Navigational Woes - (III)

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"Shit."

That was the only word going through Kerri's mind at the moment as he attempted to speed away from his pursuers, cutting through the water like a knife through butter. He had only popped his head up out of the water for a few seconds, but it had been enough for them to spot him. The wrong place at the wrong time he supposed, but before he had realised what was happening, the boat had loomed up behind him. It was his mistake to breach the surface of the ocean and now he was paying for it.

A net was dropped into the water, the merman nimbly dodging it with his superior underwater agility. Unfortunately, he dodged straight into the shot of a speargun, the pointed weapon piercing Kerri just below his shoulder.

Above the water, the culprits of the attack were gathered on the one side of their ship, staring down into the water as the red filtered through it's depths. One man, who's rather opulent looking hat did nothing to hide his lack of hygiene, slapped the man carrying the base of the speargun.
"You're not supposed to damage the merchandise, goddamn it!" He yelled, spittle flying from his mouth.

The second man shrunk backwards at these words, clinging to the speargun as if it were a lifeline. He was incredibly relieved when his captain turned around to motion to crew members further up the deck.
"Drop the seastone one!"

Back in the water, Kerri was attempting to pull the spear from his body. Before he could register it's descent through the water, the seastone net was upon him, tangling the young merman within it's mesh-like walls.



A short distance of the ocean away, a small ship was sailing through the cold morning breezes. Although the ship didn't have much of a crow's nest, one individual was hanging off the mast. For most, it would be a mystery how she got up there, but for those who were used to her personality - those who traveled on her ship - it would be a normal occurrence.

Holding on to the mast with one arm and balancing herself with her feet, Shiori shielded her eyes with her remaining arm, squinting at something in the distance. It looked like there was another ship over there. Perhaps it belonged to pirates? She could quite tell as it seemed that the sails had been taken down temporarily.

Hayes smiled, thankful that Kerri had listened to him and his captain. He nodded at Shiori as he began to pick up the merman and help carry him to a bed. He set him down gently, and went to the kitchen, where he had left the map in a drawer.

Bringing it back, he set it next to Kerri, already open for him. He pointed at one of the islands, which was most likely closer than Fairwell at this point. "I believe it's Fen. I've heard many good things about the doctors from a certain town on that island. I'll go tell the helmsman what to do after you tell me."

Kerri reached a hand out to the map, running a finger from the island that Hayes pointed out, to a position somewhere in the ocean. He remained silent for a brief moment, contemplating in his mind. The island was pretty close to Fairwell, so it wouldn't be going too much out of their way to see a doctor from there rather than one from Fairwell itself.

"Alright..." he spoke softly, "You're only about a day's travel away from Fen. Just turn the ship a further 5 degrees starboard and you should hit Fen dead on instead of sailing past it." Kerri lifted his finger from the map and curled his arm back around himself.
"I-is it okay if I sleep here?" he asked, eyes flicking from the bed to Hayes and then Shiori, "You can wake me up if you want to check that we're still on course."

Shiori smiled and nodded, "Of course you can. You can sleep and stay here as long as you want to."

Kerri nodded, a small smile gracing his own features, "...Thanks."

Hayes nodded at Kerri, taking in the knowledge he bestowed upon him. After agreeing with the merman about the bed, he walked out to the deck, looking at the helmsman.

"Turn another five degrees starboard!" The chef called out, watching as the man did as he was told. "We're on route to Fen to find a doctor for Kerrigan!"

That night, Hayes made a special brew just for Kerri to help him feel any better. The soup was made with hearty foods, and the fish he added to it was known for soothing fevers. He brought it to the merman, asking him to try it and see how he feels.

"The results won't be immediate, assuming that this works with your biology. I tried specifically a fish based soup, thinking that it might work better for your body than land meat." He put a spoon in the bowl and sat back and waited for him to eat it. He didn't want to eat anything before knowing that what he has served is doing anything.

Shiori smiled, watching Hayes leave before she gathered up a spare blanket and pillow, placing them next to Kerri's bed, "I'll leave you to sleep, but if you want to use these extra blankets, feel free," she grinned before laving the merman to sleep.


