Slowly, I open my eyes.

I groan a bit as if I just got run over by a truck and my throat feels like it just got cleaned up by sandpaper, but the bright light and a very familiar ceiling wakes me up more.

Oh, I'm back at the shack.

I turn to see that Luffy is sleeping beside me, his head and face got bandaged up because of that one pirate that's about to kill him. I push myself to sit and wince at the pain on my shoulder. I see that the other bandits are all sleeping around us, but I notice the uneasy lines on their faces and the bags under their eyes.

Despite the pain from the burn, my fever is already down and I'm super glad that I didn't die for being unvaccinated; that would've been an idiotic death. I'm gonna make Makino take me to Doctor Pete to vaccinate me when she visits in the future.

"E-Eris…?" I hear Luffy calls and I turn to look at him, giving him a smile.

"Good morning Luffy." I greet him and yelp in pain when he suddenly lunges at me while crying.

"E-Eriiiis…!" He cries out while hugging me tight. I wince a bit, but I return the hug and rub on his back.

"There, there. I'm here, Luffy. See? I told you I'll be fine." I assure him as I gently pat his head, being mindful of his injury.

Hearing the cries, the bandits around us slowly stir awake and quickly gather up around us, seemingly relieved that I'm finally awake. After a while, Luffy finally pulls away and wipes his snot and tears away. I gently pet his head as he holds my hand tight instead. I return the grip.

"I'm glad you're okay, Luffy." I finally say with a smile.

"M-Me tooo!" He replies with relieved tears.

I turn to the bandits and ask, "Where's Ace? And Dadan?"

I can see everyone flinching at that and Luffy shakes his head.

"They're not back yet…" He answers softly. I put my hand on his cheek and gently push his stray bangs away from his face.

"It's okay, Ace is strong. He'll come back no matter what, okay? And Dadan is too stubborn to die anyway, so don't worry so much, okay?" I comfort him with a weak smile. He just nods in return but still pretty down.

Apparently I was unconscious for almost four days, much to my dismay because I missed twenty meals (three meal times and two snack times) and I haven't taken a bath for four days too! Eugh! I bet I smell like shit and smoke!

And so the first thing I do after I'm well enough is take a deep, clean scrub.

Although what surprised me is how fast the burn injury healed. It only left pinkish, burned scar behind and no pain behind. I had burned myself many years ago, and while yes, it's not a large or bad one, it will still take some time to heal.

Then again, I'm not complaining. It must be the weird physiology of the One Piece world.

Luffy also starts to get well enough to run around and eat as fast as he could, while Flame is also doing well. He's not that injured; only minor burned fur.

And of course, Luffy keeps on trying to leave to search for Ace and Dadan, but the bandits stop him every time. And while they're busy, I decide to sneak out to our hideout.

I need to check on the bullshit ceremony.

So I quickly changed into a set of clothes I stole a month ago. It's basically a loli type of dress; a white dress with frills, laces, and ribbons, and thick-heeled boots. I tie my hair into twin tails with black ribbon. Once I'm done, I quickly make my way into the ceremony.

Although sometimes I stop for a moment to scratch my itchy body, thanks for the laces on the dress. I'm allergic to stuff like this, but I need to behave so I try my best to endure it.

Finally, I arrived at the ceremony. It's filled with people, cheering and full of joy as if they didn't just burn living beings days before. It's sickening, but I have other things to focus on. It's pretty easy to blend in the situation. Not only am I short and practically invisible, everyone is too busy focusing on the incoming rotten World Noble.

But because I'm short, I decide to stand on the roof so I get a better view of the event, but also trying to make myself invisible from the cops that are scattered around.

Minutes of waiting, I finally spotted a small speck on the horizon. It's a small boat with crossed S black flag and a familiar navy blue colored bird flying around. I quickly recognized it as Sabo's and the bird is Takao. But before I can go to them, the cops spot me and I curse as I quickly jump off and run away.

I run as fast as I can and into the alleyway, before I turn and jump at the, attacking the cops down with my pipe.

To be honest, they're surprisingly weak. I just attacked their footings and then they crumbled down and whined about how their bones are cracked. Sounds fake, but I did hear something cracked, but whatever.

