"Oi! What's wrong with Raya?!"

"She's not talking to you, Luffy."

"EH?! WHY NOT?!"

"Nami isn't either."

"WHAT DID I DO?!"

I walk past Luffy, busy arguing with Usopp, and smack the back of his rubber head hard enough that his hat tumbles to the ground. As much as he's just infuriated me, I would never actually scorch his straw hat. I'm not that evil.

"Oi! Raya! Come back!"

I just keep walking, hands shoved into my pockets, head down and eyes flashing. The Foxy Pirates wasted no time in setting up a festival of sorts to coincide with the Davy Back Fight. Stands are set up everywhere, offering every kind of food you can imagine. But my stomach is in knots, so I ignore the tantalizing smells and make my way to the stage set up as the focal point of this craptastic ceremony.

By the time I arrive, Luffy already up on the stage, eating something off a stick while he sits next to... dear God, what is that? 

The man beside Luffy isn't... He's... Let's just say I'd rather be with Mr. 2 right about now. He's stout, with weak-looking arms and a reddish-pink nose that could give Usopp's a run for its money. He has thick, black, spiky eyebrows that just add to the creepy factor caused by his Cheshire smile. His thick black hair is pointed straight towards the sky, split right down the middle like a two-pronged fork. And he's dressed in the most outrageous outfits I've ever seen. Though to be fair, most of his crew dresses in odd fashions. It's best not to judge, right? 

Oh who the hell am I kidding, this is just ridiculous!

I pick my way through the gathering crowd to my find my crew mates, keeping well away from Zoro and Sanji. I can't believe they want to do this. Especially Sanji, who actually has an idea of how this game works. And as well as I usually get along with Zoro, I just can't stand him right now. Him and his damn pride! 

I feel him watching me, and quickly turn my head to face the stage, where a slim woman in a freaky plumed hat, maroon mask and clothing as provocative as Nami's stands, her hand raised to grab our attention. She holds a baton in in her free hand, and that, coupled with her hat, remind me too much of a marching band's attire. 

"Alllriiigggghhht, scums!" she says loudly, smiling excitedly. "Be quiet! I will now state the rules of the game!" 

I sneak a glance at Sanji, and am unsurprised to see he's completely taken with the woman, despite her being the enemy, sort of. I will never understand his taste in women.

"Rule number one: The crews and flags lost in a Davy Back Fight may only be reacquired through another Davy Back Fight. Rule number two: The person chosen in the endgame must swear lyalty to the winning team immediately! Rule number three: The pirate flag that is take away may never be used again!"

I pat Nami's back comfortingly, noticing her sititng down with her head held between her hands, face pale. "Why do you all act like this is no big deal?" she mumbles, shaking her head.

"Stop mumbling, Nami," Zoro says, casting our navigator a quick glance. I glare at him, hand tightening into an angered fist. "Shut up Zoro," I snap, careful to keep my voice low enough that those around us won't call unwanted attention to our group. "Just because you're the cockiest bastard I've ever met doesn't mean we can't be worried for our nakama!"

He stares at me, his face betraying the barest amount of shock. Even Nami looks up from her despair to gape at me. Sanji, however, is too caught up in the woman's beauty. I think someone shouted out Porche, or something. I guess that's her name.

"Cocky bastard?" he repeats, narrowing his eyes at me. I cross my arms over my chest defiantly, returning the dangerous look. "Care to deny it, Swordsman?" I challenge. Before he can answer, Porche continues with her captivating speech.

"Anyone who disgraces any of the rules will be sacrificed to Davy Jones!" she announces cheerfully. Lovely. Not only do I have to worry about losing my friends to another crew, now there's the chance one of us will rebel and be sacrificed. Why didn't we listen to Usopp again? "Do you swear to honor these rules?"

"I do!" the split-head man beside Luffy says, lifting his nose into the air.

"I swear!" Luffy shouts, spraying what looks like spaghetti from his mouth.

Split-head stands, tossing three glimmering coins up and down on his palm. "See these coins?" he asks rhetorically, in an accent I can't exactly place. "I am reporting to the great Davy Jones that the offical game under the 3-coin rule will commence now!" And with that, he tosses the three coins into the sea; what feels like an eternity later, there's a far off plop-plop-plop that signals they've sunk into the ocean.

"Who's Davy Jones?" Chopper asks, looking up at Robin since she's the most knowledgable out of the rest of us. "He is a cursed pirate from ancient times that lives under the sea," she explains, handing him an order of cotton candy. Chopper takes a huge bite from the pink fluff, swallows, and widens his eyes at Robin, who giggles at his enthusiasm for the treat. "He's living under the sea?!" he asks in awe.

