Tying off her long dark chocolate braid and pinning it in a bun, the tanned young woman pulled on her thickest blue coat and pulled up the hood. Turning her bright blue eyes to the old woman she bowed deeply. "Thank you for everything Master Katara."
"You're welcome dear. I'll miss having you in my classes but I suppose it's time for you to move on as a master now. Do have a safe trip across the Spirit Gate Miki and say hello to your family for me," replied the elderly woman as she helped her protege don an overstuffed backpack.
"I will and I'll come see you again soon," Miki replied as she hugged the old woman. Parting, she climbed onto the saddle of the polar bear dog. "Thanks for Hiko, best birthday present ever."
Katara chuckled, "Any time dear. You're always welcome."
Waving goodbye, Miki led Hiko away from the Southern Water Tribe Village. After a long trek across snowy landscape, they finally reached the trees surrounding the brilliant Spirit Gate. Hiko slowed as they approached and let out a soft whine. "It's alright boy. I know it's a bit scary at first but I promise we'll be just fine." Petting him soothingly, she urged him through the light.
"Pirate ships off the port side! Currently on intercept coarse, unknown flag!" rang out across the Moby Dick. Feet scrambled across the wood to the railing, peering out curiously. Who would be so daft as to intercept the fleet of Whitebeard?
Two large ships sailed closer and they could soon make out the jolly roger on the sails. The skull wore a tall and thin, moldy green top hat and had hammers instead of crossbones. Two men stood at bow of the foremost ship. A short fat man in a moldy green three piece suit, top hat and all standing next to a tall muscular man, shirtless with loose pants and leather straps likely to hold up the long-handled hammers slung across his back.
"Sons, keep the riffraff off my ship," Whitebeard's voice boomed out when it became obvious that a fight was inevitable. A loud cheer of "Aye Pops," sounded out.
The fighting began immediately when they came in range and the Whitebeard pirates quickly boarded them. Edward Newgate's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he watched the two captains across the water. They didn't seem worried that their crew was being slaughtered. The short one clapped his hands together and as he pulled them apart there was a black hole floating there. Soon it was wide enough for them both to step through and Whitebeard's eyes scanned the battlefield. Vaguely he registered something connecting with the back of his head and he turned, as he absently scratched at the spot, in time to see the hammer-wielding man jump back into a black hole that shrunk to nothing behind him.
A quick release of kenbunshoku and he twisted back around quickly, slamming his fist into the black spot and unleashing the Gura-Gura fruit's powers. The air cracked and the two men that met his large fist were thrown back into the breaking darkness. His eyes narrowed as the cracks began to spread, shining brightly. It was almost painful to look at. The silence it had caused on the battlefield was punctuated by a shout soon cut off by a splash of water.
The cracked portal disappeared and the sounds of sputtering and coughing reached his ears from the water directly below him. Curious, Whitebeard leaned over the edge of the Moby Dick's figurehead. Below was a figured wrapped in heavy blue clothing, not even the hair visible due to the fur-lined hood. Something large and white peaked it's head out of the water and was whining to its rider who gently patted its neck.
Instead of stepping onto the barren plains of the spirit bridge, Miki found Hiko and herself in a free fall after the passing through the gate's light.
"Wahhhhh-!" Water engulfed them and she urged the polar bear dog upward with a pull of the reigns and a push of waterbending. Coughing out the salty water, she bent it out of her eyes with a swipe of her hand and looked around in confusion. Six ships were around her and they were all larger then anything she had seen before. No land in sight, just salty ocean water. It was too warm to be anywhere near either water tribe, certainly too warm for her winter garments, she noted as she slipped her gloves off and into a pocket. Pushing off her hood, she pulled the water from the top of her coat and hair in a fruitless effort to be more comfortable. "Sorry boy but I think I spoke too soon."
"Oy!" The voice had come from above her and she twisted about, shielding her eyes from the sun, to see a man atop the face of a white whale. Only his silhouette was visible but Miki could tell he was larger then any man she'd met before. "You all right?"
