The echoes of countless soft waves swaying across the ocean filled Victoria's ears, occasionally there were also the cries of seagulls nearby flying through the sky above her head. She had played several times with the thought of leaving the temporary ship she was on, but decided against it every time. Had she been alone, she probably would have done so since she was a good swimmer. A life travelling throughout the world had taught her things such as this. But she wasn't alone like she had been for a long long time, not anymore.

Aside from the birds and waves around her, there were also the noises of soft snores filling the ship. They originated from the young man fast asleep opposite her. His messy black hair was all over his face, giving him such an innocent look that it was hard to believe that he was a pirate, a captain on top of that.

Victoria had to suppress a chuckle when she thought about their current predicament because their ship was nothing more than a barrel even though her captain was adamant about the wooden being a ship nonetheless. She had tried to convince him otherwise, but at some point gave up and gave in to his will. It earned her a bright smile on his part to which she responded with one of her own, something she normally never did.

Monkey D. Luffy

She had known him only for a few days, yet she had already so much faith in him and trusted the young man more than she had trusted anyone before. It was a bit disturbing when she was honest with herself, but his bright persona and his even brighter smile eased all her worries long before they had a chance to surface.

She had journeyed across the oceans since she was a child and was wary of anyone she met, having seen countless forms of darkness the world offered too eagerly. Yet for some reasons unknown to her, Luffy had easily sneaked past all her barricades with ease without meeting any form of resistance on her part. She wondered. Is this what people call fate or simply a joke of history?

Either way, one thing was certain. Monkey D. Luffy was a man unlike any other she had met until now and maybe because of that she felt so drawn to him, going even so far as to join his freshly founded pirate crew with only both of them as active manners. This time she snorted slightly when she remembered the utter ridiculous events from a few days ago. Luffy made it clear right from the beginning that calm and repose were a rarity in his presence and so far she could agree with that. Of course, he didn't say that directly. It became obvious by his actions and his behaviour though. Ultimately, it also led them to their current entanglement.

Due to the highly limited space the barrel offered, their arms and legs were a mess with Luffy's limbs wrapped around Victoria's body several times. It had been the only way to make both of them feel at least a little bit comfortable in the cramped space. If anyone would see them right now, they would probably get funny ideas since their position was very compromising. They were closer to each other than some couples, but Victoria knew already that Luffy was not that type of guy. That much could she summarize from the long talks they had during the last few days? After all, talking was the only thing they could do to pass some time. It worked in their favour since they got to know each other better as they shared pieces of their lives they were content with.

At some point, Luffy mentioned his brothers, unintentionally when the sudden pause in his words was anything to go by. The shift around her captain was noticeable immediately and she saw how his eyes became restless.

"There's no need to push yourself, Luffy," she had said with a gentle tune and a raised right hand, showing him to stop. "Thanks!" he had beamed at her at that moment "But I want you to know." Why he desired as much was beyond her grasp, but she hadn't haltered him again as Luffy began talking about his brothers. It were only fragments of their childhood, no names either but the brown-haired woman didn't need that to realise how much Luffy loved and adored his older brothers. Although, she could easily see the pain and loneliness that flickered here and there as he talked about them. It was a relief to bear witness to such emotions because it showcased that Luffy was not just some bloodthirsty pirate, but a human first and foremost, one she was willing to follow in whatever adventure was waiting ahead of them.

The most surprising part about her captain was his abilities. She hadn't expected to stumble over a devil fruit user on such a remote island as the Goa Kingdom, on top of that not about one who was as strong as Luffy, a strength she had experienced with her own body. But Luffy was not the only one calling strength his own.

A sudden clink right above her head stopped Victoria from recalling any more moments of her recent memories. Her body went rigid and her senses sharpened as she tried to figure out what was going on. There were no holes large enough to look through, she could only rely on her ears at the moment. Blocking out everything, she focused her whole energy solely on her sense of hearing. Soon enough she picked up voices nearby, though she couldn't understand a single word. The barrel muffled them too much.

On the bright side, they were finally saved. The only question that remained was by whom. Pondering about her options, she figured it would be best to not make Luffy's and her presence known yet. She was certain that they would be able to deal with whatever they had to face outside their protective barrel, getting some information beforehand wouldn't do any harm either. Besides, Luffy was soundly asleep at the moment and Victoria saw no reason to interrupt him for now.

Therefore, she leaned back and allowed things around her to proceed without anyone noticing the reason why the mysterious barrel they had fished out of the ocean was so heavy. It was interesting to hear about the numerous suggestions the workers had about the content. It ranged from gold to wine but of course, none of them was actually correct. If only they knew. Furthermore, Victoria was pretty confident by now that they were either on a passenger ship or a trade ship. She had met pirates in her past countless times, had experienced their blood thirst when they had pointed their fists, swords and guns at her, thinking of her as a helpless damsel in distress. That she was anything but helpless the fools realised soon enough when their ships and themselves were swallowed by the ever-hungry maw of the vast ocean. Compared to those pirates the women and men working on this vessel lacked the roughness in their words she had experienced during such encounters.

Suddenly Victoria could hear a canon shot from somewhere. A few seconds later a loud splash of water washed over her senses among tremors that shook the entirety of the ship they were on now. A wild commotion roared to life, screams of panic with shouts of orders filled her ears and she could only sigh. Even when they ended up on a civil ship, seemingly the pirates still found them nonetheless. Not that it mattered much anyway. Luffy and she had been bound to face the crew on this ship, so it made no difference if some pirates decided to assault her. It just changed the way they had to deal with the problems at hand.

