A/N: Let us wrap up this arc. Please enjoy. *Bows*
I do not own One Piece. Merely one interpretation of Oda's work.
Time seemed to have stopped with Arlong Park's destruction. Those gathered were almost afraid to act, given the fight's uncertain conclusion.
The spell broke with Luffy's appearance and declaration.
Shock overtook fear.
As Nami smiled a watery smile, one of her neighbors murmured. Realization rippled outward.
"He won?"
A question.
"He won…"
Incredulity.
"He won!"
Affirmation.
Nojiko threw her hands into the air.
"WE WON!"
Jubilation.
The mob of villagers dissolved into a chorus of cheers.
"Hyik hyik hyik!"
'A~nd the moment's dead.'
Usopp sighed as the marines trooped up and spread out around the villagers. Captain Rat- Usopp remembered Nezumi's name, he just wished he didn't- laughed as he made his way forward.
The sniper blinked. Rat's gait was stilted, and he moved gingerly, arms behind his back. Usopp's keen eye also picked up on a fading bruise on one side of the captain's face. Nonetheless, the bastard regarded the scene with a smug grin.
"Well done, well done," he said, tone condescending, and grossly pleased. "I have no idea how you pulled it off, but fluke or not, you managed to defeat the Fishman Pirates." He raised a hand and threw out his arm, wincing almost imperceptibly as he did.
'Seriously, did he fall down a flight of stairs?'
"I'll be taking over from here," he said. His men pulled out their rifles behind him. "Lay down your arms and surrender! In the name of Marine Base 16, I, Captain Nezumi, hereby requisition the treasure of Sawtooth Arlong!"
Usopp leveled a thoroughly unimpressed gaze on the bastard rat.
'Between him, Fullbody, and whoever came to collect Kuro,' Usopp thought. 'Smoker's the only Marine Captain in East Blue with any actual scruples. A ratio of three to one for corruption- no wonder Arlong got away with so much bullshit.'
"Excuse me," Usopp said, stepping forward with a pinky in his ear. "What gives you the impression that we're all pushovers?"
"A decent bluff," Rat said, still wearing a grin fit for a disease-spreading rodent. "But the fact remains- you all just fought the fishmen. It's simply impossible for you to have any strength leftover."
'Ah yes,' Usopp thought blandly. 'Greed- the common root of almost mind-numbing stupidity among corrupt authority figures.'
"Hyik hyik hyik!"
"Hey, shit head," Sanji said, joining Usopp in front of the crowd. "Do we look dead on our feet?"
"Hyik hyik hyik."
Zoro rolled out his neck, scowling.
"You really shouldn't interrupt people who are trying to celebrate."
"Hyik hyik… hyik?"
"Oh~ Rat-san," Nami sang with a deadly sweet lilt. "Remember me~?"
Given how fast blood evacuated his face, Usopp inferred that Nami had met 'Rat-san' before. And that the encounter had not been pleasant for him.
"Hy-ACK!"
The… education which five irritated Straw Hats administered need not be mentioned.
"Y-y-you c-can't do this to me," Rat choked out from atop the small pile of his decidedly beaten soldiers. "I'll arrest you all!"
"He's still talking?" Sanji wondered aloud, sounding almost impressed at the fact.
Nami plopped Luffy's hat back on his head. She knelt down beside Rat.
"Take Arlong and all his men into custody," she said slowly, tugging on one of his whiskers. "Return his treasure to the villagers he stole it from, and help these people rebuild Gosa. And," she emphasized her last point with a particularly hard yank, prompting a yelp. "If I find out you so much as touched Belle-mére's tangerine grove, there will be hell to pay."
Perhaps finally sensing that his treatment thus far had been merciful, the cowed marine scrambled to his feet.
"You!" He shouted, pointing at Luffy. Because he apparently couldn't help insisting on the last word. "You're the Captain of this ragtag band, aren't you?! You won't get away with this! You'll rue the day you crossed Captain Nezumi!"
Rat only made said claim after he'd put himself well out of striking range. (Not Luffy's striking range, of course, though he probably didn't know that.)
