Thunder cracked with the fall of the scaffold. The sound felt so close that it nearly hurt my ears, and at the same time, a wave of relief washed over me. Dragon was here, Luffy was safe, and Buggy was a deep-fried clown.
"Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy will be running over in a sec. Should we wait here?" I asked, adding, "I don't wanna wade through circus performers." Screaming Dragon's name turned out to be a terrible idea. My throat felt like I'd just swallowed hot coals; my voice was weak and it hurt when I spoke.
"Sure, but is Luffy okay?" Sabo stared off past the crowd, eyeing the broken heap of what used to be an execution scaffold.
"He's a rubber man, of course he's okay," I assured.
The rain poured. More clowns flew through the air, blood drops flying from their wounds and mixing with the rain. Oddly, they were large enough to be visible, even with my poor eyesight.
Luffy came barrelling out of the crowd, shouting, "We gotta run!"
Zoro and Sanji were just behind him, responding at the same time I did, "Got it, Captain!"
It could've been adrenaline, but for the most part, I was able to keep up with the crew. My wound was burning, stinging, but not as noticeable as it should've been. I was a few steps behind. My clothes were rain-soaked and getting heavier, more uncomfortable. The slick, cobbled streets almost made me slip and I let out little shrieks; only audible to me and those paying attention.
"You okay, Eira?" Sanji slowed down to run next to me.
Running was irritating, made even more so by the gasping breaths I was forced to take as I spoke. "Just a—just a few near-slips. Stupid rain!"
"If you need any help, just call for me, Darling!"
Luffy looked back to see everyone chasing us, his eyes landed on Sabo beside me. "Eira, who's this guy?"
"I'm—"
I cut him off, "We'll talk on the ship! Not a great time, right now!"
The Marines behind us were shouting about their guns being unusable. Wet powder. The rain was a blessing—getting shot by little balls of hot lead would be adding insult to injury for me.
"Those guys won't stop chasing! Should we stop 'n fight 'em?" Luffy asked.
"Gotta get to the ship or we won't make it to the Grand Line!" I warned.
Luffy picked up the pace. Zoro, Sanji, and I were already running as fast as we could, and Sabo ran up beside Luffy. Probably to get a better view of his newfound brother.
I saw a blob of white, black, and grey in the distance, blocking our path. It was hard to see through the rain, made harder without glasses on, but I knew exactly who it was. "Smoker's up ahead! Luffy, you can't touch him!"
"I can hold him off while you guys go ahead," Sabo offered.
"No! I wanna fight him!" Luffy shouted, with complete disregard for my warning.
An idea popped into my mind as we got closer. 'Might as well take some risks and have fun.' With Sabo near and Dragon on his way, I wasn't too worried.
"Straw Hat Luffy," Smoker and I said, "so we meet again."
Judging by his bleary body language, the mirrored speech angered him. I was grinning and it was hard to keep myself from giggling, too.
"Who are you?!" Luffy yelled.
"The name's Smoker," we said, "Marine Captain Smoker, and I'm not letting you get away!"
I made an attempt to mimic his voice, too—making my voice a bit deeper and gravelly.
The Marine Captain's arms billowed out into two trails of smoke, picking up Luffy. Zoro slashed through them, trying to free our Captain. The trails immediately reconnected, Zoro on the other side, left with no progress. During Zoro's assault, Sanji kicked straight through Smoker's head. He was stuck in place, leg surrounded by barely translucent fluff.
"What do you have? A Devil Fruit that tells you what I'll say next?" Smoker growled, directing his anger at me.
I stopped beside Sabo, who chose to stay a healthy distance away from Smoker—likely because of what Luffy had said. His fists were clenched tight, and I could only imagine them being pure white underneath his silken gloves.
"Nah, you're just predictable!" I shouted back.
There were some bags dropped beside him too, looking to be the ones Zoro had been carrying. I picked them up, heavy as they were, just in case no one else had the chance to get them when we ran.
"Why you…" Smoker growled. His expression was impossible to read, but I had the sense that he would be coming after me if he wasn't dealing with more pressing matters.
Zoro ran at Smoker and attempted to take the Marine Captain's legs out of the equation. My crewmate was left with the same result as before: empty space that was soon filled with smoke, turning back to ephemeral flesh and clothing.
Sanji yelled something at Zoro that I didn't catch. The cook was still trying to pull his leg from Smoker's face.
"I've got no time for small fry!" Smoker and I said.
