Tiny wet feet pitter pattered across the floorboards, leaving dirty footprints and a trail of water dribbling behind. The door to the small cottage swung open and slammed shut behind him, making him flinch and mutter a soft sort of apology to the wood, giving it a tiny pat to make sure it was all okay. Then there came a light hum from behind him and he nearly jumped out of his shorts in fear.
"You went cliff-diving again, didn't you?"
He slapped his hands to his cheeks in horror, eyes flung wide open. "Oh, no…!" He squeaked, voice as quiet as he could make it. Which, newsflash, was not that quiet. "A-Ano, urm, I-I-" He tutted, eyes flickering wildly from place to place in the hopes of finding a quick escape. "Ahk-!"
"Oh no you don't!" The voice behind him exclaimed, laughing, catching him by the belt of his shorts just as he went running. "Nyehe! Don't think you can escape from me, my little shark!" He was hiked up into the air. Arms and legs waving around as he fought for a way out.
"Lemme' go! Lemme' go!" He cried. "I didn't do nuthin'!"
"Then why is the floor all wet?" He was spun around by his britches to face a woman with just the same striking red hair as his own, a grin stretched so widely across her face that her dimples protruded and made her look like a cartoon sun. She stuck her tongue out at him, "Bleh! I think someone's a liar!"
He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, whining, "Mo~m!"
"Nyehehe," she giggled, a devious look crossing over her face, "Hm- I think someone deserves a punishment for running off by himself and mucking up the floors…" He gasped, mouth falling open in horror. "In the form of the… tickle monster!"
"I'm too old for that!"
"Oh~ is that so? Let's test that out then shall we?"
He screamed as she raced her fingers over his sides, thrashing around.
"Noooo-no-nyah-ahaha!"
Unfortunately, he was a little boy and he didn't have much of a defense against a grown woman. Even if she was horribly short and petite.
"Ah-Mo- mma- no- I'm so-sorry I wo-o-on't do it aga-again! Mo-nahahaha!" She hummed, raising a hand to her ear as if wondering if she had possibly heard something. "MO- Nahaha- I l-l-love you! S-Stop- Nyahahaha! I love you!"
She chuckled joyously, untangling her hands from his sides, and watched as his chest heaved as he tried to regain his breath. Face flushed pink and gills fluttering open and closed alongside each breath. She poked him in the belly and watched him spasm, slapping his hands over the spot and wheezing out a pathetic, "S-Stahpp!"
She giggled.
"You know you're not allowed over there without supervision," but she then frowned, not angry. Just disappointed. "What if you hit your head and got hurt?"
He looked away, grumbling, "I wasn't over there though!"
She raised an unimpressed eyebrow. And a hand. "I think the Tickle Monster is on the rise again-!"
"AH-!" He yelped, curling in on himself. "No- no- no- I was there! I'm sorry!"
"That's what I thought. Now, do you want to explain yourself, mister?"
He scowled. Face screwed up into something fierce, feet kicking. "I just wanted to have some fun. Quagga was with me!"
"Quagga can't walk up to our house and tell me if you got yourself hurt. And if you wanted to go have fun then why didn't you just go play with the village kids? Nobody from the village has even seen you yet! Why, the other mothers have been rather worried about you." She quirked an eyebrow. "I never knew that my son was so shy!"
"Mm' not shy!" He pouted. "I'm just busy!"
"You? A nine year old? What do you have to be busy about?"
"...hng…Collecting…"
"Collecting? Collecting what?"
He flushed, "...Seashells…"
"Seashells!" Her eyes widened in surprise and she cast her eyes over the house, taking in the sight of well placed shells of all sorts of colors and shapes. Shells that she'd collected over years and which held a special place in her heart. Her eyes softened, "Why would you be looking for that?"
"'Cause..." He ducked his head. "It's how you an' Da met, right?"
"Yes… Yes it is," she smiled, "A very special shell brought us together. And I'm sure that any friends you make would love to find shells with you as well. Maybe you'll even find a very special shell with them one day that'll bring you together too!"
"Ew! Moooom- that's gross!"
"Nyehehe!" She rolled her eyes. "It doesn't have to be romantically, you dork. You know that right?"
Katsura grumbled, rubbing his face. "I kno'. I kno'." He then found himself perking up. "Can you tell me about 'em again?! I wanna hear it."
"About how me and your dad met?"
"Ew. No! You talk about that all the time." He watched as his mother swooned at the thought, feeling his brow twitch. She'd always go lovey dovey at the mention of his father and would jabber on whenever she thought she could and he was forced to listen- usually when she was cooking or working on something and he had to sit and wait or help her. There'd be new details every time and she would go on and on about how romantic of a time it was. It was sickeningly sappy. "The Shells…!" He insisted, wanting to steer the story away from that as fast as possible.
She sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll tell you." She rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you want me to tell you again but… In the world, there are many unanswered questions, and one of these questions is about these rare, special shells found all over if you look hard enough." Katsura found himself gasping as she reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a small conch shell of dazzling beauty. It was a pale creamy color, spiraled with wide purple lines that nearly covered all of its base, and speckled with gold that glinted in the light. "What are they? What do they do? Why do they exist? We- I don't know much, and yet I studied them for many years alongside your father, and we managed to figure out a few things."
She turned it over in her hand.
"These... Shells are the essence of living things- they are living things. And you can see that come to fruition should they ever touch the water. They grow and change from their environment and contain it inside them." Placing it against her ear Katsura watched as a small nostalgic smile quirked over her face, as if hearing a song that she hadn't heard in a long time. When he went to reach for it, so he could listen for himself, she tugged it out of his reach with a laugh. "This shell belongs to me and your father. It has a very special connection to the two of us."
"Can I-?"
"Mn. Maybe when you're older."
He slumped. She always said that.
Her eyes snapped to his sulky face and he flinched at the reprimand on her tongue, "Katsura, this shell is no toy or dial. This is an artifact and a living creature. It must be treated with respect and be taken care of."
"I know, Mom. You tell me this all the time."
"And I'll keep telling you until you remember it."
"I do though!" He whined in frustration. "I do. If you'd trust me to hold onto it than I could show you-"
"Oh? What are my rules?"
"Never show it to anybody. Never tell anybody about it. Always keep it safe."
"And most importantly?"
"Never let it touch the water!"
"Good. I guess you do remember then." She pursed her lips as he lit up at the admittance. "But you still don't have my permission." He spluttered, face turning red. Just as he began to voice his complaints she wagged a quick finger in front of his face. "Ah, ah, ah! I'll tell you what though."
"What?"
"I've never mentioned what we like to call these shells, have I?"
He sent her a suspicious look. "...No. They… They have a name?"
"Well of course they do! Everything has a name of some kind." She paused and then leaned in dramatically, voice dripping with raw humor and mockery. "Even that dreadful beast that lurks out by the cliffside."
Katsura couldn't help but giggle. "He wouldn't like hearing you say that."
"Nyehe. Anyways, what do you think these shells are called?"
"Can't you just tell me?"
"Where's the fun in that?" At his look she shook her head, "You're no fun…" and held the shell up to his eye so he could take a good look at it. Its specks flashed with color in the light. "Fine. You promise to remember the rules?"
"Yes, of course! Just tell me already."
He watched as his mother sucked in a deep breath, forehead crinkling as if she was thinking of backing out, running her finger across the conches aperture. Tapping to a sound he couldn't hear despite straining his ears as much as he could. A beat later and her expression cleared. "They're called Esse."
"Esse…?"
"Yep, Esse Shells. Like the word essence." She said with a hum. Idea flashing in her head. "Now, I'm only telling you this because I think you're old enough to keep a secret. Nine years old is an important age after all but not nearly as important as your tenth birthday. If you can keep it a secret for, oh… one year then maybe I can let you hold onto my shell?"
Katsura froze. Brown eyes blown wide open and a sudden hopeful excitement coursing through him. For years he'd never been able to touch the shells that his mom would tell stories about- said stories were never told in complete detail and always with some sort of dramatic embellishment that hyped the shells up just so much more -and, all in one day, being told the name, something he'd never even heard before, and potentially being allowed to finally hold said shell... Well, it was like the holidays had come early!
"Really, Mom?!" He found himself squealing. "I can- GAHK!"
She tucked her shell carefully away at his pained exclamation.
"Oh my! Those shark-chompers coming in are just tearing your tongue apart," she winced as she hurriedly forced his mouth open and took a look, "You need to be more careful. If you bite through your tongue than you really won't be able to say anything!"
He shook her off. "Ish fine! I'm tuff-!"
"Nyeh- you sound like you're gargling water!"
"-ish doesn't matter anyway!" He piped up, making a face as he worked around the pain to speak normally again. Tears pricking his eyes. "You- You really mean it?!"
"Well of course I do, I'd never lie to you."
"...I'm gonna do it."
"Huh?" It was a bit hard to hear him, he said it so quietly and there was still a bit of slur to his speech from his bite. Which, coupled with his lisp that he was still needing time to grow out of, was making it even harder to understand than it should have been.
"I'm gonna find all of 'em."
"What?"
Katsura spoke with such conviction and childlike awe that his mother couldn't help but laugh. He didn't so much as falter in his thoughts though, mind whirring a mile a minute. "I'm gonna collect all the shells. All of them." He clarified. Though it wasn't really needed. "And I'm gonna bring them all back to show you."
"Oh? Is that right?"
His eyes gleamed brightly. A toothy grin spreading across his face, "I'm gonna make a collection of shells! And they'll be the crowning jewels!" He exclaimed. "One day I'm gonna leave this island and find them all and figure out all their secrets just like you did- only more successful!"
She clasped a hand to her heart, "Oh, ouch."
"I-I-I-I m-mean-!" He choked. "Sorry!"
"Nyehehe- no, I know you'll go further than I ever could. That's just natural." She then paused, "I'm not so sure about letting you go though. The sea is a dangerous place and you only know what your father and I have taught you about navigation."
