(A/N: A new chapter! This is a long one, just so you know. Enjoy!)
Chapter 8: Venus' Decision! The Man Who Smiles On The Execution Platform!
It was a straw hat with a red brim; wait, it was Luffy's! "Wait, hat!" She heard him call out, and quickly grabbed it before it could fly away again. Wait! The clown! She had to warn him! "Venus! Good! My hat!" She handed it to him, and he put it back on his head. "Thanks!" He noticed the execution platform in front of him. "Ahh... I'm here! Lucky!"
'Wow!' Luffy was now at the top of the platform, still oblivious to Venus' frantic shouting. 'So this is the scenery that King of the Pirates saw... and he died here.'
"Finally..." The clown muttered, "Finally the time for revenge has come. Just wait, you damn Straw Hat!"
'He finally showed up,' Smoker thought, 'Took him long enough.'
"Please wait... Captain Smoker!" Tashigi, Sergeant Major and swordswoman, called after him.
"Come with me, Tashigi."
"Yes, sir!"
"Hey, someone's on the execution platform!" A citizen pointed out. "Who the heck is that?"
"That old man said that it was 22 years ago that the King of the Pirates died here."
"LUFFY!" Venus screamed at the top of her lungs, her arms flailing about. He finally looked down at her with a hum. "LUFFY, LISTEN TO ME! SOMEONE'S TRYING TO KILL YOU!"
"Be quiet!" A citizen heckled.
"As if anyone would believe you!"
Venus growled in irritation, fighting back tears. She was telling the truth! "Just leave this town already!"
"You're not wanted here!"
"Hey, you over there!" The captain of the town police shouted to Luffy in a megaphone, indirectly putting a stop to the verbal abuse. "Come down right now!"
"Why?!"
"Officer!" Venus rushed over, and grabbed his arm. "Someone's trying to kill him!"
"Get out of here, kid!" He pushed her away, and she landed on her backside on the concrete. "Young man, that's a special execution platform under control of the World Government! Come down right now!"
"Well, you don't have to be so strict, officer." He stayed put with a trollish grin.
"Better do what he says!" Venus shouted warily.
"If you don't come down, I'll just arrest you. I'm coming up now!" After just three steps, the officer was wacked in the head with a swing of a spiked, iron mace.
Venus watched in shock, as he landed in front of her, standing on her feet, before she saw the attacker; the woman from the bar! "Hmph. Now's not the time for small fries. I've been looking for you, Luffy; long time no see."
"Huh?" Luffy stared in confusion. He didn't know this woman!
"Don't tell me you forgot my face," She smirked.
To Venus' chagrin, all the townspeople started going gaga for her. "How beautiful..."
"She's so pretty!" A girl gushed.
"She is a woman of unrivaled beauty!"
"Her skin looks very smooth," A blonde girl swooned.
"Oh, give me a break," Venus facepalmed, though was blushing a little herself.
"I don't know anyone like you," Luffy said, "Who the heck are you?"
"I'll never forget you... because you're the first man who hit me," She mused.
"What? I hit you?" The townspeople turned on him at that.
The woman rubbed her flat, perfect stomach. "When your passionate fist hit me that time..." Her hand moved up to her cheek. "Oh, it felt good." The citizens went back into love mode. "You guys... what's the most beautiful thing in the East Blue?"
"That'd be you!" Everyone, sans Luffy and Venus, answered at once.
"That's right. It's me. There's no man in this world that doesn't bow before my beauty. And I like strong men. I'll make you mine, Luffy."
"You can't be serious," Venus furrowed a brow in exasperation.
"Shut up!" He refused. "No way! Who the heck are you?"
"You still haven't figured it out?" She was now angry.
Just then, more law enforcement were on the scene. "This is the police! Hey, woman, come quietly! You're under arrest for harming the police captain!" They then turned their attention to Luffy. "And you over there! Get off the execution platform!"
She showed her face to the officers. "Oh? Who'd you say you'd arrest?"
"Y-you!" They tried to resist, but her gorgeous, teal green eyes bore into them.