It was surprising how close he stuck to his original script, even more so that I was lucky enough to guess most of what he was saying. His mannerisms seemed to mirror what I'd seen previously when he was about to speak a certain line. The man nearly felt like a marionette, puppeteered by The Fates.
But that thought was probably just the irrational voice in my head, trying to come up with an explanation for the things that remained the same.
The parts of his face that were visible were getting red with anger. He let Sanji go and punched him back, catching Zoro in the crossfire. Smoker and I called out, "White fist!"
I was laughing now. The scene was terrifying, my captain and crewmates were getting nowhere, and there I was, being unhelpful, annoying Smoker, and possibly making things worse.
But I knew Dragon was coming. We'd be safe and I had something to fall back on. A safety net.
"Gum-Gum…" Luffy started, pulling his arm back before letting it snap through the air towards Smoker. "Pistol!"
There was nothing for him to hit.
Smoker appeared right behind Luffy, grabbing his hat and head. My captain's head caved in slightly, without harm.
I could hear the Marines catching up to us. Their boots stomped on stone, like stampeding bulls.
"So you're the one worth thirty-million beli," Smoker and I said. "Looks like your luck's—"
"—run out, kid," I finished alone.
Smoker's grip was wrenched from Luffy and the Marine was pushed back just before a pipe collided with his chest, striking him to the ground. Smoker gasped, wheezing as spittle flew from his mouth. The air had been knocked out of him. Sabo dropped, bags still in one hand, pipe on his back again, and punched the Marine in the abdomen.
A man in a dark green cloak appeared behind Sabo, putting a hand on his shoulder.
I chanced it.
"Whose luck did you say?" Dragon and I said.
Dragon turned his head towards me for a half-second before looking back at Smoker. Sabo chuckled loudly.
"You," Smoker and I said, "the government's after your head." Smoker's voice rasped more than usual.
"And… who's—who's this?" Smoker asked, staring straight at Sabo, who was still holding him down. The Marine sounded like he was struggling to breathe.
"What?" Luffy asked, looking up at Dragon.
"None of your concern," Dragon told Smoker. He snuck a glance at Luffy.
"Guys, we should get outta here!" Sanji shouted.
"The Marines are catching up!" Zoro added.
With a glance back, I spotted the white and blue uniforms. Swords were being drawn.
"You better stop by the ship, Dragon!" I yelled. "I gotta talk to you! Sabo, too!"
"That scream from the execution yard earlier about Dragon's son… don't tell me…!" Smoker connected the dots.
"Gotta run, Smokey, give Hina a kiss for me!" I called out to Smoker as I ran by, waving. He probably couldn't see it through the two men crowded against and beside him, but it was the thought that counted, after all.
Seconds after I passed, Smoker grunted loudly in pain. It wasn't even close to being drowned out by the storm.
A strong wind made its way through the street, making me feel as if I were almost flying. It helped rather than being a detriment. Sabo was running with us again, Smoker likely held back by Dragon. Sabo ran past me and kept pace with Luffy.
The wind didn't seem to affect Sabo. His footsteps landed with the force of his full weight, steps thudding on a cobbled path.
Sabo turned his head to look back at me, "You talk a lot, you know that?"
I smiled. It was too windy to speak without the possibility of getting something icky—spiders—down my throat. I shuddered.
The way back to the Merry was filled with playful banter between Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji. From what little I could hear, the latter two were trying to make fun of each other for not being able to hurt Smoker. It was silly.
We turned a corner and spotted Merry. She lurched harshly in the wind and chaotic waves. Usopp held onto a rope that was starting to slip through his hand—my own stung in phantom pain.
"Hurry!" Usopp screamed, "This rope won't hold much longer!"
"Hop on, we're setting sail now!" Nami ordered.
We ran up the boarding ramp back onto the Merry. I looked back, seeing little blips of probably-Marines off in the distance, still trying to chase through the storm.
Nami shouted orders, my crewmates running to their designated positions to man the ship, setting our course.
I stood alone, rain pounding down like hail.
"She didn't call your name to help," Sabo said. His eyes were planted on Luffy.
"Wound. They won't let me 'til I'm a bit more healed up." The closest I got was sitting in the crow's nest, and it was hard to convince Nami and Sanji to even let me go up there. "How is it watching Luffy?" I asked before he could say anything more.
He frowned a little. "I feel like I've seen him before—like I should know him. But I just… can't remember."
Responding felt harder than it should've been. I stuttered a bit, nearly at a loss for words. "That… that sucks. A lot."
He said a single word, quiet enough to not be heard over the rain.
"I'm gonna go put my stuff away. Get everything out of the rain."