"It's a legend," she says with a closed eye smile. "He also takes all the ships and treasures that sink to the sea floor.

"It must be a scary place under the sea..." Chopper notes, then adds, "So sweet!" A slight smile curls my lips as I watch the sparkles dancing around his adorable face. Alright, sometimes childish naivety isn't a bad thing.

"Davy takes whatever he wants from the sea," Sanji says, tacking onto the conversation. "Just like how the winner takes what he likes from the loser. So they named the game Davy Back Fight."

"Hey!" someone shouts, making us all turn to look at him. It's another member of the Foxy Pirates, who I've recently learned are under the command of Foxy the Silver Fox. Such a fitting name... "You know the rest of the rules right? Exactly seven people from each team will participate in the game. Each person may play no more than one round. You may not change the grouping once the game starts."

"I knew that," Sanji snaps. "Get out of here." The suddenly dejected man pouts, hanging his head, and shuffles back to his crew. I just shake my head at the scene. That's gonna be me if we lose one of the Straw Hats to this idiot of a captain.

"Damn you!!"

"It's all your fault!"

I look over my shoulder; Nami and Usopp both have their fists pressed against one of Luffy's cheeks, squishing his rubber face together. "Guys!" he says, his voice muffled and warped from the state of his face. "All we need to do is win!"

I sigh and drag the two away from our captain. But before he can smile in gratitude, I light one of my hands on fire and fist it right in Luffy's face. "Make another decision like this without us again, Luffy," I hiss through gritted teeth, "and you'll really find out why they named me 'Red-Haired Demon'. Understand?" He gulps and nods, and I step back, exstinguishing my flames. 

Just as I turn away, I hear him back to his old chirpy self, talking to Usopp. "When we win, we can get a shipwright, too!"

"Why would we want someone from that kind of pirate group?!" he demands shrilly.

"The games are racing, sports and combat," Zoro says, reading off a paper he picked up from one of the Foxy Pirates. I lean closer to him, staring over his shoulder at the printed writing. Seven people can participate? That's three in the first round, three in the second, and a final one-on-one round. So one of us will have to sit out. I may hate this, but it isn't going to be me. I want to kick some ass for forcing us into this god-awful situation. And since I can't inflict my revenge on Luffy (because that's morally wrong) I'll take out my frutrations on their crew.

"Who do you think should be cut?"

I blink, looking down at Zoro. His eyes are still on the paper, but he's clearly talking to me. I roll my eyes and turn away. "Dunno, Swordsman," I mutter. "Why are you even asking me? It's obvious what I have to say doesn't matter regarding this fight."

I hear him sigh, the paper crinkling and crackling in his hand; he must as clenched it into a fist. "That's not it, Raya," he says, his voice taking on a hard edge he rarely ever uses with me. "You just don't--"

"Do not tell me that it's because I don't understand," I hiss, staring menacingly at the ground. "Because I just don't give a shit. I get that you're pride's important to you, and that's fine. But when keeping it intact means risking the lives of those you care about, I can't accept it. This is just like when you challeneged Mihawk, you know that right? When you allowed him to slash your front willingly? Sure it's not as dire as that time, but it's the same reasons behind your actions now. And I don't want a repeat of how I felt that day. Losing you, Swordsman.... It wasn't a very pleasant thought." 

There's silence for a few moments, and I finally manage to wrangle my anger and incapacitate it, leaving me sighing from the lack of fire racing through my bloodstream. 

"I can't change who I am, Raya."

"I know that, Zoro. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten so worked up. Just... After so long, I found family, Swordsman. I don't want to lose them again." I pause, taking a deep breath. I'm still upset with Zoro, Sanji and Luffy, but I've calmed down enough to the point where they aren't at risked of having me run them through with Honoo. "Ask Chopper if he'd be ok sitting this out," I say, finally looking up from the dirt and glancing back at Zoro. To my surprise, there's evident relief lighting up his tanned face. And it's obviously not about Chopper. "That Porche girl had her eye on him earlier, and I just think he'd be the first to get picked off if we lost."

Zoro nods and looks back down at the paper. Then he turns around to say to Sanji and Luffy, "I'll take combat."

"What?! No! I want to fight!!" Luffy counters, jabbing a finger at himself. Sanji tries to push him away, glaring at Zoro with cigarette clamped between his teeth. "No. Let me!" he says. "My legs are itchy already!"

"He should really get that checked out," I murmur, cracking the tiniest of smiles as I watch them bicker. Robin giggles from beside me, hand lightly covering her mouth. 

