Anniversary

AN: Howdy everyone! Here we are with a very late anniversary chapter! It's already been over two years since I put the first chapter of this story out, and I've watched it slowly grow from a rookie story to something people enjoy! I can't wait to keep writing, improving and evolving the story and characters. Here's to hoping you'll all stick with me for the ride! Anyways, let's get into it.

Anniversary

"I've got a smile on my face, and I got four walls around me…" I hum contently with the music as I sit at the wheel of my red 2008 Impala, the sun weakly gleaming through the tops of the pines along the road. The ancient asphalt occasionally caused my car to bump and jolt as I sped along, still pretty tired from being woken up by my alarm. Letting out a loud yawn, I reach for the volume knob and crank it up ten levels, "I've got the sun in the sky, all the water surrounds me, oh you know, ya I've been down and sometimes I'll lose, I've been battered, but I'll never bruise... it's not so bad, " I hear a buzz from my phone, and I glance down at the cupholder. It was from a friend, Zeke Hargrove.

'When are you gonna show up?' the text read, and I couldn't help but imagine his somewhat aggressive yet calm voice while I read it. Grinning, I pick up the phone, typing a quick response.

'About five minutes,' I put the phone back down and glance back at the-

"FUCK!" I grit my teeth as my body tenses, and I slam on the breaks as a deer prances across the road. My tires squeal as they grind on the road, breaking my speed immediately, and I breathe out, heart pounding as I watch the graceful creature finish its crossing. Jesus… I lean my head against the steering wheel, trying to regulate my breathing, Okay, I'm not gonna do that again… I slowly press my foot on the gas, and make my way to school, making sure I'm laser-focused on the road. Soon, I enter the town, houses and small businesses passing by as I roll past, scanning the area I'd known since I was a kid.

"And I say way-hey-hey, it's just an ordinary day, and it's all your state of mind, At the end of the day, You've just got to say it's all right…" I sing softly as I pull into the parking lot, but I go silent as I see a brunette girl with two guys walking with her go into the school, and a hardened pebble of anger and hate and guilt weigh down my gut. Elizabeth… Gritting my teeth, I turn into my parking spot and yank the keys out of the ignition. Those two guys with her were two of my other friends, Henry and Dan, and I'm reminded that they didn't include me in a D&D Campaign they had yesterday, just because she asked them to, and I just hurt. Just a perfect way to start my day. I turn, grabbing my bag, and open the car door as the images of scowls and yelling faces fill my mind, Just take it, Ian, if everyone said you deserved it, you deserve it… I close my eyes, stepping out, and-

"Yo, how's it going?" a low baritone voice asks, and I glance down to see the smiling face of one Zeke Hargrove. He was shorter than me, although most people were, at close to 5'10", but stouter, with short-cut light brown hair spiked up at the front. Confident, blue eyes shone from a slightly stout face, accompanied by a simple grey jacket in the cool Oregon air. Appropriate for mid-spring in the northwestern United States.

"It's going, Zeke," I push aside those negative notions that I'd had only moments before in favor of a pleasant conversation, my own low tenor voice breaking the morning chill, "How was the D&D campaign yesterday?" he'd gone, not being kicked out because of a bad mistake, "Any interesting moments?"

"Well, it was all right," my best friend sighs, rubbing his hair, "The ending was pretty crazy. We fought the Pope."

"You fought. The Pope. Kahahaha!" I chuckle, "I can't imagine how fun that would be."

"Yeah, well, I almost ended up leaving just from being pissed alone," the brunette sighs, hefting his backpack over his shoulder, "Gary made him look like yyy…" he trails off, "Weird Al Yankovic. It was pretty crazy, Wehahaha!" he laughs loudly, a little forced, and quickly reaches into his pocket and pulls out his own phone, "I checked out One Piece like you said, and it was muah! Muy magnifique!" he puts his fingers together and kisses them like a connoisseur, and I roll my eyes.

"Did you even say that right?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Pfft," my shorter friend rolls his eyes, "I don't fucking know."

