I Don't own One Piece, but I'm happy to say that I'm generous enough to write you free stories of the Amazing One Piece world. Sorry no Pictures. This isn't a Manga.

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Tashigi's Heart: Savage Seas

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I couldn't remember when I had felt so bad upon waking up, (but I couldn't have made the bad decision any worse than I had done already. Well... knowing my luck I might be able to.) I had woken up suddenly from deep sleep and could have sworn that I heard someone calling for me on deck. I remember running as fast as I could out my door to receive my Captains orders. Once I had run out of my room and onto deck I noticed it was dark, and not many people were about. I smelt that the Captain was near, his haze of smoke was something I could still tell apart even if I was going a bit blind.

"What are you doing, Tashigi?" he mumbled through his cigars.

"Reporting for duty …!" I started, but then felt a massive pain shoot through my skull. It was as if someone had smacked me over the head with a mallet. I put my hand up to touch my head. Nothing, no lump, no scratch, no... nothing.

It was then that I thought the deck felt wet, I looked down at my feet. Horror ripped through me, (I HAD NO SHOES ON!) "Ahhhhh!" This is a disaster! The world looked like it was going from grey , black, and white to colour every few seconds.

"I'm so sorry Captain! Please may I be excused..." My head suddenly felt heavy and the floor looked closer than it had before. I heard the Captain yell something, but I forgot what it was. I'm sorry my memory doesn't remember anything after that.

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That was a day I wish to eternally forget, but unfortunately everyone on board thought it was hilarious and recounted how funny it was every time they could. I had made a very bad first impression on all the crew on board this ship. The stories got worse as the gossip increased. The original was straight from the Captain, that I had fainted and he had had someone take me to my quarters. 'Some people didn't like that version though so they started a new one; this one said that the Captain caught me in his arms as I fell and carried me back into my cabin. Another liked that one, so it was added to. That the Captain had gone into my cabin and stayed with me for three hours 'til morning. And then... unfortunately that was added to by a few more repulsive individuals saying, 'That they, had heard a bed creaking that night, had heard (a woman) moaning and groaning', and then as if they hadn't don't enough damage to my reputation already they added that 'the Captain had (humped her) so hard that (the woman) couldn't barely stand for a week.' Once I did eventually get up, (after one week) heard the whispers of the stories and noticed the sexual looks and nods I got from some of the men. I was filled me with dread and disgust, these were the people I was supposed to be putting my life on the line for. This was not how it was supposed to start out. I received some more winks the next day, and a few actually had the audacity to ask me if it was true or not. (IT WAS NOT TRUE) I wish I could dig a hole and disappear into it, but that is impossible on-board a ship. So I disappeared into my Cabin instead (ALONE) to recover the from the rest of my illness. (ALONE)

I was bed ridden for a week or two with a very serious (fever / flu) and I must have read through my books about three times each whilst I was in recovery. So when I finally got out everyone was into the swing of things and organized, I couldn't be useful, everyone was busy I just felt in the way. Captain Smoker was a great source of relief (NOT in that way) he always found something for me to do, and always seemed to have a great deal to discuss, things that were in fact interesting.

"Well, we now get to head into the Grand Line." Captain Smoker muttered, "In some ways I wish Kairoseki didn't work." he took in a deep breath, "It would make this trip less boring."

He didn't really think that, or else he wouldn't carry a Kairoseki (sea prisim stone) poll on his back. "Oh, no need to be worried." I answered, it might sound a little patronizing, but his grumpy attitude was getting on my nerves. I felt so excited, we were actually going into the Grand Line! Just two more days to go. "Many other marines have used them and they have managed to get into the Grand Line fine with no problems."

"It's not getting to the Grand Line that I'm thinking of, it's passing through the calm belt that is the problem." He pulled out his cigar stubs and snuffed them out on the outside of the hull. Why? Why did you do that when you know it annoys me? Just because it's the outside doesn't mean you should treat it like a junk dumping ground. He pulled out two more, lit them and put them straight back in his mouth. That is sooooo unhealthy...

"Many Ships have been rumoured to be lost at sea when they come through here."

Was he trying to scare me..

"Oh, Captain didn't you hear? We have one of the latest marine designs for deep-sea voyagers. And anyway most ships lost at sea - other than those involved in collisions with other ships - fall prey to the pirate attacks more than they do to sea kings. The calm belt which has an amazing amount of latter does have a calm wave pattern that can be moderately predictable. Although rescue at sea is possible up to a point, the best hope of a ship in peril is its built-in capacity to ride out a vicious storm, which we probably won't find here. It is then that a man is tested to his limits, with the lives of the crew and their ship hanging in the balance." I paused for dramatic effect, I love stories of the sea.

I then continued, "Fundamentally, what holds a ship up in good or bad weather is its buoyancy." I moved my glasses up again, "A ship floats because the volume of water that it displaces equals or is greater than its weight. Or, in other words, the "hole" a ship makes in the water occupies a certain volume, and if the ship weighs less than the water it would take to fill the hole, it will float." I started using my arms and pointing as I was trying to describe my findings to the Captain, "When water seeps or floods into a ship's interior, the vessel is slowly robbed of buoyancy and, eventually, it will be dragged under by its own weight unless the leak can be plugged. Thankfully we have two hulls, one being made from sea prisim stone and the inner from wood, the air gap between those two increases our Buoyancy and overall we're far better off."

I had finished for the time being, I smiled back at him. "And because Pirates don't know what to use to get through we don't need to worry about attacks from them. So the only things we need to fear in this situation are sea monsters who don't get turned away by the sea stone we have put in place, or someone running the ship directly into an unknown current with unseen barrier riffs in it, and lastly if someone just decided to shoot a cannon ball into the hull." I looked at him waiting for his reply.