"Are you capable of that?" She smiled with her perfect, red lips.
They then succumbed. "A-Asst. Captain, this is a problem! She's beautiful!" Venus facepalmed again.
"So what?! We'll arrest her!"
The officers couldn't move. "She's so beautiful that she's dazzling!"
"Good for you!" Suddenly, a red ball with a clown-like Jolly Roger on it came crashing down right into the fountain, sending the officers flying.
"Terrorist bombing!"
"It's heading straight for her!" The fountain was blasted off of the concrete, and flying in the unmoving woman's direction; to everyone's shock, it slipped right off of her like she was made of slick, indestructible ice, and collided into the building above.
"Wh-what the..."
"The fountain slipped!"
"What just happened?!" Luffy exclaimed.
"That was dangerous, you know," The woman scolded to a group of cloak-dressed men. Venus' eye widened; they were the same ones she had seen earlier.
"Flashily sorry. But your smooth skin is unharmed, of course. So don't worry... beautiful lady Alvida."
"Huh? Alvida?" Luffy raised an eyebrow. His first enemy on his journey? "I don't see Alvida."
"I'm Alvida!" The beautiful woman glared. "You block head!"
"Really? You don't look like Alvida at all." Last time he saw her, she was morbidly obese, and quite ugly. What happened?
"I changed after eating a Devil Fruit. The name of the fruit is..." She whipped off her cloak, revealing a long purple coat, white bikini top, and pink and white striped pants. Everyone was gaga again. "Smooth Smooth Fruit! No attack can hurt my skin because it slides off it. Unfortunately, my beauty couldn't be improved that much, though. One big change was... yes, my freckles are gone."
"N-no, that's not really what I meant," Luffy said.
Having seen her old self thanks to posters in the bar and around town, Venus had a look of skepticism. "Bold of you to assume no one's seen your wanted poster," She snarked, and it was met with one of the spikes on the mace nonfatally pushing up the tip of her nose.
"I'd watch your mouth if I were you, little witch," Alvida threatened, "I'll get to you later; and enjoy it." She then returned to business, as Venus indignantly rubbed her nose. "After becoming a new person, I joined forces with him since we had the same goal: finding you."
Laughing evilly, the men threw their cloaks off, revealing themselves as the Buggy Pirates. "Now, the ultimate star appears super flashily!" Buggy announced. "Monkey D. Luffy! Since the day you blew me off, I've been obsessed with revenge on you. That alone led me to finally find my crew. It was indeed a great adventure. I was missing parts of my body." The crew was crying, as he told the story. "Laughs. Hell. Friendship. It was tiny Buggy-kun's great adventure. But Buggy-kun was-"
"We don't care. Cut to the chase."
"Quiet, witch! Now then- wait, why am I telling you a story, you bastard?!"
"What? Well, what was your name?" Luffy tried to remember. "Boggy? No, Boogie? No, Behie... isn't right... oh yeah! It's Buffoon!"
Buggy stared for a moment, still honking, but now angry. "Buffoon?! Stop messing around! You sure haven't lost your nerve, you moron!"
"I-it's Buggy the Clown!" A bystander stepped back in fear.
"P-pirates!" Another man followed his lead.
"It's the Buggy Pirates!" They all tried to run away, but he gained their attention.
"People! Remain flashily where you are!" He commanded, as his cronies pointed guns at the citizens. "I'll show you good how scary I am."
"What? You gonna flashily juggle bowling pins?" Venus deadpanned.
"I said shut up! You'll be next!"
"Yeah, you'll be doing the town a favor there, pal."
"Oh!" Luffy hit his palm in realization when it came to him. "It's Buggy!"
"You just remembered it?!" He raged.
Luffy was suddenly pinned down by the top half of wooden stocks by the emo-haired Kabaji. "Wh-what's going on?"
"Luffy!" Venus exclaimed in fear, and went to help him, but Alvida grabbed her by the wrist. "Let go of me!"
