Losing Someone Precious
The next chapter of One Piece Final Holy War is out.
First off, round of applause, 300 000 words at last. This fic is really getting up there in length and becoming one of the longest One Piece fics around. So once again round of applause.
Enjoy the chapter and review it.
"K – K – Ko – Koala," stuttered Jinbe at seeing the young girl for the first time in a very long time.
The Straw Hats upon hearing that name all had surprised looks on their faces.
"Koala, as in that slave girl that Fisher Tiger took into his crew, you mean that Koala?" asked Nami.
Jinbe didn't reply as he was too shocked into silence to say anything.
"Koala, is that really you?" asked Jinbe finally regaining his voice.
The woman in question took a few seconds to reply.
"It is," replied Koala.
"So it's true, that really is the same Koala from your story," said Nami.
"Yes, she is," said Jinbe.
The citizens of Ryuuga kingdom who were watching the battle heard this and were even more surprised at this than the Straw Hats and the Sun Pirates. The Straw Hats who never knew what she looked like and the Sun Pirates who hadn't seen her ever since she was a little girl at least knew that she existed. The citizens of Ryuuga Kingdom were a completely different matter however.
"Did I just hear that right? That woman was once a slave girl that Fisher Tiger once took in," asked citizen curiously.
"I have trouble believing it myself. Why would Tiger-sama take in a human, even if it's a little girl?" asked another fishman.
"He freed slaves of every race but he only took the fishmen and merman slaves into his crew. Was she, a human really part of the great Tiger-sama's crew?" asked another citizen.
Similar thoughts and questions continued to buzz around the people who were listening on the conversation. As none of them were part of the Sun Pirates, none of them knew about Koala and they were all very curious as to why Fisher Tiger would allow a human, even if it was a little girl into his crew.
"Koala, why are you here? Why are you with the revolutionary army?" asked Jinbe.
Koala looked down to the ground, her eyes shadowed so they couldn't see her eyes.
"Why?" said Koala.
Jinbe looked confused at Koala.
"Why did it happen?" said Koala sadly.
"Koala what are you …" said Jinbe before being cut off by Koala.
"Why did it happen? Why did Tiger-sama have to die? Why?" shouted Koala very emotionally.
The Straw Hats, Sun Pirates, the Neptune family and the citizens were all surprised at the emotion Koala was showing at Fisher Tiger's death. However among them, none showed more surprised than the Sun Pirates and the ex members who after Jinbe joined the Shichbukai were now civilians.
"Koala," said Hachi at seeing Koala get so emotional over Tiger.
Alladin who also knew about Koala and Tiger also had a sad look knowing how much Koala must have been affected by Tiger's death.
"Koala you …" said Jinbe who like all members and ex members understood how she must have felt at Fisher Tiger's death.
"I couldn't believe it. When I found out that he was dead, I thought it was a nightmare. He was like a father to me and now he was gone. But what I really couldn't believe was how he died," said Koala.
Flashback.
Koala's parents heard crying coming from their daughter's room. They opened the door and were greeted by the sight of their crying daughter.
"Koala, what's wrong?" asked Koala's mother softly.
Koala turned to her mother with such a pained look that it was unbearable. To see such a look coming from their little girl was unbearable.
"It's Tiger-san, he's dead," wailed Koala.
Both Koala's father and mother remembered that Fisher Tiger was the captain of the notorious Sun Pirates and was also the one who brought Koala back to them. Both of them sat on either sides of Koala and placed their hands gently on her.
"There there, it's okay Koala-chan," Koala's father comforted softly.
"No it's not, Tiger-san, he's, he's really dead," Koala said as she continued to cry in her mother's lap.
Koala continued to cry for a few moments before managing to talk through her tears.
"Why, why did the marines kill him? Tiger-san wasn't a bad person. He took me in a brought me back home. So why did they kill him?" wailed Koala while still in the arms of her parents.
"Because he was a pirate," was the simple reply from Koala's father.
"But even if he was a pirate, he wasn't a bad person. He never did any bad things so why would they kill him?" Koala continued to grieve.
Koala's two parents weren't able to reply but inwardly they knew the answer. The reason that Fisher Tiger was killed was because they along with the rest of the islanders sold him out. Despite the fishman bringing back their child, they chose to inform the marines in exchange for overlooking the fact that Koala was the property of the Tenryuubito. They didn't think that she would take it so hard and knew that if she ever found out the truth, she would be devastated.
"Listen Koala-chan, it's going to be alright. We promise you, it'll be alright," said her mother soothingly.
Koala continued to cry in her mother's lap until she cried herself to sleep.
Koala's parents then placed her gently in her bed before covering her up. They then took one last look at their daughter before leaving.
Later some time that same night Koala finally woke up. She had been asleep for almost the entire day. She got up to go see her parents when she heard them talking about something. Curiously she hid behind the wall and listened in on her parent's conversation.
"This is a total disaster," said Koala's mother.
"You're right. I didn't think she'd take Fisher Tiger's death so hard," replied Koala's father.
"What are we going to do if she finds out?" asked Koala's mother.
"She wouldn't. She'll never know the truth. We'll make sure of it," replied Koala' father.
"But just how are we going to do that? It would be okay if it was just us but the entire island was in on it as well," asked Koala' mother.
"That's true. Koala was the slave of the Tenryuubito so it was not like she could just return to us. So when she was brought back by Fisher Tiger and the Sun Pirates, the citizens informed the marines in exchange for overlooking the fact that Koala was the property of the Tenryuubito," said Koala's father.
Suddenly they heard a gasp behind the wall.
"What was that, wait it can't be …" said Koala's father now in panic.
Koala then came from behind the wall, her face full of betrayal.
"Koala it's …" started Koala's mother only to be interrupted by Koala.
"Is it true?" question Koala in a voice showing that she hoped that the answer was no.
