Fic Idea that Wouldn't Leave Me Alone

[dethorats]

So...I haven't written anything in forever and I'm terribly rusty and the first thing that my brain settled on was this fic that no one asked for. I dunno, lately Sabo and Marco are really interesting to me? And the timeskip? So I wrote this thing. It went on a lot longer than I intended thanks to the unholy bane of my existence that is dialogue. Now I remember why I don't write it...

Anyway, it's a thing. The timing with the Alabasta part might be a little bit off with the canon timeline but, eh, that part's always a bit rushed in my opinion anyway so I'm not going to stress about it. Also a few word choices have me second guessing myself - not sure about certain slang elements for the R. A. but...eh, I went with it.


Title: Procurement
Rating: G
Pairing: None / Gen
Word Count: 9,848


Streaks of light shimmered, wavered in the heat and resolved themselves into frilled lizards, arid outcroppings, and nothing at all. The duo trudged on; the man’s insistence on traveling during the day making the woman mutter aspersions under her breath and flap the long sleeves of her robes in a futile attempt to get some airflow. She’d wanted to travel in the darkness, preferring the stark chill of the desert night and its jewel-studded sky to the oppressive warmth and baked, washed-out colors of the day. But Sabo had turned on the pleading eyes, the ones so much more effective in recent weeks as his memories had returned and the story of his past poured out, and Koala hadn’t been strong enough to refuse him. It had been less than a year since Sabo’s brothers had walked these sands together, less than a month since Ace had died and Luffy had disappeared.

Sabo was still the same and yet he wasn’t at all. His attitude, his beliefs, the strength of his hands and of his convictions, the multitude of his annoying habits – those were all intact. But there was a new sort of fire in his belly, a glint in his eyes and a mouth that turned more quickly now to both sorrow and joy; remembering his brothers had also brought back his full memories of home and the consuming weight of a birthright he’d despised. When he’d come up for air from his grief, when the family he’d made for himself in the Revolutionaries had begged for the tale to help him heal, Koala had initially feared the telling marked the end of their partnership. The dream he’d shared so strongly was of piracy, of the freedom of the sea. Yet the past decade had only cemented beliefs Sabo had held without fully knowing why. Dragon’s cause was one he’d believed in since he was old enough to reason for himself and not even the ties renewed to his brothers could bring him to stop fighting against tyranny.

Not that it didn’t mean Sabo wasn’t bringing his remembered world into the current one. Koala had already seen him studying the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia in his spare time and reading up all the notes they had on both Ace and Luffy. He’d even asked Dragon himself, although that had largely been a dead end given Dragon’s own all-encompassing dedication to ending the domination of the World Government and his general removal from his flesh-and-blood family. Now they were trekking from Erumalu to Yuba in full and scorching daylight instead of catching a ride to Rainbase and then heading south in the coolness of the evening. And all so Sabo could retrace his brothers’ footsteps on the way to their assignment; Koala had a suspicion that such small detours would become commonplace for the foreseeable future. He was her partner, though, and in her heart, she could understand even if at the moment the rest of her was feeling a little too sweltering for much compassion.

At least they had verification that their target was present in Yuba. It would have been a bit much to come so far in the heat even if Sabo did get some catharsis out of it. Koala mentally ran through the dossier of their mark once more as they trudged over the hills of sand. A young man, presently twenty years of age, blond hair, scar over his left eye, wore glasses that seem to be corrective and not just cosmetic, multiple bullet scars on his torso, proficient with both firearms and swords, charismatic and already an accomplished leader with the skill to not only rally people to his cause but the logistical know-how to recruit and retain others who could help maintain an entire army…Kohza was just the sort of person the Revolutionary Army hoped to attract. However, given his closeness to Alabasta’s royal family and his love of the country itself, bringing him into their fold would be no easy task.

“So,” Koala asked once the glimmering white roofs and sparse palm trees remained on the horizon rather than dissolving into more mirages, “what will you say to this one to convince him to join up? From what we know, he looks like a hard sell.”

“Mmm?” Sabo glanced at her from under the shadowed brim of his hat. He’d put on the robes with no problem but the only concession she could get out of him regarding his head gear was a cloth draped over his hair and covering his neck, held in place by his ever-present top hat. The blue left eye she could see within the patch of shiny scar tissue was unfocused, looking at another time or another place. “Is that why we’re here?”

“Sheeesh!” It was simply too hot to get really angry so Koala limited herself to scowling and fluttering the sleeves of her desert robes in her partner’s face. “Get it together, man. You know we wouldn’t come all this way if it wasn’t for business. If you’d wanted a desert vacation, I’d have let you go by yourself.”

“Right, right.” Sabo nodded, the grin on his face as he turned to look more directly at her just a little sheepish. “I do remember. We’re here for the leader of Alabasta’s rebellion.”

“Bingo. He’s a young guy, about our age. He spent the last two-and-a-half years organizing a rebellion against the ruling Nefertari family when it seemed that the king was abusing dance powder at the expense of his people. Final counts put him at the head of an army nearly two million strong.”

“Damn!” Sabo whistled through his teeth at the number. “That’s serious business.”

Koala nodded. Kohza was an impressive figure, one they could put to good use. “Of course our own operations are more covert, but being able to have a general of our own to drop in on our allies’ sides would go a long way in building good will, trust, and better ensure their and our eventual success. Or at least that’s Dragon’s thinking.”

“Hmm. I could see that. Not a role I’d want but it makes sense with the ramping up we’re building toward.” Sabo tilted his head back, squinted into the faded blue of the desert sky. “And you say he’ll take some convincing?”

“More than just some. This guy was in real close with the royal family, friends with the princess. According to our embed’s debrief, Kohza felt personal betrayal from the dance powder incident.” Koala had to shake her head in disbelief as the next bit. “And then he comes out at the end of everything with no punishment at all other than self-inflicted.”

