AN: I decided to end my fanfic hiatus by updating this story first, since its chapters are shorter than my usual. Please read and review.
Still keeping his eyes closed, Arlong groaned.
So warm… makes me never want to get up…
But I have to…
I still have… things I must do…
After an agonising effort and what felt like several minutes, Arlong opened his eyes. He took in the ceiling of an inn room, dimly illuminated by light streaking in from a window. After several more minutes, Arlong managed to actually sit up.
"Ughhh…"
Arlong felt the incredible softness of the blanket on his lap and the mattress underneath him. While he wasn't unfamiliar with luxury, none of the beds he'd slept in before had felt this good. In fact, it felt so good that he needed another few minutes to actually get out of bed.
I'm the one who's gotten soft… Back in Fish-Man District, no one was this much of a heavy sleeper… it was a quick way to get killed…
Now that he was finally on his feet, Arlong staggered to the bathroom, opened a tap and splashed cold water on his face. That helped clear up his mind.
As he went through the rest of his morning routine, Arlong thought about the future.
It's been three days since we came here… Right now, everyone's still going around and enjoying themselves. I'm not about to ask them to go out again yet… But I could see where they are, figure out how… how satisfied they are.
It was undeniable fact that after returning home, a few of Arlong's men would never want to leave again. He didn't begrudge them that, even if it was a choice he'd never make himself. He just wanted to find out how many of them would retire from the crew.
Eventually, Arlong left the bathroom and returned to the main room. He stopped briefly to take in the luxury.
A bed big enough for two average-sized people, which gives plenty of room even for someone my size. A table with two chairs, in case I felt like meeting someone in here. If I opened the curtains, I'd have a good view of one of the island's richest districts. The room itself is so spacious, if I felt like it, I could just pace around without feeling cramped at all.
Then Arlong felt his stomach rumble.
And if I felt like it, I could order almost any food in Fish-Man Island as room service. Plus a few foods from outside the island… Maybe I should ask what East Blue dishes they have available…
Arlong quickly shook his head. Thinking about that topic would lead him into uncomfortable territory quickly.
In conclusion, Arlong was living the good life at the moment. That might be funded by illegally obtained money, but he'd never cared for the laws of the surface anyway.
...I need to get moving, though. These past three days, I've been lazing around, just eating and shopping and listening to local news. I need to get moving, before my muscle starts turning into fat.
Arlong did one final check to make sure his clothes were in order. He was wearing a short-sleeved green shirt left unbuttoned in the front, long brown pants, a belt made from Sea King leather, and a brown fur cap on his head. Except for the cap, these were things Arlong had bought after returning to Fish-Man Island.
With that settled, he left his room and headed for the exit of his inn.
-ooo-
Less than half an hour later, Arlong saw something that made his jaw drop in shock.
"Con… Congratulations…"
"Thanks, Captain!" said Hodge, a puffer fish-man and one of Arlong's crew… though not for much longer.
"I-It's nice to meet you, Captain Arlong," said Garnet, a moray eel fish-woman who'd just been introduced to Arlong as Hodge's fiancée. "I hope this doesn't… doesn't cause any problems, that Hodge is leaving your crew…"
Arlong was standing in one of the island's parks, where he'd found several of his crew members. And he'd found one of said members arm in arm with a woman, showing the familiarity of a couple who'd been together for at least several months… even though they'd been together for a maximum of three days.
"No, no, it's perfectly fine," Arlong said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. "I was just… surprised."
"We all were, Captain!" said Pisaro. He then turned to Hodge and elbowed him in the side. "But maybe we should've expected this—you always had a gift with the ladies, Hodge!"
"What's your secret?" asked Shioyaki. "Seriously, you have to tell us! What'd you do to be getting married in just a week's time?"
"Ah… there's not really a secret…" Hodge said, scratching his head with his free hand. "I didn't do much…"
"But what did you do?" Pisaro asked.
As Hodge began recounting the improbable series of events leading up to now, Arlong began thinking.
That's one who's not leaving the island again… and based on this, he won't be the only one. All of us came back to Fish-Man Island loaded with money and stories of the outside world, that's more than enough to get attention from women. Maybe it leads to a lasting relationship, maybe they eventually break up, but either way, some of my men are leaving the crew for good.
Good for them. Settling down in peace is the least they deserve, after…
Once again, Arlong remembered that horrific moment, that moment he returned to Arlong Park to find everyone bloodied and lying on the ground.
