Robin sat on the deck, wrapped in a blanket that smelled faintly of salt, rum, and old wood. She kept her knees pulled close to her chest, watching the crew move around her with careful eyes, as if she still expected someone to tell her to leave.
Pintel crouched nearby, polishing a cannonball like it was a priceless treasure.
"So there I was," he said, launching into a dramatic pose, "surrounded by enemies, outnumbered, outgunned—"
"You slipped and fell into the sea," Ragetti said flatly, scrubbing blood off the deck.
Pintel bristled. "No I was pushed off midfight."
"You screamed."
"I was ... shouting a battle cry."
"You even wet your pants. Thought no one could tell after you fell into the sea but I noticed."
"...."
Robin blinked, unsure.
Jack leaned against the mast, arms folded, watching the exchange with mild amusement. Gibbs stood near Robin, quieter than usual, his presence steady.
After a moment, Gibbs spoke.
"Earlier," he said gently, "when we were fighting… I saw something."
Robin stiffened.
She looked down at her hands.
"You sprouted… hands," Gibbs continued calmly. "On the ship."
Her breath hitched.
The deck went quiet.
Robin's fingers curled into the blanket. She did not look up. "I—I can explain."
Pintel paused mid-polish. Ragetti stopped scrubbing.
Jack tilted his head. Interested.
Robin swallowed. Her voice came out small. "I ate a Devil Fruit when I was little. The Hana Hana no Mi. It lets me… grow parts of my body. Anywhere."
She waited.
Her former family's voices echoed in her mind. Monster.Cursed.Stay away.
"I can grow arms," she added quickly, as if justifying herself. "Or legs. Or eyes. But arms are easiest. They take less effort."
She risked a glance upward.
Pintel stared.
Ragetti stared.
Jack nodded slowly, thoughtful.
Gibbs smiled.
"Well," Gibbs said, "that explains a lot."
Robin blinked. "It… does?"
"I thought you were just very good at grabbing things," Gibbs said mildly.
Pintel scratched his head. "I've seen Devil Fruits before. Bears. Big bears."
"Two of them," Ragetti added. "One mean, one mean-er."
Pintel nodded. "Still weird though."
Robin's shoulders tensed again.
Jack pushed off the mast. "So you can sprout hands."
Robin nodded nervously.
Jack smiled. "That's handy."
She stared at him.
Ragetti snorted.
Pintel laughed.
Robin hesitated—then felt something unfamiliar bubble up in her chest. Relief. Warmth. Safety.
They weren't afraid.
No one had stepped back. No one had looked at her like she was dangerous.
Gibbs crouched down to her level. "You don't have to hide it here," he said. "You're not cursed. You're crew."
Robin didn't know what fatherly meant. But something about his smile made her chest ache in a good way.
She smiled back. Tentatively at first.
Then more.
Gibbs straightened. "We'll need another room."
Jack pointed at him. "You can build it."
Gibbs blinked. "Me?"
"You're the responsible one," Jack said. "Congratulations."
Pintel stood up with a bucket in hand, humming, and immediately caught his foot on the handle. His legs flailed wildly.
"W—!"
He vanished over the railing with a splash.
Silence.
Then—
Robin laughed.
It burst out of her before she could stop it, high and startled and real. Her hands flew to her mouth as if she'd committed a crime.
Jack froze.
Gibbs froze.
Ragetti stared.
Pintel surfaced, coughing. "Did… did the kid just laugh?"
Robin laughed again.
Pintel grinned broadly. "See? I'm funny!"
He waved from the water.
Robin took one look at his grin—wide, toothy, dripping—and shrieked softly, bolting across the deck to hide behind Jack.
Jack blinked. "What did you do?"
"I smiled!" Pintel protested.
"Ah, so that's the problem," Ragetti said.
Jack rested a hand lightly on Robin's head. She peeked out from behind his coat, still smiling despite herself.
Ragetti snickered. "You scared her."
Pintel frowned. "I am not scary." He was trying to convince himself.
Jack cleared his throat. "Robin."
She looked up at him.
"Do you want to go back?" he asked carefully. "To Ohara. To… say goodbye."
The smile faded.
Silence fell again.
Robin looked toward the horizon. Her hands trembled slightly in her lap.
For a moment, Jack regretted the question.
Then Robin nodded.
"Yes," she said quietly. "One last time."
Her eyes hardened with resolve.
Jack studied her for a long second.
Then he smiled.
"Alright," he said. "Set course."
Gibbs hesitated. "Captain—"
"We'll go slowly," Jack said. "No rush."
The Black Pearl turned.
The next morning, the World Economy News seagull arrived.
It screamed, dropped papers, pecked Pintel square in the head, and flew off.
"Why does it hate me?" Pintel shouted.
Ragetti picked up the papers, eyes widening. "Uh. Captain."
Jack took one.
Photographs this time.
Jack's bounty had climbed to 60 million berries, the image catching him mid-motion, hat tipped, sword half-drawn.
Pintel's poster showed him in the water. Again.
"WHY AM I ALWAYS IN THE SEA?!" Pintel wailed. "Two million berries isn't worth this humiliation!"
Ragetti's was surprisingly respectable. 10 million berries. "Huh," he said. "I look… normal."
Gibbs checked his own. 30 million berries. He sighed. "I liked being my previous drawing better."
Robin's bounty remained unchanged.
Jack folded the papers.
Gibbs looked up. "Captain."
Jack followed his gaze.
Ohara stood on the horizon.
Or what remained of it.
Blackened land. Broken coastline. Smoke still rising.