A/N: Welcome back to another chapter of Ripples in the Pond. Thankfully, I had more writing time this week than usual, and this chapter wasn't quite as long as some of the others have been, either. We're finally moving into the point where things are really going to start turning. By the way, as I mentioned in the last author's note, this story is being published on Spacebattles alongside the updates here on FFN. Feel free to hop on over there if you want to join in the community discussion, write omakes, post links to fan art (which I would really appreciate it if someone could make some), and more.

I may have a lot of free time, as shown by the quickness of this update, but I still don't have enough free time to draw and write One Piece. Only Oda does. Which is why he draws and writes it, not me.


Chapter 7: Interlude - - Ohio Teen Pairs Science with Devil Fruit Powers

The news that Nojiko had been given a bounty hit everyone hard, but arguably, it hit Nami and I the hardest.

It was easy to see why Nami became so shook up about it. Nojiko was her sister and someone she'd always cared very deeply for. When she saw the blue-haired young woman's face on the bounty poster, she screamed in rage and told us to turn around immediately. The entire trip back to the Conomi Islands, her eyes were shadowed by her hair, and her lips were turned down in a thin scowl. Her fist clenched and unclenched. Right then, I was very, very glad I had not ended up a Marine.

As for me… I was feeling very anxious about the future of One Piece.

If I had managed to screw it up so much already that Nojiko had been given a bounty, who knows what I could accidentally do later? I felt horrible, I felt sick, and I couldn't look the others in the eye. I volunteered to keep lookout duty simply so I wouldn't have to be around them. In the crow's nest, I fidgeted around, tapping my finger against the side, my foot kicking with an aimless rhythm in the air. My lips were pursed in an unpleasant frown, and I found myself lost in the very uncertain possibilities which could occur as a result of my being on the crew.

What if Vivi ends up being forced to join?

What if Nojiko gets seriously hurt?

What if Sanji gets an actual bounty poster early?

What if Nami dies from the illness she picks up in Little Garden?

I found myself blocking out the activities of the crew as we neared the Conomi Islands, unable to hear or look at them without feeling incredibly guilty. It was my fault Nojiko had had a bounty placed on her. It was because of my stupid "revenge" that Nezumi had turned his anger not only on Luffy, but on someone who had nothing to do with the situation. "I'll make sure your captain pays for this!" he'd said. Well, he'd certainly followed through with that… except the person who was paying was me.

A little while later found us approaching the coast of the Conomi Islands once more. I had expected to never come back after we'd left - - or at least, not for a very long time - - and seeing the shore just made everything hit home even more. We'd been forced to backtrack due to my own stupidity. We just lost valuable time on our journey, and it was all because I just had to go and fight Nezumi. If only I could've held myself back, if only I'd given into my fear of fighting and turned tail, if only I hadn't brought his revenge upon Nojiko!

Nojiko and Genzo were waiting on the docks when we dropped anchor. Nojiko clutched a bounty poster in her hand which I could only assume was a copy of hers. I glanced away, my head pounding.

"Nojiko," said Luffy from the ship, his straw hat tilted down. "We came back the moment we saw your poster."

The woman's face was ashen. "I assumed as much."

Nami picked up where he'd left off. "While we returned, we came to a decision. Since the Marines seem so desperate to mark you a target, we'll offer you protection on our ship. You know as well as I do that once a bounty poster is placed on somebody, the only way to negate that poster is to become a Warlord."

"Soon, the Marines and bounty hunters will start coming for you," Zoro added, fingering his swords. "You'll need to have strong people by your side if you don't want to get captured for something you didn't do."

Usopp's knees knocked, but he gave Nojiko a shaky thumbs-up. "I won't hold back if anyone tries to hurt you!"

"Nojiko." Genzo took a deep breath and sighed. "I believe this might be for the best."