...After I failed to protect them.
A short while later, Arlong congratulated the happy couple again and promised to attend their wedding. But he couldn't even remember the words he used… it felt like someone else was controlling his body and he was merely a distant observer. Then, just as absentmindedly, he walked away.
-ooo-
In the late afternoon, Arlong found himself sitting on a bench in a busy street, holding a grilled seal roll in one hand. Still, he could hardly even taste the snack.
...It's a lot more than I expected. Then again, what the hell was I thinking before? That they'd quickly get dissatisfied by… by peace?
After leaving the happy couple, Arlong had wandered around Fish-Man Island to find other members of his crew. He'd succeeded in that all too well.
In Waterwheel Town, one crewmate had reunited with a long-lost friend. Said friend was now married with a family… and Arlong's crewmate seemed to be considering it as well.
In Marine Shopping Mall, two crewmates had splurged their money on a veritable mountain of luxury goods, ranging from food and drink to clothes and jewellery. Even if they could somehow transport it back up to the Arlong Pirates' ship, Arlong would never allow them to occupy so much space in the ship's hold. However, these two didn't seem too worried about that.
In an apartment near the Sea Forest, one crewmate had reunited with his parents. That was something Arlong had just watched from afar—as the captain who'd led their son into piracy, he would've just complicated the situation by stepping in.
And while Arlong hadn't gone back to the Mermaid Cafe, he was sure that some of his crew would be there enjoying themselves.
...A while back, when many of the former slaves quit the Sun Pirates, I wondered how they could do that. They knew the cruelty of humans better than anyone else, so why didn't they stay for revenge?
But… there's just no place like home. I almost forgot that, after spending so much time away…
Arlong sighed and brought a hand to his forehead.
I wouldn't be surprised if half of them leave. Even if we hadn't… hadn't lost, in the East Blue… lots of them would still be tempted after seeing home again.
But I have to pull myself together. I didn't get this far by wallowing in mistakes.
Arlong shoved the rest of the salmon roll into his mouth, chewed it a few times and then swallowed. He began planning once more.
Even if half my crew decide to leave, there'd be plenty of dedicated ones left. I can count on Kuroobi, Chew and Hatchan staying around. And we should be able to pick up recruits while we're here. There's always people who aren't satisfied at home, who want to travel and see the world…
The Arlong Pirates aren't finished yet.
Suddenly, Arlong noticed a commotion. The surrounding people were gazing and pointing in one direction.
A celebrity? Did one of the royals decide to come down from their palace, or…
Then Arlong spotted a tall figure over the heads of the crowd. He grimaced.
"Is that any way to react to family?" Shyarly asked, once she was close.
"How did you find me?" Arlong asked bluntly.
"It's not exactly hard to find out the whereabouts of a tall sawshark fish-man, who never goes out without some kind of hat on his head," Shyarly replied, just as bluntly.
"This is my style," Arlong retorted, clutching his cap with one hand. "What are you here for, Shyarly? Did you want to make sure I hadn't done something stupid?"
Shyarly looked around, a gesture to point out the various bystanders trying to eavesdrop. "How about we take this conversation somewhere more private?"
For a moment, Arlong was tempted to ignore her and storm off again. However, he didn't have anything else he particularly wanted to do right now.
"...Fine."
Arlong stood up from the bench and followed Shyarly, the crowd parting before them.
-ooo-
Soon enough, the two of them sat down in Shyarly's home. And Shyarly wasted no time in getting to the point.
"You look like you're in a bad mood."
Arlong grimaced. "I… well, I should be happy that my men are enjoying themselves. But it's nothing for you to be happy about. Even if some of them leave, I'm sticking with my plans."
"Yes, yes, you're as stubborn as always," Shyarly said, rolling her eyes. "But I'm not going to just wait and hope you change your mind eventually. I'll tell you about," she hesitated for a moment, "a prediction I made recently."
That made Arlong instantly sit up straighter. No matter how poor the relationship between himself and his sister, he could never ignore her unique ability.
"What… is going to happen?" Arlong asked. "Did you make this prediction after I—"
Shyarly closed her eyes. "No… it was a few weeks ago. I should have told you this when we met before, but you… well, it doesn't matter anymore. What I saw was simple: Whitebeard dying in battle, his body covered in many wounds."