"Want me to help carry your bags?" he asked.
My hands hurt a bunch from the weight of the ones I was already carrying. I was tempted, but… "I'd rather not. I think I'm gonna change clothes, and then I'll meet you guys in the meeting room," I said, pointing it out for him. I held out my arms. "Bags?"
He avoided touching me directly as he handed them over, placing them on my arms as my hands were full.
'Guess he realized,' I thought with a slight frown.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
I shook my head, walking away after saying, "Thank you."
Holding all of the bags was probably a bad idea—I already regretted turning down Sabo's offer. My arms were sore and I nearly tripped down the stairs on my way to Nami's room. I tried to set my bags down quietly, but the metal of knives still jingled and clanged, seeming to echo. I jumped a bit at the sudden noise.
Wearing clothes that weren't my own, that didn't feel me, was uncomfortable. Not having a door to lock while changing was uncomfortable, too. I kept looking up at the trapdoor and stairs, straining my ears for any footsteps or creaks of wood that could come from the storeroom.
I changed into ruffled black shorts and a sweater. It was a dusty rose colour that matched my hair, super soft and fuzzy on the inside, too.
"I don't want the dye to fade," I murmured. "No more cute 'n matchy clothes."
Before I went to the meeting room, I grabbed a pair of glasses to bring with me. I didn't put them on yet, given the rain. I also emptied one of the smaller bags and put a pen and journal in it—Nami still had the one filled with cash that I'd given her.
The first thing I saw after walking into the meeting room was the sight of Luffy clinging onto Sabo's face, comically large tears streaming in fountains from my captain's eyes.
"We thought you were dead!" Luffy wailed. "Where'd you go?!"
Sabo tried to speak but his words came out in a muffled, jumbled mess.
"Really?" Luffy asked, seemingly understanding Sabo's speech. "Did you get your memory back?"
My captain sounded so hopeful and it broke my heart.
Sabo pulled his head back enough to be muffled. I could see the tears streaming down his cheeks. "I've been trying so hard to remember you all day, listening to stories about you and us and Ace… but it just won't come back to me. I just don't"—he choked out a sob—"I just don't know what to do."
Luffy hugged his brother tight. "I'll do anything to make you remember."
"I think I got a plan for that," I whispered, a bit scared of butting into the conversation.
"R-really?" Luffy cried, "What're you gonna do?"
"Can't tell ya yet, but trust me? It kind of has to be a surprise."
"What surprise?" asked a scratchy, gruff voice from behind me.
"He's standing right behind me, isn't he?" I whispered in not-mock horror.
I tried to get away from him—Dragon was an intimidating person, and with everything I knew, everything he'd overheard, I was positive that he'd go to lengths to get what he wanted. Several steps forward, and I was standing in false safety behind Sabo and Luffy. Sanji and Zoro were standing now, the latter with his swords out, the former in a fighting position. Nami was sitting at the table, pressed into a corner. Usopp was squished against the wall behind me.
He'd let me get away. Mercy, perhaps.
"You know too much," Dragon said. "How?"
"Who is this guy?" Luffy asked.
"Your dad. The world's worst criminal. Or the best, depending on your views. Latter, for me. Boys, please don't try to fight him. You'd be knocked from the East to the moon."
Sanji's cigarette fell from his mouth, Zoro gripped his swords tighter and took a few more steps to the side, standing guard in front of me and our Captain, with Sabo by proxy. I couldn't read his expression, his back to me, and neither of them said a word. They were stunned into silence.
"Ladder?" Luffy asked, completely ignoring the fact I said Dragon was his father.
"L-a-t-t-e-r," I spelled out, "you can use it to refer to the last-mentioned subject in a sentence."
"I understand," Luffy said, his tone one of complete confusion.
"I can explain more in-depth later, Captain."
Dragon narrowed his eyes. He wore a dark green cloak, his hood now down. The man towered over everyone and everything in the room, his head nearly touching the ceiling, but that may have been a slight exaggeration.
"Just because he's Luffy's father doesn't mean he's not a threat," Zoro said, able to speak again.
"That may be true, but I know he's not a threat. He wouldn't hurt Luffy."
Zoro turned his head slightly, as if he wanted to look at me but not take his eyes on Dragon. "But what about you?"
He had a point.
But I ignored it.
Instead, I looked Dragon in the eyes. "You really wanna know?" I asked.
"That's why I came here," Dragon said.
"You didn't come to see off your son, face-to-face and in person?"
"You have a big mouth for someone so defenseless," Dragon said.
