"The winner: Sanji-senshuu!"
Sakura watched in admiration as Carmen accepted her defeat and Sanji claimed the victory and the elephant tuna.
"Amazing...I've never seen anybody like him!" she murmured in awe. Nami grinned.
"As expected of our crew's cook!" she said cheerfully. Sakura curiously glanced at Nami and Usopp, who were both cheering loudly. She had only spent a small portion of time with them, but their infectious aura was already rubbing off on her. It had been a long time since she had felt this elated.
What a group of people, she thought, her eyes wide. She shook her head violently, trying to dispel her emotions. Too caught up in the excitement, she had let her guard down, even going as far as to stay and hang around a group of people she had just met! This can't happen again, she thought, chewing her lip nervously, You're smarter than this, Sakura. Wordlessly she turned around and began to edge away. Distracted by the commotion, Usopp and Nami didn't notice her leaving.
Sanji ran over, lugging a giant elephant tuna.
"Nami-swaaaan! Did you see my glorious win?! Sa-chwaaannnn! Are you proud of my excellent cooking?! I can make all the dishes again, just for you!" he crowed, hearts once again blooming from his eyes. Sakura froze, her blood turning cold. She whirled around, shock painted on her face.
"You...what did you just call me?!" she asked, shaking. Both Nami and Usopp looked at her, confused as to why she was a distance away, and Sanji began sweating when he saw the almost murderous look on Sakura's face.
"Ehhh..Sa-chan? It's a cute nickname...right...?" he stammered. Sakura remained rooted at the spot. Nobody had called her that since…since...
In her mind, she saw a young woman reaching out, a smile on her face. Sakura trembled, her eyes staring at nothing. Keri...
"Umm...Sakura...are you alright? You're really pale," Usopp quietly asked, his face showing his nervousness. Sakura blinked hard, and her gaze refocused. A hardened look crossed her face.
"Look, you guys are really nice people, and I really appreciate that. But, you're still pirates, and I don't...I can't.." Sakura whirled around, and began to walk away, her shoulders hunched. Nami, Usopp, and Sanji exchanged looks of confusion.
"What just happened?" Usopp whined. Nami sighed, shaking her head.
"It's all because of this idiot's fault," she cried angrily, smacking Sanji, who stumbled around as he struggled to maintain his hold on the elephant tuna.
"I don't know what I did! Oh, what have I done?! To hurt a poor lady like this, oh, I'm a failure of a man!" Sanji wailed, almost collapsing under the fish he was carrying. Usopp quickly ran over and took hold of the fish's head.
"Anyway, we should get going. Whatever's up with that girl, we need to forget about it!" he said, attempting to dismiss the solution. Nami suddenly jerked her head up, looking at the clouds.
"The air's different. It's going to rain,'' she murmured, "We should find Luffy and Zoro."
"The weather's so nice, though," Usopp cried, "How could it suddenly rain?"
"And we can't leave Sa-chwannnnnnn!" Sanji wailed, tears streaming down his face, "I must apologize to her at once!"
"Oi, oi stop calling her that. It's the reason why she got so mad in the first place," Usopp said, smacking Sanji's head.
The three set off, their minds distracted by Sakura and her strange actions.
"Pirate Straw Hat Luffy has been sighted at the execution platform along with some other notorious East Blue pirates!" the soldier reported, standing to attention.
Smoker stood in front of a window, silently looking over the town. A few feet away, Tachigi sat in a simple chair, sifting through papers.
"Send a unit of marines towards the harbor. When Straw Hat is captured, his crew may attempt to escape to sea. Make sure all escapees are captured. Have another unit surround the plaza. We can't let those pirates escape, no matter what," he ordered gruffly. Tachigi hesitated.
"And what of Commander Valier?" the soldier asked.
"Valier is occupied at the moment. Send no word of this report to him. You're dismissed," Smoker said. The soldier visibly gulped, but saluted and left. Tachigi glanced curiously at Smoker.
