20~ I Have a What?

Mira

I'm.... So..... Bored..... Ever since we left Nami's island, we've done nothing really that exciting. Sanji did hold me over the edge of the boat so I could catch fish, and, yes, I was wearing shorts this time. Damn pervert Sanji... When I was getting the fish, I was nearly eaten by a bigger fish as I took his meal.

I don't need to say anything else about the bigger fish, though. Most of it is sitting in Luffy's stomach.

So, that's got to be the only thing that's brought some sort of life into this dull trip.

An idea popped into my head and the wheels started turning. Ever since I saw Kurohadol, I haven't practiced his Pussy Foot move thing he made up. Well, since I have some free time, I might as well start now!

I made my way toward the kitchen to see if Sanji was around. I peeked in through the window and smiled. There he was, cleaning the pots and pans from breakfast. I opened the door and he looked up.

"Mira-chan~!" He swooned. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yeah!" I nodded. "I wanna show you something." I closed my eyes and took a ready stance like Kurohadol.

"You can show me anything, Mira-chan!" I opened an eye. "All of you, if you like!"

I shuddered and stood, slowly backing a way a bit. "No, no, Sanji. That's not what I meant..." I gulped. "I wanted to show you something else. Do you remember when-" But I stopped myself, remembering that he joined us after we helped Usopp.

"Hm?" He leaned forward a bit. "Remember what?"

"Ah! It's nothing!" I lied. "Whoops! Look at the time! Gotta run!" I raced out of the kitchen and slammed the door on Sanji's love struck face. His lips twitched as he slid off the window and onto the floor. "Whew... That was close."

Usopp might know what I'm talking about! I'll go find him and show him what I can do.

I scanned the deck with my eyes and found him sitting on the back of the deck with a chemistry set, Nami close by him reading the paper, Luffy sitting on the railing.

I skipped up behind him and jumped, my feet barely missing a vial. "Hey, Usopp!"

"Eee!" he squealed as he caught one of the test tubes he was holding. "Mira, don't do that!"

"Ehehe... Sorry. I just got excited 'cause I wanted to show you something."

"Huh?" He questioned. "Show me something?"

"Yeah!" I beamed. "Remember when we were fighting Kurohadol?"

"Yeah...?"

"Remember his really fast foot-work with one of his moves?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well, I've been practicing that move and I wanted to show it to you!" I lied smoothly. I haven't had the chance to really practice. I just know I'll get it and master it in one shot.

"Okay..." He sighed as he focused on the test tube and me. "Let's see it."

"Okay..." I took in a deep breath to calm myself and got into the stance once I'd backed away from his little lab. Soon, my feet were a blur as they danced across the floor in a small area. In the blink of an eye, I was on the other side of him.

"Look, Usopp!" he awed at me. "I've got it! Look! Now I'm over here!" I was behind Nami. "And here! And over here! Here! Now look over here! Look, I'm- falling! ACK!" My foot hit a wet spot on the deck and I face planted with the deck. "O-o-ouch..."

At that exact same moment, Nami screamed. "Jeez, Nami... I didn't know you worried about me that much." I muttered into the floor boards as I lifted my head to look at her.

"No, it's not that!" Her face was as pale as a sheet of paper. "Look!" Two flyers were on the ground, overlapping each other.

"Hey, that one looks like Luffy..." My voice was just barely above a whisper as I studied the papers, the word "WANTED" in huge, bold letters. "A-and that one looks like..." My voice caught in my throat at what I was seeing. My scream of shock was heard even above Usopp, Sanji, and Luffy's.

"What the hell what the hell what the hell?!" I picked up the second sheet. I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand then focused them back on the paper. I did it one more time then looked closer. That's... That's my picture... But, when was it taken? It must have been after we got rid of that Marine mouse guy, or maybe right before that.

My head was tilted up slightly towards the sky, as if contemplating something. My ears must have been flat against my head, for I didn't see them. That's a relief, but what does this mean by "Dead or Alive"? Are... are people gonna come after me and kill me?! I don't want to die! There's still so many things I want to do!

I rolled my poster up and joined everyone else at Luffy's. Luffy held his in his hands for a few seconds before he burst out laughing, turning it so we could all see it. "We're wanted criminals now! Both Mira and I have a wanted poster!"

"That's one goofy picture, Luffy..." I snickered.

