A Conversation with Nico Robin about Normality

The women’s quarters in the Thousand Sunny had never felt so cold.

I was sat here, figuratively strapped to the chair across from my (potentially ex-)girlfriend while she was just sitting there in her chair, sipping some tea. Her pleasant smile making me feel like she was about to end my fucking life.

The outside world had agreed to leave us alone for the duration of the ‘chat’. Soon we were to be transported as a ship back towards the palace where the royal family would treat the Straw Hats to a royal feast for their efforts.

It remains to be seen whether I’ll survive the journey.

While I wasn’t trapped I definitely couldn’t move. Both because I had nowhere to run where her arms couldn’t catch me, and because my wounds were still healing. Though I’m sure with how cold my blood was right now it wasn’t helping matters in the slightest.

“Natsuo,” She said calmly, yet making me flinch instinctively. “Though we both know you had little choice, I still want to thank you for meeting with me.”

“N-no problem…” I chuckled lamely, trying to hide the bricks I was shitting. “It was about my e-earing, yeah? What about it? D-do you like it? It's quite fetching, r-right?”

She didn’t respond, seemingly enjoying the scared state she’d put me in. Robin very slowly uncrossed her legs then recrossed them the other way. Eyes always trained on mine, even when I broke the gaze out of fear.

It felt like I was a kid about to be chided by their parent and not wanting to anger them further.

We just sat here, Robin taking another long sip of her tea as I leaked a horrible amount of sweat that could have filled her entire teapot.

Finally she spoke, cupping her chin delicately in her thumb and forefinger. “So, Natsuo.” My name on her lips already making me flinch uncontrollably, “Did you truly have no realisations that I already knew about the power on your ear?”

“...eh?”

“Before we left Sabo warned me about the power of the earring. Though, even without his warning, I had been the one to originally read up about the power of that relic. I’m also the only one who can read such ancient texts, and as such the information that was spread through rumours that day could only have come from me. Surely you could have put that together?”

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fucking fuck.

That’s so obvious, I’m such a fucking idiot!

She literally told the others about it! I… FUCK!

“If that’s panicked you, you’ll find this next news quite distressing,” a pair of bonus Robin hands brought out a book from her desk, it was a small green notebook with ‘Natsuo Normality Notes’ written on the front… “Sabo requested I keep an eye on you. Record your movements and word choices in case you tried anything drastic or world changing. As you can see I have my methods.” She pointed to the top corner of the room, an eye and an ear sitting quietly in the dark spot above the door.

I slumped my shoulders, on top of everything I'd apparently had no privacy for the last week. “Shit.” My panic gained an added hiss of anger, placing my head in my hands in defeat, “Great. Man, Sabo was such a dick.”

“My apologies, but you’ll be happy to hear that I found nothing truly sinister in your actions at the base.” She explained, looking over the notes she'd seemingly made of what I'd done. “While it seemed I was certainly affected by their potential power, I worked backwards from your ‘normal’ words to figure out your changes. Suffice to say it seemed you only made miniscule differences.” she was checking the notes of my guilty history, “Like giving yourself a steak, fixing a photo of your parents, or that time you used the godlike reality altering power of the earring to… cure your constipation.” I wanted to roll over and die. “Calling your actions evil for these simple mundanities would be very unfair."

I'd nearly forgotten about those initial changes I'd made, just trying to make my life a little bit more reasonable around that base...

And yeah, I was constipated. The meals at the base were nowhere near Sanji level healthy/tasty. I’d do it again for the relief I felt, dammit.

"In fact, you were creating such minimal impact that after considering giving them to a ‘good cause’ such as the revolutionaries... well, that would have made far greater ripples and negative effects to our world that it doesn't bear thinking about, not compared to the impact of one man wanting a slightly better life.”

My mind was following her so far, but I was still feeling nervous as fuck. “O-okay…? So all's good?”

She closed her book, then gave me a serious look. "Not just yet. That only covers your actions on the base. We still must discuss our journey to Sabaody."

Yeah, she's still gonna kill me. And taking her time about it too, my soul just can't take this back and forth pressure.

“Look… before you kill me… I’m sorry! Really sorry! I just… I didn’t know it would affect everyone! I was a dumb shithead playing with powers I shouldn’t have! I wasn’t thinking before it was too late-!”

“And that excuses your use of it on me?”

