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Brook has been born in the slums of an island constantly at war with itself. There was little childhood to be had in the place where death was more common than life. Any joy was fleeting and redundant, had to be hidden from the world that tried so hard to take it away.
And Brook, a lonely little orphan, had looked at all the misery that surrounded him and decided to do something about it.
He tried many different things, desperate to help in any way. He tried to give people his own meager portions of food, tried to joke with people or even prank them. But nothing worked. His actions had no effect. It was just as he was on the verge of giving up that he saw a woman standing in the corner of a street.
She was holding a violin and she sang a casual, happy song, smiling as if she didn’t have a care in the world. People around her looked at her and smiled with her, sometimes humming, sometimes even singing along.
Brook was awed. With such little effort, she was capable of brightening the constant darkness that surrounded all of them. It was then that he decided his future. He was going to become a musician!
One day, when he was looking through other people’s trash to find something to eat, he found a used, battered violin abandoned in trash and he started trying to teach himself how to play. He practiced for endless hours, until his hands felt as if they would fall off and his fingers were completely numb. And finally, after two whole years, he could say with confidence that he knew how to play well. He began to play on streets and people started to take notice. They were pulled to his music like moths to a flame. Every single day for three years, Brook stood on the streets and brought a tiny bit of joy to others.
But then the war became worse and Brook couldn’t make others smile anymore.
King became more and more desperate to suppress the rebels, and rebels became more determined to overthrow him. The death toll grew bigger every day and it didn’t seem as if the situation would get better anytime soon.
Brook, naive as he was and still untainted by blood, joined the rebels in what he thought was an honorable fight. It was there that he learned most of his swordfighting style. He spent most of his youth fighting with people he saw as friends. As the people with the same goals as him. To make their country a better place for everybody, without exceptions.
Many years passed, filled with constant struggle and loss. But on one very sunny day, they finally succeeded in killing the king. Brook’s heart was filled with hope as the new leader was chosen. He was truly excited for the long-awaited reforms.
But nothing changed. The poor remained poor and the rich became richer. The old king had died, and yet the conditions of the normal citizens’ lives didn’t get better. He protested, tried to make others see that it wasn’t right, but nobody listened. People he thought were his friends started to distance themselves from him, satisfied with the way things were. They looked at him with pity as if he was crazy when he talked about helping other people from slums.
Nothing had truly changed and everybody was fine with that. It didn’t take long before he realized that there was no way for him to change their minds. From the very beginning only he had been fighting for a better future. When he finally realized that, it felt as if his heart was torn to pieces. The day after that, he packed all of his meager belongings, including his very first, battered, old violin, bought a boat and left.
When his dinghy drifted away from shore, Brook didn’t look back. He had no reason to.
His home was already lost.
The first time Brook met Yorki, he was standing on the street and playing on a guitar. His music was a little silly, but filled with laughter and fun. He looked happy and so full of life. People gathered around him, pulled in by the pure joy he took from performing his melody.
Brook was enchanted too. He smiled and took out his violin, not really thinking about what he was doing. He let the music guide him and started playing along with the guitarist. For a moment, he forgot about everything and all his troubles seemed to fade away. It was the first time he had felt happy since he left his island behind.
But soon the magical moment came to an end. Crushing reality slipped back in and any joy he felt disappeared as if it was never there. He sighed, feeling tired, as his miserable thoughts started to torture him again. He returned his violin to its case and turned to leave. But just as he was rounding the corner, he heard a voice calling out from behind him.
“Hey! Hey, you! You with the strange afro and a top hat! The one who was playing the violin! Wait a second!”
Brook stopped and turned to look at the stranger that had followed him. It was the same person that played the guitar. The stranger stopped before him and took a few deep breaths, trying to recover from the running he had done to catch up with Brook.
“Yes?” he asked politely, curious about what this stranger could want from him.
“You were incredible back there! I don’t think I’ve ever heard somebody play like that!”
“Thank you.” Brook smiled, flattered by the complement.
“My name is Yorki!” The stranger exclaimed “Do you want to join my crew?!”
“Your crew?” Brook blinked a few times, bemused at this turn in events. He shook his head, getting rid of his confusion and answered firmly “No.”
He left quickly, leaving Yorki behind with mouth hanging open. He didn’t want to deal with the reaction to his rejection. Brook already had enough problems.