Due to the sudden commotion, Luffy began to stir in his sleep and before long his obsidian eyes opened ever so slightly. "Good mornin,' Tori," he lulled, his voice still heavy and rough from his sleep as he looked around leisurely, probably trying to find the source for the loud noises that were increasing with every passing second. And again he called her by the nickname he had given to her the moment they met. It was not the first time she had been called names, but so far all of them had been vulgar to no ends, making it pretty obvious what their creators had in mind for her. Her latest addition was unlike all of them.

Tori, a bird free to go wherever it wants with a single flap of its wings. Victoria wondered if Luffy even knew what it meant. It had sounded so natural when he first called her like this that it was hard to believe. She had been shell shocked about the name because to her it was so much more than a simple nickname even though Luffy had no clue about that. Victoria wondered again if her meeting Luffy had been fate or a joke of history. It was a question without an answer, at least for now. Only the journey ahead of them could deliver her the answer, so she pushed her current thoughts back into the deepest corner of her mind and greeted her captain.

"Good morning sleepy head. Slept well?" she asked but Luffy only groaned in response. For what reason she could only guess but she had no desire to try figuring it out. Not because she didn't want to, but simply for the fact that it was impossible to predict Luffy's thoughts most of the time. That much she had already learned during the brief time she knew him.

"Urgh, it's too damn early," he moaned, his voice even rougher than before. "What time is it anyway?"

Victoria mused what she should answer to that. Unsurprisingly, she had no clue herself since residing in a barrel for several days messed up the sense of time of a living being pretty well. However, she still decided to indulge her captain's inquiry nonetheless. She looked at her empty wrist and squinted her eyes almost as if she was truly trying to read the time before she answered.

"Hmm, according to my watch it's half past bone."

When she looked back to Luffy, she barked out a loud laugh, losing it about the way her captain was staring in utter disbelief at her.

"This ain't funny!" he groaned.

"It isn't but the way you're looking is," she said, her laughter only intensifying the longer Luffy glared at her. "Looks like the future pirate king is quite a grouch when he wakes up, isn't he?" she teased him with a slightly raised voice.

Luffy crossed his arms and looked at the sight pouting, not noticing that his arms didn't cross in front of his body but instead in front of Victoria's body since his limbs were still wrapped around her. The functions of a body made out of rubber were truly fascinating.

"Oh, come one! Don't pout Luffy," the brown-haired woman said while shaking her head, not believing how childish her captain was acting right now. "I'm not pouting! Bleh," he answered while sticking out his tongue. It was a huge mistake on his part because a moment later Victoria had the tip of his tongue already between her fingers, pulling it out of his mouth and stretching the wet organ to its utmost limit. Luffy's eyes almost popped out of their sockets, even more so when he saw the smug expression on his companion's face.

"Pleashe leshc gohhh," he pleaded with the woman. Victoria only raised an eyebrow at that. "You sure about that, Luffy?"

"Yesch!"

"Alright then." Victoria let go of the tongue as requested and it was only then that Luffy realised his mistake. Instead of returning to its rightful place, it was propelled right into his face before it followed the right path back into his mouth. Seconds later he began to laugh wholeheartedly to which Victoria tuned in with her own amusement about the result. The barrel shook from how hard both of them laughed, yet nobody noticed due to the sudden attack of pirates.

After they had calmed down and their breathing had stabilised, it was Victoria who spoke up first. "Feeling better now?"

"Yes! Shishishi. Thanks a lot, Tori," Luffy admitted, a huge smile now on his lips. With Tori by his side, the adventure was already so funny. He couldn't wait until more people would join them. It would be such a blast!

"Did something happen while I was asleep?" Luffy asked suddenly. Victoria looked at him for a few moments before she motioned him to be quiet before she began explaining what has happened recently around them. Needless to say that Luffy couldn't stay quiet about the fact that they were not swimming through the ocean anymore, but Victoria's fast reaction time stopped him from alarming all people onboard about their presence. Luffy listened to her assumptions and her plan to stay down a bit longer and see how things developed.

Under normal circumstances, nothing could hold him back but his first crew member somehow managed to convince him otherwise. He trusted her with all his heart despite only knowing her for such a short time. Even in a situation like this she stayed calm and kept a cool head, analysing every little detail available. Luffy was aware that this was not necessarily his strongest side, but for that he would have lots of friends, supporting him just as much he would support them. It was his idea of what a pirate crew should be and he would do everything in his power to make it a reality.

As the young captain listened to his companion's explanations, his smile grew brighter and brighter with every word because he was certain that he had already found the perfect person to rely on if something should happen to him. He vividly remembered Shank's words when he had asked the experienced pirate about a certain position in a pirate crew because at that time he saw no reason for it. But now, after his idol's words, he had a different view on the topic.

'I'm the captain and you will be my vice-captain, Victoria.'

"What is going through your head there?" his soon-to-be vice-captain asked him with suspicion dripping from her every word. He laughed it off even though Luffy was pretty certain it wouldn't be enough to let him off the hook. "Shishishi. Nothing, nothing."

Sure enough, Tori was still looking at him with a raised eyebrow, clearly not taking what he had offered, but luckily a close by voice saved him from any further questions. They waited for a bit longer until they broke their cover and finally emerged from inside the barrel, knocking out pirates and coming face to face with a small, pink-haired teenager who looked so out of place in this whole mess they had found themselves in. Luffy was certain that they would manage somehow though, so he only smiled at the prospect of the upcoming action that was waiting for Victoria and him.