Chapter Text
Boa Hancock was not an individual who wanted to be bothered often. Even less so when she had her beloved Monkey D. Luffy with her. So when she got a call from Luffy’s brother, she wanted to groan. He could’ve had intentions to steal him away, or plans to come back and distract him from the real jewel: Hancock herself.
But the boy sounded desperate and Hancock knew that if the older brother was upset, the younger one had to be as well. With Ace’s recent death, she gave a sigh into the Den Den Mushi and let Luffy push her aside. How unfair it was!
“Oi, Kas! You won’t believe it here! They treat me like royalty and I get to eat whatever I want!” Kasumi smiled at the Den Den Mushi, seeing a mimic of his brother’s bright grin. He poked the snail’s head and crossed his arms again, resting his head on his arms. The vanity was a weird place to sit, but it was the only place he could have the Den Den Mushi sitting.
“They treat me really great here, too. Goddess-sama is extremely fond of me and has me sit at the table with her. They make all of my favorite foods, but it isn’t the same without you there Lu.” Luffy frowned as the smile on his own Den Den Mushi fell to a self-deprecating grimace. “She says I can’t come see you.”
Luffy frowned, crossing his arms and looking around the room. He was hoping something would pop out at him, that he would be struck with inspiration, but all he could see was Hancock. She didn’t really inspire him.
“Well, where did you say you are? Maybe someone Hammock knows is near you and they could pick you up!” Kasumi shook his head, laughing. Luffy didn’t really listen to him, did he?
“Lu, I can’t. The ladies of Amazon Lily don’t want me-”
“They said that you’re allowed after the incident with the goddess lady.” Kasumi brought a hand up, ready to argue when he bit back his words. What did he mean? She told him that he wasn’t allowed back. There was no talk about exceptions.
“Because she liked you so much, they said that you’re allowed here whenever you like! So come see meeeeeeeeee.” Kasumi wanted to smile, knowing the pout Luffy sported. The whining was something he always missed, even when he lived with Mihawk-
Kasumi felt a whine building in his throat, but since he was the older and more mature one, he held back and only buried his face in his arms. “But she said-” A gasp was heard and it jolted Kasumi’s head up. “Wait, did she lie to you?!”
Tsukikage paced back and forth, twirling her rings anxiously as she waited to hear from Kasumi on everything going on with his brother. While she genuinely did care for the Strawhat boy, she hoped that there was no loop hole on how Kasumi would be able to go back before she was done with him. She needed the freedom he could give her, not that he needed to know that.
“TSUKIKAGE-SAMA!”
Tsukikage turned her head in surprise, seeing a very angry Kasumi stomping up the alter to where she was pacing. Her throne was right behind her, but ever since she found Kasumi, she had been too anxious to really sit.
Putting on her best smile and taking quick steps toward him, Tsukikage held her hands out to take his. She was shocked when he slapped her hands away, a glint in her eyes unlike anything she ever seen. A gasp left her lips and she took a hesitant step back while some of the servants rushed to hold Kasumi back. Though they had his arms, Tsukikage knew that he could easy toss all of them aside.
“Did you lie to me?! Are you keeping me from my brother?!” Though her skin was already pale, she felt as though she had lost the last bit of color that her delicate skin held. She took another hesitant step back, the water flowing through the temple beginning to freeze from how cold she was making the room. The servants began to shiver as their goddess grew upset.
“I would never-”
“Then why can’t I go back to him? Tell me again, to my face, why I’m not allowed back at Amazon Lily!” She looked him in the eye, seeing the seething anger and knew that she had been caught. If she lied, he’d call her out. If she told him the truth, he’d only be more furious. She weighed her options.
“You are.” Her voice was like cold steel, digging into Kasumi with only two words. He shook his head, pulling at the servants who held him back from grabbing the goddess. “You are, but I don’t want you to leave yet.” She turned away from him, waving a hand gracefully and allowing the temperature in the room to return to normal. The running water unfroze and began to course through the temple once again as she took her seat in her throne.
