The voice asked, a very soft, timid voice that sounded raw from wailing and sobbing. "Dad? Did you come to let me out?" The voice whimpered. Unaek opened her mouth for a moment and closed it again. Should she respond?

"Where did you go? Are you there?" The voice asked, sounding wavery and on the verge of tears from the lack of response. "Please don't go!! Please don't go, I promise I'll be strong!!" The voice rose in pitch, screaming out in full desperation. The voice hitched and the cries and sniffles resumed.

Unaek took her chances. Her heart felt like it was shattering as she stood there on the steps, coming down from her adrenaline. Her voice sounded so loud in the quiet. So loud, and yet so scared and timid. A little airy voice, like as if a scared mouse could speak.

"N-No, I'm not your dad… I'm— I'm Unaek." She started down the stairs again, faster this time. Trying to get to the bottom to see who she was speaking with. The crying stopped again. Clearly the person was not expecting that answer. Or that voice.

"Unaek?" He repeated. "I—I'm Sanji," he replied, and Unaek finally made it within the eyeline of the cage. It was a tall cage, but not very large. About half the size of the room she lived in, so it wasn't much. There was a bed and a shelf and a toilet, but it was lacking pretty much everything else. Unaek pattered her way up to it.

There was a boy inside. At least, she thought it was a boy. He was small, a little shorter than her. His one eye was covered in messy blond hair, but the other was blue and shone with big, hot tears. But that was all she could see of him. His face was encased in Iron, like a strange sort of helmet that locked around his head. It covered his entire face except for a small opening for his eyes, no place for his mouth. Unaek was horrified at it. It looked painful, heavy, and scary. Just taking one look at it made her feel like she couldn't breathe.

She tiptoed up to the cage with the thick metal bars, still cautious. People in dungeons were supposed to be bad people. But this was a kid. What could he have done wrong? As she got closer, she noticed his eyes, especially the one that was showing without his bangs. His eyebrow twirled upward on the outside.

They took a long moment to look at each other, Sanji in his yellow t-shirt and bandana around his neck, and Unaek in a pink dress with a little white lace trim. Her ginger-blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail shed done herself, so it was uneven with a few strands of hair framing around her face and poking out at odd angles from her amateur hairstyling ability. Her freckles almost made her tan, but she was very fair skinned, and green eyes met his blue with immense curiosity as she finally approached him.

"I like your eyebrows."

"Thanks, I— I like your ears."

He pointed to her ears. The Vinsmoke princes took great pleasure in pulling on them, yanking them away from her head, leaning in close to scream into them until she squealed and cried. She had never been told they were nice before. Her cheeks turned pink.

"You really think so?" She brought her hands to her ears like she had to feel them to make sure he was telling the truth. They were normal ears, though the tops curled up into a point instead of a normal rounded ear. Naturally, she had gained the cruel nickname of "Sharp-Ear" from her little tormentors.

Sanji nodded his head. "Yeah, I do. I really do think so. You mean it about my eyebrows?" He seemed so hesitant to even accept that little compliment just like she had been.

"Yeah, I do. It reminds me of… people I don't like, though." She added softly. She watched Sanji's reaction, like he was scared all over again at the mention.

"I don't like them either."

He reached up to touch his curled eyebrow like he was ashamed of it, and Unaek felt bad.

"Why are you in a cage? I thought the dungeon was for evil people, but you're just a kid." Her voice was laced with concern and it seemed to surprise Sanji, like he truly couldn't believe anyone cared enough to ask. Let alone to hold such sadness in their eyes when they saw him. Everyone else had looked at him with contempt at best, or at least disinterest.

Sanji retreated into himself, his hands curled in against his chest like he was taking a protective pose. "They said I'm weak… that they wanted to pretend I was never born." His voice sounded so frail, and Unaek's eyes welled up with little tears.

"Who would say that??" She gasped, appalled and horrified at how quickly the boy seemed to retreat away in fear.

"My dad…"

It made sense now, why he was crying for his father. His father… who locked him in here. Her shoulders dropped as she looked at him. She wished she could see his face, not that terrible iron mask.

"Why do you gotta wear that thing?" She asked him, reaching her hand through the bars to touch the side of it. It was cold, smooth metal, but it was an awful thing.

Sanji shrugged. His one eye just focused on her. He didn't answer because he couldn't answer that question. It was something he asked himself every day. Waking up in a dirty, dusty basement, cold, locked up in this iron prison. Suffocating him. Giving him a chill down his spine and a sort of deep-seated freeze in his bones that never really went away.

Unaek felt her tiny heart aching for him. She pushed both arms through the slots of the cage and held them out. Sanji jumped back, almost as though he was afraid she'd try to grab him and harm him, but she didn't.

"Come closer, I want to hug you." Unaek said quietly. Sanji just stared in complete confusion. He hadn't been hugged since… he could feel his throat tightening— since his mother had passed. The worst day of his life, and that's saying a lot for a small boy of only eight years old, who'd already spent weeks in a dirty basement alone.

He timidly stepped closer until he was within arms reach and Unaek gently wrapped her arms around his chest, ducking in. The bars of the cage were too close to really snuggle her head against him, but it didn't stop her from trying, leaning to one side to try and press in as much as she could, feeling Sanji do the same as he tucked his little arms beneath the bars to wrap around her waist. He had only been hugged for a matter of seconds before his tears welled up in his eyes and he had begun to cry. He was so alone. So alone and so scared, and he hadn't been touched by anyone else in weeks. Or hugged in months. Nobody had ever given him that luxury. A hug. From a friend.