Kerri's ear fins twitched and his eyes flitted open as the door to the cabins opened. It had opened an hour or so previous so that a couple of the other crew members could get some sleep but Kerri had ignored it. This time though, his curiosity was piqued as something smelled pretty good upon the door opening. Looking towards the door, he saw Hayes come in.

Sitting up slowly, Kerri took the bowl of soup and cautiously sniffed at it. Even close up, it smelled nothing but tasty. He didn't think there was anything dangerous in it and so he picked up the spoon and with a brief glance to Hayes to judge his expression, took a tentative bite.

"It's good," he commented, taking another small bite. He was grateful that it was made with fish, something that he was used to eating, rather than him having to try something he'd never eaten before. After a third bite, the merman paused so that he may speak without his mouth being full.

"Uhm... thanks," he began, scratching his head a little in almost embarassment before he continued quietly, "I'm sorry to cause you all so much trouble like this."

Hayes smiled as he watched the merman eat the soup, He was glad that he enjoyed it. As he stood to get up, and before he could wish him to get well, he was interrupted by Kerri.

"Oh, it's quite alright!" The chef grinned, sitting back down to continue speaking comfortably. Crossing one leg over the other and resting his arms on the sides of the bed, he looked towards Kerri. "It's no trouble at all. I love to cook, so any time I can, I do."

He continued talking with him for a short while, enjoying the pleasant conversation. After a while, he stood up and told Kerrigan he hoped he'd get well and have a nice rest. Taking a plate of food for himself after everyone else had already finished eating, he sat alone, eating his own meal, smoked salmon, his cheesecake waiting for him afterwards.

Kerri slowly ate his soup whilst he spoke with Hayes, letting the cook talk about his recipes whilst he asked about certain details to do with them. He could tell that Hayes enjoyed talking about his craft. After he finished his soup and Hayes had left, Kerri curled up in the bed and went back to sleep, hoping that they wouldn't need to wake him to check on their course until he'd gotten a few more hours rest.

Although Shiori had finished her main meal by the time Hayes returned, she had waited to eat her cheesecake so that he would not be alone whilst he ate. She asked how Kerrigan was doing and was glad that Hayes seemed to be feeling a little better about the incident where the merman had first denied their help. When Shiori finished her cheesecake, she washed up her own plates, the rest of the crew having already done theirs previously, and headed off to keep watch for a few hours.

Hayes was glad to have the company was he finished his meal, and grabbed two slices of cheesecake for his captain and himself. He told Shiori that Kerri was doing better, and he liked his soup. He hoped that it helped with his infection, too, but he didn't know enough about medicine to tell for sure.

He cleaned up his dishes and went to sleep a few minutes later, plans to shop around a bit while the merman was in the hospital formulating in his head. His sleep was restful, and he awoke the next morning to just barely see the island of Fen in the distance. It wouldn't be too long now, roughly an hour. He definitely had time to make use of more ingredients before he bought fresh ones.

It was only shortly after breakfast was finished and Hayes washed the dishes that they arrived on the island of Fen. After asking some men at the harbor, he was able to get directions to the town the doctors were at, Raife. He woke up Kerrigan to tell him they arrived, and asked if he'd like to be carried to the hospital, since it was a bit inland from where they were.

Shiori spent the morning up until breakfast fishing over the side of the deck. They might not need the fish so much now that they were close to an island where they could buy food but everything helped when you didn't really have enough money to begin with.

She'd caught a few fish and appropriately stored them, they were pretty average, nothing too special, but Shiori had thrown the fish on the smaller side back since they wouldn't be that great to eat anyways.

When the crew went to wake Kerri, Shiori leaned on the doorway to give some space whilst also being privy to the conversation at hand.

"Ugh, carrying is in inconvenience for everyone. Just put me in a box or something and drag me along with you," he replied, rolling around in the little bed. During the night it seemed he had made himself almost a mini nest with the blankets and pillows. Looking on at the sight, Shiori decided that it looked rather comfy and chuckled slightly, bringing Kerri's attention towards her at the sound.

"Oh, don't mind me. I don't think we have a box that we can drag though. I can give you a piggyback if you want though rather than carrying you like you're probably imagining,"

Kerri blinked at Shiori, "Piggyback?"