Then he ran. Quite fast, too, considering the beating he'd just been dealt. His men were only paces behind him.
"Oh no," Sanji said in a flat tone. "He says we're going to rue the day."
"I'll let you know when I can bring myself to care." Usopp muttered dryly. Once upon a time, he wouldn't have been flippant. In his ideal world, none of his nakama would have prices on their heads. He'd realized years ago that he couldn't really do anything about it, though. Brook, Jinbe and Robin already had bounties. Even if Brook's poster was decades out of date and Jinbe's bounty had been frozen, Robin couldn't be pardoned short of selling herself to a Celestial Dragon (and over Usopp's dead fucking body.) Luffy and Zoro had set out to sea to become infamous in the first place, anyway.
For all his ingenuity and tricks, Usopp couldn't keep them anonymous to a government that feared anything that threatened their order. A tiny, black part of his soul whispered about borrowing a rifle and introducing the barrel to Rat's head. Which-
No. Usopp would ultimately only succeed in making the marines who came after them bolder and more vengeful. Besides… Nezumi wasn't on his list.
And really, someone did have to lock up Arlong.
The sniper shook his head, casting away the dark direction of his thoughts. He glanced around. Nami had been pulled into a fierce hug by her sister. The crowd, retaken by the joyous mood now that Rat had left, threw down their weapons.
"Spread the word!" Genzo yelled, his severe face brightened by a wide grin. He raised a fist and rallied everyone. "Tell all the villages- Arlong Park has fallen!"
The villagers dispersed with raucous cheers, all running for no other reason than that they could.
"I suspect," Usopp said, half-smiling. "That there's a party in the works."
Luffy, who'd been staring a little blankly and looking a tad peaked from the blood leaking down his neck and side, perked up at the implied promise of food.
"Moo?"
The Straw Hats, plus Nojiko and the bounty hunters, all turned back toward the pool. Moomoo, forgotten in the aftermath, had regained consciousness. The sea cow shook his head, clearly disoriented. The remains of Arlong Park were, evidently, quite a shock for the beast to find upon waking.
The sight of a sea monster's eyes, which were about the size of Going Merry's crows nest, bugging out of his head was pretty hilarious.
"Yo." Usopp said with a casual wave.
The bull gave a full-body flinch upon noticing the sniper and his crew mates.
"MNOO~!"
The bull fled faster than any of them could blink, smashing straight through the archway leading out to sea in his haste.
"Rude." Usopp groused.
"Pfft!"
The sniper could've anticipated Luffy breaking down into uproarious cackling. Of course his captain would be delighted by the idea that his sniper could scare a sea monster.
He was a little more surprised at the sight of Nami trying and immediately failing to contain herself. The cartographer actually doubled over, hands clutching her stomach. The hasty bandaging on her shoulder stained red, tears streamed down her face, and at one point Usopp felt mildly concerned that she hadn't breathed for several seconds. Yet, for all that, her face just about glowed, and her laughter was the freest he'd heard from her since… since before he'd been given a second chance.
Nojiko caught his gaze with her own, one hand on Nami's back. She mouthed to him, unwilling to intrude on her little sister's joy.
Thank you.
Hachi embraced the comfortable familiarity of the sea. He chose to fall below the surface rather than dive down. He was still wounded, and his mind occupied. There hadn't been many occasions for reflection before. Or maybe there had been, and he'd just chosen not to take them.
After all, the human who'd helped him to the ocean had given him a fair bit to think about. He still didn't know which human had helped him, blindfolded as he'd been. Actually-
Hachi pulled the bandana covering his eyes loose and blinked a few times. He let himself sink deeper toward the sea bed. He'd swam out far enough to reach one of the drop offs near the island.
The octopus fishman had woken up in pain and halfway draped over someone's shoulders.
("Ow. Ow."
"Oh, Hachi, hey. Don't move too much, okay? You could reopen your wounds.")
A quick flex of his hands and arms had convinced Hachi that the stranger was right.
