Montage: a composite of several different and typically unrelated elements that are arranged to create a particular mood, meaning, or perception.
gamelover41592: Thank you. And of course I kept the cherry blossom scene; one does not simply leave out the cherry blossoms!
abciluvpie: Thank you.
Xipholynx: Thank you very much— and you're welcome.
Molly Grace 16: Thank you. Big Brother Ghin is fun to write. *smiles*
bookloverinfinity: Heheheheh... Thank you very much.
camierose: Thank you. ^_^
Dragondancer81: No, no she can't. *cackles*
MilkTree925: Thank you.
The Keeper of Worlds: Sesehihihihihi! As far as Lisa's techniques go, I have a massive box of Crayola crayons and I'm not afraid to use it. Variant colours are definitely a thing.
majishan: Eh, probably a bit of a downfall from what you expect. Important to bonding, but not the overall plot.
Krazyfanfiction1: Heh. Thank you very much. ^_^
Gerbilfriend: As do I, as do I. Well, he'll be getting lots of cuddles from Jones at some point, at any rate.
Bombadilo Baby: Yes, that's exactly what Luffy was doing in the castle.
FairyGirl960: Thank you. That's what I was going for. ^_^
Kakusei: Thank you— and you're welcome. And yeah, there are at least a few places where I intend to bring in some real-world practices to expand a little bit on the culture. Some of them are just intended to be funny though, like some things I have planned with Franky.
starelight: You're welcome. And yeah, I can't wait for Jones to meet Ace either— I've had that scene planned for so long, and soon I get to write it. As for her getting up so early? Never underestimate the stubbornness of a slightly delusional Canadian.
GreenDrkness: Yeah, I really should install a maple tree or two on my Going Merry. And some rhubarb... But if we let Jones' green thumb take over, soon the whole ship will be covered in gardens, between her, Nami, and Usopp's post-timeskip weapons. And Robin; I think Robin has some flowers at some point.
xanothos: ^_^ Thank you very much. I hope I continue to live up to people's expectations though, since I seem to be setting the bar so high. *nervous laughter*
The Utterly Fabulous Z: Thank you— and you're welcome. And yeah... I debated doing that part in English because I knew not everyone would necessarily understand, but... I dunno, I guess it just felt better with my whole wacky One Piece Canadian thing.
Twilight0Wanderer: Well, to be fair, I was a figure skater, so even if some hockey players do spend a fair amount of time going backwards, it probably doesn't seem like it to me. *shrugs* Unreliable narrator and all. The references... About the second, all I can say is that Jones loves Tales of Phantasia, so you can look forward to her at least trying what you suggest someday, even if it might not work. As to the first... Just wait til she uses it again in context. Thank you very much for your analysis and support.
DemonCatLady: Thank you. I'm sorry about all the feels, but yeah, for some arcs I guess that means I'm doing things right? As far as how hard Luffy will hit Jones... I make no promises.
GingerFury: Well, your guesses now are both closer and further than I thought. As for the thing with the vitals... It's less about the injuries and more about bonding. And no, as much as Jones would love to punch Akainu in the face, there's no believable way for her to tank that. A toilet seat wouldn't save her there.
rosewillow narusasufangirl: Thank you so much... Your confidence in me is both heartening and daunting.
Solemn Nonsense: Thank you. That's what I was going for.
Guest (June 24): *laughs hard* Tim! Yeah, I knew that. Love Monty Python. And I'm glad my toilet seat provoked that reaction; it means it didn't exist in vain.
CrystalKnight: Yay indeed! Although... was there really ever any doubt?
Guest (June 25): Thank you. And I'm sorry I almost made you cry.
Azurai Wolf: Thank you. And yes, Alabasta will be interesting indeed. Or at least, I hope so.
havarti2: Yes, he's adorable.
Maximusace9: Yes, yes he did. He won't be getting any effects from doing so, but if you look carefully at Ruatha's dialogue... Actually, I should leave that for people to find. *grins*
Cyber Angel Rowan: Thank you. Thank you very much.
Partsu: Thank you. And wow... I'm impressed. This isn't exactly a short story. Are your eyes okay after doing that?
WaterStar45: Yeah, Luffy's not happy. He has some words for Jones. But they happen to be exactly what she needs to hear, so aside from a headache or two, it's all good.
"And there you go, Li'l Bro." Johnny chuckled as he handed Chopper a child-sized hockey stick. "I told you we could make one."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The reindeer danced around with his new- toy? Weapon? I didn't know why he'd asked the hunters to make it. Johnny raised a hand to block when an ill-timed flail almost hit him in the stomach.
"Hey, hey, calm down Li'l Bro! You're gonna hurt someone if you're not careful." The blue hunter grinned and pointed at a slight bump on the top of the stick. "Try pressing there and see what happens."
Chopper did as he was told, a mystified expression on his face. It quickly morphed into one of delight when the stick extended with a click, becoming the correct length for him to use in his heavy point. A second press of the button collapsed the stick back to its original size. "Oh wow… That's amazing!"
Usopp snorted. The gunner was leaning back on a rail, tools and trinkets spread out around him as he worked on a project of his own. Occasionally he would show Nami something, and the sailing master would either express awe and approval, or smack Usopp upside the head. Right now though, he was staring at Chopper's hockey stick with derision. "For that to work, it's gotta be nested, hollow- you could never hit anything with it."
"That's where you're wrong, Big Bro," Yosaku put in. "We made it out of a special alloy they were selling in Robelle- much stronger than anything we ever got in the East Blue. I tested it against Big Bro Zoro's swords; it can take a beating."
Nami raised her eyebrow at that. "For real? Did you get any extra?"
"Sure thing Big Sis!"
The Going Merry was a week and a half out from Drum Island. There was no sign of Alabasta yet, but neither Vivi nor Mr Thirteen seemed too concerned, so I assumed we were on schedule. Everyone had been using the time to train and experiment, with Chopper's hockey stick being the first project to actually be completed. The little doctor hugged Johnny's leg and ran off, tossing his puck up and down with one hoof as he looked for a place to practice. His blue and white jersey- only removed for laundry days- fluttered in the day's stiff breeze.
I laughed, almost smudging the paper I was working on- a second copy of the book I'd started making before Whiskey Peak. I needed three of them- one for Jonathan, one for me, and one to send to a publishing company. After all, if I wanted to use this without raising suspicion, I'd need it to at least be widely available, if not popular. I'd been making pretty good progress the last few days, despite having to learn to write with my left hand; while Chopper didn't try to enforce bed rest, he wasn't letting me do much in the way of training right now.
That thought reminded me, though, that as of Little Garden, I had a new aspect of my powers that needed work. Friction, eh? What could I do with that? Absorbing it wasn't particularly useful- actually, it would be pretty dangerous for anyone who didn't know how to skate, and even for those who did under certain circumstances. I rested my hand on the deck, feeling the friction between my hand and the wood. A brief twist of focus made my hand slide sideways, the wood suddenly feeling smooth as ice.
Cool, but useless.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Usopp attaching a small wooden bird to a spring. He was still working on Nami's thing though- hadn't switched to a cuckoo clock or anything. So I pulled a marble out of one of my pockets and threw it at him. It missed; the tiny glass ball bounced off a rail and back at me, almost hitting me in the face. I caught it just before it knocked my glasses off. The sound got Usopp's attention, though, so it wasn't a waste of effort.
"Hey! What was that for?" The gunner yelped. I shot him a flat look.
"That better not be going into Nami's weapon." I nodded at the bird. Usopp raised his eyebrows and rubbed his nose.
"How do you know it's not an integral part of the mechanism, huh? Maybe Nami asked me for a weapon that fired bi-?"
"You're supposed to be building a staff that controls the weather or something, aren't you?"