"Long time no see, rubber man," Kabaji leered down at him, "Is Roronoa Zoro well too?"
"Okay, Kabaji. Good job." Buggy laughed evilly. "To my several hundred billion servants around the world! Look! We'll now super flashily start the open execution!" Luffy was trying to escape the stocks throughout the speech. "Monkey D. Luffy! You can't no longer move even an inch! You feel honored, Straw Hat?! You can die in the same place the King of the Pirates died." More evil laughter, as both Luffy and Venus struggled in their restraints. For a slippery woman, Alvida sure had a firm grip.
Elsewhere, Nami was looking at her weather compass with concern. "The atmospheric pressure is dropping abnormally. I've never seen such a bizarre drop before."
"Now that you mention it, I feel a strange wind," Sanji remarked.
"A storm is coming... to this island!"
"A-a storm?" Usopp stammered in fear.
"We'd better hurry back to the ship, or we'll be in trouble."
"Is it a really big one?" Usopp asked.
"Hey!" Zoro joined them, looking confused.
"Zoro!" Nami said.
"Have you seen him?" He asked them.
"You mean Luffy?"
"Yeah... we got separated. I also feel something strange. Like... something terrible is about to happen."
Dark, billowing grey clouds started to loom over the island. "Pirates're here!" Some citizens announced. "Pirates're here! Pirates're here!"
"Run!"
"It's Buggy the Clown!"
"What?!" Nami exclaimed.
"Buggy the Clown!" Zoro glared.
Meanwhile, Smoker was on the lookout, when he was alerted. "What?"
"Y-yes! In addition to Straw Hat Luffy, Buggy the Clown and Iron Club Alvida, all notorious pirates in the East Blue, are taking over the square!"
"Right under my nose... what impudent jerks."
"And that witch girl was there too!"
"Venus?"
"Yes, sir. What should we do, Captain Smoker?"
"Send Unit #1 to the sea," He commanded, "Unit #2 is to secretly surround the square from the streets. Have the rest stand by within shooting range of the square; and get the witch out of there. Bring her home; that is all."
"Yes, sir!" He saluted.
"Give this order to Unit #1..."
"Yes, sir?"
"Crush any pirate ships as soon as they see them. Don't let any pirates off of this island. Not even one pirate."
The storm continued to billow out, darkening the sky. "An execution!"
"An execution will start!"
"Buggy the Clown will be executing Straw Hat Luffy!"
"And that witch too!"
That got the four's attention. "Luffy's gonna be executed?!" Usopp's eyes widened in terror.
"That idiot!" Nami fussed, then realized something. "Wait, did he say witch too?"
"Venus!" Usopp screamed in terror.
"Let's go!" Zoro urgently took charge.
"Take care of this!" Sanji made Usopp hold the fish on his own, and followed Zoro.
"W-wait!" As Nami watched them go, Usopp tried to balance himself, and the giant fish. It was taller than him! "S-S-Sanji!"
"Take care of it like a lady!" Sanji ordered. "Got that?!"
"Oops! Ahh!" Usopp struggled.
"We have to hurry too!" Nami said, and started leading him to the docks by his overall strap.
"Hey! Hey, Nami! Where're we going?!"
"The harbor, of course!"
"H-harbor? Oh yeah, of course!"
"Captain Smoker! Please come here. Things are getting weird."
Smoker looked through binoculars, and saw Buggy keeping Luffy in stocks. "Wha...! Th-that kid... what's he doing?"
Tashigi looked through her own binoculars as well. "Monkey D. Luffy. This can't be! Looks like he's about to be killed!"
'How pathetic that kid looks!' He then thought back to their first encounter.
"I want to see the place where the King of the Pirates died!"
'He was somehow different from the others. He caught my attention... so I thought, but... does this mean he's just another pirate after all?'
"Captain, are we swooping in right away?"
"Idiot. Don't be hasty."
"But if we don't hurry..."
"I'm the one in command here!" He snapped.
"Y-yes sir!"