" 'Dead or Alive...' " Usopp read. "30 million berries?! Mira, how much is yours?!"

I read back over mine. "Um... 20 million..." I walked up beside Nami as Luffy, Usopp and Sanji began admiring and bickering over his poster. "Nami, I'm not very savvy with things like this... Can you tell me about it?"

She took my poster with a shaking hand. "Y-yeah... Sure thing, Mira... Wanted... We're wanted..." I could just barely hear her mutter those last words. "Okay, Mira, or, according to this poster, Elmira Hojosen, you're wanted Dead or Alive."

"Does that mean someone is going to come for my head?" I asked, poking my index fingers together.

"Yeah, we're pirates now." She confirmed. "Let's see... Wanted for 20 million berries... Eh? What's this?"

"What? What?" I read over her shoulder.

"It says here that your first bounty was established thirteen years ago by Axe-Hand Morgan." She turned the paper so I could see where she was pointing.

"He..." I swallowed back a lump in my throat. "He set a bounty on my head... when I was only four? I bet you it was because of what my parents said about me." Then it clicked. "So, if this is an updated picture, what was my first bounty?"

"Eh? First bounty?" Luffy was soon at my side. "What do you mean?" I showed him the words Nami had just shown me. "Aw... You had a bounty before I did..."

"Do you even see what I'm looking at?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah! I see that your price is lower than mine!" I face palmed and took my poster with me as Nami began freaking out because Luffy wasn't understanding the seriousness of this, and Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp continued their talk about the poster and dancing around the deck.

I read over my description as to see what my previous bounty was. It read "5 Million berries."

I sat down against the center mast and pulled my knees up to my chest, resting the poster against them so I could see the entire thing. I wonder what everyone we've encountered thinks about this... What about my parents? Surely, they read the paper, right?

I sighed, my head knocking against the wood. Why am I thinking about my parents now? They abandoned me; I should hate them. I should hate them for putting me through all those years of abuse.

Yet, I can't help but think about them and what they might say if they saw this. Will their suspision about me destroying the world only increase, or will it stay the same, or maybe lower? The two latter ones seemed highly unlikely.

I traced a filed down nail slowly over "Dead or Alive," deep in thought. Bounty hunters are going to be coming from no where now that Luffy and I have a bounty. Being a pirate is dangerous. With our bounties this high, hunters will do anything they have to just to get to us, and they aren't going to be like Johnny and Yosaku.

These guys won't hesitate to kill us.

------------

No one's POV

"Stop raising your prices!" Kira complained to the mail bird as she slipped a coin into his bag. "Honestly, this is getting out of hand." The mail bird squawked apologetically and flew off. Kira shut the door to their hut to keep out the cold wind.

Once she was inside and sitting comfortably on the couch, she flipped open the paper straight to the "WANTED" section to browse Josten's many enemies he has fought over the last thirteen years.

A new poster caught her eye. What's this? She thought as she pulled it out of its spot in the paper. Slowly, she read over the name, the bounty, and studied the picture. It couldn't be...

Kira leaped to her feet and stormed to the bedroom where Josten was resting. He came shuffling out of the bedroom, his bandages still wrapped tightly from his fight a few days ago.

"Morning, Kira." He yawned. "I was just wondering if- oomf!" Kira shoved the poster into his chest, right where one of his worst injuries was.

"Read this, then come find me." Kira turned on her heel and strode over to the coat rack, roughly tugging on her snow boots and heavy coat. Josten watched her go, his eyebrows furrowed together.

"I wonder what's eating at her..." He muttered to himself as he read over the poster. "It's probably just a poster of one of my enemies. Their bounty might... have... been... raised..." The poster fell from his hands and landed on the floor.

"Kira!!" Josten raced to the coat rack, grunting as he desperately tried to get his coat on to go after her. "Kira, this wasn't supposed to happen! Kira!" The door slammed shut once more as Josten went out in search for Kira in the snow on Drum Island.

Mira's wanted poster laid abandoned on the floor.

------------

Mira

I sighed heavily and stood from my spot. I rolled up my poster and headed below deck to my room. I tacked it up on my wall and stared at it for a few minutes before heading back up to the deck. A small, barely functional ship was sailing past us as I stepped onto the main deck.

Hey... That kinda looked like the guy from the restaraunt...

"Hard to port!" I heard someone yell as the ship, a Marine's ship, made a hard left to get up beside us. "Our target's right in front of us!"

