Chapter Text
Varvula: This is so amazing! You all get to experience what it's like to be a Pokemon…Even if half of you are fangame Fakemons or alternate species.
Peace: You look so beautiful Raven~!
Raven: Do I ever. I look like a peacock dressed for a drama play. [She looked up considering Peace was a giraffe on fire] You don't look too bad yourself, with those flames on your back.
Peace: Really? It feels kind of weird being so tall. A-And kind of hard to walk through doors…or go on walks without starting a forest fire.
Yang: Well good for you…Out of all the cool Pokemon there are in the world…WHY AM I A STUPID PINK UNICORN~!?
Varvula: Correction, your a Kiricorn. A normal Fairy Type Pokemon From Uranium.
Yang: Kiricorn, Twonicorn! Whatever, I'M A PRETTY PINK MESS~!
Shiho: Be glad that you at least have feet. I'm just a freaking glass tank!
Varvula: Well you are a Glass-Cannon! [She chuckled in irony.] Get it? Glass Cannon Because you're a Glassannon.
Shiho: So hilarious that I forgot to laugh.
Yang: Really? It's hard to tell when you don't have a mouth.
[Soon the room was suddenly pouring with rain as a blue Camerupt walked into the room.]
Raven: Dang it Freddy! We just dried this room already!
Freddy: My bad, I'm still getting used to this drizzling effect.
Yang: Has anyone seen what Gwen and Sanya look like?
Varvula: [Snickering.] You'll have to find out at the end of this chapter. You'll laugh to see Gwen's Pokemon Persona. It looks hilarious!
Chapter 64: Mourning and Merging!
The night sky illuminated upon the Upper Yard. The island had many scars due to Eneru's Battle Royal. But with him and his army gone, all that was left was a calm and peaceful night as the burden of being looked down upon in fear had vanished.
At the trunk base of Luminous Tail, the females of Shandians, Skypieans and the Straw Hats had gathered inside a very clean lobby.
"Whoa~! You're right Minori!" Asuka gawked at how highly advanced their lobby was. "This place looks like a highly advanced laboratory!"
"Tell me about it," Misaka acknowledged, though less excited about it. "So can anyone tell me why Yozura, and Terra invited us here?"
"More importantly, why did Terra stop Juvia from bringing Gray?" Juvia comically wept.
"What part of only girls are invited don't you get?" Chris slightly scoffed.
"Still why only us?" Iona wondered out loud.
"W-Welcome ladies~!" Yozura announced as she, along with Akita, Sinolia and Terra stood in front of the girls. "T-The reason why we brought you all here is…that…because…."
Yozura suddenly bowed down to them. "...Wewantyoutoinviteyoutoourseacloudbathhouse!"
…
…
…
"Uh...did anyone catch that?" Hibiki asked, breaking the awkward silence.
"She said that she wants to invite you all to our indoor Sea Cloud Hot Spring~!" Sinolia announced with little enthusiasm in her announcement.
"A hot spring?!" Lucy, Wendy, Wannai and Awatsuki exclaimed with sparkles in their eyes.
"An underground hot spring, but with Sea Clouds?" Kuroko let the words sink in. She had her doubts at first, but since clouds in this world are manufactured, she decided to ask more questions. "How does that work exactly?"
"W-Well…" Akita said as she stepped forward. "Dimanu was the one who built it for us since he enjoys hot springs. He placed a couple of Heat Dials at the bottom of a large hole and then he filled it up with Sea Clouds."
"Did he now?" Yuko whispered with a smile.
"I don't know about you, but I can't wait to try it~!" Nami beamed happily. "After what we've been through, we all deserve to kick back and relax."
"You said it," Asuka agreed with a nod.
"I have to admit, this will be a strange yet wonderful experience," Wannai said cheerfully. But frowned when she realized something. "Oh, will you be okay Awatsuki? Since you're…you know a Devil Fruit user now?"
Awatsuki assured her with a calm nod. "Robin assured me that I'll be alright. I can still take baths as long as it is not too long, and I don't pass out and drown."
"Robin, please stop giving these girls morbid thoughts," Nami shuddered, which only made the woman chuckle in response.
"Well what are we waiting for?" Kirika wasted no time, and began to take off her shirt. "Let's go inside desu~!"
"HOLD IT~!" Chris instantly stopped the blond from taking off her shirt. Her face crimson red of embarrassment. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! What if their guys are still inside the base?"
"I agree with the cow," Kinoko begrudgingly scoffed." Knowing you idiots, you'll just punch first and ask questions later. Like a total cliché harem trope."
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A COW, YOU MIDGET~!?" Chris comically shouted.
"She's…not wrong," Lucy confessed only to flinch when she was met with Gun user's death glare. She quickly panicked. "I-I mean the whole peeping scenario! N-Not that I think you're a cow~!"
"O-Oh, you don't need to worry about the boys," Yozura reassured the others. "Eguchi and Dimanu have brought the guys to their secret hot spring somewhere in the Upper Yard."
"I bet the little gremlin was booted out after trying to sneak a p-EK~!" Hime would've continued if Sinolia wasn't suddenly close to her face. Her glare made the blue haired girl shudder in fear.
"Do you know how long I waited for Dimmy to peek at my non-well trained body?" Sinolia is haunted with cold dead eyes. "Now I can't because he made his own sauna!"
"Ah, now I see why," Misaka deadpanned with a sweatdrop. She understands how females can be very much perverts as males. All thanks to a certain pigtail teleporter.
"Don't worry girls, the changing room isn't far from the sauna," Yozura confirmed. "Also we set an alarm near the sauna just in case a peeper does show up."
'I hope it's not as annoying as the other security system,' Shirabe fumed in her head. She reminded herself to punch Dimanu in the guts later on.
"Well that's reassuring," Lucy sighed.
The girls chatted amongst themselves while they followed the three female Luminous Tail members down to the left corridor. Why three when there's only four of them?
Sinolia stood behind resting a shoulder onto Kinoko and Juvia, her body coating with a misty aura. She then leaned forward whispering something into their ears that made the two females' eyes widen.
"Lets go find their secret sauna,"
The males were trekking through the forest at night fully dressed and holding towels. The Shandians weren't hostile against the pirates, but were still wary of them.
"Here's the last marking," Dimanu announced after placing a hand on a tree bark with an X symbol on it. "We'll be arriving soon at my secret hot spring~!"
"What's with all this damn secrecy?" Accelerator demanded impatiently.
"Yeah, why are we so far away from the ladies?!" Sanji asked, comically grieving.
"I have to make sure we're not being followed," Dimanu replied while still leading the group. "Plus this is a good opportunity for a 'men's only' hang out before we leave."
"Followed? You mean those Elite guys might ambush us?" Usopp nervously asked.
"Nope, Sinolia might be stalking us to find my secret place," He replied while lifting up a large branch to get through. "I doubt it would matter now since this will be our last day on Skypiea, but I don't want to lead to misunderstandings involving the women."
"Knowing this guy, he'll probably have a naked girl running up to him, to confess her love to her or something," Gray joked while pointing to Touma.
"Ha Ha~! Very funny~!" Touma sarcastically rolled his eyes. "It wasn't my fault that the drunk cute, ninja girl fell on top of me during the party! I still have the bruises from Index and Misaka's combo attack!"
"Oh you're calling Yozura cute?" Eguchi snickered. "Are you sure you're not building a harem?"
"For crying out loud I'm not!" Touma shouted, annoyed. "Why does everyone keep saying that?!"
"Well, you did kiss Juvia while her crush watched," Lily reminded him, causing the others who didn't know to gawk in shock.
"Y-You kissed Juvia~!?" Sanji shouted with pure comical rage. "How dare you force your lips on her you bastard~!?"
"I didn't force anything on her~!" Touma argued back with shark teeth.
"This is bad," Tsuchimikado decided to add more fuel to the fire. "The Kamiya disease has evolved dangerously~! Even other girlfriends aren't safe from it~!"
"The…Kamiya Disease?" Braham questioned with a sweetdrop. He and the other Shandians were out of the loop of the whole conversation.
"Don't take him too seriously," Touma assured him before angrily turning to his blonde friend. "How many times do I have to say it, I don't have any damn harem disease!"
"Oh yeah, then what about Yozura?" Eguchi chimed in on the teasing. "I heard that you were able to "persuade" her to surrender with your charms."
"Catching her from slipping on ice doesn't count as flirting~!" Touma annoyingly barked back.
