DAMN YOU SENGOKU! BECAUSE OF YOUR RETARDED DECISIONS YOU'VE COMPLETELY ISOLATED MY STORY TO BE AU! *huff* Therefore, I hereby blame Sengoku for my horrid case of writer's block, my complete lack of canon-ness in this story, and my utter lack of milk in my refrigerator. TT I do love milk...
School! I needed to get something up before school started, and this chapter was already halfway written. But if you thought my month-long absence was one thing, we'll have to see when school starts up today. Concurrent enrollment is a really big factor, it being my senior year in high school and all.
Anyway, I've been indulging in the Naruto fanfic area mostly, reading nothing but Time Travels and KakashixOCs. xD Mostly the latter... There's something about them that makes them my guilty little pleasure. Like ZoroxOC. They just make me happy. :D So I think I'll tell you about my favorite Time Travel and my favorite KakashixOC!
For the time travel department I shall introduce to you 'Wake Me Up Inside' by RayneXHatake! The story of how Naru (female Naruto) and her partner/ex-sensei Kakashi, the last Konoha survivors in a war against Sound, are thrust into Kakashi's childhood by the Kyuubi. Now at six-years-old, the two begin a new life with Sakumo and Minato, striving to change the future. Eventual Kakashi/femNaruto. Absolutely adorable, insanely epic, and overall a great read!
Then we have 'A Girl Named Yama' by ! The tale of a girl from the real world that wakes up (half clothed) in Kakashi's bedroom one insane morning. From destroying smut to fending off psychotic Uchihas, Yama's life has gone to the dogs as she struggles to fit in a world that seems to want her six feet under. With the pairing of KakashixOC, of course~! ;D God I need to get over that.
Anyway, here's a rather unentertaining chapter for you guys! It's plot development, but that doesn't make it any less... droll.
I do not own One Piece or Pokémon. Seriously.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"There's something strange and powerful about black-and-white imagery."
~Stefan Kanfer
Lin couldn't stop laughing even as Tashigi grew more and more annoyed.
"It's not funny!" Tashigi said forcibly, cheeks stained red. Lin's laughter settled into quiet snickers.
"S-Sorry Tashigi but..." Lin shook her head. "The idea of Zoro willingly teaching me anything amuses me. Nami had to blackmail him to teach me how to even hold my swords correctly, let alone some basic forms." Tashigi scowled.
"Well, what was I supposed to think?" She huffed. "Not many people have a reason to refer to Roronoa as 'sensei'." Lin smiled sheepishly.
"That's a joke I made a while ago that stuck. Besides, if he ever did take on a serious apprentice, they'd probably want to learn his three sword style. I think Zoro developed that style all on his own." Tashigi nodded.
"When his friend died, correct?" At Lin's incredulous look she elaborated "We met Roronoa's old sensei. He was quite... surprised to see me." Lin nodded.
"I imagine so," She stated dryly. "I thought the little picture from the dojo had come to life when I first saw you." Tashigi shook her head.
"I'd thought Roronoa simply had a fuzzy memory, but looking at that..."
"Yeah, it's pretty scary, that." Lin nodded. "But anyway, no, Zoro's only teaching me basic swordsman ship. Although," Lin admitted quietly. "I'm not exactly the best learner..." Tashigi tilted her head at Lin's suddenly thoughtful look.
"How so?" Lin hesitated.
"Well, see... I used a different fighting style for years before meeting the Straw Hats until Nami told me I should start using a weapon. But when I got swords as a weapon..." Lin shook her head. "Onigiri-sensei told me that I had to follow the swordsman's code, which goes against everything I was ever taught in my old style." Tashigi raised an eyebrow.
"Against it?"
"I was taught to knock out an opponent from behind and gouge out their eyes when they were down." Tashigi was utterly horrified.
"What kind of place teaches that kind of fighting?" She demanded. Lin rubbed the back of her neck.
"A place that claims swords are obsolete. No one really uses swords anymore, and those who follow rules of swordsmanship are usually the first to die." Tashigi looked pale.
"... Obsolete?" Lin held up her hands.
