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The silence was killing you inside. After entering the castle the liveliness of the city was no longer there to distract you from the painful awkwardness growing in the pit of your stomach and the unsettling fact that the inanimate objects were singing to you. If seeing Giant people wasn't intimidating to you, finding out that the biggest cake on the island was.

Smoothie's emotions were hard to read, especially from your height. While she showed no interest in your being here, she was very mindful of her strides and made sure not to leave you behind with her pace.

'I wonder if she's had to practice doing that?' you thought to yourself.

"AHHH! ANANA STOP IT!"

"STOP IT ANANA! I'LL KILL YOU ONE DAY"

All of a sudden, two round boys with spiky black hair rounded the corner carrying balloons floating straight towards you. Even from that distance, you could see the panic in their faces, causing your protective instincts to flare dangerously.

"I just want to pop a few" Another little girl rounded the corner with a large bunny in one hand a smaller knife in the other.

'Who the hell gave this child a knife?' you internally panicked.

Seeing that, was the trigger that kickstarted your body into motion. Instantly you dashed forward and intercepted the little girl from the two boys.

'Just distract her and remove the knife somehow' you told yourself 'Why do I put myself in these situations?'

"Hi there, what's your name?" you crouched down in front of the girl who came to a halt in front of you.

She eyed you suspiciously and glanced behind you. You could only assume she was looking for the other boys who were now safely hidden behind Smoothie's legs.

"Anana..." She muttered.

"Anana! That's such a pretty name" you complimented and watched her face light up.

"I like it too!" She smiled "What's your name? I haven't seen you before?"

"My name is (Y/n), I'm just visiting" you replied. "Anana, may I ask why you're chasing people with a knife?"

"Slicing up my stuffed bears is boring" she sighed. "This is more fun"

'Between this and hiding dead bodies, I'm not sure which one is more concerning?' you sweatdropped

"So you're just bored? Well that's normal, but chasing your friends with a knife is dangerous, you could hurt yourself" you reasoned.

"You don't have to worry I'm really good with knives" She stated proudly

'That worries me even more'

"Is that so" you smiled "Does that mean you can do this?"

You gestured for the knife. Anana seemed to pull back a little at the thought of giving up her knife but your face didn't falter. She carefully placed the small knife in your hand and you nodded thankfully.

"Watch this" you whispered.

You then started to flip and twist the knife around in your hand like a professional trickster. Anana was completely mesmerized by the fluidity of your movements. For you, this was just a simple knife trick that you picked up from trimming crusts from tarts quickly. Your boys found it cool so you took a mental note for future situations.

"Wow..." she uttered

You threw the knife into the air and caught it in the palm of your hand before holding it in front of the completely entranced little girl. She automatically reached out to try the tricks for herself but you withdrew your hand just from out of her grasp.

"Wha?" She frowned

"If you want to try this with the knife you'll need to practice with a safety knife first" you explained "If you can do the tricks with the safety then I'll give you your knife back"

She didn't seem happy with this deal so you decided to throw in a bit more.

"If I'm allowed I'll even spend a bit of time helping you learn it, but you're gonna have to wait until my meeting is done" you wiggled your eyebrows a bit making her giggle.

With that, she smiled and nodded eagerly. Now that you had her permission you stood up straight and placed the knife carefully in your pocket.

"Big Sister Smoothie, where can I find a safety knife?" Anana beamed.

'Sister? She's a Charlotte as well? I feel like I've been saying this a lot...'

"I don't think we have one but I'm sure Gallete or Opera will make one for you" Smoothie replied.

"Ok!" She chimed happily "Thanks (Y/n), I'll see you after the meeting" she waved as she ran back down the long corridor.

You let out a small sigh and glanced back at the two boys who were now heading your way.

"Are you two ok?" you checked them both to see if they had any injuries

"Yea, we're fine thanks to you!" One smiled

"That's good to hear, just please try to be more careful, you're family, so you should look after each other" you lectured. "No more talk about killing each other"

"Ok! Thanks, lady, Thanks Sis" they nodded in unison before floating off to their own devices.