"D'you have some kind of power level appraisal thing like that dude from Cipher Pol 9?" I asked, but immediately followed with, "Sorry. Alright, uh, hi, my name is Eira. I'm from planet Earth, in a galaxy far, far away. Or probably a different universe altogether. I've been here for like, four days."
"Don't lie to—"
I cut him off. "I'm not lying. Seriously. Where I come from, you're ink on a page. A story told in a thousand ways. I know stuff from the past, present, and future."
Dragon looked towards Sabo and Luffy. "You really believe her?"
Luffy spoke before Sabo could get any semblance of a word out. "Yup! Sabo told me how they ran into each other 'n stuff and—and wait. Did Eira say you're my dad?"
Dragon nodded. "I am. I apologize for meeting under circumstances like this"—he glanced at me—"it's not ideal."
"How do I know you're my dad?" Luffy asked. "We don't even look alike."
Dragon looked at Luffy and smiled. A warmth melded into his eyes, replacing the icy gaze he'd directed at me. "You take after your grandfather, I take after my mother."
"Hmm," Luffy hummed. I couldn't see his expression, but he held an arm up to his face, an outstretched finger visible past his right cheek. "Makes sense. But why've I not met you before?"
"I'm the leader of the Revolutionary Army, and thought you would be safer with your grandfather."
"The what?"
"The Revolutionary Army," Dragon repeated.
"The Revo-what now?" Luffy asked.
"You haven't heard of it?"
"Nope," Luffy said, popping the 'p'.
"Ah."
"Ahh."
"Anyway, I came here because she knows a lot of things that she shouldn't know. But if she's really from another world, and knows even more than she's said, I need to question her. She's a member of your crew, correct?"
"She is." Luffy turned to look at me, "Are you okay with this?"
"Of course not," I said. I went back to staring at Dragon in his intimidating eyes. "Let's barter. We need an equalish trade. My info for your goods and services."
"What kind of 'goods and services'?" Dragon asked.
"I'll write 'em down, you accept, I give you some info. I know you'll oblige because I'm on your son's crew, and I have information that you'll want."
"Don't talk down to me," Dragon commanded.
Sanji took a step towards him. "Don't give the lady orders."
"I won't be talked down to," Dragon said, nearly repeating himself.
"And I won't take orders from anyone outside of my crew. I wasn't talking down to you—I was merely telling you how this would go," I said.
Zoro cut in before Dragon could speak. "Eira, you were right about what would happen earlier today, but you didn't think of a way to make it easier. I pointed it out. Make this easier on yourself, on us. Don't anger a man whose life goal is to take down the World Government."
There I stood, anxious from how Zoro called me out. I suddenly felt as if everyone's eyes were on me, even though Luffy was looking between the four of us—me, Dragon, Sabo, and Zoro—and Usopp was still cowering against the wall behind me. Breathing felt near-impossible for a half second. I felt little bumps raise all over my arms and—and then I forced myself to push it all away. To push it down and forget it for now because I had a goal in mind.
I couldn't look weak in front of the man I wanted to make a deal with. In front of the man who would inevitably become a part of my life in some way, even if I never had to meet him face-to-face again.
Zoro had a point.
I acknowledged it.
"I'm sorry, Dragon. I won't talk down to you," I told the man. My words were as sincere as I could make them. "And Zoro, for the love of the Fates, will you please sheathe your swords."
There was a bit of hesitance.
"I won't harm any of you. I can promise you that," Dragon said to Zoro. He didn't address my apology directly, instead looking towards Sabo. "You believe her, too?"
The man nodded. "When we met she repeated what happened at Goa. Later on, she told me about Luffy, my adventures with him and Ace during our childhood."
"I see," Dragon said. "Girl, what information do you think I would want?"
"Information on future admirals, stuff like that."
"With all of your knowledge, what do you wish to do? What's your ultimate goal here?" he asked.
I thought for a moment. It was a good question, one that I almost didn't have the proper words to answer. "I think other people would say that they'd want to better this world. But I don't want anything altruistic. I wanna have fun, I think. Make some stuff easier on my crew, which is why I want a deal with you. And actually, scratch that altruistic bit I said before. I wanna make sure we save the same people, plus one more."
A pensive expression marbled in annoyance settled on Dragon's face, like he needed to contemplate what I'd said.
"Sanji, food!" Luffy licked his lips.
"On it, Captain," Sanji said, with a slight second of hesitation on his end.
Nami was still in a bit of shock, likely the same with Usopp. I was too caught up in the conversation, as well as getting called out, that I couldn't see their reactions.