He thought that would be the end of it. That he would never meet Yorki again.
He was wrong. So very, very wrong.
For the next few days, no matter where he went, Yorki would always somehow find him and pester him to join his crew, which was apparently composed entirely of him alone. His methods got more and more desperate. He followed him to Brook’s hotel, at his temporary work place and once, he even broke into his room! Finally, after a week had gone by and Yorki hadn't shown any sign of giving up, Brook snapped.
“Why are you so obsessed with me?!” he demanded, having had enough of the constant whining.
“Because you are awesome!” Yorki shouted, stunning Brook “When you played on your violin, everybody around you was drawn in! It was like magic! I don’t think I ever played as well as when you did it with me! I want to create music with you again!”
Brook could feel his face reddening from all the compliments being thrown his way. He looked to his left, trying to avoid looking into the earnest eyes of Yorki.
“Fine.” he muttered after a few seconds of silence.
“Really?” asked Yorki with sparkling eyes.
“Yes, really.” sighed Brook, feeling a little foolish at his sudden decision, but weirdly happy about it too. And honestly, what did he have to lose?
The very next day Brook packed up his bags and started a new journey with his new captain.
The next few months went by quickly, filled with laughter and joy. Soon, other people started to join them in their travels. Before they knew it, they had a total of sixty crewmates on their ship. And when Brook sang and played his violin in harmony with his crew, he felt happy and free. Together with Yorki, they had built themselves a place where they belonged.
A home.
After Yorki died, Brook was left struggling. He was named captain and tried with all his might to be worthy of the title. He knew that it was what Yorki would have wanted and he didn’t want to disappoint his crew.
But sometimes, he would look to his right with the word “captain” on his lips. Sometimes, the doubt would sneak in and he would feel like an impostor while giving out orders. A hole had been left in the place where Yorki had lived and nothing Brook did could fix it. But still, he tried.
And with time, it became easier. He started to enjoy being captain and stopped thinking about it as only a duty. The memory of Yorki became a little less painful and the happy times became easier to think about. And before long, he became truly comfortable with his new role.
He even gained a bounty! Everything was going great, and for the first time since Yorki’s death, Brook felt as if things would turn out alright.
And then, tragedy struck again.
The attack was completely sudden and unexpected. His crew couldn’t even react before the enemy forces totally overpowered them. By some miracle they did manage to escape, but their relief was very short lived.
They were poisoned by their enemies. And their doctor was already dead. There was no hope of survival. It was only a short matter of time before they would all die.
At first, everybody was in shock. They couldn’t believe that this would be their end. But soon after, Brook could feel the despair that had started to grip the hearts of his crewmates. So did the only thing he could. He suggested that they all sing together for the one last time. His crew agreed, knowing they already had one foot in the grave. Somebody set the dial they recently bought to record their last song, for when Brook (without a doubt) would meet up with Laboon again.
So they sang together for the final time, continuing on even as more and more of their friends died around them. Every single one of them leaving with a smile on their face.
Brook was the last one. He knew (he hoped) that the fruit he ate would allow him to return to life. He closed his eyes and let death claim him, knowing that soon, he would be back.
Of course, life had different plans. He spent the next year lost, trying to find the way back to his body. And when he did, there was nothing but bones and hair left of him. Everything felt alien, new, unnatural.
But soon, he had completely forgotten about the changes to his body. He could feel his hands forming into the fists as he looked around himself. He was surrounded by the corpses of his friends, his precious crewmates.
He knew that they had died. He knew. But still, he had hoped. Still wanted. But it didn’t matter. His crew was dead. Because he had failed to protect them.
(Yorki would have been so disappointed in him.)
He lowered his head into his hands and sobbed.
His home, the one he so gently built with his best friend (his brother in all but blood) was gone.
When Brook was surrounded by his new friends, the time he spent in the mist, on his lonely, lonely ship seemed like a dream. It was so distant, so removed from the happiness that blanketed them all on Sunny, that sometimes Brook had a hard time remembering that it had happened at all.
Everything was so joyful and full of life on this little ship filled with dreams. It was as if the sadness and pain stopped existing on Sunny.
What a strange place this world is. Brook mused, looking at the happy crew (his crew) eating and laughing together, without a care in the world.
That after all this time, he had once again found a home for himself.