He froze.
"B-B-But-!"
"Well, I'll tell you what. It's going to be a long and hard journey so you've gotta be strong enough to take care of yourself. So, if you can prove that you're strong enough, in a few years, I'll let you leave the island with my blessing." She paused. "Let's say... that once you're able to beat Quagga it'll prove that you're strong enough to do whatever you want."
"Wha- But Mom-! He's the strongest, it'll take forever before I can beat him-!"
She squished his face in her hands. "Nyehehe- it just means that you're stuck with me for a couple more years! I'm not letting you go and leave me all by my lonesome anytime soon." He grumbled beneath her hands, not able to form any proper arguments. "Now, why don't you stop being so shy and go make friends? You can see about starting that shell collection!"
"Noo-"
"Katsura. Go. Have. Fun."
He made a face. Slumping as he mumbled out an annoyed, "Finnne," dragging the word out as far as he could.
"Good boy!"
-0-
There was an argument going on.
It was quiet enough that he couldn't make out what the voices were saying but he didn't need to. The raw emotion behind each word, the animosity that festered in the undercurrent of syllables, and the almost violent pall that hung in the air was more than enough to say what words could not.
It wasn't until shadows reached under the crack of the door and shuddered with movement that the voices became discernible. But they weren't exactly welcome.
"-it's not as bad as it could be, since you built your house away from the others," a vaguely familiar voice begins to say, cutting through the others, "and we don't have to see that little creature running around-"
A loud slap rips through the air like a gunshot.
Making the hushed silence that followed echo and the quiet, scandalized whisper seem that much louder, "You are all monsters."
There's partly an expectation for shouts and screams to break out but there's not another word as one pair of steps turns on their heel and hurriedly opens the door to his room. A sharp breath sucked in, tight and tense, until the other footsteps begin to leave and then all at once air is escaping his lungs in weepy shudders. He feels his mother sweep to his side and her hands reach to turn him around and he takes the chance, now that they're alone, to break down.
"Mo… om!"
She gasped at his choked whimper, hands hurriedly brushing over his cheeks. "Oh, my baby…" She breathed, heart throbbing in her chest. "How could they do this to you-?"
"Uhn- ah! It-" he hiccuped, "hurts!"
"I know, baby, I know. It's gonna be okay, we're gonna get you cleaned up." He flinched violently as her thumb rubbed against the edge of his gill, forcing him to swallow a howl of pain, somehow managing to turn it into a yelp. She jumped away, hissing as if she'd been burned. "Ah- I'm so sorry- I didn't mean to-!" Katsura dry heaved between his sobs, the stress and throbbing getting to his head, winding himself up into a ball.
His hiccupping squeaks shuddered to a momentary stall as he managed a strangled gasp, "...Why'd he do this to me?"
"I…"
She didn't have an answer.
Rocks. Dirt. And sand. All shoved as deep as they could possibly go into his gills. With each breath they only seemed to fall deeper into the sensitive flesh, stabbing into his cheeks and sending him into a fresh frenzy of pain each time. It hurt worse than words could describe.
The skin around his gills was scraped and pulled open at the edges - where fingernails had undoubtedly dug in to spread apart each individual gap, leaving blood to slowly seep out of the mutilated skin. Now bruised purple, yellow, and red. It was clear that somebody had gone out of their way to physically hold him down so that they could shove whatever they could get their hands on into his gills, outright tearing his skin to an upsetting degree in order to complete their monstrous task.
"Who?" She was finally able to ask. It's a vengeful, broken sound that strikes a cord somewhere deep.
"'M sorry-" he babbled, "I- I- I didn't wanna worry you and- and-"
He spasms in her arms as his face throbs all the way down to his lungs, insides clenching. It feels like fire is running across his limbs and his throat feels like its swelling with every breath he takes in. It's only slightly alleviated by his mother running her hands down his arms in a comforting gesture, quick murmurs trying to assure him that everything was going to be alright. It certainly didn't feel like that was going to be the case. Katsura took in a deep, shaky breath to calm himself down. It didn't end up amounting to much.
"Y-You always smiled w-w-whenever you saw me talkin' to 'em but- but-" He coughed. "A-And I figured i-it'd be fine, so long as you were hap-happy-! T-T-That it didn't matter if you were smilin'!"
She makes a noise and it sounds like her heart shattering.
"No, no, no, I would never want you to hurt for me- !"
"E-E-Ever since d-dad h-had to g-go-" Katsura fell into violent shivers. At this point, he didn't know whether it was physical or emotional, but it didn't really matter which. "Y-You've just been so… sad. And I thought… thought that it'd be better if you thought I had friends b-but they're all-!"
The word doesn't come to him. "Monsters." And she ends up being the one finishing the sentence.
He nods.
"This… This is all my fault…"
"No, baby, it's mine! You did nothing wrong-!"
