DREAM 2
Was he dead? He wasn’t sure. That’s what he remembered, but memory was a fickle thing these days. He didn’t feel very dead. The brilliant blue sky above him said differently, wisps of clouds drifting through in the gentle wind. So did the sun, warming the wood beneath his fingers. He sat up and blinked owlishly at his surroundings, only to find a certain sunny face appear in front of him.
“E-eh?”
The figure held the strawhat onto his head and grinned cheekily at Sniper. “Hey, Sniper! Whatcha doin’?”
“I-I’m… uh…” Sniper pushed one hand to his chest, where he was sure he had gotten stabbed. Had it all been one big dream? “Napping?”
The boy sat in front of him, bottoms of his feet pressed together. “Napping? That’s boring. C’mon! Everyone says that we’re not gonna get to the next island soon, but I bet they’re wrong.” He grabbed onto Sniper’s wrist and hauled him to his feet. He led Sniper down the boat to the figurehead - a ram’s - and leaped onto it, leaving Sniper to stand behind it, a vague smile on his face. He was still puzzled, but this was how it was supposed to be, right? It had to be. He shut his eyes and enjoyed the breeze on his face and the salty spray on his lips. Yeah, this was definitely right, from the solid ship to the blue blue sea to the sail with the strawhat on it.
A sound of hooves alerted him of another’s arrival, a small, furry and undeniably cute creature with a hat clambering up to perch himself on the railing. “What’re you guys looking for?” The reindeer piped up.
“The next island,” Sniper told him, and found himself saying, “an island I’ve been to before! Hey, have I ever told you of the time that I defeated a legion of five - no, fifteen thousand ogres with only my trust ballpoint pen and a rubber band and they held a festival for me for-“
“Liar!” A woman snapped, giving the back of his head a harsh slap. The orange haired woman, he saw, but there was a smile on her face belying the attack she had launched at his head.
“I wanted to hear the story!” The reindeer protested, but quieted once the orange haired girl rested on the railings beside them.
“It’ll be smooth sailing until the next island,” she reported. “Clear skies and a good wind.”
A fearsome looking green haired man ambled up to them, three swords at his side. He peered over the railing and yawned massively, but didn’t say anything. Fortunately, his silence was more than made up for by the whirlwind of blue hair and an incredibly loud shirt that made its way over to them. “Perfect weather to test out our new cannons, Longnose-bro!” He announced.
Sniper turned to grin at him, excited at the prospect of testing out a new sort of cannon when he was interrupted by a quiet, melodious voice. Sniper strained to see the face of the woman who spoke, but her face was obscured by her large purple cowboy hat (a rather loud accessory for such a quiet woman, Sniper noted silently). “Now may not be the correct time to test those out. We have almost arrived at the next island.”
“She’s right,” the orange haired girl said. “Look!”
“Ah, our lovely ladies are so perceptive~” Chivalry crooned, dancing across the deck to join the rest of the crew with a tray of drinks balanced perfectly on one hand. He handed them to the two women on board with a swoon. “I have prepared refreshing drinks for you~” He slammed the rest of the tray on the banister. “And for the rest of you shitheads.”
As Sniper watched the gathering around him, he simply grinned helplessly. In fact, he found that he was quite unable to wipe it from off his face. This, he knew, was right. This all fit together. This was where he belonged, even if maybe he was weak, and maybe he was a coward, and maybe he was a liar, but this was home. He held the cold drink in his hands and took a deep draught from it. It was fresh and cool. Sniper was willing to bet that it was the best thing he had ever tasted.
Behind him, the sound of a violin rose sweetly into the air, played by what appeared to be a nine-foot skeleton. No one blinked twice, so neither did Sniper. And it was a beautiful sound. He squinted into the horizon to see that what should have been an island wasn’t so. It was a Tree in a bubble. The Tree. He choked on his drink.
“O-oi!” Frantic, he reached out to tap the strawhat boy on the shoulder. “That’s Edensphere, we don’t wanna go there!”
“Eh?”
“Didn’t I…” He splayed his long fingers across his skinny chest. “Didn’t I die there?”
“Died?” The strawhat boy blinked at him in complete incomprehension. “Shishishishi, don’t be dumb! We’d never let you die.”
