Have you ever convinced yourself of something so thoroughly, that you could barely believe the sight before you? That was the situation I found myself in. I expected an empty room. I expected to waltz in and back out without much trouble. Maybe Zoro would get in a fight or two while I hid.
I didn't expect to see some blond amnesiac sifting through what I could only imagine to be classified government documents.
Running in was a bad idea. I entered his personal space, nearly running into him before I made myself stop. "You're… you're actually here," I whispered, "Sabo."
He grabbed and twirled his pipe in his hand, holding it in front of him defensively. "Who are you?" he asked, a dangerous tone seeped into his voice.
Zoro was in front of me in the blink of an eye, sword drawn, held against Sabo's pipe. The suddenness of the situation snapped me back to reality, mostly stopped my mind from racing through events that wouldn't happen for years. He was alive, safe, standing in front of me.
"Stop," I said. "There's no reason to fight a friend."
"Friend?" they both asked at the same time.
"He doesn't remember, but he's one of Luffy's brothers. Sabo, um, this is a lot, sorry. If you need proof, you were born in the Goa Kingdom to some nobles, ran away, met two boys and you became sworn brothers. Stuff happened, a Celestial Dragon visited and you set out to sea. The guy shot you and your boat down. You woke up missing your memories, Monkey D. Dragon saved you, let you join the Revolutionary Army. Now we're here. Questions, concerns?" I spoke quickly, trying to condense a bunch of information into a small blurb.
Zoro stayed silent, luckily. He still had his sword out, but lowered his defenses when he saw Sabo loosen his grip on his pipe.
Sabo wore his normal outfit, his eyes looked different, though. They were more human-like, being a light-blue, with his left eye a bit paler. Likely because of the scar that adorned his skin. He looked a bit shocked, taking in everything I said. I could practically see the gears turning in his head. Attempting to process, figure out how I knew.
"How do you know this?" he said quietly enough that he was barely audible.
"Do you want the fake, reasonable answer, or the one that's real but sounds incredibly fake?"
"Real."
"I'm not from this world. In mine, you're from a story that I'm a fan of," I explained. "If you have any questions, ask while we do stuff? Someone may come in soon. Do you know if they keep money in here? I assumed, but, y'know."
Sabo was silent again as he walked over to the wall and pulled down an oil painting. There was a safe, which was promptly destroyed by his Dragon-superfan technique. "Uh, here," he said, stuttering a bit.
Bundles of money made their way into the leather bag I borrowed from Usopp. I wasn't sure exactly how much was there, but… it was fairly significant. Sabo went back to sifting through some papers, and I asked Zoro to help me with the money.
"So, your brother Luffy is Dragon's son. I know he doesn't mention family or anything, but he seems like a fairly private person," I said, filling the silence.
"This is a lot to take in," Sabo said. "I really have a brother? And Dragon has a son?"
"Yeah, two brothers. None of you are blood-related, but your bond is strong, even if you may not remember it."
"What are they like?"
"Luffy is… unique. He's really smart, like, not in the typical way. He's perceptive, occasionally, knows emotions and stuff. He's kind, strong, loud. Also a rubber-man. Ace is still depressed but he's pretty good at hiding it. He's also strong, passionate. He's the second division commander for the Whitebeard Pirates."
"Wait really?" Zoro said, "I've seen his bounty poster before."
"Crazy family," I said.
"I can't wait to meet them," Sabo said, smiling. "What do you mean by rubber-man? Did he eat a devil fruit?"
"Yup. He was maybe seven or so, I think. And if you wanna meet Luffy, I know where he'll be later. Would you wanna help us around in the meantime? I don't know my way around, and Zoro hasn't been here before."
He looked a slight bit disappointed, but said, "Sure, I don't have anything else to do today anyway."
My bag was pretty much full of cash now, but there were still a few bundles left in the vault. "Hey Zoro, think your haramaki can hold these?"
"It's not a bag," he said.
"Yeah but it's tight enough to hold them in!"
"Don't we have enough already?"
"Nami is gonna expect a cut, whether she was a part of the heist or not."