"Fair enough," I nod, and we start to head towards the main doors of the school, "..." I sigh.

"Something wrong?" Zeke raises an eyebrow, but I shake my head.

"Nah, just tired," I grin, "Didn't get much sleep last night," that wasn't a complete lie, but also not a complete truth.

"Ah," he replies, and we keep walking.

Kinda spacing out, I just begin to hum. "And I say way-hey-hey it's just an ordinary day, and it's all your sta-"

"Ian, I swear to god, if you sing that song one more damn time I am going to kill you," Zeke smacks the back of my head, and I rub the impact point.

"Hey, it's not my fault that it's a good song and gets stuck in my head," I retort.

"Yeah, but it doesn't help when you get that stuck in my head," my friend rolls his eyes.

"Heh," I smirk, "How much of My Hero season three have you seen so far?"

"Haven't really caught up with it," comes the reply, and I purse my lips, struggling to not smile.

"Oh my god it is so cool so far! They all go to a training camp, but then villains attack and Deku fights some guy that can can grow muscles and like Todoroki's brother shows up or something and it's just so cool!" I gush, remembering how bat-shit awesome it was.

"Hey, hey! No spoilers!" Zeke socks my arm, and I rub it as it explodes in pain.

"Ow…" I moan.

"That's what you get for being that guy," my best friend simply smirks as we enter the school, pushing past small groups of other students, "Anywho, you ready to become a Junior, man?"

"Yeah," I sigh, "Finally be able to get bigger parts in the plays and musicals."

"Hey, you got some pretty good parts," I get a raised eyebrow, "You got Jack last year for Into the Woods and Jimmy this fall for Thoroughly Modern Millie, what more could you want?"

"Well, I kinda did iffy on those parts…" I shrug as we make it through the green striped, older-style halls of the building, finally making it to my locker, "Are you ready to go off to college? That's the real question."

"I suppose I'm as ready as any eighteen year-old can be," the Senior sighs, "but I suppose-"

"You're next, Jotaro!" I hear a purposefully deepened voice boom from down the hall, and I glance over to see a larger guy, around Zeke's height, with dyed blonde hair and hazel eyes, in that famous pose.

"Dio!" I immediately slouch, taking on a tough-man persona, and start slowly walking towards the man.

"Oh? You're approaching me? Instead of running away, you're coming right to me? Even Though your grandfather, Joseph, told you the secret of The World, like an exam student scrambling to finish the problems on an exam until the last moments before the chime?" the blonde man taunts.

"I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer," I say in my best Matt Mercer impression.

"Oh ho! Then come as close as you like," one of my other friends, Sam Palek, meanders towards me, and we freeze in the middle of the hallway, posing dramatically.

"Keh, jeez," Zeke snorts as he raises an eyebrow, "How weeb-y can you guys get?"

"I can't speak for Sam, but I am not a weeb," I break character as I glance down at my friend, "You and I can reenact the entirety of the Mustafar scene from Episode III again if you want, though? That one's just as fun."

"Nah, nah, that's you and Danny's thing," the brunette waves me off, "Although I haven't seen you two do it for a while."

"Yeah, it's kinda… disappointing," I shrug, "But, It can't be helped," I glance at the clock: it was 7:45, time to move, "Anyways, we should get to our classes, yeah?"

"Oh, jeez, I'm on the wrong side of the school," Zeke coughs, "I'll see you later then, man," he extends out his hand, and I hit it front, back, handshake transitioned into bro shake, then slide out to finger guns, and slide them into our pockets.

"See ya!" I wave as he goes down the hall, and I walk off towards my class, backpack in tow with my supplies. That weight was still there.

As I arrived and took my seat in homeroom, in the back of the class, and take out my phone, looking for messages, notifications, anything to take my mind off this twisting feeling that was slowly evolving. Nothing from texts, snapchat, anything that was direct contact. There had been nothing for months. All I saw were a few notifications from my email account. Ugh, I bite my lip, setting the phone down and reaching into my bag for my DSi, but I couldn't find it, Right, I was letting it charge, I remember, and I slump to the desk in boredom, now I only had my thoughts, but being alone with those rarely turned out good. Maybe… maybe I forgot that old console in my bag and never took it out. I unzip the front pouch on my bag and rummage around until my hand comes into contact with a small, square box, Yes! I mentally celebrate, pulling out the old, battered Gameboy Advance SP. There was still even a green, almost see-through cartridge in the game slot.

