Chapter 27

Disclaimer: If you recognise it, surprise, I don't own it.

Chapter 14– Back Again.

Edited: 06/04/2023

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

So there I was again, once more sailing through these treacherous seas where no wind blew, and dangerous beasts littered every corner of the ocean, some being bigger than the islands themselves. And once more, I am the one that has to row the boat and not only that, but this time I have a heavy gorilla onboard as well, along with Garp, who sleeps around all day, somehow managing to eat his crackers in his sleep.

And by far, the most bizarre thing is that this trip back to the Conami Islands is way easier for me than the trip to Troga ever was. Even though the load was heavier than ever, having a massive gorilla on board, I was zooming across the sea, my strong arms somehow never tiring even as I rowed nonstop for a full day.

Seeing my speed and knowing the distance between the me that first arrived on Troga and the me that had just left, I felt extra confident, and I was positive that I could get back to Shokuyasi Village in no time, and that is what I wanted to do. So I didn't stop for anything, not the Seakings that suddenly popped out to devour us, assured that Garp would protect us lest he risks capsizing and losing all his crackers again and not even to eat.

I didn't even stop when George waved some fruit at me for me to peel it so he could eat, but I did not. I plainly told him to ask Garp and ignored it after that. George wouldn't leave Garp in peace, so he had to peel the fruits for him, and with me officially no longer having feeding duty, I could focus on just purely rowing.

Add so here we are, in the part of the ocean where the wind actually blows, which would be great if we actually had any sails, except we did not, but this did signify that we were close to home. And there, upon the horizon, I could make out a dock that had multiple marines running around on it and one big marine ship parked there. It was the dock that we left from, where I first met Garp.

Finally, we had made it. Garp just ate his crackers and slept all day, only getting up to smack some Seakings and peel some fruit for George. And George himself was just the same, sleeping all day and only getting up to annoy Garp into peeling his fruits and eating them, and then there was me, who had been rowing nonstop all this time, never having stopped from Troga.

And yes, my arms burned, my forearms stung, and I couldn't feel my knuckles because of just how hard I was clenching onto my oar. But all of that paled in comparison to the intense relief that washed over me at the sight of my home island and the immense pride I felt for having completed this voyage in less than three days, a wild improvement.

"YES!! WE ARE FINALLY HERE, GARP-SAN!! LOOK, GEORGE, IT IS MY HOME, SHOKUYASI!!" The sight of my home forces my excitement to come bubbling up, and I can't help but shout to my compatriots. Incidentally waking George up, who sits up blearily and makes Garp lift his head out of his bag of snacks, his eyes narrowing at the sight of my village.

"Shrimp, is there anywhere else we can dock? It would be better if we did not go to those docks and depart from our boat there." Garp speaks up, not wanting us to dock thee for some reason, making me look at him weirdly.

"Why? We are finally here, and we can finally get off this boat. Or is there a reason you don't want to get off there, maybe because your crew is there?" I look at him with suspicion, suspecting that he does not want to see his crew just yet. I bet he only intends to skive off work even more and relax a bit longer before Bogard comes to see him and drags him off to actually do his job.

"Shut up, you dumb brat. What do you know? I don't want us to get off there because we have this giant stupid monkey with us, and while he is a fragile little thing, he will scare all of those civilians. That is why we need to find another place to dock so that George won't disturb any of the islanders.

Finding his reasoning to be on point and that it actually makes sense because George can be pretty scary up front when meeting him for the first time. So I quickly begin to row to the left, deciding to go around to the left side of the island, where I know a deserted beach we can dock at. Luckily we are far away enough that no one on the island or the docks can spot us unless they would be looking through a telescope, so we easily divert our curse with no one the wiser.

As I continue to row, I take the opportunity to look out at my island, taking in the familiar sights and enjoying them while Garp munches on his crackers. However, George is also looking around and appreciating the surroundings, curious about my home. As we move, the forests on the coast of the island begin to become sparse before the trees disappear altogether, leaving only a sandy beach upon which I beach the boat.

