Alright, before I begin, I'd just like to give a shout out to one of my Wattpad friends! OnePieceLover592! They have some amazing stories, and I'd love it if you guys could give them a shot. You won't be disappointed, I'm sure. They just finished one, called Into Bitter Darkness, and it was.... Oh my God, it was just awesome. So please, if it isn't too much trouble, once you get your daily dose of Raya Madness, check them out? PLEEEEAAAASE?

Alright, that's all!

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Raya's POV

That announcer is once again one step away from earning my wrath. He's up on the stage, dancing around a bit manically, along with that sparrow of his. He seems much too happy, in my opinion. 

I really should have thrown a bigger rock.

It isn't just him, either. The whole of Foxy's crew is giddy and excited, dancing and laughing and cheering. I close my eyes to block out the idiocy, crossing my arms over my chest. I can hear them just fine, but I can pretend they aren't right in front of me. Which is a comfort in itself.

"The second round with an unexpected loss for the Groggy Monsters. The two teams are tied! Coming up is the third and final round of the Davy Back Fight that will decided everything! The game is the crowd favorite.... the most eagerly aniticipated.... BATTLE ROUND!!!"

"I can't wait any longer!!"

"Start the fight!!"

"First, we will pick the battle field...."

"We get to pick the battle field?" Zoro questions, looking over at the stage. How he's still on his feet, I have no idea. I myself am sitting on the ground, leaning back against his legs. He doesn't seem to mind, for which I'm grateful. The joy of returning to the Straw Hats left me a little weak in the kness.

I watch as Luffy makes his way away from our group and follows Foxy over to a cannon that looks a little.... off. It certainly doesn't look lethal in any sense of the word. My eyes widen, watching the two of them begin spinning the cannon, around and around, on its stand.

"With the Field-Chooser Cannon! Both players will spin the cannon.... and then.... when the cannon comes to a halt naturally...."

I hear a clink as the cannon seems to snap into place, twisting from its previous position as it slows down. "That doesn't look natural at all!" Usopp shouts in outrage. I have to say I agree with him. 

The cannon fires, with the announcer unnecessarily adding in sound effects. I'm fairly certain it didn't fire an actual cannonball. If it did, their ship's deck is screwed

"The Field-Chooser Cannon is coincidentally the ship of the Foxy Pirates!"

"Coincidence?! Yeah right! CHEATERS!!"

"It doesn't matter," Zoro says irritably. "Stop whining."

I get to my feet, shaking out my legs and dust off my pants. I stretch my arms over my head, while continuing to glare in the direction of the announcer. He sweat drops, before hopping onto his sparrow and taking to the air, where he continues with his commentary.

"Alright! Now the battlefield is chosen. It's time to explain the rules! The actual field is the area within a fifty meter radius of where the cannonball landed. So that's a circular field, one hundred meters in diameter! You may use any weapon on the ship. Aside from the contestants, no other person is allowed on the field. The first person to kick their opponent out of the field wins! That's all! By the way, the sapces above and under the circle are part of the field."

I sweat drop. Alright, so these bakas really did fire a cannonball at their ship, purposefully. I don't exactly like what that means, but I don't see anything I can do about it.

"Luffy seems excited," I comment, gesturing to our captain. He's got his fist pounded into the opposite hand, a thrilled, battle-hungry grin on his face that, up until now, I thought only Zoro possessed. "Confident too."

"Zoro! Can I check your injuries?" Chopper calls, finishing up with Sanji. He's been working on him ever since Luffy brought me back, and I burned my second black mask of the day. Heh. That was fun. 

Zoro nods to our doctor, and takes a seat on the ground, cross-legged, while Chopper tends to his wounds. I sit beside Chopper, still watching Luffy, but occasionally sneaking glances back at Zoro. I know they said not to, but I still feel awful about the extent of their injuries. And I also know that they would have fought that hard for any of the Straw Hats.... but still.

"Happy to have your swords back?" I ask, looking over my shoulder. Chopper places a pad of gauze on Zoro's forehead and tapes it their with medical tape, before bandaging his right cheek. Zoro blinks open his eyes, which he'd closed when Chopper started working on him, and looks down at the swords beside him. 