And I found speaking to Dragon a lot easier than I thought it would be, even with the slight hiccups. He was imposing with the vibe he gave off—I almost felt like a newbie adventurer thrown into the lair of an ancient dragon.
Almost.
Because I've faced monsters before. Monsters that were scarier than Dragon based on intention alone.
"Luffy, can I borrow Sabo for a minute? I have to talk to him about something future-related 'n I don't wanna spoil you."
My captain frowned deeply. "Can it wait 'til later?"
It could, but I was selfish. Sort of. "Please? You could plug your ears and ignore what I say while you keep hugging him."
Luffy thought for a moment. "Be fast."
I nodded, turned to Sabo. "I need you to do me a few favours. In the future. It's not in my interest only, it's in the crew's interest, by the way."
"What's up?" Sabo asked, bands of rubbery arms and legs wrapped around his torso.
I sat down beside him, and spoke kind of quietly, hoping for the crew not to listen in. Nami had started talking to Usopp in hushed whispers, Zoro was drinking again, and the sound of chopping filled the room.
"So… I'm not sure how travel time is here. Our first stop will be Whiskey Peak, followed by Little Garden. I need you to meet us on the latter and bring me two eternal poses. One to Alabasta, one to Drum Island. I'll give you a snail call when we're leaving Drum, so you can meet us in Nanohana. You don't need to bring anything to the last place unless Dragon sends something with you for our deal, I guess."
"Does any of this involve getting my memories back?"
"I'm not really sure. I gotta figure some stuff out, logistics and all that."
"So… these are for?"
"Unless the Fates have some sorta plot twist in store, we'll need to head to Drum after Little Garden. Alabasta is for you and Luffy to have fun together though. I'm afraid I can't offer more than that," I said.
"Got it. I'll do that for you, for Luffy."
"Does this deal with Sabo lessen my payment for your information?" Dragon asked. He stood, shadow cast over Sabo, Luffy, and me. It didn't feel quite as menacing as before.
"Nope. Sabo is getting quality family time with his little brother while helping us out."
Dragon hesitated for a moment and then sighed. "What do you need?"
"Just a sec," I said, and pulled out a pen and journal. I'd been thinking about things the past few days, about what I'd say to which people. While I enjoyed the outcome, I completely failed in what I'd wanted to say to Smoker, but those words would find their way to him.
This conversation with Dragon went way better than I expected.
I made sure no one was looking over my shoulder or anything and I jotted down a short list of items, and an even shorter list of services. With the paper folded, I handed it over to Dragon, who had to crouch down to take it. He was three and a half feet taller than me, and I was sitting on the floor.
"Anything with an asterisk is up for negotiation if you don't have access, cannot create, or cannot find what's being asked for."
"None of the services are up for negotiation?" Dragon asked.
"Can't give 'em up. The items are more… selfish in a way, they'll help the crew survive, have an easier time here. The services are necessary to save someone's life, prevent the deaths of thousands of others, too. If you have any questions, I ask that you write them down or contact me at a later date."
"What do you mean by 'saving thousands of others'?"
"If what's written doesn't come to pass, there'll be a war. Then a monster will murder Whitebeard, leading to another war."
He looked a bit more attentive, concerned. He glanced down at the paper I handed him, then back at me. "I see. Most of this is doable," Dragon said, "but what information do you have that requires such a steep price?"
I couldn't stop myself from smirking slightly. I'd given him a little tidbit earlier about the admirals, but I had a feeling that what I was about to say would grab his attention more. "I have information on Bartholomew Kuma's status during the upcoming World Summit. Amongst other things, but I thought you'd find that one most intriguing."
"I could just force that out of you." Dragon's response was so quick—so verbally violent—that it shook me to my core.
It took a bit to speak. It wasn't going nearly as well as I'd assumed. In the few seconds it took to compose myself, Luffy was standing in front of me, with Zoro to his left and Sanji to his right.
"I won't let you," Luffy growled.
"You won't do any such thing," Sanji snarled.
"I don't care who you are or how strong you are. I'll cut you if you go anywhere near her," Zoro threatened.
Sabo stood, jumping in the middle of everyone, Dragon standing to his left, the trio to his right. "She's talking about someone we care about as much as you guys care about each other! There's no reason to fight."
Sabo had a point—one that I should've paid attention to, but I wasn't confident that Dragon or my Captain and crewmates would even listen. None of them stood down.
I let out a shaky breath, voice wavering as I spoke, "You wouldn't want to ruin anything with your son or Chief of Staff, would you?"
