Having just set off from Arlong Park, the Straw Hats were all buzzing about heading to Loguetown. There was one pirate on board however, who was leaning against the railing, and looking out to sea with a furrowed brow. Sanji hummed again as he frowned and muttered, "What am I forgetting..?" He closed his eyes and rubbed at his brow.
"Oi! Shitty cook! You look like a moron doing that!" Zoro's shout echoed across the Merry, causing the crews' heads to turn to observe the inevitable conflict. His face was pulled into the worst sneer he could muster.
"What was that?! Moss head?!" Sanji completely dropped his contemplating in order to confront his least favourite crew member. "You look like a sea anemone doing tha - oh! Of course! I can't believe I almost forgot!" Sanji cut himself off mid-rant, and furiously shook his head, causing Zoro to sigh and roll his eyes as the fight was clearly forgotten.
Sanji ran off toward the figurehead, calling out for Luffy and Nami, and everyone followed him to find out what was going on. "Oi everyone, I have a favour to ask. I just remembered the island that the Baratie got a good amount of its top-class fish and seafood from is on the way to Loguetown! Can we stop there and pick up some supplies?" Sanji explained.
There was a short silence. A strange shiver seemed to pass through everyone (except Luffy) on board, before a slow and quiet chuckle began. As one, the crew woodenly turned their heads toward the sound, only to see Luffy perched on Merry's head, eyes shining like stars as he began to drool and laugh at the same time. "YOOOOOOSH! I've decided! Before we go to see Roger's island, we need to get as much fish as we can! Nami! Take us to the fish place! Full speed!"
And so, with a collective shrug, the crew set off as Nami checked her maps and had Usopp alter their course slightly while Luffy cackled in delight from his special seat.
About half a day later, Usopp called from the crow's nest that the island was in sight. They pulled right into the dock as Sanji had explained that the island's only source of income was the fish they exported, so they didn't care who they were selling it to. Apparently every citizen on the island was a "fish-diver", able to swim for long periods of time and even catch fish bare handed in the water. It was called Diver's Island.
As they disembarked and began walking into town, with Luffy singing and bouncing along in front of everyone. Looking ahead, Nami tried to give a shout of warning to him as he was heading for a huge collision. But of course, Luffy crashed straight into the giant wooden pole in the middle of the road. "Oi oi! What's this? Why's there a pole here?" Luffy muttered, backing up and placing a hand on his hat as he looked up to see the top of the pole.
"It's a giant sign..?" Usopp asked as he looked up to read it, and as he did, his legs began to quake and he let out a small whimper before he squeaked out, "Guys, I don't think I can keep going into this island, I have the must-stay-on-the-Merry disease again!" He turned to run, but Zoro scoffed and grabbed the back of his shirt. "Don't be such a wuss!"
"Yeah Usopp, it'll be fine as long as we stay on the road and go straight to town!" Nami declared, though there was sweat on her brow, because the giant sign in front of them clearly said in huge letters: DEADLY MONSTER IN FOREST. DO NOT ENTER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
"A place where no one's allowed to go to? Under any circumstances? I smell an adventure at hand! Sanji! Go get as much meat as you can! I'm going to go see the monster! Maybe it's delicious? Maybe it's strong? Maybe it'll join our crew? I'm so excited!" Luffy yelled and began to head straight into the forest off the main road.
Zoro sighed as Nami called his name, "Ah, I'll follow him and keep him out of trouble. You guys get the fish." Usopp and Nami practically melted in relief and followed quickly after Sanji as he set off toward town.
As Zoro caught up to Luffy, he rolled his eyes as he heard Sanji yelling about keeping Nami safe. "Hoo hoo! Zoro! What kind of monster do you think it is?" Luffy grinned at his first mate. Zoro rested his hand on his swords and drawled, "I don't know but I hope it puts up a good fight!"