"Yeah," he says eventually. "It didn't feel right without them."

"That's how I feel with Honoo," I mumur, absently stroking her crimson sheath. Then I break into a grin that rivals that of my captain. "Anyway, it was a great fight. You really showed them who the real monsters are, eh?" I add with a laugh.

"Hahaha, I guess I did single-handedly," Zoro and Sanji say, with prideful smiles on their faces. I groan and flop back into the grass as they bare their fangs at each other.

"What did you say?!"

"Single-handedly?"

I smirk slightly when Nami butts in between them, pushing their faces away. "Stop it right there!" she commands, shifting her gaze. "Someone's calling for Luffy."

"Thank you. Here are your Foxy Pins," a man says from behind a stand, handing our captain and sniper a set of ridiculous-looking commemorative pins that are shaped in the likeness of Foxy himself. Conceited, much?

"DON'T BUY THAT TRASH!" Nami shouts, though they ignore her completely.

I shake my head, chuckling. But my happy mood sours instantly when I take in the "cheerleaders" arranging themselves into the word "FOXY" up on the stage. I've never liked cheerleaders. Way too upbeat, perky, and way too... developed. Dear Kami, now I just sound jealous. And I have never in my life been jealous. Ugh.

"What are they doing?" Zoro asks, flicking a bored glance at the cheering girls.

"Entertaining?" Nami guesses with a shrug.

"Are they really going to fight there?" Chopper asks Robin, referring, I think, to two men in "armor" who appear to be "fighting" up on the Foxy figurehead.

"It's just the pre-game show," she responds.

I hear several cannons go off, signaling the start of the games. 

"The preparations are complete! The most exciting event of the day is starting! It's the Battle Round! The fight will start soon!"

Our group makes our way over to the stands that they've raised on supports to be able to see into the Sexy Foxy. 

Alright, I've made up my mind. I will never, never say that ship's name aloud. I'd die of humiliation. Because Foxy is anything but Sexy.

More cannons fire, and I squint up at the sky as a thick black smoke fills the air from the blasts, turning the blue sky pitch black

"Eh? The sky turned dark," Robin says, also tipping her head back.

"It's filled with black smoke!" Chopper adds, hurrying to catch up with us on his stubby legs. Unexpectedly, he hops onto my back and scurries up onto my head. I blink, sliding my eyes up to look at him, about to say something. But I see him straining to look up at.... wow. An image of Foxy and Luffy's wanted posters has emerged in the thick smoke, with a verses X set between them.

And Benn said I have a flare for the dramatic. 

"Hey, it's Usopp!" I say, narrowing my eyes in confusion. Seeing his wanted poster blown up to this size, I can easily make out the back of the sniper, turned away from the camera, just behind Luffy. I must have missed it when I first saw the poster...

"The two fighters of the final round are the corresponding captains!! On the left... he's the returning champion.... with a record of 920 straight wins!! He is the captain of the Foxy Pirates!! Our Boss, FOxy the Silver Fox!" 

I gag slightly, seeing Foxy perched on their figurehead. He's thrown off his ostentacious coat, leaving him in his low-rinding pants that reveal his boxers (I think, anyway) that clum up past his waist, and the suspenders he was wearing earlier. He's still shirtless, much to my chagrin. He's kept the pointed boots as well, but donned elbow guards and boxing-gloves. Boxing gloves....? Don't they use those so people aren't seriously maimed in a fight? Though with Foxy, I'm sure they aren't as harmless as they should be.

"Boss!"

"WOOO!"

"Boss!!!"

"Take him down in one second!!!"

I shoot a glare at the offending Foxy pirates as I pass them on the way to my seat. The Straw Hats all sit together, with me in between Zoro and Chopper. I stretch out my legs, leaning back in my seat, and listen as Luffy's introduced.

"On the right.... the captain of the small but ferocious team of pirates... With an amazing bounty of 100 million berry... He is known as the Straw Hat kiddo..... He is.... MONKEY D. LUFFY!!!"

I anime fall, hitting my head on the empty seat behind me, when Luffy's makes his entrance. "What in the hell?!?!" I shout, climbing back onto the bench to gawk at Luffy. I never imagined he could look this insane...

