Sunday morning, the dining hall was quieter than usual. A day off once a week. Without the sound of training from Ground Zero, the ocean's voice reached all the way into Camarelia. The sound of waves, the distant cry of seagulls, the clang of pots from Motta in the kitchen. Koby listened to these sounds while placing grilled fish over white rice, gazing absently toward the sea. So much had happened this past week. He'd been honest with Arashi. He'd bowed his head to Nicole. Neither of them had been angry. They'd accepted him with tearful smiles. That warmth still lingered somewhere in his chest. But——. His chopsticks stopped. (I haven't said anything to Luffy.) He'd just stood there on those rocks. He'd silently watched Luffy's back as he waved and disappeared, saying "See ya, Koby." He couldn't call out. Couldn't stop him. Couldn't do anything. That fact burned quietly in his chest. Like an ember that wouldn't die. Then it happened. A warmth bloomed deep in his chest. Koby set down his chopsticks without thinking. ——He knew this sensation. It was the night he'd first enlisted. From the distant sea, a warmth of unknown origin had reached him. The sense that someone was there. Strong, vast, but not rough——it was the same as that presence. Haki. Koby still couldn't use the word skillfully. But he remembered the old navy veterans saying "Observation Haki lets you sense the presence of people with strong emotions." Arashi had said Koby had some aptitude for reading presences. Which meant what he was sensing now——. "[serious] The Straw Hat crew is passing through the East Blue again. Moving north along the Petralia coast." The voice of an apprentice soldier reading the report echoed from the dining hall entrance. The soldiers around him stirred. Koby had stood up from his chair without realizing it. Luffy was nearby. That alone, he understood. 　 The hallway of the Treno building was quiet. On his day off, Koby quietly opened the door to room B-12 and stepped outside. He didn't tell anyone. If he did, they'd stop him. If they stopped him, he'd never be able to speak again. He passed through the gate and hurried down Passeo Street. The stone-paved shopping district held the peaceful air of late morning, and Miriam at the fruit stand was arranging apples on her shelf. She called out to him, but Koby bowed apologetically and said, "Sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry," as he passed. South. Straight south. Forty minutes on foot to Cape Current. As he walked, his mind searched endlessly for words. What should he say? How should he start? He knew what he wanted to convey, but when he tried to put it into words, it crumbled like mist. He thought of himself back on Alvida's ship, when he couldn't speak to anyone. Yelled at every day, shrinking, thinking only of erasing his own existence. This was different from then. The Koby of now had told Arashi. Had bowed to Nicole. Even trembling, he hadn't looked away. So this time too——he could do it. His feet reached the rocky path. The smell of grass. The smell of salt grew stronger. Between the rocks, a sliver of orange light glowed on the horizon. Koby clenched his fists and climbed the path leading up the cliff. And then. The moment he reached the top of the cape, his breath stopped. The sunset sea spread before him. The horizon burned red. The waves glowed gold. The wind was strong, and Koby's pink hair swayed violently. His glasses nearly flew off, and he hurried to steady them. Far. So very far. A small sail appeared. The trademark of the straw hat——the sail of the Going Merry. No doubt about it. Koby walked to the cliff's edge. A thirty-meter drop. Below, rocks and white foam. The wind gusted, and the hem of his jacket fluttered. It wouldn't reach. He knew that. His voice couldn't possibly reach. But. "Luffy——!!" He shouted. His voice tore in the wind and flew away. "Luffy!!!" Once more. Louder. His throat burned. His voice could break. It didn't matter if it didn't reach. Koby kept shouting. Toward the distant sea. Toward the person in the straw hat. All the words he'd never been able to say, he gave voice to them all. He wanted to see him. Just once more, he wanted to see him. "I wanted to see you——!!!" The wind blew with particular force. At that moment. Something extended from the distant sea surface. A rubber-like arm stretched in an arc——flying in a straight line toward the cliff's edge. BOOM!! The impact of landing made the rocks creak. A person wearing a straw hat landed right in front of Koby. "[excited] You called?" He grinned. That smile. The same one as always. Nothing had changed. Innocent, straightforward, completely unconcerned with Koby's circumstances. The fact that Koby wore a navy uniform, that they stood on a cliff's edge——none of it mattered to him——he simply smiled. "……Luffy" His voice trembled. He felt like crying. But Koby didn't run. If he ran now, he'd end up saying nothing again. That, above all, he couldn't bear. "[serious] Um……will you listen to me?" "[excited] Huh? What is it?" "[serious] Ever since that day you saved me from Alvida's ship, I've——" His voice broke. His throat caught. Behind his glasses, his eyes grew hot. But Koby continued. Without looking away, he looked straight at