Twelve Red Lines

by Vikingr

I expected to die when I went into the water. Instead, I was rescued by a crew of people who I knew only as characters in a story. But what does it take to become worthy of being a Straw Hat? And why are so many little details not matching up to what I know?

3. Metatextual

Metatextual: when a text begins to analyze itself as a text

Thank you Sheechire, Gerbilfriend, UntitledOrSimplyUnknown, and Xipholynx for your wonderful, supportive comments! I hope this story continues to intrigue.

UntitledOrSimplyUnknown— Really? You'd never expected Gin/Ghin to join? Huh. I actually took that idea from my beta reader; he joins in her story too. But we have much different ideas about how to characterize him as life goes on. ^_^

"Miss Jones! Your lunch is ready!" Sanji noodled out of the cabin/galley of the tiny boat, holding a tray of sandwiches. As soon as I grunted my acknowledgement, he turned to where Luffy and Ghin were fishing over the side. "Oi, shitheads! Your grub's ready too."

"Asshat," Ghin grumbled. It didn't stop him from stomping over to eat though. "Why're you so weird around Jones?"

"Because she's a lady, and ladies deserve to be treated like they're special."

"I'm not a lady," I mumbled into my sandwich. I wasn't quiet enough though; everyone heard me. That led to a confused stare from Luffy.

"Really? Is that why you didn't wanna sleep in the girls' cabin with Nami? But you have boobs; I've never seen a guy with boobs before."

Sanji promptly laid an axe kick down on our captain's skull. "Don't talk to her like that! Especially not at the table! Learn some manners!"

"Leave him alone Sanji. He's your captain now."

"Of course Miss Jones! Whatever you say!"

Gods above and below, the cook's eyes were creeping me out. Heart shapes… How did they work? I wanted to know, but I was far too scared to ask. Not that I was likely to meet anyone who could give me an answer before Drum Kingdom anyway. So instead of asking, I tried to make the heart shapes go away. "You know you're too young for me, right Sanji? So please stop with the flirting; it's weird."

"Too young? So you like older men Miss Jones?"

"No. I'm just older than you think I am. I told you at the Baratie, but you were otherwise occupied and probably forgot. I'm twenty-three." And I really needed to figure out why people always thought I was younger.

Then Sanji started muttering under his breath and I realized that my plan wasn't going to work. After all, Robin was older than me and he still went noodle-y and strange over her. Or he would once he met her. Damn, sometimes it was almost like I'd time travelled, having all this future knowledge- and the verb tenses that went with it! Confusing.

"Half of twenty-three plus seven is eighteen!" Sanji announced. "And I'm nineteen, so a relationship would be perfectly alright."

"Not interested." Come on, where was a giant carnivorous sea cow when you needed one? We'd been sailing for more than a day already; shouldn't Mohmoo have attacked us by now? I'd already gone through all my training boards- pun not intended. Now I was bored.

With nothing else to do, I went back to washing my bandanna. Hopefully I had all the ammonia out now, or would soon; I'd been working on this pretty much ever since we'd left the restaurant. The red cloth still smelled like cat piss though. And, well, it wasn't that red anymore. Being soaked in ammonia and then washed multiple times was fading the colour to a brownish-pink; it wasn't doing the structural integrity of the fabric any good either. But I felt vulnerable without it on, naked, like someone was about to grab me by the neck at any second. Not that the bandanna would really help with that… But the feeling was still there.

Luffy flopped down beside me, staring out over the waves. "Jones… How much longer til we get there?"

"I don't know. The writer never specified travel times."

"Stingy."

"Not my fault." I pulled my bandanna out of the soapy bucket and sniffed it. Finally, litterbox smell gone. "It would go faster if we could catch a sea monster and convince it to pull us, but I don't know how to make him show up."

"Poo…" Then Luffy's eyes lit up. I averted my gaze from the puzzling bioluminescence. "Hey Jones… Do people in your world poop?"

"Wha-? Yes." I shook my head and put my bandanna back on. Ah, much better. "Seriously, you know I go to the head as often as anyone else."

He shrugged. "It might've only started when you got here. I don't know what your world's like."

"Boring. You'd hate it. There's lots of rules and not much left to explore. Our golden age of piracy was over three hundred years ago; right now everything's politics, digital weirdness, and corruption. Our planet's dying, our commerce system doesn't make sense, and the people in charge either don't care enough to fix things, don't know how to fix things, or find themselves unable to fix things on their own. I didn't understand most of it myself, to be honest." Shrugging, I leaned against the rails. "I mostly buried myself in adventure stories and waited to die- some days more proactively than others. There wasn't really much I could do about any of the problems though. I felt like such a hypocrite sometimes, talking about things that were going wrong when I couldn't fix them either. Being here… It's much simpler."

Dark eyes just stared at me, glazed over. "You use lots of big words."

"Sometimes. Sorry; I can't help it. If you think this is bad though, you should've heard the debates I used to have with my friends in undergrad. We went so deep into the parallel worlds theory wormhole one time… We started discussing what would happen if there was an entire universe full of Schrodinger's Cats, and then a person suddenly appeared in it. Does their being observed mean they're all alive? All dead? Some of each? Would it spawn another universe of Schrodinger's Cats, since the original technically wouldn't be such anymore?"

"Stop!" Luffy groaned and tugged the brim of his hat down around his ears. I wondered how the straw was able to stand such abuse without snapping. "I don't even know what those mean and you're hurting my brain!"

"Sorry."

"Shishishi! It's okay. Sa- Sabo used to make my brain hurt sometimes too." My captain's face suddenly went dark. "I miss him still. Lots. Ace does too. If only we'd been faster… Come up with a way to get him back from his parents… I never want to lose someone like that again."

My first thought was to reassure him, to tell him that I'd make sure he never had to lose someone again. But instead, I had to hold back laughter. Ah, dramatic irony, my old friend. So inappropriate… But also funny, knowing things no one else did. That, or I was developing a much more morbid sense of humour than I'd had on Earth. Possibly both? Regardless, I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. And I mean bite it hard enough that I tasted blood. Luffy looked at me strangely.

"What's wrong Jones? You look like Ace when he needs to poop."

And that lovely image did it. I lost what little control I had left. "Sesehihihihihi! Sorry Captain, spoilers." Hopefully he wouldn't bug me to tell him what I knew that could possibly make his brother's death funny. But this was Luffy, so I was pretty sure a spoiler alert would be enough to get him to change the topic. He was worse than a Game of Thrones fan that way.

"Gah! No spoilers! Shush!" Hah, worked like a charm. Instead of pursuing the subject, Luffy took off towards our cook. "Sanji! Meat!"

"We just had lunch Shitty Rubber-Head! You can wait!"

"Actually," I called, standing up, "I'd like a snack too."

"Of course Miss Jones! What would you like?"

"Something with maple syrup and bacon in it."

Ghin shook his head at our antics, a small smile crossing his face. "So you're only 'not a lady' until you want something from him?"

"Pirate. But no… I'm definitely not a lady. Sanji's just a lost cause that way, so I may as well take advantage of his willingness to obey the orders of anything with boobs." I shuddered. "At least mine are small enough that he's not gonna get a nosebleed or anything. Couldn't handle having big jugs like Nami; they'd get in the way."

The older pirate looked a little uncomfortable at that. "Um… Jones? Could you not talk like that? Or, well, about those sorts of things."

"What? Not used to having a girl act like one of the guys?" Ghin nodded; I sighed. "Sorry… But look, you're gonna have to get used to it. Today's not a down day, so this is how I act. Just be glad we won't be encountering a significant source of caffeine until Water Seven."

"Why?"

"Because I get really hyper, really easy. Back home people used to hide the coffee on me all the time to avoid it- except Gary. He was convinced that if he could find away to harness the power of hyper me, he could take over the world. Probably wouldn't work here though."

"I'm torn between looking forward to seeing it and not wanting to know," Ghin grunted, hauling on a line. I helped him adjust the sail. By the time we were done, Sanji had finished making snacks and was stepping out of the cabin/galley.

"Miss Jones! Shitheads! Snacks are ready!"

SPLASH! A great shadow fell over our boat as it rocked on the resulting waves. Salt water rained down on us from Mohmoo's head. Luffy looked at me like my earlier words had summoned the great creature that rose above us. Ghin whipped out his tonfa in surprise and prepared for battle. And a giant sea cow stared longingly at a plate of mini maple bacon donuts.

Lighting a cigarette, Sanji stared up at the seal-like bovine. "Aw… Are you hungry bud?"

Mohmoo nodded and bent down to take a donut- or more likely the whole plate… which was still in Sanji's hand… Right before biting down on the cook's arm, the sea cow's jaw was met with a solid kick that knocked him well away. He whimpered; Sanji raged.

"How stupid do you think I am?!"

"Rawr!" Sharp teeth became visible as Mohmoo snarled, rearing back as if to strike the boat. His assault was interrupted by Luffy's fist.

"Gum-Gum Pistol!"

The sea cow splashed back down, a massive bruise forming on his forehead. I reached out to pat the beaten creature. Mohmoo looked like he was about to chance biting me, but glares from my three companions made him freeze. I examined his green patches with interest. There were no green mammals on my world; how had this evolved? Did the green pigment do anything, or was it just cosmetic? Sea cow hide felt like warm, wet rubber- just like petting an orca. Everyone loves Marineland!

"Ghin, do we have any rope? If we tie ourselves behind this guy, he can take us to Nami's home island. He works for Arlong, but he's a bit of a wimp, so it's fine." I rubbed behind one giant, rubbery ear. "You're just a little cutie fluff, aren't you? Who's a good sea cow? Mohmoo's a good sea cow!"

Sanji cocked his head to one side as Ghin went through our supplies. "Why do women always get so weird around animals?"

"Cause they're cute and fluffy and more reliable than men." I shifted so I was patting Mohmoo's nose. There was some redness, though no swelling or signs of infection. Still… "Does that nasty ring hurt your little nosie? Want me to take it out for you?"

