Absence, chapter 10, part 2
Dec. 4th, 2011 09:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rainsometimesTitle: Absence, chapter 10. Part two.
Continued from Absence, Chapter 10, part 1. For disclaimer, warning and more info, see that part. Forward-dated to avoid f-list spamming.
"A slingshot? Yeah!" The young mermaid nodded brightly at Franky's question. "I made it myself, most of it at least! And I'm getting a lot better at using it, too!" Her hands went to the oblong box she carried, opening it and taking out a big slingshot. Brook tilted his head to see it better among the glitter of sunlight on the waves. So that's what she had used to shoot acorns at them. He blinked. Wasn't that shape rather unusual? "I have to keep it in the case 'cause the water's no good for the rubber," she explained. "Dad made the case for me... But I want to make weapons you can use in the water, too. When I'm big I'll be strong enough to defend Mum and Dad and no-one's gonna catch me again!"
"Hey, that's good thinking," said Franky approvingly. "Maybe I could give you some pointers about that... well, not right now, anyway." He scratched his chin. "I know a way to treat rubber so it won't stop working in the water."
Nisi's eyes grew wide. "Really...?" She seemed to want to ask more about that, but a soft cry from Chopper stopped here.
"That shape...!" the reindeer exclaimed. He bent forward to look at the slingshot intently. It was unusually big and rounded, with short wooden spikes nailed into it. Though smaller, it reminded Brook a lot of Usopp's main weapons, the Kabuto. But he didn't understand what the spikes would be good for in this case, unless...
Chopper seemed to think the same thing. "You don't... have dials, do you?" he asked the mermaid girl.
"Dials...? Oh! We got one of those – at least, Dad said he thought the shell that can shine is a dial. A 'light dial'. It's reeeal old and no-one knows where it's from." She frowned, looking confused and waved the slingshot around a bit. "What's that got to do with my weapon?"
"Oh. Um, it's nothing – not important." Chopper looked pale. "Î was just surprised by the shape... but it doesn't matter."
Nisi seemed embarrassed and put her slingshot back in the case. "I just thought that's how they're supposed to look," she mumbled.
Chopper drew in air sharply and exclaimed, "So then you've –!" then shut his mouth abruptly, as Brook and Franky gave him warning looks. Chopper swerved around with his back towards the mermaid, clenching his front hoofs and trembling violently.
He didn't look well at all, thought Brook, who had a very cold feeling in his stomach himself.
Miss Nisi hadn't moved away this time, but she shrank a little, her eyes large and anxious. After a few long seconds, she blurted out, "I didn't steal this, you know!" She tugged on the yellow bandanna-scarf. "I got it! My hand was hurt and bleeding, and those guys used it like a bandage when they helped me, so there!" Her voice sank down; her tail was twitching and splashing back and forth in the water. "Mum washed it for me later," she added.
"Ah... Miss Nisi," said Brook hesitantly, "when you say "those guys"..." He stopped, unsure how to continue. "...Would you perchance be talking about two or three of our crewmates?" he finally asked diffidently.
"Mm-hm," assented Nisi, looking away into the water. "They helped me get free," she mumbled. "That one with the strawhat who's the captain and can stretch. And, and the other one." She tugged at her scarf again, then spun her slingshot around in the air, slowly. Finally she put the weapon back in the case and snapped it shut.
Brook felt tentatively on the rock, making sure it was there to keep him steady in the face of dizziness. He wiped sweat off his cheekbones with a well-worn handkerchief. "Oh, my," he mumbled under his breath.
"Huuuh." Franky exhaled slowly. Brook raised his gaze to see the cyborg leaning back with an even more serious look at the young mermaid. Chopper still stood with his back turned to her, holding himself rigid and staring fixedly at the ground.
"So... Acorn-Sis," Franky said quietly, "d'you know why we came back here? What we're out here looking for?" He gestured towards the whole of the bay in a sweeping movement; Brook followed it, letting his eyes rest on the spot where they had left their packs, and the spade that was tied to Franky's pack. From this distance he wondered if Miss Nisi could see it, though.
Nisi only nodded slowly, her eyes wide and fearful. She crouched where she sat, inching a bit further into the water.
Brook coughed. "Then, would it perhaps be possible for you to lend us some assistance, young lady?" he asked delicately.
"He means, can you tell us where we oughta go, if you know it?" added Franky. Chopper turned around again, more composed now.
Nisi looked unsure. "It's a secret," she said. "I'm not supposed to– but Dad said he'd take you there if he could, and Mum said that was right..." She nodded and drew herself up, adjusting the slingshot case. "I could tell you. But," she put her head to the side and regarded them quizzically, "you can't go there."
"Why not?" asked Chopper.
"Because you're human."
"No, I'm not," objected Chopper.
"Oh. Right!" Nisi pointed at Chopper. "I forgot! Can you breathe under water like we can, then?"
"Nah, he can't," Franky broke in, "and not only that, but both him and the skeleton sink like stones in the water. I'm a pretty super swimmer, though. Built myself to be, see? So, is this place you're talking about under water, then?"
Nisi shook her head. "Not the whole place," she said, as if this should be obvious. "It's just the way in." She waved towards the island. "There's another way in that's on land, but I don't know the way, I never go there."
Franky exchanged looks with his two crewmates, then said slowly, "That's no big problem, long as these two idiots won't fall into the water when I'm gone. I'll just go get something from our boat we can use to go to that place in."
The mini-submarine vessel, of course. But for Franky to swim all the way to Thousand Sunny alone... Brook wasn't certain he liked it. Not in these waters.
Chopper expressed the same concern. "But what about seakings?" he pointed out. "I know you're strong, Franky, but still..."