'From now on I'm just going to assume everyone I meet is a Charlotte' you sighed.

There was a moment of silence as you watched them both wander around the corner but it was soon broken by Smoothie's voice.

"You're very good at handling kids" she observed.

"I used to babysit most of the children on my island so I'm used to dealing with their antics" you started to fidget with your stray strands of hair, realizing you just scolded someone else's child.

Smoothie suddenly took interest in you and for the first time in since your entire encounter, she smiled.

"That's quite impressive" she praised before continuing to stride down the corridor. "Not many people can get Anana to give up her knife"

"I-I see..." You flushed a little from the compliment whilst giving a nervous chuckle as you glanced at the knife resting in your pocket.

'What the hell am I meant to say to something like that!?' You thought. ''

"AAA~ Smoothie-sama~ Mama is ready to meet you on the other side~" the door sang.

"Whenever you're ready you can head inside" Smoothie gestured to the too large wafer doors. "A word of advice, try not to do anything foolish"

'When I tell you that I've tried but it just doesn't work with me' you internally sobbed

"I'll try" you laughed "Thank you Miss Smoothie"

She gave one final nod before heading off down the corridor and round a corner. You were left alone to face the two giant wafer doors which just smiled encouragingly at you. In normal circumstances, you probably would've freaked out and had a mental breakdown from overthinking but right now you were on a mission.

'Don't forget why you're here (Y/n)? You always find a way through, just analyze and apply' you took a deep breath.

As you raised your hand to knock on the door the glint on your wrist caught your eye. A small smile crept onto your face as you looked at all the friends on your wrist. Warmth enveloped your heart as all the people you cared about flashed before your eyes.

'I can't risk them too. This has nothing to do with them' you reasoned. 'I can't be a burden'

Carefully you tucked the bracelet securely up your long sleeve, and out of sight.

'It's time'

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The doors slowly eased open allowing the light to pour through the cracks, causing you to shield your eyes slightly. When your eyes finally adjusted you peered inside and were welcomed with a wondrous view. It was a tropical greenhouse. Most of the flowers and trees were singing and dancing in harmony as a few birds and butterflies fluttered around. Even the sun and a cloud were dancing around the roof of the greenhouse. In the center of the room stood a grand round table with two large seats facing each other, and sat on the seat sat a woman who needed no introduction.

"MAMAMA~ So you've finally arrived" She sang

You said nothing, too preoccupied with trying to digest the scene in front of you.

"Come! Come! There's enough cake for everyone!" She gestured as she raised a plate of cake in front of your seat.

Still a little dazed you walked forward and made your way up the singing steps to your seat where you sat before the colossal woman. Her frizzy pink hair was partially covered with a typical pirate hat with a jolly roger. She was wearing a pink polka-dot dress and a yellow cape. Just seeing her suddenly made it a lot easier to understand why Some of the Charlottes were so abnormally tall.

"Please eat!" she encouraged

"Thank you" you muttered quietly.

You felt as though going against her from the get-go wasn't smart so you decided to just try and ease into your situation. And if you were being honest you were a little hungry.

"Please don't eat me!" your slice of cake cried out

'Eating is overrated' you thought to yourself.

Carefully you pushed the cake away and settled for the tea which was already poured out. Big Mom was already devouring a whole cake happily by herself. Her lack of table manners only further supported your decision not to eat.

"Um, Big Mom?"

Big mom gulped down her last piece of cake and took notice of your uncomfortable position and frowned.

"I don't like how serious you are little baker. It's ruining the taste of my cake" She eyed you. "This is a joyous occasion to officially demonstrate our partnership"

"I'm very thankful for the opportunity" you smiled politely.

"That's very good to hear!" She beamed as she snatched up a screaming strawberry cake "I really wanted to meet you after you were praised so highly by my son, but I can't seem to find your appeal"

'YOU DON'T LIKE ME BECAUSE I CAN'T DIGEST A TALKING CAKE?!'