"Weak." I mock them with a bored look before I run off again, this time to the harbor.

But when I arrive, I see that the Celestial Dragon's ship is approaching and Sabo's boat is on fire. I curse loudly, but I restrain myself from jumping into the water. It's too far, and I won't ever make it, and especially not in this child-sized body…!

"SABO!" I scream out. I don't know if he or Takao can hear me, but before I can call him again, another explosion hits the boat.

I can't scream, or even move as I watch the boat slowly swallowed by fire and the sea, the screaming and the panicked murmurs in the background slowly muffling away. I know this is gonna happen, but what if he didn't survive? What if Takao didn't survive either? What if—

The pipe in my hand slips off, letting it clank to the ground as I fall to my knees.

"There she is! Catch her!"

That loud order breaks me out from my stupor. I quickly grab my pipe and run as fast as I can, not caring for the people around that blocks the path. Sometimes I stumble, but I keep on running into the forest as tears well up in my eyes.

"Sabo…!"

I run and run, until I'm deep into the forest and the cops lost my tracks. I walk my way back to Dadan's shack slowly, too grim to even get changed other than letting my hair down as I enter the shack, only to be greeted by an upset Ace and Flame slamming Dogra down to the floor.

"It's not a joke or even a lie! It was so sudden! Even I doubted my own eyes! I thought I was dreaming!" Dogra exclaimed out, "Luffy said Sabo's parents dragged him home and Takao went after him. We bandits knew well that there are places you don't ever want to go back to! If he's happy, he wouldn't have set sail! He wouldn't have raised a pirate flag and gone off to the sea alone, would he?!"

I walk in with a dark look in my eyes; dried tear tracks are visible on my cheeks. The bandits, the boys, and Flame turn to look at me, both in relief and sadness, but also confusion. Possibly from my weird, unusual attire.

"…I know…" I quickly say softly, my long bangs covering my right eye while the other is visible for them to see, which is full of unshed tears before slowly flowing down.

"I saw it too…with my own eyes…" I choke out a sob as I run toward our old room, slamming the door and leaning on the door.

I slide down and hug my knees as I cry silently. I can hear Ace shouting before Dadan, and Luffy is crying and sobbing loudly in the background, but I ignore it all. I keep crying my eyes out until an hour or so in the dark, and Luffy is still bawling his eyes out.

I wipe off the tears as I tear off the clothes I'm wearing into my usual clothes before exiting the room and jump down, approaching Luffy. He's curling at the corner of the room, still sobbing and hiccupping softly.

"Luffy…" I softly called him, but he didn't even stir or even notice me. I sit down next to him and hug him, making circles on his back and trying to sooth him down, or maybe calm enough for him to notice me. Slowly, he finally realizes and coughs for a few times, before returning the hug tight as he grips on my shirt.

"I'm sorry…that I couldn't save Sabo or even Takao… I'm so weak and useless that I can't even save my own brother and partner…!" I apologize as tears start to well up in my eyes again and slowly flow down. I grip on the back of his shirt as I cry into his shoulder, while he also did the same in my shoulder.

We both just cry our eyes out for many more hours until we cry ourselves up to sleep.

XXX

"Have you cooled your head yet, Ace?" Dadan asks as she approaches the boy, who got tied up onto the nearest tree to prevent himself getting killed.

Ace didn't reply, but he's calm enough to not act out like last night. Dadan just stares at the boy before telling her men to let him go.

"How are Luffy and Eris?" Ace asks calmly as he waits for the rope to get untied.

"They cried all night. They're sleeping now." She replies.

"B-Boss!"

Everyone turns to look at Dogra, who is holding out a letter and an injured, familiar navy colored humanoid bird standing behind him.

"Who the hell are you?!" Dadan yells in alarm.

"T-Takao!" Ace calls out as the humanoid bird approaches him with a limp, ignoring surprised looks from the bandits.

"It's been awhile, Master Ace. How's Master Eris?" Takao asks calmly, putting one of his taloned hands to his feathered chest while the other is put behind and bows a bit.

