Ten – Prey Lost? Finishing Business in the Pirate Haven

I am both suspended in the air, and suspended in disbelief. I let go… I can't believe I just… Then, gravity resumes its business, and I begin to descend. For a moment I am in shock, until I regain my senses, and become aware I am currently hundreds, if not thousands of feet high in the sky, plummeting towards the ocean. My initial reaction is to freak out, and I do, until I realize that that will get me nowhere. I think I can survive this. I might just be able to! Fishfolk bodies are stronger built than humans', and I've spent my life trainin' my strength and endurance; I might be able to survive this! The water is getting closer. This is gonna hurt like hell though. I widen my body out to get as much air resistance as possibly, hoping that will slow my descent somewhat. The air resistance is incredibly powerful, especially on the webbing between my fingers and toes. I pray it's working. Okay, just keep this up until you're close to the water. The ocean is even closer now. I spy the monkeys' ships off to the side a bit, sailing back towards Jaya. Just a little more... I can see the waves.

Now! Instantly, I straighten my body up like a torpedo, arms above my head forming a point, tentacles flattened against my body, eyes closed, and my body pointing straight down.

The impact is shattering. Pain jolts throughout my entire body, and I black out.

I come to underwater. Once I realize I'm conscious again, the first thing I do is assess my situation. The poignant pain in my arms tells me something's probably broken. I take a look at them and the wrists are incredibly swollen and discolored. That's what I get for lettin' them hit the water first. Better them than my head though. I resurface, and find the ocean is still violent, but the Knock-Up Stream has dissipated. That'd a' been bad if I hit the water and was sent straight back up thanks to that thing. In the distance I can just barely spot land. I assume it's Jaya, so I begin to swim in that direction.

I reach the island an hour or so later, and my muscles are at their limits. I cannot see Mock Town, but I do spot the chestnut man's hut, standing out vividly from the jungle surrounding it, so I head in its direction. Finally at the island itself, I scale the small cliff with my last little bit of stamina, then fall to the ground once I am at its top, exhausted beyond measure. A door opens, followed by footsteps, and out of his hut comes the man with the chestnut atop his head.

"Oi, someone there?" He spots me. "Oh, it's you again. "You alright?"

I'm so out of breath I can barely form the words. "N… no… I ain't. Fell from… sky... arms… broken." I gasp.

"You fell from the sky? Don't tell me… You were after Luffy, weren't you? Did you get caught in the Knock-Up Stream?" That's right. I was so plum tired I almost forgot. I lost him yet again, didn't I? It's almost like fate don't want me to catch him at this point. "I'm not a doctor, but I can at least give you something to eat, to regain your strength."

"That…" I wheeze, "that would be awesome."

"Can you stand?"

"I dunno." I try to push myself up with my tentacles, but find there isn't an ounce of strength left in me, and fall back down to my knees. The chestnut man walks over to me and slings my arm over his shoulder. It hurts like hell, and I let out a small cry of pain I quickly muffle up. Supporting my weight, we walk to inside his hut, where he puts some fish on a grill to cook. I collapse onto a chair, and he hands me a bottle of some liquor to drink, but I decline. Not after yesterday. I am glad just to be sitting down and safe, though losing Monkey again has put a damper on my spirits.

The fish are grilled and we dig in. Hungrier than I thought, I devour the majority of the food. The chestnut man looks surprised at first when I use only my tentacles to handle the food, but quickly gets over the oddity of it. I s'ppose it is pretty queer-lookin'. My arms hurt too damn much to be used for anythin', though. The meal is finished, and I feel refreshed, though still in a good deal of pain. "That was too delicious. Just what I needed! I owe you for this."

The chestnut man raises a palm towards me. "Don't worry about it. You caught me in a good mood. By the way," he reaches behind him on a shelf, grab my hat and tosses it at me, "you left this here."

I catch it with a tentacle and plop it on my head. "Ah! I forgot about you!" I stand up and give a courteous, if sloppy, bow. "Again, thank you."

"Ehh, quit bein' so polite. That doesn't sit well on this island. You know the way back to town?"

"No, not really." I admit.

"Well, I'll take you then. I got business in town anyway."

I thank him again and he just grumbles. We head out along a beaten path through the jungle. It doesn't take long for my injuries to catch up to me; my legs are aching terribly, and I'm lagging behind him.

"Oi, you okay back there?" says the chestnut man.

"I'm fine!" I say, though my breath is vanishing from me as I do.

"You need any help?"

"No!"

He walks back to me. "Yeah you do. You should get to a doctor and have those injuries looked. I figured being a fishwoman you could handle it, but I guess they're pretty bad."

I shrink back from him. "H-how'd you know!?"