"Do you think some pirates attacked it?" Luffy asked from his perch on the railing. "That warship is scrapped."

I shrugged. "Don't know."

"It's not nice of the Navy to toss their scrapped ships into the ocean." Usopp said.

"I kinda feel bad..." I added.

"This is not a scrapped ship!" The guy from Sanji's restaraunt shouted at us as he placed a foot on the railing. "Do you guys have knotholes for eyes?! Have you forgotten what Iron Fist Fullbody looks like?!"

"Oh!" I tapped my right fist into my left palm. "That was his name!"

"You're that guy from sometime!" Luffy pointed at him. "Are you stranded? Want some help from us?" He offered.

"Quit fooling around!" Fullbody shouted and he shook his fist. "Our meeting here spells the end of your luck!"

"That's not how you spell it!" I called over. "It's spelled E-N-D space O-F space Y-O-"

"Enough!" He yelled over me. "Monkey D. Luffy! Elmira Hojosen! You're under arrest!" He flashed our wanted posters at us.

"Yeah!" Luffy grinned. "That's a good picture of me, huh!"

Usopp crossed his arms. "And the back of my head!"

I snorted. "My picture doesn't even have my entire characteristics. It's missing my ears." I pointed to them.

Fullbody glared a smirk at us. "It says here 'Dead or Alive'..."

"So?" I asked.

"Aim the turret!" He ordered to his men.

"Oh." I saw the cannon they were about to fire at us. "Uh, this doesn't look good for them..." They cranked the cannon in place and took aim. My guess, given the condition of the crappy cannon, it's gonna explode on them.

"Oh, you're gonna shoot?" Luffy asked him.

"Hey, Luffy," I nudged him with my elbow.

"Hm?"

"I betcha 200 berries it won't work."

He gave me a cheesy grin. "You're on!" We shook on it.

"Guys!" Usopp whined. "This it no time to be making bets! They're aiming right at us! This is bad!"

"Alright!" Luffy pulled his arm back. "Leave it to me! I'll bounce it back again!"

"Luffy," I looked over my shoulder to see Lazy Zoro behind us. "Let me handle this."

"Yeah, yeah!" Usopp agreed and pulled Luffy back. "Leave it to him!"

"How come?!" Luffy complained.

"Mira, stand back." Zoro pulled out his katana. "I don't want you getting hurt."

I snorted. "As if you really cared." But none the less, I took a few steps back.

"Tremble and sleep!" Fullbody pointed his thumb down, giving the signal to sink us. The cannon fired perfectly, much to my dismay. Zoro watched the ball carefully as he swiped with excellent precision and sliced it in half. Both chunks landed on the other side of the ship.

"Aw..." I pulled out 200 berries and handed it to Luffy. "Damn it..." Luffy chortled as he pocketed the money. Zoro slid his katana back into its sheath and glared evenly at the Marines.

"Don't bother people while they're napping."

"Is that seriously the only reason why you got up!?" I shouted as I shoved him off balance. "You need to do more with yourself!"

"There's plenty more where that came from!" Fullbody yelled over me. "Fire!"

"Huh?" Luffy inspected the cannon. "This is bad."

"Is it?" Usopp wondered.

I shoved Zoro one more time before I walked up beside the other two to see what they were seeing. "Remember when I gave you two lessons about cannons?" They nodded. "It's gonna explode this time. I betcha 200 berries each."

"You're on!" The cannon fired, but instead of launching a ball, it imploded on itself, damaging the ship and anyone near it.

"HA!" I turned to them. "Pay up!" They grumbled and I ended up with 400 berries in my pocket. "Cracks in the cannon always result in a back fire. Remember that, boys." I turned away from them to head off on my own when I suddenly lost my balance as the boat tipped and rocked. "What the hell! What hit us!" I looked back to see the Navy ship had rammed into us.

"You damn brats!" Fullbody ground his teeth. "You dare mock the power of a former Navy HQ Lieutenant?!"

"Yes!" I answered back to him.

"Damn you!" He aimed at me. "We'll have to fight you all hand-to-hand! Men! Follow me!" They don't even look worthy to even be on a Navy ship. Did he pull them from the gutter or something?

The seven men charged at us. I placed my hand over my eyes. "This is just not right..." My feet became a blur as I snuck up behind one and knocked him overboard as he crossed. He screamed as he fell into the water. "A complete waste of my time..."