“So we should turn back! I feel my can’t-go-on-this-island-disease popping up-“
(Behind him, the reindeer frantically screeched for a doctor and Chivalry and the green haired man had already begun to fight. No one paid them any notice, so Sniper didn’t either.)
“Well yeah,” the strawhat boy said with a frown, turning around to face Sniper properly. “We could turn back if you really want to. Didn’t you say you had friends there, though?”
“I... yeah, I do. There’s Krile, she’s really nice, you’d like her. Cloud’s kind of quiet, but he’s a good person and he’s one of my best friends. Bridge is my boss, and he makes robot dogs, and Hawk and Huo are good people too. We fought a dragon.” Sniper paused, feeling his pulse speed up. “And there’s Souji at the candy shop, and Lyle...”
“So don’t you wanna go get them?” The strawhat boy questioned, expression completely without guile.
He wanted to turn around, he thought, and then changed his mind. “Y-yeah. I do. I do.”
“Okay, then you have to go get them,” the strawhat boy said reasonably. “They can come too if they want. But you have to go on your own this time.” The boy frowned. “I wish I could go too, it looks like a great adventure. I’m real jealous, Sniper!”
“Yeah, but...” Sniper bit his lip and grasped onto the banister so hard he could see his knuckles go white. Finally, he admitted, “I’m scared.”
“Are you going to be a man or not?” The green haired man challenged him, the first thing he had said this entire dream.
The strawhat boy interrupted Sniper’s hasty reply. “Huh? Don’t worry, we won’t leave without you. We’ll wait until you get back, but you’ve gotta try to hurry, okay? I want to get to the next island soon!” He took off his hat and pushed it on top of Sniper’s head.
Sniper opened his mouth to say that no, he had misunderstood, he wasn’t afraid of being left behind, he was afraid of death... and then he realized that yes, he was afraid of being left behind. But if his captain said he wasn’t going to, then he wasn’t going to. He had given him his hat. That meant he would wait.
“Okay,” he said, hands gripping onto the sides of the strawhat. “Yeah, okay. I’ll-I’ll be back soon.” He smiled. For a moment, all he could feel was his heart swell up so big he swore it would burst when he looked at the crew upon the ship, the sunlight upon his shoulders and the sweet taste of Chivalry’s cooking on his tongue. “I’ll be back soon!” He punched a fist into the air. "I promise I won't let you down!"
“E-eh?”
The figure held the strawhat onto his head and grinned cheekily at Sniper. “Hey, Sniper! Whatcha doin’?”
“I-I’m… uh…” Sniper pushed one hand to his chest, where he was sure he had gotten stabbed. Had it all been one big dream? “Napping?”
The boy sat in front of him, bottoms of his feet pressed together. “Napping? That’s boring. C’mon! Everyone says that we’re not gonna get to the next island soon, but I bet they’re wrong.” He grabbed onto Sniper’s wrist and hauled him to his feet. He led Sniper down the boat to the figurehead - a ram’s - and leaped onto it, leaving Sniper to stand behind it, a vague smile on his face. He was still puzzled, but this was how it was supposed to be, right? It had to be. He shut his eyes and enjoyed the breeze on his face and the salty spray on his lips. Yeah, this was definitely right, from the solid ship to the blue blue sea to the sail with the strawhat on it.
A sound of hooves alerted him of another’s arrival, a small, furry and undeniably cute creature with a hat clambering up to perch himself on the railing. “What’re you guys looking for?” The reindeer piped up.
“The next island,” Sniper told him, and found himself saying, “an island I’ve been to before! Hey, have I ever told you of the time that I defeated a legion of five - no, fifteen thousand ogres with only my trust ballpoint pen and a rubber band and they held a festival for me for-“
“Liar!” A woman snapped, giving the back of his head a harsh slap. The orange haired woman, he saw, but there was a smile on her face belying the attack she had launched at his head.
“I wanted to hear the story!” The reindeer protested, but quieted once the orange haired girl rested on the railings beside them.
“It’ll be smooth sailing until the next island,” she reported. “Clear skies and a good wind.”
A fearsome looking green haired man ambled up to them, three swords at his side. He peered over the railing and yawned massively, but didn’t say anything. Fortunately, his silence was more than made up for by the whirlwind of blue hair and an incredibly loud shirt that made its way over to them. “Perfect weather to test out our new cannons, Longnose-bro!” He announced.
