#as the other nakama fade into the background

[kaicean]

Ya girl back with not shutting up about the Dragon Cry movie again. 

In a previous post, I spilled my feelings over Dragon Cry’s ending theme What You Are by Polka Dots and its English translation that perfectly captures Natsu and Lucy’s relationship through Lucy’s eyes.

Now I will spill my feelings about THE event that happened through Natsu’s eyes and a little but important detail that I haven’t seen brought up in other analyses:

The interesting detail I stumbled upon is the music that plays during this scene. From the movie’s OST, it is called 走馬灯 or “Revolving Lantern.”

For a refresher, you can watch this segment along with the specific soundtrack playing here.

I looked up the meaning of 走馬灯 because the name caught my eye when I was looking at the tracklist for the movie. Here are some of my findings:

A kind of 2-layered lantern. The inner layer revolves and has images cut into it, such that when it turns, the shapes appear to move around the lantern. In recent years, this soumatou has become associated with the “life flashing before your eyes” phenomenon that happens before death (走馬灯現象 / 走馬灯体験). (source)

Soumatou (走馬灯) refers to various memories coming back one after another, mainly at the time of death or when one's emotions are shaken. It is also characterized by the vivid recall of past events and the recollection of large amount of memories, ignoring the flow of time. It is used when the memory is revived as a result of overlapping conditions, rather than being recalled consciously. It is said that there is a flow in memory, and there are many cases where memories of a lifetime from birth to death come back in an instant, and memorable episodes such as memories with family come to mind. (source)

Soumatou (走馬灯（そうまとう）) is a type of traditional Japanese lighting fixture lantern, and is sometimes written as 走馬燈. It is also called a "rotating lantern" because the shadow picture inside the lantern is reflected as it rotates. Because of its shadow pictures, it was mainly used as a summer toy to please children. Nowadays the word soumatou is used to express good memories or memories of the past that are deeply emotional and nostalgic, as the spinning silhouettes seem to represent one's life. (source)

With these explanations in mind, here is what a physical revolving lantern actually looks:

See the resemblance to Natsu’s flashbacks? 

I know it is pretty obvious just by watching the scene that Natsu was having “his life flash before his eyes” since he was on the brink of death. I just thought it was a really neat detail for the soundtrack to match it. I also loved the detail of Lucy’s scene having more of the “revolving lantern” feel compared to other guild members’ scenes with how her part was played like an old movie before it faded out to white.

It was the way he remembered her last and in a different setting entirely—outside the guild hall—that showed how he views her differently from other Fairy Tail members, especially when he recalled that specific scene without consciously (duh) thinking it.

Natsu’s VA Kakihara Tetsuya also highlighted the scene in the movie where Natsu asks Lucy what he looks like to her. Although more subjective/opinionated, Tetsuya said he thinks “those words [What do I look like?] are packed with Natsu’s feelings towards his nakama from the guild, whom he has known for 8 years, as well as Lucy, even though [Tetsuya] can’t explain what kind of feelings they are. Those words are packed with various emotions that probably only Natsu knows.”

Another moment of Natsu putting Lucy in a different light compared to others is in the 100 Years Quest sequel (chapter 62):

He said he has "nakama" (仲間) and "people/they" (奴等) who believe in him with the very next panel being a flash to Lucy in the background. The ENTIRE guild was literally around her during this battle but the panel only highlighted Lucy before he yelled he is no one but himself, Fairy Tail’s Natsu Dragneel. I thought this scene was a perfect callback to Dragon Cry.

Going back, I also wondered about the significance of Lucy’s tear dropping in Natsu’s mouth other than being the trigger for flashbacks of his relationships with Fairy Tail members. 

Another thing I read about “revolving lantern" is:

"Soumatou (走馬灯) phenomenon" means "a phenomenon that brings back old memories". It is said to occur in situations where emotional fluctuations are heightened, and memories overflow naturally rather than being intentionally recalled. For example, the sentence "The moment I passed through the school gate, memories of three years flowed like a revolving lantern." The above sentence expresses how the three years of memories have overflowed due to the heightened emotions of "graduation". (source)

Given the above passage, I like to also think her tear is what caused his recollection of her to have more emphasis than the rest of the guild members; her tear (that he basically tasted) being the physical thing that caused his emotions to fluctuate and recall that specific memory of Lucy before he woke up and was given a second wind. This along with Lucy having a significant impact in Natsu’s life other than Happy, said by Zeref himself.

I could also just be reaching lmao but that’s the fun of analyzing.

Fun fact: While this segment wasn’t in the original storyboard manga Mashima drew for the movie, he still drew it and only of Lucy as far we were publicly given. It was shown in the movie’s pamphlet which also had his illustration of Lucy embracing Natsu that I briefly mentioned in my other post:

真島自らが描いた、ナツの回想の中ルーシィ Natsu’s recollection of Lucy, drawn by Mashima himself

While the movie was nicely animated (though I still have a huge problem on how ridiculous the boobs looked, specifically when Lucy was climbing a tree...), I just love the fact Mashima himself included the flashback scene with how super involved he was in the production of the movie. Little things like that gives me hope for them.

And there you go. I do LOVE the theory some people have where that date-like scene didn't actually happen but is what Natsu's mind conjured up for Lucy. However, there are a few things to note:

Flashback (フラッシュバック) IS a synonym for soumatou (走馬灯) since it brings back old memories. However, "flashback" is slightly different than "soumatou" because it can refer to recalling both good and bad memories. Negative experiences/trauma are not depicted in soumatou at all though, only the unconscious action of remembering or recalling. (source)

Natsu's recollection of Lucy (ナツの回想の中ルーシィ) is from the movie pamphlet caption under Mashima's drawing of the scene. Reminiscence/recollection (回想) is another synonym for flashback (フラッシュバック). "Reminiscence" is to look back and remember the past. A scene that depicts the past of a character is called a "recollection scene". It is called a flashback scene not only in video works, but also in manga and novels. (source)

With that being said, I personally believe it actually happened. Which means?? We were ROBBED?? Of a NaLu date-like scene that happened OFF-SCREEN???? I can't BELIEVE the amount of blue-balling teasing Mashima gives for this ship I swear to god. Regardless, people can believe whatever they want to believe and have their own theories. Taking account above points, I genuinely love both sides. The thought of Natsu unconsciously picturing Lucy and himself on a date is *clenches fist* but that boy also consciously puts Lucy in a special spot, different from his nakama.

Natsu from the very beginning had never (officially) formed a team with anyone other than Happy until Lucy came along. Then Plue made a… gesture for it that Natsu understood and agreed to. It wasn’t a quick and thoughtless agreement either as he verbally reflected the Mt. Hakobe trip to find Macao. He acknowledged Lucy and said that despite her being a weirdo, she’s a trustworthy and good person.

(Upsetting Natsu understanding Plue was never explored since then but anyway…)

Sure he tricked her to come along with the Everlue mission (lmao) and Lucy herself called him out on it a second time, but Natsu also confirmed for a second time that “yeah it could’ve been anyone but we chose you, Lucy, because you’re such a nice person!”

… and WAY later we find out it was also her scent, for whatever reason unbeknownst to him until the VERY end, that always made him feel relaxed around her. I like to believe the mention of similar smell between her and Anna other than being blood-related was another factor in his quick attachment to Lucy in the beginning due to unconscious familiarity (Igneel’s scarf which he treasures so much was knitted by Anna after all) and this theory summed it well for me. Regardless, every time Anna gets mentioned to him his first thought is always “Lucy.”

In conclusion, I have some gripe when it comes to the overall plot and pacing of the Dragon Cry movie but when it comes down to all of its Natsu/Lucy scenes, it is absolutely perfect. I have two more scenes in the movie I��d like to write another analysis of so hope you look forward to more of my gross sobbing!!

[sheetmusiclibrarypdf]

Relax and Reflect - A Fading Summer's Eve - FINAL FANTASY XV (sheet music, 楽譜)

Relax and Reflect - A Fading Summer's Eve - FINAL FANTASY XV with sheet music, 楽譜

https://vimeo.com/491973640

Final Fantasy XV music

Final Fantasy XV: Original Soundtrack is mainly composed by Yoko Shimomura, who is known for her involvement with the Kingdom Hearts series. Shimomura was responsible for at least 80% of the soundtrack; the rest of the pieces are variations of her compositions that were handled by other people. Yoshitaka Suzuki worked as composer/arranger, and Shota Nakama worked as composer/arranger/orchestrator. Shota runs a group called Video Game Orchestra (VGO) that does rock symphonic concerts and operates in the recording industry. VGO was contracted to work for Final Fantasy XV, and Shota conducted all recording sessions and contracted the orchestras and the choirs. Every line ensemble was through VGO, and Shota's team mixed it as well. This is the first time a Final Fantasy game uses a North American orchestra. Suzuki worked on the game for one year, on and off, and did have a crunch time. In total, he did around twenty-five pieces. At the same time, he was also composing for the movie, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV. Nakama started working on the game in 2014, and worked on the trailers. Some themes featured on Final Fantasy XV: Original Soundtrack aim to encompass "friendship" and "filial bonds." Shimomura tried many different methods, discussed with directors to share the world view, looked at images for inspiration, and read and took in the story to be inspired. The way Suzuki composed for the game was to get many gameplay videos. He imported them to his software, and then composed to the video as if he was in the game as a player. The sadness for the compositions thus came intuitively. Visually, he realized what was happening in the game, seeing it from two different points of view—composer and player—and tried to incorporate whatever emotion he was experiencing into it. Suzuki has cited his experience with composing for the Metal Gear series as an advantage when he composed music for the base infiltration scenes in Final Fantasy XV. Final Fantasy has such a long legacy, and the composers valued its spirit, and thus would throw in the "Prelude" (such as in "Hellfire"), and put in little fragments of the previous melodies and motifs. Yoko Shimomura was working on Final Fantasy XV: Original Soundtrack even when Final Fantasy XV was still known as Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Since the game was not originally part of the main Final Fantasy series, Shimomura felt she did not need to worry about following in other Final Fantasy composers' footsteps. By the time Final Fantasy XV was announced, Shimomura had already developed a clear concept of how she could continue on her initial path. The rebranding of Final Fantasy Versus XIII necessitated new music. Sho Iwamoto, audio programmer at Square Enix, talked at Game Developers' Conference 2017 how music is incorporated into Final Fantasy XV. He designed and implemented an interactive music system, as there was a worry making the music interactive would distort the music or not make it memorable. According to Iwamoto, Final Fantasy music is known for being epic, memorable, to have a strong melody line, and to be one of the selling points of the series. The aim was to have seamless transitions while not losing "epicness". The goal was not to avoid repeating the same music, but to enhance the player's emotional experience by playing applicable music that would suit the situation. For example, when riding a chocobo, the music picks up pace when the bird trots. The music also changes when the chance to summon appears and when the player summons, and during set piece boss battles, to reflect what is happening, such as the music fading into a dramatic finish just as the boss dies. In outposts like Hammerhead and at Galdin Quay, the background music seamlessly changes when the player steps into the restaurant. The transition time for the chocobo music is set longer so that the music would not change every time the player must slow down to avoid a tree or to turn. Release The album was released on December 21, 2016. The basic soundtrack was released on 4 standard CDs and on Blu-ray, which includes the music, movie data, and active internet support. A limited edition version was also released. It contained the Blu-ray soundtrack with two bonus videos, a CD with select song arrangements, and a "Special Music Collection" Blu-ray with select tracks from all numbered Final Fantasy titles, Dissidia and Dissidia 012, Type-0, Justice Monsters Five, and Kingsglaive. Read the full article

[kosmicdream]

I don’t take it as a bad thing! so dont worry. I feel like having unique taste, conflicting taste, ect is important to developing your artistic values. I like to respect my own emotional reaction to things. Sometimes things are changed with time or other opinions, which it does happen, but i still will tend to remember my own reactions as an important.. Idk.. signal to the experience of that story. 

That being said, I don’t know why the robin opinion isn’t more popular, i say that while knowing why it probably isnt but i’m still like. There’s gotta be more people out there that feel at least, aspects of what i do about it. Water 7 was the last arc I really had the genuine investment still in, but it was strained. After that, I still pressed on even tho I knew i didn’t enjoy the series anymore and i kept hate-reading until the mermaid arc and I was like yeah. That’s quite enough. I stuck around way too long! 