"Don't test me," he said. He barely spared a glance at Sabo, even with the latter standing so close.
I bit into my cheek, tasting blood. "Fine. But you'd have to sink really freaking low to get me to talk. I don't think you'd do that—you would be no better than the self-proclaimed gods that you so despise."
Dragon looked thoroughly offended, angry, then back to his resting scary face.
"Sir…" Sabo started, "I think we should accept her deal."
I gave him a smile and looked back at Dragon. He was terrifying, and my voice still shook as I spoke, "I'll give you the Kuma information when you accept. As a show of good faith."
He sighed deeply, took a moment to consider. "Fine. I'll accept. How soon do I get everything else?'"
"A piece of information upon your first gift to us. Usopp, give the man our snail number, please."
"R-right here, got it." Usopp scrambled to pull a piece of paper from his bag, electing to hand it over to me.
I walked past the monster trio and handed it to the big man himself.
Dragon grumbled a bit. "I'll get everything to you as soon as possible. Now, about Kuma?"
I glanced at my crew, my Captain. "Guys, slight spoilers. Plug your ears if you can." They all obliged, with some hesitation from the ones protecting me. "By the time we reach the end of Paradise, Kuma will be one step away from losing his humanity. I'm not sure if it's started yet, but Vegapunk is modifying his body, piece by piece. He'll lose his humanity." I said.
Dragon's expression was unreadable. "You said you knew his status during the World Summit."
I nodded. "He'll be a slave-to-rent at Marie Geoise. Bloodied with a saddle strapped to his back. He was impaled with so many swords that he turned from bear to porcupine."
Sabo stood, clenching his fists tight. The Revolutionary growled, "He what?!"
"Hasn't happened yet," I said.
"We'll stop this," Sabo said. He looked up to Dragon. "Right?"
Dragon gave him a slight nod, "We will." He looked me in the eyes, "Is there anything you have to tell me?"
"Of course," I said, "but only when you follow through on our deal. Some of it has an expiration date, so I'll tell you a few extra things after the first gift." As much as I didn't want to, I was scared the other shoe would drop if I didn't add that in.
I looked at my crewmates, motioning for them to listen again.
"I see. We'll be in touch," Dragon said. He looked down at Luffy with a grin. "I have to leave now, Sabo too. And Pirate King, huh? Make me proud."
Dragon disappeared in a gust of wind before Luffy could even respond.
Sabo still looked a bit upset, but stepped over and handed me a piece of paper. "My number. Call if you need anything."
I nodded in response.
His expression softened as he looked at Luffy. "I may not remember you, but being around you makes me happy. I'm going to miss you, little brother. See you in a few weeks." He wrapped his arms around my Captain and gave him a tight hug, ruffled his hair.
"You really have to go?" Luffy asked, sadness swept through his words.
"Yeah. I have work to do, but I'll see you again soon. Promise."
With a blink, the blond amnesiac disappeared, leaving luffy on the floor.
I sank against the wooden floors of the Merry, laying down on hard planks. "That was… terrifying and empowering at the same time."
"I don't like him," Sanji said.
"You're biased," I told him.
"What did you even ask for?" Zoro asked.
"Secrets. Can't spoil stuff for you guys."
"Don't you do that already?" Zoro asked.
"Yeah, but that's only out of necessity. You guys don't need to know this stuff yet. And Zoro, thank you. For calling me out. I hated it."
Zoro let out a laugh.
Sanji sat a large plate of meat in front of a sad-looking Luffy, whose mouth opened impossibly wide and pulled everything in like a rubber vacuum.
'I'll never get used to that…'
Luffy's sadness dissipated along with the food on his plate.
"Who's Bartholomew Kuma?" Nami asked.
"A dude," I said. "Can't give more info without spoiling, sorry." I sat up, already uncomfortable.
"Darling, can I just say how wonderful it was watching you talk down to a powerful man such as that?" Sanji swooned. He handed me a plate of our dinner, or maybe not dinner, by the time I looked at it.
It was a plate of sweet and savoury snacks that I proceeded to mindlessly munch on. "You're very sweet Sanji, and that compliment only barely counts as acceptable due to your swooning."
Nami giggled at my comment. "Thank you, Sanji," she said when he handed her a plate.
"Of course, Nami-Swan!" Sanji swooned more than he did with me, thankfully.
Now that I paid attention to everything, I could see that Usopp had relaxed a bit. He still had a hint of fear in his eyes, but he looked relieved for the situation to be over. Zoro was eating some food, bottle put down, and Nami had my bag slung around her.