"I'm not saying anything against swordsmanship, but where I come from, swords are only used for sport or decoration. Real cheap ones, too. You don't find any real high quality ones like that," Lin nodded at Shigure. "Or even any sharp ones. Except for those in museums."
Tashigi looked as though she were about to cry, so Lin hastily added
"Not that it's right! Really! All I'm saying is that people from my world don't know how to go about the swordsman's code! And it frustrates Zoro to no end!" Tashigi calmed herself after a bit and nodded slowly.
"That does... seem like a problem," She allowed. "It's hard to go against one's teaching, but..." She paused, making eye contact with Lin. "Do you really want to learn swordsmanship?" Lin hesitated.
"... I don't know," She finally said, looking away. "I'm not going to lie, I don't understand the concept of honor very well. But..." Lin fiddled with her fingers. "It's seems like something worthwhile to learn, especially if I'm not home anymore, you know? With everything that's happening, I think that people count on each other to have that kind of honor. And I don't like to disappoint people, especially those that have been so nice to me..." Lin trailed off. Tashigi smiled slightly.
"Well, it's a start. If you can learn honor, then you can learn it in battle. You won't learn true swordsmanship until you learn honor, and those swords will be shamed if you go into battle without honor," Tashigi pointed to the swords strapped to Lin's back. Lin glanced back oddly, but nodded wearily. One Piece beliefs too, right.
"They're nice though, aren't they? Usopp made them for me." Lin said in an attempt at conversation. Tashigi only held out a hand, which Lin quickly deposited one of the boomerang swords into.
Tashigi gave it a careful inspection. "What are they called?" Lin shrugged.
"Usopp never came up with a name. But see the magnets?" Lin tapped the black tip on the edge. "Pika can put electricity into them. She's actually my fighting partner, too." Pika puffed herself up in pride.
"Pika pikachu." Lin scratched her head as Tashigi looked at her, confused.
"What did she say?"
"Hell if I know. Best I got is charades."
"Charades?"
"... Never mind."
"Pikapi!" Lin and Tashigi looked over to Pika, who was waving her paws irritably. Obviously she didn't appreciate being ignored. Lin winced.
"Sorry, Pika. What is it?"
"Pika pikapi! Pikachu!" Lin scratched her head thoughtfully.
"How many words?" Pika held up four 'fingers'. "First word?" Pika gestured to first Tashigi, then Lin, then herself. Lin hmmed. "We?"
"Pi!" Pika gave a thumbs up. She then pointed to her mouth.
"... Eat?" Pika shook her head. "Food?" Another shake, then Pika pointed to the rags. "... Ketchup?"
"Pika!" Pika said in frustration, then held up three fingers.
"Okay," Lin said. Apparently Pika decided to skip to the next word. "Third word?" Pika held up a peace sign. "Two?" Pika nodded, then held up four fingers. "Fourth word?"
Pika pointed out the door. "Pikapi!" Lin made an 'o' with her mouth, turning to Tashigi.
"I think she's saying we need to go."
"Pika pikapi!" Lin smiled as Pika nodded rapidly.
"That's a definite then. Let's go."
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Smoker was more of a man of action than words. Word games were often troublesome, and ended rather badly for him on account of his own inexperience with them. Simple words could be taken out of context, completely twisted that his own words would turn on him, hissing like snakes. Long, complicated words often had five different meanings that, when misunderstood, were often a part of the little game that the World Government loved to play.
So it would suffice to say that when Luffy dropped into a crouch after recovering from his initial shock, Smoker was at a loss of what to say that wouldn't sound like he was trying to kill him or completely turn on the marines. His crew piling in after them and making their own noises of shock did not help matters in the least.
"You!"
"Smoker?"
"What the-!"
"EEEEYAAAAH!"
"GAH!" The last noise, in fact, came from a certain green haired swordsman, who was actually looking anywhere but at Smoker, obviously looking for someone else.
"What are you doing here?" Smoker suddenly found himself staring down a very cold, very blue glow of a certain weather staff.
Damn it all, where the hell was Tashigi? Smoker uneasily held up his hands, still searching for the right words.
"I'm..." Smoker growled under his breath, suddenly finding himself angry at these pirates. He was only here to talk, and he wasn't going to be cowed like some pansy ass chore boy!