Wow, my tongue was sharply bitten by how quickly I shoved a foot in my mouth or whatever metaphor you wanna use. She was right. Even if you think I didn’t mean to use it on everyone I did totally use magic spells on her.

“...sorry. I never thought I’d have a chance and… and got excited…”

I really couldn’t even look at her. How heavy shame felt on my eyes, it was impossible to lift them from the floor. It was like Perona had hit me with several of her ghosts all at once but totally my own doing this time. Fuck.

Robin stayed calm and composed as I broke down. “Well, it’s good to hear you’re at least remorseful.”

I didn’t respond. The air of my sins forcing me into a deeper despair.

“Of course, it would be wrong of me not to admit my own role in the events that played out.”

…

“...wuzzat?”

Finally I lifted my teary eyes to meet her. What I’d assumed was a deep frown of anger and disappointment on Robin’s face could not have been more wrong, instead a playful smile still danced on her lips while she stared back at me. A single hand that had sprouted up from the table now twirling the earring around on a lone index finger.

“Hmm. You think you were in control, little Natsuo, but I’ve been playing you from the start.”

…

“EEHHHHH?!”

Her smile only grew as I nearly fell out of my chair in shock, “The two who happened to be talking about the earrings nearby to your dishwashing station. Who do you think asked them to do that?”

“W-what?! B-b-b-!?”

“And when you were about to be grabbed by Sabo, who whispered in your ear to tell you what to say to let you keep the earrings?”

Did she do that? I…. it’s possible but… “I-I thought that was-?! WHY?!”

“I’m afraid you’re much more of a science experiment than you realise, Natsuo-kun.” Robin giggled, so easily blowing my mind before sipping her tea again, “I needed someone with just enough loose morals with no desire for world domination to take the earring from the revolutionaries. The fact you’re not the smartest and quite easy to manipulate was just a benefit.”

Was it bad that the biggest blow to me was finding out she might not even like me? “...s-science experiment?”

She nodded, “I wanted to see the effects of the earring myself. I have a feeling they hold the key to unlocking historical truths about what happened to certain ancient civilizations, but I needed to experience it as a victim rather than their owner. So, lest I be subjected to a war over their abilities in the wrong hands, I decided the right hands were someone with lower dreams. A dishwasher that hated their job and would follow a pretty girl straight. Out. The door.”

Ouch.

Each punctuation felt like another dagger in my back.

So I wasn’t as guilty as I thought? I was just a fucking idiot being manipulated by someone smarter than me? Gee, how swell. Now my fearful tears that had been flowing were just sad tears. This fucking sucks…

“I took it upon myself to figure out if the earring needed to be destroyed before it fell into the wrong hands. As the ‘experiment’, I’d like to ask you questions now.” Robin continued despite me being upset, “Things have turned absolutely fascinating in my eyes. So many revelations have come to light thanks to your efforts and continued use of the earring. If anything the ability to talk to you freely now will benefit everyone.”

I sighed long and hard. What choice did I have? She had the earring, a loyal crew, and my love all in the palm of her hand. I could be petty and clam up, but at the end of the day at least my pathetic excuse for a life can be useful before the end, wiping my tears I just nodded quietly. “Yeah, fine. Ask away…”

“Thank you, Natsuo.” Guhh, her heavenly voice still sends me places. Why did I ever think she’d like me again? “A simple question to start, what do you think of the earring?”

With a scratch on the back of my head I thought about it. “Uh, it’s good? …sort of weird to be able to use words in that way. Saying normal has so much power that it felt like I had to think about everything I said.” Scribbles quickly began in her little notebook, and after a moment I thought that I could at least get some answers for myself here, “do you know what um the earring… is?”

“The original texts suggested the two earrings are infused with the power of a Devil Fruit.” Robin casually revealed, “It’s not known for sure, but legends say that the Reality-Reality Fruit was too powerful for any one man. It caused entire nations to fall, wars fought over the fruit’s strength and power. So its abilities were split and embedded into two earrings.”

“Wow…” I awed, scratching my ear lightly at where the earring had been, “...so much history and it ended up on my ugly mug? Hehe… fate, am I right?” I coughed, though she seemed calmly stationary as usual, my ability to not brighten a room still intact as always, “So why is it only when I said ‘Normal’?”

