The Sun hung above in sky casting warm rays over the world. A chain of islands was scattered below it basking in divine warm heat of sun.
Sabaody always looked beautiful from a distance. A scattered chain of islands like pearls thrown across the sea.Bright, loud and alive.
Laughter spilled from bars and auctions, from shipyards and floating markets.And above it all, the bubbles rose from the ground like the world was exhaling. perfect shimmering spheres catching city lights and sunlight, turning the air into something dreamlike.
They drifted lazily overhead, weightless and harmless.
Akira sat with his back against the wooden railing of a crowded walkway, watching the bubbles float up into the sky. His legs swung gently over the edge, bare feet inches above the water.
For a moment, he looked like any other boy.
Ten years old, Dark hair and red eyes. Lean body, all sharp angles and restless energy. A child caught between wanting to be fearless and wanting to be held.
But Akira's eyes didn't move like a child's, they scanned.
Not in paranoia, but in survival.
He didn't know why he'd been born that way. Or rather he did, but it arrived in pieces.
A cold wind.
A mountain.
A fall.
Pain like the sky splitting open and memories that didn't belong in a boy's head.
He still didn't understand them fully, they came like dreams that left bruises.
Akira glanced back.
Behind him, his family was laughing.His mother 'Shimotsuki Kirin' stood near a stall, gently arguing with a merchant who was trying to sell her a silk scarf for triple the price. She had black hair tied neatly, black eyes calm and bright. Even in a place like Sabaody, her presence made people soften without knowing why.She wasn't flashy but she was beautiful.
His father 'Shimotsuki Kairo ' was beside her, arms crossed, smiling like a man who trusted the world more than it deserved. Lean, middle-aged, black hair, black eyes that carried the weight of responsibility like it was nothing.
He looked like a man used to people looking to him for answers. Kairo had that kind of stillness and authority.
'Shimotsuki Touka' was nearby too. Akira's brother. Fourteen years old and already convinced he could fight the ocean if it insulted him.
Touka leaned with one shoulder against a post, pretending he wasn't guarding them. Pretending he wasn't watching every stranger who passed too close. Pretending he wasn't an older brother who thought love looked embarrassing.
Akira smiled faintly.
Touka caught the smile and rolled his eyes.
"Stop looking like that," Touka muttered.
"Like what?" Akira asked.
"Like you're about to cry because Mom didn't bought you a candy."
Akira grinned wider. " Then are you going to buy me one ?"
Touka scoffed, "keep dreaming."
Akira swung his legs again, the bubbles reflecting in his eyes. "Sabaody is weird, why are we here again ?"
Touka looked out over the water. His voice dropped slightly, like he didn't want their parents hearing.
"That's a surprise," he said. ".... Don't tell mom I told you."
Akira blinked.
Akira nodded once, "alright, alright I won't."
Kirin called out, cheerful, lifting the scarf like a prize. "Aki! Look!"
Akira forced brightness into his face. "It suits you!"
" Also what is this thing about surprise mom ?" He added.
Touka looked at him betrayed.
Kirin laughter softly, " seems like your brother told you about it huh ?"
Touka blushed and huffed " I did not! and I am not telling him anything again ! "
Kairo watched them with a smile.
And Akira, without knowing it memorized them.
The way his father smiled with his eyes first.The way his mother's laugh softened the corners of the world.The way Touka stood half in front of them without thinking.
Footsteps came from the far end of the walkway.
The crowd didn't move toward the sound,but it moved away. People stepped back as if the air in that direction had turned poisonous.
Akira's skin crawled.
A man in a white suit entered the street,like he owned it. A Marine officer with a rank on his coat.His eyes were hard and hollow. Behind him came more Marines.Rifles in hand.
And then the center of it all arrived. A figure in a bubble helmet. Round, clear glass over their head, like they couldn't breathe the same air as everyone else.
A celestial dragon.The world noble.
Akira didn't know the words yet. But he understood the feeling immediately. The same way an animal understands a predator.
The noble's clothing was ridiculously bright, layered, and expensive enough to feed entire islands. They held a pistol lazily, like it was a toy.