"Koala listen we …" started Koala's father this time only to just like his wife, be interrupted by Koala.
"I said is it true?" questioned Koala again wanting an answer and praying that it wasn't what she thought it was.
Koala's two parents realizing that there was now no way to escape chose to answer. They really hoped that their daughter wouldn't find out but she did so now they had to deal with the consequences.
"Yes," replied Koala's father who hung his head in defeat as did his wife, Koala's mother.
Koala couldn't believe it. Her worse fears just came true. Her parents along with the people of her island were the ones responsible for the deaths of her benefactor and father figure Fisher Tiger. Her parents actually sold him out despite the fact that he went out of his way to bring her home, they still betrayed him.
"Why," said Koala softly as her voice broke.
"Why did you do it, after Tiger-san brought me back, why did you betray him?" shouted Koala at her two parents.
"We had no choice. You were a former slave of the Tenryuubito. Even if we got you back, the marines and world government would just take you back. We had to give Fisher Tiger up to ensure that you got to stay," said Koala's father.
Koala looked down her eyes completely shadowed. But you could tell that she was angry, hurt and betrayed.
"Koala you're safe and home and that's all that matters. You shouldn't care about …" said Koala's mother.
Koala cut her off again.
"But he took me into his crew when he didn't have to and despite me being a human and him and his crew being fishmen. They brought me all the way back home. And you , you actually sold him out despite all he's done for me," said an anguished Koala.
"You shouldn't concern yourself with them. After all they're just fishmen," said Koala's mother clearly not concerned about Tiger's death.
Koala's parents didn't realize the impact that their words had on the young former slave girl. To them they may have been just fishmen but to her they were her benefactors, her family, her nakama.
"Just fishmen," repeated Koala in a low voice.
"That's right. They're fishmen while we're humans. We shouldn't care about what happens to them. They're just mere fish," said Koala's mother who didn't realize the effect that her words would have on her daughter.
"I see, so that's how it was. You sold out Tiger-san just because he's a fishman didn't you," said Koala.
"Well yes, he's a vicious and bloodthirsty pirate and fishman, and he attacked the Tenryuubito so of course we'd notify the marines," said Koala's father.
"The Tenryuubito were the ones who made me a slave in the first place and you're acting as if they're good while Tiger-san's bad. Do you know how much suffering the Tenryuubito put me through while there and Tiger-san saved me from that when he attacked Mariejois and freed all the slaves. And if that wasn't enough, he went through all the trouble to bring me back home," said Koala.
"Yet you talk as if Tiger-san did a big crime while the Tenryuubito did nothing wrong," said Koala.
"He did perform a heinous crime, he ransacked the Holy City and attacked the Tenryuubito he …" said Koala's father.
"He did it to free all the slaves. You sell out Tiger-san from freeing everyone and bringing me home, yet what did you do. Nothing, you did nothing at all. And when Tiger-san does something great you just sell him out. Compared to Tiger-san you're both trash you …" said Koala before being interrupted by a harsh slap from her mother.
Koala was stopped dead in her tracks by the resounding slap and the stinging sensation that left her face red.
"How dare you call us trash, us your own parents, you actually call us trash. And you have the nerve to compare us to a heinous criminal and fishman like Fisher Tiger. He attacked the Tenryuubito and is a disgusting pirate and a fish," said Koala's mother.
"You see this is proof that fishmen are vile creatures. He did something to our daughter and made her think that fishmen are actually better than humans, better than us her own parents. And to think that she spent so much time with them," said Koala's father.
"We'll have to find a way to undo whatever Fisher Tiger and those fishman pirates did to her. She actually thinks that they're equal to us," said Koala's father.
"I agree. We'll talk to some people to see if they'll help," said her mother.
"I hate you, I hate you both! I hate everyone on this island! It's because of all of you that Tiger-san is dead. I hate you all!" shouted a crying Koala.
Koala in tears then ran into her room and slammed the door shut. Koala's parents could hear her crying from where they were.
"Honey do you think that we were too harsh?" asked Koala's mother in a regretful voice.
"Maybe but she has to get it in her head that Fisher Tiger was a heinous criminal and fishman," replied Koala's father in an equally regretful tone.
"But she sounded so serious and so … hurt," said Koala's mother.
"I'm sure she'll get over it. She just needs time," replied Koala's father.
"I hope you're right dear, I hope your right," said Koala's mother looking at the direction her daughter ran.
Koala was sitting on the bed in a fetal position with her arms around her head. Unlike when she first read about Fisher Tiger's death, this time her parents weren't here to comfort her now. This time she was alone with her thoughts.
The truth of what her parents and the rest of the islanders did continued to invade her thoughts. She just couldn't believe that not only her parents but everyone on the island actually did such a horrific betrayal. Tiger brought her home. He and the rest of the Sun Pirates should have been honored as heroes but instead they were treated like criminals. Tiger's reward for taking care of her and bringing her back home was being betrayed by her very parents and people. Also now she understood her parents true thoughts on Tiger. To them, he was a pirate, not the one who freed her from slavery, not the one who brought her home but a pirate. And Koala also understood how her parents thought about fishmen. They thought of them so low that they chose to conveniently ignore Tiger's heroic actions of freeing their daughter and even bringing her home. To them and to the people, Tiger was a pirate and fishman, nothing more. Koala despite being so young and human began to understand the true discrimination that fishmen suffered.
"It's all their fault. Tiger-san is dead because of them. It's all their fault," cried Koala.
"And they don't care that Tiger-san took care of me and brought me home. All they care about is that he's a fishman. They all think that because Tiger-san's a fishman that he deserves to suffer," said Koala in her mind.
The recent revelations caused Koala to finally make her decision. She had to leave.
The next morning Koala's mother went to her room to wake her up for breakfast and to clear up any according to their minds, misunderstandings that she had about herself or her husband.