He's bare-chested, like Foxy, with a dark, flaming skull and crossbones painted onto his chest. He wears similar elbow guards to Foxy, and also the same gloves. But.... oh God.... He's wearing a thick, black, curly afro that gives him an extra foot of height! Afro! Why.... just why?!

Usopp is no better, really, dressed in a zip up jacket, dark shades and hat with his goggles perched over the brim, and a surprisingly blank and cool expression on his face. He throws up his hands at the same time Luffy does, though my captain is throwing off the boxer's cloak he'd been wearing, shouting while doing so.

"WAHHHHHHHH!"

"Davy Back Fight, final round....."

"Who is that?" Zoro asks, scowling up at Luffy.

"Luffy! You're so cool!" Chopper exclaims, eyes sparkling as he and Sanji cheer and holler.

I just sit there and gape.

".......battle start!"

"HELL YEAH!!" Luffy bellows, arms thrown skyward. He begins to punch the air as Usopp strikes a pose and shouts, "I'm Luffy's coach!! Open your eyes.... for the golden right punch!!"

"YEAH! RING THE BELL ALREADY!!"

I blink, dragging my eyes down from Luffy's eye-catching hair-do and blink again when I see his chets. "Whoa," I mutter, rubbing at my eyes to make sure they aren't playing tricks on me. "Luffy's got a pretty toned chest for such skinny arms. I mean, that's kinda ridiculous."

I swear I see Nami blush a little at my comment, but when I turn my head, she too is back to staring at his afro. 

Huh.

"Fehfehfehfeh!" Foxy cackles, cracking his neck from side to side. "Interesting.... Feh. Straw Hat is looking good!! Even though you're my enemy, I  have to compliment you on it!"

"Stop being gay for my captain and start the damn fight already!" I shout, irritated that these introductions are taking so long. 

Everyone, Straw Hats and Foxy Pirates alike, sweat drop at my outburst. 

"You're not drunk, right?" Zoro asks, giving me a sidelong glance. My cheeks flame slightly at the accusation, and I cross my arms with a huff. "Have you seen me guzzling sake today, Swordsman?" I ask bitterly, glaring at him. "Morning drinking is your job." He smirks and turns back to Luffy.

"Ah..... Alright! The fight is about to begin! Both combatants are in the battlefield!"

"Anyway," I say, trying to draw attention away from me, "what's up with Usopp?"

"Right, who died and made him Luffy's coach?" Zoro asks, sweat dropping.

"Hell yeah! I'm burning up bro!" Sanji shouts with uncharacteristc ferocity. Even though I have Chopper seperating us, I still instinctively inch closer to Zoro, frowning uneasily at Sanji's display.

"Can't he be more serious?" Nami asks tiredly, sipping from her drink that Sanji ran around the entire festival looking for. 

"Heehee. I think he looks fine," Robin says, referring to Luffy's chosen attire. 

"I suggest you start digging your own grave, you''ll need it after the fight!" Usopp says smugly, jabbing a finger at Foxy and his entourage. 

"Alright! All seconds out of the ring!"

"Hold on! I'm not finished yet!" Usopp insists in a snappy voice.

"SECONDS OUT!!"

Usopp grudgingly picks his way off the ship, following after the grinning trio of canine-looking men who were helping Foxy. He soon appears in the stands, parking himself on Zoro's other side.

"I will now repeat the rules. The battlefield is our ship. That is... the entire main deck and every room underneath it! All the action will take place there! The field also inclused the terrain in the 100m radius of the ship's mast!! Lastly, there is no time limit! One point wins the game! And now only the two contestants are left on the battlefield!!" 

"I don't like this," I murmur, eyeing Foxy as he taunts Luffy and gestures grandly to his own ship. Foxy has won 920 times, and I have know doubt that his combat skills were never a factor. His arms are skinnier than even Nami's for Kami's sake! He's already demonstrated that he prefers trickery over honest fighting, and Luffy's never been like that. If it comes down to cleverness....

"GO BOSS!!"

"STRAW HAT, NICE OUTFIT BUT.... YOU'RE STILL GOING DOWN!!"

I sigh in exasperation. Will these incessant fools never stop?

