Disclaimer: One Piece is a work of such brilliance that I shouldn't even be allowed to know of! (I don't own it)
AN: Thanks everyone so much for your support! I feel much better about this chapter than the last one, and thank god for that one! Also, the "SPUTTER" down below is taken from an author's note in JoIsBishMyoga's A Good Offense. Anyone who doesn't know it should read it and its preceding fic as they are literally the best things I have ever read. I didn't ask about the "sputter" thing because it wasn't technically a part of her fic. I hope it's okay . . .
Reviews:
Lieju: Are you seriously not a native English speaker? I would have never guessed. Your English is impeccable, far better than mine, anyway (though that's not saying a lot). And yeah, that is pretty much the idea. I'm not too good at hiding things, huh? I do plan to let the Explode Pirates have some of their own adventures, however. I'm still not sure whether they are going to catch up to Luffy eventually, though. Anyway, thank you so much for the review, it means a ton to me that you like the story!
Bunny the Assassin: Ooh, thank you! I love your reviews! Be warned however that your praise is inflating my already humongous head.
-0-0-0-
Kerra sat at the bar in the restaurant, examining the food currently speared on her fork. Was it a vegetable? Possibly meat of some sort? A new breed of veggie-meat hybrid? She threw the waitress a dirty look, certain of an attempt to poison her. In return, she received a frightening glare that was a clear instruction to eat everything in front of her. Kerra began shoveling her lunch into her mouth as quickly as she could. It wasn't all that bad. In fact, she thought about ordering seconds.
Kerra had been traveling for about a week now and was still not out of the South Blue. She was anxious to reach the Grand Line, but not so impatient that she was acting foolish. She knew that her skill alone would not allow her to survive in such a harsh environment. She needed some Nakama.
Suddenly, without warning, the girl sitting next to Kerra shot up from her seat. Kerra jumped and her fork clattered to the floor. The whole restaurant stared in silence as the girl marched over to the man sitting at the table behind her and slapped him across the face with the declaration "Pig!" She glared at him for a minute longer before turning and leaving the restaurant altogether. Gradually, conversation returned to the area. Kerra bent down to retrieve her fork and the food still attached to it.
She picked a piece of lint off the veggie-meat thing and asked, "What was that all about?" before stuffing it into her mouth.
"That," the waitress replied, picking up the other girl's plate of half-eaten food, "was Mada. She read minds."
SPUTTER.
"What!" she spat her food out in amazement (though maybe also because it was slightly furry).
"Yeah," the waitress sighed, "ever since she was a kid. People don't treat he right for it. Poor girl." She left to deposit Mada's plate into the tub of dirty dishes.
Kerra grinned and popped another thing into her mouth. She decided that there wouldn't be time for seconds.
-0-0-0-
Mada scowled at the blank canvas in front of her. Why was it still blank? After three months, still blank. She put her charcoal to the paper and held it there. She closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. Wait; there was something, maybe . . . something . . .
Someone pounded loudly on Mada's front door.
She hurled the charcoal away, frustrated. She yanked the door open, fully ready to reprimand whoever had come to visit, but was surprised into docility at the sight of someone completely unfamiliar. It was girl, a bit shorter than she. She was wearing a light blue button up shirt, a short gray skirt, and had no shoes at all. She had light brown, almost blond, hair and on her face was let alone the most idiotic grin she had ever seen.
"What am I thinking?" she gushed.
"Huh?"
"Read my mind! What am I thinking?"
Wait, this was the girl who had been sitting next to her in the restaurant, Mada remembered. Her irritation deepened. Of course. This sort of thing had happened before. "Is it true? Can you really hear thoughts? Do me!" Fine. Anything to make her go away. She closed her eyes and delved into the strange girl's mind. Mada reopened her eyes and looked quizzically at her. Seriously?
"Uh, you're thinking the word 'cheese' over and over again."
"Right!" the girl exclaimed, suddenly launching forward and tackling Mada in a hug. They both nearly toppled over. It was unusual for Mada to be surprised by anything, but this girl gave almost no warning. I think, therefore, I do, seemed to be her philosophy.
"Get off!" Mada shoved the girl away. Why did she do that and what did she . . . oh no. "Absolutely not!" Mada shouted and slammed the door in the girl's face: a response to the thought she had just heard.
"Come on!" a voice complained on the other side of the door, "Why not?"
Mada inched the door back open, glaring. "What a thing to ask. I have a life here, you know! A house! A job! I can't just drop everything and go with you on your little cruise. Besides which, I. Don't. Like. You. Now go away," she shut the door on the girl again and prayed that she would leave. She did. Thankfully, she at least knew when she was defeated.
