You and Ace had gotten back home with enough time to clean up, and grab another nap. You'd blame Ace, but with a lot going on, and a lot more to do, the extra rest was the best thing you could do with the time you had. Ace just made it easier to nap because he was so warm.

Once it drew closer to the time you needed to meet with Ichiji, you got ready properly. Sabo was going to come along as well, not just to support you, but also to keep Ace in check if things went south. Sabo's car was also a little more inconspicuous than Ace's older orange truck.

"I haven't been disowned, or disavowed." Sabo says as he's driving you to the café where you're going to meet with Ichiji. "If anything goes sideways, leave it to me to resolve it." He says, his eyes on the rear view mirror for a moment until Ace grunts. "I'm serious, Ace."

"I know!" He barks, arms folded across his chest. "I'm just here for moral support."

"Even though you'd rather light him on fire." Sabo teases.

"He'd survive." Ace grumbles.

"You can't harm a royal, Ace." Sabo nearly growls.

"I most certainly can," Ace emphasizes. "But I won't, not unless it comes down to him or us."

"It won't." Sabo asserts, but you see his hands tighten on the steering wheel.

"It won't." You agree. "Sanji said something earlier this morning that has me thinking Ichiji never meant to agree to this in the first place."

"Oh?" Sabo prompts.

"In two months him and his family are going to be leaving this island."

"Yeah, Germa as a kingdom is mobile, they don't-."

"They travel a lot." You point out, cutting off Sabo a little. "And Ichiji was aware of my illness, to my knowledge, from the beginning." Understanding dawns on Sabo's face.

"I'm not picking up what you two are on about."

"Travel's rough, especially on someone with a chronic illness." You explain, looking back at Ace. "Ichiji wasn't going to stop traveling because of me, he couldn't. His entire kingdom is built around traveling. I'm the worst match possible. Even if some miracle drug made me less weak I'd still be a liability."

"What do they get by agreeing to everything then?" Ace questions.

"They might have been planning to levy accusations against Mom and Dad from the beginning." You admit with a shrug. "Ichiji could end up being happy to hear what I'm going to tell him today."

"They could also be using it as bargaining leverage with another family." Sabo explains. "Getting a better dowry or contract with someone else by leveraging my sister and our family. They could've just been bored and not inclined to decline the request from my father, too."

"... That's - all of that is messed up." Ace says after a moment and you and Sabo can't helped the clipped, jaded laughs that escape you.

You take a deep breath and try to relax as you get closer to the destination. It was a small café, in the downtown area, and because it was Sunday almost no one else was around. When you approached with both Sabo and Ace behind you, Ichiji stood up from the table he'd been waiting at, and came over to meet all of you.

"You come with ill-tidings, it seems." He says evenly. With the shades on it's hard to say who he's looking at, but you're certain he's got his eyes on everyone. His expression and body language match his words, he's not surprised, but he also doesn't appear to be upset either. "Something with more weight to it than a simple cancellation."

You nod. "We can sit, if you prefer, Prince Ichiji, but I intend to get to the point quickly."

He's quiet for a second, and doesn't move. "By all means." He prompts.

"My parents, I assume through no conscious malicious intent on their part, have incorrectly informed you of my situation." You say, keeping your eyes steady. "The new medication has revealed I am not chronically ill at all. I am, instead -

"-cursed." You and Ichiji say the word at the same time. It takes every ounce of control you have not to flinch. The cold surety in his voice made your stomach knot.

The smile that pulls at the corner of his mouth seems more amused than anything else. "There was only one thing that you could say that would be so definitive."

You feel yourself relax slightly. "I suppose that's true." You admit, but there's something that sits uncomfortably inside you. His logic is sound, but he was so certain. You could've said that you were dying, or adopted, or any number of things that would have been just as effective as being cursed.

"All I need now is proof." He says and your brows knit a little. You can hear Marco in the back of your head being adamant about only changing when completely out of sight. Like in the basement, or out in the middle of the field where you and Ace had been.

