❤️🥰☺️

😉

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Big mom must've realized along the way that singing food just wasn't going to cut it for you so she sent for some normal food so that you could join her in the feast. Honestly, the food was mouth-watering, so much so you couldn't help falling victim to the sweetness. For the last meal, it was pretty awesome. Big mom took delight in watching you enjoy the dishes and found herself telling you about her dream to unite all nations and have tea and cake together. In truth, it sounded a lot like something you would want, but personally, you couldn't see Big mom as someone capable of bringing the world together.

'Yet she's managed to marry 43 husbands more than you (Y/n)' you reminded yourself.

"Hey Hey (Y/n) you should try some of this" Prometheus suggested.

"R-Right! Thank you Prometheus" you smiled.

Prometheus, the sun, seemed to take an instant liking to you for no apparent reason. He would constantly hover over you and make comments to try and start up conversations. At first, it was a bit disturbing but his child-friendly appearance helped you to ease up.

"Oi Prometheus, you should stay close to Mama" Zeus yawned lazily.

Zeus, the storm cloud, preferred to stay near Big Mom's side shrinking more and more into the comfort of her shoulder.

"You two are very out of character today" Big mom stroked Zeus before reaching for another slice of cake. "Oh well..."

"Mama, it's time" her hat eagerly prompted.

"Thank you Napoléon" She nodded and looked down on you. "Now little Baker, I have some family business to attend to. I believe you have something I need"

'She's going to take my time' you braced yourself. 'I'm sorry Luffy... Ace... I don't think I'm going to live forever...'

At that moment you could feel the intense aura radiating off of Big mom. It surrounded you completely, engulfing you with something you hadn't felt in a while... fear. Not the fear that you were used to. No, this fear was beyond anything you'd ever faced, infecting your cells into complete submission. All your senses heightened in that split second and You couldn't stop your body from shaking. It took everything in you not to run away.

'So this is the aura of an emperor' you trembled.

"Stay....? or Life....?" She grinned as though she was taking candy from a child.

"L-Life!" You breathed out shakily as tears pricked your eyes, but you wouldn't cry, not for her.

Immediately, your head started to spin. The last thing you could see was a pink steamy like substance slipping from your skin and Big Mom reaching out for it. Her hands looked as though they were going to crush you, but as soon as they reached you, everything went black.

You died...

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Light slowly filtered through your lashes as you blinked away your sleep. Everything was slightly blurred but after a minute or so your sight began to clear up.

'wow I actually made it to heaven... I really thought that prank I pulled on my boys would be a one way ticket to hell'

"You know what you did was very foolish" an irritated voice scoffed.

"Brûlée?" you whispered in surprise.

'Oh no! Did she die too!' you gasped

"Where are we? What hap-" you started.

Before you could finish your sentence a strong bitterness washed over your tastebuds and down your throat, causing you to cough sputter, and gag.

"UGH! Wh-What was that!?" you spat.

"That drink will help you recover 10x quicker after losing that much life span" She took the cup away.

'Lifespan?.... THAT'S RIGHT! I just gave away my life... but I'm still here...'

Realization probably showed because Brûlée started to talk over the awkwardness.

"The normal recovery time from Mama's stay or life is normally 2 weeks but that drink takes it down to a few days"

"Oh... It tasted more like poison" you stuck your tongue out and shivered at the memory of the taste.

"Shihihihihihi! That normally means it's working" She cackled to herself.

'I can't tell whether she was trying to make a joke or whether she actually gave me poison' you sweated nervously.

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence so you decided to use your time to get used to your new surroundings. From what you could tell you were definitely in an infirmary, but the place was quiet. It was like you were the only person in Whole Cake who was sick. At the end of the room, an open fireplace danced vibrantly, abundant with flames. The crackle of the fire reminded you of your own at home, no, it reminded you of Ace.

"Mama told me what you did for Big Brother Katakuri... you were willing to die..." Brûlée began, her face not daring to look at you. "You've only met him once so why did you do it?"

You thought about it for a moment but you didn't even need that long to come up with an answer.

"Why should he have to pay for something he didn't do?" you deadpanned like it was the most obvious answer in the world. "I've seen how much his brothers and sisters love him. He needs to be here for his family, but more importantly... he needs to know that he doesn't need to be perfect! I don't want him to think that in exchange for my compliance he needs to protect me! My friendship is free"

Brûlée spun around immediately and ran straight to your side, tears streaming down her face and snot hanging from her nose, much like when Kata forcibly carried her through the mirror. She snatched up your hand in one fell swoop and crushed it in her own. It took everything in you not to yell out in agony.

"OH (Y/N)!!!" She bawled "I had no idea you understood Big Brother like that!! I thought you were trying to hurt my family like all the other pretentious wenches. B-But now I see that you're nothing like them!!! WWAAAAHHHH!!!"

