Chapter Text
Sailing the New World meant finding dangers and horrors at every twist and turn. It meant finding yourselves in the eye of a fatal storm, desperately clinging to the rigging of a ship, legs shaking, soaked in rainwater.
Y/N gripped the rigging with his life. He never wanted to be a marine in the first place, he never wanted to sail out to the Grand Line, no more the New World. He was just a young man with his whole life ahead of him, with hobbies and dreams and skills, and so much to learn and see.
One of his fellow cadets yelled out. “Y/N! Help us!” they cried out through the whistling of the harsh wind. Y/N took a step, but the ship rocked, sending him flying onto his back and sliding down the deck as the marine ship tipped diagonally, almost one-hundred and eighty degrees.
Y/N yelped, grabbing a rope and clinging to it, preventing him from falling through the gaps on the railing and into the ocean. But the worst possible thing happened — the rope snapped.
Y/N was too shocked to even scream as he was plunged into the freezing waters bubbles and darkness tumbling around him as he swam to the surface, taking a deep breath. He waded helplessly as harsh waves crashed over his head, forcing him back under the water. Tangy saltwater filled his lungs and he coughed, desperately searching for some debris to hold onto, praying for safety.
The ship creaked from beside him, and he suddenly remembered his crew above him could help. “Help!” he shouted. “Help! Man overboard!” Y/N’s pleads for safety were in vain — over the howling of the wind, the rain on the deck and the waves crashing left and right, no one heard him.
“Wave incoming!” a marine screamed from the deck. Y/N heard the cry and looked up, seeing a huge wave, big enough to be a tsunami, approaching him and the ship. He gasped, but he wasn’t quick enough to react — he was engulfed in the ocean quickly, inhaling water and spluttering while submerged.
He tried to swim upwards, to take another breath, but amidst his panic, Y/N couldn’t tell which way the surface was. His lungs began to burn, and his vision began to dance with black spots. One last wave crashed over Y/N’s head and he was submerged completely in the dark ocean, his vision reduced to nothingness once the cold waters had taken over.
•••
It was pitch black when Y/N opened his eyes. He blinked, coughing softly into the night air. He could breath… he was breathing!
He sat up quickly, noticing that his uniform was hanging open, torn, and drenched in water. He panted, scanning the ocean from the shore he was lying on. There was no sign of a boat or a ship anywhere, no docks, no people or houses. He was completely alone.
Y/N stumbled to his feet weakly, but almost instantly dropped back to his knees. His body was shaking, both from the cold and hunger. He glanced around the island he was on — it seemed fairly small, but smoke arose slowly from the distance. People.
He was surrounded by trees, however, as far as the eye could see, and only a small clearing near the shore was within walking distance — for Y/N’s current condition at least — and the corner of his eye, he saw a bush, a fruit hanging off of it.
Y/N let out a soft grunt, forcing himself to his feet. He slowly dragged himself over to the bush, dropping to his knees before it. He plucked the fruit from its branch, holding it gingerly. It was a very, very dark purple, almost black, and was shrivelled and thin. The stalk was long and spiralled upwards, and the skin of the fruit had a similar pattern.
Y/N hesitated, but the grow in his stomach made him take a bite from the fruit. He forced himself to swallow it, but he couldn’t eat anymore.
He threw the fruit aside, dropping to the grass. It was soft beneath him, his fingers rushing against the cool dirt beneath the blades of grass. His eyes slipped shut. If I die here, at least I’ll die peacefully…