To the end of the sea [One Piece]

??

Ikegawa Ena has been dreaming for a long time.

She woke up repeatedly from one dream after another, and then couldn't stop falling into the next dream. Even in her dreams, she felt exhausted.

But it doesn't matter.

Even if it means exhausting your life, please let me die in your dream. She thought so.

The real world has realities that she cannot accept, and in order to protect her from destroying her spirit and body when she wakes up, her subconscious spontaneously chooses to escape for her.

Death and rushing to death - this is something she has faced before, and it stands to reason that she should be used to it.

But she couldn't accept the same two deaths happening in front of her.

Young people who are as passionate as fire, heroic and cruel battlefields, and helpless people who stand by and watch.

It was like a nightmare like a ghost hitting a wall, played before my eyes countless times, and eventually became a nightmare that could not be dispelled in the spiritual world.

She floated in nothingness for an unknown amount of time, and finally felt the temperature from the outside world.

A rough but warm hand wrapped tightly around hers, and his hot breath seemed to be lingering in her ears.

"Please...Ena." A low and hoarse male voice sighed.

Who is it...?

"Wake up."

Why should I wake up...I have no reason anymore.

"Please...I'm worried about you."

worry about me?

"We are all worried about you... If Luffy and the others find out, they will come running desperately. So, please don't let them worry... wake up."

My...companions...

The low and hoarse male voice seemed to have given up on persuading him, and did not make any sound for a long time. When Ena's consciousness gradually became empty again, the possibility of appearing in reality was almost zero, and a faint and trembling male voice reached her ears.

"please…"

After all, the other party didn't finish what he said, which was too abnormal, but Eina didn't know why, but she understood his unfinished emotions.

The broken heart woke up from the long period of numbness, feeling soft and sore as if it were reborn.

She finally came to life and received a call from the real world.

Come back, come back.

Even if you don’t want to face it…

In addition to the cruel and painful reality of that world, there was also a group of idiots waiting for her.

She thought of the Wanli Sunshine, her silly captain, and every dream with a bright smile.

She still remembered that the last time she faced parting from the world, she had almost no worries. But this time is different. She has ties to the world, unfinished responsibilities, and unfulfilled beliefs.

So, come back.

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

Shanks didn't know how he felt when Korda told him that Ikegawa Eina would probably gradually decline and die because her subconscious resisted awakening.

Everyone in the red-haired pirate group remembers this girl.

Eight years ago, she was only 13 years old, and she was only 15 years old when she left. Time passed in a hurry, and no one expected that she would be in such a state when we met again.

Although it was only two years, each of them almost regarded her as a daughter or sister, even though the little girl was so hostile to them at first.

Even Beckman, who always said there was no need to be so concerned about children who would become enemies sooner or later, still secretly indulged her.

They didn't expect that when they reunited eight years later, she would fall into an endless coma. The girl who was even more stunningly beautiful than when she was a teenager had lost the vitality in her memory; they didn't expect that she would become an identity that was contrary to the ideals at that time - a pirate. .

An existence she once hated.

They don't know what she's been through, but they just know that she doesn't want to wake up and may never wake up.

The Straw Hat Pirates were scattered all over the place, and the captain himself was temporarily unable to move normally due to the death of his brother, so no one asked anything after Shanks brought her back from Marco.

When she first came to the ship, her body was in a state of complete collapse. Korda used all his medical skills to save her. The overloaded body and the use of that terrifying move were completely beyond the limit of what she could bear.

Korda said it was a miracle she was alive.

But even if this is the case, what is even more serious is her mental state.

They watched the captain go from worried to depressed, until today Korda's expression was more solemn than ever before, and the captain's emotions finally showed cracks.

Everyone's hearts were raised at the same time.

Why on earth can such a strong girl prefer to sleep forever rather than wake up?

By this time they had realized the seriousness of the situation. This was not a consequence of Fire Fist's death. There was a deeper pain behind her unwillingness to wake up.

