If you read my previous A/N, you'll know that I had the vague idea of updating twice in a month instead of only once because the end of this chapter is cliffhangery and I didn't want to leave you hanging so many weeks. And I can still do that! Chapter 38 is mostly done. The thing is that, if I post early, the wait between chapter 38 and chapter 39 will be longer than usual, because I need to reread a lot of stuff. I don't know what I'll end up doing, honestly, so I'd be happy to hear what you prefer.
37. The end of the line
(Pack up the life that's left except that one blue dress)
"Are you sure we can go up there?" Penguin asked Saki, and he sounded more aggressive than he meant to because the portable cooler he was carrying was heavy.
"Pretty sure we're not supposed to, but when has that stopped us?" She replied, readjusting a backpack full of food.
Penguin didn't argue the point, but Shachi sure did. "And what if there are other people?"
"Who would be stupid enough to be on a dark cliff at night?"
"Us, apparently."
"Hey, we all agreed to this. We have to give it a try."
"Yeah, well, I hadn't seen the slope before."
"Poor you."
"If we can't set up I'm pushing you off the cliff."
"Not if I do it first—" She noticed a rope ahead, tied to two decrepit posts, and pointed at it. "Look, it's cordoned off! Nobody should be there."
The Heart Pirates continued their trek, some grumbling more than others. Earlier, when she was with her sister, Saki had had the brilliant idea of going on a picnic that night to see the fireworks shows from a better place than the plaza, and the idea had been received with enthusiasm by most of her friends until they were at the foot of the cliff and they realized they had to hike up there with their stuff, and it was going to take a while. The incline was steep, and the pathway did some twists and turns around a few protruding rocks.
But after a few minutes of everybody getting crankier by the second, their efforts were rewarded with a flat top devoid of any human presence and a privileged view of both the festival on the island, and the lighthouse in front of it.
Saki had never seen so many people drop their bags on the ground so quickly in unison.
"See? I told you it'd be fine," she said, taking a deep breath and stretching. The muscles on her back cracked.
"Whoever falls or jumps, don't expect to have a burial on my account," Law warned the crew as they examined the area to place their blankets, and there was a communal response of 'mean,' 'we aren't that dumb' and some indignant cries that at least they would try to find his corpse. Then he lay down on his own blanket, using his hands as a pillow, and eyes closed as the rest of the crew set up the picnic area. Bets on whether he'd sleep through the fireworks began to be made.
The breeze smelled of salt and the sky was full of stars, something that, Saki noted, she would have appreciated much more had she not been able to see that same sight nearly every night for the past two years and a half, but it was beautiful nonetheless. And a key difference was the festival's music, which managed to make its way to the cliff, albeit faintly and muffled by the waves crashing behind them.
The noise of her friend's conversation was another difference, since for them, too, the novelty of a clear, unobstructed night sky had long ago worn off and nobody spent much time stargazing. Not even the navigator, since the only reliable reference to navigate the Grand Line was the Log Pose. Saki reminded wistfully the times when Bepo would tell her about the constellations in the sky when they were both up at night. When was the last time they had done that? It was a little tradition she wouldn't mind picking up again.
"I'm glad your sister got out of Asteria unscratched," Marina said, tossing a wrapped sandwich at Saki that she took out from one of the bags she had been carrying. "How's she doing?"
"Worse than ever," Saki whined, as she sat down and removed the wrapping. It was strictly performative, since little siblings were to protect and complain about. "You'd think after all this time away from the studio she would have changed her mind and fixated on something else, but nooo. 'I'm an adult, I can have one now!'"
Marina chuckled and sat next to Saki, foregoing a blanket after glancing at how well the guys were doing extending a couple. It was windy up on the cliff, and it looked like someone would get parachuted away before the fabric decided to cling to the ground. "Does she want you to do it?"
"That used to be the plan."
"Not anymore?"
"She's too young and she's going to regret it all her life," Saki replied without feeling it.
"I wasn't under the impression that you had many qualms about inflicting your craft on anybody."
"Harsh! So was I, but it's kind of unnerving doing something permanent on a family member's skin, you know? I've known her all her life. She's a baby."
"She isn't."
"I know. But it's weird. What if I don't want to do it?" She said, and she stuffed her mouth with the sandwich.
"Somebody else will." And for good measure, Marina added with offensive precision, "Coward."
Saki retaliated the only way a person with a full mouth who had lost the argument could: by grabbing a pebble and tossing it at her hair. It got lost among the curls, and while Marina cursed at her and spent some time trying to get rid of the pebble, Saki did her best to swallow the gigantic bite she had taken as she watched a ship sailing nearby. It went past the lighthouse and approached the cliff only to turn away at the last moment and disappear behind more cliffs and rocks, intentionally avoiding the port. Risky. It was so dark around that part of the island that a wrong maneuver could easily make the vessel run aground or hit the rocks, but she supposed that if they were doing that, it was because they really needed to or knew the area well. Even the Heart Pirates had had to hide their ship sometimes, after all.
"Those people are mad," Marina said, having noticed the vessel too.
"Judgy MacJudgepants."
"I'm just saying I wouldn't do that."
"Why don't you go down there and take over the ship? You know how to run it. It could be the start of the Heart Pirates flotilla."
"It's so absurd it's tempting."
"Just wait until you've had a beer or two and it'll be even better. I think Penguin was carrying them—" Saki turned around to look at the guys, "Hey, Peng, where's the—whoa!"
Saki wasn't the only one who yelled when a gust of wind inflated the blanket Colin was trying to put down and sent him flying in the girl's direction. Despite ducking on reflex, they got hit on the head, and they didn't react in time to catch Colin before he passed them and, luckily, crashed against Law, who was still chilling ahead, before he could glide to his impending doom.
She heard the sounds of money exchanging hands after that.
The fireworks were very much worth the trek, in the end.
—
"Look, they sent her," Bepo told Saki.
Since they hadn't fixed a meeting time after talking with the revolutionaries, the Heart Pirates had agreed to stay in the Polar Tang or its vicinity until they sent a signal.
Said signal got caught in front of the gangplank by two of the buffoons Saki liked to call friends, and they were asking for her ID like the submarine was a club and they were the bouncers.
