Okay, I'll get this out of the way right now and just deal with what comes. I've decided that I really need to take a step back from this fic and actually see where I wanna go with it so I'm going on a long working vacation from this story. I hate the phrase 'on hiatus' cause I'm not really going on a hiatus. I'll still be working on this but it'll be pushed to the back so that I can concentrate on some other stuff that has been screaming for my attention lately. I'm giving this fic a minor overhaul in the meantime. Grammar, wording, and the like. Also I might tweak Hancock's personality and interactions; she isn't coming out like I'd hoped in this story. Yes, AnimeMaster24, I'm taking your defense of Hancock into account also and I realize I might have been a bit harsh on her at first. She won't change too much, she's one of the main antagonists as far as life on the ship goes, so she'll still be selfish and conceited. I'll try to tone it down though.
I know a lot of you are disappointed but I've practically had to force myself to write the last 2 or 3 chapters and I don't think I can do it again without a total brain frying episode. This story has really started to drag on me so I need a break. Geez, I'm not doin this again. Next time I decide to post anything longer than 5 chapters, I'm writing it all beforehand. No more planning chapter by chapter.
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Ch 7
The Amazing Sniper Rescue Mission- part 2
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"Hey Jones, hold up, I want to see if my uniform is ready in here." A male voice said as the doorway creaked open. Nami went into panic mode, not for herself but for her companion, who would give them away immediately if they were caught. Surprisingly it was Luffy who acted first, pulling the orange haired girl down behind one of the carts of linens. Hovering over her protectively.
In order not to be seen Luffy had to press in close to Nami as he felt the guy come nearer with his haki. However, something distracted him from his concentration, a very distinguishable smell wafted just under his nose. Luffy didn't know what it was but it smelled oddly familiar and nothing that should be in a laundry room. It smelled really good too, and like something fruity, like… like… tangerines. Looking down in surprise Luffy involuntarily inhaled more of the delicious sent that was coming from the girl beneath him. She smelled like tangerines and just under that was a trace of fresh parchment and ink.
The smell was Nami herself. The tangerines she loved, her very dream was imprinted on her. His breath suddenly hitched in his throat and for some unexplainable reason the thought that it wouldn't be so bad to stay like this flitted in his mind. Which didn't make any sense even to him because why would he want to stay in a stuffy Marine laundry room? Luffy's mind was suddenly racing as something in him seemed to wake up, though he didn't have a name for it yet.
Nami's attention was caught when she finally noticed that Luffy was getting unusually close. She had been focused on the nearby Marine and when Luffy's body moved nearer her attention had been drawn to him. His eyes were looking down at her instead of concentrating on the danger in the room and his concentrated stare was definitely making her heartbeat increase. Needless to say she was surprised at how close the boy was leaning over her and she couldn't fight off the dark blush that spread over her cheeks at Luffy's proximity. If she had been allowed, she probably would've jumped away already, but circumstances prevented such an act. Instead, she tried to look away from his steady gaze but all that she managed was to lower her eyes to stare at his chest.
With his vest open and hanging loosely around him the navigator had the perfect, close-up, view of his well-toned abs and chest. Nami ran her tongue over her, suddenly dry, lips as her heart pounded. Small beads of sweat trickled down Luffy's body from the somewhat stuffy room and warm night. She found herself focusing on the drops of water as they rolled and dipped to his body's lean but chiseled form. Nami swallowed hard.
An older man made his way over to the far side of the room where the clean stuff was located. If he noticed the window that was letting the nightly breeze into the room he didn't much care about it and he didn't pay attention enough to see anything else out of the ordinary. Rifling through the nicely hung up sets of white uniforms the middle aged Marine never noticed two figures crouched behind the stacks of sheets and towels. "Ah, nope. It's not here," he said finally, "I guess they haven't gotten to it yet." He turned to go but stopped when something finally caught his eye.
Luffy tensed as his dark eyes snapped upwards, his full attention back to the Marine in the room. Nami tore her gaze from her captain and held her breath not daring to peek around the stack of linens. The older man's footsteps slowed to a stop a few feet from where the pirates were hidden.
Bending down, the man picked up a uniform belt off the floor. "How did this get here?" He asked himself. Looking around and shrugging, he placed the object on a nearby folding table, and continued out of the room without a clue.
Both captain and navigator seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as the laundry room door closed with a click. As soon as the footsteps faded away Nami jumped up and turned away in an embarrassed huff. Luffy kept silent as she jumped out of his arms and fumbled for words beside him. He also decided, then and there, that Nami looked rather cute with her face all red like that.
"I don't believe this. You… you're… look what happened… what if…" Nami ran a frustrated hand over her face as she tried to get even a sentence out. She was flustered because of their recent situation, and embarrassed that while he had been so close some very weird ideas had run through her head, and she was also in complete denial that Luffy was the cause of it all.
"What would've happened if that guy had found us? There'd be no chance of getting close to Ussop. I… I had a plan for a reason, Luffy. You are going back to the boat right now and you're going to wait there with Chopper and Kaya. Got it?" A hard glare entered her eyes. One that Luffy knew meant there was no debating the issue.
Holding his hands up in defense the black haired young man backed away hastily, positive he was about to be pummeled. "Okay, I'll go. I'll go."
He watched her stomp away, not waiting to see if he complied first. Luffy didn't argue about going with his navigator this time, his mind was too preoccupied with why he had become so easily distracted. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. 'That was weird. What was I thinking? Nami's right, I can't get distracted, especially here.' Nami reached for the door handle but something in his gut told him to call her back. Without thinking Luffy did just that.
"Uh, Nami." The girl hesitated at the door before turning her eyes on him. "I… well, I just wanted to say… be careful."
Nami opened her mouth to reply and then stopped. A rising warm feeling traveled from the pit of her stomach to the top of her head and swept through every part of her. She closed her mouth. He had never said that to her before. Of course she knew he cared about her, like he did all his nakama, but it was the way he said it that made her pause.
"Don't worry, Luffy, this is me we're talking about." Nami grinned slyly trying to shake off the strange feeling. Her sly smirk returned to a soft expression as she saw his brows crease in concern. "But, thanks." And with that, she opened the door enough for her to slip out, leaving Luffy to head back to the others by himself.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
It was boring. These last couple of days that he had been in the care of the Marines hadn't been as bad as he imagined which was both bad and good. Good for his overall health but also bad because he'd at least hoped to get a cool story out of all this trouble. Ussop sighed as he sat in the middle of the room at a metal table that was connected to the floor. He was still in the clothes they had brought him in, and the food here was horrible, but mainly he hadn't given one speck of information about the night Nami escaped. That was what the commodore wanted. For whatever reason, he thought Ussop was hiding something. The fact that the long-nosed young man actually was is beside the point.