"A pirate is about to kill another pirate. This is great. They're saving us the trouble. Listen! Once that Straw Hat's head falls, surround Buggy, Alvida, and their gangs! Don't give them time to think!"
"Yes, sir!" Everyone saluted.
"Hey, there's some commotion on the ground too," Tashigi pointed out.
Smoker looked over again, and widened his eyes when he saw Kabaji fighting to keep Venus restrained before succeeding. "Venus?!" He accidentally said too urgently.
"Sir? Are we still not rushing out there?"
"Yes," He regained his senses, "She can get herself out."
"You sounded concerned there-"
"She'll be fine!" He snapped, then calmed down with a deep, smoky breath. "She's survived this town's abuse for years now; she can take care of herself for the time being. When we get there, one of you just take her to the Gold Roger bar, whatever it takes; you all know where it is."
By now, although they kept it to themselves, the Marines who regulated in Loguetown knew that Smoker had a reason for not arresting and executing her like the citizens wanted: because he felt bad for her. He knew she didn't deserve the treatment from the town; or to be executed. He had used the "she's not worth it" excuse since the abuse first started, and the citizens fell for it every time.
He would usually stay behind the scenes, but there was one time he sprung into action: she was locked in a small box all day, the arrogant instigators thinking she can get out herself if she wasn't "fake" with her magic. He burst in on the scene, threatened them with jail time, and made them flee the area. He busted the box open, the inside marred with deep scratch marks and red smears, and she herself was unconscious with bloody fingertips. How long she was in there, he didn't know; judging by her position indicating struggle, and the tearstains on her cheek, it had to have been all day. Bastards.
He had taken her to the Gold Roger bar, carrying her like a groom would for a bride, with the simple message to Rauru: "I believe this belongs to you." And laid her on the floor with surprising gingerness, before making his leave, even having him not tell her about his involvement. He stayed vague about the situation when he returned to base. When asked about it, his response was simple: "I took care of it". But they knew there was more to it than that.
He cared about her, and they all knew it.
By now, the storm Nami predicted was full-on raging, as Buggy laughed evilly. "Pirate Monkey D. Luffy, the criminal, is to be flashily executed for the crime of getting me angry by becoming stuck up!" The pirates danced and cheered in the square, even shooting their guns in the air. "Live it up flashily!"
Venus watched with a stoic face, from Kabaji's grip on her. "Egotistical, much?" She was silenced by him painfully restraining her arm behind her back. His free arm was on the front of her shoulders, keeping her close.
An oblivious Luffy watched with a smile. "This is my first time seeing an execution."
"We're executing you," Buggy deadpanned.
"Huh?" Just then, it dawned on him, and he was now scared. "What?! Stop joking!"
"You stop joking!" Buggy retorted.
"Take this board off! You bastard!"
"Okay! We are now going-"
"Take it off! You liar! You jerkwad! You stupid head!"
"-to start the flashy execution openly!"
"Ahhh! Stop it! Ahhh! I don't wanna die!"
"I saw a big cumulus cloud in the eastern sky," Nami said, as she and a struggling Usopp ran, "A storm is coming. An unimaginably big storm is... if Buggy, Luffy, and the others go crazy, the Marines will come out. We're done for if the ship is washed out to sea when we have to get out of here."
"I see. That really is a big deal!"
"The Marines may have already started taking action. The Going Merry is in danger!"
"Th-the Going Merry will be in the Marines' hands?" Now Usopp was even more frantic. "H-hey, Nami! Hurry up!" He urged, now running ahead of her.
"Wait for me!"
Meanwhile, the Marines from Unit #1 were making a beeline for the harbor to carry out their mission. "Hurry to the harbor! Crush every single pirate ship!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Riding around on the Richie bike!" Mohji sang goofily, riding on Richie's back, as the lion sniffed around the area. "Who's that man? Who? Who? Who's that man?! Me!"
They stopped at the Going Merry. "So this is the rubber guy's ship. He now has a bigger ship, as if he's become a real pirate. It's about time for him to get flashily executed by Captain Buggy. However! Just in case the rubber guy, who has no chance of escaping, happens to escape, burning this ship... is our job."
