Argh, I didn't enjoy this chapter, I had to rewrite most of it, and I'm still not entirely happy with it. So sorry if you find it as boring as I did D: It'll get better I promise, 'kay?! So chapter three, wow, this is where I stopped writing two years ago, with the original of this fanfic, I'm surprised at how many changes have been made to it, but I like it better this way, I hope you're enjoying it too. This chapter is shorter than the last :S - Shuff
Kasumi lay on the cold, rain sodden deck, among the pile of bodies that had just crash-landed onto The Going Merry. Luffy's Gomu-Gomu No Rocket had catapulted them all the way to the ship, had they not hit one of the sails, they probably would have overshot their target. "Guys!" Nami said with relief looking down at them. Kasumi attempted to untangle herself from the mess of bodies; which was proving difficult having the Swordsman and Luffy lying over her legs. Sanji stood up and with a swift kick he sent them flying. "How in considerate to a lady." He muttered trying to light himself a cigarette despite the rain. "Er…Thank you?" Kasumi said to the cook, standing up and looking around the deck. "Ah! So I see you go her to join!" Nami said, a smile spreading across her face. "Finally, another girl!" Kasumi smiled weakly. "You're not hurt are you?" Nami asked, tilting her head slightly to one side as she examined the girl standing before her. Kasumi shook her head; there wasn't much damage except a few scrapes on her knees and a hole in one of her socks from her fall back in Loguetown. "I'm fine." She looked up at Nami, peering out at her from behind her hair shyly and smiled reassuringly. Her smile quickly faded as she stumbled forwards suddenly. The ship rocked violently; the storm had made the sea dangerous. "WOAH!" Cried Luffy "Feels like the ship's gonna turn over!" Kasumi rightened herself and held onto the mast of the ship for support, wishing Luffy wouldn't say such things. He looked at Kasumi. "Eh, you okay?" He asked her. She nodded a little and looked down, slightly embarrassed she needed to hold the mast. "Just need to find my sea legs I guess." She replied. Luffy crossed the deck and came towards her. "Ah, everyone! This is our new nakama![1]" He said as he gave her a hard pat on the back. "Kasumi is gonna be our psychic!" He grinned.
"Cleaner!" She corrected.
"Mm yeah, that too." He chuckled before introducing her to each member of the crew. "You've already met Sanji and Zoro. This is Nami she's our navigator. And tha-"
"I am Captain Usopp! Brave warrior of the sea!" The long-nosed man interrupted. Kasumi looked at Luffy "I've never heard of a crew having two Captains…" She thought.
"Oi! I'm the Captain you liar!" Luffy yelled angrily. Kasumi smiled slightly "What a strange crew." It wasn't the first time she'd thought this, and it wouldn't be the last. "Nice to meet you all." She said cheerily.
Suddenly a light shone out in the distance, a bright beam cutting through the darkness before disappearing. "That light!" Nami exclaimed, moving towards the bow of the ship, followed closely by the crew (except for Kasumi who was reluctant to leave the safety of the mast.) "Is that a lighthouse?" Usopp asked. Nami nodded her head. "That's our 'guiding light.' The light that points to the direction of The Grand Line!"
"The Grand Line, is over there?" Luffy asked in awe, staring out towards the light. He pressed his hat tightly against his head, not wanting to lose it in the storm. The boat rocked as a large wave hit, causing Kasumi to wobble. She hastily tightened her grip on the mast, and was joined in doing so by Usopp. "Brave man of the sea?" She thought as she looked at him, his legs were trembling. "Are we really going to go in a storm like this?" Usopp asked, no one answered, not that an answer was needed. They all knew that there was no turning back from this point, they were headed to that famous sea, headed to The Grand Line! The atmosphere buzzed with excitement. "Alright!" Said Sanji. "How about we have a little ceremony to mark the importance of our voyage!" Everyone agreed. Sanji went into the kitchen and returned with a barrel. He placed it down upon the deck with a 'clunk' among the pirates and began the ceremony by lifting one of his legs, and placing it upon the barrel. "To find All Blue!" He pledged. Luffy was next.