"But I did! I- I- I- I-" The words were even more of a struggle to come up with. "T-They always called me a-all sorts of names but then Tava called you a- a-" He couldn't even repeat it. It made him want to scream into his pillow and tear whatever he could get his hands on into shreds. "And I punched him! I didn't even feel guilty about it but he… then he got this idea… said it'd be fun..."
She tightens her grip on him. Not liking one bit where he was going.
"...to shove dirt in my gills, said that maybe they'd shrivel up and disappear. That then I'd b-be normal."
He hiccuped a couple more times after that. But it was controlled now, the raw emotion seeping out of him in stressful waves with each word.
Katsura scrubbed at his face.
It was never so much the taunts and jeers that hurt, but rather the intent behind them. The words were meant to cause harm, were meant to be painful, and that fact alone was enough. It made his stomach roll.
Tava was the worst of the lot though.
It was like he was just throwing out words with the intention of them being curses. And somewhere along the way they became them.
Still. It was easy to laugh off. As bothersome as it was, and no matter how many childish feelings of contempt whirled, it was manageable- made even more so every time he could glance to the side and see his mother smiling and every time she went on about how excited she was that he was fitting in. He wasn't stupid. When they'd been forced to move from Fishman island she'd been so dreadfully sad as they made their way back towards her hometown. It'd been awhile since he'd seen her so relaxed- and if it meant sucking it up for a bit then he could do it. He'd be fine.
...Except he wasn't. Eventually the taunts began to wear thin on his nerves and one wrong comment overstepping the line was enough to set him off. And he didn't have a fishmans strength, as much as he wanted to believe, to back up his first punch.
She gritted her teeth, dusting off his cheeks as best she could by hand and hurriedly snatching up their small medical kit. It was a crappy thing that had her cursing her lack of forethought. But she did her best to manage with it. Carefully picking out rocks and dirt with tweezers-
Katsura howled, toes curling.
"HURTS!"
It took all she had not to sob along with him.
"I know. I know." She carefully cupped the side of his face to hold his head in place, glancing around the room for anything helpful. "We just gotta find something to distract you. It'll help, I promise." No, not that. No. No. Er, maybe? She ground her teeth together, everything they owned was too fragile or not good enough. Distractedly, as if seeking comfort, her hand brushed over her breast pocket and-
Katsura whimpered and she didn't hesitate.
"Here. This will help."
He startled at the sudden weight being pressed into his hands. Mouth dropping open and tears drying for a moment in his sudden shock. "But I-" He stuttered, frozen stiff and staring at the shell placed in his hands. "I'll break it." He whispered.
"Not if you hold really still and if you're careful." She assured. "Besides, what did I tell you? You're ten now. It's been a year."
That did the trick.
Katsura found himself stuck in place, sucking in a deep breath and shuddering with every rock that was removed and every accidental jab. Just barely managing to stay rooted through sheer force of will alone. It was almost unsettling with how he had been enraptured by the shell. He swallowed nervously, fingers curling carefully around it. "Can… Can I… listen to it?"
His mother paused in her ministrations, shifting over to the other side of his face, and let out a low, thoughtful hum. "I don't want you to be disappointed." She said softly, hands gently brush against his wounds and making him flinch away from her touch. "I don't know if you'll be able to hear anything just yet."
"But you listen to it all the time!"
"Only because I know how to." She murmured. "You're welcome to try but… I wouldn't until you're stronger."
He ground his teeth together in his frustration, catching his tongue between them. But all the new, blooming pain did was distract him from his throbbing cheeks. "I'm never going to be strong enough. I can't even beat those guys. I-" he slams his fist into his bed, eyes clenched shut, "-I couldn't do anything to them!"
He's holding the Esse Shell but it feels like a misplaced victory. He didn't deserve to even lay a finger on it- he couldn't even listen to it.
"I'm weak. Like a demure kitty." He couldn't stop himself from referencing the insults. "I can't do anything."
A sad smile spreads across her face and she pulls back from his cheeks. Most of the larger pieces are gone now, but it's going to leave scars and hurt for awhile longer. There's no doubt in her mind that it'll be a horrible reminder every time he looks in the mirror. "That's okay. You don't have to be able to do anything to them right now. Strength is something you learn, it's not something you're born with. It's a constant struggle. And in the moment when you can't go on but you keep going anyways, that's when you'll know you're strong enough."
"I… I don't get it."
"Take a listen to that shell when you do." She delicately folds his fingers around it. "Maybe I was a bit too quick to say you can't touch it… it's not you I don't trust. Just the world and the monsters in it." She looks pained, staring at his mutilated face. "I… I'm sorry. I should've known that something like this would've happened eventually. This is my fault." She doesn't let him get out a sentence to try to deny her having any responsibility. "I… I wish I could promise you that this will never happen again but I… can't. There is one thing I can promise though." He felt her hands drop on top of his, over the shell. Warm and comforting, sharpening his mind. "Wherever this shell is, I'll be there. So long as you know where this shell is I will always be by your side."
