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forcedapotheosis-blog · 7 years ago

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Gloomy Days Chapter IV

Sooo .. yeah, I finally finished the next chapter, don’t know if anyone’s still reading it, but yeah, here it is. In my personal opinion, it’s lackluster, but I needed to get it out of my system anyways so that I might be able to write on the next chapters and a conclusion of the story before the year’s over. If you’re looking for an explanation why I consider it ‘bad’, it’s probably because I’m not emotionally invested in the characters this time. At least, not AS invested as in other characters. Have fun and have a fantastic day.

Chapter 4 – The Free Spirit and the Idealist

We've had enough

This is the end

Try to break us, we won't bend

No matter what

Your way of life will never save me, no

You always try and drag me down

I WON'T LET GO

And I'm coming back for more

Save yourself

Cause I'm gonna take it all

All the way

Striker – All the way

"That's some awesome mane, bro!", the moment the man turned around to see who was taking to him, he had to smile. As was the usual, the guests at this wedding were dressed up for the occasion. After all, the heir to a wealthy and venerable family got married to a beautiful wife. Almost nobody gave a second thought to her questionable past, anyway. In fact, many people belonging to the island's high society solely arrived to strengthen their bonds with said family. This one, not so much. Not that it was a surprise, as this man's past would have given the average person cause for enough concern to fill a lifetime.

"I'm taking a wild guess here, but I'd bet my life on you belonging to the bride's family.", the stranger replied with a smirk. Some things were just too obvious. And the huge .. man replied in kind, crossing his massive arms in front of his chest. Actually, he struck a comically serious pose that just begged for a reaction. He didn't have to wait for long, as several children immediately cried out in collective awe.

To be perfectly honest, they rightfully did so. The man's proportions weren't entirely human and at first glance, one might have asked how his rather slender legs were able to support an upper body that was so wide and muscular, it could've put a smaller giant to shame. The next moment, the person asking said question might have recognised that these lank legs were supported by what might have been steel. The questions wouldn't have ended there. One could only see that his legs were supported by some machinery made of steel because he didn't wear any pants but a red bathing slip, appropriately coloured to match his Hawaiian shirt of a ground of red, adorned with green palm trees.

Maybe there was a reason to all of this, maybe he just wore it loose and open to put his impressive, muscular chest in the spotlight, or the two fine but incredibly long scars that ran from within his bathing slip up to his neck.

He let a few seconds pass until he lowered his arms – they, too, seemed to be made of steel, not only supported by it – and nodded solemnly.

"You'd have won this bet, bro. Wouldn't be cool to stay absent when my little sis is getting married, right?", well, one could say whatever about this huge man, but at least he had enough manners not to wear his black sunglasses within these halls. The stranger nodded, still smirking. "That's absolutely right. It's her big day, isn't it? I hope that she's taking the pressure well enough.", these words made the huge man break out in a booming laughter that might have raised the dead. At least, some angry people turned their heads towards the two and quickly came to their senses when they saw the sheer size of his upper body.

"You don't know my little sis, man! She's as tough as nails, I promise you! Gotta be sharp to match the storms on the Grand Line, bro. Girl's been without equal, I tell you, she was able to outsmart friend and foe alike and was riding our ship on top of the storms like she never did anything else in her whole life.", a rather dramatic pause followed and when he spoke again, he exchanged his booming voice for a whisper. "It's a shame that she's giving up this life to settle down, if you ask me.", realising what he just said and that he said it to a stranger who might as well be a relative of the groom, an awkward silence followed.

"Ehm .. no offence to the broom, bro.", the huge man tried to defuse the situation a little. To no need, as it turned out, as another player hit the stage.

"FRANKY!", the high voice was fitting for another contender for the title of oddest guest to this wedding. In fact, one could say that these two guys, some might consider them freaks at such an elevated event, were hitting both diametrically opposed ends of the weirdness scale. Surprisingly enough, that didn't stop ties that might have been long forgotten, but never severed, from coming back in full force when their eyes met.

“Oh .. I can’t believe it! It’s really you, Chopper!”, both ��men’, if one could call them that, were moving towards each other and an unknowing bystander might have feared that if that huge man tried to hug the .. reindeer that walked on two legs, he might have crushed him. That fear would’ve been proven insubstantial, though. For reasons that are not easy to explain.

When the two reached each other, the reindeer .. changed, for lack of a better word. Wearing fur, it didn’t have the need for clothing besides short trousers and a huge hat. This was probably to ease the difficulties of said change. The reindeer that went by the name of ‘Chopper’ was relatively small, so small indeed that its antlers might barely be able to reach the thighs of a human of normal height. Within a second though, possibilities were thrown out of the window and a magnificent transformation took place.