"Hey, Nami? Did you count out the money?" I asked. "And did Zoro give you what he was holdin' onto?"
Nami's expression turned… euphoric. Beli signs sprouted from her eyes, nearly glowing, and she nodded rapidly. "Fifteen million, eight hundred thousand," she said. Her tone nearly matched Sanji's swooning and it was weird.
"How did we get that much money?" Sanji asked.
"She made us rob the Marines," Zoro said.
"It's how we ran into Sabo," I added. "Didn't he tell you guys?"
"Couldn't hear most of what he said to Luffy," Sanji replied.
"More meat!" Luffy said, fork and knife thudding on the table again.
"Luffy, you guys gotta go man the ship stuff soon, you can eat when we get over Reverse Mountain. Wait, did I miss that tidbit? Did you explain it yet, Nami?" I asked, inwardly panicking about how much I'd missed.
"Not yet. We have about an hour until we get there." She pulled a rolled map out and unfurled it on the table. "I know she just said it, but to clarify, the entrance to the Grand Line is up Reverse Mountain."
Usopp's head tilted completely on its side, mouth hanging open nearly as much as Luffy's when anything even vaguely involved meat. "A mountain?!"
"That's right! I didn't quite believe it at first, but it's definitely the direction the light was pointing towards."
"We're going to… sail up a mountain?" Zoro asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. There's a canal right here." She pointed at a spot on the map.
"We can't sail up a mountain!" Usopp nearly screeched in terror, jumping from his seat. "R-right, Eira? We get in another way, right?"
"We gotta go up the mystery mountain!" Luffy shouted.
"Luffy and Nami are right, unless you wanna pull a Marine or a Hancock and sail through the Calm Belt, then we can easily die trying." Sarcasm seeped through nearly every word I spoke.
"Calm Belt? Die trying?" Usopp asked, fearful.
"The Calm Belt is a nesting ground for Sea Kings," Nami explained. "There are no winds there, you can't sail through."
Usopp was about to speak, but I cut him off, "Nami! Check our course? I'm scared we may drift because of the storm."
I ran to look out of the window, and sure enough…
"Lower the sails and start rowing!" Nami ordered.
Sanji ran off in a swooning panic to lower the sails with Usopp. Zoro and Luffy went to grab the paddles.
I stepped out into the calm, warm weather. Not a cloud in sight. The sky was a sight to behold, one without the light pollution of my own world. The stars weren't as visible as they were at night, but the way the purple void melded with the tinge of orange and red clashed with the reflective blue of the ocean's water. It took my breath away.
I'd never understand how the people of this world could keep their eyes off of it.
The sea was clear for miles to our right, and in front of us was… the ocean below us. And sea kings.
'Wait… What?!'
"Uh, okay um, that's so not good!" I squealed.
"Are those what I think they are?!" Usopp screeched.
"Start rowing when they go back under!" Nami yelled.
Luffy was running around like a chicken with his head cut off.
"Nami-swan, Eira, are you two safe?" Sanji hollered.
Everyone on Merry screamed in utter terror. We were sitting on top of a Sea King's nose. From what was visible, its skin was smooth and spotted, reminding me of a furless cow. The storm wasn't very far from us. The ocean, however, was at least a couple hundred feet below.
Merry shook and wobbled with every turn of the Sea King's head, looking around for the ship it had no doubt sensed entering its nest. A gust of air came rushing just under the Merry, audible, and we definitely felt it.
"Grab onto something!" I called out.
I sat and wrapped my arms and legs around Merry's railing, just outside of the kitchen. Two seconds later, we flew through the skies. For a second all I could see was the deep blue of water, my hair was floating. I caught a glimpse of the other monsters. All unique in design, spooky to look at even with how blurry they appeared to my eyes.
'Upside...down?'
Even with my crewmates screaming, it felt eerily calm, flying like this. The wind whipped against me, making me shiver. Merry flipped once, twice more through the air. I held on as tight as I could. She straightened out just in time for her sickening collision with the ocean. The smack against the water reminded me of someone belly-flopping, and… it certainly wasn't a comforting thought.
"Is it over yet?" Nami whined in a wavering voice.
"That was fun!" Luffy giggled.
"I-I thought we were gonna die…" Usopp shuddered.
I let go of the railing and frowned. My clothes were starting to get soaked again. "Dammit," I cursed under my breath. "Stupid rain."
My clothes were comfortable and warm when they were dry, but now they were riddled with water splotches that only seemed to expand.
"Are you ladies alright?" Sanji called out.
