Chapter 11: Until we meet again
The girl was tired of waiting for the brothers to come back. Shayla decided to see what was taking them so long and found them near a cliff by the sea overlooking the ocean. Luffy was no longer laying on his stomach but was now sitting with his knees close to himself.
Ace was standing next to him and she heard them talking, "-and even stronger than that. Then I'll be able to protect anything. I won't lose anyone ever again. Please Ace… don't die" his broken voice hurt her.
The youngest was suddenly punched by his older brother, "Don't be ridiculous! You should be more worried about yourself. You're way weaker than I am! Listen up and remember this, Luffy! I won't die" Ace declared while Shay was watching from behind a tree.
Luffy held on to his hat and nodded while both his eyes and nose were running. "Sabo made that request too. I promise I won't die! There's no way I'd die and leave behind a weakling of a brother like you" he continued, and her little sunshine nodded twice agreeing with whatever Ace was saying.
Shayla felt her heart melted at this scene. She knew Ace meant every word and it was hard to believe he could be that vulnerable.
His speech to his brother was so amazing.
"Listen Luffy, we'll definitely live our lives without regret!" the older encouraged, and Luffy nodded again. Shayla felt like it included her too and went over to them. "Someday, we'll set out to sea and live our lives the way we want to. With more freedom than anyone else!" he encouraged.
Ace would be a great captain.
"I'm sure that we'll make lots of enemies. Gramps will become our enemy, too. We'll risk our lives and set sail when we turn seventeen" he finished.
"Seventeen? I can't wait that long," Shayla started, "We'll all go when we are seventeen to be pirates, Shay" Luffy said as if it somehow was obvious. "Sorry, sunshine but I've been here too long. I think of leaving when I'm about 15".
She would have left by now if she thought that she could find her way home at such a young age.
"That's cheating," Luffy said childishly, "I have been missing for over 13 years now. My crew probably think I died or something. I won't let them believe that for much longer," she answered firmly and left no room for argument.
Ace didn't say anything during their conversation and Shay was sure he understood.
Shanks should already have met up with them, right? She knew she couldn't sail on her own through the Grand Line, let alone the New World. She was naïve to think that, to begin with. The girl knew firsthand how dangerous it could be.
'Just wait a couple of more years, daddy, everyone'. The true daughter of Whitebeard would soon be back.
"That means we only have 3 years left with you" the brothers looked so sad, "We'll just have to make it the best 3 years in our lives then" she smirked at them and theirs easily matched hers.
-x-
Shayla left the brothers to grab her drawing book from the treehouse. They haven't spent much time at their hideout since Sabo's death and have mostly been at Dadan's. She went inside and noticed the piece of metal that she brought back during the day of the fire.
It seemed so long ago now.
It had already been a couple of weeks now and she had totally forgotten about it. The girl sat down in front of it and placed her hand over it to feel the stone part somehow. When it moved a bit she smiled a little.
The last time she did this was during a rough time but now after everything, she felt more ready.
Shayla closed her eyes and let the metal form.
It continued for a bit and once she looked down it had an entirely new form. If she threw this at the enemy would it become a weapon? It was worth a try and she took her fighting position before throwing it at the wall.
The girl made a hole and tried to get the metal back, but it came towards her at a high speed. She tried to dodged yet it didn't go as plan and accidentally hit herself across her left side. It started to bleed and would most certainly leave a scar.
Shay was a little happy that her family wasn't her to freak out over this small-ish cut. She looked down at the injury one more time and realized it was bleeding a lot more now before she quickly ran back to the house.
The journey back suddenly seemed so far, and it became harder for her to say awake.
When she finally arrived at the hideout, she saw Ace and Luffy were sitting under something outside, "Oi Shay, we build our own contri-" the youngest of them started.
Ace noticed her red shirt and stood up before running over to her, "Shay! What happened" he sounded afraid. But she didn't answer and could hardly say on her feet. The girl fell and felt someone caught her before passing out.
-x-
Shayla woke up with an awful headache. Everything was dark both inside and out. It took a few moments for her to realize that it was in the middle of the night. She lit her hand on fire and saw that Luffy and Ace were sleeping close to her. It almost looked like they were scared of anything happening to her.
Well giving what happened to Sabo, they had every right to worry.
This small texture made her heart warm. They truly were the best of friends ever and she wished them both nothing but epic adventure and great crews.
Shay sat up and held her head in her hand. She felt dizzy and almost fell backward again, "How long have I been out" she muttered, and sadly she had no idea. Her head was killing her, and she laid down again.
How could she let herself get hurt like that? It was mistakes like that that could get her killed and it was mistakes like that… that separated her from her family. Shay had to find a way to be ready for anything.
To never let her truly guard down no matter who she was around.
