Chapter Two: A Memory Hunter
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters
Somewhere in the South Blue Sea
For right now I have to think about what I can do. And after a few moments of thinking, I simply slumped back down to the floor of the boat.
The only things that I had with me were the ship, the pistol with a single shot, and the plain white shirt and tan pants. With no strength to paddle or swim, my only option was to lay there and try to conserve my strength.
Since sleeping would only render me unable to react if I needed to I didn't, and instead tried to understand the situation. My last memory was bringing old Ibb to the office. There was nothing in between then and now, but judging from the condition of my body I haven't had enough water for at least a day and food for a week and a half.
That's at minimum a week and a half of missing time, but that isn't concreate in the least since I can't confirm I didn't eat or drink after my memories end.
The more concerning thing though is that my memory didn't just end. It seemed to be selectively destroyed.
People from my village, marines that I had come to know, and my mother and uncle that raised me after my father died. The only things that were missing were the things that would lead me back.
The names of the kingdom, islands, and villages were gone along with their position's on a map that I'm sure I would've known. Stranger than that though was the deletion of the names and faces of those that would point me to my home. My mentor, deputy, and myself were all government officials, so there are reports in the Navel archives. If I had those names and faces I might be able to find my town.
And even though I had my own, I knew something was wrong. Like I never looked like this before. I don't think going to the Marines will get me anywhere.
The more frightening thing though was that pieces were gone that wouldn't help me get back, but certainly hurt me.
I remember my mother, she was a kind woman with a gentle hand, but she never let me get away with causing trouble. I remember my uncle, a ridiculous man who was always trying to get me to cause trouble with him, but he was wiser than any else I've ever known. I even remember my father, but only that he was a responsible and strong man.
But all of their faces and names were gone.
That felt personal. The names of two fishermen and a seamstress wouldn't tell me anything about the island, so it feels more malicious than clinical. No matter how much I thought about it though, the information I had was insufficient to find the answer to all of these questions.
My mind drifted to them all. My deputy is still just a teen. My mentor is living by himself in his advanced age. My mother and uncle live on the edge of the island. I don't know how any of them are doing. I don't know if anyone in the village is safe.
In that very second, I defied my wasting body and lifted my closed fist to the sky. With tears streaming down my face I swore I would get back to them no matter what.
Somewhere in the South Blue Sea, 7 Hours later
With my goal now set, I had to figure out how to accomplish it.
I knew almost nothing that would help me. I remember that the island was temperate and had consistent seasons, so it was most likely not in the Grand Line, but even that isn't guaranteed. It was heavily forested with tough evergreens and most of the citizens were fishermen or farmers. The main land of the kingdom was about six hours away. The fish caught of the coast were quite popular in the kingdom itself, but I couldn't remember what they were called.
With this being the case then I won't be able to get anywhere by asking people with the lacking information I have. It was all just too vague or specific. So, I can only think of one path to follow in order to make my way.
First, I need food and water, I'll die soon without them. Second, I need to make money, as quickly as possible. Finally, I'll just have to move around until something sparks my memory.
Taking all of that into account, there was something I could do that would satisfy all of the criteria at once.
Bounty hunting.
A bounty hunter is free to go where they wish, can make good money fast, and most importantly the work didn't require me to throw my morals away. I was confident in my strength, so as long as I manage to recover, defeating criminals and collecting their bounties is my best plan of action.
The priority right now though was to find an island and get food and water. And while my thought process had slowed from my exhaustion, my survival skills still told me that seven hours had passed based on the position of the sun in the sky.
It was at that point I heard a holy sound. The noise of waves crashing against rock. And when I heard that, I once again forced my body to sit up. Finally, seeing my salvation in the form of an island.
Close to the shore's edge was a collection of shapes that identified as a large town.
South Blue Sea, Peatee Island, Barranum Town
Thankfully the currents were on my side as they guided me to the sandy shore of the island. The ship finally landed on the bank, and when I was sure it wasn't going to move any further ashore I crawled to the edge of the ship. I was eventually able to force my torso over the edge of the boat, causing me to fall into the water.
The boat doesn't matter, all I need to do is make it to the town. From what I could see the town should be around a six minute walk from the shore.
With my weak limbs I drag my withered body through the shallow water. Desperately gripping the wet sand the whole way.
After what felt like an eternity my body left the water and hit the wet sand that the tide has left behind, and not long after that I was able to reach the rough, loose, and dry sand beyond that.
I refused to stop moving though, because if I did I may never move again. My skin was torn by the harsh grains, but after dozens of minutes of crawling the sand gave way to hard packed dirt. I refuse to look back though, if I did I would see that I had only managed to crawl sixty feet in nearly an hour.
