Chapter Twenty

Sabo raced around the party, looking for Robin, Koala, and Yuki. Dragon seemed a little weird since Ivankov had come back to the Army, but the Okama Queen had a strange effect on everyone. He wondered if it was because of Luffy and what he went through, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Dragon himself had stated that Luffy was no longer a child to be looked after carefully. He might be concerned, but Sabo knew that Dragon didn't think it was his business to interfere with his son's life.

He wondered what had happened to Yuki to make Dragon, who was so busy, notice that something was wrong. Briefly, he panicked about Ace and Yuki being at the same party. Had his brother noticed who she was?

Thinking about his behavior during the discussion with Dragon, Sabo hadn't noticed any strange things about his brother. He still seemed to believe that Yuki was dead, so Sabo relaxed, but that made him more worried about her. She could have been having problems because of the fatal wound that was supposedly healed. That healing did take a toll on the body.

Yuki, who had been chatting about short hair and possible pets with Mizuki, was hit with another of her increasingly frequent coughing fits. She doubled over, covering her mouth and quieting it as much as she could. She was well aware how she wouldn't be able to hide it any longer, for Mizuki was sitting directly next to her.

"Yuki!" Mizuki exclaimed, noticing the blood on her sleeve.

Yuki was still doubled over, but managed to glare at her friend out of the corner of her eye. If Mizuki had said her name any louder, they certainly would have drawn attention to themselves. That was the absolute worst possibility.

Mizuki helped Yuki stand and move to a more private area. Once Yuki was done coughing and sat back up, Mizuki helped her wipe her face and held up a flame to light the area. Her friend was clearly unhealthy, dark circles under her eyes.

"What the hell was that?" Mizuki asked, nearly shouting. She let her little flame hover as she paced back and forth, occasionally pausing to glare at her captain. Yuki could tell that a simple cover story wouldn't do anything, so she sighed and decided to tell the truth.

"I'm not completely sure," Yuki replied, "but I think it has something to do with me being revived and healed. You know how I died. A wound like that isn't something you can ever come back from. I think it's causing some internal problems."

Mizuki shook her head sadly. "No kidding. That damned Admiral probably burned part of your lungs along with most of the other organs in your midsection."

She received a confused look from Yuki, warranting further explanation. "I got a bunch of medical books while you were... gone. I figured that since I have a different fire than Ace, it might be able to heal, too. It just gives me that feeling, y'know?"

"Heh, you've always been that way. An empath, right? You're so connected to the feelings of others, I wouldn't be surprised if the fruit you ate really did heal," Yuki commented. "Have you been able to make any progress?"

Mizuki shook her head. "No, I've been nervous about trying it on people."

Yuki frowned. "That won't do. How will you know if you don't try it?"

Shrugging, she replied, "I don't. I don't have anyone who wants to be healed badly enough to let me try something that may possibly kill them. It is fire, after all. There's the possibility of a very bad burn if I don't do it right, or it doesn't heal."

"Well," Yuki said pointing to her midsection, "I've got something that you could try on. It's already a burn scar, so if it doesn't work, it won't look that different."

"Well, perfect. I suppose you want me to kill you again?" The freckled girl replied with heavy sarcasm. "I sure do need my best friend to die again."

Yuki laughed, "No, really! At this rate, I'll die anyway. There's probably nothing regular doctors can do, anyway." To her, it seemed true. The frequency had risen along with the intensity of the cough, and it was to the point where she feared suffocating on her own blood.

Mizuki stared, wide-eyed. "You mean you haven't seen a doctor about this?"

Yuki gave her the 'are-you-really-that-stupid' look before offering a reply. "Well, what am I gonna say to a damned doctor, huh? Hello, I died recently and my insides were burned out by lava and then I was healed, but the healing wasn't as effective as I'd hoped? I can't go to a doctor for obvious reasons!"

"But the Revolutionary Army should have one who could take a look at you!" Mizuki shouted in response. "They've gotta have at least one, or they'd lose too many people to wounds and illnesses."

Yuki let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't want Sabo to know how bad it is."

Mizuki waited quietly. "Why?"

"He's got enough to deal with, and he probably has already guessed that I'm not in the best of health. As you saw, it's getting harder to hide." Yuki was exhausted. The adrenaline and food that had kept her going through the night had finally disappeared, leaving a broken-down, social-energy depleted person.

"He needs to know, Yuki. Sabo can help you," Mizuki whispered, covering her friend with her silvery shawl. "I'm going to find him."

At her protests, Mizuki put her hand up. "No, I won't tell him anything. I'm just gonna go find him so you can decide what to do. Obviously, you're not able to stay and party anymore. If I can find him, maybe we can find a place for you to sleep."

Yuki nodded, closing her eyes. She could trust Mizuki to keep to her word.

Ace wondered where Mizuki and her friend had gone. He couldn't find them anywhere, in the food bar, the dance hall, or any of the other buildings. He had talked with Dragon, briefly met up with Koala, and had small talk with a lot of people he didn't know.

He wanted to be alone for a little while with his thoughts. The people at the party were kind, or at least not mean, as far as he could tell, but they were strangers whom he had no relation with. They couldn't know how he felt, not in a setting the majority of them were accustomed to.