The tawny haired captain smiled, "I can show you, as long as you'll trust me enough to pick you up." She seemed confident enough, despite how heavy Kerri assumed he'd be to the girl. Then again, he'd seen her fighting almost an entire crew back on the other pirate ship, perhaps he was merely underestimating her.

"...Alright then. Show me."

Shiori stood up from the doorframe and walked over to Kerri's bed. She stood in front of him, before turning around and crouching slightly so that she was at a better height next to the bed.
"Alright, now you put your arms over my shoulders and your tail under one of my arms," she explained, gesturing with her arms that were held out behind her as she spoke.

Tentatively, Kerri reached forwards, "Alright... if you say so..." The merman curled his arms around Shiori's neck and then attempted to lift himself so that he might tuck his tail underneath one of Shiori's arms. The duo managed it, but only after a few second of scrambling as Kerri accidentally choked Shiori a little.
"Agh! A little looser on the arms!" she cried out, straining her voice a little.

Kerri blinked, and then realising just what he was doing, loosened his accidental choke hold. "Whoops, sorry... I didn't mean to grab on so tight, I just thought I was gonna fall off..."

The tawny haired captain stood up to her full height, Kerri now on her back. She walked towards the door and then back again before she asked Kerri if he were comfortable. The merman nodded, "Yea.. I think it's okay. I feel less like im gonna fall off now I guess."

Shiori chuckled and then carried him out of the bunk room and into the fresh air.

"So why is it called a piggyback?" Kerri asked with a curious tilt of his head. Shiori paused for a moment and glanced up at the sky as if in thought.
"Hmm... you know I actually have no idea!" she grinned, "Maybe it's because people used to carry pigs on their back like this somehow? I assume that must be why it's named that, right?"

Kerri shrugged a little, "Maybe. Who knows."

Hayes chuckled a little bit at the sight of the merman on the back of his captain. It was an amusing sight to behold, and he couldn't help himself. He soon got over it and followed them outside to the deck.

"I heard somewhere it had nothing to do with pigs. I don't know the exact details,
but I think it used to be called something similar, possibly pick backing. Eventually, the term was corrupted throughout the years, and it has settled on piggybacking." The chef said thoughtfully, almost losing his step as he walked onto the docks. "I have no idea where it actually comes from, though. The person who told me that could be wrong, after all."

Hayes looked at the piece of paper he had scribbled the directions down on and began heading east, down a path that lead into the island. He could smell many different ingredients and foods, spices, herbs, fish, meats, as he walked through the humble port town. It wasn't as extensive as Yulippe, but he could certainly do his fair share of shopping here later. But his first priority was getting to Raife and the hospital found there.


Meanwhile, a few Marine soldiers who had stopped at the island for a short rest had noticed the people walking off of a small sailing ship. They couldn't tell who they were or what business they had, but what they found interesting about them was they had a merman with them.

They went back to the ship and spoke with their highest ranking officer, Captain Cambridge. They told him about the merman they had seen with some people on a ship, and told him their ideas to take him and sell him to Celestial Dragon. They reasoned they could make some good money, and also be promoted for helping such a prestigious person.

Cambridge nodded, liking the idea of finding himself in an even greater position of power. "Not yet. We will wait for the perfect opportunity. We will follow them. I will send you three off with Lieutenant Wilson, and I will meet with you shortly. If you happen to take them down and capture the merman before I arrive, then simply bring him back here. When you find where they are going, report to me using your Den Den Mushi. Now, off with you!"

The three men left the room, going to find their Lieutenant to tell him about the mission. After reporting to Wilson, they set off, following the people with the merman quietly.


In Raife, a certain doctor was stitching up a patient's arm, a large piece of a glass bottle on a tray next to him, stained with blood. After closing the wound, he gave the man a bottle of medicine, hoping that people would stop getting into bar fights.

"This medicine will help with any infections that may be left inside your body, and will also help ease your pain." Daisuke said, allowing the man to grab the pain killers. "You may experience headaches and exhaustion, as well as reduced appetite. The headaches will be very short, and only a mild annoyance, while the other two side effects could be distracting. Have a nice day, and I hope you feel better soon."

