Chapter 5
The boy.
He could not deny it, he was a little surprised. The boy had been there then, yes, but he had not believed him to be ready again so soon, or ever at all. He hummed to himself, he should not be hard to find.
He walked among the gnarled trees, their darkened naked branches twisting and bending. He should probably not have found them beautiful, but as he gazed upon them where they stood, bathed in the colours of the ever present flux of the sky above him, he could not help loving their gruesomeness. He had thanked it over and over again, showered it in adoration and promises of eternal love, as it had led him to the forests edge. It had not said another word, but he had not ceased his ramblings of devotion. Now that he finally walked among the trees alone, he felt like he had finally found his way back home.
As he walked on the path laid ahead for him, he wondered what the boy would say when they met. This would be their second meeting since their bond had been forged, and he wondered if he would remember anything at all. Would he be upset or glad this time around? Would he refuse it or take it eagerly?
oOo
Sanji groaned as he stretched his body. He was lying on something hard and cold. Wait? I stretched? I moved? He stretched again, feeling all his muscles obey him again. He couldn't believe it, he had been trying for hours before he had blacked out again in the infirmary, but nothing had worked. He raised his hand to his face, and as he felt his skin underneath his fingers, he let out a strangled sound that could as easily been a sob as well as laugh. He moved his other hand next to him, feeling the cool surface of something hard beneath him.
Where the fuck am I?
He still had his eyes closed; the fear that he might only see the shining golden threads was still there. But as he focused on the insides of his eyelids, their faint glow wasn't there anymore. He gently moved his hand over his eyes, rubbing them slowly; he noticed how it changed from a dark lilac to almost pitch black. Just like it's always been. He moved his hand down to his ear, there was nothing in them. He frowned as he clearly heard the sound of his fingers tracing the shell of it as he did it, but it didn't pierce his eardrums. What the hell?
He gingerly let his arm fall to the ground again, before lifting himself up in a sitting position. He was sore and his back was stiff, but it didn't hurt that much, and the fear that he might induce a headache vanished as nothing came. No shooting pain up is neck, no throbbing belt being wrapped around his head, nothing. He moved his head in all directions; his neck popped a few times, but there was no pain what so ever.
He covered his eyes with his hands, he needed to try. He gently opened them, first a fraction before closing them again, nothing, just the darkness inside his palms. He breathed a sigh before trying again, a little further this time. Same thing, there was only darkness. He took a deep breath and opened them fully; blinked once and then let them stay open a little, letting them get accustomed to being open before closing them again. He took a deep breath again before taking his hands away and blinked once. The light was bright and it hurt, but as far as he could tell there hadn't been any golden threads. He tried again and blinked twice. It hurt like a bitch, but he smiled brightly. There were no threads, and he had seen some small details through his foggy eyes.
It took him several minutes with blinking and pausing before his vision had come back fully. And as he was finally able to look around properly, he saw that he was sitting on some kind of stone dais, in the middle of what was unmistakably a graveyard, surrounded by darkened gnarled trees. He got a sudden flashback to Thriller Bark and stayed as still as he could. The ground could be crawling with zombies and what not, he grimaced at the thought. He looked to the sky and frowned, the colour was weird. He couldn't put his finger on it, it was like it was in flux between night, dusk and dawn, but brighter. Fine this was the New World, and Nami had told them how weird the islands could be here, but still.
Sitting there silently wondering just how the fuck he'd gotten there, he unconsciously went to his pocket, fished out a cigarette and lit it up. It wasn't until he had taken his second puff he noticed he was smoking, he frowned. Didn't Chopper confiscate these from me when I was out cold? He usually does that. He plucked out the cigarette case from his jacket and counted them, eight left, meaning he was holding the ninth. He frowned, but then shook his head, it was probably nothing.
Suddenly a light flitted through the trees in his peripheral, too fast for him to see what it was, but he felt a bead of sweat roll down between his shoulder blades. He had been sitting there too long; he was too out in the open, an easy prey.
He gingerly got to his feet, careful to keep his senses trained on the forest around him. His body was stiff and sore and he hated how he felt a little unsteady. He knew he hadn't eaten anything for probably a whole day, and had, according to Chopper, thrown up so much he had been put on an I-V; he needed to find something to eat, and then he needed to find the crew.
Testing his legs he took a few tentative steps towards the edge of the dais. Looking back and down at it, he could see it had a mark in the middle of it where he had been laying. It looked like three feathers with a knotted pattern around them. He frowned, he felt he had seen it before somewhere, he just couldn't recall where. He shook his head, it didn't matter. He needed to get some cover, it wasn't safe there.
He quickly and stealthily made his way over to the forest, being careful not to step on any branches or fallen leaves, as he feared they might snap under his feet. He knew he needed to find something to eat, but as he hadn't heard any sounds of movement other than his own, he wasn't sure there was anything else living around him other than himself. Looking around at the trees, he saw one that was taller than the others, which also had some branches hanging low enough for him to climb up on. It was safer than using his sky-walk, as that made too much noise and would give away his position, in case there actually was something hostile close by after all. He climbed up as silently and slowly as he could, so that the branches wouldn't sway when he moved between them. Once perched on the highest one, he gasped.
