One Week
Fina ran her eyes over the crew. They were once again eating outside on the deck of the ship. Which she had become extremely grateful for after the first time they ate inside. Sitting inside a room with poor ventilation with a bunch of unwashed pirates caused havoc for her nose. She only managed to sit with them for three minutes before she scarfed down her food and ran out of the room for some much needed fresh air. Ever since then she cringed when the weather looked like it would turn bad.
As she looked them over she ran through their names. Or at least the names she had remembered so far. She didn't really have plans to learn all of their names. There was no point after all. All she needed to do was learn enough to make it look like she was getting to know them. It was easy enough. And despite her small stature she was able to blend in well enough. She just hoped it lasted until she got her gem and got off this ship. All the time she was scanning the horizon for other ships. So far she only saw one. And they stayed far away from the Moby Dick. She figured it was a civilian ship who either was avoiding the pirate ship or just didn't care they were there. They were after all still inside of Whitebeard's territory. Or maybe they were apart of Whitebeard's territory and had no reason to fear the pirate ship.
Her eyes drifted to a black haired man when he laughed. He had a few missing teeth, black hair, and a round belly. And his laugh was unmistakable. He started it off with a Z for some reason. It annoyed her when he laughed. She did her best to ignore him when he did it. She recalled his name as Marshall D. Teach. It was the second D that she knew of on this ship. She's heard of the D before but always brushed the stories off as silly superstition. But now she wasn't so sure. While Ace clearly was a nice enough guy this Teach guy seemed dark to her. Though she wasn't sure why. She passed it off as just not knowing him and him being on one of the toughest crews on the sea. Plus there was his annoying laughter. That didn't help her opinion with the man.
"What are you doing over here all by yourself?" Ace sat down beside her.
"He's a lone wolf, apparently," Cadmar said. Both boys had their plates full of food and a drink in their hand. He sat down on Fina's other side and elbowed her. "Not a good thing for being on a crew, mate."
"You can be a lone wolf while being on a crew," Fina said. "As long as the goal you're reaching is the same it shouldn't matter."
"Maybe," Cadmar said. He swigged back a drink then belched. "But being a lone wolf can also cause a lot of problems, especially when you need to work as a team."
Fina rolled her eyes at the belch then shrugged her shoulders. "I just like my space. I'm not use to such a crowded area."
"Well, there's plenty enough…" Ace's voice trailed off. His head cocked to the side and he started snoring.
"Uh." Fina blinked. "Is he okay?"
"He's fine," Cadmar said.
"Ace falls asleep like that all the time." Marco walked over and leaned his back against the ship railing. He looked down at Ace and shook his head. "It's amazing that he hasn't be caught by the Navy yet since he falls asleep like this all the time."
"He looks like he's dead," Fina said. "If he wasn't snoring I'd think he was."
"You'll get use to it," Cadmar said. "At least he's reliable in a battle."
"So how long have you two-" Fina stopped when a fight broke out on the deck.
"You take that back! How dare you question the captain's orders!" a crewmate said.
"I'm not questioning the captain's decision," Kota said. He then pointed his sword at Fina. "I'm questioning his ability to be on our crew. So far all we have is Ace and Marco's word on what happened in that cave. Even at that he doesn't sound like he's very powerful at all. At this point he's only a liability. We don't have time for that."
"So what do you propose?" Whitebeard asked from his massive chair.
Fina looked at the old man before looking back at Kota.
"I want to see myself if he's worthy or not to be on our crew," Kota said. "I should have spoken up before we let him come aboard."
"A duel then," Whitebeard concluded.
"You can't be serious," Cadmar said.
"What's wrong, Cadmar?" Kota turned to him. "We spar all the time."
"Well, yeah, but we're basically the same size," Cadmar said. "Fino is like three times smaller that you are, at least."
"If he is as quick and strong as Marco and Ace have said he is then he shouldn't have any problem fighting me," Kota said. "And it's not like I'm a devil fruit user and going to turn my power on him. But others won't be so nice. All I'm doing is giving him a chance to prove he can take whatever comes our way."