Robin’s backstory & her whole ‘siding with the enemy to get saved in the end’ just felt like Nami’s arlong park but done less effectively. It was repetitive and disappointing, and i did not care for her cinderella sad girl backstory. I don’t know what I expected tho, considering the trend of most OP backstories having like the 1 sad backstory death, but i guess I didn’t want it for Robin. To me, she was better before i knew. I also hated that her cowboy aesthetic went away, as i felt that was a fun design motif, her physical design has gotten blander over the years and she fades into the background. But I’m not really going to comment much on the visual aesthetics of the series, but mostly the writing choices that i disagree with (altho sometimes those visual things are also part of the writing choices.)

Before,  I liked imagining her as a more experienced pirate w/ questionable morals and just joined the crew to suit her own needs and luffy just allowed it despite how suspicious it was. Obviously, it was dangerous and she was a wild card! No one felt perfectly safe having her there. It was a fun set up to me. I could see her doing something bad, but feeling guilty for it bc she actually did form connections with the crew, but i wish more of that had been more on her own terms. At least, i feel there’s many other routes that could have been almost the same thing but a little less ‘damsel in distress.” I don’t think its bad she was a crying blubbering mess, but at the same time nothing about it hit emotionally, cause I didn’t really see her really effectively emotionally reaching that point. It was like a new robin was suddenly swapped out in the story, now that you knew her sad backstory, which I didn’t care for and thought was boring.

In the end, there was no pay off for me really and the result was i didn’t care about Robin anymore and felt more lost and vague about whatever her morals and values were, cuz they felt so homogenized with just the same beats that it felt bland. It made me feel like, gaining new crew members, which used to feel so amazing to watch happen- felt pointless and they just follow behind their NAKAMA WIN GUM GUM leader Luffy. But who the fuck is that guy anyway?

OP to me used to feel like, it was this emphasis on a crew is needed and teamwork is needed. It pretends to still respect and need that to succeed, but Luffy this point in a story doesn’t even need a crew, they contribute nothing. He has his gum gum weapon of mass destruction to take care of all problems, a fruit that apparently he was always destined to have, and every facet of his left feel predetermined for him that continues to take more and more away from any success he accomplishes and undermines his victories. I don’t envy the task of trying to juggle like 10 main characters at a time, but i think the crew felt more balanced when the power shonen scaling wasn’t the only determining factor and they all could contribute something. but they really dont anymore, i have a hard time remembering when they really did. Even if it tries to TELL you in the story they do, i don’t see the tangible evidence that matters. Sometimes things are started to show they have a job tod o, but it falls into the backburner and ends up becoming “running in hallways yelling” scenes. I tried to read a bit of Punk Hazard, but it was like a deja vu of “running shouting” pages that i truly felt like i was stuck in groundhog day. Early OP often had larger panels, with more negative space, and now it is mostly very crammed, cluttered, and every emotion is VERY BIG AND LOUD. OP has always been exaggerated emotions, but it feels very empty. Random segway there about how much i hate just visually looking at OP pages now, which i used to really enjoy the visuals of OP. I can’t even enjoy it for that now, lol. 

To backtrack, I expected nami to have ..SOME worthwhile contribution to the mermaid island arc, but i cannot recall her doing a single fucking thing during that whole boring slog of an adventure. It felt like such a waste of time, like so many other arcs in the story. Do we even care about her dreams, or anyone elses besides Luffy’s at this point? No. Zoro doesn’t even fight other swordsmen despite supposedly trying to become the best swordsman. I havent read Wano, so maybe he finally did there, but the fact that i struggle to recall any fights besides like.. Mihawk, the guy in alabaster, and the dead swordsman character in thriller bark is like sad for a character that’s supposed to be so important. He just is there to look cool in the bg i guess. Sanjis recent “developments” for his character are SO bad, clearly so hastily written and not planned from the start, i dont know why it happened. I loved Sanji a lot, he was probably one of my fav members for a time, but man im glad i didnt sit through whatever they gave him. He was better off with a simple backstory.. Does All Blue even matter? They treat it like a joke when it even is remembered. POINT IS.. the MAIN CREW MEMBERS should have to scramble for any recognition in their own comic that is over 20,000 pages long. I have a bad problem to not get back to my own characters in time, I can’t say i dont struggle w/ it too, but i genuinely think oda has forgotten who these ppl are even supposed to be at this point, in favor of showing new islands or something.

Oh, to backtrack to another ranting point. The reason why i really wanted Usopp to leave the crew, is cuz it felt so teased as a real situation that could have happened. It would have forced Luffy to actually be a leader of a crew, to show that he had flaws that he couldnt just solve with “being strong.” It was something.. For a captain to have to deal with! A real part of the job, that all pirate captains need to face! It was vaguely hinted at, as zoro points out to Luffy that the disrespect that Usopp made is unacceptable to him and the crew, which is why they had their fight. That was great! It makes sense for Usopp too, to feel outclassed by more stronger crew members, and to have Franky essentially replace him as the carpenter, as well as being more immediately charismatic, as a base somewhat strong, ect .. felt juicy to me. That could have really been continued and pushed more, which i think would have been a fantastic core to build on in the story as it goes on. There was a conflict there that could help build the entire crew and the journey of what it would take for them to get to their goal in the end feel like it had more weight. OR LIKE literally have anything there, imo. Itd be nice if i could have something to say about the characters or how they’d deal with the tension or grief of having a core, starting member gone and what it would mean to the group. How that might affect things in the future. Any tension would have been preferable to mix up the monotony. Usopp doesnt even have to leave forever but i craved for him being truly absent rather than him clearly just in an obvious disguise. In a weird way it only makes me more mad because it clearly was there as a tease but not followed through, which only leaves the absence of the opportunity for that route more annoying to me that it wasn’t taken. But this problem isnt just with OP, a lot of shonen do this sort of thing where its like a set up/almost an altering story consequence of SOMETHING but backtracks or avoids it cuz it would change the status quo of the story too much. But OP is going on for 2093502935235 volumes and decades and i think it deeply needed it, not just a timeskip where everyone got longer hair and abs. It was right there to pick up, it even was smart enough to recognize that there was something there but then was like.. Nah. I can’t even imagine how exciting it would be for Usopp to go on to join another crew or form his own, or even join BLACKBEARD Or something.. Who fucking knows. In the end im sure Luffy will have to punch this IMU guy the end.. Hooray… 

Anyway. As far as what i like thats popular/mainstream.. I do like mainstream popular things too! I basically clapped my hands the entire time watching NGE and enjoyed every episode. I saw it at age 27 mind you, and at that point i heard it was SO GOOD but never actually knew much about it. So going in, i felt like it wasn't going to impress me.. and i was wrong! It was everything i wanted an anime to be, and more. It made me feel 15 again and i cherish that feeling tremendously. I cried a lot watching it too, it made me believe in anime again and i have pursued trying to read/watch more things in hopes of having the stars align in that way again LMAO. I recently watched all of Utena and ...loved it too! I havent seen the movie yet, but im sure ill enjoy it. I guess they’re kind of older mainstream but idk i suppose they count. I know when it comes to not-comic mediums i tend to be a little less “critical” of it because im not put so directly into the author chair of what i would do.. So that’s one thing to consider. Its much easier for me to go along with the ride for an anime/movie/shows. I’m into HBO shows. I loved the wire and HBO’s Rome and i dont know how popular they are now, but those are some examples. Im a Game of Thrones fan, altho i didnt enjoy the later seasons (as with most) but i am working on reading the books but im very slow at reading. I put them off because i really didnt want to start another probably-never-finished series but i suppose im doomed to be attached to a lot of those. I think thats a very mainstream popular story. I have a love/hate with breaking bad, as i hated the ending on that series too, but i haven't tried Better Call Saul yet, which ive heard good things abt, so im willing to give that a chance sometime. To be determined there. I haven’t seen the movie either.

Trigun 98 was my childhood sweetheart anime love, which i dont think it was “mainstream popular” but the new remake is fairly popular. I hate watched it, which i hated every episode and it was even worse than i thought it would be.. But i do appreciate it existing because theres a lot more trigun fanart now. I just haaaaaaate the stampede version so much. I’m a big berserk fan too, but thats also a complicated love/hate that i could go for hours talking about. Umm.. vinland saga is one of my most cherished series, but ill be honest its kind of lost me in this third arc. The first two arcs, however, feel totally perfect to me. (and i loved the ending of the farming arc.) So even if the new arc is kinda meh i am totally satisfied with my experience w/ that manga from those first 2 arcs that i dont even mind that i dont LOVE the rest of it. I honestly dont even know how it could have topped the farming arc. Cowboy bebop is a great series, although i also used to get a bit ruffled about it because i loved Trigun more, and it often got ignored in favor of Cowboy Bebop, which is more mainstream cool and wildly considered "perfect." and while i think Cowboy Bebop is wonderful (the soundtrack alone, is so superb and timeless) i just can’t ignore that i feel the series is mostly (very successful and entertaining, mind you!) filler episodes, and wished there was a little more depth to the characters. The cowboy bebop movie, also, felt kind of like just a remake of a couple of episodes from the main series which.. Was kind of a let down for me too, even if it visually was a fun eye candy thing. 

That’s all i can think of off the top of my head, but im sure i can think of more if you’re wondering. Sorry for the long post about how much One piece makes me mad but it sure does

oh now i want to know why you hate one piece (just so you know where im coming from, i used to hate the series and thought was the stupidest thing ever and there was no way it was good, and then i read it and it was amazing and i loved it and it moved me in profound ways, and yet i did not forget why i thought it was stupid and indeed i can still fully see why someone would think it is stupid because, lets be honest, it is kind of really stupid so) yeah, im curious

i once loved it as a late teen, i even had one piece ocs LOL. One Piece is not bad because its stupid, or has toony art style or w/e .. but it is bad because its betrayed all the characters and core principles of the story that it pretended to be so invested in. in so many ways its honestly impressive. While i don't agree w/ everything said - youtuber Drizzt has made a very long mutli-series video essays about the various issues and i have enjoyed watching them as it covers arcs that i could not force myself to read. I personally kept reading to the mermaid island arc, but emotionally i dont think it was good when they reached the grand line. (laboon stuff was cute, but after that.. trouble) i dont really like alabasta arc and i feel like every arc after that, is just trying to do that arc again but worse every time. (all complete w/ a new princess character to be tossed aside for the next round..) i hated robins backstory and her part in water 7 (she was my fav female character in the series & i loved her powers.) i wanted usopp to leave the crew or have some real consequences w/ him and the ship. i hate luffy being like such a chosen one in so many ways he has 0 agency in the story, there's some to be expected but now its like at the point where i dont even know what else you could add. he really is the nepo baby of the one piece world. no one dies EVER and i dont even count ace dying bc who gives a fuck abt ace, luffy sure doesnt cuz he got over it in like 1 chapter after he died w and now he has a new retcon brother (who also was dead at least once i think and had amnesia) to fill in the void. franky is ugly as shit now. i could go ON.

[hashtagartistlife]

started drawing this for last year’s irmonth prompt ‘she knows’, only just got around to finishing it. the idea was that if ichigo ever uses mugetsu again, he doesn’t just lose his powers, he will straight up disintegrate into nothingness - and the only person who knows this is rukia, who trained in the royal realm with him. 

[strawbabysimp]

Sous-Chef || Jealous!Zoro x Reader

Genre: Light Angst

Category: Jealous!Zoro x GN!Reader

Warning(s): Misunderstandings, Obsessive Working Out, Relationship Insecurities

Request(s): "Hello!!! I found your blog a few days ago and I felt like I absolutely had to make a HC request! Your writing is amazing!! Do you think you can do a HC on Zoro having a partner who likes to cook and shares the kitchen with sanji? maybe a little jealousy?"

A/N: I started this as headcanons but I got a bit carried away and it became a fic~ I hope you don't mind💕

"Those two are getting along pretty well, huh?"

Zoro looked up from his lap, his drift into slumber interrupted by the long-nosed sniper's words. His brow furrowed in confusion before following Usopp's gaze, catching sight of you and Sanji laughing amongst yourselves about something he wasn't privy to by the kitchen door. He wasn't surprised to see you there, often spotting you alongside the chef cooking up some new recipe he didn't understand the specifics of but would end up eating nonetheless. At his Nakama's lack of response, Usopp hurried to calm down the already cool-headed man. "Not that anything's, ya know, happening, or anything like that! I didn't mean that- I mean... You know what I meant." Zoro shrugged off his concerns inturn for returning to his attempt at sleep, this time without interruption from his crewmate.

