Promise

Characters: Penguin, Shachi, Bepo. Rating: K+. Warnings: none

Something wasn't right. Penguin couldn't put his finger on it, but there was just something niggling in the back of his mind – a foreboding sense that something was about to go wrong. It was not a comfortable sensation when they were hidden hundreds of feet beneath the waves, theoretically as safe as it was possible to be at sea. There were no Sea Kings in the area, according to the map Law had found for Bepo that had included details of areas with known activity levels, and there was nothing else that should pose a threat so deep underwater.

Unable to sleep, Penguin threw off his covers and slinked out of his bed, taking care not to bump his head on the bottom of Shachi's bunk in the process. Lying awake in his bed fretting would do him no good, so he carefully made his way to the door for a walk around the ship. Bepo should be in the control room, his turn for night watch, and Penguin headed to join him. He could do with the mink's calming presence (and maybe a hug, but he wasn't going to admit it).

"You should be asleep," Bepo yawned as he entered, sitting himself down next to the mink perhaps slightly closer than was strictly necessary. Bepo looked at him curiously.

"Couldn't sleep," Penguin admitted, relaxing as an arm pinned him to Bepo's side.

"Nightmares?" the mink guessed, and Penguin shook head. "Oh…"

"Nah, just a bit restless," he assured him. "Didn't want to wake Shachi." The ginger needed his rest; Penguin hadn't missed the mild exhaustion of the younger teen, who'd been spending a lot of time alone in the training room.

Bepo made a noise of comprehension and returned his attention to the monitors, his arm still around Penguin. The warmth of the mink did what his blankets could not and set his mind at ease, and it was only minutes later that he slipped into sleep.

When he woke up, now apparently curled up in Bepo's lap completely and no recollection of being moved, the sense of foreboding was still there. Extracting himself from the mink's hold was a challenge, Bepo apparently convinced he was suffering from nightmares after all and therefore was in need of constant mink-hugs, but eventually he escaped, and with a ruffle of Bepo's fur headed back to his room. It was still early, but sleep was once again eluding him so he decided he might as well get dressed for the day.

Shachi was descending from his bunk when he entered, and Penguin frowned. It was early for Shachi to be making any movements, especially considering how exhausted he'd been the day before. Most concerning was the way he was clinging to each rung of the ladder like a lifeline, his limbs trembling. Shachi always shimmied up and down the ladder at the speed of light – Penguin had never seen him climb normally, let alone so slowly.

"You okay?" he asked, stepping forwards. There was no verbal answer. Instead, Shachi's clenched fists lost their grip on the ladder and he fell backwards. Penguin lunged the last strides, letting out an oof as Shachi crashed into him and sent them both to the floor. "Shachi?"

There was no answer from the ginger, and Penguin extracted himself from the awkward position the pair of them had fallen in before turning his attention to the other teen. His eyes were closed and his cheeks heavily flushed as his chest rose and fell rapidly.

"Shachi?" he repeated, shaking him lightly. Still no response, and he pressed the back of his hand to the ginger's forehead. Too hot. With a start, Penguin realised that his apparent exhaustion the previous night was simply a more contained version of the fever currently wracking his body. He hadn't been tired from training, but illness. Penguin let out a sigh, pulling Shachi into a tight hug while he waited for him to open his eyes again. He didn't, and Penguin buried his face in ginger hair.

"Why didn't you say something?" he asked the limp form despairingly. "You idiot. How am I supposed to protect you if you don't tell me when something's wrong? Don't make me break my promise."

"Penguin-chan." Seven year old Penguin looked up at his mother's best friend, who had crouched down to be at the same level as him. "Can you do something for me?"

"Anything, nee-chan!" he agreed with a huge smile, pushing his too-big hat back so he could see her past the peak. She smiled back at him, glancing back at where her son was laughing from his perch on his father's shoulders.

"Could you look after Shachi for me?" she asked. Penguin followed her gaze to the ginger boy's ankle, which was securely wrapped after he'd hurt it earlier in the day. Twisted, their parents had said. Penguin wasn't certain what that meant, except that Shachi wasn't allowed to walk for a while and they couldn't play many of their games until he was better. He agreed eagerly, happy to be of any help, and she'd smiled at him. "Thank you, Penguin-chan." Her embrace had been warm and full of love.

A year later, everything went wrong and Nee-chan wasn't there anymore. Nor were Kaa-chan, Tou-chan or Nii-chan. Noona was still there, but Noona cried a lot. Penguin and Shachi's lives had crumbled around them, and Penguin clutched at the younger boy while the villagers talked about who was going to look after them.

Penguin remembered Nee-chan's request. Look after Shachi for me. He nodded firmly to the empty air in front of him. He would look after Shachi for Nee-chan. More, he would protect him, like Nee-chan had done.

Shachi didn't wake at Penguin's words, so he gathered him into his arms as best as he could, half carrying half dragging him to Law's room because their resident captain-doctor would be able to help where Penguin couldn't. Protecting Shachi from himself was always the greatest challenge, but Penguin had a promise to keep, and would do whatever it took.

I got a request for Shachi hiding an illness until he collapsed, and Penguin making a promise to protect him, so here we are!

Thanks for reading!
Tsari