She waved another hand at her servants, causing them to let go of Kasumi. He rolled his shoulders, confused at the action but still extremely annoyed. Watching how she dropped into her chair so defeated though, he stuttered a bit in his anger. Not one to cause unnecessary harm, he questioned if he should’ve asked calmly first. But then he remembered his brother’s anger at Kasumi being lied to and he felt the anger building back up again.
“My star, there are many things I need to say to you right now. I’m not sure where to start but you deserve something.
“I am the goddess of the sea, Tsukikage. You know that. What you don’t know is I’ve been alive for many, many years. Much longer than the world you know it as has even existed. I remember when the islands were nothing more than volcanic rocks, unusable for any living creatures. I’ve seen this world evolve and become what it is today. It’s been a long time.
“I, as the sea, have craved nothing but freedom. Being immortal, being an eternal being, I got what I thought I was craving. But seeing everything around me moving and living and just… being? It hurt to watch and know that I could never have the life they have. I want to be a part of their world. More than anything. I’ve wanted this for so many years. Until now, I never thought it possible, but you are the freedom I’ve been looking for. A pirate, a swordsman, you do whatever you please. You left your family behind to save Ace. You just live in the moment. I can not do something like that. I can’t even leave the temple. I’m only allowed to leave during the night. I wish… I wish I could.”
The way her face fell to a grimace hidden as a smile, it made Kasumi’s heart ache. Someone living forever? Watching everything they knew crumble and move on while she was stuck forever? Kasumi lost two of the most important people in his life. If he had to outlive Luffy? Shanks? Benn? Without thinking, Kasumi’s hand reached up and clutched his chest at the thought. He had had enough heartache for a lifetime in a few years. She had an eternity of heartache.
“What… What can I do to help you?” Her light blue eyes turned to stare into his determined sapphire eyes and she felt her face heat up and her heart beat faster. She had never fallen in love with a human before but she was certain that was the feeling she felt. He was willing to help her. He was willing.
She stood from her throne chair and walked behind the chair. Kasumi leaned to the left, trying to peak at what she was doing when he heard a small ding! of something small clattering to the floor and a soft rustling.
A small blue gem bounced into his view, ringing loudly each time it graced the floor before stopping in front of his shoe. It was mesmerizing. A swirl of blues hidden inside of what looked like a glass casing made the object almost seem… alive? It was hard to describe, but Kasumi felt a pull to the object. His interest was piqued, so he reached down to pick it up.
In his palm felt like he was holding a most precious object. Something so small held so much weight and so much warmth. It was beautiful and nostalgic. Like a piece of a soul, or the essence of a living being. He’d never really thought about it before, but maybe this was what a soul really felt like. His hands trembled as he realized the severity of what he was holding. No matter what it was, it felt like so much. He wasn’t sure if he should even be touching it.
Kasumi walked behind the throne, holding the gem in both hands to ensure its safety. He needed to hand it back to her, certain it was too important to belong in hands like his. They were rough with war and fighting. They were shaking. He couldn’t hold onto anything worth this much. No matter what it was worth. He was barely worth his sword.
When Kasumi stepped behind the throne, his mouth open in a gasp as he saw Tsukikage sprawled on the floor. Her dress and hair flowed around her and her chest did not rise or fall with any breath. She looked so peaceful, lying there upon the cold stone. He wasn’t even certain she was dead, if not for the way her once dark blue dress began to lose its color and became as white as her hair, like it had bled out for a being who could not bleed.
One of her hands, so small and frail, rested upon the ground with something in it. A ring,
it looked like. With a gentle hand, Kasumi reached down and picked it up, looking over the black band. It was dotted with white stars and had a slot on the top, void of any gem. Written inside the ring were the words, ‘With freedom, comes life’. Life. Kasumi looked at the tiny blue gem, the life he was holding, then the ring, and carefully placed it in the ring. It was a perfect fit. The gem sat snug in the ring and twinkled from the sunlight streaming into the temple. It didn’t feel right.