Her smile turned to a curious frown, “That, I’m not sure of. Perhaps just a mistranslation of a Normal-Normal fruit?” She suggested, to which I gave an unhelpful shrug. “Or they are not devil fruits. Items holding non-zoan devil fruits are never very useful, as Dr. Vegapunk has researched, as without a will they often remain useless. For example, if we were to infuse the Invisible fruit with a sword, the blade would be hidden, but would never have the same power or ability that a human could use with that same invisible powerset.” Did I enter a classroom? Not that I was complaining but this whole thing was becoming more informational than punishmentanal.

“Makes sense. You’d need a brain to turn the invisible on and off, and you’d just keep cutting yourself on an invisible sword…”

“Indeed, though for all we know there are some items out there with their own wills. A musical instrument that wishes to be played. The beaming smile of a well loved ship. A devil fruit that can pick its wielder. There are many stories I’ve read and tales on the sea about objects with their own will. Perhaps it is embodying the devil that lies within~” Her words became faux spooky at the end there, nice to know she can still be playful with me, like we were still a real couple. “I’m not sure what the will of your earring is, but affecting the ‘normal’ is where it seems to lie. Which is where we get to my second question, though it is a long one.”

Not like I’m going anywhere…

“I'd like to explain something to you. A parable about the final moment in history of the previous owner of the earrings.” Oh, shit. She knew about who had them before me? “Would you like to know what happened to them?"

Damn, she was getting serious. I nodded her on again, cautiously.

With a small but somewhat sadistic smile, she told me:

“They were killed by a pirate.”

I burst up from my seat, “OKAY! I get it! If you want to kill me so bad then just do it! But I ain’t going down witho-OW!”

With a wincing pain in my chest I collapsed back down, panting harshly and hoping I didn’t open anything back up.

“Calm down, Natsuo. It was only a little tease. Let me finish my story first. You want to know why your earring didn’t work sometimes, correct?”

Ow… wait. She could explain that? Why I’d been cut when uncuttable? For all the shit I’d put her through, and what she’d apparently put me through, she still offered me a towel for my sweating brow. “...yes. Thanks.”

Her smile seemed more genuine after that. “The point of my story was not a threat, but an idea. Yes, the previous owner was killed by a pirate, but why? How? The scroll said there was a final battle of sorts, many fighting over the power of those two earrings. This man had incredible power, yet he was still sliced by a simple sword.”

Huh. That is weird…

She brought her notebook up more to her face, “Allow me to read you out this parable about the final day of the owner:”

“In the realm of time's final fray,

A battle waged, both night and day.

Reality bent by earrings, dark,

An evil man left a lasting mark.

__

In shadows deep, the tyrant stood,

His powers vast, misunderstood.

Pirates bold, on a quest untold,

In the Valley of Shadows, the story unfolds.

__

A clash of swords and the war of fate,

The evil one met his final state.

As reality trembled, the end drew near,

His last words screamed, tainted with fear.

__

An ironic plea, his final decree:

‘It is normal for you not to kill me.’

The sword came down, ignoring the curse,

And thus ends the story of humanity’s worst.”

...

“...wha-?”

Once more her thumb and finger caught her chin, looking out the window to the rest of the darkened Sunny. “It is odd, isn’t it? The tales of the reality altering powers of the earrings go very far indeed. So in the hypothetical scenario they could be used to change ‘the rules’ of the world, why did the previous owner still get sliced from head to toe by that pirate? His guts spread out in a red mess along the floor?”

“...must you be so grim about it?”

She continued, “It intrigues me so. A puzzle no one has ever solved. It is the one command passed on through legend, and yet we do not know if it worked. Working backwards from the statement, was it abnormal to provide mercy before he said the words? Was **** normal before the earring undid it?”

Wow. WOW. That’s true! I… I guess it happened so long ago that I have no idea if **** used to be ‘normal’. It makes sense to me that it isn’t, but am I just affected by it as much as everyone else? Weird…

“This is why I wanted to watch your work and be affected by the earring personally. I thought that perhaps the answers lie in the present era, and our Natsuo’s uses of the single earring.”

Her eyes drifted back down to the notebook that she used to snoop on me the last few days. Shit man. I wonder how much of my uses she caught? The nerves were making my tummy all ooky…

“I could list down the lines you’ve used, like saying it is normal for those on fishman island to wear wet t-shirts, or this one about it being normal for women’s vaginas to ‘ding’ when they’ve found a mate… anything to say about that?”