The first day hadn't been so bad. It was the commodore himself who had brought Ussop in and had treated the storyteller like a guest. They had still put him in this interrogation room but the questions had been in a basic interview style. Simple question and answer type stuff that Nami had grilled him on, long and hard, before she left. Name and family? Where he had been while away from the island for so long? What he was doing back now? Then they had moved on to the information they were really after but still being polite about it.
The second day it seemed the commodore was done playing the nice guy and had moved on to more serious tactics. Threatening and trying to scare the information out of him. What that Marine didn't know was Ussop had faced much deadlier things on the Grand Line and the fury of Nami's fists was scarier than any commodore. Throughout the whole ordeal the only contact he had with the outside world was the interrogators that came in every couple of hours to see if he would spill anything. Naturally, he didn't say a word and so he had been kept in this small, uncomfortable room.
He was able to move freely around the room and he was fed twice a day by one of the recruits. But, as stated before, the food was horrible. Ussop doubted even Sanji could salvage it. Well, okay, maybe only Sanji.
He didn't feel much like sleeping, the floor was too hard and cold, and the table and chair was just as bad. He missed being outside and talking with Kaya and Chopper. He wondered if they were worried about him.
In a fit of absolute boredom the former sniper leaned back in the uncomfortable chair and started making up Captain Ussop's Song 547 although he didn't really sing those anymore. What was the point when there was no one to sing along with? Or someone to yell at you to shut up? Or threaten to throw you into the sea if you didn't stop?
The ex-pirate was barely into the third verse when the door handle jiggled, alerting him that the interrogators were coming back. 'That's weird, they usually leave me alone at night. I wonder what kinda tactic they're using now?' He sat up in the chair, watching the door open. He had to be prepared for whatever trick they would try and pull this time.
To Ussop's surprise the usual guys that were in charge of him weren't the ones coming through the now open doorway. It was a young woman, barely older than he was. The standard, plain, Marine uniform couldn't hide her curvy figure. She was pretty, there was no doubt, but the curly haired sniper could tell she was all business. Her orange hair was pulled back in a low bun and Ussop felt a twinge of familiarity in his gut. The Marine cap she wore shadowed her eyes so he couldn't see but her lips were twisted up in a conniving smirk.
"So, it has come to this?" Ussop asked loudly as the woman shut the door behind her. He straightened even more in his chair, trying to make himself feel more confident. "You Marines think that a woman can get any information out of me when a man can't? The great Ussop-sama has more self-respect than to fall for such an easy trap."
The orange haired woman didn't speak. She stood back and let him talk, her arms crossed over her chest, the smirk on her face widened. Ussop banged his fists on the table in fake outrage but again it didn't seem to faze the Marine in the room. "I will never give you any of the information you want. You might as well do whatever it is you're going to do 'cause I won't say anything." He panted after his little tirade and only then did the orange haired Marine step forward.
"Are you done?" She asked mockingly, stepping closer to the table. "Well, it's good to know you can at least keep your mouth shut when it counts. However, you have no idea how much harder you've made this for me."
'Okay, this is confusing. What the heck is she trying to say?' Ussop wondered to himself as he remained seated but kept watching the woman nervously as she circled around the table until she reached where he sat.
The Marine reached out and Ussop had to stop himself from flinching under her touch as she ran her fingers across his shoulders as she walked behind him. "I have a proposition for you." When she came to his front she bent forward to be on the same level but he still couldn't see under the brim of her hat.
Ussop frowned at the woman's offer. "No way. There's no way I'll take any kinda deal with the Marines." The surprises kept coming when her smile seemed to go even wider at his refusal.
"That's too bad." She told him, bringing her left hand up to the cap on her head and something caught Ussop's attention immediately. A small scar on the back of her hand. It was old and faded but Ussop would never forget it. The knife that had made that scar had also saved his life.
"And, here I thought you wanted to escape…"
Ussop gaped at the orange haired woman as she flicked the brim of her hat upwards and revealed her bright brown eyes at last.
"…Hana-king."
The young man could only stare open mouthed at the sight of one of his long-missed friends standing directly in front of him. "What…when…why…?"
"Well, that just leaves who and where, doesn't it?" Nami grinned back at Ussop from under the brim of the Marine hat. There was a decidedly mischievous glint in her eyes as she greeted the stunned sharpshooter. "You didn't really think we'd leave you here to rot, did ya?"
"Well…well…but, how did you know?" Ussop stammered out. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Nami, of all people, was here to rescue him.
The disguised navigator stood up straight, allowing Ussop to rise as well. "There isn't a lot of time for long explanations. I'll leave that to the Captain. In short, we arrived here a few hours ago and yours and our two mutual friends told us all about the situation. The fact of the matter is the Captain needs a good sniper and there's no one better than you." Nami refrained from mentioning any names in case the Marines had a hidden recording device but if that were the case they really needed to get out of there.
Ussop furrowed his brows in confusion. Something just didn't click in his mind. "Wait a minute. You keep saying 'us' and 'Captain'. Don't tell me you joined up with another crew?" His frown deepened and an accusatory glare formed in his eyes. "After all that happened, you would still turn your back on him. How could you accept another captain? Did you just brush his memory off so easily?"
"Shut up, Ussop." Nami whispered in a deathly quiet voice. The tone by itself made Ussop back up a step and shut his mouth. In spite of herself Nami glared harshly back at her friend, all traces of a smile gone. Even though she knew there was no way he could've known that it was Luffy she was talking about, she was angry that the long nosed sniper would say something like that to her. As her fists clenched at her sides she spoke in the same quiet voice. "I could never forget him."
Looking down in somewhat shame Ussop knew he had gone too far. "I'm sorry," he mumbled softly, "I didn't mean it."
Taking a breath to calm herself and shaking her head, Nami sighed. "No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't get mad. I know you'll change your opinion after you meet the Captain. But, we've wasted too much time with this already. We have to get out of here before any real Marines come through that door." With a sharp nod Ussop agreed wholeheartedly and was quick to follow Nami out of the room.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
This is where the difficult part of the plan came into play. Breaking in was easy. Finding Ussop was a piece of cake. Getting the long-nosed sharpshooter out of the base without being caught was a whole other matter. The halls were just as quiet as they had been when Nami made her way inside the base but with Ussop tagging along it made the young woman that much more cautious.
Before even getting started Nami pulled Ussop off to a side corridor that looked to connect two main ones. After making sure no one was nearby she took out the pieces to her clima tact. "Okay, Ussop, stand still. I'm going to make this a little easier on us."
