Shivered Timbers
by Kaline Reine

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of the characters/settings. This is just a fanfiction story. I do own Shiori, she is my character. I also own a few other original characters in this story (not affiliated with One Piece), which will be introduced as they are needed.

WARNINGS: This story contains (or may contain) graphic adult content and language, explicit sex scenes, possible violence, gore, cursing, adult themes, etc. I do not censor my writing, but I do my best to warn people about the subject matter and potential subject matter. So if you don't like that kind of thing or can't handle it, then I suggest not reading this story. You have been warned. Also, I know this doesn't follow canon but it doesn't have to, that's why it's a fanfic. xD

Also... The beautiful cover image for this story is by my friend, EzariaUmiko on DeviantArt. All credit for the image goes to her. c:

Chapter 42: Loss After Loss

It was a pretty long walk back to the Royal, but nothing too bad. And at least the company was not unpleasant. It took them a couple of hours to make it to the island's shore where their prized ship waited. For Shiori, it was a sight for sore eyes when they finally reached the coast.

The first person they saw was Haji, who had been sitting on the railing with one short leg swung over the side, cleaning and sharpening his various bladed weapons. He waved when he noticed Ace, but jumped up when he noticed the second person with him. He called for the others to come out and see. Artemis, Hiretu, Mitch, Rex, Hoko, Geirin, and Zetsui all piled onto the deck.

No one had been expecting Shiori to make it back... Everyone's jaws dropped the moment they saw their Captain approach with her in tow. They couldn't believe it! Tears welled up in some of their eyes, others shook their heads in disbelief, grins of joy plastered onto their faces... For a while, no one said anything, until they got even closer and they could see that she was indeed really there.

As she walked on board, she noticed that Artemis had her hands on her hips. "Where the fuck have you been?!" Her tone was a lot more motherly than expected, and it seemed to surprise even her. It was hard to miss the joy she was trying to suppress from leaking into her voice, however.

Shiori chuckled. "Buried under about four billion tons of white bullshit. What about you?"

"You were buried alive? Are you fucking serious?!" The shark girl's razor sharp teeth shown when her jaw dropped at her friend's statement. She openly gawked at her.

"She's very tired from her ordeal," Ace explained, as all the others started bombarding her with tons of questions too. "I'll fill everyone in on the details soon. I'm sure you're starving, Shiori-chan... I remember how hungry I was when I first got back, and that was a couple of days ago. You should go ahead and eat."

When the girl simply nodded and looked to him expectantly, Rex rolled his charcoal eyes without missing a beat. "Guess that means I won't be able to hear about it until later. I'll go whip something up for you." He was already preparing for the task, tightening his headband as he left for the kitchen.

"Welcome back," Mitch extended a hand to her and took note of her weakened grip as she shook it cautiously. He pulled it closer to himself in a concerned way. Fortunately, it seemed his mood had improved since their first expedition on the island. "Is there anything I can get for you?"

"No I'm okay, but thanks..." Shiori pulled away and politely excused herself from everyone to go into the galley to wait for Rex. "Please excuse me, I really am famished..."

Truthfully, she hadn't eaten for several days, and Ace was right. She was starving! It had been nearly a week since they'd first set out to scout the island. The only thing she'd had while she was on her own after the avalanche swept her away were whatever scarce berries and plants she got lucky enough to find. There wasn't much else. And even that was a couple of days ago. She could feel her resolve weakening from such drastic hunger. With every second that ticked by, it felt like a brand new explosion in her head, and her stomach was throbbing in pain. She'd been able to ignore it okay until it was mentioned, but even just the thought of food made her almost start drooling on the spot. She was starting to feel very unwell, even though that shouldn't be surprising.

The albino didn't have anymore patience for anything else right now, and she was sure the rest of the crew would understand, most of them having been in similar states before. She remembered that from the numerous times when they'd all swapped stories together. Many among them were no stranger to the pains of hunger.

"So what the hell happened?" Artemis' tail swished sharply to and fro when she sauntered into the galley right behind her.

"Isn't Ace-kun telling everyone?"

"Sure, but I wanted to hear about it from you..." She tilted her head, simply waiting for a response as she sat down next to the Valkyrie.