"Gomu Gomu no... BELL!" I looked up in time to see Luffy headbutt Fullbody right in his face. He went flying into our railing. The remaining men were kicked back onto their ship by Sanji, who chose this time to show his face.

Fullbody went rigid and screamed like a little girl at the sight of Sanji before him. "You've got some real balls, pickin' a fight during meal time, tough guy. Don't got any soup bowls today. You plannin' to lick the deck or somethin'?"

"What's that waiter doing here?!" Fullbody panicked as he scrambled to his feet to get away. He leaped over both railings to both ships then joined his men as they dove into the water in defeat.

"Huh?" Luffy fixed his hat. "He's done already?"

"He was nothing but talk!" Usopp crossed his arms.

"You didn't even do anything..." I whispered to myself.

"He's as damn wimpy as ever." Sanji said in a low voice as he headed back for the kitchen.

"C'mon, you guys!" Nami called from the other side of the ship. "Keep it down! Honestly! I can't even relax and read a newspaper here!"

"Nami-san! I'm finished preparing your meal!" Sanji called out to her, acting as if what just happened never happened.

"For the record, we just took down a former lieuntenant..." I muttered as I walked off to sit against the center mast. "The least she could do is give us credit where it's needed."

"I'm starving!" Luffy cried out. "Food! Food! Food!"

"Get your food from the kitchen!" Sanji snapped at him.

"Bring me my food, Sanji!" Luffy repeated.

"I told you! Get it from the kitchen if you want it!"

"Food! Food!"

"In the kitchen!"

I groaned and stood. If Luffy goes into the kitchen now, there won't be any food. I grabbed my plate and headed back for my spot that I had claimed on this ship, the center mast. As I ate, I thought back to my island. How is everyone? Do they still hate my guts? Do they wish I was never born? Have they forgotten about me? How's Rika and Ririka?

"Hey," I looked up to see Zoro sit down beside me with his own plate. I snubbed him and went back to eating. "Some day, huh?" Still, I ignored him. "Say something."

"Something."

"Smart-ass," He gave a half chuckle. I simply shrugged. "What's wrong?"

"You."

"Me?"

"Yes, you!" I slammed my fork into my plate.

"What about me?"

"What about-?" I nearly choked on my food. "What about you?!" I turned a steel hard glare on him. "Have you completely forgotten what happened in Cocoyashi Village?!"

"We beat Arlong then partied." He said. "I don't know what the big deal is."

"You-!" I hissed at him. "You don't know?! Ugh! You infuriate me!" I jumped up to my feet, plate in hand, and stalked away from him. How can he be so dense! Did he seriously forget that soon?! Does he have the memory of a goldfish?! He freaking got mad at me because I gave him something that wasn't sake! Men! They're all the same!

"Mira, wait!" He called after me.

"Save it, Zoro!" I snapped at him. "I don't wanna hear it!"

"Mira, listen!"

I turned to face him and screamed right in his face. "Sanji! Zoro's hitting me!"

"Huh?!"

"You bastard!!" Sanji practically came out of no where and tackled Zoro to the ground. They rolled and wrestled, shouting insults the entire time. I huffed, flipped my hair, then proceeded downstairs. I don't want to speak with Zoro. Not until he remembers and apologizes.