"You have some weird way of getting girls to roam around you," Gray admitted, while he's now in his boxers. "Be as it may, I do thank you for keeping Juvia back when we were fighting Kaito."
"Could you at least wait till we get to the hot spring to strip~!?" Usopp comically barked.
"Aren't you a little upset that he made a move on your girlfriend?" Jayden questioned, ignoring Touma shouting in the background.
"I never said that she was my girlfriend," Gray answered bluntly. "She has a strong affection for me."
"Yeah, strong is one way to describe that nutcase," Accelerator retorted.
"Okay here we are!" Dimanu announced to them. The group found themselves in an open area, and across from it was an entrance between two large trees with metal plates around the bark.
"IT TOTALLY STANDS OUT~!" Usopp and Gray exclaimed at how unnatural the entrance was.
"Here's your first mission, Holly~!" Dimanu went over and patted the large dog's body. "Your job is to be on the lookout for any suspicious people or peepers. You have my permission to beat them up if they attempt to attack or sneak inside."
"RUFF~!" Holly acknowledged by saluting with his tail wagging.
"I still can't believe that brat was able to tame that bastard's beast," Kamakiri commented, while eying the large dog.
"Yeah, if beating each other up counts as taming," Touma rephrased while scratching his chin.
"Behold Gentlemen~!" Eguchi announced as he and Dimanu unraveled the vine-like curtains thus revealing the very vast and clean Hot Spring made of pure White Sea Clouds. There were a few large stones positioned around the outer part of the sauna and other parts with trees.
"WHOA~!" Natsu, Luffy, Happy, Ray and Usopp were in awe of the area.
"Damn," Gray uttered in awe before turning to Dimanu. "You were able to create an outdoor hot spring with just Sea Clouds?"
"Pretty much," Dimanu proudly proclaimed. "It took us a while with all the sneaking to prepare this project. But it was all worth it!"
"I'm still surprised as to why Eneru hasn't blown this place to bits," Jayden acknowledged. "With his mantra, he can easily find this place."
"Maybe he would soak in a few times?" Eguchi suggested, earning some odd glances aimed at him. It felt awkward to imagine Eneru just relaxing in a Hot Spring.
"YAHOO~!" Luffy, Natsu, Usopp and Ray didn't waste time stripping their clothes and leap into the air performing a cannon ball into the White Sea Cloud.
"HAVE SOME DECIENCY YOU MORONS~!" Jayden barked comically with shark teeth.
"You're asking pirates to have manners?" Braham joked slightly.
Soon the rest of the men were stripping and were now relaxing and soaking in the warm White Sea Clouds. The area was large enough for some of them to either relax or play in the sauna.
"This feels so amazing~!" Ray announced as his body was already weakening due to being submerged in sea clouds. Luckily, he was leaning on the side of the sauna so he wouldn't drown.
"You said it," Usopp sighed happy, after slowly sinking his body into the clouds. "I never expect to be relaxing in a Sea Cloud Hot Spring."
"Even by magic standards, soaking in sea clouds is something new," Gray admitted.
"Yo, Luffy you might need to grab onto the ledge so you don't sink," Ray suggested.
"GUGLGUGL~!" Luffy couldn't hear him, since his body sunk into the sea clouds with his hat floating in the water.
"Ah…too late," Ray noted.
"GAH~! LUFFY'S DROWNING~!" Usopp screamed comically with his eyes popping out. He quickly dived under the cloud sauna to save his captain.
"Are you sure it's safe for Devil Fruit users?" Chopper asked Dimanu.
"Sure it is," He answered leaning back with his arms behind his head. "Just as long as you don't cannonball into the water like Straw Hat did."
"Aye…" Happy was floating on his back enjoying the water.
Shervan was the last one to go in. After gently placing his folded clothes on the side, he slowly climbed down the small stone steps with his bare feet. The boy could feel his body getting weak, but was still able to stand from being submerged into the Sea Clouds and slowly shuffled into a vacant area.
"Dude, why are you hiding your body like that?" Dimanu questioned when he noticed him in the corner. "It's just us men here. Or are you gay like Jayden."
"I-I'm not gay!" The Demon Slayer retorted comically.
"W-Well…I've never been naked around multiple people b-before in my life," Shervan confessed nervously. When he was with Maki, she was adamant in bathing together and didn't care that they were both naked. It took a whole week for him to get used to being in a hot spring with one person.
"Man, you need to let loose sometime," Dimanu chuckled. "I mean look at me. I got my ass handed to me by a cute yet sadistic Precure during the Battle Royal, and you don't see me withering in despair~!"
'What the hell did she do to him?' Zoro, Jackal, Tsuchimikado and Jayden comically gaped in shock.
"So I heard you went Dragon Force for the first time on the Ultimate Assassin," Dimanu declared while smirking. "You gave her a run for her money during that storm. Sure wish I were there to see it."
"I-Is that what it's called?" Shervan quietly asked while looking down at his hand. "T-This was my first time gaining that kind of upgrade…and I didn't even know about it."
"You never heard of Dragon Force~?!" Natsu was in disbelief at what he was hearing. "Have you been living under a rock or something~?!"
Watching the conversation from afar, Kamakiri slightly scoffed at the young boy's flustered nature. "Are you sure this little runt was the wind dragon I keep hearing about?"
"Oh please, you're the one who shouldn't be underestimating these kids," Braham reminded with a hint of teasing. "Or did you forget how you got your ass handed to you by Dimanu on our first meeting,"
"…He caught me off guard that's all," Kamakiri clicked his teeth while his head was turned away.
"Hey Natsu!" Eguchi stood up while winding up his arm. "Since our fight was interrupted, how about we settle the score?"
"Now you're talking!" The Pink haired dragon slayer beamed while his fist erupted in flames. "Bring it o-!"
"HELL NO~!" Without warning, Jayden drop-kicked Natsu in the head, launching him right into Eguchi's stomach. The two fire slayers landed into the water with a splash. "YOU KNOW THE RULES YOU HOT-HEADED MORONS~! NO FIGHTING IN THE HOT SPRINGS~!"
"YOU COULD'VE JUST SAY IT INSTEAD OF KICKING ME YOU ASSHOLE~!" Natsu barked with shark teeth.
"They're all so noisy," Wyper muttered at the chaos going around.
"Say Wyper," Ray called out in a whisper. "My offer still stands. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning. This may be your only chance to meet with Noland's ancestors."
"You want me to join your pirate group?" Wyper questioned, raising his eyebrow.
"I do, but knowing you, you wouldn't want to take orders from a layback moron like me," Ray proclaimed. "So I've decided that you and Simon will be my second in command."
"Simon?" Wyper glanced curiously at the sudden news. "You mean you're recruiting everyone in Luminous Tail as well?"
"Simon was the one who came up with the idea," Ray replied. "Since Eneru is dealt with, there's no point in staying in Skypiea. We still have our own goals for sailing in the Grand Line."
"Like what?" The Shandian questioned.
"Not saying a word till you agree to join," Ray said in a tone that made Wyper annoyed. "Don't go all gorilla on me! It's a personal matter between crewmates only. Not that I think the Straw Hats aren't trust worthy, but they have their own baggage to deal with."
"..." Wyper didn't say anything. There was no reason not to accept his offer. The war was over, Eneru and his Priests were beaten, and he realized that Noland's ancestor was alive. However he still has his pride as a warrior and his beliefs of the Great Kalgara. Would the other Shandians be lost without him, and what about Aisa and…Laki?
"You don't have to give your answer right away," Ray continued, acknowledging his silence. "We'll be leaving first thing in the morning by the front of your ancient city."
"...Why the hell are you telling me all this? And how are you going to leave Skypiea without a waver or a ship?" Wyper questioned. It would make sense to meet at the edge of the Upper Yard, but they're meeting in the middle of the island. He couldn't figure out how they will return, but it might involve their strange magic.
Ray only responded with a wide grin and a wink. "You'll see~! It will blow your mind!"
Deep within the tree base, the females were enjoying themselves in their indoor hot spring. The women's sauna looked similar to the men's, only it was underground and had a small pool in the corner for the two Devil Fruit users.
"How are you feeling Awatsuki?" Robin asked as she turned to the girl.
"My body feels…so weird," She replied. The small pool of white sea clouds wasn't deep compared to the large one, but it was enough to soak her entire body. "It's like the water is draining all my energy when I dipped my toe in. Now that my entire body is submerged, I don't think I could move at all."