After the man thanks the doctor and left, Daisuke sat on his chair, watching his potted plant. Bored, he began to mess with the flower, making it dance round a bit and grow and shrink as he pleased. He usually did this while he waited for any patients or work he needed to do.

The trio disembarked the boat, leaving the rest of the crewmates to decide between themselves who wanted to stay behind to watch the ship and who wanted to explore by the docks. Shiori continued carrying Kerri as they went, both she and the merman looking around as they walked through the port town.

Kerri looked equally curious an awed at the place. It was like markets back home, but the smells were so different. Were they always different in different places? Perhaps it reflected the local produce. There were of course things he'd never seen before such as small trinkets that were being sold on some of the stalls they walked past.

Shiori chuckled lightly at the merman's reactions. She could see him looking around from the corner of her eye. He seemed so innocent, just looking around and finding everything so new and fresh. Shiori had been in her fair share of towns but she could definitely understand the merman's reaction to seeing this all for the first time.


After awhile of travelling, they finally seemed to reach the next town. By this point, Kerri was beginning to feel a little guilty that Shiori had carried him all this way, but he didn't voice these thoughts out loud as the tawny haired captain herself didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest. She was definitely stronger than she looked to be able to carry him for this length of time without looking fatigued in any way. Or maybe she was just hiding it well.

Nevertheless, he could see that they were getting into another town based on the increased concentration of buildings. Perhaps this was the town that they were looking for?

As Hayes led the way into the town, he looked around at the growing number of buildings. It was a stark contrast to his home island. Not only were there multiple towns here, but the one they were in currently seemed more residential than Yulippe. He assumed the people who lived here were of a higher class than the shop owners and other artisans, or had jobs that they couldn't do in their own homes.

After asking a kind woman about the town, which she confirmed to be Raife, the chef got directions to the hospital from her. He made a mental note of it, including the brief description of the building.

"A large white building, with many windows and a green rose painted above the entrance." He said to himself, following the path he was told to go down. He looked back at Shiori and Kerri, making sure they were keeping up with him.


The four Marines that had been following the trio waited, listening for anything that could be useful to them. After hearing the conversation between the young man and the woman, Wilson sent one of the soldiers off to tell the Captain where they were headed, so he would know for when they would capture the merman.

The Captain listened intently, nodding at his subordinate. He rose out of his chair, and began walking off the ship. Without a word, he and the Marine walked back towards Raife, where their ticket to greatness was waiting.

Shiori kept pace with Hayes as they walked through the village. A couple of people looked a little shocked as they walked past and saw Kerri's tail, but they seemed to be polite enough not to ask and promptly moved on with their own business. Shiori supposed that it wasn't unusual considering the fact that people outside the Grand Line had likely never seen a merman before.

The tawny haired captain attempted to glance back at Kerri and noticed that he'd fallen asleep on her back. Now that she focused on it, she could feel the even rhythm of his breathing on her neck. Either the new environment had tired him out, or he was getting worse. After all, he'd already slept for hours today.

A small worried frown on her face, Shiori nodded for Hayes to lead the way. The quicker they got to this doctor's place the better at this point. She could feel how warm Kerri was on her back and worried that the light fever he had started with had begun to get worse.
"We need to hurry," she commented, attempting to up her pace into more of a speed walk, but not quite a jog so that she didn't jostle Kerri's injury.

"I think we're almost there!" Hayes spoke up to his captain, his finger pointed at a large building hidden behind smaller buildings. He could just make out the color of green peeking above the roof of one home. "Let's go!"

The young man rushed by people mulling about their business, making his way towards what he believed was the hospital. Taking long strides, he eventually made it to the entrance of the large building, the green rose painted right above the doors.

He opened the doors, looking for someone to talk to. Spying a desk with a man sat behind it, the chef figured that he could help him. Walking up to the older man, his age seemed to be around 40 years, he began to relay the information about Kerri and his state of being.

"You see, our friend was impaled with a spear in the shoulder, and we need a doctor to fix him up. Is there anyone that can be trusted to do this safely with a merman's body?" Hayes asked the man, whose name tag had Damian written on it.

"Well, we have many skilled doctors, but our best one would be Daisuke. He's been working here for only few years, but he's grown into our star, so to speak." Damian spoke up, looking from to young man before him to the merman on a girl's back. The merman certainly didn't look healthy in any way at the moment. "I don't know how much he knows on merman biology, if anything at all, but he'd be your best bet. If anything, he'd be the best choice to first understand his biology."