Zoro sighed, putting a hand out to take the bundles from me. I smiled a bit from the fact that all it took was a mention of Nami to get him to give in to something money-related. With the bundles stuffed in his haramaki, it bulged out a little bit, but it wasn't too noticeable.
"So, are we gonna walk out the front door, back door, or what?" I asked.
"We gotta go out the window," Sabo said quickly.
"Why?" Zoro asked.
"Someone's on a path straight to this room," Sabo said.
"I can't jump out of a window," I whisper-yelled, scared of someone hearing me.
"I'll take you down, both of you if you need me to."
"Isn't there anything else we can do?" I asked.
My hands were starting to shake. It felt like my throat was being filled with spiders, crawling over each other and trying to get out.
"You're gonna be fine, I won't let go of you," Sabo said, trying to sound reassuring.
'That's not the point,' I thought. I looked between him and the door. Considering my already single-choice options.
"I'll make sure he doesn't let go," Zoro murmured to me.
Several bootsteps clicked on the tiled floors outside.
'There's no other choice.'
"Fine," I said, my voice shaky.
The window was already open when Sabo picked both Zoro and I up. Zoro held on too, misinterpreting the cause of my fear. We were down on the street within ten seconds. It felt like hours. I froze up, my eyes stung with yet-to-be-shed tears. It felt like my body wasn't my own anymore, like it didn't belong to me.
I tried to think of something else, but my brain wouldn't cooperate with me. It was stuck on the sensations and bad memories.
I felt like I couldn't breathe.
And then the hands left and I was hyperventilating and they were speaking but I couldn't hear them. Their voices were faint but loud, soft, they may have been right beside me.
'Breathe, just breathe.'
Breathe in, hold. Breathe out, hold. Breathe in, hold. And so on.
"What happened?" Zoro asked, his voice softer than normal. He was crouched beside me, close but not too close.
"Trauma happened, it… it shouldn't matter too much, sorry. So, um, can we go? We have places to be, limited time," I said. My voice was wavering. Trying to stand up was useless because of how shaky I was, my legs like limp noodles.
"We stay till you calm down," Zoro decided.
Sabo was standing a foot or two away, talking into a baby Transponder Snail. He looked at me with pitying eyes.
"Everyone has their bad stuff, so there's no need to pity me, Koala-lover," I said, loud enough to be audible for whoever he was talking to.
Sabo's eyes widened in horror and he promptly hung up on whoever he was speaking to. "How much do you know?"
"A lot, but not enough."
"Was saying he loves koalas really so bad?" Zoro asked me.
"If you told Luffy meat was gross, he'd be offended. Think of this situation in that manner."
"That makes sense."
"So…" Sabo paused for a moment, looking towards me. "You said you're from another world?"
"Yup. And I'm Eira, he's Zoro. I forgot introductions earlier, sorry."
"It's fine," he said. "I'm pretty sure you're not lying, everything you've said so far is evidence enough." Sabo sat down beside me, just a bit further away than Zoro was.
"Thanks for believing me." I gave him a small smile.
"I apologize if I'm being too straightforward, but what happened to you? Those bruises…" he trailed off.
"No clue. I… went to sleep one night, woke up on Luffy's ship like this." I lifted up my arms to give my bruises another look. They were purple with hints of red throughout. "At least they look kinda cool."
"How are you feeling?" Zoro asked.
"Lil better." I was still a bit shaky and anxious, but I was pushing the incident out of mind. "Let's go get your swords, kay? I'm not sure how long we have until we need to book it to Luffy. Sabo, do you know the way to a weapons shop run by a man and his wife?"
"I know where one is, not sure if it's the one you're talking about, though. It's not too far from here."
"Lead the way," I said. "Wanna hear more about either of your brothers on the way?"
"Yes. Please."
The walk only took about ten minutes. I spent the time telling Sabo a bit about Ace and a bit about Luffy's childhood when he was with Shanks. Sabo was a good listener, but he seemed to be deep in thought most of the time. It was understandable. Zoro listened near silently, asking a question here or there when I was vague. I was glad that he seemed interested as well.