"This is just ridiculous," Ace said waking up. "I object. You can't fight him like this."
"You and Cadmar haven't giving one good and real reason I shouldn't do this," Kota said.
"He's got a point, Ace," Marco said.
"It's fine, Ace," Fina said. "I have nothing against Kota testing me out. I'll do what I can to prove myself."
"I know that." Ace turned to her. "It's just…"
"He reminds you a lot of Luffy," Marco said.
"Well, I'm not your little brother," Fina said. She stood up. "I don't need you to protect me. And I don't want your protection either."
"Sorry, Fino," Ace said. "I can't help it. It's my big brother instincts kicking in."
"I can understand that. Just relax." Fina smiled and winked at him. "I've got this." She walked towards Kota while rolling her shoulders. She watch the crew pushed their food and the small tables out of the middle of the deck before stretching out her legs and arms. "You sure about this?"
"I am." Kota nodded.
Fina stood ready. She eyed Kato. The smirk on his lips matched his black eyes. She found him easy to read as she had seen his thoughts before in other men. He thought she was an easy prey. He thought he would be able to handle her easily. He was wrong. But she knew not to underestimate him. He wasn't on this crew for being weak.
Kota rushed forward. Bringing up his fists, he swung at her.
Fina dodged it easily. She kicked out her foot towards his stomach. When he moved to block it, she dropped that foot down and shot out her other one. Her boot landed on his ribs. He stumbled in surprise. A few of the crew laughed.
Kota growled, righted himself, rolled his shoulders, and charged at her again. Each punch he threw she dodged it. He kicked up his kneel, nailing her in the stomach.
Fina coughed and dropped to her knees.
"Don't tell me that's all you got," Kota said.
Fina gritted her teeth. If only she could show him what she really could do. She saw him coming for her again. Being careful, she pushed a little fire down to the sole of her boots. Using it she propelled herself into the air before his fist came crashing down on the deck. The wood cracked.
"Hey!" someone yelled out. "Don't break the ship! If you cause a ton of damage
I'll break every bone in your body!"
Fina figured it was one of the shipwrights. Who else would be worried about the ship like that?
"How did she jump so high?"
"She's almost at the top of the mast."
"Incredible! Maybe she has haki or something?"
"Haki?" Fina asked. "What's that?" Her eyes drifted to Whitebeard. The man was studying her with such interest. It sent a paranoid shiver up her spine. He was clearly looking for something, perhaps her hidden gift? But that wouldn't be possible. No one outside of her homeland knew of that. She angled downward and launched herself towards Kota. He was unable to block her fist. His body flew backwards when her fist collided with his face She landed on the deck. With a tap of her boot on the wooden floor, she launched herself towards him.
Kota glared at her. Punching his fists together, blackness coated over them and up to his elbows.
"What the hec-" Fina was cut off when Kota slammed his fist onto her cheek. Her body flew through the air. She didn't stop. Her heart took a sharp jolt. If she flew too far then she would be off the ship. She could land in the water. Cold gripped her chest before her body slammed into something hard and she stalled.
"Hey! Are you trying to kill him?!" Ace demanded.
Fina's senses cleared and she looked up to find herself in Ace's arms. Her face flushed.
"Oh, looks like someone's got a crush on Ace," Cadmar said. He poked Fina's cheek. "He's blushing. I didn't think you were into guys."
"Shut up!" Fina snapped. "I'm not into anyone here!" She scrambled to get out of Ace's arms. Once her boots landed on the deck, she walked ten feet away from Ace.
"Shut up, Ace," Kota said. "This is a duel after all. No one said I couldn't use my haki."
"That's still cheating," Ace said.
"Like our enemies wouldn't use every dirty trick in the book," Kota said.
"That word again," Fina said ignoring Ace and Kota's argument. "What is this haki?"
"You don't know?" Whitebeard asked. Everyone's eyes turned to him.
"Should I?" Fina cocked her head.