"Y-You're still alive?" Ace returns in disbelief, glancing at Takao's bloodied and burned left side of his face.

Takao nods and replies, "Yes, I am pretty much alive, Master Ace. I was ordered by Master Sabo to send his letter to you three when he set sail yesterday, but unfortunately his boat got shot down and I was caught in the explosion."

"Right now, he might've survived the attack, but I'm not so sure. I'm sorry I couldn't save him when it happened—ugh!" Takao falls to his knees as he slowly transforms back into his usual bird form, seemingly in pain.

Seeing that, Dadan snaps out of her shock and quickly orders the bandits to hurry up and treat Takao's injuries. Once Ace is freed, he takes the letter from Dogra and starts walking off into the forest, slowly reading the letter.

{To Ace, Luffy, and Eris.

You guys weren't injured in the fire, were you? I'm worried, but I have faith in you guys.

I'm sorry, but by the time you get this letter, I will be at the sea. So much has happened, so I'm setting sail before you. My destination…is anywhere but this kingdom.

There, I will get stronger and become a pirate. And when I'm a pirate, I'll be free, and someday we will meet again somewhere in the wide, free sea! I promise!

By the way, Ace. I wonder which one of us is the eldest?

Two eldest brothers, one younger brother, and one younger brother that acts like she's the eldest. It's a pretty strange bond, if you ask me. But this bond is my greatest treasure.

Luffy is a crybaby and a weakling rubber boy, while Eris is a distrustful enigma that fell from the sky with weird eyes. But they're still our little brothers, so take care of them, okay?

Signed, Sabo}

At the end of the letter, Ace is at the cliff and facing the sea where they all yelled their goals.

Eris nicknamed the cliff after Ace, because he's always here when he needs to be alone.

There's no one but him, the cliff, and the sea.

Sabo Sea.

Slowly but surely, his vision starts to blur, as tears are welling up in his eyes before eventually streaming down to his cheeks and he lets out a loud cry.

For the first time in his 11 years of life, this is the first time Ace cries his eyes and heart out freely, while facing the sea that's named after his brother and best friend, Sabo.

XXX

A few days after the news of Sabo's 'death'.

Most of us are still grieving over him, but Luffy especially.

He barely eats, which is something a D will never do, and looks so glum. I can't blame him either, considering I do the same.

Right now, we both are at Ace Cliff.

Luffy is laying on his stomach, his too big straw hat covering his head. I'm next to him, just hugging my knees and staring at the sea. Both Flame and Takao are around, but they stay behind to give us our space.

Then I hear footsteps approaching us. I turn and see that it's Ace, who stops next to Luffy before giving him a hit on his head, making Luffy pull on his straw hat.

"How long are you gonna stay like that?" Ace asks as he faces the sea. Luffy didn't say anything in return, but he's shaking.

"Our treasures we hide in Midway Forest are completely gone. Either Bluejam's crew or the cops took it, but in the end, Sabo was never gonna use it anyway. Well, I don't care anymore." Ace informs as he crosses his arms, "There's no meaning in owning something if you can't protect it."

"A-Ace… I…" Luffy starts, "I want to become stronger! More! More! More, more, more, more, more! More, more, more, more, more! More, more! I want to be stronger! So I can protect everything and no one's gonna die anymore!" He declares out while crying.

"So please… Ace and Eris…don't die, okay?!"

I just looked at him as Ace hit him again in the head. "Don't be stupid! Instead of worrying about us, just take care of yourself! You're even still weaker than Eris!" Ace replies with a huff, "You better remember this, Luffy! I won't die!" He exclaims out.

How ironic, that he makes these promises but he broke it himself in the end.

"Sabo already asked me to, so I promise! I will never die! How could I die and leave a weak little brother like you with a weird little brother that fell from the sky with weird eyes?" Okay that weird and falling from the sky parts are unnecessary but I'll let it slide this time.

Also what's with that eye-part thing?

"I'm not smart, and I don't know what killed Sabo, but it must be the opposite of freedom. Sabo died before knowing the feeling of what freedom is, but we already shared drinks with Sabo and we're still alive." He points out as Luffy pushes himself up to sit up and hugs his knees, "That's why Luffy… we must live a life without any regrets!"