Smoker shoved aside the staff, scowling. "I'm here to talk." The orange-haired thief stared incredulously at him.
"To talk? When you've chased us around the entire world with guns blazing, trying to kill Luffy this entire time? You suddenly show up at a restaurant we happened to be going to and all you want to do is talk?"
"Yes." Nami eyed him before slowly backing away, looking at Luffy.
"Well?" Luffy stared at Smoker a bit then nodded.
"Let's hear it then." Zoro said shortly, still looking around. Smoker rubbed his temples. He could feel a headache coming on.
"What happened at Shimotsuki?" He suddenly demanded. The crew seemed taken aback at the change in topic. Robin stepped forward.
"Why do you want to know?"
"Tashigi and I were called to investigate Shell Town's report of a dragon flying towards Shimotsuki." Smoker said. "They said it was a Vice-Admiral class mission." Robin seemed to understand, turning to Luffy.
"But Captain-san's grandfather was there, a Vice-Admiral." Smoker nodded.
"When we arrived at Shimotsuki after dodging some maniac in a speeding cart (Usopp had the decency to look somewhat sheepish while Franky just looked proud) we heard about how the dragon was summoned in a way that hadn't been used in hundreds of years." He stated shortly, observing the crew's reactions. They didn't seem surprised. "That was when we got a call from the Fleet Admiral, ordering us to come here..." Smoker scowled heavily. "And ambush you with a small fleet. But only after your chef's established contact with Red Leg Zeff, and to use him as a hostage." The crew seemed taken aback, along with the chefs that had been listening in. Sanji stepped forward, furious.
"The hell? What kind of bastard are you?" Smoker held up a hand.
"What makes you think I planned to follow through?" Sanji was silenced. Franky glared at him, fist held up threateningly.
"And what makes us think you haven't? You're here, aren't you? And I don't see your partner anywhere." Smoker pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Tashigi left to our ship a while ago. But she hasn't returned yet. Damned woman..." He muttered under his breath. He looked up and eyed them all. "Sengoku has never ordered marines to take hostages of pirates in your case. It doesn't make sense for him to start now. Unless," Smoker crossed his arms. "You've seen something you shouldn't have, something worse than everything you've already done." The crew began to exchange glances, Nami finally sighing and lowering her staff.
"In that case, it's going to be a long explanation. Sanji-kun."
"Hai, Nami-san!" Sanji was eager as ever to please.
"Go check on Zeff. Make sure Smoker's partner didn't do anything, just in case." Nami added at the look from Smoker. "Chopper." Chopper blinked.
"Yes?"
"Where's Lin and Pika?" Chopper hesitated.
"Lin is um... in the infirmary because... Well, and Pika went back to the ship to grab her ketchup." Nami raised an eyebrow about Lin but nodded.
"Go grab them. I think Lin knows a bit more than she's telling us, but for now she'll have to do. She may have something to add to our story." Chopper nodded, albeit somewhat confused, and started to walk out the door only to come back a second later.
"I found them." Nami blinked rapidly as Lin came in, Tashigi right behind her and Pika on her head.
They made eye contact for a few awkward moments before Nami sighed, rubbing her temples. "You have to stop meeting people. Or at least stop bringing them to us."
Lin, at the very least, had the decency to look somewhat sheepish.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Sanji walked carefully into the kitchen, wary of any trap the marines had laid. He had every reason to worry, as the old geezer could be taken hostage this second and-
"PAYBACK TIME!"
THUD.
… Nah, he was fine.
"Patty. Carne." Sanji regarded the two twitching chefs below him, not appearing to have moved an inch. "Nice to see you dumbasses too." Patti moaned.
"Crazy... Sanji... stronger than ever..." Sanji merely brushed invisible dust off his jacket.
"Where's the geezer?" Carne twitched.
"I... I think he's in the back..." Sanji nodded, walking and stepping over the two.
"Thank you." Patty and Carne stared at each other from the ground.
"He's gotten stronger," Carne moaned. Patty only grit his teeth.
"I was so sure he would fall, but..." Patty grinned, Carne mimicking him. "It's good to see he's in good health." Carne grinned back for a second before raising an eyebrow.
"Oh? You missed him?"