Knowing him, that'll never happen.

~~~~

A few hours later, the entire crew was sitting on the floor of the ship, staring at the map to the entrance of the Grande Line. Nami pointed to a spot. "We're finally nearing the Grande Line. It looks like the only way in is through Reverse Mountain here."

"What a pain," Zoro commented. "Can't we just sail right through it?"

"Seems simple enough." I glanced around the loose circle of our crew. Sanji was shooting daggers at Zoro and Zoro was doing the same. He'd sometimes glance over at me, huff through his nose, then focus on Sanji again.

"Nope," Sanji disagreed. "From what the old geezer has hold me, that's the only way boats can enter." Zoro growled low in his throat at Sanji.

"Hm? How come?" Usopp asked.

"'Cause it's supposedly dangerous." He replied.

I shrugged. "Has that ever stopped us before?"

"But how come?!" He asked again.

"I don't know anymore than that!" Sanji rounded on Usopp.

"Guys, come on!" Nami ordered. "Just because of one little mishap caused by Mira set us on edge-"

"Hey!"

"Doesn't mean we can turn on each other in the blink of an eye and the saying of a word!" She finished. "Now, the reason for what Usopp is asking is-"

"Alright! We sail right through it!" Luffy cried over her while pointing at a random spot on the map.

Nami's eyebrows twitched. "Are you even paying attention to what's being said?!"

"What happened to calming down?" I smirked.

"Anyway!" She snapped. "I just feel like I'm gonna go crazy whenever I talk to you!"

"But we need to stop at an island first and get meat!" Luffy clenched his fists.

I blinked rapdily twice. "Oh my God! Luffy said something smart!"

Nami pointed to a tiny island, barely even noticable. "There's a famous city on this island... Loguetown."

"Loguetown?" Luffy questioned. "Is it famous for it's meat?"

"I've heard of it..." I breathed as I leaned forward a bit. "Isn't that where...?"

"Yes, Mira," Nami nodded slowly.

"It's known to be the city of the beginning and the end." Zoro said. "I'm pretty sure I've heard of that before."

"It's the town where Gold Roger, the old King of the Pirates, was born... and executed." Nami explained.

I stared in awe at that small island. To think that such a great man could have come from a place like that. If he was still alive, he would probably have enough stories of his time as the King to fill an entire library, and then some. Oh, the tales he would tell. Of course, most of the things I heard were most likely not true, given where I grew up.

"The town where the King of Pirates died..." Luffy said just above a whisper.

Nami looked up at him. "Wanna go?" She asked with a half smile.

"Yeah! I wanna go!" He said excitedly, but with a straight face. "I wanna see where the man who got the One Piece -everything this world has to offer- was born and then died!"

"Looks like we know where we're going." I leaned back and crossed my arms.

"We'll also need plenty of rest." Nami said as she rolled the map up. "We're all to get to bed early tonight, understood?"

"Yes, Nami!" Sanji swooned.

I stood and stretched. "I'm down with that idea. We Nekos can sleep, on average, eighteen hours a day. Night, all!" They chorused night to me and I walked down to my room.

I was aware of someone following me, but I didn't let them know that I knew. I twitched my ears back slightly to identify the person by their footsteps. Zoro. What does he want?

I stopped at my door and quickly rounded on him. "What do you want?"

He jumped slightly, but quickly composed himself. "I wanted to talk to you." I huffed, but let him in. I showed him a chair. He sat and I laid across my bed.

"Speak, Zoro, since you're the one who wants to say something." I propped myself up on my elbow and stared at him.

He let out a gusty sigh. "I don't know what your problem is, but it needs to stop. I can't stand having that damned cook staring at my back all the time now, nor do I like it when he stares at you."

"My probelm?" I growled as I sat up. "What's my problem. Boy, you've got some strong nerve to ask me what my problem is when it's as plain as the nose on your face!"

"Boy?" He bared his teeth at me.

"Oh, did dat hurt your pride?" I jutted my lip out at him. "Did it hurt wittle Zoro's pride?"

"Stop it, Mira!" He leaped to his feet and towered over me. "I don't have time for this! I'm trying to help!"

I stood on my tip toes. "Then maybe you should stop yelling and act more civilized!"

"I'm trying, but every pass you make at me is making this more difficult!" his voice was now loud and ringing in my ears.

I hissed at him and laid my ears flat against my head. "Then maybe you should just leave my room and come back after you've calmed down! You sure as hell need it!"

"I don't need to calm down! You do!"

"I am calm! You're the one who is blowing this whole situation out of porprotion!" I snarled. "You're the one who's got me riled up! You're the one who can't remember a single thing! You're the one who gets on my nerves! You're my problem!"

"Then tell me what I did!" Our faces were inches from each other. His face was beet red, and mine probably was, too.

I shrieked at him and shoved with all my might into his chest. "I can't believe you forgot! It only happened three days ago!"

"Tell me what I did!" He repeated louder.

I gave him a right hook to his cheek. He grunted and stumbled back a bit. "You don't remember what you did at Cocoyashi Village! You got pissed off at me because I gave you the wrong drink! I was only trying to help, but you blatantly told me off! How the hell was I supposed to know you hated wine!? HUH?! Get out of my room, get out of my sight, and leave me alone!" I forced him out through the door and promptly slammed the door on his face. I drew the curtains in case he tried to see me that way.

I threw myself onto my bed and stuffed my face into my pillow. Damn Zoro. Damn him! Damn him to hell!

I sniffed and sat up. Two wet spots were on my pillow, about where my eyes were. Startled, I brought my hands to my face to feel the tears flowing freely. Why am I crying? I have no reason to cry!

I groaned and slammed my head back down into my pillow. I hate crying... I can already feel the headache taking form. Zoro did this to me. I know he did. Why else would my heart feel like it weighs a ton?

