Chapter Text
~ Ark Royal, a few days after the assault on Garden Island. ~
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. The sound of Yukihira’s cane steadily approaching alerted Kounosuke, who turned to face him on Ark Royal’s bridge.
“What is it, Saneatsu?”
“It appears one of the cruisers violated orders.”
The Fleet Admiral’s brow lifted. “Don’t tell me…”
“Indeed. A cruiser picked up six survivors from the water.”
“Tch…” His right hand balled into a fist. “Relay these orders. Do not miss a word. That cruiser is to proceed, escorted by two others, to Impel Down. No marine is to cross onto or leave that ship. I will have it arranged with Harumichi for there to be no contact between the marines on that ship and the prison guards as they lead the survivors down to level six. Once the survivors have been dropped off, have the cruiser dealt with. I do not care about the means, as long as there are no survivors.”
“…As you wish.” Yukihira bowed and exited the room. Kounosuke sighed and looked out over the waves.
“Such soft-hearted little fucks… what do they think they know…?!” His fist began to glow a deep orange. “What a failure this organization is for allowing such weakness to seep in…!”
“Phew…!” Airi staggered into the room she shared with her friends, shoulders sagging and sweat dripping off her face. “So much work… and it’s hot as hell!”
“Towel?” Shizuku held out a mostly-clean one to her.
“Thanks…” Airi took it and rubbed her face. “Double-time every day for the past week… and we’re still here. Is there even anything left of the island? All I see is a plume of steam and smoke.”
Shizuku shook her head. “No, I don’t really see much from where the island was. I’m surprised the warships are still firing at it.”
“Ugh…! We’re all itching to go home, get a break… what’s the holdup?!”
“I do wonder…”
Wishing to keep her bed fresh, Airi slumped down on the ground beside it. She looked over at the bottom bunk of the beds across from hers and Shizuku’s, where Minori lay with wide-open eyes.
“I’ve gotten here too late at night and was too tired to really notice, but she’s been like that ever since the battle, huh…?” Airi looked up at Shizuku.
“That’s right… she’s hardly moved out of bed except to drink or go to the bathroom. And her eyes’ve lost all their light.”
“Has she even slept…?”
“I don’t know… she was sitting up until a little bit ago, then she laid down. But her eyes are still open…”
“Um…” Airi’s brow furrowed a bit. “Minori…?”
“Ah…” A dull voice arose from the other side of the room as Minori slowly shifted into a sitting position, her eyes staring off into space. “What is it…?”
“Are you sick, or…?”
“Sorry… no, I just…” Minori let out a long, low breath. “I… saw myself die…”
“…!?” Airi’s eyes widened, as did Shizuku’s. “L-like, in a dream? A vision?”
“No… myself.” Minori turned her head towards Airi, and her eyes finally regained their focus. “On a life raft… was, somehow, me… and then I saw that ‘me’ die…”
“What the fuck…?” Airi’s eyes widened further. “It was you?”
“Yeah… somehow. A few years younger, but… she had my gray eyes.”
“As much as I’m afraid to believe it, you must be telling the truth…” Shizuku glanced between Minori and the door. “I’ve never seen anyone with eyes even remotely like yours… and of course, your mental state is telling…”
“B-but, then…” Airi’s feelings of confusion began to heat up. “If it was a younger version of you… forget how a duplicate of you came to be, wouldn’t that mean the Marines fired on a kid?!”
“Y-yeah… she had two kids with her, too… both a lot younger than her…”
Shizuku gasped. “Horrible…!”
“So…” Airi clenched her fists. “We’ve been bombarding that island for a week, making sure every last survivor is dead… and the only three people from there that you saw with your own two eyes are kids?!”
“I never really thought about the wider island. But… if someone leading a group on a life raft was still a teenager, then…”
“The Marines told us over and over that this was a band of rebels, raised by mutant sea monsters, armed with contraband… and yet…?!”
“It was a lie.” Minori croaked out, her eyes filling with tears. “We were lied to.”
