Coby, a young Marine recruit, carries a secret he can't tell anyone: he's been in love with Luffy ever since the day Luffy saved him on Buggy's ship. Every day at the Marine base, Coby trains hard and tries not to think about it — but the feeling won't go away.
Things get complicated when a cool, popular senior officer named Arashi transfers to his base. Arashi sees right through Coby and says, 'You're in love with that pirate, aren't you?' Then he adds, 'I'm interested in you.' Suddenly Coby h
Ripples in the Wake — Coby's Secret - Cliff at Rock Bottom — Everything Got Exposed, Saturday
The words Arashi had left behind the night before were still echoing in Koby's head.
Don't think about unnecessary things. You're Navy.
That's right. I know. And yet — Koby had woken up countless times in the middle of the night. Curled up in his futon, he'd remembered the warmth of Nicole's hands wrapped around him, remembered Arashi's low voice, and in the gaps between them, Luffy's laughter would break through — and he'd greeted Saturday morning without sleep.
The day of the joint exercise.
Koby had changed into his uniform early in the morning and hung his sword at his waist. Today's patrol sector was coastal surveillance. He would walk about two kilometers along the coastline of Petralia Island from east to west. If there were no abnormalities, that would be the end of it — originally, a simple mission.
Originally.
The notice about a sighting of the Straw Hat crew was still lingering in the back of his ears.
(There's no way I'd meet him.)
Koby told himself this as he began walking along the stone-paved cliff. The morning eastern sea had strong winds, and each time white waves crashed against the rocks, the smell of salt stung his nose. The horizon was hazy with mist, and he couldn't tell where the sky ended and the sea began.
(There's no way I'd meet him. That person should be somewhere on the Grand Line by now.)
Even as he thought this, he deliberately averted his eyes from the sea as he walked. A coastline of rocky outcrops. Seaweed washed ashore. A single seagull, wings spread wide, flying past.
The moment he turned the corner of the rocks, his feet stopped.
He saw a red ribbon on a straw hat.
A figure sitting on the rocks had stretched out an arm like rubber toward the water's surface. Fishing. Instead of a fishing line, he was stretching his own arm to try to grab fish. How many people in this world fished that way?
Koby couldn't move a single step from where he stood.
Something pounded violently deep in his chest. His feet suddenly felt heavy. He should run. He should turn on his heel right now and continue his patrol by another route. He should pretend he'd seen nothing and write "no abnormalities" in his report.
But his feet wouldn't move.
The figure slowly turned around.
With a grin.
That unchanging, sun-like smile.
"Oh, Koby! You've gotten big!"
No words came out.
Luffy spoke as if they'd met yesterday. Innocent and carefree. Without a shred of hesitation. As if it didn't matter at all that Koby was wearing a Navy uniform, or about Military Regulation Article 17, or about the bounty.
The back of Koby's eyes grew hot.
He hadn't changed. Nothing had changed at all. That way of laughing, that voice, that carefree nature — Luffy was exactly the same. Even while Koby had escaped Alvida's ship, joined the Navy, trained every day, desperately trying to grow stronger, Luffy had stayed exactly as he was.
He felt like crying.
He didn't even understand why he felt like crying.
"You got any meat? There's only fish here, man."
Luffy said that and pulled his stretched arm back in. He sat perched on the rock, looking out at the sea empty-handed. He didn't seem to care at all where his crew was, where his ship was docked — those kinds of details.
A bitter laugh leaked from Koby's mouth.
Meat? In a situation like this? His whole body was tense and rigid, his feet were shaking, his eyes were burning — and this person was talking about meat.
(It really is him.)
He wanted to stand next to Luffy. He just wanted to be here. He wanted to hear this person's laughter a little closer. But there was the uniform. The sword. Military Regulation Article 17. Koby was Navy, and Luffy was a pirate —
He couldn't move a single step.
Time passed on the rocks. Only the sound of waves continued. Koby just stood there, watching Luffy's profile. Luffy stretched his arm out again to try to grab a fish, and it slipped away smoothly. "Argh!" he shouted.
Koby almost laughed again at that carefree nature.
In that moment — he heard footsteps.
From above the cliff. Regular, heavy boot sounds.
It was Arashi.
Arashi, who appeared on the cliff at the timing of the patrol change, froze the moment he saw Koby and Luffy standing side by side. It took just one second.
"...What are you doing?"
He descended the rocks. His voice was low. A voice stripped of emotion, yet each word was sharp as a blade.
"You're in contact with a pirate. That's a violation of military regulations."
Koby couldn't say anything. The trembling started from his fingertips and spread through his entire body.