~~~~

"Raise the anchor!" I jolted awake. The hell? I opened my dry eyes and groaned. Worst night ever...I carefully stood from my bed and went to wash up and change in my bathroom. My eyes were red and swollen. I must have cried the entire night or something.

I changed into simple shorts and a T-shirt then washed my face to try and reduce the redness and swelling. I'm not in the mood for questions today. I just want to find a weapons shop, or a blacksmith, and get my sword fixed so it'll be ready for the next fight we'll most likely encounter in the Grande Line.

I secured my katana to my belt loop once I was mostly presentable and headed for the top deck. The sun isn't even up yet... Well, just barely. Sanji, Zoro, Luffy, and Usopp were working hard to get the ship ready for sailing to Loguetown. We were already on our way as the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon.

"Sanji, breakfast!" Luffy called out as Sanji was coming down from the crow's nest rope ladder.

"Yeah, yeah! It's coming!" Wow, these guys must be morning people or something.

"Morning, Nami-san!" Sanji greeted her as she steped out into the sunlight. He spotted me and waved. "Good morning, Mira-chan!"

I waved back and went to say "morning" back, but my throat was so dry, no sound came out. So, I settled for a smile.

"Here," I turned to see Nami holding a glass of water out to me. "You and Zoro were pretty loud yesterday. Your throat must be sore."

I took a long drink and sighed. "Thanks, Nami."

"Go talk to him."

"Huh?"

"Zoro." She pointed to him. "He's calmed down quite a bit, but he's a little grumpy. Says he didn't get a lot of sleep."

I heaved a great sigh. "Fine, yeah. I'll talk to him." I cautiously walked up behind him. "Hey," He looked over his shoulder.

"Mira, hey." He stood and looked down at me. He seemed calm enough to speak to. "Listen, I wanna speak with you without it turning into a screaming match."

"Okay," I nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry for flying off the deep end on you that day." He said while rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I was just a little sore from that stupid doctor."

I smiled. "Apology accepted. And... I wanna apologize, too."

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry for getting you all riled up and angered." I looked into his eyes. "I never really had any interaction with other people on my home island. I guess that my screaming at you was all those pent up things and feelings I had stored in me for the past years. So, we cool?"

"Yeah, we're cool." He placed a hand behind my ear and scratched. I gave in instantly and shut my eyes, purring up a storm.

"Hey." I peeked an eye at Luffy. Zoro quickly pulled his hand back. "Do you two wanna play tag before meal time?" He asked.

I grinned. "I'd love to!"

"Huh?!" Zoro took a step back.

"What, what?!" Usopp ran up to us. "Tag?! I wanna play! I wanna play!"

"Zoro's it!" I pushed on his shoulder. "Come on, Zoro!"

"Are you guys stupid?!" Zoro growled. "You're pathetic, playing at your age!"

"I have an excuse!" I huffed and jutted my lower lip out. "Now, come on!"

"Nope." He yawned. "I'm gonna sleep before breakfast." I glanced at Luffy and Usopp, smirking wickedly at them.

"But you're It! We can't play if It doesn't chase us!" I whined.

"Guys, no!" He leaned against the wall to try and ignore us. "Leave me alone!"

"Oh, 'cause you don't like losing, huh?" Usopp asked. That got him. His eyes snapped open.

"What did you say?" He glared evenly at us. "I don't give a damn about that!"

"See! You're suddenly mad!" Usopp pointed and laughed at him.

"What?!" Zoro snapped.

"Guys, we already know Zoro hates losing." I shrugged. "But, if he loses at this game, his ego is shot."

"The hell, Mira!" He charged at me, hand outstretched. "Get over here and say that to my face!" I squealed and ran.

"It's the truth, isn't it?!" Usopp teased as Zoro chased us all over the main deck, cursing and yelling up a storm at us. We teased and picked on him immercifully. This only seemed to anger him even more, but each time I looked into his eyes, there was joy in them.

"Zoro! Chase me, too!" Luffy called out.

