Title: On the Ocean Blue

Written By: NikoArtagnan

Genre: Fantasy/Friendship/Adventure

Rating: T, will eventually go to M

Summary: An outcast from Earth is flung headfirst into a hostile, unforgiving world, and finds themselves tagging along with a very particular crew of misfit pirates, and the boy who wants to be the King of them all...But this isn't the world of One Piece you thought you knew, and there are terrible things lurking in the shadows...

Chapter-Specific Warnings: Foul language, minor violence, grieving badly, etc

Chapter Two:

To the Grand Line

There was a woman walking down the pounded dirt road that snaked through the main area of Loguetown. This was where the city's vendors offered a wide array of products for sale to the native people, the tourists, the Marines, and pirates who passed through the last stop before the Grand Line.

She was fairly tall, about 5"9 in a pair of worn sandals. She wore oversized, baggy clothing chosen specifically to hide both the fact that she was a woman, and that she was a fighter. But a very careful observer would be able to note the swell of breasts beneath the jacket and the faint outline of muscled arms and legs as they pressed against the fabric.

Most people took one look at her and assumed male and nonthreatening. It was an impression she worked hard to cultivate.

After all, it was always better to be a man alone than a woman alone.

And no one had ever gone astray by letting potential enemies think they were weaker than they already were.

Her dark hair was about shoulder-length, held out of her eyes by a dark headband and braided back severely. She had a mouth that seemed made for kissing, wide and sensuous, though the effect was slightly dimmed by the scar that slashed the right side of it, pulling them down into a hint of sneer. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of enormous sunglasses, and slung over one arm was a dark blue satchel shot through with gold strands.

She could have been any one of the pirates, bounty hunters, or fighters who passed through the gates of Loguetown on her way to the Grand Line, but perhaps the strangest thing about her were her two companions.

Walking close by her feet were two cats – one orange, the other black.

But they seemed fairly ordinary and she certainly wasn't the first to have cats as pets and come through Loguetown. A careful observer, however, might see stripes of black in the orange cat's coat as the sun danced of its fur, and that the black cat's eyes were silver.

But there were no careful observers on the streets of Loguetown who cared to look twice at what appeared to them to be a very ordinary man walking down the street and causing no harm to anyone.

The woman stopped and sniffed the air.

"Gin, Shere, I smell goat kabobs. Want to go get some?" Even her voice could have belonged to a man, being dark and warm, like finely aged whiskey.

Both cats immediately began purring and twining about her legs.

She snorted. "You little beggars. All right then, let me see if I can rustle up some money…I got some from the cruise ship. I'll need a bit more. And might's well get some extra money for the trip ahead." She looked carefully around, only to smile when she saw a very rich looking woman speaking pointedly to a harried looking silk vendor. And the fat money purse at her belt.

She grinned. "Wait here, Shere, Gin."

The goat kabobs were delicious. And the seller willingly chopped up several plates of meat for her piggish cats.

Kelly Lewis sat in the back of the restaurant, her back nestled into the corner, eyes watchful behind the enormous sunglasses she'd snatched from a particularly lecherous man she'd encountered on the cruise ship. Shere Khan, safe behind her glamoured disguise of a regular orange cat, lay in her lap, belly distended from goat meat. Gin curled up on the table, appearing to be asleep but really just as watchful and observant as his Mistress.

She sighed. She'd asked around about any ships heading to the Grand Line, but few people were. The Marines had a ship going out in a week, but they'd refused her request to take her with them. And she really didn't want to deal with anyone associated with the World Government for long periods of time.

She'd thought about asking some pirates. But she trusted none of them, seeing the greed and avarice in their eyes and hands. She could trust none of them not to cut her throat in her sleep or try and throw her cats overboard. She was not going with any of them.

All she wanted was a ship with people on it who wouldn't bother her, who would get her to the Grand Line and not ask any questions concerning why. It wasn't like she didn't have money or anything, studying the fat purse she'd nicked from the rich lady.

She peeled off her gloves and studied her wrists and palms for a moment.

Barely visible in the faded light of the restaurant, dark silver scales glimmered faintly.

Another problem she had to deal with – her scales. She'd noticed them a couple of years ago, but hadn't really given them much thought, and even when they had spread she had refused to give them much thought, as their implications had made her shake.

