One Piece: Dream of Immortality

Chapter 500: Stew



Kouzuki Hiyori let out a sigh as she stoked the fire inside her temporary lodgings.

It was a small miracle that she managed to escape the Flower Capital without being noticed. She was grateful for that, but she hated how alone she was. She had rarely been truly alone in her life, though there were times she felt alone even when surrounded by people, so this isolation was harder on her than anything else about her circumstances was.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

No, the worst was that she had many loved ones in danger in places that she knew not. She would gladly spend the rest of her life in isolation if only to have the assurance that they were all okay.

What she wouldn't give just to know they were safe, she had no idea.

Hiyori heard voices coming from outside and suddenly she felt colder by the fire than she would outside in the snow. She went as still as she could, straining to hear what was being said.

"Why did we leave just to sneak around and back inside?" a high pitched voice asked. A woman, probably.

"Komurasaki is inside the graveyard. We went around because I didn't want to deal with that big monk getting in our way," another voice answered. A bit deeper in tone, but clearly a woman's as well.

Hiyori started to panic. Not only was it known that she wasn't dead, but they even knew where she was! They would see the smoke and come straight here! She was going to be caught and dragged before Orochi to face some terrible fate she couldn't even imagine! She would never see her brother again-!

"Really?! Komurasaki-sama! Are you here?! Where are you?!" the higher pitched voice was closer now and Hiyori could hear it much better now.

She scarcely even realized why it sounded so familiar before she had already thrown the door open and lunged at the voice's owner.

"Toko?!" Hiyori cried out as she embraced the girl. "Thank goodness! Are you hurt anywhere?! Is that why you aren't smiling?!"

Her brain barely had the time to formulate a thought before it spewed out of her mouth.

"You look to be in good health," the other woman that Hiyori had briefly forgotten about spoke up.

Hiyori half spun around to put her body in between the woman and Toko. She leveled a suspicious glare at the woman and interrogated her, "Who are you?"

Hiyori didn't know if this woman was somehow related to Toko's kidnapper, so she couldn't be more careful. She might not be strong in strength of arms, but she wasn't going to let anyone take Toko away from her again.

"She's Cherry! She saved me from being kidnapped!" Toko answered in Cherry's place.

Hiyori was momentarily relieved, but she refused to let her guard down. Toko was the only person she had that she could be completely honest with as well as a defenseless child; she wouldn't take any risks here.

"I'm the one who kidnapped her," Cherry said truthfully.

"Eh?!" Toko yelped. Hiyori's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Yasuie asked me to look after her since things are about to get dangerous in Wano. Snatching Toko up in broad daylight, in the middle of your procession no less, was the best way to avoid any suspicions being leveled at her for her sudden absence," Cherry explained after chuckling at their reactions.

"Yasuie? Toko's father?" Hiyori asked.

"Oh yeah, Dad did seem to know you..." Toko belatedly realized.

"So, are we just going to stand out here in the cold?" Cherry asked, though the weather didn't actually bother her so much as it did Hiyori and Toko.

Hiyori was still hesitant though. Did she want to invite this stranger into the safety of her- "Ah, what are you doing?!" Hiyori yelped as Cherry picked her up in a princess carry.

"You're taking too long. Toko might not be complaining, but she needs to warm up." Cherry paid no heed to Hiyori's protests.

Cherry kicked the door shut behind her as they crossed the threshold into the slightly chilly house, disallowing any more heat from leaving after Hiyori left the door open.

"Mm, this is better. I'll get the fire going until it's nice and toasty in here," Cherry said, dropping Hiyori to her feet.

"I already handled the fire!" Hiyori declared, an inordinate amount of pride in her tone.

Cherry ignored her and stuck her bare hand into the fire pit at the center of the house. Before Hiyori could demand to know what in the world she was thinking doing such a thing, the fire roared to life and made Hiyori's efforts look somewhat pathetic by comparison.

Hiyori pouted, then Toko laughed at her. She felt warm inside, and it wasn't just the fire.

...

Hiyori watched Cherry like a hawk as the latter prepared a large pot of stew. The gaze was so intense that Cherry wasn't sure if she was making sure the stew wasn't poisoned or if she was just jealous of Cherry's culinary skills.

"Where did all this come from?" Hiyori asked.

Or maybe it was just honest confusion.

"Cherry has deep pockets!" Toko revealed.

"Deep pockets full of food that needs eating, and a mountain of useless gold," Cherry

nodded. "I can solve one of those problems, at least."

Hiyori looked like she couldn't decide if she was being teased or not. Especially since Cherry's kimono didn't have any pockets.

Cherry used a ladle she hadn't had until just now and scooped some stew into a bowl that similarly appeared from thin air. She handed the first to Toko and the next one to Hiyori. Hiyori blew on her bowl a little too hard when she saw Toko shovel the hot stew into her mouth without regard for its heat. The distinct lack of Toko's cries of pain allowed her to

relax, though.

"I cooled it before I gave it to her," Cherry seemed to read her mind.

Hiyori took a bite and immediately regretted it, huffing and puffing in a desperate attempt to

cool the contents of her mouth.

"Sorry, I assumed that you were old enough to know how to eat," Cherry smirked at her.

Hiyori pouted, then Toko spat food as she laughed at her.

Once it was properly cooled, Hiyori tried again. "Oh, this is quite nice."

"It better be. I stole those spices from a very expensive kitchen," Cherry said.

"Stole... from Orochi?" Hiyori asked.

"No, from Mary Geoise, the city where the rulers of the world government live," Cherry said. "They call themselves celestial dragons, but nine out of ten of them are both uglier and more

evil than Orochi."

Neither Hiyori or Toko knew much of anything about celestial dragons, but they could conjure an image in their minds based on that description.

"That... is hard to believe," Hiyori admitted.

"I know," Cherry nodded, ladling more stew into her bowl. "To be honest, I'm underselling just how awful they are. I'm not sure that mere words can do them injustice."

Minutes passed them by in a somewhat awkward, but strangely comfortable silence as they ate a hearty stew that was worth more money than Hiyori ever stole from wicked fools during her time as Oiran.