Knocking lightly on the door, she called out to her daughter.
"Koala, wake up, it's time for breakfast," called out Koala's mother while knocking on the door.
After a little while there still was no response.
"Koala," called out her mother again still not getting any reply.
Again there was no response.
"Listen Koala, we're sorry that we yelled at you. Please come out and have breakfast and let us talk to you," said Koala's mother who still received no reply.
"Koala don't make me have to come in there. Open this door right now," said Koala's mother now getting irritated.
"Koala," said Koala's mother this time more curiously.
The door was opened and it revealed that Koala was actually not in the room. However there was a note on her bed. Picking up the note, she read it.
Dear Mom and Dad,
I'm leaving you. I'm leaving you both and I'm leaving this island. I can't understand why you and everyone on the island did what you did. I can't and don't want to understand. Tiger-san and the others made me their nakama and while I was with them I had so much fun. They didn't treat me any differently because I was human. They even went as far as to bring me back here. And you and everyone else, you betrayed him to the marines. For bringing me back, you betrayed him. I cannot accept what you all did and I can't take it anymore. So I'm leaving. I leaving the people who killed Tiger-san. I will never forgive any of you for what you did.
Goodbye Koala
Koala's father was at the breakfast table when he heard a loud scream. Rushing towards the sound he entered Koala's room to see his wife on the floor crying profusely and holding a piece of paper.
"Honey what's wrong?" asked Koala's father.
Turning to her husband, she answered while still crying.
"It's Koala, she's gone. She left us," replied Koala's mother.
"What, when, where?" asked Koala's father now worried.
Koala's mother gave her husband the note who read it and was now equally as grieving as his wife.
"Th – Th – This is, this is real," stuttered Koala's father who read the contents of the letter.
Koala's mother than ran into her husband's arms looking for comfort.
"Koala, Koala, Koala, Koala," cried his wife repeatedly into his chest.
Koala's father could do nothing more than put his hands around his wife. He too after all was grieving just as much. Both of them through their actions drove their daughter away.
"Koala, I'm sorry," apologized Koala's father.
Shortly after Koala's departure, the island was abuzz with activity. News of Koala's running away spread like wildfire. Even more astounding was finding out the reason she ran away, because everyone sold Fisher Tiger out to the marines. Everyone could not believe that she would do such a thing. She had not been home for years and when she comes back, she runs away immediately, and for a pirate and fishman of all things. It just didn't make sense to the islanders who believed that they did nothing wrong.
"Did you hear the news, that former slave girl Koala that returned actually ran away," said an islander.
"And I also heard that she did it because of Fisher Tiger's death," said another islander.
"The Fisher Tiger, the one who actually attacked the Tenryuubito and brought Koala back," said another island.
"Yes, the same one," replied the previous islander.
"I can't believe that she would do such a thing. We actually prevented her from being taken back by the Tenryuubito and she squanders our efforts by running away for a fishman, how selfish," commented another islander.
All the islanders truly thought that they did the right thing informing the marines of Fisher Tiger's location in exchange for them overlooking Koala being the property of the Tenryuubito. To them, Fisher Tiger was a pirate and a fishman and turning him over to the marines was the right thing to do. It didn't matter that he freed many slaves including Koala, it didn't matter that he returned Koala to them, all they saw was his so called heinous crime of attacking the Tenryuubito and his being a fishman. Only two citizens thought differently.
Those two were Koala's two parents who now realized that they were wrong to have done what they did. Koala taking his death so hard that she actually ran away from them meant that Fisher Tiger wasn't the criminal that he was made out to be. If he was then Koala would have been happy that he died. But she wasn't. She was grieving so much that she ran away from them, her own parents, she actually ran away from them. It was then they realized that they unjustly sent a good person to his death, his death because he took care of their daughter. They're narrow minded view cost the life of a great person and they also lost their daughter in the process. Before Koala was away because she was taken away from them which meant that she wanted to come back. Now it was different. Koala wouldn't want to come back to them and now they couldn't blame her. They're ignorance cost her the life of someone dear. They wished that they had been smarter and done things differently but it was too late now. Koala was gone and it was unlikely that they would ever see they're daughter again. It was ironic that they wanted her back and now when they did have her back, their selfish actions drove her off again and this time it wasn't likely that they would see her again. It was as if God himself was punishing them for their selfish actions.
The two parents held each other trying to comfort each other knowing that their actions cost them their daughter and it was unlikely that they would ever see her again and even if they did, she will most likely hate them forever.
Meanwhile with Koala herself, she was on a small boat with some food and water. As she was a small person she couldn't carry too much in her little arms and couldn't go back for more, she could only take just so much which only amounted to a few days supply. She had no idea how long it would take for her small boat to reach the next island. She had no knowledge of navigation and only set out in a random direction so she had no idea how far the next island was, that is if the direction she was heading even had any land at all. All in all, this was a suicidal decision but she didn't care, she just wanted to be off the island that betrayed her benefactor and friend Fisher Tiger.
While she was travelling a small storm hit her boat. It wasn't a large storm so her boat wasn't turned over but the rising waves washed away her supplies of food and water. Now she had nothing. No food, no water and no idea where she was. She was at the mercy of the sea.
As Koala was lying down on her back, she began to reminisce on the happy times she had with Tiger and the rest of the Sun Pirates.
"Tiger-san, Jinbe-san, Hachi-san, Alladin-san, everyone," thought Koala as she remembered all the fun times she had with the Sun Pirates except for Arlong who was the sole member of the crew who didn't like her.
Despite not having any food or water, there was one thing she had, a few skills. Because she was a slave at Mariejois, ever since she was a child, she was illiterate so they couldn't teach her about navigation or other complex fields. But they were able to teach her how to read and write since those were basic skills. Also being a member of the crew, she had to help out in various things such as cooking and cleaning though she already had skills in the latter since that was what she did as a slave. In addition to that, they also taught her how to catch fish since that was an essential skill to any pirate. So despite being weakened and demoralized from having no food and water, she was still capable of catching passing fish easily.