Within the blink of an eye, the small and rather cute reindeer was no more, it had been replaced by a hulking bruiser of a .. very hairy man. Its body was completely changed, the reindeer’s small forelegs had grown into strong arms that were able to put trained legs to shame, the entire upper body resembled that of a – hairy – body builder and even its face had changed. Surprisingly enough, it was more humanoid after the transformation, a grim, hairy visage that might have given the impression of it being the precursor to what people thought of mythical monsters like the Big Foot, full of inhuman strength. That strength, though, was necessary as the following scene emphasised.

Both ‘men’ threw their arms around each other and embraced the other in what doubtlessly was an emotionally charged hug. The muscles on the man-reindeer’s arms were clearly showing as they seemed to have a little brotherly contest regarding strength. This contest was short-lived, as they realised that their forces evenly matched and both men finally let go, staring at each other in a mixture of disbelief and happiness.

“Hrmpf. Friends of the bride, I guess? Somebody should have taken the time to teach these .. people proper manners! No surprise, huh, Father? Given that we barely know anything about her past.”, the voice was raised from slightly behind the man and he turned around, a knowing smile on his lips. The complainer was a well-dressed man of advanced age, wearing a tailored, black suit and receding, greyish-white hair. A pair of gold-rimmed spectacles was sitting on his nose and the face he made was full of disdain. Talking to this man might have been an interesting pastime, but the clock was ticking.

“Actually, they’re her family. That, and I fear that I might not have the capacities to talk to you right now, pray excuse.”, then, something very strange seemed to happen. They were both looking at each other and without any sign of alteration, all colour left the older man’s face and his eyes widened. Whatever he had seen in the stranger’s timeless face, it did make a lasting impact on him. To no surprise, he was the one to break away.

“’cuse me, Father. Think the wine’s getting to my head. Beg my leave.”, the man bumbled and left his presence within seconds, quickly enough to not have been noticed by the cyborg and the reindeer. By now, both of them were on their way back to the man, Franky having slung an arm over the equally muscular shoulders of the man-reindeer.

“Oi Bro, let me introduce the greatest physician on the Grand Line and all the Blues to you, Doctor Chopper!”, the compliment resonated visibly with the doctor, even though in a hilarious and unconventional manner. He danced rather childishly and his muscular arms wavered as if they had neither bones nor muscle inside, all the while he spoke with a shy, high voice.

“I don’t need your stinking compliments, you idiot!”, but the cyborg didn’t stop there.

“I’m not lying to you, bro. You’ve got your limbs cut off? He’ll sew and glue them back on, you’ve caught some random disease on a remote island? This guy will nurse you back to health and won’t catch a second of sleep until you’re alive and kicking again, I literally haven’t seen anything he wasn’t able to cure!”, even though the stream of compliments continued, the reindeer-man’s dance ceased and sobriety replaced happiness.

“I wish you were right, Franky. No matter how hard we try and tried, no matter how many lives one can save, there will always be the one you fail to do anything. The one that’ll haunt you for the rest of your life.”, as it happens so often within these lines, the general mood of the reunion turned into a gloomy one, at least for the reindeer. His friend, though, was showing an incensed look on his face.

“Goddamn, Chopper! You’re a physician, you cure people’s ailments and heal their bodies, a damn broken heart isn’t something that you can nurse back to health with some tonics and medicine!”, Franky finally let go of his old friend and they were giving each other a sombre stare-down. Whatever it was, it seemed to be bringing back memories that should have better remained buried. Or not.

“You’re right, it was not my task alone to mend his heart. As you said, I’m just a physician, but we were family! Their family! I .. I just have the feeling that none of us tried hard enough to comfort these two in their hour of need. Franky, .. we just .. we just could have done more. So. Much. More.”, the man-reindeer had great difficulties holding his tears back, so much was obvious. A rather peculiar sight in the face of something that might have been the reason that humans believed in monsters that hid in the woods. It was just as surprising that the cyborg had his own tears to fight.

“Just remember the times, bro. The situation was terrible overall and we couldn’t have done more, and it was his decision to leave with all the ghosts he gathered to weight him down over the years. Maybe it was right, maybe we were not destined or considered worthy to follow these big dreams of ours. I don’t know, I don’t even want to know! All of us are free now, are we not?! Still, nothing has become of it! Just look at the two of us, we thought that our sheer combined will was enough to reach our goals. What now? We left Sunny on her own, as the only one never to disappoint us. She might as well be sunk right now. So much for my glorious dream.”, this time, there was no stopping the tears. That, and he didn’t even try.