"Haki is a power that's found in all living beings. It's really not much different from the typical sense. But most people don't even notice it or fail to wake it up. There are three different types of haki. First there's armament haki that Kota just showed you. It allows you to hard parts of your body or your entire body," Whitebeard said. "Then there's conquers haki. It's the rarest of the three. Only few people can use it. It allows the user to overpower the will of others. And then there's observation haki. This pretty much allows the user to see a little bit into the future. And it's exactly what you just did."
Mumbles ran through the crew.
"Fino has observation haki?" Ace asked.
"Apparently," Marco said.
"That's awesome!" Cadmar added.
"I'm still not sure what you're talking about," Fina said. She glanced around at the crew before bringing her eyes back to the captain. "I didn't do anything special."
Whitebeard laughed. "You're still unaware of the gift. No matter. We'll help you hone it. With that in your arsenal you'll be even stronger than before. For now this fight is over."
"Pops, it just started. And I still think he's not qualified to be on our crew," Kota said.
"I sure this isn't the last fight between you two," Whitebeard said. "For now I know that you are stronger than Fino is. So give him a little more time. He'll be fine on our crew."
"Fine. But don't blame me if he gets killed out here." Kota turned and headed downstairs.
"Jerk." Fina watched him go before noticing the crew had their eyes on her. She whipped around and walked back over to her abandon plate. Sitting down she picked up a piece of meat she ripped into it with her teeth.
"You really didn't know you had haki?" Ace sat back down beside her.
Fina swallowed. "Nope. Not a clue."
"Can you tell us when you might have been able to first use it?" Marco asked.
"Um," Fina said. "I'm not sure. But I noticed something different about people fighting me when I eight."
"You were fighting when you were a kid?" Ace asked.
"Yeah. Is that so strange?" Fina looked at him.
"No," Ace said. "I just didn't picture you as the type to fight unless you had to."
"Well, I had to," Fina said. "It was training, sort of. My dad wanted to make sure I knew how to handle myself when I set out on this trip."
"I see," Marco said. "Since you had no idea what it was you were still using it to your advantage. That's amazing. But you'll need to hone that skill as Pops said."
"Why? I haven't needed to do anything with it before," Fina said.
"You didn't know about it before," Cadmar said.
"Shut up," Fina replied.
"What? I want you to get stronger," Cadmar said. "Someone needs to put Kota in his place. His head is far too big."
"You want me to fight your battles?" Fina narrowed her eyebrows at him. "If you have a problem with him then you fight him."
Cadmar chuckled and took a wig of his drink.
"I'm serious. I'm not fighting your battles," Fina said. "If you have a problem with him then it's your issue not mine."
"Just ignore him," Ace said. "He's always like that."
"Whatever." Fina leaned back against the ship with a sigh. At least she wouldn't have to fight Kota again, for a while anyway. He would have flattened her if Whitebeard hadn't stopped the match. That and she couldn't use her actual abilities. With those she could easily win against him. A smirk came to her lips. Maybe it would be worth revealing that to them if only to take him down.
Fina sat there for a little while longer listening to the crew talk about random topic and women, mostly women. She then got up and said she had to use the bathroom and went into the ship. Instead of getting off at the right floor she continued on down to the treasure floor. Two voices floated up to her. She couldn't make out what they were saying. So she peaked through a couple of stairs. Kota and another crewmember was standing in front of the door where her gem was. She scowled. There was no way she could get past them. And she didn't want to fight him again. She went back up the stairs. Heading for the bathroom she planned out when she was going to try again.
…
Fina groaned. Her sweat trickled down her back. The sun was directly overhead, roasting her like a freshly caught fish over a fire. She knocked her head on the side of the ship. She had slumped down onto the deck over an hour ago, contemplating how she got herself into this stupid mess.
It's been a whole week since she's been on the Moby Dick. So far no one has noticed that she was a girl. But she figured her luck was running out fast. This week has been one of the hottest they had ever seen. And while heat never bothered her, she still wasn't immune to sweating in it. In other words she stunk like a decomposing boar. She had no idea how she hasn't offended anyone due to her stink. The thought of taking a shower made her heart clench with ice-cold fear. But this time it wasn't because of her fire. It was because of all the men.