Huge eyes stared at me, full of trust; enormous ears flicked forwards with interest. I decided to take that as a yes. I'd never tried to break metal before, but it was worth a shot. This stuff was weakened by the sea salt anyway; plain carbon steel, not stainless. I could already see a little bit of rust forming. So I chose a weak-looking spot along the inside of the giant ring, placed my hand, focused, and…

Pain! Pain in my palm, my wrist, and my ears. The rusted metal broke alright, cutting the air with an awful screeching noise and scattering shards of steel everywhere. Several of them ended up embedded in my hand. Ow, ow, ow, tabarnak, ow! I glared at the metallic splinters as I worked the nose ring free as gently as I could. Mohmoo blinked gratefully.

"If you want to thank me, let the nice man with the cannonball tonfa tie his rope around your horns, and pull us to the other side of the island where Arlong is. We'd also appreciate it if you feigned illness when Hachi calls you in the middle of the fight. Ow! Merde!" Yanking steel slivers out of my hand hurt almost as much as them going in. At least they were large enough that I didn't need tweezers to grab on. Although… I did have some tweezers as part of my Swiss Army Knife. Still, there were lots of other things we were missing. Maybe I should make a list of things we didn't have so I could buy them in Loguetown.

Sanji rested a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Miss Jones, I don't think it can understand you."

"What makes you think that?" I stared at the little holes in my hand, wondering if they were big enough that they needed bandaging. Eh, probably not. Shouldn't seal them up until I got a chance to clean them properly at least- who knew what kind of bacteria and fish poop that sea cow nose ring had on it?

"It's just an oversized, meat-eating manatee."

"Eh? I dunno… Are you related to manatees Mohmoo?"

The sea cow nodded his head at my question. Sanji still didn't look convinced, so I tried a new tactic. "Mohmoo, if you can understand me, lick Sanji's head before you let Ghin on your back with the rope."

Seconds later, a sputtering cook found his head covered in slobber. Luffy laughed; I thought I heard Ghin stifle a chuckle as he wrapped the ends of the ropes around our mast. Then Mohmoo turned so he was floating placidly in front of our little boat. A few minutes later we were being pulled along at a swift, steady pace. I held the ropes and stood at the bow, pretending I was driving a mail carriage in the Old West. What? A girl can dream, can't she?

"Whoa!" I pulled back on the ropes as we approached the broken remains of a village. Mohmoo probably couldn't feel it at all, but he was good about slowing down when he heard my voice. I climbed up the sea cow's back- it was slick, but his dorsal fins made good hand holds- and untied the ropes from around his horns, patting him again before sliding back down.

"Now, don't forget- if Hachi calls you in the next day or so, you're either sick or out of range."

Mohmoo nodded once before disappearing with a flip and a splash. Ghin shook his head. "I still don't understand how you're so good with animals."

"It's cause I'm quiet and I treat them well." I shrugged. "It's not hard, especially with something as smart as a sea cow. And, well, I always liked animals better than people."

The four of us rowed our boat the last few hundred meters to shore. Which meant that we'd have to walk to Nojiko's house, since Mohmoo hadn't sent us flying. But that also meant we hadn't run over Zoro, so… win? He'd be less beaten up when he started fighting Hachi at least, although it might not make a difference with the wound from Mihawk being so huge.

"Jones? Are you listening?"

Ghin's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. "Eh? Sorry, what was that? I spaced out for a bit."

He chuckled. "I asked if there was anything you couldn't do. You have seem to have a lot of strange knowledge and weird skills."

"It's not that weird. Weird would be the time I taught my cat to do high-five and come when he was called. And you know from experience that I'm not a very strong fighter- although I'm trying to change that."

"Plus she can't cook," Luffy supplied. I winced.

"Thanks for reminding me Captain." Then I felt the blood drain from my face. Oh no… Diverse skills, loved by animals, future knowledge… Tabarnak. Was I- was I a Mary Sue? But… in that case, I'd been even more of a Mary Sue in my world. Probably. Was that why so many people hated me? Even Quebecois French didn't have enough curse words to express how I felt at that realization. I didn't want to be a Mary Sue!

"You alright Jones?" Luffy asked with a smile. I forced the horrified expression off my face. Wouldn't do to let anyone know how much I hated myself right now. It helped that I really, really hated that sentence; irritation was always good at covering up fear, in my experience.

"Fine Captain. Just fine." Oh well, at least I was injury prone and weird. Maybe that would compensate for some of my Sue tendencies. Hopefully.

Walking to Nojiko's house was long and boring. I didn't know the way, since we'd made land properly instead of being flung, so finding it took several hours. By the time we managed, Zoro was sitting on the ground outside, drinking. Johnny and Yosaku were trying and failing to hide their tears. I could see Nojiko through a window, her head buried in her hands. Luffy immediately bounded ahead, landing beside Zoro and shaking the swordsman's shoulder.

"Ne, Zoro, what happened?"

It was Johnny and Yosaku who answered. "Big Bro Luffy… It's awful… Nami- Nami killed Big Bro Usopp. She's been working for Arlong the whole time!"

"What? No she didn't." Usopp emerged from the trees behind our group. Johnny and Yosaku immediately burst into tears; the sniper rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Nami pretended to stab me so I could get away after the fishmen caught me. Although she really is working for them… She told me to tell you guys to leave."

Zoro frowned. "She told me the same thing when they caught me; cut my bonds and told me to get lost."

"Why though?" Luffy stared at Usopp. The sniper just shrugged.

"I don't know. There was also something about Jones not understanding, but I didn't quite catch it."

Everyone turned to stare at me. I shook my head. "No, not this time. I learned my lesson at the Baratie; I'm not blurting out anyone's backstory again. It just leads to awkward questions. Ask Nojiko."

At the sound of her name, Nami's sister emerged from the house. "So there are more of you. You're the latest crew my little sister's pulled into her web, aren't you?"

"Nami didn't pull us into anything." Dark brown eyes peered out from under golden straw. "But she needs help, doesn't she? So we'll help her; she's my navigator."

Nojiko shook her head. She had blue highlights in her lilac hair that caught the light as she moved. Interesting… Although odd hair colours were much less alarming than the frequent weird eye shapes. "You don't understand Straw Hat. The fishmen… Arlong… Nami doesn't have a choice but to work for them. They killed our mother, and Arlong's threatened to kill more villagers if she's ever late coming home from one of her expeditions. She draws maps for them…"

That was the wrong thing to tell Luffy. Rubber fingers clenched into fists. He looked like he was about to take off and challenge Arlong to a fight- which he was. But Nojiko had never dealt with someone who actually had the strength to do that before, so she tried to stop him. "Arlong's promised her that if she can raise a hundred million beri, she can buy our island and he'll leave. She doesn't know that I know… That everyone knows. Please, she's almost there. Just leave it alone."

I opened my mouth to protest, but Ghin beat me to it. Of course; his last captain had been even worse than Arlong. "You're a fool if you trust him. And even if he does leave… what makes you think he won't just kill everyone then, or best case, force her to go with him?"

Dark green eyes glared at the tonfa wielder. Then Nojiko stalked over and slapped him. "Don't you think we've thought of that already? But this is the best chance we have!"

Damn, what order had things happened in? My memories of this arc were a little blurry. Let's see… Sometime around now, Nami would be telling Arlong about the money she'd gathered, that she was ready to buy the island. Or had she told him already? Either way, he'd call Captain Nezumi soon, and the marine would steal the money. Nami would be trapped, the villagers would be angry… Luffy was already prepared to beat up Arlong, so nothing I could do would change those fights. Not that I wanted to anyway. If Luffy didn't beat Arlong, Nami wouldn't come with us. But I wanted to do something; I couldn't just sit on the sidelines and watch my crew mates fight.

Ghin and Nojiko were still arguing when I tuned back into the conversation. Although I still wasn't really paying attention. I interrupted them without a second thought. "Nojiko, do you have some bleach and window washing stuff I can borrow?"

Nami's sister froze in confusion. "Yes… Why do you need them though?"

"I've got a rat to take care of."

Still puzzled, Nojiko brought me what I'd asked for. I saluted my captain before picking up the bottles. "I'll catch up soon Luffy; don't wait for me. Just kick Arlong's ass."

Ghin made to follow me as I left. That was strange. I stopped and shook my head. "No Ghin, I'll be fine. You're not the best character for stealth ops anyway. Keep an eye on the captain; if he gets himself jammed knee-deep in concrete, you need to get him out so Zoro and Sanji don't have to worry about it while they're fighting."

"Huh?" Everyone stared at me- Sanji, Ghin, Nojiko, Johnny, and Yosaku with more confusion than Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp. The tonfa wielder frowned.

"That was… oddly specific."

"I'll explain later, I promise. After this mess with Arlong is sorted out."

Johnny and Yosaku weren't happy with that explanation- Ghin probably wasn't either, but he trusted me more than they did. The bounty hunters protested and tried to stop me, wanting to know what was going on. I slipped under Yosaku's arm as I took off into the trees, undoing my bandanna as I went. This was gonna sting… again. And I'd just gotten it to stop stinking too. But I knew better than to think I could take on Nezumi and his men head to head. I needed all the advantages I could get. Luckily, I don't think any of the marines in this group had much in the way of a science background.

Ammonia burned the raw patches on my face as I once again soaked my bandanna, turning it into a makeshift gas mask. At least I wouldn't be diving into the water with it this time. I snuck through the tangerine orchard to where Nami had buried all her treasure. Nezumi and his goons weren't there yet- right, there had been some form of confrontation first. But they'd come soon enough. If I'd had more materials I would've set some traps; as it was, I had only one weapon available to me. Oh well, if I used it properly, it would be plenty.

I'd been waiting for probably an hour when gunshots cut the air. Three loud bangs, followed by the sound of tramping footsteps through the orchard. Marines didn't know the meaning of stealth. It wasn't long until I saw numerous pairs of heavy boots march past my hiding place.

"Alright men!" Nezumi's voice reminded me of the evil governor from Pocahontas. "It should be around here somewhere- get digging!"

That was my cue. I poured the window washing solution into the bottle of bleach and began wafting the resulting fumes towards the marines. Hopefully this wouldn't do any serious damage to the tangerine trees; Nami would probably kill me if it did. Chloramine vapour- one of the easiest and most dangerous things I knew how to make. My bandanna wouldn't protect me from it for long- actually, it would only convert di- and trichloramines into the slightly less dangerous monochloramines- so I was very diligent in my wafting. I didn't want any of this coming back towards me.