+ + +

Ikegawa Ena slowly opened her eyes with great effort. She felt as if this movement alone exhausted her meager physical strength. Fortunately, there was no dazzling light in her eyes, which made it much easier for her eyes to adapt to the light that had not been seen for a long time.

It was night, and only the candlelight on the bedside flickered in my eyes.

The muscles all over his body were so sore that it made people nervous. There were bandages all over his body, but most of the wounds seemed to have healed.

She was so dizzy that she subconsciously opened her mouth first, but found that no sound came out. She started to move from the extreme end of her body, and when she exerted force with the fingers of her left hand, she found that something was hindering her.

Before she could react to her situation from her slow body, the person who was hindering the movement of her left hand had already sensed it through her extremely keen sense of sight.

The red-haired man woke up immediately even though he had just fallen asleep. As soon as he raised his head, he met a pair of dark green eyes.

He didn't react for a while, not because he was still asleep and not awake, but because he didn't expect that the eyes he had been looking forward to for a long time would open like this.

He was stunned for a while, and Eina finally regained her thinking ability, and her brain, which had been stagnant for a long time, began to function. She opened her mouth again, and this time she said a very classic line:

"water."

Shanks subconsciously let go of the hand holding her left hand, picked up the kettle on the bedside and poured water for her. After passing it over, I realized that she couldn't drink it like this, so I almost hurriedly helped her up and let her lean on the head of the bed.

Although the one-armed man's movements were very careful, they were still a little clumsy. Eina sat up slowly and cooperated, getting the signal from the moving muscles that they were sore.

She slowly drank a whole glass of water with his hand, and the two of them drank another glass in perfect agreement. She finally felt that her dry throat was coming back to life, and she watched the man put the water glass back on the bedside table.

He stared at her intently, and for a moment he didn't know what to say to break the silence.

Instead, she spoke softly: "Long time no see, Shanks."

"You finally woke up." The man's nerves that had been tense for many days were finally relieved and he looked at her with a sigh of relief. The joy of reunion has long been washed away by the long worry. At this time, there is nothing to say except for being happy.

"How long have I slept?"

"One month."

Eina was surprised for a few seconds: "So long..."

"So we are all worried." Shanks looked at her helplessly, "It's hard to see you again, but you are in a coma. Those guys have been dying of anxiety these days."

Eina tilted her head: "You mean...Uncle Beckman?"

Shanks held his forehead: "You are still the same... He, Jesus Bu, Lucky, everyone is waiting for you to wake up."

Eina guessed that she was on the Redvers. So the most important question is: "Where is Luffy? Where is everyone in the Straw Hat Pirates?"

Shanks paused. "Luffy is fine now. He should be at Rayleigh and Jinbei's place. They were beaten away by a bear before, and there is no news yet."

Eina lowered her head and said nothing.

A whole month is enough time to miss a lot.

"That guy... I wasn't by his side at this time..." she said in a low voice, "It's too bad."

Shanks frowned very keenly. The emotion of self-blame hung heavily on her shoulders, like ink that couldn't be melted away, and she took all the responsibility on herself.

"That's not your fault." He tentatively reached out his hand to comfort her.

"No... everything is my fault." She raised her head, her eyes filled with despair and sadness that Shanks couldn't understand, "I could have stopped it... This time, I could have... I could have stopped it."

His hand suddenly stopped in the air.

Shanks suddenly felt that the unconscious Ena seemed more reassuring than the distracted and desperate Ena in front of him.

"I haven't changed anything... nothing." Her voice trembled so much that it seemed like she couldn't hear it.

Shanks had no way of understanding what she meant by saying she could have stopped it. It seemed that there was something more painful that she could not reconcile with than not stopping Akainu in time.

"No one could have thought of all this...Ena. No one could stop that person in time." He persuaded her gently, "And...it was his own choice..."