Waiting patiently she saw a small fish pass by the boat and with great skill, she successfully caught it with her bear hands. Quickly throwing the fish into her boat she was about to kill it when the sight of the fish reminded her of Fisher Tiger. Tiger was a fishman, thus being part fish and the sight of the struggling fish reminded her of how Tiger must have struggled when the marines were killing him. Also Fisher Tiger's name had the word fish in it served as a reminder of the tragic fate of her benefactor. Chosing to let the fish go, she curled up into a ball and began to cry.
"Tiger-san, it's my fault that you died. It's all my fault. If you didn't bring me back, then you would still be alive," murmured Koala to herself.
Eventually she fell asleep through her guilt over Fisher Tiger's death and the effects of thirst and starvation. While asleep she was plagued by terrible nightmares regarding Tiger's death.
Dream Sequence Begin
Koala was walking alone in a pitch dark environment. She was alone and by herself.
"Tiger-san, Jinbe-san, anyone," called out Koala trying to reach anyone in the darkness.
However she got no reply.
Suddenly she heard the sounds of gunshots. Running towards the gunshots she saw to her horror Tiger getting gunned down by a large group of marines.
"Tiger-san!" shouted Koala who tried to run to his aid.
However she was stopped by several arms. The arms were that of the citizens of her island and her parents.
"Forget about that heinous pirate and come with us," said her mother.
"That disgusting fishman is getting what he deserves. Just come with us, okay Koala," said her father.
"No I can't, there killing him. Mommy, daddy, please make them stop. They're going to kill him," pleaded Koala to her parents who just ignored her.
Koala was pulled further and further away as Tiger continued to get shot down repeatedly.
"Tiger-san, Tiger-san," called out Koala repeatedly.
End Dream Sequence.
"Tiger-san," said Koala who woke up from her nightmare.
"It was only a nightmare," said Koala whipping sweat from her forehead.
However she noticed that while she was asleep, her boat ran into a huge storm. That nightmare actually woke her up in time to realize that a storm was present. It was almost as if Tiger was still helping her, since a nightmare about him of all people actually woke her up in time for the storm.
Not like it mattered because in her small boat she couldn't do anything against the raging seas. Eventually her boat capsized throwing her into the seas. As she sunk further and further below, she could feel the darkness begin to envelop her.
"Is this the end, it is, isn't it. I'm going to die here aren't I," said Koala as she began to lose consciousness.
"Tiger-san, I just wish that I could see you again," thought Koala as she finally blacked out.
Koala stirred and slowly opened her eyes, slightly covering them at seeing the bright light. She then slowly sat up to observe her soundings which appeared to be a beachside meaning that she was on the shore of an island.
"Where am I?" asked Koala groggily.
"You're finally awake I see," said a voice.
Koala turned to the voice to see a figure sitting down on a stone in front of a campfire. He was currently cooking some fish which she assumed that he caught from the sea. Upon noticing him, she observed that the figure was a fairly hulking individual easily dwarfing most people. He was also extremely muscular with very large muscles indicating that he was very strong. He wore a dark green cloak. But the most distinguishing feature to her was that he was a fishman.
"Who are you?" asked Koala.
"My name is Isonade D Sanbi," replied Sanbi introducing himself.
"D," said Koala questionably.
"Yes, don't bother with it. For now just call me Sanbi," replied Sanbi.
"Okay Sanbi-san," said Koala.
"So what about you. What is your name little girl?" asked Sanbi.
"Oh my name is Koala," replied Koala.
"I see," replied Sanbi.
"By the way Sanbi-san, you're a fishman aren't you," said Koala.
Even though Koala's voice held no malice or ill intent, Sanbi stiffened at that. It was because of the discrimination that fishmen suffered and Sanbi started to feel that Koala was the same despite her young age.
"Yes, is there a problem with that?" asked Sanbi in a hard voice.
Koala flinched seeing the change in Sanbi's mood. Before she wouldn't have known why her words would have affected him but now she did. The events of her hometown made her realize that humans looked down on fishmen and quickly realized that Sanbi thought that she did as well, despite him saving her.
"No, it's not that, it's just that I was saying, you know…" said Koala nervously.
Despite Koala's nervousness, Sanbi detected no lies in her words and knew that she was completely honest. He was a bit surprised that Koala didn't hold anything against him due to him being a fishman. He knew that children are taught at a young age to look down on fishman and was genuinely but pleasantly surprised that she didn't. He surmised that his change in mood must have scared the poor girl and he couldn't blame her as he knew he was a very intimidating figure.
"Don't worry, it's alright," said Sanbi back in his softer more polite voice which caused Koala to relax.
"By the way what happened?" asked Koala.
"You were drowning and I just happened to have found you while swimming during the storm. So I rescued you and brought you here," answered Sanbi.
Sanbi then took one of the cooked fishes and gave it to Koala.
"Here, eat and recover you're strength," said Sanbi giving her a fish.
Koala accepted it graciously and began eating it greedily. She was starving from having not eaten anything ever since leaving her home island. This was due to her loosing her food earlier on and then choosing not to eat the fish for it reminded her about Tiger. But for now, her mind didn't wander off to her deceased friend as she was too hungry to think about that.
While she was eating, she took the opportunity to thank the fishman for saving her.
"Thank you for saving me," thanked Koala as she quickly finished the fish.
"No need for thanks," replied Sanbi as he gave her a canteen of water which she drank greedily since she had no water for the same reasons as no food.
"So what was a little girl like you doing out there in a storm like that. I know I didn't see any passing ships so I know you didn't fall overboard?" question Sanbi curious as to why Koala was out there by herself in the first place.