They'd grown considerably over the years, forcing her to wear her clothes that covered every inch of her body. She'd discovered early on that a majority of humanity did not like anything that looked human and had scales, a prejudice that even the show had barely touched on. Even Mina hadn't been too happy with them.

She closed her eyes and breathed in deep, trying not to remember some of the close calls she'd had over the years because of those damnable things. She had soon discovered that it wasn't for her blood that (a majority) of humans chased her – the legends of the Magi weren't as well-spread as she thought – but for the fact that she was turning into a fucking Sea Snake.

And she was a very, very valuable commodity in the world of slavery. The humanoid sea snakes had hid in the very deepest parts of the ocean or found Magi for protection, or maybe they'd gone back to the Goddess of the sea, who'd created them along with the Fishmen – the tales weren't clear, but they'd all but vanished. No one was stupid enough to go hunting them in the deep ocean, or in the New World, where they were rumored to live. You couldn't find Sea Snakes on 'civilized' land anymore.

'Except for me,' Kelly thought, rubbing a hand over her face as she shuddered. She'd been caught only twice. Only twice. Like her time trapped in the castles of the Daemons, it was not an experience she was keen on repeating. Thank God people just straight out hadn't believed the slavers when they'd boasted about having a silver-scaled Sea Snake in their cages, and she'd been able to escape before they could show evidence.

Her fingers ran over the rough surface of the tarnished silver, reflexively touching the lighter, scarred bands around her wrists. She had the scales everywhere. On her arms, her legs, her hips, shoulders…but none grew on her back. Not surprising, considering the scar tissue there.

While she admired the silvery color, it was more than a little horrifying. She was turning into a completely different race. She had been born a human and god damn it, a human she wanted to stay.

There were some pretty damn cool advantages to being a Sea Snake – extra strength, speed, endurance, and she was a little bit sure that she might be developing poison glands – but it was still terrifying. She'd dealt with the magic, with the talking cats, etc, etc, so on and so forth, but this…

She liked being human, preferred it, actually. It allowed her to be inconspicuous. She had enough trouble being a human Magi, anyway!

And besides, she was going home, and her parents would fully expect her to be human when she got there.

Gin cracked open one eye. "But you were never really human. Magi rarely are."

"I was born of a human mother and father, though."

"Doesn't always matter. And besides, I highly doubt that."

Kelly sighed and rested an elbow on the table. "Are you ever going to clarify that?"

"Nope."

"Lovely." Kelly stood up, Shere firmly clasped in her arms. "Anyway, let's go see if we can rustle up a ride. I don't want to be on this island any longer than I have to be, though I may have to make a stop at some shops before we do. Once I'm in the Grand Line, those fucks won't be able to get at me as easily, right?"

"Correct," Gin replied, and leapt onto her shoulder. "The magnetic fields there should prove ample barrier against most of them. If we get to the New World, we will be even more protected from all but the strongest. I know you want to go home, but-"

"I can't even begin to do that unless I get a real teacher with a deeper knowledge of what it means to be a Magus and I find a safe place to hide out. I planned on going to the New World, anyway, baka Gin. If there's a Magus strong enough to teach me in this world, he or she'll be there," Kelly said as the black cat curled around her shoulders and she tucked Shere into one of the outside pockets of the Infinity sack, so she could peek her head out when she woke up. She quickly walked out the door and down a small alley.

"…Mistress…have you considered going to the Straw Hat pirates?"

She froze, then kept walking. "No, can't say I have…You being in my mind is rather annoying, Gin-Aido."

"Mistress, from what I saw when I was helping you rebuild your mindscape, the Straw Hat pirates are an honorable group and their Captain even more so. And besides, we need to get to the Grand Line and the New World. We both know they'll get there. They may ask questions, but I very much doubt their navigator will refuse, especially with the money you have and how hard you'll work," He said.

"I don't want to fucking interfere with the events of the story, Gin. Who fucking knows what will happen if I'm there? What will change? And I know perfectly well that Luffy will want me for his crew after he sees what I'm capable of. In the New World Arc, the Straw Hat pirates have nine members."

"There's nothing that says you can't be the tenth," he offered in a reasonable tone.

"I want to go home, Gin. Home. To my family and friends and where I've always lived. To my house and my parents who are probably freaking the fuck out over my disappearance. I've only gotten fear and hate and greed from the people here. Why should I want to stay? The only reason I'm going to the New World is because it's the best place to find a teacher, to find out what'd happening to me, or maybe even to find someone who can send me home," She said, fingers trembling.