"Commander Valier would want to hear about this, too," she said quietly.
"He's on some random goose chase for that Sakura brat. Leave him be. It's time he learned who's really in charge here," Smoker replied dismissively, walking towards the door. Tachigi wordlessly followed. She was well aware of the tension between the commander and captain and knew the only reason for Smoker's compliance for Valier's arrogance was the his acknowledgement of the commander's ruthless nature of hunting down pirates.
If Valier finds out that Smoker-san's been withholding information, he won't be happy, Tachigi thought worriedly.
Sakura huddled at the top of a building, her arms tightly wrapped around her. She mentally berated herself.
See, you giant pear? This is what happens when you're friendly with people. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid! Sakura sighed, burying her head into her arms, her teeth clenched, You will not cry, you will not cry, you are not a crybaby!
She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, mentally punishing herself for her actions. She lifted her head and stared at the sky. It was the Straw Hat crew's fault. Yeah, that was it. From the stupid captain who couldn't tell left from right, to the riceball swordsman, to the drunk pervert of a cook. Even Nami and Usopp were to blame, for being so friendly with her!
"Ugh, what are you thinking?" she groaned, smacking her head against her knee, "It's your fault for being stupid and lowering your guard."
She clenched her necklace charms, deep in thought. Why exactly did she lower her guard around them? They were pirates, and she was supposed to hate pirates. She was supposed to beat them up, rob them, disappear before they even knew what was going on. So why had she decided to be friendly?
It was a distant shouting that pulled Sakura from her thoughts. She slowly crawled to the building edge and peered over to see a group of marines running down the street.
"Separate once we reach the harbor! Take some men and surround the area! Make sure to capture any pirate who tried to escape! I'll take the rest and take control of all the ships! Remember, we may be looking for all possible pirates but the main targets are the Straw Hats!" she heard one marine soldier call out to another. Sakura quickly ducked her head back and retreated to the center of the building top.
"It would be better to sit this out. From the looks of it, they'll be a lot of marines around. I don't wanna risk getting captured myself," she muttered to herself, "Like the Pirate Hunter said, they're pirates. They run into danger every day."
Her hands clenched into fists.
"I can't afford to get caught."
Every inch of her visibly shook.
"They're pirates. I don't give a damn about what happens to them."
Images of Nami and Usopp's cheering faces flashed in her head. She could still hear Luffy's genuine laughter, and see Sanji twirling around like the idiot he was. Even if only for a bit, the lack of guard and worry she had up had been wonderful, even if it came with frustration.
"I'm better off alone as it is."
Sakura was a loner, a rogue. She relied on herself, and hated associating with people. She stood, her fists at her side.
"Damn them all."
With a leap, she bounded across the building tops, fast as the wind. She had to find the Straw Hats.
She sprinted through the alleyways, sharply turning corners and peering onto streets.
"Where the hell are you guys," she muttered, leaping over a trash can. A blurb of green suddenly caught her eye. Sakura backtracked to see none other than katana mosshead and the rest of the Straw Hat crew, excluding Luffy. She crept closer, listening in on their conversation.
"We got separated," she heard Pirate Hunter Zoro say, "And I gotta real bad feeling. Something bad is about to happen." Suddenly, explosions ripped through the air, followed by screams and wails.
"Pirates!"
"Pirates are here!"
"Run! It's Buggy the Clown!"
"Buggy the Clown is going to execute Straw Hat Luffy!"
Sakura felt her blood run cold. Wasn't Buggy another notorious East Blue pirate? What was he doing here?
Loguetown's attracting a lot of big-shots today, huh? she thought.
There was no time to lose. Sakura dashed out of the alleyway, bundling up the group of surprised pirates and shoving them to the side. They landed in a sprawling heap of limbs, dust, and tuna.
"What the-it's you again!" she heard Zoro growl. She glared back at him.
