Reunion

|Farid's POV...|

...

"Farid...?"

"..."

-Sigh...-

Man, how do things end up like this just because I am hunting down some pirates?

And here I thought that today would be just another normal day... Maybe I should have just gone home instead.

Well, it wasn't like anything stopped me from leaving now... But honestly, this didn't seem like a situation that I should run away from.

Though, judging by the headache that was already assaulting me... Going home wasn't really looking like a bad option either.

Should I just tell her that she was confusing me with someone else and get done with it?

Yeah no, my handsome face is not something easily forgotten. She will immediately know that I'm lying and that I'm avoiding talking to her.

Seriously, how did everything end up like this?

"You know him, Vivi?"

Suddenly, as I was still looking at Vivi with an impassive expression on my face, not saying anything in response to her questions, Straw Hat took a step forward and asked her with a surprised expression on his face.

Of course, it surprised me that he, a pirate, seemed to know the princess of this Kingdom. So I couldn't help but wonder inside my mind in curiosity.

'They know each other?'

Of course, I didn't show it on my face.

Looking at them without any expression on my face, I then saw Vivi turn around and look at Straw Hat, before looking back at me with a confused expression on her face.

"Yes, he was my childhood friend... However, he disappeared one day, and I never got to see him again..."

""Your childhood friend?""

Confused by her words, the other people behind her asked incredulously, before looking back at me with surprised expressions on their faces. Seemingly finding confusing the current situation.

"Is that so? Then it's all good, right?"

Then, out of nowhere, Straw Hat passed by Vivi's side with both of his arms behind his head and looked at me with a carefree expression on his face. As if he had forgotten the beating that I had given them a few seconds ago.

After that, all of them proceeded to look at me, as if asking me the same thing.

-Sigh...-

'Seriously, I don't understand what is happening anymore...'

Scratching the back of my head with a frustrated expression, I let out a long sigh, before soon I opened my mouth, and looked at them with an irritated expression.

"Whatever. I don't care anymore"

Hearing that, Straw Hat started laughing, while the others in the back let out sighs of relief.

The blond guy and the swordsman simply stayed silent, though. They seemed to be having their own thoughts about the matter.

"Farid..."

Then, as I was focusing on whom I suppose were Straw hat's crew, Vivi suddenly took a step forward and looked at me with an inquiring expression. Probably wanting to know where I had been these six years.

-Sigh...-

-Rustle...-

Sighing as I picked up the bag of vegetables that I had left on the floor a few moments before, I then gestured for them to follow me with my hand, before then I started walking away. Not caring whether they were really following me or not.

Of course, not before leaving a few words behind just in case they weren't able to understand the gesture from just now.

I already expected anything from their captain, honestly.

"... Let's go to a more silent place"

...

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|3rd person POV, a few minutes later at John's tavern...|

...

"Hey, Farid... Not like I'm trying to pry into your business... But why did you bring pirates to my tavern?"

"Just stay silent. I will make sure they don't break anything"

-Crack!-

"... I'll pay for that"

"... You better"

Sitting at the counter, Farid looked angrily at the Straw Hat crew, seemingly telling them to stop messing around with his sharp gaze, while John could be seen cleaning a cup with an uneasy expression on his face, looking worriedly at the pirate crew now sitting inside his tavern without a care in the world.

Of course, it wasn't as if this was his first time attending pirates. However, they always tended to break things and get into fights. So you could say that they weren't his favorite type of customers.

Vivi could also be seen sitting beside Farid, glancing around the place with curiosity in her eyes as she waited patiently for John to bring both of them something to drink.

-Stare...-

However, at that moment John glanced at Vivi with a suspicious gaze as if he was seeing something suspicious, before he then frowned for a short moment, and made Vivi feel uncomfortable under his gaze.

Several thoughts passed through her mind when she saw how he was looking at her.

'Did he recognize me as the princess? Is he an anti-royalist? Could it be that he is planning something?'

However, before her thoughts would turn wilder, John then turned to look at Farid with a reprimanding expression on his face as he spoke to him with a disappointed tone of voice. Making Vivi blink in confusion.

"You actually brought another girl to my tavern, Farid? What's with you lately? I never thought of you as a womanizer!"

"..."

"-Sigh...- I guess the silent ones are always the most dangerous ones..."

Hearing their conversation, Vivi's cheeks turned a little bit red, as she laughed wryly at John's words.

However, her mind didn't let go of a little detail in John's words, and discretely she turned to look at Farid from the corner of her eyes with a strange gaze.

'Another girl?'

-Sigh...-

Ignoring Vivi's prying gaze, Farid simply leaned back on his chair relaxedly, before he turned to look at Vivi and let out a long sigh before asking her.

"So, what do you want to know?"

Such a question made Vivi's expression turn sad for a moment.

However, swallowing that sadness, Vivi shook her head, before she asked Farid the question that had been haunting her mind ever since he left. Even if she stuttered a little bit while asking him.

"Why... did you disappear...?"

"..."

Hearing her question, Farid closed his eyes in contemplation.

His mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts at that moment. However, knowing himself better than anyone, Farid sighed, before he then shook those troublesome thoughts aside and answered with complete honesty.

"I noticed that I was becoming a weapon for the Royal Army to use. I didn't want to become one, so I escaped and hid from you guys"

"A weapon? What do you mean?" Hearing him, Vivi's eyes widened, before she then looked at him with a bewildered expression.

However, not minding her expression, Farid continued.

