Legal notice: I do not own One Piece. All original characters, plot, and settings belong to Eiichiro Oda. Enjoy Chapter 36!

Magina stretched in the morning sunlight. Zoro snored loudly in the chair next to her bed. In fact, it only looked like Robin and Sanji were awake this early. She wandered over to the table, stretching the kinks in her back. She still wasn't used to sleeping on a bed.

"Good morning, Magina. Are you feeling better now? We were all worried about you last night," Robin asked.

Magina's head snapped up in surprise. She covered it with a smile.

"I'm fine. Why would you ask about last night? Nothing unusual happened," she replied brightly.

Privately, she thought that she even had a reason to celebrate. Last night was her first real date with Zoro-sama! Magina blinked a little. The sudden thought felt alien to her. She never referred to Zoro with an honorific. She frowned in confusion. Sanji cleared his throat.

"Would you like some tea this morning, Magina-san?"

Magina nodded again and smiled. "Yes, please."

Nami got up and joined them before made a startled yelp.

"Look, guys! The Log Pose is finally set! As soon as the ship is done, we can finally continue our journey!"

Chopper bounded up excitedly. "We get to see a new island!"

"Na-ha," Kokoro-san's drunk laughter from the window interrupted Chopper's exclamation.

"Say, do you know where it's leading you next?" she asked.

Nami and Magina exchanged a look. Nami held up the Log Pose so that they could see. The indicator pointed almost downwards.

"That looks like..." Nami said out loud.

"But isn't that impossible?" Magina couldn't help but ask.

"There's no doubt about it. Your next destination is Fishman Island, my home island," Kokoro explained.

"Fishman Island! Fishman Island! It's the island where every pirate, nay, every man dreams of visiting at least once in their lifetimes. A man's romance, an island of dreams..." Sanji twirled around the room excitedly before he came to a dead stop. He met Kokoro-san's gaze. He pounded the floor, tears overwhelming him.

"There are young ones there too!" Kokoro shouted at the depressed cook.

Magina and Nami shared knowing glances before Nami sighed heavily.

"I'll admit that I have a mixed reaction about this," she said.

She turned a questioning gaze at the normally care-free navigator. It sounded true that Nami's feelings were mixed about the news. There was excitement there, like any time there was mention of exploring someplace new. But there was a growing emotion of hostility and anger behind the surface. More surprising, Nami's emotions were mirrored in Zoro, Sanji, and even Luffy.

"That's right. All that stuff happened to your village," Luffy commented.

Eventually, Nami waved if off. "That was a while ago. It should be fine…"

"Pirate-nee-chan! The ship! Your ship is done, Pirate-onii-san! Franky wants you to come and check it out!" Chimney and the two Franky Family twins burst into the room.

Magina grinned. It was finally done! The reactions from the crew were just as excited as she felt.

"Yosh!" Luffy shouted, taking charge, "let's go check it out!"

A cheer escaped her. Even Zoro looked happy. He grabbed her hand secretly as the entire crew got ready to descend on the new ship's location. They were stopped before they could get that far by another familiar voice.

"Straw Hat! We need your help!"

It was Zambei, the Franky Family captain. Several members stood behind him, looking absolutely miserable.

"What's wrong? Is it the ship?" Luffy demanded.

The leader shook his head. "No, the ship is fine. You'll be going as soon as you look at it?"

Luffy nodded as he jogged in place. Magina could feel the impatience radiating off him.

"You must not have seen the news yet. After what's happened, it could mean something devastating for Aniki. That's why we needed to talk to you first," Zambei explained.

He shuffled several pieces of paper. "It'll take too long to explain, so I'll show you the problem. Here, look at these!"

The sheets of paper scattered on the ground. Magina swallowed. They were all wanted posters and all the pictures of the outlaws were familiar to her.

"Monkey D. Luffy, bounty: 300 million Beli," Zambei intoned.

Luffy chuckled happily. Zambei continued.

"Pirate Hunter Zoro, bounty: 120 million Beli."

Zoro grinned happily. Then, he frowned and picked up a wanted poster.

"In fact, your whole crew now has a bounty," Zambei said, seeming to be leading up to his request.

He was about to ask but some of her nakama seemed to be taking the news rather hard. Nami even moaned in despair.

