I had decided to scout out the island, covering a large distance and some minor spots of interest. Of course, I couldn't strictly inspect the village interior especially the location of these 'pirates' else the locals might completely turn on us. There wasn't much of interest. The town itself. Arlong park, the sight of the village's triumph. The woods and beach that were mostly uninhabited. An orchard on the fringes of the archipelago. And one major port, the location we had docked at and where we would soon depart from.
It was on the fringes of the island. Dusk was far settled, and the last sparks of the great pyre had died out. The island was still, all the fishmen boarded the marine galleon and had been placed in the brig.
"You're quite far from the celebration." A shabbily dressed girl passed me by without nary a glance in my direction. A far different expression was plastered to her face compared to the majority of the townsfolk. They said few casualties on the human side, few doesn't mean none at all.
"...Leave me be. I just want to grieve in peace." Her voice was scratchy and dehydrated, closed up. It was like even uttering those words themselves was an insurmountable task.
"And I sympathise, truly I do." I followed as she continued walking along the coast of the island, sheer rock and the deep dark of the night ocean reflecting back into her hollow eyes as she stared down the drop.
"...Do you take me for a fool? Just a harmless little civilian, because you have a little bit of authority? You and him both. You sicken me to no end." Even though her words conveyed hatred and anger, they betrayed her actions. When the world was unchanging in the face of your plight, the best option was to simply become apathetic. Remaining connected just meant you could be harmed further. I looked down at the edge of the island, the same place her gaze had become magnetised to.
"Him?" I asked after a moment.
She batted away my question with one of her own. "If you truly cared, why didn't you marines come to help us once in the last decade?"
"..."
"That's what I thought... You just care about your own reputations. There is no justice on these seas. Just a bunch of monsters given free recourse, until the problem gets big enough that it looks bad on you. That's when you finally take an interest. You'll do just enough so that the people follow you unquestioningly, but when they truly need you? You're nowhere to be seen." Some of the same problems echoed by the 'hero of the marines'. I would be a hypocrite if I didn't acknowledge those complaints. Truly, there were plenty of injustices even within the marines. However, that didn't mean a single person got to decide the code of justice, it would be no different from piracy or vigilantism. Even those that might be saved would be the result of a bastardisation of ethics. Who's to say those saviours won't one day turn to violence and control? That was why we had institutions, to reduce rampant corruption.
Still.
We were late. We didn't save them. That wasn't something they would forget... and I wouldn't blame them if they never forgave.
I couldn't argue that point. No matter how short staffed we really were, how much stronger the notorious pirate crews and fishmen alike were compared to the average marine. Those factors weren't enough to dispute the lived experience of these villagers that depended on us. The villagers that we failed to save. In the same way I couldn't understand their helplessness fully, they couldn't understand just what life entailed for us marines. Good and bad people flock to our ranks respectively. Many that give up on the idea of ever having a family, the sons and daughters that can barely remember their own father's and mother's faces. Or the spouse's that have made peace with the fact that they have to continue raising an entire household without their partner. Months to years on the job with little breaks in between, this world was vast and the rampant crimes since the onset of the golden age of piracy even vaster.
Our views were too different from the offset. But that didn't mean we couldn't see eye to eye.
"...Why are you out here?" I asked, my judgements already fairly set in stone.
"No business of yours. Leave me alone." Dark circles wound around the hollow eyes of the girl, she was probably on the verge of adulthood, the last of her teenage years leaving soon enough. She looked emaciated as if her body had been expunged of all nourishment, pale skin that showed she wasn't getting enough sleep, it wouldn't surprise me if she was delirious, seeing visions in this very moment. I wonder if she even saw me as a real person or just a figment of her imagination.
"The sacrifice of those that left before you becomes worthless if you choose to follow after them." I knew it without even asking, this woman had lost something integral to her life. A presence close to her heart. How many more had experienced the same across these seas?
"If their passing was pointless in the first place then it makes no difference, does it? You just want to try and save me to appease your morality. You marines came years too late already, if you had at least arrived a day earlier... Just a single day, that's all it would take." A solitary tear shed from otherwise empty eyes, a living ghost leaving a real trail in this world.