"I'm not playing here!" Yes you are. I smirked and ran right behind him.

"Nami! Mira!" Sanji called out. "I've made you guys breakfast!" Then his tone shifted."Oi! You three idiots! Breakfast!"

An idea struck me just then. "Sanji! Come play tag with us!"

His eyes were replaced for hearts. "Yes, Mira!" He started heading down to  the deck with us.

Nami caught on instantly. "Sanji!"

He turned to face her. "Yes, Nami?"

"What about my food?!" She pouted.

"Oh, right! Yes, Nami!"

"Sanji, play with us!"

"Yes, Mira!"

"Sanji, food!"

"Yes, Nami!"

"Sanji!"

"Yes, Mira!"

"Sanji!"

"Yes, Nami!"

Soon, we had worn Sanji out to where his eyes were no longer hearts, but swirls of confusion and dizziness. Nami and I laughed at him and went to eat breakfast with the others.

"Say, what do you guys think ever happened to Buggy after all that?" Nami suddenly asked as she placed her napkin in her lap.

"Eh? Buggy?" I asked. "Did you have a pet bug back at Arlong Park?" I spoon was chucked at my head. "OUCH!"

"No! Not that!" Nami cleared her throat. "Buggy the Clown!"

"OH!" Luffy swallowed a bite of food. "That Buggy!" He shrugged and shoveled in more food. "Who knows. Maybe he's at the bottom of the ocean."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that." Zoro said as he entered the kitchen, Usopp in tow by his nose. "Pirates are a stubborn lot, every last one of them." He released Usopp when he got to the table and sat down beside me.

"Yeah?" Luffy asked.

"You're the one who kept chasing me stubbornly!" Usopp whined. "Owww..." He held his nose in his hands and carefully sat down beside Luffy.  Zoro simply smirked in triumph.

"Did ya get him?" I asked Zoro as I nudged him with my elbow.

"Yeah, after I cornered him." Zoro responded as he dug in. "I've chased pirates for years. I can tell that they're all stubborn." He added to his last statement. I watched as Luffy snuck food off of Usopp's plate as Zoro took a drink.

"Not that it matters, but your food's gone, Usopp." Sanji said casually as he joined us, tray in hand with glasses of some liquid in them. "Here you are, Nami-san and Mira-chan!" He gave us each a drink. Usopp got to his feet and yelled down at Luffy, complaining about how Luffy stole his food.

"Oh! Thank you, Sanji!" Nami giggled as she took a drink. I rolled my eyes and sipped from my glass. Usopp and Luffy are hilarious. This has to be the fifth meal Luffy has stolen right out from under Usopp's nose.

I felt bad for Usopp, so I gave him some of my breakfast. I beat Luffy off it with a ladle so Usopp could eat in peace.

"But, Mira! I'm still hungry! AH!" I'd smacked him upside the head again.

"This is Usopp's food! Hands off before I get you with my claws!" To prove my point, I willed my claws to elongate and point at the ends again. "Back! Back, I say! Back! I'm warning you!" Luffy retreated to the other end of the table behind Nami.

"Now, behave!" I tossed Sanji his ladle again and headed for the upper deck. I wandered around for bit. Exactly thirty seconds later, I could hear Sanji yelling at Luffy to get out of the fridge. Well, at least he's not after Usopp's food...

"Give it back!!" Spoke too soon...

"Huh?" I got onto my knees before the railing and stared at a small rock. "How did this get here?" I was about to flick it into the water, but it suddenly moved. "Oh! A hermit crab! How cute!" I watched that thing for I don't know how long before Luffy joined up with me.

"Hey, look!" He grinned and got real close to it. "A hermit crab! I wonder when he got on board? At Nami's village?"

I shrugged. "Beats me. I saw a bunch of these at Usopp's village."

"Probably," Nami said. "It could have been either one of our villages."

"If he came from mine, that's incredible!" Usopp stood from shining the cannon. "That'd mean he's been traveling with us this entire time!"

"Let's call him Herman!" I suggested. "His name shall be Herman and he will be our mascot!"

"Yeah! Yeah!" Luffy agreed. "Welcome aboard, Herman!"

"Honestly..." I heard Nami mutter.

"Damnit! Why does this happen to me?!" My ears twitched at that and I looked to the sky.

"Huh?" Luffy stood and glanced around. "Did you just say something?"

"Huh? Me? No, I didn't." Nami said.