The noble's voice was high and bored.
"Ugh,no decent slaves." they complained, looking around like the world had offended them.
The Marines didn't react.Their faces were stone.The crowd didn't react either and simply lowered their eyes, as if looking was a crime.
Akira felt Touka move closer to him.His shoulder slid in front of Akira, shielding him by instinct.
Akira whispered, "Touka…"
Touka didn't answer, his eyes were locked on the noble's pistol.
Kairo's voice came low. "Kirin,Take Akira and slowly move back."
Kirin reached for Akira's hand.Her fingers were warm but they trembled.
Akira stared at the noble.The bubble helmet reflected the lights around them, making their face distort and warp. It made them look less human.
Maybe that was the point.
The noble stepped forward.A man in the crowd was too slow moving away.
A fisherman, maybe. A civilian.
The noble raised his pistol.
The fisherman's eyes widened. His mouth opened.
"I- I'm sorr-"
*Bang*
The sound was sharp, clean, and loud.The fisherman's head snapped sideways and his body folded to the ground.Blood pooled like spilled ink.
A woman screamed.
The noble turned the pistol toward her.
*Bang*
The scream died and so did she.
Akira's breath stopped.Kirin's hand clamped over his mouth instantly, pulling him against her chest. Her other hand trembled on his shoulder.Touka's entire body went rigid.
Kairo's face didn't change but something in his eyes darkened.
The noble yawned.
"How annoying. This place is full of noise."
He pointed the gun at the crowd at random and laughed.The Marines beside them didn't stop it.They stood like statues guarding a god.
Akira's stomach twisted, he looked at the Marines.One of them was young and had sweat on his temple. His eyes were wide, jaw clenched.
He didn't want this but he wasn't stopping it. Because duty wasn't always heroic, Sometimes duty was cowardice wearing a uniform.
Kairo whispered, "come on, let's go .... "
Kirin nodded, swallowing tears back down.Akira felt her pull him gently.They began to step away.Slow and Controlled. No sudden movement.
Touka stayed slightly behind, watching the noble like a wolf watching a hunter.Akira tried to breathe.He told himself this would pass.That the noble would get bored and move on.That they'd disappear like a nightmare fading with morning.Then the noble's voice cut through the air again.
"Wait."
Everyone froze.
The noble pointed toward Kairo's sword at his waist.Kairo didn't even touch it, but the noble had seen it.
A weapon.
"Is that… a sword?" the noble asked, amused and mocking, "A human carrying a sword near me?"
Kairo bowed slightly, deep and perfect.Respectful enough to satisfy royalty, but his voice stayed calm.
"My lord. It is only a tool for travel. We meant no disrespect."
The noble tilted his head, helmet distorted the motion like a fish in glass.
"Travel? From where?"
Kairo hesitated for half a breath.
"Wano," he said.
The word fell into the street like a stone into water.The Marines stiffened slightly.The noble paused and laughed.
"Wano? Isn't that the closed country? How did trash like you crawl out of there?"
Kairo's voice stayed even. "We are only merchants. We came for peaceful trade."
The noble's gaze drifted lazily over them, then it settled on Akira.
Akira's blood went cold. Because the noble's eyes didn't look at Akira like he was a child, he looked at him like he was a thing.
Something interesting.
Something to own.
"Oooh," the noble whispered. "That one has a nice face."
Kirin stepped slightly in front of Akira without thinking.Touka stepped too.Even faster.
The noble smiled. The pistol rose and Touka… Touka stood there.
Fourteen years old. Lean and trembling with fury. Standing in front of a god who killed people for breathing wrong.
Akira stared at his brother's back.Touka didn't flinch or speak. He simply stood between Akira and the gun.
For one heartbeat, Akira felt a flashback.
A cliff edge.
A body falling.
A hand slipping from rope.
That same helplessness.
That same certainty that the world was about to change.
Touka lifted his chin, a silent challenge.
The noble's pistol didn't hesitate.The shot rang out.
