The first thing he noticed once he woke up was a feeling of soreness, soon followed by the sound akin to turning pages.
He opened his eyes, but everything was a blur, as his eyes took their time to focus. Slowly, the darkness was pushed aside by light, which allowed him to make out his surroundings.
"Finally awake?"
The voice made him turn his head and he saw a teen with od white-black hair and a straw hat on his head. The teen, Luffy, he remembered, was sitting on the floor next to the other´s bed, an odd thick book resting on his lap.
"How are you feeling?" Luffy asked as he moved from the floor to the bed.
"Aching… and a bit tired," the lying man answered, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the sleepy feeling as well as the headache he just noticed.
"Do you feel any pain? Dizziness? Or even like you want to throw up?"
"Outside of a headache, nothing like that… but I could use some water," the raven said, the hand moving to his sore throat.
"Right, here," the straw-hatted teen reached over, hand stretching beyond human limits, to grab the full glass from the desk on the other side of the room.
A devil fruit user, thought the raven, watching as the hand snapped back into its original shape, impressively, without spilling the water from the glass. Seeing this, the raven sat up, noticing the number of bandages covering his body. There was barely an inch that wasn´t covered.
"The damage is not as bad as it looks… at least once the healing mixtures took effect," explained Luffy, when he noticed his companion´s look. "There will be scars, but Nii-san and I managed to minimalize their extend."
The stranger nodded once, taking the offered water. "Thank you," he said, after finishing the whole glass in one drink.
"You´re welcome," said Luffy with a big smile. "Now, would you mind answering me a few questions?"
There, was a moment of silence, before he got a head-shake as an answer.
"Okay. So, the last time you were awake, you mentioned you were on a ship that got caught in a storm. Could you tell me more?"
The bandaged man was quiet, as he tried to recall what was before he woke up in this room. "I don´t know much," he started slowly. "I remember I was on a ship, with flames everywhere in sight. I know there was a storm because it was raining and the ship was swaying dangerously. I was in pain, my body hurt too much. I… I remember pushing someone away and being hit in the chest, then I was in the water. The rest… it too blurry. I have no idea how much time passed, while I was on the sea."
"Do you remember anything else? The origin of the fire? Who was on the ship with you? Do you remember their names or faces?"
"No, I… I can´t recall anything like that. There are only bits and pieces of the fire and storm. I saw human shapes, but not a single face," replied the raven man with a frown, looking down at his hands.
"I see. And anything before that? Before the storm and fire. Even the basic things like your name and where are you from," specified Luffy, a frown marring his face.
"I… I don´t know."
"Don´t know?"
"No matter how hard I try, I just can´t remember any of those pieces of information," admitted the raven with a sigh.
"…Do you remember receiving a hit on the head?"
"I´m not sure. I know I was in pain, but can´t remember anything specific about it," he paused before he frowned. "But… my head does hurt right now."
"I thought as much," muttered Luffy, making the other look at him. The teen quickly explained: "The last time you were awake, shortly after you were rescued, I asked what was your name. You replied that you don´t know. I was not sure if you said it because you were in too much pain or because of something else. Now I see it was because of this. And before you ask – no, I can´t give you anything on the headache. I have no idea if it is a result of a concussion or not and it might do more harm than good."
The older man decided not to comment the last bit and instead raised an eyebrow. "You think my memory loss might be the result of this?"
"Possibly. Or it would be a side effect of you surviving on the sea for so long. I mean, three days since then passed, when we found you, after all. But I would have to talk about it with Nii-san before I´m sure," admitted the black-white male with a thoughtful look.
"He is a doctor?" asked the raven.
"No, but out of the two of us, he has the best medical knowledge."
"I see."
Any further talk was interrupted by the sound of a loud grumble. It didn´t take long to connect it with the teen, who had a sheepish smile on his face.
"Shishishi! My stomach reminds me it is lunchtime!" laughed the teen as he got up. "You´re welcome to join me. I bet you must be hungry!"
"You are correct," admitted the older man, feeling lightly amused.
"Great!" grinned Luffy. Then he ran to the other side of the room and returned with a bundle, of what the raven identified as clothes. "Here, something clean you can put on. Your original clothes were completely ruined, so we found you some replacements. And some footwear too. Just be mindful of the bandages. They have been changed just a few hours ago, so the mixtures on them are still working on healing your wounds. But you should be fine, as long as you´re careful," explained the teen and handed over the bundle in his hands.
"I see. Thank you."
"You´re welcome." The teen turned towards the door. "I´ll wait outside. Come when you are ready."
The younger male left and the raven took a better look at the bundle in his hands. It turned out to be a dark blue shirt, white pants and a pair of wooden slippers. While the footwear surprised him, it turned out to be just as comfortable as the clothes themselves.