"..." I thought about it. Wrestled with the idea in my mind. What did I value more; solving this mystery and preventing potentially more casualties or saving the one person before me and telling her the words she needed to hear? Perhaps even give her the insight she might need in the future, though I'm sure she wouldn't understand it now. I wouldn't have... not at that age. Not with the proximity of how recent her heartbreak occurred. But still... I had a duty to fulfil.
At the end of the day, I couldn't be like Vice-Admiral Garp. I was a pragmatic person, precisely because I wasn't strong. I couldn't save everyone. I could only use every avenue presented before me to prevent further fatalities. I walked the middle path. Something that frustrated me endlessly.
"...That's impossible. We were called during your valiant fight with the fishmen. Had that not happened, we wouldn't even be here."
"So it was unavoidable? It was fated to happen, no matter what? Figures." She spoke as if a spectator to the conversation.
"No. Nothing is fated. This happened because of someone. Just as everything does." Malice could not be attributed to fate. Nor could charity or peace. They were the products of human intention. Wanting to believe the world itself was cruelly targeting you was natural, however, we can't forget... injustices are committed by willing participants, not by chance. It was the reason forgiveness and peace were so hard to achieve in the first place.
"...Leave me alone. Please." She muttered defeatedly.
If I left... I could already foresee how this would end.
I continued. "The man who called us here sent pictures of the previous marine ship on fire, sinking to the bottom of Arlong Park. He called for backup, assured he would die in battle before we arrived. You could even say he's your saviou-"
"STOP! Don't. Say. Another. Word..." Those otherwise hollow eyes housed a rage that couldn't be quelled by the serenity of the waves at night. It was as if a storm was brewing inside her at the very thought of that person.
That reaction was proof enough. It was him.
"That person. He's still alive, isn't he? All I want you to do is point him out to me. In return, I can provide you with the closure that you need." If she couldn't live on normally, then she would live on with hate in her heart. Nothing came from fostering revenge, you were left with emptiness if you were successful and bitter rage so long as you remained unsuccessful. However, I couldn't think of any other way to ensure her survival. It would be bitter and painful, but so long as this hate tethered her to the real world, there was a possibility of something greater in the future.
As pragmatic as I might be. I didn't want to sacrifice others. Even if I might save more without giving her the closure she sought. Even if she caused chaos and anguish in her endless search for revenge. I couldn't tell her to stop trying to live. She was a victim.
They both were.
She mirrored the past too closely.
"You can...?" She asked, looking towards me for the first time.
"I promise. If it's the last thing I do." I had already chosen to forget that part of myself. To no longer live as a vengeful ghost. However, if becoming that once again means another can be saved. If even more people can be saved, then I would just as quickly embrace that old hatred.
"All you need do is tell me what you can. I... will handle the rest." Gripping the hilt, clutching the weapon closer to my body, I looked into the young woman's eyes. The memories of revenge and smouldering anger swirling in my mind, her eyes reflected the same. A fresher anger. A riper hatred that was budding from such a young flower, only waiting to bloom. Like magnets, that swirling hatred and bubbling anger coalesced into a whirlpool of malignance connecting the two of us.
I knew all about the anger at those with more strength, I knew all about the pain of weakness and I knew all about the despair of hopelessness. To lose your light in this world is no easy ordeal, to lose it because of another's negligence is even worse.
He was playing with others like they were toys. Masking his identity and pulling on heartstrings uncaringly.
Unforgivable.
If it means the innocent could live with a hope of peace in the future, that they would be burdened less by that grudge, then I don't mind becoming an avatar for revenge.
So much for abiding my own code of ethics... Turns out I'm full of it.
I suppose that makes me a hypocrite, huh?
...
Duty dictates we get rid of this threat from the seas. I can't pretend that just because duty aligns with my self-interest that it's no longer self-serving. Because even if he is pardoned... I don't intend to renege on my promise to her. Better my hand that severs the monster's head than the innocent's. A tainted blade should be used for just that, to serve in the stead of the weak. To prevent that blood from forever blackening another's heart.