"I'm sorry," Luffy drolled, "I won't do it again. Please save me."
"Why would I save you, idiot?!" Buggy shouted.
"Hmph!" Kabaji huffed to Alvida, while still keeping Venus hostage, "This is what happens when someone goes against us."
"I guess this is it for the man I had my eye on," Alvida said sadly.
The witch rolled her eye. "I'm sure you'll find someone else to hit you." She squirmed and nudged behind her back when she felt Kabaji lustfully stroke her hair through her snark. "Hey, quit it!"
"Since you have a big audience, do you wanna say something before you die?" Buggy taunted, his foot on Luffy's head, but he defiantly held his tongue with a glare. "Well, that's okay. Whether you say something or not, doesn't matter since you're gonna die."
The wind started to pick up, as Luffy finally spoke, ignoring the sword pointed at his face. "I'm the man who'll be King of the Pirates!"
His voice echoed through the square, as the citizens stayed quiet. "Wha..."
"K-King of the Pirates, he said?! In this town of all places... that's a crazy thing to say." Venus smirked with pride.
"Well then, I guess I'll do it now... you damn rubber."
Luffy tried again in vain to escape, but a familiar voice caught his attention. "Stop the execution!" Everyone turned behind their backs to find Zoro and Sanji standing.
"Zoro! Sanji!" Luffy beamed. Venus was shifted when Kabaji, along with Alvida, turned to look.
"Zoro?!" Tashigi's eyes widened, as Smoker watched silently.
Zoro drew one of his swords. "Shame on you!" He smirked. "There's a limit to how much you can fool around, Luffy."
"If you're starting a sideshow, let me join you," Sanji added, "What we have to do for now is drive those damn pirates away?"
The crowd stood in fear. "P-pirate hunter Zoro!" They all dispersed, leaving the two with the Buggy Pirates.
"Sanji! Zoro!" Luffy brightened up again when he saw them.
"Venus-chan!" Sanji exclaimed upon seeing her in Kabaji's hold.
"So you're here, Zoro!" Buggy recognized the swordsman. "But you are a little too late!" He readied his weapon.
Zoro and Sanji quickly took action, running towards the platform. "We'll bring down... that execution platform!"
Tashigi watched with a glare from her binoculars. "Roronoa Zoro..."
Alvida extended a hand. "Guys... get them!" She ordered. "Kabaji, hold the girl!"
"My pleasure." Venus felt her skin crawl at his tone. Through her innocent obliviousness to his intentions, she didn't like it.
On command, the pirates moved in on the two newcomers. "We'll get them, Big Sis Alvida!"
Zoro slashed pirates left and right, having the advantage. "Out of our way!" Meanwhile, Sanji took others out with his powerful kicks, though couldn't take Kabaji down.
Buggy laughed evilly. "Not even Zoro can stop me now! This is the end of your captain!"
"No!" A still restrained Venus protested.
"Damn bastard!" Sanji glared.
Zoro took down more opponents. "If I cut down the execution platform..."
"Listen," A Marine instructed his comrades, "The moment Monkey D. Luffy's head falls, we'll all attack together. But don't harm the witch."
"All units, ready for battle," Smoker commanded.
"Yes, sir!"
Buggy started lowering his sword. "Zoro! Sanji!" Luffy yelled in panic. "Usopp! Nami!"
"Hurry!" Usopp urged.
"This is heavy!" Nami griped about her bag of new clothes.
"Sorry," Luffy grinned with his teeth bared, "I'm... dead."
Buggy's sword flew down. "No!" Venus shouted.
"Idi-!" Zoro started.
"Don't say something so stupid!" Sanji glared.
"He smiled!" Smoker's eyes widened in shock. Just like Gold Roger!
Just before the sword could touch Luffy's neck, lightning struck... right on the sword. As the flash lit up the whole town, the platform started to falter; starting with Buggy, while rain started to pour down, it erupted in blue flames, before it collapsed.