"Eh, Nami…uh, what are you doing?" The sniper asked nervously as the orange haired girl pointed her weapon in his direction.
"I'm about to make you disappear." Nami told him with a twirl of the metallic pole.
"But, Nami, the Mirage Tempo can't make things disappear totally. It can only displace your image." Ussop argued. Second to Nami herself, he was the only one to know the limits of the Perfect Clima Tact. Ussop felt the temperature change as Nami put her plan into action.
Nami chuckled as the sniper slowly began to dissipate before her eyes. "I didn't spend all my time on that floating island with those crazy old men for nothing. I've learned a few new things myself." She said, watching Ussop completely disappear. "This is great. I didn't think it would work on another person. I would've tried it sooner but I didn't think it would work so well and getting caught before breaking you out of that room could've been a lot harder if it suddenly stopped working."
Ussop looked down at his hands, he could still see himself, but apparently whatever Nami was trying to do worked.
"Now, you just have to stay inside the mirage controlled area or else you'll be able to be spotted. If it takes too long I'll probably have to redo it again before we get out of here. Depending on the temperature around it the bubble doesn't last for very long." The navigator explained. Ussop nodded but, of course, Nami was unable to see it. "It would probably be best to stay close to me, that way I know if anything happens. And, we'll have to move slow since the bubble will have to move with you."
She was looking at a spot to his left, unable to see exactly where he was. "Right." Ussop answered and Nami's head jerked to where his voice came from. She nodded and led the way out of the side corridor with Ussop directly behind.
The going was slow with Ussop in the mirage bubble and Nami still trying not to run into anyone that could stop her for questioning. The up part was, she hadn't had to redo the bubble yet, and so far everything was going off without a hitch. Any Marines they had passed hadn't stopped her so either the curfew didn't include Sergeants or most of them didn't strictly enforce the rule. But, like anything involving any member of the Strawhats, you should expect the unexpected.
Nami turned one corner, trying to think back to the map, and remember how much further it was to the exit. Suddenly, two patrolmen came out of one of the doors in front of her. One had sandy brown hair and the other had slicked back dark blue hair.
'Damn, what were the odds I'd run into them again.' She quickly motioned to Ussop and her eyes quickly darted side to side, searching for a place for her to duck into, but there was none. 'There's no way they wouldn't recognize me and how would I explain?' All she could do was continue on as naturally as she could and hope they wouldn't pay attention to the details. The blood pounded in her ears as the two of them passed her without a second look but just as she was about to release a held breath one of their voices spoke up from behind her.
"Sergeant, hold on there for a second."
Mind racing, Nami turned slowly to meet the gaze of the blue haired man. She didn't say anything at first, playing ignorant once again. After all, there was no reason to tell them something they might not know. The disguised pirate raised her brow impatiently as if she had better places to be. The Marine with the light brown hair finally turned to look at her also and Nami instantly saw the recognition in his eyes. Cursing her damned luck the orange haired navigator tensed slightly as the two of them came back towards her.
The guy with the slicked back hair opened his mouth to speak first. Nami suspected he might be the one in charge. "Sergeant, I'm sorry, but can we have your name?" He didn't come right out and say 'your under suspicion' but he might as well have in Nami's case.
Of course she couldn't give her own name, that would just cause more trouble than it was worth, and it was no use lying to them. Nami was now backed into a corner and her options were even more limited than the first time. She couldn't run because of Ussop still in the bubble, not to mention, her cover was basically blown now.
Ussop, while still being hidden, watched as all this was going on. He saw Nami tense up at the two guys calling her to stop. Looking back at the two men the sniper could see the suspicious glances between them and knew Nami could be in a bit of trouble. Quickly he backed away still keeping within the invisible bubble that Nami had created. Ussop backtracked to a storage closet he remembered passing. What he needed was probably in there.
At her hesitation the brown haired Marine pulled out a baby den-den mushi from his jacket. As he started to speak into it Nami couldn't do anything, the other guy had his gun off his shoulder and was now holding it at the ready in front of her.
"This is command." The little purple snail said in a rather deep, bored, tone.
"Command, this is Cadet Trey Baxter on patrol with Sergeant John Farr. We've encountered a suspicious person in corridor 25-Bravo. Request orders. Over." The sandy haired Marine said into the tiny receiver, maybe a bit too enthusiastically at catching his first intruder.
The poor little den-den mushi didn't have the chance to relay any specific orders because just then a metal bolt shot into the group, hitting the snail very precisely, and knocking it out of the Marine's hand. It landed on the floor, unconscious. All three, Nami included, gasped and stepped back from where the little metal piece landed.
Nami grinned, knowing instantly from who and where the mini-missile had come. She turned in his direction. The other two men in the corridor also turned, following her direction.
Behind where the Marines stood was Ussop, fully visible now, legs shaking and all. He already had another bolt at the ready. It was loaded into a long, stretchy, rubber band. "I, the great Ussop-sama, refuse to let you attack this woman." Nami could only chuckle helplessly at her crewmate. He would have made an imposing figure if not for the fact that he was trembling like a leaf in the wind. Before either Marine could make another move Ussop had shot two more bolts. Showing exactly why he was Luffy's sniper as they both hit dead on in the middle of the men's foreheads.
Nami stepped forward as the two Marines fell to the ground in unconsciousness. "Why don't you take a little longer next time? We'll have the rest of the base down around our heads." She grumbled to the sharpshooter but even though she complained there was a thankful smile on her face.
"Hey it isn't my fault you froze up like that. I figured you'd just fry these guys and we'd be on our way." Ussop shrugged in his defense.
"Help me get these guys out of sight. They probably won't be unconscious for long and we need to be outta here by the time anyone comes looking for them." Nami demanded as she bent down to grab the shirt collar of the sandy haired Marine. Ussop was left with the heavier guy and he led Nami to the broom closet he had found a minute ago. "Anyway, use your head Ussop. I couldn't have electrocuted these guys. Right now no one knows who I am and no one knows who you really are. With any luck they'll just shrug me off as a rogue Marine. As far as anyone can guess, we're not pirates, and we're not Strawhats. If they can't connect us to those two terms then that means everyone else can't be connected either. What do you think would happen if the Strawhat pirates were somehow linked with Merry or Kaya?"
Ussop visibly paled, which was saying something considering his dark skin. He stopped next to where Nami left her guy and dropped the blue haired Marine he was dragging. 'I never thought of that. If I had said anything about Nami or me being pirates then not only would we be in trouble but Kaya would be too. All because she helped us.' How could he not have realized that sooner? He blankly watched Nami as she began poking around the small room, obviously looking for something.