“I know that, Franky! I know that we left her behind. I have not forgotten a single line of everything. And you’re not the only one with shattered wishes! I wanted to be able to battle every illness on the whole world, but look at what has become of me. I’m just sitting around on an island and try to do my best to help the people, but there is just so much that I don’t know, so many ways to cure sickness that I’ll never learn because I don’t travel anymore!”, an awkward silence followed the conversation and both of them were still staring at each other. The perfect time for the stranger to join in.

He cleared his throat to get their attention.

“So .. you two seem to be having a history of travelling together, if I take that right. It also seems that you’re not exactly happy with how things are now, but, if I may, let me ask this one question: What’s holding you back from going back to how things were? Both of you are still young and strong enough to take to the seas again.”, contrary to the overarching mood, the stranger still held a firm smile on his lips, watching the both of them, and they answered at once.

“Because we’re not whole anymore. We can never be whole again.”

“That’s not exactly precise. Would you mind to elaborate?”

It was Chopper who took the initiative.

“It’s kind of a long story, are you sure? Yes? Well .. I mean, it all kinda began with .. with the heroic sacrifice of one of our nakama, he gave his own life to save others, one of them being the bride herself”, whatever he was waiting for, astonishment or maybe a shock, didn’t appear, thus, he continued.

“Brook’s final .. death was what triggered our breaking. Another friend told me that he took his demise right on, stared into the abyss until the abyss shied away. To help, to support his family one last time. He couldn’t have known that it was in vain.”, the reindeer turned his head around for a short scan of the surroundings, an easy task due to his massive size. When he found what he was looking for, a shiver ran down his spine and within the blink of an eye, he transformed again. Back to his old, small form that could have reminded people of a fluffy teddy bear, grabbing for the cyborg’s leg, barely controlled excitement accompanied his voice.

“He’s here, Franky! Have you seen him? Spoken to him? Do you think he’d be willing to .. maybe?!”, but the delight didn’t pass over to the cyborg who had followed his gaze and was now shaking his head in a slow fashion.

“Don’t think so, Chopper. Don’t think so. See, bro, blondie over there ..”, he nodded into Sanji’s general direction before he continued, “.. he’s a .. special case. He was one of the last people to leave our crew, but the first one to .. to break away from it. So, before we continue with our little story, you might want to tell us if you belong to Nami’s side or her groom’s. Can’t remember ever meeting you, but that means nothing, right?”, he was watching the stranger carefully, only to interrupt it from time to time by looking at Chopper and the back of Sanji’s head.

“Oh, I’m no one of consequence, the literal unexpected guest, if you grant me that joke. To whom I belong is a rather complicated question, I admit, but let’s just say that I grant allegiance to those who have lost their way.”, that was neither a precise answer nor had anyone asked for mysticism, but not belonging to the groom’s side did seem to be enough.

“Alright, Mr. Mysterious Stranger, that’s good enough, I assume. Well, after .. Brook’s end, my friends finally made it back to our ship and we were reunited, but blondie was bleeding from more than a dozen deep wounds and .., he nearly lost it during treatment. Really wasn’t a nice sight at all .. especially not for her.”

The last few days had been rough and nobody really talked to one another. Understandably, taking the into account that they had just lost a member of their small crew to some ancient, pelagic abomination. Nobody had been able to help him and trying to retrieve him had been proven vain, as the whole island was swallowed by water as soon as the group had reached their ship.

They wanted to come back in force. To rescue, to save or even to avenge him. All that was taken from the Straw Hats when the island was engulfed by mighty waves and torn back into the deep as mythical Atlantis was. Midnight was upon them when Chopper entered the infirmary to look after his one patient. A dozen wounds from sharp teeth and claws had not rendered him as feeble as the single thought that because he had failed for once, another was lost. Guilt’s weight was lying upon his shoulders and dragged him down, seemingly taking his ability to speak at all.

“Are you feeling better today, Sanji?”, the reindeer asked while putting his stethoscope on, but he never received an answer. As was the usual for the blonde cook since their return. He had his eyes closed and was lying still, bandages covering his limbs, his throat and his chest. Chopper quickly went through the check list and wasn’t surprised to realise that the wounds were already healing, blood pressure was normal again and his fear that he might have caught an infection was put aside. The Monster Trio, so much was a given, was barely human anymore, their wounds used to heal as quickly as those of a forest’s beast.