It wasn't long before the marines started coughing. This was followed by dropping their shovels or weapons and rubbing their eyes- which only made the problem worse. Nezumi tried to shout at his men when they stopped digging, but the attempt only increased his own coughing. I watched with morbid fascination as the marines' lips and the skin around their fingernails began to dry and crack- which actually meant I'd been sitting there watching longer than I'd meant to, and was probably starting to be in danger myself. This was confirmed when I realized that the bottle I'd mixed things in was actually growing hot. Startled, I punted it towards the marines before it could blow up on me or something.

This drew their attention, as the bottle soon let out a burst of hot, toxic fluids. Several marines were hit, immediately raising blisters. This proved to be too much for them. The entire contingent fled the orchard as fast as they could, racing for their ship with their captain at the forefront. I followed as quick and quiet as possible- I didn't want to spend any more time near those vapours than I had to. They could be deadly if you were exposed for too long.

Several of the marines passed out on the beach, the combination of toxins and exertion too much for them. The rest moaned and rubbed their eyes, a cacophony of pain and illness. This allowed me to sneak up on them with no issue- not only could they not hear me over their own rasping voices, but their swollen, watery eyes meant they couldn't see well either. And even if they did get a look at me, I doubted they would be able to tell my identity. At best, they'd rant to their superiors about a short ghost with dirty blonde hair.

They knew I was there of course- at least, once I flicked out the blade of my Swiss Army Knife and pressed it against Nezumi's neck. "Everyone, form a circle facing inwards and don't move. I'm going to tie you up. If anyone resists, I'll slit your captain's throat."

The marines who were conscious and coherent looked nervous. Some started to do as I'd ordered. Then Nezumi had to go and open his big mouth. Merde… I should've gagged him. "You idiots! She's bluffing!"

Well, yes, I was, but they weren't supposed to know that! How had Nezumi been able to tell? Or… Sneaky little rat, was he trying to bluff too? Give his men enough bravery to resist, or make me doubt myself? Well, fine. They were all still suffering the effects of my poison and would be for some time. I could handle this. How, I wasn't exactly sure, but I knew if I talked long enough something would come to me. It always did.

"If your captain's implying that I've never killed a man before, he's right." I held my voice steady, though I could feel something trembling in my chest. "I like a good fight, but I'm not one to end someone in cold blood. There are one… Two… Maybe three people I could actually do that to, that I hate enough to send to Hell without question." I forced my crazy grin, hoping it came across as dangerous rather than just deranged. "But men… Do you really want to take the risk without knowing if any of you are on that list?"

Nezumi gulped. Whether he'd read my body language or bluffed, he clearly hadn't anticipated that kind of response. He wasn't on the list- just a bit villain who was barely worth the effort to threaten- but he didn't know that. And I'm sure the drop of blood that trickled down his neck from his slight motion didn't reassure him. Mm, blood. I'd only ever tasted my own before; was other people's as good? It would add to the scare factor, at least. I leaned in and licked the stray drop, salty and sweet. My captive shuddered.

In hindsight, it was a stupid thing to do. What if he'd had some sort of disease? But I don't tend to think of things like that in the heat of the moment. Wisdom is my dump stat.

The effect was immediate. All the marines who were still capable of moving arranged themselves in a rough circle in front of me, including Nezumi without me having to let him go. Of course, that left me with the issue of how to tie them up. I had no rope- yet another oversight to be corrected once we got to Loguetown. Although I'd prefer duct tape if I could get it.

Then I took a good look at the marine uniforms. White shirts and baseball caps, blue neckerchiefs and pants, leather belts and boots. Hmm… Those would do nicely. I started with their hands, tying their wrists together with the neckerchiefs. I was tempted to take one to replace my own abused bandanna, but I couldn't. There were only as many as I needed to tie up all the marines. Once their hands were bound, I used their belts to lash their legs together. I did this to the unconscious ones too, since I had no idea when they would wake. Lastly, I gagged each man with his own left sock.

First objective complete, I closed my Swiss Army Knife and looked up at the marines' ship. Now… How was I going to get the supplies to the Going Merry? I couldn't sail a ship that large by myself- no one could. It was a bloody man o'war, first class! I didn't want to just leave it where it was though; if there were any marines I'd missed on other parts of the island, they might come back and untie the ones I'd incapacitated. Tabarnak… This was what I got for running off alone.

I was gonna have to take a chance on those reinforcements. It was too bad I couldn't remember how to call Mohmoo; he could've pulled the ship for me. Hopefully no one would take it while I was gone. With one last longing look at the man o'war, I took off my abused bandanna and headed for Arlong Park.

When reading comics, you can't really appreciate the press of bodies in even the best drawn crowd. It was hot and sweaty as I squeezed my way through the Cocoyashi villagers, making me shudder. I hate crowds, hate being touched by unfamiliar people; I did my best to avoid touching anyone, but it didn't work that well. Everyone was pale as they watched the fights in the park, gripping makeshift weapons with sweaty fingers. Nami, Nojiko, and Genzo were at the front of the pack, golden straw shining on the navigator's head. Blood dripped down Nami's left arm despite the bandage wrapping it. She had the knife still clutched in one hand.

"Johnny, Yosaku, lend me your swords!" Zoro's voice rang out as I emerged from the press of bodies. Sweet freedom.

"You got it Big Bro!" The idiots threw their swords. Really? Couldn't they have run to Zoro and handed him the blades? Sure, that'd put them in the line of fire for a few seconds, but had Zoro been anyone else, throwing those dadao at him would've sliced him open.

I couldn't see what was happening with the bounty hunters blocking the way- the secondary, Sanji-shaped hole in the wall I was expecting wasn't available. So I ran at one of the walls, jumping to grab the top as I stepped up with one foot. Luckily the wall was only about eight feet high; I couldn't do more than that without decent handholds. As it was, I hauled myself to the top just in time to see Sanji get sent flying, forming the hole I'd been initially hoping to watch through. Oh well, too late now.

There was no gouge in the concrete where I was expecting it. Right, Luffy had used Gum-Gum Pinwheel to dispose of Mohmoo, who wasn't here. Instead the Monster Trio were all fighting at once while Ghin smashed through the mooks who would've been otherwise taken out by a flying, spinning cow. Sanji marched back through the hole he'd been punched through at the same moment Usopp got back from his hit-and-run fight against Chew. The air was filled with the smell of cigarette smoke, sweat, and ketchup.

"Hey guys! I managed to beat one of Arlong's officers!" Usopp was initially ecstatic as he poked his head through Sanji's hole. Then his face fell. "Oh. You're still… ehe… You can do it guys! I believe in you!"

I kept a close eye on the ongoing battles. There wasn't nearly as much talking as it had seemed on the page- or possibly there was more fighting, with Oda highlighting the talking because it was dramatic and important. I noticed quickly when Ghin was having trouble. There were just too many fishmen; he was being overwhelmed. And no one could come to his aid- Luffy was locked in an earlier-than-expected brawl with Arlong, Sanji had yet to finish Kuroobi, and Zoro was still blade to blade with Hachi. I looked down at Usopp, considering the options. On one hand, firing into such a crowded melee was likely to hit Ghin. On the other, if no one interfered there was a one hundred percent chance he would eventually lose. Unless conservation of ninjutsu was in effect… This was a fictional world, tropes might act like laws of physics did back home.

Still, it was best not to take chances, get messy, or make mistakes when an ally was in trouble. "Usopp… Ghin needs cover fire!"

The sniper jumped. He hadn't noticed me up on the wall before. "Jones?! Where'd you come from?"

"Just got back from securing us some supplies- I hope. But I'm all out of bleach, and Ghin needs help."

Of all the people who heard me, only Usopp didn't question how bleach would help me fight. Probably because of his experiments with ammunition. The sniper nodded and looked back at the battle, assessing things as he pulled a couple bottles of rum from his pack. They flew through the air in quick succession, smashing together and showering Ghin and his opponents in alcohol. Usopp followed up with a burning wad of pitch and string.

"Fire Star!"

Half of Arlong Park was engulfed in flames within seconds. Pretty blue flames, like the kind you'd get if you doused a bowl of raisins in brandy and ignited them. Several fishmen screamed as they were flash-fried. Ghin's voice rang out too, angry and in pain- though less frightened than his fishy opponents.

"Fuck! That burns! Shit, shit, shit- ow!" The tonfa wielder took a second to breath before finishing his shout. "Usopp! You're fucking next when I'm done here! I'm gonna kill you to death!"

"Jones told me to!" The sniper hid behind Nami, who was too fixated on Luffy's fight with Arlong to notice.

"I told him you needed cover fire, not that you needed to be covered in fire!" I used a focus break to smash some of the tiles on the wall where I was sitting and flung shards of pottery at the fishmen. I missed, but my projectiles wouldn't have done much if they hit anyway. If they were stepped on, however… More screams came up as several members of Arlong's crew experienced the One Piece equivalent of stepping on a Lego. It was their own fault for not wearing shoes.

Zoro compounded my efforts seconds later with the sound of shattering metal. His Tatsumaki practically disintegrated Hachi's six blades; the octopus yelped in disbelief. While the last of Ghin's opponents hopped and staggered with steel and clay in their feet, Hachi made one last attempt to attack Zoro. The Straw Hat swordsman deflected with a grunt before finishing the fight.

"Oni Giri!" An X of blood flew out as Hachi collapsed. Zoro looked at the other fights. Determining that he didn't need to get involved, the swordsman sheathed his blades and sat down below my wall, removing his bandanna.

Sanji was done a moment later, when Kuroobi was dumb enough to use a technique that needed charging. How that worked, I had no idea- clearly fishman karate was nothing like the karate I'd learned. Exactly how does one charge up a purely physical move? Or… Was Kuroobi trying to use a focus break? That was a bad idea in the middle of a fight, unless you could pull one off with less than a second of focus like Sensei.