He fell asleep to the sound of laughter.

~~~

The next day was interesting, having woken up to the shuffling of clothes and hushed voices. His senses were keen and he picked up on the ones responsible for the disturbance immediately. What were you and Sanji doing?

"Hurry up before you wake up the Marimo. I have something to show you!" The cook's voice was raspy in his attempt at quietness and Zoro was tempted to steal a peek at whatever was so interesting you had to get up before sunrise to see. "Shhhh!" You scolded the other man's insistent words.

Right after the initial shock of this wore off, a much more cynical thought made its way into his head.

He wasn't welcome. That's why you hadn't woken him up. That's why he couldn't come along with you, clinging close to your side in the morning air as you laughed off the curly-brow's stare of discontent at the sight of him. Whatever this thing between you and Sanji was, Zoro had no place in it and that notion was supported by the both of you. Zoro wasn't welcome in this part of your life, even as a spectator, and you had made sure of that.

You stepped out the door and his heart ached. He wasn't mad - not at you at least. He was confused. He hated being confused. Anger at least meant he understood the situation, but right now, he was left alone in the bed you and he were meant to share, feeling far too lonely for a man whose partner was just outside.

You came back in after some time, getting back into bed with a content sigh, the heat of his body warming you up from the cold dawn air. He was stiff beside you and you called his name in a low voice. He didn't respond to your questioning tone and you gave a soft smile to his relaxed face.

Zoro could only sense your stare, not your feelings, and turned over with a small, well-placed groan.

~~~

The light shined through under the door and it was Zoro's turn to wake up before you. It had to have been a few hours since your mysterious departure and return to the room and while he was still plagued by the many questions your actions left in his mind, no good could be done laying around.

He quickly got ready for the day, fixing his clothes in the mirror for a split second before heading out to the deck. The smell of food hit him and he knew that whatever the cook was making was going to be good. Not a surprise. Despite the pleasant aroma, his calm mood shifted and he wanted nothing more than to get away from the tell-tale signs of breakfast.

"Zoro!"

Your voice rang across the deck and his chest tightened. He turned around to face you, the soft smile on your face a welcome sight no matter any internal struggles he was facing. He knew trust was a difficult and sometimes fatal thing but he truly did have faith in the fact you wouldn't do anything to hurt him. This was his own issue. He trusted you(and Sanji but he wasn't about to say that).

He put off his training for a later time, the cook calling out that food was ready soon after you had approached him. Everyone quickly gathered and as the food was placed down, forks at ready to fend off their Captain's gluttonous hands, the Strawhats dug in. Your thigh was pressed against Zoro's and in the approaching winter island weather - and truly any instance at all - the contact was most welcome. Zoro poked at your plate playfully, expecting a laugh as he half-heartedly went for your food, but was surprised to see it garnered no reaction. His eyes traveled up your neck and he spotted your upturned lips which had a small smile of his own gracing his face, but as he looked at your eyes he realized you weren't paying attention to him in the slightest. You were looking at Sanji. And he was smiling back.

The pleasant expression on the swordman's face dropped away and he went back to eating, catching Robin's eye whilst doing so. The two shared a blank look and Zoro nodded at her before continuing his meal.

Your cheek pressed against his shoulder as he chewed around his fork, the warmth that filled him at the action burning in a masochistic sort of way. He knew he should talk to you but some part of him was scared of the answer and avoiding feelings was something Zoro did best. Be logical and win. That's all he had to do. But was there even something to win? And if so, hadn't Sanji already won?

The affectionate gesture received no reaction just as his had before and you removed yourself from his warmth.

~~~

Breakfast ended and with a quick press to your forehead Zoro was off, no doubt going to train up until lunch. The smile you received was tender yet rushed and you tried to trust in the fact that Zoro would come to you if something was wrong. Confronting him made him uncomfortable and you tried to avoid that when possible, giving him a place to express himself freely without forcing it out of him.

You made your way back into the kitchen, asking Sanji if he needed help with anything. He turned down your offer politely, content with the process of making the crew drinks on his own, but at the look on your face, he changed his mood. Directing you off into the food storage to get him some supplies, what he had originally planned to be a simple hot chocolate was now turning into an assortment of treats. He could tell you needed something to distract you and what better than cooking alongside the ship's gifted chef to soothe your need for occupation.

The snacks practically made themselves, you and Sanji working in sync as you gave the occasional comment or request. By the time it was done, there laid mugs of hot chocolate topped with fresh whipped cream and an assortment of cookies for everyone to choose from that would hopefully satisfy them until lunch was ready.

Sanji took the liberty of handing out the food to the ladies, stopping by Chopper as well because who could resist the cuteness of the blue-nosed creature. It was hard to believe anyone could consider him anything other than adorable perfection. You were of course stuck with the boys, balancing the dishes as you handed them off with a word of thanks from the recipients - or the occasional attempt at grabbing another serving.

The only person left was Zoro and when you didn't find him in his usual napping spot you crossed the deck with a sigh. That man truly was too predictable.

"Hey Y/N! Looking for Zoro?" Usopp questioned, the chocolatey drink coating his upper lip as he smiled. You nodded. "He said he wanted to be left alone to train. I'll graciously take his food though!" The sniper reached out for the goods, taking them from your frozen hands as you frowned. You always delivered Zoro's food to him when he trained, even if it went cold he ate it just so you would stop by to bring it to him. Maybe something really was wrong with your boyfriend.

~~~

Zoro's muscles ached under the strain of the weights, he had lost count of the reps by now and had no intention of stopping any time soon. His arms begged him to put them down, already far surpassing his goal for the workout session, but he couldn't. He found peace in the rhythmic movements and the pain only seemed to calm his mind. The endorphins in his brain fueled him on and he could easily see himself becoming addicted to the act; if he wasn't already that is.

All the anger and confusion faded into the background as his body screamed at him to stop. The sweat dripped down his face and the plain white shirt he adorned was soaked through with the moisture. He would have taken it off but that would require a break and that wasn't something his mind allowed at the moment. He let the fabric cling to his body as he focused on the movements.

A knock at the entrance had him dropping the heavy equipment without a second thought, looking over to where he had set his swords. He worked to catch his breath, the pain in his chest yet to subside due to the lengths he had pushed himself when the smell of tobacco flooded his senses.

"What are you doing, Marimo?" Sanji said without his usual instigating tone, the cigarette balanced against his lip as he spoke. The declared "Marimo" huffed, not happy to be interrupted by the main cause of his grief.

"Get out."

"I'll leave when you get your grassy head out of your ass and stop doing whatever it is you're doing."

"And what exactly am I doing, Cook?"

Sanji shot him a look, annoyed by his Nakama's false ignorance. His next words weren't a suggestion. "Fix this."