They headed deeper into the forest as Luffy began his adventure cries, "Monster, monster! Meat, meat! Adventure in the forest with a monster!" Zoro strolled casually next to him, though kept his eyes moving around the trees so they wouldn't be caught by an ambush. Almost an hour later, Luffy was starting to become bored and was about to start complaining when there came a yell of, "BoooOOOoo! You found the monster! Raw! Growl!" and a head popped out from the tree branches just above them, showering the boys with leaves.
Luffy and Zoro jumped back, with the latter reaching for his swords when they both froze suddenly. "Hey, Zoro? Since when do monsters actually say 'growl'?" Luffy asked, turning to his companion and completely ignoring the situation. Zoro just shrugged and as they turned back to the monster, there was a squeak and a girl crashed to the ground from the tree.
She quickly shot up and turned to face them, brushing leaves from herself and laughing, "Ooh it's pretty rare when they don't run immediately! You guys must be strong, huh?" She grinned brightly at them and they stopped to take her in. She was a little shorter than Luffy, but she looked to be around their age. She had bright green eyes and dark, steel grey hair that shimmered almost blue in the sun, it didn't quite meet her shoulders and puffed out around her head in messy spikes that fluttered in the wind. She wore loose black shorts, and a loose black spaghetti-strap crop top that showed some of her belly and bits of the turquoise sports bra she wore underneath. Around her waist she had a belt with two small pouches attached, and her feet were totally bare. But perhaps the most striking thing about her appearance was all the jewelry she wore. She had several hoop earrings in each ear, an armband, a bracelet, several rings around her fingers, and even anklets and a few toe rings. As she reached up to scratch the back of her head, she pulled around one of two long braids that split off from the rest of her hair in the back, reaching almost to her bottom. Each braid had a golden chain winding through it as well. Zoro wanted to think that meant she was rich, but it all looked like really bad quality. While all her jewelry was definitely gold, it was all very primitive in design, lumpy and wonky in some places, and a little banged up, too.
"Hey! What are you doing? I thought you were the monster! I wanted to go on an adventure!" Luffy relaxed and began complaining to the girl. Zoro relaxed slightly next to him, though he kept one hand on his swords, ever at the ready.
"Oh sorry sorry! I heard you yelling throughout the forest about monsters and adventures, and I thought it would be such a let-down for you if you got all the way through without seeing a monster, so I figured I'd try to at least give you a scare," the girl shrugged.
Luffy grinned back at her. "Well you really got me for a second! But where's the real monster? I want to find it!" At that, the girl looked down a little.
"Sorry guys, that sign is actually referring to me, I'm sort of exiled out here and the townspeople decided they needed a sign. I'm the only monster in this forest. But I do feel bad when travelers miss out on getting to see a real monster, so I tend to at least try to give them a scare. Usually works, too," she kicked one foot across the ground as she explained, looking away from Luffy's face as he began to look more and more crushed. Zoro blinked in confusion at the idea that someone exiled from their town to live in the forest would then go to the trouble of essentially entertaining tourists. When he asked her about it, however, she just gave him a blank look and shrugged.
"If I'm the reason the sign is there, I'm responsible for making sure the people who look for one find one, right?" At this Zoro froze. She's just like Luffy! She hasn't thought it through at all! And of course, Luffy (who had been sulking on the floor) seemed to notice this at the same time, because he brightened immediately and shot up off the floor.
"Well, oh well! Are you a strong monster? What's your name? Since you appreciate a good adventure too, join my crew! I'm Luffy! I'm going to be King of the Pirates! This is Zoro!" He yelled at her rapidly, eyes twinkling, though to Zoro's surprise she seemed to be nodding along and following his insane speech. When he stopped to hear her response, she looked contemplative for a moment before responding, "I am pretty strong. My name is Sade, and I could join your crew, but-"
Mid-way through her response, there was a loud snap! that echoed through the forest, and Sade rapidly turned, her eyes lighting up with fury and she darted away, throwing a quick apology over her shoulder as she disappeared into the trees. Luffy and Zoro made to follow her, but quickly lost sight of her. "She's fast," Zoro commented, slightly impressed. Did I see her feet glow just now? Or was that a trick of the light? He thought to himself, but before he could think too much on it Luffy distracted him.