Sighing, Shiori rattled off the list from the top of her head quickly. "I was buried in the first avalanche, after it separated all of us. I thought I was done for, but Vanora-chan came to save me... She dug me out. Then I headed up the mountain, fought with the Scarlet Pirates, fell down into a cavern, got the ice sword, and met a lioness spirit who inhabits the blade. I might've forgotten to tell him about that, but he knows the rest and-"

"Whoa... Wait a fucking minute! Slow down just a little, will ya?"

"Look, you wanted to know, and insisted on pressing the damn issue. This is what you get. Take it or leave it." She pointed toward the open doorway to the galley that led back outside. "If you want the sugar-coated version, Ace is out there explaining most of it." Her tone was completely cold, just like her Devil Fruit powers.

"Wow, what's your deal? It's not like you to be so fucking-" Artemis cut herself off, unsure of how to even finish her sentence. "Like... Like this! It just isn't like you!"

"I'm really not in the mood to care right now." The albino girl snapped, putting her head down on the table and resting it on her forearms.

Right now, she really wished her head would stop pounding. It was obnoxious being bombarded with so many questions all at once, especially while she was this dizzy. And Ace had said to leave her alone... Why couldn't Artemis just listen, like the others were doing? She could overhear the rest of them talking outside in the silence that followed. Thankfully her newest friend was allowing her some space to think, but it was ruined when some of their crewmates started asking awkward questions.

"And? Cut to the chase. What about the treasure?" It was Mitch's voice.

Ace cleared his throat awkwardly. "Ahh, I don't know... We didn't get to that part yet. But I didn't see any of it, so... Probably not. I mean, there was a chance that it may not even exist."

"Are for real? It's what we came here for in the first place! You mean no one even got it? Man, I knew it! She didn't come through, did she?"

They could all tell by his tone where this was going. And Ace didn't say anything. At least, not that either of the girls could hear. Mitch seemed to be implying that she might have double-crossed them, but most of the others knew better.

"No treasure then?" Haji sounded disappointed as well. "...Damn!"

"Not that I know of," Their Captain sighed, knowing they were going to think whatever pleased them anyway. "But now really isn't the time to be pestering her about things like this. Have you seen the condition she's in? We're lucky she even made it back."

The others all started talking at once, as Ace told them the rest of what she'd been through. At least the parts that he knew of... He still wanted to talk to her more about it, but now clearly was not the time.

"So..." Artemis cleared her throat, trying to pretend she hadn't heard any of that, even though they both knew damned well that she had. "You got the sword you were after?" She blinked.

"..." Shiori only waved a hand at her friend, signaling that she didn't want to talk anymore. At least not to any of them. She simply put her head back down and waited for her food.

Truly, she didn't know what to do now... Shiori was well aware that she was already pressing her luck here. Sure, they'd let her stay on their crew for a while, but that was when she had a rare treasure map to something that might actually be valuable to them. And their original agreement had been that she would give Ace and his crew the treasure in it's entirety to pay for her room and board in exchange for bringing her to search for the ice sword in the first place.

'Now how will I pay him back for bringing me here?! I don't have any money!' Shiori sighed dejectedly. 'And I can't give up my sword... It's too precious of a weapon for someone with my ability. I'm sure Ace wouldn't expect that anyway, but... The others sound so pissed! What am I going to do?!'

'You could always just tell them you're sorry and move on...' Vanora lightly suggested, curling her tail around her neck to give her something soft to focus on. Shiori just batted it away though.

"Now's not the time..." She muttered to the kitten.

'And it's not as simple as you think.'

'Or maybe...' The wistful creature purred. 'You're just over-thinking it!'

This was met with a sharp glare. 'Look, I know you think you're being clever and all, but all you're doing is irritating me even more! I just want to eat in peace and probably go take a shower after this. I know these people all want answers from me, but I couldn't care less right now... I have to break this awful news to them and they're all going to hate me once I do. Even Ace! They'll probably kick me off the crew completely. I've just been through a crazy ordeal and I'm supposed to figure out what I'm going to do next and I have no idea!'

The internal panic must have been a little too evident on her face, because Artemis put a comforting arm around her and patted her shoulder gently. Vanora didn't bother answering her, since she knew she was only venting, and not seeking an actual response.

