Chapter Text
???’s POV
I place flowers down at the Tombstone of O’Hara.
“Knowledge should be shared equally.” I murmur, the blessing odd in my mouth, feeling like I’m choking on them. I run my fingers over the carving again, “You should not have been punished for sharing knowledge.”
Only the wind answers me, winding through my awkwardly grown-out hair, ruffling it against my ears and close-to-scarred-over burns. I sigh deeply, the air crisp with the scent of spring, sharp and clear in my nose.
“Goodbye, students of Wan Shi Tong.” It’s easier to say this maybe-blessing, and I stand up with a sigh. I turn towards where the heavy footsteps are treading up the hill. “You are the ‘Dragon’ they speak of, yes?”
“I am.” He stops many feet from me, appropriately wary as I hum quietly, “Who are you?”
“My name is Akiak.” I state, walking forward slowly, my staff pushing the grass to either side of me as I approach him, “I am not from this world, and I have come to ask a favor.”
“...this world?”
“It is a long story,” I state, my exhaustion heavy on my shoulders as I stop in front of him, I bring my staff in close and lean against it as I sigh. “I am willing to tell it to you, because I have heard good things about you and your convictions, but I require a place to sit. Water, if you can spare it.”
“Akiak-san, are you a Yuurei?”
“I am not a ghost, Dragon-sama.” I chuckle softly at him, “I am just a very, very tired traveler.”
“Very unconvincing.” Dragon mutters, but he gently touches my sleeve, “How do I lead you, Akiak-san? Your eyes-”
“You may take my hand, Dragon-sama,” I chuckle at him, holding it out properly for him to take, “I am newly blinded, and don’t have all the skills needed to make my way through the world.”
“Understandable.” Dragon murmurs, “Come with me. We set up camp nearby.”
Dragon listens without judgement, surprisingly, and his friends - Ivankov, Kuma, Ginny, Karasu, Morley, Lindbergh - all respect the silence as I walk them through the Massacre.
“How many children did you manage to save?” Dragon asks when I finish, I pause, a bottle inches from my lips. “I know the look in your eye, Akiak. How many children?”
“Thirty-two.” I sigh, several people gasp, Ginny curses quietly, “I currently have them hiding in a safe zone of the Spirit World, being watched over by the spirits of our mentors.”
“You managed to save thirty-two children from being massacred.” Ivankov sounds awed, “Akiak-boy, you’re amazing!”
“I have two people a little older than me with them, but they’re heavily injured.” I sigh deeply, someone gently comes to hold my hand. “I need someplace to hide them until they can fight. I’m willing to do anything-”
“You won’t have to do anything.” Ginny says heatedly,
“Ginny has a point,” Dragon rumbles, several people murmur in disagreement, “Akiak, have you had time to heal from your own injuries? Your face looks…bad, I’ll admit, and I’m no medic.”
“I’m trained in medicine,” I state softly, they all pause rather harshly, “It looks bad because you’re untrained. It feels like medicine is working on what can be saved.”
“Your eyes…” Kuma says softly,
“I will, most likely, be blind for the rest of my life.” I state, voice carefully blank, they all gasp quietly again, and the person holding my hands gently rubs my knuckles. “I will need time…to learn, I guess, normally I’d say adjust, but…”
I sigh, deflating slightly, and my back aches.
“I’m going to have to learn how to do everything, again.” I state, and can’t stop my voice from shaking. “I…it will not be graceful, I warn you.”
“We don’t need graceful.” Dragon states firmly, “We need you to heal. You have just pulled off something amazing.”
“It doesn’t feel amazing.” I admit, “Will you come with me to get the children?”
“Of course.” They all scoff,
“Thank you.” I murmur softly, and drink deeply from my cup of water. “Shall we go now? Do you have room on your…boat? I hear a lot of water close by.”
“We have room.” Dragon says firmly,
“We will make room!” Ginny declares, “C’mon, Kuma-chi-!”
“Kuma will be how we take them to the base, Ginny.” Dragon sighs, I chuckle softly and drink again, my throat feels like sandpaper has been dragged up and down it. “Have you stumbled on anything that warns of ‘Devil Fruit’? Or-”
“The spirits mentioned that this world has strange powers,” I cut him off, they all go quiet, “They said that specific fruit can bestow great, god-like powers upon normal humans. I think they were lying though, they sounded nervous.”
“They were not lying.” Kuma chuckles quietly, I nod, sighing deeply.
“I’m gonna have to put a leash on the three-year-olds in that case.” I sigh, they all chuckle, a bit nervously in some cases, but I set the water down. “Come, they’re waiting.”
“Big Brother!” Several voices scream the moment I open the portal, the shrine stones rough against my palm, “Big Brother, where have you been!?”
“It’s almost lunch time.” Mai patters up quietly, quickly leaning through to murmur at me as one of the newborns gurgles on her chest. “We were starting to worry.”
(I’ve been here for nearly two weeks. How is that possible?)
“I’ve found us a safe place to hunker down.” I state blandly, they all cheer, “Where are Tashi and Yeshe?”