“Now that sounds interesting!”

Sabo had stopped to listen and think but Koala kept on walking. Yuba was at an oasis, even if it had been buried in sand. That meant a promise of water or at the very least some shade. It was almost too hot to scheme and it was all Sabo’s fault. Koala grinned when he had to hustle to catch up, one robed arm coming up to swipe at his brow. “It is! But that’s what makes him a tough sell. Based on all we know, Crocodile was behind everything and the king was innocent. The princess and his own father told him the king was not behind the drought, along with the king himself, but Kohza refused to believe and started up the rebellion. In the meantime, his old man kept on toiling away here at Yuba, suffering but stubborn, and the princess infiltrated Crocodile’s organization at great personal risk to try and determine what was really going on. Then your little brother got involved and I’m sure you know the rest as well as or better than I do.”

“Ha! Yeah, Luffy sorted Crocodile out and it seems like he almost convinced the princess to come away with him and his crew at the end. But ultimately her love of country kept her from joining the Straw Hats. Nefertari Vivi and her father are part of a rare breed in this world…rulers who do care and are willing to risk themselves for their people.” Sabo pivoted, spinning around to walk backwards facing Koala. The smile on his face stretched a bit with incredulity at his next words. “Apparently, and as much as our research can verify, the Nefertari family rejected the opportunity to transcend this ‘lower’ world after the void century, choosing instead to remain as the shepherds of this kingdom of Alabasta.”

“In that case, I think I like them,” Koala said. Head nodding decisively, she reached out a hand to Sabo’s shoulder and spun him so his face was turned back towards Yuba. “I can see why Kohza might feel like punishing himself if they weren’t going to, even if that also seems a bit ridiculous. So, Sabo, getting us back on point, just what are you going to say to get him to join us?”

The sun was merciless, the only movement the limp swaying of their robes as they walked and the reflected ripples in their stumpy mid-day shadows. The smile was gone from Sabo’s face when Koala glanced sidelong at him after a few yards of silence. Replacing it was a grim and determined line and the sense she sometimes felt from Sabo that he would have been willing to burn down the world himself if Dragon hadn’t already set a match to the kindling. “That’s the easy part,” he said once he caught her looking his way. One corner of his mouth hitched and his teeth flashed dangerously before he continued. “I’ll just recite The List and pile on as many details as he needs.”

The List was the standard tactic for targets like Kohza but it was also their most effective recruiting tool. And it didn’t fail often, especially not when Sabo was fired up and had all the passion of his convictions behind his words. Still, Kohza clearly felt a deep connection with Alabasta and Koala wasn’t so sure that The List would be enough. “And if it doesn’t work?” she wondered.

“Then it’s our loss and his.” Sabo squared his shoulders at the vision of Yuba, still about a mile off in the distance. “We need commitment. Half measures aren’t going to be enough as we move closer to the end game.”

He was right, Koala knew, and she wondered if Dragon had signed off on this venture for Sabo’s sake rather than that of their cause. Hack hadn’t deigned to come, citing the desert conditions, but if she’d thought to bet on it beforehand, Koala wasn’t sure if she’d have wagered on her partner or on the ultimate futility of this mission. Kohza was the kind of recruit they hoped for but rarely pursued based on past metrics of failure with people of his ilk. Well, in the end it didn’t matter. They were nearly to Yuba, Sabo was damn persuasive when he wanted to be, and he’d been standing taller since the minute he set foot on the scorching sand. Even if she had sweated enough to fill a bathtub, it was good to be back on the road with her partner…not that she was going to tell him that.

They walked in silence through the last stretch of sand, Yuba growing more and more solid as the pair approached. Most of the whitewashed stone buildings were still half-buried in swathes of sand, evidence of the former warlord’s malice, but a cluster of about ten dwellings nearest to the circle of palm trees were cleared and showed evidence of habitation. Koala could hear two different sets of voices as they entered the outskirts of the village and she tracked the path of the boy who’d been serving as lookout as he ran out of the tallest cleared building and down into the oasis. It seemed as if there were two crews at work – one still working on digging out the watering hole and the other cleaning out the buildings and restoring them. And just as they passed the drifts and stepped into the cleared path, their target appeared following along behind a beaming older man with a bushy mustache who happened to blessedly be bearing two tin cups of water.

“Welcome to Yuba! We don’t have much to offer but after a trip through the sands, our water is sweeter than any wine!” The white-haired fellow’s face crinkled as he smiled even wider, handing over the cups to the two admittedly thirsty Revolutionaries.

Koala drank deeply of the cool water, reveling the way her tongue no longer felt thick and gummy as it was rehydrated. She tossed her head back in a show of appreciation and took the chance to scan their target. Kohza was as described – young, blond, scarred. Unlike their greeter, who was likely his father Toto if the gloved hand resting lightly on the older nan’s shoulder was any indicator, Kohza wasn’t smiling. He was alert, sharp and with the prickliness that came from both years of secrecy and from deep betrayal. Even though the war for Alabasta was over, he was still fighting a war within himself. She also spotted the lookout easily, the boy peeking from around the corner of the building he’d run out of minutes earlier. And there were at least two…no, three, more men watching from the edge of the oasis. There was no way she could miss the itchy sensation of being in a rifle’s sights on the back of her neck.

“Ahhhh! You weren’t exaggerating, sir! That might just be the best water I’ve ever had!” Sabo was turning on the charm, a disarming smile on his face as he half-bowed and returned the cup to Toto with a small flourish.

“Well there’s more where that comes from.” Toto looked pleased as Koala handed back her own cup with a murmur of thanks. “But what brings a young couple like you out to Yuba? Are you,” and Toto’s voice took on a note of hopefulness, “perhaps looking to settle down? We can always use new faces and more hands.”

