One Piece: It's always been you

Chapter 176 Together

Katakuri was startled awake on the way back with her in his arms. He suddenly perked up and looked around, but when he couldn't find what he wanted, his eyelids immediately drooped.

He raised his hand and put it around Katakuri's shoulder, then snuggled up and went back to sleep.

I slept straight through until almost evening, only to be woken up by hunger.

When he woke up, he found himself half-lying on Katakuri, who was leaning against the headboard in a very awkward position. It must have been hard for him to stay like that for so long; he was probably a little numb by now.

"Awake?" Although Yu didn't move much after waking up, Katakuri still sensed it.

Katakuri saw Yu get up and stretch, and was just about to get up to move his slightly numb arms when Yu pressed down on his arms and began to massage them. "Let me rub them for you." Actually, he could have easily changed his position; if he had remained in that deep sleep, he wouldn't have woken up. "Next time, find a more comfortable position. Don't make things difficult for yourself."

"It's alright." Katakuri said dismissively. "When my younger siblings were little, I had to hold one or two on each side. Kids are much harder to hold than you are, and they cry more easily."

Yu smiled and didn't say anything for a moment, continuing to massage Katakuri with both hands until he said it was enough, at which point Yu slowly stopped. Katakuri sat up and got out of bed, turning around to see Yu sitting blankly on the bed, still in the same position he had just finished massaging.

"what happened?"

"..." Yu pursed her lips and muttered softly, "So, you don't like children anymore..."

These words weren't very clear; even Katakuri only caught a few indistinct embellishments. But judging from Yu's expression and considering what he had just said, he roughly understood what it meant. "While I wouldn't say I like you that much, I don't dislike you either. I just said that to let you know that it's okay if the way I hold you is a little uncomfortable, so you won't feel guilty."

"When it comes to younger siblings, I just can't find any other examples, since I wouldn't hug other people either."

As he spoke, Katakuri reached out and pulled her from inside the bed to the edge, took her shoes and put them on. "You have time to think about these things, but no time to worry about your belly?"

Katakuri pointed to Yu's belly, which seemed to realize it had someone to support it, and grumbled twice at just the right moment. This made Yu feel a little embarrassed. "Did it make that noise when it was sleeping?"

Katakuri didn't speak, but his raised eyebrows told Yu the answer—yes. Unfortunately, the owner of the belly was sleeping too soundly, and the protest was ineffective.

Katakuri didn't say these words, but the thought of himself sleeping soundly while his stomach rumbled was quite comical.

"Hurry up, hurry up, I promised to take you out to play." Yura grabbed Katakuri and rushed towards the door. "There's a parade in the streets tonight, we can catch it while we're having dinner."

"it is good."

When the two arrived at the restaurant, the waiter saw You arrive and quickly came over to ask her where she wanted to sit.

"The private room I usually go to serves donuts for dessert after the meal."

The waiter nodded in agreement.

The food arrived quickly. As You waited for the waitress to finish setting the table and was about to leave, he added that she would only call him if needed. The subtext was that he didn't need to come in unless absolutely necessary.

This isn't just for Katakuri's sake; also, their waiters are sometimes incredibly enthusiastic, especially when they see high-ranking officials.

Katakuri put some food on Yu's plate and urged her to eat quickly, but Yu didn't take any chopsticks. Instead, she went over and took off Katakuri's scarf. "Wear the masks we bought earlier, and I'll wear one with you." The two of them were dressed casually, and wearing scarves would look out of place. Yu had thought of this when she bought the masks, but when she saw the styles, she realized it was one for each of them.

"Listen to you, now quickly stop your stomach from rumbling." While Yu was putting down her scarf, Katakuri ladled out a bowl of soup, and now, holding the bowl in one hand, he ladled a spoonful of soup into Yu's hand and fed it to her.

You took a sip, then took the bottle and drank it herself. "It's delicious. You should try some too."

Yu had lost count of how many times she had tasted the food at this restaurant. Moreover, the chefs she hired back then would cook each dish individually and let Yu taste them before putting them on the menu. Since the goal was the world's largest and best entertainment complex, Yu naturally went all out, sharing her knowledge without reservation. "Try the donuts later. After receiving my personal instruction, see if there's any difference."

Yu picked out some of Katakuri's favorite foods and then focused on filling his own stomach.

The two didn't talk much during the meal, mainly because Yu was hungry and wanted to eat more and talk less; while Katakuri, having been separated from Yu for so many years, had returned to eating alone. He had managed to talk more, but now, Yu was focused on eating, and Katakuri didn't interrupt him.

Halfway through the meal, You slowed down and became more talkative, mainly asking him if the dishes suited his taste, if there was enough to eat, and if he wanted more dishes.

"This donut..." Katakuri took a bite of the donut made by the chef who had received Yu's teachings, "Not bad."

Seeing Katakuri's hesitant expression, Yu sensed something was wrong. She broke off a piece of the one Katakuri was holding and tasted it. "Hmm, it's a little undercooked." Others might not notice, but either Katakuri or Yu could taste the difference.

Although Katakuri is not like Yu, who has tried many times on his own and is a professional chef and pastry chef, he has eaten and tasted a lot, so his requirements for taste are higher.

"If it's not good, then don't eat it. I'll make it for you tomorrow." Yu felt like she was torturing Katakuri by feeding him donuts that didn't suit his taste. Next time, she had to let the kitchen staff know; she couldn't be so hasty.

The sky outside the restaurant had already darkened, and the sea reflected the lights of the Golden City at night, bathing the sky in a golden glow. The streetlights on both sides of the street crisscrossed, and colorful lights shone down from the surrounding tall buildings, illuminating the strangely dressed parade dancers on the road. They swayed their bodies and waved to the crowds who had gathered to watch.

Katakuri and Yu walked hand in hand among the admiring crowd. Katakuri had taken their hand; most of the city's population had gathered there, and it was easy to get separated, not to mention they didn't know if Sora was even there.

Yu's left hand was holding Katakuri's, while she held a drink in her right hand, taking sips every now and then and chewing for a while.

This is a drink from another world that Yu created based on Sayuran's memories. It's called milk tea and contains tapioca pearls.

"Where did Sweetie go? And Little Firecracker?" I have to say, Little Firecracker can really play by himself. He went off to play after we parted last night, and we haven't seen him since.

Katakuri didn't know where Cracker had gone, but since he was in the city, especially with Yu's support, he was sure he would be alright and wouldn't be fooled like he was yesterday. "I'm worried about your two younger brothers, so I sent Sweet with them."

"He looks like a good brother-in-law~" Yu was confident in his two younger brothers' strength, but he really couldn't say how Kong Mingwei was on the other side. Apart from her space-time fruit ability, he knew nothing else, especially since she had a face that looked almost identical to Yu's. If his two younger brothers weren't careful, it would be really dangerous.

Katakuri didn't say more because Ace also had that crystal, but since his two younger brothers were in trouble, it was Yu who was heartbroken, so he still had to be more careful. "Who told you to care?"

Yu's lifelong regret was that she couldn't save her brother, Rosinante.

Yu wouldn't want something like that to happen again, and neither would Katakuri.

Passersby would always look at the two of them. Although Katakuri didn't say anything, Yu noticed that his body was slightly tense.