-x-
Shayla got up before the brothers and went outside to train. If she could figure out a way to master her power, even more, she… Wait, her bending was already close to perfect. She had to get a better battle sense and have this instinct for danger come to her.
What better way to get that than living in the jungle with a wild unpredicted beast.
The girl was used to fight marines or pirates rather easy enough. Since she came to this island, she has never really been challenged in a way for her to grow. Not with the brothers, the bandits nor the animals.
She had let herself grown soft while the other had grown stronger.
They still couldn't beat her tho, but she had to train herself better to achieve a higher form of glory. Could those 12 years have done something to her? Was it possible that somehow time had affected her body more than she thought?
Shay decided to take a swim to clear her mind. It felt so long since she felt seawater on her skin. And she welcomed the salty liquid 100 percent.
After twenty laps around the island, she went back to the forest and made 1000 push-up, 1000 sit-ups, and ran for what felt like hours.
Shay was in the middle of a short break when she suddenly heard a low cry and it came from behind a tree. She slowly and carefully sneaked closer to it and found a small baby fox with the most mesmerizing orange fur.
It was looking at her with sad painful eyes and Shay soon understood it.
Next to it, was a much bigger fox bleeding and struggling to stay awake. The girl could see it was trying to stand so it could protect its pup. It was just like how her mom was protecting her back then and it warmed her heart to see such motherly love even in animals.
Shayla held her arms up, "I'm not going to hurt you guys. I'm just here to help, don't worry". She didn't know if the fox believed her or felt her sincerity, but it laid its head down again. She looked over its body to search for where the blood was coming from.
She found a big piece of wood in its stomach that her cub was shielding before. Shay looked around to find some water to bend so she may heal the wound somewhat, but was none, "I need to find some water, I'll be right back," she promised and quickly ran over to the ocean.
She didn't know if the saltwater would help but she had to try.
Getting water was easy enough, running back was a pick of cake but finding the mother fox dead and her kit shredding tears was heartbreaking. It was like it could sense its' mother's passing, but that didn't stop her from trying to somehow resurrect it.
Maybe her soul was still in her body and she wasn't completely dead, right?
Wrong!
Shayla had to face reality. The low cry came from the now orphan fox next to her. Shay picked it up and the pup looked at her with beautiful green glowing eyes, "Don't worry baby, I'll help. You don't have to be alone".
The fox cuddled its head on her neck and Shay could feel its softness. She looked around to look for maybe a father or a flock that she might return it to. There was none. She didn't want to leave it out here alone and took it back to the bandits' house.
Shayla was greeted by two black-haired boys who were worried about her, "Shay, where have you been? We thought that maybe you had passed out or got hurt somewhere" They yelled. Their concern made her smile.
"I went out to train and found this adorable baby fox and I've decided to keep her," Shayla declared and she thought that it might be her. She lifted it over her head, 'yep, it was a girl' hugged it close to herself, as they went inside.
"What should I call you beautiful," she said with a big smile and kissed its head. Well, she would think of it later, "I wonder what you eat" Shay looked around for anything for her new fox to eat. "What do you even eat?" the girl wondered.
There was a small sound close to the door and the fox quickly ran over to it. Shay soon saw a rat between its cute teeth. Tiki started to eat it, 'Nah, that name won't do' she thought. It appeared that she wanted to give Shayla some of it, "No thanks, beautiful. you can have all of it".
When she was done eating, Shay then washed all the blood off of her. "Isn't there anything cleaner I can give you? If you eat any kind of meat then you don't have to eat rats again" she smiled, kind of expecting an answer but got a cute sniff.
-x-
Shay had been on Dawn Island for over 4 years now. Tonight was Shayla's last night on this island before she set sail tomorrow morning. Everybody was having a small party in her honor with only the people she'd come to care about. Makino and the mayor came to the party too and would be there to see her off the next day.
Everything was ready and the girl was excited to finally get back but she couldn't help but miss them. Even though she was leaving; it wasn't a goodbye. It was until we meet again, and she was sure that she would meet these weirdoes someday.
She had a present for the two brothers and Shayla couldn't wait to surprise them, "Ace, Luffy I have something for you guys" she smiled brightly. "Really! What is it, Shay?" Luffy asked happily and she gave them their gifts.
The youngest was impatient and ripped it open. Inside was a big black cloth and he looked a little disappointed, "Unfold it" she told him. When he did, she swore that she has never seen anything brighter, "This is awesome, Shay! Thank you!" he said before hugging her.
Luffy folded it out so everyone could see. It was a pirate mark that she had designed for him.
It had a skull with four crossbones and a straw hat on even his scar under his eye. It had this cool yet scary aura to it. It was Shayla's gift that she made for him as a way for him to remember her. She doubted he would forget her otherwise.
"You just have to wear it as a cape, like Nogari did until you can hang it on your ship".
Luffy of course he loved the idea. He ran around like a superhero and showed everyone how cool he looked.