If Usopp hadn't been leaning on the rail, he would've fallen over backwards in surprise. "How'd you kno- you were unconscious!"
I shrugged and rolled my eyes. "Really? How do I know anything about people's weapons and stuff? In the story, you made Nami a staff called the Clima-Tact that allowed her to control weather by heating and cooling the air, and shooting lightning and stuff. So if that's what you're working on now, do you really think you should be including pranks? Even Johnny and Yosaku wouldn't put that in a weapon."
"Um… Uh…" Usopp drooped with a sigh. "You're right… I just wanted to make it fun though."
"Nami wouldn't appreciate that, and it might put her in danger." I resumed my work copying the manuscript. "If you want to make something fun, you should do it as a separate piece. Not that training and fighting can't be fun in their own right…"
The gunner nodded mutely and set the wooden bird off to the side. Instead he began fiddling with a small glass jar, coating it with a fine mesh of wires inside and out before inserting a cork lid and gluing it in place. A thin chain hung down inside, brushing the glass and wires with every movement; a short, thick nail was wedged into the cork from the outside. The chain and nail were connected- I'd watched Usopp perform that operation an hour before. It had taken him three tries to get it right.
"What's that?" It looked familiar in the vaguest of ways- like I'd never seen one, but I'd read about it before.
"Leyden bottle," Usopp informed me. His tongue stuck out between his teeth in concentration as he cautiously inserted the jar into a complex array of springs. "They generate and store electricity, in theory- I've never made one before. I've heard they can discharge violently, though, so I need to make sure I protect Nami from that somehow. Maybe a rubber grip?" The gunner placed the Leyden bottle arrangement on the deck beside him and pulled a sheet of rubber to the fore, beginning to trace out a shape.
Something clicked in my head. That was why the device seemed familiar- it was like the electrified bullets in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. I wondered if it was something that would actually work in my old world, or if it only functioned that way in fictional ones. "Cool."
"Sure is!" Usopp beamed and dropped his pen, waving his arms in excitement. He picked up the Leyden bottle and began playing with it- not out of a desire to actually do anything with it, more like a child unwilling to put down their newest toy. After a few seconds, I started to hear the crackling snap of static being generated. They grew louder and louder over the next few minutes, until there was a sharp snap and a flash of light.
"Taak!" Ruatha's screech, right in my ear, left me momentarily deaf. The dragonet swatted me in the head as he swung his tail around to cover his eyes. Claws dug into my shoulder in surprise, drawing a few drops of blood. I should really look into getting some sort of protection against that sort of injury.
I blinked back spots. When I could finally see again, I couldn't hold back my laughter. Nor could the baby dragon perched on my shoulder. "Sesehihihihihi!"
"Nepnepnepnepnep!"
"It's not funny!" Usopp yelped. His hair was standing on end, while patches of soot adorned his skin. "That hurt!"
"Better make that rubber grip double sized," I advised, trying and failing to stifle my laughter. The gunner squawked indignantly and hailed a passing crew mate.
"Zoro! Jones's being mean to me!"
A green eyebrow rose. "Really?" The bosun snorted. "Suck it up, buttercup. She's not hurting you." Zoro continued on his way up to the crow's nest. Usopp pouted; I laughed all the harder.
"Jones…" Usopp whined. I shook my head as I finally got my laughter under control.
"Sorry, sorry… I know it shouldn't be funny, but it is." Ruatha agreed with me, his chirping laughter growing louder and louder. I eventually had to clamp a hand down on his muzzle to protect my ears.
Sanji poked his head out of the galley at that moment. "Oi! Ladies! Shitheads! Jones! Lunch's ready!"
"Coming!" I hauled myself to my feet, using the mast for support. My legs weren't stiff anymore, but they were still a little shaky, and my right arm ached. According to Chopper it was almost healed though.
Despite his complaints, Usopp was up and on his way to the galley even faster than I was. Of course, he was immediately met by a steel-toed dress shoe in the face. It sent him flying backwards. Sanji glared at the gunner, snuffing out a cigarette and tossing it into the sea. "Don't come in the kitchen til you've washed that soot off Shitty Longnose!"
"Hey! Don't litter!" I snapped a half-hearted- but still force-charged- strike at the cook's head. He leaned back out of the way with a confused sigh.
"What? What did I do?"
"You shouldn't just chuck garbage in the water! If a fish eats that, it could get sick!" I swiped at Sanji again; this time, I caught him in the shoulder. The cook rotated with the force of my strike to disperse it.
"Fine, fine. I'm sorry; I won't do it again. But what should I do with them then?"
I paused, drawing up memories of dozens of environmental magazines. "They might make decent fertilizer for Nami's tangerine trees, and any other plants we might end up with." My mind drifted sideways for a moment. "Merde… Every time we make port, I forget to look into getting some rhubarb cuttings."
"Heh." Sanji shook his head. "Alright then. Thanks for the advice. I hope Nami dear won't mind."
"You hope I won't mind what?" Sanji jumped at the sound of Nami's voice. The sailing master had appeared practically out of nowhere, one hand on her hip, the other spinning a set of lock picks on a steel ring.
"Using cigarette butts and kitchen waste as fertilizer for your trees," I answered as Sanji noodled. The cook was saying something, but since it wasn't coherent, neither of us paid him any mind.
Nami nodded. "Sure. Go ahead. Just don't damage them; if I find so much as one leaf out of place…" She left the threat hanging as we went into the galley for lunch.
X
-ore of willpower. Green at my heart, the home of lo-! My meditation was interrupted by a loud yell from below decks. I opened my eyes and glared as Jack came out of the hatch, pulling Lisa behind him. The roughness with which the wannabe prince treated the painter made me narrow my eyes. Sure, she'd been ranked higher than him in Baroque Works, but she was still a little girl. I stood up and strode over, about to slap Jack's hand away. Before I could do anything though, Zoro landed beside us.
"What's going on?" The bosun folded his arms. Lisa glanced at him and bit her lip. Jack frowned down at her.
"She was in the men's cabin," the agent said, as if that explained everything. Unhappy with that justification and his continued grip on Lisa's arm, I reached in and smacked his hand. Jack yelped and pulled away; Lisa stepped away from him, closer to me.
"Okay. So?" Zoro scowled down at the wannabe prince. Jack squawked.
"Girls shouldn't be in the men's cabin!"
"Were you naked?" When Jack shook his head, Zoro shrugged. "Then I don't see what the problem is."
Sputtering wordlessly, Jack fluttered his hands. But no words came out. Eventually he sighed, shrinking in on himself like a deflated balloon. The wannabe prince wandered off, knowing Zoro was unlikely to take his side at this point. Probably looking for Mairead; the two spent a lot of time together. They also tended to avoid the crew proper, although they seemed to enjoy having afternoon tea with Vivi and Carue. I wasn't sure if we made them uncomfortable, or if they just didn't want to get attached.
Shaking his head, Zoro wandered away. "Idiot…"
Lisa immediately headed back towards the hatchway. She paused, though, as soon as I raised an eyebrow. Impressive; she wasn't even looking at me. How had she known? "You're about to ask me what I was doing in the men's cabin, aren't you?"
I inclined my head; Ruatha gnawed on the edge of my hat. "You don't have to tell me, but I'd like to know. You have to admit, it's a pretty strange place for a girl to spend her time." Unless she was like me… No. Even then, being comfortable taking that step was unusual, especially with a group of people who didn't know. Which, if Lisa was genderfluid, we didn't.
For a moment, Lisa said nothing. Then she sighed, her shoulders drooping. "I was looking around because I wanted to paint it. I need to see what the walls are like, how much space there is to work with…"
"You want to paint the men's cabin?" Well, at least I didn't have to have any awkward talks with her. I had no idea how to help a preteen figure out their own… preferences.
