AN:

This chapter is probably coming sooner than most of you expected so... Surprise! lol. This one lowkey had the corners of my eyes stinging a little, ngl. I wrote it pretty quickly but I'm happy with the way it turned out. And yes, that does mean I get a little emotional when I write sometimes. Kind of embarrassing, yes, but it honestly helps me to know when I'm really satisfied with the way I've written something. As I'm writing this author's note I'm realizing that none of you probably care very much about this, lol. Let's get on to some other stuff.

I want to thank you all for all the support on this story. I know I've said it before but it really does mean a lot to me to know that you guys enjoy what I write. It's weird to say, but I don't think this story would be what it is now without you guys here to read it. Anyways, that's enough sappy stuff. :)

One last thing. Some of you might come to certain conclusions after reading this chapter but let me just say... It's probably not what you think. ;) Anyways, enough out of me. Here's Chapter 15. Now, go read!

Chapter 15: Cannonballs and Raindrops

Luffy, Zoro, and Nami walked up to the front door of the Baratie yawning and still trying to wake up. The sun had barely risen over the horizon in the east and the moon was still visible in the slowly brightening sky.

"I slept amazing!", Luffy exclaimed, stretching his sleepy muscles out as they walked the wooden deck.

Zoro couldn't help but agree with his future captain's sentiment. The Merry was very homey and a great place to sleep. "Your snoring doesn't even bother me when I sleep on that ship.", the swordsman teased.

Luffy turned to his green-haired friend in mock outrage, "Zoro! How could you?! I do not snore!".

His two companions lightly laughed at the humor in his voice.

It was strange, but Nami agreed with the two boys. She didn't say anything as her laughs petered out, however, she couldn't deny the fact that since she'd been on the boat... She hadn't had a single nightmare. The girl looked over at the two boys, now conversing between themselves, and smiled. She'd been with them for close to a month now and couldn't help but think maybe they also had something to do with her lack of nightmares. A part of her wondered if the bad dreams would come back when they separated...

Separate... Nami shook her head to rid herself of the thought. She couldn't deal with all the conflicting feelings right now, it was too early.

The three companions reached the door and Luffy wasted no time in pushing it open, softly this time.

"Welcome to the Bara-", the teen paused when he saw who was coming into the restaurant. Sanji quickly shouldered past the two boys, rushing to Nami's side and kneeling before her. "Nami-Swannn!", the blond chef exclaimed, hearts taking over his eyes, "Your beauty shines especially bright this fine morning. It looks like you slept well!".

Luffy laughed as he jumped up and down excitedly. He REALLY wanted Sanji to go with them. "So you're coming, right?!", he asked the young chef, immediately cutting to the chase.

Sanji looked away from a smiling Nami and to the straw-hatted boy, standing from his crouched position. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before replying. "Yes.", he said simply.

Luffy hooped and hollered in joy. He just knew he was gonna get him on the crew!

"I'm only staying until we get Nami that treasure.", the blond added.

The straw-hatted teen immediately stopped and his celebration turned into a pout. "No fairrr.", he moaned.

The blond chef crossed his arms, "Well, that's the deal. If you don't like it I'll just sta-".

"Shut the hell up and get outta here, brat. I told you, ya weren't workin' this morning... You got places to be.", came a gruff voice from behind them.

Sanji turned and the other three looked over his shoulder to see Chef Zeff standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "You three bring him back in one piece, now. Or don't... I don't really care.", the old man waved them off and turned to walk back into the kitchen. There was prep that needed to be done and with Sanji gone... "Patty! Carne! Get your asses up and in the kitchen!", the man yelled.

"I'll be back in a month, Geezer.", Sanji said to the retreating man, giving his back a hard stare, "And as of right now, I'm coming back as your sous chef.".

The old chef said nothing, simply waving his hand in dismissal as he continued into the kitchen.

Sanji scoffed and turned to the three people he would be calling crew mates for the next little while, eyes drifting over each one of them. It would certainly be interesting that was for sure. "Let's get outta here. I already prepped everything I'll need for the journey.", the blond said, walking through the group to the door. "Oh...", he turned as he grasped the handle and sent Luffy a big smile, "And thanks for having me on board.".

"SANJI!", Zeff's voice angrily shouted from the kitchen, "WHY THE HELL ARE THERE TWO UNCONSCIOUS MEN IN MY PANTRY!".