Luffy's hat floated down from the sky, and rested on the ground. He put it on, and laughed triumphantly, as Buggy laid unconscious. "I'm still alive after all. I got lucky."
Everyone stared in shock, some with dropped jaws, including Zoro, Sanji, and Venus. "H-hey, do you believe in God?" Sanji asked Zoro.
"Stop talking nonsense. Let's get out of this town already!"
"Phew, lucky me," Luffy walked over, "I was worried that was going to happen for a while."
"Another trouble seems to be brewing." Zoro could see a witness watching from far away.
"Now! Corner those pirates!" Smoker ordered.
"Yeah!" With that, Marines filed in from every which way.
"Here they come!" Sanji exclaimed.
Venus jabbed her elbow in Kabaji's groin, loosening his grip on her and sending him to the ground, and ran over to the trio. "Luffy! Zoro! Sanji!" But before she could reach them, a Marine snatched her up, and she was thrown over his shoulder. "Hey! Put me down! What're you doing?!" She punched and kicked, but he was unaffected, as he ran through the rain.
"I have orders from the captain to take you home!"
"The captain?! Smoker?!" Now confused, she stopped throwing hits.
"Yes! He was very clear!" He arrived at the Gold Roger Bar entrance, and set her down. "Now get inside!"
"My friends need me!" She started to run back to the square.
"Get in, now! Captain Smoker demands it!" He swiped her back up, barged into the tavern (to Rauru's surprise), and set her down, then booked it while she laid on the floor.
"Venus!" Rauru ran up as fast as he could, his voice filled with worry. "You're soaking wet! Where have you been all day?!"
"I, I'm so sorry, Mr. Rauru," She panted from the adrenaline, as she sat up on the floor, "I had taken Luffy to the execution platform, and got sidelined all this time. I, I met his friends in his crew, and-"
"Luffy? The boy I let in your room?"
"Yeah. H-he's the first person in a long time to enjoy my magic. His friends are great too, a-and-" She rambled quickly.
"Calm down now. I had been thinking today since you two met; I had heard your conversation with him, and there's something I need to talk to you about."
"O-okay," She nodded, standing on her feet.
Rauru hesitated. It wasn't an easy thing to say, but it would be the best thing for her. "I think you should join his crew."
Venus blinked at him in surprise, her eyebrows raised.
"Amazing! Amazing!" Luffy watched the Marines battle the Buggy Pirates with childlike excitement. "It's somehow gotten crazy!" He dodged pirates thrown to the side, still watching. "Amazing! Ahh! Amazing!"
"Hey, Luffy!" Zoro grabbed the back of his vest collar, startling him.
"Ahhh... Z-Zoro!"
"This is no time to be excited! We need to get out of here!"
"Y-you want me to go with them?" Venus confirmed.
"I think it would be good for you."
"B-but I can't just leave."
"Yes you can, Venus. Go, and see the world; expand your skills. You're just stifling yourself staying in one place. Especially with people that treat you so horribly."
"But... what if I'm treated even worse somewhere else than here?"
"I don't think you will be, but if so, then you'll have him and his friends," Rauru pointed out, "They'll help you through it, I know it."
"B-but... what about you? I can't leave you alone."
"I'll be alright, child. Even more so knowing you're out there, living your dream."
She played with one of her dripping pigtails, as she pondered the thought. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea? After all, Luffy was so nice to her, as were all his crewmembers. She was really considering this? Was she really going to be a pirate?
"We'd better hurry back to the ship, or we'll never be able to leave the island again," Sanji pointed out, "We won't be able to enter the Grand Line!"
"What?! That's not good!" At that, the three made a run for it.
"The Straw Hat gang is running away!" A Marine pointed out.
"Capture them!"
"Go after them!"
"Should I really go?" She squeezed her hair.
"You'll do great things with that boy and his friends at your side. I just know it; I have all faith in you."
She had to admit, the crazy idea was starting to sound more and more appealing. Sailing the oceans? Exploring new places? Friends by her side? The cons were dwindling into nonexistence, as she sighed deeply. She stayed silent, then nodded, letting go of her hair. "I... I'll do it."