Ace didn't open it yet and look at her nervously, "Come on, open it" the girl encouraged. He slowly unpacked it and saw an orange cowboy hat with two emojis on one smiling and the other frowning. The older black-haired looked confused, "Why are you giving me this?".
"It's a gift. I wanted to give you both something you'll remember me by" she said honestly. Then he tried it on, and it fit him surprisingly well. "Thank you" he smiled awkwardly, "See that's the right thing to say. Your manners have certainly improved thanks to Makino" she hugged him too.
That night the three could hardly sleep knowing it was their last together for some time. They fought, ate, and argued like usual, and it was perfect. The fox Rain laid her head on Shay's thigh, she had gotten so much bigger in these last years, but she wasn't full size yet.
This beautiful creature was going to accomplice her tomorrow. Through the years they had grown so much close and it would be awful to just leave her behind. Ace and Luffy were her friends and family but Rain was no longer her pet. She was Shay's partner.
They did everything together; training, eating, sleeping and now they would sail together.
-x-
When Shayla was ready, she hugged everyone, "Thank you for all the things you guys did for me" and Dadan started to cry, "Don't say such things, brat". It made the girl chuckled and she jump on her small boat, Rain was already onboard "Look at me Ace, Luffy. I'm set sail now".
They all waved, and Shayla used her wind to make the boat sail quicker. Soon she could no longer see them and looked at the fox next to her, "it's just the two of us now, girl".
-x-
The two have been sailing for a couple of days now and we're running out of food with no island in sight. Shay tried to look at the map, but it was hard to read if you don't know where you were. She didn't think it would be that hard consider it was the East Blue.
Think about her journey when she enters the Grand Line and it was almost making her lose hope… almost. Her desire to meet her family was even greater and she refused to be defeated.
But hope soon reappeared when a warship was closing in on them. She smirked at this chance, the marines would probably rescue a girl in need with their sense of justice.
"Are you alright, young lady?" an officer asked, "I'm fine but I'm having trouble finding my way" she answered honestly. "We can give you a lift. Where you going," Shayla smiled at them with innocent, "I'm going to the Logue Town" she saw that island's name on the map earlier.
It was supposed to be the last island. There she would hijack another ship to Grand Line or maybe climb up the Red Line. You know whatever she might feel depending on the situation really.
"That's just where we are going, miss. Come on board then" and she happily boarded. 'So far so good she thought.
-x-
It took a couple of days more to reach their destination. Shay quickly jumped off the ship before any of them could notice anything, with Rain was right behind her. It was her first stop on her grand adventure back to her father and so far, she was enjoying it. There were no sudden storms or cyclones, no snow or hail at this part of the sea.
The name of the island sounded somewhat familiar and she felt like it was something important to it.
Well, whatever...
They were walking around when Shayla's stomach started to growl, and Rain's soon followed. They were both hungry, "Let's find a place to eat" the fox led the way to the palace with a great smell.
Shayla went side and a man greeted her, asking how many they were expecting, "A table for two" she smirked down to her partner, "I'm sorry miss but pets are not allowed in here" the man said, "She's not my pet, she's my partner" she explained.
"It's still an animal and they are not allowed in here," he told her, "I'm starting to see which one of you is the real animal. Hint, it's not her" she left. There was no way she'll eat where Rain couldn't eat with her.
Sadly, the next few restaurants were just like that. The girl was almost considered fishing in the ocean and grill the fish she would catch with her powers. That was until she saw an outside food truck.
It was truly a gift from heaven.
She ordered a lot of meat for them both and the man smiled at their behavior, "I have never seen a girl with your appetite" Shay just kept eating her food and suddenly remembered something, "What is this island so famous for" curiosity got the better of her.
The man looked kind of shocked, "You don't know why it's called 'the beginning and the end'" that caught her attention, "Uh, it sounds so mysterious" she loved a good story.
"It's the city the Pirate King Gold Roger was born and executed. If you go to the center, you can even see the execution platform". That's why it was so familiar. She read about it all those years ago back on Moby Dick.
"Interesting. I think I'll go see it. Thanks for the food" she finished and stood up to leave, "Hey, you forgot to pay, girl" he started to yell, "I just gave you my thanks. I just paid my respect" she laughed, God, she was funny.
But the man didn't think so and grabbed her arm, "I don't need thanks I need money. Now pay up or else" he looked at her with a dark glared and if she was an ordinary girl she might have been scared.
Good thing she wasn't.
"That's not how you should treat a girl mister" she had an angry look herself, "I don't care, I want what you owe me" Shay wanted to beat him up but that would get her unwanted attention.
It took a lot of power for Rain to not bite him then and there.
While he was focused on her, she used her powers and bent some of his money to herself, "Fine, here" and she threw the money to him. The man took it and let go of her. "Don't ever come back" he warned, and Shayla didn't have time for any of that and just left.