"To become The Pirate King!"
"To be The Greatest Swordsman!" Said Zoro, adding his foot onto the barrel.
"To draw a map of the World." Was Nami's dream. Usopp left the mast and Kasumi to place his foot on the barrel. "To become a brave warrior of the sea!" They all turned to Kasumi, who still clung to the mast, and waited. "Well?" Asked Zoro cocking an eyebrow. "What's your dream?"
Kasumi gulped and stepped away slowly from the mast. "My dream?" She repeated in her mind. "To achieve enough wealth to … No…I can't say that…" She looked down at the floor thinking of all the things that she'd like to achieve. "To be a good member of the crew? No… It's not really as great as theirs…." She stopped, fitting in between Nami and Usopp. "I-I…" She began still looking on the floor, she mumbled it, her words were lost on the wind. "Well?" Zoro repeated. She looked up. "To illustrate all our adventures!" She said loudly.
"To share everything they…We, see with others." She thought. She felt tension knot in her stomach, what if they thought it was a silly dream? Compared to their ambitions, it seemed like nothing. She relaxed as the others smiled at her, and she grinned back. They all looked down at their resting upon the barrel they had vowed their dreams on.
"LET'S GO TO THE GRAND LINE!" Luffy cried, as he raised his leg high in the air, the others mimicked him and then they brought their legs crashing down on the barrel. It shattered, spilling its contents onto the deck. "I'm one of them now." Kasumi thought to herself, looking up at the sky. Dark clouds hung above them and the rain showed no sign of relenting. Fear and excitement swam together in the pit of her stomach. She was a pirate now, headed for The Grand Line. She'd heard stories of that sea, as a child and in Loguetown, some of them even came from pirates who had returned from The Grand Line. Some of their tales sounded more than far fetched, but even so, she still liked to believe they were real. Giants, Mermaids, Sea Monsters, mighty Kingdoms and their treasures, and more, they all sounded, like an amazing dream. "I shall draw all these things…If we find them…" She thought happily. "I've become a criminal." Said a less enthusiastic voice in her mind.
"Kasumi?" She heard someone call her. She looked down from the sky, pulled out of her thoughts by Nami; she was standing beside her. "Lets go inside now, its cold out here, and we're all soaked."
"Would you mind if I stayed out here a little longer?" She asked. Nami blinked slightly. "Please?" She added. Nami nodded her head. "Erm, sure. Not too long though." She said sounding a little unsure. Kasumi smiled in thanks and walked away from Nami up the stairs to the quarterdeck, she looked over the stern's bulwark, back in the direction of Loguetown. The darkness and the rain concealed the island, though if you looked hard enough, lights could be made out where the harbour should have been. She sighed and gazed at the vanishing lights… This wasn't how things were meant to be. "They were meant to leave without me when the marines came." She thought. "I should be helping Piper clear the damage from this storm right now…I guess I have only myself to blame."
"Are you okay?" Nami voice came from behind, Kasumi turned around to see Nami walking across the deck to join her. Kasumi looked back at Loguetown and nodded. "I'm fine." Nami gave her a look that showed her she thought otherwise, before following her gaze. "I just never said goodbye to my boss." Kasumi said smiling "We weren't close or anything, but he's gonna be mad when he finds out I left without notice." She laughed slightly, imagining Piper's reaction tomorrow morning when she didn't show up for work. Nami smiled. "Ah I see… We'll come back one day you can apologise then." Kasumi looked down slightly, "What if we don't make it back?" She thought rather pessimistically. "…Nami?" Kasumi began. "Before we go to The Grand Line, do you think I could send a letter?" Nami looked at her, as if expecting her to say more, so hesitantly, she continued. "…Back home, to my Mother… Just so she knows I'm okay and stuff…"
"Um, you'll have to wait until we can find an island… We might not stop at one until we're in The Grand Line." Kasumi looked back at where Loguetown should have been, the lights had disappeared now, swallowed into the darkness. She shivered, the cold and wet finally hitting her. "Oh…I understand…" She said quietly. Nami looked at her, a little concerned. "The first thing we'll do when we arrive at an island, is find somewhere we can send a letter, okay?" Kasumi forced a smile and nodded. "Thanks."