"Oh," said Nisi, "they're not here right now. Except for some old ones, and Dad went to talk with them before, he said they wouldn't attack you... The rest went to that Calm Belt place to make babies, and Mum and Dad said they'll probbly be a lot less dangerous than they used to be once they come back."
"Well, that's all right then," said Brook, immediately believing her. Franky just nodded and stretched.
"Sure, whatever," he said. "Don't worry, I'll be back real soon. I'm pretty fast this week. Just don't any of you idiots fall in in the meantime, okay?"
Chopper and Brook nodded. "Okay! Just be careful!" Chopper cried out. Franky went over to the side that faced away from the bay and jumped into the water with a handsome splash.
"Um..." Nisi splashed her tail around indecisively, then quickly said, "I could go with you. I know I'm just eight, but I'm a lot faster than I used to be!"
"Nah, I'll be okay," shouted Franky from the other side. He started to swim with steady, powerful strokes, adding over his shoulders, "I've got some good experiences with big fishes, too. Besides, if it's just a few ones out there, I can handle it even if they change their minds about playing nice. Bye!"
And soon he'd disappeared out of sight. Chopper sighed faintly while Brook got up on his feet, spinning his cane in a circle.
Miss Nisi still looked at where Franky had swum off. "He's so big and blocky and metal-y I thought he'd sink. But he's pretty fast."
"Mr Franky is powered by cola," said Brook. Then he fell quiet for a moment, lost in new thoughts. He turned his head, letting the eyes he didn't have sweep the bay, settling on three distant, bulky shapes at the forest's edge. "Porcupines," he murmured. "Crocodiles…"
"What's cola?" said Nisi behind him. "Are you powered by that, too, Mr Skeleton?"
Brook turned around, looked at the child blankly for a moment, then at Chopper. "I seem to remember there being quite a bit of hostile animals on this island, when we were here before."
Chopper nodded, looking surprised and a little puzzled. "Yeah, there were. Some of them were controlled by the Marines… some just seemed grumpy, like they hated all strangers. But now we've hardly seem any."
"That's 'cause the bone whistle broke," said Nisi. "Because he smashed it. Dad says so."
"Ah… Well, in any case," said Brook, whose empty head felt quite heavy by now, "they might still be tempted by the food in our packs." He pointed towards the distant bulky shapes. "Perhaps we should return there for now."
Chopper nodded. "Yes, we should drink some more water," he said. "Um. I might be able to eat a sandwich, too."
Brook agreed. He couldn't say he was looking forward to the proposed submarine trip and its eventual goal, but he had to admit he felt some relief they didn't have to keep doing their search right now. It was only postponing things, of course. Sometimes that was all one could do, though. Like getting a brief respite from battle.
"I'll go with you," said Nisi. "I'll shoot acorns at them if they try! Even if they're badgers."
"Badgers can be frightful," Brook agreed, then took a few steps back before leaping over to the closest rock. Chopper followed him as they made their way back on the rocky outcrop towards the safety of the beach, warning him to be careful. Miss Nisi kept pace with them in the water.
Brook wondered, as he scrambled for footing on slippery stones, if he ought to question the girl some more. His poor ghostly brain didn't seem to work quite properly right now. She knew where Usopp was, that was sure (unless, of course, she was lying, but what earthly reason would she have for that?). Would it do any good to try to find out what they would see, once they made their way there? He tried out a few sentences in his head, then discarded them all. No. It was weak of him, but... he would prefer to postpone that part of it, too.
"Hey," Chopper said to Nisi as they approached the beach, "you never said who your dad is."
"Um... he's a merman..." Nisi all but stopped, this close to the shore, her tail going back and forth in a circle. She with her slingshot case and didn't look at either of them.
"Does he or your mother know you're here?" Chopper persisted.
"They... uh... maybe." Nisi dove into the water again, emerging farther from the shore than before. "There aren't even any badgers there!" she yelled at them. "I'm going to go practice."
After that, they didn't see much of her, as they made their way back to the forest's edge, where their packs still stood unharmed in the shade. But they had little doubt she was still there. Occasionally they'd hear the sound of acorns hitting rocks or tree trunks further away.
*
Sanji stood there in the half-lit mountain tunnel for what felt like a very long time, Robin and the merman waiting silently behind him. Those two apparently had not trouble breathing, so there must be plenty of oxygen in this place after all, even though he felt close to fainting. Even leaning on the wall of the curved path, his legs barely held him up.
It wasn't like a battle of wills between reason and emotion with him now, nothing like that. Reason, duty, loyalty had got him this far; now they had given up and fallen away, lying exhausted by the wayside. But his emotions were not in much better shape, rammed and battered and tossed around as they'd been, like rowboats by giant iron battleships. They had retreated, too, nothing to offer.
No, it was simply his body itself that refused to move, that didn't want Sanji to go on and reach the place where the path ended. It was his body that said, here and no further, and Sanji found little if anything left in him to fight this refusal.
Later, he would think of those first few stumbling steps he'd finally taken as one of the hardest things he'd ever had done. In the end, he wasn't even sure what pushed him to move, at long last: maybe just the tired knowing that this did need to be done.
But there were times when he would find himself thinking that the Sanji who'd drawn a long rasping breath as he pushed himself off the wall was not the same Sanji who had come to a dead stop in front of it. And that there was no going back to that earlier Sanji from then on.
That being said, he still doubted he'd managed to walk the rest of the way, had not Robin come up beside him almost immediately, hooking an arm in his. He was faintly aware he'd normally be both embarrassed and deeply thrilled at such an unusual gesture. But now, he just felt a dangerously soft and warm gratitude wash over him, one he needed to squash down and control lest it made him a blubbering mess. He managed to send her a tired, bleak smile; then kept his head down and just focused on taking the next breath, the next step, the next breath again. There were footsteps on the other side of the sloping path, Ananshio keeping his distance.
