Updated: 10/20/16

Chapter 5: Nakama

When Liara was roused from her slumber the next morning, she was alone in the bedroom, enshrouded by a hazy darkness. Robin's bed had been tidily made, and Nami had neatly pulled the sheets back on her side without somehow disturbing her companion. Liara wearily attempted to rub the sleeping dust from her eyes as she gazed over at the digital clock on her bedside table.

Ten thirteen glowed back at her in scarlet edged lines.

"I bet breakfast is being served. I should get up too," she thought with a yawn and stretch before forcing herself from out from under the warm bed sheets. After attiring herself in a pair of navy-blue capris and a black tank top that had been laid out for her on one of the chairs, she stepped out the door and up to the deck, which was completely devoid of any of the Straw Hats. As she ambled closer towards the dining room, she perceived the tone of laughter. The corners of her mouth bent up over the jovial harmony.

The moment she entered, she was instantaneously greeted with an assortment of "good mornings". After politely returning the greeting, she headed over to a barren seat placed between Nami and Brook, nodding her head and smiling to both of them. Breakfast seemed to have just initiated, as only Robin and Nami had received their plates so far.

"Good morning, Liara my love!" Sanji affectionately sung out with a twirl as he placed a plate that was covered with french toast, bacon, sausage links, and banana slices in front of her.

"Good morning Sanji!" Liara cheerfully replied, pleased that she hadn't arrived too late for breakfast. Luffy extended his arm out to grab her sausage link, but whimpered and pulled back as she swatted his hand away on reflex. Her eyes widened in shock at her unintentional action. Everybody stared at her in surprise, and for a moment she almost felt like she'd stepped out of line. But when the crew burst out laughing and even complimented her on putting the captain "in his place", she found herself bashfully giggling along.

After the meal had concluded, the crew split up and went their own individual ways. Liara, being the most recent member on the ship, had absolutely no concept on where to go, so she simply went and stood on the lush emerald deck for a bit. The day was serene, with clear sapphire skies and a placid breeze that tickled her skin as it caressed her. As she viewed the glimmering waters, she found herself contemplating on what her parents were doing. How furious were they? Did they even care that she was gone? An abundant current of remorse washed over her, and as she bent over the railing to get a better glimpse of the sea, she found herself once again speculating if she picked the proper choice. In her heart, she believed that she had, but her intellect was telling her that maybe she could've endeavored to at least confer with her parents again. The more she thought about it though, the more she realized that there was absolutely no way they would've accepted her proposal. What kind of parents laughed at their child's ambition anyway?

"Hey Liara!" She turned around and saw Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp standing there with paper and pencils in each hand. Luffy gave her a lively grin. "Want to draw with us?"

It had been a long time since somebody actually desired to do something enjoyable with her. While growing up and in school, she'd frequently felt alone and secluded from the rest of her class. She'd keep to herself and sketch pictures of Fantasia Island or just read. Very rarely did she speak to anybody because she never saw the need to. All she wanted to do was study and get good grades so her parents could be proud of her, and proud they were. A lot of the kids ended up hating her because all they would hear at home is "Why can't you be more like Liara? She has the best grades in the school!" In a way, Liara couldn't blame them for not liking her, but as she grew older, she realized the whole notion was just ridiculous. She ended up making a few friends, but eventually they left to pursue their own dreams and careers, leaving her lonely. Luffy asking her to join them in an activity had simply left her speechless for a moment, but as she saw them looking at her with excited smiles, she couldn't help but nod as her mouth turned upwards into a grin.

"I'd love to!" she exclaimed, much to the boys' delight. In a way, they were rather surprised since Robin and Nami never joined their games.

"Awesome!" Luffy shouted, causing Liara to giggle as she followed them to the center of the deck. She sat down with them so they formed a square, and took the pencils and paper Usopp handed to her.

"So what should I draw?" she asked.

Usopp leaned backwards so his arms were supporting his body, and glanced upwards as if he was thinking really hard. "Each other?" he suggested, looking around the group for any signs of disapproval, none of which showed up.

"I'll draw Liara!" Chopper gleefully volunteered as he raised his meager hoof into the air.

"No way!" I wanted to draw Liara!" Luffy and Usopp both shouted in unison before glaring at each other. Liara felt rather astonished but dignified that they were all arguing over her. It was something she wasn't used to, but it made her feel good nonetheless.

"I think Chopper should draw me since he offered first." She nodded towards Usopp and smiled. "I like your nose. May I draw you?"

Usopp's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed with pride. "R-really? I'm always made fun of for it!" He pressed his thumb against his chest and smirked proudly. "Of course, I can't blame you. My mother did have a magnificent nose."

"Of course! It's a wonderful nose," she agreed with a chuckle.

Once the drawing began [ensuing excess pouting, it was decided that Luffy could also draw her], she felt herself unwinding and even having an enjoyable time. After about twenty minutes had elapsed, the minuscule group compared their work. The one Luffy had drawn of Liara looked like a toddler drawing with a pencil for the first time. Her head was pompous with squiggly lines meant to be her hair, and one eye was more emphasized than the other. Still, it brought a smile to Liara's face, and she was positively elated to accept the picture. Chopper wasn't a much better artist than Luffy, but he drew adequate for someone with hooves. Usopp was actually a rather skilled artist. When he presented his piece, the other three doubled over in laughter, as the Sharpshooter had decided to give Luffy a monocle and an immense mustache. Liara was a bit nervous to show her drawing, but once she did was immediately praised.

"Wow Liara! You're really good!" Usopp exclaimed as he took the drawing from her hands. Chopper and Luffy scooted closer to the Sharpshooter so they could get a better look.

"How cool! Are you an artist Liara?" Chopper asked as he stared up at her with stars in his eyes. Feeling bashful from all the praise, Liara glanced down and twiddled her thumbs.