"So this is it, huh?" Zoro said. "Time to get my new swords."
"Don't ask about anything, Zoro. Look in the barrels," I said.
The three of us walked in together, I stood off to the side with Sabo while Zoro went to look in the barrels.
"Welcome! Please feel free to look around," Matsu, the shop owner, said.
"Mm," Zoro hummed in response.
"Do you plan on getting anything?" Sabo asked.
"Before we leave," I said. "Tashigi's gonna stop by, and I wanna wait until she leaves."
"Who?"
"A sergeant major sword geek that dragged us to the marine base."
"Alright."
"C-can I look at your sword, sir?!" Matsu yelled across the store.
"Huh, why?" Zoro asked.
"P-please!" the shop owner stuttered.
Zoro walked over and pulled Wado off his hip, handing it over to the man. And at that moment, Tashigi came in, sporting a new pair of glasses. She made her way over to the counter, standing beside my crewmate.
'Did she not notice Sabo and I?'
"Wait… Is that?..." she trailed off, pulling Wado from Matsu's hands. "It has to be! Wado Ichimonji! It's beautiful."
Matsu's eyes widened a bit, and he looked a tad annoyed.
"It's worth at least ten million beli!"
"Why'd you have to say that?!" Matsu squawked.
"What do you mean?"
"I—you came to pick up Shigure, right?" Matsu grabbed her sword and tossed it to her. "Take it, and get out!"
Zoro took his sword back and went back to looking through the barrels while Tashigi stumbled into a rack of swords.
'That conversation was… Differentish.'
"What are you doing here? Did the job not work out?" Tashigi asked Zoro.
I walked into the conversation. "Your janitor came back, turns out he had a bad day."
"Really? I'm sorry, I hope you find work."
"We got something, don't worry. Ran into a friend that was able to spot us some cash so my brother could get some swords."
"Why does he need more? Does he just lose them all the time?"
"He uses three."
"Just like that bounty hunter!"
"Bounty hunter?" Zoro said.
"Roronoa Zoro, have you not heard of him?"
"We have," I said. "I've heard the name in passing before."
"He's a master swordsman, famous throughout the East Blue," she said. "But he's not a good person, using a sword to make money. It's unforgivable. There's so much bad in the world today. All of the famous swordsmen are pirates or bounty hunters, and most of the famous swords are in their hands. I want to get them back."
"Gotta earn a living somehow," Zoro chimed in.
"And you use your sword to make money, too, right Tashigi? Taking down pirates and stuff. A bounty hunter by another name."
"There's more to it than that! I fight for justice. Being a marine is different."
"I don't think so," I said. "If I told you about a man who wouldn't hesitate in murdering his allies because they're scared, or don't follow his line of thinking, would you assume he's a marine or a pirate?"
"Pirate, but how is this relevant?" she asked.
"Because one of your admirals has done that. Even with civilians. What if I told you about someone who treats humans as pets? Less than that even. Because a lot of marines condone just that, slavery."
"Stop," Tashigi demanded.
"Ten years ago, a Celestial Dragon visited Goa Kingdom on Dawn Island."I glanced at Sabo as I spoke, "A ten-year-old boy sailed a little boat in front of Saint Jalmack's ship, who then shot down the boy and his boat. The marines never found or even looked for the boy's body."
Tashigi looked upset.
"Marines can be bad. So who are you to judge someone based on what they are? Without even knowing who they are as a person?"
"Do you have proof for everything you said?" she asked.
"Not everything. But I'm sure you could ask people on Dawn Island about what happened. If you visit Sabaody, you can find shops selling people of all races. The marines condone it, the Celestial Dragons visit there. Do you need to hear more?"
Tashigi gripped her sword so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "You can't even give me proof for what some mystery admiral did. I'll admit that there are things wrong with the marines. But if someone was corrupt, we would deal with it immediately!"