"You don't understand, Shanks." She sneered. There was a cry in the laughter, which was suppressed weakness and anger directed at herself. "No one could understand...but I could have."

The ending could have been changed before everything happened, the pain from the past life could have been avoided, and everything could have been prevented from happening.

You have obviously been reborn, why are the things you lost still lost?

It would be nice if she didn't lose her memory, it would be nice if she could regain her memory soon.

If it hadn't been for everything in her previous life, she might not have collapsed to this point. But she let it go without knowing it, just like she killed Ace with her own hands.

Moreover, if rebirth cannot change the outcome that has already happened, then what is the new life she thinks she has? Everything will happen again, just from a different route to the same result.

Perhaps it is fate that the butterfly cannot turn the huge gear after all.

What's more, compared to the first love in her previous life, this time she was invested in more passionate emotions without knowing it.

The boy who fell in love at the most beautiful age, the young man who was as passionate as fire, died twice in exactly the same way under her gaze.

He can't come back.

The boy with the evil smile, the boy who made her heart flutter for the first time.

He stayed on that battlefield forever.

She had just announced their relationship in front of the world when she lost him.

She obviously knew everything.

These are things that no one can understand. They are so heavy that they cannot be lifted up. The loneliness that no one can describe swallows her up, so she doesn't know why she wants to come back.

Returning to this world would only allow her to recall that scene endlessly and torture her own spirit.

It can only be said that she still has unfinished obsessions, so she can't die yet, that's all.

+ + +

Her thoughts were interrupted by a heated hug.

The man's muscular arms under the thin cloth wrapped around her back, pulling the girl who was trapped in a blind spot into his arms, his big hand firmly caressing the back of her head, and placing his stubbled chin on the top of her beautiful silver hair.

Eina was stunned for a moment.

Shanks used to hug her like this when she was a little girl, but as she grew older, there was no such physical contact anymore until she left him. Now eight years later, the warm body temperature in her memory was so hot that it made her dizzy.

Shanks didn't think much about it. His intuition told him that if no one came to help the girl in front of him, she might become an unimaginable terrible state and never come out.

So he literally told her what he said next.

"I don't know what happened to you, Ena." From an angle that she couldn't see, Shanks' eyes held the determination and solemnity that belonged to the Four Emperors, "But think about your companions, think about you. An unfulfilled dream. You are not alone..."

He sighed.

"I have also lost countless important people. But no matter how much I lose, I still have to walk the path of those who remain. Not only for the people who left, but also for myself."

"The most important thing is that only by living better day by day can you have a chance to find the answer."

"Think about it carefully, what is the reason that supports you to get to where you are today?"

"Finally, this is what I want to say to you." Shanks gently let go of her and used his only hand to gently wipe away Eina's tears. "If you need to talk, just talk to me. No matter what. How long does it take to get out of the dark night, I will be by your side. Even if it is difficult, it doesn't matter, there is still a long time in life, you can allow yourself to take your time."

"Shanks..." The girl's face was stained with tears, but it did not affect her beauty at all. "I did something irreversible...I don't know how to forgive myself."

The man's somewhat rough and handsome face showed a gentle smile: "It's okay, I have already forgiven you."

Eina forgot to cry for a moment. She looked at the man's face blankly, unable to find words to describe her feelings at this time.

Why...can you say such things so easily...

Obviously there is no one in this world who can understand and listen to herself, but at this moment she seems to have found a place to rely on.

She will always be safe with this man.

It was like this eight years ago, it will be like this eight years later, and it has always been like this.

All pain and heaviness can be healed, even if it takes a long time, but she is not facing it alone.

The heart that collapsed in the darkness was pieced together with scars, and for a moment it seemed as if it had been soaked in warm water, and a weak flower bloomed on the unknown fragments.

She stretched out her arms and threw herself into Shanks' warm arms, and he caught her firmly.

The emotions that had been suppressed for a long time finally burst out together with tears.