On the Tides of Time

Chapter 3: Train Me

The fruit fell from my hands, one bite marring the skin as it tumbled to the floor and rolled away. Kura made no move to stop its uneven wobble across the wood, and simply stared at my face, curious to see what would happen no doubt. The fruit tasted horrible on my tongue, leaving the foul taste so far in the back of my mouth that I knew it would take more than a few mouthfuls of something better to wash it from my memory. But, that was not the reason I had dropped the so-called Devil's Fruit.

The reason my hands let the large fruit slip through my fingers was simply because after just one bite, something felt different. And just as I was trying to pinpoint the reason for this feeling, Kura pulled out a sharp blade from behind her back, the sheathe it came from had been hidden by the dress shirt's fabric during my brief appraisal of her. She grabbed the fancy material of the skirt I wore, which was now covered in sand, and smoothly started cutting the fabric with the sizable blade.

"What are you-"

Before those words had even left my mouth, she already had cut the front of the skirt away: leaving a skirt that went mid-thigh at the front and then followed the seams at the sides down, leaving the back as it was. The bandages I wore were liberally covered in blood, and sand that had gotten up my skirt in my struggle through the sand had plastered over the sticky substance, dyeing the grains scarlet and causing them to stick together in unsightly clumps atop the bandages.

While I cringed at the sight, Kura forged onwards, skillfully unwrapping the dripping bandages and peeling the coarse fabric from my skin. By the time she had one leg completely unwrapped, the shoe promptly discarded as well, and started working on the other, I finally understood what had felt different.

Instead of the skin pulling away from the deep scars that got longer and deeper every passing day, tearing itself further and further apart until another trench formed because of it. The skin now seemed to be pulling itself back together, spreading itself over the canyons that had etched themselves into my skin and becoming uniform and smooth once more. The stretching of the skin pulled it taught around my legs, though. And any large movements I made with them felt like I was able to tear the skin apart again myself.

Kura finished unwrapping the other leg and threw the bandages (along with the footwear) to another corner of the boat before returning into the cabin of the boat, rummaging in the darkness for something else that was hidden within. In her absence, I could feel pinpricks on the souls of my feet, causing my toes to curl up in discomfort as the feeling spread throughout the areas in my legs which had lost feeling: from the toes all the way up to just below the knees, where the ugly marring of my skin stopped. The pinprick feeling persisted even as Kura returned with a few bottles of water in hand.

"This might be a little cold, but bear with it."

She then opened a bottle and bent my leg, causing me to grit my teeth as the pinprick feeling intensified where she touched me, as well as the skin pulling tight around the muscles that moved in order to bend my leg. The white haired woman gently poured the water over my leg, the clean water swiftly coursing down my skin and becoming discoloured before it slid off of my skin and onto the wood below. She repeated this action until one leg was cleaned of blood and sand, and then did the same with the other leg after propping it up to let the water run down.

Angry red lines ran up my legs, some long, some short, but they all looked as if they were lines drawn by markers instead of scars that were created through years and years of pain.

"Alright, now that we got that taken care of, let's get you back home."

Kura stepped away, once again heading into the cabin's depths and returning with a bag slung over her shoulder. She stood in front of me, holding out her hand to me as she ran her fingers through her unruly hair with her other one.

"C'mon, kiddo. Let's see how well that fruit worked. We got a lot of training to do in not a lot of time."

Grabbing the hand she extended towards me, I was pulled up onto unsteady, but sturdy, legs. She waited for a second, sizing me up with her crystalline white-blue orbs before letting my hand go. After hesitating for another moment, with her eyebrows arched in contemplation as if she was waiting for my legs to give out any second, she disappeared back into the cabin.

With Kura's disappearance, my muddled mind was free to try to grasp the situation I was in: what had happened in the span of less than an hour since I had left my room. An eccentric woman, confidently naming herself my aunt who gave me weird fruit that supposedly gives me some kind of powers. Which by now I was starting to believe, as my legs were now responding to my commands with only the skin slightly protesting the movements. It all added up to a rather ridiculous set of miracles that had me laughing at my fortune.

"Better laugh it up while you can, kiddo. In the next few months, you're going to find every single muscle in your body: including the ones that you use when you laugh."