"Let's go inside, it's freezing out here." Nami said, changing the subject. She turned around and began to head back. Kasumi looked up and out across the sea, hoping to catch one more glimpse of Loguetown, even if it was just the tiniest flicker of light. Nami stopped and looked back at the girl. "Kasumi?" Kasumi turned around and forced herself to smile. "Sorry, I was just thinking." She crossed the deck and followed Nami. "Thinking about what?"
"What to say to my Mother."
Nami led Kasumi down into the women's sleeping quarters, they would be sharing a room. Which Kasumi was rather happy about. At first Kasumi was reluctant to enter the room, everything was so nicely laid out, she didn't want the water to drip from her clothes onto the floor. Nami look at her. "Well, come on in then."
"But I'll get the floor wet."
Nami placed her hands on her hips and looked at Kasumi, "Well you can't stand out there all night can you? Come in here and lets get changed before we both catch colds."
"Get changed?" Kasumi thought. Into what? All her clothes and belongings were back in Loguetown! "Ch-changed?" She stammered. "I –er…Don't have anything to change into." She said looking down at the floor rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. She gripped the strap of her bag for comfort, what it contained inside was all she had now. "My things are still in Loguetown…There wasn't time to get them. The ship was about to sail out to-"
"Ah, not to worry." Said Nami, grabbing Kasumi and pulling her into the room, closing the door behind her. "I brought lots of new clothes in Loguetown." She said, pointing to a pile of shopping bags in one corner of the room. "You can borrow some of my things until we get a chance to go shopping."
"A-Are you sure?!" Kasumi asked, not wanting to put Nami out. Nami was already digging through the bags, looking for some clothes. "It's not a problem." She said pulling out a light pink T-shirt, the word "GOLD" Written across the chest in white, and a pair of pale yellow shorts. "You can sleep in these tonight, and in the morning you can pick something out to wear." She said as she presented the clothes to Kasumi. Nami turned away from her, and began to undress. Kasumi turned her back quickly. "How bold to change in front of others." She thought. She heard Nami giggle behind her. "You're wise to turn your back - had you seen my body, I would have had to charge you... Hurry up and change." Kasumi placed her bag down, slipped off her shoes and pulled off her socks. She peaked over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being watched by her roommate. Nami had changed and had turned away, and had begun to prepare one of the spare beds in the room for Kasumi to sleep in. Kasumi began to undress; her wet clothes clung to her as she pulled them over her head, she had to struggle free. They hit the floor with a wet 'Splat' as she dropped them and pulled on the dry clothes Nami had lent her, they were a bit too big for her, as Nami was taller, but they were comfortable at least. She hung her wet clothes over one of the chairs in the room to dry. "This bed is yours now." Said Nami, tucking in the sheets. "Ah, thanks." Kasumi replied, she picked up her bag and emptied its contents onto the bed, her bag would need drying too, luckily her things were dry.
Nami looked at Kasumi and saw that several items had been poured onto the bed; A worn looking book, a tin case, a wallet and a photo. Kasumi turned to her. "Is it alright if I put my things somewhere?" She didn't want to leave them lying around in the way. Nami nodded and pointed at the bedside cabinet nearest to Kasumi's bed. It was empty. "That can be yours."
"Thanks" Kasumi said, smiling. She picked her sketchbook and case and placed them inside the top drawer of the cabinet, along with her wallet and photo before climbing into her bed. "Well, it's been a long day" Said Nami deciding not to question her on her possessions. She crossed the room to the light switch. Kasumi nodded in agreement before Nami switch off the light and climbed into her own bed. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight" Kasumi replied, as she pulled the sheets up around herself. She curled up, closing her eyes as she waited for sleep to claim her.
[1] Nakama: Friend/Comrade, (though in One Piece, it's a lot more than that.)