"Mine's bigger!"

"Yeah, right! Mine's clearly bigger, you shithead!"

"Are your eyebrows blinding your sight, ero-cook?!"

"The hell you saying, moss head?!"

"I don't even wanna' know what you guys are arguing about," Sakura groaned as she emerged from the Marry's interior. She had some...other ideas of what Zoro and Sanji were yelling about, but when she rounded the corner, she thankfully saw the pair standing over their catches, Sanji with their T-Rex, and Zoro with some kind of rhino thing.

"Oh! Sa-chwan! Won't you come grace us with your presence and educate this garden plant on-"

"Save it, cook," Sakura ordered, "Rice ball, I leave you for fifteen minutes to clean up, and you decide to head back out to pick up a rhino?!"

"Yeah, so what?"

"YOUR STITCHES ARE GONNA' RIP, PUDDINGHEAD!"

"What are you guys yelling about now?" Nami asked tiredly as she appeared from behind the mast.

"AH NAMI-SWAN PERHAPS YOU CAN SETTLE THIS FIGHT AND-"

"We don't have time for this, just cut everything up and put it on the ship, Sanji-kun."

"Okay, Nami-san!"

"Can't you tell my rhino's bigger, chibi?!"

"Just get up here and let me check your stitches!"

"OOOH I bet the meat'll taste so good, huh, Sanji!"

"QUACK QUACK!"

"Can't you just call it a draw?"

"You can't draw in a competition, Usopp!

Somebody chuckled behind Sakura. "They sure are a rowdy bunch, aren't they, Sakura-san?"

She whirled around to see Vivi standing beside her, a small smile on her face. "Did you talk to Mr. Bushido?" the princess prompted.

Sakura unconsciously took a step away, and instantly regretted when she saw the uncertainty flicker on Vivi's face. "Umm...yeah, we umm...we talked and figured stuff out, yeah."

"That's good, then! I'm happy for you two!" The princess sounded so genuine and Sakura had no idea how to react. Thankfully, she was saved by Nami's yell of, "Sa-chan, go help those idiots load the meat onto the ship!" With a small nod at the princess, she jogged away.

"Still awkward with Vivi, hmmm?" Nami teased as Sakura rushed by.

"Oh, shut up," she grumbled back, "I told her I would try, so I'll...figure something out."

The navigator's hand lightly touched her shoulder. "I know it's a little hard for you, Sa-chan, but don't beat yourself up. Vivi will be there when you're ready to open up."

A lump of guilt and frustration filled her throat, and Sakura managed a small nod of thanks before leaping off the ship.

"Namiii, why couldn't we bring more meat?" Luffy whined as he stared at the river below them

"If we brought any more, the ship would sink, idiot!" Nami snapped back.

Sakura turned away as the pair continued to bicker about the values of dinosaur meat, content to sit on the ship stairs and watch the jungle greenery pass by. A blank piece of paper lay in her lap, and she tapped her pencil to her chin, deep in thought. Would it be better to draw the dinosaurs or the giants or the general plant life?

"May I join you, Sakura-san?"

She looked up to see Vivi standing next to her, a warm smile on her face. "Uh..yeah, sure. Cool."

Vivi sat down on the same step Sakura was perched on, and she resisted the urge to scoot away from the princess. Just talk to her, Sakura. You said you would try, didn't you?

"So uh, how...how was...today?" Dammit, where were her spy improv skills when she needed them?

To her surprise, Vivi laughed. "I learned that giants and dinosaurs exist, and I found that a certain spy of the Straw Hat pirates is willing to try and not hate me, so definitely one of my better days."

Was she supposed to laugh now? Make a joke? How was she even supposed to talk to people? Dammit, if you can't make a genuine conversation then just pretend your way through it, you cantaloupe!

"Nami-san told me that you're very good at drawing, Sakura-san. May I watch you draw something?" Vivi continued, a polite look of interest on her face.

Sakura blinked. "Uh…yeah, sure, but uh...I just don't really know what I should draw though."