"...I want to see it."
"See what?" I already have bad feeling. No doubt the images and visions were already playing in her mind.
"His last moments... I want to see if he'll be as apathetic when the last breaths leave that monster's body just like my love's... Will he cry? Will he scream? Will he become inconsolably angry at the fact he was beaten? Or will there be nothing? I want to see it... Please... I need to see it." The only thing that will plague her mind will be the very same thing that makes her cling desperately to life. Just like all those years ago...
When I look at this girl... It's like a window in time. History repeats itself, violence spreads and tragedy follows in its wake. I don't have the answers, this won't make her happy, it won't give the departed any levity. However, for those stuck in the past with no future to think of... this is the only way forward. I only hope I can guide her to a slightly different destination.
[Piracy?]
I awoke in a cold sweat. Soaked linens wrapped around my body, mummifying me in a tomb of my own creation. Gasping, I threw the covers off. Harsh sunlight filtering through the half-lidded blinds on my bedside window.
I had thought...
I desperately patted at my body, hands grasping at my chest then throat, the heavy breath that had lodged suddenly escaped. I looked at my shoulder... The pinwheel and tangerine was there. Peering over to the other side of the room I saw a matching tattoo on Nojiko's arm.
It wasn't a dream. I thought it was... but I was wrong.
We're free.
...We're free.
I had imagined I was back in that tower, a fishman overlooking me as more and more pages flown by. My wrist aching and blood slowly seeping into the hilt of the pen, memories of how life once was as my only hope for the future. The picture of Bellemere slowly getting murkier by the day.
It was the one thing I could never forgive Arlong for.
He took her.
He took the memory of her.
All pictures were destroyed using the excuse: 'she is no longer a citizen of this place. You have no need for the memory of those who are gone.' They raided the house, destroying everything. We weren't even allowed to leave a name or memorial for her in passing. They would desecrate anything more than the bare minimum of a wooden cross near the hillside. Dissention was not tolerated. Rebellion was not necessary. Those were the values instilled in us.
Even if I couldn't speak to her again... If I could at least see her smile once again. It might feel like she were actually still here. If I had one wish it would be just that.
...
Thoughts drifted by in a flurry from the last few days. So much happened that it was almost unbelievable. And there was one main person responsible for it...
Words echoed in my mind. So close it felt like the perpetrator was nearby, right beside my bed.
'Did you really think there was no rhyme or reason to their hatred of humans?'
I was there again, looking down on the same monster responsible for my hatred. Weapon in hand. The same dispassionate voice leading me on, almost goading me into killing him.
...Yes. I took it personally. They didn't have a reason, I never did anything to them. Nojiko didn't hurt them. Bellemere didn't. Genzo didn't. No one did. But they still came for us, enslaving us for a decade. Ten long years, I watched children that should have grown to be happy adolescents in their youth turn into mindless, depressed drones. I turned into one myself. And yet... as soon as he told me their reason...
'Are you wavering?'
I could feel the cold steel and cool wood of the flintlock in my hand, my finger quivering above the trigger.
Pull it. Think of everything this bastard did to your family! He laughed whilst she died! He kept me locked in that tower for years! Made me pay off that ridiculous price and then ripped up the contract right in my face! He's scum. Lower than scum. He deserves to die. In fact, the world would be a better place without him. There would be less suffering without those monsters...
And yet...
I can't pull the trigger.
Why?
...
Am I weak?
Why can't I even get rid of the monster right in front of me? The one responsible for killing Bellemere? For subjecting us to ten years of torture? For separating families all for a bit of money?
Who cares if he suffered? It doesn't mean we should!
Hardening my resolve I leant into the weapon. But there was something at the edge of my mind, something that I couldn't quite get rid of. A question that wouldn't justify anything... there was no justification for such violence, such vile acts... but it was there, a question that begged an answer.
'What happened for you to become so... so cruel...?'
And... in response came laughter. A boisterous laughter that was Arlong's staple, so confident and overbearing it usually made me shiver. But in that moment, I didn't. Because at that moment I had seen the same look that often overcame my own features in response to his presence.