He turned around without another word, leaving Zoro alone once again, his only company being the cigarette smoke lingering in the air as a cruel reminder of the other's words.

~~~

Zoro didn't have the will to leave the space, the workout equipment surrounding his now near-sleeping form. He knew avoiding the issue would only make it worse but the comfort of being alone to dwell in his ill feelings was too tempting to resist. Just as he was about to lay down for a quick nap a knock broke him out of his wallowing state. Could he not get an ounce of peace on this damn ship?

His eyes widened at the person approaching.

"Y/N?"

"The one and only," you said in a somber voice, approaching the man. You weren't used to the lack of alcohol flooding your senses as you got close. He always smelled a bit of the drink and the small difference had you shifting on your feet, only adding to the uncomfortable mess of the situation.

You sighed, tugging Zoro up and along behind you as he simply gazed at you in confusion. He wanted to rip his arm away from your grasp, not a fan of being grabbed so harshly, but the lack of physical contact between you two left him a little more lenient if it meant he could touch you.

The trek to the food storage was silent, the tension between you two lessening slightly despite no words being exchanged. You caught a few looks from the others, some sending concerned frowns or even a stern glare from Sanji directed at your boyfriend. He didn't come in here often unless it was to steal alcohol - he came in here pretty often - and the way his eyes shifted around the room made it obvious he was uncomfortable with the situation yet decided to stay to see whatever this was through.

You let go of his arm to make your way over to the corner, pulling a box into view that had Zoro walking over himself to see. The top came off with a crack and you moved over slightly so he could get a better look from beside you. The container was filled with what looked to be little balls of algae but couldn't possibly be from how they sat on top of one another.

"Sanji found these on the last island. He said they reminded him of you, well, he said they looked like some sort of moss ball which is basically the same thing-"

Your words faded off into the background as Zoro peered down at the box, the contents staring back at him mockingly. He picked one of the fruits up, surprised at the hard exterior, and turned to face you.

"Is this why you snuck off yesterday?"

God, he felt stupid.

"Snuck off?" Your eyes widened in realization.

"It was supposed to a surprise! I thought maybe I could make you something with them. I would never... What did you think was happening?"

Zoro met your gaze with a shrunken expression. His words sounding pitiful to his own ears. "I didn't know what to think Y/N," his hand came up to card through his hair as his eyes shut, "I didn't want to think anything."

You gave a soft smile, knowing the conversation could get far too grim at a time that was supposed to be pleasant. "Sanji wanted to show these to me. I think he wanted to do something nice for us. He can be a bit of a dick," Zoro laughed at your words, "but he's sweet." There was a million different things he could say in that moment to counteract your words but decided against it. The weight that had been crushing his ribs finally dispersed and with a smirk he asked, "So, what can you make with these?"

You grinned, going off on a tangent about all the things you and Sanji had tried, the swordsman watching with bright eyes at the enthusiastic verbal reenactment of your cooking trials.

[whirlybirdwhat]

The strawhats dont know that Jimbe shares the other half of Luffys scar.

Word Count: 2,239

The Straw Hats hadn’t expected it, even as they traced inked lines on newspapers, old and faded with time, watched the news and clips of Marineford, brought by an old enemy’s hands.

They knew their captain would be scarred – saw it in the newspaper, the way his face broke with his brother’s body in his arms, saw it in bloody bandages inked with 3D2Y.

They just –

They didn’t know it would be like this.

Luffy’s scar is a red thing, a bloody thing. It’s roughly healed, clearly gone without proper care beyond the initial wrap, and it lays directly over their captain’s chest. An X, cruel and digging into his skin.

(Legends state that Joyboy, the first adventurer, carved an X on to Raftel. That the poneglyphs are his signature, the X that marks all treasure.

Below this X lies their captain’s heart, burned and flayed by the first of a dog.

It is a treasure that should have never been marked.)

He wears it openly, proudly, as if this X was not in the same place of the wound that killed his brother, as if his hand did not reach up to scratch at it, rest on it, hold it when he stared at the horizon. They have had a day to get used to but still –

Still it is a shock, fresh and unwanted.

(Scars have meaning, and scars have purpose. Zoro has two on his ankles and one on his front, two earned in learning, and one in battle. Another is on his eye, a price paid for being a student who aims to take down his teacher. Nami has scars, covered by blue ink, scars that freed her, scars that saved her. Usopp has nicks on his hand, scars in odd places from trying to repair a dying ship, from fighting his captain.

Lessons learned, purposed gained, willingly, voluntarily.

Luffy’s is nothing like that. )

It stares at them, taunts them, bright and red, a reminder that they weren’t there when Luffy was always there for all of them, wasn’t there when he needed them most, as much as it is a reminder of how Luffy’s brother died in his arms, in a war that should have never been.

(Luffy has scars – he heals fast, but not enough to cover burns from molten gold or holes from warlord’s hooks. But nothing is as vibrant as this one.)

But –

Luffy is here.

Luffy is happy. He smiles, bright and fearless, even if there are new shadows in his eyes and more quiet moments then there used to be. He is still just as strong, stronger even, if more protective of his crew. He’s Luffy – their captain, and their future king.

They weren’t there for him, and he doesn’t care if they weren’t because he’s glad they’re safe but –

Jimbe! Luff cries with joy, when they set a course for fishman island, He saved me!

Someone was.

-

Fishman island is a bright, happy place. The sun shines even here, and now, with Hordy and Vander Decken gone, the people shine as well. Joyful, smiling faces against scales and skin, teeth sharp or smooth, are all directed to their princess – now revealed to them – and to the pirates that saved them. There’s cruelty in corners, but not here.

Not now.

(Children run along the sea floor in Straw Hats, calling out attack names and harboring no prejudice.

Later, years later, there will be legends about a man in a straw hat, and joy written on all their faces – cruelty nowhere to be found. A beginning is here – one of hope.)

Not with Luffy lying on Jimbe’s side, bandaged and with his crew surrounding him. The party thrown by King Neptune echoes dimly in the background, melding gently with the chattering of his crew around him. Zoro sleeping on the ground by Luffy, Chopper atop of him, Usopp and Sanji murmuring together as they eat, the rest of the crew standing around, gazing at their captain who has given so much for them – who has just returned to them.

(They move in groups, now, and when Luffy left the party to talk to Jimbe the rest of them followed. It’s been far too long since they’ve been together and they are reluctant to part from each other.

Never again, they whisper, never again.)

Jimbe is new to them but not, there when they weren’t. He’s comfortable with Luffy, even if he is surprised when Luffy slumps against his side, curling under his arm to sleep away his injuries. There’s a terrible sort of fondness on his face as he looks at their Captain, one they all know is reflected on their own faces.

Luffy – he saves people. More than just in body, but in spirit, taking their dreams and shouldering them on his own until they are strong enough to carry themselves. Selfishly selfless, forcing people to rise and chase what every pirate holds dear.

A dream.

Jimbe hasn’t said his yet, but he’ll get there if Luffy has to drag him there kicking and screaming like he’s done the rest of them.

Though… his eyes hold nothing but devotion as he stares at the Straw Hat’s captain, so it’s more than likely he’ll just follow Luffy.

All the way to Raftel.

Luffy utters a quiet snore, burrowing close into Jimbe, bandages falling and revealing a reddened scar, and suddenly the Straw Hats find themselves with a purpose here.

But like in all things, Luffy is the one to make the first move. The way he has tugged on Jimbe’s kimono, has pulled it to the side, displaying the tattoo of the Sun Pirates, red and vibrant and –

A mass of scar tissue, burned and dark against blue scales, in the same shape as their captain’s.

It’s like the world goes quiet as Jimbe readjusts.

Like another weight has been added to the shoulders of those who love Straw Hat Luffy but weren’t there when he needed them most. Like chains, like nails down the throat, a horrible, awful realization that at Marineford, it hadn’t just been Ace who took a hit for their captain.

Jimbe had too.

He doesn’t talk about it, doesn’t seem to notice the way every Straw Hat has paled or gone wide eyed or slacked jawed (for those without visible skin or eyes.) He just quietly adjusts Luffy, hand ghosting over the scar on his chest, and settles back down.

Nami swallows, throat sick. “Jimbe?” She asks, knowing that he’ll answer her if no one else. “You were at Marineford, right?”

(Even in his sleep, slumbering away, Luffy winces at the name.)

Jimbe is quiet for a beat, then – “Aye. And Impel Down.”

“And afterwards,” Robin says smoothly, eyes bright with the knowledge of a historian who scoured every source for information about her captain.

Jimbe nods. “And afterwards, until Rayleigh took over.”

Everything. He was here for everything.

“Then...” Nami swallows and blinks back her tears. “You were with Luffy when A-“ His name feels forbidden. Taboo. “When his brother died.”

“Aye.” Jimbe’s words are soft as he lays a hand on Luffy’s shoulder, gently calming him from the twist his face takes, even asleep. “I was.”

Nami wants to ask what happens. She wants to know, wants to hold her captain, wants to say It’s okay, wants to know what hurt him so he will never hurt again, and Jimbe can give her these answers but –

The past doesn’t matter aboard their ship of dreams. Luffy had not listened to her story, not until she wanted to tell him herself. He had freed her from her chains, took her by the hand and led her to the horizon that she could map all her own.

Her throat closes up when she thinks about trying to learn his hurts, when he knew not to bother her own.

She can’t do that.

She can’t.

Instead, she lets her lips remain loyally closed as she watches the way Jimbe cradles their captain, as if he was the most precious thing he could think of.

(And really this man – who had conquered gods and armies and kings, yet still smiled so gently at his nakama and the sea breeze – he is.)

But Jimbe speaks anyway, and it’s not a betrayal of loyalty because he was there, when none of them were.

“I knew Ace, before Marineford.” They all hide flinches at the name. Jimbe gives them a somber gaze, and moves on. “We battled, before he joined Whitebeard’s crew and afterwards were friends. I refused to fight in Marineford for his sake, and was instead bound in Impel down, in the same cell as him. There… he told me about his little brother.” His gaze, impossibly, turns even softer. “He would just chatter on… smiling, in the face of death, as he told me about how reckless this boy was. How foolish. How loyal.” He tilts his head back up to the sky then. “He asked me to take care of his little brother.”

Nami’s heart stops. Usopp gasps. Sanji drops his plate. Chopper starts crying. Zoro’s eyes flash open for the first time.

(Under the hot sun of Alabasta, on a ship aboard a river, a man with freckles and a smile had asked, A little brother like that makes a big brother worry - Take care of him for me, okay?

They failed.)

“I failed,” Jimbe says, simply, but his words are draped in pain and agony, as his hand rises to his chest again, in a similar motion to what their captain has done, several times since they have reunited. “And that can never be forgiven.”

“But you were there,” Robin says, just as simple, her voice cracking. “And you saved our captain – didn’t you?”

Jimbe’s hand loosens its hold. “Ace had just died. We were running from Akainu and… I was holding Luffy. My own body was not enough to shield him – I failed-“

“Stop.” Zoro’s words silence the room, accept for Luffy, snoring gently into Jimbe’s side. “You were there, Jimbe.” He gets on to his knees, sword laying across his slap as Chopper is pushed to the side. “We were not. Thank you, for saving him.”

And then – Zoro, future world’s greatest swordsman, the pirate hunter, the demon – he bows, low to the ground, in a gesture of thanks.

It is brief, and quick, but Nami follows instantly, folding over in thanks as the rest of the crew does the same.

This is their crewmate – their future crewmate, from what he told Luffy – who was there when they were not, and took a blow for Luffy straight through his chest that would have otherwise been fatal.

Without Jimbe, their captain would not have had a chance to live.

What is a moment, bowed over, to something as insurmountable as that?

“I – please, do not bow to me!” Jimbe rushes to say, stuttering, eyes wide when Nami looks out. One hand is held out while the other, always protective, lays around Luffy’s shoulder. “It was my duty to do so, my responsibility, same as any of you. Luffy – he’s the man who will become King of the Pirates. To follow him is enough thanks.” His words ring loud. Ring true.

This is the man Luffy wanted on his crew for two years.

Nami can see why.

His faith – the faith that moves seas, moves mountains, changes the world, the faith in one straw hatted man – that’s the faith of all her crew,

She wasn’t sure about Jimbe.

(He had been the cause of so much of her pain – but he didn’t choose to hurt her. He would never, now.)

She is now.

Zoro, ever the leader, ever the loyal first mate, looks up and settles back down. It reminds Nami so much of Water 7, except here their entire crew is present, and here, they will not be fractured ever again.

(She will make sure that happens – by any means necessary.)

“It is our responsibility.” Zoro acknowledges. “We grew stronger over these past few years, on our captain’s orders – did you?”

His single eye pierces Jimbe, and Nami can see him swallow. But he stares back, unafraid, a true helmsman always following the course.

“Aye,” Jimbe says, and the tension is shattered by Luffy turning entirely over in his sleep, shirt shifting to display his scar, but his face entirely peaceful.

They ease back into their conversations, debts settled, crewmates thanked and now equals. It’ll be a few minutes before Luffy is up, running for adventure with them following on his heels but for now –

Now, the savior of their captains rests easy with Luffy by his side, and everything is okay.

(Later, months later, after Wano and after Whole Cake and after Emperors, Nami will see Luffy sit up at night as they all camp out in the aquarium. He will clutch his chest, and curl in on himself, deadly quiet and pale. His fingers will dig in, and dig in, and dig in, and all Nami will do is watch until –

Jimbe sits up and catches Luffy’s hand in his own, his other mirroring Luffy’s position and clutching at his own scar. He will say breathe, and Luffy will breathe, and –

Their captain will be strong, surrounded by those who were not there, and smiling, if dimly, at the one who was.

And, for once, matching scars won’t hurt as bad.)

[tsarisfanfiction]

Nakama (Tales From The Heart)

Fandom: One Piece Rating: Gen Warnings: None Characters: Law, Penguin, Shachi, Bepo, Polar Tang

Travelling in a submarine posed a unique problem, which the Heart Pirates had noticed early on, and that was the requirement for fuel. Mercifully, the Tang had several huge tanks, half of them reserves, so the likelihood of ever finding themselves running on empty was slim.