Saki leaned on the railing of the deck to better see her. "Afternoon, Tsubaki!"
"Saki, tell them I'm with you! I have an important message for your crew!"
"I don't know, they're just following due process. Where's your ID?"
"Outlaws don't have IDs!"
Their little discussion gave Law enough time to walk up to Saki and Bepo. Other members of the crew were gathering, too, knowing that this was what they had been waiting for.
"Make an exception for her," Law told his crewmates.
Tsubaki didn't miss a beat when they stopped blocking the path to run up the gangplank. She looked a little winded, and Saki noticed then that she had strapped to her back the sword with the seastone vein that had been the Old Man's.
"We've tracked down the warehouse! Koala and the others are taking care of it, so you're free to move in… half an hour, I guess? That'll be enough."
"About damn time," Law grumbled. "Where are the pirates?"
Tsubaki laughed a little nervously. "Uh, yeah, there's a run-down pier past the cliffs at the far end of the beach. They hid their ship there."
Saki shared a look with Marina, who muttered, "We could've tossed Colin down and be done with this already."
"What?"
"Don't mind her," Saki said. "Did they send you alone to give the signal?"
"Or to keep an eye on us," Marina suggested.
"What?! No! …They didn't want me there."
Saki had her suspicions, but she asked anyway. "Why?"
"Hey, it's not that they don't trust me! They have their reasons."
"They think you're too young."
Tsubaki turned red. "I haven't been on the field for long, okay?"
Law's comment was incisive. "Makes you wonder what they expect to find in the warehouse."
"Tsubaki will tell us later, won't she?" Saki said, sweetly.
"If they let me…"
"You wouldn't tell your sister?"
"They've let me join the operation because it has to do with what went down in Asteria," Tsubaki said like she was confessing to a crime under pressure. "I usually do less important things. I'm like… in training?"
"Isn't Asteria your hometown? What happened?" Shachi asked.
Saki deflected. "You would know if you read the news."
"You're supposed to tell us the important ones."
"She doesn't even read them half of the time," Mack commented.
"Does she still go straight to the posters?" Tsubaki asked.
"It's my morning routine, okay?" Saki cut the conversation, annoyed. "Anyway, spill the beans before we go kick ass."
"But..."
Mack was getting impatient. "If you're in training, would they have sent you if they thought you could give away any important secrets?"
Tsubaki stared at Mack like she'd had a revelation. "You're really smart."
"Not at all. The company just makes me look good."
Mack received several friendly punches for that jab.
"Know what, I think you're right," she said, and turned her attention to Saki. "The smugglers in town, you know how they were part of a bigger organization? The Revolutionary Army's been tracking them for years and sabotaging them when they can."
"I thought they were fighting against the government, not random criminals," said Law.
"But they have ties to the World Government, that's the point! They indirectly profit from trafficking. We decided to stop the operation in this island first and see if we could dig up more info. We were also looking into that island where the two admirals fought a couple years ago. Lots of fishy ships doing the rounds between there and Dressrosa, but we figured this was safer, since we don't know what's going on there."
Law sprung into attention, suddenly paying a lot more attention to Tsubaki. "Are you talking about Punk Hazard?"
"Yeah. That Doflamingo guy's probably the one behind it, but it isn't easy getting to him, and we can't just land on Dressrosa and do our thing. He's like a mafia boss."
To her dismay, Saki understood immediately why Law had found the mention of those islands so interesting.
"Isn't he a Shichibukai too?" Penguin asked.
"Yeah, that's why the government's been turning a blind eye. I guess they sent you to get rid of a supplier because these guys were getting too conspicuous?"
"I'm kinda lost," Shachi admitted. "But basically, we're sticking it up to an asshole and the government by doing this, aren't we?"
"Yeah! We're stealing the cargo, so they all lose."
"I know what Mack said, but don't you think you talk a little too much to be part of a secret cell, Tsubaki?"
"Eh?" She suddenly looked concerned. "But it's you. And they're your friends, and they're helping, so…" She brought a hand to her mouth. "You think my bosses will be upset?"
"Not if we don't tell them," Shachi replied.
"I like the way you think!" She grinned. "Come on, get ready! I'll go with you whenever you're set to go."
—
Tsubaki flocked to Bepo as soon as it was socially acceptable to do so, and while she was busy talking with Bepo, Law approached Saki and said, "Distract her while we're on the ship."
She seemed to understand that there was something on their end that Tsubaki shouldn't see, either. "What are you planning?"
"I'm going to see if I can find any proof of what she said."
"You think they're directly related to…"
"Probably."
"But then he's cut them off."
"But they don't know yet, or they wouldn't be here."
"I don't see why he would."
"He abandoned the auction house too. He's switching up the business."
"To that."
"Probably."
If what they had learned during their travels was true, there was a strong possibility that Joker had switched to exclusively smuggling weapons, and if he had some sort of monopoly on the production of artificial Devil Fruits, the profits would be unimaginable, compared to his previous businesses. And also, if Law's supposition was true, the word cargo referred something very specific in that situation, and it made a lot more sense why Tsubaki's companions hadn't let her be there for the actual warehouse assault. It also meant that they were looking out for Tsubaki in a way, and actively trying not to traumatize her sister, something Saki would probably appreciate.
"Lots of things up to chance in this conversation."
"Have any better ideas?"
"I didn't mean it like that! I trust your brain," she said. "Don't let her see you digging around, yeah? Leave it to me. Her bosses won't find out what you're doing."
"You aren't that dumb, yourself," conceded, but not too loud. Imagine the scandal if someone else heard it.
"Ooh, thanks for the compliment!" She turned around. "Hey, Tsu, since you're here, let's go together! Let's see what those people have taught you!"
"I'll show you if you don't stop calling me that!"
Saki rolled her eyes and walked towards her sister without acknowledging Law, like they hadn't been speaking a moment before. It was curious to see the switch, how easily she slipped into a carefree, happy attitude when it came to her sister, and he had to wonder how much of that was her feeling true happiness at being reunited, and how much a skill born out of habit. Maybe a little of both, all things considered. She certainly had seemed jollier and more airheaded when they met, and while the person behind the mask was undeniably good natured most of the time – the rest she was better avoided until she cooled off – her usual demeanor around the crew had become more subdued as time went by. Goofing around was fine sometimes, but more than that wasn't her. For a moment, he wondered if the consistent display of infinite energy around Tsubaki meant that she actually felt she couldn't relax around her sister, but he was most likely overthinking it. He couldn't even fathom how he would be reacting if one day, all of a sudden, he ran into Lami on some random island. He couldn't fault her for being nervous.