Through his bravado and egregiousness... he was scared.
But not of being killed.
No... it was worse than that. He was afraid of being spared.
That was just how far he looked down on us.
Realising it left a sour taste in my mouth, although that could've just been the excessive amount we drank last night... I tried to clear the drought in my throat with water by the bedside.
I imagine the majority of the town will be out of commission for the next while. I could use a walk whilst it's quiet.
I ignored the quiet mutterings of Nojiko in her stupor. It had been a while since I had seen her so at ease.
There were plenty of reasons to both thank and shame Ayanokouji for what he did. That's why I wouldn't do either. I'd still give him a piece of my mind, that's for sure! But after that... well who knows what can happen. Maybe he'll join us and Luffy for his voyage to find the one piece? Or maybe we'll simply leave on neutral terms never to see each other again?
I don't know what the future holds.
But even though I don't know the dangers that lurk further ahead, I was no longer scared of the uncertainty along the way. I no longer have to hold the burden alone.
[Piracy?]
"Actually... we're staying."
"Huh? Don't you need the bounty, I thought you guys had big plans after this?"
"Look... It's about time we faced reality. We're in over our heads. First Sanji-san, then Gin, now Arlong. We're outclassed, it's time for us to put the swords on a mantle and call it a day. We had some good times though, Aniki."
"What are you gonna do from now on? Weren't you going to cement your names in the annals of history? Twin bounty hunters-style?"
"Hmph. I think we realised something. I don't care about that legacy. True strength, that comes from protecting something. Nami. The villagers. Luffy. The rest of you guys shown me that. It's the reason we've always come up short."
"So you finally found what to do with that compassion of yours, eh?"
"Don't word it like that Aniki! It's embarrassing."
"Ha! Although, if I'm keeping a secret just between us. I had thought you were in the wrong line of work a long time ago. You always did have an issue with taking your dues."
"...It was always messy. Half the time the bounty didn't justify the damage we did to the inns we fought in. I just can't sleep at night knowing I've deprived someone else of the food on their plates, feels like I'm stealing."
"Then the pirate's life certainly wouldn't be for you either."
"True, enough! Take care, Aniki. Make us proud. I'll be waiting to hear about the new strongest swordsman in the world."
"Pull up a chair whilst your fishing. Just don't get too comfortable, I'll be there before you know it."
"Heh, there's the Aniki I always knew."
"So long, Johnny."
"So long, Zoro. Make sure you come back when you've achieved it. I'll be waiting."
"'Course."
"Aniki."
"Yosaku. Sure you're fine staying as well? I think Luffy wouldn't mind if you wanted to tag along."
"Where Johnny goes, I go. He's always kept the qualities that made me follow him in the first place."
"You're more sentimental than I thought as well."
"Say what you will, but you put up with us for all that time we travelled together."
"Admittedly, it wasn't the worst time in the world."
"Heh." He got a bit closer and whispered. "Oh and take Johnny's words with a grain of salt. I'm pretty sure the main reason he's staying is over there." He tilted his head slightly to the left. My eyes following his track, revealed a violet-haired woman with tattoos down her arm and a bow tied around her short hair. I immediately understood.
"What do you think his chances are?" I couldn't help a tiny snicker from escaping.
"Slim to none." Yosaku joined me, grinning mischievously towards Johnny. His face clearly betraying just what we were talking about.
"Hey, I can hear you!" Johnny cut in, pulling his sunglasses down over his beady eyes.
"But..." Yosaku's face morphed from the shit-eating grin to one more composed and sincere. One he rarely shown. "He gets by on enthusiasm and persistence. That might up his odds a bit." The twin bounty hunter made a small space between his forefinger and thumb. "At least that much... maybe."
"Hmph. God bless you both, if she's anything like Nami I can only pray for your sanity." I had the authority to say that considering she was nowhere nearby... it was strange but... I guess she wasn't joining. Luffy was taking it pretty well all things considered. He isn't used to not getting his way. That's the way he appeared when we first met. It was the same with Usopp and even with that shitty cook. I dunno... I just thought it'd be the same with Nami and that other guy. I guess I'm in for a lot more surprises along the way.