Vivi bit her lip, seemingly deep in thought, but before she could say anything, a call burst through the air.

"Hey, aren't those the giants from before?" Sanji was pointing towards the river mouth. There were indeed two hulking figures, one on each side of the river, both facing the open sea.

"OH! HEY BROGGY! DORRY!" Usopp called out, excitedly waving his hands.

Luffy scrambled to the front of the ship. "Are they coming to see us off? Hey, Mister Giants!"

If the pair of giants heard the crew, they made no sign of it, continuing to stare straight ahead. Eventually the ship sailed out of the river and into the ocean. Sakura looked back curiously to see confident smiles on both giants.

"We won't let anything happen to your flag, pirates!" The giant Dorry finally boomed.

"Have faith in us. No matter what happens, continue to head straight!" the other giant Broggy called out.

"So how trustworthy are they?" Sakura muttered.

"Don't worry too much," Vivi chuckled next to her.

Apparently the crew felt the same as the princess, because Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji all gave simple nods of acknowledgement, and Luffy, with a face set in determination, simply said, "Got it. We'll go straight!"

"We shall meet again one day," the giant Dorry rumbled happily.

A gasp escaped from Nami's lips while her face paled. "W-what...is that!?"

Before their very eyes, the water in front of them seemed to be rising, and what looked like a sleek fin was breaking though the water surface. Sakura made a choking noise and instinctively stood, her drawing supplies clutched tightly in one hand. Beside her Vivi's hand flew to her mouth as she gaped in surprise.

"So you've come…" Dorry growled.

"The great 'Island Eater!'" Broggy finished.

"ISLAND EATER?!" Usopp shrieked.

"What the fuck?!" Sakura yelled, "That's...a goldfish?!"

"A goldfish sea monster?!" Nami gasped.

Indeed, what looked like an enormous goldfish was rising out of the water, complete with bulging eyes and teeth bigger than the Merry. And the ship was heading right into its open mouth.

"This is like Laboon Part Two," Sakura moaned, "Nami, do something or we'll get eaten!"

"QUAAACCCKKK!" Vivi's duck was scampering across the deck in panic.

"Shut up, Carue!" Nami barked, "Guys, change the course, hurry!"

"No!"

Sakura whirled around, ready to throttle some necks into obeying their navigator, when she saw the look of determination on Usopp's face. "No," he repeated, "We'll go straight! Right, Luffy?"

Luffy grinned, looking completely carefree despite the situation. "Absolutely!"

"LUFFY I DON'T WANT TO SEE WHAT THE INSIDE OF ANOTHER FISH LOOKS LIKE!" Sakura shrieked, while a sobbing Nami clutched her shirt.

"Technically Laboon was a whale."

"SHUT UP, SANJI!"

"But this is different from Laboon!" Luffy protested, "Relax and have a rice cracker!"

"I DON'T WANT A DAMN RICE CRACKER, YOU TURNIP!"

"Just give up, chibi." Sakura turned to see Zoro leaning nonchalantly against the door. "Not like you can change his mind now."

Nami let out a muffled sob while gnawing on a rice cracker. With a sigh of defeat, Sakura collapsed next to her and took one as well.

"Are you guys crazy?!" Vivi protested, "We're about to get eaten!"

"Can we even trust them?" Sanji yelled.

"Of course!" Luffy happily replied.

As the daylight began to be blocked out by an enormous black maw, Sakura ground her teeth together, and her hands anxiously rubbed her necklace charms. Have faith in Luffy have faith in the giants have faith in Luffy have faith in the giants.

Sure, she trusted Luffy. But she also knew well enough that her captain was a little too trusting, and she didn't really know the giants at all. In front of her, Usopp screwed his eyes shut, beads of sweat on his face as he shrieked, "WE'RE HEADING STRAIGHT!"

"And about to be eaten!" Vivi screamed.

"ONWARD!" Luffy cheered.