"That's a natural sensation for Devil Fruit users," Robin assured her. "It will take some time to get used to it, but I assure you that you'll be fine taking showers. Just try not to fall into the ocean and you won't drown."
"T-Thank you…" Awatsuki sweatdropped by the sudden morbid thought.
Terra soaks herself in the corner, isolating herself from the other girls. She was still trying to hide her sorrow with a fake smile, but memories of the tragic event kept playing in her head.
"Terra…" Her shoulder stiffened upon hearing her name and turned to find Tsubasa beside her, leaning on the side. The pink-haired woman was about to write a response, but stopped herself not knowing how to respond to her. "I…heard about what happened…I'm sorry for your loss."
'I…It happened so fast,' Terra shakenly wrote, breathing heavily. 'Moses was targeting me…I should've been the one who died, to accept the consequences of my actions, not my brother. I'm responsible for shedding blood on our group. Margaret, Todd, and even Moses, they all died because of me.'
"...I know the feeling too well," Tsubasa quietly replied after reading her words. The incident involving Noble Red in her own world, resurface some traumatic memories of her only friend Kanade. "A person I cared deeply, died right in front of me…"
Terra could only look at her a bit surprised as Tsubasa continued. "After that incident, I blamed myself for her death, so I closed myself off from everyone and kept telling myself that I was just a weapon."
'That's…how I felt,' Terra sadly noted.
"It took a life-threatening situation to realize that I was an idiot for thinking that way," Tsubasa scoffed to herself. She turned to Hibiki who was getting comically pummeled by Nami and Chris for some prank she pulled. "Tachibana still fought beside me, even after I pushed her away, she never stopped caring for my well-being."
'So...the girl your friend saved…was her?' Terra blinked as she managed to piece the puzzle together, realizing what Tsubasa was hinting at. Terra had a warm smile for the first time since her brother's death. Hibiki had never given up on Kouta, just like Todd did.
"I may not know your brother that well, but I don't think he'll want you to keep blaming yourself for his death," Tsubasa confirmed.
"I agree..." Erza, overhearing the conversation, went towards them along with Misaka. "I too blamed myself for the fate of Simon and...robbed another prisoner that was on the island I was imprisoned with my friends as a child. Losing them was painful and haunted me since that day." She smiled looking at the ceiling. "My point is that I know losing a friend or a loved one is sad, but we have moved forward. I believe that your brother Todd would've wanted that."
Wendy was there too with Carla. "Yes, when my mother Grandeeney left me I was lonely and scared. One day I met Edolas Jellal, he traveled with me for a while but left me with a Guild known as the Cait Shelter Guild."
Tears started to form in her eyes but quickly wiped them away with her arm and smiled. "After fighting against the Dark Guild Oracion Seis I found out the Cait Shelter was projection all this time. I was shocked but they still loved me like a family and...it was hard to see them go." She had a determined look. "But, I had to move forward and that's what I did." She then looked at Terra with a sweet smile. "Terra, I know it hurts but, you're strong and know that your brother will continue to live as long as you remember him in your heart."
Terra's lips curl as she sniffles a little but quickly wipes away her eyes with her arm with a quick nod writing, "Thank you, Tsubasa, Erza, and Wendy." The other three give the girl a warm smile in return.
"Ah, it feels so relaxing to finally cut loose~!" Laura happy sighed while floating on her back with her arms across behind her head. She was able to get out of the Aqua Pot and swim in the Sea Clouds.
'Funny coming from the one who didn't even fight,' Nami and Asuka mentally berated in unison. Compared to the rest of her team, she didn't have a scratch on her.
Speaking of which?
"Has Manatsu already left?" Asuka wondered, realizing that she hadn't seen the energetic girl at all. "She was way more eager about the Hot Springs than anyone."
"She mentioned something about following Shirabe and left me he-GWUAH~!" Laura's nonchalant answer, earned her a sudden tackle from Kirika.
"DEATH~! WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE WAS FOLLOWING SHIRABE~!?" Kirika exclaimed while comically shaking the mermaid frantically. "TELL ME WHERE DID THEY GO~!"
"HOW SHOULD I KNOW, AND WILL YOU STOP SHAKING ME~!?" Laura cried out while getting dizzy from the shaking.
After doing a quick recount of everyone in the room, Yozura sighed looking exhausted. "Sinolia's missing too."
"As well as Kinoko, Kuroko and Juvia," Lucy groaned as she facepalmed. "Don't tell me those perverts are planning something."
"Oh you don't have to worry about Kuroko," Misaka assured with a calm expression. "She's outside hanging upside down as punishment."
"...I'm not even gonna ask," Lucy said with a sweetdrop.
"Wait," Nami gasps in realization. "Don't tell me they're...actually going to…!"
"H-Hold on~!" Asuka blurted out. "Manatsu may be an idiot, but she'll never plan on doing that without a reason~!"
"Right," Kirika agreed confidently, "And since Kinoko's involved, Shirabe's must've planned on stopping them!"
"...Those Blue Sea People sure are a lively bunch," Witnessed the conversation from afar, Laki couldn't help but comment while shaking her head.
"Yeah they are," Connis beamed while sitting beside her. The fact that a female Shandian and a Skypiean were soaking in the hot spring, giggling, indicates that the two sides had no hostility against one another.
"So this is the place…"
A familiar light-purple hair-head peaked out of the bushes. She wasn't alone as four other figures behind her. "The chance that will change the history of Hot Springs scenarios…the chance to peek at the men!"
"Yeah, that's good and all, but…" Hissing in annoyance with a blank expression beside Kinoko was Shirabe. "…Why are we dragged into this~?"
"Don't you remember?" Manatsu recalled innocently. "You overheard their secret and declared something about wanting to protect Shervan from her…ecchi gazes."
"Plus," Kinoko raised her hand revealing a pixel-looking handcuff on her wrist. "I handcuffed you to make sure you don't ruin this for us."
"Right..." Shirabe muttered, but quickly reversed the question to the auburn hair girl. "But why are you here then Manatsu?"
"Oh, well I saw you following them, and…decided to…you know…" Manatsu trailed off while poking her fingers nervously.
"You want to see Touma right?" Shirabe guessed bluntly.
"Yes!" Manatsu nodded without hesitation, startling Shirabe. "After I heard he fought Eneru first hand, Chopper mentioned that he had not a single scar on his body. As if his injuries healed itself! I really want to know if that's true!"
The three just stared at the Manatsu with a sweatdrop. Speechless at how innocent she was compared to the three gremlins.
Kinoko cleared her throat. "...W-Whatever motive you have, just don't get in my way. Especially you!" She hissed pointing to Shirabe. "I want to get a good memento of him before we depart tomorrow."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it…pervert," Shirabe acknowledged half-heartedly. She then gestured to the large white dog curled up at the side of the entrance. "So how are you guys going to get inside without dealing with their guard dog?"
"Why don't we just go around?" Juvia suggested. "Since they're outside there should be a blind spot on the opposite side right?"
"I secretly went around the perimeter earlier," Sinolia confirmed. "The trees and vegetation at the top of the trench are too thick to go through, but enough for Juvia and I with our elements."
"Juvia can turn into water to see Gray naked!" Juvia pumped her fist quietly.
"Good for you two, but what about us?" Kinoko hissed quietly.
"I did find a small tunnel underneath one of the large trees at the back," Sinolia suggested. "With your slim figure, you three will be able to crawl through."
"Okay~!" Manatsu pumped her fist up, and whispered loudly. "Let's go peak on some men!"
"Yeah~!" Juvia, Kinoko and Sinolia quietly cheered, all with lewd thoughts in their mind.
"Yeah…" Shirabe gave a half-hearted cheer. She honestly didn't want to be here. However, she would lie if she wasn't a bit curious to see how men spend their times when females aren't around.
Back at the sauna, George soaked in the edge with his eyes closed. He slightly winced upon a sudden jolt of pain, letting out a rough cough, that he attempts to hide by covering his mouth.
This was unnoticed by Chopper who glanced at him with a concerned look. The reindeer was one of the few who knew about his condition after treating him to the best of his ability before the bonfire started. "George…"
Flashback
"This is bad…!"
In the Sick Bay of the Going Merry, Chopper was horrified upon witnessing George's chest and stomach covered with pink veins. The center of his chest was a pink splotch where veins were coming from.
"I…never seen anything like this…" Sango had to cover her mouth, so she didn't hurl upon witnessing George's body.
