[107] Reunion

[2400 Words]

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The three women hugged each other for a long time, showing how happy and emotional they were to see each other again. Vivi's eyes became wet as she watched the touching family scene.

How much she wished she could experience such joy with her died mother...

Robin had the same thoughts as Vivi, while Zala maintained her happy smile.

Kaya held the ring on her finger tightly and muttered: "Mom... Look, Ren-san really revived Bell-mère-san! Your turn will come soon!"

She was extremely excited and happy for Nami and Nojiko, and she looked forward to the day she could hug her mother just like Nami and Nojiko did.

"Yes... It seems Bell-mère has returned to the world of the living before me. Just wait, I'll join you soon!" Naya thought. She had already formed a deep friendship with Bell-mère, as they had similar circumstances and both had daughters. Even though Nami and Nojiko were adopted by Bell-mère, she did not hesitate to sacrifice her life for them! This showed how much she loved them.

'Strange... Why do I feel pain in my heart?' Lorena thought internally.

She didn't know why she suddenly felt sadness and pain in her heart upon seeing Nami and Nojiko hugging Bell-mère.

'I am happy for them... but at the same time, why do I feel this deep and painful sadness in my heart?' Lorena didn't know how to react to these sudden emotions. She didn't know when it started, but she began to shed silent, hot tears that stained her face...

As for Mikita, her face was neutral and unreadable. Of course, she was happy for Nami and Nojiko because they were her friends, but it seemed as though this event had awakened some bad memories she didn't want to remember...

"It's good to see you alive again, Bell-mère-san." At that moment, Ren's voice broke the awkward silence. What he said might have sounded strange to those who didn't know he had seen the original work before and saw Bell-mère alive in Nami's flashback. But for Ren, what he said was natural.

"All of this is thanks to you, Ren-san. I am so grateful to be able to see my daughters again... I don't know how to repay this kindness." Bell-mère wiped the tears from her eyes after hearing what Ren said and broke the hug with Nami and Nojiko.

Looking at Bell-mère standing in front of him, Ren smiled internally because she had become more beautiful due to the body shape he had chosen for her before the revival.

'She seems polite, unlike what I saw in the original work,' Ren thought, making a rude internal comment. It was a good thing Bell-mère couldn't read minds, or she would have reverted to her brash and reckless personality and caused Ren a headache.

Ren responded to Bell-mère after a moment of silence: "There's no need to thank me, Miss Bell-mère. Nami and Nojiko are my crew members, and more than that..."

He smiled at the last part of his statement, referring to the relationship between him and Nami and Nojiko, which Bell-mère was naturally aware of.

Seeing Ren's smile and hearing his words, Bell-mère felt a bit embarrassed as she remembered how she had secretly watched her daughters during their "nightly activities," but she quickly hid her blush.

"Oh... Please take good care of them, Ren-san," she began.

Ren interrupted her, saying in a feigned voice, "Sigh... Just call me Ren. Adding 'san' makes me feel strange."

Bell-mère happily agreed. She wasn't one for formal speech. Although her fiery, impulsive personality had changed after experiencing death, some things never change completely.

"Alright then, Ren, take care of my daughters and don't treat them badly. I don't care how many women you have, as long as my daughters are happy! Oh, and just call me Bell-mère," the red-haired woman laughed lightly and gestured toward Nami and Nojiko.

"B-Bell-mère!"

"Stop it... It's embarrassing!"

The two girls muttered as they looked at the rest of the crew, who smiled at them with different expressions.

"Hahahaha~"

Bell-mère's laughter and that of the crew created a wonderful scene that Ren enjoyed watching, ensuring he saved it in his photographic memory.

"Nami, we'll be moving from here soon and returning to Alabasta. Have Elsama fly at full speed when I give you the signal," Ren said as he left the house. He added: "Lorena, follow me. I have something important to do with you."

"Me?"

Lorena looked at Ren in confusion. She didn't know what he was going to do, but she naturally trusted him. So, she pushed aside her previous sad thoughts, suppressed the pain in her heart, and followed him.

