Chapter 7
Author's Note: I did my best to update it soon so please read, enjoy and then leave a review ^^
Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX
It was cold. I am cold. The wind is freezing and all I can see is white. Is this my end? It was fun to live for a while. Even if this freedom is not for long, I appreciate it. If I die surrounded by white it is more than enough for me. I am tired. I have no wish to continue fighting. The world I just left behind is stained in red… I have no place to go back to. God if you exist, will you take me?
Eustass cried. A vague figure of a polar bear was the last thing he remembered. Somehow Des enjoyed inducing tear jerking moments. That dream had felt so real almost like a memory.
Something furry nudged Eustass's side. He grunted. The furry thing nudged at his side once more. Eustass grudgingly opened his bleary eyes. The first thing that came to focus was a brown mass of fur.
A high pitched scream entailed.
Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX
Eustass cursed. Even if he felt stronger than he did when he was an old man, Des had the nerve to do this to him.
He had red hair and pale skin, similar to how he looked like. The only difference was two heavy melons protruding from his chest and the lack of something a little somewhere.
Eustass Kid should change his name. "Eunice Kidd?" he asked and sighed. It sounded so wrong. "Why change me into a girl? I hate tits!" he exclaimed and brutally squeezed the bouncing mounds. "I can't understand how those women tolerate these obstructing fleshes, what's more they complain it isn't big enough…"
Chopper looked at him queerly from the side. He had never seen a human female so upset at being female. Eustass had attempted to pull them off only to end up crying in pain. Even as an animal, Chopper thought the woman was an idiot. He snorted and Eustass glared at it.
"You think this is funny!" she roared and Chopper whined. Her high pitched voice hurt his sensitive ears.
Eustass glared at Chopper and his blue nose. He sighed. Chopper looked at him warily. Eustass decided he should talk to him when he realized something.
"Don't tell me you have not eaten your devil fruit yet…"
Chopper blinked and Eustass groaned. It was going to be another long journey. "Are the rest of the crew members going to be harder?" he wondered and got up.
He walked out of the cave right into a blizzard. Eustass turned around. "On second thoughts we could just stay here…"
Chopper made a noise to agree. He may be a reindeer but no smart creature would willingly head out in a blizzard.
Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX
Eustass was asleep on Chopper's warm fur when he heard noises coming from behind a rock. He woke up and pressed his ear close to it. Chopper roused from his sleep when he felt Eustass move. Eustass motioned for Chopper to be quiet and Chopper went back to sleep.
Once the reindeer was asleep Eustass listened in on the muffled conversations.
"There's on huge beast and a scrawny girl out there… how difficult would that be? Besides, the captain only said to bring back the girl. He has taken a liking to the wild one and the beast can die. It's a freaking blizzard outside. it's convenient enough for it to sleep in our cave. We kill it. Just pull the trigger when we got there."
Eustass grit his teeth in annoyance. He hated being a girl but he hated being thought as weak even more. "I'll show them scrawny can haul your asses and hand you over…" Eustass swore.
He crawled back to pretend to sleep when the secret door shifted open. Eustass kept his eyes closed and listened to their footsteps approaching. He did his best to appear relaxed while his muscles tensed, ready to pounce. He noticed how Chopper had stiffened as if sensing the intruders.
The reindeer must have been awake because before Eustass could kick the nearest man, Chopper had done it. The second man was startled and pulled the trigger. The bullet lodged itself in Chopper's hind leg. Eustass grabbed a small rock nearby and with a well-aimed throw, he knocked the man unconscious. Chopper whimpered and Eustass went over.
He grimaced at the wound. It was serious and Eustass knew nothing about the basics of first aid. The red haired captain panicked. He tried to activate his powers and was surprised he could use it this time. He used it to remove the bullet lodged in the reindeer's leg. The reindeer whimpered and Eustass patted it gently after removing it.
Using cloth shredded from the unconscious men's clothes, Eustass wrapped the make shift bandage unskillfully around the wounded leg.
"Stay here," he told Chopper. "I'll be back before you know it."
With that, Eustass left to explore deeper into the cave. He was unsure what he was looking for but he knew he had to find something to help the reindeer who had been kind to him.
Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX
"Are you better now?"
"Who are you?"
"I'm Des. Let's just say I'm an angel for now. I know who you are. It seems like your boyfriend is putting in quite the effort. I never expected him to."
"Boyfriend?"
"You know, the red haired man. Eustass Kid with a terrible temper."
