One Piece: It's always been you

Chapter 90 Missing my brother…

Nighttime on Wheat Island.

Yu sat alone on the sofa in the living room, legs crossed, head tilted, seemingly lost in thought.

The bag of candy beans was on the coffee table, unopened.

Katakuri thought to himself, it's not that I'm sad or in a bad mood.

But Yu was so quiet, and Katakuri didn't know where to begin. He wasn't a talkative person, so offering Yu advice would be difficult. So, he simply sat down quietly next to Yu.

"Tell me, why can't pirates invade Mary Geoise and just wipe out the Celestial Dragons?"

The person next to him said something in a low voice, which made Katakuri fall silent.

After saying this, Yu fell silent. She had only thought of it suddenly and was just asking. As for the answer, she knew that the world had many rules and regulations that restricted each other, and the existing structure couldn't be easily broken.

“Actually, Rosinante’s brother was originally a Celestial Dragon, as was Doflamingo. However, his father gave up his Celestial Dragon status and left the Holy Land with his family, wanting to live the life of an ordinary person.” These were things Rosinante’s brother had told her before, and she hadn’t really thought about them that much at the time. “Not everyone on the continent is like the people of the Goa Kingdom we see today, who regard the Celestial Dragons as gods.”

"The people there all despise Celestial Dragons, don't they?"

You nodded, but then shook her head. "It's not disgust, it's hatred. I wish I could skin them alive. My brother has several scars on his body, they're arrow wounds, from when the residents there hung him from the windows of a high-rise building and shot him."

At that time, Rosinante's older brother was only six years old.

"My brother said that at that time, they were driven away and chased, and could only find food in garbage cans. My brother's mother also got sick and died first. Later, they survived by chance. My brother's father tried to regain his identity, but was refused. Doflamingo believed that all of this was caused by his father's stupidity, so he shot his father and took his head back to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise. It was at that time that my brother and Doflamingo separated."

Katakuri listened silently; their intelligence network hadn't covered this part of the Doflamingo story.

“The trauma of childhood takes a lifetime to heal. Sometimes I can understand Ming’s madness, but I can never forgive him for killing my brother.” Yu’s tone had been calm until this point, when it changed noticeably. “My brother’s parents were kind and gentle people, just like my brother. But Ming was an exception. My brother said his evil was innate.”

"The Doflamingo we know is indeed a demonic being," Katakuri said, sharing his insights. From their brief encounter, he could tell that Doflamingo was extreme in his actions and had a volatile temper.

"Who knows? Back in the Donquixote Family days, Doflamingo cared about my brother, and he was also very kind to me." At that time, my brother couldn't speak, but Doflamingo still paid attention to his brother's emotions and health, even though my brother could only reply with a small piece of paper and a few words. "But it was also him who wanted my brother to swallow the Op-Op Fruit so that he could gain immortality."

Yu once thought that Rosinante's portrayal of Doflamingo was exaggerated, and perhaps Doflamingo wasn't actually that bad. But Rosinante never thought so, and Yu gradually dismissed that idea as well.

“A family of four, a pair of kind parents, a kind child, and yet another completely opposite.” Yu said this with a hint of helplessness in her voice, and gently leaned on Katakuri’s shoulder. “Just like your Charlotte family, a family with blood ties but no emotional bonds, yet you are such a sentimental mochi. At first, you can’t stick to her at all, but once you really get to know her, you can’t get rid of her.”

Hearing myself described like that, I don't know whether to be happy or unhappy. "Big glutinous rice"... what a unique yet fitting description.

“Sometimes I think you would be happier if you joined the Whitebeard Pirates or followed Shanks.” Yu felt a little regretful, but many things are just not as they seem.

Without his childhood experiences with Brulee, Katakuri wouldn't be who he is today.

Katakuri would not be sent to the North Blue to find her, and the two of them would not have any further companionship or journey together.

"You've been thinking about these things?" Katakuri had also thought about these things, and he had also been somewhat dissatisfied with his birth and current situation.

But amidst that helplessness, there were still feelings of care that made him feel loved. At least Brûlée genuinely cared about him as her older brother, Cracker and Smoothie truly respected him as their second older brother, and there was also Perospero and his compatriot Owen.

"Not only that, I've thought about a lot of random things. I've been thinking about why I came into this world, and why I met you."

"And then there's Bigom. My gut feeling tells me that she's just like a child, but it seems like that's not the case."