He tried not to think of that, but in doing so, his mind inevitably wandered to the elephant in the room. He had other things to plan, things that he really didn't want to do, but that were necessary. And… there was a decision to make as soon as possible. One he hadn't counted on until fate had served the possibility on a silver platter. He shook those thoughts away. Not the time. He'd have time to think if he found what he was looking for.
But as the Heart Pirates made their way towards the ship, and the intermittent sound of the sisters' laughter was a reassurance that he still had the opportunity to do some things right.
—
The pirate ship was, indeed, moored in a small cove away from view, behind the cliffs, and was only accessible through a slope of back sand and rocks that was, obviously, guarded.
The Heart Pirates, undeterred, advanced until they were in front of two men that seemed to seat harder the closer they got to them.
"Breakneck Pirates?" Law asked.
"W-what do you want?"
And that was that covered the entire conversation with the guard before he got knocked out by a spear to the back of his head.
Saki had been trailing at the back of the group with Tsubaki, leaving as much distance as possible between them and Law so that he wasn't in Tsubaki's full view and she didn't notice if he went off to do his thing.
"Can you even lift that thing you have on your back?" Saki taunted her.
"I'll let you know I can press bench my weigh and the Chief of staff's!"
"What kind of measurement is that? Does he stand on your weights?" She asked, knowing how absurd that was.
"Yes."
Saki stopped on the beach to look at her in utter confusion. There were some pirates camped there, so she supposed they could stay there to fight and stay away from the ship as much as possible.
Tsubaki, unaware that Saki's attention was divided as she spied Law and Bepo running up the gangplank of the ship, added, "And tries to balance on one foot while Koala watches."
"Ooh, someone's needy for attention."
"Nah, that's just the way he is. He's a pretty funny guy, I think you'd like him. Gets on my nerves sometimes, too."
"He hasn't come, has he?"
"He's got better things to do. He is actually pretty important, even if he doesn't act like it."
"I've known a few of those types."
"World's full of weirdoes, huh? It may not have been my decision, but I'm so glad I got—Watch out!"
But Saki was already dodging out of the way, having sensed the person running at her from her back. What she didn't get to do was counter-attack, because Tsubaki lifted the Old Man's former sword and swung it at the guy's stomach with so much strength that, even though only the flat part of the blade connected with him, he collapsed like a house of cards.
"…I don't think you're supposed to use it like that."
"I've got my own style."
Sturgeon, who had only been a few steps away fighting another guy with his bare hands, let out a bark of laughter and asked Tsubaki, "Fancy a competition?"
"You're on!" She replied. "What about you?"
"No thanks, I'll referee," Saki said, still perplexed by what she had seen, and decided she better unsheathe her sword too so they didn't show her up too much.
They grew up so damn fast.
By the time her sister and her friend started arguing whether taking out two with the same blow warranted extra points or not, Saki noticed that Law and Bepo were conspicuously absent from the ship's deck.
—
There weren't a lot of people left inside the ship, which made sense, if some had gone out to move the cargo and the remaining ones had been passing time on the shore when the Heart Pirates crashed their party, so Law and Bepo didn't find much opposition on their way to what, they presumed, were the crew's quarters. After a cursory check of a few rooms in such a state of disrepair that not even the most hygienically challenged of Law's crew would agree to sleep in, Law found one that was a stark contrast from the rest, but then again, he wasn't sure who should have been impressed by good quality furniture and velveteen curtains when the rest of the crew were left to sleep in filth.
As tacky as the view was, Law put his inner interior decorator to rest and gave an order to Bepo. "Look for any documents with mentions of Dressrosa or Doflamingo."
"Roger!"
Bepo put himself to work on a dresser with wide drawers and started rummaging through them while Law centered his attention on the desk. Anything that could prove the connection would work – he needed to know if the Punk Hazard lead was solid and the revolutionaries were onto something. Tracking down Joker's network with the fake Devil Fruit business had proved next to impossible, and even with the advantages of working for the government, he'd only been able to find out that Kaido, one of the Yonkou, was amassing an army of Zoan users. There was, simply put, a next to zero chance that so many legitimate fruits were falling in his hands. Assuming that his provider was creating them, and that the leads he had come across during the last few years were the results of the trial phase, was a fairly safe bet. Someone had found the way to mass-produce them, and Law had been on the hunt for the factory for months, with the vague idea of screwing Joker by cutting the supply and getting Kaido after him, but the plan was for naught without a solid lead. The fact that the revolutionaries seemed to be more or less after the same people may have been pure luck, but he wasn't going to let this opportunity escape him. Bless the revolution's intelligence network and the kid's lack of brain to mouth filter, he thought.
After a moment's inspection, Law realized that assuming that guy's desk would be as juicy in terms of sensitive info as his was a mistake. It didn't look like it was used much, judging by the polished surface, and there was a disappointing lack of paperwork or diaries on it. No books, notebooks or shelves around that weren't exclusively for displaying trinkets, either. He tried to open the one drawer of the desk, found it locked, and struggled with it until he drew it open with blunt force.
Inside there was… a picture of a man with a baby and a handful of coins. Being the person with the least interest on someone else's private affairs currently on the ship, his attention went to the coins. Nothing remarkable, except when he turned one around and… was that a misprint?!
Law took the coin to inspect it and forgot himself until Bepo called to him and he awkwardly hid the coin in his pocket. "Captain, I think there's something here!"
Inside a sock drawer, which was probably the last place where Law would have thought of when stashing a secret document (and in retrospect made for an excellent hiding location). Bepo gave him a flimsy paper, and Law held it to the light to read it. It was an invoice without any written details save for the quantities of money exchanging hands, only made relevant by a stamp of a smiling, crossed over Jolly Roger that he knew well. Reminiscent of his own, maybe, but with connotations as different as day and night.
"Thanks, Bepo. This'll be useful."
