Chapter 4

While the Straw Hat Crew had made it a priority to do as Sen told them, Sen panicked for a minute and tried to talk herself down from a heart attack.

'Okay, you have the power. It may not do what you want, but you can do something. Just don't stressss... oooouuutt...'

She took some deep, cleansing breaths and stood as close as she could to the bow. The lightning struck again closer to her, but she cleared her mind and ignored it.

"Laaa... Meeehhhh... Aaaaoooo... Koooriiiiii..." Her free arm moved to each of her words. Her voice was suddenly as loud as the storm itself, and the chilled winds that attacked the ship took interest in her. The clouds turned light grey, but did not back off. It began to rain fiercely, drenching everyone in seconds. Nami couldn't help but immediately become entranced by the woman's eerie tones.

'She's an Arashan...' Nami didn't know whether to worship her or push her overboard. She didn't have any time to decide though, as her entire body was locked to the spot in a trance.

The lightning was held back, and within minutes, the anchor was dropped and the sails were down, albeit slightly ripped from the once angry wind that was now gathered calmly around Sen.

"What the hell is going on out here?! I've got hot grease in here and it's hard to make beignets when the damn oil keeps-" Sanji stopped short when he saw the city, the colossal storm, and the woman at the center of it. Since he didn't have the one thing he needed to keep cool, he returned to the kitchen quietly.

"KOOOOORRRIIII.... NUUUULLLLL.... SSEEEENNNNRUUUIIIOOON!!!" Her melody carried over the storm as if she was trying to call someone. This ship began to rock from the waves streaming away from the city-island. Sen continued until her voice matched the rhythm of the waves and sent them back. The storm suddenly stopped and the dark clouds withdrew back to the island. When she determined it was safe to stop, she fell backwards onto the deck and started to cough and gasp for air.

Luffy stuck a finger in his ear. "That was cool, but that also had to be some of the WORST singing I have ever heard..." He was promptly punched on the back of the head by half the crew.

Chopper ran inside and got a glass of water for Sen while Nami almost collapsed to the knees beside her.

"You're a Siren..." Nami grabbed her by the shoulders. "One of the Arashan!" She squealed with delight and hugged her.

A gravelly 'Waaauuugh...' was all Sen could get out between coughs.

"Are they supposed to gag and suffocate when they do that?" Zoro was impressed, but slightly confused . The skies were clear as if the storm had never happened.

"The Arashan can control the weather. They can whip up storms or dispel them. I've read a lot about them. Judging by how she just did, she's one of the weaker ones. But still!" Nami giggled.

Chopper came back with a glass of water and Sen downed it in one gulp. Her coughing had stopped, but she still breathed in ragged heavy breaths. "I'm... sorry... safe to approach... don't raise the sails."

As soon as the Going Merry's anchor came up, the ship began to drift on its own towards the island. It came to a nice, neat stop at the port, but there was no one there to greet them. Sen's voice had come back, but weaker and hoarse.

"Thank you for saving me. My name is Sen. All I ask is that you don't cause trouble for the island. Since it was me that signaled that it was okay for you to come to the island, I'm responsible for what you do. I have to go talk to the authorities before you're allowed off the ship. Don't do ANYTHING until I get back." Sen tried to get up, but Nami was still latched onto her and grinning madly. "Get off please, before somebody gets here and you're all arrested."

"Sing again, please..." Nami purred.

Every eyebrow on deck went up.

"Someone get her off me..." Sen grumbled. Zoro came and grabbed Nami, who was sorely disappointed.

Sen rubbed the back of her head and made her way to the gangplank. She was tired and her head hurt from her performance, but she was still overjoyed to be back home. She got about 5 steps onto dry land before 4 men arrived and surrounded her. Two of them were her brother, Illian, and ex-fiancé, Vandis. They were mumbling between each other. Her anger wasn't quite ready to flare up yet, so she ignored them.