"D-Don't misunderstand, stupid! Of course not! I bet you did, though!"
"Dumbass! Who would!" Sanji only smirked from behind the wall. He'd missed them too.
"Ha! I saw you crying when he left!"
"That was you, bastard! Crybaby!"
"SHUT UP!"
Not that he'd ever admit it.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Smoker felt a migraine coming on, rubbing his temples as his subordinate stared at him sympathetically. This wasn't nearly as bad as he'd thought. He'd come to the Mugiwaras perhaps expecting the World Government to have begun genetic experiments, perhaps some cloning on the side or even a hint of start towards tyranny.
This? Was much worse.
"'Other dimensions and time traveling..." Smoker groaned. He was really going to need some medication for how crazy his life had gotten. But that was another matter. For now, he turned to the one factor in the whole mess that made the least sense—besides the whole mess in general.
Lin stared back, fidgeting slightly as Smoker scowled.
"There's one thing I don't get," He rumbled. "How did you know what had happened before anyone else, even going so far as to bring back the exact help that was needed in your circumstance? Why did you already have knowledge of that timeline before going there?" Lin began to sweat as she felt the eyes of the Straw Hats on her, all equally confused.
"Um..." Lin fidgeted, seeing where the question could possible lead. How to tell them, without telling them? She sure wasn't as hell going to tell them that they were all in a manga, and she knew that was where Smoker was eventually going to lead. Damn him and his smarts.
If Robin was Batman, Smoker was the flipping Question. Paranoia and conspiracy theories and all.
"I, uh, told you." Lin stated hesitantly. "I read the story a long time ago." Smoker nodded sharply in remembrance.
"But why would you hear a story from our timeline, when you were apparently from another dimension?"
Oh hell. That was a very familiar question. And the last person to ask that had found out the little secret. Tashigi observed Lin's composure curiously, then blinked as Lin suddenly brightened.
"Well, I don't know." Smoker blinked. Tashigi blinked. The Straw Hats blinked. Lin smiled slightly. "It was just a story that I'd heard, really. I happen to like stories, and the story of Ryuuma came with a set of five-I mean, four stories. I wasn't expecting to have to use that knowledge to find the main character of Monsters. It wasn't until Ayumu came that things started making sense." Lin nodded to herself, then suddenly paused, making a face. "Oh." Smoker looked at her oddly.
"What?"
"What if..." Lin suddenly paled. "What if we start getting sucked into other worlds?" Nami looked at Lin.
"So? We'll just... Oh." Nami looked sick. "I see." Luffy looked completely lost as he looked between the two girls.
"What? What is it? Can't we just kick someone's ass and get back home like last time?" Nami looked as though she might hit the poor rubber man, so instead Robin opted to explain.
"Captain-san, not every world may have someone like Ayumu-san. If she was correct, then this meddling will eventually lead to portals to other worlds. If we should become trapped in another dimension, then finding someone like Ayumu may become next to impossible." Lin nodded tightly, still somewhat pale.
"And I'm guessing we only found Ayumu through absolute luck. Or even only because we found the main character of the story." Lin shook her head. "You may have ridiculously good luck, but me? With my luck, I'll get sucked into a world that I know absolutely nothing about. I wouldn't be able to find the main character, and then I'd get locked up in the loony bin for spouting crap about an organization we don't even know the name of." Lin continued her logic silently. And they would take you guys back only.
Luffy was a main character of his own world. So was everyone else. The only reason Ayumu had found them was because she recognized Luffy, and understood that he didn't belong there.
If Lin got caught, she didn't think that they'd allow her to go back with them again. And she sure as hell wasn't going to be sent back home either, if she was caught with Pika.
"Lin!" Lin flinched as Nami snapped her fingers in her face, looking thoroughly annoyed. "You spaced again!" Lin flushed.
"Sorry." Nami regarded her oddly.
"What were you thinking about?" Lin shook her head.
"Um... I was..." Lin looked up at Pika. "... Ketchup?" Nami blinked. "Yeah! Ketchup. Pika's ketchup kind of exploded, and-"
"Alright, alright. We can get more later." Nami waved her off. Lin smiled up at Pika, not noticing the odd glance Smoker sent her way. Nami turned back to him sternly. "So what are you going to do now? According to Ayumu, if whatever is causing this keeps it up we'll find a hell of a lot more portals from other dimensions. I can only imagine what anyone could do with the monsters from our own timeline, let alone from something we've never heard of." Lin shivered at the thought.