“And, with this in mind…” Airi’s eyes narrowed. “What else were we lied to about by the World Government?”
~ Vivid Agnes, a ways off Kamiyama Island. In the present. ~
“Ehhh…” Sitting at a table in the ship’s dining room, An dangled a piece of hardtack between her fingers in front of her. “How exactly do we eat this…?”
“Well!” Across from her, Miku took another piece of hardtack and dropped it in her coffee. “I do this!”
“Won’t it be soggy…?” Kohane, between the two, shuddered slightly at the sight.
“Better than breaking your teeth!” Miku raised the tankard and downed the contents in one gulp. Hesitantly, An did the same.
“You know… it’s not too bad!” She smiled slightly. “We do have other food though, right?”
“Mhm. Captain Nagi has plenty of nice food at her disposal.”
“Tch… she better share some of it with us…”
“Well, I was going to, but considering the words you’re saying…”
“Aunt Nagi?!” An spun around.
“Morning, Captain!” Miku waved.
“The best of mornings for you three…” Nagi took the remaining seat at the table. “An, young lady, I trust neither of you became seasick?”
“Nope!”
“Me either…” Kohane shook her head. “I’ve sailed before, after all.”
“Excellent! Now, An… I ought to start teaching you a thing or two about being a pirate.”
“Ooh!” An’s eyes brightened, and she downed the rest of her coffee. “Tell, tell!”
“Well, first…” Nagi leaned forward. “You should know about what, and who, to watch out for. You can’t ever learn how to handle threats if you don’t know what they are, after all!”
“Right!” An nodded enthusiastically.
“Mind if I listen in too…?” Kohane lifted her head.
“Sure! Well, to begin with… there’s obviously the Marines. Best to avoid them entirely, although in time you’ll learn whether a warship is actually dangerous or not. Then, you have on this side of the world the Seven Warlords… I don’t know the full list of those lapdogs, but Seiryuuin Sakurako and Tom Gray are certainly active somewhere around here.”
“I see, I see…”
“And of course, the higher the bounty, the more dangerous they are! They’re high for a reason, after all…”
“And what’s yours, Auntie?”
Nagi puffed out her chest. “Five hundred million!”
“F-five… hundred… million?!” Kohane’s eyes nearly fell out.
“Nice, but I hope to have double that someday!”
“Double?!” Kohane spun around to face An and nearly fainted.
“Oh, good luck with that…” Nagi smirked. “Now…! Be wary of devil fruit users, especially those with a logia-type like yours truly. The sea monsters are dangerous, too, especially in the New World. If you spot a hermit, which is doubtful, beware of their magic. As for particular families and clans… the Otoris are quite something, I’ll have to tell you later… the Aoyagis, too. And, hm… is it still worth mentioning…?”
“Mm, I think so…” Miku chipped in, yawning a bit.
“Ah? Tell me what?”
“See, among all the people I’ve encountered, the ones who always wind up being extraordinary carry the family name of Hoshino.”
“Hoshino?” Kohane tilted her head. I swear I’ve read that name before in something Papa had saved…
“Yup! I’ve never met one that turned out to be a disappointment. They’ve got quite the will, and what’s more, they’re born with devil fruit powers.”
“Born with them?!”
“Yup! Without the consequences of eating one, too. They can swim, and even if they eat a second one, nothing will happen to them. Even some of the people who just carry the ‘Hoshi’ prefix are like that. They’re probably the most powerful clan in the world, if you think about it hard enough. However… they’re rare as fuck! I think there’s only one on the seas right now, and she’s with Whitebeard.”
“I see…” An thought to herself, as did Kohane, when Miku spoke up.
“Well, our logkeeper is one of the ones with the prefix, no?”
“Right, right! Hoshisuisyo emerges on the upper decks so rarely that I forget she exists sometimes…”
“Is that really a way to run a ship…?” An murmured under her breath.
“I heard that, brat!”
“Sorry!” An clasped her hands together.
“It’s fine, it’s fine!” Nagi suppressed a laugh. “Now, eat properly. Your training starts this afternoon.”