"So Kiana, I never thought this would happen," Robin said as she came up to lean on the railing next to her.
"Kiana?" she asked, "What happened to artist?" Kia said sarcastically.
"Yes, well, it was something I thought I would try," she answered. "Not every idea is a good one."
"Let me guess, you don't think mine is a good one too," Kia said grumpily.
"Whether I do or not doesn't matter," she replied. "Your life is yours to decide. However, I would like to remind you of something."
Kia turned to glance at her, though she was looking out at the water. She listened as Robin spoke of several times that the two had talked before, and the things she said to Robin about the crew. It wasn't as though Kia didn't remember, or that she didn't still feel that way, but hearing it from Robin's perspective made her rethink.
The crew decided to go back for the gold, once they discovered it was missing. A plan began to form, and Robin guided them to an empty dock where they could hide the ship. No one spoke to her, and Kia felt invisible. She knew they weren't doing it to hurt her, they were just focused on what needed to be done… but it was effective.
Finally, Nami walked over and put her hand on Kia's shoulder. "Can you wait for a little while?" she implored. "I mean, you can go if you want, but I could really use a friend."
Kia gave a smile, and nodded, and followed Nami down to their room.
"You may think I don't understand, but I do," Nami said once they sat on their beds. "I'm not exactly the strong one here," she admitted. "And, yes, I've learned how to fight, but that's been years of learning the hard way."
Kia looked at her in question, before realizing that she was talking about her past.
"Back before I met Luffy," she started. "I lived on an island in the East Blue…" Kia listened intently as Nami shared her story. It was slightly different than Kia had heard from the manga or the anime, but her terror was very real. She would still shiver when she mentioned Arlong, though Kia wasn't sure if she realized it.
"You have to be strong, when it's for people you care about," she finished. "You may not think you know that, but you do. I watched you stand up to Eneru, knowing what he was capable of, so that you could save your friends. Just like we do for each other."
"It's not the same Nami…" Kia replied.
"No, not exactly," she agreed. "But you've got to admit it's pretty close."
They heard Usopp yelling for Nami, and she stood up. "We're going to go get the gold. I hope you're here when we get back, but if not, I understand." With that, she walked out the door, and Kia sat alone with her thoughts.
She continued to sit there, as she heard the noise of the crew giving the Merry a disguise, but once she heard Chopper crying, she couldn't stay put any longer. She walked up on deck, seeing him grinding something while he tried to be brave, and she couldn't stop her sad smile.
"Hey Chopper," she said quietly, and he whipped his head around.
"Kia!" He shouted, then slapped his hooves over his mouth. "I'm so happy to see you!" he said more quietly, and ran over, changing to his heavy point on the way and enveloped her in a hug. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he said.
"What are you sorry for?" she asked him with a chuckle.
"For making you feel weak," he answered. Kia rolled her eyes and pushed back from him so she could look in his face.
"You didn't make me feel that way," she answered. "I am weak."
"Doesn't matter," he said with a frown. "I am worried about you, but I went about it wrong. Leaving you alone on the ship at every island would be horrible, believe me, now I know…"
"It's not that Chopper," she said. "Look, I don't really want to go into all this now. I just came to see if you needed help."
"Uh, yeah! I'd love help!" he grinned, changing back into his brain point form. "C'mon!" he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her over.
Obviously I'm having a hard time letting go, she told herself as she worked with Chopper. After all, I don't really want to leave … I just know I should.
Even after Sanji and Nami returned, and Sanji stayed back to help get the ship ready to sail, and even after Usopp, Robin and Zoro returned, Kia still hadn't left. She kept telling herself that she needed to say goodbye to Luffy, that she just wanted to see him again, get one more squishy hug before leaving for good.
They set back out into the water, the battleship disguise was definitely bad, but it worked well enough at a distance. Nami and Luffy soon joined them with the gold, and the crew was celebrating. Luffy caught sight of Kia and walked over, and she stood up to greet him.
"You're still here?" he asked her in disbelief, and she smiled nervously.
"I can't just leave my big brother without saying goodbye," she said, her smile faltering. "Besides, I wanted a hug."
"I don't hug weaklings," he said before he grabbed her into a huge hug. They stood there for a moment, just enjoying it.
"Looks like you just did," she said quietly as she squeezed him back.