They walked like that for a few minutes, down the widening path that grew lighter and lighter, with a new smell of cooking in the air. Until finally it ended into a high and wide open space, a cavern about the size of two-and-a-half Thousand Sunny's. They had arrived at the hide-out.
*
Looking at the great cave in front of him, Sanji leaned on Robin for a moment before he managed to let go and straightened up. As Ananshio had mentioned before, there was daylight here, coming from a shaft in the ceiling that stretched all the way to the mountaintop. Straight below it on the ground was a modest patch of vegetables. They all looked rather small, but that they grew at all with what was likely nothing more than half an hour's sunlight at most each day was quite impressive.
About two-thirds of the cave floor was relatively even, but towards the far end, the ground sloped gently downwards again into a large basin of water that reached the wall of rock opposite where they were standing. Sanji couldn't see down to the underwater passage that Ananshio had mentioned, but there was a faint swell and ebb to the water that spoke of a connection to the sea. There were plenty of seaweed in the water, some of it winding like vines up support planks. A pair of child-sized crutches leaned against the edge in the shallows, presumably for Ananshio's daughter to use.
On all the walls of the cave except the far one above the basin, faintly luminous moss grew in patches, helping to illuminate the place; Sanji also spied an unlit oil-lamp in a corner. Along the walls of the cave there were shelves, bedrolls, barrels and a various other smaller things. Near the centre of the room were chairs, a sofa that seemed carved from a treetrunk, a workman's table full of tools, urns and bottles with a medical look to them. Next to it was a larger table or perhaps a raised mattressless bed, looking even more medical. Even the big green tome on the table looked quite similar to one he'd often seen Chopper leaf through.
Not far from the vegetable patch was a brick-built stove with an elaborate chimney folding upwards and disappearing into a crack. A pot was boiling on the stove, letting out smells of cabbage and carrots and a hint of pork. And right next to it, stirring the soup and taking a thoughtful sip with a spoon, stood a dark-haired middle-aged woman.
Sanji found himself straightening up a little more and adjusting his tie, politeness instinct kicking in. The woman – the mermaid, as she must be – had probably looked very lovely when young, he thought. She must be close to forty by now, though, and years and burdens of life had clearly taken their toll. There were lines of age and distress around her mouth and eyes, and her figure was skinny and angular rather than slim.
But the wavy black hair she kept in a high bun was still beautiful, and as she left the stove behind and walked over to them, he thought the same of her clear, brown eyes and the direct gaze she fastened on them. How dare that bastard Ananshio let himself get enslaved for five years and cause her trouble, flashed through Sanji's mind for a second. She wore a green cardigan over a simple linen blouse, two black cloth shoes and a pair of wide trousers that ended well above her ankles, revealing a few shimmering scales that looked charming rather than startling. Clearly this lady didn't see a need to hide who she was, at least not in this place.
"Hello," said the mermaid in a low, calm voice. "You would be of the Strawhat Pirates, right?" She glanced at her husband.
"They are," said Ananshio, stepping forward and turning to Robin and Sanji. "This is my wife, Piriko," he told them, then to her, "This here's Sanji Blackleg and Nico Robin."
Sanji bowed and Robin nodded. But Piriko had already started to bow herself, quite deeply, holding her head down for several seconds. "Welcome to our hide-out. Thank you very much for the great services you have done for my home and my family."
"It was just a coincidence," mumbled Sanji, fishing up a cigarette to hide his embarrassment.
Robin took a deep breath, and when she spoke, Sanji could hear the effort it took to keep her voice level. "Your husband told us we would find answers here. He told us... we would find our crewmate here."
"He was right," said Piriko. "Please, do sit down." She gestured at the sofa, then said "Keep an eye on the pot, will you?" to Ananshio. Then she fetched a wooden box of the sort that might have floated to shore as driftwood. She put it on the ground in front of them before sitting down on it.
There was a pause. Sanji felt his heart beat harder, but it was somewhere far away from the rest of him. He bit on his cigarette and looked down at the floor, no longer very interested in the cave's interior.
Piriko cleared her throat. "On that day," she said softly, "I didn't know what was going on, except that my husband would have to do a very dangerous thing for the Marines involving a pirate crew I knew little about and cared less for. But then he – so the Commander had said – would win his freedom. And I knew that I and my daughter were hostages for his good behaviour. We had been careless and unlucky, and they managed to capture us.
"They separated us, taking my daughter away from me – I still think they meant to sell her. My husband freed me and because of my slow leg, I knew I couldn't be much help running after her. So instead I swam off to this hide-out of mine. We have managed to keep it a secret over the years, despite my tending patients here on some occasions. Of course, we never let a human know of the other way in, the one over land. Until now."
Ananshio came over to them and handed the Strawhats a mug of water each, taken from the barrel that Sanji had seen before. Sanji held it and didn't drink. He glanced quickly at Robin, whose beautiful face was achingly pale and set, then hesitantly moved his arm towards her, reaching out. She took it immediately.
Then Sanji raised his head and was watching Piriko again, the soft and hard lines of her face; her solemn, unwavering gaze that encompassed both of them.
"Then my husband appeared, with my daughter, carrying a human stranger who was unconscious and bleeding profusely – close to death, in fact, I saw. My husband cried to me, "We have to save this one, please, do the best you've ever done," and my daughter said much the same; I ran to get the operating table in order. There was no time for talking and catching up. I got to work as fast as I could.
"We used a new method I've developed myself, putting him in near-stasis through a chilled-down coated bubble, to slow down all the processes but the most vital ones. We also put an oxygen-bubble around his head to help him breathe. I had very little of his blood type in stock, but it was the same as my husband's, so we were able to give him several transfusions.