Sakura felt themselves begin to tip precariously forward as the daylight completely disappeared and the goldfish jaws snapped shut around them, leaving them in a dark space that smelled like sewage water.

"Luffy, if we die, I will kill you," she muttered. Judging from the weak chuckles around her, everybody else heard.

Suddenly, a rumbling noise filled the dark goldfish cavern, and Sakura heard Nami whimper beside her.

"Wha-What's going on?" Vivi asked, while everybody tried to peer further into the darkness.

Sakura lifted her hand and tried to use her sparks to illuminate the air around her. "Why do I have a bad feeling about-"

"HOLY WIND LANCE!"

And suddenly they were flying through the air into open daylight. Sakura wasn't really sure wasn't going on, but she managed to snag an arm around the ship railing and securely latch herself down. Unfortunately, seconds later, a flailing Nami, Vivi, and Carue collided into her, and together they flew to land in a tangle of Nami's mikan trees. She managed to lift her head out and almost fainted when she saw what was behind them.

The enormous goldfish monster now had a gaping hole in its head, and through the hole, Sakura could see the two giants giving them a salute of farewell with what seemed like jagged broken pieces of weapons.

Had they made the hole in the fish...and destroyed some weapons in the process?

"YEAH! FORWARD!" Luffy cheered.

"Those giants are amazing!" Vivi exclaimed once she untangled herself from a mikan branch.

"M-my mikans!" Nami wailed.

Usopp had tears streaming down his face. "The power of Elbaf's warriors!"

Sakura let out a sigh of amazement and looked down to see that her pencil and paper were still clutched in his hand. "I think…I think I know what to draw now."

"So you've fixed everything with Mr. Bushido?"

"Eh. More or else," Sakura replied absentmindedly, as she put the finishing touches on her new sketch. The paper depicted the fabulous scene of the two giants slicing a hole right through the enormous goldfish. She still couldn't believe in the strength of Dorry and Broggy, and was slightly jealous of the others for getting to know the two giants more than she had.

"ELBAF, ELBAF! I WANNA' GO TO THE HOME OF THE GIANTS, ELBAF!" Luffy and Usopp cheered from the sides. No, she wasn't slightly jealous. She was super jealous. They had only been sailing for a little while, and apparently the glory of Little Garden hadn't worn off yet.

Beside her, Vivi smiled. "Mr. Bushido certainly seems less sulky."

"Hmmm?" Sakura followed the princess's gaze to Zoro, who was hard at work swinging around an enormous set of weights. Despite the sweat dampening his shirt and the hard scowl of concentration on his face, he did seem to have an aura of calm around him.

"He's gonna' rip his stitches if he keeps on moving around, that riceball," she muttered.

Vivi chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "I think he's muttering something to himself. I wonder what?"

"Don't know, don't care," Sakura replied as she scribbled a signature at the bottom of her sketch.

"I thought you guys were good with each other now," the princess pressed, "Or at least…nicer?"

"Well, I guess we are," Sakura said shortly, "But he's still an stupid riceball. And by the way...Nami, what's wrong with you?"

The navigator had been by their sides the entire time, yet she hadn't said a word. As Sakura looked closer, Nami seemed to be covered in a thin sheen of sweat, and she definitely looked more tired than usual.

"I don't know why, but I feel so sleepy," Nami sighed, "Vivi, could you take care of the navigating?"

"I could do it, too."

"If you tried navigating, we would probably end up back at Little Garden, Sa-chan."

"Good point."

"I can't wait to go back home!" Vivi exclaimed as she studied the Eternal Pose, "My people need me!"

"Just count on me, Vivi-chan!" The girls looked up to see Sanji sidling over with a plate of food balanced on his fingertips, "Why don't you have some food and tea?"

"FOOD! I WANT SOME!" Usopp and Luffy cheered.

"QUACK QUACK!" Carue added

Sanji pointed back at the kitchen. "Your share's inside."