"Did you hear about how the Arlong Pirates were recently defeated? Their reign of tyranny over Cocoyashi Village put to an end. Do you know how long they were there?" I didn't give her a chance to answer. "Ten years. A former marine by the name of Bellemere was murdered by Arlong because she couldn't pay his ridiculous price. For ten years, the residents of Cocoyashi were terrorized, forced to hand over every single beli. And for ten fucking years, Captain Nezumi of the 16th Marine Branch accepted bribes in exchange for looking away."
Tashigi let out a shaky, anger-filled breath. "I heard about Arlong, and with Nezumi, I believe we're investigating the issue."
"'Investigating the issue'? Really? You have a whole village of people to testify against him and you're 'investigating the issue'?"
"These things take time," she said.
"A month would be time. Ten years is too long."
"We just—"
I cut her off, "No. I don't care. Pirates took over an island and stayed there for ten years. A marine was tipped off and didn't follow through with anything, did he?"
"I don't know the specific details, but we're doing everything we can." Her tone was a near-growl, as if she were holding herself back from screaming at me.
It was so tempting to let this conversation continue, but it was also kind of scary hearing her like that, seeing her body language. She looked like she was about or wanted to attack me, one of her hands inching closer to the guard.
I took a half step away from her, closer to Zoro. "Tashigi? How about we agree to disagree for now. Pick this up another time. I'm sure we'll cross paths again one day."
"You're just going to step down now? After saying all of that?"
With a nod, I stepped further back, just beside Zoro. "Yeah. You look and sound aggressive. I don't want any part of that." 'Even though I sort of do…'
"You started this conversation. Finish it," Tashigi demanded.
As the lady insisted, I, of course, complied. "Fine. Do you wanna talk more about—"
Matsu cut me off with a loud yell, "I can't sell it!"
Tashigi looked towards Matsu, then to Zoro, and back to me before settling her eyes on Sandai Kitetsu. She looked to be shocked and excited and angry all at the same time. Though, the latter emotion was dissipating slowly.
Kitetsu's sheath was really beautiful in real life. Wrapped in a deep red cloth with a gold guard and pommel, more gold accents too, but I wasn't quite sure what they were called.
"This sword is cursed," Zoro stated.
"You've heard of it?" Matsu asked.
"No. I can just tell."
"Do you have a sword-vibe radar?" I asked.
Zoro laughed.
"The first Kitetsu and its successors are all cursed," said Matsu. "Famous swordsmen have died tragically after wielding one of those swords. These days, no one will wield one."
"Think I know someone who would…" I murmured.
"I wanna get rid of it myself, but… I'm afraid the curse will come back to me."
"Think I'll take it," Zoro exclaimed, pulling Sandai Kitetsu from its sheath.
"You can't! If you died, it'd be like I killed you myself!"
Matsu's wife came out of nowhere and smacked the back of his head, telling him to get rid of it.
"How 'bout this then? My luck versus the sword's curse."
Zoro tossed Kitetsu in the air and held out his arm. I backed up frantically, going back to where Sabo stood.
The sword spun high through the air. Matsu was yelling and Tashigi was showing emotions other than anger, she gasped with a hand over her mouth. Sabo raised his eyebrows and watched without saying a word. Kitetsu passed Zoro's arm without even nicking him, and landed, piercing the floorboards deeply.
"Looks like the sword is mine," Zoro said, smirking.
Matsu sputtered for a moment. "I heard you're looking for two swords? Wait here." He ran to the back to grab Yubashiri.
"What just—that was amazing!" Tashigi said. She seemed to have relaxed a bit from the mess that was our previous conversation.
"Never judge a book by its cover," I told her.
Tashigi ignored me.
Matsu came back out, Yubashiri in hand. "This is my shop's best sword. It has a black lacquered sheath, the blade has an irregular pattern. Yubashiri is classified as a Ryo Wazamono sword, and I'll guarantee its quality!"
"How much?" Zoro asked.
"It's been a long time since I've looked in the eyes of a true swordsman. It's yours, as well as Kitetsu."
"Thank you," Zoro said, taking Yubashiri from Matsu.
"Hey, we're not leaving yet. Give me a minute to get some stuff, kay?" I said. I wanted to wait until Tashigi left, but… I was getting the sense that she wouldn't leave until we did.