I didn't need to move far to find the path to the village from the shore. It seems that I luckily landed near the path the townspeople would use to set off for fishing. So when I reached the area at the top of the beach where it connected to the dirt path, I could see that the island was a plain of small grassy hills with very few trees. I could clearly see the town from here.
It seemed to have a fairly large population, with most of the buildings being small cottage style homes. Near the center of the town's square outline were some larger buildings. The town center. The strangest thing though, was the massive green tent that had been erected just outside of town.
With renewed energy I clawed my way down the dirt path to find salvation in the village. My lungs burned, blood seeped from my fingers, and all I want to do is rest.
The town is so close but all I can feel my muscles losing strength by the second. This six minute walk would take me hours to crawl, and longing this went on the further it felt.
Centimeters became meters.
Those meters became dozens of meters.
And those dozens of meters became kilometers.
Every time I pulled myself forward it was as if I was traveling all of the distance from the shore to where I was at once.
And when I was within a few hundred feet of the town entrance, my arm refused to pull me further. It was no longer a matter of will, but simply that it was impossible to go beyond this.
When this reality set in, I felt my fatigue crash on me again. I can feel myself slipping, but I resist it. Even if I'm denying my deathly sleep, I know that I cant keep it away forever and I won't suddenly gain the energy to live.
I know it's impossible, and while my mind is still together I apologize internally to all of those I've failed and even forgotten. In the end I was too weak to find you again.
Just as I'm about to slip away a creaking sound came from behind me, like a door opening. And a second later a woman ran into my field of vision.
She wasn't very tall, most likely only one-hundred and five centimeters tall. She had shoulder length light purple hair that she had wrapped up into a bun on her head. Her black eyes stand out on her pale skin. She was dressed for the weather with a black tank top decorated with a purple door, a open white tropical shirt, and blue cut off shorts.
"Are you okay?" The girl's scanned my weak form as she knelt down in front of me. I croak out weakly, "Waater…please." my dry throat caused my voice to come out hoarse. My message gets across though and she produces a canteen from behind her back.
She helps me flip over to lay on my back and then lifts the life saving liquid to my lips. I drank greedily until all that remained was a few drops. "Thank you. You saved my life." I didn't forget to give my savior thanks even when trying to catch my breath. My voice sounded much better now.
"Don't worry about that. I couldn't just leave a starving man on the road. Now, let me help you to the village and I'll get you something to eat." The tone in her voice let me know that there was no room for argument, even if I wanted to raise any. I would be in her care.
I still feel a little bad about getting so much help from one person, "I don't think I'm in a position to deny you even if I wanted to. So I'll just say that I'll pay you back." I offered up a debt and weakly smile up at her.
She gave a small giggle and smile of her own as she help me to me feet and leaned me on her shoulder, an awkward task considering our near forty centimeter height difference. To my surprise she doesn't seem to bothered by the significant increase in weight. "You really don't need to worry about that, but I wouldn't mind some company for lunch. So you're doing me a big favor."
Our progress down the road is far from fast, but it was better than crawling. "Would it be alright to ask your name?" Of course I wished to know the name of my rescuer. You can't give proper gratitude without it.
Her small smile remained on her face, she seemed amused. "Your super formal ya know. I don't have any problem giving you my name. I'm Kaina. What about you?"
I certain she meant it as an innocent question, but her words poked at a raw wound. I must not have been successful in keeping my face from becoming dark. I saw that she was about to backtrack, but I didn't have any intention of hiding what I was going through. "It's fine. I just can't remember a few things. My name being one of them."
Despite my words she still looked guilty, but she bounced back quickly. "Well then maybe we should come up with a nickname for you then?" While keeping her right arm around my waist to help keep me up she taps her chin with her left hand while humming.
"Hmm oh, what about Starry?" I think my sweat drop accurately indicated what I thought of that. "No? Because of your tattoos. What about Skeleguy? Cause your so thin."
It was clear that I would have to come up with something on my own to steer her away from her innocent name calling. Thinking about it, I believe she had the right idea in naming me after a physical trait. The stars are probably the way to go. "If you have to call me something then how about Hoshi?"
"Oh that's a nice name. We'll go with that." Why do I feel like I didn't really have a say in what my name was?
"Speaking of my spotty memory, do you happen to know what Blue we're in and the name of this place. I more or less just floated here." This is a good chance to learn where I was.
"Of course, this is Peatee Island in the South Blue. And the town up ahead is called Barranum. Its pretty normal town, but I've heard about a great restaurant in the town center that serves an incredible salt seared steak." She literally began drooling when she describe the food. "Oh but, me and my troupe will also be performing a circus performance tonight, you should come if you can." While she kept her smile in place, I could tell it was forced. She was good at hiding that, but I was a sheriff who was trained to see through these things.