"I want to paint the whole ship," Lisa corrected with a shake of her head. She turned around to face me. "The cabins, the galley, the hold, the head… Even the bilge. I've had pictures growing in my head ever since the last island, things I want to bring to life. But I don't know which ones fit where- not all of them, at least. So I've been scouting around, but Jack caught me and wouldn't let me explain."
"Well, you'll have to ask Luffy for permission," I reminded her gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. I didn't leave it there long; it didn't feel right. Pulling back, I reached up and scratched Ruatha behind the ears instead. "He's the captain, and you're not part of the crew."
Lisa's face fell, confused and sad. "I- I'm not?"
Actually… Now that I thought about it, that was a good question. I knew Jack and Mairead held themselves separate, but Lisa mingled with the rest of us even more than Vivi did. No one had said anything though… "Come on. Let's go ask Luffy- about both."
The captain was sitting on Merry's head, swinging his legs back and forth and whistling a song. He waved as Lisa and I approached. "Hiya Jones! Lisa! What's up?" A gust of wind tried to snatch Luffy's hat off his head; he giggled as he held it down.
"Two issues we need you to sort out, captain." I leaned on a rail as a tremor ran though my legs. Luffy's broad grin shrank, although it didn't vanish completely.
"Oh. What's the problem?" He swung around to face us, although he was still sitting on the figurehead.
Lisa stepped forwards, fiddling with the hem of her skirt. "It's… I was wondering if I was on the crew or not, and if I could paint the ship."
For a moment, everything was silent. Luffy didn't speak, his face morphing into a frown of concentration. Even the wind seemed to die down; the usual ever-present creak of lines and the Merry's hull went quiet. The captain fiddled with his hat, which shadowed his eyes as he tilted his head forwards. Lisa reached for my hand; I let her hold it, although I doubted she would need me in the end. Luffy may not have been smiling, but he didn't seem angry or upset either. Just… thoughtful.
"You're twelve, ne?" Dark eyes rose up to bore into Lisa's. She nodded; Luffy continued. "Being a pirate's dangerous. Shanks always said little kids shouldn't join pirate crews… But he never said how little was too little. You don't seem very tough… If you wanna be a pirate, you're gonna have to show me your com- conv- you're gonna have to prove to me how much you mean it."
"Oh…" Lisa's face fell. She stared down at the deck, scuffing her feet against the wood. "I- I don't know how to do that."
Little fingers gripped my hand. I didn't say anything, neither pulling away, nor returning her grip. This was something Lisa needed to figure out herself- I wasn't sure I knew how to help, anyway. Then the little painter raised her eyes again, meeting Luffy's gaze. "What about the rest of it- can I paint the ship?"
Much to my surprise, Luffy laughed at this. Not hard or long, but there was definitely a little chuckle there. A small smirk made itself at home on his face. "I dunno- can you?"
"What?"
The captain shrugged. "I dunno. It's a thing Sabo used to do- if I asked if I could do something, he asked if I could. I never figured out what he meant by it."
Lisa thought for a minute. Then her eyes lit up. "Oh! May I paint the ship?"
Luffy cocked his head to the side. "Huh? Oh…" Things clicked a minute later. "This is a word fight thing, ne? That's Jones' job, not mine. But sure, you can paint the ship if you want. I bet Merry would like it."
Patting the ship's rail, Luffy beamed. The wind rose back up about then, sending a happy whistling through Merry's lines. The increased waves made her buck and bounce, as if the ram-headed ship was prancing across the ocean. Foam from the tops of the waves jumped up and sprayed over us. Lisa smiled.
"Really?" Releasing my hand, she bounced excitedly at my side. "I'll get started right away, captain! Oh, what should I do first- the galley? The girls' cabin? Oh! I know! I'll start with the cargo hold!"
Her small, flat shoes clattered on the deck as Lisa took off towards the hatchway. Lisa skipped across the deck, humming to herself; she was already in the process of mixing something on her palette. Luffy beamed and bounced. "Shishishishishi!"
"Go ahead, laugh it up." I shook my head, a small feeling of heaviness settling in my gut. After all, Lisa had just decided to start painting the hold- where Ruatha and I still slept- and she used oil paints. For however long this took, the inside of the ship was going to stink. At least I wasn't going to be alone; if Lisa wanted to paint the whole ship, everyone sleeping in the cabins would eventually get a nose full of fumes too.
Calming down, Luffy looked me in the eye. He paused for a moment, considering something- then shook his head, muttering something about not being ready yet. I didn't know what he meant by that. Eventually the captain settled on a soft smile. "Ne, Jones… Don't tell Lisa yet, but… I like her. She was good when you were hurt, keeping an eye on you, and she fits with us. I want her on the crew. But… She's still little, so I need to see her rec- rem-?"
"Resolve?" I offered.
"Yeah, that." Luffy folded his arms atop Merry's horns. His face fell. "Shanks wouldn't let me join him cause I was too little and might've been hurt- I don't want that to happen to her. I can't protect everyone."
Wow. That was early in the story for Luffy come to that realization. What had-? Oh. Right. I'd run out in front of him and almost gotten myself eaten by a T-Rex, protecting Vivi. I inclined my head. "Is there something you'd like me to do?"
Luffy thought for a long moment. "Look after her," he said at last. "Lisa likes you a lot. Protect her, teach her to fight if she needs it, show her things… Just keep an eye on her. The way Shanks did for me when I was little."
"Aye-aye captain." I saluted and left. Behind me, I heard Luffy giggling as I walked away.
Curiosity drew me down to the hold. In the brief time since she'd left me with Luffy, Lisa had managed to cover all the supplies with scrap pieces of canvas. Half a dozen lanterns- probably coopted from Johnny and Yosaku in the bilge- lit the usually dim room as if we were on the deck. I climbed down the ladder just in time to see her begin painting, a splash of bright blue against the walls. It was soon joined by another, and then another, broad strokes made with a large industrial brush rather than the small one she usually used in combat. Lisa worked quickly; it only took her a few minutes to cover the ceiling, walls, and even the floor with varying shades of blue. She didn't notice me until she'd backed over to the ladder, having painted the majority of the floor. Lisa jumped when she backed into me.
"Ah! Jones! What're you doing here?"
"Just came to see your paintings."
"There's nothing to see yet." Lisa made a face. "Just a base coat. The picture comes later, after this dries. It won't take long though; I make my own paints, and they're designed to dry quickly so I can keep working."
I leaned back on the ladder. "Can I ask what you're planning to paint down here?"
That got me a suspicious glance- although one that was trying very hard not to come off as such. It was an expression I was familiar with, usually from a mirror. "You're not going to try to tell me what to do, are you?"
"No, of course not." I shook my head. "Just curious about my future bunk mates."
"Eh?" Lisa shot me a look that said in no uncertain terms that she thought I was crazy. Then she patted the floor- which was already dry, despite the whole room still reeking of oil paints. The little girl trotted over to open the portholes before getting back to work. I shrugged.
"Well, you know Ruatha and I sleep down here, eh?"
"Yeah… That's not it. Why're you talking about paintings as if they're alive?" Lisa shook her head, tracing an arcing line of gold across one blue wall. I had no idea what it could be an outline for. Other lines quickly joined it though, creating a very familiar shape.
"Aren't they, though?" I watched in admiration as a dragon slowly took shape on the wall. "I mean… Everything has its own spirit, its own personality and name. And at the very least, these paintings will be part of Merry, and she definitely does."
No response. Lisa continued, finishing the great gold dragon and starting on a smaller white one behind it. Over the next two hours, she painted an entire flight of dragons circling the hold, their scales shining every colour of the rainbow. Ivory horns and claws gleamed in the flickering lantern light; the eyes were a colour I couldn't really describe. Lisa smiled when I went to examine it, running my fingers over the unusual rubbery texture.
