Chapter Text
Onigashima passed in a kind of haze, as Kid remembers. The key word is remembers. It seems there were a lot of moments that were lost in memory. If you count them, you might make a mistake. It would even be logical if half of what happened turned out to be only fragments of the dream in which he was now. All these fights with dragons, with talking boards, huge ridiculous heads, and talking animals... But almost half of this left real wounds. And they were hurting.
On the other hand, Kid didn't sleep at all. Just. Existed in the unconscious. His body, every part of it, hurt more severely than in previous times, although he had never been beaten with electricity in its solid incarnation. And it’s scary to think - solid electricity. If he could withstand one lightning strike, then this is a solid blow... No, he withstood it in the same way, however, on pure adrenaline and with the help of a concussion...
And now he just lay there motionless, letting relief fill his body. But even in the unconscious, no matter how strange it may sound, he remained conscious.
The war was still going on inside him. Trained by bitter experience, he could not let himself fall asleep, no matter how much he wanted to fall into a coma. If he falls asleep, he will die. Even surrounded by experienced doctors, he could not relax completely because a small voice in his head kept screaming at him not to fall asleep. And this voice sounded familiar.
And now he sees a half-dream and a half-memory. They were stuck on the pavement with Killer after Kid's base was burned down. It's almost unbelievable, so much of the useful junk that he studied with, the drawings that he collected and assembled his own first objects - and all of it burned down and ended up under a heap of garbage. Now this is.... The same mountain of garbage as everything else here. But the lighthouse will forever be stuck in Kid’s mind, just like the burn scar.
Kid has never felt so bad before. Despite where he lived, he was a very healthy child. Whether his father was a pirate or not is irrelevant. Whatever he was, he was a monster who gave birth to a monstrous little copy of himself.
But, as it turns out, little monsters can get sick, too. And even so much terribly. Although it was relatively cool, Kid was consumed by the heat. And the hotter it was, the more he froze. And the more he wrapped himself in rags, the more his body warmed up. It felt like he was burning alive. It was as if the fire from the lighthouse had somehow... Infected him. It was as if its flame had passed through him and was burning him from the inside. Is he faulty? Overheated? Is his internal system—the mechanisms that make his body move—overheating now? Then steam would come out of it, wouldn't it?
You could feel how different his temperature was from the norm with just one touch from Killer. His palms are cold, and not just because he himself is cold, fucking hot bastard, but because Kid was red-hot. His burn was burning, and every time he tried to roll over, he couldn't help but groan in pain, so it was better not to stay in one position at all.
But Killer was there, even when he began to suffer from hallucinations when all the pills that he had stolen for his captain were used. He didn’t abandon him, even when Kid was really bad. He just sat next to him, stroked his shoulder, and spoke quietly with caution, not taking his eyes off him.
"Don't fall asleep, Kid. Stay awake for now, okay?"
And Kid could boast that he knew how to stay awake for a long time. He was a master at this, so he did not sleep until the temperature finally dropped.
He didn’t fall asleep even when his arm was amputated, although he really wanted to just pass out. Everyone was running around him like crazy. He did not fall asleep exactly until the moment when they bandaged him and put a bottle of strong alcohol in his mouth, which finally deprived him of any feelings. And so he lay unconscious and thought that it would be better not to fall asleep. As a result, he woke up earlier than normal and scared everyone.
Now everything is the same. Only Killer doesn’t ask him not to fall asleep. He knows the rules himself. If he lets himself fall asleep, he will die.
He remained conscious until he was pushed on the shoulder and had to open his eyes. His body was bandaged in all places and Killer's body wasn't different from his in the number of wounds. His entire T-shirt was soaked in blood, as was his cracked mask and even his beard. It was like he was caught in a meat grinder, to be honest.
"Can you walk?" Killer asked without a single note of excitement in his voice.
Naturally. Why should he worry if they won? They won... Damn it, they won!
Kid chuckled ambiguously in response, but his partner understood everything without words. Killer at the same moment, threw his body over his shoulder and led him somewhere. Along the way, he started a conversation, receiving the same identical answers from the captain.
"The ship is still on Onigashima... Do you mind if we go there?"
"Mnh..."
“I wonder how's Hop doin' in the capital. She’s probably already rushin' towards us at full speed... Although she’s hobbling, otherwise ye wouldn’t let her go.”
"Mmmn...."
"Ye must be very tired. Ye haven't slept properly in Wano."
"Mmmm..."
"Don't worry, Kid. We're going to rest. We won."
"Hmm..."