Five minutes of pointless fighting later, we've actually decided on who's doing what.

"It's decided then," Robin says, eyes scanning over our choices once more. "I'll turn in our listings."

She goes off to hand in our paper, and I turn my attention to the despairing Nami and Usopp, who are walking aimlessly around the area. "Hey, what will happen is we lose?" Usopp asks. "They'll take me, the great Captain Usopp, for sure."

"No," Nami argues. "They'll definitely take me, because I'm so cute."

I sweat drop, staring after them. I have a feeling neither one of them gave to worry about anything. Now, Luffy, Robin, Zoro and Sanji... If I were Foxy, I'd take one of them. Robin's brilliant, Luffy's an amazing fighter even if he does have the I.Q. of a newt, Sanji's just as deadly and one hell of a cook, and Zoro is just plain lethal in a fight, swords or no. The fact that Luffy and Zoro have bounties now only adds to their chances of being stolen. 

"Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro" has a 60,000,000 berry bounty.

"Straw Hat Luffy" has one of 100,000,000 berries. 

I was slightly pissed that Zoro's first bounty beat mine by ten million, but I was still excited for them. Now we've got four bounty-bearing pirates in our crew, totaling... 289,000,000 berries, if I'm not mistaken. For such a small crew, that's pretty incredible.

The crazy-looking announcer, who's currently riding on top of a giant unidentifiable bird, giddily calls out the listings for us Straw Hats.

"In round one, for the Straw Hats, we have Usopp, Nami, and Nico Robin!"

"Actually," Usopp groans, holding his stomach just like before. "I just remembered. I have the dies-if-enters-boat-race syndrome!"

"I don't want to do this either!" Nami says, hands on her hips. "But you need to toughen up!"

"For round two, they've chosen to include the infamous Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro, their cook, Sanji, and.... Oh! What an interesting turn of events! The Straw Hats have placed Red-Haired Demon Flynn D. Raya on this team as well!"

My eye twitches, hearing that inexcusible epithet again. I don't give a damn what those Marines think; I am not a freaking demon!

That, however, is not what's on my teammates minds.

"Don't get in the way!" Zoro snaps at Sanji.

"That's my line!" he shoots back.

"And for the final round, the combat round, they have their captain, Monkey D. Luffy!!"

"Yeeeeeeaaaaaah!!" Luffy roars.

I sweat drop again.

"Oh my, seems like their tankui, Chopper the ship's doctor, isn't in any of the rounds!" the announcer, er, announces. I can faintly hear Porche's sobs, and they set my teeth on edge. "Choppy! Oh Choppy! You're so cute! Why can't you have switched with that Demon girl?!"

Seriously?! 

"First up, it's the obstacle course around the isle, the Donut Race! You are given two oars and three barrels to make your canoe," the announcer says into his Den-Den Mushi's speaker. "You are disqualified if you use extra materials!! It all depends on the ship mechanic's skills! Now for ht self-introductions. I am the party-captain of the Foxy Pirates, Itomimuzu! I will broadcast the race from the air with my Super Sparrow of the South Sea, Chuchun!"

I stand to the side with the rest of my team, Chopper beside me, watching Usopp put together a passable boat from the materials given to him. But I'm really not liking the competition.

"Now, introduing the Straw Hat team. They're Nami, the navigator, Usopp the sniper, and Nico Robin, the archeologist! The boat they'll be using is called 'Barrel Tiger'!"

I sigh, hearing several Foxy Pirates act as perverted as Sanji, calling out how cute Nami is, or how they want to play with the dark-haired chick. Like They'd ever have a shot with either of them. Then again, Nami did offer royal soldiers the chance to see her naked for a crap load of berries... 

My crew mates.... Just, why? 

"And now, representing team Foxy... she is our sweetheart, Porche!"

"Ooooooh! Leave it to me!" Porche calls otu, blowing kisses to her adoring fans. AKA, the rest of the Foxy Pirates. Seriously, is she like the only girl on this crew?

"In assistance are Capote the Swordfish and Monda the Star Shark! Their ship is the Cutie Wagon!"

I choke hearing that, almost gagging at how ridiculous it is that a Fishman and a shark are part of a crew that sail on a ship called the Cutie Wagon.

"What's with you?" Zoro asks, cocking an eyebrow. I wave him off, taking a deep breath and straightening up. That's just way too much to handle.

"Hold on a second," Usopp shouts, and I look over to see him pointing at Monda. "They have a fish on their team!"

"Yes," Porche replies. "So? There is no rule that disallows fish crew!"