“They’re still sleeping,” Mai states quietly, Dragon moves up behind me, I hear Mai unsheathe my sword, and swiftly stop her. “He’s a friend?”
“He is the one we’re staying with.” I state, Mai grumbles something that sounds judgemental, “He has medical supplies and doctors with him. I’m not the only one who needs treatment, Mai.”
“We have a nursery, in case you all need a break.” Dragon says gently, I hear one of the children scramble up.
“Big Brother Akiak,” Dechan grabs my pant leg, and I crouch down to her height, “Are the boys and the girls gonna stay separate? I made a friend, and I wanna stay with him!”
“We’re all going to stay as close together as possible,” I run my hands through her hair with a small smile, “No one is ever going to separate us again, okay? I’ll make sure of it.”
“We can be siblings FOREVER, Dawa!” Dawa cheers loudly, I smile as she runs back to him as fast as her little five-year-old legs can carry her. “Big Brother Akiak says nobody will ever take us away again!”
“May I suggest taking those who need medical attention first?” Kuma murmurs, gently crouching next to me. “Oh, dear gods-”
I listen intently to Yangzom’s unsteady footsteps, I hold out my hands in her direction easily, and she giggles that bubbly, happy giggle that all three-year-olds have. Her tiny hands grab my fingers easily, and I smile warmly at her.
“Good job, little sister.” I lead her forward slowly, “You’re doing so well, Yangzom. Lookit you, big girl~”
“Aki-ack!” She squeals, tumbling into my chest with great, unending trust, “B’g brudder!”
She giggles and squeals as I scoop her into my arms, easily finding a cheek and cupping it, then I start kissing her all over her face as she giggles at me.
“They’re so cute, Kumachi!” Ginny squeals, “By the Seas, look at those cheeks!”
“They are adorable, Ginny.” I can hear the smile in Kuma’s voice, “And Akiak is such a good big brother.”
“Mai,” I state, gathering Yangzom into one arm and gripping my staff with the other. Mai immediately grips my elbow and armpit and helps me get to my feet as my joints pop and snap like an Elder’s. “Thank you.”
“We can’t have the only person who knows how to fight, stuck on the floor.” Mai points out wisely as Yangzom pulls my ear, her little chin resting on my shoulder. “Yangzom, it’s just a tattoo. Stop staring at him!”
“She’s used to arrows and blue ink, Mai,” I chuckle, Mai huffs, “Let her look. She might learn something-”
“Pwetty~” Yangzom gurgles,
“Or she’ll flirt with a grown man. Toddlers are strange creatures.” I sigh, Dragon laughs softly behind me, I turn, “I apologize. Most of them have either just begun classes or are too young for them. They think all tattoos are cool because only our Masters have them.”
“I’m pretty sure his tattoos are sheerly for decoration.” Mai complains, I nudge her foot with my staff, “I’m just saying! Tattoos should have meaning to them! Especially if they’re going on the face!”
“One X for each child I’ve saved.” Dragon sounds distinctly smug, and Mai shuts up.
“Akiak,” Chime hurries over as someone begins panting laboriously on the other side of ‘camp’, “Master Yeshe just woke up.”
“Kuma, I’ll need to introduce you first, before Yeshe or Tashi are moved. Your infirmary will need to keep them within eyeline of each other.” I state, pushing my staff forward and stepping into the portal fully.
“I will personally insure it.” Kuma swears, “But…when will you go to the infirmary?”
“After everyone is settled in whatever place Dragon has for us.” I state, voice firm, Kuma exhales heavily, “I’m nineteen years old, Kuma-san, I know what I’m capable of.”
(Not to mention I killed fifteen people with my hands during the escape and probably around a hundred others by collapsing that building, and then there were the surgeries I did blind…)
There are horrified gasps in the infirmary when I strip down to my fundoshi. I pant quietly in pain as I do so, by one of the nurses’ helps me onto the bed.
“Do not let the children see.” I state, voice severe, and Dragon takes my hand, “I mean it. They can’t know.”
“Akiak,” Dragon says quietly, “Most of these wounds seem to be suffering from necrosis. Do you know what that is? What that entails for treatment?”
“I’m a trained medic and apothecary.” I state, still panting as the cool air burns against what little unmarked skin I have left. “I know how to treat necrosis - I just can’t see to do so.”
Dragon exhales heavily, then turns.
“Help him.” Dragon states, a nurse quickly grabs my arm, and I flinch - when did she get so close!? - and Dragon sighs deeply. “He is freshly blinded, you can’t just grab him.”
“I.V., right?” I extend my arm, the nurse - male, surprisingly - lets out a quiet gasp. “Yeah, there’s…extensive damage.”
“By the Seas, what did this to you!?” One of the nurses murmurs,
“I’d love to reassure you that it was dark spirits and evil monsters, creatures of evil and darkness and all that ilk, but unfortunately, this came from humans.” I state, I hear someone set down a tray, something on it rattles. “Humans seem to be the real monsters, no matter what world.”
“That’s a bit pessimistic.” One of the nurses mutters,
“Humans have always been capable of extremes - whether that’s good or evil is an individual choice. These people chose this.” I state, Dragon exhales heavily, “How are the babies holding up?”