"But what will they say when they've seen the new you? Mistress, you're not even completely human anymore. Have you thought of that? You also know that the Straw Hats will easily accept your more scaly bits."

Kelly sighed, and rubbed a hand over her face. "I can't think about that. Besides, I knew the manga and anime characters. Not the people…Anyway, while we're here, let's do some shopping. I need to pick up some things and fleece a few more marks before we get to the Grand Line. Something tells me I won't be able to pick-pocket people so easily there."

"Mistress…"

"What?" She asked, walking out of the alley. "I need new clothes and money. I need some undergarments, which I can't create with my powers. And besides, it's not like Luffy and the others will even be here today. They've probably already come or have yet to, considering the fact that Smoker is still in charge around here. We can go look for a ship after."

Kelly yawned as she walked out of the small store with her bag in one hand, which she quickly stuffed into the Infinity Sack. She'd also stopped at another store.

But she had no idea if she would ever find the courage to use what she had bought there. It still hurt.

"Yosh! Let's find a ship to get us off this bumfuck island!" She declared, determinedly cheerful. Several people turned her way, glaring, and a hot blush stole over her cheeks.

"Moron," Gin whispered into her neck, curled once more around it.

"Hahahaaaa…many pardons," she said and immediately made her exit.

Well, she tried to. As she turned to her left, she crashed into another person, making her stagger back, and making the other person fall to the ground.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Kelly said, kneeling to help the other person up, only to freeze in shock.

It was a woman, wearing a white shirt with yellow stripes, a light brown miniskirt, and strappy, heeled sandals. Her skin was fair and her hair was the color of tangerines…

…God damn it.

The navigator of the Straw Hat pirates, "Cat Burglar" Nami, groaned.

"It's okay. H-help me up," The orange-haired girl asked, and it snapped Kelly out of her shock. She quickly hauled the other female to her feet, before kneeling back down and picking up the bags that had spilled. The Magus quickly handed them over to the navigator.

"Many pardons," Kelly said with as firm a smile as she could manage, one that was returned by the navigator.

"God damn it, ask her! You may not get another chance!" Gin hissed in her ear.

Kelly closed her eyes for the briefest of moments. Oh, what the hell. It wasn't like she could be sure that any other ship would actually make it to the New World. At the very least, these guys would get to Fisman Island, and maybe there she could get some answers about what she was turning into.

"Ah, excuse me, but you wouldn't happen to be going to the Grand Line, would you?"

Nami stopped and looked warily at her. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I want to go there myself. I'm willing to pay for and work for my room and board, if your ship has one to spare. I'm getting pretty desperate here. No one else seems to be going that way, I don't have the sea skills to take a ship there myself." Kelly admitted.

Nami crossed her arms over her chest and studied her for a long, long while. Kelly restrained the urge to fidget before the navigator nodded. "Is that so? Show me the money, first. Then we'll negotiate."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"It's Nami. If we're going to be traveling together, you should call me by my name…Are those cats?"

Kelly grinned and gently petted Shere's head, which was poking out of the Sack. Gin purred around her shoulders. She had no attention of ever doing anything that would attach her to the Straw Hats, and treating them all formally, as a servant to an employer did, should do the trick.

"Aye, they're my friends. Will they be a problem, Ma'am?"

She held out an arm, and let Gin walk to the entranced navigator, who cuddled him as the little flirt purred like a motor. Kelly sniggered as the navigator all but melted. Who knew tough-as-nails Nami was such a sucker for a cat?

"Of course not. Come on, you can help me carry my bags, and we'll negotiate as we do it."

Kelly closed her eyes. What the hell had she just gotten herself into? Was she insane? Asking for a ride on the Merry Go?

Ah well. What was life without a little risk? And she knew that the ship would be leaving by the end of the day, so it was for the best. The sooner she was in the Grand Line, the better.

She took Nami's bags and gave a courtly bow, winking at the girl. "Lead on, my fair lady!" She declared, only to blink in confusion as Nami's eyes widened and she blushed.

"…Are you okay?" Kelly asked.

"A-ah, yes, I'm fine. Let's go."

Kelly felt the ache in her back just before Nami said it, distant eyes turned to the sky: "There's going to be a storm."

