章節 48: Chapter 48

"Ah, Detoro. Your back. Just wait; dinner will be ready in ten minutes. There is hot water as well, and the shower is clean, so you can go clean up. I am sure you have had a long tiring day." The voice of an angel calls out as soon as I step inside of the house, and like a breath of fresh air, I can feel my frustration throughout the day settle, at least until tomorrow.

"Ah, Nojiko-Chan. Thank you, you genuinely are a blessing in these dark days." I say to the blue-haired girl, who turns from where she was working over a stove to wave a ladle at me in greeting, sporting a happy smile. I wasn't lying when I said I felt blessed. Well, maybe that is an exaggeration, but even so, in recent times, this girl has lightened my spirits.

Nojiko is Nami's older sister, twelve years old, the same age as me. She wears some red sandals as some incredibly light blue going on teal jean overalls that come up over her shoulders, under which she wears a dark blue shirt. Her face is good-looking, which is as much information as I can give at this point in time as she is just twelve, even if that is the same age as me. On her forehead, she wears a dark red headband with a white design on it. The headband serves to hold back the waves of her blue hair though a lock manages to make it over the barricade and flows down the side of her face.

Smiling and waving back, I quickly move up the stairs, leaving my dirty shoes near the front door, knowing that I would find them clean and shiny tomorrow morning. Nojiko was just that nice. In this time when I have lost my home, where I have lost my friend and have basically had my freedom taken from me, this girl has welcomed me into her home with no ulterior motives or ambition, purely just to help me.

Or maybe to help her sister as she wanted me to stay with them. I guess Nami is just as kind, but with the power she holds over me I just can't bring myself to see her in such a light because if I do, I might let down my guard, which would come back to bite me in the future. Nami wanted me to stay with them. In fact, she pretty much demanded it, and I had to oblige.

Nojiko agreed after hearing about my circumstances, but obviously, Genzo had a problem with it. A young boy living with two other girls, even without puberty in the picture, the man felt like their father, so obviously, he would have a problem with it. There was nothing he could do about it, though, as Nojiko had already said yes, and Nami was vehemently fighting for it, refusing to let me live elsewhere. Genzo now comes in to check several times a day. Paranoid man, what the hell am I going to do? I am not old enough for anything like that yet.

Having gone up and finished my shower quickly, changing into some clothes that Genzo thankfully brought over for me, I come down to find Nami walking through the door. As opposed to the other days when she would come home nearly in tears, the calluses on her fingers from hours of drawing stinging, she actually has a happy smile on her face. Confused since this is a far cry from how she usually is on a daily basis, I quickly rush down the stairs, and Nami seeing me come down, has excitement rise on her face and opens her mouth.

"Guys, come to the dinner table. Dinner is ready. Make sure you wash your hands first. I am talking to you, Nami!" Nojiko shouts from the kitchen, keeping Nami from telling me whatever had brightened up her mood and making her smile sheepishly. She quickly takes both her sandals off with her feet and leaves them thrown near the door before rushing off to go wash her hands.

I quickly follow behind her into the kitchen, finding Nojiko setting down the plates for dinner and Nami climbing up onto the stool in front of the sink to wash her hands. Not needing to, as I had just had a shower, I quickly moved to take my place, sitting at one of the three chairs around the round table, feeling a bit bad when I noticed Noriko twitch a bit as I took my seat. She does so every time, as does Nami sometimes, and rightfully so since it used to be the two of them and Bellemere, but now I am taking her place. Ignoring that, I calmly sit down and smile at Nojiko, who smiles back in turn and takes her seat as we wait for Nami to come to join us.

"How are the tangerines, Nojiko-Chan? I can help you collect them all if you need me to." I say to fill the silence as we wait to start dinner. You can't just start eating what is in front of you straight away. More than filling your gut, this is about eating together and taking comfort in each other's presence. That is at least for these two girls. As for me, well, I don't hate it.

"It is fine, Detoro-Kun. The trees are small, so I can pick the tangerines just fine. Plus, you and Nami are dealing with a lot. So the least I can do is make things easy for you when you get back here." She whispers quietly so that Nami doesn't hear, smiling brightly at me, though I can't bring myself to do more than a little quirk of the lips. After all, it is not just me and Nami going through a hard time, but Nojiko as well. But for the sake of her sister, she keeps on a smile for her to not add to her worries.

Nojiko is just as worried and troubled as the rest of us, even more, maybe. Her mother had died, her sister had basically been kidnapped and forced to work for the people that killed her, and she also had to live with this random boy as well. Even so, she doesn't let it show, she doesn't cry, and she doesn't complain. Instead, she holds it all at bay, stuffing it down and showing a smile for her sister. Speaking of, Nami has now cleaned her hands and is currently sitting at the table. With a quick thank you for the food, we start to eat, Nami getting stuffed in while Nojiko watches her, and I begin to eat as well.

"Gesh wah happen tuday! Ar virrajah manaed tuh caw da-" Nami excitedly begins while stuffing her face, unable to choose between conversation and food and deciding to do both, which of course, messes both up as not only is she speaking gibberish but Nami is sending bits of food out as she does. Nojiko, seeing this, takes action and pushes up Nami's chin, stopping her from talking.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth, Nami. Remember your manners, plus no one can make sense of what you are saying if you are trying to use your mouth for two different things." Nojiko lectures drawing an irritated look from Nami, though I can tell it isn't a negative thing, more of an exasperated sister thing. Of course, doing the proper thing expected of someone in Nami's station, she plays the role of the annoying little sister, and instead of taking the advice properly, she takes it literally.