-0-0-0-
Kerra was not defeated by a long shot.
She had returned to the Hazard and was now pacing the deck, thinking of a solution.
So she had been clearly and bluntly denied. So what? She had always been good at getting her way, even when her father had obviously defined his sentiments of "no". The fact that Mada was someone she didn't know just meant that she had to be a bit more creative.
Kerra slid to the ground against the mast of the Fire Hazard and started to think. Why had her offer been declined?
Item 1: Mada had a life
Item 2: Mada had a house.
Item 3: Mada had a job.
Item 4: Mada found Kerra incredibly distasteful.
Kerra decided that Item 4 was something too big to solve at the moment. Mada would end up liking her once she joined the crew anyway. Now, the other three items were things that she could deal with in the present. How could she make Mada abandon those? Kerra bit her lower lip, deep in thought.
A light came into her eyes and her face brightened. Yes! That was it! Perfect!
She exploded to her feet and launched herself over the railing. She needed to find out as much about Mada as possible; her job, he schedule, everything. But above all, she needed to stay far, far away from the other girl at all costs, because Kerra knew there would only be one thing occupying her thoughts from that point forward.
-0-0-0-
Kerra crouched in the shade of a tree several yards away from Mada's house. It was dusk and the sky was nearly void of all light. She hoped she was out of Mada's thought reading range; there was no way she would be found otherwise.
After talking to everyone she could find (luckily, most people were out shopping, but Kerra had had to break into a few houses to get the information she required). She had learned almost anything she'd ever need to know about Mada. This made Kerra a little upset. If she'd meant the girl harm, she could easily have figured out how to do so. Apparently, the people here cared little for her.
She'd found out that Mada was an artist, and even the name of her art dealer, but she hadn't produced a single piece in three months. Most people assumed it was connected with the death of her mother (one man theorized that Mada had actually killed her. Kerra had, of course, punched him in the face). She had also learned that she usually left her house in the evenings to visit her mother's grave; maybe for inspiration or maybe just because she missed her.
Kerra crouched lower as she saw Mada exit her house. She waited for three minutes longer until she was sure she was gone, all the while biting firmly on her thumb to keep from squealing in excitement. She found it terribly hard to do anything secretively.
She crept up to the house, moving carefully so as not to disturb the bag slung over her shoulder. Kerra was unsurprised to find all of the windows and doors locked, so she picked up a nearby rock and threw it through the closest window. It was of no matter, the whole place was about to be in a much worse condition that that.
After smashing enough glass in to climb through, Kerra stopped to take a look around. It was a small one room house and fairly kempt. Sketches and paintings were put in neat stacks centered around an easel. A few pencils, paints, and other art supplies were gathered near as well.
She knelt to take a closer look at some of the work; it was very good. Some of it was nature—trees, lakes, animals—but most were of people: smiling, laughing, crying, screaming. Their emotion was captured perfectly. Kerra smiled. Nothing but the best for her crew.
She set to work, carefully removing and arranging the objects in her bag. She spaced the explosives equally around the house, so everything would be completely destroyed. She then gathered all her things up, lit the fuse, and exited through the front door.
-0-0-0-
Mada trudged back to her house, feeling no better than she had when she left. Maybe she would try to draw again when she got home. Her thoughts stopped short at the sound of a loud explosion and a tremor that rippled through the ground. That sounded like it was coming from—oh no.
Mada rushed towards her house, running full out and fearing the worst. She nearly fell over at the sight of it. The whole house was completely covered in flames. There was a large chunk missing out of the roof and a couple of the walls, but what was still there was encased in a fiery blaze. Flames even poured out of the windows. This vision nearly disabled her ability to move, but a thought broke into her head that reestablished it:
"Yes! Mission success!"
She spun in the direction of the thought to see the same girl from earlier that day, bouncing up and down on the balls of her bare feet and grinning her same stupid grin from ear to ear.
Mada charged the girl and grabbed her by the collar of her shirt.
"Why?! What did you do?!" She was far too angry to even attempt to read her mind. Her power was always less effective when she was emotional. The girl rolled her eyes and waved her hand in a "please, you're overreacting" sort of way.
"I blew it up, obviously."
"My art! My art was in there! How could you?"
"Whoa, chill. Your art's fine," Mada looked up and followed the direction the girl's finger was pointing. Piled a few feet away was all of her artwork; she could even see her paints and paintbrushes. She could she the decorated frame of her mother's photo as well.