"Oi Zoro! I want her on the crew!" Luffy told him, grinning widely. "Yeah, yeah, we can go find her later. For right now, let's go find the crew and we can go get her together. Look, I can see the town," Zoro pointed through the trees and began to head toward civilization. I'll just worry about it later, he decided, and promptly forgot all about the girl's strange feet.
As Luffy and Zoro walked into town, they looked around to see fish shops everywhere. Luffy was drooling almost constantly, and only Zoro's reminder that Sanji was already getting fish for them convinced Luffy to walk past all the food. Well, that and Zoro's iron grip on his arm. The townspeople were also interesting; they all had hair and eyes that were some shade of blue or green, and most everyone they saw had jewelry on like Sade's. Only theirs looked professionally done, intricately carved and detailed. As they took in the island, the boys eventually ran into the rest of the crew as they exited a nearby store. Sanji and Usopp were weighed down by tons of bags, and Nami strolled ahead of them, carrying nothing as usual.
"Oi Nami, I hope you're not going to cause us any trouble with all this gold everywhere," Zoro announced himself to the group. Sanji immediately launched himself at Zoro and they started a small scuffle that fortunately stopped as Nami pouted.
"No, I can't steal it! I asked one of the people around here and apparently, though every single person in this town that is working age works as a fish-diver, most of them can also make that gold jewelry on the side. It's not for sale anywhere though because the purpose of the jewelry is to express care for one another." Here, Nami rolled her eyes. When she saw Luffy's blank look, she continued. "In other words, if someone here makes a piece of jewelry, the sole reason is to give it to a loved one, making them all precious symbols. Even I'm not heartless enough to steal someone's treasure." Nami cried, and as she finished she fell down as a dark cloud formed above her head.
"It's killing her though," Usopp whispered on the side, waving his hand in front of his face, and Zoro sweat-dropped as he heard Nami muttering about how she must be the most kind-hearted thief in the world. Luffy just laughed blithely.
"Nami-san! I would make you so much love jewelry that you would be encased in gold!" Sanji yelled, twirling around rapidly and attracting several looks from passersby.
"Guys guys that's cool and all, but I have important news!" Luffy announced, gaining everyone's attention as he proudly brought his hands to his hips. "We have a new friend! Her name is Sade! She loves adventures, so we're taking her with us! But first we have to go get her because she ran off into the forest. Let's go!" He yelled, and charged out of town, with the others running after him, in varying states of distress or resignation. However, none of the crew missed the incensed looks they received from the locals when they heard Luffy yelling about being Sade's friend. Sanji and Zoro tensed, and kept a wary eye out as they ran past the angry civilians.
As they reached the forest, Zoro caught the others up on the situation. But almost as soon as he finished, the crew heard a scream of despair and anger and pulled up short. "That's her voice!" Luffy yelled, and as one they changed course, running straight toward the scream even as Usopp trailed tears behind him.
I can't believe I was stupid enough to let them get close to her again! Sade continued to scold herself as she frantically used a stick to try and fish the trash out of the small lake she was leaning over, careful not to touch the murky water. Tears streamed from her face as the trash slipped away from her and drifted to the middle of the lake. Exhausted, she fell to her hands and knees, curling her hands into fists, she slammed her hands down on the red rock, screaming. She slammed her fists down again and again, unable to do anything else to relieve her frustration. "Useless! Useless! I'm always useless!" Through her wails, Sade heard a snap! as another one of her noise-making traps was set off at the tree line that surrounded her small lake. A loud snarl ripped from her as she turned to face the sound, teeth and nails beginning to lengthen. But just as she was gathering herself for another skirmish with the townspeople, she recognized Luffy's straw hat among the leaves.
