The salty breeze blows stiffly into your face, as you take another deep breath. You look outwards to the sea, eyes lazily following the motions of the waves as the hull of the ship rocks and creaks in tune with the current. Beyond the horizon, the sun slowly crawls into the sky, a golden dawn shining its radiant brilliance upon the mighty Going Marine Go. You lean over the railing of the prow, looking down into the green-blue waters, white sea foam creating an inexplicably beautiful cobweb upon its surface. A part of you yearns to dive into the sea, letting yourself fall into its watery embrace, finally taking you away from all the suffering.

“Ahoooooyyyyy~” A recognizable voice calls out to you. It’s your captain, Houshou Marine. She’s dressed in her usual getup, complete with an oversized admiral jacket hanging from her shoulders. She walks up to you, leaning over the railing next to you.

“You’re up early, Senchou,” you greet her. She yawns and gives you a groggy grin.

“Couldn’t really sleep last night,” she answers wistfully. You nod at the answer. Both of you knew what happened last night. A legend of a legend was no longer with them. Kiryu Coco, the great dragon, no longer walks the same earth as them. Not anymore. That was why you were at the prow so early in the morning as well, why it was so tempting to jump headfirst into the ocean currents. Now that your captain was next to you, cold feet were getting to you. You were hurting inside, and yet you were too pathetic to act on it, whether it was before Kaichou’s farewell, or after it. Like a rock had sunk deep within your heart, pulling you down no matter how far you ran.

You sigh, letting your head hang. Marine gives you a curious look, concerned at your downed attitude.

“You OK?” she asks tenderly. You look at her with sad eyes, fists clenched in anxiousness.

“Senchou… Do we deserve to be happy?” you ask her, as if it could ever encapsulate the whirlwind of emotions within you.

“What’s with the philosophical question so early in the morning?” she chuckles in response. You look into her deep maroon eye, shining with bright curiosity, yet also hiding their own pitiful emotions. Your own face reflects within that single red globe, and you see a pathetic being staring back, a husk of who you once were. Marine sighs, putting a hand on your shoulder.

“If you’re asking if any normal human being has the opportunity to be happy at some point in their lives, then of course they do. Achieving happiness is never the problem, accepting the price of happiness is.”

“But Senchou, we fought so hard doing the right thing. Fighting for Kaichou, fighting for us! And even after all that, it still feels like we failed her.” You respond, dejected as ever. “It’s just so unfair.” You cry out in frustration.

Marine gives you a dry laugh, before slipping under one of your arms, leaning against your body. Normally you would be taken aback by this thanks to her not so scrupulous nature, but after the events of last night, you both sought out comfort.

“Anon, if things were fair, we wouldn’t have to be pirates sailing the seas. I mean, look at us. Born into a cruel world, treated like trash by society, and now all we do is scrape by just to live. But tell me something, Anon. Would you have it any other way?”

You were unable to answer her, still trying to deny the truth behind her words.

“I understand your pain. I felt it too. I begged her not to go. I cried throughout the night, and I still want to cry right now. It hurts. It hurts so bad. But I’m still going to look forwards, head held high. Do you know what the price of being happy is, Anon?” she asks you, while she clutches onto your arm. You shake your head.

“The price of being happy is that one day, you’ll be just as sad. You don’t pay the price then and there, but one day, it will collect its debt. Our lives are like an ocean, Anon. Some days calm, some days stormy. It ebbs and flows, waves rising and crashing. All creating the memories we experience in our lives. And we’re pirates, Anon. Is it not our destiny to sail these seas, no matter the condition?” You look down at the petit pirate, who had now positioned herself perfectly under your chin. How ironic that she was the philosopher on this cold morning while you stewed in your own self pity. She gives you a big smile, even as tears fall down her cheeks.

“So, are you saying that one day we’ll be happy, Senchou?” you ask her in response, wrapping your arms around your beloved captain.

“I don’t know, Anon. I can’t even tell how the seas will be tomorrow. Will we sink? What happens if I have to leave you?” she goes on, and you feel her holding on to your arms, as if afraid to lose you. You embrace her tightly, for it was you that was afraid of losing her. You had started this adventure together, and throughout all the trials and tribulations, you stuck it out with her. She was your captain, and you would follow her until the end of the world.

She eventually relaxes her grip, as do you. She nuzzles up to you, savouring your body warmth. You close your eyes, imagining a life of happiness, excitement, and strife alongside her. You never wanted to lose that, not in a million years.

“I may not know what’s going to happen in the future, but I do know that, in this moment, I have you. And I’ll spend every day, every moment I can, enjoying it with you. Because that’s all I can do. That’s all we can do, Anon. To live in the now. That’s what Kaichou was trying to tell us all this time. If we truly enjoyed the times we spent together, then they will be precious memories, even after we’re long gone!”

Even through your closed eyelids, you could feel your tears seeping out. The memories, the experiences, the happiness you had being by Coco’s side, you cherished them. Of course you did.

“Open your eyes, Anon.” Marine tells you. You heed her words.

The sun had risen past the horizon, revealing to you a beautiful blue sky, the sun rays refracting off the seas, glimmering like a diamond. You hear the rhythm of the waves lapping against the hull of the ship, and the accompanying cries of seagulls brings it into a melodious masterpiece of nature. And perhaps, the most beautiful thing of them all, was your captain, Houshou Marine. She was giving you an enormous smile, her face still had traces of dried tears, but even through all that, she still smiled. That was your Senchou, smiling fearlessly, no matter how bad things were. And you can’t help but smile along with her.

“Can you feel that, Anon?” she calls out. Another wind was blowing, the same salty breeze, but you could also feel something else in there. An intuition, a feeling, a promise. You don’t know what it did promise, but you knew it was something. Whatever it was, that was for you to find out.

Marine takes your hand, pointing forward to the horizon. Pointing forwards, to the future.