Bepo brushed it off, though he was clearly pleased with himself. Law tried not to think that he would probably not like what would come out of it, but he was determined to do what was best for everybody.
—
After Saki and her friends were done cleaning up the beach, Bepo and Law had come out of the ship again and announced they were done.
"That was fun!" Tsubaki said. "And I won!"
"No you didn't," Sturgeon said.
"Ask the judge."
"I can't judge, I'm not impartial."
"But you said—whatever, I know what I did. Aaand… now I need to go back," she said, sounding less enthusiastic.
"You want me to tag along for a while?"
"Can you? That'd be great!"
"Sure, just let me—Captain, can I escort her home?"
"I don't need a bodyguard—"
But Law nodded at Saki, and Saki wrapped an arm around Tsubaki's shoulder and began to pull her away. "That's my cue, let's go!"
Tsubaki grumbled a little until they left the beach and Saki let go.
The path Tsubaki took led back into the town and brought them to an area of the port far from the Polar Tang.
"I wish we could stay together for a while longer," Tsubaki said.
She wasn't the only one. "That's life. But hey, don't get all pouty now, we ran into each other at the ass end of nowhere! What were the chances."
"Yeah, yeah, I know!" He grinned at her. "Don't worry , something like that won't bring me down."
"That's what I like to hear."
Someone interrupted their conversation, then. "Hi, Tsubaki! Are you—oh! I see you're in good company."
Koala was looking at Saki with curiosity. It was difficult to tell whether she was unwanted, or she was just waiting for an explanation.
"Sorry to butt in!" Saki apologized. "I didn't feel very comfortable leaving her alone on the way back."
Their ship, previously unidentifiable because they were obviously not flying a revolutionary flag, was not too far way, and though there were crates and other people in the way, Saki could see the two men that had been in the hideout encouraging some people to board the vessel. They were being handed water and food, and they looked haggard but relieved.
She assumed Law had been right, and the cargo had been them, all along. It also put in perspective why the revolutionaries had stopped the Heart Pirates before they could act. If they lost track of the cargo, and they would also lose track of… how many lives? Saki felt a little bad for suspecting their intentions earlier.
"That's fair, someone could've followed her," she replied, and jokingly added, "But I don't think she needs that kind of protection anymore."
Saki decided that she didn't seem mad. "Oh well, I'm her big sis, can't help but worry, and who knows when I'll be able to see her again?"
"It's good to know she has someone watching out for her," Koala said, smiling, and the next words out of her mouth were the last thing Saki had expected her to say. "Say, why don't you come with us?"
"Go where?"
"To Baltigo. Don't you want to see your brother, too?"
"Of course I do, but I don't think—" Did she even want to go? Was she making up excuses? Why? She'd missed her sister, and she missed her brother, but at the same time, the idea of going with them felt wrong. She had somewhere else to be. "Can you even get me there? I thought you wouldn't be allowed to bring random people with you."
She was definitely making up excuses, and that made her feel guilty.
Koala laughed. "How do you think we picked up Tsubaki? And at any rate, you come recommended."
Saki tried to laugh too, but it came out a little strained. "I'm still a pirate, not a revolutionary."
"We're not so different! We picked up Nico Robin from the Straw Hat crew a while ago, too. She's staying with us for a while. You could do the same. Catch up with the family, then go back. If your captain's fine with it, that is."
Tsubaki seemed overjoyed at the proposal. "Do you think you could convince him?"
"I'm not sure." She replied, and kind of hoping that he could not be. She knew Law would let her go if she asked, but this was too sudden, and as much as she wanted to see Take and wanted to speak to Nico Robin, she wasn't looking forward to a change of scenery. "I really don't see how this could work."
"Well, think about it," Koala said. "The offer stands until… when were we leaving again?" Koala shouted at one of the men behind her.
"Noon tomorrow!"
"There you go."
"You have to try!" Tsubaki said, clinging to Saki's arm and full of energy. "I'll go with you if it'll help—"
"Oh, no, leave this to me. You'll just make him uncomfortable."
"Okay… You know him better." She didn't sound too happy about it, though. "By the way, you aren't leaving today, are you?"
"No, we're going to stay at least one more day."
"Cool! Then let's meet at the beach this evening, near the cliff! We can go to the last day of the festival together!"
"I've heard the last fireworks show is the best," Koala mentioned. "It's a good idea, go have fun while you're together!"
"Okay then," Saki said. One girl's night out with her sister was something that she'd never want to turn down. "Meet you later!"
—
Law wasn't having a good time. The occasions where he felt truly torn about what to do were scarce, and he had a feeling that this time, in particular, he was going to feel miserable no matter what he chose, so there was only one answer: do the most logical thing and prioritize safety over feelings.
He had to go to investigate Punk Hazard. And he could not, in good conscience, something that he liked to pretend he didn't have but actually gave him many headaches, make his crew accompany him. It was too close to the root of the whole problem and too much to ask of them. They were not involved in his personal matters, and he had never wanted them to be. He had never wanted to grow so attached, either. How much easier would the decisions he needed to take have been if his crew were just subordinates he didn't care about or didn't care for him in return? How had he fucked up so much when he had never been a likeable person or tried to be? He hadn't asked to have friends. He hadn't asked for people who'd follow him anywhere, no matter how outrageous the plan was, and he hadn't asked to reciprocate those feelings, either.
Bepo had always wanted to go back to his homeland and reunite with his brother. It was the reason he'd become a navigator, and it had always been in the plan to visit Zou. A wandering island that the Log Pose couldn't find. Law couldn't have asked for a better place to send his crew to protect them.
He had been steeling himself for months to do what had to be done, but the last thing he had expected was for Saki to run into her sister right before he had to part ways with them. It changed things. Perhaps for the better. After all, it wasn't like she could just quit being a pirate and start a life somewhere else like the others could, if they wanted – the moment Law lost his Shichibukai status, and that was bound to happen whether he took down Doflamingo or died trying, her feeble connection to Ohara would make her a rogue element again in the eyes of the government, and she'd have to live her entire life with eyes on her back, watching out for agents that would inevitably come for her. It wasn't that he didn't believe that the crew could keep her safe if it came down to it, but it was danger piled upon more danger, too risky for comfort if he could help it and make things easier for everybody, and now… now, perhaps, he could.