'Things will definitely get more complicated since those guys didn't respond back on the den-den mushi. There's very little chance now to get out of here without a fight.' Nami dug through some of the cleaning supplies to be found in the cramped space. She saw a small box of nuts and bolts from which Ussop probably found his ammo but not what she was looking for. 'There has to one in here. Where is it…? Ah ha, gotcha.' Nami grinned as she pulled a mop out of the corner of the closet. She left the old metal bucket on the floor and turned to Ussop with a triumphant grin.
"Oh yeah, we'll mop the floor with those Marines now." Ussop deadpanned at the sight of the dusty old mop in the navigator's hands.
Nami glared and had to hold herself back from punching the sniper into the wall. Reminding herself that this was not the time to punish anyone for corny, sarcastic, remarks. "You know, it's not too late for me to leave your ass here and let you find your own way out." She threatened darkly.
Ussop grinned sheepishly and waved his hands in front of his face as a sign of surrender. "Sorry. Sorry. I couldn't help it. But, what are you gonna do with that?" He motioned to the mop again.
"I'll show you." Nami told him with a smirk. A quick snap later and the head of the mop was broken off, leaving only the long wooden handle in the orange haired navigator's hands.
"Oh, hey, it's just like your staff." Ussop exclaimed happily, now that he had the idea.
The young woman tightened her grip on the mop handle as if remembering how to wield such a simple weapon. "This is really a bit smaller than my old staff but, yes, the idea is the same. It's been a while since I haven't relied on the control of the weather to help me. Not since Alabasta. Remember?" Nami turned to Ussop and chuckled at the face he made. Even though the Clima Tact had turned out to be the perfect weapon for her, she had still given the sharpshooter a good chewing out in the palace after everything was over.
"I think we're almost to exit. It'll probably be too much trouble to worry about the mirage bubble now. We need to move fast." Nami was almost talking to herself as she stepped up to the door after giving the wooden handle an experimental twirl. She turned to make sure Ussop was ready and then slipped out into the hallway again. Being less cautious this time the navigator led the way through the halls toward the exit of the building, hoping against hope that they wouldn't run into any more trouble, but it was always good to be prepared.
Twisting and turning through the long corridors Ussop followed Nami in the direction in which he hoped was the exit. Being a navigator he trusted her sense of direction more than even his own. "Oi, Nami," he called out as he continued to race ahead. "What're we gonna do after getting out of here? We can't possibly stay on this island for very long once they realize what's happening."
"Don't worry, we already have plans. Chopper's coming with us too, so he's getting everything ready. He's on the North beach. They should be waiting when we get there." Nami informed the sharpshooter without looking back.
'Wait, if we're going directly to the beach, then that means I won't get to say goodbye to Kaya. I can't do that to her.' Ussop thought to himself, not paying much attention to his surroundings. This is why he almost ran into Nami when the orange haired girl abruptly pulled up short in front of him.
Standing in front of Nami was a whole group of Marines obstructing their way. There had to be about fifteen big men waiting for them, blocking the way to the exit. The navigator muttered every curse word she could think of under her breath while the sniper was shaking in his shoes.
"Don't tell me that there's only the two of you. You are the reason Baxter and Farr won't respond?" A large, burly, man asked as he stepped forward. He was at least a head taller than Ussop. Snickering he waved the other guys back, obviously very confident in his own abilities.
Nami eyed the guy. Outside of his bigger than average size there didn't seem much to him. She was in the middle of trying to figure a way to get past these guys, without too much trouble, when something metallic caught in her peripheral vision. Glancing sideways Nami saw Ussop nervously fingering one of the bolts he had taken earlier. She smirked. In order to distract the Marine she spoke, drawing his attention. "So, what's all this? You guys aren't going to let a fellow Marine pass freely? You could get into a lot of trouble for that."
"Don't give us that shit. You're helping a prisoner escape. That isn't something a true Marine would do, you're nothing but a traitor." The big guy sneered at the woman.
In a flash, several small thumps were heard as Ussop released a quick succession of metal bolts right between the eyes of five of the Marines, including the big guy. The five that were hit fell to the ground and those that weren't unconscious from the first round got introduced to a second. The long nosed sniper hadn't moved from his position beside Nami and the shots were so quick that the men hadn't even seen what hit them.
Following up on his attack and taking advantage of the momentary confusion Nami dashed forward with her staff raised. With all of her strength the orange haired girl brought the sturdy wooden handle down on the head of the nearest Marine. With a satisfying crack the guy crumpled to the floor and Nami didn't wait to see if he rose again. Using the speed and agility she had gained from years as a thief Nami dodged a few weak, confused, punches to get to the next one in line and smashed him across the face.
Only a few seconds into their struggle a general retreat was called. Nami grinned and the few conscious Marines scrambled to get away. In total she guessed that between herself and Ussop they had managed to take out nine of the fifteen. "Come on," she said and started forward again, "this is only a temporary retreat. We're lucky that we just caught them by surprise. It was a good thing they underestimated us and weren't expecting a full frontal attack like that."
"Yeah, I guess it was lucky on our part, but now I don't have any more bolts." Ussop said as he hurriedly followed Nami past the unconscious bodies. It was too bad they didn't have the time for him to pick up all the ones he used. They'd never get anywhere if they had to stop and retrieve them all.
"If we can just make it off the base we'd have a better chance of getting away." Nami told him as she started to run again. Ussop was right beside her this time. Suddenly the orange haired navigator grinned as she recognized this part of the building as close to where she entered at. "This way Ussop," she abruptly changed direction and headed down another hallway, "the exit should be right down here."
The sniper slid on the linoleum floor at the suddenly different direction and Nami couldn't help but giggle as a muttered 'damn' escaped softly from his lips.
They were almost home free.
Ussop couldn't help but let out an excited whoop as Nami threw open the door leading outside and to the warm, refreshing, air. 'Alright, it's about time. I haven't been outside in days.' "Fresh air here I come!" The sniper readily followed his nakama through the door and took a deep breath as he enjoyed the feeling of freedom again- even though it had only been a few days- He looked up at the stars as Nami paused momentarily to search out their surroundings. She was panting from the running and adrenalin, and was still wearing the full Marine uniform, but she had a wide smile stretched across her face. She met his eyes and they both laughed a bit.
"Alright," Nami said as her expression became serious again after a moment, "this isn't a good place to rest. We still need to get off the base. They could still catch up to us easily here." The voice of reason in most hectic situations, Nami motioned Ussop to follow her. Turning away she started moving again, slower this time.
