Nojiko wiped the sweat off her brow with the back of a gloved hand. She looked up towards the glaring sun, covering her eyes to keep herself from going blind. It was insanely hot this particular day. She tugged at the basket full of tangerines, trying to get her shoulder under the strap, but it refused to budge. After a few more futile attempts, she gave up. It was a pain, but you reap what you sow. Getting distracted and overfilling the basket was a stupid thing to do. Now she had to empty some out, and come back for them later. She gave the basket one last desperate pull, and sat down using the basket as support, panting.
"Need a hand?" A voice inquired from god-knows-where. Not wanting to be a bother to the kind person who was looking out for her well-being, Nojiko politely refused.
"No, no, everything's under control. Just a bit tired is all." She gave a weak grin at nobody in particular, not even sure if she was actually talking to someone, or having a heat induced hallucination.
"It's no problem, really." A shadow passed over her eyes, and she heard a muffled thud from boots landing in the soft soil. A hand ruffled her hair, and suddenly, the basket was pulled out from behind her. She gave out a light yelp as her only support was yanked away, and rolled onto her back. She heard a deep hearty laugh as her benefactor walked towards her cottage, basket slung over one shoulder. The laugh was very familiar. She was about to shout out to him that the door was locked, when he reached up and lifted up a potted fern, where Bellemere and the girls had stashed their emergency key. He opened the door with and walked into the cottage with practiced ease, as if he'd lived there for years. Nojiko stared at the door, bewildered at how a total stranger could know where the secret key spot was. Sure, it wasn't the most imaginative of places, but on the first try?
"You coming in or not?" The voice questioned her with a hint of amusement. "You're getting your clothes dirty, lying in the dirt like that." The last piece clicked into place. The figure, the laugh, and the familiar presence. She let out a dark chuckle and stood up, brushing off her pants, vaguely aware that she should be irked that her new jeans were now ruined, and needed to be washed. She walked into the cottage and saw the tangerines carefully placed in the corner. The man walked in through the front door, where you could see his vendor cart, rocking in the summer breeze.
"You're supposed to be dead, you know?" she told him matter of factly. He let out another laugh.
"You'd be surprised how much I hear that." He said, chuckling. "Although usually, when it comes from women, it tends to sound more like 'I'm going to kill you'."
Nojiko walked over to the counter, and started heating up the teakettle.
"No, I mean as in I turned over your corpse and looked you in the face." She rapped her finger on the counter, impatient for the water to boil. The man let out a sigh.
"You tell me that every time." He stood up and walked over. "I know you can't forgive me, but how long will you hold it against me?" He placed a hand lightly on her shoulder. "I didn't mean to do it. I'm sorry." Those words, those hated words struck a nerve. Nojiko spun around, knocking his hand away, and smashed the whistling teakettle into his stupid face, splashing boiling water over him. She watched with a sick sense of pleasure as he stumbled backwards, clutching his cheek.
"Oh, you're sorry, are you? That's just great. Means everything's okay now doesn't it." She advanced towards the man, no longer taking pleasure in his pain, but feeling only rage. Rage towards the man in front of him. "What exactly are you so sorry about, Lion-kun?" She smashed the kettle into his head again, only to be further enraged as he simply took the abuse without protest or resistance. Not even a flinch. "What could you possibly have to apologize for?" The kettle came down on his skull, and a trace of blood splashed the floor. "Is it for abandoning us to save your own filthy hide?" She raised the kettle again. "Or is it for not being here when we actually needed you for once?" The disfigured teakettle fell to the ground, dripping with blood and water. "Or maybe it's for letting those bastards take away the only family I had left." Her hands trembled from the previous impacts as she tried to make a fist. Tears of hate streamed down her cheeks as she glared at the man across from her. "I know you were watching. You're always watching." She pounded her fist into his broad chest. "I know you could have torn those-those things in half with one hand." She poked her finger into his chest. "Which means you let these things happen. You let Arlong kill Bellemere, and you let them take Nami away." She shoved him, only to be propelled backwards by her own actions. "Which means that you let Nami suffer all alone for eight years. Eight years." She pointed her finger accusingly at the large man, who seemed to be shrinking by the second. "Which means that you abandoned her. The same way you abandoned us when we were kids." Lion hesitantly moved closer. He reached out a hand slowly, but pulled it back, thinking it'd be wiser not to touch her at the moment.
"Nojiko…." He began tentatively, only to be cut off.
"Shut UP!" She screamed. "I've lied to Nami for eighteen years about you, and you don't even have the dignity or grace to save what little peace we had left."
"No, it's no-" He began to protest, only to be interrupted again.
"Not what?" Nojiko spat at him. "It's not that you didn't? But that you couldn't?" She laughed bitterly. "What a joke. A fleet of warships wouldn't be able to keep you away, but suddenly one fish man can?" She turned and faced the wall, trying to regain her composure.
"Get out." She said quietly. "I'll keep your filthy secret for the rest of my life, but not for you." She snapped. "I'm doing it to protect her from someone like you. So just get out." Lion stood there; contemplating for a moment, before he slowly turned and walked out the door. A few moments later, Nojiko could hear his footsteps as he walked back in. There was a clink of glass on the table, before the footsteps retreated back outside. She could hear him lean against his cart, and push, the cart crackling as it ran over grains of dust and sand. She turned and stared at the table. On it, was a bottle full of whiskey. She picked it up, and popped the cork, taking a swig directly from the bottle. She swished the alcohol in her mouth before spitting it out, staring at the bottle in disgust. They used to mix this special brand of whiskey with juices and eggnog, and they had made butterflies dance in her tummy. Now this man's vile wine tasted like ash. She took another swig, and hurled the bottle into the garbage, where it shattered on impact, and the amber fluid sloshed onto the floor. She looked into the mirror and tried to fix her appearance. She bustled around, throwing out the now useless teakettle and wiping up the blood and water. Outside, she heard kids laughing as they made their way up to her cottage. She could hear Chabo chattering away with the neighborhood kids and took a deep breath.