In every direction there was nothing but never ending forest, and he was sure the graveyard was the only clearing for several miles. Where the fuck am I?
"He will need your help."
He nearly lost the grip on the branch as a voice as soft as silk pierced his mind. Looking around wildly he saw, nothing. "Wha-," he swallowed thickly, "What?"
"He is not far."
The silky voice pierced through his mind again, and he clutched the branch to stay as still as he could, before he reared his head in every direction trying to find the source of it. "Who- Who are you?"
"Find him."
The voice was so beautiful, like the final breath of warm summer air, and though he knew that he should be annoyed that he couldn't see the source of it, he instead felt like he could just float away with it. "Why?" he found himself asking, though the question on his tongue had been to ask it for its name.
"He will need your help."
He let his eyes roam over the forest canopy, he wanted to find the source of that smoot and melodic voice, but it was futile. "Who do you need me to find?"
But there came no answer.
oOo
He felt each step as they touched the ground on the path, and relished in the feeling of just moving soundlessly. The body had finally become his own. It had been too long since he had walked this road. Too long since he had felt the light breeze caress his face. He hummed to himself as he smelled the crisp air, and found himself smiling when he recognised its fragrance.
"He is the key."
He looked around to see it, but did not halt his steps, its rays of light warm against his cheeks. "I had assumed he was," He smiled thoughtfully. "So he is ready?"
"He will help. Trust him."
He breathed in its sweet fragrance and nodded. "If that is what you wish of me, then it will be my honour."
"Wait for him."
And then it was gone, swept away with a falling leaf caught in the autumn breeze. He sighed and let his eyes find the pathways end, the clearing he had been longing to see again. He pondered upon what it had said; yes there always needed to be a key, and he wondered again if he would recognise him after so long.
As he stepped through the iron gates he felt a deep sorrow at the sight that met him. True, he had been gone for so long and should have been prepared for what would meet him, but he had perhaps held on to a childish hope that it would be the same as when he had left it behind all those twelve years ago. He walked soundlessly past each stone and cross, and silently caressed the weeping angel's arm, before he made his way to the dais.
He sat down on his knees in front of the first step and bowed his head. A silent tear escaped his cerulean eye and travelled down his cheek as he grieved for the state of his home, how it had yet again been taken over by the sickness of the forest, and for the graves he had not been able to tend.
oOo
Sanji held his breath as he listened for the voice, hoping it would come back so he could find the source of it. It had to be beautiful, nothing with such a voice could ever be ugly, he was sure of it. But it was silent, eerily silent.
He felt a drop of sweat trail down his back, it was making him uneasy. A forest as big as this should be full of noise, even if it would just be from the the wind hitting the branches, but there was nothing. He scanned the canopy again, trying to find the sea he knew had to lie just beyond it, where his crew would no doubt be running around calling out for him. How long had he been here?
Chopper would probably be beside himself with worry, Luffy would be tearing the ship apart, his beautiful Robin-chwan would be poring over books and Nami-swan would be yelling at them as she formed a plan to search for him. Yes, he knew what the crew would do, but it didn't ease his dread. They had reached an island filled with pumpkins, and as far as he knew and saw, this island didn't have any of that. Was it even the same island?
He shook his head; of course it had to be. He couldn't have travelled to another island, could he? True, he had no idea how long he'd been out or how the fuck he had even made it there. The sky wasn't making it any easier either. There were no stars, and no moon to orient himself with, it was just the endless flux of night, dawn and dusk.
He clutched the bridge of his nose, he had no idea which way he should go to reach the shore and no idea how far it was. A memory of himself sitting on top of a barren rock flitted through his mind, and he clenched his jaw. No, this was not the same as then, even if the hopelessness was there, he wasn't a kid anymore. He could make a fire with the wood from the trees, build a shelter when he needed to sleep, and if he couldn't find anything good to eat he would eat the bark and the roots. Yes, he knew how to survive now.
Steeling himself for the long journey ahead he scanned the canopy one final time, trying to decide which way to go. Just as he let his eyes trail over the graveyard once more however, something caught his eye. Something had just stood up next to the dais, how had he not noticed it before?
He watched as a dark figure slowly walked in a circle around the raised stone platform, and he felt a voice tug at the back of his mind, "Find him."
The feeling was irresistible, the need to go towards the figure. He felt himself climb silently down from the tree and slowly make his way back to the graveyard. He tried to fight against it, he wanted to find the crew, he wanted to let them know he was okay, but his legs just wouldn't listen.
"It is a sorrowful sight, do you not agree?"
AN:
Finally, you'll soon get to meet this mystery person, are you excited? If you are I hope you wont be disappointed next chapter.
Again I hope you like it so far, and please fav/follow and or review if you did.