She felt him cry into her shoulder and she simply rubbed his back. She never received hugs either. The only thing she ever was able to hug was one little brown bear she'd been given just after her birth. It hadn't even been a gift from her mother, but from Sora Vinsmoke, Judge's wife, who had been thrilled to hear of another baby in the castle. The only reason it was not immediately thrown out was because it would be seen as disrespectful.

After a long hug, made slightly awkward by metal cage bars in the way, Unaek pulled back just enough to see Sanji. His metal mask was cold and uncomfortable in the hug but she didn't dare tell him that. It was so clear they both needed a hug that the presence of the bulky, horrid mask in the way hardly mattered. They both needed a hug more than anything else in the world right now. Two very lonely, sad children who were dealt a terrible hand.

"It's so dark and sad in this dungeon… do you like flowers?" She batted her eyes at him. Sanji looked puzzled for a moment, head tilted to one side like a dog.

"I do like flowers. I think they're pretty."

"I can make flowers," Unaek boasted proudly, cupping her hands. "I've got a special power that allows me to grow them however I want!"

"Oooh… can you make… uhh… daisies?" He asked, saying the first flower he could think of.

"I can!" She grinned. She closed her eyes, brows and nose scrunched up with focus. There was a long moment where Sanji was even holding his breath right along with her. Her palms tingled a little, and in the matter of seconds, a small green bud appeared between her palms, flowering open into a yellow and white daisy. It was like watching the growth process of a daisy all in the span of a few moments.

"Woaaaaah!" Sanji gasped in awe, reaching to take the flower and feel the little petals. "How did you do that?!"

Unaek shrugged. "I dunno, I just… can. I really like plants. And I like animals too! Mom says flowers are for pussies… I dunno what that means, but she glares at me when she says it." She sunk her shoulders.

"I think they're pretty." Sanji promised, putting his hand on top of hers where she held the bars. He twisted his foot into the ground for a moment before shyly glancing up, like he was terrified to ask her a question. "Are you gonna come back to visit me?"

Unaek felt her jaw fall a little that he even had to ask. "Of course! I'd love to come back down here. You're the only one in this castle who talks to me. The Princes always hunt me down and pull on my ears. Or they rip up my flowers when I make them. You're the first person who even likes them." She said sadly.

Sanji relaxed when she confirmed that she would return.

"Good… I don't have anyone to talk to either. You're the first person who was nice to me, too. The Princes are my brothers… They're always so mean to me." Sanji frowned, his blue eyes sad and wet-looking. Like a kicked puppy, Unaek thought. It was heartbreaking.

Unaek offered Sanji a shy little smile. "Here… Here's something to brighten up the place." She closed her eyes again, nose scrunched up, lips pursed in the ultimate face of concentration. As her eyes were closed and palms tingled hot, vines crept up the back wall of Sanji's cell, lining the perimeter with a soft mossy green that soon popped with little yellow flowers. The dreary, dusty, smelly basement suddenly seemed a little bit brighter. A little less lonesome. And the smell of the flowers counteracts the mildew smell.

"I gotta get going… Mom is gonna notice that I'm gone soon…" Unaek sighed sadly, looking dejected that she'd have to leave so soon.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" Sanji hastily asked, almost sounding panicky about being left alone. "I'm gonna be a cook one day… I can cook you something!"

Unaek smiled a big, gap-toothed grin. "Yeah!! I'll try to! I can usually slip away for a while when my parents are at the lab. Or if they're sleeping really soundly at night, I tiptoe out and go up to the roof to be outside. I'll come back as much as I can!" She promised him excitedly.

She couldn't see it, but she knew Sanji was smiling by the way his eye crinkled up and brightened. His cheeks were round and full instead of sullen, clearly grinning even beneath that prison of a mask. He looked around at all the little flowers that had bloomed around him, making his desolate jail cell feel a little bit more friendly.

"I-Its been really wonderful meeting you, Unaek." Sanji held her hands and looked up at her like she was an angel coming down to save her from the torment of having to live through this nightmare. The hope in his eyes made her heart ache.

"You too, Sanji." She smiled back, squeezing his hands. She grabbed him in for another hug, which Sanji stiffly accepted, not even all that sure what to do with a hug. But it was clear he needed it by the way he clutched at her dress.

She never even saw the boy's face that day. That little disgraced Germa Prince failure. But Unaek determined there and then that she finally had a friend. After seven— nearly eight— lonely years, Unaek finally had what she was looking for. A living, breathing friend. Her first friend in this cruel world. She didn't want to break the hug, but she did, not wanting to risk being found. (Though as the days went on, she would grow to be more bold in her adventures around the castle.)

And knowing her little secret, the fact that she had someone to talk to, someone kind, well— that made the horrid, sleepless night that followed a little more worth it. As she made daisies in her palms and remembered the joy in Sanji's eyes when she gave it to him.

#One Piece #One Piece Fanfic #One Piece OC #Sanji #Black Leg Sanji #Germa 66 #Child Sanji #Oc tag #Oc writing #Unaek Seveer #Unaek x Sanji #Oc backstory #Wild Blue Yonder #My Writing #My fic

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