"Ma'am, how do you know?" Kelly asked, masking the pain from her aching back easily.

"The air pressure is dropping," Nami said, and quickly turned to her. "Grab the bags and let's go. I need to get the rest of my crew."

Kelly grabbed the bags, Shere leaping into her Sack, while Gin curled back around her neck, and quickly trotted after the orange-haired girl. There was a distant look in her eyes, and Kelly could have sworn she felt the sea itself move in Nami's bones at that moment.

'Small wonder the girl's so competent at navigating. Christ Almighty,' Kelly thought with awe. After Kelly had shown Nami the amount of money, the rest of the trip had gone fairly easy. Nami was a good conversationalist, and Kelly felt somewhat comfortable around her.

Not completely, because that niggling fear was always there, no matter what she did, no matter who she would meet, that fear that the person across from her wanted her blood and her power. Wanted her dead or raped and dead.

But Kelly thought that her short sojourn would not be half as bad as she had thought. All she had to do was keep her powers hidden, and she would be able to leave just fine.

'I'm such an optimist,' she thought with a sigh.

"Murphy's Laaaaaaaw," Gin crooned in her ear, and she restrained the urge to throttle him.

DATE: I'm fair certain it's May 19th, though I've no idea what the year is in this world.

MY LOCATION: …The pirate ship Merry Go

PLACE: Heading towards the Grand Line…I GET TO SEE LABOON, WHOOOOO!

My introduction to the crew went fairly well. I was with Nami when she met up with the rest of her crew and she quickly introduced me before they all realized Luffy was on the execution platform. I got a suspicious look from Zoro, a glare from Sanji of all people (I don't think he realized I was female, that was hilarious) when he saw I was standing so close to his precious Nami-swan, and a curious look from Usopp.

Then they all realized Luffy was about to be executed and I was forgotten. Which was good thing, because I could barely manage to keep the smile off my face or from voicing the manic shrieks of joy my Inner Fangirl (who hadn't been killed off because of my experiences, strangely enough) was letting lose in my brain.

I helped Usopp carry the Elephant Blue Fin Tuna (that's the proper name, right?) back to the ship, easily getting around that idiot Mohji and his pet lion. Nami showed me where my room would be – a tiny closet of a room, but more than adequate for me, Gin, and Shere.

The storm began raging in earnest, and I helped Nami and Usopp keep it anchored so that Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji would be able to get back on. But I couldn't help glorying in the rain and wind and the tempest thrashing and singing around us. It was a surreal, but amazing experience, to say the least. I felt like my insides and head were stuffed full of power and it felt so DAMNED good.

I had always liked storms, but this…This was a different thing entirely.

GOD DAMN, I'm still shaking from it.

Anyway, I formally met Luffy during the absolutely sumptuous dinner Sanji made, and he seems to approve. Especially after Nami whacked him upside the head. Shere likes him. Spent the whole of dinner purring on his lap – the little flirt!

I swear, she's sometimes worse than Gin.

Sanji still doesn't realize I'm a woman. I'm still giggling over it.

But goddamn the boy can COOK. Better than my Dad, and he ran restaurants for thirty years! He smiles too, in a way that sort of (stupidly, clichély) reminds me of the sun. He laughs and it's a great thing to hear. I'd like to be his friend. Maybe I could approach him about helping to do the dishes? With this crew, he would have a great amount to deal with.

He sort of reminds me of Mina. His smile is so beautiful, like hers was-

…

Anyway, I think I should be getting to bed. I shouldn't be thinking about wanting to become friends with any of this crew, for all I find myself trusting them. Trusting them! Trusting humans!? What the hell is wrong with me? Haven't I learned my lesson by now?

But I want to. God how I want to trust them, to become their nakama. To know that someone else would have my back like Beth and Alex did, and not just so they could sink a knife in it, or sell me to slavers.

But I can't.

After all, I won't be staying.

~KL

The sun was just cresting over the horizon when Kelly stepped out of her room, leaving Gin and Shere napping on the bed, and headed for the upper deck. She wanted to get a good, clean whiff of sea air. It would do her better than anything with caffeine in it, and she would need the strength for dealing with Reverse Mountain.

Hopefully they would reach it today. Would they have to go through that ridiculous Dragon filler arc?