Throughout the whole conversation, I had not spoken a single word. I sat in the crow's nest anxiously, my frown deepening as the conversation lengthened. My iPod had not buzzed in a while; I assumed the All-Seeing Author was taking a backseat and watching as things played out. My guilt turned into anger. If he hadn't picked me up and dropped me into this world, none of this would have had to happen! I wouldn't have screwed up as horribly as that! I would still be sitting around, just another tree in a very, very big forest, and the Marines in this world wouldn't have shat on Nojiko.

Nojiko's head was turned to the docks, but after what was apparently much internal deliberation, she looked up at us, her eyes gleaming with determination. "Alright, then," she said, smirking dangerously. "I'll become a pirate with you guys. But on one condition."

We all blinked.

Her face twitched. "If we ever find Nezumi… he's mine."

"Luffy?" Nami spared the captain a pointed look.

"Right," he agreed, nodding. "Permission granted."

Usopp rubbed his hand through his hair, grinning in spite of everything. "Well, then, welcome aboard, Nojiko."

"Can you guys give me a few minutes to pack up?" she asked lightly. "I have some things that I'll need to bring along."

And so it was decided. For better or worse, Nojiko had become a part of our crew. And it was all my fault, my fault, my fault…

But even as the internal tirade started, I squeezed my hand into a fist and shook my head furiously. Even if it was my fault, I'd just have to deal with it. There was no going back and changing it now. My being on the crew was guaranteed to change things anyway, so the only thing I could do was try to ensure that the changes I make would be for the better instead of the worse. And if something bad does happen as a result of my actions, well, I'd just have to find a way to turn it into an asset. I was in way too deep now to go back to how I was before.

"Glad to have you with us, Nojiko-san," I said at last, and at the same time I was already planning what to do to make the Navy pay.


Nojiko's 'supplies' ended up being a crate filled to the lid with a variety of weapons of all types: katanas, scythes, staves, pistols, spears, and everything else one could imagine. I don't know who was more surprised at the sheer amount and variety of weaponry she brought - - Nami or me. Apparently, the orange-haired navigator had had no idea that her sister was skilled in fighting. She also carried a backpack with her entire wardrobe stuffed into it. It took her around an hour to pack everything up and get back to us. By that time, I had lifted out of my funk, although I was slightly angrier at the Marines.

Nojiko had trouble climbing aboard the Going Merry due to the massive load she had. Both hands were being used what with her enormous backpack and the heavy crate of weapons.

"Need help?" I called down to her, skittering down the main mast.

She looked up and laughed a little. "Yeah. Could you carry some of this for me, Evan?"

"Sure thing, Nojiko-san."

I helped her lug the darn things onto the ship, grunting. My muscles were still distantly sore from my fight with Fonti, although it was more of a phantom pain now than anything. It reminded me of when I'd ran a nine-miler in cross-country practice during my freshman year, and I'd been sore for at least a couple days after. That was not a fun memory. Then again, all these ghost aches weren't very fun themselves.

I walked at her heels, carrying the crate of weapons into the girl's cabin. After making my way to the second bed, I dumped the crate on the wooden floor with a great gasp of relief, stretching my arms. That had been way more of a strain on them than it normally would've been.

She raised an eyebrow as she dropped her backpack on the bed. "You okay?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I'm fine," I mumbled - - quoth the male nevermore. I cast a worried gaze on her. Now that I had gotten over my own panic attack, I was concerned for Nojiko's psyche. Surely she couldn't be alright herself; she'd just been branded a criminal by a relentless government-sponsored organization, for something she didn't do. "What about you?" I asked with a frown. "Are you still good?"

Nojiko's eyes hardened as she looked down at her new bed. "...Honestly?" she said, her hands furling and unfurling. "No, no I'm not. This whole situation almost scares me more than when Arlong took over. But… I'll get over it. I adjusted to Arlong by training to defeat him." Her gaze softened and she granted me a smile. "I'll just have to set my training on a new target this time."

I rubbed the back of my head. "Fair enough. Once I get some weapons of my own, let me know if you ever need a training buddy, eh?"

She snorted. "Oh, please. I'd wipe the floor with you."