*Bang*
Touka's body jerked.Akira's vision blurred instantly.Touka looked down slowly, almost confused.Blood spread across his shirt.
A dark flower blooming.
Touka tried to breathe but the breath didn't come right.His knees buckled as he fell forward hitting the ground hard.
Akira and Kirin screamed, a sound ripped from the deepest part of their body.
"KAIRO!" kirin cried shouting the only name that made her feel safe.
Kairo moved with exploding speed.He drew his sword in one motion so smooth it didn't look human.A Wano blade flashing in city light.The Marines raised rifles immediately.
Kairo's voice was low, lethal.
"Move."
The Marines didn't. Because they couldn't.
Because the World Government was the sky above them and they were ants trained to protect it.
Kairo stepped forward anyway.
The noble laughed.
"Ah! Entertainment!"
He fired again.
Kairo twisted, the bullet grazing past him.Then Marines fired. The street erupted in gunfire, people screamed and ran. Bubbles burst overhead like popping dreams.
Kirin grabbed Akira's wrist so hard it hurt.
"Aki! RUN!"
Akira didn't want to. Touka was on the ground,His brother -
Akira tried to pull away. Kirin slapped him hard and sook him .
"Aki your brother's dead ! Don't let his death be in vain !"
Akira's tears exploded out, He ran. His feet hitting the ground like he wasn't in control of them.Behind him, Kairo fought.
Akira heard the sound of steel, bullets and explosions.
He heard his father shout once,wordless rage, a roar that made people turn even as they ran.
Kirin dragged Akira through smoke and panic. They hit the edge of a dock.
A merchant ship was there.Sails half-raised.
Men shouting about departure.Kirin stumbled as her leg gave out ,then the other.
She fell hard.
Akira spun back, catching her, arms shaking. "Mom!"
Kirin's face was pale with sweat soaked hairline.Akira saw it then.
Blood.
Dark and heavy, soaking through her side, a bullet wound.
Hidden under her robe the entire time.
She'd been running on borrowed life.
Kirin gritted her teeth.
"Don't look," she whispered. "Just listen."
Akira's hands shook as he tried to lift her.
She screamed, her legs were broken. Crushed by the fall,but she didn't cry out again and swallowed it like poison.
Akira's voice broke. "I - I will carry you, don't worry mom !"
Kirin grabbed his face with both hands, eyes fierce.
"No ! You can't ."
Akira sobbed. "I'm- I'm just !"
Kirin slapped his cheek gently this time, shaking her head.
"No! I can feel my life drifting away, ... I lost too much blood."
Her voice trembled."But you... You are my son."
She said softly ,
"'Shimotsuki Akira . You cannot die here, not like this ! "
Akira stared at her.
Behind them the chaos grew closer, Marines shouting orders, People screaming, Another gunshot, Another life taken.
Kirin's eyes turned past Akira.
Toward the ship.
A man was stepping on a plank boarding a ship in a hurry like everyone else in the chaos. Black hair tied back, Simple clothes and Calm posture.His eyes were sharp like someone who spent his life watching blades.
Shimotsuki Koushiro.
Akira didn't know him well, but his mother did.Her eyes widened as if the universe had thrown her one last breath of mercy.
"Koushiro ! " she shouted.
He turned around finding the source of the sound. Koushiro's face changed when he saw her, he rushed forward instantly.
"Kirin?!"
He dropped to his knees beside her, hands reaching for her wound.
"Who did this?"
Kirin grabbed his wrist.
"No."
Koushiro blinked. "No? What are you-"
Kirin pulled Akira closer to her chest, then shoved him toward Koushiro.
"Take him," she demanded.
Koushiro froze like she'd hit him.
"Kirin-"
"TAKE HIM," she hissed, blood on her lips now. "You can still leave! Your ship is leaving!"
Koushiro looked at Akira, his face was wet with tears and ash.His eyes were too old for ten years.
Koushiro's jaw clenched.
"Kairo- where is he?"
Kirin's eyes flickered with pain but she didn't look back, because mothers don't look back when looking back would break them.
"He is fighting them, " she whispered.