Ace found a small hidden area and entered it. It had a little iron gate with tall fences and a winding path through the garden. He followed the path silently, the buzz of the party left far behind him. The darkness of night cast long shadows over everything, and he was content to sit in the dark as he reached the small clearing.

To his surprise, the woman he had danced with earlier sat on the stone bench, leaning on the tree growing beside it. Her eyes were closed and her mask had been removed by someone, for he didn't see it anywhere. She was swaddled in Mizuki's silver shawl, and the moonlight shone through the tree branches on her, highlighting her black hair and pale face.

He thought of Yuki, and how similar the two of them looked. Had it not been for his dance with her earlier, he would have thought that she was a ghost. Her face, the cheeks were more hollow, and she had dark circles under her eyes that he hadn't noticed before. Her hair was down and uneven in length, as if she had been in a fight.

She looked unhappy, shivering slightly. He carefully sat down next to her and lit his flame, heating the area and casting bright light on the bushes around them. In the light, he could see some kind of scar on her back, mostly hidden by the wrap and her dress. He wondered seriously who she was, to have that.

He sat next to her, allowing her to rest comfortably, until he heard voices and footsteps. Ace quickly extinguished his flame and became silent, waiting.

"... and I told you, I don't know what's wrong," one voice said. He recognized it as Mizuki's voice, and he stood up to go and greet her.

"Well, he said something was wrong, so I went to look for her. She's been too on edge lately, and I noticed the coughing fits a long time ago. It's my fault that I didn't confront her about it before now," the other voice said. It was Sabo.

Sabo and Mizuki both knew this girl, somehow, and based on their conversation, the girl was sick. He thought about the scar, and what they had said about coughing fits. He was hit with the realization that this girl was almost exactly like Yuki.

Exempting the black hair, Yuki had eyes that would flash red during battle or when she had an adrenaline rush. The two were about the same height, and they looked the same in terms of body shape. Sure, this woman was thinner, but there was still the uncanny resemblance.

Ace stepped out of the shadows as Mizuki and Sabo entered the clearing. The two of them looked almost afraid when they saw him next to the woman. Sabo instantly covered it with a grin, but Mizuki looked angry.

Walking right up to him, she snapped, "Remember that I told you to leave her alone? She was stressed enough for one night!" She put her hands on her hips and glared viciously at him, letting Sabo pull her back aways.

"Now, Mizuki, it's alright. Ace wouldn't do anything to Arika," he said, using her alias, trying to persuade her that it was okay.

Ace nodded. "I just wanted to be alone for a little while, so I found this garden. She looked cold, so I sat next to her and warmed up the area," he explained quietly. Their voices were going to wake her up.

Mizuki was still glaring at him, but went over to gently wake to woman up.

Sabo looked Ace over, frowning. "So you've met Arika, already?"

"Yeah," Ace replied. "I danced with her before Dragon's speech. She wouldn't tell me her name, though, and whispered it to Mizuki."

Sabo rubbed his temples, thinking. "Would you mind standing outside the garden for a bit while Mizuki and I talk to her? She's nervous around people she doesn't know well," Sabo asked delicately, hoping he would make his brother angry.

Ace looked unhappy, but agreed and left. Sabo was thankful his brother still trusted him to make good choices, and went back over to where Yuki sat. She was awake, and panicking about Ace and the fact that her mask was gone.

"Damn it, I'm so stupid!" she complained. "I should have known that my luck was too good to last. He probably is sure of my identity, now. Gods, this could ruin everything! I just know it will..."

Sabo sat down next to her, worried. "Mizuki said that something was wrong."

Yuki sighed. "Yeah. You've noticed my coughing fits, of course."

Sabo nodded. "Uh-huh. I've also noticed the blood on your sleeves. It's getting worse, isn't it? I should have asked you about it sooner."

"No," Yuki shook her head. "If you had asked me about it sooner, I would have probably denied there ever being a problem until it got this bad. You made the right choice, if you wanted to persuade me to see a doctor."

"Yeah. I think you should. And as far as Ace goes, I don't think he's a hundred percent sure about who you are. If we keep calling you Arika, it may stick. You were the friend of an ambassador, remember?"

Mizuki stood up. "I know that you love him, Yu-... Arika, but you've got to stay away from him if you want your plan to succeed. You said it yourself, you're weaker now, and more likely to be captured and killed."

Sabo looked mildly surprised for a second before adding, "The marines have probably already received a report from Hawk-Eyes about your status. They'll be watching for you, now. I don't think it's a good time to reveal yourself."

Yuki sighed, frowning. "I know. I know as well as you. Sometimes I just can't avoid it, though, and I really want to talk to him again. It feels like I really am dead, not being able to see my nakama, Ace, and Luffy."

"Well, it is your choice, in the end. Do you really want to reveal yourself to another person and see what happens, or do you want to keep hiding?" Mizuki asked.

"I want to... I want to tell Ace. He deserves to know."

"Does he also need to know about your condition? I'm pretty sure he would figure out how bad it was fairly quickly," Sabo pointed out. He had a point. Yuki wouldn't be able to hide that from him, and she certainly wouldn't want to make him worry.

Still...

"I'm going to tell him," she said, her conviction as plain as day.