"Alright."
"So, mister shop owner. You got any throwing knives?"
δ
Usopp sighed. "Can't believe I agreed to this…"
He'd spent twenty minutes looking for the snail shop and still hadn't found it yet; he was beginning to wonder if one even existed in Loguetown at all. All he wanted to do right now was buy some new gadgets, maybe a new pair of goggles, and hell, maybe some stuff to make new ammo! He already had some ideas from items he saw in shop windows, and it took every ounce of his will to keep himself from going in. As much as he wanted to give up his mighty quest, he was asked to do something by his new crewmate who knew the future. What she was asking for was probably important, and he'd see it through!
The strong feeling of obligation he had is what led the great Captain Usopp to asking for directions! He went up to a few people, and it was truly a perilous journey. One person he tried to ask just glared, another ran off saying something about his nose, which hurt… and a lot of people just plain ignored him. He was starting to come down with I-Can't-Talk-to-Anyone-Itis which was truly a horrible disease.
"Where can I even go for directions?" Usopp murmured to himself.
He gave it a lot of thought, but the idea didn't come to him until he spotted a sign in a window that read cheap drinks and entertainment. A bar! It was perfect. People always talk in bars, right? That's what he assumed. He opened the door, stepped in, excited to finally get some answers.
It took exactly zero-point-five seconds for Usopp to freeze in his tracks.
No less than two dozen men had their eyes on him. The most they wore were pairs of short jean shorts, with tight-fitting tank tops on a few of them. Several of them had skin that was slick with sweat or possibly oil. A few of them smirked and smiled at him, and one even sauntered over, muscles flexing with every step.
"S-sorry! Wrong place!" Usopp nearly shouted in a quivering voice. He attempted to back into the door but the door wouldn't budge, he pushed harder and it creaked a bit, and finally, he had all of his weight on the door and it still wouldn't move.
"Gotta pull the door open, sweets," the man who sauntered over cooed with an incredibly deep voice.
"Th-thank you, but Igottagonowbye!" Usopp squealed anxiously. He turned around, movements rigid, pulled the door open, and ran out.
He dashed thirty paces away before he made the decision to sneak a glance at the building he made the mistake of walking into. Large letters above the door spelled out The Burly Brothel. Part of him wanted to freeze up, the other wanted to get as far away as possible. It was an internal struggle, a battle between conflicting emotions that would last centuries.
But in reality, it only took a second for one side to win. Usopp was on another street in three seconds, a trail of dust floating through the air left in his wake.
Once he felt he was far enough away to be safe, he went back to walking at a normal pace. The next few minutes were spent trying to get the images of those… people, out of his head. Nothing like that place existed back on his home island, and boy was he glad about that. But now he had to deal with another new thing on top of all the new and dangerous things he'd experienced already.
It was a bit overwhelming.
There was a little voice in his head that was telling him he shouldn't be overwhelmed, it was just life, and there were other people that were feeling a similar way but on a larger scale. He heard Eira mention how overwhelming everything was, stating it as a reason for her being so quiet most of the time.
Man, he couldn't imagine being in her place.
And then he realized he didn't need to, anyway. The outside of his village, the rest of the East Blue, and soon to be the Grand Line were practically a different world for him. In a different sense than it was for his new crewmate, but still.
Usopp took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down from his uncomfortable experience, as well as the anxieties that decided to plague him in his previous moments. 'I should try to ask for directions again, but where… Maybe another bar?' Usopp thought to himself. While looking, he internally chanted, 'Look at the sign, look at the sign, look at the sign!'
It was harder than he thought to find another bar. He walked through at least four streets and there was nothing, that is, until he reached the end of the fifth street. The front was made of a purple-pink wood, latticed windows with heart-carved glass. The door was the same wood, adorned with swirly-heart carvings and a silver handle. Trying to peek inside was like looking into a kaleidoscope, the view all distorted. There was no sign in the window like the other place, instead, the only words on the front were the name of the establishment. Okama Oasis.
