Chapter 46

Grandline, Paradise, Jaya

The morning after the party was accompanied by a lot of groaning and swearing to say the least. One of those people was none other than Azul himself, having drunk a shitload the night before, and through all the dancing swiftly brought it into his system. And thus we find said young man sitting at a table with a wet towel on his head, staring blankly up at the ceiling, trying to ignore the pounding in his head. Besides him sat his dancepartner from last night Nico Robin, who didn't look to be doing any better in that aspect, since she had never let herself go like that before. Even though she enjoyed the party immensly she began to doubt if the fun was worth the cost...

Soon the rest of the strawhats woke up as well. Some groaning, and some like Luffy with a chipper smile, too bright for Azuls eyes so early in the morning, which resulted in Luffy taking a feel of the morning air, unwillingly I might add.

A few hours and a good breakfast later, Azul was sitting at a table with his drinking buddy Robin, wondering how to proceed from here. Should he set sail tomorrow? After all he had been staying on this island for quite some time now and it was pulling him out to the sea again.

His ruminations were interrupted by the whitebeard pirates limping towards them, which made Azuls eyebrow rise, not knowing what they wanted. Did they want to thank him maybe?

"You are Nico Robin, correct? We are the members of the Whitebeard pirates that were send to bring you into the new world. Sadly, our current condition is not really something to be travelling the grandline with. Either you find yourself a different way to reach the new world or you wait here with us until we are recovered, which though may take a little bit..." one man from the entourage spoke, bringing a thoughful look onto Robins face, meanwhile Azul got even more confused.

"Wait, Whitebeard? You joined his crew?" Azul asked into the thoughtful silence of the group.

Robin turned towards him and was about to answer when another member of the group spoke up in her stead.

"You are the one that beat Teach, weren't you? Pardon me, you know him under the name of Blackbeard. Thank you for doing so but your help may not be received with much gratitude when it comes to the captain..." the woman said with a frown while Azul still hadn't received a satisfying answer to his question, but he didn't insist on one since it wasn't really his buisiness anyway.

Surprisingly though, Robin still gave him one that made him pause.

"Yes, I joined Whitebeard to finally find some peace while following my dream. I have always been and probably always will be hunted by the world government, since I am the only survivor of the massacre that befell Ohara..." Robin spoke with a blank face, though her eyes spoke of all the feelings that ran through her at the thought of her past and Azul was probably one of the very few people that could see everything that was going on behind that fassade Robin was putting up in public.

"I see. Ohara hmm? But you must have been just a child at that time. Why would they still hunt you? Or do you possess something they want from you?" Azul asked her, completely ignoring the rest of the group that had decided to sit down on a table next to theirs.

"Yes, I do but it may be something a little different from what you may expect. I am able to read the ancient poneglyphs that are scattered all over the world. Back then, the scientists began to research those texts and the world government found out about it, sending a b-bustercall to Ohara, annihalating its existence from the map..." Robin spoke with milky eyes, not being able to contain a slight choke at the word bustercall, considering the horrible memories that came along with it.

Azul just sat there, listening to her words, wondering just what could possibly be written in a text that would justify the extinction of a whole island but in the second he finished that thought, he chastised himself, knowing fully well that justice does not really exist.

After Robin finished her monologue she looked towards Azul, searching for some expression on his face but found none. Just a blank slate with penetrating eyes that viewed her very being to the last cranny of her soul. It made her feel very exposed but could do nothing against it in the end, so she simply waited until Azul averted his face from hers, while speaking his thoughts, making her pause at his words.

"You and me, we have a lot in common you know. We are both hunted by the world government. You, simply for your knowledge on how to find out about the past and me... well, I am a direct connection to the past. A personification what the world government feared with their whole being once upon a time. Luckily for me, they don't know what I look like." Azul spoke with a small smile, lifting Robins down mood upwards alongside his own.

"So, how do you plan on getting into the new world? It is still a long way until you reach Sabaody Archipelago, from where you can head straight towards fishman island to cross the redline for the new world." Azul asked, taking a sip from a glas of water he had gotten for himself, not being able to see alcohol so soon after drinking last night.

"I don't really know. I made a deal with the strawhats to bring me to Jaya, but now my plan seems to have taken a heavy hit. I may need to improvise..." Robin said with a thoughtful expression while also taking a sip from a glas of water to greese her raw throat she had gotten from the long and extensive singing and laughting of last night.

Suddenly a thought came to Azuls mind, but he wasn't sure if he was mad or simply had gotten acclimatized to the madness of the grandline. No matter, why not just try it out and see what happens.

"Say Robin, would you be willing to make an agreement with me? I have an idea but it may potentially bring about your death." Azul spoke, making Robin grow weary of Azuls plan.

"And what exactly would that agreement entail?" She asked with a small frown on her normally blank face.

"As I told you, the world government is hunting for me just as for you, but what you don't know yet is that I am also hunting them. Confusing, I know. My point is, I know that a group of Cipher Pol agents are undercover on some island after Alabasta." With his words Robins eyes widened in fear, taking a quick look around her but found nothing as her paranoia from the past had kicked in at the mention of Cipher Pol.

"Calm, Robin. Nobody here could get past me, let alone attack you in the process. What you saw with Blackbeard was just the tip of the iceberg." Azul spoke, his soothing voice bringing a calmness with it that made Robins spirit settle back down.

"The problem with those agents though is that I probably won't be able to tell them apart from the normal civilians, except if they somehow break their cover. And that is were you come in. The bait."

With horror written on her face, Robin slowly shook her head in denial, being afraid of the world government to the point that she had sat up rimrod straight in her chair.

Azul though could see the real reason her soul tried to hide deep within herself for not taking this opportunity for revenge and freeing herself from her hunters.

'She may be afraid but her soul cannot hide her yearning for freedom. It practically radiates it outwards in a cry for release. Fear truly is a terrifying thing...' he thought while taking away his eyes from her vibrating soul.

"You do not have to give me an answer right away but if you agree then I will escort you into the new world to Whitebeards ship. So long as you are thinking this through, how about I arrange for a place on the strawhats ship to take you further towards the new world. This island won't do you any good in the longrun anyways. And since mine and the crews logpose are both pointing towards skyisland, no doubt, I will be accompanying you for a limited amount of time. Do you agree?"

Robin meanwhile was thinking about the pros and cons, not sure on how to continue, but in the end she reached out her hand and shook Azuls, who smiled a small smile that lifted her selfdoubting spirits once more. Afterwards Azul stood up and marched over towards the strawhats. He had a deal to settle after all.