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Disclaimer: This work of fan fiction is not for personal profit. All the characters used in this fan fic are the property of Shueisha and/or Toei Animation.
Vivi and Kohza are spending a day shopping in Yuba. Igaram, as usual, is a master of disguise.
Kohza and Vivi meandered along Yuba's main street, bustling with activity as shopkeepers sold their wares, hurriedly stored away shipments, occasionally shooed away pesky children, and in general did a thriving business catering to the throngs of people who daily came to the regional capital to work or just to sightsee.
The two of them were among the sightseers, and well-recognized enough that people gave them room to pass. Even so, every now and then, they bumped into someone and they would exchange apologies. It reminded Vivi somewhat of the better days of her years in the Baroque Works – the days when she didn't have to do anything and could just stroll along the main street of a town on an island and just sample the wares for the better part of a day.
She smiled up at Kohza and leaned into him, her arm snaking its way around his waist.
There was one thing different about this trip. She had her boyfriend with her, and she didn't have to watch her back. This was Kohza's town, and she was Kohza's sweetheart. On top of that, she was Alabasta's Princess.
Even so, when she quickly looked back down the wide roadway, she thought she spotted the curl of a wig sticking out past a clothing rack. That particular wig could only belong to one person.
She chuckled and said to Kohza, "Poor Igaram. He's not going to be enjoying himself today."
She felt the air leave him as he groaned out a gusty sigh. "He's trying to disguise himself again and 'keep an eye on us', isn't he?"
"C'mon, Kohza, forget about him. We all saw through his disguises when we were kids, but he never tried to take me away or anything. He's just his usual worried self," Vivi announced.
Vivi looked back. She couldn't see any sign of Igaram this time.
Either he had actually gotten better at hiding, or he'd given up and gone to a café to relax.
Oh well. Time to sample the wares!
"Kohza! Look at these beautiful beaded necklaces!"
Igaram warily eyed the babbling throngs of people as they strolled about the main alley in Yuba. Several bazaars down, he could see Kohza and Vivi walking at a leisurely pace, and nobody had attacked them yet, so far.
That hadn't stopped him from tailing them, hiding behind anything he could spot to stay out of the keen eyes of his charges. Currently, he was secreted behind a clothing rack, having just darted there in the nick of time as he spotted Vivi's head turning.
She turned back and didn't show any hesitation or concern. Good. He was undetected still.
Those two would never know how close he'd been to heart failure when he'd spotted an athletic man holding a scimitar out near the young couple, only to realize he was offering it to Kohza to try it out, not attempting to assassinate the leader of the town and the Princess. Kohza and Vivi had both hefted it and gone through some basic moves, then nodded in approval and moved on.
As he meandered past the sword bazaar, the tall salesman was barking his sales pitch: "And for our special of the day, this scimitar, forged in the metal works right here in Yuba, and personally tested by her Royal Highness Vivi and our Town Governor Kohza!"
Igaram had never wanted to roll his eyes so hard before.
But now he was secreted behind a palm tree, trying to keep watch on Vivi as she handed necklaces back and forth with Kohza. Her smile, so wide and unforced, was a heartening contrast to those years before, when she exuded grimness in her very aura as Miss Wednesday in the Baroque Works.
A hand on his shoulder nearly gave him heart failure again as he nearly jumped into the air, whirling round to face his assassin who wore a hood—
Wait.
He hissed, "Your Highness! What in the name of—"
Cobra put his finger to his lips and smiled. "Come, Igaram. Let's sample the drinks and foods this fine city has to offer us."
Igaram's shoulders slumped. He dragged his feet leaving, but he couldn't exactly disobey the orders of his King.
Shortly after, in a partially shaded corner of an open-air café, the two men had small cups of strong coffee, prepared with plenty of cream. Cobra's hood hadn't attracted too much attention. Igaram was in the shade fortuitously offered by the overhanging shop awning, but Cobra was in the direct sunlight facing Igaram.
Cobra took a sip of his coffee and chuckled. "I think being in the same city as my daughter and her lover is enough, Igaram. Don't you?"
Igaram sighed. "She did carry off her part well in the Baroque Works. But we were attacked; I nearly died, and from her reports she faced dangers the likes of which I cannot conceive. And – well, I couldn't always be there for her. Either I had my own duties as 'Mr. 8', or I just couldn't be there. Well, now I can, Sire."
"Igaram," Cobra said. He leaned in. "Are you forgetting that we are talking of the same young woman who infiltrated the Baroque Works with limited help from you, who later struggled against mounting odds to save this kingdom, and who has managed to keep herself in good condition since? I wouldn't be surprised if she's actually stronger than Kohza by now."
Igaram looked away and said nothing.
"We are at peace, my friend. You don't have to worry any more!"