Quickly reverting to her more-human form, Sade stood and waited for their arrival. As Luffy burst from the trees toward her, she studied the newcomers behind him that she'd never seen before, as she delicately sniffed the air to get a better sense of them. There was a blonde man in a suit, a woman with short orange hair, and a man who looked like he would already be running away if not for the iron grip that Zoro and the woman had on his arms. As the others paused to take in the scene around them, she didn't mind their disturbed faces, knowing that it was a gruesome sight — she didn't blame the terrified guy for wanting to bolt at all.
She stood in a clearing of trees that contained a small lake. The lake was murky, and it was easy to see that it was some sort of trash dump. The part that was grabbing the attention of the crew, however, was the bedrock surrounding the lake. It was absolutely covered in blood. In a perfect ring around the lake, blood stained the rocks a dark red colour, some of it even seeping into the lake and turning the water a light pink around the edges. Luffy of course was completely oblivious to this however, and happily made his way over to her, "Sade! There you are! What's going on? Aren't you joining my crew?"
"I'm sorry Luffy, I just —" Sade began to answer, running her hand through her hair but she was cut off from talking as her wrist was grasped by a gentle hand. Caught off guard, her eyes widened as she turned to look at Zoro who was frowning at the blood that fell from the scratches she had gotten from punching the rock. "Are you the one who bled all over this lake?" He asked, and Sanji couldn't even bring himself to yell at the swordsman for man-handling a woman as she hesitantly nodded.
Luffy finally took a moment to observe the scene once he saw her wounds. "Oi Sade, what's going on here? We're friends now, so how can we help?"
Sade had tugged her arm away from Zoro and was planning on turning them away, but she froze at Luffy's question. She spun so quickly that her neck cracked as she faced him. "Friends?" It came out as barely a whisper. "I've never had a real friend before…" Her breath was caught in her throat at the thought of finally having what she'd always wanted. Memories of her failed attempts at making friends played in her head, the other kids running away from her as she was growing up, the parents scorning her and leading their children away..
"Well we can't have that!" Sade was jolted out of her wandering thoughts as the only woman in Luffy's crew clasped her hands with hers, careful to avoid her injuries. "I'm so glad there's finally going to be another woman on the crew! I'm Nami, the navigator!"
"Sade-chan! What a beautiful name for such a beautiful creature! Oh but if only I could take the pain of your wounds onto myself!" Sade was forced to refocus again as the blonde man came running up to her and knelt at her feet, gently grasping her hand as he continued, "I am Sanji, Luffy's chef, you can relax knowing that I will always ensure that you eat the most nutritious food! I will protect the ladies on board our ship with my very life!"
There was a short pause as Sade looked at Sanji closely for the first time. She saw his face, and for a moment her heart stopped in its chest. She saw his eyebrow and her whole mind blanked for a second. Only for a second, then she relaxed and dismissed her worries. That's impossible… and she turned to the next person approaching their group.
"Y-yeah! It's always fun to make a new friend! I'm Usopp, a brave warrior of the sea! You can meet my 80,000 men later, I left them on my twelve battleships.." Usopp continued on, beginning to weave a fantastic tale as he gained more confidence, but Luffy cut him off. "So, Sade, what's going on?"
Sade looked around her and saw concerned faces on every member of the crew. Friends, huh? You did say I'd meet some eventually, Shanks. And I won't forget what you told me — when I meet some friends, I have to make sure to trust them or it won't count. With a small sigh, Sade dropped herself to the ground. "This lake is the reason I can't leave the island yet." She said, gesturing unnecessarily toward it. The crew, sensing a story, plopped themselves down around her as well. Nami pulled on Luffy's earlobe and snarked "Don't fall asleep this time captain," as he whined and Sade smiled.
"Don't worry, Luffy. I'll try to be fast," she drawled out. This earned her a huge and adorable grin from him. "I was accidentally fed a devil fruit when I was an infant, and so I never learned to swim. For an island where the only work is fish-diving, the townspeople couldn't comprehend this and labeled me a monster, especially when I started showing signs of turning into an animal." Here she had to stop her story because Luffy was right in front of her face, eyes shining like stars. "Coool!" He yelled, as the others in the crew were picking up their jaws from learning that an infant was accidentally fed a devil fruit.