"Yahoo!" a crewmate shouted. Feet thumped across the deck of the ship. Heat rushed to Fina's cheeks when the man stripped of his clothing right there in front of her. She shut her eyes, but not quick enough. She got a front porch view of his entire body. His shadow fell over her as he jumped over the railing. "Yeah!"
His cheer was followed by a large splash and a few colorful curses from his crewmates that were already in the water. During this lovely hot day, the crew decided to go swimming or those who could swim. Obviously those with devil fruit powers didn't get in the water. And there were a few pirates who couldn't swim. Which she thought was stupid for being a pirate then she remembered the devil fruit users. So being able to swim to be a pirate wasn't necessary.
She hit her head on the ship again. "What was I thinking? Why didn't I think this through more? Why did I have to jump in headfirst? Stupid." She hit her head. "Stupid." She hit her head again with each word she spoke. "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid."
And not only that she hadn't gotten anywhere near getting her gem. Someone always seemed to be walking around the ship when she tried to sneak down there. The one at the top of that list was Kota. He made no attempt to hide the fact that he didn't trust her.
A shadow fell over her causing her to look up from her thoughts. Just her luck, it was Kota. He frowned down at her with a look that she classified as condescending. She frowned at him. The heat from the sun was enough. She didn't want or need it from him. "What?"
"I was about to ask you that," Kota said. "You've been sitting there for an hour banging your head on the ship."
"Is there a rule against it?" Fina asked.
"No," he said.
"Then what's that problem? It's my head," Fina said. "I can bang it anywhere I feel like."
"Fine." Kota turned and walked away. "Give yourself a concussion. If we get lucky you'll die from it."
"Jerk," Fina said.
"You two arguing again?" Thatch asked.
"Not at all," Fina said. "He's just being his typical jerk self."
"So why are you beating your heat against the ship?" Thatch asked.
"It's the heat," Fina lied. "It's miserable out here."
"It is rather warm." Thatch looked up at the sky.
Fina eyed his outfit. The itch to call him Mister Cook was reaching its climax. She needed to do it. She had to do it. "I can't take it anymore!"
"Huh?" Thatch look down at her.
"I want to call you Mister Cook!" Fina shouted. She launched herself forward and grabbed onto his pant legs. "Please! Let me call you that! I'm betting you!"
Thatch laughed. "Why in the world would you want to do that?"
"Because you look like a cook in that outfit!" Fina said. "I have to call you that! It's driving me insane!" She tugged on his pants and continued to beg. "Please! Please let me call you that!"
"Well, if you really want to do that," Thatch said. "I guess that would be fine."
"Really?!" Fina started up at him, her eyes shining with happiness and unaware of how she was fluttering her eyelashes at him.
"Of course. Just let go of me," Thatch said. "You're kind of creeping me out. Why are you fluttering your eyelashes anyway?"
"I'm so sorry!" Fina released him. "I didn't realize I was doing that!"
"You're kind of crazy, aren't you?" Thatch squatted down.
"You think?" Fina asked.
"I know you are," Thatch said.
"Luffy would have done the exact same thing as you did," Ace said walking over. "He's always pestering people to get them to be his friend."
Fina looked past Thatch to catch a glimpse of the fire wielder's chest. It gleamed with sweat. She could reach out and touch him. She wanted to reach out and touch him. His skin had to be very warm in this heat. Her hand rose. Ace's body split in two.
"Hey, are you okay?" Ace's voice was distant. "Fino?"
The edges of her vision turned black before her entire vision went blank.
…
"Fino? Fino, care you hear me?"
Fina opened her eyes to blurry vision. With each passing second it cleared up.
"Good, you're finally awake."
Fina looked to her left to see Minako smiling at her. "What…what happened?"
"You're a little dehydrated," Minako said flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder. "This heat is really getting to everyone. We've already had six other crewmembers almost pass out today."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Fina said.
"You haven't been drinking much water today, have you?" Minako asked.
"I guess I haven't," Fina said. "How long do I have to stay in here?"