Luffy tilted his head and looked at Arashi.
"What's with that guy, he's scary."
He was carefree. Completely carefree. But that carefree nature pierced Koby's chest now. Luffy didn't understand. The weight of this situation. What was at stake for Koby.
Arashi continued.
"If I report this, you'll be discharged. You understand that."
He understood. He understood. His head understood everything. And yet Koby couldn't move his head up or down. Arashi turned on his heel. His back headed toward the cliff above.
Koby caught a glimpse of his profile for a moment.
Something was seeping through Arashi's face —
Something faint beneath the expression that should have been composed. It resembled anger, but it was slightly different from anger — it was the face Arashi had worn when he saw the eyes with which Koby was looking at Luffy.
Koby didn't have the space to contemplate what that meant.
Whether to report or not to report. He didn't know which. Arashi's back disappeared from view, and only the sound of waves remained. Koby's Navy status hung suspended from this very moment.
"Koby!"
A voice flew at him from a distance.
He saw Nicole running toward him. Her chestnut-colored short hair bounced. Whether her patrol sector was adjacent or whether she'd sensed something — the moment Nicole's eyes took in the sight of Koby and Luffy standing side by side on the rocks, her pace slowed just slightly.
And Nicole's gaze turned toward Koby's face.
The eyes with which Koby was looking at Luffy — Nicole read them in an instant.
That was all it took. She understood. Without a word. Why Koby was standing here in his uniform, why his feet hadn't moved a single step, why his eyes were wet — all of it.
Nicole's expression clouded for the first time.
Nicole, who was always smiling. Nicole, who always responded cheerfully with "Really?" and "Seriously?" — her face slowly darkened.
Nicole walked to Koby's side.
"...Koby, you like that person?"
Her voice was quiet. Quiet in a way that wasn't like Nicole at all.
Koby couldn't answer.
His head wouldn't move up or down. No words came out. If he gave this feeling a name, everything would end. If he put it into words, something would break.
Tears welled up in Nicole's eyes.
In that moment.
"Well, see ya, Koby! Get stronger!"
He must have heard his crew's voices from the direction of the sea. Luffy waved his arms around and leaped lightly from the rocks, running across the water toward them. It happened in an instant. He didn't look back. Luffy never looks back. He never does. He only looks forward and runs.
The straw hat disappeared beyond the waves.
Nicole turned away. Her shoulders trembled slightly. She walked away from the cliff at a quick pace. He couldn't find words to call her back. There was no way he could have.
Koby was left alone on the rocks.
Arashi had his military regulation violation in hand. If he reported it, Koby would be discharged. Two years of everything would end. Nicole had seen straight through to his heart. Luffy had disappeared beyond the sea, knowing nothing.
He couldn't choose anyone.
He couldn't answer anyone's feelings.
He couldn't do anything again — that phrase repeated in his head. Back on Alvida's ship, yelled at every day, unable to speak — nothing had changed from those days. He'd tried to grow stronger. He'd tried to become a Navy officer. But when it mattered, Koby couldn't do anything.
He crouched down on the rocks.
The sea wind was strong. The sound of waves was loud. So probably, no one would hear this voice.
Koby cried out loud.
It was the first time. He'd never cried like this before. His sobs wouldn't stop. It was an ugly sound. His glasses slipped. Tears fell pitter-patter onto the rocks. Still, they wouldn't stop.
He didn't know how long he cried.
When he finally cried himself out and looked up blankly, the sea spread before him.
The evening light had dyed the water's surface orange. The sky in the direction where Luffy had disappeared was slowly tinged red. It's beautiful, Koby thought blankly. Even in a situation like this, he thought it was beautiful. He found himself a little strange for thinking that.
In that moment, the voice of Motta, the cook from the cafeteria, suddenly surfaced from his memory.
"You can't solve your worries on an empty stomach."
It was a hearty voice. The kind of thing the cafeteria uncle always said from behind the counter, pushing a plate of stew at Koby. It didn't mean much. Just the habit of a cafeteria uncle.
But now, that voice caught in his chest like a single thread.
Run away or face it. The answer wasn't there yet. Whether Arashi would submit his report or not, he didn't know. How to face Nicole, he didn't know. What to do about his feelings for Luffy, he had no idea at all.
But.
Koby clenched his fist. With trembling hands, he placed them on the rocks and pushed himself up. His feet still trembled slightly. He adjusted his glasses.
Still, he stood up.
He began walking toward the base along the cliff. One step at a time, through the orange light. With the sea wind at his back.
His Navy status suspended in midair — Koby walked.
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