The run of bad luck started when island after island was unable to provide them with any fuel. The Tang wasn't picky about what powered her – a stroke of luck, considering how specialised she otherwise was – but they'd been young and naïve enough to not start looking for fuel until they were down to the reserve tanks, believing that they still had plenty of fuel left.

"I don't like this," Shachi admitted, staring at the display panels in the control room. All four of them were gathered there, not quite comfortable with their current situation as the dials claimed they were down to less than an eigth of a single tank. In an ideal world, they'd have resorted to sailing long ago, manoeuvring her bulk the traditional way until they found enough fuel to start the engines going again.

Doflamingo had unhelpfully decided to be in the same area as them, and Law's pink flamingo-induced paranoia had overridden his running low on fuel paranoia, so they'd taken in the sail and dived, regretfully igniting the engines to escape.

"He won't linger long," Penguin said hopefully, looking at Law, who shrugged helplessly.

"Keep the engines on minimum power," the youngest ordered. "We'll let the currents carry us, just use the fuel to keep our vital systems running. Bepo, chart where it takes us so you can get us to an island once we resurface."

"Aye, Captain!" the mink agreed eagerly, already surrounded by maps and his paws covered in ink, which smeared onto everything he touched. The maps seemed unintelligible to the humans, inky black smudges covering the lines between land and sea, but Bepo didn't seem perturbed by his additions to the cartography. "We're here," he explained, adding another splotch of ink to the map as he nudged the spot in question. The other three leaned in, unable to tell for themselves and trusting that the mink was right. "The current seems to be heading this way so far," he continued, dragging the claw along the parchment, leaving a black streak.

"There aren't many islands that way," Penguin commented dubiously. "If the current takes us past that cluster," he pointed to a small group of islands almost but not quite on their route, "we're going to be sailing for a long time."

"We should be able to surface there," Law said. "If we come up just past them and backtrack, it'll take a little more fuel but we'll be able to avoid Doflamingo. He wasn't heading this way from what I saw, so coming up the other side of the islands should keep us out of sight."

"Do we have enough fuel for that?" Shachi asked, unconvinced, as he glanced back at the gauges again. He couldn't read the exact level from where he was, but it was worryingly low.

"Yes," Law said, sounding about as certain as Shachi had been. "We might need to cut power everywhere except this room," he added, thinking out loud. "But we have enough."

No-one bothered to ask if they knew how to isolate a single room. They all knew they didn't.

"It'll be fine," Bepo said, his grin almost genuine, and they smiled weakly. It was a testament to the fear Doflamingo instilled in their captain, and by association the rest of them, that running out of fuel underwater was still their preferred doom.

Two hours later, with their fuel gauge now firmly at the bottom end of the red, Shachi ventured out of the control room to make sure all the lights were turned off in all the other rooms, and anything else that was taking unnecessary power. A painful order from Law had him shutting down even the machines in the infirmary, and as he carefully picked his way through the darkness back to the control room, the external lights flickered off.

"Where are we?" he asked Bepo as he re-entered the room to find even the control room's lights had been dimmed as much as possible.

"An hour away from the islands," Law replied for him, having clearly just asked the same question himself, and Shachi breathed a shaky sigh before collapsing into a chair. It let out an oof, but Penguin didn't push him off. Opposite them, the other side of the table, Law was covered in ink and nestled on Bepo's lap. For once, he wasn't protesting at the mess. "This current is staying steady." There was nothing left to say, so Shachi slouched back against the taller boy, whose arms loosely wrapped around him while a chin found rest on his left shoulder.

It was going to be a long hour.

Or so they thought.

If the external lights had still been on, they might have had some warning. As it was, there wasn't even a flicker outside the sole, dark, window in the room before the Tang lurched wildly. A high-pitched wail started up as they were flung to the floor, caught off balance. Something shattered.

"I thought we turned that off!" Penguin shouted above the wailing, flapping a hand towards the red light now flashing away urgently on the control panel.

"Priorities!" Law snapped back, already fumbling his way forwards to slap the external light controls. Shachi shrieked.

Suddenly illuminated outside the singular window was a row of gleaming teeth, each one easily larger than any of the pirates. As they moved, heading forwards towards the prow of the Tang, scales glinted in the light, and a large eye passed right by the window.

"S-s-sea King!" Bepo screamed, throwing himself back, away from the window.

"Why now?" Shachi lamented, scrambling towards the control panel himself. "Weapons, weapons, weap-ah!" The Tang lurched again, jostling him sideways into Law, who toppled to the floor. "Law!"

"Weapons are offline!" Penguin shouted from where he had managed to cling to the section of the panel that controlled the engine power. "Fuel is almost zero. If we turn the weapons on we won't be able to surface!"

"We won't be able to surface if we're dead!" Shachi yelled right back, slamming a fist on the power button. "Come on, come on, come on!" he muttered as the systems started to re-engage. "Come on, come on, come o- no! No, no, no, no!" he screamed as the lights flickered and died. "No, dammit, come on! You can do it, please, come on!"

The external lights flickered once and died, followed shortly by the ones in the control room itself, plunging them into almost total darkness. The faint glow from the control panel, the sonar screaming now-silently as it declared the threat circling them.

"What do we do?" Bepo cried. "Captain?"

Law was silent for several long moments, fingers dancing over the controls as if he could coax some response, any response from them. The fuel gauge declared total emptiness, completely drained by the attempt to turn on the weapons, and slowly the background hum of the Tang faded away to nothing.

"I don't know," he said finally, and for once sounded his age – a scared young teenager trapped as death raced towards them - in the unnatural silence. "I… I don't know."

"There has to be something!" Penguin exclaimed frantically, joining his captain in flicking controls. "Something, please, please."

The Tang lurched again, sending them all toppling to the floor in one giant heap, and they clung to each other, each of them trying to use the darkness to hide the way they were sobbing in terror.

"Please!"

None of them knew which of them said the final plea out loud, maybe it had been all of them, but as if it were a cue, a familiar roar sounded.

The roar of the Polar Tang's engines coming to life.

None of the lights came back on, and in reality it was less of a roar and more of a dying splutter, but the stuttering hum beneath their feet was unmistakable, and they all looked up at the panel as one, just in time to see the lights signifying the weapons were active flicker weakly on.

The sonar shrieked, the sound once again on, as the shape denoting the sea king hurtled towards them, and before any of them could move, could comprehend what was happening, the Tang moved.

It was a lurch, but this time there was no shuddering impact to go alongside it – a fact only noticed in its absence. It felt more like a roll, the sort of movement they did when dealing with a sea king attack with plenty of engine power to spare.

The controls moved, just a little but enough that it couldn't be explained away as a trick of the half-light, and the Tang lurched back the other way just as the sonar reported the sea king passing over their heads.

Bepo was the first to react, pulling himself out of the pile of pirates on the floor to run to the panel, where the gauges still said there was no fuel despite the way the Tang's engines were humming and her weapons system was somehow online. He grabbed the moving controls, glancing at the sonar and steering the Tang as if she had a full fuel of tank, away from the next attack.

The impossibility of the situation could wait. Shachi was next to surge to his feet, throwing himself to the weapons and firing off at the sea king as it lurched towards them again. True to form, as a World Government standard ship, the blast was powerful enough to knock the sea king a long way down, into the depths.

They didn't wait for it to come back, Law and Penguin now joining them at the control panel as the Tang roared painfully, accelerating and peeling away from the current she'd been riding to head for the surface.

Doflamingo was long-forgotten as they broke the waves, the action feeling like a triumphant leap from the water even though in reality it was little more than a final splutter before the Tang's engines went silent, all of the controls turning off and locking up as whatever mysterious energy that had powered her disappeared, leaving her a drained husk.

"We… we're alive," Shachi panted, flopping over the dead control panel limply. Beside him, Penguin was shaking in disbelieving laughter. "We're… how?"

"Raise the sail," Law said automatically, looking around blankly. "Bepo, where are we?" The mink scrambled to pick up his map and carry it over to the window, where daylight was streaming in. The map was covered in black ink, and he frowned at it for several long seconds before his ears flattened in defeat.

"The map's ruined, I'm sorry," he mumbled, following Law as he decided to leave the still-dark control room and head for the main door. Somehow, despite the Polar Tang being completely offline, the main door slid open jerkily to let him out on the deck.

"Don't worry about it," Law said absently and Penguin and Shachi wandered past, still dazed, to raise the sail.

It was only once the sail was up, the white fabric catching the breeze and slowly pushing the submarine to glide along the surface of the water, that Law let himself sink to the decking, head in his hands. The others congregated around him, all in equal states of shock.

"How did she do that?" Penguin asked, his voice cracking. "She was empty – is empty. How..?"

No-one had an answer for him, shaking with relief and the fading dregs of adrenaline as they flopped back on the deck. Somehow, the Polar Tang had done the impossible and snatched them from the jaws of death. None of them knew how.

"You're amazing," Shachi said, running a hand along the damp wood. The ship remained silent, save for the wind in her sail and the waves lapping at her side, but he just smiled.

"We'll get fuel at the next island," Law said, and it wasn't a wish, it was fact. No matter what it took, they'd fill the Tang to the brim with fuel so she never had to do that – whatever "that" had been – again.

"Best ship ever," Bepo added, his fur still stained with ink that was rubbing off on the deck as he lay there. "Thank you."

She bobbed just a little bit more vigorously over the next wave.

[biribirichan1]

A boy and a shinigami

“Rukia, are you here?” Ichigo scanned their school rooftop for a sign of the petite shinigami. “I wonder where she could have gone.” he thought. She had seemed upset the whole day, and before he could ask her what was wrong at lunch, she had up and disappeared. And Ichigo knew from experience if Rukia didn’t want to be found, it was impossible to discern where she was.

Just as he was thinking this, Ichigo’s eyes landed on an unopened juice box beside the water tank. Grinning he thought, “Almost impossible.”

Making his way to the water tank, he caught sight of Rukia with her back to the wall, looking up at the sky. “Rukia, there you are! Why are you hiding from the world?”

She jolted at the sound of his voice. In the years that Ichigo had known Rukia, he had never once been able to sneak up on her - not that he was much good at hiding his reitatsu, but still.

“Nothing you fool. Just wanted some fresh air.”

“Hmm, I see.” He sat down across from her. Reaching for the unopened juice box, he poked the straw in, took a sip. “Guess I’ll join you.” Smiling, he handed her the juice.

“It’s okay, you can have that by yourself. I’ll get my own.” Her voice cracked.

“Rukia! Did something happen? What’s gotten you so upset?”

“I’m not upset. Friends don’t share juice boxes.”

“Friends? We’re not just friends! Why -”

“That’s not I heard you telling Keigo this morning.” Rukia stood up to leave.

He held her hand. “Wait Rukia, what else would I have told him?” Standing up to face her, he added, “It’s not like we have any sort of formal understanding between us, anyways right?

Rukia bit her lip. She knew Ichigo was right. Afterall, there was no “I love you’s” or dates or anything concretely romantic between them. But they were - oh she didn’t even know how to describe it. Formal understanding or not, she felt such an electrifying connection to Ichigo. Forget the stolen looks, or the lingering touches that could be blamed on teenage hormones. It was something much deeper. It was how they could communicate without words, or how they filled the vacant spaces in each others lives, whether it was on a lazy weekend at home, or in the heat of a fierce battle - they.just.were.one.

But how was she to explain that to Ichigo? All this time she had thought he felt it too. Until she had overheard Ichigo and Keigo talking. Just a couple of teenagers without a care in the world, discussing how Rukia was just a friend. Just a friend.

“Rukia, are you listening to me? You must know how I feel - how much I want us to move past just friends. But every time I even hinted at something more, you always said how I was a just a boy and you’re a shinigami, and so I didn’t press further.”

Rukia looked at Ichigo properly for the first time that day. He was just a boy. Alive, and beautiful and so full of life. And she, she was a shinigami, a soldier for the dead. Old. Unchanging. Just a friend. More a nakama really. And once the fight with Aizen was over, would they have any reason to meet? Rukia would fade into the background, and Ichigo would find a beautiful human girl he could love. Perhaps someone who was just a friend now, but would become something more in time. A vision of Orihime and Ichigo kissing suddenly came to her, and Rukia was taken aback by the fierce jealousy and bitterness that spread in her heart.

“Rukia?” Ichigo was so close to her right now - dangerously so. She wondered how it would feel to give up all the resolve she had learned as a shinigami and just give in to what she wanted. What her heart told her was right?

“I love you, Rukia. You must know that, right?”

Something broke in Rukia’s heart then, and before she could even think, she closed the gap between them and kissed him. Once. Twice. Thrice.

Somewhere in the distance, the school bell rang, but it fell on deaf ears.

...

“Where is Kurosaki and Kuchiki?” the teacher asked angrily.

“We’re here, we’re here.” Ichigo grumbled as he and Rukia walked into the class. “There was a long lunch line,” he added lamely.

Keigo smirked silently noting the flushed faces on both latecomers. “Just friends, huh? Who does Ichigo think he’s kidding?“ Keigo mused. “Ah well, another beautiful transfer student on the taken list. Boy, Asano will be upset at this one.”

...

Entry for Ichiruki Month 2020 Day 10 Prompt: Just Friends. Hope you enjoy!

[hotcocosharing]

[ KBTBB Co-Writing Fic ] Hate At First Sight ❤ At Last Glance Part 3

Fandom: Kiss By The Baddest Bidder Rated: Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Smut Characters: Eisuke, Soryu, Ryosuke Inu ( YES Inui is featured in this series!) Me as Ryoko Inui (Kyoko Nakama) / hobo4lyfe11 as Soryu Oh

Background: A fic base on revenge- where OC- Kyoko (true identity Ryoko Inui) who’d do anything to ruin Soryu Oh Summary: Part 1 OC smut with stranger + meeting Eisuke & Soryu Part 2 Soryu’s impression of OC & Inui’s surprise reaction

Notes: Enjoy the ride ;)

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