The climb to Victoria was difficult. It was good that Kaidou’s power also grabbed their ship and practically didn't touch it (like the Straw Hats’ ship, fuck them), except for a couple of small holes and chaos. It looks like they'll be stuck here for a long time.
“Ye haven't eaten before the raid?” Killer cleared his throat, “I think... I think about soba. It’s like... Cool buckwheat noodles. The national dish of Wano. Ye can cook it with... Hm... Pork. When I saw it, I thought... "
Killer opened the door to the captain's cabin. It still smelled of oil, iron and sweat because some people don't like to take their ass off from work, even to air out the room. Carrying Kid to the bed, he finished his sentence.
"...that if we meet again, I will do it for ye"
Gently, Kid lay down on the pillow, and as soon as his body landed on the bed, he immediately felt imaginary stones suddenly fall off his shoulders. Every part of his body hurts. From what he was able to identify, there were broken ribs, cracks in the bones, torn muscles, a concussion, and just an incredible bunch of sores. And landing on the bed only intensified everything, which is why he had to exhale.
"Ouch..."
He should rest now and not get up for at least another month. But still, he lazily opened his eyes when he heard rustling noises near his desk. This is already a habit. It is instinctive to stop anyone from rearranging his tools. No, it's not a mess! Although he doesn’t know exactly where everything is laid out, he knows exactly where to look to find it. If everything is removed, he won't even know where to look first!
"Hey-..." He says before he can turn around, which is why he shuts up when he sees Killer without his helmet.
His beard is covered in blood, which has already clotted and stuck to his hair. It will be difficult to wash it off. And the helmet, which is now lying on the workshop table, will have to be repaired. Under the blood-soaked T-shirt, everything was covered in bandages. His whole body was in some state of damage. And only red lipstick remained untouched on his lips.
Killer sadly looks somewhere at the floor, and then at Kid. The corners of his lips, although now forever in a smiling state, naturally turned upward.
“Kid” He sighs contentedly, as if in sincere bliss from the sight of his captain or from what he was thinking about.
Previously, Killer was sitting on a chair, but now he stood up, holding his hand on the table. He pushed himself quite easily, but he made the entire way from his place to the bed, almost falling. From his fall on Kid, he was able to save himself by resting his palms on the bed. After moments of trying not to fall over, he finally lay down next to him, where he sighed tremblingly.
“Damn... We're resting on Victoria... I can't even believe it.” Kid mumbles first what was on their minds.
Killer just hums, thoughtfully stroking his captain's chest. There were a lot of things he wanted to voice, but the Kid Pirates' first mate had never been known for talking about his feelings. Kid could only guess what was on his mind. And this was more difficult for him than before, with a head injury. Well, he gave him a difficult task. Ah... Too lazy to think. By doing this, it only overloads the system. He just wants to go to sleep.
“Killer...” He calls and hears an attentive hum, “D'ye want to say something?”
At first, the answer was silence. Killer closes his eyes contentedly.
"Ye want me to say something cheezy?" The next thing he said with an undisguised laugh was, “Like those cute couples on the islands?”
“Well, no,” Kid sighed, closing his eyes.
The events of this evening, no, this entire month, flashed at an insane speed in his head, and eventually disappeared from his mind with just one fact.
"Killer...." He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, "I defeated the Yonko."
The last time he openly opposed the Yonko, he didn't even get to see him. The feelings of humiliation, pain, and confusion at this moment surfaced in his head. Millions of “What if...” and “How so?” questions. But now they have only added some kind of incompleteness to this moment. Not even relief, but what is coming next. That's it. They are no longer in the South Blue, they are no longer on the Grand Line, and even the New World seems to be left behind. Now only the strongest can be their enemies, and Kid... Kid is scared, but at the same time excited.
Now nothing is clear ahead. Even his victory is now in doubt. And isn't this the best feeling in the world? Kid hasn’t felt such jitters for a long time when his body involuntarily begins to shake. He is... So fucking close to One Piece!
“I know,” Killer assured, “I had no doubt.”
And Kid closed his eyes with a wide smile, as if he was waiting for these exact words from his partner for complete satisfaction. But his words made Killer remember something. Something that even Kid forgot about because... Both of them did not believe in the weight of these words.
"Last time I doubted ye, fa-fa-fa~!" Loud laughter filled his ears, making Kid irritated.
“Do ye think I'd believe that show ye put on in Gomi?” He asked and honestly waited for an answer, but it still didn’t come.
Killer thought and collected his thoughts, and eventually whispered sadly.
"But for a moment ye believed. I KNOW ye believed me." He suppressed a chuckle, "It would be surprising if that didn't happen."