The blond-haired boy paled... He must have kicked them harder than he thought... Sanji opened the door as fast as he could and proceeded to quickly run behind the group, pushing them all through the entrance. "Let's get to your ship, guys! No need to waste any more time here!", the chef laughed nervously. Time to go!

"Sanji!", Nami yelled from a chair on the front deck. "It's so hot out here, today. You wouldn't mind making something to... Cool me off? Would you?", she asked, a hint of mischievousness to her voice.

"Your wish is my command, Nami-Swan!", the blond chef replied as he twirled his way down the stairs and to the opposite side of the ship.

"Meat! I want meat!", yelled Luffy's voice after the chef's retreating form. He was currently lying on the figurehead of their ship in front of where Nami was suntanning.

Zoro lightly set his barbell down on the wood of the Merry, so as not to hurt the vessel. He looked up as Sanji climbed the stairs to the galley, "Hey, Cook! Get me some booze while you're at it!". Nothing like a good drink after a workout.

The hearts dropped from Sanji's eyes and he stopped in place, turning and scowling in the verdet's direction, "You've got legs. Get it yourself, Mosshead.".

A tick mark formed over the swordsman's brow. "You're already gonna be in there! Just grab a bottle of sake!", he argued angrily. Stupid Ero-Chef.

"I said. You can get it yourself.", the blond turned away from the green-haired swordsman, ending the conversation, and walked through the door to the galley.

"Meat! Meat! Meat!", Luffy's voice yelled once again as he lazed about on his spot.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll make you something, Luffy.", Sanji yelled back across the ship as he disappeared through the doorway of the galley.

A second tick mark formed on Zoro's head. The damn chef wasn't making Luffy move! Why the hell did he have to?! The swordsman huffed angrily and began making his way toward the galley. He really needed that drink now. Just as he moved to make his way up the stairs to his destination, he was interrupted by a huge splash off the left side of their ship and immediately turned in the direction of the sound. The verdet's eyes widened slightly at what his vision was met with before a grin overtook his lips.

Luffy's form landed beside Zoro's as Nami's footsteps quickly came down the stairs, and the three looked out over the railing of the ship, their eyes settling on a pirate ship sailing in their direction. How they hadn't seen it sooner... Well, it wasn't that unimaginable. Everyone on the Merry had been VERY absorbed in what they were doing...

"You guys get to handle them.", said Nami, nonchalantly making her way back up the stairs to where her chair rested. She'd seen Zoro and Luffy deal with a giant wolf... What were a couple of small-time pirates?

Sanji came out of the galley in a flurry. "Nami! I have your food! I made you a strawberry parfait! It should taste wonderful in this sun!", the boy exclaimed, making his way down the stairs and throwing the other boys their requested items.

Luffy jumped without looking and turned his head at the last second to catch a large piece of meat in his mouth. He had great instincts and they were even better when it came to food. He gently landed and began chewing on his snack while he watched the ship that had shot at them in anticipation.

Zoro lifted his hand and caught an unopened bottle of sake. "You didn't do anything weird to this, right?", the swordsman asked, only half joking.

Sanji scoffed at the verdet's words, "You wish, Mossball.". He ignored the tick mark that appeared over Zoro's brow and looked out over the railing, "Looks like they're getting closer, Luffy. The first was probably just a warning shot.". The blond looked at Luffy and could only see one thing in his eyes. Excitement. He smiled and headed up the stairs leading to Nami "Here you are, Nami.", Sanji said reverently, bowing to hand the girl her snack.

"Thank you, Sanji.", she replied, reaching up to grab the parfait from the chef's hands. She looked up at his eyes teasingly, "Are you going to sit with me while I enjoy it?".

Blood trickled down to the opening of Sanji's nostril but he quickly sucked it back up. He wanted nothing more than to say yes and watch Nami eat the food he'd made her. Especially because of what she was wearing... He reluctantly turned away from the orange-haired beauty, his heartbreaking the whole way, "I'm sorry, my Nami-Swan. But I must refuse this time.". He looked out toward the steadily approaching pirate ship before looking back at her and smiling, "I've got to prove that I can be useful while I'm here.". He turned and began his descent back down the stairs, smirking along the way, "And not just as a cook.".

Nami's eyes widened slightly. Was he saying he could fight? She'd asked him to sit with her because she thought he was just a cook... It was yet to be seen, but the way he spoke... It made her think Sanji might actually be strong too. Like Luffy and Zoro. Either that or he had an abundance of overconfidence. She hoped it was the former. She certainly wasn't going to be upset about another strong person trying to help her out.