"Nah," he said. "You're gonna get stronger.
"I don't think I can," she whispered. "Not strong enough."
"I'll help you," he replied. "What are big brothers for?"
She could feel her eyes well up with tears, as he pulled away. He spoke loudly so that everyone could hear him. "Sorry Kia, but as captain, I refuse your request to leave. If you don't want to be protected at every island, you'll have to learn to protect yourself!"
With that, he walked away towards the bow of the ship. Tears were streaming down her face, and Kia covered her face with her hands. She could hear the others speaking, but she didn't make out the words. Inside she was wrestling, back and forth… Could I? No way, I'll get someone killed if I stay! But, if I could get stronger… He said he'd help me! No! It's too dangerous! But you need help!
Making a decision for better or worse- she wiped her face, and looked up, determined.
"Aye aye, Captain!" Kia yelled, and the crew turned back to look at her, excited and stunned. But Kia only saw the smug grin on Luffy's face, and she matched it with her own, before she was mobbed by Chopper and Nami.
Kia had hoped that everything would just go back to the way it had been, but she knew better. Zoro and Usopp were still the only ones that knew about Blackbeard, and while Usopp was more than happy to welcome her back, Zoro avoided her, and didn't say a word when she tried to speak to him.
She had wanted to thank him, but he didn't want to hear it. Deep down Kia knew she had insulted all of them, and Zoro wasn't one to simply sit back and accept that. Zoro wasn't a man of words, he was a man of action. The only way she could thank him, or apologize, was to prove it. It wasn't something that she could do today, or even tomorrow. She would have to prove it everyday while she was with the crew- the difference now though… she was determined to do it.
As the ship headed towards the sea gate, they noticed that the war ships had all dropped anchor, and weren't following any longer. Nami eventually figured it out, though Luffy ordered her to continue forward, and the Merry quickly ran aground.
Kia ran downstairs with Usopp, seeing the water pouring into the ship. She grabbed everything she could to use as a patch, but by the time she made it to the hole, Sanji, Chopper and Zoro were there too, and the water was gone.
Hearing Luffy's voice, they peeked outside the ship via the giant hole, and saw him lying on the seabed, trying to swim. Low tide was pretty cool, but they didn't have time to go exploring through the pools. Everyone started going through what their options were, but there wasn't many.
The ship was spotlit from every angle, and the Commander started speaking to them via the speakers all around. Luffy stood tall in front of the ship, a smile on his face.
Once the commander was done, the crew all assembled onto the deck, presumably to talk over the commander's offer of surrender, but they knew differently. They needed to solidify a plan to leave.
"This may be a way for us to escape!" Usopp crowed, holding up the dial in his hand. "I used this during a fight, and absorbed tons of hits from the soldiers. There's so many inside, I bet we could blast the Merry to safety."
"Ohh!" Chopper said in awe.
"If we could get over that cliff, we'd be out in open water!" Nami said excitedly.
"But out of the frying pan, and into the fire," Sanji added. "With that big hole, we'd sink immediately."
"What if we could re-inflate that octopus balloon?" Robin suggested.
"That's a good idea," Zoro said.
"We do have flame and breath dials," Kia added. "That would inflate it, I'm sure."
"It would have more hot air than Luffy!" Chopper joked, and they all laughed for a bit, then sighed.
"Too bad we lost it," Usopp muttered.
"I'll say," Nami added.
This time Kia just listened, as everyone mourned the octopus, and even after Luffy admitted that he had the creature, they simply told each other the news in a sad voice.
She laughed out loud, and the group suddenly realized what they had been saying.
"You do?!" Usopp cried, "Where?"
Luffy reached down the front of his pants, and pulled out the octopus, causing all of them to cringe.
"Why in the world is that thing in your pants?!" Nami demanded.
"He helped us out when we were falling from the sky and I wanted to keep him safe!" Luffy replied.
"Wasn't that… gross?" Zoro asked.
"For him, or the octopus?" Sanji muttered.
"Gross how?" Luffy asked, confused, and Kia heard Robin giggle.
"Now that he's getting fresh air, we should inflate the octopus again," she said. "Right, Long nose?"
"Uh, yeah," Usopp replied. "But I gotta find my flame dial first."
"Here it is," Luffy said, "I was playing with it in the kitchen, it's spiffy." Usopp quickly ducked as Luffy set it off.