"Know what?"

"My… that I'm a woman! How'd you know?"

"Oh, that. I could tell when I helped you into the house. What, you're not like… ashamed of it or something, are you?"

"No!" I exclaim. " 'Course not! I just… I got my reasons for keepin' it hidden, that's all."

He scratches the chestnut atop his head. "Well, whatever. Here, hop up." I look at him, dumbfounded. What's he on about? "I'll let you ride piggyback to town."

"You're kiddin', right? You'd better not be takin' pity on me on account a' my gender." Though I s'ppose I ain't one to talk...

"Of course not. Doesn't matter if you're male, female, or whatever, someone injured shouldn't be hikin' through the jungle." Oh. That's… well okay. But he's still shirtless and sweaty and…! Blegh! While I'm too preoccupied grossing out, I fail to notice him bend down and pick me up. Startled, I move around a bit, but he manages to heave me over onto his back. "Quit squirming, will ya?" He says. I give up, and let him carry me. This is so embarrassin'… and nasty.

When we near Mock Town, I hop off. No one will ever know that happened. He gives me directions, and we part ways. It isn't until I reach the doctor's clinic that I realize I never got the man's name. Ah well. He'll remain sweaty chestnut man.

The doctor tells me both my wrists are broken badly, and that it's a miracle that's all. An hour of painful cracking and repositioning bones and joints later and I feel like an idiot walking out of the clinic. I look down at my arms, both of them kept in place by casts. This is becomin' a mighty familiar scenario… I sigh.

A couple pirates lounging around outside the building chuckle. "Hey guys, check out the mummy!" One jeers. His friends laugh.

I growl at them. "You keep talkin' assholes, and I'll put ya'll in a pair a' these too!" I yell back. They just keep laughing. Forget 'em. I oughta just head back to the ship for now. The captain's probably thought I up and abandoned the crew. I take one step forward, and I hear a loud snap. My goggles fall off my face and to the ground, the strap broken. I curse loudly into the air, and that only makes the peanut gallery laugh harder. Ignoring them as best I can, I leave the goggles where they lie and stomp off to the harbor.

"Well well, the spineless one returns!" Larson hails, as I walk back onboard the ship. "Ah, I'm sorry – you are a squid. Guess you can't help it." He laughs at his own joke. I escape down below deck to the crew's quarters before he can give me any orders. I need one hell of a nap.

When I enter the quarters, I come across Joey of all people. "Oi, didn't think I'd be seein' you again." He says. The man is faced away from me, as though he's hesitant to speak with me.

I sigh. "Crew wants me gone that badly, huh?"

"W-what? No, no. Nothing like that. When we saw Bellamy and his gang up and trot into the pub, we thought anyone left in there was a dead man for sure." He turns his gaze my way.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." I say, but he doesn't seem to be listening. His expression has changed, instead peering inquisitively towards me. "W-what? What you lookin' at me like that for?"

He squints. "Without them goggles on… ye got some pretty eyes, ye know that?"

"The hell's that s'pposed to mean, boy!? I yell, and punch the guy in the cheek, forgetting my hand is in a cast and grasping it in pain afterwards.

"N-Nothing! Nothing." He apologizes, rubbing his cheek. "Forget I ever said that. Seriously, I dunno what the hell just came outta my mouth there." A pause. "So what, ye get in a fight with some a' Bellamy's men yesterday?"

"Nah, someone much worse." I say.

"Who the hell round here's worse than Bellamy's blokes?"

I give a laugh beneath my breath. "The sea." Joey looks confused, and I leave him like that, climbing into a hammock for some well-deserved sleep.

The captain didn't like me sleeping in the crew's quarters, but oddly didn't dole out any punishment for it. I can't see him havin' a shred of sympathy, even for someone injured. Oh well. I don't let it bug me.

Though all is far from sugar and rainbows, the crew is slowly easing up. Some, like the men I drank with, have all but ignored whatever orders told to the crew to keep their distance from me. Others are slowly reopening back up with me. I feel a little less ostracized now than I did when we arrived at Mock Town. Larson and the captain are still total assholes, though. I trudge through the grief and humiliation.

Since returning that day after losing Monkey I've stayed on the ship, until the evening before our departure comes and I head to the supply shop to pick up my new pair of goggles.

"Dang! These fit nice!" I exclaim, upon trying them on. I never realized before just how uncomfortable the previous pair were.

"Pleasure doing business with you, miss." The shopkeeper says. "Though, I still can't imagine what a fishwoman needs a pair of swim goggles for." He adds in. I laugh, thank him and exit the shop.

We leave port later the next morning, to wherever the Log Pose is directing us next.