"Are you okay, hun?"

"I'm f-fine..." That was a lie. She was nervous about not getting the treasure for them as agreed. She was tired and felt awful. And most of all, she was probably more than halfway through the process of starving to death.

"If this is about the treasure, we-"

"Please do not be offended..." Shiori bowed her head slightly and began to get to her feet. "But I don't think you should be speaking on behalf of a crew that you just joined. You haven't been a Pirate for very long and probably don't understand the way a Pirate's mind usually works. It's n-nothing personal but..." She trailed off, letting her words fall as they would.

"Okay maybe you should be alone for a little while..." Artemis was still attempting to keep a level head, despite being openly criticized.

She was used to it anyway, having withstood far more cutting comments from other girls on an almost daily basis as a regular part of her job. She didn't need some little girl who almost died coming in and putting her in her place... But she knew better than to say so in the present moment. The female shark wasn't angry, she just didn't think her friend was thinking straight right now, and she knew she'd endured a lot lately. In other words, she knew when to back off.

"What I did was unforgivable! Don't you get that? A Pirate's word is all they have. And I couldn't even keep my word to someone who means the world t-" She stopped in her tracks.

"Hehehe! Don't worry," The shark girl giggled from behind a slender black hand. "I don't think he heard you!"

"Now is not really the time to tease me." Shiori mumbled weakly, forcing back a smile, and sitting down again. It's not like she had anywhere else to go, even if the last thing she wanted was to be around people right now. What was taking him so long on that food anyway?

"It got you to smile, didn't it? Almost?"

"I guess I'm just nervous about confronting him about it. I mean, I know at some point we're going to h-have to talk about it. And I don't want to have that talk... I already know I don't deserve to be a part of the Spade Pirates anymore. All that's left to for me to do is leave as soon as we get back to civilization. Maybe even before then, if-"

"Fucking stop it!" Artemis had grabbed her by both shoulders and was shaking her rather violently. "Just stop, okay?! You aren't fucking going anywhere. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. When it comes to men-"

Rex chose that precise moment to enter the gallery with two trays of food. "Ladies... I did what I could on such short notice," He explained. "I couldn't make a full meal this quickly, since good food takes time... But I did my best."

He presented Shiori with what appeared to be a vegetarian bento box, and gave Artemis another platter of sushi, hoping that would keep both of them sated for now. He must have seen Artemis come in or overheard them talking. Shiori wasted no time in digging right into her meal. After the first few bites, she had a huge smile on her face when she looked up at the cook.

"It's delicious! Thank you very much, Rex-kun!"

"Heh. No problem." He returned her smile with a small one of his own. "I'm just glad you like it. By the way, I kind of missed Ace's explanation, so when you feel up to talking about your adventures, I'm all ears."

She only nodded, devouring the bento with the chopsticks he'd provided. Shiori really was eager to talk to all of her friends about everything she'd been through- it had been quite an adventure, after all- but there were a lot of reasons why she couldn't. For one, she didn't even know where to begin! As she chewed her food, her thoughts began to wander...

Before they wandered very far, Rex was talking again, taking off his bandana and sitting down. She'd never seen him act so casual, but decided that it didn't matter.

"Or if you want, we could talk about it over drinks with everyone later?"

"She doesn't really wanna talk right now," Artemis stated dully, in between bites of her own dinner. "We've already been through that. Wouldn't touch that shit with a ten foot pole if I were you."

"A-actually... I think I'll hit the showers after this. I've been through a lot and I feel gross." The poor girl had no energy to be anything other than blunt.

The chef nodded, seeming to understand. "Oh. True. Has anyone told you about Walter yet?"

Artemis punched him in the arm. Hard.

"OW!" Rex whined, pouting a little. "Hey! What was that for?!"

"You insensitive asshole! We were trying to give her time!"

"Give me t-time?" Shiori tried to fight off the sinking feeling that was now growing in the pit of her stomach. That didn't sound good... If it were good news, they probably would have readily told her as soon as she got back though. "Oh yeah, I haven't seen Walter-kun since I got back, but he'll probably want to take a look at my injuries and all... He worries a lot."