"It's that bad…Isn't it?" George asked while slowly breathing. "I was refraining from moving less so the toxins don't spread to my brain. I…just hope I can last till tomorrow…"
"What are you saying!?" Chopper asked with a worried look on his face. "Why are you saying that you're about to die?"
"Dr Chopper…throughout my life, I've been researching on a cure of this human biological virus developed by the ultimate chemist," George said as he slowly sat up from the bed. "The only solution I could think of was to slice the skin around the mark to stop it from spreading. However, once it's been activated, my research has only concluded on how to slow it down. Healing magic only worsen the symptoms and there's no antidote to-"
"BX virus,"
The three were startled to find Akita along with Natsu and Happy, entering the room. Akita continued explaining. "It's a c-chemical drug they use to print the Crimson Blood mark on every member who works under an elite. M-My brother and I saw someone use it f-first hand. T-They also give a c-code that enchants their abilities ten times more…B-But…"
"In doing so will cost them their lives," George concluded, knowing that she was hesitating to answer. "It's a safe precaution to make sure soldiers and ex-soldiers would think twice before rebelling."
"T-That's…" Sango uttered in horror.
"What kind of bastard creates a dangerous drug like that and uses it on their own comrades?" Chopper angrily seethed, clenched his hooves.
"One that deserves a punch in the face," Natsu answered, seething with anger. This was personal for Dragon Slayer, because a guild mark resembles their bond of their guild, and Crimson Blood is using it to dispose of members who lost or refuse to give up.
"Chopper, Akita," George got his attention. The two were trying to stop themselves from crying as they looked up. "While my life is slowly coming to an end, that doesn't mean I've given up. The chemist might've created an invincible virus, but I know there's an antidote for it. If you can use my blood as a sample then..."
"I-I'll do my best!" Akita blurted out, trying to stop her tears, but still kept rolling down. "I-I won't let you down G-George!"
"As a doctor, I'll do all I can to create an antidote!" Chopper announced also with tears in his eyes and snot. "I promise that I'll never let anyone else die from this stupid virus!"
'I'll work hard to create a cure for the BX virus!' Chopper declared in his head with a determined expression. 'And if I see that stupid head of the Ultimate chemist in the future, I'll punch their stupid face!'
"Hey, Chopper catch!" Luffy called out.
"Huh?" The second he looked up, Chopper was met with a white cloud sphere heading towards him. He managed to volley the sphere back to Luffy, amazed by the texture "Ah~! That's so cool!"
"Isn't it?" Luffy sheepishly chuckled, while on the edge of the sauna. "It's just like the ball guy did, but with no cool surprise inside it."
"Cool? More like scary!" Usopp recalled, while volleying the small cloud ball.
"Kudos to the one to slay that creep," Kamakiri snickered quietly. "His Cloud challenge was very annoying to deal with."
"…!"
Dimanu, Natsu, Gajeel and Shervan's dragon instinct kicked in. Though Shervan was the only one who was nose-blind, he felt chills running down his spine from someone watching them from above.
"Uh, is something wrong?" Touma was the first to notice the young boy's tension.
Before Shervan could open his mouth, Natsu beat him to it, but suddenly stood up, glancing up on the ledge. Then he reared his head back. "FIRE DRAGON ROAR!"
"PRISM STONE DRAGON ROAR!"
"IRON DRAGON ROAR!"
The three aggressive Dragon Slayer unleashed their narrow yet powerful stream of fire, stone and iron out of their mouths. Aiming the three different corners of the cliffside.
"GAH~!" Usopp and Chopper instantly hugged each other. "AN ENEMY ATTACK~!"
"Don't tell me those three Elites are attacking us!" Jayden growled. At first the others were wondering if those three were crazy, attacking the enemy out of the blue.
"AHHHH~!"
However, they froze the moment they heard familiar female shrieks, when the attacks exploded.
"Y-You got to be kidding…" Gray, recognizing one of the screams, uttered with his eyes widened.
"LOOK OUT TOUMA~!" Manatsu shouted while failing her arms comically in the air.
"M-Manat-urk!" The moment Touma turned around, Touma was met by an unexpected headbutt into his chest, knocking the wind out of his lunges and fell backwards into the water.
A few of the culprits fell off the cliff landing into the island cloud water with a splash. When it cleared up, they got a clear look at the culprits, with mixed reactions.
"Ugh…" Sinolia, Shirabe, and Kinoko were floating above the water on their backs with black swirls replacing their eyes, KO'd by the force of the sudden attack. Kinoko's handcuffs were broken off and dissolved on impact.
"Aw man~! Why did she find out about it now~!?" Dimanu exclaimed while ruffling his hair.
"You forgot how tenacious Kinoko can be," Ray noted with a nervous chuckle. "With her and the mist girl teaming up, we'll need to sleep with our eyes open."
"I'm more surprised that we got a reverse peeping scenario," Eguchi acknowledged, a bit impressed.
"It's a rare occurrence. Yet it proves that Peeping Toms show no gender! We even got some perverts I didn't expect to come here!" Tsuchimikado added while glancing at Shirabe and Manatsu.
"YOU THREE ARE WAY TOO CALM ABOUT THIS SITUATION~!" Usopp comically retorted with shark teeth.
"AHH NAMI AND ERZA ARE GOING TO BEAT US UP~!" Chopper freaked out comically.
"Calm down," Jackal scowled at the freaked out reindeer. "Why the hell would they do something like that?"
"The demon's right," Jayden calmly agreed while cracking his knuckles. "In a situation like this, there's one golden rule that needs to be followed. The gender who peeps on another gender, faces a harsh punishment."
"Unless, they're your sister right?" Dimanu added teasingly.
Jayden flinched upon hearing this, and weakly defended. "T-That's different! She would never do something that shameless~!"
"Oi, you think I'll let you all get away with hurting these ladies under my watch?" Sanji growled glaring at Jayden.
"If you don't want to watch," Accelerator flicked his choker, and the moment Sanji passed him, he lightly touched the cloud water. The cook was suddenly blasted out of the air and slammed head first into the dirt wall, unconscious. "Then stay there till it's over."
"Hmph, nice decoration," Zoro complimented with a smirk.
"Well that's one problem solved," Gajeel agreed.
"I'm glad that we didn't come across the albino kid," Genbo shuddered after witnessing his power.
"Ugh," Touma groaned, as he recovered from the sudden impact. He slowly swam to the edge of the sauna with Manatsu latching onto his body, still dizzy from headbutt. "Manatsu? Are you alright?"
"Ow, I'm fine. I was able to avoid the fire at the last second," Manatsu winced with a giddy chuckle. The second she looked at Touma, her eyes beamed happily. "Oh, hi Touma, great to see you he-!"
BONK~!
Knowing that she's alright, Touma didn't even hesitate to drill his knuckle on top of Manatsu's head. Manatsu yelped, now messaging a comical sized lump on her forehead while the boy began lecturing her. "Don't casually form a greeting as if nothing happened~! What are you even doing here~?!"
"W-Well after hearing from Chopper that you didn't have any scars on your body, I wanted to see for myself!" Manatsu innocently answered.
"Really?" Luffy gawked upon scanning Touma's body. "Whoa~! She's right, I don't see any scars at all~!"
"H-How~!?" Wyper uttered in shock. He witnessed first-hand how ruthless Eneru was after realizing the boy's right hand, and the state he was in, Touma would've been a brink at death's door.
"NOW'S REALLY NOT THE TIME TO THINK ABOUT THAT~!" Touma comically barked at the two, before turning to Manatsu. "AND YOU, COULDN'T YOU WAIT UNTIL WE'RE WERE DONE TO ASK ME~!?"
"Ehehehe~! Sorry!" Manatsu sheepishly giggled. "I saw Shirabe following those three and I decided to tag along."
"Figures," Touma could only facepalm. He understood that Shirabe must've tried to stop those three, but ended up getting dragged into it so she doesn't tattle.
"So, how long are you two going to stay like that for?" Jackal snickered, noticing the awkward position the two were in.
"Uh, just a second," Manatsu obliviously answered and gave a hard look at Touma's bare chest as if she's looking for something. This caused the boy's face to turn red. After a minute of silence, she answered proudly. "Nope, I don't see any scars on you Touma~!" She gives a thumbs up. "Congratulations~!"
"JUST GET OFF OF ME ALREADY~!" Having enough, Touma comically hurls Manatsu into the air over his head, with surprising strength.