The ship was finally in range to hit the Merry and the enemy wasted no time in waiting to attack. Three cannons fired one after the other, launching deadly iron projectiles directly at the three teens who stood on the deck.

"Time to have some fun, guys.", said Luffy, tossing his meat bone into the water and smiling as he watched the cannon fire approach him and his friends, "I got the one in the middle.".

Zoro grinned as he drew Wado and Kitetsu, "I got this one, over here on the right.".

Sanji sighed as he lit his cigarette and took a puff, tapping the toe of his right shoe on the deck, "Guess that leaves me with the left.".

Luffy watched the cannonball move toward him and couldn't help but think that it was kind of slow... Forest Guy had been way faster. The boy put his hand out in front of his body with his palm open. He still couldn't use haki, so what he was planning would probably hurt a bit. It would be easy if he could at least use enhancement.

It was hard to explain but any time he used Armament Haki, he felt like he did right after his fight with Forest Guy, minus the broken bones. It just made him feel... Exhausted. The exhaustion didn't usually last very long, a couple of hours give or take, but it had already been close to a month since his fight! How much longer would this bout of Haki Exhaustion last?

Luffy kept his eyes on the cannonball as it connected with his palm, bracing for the pain that was surely coming. After feeling the impact, the straw-hatted teen's eyes widened. His hand... It didn't hurt... At all... He slid back a couple feet as the momentum of the projectile pushed against him, but stopped quickly, looking at his hand griping the smoking iron ball in amazement. He didn't think he could do that without getting at least a little hurt. How was his body this sturdy without haki?

'The reason that it stops itself from using Armament Haki is that it's adapting.'.

The words flashed through the black-haired boy's mind seemingly out of nowhere, but they made everything click. His body was adapting. It was getting stronger so he could use more Armament Haki. Luffy couldn't help the laughter that burst from his lips as he tossed the cannonball in his hand up and down. Things were making more sense now. He looked between the iron ball and the approaching ship and his laughter grew. A few stories of Garp the Hero came to mind while he began to test the weight of the cannonball in his hand. Gramps was a big fan of tooting his own horn... Especially to his grandsons...

Zoro grinned while he drew his katanas, watching the cannonballs approach with the same thought as his future captain, 'Slow...'. His muscles bulged as he crossed his arms in front of his body. He'd never cut metal before, but what did it matter? Wado and Kitetsu vibrated wildly in his hands and one voice of three different tones sounded through his mind, 'Cut.'.

The swordsman tightly gripped his swords and slashed outward with all his might. The blades found the equator of the iron sphere and sliced right through the solid metal like butter. The two pieces of iron they'd created flew past the verdet's head and over the opposite railing of the boat, splashing into the water on the other side.

Sanji's blond hair shadowed his usually visible eye. How dare they... How dare they put his goddess in danger. It felt like his body was getting hotter. The flames... They were burning hot. His foot began tapping faster. He would keep his Nami-Swan safe... All to receive her love and praise! Without another thought, the chef crouched and launched upward. The cannonball sailed toward his figure and he slammed his foot into the projectile as he flipped through the air, knocking it into the ocean below.

The blond teen softly landed back on the deck of the Merry and felt a twinge in the top of his right foot, testing his weight on it. Determining that it was nothing serious, as far as he could tell, he shrugged. Probably just a small bruise... What?... He had strong feet! Sanji sighed to himself and looked to see how the other two had handled their balls.

The crew of the enemy ship scrambled to reload the three cannons. Had what they'd seen actually been real?! One kid caught one... A CANNONBALL! Another, cut one... A solid iron CANNONBALL! And the last... He kicked it... He kicked A CANNONBALL! The captain of the crew was so shocked by the turn of events that he didn't even have the good sense to call for a retreat. He could only stare at the deck of the lamb-headed ship he thought would surely be easy loot, literally shocked senseless.

"Luffy?", Sanji asked, watching the straw-hatted teen loosen up his right shoulder, "What the hell are you doing?". They really didn't have time for stretching, the pirates were surely going to fire another volley soon.

Zoro took his eyes off the enemy ship momentarily to curiously glance at his future captain after hearing the cook's words.

