Apparently, I was still alive.
My vision had faded, and I couldn't hear anything, so I honestly thought, "Ah, I guess I'm finally dead." But when I woke up, I found myself in a bed, even though I'd collapsed outside.
So, I had woken up. I wasn't dead after all.
"...I don't recognize this ceiling."
"Oh, you're awake, Missy?"
A voice came from beside me.
I tried to sit up abruptly, but my body felt like lead and wouldn't move properly. With great effort, I managed to turn my head to look.
Sitting beside the bed was a woman I didn't recognize.
She was dressed in strangely revealing clothes, yet somehow didn't seem vulgar. Clad in wild, rugged attire, she reached out and gently pressed her hand to my forehead.
"No fever, and your color's returning a bit. But your strength... still hasn't come back, huh? How many fingers do you see?"
"Um... three?"
"Correct! Your eyesight's fine. Are you hungry?"
"...Yes."
I hadn't realized it until she asked, but now that I thought about it, my stomach felt completely empty. I was starving.
"Good appetite too... You'll be back on your feet in no time. It wouldn't feel good if I saved you only for you to die right after, you know? Good, good. Oh, I'll have some food brought over right away. Just wait here a bit."
As she spoke, the woman scribbled notes on a clipboard, looking pleased.
It seemed I'd been rescued by a kind person and given a second chance at life, when I thought I was done for. And this woman... was she a doctor?
I didn't know if she was the one who saved me, or if someone else had entrusted me to her care, but either way, I needed to thank her.
"Um... th-thank you for saving me."
"No need for thanks. I've already been paid. I was just following the Captain's orders."
(...Huh?)
The Captain?
Wait a minute... Calling someone that implies she's a Ship's Doctor or something. Come to think of it, I feel a slight rocking motion... Could we actually be on a ship?
And now I notice something else... This wild-looking doctor (I'm guessing she is one) is wearing a bandana. On her temple is a familiar mark: a skull in the center, surrounded by nine snakes' heads.
Wait, isn't that...?
"Oh, you noticed? You're surprisingly sharp."
I must have looked too surprised. She saw me staring at the mark.
"Relax, I'm not going to eat you. Like I said, helping you was just a whim. You probably don't believe a pirate saying that, but there's no point in being scared, so just believe it."
"A... pirate... I knew it..."
"Yep. Ever heard of the Kuja Pirates?"
Ah, so it was the Kuja after all.
In the world of One Piece, the Kuja are an all-female group similar to the Amazons, and their captain, the Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, is one of the Shichibukai.
Though, judging by the timeline, it's probably long before the original story, so Hancock wouldn't be captain yet... or even born, for all I know.
Later, while eating the food they brought, I learned that I had been found collapsed on the road and rescued by a Kuja Pirate reconnaissance team that happened to pass by.
They carried me onto the ship, and the ship's doctor examined and treated me. That's how I ended up here.
While I was explaining all this, the captain of the Kuja Pirates came to check on me.
"Hmm... you seem more resilient than I expected, Missy. Quite impressive for someone your age," she said, puffing on her cigarette and giving me a gentle smile. At first glance, she didn't look like a pirate at all—so calm and kind. Her clothes, though, had a ruggedness similar to the ship's doctor's.
But that aside... I recognized her face instantly from the One Piece manga.
Wasn't she Shakky? Or rather, Ms. Shakuyaku?
I asked her name, and sure enough, my hunch was confirmed. Wait a minute... you're that Shakuyaku? The one who runs the rip-off bar in the Sabaody Archipelago and is basically Rayleigh's common-law wife?
Wait, the Captain of the Kuja Pirates is also the Empress of Amazon Lily? I had no idea she was such a high-ranking figure!
I'd only read part of the One Piece manga, and my memory was hazy, so suddenly running into an original character and having this incredible fact revealed out of nowhere almost sent me into a panic.
When exactly did this backstory come up in the manga...?
"Oh? Is something wrong? Do I have something on my face?"
"N-no, it's nothing! Sorry, I was just spacing out..."
"Maybe you were just mesmerized by the Captain's beauty?"
"Now, now, flattery won't get you anywhere, you two. And Missy, you might be surprised to hear you're on a pirate ship, but rest assured, we don't intend to do anything to frighten you."
After that, they briefly explained the situation to me.
Ms. Shakuyaku said she helped me on a whim.
She figured I was probably a survivor from a village destroyed by pirates, but she was impressed by my resilience and stamina—how I'd managed to walk so far on my own despite being so young. She thought I had guts, which piqued her interest.
Then she added—something the ship's doctor had hinted at earlier—that my village was completely gone.
There were no survivors. Everything of value had been looted, and some houses had even been set on fire, including our bookstore, most likely. It was a total disaster.
She'd stopped by just in case, but there was hardly anything left worth taking.
Naturally, it wasn't fit for anyone to live there anymore.
Some houses were still standing, but they were mostly wrecked and barely habitable. It would have been impossible for a young girl to live there alone.
"I thought leaving you there would be a death sentence," he said. "I know it was presumptuous, but I had you brought aboard and set sail. We're already out at sea."
"I see..."
I must have been unconscious for nearly two full days.
They couldn't have stayed anchored in that ruined village, waiting for me to wake up.
If I could, I would have liked to at least build graves for my parents and hold proper funerals. But I can't afford such luxuries now. I fled the village knowing I could never return. I have to accept that.
"What's your name, Missy?"
"Sue... Venerdi Toto Sue. Um, what's going to happen to me now?"
"As I said before, we didn't save you just to throw you to the wolves. You can stay on this ship until we reach an island where you can survive. You can disembark there. After that... well, it'll be tough, but you'll have to find a way to make it on your own."
"Yes... thank you."
"Just so you know, you'll be expected to help with chores when you can. And we'll be taking the money and jewels you had as payment for your medical treatment. It's important to set an example for the crew, and besides, we're pirates—we can't afford to carry dead weight."
She had a point.
Well, it couldn't be helped. I owed them my life, and they were letting me stay on their ship for a while, even though they were pirates. In fact, I should be grateful that was all they wanted.
They could have just taken my money and tossed me overboard, and I wouldn't have had any right to complain.
"I'll do my best. Thank you for having me."
"Good answer. I like honest girls."
Then, Ms. Shakuyaku paused, as if suddenly remembering something. "Oh, but," she said, reaching into her pocket and pulling something out. She placed it on the futon where I was lying.
"Here, I'm returning these. I think they're important to you, right?"
"...Ah...!"
It was... the mementos I'd brought with me: my parents' wedding rings and my mother's earrings. Apparently, I hadn't packed them in my bag; I'd been clutching them tightly when I lost consciousness.
After that, Ms. Shakuyaku and the others, including the Ship's Doctor, said they had work to do and left the room. I think they were being considerate, noticing I was about to burst into tears and wanting to give me some space.
And so, for the time being, I found myself aboard a pirate ship... and not just any ship, but the infamous Kuja Pirates' ship, working as a deckhand.
To be continued...