-0-
It was dark. The rain was falling down heavy and hard, to the point where it dripped down his face and made it a struggle to see, the droplets blurring his vision and forcing him to blink rapidly to try and clear it. There wasn't much to say. His breath was coming out in short, sharp bursts that colored the air as he ran as fast as he possibly could. Not giving his feet the chance to sink into the wet sand, and the only sound that broke through the thundering storm was his own heart beating in his chest.
He didn't know what was happening, head whirling as he tried to make sense of what was going on around him. With no results. There was just too much he didn't understand and the emotions warring inside him were making it harder and harder to focus with each passing second.
"Ah…"
He yelped lightly, foot sliding out from underneath, sending him crashing into the ground.
There was screams ringing in his head. A reverberating sound that had long since been silenced by the storm but still bounced around his skull, chiming like warning bells. Everything had gone so wrong, so, so quickly. And the only thing helping him push himself to his feet was his own stubbornness and the wild thought that he had to find it.
"Gotta… Gotta find it…" He grunted. "The shell... it-"
It had to be around here somewhere, he was sure of it.
He just needed to find it.
Just needed to hold it because if he couldn't then that would mean-
The cottage door is broken and there's a hole in the window leaving the home open to the worst of the elements and he comes to a sliding stop in front of it. Chest heaving and side aching from exertion and panic. It had to be here- It had to be here-
There's a noise behind him and he whips around with wild eyes.
It's-
"Tava."
At the sound of his name Tava jumps, head shooting up. He looks harried and has a harpoon clenched in his hands like a lifeline, knuckles turning stark white. For a moment, he looks like he's about to say something, Katsura doesn't know what he could possibly think to add, before his gaze hardens and Katsura finds the tip of a harpoon pointed at his chest. He's probably more surprised than he should be.
"This… this is all your fault! You freak of nature! Monster-!"
Between the rain and his own thumping heartbeat Katsura can't really pick out much but even if he'd heard he doubted it was much more than some useless babble. And, for once, the spew of insults just whiffed right off him. Katsura took a threatening step forward.
"Tava." He cuts in, tongue like a blade. Whatever he's saying gets cut off and thrown out the window. "Where is it." He bites out. It's not a question at this point.
Thunder booms somewhere out at sea and distantly Katsura thinks he can hear an unsettling roar. A low guttural sound of pain and mourning that gets swallowed by the sea just as it gets engulfed in rage.
Tava stares at him, as if uncomprehending.
Katsura takes another step forward.
"Where… is it."
A gleam of recognition and a cold, cruel smirk curls across his face. Smug and all too pleased.
He goes cold.
"Oh that? I tossed it. A dumb cat like you shouldn't be allowed to have anything that pretty. It was useless anyways. So I just threw it into the ocean." He laughed. "Don't you know? That's where pathetic things go. But really? Why do you care? It was just some dumb shell-!"
Something tight in his stomach uncoils.
There's screaming and blood thumping in his ears, turning him deaf to the world around him. The rain is still coming down hard, washing away red that covers both his nails and the sand. And Tava's on the ground, a wild scar running across his mouth and bending his lips into a permanent sneer.
The scene bleeds into the present.
There's no blood dripping down his fingers anymore and there's no blood on his face. The scar is old and withered and worn. Pink against his skin and tugging at his lips as he sputters, hands still positioned to dust himself off.
It's gone.
Katsura blinks twice.
Then takes one look at the boy in front of him and snarls.
"It's you!" He hisses lowly, voice growing angry and cold. "What're you doing here?!"
Tava lets out a panicked cry and trips over himself, hands roaming around wildly and head whipping back and forth in search of his old harpoon. It was a hopeless case. The memory of Ace dragging him across the sand coming back to him sharply. He'd dropped it on the way over. His jaw dropped in horror at the realization.
He threw up his fists in some sort of awkward boxing stance for at least a semblance of comfort.
It didn't do anything.
"It's not of my own volition, I'll tell you that!" He shouts. Eyes trailing over Katsura's sharp claw-like hands and feeling his face ache with ghost pains, gaze immediately snapping away to find a scapegoat. He's a panicked mess and ends up stabbing a quick finger over to the pair of ravenettes congregating on the lawn. "Blame them! I wouldn't have taken a step over here, fish freak, if it wasn't for that asshole literally dragging me halfway across the island!"
"That asshole has a name you know!" Ace said just as Quinn turned to him, brow raised. "Did you really drag him?" And Tava, who was trying to listen but was far too distracted by the redhead in front of him, could've sworn he heard the freckled freak lean over and mutter to the new freak woman, "Yeah, but he deserved it."
"I did not!"
"No, you deserve everything coming to you." Katsura growled, effectively shutting him down. "Get outta here, Tava. Wouldn't want you to end up getting hurt again now would we?"
It was bit of a low blow.
"Why you little-"
Wow, that was not worth repeating.
"I take it they don't like each other?"
"Che, what gave you that idea?" Ace snorted. Stating the obvious much. "You should've heard him on the way over here, he wouldn't shut up for even a second. It was annoying!"
"I think I would've preferred that to the almost drowning…" She muttered under her breath, "We had a run in with that Sea Beast again."