"Let's see…" I turn on the power, and the familiar wavy introduction on the screen made me smile, and my grin only widens as the familiar intro of a water droplet on a small puddle plays. Clicking start, I skip the intro and immediately spam through it all, dropping myself all the way back into the world of Pokémon: Emerald. I feel a wave of nostalgia as I open my team up from the menu and see the sprites of a Sceptile, Swellow, Aggron, Camerupt, Crawdaunt, and Glalie. The old team…

Skrrt!

Suddenly, my desk and hand are nudged as someone purposefully nudge their hip into me, but I manage to keep my grip on my handheld, so it doesn't get damaged. "Hey," I look up to see sneers, "Watch where you're sitting, one of us might get hurt if we walk past," there was a small group of football jocks from my grade, each of them sporting some new piece of fancy sports gear from Nike. Bunch of fucking assholes, "Hahahahaha!" they all laugh and jostle each other around. Already feeling like shit today, I was kinda fed up.

"Like any of you would get hurt worse than your GPAs," I scowl, closing the Gameboy, "Seriously, you all might recover from concussions, but nothing is going to save your IQs."

"..." the group seems taken aback, "You'd better watch yourself after school," the ringleader, Nick, grits his teeth, "You might just end up with a little more than a concussion yourself," and on that note, the group walks away, taking their seat,s giving me looks of anger and distaste. I glance around, feeling the eyes of the class around me, and simply curl in. But, I catch a glimpse of Henry, one of my friends, simply turn away, rolling his eyes.

Great, Ian, you pissed them off, I sigh, pulling out my mini console and flipping back to the game. I was at Juan, and was just barely on any health. I decided to trek back to the poke-center to heal up, but after that, I quickly challenge him.

"Alright, class," an unenthusiastic-sounding older woman says as she sits at her desk, "Take out your textbooks," I already knew she wouldn't call me out, I got good enough grades and didn't cause problems, so I just ignored her and focused on the task at hand…

-(Later)-

"Phew…" I breathe in relief as the bell rings loudly, signalling the end of the period. I'd just managed to slide by with an overgrowth-boosted Leaf Blade from my Sceptile, who'd managed to tank an ice beam to get him in the red. That was close, but I got the rain badge. I set the gameboy down, noticing it was in the red battery-wise, and power it down, picking up my bag and heading to my locker. That fight had been long, me not realizing just how underleveled my team was, and I was forced to carry it on through a few more class periods by heal-spamming. Finally, I make it to my locker, and quickly stash my bag for lunchtime.

"So, how was your day so far?" Zeke asks as I put my tray down on the long lunch table.

"It was… eventful," I frown, "I pissed off some jocks from my grade," I gulp, a pit growing in my stomach at the coming threat, "Usually, I don't say anything when they do this kind of stuff, but I just was not in the mood for that, you know?"

"Hey, I get you," Zeke nods, "What'd they say?" he asks, chowing on a piece of pizza.

"Oh, the usual, but they threatened to beat me up after school, so that's a thing," I say. The Brunette looks like he's about to say something, but I see Danny and Henry, and wave to them, "Hey, guys! Over here!" I say, and they glance at me. But… nothing. The two just turn around, rolling their eyes after giving me a look like I'm an idiot, "Hrn…" I sit back down after they leave my view, watching them sit at a table with a familiar brunette - Elizabeth. Oh well, I'd be able to talk to them later…

Right?

"Hey, Ian…" Zeke's calm baritone breaks me out of my thoughts, and I look up to see him staring at me intensely, "Hyurgh!" he makes the dumbest face I have ever seen!

"Snrk!" I snort, caught off-guard, "You look like someone from a shitty anime."