Zoro was the first to get over his shock (as usual) and grabbed Luffy by the scruff of his neck, pulling him off their potential new crew mate and back to his spot on the ground. "So, what does that have to do with the lake and the blood?" He asked gruffly.
"Oi! Shitty moss head! Don't be rude, I'm sure she's getting there!" Sanji immediately cursed the swordsman, practically leaping across the space between them to swing his leg at Zoro's head. But before they could get anywhere in their fight, Nami shut them both down with a fist to both their heads. "SHUT UP!" She growled, before turning to face Sade and continuing in a much gentler manor, "Please, feel free to ignore them! Go ahead with your story, Sade."
She blinked, and then giggled at their antics until her eyes turned back to the lake and she let out another sigh, her eyes turning dark. "A few months after my parents died, my sister died as well." At this remark, all of the grumbling and mumbling from the crew halted and Luffy slid into his 'serious mode'. Just as he was opening his mouth to say something — he wasn't sure what yet — she was quick to reassure them, waving her hands in front of her face. "Don't worry that wasn't really the sad part, I mean, my parents were assholes so I was very grateful when they were killed, and my sister was sick her whole life. As much as I miss her, I am glad she's no longer suffering every day. The problem is...the problem is...I—" Sade cut herself off as her throat closed up and the tears pooled in her eyes. Of all the people that had come trooping through this forest looking for monsters, she'd never let any of them find her lake. Only she and the townspeople knew of her shame, and now that she finally had the opportunity to move past it, she could hardly breathe. She was so caught up in her panic that she didn't see the worried and alarmed looks the crew exchanged around her.
"I protected her my whole life and then I failed her!" She finally wailed out, her fingernails digging into the rock beneath her as her arms kept her from collapsing to the ground. "The day after she died her body was stolen from me by the people here and tossed in the lake. She always hated water, she must be so cold and alone down there. And I can't save her because I can't swim! To rub it in, they like to toss their trash in whenever I leave to eat or fall asleep. It's been more than three years and I can't help her! I'm useless just like they said! Useless! Aimee!" Sade cried out in agony, unable to keep it in anymore despite her best efforts. The words seemed to burst out of her without her control, and she realised that for three years she had spent every day battling to keep her despair inside her, knowing that it would overwhelm her if she ever let it out. Punishing herself for her failure by beating herself bloody was the only release she had allowed herself.
Sade was distracted from continuing as a small high-pitched whining sound came from the treeline and a small back and white ball of fluff darted across the clearing and jumped into her arms. "Koinu! You're back!" Sade smiled through her tears and cuddled her partner up to her face.
Luffy shook his head a little bit to clear the feelings of rage and sorrow that had been building in him at her words, and peered closer at the fluff in her arms, "You have a puppy?" He asked, leaning in. (Koinu means puppy.) Nami and Usopp quickly rubbed the tears out of their eyes and peered in as well. No one seemed to notice Zoro and Sanji move away from the group, looking out at the lake.
"Yes, Koinu is a very sweet puppy.. He's much more intelligent than your average dog too, he even understands a fair amount of human speech. He's small now but he told me for sure he'd grow huge one day!" Sade sniffed and managed to strengthen her voice, drawing comfort from the small licks she was getting from Koinu as he nuzzled into her face. She wiped away her tears and held him out so her new friends could meet her puppy.
….
Nami and Usopp both shrieked and fell back, scrambling away from the woman who was holding out a small skunk toward them. Luffy of course immediately grabbed the skunk and spun him around in the air, "Yes! Koinu you'll be perfect, I've been wanting a pet dog for the ship! Make sure you keep your promise and grow big and strong okay?!" This of course forced Nami and Usopp to face-vault into the ground, mumbling about how it shouldn't be possible to be so unobservant.
