Zora sat cross-legged, watching the Fate Parchment hover above her upraised left hand.
The Black Cat Pirates groaned and struggled to their feet around her. She paid them no mind as they hauled their defeated captain from the dirt and limped toward their ship. Whether they lived or died mattered nothing to her, provided they left.
The parchment floated with its blank side facing downward, angled toward the path Mihawk had taken with the girl. When she'd first summoned it, confusion had gripped her. Knowledge then flooded her thoughts, explaining the reason: it would always point toward another Fate Parchment holder once enough distance separated them.
Zora sighed a breath of relief. At least this way Mihawk wouldn't get lost.
Her gaze drifted past the irritating portrait to the other mystery she faced: 'Power Rank: East Blue +.' No matter how intently she focused on those words or prodded at the parchment's surface, no explanation emerged. All she grasped was that there were twenty ranks in total. Nothing revealed the positions or names of others, yet instinct told her she occupied somewhere near the top.
She would need to ask Mihawk about it, but that conversation would have to wait. The Fate Parchment suddenly shifted from parallel with her palm to perpendicular, then went still. She rose, scanning the area. Footsteps approached through the sand behind her. She turned to find Mihawk standing nearby with Kaya cradled in his arms.
How surprising.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. So what's the deal with her?" Zora asked.
"She will join the crew."
"..."
☠ ☠ ☠
Time. The timeline.
Mihawk couldn't know what further changes had been made to the timeline, so until those changes became known, he would treat certain upcoming events as unchanged. This uncertainty made time itself an issue they couldn't ignore.
Their next destination would be the Baratie to check on Don Krieg. The original Dracule Mihawk might have dealt with Don Krieg's fleet and was pursuing the survivors when the Almighty transported him next to Nami before the transmigration took place.
Of course, Sanji's fate weighed heavier on his mind. Was the cook alive and well, and if so, was he still a man?
But those concerns would have to wait. Presently, there was the matter of Kaya's recovery. How fast would she heal? One or two days? All the same, it was time they couldn't afford to spare.
Yet despite the urgency pressing at his thoughts, practical needs demanded attention. Eight hours had passed since the three of them had returned to Kaya's residence. The early afternoon sun streamed through the tall windows of her mansion, casting a warm light across the floors as Mihawk made his way to the kitchen.
The mansion's pantry overflowed with provisions. Preserved goods and spices crowded every shelf, while the adjoining cold storage housed fresh vegetables and fruits, prime cuts of meat, and an array of seafood.
Something substantial yet gentle enough for Kaya's delicate constitution would serve them best. After considering their needs, he settled on preparing a light vegetable soup with fresh bread.
Rich aromas began filling the spacious kitchen as he worked. Soon, footsteps on the grand staircase announced Zora's return.
Last night, he'd brought her dirty clothing back to the mansion: the white henley shirt, green haramaki, black pants, and her sarashi. Kaya had arranged for their cleaning. This morning he'd found them folded in the laundry room, and he neither knew nor cared who had washed and folded them.
Now she wore these clean garments with bandages wrapped around her forearms where she'd tended wounds. She moved with a casualness that suggested she'd handled her treatment well enough.
"You cook?" Zora asked, settling into a chair at the dining table.
"Yes, among other things." Mihawk ladled generous portions of the aromatic broth into three bowls, adding slices of fresh bread and a pitcher of water with cups to the wooden tray. "The meal's ready."
He planned to bring Kaya's portion up to her rooms, though before he could, light footsteps sounded from the staircase, catching their attention.
Mihawk and Zora turned as Kaya appeared, looking much improved from her earlier pallor. She moved with renewed energy that seemed almost miraculous given her recent condition.
Her recovery in canon had also been quick, but she had led a tougher life... no, he should stop trying to make sense of this topic.
"I feel so much better! Guess it wasn't my time yet." She took in the warm domestic scene with obvious pleasure before sitting down at the table. "That smells wonderful. I didn't know you could cook, Haw—Mihawk."
A faint smile crossed his features at the sight of both women seated at the table. He carried the tray over and set a bowl before each of them, then took his own seat.
They began their meal in comfortable silence, the gentle flavors of the vegetable soup satisfying after the morning's events. Steam rose from their bowls beneath the crystal chandelier's fractured light.
Kaya broke the silence with a contented sigh. "Oh my, this is the most delicious food I've had in a long time. It's such a treat after a year of Klahadore's cooking. His food always had an unpleasant aftertaste."
"Huh... why're you... still calling him that?" Zora asked, shoveling spoonfuls into her mouth between words.
"Oh, that? I prefer calling him Klahadore over Kuro." She took another half-spoonful of soup. "One sounds like a devoted butler; the other sounds like someone who'd have you hypnotized into writing them into your will before murdering you."
Zora paused mid-chew and stared at her for a moment, then shook her head and continued eating.
Mihawk kept silent and observed. He knew the canon Kaya: gentle, grieving heiress whose spirit was lifted by a liar's tales. This version was different. Her smile remained serene and her tone light, yet there was something compelling in how casually she dismissed her would-be murderer, how her humor persisted even when confronted with such great betrayal, and how she spoke of her own potential demise with cheerful nonchalance.
"Do you have your answers to my questions?"
Kaya froze and set down her spoon at his question. "I do... with my health improved by this much in a short time... Both of you have allowed me to have a second chance... As for what I want to do with my life, rather than being a patient, I would like to become a doctor."
She glanced down and bit her lip, her hands traveling to her sides.
"As for your second question about traveling the world and helping others... I'm unsure if I'm cut out for a grand endeavor like that... I don't think I deserv—"
"What are you talking about?" Zora got up and made her way over to the pot to get more soup. "You're joining the crew, right?"
Kaya looked up quickly with widened glassy brown eyes, first to Zora and then to him.
"You will join us, won't you?"
Tears that seemed to have been restrained for far too long trailed down her cheeks.
"D-Do I get the chance to be happy again?"
Her answer to Mihawk's question wasn't vocalized, but visualized as grains of white light streamed from Kaya's body while grains of golden light flowed from his, spiraling together over the tabletop separating them.