"fighting them so we could run."
Koushiro's breath shook and he tried to lift Kirin.
"I can carry you too."
Kirin slapped his hand away weakly.
"No."
"Kirin-!"
She grabbed his collar and dragged him down close, whispering like a dying command.
"I am not leaving my man to die here alone ! He is fighting for me ! For akira ! For Touka ! For us!"
Koushiro's eyes widened.
Kirin forced the words through clenched teeth.
"You take my son… and leave, ....please"
Akira choked. "Mom NO !"
Kirin cupped Akira's face,her hands were shaking violently now. Her skin was cold
but her touch was everything.
"Aki," she whispered, and her voice softened, just for him. "Listen to me."
Akira sobbed harder. "Please- please don't -"
Kirin's eyes shone with tears she refused to waste.
"live! Your father's Blood flows through your veins! Shimotsuki blood! Live and carry this blood with you! Carry our dreams! See the world!"
Akira shook his head frantically. "I don't want to-"
Kirin's lips curled into the smallest smile, a mother's smile.
A smile that tried to hide terror.
"Aki ... You know that mom loves you right ?"
Akira nodded beads of tears streaking down his face.
She smiled softly.
" listen to your mommy okay, this is a request from your mother."
Akira wanted to speak but she continued while coughing blood.
" The surprise... I ... Wanted to give you was a treasured heirloom for your birthday. That is our family heirloom which was carried by us from centuries.They told us that someday a worthy heir would be born from us and he would carry it with him.... Our legacy -"
Cough...cough.
"Mom you don't have to talk , I don't care about any legacy! Please -"
She cut him off again.
"Koushiro ... You already know about where it is. You ...are a family member too."
Koushiro nodded with complicated emotions that he understood.
She smiled and continued .
" Aki, I want you to go with uncle Koushiro.he will take care of you untill you can stand on your own."
" The sea is vast Aki, find friends that are loyal, start a family of your own when you grow up, and make the Shimotsuki blood proud! "
*boom*
The sounds of explosions was getting near them and ships were leaving the docks.
Akira's chest broke open.his body trembled.
Kirin's eyes locked on Koushiro again.
"Koushiro," she said, voice cracking. "Take him."
Koushiro swallowed, he reached out and grabbed Akira.
Akira fought like an animal.
"NO! NO! LET GO! MOM!"
Kirin's gaze stayed on Akira.she watched him struggle and scream, but didn't reach for him again.
Because if she did…
she wouldn't let go.
Koushiro dragged Akira backward toward the ship.The child kicked and screamed and clawed, his voice turning raw.
"MOM! NO!"
Kirin's mouth opened like she wanted to answer but blood filled her throat, she coughed.
A wet, violent sound.
She pressed a hand to her side.Blood came slick and dark. she looked at it, then smiled.
Like she'd already accepted the end.she lifted her chin, eyes still on Akira and mouthed one last word.
Akira understood it without sound.
LIVE.
Then her head tilted slightly, her eyes lost focus, her hand fell into the dirt.and Shimotsuki Kirin stopped breathing.
Akira screamed so hard his throat tore.
Koushiro held him tighter, dragging him up the plank.Akira thrashed until his body began to fail, his vision blurred.
The dock pulled away, the ship groaned as it moved.sabaody's lights drifted farther.
Akira's home, his father, his brother, his mother, all of it stayed behind in the smoke and bubbles and blood.
Akira collapsed in Koushiro's arms, shaking violently.Koushiro didn't speak.He only held the child like a promise he hadn't asked for.
Behind them, far on the dock, the silhouette of a man still fought.
A lean figure with a blade.
Shimotsuki Kairo,holding the line alone.
Akira couldn't see his face, but he felt it.
The final act of a father, a man who would rather die than let the world take his son.
*Boooooom*
A bigger and violent explosion occured and then gunfire swallowed him, the crowd swallowed the rest.
Sabaody kept glowing like nothing had happened because that's what cruel cities do.
They keep shining.
They keep selling.
They keep laughing.
Even when someone's entire universe dies screaming underneath.