"My husband told me of what had transpired in bits and pieces as we worked; small bits that wouldn't distract me. I would have trusted my husband's judgment and followed my healer's creed in any case, but hearing about all of it... my daughter's rescue, the Commander's defeat, the destruction of the bone whistle... well, it certainly didn't make me work any less, you will understand.
She paused, then continued at a slightly slower pace, looking out into the air thoughtfully for a few moments. "Believe me when I say we struggled very hard. We hardly slept during those days, and ate little. Yet I would say that he struggled even harder. I could sense the stubbornness of his soul as we worked; we both could. He even managed to reach consciousness a couple of times on the second, third and fourth day. He said a few words, then..." She looked down, her hands running down the legs of her trousers, smoothing them. "He fought so hard," she repeated quietly.
"It wasn't enough," Sanji said hollowly, no longer trying to steel himself and pushing away heart-breaking news. He already knew, had known for a while now, since hearing Ananshio starting to talk about ghosts. The last remnant of the desperate hope that had woken – much though he'd tried to quench it – when Nami told him of the merfolk healers of Turnweed Island... that remnant had given up and fled before he stepped into the hideout.
"It was not," she said simply. "After four days and four nights, he stopped breathing."
Robin breathed out, slowly, a long, long, long, deep sigh. Her grip on Sanji's arm relaxed a tiny bit. Then it tightened again.
Four days. Four days during which they had all been sailing away from here, thinking it was all over... "Why the hell didn't we stay?" he said angrily. "Why the hell didn't we realise... If he could have sensed us being here, if Chopper could have been here to help, then maybe... At least, at least he wouldn't have been alone!"
"But how could you have known?" asked Piriko. "You didn't even know my husband is a merman, let alone we have a hideout here. You couldn't have found him since we took him away underwater, even if you'd dealt with all the Marines that remained. It was us that should have tried to find some way of contacting you, and if only there'd been more of us here, we'd have done it easily. But I couldn't spare my husband, I needed him here to assist me. My daughter actually asked if she could swim out and look for you, but we didn't dare let her. She's only eight."
"We... we should still have known, somehow," muttered Sanji irrationally. "We ought to have sensed it."
"Sanji," Robin said quietly, "I think we need to see him. So we can report to the others."
So they wouldn't have to see it and make sure. After a pause, Sanji nodded, heavily. They stood up.
"Please show us where he is, Madame," he said thickly.
Piriko nodded. "Of course." She stood up as well, leading them to a corner of the room. Sanji realised what he'd taken for a mossclad patch on the wall was actually a curtain made of that same faintly luminous moss, presumably covering another opening in the rock behind it. This part of the cave was much colder than the rest.
Piriko turned to them and said, "He is well preserved. We have kept him in the sphere to halt the body's decay, and used all the ice from our root cellar for it. Though," she added in a lower tone, as Ananshio gave her the light dial and she activated it, "I think if you had waited a few more days to get here, it would be different."
She lifted a corner of the curtain, opening a door behind it. Robin squeezed Sanji's hand as they followed her inside.
*
The first thing Robin thought of was, It's so cold. Then her eyes adjusted to the cold of the room, and the next thing was, There he is.
And then she frowned, let go of Sanji's hand and stepped forward. There must be some kind of mistake. He doesn't look dead.
"He' s so small," Sanji said behind her, sounding small and lost himself.
He didn't look that small to Robin. She wondered for a moment if Sanji, instead of the muscular young man Usopp had become, might instead be seeing the scrawny youth from back when Robin had first joined, or even before that in East Blue.
She reached out a hand and then stopped, unwilling to break through the coated bubble. There were blocks of ice around the low bed, even inside the bubble. And yet despite the blueish skin with some green tints, and the dark blue-purple lips, Usopp's body looked more cold than dead to her. Warm him up, quick, put him in some hot water, flashed through her mind irrationally. But then it hit home how lifelessly still he was, no breath going out in a cloud in the cold air, no tiny movement of the chest. His bandages must have been changed and re-changed, they were white without any blood stains. Had the merfolk couple made an effort to present him looking well to the crew? As if any of that mattered, she thought dully, numbly.
His head was bare, no hat anywhere. He wore only his trousers, and bandages. On the other side of the bed she saw his familiar bag leaned against the cave wall, two of his weapons sticking up from it.
"It's not right," she said suddenly. "He's not supposed to be cold." Usopp had been all about fire and explosions, of warmth and movement and liveliness, of shouts and laughter and reaching out to people, the very opposite of lying cold and lifeless in a bubble of isolation. She realised her cheeks were hot and wet. "I-it's not right," she repeated stupidly, backing away. Sanji was there to put an arm of support over her shoulders.
"We... we probably shouldn't touch him," he whispered hoarsely. "We shouldn't break through the sphere until the others get here, just – just in case they're delayed or something."
"I, I agree," mumbled Robin, wiping her eyes and nose though the tears kept coming, soundlessly. It was a superstitious thought, as there was no way that the body would corrupt that quickly. But she understood that superstition.
She was shaking with the cold as they made their way out of there, and maybe with more. Sanji was trembling, too, but not as much as he had before, on the mountain path. He was already prepared for this, she realised.
Outside the smaller room, Ananshio walked over to them, looking both solemn and worried.
"You said 'it's not that simple'," Sanji growled, but without looking at him. He didn't seem to have much energy to spare.
Ananshio looked at the ground. "I-I'm sorry I didn't put it the right way and made you hope," he mumbled. "But I wasn't going to lie to you, not again. And the truth really is complicated."
Sanji gave him a disgusted look that said more clearly than words, What the hell are you talking about? There's nothing "complicated" about it.
The merman took a deep breath. "As my wife said... he isn't alive anymore. He can't come back to you, he can't. But. He also isn't gone, either. That's the problem."