Luffy's face. "[crying] I've liked you all this time. Not just admiration. It was something more special. I know we can't stand on the same path——navy and pirate. But——this feeling isn't a lie" He said it all. His legs trembled. But he didn't run. The wind blew. For a while, Luffy stared at the sea. His profile looked unusually quiet. A quieter face than usual. Then. "[gentle] I knew" He said. Koby's eyes widened. "[gentle] I can tell just by looking at your face. You've had that look for a while now" "……I see" "[gentle] But hey——you're strong, Koby. You said it yourself" It wasn't an answer to love. Not a response to "I like you," not "let's be together." He wasn't accepted. But. Something inside Koby's chest dissolved. Something that had been stuck there. Something that had always been there, causing pain. All at once, it eased. Tears ran down his face. He was crying. Not a pathetic cry. Just——overflowing. "[excited] Koby! Get stronger!!" He must have heard his crewmates' voices from far away. Luffy waved his arms wide and jumped from the cliff's edge into the sea. Stretching his rubber arms, he quickly receded into the distance. He didn't look back. That was always how it was. Luffy never looked back. He looked only forward, running. The straw hat disappeared beyond the horizon. 　 Koby stood at the cliff's edge for a while, unable to move. The wind was strong. The smell of salt. The sun was setting. Orange and red and purple mixed, the sky burning. Footsteps came sometime after. Two sets, from the rocky path. When he turned, Arashi and Nicole stood side by side. Arashi's black hair was tousled by the sea breeze, his arms crossed. His silver eyes glanced at Koby's red eyes, then turned toward the sea. Nicole didn't mind her chestnut short hair being disheveled, her eyes completely red. She was sniffling. "[cold] ……You're an idiot" Arashi said. With a cool face. But the corner of his mouth rose slightly. "[laughing] That was cool, Koby" Nicole's voice was a tearful laugh, making a strange sound. Koby couldn't say anything. Words wouldn't come. But that was enough. The three of them stood at the cliff's edge. Arashi on the right, Koby in the middle, Nicole on the left. No one said anything unnecessary. They simply watched the sunset in silence, the three of them. The sea burned red. The horizon in the direction Luffy had disappeared blurred softly. Tears spilled from Koby's eyes. Nicole silently offered a handkerchief. When Koby wiped his eyes with it, Arashi quietly turned his gaze to the sky. That was all. That was enough. 　 By the time they returned to the base, night had fallen. The lights of Petralia town were beginning to glow, and the stone buildings of the navy base glowed faintly in their light. The three of them passed silently through the main gate and stopped in front of Camarelia. The dining hall light was on. Well past the usual closing time. When Koby pushed open the door, there was a single figure in the otherwise empty dining hall. Motta. Round belly, white apron. His short white-streaked hair tied back, he stood at Koby's usual seat——the seat at the very end where Koby always sat——with a heaping plate of rice prepared, arms crossed, waiting. Motta saw Koby's face. Saw his red eyes. In a single second, his expression showed he understood everything, and he stood from his chair. "[gentle] Welcome back. You've got a good face on" That was all he said before heading back to the kitchen. Additional plates came out. One for Arashi. One for Nicole. Koby pulled out his chair and sat. He took up his chopsticks. He took a bite of rice. It was warm. The grilled fish stew from the harbor, the smell of broth, properly delicious——Koby laughed. Laughing, tears came again. With a tearful smile, he ate the rice. Arashi sat beside him and quietly drank his tea. Nicole sat across from him and said "Me too" before stuffing her cheeks full of rice. "[serious] Motta, could I have seconds on the stew?" "[gentle] As much as you want. An army marches on its stomach, after all" A loud voice came back from the kitchen. Nicole jumped up saying "Really? Yes!" Arashi muttered "Don't be loud." Nicole shot back "Shut up, Arashi!" Koby listened to their exchange while taking another bite of rice. He remembered. Those days on Alvida's ship, shrinking every day. He couldn't speak to anyone. His body would freeze with every shout. That Koby couldn't even voice his own feelings. Today, he'd told Luffy. Trembling, crying, but without looking away, he'd said it all. That was Koby's first step. His love hadn't been returned. No answer had come. And yet——he'd conveyed his feelings in his own words. Not pushed by someone else's hand, but deciding for himself, moving by himself. This was Koby's own justice that he'd found. The dining hall light glows. The smell of Motta's cooking fills the air. Arashi quietly drinks his tea. Nicole returns with a plate of seconds. Koby ate his last bite and set down his chopsticks. Tomorrow, training would begin again. The path to navy officer was long. Luffy was already far across the sea. But Koby's heart held no more doubt. Someday——on this sea, they would meet again. When they did, it would be as a stronger Koby. That was the vow Koby had made to himself today.