Sakura chuckled as the pair of boys and the duck dashed indoors and began squabbling. "Sounds like they're destroying the kitchen. You're gonna' hafta' give them a beating later, Nami...Hey, Nami?"

Nami was definitely sweating now, and her eyes were clouding over. "I...I think I need to rest…"

"Uhhh yeah, okay, let's get you to your room then," Sakura said nervously as she put her hand on the navigator's arm. It felt hot and damp to the touch, and she watched in horror as Nami sagged to the ground, completely unconscious.

"NAMI!"

"NAMI-SAN'S GONNA' DIE?!"

"Shut up, Sanji!" Sakura ordered while slapping a cold towel onto Nami's forehead. Next to her, Vivi tucked in and smoothed out the blankets. "Vivi, what's going on? Why's Nami so sick?!"

"The constantly changing weather might be making her ill. No matter how strong they are, many pirates still end up dying from the weather," Vivi murmured.

"SO NAMI'S GONNA' DIE?" Luffy screamed while Usopp wailed behind him.

Without hesitation, Sakura whirled around and dealt them both a slap to the face. "She's not gonna' die, but you guys might if you keep yelling."

"Her temperature's 40 degrees Celsius!" Vivi exclaimed, "Her fever just keeps climbing! Doesn't anybody here have some kind of medical knowledge?"

The room fell silent except for Sanji's sobbing as everybody pointed to Nami.

"It doesn't matter. We'll figure something out," Sakura said briskly, "Should she eat some food or stuff? Food makes you strong."

"Yosh, let's get her some meat!" Luffy announced.

Vivi sighed. "Sanji-san, can you make some kind of broth for Nami-san?"

"I'll try my best, but will that cure her completely?" Sanji asked as he wept into his coat sleeve.

"It'll help, but unless we find a solid treatment, I don't know what will happen to her," Vivi replied softly.

Luffy tilted his head in confusion. "If a fever really that bad?"

Usopp and Sanji scratched their heads in unison. "Never had one before."

"What kind of people are you guys?!" Vivi snapped.

Sakura recalled once when she had been really small, and bedridden with a cold. Keri had taken care of her, and she had been fine within a few days. "Shouldn't a few days rest be enough to help her?" she pressed.

Vivi shook her head. "For small cases yes, but this may have been caused by the Grand Line, and a 40 degree fever is really high. If we don't know what's causing this and we don't have a treatment, Nami might die."

"NAMI'S GONNA DIE?!"

"NO, NAMI-SAN DON'T DIE!"

"YAAAHH!"

"QUAACKK!"

Sakura barely heard the wails of her nakama, or the shouted commands of a flustered Vivi. Nami could die so easily, and she couldn't do a thing to stop it? How could that even be possible?!

A pink flash suddenly filled the air and impossibly, the screaming and wailing seemed to grow even louder.

"NO NAMI-SWAN, DON'T LEAVE MEEE!"

"GWAAAHHHH!'

"I DON'T WANT MAKE NAKAMA TO DIE, NO NO NO!"

"What did you do, Sakura-san?!" Vivi clutched Sakura's hand, and she dimly became aware that the pink flash had come from her. The princess was now covered in a sheen of sweat, and looked almost as sick as Nami.

"That was me?" Sakura gasped.

"Who else could have done that?!" the princess's voice was filled with pain.

What had she done? Had she just...attacked everybody?

"My...my powers," she stammered, "I think my powers acted up. But, this doesn't usually happen!"

"Well, whatever you're doing, stop it! You're agitating everyone!" Vivi cried, "And can the rest of you just CALM DOWN AND SHUT UP!"

"YAHHHHH!"

"QUACK QUACK QUACK!"

Sakura stared at her hands. She hadn't done anything to conjure up her powers, so why had they still appeared? She...she…

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Jeez, you guys are really noisy."

"Nami?!" Everybody turned to see Nami shakily rising out of bed, a small smile on her face.

Luffy grinned. "Hey, our yelling cured Nami!"

