One Piece: The Musician

Chapter 2: They Had Just Left

Luffy and his crew had just left port about two or three hours ago and already Luffy was complaining about hunger pains.

"I didn't get to have any meeeeeeeeat…" Luffy whined.

"Idiot, you practically ate the whole damn herd!" Sanji was in a particularly bad mood because Luffy had eaten his cigarettes in an attempt to prove a point.

Nami smelled a fight coming and was in no mood to bear it. She had to concentrate on the task at hand. Getting to Rhea was extremely difficult, but necessary. It was too far to go straight to Rahudell because the rations would run out. However, the island of Rhea was technically not a main island of the Grand Line, therefore it was not on the map and the recording indicator could not point them in the right direction. In an attempt to keep her sanity, she bribed Sanji into happiness.

"You know Sanji. I hear there is a tavern on Rhea. Some of the best foods around. And the owner is quite beautiful."

"Nonsense," Sanji said with a psh, "No one could possibly be more beautiful than you, my lovely Nami."

And thus, Sanji's excitement returned to him. Nami rolled her eyes, knowing full well that Sanji was probably already thinking some sort of perverted thought.

Everyone's morale was a bit low. It was no wonder, Nami thought. They had been at sea for more than three years now. Everyone was three years older. Nami herself was twenty-one. Only Luffy was still just as excited to be a pirate as he was when he was six. Most others missed home. There was no doubt.

But she had to push all this out of her mind. There was a mission she had to accomplish. An old pirate had told her that Rhea was a tiny island, but hard to miss if the navigator was good. Nami had taken these words to heart and was determined to find Rhea, with or without her recording indicator. It was three hundred miles southeast of Rahudell. This meant that they should arrive in five or six days, granted they were going in the right direction and granted the weather was nice.

Well, the capricious weather didn't help. Three days into the journey, it began to storm. And lightning cracked the mast. Poor Zoro was sleeping under it and when even an electric shock didn't wake him, Usopp suggested they throw him overboard because clearly, he was dead. Unfortunately, for Usopp, Zoro heard that last part and proceeded to drag him across the ship by his nose and toss him into the sea. Though Nami had no objection to this, Chopper reminded Zoro that someone needed to fix the mast and if Usopp weren't there, it would be Zoro's job. This succeeded in stopping Zoro.

On the fifth day, it began to snow. So badly, in fact that the helm had frozen static. Someone had to go in the water and get the helm moving. As Zoro was the only one who could stand the freezing water without dying, Sanji took great pleasure in flinging him into the water. Of course, a battle ensued ending with Nami smacking both of them over the head. Then, as usual Zoro and Nami got into a fight and Nami kicked his ass.

On the seventh day, the sun pounded on the ship and Robin estimated it was about 40C. Chopper was extremely busy tending to a number of crew members: Zoro was one big sunburn (he had fallen asleep on deck, half-naked); Nami was dehydrated (too much screaming, not enough water); and Luffy was suffering from heat stroke and internal bleeding (just before he fainted from the heat, he belly flopped from the crow's nest into the water; Robin pulled him out though she looked like she wanted to join him).

Despite the pain and suffering, Nami couldn't help but feel a sense of overwhelming pride, when at the end of the tenth day at sea, weary as she was (it was foggy) she yelled from the crow's nest, "Luffy, Robin, Chopper!! Tighten the main sail!!! Sanji!! Man the helm!!! Usopp and Zoro!! Prepare to lower the anchor!!!"

They had finally arrived at Rhea.

Arina looked out her window when she got up that morning. Foggy. Not unusual for Rhea. It was another typical day. She had no idea that she would soon be taking quite a break from her routine life.

End.