Before her comment could be dissected by my thoughts, she hoisted two black staffs over her shoulder before jumping onto dry land, motioning for me to follow. Scrambling to follow her instructions, I carefully slid myself off of the ship and spread my feet over the sands, feeling the grains rub between my toes. The sensation didn't feel as sharp as the sand felt before I had gotten sick, but the feeling was much clearer than the blurry non-descript softness that registered mere hours before – when I was struggling to pull myself forwards on the moving surface after my crutches had been abandoned. Walking back to the mansion now, I could still see the wide trail left behind by my body, the wind not yet taking back its claim on the shore and remaking the smooth appearance.

It was silent between us during the trek to the mansion. Kura whistled a tune that seemed to take her several tries to get right, starting and stopping several times over with the notes arranged in a slightly different pattern. Her head bobbed up and down, and while I could only see her back, I could only imagine the grand smile spread over her face. Her stride deepened, eagerness seeping into her pores as the whistling tune got faster and faster yet. The sea lapped at the shore, the sound interlacing with the notes that greeted their arrival and Kura's head lifted up slightly as a breeze passed us by, the salt smell that came with it wrapping around us and then vanishing.

She seemed to know the acts of the wind and sea intimately. Her body responding to the changes with the slightest touches in the slightest of ways. As if to say: "I hear you. I feel you there, and I hear you. Do you hear me, too?". I think it did hear her. It heard her whistling song she made not only with her lips, but with her entire being. It rang with this energy and wildness and danger that I could feel to the very pits of my now-functioning body. Shivers ran down my spine like electricity as I gazed at this whirlwind of a woman and somewhere, in the deepest recesses of my heart, I wondered if this was what all pirates were like.

If they were, could I ever…?

Shaking my head, trying to rid myself of the thought, my gaze turned to the horizon once more. My eyes searched the sparkling waters where they met the expansive blue of the sky for an answer to the question I was too afraid to ask aloud. The sound of Kura's whistling faded from my senses as I tried to listen far out into the ocean, foolishly wishing for an answer to be imparted from the immeasurable expanse. Smiling bitterly when no comprehensible answer was given, my eyes swiveled forwards again.

A flash coming from the spot my eyes had just left brought them back once more with a start, scanning wildly for what could have caused such a thing in the calm weather that had continued for the past week on the island. My heart thundered in my ears and the smell of a damp day captivated me as I squinted my eyes, willing a dark cloud to appear in the distance.

"A storm's coming."

The sound of my voice startled me. The painful pounding of my heart stopped and the smell of salt caused the one of rain to disappear. Kura's whistling stopped, and my eyes met her curious ones. She stared at me for an awkward minute, and in that time I strangely felt no need to either change my statement, or explain it. And at the same time she felt no need to question it either, as with a furrowed brow she responded with a statement of her own, "Better hurry home, then." Kura didn't start whistling again, and in contrast to her fast walk before, she was now taking smooth and slow strides.

The slow strides didn't last long, though, as soon the mansion came into view and Kura all but ran towards it, leaving me to follow her with a difficult run of my own – my body not used to running after such an instantaneous recovery. Within moments, Kura had entered the mansion, flinging open the heavy wooden doors and calling out to all who could hear: "I'm hooooome!". By the time I had reached the entryway I hide myself in front of the door that had swung itself shut, while the other still creaked until it reached swayed to a stop. Peering through the small opening that had been created, I could see that her voice had caused the servants father had left behind to file out into the entryway. Curious expressions plagued their faces, and a murmur of questions spread throughout them all. Kura grinned, placing her hands on her hips proudly as she looked on at the upset she caused.

"Kura, I was not expecting you."

The crowd parted and Grist was let through, his voice silencing the chatter immediately as he came to a stop in front of the white-blue eyed woman.

"What? Am I not allowed into my own house anymore, Grist?" Kura's grin deepened, as did the creases on Grist's forehead as he sighed deeply at the woman in front of him.

"I thought you had gotten tired of this house years ago, Kura. Is that not why you left and became a pirate?" Grist's words were spoken slowly, and I could tell that he was far more capable with dealing with Kura than father ever would be. Even if the frown set on his face indicated he didn't quite enjoy her presence.

Before Kura responded, she took in a deep breath and looked around the entryway. The antique paintings and sculptures that lined the walls, the flowers that decorated the tabletops, the ornate stairwell that lead to the second floor, the crimson carpet that lined the floor: sand-free except for the trail that Kura had left behind her. It was a grand house, an artifact in itself, really. Passed down from generation to generation of Marines.

I could only imagine what my Great Grandfather – the one who had built this house for the Sireons – would say to know a pirate walked in these halls. If he was half as strict and ruthless with pirates as I've heard he was, I suppose he would be rolling in his grave right now.