And then, in the distance, I can see a shoddy little shack that is half broken down, with all of the pain having been washed off. The wood making it up is cracked and split. I can see quite a few holes in the walls, though they are blocked up on the inside. Once the boat comes to a stop, I jump out of the ship carrying my book with me and begin to walk over to my home, the home that I made a commitment to when I said I would make it into a fricking mansion, and I don't plan on going back on that.

"Good choice, brat. It seems no one lives around here; this place is deserted. Just look at that shitty house over there. It is all broken down. There is no way anybody lives in a shithole like that." Garp exclaims happily, stepping out of the boat and carrying his big sack of snacks on his back. He just casually insults my home, the only place I have, with a big smile on his face.

"That is my house." I deadpan at him, and I watch the big smile on his face freeze in place as my words ring out into the empty air. George himself has also climbed out of the boat and is now wandering around on the beach, looking every which way and pawing at the sand, which is definitely very different from the sand on the shores of Troga.

"Hm? Oh, really? Haha, well, then you are a terribly bad owner. Look at this place. It is falling apart. You should really look after your home better, boy." Garp catches himself and resumes walking, and instead of apologising, he doubles down on what he said and continues to talk shit about my home, and he isn't wrong.

"I know, it is broken down, but it was like this when I got it. And that is why I have this book. I am learning how to build, and I am going to fix this place up. In a few years, you won't even recognise the place." So I say, holding out the book for Garp to see, proving my point. I will admit that the shack wasn't exactly like this when I got it. I did trip one night and put my hand through one of the thin walls making another hole, but that is neither here nor there.

"Oh, so that is why you were reading a book, it was because you needed to. No wonder, those things are so boring with all those words and letters." So Garp muses as I turn and walk over to a single tree that stands out in this sandy expanse like a lone boat surrounded by the sea. Reaching the tree, I kneel down and start to use my hand to brush away the sand, scrapping handful after handful of sand away from the side of the tree.

"What are you doing? Is there something buried under this tree? Is it treasure? But... only pirates hide and dig up treasure. You aren't secretly a pirate, are you, brat?" Garp annoyingly asks me various questions over my shoulders as I work hard to unearth the object hidden beneath this tree, even though they are hurting like hell after all the rowing. Still, I need to do this since I can't simply walk into town dressed as I am or, more accurately, as undressed as I am.

"YES!" I exclaim, grabbing onto the object hidden beneath the sand and whipping it above my head, raising it into the air in triumph. And then I immediately bring my arm back down and clutch it, having strained it by suddenly whipping it up and outstretching it when it was already very sore.

"Is that a key?" Garp states the obvious, looking down at the sand-encrusted metal key in my grasp. I start to dust the key off since it won't work correctly if it is dirty, and I don't particularly want the sand to get into the lock the key is for in case it somehow messes up the mechanism.

"Yes," I answer simply. It is a key, the key to my front door. When I learned I would be going on a trip with Garp for training, I made sure to sort out my belongings and assets accordingly. The only thing I had to sort out on this island was the weekly stipend I received from Mummy Mee, which I won't be able to collect while on the trip.

So I told Mummy Mee that I got some non-paying work experience on a ship for a couple of weeks and would have no money when I returned. So that she could save my money for me, and when I return, I can collect it, having a surplus built up as I thought Garp would be putting me up for free, food and board. I hid the money I did have under one of the floorboards in my house but then came the issue of my house key.

I couldn't store it inside my house. Since then, I would not have been able to unlock it, but I had nowhere else to keep it. I could have given it to Mummy Mee and Daddy Dee to look after, but I feared that if they had the key, they would come over to keep the place clean and look after it. And if they did that, then they would see the state of disrepair my home was in and realise that they were tricked and bought a broken down house for me.

I didn't want that. As the kind and generous people they are, I know Mummy Mee and Daddy Dee would feel incredible guilt and shame for giving me this broken-down house even though they were tricked into it, and they didn't even have to procure a home for me. So I decided to just hide my key for the time being, and I decided to bury it here in front of this tree, deep under the sand, and now I have gotten it back.