Calm Before a Storm. And Then the Storm.


The streets were fairly empty that Sunday. Whether it was because of the oncoming storm or because business was just running slowly, it was anyone's guess as to why not many people were about…

Just kidding, it was definitely because of the oncoming storm. Half of the city had already done their annual evacuation by this point.

Of course, not many people would think that a storm was on the horizon if they didn't know much about the island. To an average tourist, the sunny skies devoid of clouds promised only beautiful weather and pleasant days. Luckily, I wasn't the average tourist. Something big was coming.

But for now, although the streets were quiet, business carried on as usual, albeit without expectation for many customers. Hardware stores sold their wares and clothing shops preached their low prices. Far off you could hear the telltale sounds of hammers thudding against wood from the shipbuilding district, and in the canals that separated the streets and houses of the island like a watery labyrinth, water taxis and small businesses on boats drifted lazily.

I sat on the edge of the street, legs dangling over the lightly lapping waves in the canal as I watched the goings of the people around me, a light smile adorning my face. It was calming, really, which was strange considering the fact that there should have been some sense of foreboding for the soon to come wrath of Mother Nature. Then again, considering that this was the Grand Line, events like that were probably pretty tame compared to what else is out there.

I took a deep breath, relishing the scent of the ocean breeze that came from the water below. Man, vacation felt good.

"Hey, old man," I said, tilting my head a little to the left to look at the person I was speaking to. "How's that food coming along?"

Just to my side, a small boat floated. It looked like someone had taken a gondola, made it wider, given it a roof, and made it into a bar. Spices sat on precariously installed racks, a stovetop stood next to a large cutting board, and a tiny fridge was fit underneath the counter. Standing in front of the cooking tools, a short man was giving me the stink eye. He wore grey pants, a worn brown apron, and a green shirt with an orange flower print top over it. In his hand was a rather large bottle of booze.

"Keep your pants on brat!" He practically spat, taking a swig from the bottle. I only smiled. He was rude, but that wasn't uncommon in this world. And I actually found it welcoming. Not many people back on Earth participated in that "grumpy old man and spry youth" byplay that this guy did, so I played along and found that I liked it.

I waited patiently as he took a few more swigs before reaching for a knife that was hanging over the kitchen. He grabbed it, and the weight promptly made his arms fall on to the cutting board. Shakily, he lifted the knife again, pulling a bundle of scallions on to the board.

If it were any other old geezer showing that kind of unsteadiness while cooking, I would have been concerned for their safety, but I knew he would be fine. Just needed to wait…

Suddenly, he started chopping. It was paradoxical how his hands still shook, but the rise and fall was as steady as a metronome. With practiced ease he finished the onions and started up the flame on the stove, cracking two eggs into a greased pan and swirling them around before tossing in the onions. Then came a bowl of cooked rice, a bowl of spices…

And a tablespoon of salt.

He flipped the fried rice a few times before spooning it on to two plates in front of him. The aroma of the simple meal was heavenly, and I could see some passerby turn their heads towards the plates as they caught the scent.

He moved the plates off of his workplace and on to the countertop of the bar before looking towards me. "There kid, eat up."

I got up and stepped into the boat, sitting down at the long-cushioned bench that he had installed in front of the bar. Grabbing a spoon, I quietly tilted my head his way with a soft "thank you" before digging in.

The show really didn't do this meal justice when Sanji ate it. It was like the very essence of the sea exploded in my mouth. A subtle taste of seafood gave the rice incredible flavor, and the light amount of salt just touching my taste buds practically made me beg for the next spoonful before I'd even swallowed. I felt like I had become one with the sea, like Poseidon himself had presented this dish before me, and within it revealed all of the secrets of his grand kingdom! It just tasted so good-

And my then plate was empty. I stared at it in shock. That was Shokugeki no Soma levels of food hallucinations.

I looked up at the chef, who was scratching an itch somewhere in his grey mustache while looking at me smugly, then back at the plate. Chef. Plate.

This was the definition of don't judge a book by its cover.

He gulped down some of his booze and set it down on the counter. "So, how was it kid?" He asked while cocking a bushy eyebrow.

I gulped. Jesus Christ, even the aftertaste was packed with flavor. "Probably one of the best things I've ever eaten, gramps."

His chuckle spoke of how pleased he was. Not cocky, but genuinely pleased that he provided a fulfilling meal, something that any chef worth their salt would be proud of.

"Glad you enjoyed it," he held out his hand, palm up. "Now pay up."