“Ahahaha, sorry to disappoint.” Koala laughed a bit ruefully in response, spreading out both her gloved palms in a show of openness that was meant as much for Toto as it was for the observers. She and Sabo often met with the assumption that they were a couple; indeed, that was one of their more common M.O.s, but she had a feeling honesty would take them further here than any small bit of deception. “We’re just friends.”

Toto’s face fell for half a second before he rallied. “Friends is fine! We’re all friends here!”

“Well,” Sabo picked up the thread. “It’s some mutual friends that brought us here.” He glanced up and held Kohza’s eyes for a beat before bending down towards Toto’s ear to murmur. “A certain Monkey D. Luffy as a matter of fact.”

Koala watched as Kohza’s fingers tightened on Toto’s shoulder when Sabo leaned in. But he let go of his father when Toto gave Sabo an appraising look. “You two don’t look like military but as we’ve learned, looks can be deceiving.”

A snort left Koala before she could stop herself. It figured the vultures would descend when there was only the corpse to pick at. “Nah, we’re not Marines and we aren’t Cipher Pol either. Guess they’ve already been sniffing around?”

Toto’s mouth thinned at the mention of Cipher Pol but it was Kohza who responded. “If you want weapons or money, we don’t have either.” A touch bitterly, he added, “And no, we’re not interested in seeing anyone other than the Nefertari family on the throne.”

Sabo held up his hands and shook his head in flat denial. “Seriously, we’re not here for any of that. We DO want to speak with you, Kohza, about some things, but nothing to do with Alabasta.”

Kohza grimaced, hands balling into fists, but Sabo kept going before the other could interject. “And also, I wanted to talk to Toto about Luffy because he’s my brother and I haven’t seen him in years, and well….it’s a long story but I can prove it about Luffy if you want me to.”

The Straw Hat’s role in Alabasta had been pretty strongly covered up by the Navy and the World Government. Rumors trickled out, of course, but on the whole the crisis facing Alabasta had been buried and not too many knew the truth. Their embedded man had kept the Revolutionary Army informed of the rebellion and its aftermath, though, and Sabo’s memories had flooded back with an immediacy that belied his decade of amnesia. So when Toto frowned and then squinted up at Sabo’s face, Koala relaxed. Things were not about to turn south.

“All right.” Toto studied Sabo, flicked his gaze over to Koala and then back. “All right. I’ll give you a chance. What do you think Luffy did when the princess told him she didn’t want to risk anyone but herself to stop the war?”

“Dad!” Kohza’s scandalized tone tempted the appearance of a smile on Koala’s face but she kept it hidden in favor of watching Sabo. It didn’t take him more than a moment or two before he grinned and leaned down closer to Toto’s level again.

“The first thing Luffy’d do is call her an idiot and maybe selfish. He wouldn’t care that she’s a princess at all. And then, if she was being stubborn, he might even take things physical. Prove he meant to help with fists since, well, I love my little brother but he’s not often the best with words.”

“Oh ho!” Toto clasped Sabo’s arm with his free hand, the tin cups clacking together in the other with his exuberance. “It’s a pleasure to meet Luffy’s brother!” In the background, Koala noted, the rifle bead on her was withdrawn as the weapon was quietly set aside. It seemed they’d passed.

“The pleasure’s mine, sir.” Sabo returned the clasp, his eyes twinkling as he couldn’t help but ask. “Luffy didn’t actually have to get rough with her, I hope?”

“They had a full-on brawl, rolling around in the sand and smacking each other. Princess Vivi, when she was telling me the story, said she hadn’t been so undignified or felt so human since she used to scrap with my son here when they were children.” Toto beamed up at his flushed and scowling offspring. “And if I remember those days rightly, I’m sure Princess Vivi gave as good as she got. She was never afraid of getting a little rough or dirty.”

“Well, Luffy wouldn’t mind. He grew up with two older brothers, after all, and we sometimes had a tendency to pick on him.” Sabo’s voice was still jovial but Koala didn’t miss the way his expression twisted a little with sadness. And neither did Toto.

“Doesn’t seem to have bothered him in the slightest…ah…I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your names, young man, young miss.”

For half a second, one of several identities hovered on Koala’s tongue but she kept with the truth in the end. They’d already decided to go with honesty in Kohza’s case and it wasn’t like they weren’t unknown to Cipher Pol should the government decide to come prowling around again. “Koala,” she said. “And he’s Sabo.”

“And I’m Toto, although I suspect you knew that already since you identified my son by name.” Toto reached out again, putting his hand on Sabo’s back. “So, you say you came in search of word of your brother?”

“Yeah…it’s been a long time since I’ve seen him and…” Sabo shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I’m sure you’ve seen the papers. Nobody knows where he is. Not,” he hastened to add as Toto made as if to deny any hidden knowledge on his part, “that I think you do. But you saw him and his crew not that long ago and I was hoping you could maybe tell me about them. About Luffy and how he seemed…”

The creases in the corners of Toto’s eyes crinkled and he gently urged Sabo to walk with him towards the oasis. “He seemed as if he had the energy of twenty men and at the time all of it was aimed at taking down Crocodile. When he spent the night in Yuba, he started digging for the buried water here like…like…well, pardon me but it’s true…like a dog! Down on his heels and throwing sand everywhere with his bare hands!”

The soft sounds of Sabo and Toto chuckling faded a bit as they passed behind a dune flanking the oasis, leaving Koala standing in awkward silence with Kohza. Without the genial presence of Toto, the stark reality of Yuba’s plight re-emerged. Koala counted at least twenty-three buildings just from her vantage point that were still swamped in sand; no doubt there were more that she couldn’t see or that were buried entirely. And yet she had the feeling there weren’t more than fifteen, at most twenty, people in the village. She was used to seeing the suffering of regular people in her line of work, but it didn’t mean that Koala didn’t feel a pang each and every time. She took a moment to store the scene away, another in her vast catalogue of injustice, and then turned her attention to Kohza.

