A/N: So, here we are yet again. Another story with a lack of update to "Letters" and "All Those Times." Yup. I have no excuse nor shall I make one up. I will, however, apologize for anything that may possibly seem OOC in advance. Just feeding the fandom, guys. Just feeding the fandom.
Disclaimer crap: don't own, never will, blah.
It was a small sense of satisfaction, watching a little girl reunite with her mother after so many years; Tiger wouldn't show it but he was happy for her. The villagers seemed so relieved to have Koala back, especially her mother as was expected. He had to assume that the relief came from knowing she was alive; it had to have seemed impossible to them that she would ever come home. Things appeared fine; he had no more reason to stay. Good-byes were exchanged as he turned to leave and a smile finally broke through. Koala was back where she belonged; they had succeeded.
As he walked away, Tiger could hear the child tell her mother of the ordeal she had gone through, both at Mariejois and her travels with them; he had to smile at her excited tone about the latter. He was nearly out of hearing distance when Koala mentioned the sun on her back, chirping that it was her mark of freedom, and she sounded so proud of it. It was the sound of flesh striking flesh that made him stop, so quiet of a sound yet it seemed to echo all around him. Surely those people hadn't struck the girl! The shouts and howls of rage and pain that followed only fueled Tiger's growing concern yet he briefly considered to continue on. He had brought Koala back to her home as asked but after hearing what he had heard, he wasn't so sure about leaving her there. Perhaps she hadn't been the victim and maybe his concern was for naught but it nagged at him that he didn't know.
Tiger felt slightly foolish for returning so quickly or at all; Koala wasn't his business any longer. He tried to convince himself to turn back, to leave the girl to her village and go back to the ocean, but his body refused to listen; he supposed he wanted at least a little peace of mind. And as he approached the village (much quicker than he had left it), he arrived to a scene that justified every concern he had felt. Koala was no longer in her mother's arms or even remotely close to her and her face read confusion; the sun on her back was exposed between fabric torn in two. The captain noticed her left cheek was stinging red; so it had been her. Tiger set a gaze to the villagers. They had distanced themselves from the girl and the faces of relief had changed to stoic expressions, perhaps even disdain and cold. They looked down on Koala as if she were some sort of infectious disease or piece of trash they didn't want near them. Tiger knew this expression and action far too well: the village had denied her.
It seemed all too cruel for such a thing to happen. Koala had yearned to see her family and village for years and now that she had returned to them, she was no longer wanted. She didn't belong to the village any more; she was one of them. Was the sole reason for this all because of the mark on Koala's back? The looks of scorn and disgust at the mark said enough: that truly was the reason. Was it wrong for Tiger to feel slightly guilty for placing that symbol? He didn't think so as he had just wanted Koala to be free like the others, to not feel that burden of enslavement on her back any longer. But the guilt he felt was shoved to the back of his mind as anger was directed towards the village. How could they do something like this to Koala, especially after everything that had happened? Tiger simply couldn't fathom it.
He hoped somewhere that they would change their minds, that someone would step forward to stand up for the little girl, but no motion was made; the decision was obviously final. It left Tiger with very little choice yet he knew what had to be done. He ignored the downcast looks pointed at him and knelt down beside Koala. She looked back at him over her shoulder, no tears in her eyes but confusion in their place; as if she wanted to believe that this denial was a pretense. Without a word, Tiger took the girl, so tiny in comparison, into his arms and stood upright once more; he held her so gently and carefully, like she was glass that would shatter at the slightest touch. But Koala did not break and appeared to take comfort in his familiar presence yet failed to speak a word or make a sound; she remained silent. Tiger covered her exposed back in the flap of his coat before turning a rather harsh gaze to the villagers before him.
"The moment you put that cursed thing on her back," one spoke, "you shouldn't have bothered to bring her back to us." So the hatred ran deep enough to deny a young girl entrance back into her home. Their goal of returning Koala had been doomed from the start; Tiger felt no regret for taking her aboard with that aside. The sun he had placed upon Koala's back had been a mark to give her back the life she had lost, yet it seemed that it only destroyed it. Guilt no longer seemed appropriate, nothing short of anger did. But Tiger wouldn't show it, refused to lose the cool composure he had built up. He wasn't going to give the village that satisfaction. So he spoke no words, leaving his sole response to walk towards the village that had once been Koala's home. As scornful as they were, the villagers still hurried from his path; he still instilled fear in them. The harsh words they spouted fell on deaf ears.
Tiger opted not to leave the village via the entrance but instead walked through its very heart to the edge of the outskirts, possibly to give Koala a final look at what had been her home. He half-expected her to say at least something but she had only settled her head on his shoulder, not a word to be had. It wasn't until they overlooked the coastline did he remember why she had such a lack of response. "You can cry if you want to." That must've been what she had been waiting to hear because Koala cried her round eyes out, finally responding to the harsh reality. Tiger sighed and patted her on the head, offering what little comfort he could provide. It still seemed so cruel, bringing her back to a place that tossed her away so easily, yet he should've have suspected it was a possibility. And who was to say that any village would take her with a pirate symbol on her back? Tiger decided that he would worry about that later. Until things could be settled, he would take the place of her family and her home.
*dies* I apologize yet again for any OOC that may have occurred; being sick clouds a lot of senses.