The commotion caused Shirabe to stir as she found herself facing upward and her clothes was soaked. She quickly shot up and flinched upon noticing a ton of male eyes gazing at her and the two others.
"W-Wait it's not what it looks like~!" Shirabe quickly waved her arms in defense. "I was dragged here against my will, honest~!"
"Sorry, but if the scenario was switched you wouldn't show us mercy right?" Eguchi eerily asked, cracking his knuckles. "So I don't see a reason for us to let it go."
"GRAY~!" Suddenly, Juvia emerged from the water and lunged at the boy. He didn't even get the chance to flee as she hugged his torso tightly. "I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT FOR MY ENTIRE LIFE!"
"I-It happened again…" Jackal gawked as he and a few others were watching the awkward scene.
"Way…to work it up…sister," Kinoko weakly complimented.
"T-This is too funny~!" Happy puffed his cheeks trying to hide his snicker.
"…Someone should say something," Usopp suggested.
"And stop this entertainment?" Dimanu chuckled, enjoying the scenery.
"Whoa, she must be looking for scars as well," Luffy said with a blank expression.
"Maybe Juvia's a master at searching for them," Manatsu thought out loud. Everyone stared at the two of them oddly.
"…Those two can't be that dense in this situation," Shirabe muttered with a sweatdrop.
"Ah…!"
Shirabe slowly turned her head and saw Shervan already out of the water. The boy had already had a towel over his bare body and was slowly shuffling towards the exit, but flinched like a deer in headlights when her eyes met his.
'Oh crap!' Shirabe cursed in her head. 'I haven't been able to speak to him ever since I fought Maki! I don't even know how to talk to him about Galero!'
"P-Please…don't.." Shervan had so many emotions clouding himself. Trembling like a mouse, the boy bolted out of the sauna in panic while shouting. "DON'T LOOK AT ME~!"
"W-Wait Shervan!" Shirabe called out, but the boy was already long gone. She could only stand there with her jaw gaping open. 'Oh great! Now I scared him even more!'
"…" Happy, Natsu, and Dimanu turned to Shirabe before labeling with a blank face. "…Pervert."
"URK~!" Shirabe grunted as if those words slammed on top of her head like a large stone. She managed to recover before comically barking at them with shark teeth, while pointing to Kinoko and Sinolia. "DON'T LUMP ME WITH THOSE TWO~!"
"T-Traitor~!" Kinoko argued back, but Shirabe was already out of the sauna, chasing after him.
"Uh, should we go after those two?" Happy wondered.
"Those two need some time to talk it over with each other," Lily advised, being the ones who knew the awkward tension between the two.
"In the meantime…" Ray trailed off to glance at Sinolia, Kinoko and Juvia. Manatsu was already punished since she had a lump on her head and had swirls for eyes when she landed on her head. "Time to dish out some pummeling!"
"Uh Juvia?" Gray finally spoke up, while he stood out of the water. "I'm not the one you're latching onto…"
"Don't be so bashful~!" Juvia gushed while rubbing her head on a certain person's chest.
"R-Rotten luck,"
Hearing a familiar voice, made Juvia's body freeze as she slowly cranked her head up to look at the boy she was latching onto all this time. Said boy was blushing while turning his head away, he couldn't move due to his lower half of his body covered in Juvia's water body.
It took a while for the water mage's brain to realize that this wasn't Gray she was clinging on to. But the boy who she accidentally kissed during the battle royal.
"D-Do you mind getting off of me, now?" Touma pleaded nervously.
"Ka…Ka…Ka!" Juvia comically spluttered, as her eyes turned white. Her body melted into the sauna while repeating herself in a stunned trance.
"AH~! SHE'S MELTING~!" Chopper comically screamed.
"Kamijou broke Juvia," Happy puffed his cheeks while snickering. "The Kamiya Disease Strikes Again~!"
"IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT THIS PSYCHO ATTACKED ME~!" Touma comically blurted out.
"Normally I would tease you, but for once Kamiya is right," Tsuchimikado oddly defended his friend. "For decades men like us have suffered from these hot spring cliché~! Whether it was accidental or not, we're the ones who are punished by the opposite sex!"
Tsuchimikado stood up enthusiastically. "But no more~! Tonight we'll restore balance to these rules~!"
"YEAH~!" Almost all the men shouted out. Some like Luffy, Natsu, and Chopper cheered without knowing what they were talking about. Others like Touma, Accelerator, Zoro, Simon, and Sanji (who was still unconscious), didn't really care what was going on.
"EEK~!" Kinoko and Sinolia shriek while hugging each other, though Sinolia was more expressionless. Juvia's body resurfaces beside them, still chanting with a blank expression.
"What the hell's wrong with these Blue Sea People?" Kamakiri questioned with a sweetdrop. The Shandians, Simon, Wyper, and George were just on the sidelines, watching the chaos going on.
"Dumbasses," Wyper could only mutter. But was still thinking about Ray's offer.
Holly was sleeping peacefully, easily failing his duty as a guard dog as he was unaware of the semi-naked boy rushing out of the entrance in a panic. Shervan hadn't gotten far before a realization hit him that he was stark naked with only his towel.
"S-So cold," He shivered while clinging onto his towel. "W-Why did I just ran away?"
"That's what I want to know," Shirabe huffed as she managed to catch up to him.
"EEK~!" Startled, Shervan spun around in a panic, causing him to slip and stumbled backward.
"Look out~!" Shirabe instinctively reached out to catch his hand, but felt herself slipping too due to her feet being wet. "AH~!"
THUD~!
"O-Ouch…" Shirabe groaned quietly. She slowly found herself sprawled on top of him, her face inches from his. She instinctively pulled herself back before he opened his eyes. "Are you alrig-?"
Shirabe's eyes suddenly wide in horror upon witnessing something mortified. Just above his heart, a deep, jagged scar marred his skin. It was old, faded, but undeniably stark against his pale flesh. The fresh wounds from his recent fight with Maki were completely gone, making the old scar even more prominent.
"...!" Shervan's eyes widened in horror when he noticed her reaction. He quickly threw his hands over it, trying to conceal the mark. "P-Please don't look at it!"
Shirabe flinched at his sudden outburst, a wave of cold dread washing over her. "Did… did Maki do this to you? A long time ago?"
It was Shervan turn to flinch as his gaze darted away. "This scar…it's a reminder to myself," he choked out, quietly. "A reminder of how pathetic I am."
"What…do you mean?" Shirabe asked, as her voice stunned.
He swallowed hard, his hands still pressed tightly over the scar, the weight of his failures crushing him. "I chose not to finish Maki off not once, but twice. The first time, a few years ago she almost killed me. I thought I c-could do it, but now b-because I hesitated again…you, Natsu, George, Cynthia, Wendy, and Kirika almost died."
'It's… not your fault,' Shirabe wanted to scream, to reassure him with every fiber of her being. But Galero's chilling warning echoed in her mind: Exposing him will result in getting impaled in the neck, using Shervan's body to kill her. The thought of that monstrous threat kept her tongue tied.
"I-I want to become strong," Shervan's gaze hardened, a desperate resolve flickering in his eyes. He declared, his voice trembling but firm. "Strong enough so I can take down Maki without taking her life. And prove to her that her efforts weren't wasted on someone like me!"
'Maki…' Letting his words sink in, caused Shirabe to frown and crease her brow.
"...Do you really think Maki cares about you?" Her voice was quiet yet laced with disbelief. "After she knows you're alive and wants to kill you, do you still believe that if you beat her, things will go back to the way they were between you two in the past?"
"That was… that was my only reason I wanted to keep living," The boy admitted nervously. "I was…scared that I'll get out of the control of my powers. I don't want people around me getting hurt because of me. Since Maki was the only one who didn't treat me like a plague… I hoped if I beat her on my own, she'll h-help me d-destroy Crimson Bl—"
"Don't say stuff like that~! JUST FORGET ABOUT HER!" Shirabe snapped, her voice cutting through the air like a whip.
Shervan recoiled by her sudden outburst. Her anger surged, and she knew she was scaring him, but she couldn't stop. "That… that bitch has made it perfectly clear that she only sees you as a target she failed to assassinate! The Maki you once knew is long gone now and wants you dead! She doesn't see you as a student or a younger brother anymore, and you should do the same…for your sake and no one else!"
Shervan tried to speak, but couldn't say anything. Shirabe's harsh declaration, though brutal, resonated with a painful truth he'd desperately tried to deny. He was clinging to the fragmented memories of the only family he'd ever known. After escaping from Crimson Blood, he'd survived by himself. There had been no one to comfort him, no one to scold him, no one to cry for him.