"And skills, too. And weapons. Or even tactics. Did you know there's a story about a whole legion of ghosts that eat people's souls? The only one that can fight them are Shinigami."
Usopp, Chopper and Brooke looked as though they might cry.
"Not to mention that if they got into the Naruto world. Hell." Lin paled at the thought of fighting any recruited ninjas. "Jutsus and chakra and we would all get blown to kingdom come. Thank God I didn't end up there." She shivered again. "This whole deal is like the beginning of the freaking apocalypse. Except that once you start it, it snowballs into something we can't handle."
Lin nearly jumped a foot in the air when a hand clapped on her shoulder.
"Nah, Lin." Lin blinked as she found herself staring into the very serious eyes of Luffy. He then grinned. "We'll be fine. As long as we're all together, we can beat anything, right?" Lin almost froze at the question. What kind of stupid question was that? Of course she knew. She'd been a fan of One Piece, the extraordinary exploits of the infamous pirate Monkey D. Luffy, for years. He could pull off the impossible, both him and his nakama. All her worries were for naught.
She was being incredibly stupid.
Lin smiled back and nodded. "Right... captain." Luffy's grin widened and he turned to Smoker.
"So what are you going to do about this?" He asked casually, but Lin thought she saw something flash in his eyes as he made eye contact with Smoker. Smoker regarded the younger man for a long moment, Tashigi looking apprehensive. He closed his eyes.
"... This is not something to treat lightly," He muttered, almost to himself. "Based on your stories, it seems as though while not having a direct hand in this, the World Government instead funds it."
"Like the Shichibukai?" Usopp asked, eyes wide. Tashigi nodded.
"Smoker-san is saying that Sengoku may have hired someone who came forward with an offer he couldn't resist, probably the removal of the Era of Dreams." She said, voice ominous. "The era itself was started by the actions of the Pirate King, and therefore stands for everything that opposes the World Government. To have it established and acknowledged has split the world in two..."
"Those who follow the World Government, and those who follow dreams." Smoker finished, arms crossed. "It first started at the beginning of your exploits in East Blue, Mugiwara, and only increased exponentially at Marineford with the Ox Bell. From there it split into the two sides."
Lin felt rather lost, but did her best to understand. She'd ask Robin later.
"When you became the Pirate King, those who followed dreams inexplicably turned to your side. Those who did not were almost always followers of the World Government, even on the other side of the law." Tashigi continued. Nami nodded in understanding.
"So to Sengoku, you're either on his side, or ours." Smoker nodded.
"Exactly." Lin let out a long breath.
"That's... that's big." She finally said. "Now the whole world's playing cops and robbers. And the cops are paying the robbers to catch even more robbers. Drug world gone Edo!" Lin threw up her hands, ignoring the confused glances she got. "This is just like Bleach, except none of us have holes in our chests and Sengoku sure as hell ain't a ghost in a dress!"
They decided to leave her alone after that, Nami turning back to Smoker with her eyebrow raised.
"That's all true, but it doesn't answer the question of what you're going to do about it." She said. "As you've said, you're either on our side, or theirs. The Pirate King, or the ones that are screwing with the dimensions of the universe itself."
Then Nami suddenly smirked and she stuck out her tongue, winking at Smoker. "If I were you, I'd go with the lesser of two evils. Dance with the devil and all." She said cheekily.
Lin giggled. Franky snorted. Smoker 'hn'ed.
… Lin idly thought that 'hn' wasn't the healthiest noise in the world to make, especially considering it seemed to be the catch phrase of a certain homicidal maniac.
"NAMI-SWAN IS SO BEAUTIFUL WHEN SHE WRAPS MARINE BASTARDS AROUND HER FINGER~!" Nami twitched her gaze to the twirling blonde cook, just arriving with a grouchy, one-legged man behind him rolling his eyes.
"Idiot." Sanji whirled.
