Two months later, in Foosha Village, East Blue
Luffy had left for quite a while now. Airi didn't think she could possibly miss someone so much. Anytime she would think of the boy, a sinking feeling would take over her and all she could do was cry, and she hated it. But she ignored this feeling, putting it aside to enjoy fully the time she had with her beloved godfather.
Even though she was grateful she had the opportunity to share moments with Jin, she couldn't get over how awfully pained she was constantly feeling. Airi would pretend that she was fine the entire day and spend the entire night trying to calm down her panic attacks. Jin was on the edge of dying, and there was nothing she could do but watch it happen in front of her eyes. Every morning, she would wake up absolutely terrified to find Jin's dead body in his bed. She just wished her mother and Luffy would be there when it would happen. Thankfully, Makino would visit almost every day.
Airi got ready, tying her silk bandanna around her wrist. She made her way to Jin's bedroom, bringing him his breakfast in bed. The man greeted her with a warm smile.
"How are you feeling today, Jin-san?"
"Fabulous, darling. Did you make those pancakes?"
"Makino did." Airi forced a smile as she watched her unusual very pale looking godfather eat happily, "Has the doctor visited you today?"
"He has, sweetheart."
Airi frowned, "And? What has he said?"
"Nothing much, really."
Airi hummed, knowing damn well he was lying, as she handed the man some orange juice. She looked intently at him as he drank. She felt her heart tightening and a painful lump in her throat preventing her from speaking out. She kept watching her godfather, taking in every detail of his face, from his blonde and grey locks, to his glasses. How much she would miss him was all she could think about.
She sat on his bed and hugged him, bursting into sobs. She tightened her grip on him as if he was about to disappear.
The man hugged her back, stroking her blonde hair in comfort, "Oh, darling."
"I d-don't want you t-to... P-please..." she cried onto his shoulder. "I l-love you, so m-much, Jin-san."
"I love you too, my sweetheart, more than anything."
"Stay... D-don't ever l-leave m-me." Airi begged, her tears shedding.
"I won't ever leave you, honey. I'll always be with you, no matter what. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, Airi." Jin admitted.
Before she knew, Jin started coughing, not being able to stop. Airi hurried to bring him a glass of water but when she got back to him the coughing was over. Jin had his eyes closed, a motionless expression on his face. Airi dropped the glass and let it smashed loudly against the floor.
"No, no, no, no, no, no..." she begged through panicked panting.
She reached for Jin's hand and squeezed it as tight as possible, "Wake up!! Jin-san!!"
The man wasn't moving.
"JIN-SAN!!!" Airi screamed in pain.
She screamed, and cried, her body was shaking so hard and her lungs were refusing to give her a single breath.
"DON'T YOU LEAVE ME!!! JIN-SAN, WAKE UP!!!! PLEASE!!!!"
"Are you sure you'll be okay, honey?" Makino asked the girl, hugging her tight.
"I will. I can't stay here. I need to leave. I need to find Luffy."
Airi made sure to take a last look at Jin's grave on which she had spent her entire night, "You were the best thing that has happened to me." she whispered.
She made her way back to town followed closely by a concerned Makino, "Are you hungry, Airi-chan? Would you like some lunch at the bar?"
The bar in which Jin would spend his days cooking before he got sick.
"I'm not so hungry, but thank you, Makino-san."
"Are you going home, then?"
Home. How could this house be a home now? Sayaka was gone, Jin was dead, and Luffy wouldn't be visiting.
All she wanted now was to leave. As soon as possible. Airi felt like her own house was driving her insane. Every room, every object, everything reminded her of Jin. There was nothing she wanted more than to find Luffy. The pain she was going through was one she didn't think experiencing was even physically possible. The only thing she had left was Luffy. He was the only thing that kept her going. From wherever Luffy was, he was giving Airi's life a meaning.
"I'm not sure I'm ready..."
Makino gave her an encouraging hug, "It's okay, honey. You can borrow my room and rest there as long as you need."
Airi hugged the woman back, tightly, "I might need to go get my stuffs back first. Would you mind coming with me, Makino-san? I could really use some company."
"Of course, let's make it quick, alright? And then you won't have to go back home until you're ready."
Except this felt nothing like home. When they entered the house, Airi could feel this now very familiar sinking feeling inside her. She hurried her way to her bedroom, reached for a bag and quickly put in her essentials. Some clothes, some framed pictures, and her signature perfume. She grabbed some few more things before looking one last time at the room she had grown up in. She exited the room, closing the door behind her. Makino was waiting for her in the living room, Airi joined her, "There's one last thing I need to get."
Airi reached for the golden box she had put near the kitchen counter, "That's it, let's go." she stated, not waiting one more second to leave the house, "Makino-san, I trust you with my mother's and godfather's belongings. Oh, and the rest of mines as well. Take anything you'd like."
Makino was about to refuse but she thought Airi wouldn't appreciate arguing in such a moment.
They walked silently to Makino's bar. Airi could not look up at the room, everything that was in there reminded her of the times Sayaka, Jin and Luffy were still here. With each step she was taking inside the bar, she felt like her heart was shattering in a million of tiny sharp pieces.
She sat down at the bar counter, putting the golden box in front of her, meanwhile, Makino was cooking, just in case Airi would get hungry. But the only thing the girl was actually planning on eating was this clear looking fruit.
She remembered the things Jin had told her about the fruit. Her mother had spent years looking for it, and fought bravely just to keep it away from anyone with bad intentions. Jin had made it clear that Sayaka's wish was for Airi to keep the fruit herself. Knowing how much this meant for her mother and godfather, Airi had taken her decision.
She opened the box and grabbed the fruit in her hands, taking one last deep breath before taking one bite. Despite the awfully disgusting and sour taste it had, she forced herself into eating it fully.
"Ew-" she said, almost throwing it up. "Makino-san... Please hand me water, milk, food, anything, please."
Makino chuckled, not questioning anything about the fruit, and handed her a glass of milk and the lunch she had just cooked, which Airi quickly ate as an attempt to remove the fruit's taste from her tongue.
"How's this even edible? Oh my god." she complained.
The mayor entered the bar, looking panicked. He was panting heavily, as if he had just ran a thousand miles to get there.
"Mayor? What's wrong?" Makino asked with confusion.
"The... The Marines are here! They're looking for Luffy!"
Airi turned around almost immediately, "They are?" she smiled uncontrollably.
If the Marines themselves were looking for Luffy, it only meant one thing; Luffy had made it to becoming a pirate.
"This isn't good news, Airi! I told them he wasn't there but they won't believe me! They're searching the entire island!"
"How is this bad news, though?" Airi smirked before turning to Makino and hugging her over the bar counter, "Makino-san, I'm leaving. Thank you for everything you've done for me and my family, I'll always be so grateful for you."
"Wha- Airi-chan, what are you talking about?"
"Don't you worry about me! You'll hear about Luffy and I soon enough!" Airi exclaimed, running out of the bar.
She ran, and ran, and ran, a huge smile on her face. The fresh salty breeze of the sea rippling through her hair and clothes made her feel like she was now free. When she finally noticed some people wearing the Marines suits, she stopped and took a deep breath. She made her way to one of them, "Hello, sir."
The guy turned around, he was a bit smaller than Airi, he had pink haired and round glasses. He looked about her age, which Airi thought was kind of comforting somehow. The guy gave her a frankly confused look.
"I want to join the Marines." Airi stated.
The pink-haired boy took a while to figure out if the stunning blonde girl in front of him was actually being serious, before he offered her an excited smile that she gladly returned.