The doctor had always reminded her of Ruhi that way... Even though they had different medical approaches and very different personalities, Walter had always had a genuinely caring kind of air about him. She couldn't help but be reminded of the kindhearted medic who had taught her so much when she was a child, and watched over her in the absence of her family. Well, not her real family, but the only other family she had ever had...

Until now.

It was true, she realized. The Spades really were like a family to her. She smiled at the thought, momentarily forgetting about the matter at hand. She was still enjoying her meal. After all, it was the first decent one she'd had in a long while. She was grateful he hadn't taken the time to get overly creative with it this time.

"Ah, well..." Rex coughed and began to excuse himself. "I really should be going... I've still got dinner to cook for everyone. I'm making soup since I want to make sure our supplies stretch as far as possible. Just let me know if you need anything else. Get some rest and feel better, okay Shiori-chan?"

"I'll do my best."

He was gone in a flash. What he'd said made Shiori feel even more guilty about not being able to get the treasure for them. She knew he hadn't really meant for his comment about making the food stretch further to come across as a guilt trip, but she also knew they needed it for supplies and to keep the ship running. A fact was still a fact.

"Listen... Before your shower, we should talk..." Artemis pushed her own tray aside, not feeling hungry anymore out of concern for her friend. She let out a sigh, reaching for Shiori's hand and gently patting it. That was what humans did when they were trying to comfort someone, right?

"Oh no... What happened?" The albino girl knew right then that something was very off here. "I know something must have happened to him, so what is it? Is he sick? They probably need my help to heal him, right? Or some kind of medicine?"

"It's not really like that," The shark girl hesitated, fidgeting with her long pastel pink hair nervously... Which was weird, because nothing ever made her nervous anymore. "You should finish your meal first."

"I'm almost done, just spill it already."

Knowing that she probably owed it to her friend to be truthful and direct, Artemis took a deep breath. She was steeling herself and trying to figure out how she was going to break such heartbreaking news to such a sweet girl.

"Walter-san is..." She sighed, and her deep purple eyes looked away, unable to make eye contact. But she knew it was best to get it over with. "Well, he got swept away during the avalanche too. I wasn't there, but I heard some of the others talking about it and Ace-sama informed everyone when he got back the first time..."

"Informed them of wh-what?" Her chopsticks were still, as rose mauve eyes narrowed, watching her friend's body language closely for any obvious signs of distress. All she found there was sadness.

"...I'm sorry. I heard he got injured in the first avalanche. They did what they could but... Walter didn't make it. He never came back. Shiori, I'm so sorry... I know how much it hurts to lose a friend."

The remnants of Shiori's dinner clattered to the floor. She'd been in mid-bite, only to suddenly drop everything the minute she heard the news.

'No one can possibly know what it's like to lose everything I've lost...' That had been her gut reaction, but perhaps it was a good thing that she didn't voice those particular thoughts out loud... For all she knew, Artemis may well have lost even more.

Unsure of how to feel about this, she took a minute to process it. Walter was her friend. He'd healed her countless times and he even seemed to have an inkling about her feelings for Ace, but he'd never been cruel to her about it. He had always treated everyone with mutual respect for as long as she'd known him. It had been an honor to know such a sweet and noble person.

It was almost as bad as when she had lost Ruhi, along with Chiaki, Michiko, and all the others too. His death reminded her of that, and it brought tons of memories back. Each of them flooded to the surface of her mind all at once. It wasn't fair...

Even Vanora seemed to sense that something was up. She didn't comment on the news if she'd understood it, but she nuzzled the Valkyrie's face gently, lying next to her on the table. She looked sad too, and more than a bit concerned.

"He d-didn't deserve that..." Shiori sniffled, feeling her friend immediately hugging her for comfort, as a loud sob shook through her. She didn't pull away. "Poor guy..."

"I know. I feel terrible about it too... Damn. I wish there was something I could've done."

The shark in her may be cold and uncaring about most things, but underneath it all, Artemis was still human. She could still feel sad over the death of a treasured comrade, even if she didn't know him all that well. As it stood, there were so many things she wanted to tell Shiori. They needed to talk and had lots of catching up to do. Granted that was probably nothing compared to everything she probably needed to discuss with their Captain, but one thing at a time...