The long-nosed sniper felt this was almost like old times again and nodded enthusiastically, his curly black hair bouncing around his face. The pair of escaping pirates hadn't gone more than three steps away from building when suddenly something slammed into them.
Or more precisely, someone. The bulk of the attacking force knocked into Nami, only grazing Ussop. The young man stumbled back both from the hit and from shock.
Nami cried out as she hit the ground and slid a few feet before coming to a stop. That was definitely going to be sore tomorrow. The large something that had crashed into them now stood over her. She looked up, cringing as she tried to regain her bearings, into the face of someone she had already encountered a few times by now. The base commander, the same guy that had tried to stop her the last time she was on this island, and the one who came around Cocoyashi every once in a while.
'He's a commodore now? Hm, must have been promoted.' Nami only had time to think before the man started towards her. Moving quickly, she rolled away from his reach and stumbled to her feet, raising the staff in her hands in a defensive position.
Ussop had been surrounded and taken down easily by a few Marines. He didn't have any way to fight back since all his make-shift ammo was gone. Struggling on the ground he tried to break the hold the men had on him but their strength was more than his. Looking up at his nakama, the sniper's brow furrowed in worry. She was facing a much larger opponent and wasn't able to even use her own weapon. "Oi, Na… you, be careful." Ussop called out, almost giving away Nami's identity, but was able to stop himself in time. 'Whew, that was close. I gotta remember not to say anyone's name. That would give us all away.'
Hearing the sniper's worried voice Nami chanced a look in his direction and frowned. He was face down in the dirt with a Marine soldier kneeling into his back, keeping him down. 'There goes any hope for help.' Nami sighed mentally before turning her full attention back to the problem at hand.
Commodore Hiroki smirked confidently at the woman in front of him. He didn't recognize her as one of the Marines on the base but he didn't really care who she was at this point. "Well, little lady, what are you going to do now? We have you surrounded and outnumbered. Not to mention your long nosed friend here." He motioned to Ussop, who struggled to get out of the grip of his captors, but it was useless. The Marine commander grinned at the young man's failed attempts and watched to see what the woman would do. He wasn't worried, and was also in no hurry to put things to an end, as was obvious by his calm demeanor.
"What am I going to do?" Nami asked, trying not to let the uneasiness in her voice show. "I would think it was obvious. I'm taking my long nosed friend there and getting off this base." She answered with far more confidence than she felt at the moment.
It seemed her answer amused the older man because a dark chuckle escaped from deep inside his chest. "Needless to point out, I don't think it will go as easily as you say." He shifted positions, laying a hand on his saber casually, but not drawing it. It was a definite threat.
'Shit. He had to have a sword. I'm no expert, like Zoro, but that thing looks sharp enough to slice through my staff way too easily.' Nami tensed and backed away a few steps to possibly put some distance between herself and the cutting edge of the Marine weapon. In her head she was scrambling to figure a way to get out of this. She could get herself away with little problem but then there was Ussop.
With no one to help her out of this one the navigator knew she had little chance of winning a fight of strength against this guy. No Luffy or Zoro or Sanji to come to her rescue at the last minute. Nami's grip tightened around the wooden mop handle and it was somehow comforting to feel that she had at least this. Her gaze turned back to the gray haired Marine. 'There's no way I can fight him.'
Hiroki made a show of looking at his gold pocket watch before clicking it shut and putting it back in his front pocket. "Well, not that this hasn't been a fascinating conversation, but I really must be arresting you now." He motioned behind the orange haired woman.
Nami turned just in time to side step a Marine's lunge for her. "Bastard, trying a sneak attack like that. Can't even fight a girl by yourself?" She yelled at the commodore but not daring to take her attention away from the soldier in front of her. The new guy was much younger than the commander with spiky blonde hair and dark green eyes. Nami couldn't help but admit he would have been nice looking if he wasn't trying to capture her. Without further warning the young man charged. His fist was brought back ready to strike, once he was in range.
Ussop yelled out in alarm as the Marine dashed toward his nakama and renewed his fight to get free of the two soldiers that held him down. He did manage to get an arm free but that just earned him a hit on the back of the head. "Oi, let me up you jerks!" He shouted to them but could only watch helplessly as the young man drew in closer to Nami.
Nami watched as the young Marine ran for her with his fist raised. It was obvious that the time for talking was over and she had yet to find a way to either fight or run. She ground her teeth, wanting to run, but knowing she couldn't. The only thing to do was fight.
She watched the man's movements carefully as he neared her and just at the right moment, when his fist was coming down on her, and relying on nothing but reflexes Nami was able to dodge the first attack. Using his momentum to her advantage the navigator bent down and forward, taking the broken end of the staff, and ramming it firmly into his solar plexus.
Coughing and sputtering the young man doubled over in pain before falling to the ground. Nami didn't waste time in her small victory. In the next moment she was racing the short distance to where the commodore himself was standing, planning to take him by surprise.
It didn't work as well as she'd hoped.
He grabbed the end of her staff mere inches from connecting to his head. Nami grunted as her attack stopped mid swing and couldn't get her weapon back afterwards. His grip was like iron.
"Dammit, let go!" The navigator pulled again on her end of the wooden handle but instead she was thrown off balance as the commodore yanked hard on the half he held. His strength was far greater so she couldn't do much when the staff was forced from her hands. Now weaponless Nami faced even more impossible odds.
Hiroki chuckled as he examined the mop handle. The moving so fast in one swift movement he had created a smooth arc of motion with the homemade weapon. His mocking smile widened when it connected with the back of Nami's knees sweeping her off her feet instantly.
Nami hit the dirt with a groan, not sure how she had ended up in this situation. 'Stupid Luffy, coming back from the dead. Stupid Ussop, getting caught by the Marines in the first place.' From the ground the orange haired young woman glared harshly at the man looming above her now. 'And stupid, condescending, Marine commodores!' She didn't have a weapon anymore, she had no chance of fighting him hand to hand, and dawn would be breaking soon. There was only one tactic left to her in which to get out of this situation. It was a desperate move, it was not her usual style at all, and it was definitely uncouth.
It was also quick, painful, and effective. Which is exactly what she needed so what did she care for style and manners. As soon as the older man was in range Nami shot her right foot out and up with all the force she could muster and planted the shiny Marine shoe directly between his legs.
As she expected would happen, the commodore's eyes nearly popped out of his head, and his confident smirk instantly disappeared. He was obviously not expecting an attack like that. A howl of pain escaped from his lips and he dropped to his hands and knees, almost on top of her. Around them she could hear several sympathy groans and gasps from the men in uniform. Without wasting a moment of pity on the enemy, Nami rolled to her feet again, and made sure to grab her staff as well.