"It's glow-in-the-dark paint. I figured out how to make it last year. Haven't been able to use it for my hypnosis yet though…" The little girl looked both proud and disappointed.
I nodded. "So… Dragons?"
"Just here. For you, because this is your place. Your lair. I have other things planned for other rooms." Lisa frowned at the walls. "There's something missing though. I'm just… not sure what."
It took me several long minutes to reply- largely because I was absorbed in the dragon paintings, tracing their wings and tails. The detail was incredible. Tiny scales, each the size of my thumbnail, covered each jewel-bright reptile. They were all smiling. It was… heartening. Soothing. Like the entire room was trying to hug me, a great writhing warmth of serpentine hugs. And yet, if I tilted my head just so, and crouched a little as if I was trying to hide behind the surrounding barrels, those encouraging smiles somehow turned into hideous grimaces, a fighting wing of dragons prepared to defend their weyr from intruders.
"Treasure?" I asked eventually. "In all the legends, dragons guard treasure."
Lisa's eyes lit up. "Oh! Right! But where? I didn't leave anywhere to paint gold…"
"It doesn't have to be gold." I ran my fingers over the tiny scales on a slender purple dragon. "They could protect knowledge, people they care about, magic, a home… Those are all treasures too."
"I see…" The little painter looked around. "Could- could they protect the ship?"
"What?" I didn't understand. Lisa fiddled with her paintbrush and scuffed the floor with her foot.
"You- you're a witch, right? Could you make the dragons and things I paint protect the ship?"
Oh… Well, I wasn't sure about that, but I'd do my best. Crouching down beside Lisa, I nodded. "Sure. There are special symbols you can mix into the pictures- runes and bindrunes. If you paint them in the right colours, they'll help protect Merry. Would you like me to show you?"
"Yes please!" Lisa smiled widely and nodded, rummaging around in her pockets. Seconds later, she handed me a spare paintbrush. I dipped it in blue and began painting.
"This one here is Algiz, a rune of protection. And here's Dagaz for success, Othila for home… Aegishjalmur, a bindrune that's supposed to make you irresistible in battle, and Vegvisir to keep us from getting lost…" I went on for several minutes, showing Lisa all the runes and bindrunes I knew. We painted most in blue, barely visible against the backdrop, although some needed different colours. Those we wove into the dragons themselves, tiny details on their already miniscule scales. I wasn't sure if this would do anything- I'd only ever used runes for fortune telling, myself, but it seemed to make Lisa happy, at least. And hey, Luffy had asked me to teach her. He hadn't said what I was supposed to teach her, exactly.
X
Heavy boots trying to be sneaky drew Nami's attention up from her maps. The sailing master glanced up to see Johnny and Yosaku creeping across the deck- very conspicuously, she had to add. It seemed like the hunters had no experience sneaking up on anything, which she knew couldn't be true. Unless you were Zoro, being able to sneak up on a target was probably required. Nami raised her eyebrows in their direction and cleared her throat; Johnny and Yosaku jumped.
"Ah! Big Sis! What're you doing there?!"
"Making my maps… as always." Nami shook her head with a huff. She couldn't believe how dumb the men on the crew could be sometimes. "What're you two doing?"
The hunters looked at each other, fidgeting. "Well… Um…"
"See, Big Bro Ghin is a major mother hen," Yosaku mumbled, "Right? And it's so rare to see him relax…" The green hunter gestured towards the bow, where Ghin was- uncharacteristically- sleeping against the rail. He looked exhausted. Nami didn't blame him- the rigger had worried himself sick while Jones was unconscious. All that stress had to catch up with him sometime.
Johnny nodded and picked up where his partner left off. "So we figured we'd do something to help him loosen up."
That made Nami sigh. She knew the hunters meant well, but their methods were… messy. Ghin was unlikely to appreciate them. But the men weren't likely to listen to her. She'd just have to settle for a sharp "I told you so," reinforced by her fist, after the fact. If Ghin didn't get them first. Still, as long as the pranks weren't aimed at her… "You better not make a mess. We don't have a lot of cleaning supplies left- almost seems like someone's been eating them. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
"Nope!" Oh, they were lying through their teeth. Nami didn't call them out on it though. She'd wait until she caught them- it had to happen soon. Any day now, and she'd hit whichever hunter had been pilfering soap with a fine so heavy, they'd be in debt until they got to Raftel. Or at least until they caught and turned in a big-name pirate from the New World- whatever that meant- which wasn't likely to happen until long after the marines realized they were pirates, not bounty hunters.
Boots continued to scuff on wood as Johnny and Yosaku continued their attempt at sneaking up on Ghin. They pulled out a bottle of glue and a bag of feathers as they went, crushing Nami's hopes that this prank would be relatively clean. She snapped her staff together in preparation for punishment, if necessary. And mentally added five million beri to the hunters' future debt.
Yosaku mixed the glue with equal parts water in a bucket, while Johnny hefted the feather bag. The hunters looked at each other, seemingly counting down with their eyes, before upending both bucket and bag over Ghin's head with a loud cry. "Bazinga!"
The glue spattered over Ghin with a loud splish. Lighter, slower, the feathers fell a second later, covering the rigger in a cloud of fluffy white as his eyes snapped open. Nami was impressed in spite of herself, unable to figure out where Johnny and Yosaku had gotten so many feathers. Even taking into account the number of seagulls Usopp shot when he was bored, and the amount of poultry the crew went through, the pair must've been planning this for… weeks, at least. Since long before Drum Island; probably since Loguetown. Well, maybe they hadn't been planning this, exactly, but Nami wouldn't have put it past them.
Actually, when she wasn't the one being targeted, watching the hunters work could be a lot of fun.
Ghin's voice sounded strangely wet and glurpy when he spoke- no, growled. Like he'd maybe inhaled some of the glue. "Johnny… Yosaku… You have three seconds to tell me what's going on here if you want your deaths to be quick and merciful."
Johnny was shaking; Yosaku stood firm, but sweat was practically pouring down his brow. "Um, well, you see Big Bro… We thought, since you're such a mother hen and all…"
"Buck-buckawk!" Johnny added helpfully. Ghin's eyes glowed red.
"You morons!" Jumping to his feet, the rigger lunged forwards. Johnny and Yosaku took off at a run, their faces masks of terror. But at the same time, they were laughing their asses off.
Nami had to admit, the sight of Ghin racing across the deck covered in feathers was funny. She stifled a smile; it wouldn't do to let the hunters think they could get away with things like this, after all. And with all the feathers everywhere, Ghin did look a bit like a chicken.
Even more than a chicken, though, Ghin looked like a dinosaur. His teeth were bared in a snarl; he gained rapidly on Johnny and Yosaku, despite their near-daily practice running away from Luffy and Usopp. The rigger tackled the hunters into the deck, growling. Yosaku let out a wheezy squeak as his breath was knocked out; Johnny didn't even manage that much. Both hunters looked ill from a combination of fear and impact.
"I ain't no chicken, understand?" Ghin didn't shout. Instead, his face was so close to the faces of his victims that he almost looked like he was about to bite their noses. "Call me a mother hen all you want; that I'm used to. But this is over the line. Never do something like this again. It's not funny, and this jacket takes forever to wash."
Pulling back, Ghin knocked the hunters' heads together, then hauled them up by the back of their coats. "Now… Why did you try to turn me into a chicken?"
"Trying to cheer you up…" Johnny whimpered.
"And what makes you think I need it, huh?" Ghin shook the hunters. He was probably the only man Nami could think of who could look intimidating covered in glue and feathers- even Genzo hadn't managed. That memory made Nami's smile wide beyond her ability to hide it. Bellemere would've loved this crew.
Funny, that thought didn't hurt as much as it used to.