•••

Ren was walking quietly on the island inside Elsama, while Lorena followed him silently, matching his steps.

She looked at the tall, athletic man walking ahead of her and thought, 'Ren-san is acting strangely... He hasn't said anything since we left the house.'

She was completely puzzled, and the pain she felt in her heart only grew stronger.

'Just what is happening to me?'

"Lorena."

Ren suddenly called out, pulling the blue-haired girl out of her chaotic thoughts and making her look at him.

"Yes...? What is it, Ren-san?" she asked, increasingly puzzled.

"Or should I call you... Leila!"

"!!!!"

Lorena stopped walking and looked at Ren with wide eyes. She didn't understand what was happening, but as soon as she heard that name, her mind went wild, and her heart ached more than ever!

"What do you mean, Ren-san... please tell me what's happening!!" she said, holding her head that started to hurt, as if a bad memory she didn't want to remember had resurfaced.

"You'll know now..." Ren looked at her with eyes full of affection and love. So his guess was right based on Lorena's reactions!

A small key glowing with sky blue light appeared in his hand, floating a few millimeters above Ren's palm.

"Miss system, unlock the memories of the 'other half' ."

Ren's voice was filled with excitement, barely able to contain himself!

Miss system wasted no time, knowing the importance of this matter to her master. The key vanished from Ren's palm and appeared in front of Lorena.

In truth, it all happened so fast that Lorena couldn't react at all. She only saw a magical key flying towards her and entering her forehead in a mystical way, as if the key was not a solid object but something ethereal.

But the moment the key entered her forehead, a huge change occurred within her. It was as if a barrier blocking something important had been broken!

At that moment, familiar memories started to surface in Lorena's mind!

She was immersed in these memories, watching them in detail.

In these memories, she was living a completely different life on another planet without pirates, marines, or revolutionaries. Her name was Leila, and she was born to a well-off family with a mother and father.

Unfortunately, she became an orphan early on, as her father died when she was five, which affected both her and her mother, leaving Leila depressed during those tough times.

But this didn't last long as her mother decided to adopt a child, and that's when she met the person who became her brother.

His name was Ren.

Reaching this point in the memories, Lorena was so shocked that she couldn't stop her tears. She understood many things now...

She focused and continued to watch the memories. She saw the coming years where she grew up with Ren and her mother, despite the difficulties her mother faced, rarely finding time to care for them due to her need to work to provide for them.

But they overcame these tough times. Leila grew up, and so did her love for Ren, who had always been calm. It was initially a familial love, or so she thought...

Leila saw him as a role model. When he watched something called Anime, she did the same. When he said something was good, it became good in her eyes.

She was obsessed with him.

Unfortunately, a catastrophe occurred one day when two soldiers in formal uniforms knocked on their door.

Seeing the soldiers, Leila felt as if someone had burned and cut her heart into a million pieces.

Ren had died.

From that day, Leila locked herself in her room and refused to come out. Her mother, worried, decided to go out and get her some calming medication.

But she never returned.

Her mother died in a car accident, driving fast because she was worried about her daughter.

When Leila learned this, she felt as if the remaining part of her world had collapsed. She shed tears she thought had dried and cried silently.

The day after her mother died, following Ren to heaven, or so she believed, she decided to join them.

She hung herself in silence, securing the rope around her neck, climbing onto a chair, and kicking it away. There was little physical pain; the emotional pain was stronger and more terrifying.

"Lorena" opened her eyes and looked at Ren in front of her. He was gazing at her with those familiar eyes... the eyes she once enjoyed looking into.

She raised her trembling hand and touched his face, saying in a shaky voice, "B-Brother... it's really you... I got to see you again *sob* I-I..."

*Cry*

*Cry*

She couldn't finish her words because she started crying, burying her face in Ren's chest and sobbing silently.

"You really are..." Ren said in a shaky voice, looking at the girl calling him brother. She had the same look in her eyes that Leila had for him after her memories were unlocked!