Koala suddenly stopped eating the fish that she had and put it down. She then brought her knees up and placed her head in them.
"Koala," said Sanbi softly.
"You know Sanbi-san, you're not the first fishman I ever met," said Koala softly.
This got Sanbi's attention. It was fairly uncommon for humans to actually meet fishmen due to their reclusive nature preferring to stay on Fishman Island though there were occasional meetings and recently the all fishman crew, the Sun Pirates. However for a child to meet one is certainly unexpected and Sanbi was interested to know more.
Koala then proceeded to take of her shirt. Sanbi was taken by surprise be the act but then saw the mark of the sun on her back, the symbol of the Sun Pirates.
"That's the mark of the Sun. It's the symbol of the Sun Pirates, the all fishman pirate crew led by Fisher Tiger. Only a member of that crew should have that symbol so how do you have it?" asked Sanbi.
"I was a member of Sun Pirates," said Koala.
"What," replied Sanbi in shock.
"I know it's hard to believe but it's true. When Tiger-san attacked Mariejois and freed all the slaves I escaped and fled to an island. However I had no way of going back home. So when Tiger-san and the others came, the people there asked him to take me back which he agreed to do," said Koala reciting the tale of her time with the crew.
Sanbi listened intently to Koala's tale.
"At first I was scared of them. I was thankful for Tiger-san freeing me but my time as a slave made me afraid of everyone. I thought that all I should do was work all the time and if I ever stopped and cried, I would be killed," continued Koala.
Sanbi nodded at this. He may not have been a slave but he was familiar with the slave mindset. Because of their hellish and torturous treatment, it was common for them to not trust people. What Koala was saying was fairly typical in slaves.
"Tiger-san then covered my slave mark with the mark of the sun and said that I was finally allowed to cry. He also promised to take me back home," said Koala.
Koala then began to smile at that particular memory.
"I was so happy. Before when I was a slave, I never cried because the Tenryuubito would beat me or maybe even kill me. But Tiger-san and the others weren't like that. They said that I was no longer a slave and that I was free. I was free to cry," continued Koala.
"That was the first time that I cried. Even though I cried, I was happy. Strange is it, that me crying was actually a good thing. But it was. For the first time I could cry and I actually felt free," said Koala who herself began to tear up.
Wiping away her tears, she continued her story.
"After that I had a great time with the fishmen. Despite me not being a fishman they treated me really well. They didn't care that I was a human. Tiger-san, Jinbe-san and Hachi-san in particular treated me really nice. Only one fishman named Arlong didn't like me however simply because I was human," said Koala.
Sanbi continued to listen to Koala's tale though he did have some interest in this Arlong fishman, though it was negative interest. It was understandable that there would be someone who would not like her but to hate a little girl simply because she was human was unacceptable even for him, a fishman.
"I stayed with them for a while and soon they were finally able to bring me back home to Foolshout Island," said Koala.
Sanbi immediately recognized the name of that place.
"Foolshout that was where Fisher Tiger was killed by the marines," said Sanbi who was now beginning to understand what was happening.
Koala then began to have tears welling up in her eyes.
"They, they betrayed him, they ratted him out to the marines. They told them that Tiger-san was here in exchange for overlooking the fact that I was the property of the Tenryuubito," said Koala who was now openly crying.
Sanbi had a shocked face now finally knowing the truth about the brave fishman hero, Fisher Tiger.
"I heard strange noises and I asked my parents if they heard them too and they replied no. But they heard them. They knew what was happening. They knew Tiger-san was being killed," said the weeping girl.
"So that's what happened to Fisher Tiger. After he brought you back, the people informed the marines about his arrival in exchange for overlooking you being the property of the Tenryuubito. He was then ambushed by the marines on Foolshout Island and dealt grievous injuries dieing from blood loss after being denied a transfusion from humans," said Sanbi finally putting the pieces together.
Koala nodded in her tears.
What Koala told him seemed to fit in with the events he read from the newspapers though he had to admit there did seem to be some irregularities and loopholes. He knew that they were not from Koala's story because he could tell that Koala wasn't lieing which meant that what was said in the papers were not completely true. He'll have to ask his leader, Lord Dragon about it later. But for now he wanted to hear the rest of the story. He now knew the truth about Tiger but Koala's story was not over yet.
"Later I eavesdropped on my parents talking about it and heard everything. About how they sold him out, about how they didn't want me to find out. And you know what, they didn't regret it," said Koala.
"They didn't regret even once what they did to Tiger-san. They didn't care that he freed me that time when he attacked Mariejois. They didn't care that he took me into his crew when he didn't have to. And they certainly didn't care that they sent him to his death despite everything he had done for me. They didn't care about any of it. They just sent him to his death as if he was the worse scum out there ignoring how he had helped me," said Koala.
"And you know what's the worse thing about it. It was why they sold him out to the marines. I thought it was so that I wouldn't get taken back but they really did it because he was a fishman," said Koala now in anger.
"They would have ratted him out no matter what simply because he was a fishman," said Koala.
Sanbi felt great anger towards Koala parents. He being a fishman himself was very familiar with the discrimination that his people faced from humans. But he was very surprised at how much Koala, a human was defending a fishman.
"You know it's funny. When I spoke to them, they made it sound like Tiger-san was the wrong one here. That he attacked the Tenryuubito and was a fishman meant that he was the bad guy. They didn't seem to think that the Tenryuubito were bad. They took me and many others as slaves and put us through hell but my parents didn't think they were bad. To them, the Tenryuubito were good and Tiger-san was bad. He was bad because he was a fishman. They ignored how he freed me and brought me home, to them he was the one who did the wrong thing," said Koala.