"Wehaha!" the shorter man laughs, "Probably Naruto or something, right?"

"Nah, more like Esidisi crying in Battle Tendency," I say.

"Ah, yes, the best part," he grins, but I shake my head.

"Hell no," I retort, "I love it to death, but it's got nothing on Vento Aureo."

"But you wanna know something?" Zeke puts up his hands like an italian godfather, "It's not animated yet!"

"You got me there, I guess…" I shrug, "But you wanna know what a good show is? One Piece. What was your favorite arc so far?"

"One Piece?" my friend raises an eyebrow, "I've only got up to Alabasta, but I'd say Arlong Park."

"Oh, so you have yet to see Water Seven," I grin, "Trust me, that'll be your favorite part once you see it."

"What happens in it?" he asks, and I raise an eyebrow.

"Don't you want to see it blind?" I ask.

"Meh," he shrugs, "I'm not worried about spoilers. So what happens?"

"Okay, so, Water Seven is a massive shipwrighting town built on the water, and the Straw Hats go there to fix the Going Merry, I'm pretty sure. It's been a while. But, they run into CP9, who are a group of assassins tasked with getting plans to Pluton, one of the three strongest weapons. But Nico Robin-"

"The Cowboy Lady?"

"Yep, her. She's from Ohara, which is a place that got destroyed by the World Government for having people who knew about Pluton, and she was the only survivor," I say, and Zeke blinks.

"Harsh," he says, and I nod.

"Definitely. The World Government is not to be trusted or trifled with. Anyhow, CP9 tries to steal Robin, but since she's apart of Luffy's crew, they go after her. To make things simple, Luffy beats their leader, Rob Lucci, with second and third gear-"

"Gears?"

"It's Devil Fruit stuff. For Gear Two, Luffy uses the elasticity of his body to pump his blood super fast, I'm pretty sure? For GearThree, he blows his bones up like a balloon so they're massive, like a giant's," I explain.

"Okay, so, what's First Gear?" he asks, and I tilt my head.

"Was? Repeat the question?" I'm legit confused.

"First Gear, what's that one?"

"I think that's just his base," I shrug, "His normal abilities."

"Huh," Zeke nods, "Neat."

"Yeah," I'm about to tell him about how Robin decided to return to the crew, but then the loud brrrring of the bell stops me, "Well, we'd better get to class."

"Yup," Zeke nods, and I turn to leave, but he stops me, "Ian, I appreciate you."

"Oh… ok," I blink, a little confused. But somewhere, I felt a little warmth, and I smiled, "I'll see you later, man.'

"See you, Ian," comes the reply, and I move on to my classes.

The rest of the day went by pretty slow, with most of my classes being either dull or normal. I occasionally whipped out my gameboy or phone to play Pokémon or read One Piece, but it was boring. Then, at the bell, I decided to stick around in the school, wait for those Jocks to just forget about it, and once it was thirty minutes past three, I headed to my locker. But there…

"So he ended up snapping at those sports guys," I hear a voice that I recognized as Henry say, the sound coming through a door to a classroom.

"Of course he would be snapping like that, he's just gotten more and more crazy after he said that stuff to Liz. Seriously, he's just become an asshole," the voice of Danny comes from the same place, and memories of long nights playing Halo, watching anime, and making DBZA references come to my mind as the weight in my chest becomes heavier.

"Yeah, he's gone off the deep-end," Henry sighs, "I wonder when he's going to come to his senses, he's just become more and more quiet, like he's shutting down. But, I suppose if he's going around insulting people all willy-nilly now, he deserves it."

They… really think of me like that…? I grit my teeth, eyes beginning to mist up, Why are they saying all this?

"Liz also told me that he's been sending her insulting text messages and shit, trying to put her down even more," Danny again, "She even said he told her to kill herself!"

"Seriously?" Henry sounds horrified, but I seethe with rage. That was an outright lie, I'd deleted her contact and everything ever since that had all happened, and I'd purposely kept away from her to protect myself from things like these. But obviously, they were just believing her without question. Had they not asked for proof? "Now I'm kind of glad Gary made the Pope look like him during the session yesterday, that's so despicable."