She seriously hoped not. She would very much like to get into the Grand Line sooner rather than later. She could feel the slight prickling on her forearms that always heralded the arrival of the Daemons, at least within a day or so.

She pushed open the door and stepped out into the chilled morning air. She felt herself smile involuntarily as she looked out at the rowdy waves pushing them further along and breathed the sea-salted air in deep. In the distance she could see what she assumed to be Reverse Mountain.

It looked to be a wonderful morning. Kelly grinned involuntarily, basking in the idea that she was fairly safe and that the Straw Hats wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Nami would kill them if she did. Kelly had given the girl half the contents of the rich lady's purse as payment, along with a promise of free labor. She heard the soft patter of footsteps behind her, but kept staring out at the ocean, even though her fingers twitched reflexively.

"Ah, you're up." Kelly turned to see Nami.

"So are you. Pardon me, ma'am, but you don't seem the type to be up this early," Kelly said, nodding respectfully.

Nami sighed and shrugged. "With this crew, I have to be…Well, since you're up, you can help me with my maps. Follow me." The two of them walked into kitchen, where Nami spread out some maps. "We'll reach Reverse Mountain soon. About the rest of your payment – doing minor chores. Are you good with a needle?"

Kelly blinked, then smiled. "Competent, ma'am. My Mama made sure of that." Kelly had little head for the traditionally feminine jobs, but her mother, having come from a family where such things were mandatory for the women, made damn sure her artistically inclined daughter knew at least some of the things she herself had learned at her own mother's knee.

"You'll be doing dishes, helping Usopp repair things around the ship, running errands for us when we reach islands, and some other things when I think of them…I won't ask you to do the laundry – each of us does our own, but if anyone has any tears or rips in their clothing, do you think you could take care of it?" Nami asked.

Kelly shrugged then had an idea. "If I had the materials, then of course. Ah, ma'am, do you think you could tell me what you know about the Grand Line and how to get in it? I'm not exactly what you call knowledgeable about the sea and the Grand Line in particular. I'd like to learn about weather 'n what, if you have the time, since it seems best to learn from a navigator."

Her power came from the sea. (Well, water itself, but hey, technicalities) It seemed almost criminal that she knew so very little about it and what made it work. It would be fascinating to learn about the Grand Line from the woman who would one day become its most legendary navigator.

And besides, if she wanted to get to the New World without the Straw Hats, she needed to know something.

Nami outright stared at her.

"Why?"

Kelly raised an eyebrow. "I want to know. And besides, if I get more time to spend with a lady so beautiful and obviously talented, that's no real hardship in my books." And flashed the orangette a smile, casually throwing the flirtation in there. She didn't mind flirting, with men or women. It was amusing, and a long habit after the chivalrous manners her father had worked to instill in her. And it made people like her a lot more than they planned on doing.

Nami gaped. Obviously she'd had few people express a real interest in her life's work. It wasn't like her nakama didn't understand and appreciate it, but the only one on the ship (so far) that could even come remotely close to having the book-smart intelligence to understand Nami's dream was maybe Usopp – and perhaps Sanji.

But Usopp didn't strike her as the type to be able to sit down and listen to someone rant on about the very technical aspects of their passion, and Sanji was an inconsolable flirt. She doubted he would pay much actual attention to the subject, instead of the speaker.

Kelly felt herself blink as a dull flush spread over Nami's cheeks. "Y-You shouldn't do that," she spluttered.

Er…

"Do what, ma'am?" Kelly asked politely, resisting the urge to scratch her head in confusion.

"Sm-smile! Like that!"

Uh…

"…That's my normal smile, ma'am."

Nami let out a frustrated sound and turned back to her maps. "Never mind. If you want to learn, sit down and shut up. I'll be talking a lot to myself."

"Ma'am yes Ma'am," Kelly retorted cheekily, getting a snort from the other female.

Kelly leaned forward and paid close attention to the words the navigator was saying, as they sat around the kitchen table.

And for the first time in a very, very long time, Kelly thought she might really, really like another human being. It went beyond the admiration for the two-dimensional character in the manga and anime.

Nami was a good woman, a passionate one. Greedy, yes, and also a thief, but hell, Kelly had her own avarice for jewels and money, and she was also a thief. She couldn't blame Nami in the slightest.

The door opened and Kelly heard a flamboyant voice ring out.