"Yeah, did you see that guy? His cart has so much cool stuff and-Oh look, we're here." Nojiko quickly brushed herself off again; making sure that there was no remnants of Lion's visit still lingering in her home.
"Nojiko baa-chan!" the cry came in unison. "We came over to plaaay!" She flung open the door with a big cheery smile.
"Who are you calling 'baa-chan' huh? It should be 'nee-chan'!" the children squealed with laughter as she chased after them.
"Come on, you little rascals. Get in here and help me wash some tangerines." The kids laughed as they tumbled and stumbled their way in. Nojiko gave her surroundings one final sweep through narrowed eyes, making sure that her antagonist was nowhere to be found.
The night was silent and the stars were bright as a man stumbled up the hill to the edge of the cliff. Lion drained the last drop of booze from his bottle, and after shaking it a couple times to ensure it was empty, dropped the now empty canister into the ocean. He looked at the single grave that adorned the cliff. He sighed and crouched down in front of it with a small hiccup.
"Mm well, y'know..." he started, his speech incredibly impaired. "I guess…I should apologize or somethin'…" His eyes glassed over and he looked up at the sky.
"Shit…the hell am I doin' here…" He looked at the grave again. "Sorry…sorry for not protectin' yeh and the girls…" He touched the wooden cross, wiping some dust off. " An' sorry for…not savin' yer life when I shoulda…" He giggled slightly and hiccupped again. "I'm a real bastard, y'know that?" And as if confirming it for himself, "Yeah, y'know that…'course y'do. You of all people, right?"
"Well, more importantly, I brought you a lil' somethin'." Lion put a hand inside his coat, and pulled out another bottle.
"It's yer favorite kind. Rice sake." He tugged at the cork, which stubbornly refused to leave its resting spot. "Now, I know it's not my specialty, but I put in a lot of effort to make this'un." He began to turn red, yanking at the cork with his thick fingers.
"An' I really hope you'll en-Oh fer cryin' out loud!" Lion put the bottle on the top of the grave, and pulled out a pistol, aiming at the rebellious bottle with a murderous gleam in his eyes.
Bam!
He lowered the smoking pistol and stared in awe at the intact bottle.
"How the…how the hell'd you do that?" He exclaimed at the inanimate object. He gazed in disbelief at the pistol.
"It's called 'Missing because you're too drunk to aim', Lion." Lion spun around to face the speaker, a little too fast. He stumbled and dropped the gun, leaning against the grave and knocking the bottle to the ground.
"Here, use this." Genzo tossed his friend a corkscrew, grinning as Lion fumbled with the utensil while trying to pick up the bottle of sake at the same time. He muttered his thanks and worked the tip of the screw into the cork before yanking it out. He lifted the bottle to his lips, and was about to take a sip before he remembered whom the wine was for.
"Oh, tha's right. This isn't for me…" He turned and carefully poured the beverage into the soil on the grave.
"There you go…" he cooed, "Drink up…It's the last one you'll get from me, so you make sure you savor it."
Genzo watched as his old friend emptied the last of the contents of the bottle into the grave, and gently place the empty container next to the cross.
"It's kind of funny…" Genzo started, "Just a few months ago, I was up here doing the exact same thing."
"What, getting so drunk you couldn't hit a bottle two feet from your face?" Lion walked back towards Genzo, and leaned against a tree.
"Nah, I was giving Bellemere here a nice little memorial." He paused, "It was right before Nami left for sea." He stopped and watched his friend. Lion's face was impossible to read, too passive or too relaxed to tell what was going on in his mind.
"Zat so…" Lion procured a cigarette and offered one to Genzo. Genzo took the offered cigarette, as well as the lighter that followed. He took a deep drag and released the smoke into the air.
"What happened at Nojiko's, Lion. You aren't yourself."
Lion stiffened, and relaxed again. Letting out a puff of smoke, he drawled, "Nothin', absolutely nothin' happened. Waddya mean I'm not myself?"
Genzo cocked an eyebrow at his friend. "Well, for one, you're drunk."
"I'm always drunk." Was the stubborn reply.
"Okay…you're smashed." There was a slight pause as Lion mulled this over.
"…Alright, slightly more uncommon, but still happens." Genzo let out a frustrated sigh, pushing back his hat and scratching his scalp.
"You're smashed and you're alone, Lion. You do drunk and smashed with friends or at a party, you never drink alone." He watched the cigarette dangling between Lion's lips. It bobbed up and down as the man sucked in the poison.
"Nothin' good happened…better not to talk about it." He laughed, tapping the ash off the end of his cigarette. "But something tells me I'm not welcome there anymore."
An awkward silence dropped as the men stared at the sky.
"So what are you going to do?"
"Not sure. I'm leaving port tomorrow. Probably make my rounds and be back by the end of the year." Lion turned and began walking towards town. Genzo just stood there, leaning against his tree, watching the grave under the moonlight.
"Hey, Lion." He called out.
"Yeah?"
"I don't smoke."
"Yeah, neither do I."
Sorry this chapter was so emo/angsty. Just felt it was necessary.