"Watch it! Or I'll give you a taste of this impact dial!" he said, then straightened up. "Speaking of… who's going to set it off?"
He cringed as everyone seemed to look at him with evil eyes. "Who does it belong to?" Luffy asked.
"It's Usopp's" Zoro answered.
"It's only fair we let the owner do it," Sanji said.
"You're the best Usopp," Nami grinned at him.
"Don't worry buddy, we'll give you a hand…" Zoro offered.
"No!" Usopp called out, but everyone ignored him as they got into place.
"I'll do it Usopp," Kia said to him.
"No Kia," he replied, puffing out his chest. "When the going gets tough, then Captain Usopp must come to the rescue!" he said bravely as he walked downstairs, the other three guys following him. Nami came over and handed Kia the flame dial.
"Remember, wait until we get some air in first, or it'll scorch the octopus," she reminded her.
"Got it," she replied.
"All set up here!' Chopper called.
Nami stuck her head down stairs. "We're ready!" she called. "It's all up to you guys now!" They braced themselves as they heard the guys yelling out their countdown.
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
"And liftoff!"
With that, the ship took off, pushed by the impact dial, and up into the air. "You guys okay?" Kia yelled down.
"Robin! Now!" Chopper called. Robin used extra hands across the ship to grab the octopus' legs, stretching it out across the sails, and pulling them around the bottom of the ship to grip. Nami was using a breath dial, and Robin quickly joined her.
"Kia! The flame dial!" Nami called.
"Here goes!" Kia yelled, turning it on and pointing it toward the octopus. "Inflate!" she called to it.
"We're still falling!" Luffy yelled from the stairway.
The balloon inflated, and kept them right at the water's edge. "One more!" Kia heard Luffy yell.
"Fly! Please fly!" Nami yelled.
"Three! Two! One!" they could hear from below, and watched as the balloon suddenly grew three times its size, and the ship began moving with another impact. They cheered as they flew right over the cliff walls of Navarone.
"Bye old fortress guy!" Luffy called, and they all looked back at the base.
"Whoa, that place is huge!" Usopp called.
Robin, Nami and Kia stood, looking out at the sea before them. "So where do you think we're going?" Nami asked.
"Ask the balloon?" Kia offered, and Robin giggled.
"I'd say let's just enjoy the ride," Robin offered.
"As long as Nami, Kia and Robin are here, I'm in paradise!" Sanji called out.
"Moron," Zoro muttered.
"What's that?!" Sanji pressed.
"You heard me, bring it on!" Zoro challenged.
"You two fight, I'll start patching that hole," Usopp said wearily.
"Need help?" Chopper offered.
"I'm starving, is it dinnertime?" Luffy asked, and Kia just grinned, the unhappiness of the morning long gone.
Armed with a notebook, Kia set out to talk to the crew individually. Her plan wasn't fully formed, but she had a general idea of what she wanted. And since she knew Zoro was going to be the toughest nut to crack, she started with him.
Seeing him up on the top deck, of course sleeping, but away from everyone else seemed to tell her that there was no backing down. She made her way to him, and sat down in front of him, her notebook in her lap, and her pencil ready.
His eye cracked open, then shut again as he attempted to ignore her. That was fine, as she knew he'd be listening even if he didn't want to.
"Thanks Zoro," she said genuinely. "I'd still be in that cell, probably being interrogated about the crew right now if you had listened to me back then. I'd say I'm sorry, but we both know why I acted the way I did."
He didn't move, just continued to snore, but she smiled and continued anyway. "You're just like a big brother would be," she said, as the snoring stopped. "Even though you didn't agree with me, you never berated my decisions or called me names, and that means a lot."
His eye finally cracked open, and he sat up. "What do you want Kiana?" he grumbled at her.
"I want to get stronger," she said. "I have what I think will be a good plan, but I know I'll need everyone's help. Including yours."
He eyed her skeptically. "What kind of help?" he asked.
"Training," she replied. "I'll be working out every day, and I could use some help in getting started. I'm not sure whether to build up strength by increasing the weights as I go, or build up endurance by increasing the number of reps." She could see he was invested now, so she barreled on. "Then there's the aerobic exercise versus the weight training, and weapon training…"
"Hold on," he said holding his hand up. "You're thinking about this too much."