"We'll manage. So long, Aniki. We'll be awaiting the news of your victory."
"Thanks. See you, Yosaku." He grunted, butting his forearm against my own. Grinning he walked away from the boat, towards the rest of the crowd that had come to see us off.
"So Nami, really isn't coming, huh? I take it that means he isn't coming either?" Usopp suddenly said, though I don't think I imagined the joy in his voice. I couldn't say I didn't feel similar. Nami was fine but something about that guy just rubs me the wrong way.
Looking over the horizon it seemed like that might not come to be. "I dunno about that. She's here."
[Piracy?]
"Hey! There she is! Nami!"
"Huh? Ah, Nami we came to say goodb- Hey!" I ran past the man slipping through the crowd, tagging each and every person as I ran closer and closer towards the ship, the wooden planks of the dock nearing my stride.
"Nami, don't you dare think of leaving without saying goodbye!" Genzo managed to grab my shoulder, to which I immediately threw him to the ground. Sprinting past and further from the crowd.
"STOP HER!" Johnny and Yosaku looked confused unsure whether to listen, I sprinted past them as fast as I could.
The passersby grabbed at the air around me. It was easy enough to evade them, how long do you think I've been doing this for? I continued dodging and weaving through the crowd, the only thing separating the boat and me was a leap from the old, weathered dock onto the Going Merry's deck.
Genzo was flushed red, huffing and puffing with the rest of the villagers as they approached the edge of the port. "AAAHHHH! I'm too old for this nonsense!" He shouted throwing his cap on the ground in a fury.
"So long, Gen-san!" I waved, winking at him.
"Wait will you, I need to give you something!"
"Don't worry, I already took some souvenirs." Lifting my top slightly the purses and wallets of most of the villagers dropped onto the deck.
"AHHHHH! You would even steal from your sister, you little witch!?" Nojiko patted her pockets, flipping me the middle finger from a distance. Now noticing the lack of weight.
"Goodbye everyone! Hahaha!"
The majority of them sighed and simply waved with heartwarming expressions on their faces. The only one left out was Genzo who was desperately shouting something I couldn't quite make out over the tide and distance between us.
"...ck... y... llet."
"Th... sea-"
"Shall we go back?" Usopp scratched his cheek whilst asking, his eyes unmoving from the mass of people watching us disappear on the horizon.
"You sure you want to end things like that?" Zoro asked whilst lying on the deck, his back supported by the battlements.
"It isn't the end. I'll see them again. After I've made a map of the world. And millions upon millions of berry from it."
"Well, of course, we're all delighted to have you aboard. Nami-chan."
"That and we'd be pretty screwed without a navigator. Seriously, thank you. Luffy was threatening to take charge of the stern. I gave us a day at max." Usopp whispered to me. Luffy's ear stretched nearby, the monkey boy turning to us with a grin etched into his features.
"Isn't riding in a storm more interesting?" He said abruptly.
"No. Banned from steering."
"But-"
"Banned."
"Tch." Luffy sulked in the corner.
I couldn't help but notice the head count was slightly lower than expected. "Come to think of it... where is he?"
"Dunno, I just assumed he'd turn up at some point. Half of the time he appears out of the blue without me even noticing."
Curious, I walked around the ship. Obviously not the deck, probably not the crow's nest otherwise he would've been noticed by now. Not the lounge. Finally, I came to the men's dorm. It was lived in, yet had a strange air of sterility, like the air itself was still.
A single folded piece of clothing lay on top of a small bed.
I carefully picked up the bundle of burgundy linen, the only thing he had really brought with him. Literally the last of the clothes off his back. He really left it? Did he intend to come and take it back? The way it was folded and left almost made it feel like the last resting place of someone. I felt strange as if I was walking atop the last remaining tomb, the tomb of someone I had spoken to just the other day. It was left desolate with a solemn feeling about the air.
"Taka? You here? Yoohoo, Taka!"