"Collier, Épaule, Côtelette, Selle, Poitrine, Gigot… Mouton Shot!" A flurry of kicks launched Kuroobi into the air, gave him a Charlie horse, and drove him into the concrete. Sanji landed and took a drag on his cigarette. Like Zoro, he was in much better shape than at this point in the comics due to not having to rescue Luffy from a submerged concrete block. There was still a trickle of blood oozing from under the cook's bangs. "Shitty ingredients should never challenge a chef."

As shark teeth tore through stone, I waited with baited breath for what my friends affectionately called Luffy's "I Need People" speech. But it wasn't coming. The rubber captain wasn't picking up Johnny and Yosaku's dadao; Arlong wasn't taunting Luffy about his lack of intelligence. Instead, my captain slammed an elbow into the side of the shark's head hard enough to fire Arlong into a wall. Dark brown eyes blazed.

"You made my navigator cry… Made her want to hurt herself. I've known nobles better than you!"

How… Why would Luffy say that? It was exactly the sort of thing that would send a former Sun Pirate into a blind rage- that, or make them freeze and consider their actions. I suspected Arlong would be the former type though. How would Luffy know that it would be a sore spot? Unless he was just thinking about Sabo for some reason and blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. That was probably it.

Arlong's eyes flashed; he clashed his teeth together in anger. "How dare you? How dare you compare me to those filthy rotten scum?! Nobles… They're nothing but an infestation, a blight on this world! Even worse than the rest of you weak, worthless humans!"

The shark man charged, his spear-like nose set to pierce Luffy through. And my captain was between two pillars- nowhere to dodge. Except… up? The rubber boy leapt into the air, grabbing the rail of one of the upper levels of Arlong Park and firing himself into the air. Feet pressed together- butterfly position, I noted idly- Luffy snapped and attack downwards as he looked for somewhere safe to land.

"Gum-Gum Spear!"

"Oof!" Arlong slammed into the concrete, but he was up in a moment. His eyes glowed red; somehow, I found this less disturbing on a fishman than on a human. Perhaps because I was expecting someone with fins, gills, and an alien shine to their scale-and-cartilage skin to have different biology to what I was used to. The shark man grabbed Luffy by the leg as the rubber boy landed, slamming my captain sideways into a pillar.

"Puny human! You dare interfere? Fishmen are stronger, faster, we can breathe underwater… It's our right as a superior species to control the seas! And Nami's maps will allow me to do just that!"

I couldn't hold myself back anymore. With everything I knew… "Fisher Tiger would be ashamed of you!" I bellowed. Arlong froze, turning to stare at me. Luffy's leg was still clutched in his hand.

"That name… How did you know that name?" Arlong's glare made me want to sink into the tiles I was sitting on and disappear. Stupid, stupid, impulsive… The problem was, my survival instincts only worked on down days or when I was trying to hide something from my mother. Neither of which applied now. I couldn't let anyone see my fear though, not ever. Time to roll a bluff check.

"I'm a witch; a seer. Like your sister. I know lots of things I shouldn't." I forced on my crazy grin; maybe if I bluffed hard and often enough, it would actually become scary. "Except unlike Sharley though, I don't serve an island or a country; I serve the future king of the pirates. Monkey D Luffy. Also known as the man who's gonna kick your ass for all you've done to Nami."

There was a rubbery slap as Arlong dropped Luffy. "You know my sister?"

"Not exactly. We've never met. But a good witch makes it her business to know of important figures who could affect the one she serves." I tilted my head, trying to make my glasses flash the way anime characters used to intimidate their opponents. No idea if it worked though; I couldn't see myself.

"Well, witch, you're mistaken on at least one account. Fisher Tiger wouldn't be ashamed; he'd be proud of me for taking vengeance on the humans who killed him."

"No. Fisher Tiger died because of his own ingrained prejudice; if he'd accepted a blood transfusion from a human, he'd have lived. He refused." I bowed my head. "I know that village set a trap, that they handed him over to the marines in exchange for the government turning a blind eye to the presence of… of Koala. And yes, if they hadn't done that, he wouldn't have gotten shot to pieces. But the final nail in his coffin was his own inability to shake off the racial divide, as much as he wanted to at other times."

And actually… "As for your thing about humans being an inferior species, I'm sorry to inform you that biologically speaking, humans, giants, fishmen, everything… We're all the same species, just different breeds. Like a corgi versus a greyhound. The most commonly accepted definition of a species is basically "a group of individuals capable of reproducing viable offspring, separated by environmental and/or genetic factors from other such groups." Since I know for sure that half-human/half-fishmen, half-human/half-giant, and half-fishman/half-giant people exist, it stands to reason that we're actually all the same species. Therefore, your argument is null and void."

Arlong froze, staring. Below me, Zoro grunted. "Huh. So this is what she meant by winning word fights."

Teeth gnashing, Arlong abandoned Luffy in favour of charging at me. "Shut up witch! You know nothing! All talk, that's what you are, trying to make me abandon my plans! Die!"

"Tabarnak!" I jumped to my feet and ran along the wall, bluish fists destroying it behind me. Maudit; for a moment I thought Arlong was going to listen to logic. Apparently not. Then again, just before I came to this world the USA elected Donald Trump as their next president, so I shouldn't really expect logic to sway everyone. Still, it was worth a try.

"A little help here?!" I jumped up, catching a window sill and hauling myself in just before I ran out of wall. Not that I waited to hear an answer. There was an angry fishman behind me after all. And I doubted I'd be able to find anything around here to give me the sort of advantage I'd need to be comfortable fighting Arlong at this point. I hated myself for that, as I scrambled through the concrete halls of Arlong Park. This was the first time in my life I could remember running from a fight. I needed to train- badly. Until I was up to speed, I was more or less worthless in these sorts of situations. My forearms stung; my left hand twitched for my knife.

Unfortunately, Oda never drew maps of buildings like this. Actually, I didn't recall seeing maps of any sort until Alabasta, when they became necessary to track the movements of the crew during separations. I eventually found myself in a dead-end room, with no way out except the door I'd come through and a window that would drop me three or four stories onto concrete. But for all I had no idea how I'd gotten there, the room was familiar. Shelves full of maps and ocean surveys towered above me on two walls. Under the window was a small desk, a stack of blank paper sitting on the left side. On the right was a cup full of quill pens that sat between bottles of ink in several colours. One pen had a bloody thumbprint on it.

Nami's room.

Arlong was already coming through the doorway behind me. Tabarnak. I looked around for anything I could use- a weapon, a shield, poison… The only thing available was the ink. So I grabbed them all and threw them at Arlong's face. Seven bottles smashed against that sword-like nose, splashing the fishman with assorted colours. Unfortunately for me, he was smart enough to close his eyes at the last second, and he didn't move from place while he wiped his eyes clear. I couldn't slip past.

"You're out of luck little witch. Now… Do you know what the difference is between us?" Arlong marched over and grabbed me by the front of my shirt, lifting me up. If my feet had been on the ground I would've tried to get free- doubt it would've worked, but at least I would've been able to do something. As it was, all I could do was try to kick the fishman and hope I got him somewhere sensitive. Since he was holding me too high up for me to reach his groin, that was very unlikely.

"But we're not different," I choked out. "Everyone's spent generations pretending we are in order to justify the horrible things they do. It happens between humans too, not just from humans towards others."

I dug my fingernails into Arlong's arm, scratching, drawing blood. It wasn't enough to make him drop me. Blackness started to nibble at the edges of my vision. I knew this feeling. Failed suicide number three, when I was fourteen years old. Back then I'd tried to choke myself, but as soon as I passed out my hand loosened up and I could breathe again. Somehow, I doubted that would be the case this time. My thoughts began to scatter in the weirdest directions. We are one, you and I, we are like the earth and sky! One family under the sun! All the wisdom to lead, all the courage that you'll need… You will find when you see, we are one.

"Gum-Gum Axe!" A rubber foot slammed down on Arlong from behind, forcing him to let me go as he smashed face-first into the floor. Luffy stood in the doorway, eyes blazing. My captain growled as Arlong stood.

"You made Nami cry and want to hurt yourself, so I was always gonna kick your ass. Now… I don't know why, but Jones was trying to help you. Couldn't you hear it in her voice? What kind of asshole tries to kill someone who's helping them?"

"Don Krieg," I croaked out, rubbing my sore throat. Luffy glanced my way, never taking his eyes fully off the fishman between us.

"Right. I forgot."

Snarling, Arlong swiped at Luffy with what looked like a devastating right hook. "Don't you dare compare me to that piece of trash! He's just an idiot who doesn't even care for his own men- the worst sort of human."

"I know. I already kicked his ass." Luffy ducked under the strike and snapped his forehead into Arlong's chin, stunning the shark long enough to get off a Gum-Gum Gatling.

Arlong responded by throwing Luffy into me, sending us both crashing into Nami's desk. Wood shattered; the bloody pen fell into my captain's lap. He stared at it for a second, then crushed it in his hand. Dark brown eyes glared at the shark, so much emotion behind them that I was surprised when no wave of Haoshoku Haki accompanied the look.

"This room… It's where you kept Nami, isn't it? Her cage… She won't be free as long as it's here." Luffy stood. His gaze never left Arlong as he spoke to me. "Jones… Destroy it. I'll handle Sharky."

"Aye-aye captain." I pressed my hand against the window. It shattered, the easiest focus break I'd ever done, as Luffy launched a kick that bent Arlong's nose. Glass showered outwards.

Without Arlong swinging his saw-blade sword around, destroying the room wasn't an easy thing. I was glad he hadn't thought to grab the huge weapon before coming after me. It was good training for dodging though; stray blows from my own captain and intentional ones from his opponent frequently came my way- especially once Arlong realized what I was doing with my little Swiss Army Knife. The tiny blade tore through paper even more easily than it sliced my flesh. Although… The tearing sounds made when I ripped the rolled maps and surveys in half by hand were much more satisfying than the shick, shick of my knife.

"You fools! Those maps are Nami's life!"

"Her old life!" Luffy snarled, "One she hates!" He slammed a fist into Arlong's solar plexus, firing the shark into a bookshelf. I happened to be working on that one at the moment; the force of Arlong's collision caused the weakened shelf to break and collapse.