"Not really. I used to draw a lot growing up, and I guess the practice helped."

Brook, who was just leaving the kitchen after assisting Sanji with the dishes, decided to stride over and see what was going on. " How wonderful!" Brook bent down and bobbed his skull in approval as Usopp turned around to show the musician Liara's picture. "Very nice indeed, Miss Liara. Perhaps you could draw me next."

"No way! I wanted her to draw me!" Luffy whined, and eventually Chopper joined in too. Once Liara had agreed that she would draw all of them soon, they all let out frivolous cheers before becoming disinterested in the situation and decided to play Spoons. Zoro shuffled by and turned down their proposition to dally in their game, insisting he'd rather climb up to the crow's nest to work out instead. Usopp and Luffy asked Nami to play, but were kicked out of the library with a threat of increased debt. Fortunately, Franky came up to take a hiatus from his project and decided to also join their game. Robin lay reading a book nearby on a lounge chair, her blue orbs scanning the gathering with interest and amusement.

The game ended up becoming competitive. Brook and Luffy could grab the spoons with ease due to being able to conveniently have reach. Chopper became paranoid of Usopp cheating and peeking at his cards, while Franky and Liara played the game as normal people would do, making sure to keep their eyes glued to the spoons in case Luffy or Brook made accelerated movement. The game was animated and provided some of the best entertainment she'd ever experienced.

Right when their third game was about to come to a closure, Luffy suddenly upsurged with a thrilled shout and bounded over to the railing. "An island!" he whopped with delight, his knees bent as he hunched over on top of the lengthy pole of wood.

Usopp and Chopper rushed forward, inwardly wondering if Luffy was perhaps lying again. Fortunately, an island was in sight, and from the way hefty buildings were grouped together it looked like an extensive city. Nami sauntered out of the library and Robin set her book down to get a better look, while Zoro wiped veins of sweat off his body and headed down to join everybody else. Sanji strolled out of the kitchen, puffing on his cigarette and examining the unfamiliar island with interest.

Liara felt herself becoming eager as she joined the others. Never before had seen another island up close. To witness a city extending like a hastily growing plant as the Sunny-Go neared closer was exhilarating, to say the least. She stood on her tip-toes and smiled so wide that her dimples showed. She felt like a little kid again. She was so focused on the sight that she didn't even notice Robin, Sanji, Nami, Franky and Brook looking at her and smiling over how thrilled she seemed.

"We should probably go in that way," Franky advised as he gestured a thick finger towards the left side. The rest of the crew followed his gaze and noticed that he was pointing to a tunnel concealed behind a cluster of rocks. Much like Water 7, an obscure passageway was being used by pirate ships to avert exposure from the marines. Nami nodded in confirmation and directed Franky to steer the vessel.

The Thousand Sunny easily entered into the steel tunnel, which had lights assembled along the walls to navigate the way into the Pirate docking area. Franky steered the ship with ease, emerging from the tunnel in no time at all. The anchor was released into the water with a resounding splash after finally identifying a satisfying space to dock, and the sail was lowered.

"Alright everybody, we need to pick groups to split up into," Nami announced as the other crew members gathered around her. "Any suggestions?"

"The Doctor and I can head to the bookstore," Robin offered, much to Chopper's pleasure. He enjoyed shopping with the Archaeologist because they both had such a deep love for books, and she consistently seemed to be amused by him. Nami nodded in approval before handing Robin and Chopper a wad of money.

"Anybody else?"

"Long-Nose and I can explore the hardware store," Franky suggested. As before, Nami authorized the idea and gave them Beris. Liara was uncertain who to go with, as she'd only been with the crew for a day and had never been to a metropolitan before. She found herself feeling apprehensive as Nami studied her.

"Liara, why don't you go with Brook? He can help you find a weapon so you can learn how to fight and defend yourself."

"A...weapon?" Liara felt rather edgy. "What weapon could I possible be good at using?" Her eyes enlarged as Nami placed a bulk of money into her hands. "I do appreciate this, but are you sure you trust me? After all, you hardly know anything about me and my parents might send the Marines after us and-"

"Liara, it's okay," Nami interrupted as she placed both hands on Liara's shoulders. "We trust you."

Luffy walked forward, his straw hat casting a large shadow over his eyes, and Liara was worried that he might be angry with her for some reason. However, when he looked up at her and gave his childish grin, all doubt and worry departed from her in an instant. "You're nakama, dummy. So what if we've known you only a day? Hell, I asked everybody on this ship to be my nakama when I barely knew them; some I asked the moment I met them."

Her heart pounded in her ribs, her mouth dangling open like somebody gasping for air. She was the daughter of two Marines, and yet one of the most powerful pirate crews in the world was asking her to join them. She was positively ecstatic, but she also didn't know how much help she would be to them, or why they would even want her in the first place. "Are you sure?" she finally managed to ask, voice hoarse and throat dry. "Everybody else seems to have a role, but I don't know what I could possibly do."

"Who cares! We'll worry about that later!" the rubber captain huffed out, not the slightest bit concerned about her job. "Now shutup and join us!"

"Don't talk to her like that, idiot!" Sanji sharply kicked Luffy's leg, knocking the raven-haired boy on his face.

Brook affectionately placed a hand on Liara's head with a gentle pat. "You should stay with us! I need somebody to sing with at night again!"

"You said you would draw me!" Luffy lifted his head up with a goofy grin, his face crimson from being smacked against the deck.

"Me too!" Chopper chimed in.

"So what do ya say, sis?" Franky posed, confident of what her response would be.

After a few seconds of silence and anticipation, Liara smiled, feeling satisfied with the decision she was about to make. " Alright! I accept your offer to be the newest member of the Straw Hat Pirates."