His glasses had a purple tint. The dossier hadn’t mentioned anything about the color but Koala assumed it helped with the glare and wasn’t just an affectation. Kohza didn’t seem like the sort for that. He was studying her in turn, his wariness clear, and the lack of his father to protect revealed a subtle hunch to his posture as if he was weighed down by the burden of his past. She hadn’t expected to take the lead on this assignment. Sabo was the talker out of the two of them while she was far better at sneaking around and collecting intel. Koala took in a breath, considering the best way to start her pitch, when Kohza beat her to the punch.

“I have work to do. And I can’t be bothered with idlers.” Kohza very deliberately turned on his heel and headed away from the oasis even though Koala was positive that was where he’d been working when she and Sabo had been sighted. But if he wanted to separate the two of them, that was fine. Sabo could take care of himself. Koala let the former rebel leader get a few strides ahead and then fell in behind.

When Kohza glanced back at her, Koala just smiled and shrugged at his expression. “I’ve never been afraid of a bit of work.”

“…Fine,” he grumbled. “We really can use any extra hands.” He led her through the cleared area and then rounded a corner towards what Koala thought was an outer edge of Yuba. There was a half-buried building there, only a single story, and several shovels were leaning up against one exposed wall along with a wheelbarrow. At that hour, it was shaded by two of its taller neighbors and Koala could feel the slight drop in temperature even through her robes.

Kohza didn’t speak further, just grabbed a shovel and started to fill the wheelbarrow. Koala watched for a minute and then sighed. She really wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty; it was just a bit hotter than she was used to. Still, Toto and Kohza hadn’t been exaggerating. It would take more than a few pairs of hands to bring Yuba back to life. Koala grabbed a shovel and got to work.

The wheelbarrow wasn’t easy to manage on the ever-shifting sand but Koala had topped off the third load and so she took it upon herself to trudge with it the twenty or so yards to where Kohza had dumped it the last two times. He was staring up at the sky when she brought it back, his gloved hands resting on the handle of his shovel. He didn’t bother to look at her when she positioned the wheelbarrow and resumed digging but he did break his silence.

“You work harder than the marines…or at least you don’t complain.”

Koala laughed and tilted another shovelful of sand into the wheelbarrow. “That’s not surprising. Marines don’t often get ordered around by civilians. I’m rather impressed that you got them to do anything.”

There was a sigh and then Kohza bent down to scoop up his own share of sand. “I wouldn’t say that they did much. Caused about as much new work as what they got done.”

“What did they want?” Koala asked after a few more rounds of digging.

“Information. The truth they felt had to be behind the lies. Something linking the princess to the pirates. I don’t really know. Half their questions didn’t make any sense.”

“And Cipher Pol?”

Kohza paused at the name, resumed working a bit more slowly. “I didn’t ask them to work. It didn’t seem like a good idea even though I think they would have played along. They wanted information about the Straw Hats, about the connection to Vivi. And…”

The wheelbarrow was full again and Koala trailed after Kohza as he went to empty it. When they got back to the building, he set it down then caught and held Koala’s eyes for the first time since their meeting. “They wanted me to say the marines had been wrong…that the king really had been behind the drought. And when I refused, they threatened Dad with one breath and then offered me a job with the next.” Kohza heaved out a sigh and put one foot in the wheelbarrow, leaning most of his weight on his knee as if the memory was too much to bear without bracing. “The whole thing was…unpleasant. I keep thinking they’ll come back but since Marineford, I suppose they’ve got more important things on their mind.”

“Hopefully talking to me won’t be so bad.” Koala smiled gently, trying to convey her trustworthiness. Damn Cipher Pol – always making her work harder. “For one thing, I’m not looking to do anything to your father. For another, I can tell where the sand should be going.” She broke eye contact and scooped up a shovel’s worth but had to hold it because Kohza’s foot was still inside the wheelbarrow.

“Just…” Kohza pulled a glove off with his teeth and swept sweaty blond strands from his face before tugging the glove back into place. “…tell me what you want. You don’t have to keep doing that.”

“Move your foot, please, and I will.” Koala waited until Kohza started to raise his foot and then tipped in the sand. He wobbled for a moment and then opted to walk back to slide down the shaded wall next to the spare shovels rather than lean over the wheelbarrow again. Koala took her cue from him, putting her shovel back and then sitting down with a selection of wooden handles resting between them. Her own gloves came off so she could flex her fingers and check for blisters as she wasn’t used to doing so much digging. “Look,” she finally started, worrying a little at her wind-and-sand-chapped lip as she turned over what to say. “Just hear me out to the end before you say no.”

“…Alright.” Kohza tipped his head back against the shadowed white-washed stone. “But I don’t tolerate threats.”

“And I don’t make them unless they’re warranted.” Koala closed her eyes. “I suppose the best place to start is at the beginning. Sabo and I…we’re with the Revolutionary Army…I suppose you’ve heard of it?”

“Who hasn’t? But yes, I know of the Revolutionaries. Your lot offered help three years ago but I turned it down.”

Now that was a surprise. The dossier they had on Kohza had come from an embedded man who’d slotted in about two years into the Alabastan drought but there hadn’t been any notes about earlier contact. They really needed to come up with a better filing system back on Baltigo. “Why?” Maybe that was a little blunt but Koala never had liked surprises on missions.

“Because it was our business and not yours,” Kohza shot back. “Because I thought our king had gone bad but I didn’t think all kings were bad. I dunno, really. It was Alabasta’s fight.”

“Look, we don’t...mmm…we don’t think ALL kings are bad. Though I guess I can see how you’d get that idea.” This was why she hated surprises. If she’d known Kohza thought they were all anti-monarchists, she probably would have approached this mission in an entirely different way. Koala groaned and knuckled her eyes. “I suppose it would be more accurate to call us anti-World Government or maybe anti-World Noble. It just so happens that most of the places where we’ve been successful have had kings but I promise that’s just a coincidence. I mean, most islands are controlled by either a king or a pirate at this point but I know what it looks like.”