I froze. Honestly, I hadn't thought about pay when I'd come here. I just wanted to check off 'Eating Banban's Rice" from my bucket list, but my excitement made me completely forget that I needed Beris to buy anything here!

Chuckling, I started to rock lightly in my seat, a nervous tick that I'd picked up sometime in my early teens. "About that… uh…" I coughed to the side. "I'mkindofdeadbroke," I mumbled.

Banban's ears must have been pretty good for a guy his age, because his face morphed into one of fury. "Then why did I even feed you then!" He tried to jump over the counter to snatch the second plate away but I managed to grab it in time and hold up a hand placatingly.

"Woah woah! Hold on! I can pay you later you just have to give me a bit I swear!" I had to hold him back from getting the other plate as I held it as far from him as I could.

"And how can I trust you to keep your word, eh?!" He spat, some droplets hitting me in the face.

'Gross.'

Struggling to wipe off the spit while holding him back and holding away the other plate, I spoke. "Because I would never accept a meal without expecting to pay the chef. There's a lot of pride in cooking and I'm not going to spit on that by just getting up and leaving!"

The struggling stopped as he fixed me with an unreadable look. "What do you know about the pride of a chef, kid?"

I took the reprieve of his attack to wipe off the rest of the spit with my sleeve. "I'm a bit of a chef myself," I mumbled. "Not as good as you, but enough that I know the pride that comes with giving someone a good meal. And when you're cooking for a living, making a career out of filling stomachs and giving comfort, it's insulting to not get paid." I managed to get all of the spit off. "You've learned how to make that food through years of experience. You've taken your time to make the greatest plate for your customer, and its only right that they give you at least your due money."

He kept up his stare for a few seconds before leaning against the counter with a sigh. "Fine, I'll let you off for now." He held up his finger. "But on one condition. If you really are a chef, you can tell me exactly what made that rice so good. Otherwise, I'm taking that plate back. I'm hungry anyway."

There was silence as I processed what he said. It was the exact same challenge that he'd given Sanji in the show, so I knew the answer, but it felt kind of unfair to get it right just because of that. 'Not like I have much of a choice though,' I thought. The second plate was for Aria after all.

I sighed. "It's the salt. You collected the salt from the aftermath of Aqua Laguna, which would make it chock full of minerals from across each of the seas that connect to the Grand Line. That's why the food tastes so good." I paused before elaborating a bit more. "My guess is that besides the trace minerals that you often find in the sea there are hints of monosodium glutamate in the salt that enhance the flavor." That last bit was a complete shot in the dark. I might as well try to put my own cooking knowledge to the test to make my response more sincere. And besides, I was curious to see if my suspicions were correct.

Banban hummed before cracking a small grin and chuckling. "You're right. About the salt being the secret at least. The minerals inside of it are a bit more complicated than just plain ol' MSG though kid. Good try." He waved me off. "Go on, get me my money before the end of the day. Aqua Laguna is coming at midnight and you can't pay me when I'm out of the city."

I let out a breath that I didn't know I'd been holding. "Thanks gramps. Mind packing the plate in a take-out bag before I go?"

A few minutes later I found myself walking down the streets of the city to meet up with Aria. We had split up earlier, mostly so that we could see the sights independently, but also because I wanted her to grab me something from the shipping area while I picked us up something to eat.

Our journey so far had been, frankly, amazing. The first few stops we had made were some major cities on Earth (or, well, an alternate pandemic free Earth) that I had always wanted to see for myself. Paris, Shanghai, Chicago, Tokyo, Dubai, I probably told her to put in coordinates for about fifty places before she got frustrated with me and practically screamed for us to go to other planets. Something about humans having short lives and there being a whole multiverse to see?

I dunno man, I could have done New York City a few more times. Maybe I'm just biased because most of my family and I are from there?

Nah.

I came to a stop at the designated meeting place, a large bridge that hung over a canal. I didn't see her, figured she was running behind, and I took a seat at a bench that on the edge of the bridge. I leaned back and took in the view. It was picturesque really.

The buildings on the sides of the canal ended about a block out to make room for a set of market squares, creating a perfectly unobstructed view of the colossal fountain that towered over the city. Great arcs of water cascaded downwards into aqueducts that created rivers of flowing water that headed directly to the sea. Just above the fountain and to the right the sun shone merrily downwards, its light bouncing off of the waterfall spray to create a set of rainbows, completing the perfect image.

