One Piece: It's always been you

Chapter 41 The Misty Forest (3)

Katakuri hadn't forgotten that he and Yu hadn't safely left the forest. He couldn't be fooled by the illusion and leave Yu to face all the dangers alone.

"Karn, wake up! Don't believe what you're seeing, it's fake."

She called out to him, but to no avail. She couldn't think of any way to wake him up. Was the only way to do it through the pungent smell of blood?

"Should I prick him again? A double whammy of touch and taste will surely wake him up." That's what Yu thought, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Just as Yu was about to scratch herself with the vines, an invisible force shook them off, and Yu felt a jolt of awe throughout her body. The force was like a gust of wind, seemingly invisible, yet truly palpable. It passed through Yu's body and continued to spread throughout the entire forest.

Yu heard the sounds of many people falling around her. Looking around, she could vaguely make out the original appearance of the forest, with signs of the mist dissipating. But it was only for a moment, and the forest quickly returned to its misty state.

"Um..."

"Ka...you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Where are we now?" Katakuri rubbed his eyes, then looked at his palms. He was still confused; he knew his palms were in front of him, but he couldn't see them clearly.

"At the cliff edge, we... fell into the sea, and I... brought you here."

Yu didn't say that she saved Katakuri. She felt that it was a bit deliberate, and if she really had to say that she was saved, it was Katakuri who saved her from being trapped in the illusion. She couldn't just let him fall into the sea and feed the fish; it would be a waste for such a muscular man to be eaten by fish.

"Get closer."

"What did you discover?"

Yu thought Katakuri had discovered something was wrong and wanted to discuss countermeasures with her. So she approached him as he requested.

Although he couldn't see clearly, he could roughly sense that Yu was approaching after hearing his words. He reached out and pulled her firmly into his arms, preventing her from escaping.

"Whoa! What...what are you doing! I'm warning you, let me go."

"Don't move, I can't see you clearly, I can only know you're by my side by holding you like this."

"Then you don't need to hold me so tightly. Let go and release me."

"It was so cold coming out of the sea that the two of us hugged each other to keep warm."

"..."

Yu wanted to argue, but she knew Katakuri wasn't cold at all. The two pressed close together, and Katakuri's body heat warmed Yu.

It's Yu who's cold, not Katakuri.

It's never too cold at sea, but it's different on the island, especially on the shady side where the dense trees block out the sunlight. You, having just come out of the sea, hadn't adapted to the temperature difference.

"What are you doing?"

Yu was held captive in his arms, unable to see what the person behind him was doing. He could only feel his hands wrapping around something in circles.

“Wear a scarf. Otherwise, what do you think I’m doing? Who told you to take my scarf off?”

"Oh...you're wearing a scarf even though you fell into the sea. I was just worried you wouldn't be able to breathe and would suffocate." Yu's good intentions were met with a pout, and she muttered under her breath, "Why are you being so mean..."

Yu knew what he was worried about, but she couldn't see anything around them right now, and even if there were people, they wouldn't see Katakuri's face. Her scarf was soaked after they came out of the sea; she was genuinely afraid that he hadn't drowned, but had suffocated because of her.

"Wait! Have you been wearing a scarf the whole time?"

"Ah."

Otherwise? Who else but you would take off my scarf? Not even myself. Katakuri remembers that when Yu fell into the sea, he protected her well enough that her head wouldn't be injured.

"I think I know the secret of this forest."

"What do you know?"

"It's unclear. Tell me what you saw when you entered the forest, and were you in a hallucination before?"

Katakuri told Yu that he hadn't been trapped in a hallucination before, and that the forest he saw had no mist at all, only people like puppets, living like zombies. However, he seemed to have been trapped in a hallucination while he was unconscious.

As expected, Katakuri's words further confirmed Yu's guess.

You tore off a piece of cloth and covered her mouth and nose. "Let's go find the candy house in the center of the forest."

Katakuri didn't quite understand what Yu was talking about, and what the candy house was all about.

Yu grabbed Katakuri's arm, and the two stood side by side. Katakuri was waiting for Yu to lead the way, but he forgot that Yu had no sense of direction, and that neither of them could see the road clearly.

"Um...don't you have Observation Haki? Can you sense which way is safest?"

"I can't see it clearly, so I can't use it."

It's not that he can't use it because he can't see clearly, but that he can't calm down right now.

Yu was now holding his arm tightly, and he could even feel the softness of Yu's chest.

"What can we do then? We can't just keep crashing into trees as we go!" You didn't want to bump into trees again.

"Do you have any small pebbles or anything?"

"I only have...candy..." It's that jar I stole from your room...

"Give me."

Although I don't know what Katakuri wants this for, I can only listen to him and do as he says for now.

Katakuri touched the jar of candy that Yu handed him. The jar looked familiar; it seemed to be the one Yu didn't want in his room.

"Pfft." Katakuri chuckled softly.

Katakuri could feel Yu's head, which was pressed against his arm, lowering little by little. Now you know how to be shy? Where did that tsundere attitude go?

"What...what do you need this for?"

"Okay."

Katakuri emptied a handful of candy beans into his palm, clenched his fist, and charged up. The candy beans shot out like bullets, and Katakuri used the sound to determine their direction.

Do you know where the Candy House is?

"Just head in the general direction from the center of the forest. If my guess is right, they will appear on their own without us even having to go there."

"them?"

"I'll tell you as we walk. Hey, hey, save some for me." Her candy! She hadn't even eaten a single piece, and it was all gone.

Yu held Katakuri's arm, and as he took a step, Yu followed, explaining the island and the forest to Katakuri as they walked.

Upon arriving in the small town on the island, Yu discovered that the town was inhabited only by women or girls. Through her intentional and unintentional interactions, Yu learned that the men had disappeared.

Then, she met Sai Langlang, her only man.

You followed Sai Langlang through forests without encountering any mist, but the mist only appeared after she exposed Sai Langlang's departure from the candy house.

Yu suspected that what she initially saw was not mist, but rather that the inhalation of tiny spores from some plant in the forest had impaired her vision, making her unable to see clearly and thus causing her to feel as if she were trapped in mist.

"Then how did you get trapped in the illusion?"

Yu told Katakuri that someone later told her that their friends were ahead. Yu thought it was Brulee and Pudding and that they were in danger, so she became worried and flustered.

The second hypothesis is that illusions are created by ability users. Illusions appear because their minds are easily controlled due to emotional changes, or like Katakuri, their minds are easily controlled when they are relatively weak.

She was in a fantasy world because she was worried about Brulee and Pudding, which is why she attacked Katakuri.

Yu wouldn't have noticed the connection originally, but it was only after Katakuri was deprived of his scarf and fell into a hallucination, unable to see clearly, that she made the connection.

First, they use plants that affect vision to instill fear and create a bizarre environment. Then, they use their abilities to create illusions and control those people. It can be said that the ability user is very clever.

"You suspect that Sai Langlang did these things?"

Katakuri agreed with Yu's idea. The reason he didn't see the mist or fall into an illusion when he entered the forest was because his scarf prevented him from inhaling plant spores, and also because his Conqueror's Haki was too strong for other Devil Fruit users to use on him.

Later, he escaped from the sea, which allowed the ability user to take advantage of the situation.

"It's not doubt, it's certainty." Yu said with absolute certainty.

Katakuri stopped walking, and so did Yu.

We've run out of candy.

(I was wrong, I was really wrong. I was trying to type diligently.)