Continuation

When Sako said those words Ace felt as though he had been turned to stone; part of him wanted to say yes, but the rest of him wanted to deny it and a little bit of him felt that it wasn't even true anymore. He didn't know what to say, but as he struggled for an answer –any answer– Zoro emerged from the back of his mind and swept forwards. Ace let his partner –for that was the easiest way to define his bond with the other man– take over, sliding backwards to watch events unfold from behind his own eyes.

"Fire-Fist is dead."

Sako stiffened, as though the words came from the mouth of the man his goddess called Kajin whose soul he recognised from when the Whitebeard Pirates had visited his village, it was not that man who had spoken. This was a darker presence, savage, cruel and altogether lacking the teasing playfulness that had characterised his goddess' beloved thus far.

"Asura is correct," his goddess said quietly as she continued petting the hair of the man seated before her as though nothing had changed. "Fire-Fist is dead; he died in the arms of the Phantom Fox at Marineford. However we have not yet reached that point in the story, so perhaps you could wait until I have finished before asking questions, Sako?"

Sako bowed his head almost to the ground; this was his goddess speaking what-would-be rather than truly offering him a choice. "My apologies for the interruption, Rokuseizon-sama," he murmured. The man in her lap was scowling and the shadows around him had coalesced into another four arms branching from his shoulders and he had two more faces, one on either side of his head.

"Is this the father of your child then, Rokuseizon-sama?" Truei asked quietly.

"This is indeed my Asura, though he currently wears my Kajin's flesh," the goddess agreed calmly, her fingers still running through indigo locks. "Is everything alright?" That last question was directed to the man seated at her feet.

"Everything's fine where I am," the man she called Asura conceded with a black scowl at Sako. "Kajin was having trouble thinking is all."

"Good. I don't think there will be any more interruptions, so let Kajin come back and I'll continue the story."

Two of the shadow-formed arms reached up to pull her head down even as the demon in another man's skin rose to kneel so he could kiss the goddess with hungry possessiveness. "Mine," he growled before letting go and fading away again.

"Kajin?" the goddess asked solicitously. The large man kissed her himself in a more leisurely fashion, then returned to his seat at her feet.

"I'm fine Kitsune. Just a bit torn."

"Very well. Shall I continue?"

"If you would, Rokuseizon-sama," Sako said humbly, deeply sorry for the upset his careless haste had caused.

"So, I had found my dear friend Fire-Fist in a bar in the desert kingdom of the princess who my captain had decided to help…"

After we had eaten together Fire-Fist explained to me that he was hunting down a man who had slain one of his brothers; all those who form Whitebeard's crew consider themselves a family as Whitebeard invites them all to become his sons and daughters when they join his crew. One such however had long nursed treachery in his heart, having joined only to further his own goals, and when those goals were achieved he had slain one of his brothers and fled. Unable to let such a crime against his family stand, Fire-Fist had chased after him, intending to kill him that his murdered brother might rest in peace. So it was for that reason that I met my friend in a coastal port far from the rest of his family. I listened to his tale and my heart wept, for I had felt the death and had known the man well. I offered my assistance should my friend find himself in need and learnt that his other purpose in being here was to meet with his younger brother. I soon learnt that this brother was in fact my own new captain with the Will to rule, so Fire-Fist and I spent the rest of the week catching up and having fun, in between my dealing with the responsibilities by captain had given me before my departure.

When my captain arrived with the rest of the crew including the doctor he had persuaded to join him on the island of mountains and snow –a reindeer who could take on human form with the desire to be able to cure every illness– Fire-Fist and I parted ways. He continued his journey in pursuit of his former brother-in-arms while I reunited with my captain to continue in the mission he had chosen, which led us into the desert.

Deserts are very dry and very hot, which is uncomfortable for a child of the sea such as I am. I could have used my powers to defend myself from the heat but I chose not to, as during my stay in the port I had received replies to the letters I had sent and one of those replies required me to commit the services of my phantom servant to protect the princess travelling with us. I had told my asura of the identity of my silent killer, but he had not breathed a word to anyone and I had yet to speak of it to my captain. Understand that my captain was a very open and honest person and I was still uncertain of how he would react to the news. I was also unsure he would manage to keep it secret considering his nature, and I was unwilling to risk all that keeping such knowledge secret protected. So instead I allowed myself to be overcome by the dry heat of the harsh desert sands, forcing my asura and the amorous chef to tend to me.

