Today was kind of a day where I got swindled. I gave a boy five hundred dollars worth of Yu-Gi-Oh cards and only got one hundred. That's about me and what I want to say about Alberthe21stGenius is I keep hoping to continue this with this writer.

XXX

Dorobou turned his head to look at Fletcher, the one who had uttered those words. Fletcher had already demonstrated a certain . . . simple-mindedness, a slight tendency to rush into things, and he gave Dorobou the impression of someone who most certainly did not(bold) know how to sail a ship. Then again, Dorobou himself had only the vaguest of notions of such things himself. While he had once served as a cabin boy, his memory of that time mostly involved mops and copious quantity of soapy water, regardless of what he may have said to Sherry.

Could Dorobou really follow someone like Fletcher? Yokai and Christopher already did, and they didn't really seem bothered by it . . . then again, he didn't really know them. Just then, Fletcher's face lit up in a grin for no apparent reason, his eyes fixed on something on the other side of the room. Soon, the boy was battling against Yokai's grip in an effort to get to whatever he had seen.

XXX

They were all standing outside Dorobou's office. Not the one that Raver had destroyed, but another smaller building that the businessman didn't really use. This building would soon belong to Rodroy.

The crossdresser was looking teary-eyed, constantly sniffing into a handkerchief. Dorobou had a bag of his belongings by his side, waiting patiently as his worry-wart assistant reeled off a long list of instructions on how careful he should be in his new life as a pirate.

Christopher was awake, sort of, and was being supported by Yokai.

"Can't we just leave already?" the cook grumbled grumpily. His wounds hurt, and he was tired.

Fletcher was sitting on the ground with a bump on his head from Sherry. She hadn't taken too well to his attempt to hug her and 'welcome her to the crew.'

The woman in question was standing apart from all the rest of them with a scowl on her face, a white-knuckle grip on the large suitcase beside her. None of the crew cared that she punched Fletcher when he was being overzealous but a part of Yokai wondered what was inside her briefcase. A perverted grin covered his face.

XXX

On an island of giants . . .

Sarah examined the map with glee, gloating over her possession of it. However, she probably should have done her gloating somewhere else other than the middle of the street.

There was a flash of light, and a nearby dragon (which was been tied to a pole for some reason after it had landed on the island) suddenly doubled in size, the rope around its neck snapping. The beast lunged forward, jaws snapping closed over the map, snatching it out of Sarah's hands.

Gulp!

Sarah stared in horror as the dragon swallowed her precious stolen map.

The dragon took off running, a screech of "NOOOOOOO!" coming from behind it.

Ken leaped to his feet from where he'd been napping and started chasing after the dragon. But when the dragon reached the docks, it simply opened its wings with a swoosh! and took off flying.

XXX

Rodroy finally finished his tearful list. Dorobou gave the man a few last-minute instructions with an embarrassed smile. He looked up at the building, silently fare-welling his business as it lay now in Rodroy's (hopefully) capable hands.

The crew turned and started to walk towards the docks. Dorobou wondered if they had enough supplies.

There was no need to worry. Fletcher had a knack for gathering food.

All along their way, Dorobou was astonished to see food being dropped into a bag Fletcher held by various townspeople, who had emerged now that the threat to their city was gone.

Fletcher accepted all offerings with a grin.

" I live in this place where they look at me as being ruthless. If anyone deserve to have gifts it's a person called Dorobou," Dorobou said to Yokai.

The monk ignored him, looking very pale. Christopher was mumbling about how his head hurt . . .

XXX

Soon, they were all aboard the ship. Fletcher had collected three bags of supplies, and no one really wanted to know where he kept them.

Christopher was dumped in a bed, from which he mumbled instructions. Fletcher summoned his wind to speed them on their way. Sherry hid who-knew-where. For such a small ship, it sure had a lot of hidey-holes. Dorobou watched his island fade into the distance while Yokai examined maps and muttered under his breath.

Onwards to the next adventure.

XXX

Three days later . . .

A bright rainbow streak dove out of the sky towards a certain ship.