Now armed with the familiar weapon Nami rushed the two Marines who were holding down Ussop. Both men jumped to their feet at her approach, which was their mistake.
Again taking the make-shift weapon Nami leapt forward and before even one of them was able to do anything to stop her, the staff was cracking over his head. Meanwhile, now free from their hold, Ussop rolled to his back on the ground and grabbed the feet of the guy nearest to him. With a swift move the sniper had the second guy on the ground and had knocked him unconscious with a stone he had picked up.
Jumping instantly to his feet Ussop took only a second to see where the other Marines were before he felt a hard jerk to his arm. "Don't just stand there, move it." Nami yelled at him. Looking around he saw that she was alright and that it was her trying to pull him along.
Nami didn't let go of Ussop's hand as she kept a tight grip on the staff, although, the wood was now slightly cracked from all the hard hits she had dished out with it. Finally she felt him start to move on his own and took his hand from hers.
"That was really harsh, Nami. Did ya have to go about it like that?" Ussop asked as he ran beside her. He winced even at the memory of it.
"What are you complaining for? It worked didn't it?" Nami defended.
Ussop gave the girl an incredulous look as he sweatdropped. He decided, for his own health, not to mention just how much like Luffy that statement sounded.
The navigator looked over her shoulder and smiled. The soldiers didn't know what to do without orders and the commodore was still too breathless to give any out. Turning back around her smile widened as an old tree came into view near the base wall. "There." She said and pointed it out to Ussop. The sharpshooter nodded, and with a leap, scrambled up the twisted old tree and easily dropped over the side. Nami tossed the broken mop handle away and followed her long nosed nakama up the limbs and over the perimeter wall.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
The horizon was slowly becoming lighter as dawn approached over the small island. The black night sky was turning into a lighter shade of purple even as the group of eight waited with varying degrees of anxiousness for their friends. It had been hours and while Luffy had come back, Ussop and Nami had yet to come down the slanting pathway that led to the beach.
Chopper was bouncing from one small hoof to the other, unable to sit still in his nervousness. He fidgeted with the brim of his pink hat, it felt just like it used to, and he was happy to be able to wear it again. Next to him was Merry and the kids.
The four youngsters were sitting on the sand, all showing signs of tiredness. The little boy, Dirk, was already asleep and the others didn't look too far behind. The curly, white, haired man was standing calmly with his hands behind his back. He was keeping an eye on Kaya and the only signs of worry were in his soft eyes.
The young woman looked worse than them all. Kaya was sitting on the edge of the boat and had her eyes trained on the path. She was constantly wringing her hands or playing with the hem of her blouse uneasily. Her thin pink lips were tightened in apprehension and turned downward in a concerned frown. Every once in a while her gaze would travel down the beach to where Luffy sat.
The straw hat captain was also sitting on the sand. He had his legs crossed in front of him, sitting Indian style, and was rocking back and forth in time with the waves crashing on the shore behind him. In his mind he knew Nami would be alright, she'd get Ussop and they'd be back any time now, the Marines wouldn't be able to catch her. However, he couldn't stop his heart from thudding loudly every time it looked like someone was coming down the ramp, and then the disappointed feeling when it would turn out to be nothing but a shadow flickering across the disappearing moon.
Kaya looked worriedly from Luffy to the pale setting orb lowering in the sky. It was almost dawn and still no sign from Nami-san or Ussop-kun. 'Where are they? Nami-san said she'd surely be back before the sun rose.' Her gentle, concerned, gaze went back to watching for her friends. 'I hope they're okay.'
Abruptly Chopper stopped his bouncing and his little ears perked up at a distant sound. No one else seemed to be able to hear it but the movement caught Aron's attention, the boy wasn't fully asleep yet, and he sat up straight. This also caught Merry, Kira and Rajin's attention and they looked over.
"Is something wrong, Master Tony?" The older white haired servant asked. He had been quiet this entire time, opting to observe everyone, and also make sure Kaya would be alright. The four kids were sitting, or in Dirk's case, sleeping around his feet. At his voice the three awake children looked up and all within hearing distance looked over too.
Chopper stood still with his ears still perked, trying to pick up the sound he had heard again. "I thought I heard something. It sounded like footsteps."
Straightening up instantly Kaya stared at her brown furred teacher with a hopeful smile on her face. "Chopper-sensei, is it them?"
The little doctor just shook his head with an unsure look on his face. "I don't know. I can't tell. It doesn't sound like a squad of Marines though."
Luffy jumped to his feet, he was already laughing loudly and waving his hands in the air, but there was no one even in sight. Unknown to the group on the beach, the whole time waiting Luffy had his haki spread out as far as he could stretch it, searching for that familiar energy that was his navigator.
"Oi, you guys. Get the boat ready, we have to leave!" Nami's voice could suddenly be heard over the break of the waves. She sounded slightly panicked but as usual there was no room for an argument in her tone.
Kaya jumped to her feet and stepped forward a few paces, Merry looked over in interest, and Chopper was grinning widely. All attention was turned to where the two missing friends would come out onto the beach. And then, they were there, running down the stone path and over the sand.
The sniper ran even faster when he saw Kaya in the group of people waiting for them. He didn't even stop to see who else was on the beach with them. That was until a strangely familiar black haired, straw hat wearing, person stepped in front of him.
"Heya Ussop."
"Ahhh! It's a ghost!" Ussop screamed in a panic, suddenly slamming on the brakes, and falling to his face in the sand. Begging the 'spirit' of Luffy not to hurt him. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't haunt me."
Nami was right behind Ussop the whole time but of course wasn't affected by Luffy stepping out of nowhere to greet them. "Hey Luffy, is everything ready? We don't have a lot of time." She stepped carelessly past the prone form of the sniper.
"Wait a minute, Nami. You can see him too?" Ussop asked in astonishment as he looked up. His face now dirty with sand clinging to his eyebrows and nose. His wide eyes telling of the huge shock he was going through at seeing his old captain once more. He lifted himself on his hands and knees to see if Luffy's ghost was still around.
Nami, who was standing beside Luffy at this point, only smiled and shook her head at the sharpshooter's shocked expression. Luffy was laughing loudly. "Of, course I can see him. So can Chopper, Kaya, and Merry. Luffy isn't dead, never was, but he can explain all that later." Nami said for the second time that night when she saw Ussop's mouth open to question her.
"Now, pull yourself together. If you want to say your goodbyes then you better get to it." The navigator motioned to Kaya, who was waiting nearby.
Taking in Nami's words and eyeing the black haired captain suspiciously Ussop got to his feet and brushed the sand off his clothes. He edged around the other boy much as Chopper had earlier in the evening. But then his attention turned to Kaya when he had made it a 'safe distance' away.
