CHAPTER 6
Guys, I'm so sorry for the delay. I realize it's been months, and I truly do apologize. I'm working 2 jobs and have a full schedule. BUT! I promise I will not give up on this story. But I make no guarantees of a regular update schedule. Without further ado, please enjoy this chapter!
Usopp and Nami, standing in the crow's nest, slowly made their way down to the deck to join the other Straw Hats. Before Sanji could swoon over Nami and yell at Usopp for her obvious state of distress, Chopper asked her what was wrong.
Nami, a look of deep contemplation of her face, looked into her friends' faces. She turned to Usopp and asked him to keep watch on the approaching ship. She then took a deep breath before letting out a massive sigh. A small smile came over her features as Usopp ran to the front of the ship next to the figurehead.
"I'm fine. We just have some unexpected company. This would happen when that idiot is gone," she told the crew, shaking her head. She looked up at Zoro and Sanji, giving them meaningful looks and continued, "I thought all of Arlong's crew had been captured, but apparently the Marines missed one of them."
At this, both Zoro and Sanji looked shocked. Sanji's face morphed into one of pure anger and Zoro fingered the hilts of his three swords at his hip. Chopper, Brook, and Franky were looking between the three crewmates, confused. Robin stayed silent, but seemed concerned.
Sanji took a breath before asking, "Which of the bastards? I'll kill whoever hurt my Nami-san."
Zoro didn't say anything, but seemed to actually agree with Sanji for once. Chopper was staring at the three and finally asked, "Who's Arlong?"
Nami responded, "Oh. He… uh… He was a fishman pirate on my home island. He… he controlled my town with fear and killed lots of people. Luffy defeated him back in East Blue and got his first bounty just afterwards."
Brook, Chopper, Franky, and Robin looked surprised by this news. Brook said, "It seems you all have had quite the journey."
Franky grumbled, "You don't even know the half of it," clearly thinking of Enes Lobby and Water 7.
Chopper piped up, "Yeah, but I guess we don't know a whole lot about what you guys did before coming to the Grand Line." He looked up at Nami, Sanji, and Zoro as if he was expecting the story of their journey since Zoro had been recruited.
Sanji just sighed again, saying, "You guys have no idea. Luffy is so reckless it's surprising we even made it over Reverse Mountain. Or even escaped Loguetown, for that matter."
"Escaped? I've never been, but isn't Loguetown notorious for the pirates who pass through?" asked Robin.
"Yeah. Smoker was there, but we got away," Zoro put in.
"We can tell stories later. For now, let's go deal with this. Hatchi was one of the nicer men Arlong's crew but I really don't want to take any chances here," Nami said, turning the conversation back to the original point.
"Hatchi?" asked Sanji.
"Oi, isn't that that octopus guy with the swords?" put in Zoro, grabbing his favorite sword by the hilt as a look of eagerness flashed over his face.
Nami nodded her heard and said, "Yeah, that's him. Like I said, he was kinda clueless but I don't trust him."
"Don't worry, Nami-swan! I'll protect you!" Sanji gushed as the crew made their way to the front of the ship to stand next to Usopp. Sanji's swooning turned into a grumbling of insults towards anyone who dared hurt Nami, which the rest of the crew ignored. As the pink ship approached, it became clear that they did indeed make and sell takoyaki.
"If Luffy were here, I have a feeling he'd be conflicted," said Franky, gesturing the floating food stand. "He'd want to beat Hatchi's ass, but still would want to eat their food." The mental image of a conflicted Luffy made everyone smile sadly.
It was very clear at this point that the fishman on board was indeed Hatchi. The girl standing next to him still seemed completely oblivious to the obvious discomfort of Hatchi as he stared up at the now-visible crew members beside the lion figurehead. She was gesturing emphatically as she spoke to him, her voice drifting up to the pirate ship, although they were still too far away to make out distinct words. Hatchi was nodding along with what she was saying until he caught sight of Nami, accidentally locking eyes with her. Immediately, he tensed up and looked away, as if ashamed. Nami, for her part, continued staring at the fishman, her features indecipherable. Once the smaller ship was near enough, the green-haired girl shouted up, asking if they wanted any takoyaki. Usopp looked to Nami expectantly, although he was already readying a rope to toss to the ship. Nami stayed silent for a brief moment before nodding to Usopp. Might as well deal with this now. Maybe they can tell us about Sabaody, Nami thought, resigning herself.
Ten minutes later saw the rise of the most tense moment upon the Thousand Sunny yet. Hatchi stood on the deck, beads of sweat rolling down his face while the crew gave him nasty looks. Chopper, Robin, Franky, and Brook may not have known exactly what had happened with this fishman, but they knew enough to dislike him immediately, on principle alone. Sanji, surprisingly, seemed very calm. He had lit a new cigarette and his hair shadowed his eyes, his posture undeniably imposing. Zoro watched the fishman almost with anticipation, as if he wanted a rematch. Usopp was only slightly shaking, clearly attempting to be brave for Nami's sake. Nami just stared at Hatchi with a guarded look, intensifying his discomfort. There was one person who seemed oblivious to the tension in the air: the girl. She was wearing a dress that went down to the floor, chatting amiably to no one in particular. In her arms was what appeared to be a stuffed starfish.