All he could feel was the phantom weight of blood on his hands and the echo of harsh words in his ears.
'Plague…'
'Kill him!'
'No one wants you!'
'You be better off dead!'
His entire fragile hope had been built on a make-believe dream: that once he was strong enough, he could beat Maki, return to her side, and together they would destroy Crimson Blood from the inside. It was a goal he'd fooled himself into believing, so he doesn't hold a grudge against her or anyone else.
"But…" Shirabe exhaled slowly, her anger visibly draining, replaced by a weary understanding. "You're not going to ignore her, no matter what I say, are you?"
"I…I know it sounds stupid doesn't it?" Shervan nervously admitted. "I'm clinging onto the only bond I ever had."
Shirabe shook her head, with a faint smile. "While I despise Maki with every fiber of my being, she's right about one thing: you're a terrible assassin."
"What do you mean?" He slowly asked.
"You're too kind for your own good. Even after all the abuse you'd endure, you still care for others more than you care for yourself," Shirabe confessed calmly. "No one would blame you for holding a grudge, or say that you hate them. You've given so much of yourself, endured so much pain. It's okay to put yourself first once in a while."
"S-Shirabe..." Shervan uttered, her words still echoing in his ears. He hadn't anticipated what she said next. "I'm so sorry for making you worry."
"You really need to break this apology habit of yours, dummy," Shirabe lightly scolded while gently pressing her forehead against his, closing her eyes. "Promise me that you won't throw your life away for others. You don't need to live for others. Live for yourself."
"O-Okay, I'll try not t-to," Shervan stuttered by the sudden action, sending a fresh wave of heat to his already flushed face.
"...Bzzt~! Wrong~!"
"Eh?" The boy blinked by her sudden response.
"I gave you a freebie to scold me for my reckless action. Remember back in the fight with Maki? I used my body to shield you from her attack." Shirabe lifted her head and gave him a childish pout forming on her lips. "Okay, next lesson."
"L-Lesson?" He repeated, confused about what's going on.
"Like I said, you need to be more selfish, it's not wrong to care for others, but it's unhealthy to think that your life is worthless. So..." Shirabe lectured as she brought her arms up in surrender. "I want you to slap my face and call me an idiot pervert!"
"...What?" Shervan slowly processed her words, his eyes widening, blushing. "W-WHAT?! W-WHY D-DO YOU WANT ME T-T-TO DO THAT~?!"
"Isn't it obvious?" Shirabe's pout deepened, looking serious. "I'm on top of you, while your half naked. This is an absolute cliché opportunity for me to get a well-deserved handprint on my cheek while being called a pervert~!"
'What in the world is she talking about?!' Shervan's thoughts raced in a chaotic scramble of panic. 'Slap her? Call her a pervert? W-why does she want m-me to h-hurt her?! And I'm…I'm …still…naked!'
POOF~! With a puff of steam emitting out of his blushing head, Shervan instantly fainted upon realizing the embarrassing situation he was in. His head touched the ground with his eyes turned into black swirls.
"He passed out," Shirabe commented with a sweatdrop. She was more stunned that he lasted this long in the position they were in.
While she had no interest in the opposite gender's body, Shirabe noticed how toned Shervan's body was, despite how skinny he looked. When she noticed the scar on his upper chest, she lightly touched it with a sad look on her face, recalling his words about it. 'You're wrong about your scar Shervan.'
Shirabe was too deep into thought she was unaware of the eerie present looming behind her, until a pair of arms clamped firmly around her waist.
"Get the hell off of him…
"...Eh?" Shirabe barely reacted in time as she found herself being lifted up into the air, staring up at the sky for a brief moment.
…YOU PERVERTED BASTARD~!" Kinoko's furious voice echoed, piercing Shirabe's ears like a siren.
WHAM~!
"PFFT~!" A sharp, blinding pain exploded when the back of the Shirabe's head connected to the cold hard ground, causing her eyes to comically pop out. Kinoko unleashed a perfect German Suplex on the pigtailed girl.
"O-Okay...I deserve...that," Shirabe uttered weakly, before her eyes rolled back into her head and her body went limp in KO.
After executing her finisher, Kinoko released her grip and straightened back up. Kinoko herself sported a few comical lumps on her head from Ray's earlier "punishment," but that didn't stop her from delivering her own justice on Shirabe.
"Serves you right, you double-crossing pervert!" Kinoko grumbled while delivering a small kick on her side for good measure. Her anger shifted abruptly into concern as she turned to Shervan. "Are you okay? Did that creep do someth-."
Kinoko froze as she gawked at the sight of her crush. Shervan was still out cold flat on his back, but his towel unraveled, revealing his bare skin to the world.
"He's naked.…Shervan's lean body is…THE ULTIMATE MALE FANSERVICE~!" Kinoko couldn't hold it any longer as a comical geyser of blood erupted from her nose, passing out instantly when she hit the ground.
A few seconds after Kinoko's blood geyser, most of the males as well as the three peeping toms walked out of the sauna. Juvia, Manatsu, Sinolia and Holly have each sported comical golf balls-sized lumps on their heads from their punishment, though the mist girl had two more stacked on top of each other.
"That felt so satisfying!" Natsu exclaimed happily.
"Balance has finally been restored," Dimanu declared with a grin.
"Amen~!" Jayden, Eguchi, Tsuchimikado and Ray choired.
"You guys are way too into it," Usopp commented with a sweetdrop.
"Well it was fun while it lasted," Manatsu nervously giggled, wincing while messaging her head lump.
"Ehehe," Sinolia was the only one who actually looked happy from getting hit by Dimanu.
"Kamiyadiseaseneedstobedestroy," Juvia muttered repeatedly, like she was enchanting a witch spell.
"Great, now I need to sleep with one eye open," Touma groaned. His relationship with Juvia had just mended during the bonfire, and was now crumbled again.
Once they reach to the area, all of them freeze with their jaws dropped, witnessing the odd crime scene in front of them:
Kinoko laid face-down with a small puddle of blood where her nose was bleeding out and her eyes turned of hearts with a goofy smile on her face.
Shervan flat on his back on his white towel with his eyes turned into black swirls and his mouth open and wavy looking.
Last but not least, the main heroine, Shirabe Tsukuyomi, sprawled out on her back and out cold due to her widen blank eyes and a small white spirit emitting out of her open mouth.
The witnesses stood in silence gawking at the odd crime scene. But it didn't last long when Tsuchimikado opened his mouth. "Ah young love! They grow up so fast~!"
"THAT'S CLEARLY NOT WHAT HAPPENED HERE, DUMBASS~!" Usopp, Gray, Touma, Jayden, Gajeel, and Zoro retorted comically with shark teeth.
With half of the boys outside after the entire female peeping scenario. Luffy, Ray, Simon, George, and Wyper were still in the sauna.
"What a fitting last night," George chuckled at Kinoko's antiques. "Now I'm confident that she and Ray will be fine on their own."
"So this will be your last night George?" Luffy asked with a solemn mood.
"Correct, I apologize for giving your young doctor a difficult task," George sincerely apologies.
"Nah, don't be! Chopper's a great doctor! I'm sure he'll make a cool medicine for that weird poison!" Luffy announced.
"You're really confident in your doctor, Straw Hat," Ray acknowledged. "However, now that I have Akita, she'll find a cure quicker than yours."
"Well see about that!" Luffy challenged.
"Luffy, I would like to offer my thanks for recruiting Shervan into your crew," George calmly said. "He may be strong-willed, but he lacks confidence in himself and comrade by his side."
"No problem," Luffy replied back. "He has cool powers and fun to be around, but he's also a loner and a blubbering mess."
"Tell me about it. I remember him apologizing to a bandit after he sent him flying into the air," Ray laughed out loud. "You might want to teach him to become selfish for once in his life."
"A-Anyway," Simon chuckled at their banter. "Are you sure that you're able to accept Kouta and Holly?"
"Well duh~!" Ray replied back. "They haven't done anything wrong to you and Kinoko, so why should I be wary of them?"
"Talk about carefree," Wyper grumbled. It wasn't a lie that he was against those two from joining, and even led to execute them himself. It was thanks to Dimanu persuading him that they're prisoners of war for him to reconsider. "So how are you going to get us back in the state you're in?"
"Don't worry about my wellbeing…I'm already at death's door," George lightly joked. "But I assure you that I have a plan to get them back to Jaya."