Then, of course, he'd realized he couldn't see.
("AH! I'm blind!"
"Wh- no, no, relax. I put a blindfold on you, that's all. I didn't want you getting upset if you woke up."
"Oh. Thank you very- wait, why would I be upset?"
"Well, our crews did just fight each other.")
Hachi had been surprised and a little alarmed by that.
("Nyu?!"
"Oi, what'd I just say about moving too much? And keep quiet, all right?"
"But-!"
"I'm trying to sneak you away before the marines come to collect Arlong and the others. Work with me, will you?")
That had given the octopus pause. He'd figured the fight must have been over, and the stranger (Hachi knew they must've been from Nami's other crew, but he couldn't place the voice. He hadn't paid too much attention outside of his fight with Zoro) didn't sound mean. As much as Hachi could appreciate a good brawl or sword fight, he didn't resort to violence as quickly as his captain.
For a while, they'd moved quietly while Hachi stewed over his nakama's defeat. Eventually, his curiosity won out.
("Nyu. Why are you helping me?")
He'd gotten a sigh.
("I don't know how best to answer that.")
Another long pause.
("I guess the short answer is that you know that what Arlong did here- what he did to Nami- was wrong.")
The octopus fishman truly hadn't known how to respond. Because, somehow, the human was kind of right. Hachi didn't really want to defend the crueler actions of his captain, nor did he want to condemn those he considered kin.
("You made mistakes. And look, I get that they weren't easy choices. I know about Fisher Tiger."
"Wha- How?"
"Never mind how I know. That's not the point. The point is, every day you stayed with Arlong while he oppressed this island and tormented Nami was a choice. Not one decision that you stuck by until now, every day was a choice."
"N-nyu…"
"Arlong's whole delusional 'scheme' to build an empire here never would've worked. He wanted to hide from the world. Most people don't get that pissed off unless they're scared. And he chose this island where he could, conveniently, oppress and terrorize humans for being humans, same way fishmen have been. Being justified in his fears doesn't make him right though, Hachi. He was a fucking coward, and you enabled him.")
Hachi's mood sank like an anchor. The human had struck mercilessly with every point he made. The octopus had let his nakama do wrong to Nami and her village. Hachi had chosen not to think about it. That got a little easier over the years, though guilt came to the fore quite easily with the right provocation.
("Like I said, I think you really do know better. And despite whatever your old crew mates might believe, our fight never had anything to do with Human against Fishman. We fought for Nami, our nakama, who was wronged. We'd have done the same to anyone. You can understand that, right?"
"Mmm…"
"You can make your own choices, Hachi. You may not be strong enough by yourself to change a lot, but you can still choose."
"Nyu. Maybe I'll turn myself in."
"Oi, no, none of that. I'm just explaining things to you. This isn't a guilt-trip. I know you already feel bad enough without me. I didn't decide to help you out just for you to go to prison."
"Then what should I do?")
For some reason, the stranger had chuckled. By then, Hachi could hear the waves on the shore. He'd burned with curiosity over the stranger's identity. He'd reached for the blindfold with a couple of his hands.
("I don't think I'm the best person to answer that. Open a food stand, maybe? Just don't let yourself be an enabler to more hatred and fear, Hachi. That's all.")
A hand had met his own just as he'd begun to loosen the blindfold. The grip held him firmly, though not without minding his wounds.
("I'd consider it a personal favor if you held off on returning that till you're in the water.")
Hachi had gotten the sense that if he tried, he could've taken the blindfold off without further resistance.
He'd chosen to leave it alone.
"Nyu~."
Hachi balled up the bandana idly. His choices had been hard. He'd never forgotten how hard Jinbe fought to honor Tiger-aniki's last request.
"Don't let them know about our hatred for the humans!"
Tiger-aniki had every reason to despise humans, and to his last breath, some part of him did. Yet he still chose to believe in a new generation without inherent hatred. He believed in children like Koala.
Hachi shared that belief. He'd had a soft spot for children, human and fishman, since Koala finally opened up to them. That same softness ached a little whenever a child looked at him with terror, afraid for their lives. He'd been reluctant to put the Gosa kid in a cell for that very reason.
