On the fifth day, since they departed from Twin Capes, the Blackstar Crew arrived at their first destination in the Grandline.
"Finally!!!" Kuina yelled out, dropping to her knees as soon as they touched the ground.
She could not even remember the last time she had a stable footing under her feet, and Law, Nami, Nojiko, and Augur shared the same feelings as her.
Foolshout Island turned out to be a Summer Island. It was not something beautiful to behold, but it had its own beauty. For as far as they could see, there were giant cactuses, with very dry land and air. A rocky terrain, and they could even see rock mountains standing high in the middle of the Island.
The dry wind that blew and kissed their skin was a little uncomfortable, but they were not going to complain. It was still much better than the Evil Sea that had been toying with them for the last few days. That said, despite being a summer Island, it was not a desert Island. There was vegetation everywhere, and wildlife that thrived in this weather.
Sin did not miss that Hachi was not looking around. The octopus Fishman kept his head down and walked in silence, lost in his thoughts. And everyone understood why it was so.
This Island, no matter how peaceful it looked, ached Hachi's heart. To him, this place was a reminder of how humans had betrayed them because of their race. And evoked memories of how the person he revered the most, agonisingly took his last breaths, refusing to be saved by the blood of the race that looked down upon them.
It was a tragedy that shaped his point of view of life and was the tragedy that led to the breakdown of the famous Sun Pirates that all the Fishmen were proud of.
Sin placed his hand on Hachi's shoulder and lightly squeezed it.
"Come on, lead us to where your little friend lives." He smiled and said.
Hachi had told them about a former slave girl that Fisher Tiger had saved. She was the reason why the Sun Pirates covered the first half of Grandline, just to make sure she got back home. Most of the crew despised her, and some outright hated her, like Arlong, but Hachi had always found her adorable and fun to be around. He once considered her his first true human friend in this world, but that changed after the tragedy that struck Fisher Tiger.
He was not sure at first if he wanted to see her again, but now that he was here, he couldn't help recalling her sweet smile. Even if he wanted to blame her for what happened, he couldn't. He knew she was but a young child, naive and innocent. And Fisher had specifically asked the Sun Crew to not blame her for the actions of the prejudiced people.
"I want to see how little Koala is doing now." Hachi finally felt a little better and lightly laughed.
The Crew followed their companion as he led them to the hometown of Koala, and as soon as they entered, they were under scrutiny. People looked at them, especially at Hachi, in unabashed disgust, reflecting their prejudice against the Fishmen. Even Bepo was being looked at with frowns, not that it mattered to him in any way, but it made the younger girls uncomfortable.
Nami and Nojiko found similarities in the way the people here looked at Hachi and Bepo, to how Arlong and his Crew used to look at the people of their village. And it was not a pleasant feeling.
Hachi did not care about how humans looked at him anymore. He did not like them in general, but he was smart enough to understand that not everyone was the same.
They arrived outside a small house, and Hachi knocked on the door politely. Some people from the town were gathered a little far away, watching them, waiting to see why they were there and what they wanted from this house.
An aged woman, who looked years older than her real age should be, opened the door and looked who was outside. Her eyes widened when she saw that it was a Fishman, and she stumbled backwards in fear as if it was her death that had knocked on her door.
Her reaction made Hachi feel really awkward and agitated, but he kept calm.
"Is Koala home?" He asked.
As soon as the woman heard the name, her fear was suddenly replaced with sorrow, and tears brimmed from her eyes. The pain reflecting on her face gripped Hachi's heart, and all the bad thoughts started haunting him.
"Go away..." She whispered and tried to shut the door. "Go away!"
The door was about to close on Hachi's face when it was suddenly held in place.
Sin could see that the woman was in pain, but he was not pleased with her behaviour.
"It would be appreciated if you answer the question, woman." He threateningly said, and the woman trembled in fear as she looked into his cold-grey eyes. "Is Koala home or not?"
"No." She subconsciously shook her head and then managed to find some words. "She ran from home two years ago."
Her words relieved Hachi of the worst thoughts, but he was still worried.
"Why would she run away from home?! She always wanted to get back to you." He agitatedly asked.
The woman lowered her head in shame at his question and stayed silent.
"Answer him." Sin sternly said, which made her flinch.
"When she learned what I and the villagers did to Fisher Tiger, she ran away from this place." She said in a low voice. "She said that everyone here disgusted her and that she would never call me mother again..." As soon as she said those words, the dam broke and her tears fell freely. "We searched for her the entire day, and then a boy informed us that he saw her board a merchant ship. I don't know where she is now or if she..."
Hachi did not wait to listen to her words anymore and turned around to walk away. All his six fists were tightly clenched, and his body was lightly shaking. And his expressions scared the villagers, who scattered away from his path in fear, not willing to invoke his wrath upon them.
The Crew did not stop and console the woman. They followed their companion, walking aimlessly on the Island.
It took a couple of hours before Hachi managed to gather himself. There were so many emotions that gripped his heart. He was worried about the innocent girl, who had left her home. He was pleased with how she felt about everything that happened, and that she cared about Fisher. He also felt ashamed that he, at times, doubted her and blamed her for what happened to his Boss. And then he was furious at all the villagers that were involved in betraying them.
As time passed, all his emotions subsided, but there was one that gripped his mind, haunting him.
"She's all alone now..." He whispered.
"Maybe, maybe not." Sin smiled at him and patted his shoulder. "Fortune favours the brave. And what she did showed that she was brave enough."
His words were not exactly comforting, but they did manage to help Hachi get a proper grip on himself.
"I hope she's happy." The octopus Fishman said from the bottom of his heart. "And I hope to see her again to see how she's doing."
"You will!" Nami came forward and grabbed his hand comfortingly. "You will see Koala again." She confidently said.
"Hehehe." Hachi picked her up and helped her sit on his shoulders. "I will make Takoyaki for you today."
"Yay!" Nami was happy and the rest of them had smiles on their faces as well. Hachi's Takoyaki was divine. And everyone on the ship loved it.