Today was the day for newly Luminous Tail's to leave Skypiea in their own way. It was earlier in the morning with everyone gathering at the entrance of Shandora City. Ray, Kinoko, Simon, Akita, Jayden, Eguchi, Dimanu, Terra, Yozura, Kouta, and Holly had multiple bags of their belongings, food and souvenirs from their original base.
"Well this is goodbye Simon," Erza said calmly facing her friend.
"So It seems," Simon said. "I hope you're not upset for choosing to stay with them instead of you and your friends."
"I would lie saying I was. Especially when we just reunited," Erza admitted, but smiled. "But it would be rude of me to take you away from them, after having so much history with your new comrades. Plus it's not like we won't see each other in the future."
"You're right about that," Simon chuckled before giving Erza a hug. "Stay safe out there Erza."
"You too Simon," Erza replied, while hugging back. Lucy, Gray and Juvia smiled at the scene.
Jayden stood in front of the two Precure groups with Akita and Dimanu clung onto his arms so he didn't escape. Akita leaned up to whisper in his ear. "You can do it brother."
Jayden sighed before he bowed down to the girls, specifically, Iona and Megumi. "I'm sorry for my attitude and actions yesterday in the battle royal. As much as I despise you Precures with every fiber of my being, I let my anger get to me, and almost cost me my sister."
'What a crappy apology!' Laura, Hime, and Asuka mentally berated with a sweetdrop.
"What a crappy apology," Dimanu commented out. "At least bow to them in dozpa pose so they can make you lick their feet like that one Precure did."
"WE WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT~!" Hime and Asuka barked with shark teeth.
"Of course you girls wouldn't, but not the Pretty Cures in the Grand Line," Dimanu reminded. "Remember the Bounty Hunter Precures we mentioned."
"Right…" Asuka calmed down a bit, but frowned. "Still, it's hard to believe we're not the only ones in this world."
"Well, it's good information if we come across them," Iona said, before turning to Jayden with a stern look. "Listen here Jayden. I can't change your hate against us, no matter what we do or say. So I accept your half-ass apology."
"Wait what~!?" Hime exclaimed.
"But," Iona coldly gazed at him. "You better keep your anger in check. If I hear that you make your sister cry, I swear I'll come after you."
"I don't need a Precure to tell me that," Jayden scoffed softly. "I already know that my temper is an issue!"
"…I've heard from Akita about how the Precures made your life hard, and why you hate them," Megumi walked towards Jayden with a sad expression. "So if you don't mind, can we still be friends?"
"A-Aren't you angry?" Jayden asked curiously. "I sucker punched you in the face and called you scum!"
Megumi shook her head. "Not really. I guess I was too distracted to dodge it. Sorry that I got knocked out by one punch. Ehehe~!"
"I-I should be the one to apologize, dumbass," Jayden scoffed, but it was a lot more soft than before. This made Megumi, Iona, and Akita smile. He didn't want to admit it, but the girls could tell that the boy was slowly accepting them.
"I…I want to thank you again…Hibiki," Kouta said solemnly. "If it weren't for you, I would still be locked in my sis- I mean Aoi's image."
"I'm glad I've knocked some sense into you," Hibiki joked a bit.
Kouta's face flushed and quickly turned his head away. "Don't get cocky b-because you won. Now that I have more control of my powers, I'll train my powers so that I won't lose next time!"
'And I'll help you as much as I can,' Terra added with words appearing beside him. She felt much better during her talk with Tsubasa last night. She gently patted Kouta's hair. 'I'm sure my brother is happy that you're safe.'
"Yeah…" Kouta nodded with a smile. He was glad that Todd still believed in him, and wanted to save him."
Index, and Sango were hugging and petting the large canine who enjoyed it with his tail wagging.
"This is goodbye Holly!" Index cried out.
"I hope you have fun with your new owner!" Sango teary eyed as well. "Also you better behave yourself with your new family."
"WOOF~!" Holly acknowledged.
"To think that this was the same dog that gave us trouble all these years," Eguchi commented, watching the awkward moment.
"Well you never know what life throws at you," Tsubasa acknowledged with a smile.
"Hey Eguchi," Lucy called out to him. "Natsu isn't here, but he gave me a message for you. "You better bring your A game the next time we meet! I'm still itching for a rematch!"
"...You suck at doing Natsu's voice," Index snickered.
"SHUT IT NUN~!" Lucy comically barked.
Eguchi couldn't help but laugh. "Well tell him that I'll be looking forward to it!"
"Um…Mr. Kamijou?" Yozura nervously walked over to Touma. "I-I wanted to apologize for my behavior during the bonfire," Yozura apologies twiddling with something behind her back.
Touma chuckled nervously. "It's fine, I mean of course you were drunk."
Yozura lifts her head with a tender smile. "Thanks, and I must say I heard that you fought against Eneru and that your scars were already healed..." Her cheeks faintly blushed with her smile. "You're quite...amazing."
Touma felt his cheeks blush red and was utterly speechless. But, before he could get a word out he felt disturbing auras coming from a certain nun and railgun girl.
"Idiot…" Misaka muttered.
"Touma…" Index growled.
"C-Come you two, what's so wrong with him talking to her?" Manatsu intervenes, noticing the tension.
"Don't think we've forgotten your little stunt you pulled last night," Misaka reminded the girl, who gulped nervously.
"Mou~! You two are always angry and violent towards Touma when he talks to another girl," Yozura pouted silently. "Even when I was the one who tackled him, you two lash your anger on him instead of me!"
"Don't worry about me, I'm kind of used to it," Touma's words caused Index and Misaka to flinch out of their dark auras, looking a bit embarrassed.
"That's...kind of depressing," Kuroko sweatdropped, suprisently giving a bit of pity after hearing Touma's response.
As if on que, a large familiar purple portal rose from the ground in front of everyone. Most of the Skypieans and Shandians were stunned to witness this strange magic. However, unlike before, a center of the portal reveals a familiar area for a few of them.
"Is that…" Robin gasped.
"Unbelievable," Touma gaped in awe. "D-Did George create a portal back to Jaya?!"
"Hold on a minute, that's Jaya?!" Hibiki exclaimed, surprised.
"Yeah, I recognized their colorful ship with huge wheels on it," Tsuchimikado declared.
"Wait a mobile pirate ship?!" Usopp shouted in admiration. "I can't wait to tell Luffy about this."
"George planted a homing signal spell on the ship," Kinoko replied with a sad smile on her face. "That way no matter where we are in the world, he can create a portal link to travel back."
"Damn, talk about OP magic," Chris ironically commented.
Ray then turned to his new crew. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen! It's time to depart for the Blue Sea! And since Kinoko and I haven't come up with a name for our crew, we'll be officially calling ourselves the Luminous Tail Pirate~!"
"Well it's better than the Rash pirates," Jayden shuddered.
"What is with you and rashes~?!" Touma and Usopp exclaimed to Ray.
"GOODBYE SHERVAN~!" Kinoko yelled out loudly. "THE NEXT TIME WE MEET I'LL HAVE ALL MY APPEAL STATS UP TO 100%~!" After bidding farewell, she rushed through the portal disappearing in sight.
"Did she actually made it back?" Manatsu asked curiously.
Ray took out a small purple dial and spoke through it. "Yo Kinoko, are you alive there?"
"I'm…Bleurgh~!" Kinoko's voice was cut off by the sound of her puking. "…I'm…Okay…"
'That doesn't sound like she's okay,' A few of them mentally said with a sweatdrop.
"I-I guess that moving from one environment to another must do something weird to our bodies," Akita proclaimed.
"You better stay close to me then," Jayden advised.
Akita nodded as she grabbed hold of her brother's hand. The two were the next to walk into the portal, but not without Akita turning and waving to a specific person. "Bye Jacky! I hope we see each other again later!"
Jackal flinched by the sudden cute nickname. He felt snickering coming from Gray, Chris, Zoro and Accelerator, which pissed him off more. "D-Don't call me that you stupid brat!"
"They can't hear you…." Iona decided to have her fun, as she smirked. "Jacky."
"I should've ended you first," Jackal retorted bitterly.
Soon Simon, Eguchi, Terra, Kouta, Yozura, and Holly went through the portal while saying their goodbyes to everyone. Sinolia was next to get through, but stopped when she saw Dimanu stopped and turned around.
"Dimmy?" Sinolia called out.