"Someday, we will set sail to the sea, and live with our own will! Become freer than anybody else! And we will face many kinds of enemies, including gramps!" Ace exclaims out, "Sabo said that a noble will be official once they're 18, so we will set sail when we're 17, and we will be pirates!"

"Pirates… gonna be freer than anybody else…" I mutter and smile before turning to Luffy and put my arm around his shoulder, "That's right, Luffy. We're gonna be freer than anybody else and live without any regrets!" I tell him and grin at him, "That's why you should wipe off your tears and snots from your face, 'kay?"

He nods and wipes off his tears and snot using his shirt. "We should become stronger and more courageous than anybody, so that we can protect everyone that's dear to us, and then we're gonna be freer than anybody." I tell them before pulling Luffy down so I can give him a noogie with a playful grin.

"I will become stronger. Stronger and stronger, so I can protect you guys from this cruel world. I will be your shadow, who will protect you from behind and will always follow your steps. No matter where you are, no matter when it will be, I will always watch your back." I declare my determination.

Yes, I will definitely protect you guys, no matter what.

XXX

Okay, so about that weird eyes part that Ace said.

I asked him about it, and he just said it like it's the most obvious way in the world that I have 'weird eyes'.

I asked Luffy about it too, but he just fucking realized it when I asked him, and now he won't stop pointing it out to me and asking ME about it.

I asked the other bandits too, and they too told me that I have weird eyes, but they're too scared of me to actually comment on it and thought that it's not that weird for someone to have unusual dark or lighter eye colors, so they never really comment on it.

Dadan eventually relented and told me that I have demon eyes, which actually sounds awesome and cool.

Makino visited (we told her about Sabo, and she was devastated mostly for us) and I asked her about it too, and she said that she knew about the eyes, but she didn't really comment on it because she didn't wanna be rude, so I guess I have this weird eye color thing from the start then?

And so, I decided to find it out myself, using Dadan's vanity mirror.

I honestly don't know why, how, and where she gets it for all this time, but I don't really care. She probably has it for years already, but I don't really care either way because now I can finally see myself, after almost 2 years after being thrown into this world.

Slowly inching to the side with my back facing the mirror, I take a deep breath and slowly let it out as I close my eyes. Okay. This is it; the big reveal of the very thing everyone is pointing it out just recently. Should I do the reveal slowly, or just rip the bandaid method?

Not thinking much about it, I quickly turn around and open my eyes.

And a pair of gold-blood red-dark maroon gradient irises with white pupil that is in the shape of 4-pointed star eyes stares back at me, and are attached on a familiar face with plump, reddish cheeks and nose, dark brown wavy hair that's sticking out everywhere—Oh, there's a leaf and sticks in my hair.

Picking on the leaf and the sticks that stick—heh—to my hair, I walk closer to the mirror to see the eyes better.

So, that's weird.

I definitely remember I have—had, apparently—normal dark brown eyes with black pupils, but I guess they changed after I somehow got thrown here?

But how though?

Transformation like this shouldn't really happen in such a short period of time.

Unless something happened when I entered the sea after I fell from the sky?

…Wait.

"How did I know that I fell from the sky and into the sea?" I ask myself out loud as the face on the mirror contorts into confusion. Feels weird to see a face that's both unfamiliar and familiar that's seemingly yours is expressing your emotion.

And also I just realized that I definitely used glasses before because I'm as blind as a bat, and now somehow I can see without one? Not that I miss having glasses and being as blind as a bat, because being able to see leaves on trees without extra help is very amazing.

Honestly, I should be worried and questioning about this more, but also having weird eyes is pretty cool. And I don't really have the brain power to think too much about this, so I'll just blame this to the weird physiology of this world that affected my being as an Otherworlder.

Shrugging nonchalantly, I turn and walk out to go back to where Luffy and Ace are, not realizing that my reflection stays in the mirror with the eyes following my movement and an eerie smile, before slowly rippling away from existence.

(Posted in April 8th, 2022)