One Piece and its characters belong to Eiichiro Oda. Mirim belongs to TWP.

Mirim was having a blast. Though the crew was much smaller than the one she was used to, they were just as much fun. Luffy was, in general, a goofy idiot. The complete opposite of Ace, who was polite, intelligent and, according to the crew, much more bearable. She did not agree. Yes, Ace was much more intelligent than Luffy, and polite, but damn the boy was funny to hang around. The kid had no boundaries.

The most hilarious thing was when Sanji realized his captain and crewmate washed the dishes with the mop water they had just used to swab the deck with. Not long after that Nami called on them, saying that the reason they had anchored was so Vivi could send the king a message and that they would sail for a short distance more before they would be going the rest of the journey on foot. Through. The. Desert.

Now that was something Mirim did not enjoy thinking about.

"I knew that Crocodile of the Shichibukai was in this kingdom, but whoever heard of a pirate trying to take over a kingdom? What a shitty joke." Ace chuckled darkly.

"We're supposed to rule the seas, not the land. This country is lucky to have such a strong-willed princess, eh?" Mirim giggled. She could admire Vivi's courage and will to save her country despite being just a child. "Alright, let's set sail!" Luffy called but was immediately scolded for not waiting for Usopp who had not boarded yet.

"There could be more to this kingdom-takeover than meets the eye." Ace muttered to himself as they continued their journey. "You think there's a deeper, ulterior move?" Zoro questioned and Ace nodded.

"As far as I am concerned you're not a pirate anymore when you settle down and conquer a fucking country." Mirim shrugged her shoulders and Ace nodded for a second time. He agreed on that too. Once they anchored again Sanji was having a full blown panic attack. Apparently, he did not enjoy the thought of the women covering up their skin so that they wouldn't acquire sunburns. Vivi explained how hot the desert was at day and how cold it would be at night. They needed to cover themselves.

"What's got him so worked up?" Mirim asked while nodding at Sanji. She had been under deck changing her clothes and had missed Vivi's explanation of the dangers in the desert. She was now wearing knee-length dark blue shorts with a sash around her waist which was sky-blue and a yellow bikini-top. It immediately got Sanji up on his feet again, just as energetic as he was before the girls covered up. "It seems he doesn't approve of their new clothing. Speaking of which, here." Ace handed her a dark red cloak that covered her just as much as Nami and Vivi's new clothing.

"You'll get burned too if you don't wear this." This of course made Sanji verbally attack the Second Division Commander for giving her such an idea that she needed to cover up "her beautiful body" as he put it and Ace grinned sheepishly, defending himself with facts.

"You don't want her to suffer a sunburn do you? It hurts quite a bit you know." Sanji paused before turning away from him sulking. After an amusing encounter with Kung Fu Dugongs, who had wanted to go with them because Luffy had defeated their leader, they had come far into the desert. Already Luffy and Usopp had begun to complain about the heat, and Chopper, the poor reindeer, couldn't stand the heat at all with his thick fur. Zoro was forced to drag him all the way on a makeshift sledge they had made along the way. Then they saw a city, or what remained of it.

"This is Erumalu." Vivi told them in a quiet voice. "By looking at this city, you see how much the people of Alabasta have suffered at the hands of Baroque Works." They passed through the ruins and the princess told them how there had been a draught for the past three years. There had not been a single drop of rain. She showed them a canal Erumalu had used to obtain water from the river they had sailed up through but had been destroyed. The wind picked up and howls could be heard all around them.

It sent chills down the crew's spines.

"What is that? Are those people?" Nami questioned while looking around nervously. "Could it be assassins from Baroque Works?" Usopp tensed up and everyone readied themselves for the worst until Ace realized what caused the howling.

"It's just the wind."

"They sound like voices." Luffy insisted. "It's nothing dangerous. The winds are passing through the town and reverberating among the ruins." His brother assured them. The whole city was a ruin so they could understand his explanation but it was still a terrifying sound.

"It's crying." Mirim said while looking around. "The wind is crying, no, the whole country is." A whirlwind raced towards them and enveloped them in sand and dirt. They covered their eyes and mouths to stop the sand from causing discomfort but then, when it stilled, Luffy stormed forward. Only then did the others notice that there was someone lying not far from them.

"Is there someone still alive in this city?" Vivi almost couldn't believe it. Hope rushed through her but as she passed Luffy who had stopped she froze as well, her hope crushed. There was no one left in the city. What lay before her was but one skull and a cloak.

"What have my father done… What have my people done to deserve this?" Vivi cried out. It was not questions meant to be answered; she just had to let it out. "I'll never forgive him!" Just as she yelled out the last part a nearby tower crumbled to the ground. Sanji, Luffy and Usopp had turned furious as they watched Vivi cry and needed to vent their anger on something. All the while Ace was digging a hole in the ground to put the skull in, so that they at least could see the poor soul off in peace.

Mirim was in her own world though. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, she listened and listened but she heard no more. As the others began their journey again Ace alerted her by shadowing the sun.

"Has it passed?" He asked and she nodded before climbing up on her feet again. "And it won't return, but that's okay. I've heard enough." The wind had been crying, conveying emotions and whispers she had never heard nor felt from an element before. It was disturbing and she did not want to feel such a thing anymore. She sincerely hoped that the lead on Blackbeard was still in Yuba when they arrived. If it was, she would get her answers and the hunt would be over. And then, when and if Luffy and his crew managed to help Vivi, then the wind would stop crying in this country.

Having the world cry because of humanity's greed was too much.