"Ahhh… It hasn't changed a bit. How boring. I'm guessing you still don't do anything for fun around here?" Kura's observations merely caused another sigh to escape from Grist before he responded in kind, "Kura, you're just as… charming… as ever, I see. When you were younger, whatever you called 'fun' normally had large amounts of danger in it, so, no. I suppose we still don't do anything 'fun' around in this house. I'm sure you can find some sort of adventure out on those dangerous seas of yours. Nothing ever keeps you where you don't want to be, Kura."

She seemed to think about this for a second, before blatantly ignoring his many disguised attempts to pry a reason for her coming home, or convince her to leave (the latter admittedly less disguised) and continuing her own pointed observations, "You've aged well, Grist, it seems the house is still in immaculate shape at the very least." My eyes were drawn to a flash of silver in Kura's hands: a silver coin that she twirled around her fingers thoughtlessly as her eyes idly followed its path just as mine did as her voice made itself known now in the form of a question.

"Where's Klarrissa?"

My surprised eyes flew from the strange coin to Kura's face, my mind racing as it tried to figure out how Kura knew Klarrissa, trying to recall if Kura had spoken of her since I met her. Scattered and disorganized, my mind was too slow to figure out the answer and gave up. Dedicating all of its energy into listening closely to the conversation, my heartbeat thudding loudly in my ears.

"Miss Klarrissa passed away a long time ago, Kura. She died shortly after having Miss Kailina."

Kura had stopped playing with the silver coin as Grist started speaking, the smile vanishing from her face without a trace of its existence left behind as a slight frown took its place. Grist continued, "After her passing, Kroitel returned to the navy and after Miss Kailina's 12th birthday, Klarrissa's condition made itself known on the young girl. Two months ago, the eldest child, Kairius left to search for a cure."

"I… see."

Shadows painted themselves onto her features, and Kura let out a sigh that rumbled through the silent room, the sound crinkling into a melancholic wave that engulfed me. Kura remained silent, and I could only watch as this strong and fearless woman grieve for a death that happened so long ago. After a few endless moments, she ran her fingers through her braided and beaded hair and regained herself: moving her eyes from the floor to meet mine brazenly as she spoke again, "Kailina looks just like her, doesn't she? She may have inherited her idiot father's eyes, but if not for that, you'd never be able to tell the difference!"

Two heartbeats thundered in my chest and shook my entire being as I held Kura's gaze, watching a smirk curve her lips in what I could only describe as a predator waiting for its prey to be devoured by its kin. My father did always say that pirates took advantage of everything they could, and my thoughts briefly wondered what Kura had to gain by this betrayal, but before I could form a solid idea, the doors flew open once more and a loud crack rang through the still mansion. I winced at the dent that had surely formed in the walls from the force as Grist's impeccable figure loomed over me. Shrinking as his eyes traveled up and down my figure, his eyes leaving a scorching path in the wake of his fury, and I waited for his lecture. As always, he didn't disappoint.

"Miss Kailina, I hope that your walk on the shore was pleasant."

And when I said lecture, I meant an interrogation that should be traversed with the upmost care. One wrong answer, and…

Well, there's a reason everyone leaves this island without telling anyone. The walls have ears, after all, and it's been proven many times that nothing gets said or done in this house that Grist does not hear about.

"It was most pleasant, Grist."

And so, the dance began. Quite literally as well: the steps taken to head into the entryway where Kura waited patiently were followed by an encircling echo. Keenly aware of the sound of his footsteps, I made sure my posture never faltered as I tried to keep track of what answers lead me to deeper waters, and which ones swam me back to shore.

"That's very good to hear, milady. I'm certain the fresh air livened you up?"

"It did, Grist. I'm feeling much better," the sneer on Kura's face, however, altered the course of the tide in this shark tank "and you wouldn't believe who happened to wash ashore just as I was about to turn back: Dear aunt Kura!"

Kura's sneer faded quickly, just as a smirk sprouted on my own face. Having now come to the center of the room, my eyes met Kura's unabashedly. Grist still walked around us, the quiet footsteps still moving at a rhythmic pace. Whether Kura liked it or not, we were now on the same island, with the same danger approaching us. If the pirate wanted to get back to safety on her ship, she'd first have to clear the waters.

"Yes, those dangerous seas of mine were getting a little boring, so I thought I would drop in for a while. See the family: the absentee father, the wandering brother, and the little girl…" Her voice dropped an octave as she spoke of me, leaning in closely to my face as knowing eyes looked deep into mine and a smirk curved its way through her skin so suddenly that mine fell.