Once dressed, he got outside and joined the waiting Luffy. Together they made their way down the ship, with Luffy pointing out certain rooms, either because they were taken or because they had a function, such as a bathroom or storage. Finally, they reached the kitchen, where, upon entering, a delicious aroma hit their noses. Next, the raven noticed two people already in the room – a nervous-looking, pink-haired teen, sitting behind the table, and a white-haired person whose gender he could hardly tell.
"Sagitta-nii! Is the lunch ready?" asked Luffy, throwing himself at the androgynous figure moving around the kitchen like an expert.
"The first half is, and unless you want me to ruin the rest, better get off me, otōto," said the white-haired person, not even fazed by the added weight on them.
That made the teen immediately retreat, with a horrified expression at the mere thought of ruining the food. "Sorry!"
A laugh escaped the older brother´s lips accompanied by a fond look on his face. Then he seemed to notice Luffy´s tall companion. "You must be the man my brother saved a few days back, hm?"
"Yes, and I would like to thank you both for it, as well as for treating my wounds," said the bandaged man sincerely.
"You´re welcome," Sagitta smiled at him, then motioned to the table. "Now go join Coby, any further talk can wait until the food is served."
Too hungry to argue they listened and soon after all four of them were sitting behind the table, eating and talking.
"So you have amnesia. Not an unexpected development," commented Sagitta, once Luffy and their guest finished explaining the unfortunate situation. "With the state you were in, the trauma of a near-death experience or even the possible head trauma might have had this effect."
"Any idea how could he regain his memories?" asked Coby curiously. "I mean, there has to be a way… right?"
The green-eyed man sighed. "That depends. Amnesia is a fickle little thing, with no guarantee of the outcome. I have no idea what would trigger the return of his memories, or how long can that take. A week, month or even several years later… Hell, there is also nothing that would guarantee they would ever return." There was a pause before the man looked at the raven-haired one. "Only thing I could recommend you is a few meditative exercises I know and hope for the best. I´m sorry for not being able to do more, but I only know how to heal the body, not the mind and memories."
"It´s alright. You already did more than enough for me," said the raven. "Besides it is not that much of a problem."
"Not a problem?! How can you say something like that?" asked Coby in disbelief.
The man shrugged. "I suppose it is because I can´t remember, I don´t actually feel the need to panic or care. Without memories to back it up, there´s nothing to panic or ask about because you don't know that anything is missing. I can´t describe it otherwise, but that´s how I feel."
"Interesting way to look at things," commented Sagitta.
Again, the man just shrugged.
"But aren´t you at least curious about who you were?" Coby pressed on.
"A bit. But not enough to be desperate about it. More than that I just want to figure out what should I do…"
"If you want, you can join me and Nii-san," quipped in Luffy, mouth full with food. Then he swallowed and looked at their bandaged companion. "Travelling alone can be dangerous, with all types of people that would take advantage of your state."
"I´m not defenceless," said the raven, narrowing his eyes.
"I´m not saying that!" protested Luffy.
"What Luffy meant," started Sagitta, before things might escalate into an argument, "…is that without your memories, how can you tell if somebody is lying about knowing you? You might be physically strong, but if somebody is a skilled manipulator, there is a chance they can trick you and get you in trouble. There are also the slave traders, pirates of less respectable reputation and… do I need to go on?"
"Besides Sagitta-nii and I plan to sail to many different places, so if you travel with us, we might be able to help you!" added Luffy enthusiastically.
The raven reminded quietly before a soft sigh left his mouth. "I suppose you´re right. It would be safer to travel with a company. Very well, I accept your proposal."
"Great!" called the black-white haired male in enthusiasm, while his brother smirked and said: "Welcome abroad!"
"But you still didn´t explain to me – what kind of crew are you two?"
"Oh? Luffy didn´t say anything? How unlike him," chuckled Sagitta.
Said younger brother let out a sheepish laugh. "Shishishi… it kind of slipped my mind?" He turned to the raven and said with a big grin: "We are a crew of pirates! I´m the captain and Nii-san is my first mate!"
The nameless mand stared before a flat look appeared on his face. "I call bullshit."
"What?! It is true!"
"There is no way any of you three are pirates."
"Um, actually I´m not a part of the crew," Coby interrupted the argument, making the older male look at him. "These two just offered me a ride, until the next marine base, since I want to join the marines."
"…my point stands. There is no way a pirate crew would offer such a thing to anybody," said the raven. "No pirates would willingly go to a marine base, just because somebody asked them."
"They would if they were a fledgeling crew without a bounty on their heads," said an amused Sagitta. "After all, otōto and I started our journey on the day we saved you, which was barely two days ago."
"Fledgling crew or not, I still don´t believe you," stated the raven firmly.
The young captain looked at the older man, before a broad grin appeared on his face, immediately putting the other on the edge. "Well, I suppose we will have plenty of time to change your mind! And until then… we get to help you come up with a name!"
The raven blinked. "What?"
"A name! I mean, we need something to call you by properly. After all, we can´t go around calling You or Man, right? We need to find you a good name!" stated Luffy firmly.
"He has a point, you know," agreed Sagitta. "And besides that, we should probably figure out what type of devil fruit you have."