Usopp didn't know what an Okama was, and the outside of the building was certainly unique. He was hesitant on entering, but convinced himself that it was his only choice. He'd spent nearly forty minutes looking for the snail shop, and he really didn't wanna spend much more time looking.
Sweat and sweet perfume permeated throughout the room, causing him to scrunch his nose a bit. The inside looked quite elegant at first glance, with fancy glass decor and beautifully carved chairs, staircases, and the like. The clientele of the establishment, however…
Roughly a dozen men of all body types, some hairy, some waxed clean in every visible area except for their heads, filled the room. They sat at barstools, tables, and played the piano. It was almost a normal place, save for the fact they were crossdressing. Some in skirts, some in dresses, one in what looked to be a one-piece swimsuit of some kind, fishnet covering their bare legs.
It wasn't quite as uncomfortable as the other place had been, it was certainly odd, and the only thing that disturbed him a bit was the man in fishnets and a swimsuit. Overall, it was relatively pleasant in that there weren't any large, muscular men covered in some sort of fluid, staring him down with hungry eyes. The people here who noticed him looked a bit curious, a few giving smiles.
The swimsuit wearing man had his legs crossed, glass of wine in hand, and stared straight at the long-nosed teen, smiling kindly. "Welcome to the Okama Oasis, hun," he greeted in a sultry voice.
"Uh, h-hi. I was wondering if you c-could give me directions to the Transponder Snail shop? I keep looking but can't find it a-anywhere." Usopp's voice trembled from the myriad of emotions he was currently experiencing.
The crossdresser giggled and recrossed a fishnet-clad leg over the other, dangling a high-heel back and forth from their toes. "That's over on Lumelm street, hun. Take a left when you leave here, then a right at the end of the next street and you should be right there."
"Th-thank you!" Usopp turned to walk out.
"Wanna stay for a drink before you leave?" A crossdresser wearing a dress asked.
Usopp was silent for a second, nearly considering, as they'd been kind so far. But it was only for a single question! All they did was give directions, and for all he knew, he could be as uncomfortable as he was in the last bar he went to. He wasn't one to take risks as terrifying as this one. "I'm good and Igottagonowbye!"
Dashing out the door, he kept the directions in mind. It wasn't too far, and he maybe could've found it on his own, but he was thankful. Now, he was standing right in front of the shop. The shopfront looked cute, with a large transponder snail for a sign. It had a blue, polka-dotted shell and pale skin.
Usopp walked in the shop, relieved.
δ
Tashigi stood in the shop with us as I spoke to Matsu. I could feel her eyes on me. The woman practically radiated anger and I'm fairly certain she was scaring away potential customers.
"That'll be seventeen thousand beli," Matsu said. He set a large bag down on the counter, metal clinked together on the inside.
"Even? Cool." I popped open the bag Usopp had given me and began counting out money.
"If you were broke an hour ago, how did you get all of that money?" Tashigi's voice had a dark, angry tone that sent a shiver up my spine.
"Like I said, we ran into a friend that was able to lend us some money."
I was getting nervous. She'd been oblivious to things before, but she wasn't stupid.
She started taking a few steps forward, hand on Shigure's grip. "No one hands out a full bag of cash unless they're caught up in something."
"If you take one step closer to her, I'll cut you." Zoro clicked Wado out of its sheath.
Tashigi spun, stopping when Zoro was to her left and I was on her right. "Would you really attack a marine?"
"Without hesitation."
Tashigi drew her blade as she took a few steps forward. Wado met Shigure in a clash that made literal sparks fly. She was pushed back by the force of Zoro's swing and nearly slipped on the floor. She jumped back, out of Zoro's reach. She took a short breath in and out, then ran forward, fast enough that I could barely process her movements. She unleashed an onslaught of slashes.
Zoro blocked every single strike, the sound of metal colliding echoed through the little shop.
Matsu was screaming nonsensically in the background, and I was doing the same internally. I didn't expect the situation with Tashigi to go smoothly. I didn't expect it to go this poorly.
"Who are you?" Tashigi grunted between swings.
