"I'll be going, then." I waved at my friends who were there to see me off. "Take care, Karin." Lucy and Erza smiled. "Don't forget to bring back something neat!" the boys grinned. "Haha, of course!"

I really missed travelling on the sea and had decided to take a little vacation for about a week or so. Using my savings, I purchased a small vessel that could fit three people.

"Well, she's no rose... maybe more like a little daisy" I pondered on what to name my little pirate ship.

When I arrived, she was already happily floating on the waves, tethered to the harbour. "Hello there. You must be Karin." A kindly old fisherman shook my hand and gestured to my boat. "She's all yours. And I'd say you have fine taste in vessels, my dear." He chuckled as I smiled "Thank you, sir."

I loaded all of my provisions onto Daisy with the help of the old fisherman. "That mark... you're from Fairy Tail, eh? So what kind of magic can you do?" I gave him a quick demonstration. "That's amazing! Are you on a mission or something?" I grinned "I miss the sea. Before coming to Fairy Tail, I was an infamous pirate in my world."

"I've heard about you! Isn't there anyone you miss back there?" he seemed concerned "No worries. I do miss a few other pirates- the only ones I've ever really considered as friends after what they did for me." I held back a sigh. "Anyways, I've gotta get going. Thank you again."

When night fell, I felt peaceful; the gentle rocking of the waves would make any pirate homesick- for the ocean, that is. But if it was like that, it might be called seasick- although that means something completely different.

I laughed at the random thought I just had- looks like Natsu was getting to me. "Binks no Sake wo, todoke ni yuku yo. Umikaze, kimakaze, namimakaze. Shio no mukou de, yuuhi mo sawagu... Oretacha yukuzo umi no kagiri..." I sang to fill the silence.

The sigh that I held back escaped my lips and made me wish to see those people again. Nine friendly faces flashed through my mind; it was as if it was only a short while ago that I met them.

"If someone out there is listening... please let us meet once more." I stared at the stars and wished silently.

A week later, I felt ready to go back home to Fairy Tail. I found the old fisherman once more and said he could use Daisy as he wished until I needed her again. He was quite happy to comply and promised to take good care of her as if she were his own.

It was only a short distance from Port Hargeon to Magnolia as I flew over the treetops. I had expected to see my friends gathered in my room when I opened the door, but was a little disappointed to find my house empty. "I'm home~" I sang anyway. Hikaru bounced out of a vase by my beside to greet me. "Hey there, Hikaru. I've got something for you." My little blue friend chirped when I produced a lamp; within it glowed a green flame. He quickly opened it and swallowed the flame up in one sitting. "Now what will I do if you get a stomachache, Hikaru?" I giggled.

After a bath, I decided to head on over to Fairy Tail and look for my friends.

I was about halfway there when I heard an explosion and dust flying around right by the guild. "Ah, crap!" I sped up and was there in no time.

"Karin!" Lucy called; she was definitely panicky. "Some people showed up and everyone just started fighting all of a sudden! We should go somewhere safe-" my eyes spotted a familiar hat and my throat constricted. No... it couldn't be.

"Gomu gomu no..." but it WAS!

"LUFFY!" I hug-tackled him. "Uwah- what the hell- KARIN! You're alive!" I was right! Monkey D. Luffy- my friend.

The dust settled and I found that he wasn't the only one there. "Z-Zoro! Nami! Sanji! Usopp! Robin! Chopper! Brook! Franky!" a look of recognition all replaced their battle-faces. "Karin!" they had a mixture of shock and happiness on their faces.

My guild mates looked at me, the Straw Hat pirates, and each other in puzzlement. "You... know each other?" Max asked incredulously. "Eh? Karin, you know them?" Nami raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, they're... all of you are my friends." I smiled happily.

"How'd this ruckus start anyway?" I asked. My guild mates looked at each other and said in unison "Natsu." I sighed. I should have known! "Natsu!" I called out in an annoyed tone. "Y-yes, ma'am!" he said stiffly. I laughed "It'd make me upset if my friends didn't get along, you know!"

He grinned "Sorry, my bad." Luffy stood up "Well, if you're her friend, you can't be such a bad guy."

"Well, that our captain for you." Zoro smirked. "Looks like it's gonna be noisier from now on." I laughed. Lucy tilted her head to one side "What do you mean?"

No less than an hour later, the whole guild was celebrating the "New friendships" but I'm sure they just wanted to party. I was glad, though, that everyone got along so well after all that's happened. "Hey, Robin. Could I please talk to you?" I tried to pry her away from Wakaba and Macao. "Aww, come on, Karin!" they complained "I'll tell your wives!" my eyes glinted. "Ah-ha-ha! Go along now." They laughed nervously.

"Robin, how did you guys get here?" I asked her when she sat down with me- Erza and Lucy were also there. "We don't know for sure, really. We were in the middle of a battle with one of the seven warlords-" "Wait!" I cut her off "Seven warlords. You mean- Doflamingo?" her eyes widened. "Yes, how did you know?"

"What are the seven warlords?" Lucy asked "They are the pirates allowed to move freely since they're under the Government." I summed it up. "Is that how you got here, too?" Robin moved closer as the music got louder.

"Yes. After my crew was killed. Ah, what happened after I disappeared?" I asked curiously. "We received the news that your ship was found drifting around and almost got caught in a whirlpool near Impel Down. The marines identified you ship and crewmates but your body was never found, although you were pronounced dead. We were really upset when we read it on the news." She related her story. "So that's how it is... sorry for worrying you guys. I'm glad we got to meet again, but we have to get you all back to our world." I turned to Lucy and Erza "We should tell everyone tomorrow about this. Before Luffy fights Natsu and Zoro fights Erza or even more time-consuming... Sanji hits on every girl in the guild." I glanced over my shoulder to see him hovering around Evergreen as Elfman sits mysteriously quiet not too far from them. "Yikes." I smiled.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy to see you all- but you can't all accomplish your dreams if you're stuck here." Robin smiled, happy to hear that I thought of them that much. "For now, let's all have fun, shall we?"

I grinned at Lucy, Erza and Robin. "Yeah!"

Karin: Wah, how exciting! A new adventure!

Luffy: This meat is great!

Natsu: Hey, check this out! *eats fire*

Luffy, Usopp and Chopper: A- AWESOME!

Nami: I don't get why it's so cool to them

Lucy: M-me neither.

Cana: You'll never beat me, marimo! I was born to drink!

Zoro: What was that, you- ?

Karin: Now, now...

Franky: This building is SUUUUPER!

Brook: Excuse me, would you be so kind as to let me see your panties?

Erza: *smacks Brook*

Brook: Yohohoho- how feisty!

Robin: *giggle*

Mirajane: My, my

Sanji: Would you like some more to drink, Mira-chan? 3

Gray: S- skeleton...

Happy: It's definitely noisier around here

Karin: Goodness, this has gone too far! Stay tuned for the next chapter!