Kohza huffed out a laugh at Koala’s explanation and sank a little further down the wall. “Fair point. Regardless, our problems were ours. Alabasta’s.”

And here was the heart of the matter, the reason why they’d given up on recruiting men like Kohza. They needed loyalty to their own cause as much as if not more than loyalty to a single place or person. At the same time, she knew that with that kind of loyalty came the promise of greater pain. “It really hurt, didn’t it?” Her tone was gentle, sympathetic, and yet Kohza still bristled slightly in response.

“I’m not sure what you’re trying to say. If you mean that people were hurt because the drought meant they had to move or their jobs were lost or they had less food to eat, then yes…the situation hurt Alabasta.”

“No,” Koala tried again. “Well, I mean, YES, of course that would hurt. But I was talking about how it felt. The kind of pain that can only come from a sense of betrayal.” She looked at her hands, at the way her fingers had instinctively clenched into fists. “The Nefertari family has ruled Alabasta forever and I don’t think anything like the king causing a drought on purpose had ever happened before.”

“But he didn’t cause it!” Kohza’s reply was vehement and held just a hint of anguish. “He didn’t! It was all outside meddling. But if it had been the king…he needed to know how Alabasta was suffering, that his people NEEDED him to do his duty. That we’d make him do it if we had to.” A gloved hand struck the sand and Kohza flinched, shrunk back in on himself. “But it wasn’t the king’s fault.”

Softly Koala pushed again. This was what they needed to work through so that he would understand what the Revolutionary Army represented, what it wanted to do. “But if it had been, how would you make him? What were you going to do if he refused?”

“I don’t…I’m not…It didn’t come to that.” Kohza turned his head away, looked back towards the oasis and the center of Yuba. “Put Vivi on the throne, I guess. I knew she was still good.”

“And what if the World Government had said Vivi couldn’t have the throne, that her family had forfeited it? What if they wanted to install a monarch of their own choosing? What if that ruler hadn’t caused a drought but hadn’t been as good as the Nefertari family up to that point?”

“What difference does it make?” the former rebel leader asked bitterly. “None of that happened. Instead I ignored one of my best friends, my mentor, and my own father. I thought my own king, who had been nothing but kind to me all my life, had lied to my face. I helped unite Alabasta against him and led an army to fight him all because I didn’t have enough faith. Because I was blind and stupid and got fooled. People got hurt…people died because of me.”

Koala chose her next words carefully. She was at the crux of her argument but Kohza’s guilt would be difficult to work past. “The Revolutionary Army works in places like Alabasta. Places where no one like you has the good fortune to be wrong. People get hurt and people die because their leaders aren’t the Nefertaris. So much of this world suffers, Kohza, because there aren’t enough people like you to try and fix things. Revolutionaries are just trying to do what your rebellion wanted to do; make the world a little better for people like your father, for people who just want to live their lives in peace.”

She’d been louder than she’d realized, the last of her words ringing in the shadowed air between them. Kohza was staring at her and she could read on his face the instant his walls went up. “So you’re offering me a job then? Just like Cipher Pol?”

“We’re here to recruit you, yeah.” His mouth opened and she plowed ahead. “And you agreed to let me finish before you said no. I’m not done yet.”

“You’re not going to change my mind.”

“Maybe not, but I’m still going to try.” Koala set her shoulders and tried to catch Kohza’s eyes. “I’m going to recite The List, now, and I want you to listen. Each and every one of these countries was suffering like Alabasta was, in many cases had been suffering for years. And their rulers didn’t give a damn.”

When she could feel his gaze reluctantly meeting hers, Koala launched into the same lengthy recounting they gave as part of the eulogy at every fallen revolutionary’s funeral. It was their reason for existing and she didn’t bother to hide the personal grief and rage she felt as she concluded The List with the many, many sins of the World Nobles. Kohza had listened, not tuning her out, and she had watched him flinch in places, flush with outrage in others. He didn’t need any help reading between the lines.

“We need people like you,” Koala said finally. “People who have empathy for their fellow human beings. People who are strong enough to take action in the face of injustice. People who do what needs to be done even when the authorities want to make problems just disappear. We need you, Kohza, because you successfully built an army of two million people and kept it fed and organized and together in the face of overwhelming odds.”

“You could…” She stood up, walked the few steps necessary to lean over him. Her hand came down to rest lightly on the curve of his shoulder. “…You could help us save a lot of lives, Kohza. Make a difference for millions of people.”

There were small grains of sand embedded in the leather of Kohza’s glove and they scraped lightly against the top of Koala’s hand. He squeezed her fingers and then tugged her hand down, pulling her into a crouch in front of him. He stared at her face and Koala felt as if he was searching for something, some sign or weakness or lie. Finally he dropped her hand.

“What you’ve said…I…I do hear you. And,” Kohza barked out a noise that wanted to be laughter but was too bitter and sad. “As messed up as this sounds, I’m…I feel a little honored now that you came all this way to ask me. But everything you just listed, especially that part at the end with the World Government…that’s exactly why I can’t join you.”

Her face fell before she could stop herself, keep up a neutral façade, but then she took a breath, composed herself. “Why? What could be stopping you?”

“I heard what you had to say and I remember what you asked me. What would I have done if I’d succeeded, if the rebellion put Vivi on the throne and then the World Government showed up? I think we would’ve been in even bigger trouble then.” He spoke in earnest, raising a hand to touch her shoulder in an echo of her earlier display, but he pulled it back before his glove met the weave of her robe. “I wouldn’t have turned you down at that point because the problem wouldn’t be just ours, just Alabasta’s. And now I need to do my best to make sure I don’t need your help.”