Something in her gut was growing excited at the scent of adventure and it told her cautious brain that there was really nothing she could do but get on board one of these ships and see if these people knew where she was. Waving an arm in salutation, she looked around the ship for a moment of contemplation. "Alright Hiko we gotta go up. It's too high for a propulsion geyser... Ice stairs should do it I think. Let's go boy." Miki directed him to swim a ways out from the ship before turning around to face the white whale. "Just keep moving Hiko. These won't hold us long." He barked, acknowledging her.
Pulling the water up with large sweeping motions, Miki raised and froze the water for Hiko to run on. It wasn't long until they reached the top and Hiko jumped across the last several feet, skidding across it to a stop. Breathing out a sigh of relief, she tugged the reigns around to see the man that had called out to her. Even with her height about doubled sitting on Hiko, she had to tilt her head up to look into the blonde man's face. "Nice mustache," she stated with serious admiration as she stared at him in awe.
Booming laughter rang out and when he calmed he eyed her curiously, "You've got some impressive powers girly," he stated as he gestured over a shoulder with an enormous hand, Miki tilted her head in confusion.
"I... guess so. I mean it's nothing any waterbending master couldn't do..." Miki trailed off as she slid from the polar bear dog and started shedding her heavier clothes. "Great spirits it's way too hot for these clothes." Swapping out her snow boots for lighter ones, she tucked away the thick garments like magic, as the large man saw no place they could have possibly fit in her bag. Leaving the bag on the deck, her back cracked as she stretched out the kinks of a long ride and let her blue eyes roam faces watching her curiously. "I didn't think the Spirit Gate could take me anywhere but the North or South Pole. Where are we?" Unpinning her coiled braid, the long tail brushed along the floor with little "tink" sounds as a couple ornaments near the tip bounced against the wood.
Edward Newgate raised a brow. "Waterbending?" he muttered, intrigued. "This is the New World girl. Long ways from either pole. What sort of devil fruit did you eat?"
Furrowing her own brow, she pouted up at him in confusion. "Devil fruit? I haven't eaten anything such thing. Is the New World what people are calling the United Republic now? How far are we from Republic City? My name is Miki by the way." Miki huffed out the last bit; as a recognized bending master being called 'girl' irritated her.
A hum of contemplation escaped him. "I haven't heard of your United Republic or Republic City. Which ocean is it in? Someone bring some maps."
"Mo Ce Sea," she replied hesitantly as she moved out of the way of a couple men came up with some old looking rolled up parchment.
The men around her gave her curious looks and she raised a brow at them before turning back to the large, apparently nameless, man. "Which blue, girl? North?" Unrolling a scroll, he held it low for her to gaze at.
Confusion apparent, she looked down at the map. "Blue? What are you talking about? This doesn't look like a map of the four nations." Miki's chest was starting to tighten with panic.
Whitebeard's eyes softened as he rolled the map back up and handed it to one of his men. "There's no four nations here. This place is ruled by the world government." Golden eyes scanned Miki's small trembling form, interested by the anomaly that she seems to be. Briefly, he pondered the strange light she had appeared from. The black portal of the enemy captain's powers had cracked with his own Gura Gura attack. "Girly, what happened before you came here?"
Absently stroking Hiko's neck, she forced her gaze from the maps that laid something heavy in the pit of her stomach. "I was at the Southern Water Tribe, planning on heading back home to the North Pole. The quickest way is through the Spirit Gate. When we passed through it we ended up here instead of in the Spirit World."
Footsteps drew her and Whitebeard's attention and they both looked at a blonde, sleepy-eyed man. "Fight's over Pops."
The captain stifled his amusement as Miki's bright, watery blue eyes not-so-subtly checked out his first mate. "Find the short fat captain from their crew. Bring him here immediately." Nodding, the blonde glanced over Miki with a grin before walking off shouting orders. "You're being here may be an indirect result of the fight between our crews."