End of Chapter 10
- To be continued in Chapter 11
Continued from Absence, Chapter 10, part 1. For disclaimer, warning and more info, see that part. Forward-dated to avoid f-list spamming.
"A slingshot? Yeah!" The young mermaid nodded brightly at Franky's question. "I made it myself, most of it at least! And I'm getting a lot better at using it, too!" Her hands went to the oblong box she carried, opening it and taking out a big slingshot. Brook tilted his head to see it better among the glitter of sunlight on the waves. So that's what she had used to shoot acorns at them. He blinked. Wasn't that shape rather unusual? "I have to keep it in the case 'cause the water's no good for the rubber," she explained. "Dad made the case for me... But I want to make weapons you can use in the water, too. When I'm big I'll be strong enough to defend Mum and Dad and no-one's gonna catch me again!"
"Hey, that's good thinking," said Franky approvingly. "Maybe I could give you some pointers about that... well, not right now, anyway." He scratched his chin. "I know a way to treat rubber so it won't stop working in the water."
Nisi's eyes grew wide. "Really...?" She seemed to want to ask more about that, but a soft cry from Chopper stopped here.
"That shape...!" the reindeer exclaimed. He bent forward to look at the slingshot intently. It was unusually big and rounded, with short wooden spikes nailed into it. Though smaller, it reminded Brook a lot of Usopp's main weapons, the Kabuto. But he didn't understand what the spikes would be good for in this case, unless...
Chopper seemed to think the same thing. "You don't... have dials, do you?" he asked the mermaid girl.
"Dials...? Oh! We got one of those – at least, Dad said he thought the shell that can shine is a dial. A 'light dial'. It's reeeal old and no-one knows where it's from." She frowned, looking confused and waved the slingshot around a bit. "What's that got to do with my weapon?"
"Oh. Um, it's nothing – not important." Chopper looked pale. "Î was just surprised by the shape... but it doesn't matter."
Nisi seemed embarrassed and put her slingshot back in the case. "I just thought that's how they're supposed to look," she mumbled.
Chopper drew in air sharply and exclaimed, "So then you've –!" then shut his mouth abruptly, as Brook and Franky gave him warning looks. Chopper swerved around with his back towards the mermaid, clenching his front hoofs and trembling violently.
He didn't look well at all, thought Brook, who had a very cold feeling in his stomach himself.
Miss Nisi hadn't moved away this time, but she shrank a little, her eyes large and anxious. After a few long seconds, she blurted out, "I didn't steal this, you know!" She tugged on the yellow bandanna-scarf. "I got it! My hand was hurt and bleeding, and those guys used it like a bandage when they helped me, so there!" Her voice sank down; her tail was twitching and splashing back and forth in the water. "Mum washed it for me later," she added.
"Ah... Miss Nisi," said Brook hesitantly, "when you say "those guys"..." He stopped, unsure how to continue. "...Would you perchance be talking about two or three of our crewmates?" he finally asked diffidently.
"Mm-hm," assented Nisi, looking away into the water. "They helped me get free," she mumbled. "That one with the strawhat who's the captain and can stretch. And, and the other one." She tugged at her scarf again, then spun her slingshot around in the air, slowly. Finally she put the weapon back in the case and snapped it shut.
Brook felt tentatively on the rock, making sure it was there to keep him steady in the face of dizziness. He wiped sweat off his cheekbones with a well-worn handkerchief. "Oh, my," he mumbled under his breath.
"Huuuh." Franky exhaled slowly. Brook raised his gaze to see the cyborg leaning back with an even more serious look at the young mermaid. Chopper still stood with his back turned to her, holding himself rigid and staring fixedly at the ground.
"So... Acorn-Sis," Franky said quietly, "d'you know why we came back here? What we're out here looking for?" He gestured towards the whole of the bay in a sweeping movement; Brook followed it, letting his eyes rest on the spot where they had left their packs, and the spade that was tied to Franky's pack. From this distance he wondered if Miss Nisi could see it, though.
Nisi only nodded slowly, her eyes wide and fearful. She crouched where she sat, inching a bit further into the water.
Brook coughed. "Then, would it perhaps be possible for you to lend us some assistance, young lady?" he asked delicately.
"He means, can you tell us where we oughta go, if you know it?" added Franky. Chopper turned around again, more composed now.
Nisi looked unsure. "It's a secret," she said. "I'm not supposed to– but Dad said he'd take you there if he could, and Mum said that was right..." She nodded and drew herself up, adjusting the slingshot case. "I could tell you. But," she put her head to the side and regarded them quizzically, "you can't go there."
"Why not?" asked Chopper.
"Because you're human."
"No, I'm not," objected Chopper.
"Oh. Right!" Nisi pointed at Chopper. "I forgot! Can you breathe under water like we can, then?"
"Nah, he can't," Franky broke in, "and not only that, but both him and the skeleton sink like stones in the water. I'm a pretty super swimmer, though. Built myself to be, see? So, is this place you're talking about under water, then?"
Nisi shook her head. "Not the whole place," she said, as if this should be obvious. "It's just the way in." She waved towards the island. "There's another way in that's on land, but I don't know the way, I never go there."
Franky exchanged looks with his two crewmates, then said slowly, "That's no big problem, long as these two idiots won't fall into the water when I'm gone. I'll just go get something from our boat we can use to go to that place in."
The mini-submarine vessel, of course. But for Franky to swim all the way to Thousand Sunny alone... Brook wasn't certain he liked it. Not in these waters.
Chopper expressed the same concern. "But what about seakings?" he pointed out. "I know you're strong, Franky, but still..."
"Oh," said Nisi, "they're not here right now. Except for some old ones, and Dad went to talk with them before, he said they wouldn't attack you... The rest went to that Calm Belt place to make babies, and Mum and Dad said they'll probbly be a lot less dangerous than they used to be once they come back."