Oh god, she had to pick that one. Hopefully my body didn’t need blood to heal my wounds cause right now it was rushing to my face. “Sorry…”

“I’m sure you weren’t expecting your choices to be put to such scrutiny,” Her tone was jovial, probably enjoying my toture, “At least we know the earring works, but then, it doesn’t always, did it? So now I wish to ask you directly about something that has probably been bothering you. Natsuo, may you please list the times that the earring hasn’t worked for you?”

Finally back here huh? Well, nowhere to run and not like my life is worth preserving much longer anyway, so may as well just be honest with her.

“Uh, gimme a sec,” I said, racking my brain trying to think of the amount of crazy I’d lived the last few days, “I think… I think the first time was with Sabo back in the base. I was trying to get, uh, closer with Betty and he was all over me even after I said it was normal for us to hang out.”

More nods and more scribbles in her notebook, “Hm, I see. Betty does have quite an abrasive manner of dress…” Wait, was she upset that I was interested in another girl? Or was I majorly projecting? “As for Sabo, perhaps it was the way you worded it? Arguably it was always normal for you to hang out with another revolutionary, but his distrust of your intentions made him separate you two.”

I tilted my head, “Why would that make a difference?”

“Well, my first theory for the earrings’ previous owner is that nothing was changed when he said his final words. If something is already normal, then what is there to change? Similar to how it would be normal for you to befriend Belo Betty if you wanted to.”

I get the theory, but she was making no sense with the example, “What? I never hung out with Betty before, how was it normal for me to do so?”

There was a beat where she considered answering, but looked like she dropped it, “Nevermind for now. What was the next normality that failed?”

With a pause I played out the events again. “There was the time I tried to get a Celestial Dragon to not kidnap me.”

“What?” She asked, seemingly surprised for the first time we were down here, “What happened? When was this?”

“I had just run off from the ship after I realised my earrings affected everyone, then I was shot at when I ran into two of them hunting randoms on Sabaody.” Her concern seemed genuine which made me feel a little better, “I said it was normal for them to feel bad about what they did, or remorse, or to just stop getting slaves. Nothing worked, but I had enough tricks up my sleeve to book it.”

“Hmm,” She hummed with another concerned frown, “Well, that does confirm another limitation.”

I frowned right back at her, “That it doesn’t work on pieces of shit?”

“Partially true, yes. Normalcy is perhaps, unfortunately, relative. The Celestial Dragons believe themselves ‘above’ the average folk, told that they were always born and raised to be superior. It stands to reason that nothing could change that perception, and thus would not bend to new normal societal rules.”

“So there’s ways to break out of the earrings mentally?”

Once more she nodded, really making this feel like a classroom at times, “I think so. Do you remember when the earring failed on Luffy?”

“Oh yeah. I nearly didn’t make it into the crew…” I smiled a little at the memory. Maybe it would have been easier…

“Luffy is simply abnormal.” Her explanation was blunt enough that I couldn’t help but smirk a tiny bit in agreement, “Changing him based on what is ‘normal’ is fairly impossible if he had already made up his mind. One does not aim to become Pirate King if you care about what is ‘normal’ in life.” She went back to her notes, “One rule about adding masseuses to the crew has definitely affected him, as he seems dead set on filling his crew with essentials for our wellbeing, but if you were to try and tell him that normally his new dream is to become a marine I think he’d punch you in the face.”

“He still has time, don’t worry about that,” I sighed with slight exaggeration, if only to see her smile again, “Still, weird. So some of my new rules only affect certain groups of people? Pirates don’t care about normalcy?”

“I’d say that’s a fair assumption, but maybe the better descriptor would be we choose our own normalcy. Someone’s dreams often drive their goal in life beyond if it is normal to do so or not. Luffy chose the pirate life, ergo he is affected by pirate based normalities. But it is also part of his dream to choose a loyal crew that he trusts beyond measure. No one could barge into that, unless they had earned that trust with him or one of his crew.”

Right… it didn’t work at all. Robin had to ask him to let me in… why did she do that?

As the heavy silence laden with confusion hung in the air, she decided to move us forward once more. “We should also cover the person before Luffy who you failed to change.”

The Fishman guy? I think? Wait.

No…

I forgot about one.

My blood went cold as I remembered the other one…

was Robin herself.