And just since she was the person she least wanted to see at the moment but most needed to, she appeared at the open door of his room and knocked on the frame. "I'm back! For a while. I'll see my sister later. And I saw something interesting!"
"Did you, now?" He said, motioning at her to go inside.
"Oh, so little faith in me," she said, quickly glancing at the hallway before closing the door. "You were right. They didn't just take boxes out of that warehouse. There were also people."
"Mack and Marina checked out the hold and said there were signs of people living there."
"Yeah, I just heard. You think that's why they actually sent Tsubaki with us?"
"The Revolutionary Army has a heart," he said sarcastically.
Saki, however, took the statement at face value. "Maybe! They've been picking up strays, from what they told me. They even offered me to go with them to see Take. Did you know Nico Robin is with them?"
"The Straw Hat?"
"Yeah. I don't know what happened to the crew, but she's apparently staying with them before she reunites with the crew. That makes two of them alive as far as we know, right?"
"Three. There's the skeleton giving concerts and selling out venues."
Saki made a face. "They are so weird."
"No wonder the revolutionaries took Nico Robin in. She's the biggest pain for the government in Straw Hat's crew, and that's saying something."
"Maybe not for long. That kid's pretty much unstoppable."
"If he doesn't kill himself first, sure."
"Would you be mad if he did? That's your work gone to waste."
He shrugged. "I did my part, I don't care either way."
"Why did you save him? I've been wondering for ages."
"I'm a doctor. It's what doctors do."
Saki's face fell a little. "Okay, you're not telling, I get it. But can I ask if you will, someday?"
"If the time's right."
"You and your secrets," she quipped.
He, however, didn't wasn't in the mood for jokes, and since she had brought up the subject, he had to take advantage of it before his resolve wavered. "Are you taking them up on the offer?"
"What, going with them?" She replied, weirded out. "I haven't even seriously considered it. What am I supposed to do with those people? I don't know them."
"But you know your siblings. You think those people are trustworthy?"
"I'm not sure I'd go that far." She said, scratching her head. "Well, they probably are, among themselves. Sure they seem nice, but I'm an outsider. You can't really tell these things until you're in. Tsubaki seems convinced enough though, and she should know better."
"That isn't a no," he said thoughtfully, like that reply was good enough.
Saki's face scrunched up a little with worry. "What's up with the long face?"
"Nothing."
"C'mon. You can tell me."
He could, but he didn't want to. And he had to. "I'm making plans for the near future."
Her face fell a little. "Is this about Joker?"
"In a way," he admitted.
She sighed. "Well, whatever it is you want to do, you can count on me."
"I know."
There was an uneasy lull in the conversation, and Saki, damn her perceptiveness, had to point it out. "Is something wrong? You're—"
"What were you going to ask the other night, before your sister appeared?"
Her eyes widened, but she didn't have to think about what he meant. She did seem reluctant to say it, though. "Cora, was it? Is he the reason you want to get revenge on Joker?"
"That's right."
"Who was he?"
"Doflamingo's brother. The person who saved me when I was sick, and who Doflamingo killed. That's the kind of man Joker is." He paused. "Not that you need me to tell you."
Saki fell silent for a long time. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
But he pressed on. "Aren't you happy to have found your sister?"
"Eh?" She didn't seem to know where the question had come from. "Of course I am. I can't think of anything that could have made me happier, honestly. Why do you ask?"
It was now or never, and he couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Law, you're scaring me. What's wrong?"
He felt like he had the pry the sentence one word at a time out of his mouth. "I think you should go with her."
"What?"
Silence fell like ton of bricks between them.
"You can't be serious," Saki said when it was evident that he wasn't going to repeat it. He couldn't. Saying it once had been hard enough.
"You thought your family was dead all this time, and you just found out your siblings are alive. The Revolutionary Army has offered to bring you to your brother. Why would you refuse?"
"Why would…?" She was feeling guilty, he could tell. Maybe that was the angle he should play to get this over with faster and convince her. "I want to see him, of course, but… I live here. What am I supposed to do, just pack up and go?"
"And why not? It's what you did when you left Asteria."
"That's… that was different." She shook her head. "I was sick and I owed you for your help, that's why—"
"You don't owe me anything as far as I'm concerned. There's nothing tying you to this submarine."
Her eyes widened, and she looked like she had taken a sudden blow. "You can't be serious," she repeated. "You—why are you telling me this? What are you getting at?"
"You have a family." The words came out hoarse, like his body itself was refusing to say them and he was forcing them out, hurting his throat. "Do you know what that means? How many people in this ship can say the same?" He heard her take a sharp intake of breath, but he plowed on before she could say something that would make his determination waver. "You have a family and you're willing to let it go to waste because of what? Traveling with friends for a while? Do you know what some people would give to be in your position?"
Her voice cracked when she replied, and he felt something break inside him. "Think I'm ungrateful."
"Yes."
He did not, and she knew him too well to swallow it so easily. That was also something Law hadn't asked for.
She sounded angry, maybe a little desperate. Maybe he was imagining it, and it was just his ego looking for signs that she wanted to stick to the crew no matter what. "How am I supposed to believe you when you can't even stare at my face when you say it? At least have the decency to look at me if you want to kick me out!"
If, of all things, someone had told Law prior to this conversation that the hardest thing he'd have to do was look at her in the eye, he wouldn't have believed it. He was bewildered by how much he wanted to look away, shove her out of the room, shut the door and yell at her to stop dragging this any further now that there wasn't any turning back.
"I want you to leave," he said, stressing every word, praying that this was the end of it because he could not keep this farce up any longer. "I don't want you in my crew."
It was like all the anger fizzled in an instant, leaving just a small young woman looking up blankly at him, one he had trouble recognizing as Saki for a moment. She was bright and loud and full of energy, and his last sentence had robbed her of that in one fell swoop, leaving in her place someone so fragile that he was afraid she'd crumble if he dared to move an inch.
She blinked a few times to stop the tears welling up in her eyes, and the indifference in her tone when she spoke hurt like a knife in the gut, but then again, he deserved it. He deserved that and more. "Alright." She said, her gaze drifting away from him as she did. "You've made yourself clear. I'll leave at sunrise."