"Bury them Porche honey~~~~"

I clench my teeth to keep from shouting obscenities at whoever just called that out. Have you no self-respect man?

"Kick their asses!!" Luffy and I shout at the same time, though he's excited and giddy, while I'm anxious and furious. 

"Both teams get ready!"

Both of the teams paddle up to a large archway marked with START and prepare to take off at the first sound. I cross my arms, nails biting into the long-gray sleeves of my v-neck t-shirt. My bandana is once again tied around my neck, and I'm wearing a black vest that sits open over my shirt, along with my black jeans and combat boots. Even in this outfit, I can feel creepers staring at me from the sidelines.

"And now, what we've all been waiting for.... The winner will be greeted by celebration and the loser by the deep cold sea. It's the Davy Back Fight! The first round, Donut Race, is about to begin! Both sides are waiting behind the starting line. But first... the objective!"

"He's going to drag this out until we all die of suspense, isn't he?" I ask bitterly, slitting my eyes as I glare up at the announcer who's circling above us. 

"It's very simple," he goes on. "Just go around the island once!! Oh. By the way... gun, cannon, sword... any weapon is allowed!! If you don't like it then you don't deserve to be a pirate!"

"What kind of boat race is this?" Zoro asks, scowling heavily.

"I'm warning you Usopp!" Sanji shouts, face a mask of determination and anger. "If any of the ladies get hurt, I'll slice you into pieces and feed you to the fishes!"

"Don't lose!" Luffy screams cheerfully. "Usopp! Nami! Robin!"

"I'm so excited!" Chopper says, fluttering his suddenly long, and visible, lashes. I raise an eyebrow, but then shake my head and decide to call out to my nakama. "Be careful!" I shout, cupping one hand around my mouth. "These guys look like complete assholes! Don't trust to them to play fair!"

"Stop talking and start the race already!" Nami orders as she and Usopp take hold of the oards. "We're going to win!" he adds.

"So we can also win if we destroy the opponent," Robin says thoughtfully. "Uh, I'll leave that to you," Usopp says.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Porche says, smiling smugly. "Look, they are bluffing!" she sings.

"They can bluff all they want, Porche-chan!" Capote, the Fishman, laughs. "We will sink them in three minutes! Right, Monda!"

"Shark!"

"Uh, did that shark just say 'shark'?" I ask, sweat dropping. No one bothers to answer, so I drop the subject and focus on the race as the announcer (his name is way too long) throws down two... Eternal Poses?

"Racers, catch!" he shouts. "Use these Eternal Poses so you don't get lost!"

"Lost?" Nami echoes, catching the Pose in her outstretched palm.

"Remember not to go too far away from the island. Be safe and.... Good luck! Everyone! Reaaaaadddddy...... Donut!"

A shot goes off, followed by dozens of other shots fired from the sidelines by the Foxy crew! What the hell?! 

In the surf that's thrown up, I can't see Nami and others, or what's become of their "boat". All I can make out is the Cutie Wagon barreling forward, gaining a significant lead in the first few seconds of the race!

"What the hell was that?!" I demand, hooking a Foxy pirate by the collar and dragging his face closer to mine. He smirks at first, but quickly begins to cower when he sees the pure, enrage fire burning in my eyes. "I-It's not against the r-rules!" he stutters. "We c-can help out!"

"That's cheap shit!" I snap, lifting a fist bathed in flames, seconds from smashing it into this guy's jaw. But then, I'm startled into dampening my own fire when a gigantic boulder sails over our heads, straight for the Barrel Tiger that's suddenly reappeared.

It nearly crashes into the Straw Hat team, but Usopp and Nami manage to maneuver out of the way, and a heavy sigh of relief escapes my lips. And just as Sanji starts landing kick after kick after kick at the guilty Foxy pirates, I smirk and join him, preferring to keep Honoo sheathed and my flames at bay. using your own two hands... There's just something so satisfying about it!

"How dare you bleeeeeeeeeeeeeep do that to Nami-chan and Robin-chan! You assholes!" Sanji roars, positively wrecking a whole section of the crew. "You punks! I'm going to dice your heads into fish egg sauce!!"

"Iyaaaaah!"

I swing my leg into one more pirate's neck, sending him sprawingly and covered in various bruises. I dust off my hands and smooth out the wrinkles in my vest, then step over the unconscious pirates and lightly jog back over to Zoro, Luffy and Chopper. Sanji's still kicking ass.

"How come you didn't want to join in?" I ask Zoro. He looks away from the race and smirks at me. "I decided to let you have your fun," he says, eyes flicking to my cheek. He reaches up a hand and lightly brushes his thumb over my cheek. At my wide-eyed expression, he smirks again, and lifts his thumb for me to see. "Blood," he says, wiping it off on his black pants.

