It was a stone altar.
Robin held the torch up high. The light illuminated the wide space.
Something was placed on top of the altar.
Two fruits.
One was dark blue with star patterns carved on it. The other was pinkish with petal-shaped swirls.
"...What is this?"
Astera approached closer. Robin followed.
The two fruits glowed strangely. They were vivid even in the darkness.
"Could they be Devil Fruits?"
Robin said quietly. Astera had the same thought. They looked similar to drawings he'd seen in books.
"But why are there two here..."
His words cut off.
Astera picked up the star-patterned fruit. The moment it touched his hand, he felt something strange. Like his hand was moving on its own.
'...This is weird. It's like it's calling me.'
"Robin, you take this one."
"Huh?"
Robin tilted her head. Astera handed her the petal-patterned fruit and said.
"It just feels that way. This one is yours."
Robin took the fruit. And her eyes widened.
"...I feel something too."
A pulling sensation.
"...Then should we eat them together?"
Astera asked. Robin hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"...Yeah."
The two looked at each other.
They said if you eat a Devil Fruit, you die if you fall in the sea. But you also gain special powers.
"Do you want to eat first, Astera?"
"No. Together."
"Okay."
They took one big breath. Then bit into them at the same time.
"Ugh!"
"Blech!"
It was a terrible taste. They felt like throwing up. Disgusting, bitter, and sour flavors hit all at once.
"What is this... it's gross!"
Astera said, scrunching up his face. Robin covered her mouth and answered.
"Me too... ugh..."
But they'd already eaten them.
That moment.
Something shone from Astera's fingertips.
A small light.
A light twinkling like a star.
"...What?"
Astera lifted his hand. A small star floated above his palm.
A shining star.
"Robin, what about you..."
His words cut off when he looked at Robin's shoulder. A hand was blooming from Robin's shoulder.
Like a flower.
"Ahh!"
Robin jumped back in surprise. The hand disappeared.
"What is this... a hand from my shoulder..."
Robin's voice trembled. Astera looked at the star in his palm and said.
"They really were Devil Fruits."
The star was still shining.
"Did we become Devil Fruit users?"
Robin asked. Astera nodded.
"Looks like it."
The two were silent for a moment. They couldn't believe it.
"...Wow."
Robin laughed quietly. It was scary but also amazing.
"Is this my power?"
"I don't know either. It's my first time."
Astera looked at the star in his palm again. The star gradually got smaller and disappeared.
"How do you do it?"
"I think we need to practice."
Robin touched her shoulder. Where the hand had bloomed earlier.
"Will it come out again?"
Robin asked. Astera nodded.
"Try it."
Robin closed her eyes and concentrated. Wrinkles formed on her forehead.
And again a hand bloomed from her shoulder.
"...It came out!"
The hand moved according to Robin's will. The fingers wriggled.
It was amazing. Scary but amazing.
"You try too, Astera."
"Okay."
Astera also spread his hand and concentrated. Starlight twinkled again from his fingertips. A small star floated up.
"...Incredible."
Devil Fruits.
They'd eaten something they'd only heard about in legends.
"Should we tell someone about this?"
Robin asked. Astera thought for a moment.
'It's not the right time yet.'
"...Let's keep it secret for now."
"Huh?"
Robin tilted her head. Astera explained.
"We don't know what this is. We don't even know what kind of powers they are."
"That's true."
Robin nodded too.
"Let's practice between ourselves first and figure it out."
"Okay. Secret."
"Secret."
The two smiled quietly.
A secret just between them. The secret that they'd become Devil Fruit users.
"But..."
Robin looked at the altar again. Her eyebrows came together.
"Why were there two here?"
"...I don't know."
Astera was curious about that too. He'd heard Devil Fruits were rare. But two had been placed side by side. Like someone had intentionally put them there.
"Who left them here?"
"Who knows."
He couldn't answer. It was just a mystery.
"Let's go up for now. If we stay too long, they'll worry."
"Okay."