"Who do you think?" Zoro pulled Yubashiri and swung both blades against Shigure. The sound was beginning to make my ears hurt.
"Roronoa," she whispered in realization. She let out a slight growl and sped up her attacks.
If it wasn't for the fact I could sort of make out her movements, I would've thought she was using the shave technique or something akin to it.
Zoro drew Kitetsu and in an instant, Tashigi was on the ground—I could barely process what happened until blood dripped onto the floor. The marine laid on the ground, breathing heavily, trying to apply pressure to the wound across her chest and left arm.
"Tashigi, don't fight us on this," I said, stepping up towards her. Now that I got a better look, the slash started at her hip, spanning across her stomach, chest, and ending on her shoulder.
'Just like Zoro's scar,' I thought.
"Sabo, you got any gauze?" I asked.
"Not right now, but I can get some," he said.
"No time. Tashigi, sit up. I didn't want this outcome, and I'm not gonna let you bleed out."
Zoro stared at Kitetsu, murmuring to it.
"Those cuts don't look deep enough to make her bleed out," Sabo told me.
"Okay, but… we can't just leave her like this."
Sabo stepped to the other side of Tashigi. "Let me take care of it. I'll use her jacket to bandage her wounds, grab your stuff and get ready to leave."
I nodded and went to the counter, a sputtering Matsu standing behind. His eyes looked like they'd expanded to the size of dessert plates. "Hey, Matsu, close up shop. Call the marines in thirty to forty-five minutes." I placed a whole bundle of beli on the counter. "Take this for your trouble, kay?"
Matsu nodded rigidly, placed a hand on the beli bundle, and promptly fell back onto the floor. I leaned over the counter, wincing slightly from the aching wound on my side. Matsu stared at the ceiling, eyes wide.
"Hey, guys? I uh, this dude kinda passed out. I think. He's still awake just—he's a mess," I said, stuttering in trying to get my point across.
"Wonder why," Zoro said. "Let's get outta here."
Sabo finished bandaging Tashigi's wounds. She was unconscious now, and her jacket pretty much didn't exist anymore. I assumed she wouldn't care.
"One of you, take my bag? I can't carry it."
"Got it," Sabo said. "Where to next?"
"Few quick stops, lead the way?"
"Sure," Zoro said.
"Not you!" I laughed. "Sabo can lead the way."
We left, leaving a wounded Tashigi and shell-shocked Matsu on the floor.
δ
"It'll be nice to be able to wear my own clothes again," I said. "Sorry about all the bags, though."
Zoro was carrying the weapons I picked up, as well as two bags of clothes, one of them for himself. Sabo had a bag of odds and ends, and a bag full of leather-bound journals and stuff to write with. I had a bag of clothes, a teensy bag with several pairs of glasses, and another bag with knife holsters and books.
"Don't worry about it," Zoro said. "I know you shouldn't be carrying anything heavy."
"Books are heavy, you wanna carry those too?" I laughed.
"No! I already have a bunch of your stuff!" Zoro barked.
"Hey," Sabo said, "I can take it, if you'd like."
I smiled. "Sweet, but it's fine. I was just teasing Zoro, is all."
A drop of rain fell from the sky that was beginning to fill with a charred cloud cover.
"Change of direction. Scaffolding, now!" I nearly shouted. "We should run."
"Can you keep up?" Zoro asked.
"I don't have a choice."
Sabo led the way, and I ran as fast as I could. Both men with me ran right beside me, which was weird because I wasn't running fast at all. But they were being a bit protective, I think. Zoro, probably because we were crewmates, and Sabo most likely out of pity or something. The wind was warm, blowing through my hair. It felt good.
My glasses were getting covered in little water droplets, I pulled them off and in the midst of placing them in a little bag, someone ran into me. Or I ran into them. I don't know how it happened, but I didn't have time to think about it.
I was struck with an awful, pulling pain as I got knocked a few feet away from the collision. My body was sore, but what felt completely terrible was where my wound was.