Usopp cracked first, leaping up, pointing a dramatic finger at Sade and crying out, "Oi! Oi! That's not a dog, crazy woman! That's a skunk! What are you thinking?"
Sade cocked her head a bit, and defly caught Koinu as he jumped from Luffy's palms toward her. He scampered up her arm and flopped over her shoulder, and promptly began to snore lightly. "He's not a skunk, cause his name is Koinu," she muttered, looking confused at him. Luffy jumped in, sticking his tongue out at the sniper, "Idiot!" he called. Nami was just beginning to crack, and opened her mouth, when a loud splash turned everyone's attention toward the lakeside, where now only Sanji stood.
"Sanji! What's going on?" Luffy called out to him as their group all headed to where he was smoking by the lake.
"The shitty moss head and I were talking about who should jump in to retrieve Aimee from the lake. He said I should go because I was already a piece of trash, so I kicked him in," Sanji told Luffy evenly. Luffy chuckled and Nami and Usopp just sighed. "He's so going to kill you once he gets out."
Sade froze at hearing Sanji's words. Aimee...Aimee is going to be saved? Her mind began to whirl and she couldn't seem to catch her breath. She felt a little light-headed and dizzy as she stumbled through the last few steps to the lakeside. She held her breath as she waited for Zoro to resurface. Aimee, will I finally lay you to rest after three years of this torture? Sade lost her strength and fell to her knees as she saw Zoro's head break the surface of the water. The crew watched silently as he walked slowly toward her collapsed form. She gasped for breath as he reached her, and, more gently than she'd thought possible for someone with such obvious strength, he placed the skeleton of her sister on the ground in front of her before moving to stand with Luffy as they all watched her carefully. Sade was almost totally blind due to the tears flowing uncontrollably from her. She lifted her shaking hands and oh so carefully ran one trembling finger over her sisters skull. "Aimee," the name ripped itself out of her chest and came out as an almost inhuman wail. "I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE SAFE AGAIN!" Her cry echoed off the lake and the trees around them, repeating the call back again and again as she wept, finally in relief instead of sorrow. She curled her body over the skeleton, hugging her sister's remains as much as she could as she gathered her remaining strength.
Eventually, Sade picked up her sister's skeleton with the utmost care, and began to walk toward the treeline. She stopped about halfway there however, and turned her head toward the Straw Hat Pirates. "Would my new friends like to attend my sister's burial?" She asked, and a warm smile spread across her face as they all smiled back at her and began to follow her back into the woods. The procession was silent, but not oppressive as they walked in a seemingly random pattern through the woods. After about half and hour, Usopp finally spoke up, "By the way...Sade, where are we going?"
The grey-haired girl had been walking confidently in front of the group, however as soon as Usopp spoke her foot froze on it's way to it's next step. "Um ...actually I can't seem to remember the way now that I'm trying to get there.." She murmured, her face flushing as the whole group crashed to the floor in shock. She spun around frantically in embarrassment as they all began to stand back up, only Sanji and Luffy didn't look incredulous; the former because he could only ever think a lady being lost was adorable, and the latter because he was too busy laughing about how much of a Zoro-like thing it was to lose your own sister's gravesite. Nami quickly bashed him on the head for his insensitivity once she'd recovered from her own shock, but Sade didn't seem at all upset.
"Eh? What's that?" They were interrupted as Zoro pointed at something strange he could make out through the trees. It was a small brick fence that formed a square around a gravestone, with a wooden slats forming a make-shift roof. The whole thing was wonky, though. A fair number of the bricks forming the fence were tilted, with some almost completely diagonal, and the gravestone itself looked as though it'd been chiseled by a child.
Nami was turning to assault Zoro next. Keeping them in line is such a tiresome job. That deformed pile of rubble is obviously not what we're looking for. She was just about to call this out when Sade calmly announced, "Oh, there it is. Good looking out, Zoro," and lead the way. Fortunately for the Straw Hats, she was distracted enough to miss Nami crashing to the ground in shock yet again and the rest of the crew doubled over in laughter at the mention of Zoro having any kind of direction sense while he glared at them.