This continued until we reached the town the treacherous warlord, whose Devil Fruit granted him power over sand, had made his home. Once there I separated from the others, citing my weakness as a reason not to join in the assault. Then I sent forth my Phantom to watch over them and ensure the princess did not come to harm. The Phantom saw my captain and his crew imprisoned in a Sea Stone cage alongside the Marine Captain who had followed them from East Blue, where the warlord taunted them with his intentions. The princess was not imprisoned, but she was not strong enough to escape the warlord. The Phantom watched over her to ensure she was not fatally injured, and assisted her in her eventual escape from the room after the warlord had left. My servant then had those imprisoned sign a contract to guarantee their silence and freed them from the cage before vanishing again.

I rejoined my captain and his crew so that we could make haste to the capital city of the desert kingdom, where the princess' father lived and the focus of the warlord's plans. The warlord however attempted to abduct the princess again, which the captain foiled but in doing so was left behind. He promised to rejoin us later, so I trusted in his Will and did not stray from the path before me. Thus I assisted my asura and the rest of the crew in reaching the royal city of the desert kingdom and protected the princess until she reached her father's palace, where I handed her over to the royal guard. Then I sent my servant forth once more to defeat those who served the treacherous warlord and to protect those of my captain's crew, for my asura had grown ever dearer to me with every day that passed and our bond had deepened with every injury of his that I had healed. My heart was not yet committed, but I was sufficiently attached to take steps to delay his death as much as I could. My captain however proved his worth and Will by arriving in time to defeat the warlord and save the kingdom, so in gratitude we were invited into the palace to rest and recover. My first action was to heal my asura, who had almost died in securing his victory against the warlord's strongest subordinate. My second was to sleep, which I did in his arms.

It was two days before my captain woke and his first words were to demand his hat. His next sentence was to demand food, which was provided promptly and in quantities than only a pirate with a rubber stomach could countenance. Though I suspect my Kajin might match him, a furnace being just as insatiable.

"Hey!"

"It is simply the truth, Kajin."

After the banquet all of my captain's crew were granted use of the royal baths alongside those considered part of the royal family, namely the king, the princess and the princess' advisor. The men's and women's baths were separated by a tall partition, but that partition was not insurmountable and the men succumbed to their natures and climbed up to look over the top. They did so just as I was emerging from one of the hot pools, which incapacitated most of them; my climbing up the partition to return the favour and tease those still conscious completed the massacre. The navigator was not amused by my shamelessness and even less so by the actions of the male members of the crew; she made it clear afterwards that the event would never be referred to again.

The next day we left the desert kingdom, returning to the ship and setting sail for the next island the Log Pose pointed to. However as we left we were attacked by Marines and barely managed to escape, requiring me to pour more power into Merry to keep her afloat. It was not the first time I had healed the caravel and since first meeting the willing little ship it had grown a soul that my power was nurturing and granting ever increasing awareness to. While I have frequently tied living things to non-living ones in the past, this was my first experience with new souls born from loving hearts and I was both charmed and pained by Merry: charmed, because she shone so brightly and loved so clearly, but pained, because she was a ship built for the Blue Seas and the Grand Line was weakening her with every passing day. I did my best to heal her, but even then I knew she would not live for long.

It was after our escape that our stowaway emerged on deck, so I followed suit and ensured she could not harm the crew while our captain decided what to do with her. As it happened, his decision was to recruit her: she was an archaeologist with a desire to learn the true history of the world. So I released her and we sailed onwards.

The island our Pose pointed to was in the sky above us, which the navigator found incomprehensible as she had never heard of Sky Islands before. I had, but despite knowing I had spent many years on the Grand Line she did not ask me, so I said nothing. I did however not discourage my captain's insistence in finding a way to reach that island in the clouds even as we sailed to a nearby island where the navigator hoped to find out how to reach the place our Pose pointed to.

However as we drew closer to that island I sensed the presence of the man who had slain Fire-Fist's brother and found myself torn between keeping my word and waiting for my friend to ask for my help and ending the man's life right away. I eventually decided to keep my promise, an action I later had cause to regret.

A slight reprimand and the story continues, all the way to Mock Town.