"I haven't seen him since last night." Sanji added.
"He didn't say anything?"
"As if I should know, he doesn't really talk as it is. I just half expected him to be here by the time we left as if nothing ever happened."
"Right..." We didn't manage to leave him behind. Ayanokouji was always several steps ahead, almost perfectly perceptive to the environment around him. If he wasn't here, I can only imagine it was by design. Nearly everyone on the island came to see us off... He couldn't have missed that.
"He left without even saying goodbye! ARGH! Taka, I'll remember this!" Luffy erupted.
"Save your breath, Luffy. Are you really surprised? Do you seriously think we could travel together pretending everything's okay after what he pulled? No way, impossible. Impossible, I say." Usopp let his thoughts fly free.
"Why not?"
"Are you serious? The guy's unhinged-"
"He taught them to fight." He said without another word, staring resolutely at the young, long-nosed man.
"?"
"If anyone ever comes again, they'll try to protect themselves. They won't sit idly by without help. Plus Johnny and Yosaku are there."
"In the end he even tried to dirty Nami's hands-"
"It was a choice. Right, Nami?"
"Y-yeah." I stuttered, it was something that had nagged at the back of my mind. If he wanted me to kill Arlong why tell me anything else about him? It was almost as if he wanted me to sympathise with them...
"Are we really entertaining this idea, right now? He wouldn't help after that, I could've died from that fight!" Usopp shouted.
Luffy slammed his fist on the table. "Are we playing pirates? Because I'm serious about the One Piece, about becoming the King of Pirates and about sailing with you guys! That includes Taka!"
Why was he so... dead-set on him? Luffy wasn't one to give up easily when his mind was made. But when it came to Ayanokouji, I always assumed Luffy knew that our time travelling together would be short.
"Yeah... but where'd he even go?" Sanji said, scratching the back of his head as he did so.
"..." We collectively looked down in silence. There was only a few options if he meant to leave. The other ships were still ported at the harbour, he couldn't escape by land. That only left...
"You don't think...?"
"...The timeline would make sense."
"What? What is it?" Luffy looked up, peering at our faces.
"He hitched a ride with the navy."
"The marines give rides now?"
"Obviously not, idiot! I was actually going to suggest we travelled elsewhere or waited a day or two before setting off properly again."
"Why?"
"I was paying attention to what direction the marines went, we don't know if they would wait around on our route to arrest us... It's kind of why I wanted to avoid this."
"They could've just done it on the island, why didn't they?"
"Publicity. There are enough eyes on the island to speak against them. Plus there's no obvious pirate ships at the docks or island, the Going Merry was pretty well hidden. They didn't want to take the chance of angering the locals for no gain."
"I see. But that problem doesn't exist anymore if we leave, is that right?"
"Yeah. Like Nami said we might run into them on the route or at the destination... Which is?"
I unfurled one of the maps onto a table. Cocoyashi and some surrounding islands pictured as well as frequent navigation paths. The sea route to Loguetown matched their heading 1:1.
"Loguetown. Not a great place for a fledgling pirate group to be heading, in all honesty. I've heard they have pretty strong marines posted at all times. I usually avoided it for any heists, the risks were too heavy..."
"What's so special about it?"
"Are you serious? Don't you want to be pirate king? The previous guy died there."
"THE PIRATE KING?!"
"Gold Roger took his last breaths in that town, the last words he uttered ushering in 'the golden age of piracy'. How don't you know this?"
"I wanna go. I wanna go. I wanna go. I WANNA GO!"
"Doesn't seem like we have much of a choice, if you want to get Taka back."
"Hey... you ever think he like doesn't want to see us again? I mean the message is pretty clear, no?" Usopp pointed at the blazer in my hand.
"Maybe he wants us to return it?"
"C'mon, now. If it was that important, he wouldn't have forgotten it in the first place."
"He didn't know where the ship was, maybe he couldn't risk coming to find it."
"We're splitting hairs at this point. I mean how do we even know that he wasn't a marine the whole time? Maybe he was undercover and used this opportunity to get rid of Arlong? He might not have even snuck aboard the marine ship, what if he was really one all along, have you thought about that?"