"Nami-swan! Would you like some coffee this morning, before we head…to…Oh. It's you," The cook's blinding smile vanished when he saw the two women sitting there and leveled a glare at Kelly, who blinked in consternation.

That was going to get real annoying real quick, Kelly realized, and felt a hint of frustration boil up as she looked at him, impeccably dressed and unbearably debonair, even so early in the morning.

She could smell the tobacco, various spices, and the musk of man that made up his personal scent even from so far away. His eyes were the crystal blue of shining oceans untouched by man and his blond hair looked like silk.

The kick of arousal was almost painful, and she wanted to snarl at him. All thoughts of friendship from the previous night were gone. All she could see now was a stupidly flirtatious man who couldn't see she was a female, obviously thought she was making a move on Nami, and was a perfect amalgamation of two of the only five humans she had ever loved in any world.

Her dad had smelled like a kitchen mixed with fragrant tobacco, even when he had little time to cook, and had always been such a stylish dresser that it had been him, not Mom, who gave her the tips on how to dress to impress. The homesickness she thought she had managed to set aside years ago made her bones ache.

And the rest of him reminded her so much of Mina it was like a kick to the chest, ten times more painful than the arousal.

She fought the tears stinging her eyes with the bitter anger that threatened to explode from her chest.

How dare he smell like her father.

How dare he look so much like Mina.

She wanted, irrationally, hatefully, to make him pay for it. She knew he couldn't help it, but God Almighty, he made her want to break things. Preferably over his head.

She calmed her rage with a mischievous idea. If he thought she was making the moves on Nami, why not tick him off even more by actually doing it? God, she wanted to…to niggle him somehow. Piss him off as much as he pissed her off.

"Maaaaa, cook-san, Nami-chan here was just giving me a crash course on the sea and on the weather she so adores. It's been quite a…educational experience, hasn't it, m'dear?" She turned back to the woman and in a smooth, seamless motion, caught the navigator's hand and brought it up to her lips, pressing a soft kiss to her palm.

Nami turned crimson, and so did Sanji, but for a much different reason than Nami did. She could practically hear the steam pouring out of his ears and his teeth grinding.

"Ah, anyway, thanks for the lesson, Nami-chan. I do really appreciate it. I'm going to go back and check on Gin and Shere Khan, so don't bother with setting a place for breakfast for me. Call me when we hit Reverse Mountain, if you need my help."

She grabbed some fruit from the fresh stack in the basket in the middle of the kitchen table and sauntered her way out, catching Sanji's glare out of the corner of her eye.

"Stop that idiotic glaring, it makes you look like an even bigger moron than you are – which is a pretty substantial fool in and of itself," she whispered as she passed, and was perversely delighted to hear him actually snarl at her.

Gin would probably call her an idiot, but damn, riling the blond man up felt really therapeutic.

DATE: May 20th

MY LOCATION: Merry Go, my bedroom

PLACE: Heading up Reverse Mountain

A quick entry.

Nami told me that she wouldn't need my help, as I was technically a guest and admitted to her that I pretty useless on ships. I agreed and decided to barricade myself in my room until we reach Laboon.

What? It's not like I ever made any bones about how little I know about ships. I teleported all over the islands, remember? I still don't the difference between the directions. Starboard, upboard, downboard…whatever the fuck they're called, I still can't make any heads or tails between them.

I probably should, considering the Grand Line is 90% water and you usually need ships to maneuver around, but hell, whatever. Nami will undoubtedly fill me in during the rest of her lectures.

(Maybe I'll go out when we hit Reverse Mountain. That'll be a sight to remember, and Beth would kick me in the shin if I didn't see it so I could tell her about it)

So, about Sanji… Why do I feel like I just through down the bright red gauntlet in front of particularly enraged bull?

…Oh God damn it, I pissed off the amazingly talented cook of this ship.

He's going to take every opportunity to sabotage my meals, isn't he? And treat me like Luffy on a food rampage?

…I'm an idiot.

I couldn't help it, though. Fucker looks just like Mina. Smelled like my Dad, too, which DID NOT help matters at all.

I'm attracted to him. There, I said it. I always was. When Beth went gaga over Zoro and Nami and Alex over Robin, my eyes always trailed to the cook of the show. He was my ideal man – like a blond Cary Grant who could cook, and had the chivalrous manners of my father. He acted like an idiot around women, but hell, sometimes I didn't blame him at all, considering Nami and Robin and the beautiful girls he swooned over. And perfection was never really perfection at all, in my books.