"Luffy! Win! You have to win!" Chopper calls out excitedly, eyes wide and sparkling, and just slightly girlish.

"Be careful of his beam attack!" Nami warns, most likely the least asinine thing I've heard today. 

"The excitement level is at its peak! Will they lose or acquire a crew member? There is no turning back now! Davy Back Fight, final round! Foxy the Silver Fox VS. Straw Hat Luffy! The clash between two captains! The fate of their crews in their hands!!"

Foxy and Luffy take up fighting stances, fists raised in front of them, knees bent and ready to move. Foxy has his Cheshire smile out, while Luffy is glaring determinedly, teeth gritted. I think that crack about the "fate of their crews" really drove it home to him how important this match is. I take a deep breath, reminding myself that Luffy has never once let me down. He won't start now.

"Let the game..... BE----------GIN~~~~~~!!!"

Luffy is the first to strike, throwing out one of his Pistol punches. But Foxy dodges to the side, launching his beam as he, unnecessarily, flips upside down, and catches Luffy's punch with it. 

"OH NO!" Nami cries, as Luffy's boxing-glove-clad fist moves as a snail's pace through the air, leaving him open. I see him tugging with his free hand, but his arm doesn't pull back.... until the thirty seconds are up and it snaps back, kicking him off his feet and onto the deck with a crash.

Foxy raises his hands, looking like he's preparing a Slow-Slow Beam, and Luffy takes the bait, flipping into the air to dodge. I hear Foxy laugh, "Just kidding!" causing Luffy's face to contort into a look of annoyed shock. Foxy raises his hand, this time with real intent, and engulfs Luffy in his purple-tinted speed-stealing waves.

"Luffy!" Chopper and Sanji shout.

"I told you to watch out!" Nami yells hopelessly.

"Dammit!" I hiss, fingers clenching around a fistful of my still-slightly-damp jeans. See? This  is what I was afraid of. Luffy's so trusting and innocent, he's going to be goaded and tricked all throughout this match!

Luffy hangs in the air, his body half-flipped, and Foxy stands there with his hands on his hips, laughing. "Enjoying the moment, Straw Hat?" he asks mockingly.

"Even the falling speed has decreased," Zoro mutters. 

"Luffy is so cool!" Chopper squeaks, obviously misreading the situation. I don't fault him on it though; he'll see how wrong he is in a moment, I'm sure.

Foxy hops off the ground and onto Luffy's chest. Luffy tries to call out a surprised question, but his vocal chords must be affected by the beam as well, because his simple sentences take forever to string out into coherent thoughts.

"Foxy Rush!" Silver Fox shouts, pummeling Luffy's face with a barrage of quick jabs and punches. It makes my stomach churn uncomfortably, seeing my captain in such a vulnerable position. 

"RUSH! RUSH! RUSH!"

I raise an eyebrow when Luffy's face remains in the same slightly surprised expression he wore before the punching began, looking none-the-worse for the assault. 

"Huh? No effect from his punches?" Sanji asks incredulously, seeming to have calmed down from his earlier fired-up persona, leaning forward in his seat as if somewhat anxious.

"No," Zoro says shortly, narrowed eyes on the beating below. "The beam probably also made it slower too..."

I can tell he made the right call when Foxy backs off, and Luffy's face twists, his cheek looking almost caved in. Then the rest of the merciless punches take effect... 

I can barely watch...

"Fehfehfeh! That felt good!" Foxy cackles, walking away. "My punches will add up and become effective soon. You're done for even if you are a Rubber Man!"

"3.... 2.... 1...." I count back, already beginning to wince. "That's thirty seconds..."

Luffy is suddenly slammed into the ground, and skids along the figurehead at a frightening speed.

"All his hits take effect at once after thirty seconds!!"

"Luffy!!"

"He'll fall into the sea like that..." Robin says worriedly.

As she predicted, he sails right off the edge of the fox's head, falling towards the ocean. With a grunt of determination, though, he throws his arm up, stretching for the fox's pointed ear and launches himself back into the fight.

"OOOOOOH! Look! His arm stretched!" a Foxy pirate calls out admiringly.

"Interesting! So that's the power of the Gum-Gum Fruit!"