"Tch. No fair."
Quinn rolled her eyes.
"You didn't really miss out on much. Besides…"
The Beast was horrifying to look at up close. But when she was completely defenseless and had no choice but to watch and suffer in her own skin? Gah, it was made ten times worse.
"It's not like I had a chance to fight back anyways. Not that I would've wanted to, mind you! I was too busy trying not to drown- Can't swim remember? So that was a fun time well spent."
"Ah, I was wondering why you're still wet." He'd dried up enough by this point that he was only moderately damp. Ace poked her. "How long were you in the water for?"
Quinn just barely stopped herself from swatting his hand away.
"A couple minutes, I think? It's not like I was counting or anything. It was long enough that it started to really hurt." She shuddered, lungs throbbing at just the thought. They'd fallen into a dull ache by now and would probably hurt for awhile yet. Drowning would be a horribly painful way to die. Quinn cleared her throat, pushing those thoughts away, "Katsura ended up fighting it. He did pretty well with me weighing him down actually, as far as I could tell." Even if he'd come out frustrated with how the fight had ended.
In her opinion the both of them coming out relatively fine was enough to call it a win in her books.
Ace seemed to perk up at the mention.
"How's he fight?! Any strong?"
"I would say so, he did better than you did that's for sure."
"Hey! I got a few hits in!"
"I seem to remember you immediately getting punted into the ocean."
"Shut up! I did not! It was all the freaky currents fault!"
"Kehehe. Sure it was."
Quinn ended up tilting her head at Katsura, watching as he turned an unimpressed look onto Tava and looked to be struggling to hold himself back from stomping the guys face in. Or clawing him with those sharp nails of his. Or using water to- "Hm. Well, okay, maybe not that." Ace raised a questioning brow. "I- I wouldn't call it Fishman Karate. I'm pretty sure that relies on the usage of the bodies water content and I don't think what he was doing was the same thing."
Gah, this was one of the things she didn't really know. Quinn had the horrible habit of skimming information when she didn't think it was important. And with a series like One Piece, as long as it is, she'd only been more prone to do so despite her interest. She'd want to push through the tension as fast as possible. Otherwise it'd be killing her to not know what happens next.
Ace tilted his head at her, "Hah?" Confused.
"His pow… fighting moves."
That didn't really clarify much for him.
Quinn rambled on with her thoughts in lieu of explanation. "Okay, so like, he was controlling the preexisting water surrounding him. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with currents 'cause he mentioned he could read them earlier. Which, I don't really get but whatever." She pauses, thinking it over. "So Fishman Karate, right? That revolves around actual people and their bodies and the water in the air but what he was doing didn't have anything to do with that? It was like he was moving water like it was an actual object and I'm… fifty-fifty on that falling under a different category. I mean, if he was using Karate than he would've been able to break through the Beasts defenses, I'm pretty sure. It's weird…"
Ace blinked.
He hasn't a clue as to what she's saying. "I don't know what you're talking about, Quinn." So he said as much, slowly and somewhat bewildered. Quinn deflated at the admittance, trailing off. The words going straight over his head. "But this is the first time I've met a fishman so I wouldn't know."
He's also a little impressed, despite not completely following, that she'd come up with all that so quickly.
Too bad he didn't know she was basically cheating.
Quinn sighed at him. Deciding to simplify, "He can control water."
But she could've just said that in the first place so…
"That's a bit hard to believe!" Ace leaned in in interest. Quinn quietly agreed with him. Sort of mind-boggling amazing, really. "Can all Fishman do that?"
"I imagine anybody could do it if they received training."
That Koala-Revolutionary was evidence to that fact.
Ace, meanwhile, couldn't help but eye Katsura with a grin. There were a lot of interesting powers he'd never imagined before popping up recently. First Luck, or whatever that meant, bah- he was sure Quinn would figure it out soon enough. She seemed smart enough and he doubted the fruit was only good for winning coin flips. Then there was whatever that blonde guy with super sharp teeth did. That weird contraption he'd had strapped to his back gave Ace a bad feeling and he'd learnt to trust his instincts, lest he get jumped from behind. Now there was a half-Fishman with water powers that looked like he was gearing up to do something decidedly violent.
"You know, I don't think this is gonna end well for him."
"He isn't even paying attention."
They were looking pointedly at Tava. Whose face had gone startling red with rage and looked none-the-wiser to the impending doom etching itself across Katsura's face.
"-leave! That's all your good for making people do anyway!"
Apparently that was the wrong thing to say.
Ace is more than a little fascinated to watch the water dripping off of Katsura's body twist together into a single stream. Surging into Tava. Sweeping him completely off his feet and throwing him into a spinning mess of limbs into the air like a runaway top. He didn't even get the chance to scream before he was slammed back down into the ground.
Quinn winced.
"Ouh, that had to hurt."
Tava came up blubbering, lips smacking as water dripped off of him in streams. "What-" he sputtered and whipped up to stare wide eyed at Quinn and Ace, "-you're just going to stand there? And let him get away with this?" A bit of blood trickled from his nose.
