Survival

Characters: Penguin, Shachi, Heart Pirates. Rating: K+. Warnings: none

He could breathe. Upon his return to consciousness, that was Penguin's first thought. His lungs no longer burnt as his body involuntarily took in searing poison, but rather sweet, fresh air rushed in as he inhaled. He took a moment to appreciate that fact before forcing his eyes open. Where was he? There was something soft beneath his head, and much of his body was wrapped in what he instantly recognised as bandages.

He'd been rescued. Vision still hazy, he looked to his side and saw Shachi's unmistakable ginger hair in close proximity. Not just him, then, but with Shachi in a similar state to himself, it clearly wasn't by him. That begged the question of who. With a groan he pushed himself into a pseudo sitting position, bringing a hand to his forehead as it throbbed in protest.

"You shouldn't be moving!" It sounded like a young boy, but the hands that rested on his arm were not hands at all. Penguin wasn't quite sure what the creature was – a mink, perhaps – but he recognised it from both bounty posters and their previous encounter two years previously. Cotton Candy Lover Tony Tony Chopper, of the Straw Hats. Why was he on Zou?

"I'm fine," he told the creature, pushing himself the rest of the way into a proper sitting position.

"No, you're not!" the… tanuki? Penguin was going with tanuki – said, and before Penguin could blink he found himself pressed back against the floor by a large hand. The tanuki had grown dramatically, which Penguin vaguely recalled from the auction house, and in his current state he couldn't fight back. "Your nakama are all safe but you need to rest!"

"Chopper!" a woman's voice called, sounding urgent, and the tanuki shrunk back to its previous form.

"Coming!" he called, before fixing Penguin with what could only be described as a doctor's glare. Penguin was well acquainted with that look from his own captain. "Stay resting!" Penguin waited long enough for him to disappear before sitting up again. There was only one doctor he obeyed.

"Shachi?" he asked, turning towards the ginger. There was no response and he rested a hand on his shoulder. Like himself, Shachi was wrapped in bandages, and he sighed. The ginger was also missing both his hat and shades. Leaving him to rest, he put his hand inside the remains of his boiler suit, reaching for his captain's vivre card.

It wasn't there.

"Looking for this?" a man asked, and Penguin looked up to see Black Leg Sanji crouching down in front of him, holding out the precious paper. "You were holding it when Chopper treated you." Penguin had vague recollections of taking it out and watching it reconstruct. Taking it from the Straw Hat's hand, he was relieved to see it looked perfectly fine. Whatever Law had faced, he'd survived. "Chopper told you to rest," the other man continued, sounding resignedly disapproving.

"I have no reason to follow your tanuki's orders," he replied, pleasantly surprised to find that, while slightly hoarse, his voice was working.

"Chopper's a reindeer," Black Leg corrected, before sighing. "At least drink this." He handed over a warm bowl of something and Penguin stared at it. It looked like simple soup. "It's just soup," Black Leg confirmed, as if reading his mind. "You need to get your strength back. It's Penguin, isn't it?"

Dubious, but becoming aware that his stomach was considering protesting its emptiness one way or the other, Penguin took the bowl in fingers that weren't quite steady and lifted it to his face, sniffing at it. Nothing smelt wrong with it, and he knew that with his injuries he did need to get his strength back up. He put it to his lips and took a sip.

To say it was delicious was a gross understatement. Penguin had never tasted a simple soup that tasted as exquisite as the one the Straw Hat had passed to him. He drained the bowl before he realised it.

"Did you like it?" Black Leg asked, and Penguin realised he was the Straw Hat's cook. He nodded, and the blond gave a relieved grin. "I'm glad," he said. "Let me know when you're hungry again." Penguin nodded again and the blond left, presumably to give more soup to whoever else he thought needed it.

There was a pained groan next to him, and he saw Shachi roll over, resting an arm across his eyes with a disgruntled noise.

"You okay?" he asked, and Shachi let out a tired chuckle.

"Somehow," he admitted. "Why are the Straw Hats here?"

"I don't know," Penguin sighed. "They seem to be helping us, but…" he trailed off, unsure how to put his misgivings into words. There was something that didn't add up. Why were they there? How did they get to Zou? Why did they help them? Why hadn't Black Leg stolen Law's vivre card when he had the chance? Why hadn't he seen or heard Mugiwara himself? He had very clear recollections of the Straw Hat's captain being loud.

There was something he was missing. Something big.

Shachi lurched upright next to him, fumbling around blindly by his side before putting on his shades. They were cracked and offered minimal protection, but it was better than nothing at all.

"Let's go," the ginger said, and Penguin nodded. They pulled themselves to their feet and looked around. They were in a clearing in the forest that appeared to have been repurposed into some sort of hospital. He counted the rest of the Heart Pirates as present with some relief. Most of them were sitting up, checking their own bandaging. Bepo was in the arms of what appeared to be Cat Burglar Nami, although her hair was much longer than her poster, and they made their way over to check what was happening. She was changing the bandages on his head, and Shachi grinned in clear relief.

"Are you two fit to be moving around?" the woman asked them, and Penguin scowled.

"Perfectly," he retorted. Not strictly true, but he was capable and in Law's absence they needed to keep the crew together. She looked unconvinced, but before she could say any more, they moved on, towards the main group of the crew.

"How is everyone?" Shachi asked them and received varying answers between 'okay' and 'hurts but I'll live'.

"How about you two?" Uni asked. "You were asleep quite a while."

"Well enough," Penguin replied, not really wanting to dwell on his injuries more than he had to. Shachi echoed the sentiment. They consented to sit, however, facing the crew and feeling the weight of their responsibility more so than ever before.

They were responsible for the lives of all their nakama. Up until Jack's attack, that hadn't meant much, but now they had to pull everyone back together. There was a rival crew seemingly helping them and they didn't know what cost they'd demand in retribute. There was no way they were doing it for free.

Penguin missed Law. He'd never fully appreciated the weight the younger man carried on his shoulders before, and now that it was on his own it was too heavy. But he had no choice; the Heart Pirates had to survive until their captain returned, and it was his and Shachi's job to make sure they did.

I was asked for Penguin and Shachi waking up after Alive (chapter 21). At this point, they don't know about the alliance with the Straw Hats, so they're suspicious of everything.

Thanks for reading!
Tsari