And she walked away, quietly closing the door behind her, leaving Law to his own guilt.
—
Bepo yawned loudly as he walked down the hallway to go take a shower, and the instant his mouth gaped and his eyes closed was also the same moment that Saki choose to appear around the corner at high speed and bump into him.
She nearly lost her balance, and since she didn't acknowledge Bepo's presence and continued on her way, he took another look at her and saw her face contorted in an expression he'd never seen her make.
"What's wrong?"
"Ask your captain," she replied without turning around, skipping steps on the staircase until Bepo couldn't see her anymore.
He wasn't sure he wanted to intrude further, but the interaction had left a bad taste in his mouth, and he guessed knowing what was going on couldn't hurt. Something about Saki's sister? Maybe she would want to complain after she cooled down, and he'd rather be prepared if that happened, so he diverted his course and went in the direction Saki had come from.
Law's door was wide open, and he approached it cautiously until he saw Law leaning back against his desk and staring at an indeterminate point of the wall.
"Captain?" He said timidly. "What's going on? I just ran into Saki and she looked very upset, and when I asked her she said to ask you."
No reply came. Law just covered his face with his hands for a moment, rubbing a spot on his forehead. Bepo didn't have a clue what could have happened to make him so stressed out. The mission had gone well, no one had been hurt, and there hadn't been any problems with the revolutionaries that he knew of.
"Did you argue?" But that didn't seem right. Saki may have been fuming for a while after an argument, but she didn't get upset. Not like that, and when Bepo had seen her on the way out, she looked about to cry. "She left in a hurry."
"I told her to leave with her sister."
Bepo hadn't been expecting that. "With the Revolutionary Army? Why?"
"Her family's there," his tone was even and empty, like he wasn't there and just replying to him on autopilot. "It's only natural that she goes back to them."
"Does she want…?" He let the question die as he said it. Bepo had left his own hometown behind many years ago, and of course he missed his friends and family, but he wouldn't change what he had nowadays for them. "Did she say that?"
Again, silence.
Bepo found himself frowning despite his attempt to stay calm. "The Saki I know wouldn't say that."
"I shouldn't be the one telling you this, but her family's—look, she's been in the radar of the World Government for a while because of family connections she has nothing to do with. If we do what we talked about, I'll lose the Shichibukai title."
"So what's the difference? We were all wanted before, and we'll be again. As long as we stick together—"
"We can't."
"Why not?"
"Because I won't get you involved with my issues."
"Your issues are ours too."
"Not if I can help it."
Bepo bristled and he talked back to Law like he never had before. "What then? What do you want us to do?"
"Go to Zou and wait for me while I sort things on my end. You'll all be safe there, and I'll be done in no time. We'll reunite later."
The change of plans gave him pause, not only because he didn't like it, but because it didn't explain what had happened. "And what about Saki?"
"She'll be with her family, and the revolutionaries are more than capable of watching her back."
Law's forceful insistence was what made Bepo put the pieces together. "You kicked her out?! What's gotten into you?!"
"I'm doing what's best."
"But—"
"I won't discuss this any further."
Bepo stared at him at a complete loss. He had never, in all the years he'd known Law, been so angry at him, and he hadn't stumbled into a wall like the one he'd just run into. All the months he'd been acting odd and keeping them at a wider distance than usual made sense then. He had been planning this for months, to go to whatever danger he planned to throw himself into alone and leave them behind, sending Bepo with his people to keep the crew safe. He couldn't have known they would run into Tsubaki, so that had just been a very opportune coincidence to give him the worst possible idea.
"I don't agree with any of this. No one will agree."
"I made up my mind a long time ago. You are free to do whatever you want, but none of you will be coming with me. I plan on telling everybody once we set sail."
Bepo had to take some time to compose himself after that, and when he did, he was still furious, but his tone was cold. "That's why you made me get a Vivre Card? It wasn't for an emergency, it was for this?"
"Yeah."
"I'm going to give Saki a piece."
"That's fine."
It was difficult to make Bepo lose it with his friends, and right near impossible with Law, but that one sentence did almost it. It wasn't fine. Nothing was fine, and Bepo blamed himself first and foremost, because if he had noticed what was wrong before, he could have pulled Law out this spiral right when it started instead of letting it get this bad. So maybe what he said next was a little spiteful, but above all, it was sad and defeated and confused.
"I thought you loved her."
And he realized right away that it was the absolute worst thing he could have said.
"Bepo," Law said in a tone that made his fur stand on end. "Get out."
He didn't know what else to say that wouldn't make things worse, so he quietly acquiesced, despite that leaving him alone was the last thing he wanted to do. And while he leaned against the closed door to gather his thoughts, wondering who to tell this – if he was even supposed to, did he want to talk to Saki first? – he felt a weight rest against the other side of the wood, and Law's strained sigh didn't make him feel any better about leaving him to locked up in there.
—
Saki was very early to the meeting spot, but she had stormed off of the Polar Tang and it wasn't like she was in the mood to do anything. The sounds of the festival started to get louder as the stands began to open one more evening and the sun made its way down, and Saki sat alone on the beach, listening to them attentively, because keeping her mind distracted meant that she didn't have to relive every second what had just transpired.
She wanted to sink in the black sand and never come out. She kept revisiting the argument with Law and everything she had done in the last few days in hopes to find out what she had done wrong, because there had to be something, even if he wasn't telling her, right? There was no way he would make her leave without a reason, but at the same time, there wasn't any way he could think that deep down she wanted to leave, was there? Did he really resent her because she had someplace else to go? Was he right, was she being ungrateful for not wanting to take this opportunity to be with her family?
Was she?
What was her family, anyway?
That was, perhaps, what hurt most. The implicit denial that her family was the crew, that hers was elsewhere. That she didn't belong with them anymore.
She wanted to cry and scream because nothing made sense, but she couldn't figure out what was missing to understand where that blow had come from, and the search for that missing clue was what consumed her thoughts. The last few days they had been having fun, Law even seemed to be in a better mood than what had become usual for him in the last few months, and then… this.