The shark wasn't quite out yet. He rose to his feet one more time, kicking me into a wall. "You two… A witch and a boy, coming to steal my navigator… You know nothing. Now die! Shark Tooth Drill!" Mouth open, Arlong charged Luffy, spinning.

Almost faster than I could follow, a rubber foot snapped up and down. "Gum-Gum Axe!" Blood spurted as his kick met tearing teeth.

Arlong was smashed through the floor with a tremendous crash- and through several more floors below that. The park shook. Cracks ran up the walls. I stared at them, wondering how much force Luffy had kicked with to transfer that much extra energy into the concrete. But I wasn't a physicist; I had no idea. A rubber hand grabbed mine, shaking me out of my stupor and dragging me through the halls as the building started to collapse.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! Jones isn't rubber! What do I do?" Luffy yanked me out of the way of a falling piece of roof, looking around desperately. I shook my head.

"We need to get out." Or, well, I did. Luffy could survive a building dropping on his head.

"How? I can't find the door!"

I stared at my captain in disbelief. "You can punch through concrete, and I've got my focus breaks- what makes you think we need a door? All we need is to be low enough to survive the fall."

"Oh."

I dragged my captain down to the second floor, searching for an outside wall as we went. Concrete and dust rained down around us as we ran- it reminded me of home, actually, the smell. My parents poured concrete every summer, and I'd been helping for several years. But the familiarity was far from comforting. As soon as I saw a cracked area that I thought would lead out, I started trying to prepare my focus as I ran.

Luffy beat me to it, his fist snapping into the wall before I could place my hand. "Gum-Gum Pistol!" Concrete exploded outwards from the point of impact. My captain jumped out without giving me a chance to prepare, yanking me along with him.

"Tabarnak!" I'd never dropped from this far before, let alone without prep time. Although, since the building collapsed less than a second after Luffy and I leapt out, I suppose there wasn't really time anyway. I extended my body as I fell, bending my knees as soon as my feet felt ground beneath them. To disperse the momentum even further, I continued my collapse into a roll. Right shoulder to left hip, tumbling several times before I'd lost enough momentum to bounce to my feet. That roll saved me from brain damage or breaking any bones, but left me with a massive bruise across my back, accompanied by a wicked case of road rash. I hated rolling on concrete.

"Oww…"

"Shishishi! Sorry Jones! You're not rubber though, so I couldn't let you get squished!" Luffy bounced to his feet. Climbing to the top of the rubble that had once been Arlong Park, he stared down at the citizens of Cocoyashi Village who'd been watching with baited breath.

"NAMI! YOU'RE ONE OF US NOW… ALRIGHT?"

While the villagers were getting ready for a party and Nami was getting her tattoo altered and removed, I led the majority of the crew- plus Johnny and Yosaku- to where I'd left my poisoned marines. None had escaped; in fact, most of them were sleeping when we arrived, having exhausted themselves trying to break out of their binds. Zoro whistled when he saw them, wincing as the movement pulled at one of his wounds.

"Jones… What did you do?"

"Poison gas- like what Krieg used, but stronger."

Ghin and Zoro both looked at me with disgust. Especially Zoro; my use of poison went against the usual warriors' code- although not, curiously enough, against the version of bushido I'd been taught. Self-control. Heroic courage. Honour. Integrity. Respect. Compassion. Honesty. Justice. And most importantly, loyalty. I wasn't the best at the first two- thinking of them made me wince again at how I'd fled from Arlong. Never again. As for honesty… I'd had to do away with that one long ago to protect myself. And while poisoning my foes may be dishonourable in all but a few cases, loyalty was before even honour. I would do anything for my friends.

Sanji blew a smoke ring. "So… You captured a ship Miss Jones? What do you want us to do with it?" The cook noodled for a minute. Zoro rolled his eyes at Sanji's antics.

"We need to get the supplies to the Going Merry. It'll make things easier on us when we pass through Loguetown; there's a marine captain there who's particularly zealous about going after pirates, so we should spend as short a time there as possible."

Usopp nodded, rattling like a bobblehead. Ghin, over his disgust at my use of poison- or at least hiding it- stared at the man o'war with consideration. "And how are we supposed to do that? Carrying everything we need across the island would take forever."

"But we can sail this one around, bring it to the Merry. Then it won't take long to move things at all." I gestured towards the man o'war. Everyone else stared at the massive ship.

"Maybe…" Johnny and Yosaku cocked their heads to the side in unison. "There's only seven of us here- eight if we wait for Big Sis Nami to get back. But if we keep close to shore and don't mind scuttling it at the end, we might be able to get it around."

Their ability to speak with one voice was creepy. I thought only twins could do that. Zoro sighed and shook his head at the hopeless bounty hunters. "And what makes you two think you'd be any use on a ship like that? You can barely sail a dory."

"That's mean Big Bro!"

Shaking his head, Ghin raised an eyebrow in my direction. "What about that sea cow that pulled us here in the first place? Could it help us, haul this around to the harbour or something?"

"Mohmoo could," I agreed, "If I knew how to call him. It's just luck that he showed up when we were on our way here."

"Luck that you seemed to know about beforehand. What kind of witch are you? Can't even call your own familiar…"

"Okay, one," I rounded on Ghin with a glare, "Mohmoo's not my familiar- he belongs to a man named Hachi. And two, I'm not really a witch. It's just the best way to explain to people outside the crew how I know all the things I do."

The former Krieg pirate folded his arms. Behind Ghin, Sanji raised an eyebrow and blew more smoke rings. Both men stared at me. Ghin's voice was low and dangerous as he questioned me. "If you're not really a witch, how do you know these things? We're on the crew; I think we deserve to know."

I looked at Luffy; he nodded. "Tell them Jones."

"Alright." I turned to Johnny and Yosaku. "Could you two leave for a bit? This isn't something I want people outside the crew to know about."

They glanced at each other. "Johnny… We're kind of pathetic, aren't we? Big Sis Jones isn't any better at fighting than we are, but she did this," Yosaku gestured to the unconscious marines, "And even taunted Arlong when he was fighting Big Bro Luffy."

"Yeah… We've never done anything like that." Johnny fiddled with his sunglasses. "I kind of get why Big Bro Zoro stopped hanging out with us."

Then, in unison, the hopeless bounty hunters knelt in front of Luffy and offered him the hilts of their swords. They spoke together again, creating a stereo effect. "Big Bro Luffy… We're ashamed of ourselves. If you'll have us, we'd like to travel with you and learn how to be brave rather than just full of bravado."

My captain considered the offer, his face blank. "Do you mean it? This isn't a game; a pirate has to be prepared to die. These," Luffy patted the dadao, "Aren't toys or a way to look cool."

Johnny and Yosaku looked at each other. "But… What about Big Sis Jones and Big Bro Usopp? They didn't look ready to die…"

Luffy made a face. "Usopp and I already talked; he's working on it, and his dream's bigger than his fear. And Jones is… special. We're working on getting her to not try to die." Without warning, my captain grabbed my sleeves and rolled them up, displaying scars that were still pinkish and puffy rather than having faded to white. I growled and pulled away.

"Don't show people those!"

Zoro shook his head and clubbed Luffy-something I wanted to do, but couldn't bring myself to. Johnny, Yosaku, Ghin, and Sanji all stared at me. Our captain rubbed where Zoro had hit him with a pout. "Ne, Zoro, what was that for?"

"You shouldn't just go showing people those scars without Jones' permission. It makes her uncomfortable."

"Oh. Sorry."

I shrank in on myself, cringing away from my captain. No one was supposed to see my scars, even people who knew that I self-harmed. Even my karate friends- they knew there was something there from how much pain I was in during class one day, but they'd never seen it. Yanking my sleeves back down, I edged over so Usopp was between me and Luffy. The rubber boy cringed; my avoidance was hardly subtle.

"Can we change the topic? Please?" My voice came out small and raspy.

Nodding, Luffy looked back at Johnny and Yosaku, who were still kneeling in front of him. "So… Do you mean it? Can you risk your life for your dreams and those of your friends? Do you two even have a dream?"

Johnny and Yosaku looked at each other. Then, for the first time in several minutes, they spoke out of sync. It started with Johnny, reaching up to touch the symbol tattooed on his left cheek. "I became a bounty hunter to see the world. My dad was a trader; when I was little, he came home every summer telling me about all the weird, wonderful places he'd seen. I wanted to see all those places and more- Dad only ever saw the North and East Blues. But after he died, Mom and I didn't have much money… I figured the best way to see everything I wanted was to become a bounty hunter." He sighed. "It never really turned out though."

Yosaku picked up immediately after his partner finished, further proof of how in tune the partners were. "Me… I got started looking for my Da. He disappeared when I was eight. I set out to find him after my Ma died. But I needed more money than I had, so I went after a few bounties. Met Johnny early on- or reunited with him I guess, we were childhood friends. We worked well together… But neither of us was good enough, could get a big enough bounty for a decent boat, better weapons, training… We've been at this for six years now, barely getting by- but don't tell anyone else that."

"Like the whole East Blue doesn't know already," Zoro snorted. Johnny and Yosaku squawked in unified indignance. Usopp snickered.

Luffy beamed, a smile that lit up the beach and drew you in, making you want to grin as well. "Those are great dreams! But can you fight for them? Like I said, this isn't a game-although it is fun!"

Once more, Johnny and Yosaku looked at each other. This time something flashed between them, speaking without words. Yosaku's eyes went from timid to hard as steel- Johnny was harder to read through his sunglasses, but I suspected that the same determination shone through his face. The pair turned back to Luffy and nodded. "If Big Sis Jones and Big Bro Usopp can, we can too!"

"Hey!" Usopp burst out, confused, "Not that I'm complaining, but why're you calling me Big Bro?"

Zoro thumped both ex-bounty hunters on the head before they could answer. "Don't question it. They're older than me too; pretty sure they're about Jones' age. The explanations they gave me don't make much sense, so just think of it as a term of respect."

Rubbing his nose, the sniper smiled in a way that was somehow both arrogant and uncertain, laced with a little guilt for good measure. Did he really think he was that hard to read? I'd have to teach the liar about deception, it seemed. "Well, of course it's a term of respect! After all, I'm the great Usopp, Master Gunner of the Straw Hat Pirates!"