"…Who recently ate a strange fruit from strange seas..."

The footsteps stopped, missing a beat that my body replaced with a fear-driven heart. Kura's a pirate, after all. If her life isn't filled to the brim with excitement and danger and threats, I suppose I should've known she'd fill it herself.

"…And will drown in the waters."

No one moved. It was as if we were a scene frozen in time, like those of books and creations. Like weathervanes without a breeze, grandfather clocks that tolled their last chime and then stilled.

A lone survivor on a raft and a pirate that controlled the tides. And a shark that plunged into the sea.

"You didn't."

"I did."

"Kura, this is not a game. Tell me you didn't."

"I didn't," Her eyes grinned at him, her interest lost on a doomed girl, "but I did think you had eyes, Grist. Was I mistaken?"

She padded away, her steps silent and mimicked a warrior returning to the shadows after slaughtering her prey: confident, languid, and damning. I could only feel his eyes on me for a second before my arm was wrenched back and I stumbled with it, coming to a clumsy halt as Grist spun me around to face him, his hand still gripping me tightly.

He bent down, just as Kura did, and looked deep into my eyes. I had never really taken note of his grey eyes before. But, I never really had the chance to see each individual fleck of black that speckled them, so I made sure to say nothing and gaze into his eyes – trying desperately to plead for my life without squeaking out a sound.

"Kailina…"

It was an exhaled sound, one of disappointment, anger, and all the other emotions that a parent would use to guilt a child into realizing their faults. For the most part, Grist did a good job of playing the role of parent. And he would frequently use the voice on my brother and I, and it worked as it was supposed to. He was good to us. And yet… I pulled my arm out of his grasp so violently that I spun onto the floor.

The impact hurt, and I was certainly going to get a bruise, but, rage fueled my body now. Pain, reason, love… everything that wasn't anger gave way to this rage. And with this rage, I stood up and whipped my arm back out of his grasp once more as he tried to help me to my feet. He looked stunned at my display, and I would say the same if my rage didn't burn bright enough to blind me.

"STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!"

My voice boomed through the house, and I could hear the sounds of heads peeking out from doors. The sound seemed to echo slightly, the large entryway amplifying it enough to hurt my ears and had the potential to shock me with the unprecedented volume my voice achieved. Which is why my next words were shouted with restraint, but also with just as much anger.

"Stop looking at me like I've been given the worst fate imaginable! All of you keep looking at me with that sad look, but you never say anything about it! I was sick, and I was in pain, and I knew that I probably would be meeting my mother soon! But – Kairius never – I never felt it! I didn't care that I was sick, because I wasn't treated like it! Since he left, all you can do is act like you've somehow offended a wounded puppy! All the time!"

My voice thundered, and while I knew I appreciated the care and concern they've had for me over the years, the frustration of being coddled and suffocated only boiled over until I had nothing left to burn.

"You've been suffocating me! So excuse me for accepting an offer to be free of the pain and the frustration and those DAMN LOOKS!" Stamping my foot like a child and hearing the pleasing thundering sound that rippled through the room, I continued, "So, I'm going to leave this depressing island and live the rest of my life how I want to live it, and YOU. CAN'T. STOP. ME!"

And then it was over. In the wake of my rage I was left a quaking mess with my red face scrunched up into an angry expression my body seemed to be unwilling to drop. But eventually, after a minute of a few deep breaths and the repeated clenching and unclenching of my fists, the colouring of my anger faded and my face softened, feeling exhausted from the muscles contorting in such a way.

Grist said nothing.

And I was unsure of what that meant.

My mind was muddled and I couldn't distinguish what his silence meant from his body language alone. Luckily, I didn't have to wonder for very long, as my long lost aunt commented on the situation.

"Well, if there isn't a little storm in you! I wasn't sure if Klarrissa had passed on her spunk or if you were burdened with your idiot father's spine. Glad to see it wasn't the latter."

Her voice seemed to sober my mind, and I promptly ignored her cryptic words and turned on my heel to head outside to let everything settle. However, before I could even make it halfway to the doors I was stopped, not by Grist, but by Kura. She stood in front of me, blocking my path, with her arms folded and her face smug.

"I wouldn't go out there if I were you."