The two went back up the stairs holding torches. With starlight twinkling in their hands and a hand blooming from a shoulder.
The two children had become Devil Fruit users like that.
That night.
Astera lay in bed looking at the ceiling. He raised his hand. When he concentrated, a small star floated up again.
A star.
His own name was also star.
'Why a star of all things?'
Was it coincidence? Or fate?
It was a ridiculous thought. But it felt like it had some meaning.
The Star-Star Fruit (Hoshi Hoshi no Mi).
A power exactly matching his own name. And Robin's Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi). The reason the two fruits had been side by side.
'Why?'
There was no answer. But one thing was certain.
Now he and Robin were Devil Fruit users.
Astera stared at the star, then lowered his hand. The star disappeared.
'I need to practice. I need to know what kind of power it is. And I need to be able to use it properly.'
From the next day on, the two secretly practiced every night.
In the secret place on the third basement floor.
"Try one more time."
Astera said. Robin nodded.
"Okay."
Robin stretched out her arm. Then a hand bloomed from a distant bookshelf. The hand picked up a book.
"...I got it!"
Robin smiled brightly. Astera's eyes widened too.
"That's amazing."
"Yeah. But I can't do it for long."
The hand disappeared and the book fell.
Thud.
"Is it hard?"
Astera asked. Robin wiped the sweat from her forehead and answered.
"A bit. I have to concentrate."
"Then let's practice little by little."
"Okay."
Now it was Astera's turn. He made a star appear in his palm. The star gradually got bigger.
"...Wow."
Robin was impressed. The star that had been the size of a finger was now the size of a fist.
"Can you make it bigger?"
"I'll try."
He concentrated. Sweat formed on his forehead. The star got a little bigger. But that was the limit.
"...Is this it?"
Astera murmured. Robin shook her head.
"For now, isn't this amazing enough?"
"But I don't know what I can do with it."
Astera made the star small again. The star twinkled and disappeared.
"We'll figure it out if we both practice more."
"Yeah."
The two secretly practiced their abilities every night like that. Without telling anyone.
A secret just between them. The secret that they'd eaten Devil Fruits. And the secret that they didn't know why.
A few days passed.
One afternoon, commotion came from the harbor direction.
"What's going on?"
Astera asked, looking out the window. Robin came over and looked at the window too. People were rushing toward the harbor.
"Let's go see."
Robin said. The two left the study and headed to the harbor.
A ship had docked at the harbor.
"There!"
Robin pointed with her finger. People were getting off the ship.
They were scholars.
The expedition team had returned.
"It's the Poneglyph expedition team!"
Someone shouted.
"They came back after six years!"
People cheered. Astera and Robin approached closer too.
That's when Robin's feet stopped.
One of the people getting off the ship. A woman with long hair.
'...Who is that?'
She wasn't unfamiliar. No, she was familiar. She resembled someone in hazy memories.
"Professor Olvia!"
The scholars around them shouted.
"You made it back safely!"
Olvia.
Robin's chest dropped.
'...Mom?'
She couldn't be sure. A face she'd seen at age two. A memory from six years ago. Too faint.
The woman looked toward Robin. And stopped. Her eyes widened.
"...Robin?"
The woman asked in a trembling voice. Tears came from Robin's eyes.
"...Mom?"
Her voice trembled.
"Robin... my daughter..."
Olvia ran toward Robin.
"Mom!!"
Robin ran too. The two collided. Olvia hugged Robin tight.
"Robin... Robin... my daughter..."
"Mom... Mom..."
A reunion after six years.
Astera watched from a distance. Robin was crying. Crying while smiling.
'...That's good.'
Robin's family had returned.
Olvia looked around while holding Robin. Then her eyes met Astera's.
"...Who are you?"
Olvia asked. Her gaze examined Astera.
"He's my friend!"
Robin said, wiping her tears.
"His name is Portgas D. Astera. He came to Ohara two years ago."
"Portgas... D?"
Olvia's gaze changed. It sharpened.
The D Clan.
She'd recognized that name.