Well, that was fast. At this point in canon, he'd still called himself captain whenever he got the chance. He must've really loved the title I'd mentioned. Zoro shot me a familiar look, the one that said we would be having words later. What's different was that this time, Luffy was shooting me a similar one. Both expressions were gone after a moment, replaced with Luffy bouncing over to me and vibrating on the edge of my personal space. His desire to not make his crew uncomfortable was warring with his very visible desire to jump on my back while giving me orders. Since that sort of behaviour was usually reserved for Zoro, Ace, and Sabo, I wasn't sure where this was going.

"Okay Jones, they're part of the crew now! You can tell everybody!"

"Indoor voice please Captain." I rubbed my ringing ears. Having Monkey D Luffy shout at you at point blank range was uncomfortable- not that I think he meant to shout, but obnoxiously loud was his default setting.

"But we're outside right now! Why would I use my indoor voice?"

"You managed while talking to Johnny and Yosaku."

"Oh…" Luffy's face fell for a moment, before brightening like the rising sun. "But that was serious; this isn't!"

"How is my coming from another world and knowing all kinds of stuff about dozens and people and events we'll encounter over the next two years because this world was a series of comics where I come from not serious?"

Silence fell, so thick Zoro could've cut it with Wado Ichimonji. Johnny, Yosaku, Ghin, and Sanji all stared; the cook's cigarette fell from his lips. Yosaku raised a hand. "I think it's pretty serious."

"Prove it," Ghin demanded, folding his arms. I shrugged.

"Okay. Johnny and Yosaku met Zoro when they claimed credit for a bounty he took down- he'd broken two of his swords at the time, so they didn't know who he was at first, but seeing him fight inspired them to keep going and defend others when they were down, out, and ready to give up on bounty hunting. Ghin, you dressed up as Don Krieg to lead the marines away from your crew after you'd managed to get your remaining ship out of the Grand Line; that's how Fullbody caught you." I looked at Sanji with a wince. Hopefully the cook wouldn't hate me. "Sanji… I'm pretty sure you'd prefer that anything I could say about your backstory remain private, so let's just say that I know your name stands for the third boy of four rather than three o'clock."

The cook nodded his stunned thanks even as the others looked at both of us with questions in their eyes. I turned my eyes to the ground, where they belonged; it was Luffy who faced the crew. "First rule of dealing with the weird things Jones knows: don't ask her about anyone's backgrounds without asking them first. Second rule: don't ask her for spoilers. She says she changes things just by being around anyway- or something like that."

"That's… Really smart." Ghin chuckled as he addressed the rubber boy. "I thought you were a bit of a blockhead, but you can read and everything, can't you?"

Luffy made a face. "Yeah, I can read- don't like to though, boring. Wait… Ghin can't read?"

The former Krieg pirate nodded, then shook his head, then just looked confused. "I- I don't know how to answer that. Yes or no?"

"Ghin can't read," I confirmed. "I can teach him if he'd like, though. Especially if he's willing to help me with training."

"Deal."

Zoro frowned. "Hold it- why him?"

I couldn't help the wry chuckle that escaped. "Sese… Zoro… I can't train with you, and you know it- otherwise you wouldn't have left me with Johnny and Yosaku til we got to the Baratie. You're high above my level and you don't remember how to build things up in stages for a beginner." I thought of Senpai Tom and Senpai Jeremy, the ones who'd taught me everything I knew about parkour. "I don't know how Ghin is as a teacher, and I know he's high above me too, but when I tried to fight him, he didn't use his tonfa. He took me unarmed, even though it wasn't his specialty, because he was able to judge my strength and make the appropriate decision. You, meanwhile, knew I was significantly weaker than you, injured, and a specialist in unarmed combat, but still chose to judge me using your sword."

My tone was perfectly flat- no accusation, just facts- but Zoro flinched as if I'd slapped him across the face with a two-tonne hammer. Huh, so he had some pride as a teacher as well as a swordsman. Interesting. That part of him had never come up in canon. Unless that was the side he showed to Chopper? The swordsman looked away. "I can see why you think fights with words are important- those were almost as sharp as my swords."

"Sorry."

Usopp flinched at the tension between me and Zoro. He attempted to diffuse the situation- although he was so awkward about it that what was supposed to be a joke came out flat and strange. "Heh, third rule about dealing with Jones: she apologizes all the time, so don't take advantage of her, kay?"

I looked up so everyone could see me roll my eyes. "You did that wrong. Let me handle the apologetic Canadian jokes, okay? If we even need any."

Of course, that opened a whole other can of worms. Johnny cocked his head to the side. "What's a Canadian?"

"Um… Me. Canada is… Let's just say it's the island where I was born." I didn't think trying to explain the political geography of the world I came from to people who couldn't even understand that of their own would work very well.

In the comics, the party after saving Cocoyashi village lasted three days. I'd hoped it wouldn't be that way in reality as well, but it was certainly shaping up that way. That meant torture for me- I hated parties. All those loud noises, all those people I didn't know… All drunk and dancing and pulling stupid stunts over kegs. And that was one thing that didn't seem to be different between worlds. Not that I resented the villagers for celebrating- they deserved it, after all Arlong had put them through over the years. But I didn't want to be included.

I kept to myself on a cliff overlooking the sea- not the one with Bellemere's grave though. Genzo and Luffy would be there talking, and it was too close to the party. No, I'd managed to find a place where I could barely hear the music and singing. It was cold, but the solitude was nice, and as day faded into night it produced a remarkable view. Reminded me of home. I lost track of the hours as I traced unfamiliar constellations, wondering what they were.

"Lonely Jones?"

Ghin's voice made me jump. I half-turned to look at him. "Not enjoying the party?"

"I could ask you the same." The former Krieg pirate sat down beside me, tugging at the grass. "No one's seen you since it started- Yosaku said you grabbed some food, then left at a run. Usopp was worried."

"So they sent you to check I wasn't trying to off myself somewhere?" I couldn't help the tinge of resentment that crept into my voice. It was just like at home- my mother never trusted me to do anything on my own, always had to nose into my life whether she was wanted or not. If my crew mates were going to start acting like that too, maybe I should leave. Except I'd promised I wouldn't…

"No. Don Luffy trusts you to keep your promise. I came because I didn't think you'd want to be alone."

His arm moved as if to drape across my shoulder, although Ghin's face said he was no more comfortable with that than I was. I made things easy on him. "Touch me and die. I don't care if you're as strong as Sanji and Zoro- I'll find a way to make you pay."

Ghin paused for a moment, considering my words. "I'm sure you could. But… What is it with you and this obsession with strength and training? Aren't you one of them as fight with their minds?"

"That won't be enough for long." I shuddered. "Ghin… This world's so different from mine. My talents, the things I've spent years learning… They aren't enough anymore. Back home I was a freak, but at least I knew where I fit- geeky martial artist dreamer going nowhere in life. But here… I don't know where I fit, and it bothers me. That's why I need to gauge my strength, and increase it if I can."

"Well, that makes two of us then. I don't know where I fit on this crew yet either; pretty sure it ain't Combat Commander." Ghin frowned. "Jones… Why'd you call yourself a freak? You seem pretty normal to me. Except for all the weird future knowledge, that is."

"Normal by this world's standards." A grim smile crossed my face. "My home was… different. Where I come from, a girl my size can't lift three hundred pounds on her own, let alone carry it over half an acre. And she definitely doesn't heal from surgery in less than a week."

"And you've done both those things?"

"Yeah. Ever since I was eleven." I stared at a cloud as it passed over one of the moons. That was both strange and beautiful, seeing multiple large disks tracking across the night sky. "Other things too… I have a photographic memory, but only for things I get obsessed over- anything I don't like, I can't remember no matter how hard I work at it. Made some classes hard. I collect hobbies, because I can't let myself stop and think or I drown in bad thoughts. And I'm terrible at socializing, as you might've guessed."

Ghin laughed. "Because you alternate between putting yourself down and blurting out whatever comes to your mind?"

"And I don't tend to share a lot of interests with others. Comics for example; where I come from, reading comics wasn't something that an adult female did- forget that I didn't even feel like an adult yet."

"Well, that's one good thing about coming here, ain't it Jones?" Ghin smiled. "No one cares if you don't wanna grow up- Don Luffy might even welcome it."

"Yeah, I guess." I put my hands behind me and leaned back, digging my fingers into the turf and tipping my head until I was staring at the forest behind me instead of the sky. I was momentarily tempted to tell Ghin my full name- why, I had no idea. It was gone quickly though.

"So… You collect hobbies? What does that even mean?"

I raised my head to shoot my companion a dirty look. "You don't need to stay and keep me company you know. I'm used to being alone."

Ghin didn't dignify that with a verbal response; he just stared and raised an eyebrow. Maybe he knew somehow that talking about unimportant things was one of the best ways to keep myself from thinking. Either that, or he was actually interested. No, that couldn't be it. My hobbies weren't something anyone else should be concerned with. I shook my head. "Things. Nothing you need to worry about."

"I'm not worried; I'm trying to get to know a new crew mate."

"Is that something Don Krieg's crew did? Wouldn't it be time-consuming, with that many men?"

"No, Krieg never encouraged things like that- especially not from his officers. Said getting to know a man hindered are judgement about how to use them in battle." A jagged grin spread across Ghin's face. "It's definitely something the Straw Hats seem to like though. Did you know Yosaku can go on for more than an hour and a half about crochet techniques? Or that Johnny knows every species of fish in the East Blue? Ach, what'm I talking about? Of course you know."

"Actually, I don't. I only saw details that were important to the plot of the story- even the things I saw that didn't seem important probably will be someday, but there was precious little about anyone's hobbies. Especially Johnny and Yosaku. They… weren't exactly of major importance to the plot. They led Luffy to the Baratie and helped out here, but they stayed behind. I have no idea how much them being on the crew might change."

"And me?" Ghin looked like he was trying not to appear curious. He was failing.

"You…" I winced. "You didn't join the crew either. Without me, you escaped on your own. Sanji fed you. After Luffy beat Krieg, you took the remains of the crew and promised to meet the Straw Hats on the Grand Line someday, then never showed up again."