"Well, you were so worried about Jones," Johnny mumbled quickly, "All tired and stressed out. But she's better now, so we thought you could use a lift. I mean, you're sleeping on the deck. Only Big Bro Zoro and Big Sis Jones do that!"
Ghin snarled and shook the hunters again. "Well, if glue and feathers are your idea of a good time… Stop cheering me up!"
The rigger slammed Johnny and Yosaku's heads together again and flung them over the side. Yelping, the hunters flailed. They waved their arms in a comical imitation of birds in flight, although it didn't do anything to save them. Nami couldn't hold it in anymore; she started laughing. "Hehehehehahahahahaha!"
Turning towards her, Ghin scowled- and then started laughing in his own right, albeit very quietly. "Ahahahahahaha!" Wiping glue and feathers on his face, the rigger flicked them into the water after Johnny and Yosaku. "Okay, maybe it's kinda funny. Don't let them know, though. Damn… If this is what having little brothers is like, maybe I should stick to sisters." Ghin froze and paled slightly. "Don't tell anyone I said that either."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Nami promised.
Nodding, Ghin took off his jacket with a sigh. "Now I need to wash this… We still have some of the unscented laundry detergent, right? I can't stand the lemon stuff you and Jones use. Hurts my nose."
"No, no unscented left. But if the lemon bothers you, we still have plenty of Sanji's green apple detergent. That work?" Nami didn't understand why almost everyone needed their own separate detergent, shampoo, and such. They could've saved so much money if everyone could've agreed… But they couldn't, whether because of preference, or in Usopp's case, because he was allergic to perfumed soaps.
"I guess." Ghin stomped off towards the head, which doubled as the laundry. He ran his hand through his hair as he walked, trying in vain to rub drying glue and feathers off of himself.
X
Lisa was painting the gun deck now. I sat just outside in case she needed me, reading one of my books. Or rather, I was pretending to read; in reality, I was playing with the friction between myself and the ship, sliding around on the wood in a small circle as I tried to figure out what this talent could be used for. Distracted, I didn't notice someone coming up beside me. At least, not until…
WHAM!
A fist crashed into the back of my head. It sent me rolling and bouncing across the ship; my nearly-healed arm did not appreciate this. I curled around the limb, hissing and wincing in pain. Black spots danced before my eyes; the blow and bouncing made me dizzy. Biting back tears, I glared up at the source of the strike. Luffy approached, his face expressionless as he clenched and unclenched his fist.
"Did that hurt?" my captain asked quietly.
What? "Yes! Of course it hurt!" I raised my hand to my head; it came away bloody. I couldn't tell if that was just from Luffy hitting me, or if I'd hit my head on one of the stairs when he sent my tumbling across the ship. "Tabarnak! What was that for?!"
"Good. I've been practicing since Drum." Luffy nodded to himself. "Fist of Love: Gum-Gum Edition."
A Fist of Love? Luffy had learned how to use the Fist of Love? Or at least a lesser version of it… "Why?"
"Jones tried to throw her life away… and said she was expendable. That means not important, able to be thrown away without causing a problem, right?" Luffy frowned. "No one on my crew is expendable. And you promised you'd live. That means you're not allowed to die, remember?"
"I told you when you asked me that, that I couldn't promise I wouldn't die." My head spun for a few seconds after I stood up. Luffy's frown deepened.
"That doesn't mean you can run into death. You almost got eaten on purpose!"
"Because the dinosaur was about to eat Vivi! She's more important than I am- I couldn't let that happen!"
Almost faster than I could blink, Luffy was in my face. A second later, rubber fist slammed into my head for the second time. I crashed into the deck. This time, I blacked out fully for a few seconds. When I regained my senses, I had to pry my face out of the wood grain and wipe blood away from my eyes. "Oww… You know, if your motivation here is to get me to not die, you should probably stop hitting me over the head." Seriously, too many hits that bypassed my Devil Fruit was not a good idea, especially from Luffy.
My captain considered that for a moment, then shrugged. "You're not allowed to die- captain's orders. And stop saying you're not important. I don't care what your story says, whether you're supposed to be here… You are here, you are one of us. You are important- to us. Next time, find a way to save the princess and stay alive while doing it."
I couldn't decide whether to apologize or try to retort. On the one hand, sometimes what Luffy was asking wasn't possible- sometimes there's no time to find a better way, or no better option exists at all. Sometimes there wasn't a happy ending. But at the same time… I wanted it so much. I wanted the happy ending, I wanted to believe I could do what Luffy asked. I actually wanted to live, rather than just promising because I thought it was what people wanted to hear.
The marks on my arms stung faintly as blood dripped down the side of my face. I bowed my head. "Sorry… Captain."
"As long as you understand." Luffy's frown morphed into a grin; he reached out and patted me on the head. Which was… uncomfortable. I huffed and pulled away. That just made him frown again.
"Alright, enough." Luffy moved, slowly but surely invading my personal space. "You can't keep doing that Jones."
"Doing what?" I backed into a rail. There was nowhere to run as my captain continued his approach.
"Avoiding us. You don't like strangers touching you, and that's fine, but we're your family now. It hurts us when you pull away, and not hugging can't be good for you neither." Luffy stretched slightly, planting his hands on the rail to either side of me and leaning right into my face. "I'm going to hug you now. This isn't op- opti- you don't get a choice. You will be hugged- captain's orders."
Rubber arms wrapped around me before I could protest. I went stiff- although at least he'd told me first. Luffy was… surprisingly gentle, actually. And… small. I knew intellectually that my captain wasn't a big man- he was only an inch taller than me- but with how strong he was, and the force of his personality… I dunno, I'd just expected him to feel… bigger. But the rubber captain felt so small pressed up against me, scrawny and wiry like one of my little cousins. Who must be getting close to Luffy's age, now that I thought about it.
For the first thirty seconds or so, the hug made me supremely uncomfortable. But as time passed and Luffy didn't let go, it became easier. Even pleasant. At some point I noticed I was shaking; I don't know when it started. Luffy held me tighter as the shaking grew worse, drawing me in as I grew weaker. Soon I found myself wrapping my own arms around my captain, bowing my head and pressing my face into a rubber shoulder. I couldn't… I didn't even know whether the shaking was from laughter, fear, or tears I couldn't shed. My feelings were all tangled, confused… All I could think to do was apologize again.
"I'm sorry Captain. I don't mean… I didn't want… When I jumped in front of the T-Rex…"
"Shh… It's okay Jones. Just don't do stuff like that again. Okay?"
"Hai…" Luffy let me go, smiling. I rubbed my eyes on the back of my hand to make sure there were no tears there. Nothing. Good.
"How did you do that, anyway?" I asked, desperately looking for a way to change the subject. "Bypass my Devil Fruit, I mean." Because no way had Luffy figured out Haki yet. I hadn't even tried to explain it to people.
Luffy shrugged. "Fist of Love. Grandpa used to do it to me'n Ace all the time; if you hit someone you care about hard enough, no Devil Fruit can protect them."
"I know that," I told him, rolling my eyes. "Maudit, I even know how Garp does it- or at least, I think I do. What I want to know is how you did it, when I know for a fact that you don't know how to bypass Devil Fruits yet!" I punctuated my thought with a burst of force.
Shrugging again, Luffy picked his nose. "I dunno. I just think about how much I care about everyone, and then I hit you. It seems to work. I practiced on pillows until they exploded."
Okay. None of that made sense to me. I decided not to question it. Yet. Maybe if I ever saw Garp again, he would have an explanation I could understand. Although it was Garp, so maybe not.
Hooves clattered on wood. Chopper bounded over and landed between me and Luffy, shifting into brain point and wringing his hooves. "Um, could you please not hit Jones? She hasn't quite finished healing yet."