"Did you only invite me here to measure my worth?" You summarised as you stared blankly at your cup.

The drink was already starting to taste bitter in your mouth.

"That's right! Katakuri doesn't fail. I needed to see for myself what he was willing to throw away his perfect record for"

"Can you really class it as a failure, we've managed to create a fully operational business proposal which is both functional and effective"

"It wasn't my orders girl" She sighed and waved her hand dismissively. "I wanted you to be brought here permanently.

"But that wasn't his fault!" you argued, your eyes still refusing to leave the cup.

"Orders are orders and disobedience requires discipline"

"So you took ten years of his life!?" you finally looked towards Big Mom, however, she wasn't even looking at you.

Instead, she was still eating sweets like the conversation wasn't the most sickening subject you'd ever heard.

"Of course!" She smiled proudly "I was being quite generous if I do say so myself!"

" YOU CONSIDER THAT GENEROUS?!" you slammed your hands against the table and stood up.

Any singing that was in the background came to an abrupt stop. You weren't meant to raise your voice but you were so mad that you lost control and couldn't stop yourself. How could she not see how wrong this was.

"Time is so precious! You only have a limited time on this world to spend with the people you care about before you disappear" you argued. "I get that the world is cruel, and I get that things aren't fair, but to take so much of something so valuable from someone you claim to care about is wrong! Especially when it's not their fault"

Hushed whispers and murmurs among the trees and the flowers could be heard all around but Big mom continued to observe you quietly.

"I...I'm in no position to make demands and you have no obligation to listen, but punishing your son for my selfish actions is wrong" you gripped the sides of your dress as a thin sheet of cold sweat lined your body "Please, please take ten years of my life and give Katakuri his back, don't punish your son for my selfish actions" you bowed.

You'd never bowed before anyone, not even a king. But when your friend's life was at stake you found it so easy to suck up your pride, lay down your fears, and bow.

"...Even If I wanted to Katakuri's years have already been dispersed and given away" She sighed with a bored tone "Furthermore I halved the number of years I took from him because he's my son, If I were to take from you then I'd want the full-"

"THEN TAKE IT!" You interrupted head still bowed. "Take twenty years for yourself and Give Katakuri his ten years back... Please!" You begged.

Big Mom stayed quiet. Not even the flowers murmured. Not that you could hear them if you wanted to. The sound of blood rushing past your ears as your heart tried desperately to break free from its ribcage was deafening. Both fear and concern swirled through your bloodstream. The only other times you'd felt this kind of feeling was back in the slave ships dangled over the dog pits.

"MAMAMA~ I finally see why he likes you" Big mom erupted.

You flinched our the sound of her voice but refused to look up and face her.

"Alright (Y/n)!" You could hear the twisted amusement in her voice. "You've got yourself a deal "

'That's the first time she's called me by my name'

"I like you, so I'll only take twenty years for myself and give the rest to Katakuri" she proclaimed. "All will be forgiven"

"You're actually going to give Kata his years back?" Tears welled up in your eyes as you choked on the words.

Big Mom's grin only broadened at the sight of you.

"Yes Little baker" She hummed "I'll take your years and exchange it for his"

'...She's going to give Katakuri back his life?'

"Thank you!" you bowed again "Thank you so much!"

Big Mom watched in surprise as you thanked her for shortening your life span. It was totally bizarre. No one had ever been so eager to give her life before especially when it wasn't even necessary.

"Mama's always been kind" The sun boasted as it made it's way over to you "You're very lucky"

"It's not like you to be so familiar with strangers Prometheus..." the cloud muttered.

"Don't mistake my actions, little baker, I don't appreciate the way you talked to me, but you put on quite a fight for my son, I just couldn't refuse! Family is very important, wouldn't you agree?" She laughed. "You truly are splendid MAMAMA~! Now let's continue the tea party"

Instantly the greenhouse returned to it's previously loud and chaotic nature.

'How does she expect me to eat after all that?' You sweatdropped.

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