"That's not how fevers work, idiot!" Usopp snapped.

"I'm really sorry, Nami!" Sakura bit her lip, "It's my fault everybody got even more worried than they already were. But I swear, I don't know what I did!"

"Maybe you should go outside, Sakura-san," Vivi said softly.

Sakura nodded dumbly, guilt still swarming in her. She heard Nami say something in protest, but she was already turning and stumbling out of the room.

A cool rush of sea air cleared the stuffiness of her head a little. With a groan, she draped herself over the ship railing, letting her body relax completely. Why were her powers acting up like that? And what was going to happen to Nami?

"What's up with you, chibi?"

Sakura looked up to see Zoro perched nonchalantly on the ship railing a few feet away, an enormous weight in his hand. A voice in her mind told her to be irked about the nickname, but Sakura was too preoccupied to listen to it.

"I'm fine. Perfectly fine," she muttered, her eyes going back to stare at her hands.

"Thought we were gonna' be a little more honest to each other, huh?" The riceball had a trace of laughter in his voice.

She frowned. "Did we ever say we would?"

"Well, no," he now sounded more thoughtful, "But I assumed that you would at least tell me why you have pink sparks coming out of your head."

"Excuse me?!" She shot her head up and sure enough, small sparks were dancing around above her, almost like fireflies. "What the fuck?!"

Instinctively, she tried to shoo them away with her hands, but of course it didn't work. Beside her, Zoro chuckled.

"It's not funny, riceball! I don't know why this is happening!" she wailed, "My power popped up when I was with Nami, too! I think I made everybody feel even more scared! What's wrong with me?!"

"Maybe you're just emotional," Zoro replied dismissively, "You did the same thing at Little Garden, didn't you?"

"Did I?" Now that she thought about it, when she had been surrounded by fire, she hadn't been thinking about using her powers, but according to Zoro, she had accidently hurt him and taken out Mr. 5. "But it's not the same. That...that was because of the fire."

Zoro shrugged. "Well, Nami's sick, and that probably caused you to be scared for her. And then you transferred that fear to the others. That's how your powers work right?"

"I guess. I mean, Vivi said that Nami might die and I...I freaked out," she muttered, squinting at the dancing little sparks, "I just wish I could control it. This never happened at Loguetown."

"You didn't have nakama in Loguetown," Zoro noted. When she turned to scowl at him, he shrugged again. He wasn't teasing her for being alone then, she realized. He was just pointing out a fact. A very awkward fact of hers.

"You thought I was making fun of you for not having friends before, huh?" he chuckled. Sakura felt her cheeks warm up. Were her emotions that obvious?

"Just...I mean...I don't know...Seems like something you would do," she muttered, "Tease me for how bad I am with making friends."

"Not like I'm great at it either," the swordsman set his weights down on the ground beside him, "And it's not a big deal anyway."

Sakura tugged at her bangs. "That's not the point, though. How am I supposed to be a spy or even a working human being if I'm throwing sparks around every time I worry about my nakama?"

"You're the chibi. You'll figure it out," Zoro replied simply. Sakura was about to make a sarcastic response when she realized something. His voice sounded completely genuine. She looked over to see him staring back at her.

"I meant what I said before, you know," he continued, his voice impossibly calm, "You're not weak, and if anybody can figure out how to stop your devil fruit from acting up, it's you. So stop getting so worked up over such a little thing."

There was no doubt or forced optimism in his voice, and of course there wouldn't be. The pair looked at each other, and again, Sakura felt the same understanding from before, saw the same steadiness in his eyes. She opened her mouth, and then closed it, not knowing what exactly to say. Thankfully, she was saved from having to come up with anything by the door slamming open, and a figure stumbling out.

"Nami? You're better already?" Zoro asked, frowning.

"What...What are you doing?!" Nami barked. Despite her ferocious tone, Sakura could still see the unhealthy pallor of the navigator's skin and the slight trembling in her legs. She can barely even stand…

"Whaddaya' mean? We're heading straight aren't we?" Zoro growled.