"Yep!" Ace chirped, all too cheerful. "We're pirates, why should we help you?"
Quinn shrugged over his shoulder.
Truth be told, she wasn't interested in much of what was happening. And was more or less fine enough just following Ace around. He seemed like he knew what he was doing at least. If the way he hopped over Tava's gaping form and bounded after Katsura was anything to go by. She hurried after. And if Katsura noticed the pairs scrutiny he either didn't show it or just didn't care. He was much too busy turning on heel and stalking off into the minimal tree coverage. Clutching his parcel to his chest so tightly that he was almost afraid it'd explode if he squeezed any harder.
He just needed to get away from Tava.
It was childish, he knew, but some part of him was absolutely terrified that Tava would get his hands on the old parcel and would chuck it. Somewhere where he could never find it again. And would only be able to stare out to sea and wonder where'd it gone and what it was.
So he gripped it even harder. To the point where he could hear whatever it was scraping against itself. A bad decision, but he wasn't exactly thinking straight at the moment. Gosh, he hoped it wasn't fragile. He didn't want to break it before he even knew what it was. He paled at the thought, arms immediately loosening.
That'd be just like him. To break what was obviously a…
Katsura shook his head and dropped back into a tree, sliding down its trunk.
That- That couldn't be it, could it? It'd been years. He doubted he would have overlooked the floorboard. What were the chances that some stranger- okay, she wasn't really a stranger anymore, but she sure was weird -would trip on a nail and find it?
"Hey, what's that?"
Katsura nearly jumped out of his skin when Ace popped up out of nowhere, leaning over him curiously. He barely managed to swallow the decidedly squealish yelp. Shrinking back from his gaze, "I… uh… I don't know?" He tried. "I just found it."
"Looks like a present."
Yep.
Yeah.
He knew that already.
"...It does, doesn't it?"
Katsura couldn't help but bite down on his tongue as he whispered. Nervous. His hands were shaking and his palms had gone clammy.
Ace raised a brow. "Are you gonna just stare at it or are you gonna open it?"
Katsura pushed back into the tree trunk as Quinn popped up behind Ace, rubbing her face and eyeing the package as well. He couldn't help but flush a bit, embarrassed, under their scrutiny. He kinda lost his mind back there didn't he? Oof. He cringed. They probably thought he was crazy now too.
"Don't worry, we're pirates. We're probably crazier."
He stammered. Did he say that out loud?
"Yes, you did." Quinn snorted. "Trust me, that's wasn't the worst reaction I've seen. Especially not to someone provoking you."
Ace laughed. Honestly curious. "How was that crazy? I would've hit him way sooner than you did," he gave a wicked grin, "and way harder." As if to emphasize his point he popped out a punch into the air. Katsura sweatdropped. "You should take people like that down. They'll never respect you if you don't teach 'em a lesson."
"Or!" Quinn couldn't help but pipe up with a finger. "You could just not fight people? And, you know, not make the situation worse than it already is?"
Katsura got the feeling that she wasn't only talking to him. And remembered, rather mirthlessly, that Ace's first reaction to the Beast was to punch it. And how Quinn's attempt to insult it hadn't ended well for her either.
"Just leave them be?" Ace raised a brow. "If they deserve to be hit than they should be! Don't just back down."
"I'm not saying you don't get back at them, just maybe not when they can retaliate."
"That's… pretty cowardly."
"But effective!" Quinn argued. Ace was sending his crewmate quite the unimpressed look. Katsura found his mood lifting a bit as he watched her redden and huff. "All your method did was let you splash around in the water for a bit. Real nice move that one."
"My method?!" Ace repeated incredulously. "I was the one who got a hit in, not you!"
"What fight were you watching?"
"Oh, I'll show you my method-!"
Katsura couldn't help it. Biting his tongue to keep silent failed excruciatingly badly and trying to turn his head away from them really didn't do anything to stave it off. He was snorting out a rather loud laugh. Slapping a hand over his mouth only choked it off into a muffled tittering.
"What're you laughing at, uh…!"
Ace froze, realizing that he'd forgotten his name. It had something to do with whiskers or trees, right?
"Katsura." Quinn thankfully provided just as he was about to bow and ask, choosing instead to introduce the pair herself. Though it was done with a sort of wishy washy wave of her hand. Not exactly the polite greeting he was going for. "Katsura, Ace."
His eyes gleamed, popping up to her face. "You called me Katsura…?"
"Rude not too. After everything." She shrugged. "Besides, you asked."
Katsura felt his heart warm and his shoulders hugged his head as he fought off a grin. It was a little sad- okay, more than a little- but that was probably the nicest gesture towards him he'd gotten in years.
It made him more than a little giddy.
"So are you gonna open it or what?"
"Huh? Oh. Uh."
He felt his stomach drop and twist.
"I… don't know…"
"You're pretty hesitant aren't you?"