"Thank you…" I kind of wondered why the doctor hadn't intervened earlier, to be honest. Maybe he'd been below decks or something. I wiped the blood from my head again; thankfully it had stopped bleeding by now, so there wasn't very much. Chopper turned towards me.
"Besides, I finally have things ready to do those tests Doctorine said Jones needed." Tabarnak. I'd been hoping he'd forgotten about those, since he hadn't brought them up since leaving Drum. But apparently he'd just been gathering what he needed, or setting something up or something. I took a step back.
"Um… I know Kureha said there was something about my vitals, but I feel fine now, so can we leave it? I'm sure they've gone back to normal." Pat. Pat. Pat. I backed away from Chopper slowly, hoping to find someone to hide behind. Sadly, Ghin wasn't around.
"No, no, no, I need to make sure. I should've done it days ago, but I- erm… I forgot." Chopper fiddled with his hooves some more. Then he pulled out a needle from… somewhere. A shiver of disgust ran up my spine. I hate needles. So many bad experiences… One time, a nurse missed the blood vessels in my arm so badly that the needle scraped the bone. Not fun.
Chopper came closer, two steps for every one I took. "Come on Jones, it'll just take a minute. I thought you were the brave, crazy one."
"In most situations, yes. Here, not so much." To Hell with backing away slowly. I turned around and jogged away. Needles may have been inevitable back home, but I didn't have to put up with them here! Nope, nope, nope, no more bone scraping for me.
"Hey!" Chopper switched to walk point and galloped after me, easily gaining. Okay, trying to escape a reindeer on foot wasn't the brightest idea. And with one arm still in a cast, I couldn't escape by climbing into the rigging- even if doing so would only have prompted Luffy or someone to bring me down and hand me over to the doctor anyway, it would've bought me a few seconds.
I considered absorbing friction as I ran, but that would just make me slide around, and might not even affect Chopper- I still didn't know quite how that aspect of my powers worked. Looking back over my shoulder was a poor idea- all it did was show me a reindeer hot on my heels, and distract me from watching where I was going. Tripping over a wrench that Usopp had left lying around, I crashed headlong into the mast. Oww… I rubbed my head, rolling to the side to avoid Chopper. Although all that rolling made me dizzy, especially after the recent head trauma. Lines and dots spun in front of my eyes.
The repeated blows to the head and spinning around caused an epiphany though. I'd been thinking about my friction powers all wrong. Absorbing friction would only make me slide around, but… what if I increased the force of friction? It could give me more traction while running, or… The thought made me smile.
Ducking under Chopper's needle, I ran at the mast. My focus shifted to my feet. Just like wall runs at parkour… step and stick, step and stick. But where those had a pretty hard limit on how long they could last- or at least how long I could maintain them… I increased the force of friction between my feet and the mast, more, and more, and more… How much was needed, I didn't know. More than the force of gravity pulling down on me, but I didn't have any way of measuring that.
Three steps was usually my limit. This time I went four, five, six… Around ten steps up though, things got- painful. The muscles in my legs and back cramped in a weird way, something I'd never experienced before. I found my body flopping backwards, gravity pulling on the parts of me not in immediate contact with the mast until I could no longer keep a grip on the mast even with my powers. My back met the deck a second later with an echoing thud, knocking the wind out of me. "Oww…"
Before I could get up, Chopper was standing over me. "You shouldn't be trying to train yet," the reindeer said reproachfully. I groaned.
"That's not what I was doing." Although it would be what I was doing as soon as I could get away with it. This friction thing had potential. Maybe if I used my hands too- went the Spiderman route, rather than the Naruto route… Yes, that might work.
Shaking his head, Chopper popped back into brain point and jammed the needle into my shoulder before I could get up. Ow! I swatted at the doctor, but he dodged out of the way, pulling back with a full needle of my blood. I froze, blinking, for an instant. Huh. Sure it hurt, but that wasn't nearly as bad as most needles I'd had in the past. The doctor snickered.
"There. That wasn't so bad, was it?"
"I guess not…" I sat up slowly, rubbing the back of my head. Chopper smiled.
"Great! Now, come with me. I need to check your pulse and blood pressure while the other tests are running." Unwilling to let me try and escape again, Chopper switched to heavy point and picked me up over his shoulder. He carried me into the galley and plopped me on the bench, wrapping a blood pressure cuff around my arm and pulled out a stethoscope to check my heartbeat. This happened twice- once right away, and once a few minutes later when my heartbeat had calmed down. I sighed heavily and watched as Chopper made notes and performed tests on my blood sample. At first I was confused that he'd only needed one vial, but…
Well, he really wasn't performing a lot of tests. And they all seemed to come out of an episode of Murdoch Mysteries. Which, sure, that would pick up most common toxins, but what about hormones? Genetics? I was halfway amazed when I saw him write down my blood type, since that was at the very cutting edge of the nineteenth century technology Chopper seemed to be using. Was Drum Island- famous for its medicine- really that far behind tech-wise?
"Um… Exactly what tests are you doing?"
"Blood cell count, toxin analysis, check all vitals, x-ray… why?" Chopper paused in setting up his giant, clunky x-ray camera that looked like something from a Victorian magazine. He even had a tiny lead apron that he'd put on while I wasn't looking. "Speaking of which… hold still."
There was a series of flashes as Chopper took his pictures, switching out plates and putting them to one side to develop. I tried very hard to follow his instructions, even as my eyes watered from the lights. And my nose started to itch something fierce. Mustn't sneeze, mustn't sneeze, mustn't sne- aw, tabarnak.
"ACHOO!" Why was it that every other girl I'd ever met had tiny, delicate little sneezes, but mine sounded like a bomb going off?
Chopper shot me a reproachful look as he pulled out the last x-ray plate. I shrugged helplessly and started to get up, only to be held down by a tiny hoof. I frowned. "What? Do you still need me?"
"Well, I suppose not really, but don't you want to know what the results are?"
Wow. That was fast. My eyebrows rose in surprise. "Already? Really? It doesn't take, like, a week or so of puzzling things over and going through data for you to tell me that I'm fine and can get back to training as soon as my cast comes off?"
"No." Chopper wrinkled his muzzle. "Both because I have the results right now, and because you're not fine to get back to training as soon as your cast comes off. Look at these!" The doctor waved several pieces of paper and one of the x-ray plates in front of my face.
I looked… And was thoroughly confused. Why was he so concerned? They looked normal to me, the same as any x-ray I'd had in the past. Well, except for the blurry one from when I sneezed. And the heartrate and blood pressure looked like my last checkup. I admit I didn't understand a lot of the other results though- especially some of the stuff from the toxin analysis. It was made even harder by Chopper's not-particularly-neat handwriting. "Okay, looking… I don't see what you're so worried about."
"You… What?" Chopper looked from me to my medical details and back. "How do you not-? Well, I suppose you don't have any medical training…" The little doctor sighed.
"Maybe I don't have any medical training, but I do know what my own results look like; I've been to a doctor's office before. Even worked as a filing clerk in one. And those look just like my results from a year ago." Well, aside from the sketch Chopper had done indicating the locations and states of healing of all my scars. Most of them were new.
"But…" Chopper frowned, trying to assemble his words.
Oh. Oh. I had some idea what might've caused this. A quick look around assured me that the two of us were alone in the galley- specifically, I was making sure Vivi, Carue, Jack, and Mairead weren't around. It was time.
"Look, Chopper, there's something you should know." I took my hat off and ran my hand through my hair. "I- It makes sense that my medical results aren't what you're expecting. You know how I said I was a witch?"
"Yeah…" Dark eyes grew wider, staring at me. "What about it?"