Tears flooded her eyes and fell down her cheeks, her lips trembled, and she wept openly then, her shoulders shaking violently for several long minutes. All the shark girl could do was hold her and try to remain steady and calm, for her sake.

"I remember when he first patched me up from my time on Alvida's wretched ship... Poor Walter-kun... He was always so n-nice! Why... Why didn't Ace-kun tell me?"

Great. Now she was worried about two things. Well, there were a hell of a lot more than just two things that currently worried the poor albino girl. But these were the two which predominantly stood out like twin sore thumbs in the present moment. Shiori had suffered loss after loss after loss. It seemed like everything was still a long way off from getting better. The agony was too much for her to take much longer.

Not to even mention that not having a medic could be devastating for most Pirate crews. It was a potential death sentence for all of them, if they weren't careful... Everyone knew that, of course, but no one would say it. Now was not the time. Even though Walter would have wanted all of them to be careful and put their safety and well-being above his, which only served to worsen the pain of his loss even more.

And Shiori felt responsible; after all she was the one who had brought them here, to the place that had led to his eventual untimely demise.

"I'm sure he fucking planned to," Lavender orbs glared in the direction of the kitchen, where Rex had obnoxiously disappeared right after dropping such a bomb on her. "Ace-sama probably just wanted to give you a little time to relax first."

"Good luck with that happening now. I'm so upset... I can't believe he's gone! What are we supposed to even do without a medic on board? This is bad!"

"Actually, you might be pleasantly surprised. I think you should probably wait to talk to Ace about this, since-" Shiori had burst into tears again while she was talking. Artemis had no idea how she was supposed to comfort someone in such a state. "Umm... There, there...?"

"D-don't patronize me..." She sniffled, wiping at her face with a big blue sleeve.

Speaking of Ace, she wondered where he was and what he was up to. She wanted to talk to him about all of this, but Shiori was certain that he had tons of important Captain stuff to do. And it's not like he knew Rex had blabbed to her about Walter's death either, so it's not like he was deliberately being insensitive and making her wait. But still.

She both looked forward to it and dreaded it, since talking to him meant she would get a proper explanation, but the downside was that it might lead to more uncomfortable topics... Like what happened to the treasure. Her broken promise loomed over like dark rain clouds, as the dread ran away with her.

Artemis waited for another minute or two for her to cry it out, before saying whatever she could to fill the silence. "Is there anything I can do for you that might help? I'm kind of bad at this kinda shit, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry..." She patted her back until she'd almost stopped crying. "I didn't know him long, but he seemed like a really great guy."

"He was..." Shiori answered, almost bitterly at first. It wasn't Artemis' fault but she just couldn't handle all of this. "Th-thank you..."

"It's no trouble. Just hang in there."

She stood up then, with a faraway look in her eyes. "I think I want to be alone for a while. Is that okay?"

"It's fine. I know it might bring up bad memories, but there's something else you should also know..." Artemis was trying to give the poor girl some time to prepare herself for it, but she needed to tell her before she heard it elsewhere. "Walter-san left everything to you. His medical ward, his office, his supplies, all of his belongings are yours."

"A-are you sure?" Shiori blinked in confusion. "To me? Why?"

The shark girl shrugged, her echolocation tattoo traveling up and down with the movement. "Maybe he thought you'd put them to good use? Don't you have some medical training anyway?"

"Well yes, but not nearly enough to be a doctor or anything like that... I might be able to function as a temporary medic, but I mean... I could n-never take Walter-kun's place! Especially not so soon after, you know..."

"Yeah... But it also means you could get that alone time you wanted."

"Huh?" She responded numbly, still shaken from this shocking news.

"If you stay in Walter's old room, you could make it your own. No more sleeping in that damned brig or sharing a room with me. Not that I mind, but it's probably closer to what you want, right? All the privacy you could possibly want." Artemis didn't care that much one way or another, she was just glad to be out of the mess she was in before, but it might be nice to have a space of her own too. "And I'm sure you wouldn't refuse to help one of us if we were in trouble or got sick or something anyway."

"That is true, but..." She seemed to consider it for a moment, fidgeting with her sleeves again and stretching them out even more. "There's no way I can take over his space this soon. It wouldn't be right."

"I've got an even better solution," Ace remarked, as he walked casually into the galley, having apparently finished filling everyone else in. "If you want to hear it?"