"I see." Ghin chuckled. "Well, it's a relief to know you're not all-knowing. You just read a lot."

"All-knowing? As if. If enough things change fast enough, I'll be flying by the seat of my pants just as much as Luffy." I shrugged. "But eh, screw plot progression."

"And that attitude tells more about you than you probably want to let on, if anyone cares to look." Ghin glanced around, making sure no one else was close to us. "Personally though? I think you should keep up the witch act. Scare our opponents, keep them from knowing what's going on… No matter what you end up doing or not doing as far as strength and training, that's your best bet."

Well, I was a member of the Potterite generation. Pretending to be a witch couldn't be that hard. I nodded. "That I can do. After all, I know more about magic than any sensible girl would admit to. Memorized all my Dungeons and Dragons books."

"Heh. I'll pretend I know what that means and assume it's a good thing."

"Eh." I waggled one hand. "In some circles yes, in some circles no."

Aside from my talk with Ghin, I spent most of the next three days guarding the defeated fishmen and trying to figure out what we should do with them. I was pretty sure that in canon they'd been picked up by the marines I'd poisoned, Captain Nezumi no longer able to turn a blind eye to Arlong in the face of the angry villagers. Since he was out of commission… Maybe we could use Johnny and Yosaku as proxies to hand in any bounties we defeated? It'd be a good way of getting money, at least until they got bounties themselves.

Hachi escaped very early in my guard duty. And by escaped, I mean I let him go. He was a nice guy, just misled by Arlong, and having him as a friend would make things easier for the crew at Sabaody and Fishman Island. Plus, Camie needed him. I wasn't about to deprive the poor ditzy mermaid of her best friend and protector. So when I was sure there was no one else around, I untied the octopus man and nudged him towards the sea with my foot.

"Go," I whispered. "Take Mohmoo and head back to Fishman Island. Start that takoyaki stand you've always dreamed about; maybe I'll come visit someday." Not that I'd ever tried takoyaki before, but as long as I couldn't see the tentacles, I'd give it a shot.

Large golden eyes blinked up at me. "Why? Not that I'm not grateful, but why would you let me go? After what we did to Nami, your crew has every right to hate us."

"That's why. You're the only one who understands how wrong what you did was." I glanced over at Arlong, Chew, and Kuroobi, all of who were staring at me with fury. "Or maybe just the only one who cares. I bet you tried to help her, didn't you? Tried to make things easier when you could, kept Arlong away from her as much as possible, tried to make her laugh sometimes…"

Hachi nodded, standing and brushing away his bindings. Then, "What would you have me do? It's not like a human to do something nice for a fishman without expecting something in return- well, except Rayleigh."

"Like I said, go home. Take Mohmoo with you and start up a takoyaki stand; there's a mermaid named Camie who'll be a great helper if you can find her. All I want is your assurance that you'll never be involved with someone like Arlong again."

The octopus man laughed. "You really are a witch, aren't you? How else would you know about my old dream, or the name of a mermaid hundreds of kilometers away? But you're a good witch; I'm happy to do what you're asking. Come by any time, if you make it that far along the Grand Line. You and your crew will always be welcome… If you can convince Nami to come. Tell her I'm sorry, will you? I… You're right, I didn't like this."

"I'll tell her," I promised. Hachi nodded his gratitude and jumped into the sea channel, swimming out of Arlong Park and trumpeting for Mohmoo. I memorized the sound and rhythm to try and recreate later. We wouldn't be seeing the sea cow again for a while, but it might be useful to be able to call him when we did get that far.

I turned back to guarding the rest of the fishmen, only to find a predatory gaze fixed on me. Arlong. I glared at a spot between his eyes and bared my teeth- not that the latter action was very impressive, especially given who I was glaring at, but it was instinct. Sometimes I wondered if I was human; a lot of my instincts seemed more like a dog or a cat. But maybe that's just what comes of spending your whole life preferring animals to people. A soft growl rose from the back of my throat.

"You- witch. Your captain called you Jones. Why?"

"Because that's the part of my name I told him. Why? Can't stand a human witch sharing a name with your little racist protégé? Hodi Jones, right? Or was it spelled with a Y?" I spaced out briefly, considering. I'd switched websites around that point in the story, and the different scanlators spelled things different ways. Hodi/Hody was one I'd never bothered to check the official translation of.

My silence only seemed to anger the shark. Probably because he thought I was ignoring him. Arlong snarled and snapped at me, but he couldn't move. Usopp, Johnny, and Yosaku had all contributed to the fishmen's bindings; no one was going anywhere unless someone untied them. "You're far too cocky for some pathetic human witch! When I get out of this, I'm coming after you first, then your annoying little captain. Then I'll take Nami back."

"No. You won't." I sat on a broken chunk of concrete and pulled out my Swiss Army Knife. Splaying my left hand on a nearby piece of wood, I began a slow game of Five-Finger Fillet. Training; start slow, then build up over time until I could play the game at full speed. "Oh, I have all my fingers; the knife goes chop-chop-chop! If I miss the spaces in between, my fingers will come off."

Arlong watched the tiny, flashing blade. "You're going to kill me then?"

"Eh? No again." I put my knife down. Talking while playing Five-Finger Fillet wasn't a very good idea. "Like I told your rat Nezumi, there's only maybe three people I could kill in cold blood. In the heat of battle, sure, but that's different. And as much as I hate you, you don't make the list."

"And who does make the list, choo?" Kuroobi and Arlong both glared at their sniper as he spoke. Chew shrugged. "What? Call it morbid curiosity, choo."

I thought for a minute, then shrugged. Eh, who could it hurt for them to know? They hated the World Government and were indifferent or hostile to everyone else, so it wasn't like they'd warn anyone if they did escape custody. "Marshall D Teach, Admiral Akainu, and a certain sadistic bastard flower. I say maybe because I don't know if the flower counts as a person. It's complicated."

The three fishmen officers- and those of their mooks who were conscious- stared at me as if I was crazy. In their defense, I probably am. Kuroobi spoke slowly, his voice full of disbelief. "You want to kill… A flower? Did I hear that right?"

"Yep. A sadistic bastard of a flower that wants to eat the world. Like I said, it's complicated." I scowled at the fishmen. "Tabarnak, you guys are good. Trying to get me monologuing, are you? It won't help you escape; those knots are brilliant."

"She's right," Chew muttered. "Hachi might've been able to get out on his own, choo, but no one else." Arlong growled at the sniper's revelation.

"You little witch! When I get out of here, I'll-!"

"If you get out," I cut the shark off. "From what I've seen, you have a one-way ticket to Impel Down. And even if you did get out, what could you possibly do to me? Kill my family? The closest thing I've got is the crew that just kicked your ass. Enslave my hometown? It's in a place you can never get to, separated not just by time, but by a nearly impenetrable construct known as the Fourth Wall. And even if you could get there, you'd be so far out of your depth… It'd be like a salmon trying to fight an orca. Is that comparison maritime enough for you to understand?"

"You can't possibly believe that a bunch of puny humans could stand against me!"

"Aside from the fact that a bunch just did? People where I come from are generally weaker, it's true, but we're leaps and bounds ahead of what you'd expect with technology. Things that are military secrets, the domain of scientists like Vegepunk- those are commonplace where I was born. Or, you might end up facing a biologist. Did you know that if you hold a shark upside down long enough, it becomes paralyzed and eventually can't breathe? I don't know if that would work on you though…"

Arlong's scowl deepened. "I thought you said you weren't planning to kill me."

"I'm not. That hasn't changed." My hands needed something to do, so I picked up a chunk of concrete and started tossing it back and forth. "But that doesn't mean that I won't threaten you, that I won't make you bleed before we get rid of you. I hate you Arlong, have since I was a child. Not because you're a fishman- I couldn't care one way or the other about that- but because what you did to Nami, your ideals… You remind me of a lesser version of the man who destroyed my great-grandmother's homeland. He killed anyone who was different, anyone he thought was less, and he convinced and coerced others to do the same. Millions of people died."

My captive audience stared, but I didn't bother telling them a name- of the man, or of the country. History from my world wouldn't mean anything to them. I lapsed into angry silence; what I really wanted was to punch something, but I couldn't let the fishmen see how much this had affected me. Arlong was just clever enough that he might find a chink in my armour if I did.

Not that my silence kept the shark from trying. "What if I offered you your own weight in gold to release us and join my crew? I'd even leave Nami in peace. You know so much Jones; you must know I never break a promise regarding money."

"But you exploit every loophole in it that you can. Your version of leaving Nami in peace is probably more like rest in peace; if you can't have her, you'd kill her." I raised a fist, flicking fingers up as I continued. "Aside from that, there are two major problems with your offer. One, I'm heavier than I look, so your calculations on how much gold would be needed are probably off. Two, I don't care about money. That may be a hard concept for someone like you to grasp. So no, you can't buy me off."

Arlong grunted. "You're a clever witch, I'll give you that at least."

"Oh, shut up you sardine-brained, tin-hearted buffoon. I'm sick of your blatant attempts at bribery and propaganda." Shakespearean insults may sound awkward and out of place, but they're certainly therapeutic. Plus, they meant I always had endless ammunition when I got into a flame war.

"Make me."

"You shouldn't feed trolls," I warned Arlong as I went back to playing with my knife. "You might bite off more than you can chew. Especially since shark teeth aren't actually meant for chewing in the first place. More for tearing."

That left the fishman speechless. Good. If I'd spent much more time talking to him, I probably would've snapped. Although the idea of holding him upside down in the water to see if it would paralyze him appealed to me both as a scientist and as a writer. After all, isn't the writer's duty to ask "What if?"

We'd managed to salvage a lot of useful supplies from Nezumi's man o'war, despite having scuttled it near the Going Merry because there weren't enough of us to sail it properly. Usopp and I had also manufactured a story for Nojiko should the marines blame the villagers for what happened: the pirates who had taken out Arlong and stolen all his treasure had also attacked Nezumi. It was even a true story, although the version we told Nojiko in case she had to testify or anything was slightly embellished. Personally, I thought the idea of an assassin with a Devil Fruit that made her incorporeal was less embarrassing for the marines than being defeated by me.

