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| - “Umm... Sid-kun?” Pura asked as she leaned against the railing of the Shooting Star, “are there supposed to be any burning islands on this route?” The Marimo Pirates had set sail almost immediately after Knave had decided, and Sid had spent most of the voyage either at the helm or in any space where he could get some light training in, while also double-checking maps and their course every few seconds. He, along with the rest of the crew, was doing his best to both do his duty as a crewmember and prepare for the oncoming battle as best as he could. When a pretty lady called, however... “Coming, Pura-saaaann~!” Sid sang as he skipped from the helm to the side of the railing where their swordswoman was taking a break. He skidded to a stop right beside her. “What was it~?” As a response, Pura pointed ahead of them. A few miles away and a good bit to the left, there was what appeared to be an island. Or, rather, a former island, since a huge column of smoke was drifting from the surface, and what could be seen of said surface was completely covered in flames, save for the bits of grassy plain that reached the sea. “That shouldn’t be-” Sid began, before pulling out a couple of maps and sea charts, double-checking them. “Yeah, right there should be Mosswarren Island. It’s supposed to be peaceful and... populated...” He looked back up at the burning wreckage that was coming ever closer. “Well, I suppose that adjective got blown straight to hell in this case.” At that moment, Knave leaped from his position on the highest point in the ship, crashing down behind his two crewmates, who leaped slightly back as a result. “Guys, guys!” the marimo lad said excitedly, “look, look!” Knave pointed to the same, burning island. “That’s got to be a barbecue island, right?! C’mon, let’s stop there!” “Of course it isn’t!” Sid retorted, slamming the map he was holding onto his captain’s head. “And have you forgotten about the fight we’re heading into?!” Pura added, doing the same with the hilt of Yamiryuu. “Gahh, sorry, sorry,” Knave said, rubbing the two small lumps that were rapidly forming where the two had hit him. “See anything?” Stormy asked Art. The Majin first mate had seized a spyglass left randomly in the bathroom (it was general consensus that Knave had probably picked it up for some grand scheme but forgotten it once nature had decided to come calling) and was scanning the still-burning island as the Shooting Star slowly passed it by. “Not a thing,” D’Artagnan replied, “unless you count loads of smoke and burning buildings as ‘anything’.” “I meant anything that we couldn’t see five minutes ago.” “Then there you are.” Art sighed, lowering the spyglass and allowing his foot to lash out, striking a random bag full of... flour, he supposed (the crew had quickly mastered the art of both training and working at the same time, given the circumstances). Gopher generally had tons of the stuff or other such cooking ingredients scattered around the ship as well. Heck, to anyone looking on the ship would be a place of chaos, with no reasonable order or way of organizing things. And yet, for those who actually spent their daily life there, there wasn’t really that much confusion. His life really had changed since he first left Sahara, hadn’t it? Back home he and his parents would’ve been stunned to find something like this where they lived. Not that the Majin were a particularly orderly group, but things were generally kept navigable at worst. And here he was, on a ship that was slightly too big for the amount of people on it, a ship that he himself had found and repainted after discovering it had belonged to a famous pirate. It was the most fun and happiness he had had in awhile. “Hm?” the Majin’s ears perked as a small, barely perceptible noise reached them. He raised the spyglass again, scanning the shore of an island. “Uhh... Stormy?” “Yeah?” the navigator asked. “I think somebody’s hailing us.” And indeed, a small figure had detached itself from the smoke and was running as fast as it could towards the shore, waving its hands up and down rapidly. “Naga Naga no...” Knave began, a very hot, white aura swirling around his body, “Lightspeed!” The captain lifted up into the air, and propelled himself across the ocean separating the ship from the burning island. Right as he neared the shore, the aura died. Grunting slightly in disappointment, Knave spun in midair and came down on the very edge of the shore. “I really need to figure out how to prolong tha-OOPH!” the