The Ocean is my Enemy

Keep your friends close and keep your enemies closer, that's what they say. But what happens when your friends meet your enemies?

He closed his eyes.

Blood.

He cringed, and shivers crept up his spine . . . he held them back, but felt his insides shake instead.

His rough fingertips traced the sand around him . . . he was on the beach. The soft grains were wet to the touch meaning it had rained.

His brows furrowed. But he already knew that it rained, though. His crew had just sailed through the storm. The sheer strength of the waves almost capsized the boat, and the wind made even the soft sea air become brittle and harsh to the touch. The sweet horizon he had come to love disappeared in the falling rain. They had made a mistake in trying to sail through it; it was a miracle they had made it out!

Or rather, most of them made it out.

The sounds of the coast flooded his ears- the waves lapping violently along the shore, slowly engulfing the sand as the tide came in. He heard no birds though, no sign of life except for himself and the sea. His brain felt empty, which for him was no big surprise. He wasn't the brightest man, but he never had felt so oddly out of place near something he cared for so dearly. Why?

His tattered straw hat lay before him, washed in from the waves. From where he sat, crouched over, the hat never seemed so misplaced.

Which is strange. It was his hat. He was returning it to Shanks one day. It remained to be his most prized treasure since he was a child. So. . . why hasn't he placed it back on his head?

The wind blew his soft black locks into his face. Was it the sea that was calling to him? His straw hat turned over and swayed upside-down on the uneven terrain.

He sighed. His patience had no limits, except when it came to food, until now.

He closed his eyes. She had fallen overboard in the storm, after it was beginning to clear. They ran to jump in and save her, but she yelled to them she would be fine. She told them it would only make it worse if they jumped in after her. She had something she was floating on. She promised she would be safe and meet them when she washed up on land. She promised.

But the water was red. There were rocks beneath the oceans violent exterior when she had jumped in. The water on her face . . . wasn't the rain. She was in pain.

Blood.

Frowning, he looked back to his swaying straw hat.

The hat Nami wore when she fell off. His breath hitched, and his eyes grew wide. He thinks he understands now. Slowly, his eyes lowered and his hands fell to his sides.

". . . I see."

Standing back up and not bothering to rub off the sand on his clothes and body, he walked to his prized hat that lay in front of him. The wind blew again as he stared at the tattered item for a second, asking it silent questions. Crouching down next to it, he reached out and grabbed it, holding it in front of himself, analyzing.

"The ocean took Nami away. . . "

Softly, he placed his hat back on his head. The instant it touched him, he felt as if he couldn't breathe, couldn't talk. . . Why?

The ocean's waves roared with power, crashing onto the shore just inches from his feet. He stared out, hand still atop his hat, as if forcing it to stay put. He frowned towards the sea as a rush of shivers crawled throughout his body. Again, he held them in. A Captain was not weak. . . . But his insides shook as if earthquakes roamed the depths of his soul.

He was silent – but the sea was loud – yelling, taunting him. Ocean spray filled his nostrils, and he turned his head up in disgust.

The rest of the crew came toward him, awaiting his judgment. They silently waited for him to speak . . . to whisper . . . anything.

Tears fell silently from his chin as he covered his face with his hat. How long had they been falling?

He wiped them away. But they continued to fall.

. . . 'Who can we rely on if you falter?'. . .

Looking toward the ground, he spoke quietly and bitterly to no-one in particular.

"The ocean . . . is my enemy. . . "

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Ooookay well who can tell I was bored :-P lol. I'm just keeping myself busy here. Leave a review, don't care if you loved it or hated it, I'm not exactly crazy about it myself :-)

Beamz