"I used to hear stories about a guy that could throw a cannonball faster than any cannon.", Luffy explained, cocking his arm back and gripping the iron ball in his hand with all the strength he could muster. He sent his friends a smile and laughed, "It always sounded like fun.". The straw-hatted boy's arm shot through the air with a small boom and he released the iron projectile in the direction of his attackers, "So I thought I'd try it out.".

Zoro and Sanji barely saw the metal ball as it came out of Luffy's hand. They followed it to the pirate ship, watching in fascination, as it hit one of the cannons and caused a ridiculous chain reaction.

The crack from the impact echoed loudly around the area and the cannon was thrown into the mast with enough force to easily snap the thick wooden beam in two. The cannon had been lit not half a second earlier and it fired as it connected with the wood... Right into one of the other cannons... The cannonball glanced off of the other cannon and created a small spark that somehow, some way, reached a barrel of gunpowder. The rest of the gunpowder was in the storage area under the deck... But when one goes...

Everyone on the Going Merry jumped in surprise when a chain of fiery explosions ripped through the entirety of the ship that had attacked them.

Luffy gaped as he watched the men abandon their burning ship in fear for their lives. There wasn't much left of it in the first place and what was still there, wouldn't be for much longer. He looked down at his hand and then to the now flaming boat, laughter beginning to bubble in his chest. "That was...", his excitement got the better of him and he thrust his hands out to his sides, looking up to the sky, "SO COOL!".

The pirates in the water looked up to the deck of the small boat and couldn't help but be frightened. The kid that had just destroyed their entire ship was laughing like he didn't have a care in the world. To be honest, the laughter actually sounded like genuine happy laughter rather than a maniacal evil sort of laughter... Honestly, it might have even made the whole situation even scarier...

"How could you?!", a man hanging on to a piece of driftwood yelled from the water, "How could you just destroy our ship like that?". Upon closer inspection, it was the captain of the group of pirates. Well, he was wearing a captain's coat at least.

The three teens walked to the railing of the Merry and looked into the water at the man crying over his destroyed ship. They looked at each other for a moment before looking back and giving the distraught pirate captain a blank stare. "Your fault.", they all said at the same time, turning away from the man now crying even harder. You reap what you sow.

The man glared through his tears up at the retreating forms of the three teenagers. They would pay. Oh yes. As soon as he found dry land and a den den mushi... He would have his revenge... He wanted to see the lamb-headed ship burn... And burn it would... The Don would be receiving a call soon.

"Nami!", Luffy called, excitedly running up the stairs to reclaim his place on the lamb figurehead, "Did you see me throw that cannonball?!".

The orange-haired girl scoffed, "I don't think I could have missed any of that if I wanted to.".

"Never seen someone blow up a ship like that before.", Zoro said as he made it to the top of the stairs.

Sanji quickly shouldered his way past the green-haired swordsman, "Nami-Swan! Are you ok? You're not hurt or anything, are you?", the chef gave the girl a once over... Only to determine if she was ok of course. Nothing more... He certainly wasn't looking just because she had a bikini on... Certainly not...

Nami watched him ogle her in amusement before bringing her fist into the air and smashing it down on top of the boy's head, "Peep shows don't come free, my sweet Sanji.". The orangette lifted her smoking hand from Sanji's head and the boy passed out on the spot. He seemed to be in bliss as his consciousness faded from the world, a lewd smile on his face and blood flowing heavily from his nose.

"Serves him right.", scoffed Zoro, eyeing the perverted blond chef out cold on the floor. He looked from the chef to Nami, preparing to ask a question, but was interrupted by a cry for help from the water. The swordsman walked to the railing and looked below, "Shut the hell up. You shot first.". He flashed the man a glare and it seemed to do the trick of silencing him. The verdet huffed and turned around, addressing Nami again. "We've been sailing for...", he began to count on his fingers.

"Almost two weeks.", the girl interjected, "We've been sailing for a week and five days.". She stood from her chair and looked in the direction of their destination. "Before we left Syrup, I said it would take five weeks to get to the next island to restock. It would have taken another week from there to make it to our destination.", she smiled appreciatively at their ship, "But, now that we don't have to stop anymore, we've been sailing straight to Mad Treasure's hideout since we left.". Thinking about it now, it was really lucky that the Baratie was where it was. They probably would have missed it otherwise.

"So how much longer, do ya think?", Luffy asked from his crisscross position on the ship's figurehead, still slightly giggling at the sight of the passed-out chef on the deck.

