"Hey (N/n)?"

You were shook awake by small hands and when you opened your eyes, you were met with a bright, (e/c) pair staring right back at you. They were framed by a sweet, young face that looked a little gaunt. Your brother had missed more than a few meals as of late but at least it wasn't as much as you. You always made sure he was taken care of before yourself. Someone had to.

"What's the matter?"

You sat up and the thin blanket that covered you fell away. The "bed" wasn't in much better shape. You'd managed to stuff the matress with old straw you snuck from the nearby farm. It wasn't enough for the farmer to miss.

"She's back." He whispered as he crawled into the bed with you.

A sigh left you. By she, he meant your mother, though you felt no connection to her besides blood. She spent her days wandering the streets for money, either begging it off of strangers or servicing men to earn it, only to spend it on her vices. Gambling was her addiction and if there was a cure, she didn't want anything to do with it.

Once every few days, she'd come back to the rickety shack you called a home to sleep off her exhaustion and berate you and your brother. While she was gone, it was your job to find extra funds to fuel her gambling habits and if you didn't get anything, she'd get so furious she'd beat you bloody. You'd learned some tricks for picking up quick cash though and it'd been a long time since she last layed a finger on you. As for Leo, as long as he stayed out of sight, she didn't bother with him.

That was why he was here now. The "home" only had two rooms. When your mother was here, she claimed one and your brother would share yours until she stumbled back out to the streets for a few days. This time, he apparently hadn't left the room fast enough. There was a small gash on his cheek that still had fresh blood slowly gathering at its edges and his lip was busted, telling you all you needed to know.

She'd gotten a hold of him and given him a quick beating for being in her way. She always hated your brother and you couldn't figure out why.

You held his face gently to get a closer look at the wound in the poor lighting. It wasn't bad enough for stitches but it still angered you that she touched him.

"It's fine, don't hurt." He said quickly, pulling away.

It was an obvious lie, one both of you told each other any time you were hurt, but you were tired of hearing it from him. He was too young to be putting up with this. And you were done with your mother hurting him.

"Hey Leo, I've got an idea." You replied.

"What kind?"

"The good kind."

He suddenly looked curious but a little apprehensive. "Mom doesn't like it when we get ideas though."

"That's why this one's good." You insisted. "It won't matter what she thinks."

"How's that?"

You raised a finger to your lips, telling him to be quite as you huddled closer to him. The walls here were paper thin and it was important that no one else heard.

"She can't do nothing if we leave."

His eyes widened. "Like, forever?"

You nodded. "Yup. We can take the money and get onto a ship. She won't be able to find us so we won't get in trouble."

"We can't 'fford to get on a ship." He frowned. Even at his age, he understood how money worked around here, how expensive it was to do anything.

"How about this then, we make it a game."

"How?"

"We have to get on the ship without being seen. We gotta play hide and seek 'cept it's really important that we don't get found."

"That sounds hard."

"But if we do it, we win." You smiled, feeling a spark of hope ignite inside you.

"What do we win?"

"The best thing ever, but you gotta do everything I say to win."

He thought for a moment, interested in your great escape becoming a kind of game.

"Is it going to be safe?" He finally asked with a hint of worry.

It was then that you decided you'd never let anyone else ever lay a hand on him. You'd protect him with your life and do everything you could to make things better for him. This was just the first step but it'd be the most important one.

"Course it'll be safe." You assured him. "I'll make sure of it."

"Okay." He crept out of the bed with you and reached under it for the small, wooden box you hid the earnings in.

The money was originally for your mother to gamble away but now it was going to be your ticket out of here. It'd keep you alive until you found a better way to get you and your brother on your feet. The box creaked slightly as it was opened and you shoved the small bag of coins in your pocket. Before closing it, you eyed the silver necklace still sitting inside. It was the one thing your mother refused to part with.

The silver always had a bright shine to it and the intricate designs over the heart shaped surface never failed to hypnotize you. Without a second thought, you snatched it up and hung the chain around your neck, shoving the locket under your shirt.

"What's that for?" Leo whispered nervously. Any time he looked at it, he was threatened with a beating, something you'd received on multiple occasions when you'd been caught handling it.

"We can sell it." You answered. "It'll be handy."

He took your reply silently.

"Besides, if we're gone, she can't beat us for it."

That made him nod vigorously and he was suddenly more on board with the idea of taking it.

"Let's go before she wakes up." You knew she'd be asleep. The first thing she did every time she came back was collapse into bed and pass out. This time would be no different and it'd provide you with your golden opportunity.