Meanwhile Nami had grabbed Luffy's shirt and dragged him away from the two so they could have some semblance of privacy. They joined Chopper and Merry waiting by the water with the kids.
"I guess this means you'll be leaving with them?" Kaya asked, not being able to keep the sad tone out of her voice.
"I gotta." Ussop answered, walking up to stand in front of the girl. He reached up to place his hands gently on her shoulders, as reassurance. He could feel her shaking but it was too warm out for it to be from cold. "I don't think that commodore is just gonna let me go because of this. If I leave he won't have a reason to bother you anymore, and besides…" he looked in Luffy's direction. "…I made a promise. Whether he's a ghost or not." When the sharpshooter looked down at Kaya again he could see a clear understanding and acceptance in her eyes. He knew then he didn't have to explain anything further.
Suddenly Chopper jumped to his feet again, from his position sitting on the bow of the small row boat. "Guys, I hear a lot of footsteps coming this way." He called out.
Luffy's expression was serious as well and he looked at the path to the beach as if he was able to see beyond it. "I can feel their energies," he said without a trace of a smile, "they're not friendly."
Kira jumped up then, as did Rajin, and Aron. Everyone stared at the three children. Nami noticed them for the first time and the others seemed to forget they were even there.
"Don't worry about it." Kira said, determinedly. "We can buy you some more time but I don't know how much. You guys should leave while you still have a chance." Rajin and his twin brother, Aron, nodded in steadfast agreement.
"Hey wait a minute you three. What are you going to do?" Nami called after them. The friends didn't answer and raced past the adults and up the rocky pathway before anyone could try and stop them. The three gung-ho kids disappeared leaving the group of older people staring after them.
"I hope they'll be alright." Kaya whispered.
"Shishi, I wouldn't worry. They'll be okay." Luffy grinned, hearing the concern in the girl's voice. "Those guys will be great Marines."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
A group of uniformed men hurriedly made their way down the forest lined road on the way to the North beach. They had been dispatched there to try and find the escaped detainee and the traitorous Marine woman that had helped him to escape. She was still an unknown factor.
"Come on boys. The commodore won't be too happy if we let them get away from us." The squad leader called back to his group. They were all steadily marching but somehow he got the feeling they wouldn't find anything there when they arrived. It had been too long since the escapees had gotten past the initial forces.
"Halt. What do you want here?" A voice demanded just as the Marine group reached a particularly thick part of the forest.
The lead Marine sighed and shook his head because he knew that voice. "Dammit, not now, you little brats." He challenged to the trees from where the voice had come from.
At the challenge, three small bodies jumped out of the trees at the dirt path's edge, two twin boys and a girl. One of the twins stepped in front, wielding a large metal pipe. "We won't let you pass. You have to go through us first."
The lead Marine groaned, visibly annoyed. "We're on an important mission, you three. Don't you get that? Why do you keep challenging people that come down here? You're causing so many complaints on a day to day basis."
"We don't care." Kira said, stepping up beside Rajin. "We'll keep challenging everyone so we can become strong enough to beat down anything that threatens this island. We won't even back down from a squad of Marines."
Kira nodded to Rajin. He in turn grinned back, showing he was ready for a fight. Aron was nervous as he stepped forward next to his friend and brother, he trembled, but he nodded showing he was ready as well.
"Yaaahh!" All together the three kids let out a battle cry and charged the much older, bigger, and stronger Marines.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Ussop, I hate to break this up but we need to do what the girl said. We need to get out of here." Nami said, already standing in the packed up boat. Chopper was sitting beside her and Luffy was still standing on the beach.
The sniper still had his arms on Kaya's shoulders. He turned sharply and looked hesitatingly at Nami's warning and then back to the blonde girl, not wanting to leave without telling her his deepest secret, one that he had been trying to say for a long time. He was still hesitating and still not able to gather enough courage to say it, even now.
She surprised him though when she turned away and motioned to Merry. The white haired butler quickly stepped forward and handed his mistress a long, thick, wooden box. No one seemed to have noticed that the man had been holding it this entire time.
Kaya took the box and turned to face Ussop again. "This is for you." She handed the box to the surprised young man. "I had them specially made some time ago. Just in case." She finished with a smile.
Ussop knew they had to hurry, he could see Nami worriedly glance over in the direction the kids ran off and then to the quickly lightening sky, but he didn't care at the moment. He didn't want to wait to see what Kaya had gotten him and disrespect her by not thanking her. So, as fast as he could, he unfastened the latches on the wooden box. It wasn't wrapped but the box was decoratively carved.
When the lid creaked open, at first, Ussop couldn't believe his eyes. Inside the box was a pair of long pistols. He could tell at a glance they were well made. Finely polished steel for the barrels and some other kind of crafted metal for the handles. He was in awe. The sharpshooter had never seen a pair of such fine firearms. And they were his.
"I know you don't use regular bullets like other pirates do so I had these specially made by a weapons specialist so they would fire your ammunition instead." Kaya explained hurriedly, knowing that the group had to get going.
The lid closed with a snap and Ussop flipped the latch to keep the lid locked. He stared down at the box in silence. "This is too much." He mumbled so quietly Kaya couldn't even hear him. The long nosed young man suddenly looked up with a strange determination in his eyes. "Kaya, I've wanted to say something for a long time and now may be my last chance until I can complete my dream. I have to say it now or I know I'll regret it. I-"
He stopped short, suddenly losing his resolve at the last second. Kaya stood there with held breath, hoping that what she was thinking was right.
"I-" Ussop was silenced again.
"Forget it!" He growled in frustration and grabbed the pale blonde girl with one hand, his other holding the pistols, and leaned down to bring his lips to hers. Relief flooded through him because finally he had been able to, at least, show her how he felt. For good or bad he was able to get his feelings out.
It was better than he always imagined. Her lips were soft, even softer than her smooth skin. And the few seconds that the kiss actually lasted seemed, to Ussop, to drag on for a blissful eternity. After a short time he pulled his lips away, his cheeks already red as a cherry, and then stepped back from her.
Kaya had closed her eyes at some point during the exchange and she kept them closed a few moments after the young man pulled away. When she opened them it was somehow reassuring to see Ussop blushing because then she knew she matched him. Her cheeks were an inflamed red, bringing a lot of color to her normally pale cheeks. "Ussop…"
"Sorry. I'm sorry." The nervous sniper suddenly exclaimed. "I don't know what made me do that."
"Ussop!" She shouted and it was the fact that she actually raised her voice that caught the young man's attention. He quieted down. "I'll wait for you, alright." For a second surprise the young woman leaned up to place a more chaste kiss on the pirate's lips.