The doctor already wanted to pack his tools and leave Sanji to rest, when the patient finally opened his lips to speak in a voice that was robbed of all its strength.

“We’re going after him .. right?”, Chopper feared that he might ask this question. The thought appeared to all of them as soon as they arrived back on the Sunny, but the ship’s coating was used up and there were no streams in the nearest vicinity that would be strong enough to drag her down. Franky tried to figure something out, but, as of now, to no avail.

“I hope.”, was the answer Chopper gave, staring at the ground he was standing on. Sanji’s mental condition was out of his area of expertise, though he was sure that telling him outright that the chances of even getting revenge on that monster were so slim, they could be called non-existant. The doctor didn’t want to be the messenger of these grim news, actually he didn’t want anyone to bring them, as he feared that it would break Sanji completely.

“I need a cigarette.”, there, Chopper made his first mistake. If the situation was not as dire as it turned out to be, he would’ve beaten Sanji for the thought of a cigarette alone. This time, he granted him the request, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed. The cook placed the small, white coffin nail between his lips and incinerated it, invigorated either by the smoke or his assumptions. His voice was louder now, leaving his mouth with more force and suppressed rage.

“So, there’s not a chance in Hell we’re able to get him back?!”, the sudden surge of power that found its way into his voice was enough to startle Chopper, nearly making him fall to the ground. He held his balance, for the moment.

“That’s not what I said, Sanji. There is always hope!”, he replied, raising his voice in kind but still remaining in his fluffy form. Things might have escalated quickly otherwise. Nobody could have said how this situation would evolve and nobody needed to, as a sudden knocking on the infirmary’s door brought silence on both of them. Only a moment later, said door was opened and the frame was filled by the massive upper body that belonged to the cyborg. He wasn’t alone, though, as slender legs followed behind, entering the room just after him.

It wasn’t Franky’s voice that was raised in an accusing fashion, targeting nobody in particular but Sanji and Chopper both.

“Why is he smoking?! Who allowed that?”, her voice .. oh, her voice. In literally any other time, it would have elevated Sanji into the highest heavens, soothing wounds, sickness and even an over-abundance of death. Not this time, though. Just hearing her voice was a reminder that he had failed. If everything went according to his plan, to sacrifice himself to the eldritch abominations found deep within the island, Brook would still be living. He should have been the one who to make the ultimate sacrifice. One simple act of honour and love for the goddess and his true family.

Yet, he was still here to listen to her voice, while Brook was not. The fates had decided to sculpt the most wonderful sound in the entire world into a living reminder of his failure. Sometimes, all it needed was a moment to burn down an entire lifetime of faithfully doing your duty. In his own mind, Chopper knew as much, Sanji had always styled himself as the knight that would conquer Hell for his goddess and give his life in the moment of need.

Even though no one but him cared or even noticed that fact, it didn’t matter. He knew of his failure. His image was shattered when they dragged him out of the tunnels. His purpose was denied when he had to listen to Brook’s signature laughter for the last time.

“Franky .. when will we be able to hunt down that beast?”, it surprised all three of them that he didn’t talk to Nami first. A sign for the terrible things that should haunt the crew for the rest of their time together, some of them being affected long after they split up.

“Bro, you’re not in the condition to hunt anything other than a bed. Get rested and we’ll figure something out, don’t worry.”, Franky’s usual optimism was as faux as it could be, and anybody knew. Yet he still tried.

The cook was about to raise his upper body, maybe even wanted to stand up to do whatever, but he was stopped in his tracks by a force so much stronger than all the physical strength he had acquired over the years.

The gentle touch of the woman he loved with all his heart, all that was him.

“Don’t, Sanji-kun. Franky is right, please, rest a little.”, he closed his eyes as opposing powers fought for dominion over his body. On one side, the fierce and fiery love he felt for the goddess by his side, on the other one, though, the knight that had fallen from grace. The knight that had to face his failure every day, until his last breath. The problem was that both his love and the graceless knight drew strength from Nami’s presence, but only one of them was nourished by his survivor’s guilt.

Many would have fallen in the face of chaos. But not this one. Not today.

The blonde’s body calmed under her gentle touch and he let himself sink back into the pillows, all the time struggling for control. Nami herself was exchanging short glances with Chopper and Franky, both of them got the clue.

“Nami .. may I leave you two for a little while? I need to fix some ointments for the wounds, otherwise they’re still going to leave very ugly scars.”

“Yeah, and I’ll try my best to see the ship being coated or otherwise able to dive again. That’s going to take some time, I guess. See ya later, bro.”, Franky said as he held the door open for Chopper before both of them left the room. Outside, though, they went a few steps away from the infirmary and quietly began talking to each other.