"Well, that's all right then," said Brook, immediately believing her. Franky just nodded and stretched.
"Sure, whatever," he said. "Don't worry, I'll be back real soon. I'm pretty fast this week. Just don't any of you idiots fall in in the meantime, okay?"
Chopper and Brook nodded. "Okay! Just be careful!" Chopper cried out. Franky went over to the side that faced away from the bay and jumped into the water with a handsome splash.
"Um..." Nisi splashed her tail around indecisively, then quickly said, "I could go with you. I know I'm just eight, but I'm a lot faster than I used to be!"
"Nah, I'll be okay," shouted Franky from the other side. He started to swim with steady, powerful strokes, adding over his shoulders, "I've got some good experiences with big fishes, too. Besides, if it's just a few ones out there, I can handle it even if they change their minds about playing nice. Bye!"
And soon he'd disappeared out of sight. Chopper sighed faintly while Brook got up on his feet, spinning his cane in a circle.
Miss Nisi still looked at where Franky had swum off. "He's so big and blocky and metal-y I thought he'd sink. But he's pretty fast."
"Mr Franky is powered by cola," said Brook. Then he fell quiet for a moment, lost in new thoughts. He turned his head, letting the eyes he didn't have sweep the bay, settling on three distant, bulky shapes at the forest's edge. "Porcupines," he murmured. "Crocodiles…"
"What's cola?" said Nisi behind him. "Are you powered by that, too, Mr Skeleton?"
Brook turned around, looked at the child blankly for a moment, then at Chopper. "I seem to remember there being quite a bit of hostile animals on this island, when we were here before."
Chopper nodded, looking surprised and a little puzzled. "Yeah, there were. Some of them were controlled by the Marines… some just seemed grumpy, like they hated all strangers. But now we've hardly seem any."
"That's 'cause the bone whistle broke," said Nisi. "Because he smashed it. Dad says so."
"Ah… Well, in any case," said Brook, whose empty head felt quite heavy by now, "they might still be tempted by the food in our packs." He pointed towards the distant bulky shapes. "Perhaps we should return there for now."
Chopper nodded. "Yes, we should drink some more water," he said. "Um. I might be able to eat a sandwich, too."
Brook agreed. He couldn't say he was looking forward to the proposed submarine trip and its eventual goal, but he had to admit he felt some relief they didn't have to keep doing their search right now. It was only postponing things, of course. Sometimes that was all one could do, though. Like getting a brief respite from battle.
"I'll go with you," said Nisi. "I'll shoot acorns at them if they try! Even if they're badgers."
"Badgers can be frightful," Brook agreed, then took a few steps back before leaping over to the closest rock. Chopper followed him as they made their way back on the rocky outcrop towards the safety of the beach, warning him to be careful. Miss Nisi kept pace with them in the water.
Brook wondered, as he scrambled for footing on slippery stones, if he ought to question the girl some more. His poor ghostly brain didn't seem to work quite properly right now. She knew where Usopp was, that was sure (unless, of course, she was lying, but what earthly reason would she have for that?). Would it do any good to try to find out what they would see, once they made their way there? He tried out a few sentences in his head, then discarded them all. No. It was weak of him, but... he would prefer to postpone that part of it, too.
"Hey," Chopper said to Nisi as they approached the beach, "you never said who your dad is."
"Um... he's a merman..." Nisi all but stopped, this close to the shore, her tail going back and forth in a circle. She with her slingshot case and didn't look at either of them.
"Does he or your mother know you're here?" Chopper persisted.
"They... uh... maybe." Nisi dove into the water again, emerging farther from the shore than before. "There aren't even any badgers there!" she yelled at them. "I'm going to go practice."
After that, they didn't see much of her, as they made their way back to the forest's edge, where their packs still stood unharmed in the shade. But they had little doubt she was still there. Occasionally they'd hear the sound of acorns hitting rocks or tree trunks further away.
*
Sanji stood there in the half-lit mountain tunnel for what felt like a very long time, Robin and the merman waiting silently behind him. Those two apparently had not trouble breathing, so there must be plenty of oxygen in this place after all, even though he felt close to fainting. Even leaning on the wall of the curved path, his legs barely held him up.
It wasn't like a battle of wills between reason and emotion with him now, nothing like that. Reason, duty, loyalty had got him this far; now they had given up and fallen away, lying exhausted by the wayside. But his emotions were not in much better shape, rammed and battered and tossed around as they'd been, like rowboats by giant iron battleships. They had retreated, too, nothing to offer.
No, it was simply his body itself that refused to move, that didn't want Sanji to go on and reach the place where the path ended. It was his body that said, here and no further, and Sanji found little if anything left in him to fight this refusal.
Later, he would think of those first few stumbling steps he'd finally taken as one of the hardest things he'd ever had done. In the end, he wasn't even sure what pushed him to move, at long last: maybe just the tired knowing that this did need to be done.
But there were times when he would find himself thinking that the Sanji who'd drawn a long rasping breath as he pushed himself off the wall was not the same Sanji who had come to a dead stop in front of it. And that there was no going back to that earlier Sanji from then on.
That being said, he still doubted he'd managed to walk the rest of the way, had not Robin come up beside him almost immediately, hooking an arm in his. He was faintly aware he'd normally be both embarrassed and deeply thrilled at such an unusual gesture. But now, he just felt a dangerously soft and warm gratitude wash over him, one he needed to squash down and control lest it made him a blubbering mess. He managed to send her a tired, bleak smile; then kept his head down and just focused on taking the next breath, the next step, the next breath again. There were footsteps on the other side of the sloping path, Ananshio keeping his distance.