"What was that, shitty geezer?" He growled. Lin turned her attention back to Smoker as the two fought in the background, Zoro watching them in bemusement (or it may have had something to do with the fact that he was studiously ignoring Tashigi this entire time). Smoker cleared his throat.
"Well, based on what you've told us, we obviously have no choice in the matter." Smoker nodded to Tashigi, who stood there in absolute confusion.
"... Smoker-san?" She asked carefully. Smoker nodded towards the back door, apparently where his ship was anchored.
"I have a ship full of marines waiting on their orders to attack the Thousand Sunny," Smoker stated gruffly, eying Luffy. "Because Sengoku made sure to make his orders known to the entire ship. Failure to comply to his orders will eventually be rotated back to him, and Tashigi and I will likely be imprisoned for obstruction of justice and treason."
"B-But we can't attack them!" Tashigi stuttered out, indignant. "You heard them, Smoker-san! We're on the bad side of something that's going out of control!" Smoker only nodded, never breaking eye contact with Luffy. Luffy grinned and nodded back.
"Then you'll have to catch us first!" He declared, whirling to the crew. "Sanji, Usopp, get to the marine ship! Everyone else, get back to the Sunny!" Sanji smirked around his cigarette.
"Aye captain." Usopp, to his credit, didn't complain. He instead followed Sanji out to the rear of the restaurant, unslinging Kabuto from his back. The rest of the crew began to walk out the door before Luffy paused, nodding at Zoro.
Zoro came back and stood in front of Smoker and Tashigi somewhat stiffly. Tashigi blinked.
"Roronoa-?"
Whack!
Zoro placed his sheathed sword back and walked back to the ship, leaving behind two unconscious marines with a good sized welt on each of their heads.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"I still don't get it." Lin scratched her head under her hat as she stood by the railing of the ship, watching various marines fly off the ship they were drifting next to. The shouts of Sanji and Usopp as they cleared the ship only slightly bothered her, as she was unable to see past the smoke (a good ambush was made under cover, after all). Robin smiled from her spot on the sun chair, book resting in her hands.
"Smoker-san essentially agreed to an arrangement with Captain-san." Lin nodded absently.
"My question is what the arrangement was. Obviously this isn't something that Smoker was just going to write off, but I don't get it." Lin huffed. Robin smiled mysteriously as she looked at Lin.
"Lin-san, I thought you of all people would be able to figure it out." Lin blinked, then shook her head as she understood the implication.
"I don't know you guys as well as one might think," She finally said. "You guys are actually pretty different from the first half of the Grand Line, enough that I'm incapable of predicting what you guys will do and why." Robin seemed to mull this over, then nodded slightly as she returned to her book.
"I suppose you're right." She said. "Things have changed, after all." Robin trailed off in thought as Luffy's voice came to them from the deck.
"Hey Nami! Is Sanji back yet? It's almost lunch time!" There was a pause. "Nami? Naaami? Nami!"
Slam!
"WHAT THE HELL HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT BUGGING ME WHEN I'M PLOTTING OUR COURSE, DUMBASS!"
"Nehhhh..." Lin shook her head at Luffy's faint whine.
"Not all of it though."
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Sanji ducked under the rifle that attempted to follow his movements and gave the marine a sharp kick in reply, sending him into a few of his friends behind him. Usopp dashed out from the nearby smoke cloud, nodding at Sanji.
Sanji smirked darkly and dashed towards the edge with Usopp at his heels just as a loud explosion sounded off behind him. The two splashed in the ocean, diving under and resurfacing on the other side of the ship.
"That better have not been the kitchen." Despite the cold water, Usopp felt himself sweating under the gaze of Sanji.
"I-I didn't go anywhere near the kitchen! I swear!" Sanji nodded firmly as the Thousand Sunny came up behind them. Taking hold of the rope thrown over the side, the two scrambled over the deck to see Nami waiting for them with a raised eyebrow.
"Well?" Usopp dug in his bag and pulled out a tiny Den Den Mushi, black in color and sleeping soundly. Sanji swooned at the approval showing on Nami's face, even if it was for Usopp. Usopp handed her the snail.
"Coordinated to Smoker's Mushi. Any orders he gets from Sengoku will be picked up at any time!" Nami nodded.