"Just rest a few more minutes then you can leave," Minako said. "And drink plenty of water. I don't want to see you in here again."
"Yes, ma'am," Fina said.
"You're lucky that Ace and Thatch were with you," Minako said. She stepped away from the bed and started putting medicine bottles back in the shelves. "Ace carried you in here."
"He did what?!" Heat rushed to Fina's face. "Stupid!"
"It's not stupid," Minako said. "You're lucky this happened here instead of on an island where you could have been separated from the crew."
"I'm definitely not going to let this happen again," Fina said.
"It'll also help if you'd take a shower," Minako said. "No offense, but you're really starting to stink."
"It's not like the rest of the crew doesn't stink. I actually fit right in with them," Fina said despite her desire to never set foot in the shower. There were no walls around them. The crew could see her body. Then they would know she was a girl. "But I guess I've just been a little preoccupied. I'll try and get one later tonight."
The door opened.
"Look who's back up," Ace said.
"You gave us quite a little scare there," Thatch added.
"Sorry," Fina said turning her eyes to them.
"Don't worry about it," Thatch said. "Ace here carried you inside."
"So I heard," Fina said doing everything she can to not blush again. She sat up and swung her legs over the side. "Well, I guess I'm out of here."
"Remember to drink plenty of water," Minako said.
"I will." Fina headed out of the door. "Why can't we land on an island already?"
"We just left the last one," Ace said.
"We can still stop," Fina said.
"I don't think we're scheduled for a stop any time soon," Thatch said. "Other than the one we're doing right now. But I don't think you can call this an official stop since there's no wind to move us at the moment. And it's too hot to row."
Fina hummed.
"If you're really that hot you should go swimming," Ace said.
"In the water? No thank you," Fina said.
"Are you afraid?" Ace smirked.
"Actually, I am," Fina admitted. "So I've never learned how to swim."
"Seriously?" Ace looked at her.
"Yes." Fina nodded. "I had a bit of and accident when I was a kid. I fell into the sea and almost drowned."
"That would do it," Thatch said. "You might want to tell the rest of the crew that."
"Why?" Fina looked at him.
"Some of them are jokers," Thatch said. "One of them might throw you overboard. If they know about your fear they shouldn't do it."
"I'll have to remember and do that," Fina said.
"No worries." Thatch smiled. "There's plenty of us around to rescue you if you do go in."
"I feel so protected," Fina said. She paused to take in her feelings. She found that she did trust these two. Though she wasn't sure why. They weren't really friends. But still, she couldn't deny the fact that she did trust these two and Marco and Whitebeard. The rest of the crew she wasn't so sure about, at least not yet. She shook her head. There was no point in thinking about making friends. That wasn't what she was here for.
"You okay, Fino?" Ace asked.
"Fine. Why do you asked?" She looked at him.
"You just had a serious look on your face," Ace said. "You're not upset about what Kota did, are you?"
"No, I couldn't care less about him," Fina said. "I just got lost in thought. That's all."
"By the way," Thatch said, "Pops gave us permission to train you in your haki."
"You two have haki?" Fina asked.
"I use observation haki," Thatch said. "But it doesn't matter. You need people to spar with so you can get better at it."
"I use armament haki occasionally," Ace said. "But mostly I stick with my devil fruit powers."
"I don't feel like training," Fina said.
"Well, we're not going to do it today," Thatch said. "Training in this heat would be a death sentence."
"It's nice of you guys to offer, but I really don't have an interest in learning how to use this haki thing," Fina said.
"Why not?" Ace asked. "It will make you a lot stronger."
"I just don't have time to," Fina said before catching her mistake.
"What are you talking about? You're on a pirate ship. You have plenty of time," Thatch said.
"Oh, well, I don't know. I guess the heat has just gotten to me," Fina said. Her pulse drummed against her skin as she tried to cover her mistake. "I can't think clearly."
"Understandable," Thatch said with a nod.
"Give it a few days," Ace said. "I'm sure you'll change your mind."
"Don't count on it," Fina murmured.