“I told ye time after time that I don’t believe it,” Kid insisted, and Killer didn’t back down either.
“Ye refused to believe. But I don't believe that the thought didn't appear in yer head for a single moment.”
Kid sighed heavily at this argument because they both knew what happened there and they both had already talked about it. And he doesn’t want to say that he openly chickened out. That he was so head over heels in love with Killer that in the end he was afraid of losing him...
“Oh, in the name of all the fucking seas and bloody oceans... Killer, I know ye. Ye wouldn’t just decide to quit at the first difficulty, and I just knew that ye couldn’t stop believing in me so easily!”
He remembers his breakdown. How he, like a capricious child who didn't get what he wanted, just lay in the dirt and whined. It wasn't his best moment. A moment much more shameful than the battle with Beckman than this whole story with Kaidou. It was all simple....
“If I really believed it, ye would know it... Ye understand this better than I do. Ye would understand how much the truth would hurt me, so I...” He got scared, scared to accept it, because there is nothing worse for Kid than Killer’s lack of faith, “Fuck, my body hurts...”
And even now he is afraid of something, and it is no longer that jitter but a damn weakness. It will be easier to just change the subject and not talk about it.
“Just rest,” Killer stroked his neck, “When we wake up, I’ll make ye a huge lunch.”
“Yeah.... lunch wouldn't be bad...” Kid exhaled tiredly, “Y'know, I liked that spaghetti ye cooked for Emma's birthday.... Which had shrimp and cream sauce... I guess, I'd like to eat another plate...... And soba too.... It's hard to decide.... I would just like to eat yer food..... And more..... In general... .. All types of pasta in large portions..... I want to over-...yaaawn...-eat....."
There was no longer enough strength to speak. It seemed that with every word the yawn came closer to his mouth, until Kid made a surprisingly quiet sound for himself, inhaling deeply. Now, along with thoughts about the upcoming victorious feast, his head was filled with routine. The rudder will need to be fixed, and they now have electrical problems that will need to be checked as well. Oh, how many things he have to work on now.
"....so cool...." Kid sighed, anticipating his favorite job, before finally settling down to sleep.
Killer settled himself more comfortably between the arm and body of his captain. Finally, a bed that can accommodate them. His hand drew some patterns on the body, studied it, although he was unsure if it was allowed to. But since Kid doesn’t say anything, that means he doesn’t mind, right? He’s not the one who will bite his tongue if he doesn’t like something. Not like Killer. But okay. He's not that quiet.
"I never stopped believing that ye would become the Pirate King. And I never doubted yer powers... Except maybe my own, fa-fa~... I would give my life for ye without hesitation, and if ye didn’t want to see me anymore, I wouldn’t appear in front of yer eyes. But if ye want me to continue walking next to ye, to remain yer partner... If ye say that I am strong and cool, then... So it is. I am strong. Strong and beautiful. And I definitely don’t laugh, as if a hyena was choking on a bone..."
“That last part is a complete bummer,” Kid muttered, listening to the embarrassed sound Killer made, “And yes, yer laugh reminds me of udon. Not Udon, but that same curry udon. That we ate together. And how ye liked it and how I liked what ye liked. And how we had lunch together after that. And all the subsequent lunches. And... Fuck... I don't know... I just feel warm when I hear ye laugh. "
"And that doesn't scare ye?"
"Ye're not scary to me"
"Then am I handsome?" Killer asked such an unusual question for him with a smile.
Killer hates his face and considers himself ugly. But, what can he say, he stopped listening to his opinion a long time ago. Kid is enough for him, and it seems... He just thinks that his world is much better when he is with his captain.
"Handsome" Kid pressed himself to the top of his head with a smile, and Killer repeated the gesture.
And still, this word did something to him. All the regrets and guilt simply disappeared. He's not Hitokiri Kamazo, and he's not a junkyard kid, he's Killer, and for the first time, he's enjoying being himself. So strong and important to someone. And Killer would like to repeat his confessions even until his death....
“Kid, I...” But Kid was already sleeping like the dead.
Or maybe they don’t need a bunch of declarations of love. As a result, Kid will continue to shower Killer with countless gifts and not leave his side, and Killer will continue to take care of him, cook for him, and put him to bed when Kid is especially capricious. This is their way of explaining themselves to each other. Their declaration of love.
This month has been a nightmare. He left everyone with a baggage of trauma, both physical and mental. The last seven days have been a complete rollercoaster. But in the end, they sleep together in the same bed after a crushing victory over the Yonko. And Killer will never stop thinking that this whole month was worth it.