Sniper turned to grin at him, excited at the prospect of testing out a new sort of cannon when he was interrupted by a quiet, melodious voice. Sniper strained to see the face of the woman who spoke, but her face was obscured by her large purple cowboy hat (a rather loud accessory for such a quiet woman, Sniper noted silently). “Now may not be the correct time to test those out. We have almost arrived at the next island.”
“She’s right,” the orange haired girl said. “Look!”
“Ah, our lovely ladies are so perceptive~” Chivalry crooned, dancing across the deck to join the rest of the crew with a tray of drinks balanced perfectly on one hand. He handed them to the two women on board with a swoon. “I have prepared refreshing drinks for you~” He slammed the rest of the tray on the banister. “And for the rest of you shitheads.”
As Sniper watched the gathering around him, he simply grinned helplessly. In fact, he found that he was quite unable to wipe it from off his face. This, he knew, was right. This all fit together. This was where he belonged, even if maybe he was weak, and maybe he was a coward, and maybe he was a liar, but this was home. He held the cold drink in his hands and took a deep draught from it. It was fresh and cool. Sniper was willing to bet that it was the best thing he had ever tasted.
Behind him, the sound of a violin rose sweetly into the air, played by what appeared to be a nine-foot skeleton. No one blinked twice, so neither did Sniper. And it was a beautiful sound. He squinted into the horizon to see that what should have been an island wasn’t so. It was a Tree in a bubble. The Tree. He choked on his drink.
“O-oi!” Frantic, he reached out to tap the strawhat boy on the shoulder. “That’s Edensphere, we don’t wanna go there!”
“Eh?”
“Didn’t I…” He splayed his long fingers across his skinny chest. “Didn’t I die there?”
“Died?” The strawhat boy blinked at him in complete incomprehension. “Shishishishi, don’t be dumb! We’d never let you die.”
“So we should turn back! I feel my can’t-go-on-this-island-disease popping up-“
(Behind him, the reindeer frantically screeched for a doctor and Chivalry and the green haired man had already begun to fight. No one paid them any notice, so Sniper didn’t either.)
“Well yeah,” the strawhat boy said with a frown, turning around to face Sniper properly. “We could turn back if you really want to. Didn’t you say you had friends there, though?”
“I... yeah, I do. There’s Krile, she’s really nice, you’d like her. Cloud’s kind of quiet, but he’s a good person and he’s one of my best friends. Bridge is my boss, and he makes robot dogs, and Hawk and Huo are good people too. We fought a dragon.” Sniper paused, feeling his pulse speed up. “And there’s Souji at the candy shop, and Lyle...”
“So don’t you wanna go get them?” The strawhat boy questioned, expression completely without guile.
He wanted to turn around, he thought, and then changed his mind. “Y-yeah. I do. I do.”
“Okay, then you have to go get them,” the strawhat boy said reasonably. “They can come too if they want. But you have to go on your own this time.” The boy frowned. “I wish I could go too, it looks like a great adventure. I’m real jealous, Sniper!”
“Yeah, but...” Sniper bit his lip and grasped onto the banister so hard he could see his knuckles go white. Finally, he admitted, “I’m scared.”
“Are you going to be a man or not?” The green haired man challenged him, the first thing he had said this entire dream.
The strawhat boy interrupted Sniper’s hasty reply. “Huh? Don’t worry, we won’t leave without you. We’ll wait until you get back, but you’ve gotta try to hurry, okay? I want to get to the next island soon!” He took off his hat and pushed it on top of Sniper’s head.
Sniper opened his mouth to say that no, he had misunderstood, he wasn’t afraid of being left behind, he was afraid of death... and then he realized that yes, he was afraid of being left behind. But if his captain said he wasn’t going to, then he wasn’t going to. He had given him his hat. That meant he would wait.
“Okay,” he said, hands gripping onto the sides of the strawhat. “Yeah, okay. I’ll-I’ll be back soon.” He smiled. For a moment, all he could feel was his heart swell up so big he swore it would burst when he looked at the crew upon the ship, the sunlight upon his shoulders and the sweet taste of Chivalry’s cooking on his tongue. “I’ll be back soon!” He punched a fist into the air. "I promise I won't let you down!"