"I was thinking, since the Celestial Dragons are so despicable, the Navy can't do anything about them, but what about the pirates? Or, I might as well just go straight to Mary Geoise."

"After all, my abilities are special. Could it be that I am a chosen one, born with the mission of saving the world?"

"Why can some evil people live well, while good people are gone?"

I also think…

Yu said a lot of things, some nonsensical and some logical, and in the end, she even thought she might be a little drunk and crazy.

"Ka2, did I talk too much today?" Yu wasn't sure what was wrong with her.

Katakuri sensed the disappointment in her voice and gently patted the back of her hand. "If you like it, just say so. I'm listening."

The silence lasted so long that Katakuri thought Yuu had fallen asleep.

But the breathing of the person next to her didn't sound like they were asleep; instead, there was a sniffling sound.

"Yu?" Katakuri sensed something was wrong and softly called out Yu's name.

As if a switch had been flipped, the sobs grew louder and louder in the quiet living room, and the person next to her was still trembling.

Katakuri's heart clenched, and he reached out to pull the person into his arms.

Yu moved closer to Katakuri, her hands naturally wrapping around his scarf. The closer they were, the clearer her sobs became.

A large, slightly stiff hand patted gently from behind, offering silent companionship and comfort.

Yu didn't know how long she had been crying, but then she started hiccuping.

"Hiccup...hiccup..."

"Missing your brother?" Katakuri couldn't think of any other reason, and just now, Yu had mentioned Rosinante a lot.

"I... hiccup, I just miss my brother. Why is it that my brother is so kind, yet he can't live a good life, while those Celestial Dragons are still spreading their stench throughout the world, causing more people to suffer?"

“My brother, my brother Rosinante, he was such a big idiot, such a fool. He was so stupid that he would trip over his own feet, set himself on fire, and even get his hand caught in a treasure chest. They say fools are lucky, so why didn’t he have the good fortune to live a good life?”

"I didn't even... I didn't even see him one last time... Waaaaah..."

In fact, ever since I made up my mind to slowly become stronger to avenge my brother, I have hidden and suppressed my longing.

It's been almost two years since she met Katakuri, which also means it's been two years since Yu left. It would be a lie to say she wasn't sad, so she came to find Katakuri, hoping to distract herself.

Who knew I would see things related to the Celestial Dragons? I couldn't help but think that my brother was also a Celestial Dragon, and that he hadn't erased his identity back then, so he would definitely be alive and well now.

Unlike those scoundrel Celestial Dragons, he will dedicate himself to protecting the young and treating ordinary people kindly.

But he didn't; he was already dead! His life ended at the age of twenty-six!

Katakuri gently patted Yu's back to help her catch her breath. "When did you meet him, and how long did you live with him?"

Yu didn't understand why Katakuri asked that, but she still answered, "I've been with my brother and grandfather since I was a child, for seventeen years."

Do you think he's happy when he's with you?

"Of course, my brother loves to laugh the most when he's with me. I'll cook a meal for him when he comes back from his mission, a bowl of noodles, and lots of desserts, although in the end my brother is the one who cleans up the kitchen..." Yu recalled that back then, it would take my brother a long time to clean the kitchen, because of my carelessness, many places would be cleaned and then messed up again.

However, the older brother never felt impatient; he enjoyed it, and so did he.

…Yu suddenly understood why Katakuri was asking such a question. She looked up from her scarf and stared blankly at Katakuri, trying to verify her guess.

“Yu, you are a very important person to Rosinante.” And to me too.

When the mission ends, a younger sister will prepare a bowl of noodles for him. If he falls while walking, a younger sister will help him up. If he sets himself on fire, a younger sister will put out the fire for him. If he presses his finger, the same younger sister will apply medicine for him.

"But why can't he stay with me and live a good life?" She wanted more.

Tears streamed down his face, dripping onto the back of Katakuri's raised hand.

He gently stroked her face, wiping away her tears and tear stains with the moonlight streaming in from the window.

"He's just been with you in a different way."

He couldn't see what Yu's expression was, but the reflection of her tears was more obvious in the moonlight. Her gloves were also showing signs of getting wet.

Yu knew that Katakuri was trying to comfort her, but his words were exactly what Southwest Dei would say and do.

"Kari... I really miss, I miss my brother so much..."

"I'll take you to see him."

Since you've decided to go see him, then go and meet him.