Rauru smiled up at her. "I know you'll be much happier with them."
She smiled back. "Let me get my things." She walked into the room, and eyed the whole area, as she gathered everything she would need: spell ingredients, spell book, her beloved Burton, and her purse, enchanted to be bottomless for her convenience. It felt so surreal; for years now, she stayed in this room, feeling safe from the general public. Her heart turned heavy at the thought of leaving it forever, but she shook it away.
Time for a new beginning.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji punched, slashed, and kicked their way through their ambushers with ease. 'Why did he smile?' Smoker wondered. 'Did he know he'd be saved? No. That moment, he seriously thought his life was going to end there.' The image of Gold Roger smiling the exact same way came to his mind. 'He accepted death, and smiled after preparing himself.'
"Captain, please go seize the pirate," A Marine requested.
Smoker was silent for a beat, before he changed the subject. "Hey... have you seen any pirates who smiled on the execution platform?"
Thunder rumbled, as the Marine took in the question. "N-no way! Even if it's a brave-acting big shot, at the moment of death, he turns pale and dies in despair."
"That straw hat man smiled... just like Gold Roger, King of the Pirates, smiled 22 years ago in this town... on that exact platform."
"Captain..."
"Where did that Straw Hat go?"
"Yes, sir. He's running towards the sea."
Smoker headed out. "What's Unit #1 doing? They should've blown up their ship by now."
"Well... they're back for refitting because they couldn't light the powder due to the sudden rain."
"What?!"
"A reserve unit is currently getting ready to attack the ship instead."
"Captain Smoker!" Tashigi chimed in. "If we let them sail out now, they'll enter the Grand Line!"
"The wind is blowing towards the west," Smoker said, "It's a tailwind for their ship. Are these all coincidences? It's as if heaven is trying to let that man live."
After a moment, she exited the room, and sighed again, starting to feel tears well up. "Well... th-this is it."
"Go on, and become the greatest witch you can be," He encouraged, then his smile grew, his fingers touching her chin in a fatherly way, "I'll hang up your wanted poster when you get your first bounty."
Venus' lip quivered, before she bent down, set her stuff down, and pulled him into a hug. "I, I'll miss you." She choked, as tears fell.
He returned the hug firmly. "I'll miss you too, Venus." She pulled back, and gave him one last smile, before straightening up.
She grabbed her stuff, and was about to leave through the main entrance, but stopped herself. She decided instead, to go through her secret entrance for the last time. "Burton, we're leaving Loguetown behind," She talked to her tarantula, as she returned to her room for the last time, "We're going on a big adventure with some new friends!"
Rauru smiled as he watched her go. He really was going to miss her; throughout the five years, he had become accustomed to her presence, and alongside the bar, she gave his life purpose. But he was happy knowing she was going to live her dream with people who showed nothing but kindness to her. Her happiness was more important than anything else.
Feeling nervous, she took her time trekking through the corridor. This was it; no turning back now. She was going out to see the world, learn more secrets about witchcraft, and become a pirate. Pushing back her fears, she broke into a sprint, dashing through the pouring rain with her hood over her head. "I'm outta here, suckers!"
For the first time in years, her words were followed by great enthusiasm.
"We'd better hurry, or we'll be in trouble!" Zoro exclaimed.
"We're gonna make it to the Grand Line like this!" Luffy kept his positive smile through the urgent sprint.
"I am White Hunter Smoker. On my honor as a Marine Headquarters Captain, I won't let that man leave this island!"
Venus continued her run to the harbor, as her hand held her hood down to protect her face from the rain. "Gotta get there before it's too late!" She rambled to herself. "Gotta hurry!"
On Main Street, a mysterious cloaked figure stood in the pouring rain, almost teleporting from one side to the other. "Wind, blow! The storm of fate has arrived!"
(A/N: That's why this chapter is long: lots of stuff happens! You know the disclaimer.)