To the end of the sea [One Piece]

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Sanji never thought Eina would take him with her.

There was no reason why she had to save him.

"Because you're stupid," she answered him.

"Where are we going..." he asked her cautiously.

She didn't answer him, just threw him a bag of food.

Sanji looked at the bottom of the boat and then at her hand, not understanding where it came from.

But he didn't dare to ask, so he just stuffed it into his mouth obediently.

--------

They were lucky enough to get through the first few days. Sanji felt that Eina was like a magician who could conjure many daily necessities out of thin air. But he didn't dare ask her what was going on.

The temperature dropped sharply that night, the cold sea breeze blew on them, and soon it started to rain.

Eina gritted her teeth and tried her best to steer. The two figures were like fallen leaves on the misty sea, swaying among the waves in the wind and rain.

When they finally survived the rain, they drifted to an isolated island.

Ena dragged him ashore and lit a fire. The warmth quickly swept through their shivering bodies.

"Eat this." She took out a piece of bread from her space and handed it to him, but no one came to pick it up.

She turned her head and saw that the thin boy was curled up into a shrimp, his back turned to her and trembling.

She frowned and looked closer to see that his face was red.

Ena was afraid that one of the two would get sick, but he still got sick.

She took off his shabby little shirt with disgust, wrapped him tightly in a dry blanket, found a piece of cloth, wetted it and applied it to his forehead.

She had no medicine, so she had to rely on him to survive.

Not a lot of fresh water was poured into his dry throat, and the child's breathing became much smoother.

Sanji fell asleep completely, and Eina sat beside him and stared at the fire in trance.

The little girl, who was not much older than Sanji, faced the sea alone for the first time and survived alone.

It was not the first time for her to face this vast world alone.

Ena suddenly felt a little grateful to Sanji.

With an endless escape in sight and an uncertain future, at least she wasn't going through it alone.

Only by being able to hear another breathing sound in this lonely night can we ensure that we will not be swallowed up by reality and nothingness.

+ + +

He suddenly began to sob, very, very little, sobbing like a kitten. But in this extremely quiet night, Ena captured it clearly.

She couldn't help but stretched out a hand and gently stroked his soft blond hair, comforting him time and time again.

Sanji felt this soft, dreamlike comfort in his sleep, and for a moment he thought his mother had returned to him.

He stretched out his little hand to hold the corner of her clothes, and in a hoarse voice, he murmured: "Mom..."

Eina's brows twitched, and she wanted to pull her clothes back.

But he closed his eyes and shed tears.

That hand seemed to be holding his whole world and refused to let go.

"Mom...don't leave me..."

He cried so much that he began to pant slightly, and his breath that was hotter than usual hit the back of Eina's hand, leaving her with no reason to harden her heart.

The little girl with silver hair stared at him angrily, her eyes gradually turning red.

How she wished she could say this.

Mom, please don't leave me.

She almost forgot what her mother looked like.

I just remember that she had extremely gentle light brown hair, and her dark green eyes contained the most extreme love in the world.

She inherited her mother's eyes and her father's hair color.

Sanji was still sobbing quietly, and Ena sighed maturely.

She opened her mouth slightly.

A soft song with her only childhood memory floating in the night sky amid the tender and melodious voices of children.

ゆりかごのうたを

canary on tree

カナリヤがうたうよ

Singing that lullaby

ねんねこねんねこねんねこよ

Go to sleep, go to sleep, my good baby

ゆりかごのうえに

Fruits on the loquat tree

びわの実が揺れるよ

Swinging on the cradle

ねんねこねんねこねんねこよ

Go to sleep, go to sleep, my good baby

That was the song my mother sang to Ena on countless sleepless nights.

All her love was poured into her, and only the warmth remained in her memory.

She no longer had a place to act coquettishly and cry.

Because I lost my parents' arms.

And now she gave this tenderness and warmth to Sanji, just because she envied this child from the bottom of her heart.

He has not been armored by life, and has not been defeated by the darkness in this world.

He also has expectations and fantasies about love and hope.

Go to sleep, go to sleep, tomorrow will be better.

------------

Sanji's fever broke the next day.

"Ena...did you hear a song last night?" He asked her, "I seemed to see my mother in my dream, and there was a very nice song."