"Well in my defense, there is a lot to think of."
"Right," he said rolling his eyes. "One question only. What's your goal?"
"To be able to fight," she answered. "To protect myself and maybe the others too."
"Maybe?" he asked with a smirk.
"Well, I don't want to get ahead of myself…" she answered sheepishly.
"When you see yourself fighting, what do you picture?" he asked. "Punching a marine and knocking him out?"
"No," she said with a chuckle. "Maybe hitting him with a pole or something, but mostly just being able to block their strikes at me, and then kick them away?"
"And what would you need to build to do that?" he asked. "Strength, or endurance?"
She thought for a moment, thinking it was a trick question. "Both, I guess. Though probably more endurance than strength."
"Then that's what your workouts need to be," he said with a smug look on his face.
"Wow Zoro, that was actually really smart!" she exclaimed.
"Hey!" he said angrily. "Don't sound so surprised!"
"I'm not, I promise!" she said contritely. "I guess I just expected to come over here and have you tell me what to do, not teach me how to figure it out myself."
"Same thing," he grumbled.
"Then I'm sorry," she apologized. "I knew you were smart, I just didn't know that you were a great teacher!"
He looked somewhat mollified after that, and helped her with some specific exercises that would help with what she was trying to achieve. After thanking him, she went to find her next crew member.
She walked across the ship, noting that everyone seemed to be in small groups, but when she didn't see Sanji, she headed for the kitchen. Walking in and finding him alone seemed too good to be true, and she mentally thanked whoever was looking out for her.
"Hi Sanji, got a minute to talk?" she asked, and he spun around to see who had come in.
"Oh hey Kia, sure. I'm just putting some dinner together, I'd love some company."
"Great!" she said, " Do you want help?"
"No, no," he replied. "Just sit there at the table. What did you want to talk about?"
"My plans to be able to protect myself," she answered, and he turned around to look at her in surprise.
"Kia my sweet, you know I'll always protect you," he said seriously.
"Of course, Sanji dear," she said putting her hands clasped in front of her and batting her eyelashes exaggeratedly. Stopping her act when he scowled, she added, "but what happens when I'm alone? Like in Skypiea?"
"Hmm," he said, stroking his chin. "I suppose it's not a horrible idea, just in case I can't be there."
"Exactly." Kia pulled out her notebook and put in on the table in front of her. "I couldn't help but notice that you are amazingly agile," she started. "Not only are you able to dodge attacks, but even when caught off guard, you're able to keep your feet."
"Well, that's nothing my dear," he said, going back to his pan. "Anyone can learn how to do the same."
"That's pretty much what I'm counting on," she answered with a smile. "I was hoping you could give me some exercises that I can work on to help me do the same, you know… eventually. I know it will take time, and loads of practice, but I want to learn."
He turned again, bringing a few dishes full of ingredients over to the table. He sat down across from her, and began assembling what looked like tacos.
"First things first," he began. "We'll need to test your skills, see where we're starting from," he said. "I can give you some time after dinner, and then we can come up with some exercises from there."
She looked up from his hands to his face. "Really?" she asked with a grin. "That would mean the world to me!"
"It's my pleasure, of course," he replied. "I'd hate to have you leaving us again, not if I can help prevent it."
"It won't," she replied sincerely. "Not willingly, anyway."
"Good," he said as he stood up. "We'll get started after I clean up from dinner."
She wondered where he was going, only to see him call everyone to eat. Looking back down at the table, she was shocked at all the food that was ready. So fast… she thought. Amazing!
After dinner, she made some more notes while she waited for Sanji. Finding out that his idea of testing her skills was having her dance with him had her skeptical, but after only a few dances, he sat them down and told her exactly what she needed to work on. She was hardly surprised her balance was the top of the list, but thought that she took it in stride.
As she headed to the Usopp workshop, she looked over her notes again, feeling a little daunted, but knew this was the only way. She had tried quitting and it hadn't worked, so that was no longer an option. Squaring her shoulders, she knocked on the doorway where Usopp was working.
"Hey Usopp, got a minute?" she asked.
He turned to her and she couldn't help but giggle. His hair was sticking up in all directions, and with his goggles on, he looked like some sort of mad scientist. She decided immediately what her next sketch was going to be. He patted the floor beside him, and she moved over to discuss her ideas for weapons.
