By Your Side

Chapter 39

We ran back into the building, finding a small storehouse to hide in. "I'm afraid we can't get off this island anymore. We can hide out here for a while since we won't be seen by anyone."

I sat beside Shinobu as Yamato laid her down, wiping some of the blood off her face. "Shinobu! Are your wounds okay?!" Momonouske asked worriedly.

Momonouske-Sama..." Shinobu whispered, attempting to lift herself up. "I'm sorry I let you down."

"What are you saying?! I am grateful for you!" Momonouske reassured her before bowing slightly. "I am still alive thanks to you."

She attempted to stand up before falling into Yamato's arms. "I did as much as I could, but you're still injured." I told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You need to take it easy for now."

"You shouldn't be moving!" Yamato shouted to her.

"They're right! You should be resting!" Momonouske agreed with us.

"Then please allow me to accept your kind offer and get some rest..." she trailed off as she began to fall back asleep.

"Yamato..." Momonouske trailed off, looking at a statue. I began to wrap Shinobu up with gauze I managed to find in one of the crates as I listened.

"Call me Oden or father." Yamato replied, causing me to chuckle.

"What is this?" He asked, ignoring what Yamato said.

I looked at the statue as well as Yamato spoke up "A statue of a dragon. It used to be at the entrance of the island, but my friend broke it, so it was abandoned here!"

"Friend?" Momonouske and I asked at the same time, curious.

"Yes..." Yamato replied, a soft smile on their face. "Several years ago, he came to kill my father!"

"There finished!" I exclaimed, sitting back while admiring my work. "She should be fine for now."

Yamato began to chuckle causing Momonouske to ask why she was laughing. "Oh, sorry. This brings me back... the memory of the wounds I inflicted on him..."

"Inflicted wounds?" Momonouske asked, "So you fought and beat him?"

Yamato shook his head, "No... I lost. But it didn't matter if I had won or lost. You see, the meaning of life... it was him, without a doubt, who taught me that... it was Ace."

I snapped my head up to Yamato. Ace...? Yamato went on to explain how they met Ace when he arrived in Wano, before he ever became a Whitebeard Pirate.

It was then I learned that Yamato was forced to wear shackles in order to ensure he never left the island. How he wanted to sail the seas more than anything... much like I was.

"What an awesome friend..." Momonouske trailed off, fascinated by the story.

"Yeah. The truth is I'm the one who broke this dragon statue first. But he said, "This is a warning from me to Kaido, that I'll come back again!""

"I see..." Momonouske replied, looking to the dragon. I felt a frown fall on my face from Yamato's words. "I did not know there was a pirate who tried to save the Land of Wano..."

"That made my father angry, but in the end, he never met Ace." Yamato admitted.

I tuned out the others as I stared down at my lap, clenching my fists together. If things turned out differently, Ace could've been here right now.

"-where is the man who tried to save the Land of Wano now?!" Momonouske's voice brought me back to the conversation.

"Ace died two years ago."