“So you remember the one you tried to use on me?” The beauty asked so casually, reading my mind with those piercing blue eyes of hers, “Saying it was normal for me to leave my friends and live a life just the two of us. Safe and secure away from it all. Stealing me for yourself like I was a prize to be won.”

Goddamn, when she puts it like that I really do feel like the scum of the earth I am. “Sorry. I… sorry. I’m very sorry. It was a spur of the moment thing that I’m really glad didn’t work because then I’d have never been sure if we were together because of that, but I was still convinced the Straw Hats and pirates in general were really evil and when I thought about you and the baby and and-”

“I’m somewhat glad you said it.”

My eyes bulged again.

“In some ways it was nice to be so wanted.” Her gaze drifted out towards the porthole, watching the island of fishmen travel past us with her mind lost in thought, “It was very selfish of you, for certain. To attempt to take away my decision like that. But I did manipulate you into that point, of wanting me so badly, so desperately… specifically to see if I could resist such a power.”

Suddenly a piece of paper was passed to me from a trail of hands I hadn’t noticed had formed. On it read the words ‘Do not let him take me from Luffy’ written on it. Then a list of instructions on how to take the earring from me and use it to ‘free’ Robin.

“If I had fallen and you had swayed me from my friends, I would have sent that letter to Nami. It was in a seastone box until recently, so I would not have been able to get it open.” Fucking hell, she really was that scared of me? “But, though you attempted it, you’ve proven a major factor in my theory to do with the earring. And how it relates to hypnosis.”

A book landed on my lap suddenly from Robin’s vast library. ‘Hypnosis 101’ was certainly a strange book in general, but to be a part of this girl’s collection…

"There's a rule for hypnotists when trying to ensnare someone to their will. It says you’ll never be able to make a subject do something they truly would never do. Though truly great hypnotists may be able to ignore such a thing, the majority use it to bend their target more easily when they want to put on a show. In such an environment perhaps they would be willing to pretend to be a chicken for a crowd, but ordering them to shoot their mother’s skull to pieces would break the hypnotist’s hold of their mind.”

“...again with the morbid stuff.” I sighed, stroking my temple to get the images out my head and focus on the rest of her words. “So… I couldn’t sway you because you really didn’t want to leave your friends?”

A warm smile passed over her lips, “Precisely. I had a feeling you’d be unable to change my mind in such a way, but to know for certain my love for them is pure was a blessing.”

“Sorry… again…” I gulped, sort of wishing my next question to be true, but sort of fearing the answer as well, “S-so… the stuff that did work…”

“Your earring didn’t just affect our boat,” Robin said, seemingly ignoring me and my leading words, “We know that it has a far reach, and yet it won’t be able to change things that you do not want to be changed. Dreams will be unaffected. So what is left? What kind of normalities did you add that worked so well?”

She was really going to make me spell it out, “…the… the sexy ones…”

“Precisely. Sexual normalities seem to be the earring’s most powerful commands.” I can’t even tell if her small smile is sadistic or passionate at this point, “I suppose that pirates, marines, revolutionaries… we are, at our core, humans. And humans wish to have certain needs filled. Hunger, warmth, lusts, these are the things that are universal, and perhaps more easily changed by the earring.”

Okay, it was clear that she didn’t want to talk about me and her yet. “That makes sense, I guess people are just horny.” Not that I can fucking judge them, holy hell, “but, like, this is all mental stuff. How about the times I could use it to change… physical things? And why didn’t it work when I made myself invincible?”

“Ah, yes. I can answer that with a question. Natsuo, have you ever wondered why Ms. Ghost’s devil fruit is not considered the strongest in the world?”

I pondered the thought, “Uhh, kinda? She was using those ‘depression ghosts’ pretty good in the fishman battle…”

“And yet, unlike you, she did not try to use them to attack that very strong octopus man.” She said with the faintest smirk, making my scar flare a tiny amount in embarrassment, “It is the same reason why logia devil fruits have trouble: Haki.”

I nodded, “Haki? That’s what Dragon and Luffy have. The thing he used to take down a bunch of the fishmen, yeah?”

“That is Conqueror's haki, a much rarer form of the technique but useful for the explanation.” Here we go with teacher mode again. I think I would have paid more attention in class if I’d have had her instead of Morley as a teacher. “It is an extension of willpower. A physical manifestation of your drive to fight. A fascinating power that every object in the universe has, but few can utilise. In the New World it is almost an imperative to take on the numerous devil fruit abilities. Logias are the prime example, but it goes beyond that. Emporio Ivankov’s gender changing, Perona’s depressive ghosts, Trafalgar Law’s surgery rooms. If your haki is strong enough, even those that affect another’s body can be overcome.”