Igaram ran his hand along the surface of the table, feeling the grain of the wood as he searched within himself. Finally, he blurted, "The truth? I feel useless. I know I don't need to stand guard over her anymore. I know the Baroque Works is a vanished memory. And yet, if I can't do this, what am I supposed to do, Sire?"
Cobra chuckled. "Well, then, I suppose I need a bodyguard today while we enjoy lunch. Heaven knows when a coffee cup may attack me."
Igaram couldn't stop the small smile on his face from turning into a giant grin as he let out a full-throated chuckle at the King's humor. "I suppose I am taking myself too seriously, Sire," he mused.
Cobra just raised his hand for the server and began ordering some sandwiches and local fruits.
Vivi fingered the beads around her neck. "Hmm. I like the pearl green ones, I think."
She turned to the shopkeeper and said, "How much?"
Luckily, he was one of the few unfazed by the Princess herself offering to buy baubles, and said, "For that? Two thousand beli."
"Ha! Surely you must mean fourteen hundred!" She had mastered the art of haggling as a disguised commoner, and it wasn't much different on Alabasta, she knew.
"The bones of my dead mother themselves would rise and strangle me if I were to dare sell for less than nineteen-hundred, Highness."
Kohza looked upon in perplexed amusement as the two finally settled on 1700 beli, but spotted his opportunity as soon as she began rummaging around in her belt-bag. He pulled a stack of bills out of his pocket and quickly counted off the notes, then handed them to the shopkeeper.
As they walked away, Vivi hissed, "I had the money!"
"I know." Kohza raised his hands. "Vivi, I just wanted to be able to buy you one thing you liked today. Please?"
She huffed, "All right. But I don't want or need you to be some kind of doting househusband or boyfriend, forever plying me with silly baubles and trinkets because you think that's what makes me happy."
"But you're right." She stopped and looked at him, heedless of the crowd milling around them. "It is the first real gift from you I have, if you think about it." She fingered the necklace again. "We never got to exchange anything as kids, because – well, I was a princess and you were a farmer's son and then you went here and I didn't see you for years, and then… the drought and the rebellion."
She got up on the tips of her toes and pressed a kiss against Kohza's cheek. "So thank you. Every time I wear this I'll think of you."
Kohza looked down. His mouth quirked into a grin. "Would it be too bold to tell you I'm also thinking about two other things too?"
Vivi thumped Kohza on the arm and had to press her lips together, barely repressing her laughter. "Only you would take the chance to look down my dress at the same time as you're admiring my necklace! Don't tell me you tried that come-on line with the girls back here when you were a teenager."
They were walking again, Vivi keeping an eye out for a shoe shop. She would have some fun getting her revenge on Kohza.
Kohza blushed. "To be fair, when you're fifteen and the girl you're seeing is also fifteen, I think you kind of skip straight to, 'Take yours off and I'll take mine off'. To tell you the truth, there were a couple. Didn't quite go all the way, but I definitely got naked and so did they."
"Well then, I suppose I should be flattered by what we did last night," Vivi said archly, her eyebrow raised.
"Not here, Vivi. Please." Kohza hurriedly began brushing imaginary dust off his pants.
"Fine." Vivi spotted the shoe shop and pointed. "Look! Come with me!"
She linked hands with him and pulled him along, deftly avoiding oncoming pedestrians on the way to the shop. The owner of the shoe shop had a couple of apprentices working shoes behind a counter a few feet inside the tented bazaar, and he himself stammered, "Greetings, Your Highness and Your Excellency!"
Vivi grinned. "And good day to you, sir." She pointed at Kohza's shoes. They were still rather well-kept, but they had a bit of wear and tear on them to the practiced eye. "Now, do you think your Town Governor ought to be walking around in these?"
As she spoke, the man seemed to calm down, realizing she wasn't going to demand he stand on ceremony. A glint of amusement showed in his eye, but his face betrayed nothing as he said, "Well now, Highness, that's certainly a good point. We should get you seated here, Excellency, and examine them."
And before Kohza could protest, he was bodily seated in the raised chair, his feet bare of shoes as the shoemaker hemmed and hawed and made much of every minute scratch in Kohza's old shoes.
"But I don't need new shoes! Tell him, Vivi, please," Kohza said, a doleful expression on his face. He made as if to rise out of the seat.
She pointed. "Sit." Kohza sat back with a groan. "You are going to get brand-new shoes befitting your station, and I will buy them for you and that's that."
It was not lost on Vivi that it could take a while for the right-fitting shoes to appear, and the shoemaker was happy to play along with her in the matter.
"Oh, Anen?" she asked of the shoemaker. "Would you terribly mind telling me if I can get some good riding boots fitted for me as well?"
She had to press her lips even tighter together to keep from laughing out loud at Kohza's audible groan.
Thanks to Skeleton-Horse for betaing this and helping with the title!