The house began with fights and bickering, then escalated to things being thrown and bags being packed till the day I came home to find my father sobbing on his armchair with my little brother in his arm, mum was never seen again. It was a year before graduation, also close to my seventeenth birthday. I couldn’t quite remember the date, maybe my memory blocked it on purpose or it simply wasn’t a date worth remembering, after all it was the day I lost it all.

It was also the first time in my life to experience “gut feeling”, that sick twitch in my stomach lingered all morning until I could take no more and decided to skip the rest of my afternoon classes. The rain poured down chilling me to the bone with the wind slapping the rain drops hard against my cheeks but I kept running. By the time I arrived, I was shivering violently, my hands and feet were numb. Taking a deep breath, I placed my trembling hand on the door knob while the other struggled to turn the key. I closed my eyes, trying to think warm thoughts and forced a smile, to push the uneasiness behind before opening the door.

There was no screaming, nothing but tears that I desperately made sure to keep within my eyes. I argued but it was no use since I wasn’t at legal age and we had no next to kin, we were separated and sent off to different homes soon after. The image of finding my father dead body was so vague that it was skipped in my dreams which were annoying as I always woke from screaming and throwing punches instead. Was I trying to fight subconsciously? That I have no idea of or did having the same days and nights replaying in my head had eventually become the nightmares that haunt me to no end?

There was no one, no one to talk to, to calm me or hold me afterward. The nightmares lasted for years and I was lucky enough to be sane. After waking up violently with my heart pounding, body sweating and mind whirling at a million miles an hour. I found a new habit of clearing my head in the middle of the nights- swimming. Whether it was a beach near by or a 24 hour pool, swimming in the cool water at nights soothed me like nothing else. Staring into the mirror as I traced down the scar on my bicep, I reminded myself each time that bruises faded eventually but, sorrow didn’t.

I may have planned and prepared myself for years but working for Eisuke Ichinomiya and under the supervision of Soryu Oh is still intimidating as hell. Ten years of scheming isn’t nearly enough to sustain a poker face under the mobster’s piercing gazes. Has he noticed? Or do I seem suspicious? Making mistakes obviously isn’t a choice on Eisuke’s menu and I need another way to show Soryu Oh my imperfection so he’ll get off my back. Especially with Ryosuke around, I seriously need to work on my composure and not flinch by his slightest reaction. Though, he overreacts at almost everything.

Ryosuke and Samejima are Soryu’s bodyguards, though the mobster seriously needs no one protection, no normal person would go near the man with that look of his. I have seen him in and out of the hotel with a funny group; one with a hat and burgundy suit, one blonde is the famous artist while the other looks too gloomy for his cute face, plus one more in the grey suit who yawns all the time and of course his best friend since boarding school. I’m surprised to find Luke with them in the first place, I didn’t expect he would keep in touch with the man who caused his expulsion. Fortunately, Luke Foster hasn’t seen me yet or else he may recognize me (my bones structure), given how perspective and peculiar he always has been.

Eisuke has offered me to stay in the hotel dormitory but I asked him to include that extra in my salary so I’d find another place, one where it is out of their sight but only one station away from the hotel. The first week has flown by quickly. Though, it’s too soon to come across with any useful corporate information of Tres Spades Hotel, my mind replays the blueprints of the place when I’m not working, making sure all the escape routes are branded into my brain. If I were to have something to hold against them as insurance, the server room would be the first place to start.

Security is kept to a minimum past midnight and since Ryosuke is as careless as ever, I have no trouble duplicating copies of the keys to the internal server room. Sneaking further, I follow the map in my head and unlock the last lock effortlessly. Once inside, I wait for a baited second and smile at the peaceful and alarmless server room- so much for the most secure system in the world. I bet they have no idea that my father was one of the men who has came up with the concept and built the first version.

In all, the first mission is flawless. Closing the door behind me, I set up the equipment and attach my device to one of the ports and download the data. This will gain me remote access to everything on the server, untraceable. It will take approximately another two weeks to decode and analyse all encrypted data but this would probably save my life.

Just as I unplug and pack, the light flickers, soon followed by a loud gasp behind me. I swiftly turn around and pin the taller figure against the closest wall. It was the right move to dress in black- hoodie, cap and surgical mask. I narrow my eyes on the familiar young man, his stare lingers back at me for minutes as if he’s contemplating who I am and what exactly is happening. The wall is cold as it presses against the back of my knuckles but not as cold as my heart when it sinks from his trembling voice, cracking with the threat of tears. “Oneesan?”(Older sister)

I inhale sharply but before I’d made another move, Soryu is already running towards us. Grabbing my laptop and shoving it into the backpack as I flee the scene. I go with the second exit, that’s closer to the train station where I have parked my bike in an alley with no security cameras near by, not allowing myself to stop until my house is in sight. I run and pedal as fast as I can, my heart racing as I barrel through the front door.

There’s a small possibility that Ryosuke thinks he’s seeing a ghost or has mistaken the intruder as his long lost sister. I’ve been here a week and he has no clue, now that I have everything covered but my eyes, then he recognizes me? No, Ryosuke wouldn’t truly believe that it’s me. I can’t afford to lose it all when I’ve finally gained access and gotten close to Soryu Oh. Ryosuke, please, working for the enemy is bad enough. Keep your mouth shut and don’t spill the beans about me, and of our tragic tales to his boss who’s related to the man responsible.

The Next Morning

I nonchalantly turn the alarm off when it rings, putting extra concealer to cover the dark circles and bags under my eyes since I’ve hardly gotten any sleep.

Thanks to last night’s unexpected turn of events, I’m summoned to the penthouse and escorted by Soryu himself. He hasn’t said a word so I figure not to ask but, am acting nervous- which I truly am. The walls and ceiling of the forbidden place are higher than any room I’ve ever been and just as my gaze averts to the spiralling staircase, I see the king march down and the cold sweat begin to form at the back of my neck. In a way, Eisuke Ichinomiya looks more like a mobster than Soryu Oh, he could totally eat anyone alive.

“Do you know why you are here?” The multi billionaire asks as he takes a seat on the couch.

I shake my head, swallowing hard on purpose.

“You’re fired.”

“What?” Keep the act, I tell myself. Throwing myself right into the pit but once my name is clear, Eisuke shall never suspect me again.

“Don’t make me repeat myself. I don’t need incompetent employees.” He says, tone a little annoyed.

“But you hired me!” I swear from the corners of my eyes, I see someone’s grinning but I couldn’t exactly turn around and find out. “Meaning…” My gazes wander down to the floor for few seconds then quickly travel back up and face the frightening beast. “Meaning, you approve my skills and I haven’t made any mistakes so far.”

Eisuke stands up and glares at me, “Your ignorance is enough reason. Someone was in the server room last night and you still had no idea?”

I gulp, not backing down just yet. “That’s not possible. I… I would receive notification if anyone has broken into the server room or if anything’s stolen.”

Eisuke stays quiet, waiting for my further explanation, whether for his own entertainment or confirming his prediction but it’s Soryu who fills the blank before I have to ask the obvious question myself. “I saw someone in the server room last night and he …..” The mobster pauses, is he going to say he or she? “..he…seems to know all the exits.”

“But… there are several levels of security to get through in order to get to the server room, plus we have the toughest system in the world. It should take at least two people to shut down the firewall and steal any data physically.” My nerves begins to calm, evidently telling them that it couldn’t have been a one man job, despite the fact that their system’s been tampered with, during the last upgrade and my exclusive knowledge.

“It must be an inside job then.” Eisuke closes the distance and I back away since, I simply don’t want to be close to someone who’s capable of killing someone with a single glance. "Why are you backing away if you’ve nothing to hide?“

“Because you are scary!” I hear a dry chuckle and Eisuke sends a death glare to the left which I’d see a vague figure with a cigarette hanging on his lips, after a split second I soon feel my back touching something warm.

"She will help me find the guy who broke in last night.”

Before I’d turn and see, a pair of large hands place on my shoulders, his broad chest pressing closer against my back. A sort of woodsy scent clouds my mind as I search for my next defense, when the man from behind parts his lips, the words that fall from his mouth has set my heartbeat rising as I ponder the meaning lying underneath his words.

“Then we’ll see how ‘skilled’ you truly are.”

[tsarisfanfiction]

Protect (Tales From The Heart)

Fandom: One Piece Rating: Gen Warnings: None Characters: Jean Bart

Jean Bart once thought that he could never love again. After the trauma of having his crew so brutally torn from him, and the subsequent years a slave, exposed to the worst humanity could offer, his heart was far too buried under the fear of failing again. That was okay, he'd thought, even as he'd accepted the offer to join a new crew if only so he could get away from the Tenryubito.

His new crew, the Heart Pirates, were having none of that.

He'd thought he'd be able to fade away into the background, pulling his weight in order to pay his debt but unimportant in the grand scheme of things. The Heart Pirates were a sizeable enough crew that it should have been possible not to get too attached, and certainly Trafalgar didn't give off the impression that he was at the centre of a tight-knit crew all too willing to shower all of their nakama with affection.

It had started with Shachi, curling up in his lap on night watch and admitting fears of loneliness and weakness. Then there had been Bepo, physically affectionate and unrelenting, and after him the rest of the crew followed. He was drawn into group hugs, nap piles in the recreation room where the previous night watch slept, only to be surrounded by other nakama.

It didn't happen overnight. It took months, a year, before his internal barriers crumbled, letting them in as he remembered how to love again.

And with love, came fear.

The fear that he'd lose them all, end up alone like he had the last time, helpless as they screamed and screamed before it was cut off with the finality that only one thing could bring. That they'd meet the same fate as his previous crew.

Jean Bart wouldn't let that happen. Protecting his nakama wasn't easy – he shared their captain's despair as they threw themselves head first into danger again and again just because they could – but Jean Bart's fears were stronger than anything the world could throw at them.

He was bigger than all of them, even Bepo. As Shachi had shown him, back in that first night watch, any of the crew could curl up in his lap, and he began to take advantage of that to reassure them. Or him. They all had moments when the lights dimmed in their eyes – none of them had had an easy life, but then again, if they had, would the pirate life have ever appealed? Bepo was the long-time go to for melancholy moments, and Jean Bart refused to step on toes, but the Mink wasn't always there the moment their mood fell apart. Normally a hand on their shoulder, covering most of their arm in the process, was enough to hold them together. Other times, that wouldn't be enough, and he'd end up with a ball-shaped nakama tucked in his lap. He couldn't protect them from their nightmares, but he could help them stay together after them.

What he could protect them from was the outside world. He was strong – had been strong even before, and life as a slave had only strengthened parts of his body more – and if his nakama were in danger he stepped out in front of them every time, facing down the threat until it was no more.

Jean Bart had thought he'd never love again, but the Heart Pirates had proven him oh so wrong and he would fight with everything he had to keep them safe.

[tsarisfanfiction]

Heated (Tales From The Heart)

Fandom: One Piece Rating: Gen Warnings: None Characters: Law, Shachi, Heart Pirates

Law's breath was heavy in his chest. His lungs laboured to draw in the oxygen and exhale the deoxygenised air his body no longer needed. Something cool rested on his forehead, and he mentally catalogued it as some sort of damp cloth. A fever, then, most likely the trail end of one, considering his return to consciousness.

Opening his eyes, his vision was assaulted by several faces looming over him wearing similar expressions of concern that morphed into relieved smiles as they registered his awakening.

"Captain!" his newest find exclaimed. Law noticed that he looked uneasy – that all the crewmembers crowding his personal space looked a little wary despite their smiles – and gave him a grin that he hoped was reassuring. As his senses fully returned to him, it wasn't difficult to pick up on the source of their nervous disposition; although out of his immediate line of sight, his haki picked up a dark aura in the room. Moving his head to the side, seeking the source, his eyes landed on Shachi, who stood a little way back, arms crossed.

The shades always made him harder to read than anyone else in the crew, hiding his eyes and whatever emotions they held. Part of Law wondered if he did it on purpose, refusing to let his eyes be healed so he had the convenient excuse of hiding what he felt when he wanted to. On this occasion, with the brim of his hat pulled low to throw extra shadows over the top of his face, his lips set into a thin line and his clothes, hair and cheek stained with blood, Law didn't need his haki to tell him Shachi was in a bad mood. The black aura only served to sow unease amongst the crew; even those without observation haki could tell that something wasn't right.

The normally cheerful, almost always smiling Shachi rarely fell into such a black mood, so it was unsurprising that even the older members weren't sure how to handle it. Law spared a moment to wonder where Penguin was, and if he would share in Shachi's mood or lighten it. On the rare occasions that the ginger's temper flared up significantly, his best friend was usually there to calm him. His absence was concerning.

"How are you feeling?" His eyes sought out the crewmember that had spoken, landing on the shorter man, and he offered another hopefully-reassuring grin.

"Fine," he told him, trying and failing to ignore the way the haki in the air soured further. "Weaker than usual, but it'll pass." The heavy air intensified again, and Shachi finally joined the circle surrounding his bed – or rather, the infirmary bed he was occupying, he noticed. Their nakama shuffled away slightly, giving Shachi plenty of space to thrust medicine into Law's mouth with little ceremony.

Law swallowed, making a face at the taste, but didn't complain. Whatever fever he'd had may have broken, but he was far from healthy.

"In that case," Shachi said, sounding as if he'd been the one forced to swallow the bitter medicine, "I'll go clean up." The blood must be from their battle – Law vaguely recalled the remains of a marine crashing into him – and he wondered how long his fever had raged for that Shachi had still not cleaned up.