Right… yeah I think I overheard that at some point. The amount of scary devil fruits around. There was that one town that got wiped out by one dude with a disease making power…

“If I had to guess with you and your earring, the stronger the willpower of those that you aim to change with a ‘normality’, the easier a person could counter your physical changes. The principal being similar to other devil fruits of the same nature. Similarly to them, if you trained then perhaps your normalities would have been unstoppable to all.”

She was blowing my mind a bit but it was all making some sense. “And… and that’s why that guy was able to cut me?”

“Correct, to my knowledge at least. His haki covered sword sliced into your brittle ‘invincible’ body, like one could stab a logia user. And a fairly good estimate of what happened to the last user of the earrings as well. Even with the second earring's power to blend the user in, with a strong enough will to defy it even that can be overcome.” I guess that solves two mysteries, and I had the big-ass battle scar to prove it, “Just like there are natural counters to certain devil fruits in certain people's natures or abilities, I still believe your use of the earring for specifically sexual needs was the reason your low haki level was able to change as much as it did. Like a hypnotist who convinces you to like ice cream when you already had a craving for it. It was a given that people want to have sex.”

So that’s another mystery solved. My powers only worked BECAUSE I was a horny asshole?

Great. Perfect. Somehow this wasn’t making me feel any better.

“And that’s why you chose me to be the test rat,” my body shrunk down in the chair, depression slowly taking over, “I’m just a perverse loser with no haki, no friends, no life, nothing.”

Her head tilted to the side.

The silence grew heavy between us as I felt my petulant sins pile up on top of me. I didn’t deserve to whine and moan about loneliness. **** was all but assured for me now.

Slowly, she closed the notebook. “Our navigator and sniper have been edging around their feelings for each other since before I met them. Our swordsman spent two years with Ms. Ghost, plenty of time to develop an attraction for each other. And I'd heard reports of the warlord Boa Hancock assisting Luffy in the war, though the sexual element is certainly a surprise. All of them were travelling together, and all of them were swayed when you said that women were perverts and that they needed cum on their travel bras. Had they been with people other than this I do not think it would have worked. Nami would have perhaps let Sanji grope her, but her attraction to the sniper was genuine and-"

“What about us?!” I blurted out, desperation getting the better of me, “Was any of it real?!”

“Natsuo…”

The silence was heavy, I don’t know what she was building up to say but it definitely didn’t feel like a ‘yes’. “Look… maybe it wasn’t real, but can we pretend long enough to just let me off the ship to live a quiet life…?”

“My plan was to use the earrings on you when we reached Sabaody.”

That was a strange revelation, “W-wuh?”

“Your role was to be a simple man using the earrings to determine their strength,” She continued despite my confusion, “Contingencies were in place for if you were smarter, or a greater evil than I had anticipated. All I had to do was let you have some fun, document the results to determine the earring’s strength, then wipe your memory and set you up with a quiet life on the archipelago.”

Fuck… I was stunned… all this time I thought I was just an idiot with too much power… “...so… why didn’t you?”

“I think we both know the answer to that,” She said with a soft smile that nearly made me cry. I had a feeling as to what she meant, but dare not say it lest my heart break yet again today.

I just… refused to believe it. My body wanting to get up and run off in case I fall back into pure despair.

“Please, don’t toy with me anymore…” I whimpered, the pain in my chest flaring up as I struggled to deal with it all, “Just let me go. Y-you can use the earring to change the baby in you to Luffy’s or something… that way you won’t have the bastard of an evil dickhead in you…” I could barely even look at her. I know I don’t have many grounds to be sympathetic here, but some mercy would be nice. It all felt like unending ****.

“I don’t think the earrings are inherently evil. If using them is tantamount to using a devil fruit, then it is only how you choose to use them to which we can determine morality. And apart from being a tad… misogynistic in your decisions… I don’t know if I’d call any of your changes ‘evil’.”

“R-really?!”