It's not my place to pry though, "If you're looking forward to that steak so much we could share a meal there." so I chose not to address the circus and bring her focus back to food.
I almost felt fear when her pupils seemed to change into images of steak, and she began to pull me along even faster while calling out for meat.
We both let out a sigh after stuffing ourselves full on the food. The rumors about a fantastic steak rang true. I didn't expect to find such a talented chef on a small island like this.
Now that our meals are finished my body is beginning to feel much better, and I think this is a good chance to see if my suspicions were founded. "You said your troupe putting on a performance tonight?" I made sure to keep my tone neutral and calm.
"Yeah, we'll be performing tonight about two hours after nightfall. You should come and watch, it's actually a free show." Once again, she kept that sunny disposition, but I could see the smile not reaching her eyes and the lacking energy in her voice.
Something was wrong, and I may not be in any position to help. But regardless of lost memories, a barely recovering body, or having just met her, I was a sheriff and she saved my life. "Are you a performer? What do you do?" If I wanted to find out what was going on and help her, then I needed more information. I couldn't just come out and ask though, so I'll try subtle interrogation.
Luckily, her fake enthusiasm became real when I asked about performance. "Oh, well I do a lot of things. Acrobatics, sleight of hand, and even knife throwing, but my favorite is," In the middle she picked both knives and forks off of the table, "juggling." and she began to juggle all of the silverware.
I had never found juggling incredibly impressive before, but Kaina was doing a good job at proving me wrong. The height and speed of her tosses would very wildly and her hands barely caught the metal before sending the next piece flying, and she didn't even watch their paths and kept her eyes on me. "How did you get into this?"
She spoke without pause even while juggling. "When I was young, my family took me to the circus. I fell in love at first sight of it all, but that night a terrible accident struck. The tent burned and my parents didn't make it. The carnies took me in though, and they really feel like my family now. I've been practicing since I was little. It's always worth all the nicks and cuts when I get to see a person's face light up when I do something cool. That's a fantastic feeling." Just like before she had a content expression despite speaking of sad things. Like her juggling calmed her somehow.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Even with the others around you, it couldn't have been easy for you." The sad smile on her face still showed peace when I gave my genuine sympathy. "Do your circus skills have anything to do with how you managed to sneak up on my in a flat plain?" It didn't feel good to know that I was using her vulnerable emotional state to get information. But this is the thing that has been bothering the most, and this was my best chance to figure it out.
She looked shocked for a moment and caught all of the utensils. She placed them back on the table and looked away from me while scratching the back of her head. "Wow, you're really observant Hoshi." She tried to shift my focus with that.
"One of the things I remember is that I was a sheriff where I'm from, so I suppose I still have those skills. But you're also good at deflecting. You don't have to answer if you don't want to." Her attempt failed, and I noticed she stiffened only slightly when I said I was a sheriff. I tried to keep her from closing up by trying to backtrack, without really doing so.
"No no, that's fine. The truth is," She dramatically looked all around her for prying eyes, and I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
"I ate a Devil Fruit." She leaned over the table and whispered this to me.
"Oh I see, that does make a lot of sense. From what I know though Devil Fruits give specific powers, what kind is yours?" She must have been expecting a bigger reaction based on her sweat drop.
"Wait, that's it. I thought you would say I'm crazy and the fruits are just a myth." That basically confirmed it. She actually looked a little disappointed that she didn't get to prove me wrong.
"Right, they are super rare. Especially in the Blues, but I've actually met another Fruit User before. He was a Marine captain, though I can't quite remember what his Fruit could do. I think he transformed into some kind of animal, but I can't recall what kind. What about yours?" It would be a rare thing for anybody in the Four Blues to have encountered a single Devil Fruit User. Most will go their entire lives thinking them to just be a mystery, but stick close enough to people with actual strength and your likely to meet at least one. That Marine was the captain in charge of the base where I received my training.
"Woah, It's rare to see one Fruit User, but you've meet two. It must be fate." She's clearly aware of it's rarity too. And I'm not sure about fate, but it certainly was strange that I would find so many of these people.
"As for my Fruit though, it's called the Door-Door Fruit and it makes me a Door Human." Although she told me what the Fruit was, it didn't clear up what it did.
She must seen my question coming, "What it really means is that I can turn anything into a door. The air, solid objects, and even people, and the most useful is my Fruit's ability to connect to doors together. With my Air Door I can enter a space in between the air. When something goes through it enters an area I call the Peephole." and she then demonstrates her power by opening a door in the air between us. With her right hand she grips the air and pulls towards her body. A circular plate sized section of the air distorts and swings to her. From where the air opens I can see into a room that looks the exact same as the one we were in except everything inside was tinted green. "When I'm inside I can open another Air Door, but in the Peephole the door can either lead to exactly where it is in real space or I can open it in a space close to where I am." She further demonstrates by throwing a napkin into the door and closing it.