But what was done was done, and there was no turning back, was there? She just had to feign for a while that everything was okay and roll with the punches. She was good at that. She didn't see how things would sort themselves out this time, but who knew? Maybe she'd get used to a new life. Maybe, after a while, the Heart Pirates would become just a nice reminder of times gone by.
Her left hand moved to cover her forearm and the tattoo many in the crew had. She had done it so many times that she didn't need a stencil anymore.
She didn't miss the sound of someone running in the sand towards her, and a few seconds later, Tsubaki jumped from behind her and landed next to her in a sitting position.
"Evening! How are you?"
"Great as always!" Saki pasted on a big grin, and she realized with dismay that the fake happiness didn't take any effort on her part. Old habits die hard, she guessed. "I need to ask you something."
There really was no turning back, she felt, as she tried to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"I was wondering if I could take Koala up on her offer? You know, be with you guys for a while? Don't let it get to your head, but I kind of missed you and Take."
Tsubaki immediately jump-tackled her. "Yes, of course you can!" She laughed with pure joy, and Saki felt conflicted that her reply sounded like a death sentence in her ears. "Take will be so, so happy! I'm so glad your captain lets you come with us."
"Yeah," Saki said, hugging Tsubaki back, with tears pricking at the corner of her eyes. She tried to think they were happy tears, because it was easier than the all-encompassing sadness she was actually feeling. "Yeah, me too."
—
Saki and Tsubaki had to cut the night short so Saki could go pack, but that didn't matter when they'd have time to be together for the foreseeable future.
She ran into Mack on the way in and told him that she'd be leaving for a while, and apologizing for leaving him alone at the galley. She could tell he didn't like what she was going to do, but he took the news with his usual grace.
Marina was another story. When she showed up in their shared room and told her she was leaving, she put her interrogation skills to work and grilled her until she confessed what had happened, and it took considerable effort on Saki's part to restrain her from going to find Law and start a fight with him.
Then, when she thought she was done with people and could finally do what she had come to, Bepo showed up too.
Saki expected another interrogation, but instead, he held a piece of torn paper towards her. She took it, and it was blank.
"Is that a vivre card?" Marina asked.
"What?" She said, startled. "This is… really valuable, Bepo. Does Captain know you're giving me this?"
"Yes, he thinks it's fine. Have you told the others?" Bepo asked.
"I ran into Mack on the way back and told him. Just so he knew I wouldn't be able to lend him a hand from tomorrow on."
"Just him?"
"It's not like it's going to affect a lot of things around," Saki said, trying to downplay the importance of the issue. "You've got all the work that needs to be done covered already. It's a good thing I don't do anything important around."
"That's not—"
"Oh, before I forget," Saki interrupted him, picking up the small coffer with the crew's funds and passing it to Bepo. "Can you bring this to Captain? I already left the logbook in the bridge."
"Why don't you do it?" Despite himself, he took it off her hands.
"I think it's best if I don't bother him," she replied with a smile.
"You don't… you couldn't possibly…"
"Please? I have to decide what I pack." And seeing Bepo's grave face, she added, "Come on, don't look at me with teddy bear eyes. I'll just catch up with my sibling and be back in no time. I've even got your vivre card now, I guarantee I'll find you. You can't escape from me."
Bepo didn't look convinced at all, but had the good sense to not press the issue further and go. Saki felt kind of guilty about using him as a courier, but she couldn't possibly face Law at the moment. It felt like her determination not have a full on breakdown was only held together by a piece of string and chewed up bubblegum, and she didn't need to stress-test it any further. In that sense, Bepo's gift felt like a lifeline. He'd kind of been throwing them to her since they had met, had he not? She would have never met Law without him, and she wouldn't have had the surgery she needed, and she'd have run out of medicine and probably be in a gutter somewhere in North Blue.
Saki got to the bottom of the trunk where she stored her clothes and found Marina's old blue dress there. It was staying, along with some other items that she didn't need. Even after nearly three years in the ship, she had never owned many things, something she was now thankful for.
"What else…" She mused out loud, looking at the open bag she had on the floor, already half full. "Clothes, shoes, toiletries tattooing equipment, sketchbook and pencils…"
"What about the books?"
Saki also felt bad about those. It wasn't so terrible to leave the ones she had picked up along the way, but some of those had come all the way from Asteria. There was the entire collection Hilda had given her. And then there were those she lent to Law and never bothered to ask back for.
From the desk, she picked up the picture of her mom and her friends, that one she used to keep inside one of the books until Shachi and Penguin gave her the frame, and opened the back. She had put the photography first, hiding the portrait they had used as a placeholder behind, and she put Bepo's vivre card there before closing it again. That also went in the bag.
"I can't carry them. They're too heavy and take up a lot of space." She said, trying to sound casual. "Put them away if you want to, or…"
"If you tell me to get rid of them I swear I'll toss that encyclopedia on your head."
Saki forced out a smile. "Yeah, I'm having mixed feelings about that. But shove them under my bed or something, you deserve the space."
Marina's entire demeanor was downcast, and she wasn't in the mood for jokes. "You're coming back, aren't you? You really are?"
Saki didn't know why, but it was always very difficult to deflect her questions. Maybe it was because she was always so earnest, and she felt she had to reciprocate that. "I don't know. I hope so."
"Why is he doing this?"
Saki shook her head. "I don't know, and he won't tell. Try to keep an eye on him, okay? Something's… wrong." Saki inhaled deeply, shakily. "I don't know why the fuck I can't be just angry at him instead of worried."
"I do, but you don't want to hear it."
"Shut up."
"We'll be waiting for you," Marina said. "Remember that."
"Thanks. Take care of my idiots."
"Of course. They're mine too."
—
The sun was barely starting to hint at its presence when Saki stood up from the bed and picked up her bag, exchanging a short goodbye with Marina.
The hallway of the submarine was empty, and not being at sea meant that everybody was in their quarters, still sleeping. It was better this way. Saki couldn't do goodbyes in the right circumstances, and these were anything but.
Everything was okay until she was just one last flight of stairs from the main deck and someone ambushed her on the way out.
"Stop right there."
"You've been hiding in the bridge all night?" She said, turning to face Shachi.
His fists were balled. "I'm mad at you, you know."
"I figured." It was fair, and she didn't have the strength to argue or deflect.
"You're leaving."
"Yeah."