"Usopp, you need to come up with better lies." Luffy picked his nose without a care.
"Oi! That one's actually pretty believable, give me some credit here. Look, I'm just...
"Usopp's right. I thought we weren't playing around? By all accounts having him aboard is just a risk, it isn't like he's one of us. He was just riding alongside while it was convenient. I think it should go to vote." You could say I was doing the same thing... But there were still differences between us.
"A vote huh? Pretty democratic for pirates. The ideas unbefitting you, mosshead."
"Shut up! All in favour of ditching him raise your hand." Zoro and Usopp immediately raised their hands.
Luffy looked between them and back at me and Sanji. "Shishishi! We won!" Pumping his fist in the air, Luffy made a peace sign with a look of glee on his face.
"Just because I didn't raise my hand doesn't mean I'm alright with it." Sanji added, exhaling quietly, a small trail of smoke lingering.
"Haah? Lame. Not playing by the rules. No good cheat. Swirly brow. Boo."
"I'm not against him joining, under certain conditions. Besides, I think the person that has the most say of anyone is Nami-chan. She's the one he's ultimately affected the most. I wouldn't force that decision onto her. That being said... you aren't against it, are you? Nami-chan?"
"...I don't know. I won't know until I talk to him again. But as it is, I don't want to leave things up in the air like this. At the very least, I want to know why he chose to do those things."
"Then we're tied at the very least."
"All because the shitty cook is too scared to vote."
"I could just vote in favour and turn this all around, you know? Idiot."
"Haah? Wanna say that again?" Sanji ignored the irate swordsman.
"As far as I see it, that guy won't view us as a crew. The actions he takes are too far for him to see eye to eye with us. If you still want to bring him along despite that then that's up to you. However, don't say I didn't warn you. People like him... they don't change. I would prefer you didn't have to experience that firsthand to learn it." A resolute look took over his face, like he was stating a fact. That Ayanokouji was a constant, never changing or bending in any way. I just couldn't believe that. If they really were hints that Ayanokouji was giving me at that time, then it was the opposite.
"..." Still, I understood what Sanji was saying. He was probably right. But a persistent feeling urged me to continue despite those warnings.
"Hm? So we're getting him back, right?" Luffy said completely cutting the tension. Sanji bonked him on the head with his left foot.
"Neither. It was a tie. We're heading that direction anyway. Have your last words, hand him his belongings and say your goodbyes. If he wants to join, then... he can. But I won't be actively trying to recruit him. And personally I don't think you should either. If he has any decency, he'll choose to stay away. Like he did just now." He left the rest of us with those words, leaving the men's dorm with the lingering trace of smoke following him shortly after.
People like him don't change...
Was that what I was hoping for from Arlong? To change? Even if he became a totally different person, would I ever forgive him?
The silhouette of the tangerine tree outside entered my vision.
No, I don't think I could. I could neither forgive nor forget the things they did to us. I just wanted to keep them out of my mind, on the very fringes of it so that it couldn't affect me as much. But that pain was always present, no matter how much it dulled.
A faint voice resounded in my ear, something that felt like it was from a dream. Genzo's voice from above as I remained resting. But the words weren't directed at me.
"Arlong wasn't deserving of forgiveness... But that doesn't mean the act of atonement is worthless. Avoidance isn't atonement, young man."
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Word count: 5900
Goddamn this was long. I've been trying to setup a character arc that'll progress through the majority of this story. It wouldn't be wrong to say this will be one of the linchpins for Ayanokouji's growth in this universe.
It took a lot of time to set it up in a way I found satisfactory, though there are still blind spots. But hopefully it was still somewhat entertaining despite all that. I'll preface I don't know anything about Bogard other than that he's been partnered with Garp for years, so I've taken liberties to make my own backstory for him.
This will be the start of some major shifts in the story going forward. Though I still hope to capture as much of the original charm of one piece as I can.
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Hopefully you all enjoyed the chapter, let me know your thoughts down below.
Until next time.