"Lady Sen!" One of the officers called out. His voice wavered slightly. "W-what are you doing bringing pirates here?"

"They rescued me, after THIS ONE," She pointed to the culprit. "Played an EXTREMELY CRUEL trick on me. I can keep the pirates in check, and all they want is supplies and they'll leave as soon as their log pose sets. They look like decent enough travelers. Weird, but decent. And gee, I'm fine, thanks. I almost fell overboard a few times and my arm came back out of its socket, but it's alright now." She narrowed her eyes.

"Illian, what in the world possessed you to try and-" The second officer turned to him and was ready to raise his voice.

"We can discuss this later." Illian's deep voice growled and the only ones not intimidated were Sen and Vandis.

Sen pointed a finger into his chest and growled back. "I don't know what you two are trying to pull, but people WILL get hurt."

"What's going on...?" Nami slumped over and put her hand on her forehead.

"You acted all weird. That girl Sen is down there talking about us, I think." Luffy pointed down at Sen who was starting to back the four men around her against a wall.

"And she's winning! It's almost like they're afraid of her..." Chopper-chan watched intently and listened. "I think we'll only have today and tomorrow to get what we need. They're serious about hating pirates."

"We are low on food. And I need cigarettes." Sanji leaned on the railing beside Chopper-chan and squeezed his fists together anxiously. 'And some curvaceous sightseeing...'

"I was right! You know, you should give those up." Sanji shot an ugly look at Usopp. "Never mind."

"All I remember was a storm coming... Why is Zoro holding me?" Nami finally realized where she was and ordered him to put her down.

"Because you were hugging all over Sen and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. I didn't know you were like that, Nami." Zoro smirked at her.

Nami went wide eyed and planted a high-heeled sandal on Zoro's calf. He promptly dropped her and grabbed his leg. "I'M NOT! Guys, listen. The Arashan can be extremely dangerous. They're Sirens which means their voices can mesmerize people. DO NOT LET HER BACK ON THIS SHIP. Understand?"

Everyone nodded in understanding, except for Luffy, who got tired of waiting and felt as Captain, he should be down there with Sen representing the crew.

"Also, from now on, whenever we stop, before we drop anchor, we tie up Luffy so he can't rush off and get us in trouble."

There were more nods of agreement.

"Wait, how come only you were affected, Nami?" Usopp didn't feel much of anything except the usual sense of dread.

"And the Love Cook here would've been more predisposed to it than any of us." Zoro pointed out.

"Shut it, Bushido-boy."

"Didn't I tell you to stay on the ship?" Sen grit her teeth.

"Yeah, but I couldn't hear what was going on, and I was getting bored." Luffy put on his best airheaded grin. "Your city is soooo cool! AND HUGE! And that thing with the storm was great!"

Sen sighed. "This is their captain."

He put his hand out. "Monkey D. Luffy! Nice to meet'cha!"

"Captain Luffy, the Arashan are a peaceful people. But we aren't pacifists. If you pirates do so much as sneeze, you will find out why pirates NEVER make it past this island." The first officer snarled.

"Okay! Okay. Best behavior, buddy! Sen already told us. Now which way is the food? Our cook never got around to breakfast."

Sen groaned. "Don't you want to tell the rest of the crew first?"

"They'll figure it out!" Luffy was down the pier and fast running up the street.

"Judging by your little performance and how long it took you to get back, you didn't actually learn what we left you out there to learn." Illian crossed his arms.

"You have some nerve..." She hissed. "There are better ways to teach someone than LEAVING THEM TO DIE."

"Actually it's the fastest way. It's how we learned to swim." Vandis leaned closer to her. "But you wouldn't know about that, would you?"

Sen stared in disbelief and bit her tongue to keep from attacking them in front of the police. She stomped past them and went back to the ship. Her disposition had changed again and it was quite clear the only thing she really had on her mind was fighting back her temper.

beignets - Yummy French donuts that are square, have no holes, and a get a light dusting of sugar on top.