Shiori nodded and followed where Hayes was pointing with her eyes. She spotted the green colour that they were looking for and quickly rushed after the cook. They were so close to their destination! She just hoped that Kerri's fever wasn't too serious. Hayes's food seemed to have helped for a little while at least.

Entering the building, Shiori let Hayes do the talking to start with before loosening her grip on the merman enough to raise one arm to his face. Parting the blonde hairs of his fringe, Shiori gently pressed the back of her hand to his forehead. Kerri's temperature was way higher than she had first thought and she could feel the little tremors of him shivering, despite how warm he was. Returning her arm to help hold Kerri onto her back, she took a step towards the receptionist.

"Can we see him now then?" she replied urgently, "Kerri's getting worse and we don't have anywhere else to go. Please!"

"Well, I believe he just finished up with a patient, and he has no more for today, so I can take you to him." Damian said with a grave stare at the merman. Standing up from the desk, he walked around, looking at the trio before him. Making a gesture to follow him, he went off down a hallway, taking lefts and rights someone would only know how to take that quickly with years of practice.

Hayes followed the man, worried about Kerri. It wouldn't have really mattered if the merman had listen to him beforehand, they would've arrived at the same time. Well, maybe they could have helped with keeping the infection from worsening, but it was too late to dwell on that now.

"Here we are." The man said as stopped in front of a door with a green nameplate under the clouded window. It read the doctor's name, Daisuke, in bold letters. After knocking on the door, Damian waited while noises of shuffling could be heard from beyond it.

After a moment, the door opened up, and out walked a man in his early 20s, short, platinum blond hair covering the top of his head. He wore a grey t-shirt with a green rose symbol on the front, and green shorts. He didn't look much like the part of a doctor, but he was here, after all.

"Is there someone else to see me Damian? I thought I was done for the day." The man, presumably Daisuke, sounded almost bored, but it was hard to tell exactly why he would be bored. He looked at the three people he had never seen before. There was a young man, a young woman, and a merman on the back of the girl. After just a glance, he could immediately tell that the merman was in trouble. "Oh shit! Get him inside! What happened to him?"

"Uh, he got stabbed in the shoulder with a spear a few days ago. We believe he's been infected." Hayes spoke up, walking in the room with Shiori and Kerri. He looked back at Damian, who was already on his way back to the front desk. He guessed he needed to get back to his job, so he just took a seat.

"A few days ago? Why didn't you come sooner?" Daisuke asked, putting on latex gloves. He picked up the unconscious merman and set him down on a bed. Carefully examining the wound, he began to rummage through some drawers, looking for something in particular.

"We were at sea when we rescued him from pirates who wanted to sell him. We were a few days away from here, and this was the closest place we could go to." The chef didn't necessarily know if that last part was true, but he didn't care right now. Kerri needed help, and this was the first place he could think of.

"Well, you did the best you could, then. At least he's still alive. I can still treat him, but it will take a couple of days before he's ready to leave the hospital." The doctor said, taking out a bottle of medicine. Setting it down for later use, he grabbed a bottle with some sort of antiseptic cleansing agent. After grabbing a small white washcloth, he dampened it with the liquid. He began to dab at the wound lightly, letting the cleansing agent wash out dirt and grime and bacteria from the surface. After a minute of this, he poured a couple milliliters of the stuff directly onto the wound, causing a lot of pus to escape.

Wiping it away, he set the bottle back down and grabbed the medicine. Taking a syringe, he extracted some of the drug, ready to inject it into the merman. After looking for a vein nearby the infection, he pricked the skin, plunging the needle into the merman's vein. He wasn't entirely sure that the medicine would work the same on a merman, but he assumed that his body was similar enough to react positively to the drug.

"I've never treated a merman before, but I have read things on merpeople and fishmen. Nothing on their biology specifically, but I do know some things about them." Daisuke said, taking the needle out. After cleaning out the infection once more for good measure, he sat down in his chair and looked at Hayes and Shiori. "So, while we wait for your friend to wake up, how about we talk more about what happened."