"Yeah," I can hear the distaste in Dan's voice, "He really needs to just fuck off and keep away from us."

So that's how it was.

"He seriously needs to cool off," Henry sighs in disappointment, and it feels like a stake was driven into my heart, and I close the locker as silently as possible, hefting my bag onto my shoulder as I push the anger and sadness deep down, where it hardens into just another rock, weighing me down. Silently, shaking in fury, I slip out of the school doors, tunnel-visioned towards my car. I just wanted to get home, pack, and go visit Grandpa and Grandma.

"Hey, bitch!" I hear the cocky, demeaning voice of that bastard Nick, and I notice a group of five surrounding me as I step down off the curb into the parking lot, "Hey, stop and pay attention!" I ignore them, pushing past the group with my shoulder, "Hey, I said STOP!" I feel a hand turn me around, and a moment later my face explodes in pain as a fist makes contact, and I fall to the pavement, "This'll teach you to ignore me," a foot slams into my gut, and I gasp in pain, clutching about, searching for anything, "Prop this lil' bastard up, teach him some respect," Nick orders, and I feel two pairs of arms heft me up and drag me to the side of a pickup truck, pinning me to the side, "Ha!" I feel another fist hit my gut, and the wind is knocked out of me.

God, why? I gasp, trying to get my breath back, and my eyes instinctively search for anything that could save me. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spot something, and I try to wiggle my way out of the grasp of the people holding me back, but they wouldn't budge.

"Got some fight, now?" Nick sneers as he punches me again, and I wheeze, "Let's see where that gets you."

"He- auwawawa-! Oof!" I hear, and I look up just in time to see a shorter brunette man suplex one of the jocks into the pavement.

"Hey, get off my friend, asshole!" Zeke yells, socking the second of the guys, and I feel the ones holding me loosen their grip.

"Hrgh!" I surge, slamming my forehead into the nose of the one on my left with a loud crunch, and I feel him release me. Tearing my arm away from the other guy, I spin and grab the tire iron in the trunk of the pickup and swing it like a baseball bat, connecting with Nick's side.

"Gah!" the jackass grunts as he clutches his side, and I press forward, a white-hot rage boiling up as I jab the short end into the jaw of the other jock that had held me back, sending him staggering. Tossing to tire iron away so I didn't cause too much damage, I start laying into Nick, throwing crosses, uppercuts, jabs, and just about anything I could do. The sports player could hardly react, only getting thrown about. Laying into this motherfucker like this felt… good. Cathartic as hell, definitely, but I could feel some sort of rushing feeling through my body, like my problems were all just washing away in this moment. With each punch, I felt my body surge with energy, and I felt like nothing could stop me.

"Ian, watch out!" I hear Zeke say, and I glance behind me to see my friend tackle that other jock, sending them both to the ground.

"Bastard!" I hear, and I turn just to take one on the cheek from the guy I was laying into. Nick then turns it around on me, throwing crazed fists left and right. I manage to duck around a few, but some nick me, causing the taste of iron to flood my mouth, and I feel anger and adrenaline rush anew as I dodge another hit, turning so my back was to him and grabbing his arm.

"RRRRRAAAAH!" I scream, pulling with my whole body as I lift my foe up, over me, and slam him to the ground.

"Oof!" the ringleader grunts, and goes limp as he falls unconscious. Satisfied, I turn to Zeke, who was just finishing up knocking the other guy out cold.

"Thanks for the save, man," I walk over, holding out my hand, and he smacks it, both of us pulling back and fist-bumping.

"Hell yeah, Ian," my friend grins, "Now y'all better not touch Ian again, or I will fuck your shit up," Zeke squats in front of one of the conscious ones and flicks his head, making sure the message was sent.