Sanji stopped laughing when he caught sight of Sade again and murmured a reminder of what they were doing here to the crew. This sobered them all up immediately and they followed her over. When she got there, Sanji silently helped her lower Aimee's skeleton into the already-dug hole, and he gently took the shovel from her still unsteady hands and began to refill the hole.
She stood by and quietly observed him work, with the others not far behind her. When he finished, she knelt in front of the grave and bent her head in prayer, noting to herself that out of the corner of her eye, she could see all the members of Luffy's crew join her. Her heart filled with warmth as she even heard the quiet sound of Zoro pouring out some of his sake into the ground as a silent toast. I knew I smelled sake on him earlier. She smiled to herself.
As Sade knelt in front of the gravestone that simply read AIMEE: BE AT PEACE, she finally allowed the notion that her troubles might be over to sink in. Her whole life had been a series of battles, one after the other. First her neighbors began to hate her, until eventually their hate infected her parents and she began to know their wrath. When Aimee was born she became the sole bright spot in Sade's life. Though it immediately became tinged with despair when they discovered her illness: painful, fatal, and incurable. Sade began to take beatings from her parents in order to save their rage from harming Aimee. Her back was lined with the scars to prove her dedication to her sister. And of course, only months after that wondrous day when a pirate she would forever be grateful to killed her parents and saved her, Aimee died and was taken from her. But these people, her new friends, had gotten Aimee back. I know it wasn't a difficult task for anyone who hasn't eaten a devil fruit, but I can't help but feel that only the best kind of people would be willing to do such a thing for almost a complete stranger. I think...I think I might even be able to achieve my dream with this crew. And with that, Sade made her final decision.
"Say, Luffy. Would you hear my dream?" Sade's quiet question broke the peaceful silence that had settled across the clearing while the crew waited for her to stir.
"Shi shi shi, that's one of my favourite things to do!" He called back to her, signature grin on his face as his intuition hinted that he was soon to have a new nakama. Zoro, Sanji, Nami, and Usopp all sat up as well, interested to hear what their new friend was going to accomplish alongside them all.
"All I've ever wanted, was to have friends...and go on the wildest of adventures with them!" Sade finally spoke her dream out loud, in front of her sister and her new friends, and she felt completely free as her nakama all cheered upon hearing her dream.
"Yosh!" Luffy called out, "Let's go!"
Sade cheered with the others this time as they began to head off again, grabbing the small bag of belongings that she kept resting by the grave marker. The bag held everything she owned: a few outfits matching the one she had on now, some leggings and a hoodie for when it was chilly, and her winter cloak for when it was truly cold. Koinu's food was kept in one of the pouches around her waist (the other was where he liked to stay when she was doing something too rough for him to be on her shoulders).
"Say...can I ask you something Sade?" She heard Nami ask.
"Sure, what is it?" Sade turned to face her.
"How come that grave was so um...unique?" Nami blushed as she realised the potential rudeness of her question, as Usopp ran up behind her and quietly began to scold her for mentioning how horrible it looked.
Sade however, just threw back her head and laughed. "Aaah well, Aimee was never good at making our people's jewelry," she began, gesturing to all the lumpy metal covering her body, "and I guess I was never good at building things!" She finished.
As they all laughed, Usopp called out, "You're just as bad as Luffy!" Causing another round of laughter before Luffy caught the insult and leapt at Usopp with a shout.
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness passed over her and Sade felt extreme exhaustion begin to take over. "Sorry guys, I haven't slept properly in three years...I think it's finally catching up to me. I'll leave the rest to you." Pushing those words out of her mouth took all her remaining energy, as the constant tension that had kept her moving for three years finally relaxed as she let her guard down, trusting in her new family to take care of her. Just like that she began to slump over, passing out right there in the road. The last thing she was aware of was landing on something hard, but warm as her eyes slipped shut.