She glanced at him: "No, I went to bed early."

He said oh and didn't ask any more questions.

It is indeed a dream...

+ + +

Eina didn't tell Sanji that they were running out of food.

She just went to the island to find a lot of fruit and tried to catch a few fish.

Sanji's eyes sparkled: "Ena! Let me cook for you!"

She looked at him funny and acquiesced in his busy schedule.

After the steaming grilled fish and shells were handed to her with a skillful technique, she took a bite and said without changing her face: "It's okay."

Sanji was pleasantly surprised.

She snatched all the things he made: "Since you made it for me, I can only eat it."

"Eh...but, but I..." Sanji looked at her aggrievedly.

She sighed, took out a knife and scraped off the fish scales, cleaned off the excess salt and handed it to him: "Eat it now."

He was not an idiot and immediately understood what she was doing.

He held the grilled fish in despair and ate it in small bites, the tips of his ears turning red from embarrassment.

After finishing the meal, Sanji suddenly smiled.

"Ena is actually very gentle," he said.

"Hey, hey, don't think that I'm your friend after we've been together for a few days." She said coldly, "When we find a place to stay, we'll go our separate ways. You'd better survive, you little brat."

For the first time, Sanji didn't feel afraid of her.

+ + +

For the first time that night, he didn't fall asleep, covering himself with the blanket Eina gave him with his eyes open and thinking in the silence.

Suddenly there was a rustling sound behind him. Sanji turned his head and found that Eina was not asleep yet.

She was cleaning the tools they had used during the day, polishing wood chips by the firelight.

And most importantly, he discovered that the quilt at her feet was made of fabric several times thinner than the one on his body.

He trembled all over, and shame and self-blame attacked him for a moment, and he couldn't help but think about why he didn't notice that she gave him the thick blanket a few days ago.

She clearly planned to escape alone at first.

How could it be logical to have extra survival equipment for two people?

Sanji suffered much more than the real royal family, but even so, he still had servants to bring him meals and take care of his daily life, but the cost was very low.

He has not fully understood what he will be like after leaving that family.

But Ena has been able to do everything by herself since she was a child, and her ability to survive and take care of herself is much higher than him.

But she didn't tell him a word, she just did everything silently.

Unable to lie still any longer, he got up and walked to her.

The little silver-haired girl raised her head and glanced at him: "Why are you up so late at night? I won't wait for you to stay in bed tomorrow."

He knelt down and helped her without saying a word.

Eina did not refuse, and the two children finished the work together.

"What is this for?" he asked, holding up what she had made.

"Self-defense," she said, "It's almost time for us to find an inhabited island, but if kids like us want to survive, it's impossible not to be vigilant."

He lowered his head in silence.

"What about me?" he asked.

"What? You don't know how to use this, so it's useless for you." Eina said, "Of course this kind of thing should be left to professionals."

"Hey, I'm sorry, I forgot that you are Germa's child." She seemed to remember something, "Then you should have some skills."

"That's not what I'm talking about." Sanji said, "Why don't you ask me to help you?"

She opened her mouth and said, "What... don't get the advantage and act like a good boy, I..."

In her mind, she has no habit of asking others to do anything for her.

She has always been alone.

Sanji suddenly curled into her arms like a puppy.

The silver-haired girl's face was red, and she didn't know whether she was shocked or angry.

The little blond boy hugged her tightly, buried his head in her arms and said muffledly: "I'm sorry, Ena."

An 8-year-old boy is not yet very aware of gender, and Sanji has always lacked education in this area.

But Ena was already 11 years old, and a girl's natural shyness made her forcefully break him out.

"Just say it properly! It's not like I can't hear you!" She showed a very vivid expression for the first time and glared at him angrily, "It's nothing to suddenly hug a girl!"

Sanji looked at her stupidly: "I just... really want to hug you."

She didn't have enough energy to hold on and stared at him for a while, but finally lost.

"I've got you." She waved her hand fiercely, "I'll remember to call you next time, okay?"

Sanji brought his blanket: "Let's sleep together Ena."

She suddenly wondered if it would be better to throw him into the sea.

This little kid didn't have much to do in the past two days, so why did she do so many things today that gave her a headache?

"No, you can sleep alone." She said coldly.

