One Piece: It's always been you

Chapter 24: Pass it down, Card 2 keeps a mistress in a golden house.

"Katakuri~ Mom has a new task for you." Perospero knocked on the door and entered the living room, saying as he walked, "Smoothie and Cracker are both here, which saves me from having to make another trip, kukukuku."

“Peros, what did Mom say?” Smoothie asked.

"It's nothing serious, just..."

"Karn Hen! You're home today!"

Perospero was interrupted halfway through his sentence by a shout, followed by hurried footsteps as Yu appeared before the four. Yu had been excited to find Katakuri home, fearing he might suddenly leave, and had rushed downstairs without a second thought. Who would have thought...

The four of them stared at the woman in front of them, who was only wearing a nightgown that revealed two slender white legs, her shoulders exposed as she had rushed off. Cracker and Perospero, in particular, kept their eyes scanning back and forth between Katakuri and Yu, trying to discern some unspoken emotion.

"Katakuri-nii, I didn't know! Hahaha, you've been keeping a mistress hidden away~" Cracker laughed maliciously, looking on with amusement, not afraid of offending Katakuri.

"Isn't this Yu~ kukuku. It's the first time we've met since the tea party." Perospero stuck out his tongue and licked the candy, trying to get on her good side.

"Okay...long time no see, you guys chat first, I...I'm going to go back to sleep for a while..." Yu didn't want to stay a second longer, so she quickly made an excuse to leave and ran upstairs back to her room.

After closing the door, my legs felt weak, and I slid down against the door and fell to the ground.

Oh my god! What just happened? Why are there so many people down there? Katakuri's eyes... I'm doomed... "Even my brothers aren't allowed." Just thinking about those words made Yu's temples throb. What if Katakuri... does he do something rash in a fit of anger?

Yu cupped her face in her hands, looking at the leg on the ground, then at her clothes. The situation was somewhat serious, but her quick thinking in escaping should at least make up for it. Waaah, I hope Katakuri doesn't bite again like that night.

Actually, Yu hadn't seen Katakuri much since the day Pudding was there. Yu knew Katakuri had seen Pudding's reaction when she asked him to stay. A sudden pang of guilt welled up in Yu's heart—not for Pudding, not for Pudding, but...for Katakuri. Katakuri had already unknowingly carved out a place for himself in Yu's heart.

"knocking"

The knocking on the door brought You back to reality.

"knocking"

You hesitated whether to open the door or pretend that she was asleep.

"knocking"

Yu decided to pretend she couldn't hear.

Yu heard the sound of a door opening and closing across the hallway, and knew that Katakuri had gone back to his room.

He cautiously opened the door a crack, peeking out a pair of eyes to peer into the hallway.

"You're awake now, no longer pretending?"

Katakuri's voice came from above. Looking up, I saw Katakuri with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall, waiting for Yu to take the bait.

"Ugh~ I just woke up... I wasn't pretending... You woke me up... I thought you were gone..." Pretending! I'll keep pretending to the end! I'll never admit it!

"Go change your clothes when you wake up. I'll wait for you downstairs." Katakuri's tone was indifferent, making it impossible to tell whether he was angry or not.

"Hey, wait a minute! You...they left? You finished talking so quickly?"

"Ah."

"Okay." Yu opened the door and came out, ready to follow Katakuri downstairs.

“…” He glanced at the disheveled person behind him, “Go change your clothes.”

"Anyway..." Yu started to say something, but Katakuri turned around and gave him a look, so Yu obediently stopped talking. "Go right away."

It's just a piece of clothing, why be so particular? It's so comfortable to wear. Changing it back and forth is such a hassle.

Yu didn't spend much time changing clothes, but that wasn't necessarily the case for Katakuri.

He had thought a lot about it. Yu was bound to leave sooner or later. And neither he, Pudding, nor anything here had any reason for her to stay. His unusual attitude towards Yu now might just be a passing fancy. She had her own future aspirations; she yearned for freedom. As for him, the Big Mom Pirates would never leave.

"Katakuri? What are you thinking about?" Yu walked up to Katakuri, who was engrossed in his own thoughts and ignored Yu's presence. "Katakuri?"

Hearing the sound, Katakuri opened his eyes and slowly raised his head to meet Yu's gaze.

For a moment, You thought this person might give you a cold shoulder again. But, You had never seen that look in his eyes before. He seemed somewhat tired, or more accurately, helpless and lonely. It was fleeting, and it seemed that You was just imagining things.

"Are you feeling unwell? Did Big Mom send Perospero with some bad news?" Yu asked cautiously, after all, this was a matter for the pirate crew, and it was best not to ask too much.

Katakuri sensed the caution in Yu's tone. "It's nothing, just a regular sea voyage. It's nothing serious."

"Then am I...?"

"How long has it been since you last cultivated?"

What a bolt from the blue! This morning, my mood was like a rollercoaster, going up and down.

One second I thought I could finally go out to sea and not have to stay in the warehouse anymore, the next second I felt like a parent asking if I'd finished my homework. It's like, you can go out to sea, but you have to finish your homework first.

The key point is that during the few days that Yuu came to Wheat Island in the Whole Cake Island, he ate, drank, and slept. Katakuri was busy with his own things every day and had no time to care about him. Meanwhile, Brin Bleu came to see him almost every day. His training had indeed been forgotten in that unknown corner and covered in a layer of dust.

You's eyes darted around, a little embarrassed. "This..." What should I say? What's there to say? He's not my father, nor my mother. My grandfather and brother never really cared about my cultivation before.

"There's still time before we set sail, so I'll train with you properly." Brûlée brought Pudding to find Yu partly because of Katakuri; he had ulterior motives. Perhaps as long as Yu wasn't strong enough, she wouldn't leave. But ultimately, he was being naive. Since that's the case, before leaving, he'd make sure Yu was strong enough to protect himself, so that even without him by his side, nothing would happen.

Katakuri even planned to have Smoothie and Cracker train with him, so that she could learn another technique by having more people to fight alongside her.

Yu was truly on the verge of tears. "I can train on my own, really... I have my own learning methods. What you're doing might not be very effective for me." Yu didn't want to face Katakuri, not even for practice.

"Theoretical knowledge is useless; you still need practical experience. If you want to go to sea with us, then train hard."

"Don't act like I'm your elder. I'll just not go to sea..." Yu muttered softly.

Katakuri noticed all of Yu's subtle movements and raised an eyebrow as if asking if Yu was dissatisfied with his words. Yu, ever adaptable, immediately smiled at Katakuri, "No, no, how could that be? I'll definitely train hard and won't hold you back. To ensure you have enough energy, I'll make you some donuts to replenish your strength. We'll talk about training after we eat."

Yu quickly ran to the kitchen to prepare desserts, leaving Katakuri alone in the living room.

Kakashi, cherish this moment, because who knows when you'll be all alone here again.