"Have you been using the Eternal Pose?"

"No need. I've been following that cloud over there."

"CLOUDS CAN MOVE OR CHANGE SHAPE, YOU IDIOT!" Nami shrieked before rounding up on Sakura, who shrunk backwards, "And you! Why didn't you say anything? You should have more sense than this stupid lump, Sa-chan!"

"Uhhh...I...ummm…" she managed to choke out.

Nami shook her head and stared into the horizon. Sakura looked carefully at the navigator's face. It was flushed deep red, and shone bright with sweat.

"The air's changing...but the sky's still so clear," she heard her mutter, "Just...We need to get everybody out. Change the ship's course."

"OI! EVERYBODY GET YOUR ASSES OVER OUT HERE AND HELP WITH STEERING THE SHIP! WE'RE CHANGING COURSE!" Zoro yelled. The rest of the crew poked their heads out from inside the ship.

"I don't feel like listening to you, shithead!"

"Get moving, Sanji-kun!"

"Anything for you, dear Nami-san!"

The crew set to work but Sakura hesitated. She trusted Nami with her life, but was the navigator just hallucinating from her illness? Surely there wasn't anything wrong with the weather?

"There's something happening," she heard her mutter under her breath, "Not a storm...but still…"

Wordlessly, Luffy strode forward and stuck his hand on Nami's forehead, before quickly retracting it with a yelp. "Hot hot hot! You must be really sick, huh, Nami?"

"It's just a cold! Now shut up and get moving!" she snapped. As the men rushed to get the ship's course changed, Sakura studied the navigator. Her face was still bright red, and her hair was damp with sweat, but she was still shivering. Definitely not just a small cold.

Without realizing it, small pink sparks again began to leap from her hands, and she hurriedly jammed them into her armpits. Dammit, she needed to figure out how to stop it.

The door suddenly slammed open again, and Sakura turned to see Vivi running out, her face set with determination. "Everybody, I need a favor from you all!"

Next to her, Nami staggered, and Sakura quickly moved to support her nakama. "Not exactly the best time to be making announcements, princess," she muttered.

"You all know that my country is in danger, and the sooner I can make it back, the better," the princess continued, "I can't even waste a second of my time. That's why, from now on, we need to do everything we can to make it to Alabasta as soon as possible!"

"What the hell? You're kidding!" Sakura hissed under her breath. Was the princess seriously suggesting that they forget about Nami to focus on saving Alabasta?

"I promised her that, Sa-chan, remember?" Nami breathed, her breath coming out in short puffs. Sakura gaze hardened. No matter what Vivi wanted, Sakura would make sure to find a way to help Nami. A small pink flare erupted from her free hand and she quickly stuffed it into her pocket before it could hit Nami.

"That means, the only thing we can do is find a doctor to cure Nami-san!" The princess announced, "Once Nami-san is in good health, we can travel the fastest!"

Oh…what?

Luffy chuckled. "Nothing can make this ship faster than seeing Nami get better!"

"You're making me fall in love with you all over again, Vivi-chan," Sanji grinned.

"Brave words, princess," Zoro called out.

Sakura stared in amazement as the guilt flooded into her and lingering doubts of the princess began to disappear. "Guess you're not so bad after all!" she sputtered out.

Vivi grinned. "I'm happy to hear that, Sakura-san!"

"I'm glad we're happy and all," Usopp stammered, "But WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

Everybody turned to look at where Usopp was pointing and Sakura's heart nearly stopped. Only a few hundred feet away was an enormous, swirling cyclone, so huge that it easily dwarfed the ship. As the winds buffeted them and they slowly moved past, realization dawned on the spy.

"We...we would have sailed straight into that if we didn't change course," she murmured, "And then we'd all be dead."

The rest of the crew seemed to have the same thoughts in mind as they stared at the awesome sight. Suddenly, Sakura heard a sigh next to her just in time to see Nami begin to slide from her grasp.