"Just fine!" I replied.
"Me too!" Nami added.
"How long till we get to the Mystery mountain?" Luffy's limbs were still stretched, wrapped around Merry's mast.
"About twenty minutes!"
"How about we have a little celebration and say something to mark the occasion?" Sanji plopped down a barrel.
"In this storm?" Usopp asked incredulously.
"No better time for it!" I came running down the stairs, over to the others.
Everyone circled around the barrel, the chaos of the Sea Kings had died down and everyone had a bright smile on their face. Elation.
Sanji kicked his heel onto the barrel. "To find the All Blue!"
Luffy mimicked him, his smile the shape of a perfect D. "To become King of the Pirates!"
"To become the world's greatest swordsman!" Zoro's eyes were full of determination as he spoke, holding onto Wado's grip.
"To draw a map of the entire world!" Nami grinned, her eyes similar to Zoro's in her own, unique way.
"I'm going to become a brave warrior of the sea!" Usopp's voice was a tad shaky, but his confidence clearly shined through.
The wind was howling, whipping my hair around. It was cold, the rain like little beads of ice water. I was nearly frozen in fear.
I didn't know what my dream was.
In the moments it took to kick my heel up, I went through a rollercoaster of emotions. First was the anxiety that felt like spiders taking over not just my throat, but my stomach too.
Icky. Disgusting. Uncomfortable.
Second was the doubt that set in. The doubt that I could even come up with a realistic dream and achieve it.
Third was the hope that I could come up with one.
Fourth was the reassurance that I could most definitely achieve and come up with a dream.
Lastly was confidence. Little voices in my head reminded me that I had talked Dragon into a moderately unfair deal, skewed in my favour. That I'd mocked Smoker, a Logia that could completely pummel me into the ground with a million years to spare. The little voices reminded me that I'd brought Luffy's lost brother back to him, and made him smile.
My boot heel thudded on the barrel and I grinned with newfound confidence.
I remembered my conversation with Luffy from the other day. What him and Zoro and Sanji had said.
"Screw the Fates and their consequences," I said. "I'm going to have the most exciting adventure of my life!"
δ
Smoker sat in the hospital with Tashigi and several marines at his side. He was bleeding internally, the doctors said. He also had a laceration above his left eye because that blond kid had punched him in the face and told him 'not to hurt his brother ever again,' before asking Dragon for permission to take off. The latter held him down for three minutes after, gripping Smoker's wrists tight enough to leave handprints.
Any attempt at talking with the man ended in stoic-faced silence.
Smoker's subordinates stayed a healthy distance away the entire time, too. Most were paralyzed in fear by Dragon's presence, while a few others chased Strawhat to his ship.
Not that they arrived in time, of course.
"Tomorrow, we'll set sail and head to the Grand Line," Smoker stated.
"But, Sir! The Grand Line isn't your jurisdiction! What are the higher-ups gonna say?" asked Tahbi, a seaman recruit.
"Tell them that I don't care about orders."
And he didn't. Not when five pirates escaped with the help of two revolutionaries. Not when one of those pirates was the son of Dragon. He also wanted to find out more about the girl with the spiraled bruises who'd copied his words at the exact moment he'd said them.
"I'm going with you," Tashigi said. No questions, just a demand. Determined. Angry.
The Sergeant Major was laying in a bed beside his own. She'd been attacked by the Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro.
"Tashigi," Smoker said, "Did you meet that girl before?"
"The one with the pink hair and odd bruises?" Tashigi asked.
Smoker nodded. "Did she say anything weird?"
The Sergeant Major's face reddened in anger. She tried to speak but nothing came out other than growls.
"What did she say?"
"A lot about the Marines, a lot about Arlong. Said I don't have the right to judge people. She even said something about the Celestial Dragons." Tashigi gripped her sword tightly. "And on top of that, both her and Roronoa lied to me!"
The whole situation had Smoker all kinds of intrigued. He wanted—needed—to dig deeper. Bring Straw Hat to justice, bring that girl to justice. Find out what their ties to the Revolutionaries were outside of familial.
Find out how that girl knew so damn much.
"What's her name?" he asked.
"Eira, but she could've been lying."
"Tell me everything she said, word for word."
"Uh, sir," another Marine spoke, cutting in. "She sounds like one of the criminals who robbed you today."
"What?"
Smoker sat through the verbally shaky report about his office being robbed, as well as Tashigi's word-for-word recount of what happened in a small shop.
The only recurring thought he had was: 'How the hell did she know about Hina?'
δ
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