…
Fina got up from her hammock. She paused to make sure she didn't disturb anyone. No one moved. It was now or never. Being three o'clock in the morning she should have the best chance of taking a shower now. No one should see her. Or so she hoped.
Slipping over to her locker, she opened it and pulled out a towel and a change of clothes. It was now or never. Checking her roommates one more time she headed for the door. The hall was silent when she stepped out. But that didn't mean a thing. She knew one of the crew could appear at any second. Rushing down the hall she entered into the bathroom and over to the showers. She stripped her clothes off in two seconds flat then turned on the water. A shiver ran down her spine at hearing the water hit the floor. She had no time to hesitate. With a deep breath she jumped under the water. This was the first time she was glad she cut off her hair. Her tresses were damp in just a few seconds. She grabbed the shampoo. No sooner did she get her hair lathered up the door opened and two guys walked in.
"Yeah, she was cute. But I think the blonde was cuter."
"You're blind man."
Fina's heart skipped a beat. She grabbed her towel and ran to the bathroom stalls before she could be seen. A curse flew out of her mouth when she realized she left the shower on.
"Hey, who's in here?"
"It's just me. Fino," Fina said.
"Had to take a dump, eh?"
"Uh, yeah." Heat rushed to her cheeks.
"Well, don't take too long. Don't want to waste water."
"Ignore him. I'll shut it off for you." The handle to the shower squeaked and the water stopped. "There you go."
"Thanks," Fina said. She waited and listened to the boys talk. They seemed to go on forever talking about the same two women while they emptied their bladders. Her skin was drying off before they finally left the room. Once the bathroom as silent again she left the stall. She barely got the water turned on before the door opened again. Shutting it back off she dashed for the stall again. Boots thumped on the floor before they entered into the stall beside her. He pulled down his pants and sat down. She rolled her eyes when he released a loud fart. Stink then filled the air. Her hand shot to her mouth and nose. "So disgusting. What do these pirates eat to make them smell so bad?"
The man beside her started humming. It made her wonder if he even noticed she was in here. He then started singing, loudly and off key. "Gather up all of the crew! It's time to sail out Bink's Brew!"
Fina stifled a groan behind her hand. It was bad enough that she had to smell him. Did she really have to hear him too? Fifteen painfully slow minutes ticked by before he finally flushed and left the bathroom. She rushed from the stall. Turning the water on she showered as quick as she possibly could. Thankfully no one else came in until she had her clothes pulled on.
"Whoa," the man said. "What died in here?"
"One of your crewmates," Fina said rushing for the door. "Someone needs to get some potpourri for this place." She didn't wait to hear his answer. She just wanted to get away from there and get some fresh air. Opening the door a crack she threw her dirty clothes and towel into the room before heading up to the deck. She drew in a large salty aired breath. "Now that's better."
She walked over to the edge of the ship. Crossing her arms over the railing she stared out at the moon. It was full. She could see clearly into the night. These nights were her favorite. The moon was always beautiful but also felt full of danger. She stayed there for a few minutes before going back down to the room. Slipping in silently, she put her clothes and towel up before walking over to her hammock. She paused and looked over at Ace. He was still sound asleep. Without noticing her body moved her over to his hammock. She stared down at him. The moon poured in through the porthole. It landed on his face, highlighting his freckles. Her heart hammered her chest.
He was one of the most attractive men she had ever seen. She loved his freckles. They gave him boyish charm. If she had met him alone and never knew of him before hand she never would have guessed he was a pirate. Reach up she brushed a stain of hair from his face before tracing her fingers down his cheek. His skin was surprisingly soft. She wanted to touch him forever. But it wasn't meant to be.
She forced herself away from him and went back to her hammock. She was getting too close too fast for her comfort. This was dumb. This whole thing was dumb. There's no way she could have a crush on him this quickly. Laying down she recalled the times she'd actually had a crush on boys. The first one was when she was seven. And the second time was when she was ten. But that was it. Nothing happened. She didn't peruse them. She didn't even tell anyone about them. She figured this crush would just pass soon. So she rolled over and closed her eyes thinking there was nothing to worry about.