"Why me too? And this picture! I thought those photographers seemed suspicious. Who pays so much money for just two photographs? I wouldn't have given them permission to photograph us if I knew our pictures were going to be used for this!"

"So, you were the reason behind this, Nami? I ought to strangle you!" Zoro growled through clenched teeth.

Nami gulped. Magina was curious now. Why was Zoro so upset? She walked up behind him.

"What has you so riled up, swordsman?"

Zoro shoved the wanted poster into her hands. Magina reddened instantly. Her wanted poster was her picture in the swimsuit. Once she got over the initial embarrassment, she studied the poster a little closer. She scowled. It was a decent enough bounty for a first run. 23 million Beli wasn't a haul of char* by any means, but couldn't the Navy have given her a better outlaw name? 'The Weeping Siren' wasn't frightening at all! In fact, it made her sound weak instead! It looked like Chopper was also in shock.

"50… just 50 Beli…" he kept muttering in disappointment.

Sanji also looked utterly destroyed. Besides her, Zoro snorted.

"Who… who is this?" Sanji asked.

"I don't know what's wrong with you, Love Cook," Zoro teased, "it looks exactly like you."

Sanji picked up the wanted poster and held it up for a comparison. "How? Which part of this sketch resembles me? And why is only my wanted poster a sketch anyway?"

"Oh! Sanji, this looks just like you!" Luffy grinned innocently.

Zoro chuckled and she couldn't contain her giggle. Sanji, Nami and Chopper fell to their knees in utter despair.

"Ah," Zambei tried to interrupt and get everyone back on track, "I understand how you must feel but what I really wanted to show you is this!"

He held up another wanted poster. The outlaw pictured there was Franky with a bounty of 44 million Beli.

"Please, take Franky-Aniki with you when you leave Water 7! We can only do so much to protect him. And besides, I watched him as he was building your ship. It was the first time that I've seen him look so happy. He's a first-class shipwright. He dreamt of building your ship so long but there is more to his dream. He'll have to give it up if he stays here in Water 7," Zambei explained.

He swiped away the tears. The other Franky Family members also weren't ashamed about openly weeping.

"Please! We don't want to keep holding him back!" a member cried.

Luffy grinned, "Sure, I don't mind!"

Zambei nodded. "He won't go that easily. We may have to make a plan to secure his passage."

"Let's check out the new ship first. If he's there, we'll just kidnap him!" Luffy smiled happily.

They all cheered. Magina felt just as excited as everyone sounded to finally come aboard their new home.

. .. . . . . . . . . . .

Jotaro zipped up the bag and gave the bundle a final pat. This was the last of the luggage. Mimi pouted on the bed.

"I won't have anything pretty to wear when I confess to Zoro-sama now," she complained unhappily.

Jotaro sighed. "Look Mimi, I get that it isn't how you wanted to go about it, but we can't bring all of this," and he gestured to the mounds of suitcases and hatboxes in the room, "with us if we're going to sneak aboard the Straw Hat's ship. We need to bring only the essentials or risk them finding us."

Mimi threw him an aggravated look but finally consented to his logic.

"All right, fine, but remind me how it's getting back to Song Island again?"

"Courier vessel. They're used to shipping supplies and goods, and now that there is a shipping route open to Song Island, we can ask the captain who brought us here to return with our extra things. I met with him earlier and he was willing to take our things back with him on his next route back," Jotaro explained patiently.

Mimi sighed. "I guess that works then. Hey, when did you have time to go talk with the captain?"

He took a starting breath to answer when Mimi interrupted him.

"Never mind, I should have known that you would find your way to the docks, no matter what island you were on."

Jotaro pursed his lips in silent irritation. What she said was true enough, but he still found himself annoyed with her for some reason. He glanced out the window. The sky was just starting to show signs of blushing pink. Dawn was approaching.

"We should hurry then. The ship looked nearly finished when we checked last night. I don't think this pirate crew is going to wait around here once it's done," he muttered.

Mimi nodded in agreement. "You're right. They left as soon as that half-breed was back to normal last time."