If anyone was thinking the rainbow streak was for Fletcher and his crew's ship they were half right. On the sea there's more than one ship sailing. No one knows there's another ship in the water because they are very far away.

"Commander Braggart!" a voice called.

"Yes?"

"Dragon spotted in the sky off to the starboard via telescope, sir! The lookout says it's heading for another ship on the horizon!"

Commander Braggart frowned heavily.

"Full speed ahead, set a course to intercept them."

"Yes, sir!"

As the marine ran off, the commander muttered to himself, "They're not getting their hands on my dragon."

XXX

"Hey, monk! How far to the next island?" Christopher called from the kitchen.

Yokai replied, "We should reach it in a day or two."

Dorobou had been put in charge of accounts, making him the ship's treasurer. He was sitting in the cabin they all shared, counting out what little money they had.
Behind a screen set up for her privacy, Sherry was mixing up medicines . . . at least, that's what they assumed she was doing.

On deck, Fletcher had his gaze fixed on a brightly coloured object in the sky. He squinted as it drew closer, an excited grin making its home on his face.

"Hey guys! Look! A dragon!"

"That's nice, Fletcher." Dorobou replied absently. Everyone else ignored their captain's outburst.

Fletcher watched as the beast skimmed the water, only seconds away from colliding with them.

"No, really! It's a dragon- AAAAHH!"

That got people's attention. They all looked just in time to see Fletcher disappear in a whoosh of air as a rainbow-streaked dragon carried him off into the sky.

They were at first scared of what the dragon would do to Fletcher. But the dragon was already too high up for them to do anything.

Christopher yelled, "Follow that dragon!"

XXX

"Commander Braggart, sir!"

"What is it now?"

"The ship has changed course, sir! It's following the dragon, which the lookout says took one of the people aboard, sir!"

"And? Just stay on a course to intercept. Don't bother me."

"Yes, sir . . ."

XXX

Fletcher was having the time of his life. Upside-down. Suddenly, he was flipped in mid-air, the dragon gripping his arms now rather than his legs. But Fletcher didn't really need his arms to control his devil fruit.

"Higher, higher!" he shouted like a child, summoning an updraft of wind to push the dragon to a higher altitude. He heard a startled yelp from the dragon as it adjusted. Fletcher, hearing that yelping sound, wanted to know if the dragon was carrying too much weight than it could handle.

But the dragon chose that moment to fly even higher of its own accord, so Fletcher supposed that it was fine. He laughed into the wind.

XXX

Yokai frowned as he spotted another ship on the horizon. He narrowed his eyes in an attempt to see better, but the other ship was currently too far away to identify. But he'd know soon enough, since it appeared to be on a course towards them.

XXX

Braggart inspected various bounty posters spread out on his desk. There were posters of the criminals from Assassin's Isle (all of them dead and turned in for the reward), and of a couple of giants that had been rumored to have lost fights to some rookie sailors. Only a day before, following the dragon's trail, Braggart had stopped briefly on an island that had been known to be under threat by 'Roving' Raver, a zoan devil fruit eater.

Raver had been killed by a couple of rookie sailors. Braggart frowned.

The vague descriptions he had of these sailors were the same at every island that the dragon had touched down on, Braggart had discovered. He had this strange feeling . . .

XXX

Half an hour passed, and Yokai was a little worried to see that the ship heading for them was marked with the symbol of the world government.

' Marines. You've got to be kidding me and why are they even here to begin with?' Yokai thought. Keeping his eyes locked on the approaching ship, he called out a warning.

"There's a Marine ship headed straight for us!"

Not really in the mood for Marines, Christopher called down "Ignore them, and maybe they'll go away!"

"That's a bit optimistic." Dorobou muttered from his position, watching the war-ship get closer.

Inside the cabin, Sherry was frozen in fear. 'No, not marines. Anyone but the marines . . .' she thought, panicked. If the marines decided to do what she thought they were here for she and the four make pirates would be in more trouble than anything they've encounter and faced so far.

She had to hide! Or, at least disguise herself.