Koala’s surprise must have shown on her face because Kohza kept talking. “You said it already; the World Government likes to put its own people in charge and that leads to shitty things for the people. The Navy and Cipher Pol have been poking around ever since the incident and I know it’s not just me they’ve been talking to. I need to…to protect Alabasta from a World Government take-over.”

She knew she had truly lost him at that point but Koala couldn’t stop herself from making one last appeal. “But does it have to be you, Kohza? You’ve said it yourself – your king is a good leader and his daughter and his advisors and the people of Alabasta themselves are stronger for coming through this. Can’t you…” She hesitated over her next word, ‘trust’ on the tip of her tongue, but opted not to take that tack. “Can’t you allow them to do what is needed while you take that next step with the Revolutionary Army?”

“I….no. Not now. Maybe not ever.” Kohza’s whole frame slumped as he gritted out his next words. “I OWE them. The king, Vivi, Alabasta itself. I told you…people died because of me. I can’t just let that go or run away from it. If I can do anything to truly protect this country and make it better…I have to. I have to stay.”

A beat of silence and then another. Koala straightened from her crouch. “I understand. I really do.” And she did. It chafed, the limits on what they could do. There had been only one Fisher Tiger and survivor’s guilt could be a heavy burden. Some days she just wanted to strap on the explosives and take on Mariejois herself. “I guess…just know that if you ever change your mind, we’d be happy to have you.”

She smoothed her hands over the length of her robe and then shaded her eyes as she studied the position of the sun. It hadn’t seemed that long but if she was reading the shadows right, it had already been an hour, maybe seventy-five minutes that they’d been working. Probably not nearly enough time for Sabo to be done hearing about and talking about his little brother yet. Koala pulled her gloves back on, grabbed her shovel from where she’d propped it against the wall, and went back to filling the wheelbarrow with sand.

Kohza was still and silent for a few minutes while the revolutionary steadily worked. At last he stood and brushed the sand off the back of his pants, adjusted his glasses, and tugged at his gloves. With the two of them digging steadily, the wheelbarrow filled in minutes and Koala trundled off to dump it once more on the edge of Yuba. When she brought it back, Kohza had regained his equanimity and actually grinned when she put the wheelbarrow back in place and started to dig again.

“You know, you don’t really have to do that anymore.” Koala tossed in her first new shovelful of sand and went for the next. She had filled nearly a third of the wheelbarrow when Kohza laughed and resumed digging himself. “Point taken. But if I may, how long do you intend to work at this? Honestly, this is a lesser priority project so if you really want to put your back into it, we can go somewhere else.”

“We~ell,” Koala drawled the word out, considering. “Your father seems like quite the talker as well as a sympathetic listener. I’m betting my partner’s only just getting into the really good stuff about his brother. He LOVES talking about their misadventures as kids and it’s all very cute except when you’ve heard the same story thirty times before.”

“Ah…” Kohza looked momentarily mortified. “Dad’s very enthusiastic about telling stories from my childhood as well.”

“So, I don’t mind moving to another spot if that’s what Yuba needs, but I’m not ready to subject myself to Sabo’s reminiscing just yet.”

“Same.” Kohza eyed the wheelbarrow, checked the position of the sun. “Let’s do two more rounds here and then we’ll go elsewhere. Get a drink and then work until dinnertime.”

“Fine by me,” Koala agreed, lifting yet another shovelful of the ocean of sand into the half-full wheelbarrow.

They worked in silence but it was pleasant rather than tense. All the cards had been put on the table and Kohza had folded rather than opting to compete for the prize. It had basically always been a losing gamble anyway, Koala reminded herself. There were reasons why the Revolutionary Army rarely went after people like Kohza and they were validated anew by this experience. Even though Sabo probably would have expressed their goals better than she had, she didn’t think prettier words or fiercer righteous indignation would have been enough to overcome the debt of guilt the rebel leader felt he owed to his country. At least he hadn’t ruled out all possibility of joining up. Although, in the best of all worlds, by the time that happened they’d have met their goal and Kohza wouldn’t be needed.

After about twenty-five minutes, the conditions Kohza had called for had been met and the pair left their shovels leaning up against the half-freed house to head back towards the center of Yuba. They veered off before they reached the oasis, going instead into the building where Koala had, hours earlier, spotted the young lookout who’d alerted Yuba to the approach of two strangers. He came down to the top of the stairwell to peek at her around the corner, gap-toothed and freckled and with the wary hopeful curiosity shared by stray dogs and street urchins. She waved at him while Kohza got them two tin mugs and filled them with tepid water from the barrel in the corner. He had worked up the nerve to creep down to the bottom step by the time she finished her drink and was quick to refill her mug and Kohza’s when the former rebel leader beckoned him over.

“This is Kori.” The boy handed Koala her brimming mug and ducked his head. “He’s got one of the most important jobs in Yuba.”

“Oh?” Koala squatted down to eye level with Kori. “Were you the one who told Kohza and Toto that we were coming?”
He nodded and was brave enough to take her proffered hand after only a second or two of hesitation. “Nice to meet you. My name’s Koala. You have good eyes to stare out at the desert all day. But doesn’t it get boring after a while?”

The head shake of denial was a little too frantic to be true and it made Koala think of her time on a pirate ship, doing jobs that were hard or tedious but never wanting to admit it for fear of not working again, of being cast out. “Oh, okay. Then I suppose you’d rather do that than go off to the oasis and listen to the stories my partner and Mr. Toto are telling about Straw Hat Luffy and his pirate crew?”

Kori’s eyes grew wide at that and he froze, torn. “I mean, Kohza and I wouldn’t mind borrowing your job for a little bit, if that’s alright? Just for today because Sabo and I are leaving soon. That way you can go and check on Sabo and Mr. Toto and make sure they’re getting some work down while they talk.”