"It was then that I realized the truth. My parents and everyone on my island, they look down on fishmen. They betrayed Tiger-san because he was a fishman. It didn't matter that he freed all those slaves and freed me. It didn't matter that he took me into his crew and it didn't matter that he brought me back. None of that mattered to them. All that mattered was that Tiger-san was a pirate and a fishman and that meant that he deserved death," continued Koala.
"At that point I couldn't take it any longer. I couldn't stay with the people who killed Tiger-san and who look down on him and my other fishman friends," said Koala.
"So you ran away," said Sanbi.
"Yes," replied Koala.
The rest of the story was irrelevant. From there she was caught in a storm and tossed off her boat after which he saved her from drowning and now here they are.
"You know what you did was very foolish. You took off by yourself in nothing but a little boat. And I assume that you don't have much knowledge in navigation," said Sanbi.
Koala nodded at the last part since she really didn't know anything about navigation, in fact she just only learnt how to read and write.
"That was suicide. You could have gotten yourself killed. And you would have had I not been around," lectured Sanbi harshly.
Koala looked down guiltily unable to look the fishman straight in the eye. What she did was indeed very foolish and she would have really been dead now. It was only through sheer luck that Sanbi had been there to save her. But she was grieving so much over Tiger's death that she didn't think about the consequences of her actions. And she didn't want to be on that dreaded island anymore.
"But, I can't fault you for what you had done," said Sanbi who stooped down to the girl's level and placed his hands gently on her shoulders. Despite him being on his knees he was still towering over the girl.
Koala for her part wasn't expecting that.
"Fishmen have always been discriminated by humans. We have suffered greatly because humans look down on us and Fisher Tiger was the first fishman to take a stand for our people. But he was a fishman. You on the other hand are a human. It brings great joy to my heart that a human would feel so passionately for a fishman," said Sanbi with a smile.
"Tiger-san's my friend. Him, Jinbe-san, Hachi-san and all the others. They are all my friends," said Koala.
"You know Koala that Fisher Tiger is not the only one that has challenged the world government. Although we haven't made any real moves as of yet, my group will soon enough," said Sanbi.
"Your group," said Koala quizzically.
"Yes, my group the Revolutionary Army. We are group that is going to make this world a better place," said Sanbi.
"A better place," said Koala quizzically.
"Yes a better place. For one thing a place where there is no slavery and a place where there is no discrimination or suffering," said Sanbi the last part specifically referring to fishmen.
"Is that really possible?" asked Koala.
"It is, my leader Dragon-sama can certainly do it and he would. And I would stand by him and help him," said Sanbi.
"Tell me Koala how about you come with me? I would really like for you to meet Lord Dragon," said Sanbi.
"Is it really alright if I do that? I mean this Dragon guy sounds like an incredible person, just like Tiger-san. And me, we'll I'm just a little girl who helped kill Tiger-san," said Koala guiltily.
"You are not responsible for Fisher Tiger's death. It was the marines and the people of your hometown that caused it. And I believe that Lord Dragon would be happy to meet you," said Sanbi.
"Okay," replied Koala.
And so Koala set out with Sanbi to meet Dragon, the leader of the revolutionary army. And so began Koala's quest as a revolutionary. This meeting, by luck or fate would result in the revolutionary army gaining one of its youngest elites, Koala, the youngest commander of the revolutionary and one of the youngest in the entire army began her journey to make a better place for fishmen, her family.
End Flashback.
Silence rained over the entire area as Koala finished her story. The citizens found it hard to believe what they just heard. For as long as they knew, humans always looked down on fishmen and there were very few who ever truly stood up for them the Straw Hats and Whitebeard pirates being two of those few. So it was hard for them to believe that a human could feel so strongly for a fishman. And yet they knew it was true. The fact that Jinbe and the Sun Pirates know her leads more validity to her story.
"That human felt so strongly about Tiger-san," said a citizen.
"It's so hard to believe that a human looked up to him so much. She's a human for goodness sake," said another citizen.
"But she doesn't seem to be lying. Just look at her," said another citizen.
But amongst all the people there none were more surprised than those who were members of the Sun Pirates. Every single fishman who was a member of that crew remembered their former captain's death and how much it pained the crew. But all of them also knew of Koala, the human girl they took with them. With all the pain they went through on the day Fisher Tiger died, not once did they think about how Koala would have felt. All of them suffered on that day but they all forgot that Koala suffered as well. In fact Koala who was just a child at the time undoubtedly suffered the worse.
"Koala," said Alladin softly.
"Koala-chan, you suffered so much," said Hachi in a sad voice.
Jinbe having heard her tale felt partially responsible. Koala was as much a part of the crew as the others despite her being human. And since he was the second captain that meant that she was his responsibility as well. Even when she was gone, she was still their nakama. But they were all too consumed by their own grief to think about what the little girl must have gone through. Despite how much pain they suffered, it was Koala who undoubtedly suffered the worst. And they all let it happen. Jinbe was sure that if Tiger-san was alive, he would be disappointed in all of them for forgetting about her.
"Koala, I'm so sorry. I should have known that you would have taken his death the hardest," said Jinbe.
"It's not your fault Jinbe-san. If it's anyone's fault it's the world government. They were the ones that didn't do anything to stop the discrimination that fishmen suffered. Now we'll fix that for good and we need the mermaid princess to come with us for that to happen," said Koala looking at Shirahoshi.
Jinbe looked down. He truly didn't want to fight her. She was his friend as well and didn't want to have to raise his fists on her especially after seeing her again after so long. But he had to. Regardless of what happened, he couldn't let Shirahoshi be taken away. Nothing good will come out of that. As much as it pained him, he had to fight her. At times like this he was happy that Fisher Tiger was dead because he was sure that this would grieve his heart. A child's desire for humans and fishmen to get along twisted into something else entirely. Steeling his resolve he spoke.
"I'm sorry Koala but I would let you take Shirahoshi-sama away," said Jinbe determinedly.