Gaze following his gesture, her blue eyes were drawn to the two heavily damaged ships across the water then to the four larger, though still smaller then the one they were standing on, ships with blue whale figureheads. Now that she was higher up, Miki could see the skull painted on each ship's main sail and flags and her naturally tan skin paled a bit. "You-you're pirates?" she asked with a slightly higher pitched voice.
Chuckling, the large man moved past her and settled into his seat in front of the main mast. "Then you have pirates in you're world too. Don't worry girl, you're safe on this ship."
Miki huffed indignantly, "I have a name, even gave it to you. And you never gave me yours you know." Blues eyes narrowed as the men around the deck laughed.
Smiling, amusement dancing in his eyes, he replied lightheartedly, "Edward Newgate. Most call me Whitebeard. I'm captain of this crew."
Tilting her head a bit, she tried to determine how serious he was. "White...beard? You don't have a beard. Granted that mustache is white as snow. I guess Whitemustache doesn't roll off the tongue quite as well," she trailed off as the crew was completely cracking up now. She blushed a bit, giving the large man a sheepish look. "So... How exactly does a pirate fight result in me being here?"
Tapping a large knuckle against the air next to him, a gap formed both in the air and Miki's mouth. "Yo-You broke the air. THE AIR! Not even airbenders can do anything like that!" Eyes bugging out and arms waving at the now normal spot, she ignored the heavy laughter of those around her.
"It's the power of the Gura-Gura no mi fruit. The other pirate crew's captain was able to create portals with the power of his fruit. When the two clashed you showed up. My guess is that's about the same time you stepped into this spirit gate of yours, bringing you here instead of your original destination."
Things were starting to click in Miki's mind: maps that looked like no where she'd heard of, powers of strange fruit, people that looked incredibly weird to her and didn't know what a bender was. Starting to hyperventilate, she sunk to her knees and cradled her head, trying to regain internal balance. Whitebeard raised a hand slightly to ward off any of his crew that had stepped toward the girl in concern. Golden gaze eyeing her carefully, he was pleasantly surprised when her breathing calmed and she forced herself back to her feet.
There was a bit of fear and doubt flickering behind her determined blue eyes when she turned back to the pirate captain. "How do I get home then?"
Sighing, gold eyes focused on something behind her. "The same way you got here, assuming we can find the other half of the solution."
A thump startled her and she turned to see the sleepy-eyed man had returned. "We're still lookin' Pops but it doesn't look good, yoi. No one saw what happened to him after that light was gone."
"Wha-wait, if you don't find him I can't go home right?" Miki's eyes flicked between the large man and his first mate searching for hope but all she found were honest, pitying gazes. Knees buckling, Miki sunk to the floor and Hiko nuzzled into her with a whine. Wrapping her arms around her companion's neck, she buried her face into his soft fur and tried to compose herself. Once her mind stopped spinning she took a deep breath and released Hiko's fur.
Shuffling back towards Whitebeard, she looked up determinedly. "Ok so I'm stuck here until further notice. Now what?"
If he was surprised by her sudden acceptance of the situation he didn't show it, though many of his crew did. "Gurarara, I like you girl. You're resilient. If we can't send you home why don't you join us?"
Rubbing the back of her neck and looking a bit nervously at him, she cautiously looked around. "Umm, you're pirates... I'm not really into the whole raiding villages and killing civilians thing... no offense."
"Pops isn't that kind of pirate."
Miki looked at the hand suddenly held out in front of her and trailed up its arm to the sleepy eyes of the blonde man. Taking it after a moment's hesitation, she allowed him to pull her up. "So what kind of pirates are you?"
"The kind who like freedom and adventure," he told her with a lazy grin, "And rum." There were several happy cheers around them.
The faintest hint of a blush dusted her cheeks as she smiled up at him. "I think I could live with that."