The world twisted and bent before both Yuta's and Maki's eyes until suddenly—SPLASH!
Both Yuta and Maki dropped straight into shallow seawater, face-first. The sun blazed overhead, waves lapping lazily against the raised shoreline of Wano. Yuta spat out a mouthful of salty water and dragged himself onto the sand, coughing. Maki wasn't any better, her hair plastered to her face, naginata stuck somewhere behind her.
"Are you kidding me. Again!" Maki shouted, pulling seaweed off her head. "And why a beach? Of all places, why a beach again?!"
Yuta flopped onto his back, too tired to even argue. "Hey! It's not my fault. Whether it's world travel or time travel, neither comes with a GPS…"
They both lay there for a moment, soaking wet, sand sticking to every part of their clothes. Their eyes were bloodshot, their bodies sore, and neither had slept in three whole days. The exhaustion hit them like a freight train.
Maki groaned. "I can't keep doing this. I just want… five minutes. Just five minutes of sleep."
Yuta dragged a hand down his face. "Yeah, I'll never get used to this. Long sleepless world-hopping like this is mind-breaking…" he muttered with a huff. By now, he was so used to it, he didn't even get that angry anymore.
Maki was different, though. She was almost popping a vein with this back-to-back, nonstop action and trouble.
"Sorry, I didn't have any other way to get out of there." As if seeing her anger, he apologized. Most of this was indeed his fault.
Still, Maki wasn't satisfied. She sat up, glaring at him. "Explain. Now. What the hell just happened? Where did you take us?!"
Yuta sighed, sitting cross-legged in the sand. "Alright, listen. No matter how many times I try, I can't go back to the future. I think it has something to do with my curse energy. As you already know, it's inherently positive in nature.
This devil fruit I ate technically should send me—or others I want to—the future. However, the reverse nature of my curse energy keeps having the reverse effect on it.
Going to the future is hard too; my curse energy keeps getting in the way. I planned to practice and figure out a way, but just in case it didn't work, I had another plan. Just in case…"
Maki narrowed her eyes. "And that is?"
"We go further back." Yuta's tone was flat but heavy.
"What!" Maki thought she misheard. Did he say go further into the past? Has he finally lost it?
"Okay… listen to me first before you blow up, okay… Look, if I really can't send us back to the future, then the only person I know who can actually help us return is… my grandmother."
Maki froze. "Your… grandmother? Don't tell me…"
Yuta scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Yeah. Since this was her devil fruit, we just have to go to a time when she was alive, and then we can ask her to send us into the future."
Her jaw nearly dropped. "You're saying we're… in the past? How far?"
Yuta looked away, guilty. "About… twenty years."
Maki's eyes bulged. "Twenty years?! You dragged me twenty years back in time without asking?!"
Yuta winced as she smacked him on the head. "Ow, ow, ow! Not like I had a choice! Kaido was about to smash us into pancakes!"
She sighed, rubbing her temples. "Unbelievable. Out of all the insane messes I've been dragged into… this one takes the prize."
The two of them slumped against a rock, dripping wet, sandy, and utterly defeated. They looked like two wrecked travelers washed ashore. Yuta closed his eyes, mumbling, "First order of business… sleep. Then… grandmother time."
Maki jabbed him with her elbow. "Don't you dare pass out here. I'm not letting crabs crawl over my face while I sleep."
"Fine, fine…" Yuta yawned. "Let's find a bed before we both die of exhaustion."
Dragging themselves up, the two stumbled toward the nearby village. Unlike the half-deserted ruins they had seen in their own time, this place was full of life. Farmers carried baskets, kids ran around barefoot, stalls lined the street with food sizzling on grills.
Yuta's stomach growled loudly. Maki stared. "Seriously? We're stuck twenty years in the past and you're thinking about food?"
He grinned weakly. "Not me, it's my stomach. Sleep, food, and women are basic needs for men after all."
Smack
She smacked him again. "Idiot."
Still, their goal was simple. Not to fight, not to plan some huge strategy—just to find a roof, a bed, and finally rest.
The great warriors who had stood toe-to-toe with Kaido only hours before now dragged their weary, sandy feet into the village like two lost beggars, their eyes half-closed.
"Room for two, please…" Yuta muttered to the first innkeeper he saw, before collapsing face-first onto the floor. The crash was much harder on him than he realized. After all, his physique wasn't as strong as Maki's.
Not to mention, he has suffered the most in this journey, using long distance time travel two times.
Maki sighed, grabbing him by the collar. "Honestly… you're hopeless."
She didn't take him directly to the room though. Eating was important as well; the body needed its nourishment.
The innkeeper, wide-eyed at their drenched, sandy appearance, served them steaming bowls of rice, grilled fish, and miso soup. Yuta and Maki didn't bother with manners. They ate like starving wolves, stuffing food into their mouths at a speed that scared the poor innkeeper half to death.
"Oi, Yuta, you're stealing my fish again!" Maki snapped with her mouth full.
"You were too slow!" Yuta shot back, cramming half a rice ball into his mouth at once.
Plates emptied in record time, bowls stacked high, and when their stomachs finally stopped growling, both slumped back with identical groans of satisfaction.
"…Sleep," Maki muttered.
"Yeah… sleep," Yuta echoed.
The innkeeper pointed to the small room upstairs. Inside was a single futon. The two of them just stared at it for a moment.
"…One bed," Maki said flatly.
"…Better than the ground," Yuta replied.
Too exhausted to argue, they simply collapsed together onto the futon. Neither cared about the awkwardness, nor the fact they were pressed so close. Their bodies sank into the warmth of each other's presence. Yuta's arm draped lazily across Maki, her head resting against his chest, but there were no teasing words, no flustered glares.
Their fatigue was too heavy, like a mountain pinning them down. The world faded, and all thoughts vanished.
Within minutes, both were fast asleep, breathing in unison, lost to the peace they had desperately needed.
Outside, the innkeeper waited, listening intently.
"Sigh, what's up with young people nowadays? Man and woman in a room and nothing happens. Tsk… not even a hint of flare from my youth…"
xxx
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