Getting into a fishman karate stance, he was prepared to fight the child who was now a woman in order to protect Shirahoshi.
Well that's that. Now its Jinbe vs Koala and Straw Hats vs Sanbi. The battle of Fishman Island now has two battles, one between an ex Shichbukai and a revolutionary commander and another between a world famous crew and a Knight of D.
First just wanted everyone to give a round of applause. This fic is now over 300 000 words, yet another milestone. This fic is really up there in length and is now one of the longest One Piece fics around.
Before I go onto the chapter notes, I'll answer some questions first.
Someone asked if the One Piece will play a major role in this story. The answer is yes. The One Piece will play a very important role in this story. This story is about the great war that Whitebeard was talking about and according to him, the war would happen when the One Piece is found. So the One Piece has a very important role in this fic. I'll not reveal it yet but I can assure you, the One Piece will definitely have a major role in this fic.
Another asked about Madame Shyrlay's prophecy about Luffy destroying Fishman Island. It was part of Oda's One Piece so it'll be explained in this arc. It's interesting that question be posed because Luffy is not even on Fishman Island so how could he destroy it? That will be explained later in this arc. So for everyone that have their own theories about it, you'll see what I have planned for it.
Well a reviewer hates the Revolutionary Army and I can't blame you. Dragon is by far the worst villain ever. He makes Blackbeard and Akainu look like children. The guy raped Luffy's mother, instigated the Whitebeard War, orchestrated the death of Ace and Whitebeard through Blackbeard, killed his own subordinates and engages in mass slavery. But it's because you hate Dragon that you like him. Everyone hates Akainu and Blackbeard yet One Piece just wouldn't be what it is without them. They're actions have had such a huge impact on the series that despite hating them, you need them. Dragon is the same thing in this fic. Dragon is the final villain so that means that his power and influence must be so great that it surpasses the likes of Akainu and Blackbeard which is a feat in itself.
Someone asked when the story will end. To be honest, this is going to be a very long story, perhaps the longest One Piece fic ever. When Luffy returns, the story wouldn't just end. There will be two separate arcs devoted to Luffy's battles with the two strongest Knights Sabo and Blackbeard. Unlike the other Knights who will be defeated by the Straw Hats as a whole, Sabo and Blackbeard will be defeated by Luffy in one on one battles. Sabo is the leader of the Knights so it has to be Luffy who takes him down. More importantly Sabo was Luffy's older brother so it is even more important that he fight Luffy. And Oda always reserved Blackbeard for Luffy and I plan on doing just that. Besides Oda always planned on having the Straw Hats face Blackbeard's crew while Luffy faces Blackbeard himself so I plan on doing the same. I might not actually show the Straw Hats fighting Blackbeard's crew but I will definitely show Luffy fighting Blackbeard himself. And after that there is an arc about the "Final Battle." This final battle will really be what Whitebeard was talking about. What is going on now is just leading up to that point. In that final battle, it will be the world vs the full might of the Revolutionary Army. The Straw Hats, Red Hair Pirates, Whitebeard Pirates, Kuja Pirates, Smoker and the surviving marines, even Alabasta, Fishman Island, Kaien Kingdom and many others will be involved. This final battle will be in one location with all of them fighting the full forces of the revolutionary army. It might seem that the revolutionary army is surprisingly and extremely outnumbered but they will have a number of powers and weapons of their own to even the scale. In this final battle Luffy will finally battle his father, the revolutionary leader Monkey D Dragon. How will Luffy be able to defeat his overwhelmingly powerful father will be revealed then. Finally the most powerful Ancient Weapon Uranus will make its appearance. So believe me, even when Luffy returns to the crew, it is far from over.
That's it for the question/answer section. Now onto the notes.
Fishman Island doesn't know about Koala. Remember that all the citizens except those who were part of Tiger's crew along with only King Neptune actually know about Koala. Only they know the truth about Koala and her role regarding Tiger's death. In fact only they know about her existence. So anyone else from Fishman Island finding out that Tiger took a human child in would come to a surprise to them.
The citizens of Fishman Island now know partially what really happened when Tiger died. While Koala was reciting her tale, everyone watching including the citizens were listening as well. They knew that Fisher Tiger died of blood loss and that he was denied a blood transfusion from humans. They didn't know however why he was on Foolshout Island or that he brought Koala back to her parents or anything like that. Now they know more about the circumstances of his death. They now know that he took Koala in and brought her back home as well as the reason he died. He died because the citizens there including Koala's parents betrayed him in exchange for overlooking her being the property of the Tenryuubito.
The people of Fishman Island are now gradually learning about what really happened to Fisher Tiger. So far they know that he took Koala in and brought her home. He was betrayed by the people there in exchange for overlooking Koala being the property of the Tenryuubito. As this arc continues, the citizens of Fishman Island would learn the whole truth about him.
Why am I revealing what really happened to Tiger? A major part of the reason why humans and fishmen do not get along was because fishman did not know what really happened to Tiger. This caused them to resent humans deeply. It was similar with Otohime. Another reason they hated humans was because they thought a human killed Otohime. But they realize that wasn't true and that it was actually Hody. Knowing that humans never killed Otohime along with the Straw Hats saving Fishman Island helped fishmen to start accepting humans again. However I believe that fishmen will never truly accept humans until they know what really happened to Tiger. The only way for them to truly accept humans is for them to know how Tiger truly died. Remember that while Jinbe told the Straw Hats what happened to Tiger, he never told anyone else. In other words, we the readers know what happened to Tiger, but the citizens of Fishman Island do not.
Motivation for Koala joining the Revolutionary Army. It isn't that hard to believe. The fact that Koala was a former slave herself is reason enough to join the revolutionary army. But Tiger's Death at the hands of the marines, the same Tiger who took her in is the real reason she joined. She lost an important person to the world government so it's natural that she would hate them. Also she wants to end the discrimination that fishmen experience and as long as the world government remains that will never happen. And as long as people think a certain way, fishmen would never be accepted by humans. Koala by joining the revolutionary army could force humans to accept fishmen.
