90 Chapter 90
"You can have anything you want as long as it's acceptable." said King Neptune
"I don't have anything I want right now, but you'll be owing me a huge favor."
"Fine. That works for me."
"Alright, we'll take care of it right away. Laffitte, let's go."
We stood up.
"My sons will take you to her room."
"No need. I've already located her. And you don't need to worry about me hurting her. A favor from a king is worth more than hurting his princess. And I'm letting my two brothers stay here, so it's fair."
'Not like they could actually hurt them.'
"Father, we can't just trust them like this." said Fukaboshi.
"Let them go. I'd rather trust a stranger that benefits from helping us than let Vander Decken terrorize her for any longer."
Laffitte and I disappeared. We appeared in front of a massive gate with a lot of weapons stuck on it.
"It looks like he really wants her dead." said Laffitte
"If he keeps being a coward like this, he'll never succeed."
I pushed the gate open, and we saw a massive bedroom with a giant shark and mermaid inside.
"AAAHHH! Who are you guys!?" screamed Shirahoshi
The shark went in front of her and glared at us.
"Calm down, princess. Your father sent us to help you out with your little problem."
"My father sent you two?"
*WOOSH*
A blade suddenly flew past me at an incredible speed. I disappeared and grabbed the sword right before it struck her eye. I landed on the shark, and the blade still kept trying to go towards her.
"Laffitte, come here."
He appeared next to me, and I gave him the sword. I whispered something in his ears, and he disappeared.
I looked at Shirahoshi.
"You're Shirahoshi, right?"
"Y...yes."
She suddenly started crying.
"What, why are you crying!?"
"Thank you so much! You just saved my life! I was so scared!"
Her teardrops were like big barrels of water falling.
'She's just an eleven year old; what did I expect? Kids like to cry for no reason.'
"Ey, stop crying. You don't need to be scared anymore. Laffitte is going to quickly take that guy down, and then you can go wherever you want in the palace without worrying about that guy."
"Really!?"
I nodded.
"Thank you so much!"
She hugged me and started crying even harder.
'Fuck, I'm being suffocated. She has too much power for an eleven-year-old. But I guess I'll allow it for this one time.'
(An: And no, he isn't being suffocated between her breasts, you dirty, dirty, dirty males and females.)
After a little bit, she let me go.
"Once Laffitte comes back, we'll go to your father and brothers."
"Really!? I can see them!"
"You're acting like you don't see them."
She started crying again.
'Ugh. Now I understand why Luffy got mad at her.'
"They don't visit a lot because it's too dangerous. Every time the gate opens, Decken uses his curse to attack me."
"There's no need to worry about him anymore. I'm here to protect you."
"Wow! You're like a hero!"
"Hahahaha, I'm quite the opposite. If it doesn't benefit me, I won't care about it."
"What! Then you're a villain!"
"Sigh. You're so stupid."
She started crying again.
"Why are you crying now?"
"No one ever spoke to me like that."
"You're such a spoiled brat."
"What do you mean by spoiled?"
"Sigh. Nevermind."
"Mister, you haven't told me your name. Right?"
"It's Ken."
"Nice to meet you, Ken. Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"What is the outside world like?"
I could feel a lot of sadness with that question.
"It's beautiful on the outside and ugly on the inside."
She looked confused.
"What do you mean by that?"
"When you look at the world from a picture, it seems beautiful for the most part. Like Fish-Man Island. There are so many beautiful places and people here, but that is just the outside. When you look at the inside, you'll see ugly people like Decken, who is ruining your life and doesn't care about the consequences of his actions."
"I still don't understand."
"Sigh. What I mean is that people may seem good on the outside, but on the inside they're far from good. Take me, for example. What do you think I am? Good or bad?"
"Good, of course. You're helping me."
"And what if I told you that I've killed hundreds of people? Would you still think that I'm good?"
"You must have had a good reason!"
"The reason doesn't matter. What matters is that I killed people who probably have family and people who're waiting for them at home. And even though I knew of that possibility, I didn't care and killed them. Am I still a good guy?"
"Yes!"
'Is she serious!'