Flaws suit a man better than any notion of 'perfection'.

My fascination with him has seemed to carry over into real life. Despite everything I've gone through, despite Mina…

…I'm still attracted to him.

God fucking damn it all to Hell and back.

This fucking sucks ass.

~KL

Usopp had come to get her, saying they were heading up the Mountain, and would he like to come see it?

So it wasn't just Sanji who thought she was a guy, Kelly thought with a muffled snort, even as she pasted on a smile and followed the dark-skinned boy out, initiating a rousing conversation with the sniper that left him with smiles and laughter.

It was easy, she thought, to make them like her.

Oh, Kelly had always been good at making people like her. Teachers, authority figures, judges, potential employers, neighbors, etc. Beth had once called her a champion brown-noser, but Alex had shaken his head.

Not a sycophant, no, He'd said, with a solemn look in his eyes, but a spider. You're very good at manipulating people, Kel, you know that?

Kelly sighed. She wasn't a spider, she was just…trying to make sure these people would be very unlikely to stab her in the back.

It was necessary.

After all, these weren't exactly one-dimensional characters on a page or two-dimensional characters on a screen. They were real people, with depths and sides she'd never seen before. She couldn't keep thinking of them as characters.

They were human beings, people, real, and unpredictable.

And they were pirates.

Dangerous ones.

Gin curled around her shoulders, purring to try and alleviate some of the tension in her shoulder blades. But she couldn't let down her guard. Not even here.

It was a little tiring, to be honest.

It was a pretty damn amazing sight, as the ship zoomed up the side of Reverse Mountain, the walls of the Red Line looming on either side, the carved stone arches passing so quickly overhead they seemed to be one continuous blur, the spray from the rushing current splashing against her face. It felt like Kelly was in the front seat of a convertible sports car, racing down the highway at top speeds, without a seatbelt.

Terrifying, yes.

But also fucking spectacular to behold.

She noticed that they were coming to the top and quickly sat down, anchoring her ass to the wood with some magic so she wouldn't go flying off, and pulled Gin into the safety of her arms.

The ship leapt into the air, and Kelly and Gin sniggered as everyone but them went flying into the air, screaming their heads off, before the ship crashed back down and gravity pulled the pirates down with her.

They clung like limpets to various places around the ship, and Kelly just smirked as they zoomed down the other side.

She stood up as they began to gain speed, and laughed.

She thought going up the side of the Mountain had been fast, but this was like a Mach-5 racecar speed.

"Glorious," She sighed. "Fucking glorious. Hell, traveling on this ship is worth it, purely for this."

Then, a strange booming noise echoed through the area. Kelly restrained the urge to dance around like a maniac. It was Laboon! The cute whale who Luffy would try to beat the shit out of and eventually come to befriend. The little whale who'd once been friends with the Rumbar Pirates. The freaking adorable whale who had no idea his friend Brook was still alive and that the rest of his nakama had not forgotten him, even seconds before death.

She adored Laboon. Back home, she'd had a plushie just like him. And better yet – he was an animal! Not human!

Which meant she could get as attached to him as she damn well felt like.

She could hear Zoro yell "Did you hear that?" to Nami, who simply shrugged.

"Probably the wind going through the strange rock formations around here. There are plenty of them, and any of them could have caused that noise," she yelled back, and turned her attention to enjoying the ride.

Kelly sniggered helplessly. 'That's what you think.'

She wanted to be able to talk to Laboon. She knew she could communicate with the whale and talk to him, though she would have to be careful about saying anything that would knock the story off-track.

And she didn't want to be around the ship itself, do anything that would mess up the introduction with Miss Wednesday and that 9 fellow, because with her smart mouth that was inevitable.

She would have to be outside to do that, though.

So, when they passed the Twin Capes, she would have to make a jump for it.

"Come on, Gin. Let's go get Shere Khan. I want to talk to Laboon, and we need to be outside to do that," she said, and quickly hurried back to her small room. "And if things go wrong, we won't be in danger."

"A wise idea, Mistress. Why do you want to talk to the whale, though?"

Kelly giggled. "Because he's cute, of course!"

The cat sighed. "…I thought so."