This fic is suppose to tie up a lot of loose ends in Oda's One Piece and there are quite a few in the Fishman Island arc. What happened to Koala, how she reacted to Tiger's death and what she did afterwards is one of them and all that has been revealed in Koala's flashback. Oda never showed how Koala reacted. The manga and anime explained this with Koala never knowing that Tiger was being killed. She heard some noise but her parents told her that it was nothing. So I used this fic is fix all that explaining the aftermath of Tiger's death and how much it affected Koala in her flashback.
Why Koala's parents really sold out Tiger has been revealed, it is because he is a fishman. It's true that they did it to get the marines to overlook Koala belonging to the Tenryuubito but they also did it because Tiger was a fishman. In other words, they would have told the marines anyway regardless of anything. You can see from the way Koala's parents spoke about Tiger that they clearly look down upon fishmen. They fully believed that Tiger fully deserved to die because he was a rampaging fishman who attacked everyone, including the "pure" Tenryuubito.
Tiger being a pirate also had in impact. Tiger was also a pirate, there is no getting away from that. As a pirate, its natural that citizens fear them and that they corporate with the marines to kill or apprehend them so in this context they were correct. Tiger being a fishman is no reason to inform the marines but him being a pirate is a legitimate reason. However Tiger being a pirate is not enough reason to sell him out when he brought Koala back to her hometown.
The people's worship of the Tenryuubito was also part of the reason they betrayed Tiger. You could see from this chapter that the citizens there worship the Tenryuubito. Despite the Tenryuubito enslaving Koala and many others, the people there think Tiger is the bad guy when he was the one who freed all the slaves while on the other hand, they believe the Tenryuubito did nothing wrong. This just shows the corruption of the world that believes people like the Tenryuubito are good and those like Tiger who try to help others are bad and why Koala wanted to join the revolutionary army, to end such corruption. She experienced such corruption first hand and she'd want to end it.
The scene where Koala catches a small fish but can't eat it. This scene reflects her grief and guilt at Tiger's death. After she catches the fish, the fish being out of water is struggling to survive. This is symbolic to how Tiger must have struggled to survive when the marines gunned him down. Tiger was a fishman and as a result part fish so seeing the fish struggling to live reminded Koala of what Tiger went though in his final moments. Also Tiger's name is Fisher Tiger. Since it has "Fish" in it, it further reminds her of Tiger. Also she feels guilty over his death because she believes that its partially her fault. If Tiger hadn't brought her back then he would probably be alive. Also her eating the fish would have been symbolic of her role in Tiger's death. Just as how eating the fish would have killed it, she believes that she caused Tiger's death. This scene was added to symbolically show how she believes that she caused Tiger's death.
Koala's dream. The dream was also symbolic in what happened. Koala's bond with Tiger was so strong that she actually vividly saw what happened. And the arms of her parents and the citizens stopping her is symbolic of how they didn't want Koala associated with a "vile evil" fishman like Tiger.
How Sanbi and Koala met was revealed. Sanbi saved Koala during the storm and it is this fated meeting that got Koala to join the revolutionary army.
Sanbi's age in the flashback. At the time of Koala and Sanbi's first meeting, Sanbi was a young adult, between late teenager to young adult. I'm not too sure of his age. You can give him whatever age you like. However in current story he is about Hody's age, so here in Koala's flashback he is between teenager and young adult. The exact age is up to you.
Sanbi already began spotting irregularities and loopholes between Koala's story and what he read about in the newspapers. Remember the newspapers were a combination of what really happened and what Arlong said which were lies. Koala's story certainly explains a lot of things but they don't explain the parts that Arlong lied about. One of the things that Arlong lied about was Tiger's death. Arlong said that Tiger died because he was denied a transfusion of human blood when in actuality he chose to deny the transfusion himself. What the newspapers say seem perfectly acceptable to everyone who don't know the truth. Those that really knew what happened can spot problems in what the papers said. The Sun Pirates already knew everything and Sanbi knew about Koala's part which clashes with what he read in the newspapers.
Sanbi doesn't know the truth yet. By listening to Koala's tale, he could spot loopholes in what the newspapers said. What Koala said clashes with some of the facts that the newspapers said. So that means either Koala or the newspapers are lieing. Sanbi knew that Koala wasn't lieing after all Koala is just a child and cannot think of a lie as well thought out as her story. Furthermore Sanbi could tell the grief in Koala's words are not fake, they're real so she's telling the truth. So that means the papers are lieing. He doesn't know exactly what they are lieing about, just that they are lieing. In other words he knows the papers are lieing but he doesn't know the truth. In order to know exactly what the papers are lieing about, he'll need to ask Dragon. Dragon is a genius so he'll be able to figure out the truth.
Right now, Koala and Sanbi knew exactly what happened to Tiger. However in the flashback they don't know so they both thought that he was denied a transfusion of blood. They find out later but in the flashback, they didn't know.
In this flashback Sanbi was already a member of the Knights of D hence why he is wearing the green cloak.
Sanbi asking Koala to come with him and confident that Dragon will allow her into the army. Remember one of the most important factors Dragon wishes for prospective revolutionaries is hatred for the world government. Once you have hatred for the world government, it is very likely that you will serve the army loyally and Koala certainly hates the world government for what they did to Tiger so she was a perfect revolutionary. Robin was also a good candidate but she was good at eluding people and she only settled down when she joined the Straw Hats which meant convincing her to join was impossible. For more information on that see Chapter 29 "Conversation with a Shichbukai" where Doflamingo discusses Robin's potential as a revolutionary.
Anyway that's that for this chapter. Review it and tell me what you think.