“They’ve settled into the NICU wonderfully. They’re very well-behaved and only cried a little when they had to get their I.V.s,” One of the female nurses boasts to me, I smile, “I’m going to take off your headband now, okay? We need to see what we’re working with on your head.”
“Okay.” I state, and try to not cringe as it peels off a good section of the blister. Several people breathe a sigh of relief. “Oh, good, I was worried it’d be infected too.”
“It is, just not as badly as everything else.” Dragon rubs his thumb over my knuckles, “They’re pulling out the burn ointment now, so I need to move, but I’m going to stay here the entire treatment, okay?”
“Thank you.” I state, tears coming to my eyes before I can help it, “Thank you so much, Dragon-sama.”
“It’s no problem.” Dragon soothes, gently wiping my cheeks of their tears. “You did wonderfully, Akiak, but you have help now. Try to relax a bit, okay? I know this is going to hurt-”
“Necrosis always hurts.” I mutter before I can help it, “I just hope I don’t have sepsis to go with it.”
Rinchen - a fellow trained medic - sits on the edge of my bed as I wake up. She gently runs her fingers over the bandages on my left arm, occasionally tugging, and letting out a soft, satisfied hum when they react with the appropriate level of snugness.
“They did a good job.” Rinchen states blandly, I chuckle at her softly, “I don’t trust them, though. We just learned that everyone has an altruistic reason.”
“Just because one of our longest-standing allies attacked us, doesn’t mean everyone will.” I soothe, catching her hand with some effort due to the bandages, she sighs deeply. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”
“They call themselves ‘the Revolutionary Army’ - who are they revolting against? Are they starting a civil war? What reasons do they have to do such a thing? What do they stand for? Dragon-sama is their leader, but he seems entirely too calm with this. He took us in without question-”
“They actually had several questions.” I admit, she relaxes with a soft sigh, leaning against my hip. “I answered them to the best of my ability.”
Rinchen remains quiet for a moment.
I almost fall asleep again - these painkillers are entirely too effective. The pain was the only thing keeping me on my feet, and now I can’t keep my eyes open.
“What if they want to enslave us?” Rinchen murmurs, real fear in her voice, “What if they want to use us as free labour? What if-”
“Rinchen,” I murmur, squeezing her hand gently, “They heard that there were children in need of help, and they helped. They are not evil.”
“How can you be so sure?” Rinchen’s voice shakes like it does when she’s crying, “You’re blind, Big Brother, how can you be sure of them?”
“Because their chi is shining brightly,” I murmur, still tired, every limb heavy, and ever-so-slightly numb. Breathing is a little difficult, but it’s doable. “Mouths can lie, morals and ethics can shift and change, but chi is something you can’t fake.”
“How can you even see it?”
“I can’t,” I smile at her, “But it’s the same feeling as always. They are good people, like our Elders were, like our mentors were, like our teachers-”
“Like the mothers?” Rinchen asks nervously, I sigh deeply,
“Is this about the Army,” I ask, voice turning dry, “Or about my actions during the invasion?”
“You killed them, Akiak.” Rinchen whispers hoarsely, I nod, and I do not tell her how it made me feel, how I begged the Spirits to be kind to them, how I’ve prayed every night, begging for forgiveness, how I’ve apologized to empty air every day since. “You allowed them to think they were dead weight-”
“If I could change those statistics, I would have.” I murmur to her, eyes burning, she pauses, her hand loosening around mine. I squeeze it again. “I wanted them to live. I wanted them to be able to see their children grow up. Rinchen, if I could have, everyone would have escaped with us. We would number in the hundreds if I had my way.”
“Then why-”
“You generally can’t stand up or walk for several hours after birth.” I state, voice hardening as I try to will the bile down my throat. “You can’t run, crouching is difficult, if not entirely impossible, you need assistance in laying down and getting up. When they said they were dead weight to us, it was fact, not opinion. If we had tried to take them with us, we all would have died.”
“So you performed ten emergency C-sections.” Rinchen’s voice is full of horror and pity as she realizes why I did what I did. “You let them hold their children, let them nurse them for the first and last time-”
“And then I slit their throats.” I state, admitting it as my stomach rolls and pitches and attempts to crawl out of my throat. “I killed them so they would not suffer through burning alive, and I apologized every time.”
“...I’m-”
“Don’t apologize.” I state firmly, “Don’t say you don’t hate me anymore either.”
“Wh-why-”
“Because it means you’re alive.” I state, tears finally leaking down my face, “It means you’re alive to hate me, little sister. I’d rather each and every one of you hate me, think me a monster, curse me every day - because you’re alive to do so.”
“Akiak-”
“Too many of our people died to protect us,” I state, cutting her off as I twist my head to stare at her, it hurts my neck, surprisingly. “I will be the one killing to protect you all.”
Rinchen bows over me, sobbing, she clutches my shoulders painfully. Her nails dig into second-degree burns that got necrosis scrubbed out of them with wire brushes and iodine.
I don’t tell her that, either. I don’t make a single comment of my own pain, at all.