"I'm scared, Ena."

"You're scared! Why didn't you say anything a few days ago?"

"There are tigers on the island."

"No! And you slept well yesterday!"

"I heard it, there was a tiger - and I was unconscious yesterday."

After much procrastination, the Kingdom of Jin finally succeeded in invading the Kingdom of Silver.

Two children were wrapped in blankets and watching the stars.

"Who were those people that day?" Now that she had reached this point, Ena stopped being coy and started chatting with him.

Sanji whispered, "My brother and my brother."

She turned to look at him, not knowing what to say.

"Why did Ena escape?" he asked.

She shut her mouth and said nothing.

"My father is very fierce." Sanji began to talk to himself, "He always thinks that I am not strong enough... I am naturally weak and not as powerful as my brothers."

"My mother is a very good person...but she left me very early." Sanji said and wanted to cry again. "Later, my father locked me up and said he would treat me as dead."

"I don't want to be such a powerful person..." he sobbed, "I just want to be a chef. Being able to see people smiling happily because of my food is the best thing in the world."

"Ena, have you heard of allblue?"

"No," she said.

"That's my dream!" Sanji's whole body lit up when he talked about this. "It is said that there are all the fish in the world there! I must find it!"

The silver-haired girl smiled: "Sounds great."

"Where is Ena? What is Ena's ideal?"

A gloomy aura suddenly emitted from her body.

"I want to abolish human auctions through my own efforts." She said words that were inappropriate for her age. "There is too much darkness in the world. I want to find the righteous party and then eradicate the darkness."

Sanji didn't understand a little bit, but he still said encouragingly: "Ena can definitely do it."

Her gloomy aura suddenly dissipated.

"If you have to ask me the reason for running away...it's not a special situation." She said lightly, "My parents passed away early and I didn't like my adoptive father, so I ran away."

"Anyone who came to the ship that day?"

She rubbed his head: "Yes, I'm here to discuss the arms/fire business with your father."

"Then will they still find you..."

This question stumped Ena.

In fact, she knew that if he wanted to find her, it would be impossible for him to find her.

But for some reason, the man stopped moving.

It was like he suddenly gave up on her.

He clearly said that she was his most important weapon, didn't he?

So as expected, since it is a weapon, it is harmless to throw it away, right?

She didn't answer him, but said softly: "Go to sleep."

------------

He and she were later taken in by a sea restaurant.

Ena carefully inspected the people here for several days, but Sanji was quickly accepted by the chefs.

He helped in the kitchen, while Ena refused the arrangement of being an order taker and chose to wash the dishes.

She... doesn't like many people seeing her face.

She knew very well that it was a weapon and even poison.

Every time an adult made fun of Sanji, a cold look would glance over at him. Even an adult would have to be surprised by the aura of the silver-haired girl.

The two of them ate and lived together. After Sanji got off work, he was like a little tail clinging to Eina.

"Little Sanji! Are you able to find yourself a girlfriend at such a young age?" A familiar chef made a joke to them.

Unexpectedly, the little boy was more excited than Ena on this issue.

"Don't talk nonsense!!" Sanji's face turned red, "Ena is not his girlfriend!!"

"Eh? What is that?"

Sanji glanced at Eina guiltily, and the latter slightly raised her eyebrows.

So he mustered up the courage to say in a not too loud voice: "Yes...it's my sister."

People stopped making fun of them after that.

"Sister?" Ena asked with interest, "I remember you have a sister yourself, right?"

Sanji lowered his head: "Reiju is my sister...and so is Ena."

"Because Ena is a very, very important person to me... I want Ena to be by my side all the time."

She stared at him silently.

"No one can stay with someone all the time." She never spoke tactfully, "Sanji, wouldn't even a sister leave you?"

"But if we are family, Ena and I have a bond." Sanji said eagerly, "As long as we have a bond, no matter how far apart we are, we will still be able to meet one day, right?"

She smiled helplessly.

"You really haven't changed at all, idiot Sanji."

He looked at her aggrievedly, and relying on her indulgence in him, he finally asked those words.

"So, can I call you sister...Ena."

The silver-haired girl stood in front of the window against the light, with the last bit of sunset shining behind her, and Sanji couldn't see her expression clearly.

"That might be good too."

She answered him.