Chapter Text
Raevyn POV
He thinks I'm weak. Luffy thinks I'm weak. I know I'm not a powerhouse, but I worked my butt off to not be a burden, or at least I thought I did. I guess I'm just not up to Luffy's standard. But, why did he let me join then? Does he just want a bird on the crew for shits and giggles?
“Raevyn?” Chopper's high pitched voice interrupts my spiraling thoughts, and I turn to look at the small reindeer.
“Hm?”
“Are you alright?” he asks, his brown eyes wide with concern.
Of course I'm not alright! Luffy called me weak! “Yeah, I'm fine,” I reply, flashing a quick grin.
He smiles brightly at me. “Okay!” My grin drops when he turns away. It doesn't feel good, lying to Chopper, but I don't really want an impromptu therapy session right now.
‘You are weak, though,’ Hō-ō comments. ‘You revive far more than my previous user ever did.’
‘That's because you probably convinced her to avoid battles!’ I snap. I'm not in the mood for her insight right now. I'm hurt enough as it is.
You know the thing birds do, when they fluff up their feathers and turn away in offense? Yeah, that's what Hō-ō does in my mind's eye. I sigh. Maybe I can convince Zoro to let me train with him. At least he doesn't seem to think me weak. I glance outside the bubble as Megalo carries us down toward the Sea Forest. I hope I don't embarrass myself in front of Jimbei. That would just solidify my shame. Just before we reach the sea floor, my energy surges. I guess an hour has passed since Zoro killed me. Nice. I don't like being vulnerable.
As he leaps down from Megalo's back, Luffy turns to me with a grin. “Oh, good! You're not weak anymore!” He bounds off to talk to Franky and the merman (I'm pretty sure he's Tom's brother, but don't quote me on that).
I sink to the ground and start laughing at my own stupidity. Luffy called me weak because I was weakened, not because he was disappointed in me, but because I couldn't use my haki. And here I am, spiraling into despair over a single word. I really am pathetic. Hō-ō hums in agreement. ‘Did you really doubt the Sun?’
‘Do you have anything helpful to contribute?’ I was met with silence. ‘Yeah, didn't think so.’ Having finally gotten a handle on my emotions, I accept a cup of tea from Sanji and sit beside Shirahoshi to listen to Jimbei's tale. I smile when he mentions the little girl named Koala, who joined the Sun Pirates for a short time. Koala always spoke fondly of her time with them, though I didn't know that Arlong was that much of a jerk to her. Knowing his personality, however, I guess it tracks.
My hands clench when he tells us about Fisher Tiger's death, and I get even angrier when he details Otohime's assassination. I do know that Hordy, or Hody, or whatever his freaking name is, was the one who murdered her, using the opportunity to pin it on a human to incite hate.
Nami sits silently for a moment after he finishes, mulling over all of the information she's been given. Finally, she sighs. “Arlong is the one I hate. Jimbei, I don't blame you for what happened to my island. I'm not going to hold a grudge just because you're a Fishman.”
Jimbei starts ‘not crying’, and Luffy tips over with a snore, revealing that he slept through the entire story. I dodge a large tear that splashes onto the coral beside me. “Oh, I'm sorry, Raevyn-sama,” Shirahoshi exclaims, wiping her eyes. “I was just crying thinking about my mother.”
“That's understandable,” I reply. I think of my own mother, who died suddenly when I was eight. My father never told me how she died, but I suspected it was related to a case he was working at the time, since he became more guarded after that. I wasn't allowed to walk to school anymore. He insisted on driving me, even though it made him late for work.
“That snail is huge!” Chopper yelps, and I shake myself free from my thoughts.
“That is a very large snail,” I concur, watching the video transponder scoot into position. I force myself to listen to Hody's vitriol, reminding myself that he'll get his comeuppance in the end. When his speech ended, I let out an exaggerated sigh. “Man, I thought that psychopath would never shut up!”
Jimbei eyes me curiously. “You seem familiar somehow.”
“You might've seen Raevyn in Marineford,” Luffy suggests.
Recognition stirs in his gaze when Luffy says my name, and his eyes land on my arm band. “Of course,” he says with a smile and a knowing look.
“We have more pressing matters at hand, though,” I say, redirecting them to the current crisis.
Luffy nods. “Right. I wanna go beat up Hody.”
“You can't fight him!” Jimbei says quickly. “I won't allow it!”
Before Luffy can get too angry, I step between them. “Yet!” I interject. “You can't fight Hody yet! We have to time it right, or else the majority of the island will just view it as a human on fishman hate crime, right, Jimbei?” Jimbei nods, a slightly confused look on his face.
Luffy frowns. “I don't care about any of that. He attacked my crew and threatened my friends, and he also hurt Hachi. I wanna beat his ass.”
I sigh. “If you follow Jimbei's plan, you'll get a lot of meat after we're done," I tell him. “And you'll still get to beat up Hody.”
His bright grin nearly blinds me. “Shishishi! Okay!”