"Don't you know how to fucking knock?" Artemis deadpanned, crossing her arms.

"On my own ship?" Ace raised an eyebrow at her comment. "Seems pretty strange. Anyway, Walter wouldn't want us falling to pieces over him like this. We should throw a party in his honor or something."

"A party? Are you serious?" Shiori snapped.

"Well it's better than being sad all the time. We're Pirates! People just like us die every single day. All we can do is keep moving forward. That's why it's so important to live your life to the fullest, and take advantage of every moment, because you never know if it might be your last."

'Wow...' She would have to take the time to ponder all of this later... His words had evoked a lot of emotions for her though. And he was right. They had to seize every moment they could and make the most of what they did have. Letting the treasure slip away sucked, but she was lucky to have even made it out with her life. Maybe that's what he meant?

All she wanted was to take a shower and then curl up and let sleep overtake her though. She was long overdue for a nice long rest after everything she had just endured. It made her really wish everyone would hurry up and make whatever points they were going to and let her go on her way.

"Speaking of moving forward," Shiori stared at him blankly, wondering why he'd bothered to show up at the very end of this awful conversation when she'd needed him earlier. "You said you have a solution...?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking... I mean, this is only if you want to of course, but..." He seemed uncharacteristically nervous, glancing around nervously like he wanted to bolt out of there and very well might at any given second. "If you don't like staying in the brig- I wouldn't blame you, by the way- you could always stay in my cabin until you're ready to move into Walter's old room. I wouldn't mind."

"Speaking of taking fucking advantage..." Artemis muttered under her breath, but apparently she wasn't subtle enough because both of them had clearly heard it. "Hahaha..." She laughed it off to make it seem like she was kidding.

"Actually umm... That's fine with me. As long as you're a-alright with sharing your room with me. Just until I can get Walter-kun's room ready and everything though."

"You've got a deal." Ace flashed her a big flashy grin. "Let's go get your stuff."

Artemis rolled her eyes, but stayed silent. This really wasn't any of her business, and why they chose to involve her in it, she had no idea. She felt like such a fifth wheel right about now; extra and unwanted. She was about to try her hand at cracking another joke, this one hinting at something much filthier about his intentions, but she stopped when her friend started talking again.

"A-actually if it's alright, I'd like to take a shower now though... I feel so gross and probably look about how I feel." Shiori chuckled, doing her level best not to be awkward, and failing at it spectacularly.

"I'll clean this shit up. Go ahead." Artemis nodded, already in the process of bending down to pick up what had once been her bento box. At least it gave her something useful to do.

Normally Shiori was the type to feel bad about accepting help from others... She didn't want to let herself rely on anyone else too much. But she was too tired to do any differently, and she knew that she'd finally found true friends; her real Nakama.

"Thanks." She sighed tiredly.

"I completely get it. I wanted the same thing when I got back. Well, after a big meal and a good long drink of course! Haha... I'll get your stuff for you while you're cleaning up then," Ace offered, trying to be helpful. "Meet you there."

She nodded, walking away before she completely keeled over. At least her stomach was full now, even if she did feel bad that part of the bento Rex had made for her hadn't been eaten. He'd made a lot more than she could handle on an empty stomach.

"Listen," Having waited until Shiori was out of earshot, Artemis yanked him closer by the strap that held his hat on his head. "I'm not sure what your intentions are, but you shouldn't be exploiting the girl like this. Do you even know what the other guys on board will think about her if they find out?"

"I don't know what you think is going on here, but it isn't like that. It won't be the first time we've spent the night together. And Shiori-chan is... Well, she's really close to my heart. I'd never do anything to hurt her."

Against her better judgment, she let it go, deciding it wasn't any of her business. And silently wondering how she had ever let herself get (quite literally) roped into this whole mess...

A/N: I just want to thank you all for the lovely reviews and your continued support. It really gives me the courage to keep writing this story! I'd never abandon it willingly, I promise. I hope this chapter was to your liking as well.

This story is about to go off the deep end of crazy, plot-wise... And yes, don't worry, there is a lot more romance coming your way soon. They just have to sort out some feelings and stuff. It's all in the works. ;D

-Kaline