"That's… not entirely true. Or at least, not how I know everything I know." I fiddled with my necklace. This was going to be harder than it was with the crew at first. But he was on the crew now, so he needed to know. "I'm not the same species of human you're used to dealing with- or at least, probably not. I'm not even from this world. The country I came from, it's in a completely separate dimension where all this," I waved my hand at everything around us, "Is a series of stories."
Chopper blinked at me for a couple of long, slow minutes. His nose twitched as he sniffed me curiously. Then he sighed. "I don't smell any drugs, and there weren't any on your toxin analysis… Maybe I should be checking you for psychiatric disorders- you seem to be delusional."
Well, I wasn't about to deny that. But this wasn't a topic I was delusional about. I shrugged. "Not sure how to prove it to you just yet, so… What's so weird about my test results? Maybe that'll explain some things."
"Where do I start?!" Chopper's voice squeaked from distress- or maybe puberty. He was fifteen, after all. "You're missing entire organ systems! Your eyes don't luminesce, and you're missing the muscles around them to make expressions properly- how do people know when you're happy or excited about something when your eyes can't change shape? Not to mention how bare your bones are."
"WHAT?!" What did that even mean?
"Everyone else I've ever met had these fibres attached to their skeletons, acting as a type of reinforcement. Yours… nothing. How do you not break them more often- aside from your arm and tailbone, none of them show signs of punishment?!" Chopper was hyperventilating now, tugging on the brim of his hat and laying his ears flat against his skull. "Your heartrate's low, especially considering your blood pressure; so is your temperature. Most of these scars should've healed better- your healing rate is normal, but your body's sloppy about it for some reason. Your jaw doesn't dislocate properly, and you're missing your exasperation glands! And yet somehow- somehow- you still have the same blood type as Usopp, Ghin, and Lisa. Half of me wants to believe you just based on your anatomy, while half of me wonders how you've even survived to adulthood!"
The little doctor groaned and rubbed his head. "There's still so much I need to learn… But- even in Doctorine's books, I've never read about anyone like you. The closest was a man born with malfunctioning exasperation glands- no one could read his emotions properly because he sweatdropped at inappropriate times, or not at all when most would. People thought he was crazy; eventually he did go crazy. Some sort of weird infection that everyone else was immune to."
This was getting weird. What was the point of having a moment like this? Aside from maybe me telling Chopper where I was from, at any rate. Or… I replaced my hat with a sigh and rubbed my eyes. "I don't know what to say, Choppy. I've actually been wanting to ask you about some of those things- the eyes, mostly. Guess I just got the answer. I'm not imagining it; biology really is different here."
Chopper stared for a long time, shaking his head slowly. "So… You're a different kind of human from a different world. It does make sense, even if it sounds impossible. Cool."
"Sesehihihihihihi!" I couldn't help it. Chopper jumped at my sudden laughter; I bit the inside of my cheek until it stopped. And yes, I did taste a little bit of blood near the end. "Sorry… It's just, where I come from, the stories of this world are famous for treating the impossible like the everyday, so you calling me impossible…"
"I… guess impossible depends on your point of view?" The doctor shrugged helplessly.
"Fair enough…" Oh, I know! How about I start throwing a wrench in some of the Germa's future plotting? Let's see… About a month before I came to this world, it was revealed that Sanji and his siblings were… Yes. "How about we see exactly how different I am from the people you're used to treating?"
Chopper wrinkled his muzzle in confusion. "What- what do you mean?"
"You'll see." I pulled out some paper and a pen and began sketching a design. It would be primitive, but it would get the job done for now. We could figure out something better once we'd had a chance to study things a bit- and maybe once Franky was with us. This might be more towards his end of the tinkering spectrum. "Okay, it might take a few days for Johnny and Yosaku to build it- maybe we can get Usopp in too, but he's busy- and we'll need to steal some gelatin from the galley, unless we get to a market before then to buy some of our own. What else? We'll need some good, strong rum; pineapple juice; oh, and access to the freezer, unless you have a medical one of your own?"
"Of course I do!" Chopper looked mildly affronted as he gestured towards a large metal box. "Wait- what's all this for?"
"Basic genetic analysis, of course. Rum, pineapple juice, and the freezer to separate the DNA from the cells… The gel electrophoresis won't work the best with gelatin, but I don't know how to make the gel that's normally used, so it'll have to do. We should get some sort of results, at any rate." Oh, it felt so good to talk science with someone who might understand! Or perhaps not… Chopper was giving me a glazed look. I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "Eheh… Sorry. I just geeked everywhere."
"No, no, no! It's fine!" The little doctor waved his hooves frantically before fiddling with the hem of his jersey. "Please, tell me more. Can this DNA stuff… Can it be used medically?"
"I think so. It's not something I know how to do though- my studies were more in ecology than medicine."
"That's fine." Chopper beamed. "Once this is built, we can learn together!"
"Aye…" I smiled and reached out to ruffle the reindeer's fur. Next stop, the bilge. And if any of Johnny and Yosaku's traps hit Choppy… A crazed grin crossed my face at the thought. I could always use more sparring partners. Ghin- while he still trounced my ass every time- was getting repetitive. It was time for some fresh blood.
X
By the time I left the galley, my eyes were spinning. I hadn't answered so many questions about genetics since my second-year microbiology exam. And not just that. Chopper was just so curious, and talking science with him felt so good… Before I knew it, I'd been drawing cell diagrams and tracing out the Krebs and Calvin cycles. The doctor also demanded that I show and tell everything I knew about anatomy, so he could begin comparing my biology to what he was used to on a large scale before getting into a molecular one. Between the two of us, we'd filled an entire notebook with diagrams and little info blurbs.
We'd even called in Johnny and Yosaku at one point to give them my plans, rather than heading down to the bilge mid-discussion. The hunters had squawked loudly at the designs I'd sketched out, but eventually decided that they could probably build something like that. They'd try it out, at least. Although… In return, they'd demanded something they thought impossible- they wanted me to help them plan and pull off a prank that would not only go down in history- by which they meant actual history, as in the prank encompassed more than just members of our crew- and would not get Nami angry at us.
They thought it was impossible, but I had just the thing. And if it worked, not only would we avoid the sailing master's ire, but she would be happy with us. So I smiled at their demand and told the hunters to be ready, and that we could pull something grand in Water Seven.
All in all, it was nearly dinner time when Chopper suddenly jumped and hit himself in the forehead. "Ah! Sorry Jones; I almost forgot. It's still not healed enough for you to be training and such, but I can take your cast off now. The break's more or less gone. Just… Don't use your right arm for anything more strenuous than writing for at least a few days, okay?"
"I make no promises," I told him, holding out the limb in question. Chopper sighed and shook his head, but began cutting through the plaster anyway.
"Just, please, no sparring," he begged. "Usopp told me what you and Ghin get up to sometimes."
"Fine, fine. I promise I won't start sparring right away." A day. I could wait at least that long. "You have my word as a practitioner of karate-do."
"And leave your training weights off for a while too!" the reindeer called after me as I headed back out onto the deck. I shook my head at that one. Silly Choppy… didn't you notice? I've been wearing them this whole time.
Since I'd managed to only promise that I wouldn't spar, I immediately headed for the mast. Time to try this again. This time instead of running at the mast, I planted both hands on it and increased friction before stepping up. The first few moments were awkward and uncertain- I still felt like I was going to peel off and fall over backwards- but by keeping my body close to the wood, I was able to crawl up like an ant. Or maybe a spider. It was hard, but manageable. My wrists and ankles burned by the time I reached the yardarm, but it was a good burn. Like after doing a bunch of push-ups.
Swinging my legs over the yardarm, I settled in and paused for a break. Seconds later, Luffy swung up beside me, rubber smacking on wood as he landed. "Shishishishishi! That was pretty cool Jones! You can climb walls!"
"Thank you, Captain Obvious." I rolled my eyes, but at the same time, I was smiling.