"Phew…" I glance around, making sure no one saw, and I see two guys, Danny and Henry, standing on the curb, looking stunned and scared. Scowling, I spit off to the side, sending a red glob onto the pavement, and the two guys hurry along, a terrified expression on their faces. They don't even have the balls to say that shit to my face, I grit my teeth, and stand tall, rising to my full 6'2" height.

"That was definitely hardcore," Zeke says, grinning, and I smile back.

"Khaha!" I laugh, a clear and pure sound, "Yeah. It honestly felt really cathartic. Not a lot of stuff has gone my way recently."

"Yeah," my friend nods, and I go to pick up my bag. I had to get home and pack, "Hey, Ian?" I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I glance at my friend, "I know I said something similar earlier today, but just know that I'll always have your back, alright?" Zeke's eyes were serious, and I felt that little rock in my heart slowly soften.

"Same for you, Zeke," I smile, turning and heading back to the car, "See you in a few days, man!" he waves back and heads to his own vehicle, an old truck, while I move to my care, hopping inside and turning the key.

"Gina sings on the corner, what keeps her from dying…" the speakers bark, and I smile. It felt like things were going to be different now. I felt good, "Let them say what they want, but she won't stop trying, Oh you know… She might stumble, they push her 'round, She might fall, but she'll never lie down it's not so bad…"

I grin, a real feeling joy spreading out, and I open my mouth. "And I say way-hey-hey, it's just an ordinary day, And it's all your state of mind. At the end of the day, You've just got to say... it's all right…"

I burn rubber down the road, taking a turn into my driveway, and screeching to a halt, I open the door and jump out, spirits lifted. "WOO!" I yell, pumping my fists into the air, and rush to the door, where-

"Okay, mom, we'll be up in an hour," I hear a deep voice as I see my dad standing in the doorway, his lips pursed as he holds a phone to his face, "Love you," his voice was quiet and serious, and when he sees me he just stands there, "Ian, go pack your stuff as quick as you can."

"Okay…" I brush past him, dropping my bag by the door and quickly going up to my room, grabbing a couple handfuls of things. I could tell that something was wrong, and a small seed of worry slowly rose up through my throat. I quickly finish, stashing away my DSi in my suitcase, and hurry downstairs, seeing my dad and mom going out the door in a hurry, "What's going on?" I ask.

"We'll talk in the car, Ian," my dad says, his voice cracking, and the three of us quickly move out, putting our suitcases in the trunk and fastening our seatbelts.

"So, what is it?" I ask, that seed quickly snaking out to my whole body.

"Well, your Grandpa and Grandma were at home, and your Grandpa fell down the stairs," my dad says, his voice strained, "And so they went to the Doctor's, and the Doctor found that your Grandpa has had Cancer for a long time."

I freeze, my breath catching. "Is it…?"

"It's stage four, and in three parts of his body," I can hear him trembling as we pull out of the driveway, "They said he has a month left, and they're going to try chemo, but mom has been saying that he's been getting worse."

"..." I just sit there in shock, the news setting in. I felt… nothing. Empty. There was no way i could be prepared for this. My dad said some more things, but I didn't listen. I was just… No… I close my eyes, feeling weight in my eyes as tears begin to well up. My throat tightened, suffocating me, and I clench my fist. My grandpa was going to die. Everything that had happened today, from hearing what Danny and Henry thought of me to fighting the jocks with Zeke, this was…

Please, no, I grit my teeth, curling my legs up, Please, God, no…

-()-

No… I open my eyes, tears streaming down my face, God… I breathe deeply, and I can feel small tendrils of fuel slowly inching out from my hands, "Haaaaah…" I exhale, the pounding of my heart slowing. I was covered in a cold sweat, those memories vividly in the front of my mind. That day, it felt like almost everything in my life fell apart apart from Zeke. Grandpa, my other friends, it all crumbled apart.