"Why that? Why not burn that too?!" Mada shook the girl by her shirt collar, the confusion she felt adding to her anger.
"Well, you never said that your art was a reason to stay here. You just said you had a life, a house, and a job."
"What?" Mada asked, "You mean to tell me that you ruined my home so I'd go with you? Did you badmouth me around town or something, too?"
"No," the girl smiled, "from what I gathered, that wasn't necessary. They already seem to dislike you enough."
Mada glared, "You say that like it's a good thing." She sighed, "Let me get this straight: you messed up my life, my home, and my job—"
"Technically, you still have a job, but you won't after your art dealer sees the letter you wrote him."
Mada paled, "And just what did I say in this letter?"
"Oh, some very nasty things about his mother and the sort of inappropriate relationship he holds with her."
"AND YOU STILL EXPECT ME TO COME WORK FOR YOU?!" Mada bellowed.
The girl paused a moment in thought then broke out into an even wider smile, "Yep, pretty much!"
Mada let go of the girl's shirt collar and dropped to the ground on all fours. How could everything have gone so horribly wrong? It wasn't really all this girl's fault; she was just a factor. Silent tears began pouring down her face. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her back. She looked up. The other girl was kneeling beside her, smiling sadly with tears on her own cheeks.
"I'm sorry. I never meant to make you cry. I knew that you'd be upset, but I didn't mean to actually hurt you." The girl wrapped her arms around Mada, sniffing. Mada pulled away and looked at the girl. As her head cleared she was able to see into her mind. This sadness was not just a show. It was genuine. She wasn't a bad person, just tactless, and maybe an idiot.
Mada sighed, "Fine."
"Huh?" The girl looked up, mopping tears out of her eyes.
"I'll go with you."
"Really?" She asked, disbelieving.
"Yeah," she grumbled, "I mean it's not like I have anything else to—gah!" Once more, Mada was bowled over in a hug.
"Oh, Mada! I'm so happy! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"
"Just get off," Mada pushed the girl away. She stood up and brushed herself off. The other girl clambered to her feet. Mada stared for a second, "Well, don't just stand there. My stuff isn't going to move itself to your ship."
The girl threw a smart salute and hurried off, grabbing armfuls of paper. Mada smiled as she watched her. "No, thank you, Kerra."
-0-0-0-
"Oi! Mada! Are you ready?" Kerra called, waving a brown paper bag over her head, "I've got lunch for us, so I'm all set!"
"Patience, Kerra," Mada responded, "I'll be right there," She sat in front of her mother's grave, laying one last offering of her favorite fried shrimp in front of her.
"Sorry, Mom. It's store bought, but I never make it as well as you did anyway. I'm sorry about leaving. It's not as if I really had anything tying me down here after you died, but now I have literally nothing, thanks to Kerra.
"I'll miss you, Mom. Maybe I'll come back someday, but I need to live my own adventure until then. Besides," she smiled slightly at the impatient groan from the girl waiting somewhere behind her, "I don't think Kerra would be able to survive much longer without someone to look out for her." She kissed her index finger and laid it on the headstone, "I love you."
-0-0-0-
"Oh, hey, Mada, there's something I meant to ask you." Kerra said through mouthfuls of the vegetable-meat oddity.
Mada laid her book down as a sign that she had permission to speak. The two girls were relaxing on the deck of Kerra's ship. Mada was sitting with her back to the railing and Kerra was eating while studying a model for a bomb and attempting to steer the Fire Hazard. Mada had already decided not to mention that it wasn't the best idea to multitask those three things together.
"That guy in the restaurant yesterday—what did he think that got you so pissed off?"
Mada smirked, "Oh that,"
"Yeah, that. What was it?"
Mada picked up the book again, "Just something about how the girl sitting next to me was a nice piece of ass he'd like to get his hands on. Though his actual thoughts are far too vulgar to convey in words."
"Oh," Kerra went crimson and stuffed more food in her mouth to hide her smile.
-0-0-0-
Mada rolled over in her bunk, unable to sleep. It might have just been the rocking of the ship that kept her awake, but most likely it was the unrelenting weight on her mind. She sighed and sat up.
This room would take some getting used to, but she liked it. It was cramped, but comfortingly so. There was a bookshelf that Mada fully intended to fill before long; there was an overhanging lamp, and even a rug on the floor. Her artwork was sitting in heaps where Kerra had carelessly dumped it. Wait—that was it.
Mada sprang out of bed and grabbed a blank piece of paper. She spread it out on the floor of her cabin and, for the first time in three months, began to draw.