"B-Brulee!"

"K-Katakuri has always tried to be flawless, we put so much pressure on him as our Brother" She sniffled "But I-I've never dared to tell him he's fine the way he is... so I'm grateful that you! You!"

She couldn't even bring herself to finish the sentence but you got the gist and in all honesty, you were speechless. After all, what could you possibly say to that?

"10 years..." she sniffled "I could only convince Mama to give you back 10 years..."

Your heart stopped.

'10 years...'

"I'm sorry (Y/N)! I'm so sorry!!!" She started to wail again. "I hope you can forgive me!!!"

Gently you placed your hand over hers and gave it a gentle pat.

"There's nothing to forgive Brulee" you beamed "you saved my life, and I am eternally grateful"

Slowly a crooked smile made its way onto her trembling lips but made no difference to the rivers flowing down her face.

"But Brûlée you seriously need to ease your grip on my poor little hand" you gasped and winced as her grip increased. "There there" you soothed

Eventually, Brûlée released you and you realized that you may need some bandages for your hand.

'Woman has a strong grip'

"(Y/N)!!!"

You jumped at the sound of your name coming from impending doom.

'I'm in so much trouble' you sobbed internally.

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"3 days" Liv hissed "You will stay in bed for 3 days straight. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?"

"C-Crystal..." you uttered.

'I just met the business Liv'

Liv nodded in confirmation and placed her hands on her hips. You just endured a good lecture from her, not as great as yours but still pretty good, and it reminded you who's boss.

"Good... I want you to be fully healed so you don't have to spend your first time away from the island bedridden" She sighed "I was so worried when I heard you'd passed out, I even ignored fame's calls!"

She placed her hand on her head dramatically as she sat on the side of your bed. In turn, you let out a shaky laugh.

'Maybe she won't-'

"You do owe me so don't even think about trying to escape the next promotional event," She remarked.

'It's like she can read my mind sometimes'

You sighed already having a good idea of what she was going to ask you to do. Those promotional plans she had were going to catch you out sooner or later, it's quite impressive you lasted this long.

Brulee had suggested not to tell Liv that you'd given years of your life away, instead, the story was that you'd fallen from one of the tall chairs and hit your head... hard. Only a few people were allowed to know the truth and you were happy to keep it that way. If Alivia knew what had actually transpired she'd probably try to storm the castle and singlehandedly take down the entire Big Mom pirates.

"Why don't you have something to drink Alivia?" Compote offered, seeing me struggle with her overbearing requests.

Compote was the oldest sister in the family and the second oldest overall. She was the one who kickstarted this whole chain of events; the person who asked for you at the meeting with Liv. Apparently, she and Alivia got on very well so while you were having heated discussions with Big Mom, Liv was sightseeing with her. From what you could tell she was very likable and harbored no ill will for you at all. She was also very much aware of what took place in your meeting.

"You wouldn't happen to have anything strong now would you?" Liv perked up instantly and skipped to the other side of the room.

"You really had us worried there (Y/n)" Compote stated "When I heard that you'd hurt yourself I thought of the worst-case scenario"

'I'm pretty sure I did get the worst-case scenario' you sweatdropped

"I'm very sorry about that" you apologized.

"Honestly, I'm just glad that you're alright" She smiled. "You have a lot of people who want to come and see you but I told them they could only come if you were up to it"

"I'd love to see everybody, I know that Chiffon was eager to take me out and-!" you halted as you felt Liv's deadly aura looming over you. "I-I mean to stay in bed and chat"

'So scary...'

"If that's the case then I'll go and tell them but you should get some rest before you start seeing people" Compote advised. "It's late and you've had a long day"

There was a collective hum of agreement in the room that shut down any protest you had in mind. Brulee was the first to stand and dust herself off before withdrawing. Liv was reluctant to leave you alone now, but both you and Compote assured her that you'd be fine. It took a while but she finally yielded and left with Compote, leaving you on your own for a brief period. You did feel bad for lying and worrying everyone, but much like the people you grew up with, you were quite selfish in your own right. You didn't regret it one bit. You'd succeeded and that was all that mattered.

'It was worth it... I succeeded' you repeated 'It was worth it...'

'but 10 years...' you whimpered

Even though you didn't regret your decision, you couldn't stop the tears from flowing. Using the pillow you desperately tried to muffle the soft cries that escaped your throat. Being alone had simply encouraged your tears to spill. You'd just paid a massive price to spare another and while you got off lucky and succeeded in your main goal, it didn't take away the pain of knowing what you'd lost.

'Time is so precious, I can't lose anymore, I won't. We promised'

With that in mind, you flipped the pillow over and rested your head. Exhaustion managed to do the rest.

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