She had bigger plans.
Shayla soon saw the platform. She ran over to it and started to climb up when some guards tried to stop her, "Get down from there girl" he yelled, "I'm just going to see the view from up there" she said back before continuing.
The man was probably still yelling at her, but she chose to ignore it. When she reached the top she used her wind to lift her fox and they both enjoyed it up there, "So, this is where you died, Roger. This was the last thing you saw" she felt an unnatural wind hitting her and it was like his spirit was still there.
Shayla smiled and patted Rain while the fox relaxed next to her, "I been through a lot since last I saw you. I even met your son, Roger. He is strong, kind, and fierce. I really wish you have been a father to him. Then maybe he wouldn't have this darkness in his heart" she looked at her bracelet and felt the wind saying, 'I do too'. She smiled, "I know, Roger. I know"
It was nice up there and Shay saw her action attracted more people, "I think it's time to go, beautiful" she jumped down with Rain on her back. The girl looked at the platform one more time, "I never got to say this before but, Goodbye Pirate King" she turned around and ran over to the dock to find a new way for her to continue.
A wind hit her again, 'Goodbye Shayla' and she could almost see his bright smile.
The dock was very quiet, and Shayla chose a decent ship to enter the great sea with. She was ready for anything and used her water to bending the ship forward.
-x-
It was getting colder and darker when she saw a light in the distance. What was that?
As Shay continued she found out that it was a lighthouse and it was like it was pointing towards something. Shayla let curiosity guide her and came to a giant red wall or better known as Red Line.
It had been so long since she last saw it, but there wasn't much time to enjoy it. As a strong stream pulled her towards a small hole in the mountain. Shayla would have clashed her small ship to the great continent. If not for her power, she would be drowning right about now.
Rain was curled up in the corner and was too scared to move. Shay smiled and laid her partner on her lap to get ready to travel up. It was so tall that they soon reached the clouds and it was the best ride ever.
Then they traveled above the clouds Shay knew it was going to be a wild ride down and she was looking forward to it. But the fox was shaking and clinging to her as if life depended on it, which wasn't that far from the truth.
For a moment she considered jumping onto the Red like, maybe walk to the other side and jump into the new world.
Shay sighed and quickly dismissed the idea. She used her wind to make the ship go slower but would have loved to try it but not at the price of her partner's stat. They were on their way down when they heard a loud sound. What is that?
They met with another black wall in front of them. Wait, that wasn't a wall, but was a giant whale. They were about to crash into it as Shay had to figure a way to dodge it.
She froze the water into ice, and they made a road away from its huge body. The girl needed a break from all this and directed her boat to the lighthouse on the Red Line.
"That was so close, Rain," she said and had this urge to kiss the ground, "I'm impressed that you entered the Grand Line with only a fox and such a small boat" a voice came behind her. "I tent to do that. Impress people," she smirked and looked at the man, he somehow looked familiar.
Why was this always happening to her?
The old man looked like he might know her too, "I'm Crocus, the keeper of this lighthouse". Even his name sounded familiar, "I'm Shayla and this is Rain" she smiled, "Let's go inside. I might have a change of clothes for you" he offered.
"That's alright, old man" she stood up and bent the water particles off of both her and her fox. "I have only seen one person with those kinds of powers, but she disappeared long ago" Crocus suddenly stated, "Is that so? Who was that" Shay was ready for anything.
The man could see her discomfort, "Relax girl, I met you once for over 17 years ago. I was a member of Roger's crew". That made the girl relax, "Don't look so suspicious then. I was ready for anything old man," relaxed Rain.
-x-
The former pirate let her stay for a couple of days.
It was been nice to take a break before sailing again, "Do you even have a log pose" the old man suddenly asked, "A what?" she asked confused. Then he showed her one, "How does that work," she asked and didn't remember ever seen that thing.
"The needle is pointing towards an island's magnetic field and at some point, will reset itself and point to the next. There are 7 routes you can follow and eventually you will reach the New World. That's what you want right?" Shay nodded happily.
She hasn't realized how far yet so close she was to her family. She wasn't sure how long the journey was going to be, but the girl was ready to get home.
The sun was about to set, and Shayla loved how the ocean reflected its light. She still had her sketchbook from Sabo and Ace and draw the sight. She missed the brothers and wondered how they were doing without her. The light was also shining on Rain's fur which looked magnificent.
'Don't worry dad, nothing can keep us from reuniting again. I'll do anything to get back to you as soon as possible' her eyes were burning with determination.
Shay sailed out with her partner by her side to the endless sea the next morning.
After a couple of hours, a big shadow covered her smaller ship and smirked again. She abandoned her small boat and sneaking onboard a much bigger warship. These marines were probably going back to Headquarters. Right at the end of so-called paradise.
Hehe, it was her lucky day ;P