"Oi, Nami! Stay with me! Come on!" she cried, struggling to wrap the navigator's arms around her neck. How the hell did she sense that storm in this state?

"Let me help you, Sakura-san!" Vivi rushed to support Nami from the other side, and together the girls managed to stumble to their feet.

"T-Thank you," Sakura stammered.

Luffy's grin stretched even wider. "ALRIGHT EVERYBODY! LET'S GO FIND A DOCTOR!"

"AYE!"

"Is she feeling better?"

Vivi looked away from Nami's flushed face to see Sakura peaking through the door. She didn't dare come closer. Seeing Nami look so weak was already causing sparks to shoot from her hands, as if to echo her growing anxiety for her crewmate. Night had fallen, and the others had long gone to bed, leaving Sakura on watch. Trying to soothe her worried mind, she had ventured to visit the other girls on the ship. Carue was curled up in the corner too, and he looked up curiously at the nervous spy.

"Her fever hasn't changed, but I don't know if that's good or bad," the princess murmured, while Nami stirred restlessly in her sleep, "I'll continue to watch her."

Sakura ran her fingers through her mussed bangs while closing the door behind her, though she didn't move forward. "You...you should get some sleep, too."

"Don't worry about me. I'm not tired, Sakura-san." Vivi gave her a small smile, "You on the other hand, look like you could use some rest."

"I...umm...I actually wanted to apologize," Sakura muttered, her eyes roaming everywhere but Vivi's face.

The princess looked genuinely confused. "For what?"

"For being so rude to you before. You've kept proving over and over again that you were a friend, but I still found it hard to trust you," she fingered the frayed hem of her tank top, "I even thought you would forget about Nami to go to Alabasta, and now you're doing more for her than I can. I...I'm really sorry."

Vivi slowly traced unknown shapes on the blanket beside her. "It was inevitable for us to be wary of each other, since we were both spies when we first met. And Nami-san told me a little of your past, so it's understandable for you to see me as untrustworthy. That's why I...I won't forgive you, Sakura-san, because there was never anything to forgive."

Sakura made a face. Was Nami going around to everybody and talking about Kaihana now? "I don't want your pity, you know. And I'm more than the little girl I was seven years ago."

"Nami knows that, and I now know that, too," Vivi replied softly, "So I'm not trying to pity you. I just want to understand you."

Sakura wanted to shrink away, retreat back into the shell she was so used to hiding in when people probed. Yet she looked at Vivi's warm eyes, and only saw the sincerity that, she realized, had been there all along. Suddenly she wanted to tell Vivi right then and there about how, even since that afternoon, she had developed the fierce fear of losing the princess, and how strange that was because the only people Sakura usually feared losing were her stupid, lovable nakama, but saying all that, for some reason, just felt like an excuse.

She instead looked straight at Vivi, and when she spoke, the hesitation and awkwardness vanished from her voice, replaced with a steady determination. "When I decided to join Luffy as his spy, I knew my nakama would become the ones I cared most about, and I promised myself I would do everything I could to protect them. Vivi, for all that you've done for Nami and everyone else, I promise to protect you, too."

Vivi's smile grew impossibly wider. "Thank you, Sakura-san."

"Please." If there was one way Sakura could show her trust. "Just...call me Sa-chan."

A/N: Hope you liked the chapter and sorry if it's too much poorly written solemn dialogue for you, but there was no way I could continue without settling things between Sakura and Vivi. I was also originally going to leave the goldfish part out, but something just seemed so off about having a hole in the plot. So anyway, please leave me the feedback I dearly need!

By the way, I'm really sorry for the kinda irregular updates after promising I would get more steady during the summer. I've been having a lot of personal problems and well, I don't want to get any of y'all involved, but right now is just a difficult time for me, so please be understanding. As always, I am eternally grateful to the people who continue to read and support my work! It means so much for the beginner who was always criticized for terrible writing skills (myself), and I would hug every single one of you if I could! Thanks for the love!