"... I was becoming a weapon, ready to be used by the king or anyone else from the Royal family... -Sigh...- I know my strength better than anyone, Vivi, and at some point, I noticed that having me leave me was something that either Pell or anyone from the Royal guard would try to avoid as much as possible... Just like a valuable treasure that they didn't want to let go"

Hearing him, Vivi finally snapped, before she stood up and looked at Farid with an upset expression while yelling at him.

"We never thought of you as a weapon!!"

"..."

Seeing her outburst, Farid looked at her from the corner of his eyes, before he snorted.

"Maybe. There's even the possibility that I just over-thought everything at that time due to my mind being unstable at those moments... However, even if that was the case... Even if you didn't really think of me as a weapon, the people around me did... Even if it was just subconsciously like Pell did"

"... What?"

"I know Pell, and I know he is not a bad guy. However, when I asked him whether I would leave the Royal Guard and he refused, I noticed that even if it was just subconsciously, he still thought of me as something that must have been under Arabasta's control, and something that he couldn't allow to get away"

Letting out a sigh, Farid looked into Vivi's eyes, before he spoke up once more.

"That's why I left. I didn't want to deal with all that, so I decided to leave"

"..."

Biting her lower lip, Vivi looked at Farid a pained expression on her face after hearing everything he had said before she then tightened the grip on her fists and squeezed out one more question from inside her. One that she had been stopping herself from asking until then.

"Then... why did you leave me? Why did you leave me alone?"

"..."

Staying silent at her question, Farid looked at the glass in his hand, seemingly thinking of something, before then he let out a small sigh and looked to the side.

"Sorry about that"

"..."

Hearing him, Vivi looked at the ground in anger, before she looked away.

She felt betrayed, honestly. They had been friends for so many years, and yet, one day he disappeared completely and left her alone. Not even telling her why or where he was leaving.

He hadn't even told her if he was still alive. All the friendship they had during their infancy, it felt as if Farid had just thrown it out of the window, and hadn't cared about Vivi in the slightest.

For Vivi, Farid was one of her only and most precious friends. However, apparently, from what she was hearing, it wasn't the same for Farid. Who abandoned her without a word and left without leaving any trace for her to see him again.

Because of that, she couldn't help but grit her teeth in anger and look at him with a betrayed expression, as tears ran down her face.

Of course, this didn't go unnoticed by Farid, who was calmly drinking from the glass in his hand while trying to distract himself from the current situation.

'Well, it's not like I will tell her that I left because I felt like I was a danger to anyone precious to me at that moment... The last thing I need is for her to start pitying me out of nowhere...'

-Swooosh!-

"...?"

It was at that moment, however, that suddenly he felt something approaching his back, and he instinctively blocked it with his hand.

-Tack-

"You bastard! You dare make Vivi cry?!"

Turning his head around, Farid then saw Sanji standing a few meters away looking at him with a furious expression on his face, before he then noticed that what he had blocked before was Sanji's foot from hitting his back.

'What's with this guy?'

Pushing the foot away, Farid turned to face Sanji with an annoyed expression, before then a voice called out to Sanji and stopped him from doing anything else.

"It's okay... Sanji-san"

Standing up from her chair, a slightly sad Vivi shook her head to gesture to Sanji to stop, before she then looked at Farid with a sad smile on her face.

"Thanks for answering my questions, Farid... At least now I know that you are well"

Then, turning around to leave, she looked towards the Straw-hat crew, before she called out to them.

"Everyone, let's go. We need to meet my father"

"O-oh, alright"

"Come on Luffy, leave that meat for later"

"Ehhhh? But..."

"..."

After that, all of them stood up and started following Vivi. Ready to leave at any moment.

However, just before they all left, Vivi suddenly turned to look at Farid once more and called out to him.

"Farid... I have one last thing I want to ask... Do you know who captured Crocodile?"

"...."

Not bothering to turn his head, Farid stayed silent for a few seconds, before soon he sighed and shook his head in response.

"No idea"

"I see..."

Nodding her head, Vivi then started walking away, before then all the straw hats started following after her.

After that, Farid was left alone at the counter again, before he then sighed and looked at the ceiling with an irritated expression as he muttered in a low voice.

-Sigh...-

"So much drama..."

-Cling, clink, cling-

Then, walking out from the kitchen, John appeared with several drinks in his hands, before he then looked at Farid with a confused expression when he saw that he was alone.

"...?"

Then, looking around, John scratched his chin while imagining what might have happened, before soon a smile appeared on his face.

'So that's what happened...'

Nodding his head, John then started walking towards the silent Farid, who was still looking at the ceiling with a frown on his face.

Then, out of nowhere, John suddenly started patting Farid's shoulders with a pitying gaze in his eyes, as he spoke to him with a sad tone of voice.

-Pat, pat-

"You got dumped, huh? Don't worry, eventually, the right one will co-"

"You wanna die?"

...

-To be Continued-

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(A/N: Hey, I made a Ko-fi page, in case you want to help this poor author to survive in the harsh real world where one needs to eat daily to stay alive.

You can donate there if you want, of course, I'm not forcing you to do it. -Wink, wink-

Also, I will post most of the illustrations that I make for my fanfics or whatever else in there, in case you want to check them out without the need to check the chapter where I posted them. Currently, there are only the illustrations of Farid's kid appearance, and his adult one, in case you didn't see them previously.

I will post more when the time comes.

Here is the link in case you want to check it out: https://ko-fi.com/anonymousauthor

Also, this time I didn't leave it on a cliffhanger... Or did I?)