"That's the point," I said, and our rising laughter ate the tension away.

Soon after that we set sail again, this time heading out to sea for real. There were no turn-arounds this time; we were finally continuing the journey to the Grand Line. Nojiko spent most of the rest of the day unpacking and organizing all of her stuff. Still feeling a little guilty for her presence, I helped her whenever I could, something Nami later confided in me that she was appreciative for. Dinner that night should have been rambunctious in celebration of our captain's new bounty, but instead was a solemn affair, everyone being rather steamed at the World Government. Even Luffy didn't try to steal anyone's food, which was something I was both thankful for and rather disturbed by. Over the fifteen meals I'd shared with him, I'd come to expect his hands straying to snatch a piece of meat off my plate when I glanced away. Him not doing that felt like the calm before a storm.

After falling asleep at lights out, I dreamed of bashing in Marine skulls. I slept well that night.


"The next stop on our path is Loguetown."

The clinks of forks and knives, and the sound of eager chewing and swallowing, stopped abruptly at Nami's unexpected statement. Around the dining table, six Straw Hat Pirates looked up at our navigator, blinking. Luffy's hand didn't stop with the rest of his body, though, and carried his handful of meat-on-a-bone straight into his cheek, sending Usopp and I into a fit of giggles. The silence was broken, and Nami sighed.

"You morons can't be serious for one second, can you?" she muttered.

I grinned. "Oh, come on, Nami," I said, my eyes twinkling in mischief. "You know you love us anyway."

Usopp wolf-whistled as backup.

Nami rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyway, like I said, the next island on our path is Loguetown. Have any of you numbskulls ever heard of it before?"

"That's the town of the Beginning and of the End, isn't it?" Nojiko answered with a pleasant tilt of her head. "I remember you always going on about how you'd like to add it to your world map one day."

"And that Beginning and End would be Gold Roger's beginning and end, huh?" I followed up. "I've heard that's where Roger himself was both born and executed. I think they even still have the old execution platform standing."

"Both of you are right on the money," Nami confirmed. She grinned. "We don't really have to stop there, since we have enough supplies from Cocoyashi Village to last us awhile - -" Her smile turned into a sharp glare aimed at our rubbery captain. "- - that is, supposing some people don't eat us out of house and ship."

The 45,000,000 man only laughed and managed to correctly consume his meat.

"But we might be able to pick up some valuable information about the Grand Line there, and unless I'm mistaken," she continued with an exaggerated roll of her eyes, "I'm sure some of you may want to stop anyway?"

Sanji swooned, offering her a second glass of orange juice to replace her emptied one. "Ah, Nami-swan!" he sang delightedly. "Your forethought is so beautiful!"

Luffy grinned. "This Loguetown... You guys said it's where the Pirate King was executed, right?"

"That's right," I confirmed, nodding as I continued to eat my ham and eggs.

"Then I want to visit the execution platform."

Zoro glanced up from his booze. Yes, he even drank alcohol with his breakfast. "I need to replace the two swords I lost to Mihawk before we enter the Grand Line. Loguetown sounds like the only place I'm going to be able to do that."

"I actually want some weapons of my own," I spoke up. "I can't rely on my Devil Fruit powers alone to win battles from here on out. Plus, I need a new wardrobe - - this shirt and these jeans are getting dirty. I'll definitely be able to find something to fight with and to wear in that busy place."

Nami grinned thinly. "Well… I suppose I could lend you some money to buy those things with…"

"What's the catch?" Zoro and I both asked, suspicious.

Her smirk widened. "Three hundred percent interest."

My face fell. "Of course," I mumbled, my eye twitching. "Why would I have expected any less from a sea witch like you…?"

Nojiko, sitting beside her sister, burst into a fit of laughter. "You never change, do you, Nami?" she asked, her eyes twinkling as Zoro and I hung our heads in despair at the image of all the money we'd owe her.

Usopp stared at our navigator through half-lidded eyes. "You realize that's the crew's money, don't you?" he asked flatly.