"Two more weeks of travel if the winds are good. If they aren't... We're probably looking at something like two and a half to three.", the girl answered, looking up to the sky and trying to get a feel for the winds.

Zoro nodded to the girl and grinned to himself as he looked out past the horizon. He could wait that long. Drawing his swords had made him itchy to fight and Luffy had stolen all the fun. Until then, maybe he would do some sparring with him. Hell, he could even get the Ero-Cook. It might be fun to smack him around a little bit. With his question answered, the swordsman turned on his heel and headed down to the storage room. Time to lift some more weights.

"Hey, Nami.", Luffy said, standing from his spot and jumping down to stand next to the girl in question.

"What, Luffy?", she asked in reply. The orangette gently sat back down on her chair and leaned back, pushing the sunglasses on her head back down to cover her eyes. She wanted to use the last of the sun's rays to finish tanning. Nami lay there quietly while she waited for Luffy to say something, opening her eyes and lifting her sunglasses once again when he didn't. "Luffy?", she asked, cautiously. She did NOT like the look on his face. Not one bit.

Luffy grinned as a laugh bubbled in his chest, "SWIM TIME!".

Nami's eyes widened in fear, her brain immediately registering what he meant by those words. "LUFFY! DON'T YOU DARE!", she screamed, trying her hardest to scramble out of her chair and get away from him.

The straw-hatted boy wasn't going to let his prey escape so easily. He ran over to his future navigator in the blink of an eye and picked her up in a bridal carry. "Hang on tight.", Luffy whispered into the girl's ear. He laughed at the blush that spread across her cheeks and sprinted directly to the railing of the ship. Nami screamed her reluctance, her arms tightening around his neck, but the laughing boy would not be stopped. His foot found the top of the rail and he shot into the air with one last word, "CANNONBALL!".

"LUFFY! GET YOUR ASS BACK ON THE SHIP! RIGHT NOW!", Nami screamed over the railing of the Going Merry. Her clothes were soaked and she would much rather be inside enjoying one of Sanji's hot meals, but the storm was keeping her busy... Very busy. It didn't help that Luffy had decided that now was a good time for a swim. The storm had just begun to really pick up and he just dove off the ship, laughing and spouting something about good training.

"WHAT?! NAMI! DID YOU SAY SOMETHING?!", Luffy's voice called back.

The orangette could barely hear the boy over the rain and booming thunder. She squinted and tried to look for where the voice had come from but it was almost impossible. Nami screamed in frustration, turning away from the sea and deciding to leave Luffy to his own devices. She could only hope he didn't get lost somewhere out there, the currents were ridiculously strong right now... But then again, so was Luffy.

"ZORO! SANJI!", Nami yelled to the two boys below, "I NEED YOU TO MAKE SURE NONE OF THE RIGGINGS SNAP! THIS STORM IS ALREADY SETTING US BACK AND I CAN'T WASTE ANY MORE TIME!".

The two immediately complied and set to work. In situations like these, they both knew that listening to their navigator was always the best course of action.

The orange-haired girl huffed angrily to herself as she turned to look in the direction they were trying to go. The sky was filled with dark clouds and pouring rain as far as the eye could see. Nami had to resist the urge to scream again. She'd been so caught up in getting to Mad Treasure's hideout as quickly as possible that she'd ignored her intuition. The winds had been so good up until now that she'd ignored the signs! If she was thinking straight, they probably would have saved time in the long run by just sailing around it. Now look where they were. For some reason, it made her so... Frustrated. Actually, everything recently had been frustrating her, but this was just the cherry on top.

The sea was supposed to be her domain, the weather her tool. In her haste, she'd ignored her instincts and now it was costing her. She was angry with herself, more than anything. She didn't have the time to be stuck in this storm. Cocoyashi didn't have time for her to be stuck in this storm... The orangette looked up to the sky and was unable to hold in her scream of frustration any longer. She dropped her gaze down to her hands and sunk to her knees, silently raging as the rain poured all around her. Tears welled up in her eyes and it took everything she had to keep from crying. What the hell was going on with her?

"Hey.".

The girl didn't even have it in her to look up at who she knew was Luffy. "Go do something to help Sanji and Zoro.", she said, dejectedly, keeping her eyes glued on her pruny hands. How had he even gotten back on the ship?