"And when were you going to tell us? We had to hear from Bepo. Penguin decided not to tell you you're a dick because he says he gets it, so now I have to tell you you're a dick on behalf of him, too."
It was difficult to gauge just how angry he was when he said it like that, but she assumed it was a small effort to sound a bit more casual while remaining accusatory. They had never been much for serious conversations.
"It'll just be for a while." She replied. "No need to make a huge deal out of it, and I really hate farewells, so—"
"Really? Because I think if you thought you were going to be back soon, you wouldn't be avoiding us like the plague."
That one accusation hurt only because it was completely on point.
"I'm not—I didn't mean to… It's just for a short time, I promise." She sighed. There she was, saying goodbye and lying. "I'm just shit at goodbyes."
"And how are you going to get any better without practice?"
"I wish I didn't have to get better at it at all."
"Can't have everything," he said. "Sometimes you need to pick what matters most."
It would have been easier to let the comment slide and worm her way out of the conversation, but something told her she'd regret it forever, if she did. "It isn't like that."
"Huh?"
"I'm not leaving because they are more important than you."
Shachi suddenly lost all his indignation and cool posturing. "Fuck, no, I didn't mean it like that! Don't feel guilty! They're family, yeah? It's only natural you'd wanna spend time with them."
A small smile spread on her face. "Guess you're right for a change."
"See, that's the ugly girl I know and love."
"Shachi." She advanced solemnly, putting her hands on his shoulders. "There's something I've wanted to tell you for some time." She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, she said, "You're like the idiot brother I never had."
He looked confused. "I thought you had a brother?"
"Precisely."
He punched her in the ribs and it hurt.
"That's a deserved souvenir."
She wasn't about to argue that. "It'll fade away in a couple weeks."
"Think of me every time you look at it."
"I will," she said with a snort. "Thanks. For everything."
"Yeah, yeah… go away. You won't see me cry."
The first genuine laugh in what felt like ages escaped Saki, and with that, she made for the deck, leaving Shachi behind with a weigh that she wasn't comfortable piling up on him, but that she was sure she could not carry without breaking, as things were. It had been the last step, and now the only thing separating her from this new, unexpected stage in the life was the door to the upper deck…
…And as she opened it, she saw Law standing on it, with his back to her and his hands in his pockets, casting a melancholic silhouette against the pink and orange rays of the rising sun.
She would have lied if she said her first impulse wasn't to close back the door and curl into a ball (the second was to sneak up behind him and kick him strong enough he'd fall overboard), but she had learned the hard way that wishes were never so easily granted.
Everything was going so well. What did she overlook? What was the thing she missed that made him act like this?
She didn't turn with the sound of the door, something she was thankful for, whether he did it out of courtesy or because he couldn't bring himself to face her – he better – because it gave her a precious moment to compose herself. A small blessing.
"Making things difficult until the very end," she said as a greeting, and got alarmed at her own wording. The end? Was that what it was?
The anger and frustration she had seen on Law's face the last time they spoke was completely gone, replaced by surprise and a mix of emotions she couldn't place. Was he feeling guilty at all for what he was making her do?
"You know me," he said with a microscopic shrug.
"I thought I did."
Law flinched, but he didn't let it show for long. Instead, he took out something out of his pocket and offered it to Saki, all while avoiding her gaze.
It was the Eternal Pose to Niva. The one they had gotten years ago from Joker's subordinate.
She took it with hesitation. "You really don't want me here, huh?"
"That isn't it. I… There's reasons. It's for the best."
"But you aren't going to tell me why."
He didn't deny it. "Did Bepo give you his vivre card?"
"Yeah. I'll keep it safe."
"Good." He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them to look at her. "Find your way back to them when the time's right, if you want."
"To them?"
Once again, he was silent.
Maybe 'the end' had been the right wording, after all. "Well…" She started, inhaling deeply. "This is goodbye, I guess." Her voice broke as she said it, and that small betrayal of her own body made her feel so small and powerless that she had to exert all the willpower she had left to not start bawling like a child.
She locked eyes with Law for as moment as she opened her mouth to say an apology that didn't come out, and he looked like he was about to say something else, too, but the words got caught somewhere on the way out, leaving them staring at each other for a moment.
And right before Saki took the first step back to finally get off of the submarine and be done with this encounter that was doing nothing but making her feel worse, she felt his hand on her cheek, and he leaned down and kissed her.
It wasn't like time had stopped, like in so many of her sappy books, it was most certainly not romantic, and if there was one single, predominant feeling in her chest ready to burst, it was without a doubt anxiety threatening to give her a heart attack right then and there.
How dared he? Of all the times he could've—How long had he—
In a way, that action had sealed the goodbye in a way nothing else could have done, because he never would have, in normal circumstances, if he had the smallest hope of ever seeing her again—
When they broke apart, and Law's hand fell to his side, it took a Saki a few seconds of looking at him in complete astonishment before she could react.
And when she did, it was like all the pent up feelings she had been stewing for the longest day of her life finally broke the dam, coming out in full force, and she slapped him across the face hard enough to leave a mark.
"I can't do this anymore," she managed to say between sobs, as her palm stung with rage and the tears started to stream freely down her face, and she turned around and ran away, down the gangplank and into the port, until she disappeared into a side street and the Polar Tang was completely out of view.
She didn't need to look back to know that he hadn't tried to stop her.
When she was able to calm down, she walked to the meeting point with legs that seemed to weigh heavier with each step she took away from where the submarine was docked.
The warm greetings of the revolutionaries and her sister's embrace couldn't do a thing to the anguish she was left with, but at least she could put on a happy face for their sake.
For years, people have asked me if Saki was going to tag along with Law to Punk Hazard: here's your answer. I'll probably write a tumblr post later this week about the logic behind this decision.
Some time ago, I got a few not-so-nice comments assuming, among other things, that she would, and the fic was ruined because it was like all the others, or some bullshit like that? I'm not writing this note for vindication, though. What I want is to say what I wasn't able to back then (I was going through a pretty shitty patch, they were rude, and I didn't think it was worth replying to it): don't diss other people's hard work when you comment on someone's fic, you utter dickwaffle.
To the rest of you: sorry if I made you sad. I'll do my best to make it better.