A chuckle resounded in the void. "You jest. He was never my boyfriend. It was always one sided on my part. I only wish I told him how I felt about him before I died. It was quite a pathetic way to die, really."
Des smiled. "That could be rearranged. You can get another chance at life. Will you do whatever it takes then, even if you would only be seeing that man for a short time?"
The doctor smiled. "That would be nice."
Des nodded. The man did not need to know anything else at this point in time. "I hope you really mean what you said. I refuse to be called a liar."
Trafalgar Law laughed. "There would be no need to blame you for anything that happens after. I only wish to confess to him and spend some time with him even if it means the last moments of my life."
Des hummed. "What about fulfilling your dreams? Are they really not worth pursuing when compared to him?"
Trafalgar Law shook his head. "My dream means nothing if that man is not in it. The Pirate King has everything. If I can be the Pirate King surely I can have Eustass Kid. However if I can become the Pirate King in name and not have him, I don't want it."
Des was conflicted. Even if she brought the doctor back to life, trading Eustass's time to rewind the time of a dead man's would not bring any of them happiness. Instead, it will only bring more grief. A sweet fleeting happiness to love for such a short time and then have it taken away so quickly or to leave them forever separated with a lingering regret for a love never recognized.
It is the same as asking a person to choose between bearing a child only to kill it or to kill the child in the womb before it sees the light of day. Either way this love can never truly blossom in full like a rose. It can only be a bud before it is snipped off. It is not exactly better than having the flower wilt before the bud appears.
"To have love and lost than never loved at all huh?" Des thought. In her eternity of life she never once understood what it was like to love. The closest she came into contact with that feeling was when she saw a kitten once. She grew to like it so much that when it died she cried.
"I don't want to bring tears to their hearts… Why was I trusted with such a power? What is right? Above all, what is this 'love'? It makes people so stupid…"
Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX
A neck snapped and a body slumped to the ground. That was the last of whatever pirate crew that had occupied the cave. Eustass looked satisfied with his work. He needed to find some food and medicine because it would be days before the blizzard clears.
He rummaged through the belongings. Eustass nearly danced out of joy when he found the medical kit. He cursed in three different languages. "Damn female hormones… no wonder they are so difficult to predict… I wish I never have to deal with women again." He paused. "Des is an immortal so she doesn't count as one. I'm so blessed to have fallen in love with a man… flat chests are more sensitive than these melons. Besides, they are cumbersome. They take up all the room in hugging I won't be hugging a person any more…"
Somewhere in time and space Des cursed, "Are you implying I'm flat chested?"
Eustass sneezed. It must have been getting cold.
He gathered the medical kit, a few unknown herbs and a bag pack of food he could lay his hands on. He walked back to the cave entrance where Chopper was waiting.
Chopper rejoiced when he saw the man in woman's body again. He keened impatiently and Eustass growled. "Easy there…"
The blizzard was getting worse so Eustass decided to help Chopper move deeper into the cave where it would be warmer. He found a small stream running inside and decided that was the best place to help Chopper.
They moved slowly and steadily. Despite being a female, Eustass had quite a good physical build which allowed him to have strength compatible with a man. He only lamented how it did not match up to his strength. Eustass was a man unlike any other. He trained well and his strength could match up with most gruesome gladiators even without the powers of his devil fruit.
Eustass grunted. Chopper was definitely in need of losing some weight. He may be a child now but that certainly did not change the fact he was heavy.
They made it to the stream at last and Eustass nearly dropped the reindeer. Without wasting any more time, he got to work quickly.
The bandages were soaked in blood and Eustass was worried. It looked really bad. He removed the makeshift bandages quickly and used the icy stream water to wash the wound. Chopper whined in pain and Eustass did his best to be gentle.
After cleaning the wound, Eustass set to applying whatever antiseptic he knew to prevent infection. Then he took out a roll of proper bandages from the kit and dressed the wound. It was poorly done but at least it would hold. Eustass sighed in satisfaction once he had completed the task. It always seemed so easy whenever his doctor patched him up after a brawl. Trafalgar seemed to have no issues doing it too. Eustass never knew it was so tiring. "Another reason to love Law even more…"
When Chopper had settled down, Eustass's stomach grumbled. He dug around the bag pack in search for food. While he ate, Chopper looked at him longingly. Eustass sighed at rummaged around for something the reindeer could eat. "What do reindeers eat anyway?"