Mimi grabbed a small carryon, much to his relief, and they walked through the waking streets of Water 7 one last time. Jotaro glanced over at Mimi obliquely. She had a soft smile on her face. Her surface song was mostly excited to be one step closer to completing her confession plan, but her song was also content to walk with him without any interruptions. Her serene smile seemed to make her skin glow. Jotaro signed silently to himself. Very privately, he was ready to go home, but he couldn't just leave Mimi alone without any protection at all!

"You sound worried. What's bothering you now?" Mimi asked casually.

This time, Jotaro heaved a heavy sigh. "We're about to sneak aboard a pirate ship. The Straw Hats are real pirates, you know. I don't know what they might do if they capture us."

Mimi snorted daintily. "It will be fine, Jotaro. It's not like they're total brigands like the pirates we read about in stories. I certainly can't see them stringing us up by our thumb nails or making us walk the plank! You have nothing to worry about."

He kept his retort to himself. The Straw Hats were more like typical pirates than Mimi imagined. They invaded Enies Lobby, a government island and destroyed it! And he heard the stories from the song soldiers when they came to rescue Miss Magina. Maybe if they were found, the Straw Hats wouldn't torture them, but Jotaro imagined they would still be punished somehow. He contented himself to a quiet grunt. The ship drew closer and loud snores interrupted their quiet approach.

Mimi put a warning finger to her lips. Jotaro nodded. It looked like the ship wrights were all passed out on the ground. Only two shipwrights were still awake. They silently crept behind a ridge, making sure to stay out of sight.

"Are you sure about leaving the ship to them? Didn't you have more to your dream than just building this vessel?" the tall, angular man demanded.

The man with a bathing suit laughed. "I can't just leave the island. Who else will take care of my cute followers? Besides, you might die of loneliness if I don't bother you once in a while! Speaking of, I should check on my Family. Later, Bakaberg!"

The thin man growled as he watched the other one leave. He yawned soon afterwards. Jotaro felt Mimi's spike of excitement. She glanced at him, and he nodded when his ears were plugged. Moments later, she tapped him on the shoulder to signify that she was finished. Together, they boarded the ship.

"I want to tour the ship quick. Can you handle below deck and find us a hiding spot?"

Jotaro saluted. "Leave it to me! Let's meet at this door in 15-20 minutes?"

Mimi nodded and they split up to search the ship. Jotaro was impressed. The craftmanship was incredible. The first thing he saw was a strange system. He wanted to observe it closer, but he had a feeling that it was important to sailing. They would have to avoid this section of the ship. The workshop, with tools and different scraps of wood lining the shelves, was another section of the ship to avoid.

Jotaro frowned. There was a lot of room in this ship, so where was it hiding? He looked down the walkway. There were large, rectangular wooden panels all along the corridor. He hadn't seen another walkway that led to the belly of the ship. The answer had to be somewhere in this area then. He examined the panels more closely.

"Jotaro, have you found a spot to hide yet? The pirates are getting closer," Mimi opened up the door and asked.

He smirked. If he hadn't been studying the panel so closely when the light from the open door hit it, he probably wouldn't have noticed it. He pressed the wooden panel and it popped upwards. There was enough clearance for someone to climb into it. Further in, it looked like there were more stairs, walkways, and hidden doors. He looked up at Mimi and grinned mischievously.

"This looks promising. We'll be able to move around like we're ghosts if we hide here."

Mimi returned the sly smile. "Looks like we have plenty to explore."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Mimi crouched and entered the hidey hole. "We're sure that they won't come here, right?"

Jotaro paused, setting their luggage inside.

"Well, this ship is brand new, and it was built very well. Unless there are repairs that need to be done because of a battle, there should be no need to check this place. Some of these panels look like storage spaces so we might have to avoid that until we start sailing. Then, we can see how much of the storage holds they'll use when they settle their belongings."

Mimi nodded. "Good thinking. How long before they arrive?"

Jotaro concentrated. Mimi looked on jealously. She could hear Zoro-sama and the half-breed pretty well, but Jotaro's hearing could pinpoint how far way they were, even how long it would take for them to get there. His accuracy was unbeatable.

He opened his eyes. "They'll be here in five minutes; less if Captain Luffy runs ahead."

It wasn't long before there was excited shouting and yells that echoed down below. Jotaro grinned. Mimi nodded. Yep, they were right on time. It was surprising when the group moved away.