"Don't say such ridiculous things."

I pouted, he wouldn't know intelligence or wisdom if he was hit over the head with it. It would just pass through him never landing anywhere. Smoke king.

It was such beautiful weather. I couldn't remain unhappy for long. Everything felt just GREAT! The air was warm, the sun was hot, and the water was pure and transparent … was transparent … was … "AHHHH!" I yelled out loud, causing the Captain glare at me for making such a noisy disturbance.

"Captain!" I pointed, "Look! There are bubbles coming up the side of the ship!"

"Yeah,..." He was speaking as if I was an idiot.

"No." I answered back in the same TOV (tone of voice). Was he deliberately being annoying. "That's not supposed to be happening!"

"It's just a part of the wake, Tashigi."

"No it's not. It's coming up from a different area." I turned to face him and stood to attention. "Permission to investigate, Sir!"

The Captain sighed, as if he had just been told to work full time on his day off, "Permission granted."

I turned and ran downstairs to stop the rowers and to find out the truth. Once the ship had stopped my theory was proven correct, much to everyone's distress. Every 10 seconds there were a few massive bubbles that were released and came up on one side of the ship. Which only could mean two things that there was a leak, or a massive creature had made a home under the ship. Some members of the crew started to panic saying things like they wish they never had come and others that they knew it would come to something like this, I heard one say it was because there was a woman onboard. I'll show you what it means to have a woman onboard!

How dare they!?

The Captain Didn't look or act to fazed by the problem that they were facing. "What are you all gawking at? 'You never seen Air Bubbles BEFORE!" He grabbed the nearest Marine to him, "You! get the diving gear and go check it out?"

"Me Sir?" he paused in his uncertainty, stuck between his loyalty and want to preserve his life. "Yes, Captain." The regret in his voice was obvious.

I shook my head, "Captain, if I may ask, It might not be wise to send someone swimming down there." I wasn't asking, I am telling YOU, and you will listen, "The ripples and waves they will make might just bring up other sea monsters who are not yet aware of our presence." At my words the entire crew flinched, whether at my comment that the Captain was not being wise, or the one on bringing up more sea monsters, I'm not sure. "I have brought with me a Screen Snail. If we were to put it into a glass box, weighted so it sinks, but held up by a rope or chain, and use sea prisim stone for the base of the cage, we could look at what was underneath the ship without risking anyone's life."

I could almost feel the relief of the men in front of me, like an audible sigh down my neck, at my suggestion.

"Good Idea.' Smoker nodded, "Go get it."

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It was amazing how well everyone worked together when you put their lives on the line. Soon a cage had been put together and sealed with the snail inside, I had set up the screen that revealed all that the snail saw.

"Alright! It's all set up!" I called out to everyone, "Get ready to lower the snail."

The Captain confirmed, "Just Do it already." and a few of the members of the crew started to lower the snail down into the deep blue, infested waters.

You could feel the tension in the air. It felt alive and real like you could reach out and almost cut it with a knife. Everyone was holding their breath, waiting for the picture to appear. What was down there? Brooding and nesting in the keel of the ship. Was it a sea serpent or something else?

The picture came to the screen as the snail went down. So far no problem. The Screen Snail glanced up at the rippling surface above, as if bidding us his farewell, and then glance directly down. Nothing but a deep blue colour for most of the way down and then it became a murky thick dense black. Not being able to see anything there, the snail glanced in front of him, (that was the port side of the hull) and then turned his eyes three hundred and sixty degrees around him to get an areal view. When nothing of interest caught his eyes he fixated them back on the ship. Slowly ever so slowly as the picture started changing and the snail went lower, the keel started to come into view.

Just then a massive, deep yellow, luminous eye appeared before them, the creature was eyeing them up. There were a few audible gulps, of those who counted themselves fortunate to have not been the one sent down there. Then obviously not thinking much of a snail as an intruder, It twisted away and latched onto a large balloon like substance that was now attached to the bottom of the boat.

"Well!" I exclaimed, relieved, "It's not a sea king, but a red leopard eel." who would have guessed. "I can't believe it, they're so rare. The red leopard eel hasn't been seen in over one hundred and seventy years, some people say that all possible nesting grounds for the East Blues Red Leopard Eel have been destroyed and that they probably go extinct. I never thought that the rumors of them nesting in and eating away at Kairoseki were real, and it looks like she is using our ship as a nesting place. Wow! this is so exciting." At my words, most of the men around me backed off and turned away from a person they now considered crazy to someone they thought would be more practical.

"Oi! Tashigi?" the Captain questioned, "How much do you think this thing is worth?" pointing at the screen.

I looked at the picture of the Eel before me. "The Red Leopard Eal has only ever been found in the East Blue, it has never crossed into the Grand line before." It had such amazing and vibrant colours "Poor thing, it must have latched on when we passed 'Ratis' Reef'." I paused "And as for money," I glanced up the Captain. "I have no idea how much it's worth, but since it looks like she has a nest there... I'd say if we manage to breed them somehow and feed them off the materials they need, we could most certainly sell them for a lot of money." I carried on, this was important. "One of the reasons that these creatures were hunted so much by fisherman and sea farers was for their healing properties in their skins. Because they feed primarily on different and unusual minerals, doctors have been able to make ointments and medicines, that cure many sorts of sicknesses." I think that was correct. "Some of the more superstitious people have said if you eat a Red Leopard eel you never get sick at sea again, but of course no one has any proof of that yet."

"Okay, it's decided." Captain Smoker spoke up.

"We're gonna have some eel stew." the crew's jaws dropped to the floor.

"CAPTAIN!"

"Get your diving gear on and go get em." Dread was thick in the air, but I felt quite positive about this. Was that a good thing or a bad omen.

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End of Chapter 11. I hope you liked it.