Eustass put out a variety of food for Chopper to choose. Among them were salted fish, cheese, bread, some fruits and a bottle of wine. Apparently reindeers were not made to stomach a lot of manmade food.
The bottle of wine was immediately disregarded, Chopper refused to go near the salted fish because it smelled, the cheese was sniffed at a little before his nose wrinkled and the bread was chewed a little before being spat out.
Eustass huffed. "Stop being picky and eat already." Chopper prodded at the fruits with his nose. Eustass turned around to continue munching on his sandwich. He did not see what the reindeer chose to eat until it was too late.
Chopper's stomach felt funny. He felt sick all of a sudden. His reindeer brain could not understand why. Was it because the half eaten fruit was bad? It tasted bad but the reindeer thought it was the natural taste of the funny looking fruit. He ignored it and continued to eat until his entire body felt as if it was on fire.
Chopper groaned and a strange sound came out from his mouth. It did not sound like his usual whine. It sounded a lot higher than before.
Eustass turned around at the groan and frowned. His jaw slackened when he saw the reindeer transform.
Quickly, Eustass took note of whatever half eaten fruit that was and paled. "The devil fruit…" he cursed. "Why hadn't I noticed it?"
He thumped Chopper on the back and yelled, "Spit it out! Spit it out now before it is too late!"
Chopper continued to change and soon he had shrunk to the size of a toddler. He spoke for the first time, "Mama?"
Eustass slapped his forehead with a hand. He did not sign up for this. He knelt down gently and looked at those adorable brown eyes. "I'm not mama."
Chopper began to tear. To console the reindeer he quickly added in "I'm Eustass… I mean Eunice."
"Eunice?"
Eustass nodded. The reindeer was very young. He remembered vaguely how the straw hat cyborg mentioned him living with a human before they found him. "Surely I am not the one…"
Eustass maintained the friendly smile as best as he could. Chopper began to trust him and hugged him tightly. "Eunice!" he squealed and Eustass felt his heart melt. When had the reindeer become this adorable?
The polar bear looked out of place in his garden shed. "You must be cold!" a young voice said. "Wait a minute, I'll be right back!"
A patter of feet and the boy was gone. The polar bear looked around, lost. "Hey, I'm back. This is for you!" The bear looked at the orange jumper held out. The boy quickly helped the bear dress up and laughed. "You look adorable! I shall name you… Bepo! Yes that's it… you will be called Bepo!"
The polar bear did not understand anything but it laughed along with the boy who was smiling so charmingly.
Eustass snapped out of the trance he was in. "Eunice?" Eustass looked down at Chopper and forced a smile. "I'm alright. Are you hungry?" The reindeer's stomach growled and Eustass laughed at the bright faced reindeer. "Alright, let's find you some food then. Let me see if the blizzard has stopped."
They walked to the cave entrance and Eustass could not wrap his head around what just happened. "What was that strange flashback?"
The cave entrance was covered in white snow. Eustass immediately noticed something off. The men he had knocked out earlier were gone. Chopper limped to where Eustass had frozen. "Eunice?"
Eustass gave a hush sound to tell Chopper to be silent. He looked around and found a pair of fresh tracks of snow leading out of the cave. The men must be somewhere near.
"Stay close to me," he said. Chopper nodded. They made their way slowly out of the cave.
Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX
It happened too quickly. There was no time to react. One moment he heard a gunshot, the next moment Chopper fell into the river. Eustass lunged for the nearest man and broke his spine. In the process, the man shot and fired a stray bullet hitting his comrade who fell dead.
Eustass cursed and dived after Chopper. The current was strong and the water was frigid. Chopper must be terrified because he was sinking. Eustass forgot one thing. He too was a devil fruit user and should not be able to swim. The moment he jumped, he regretted it. "Please don't let this be the end…"
His body collided with water and Eustass tried to move. He was surprised he could move but did not question logic anymore. He swam with everything he had to reach Chopper.
Chopper was flickering in and out of consciousness. He saw a figure of a red haired man merge with a woman. Behind him was another man but Chopper was not too sure anymore. He closed his eyes the moment a hand reached out and grabbed him. Chopper knew he was safe already and allowed himself to sleep for a while.
Eustass dragged Chopper out of the water. His own vision became fuzzy for some reason. He did mouth to mouth resuscitation for Chopper to bring the reindeer back to life. The brown mass coughed and breathed once more, setting Eustass's heart at ease.