Kasumi pocketed the ring. Then without a second thought, he picked Tsukikage up bridal style and carried her out to the servants. He wasn’t sure of what else he could do for her. He wasn’t even sure what he was supposed to do with the ring. Hell, he wasn’t sure what to do as he held her in his arms. It all felt so wrong and he felt responsible. He wished he’d never decided to help her. Maybe she would still be there with him.
When Kasumi brought her out to the servants, there were various shouts of surprise and gasps. Some glass shattered and a loud clang from the kitchen could be heard. He faltered, seeing all their faces. They looked at him like a murderer, like he had done something wrong. And in a way, he had. He took their goddess away from them.
The priest who came to find him the first morning parted the crowd of servants and stood before Kasumi. He looked at the goddess, then at Kasumi and took a deep breath. Turning back towards the other servants and priests, the old man raised a hand, asking for complete silence.
“Ever since we came to provide for our goddess, we knew that one day she would crave freedom more than the life she had here. We should’ve prepared ourselves when she brought this outsider with her. She knew what she was doing and was ready to do whatever it took.” The priest turned back to Kasumi.
“For what you have done for her, we thank you. She has been waiting for this moment for hundreds of years now. We have all been waiting.” Waving a hand around the room, they all looked down at their hands, seeing rings much like the one that Kasumi received. Were they all living here for hundreds of years?
“You have done your part, Akagami Kasumi. It is our turn now, to do what must be done for her. Please, follow me.” The priest walked back into the parted crowd and beckoned for Kasumi to follow him, which he did with only minimal hesitation. They’d all been slaves to eternity. He shuddered at the thought and took quick steps, hoping that if he busied himself with this, he’d forget all about the others. He couldn’t save all of them like he had done for her. A temple that lived forever.
The priest brought him into a room made entirely of crystal and glass. Steps lead up to a long, crystal table and beside it sat a single glass chair. It had been made like a tomb, waiting for their goddess to be placed here and sealed for eternity, maybe with all of them sealed forever as well.
Kasumi laid Tsukikage on the crystal, watching the reflection of his own face. It felt odd, how colorless the entirety of the room was. How in it, was one single individual and she was as dead and colorless as the rest of the room. Kasumi felt like he could throw up at any moment. He had to look away from her. No matter how beautiful and captivating she was, he found he couldn’t bring himself to look over her lifeless corpse.
“Young man,” Kasumi turned to the priest, seeing him take the seat next to Tuskikage. He placed a wrinkled hand on one of the goddess’ frail and dainty hands. Taking her hand in his, he ran his thumb over her knuckles. The look in his eyes made Kasumi flinch, like a father who lost his child. It must’ve hurt to see her like that.
“The doctor who saved you left this vivre card for you. Go and find him. He is one of the few who can actually help her. I know I said you’ve done your part, but-”
“I would be happy to go find him for her. I’ll bring him back, I promise.”
He never meant to break that promise, but with the goddess of the sea lying lifeless in her temple, the seas were ruthless and relentless. Waves upon waves crashed down upon Kasumi. No amount of experience sailing could save him from the storms plaguing the sea. When the ship capsized, he thought, ‘This is it. I’ve broken another promise.’
Law walked along the shores of Punk Hazard, shuffling along as he took the time to breathe. He’d had too much on his mind, too much going on. He had hoped for a relaxing walk. What he got was a washed up young man, struggling to take in gulps of air and throwing up sea water. He wasn’t even awake, just struggling to stay alive.
As Law inspected closer, grabbing the man and pulling him further up the shore, he realized with a long groan that it was not just anyone but one of his most recent patients. And he was sporting a nasty head wound, along with throwing up shocking amounts of seawater.
“Kasumi, Kasumi, wake up.” Shaking the man a bit, Kasumi’s dark blue eyes opened slowly, staring up at Law with confusion. He tried sitting up, leaning heavily against Law and looking around the beach in utter shock.
“Why aren’t we on the ship? What happened? Where’s Luffy?” Law leaned back a bit, wiping a hand over his forehead as he thought it over. Of course it would be his luck to get an amnesiac Kasumi. These next few days were going to be fun, Law thought sarcastically as he helped Kasumi up to his feet and they trudged back towards Law’s vacation house.