"Nope! It's mine!" she retorted just as evenly.

"Don't even try to argue with her," I grumbled. "It's a lost cause."

Sanji glared at me. "Oi, can it, shitty water-man!" he snapped. "Don't make fun of Nami's beautiful shrewdness!" The local attack dog lowered his finger. "Although, don't you think Nojiko-swan should hang back on the ship once we arrive at Loguetown?" he pointed out, placing his hands on the side of the table. "The poor angel has a bounty on her head. If you try to go out there now, Nojiko-swan, you'll just get attacked by anyone who's read the newspaper."

"Hey, I can take care of myself just fine," Nojiko retorted, somewhat put off.

But I tapped my chin in thought. "Actually, Sanji has a point," I said. The others turned to look at me. "I've heard that in recent years, due to the increase in pirate activity, the Marine Captain Smoker patrols the island. Rumor has it he ate a Devil Fruit that makes him untouchable."

"Untouchable?" echoed Usopp, shivering. "How are you supposed to fight someone who can't be touched!?"

Sanji frowned. "He must've eaten a Logia Fruit - - the kind that turn you into an element."

"Well, if that's true, we'll just have Nojiko wait on the ship!" exclaimed Luffy, clapping his hands together happily. "It doesn't matter either way, does it? We won't be long anyway, and we're strong enough to fight off anyone we meet."

Nojiko frowned. "But what if I need anything?"

"We'll just get it for you ourselves!"

"...Fair enough," she conceded, although she didn't look too pleased at being forced to keep watch.

I offered her a small smile. "Hey, if it's any consolation, you probably won't be missing out on much," I said, pointedly neglecting to release the information that Buggy would attempt to execute Luffy on the platform, resulting in a huge battle and escape from the Marines. And also that said action would result in a certain green-haired man's voyage to the sea in Luffy's and our footsteps, until said voyage brings him into contact with us. Speaking of which, I should probably try to find Bartolomeo and encourage him to find an actual navigator…

"You're spacing out again," deadpanned Nojiko.

I sweatdropped. "Stupid ADD," I muttered.

Luffy grinned. "So it's decided then!" he concluded, chewing on his meat. "Let's go to Loguetown!"

"Aye!" everyone concurred, raising our fists in the air with our excitement.

The rest of the breakfast consisted of everyone batting Luffy's wandering hands away from their plates as we finished our meals. The rubber-brained captain seemed to not quite understand what was meant by a "civilized meal." Once our plates had been cleaned off, we got up from the table and dropped them in the wash bin. After that, everyone went to their respective stations on the Merry to ensure we didn't stray off course. Today, however, I had not been given any specific job myself, meaning pretty much the whole day was free for me to do with as I pleased.

What to do, what to do…? I mused, rubbing my chin as I left the kitchen and maneuvered to the ship's railing. I grasped the white-painted wood with both hands and leaned out over the water. It felt nice to just relax and feel the briny breeze, but I was a Straw Hat now - - although I'd spent much of my life relaxing, I could no longer afford to kick back.

All the same, though, there wasn't that much left for me to do today. So what then?

My eyes tracked the path of the small waves as they crashed against the side of the Going Merry. I sighed and rubbed a hand through my hair. Now would be as good a time to train my Devil Fruit as any.

I stared out into the sea, narrowing my eyes in concentration and trying to focus on the water. My head was convoluted with thoughts at the best of times, but now it was like I was hosting multiple people in my mind, each having a serious debate with each other. I couldn't focus my thoughts, much to my aggravation. My mind was just too busy.

Come on, come on, I thought desperately, biting an already much-too-short nail. Concentrate! Freaking ADD!

I glared out at the water. It wasn't moving - - or at least, not in the way I wanted it to. Oh, sure, it kept swelling up and then curling over upon itself; but then, it had been doing that already. My frustration building, I mentally screamed at the ocean to move its sorry ass into a ten-foot wave already; not those puny ones it had already been making since I awoke in my hammock.