Ussop couldn't believe it, he was actually stunned speechless, and in shock. He didn't expect Kaya to return his kiss and he definitely didn't expect her to wait for him. She giggled at the boy's disbelieving stare and gave him a gentle push to get him walking in the direction of his waiting crewmates since he seemed to be rooted to his spot in the sand.
Chopper was smiling widely and holding in his own embarrassed giggles. Getting to watch everything unfold for all these months, the young doctor was happy this had finally happened one way or the other. Ussop had been saying he would tell Kaya his feelings for a long time now but had never done it.
Luffy had climbed into the boat and was laughing at his friend's dazed expression. He didn't really care about the sniper's kiss, he was just happy that Ussop was joining him again. The captain watched his nakama stumble to the boat with a wide grin. Inside his mind though, things had turned weird again. When Ussop had done that, Luffy had immediately looked over at Nami to see her reaction. When he saw her wide-eyed expression along with her red face his thoughts seemed to turn more toward her than Ussop. He remembered how good she had smelled back in the laundry room and couldn't help wondering if she tasted just as good. He didn't want to ask about it though because it would probably just make Nami mad.
During the kiss Nami could only stare, open-mouthed, at her long nosed nakama. 'Since when did he have the guts to do something like that?' As the kiss ended, her face was probably as red as Kaya's from witnessing such an intimate moment between the two. Her eyes flickered to Luffy, who was grinning like an idiot, and had to struggle to keep any more blood rushing to her cheeks. For the briefest of moments the wandering thought of what it would feel like to kiss Luffy entered into her head- only to be violently squashed by her more rational mind. 'What am I thinking? This is Luffy we're talking about here. Okay, I'll give, that he looks good. Really good. But, does he even understand what that means anyway? There's no way we could be like that.'
When Ussop clamored into the boat the noise pulled the captain and navigator out of their more personal thoughts and back to what was going on now. Ussop was still sitting there in a dazed stupor so Luffy gave the boat a good push off before jumping back in to start rowing out to sea as he had done coming to the island hours before.
Chopper stood facing the beach and waving his little hooves in the air, it was getting lighter every second, so he could be easily seen even without having to transform into his bigger form. "Kaya, you'll be a great doctor. Keep studying." He yelled back to the young woman.
"Chopper-sensei, Nami-san, Luffy, thank you all. Good luck." Kaya yelled back, her slight form getting smaller with every stroke of the oar.
Ussop, hearing Kaya's voice from the distance, yanked himself out of his stunned state. He looked surprised that he was on the boat and they were already so far from the beach. Jumping over Chopper and all but falling out of the small dinghy Ussop waved his hands in the air wildly as a last farewell to his home island and the one special person on it. "Kaya, I'll be back someday, and that's no lie. When I'm a great warrior of the sea I'll be back, I promise."
Kaya shouted something but already they were too far out for Ussop to hear, Chopper could though. "She said, she'll become a great doctor, so that even if you come back injured, she can fix you up again." The little reindeer explained with a grin.
With a happy sigh Ussop collapsed onto the wooden seat of the boat and leaned back in contentment. Nami was just about to give Luffy a direction to head in when he jerked up with a start. "By the way," he pointed an accusing finger directly at the straw hat wearing pirate, "what are you doing alive?"
Luffy only smiled sadly, showing his serious side again, and shook his head. "I'll tell you on board." He told his friend and then pointed when he saw Ussop's confused look.
Turning to see where Luffy's finger was pointing, both Ussop and Chopper gaped, open-mouthed at the towering ship that was moving toward them.
It had a giant snake for a figurehead and was at least twice the size of Thousand Sunny. Not to mention, as it came closer, Ussop could start to see its crew members, and they all looked female from his perspective. 'Where the heck did Luffy find something like this?'
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Are you sure you want to wait for him, Miss?" Merry asked his younger charge. "I feel he will be gone for quite some time."
Kaya and the curly haired butler stood on the beach as the first rays of the sun stretched over the sand. They watched as the small little boat almost disappeared on the horizon before meeting with a much larger one. The young woman stood silently for a long while, her soft gray eyes staring into the distance.
"I know, Merry." She finally said. "I know I won't get to see him but I couldn't make him stay. I could see it in his eyes this whole time. He's wanted to leave, back to the sea, for a while now. He and Chopper-sensei have to follow their dreams and I do too. Our paths may be separated now and I don't know how long it will take but we will meet up again someday."
Turning around her smile brightened with the rising sun. "We should probably go check on Kira, Aron, and Rajin and make sure they get home safely. I'm sure their parents are worried by now." Merry nodded and bent to pick up the still sleeping Dirk at his feet.
On one of the high cliffs overlooking the beach three young children sat in the morning light. They were beaten and bruised but laughing with each other.
Kira sat in-between her two friends, a dented metal pipe lying beside her in the grass. Rajin was to her right and Aron was at her left. The softer spoken twin was laid back on the ground and staring up at the sky.
"That was a good fight." Rajin said as he turned to grin at Kira and his brother.
"Of course it was," Kira answered, "we won. The fights you win are always good."
Rajin chuckled and Aron huffed on the other side. The other two looked over at him, the younger twin had a thoughtful frown on his face, and then he glanced over with a smile. "Ya know, those guys weren't so bad for evil, rampaging pirates. I actually can't wait to see them again, when we're real Marines."
"We'll be a lot stronger then." Rajin agreed.
"He'll probably be the Pirate King by then." Kira said slowly, then she grinned in determination. "We'll fight Pirate King Luffy and we'll be the ones to beat him." The purple haired young girl suddenly jumped to her feet and faced out toward the ocean. She took a deep breath, with her hands cupping her mouth, she yelled at the top of her voice.
"YOU HEAR THAT! WE'LL FIND YOU SOMEDAY AND BEAT YOU, PIRATE KING!"
=O=O=
*Hana-King = Nose-King
I'm so happy you guys know where the review button is. It's amazing what a little coaxing can do. =P
I'm joking of course. Thanks to everyone who took the time out of their busy schedule to indulge my selfish request for reviews. Just so you know I take every review to heart especially the ones offering sound criticisms and ideas. It's always a good thing to have another person's perspective on your work.
I have no idea how Nami's new disappearing mirage trick works but just go with it. By the way I absolutly love the Beli symbol belt she's sporting now so I have to figure a way for her to get it soon in my story cause it fits her so perfectly. hehe
Now I'm sure I'll have a fair share of flames for what I wrote at the start but I really think it's for the best. I'm not sure how long this working vacation of mine will last but I promise this is a story I won't give up on.