marimo lad suddenly cried as the figure running towards the shore slammed into him with a force that a figure that small should not have. Skidding slightly on the ground, Knave seized the figure by the shoulders and lifted it up. “What was that for?” he asked, four veins appearing on the edge of his forehead. The figure coughed a few times, then spoke. The voice that came out was that of a young girl, though very strained and tired. “Sorry, sorry, sorry!” she said, “it’s just that I haven’t seen people in a few days and I really needed some fresh air and you were kind of in the way!” She said all this in one breath. “Fresh air...?” Knave raised an eyebrow at the smoldering wreckage close to them, “you live here?” “Well, used to...” the girl suddenly collapsed slightly, resting her head on Knave’s chest and grabbing his scarf for support, “some people came in... and they burned the whole place to the ground.” “Oh.” Knave said simply, still looking at the fire. “OI, KNAVE!” came Stormy’s voice from a few feet away. Knave turned around, seeing the doctor waving at him from the ship. Giving a cheery smile, Knave waved back. “THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!” Stormy’s voice went again, throwing a barrel at the marimo lad (which he thankfully ducked, allowing it to fly past his head and landing in the inferno behind him). “Well, if it helps any, I did find someone!” “Someone?” “Yep! Person and everything!” “OI!” Art called from the deck, “IT’S REALLY DAMN HARD TO HEAR YOU! JUST BRING WHATEVER YOU FOUND BACK TO THE SHIP!” “GOT IT!” Knave yelled back, then promptly leaped to his feet, throwing the little girl over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “W-what are you doing?!” the girl gasped, struggling slightly. “Flying,” Knave said simply, “or the closest thing, really.” “Fl-” “Naga Naga no Lightspeed!” Knave cried happily, a white aura surrounding the both of them as he shot into the air, heading at incredible speeds towards the Shooting Star! “I-I’m Kagome,” the girl said, lifting up the small cup of tea Gopher had thrown together in the spur of the moment, taking another gulp from it. She was sitting on one of the couches that could be found in the living room of the ship, though this one had been dragged out to the deck. The Marimos had clustered in something resembling a semi-circle around her, alternatively leaning on the mast or in various other positions around the deck. “You’re a pretty weird person,” Knave said bluntly, causing several members of the crew to immediately deliver blows to the back of his head. “I’m serious!” Knave said indignantly, rubbing the back of his head where the blows had landed, “who lives on a burning island like that?!” “She obviously has a reason, you dunce!” Sid growled, before turning back to the girl, his face instantly assuming an expression of pure gentlemanliness, “so, could you please explain that to us, Kagome-chan?” “Well,” the girl continued, “it was a pretty normal place, I guess, for most of my life. But then... a few days ago... a few pirates showed up. They seemed nice too, but then a few other people arrived... and the next thing I remember is that the whole place was burning.” “You were the only survivor?” Pura asked, her brow furrowed. “I... don’t know,” Kagome answered, “when I first woke up after the whole event everyone was gone... but I did remember that we had this plan if things went really wrong... It’s the Grand Line after all.” “A backup island?” Art inquired. “Something like that,” she replied, rubbing her head, “all I know was that it was a good few islands away... but if anyone survived they should still be there...” Silence filled the air for a few moments. “So...” Kagome began, “..c-could you guys take me? If it isn’t too much trouble?” There was another long pause. “Sure,” Knave said simply, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head, “we could use a lookout or something like that anyways.” “YES!” Sid cried, leaping up into the air, a heavenly aura surrounding him as a small 1UP symbol appeared above his head, “BEST. VOYAGE. EVER!” “T-thank you!” Kagome said, bowing frantically. “Alright then!” Knave said, leaping to his feet and punching the air with one fist, “let’s keep moving forward! To the place where those bounty hunter bastards where-” “GAO!” Gopher said, leaping up and down on the figurehead of the ship. “THEY’RE IN SIGHT ALREADY?!” Knave cried, dropping to the floor in disappointment. Previous Chapter | Next Chapter
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