"When I saw another ship I was so excited! Hatchin here makes the best takoyaki you'll ever try!," the girl was saying. She looked at the crew with a big smile, as if expecting them to share in her enthusiasm. She saw them staring fixedly at Hatchi and turned to him, seeming to infer that they were silently asking him the truth of her statement. Once she had calmed down enough to actually look, she saw the sweat dripping down his face and the awkward stance as she shifting from foot to foot. Looking him up and down, she turned back to the crew assembled before her. "Anyway…" she started, seeming to finally catch on to some of the tension, "would you guys like some?"
No one answered. It seemed as if nobody even heard her. Just as she was about to speak, another voice popped up, "Camie… maybe we should go…"
The new voice sounded scared, as if already wishing they hadn't climbed on board the ship. This unexpected voice seemed to shock some of the Strawhats out of their state as they looked around for the source of the voice. Chopper made a shrieking noise and pointed at the stuffed starfish in the girl's arms as he jumped behind Zoro's legs. This made the other crew members look at the starfish. Except… it wasn't stuffed. It was moving and trying to shrink in on itself away from their gazes.
"Oh! This is Pappug! He's my friend. My name is Camie, and this is Hatchin… although it seems as if you might know him," her voice trailed off, like she wasn't sure what to say next.
As soon as she said his name, the pink fishman flinched visibly. Nami's eyes immediately went back to his face, scrutinizing him. He refused to meet her gaze as he said, in a low voice, "Camie… these are the Strawhat pirates. I doubt they want any takoyaki."
"Oh, they're pirates? Then of course they'll want some food," Camie responded, now more excited than ever. There was a brief moment of silence before she screamed, "EH?! Pirates?! Oh, Hatchin, we gotta go!" At these words, she tried to turn with an equally-freaked out Pappug in her arms, but tripped somehow and went down hard on her own face.
This seemed to snap Hatchi out of his humble state, as he yelled her name and bent down to help her back up as fast as he could. But if he was trying to keep the pirates from noticing what made her odd, he failed. When she landed, her floor-length dress flapped and they were given a glimpse of her… tail? No. Fins? She was a mermaid. All at once, the crew gasped and watched Hatchi help her back up to her… fins. Sanji's cigarette fell out of his mouth as Pappug and Camie cried out in terror of being discovered. He was a loss for words. Following his cigarette, he fell slowly to the ground until he was on his hands and knees. Immediately, Chopper ran over to him and asked "Sanji! What's wrong?!"
Zoro simply scoffed derisively, but even this didn't register with Sanji. Tears were now streaming down his face as he seemed to be experiencing an internal dilemma. The rest of the crew, completely ignoring this typical behavior, continued to stare in shock at the trio huddled near the railing of the Sunny.
Nami was the first to recover, and finally spoke, "Hatchi," the fishman's eyes snapped to her face, dread overcoming his features, "why aren't you in prison with the rest?"
He answered immediately, sensing that any hesitation would be ill-received, "I escaped before they could catch me. Arlong and the other weren't so lucky. As soon as I could, I went home. I've known Camie for a while and we started up this takoyaki business." There was a moment before he added, "Nami, I-"
"Where's your home?," Nami interrupted.
He looked surprised, but answered all the same, "Fishman Island. I'm sure you've heard of it by now, being so far into the Grand Line."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Of course we've heard of it. But if your home is a place full of fishman, why would you and Arlong set out among humans, when you hate them so much?" she asked.
A look far darker than the previous discomfort took over his face. This, it seemed, was a question that he did not like her asking. He struggled with an answer for several seconds before responding simply, "It's a very long story and goes back to well before I was even born."
Not expecting this answer, Nami's scowl lifted temporarily. Curiosity shone in her eyes as she looked to Robin. Robin, meanwhile, had replaced her impassive look with a scowl of her own. Sensing Nami's eyes on her face, she asked a question of her own, "Is this to do with the prevalent discrimination of fishman and merpeople?"
As Hatchi's eyes darkened imperceptibly with a nod, the other Strawhats, including Sanji and Chopper, all looked at Hatchi with a sense of astonishment. Nami, Sanji, Usopp, and Zoro seemed most surprised. Nami's small question voiced all of their thoughts; "What?"
YAY I FINALLY FINISHED IT! This chapter anyway. Rest assured, this is definitely not the end of the story, although wouldn't that be amusing? No, I'm just excited because I've had this chapter partially complete on my computer for months and have been unable to work on it longer than a few minutes at any given time. I realize I could have gone on with the chapter, but I am just so ready to move past this bit so here you go.
As for reviews: thank you all! Starting next chapter, I will be responding individually to reviews, with the exceptions of guest reviews. So, here is the last public response to reviews:
crazzyredhead: Shanks will definitely be in later chapters. As for Law, he might make an appearance, I suppose we'll have to wait and see if he graces us with his presence. Sabo… I'll neither deny or confirm any plans I have for him. Dragon will most certainly be showing up, but where he will be is the question.
BBLimits: Thanks so much! I'm glad you're enjoying this. Garp is one of my favorites, so he'll definitely be back.
Azul-Dono: Thank you so much!
asura. keji:: You're too kind. Thanks very much. As for the Supernovas: I can say that at least one of them will show up in later chapters. Maybe all, but I guess we have to wait and see.
Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed! I do not anticipate the next update taking almost *cough* 6 *cough* months. I truly am sorry, but thank you all for your patience.