He flinched. Whipping up to look at Ace who had taken to staring him down with a rather unreadable face. Katsura didn't know what it was or how he did it but it almost felt like he was staring straight through his soul.
The seconds ticked by.
Katsura was starting to get uncomfortable.
Ah, Quinn thought this looked kinda familiar.
Ace blinked.
"Why?"
Katsura jerked himself out of his stupor.
"Well, because it's- it's-" His head drooped. "Erm." He was almost hoping to catch his tongue between his teeth by accident. The atmosphere suddenly felt heavy.
(-Because it was obviously a gift of some kind? However many years old it was it'd remained in the house he refused to enter for four years and now it'd just suddenly appeared? Most likely from his mother? How was he supposed to say that out loud- much less take in-?!)
"It was left before she…"
It was too troubling even to say.
"Just open it." Then Ace smiled and it took up most of his face and all at once Katsura felt his spirit leave his body. "Whoever left it wanted it to go to you right? If it was meant for you than it's your duty to carry it on, as the only one left."
If she'd taken the chance to steal a glance at Ace's eyes she would have noticed them light up- as if confirming something to himself.
But instead Quinn watched the exchange unfold in front of her none the wiser. There was definitely an undercurrent of… something and while it was happening right in front of her she couldn't for the life of her put a name on it. It was more of a vague feeling than anything she could put into words and she would've brushed it off if it wasn't for Katsura confirming he'd noticed it too by letting out a shaky sigh. Whatever it was it certainly had Ace in a good mood. He was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as Katsura very carefully and very slowly opened up his parcel in front of them.
It had Ace oohing and Katsura gasping. And if his eyes were a bit wet neither of them pointed it out.
Quinn, meanwhile, had to keep her humor in check.
Because that wasn't nearly as unexpected as it probably should be.
-0-
The sea was a beast all on it's own.
It was wild and ferocious, a monstrosity all by itself. Sure, it had its moments of calm. But those were few and far between. It was a wet abyss that snapped and bit and screamed. It encompassed all that it could and what it couldn't would be strived for like a touch-starved infant, sending wave after wave until it slowly ate away at its surroundings and crumbled its defensives. Push back only made it worse and if you let it gain even an edge of momentum it wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of you.
And, much like a wild beast or a raging child, it needed to be tamed.
Unfortunately, that took focus and discipline and years of formal training. Three things that Katsura could admit that he didn't really have and had never had. By his hands alone bending the ocean and listening to the currents took time and patience that he often didn't have- especially not with a Beast bearing down on him. The ocean was just too heavy without a little helping hand to guide him through and focus with. A focal point, if you will.
Katsura sniffled.
Overcome with emotions.
As a kid especially, he had had troubles. He just hadn't been able to pay attention for long enough or to get his thoughts straight to really focus. That is until he'd gotten a little help. It'd suddenly occurred to his mother one day that a helping hand- in the literal sense- was exactly what he needed to get the hang of it. So, one day, when he was bent over a small pool of water Katsura had found his mothers pale hand placed over his green one. It was comforting and warm and gave him a reason to think and so he had taken a deep breath- and pushed.
And then the water had moved.
Of course, it had immediately dropped as soon as he starting screaming and jumping for joy but he had done it! He had done it and suddenly it was so much easier to take the plunge. To focus and hear and he'd managed to get the hang of it. Finally! He'd just needed a little push every once in awhile and everything had come easier than ever... Until he'd been left to wallow by himself, nails slicing through the waves and the currents moving without the same strength or effort. It wasn't good. It was almost like he was at square one again. Unable to focus and think quite the same way.
He sucked in a shuddery breath. Eyes gleaming as he slid his gift onto his hands, belts and buckles strapping down over his wrists and thumbs, fingers sliding into well placed loops. It was like that weight was back again. Warm and present, a soft reminder to focus and emboldening him with a sense of security.
It was like a flame had been lit.
And, unable to hold back tears or rub his eyes, all he can do is hop to his feet and let a few spill past his wide smile. "You guys said you were pirates, right?!" Katsura laughs as Ace preens under the acknowledgement and feels his mood lift even more.
"You bet!"
"Then I have a proposal for you!" Katsura stood in front of them with an almost joyous grin on his face- pulling the last strap of the tekko-kagi into place. They were like wolverine claws, made of a rather impressive ensemble of leather loops and belts that fastened three blades to each hand. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the contraption and the small shell shaped emblem carved into the front. It was quite the change in stance compared to the almost fetal position he was in before. "Let me prove it to you: That I'm strong enough to join your crew!"
"Go for it!"
.
.
.
Ahhh- Hope you guys enjoyed! I wanted to get this out before Endgame was released, I got tickets to see it a day early with all my friends, because if something bad happens I'm gonna be devastated for like a month and incapable of function. I'm not good with sad endings.
I actually have about 4k more written for this chapter but the transition between the parts was so weird I decided to split them into two, even though I've planned Belle out to be a three-parter since the beginning. Anyways, I hope you like it! I really liked writing in some of Katsura's background, I felt it came out really well. What do you guys think? Please leave a review!