"Not mine," I say with a shrug, grinning. "I figured that," he replies, chuckling a little, just as Sanji decides to rejoin us, looking quite dissheveled.

I tune back into the race, and gasp when I realize the Barrel Tiger is sailing with one less seat, and from the glares he's getting from Usopp and Nami, I'd guess it was that Fishman's fault. Damn, I miss all the good stuff.

Usopp fires one of his fire stars, but it does absolutely nothing to the oversized, green-skinned piece of sushi, who laughs it off. Usopp clenches his fists in anger, though Robin calmly cross her arms, in a very familiar gesture that lets a smile worm its way onto my face.

"What's this?!" Capote cries when eight of Robin's arms sprout from his body, locking his arms and wrapping around his chest, pulling back while the last two stick straight out from his back. "Flip!" I hear her say, and her arms jerk the Fishman backwards, the backwards-facing arms pushing off the boat and flipping the fish completely over, causing him to crash into Monda head first, his feet continuing on after.

"Kick their asses!!" Luffy shouts again, fist pumping in the air. "Go, go, go!" Chopper squeals, jumping up and down in excitement. 

"The rave just started and it's already a mess inside and outside the court! But that's what the Donut Race is all about! In the lead is the Cutie Wagon and the Barrel Tiger is right behind it! The game has only just begun!"

The Barrel Tiger isn't that far behind the competition, and they're slowly catching up. But if they want to win... What the heck are they doing?

"Hey, Zoro," I say, nudging his side with my elbow. "Is that a Dial?" I ask, pointing to where Usopp is holding something just above the water. He looks extremely disappointed by the results, and Nami instantly barks at him to keep rowing.

"Looks like it," he says, narrowing his eyes. I watch curiously as, after for some reason being beaten up by Nami, Usopp ducks down over the ocean again, what looks to be another Dial held in his hand. My eyes widen. "He wouldn't...." I mutter, recognizing this particular Dial. A Shandian almost killed me with it, for Kami's sake!

"Wouldn't wha--" Zoro's cut off by Nami's scream as they suddenly shoot forward, skipping over the water as the accelerate way past the speed of the Cutie Wagon, whose crew is in complete awe of what's just happened.

"Impact Dial," I say, shaking my head. "That's brilliant, but so risky!"

But now both teams are completely out of view, sailing around the other side of the island. Which I still don't know the name of.... I'll have to ask someone later. Maybe Robin knows.

"That was unbelievable!" the announcer gasps into the speaker. I can't see him either, as he's trailing after the racers. But his annoying voice comes in loud and clear through the speakers set up around us."The undefeated Cutie Wagon actually lost her lead for a moment! It seems that the Barrel Tiger has a secret weapon to boost its speed! The race is getting more and more interesting! Go Porche!"

I sweat drop. "Isn't a guy like him supposed to remain impartial?" I ask, to which my friends just shrug. I blink away the surprise and look around, wishing I could see how my nakama are fairing. But I can only wait and listen for the announcer's updates. 

Something feels... off about the crew gathered here. I squint, studying the anxious faces that surround my friends and I. And then it hits me. Where the hell is Foxy, and that creepy giggling monkey he had with him earlier? What was his name? Hamburger? Eh, no, it was... Hamburg I think. Lovely name. Really, just beautiful.

"Have any of you seen Foxy?" I ask. I get a few confused shakes of the head as a response, and I sigh. Just great. I guess it's possible he just went to watch the race on the opposite end of the island, but... I mean, he couldn't hope to catch up to them, could he? 

I jump when the announcer suddenly squeals into the speaker. "Ahhh~~~~! Wooooooow~~~~~~! The most difficult challenges of the race are just ahead! The first is the Long Coral area. Then it's the terrifying Long Whirlpool, followed by the Long Gap!! How will these two teams conquer the challenges?!"

They really are so imaginative with the names here, aren't they? 

"Ah!" the announcer gasps, again, snapping me from my sarcastic thoughts. I instinctively turn around, as though I can see clear across the island to whatever made the surprise jump into his voice. "That is...  There's someone on the island!..... Riding atop the amazing runner, Hamburg, it's... the genius of trickery, natural enemy of rules, it's our infamous Boss! Foxy the Silver Fox!" 

"Shit!" I hiss, my eyes widening even though I can't see what's going on. This sucks! I can't do anything! 

"Hm, our Boss' face is a little twisted. He must be thinking about som very evil scheme! Go, Boss!!!"

What the hell happened to impartial announcers?!