I blinked at her words, tilting my head curiously to the side as I wondered what she meant by that. Unfortunately, she said nothing else as she watched me. Rolling my eyes at her, I made my way around her and reached the doors without being stopped again. Placing one hand on the door, I glanced behind me, seeing her smirk grow wider, before I turned the knob. In an instant the door was open and fierce gusts of wind soon opened the other door, allowing the sound of rain to drown out everything else, the wet air permeating my skin as the drenched ground outside turned into large pools of water.

"Told you, kiddo. You might want to listen to me more. It'll help."

Exasperated, I ran my fingers through my hair and met her gaze, which turned out to be beside me.

"Okay, Kura. You're going to have to be a little clearer. What. Is. Going. On?"

"Hahaha! Now you're asking questions, huh, kiddo? Alright, I'll give you the short of it, because we're gonna have to get started right away."

"Get started on what?"

Before I could get an answer out of her, I felt water being poured over me and heard the clang of a bucket sounding from behind us. Confusion painted my face as I looked at her, but she said nothing.

"What are you-uu…"

My voice trembled as intense pain ricocheted up my body, the force of it had me falling to the floor and writhing, toes and teeth clenching at the intensity.

"Ah, that's one question answered, then." She crouched down, poking at me before she remembered the situation that I was in, "Oh, right. I forgot to warn you, this might hurt. And it looks like it did."

"You…don't…say…?!"

She shrugged at my strained response, and looked out towards the rain. Or, she would be, had there been any. But had cleared up as soon as it set in it seemed. Bewildered, I looked to Kura for an answer, which she seemed gracious enough to give.

"See, when you were having your whole hissy fit – and I mean, it's good and all you're getting your feelings out there and whatnot, but you might wanna work on the delivery – I went out and got a bucket of seawater. And then, you know, poured it over you." She laughed a little at this, but quickly got over it and continued, "So, it seems that when seawater touches your legs, they go back to the way they were before: useless and bleeding and whatnot. We can probably add a little time to the countdown of when the effects hit you… But that's for another day."

"O…kay?"

"Now, as to what Devil Fruit you have, it seems to be the Storm Storm Fruit," She cut off any questions with a hurried follow up to the revelation, "there's a book, don't worry about it. But hey! You've got one of the better ones! It's a Logia type that allows you to have control and create storms. Don't really know what that means, but it sure sounds cool."

Looking at my deadpan expression, which she ignored, her voice started again, "But hey, we'll see what we can learn by the time I'm through with you! We're already learning so much! For example, when seawater touches the skin on your legs, your previous wounds appear… But when normal water hits your skin, it reveals the scars, but doesn't open them again. It also seems like you're only feeling a lot of pain – the pain of your condition – but you aren't weakened by the Devil Fruit's drawback. Which I assume, will kick in like the rest of the users: knee-deep and you'll be immobile."

She stops there, although she looked like she wanted to continue, and turns to Grist, "Grist, snap out of your brooding and go get some food made. Also," she paused, and didn't continue until Grist looked back at her, having moved from the middle of the room to the side, where a transponder snail was located, "don't tell Kroitel anything that happened here."

The threat hung darkly in the air, and I felt a chill expand through the room even as sunlight began shining once more outside. Grist challenged her gaze for only a moment before succumbing and sighing deeply before leaving the room to speak with the cook.

The second Grist was out of sight, disappearing behind wooden doors, she turned her attention back on me.

"You see, Kailina. I'm planning on leaving this chunk of sand in three months to go back on my on adventures. In that time I'm going to train you so hard that you'll wish you'd actually died before meeting me. If you're going to head out to sea and get anywhere exciting, you're going to need that training – and train like your life depended on it, 'cause sooner or later it will." She paused, watching my face intently before continuing,

"So if you're going to quit, quit now and give up on the horizon. I will not allow you to quit halfway through, and I'm not wasting my time here if I've got nothing to do. Tell me, Kailina. You will feel this pain," she nodded towards my legs, "several times over in the next three months. Each time, I will push you farther and farther until I'm satisfied. Tell me."

Taking a deep breath, I thought about everything that had happened. The Devil Fruit that I ate without understanding its power, the pirate in front of me, offering a chance for the adventure I had always wanted… And I could only come up with one answer.

"Train me."

She didn't move, flickering her eyes over every inch until she was satisfied. After a few moments, she smiled.

"If you're anything like your mother, Kailina, this'll be fun."

Thanks for reading, Fireflies! Next chapter there's going to be a timeskip to Kailina leaving the island, and sailing towards a certain floating restaurant!

-Love, Ember ;3