"Keep you damn mouths shut!" I growl, twisting around in my seat to level my best Death Glare at the pirates, who swallow and sweat drop under my gaze. "My captain is not some science display to be gawed at! So keep your stupid moronic comments to yourselves!!"

I turn back around, worried eyes watching as Luffy as he rubs his bruised cheek, muttering to himself. He looks around, and seeing that Foxy isn't there any longer (something I actually just noticed....) he takes off, jumping from the figurehead down to the deck below. 

"Oooh! The final round, combat, has barely begun! Our Boss' flawless combo attack totally knocked Straw Hat down! it's firing up!"

"No asked for your opinion, bastard!" I shout up at the circling, sparrow-riding announcer. I briefly allow my flames to flicker to life around my hand, gauging the distance between us. Then he suddenly shoots out farther over the sea, most likely sensing my killing intent, and soars out of range. I sigh, dampening my fire and sitting back.

"You usually aren't this worked up," Zoro says, looking away from the ship and to me. I hold my head with one hand, fingers curling into my bangs. "Yeah, I know," I mutter, eyes closed against the world. "These guys just irk me to no end."

"They are pretty annoying," he agrees.

"Try infuriating," I correct, blinking open my scarred eye to see him. He flashes me a smirk, and some of the tension holding my shoulders stiff melts away. At least this is the crew I know belong to. No matter how annoying they can be, I love them all. And nothing they could do could ever rival the Foxy Pirates in terms of stupidity. And that's saying a lot, considering who my captain is. 

I look back out at the fight when I hear Luffy shout. He's bent over backwards, barely managing to dodge the three arrows aimed at his chest. Foxy's cackle sounds as he straightens up. I turn my attention to him, and raise an eyebrow questioningly. He's standing on a floating cannonball, high above the lower deck, while Luffy's on the upper deck of the bow still.

"Welcome back to my ship!" he greets. 

"Ah! There you are! Stay right there!" Luffy orders, sprinting over the wooden deck to meet him. But I see him hesitate, if only slightly, from the tightening of his muscles. He isn't shouting, so I can't hear what he's saying to himself, but I would guess he's trying to figure out what Foxy's doing, surrounded by other floating shots.

My eyes goe wide, watching Luffy leap out from the upper deck, aiming to land on a particular cannonball. But it flys out from under his feet, continuing on its path from when it was first fired. "Damn it!" luffy shouts, stretching both arms to grab hold of another ball. But, like the other, its time has just run out, and it crashes down to the deck, carrying a stunned Luffy with it.

Foxy hops off his perch just as it gives way and lands on another part of the upper deck. He goes over to a.... Shit.

"Luffy! Look out!" I shout.

"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!" Luffy yells, giving an "Usopp Face" as dozens of little metal Foxy heads shoot out from the blaster-thing he's just fired from above. They travel slowly past Luffy, who seems to think they're pins, like the ones he bought earlier. That is, until the real Foxy somehow manages to sneak into the procession of floating heads and nails Luffy with a nasty right hook, knocking him back a good fifteen feet. Worst of all, in the span of twenty seconds, when I must have bene looking away, he's traded in his old boxing gloves for ones that resemble sea urchins. Only a hell of a lot deadlier.

I think I'm one of the only Straw Hats who has a clear view of what's going on, because I can ehar Sanji complaining. But I ignore him, eyes Foxy as he retreats, saying something over his shoulder I can't catch. Then I remember the bombs...

He must have used his Slow-Slow Beam on them! That means--

A massive explosion rocks the entire ship, polluting the air with white flashes and cumbersome gray-black smoke. It completely blocks my view of the fight! I can't tell what's happened to Luffy!

"Cap'n!!" I shout, jumping to my feet.

"Amazing~~~! All the bombs hit head on~~~!! Foxy is winning big tiiiiiimmmmmme!!!"

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For right now, I changed my profile pic to a drawing of Raya I made. It isn't great, but this is sorta what she's supposed to look like. Er, I know she doesn't resemble a One Piece character, but I can't draw them.... YET! I'm gonna try and make a better one soon. And I would have put up in the story but.... I had issues with it. So yeah. If ya see it, hope you don't think she looks weird or anything!