She’d returned to her notebook once more, looking over my words carefully, “At a lot of the core was a desire to bring pleasure to others. For example; though you made us wear cum bras, you also said it was more comfortable to do so. You added the qualifier ‘consensual’ to our powerup sex. Hobby and fetish sharing to improve the new relationships you created. Women are more perverted, yes, but I fail to see why men should be either. And perhaps most importantly, if I am understanding the world before your changes correctly, you made pregnancy more likely but also made it a choice for women. Not to mention periods also being a thing of the past…”

I guess… I guess I really could have been more evil… it just wasn’t really in my nature though, I don’t want a big harem or whatever… but I do still really love the woman in front of me…

“But you wish me to be honest? What I truly think?”

No not really if I’m being totally fucking truthful, I just wanted to curl up and die. “...yeah…”

“Self centred decisions, desires that ran rampant, taking what you hoped would belong to you, I can tell you exactly what that makes you, Natsuo…”

I clenched my eyes, just let this emotional nightmare end.

Peck

I opened them quickly, feeling a brief kiss on my lips as Robin had bridged the gap to nuzzle her forehead into mine.

“It makes you a pirate.”

Yeah, I started bawling.

I couldn't help it, the relief after such a tense few minutes just made the tears flow and flow, "I...I really thought you'd hate me..."

"Hate is easy, empathy takes more effort," She chuckled in front of me, her hand reaching the back of my head to lightly stroke my hair, "I didn't pick you because you're an idiot Natsuo. I picked you because there was one sad boy on a base of heartily driven revolutionaires that looked like he was **** for help. A boy that would bring me a coffee in a freshly washed mug, and then listen to me talk about history. With an interest that didn't seem stemmed in a desire for more war, asking only about weapons, but because you were as curious as I."

I mean... yeah... Fuck, I thought she'd have forgotten those early mornings before she went off to spend time with the main elites. It only really happened near the start of the two years she was there, Robin kept being transferred all over the place as such a useful asset...

"At the very least, I thought I could provide a nice life after using you to test the earring properly," Robin continued, looking almost guilty in her role of the last week, "But, then I did something rather foolish..."

Words weren't really finding my mouth, I was too enraptured in her speaking.

"The woman who never had any prospects of love. The woman who has been running her whole life, never being able to enjoy the simple joys that others experience... totally fell for the normal Natsuo, and all the pleasure he provided her."

"Luvutoo..." I blubbed out, trying to wipe any of the very manly tears away.

Her smile was warm, so very warm, "Thank you, Natsuo. But I want to give you a choice to run away now, before it's too late and I keep you forever." I didn't want that, but before I could argue, something strange entered my hand.

It was very strange indeed.

A dark pink oval, with some extra bits on the side.

"This... is a copy of my womb." said Robin. A little red in the face, but freaking me the fuck out, "You made it unbreakable, but it is still v-very sensitive. If you wanted to run, you could crush that in your hand, leaving me writhing in pain as you grab the earring to make your escape."

I was just amazed this was possible, igoring her dark thoughts to just examine the pear shaped organ. I guess she could make clones of any part of herself, her internals would be possible... I thought it would at least be wet, but then this was just a cloned part of her...

"MMMNN!" I couldn't help my curiosity to apply the tiniest little bit of massage pressure with my thumb. The result had made the girl nearly double over completely, moaning in pleasure from my simple move, "M-maybe this was a m-mistake..." She admitted with a smile.

But there was something else I was focused on, "Our baby..."

She tilted her head a little, "They'll be fine, Natuo. It's nothing but a fertilized egg right-"

"Our baby could one day be grown in here..." My tears began up a tiny bit again, bringing it up to lightly kiss the womb clone.

The archaelogist still moaned loudly, but with how gentle I was being it was more just a forcible sit down, her body leaning against mine as she rested in my lap. "C-can I assume that means you're staying?"

"...where else is a pirate gonna go but to stay by his woman's side?"

With one last shared smile, she rested her head against my shoulder and we sat in silence for a while. This was certainly an... enlightening experience. I would probably be processing what happened here for the next few years. But... I was fairly happy it happened. Guilt is a shitty thing to experience when you're trying to enjoy life. I gently held the symbol of her delicate side, the womb she was entrusting in my hands. I'd have to protect her no matter what...

"So... what now?" I asked once the silence became too much for me.

"The Fishman Island's festivities should be starting soon," She replied, not getting up from being curled up in my lap. Only lightly chuckling, "I just realised... I won't have to be subtle when getting you to use the earring anymore. I can just change things myself without freaking you out~"