She felt the straw-hatted boy kneel by her side and place a hand on her shoulder without a word, the gesture almost forcing the unshed tears from her eyes. Luffy had no clue what was upsetting her but he still somehow knew she was upset. The orangette had a feeling that he knew it wasn't just due to the storm either. After being with him for so long, she eventually realized that he was more aware of things than she first thought... She subconsciously leaned into his arm and couldn't help but think that it felt nice to have someone worry about her, even if they didn't really understand anything.

Suddenly, two more hands landed softly on her other shoulder and Nami couldn't stop the wave of tears that rushed from her eyes. The girl screamed at herself in her head for being so weak. She'd managed to keep it together for all these years, so why now? Why was it that the closer they got to Mad Treasure's island, the harder everything was to bear?

"You're not doing this alone.", Luffy said, his voice just barely audible above the pounding of the rain.

A shocking revelation shot through Nami like a bolt of lightning the second she heard the words leave his mouth. The closer they got to Mad Treasure's island... The closer she got... To being alone... Again. All of the memories the girl had made over the last month flashed before her tear-stained eyes. All of the moments she shared with them over their time traveling on the sea. All of the laughs Luffy had squeezed out of her. All of the scowls she'd sent Zoro. Meeting Kaya and Usopp. Being saved... Three different times now... Even spending time with Sanji over the last two weeks. As these memories played through her mind, the girl began to realize something... Insane.

This was the happiest she'd been since before her mother died.

Nami wailed in anguish, tackling the three boys next to her in the fiercest hug she could muster. She didn't want it to end yet! She wasn't ready... She didn't know if she would ever be ready and, honestly, that thought scared her more than anything.

'Until then, don't tell me what your dream is. I don't wanna know until you agree to be a pirate with me.'.

Luffy's words flashed through her mind and her heart began to beat faster in her chest. Maybe...

Thunder cracked in the air and Nami was jolted back to her senses. She chided herself. There was still no way she would ever be a pirate... Even with them... However, even as the thought crossed her mind, she made no move to stand or release the boys from her arms. For some reason, laying there with them... With her... Friends... It just felt right...

The ache in her heart began to subside as the warmth of the large bodies surrounding her seeped into her skin. Well... two large bodies. Luffy was actually a little smaller than her... But his warmth... It was just as fierce as the other two. The tears flowing from the girl's eyes stopped and the feeling slowly overtook her entire body. Everything felt so good. The forms in her arms, the forms of her friends. Even the rain. Actually... Especially the rain...

Nami's eye snapped open. The rain.

The night Kuro had almost killed her was still extremely hazy and if she weren't in the current conditions, she wasn't sure she would have remembered it at all... The rain that night. She still couldn't remember exactly how events played out right before Luffy and Zoro saved her, but she was beginning to remember the rain. The rain had felt the same that night as it did now. But why? She racked her brain for a reason, but the event was still too hazy for her to remember anything that would give her an answer.

The orangette's eyes closed once again and she was brought out of her thoughts by new sensations. She kept her eyes closed and released the three boys from her hug, slowly standing to her feet. It was strange, even though she had her eyes closed, she could still see in a way. The rain drops... Somehow... She could feel them. In a word, it was... Beautiful. She couldn't see anything but she could feel... Everything... Nami couldn't help but smile toward the sky as the raindrops painted a perfect picture of the world, just for her.

"Nami?", Luffy asked curiously from over the girl's shoulder, "You alright?".

An interesting anomaly in the flow of the rain caught the girl's attention before she could reply. One area was blowing in the opposite direction of the storm around it. How something like that was possible, the orangette didn't know. However, she did know that she wouldn't be missing the golden opportunity. "LUFFY, ZORO! I NEED THE TWO OF YOU TO GET READY TO UNFUL THE SAIL! WAIT UNTIL I TELL YOU TO! SANJI, GO TO THE WHIPSTAFF AND STEER US PORTSIDE! I'LL TELL YOU WHEN TO STOP AND STRAIGHTEN OUT!", Nami screamed over the pounding rain.

The three teenage boys immediately set out to do their respective jobs without a peep. They knew not to argue with Navigator Nami.

Said navigator turned to face the sea once again. She didn't really understand what was going on with her but she was thankful for it. She was thankful for the rain... That made two times now... The girl opened her eyelids and the world made of raindrops disappeared. As a test, she immediately closed them again and was relieved when the feeling of being one with the rain returned.

Peace. Satisfaction. Togetherness. They were all things she felt while she kept her eyes closed and, funnily enough, they were all feelings she felt when hugging the boys... Huh... How bout that?