"What should we do with these?" Luffy asked as we were packing up. He poked Arlong in the head as he spoke, earning a growl from the fishman. The shark tried to bite my captain's finger, but Luffy pulled away too quickly.

"He's worth a decent bounty," I offered. "About twenty million beri or so."

Johnny and Yosaku nodded. "Yep. Highest bounty in the East Blue in the last twenty years," Yosaku began.

"What we could've done with a payday like that." Was Johnny drooling? "Good food, a new boat, maybe some decent navigation equipment from Loguetown…"

"We could hand them in for the bounty," I suggested. "Or at least, we could send Johnny and Yosaku to do it. They're known bounty hunters, so it wouldn't raise many suspicions. Actually… Zoro still is too. Better send him with them; more credible that he could beat Arlong."

The santoryu swordsman grinned; his lesser brothers in arms squawked. Sanji lit a cigarette. "It would be nice to pick up some things before heading to the Grand Line. These shitty marines had decent supplies, but they were East Blue standard. No log pose or anything."

"Plus, I need some new swords." Zoro patted Wado Ichimonji. "Feel naked with just one." So the decision was made to keep Arlong and friends in the storage hold until we could hand them in at Loguetown. Unfortunately, that meant I'd have to find a different place to sleep for a little while.

It was early in the day- not even quite dawn yet- so we had some time before Nami showed up. If she showed up. I knew I made her uncomfortable; would that be enough to make her stay home? But her dream was to draw a map of the world… And maybe now that Arlong was out of commission, she'd trust me a bit.

Shrugging, I turned to Usopp. "Could I borrow a pen and some paper?"

"Sure!" The sniper dug what I'd requested out of his brown messenger bag. "What for?"

"Sketches. There's some people in Loguetown we need to watch out for; I'm gonna draw them so everyone has an idea who to avoid." Let's see… Smoker and Tashigi, if possible. They might be hard to stay away from though. Buggy, Alvida, and company for Usopp, Sanji, Ghin, Johnny, and Yosaku. Should I tell Luffy about his father? Dragon wasn't a person to avoid, but at least if I mentioned him, people might not be so shocked when Garp blurted it out in Water Seven. And Bartolomeo… I was almost tempted to seek him out, were it not for the fact that he'd only become friendly after Luffy was hit by lightning. Drawing all these would keep me occupied for several days. Good. Although… I didn't know how long we had until we got to Loguetown. Best get started right away.

The villagers gathered on the shore as I was blocking out the shapes of Smoker's face. I was trying to rough out his hairline when Nami appeared on top of a hill. She had a smile in her face, the first one I'd seen on her since coming to this world. "Set sail!"

"What?" Johnny was so surprised, he nearly fell overboard. Yosaku grabbed him by the collar of his jacket to keep him upright. Usopp wasn't much better, tumbling out of the rigging and landing on his ass. Good thing he wasn't very high up.

Luffy grinned. "Shishishi! What're you waiting for? Set sail!"

"But… why… Nami!" Sanji was both scowling and noodling, his confusion tearing him between doing what the navigator said and not wanting to leave her behind. Luffy just giggled more.

"Saa, don't worry Sanji, she's coming. But she's gotta leave how she wants!"

I was already in the process of unfurling the sails, having expected this. The men joined me soon after. The Going Merry began to edge away from the dock, steered by her cook's deft hands. And just as I'd seen years before, Nami came tearing down the hill at a full run. She wove in between the villagers, her friends since she was a child, bumping into people and stammering out hasty goodbyes. Genzo and Nojiko shouted for her to slow down, to let them see her off properly. The navigator didn't listen.

Feminine sandals clattered across the dock; the redhead launched herself into the air. And then I was treated to a sight I'd thought impossible: Nami managed to tack off the side of the ship and vault over the rail while wearing high heels. I wondered how she managed to get a decent grip with those shoes, how she could balance, run, and jump. Then I decided I didn't want to know; it's not like I would ever be caught dead in heels anyway.

"Bye everyone!" Nami turned to wave at her hometown. All the villagers waved back, shouting good wishes- at least, until their wallets and belt pouches started tumbling out of Nami's shirt. Cool; hammerspace. Then the air was filled with shocked, indignant voices.

"Hey- she took my wallet!"

"Mine too!"

"My change is gone!"

Onshore, Nojiko started laughing. Nami beamed. "Pirate!"

As we continued to sail away, I approached Nami hesitantly. "Hachi says he's sorry," I offered. "He never wanted to hurt you."

The navigator shot me a cold look. "Did he tell you that when he escaped?"

"Yes."

Sighing, Nami ran a hand through her hair. "I can't believe he got away on your watch. Seriously, all you know and you didn't think he'd try anything? Although… He wasn't a bad one. He tried to keep Arlong and the others away sometimes, patched me up when they hurt me… I guess it could be worse. He probably doesn't deserve to be locked up with the others."

"Definitely doesn't," I confirmed, "Just trust me on this. So… Am I tolerable now, since you know I'm not lying and your secret's out in the open?"

Nami smiled, moved as if to hug me, then remembered at the last moment that I don't like to be touched. "I'd say you're a lot more than tolerable Jones. We're not supposed to ask for spoilers, but still… I bet you know where to find all kinds of treasure and interesting trinkets. Plus, it'll be nice to have someone I can have an intelligent conversation with, another girl. These men are the type who mean well, but are all blockheads."

"High WIS, low INT characters," I agreed. Nami chuckled, shooting me a look that said she'd pretend she understood what I meant.

"So… When we're in Loguetown Jones, how about a little shopping spree? I know you don't have any other clothes, unless you kept the waiter uniform you were using at the Baratie."

"Nope. But I don't have any money, and there's a lot of things I want to get that're more important than clothes."

"Like?"

"Rope, duct tape, a den-den mushi… Actually, I should make shopping lists for everyone, things to look for while we're there. There's a lot of stuff that could make the early part of our journey go more smoothly if we can get it."

"Are you sure you're a girl?" Nami wondered. "You sound more like Usopp than anything else- although I admit, his status as a man is sometimes questionable."

"Biologically speaking, I'm a hundred percent female. Anything else is… complicated for me, and I'd rather not talk about it."

"You need to eventually. If it affects the safety and dynamics of the crew, I mean. Not that I want to pressure you or anything."

"Sesehihihihi!" I couldn't help it; I laughed until my eyes started to water. Wiping them on the back of my sleeve, I leaned on the rail for support. "Oh Nami… It's a sad day in the East Blue when you and Zoro agree on something. Although I suppose he was talking about my depression, not my sexuality."

Nami shrugged. "Well… They aren't mutually exclusive, are they? Trouble with your sexuality might contribute to your other issues. And it's not fair that you know so much about us, but we hardly know anything about you. I still don't buy that Jones is your real name. Or at least, not the whole thing."

"It's not." The wind picked up, blowing at our hair. I smiled as Nami spat out orange strands; mine may have been longer, but a tight ponytail kept it from getting anywhere near my mouth. "I think… You more than anyone understand why a girl might not want to tell people everything at first. But my name isn't dangerous or anything- although it might be linked to some of my issues. I just don't like it; never have."

The navigator looked at me expectantly. Merde, she expected me to tell her, didn't she? Well… It would make a good show of trust, mend any ties I'd damaged by freaking her out about Arlong before. "Fine, but don't tell anyone. I don't want anyone using it, or gods forbid, the most obvious nickname."

"Not a word, I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Okay… That was something I'd wonder about later- such an odd oath from the redheaded navigator. I'd expected things like that from Chopper. A deep breath gave me the moment I needed to figure out how my name would be ordered in the East Blue. Some parts of the One Piece world seemed to use Western orders, but here…

"Jones F Kayla. The F stands for Faye- magic is literally my middle name."

Nami nodded. "It's fitting, for someone who claims to be a witch. I heard what you said to Arlong during the fight. Why don't you like it?"

"Just isn't me." I traced the grain of the rail with my finger. Swirly, swirly, almost hypnotic… "And you know I'm not a witch; I just come from a different world. Although Ghin says I should keep pretending to our enemies to freak them out."

"It's a good idea. But does being from another world mean you can't be a witch too? Being from Cocoyashi Village doesn't mean I can't be a navigator."

"Point." I inclined my head respectfully. Nami knew just enough about logical fallacies to keep me on my toes; I had to thank her for that. Otherwise I might forget that I wasn't always the smartest in the room- something I had problems with even on down days. Reading as much as I did can do that to people, especially people who can remember most of what they read fairly easily.

In the ensuing silence, my companion pulled several large pots from… somewhere. These were followed by a couple sacks of soil and a jar full of citrus seeds and damp paper. Patting around… wherever she'd gotten the pots, Nami sighed. "Of all things, to forget a trowel…"

Huh. And I'd thought she'd bring the tangerines on board fully grown. Well, this way was much easier. "Can't you just use your hands? That's what I always do."

"You garden?" Nami looked at me with surprise. I nodded.

"Lemons, aloes, pumpkins, and spinach mostly. Not that the aloes are hard; I swear you'd have to actively try to kill one. My mom grows carrots, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, peas, apples, rhubarb…" Mm, rhubarb. I wondered if I could find any in Loguetown, to start a patch of my own on the ship. It was even easier to grow than aloe.

The navigator looked pleasantly surprised. "Well, tangerines probably aren't that different from lemons. And scooping soil with my hands isn't a problem, but without a trowel I have nothing to cut the sacks open. I never got the hang of doing that with just my fingernails, although Nojiko's pretty good at it."

"Oh. Well, in that case…" I pulled out my Swiss Army Knife and sliced the sacks open. "There you go."

"Thanks Jones." Crouching, Nami began scooping dirt into the pots. Then, "You can help me if you want. It'll go faster with two."

"Sure." I buried my fingers in the warm soil. It was soft and damp- perfect. And we'd definitely have lots of seaweed to fertilize the plants with. Now I just needed to figure out how to protect them on Drum Island. Even the toughest citrus didn't do well in the cold, and I was pretty sure that the only reason Oda hadn't drawn them some protection was that they weren't important to the plot at the time. Or maybe he'd legitimately forgotten… Nah. Oda never forgets.