"Silly Jones; my name's Luffy, not Obvious." Luffy grinned and bounced, wrapping his legs around the yardarm and leaning back until he was hanging upside down. "Did you just learn to do that?"
"Yep. Friction's another force- it's not just the force of impact I get to play with. Which could be scary, considering…" I trailed off as I remembered the other forces I'd learned about in school. Scary, but useful. Still, I'd take it one at a time. This new thing with friction especially- if I didn't give myself plenty of time to master this, I could fall off something I was climbing, and I wouldn't always be working over something as friendly as the deck of the Going Merry.
Luffy nodded sagely, which looked ridiculous when he was still hanging upside down. "So… You gonna name this one?"
"Eh? No. Why would I? This isn't for combat; I'm just climbing a wall." I shook my head. "What would I call it, anyway? Keppler's Headache? Fuck Off Gravity? Spider Climb?"
Luffy shrugged. "Just cause it's not usually a fighting thing doesn't mean you don't name it." My captain shot me a look that questioned my intelligence, which was rich coming from him. "Like… I almost never use Gum-Gum Rocket in a fight anymore, but it's still cool, so I still use the name."
"And that's because it's cool, not because Ace named it for you?" I asked, raising my eyebrow and snickering. Luffy stuck out his tongue at me.
"Stupid Jones, knowing everything… Stop that!"
"Sorry Captain; can't. I wouldn't be me if I forgot everything I knew." A smug smirk grew on my face. "Especially not if I forget everything I know about this world. You have no idea how much your story shaped me… How much it helped me at times. And now, being here…" Gods above and below, I was going to cry. The tears welled up so suddenly… I couldn't let my captain see, couldn't let him think I might be weak. Rather than continuing, I channelled force through all four limbs and climbed again.
Up, up, up… Past the crow's nest, until I was perched on the very tip of the mast. Keeping my balance wasn't the easiest- as high as I was, the gentle sway of the wind and waves was magnified tenfold. But I'd been a figure skater for ten years; balance was my strong point. The Jolly Roger flapped below me as I curled into a ball, hiding my face in my knees. But at least I could be alone up there- or so I thought.
"Jones…" A glance downwards showed Luffy right below me, his limbs wrapped around the mast as he inched up like some great, rubbery caterpillar. A moment later he was on my back, hugging for all he was worth to keep from falling off. Warm rubber encased me nearly completely. My anxiety spiked at the initial contact, although it was soon buried by the need to adjust my balance so we didn't both fall into the sea. Luffy's breath tickled on the back of my neck.
"Go away Captain. It's dangerous for us to be up here, especially with you clinging to me like that. Don't you need to steal some bacon from Sanji or something?"
Luffy ignored my words, although his stomach growled briefly when I said bacon. Rubber fingers twined themselves into my ponytail. "Jones… It's okay to cry, you know. We won't think less of you for it."
"Eh?" I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand. "Wha- What're you talking about? I'm not crying."
"But-!"
"I'm not," I insisted, forcing the tears back. "You're just imagining things."
Luffy pouted. "I don't think so…" But despite continuing to cling to my back, he didn't push. Which was… nice. And besides, it's not like he could've done anything about these tears even if I'd been willing to say anything. There was no one for him to fight, no injury that could be cured by dragging me back to Chopper. These weren't pained tears. I was crying because it had finally hit me- I had a home here; I had friends and family and a place where, despite the danger we put ourselves in simply by flying a black flag, I felt safe.
For the first time in I-don't-know how many years, I had somewhere I belonged. How had it taken me this long to notice?
X
Predawn watch was always the worst- cold and clammy and so very, very lonely. Ruatha and I were the only ones awake on the ship, at least for another hour or two before Sanji got up to make breakfast. I yawned and shivered, hugging my dragonet closer for warmth. Not that he provided much, mind. He may not have been cold blooded, but he wasn't exactly warm blooded either.
"Malbrii!" Ruatha trilled, stretching his head over mine to peer at the horizon. I turned to see what he was looking at and smiled. Sunrise. It was always beautiful, the one upside of this particular watch shift. The sky glowed amber and red as the golden light painted the sea rich violet. I wished I had a camera, or maybe one of those visual den-den I knew existed. But no, Samsung was only a phone. That thought made me chuckle; back home, I'd said the same thing about my cellphone whenever someone would ask me if I had such-and-such an app. No smartphones for me, thanks; I had enough trouble with tech as it was.
Then I paused and considered the possible merits of smartphone den-den mushi, and setting up a sort of internet through the use of such. It wasn't a bad idea per say- actually, it might be quite useful for sharing information between pirate crews and the Revolutionary Army. We'd just have to make sure no marines got in on it. But how…? Eh, I'd worry about that later. Need to do some research first, see if the idea was feasible, if it had been tried before… The scientist in me would enjoy the challenge.
Below me, the ship slowly came to life. First came light steps and the smell of baking bread from the galley; soon after, Merry was covered in the sounds of stomping feet and laughter, the clatter of the anchor chain rising and shouts from Nami back to whoever was taking first shift at the helm. I think it was Yosaku that day. A screech from Miss Friday, followed by a yelp- someone had tried to pet the vulture. Off in the distance, there was a faint huff as a slanted whale spout puffed against the horizon. All in all, the air was quickly filled with the sounds and smells of life. It made me smile.
No one needed me on deck just yet, so I stayed in the crow's nest despite my watch shift being technically over. The sun continued to rise, the sky shifting from a painting of watercolour fire to brilliant, adventurous blue. Or at least, most of it. A large area straight ahead of us was full of dense, shifting fog as far as the eye could see. Even that was beautiful in its own way, the mist shining silver, blue, and green with the reflected rays of the sun. Still, if that was the way we were headed, it would make navigation difficult.
I climbed out of the crow's nest and slid down the mast, jogging up to the bow where Nami and the Unluckies stood. "Don't suppose we're changing course any time soon?"
Mr Thirteen shook his head and raised a sign. Nope. Straight ahead. Why?
Shrugging, I gestured forwards. "That mist looks pretty heavy is all."
Nami nodded without looking at me. "You didn't happen to see a way around it, did you Jones?"
"Nope. Sorry."
The sailing master sighed. "Then we'll have to go through. Just take it slow; for all we know, it's full of reefs and wrecks."
Concerned, I glanced at her map. "Are there supposed to be any in the area?"
That earned me a staff to the head; I absorbed most of the force with a wince, rubbing at the small sting leftover. Seriously… Would people please stop hitting me in the head? My brain was my best weapon! "No, but that doesn't mean there aren't any! This is the Grand Line- you yourself called it the sea where sanity goes to die! Who knows what sort of things could rise and fall? Even in a normal sea, a tectonic shift or a strong current can change the bottom in minutes."
"Sorry, sorry. I just don't remember there being any reefs or anything around here in ca- in my visions." I changed what I was going to say at the last minute, eyeing the Unluckies warily. "Although I admit, with Mr Thirteen leading us, we're probably not going exactly the route I expected."
Nodding, Nami put her staff away. "I- I'm sorry too. I don't know what came over me there; you were being dumb, but not enough to warrant a beating." The sailing master stared out at the mist and shuddered. "There's just… I'm a bit on edge this morning, and I don't know why."
"It's probably the mist," I said, reaching up to pat Ruatha on the head. "Sometimes bad weather can make anxiety worse; happens to me a lot."
"Yeah… Yeah, you're probably right. I'll feel better once the fog burns off. It's a sunny day with low humidity, it shouldn't take long." Nami turned tome and smiled. "Thanks Jones."
A/N: And here is where Crossing the Rainbow Mists fits chronologically in my story. Yes, I consider it canon enough to give it a little lead in from the main story, as well as a couple lasting consequences afterwards.