“It would be a great help to me, Kori,” Kohza added, winking over the boy’s head at Koala. It seemed his words were enough because Kori bobbed his head and ran straight out the door without another word. Kohza, though, still had more to say. “And what was that about? I thought you were finished?”

“Oh I am. I won’t try to convince you any longer. But I realized that you could still help the Revolutionary Army.” She set her drained mug aside and reached into her robe to pull out pen and paper. “Tell me EVERYTHING you can remember about Cipher Pol and what they wanted.”

And so it was that Kohza escorted her up two flights of stairs and took up position in the window, his purple-shaded gaze resting on the half-buried vista of Yuba and the world of sand beyond. Koala sat nearby, enjoying the faint breeze afforded by the height and the shade from being inside. She wrote down every last detail Kohza could recall, prompting and digging for more, getting his memories of the marines who had visited as well and even recollections of people who had turned out to Baroque Works members.

The temperature fell with the setting sun and Koala was grateful her robes not only shielded her from the sun but also kept her warm in the dark when Kohza finally escorted her to the oasis in search of dinner. There was only a single fire but two tables were set out with food and she spotted Sabo holding a plate and regaling an eager audience of Toto and Kori from a spot on the sand. It was with only the faintest hint of reluctance that she and Kohza grabbed their own dinners and then moved to join the trio. The bright thread of Kori’s high laughter and Toto’s deeper chuckles had the other denizens of Yuba who had gathered nearby to eat and eavesdrop smiling as well.

“Koala!” Sabo’s eyes were fire-bright and he grinned, white teeth gleaming against the shadows. “I was just getting ready to tell your favorite story – the one about Luffy and the alligator.” The hand not holding his half-filled plate – and there was no surer sign that he’d been doing most of the talking than Sabo still having uneaten food – flickered, made the sign for ‘success.’

“Aaaah, that one,” Koala half-laughed, half groaned as she shook her head and quickly made her own sign for ‘failure.’ “Well, I’m sure at least Kori will think it’s as exciting to hear as you think it is to tell it.”

“Hey,” Sabo protested, patting the ground next to him in an invitation Koala ignored. “You know you like it, too.”

She chose instead to sit down next to Kori, smiling at him and returning the welcoming nod Toto gave. That left the spot next to Sabo for Kohza and the former rebel leader somewhat grudgingly settled between his father and the revolutionary. The food was simple, filling, seasoned with a heavier hand than she’d been expecting. The story of Luffy and the alligator had Kori on the edge of his seat and prompted a few snorts of laughter even from Kohza. Koala got to laugh herself nearly sick as Toto recounted a tale of ‘Leader’ and the princess while the star of the story hid his face behind ungloved hands. Finally, about ninety minutes later, Toto looked at the pair of revolutionaries and at Kori’s nodding head.

“What’s your plan?” he asked. “Will you be staying longer or do you have other work that needs to be done?”

“Well,” Sabo rubbed at the back of his neck, the cloth still tucked between his skull and hat flapping with the motion. “It seems like our work here is finished so I guess we’ll be on our way. It was a real pleasure to meet everybody in Yuba, though, and to get to share stories about Luffy.”

“Oh no no no. You can’t be thinking of leaving NOW.” Toto stood up with a speed that belied his age and frame. “I insist that you at least stay the night. We have plenty of space for you and Nezz makes a mean porridge for breakfast.”

Koala exchanged glances with her partner, caught the quick bob of his head. “We hate to cause you any inconvenience, Toto, but perhaps it would be better to wait to leave until after a good night’s sleep. And it seems like Kori’s more than ready for bed.”

Toto took a few steps around Koala, leaned down to scoop up Kori. The boy murmured but didn’t wake while Toto smiled down on him fondly. “He’s a good lad. He might be inspired by some of the stories, though.” The older man chuckled softly as he adjusted the boy in his arms. “Ah well, we could use a little bit of mischief and excitement around here. I’ll put him to bed and Kohza can show you where to sleep.”

The three young people on the ground stood up en masse, protests on a trio of lips. Kohza spoke loudest, arguing for his father to trade jobs, that his back shouldn’t be carrying forty-odd pounds of boy off to bed. But Toto just shook his head at all of them, his eyes twinkling even as he shushed them to keep from waking up Kori. Sabo had the grace to give in first, inclining his head to Yuba’s founder.

“Very well, Toto. In that case, thank you for listening and talking with me today. I’m sorry for being a bother and stealing you away from your work but it was wonderful to get to hear news about my little brother.”

“The pleasure was mine, Sabo,” Toto replied, and then he swept his broad smile over all three of them. “And now I’ll say good night to you. Pleasant dreams!” He walked away with the drowsing Kori before anybody could add anything more, leaving Koala, Sabo, and Kohza standing together awkwardly by the fire as the rest of Yuba’s inhabitants took that as their cue to shuffle off to bed as well.

“I guess I’ll show you off to bed then?” It was more question than statement from Kohza, and Koala kept her eyes on Sabo. She wasn’t sure what their intentions were at this stage and he was point on the mission. Her partner was silent long enough for it to start to be uncomfortable before he finally nodded.

“Yeah, we’ll catch at least a few hours of sleep. To tell you the truth, though, I don’t think we’ll be around to try Nezz’s porridge.” Sabo’s eyes flashed to hers and she nodded. A nap would be enough and they could get out while the sun was still down, vicious desert heat replaced by the more bearable but still cutting desert chill.

“Alright.” Kohza bent down, picked up a small torch from a pile of supplies in the communal area around the oasis. “Give me a moment and I’ll show you where you can bed down.” He lit the torch in the dying flames and then lightly kicked a small shower of sand over the campfire, leaving only the scant illumination in his hand and the cold but distant brilliance of the stars and sliver of moon above. The glow was strongest over the water of the oasis, shadows from the trees and buildings of Yuba blocking out much of the light. Kohza held the torch aloft, the small circle it cast enough to allow the human eye to pick out larger obstacles, and he led the way back towards the nearby buildings and into the three-story that Koala had privately dubbed the look-out post.