Chopper looked at the woman and smiled. He was happy to see her again. Then his happiness faded into panic. He screamed. Eustass looked down to see what Chopper was screaming about. There was a pool of red around him. He went down to touch his side and noticed it was covered in warm and sticky fluid. He brought it up to his eyes. It was red.
Chopper was bawling his eyes out and hugging Eustass as Eustass felt his vision blur even more. He smiled and patted the reindeer's head gently.
"Listen, you will grow up to be someone extremely loved by many people. Find your friends among humans. They will bring you to see blue seas and go on adventures… they will never abandon you and they will accept you for who you are. To me you will always be special. Live strong!"
Chopper cried and cried as Eustass breathed his last in his female body. His eyes closed and his hand dropped to the ground beside the devastated reindeer. "EUNICE!"
Chopper nuzzled the woman's head and cried. "Wake up… wake up! Eunice…"
Eunice did not respond. All that was left became a memory as the body disintegrated. Chopper watched the dust dance in the howling wind. He cried for the woman who he had saved. He cried for the woman who had died. He cried for the woman called Eunice who was his first human friend. Even if the time had been short, it was precious and Chopper locked the painful memory away at the back of his mind. He would never speak of it to anyone for her memory was his to honor. She was the first person to give him love. She was like a mother to him. The reindeer resolved himself to live strong like she wished, hoping from wherever she was she would see him smile and grow up.
Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX
Eustass felt himself materialize in the void that Des controlled. He had so many questions to ask her.
"Des!" he called out. There was no answer. He tried again.
"Des!"
Eustass yelped in pain when something hard hit him across his head. He held his throbbing skull and glared at the figure called Des. "What was that for?"
Des glared back. "How dare you insinuate that I am flat chested!"
Eustass blinked. "I never said that you quasi woman…"
Des huffed and ignored that. "Whatever you Neanderthal. You did well. Law is doing fine. I can reach his consciousness now."
Eustass brought up his questions immediately. "What do you mean?"
Des answered slowly, "The energy I have is enough for me to still his time. He can think on his own now. I need more energy in order to turn back his time. Law's consciousness exists right now in my void. When this happens, your memories might cross over with his. You might see some of his memories in flashbacks. He can do the same too. As you gather more energy for me, the flashbacks will become stronger. Also, due to that I can no longer partition your powers. Your physical form will look closer to your original form. You must be even more careful from now on. You cannot give away anything that will lead them to knowing that you belong in a different time. If you do, all will be for naught."
Eustass listened carefully to the serious tone. That would explain all the weird flashbacks. Then something made him panic. "He can see my memories? Does that mean he can see my feelings for him as well?"
Des was unsure. "He will only see memories but I am not sure if emotions will be involved."
Eustass sighed in relief. He did not want the man to peer into his memories and come to hate him when he was brought back to life. Eustass was afraid if letting Law find out about his hidden feelings for the man.
Des was conflicted. She did not know if she should let the red haired captain know of the other party's feelings. "Perhaps it would be better to let them find out…"
Eustass asked, "Will I be able to talk to his consciousness?"
Des shook her head. "Not now. Perhaps later when you have collected more energy for me. However I would not recommend that. As you talk to him, time slips away. You might lose the chance to bring him back for good."
Eustass nodded in understanding. As much as he wanted to hear the man's voice, he knew it was more important to bring him back. "I can't afford to lose him…"
Des interrupted his thoughts by clearing her throat. "Are you ready for the next one?"
Eustass nodded slightly and Des warned, "It might be something completely different from all the rest. You might find this one difficult."
Eustass was determined to see it to the end. "There is nothing I won't do for Trafalgar. You have to promise me to keep him safe."
Des smiled. She liked the man although she knew it was sad he chose to die. "Alright then, don't say I did not warn you…"
With that black tendrils swept Eustass off again to a mysterious place.
Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX
Eustass woke up to find himself in a black void with a glass in front of him. He approached it and tapped on it. The glass would not budge. He peered outside the glass and saw something that resembled a wrecked ship.
He was about to throw himself at the glass when a magnified image of a skull popped out obscuring his entire vision. The hollow eye sockets stared at him. Eustass stared back.
Eustass screamed and the skull reacted the same way as he did. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!" They screamed at each other.
Author's Note: Sorry it took such a long time… I am sick while typing this… the haze around here is not helping at all. Anyway, can you guess who this is? Also, do leave me reviews to let me know what you think :D