A clink caught his attention in time for him to see one of those damned kairoseki cuffs snap shut around his wrist, and Law glared at him, only to receive an equal glower in return.

"Overusing your abilities landed you in here," Shachi told him bluntly, turning away and walking towards the door. "You don't get to use them again until you're back on your feet." Law watched the older man stalk out of the room, feeling the atmosphere lighten as soon as the door shut behind him, before turning to the members of his crew still present.

"Well?" he asked, managing to shift his wrist enough to lightly jangle the chain attached. Most of the crew were used to the occasional display of mutiny – he would be having words with Shachi when he got the chance – but the newer members had never seen anything of the sort before, so Law levelled them with an expectant look, hoping to coerce them into removing the insufferable restraint.

"Sorry, Captain," the newest whimpered, looking around at his nakama for support. "But… I think Shachi-san would gut me if I touched them." Law frowned. The refusal was hardly new, but he couldn't have Shachi establishing such terror amongst the newer recruits. Nakama should not have to fear each other. Unwilling to unnerve the new pirate further, Law changed the subject.

"Why are the engines running?" he asked, having registered the background rumble.

"We've set sail for the next island," Ikkaku told him, perching on the side of his bed and adjusting the cool cloth on his forehead. Law assumed his temperature was still higher than it should be, even if the main fever had broken.

"How long was I unconscious?" he asked, quickly doing the maths in his head and finding that it didn't work out, unless Shachi had been in the same bloodied clothes for almost a week.

"Approximately six hours," Clione told him, and Law frowned.

"The log pose wasn't due to set for another five days," he pointed out, watching them fidget. "Don't tell me you didn't wait."

"Shachi-san gave the order to set sail," the new recruit volunteered, and Law wished he had the energy to pinch the brow of his nose, because he felt a headache coming.

"And no-one reminded him about log poses?" he asked, wondering where Penguin and Bepo had been throughout all the madness. They looked at each other before shrugging.

"Penguin and Bepo were the ones that took control of the ship," Ikkaku told him and Law sighed. Well that answered that question, if rather unsatisfactorily. Penguin was supposed to be keeping Shachi in check when he came up with stupid ideas, not enabling him, and Bepo never stood a chance against the pair of them in a battle of wills.

"We wouldn't have had to set sail if someone hadn't been an idiot." Ah, the black cloud had returned to the room, still firmly accompanying Shachi, although the ginger was now free of bloodstains. His hair was still wet, dripping slowly onto the floor and Law wanted to forcibly dry it because Shachi knew better than that. More pressing was the issue of Shachi's attitude, though. He had long since crossed the line most captains would consider mutiny, and with that last comment was dancing dangerously close to Law's own definition.

"Sorry, but I want to speak to Shachi alone," he told his crewmates, who took one look at the ginger and all but scarpered from the room.

"What?" Shachi demanded the moment the door shut behind the last one. "You-"

"Do not speak to me like that," Law interrupted in a low growl. "I do not care how angry you are, there is only so much insubordination I can take and you are testing my patience."

If Shachi had been anyone else, anyone he hadn't known for the past eleven years, the resulting glower Law received would have seen him off the ship for good. As it was, Law chalked it up as one more strike in the tally he would be paying for later and took the sullen silence to mean Shachi was done antagonising him for the moment.

"Explain to me exactly why you decided we should set sail without setting the log pose," Law demanded, wishing he had the strength to sit up. He watched Shachi take a deep breath, and then another, clearly calming himself down before he said something they'd both regret. The fact that Penguin had apparently not argued implied that the reason had been genuine, but Law required details.

"It was too dangerous to remain on that island that long," Shachi eventually ground out, having the grace to at least look Law in the eyes – or as best he could tell, with the shades in the way. "If it were only hours, I might have risked it, but five days was too long."

"Why?" There was little that would scare Shachi enough to make a call like that at the crew's current strength. The Marines on the island had been difficult to handle only due to the numerical advantage they'd held, not because they were particularly strong. What else had revealed itself after Law had collapsed?

"One survivor," Shachi told him. "One witness. That's all it would have taken to bring more Marines to us, or even a rival pirate group." Law frowned, but Shachi cut him off before he could express his annoyance that they'd fled for such a cowardly reason. "Our captain just outright fainted in full view of anyone that might have been watching!" Shachi was getting heated again, but as long as he stayed on topic Law would allow it for the moment. "What sort of message does that send out, huh? That we're weakened, easy prey! Every single Marine unit, rival pirate crew and bounty hunter in the area would have been nuts not to jump on that opportunity! We can handle one or two enemies at once, but not everyone in this area of the Grand Line. This isn't North Blue anymore, Captain! They call this the Pirates' Graveyard for a reason!"

Law begrudgingly admitted that Shachi was right, but the ginger wasn't done with his rant.

"What happened to the subterfuge we used to be so good at?" he demanded. "What happened to not drawing attention to ourselves? Making a name for yourself is all well and good-" Law knew Shachi was actually proud of the fact his captain had a decent bounty, when he wasn't wound up and ranting "-but not when you push it too far! You put us all in danger with that stupid stunt of yours!"

Law winced at Shachi's final sentence. He had no doubt it was specifically crafted to hit him where it hurt – Law's crew were everything to him and Shachi knew that – but that didn't mean it was any less effective.

"Don't you dare do that again," Shachi growled, his voice fading back to its normal volume, before turning half away from Law, nudging his shades up with his arm as he swiped at his eyes. The fabric came away damp and Law froze, the missing piece to the puzzle finally sliding into place.

"Shachi…" he murmured.

"My shades slipped," the ginger mumbled, fussing with them. Law didn't buy it, but chose not to call him out on the lie, too stunned at the revelation that should have been obvious.

Shachi had been worried about him. The whole crew had been. They'd set sail, deliberately not following a log pose path, to protect him while he recovered. They'd encounter less ships on this route, and anyone that might have thought to pursue them if word did get out that he'd fainted wouldn't be able to follow them easily.

"Come here," he ordered, gesturing for Shachi to move closer to him, within arm reach. He was instantly obeyed, and Law forced one hand up, resting the fingertips lightly on his cheek. "Close your eyes and take off the shades." Again he was obeyed, and Law was struck by just how much Shachi trusted him as he carefully swiped away the beads of tears that had been forming in a rare show of affection. "You should be more careful," he scolded lightly, letting Shachi hold up the pretence that the tears were from light exposure and not overflowing emotions.

"I'll try," Shachi replied, a weak grin gracing his face as Law let his arm fall back to his side, permitting the ginger to replace his shades.

"Good," Law said. "And Shachi?"

"Hmm?" the older man hummed, looking at him questioningly. The dark aura had lessened significantly during their talk, to Law's relief.

"I'm sorry."

Shachi grinned properly, leaning down and wrapping his arms around Law tightly.

"Don't do it again," he scolded lightly. Law didn't bother replying to that, smiling into damp ginger hair.

"One last thing," he said after several minutes, as Shachi finally began to pull back. "I want you to apologise to the crew. You were angry at me, don't take it out on them." Shachi bit his lip and tugged the peak of his cap down, casting his face firmly in shadow again.

"I wasn't angry at you," he mumbled. "Not really." Law lifted an eyebrow, clearly recalling the way the ginger had ranted at him. "I was angry at myself. I didn't notice at all! I was just blindly sorting out the loot on the boat while you were getting weaker and weaker. The new guy had to point it out to me. We've been nakama for so long… but I couldn't even see that."

There were tears rolling down Shachi's cheeks again, but this time he made no move to wipe them away as he reached out and undid the cuffs with a quiet clink, startling Law. He'd expected them to stay on until he was fit enough to get out of bed at the very least.

"Don't use your fruit for a while, yeah?" Shachi said, heading for the door. "I'll be back soon. Got some nakama to apologise to."

Law watched him leave, for once the idea of using his abilities to end his misery faster unappealing to him. He'd used them too much already, and Shachi would blame himself for leaving him unsupervised without the cuffs if he exhausted himself again.

Law had had quite enough of Shachi blaming himself for one day.

[tsarisfanfiction]

Teeth (Tales From The Heart)

Fandom: One Piece Rating: Teen Warnings: dentistry Characters: Penguin, Law

It started off as just a dull ache. Dull aches were easily ignored, so ignore it Penguin did. Compared to a life of piracy and the injuries that came as part of the package, a mild ache barely registered, let alone seemed any reason for real concern. He briefly entertained the notion of mentioning it to Law purely because he wasn't sure why, exactly, a tooth would ache, but in the end discarded the idea. Aches usually passed in a day or two without issue, surely this would be no different.

Two days later the ache had not subsided away to nothing the way Penguin had expected it to. Instead, it had got more insistent, no longer appearing in intermittent stages but as a constant companion. Rather unsurprisingly, it was worst when he was eating, and almost subconsciously he began to chew only with the left side of his mouth, keeping any and all food away from the epicentre.

Not using the right side of his mouth was merely a delaying tactic, not a cure, and before long the ache had graduated into pain, and it was then that Penguin swallowed his pride and approached his captain. What was the point of having a doctor as a captain if he didn't take advantage of that fact? Never mind the fact that Law had started to shoot him suspicious looks and Penguin had already learnt that it was far better to approach Law with a problem than to be approached. Law had very strong opinions on actively concealing pain or injury.

Law's face was, well, not reassuring when he finally took a look inside Penguin's mouth. He looked concerned, and also rather lost. Lost, on the face of a medical genius with the Ope Ope no Mi, was not a comforting sight.

"Law..?" he asked tentatively, trying and failing not to wince slightly as a spike of pain shot through his jaw at the movement. His captain shook his head despondently.

"Your third molar's infected," he told him, not that Penguin really understood what that meant beyond the fact that it wasn't a good thing. "I'm sorry, I don't understand teeth. You'll need to bear with it a little longer." Law rummaged through the cabinets to pull out a selection of painkillers, which he surveyed critically before handing one over to him. "This should help for a while."

Penguin took them, because medicine was better than the pain. He noticed the high potency of the drugs in his hand and couldn't help a painful gulp. Law didn't usually let them anywhere near this particular strength unless they were hurt really bad and even then it was only if Law himself was too tired to treat them immediately.

"Isn't this a bit of an overreaction?" he dared to ask, hoping Law had picked up the wrong ones otherwise this was implying far too much agony and Penguin was not prepared for that from his teeth, of all things. These particular ones also didn't really help them keep a grip on reality, and Penguin wasn't sure he wanted to willingly condemn himself to those side effects.

Law just disappeared from the room, leaving Penguin to stare at the medication in his hands with a sinking stomach.

If it was that bad, why didn't Law just pull it out with his abilities? Surely that was simple enough? Marines and other pirates had no qualms about trying to remove peoples' teeth by brute strength alone. He put the painkillers in his pocket, hoping it wouldn't reach that point.

A week later and Law had become a permanent fixture in the Tang's library, scouring book after book with bags under his eyes so deep he looked like he hadn't slept at all. Penguin feared he hadn't, and he'd caught both Bepo and Shachi trying to convince Law to take a break. Penguin would have joined in, except he'd lost the ability to talk halfway through the week. He'd caved and gone onto the painkillers two days after Law had given them to him, following a sleepless night spent tossing and turning (and keeping Shachi awake) as agony radiated out from his tooth and spread across half his jaw. Now, even with the painkillers doing their job (and leaving him disoriented more often than he cared to admit), Penguin's jaw had stiffened and wouldn't open and close properly. He'd been relegated to liquid foodstuffs, which was practical but also mildly embarrassing.

To begin with Shachi had been a tease, deliberately eating delicious crunchy food in front of him, but as time wore on and Penguin was becoming more and more reliant on the painkillers , the teasing had slackened until Shachi had turned his own diet into a liquid one in a form of solidarity. Even with an often hazy mind, Penguin didn't miss the worried glances during the day, despite being hidden behind his shades, and it was impossible not to notice that the ginger had taken to sleeping on the bottom bunk, with him, rather than his own bunk. Having him right there when the painkillers wore off in the middle of the night, jerking him awake with a sudden surge of pain, was a blessing.

Finally, Law re-emerged from the library, looking practically dead on his feet, and ordered Penguin to the infirmary. Penguin attempted to protest that Law needed sleep before he did anything, but his stiff jaw wouldn't budge at all. He obeyed the order to lie on a bed without fuss purely because Law would just force him if he didn't do as he was told.

He hadn't anticipated Law putting him under, but a quick sentence was all the warning he received before there was a prick in his arm and the darkness slowly invaded.

His awakening was accompanied by the odd sensation of something soft stuffed in his mouth. It felt a bit like cotton candy, except it was solid and didn't give when his tongue pushed at it clumsily. It also tasted like blood, and Penguin forced his tongue away from the metallic tang. There was also the background throb of pain, buried below layers of painkillers but still present, and Penguin frowned.

"Take it easy," Law's voice said, and Penguin opened his eyes to see his captain sat besides him, scrutinising something closely. "I can accelerate the healing, but the pain doesn't go away immediately." Penguin let out a grumble of discontent, fed up with the entire situation and wanting to be able to eat solid food again already. "Do you want to look?" Law added, and Penguin didn't get a chance to respond before a small item he vaguely recognised as supposedly a tooth was brandished in his face. It was misshapen and full of dents and the occasional hole, and Penguin closed his eyes. The idea that that had been in his mouth for so long was rather nauseous. Luckily, Law spotted his discomfort and put the tooth remnants away before he regained use of his voice to complain.