Hachi hadn't wanted to abandon any of his nakama either. Jinbe had been furious with Arlong, but at least he'd been given status, protection, been named a Shichibukai. Hachi had thought he could do both- honor their aniki and stay with Arlong.
Refusing to make a real choice had been a choice, though.
The octopus sensed a shift in the water, and he looked up toward the surface. The familiar sight of a ship's underbelly, an anchor line hanging down to the ocean floor.
"Marines…"
Hachi knew the waters around the Coconomi islands well. Short of a direct fight, his wounds would probably hold. He could cause a diversion.
The octopus fishman regarded the bandana in his hands.
He tossed it back up to the surface, where the wake would take it to shore. He turned his back on the island and made his way into the open ocean.
Usopp wrung the water out of his bandana as he made his way back to Cocoyashi. He reflected on his conversation with Hachi, feeling emotionally drained.
Out of all the fishmen, Usopp had wanted to avoid interactions with him the most. Plenty of the Straw Hats' allies were once opponents, if not outright enemies. Only a handful came around to be real friends like Hachi, though. Even knowing the history behind Arlong's hatred of humans, the abuse Nami suffered couldn't be excused.
Perhaps his own cowardice also prevented him from seeking Hachi out before the battle. While Usopp hadn't wanted to see his friend hurt, he also hadn't been sure of simply forgiving him. The sniper's foreknowledge, the eight years he spent aware of Nami's plight, exacerbated his internal conflict rather than help resolve it. In short, he hadn't known what he'd do upon seeing Hachi.
He couldn't bring himself to leave the octopus to the tender mercies of the marines, though.
The marksman strolled past the outskirts of the small village when realization struck and he groaned silently.
'I could've warned him about Hody.'
"Hey, Usopp!"
Zoro's sharp call snapped Usopp out of his thoughts. He looked up to find him in a glaring contest with Sanji. Zoro shifted his weight back slightly as the sniper approached, while the cook kept his one-eyed glare on the swordsman.
"What's your count?" Zoro asked without preamble.
Usopp blinked.
"What?"
"The contest," Zoro said shortly. Sanji took his eye off Zoro to glance his way. "Your count, what was it?"
The sniper balked a little. He'd forgotten the ploy he'd used earlier to get Sanji and Zoro to 'cooperate' in the fight. He hadn't realized the consequences until he was confronted by the familiarly intense competitive atmosphere between them.
Namely, getting dragged into it himself.
As the argument devolved (he found out the three of them actually tied. The sniper was decidedly more pleased with that result than either of the other two), Usopp could only think
'It's possible that I've made a mistake.'
Nami approached Belle-mére's grave quietly, tangerine in hand. Her feet followed the path to the small cliff without much conscious input. She knew Genzo and Nojiko were close behind her, though they didn't speak. Just as well, since the cartographer's mind was otherwise occupied by the many events of the last few hours. The spot, marked by a simple cross, had been a refuge. Shunned by her neighbors, she'd sought out a place to help her make sense of her life when bitching and venting to Nojiko fell short.
The overlook let her reorient herself and determine up from down.
Southern winds preceding a cold front.
The shape and temperament of the clouds overhead.
The ebb and flow of the currents breaking against the shore.
Her mother's love for her, expressed in her dying words and her final act.
Nami could make sense of those simple facts, no matter how many times her sense of gravity shifted. As she sat cross-legged on the ground, one image of the day stood out prominently among all the others in her mind.
Her desk, flying out of the fourth-story window of the mansion, suspended in the air for just a moment before shattering to kindling and splinters against the concrete.
Nami had been forced to kill her dream at that desk, one agonizing chart at a time. Eight years of parchment slowly buried the last vestige of childhood that survived Belle-mére's death.
And suddenly, all of that suffocation was gone.
Nami's smile- for she really hadn't stopped smiling since Luffy declared her one of his own- grew wider. She realized, with a clarity that settled in her bones, why the destruction of that desk, that room, felt more personally poignant than anything else.