"Great! This should give us an upper hand in the future." She then whirled and began shouting orders to Franky. "Franky! Turn the helm to north by northwest! Brooke! Keep a scope trained on the ship for any signs of pursuit! Sanji! Usopp!" Nami turned and looked the sopping wet boys critically. "... Get changed into something dry. Chopper will have a fit if you catch cold."
Sanji noodled. "Nami-swan is so generous with her concern~!" He then flitted away to do as he was told, followed slowly by a exasperated Usopp.
Nami turned back to her maps, looking up as Lin came up behind her.
"We're going to your island, right?" Nami nodded at Lin's question. Lin grinned. "You must be happy." Nami smiled slightly.
"It'll be nice to see home again, I'll admit. We'll just have to be discreet because of the marine base they added to Cocoyashi." When Nami pointed the spot on the map, Lin frowned and looked closer.
"That's... bad." Nami began to nod and Lin shook her head. "Well, that kind of bad too. But mostly bad planning on the marine's part." Lin pointed a finger to Logue Town, marked not too far from Cocoyashi. "Doesn't that place already have a major base? It's strategical to put a marine base near the one in Logue Town, but because the two are so close to the entrance of the Grand Line, where pirates would travel constantly, both are likely to be attacked at the same time to guarantee safe passage." Nami frowned at Lin's guess.
"I suppose you're right... I assume they simply wanted backup for Logue Town's base. Either way, we need to avoid it. One wrong move and we'll have swarms from both bases flooding Commi Island." Lin nodded, then smiled.
"Well, it could be worse, right?"
Nami only smiled back.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Tashigi stood next to Smoker as the two surveyed the damage to their ship. An explosion in the storage, decimating their gunpowder supply, marines knocked out left and right, and an untouched kitchen. And a ship that would still sail. The usual sign of a Mugiwara attack.
Damn if Smoker couldn't admit that they did a fine job. They would have been great marines in another life.
"Smoker-san?" Tashigi asked carefully at her superior's smirk. Smoker only sighed and shook his head.
"I suppose I'll need to report in a mission failure." He turned to go below deck, but was followed by Tashigi.
"Sir!" Smoker turned to see Tashigi staring at him incredulously, the book from before still in her arms. "Are... are you sure about this?"
Are you sure you want to throw away everything in the marines? For them?
Smoker eyed his subordinate, taking in the book in her hands with a mild curiosity, but noting her stance and the glint in her eye. She was sure about it. She only wanted to be sure he was too.
"Tashigi..." He reached forward and tugged the book from her hands, looking at the cover with interest. A history book from another dimension? Interesting. He began to flip through the pages. "There are times of war in the world, where you're either on one side, or on the other. Usually it's not too obvious which is the good side to be on, seeing how both sides believe the other to be the bad ones." Smoker paused and stared minutely at a picture of a man in a boat, leading his troops to victory against a king. "In the world, the only thing to do is to fight for your own ideals, to place trust in your way of thinking." Smoker looked up and regarded Tashigi with a hard stare. "In that sense, the world will be black and white. Because in times of war, there's very little room for shades of gray. Are you sure, Commodore Tashigi?"
Tashigi stood with wide eyes for all of two seconds before saluting. "Without a doubt, Smoker-san."
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URGH THIS CHAPTER IS FAIL. AND SHORT. But I needed to get it out, because we need to move on in life! Plot development, anyone? Hmmm?
Anyway, thanks to TheDML, Allycat18, eternitybeckons, QuietInsomniac, Lethargic Girl, Jasmin Liertha, Sayonara Yasashii Akumu, Android Kaeli, kyara yukai, and serihppas for your reviews! WE'VE HIT PAST THE ONE HUNDRED MARK! *dies* Thank you all so much! And congrats to QuietInsomniac for getting the 100th review! You guys all rock!
And don't worry everyone! I will finish this story no matter what, school will only slow me down, not stop me! W00T.
See y'all next chapter, in time for the start of the Commi Island (as I believe it's called) arc!
Linhae, OUT.
PS: Have you guys read the profile for this story's sequel on my profile? If so, the last scene will make a lot more sense. The next story is called Black and White. Be sure to check that out sometime! :D