At last, the water responded. It started small - - only a few centiliters at first, then a liter, then several gallons of the salty liquid. It reared up like a great beast proving its dominance over the smaller animals around it. Easily the tallest wave on the horizon, after a mere ten seconds, it reached a peak of fifteen feet, drawing up in line with the Going Merry and travelling across the ocean alongside us. A grin spread up my lips and I laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of the sight - - the massive tidal wave's activity resembled a dog trotting beside its owner on a walk.

Maybe that was just my crazy side, which also happened to be my writer side, speaking, though.

"Man, that's neat, Evan" said Usopp behind me, and I instinctively glanced over my shoulder at the sound of my name. This, however, had the unfortunate effect of breaking my concentration.

There came the sound of an enormous splash, and the Merry suddenly rocked side-to-side for a few moments. I cried out in surprise, sliding my feet out and shifting my weight to keep from falling.

I glared at the wincing sniper. "Oi! You made me drop my control on that tidal wave!"

He had the decency to look apologetic. "S-Sorry," he mumbled, playing with his fingers, "I didn't mean to interrupt you."

"U-Um…" Great, now I felt bad for having unjustly snapped at the timid Usopp. "No, no, it's my fault for not having good enough focus yet," I said, grinning to show I meant no harm. "I was just annoyed with myself, really."

His frown softened in relief, his gaze brightening. "Oh, uh, I see! I wasn't lying, though. Those powers of yours are seriously cool. I never imagined that there could be a Devil Fruit capable of giving its eater control over water."

I rolled my eyes, laughing. "Veehihihi! Neither did I," I admitted, "yet look at me now. It's kind of a double-edged sword, though. My Fruit seems to require more concentration than most, and too bad for me - - I'm ADD."

"There's a lot of possibilities with that power, though," Usopp mused. "What all can you do with your water?"

"The most I can do seems to be to control it like a telekinetic."

"Think you could make it harder?"

I blinked. "Wait, what?"

The chronic liar shrugged sheepishly. "I-I dunno… I just thought maybe your control isn't just limited to how it moves, is all."

Make it harder…? How it moves…?

…!

I grinned widely and clapped the confused sniper on his shoulder. "Usopp, you're a genius!" I declared brightly, making him tilt his head in confusion.

"I-I am?"

My mind raced a million miles an hour, recalling old junior-level, high school chemistry. "Hell yes, you are! An object's density depends on how close together the molecules are," I explained, grinning. "This doesn't change the composition of the object itself, however. Ice is still water because its molecules are still H20 - - two hydrogen, one oxygen - - even though they're super close together, caused by the slowing motion of the molecules due to a drop in temperature."

Usopp's jaw dropped, flabbergasted. "Um… I'm sorry… but, what?"

"Cold air freezes the water and makes it harder," I summed up with half-lidded eyes, "because there are these teensy-tinsy particles which are always bouncing off each other. The farther apart these particles are, the softer it is, and the closer together they are, the harder it is."

Usopp took a few minutes to process this. I could practically hear the gears in his head creaking. "So…" he said slowly, "you think that you can make water harder…"

I tapped my foot impatiently. "By controlling the movement of each individual water particle and bringing them closer together, yes," I finished.

He frowned, his unsure eyes showing his skepticism. "I dunno. I've never heard of any small particle-things like what you were talking about existing."

"It's science. I learned it in school back at home."

"Oh."

I turned back to the ocean, examining it with a new light. "Anyway," I said, rubbing my beard-less chin, "if my theory's right, I might be able to make water that's harder than ice, while actually still being a liquid…"

It was rather obvious that Usopp was still confused out of his mind. Looking at me like I was talking gibberish, he backed away, glancing from me to the lookout post. "Well, uh… I'll… leave you to your ''science,' I guess," he mumbled, and ran off to scurry up the mast.

My attention had already re-focused to the ocean, though. I was beginning to really get excited now.