I curl up, clutching my knees. I felt raw, everything being laid out bare. I'd never had the time to process thing, what with the nightmares of the Mass-Mass Fruit and the constant training from Karen in the past five and a half months, I rarely thought of home, and those thoughts I did have were sparing, just a quick question or muse, never full-on memories. It never fully hit me what my situation was: I was stuck here for all I knew. Not that I was complaining, this was really cool, even if it was dangerous, but I just wish that I could see my family or Zeke again. But a thought that kept poking at the back of my mind was how Danny and Henry turned their backs on me, avoiding me and always going the other way…

Just like what Haruta's done now… a chill runs down my spine as I make the connection. Haruta wouldn't do that to me, right? He was my friend, we've known each other for so long, so him ignoring me would have a good reason, right?

I take another deep breath. Danny and Henry had their own reasons, no matter how lemming-like they were, so Haruta has to have his own reasons as well. But what are they? Was it something I did? It has to be related to me, because he's acting this way whenever I try and talk to him, but what is it!? I clench my fists, wiping away my tears. I know that I decided to let Haruta deal with it, but… I didn't want him to turn away from me like those two did. I needed to know that he wouldn't abandon me, Haruta, I'm sorry, but I need to know why you're acting like this, for my own sake, I throw aside my sheets, grabbing my crutch and moving out, quietly opening the door and hobbling down the hall. I soon come across Haruta's quarters, but the door was open and the room empty. Inside was only a bed, the closet with sets of T-shirts and Shakespearian-style wear, and that was all. There would only be one other place I could think of.

I move, making my way towards the training hall, and soon hear the echoes of steel striking steel. Taking a peek in, I see a small form dancing about the metal training dummies, sparks flying as he cuts into them. I see dust fly as he sweeps his blade, dozens of small lacerations covering one dummy, and his blade turns black as he stabs into another. "Gust!" I hear it yell, and a stand on the opposite side of the area is blown away a moment later, crashing into the wall and splintering the wood. He was training at… whatever time it was? What the hell was going on?

I hobble over, him not noticing me yet, and just watch him for a bit, sitting on the ground. I had noticed he was wearing training weights in times where he wasn't moving, but he was going hard, moving at what I could only assume was as fast as he could go at times, which I couldn't keep up with. But as I watched, his control over his movement and the precision on the attacks was beginning to slowly waver, as well as his overall speed. He would miss attacks, stumble and skid on turns, and each time he cut into the metal, the cuts were getting more and more shallow. This went on for nearly thirty minutes, and eventually, Haruta skidded to a stop, falling to a knee. "So, mind telling me why you're up training?" I ask, and he jolts in surprise, falling on his ass as he glances at me. He looked terrible, with bags the size of the Grand Canyon under his eyes, and his hair was all kinds of messy. All he had on were shorts and a white t-shirt, but I could see his entire body trembling from physical strain.

"Jeez," Haruta clutches at his chest, "You just about gave me a heart attack!"

"Khaha," I laugh, but then give him a serious stare, "So, mind telling me why you've been avoiding me?" I cut to the chase.

"What do you-?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" I yell, and Haruta is legitimately taken aback by the outburst, "Ever since I woke up, you've been trying to keep away from me and avoid talking, what the hell is going on!?" I stand using my crutch and march over, towering over the already-short teen.

"I…" Haruta looks down, a solemn expression dominating his features, "I've been training, okay?"

"Just because you're training doesn't mean you have to avoid me, though!" I try to soften my tone, noticing the shift in his demeanor, "Why are you so focused on that?"

"Well…" Haruta seems like he's about to say something, but he glances at the door, like he wants to leave. I couldn't have that.

"Don't," I press my crutch into his foot, pinning him to the floor, "Just explain why you've been acting like this."

"..." the Lieutenant purses his lips, then begins to speak, "Kelly, remember when we were fighting that Sheepshead guy?"

"Yeah," I nod, wondering where he was going with this. That was brutal for me, but I was fine now, and with some new tricks up my sleeve, but his tone was full of a lot of guilt, so I stayed quiet.

"Well, after you were knocked out…" Haruta takes a deep breath, "I dropped the ball," he sighs, his voice wavering, "I lost my momentum, and while I was able to keep up, he got the better of me, and beat me down. He also… tortured you in front of me," he glances to the ground, and I furrow my brow. So he was feeling guilty about letting me get hurt… "I couldn't stop him, and the only reason he didn't kill you is because that one 'R' named girl threw a rock at him or something."