"One's curse is very personal." Sabo says, voice barely neutral. You're certain he's concerned about the same secrecy as you.

Ichiji inclines his head. "Certainly, but you understand that I wouldn't want to be ill-informed on something so important."

You looked around. The street was empty, no one was paying the four of you any mind, and a few glances in the immediate vicinity didn't give you any signs of cameras nearby. You shift your weight and look into the café, and at most, you see a camera pointed toward the door, and one toward the register. Your body blocked the line of sight from inside, and you could use Sabo and Ichiji for the rest.

"It's not an official inquisition." Sabo insists, but you put your hand up.

"No, it's okay. He has a valid point. No one's going to want the fact of my curse to be official public knowledge. There's no way for him to know without proof." You agree, keeping your eyes on Ichiji as you concentrate on changing only your arm. Ace and Sabo move at the same time, and provide more cover with their hats.

You wiggled the white feathers before reverting back to your arm.

"Zoan." Ichiji says, and there's a disgust in his voice you're relieved to hear.

"I am a shame to the honor of nobility." You say flatly. "I'm new to the news myself, and have not yet informed my family. You owe me nothing, but I would appreciate time enough for me to do so properly."

A faint show of emotion slips over Ichiji's face. Something torn between anger and disgust, held back and tempered by who knew what. You were almost expecting him to lash out and physically beat you in front of the café.

Instead, after the longest moment you think you've ever experienced thus far in your life finally passes, he relaxes, and reaches into his pocket. Pulling out a small drive he hands it over to Sabo, and it's obvious from the tilt of his head, he's pointedly ignoring you and Ace.

Well, he was likely not acknowledging Ace at all from the beginning.

"She's right. I owe you nothing, but your parents have left a foul taste in my mouth long before now. When you deliver your news to them, you should include that as well." He suggests, turning and walking away without so much as a farewell afterward.

You and Ace look to one another before looking to Sabo. Your brother shrugs, looking at the drive in his hands. You already had enough evidence against your parents to see yourself absolved of them, even without needing to officially admit to your curse. Even if you were okay with officially stating your curse, the simple truth was that the government was more likely to bury any record of it anyway.

Hopefully without burying you as well.

"What do you think it is?" You question finally, as the three of you head back to Sabo's car.

"A virus." He shrugs. "We'll have to dig up an older computer and make sure it can't connect to anything else."

"Do you think he bothered to dig up dirt on your parents?" Ace questions, and you shrug.

"He's smart, and I wasn't exactly proper about my emotions, concerning the change in medication." You buckle in as you tuck the small drive away. "I can't imagine a royal deciding to dig into our family after already entering into an agreement with them. They would've done digging before hand to sate any concerns or curiosities." You shake your head. "Ichiji is entirely too pragmatic. The idea that he was either concerned or curious about my well-being at all seems inane."

"The idea that he was truly upset at the fact of our mother poisoning you does sound absurd." Sabo agrees, even as he sighs heavily. "But, if like you said, the plan was for them to leverage things falling apart, then it would make more sense. The more he could prove about the situation, the more leverage he would have."

"True, but as a royal, compared to our family, how much proof would he really need?" You retort. "If he truly wished, he could've levied any accusation with nothing but his family's seal to back it up."

Silence falls over the three of you for a while, stomachs collectively knotting over the possibilities. Sabo was trying not to rush the return home, but concern and curiosity were giving him a bit of a lead foot.

"What if..." Ace pauses, pinching the bridge of his nose. "What if it's related to the fire?"

"That," you start to say that would be impossible, but your throat goes dry before you can really say anything. The fire had been shrouded in its own kind of mystery. There was nothing that explained why the building had caught on fire in the first place. The official statement was an indeterminable electrical failure, but almost the entire building had already been evacuated because most people had contracted food poisoning.

Sabo had been firm about not leaving you unattended afterward, but with everything else you had almost completely forgotten about the concern.

Whatever was on the drive, you hoped it had nothing to do with the fire. The idea that someone was willing to effectively demolish an entire office building, and risk the lives of the people in it, just to get to you, was terrifying.