"Yeah, it's me, the she-devil. Got a problem?" she shot back.
"OI! IT'S THE LOVELY LADY! OH MY DEAR LOVELY LADY, I MUST OFFER MY SINCERE APOLOGIES FOR-"
"Yeah, yeah, save it curly brows," Sakura said, before facing Nami and Usopp, whom she found to be the sanest of the group, "There's not much time. The marines are planning to swarm the harbor. You need to find your captain and get out of here."
"EHHH, MARINES!?"
"Shut up, Usopp," Nami turned back to Sakura, "From what everybody's saying, Luffy's probably at the plaza."
Sakura nodded. "The marine captain Smoker and commander Valier will probably be there, too. You guys will need to somehow get him out without creating too much of a scene. Those two are strong. If they find you guys, you'll be done for."
"Hold it!" Zoro cried out, to Sakura's irritation, "Why the hell are you trying to help us? What are you going to get out of this, huh?"
"Oi marimo, are you asking to get your ass kicked by me?" Sanji threatened, raising a leg. Sakura stared at Zoro, and to his surprise, there was no fear in her face, only determination.
"Funny, that's a question I've been asking myself all day," she replied as she rose to her feet. She glanced down at the street, which was rapidly becoming deserted, "Strange thing is, I don't really know the answer. Though I have a feeling I'll find out sooner or later."
Nami stared at the people around her, then at the sky. Slowly she got to her feet alongside Sakura.
"What do you propose we do then?" Nami asked. Sakura slowly smiled back.
"You'll want a small group to go after your captain. Less people means less chance of creating that much of a scene. I can take everybody else. I know a place where you guys can hide until Straw Hat comes back. Once you guys are together, you can make a dash for the harbor. I trust that together, you guys will be strong enough to get to your ship. I can hold the marines off until you're able to set sail if you need more help," she explained. Zoro scoffed.
"Oi, Nami, don't listen to her. There's no way we can trust her for sure," he argued, before having to protect himself from a barrage of angry kicks from Sanji.
"Don't fight now guys," Usopp protested weakly. Nami ignored them, staring straight at Sakura.
"Zoro, Sanji, go get Luffy. Head straight to the harbor afterwards," Nami ordered. Zoro stared at her in shock.
"You aren't actually going to-" he choked out in disbelief.
"Ah, Nami-san is so cool when she's giving out orders!" Sanji trilled.
"It's the only thing we can do," Nami replied, "Usopp and I will stay back with Sakura."
Sanji tossed the elephant tuna to Usopp, along with the order "Treat it like a lady!" before running off.
"I WILL DO YOU PROUD, NAMI-SWANNN! WE'LL COME STRAIGHT BACK, NEVER FEAR!" he yelled. Zoro took a long look at Sakura.
"I don't trust you," he said bluntly, "But Nami's right. We don't have any other choice."
Sakura tilted her head, a smile forming on her lips. "What a coincidence," she replied, "That's the same thing I was gonna say to you."
Zoro snorted, before setting off after Sanji. Nami turned to Sakura, chuckling.
"Watch it, Sakura," she said lightly, "You don't want to be playing around with fire."
"Whatever," Sakura replied, "I'm not scared of big bullies."
"Somebody help me with this fish!" Usopp complained, staggering around. Nami and Sakura ignored him.
With Sakura in the lead, the three took off running down the street.
"Hey, Sakura, it's not like I agree with Zoro or anything," Nami called out, "But why exactly are you helping us so much?"
Sakura concentrated on the ground beneath her, her hands going to clench her necklace charms.
"Like I said before, it's complicated," she admitted, "It's just something I'm choosing to do."
Nami studied Sakura's face, deep in thought.
"I suppose…" she murmured before turning to look at the sky. Sakura looked at Nami curiously, before facing forward.
"We're almost there," she promised. Nami and Usopp both nodded.
The three continued on.