She could start over.
After eight years, she could finally breathe.
News of Arlong's downfall and the island's liberation spread throughout the neighboring villages within hours. The celebration that followed lasted well into the evening, and carried on straight through the next night.
The conservative practices of eight years, the strict rationing employed so that families could live from month to month, were cast out, and none missed them. Booze flowed, dance and music and food indulged. Villagers tripped over each other laughing, drunk on elation and cheer. For the first time in eight years, they lived without a thought for tomorrow, because for the first time in eight years, they felt secure in their tomorrow.
On the morning of the third day, all of Cocoyashi gathered at the pier to see off their unlikely saviors.
"This is where we part ways, Aniki." Johnny said from the dock.
"We're going back to bounty hunting," Yosaku said. "Take care on your travels!"
"Yeah, good luck to you guys."
Usopp leaned on the railing with his arms folded, letting the chatter wash over him. He caught only snippets of conversation as he watched for Nami.
"She's leaving the treasure here?! She risked her life for"
"She said it would've gone to the village anyway. I tried talking to her, but you know how she"
Around the time Sanji threatened to leave the crew if Nami didn't come (an empty threat, really), the sniper spotted her. Anticipating the cartographer's wishes, he moved to raise the anchor.
"Set sail!" Nami shouted, breaking into a dead sprint.
Some might've seen a young woman leaving before her resolve crumbled. Others might have suspected her of being desperate to avoid any drawn-out farewells. Watching her weave through the crowd and dodging their attempts to prevent her wordless departure, Usopp could understand such interpretations.
Of course, he knew better.
Nami leapt from the edge of the pier, cleared the slowly growing distance to the ship and landed on the stern. She kept her back to all her neighbors despite their calls. She slid her hands to the hem of her shirt and lifted-
Clunk.
Wallets and small purses clattered onto the deck at her feet. The confusion of those on the pier, previously tinged with concern, shifted. Shock and aggravation spread as they each found themselves several thousand beri's lighter. Nami flicked a note between her fingers and favored Cocoyashi with a mischievous, coy grin cast over her shoulder.
"Bye-bye everyone!"
"You little thief!"
Genzo yelled after Nami with the short-lived frustration of one who'd been played.
Nami had come a long way from the little girl he caught snatching cartography books.
The outcries of his neighbors soon changed to well-wishes and fond goodbyes.
"Hey, kid!" Genzo shouted, catching the straw hatted boy's attention.
They locked gazes for just a moment, and the kid threw out a thumbs-up. A promise to protect Nami's happiness.
Genzo nodded.
With that, he plopped down on the dock between Nojiko and Nako. He glanced at the young woman- she watched her sister shrink into the distance with an easy, fairly contented smile.
"Oh," Nako said, digging out a slip of paper from his coat. "I thought you'd want to see this, Genzo- Nami told me she wanted a new tattoo before she left."
Genzo eyed the sketch.
"She told me it's a pinwheel," Nako said. "And a tangerine."
Genzo saw the connection immediately- a fruit hung from the topmost of the wheel's four wings. He smiled softly, his heart tender.
"Hey," Nojiko spoke up, eyes flicking up to his hat. "Where's your pinwheel, Genzo?"
("Wh-why's she crying?"
"You're scaring her, Genzo! It's because you've got such a harsh-looking face!"
"But… uh, oh! I'll wear this from now on! That ought to make her smile, right?"
"Wha- ha, Genzo, you're just being ridiculous! Nami's not"
"She's laughing!")
Genzo chuckled. Belle-mére had teased him often, though even she'd been rendered momentarily speechless by his success to endear himself to the infant Nami. He wore that pinwheel throughout her childhood, and on the day Nami's laughter died, he vowed to protect that pinwheel with his own life.
If he could provide her with even the memory of a smile, it was well worth it.
The old sheriff surprised Nojiko by throwing an arm around her shoulders and half-hugging her.
"Don't need it anymore." He said, tone nostalgic yet proud.