"Where are they going?" she asked in confusion after a few minutes of silence.

Jotaro's brows knit together. "They're grabbing someone… no, something. A pair of… swim trunks?"

Mimi couldn't hide her shocked expression. "They're doing what?!"

Jotaro dissolved into fits of laughter. "This pirate crew is insane! They literally stole someone's swim trunks and are running around Water 7."

"Maybe we didn't need to come straight here after all. I could have explored the ship a little more," Mimi griped.

Jotaro wiped the tears from his eyes. "Oh, they're heading back this way. I think they want trunks-man to join their crew. They'll be here soon enough. You'll see."

Mimi snorted softly and shook her head. He was right, this pirate crew was crazy. Whoever heard of stealing someone's swimming trunks to invite them to join the crew? Jotaro began to head away from their new lodging place.

"Where are you headed?" she asked.

"I was wondering if this ship had any secret doors built into the design. If we knew where they are, then we can use them to get around the ship easier. We can avoid being seen when we need to sneak places too."

He paused and then extended his hand towards her. "Would you like to join me, Princess?"

Mimi only hesitated briefly before putting her hand in his. There were several shortcuts and hiding spots connected to the main decks. Jotaro was the most excited by the door they found to the storerooms.

"We won't have to worry about food now," Jotaro smiled.

"There are so many convenient passageways here. That's convenient. That'll make traveling from place to place unseen easier," Mimi replied happily

Jotaro's smile tightened. She tilted her head to look at her best friend. He seemed very tense for some reason. She eventually shrugged it off. The Straw Hats would be here soon. That was probably the reason. She would be able to hide and still observe the pirates and their schedules-all without them noticing that she was there. Their exploration was cut short by a commotion outside.

"Looks like they're finally here," Mimi breathed a sigh of relief.

Jotaro paused. "It sounds like they're still distracted. This is probably the best time to head back."

Mimi nodded in agreement, and they tiptoed back to their hiding spot. Not long after they returned, there was a loud whistling. A nearby explosion rocked the ship. She turned wide, worried eyes to Jotaro. He shrugged slowly.

"Well, they are pirates," he said.

But Mimi noticed the slight tremor in his voice. She fumbled for his hand as another explosion went off. The wood above them creaked. Jotaro squeezed her hand reassuringly. He grinned.

"Don't worry, Mimi. I'll protect you."

The explosions continued to surround the ship. Eventually, Mimi caught a strain of the pirates' songs.

"What are they waiting for?" she muttered.

Jotaro concentrated again. His eyes widened.

"They're waiting for a crew member. He's still on the island! They're defending the ship right now but how much longer will they be able to hold back this onslaught?"

There were a few more minutes of intense waiting until Jotaro said, "Oh!"

Mimi took it that the crew member the Straw Hats were waiting on had joined them. But still, they didn't move! She bit back her sigh of frustration.

"What are they doing now?!"

Jotaro sighed. "They're naming the ship and then they're going to escape. But it seems like no one knows how. Only the shipwright seems to have a clue, but I don't know his song well enough."

The half-breed was also experiencing some apprehension. Mimi had half a second's warning.

"Jotaro! Grab something!" she gasped.

Jotaro scrambled and grabbed a rope. He expertly tied some knots so that they were both secured. He was just in time. Mimi felt weightless for a moment as they floated in the air before the ship sped away. Eventually, they landed roughly on the ground.

"What… was that?" Mimi asked breathlessly.

Jotaro's nervous laughter was quiet, "I don't know but it was fun."

Mimi rolled her eyes. She could hear the half-breed clearly. It was not a fun way to travel, for either of them. She breathed in deeply to settle her stomach. She had to remember that she had made it. She was now on the same ship as her objective. And now that she was on their ship, her plan to capture Zoro-sama could begin in earnest!

Hey all! I hope you enjoyed Chapter 36! Just one little note this time around: when Magina is looking at her bounty, she thinks that it's 'no haul of char'. This idiom is meant to replace the idiom 'nothing to sniff at/sneeze at'. I'm not going to lie, coming up with fish related idioms has been really fun, though I struggled a little with that one! Lol. I hope everyone is staying sane and healthy. We'll see you next chapter update!