"Yo Honey!" Dimanu suddenly shouted out.
Yuko was a bit startled being called out, but went forward towards Dimanu. She wasn't scared of him, but was still curious as to what was going on. "Yes?"
"I'm not giving up on my feelings for you," Dimanu boldly proclaimed, which made Sinolia's jaw drop in shock. "Despite how cute you are, you're a wildcard in a fight."
"Oh uh, thank you?" Yuko nervously smiled. She didn't know how to respond to impression of him. Megumi, and Hime were squealing quietly in the background.
"So if we cross paths again next time," Dimanu brought his fist up with a smirk. "I'll become much stronger, and kick your ass!"
"YOU'VE RUINED THE MOOD~!" Hime hollered comically.
Yuko giggled at his personality. "Well I can't wait to see you strength." She was about to bring her own fist to do a fist bump.
However, Dimanu swiftly grabbed her fist and yanked her close. Yuko was startled and almost lost her balance from the sudden action but was able to catch herself. The boy got close to her and whispered something into her ears.
"Thank you for snapping me out of my suicidal thoughts,"
Yuko let those words sink in and gave a warm smile. Once he roughly pushed her back and quickly rushed back to Sinolia, hiding his face from her and anyone else.
"Dimmy are you…Ah~!" Sinolia didn't get a chance to speak as Dimanu grabbed her collar and dragged her into the portal with him.
'You're welcome Dimanu,' Yuko whispered with a smile.
"After that awkward note…we're now waiting for one more person," Ray declared.
That said person stepped forward. He carried a brown bag and hauled his signature bazooka over his shoulders. Everyone who knew him was surprised by his decision as behind him were Aisa and Laki.
"Wait, he actually was able to recruit this guy?" Nami asked surprised.
"The Shandians and Luminous Tail did have an alliance, so it isn't surprising they wanted him to join," Maria recalled. Wyper the leader of the Shandorian fighters, made his decision to join the Luminous Tail pirates.
"You said your goodbyes, Wyper?" Ray asked.
"Kamakiri is now the leader of the Shandorian. While I'm part of your crew, I still follow the great Kalgara," Wyper stated harshly.
"Fair enough," Ray nodded, accepting the answer.
"BYE WYPER~!" Aisa shouted while waving. Laki stood beside her also waving. "PROMISE ME YOU'LL COME BACK AND TELL US ABOUT YOUR JOURNEY~!"
Without turning around, Wyper brought his arm up and gave Aisa and Laki a thumbs up, symbolizing that he'll keep his promise. He then walked right through the portal which was slowly shrinking.
"Well that's just about everyone," Ray acknowledged proudly. He then turned to the rest and waved. "It's been a great experience Straw Hats! Tell Shervan my regards and keep him safe for Kinoko's sake!"
"By Ray~!" Manatsu waved back along with the others, sending their goodbyes and regards in their own way. The minute Ray went through, the portal collapsed onto itself, vanishing out of sight one final time.
"Well those guys were fun," Zoro acknowledged.
"Fun? More like insane," Kuroko scoffed.
"Come on, none of them were that bad," Maria chastised.
"Still, I'm glad that Luffy didn't ask them to join our crew," Nami said with her hand on her head. "We already have too many dangerous freeloaders as it is."
"You know you didn't have to add the freeloader part," Lucy muttered dryly.
"Um…" Awatsuki nervously spoke, unaware that her question would shift the atmosphere. "I didn't see George with them. Is he staying here in Skypiea because he and Ray got into a fight?"
Everyone was quiet, either wondering the same question or knew what was going on.
"No they haven't," Oddly enough, Luffy was the one who answered her calmly, with his straw hat covering his eyes. Minori noticed his voice sounded less cheerful than normal. "In fact, he's glad that he was able to get them back to the Blue Sea for his final wish."
Zoro took out an orange Tone Dial and spoke to it. "Hey Shirabe, everyone made it across."
"Good, thank you Zoro," Shirabe replied back from a similar Dial. She admits it felt weird using a shell as a phone, but that wasn't her concern now.
Shirabe walked over between Shervan and Kirika and one nod from her confirmed that his plan worked. Both of them had tears in their eyes and they each grabbed Shirabe's hands for comfort.
The three along with Natsu, Happy, Chopper, Cynthia, Wendy, and Charla were on the other side of Upper Yard, close to the coastal area where the other half of Cricket's house were.
Cynthia patted Shervan's head for comfort while wrapped her other arm around the sobbing Wendy. Charla's usual stern tone softened a bit with Happy and Chopper shedding tears like a waterfall. Natsu was the only one not shedding tears, but he still had a solemnly sad expression.
"T-They were able to make it through the portal," Shervan sniffled, quietly. Shirabe held onto teary-eyed Shervan, comforting him while shedding some tears of her own. "Y-You can rest now, George."
"…" George Raynold had his back leaned against the old building. The pink throbbing veins from the BX virus had finally spread up to his head. His head hung limply down with his eyes closed and a smile on his face, satisfied with his last deed before he finally passed away.
"I-I wish my healing magic would've worked on him," Wendy sobbed as she tightly held onto Cynthia.
"You did what you could Wendy. Slowing down the infection was better than nothing," Charla said softly.
"At least he had a peaceful death desu," Kirika whispered. She shuddered, recalling how Aoi died right in front of her and Kouta.
"Damn it Moses, why didn't you stay down?" Natsu cursed quietly. He hated the man for everything he's done, but he still felt pissed that he sacrificed himself just for revenge.
"Sorry about this," Chopper apologies to George's body as he went forward with a medical syringe. He gently poked the needle into George's left arm, and began taking a small sample of blood mixed with the virus.
"Chopper, what are you doing?" Charla asked quietly.
"No one should die like this," Chopper declared, with a hint of anger in his voice. "Whoever's in charge of this organization thinks their members are fodders and don't even caring about their health. Using an unknown dangerous drug to boost their powers with a cost of their lives! As a doctor myself, it's unacceptable~!"
After he finished taking enough blood, Chopper took out the needle and used a small cloth to wipe the wound. He then took a deep breath and shouted out loud. "LISTEN HERE CRIMSON BLOOD~! YOU THINK YOU CAN CREATE THIS ABDOMINATION AND USE IT ON YOUR OWN PEOPLE!? I'LL MAKE AN ANTIDOTE TO CURE YOUR STUPID VIRUS AND ONCE I DO! I'LL FIND WHOEVER MADE THIS AND KICK THEIR ASS MYSELF~!"
His outburst startled everyone, but not for Natsu who went up and patted the reindeer on the head. "Well said Chopper! We can't let those Crimson bastards bring us down!"
"...You're right!" Wendy nodded, pumping her fist up. "And we'll help as much as we can!"
With the mood easing up a bit, the nine left the area. But not without burying George's body in the front of the old house, as a memorial.
Raven: Damn, the mood went from goofy, to sad, and then inspirational at the end. Though George fighting the virus in the bitter end of the arc, was amazing.
Yang: Yeah, Yeah, that's good and all. But what did Sanya and Gwen turn into?
Sanya: Um…here we are. [They turned to find a metal looking Umbreon and beside her was a derpy looking brown bird.]
Yang/Shiho/Varvula: BWAHAHAHAHA~! [The three were on the floor laughing at the bird.]
Raven: Uh, are you supposed to be a dodo bird or something?
Gwen: Apparently, I am since I'm a Dodont the dodo Pokemon. I look like an idiot.
Yang: True~! Now I don't feel bad about me being a pink Twonicorn!
Freddy: Interesting, is that a new Eevee evolution?
Sanya: Yes, I'm a steel type Eevee, Metaleon?
Freddy: I don't think that's it's name.
Shiho: W-Well whatever it's name, it is at least better than Dodont…[Burst out laughing.] S-Seriously a dumb name for a goofy looking Pokemon, it really fits!
Sanya: Um…I don't know how to tell you this but…
Gwen: Don't…I want to see their reaction once I trounce them in the next matchup. [Giggles with a dark aura.]
Peace: W-Why do I feel like I'll get one-shotted by her?
Varvula: N-Next time on DELTA: Farewell Skypiea~! Clouds End~! [Still laughing while rolling around on the ground.]
Raven: Jeez, it's not that funny.
Yang: I can't stop laughing~! Dodont the Dodo! It's too much~!
Freddy: [Whispered to Sanya] I'm guessing what happened is that you lost to Gwen correct?
Sanya: [Nods while whispering.] Never underestimate the dodo bird.