Time passed quickly, and "Lorena" calmed down. She then began to recount what happened to her and her mother after Ren's death.

When she reached the part about her mother dying in the car accident, the immense guilt and sorrow were clear on her face. Ren guessed she was blaming herself, so he quickly comforted her.

But in truth... he was very sad too.

The woman whom his mother considered... The woman who changed the life of an orphan like him... was dead.

He couldn't even see her one last time before she died; this regret had been engraved in his heart for a long time.

Ren stood up and looked at the sky in this dimension, which was no different from the real sky in any way.

He raised his hands as if he was holding the sky, immersed in his precious memories with his adoptive mother.

Lorena looked at Ren with pain and sadness; she knew well the extent of his grief in this moment...

"Brother..." she said with a voice full of sorrow, but Ren continued to stand there motionless.

After a few minutes, Ren walked towards Lorena and hugged her.

"From now on, your name will be Leila, okay?"

She returned the hug and whispered gently in Ren's ear, "As you wish, my brother. I will become Leila again for you."

•••

The girls looked at Lilia, who had a completely different mood than the Lorena they knew.

Where did that shy, quiet girl who acted like a spoiled princess go?

Ren sighed. "It seems I need to explain the situation to you."

Ren started to tell the girls a story that contained both truth and lies at the same time.

He told them that Lorena was his non-biological sister, and in reality, her name was Leila. Her memory had been sealed, but he managed to restore it and reunite her with her sister.

The girls trusted Ren, so they naturally believed him.

"I didn't expect you to be the captain's sister..." Nami looked at Leila with more warmth than before. Her lover was also her sister!

"I didn't expect Captain Ren to have a family~" Nojiko was happy with this reunion and joined the conversation.

"Welcome back to the crew, Leila-san." Kaya smiled warmly and said her usual warmth.

"Fufufu~ What a pair of wonderful siblings. Come to think of it, you both have some common features like blue hair and blue eyes." Robin didn't mind joining the chat.

Mikita and Zala, as well as Bell-mère, expressed their happiness and hope for integration and harmony again.

They didn't know how Leila's personality had changed after awakening her memories, but that didn't matter because they would treat her well as their friend first and Ren's sister second.

•••

"In the sky, a majestic ship could be seen flying at breakneck speed towards a specific location; this was none other than the Elsama, which was making its way to Alabasta at maximum speed!

Ren had to meet Garp and obtain his Devil Fruit in exchange for releasing his grandson Luffy, as well as prepare for the upcoming war.

Nami watched the road through the cockpit screen inside the ship, specifically on the island where all the crew members were, as well as Bell-mère.

Ren sat on the couch while checking the system notice.

¶[-Ding! Congratulations, Master, for completing the hidden mission "Add Leila to the crew" and obtaining "Armament Haki Cake (Low) × 3]

"A fair reward, to be sure." After leaving a brief comment, Ren did not consume this reward on anyone and decided to postpone it. Nami just contacted him using the "telepathy" function on the ship and told him they were about to arrive in Alabasta.

"At last... this trip to the Sky Island was worth the effort," Ren thought about what he had accomplished on this trip.

First, he obtained many items to strengthen the crew's girls.

Then he killed Enel and replaced him as a god for Skypea, becoming a person who controls thousands of human and non-human resources.

Then he got himself an army of bachelors led by the Pegasus priests.

In addition to the Hot sisters, Angela and Angelina,Conis too...

Finally and not the last, he revived Bell-mère!

In addition to awakening Leila's memories and getting to know her as his sister from his previous world, these were the most important things he did on this trip.

No matter how long the day was and the night was cold, the sun would eventually rise, so why worry?

This was a popular saying in Ren's former country, Ren's sun had been shining for a while and was starting to shine brightly enough to reach people who could cause it to go out in the end...

Extinguish his sun.

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End of Skypiea Arc.

The next Arc: Summit War, New power in these seas.