As Law had said, the pain took days to fade away to nothing, not helped by the fact that Law reclaimed all of the medication the moment he felt it was no longer required. Penguin's nerves disagreed, but Law cited the risks of dependency and addiction to him until Penguin decided that a little bit of pain was perhaps the lesser evil.

The best thing was when he could eat solid foods again, tearing into the poor fish on his plate like a starving man to fond smiles from the rest of his nakama. Penguin was never going to take fresh fish for granted again.

[tsarisfanfiction]

Alive (Tales From The Heart)

Fandom: One Piece Rating: Teen Warnings: Implied torture Characters: Shachi, Penguin

It hurt to breathe, the poison burning first his mouth, then his windpipe and finally his lungs with every inhalation. While his body was beaten and tattered, weakened to the point that raising his head was an impossible chore, it was the poison that Shachi noticed, feared. Injuries could heal, even if left for several days before treatment (he may be spoilt by his captain's ability, he admitted), but poison was impatient. The poison wouldn't wait for their captain.

The pain in his heart was nothing to do with the poison. Nor was it a result of the battle and subsequent torture he was intermittently undergoing, cries unwillingly torn from his throat as fresh agony bloomed, only to be overtaken by the next burn of poison as he gasped. No, the pain came from the knowledge that Penguin wasn't moving. Shachi could only see him out the corner of his eye, but it was enough to see the sightless gaze, even as their tormentors pulled out all the stops to try and get words out of the broken pirate. The two of them had been inseparable for as long as Shachi could remember, best friends, brothers, nakama, but a pang from his heart told him their time together was over. Penguin would leave him behind, if he hadn't already. He hadn't made a sound since the pirates had converged on him, drunk with success, with the delight of breaking someone.

He didn't know why Jack's group left. He hadn't heard anyone give in, but the Calamity was gone. The poison was still very much there, reducing Shachi's airways to bloody sandpaper, but with their unexpected freedom – still tied to the wooden X but no longer in the shadow of a monster – he fought against his body to speak.

"P-eng…" he rasped. It was swallowed by the background noise of pained groans, muffled but still louder than anything Shachi could produce. Still, he tried again, desperate for something, anything, from the man beside him. "P-eng…"

Nothing. Shachi fought to turn his head, managing barely a shift but it was enough to see nothing had changed in Penguin's countenance.

"Pe…" his voice gave out on him as the tears welled, stinging as they slid down his ragged face. Don't be dead, Penguin. Please. I'm begging you. Say something. Do something! Don't leave me here!

A wave of nausea washed over him, his body attempting to reject the poison but failing miserably as stuttering gasps merely drew more into his pained lungs, his racing heart pumping the toxin around and around his body until his vision faded.

"Gods." He was dragged unwillingly back to consciousness by the breathed word, forcing his eyelids to separate to see what awaited him now. It felt as if his eyes had been sewn shut from the effort merely squinting required, but he persevered, looking through the shattered lens of his glasses, or what was left of them, at a red-haired woman whose hands were clasped to her mouth in horror. She looked familiar, but Shachi's thoughts slipped around in his mind, refusing to be organised into any sort of coherency. There was only one thing that stood out.

"P-eng…" he managed again, his voice rougher and bloodier than earlier. Soon his lungs would be totally useless, the first of his organs to shut down as death slowly reeled him in.

"Chopper! Sanji-kun!" the woman called – when had she moved? Her hands were no longer covering her mouth, but rather fiddling with the cuffs that kept him on his cross. The names triggered a recollection, slow and hazy but there. He knew these people, somehow… A blond man entered his line of sight, reaching for him, and Shachi recoiled, or tried to. In his state it was little more than a flinch.

"P-eng…" he insisted weakly. He didn't know if they were friend or foe – his hazy recognition was unclear – but he had no choice but to trust them. Penguin might already be dead, but if there was any chance to save him…

The man's hands stilled, resting lightly on his shoulders.

"Peng..?" he wondered out loud, turning his head to the woman, who had one of Shachi's cuffs open and was working on the nest.

"Hel-p P-eng…" Shachi clarified as best he could, coaxing his head into falling sideways in the direction of his nakama. "Firs-"

"Brook!" a young-sounding voice called, from somewhere in Penguin's direction. "Help me get him down!" There was movement, and the sound of breaking. Shachi had no strength to look, but prayed it was Penguin's cross. "Nami, Sanji, keep getting that one down!" The stilled hands resumed moving and Shachi let out another groan.

"P-eng…" He had to know. They had to treat Penguin first!

"Chopper's got your nakama," the man told him, taking his weight as the cuffs holding him in place opened. Shachi had no choice but to fall limp against him. "You're Shachi, right?" How the man knew his name was a mystery for another time. As he was laid on the ground, some distance from his cross, he forced his numb, unresponsive limbs to turn him over. Penguin lay beside him, some small furry thing – a mink? No, it didn't look quite right – by his side. He wasn't moving. Shachi couldn't see well enough to decipher if his chest was rising and falling.

"P-eng…" His body gave out and he slumped over, now on his front but Shachi didn't care. Crucially, he was facing Penguin, only inches from his nakama. He tried to reach out to him, fingers trembling, but his arm barely moved, all his energy drained, and he fought back a curse. So close yet so far.

Something cool and smooth wrapped around his hand and gently brought it to rest on Penguin's. Choking back a sob, Shachi felt the tension drain from his body. There was a pulse, Penguin's skin was still warm and alive. Then the hand twitched, fingers loosely wrapping around Shachi's, and he dragged his head to look at Penguin's face. A light had returned to his eyes, his mouth twisted in something that might have been a smile, in other circumstances.

"It… st-opped…" the older breathed, his voice at least as raspy and thick as Shachi's own. Shachi looked at him blankly, uncomprehending. Their torture was over, but he knew that wasn't what Penguin was talking about, so what..?

Slowly, shaking with the effort, Penguin's other hand dragged itself to his chest, slipping awkwardly through a tear in his clothes to withdraw some paper – a vivre card.

Law's vivre card. Shachi felt his heart skip a beat, comprehension crashing over him like an avalanche. It was small, too small, and one edge glowed a dull amber. Law had been dying, just as they had been, and Penguin had felt it. They watched it together, Shachi's vision blurring as his body insisted on shutting down in a last defence against the poison, as the glow faded away to nothing, leaving just a too-small vivre card.

Slowly, oh so slowly, it began to restore, flakes of ash reattaching themselves as if they had never burnt away.

Relief tore down the last mental barriers Shachi had held up against the encroaching darkness, and he once again succumbed to unconsciousness, certain of one thing.

They would be okay. All of them.

[tsarisfanfiction]

Constant (Tales From The Heart)

Fandom: One Piece Rating: Teen Warnings: none Characters: Bepo, Penguin, Shachi, Law

Bepo didn't really remember Zepo anymore. He remembered his name, remembered that he was his brother, but the little things were fading with time. How he looked – that flop of fur over his forehead (had it been brown? Or black? No, maybe white?), his eye colour (black, like Bepo's? Or blue? Brown, perhaps?) – and his mannerisms. He didn't remember his favourite food, or colour. He couldn't recall any habits, bad or otherwise, nor the sound of his voice.

But there were other little things, things that felt familiar. The way Penguin would scratch behind his ears for him when he wasn't feeling so good, or how he'd watch over them all as they lounged around on deck in a brief respite from being trapped underwater – even if he wasn't obvious about it, he always found high points like the next deck up or even just the railing to perch while he supposedly did some task or other. It would have been convincing if Bepo didn't get that prickly feeling at the base of his spine when he was being watched.

Penguin felt like Bepo thought Zepo had. Maybe he was still hunting for his brother and had just found a kindred spirit in the way Penguin was always there for Shachi (and Law and Bepo, after not all that long even if he took longer to openly admit it). It was entirely possible he was… what was that word Law used once? Superimpose. Maybe he was superimposing Zepo on Penguin, projecting imaginary feelings onto the oldest human because he was homesick. He didn't dare ask, too comforted by the familiarity to risk breaking it.

Besides, if Shachi could be Penguin's little brother (and Bepo saw the way Law slowly, slowly, fell into place in their little 'family' too), then surely, Bepo thought, it wouldn't be too much bother if he joined as well. Penguin never rejected him, anyway, letting him curl up on his lap as a cub, then later mimicking the gesture when Bepo out-grew him.

No-one ever said it out loud, but Penguin was always there, the solid support in the background whenever they needed it. In some ways, Bepo thought he was the one that kept them together (although Shachi thought that Law's charisma had much the same effect, while Law had once mumbled that Bepo's mellow nature stopped friction and Penguin seemed to believe that Shachi's ability to find anything funny was the breath of fresh air they all needed).

There was only one time Bepo had feared the Heart Pirates wouldn't survive, and that was the day they lost Penguin.

While generally good at keeping themselves hidden, something did come up from time to time that made Law despair that they were hopeless at subtlety (Bepo wished he didn't panic so easily whenever something didn't go exactly to plan). Most of the time it wasn't even their fault, barring one memorable occasion where Shachi had been caught investigating Doflamingo; they'd just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and caught up in something unrelated to them.

This time was no different. The fire hadn't had anything to do with them – they hadn't lit it, and they hadn't been the target. It had simply blazed across the market they were perusing, catching half the stalls alight in an instant and throwing up a divide that couldn't be crossed. They'd been on the port side, the Polar Tang at their backs and a really good idea.

Except Penguin hadn't. A short way behind them, caught up in some conversation with an elderly woman who was showing him a little sewing kit, he'd been trapped the other side of the inferno, unable to get through.

"Penguin!" It was Shachi who screamed, but Law's skin matched Bepo's own fur as he froze in place.

"Stop!" Penguin shouted back as Shachi tried to brave the flames, flinching back from the heat for a moment before lunging forwards again. "You idiot, stop!" He was up against the flames himself, stumbling backwards every other second as the flames roared higher, but still being the strong one even as he was driven further and further away.

Bepo was like Law, frozen in place in horror as the flames seemingly licked at Penguin (was he actually close enough to be burnt, or was the fire playing tricks on their mind, distorting his figure and morphing his face into winces?). Behind them there was the background sound of screams, the other visitors to the market in hysteria and pushing each other over in their panic to escape.

"Get back to the Tang!" Penguin was shouting, difficult to hear over the pandemonium. Shachi got a hand into the flames and cried out but kept going until Law snapped out of his shock and pulled him back, out of the fire.

"Penguin!" Shachi screamed again, and Bepo obeyed Law's silent command to help restrain him. His paws were shaking.

"-the Tang!" Bepo heard again, the flames forcing both parties back until they couldn't see Penguin anymore, just a sheet of roaring, untameable fire. "-o!"

Even with the fire in their faces, none of the three wanted to move. Realistically, they were in just as much danger as Penguin was, but Penguin was alone. They didn't know how he was faring – were there more streaks of flame elsewhere?

"We need to move," Law eventually croaked, the smoke starting to fill their lungs. Shachi fell limp and boneless in their grip and Bepo wondered if he'd breathed in too much smoke already.

"Penguin…" he rasped as Law started to pull him back, away from the raging fire and towards the Tang. Bepo helped, despite his paws' inability to remain still and the cloying feeling in his gut that he was failing Penguin.

"He'll find us," he tried to say firmly, but it quivered as much as his paws did. Neither human replied, stumbling along in silence until they collapsed onto the deck of the Tang. There they stayed, the three of them numbly staring at the fire even as the other ships in the port hastily left, fleeing the flames.

Most of the island had been engulfed, faint explosions as the fire found something particularly flammable to swallow. But there was no sign of Penguin. Beside him he heard crying, the first time Bepo had ever known one of his nakama to cry. The other side of Shachi, Law was once again silent and immobile. The fire was getting closer and closer, a ship at the other end of the dock the first boat casualty as flames licked at it greedily, its crew forced overboard into the water. If they stayed where they were the same fate would soon befall the Tang, but still none of them moved.

They couldn't. Leaving meant abandoning Penguin, and Law might be the captain but without Penguin they weren't a crew anymore, just a trio of scared children.

"What the hell are you lot doing?" a voice demanded from below. Shachi was the first to run to the side of the deck, staring down at the water in silent shock. "I told you to go!" Bepo dragged himself to join Shachi and there was Penguin, treading water in the docks below.

Shachi found his voice again, hanging over the side with his arm outstretched as he called Penguin's name again.

"What's that for?" Penguin shouted up. "Get out of the dock!"

"But-" Shachi protested. He was still crying behind his shades – Bepo could smell the salty tang of tears.

"Bepo!" The mink turned around to see his captain once again on his feet, skin no longer ashen. "Get us moving!" Bepo didn't want to leave Penguin in the water, but the flames were getting too close, starting to lick at the Tang. He ran to the control room, setting the engines going and quickly putting the ship into forward throttle, hoping they hadn't hesitated too long and that the flames wouldn't be too close to the engines.

At no immediate explosion, Bepo scrambled back to the deck, knowing that he should be watching their course but needing to see Penguin back with them again.

He returned in time to see Shachi helping the older teen over the railings, a trailing rope thrown over the side of the Tang. Penguin didn't seem too hurt, patches of redder skin and singed clothes the only signs he'd escaped what had become a raging inferno. Shachi clutched him in a vice-like grip, an oof escaping Penguin before he embraced him in return, a fond look on his face.

Never one to initiate anything, Law was hanging back awkwardly, watching like a hawk and regarding the small burns with a frown on his face. Shachi still attached to him like a limpet, Penguin turned to face him and held out his arms with a reassuring smile. For several moments, Law didn't move, but Penguin's arms never faltered and the youngest human caved, stepping forwards into reach so Penguin could hold him reassuringly.

Bepo couldn't resist any longer and surged forwards himself, trapping Penguin in his arms (subsequently Shachi and Law, too) and nuzzling his cheek affectionately. Then there was that hand, gently scratching behind his ear again, and Bepo couldn't help but smile.

Everything was right again.