You pushed him out the open window of your room and followed him out, bare feet hitting the dirt street below. Leo quickly grabbed for your hand as you straighted back out, and you led him through the dark to the docks. Things were going to change for the better. You could feel it.

That dream was different than any other and you woke with a few stray tears falling down your face. That was the first time you'd dreamed of your time before Atticus and it gave you all the more insight on your relationship with your brother. The same one you'd spent hours crying your eyes out over all day yesterday.

In the end, you couldn't keep him safe like you'd wanted to and all you could do now was hope more dreams of him would give you a better understanding of him. Even with very few memories of him, you ached terribly knowing he was gone. Deep down, you didn't need the memories to tell you how much he meant to you.

You struggled to get out of bed and throw on a fresh change of clothes but you managed. When you were done, you left the Captain's quarters to head out onto the deck of the ship. It was early morning, the crew was still sound asleep, waiting for you to decide to head back to Punk Hazard. You were about ready to do just that, but you wanted to see Leo's grave one last time.

The sky was only just begining to turn light and you were sure you'd be able to finish up before it got too far into the morning. With that in mind, you left a note stating you'd be back soon where you knew someone was bound to see it and headed inland. There was a graveyard on one of the corners of the island, far from the town but close to where you were docked, conveniently enough. It was separate from the old graveyard that was much closer to town but with the sickness these people in particular carried, their bodies were kept out of the way, even though it was proven the corpses weren't contagious.

The old man, Otto, had explained things in better detail to you when he took you to see your brothers grave. The sickness targeted the living and when the afflicted died, so did the sickness. Anything dead was technically safe but everything was affected at different paces. For example, people would die from it within a week of contracting it where as the original trees that carried it were still alive, barely though. This place held a medical marvel but you wished someone besides your brother tried to tackle the issue. He was smart but he wasn't equipped to deal with a problem like this. It was no wonder he couldn't fight it.

It was a short walk to the ill kept graveyard and as you approached it, you felt annoyed at the state it was left in. Only Otto visited it, or so he said at least, and he was too old to maintain the tombstones. That meant they were covered in layers of grime and fast growing plants. Leo had only died about a year ago, yet the place looked like it hadn't been touched in at least ten. Suddenly, you had a feeling you knew what Leo would do.

You got busy doing what you knew you could do and started going around each grave, cleaning off the plants and brushing away the worst of the built up dust and dirt. The plants hardly clung to the stones and came off much easier than you thought they would and you were able to have it looking pretty decent in about an hour of work. You saved your brother's grave for last.

His name was partially hidden under vines and moss but when you'd moved all that away, you could read it. Rivas Leonidas. It was simple, just a slat of stone with his name and date of death. No extra details or any pretty designs carved into the rock. No one here really knew him after all.

"I wasn't sure I came to the right place at first." Otto shifted through the grass not far off from you, slowly making his way over.

"It seemed rude to leave the mess." You wiped the dirt from your hands onto your pants, leaving dark streaks behind on the light blue denim.

"I'm sure the dead appreciate it." He chuckled.

You shrugged. "The dead are long gone but it makes me feel better."

"That's what matters."

"I'm leaving." It was a terrible segway but you felt it was important that he knew you weren't going to stick around. "I've gotta head back."

"I'd be worried if you decided to stay. There's nothing here for you, well, except this that is." He reached into his back pocket with some effort and pulled out a folded over envelope. It looked a little worn around the edges but fine all things considered. "I was told to keep this for whenever you came around. It's from Leo."

You accepted it as he offered and unfolded it to see your name written across the front it large, bold letters.

"Thanks." You slipped it into your own pocket and headed back for the ship.

"You're not going to read it?" Otto called after you.

"I will, just not now. Take care of those trees before they kill anyone else."

"Already started." He grunted.

Now that he mentioned it, you glanced around and saw signs of smoke everywhere. All the sick trees on the island were ablaze as the residents burned away the illness. The heat would kill it off and while the land would be scorched for some time, things would be better here and no one would meet the same fate as your brother.

As you headed back to the ship, you were overcome with a sense of peace. All your loose ends were taken care of. Maybe not the way you wanted but mysteries were solved and as the days came and went, you learned more about yourself. Even if you couldn't meet up with him in the end, you were sure Leo would approve of what you'd done with your life. You were living for yourself and no one else could control you. Not your mother, not the Celestial Dragons, and not the Marines.

"I'll be back soon Law." You murmured to no one in particular. It was time to go home.

(A/n)
I debated ending things here but I think there's room for one more chapter, possibly two! We'll see how it goes~