“You think cook-bro, will make it, doc?”

“Yes, Sanji is inhumanly strong, these wounds won’t stop him for long. He’ll be ready to fight again very soon.”, Chopper replied, taking the obvious path that made it necessary for Franky to specify his question.

“Not his injuries, man. You know what I’m talking about. Have you seen his eyes? They’re empty, there’s no fire in there anymore. It’s like his will to live has been taken away instead of Brook!”, before the conversation could run rampant, though, Chopper raised his hoof.

“Shh, they’re talking. Nami might be the only person able to bring him back from where he is right now. Maybe we should just put our trust in her and do whatever we can to support it?”, the reindeer’s fine sense of hearing wasn’t stopped by the infirmary’s thick, wooden door. An advantage he had over the mechanically enhanced body of Franky. The cyborg nodded and slowly approached the door for the off-chance of hearing parts of their conversation himself, but to no avail.

“You sure they'll be able to work something out?”, he asked again after returning to chopper, lowering his voice as much as possible. If the cook was able to use his Haki right now, he'd know of their presence anyway, but the sheer thought of eavesdropping on their nakama felt disquieting.

“Can't tell, Franky, I really can't .. but he's talking to her, at least. More than a few words at a time. More than simple accusations. Isn't it strange how he's able to open up to her? It's like she really is someone special to him, like .. like a sister!”, to that, the more experienced and – at least in some ways – more mature Franky burst into laughter and softly padded the reindeer's shoulders.

“Well bro, 'sister' might not be the word you're looking for. You know, doctor, sometimes a man might not be able to open up to his closest kin, but if there's a woman holding dominion over his heart, she'll burn down all the walls and get right through to him. I'm sure that you're going to understand that in due time.”, the thought alone seemed to shock Chopper, that even within all of their true companionship, there was still a different level of relation to reach.

“YOU MEAN HE'S IN LOVE WITH HER?!”

Sometimes, when the night is at her blackest, a single, endless void that seemed like an ocean, one could still find a star. A beacon of light.

Sometimes, that single beacon of light was all that was needed to lift the spirit, to keep it going.

At other times, this beacon of light was nothing but a ghost light.

When Nami rushed out of the infirmary to shout at the eavesdroppers, they thought that things would get back to normal soon enough. They were wrong.

“See, bro, for about two months we thought that things might get back to how they were again, sure, blondie talked a little less than usual, but he got back to cooking and fighting and flattering the women. None of us realised that we began to rot from within, until it was too late. For a few weeks, I even thought that blondie and the bride might have something good going. Probably not going to have to mention that I was wrong, and things went downhill from there.”, Chopper nodded in agreement.

“Guess you could say that our time together simply ran out. Brook's last stand had made an impact on our crew that none of us was aware of .. until we were falling apart. You know, bro, I'm actually happy to see that my sis found someone to spend her life with, because she deserves happiness. It's just that I think that her true purpose is still out there, on the sea. She might be content with being wed, but to the last of her days, I'm sure she'll ask herself what could have been ..”, again, the hilarious sight of seeing tears running down in streams from a cyborg's face.

“He's torturing himself.”, even though Chopper was in his fluffy form, the one that possessed a rather high voice, too, he sounded as sombre as it gets. A fact that surprised both of his conversational partners.

“What? Who?”

“Sanji. You've implied it yourself, didn't you, Franky? That he might be in love with her.”, he was looking up to the cyborg's face, not waiting for an answer.

“I now think that you've been right all the way. That, and we both know Sanji. He isn't one to change, at least not by a lot, not when it's concerning something that is important to him. The ladies, the All Blue, cooking, I'm sure that all of these will never cease to be of utmost importance to him. Still, if you take a look at him now, he's just sitting there all by himself instead of courting any of the young ladies here. This has to mean something! She's the one who carved her name onto his heart, Franky!”

The cyborg wanted to reply something, he might have even wanted to tell the reindeer to stop dreaming. Instead, he looked at the stranger, of all people, for help. He smiled.

“I don't have all the answers, my friends, but .. after all, you're still pirates, aren't you? Freedom does have a different, one could say a more 'extreme', meaning to you than to other people. Maybe, maybe, maybe .. there is so much more to see, so much more to do. What use are dreams if you never chase them? Oh, and I personally think that it's better to go regretting to have said something than to regret not to have said it, these are not the times for things to remain unspoken.

All of you are still young enough to take back the night.

Maybe it is your purpose to inherit these seas.”

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