Ceasing her talking, Nami looks at Nojiko with her bulging cheeks full of food and then with a look of concentration, her cheeks deflate, and with a loud gulping sound, she swallows all of the food in her mouth. Then, as if in victory, she opens her mouth wide. Finally, she sticks her tongue out at Nojiko as if taunting her while showing that there is no longer any food in her mouth, drawing a quiet sigh from Nojiko that transforms into a tired smile when Nami looks away in victory.

"See, all gone. Now, guess what happened today?" She says a lot more clearly this time, and with some of the excitement bled out this time, she waits for us to guess. The joy on her face is palpable and nearly spreading to the rest of us, and her excitement is very much high, which is weird considering how dire the times are right now.

"Did Genzo-San get you some new books?" Nojiko asks, going along with the game but clearly not serious as books are far from being something that would make Nami happy now. The books she used to get and enjoy were all about navigation, and the skills she derived from them are all being abused and used by her mother's murderer. So, naturally, the only thing that she would get so excited and happy over at this time would be something that would be to the detriment of Arlong and his crew.

"Nope. Any more guesses?" Obviously, I have a few, and as Nojiko goes through the process and continues to give wrong answers, I contemplate about trying my hand. However, I decide to keep silent, not wanting to get too excited and say that one of the bastard fishmen fell over and got a rusty pitchfork through the eye, though I do wish it was something like that. But with me not offering any answers, I shake my head at Nami's question, and not long after, Nojiko does the same, prompting Nami to reveal it finally.

"One of the villagers from Chosa village said that he has managed to contact a marine branch. They said that support would be coming soon. Did you hear that, Detoro? It won't be long till the marines get here and kick Arlong's ass." She says excitedly. Nojiko quickly got infected and was just as happy about this. I, however, cannot bring myself to feel as excited about this as the girls are since, according to my knowledge, the closest marine base is the one that has Captain Nezumi in charge, and he is a weak coward.

Still, I am sure the knowledge that the pirates are fishmen should be told to the marines, and since they come from the Grand Line, then they should know they are ill-equipped to deal with them. Moreover, since the marines are a large organisation then, instead of sending the nearest weakest forces then, they could send stronger, more equipped marines to take down the fishmen. If there is one thing I am sure of, it is Captain Nezumi's cowardliness. Instead of coming himself, surely he would send for other more capable people to take care of it, especially after finding out that the pirates are fishmen.

"That is good. I can only hope that Garp is the one that comes. Then these bastards would be blown away." So I say, remembering the only good marine that I know. He might not be the sharpest tool in the box, but he is the most powerful, and primarily righteous, so I can only hope that he or someone like him comes to answer the call.

"What, Marine Hero Garp! Yes, if he could come, then we would be safe." Marine hero? Well, the guy is stupidly strong, though I don't know how that scales, having not seen much of the world. Still, I find it hard to believe that that barbaric man could be looked up to by anyone after having found out his actual personality.

I guess he must have done some crazy things with that idiot strength of his, and, well, it got spread by the newspapers, and they can't very well find out about how he is through that, can they? Kind of funny, now that I think about it, that most everybody in the world thinks he is an awe-inspiring, dashing hero when in actuality, he is a big silly brute that follows orders... sometimes follows orders.

"Just think, Detoro-Kun. This time next week, we could be free. Arlong will be locked away by the marines, and we could go back to.. how it used to be..." Nami starts before trailing off after mentioning going back to how it used to be, which is, of course, impossible because you can't bring back the dead. I can already see the emotion dwindling from Nami's face. Nojiko notices this as well and quickly begins to talk.

"Good. Arlong will be gone, and so will his crew. Hopefully locked away somewhere dark and cold until the day they die, where they will suffer until they do. And we will be here, living, happy and taking care of the tangerines." Nojiko says, doing her best to comfort Nami and keep her from thinking about it. She does her best, which is more than could be said for any other twelve-year-old. We are the same age, but obviously, I am a bit different than other people my age, but Nojiko herself is doing way more than is expected of her. It is a bit awe-inspiring how mature she is and how well she is handling this, though Nami doesn't seem to respond to her efforts.

"Alright, eat up, Nami. You need your strength for tomorrow, and you need to stay strong until the marines get here." Nojiko says, grabbing Nami's plate and moving it closer to her, encouraging her to eat. Nami, not saying anything, picks up the fork and continues to eat, but there is not much conversation after that.

Soon after, Nami, having finished her food, pushes her plate away from her and, without a word, quickly leaves and goes upstairs, presumably to her room. Nojiko silently sighs before going to stand up, moving her hand to Nami's plate. I quickly reach out and pick it up before she can, prompting her to look at me in question.

"I will wash up today, and I have finished eating anyway. But you have hardly touched your plate Nojiko, so eat up." I say, standing up and picking up my own plate as well before walking towards the sink. Nojiko stuttered behind me, trying to say something before finally speaking up as I reached the sink.

"Don't, Detoro-Kun. This is my job, you two are struggling every day, so the very least I can do is take care of everything else for you." Nojiko says though she doesn't get up from her seat, merely spinning around while still sitting to talk to me.

"Nojiko, I know these are hard times. And this is hard on you as well. You are struggling just as much as we are, even if you try not to let Nami see it. You are letting me live here, so the least I can do is help you out. I know trying to keep a brave face on might seem like a good idea, but you shouldn't keep all the burden for yourself. I will help you out. You are not alone in this." I say, turning on the tap and beginning to wash the plates. I hear some light sniffling behind me, but I don't turn around, and then I hear the sound of a fork tapping against a plate.

"T-Thank you, Detoro-Kun." I hear her say behind me, and I smile, knowing that I have helped her. It is a change of pace from always being angry and letting these rageful feeling stew inside my guts. This... this feels better.

I feel better.

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