"Devil fruit? What makes you think I have something like that?"
"The severity of your wounds, the number of medical mixtures we had to use to heal you and finally Luffy´s remark about how your eyes turned cat-like," explained Sagitta. "That all points to you being a devil fruit user, the latter making us believe you are a Zoan type… But…"
"…we won´t know until you try to use your powers. And who knows, maybe they can help with choosing your name!" finished Luffy. "I volunteer to be your training partner!"
The raven looked at him and smirked. "Should I feel sorry for you, if you lose?"
"Is that a challenge?"
"Nothing like that until I give him a clean health bill!" declared Sagitta.
The young captain pouted. "Aw, Nii-san! You are no fun!"
Luckily for them, they only had to wait a day more, before the first mate deemed the raven man healed enough to try activating his devil fruit. They decided to do it on the upper deck… which, in the high sight, turned out to be a good idea.
"Huge!" gasped Coby as he saw just what the nameless man turned into.
There was no doubt the man was a Zoan. Not after he became a hybrid of human and what looked like a carnivorous feline, that reached nearly twice the height of his human form. The form possessed the bulk to match the height, with long black claws and equally dangerous-looking teeth.
It earned the Zoan several different reactions from his companions.
Coby looked at him in fearful awe. It was the first time he ever saw such a transformation, as outside of Luffy, he never came across a devil fruit user.
Sagitta observed the giant in front of him, trying to narrow down exactly what model was the other´s fruit. He knew it was a variant of the Neko Neko no Mi, but not exactly which of the fruit´s variant was it. So he kept watching, mentally comparing and crossing out all the possibilities.
And Luffy…
"So cool!" declared the young captain with stars in his eyes. "I bet you must be a strong fighter with such a cool power!"
The Zoan smirked at this before he started to stretch. "So about the spar…?"
The captain grinned. He got ready to fight and just as they went to it, Sagitta shouted: "No weapons and make sure the ship survives! Otherwise, may Death have mercy, because I sure as hell won´t!"
The spar ended with a tie, but not because the duo was evenly matched. Instead, the two got so carried away, they somehow managed to end overboard, which resulted in Sagitta and Coby having to save them. Afterwards, the ship's inhabitants fell into a comfortable routine, filled with looking after the ship. The pirates got to know their new crew member, besides working on figuring out a good name for the man. There were many futile attempts, as none of the suggestions seemed to appeal to the raven, until…
"How about Tiergan? Panthera Tiergan?" suggested Luffy one day over dinner.
"…how did you come up with such a strange-sounding name?" asked the raven with a raised eyebrow.
The teen shrugged. "Well, the surname is a reference to you being a leopard type Zoan." Seeing the others look at him, he, again, just shrugged. "Nii-san once said that that the leopards, along with tigers, lions and jaguars fall under a family called Panthera. I thought it sounded cooler than Jaguar."
"And Tiergan?"
"The Book of Untraditional Names and their Meanings. This one was supposed to mean strong-willed. I mean, you survived on the sea, despite the devil fruit´s side effect when it comes to water. That requires one hell of a strong will to survive, so why not?"
"I´m amazed," commented the raven. "You don´t strike me as a book-reading type."
Sagitta snorted at this. "Understatement of the year. If it was up to him, he would never crack up a book."
His brother pouted. "I´m not that bad!"
"Lu, I had to bribe you with food and training to get you to learn the alphabet," reminded him the androgynous man.
"That was before you went to teach me the interesting things! Afterwards, I got better at it!"
"Maybe, but I will never forget you trying to hide all the books in that barrel of booze at Makino´s bar, only to fall into it yourself and getting drunk."
Coby choked at his meal, after hearing this. "Seriously?"
"Yup. The brat gave me one hell of fright that day. Thankfully, outside of suffering from a hangover, he was alright. It also served as a lesson about drinking to him," answered Sagitta with a dark smirk.
The other two laughed at the image, while the rubber teen shuddered at the reminder. Once the drunkenness turned into a hungover, his brother took dark pleasure in tearing him a new one, while speaking in an impossibly loud voice. As a result, his head was killing him and the captain swore to never repeat such a thing.
At least not before securing one of his big brother´s hangover remedies beforehand.
"Anyway, what do you think about Luffy´s suggestion?" asked Sagitta to change the topic, which the teen was grateful for.
The raven appeared thoughtful, mentally going over the name and the meanings the young captain gave him. And honestly, the more he thought about it, the more promising it seemed to him. It had a dangerous ring to it and in a way complimented him. It was also high above any other suggestions he heard until now. So if he had to choose one from them, his decision was clear.
Seeing the looks of expectation on the other´s faces, the raven man smirked. "Alright, it is decided then. My name from now on is Panthera Tiergan."
The joy from this development made the brothers throw a small party to celebrate. Afterwards, life on the ship reminded relatively normal, as Tiergan got used to his new name.
All too soon, they arrived at the closest island with a Marine base.