Once done there, she went in search of Chopper. She had decided fairly quickly once she was outlining her plans, that she didn't want to be the type of doctor that Chopper was. The crew didn't need two Choppers after all. But she did want to know what to do in case of an emergency or trauma, so that was what she spoke to Chopper about.
She was worried that he would be sad or upset, but it was exactly the opposite. "I knew your heart wasn't in it Kia, but I didn't know how to say that without hurting your feelings," he explained. "I'm so glad you told me!" he giggled, and she grinned. "Now we can really get to work!" he said happily.
"We weren't working before?" she asked surprised.
"Well yeah, but now we can focus on the most important things!" She listened and took notes as he detailed all that she still needed to learn. The overwhelming feeling returned, but she swallowed it back.
After Chopper wound down, Kia went back on deck to get some air. It wasn't long before Nami found her, and came over.
"You look a little lost," she said as she stood next to Kia.
"More like humbled I'd say," Kia replied as she watched the sunset. "I thought I was doing pretty well before, but now that I'm looking to improve, I see how weak I've really been."
"Oh?" she asked with a laugh. "Kia found out she's human after all?"
"Oh stop it," Kia grumbled. "I guess I never really thought about it before, but all the fighting on Skypiea really put it into perspective."
"Hmm," she replied. "So, what are you going to do about it?"
"Well, I've got some ideas," she answered with a smile. "And I've got the boys helping me."
"Just the boys?" Nami asked with a frown.
"Of course not, I just haven't gotten around to you and Robin yet."
"I see," she replied. "Good." The pair stood there quietly for awhile, enjoying the sunset. "What are you thinking about?" Nami asked suddenly.
Feeling foolish, Kia put her hand into her bag and pulled out a piece of paper, showing it to Nami. She cocked her head and studied it, seeing the name written on it.
"That paper Ace gave you?" she asked.
"Yeah… I'm…worried about him," Kia answered, as she stuffed the paper back in its home.
"Why?" Nami asked, confused. "He's the toughest pirate I've ever met!"
"Yeah, but he's not invincible."
"Who's not?" Luffy asked as his head came down from up above them.
"I told you not to do that!" Nami yelled as she punched his head, causing Luffy to fall to the deck behind them. Kia smiled, and turned to help him up.
"Ace," she answered as she helped him stand. "I agree he's tough, but there are a lot of tough guys in the grand line."
"Oh, Ace will be fine!" Luffy said with a grin. "He knows how to take care of himself, he's been fighting pirates since he was a kid!"
"Really?" Nami asked. "Why did he fight pirates when he was a kid?"
"Well, one time he fought pirates to save me, you know back before I got strong," he said nonchalantly. "Yeah" he sighed, "he's a great brother."
Nami grinned, "You think he'll be okay with you taking Kia as a sister?" she asked him, but she glanced over at Kia as she spoke.
"Of course!" Luffy said excitedly. "I'm sure he always wanted a sister too!"
"Whoa, whoa…" Kia interrupted. "I agreed to be your sister, but I won't be Ace's unless he asks me to."
"What?" Luffy said, confused. "Why?"
"Uh… because, that's the way it works. I mean, are you saying all my sisters are also your sisters even though you didn't ask them?"
"Hmm…" he thought for a minute. "Sure!"
Kia face palmed as Nami laughed, and Kia turned to glare at her. "Uh, yeah Luffy," she agreed with Kia belatedly. "That's how it works, you have to ask each one individually."
"Then I will!" he cheered, and took off towards the kitchen, and Nami burst into laughter.
"I'm sure Ace will be happy to have you join his family!" she said as she leaned on the railing for support.
Kia rolled her eyes. "Oh, you think you're so smart," she grumbled. "It's just a crush anyway, and knowing my luck, when I see him again, Luffy'll say 'hey Ace, Kia's our new sister' and Ace'll say, 'that's great! I always wanted one!'" she said as she leaned on the railing with Nami.
"Oh, I don't think so," Nami said with a smile. "Once I figure out how to get you to wear your hair down, you'd be surprised at the attention you'll get."
Kia rolled her eyes at Nami again. "No thanks," she groused, propping her chin in her hand and staring out at the sky again. I wonder where Ace is, and what he's up to? she thought.