They walked like that for a few minutes, down the widening path that grew lighter and lighter, with a new smell of cooking in the air. Until finally it ended into a high and wide open space, a cavern about the size of two-and-a-half Thousand Sunny's. They had arrived at the hide-out.
*
Looking at the great cave in front of him, Sanji leaned on Robin for a moment before he managed to let go and straightened up. As Ananshio had mentioned before, there was daylight here, coming from a shaft in the ceiling that stretched all the way to the mountaintop. Straight below it on the ground was a modest patch of vegetables. They all looked rather small, but that they grew at all with what was likely nothing more than half an hour's sunlight at most each day was quite impressive.
About two-thirds of the cave floor was relatively even, but towards the far end, the ground sloped gently downwards again into a large basin of water that reached the wall of rock opposite where they were standing. Sanji couldn't see down to the underwater passage that Ananshio had mentioned, but there was a faint swell and ebb to the water that spoke of a connection to the sea. There were plenty of seaweed in the water, some of it winding like vines up support planks. A pair of child-sized crutches leaned against the edge in the shallows, presumably for Ananshio's daughter to use.
On all the walls of the cave except the far one above the basin, faintly luminous moss grew in patches, helping to illuminate the place; Sanji also spied an unlit oil-lamp in a corner. Along the walls of the cave there were shelves, bedrolls, barrels and a various other smaller things. Near the centre of the room were chairs, a sofa that seemed carved from a treetrunk, a workman's table full of tools, urns and bottles with a medical look to them. Next to it was a larger table or perhaps a raised mattressless bed, looking even more medical. Even the big green tome on the table looked quite similar to one he'd often seen Chopper leaf through.
Not far from the vegetable patch was a brick-built stove with an elaborate chimney folding upwards and disappearing into a crack. A pot was boiling on the stove, letting out smells of cabbage and carrots and a hint of pork. And right next to it, stirring the soup and taking a thoughtful sip with a spoon, stood a dark-haired middle-aged woman.
Sanji found himself straightening up a little more and adjusting his tie, politeness instinct kicking in. The woman – the mermaid, as she must be – had probably looked very lovely when young, he thought. She must be close to forty by now, though, and years and burdens of life had clearly taken their toll. There were lines of age and distress around her mouth and eyes, and her figure was skinny and angular rather than slim.
But the wavy black hair she kept in a high bun was still beautiful, and as she left the stove behind and walked over to them, he thought the same of her clear, brown eyes and the direct gaze she fastened on them. How dare that bastard Ananshio let himself get enslaved for five years and cause her trouble, flashed through Sanji's mind for a second. She wore a green cardigan over a simple linen blouse, two black cloth shoes and a pair of wide trousers that ended well above her ankles, revealing a few shimmering scales that looked charming rather than startling. Clearly this lady didn't see a need to hide who she was, at least not in this place.
"Hello," said the mermaid in a low, calm voice. "You would be of the Strawhat Pirates, right?" She glanced at her husband.
"They are," said Ananshio, stepping forward and turning to Robin and Sanji. "This is my wife, Piriko," he told them, then to her, "This here's Sanji Blackleg and Nico Robin."
Sanji bowed and Robin nodded. But Piriko had already started to bow herself, quite deeply, holding her head down for several seconds. "Welcome to our hide-out. Thank you very much for the great services you have done for my home and my family."
"It was just a coincidence," mumbled Sanji, fishing up a cigarette to hide his embarrassment.
Robin took a deep breath, and when she spoke, Sanji could hear the effort it took to keep her voice level. "Your husband told us we would find answers here. He told us... we would find our crewmate here."
"He was right," said Piriko. "Please, do sit down." She gestured at the sofa, then said "Keep an eye on the pot, will you?" to Ananshio. Then she fetched a wooden box of the sort that might have floated to shore as driftwood. She put it on the ground in front of them before sitting down on it.
There was a pause. Sanji felt his heart beat harder, but it was somewhere far away from the rest of him. He bit on his cigarette and looked down at the floor, no longer very interested in the cave's interior.
Piriko cleared her throat. "On that day," she said softly, "I didn't know what was going on, except that my husband would have to do a very dangerous thing for the Marines involving a pirate crew I knew little about and cared less for. But then he – so the Commander had said – would win his freedom. And I knew that I and my daughter were hostages for his good behaviour. We had been careless and unlucky, and they managed to capture us.
"They separated us, taking my daughter away from me – I still think they meant to sell her. My husband freed me and because of my slow leg, I knew I couldn't be much help running after her. So instead I swam off to this hide-out of mine. We have managed to keep it a secret over the years, despite my tending patients here on some occasions. Of course, we never let a human know of the other way in, the one over land. Until now."
Ananshio came over to them and handed the Strawhats a mug of water each, taken from the barrel that Sanji had seen before. Sanji held it and didn't drink. He glanced quickly at Robin, whose beautiful face was achingly pale and set, then hesitantly moved his arm towards her, reaching out. She took it immediately.
Then Sanji raised his head and was watching Piriko again, the soft and hard lines of her face; her solemn, unwavering gaze that encompassed both of them.
"Then my husband appeared, with my daughter, carrying a human stranger who was unconscious and bleeding profusely – close to death, in fact, I saw. My husband cried to me, "We have to save this one, please, do the best you've ever done," and my daughter said much the same; I ran to get the operating table in order. There was no time for talking and catching up. I got to work as fast as I could.
"We used a new method I've developed myself, putting him in near-stasis through a chilled-down coated bubble, to slow down all the processes but the most vital ones. We also put an oxygen-bubble around his head to help him breathe. I had very little of his blood type in stock, but it was the same as my husband's, so we were able to give him several transfusions.