"WHITEBEARD!?" Arlong gasped. "He's—He's one of the Four Emperors!? He's on par with—" Arlong forced down an unpleasant memory, "—the Marines' Admirals! What the hell is going to kill him!? And… And…"
"And what will it mean for this island?" Shyarly finished.
Arlong shook his head slowly. As much as it galled him, it was true that Fish-Man Island had suffered no raids after Whitebeard had declared it his territory. And Shyarly's predictions had never once been wrong. Arlong knew all of them had come true, even the first few, the ones that nobody else knew about it.
"I'm still not sure how he will die," Shyarly said. "Down here, it can be hard getting up-to-date news from the surface… But we can still make preparations now. I've already passed on this information to King Neptune."
"I didn't see any signs of that when I went to the palace," Arlong said. "Hmph… he must be keeping it a secret to not panic people. But eventually, everyone will find out."
"Still, they don't have any good options," Shyarly said. "What would you do in his position?"
Arlong opened his mouth, then narrowed his eyes at Shyarly. "You… is this another one of your ideas. To make me and my crew stay as… as protectors of the island, since it'll soon be more vulnerable?"
"Definitely not," Shyarly replied flatly. "First of all, you've got a terrible relationship with authority in general and the Neptune Army in particular. And second, all of you combined would be nothing next to Jinbe."
Arlong didn't react to the first statement, which was undeniably true. The second statement made his vision go red with fury… but it was also undeniably true.
...Even back in the Fish-Man District, I could never scratch him… And that monster managed to get even stronger after that…
"Then what was the point of telling me that, if you're not trying to make me stay?" Arlong asked, trying to suppress his fury.
"I thought you should know about it," Shyarly replied. "No matter where you go, even if you found a remote and deserted island, the fall of an Emperor will affect you."
"...That's true," Arlong conceded. "Thank… you…"
"It's that hard to say thanks?" Shyarly said. "Well, I guess it's only natural, with the relationship between us. Moving on, I know you still plan to leave, but have you changed your mind as to when?"
Arlong thought about that for a long while. Not only would he be losing much of his crew, when he left Fish-Man Island, he would be going out into a far more chaotic, far more dangerous world.
"...I might hold off on leaving, for the time being," Arlong said, keeping his eyes on the floor. "Is that all?"
"One more thing," Shyarly said. "If you're going to be here for a while, Arlong, how do you plan on paying for it?"
"I have plenty of money!" Arlong retorted. Then he noticed the disapproval on his sister's face. "What, you want me to get a normal job instead of living on 'dirty money'? Me, a thug from the Fish-Man District?"
"I managed it," Shyarly said. "You should be able to manage as well. Surely you have some skills outside of fighting and threatening people."
Arlong stood up, walked out the door and slammed it behind him.
-ooo-
The sunlight was growing dim, so Arlong decided to look for a decent restaurant. However, his sister's words kept weighing down on his mind.
Looking down on me… as if I hadn't earned this money with my efforts! It's no worse than all those lazy royals, who live off the money of the people, which they get with the threat of force.
Arlong came across a restaurant by the name of "Seamount Delight", two storeys tall and made of red and blue coral. He'd never been here before, but the blend of aromas drifting out of the entrance was irresistible.
There's nothing to be ashamed of! The reason why humans rule the world is also because of power!
Arlong stepped inside the restaurant. Like many buildings in Fish-Man Island, this included a flooded section for the locals. Arlong walked down a short flight of stairs and immersed himself in warm water.
It was early enough in the day that there were still a few free tables. Arlong sat down at a two-chair table, the smallest available. A waiter, a herring merman, began approaching.
...But then again, acting just like the humans is a bit… What we did in Conomi Island eventually came back to bite us hard…
The waiter handed over a recipe and politely asked, "Sir, would you like to order anything to start with?"
And it's not like I've got no skills besides fighting! I know how to lead a group, how to sail a ship, how to construct a large building… I'm not just a common thug anymore! Otherwise, the Arlong Pirates could never have gotten so far!
Then Arlong recalled his defeat again. He slumped in his chair.
"S-Sir?" the waiter asked nervously. "Is something the matter?"
"...Fine…" Arlong murmured. "I'll do it…"
"You'd like to order, sir? Then might I recommend—"
"I'LL GET A PROPER JOB!" Arlong roared, standing up from his chair. "ARE YOU HAPPY, SHYARLY!?"
All eyes in the restaurant focused on Arlong. He sat down again, slightly red-faced.