The windows that had been open to the scant breezes of the day were now closed fast with shutters. Sturdy and thick walls combined with two small charcoal braziers in opposite corners to heat the room and ward off the nighttime cold. Kohza tipped his torch into a sconce set near the entrance, lighting the short wick of an oil lamp. “If you go through there,” he said, pointing to the door on the right wall, “you’ll find pallets and blankets. And I’ll be lighting the guide lights to the privy before I go to bed so you can just follow the path if you need to. Erm…is there anything else I can get you?”

Already moving to retrieve the bedding, Koala shook her head and bowed slightly towards the former rebel. “No. This is more than enough.” Her tone suffused with warmth then as she essentially took her leave from their target. “Truly, you have been a gracious host despite the inconvenience our appearance must have caused. I really appreciate the time and consideration you’ve shown, so…thank you. Really. It’s been one of our better trips.”

“That’s more my father’s doing than mine but you’re welcome. Since it seems you won’t be around to tell him yourself, I’ll make sure to let him know you enjoyed Yuba’s hospitality.” Kohza’s smile was small but genuine as he tipped his head in return to Koala. “And thank you for helping with the digging. I won’t forget what we talked about…I wish you good night and good fortune.”

And with that he ducked back out of the building’s entrance only to be quickly followed by Sabo, who tossed a quick “I’ll just be a moment” over his shoulders as he hurried into the night. Koala eyed the empty doorway for a moment and then shrugged, closing it to keep in the warmth before she set about finding the bedding that was kept in the building’s storeroom. She was getting ready to burrow her way under a pile of blankets when Sabo returned, closing the door behind him and turning the interior lock with a click of finality. He looked a little distant and so she called him back to reality even though all she really wanted was to go to bed.

“What was that about? Trying some last-minute convincing of your own or did you drink too much at dinner?” The last was a touch defensive, more than she’d meant it to be, and Sabo shook his head.

“Nah, neither. Just…checking in and letting Kohza know how to contact us if he wanted. You did good there. Maybe too good. The poor guy almost sounded like he felt bad that he had turned us down.” Sabo made the sign that meant ‘good job’ and it made her smile at his cheesiness even as he kept on talking. “He did say you told him he’d be welcome if he ever felt ready but I wanted to give him more explicit instructions just in case. Toto told me a little about Cipher Pol and I don’t think I want to leave these people without help if they really need it.”

That was unusual. Typically, they were quite careful with details like that. It was part of what had kept the Revolutionary Army secure and secret for so long. Still, she trusted Sabo’s judgement in most things and it was clear he’d taken to Toto. Truthfully, she’d liked Kohza as well. It really was too bad he couldn’t be convinced to leave. “That’s,” she said slowly, turning the idea of it over in her mind, “probably wise. I don’t think much could get Kohza to leave but just in case….yeah, hedging our bets in this instance sounds good to me. If the Boss has a problem with it, I’ll back you up.”

“Thanks.” Sabo grinned at her. “Now then, wanna flip for who gets to sleep first?”

“Hey! I spent my afternoon performing manual labor while you just sat around talking. I think I’ve got the dibs.” But the coin was already out, gleaming faintly in the lamp light against his dark glove, and so Koala sighed and shrugged. “Fine. Tails.”

Gold flickered, casting a doppler shadow on the wall before Sabo caught it, flipped it onto the back of his hand, and groaned. She smirked at him and kicked off her boots, wriggling into the nest of blankets she’d built. “Wake me when you’re ready,” she’d said and was asleep before he managed to mutter out a reply.

They switched places at about midnight, the three-hour nap enough to pep Koala up for their return journey. Sabo took his turn to rest, his soft breathing a familiar background noise as Koala passed the time organizing her notes and thoughts for their eventual report. Yuba was silent around her, the desert still and quiet but for the far-off cry of a thief-heron that sounded at one point. She wasn’t used to it, the absence of the ocean or the noises from other people coming and going, and it was with a small sense of relief that she roused Sabo when his three hours were up so they could put away bedding and take their leave.

A huff of breath put out the oil lamp and they stood in the darkness for a moment with only the embers from the braziers for light. Eyes adjusted to darkness and then Sabo pushed open the door and stepped out. After the warmth of the room, the air was cold but Koala enjoyed the chilly caress on her face. It was far more comfortable than the oppressive heat during the day. Sabo’s silhouette followed the faint torchlit path to the privy before he turned off and led the way to the oasis. They filled their canteens in silence, the water icy on fingertips even through their gloves. Finally, once they’d reached the outer edge of Yuba, Sabo spoke. “So, which way shall we go?”

“I dunno…have you had your fill of tracing your brother’s footsteps for the moment?” It was meant to be teasing but Koala’s response came out far more sympathetic than she’d intended. It would be nice if at least part of the mission had gone well.

It was hard to see his expression in the dark but there was no disguising the sly smile in his tone. “Well, you DID say it was shorter to Rainbase from here than from Erumalu. Guess I’m not quite finished with chasing after Luffy yet.” Then, softer, “I don’t know that I’ll ever be now that I remember.”

But before she could even respond, he was walking forward. Forward into the crystalline stillness and silvery hue of the desert night with his head held high and the slump his shoulders had recently acquired finally noticed only by its sudden obvious absence. Koala was frozen for a moment, drinking him in, and then she trotted after, the exercise getting her blood going and banishing some of the cold. Sabo was whistling faintly, something jaunty and perfect for tramping around, and she kept pace with him, grateful this time for the warmth caught up in the length and folds of her robes. The mission, she decided as they followed the northern star towards the horizon and the eventual promise of Rainbase, had been a success after all.