"Now," I said under my breath, a crazed smile creeping up my lips, "let's see just how much we can screw up the natural laws…"

Spoiler alert: It didn't work.

At least, not yet.

Soon after I began testing out my theory, I found that attempting to force every single molecule to change their natural movement required far more concentration and energy than I could process at that point in time. And it became quite understandable once I put some more brain power into it. There were trillions upon trillions of molecules that made up the water I was forcing my willpower upon, after all, and for an ADD kid like me (one who had only eaten his Devil Fruit several days ago, no less), it was a nigh impossible task. I figured that kind of molecular movement was straying near Awakened territory, anyway.

Anyway, I spent pretty much the entire rest of that day pouring all my energy into training my power and concentration to their absolute maximum. Throughout it all, I discovered some important tidbits about my Devil Fruit ability. The Tempest-Tempest Fruit appeared to have given me the power to only move water I was concentrating on, although the more and more I practiced with it, the less concentration it took. This process was a quite slow one, mind you - - but it was definitely taking less of a mental strain each time I attempted to use my powers. I figured it was rather like I had gained a new muscle. It was there all the time and could do work when I needed it to; but if I wanted it to do any sort of serious power, I'd need to consistently strengthen and strengthen the "muscle" through training.

A kind of exhilaration welled up in me now that I had a clear goal in mind. I felt more secure about my power, more confident. If I trained and progressed like this every single day, I might be able to force incredible amounts of water to do what I commanded by Alabasta, or at the very most Skypiea!

I slept heavily that night, dreaming of high bounties to come. When I awoke, though, I had a massive headache - - no doubt due to the mental strain of having used my powers for almost the full previous day. I was reminded of how, in my freshman year, my legs would always be super sore the day after a particularly tough cross-country practice/race.

As it turned out, we were still a little less than a week away from Loguetown. This gave me ample time to train with my Devil Fruit. While I had promised myself I wouldn't rely too much on my Devil Fruit, after all, it would be stupid not to use it to my advantage. I'd just have to ensure that said usage wouldn't over-tax my mind.

Nojiko quickly fell in place with the rest of the crew as well as I did. She liked to help out wherever she could: always doing the dishes for Sanji despite his insistence not to, helping Nami care for the tangerine bushes she'd brought along, or providing us all with another friendly face to talk with and distract ourselves. She also could be often found on the middle deck, training her gamut of weapons.

At long last, after a good four more days of serious training, as well as one storm setting us back an extra day, we arrived at our destination. It was first spotted by Nojiko, who had taken over lookout duty for the day.

"Land ho!" called Nojiko from the crow's nest. "Loguetown is on the horizon, thirty degrees to starboard!"

I had been testing out new attacks using my Devil Fruit powers, but my mind completely switched gears upon hearing the announcement. I whirled around and grinned up at the blue-haired teen, my eyes shining with excitement. "You've really seen it, Nojiko-san!?" I called up over the medium wind that whistled across the ocean. I was somewhat skeptical; after all, we hadn't even re-encountered Fullbody and his men yet.

Nojiko, whose short hair fluttered lightly around her face, smiled down at me. "For sure, Evan!" She offered me a thumbs up to punctuate her announcement.

Luffy came flying out of the kitchen, meat clutched in hand. "WOO-HOO!" he exclaimed like a young boy told he was going to his favorite football team's home game. His momentum sent him flying headfirst into the main mast, though this didn't diminish his enthusiasm in the slightest. My rubber-brained captain picked himself right back up and dashed to the figurehead, the front of which he scooted over to and sat upon Indian-style. His knees repeatedly knocked against the wood. "I can't wait to see the place where the Pirate King died!"

From where he'd been sleeping, Zoro cracked an eye open. "Calm down," he muttered. "We're not even there yet."

But I was with Luffy on this one - - I was about to be able to see one of the most monumental locations in this entire world. How awesome was that?

Now, then… what kind of weapon should I get in Loguetown?

I rubbed my hands together in anticipation. This was going to be fun.