"That's incredible. So, you were in the Peephole when I was crawling, and that's how you found me?" Her power seemed genuinely amazing, but it's uses made me worry.
"That's right. Sometimes I like to hang out in there to be alone." That was suspicious. She seemed like the type that enjoyed people's company.
It became even more worrying when her face suddenly shifted to a shocked expression when she spotted something behind me. The restaurant wasn't large, and we were sitting at one of four small tables. I was sitting with my back to the open door while Kaina had a clear view of the the outside.
I turned my head to see an odd pair. Both men had smug grins on their face, but while one was short and thin the other had a large figure in all meanings. They seemed to recognize my savior as they approached us. The short one stood to my left and the other to my right.
"Well well Kaina, you've been a real pain to find. Should have figured out earlier you'd be indulging in the local cuisine like usual." The little one seems to be the talker and know Kaina.
For her part she keeps a perfectly neutral face, but I can see that the arrival of the two have put her in a bad mood. Before anything else, the nasally voice of the short man came out again. "Alright come on, we need to go over the details for tonight."
Her façade slipped and a frown came to her face. "Can't that wait Tom? I'm having lunch with someone." Her tone made it clear she had no desire to go with them. But even with that direct direction though, they didn't acknowledge my existence.
"Hey you wouldn't want to disappoint the Boss would you? Now get up." The little man leaned over the table and practically hissed at her. Her face became stricken with fear.
Without any more argument she shot up from her seat, "Sorry to have to leave so soon, but preparations for the show need to be taken care of. I'll leave this for you though. Eat and get back on your feet." she reaches behind her back and pulls out a bag a lays it on the table.
When I looked inside the bag it held a stack of berries. Not a fortune, but certainly not a small amount. I quickly looked back up at her. "I can't take this. You've already done too much for me." I had benefited from her kindness too much already.
The two men, who I was quickly becoming suspicious of, were starting to get tired of waiting. "Don't think about it. I've got plenty saved up, and if that money could help you find your way back home, then I would do without a second thought." I could tell that she fully meant that. All she wanted was to help me get better and find my way home.
I suspected that there was something wrong before, but with everything I've seen now I'm sure of it. Even more than that though, I'm sure that Kaina was one of the victims in all this. When she spoke about her performance it was in regards to how happy it made her audience.
That's why, when she started to walk past me with the men, I suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist. All eyes of the group turned to me. Kaina's in shock and fear the other two in annoyance. I knew this was a mistake, but I couldn't let her walk out of here with no resistance.
"I'm sure it could wait for a little longer right guys? I'm new here and Kaina was helping me find my feet, so I'd apprecia-" I was cut off by Tom as he snapped his fingers and said "Cardiff."
His massive hand was slow, and if my body had recovered just a little more I would've been able to avoid it. But I was still simply too weak to prevent my face from being slammed into the table, cracking the wood with the force.
"Hoshi!" Kaina immediately called out in worry.
The giant continued to hold me down as the little scumbag came to lean right into my face. "You should learn to stay out of other people's business. Keep your nose out of this and we won't cripple you." He seems to have decided to forgo his previous tact.
I knew as I was now, it would only end up with people getting hurt. So, I simply nodded.
Cardriff let go of my head and he and Tom walked out of the restaurant. Before joining them I heard Kaina whisper under her breath. "I'm so sorry." She left after handing a waiter money for the table.
After they left I lifted my head off the table, blood trickled down from my forehead. I didn't know any of the details, but there was no question those two and their Boss were planning something and Kaina was going to get caught in the middle.
I knew that this island should have a sheriff of it's own, and I should inform them. But I also know that a regular country sheriff wouldn't be able to deal with a group that had even three men like that Cardriff.
With that in mind there was only one course of action. "Excuse me waiter, would you mind getting me two more orders of beef stew and a miso ramen? I was also wondering if you could point me to an inn?" I must have looked a little frightening with blood flowing from my head and a big smile on my face.
But if I was going to interfere I needed two things; food and rest.
I needed to be ready for the circus tonight.
Author's Note
Hello. I'm really enjoying this story and these characters.
With the main character's name, star can translate to Hoshi in Japanese. While it's not clever, it is simple and memorable.
Now with Kaina, in regards to her Door-Door Fruit. I want to take advantage of this story being set 400 years in the past to use Fruits we haven't seen much of. One Fruit I was always a fan of was Blueno's, and I thought I could do a lot with it for a main character.
I wonder if people can get all of the circus references so far. A few are obvious but some may stump you.
And once again, if anyone has an idea for OCs, Fruits, and islands, please send them to me.