"My husband told me of what had transpired in bits and pieces as we worked; small bits that wouldn't distract me. I would have trusted my husband's judgment and followed my healer's creed in any case, but hearing about all of it... my daughter's rescue, the Commander's defeat, the destruction of the bone whistle... well, it certainly didn't make me work any less, you will understand.
She paused, then continued at a slightly slower pace, looking out into the air thoughtfully for a few moments. "Believe me when I say we struggled very hard. We hardly slept during those days, and ate little. Yet I would say that he struggled even harder. I could sense the stubbornness of his soul as we worked; we both could. He even managed to reach consciousness a couple of times on the second, third and fourth day. He said a few words, then..." She looked down, her hands running down the legs of her trousers, smoothing them. "He fought so hard," she repeated quietly.
"It wasn't enough," Sanji said hollowly, no longer trying to steel himself and pushing away heart-breaking news. He already knew, had known for a while now, since hearing Ananshio starting to talk about ghosts. The last remnant of the desperate hope that had woken – much though he'd tried to quench it – when Nami told him of the merfolk healers of Turnweed Island... that remnant had given up and fled before he stepped into the hideout.
"It was not," she said simply. "After four days and four nights, he stopped breathing."
Robin breathed out, slowly, a long, long, long, deep sigh. Her grip on Sanji's arm relaxed a tiny bit. Then it tightened again.
Four days. Four days during which they had all been sailing away from here, thinking it was all over... "Why the hell didn't we stay?" he said angrily. "Why the hell didn't we realise... If he could have sensed us being here, if Chopper could have been here to help, then maybe... At least, at least he wouldn't have been alone!"
"But how could you have known?" asked Piriko. "You didn't even know my husband is a merman, let alone we have a hideout here. You couldn't have found him since we took him away underwater, even if you'd dealt with all the Marines that remained. It was us that should have tried to find some way of contacting you, and if only there'd been more of us here, we'd have done it easily. But I couldn't spare my husband, I needed him here to assist me. My daughter actually asked if she could swim out and look for you, but we didn't dare let her. She's only eight."
"We... we should still have known, somehow," muttered Sanji irrationally. "We ought to have sensed it."
"Sanji," Robin said quietly, "I think we need to see him. So we can report to the others."
So they wouldn't have to see it and make sure. After a pause, Sanji nodded, heavily. They stood up.
"Please show us where he is, Madame," he said thickly.
Piriko nodded. "Of course." She stood up as well, leading them to a corner of the room. Sanji realised what he'd taken for a mossclad patch on the wall was actually a curtain made of that same faintly luminous moss, presumably covering another opening in the rock behind it. This part of the cave was much colder than the rest.
Piriko turned to them and said, "He is well preserved. We have kept him in the sphere to halt the body's decay, and used all the ice from our root cellar for it. Though," she added in a lower tone, as Ananshio gave her the light dial and she activated it, "I think if you had waited a few more days to get here, it would be different."
She lifted a corner of the curtain, opening a door behind it. Robin squeezed Sanji's hand as they followed her inside.
*
The first thing Robin thought of was, It's so cold. Then her eyes adjusted to the cold of the room, and the next thing was, There he is.
And then she frowned, let go of Sanji's hand and stepped forward. There must be some kind of mistake. He doesn't look dead.
"He' s so small," Sanji said behind her, sounding small and lost himself.
He didn't look that small to Robin. She wondered for a moment if Sanji, instead of the muscular young man Usopp had become, might instead be seeing the scrawny youth from back when Robin had first joined, or even before that in East Blue.
She reached out a hand and then stopped, unwilling to break through the coated bubble. There were blocks of ice around the low bed, even inside the bubble. And yet despite the blueish skin with some green tints, and the dark blue-purple lips, Usopp's body looked more cold than dead to her. Warm him up, quick, put him in some hot water, flashed through her mind irrationally. But then it hit home how lifelessly still he was, no breath going out in a cloud in the cold air, no tiny movement of the chest. His bandages must have been changed and re-changed, they were white without any blood stains. Had the merfolk couple made an effort to present him looking well to the crew? As if any of that mattered, she thought dully, numbly.
His head was bare, no hat anywhere. He wore only his trousers, and bandages. On the other side of the bed she saw his familiar bag leaned against the cave wall, two of his weapons sticking up from it.
"It's not right," she said suddenly. "He's not supposed to be cold." Usopp had been all about fire and explosions, of warmth and movement and liveliness, of shouts and laughter and reaching out to people, the very opposite of lying cold and lifeless in a bubble of isolation. She realised her cheeks were hot and wet. "I-it's not right," she repeated stupidly, backing away. Sanji was there to put an arm of support over her shoulders.
"We... we probably shouldn't touch him," he whispered hoarsely. "We shouldn't break through the sphere until the others get here, just – just in case they're delayed or something."
"I, I agree," mumbled Robin, wiping her eyes and nose though the tears kept coming, soundlessly. It was a superstitious thought, as there was no way that the body would corrupt that quickly. But she understood that superstition.
She was shaking with the cold as they made their way out of there, and maybe with more. Sanji was trembling, too, but not as much as he had before, on the mountain path. He was already prepared for this, she realised.
Outside the smaller room, Ananshio walked over to them, looking both solemn and worried.
"You said 'it's not that simple'," Sanji growled, but without looking at him. He didn't seem to have much energy to spare.
Ananshio looked at the ground. "I-I'm sorry I didn't put it the right way and made you hope," he mumbled. "But I wasn't going to lie to you, not again. And the truth really is complicated."
Sanji gave him a disgusted look that said more clearly than words, What the hell are you talking about? There's nothing "complicated" about it.
The merman took a deep breath. "As my wife said... he isn't alive anymore. He can't come back to you, he can't. But. He also isn't gone, either. That's the problem."
End of Chapter 10
- To be continued in Chapter 11