"And you think that's your fault that I got hurt like that?" I tilt my head, sitting back down on the ground, right across from my friend. I knew Haruta cared, but the fact that he cared this much about me to blame himself for this, even after he'd been fighting for a long time… it reminded me of Zeke.

"How was it not!?" he puts a hand to his face, "I'm the stronger of us, isn't it my responsibility to keep you safe?"

"I guess, if you spin it a certain way," I muse, "But I mean, there was also nothing more you could have done. You were exhausted, and we were fighting a tough opponent, but we came out alive and without major injury," I point to my leg, "Broken bones don't count, those aren't permanent."

"How are you so… so… calm about all this? You were forced to near-death!" Haruta looks at me like I'm crazy, "Is this not a big deal!?"

"Well, I mean, it's kind of a big deal," I shrug, and I can tell Haruta is confused, "Yeah, I got hurt, but when a lot of good things happen to you, you kinda forget the bad stuff a little," I rub the back of my neck.

"What do you mean, 'good things'?" he just could not follow what I was saying, although i honestly would probably be reacting the same way in his position, "You almost died."

"You were not around to hear about this," I point out, and raise my hand, "But watch this," I focus, feeling the invisible hook latch onto that tension under my skin, and I draw it out, creating a small tendril of fuel that undulates in my palm.

"... What…?" my friend blinks, and I grin, allowing the fuel to sink back into me.

"I ate a Devil Fruit!" I flare my hands out like a Jazz musician, making as big of a spectacle as I could with no extra effects, "And I'm learning how to use it so that I won't get my ass handed to me again!"

The Lieutenant just sits there, jaw dropped. "When did this happen!?" he screeches.

I just grin. "After I woke up on Geas, Red-Haired Shanks found me, and I told him some stuff and he gave me a Devil Fruit to protect myself," I shrug, "Then, I arrived back on the Moby and got patched up."

Haruta just looked like he downed a gallon of LSD or something. "What the fuck did you tell Shanks for him to just give you a Devil Fruit!?" He rubs his temples.

"Ah, you see," I nod, "I'll explain all that tomorrow. For now, though…" I nudge him, "I think you need to get some sleep. You look exhausted."

"But…"

"Look," I hold up my hand, "I understand that you're still going to train to become stronger to stop anything like this from happening, and I'm not opposed to that," I explain, "But just know that you can talk to me, man."

"But I failed," Haruta starts again, and I kick him.

"And you can train yourself to be stronger. But I don't want you to think that I'm your responsibility and take it badly when I inevitably get hurt, and then ignore me so you can train again," I reason, "I'm going to get strong so we can fight together, so don't think that you have to protect me forever, okay?"

"That… makes sense," the Lieutenant sighs, and I grin.

"Good. Now get some sleep, it's my turn to worry here, this time about your mental health," I stand up, and Haruta follows, the two of us leaving the training room, "But…" I smile, "I would be lying if I said I didn't appreciate all this, man."

"Pfehehe," my friend grins, and we part ways at the training room door, "See you tomorrow, Kelly."

"See you, Haruta," I wave, and carry down the long hallway. It felt like everything that happened recently was significant, like a new beginning, and I grin, knowing what I should do in this moment. So, I open my mouth, and…

"'Cause in this beautiful life there's always some sorrow… And It's a double-edged knife, but there's always tomorrow, Oh you know, It's up to you now if you sink or swim, Just keep the faith and your ship will come in, It's not so bad…" I grin, the nostalgia of the song sinking in.

"And I say way-hey-hey, it's just an ordinary day

And it's all your state of mind

At the end of the day,

You've just got to say...

I say way-hey-hey, it's just an ordinary day

And it's all your state of mind

At the end of the day,

You've just got to say... it's all right, it's all right…

I've got a smile on my face, and I've got four walls around me…"

AN: And that's the chapter! Thank you all for two years of writing this fun story. See you next chapter!