Another Piece

Chapter 10 Koko

Gentle Giant

The festivities around us continued as our battered souls just stood still at the near dock of the town square. My feet were dangling above the sea water below that reflected my emotionless eyes. There were really people out there who wanted me dead just for existing and not only that but I was in their turf. I felt disgusted.

"We shouldn't have gotten here..."

"Maybe we should just sail to the next place to find a shipwright..." Hearing the conversation between Njord and Poppy reignites my determination makes me stand up from where I sat and turn back to my crew to face them.

"No! My ship is going to be built by Brage! And that's final!" The heel of my shoe made a "clicking" sound as I stomped on the wooden dock to emphasize my decision.

"Are you sure, Koko? If either you or Taiyō is caught using devil fruit powers then you're done for. We are on their playing field meaning they can execute you if they wish..." Bajiru repeated the consequences and I still nodded.

"Alright. Captain's orders. But let's do this quickly. I prefer not having my sibling executed" Everyone was able to get on their feet as we started to make our way out of the town square and it's "festivities".
Our first option was to go back to the shipyard and find Brage but when we got there, Brigade informed us that Brage had gone home already. Poppy thought ahead and kindly asked for our shipwrights whereabouts and it turns out that Brage lived on the other side of town away from his working place- you would think you'd want to live closer so it's easier to get to your job but it wasn't in this case.

The island wasn't that big so getting to the otherside was only a 20 minutes walk. We found ourselves in a pretty dense forest area and I couldn't imagine having to traverse in those kinds of terrain everyday to get to your job-
But thanks to Bajiru's skills we managed to not only get through the forest but also find a lone little hut. Me and my crew might be chaotic but we have the politeness of knocking on someone's door if it's someone we consider a friend. But we did hear sounds from the back of the hut and decided to check that out rather than going for the front door.

The backside acted like an art studio but well outside and the area displayed several of Brage's projects. It reigned from wooden statues to wooden miniature ships! It was like strolling through a mini museum. We'd eventually find the gentle giant and not only that but we witnessed how Brage just creates wooden materials from just his hand that he can carve to his desire. It could only mean one thing!

"You're a devil fruit user too!" My sudden loud voice caused the shipwright to accidentally drop his carving tools and looked at me slightly terrified.

"I- I can explain!" Poor Brage lifts his hands in defense but I'd reassure him we wouldn't hurt him.

"It's alright! I'm a devil fruit user too!" I walk up to the larger man and summon one of my beloved ghosts! It circles around Brage before floating in front of him.

"I see... how fascinating-" He touches the ghost causing it to disappear with a 'pop' noise and the shipwright falls to the ground.

"Urk- tired-"

"Oh no! I'm so sorry, Brage!!!" My ghost had sapped all his energy upon impact and I couldn't help but feel slightly guilty over the small accident- at least the rest of my crew found it funny as they laughed their asses off. Poppy and Bajiru would check on the shipwright and we all helped out getting Brage inside so he could rest on the living room sofa. It was a small place but it was clearly big enough to house 2 people maximum. Whoever lived with the bigger man either hadn't shown up yet or were somewhere else.

"I'll be fine soon. Just need a minute to breath" The poor man reassured us despite being the sole cause of the sudden exhaustion. A few of his dark blonde locks fall from his shoulder when taking deep breaths.