Water 7. Located in the section of the Grand Line known as Paradise, it's the center of shipbuilding in all of the seas. Home to the famous Galley-La company which employs the most efficient and capable shipwrights to build masterpieces that can stand all that the Grand Line has to throw at seafaring sailors. It's likely one of the most recognizable locations to anybody who has deigned to read or watch the famous shonen series 'One Piece.'

I'd decided to make this place my inter-universal first stop for two reasons, one of them being Aria's insistence on traveling somewhere with good food (turns out genies are gluttons), and the other being because I recognized just how crazy cool it would be to see that fountain. I mean, come on. The tallest building on Earth is the Burj Khalifa, a masterpiece of design sure but it was essentially just a needle poking out of the ground.

Water 7 blows that out of the water. Pun intended.

Saying that the fountain is massive is like saying bacteria was small. A gross understatement. Water 7 has a certain presence that not many places have achieved in creating. The entire city is a testament to how life can survive and thrive even in the middle of one of the most dangerous parts of the universe. Note that the Grand Line throws everything and the kitchen sink at people that brave its waters. Sudden blizzards, giant sea serpents, ships falling out of the sky, moving storms that just make sailors disappear.

Aqua Laguna.

But Water 7 stood against all of that. It lived and it proved its mettle through trial and error, and of course a little help from a certain company called Tom's Workers.

The Sea Train is so fun to ride by the way. Makes me wonder what the Rocketman is like… but I digress.

On my bucket list, Water 7 was probably close to the top in "Places I've Always Wanted to Visit."

I sat there and took in the sights, feeling another pound of stress from the past year just melt off. I probably sat there for fifteen minutes without saying a word, until I heard the sound something scraping against stone.

I looked to my left to see a pretty amusing sight. It was Aria, now sporting some fair white skin in order to blend in with civilians, pulling an extremely large and complicated looking contraption along with her as she approached my bench. When she made it to me, she dropped the device with a thump and sat down panting hard.

My smile turned into a teasing smirk. "You're late."

The dope slap that hit the back of my head was probably well deserved. Didn't stop me from laughing though.

She gave me a glare as she leaned back against the bench to catch her breath. "Why didn't… you tell me… that it was going to be that big!?"

I glanced at the object that I had told her to buy for me. "Honestly, I didn't know that they could even look like that. I'm guessing when you told Galley-La what I wanted to do with it they tricked it out even more?"

At this point her breathing had gotten back to a normal pace. "Yeah. They also told me that you were certifiably insane, something that I'm inclined to agree with. I had to pay them double the original price too!"

I hummed. "Speaking of money, you mind giving me a few Beris so that I can pay the chef that cooked for me."

Her head whipped my way. "Wait, you didn't get me anything?!"

I blinked for a second before I realized what I had said. "Sorry, I phrased that wrong." I pulled out the packed fried rice from under the bench. "Of course I got you something, I'm not that cruel."

Her eyes lasered in on the meal and she ripped the bag out of my hands, along with the plastic spoon that I had asked for before I left the restaurant, and proceeded to dig in at speeds that would put a certain future King of the Pirates to shame. "Oh, sweet merciful heavens," she said hardly a minute later, the empty box sitting in her lap as she passed me a few bills worth of beris. "I was so hungry. That was the best meal I've ever had."

"I'll be sure to tell Banban that you enjoyed it." I looked at the money in my hand as a question came to me. "Where did you even get this money from anyway?" Looking up, I noted with a little concern that Aria's face had gone blank.

She waved her hands slowly. "Maaagic."

"You stole it didn't you?"

"No, I used magic."

"Magic to pilfer money from their wallets?"

"O-only at the start! Then I realized that I could just use money that people lost, like in drains and stuff!"

I sighed. "Please tell me you gave them the money back."

She huffed. "Of course I did. They never noticed a thing!"

Our back and forth trailed off there as we settled into a comfortable silence. As she started to relax Aria let go of the illusion she had cast and her skin shimmered back into its natural blue state.

"It really is a beautiful city," she spoke up. "At some point I just stopped believing that my seal would ever be broken. Now I'm here seeing things I never thought that I'd see…" There was a lapse in her speech. "It's nice," she finished after a moment. "Though, I honestly thought you would want to see some more… chaotic places since you complained so much about it being quiet during your lockdown."

The mischievous grin that broke out on my face likely did not give her solace. "Oho don't worry, I have a few ideas that are a bit livelier than Water 7. Though, to be fair, this place is going to become pretty chaotic in a few hours."

She spared a glance towards the device that she had dragged with her. "Speaking of which, are you sure that this is a good idea?"

I also looked at the object as I started shaking with excitement. "I'm sure it'll be fine, I have you to bail me out in case things go wrong."