"I don't care why you're doing it, but you're helping me from this hell. So you're my hero!"
"Sigh."
'Kids are so naive.'
"What I was trying to say with all of this is that you can't easily trust people. There are a lot of bad people with a lot of power out there, so be careful of them."
"I think I understand!"
"Sigh."
[10 minutes later]
Laffitte arrived in front of the room. With a red bag in his hand that is dripping with blood.
"I've accomplished everything, Captain."
"Good. Shirahoshi, get on your shark, and let's go meet your family."
"Yes, finally!"
She quickly got on her pet shark, and we started going back to the throne room. The servants that we passed all looked shocked. We appeared in the throne room, and the King and his sons looked shocked.
"Why have you taken her out of her room!? As long as Vander Decken is still out there, it isn't safe for her out here, jamon!" screamed King Neptune.
"Vander Decken? Ey Laffitte, show the King what happened to him."
Laffitte walked over to King Neptune and handed him the bloody bag.
"Don't tell me, jamon!"
Neptune opened the bag, and he had the biggest smile.
"Hahahaha! It seems like I've underestimated you, Ken!"
The sons also looked in the bag, and they had shocked faces but also smiled.
"What is in the bag? I also want to see!" said Shirahoshi
I pulled her back.
"You're too young to see that."
"What!? But I'm already eleven!"
"Even if you're one hundred years old, you're still too young."
She tried to glare at me, but it was more cute than scary. I looked at the King.
"I have done my part of the deal, so make sure to do your part when I ask you. Let's go, guys."
"Wait!" screamed Shirahoshi, Neptune, and Fukaboshi
"Hm? What is it?"
Fukaboshi went first.
"I want to apologize to you, sir. I'm really sorry for doubting you and talking to you rudely."
"You're forgiven. I'm thick-skinned anyway, so it doesn't bother me how you talk to me. And the one who did all the work was Laffitte."
"Thank you so much, sirs."
"You can just call me Ken."
"Thank you, Ken."
"Alright, what's up, Neptune?"
"I can't just let you guys go like this. I want to invite you and your crew for a banquet."
"Will there be a lot of food and booze!?" asked Ace
He nodded.
"Ken, we have to accept!"
"It's been a while since we had a party, so you should accept it, Ken." said Sabo
"Sure. I won't say no to free food and booze."
"Great! Fukaboshi, tell them to prepare right away."
"Yes, father!"
He walked out of the throne room.
I looked at Shirahoshi, and she started crying again.
"Please stay with me for longer. You're the only friend I have."
'Since when did we become friends? But whatever, I don't mind hanging out with her as friends for a little bit.'
"We'll be staying here for a couple more weeks anyway, so you can come and see me whenever. We'll have to go back and prepare for the banquet now. I'll introduce you to my crew tonight, and then you might be able to make more friends."
"Really!?"
I nodded.
"Thank you so much!"
She started crying again.
"Oh yeah. Did you know that people don't like cry babies. So you better stop crying, or people will not want to be your friend."
She immediately shut up.
"That's better. We'll see you all tonight."
We said our goodbyes and went back to the ship.
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[It's my birthday tomorrow, so there won't be a chapter.]
Anime Quotes:
"Since ancient times, the dragon has been the only beast to equal the tiger. Even if you're not by my side right now, I will leap through space and time and always be by your side. These feelings will never change."
- Ryuuji Takasu (Toradora!)
"Trying to shoulder the burden all by yourself? Don't be a stranger. Weep and ask for help. Lean on me with your runny nose. Cry when you feel like crying. Laugh when you feel like laughing. When you're tearing up with an ugly face, I'll give you a good cry with an uglier face. When you're laughing so hard your stomach hurts, I'll laugh in a louder voice. That's how it should be. It's far better to get dirty while living true to yourself, than to throw away yourself and die a clean death."
- Sakata Gintoki (Gintama)
"After all.. love is all about timing..If you don't say the right thing at the right moment no matter how much fate was involved in the relationship, everything will be ruined. Even if you regret it, it'll be too late."
-Takeuchi Masafumin (Bokura Ga Ita)