"Guys… I-I think my wound reopened," I said, my voice shaky and breaking. I tried to sit up, bad idea. Pulling my shirt up a bit made me feel sick, seeing the white bandages turn red.
"Shit," Sanji swore.
"I have bandages, we gotta take care of this, quick!" Nami yelled, slightly frantic. She ran to my side.
"Let me do it, I'm trained in first-aid!" Sabo yelled to be heard over the rain.
The thought made the spiders visit my throat again. "No, let Nami do it."
"Who is this guy?" Sanji asked, his tone venom-laced.
"He's Luffy's brother, long story. Play nice, Swirly Brow," I said. Nami pulled off my old bandages.
Zoro started laughing.
"Don't laugh at my pain, dick."
"It's 'cause you called him Swirly Brow," Zoro said between laughs.
Nami applied some kind of ointment before she pulled new bandages around me, wrapping my wound tightly. She didn't say anything about Sabo being Luffy's brother.
"Guys, why is Luffy on the scaffolding about to be killed!?" Usopp squealed.
"He'll be safe, don't worry. No one act on anything. Usopp, Nami, head back to the ship, watch out for marines. Zoro, Sanji, Sabo, stay here in case anything goes poorly for some reason. I'm staying because I wanna watch a historic moment, and because I'll only slow you two down," I said the last bit while looking toward Usopp and Nami.
"I really think you should head back to the ship," Sanji said.
"No. There's no reason for me to. I'll lag behind, and Nami and Usopp aren't in a position to fight a horde of pirates or marines." I looked toward my two crewmates. "Get the ship ready to sail, Nami, take this bag of money."
The beli signs in her eyes were as clear as day. She yoinked the bag right out of my hands. "Thank you!"
"Yeah. Be safe. Watch out for marine captain Smoker, he can't be touched. Go," I ordered.
Her and Usopp ran off back towards the Merry, just as Buggy was in the middle of monologuing. I was standing now, able to sort of watch everything. Luffy and Buggy were like little specks of colour, all blurry.
"Sabo, remember that he's a safe rubber-man and can't die."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"So you don't worry about his safety."
"Should I be worrying about his safety?"
I smiled at him, "Nah, he's fine and will be fine. And don't go if he calls for help, I'm not sure how he'd feel about that."
"Fine. But if he gets hurt, I blame you," Sabo said with a dark tone.
I shuddered.
"Any last words? Might as well make the most for this large crowd." Buggy paused for a moment to give Luffy a chance to speak. Luffy didn't take it, and Buggy continued. "Whatever, whether you have any final words or not, it's not like anybody will care—"
"I'm the man," Luffy's voice thundered throughout the plaza and he took a deep breath. "Who'll become king of the pirates!"
Hearing it in the show, reading in the book, rereading it in text—none of it compared to hearing it with my own ears, straight from the source, standing in the town of the beginning and the end. This was my captain's beginning. Tears filled my eyes as a rush of emotions flooded through me. My hands were shaking again, scared for my captain as I watched Buggy begin to lift up his sword.
"Zoro, Sanji, help me out here!" Luffy had a large grin, not an ounce of fear in his eyes.
The two ran through the crowd, taking down clowns with every step, dead set on getting to the scaffolding. Buggy raised his sword even higher, and I just couldn't keep myself from speaking.
"Save your damn son, Dragon!" I screamed, loud enough to be heard over the crowd, loud enough to hurt my own ears. Emphasis was put on every word, trying to convey how fucking important my words were.
Lightning struck down the scaffolding, flame and electricity jumping from wood and metal.
δ
A/N: Hey everyone! Just wanted to give a little heads-up that after I post the sixth chapter, updates will definitely be slower. I'm a very slow writer, unfortunately. Anyway, I took the advice of a guest comment, and added a little more detail to the description! Very slightly more. I hope it helps new readers know what they're getting into before they open the first chapter.
Some notes on this chapter, though! I don't think I revealed it yet, but I rolled a d20 for the amount of money that Eira yoinked from the marines! I rolled surprisingly well, considering the dice gods typically hate me. Also, the Usopp scene... It's one of my favourite scenes ever.