She gave me a look. "You know that we can only teleport together when we're close, right? How am I going to bail you out?"

The mischievous grin was back. "You'll be with me."

Suddenly, she looked terrified. I couldn't fathom why. "WHAT!? No way! From what you've told me that wave is going to be insane and you want me to go with you!?"

I gestured towards the device on the ground. "Why do you think I asked for it to be so big."

She looked from the device to me. "What!?"

"It's fine, just keep your hand over the watch in case we fall. I've only surfed once, so don't expect me to ride out the whole wave."

Her eyes popped out of her head. "WHAT!?"


Water 7 is known for a lot of thing. It's a testament to the ingenuity of those who have stood against the Grand Line. It's home to this world's greatest shipbuilding company. It's the birthplace of the famous Sea Train, a miracle of the seas that chugs atop water and connects to the island of eternal day where the World Government holds their grand courts, Enies Lobby.

But these aren't the only things that Water 7 is known for. For every year there comes a storm born out of a mix of receding waters and high tide. A tsunami so large that it engulfs half of Water 7 in its furious frothing waters whenever it hits. A force so powerful that every time it hits it sinks the gargantuan city ever so slightly.

Its name is Aqua Laguna, and this year it was more violent than ever.

The sky had become black with clouds. A chilling wind blew through the empty streets and across the waves. Anybody with half a brain had already evacuated, and even the ones without anything knocking around in their heads had taken shelter in the higher levels of the city. A bolt of lightning tore open the sky, illuminating the world in a brief flash before the darkness returned. The rumble of thunder that followed was like the growl of a primordial beast.

In the distance, the shadow of Aqua Laguna could be seen. Even so far from the city, its approaching figure was terrifying in its size, taking up the whole of the horizon from left to right. But if someone looked closely enough, they could just make out a figure on the wave, gliding along its torrential waters.

Three guesses who that figure was, and two don't count!

"WOOOOOOOOOHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

I rode the wave with my arms out for balance as Aria clung to my back screaming her head off. Below us was the surfboard that I ordered, specially tricked out with a few doohickies to help stabilize my less than amateur surfing skills.

Adrenaline rushed through my system like crazy. The shadow of the wave's crest loomed over us, slowly getting ready to crash into the city with untold force and here I was just shredding the wave. Well, maybe shredding was giving me too much credit, but when you were surfing on one of the most infamous tidal waves in fiction you tended to feel like more impressive than you actually were.

Behind me I could hear Aria yelling over the torrent of water. "WE'RE GOING TO DIE! SWEET CREATORS PLEASE NOT YET! I DON'T WANT TO DIE YET! AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Adjusting my position again to keep the balance of the board (I think I'm getting the hang of this!) I turned my head back to her and shouted so she could hear me. "Aria calm down! We won't fall off this board! If this was made by Galley-La then it'll do its job keeping us on this wave! But you need to be able to teleport us out of here on my mark so that we don't crash into Water 7, you hear!? Everything will be okay! I have complete faith in you!" She buried her head into my back and I felt her nod.

Good, cause we're going to need to bail soon.

The wave was about to hit the city, and as much as I was enjoying the excitement, I didn't want to me or Aria become salt pancakes on the side of city's buildings.

I yelled back at her. "Alright, get us out of here Aria!"

I waited for the flash of light that would take us away to a new place, but after a few very long moments it didn't come.

My head snapped back at my passenger. "Aria!?" I could hear the panic seeping into my voice as I saw her fumbling with the Watch.

"My fingers keep slipping!" The Watch was soaked with water, making Aria's fingers slip as she tried to turn the dials to set our next destination.

I looked towards Water 7 and saw that we were going to hit it in just a few more seconds. "Hurry!" I squeaked.

For eight agonizing seconds I watched as the city got closer and closer, and just as I thought we were going to hit I heard Aria shout "Got it!" before we blinked out of existence. The board, now riderless, tumbled into the wave, and the tsunami smashed into the lower parts of the city.

It was a close call, but we made it out. Gotta say, I don't regret it.

Now where should we go next?


A/N:

First stop is Water 7! I'm actually in the middle of One Piece right now, and the Water 7 and Enies Lobby arcs happen to be among my favorites. So, in the interest of my interests I decided to make this my first stop on my written vacation. But seriously, where should I go next? I have a few ideas in mind but it never hurts to have more. And it can really be anywhere from any media. Games, books, movies, shows, whatever. Let me know.

Nothing much else to say besides thanks for reading! See you in the next update, whenever that may be.

Peace.

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