"Guys! A shooting star stream!" I pointed to the sky.

"Mira, there's no shooting stars during the day." Usopp chuckled at me.

"But I saw it!" I insisted. "It flew by not too long ago! It went that way!"

"Mira, you're not good at lying like me. Give it a rest." Usopp went back to the cannon.

"Usopp! A snake!" Both he and Nami screamed at the tops of their lungs. "Ha! Gotcha!"

"Not funny, Mira!" Usopp carefully climbed off the cannon.

"Oi, Luffy! Quit slacking off!" Sanji called over to him broom in hand.

"Oh, sorry!" He went back to scrubbing the floor.

I patted Herman softly. "Now, you be a good mascot, okay?" He didn't say anything. "Good Herman!" I walked off to help the others clean the ship for when we land in the port.

~~~~

That night, I laid awake, staring at my ceiling. Today was... rather eventful, so to say. We got Zoro to play with us again after we got the place scrubbed clean. He tagged me, then went to go lay against the wall for his nap. So, I went right back over to him and tagged him back. He yelled at me to let him sleep, so I blew him a raspberry.

Of course, it ticked him off. We must have ran all over that ship over a hundred times. Him chasing me, Luffy, or Usopp. Sanji joined in, but only because Usopp accidentally knocked into him, dumping an entire tray of sweets for Nami and I.

I suddenly sneezed. "Wow, that hurt... Someone's talking about me..." I sniffed and turned over, ready for a good night's rest before tomorrow.

~~~Dream~~~

Cold. It's so cold in my dream. I blew hot air into my hands to try and keep them warm. Why couldn't I end up in a summer resort or something? That would be so much better than this place! I trudged through the knee deep snow, hoping I would wake up soon. That doesn't seem to be very likely, though.

"This wasn't supposed to happen!" I heard a woman shout over the howling winds that brought on a blizzard. "You promised this wouldn't happen!"

"How was I supposed to know it would happen?!" A male voice growled. "I had no idea she'd get a bounty! You said so your self that I'm not an Oracle!"

The woman screamed. "I already promised that I'd take care of her! You promised she wouldn't become wanted! Did you lie?!"

"No!" He cried. "I would never lie about-"

~~~

"Mira-cha~n!"

"Sanji!! Get out of my room!!" I leaped out of my bed and shoved him out.

"But if you don't come out now, Luffy will eat all your food!" He said. "I can only hold him off for so long!"

I groaned a sigh. "Can you hold him off for another five minutes?"

"Yes Mira-chan!" Finally! He's gone!

I shut my door and glanced around. The chill from my dream still lingered on me. I shivered and tightly wrapped my arms and tail around me. What was that? Who were those people? They sounded... familiar. Do I know them?

I shrugged it off and quickly got dressed for the day. Once done, I ran to the kitchen to relieve Sanji from guarding my food. Upon entering, I skidded to a stop. "What did you...?"

"Oh! Mira-chan!" Sanji gave one final tug on Luffy's limbs. "You're just in time to eat your lunch! Eat up!" I stared at the tangled mess of Luffy. He struggled against his tied up body parts to get to the table. Hesitantly, I sat down.

"Was that really... necessary?" I asked Sanji who sat across from me to keep an eye on Luffy.

"For you, anything and everything is necessary..." Hearts puffed up from the end of his cigarette.

"Sanji, I'm hungry!"

"You just ate!" He snapped at Luffy. As those two bickered, I quickly finished my meal and snuck away. Soon, Luffy was at my side, finally untangled.

"Sanji can be mean..." He complained.

"Yeah, I hear ya." I agreed as we neared Luffy's perch.

Zoro sneezed and woke from his nap.

"Bless you!"

"Oi, Zoro! Did you finally catch cold after sleeping on deck?" Luffy teased as he sat himself on the figure head.

"I've never gotten sick before; only injured." Zoro stated as he settled back down for his nap again. I snickered at him.

"Come to think of it, I haven't had a headache either..." Luffy thought aloud.

"Lazy butt..." I snickered and watched as Zoro turned his head up towards the sky.

"Is someone out there talking about me being a master swordsman?" He asked to no one in particular.

"Ah, I see..." Luffy crossed his arms. "Wait!"

"What is it?" I looked back to Luffy.

Nami suddenly sneezed. "Bless you!" I called out to her.

"Thanks, Mira!" She called back.

Usopp chose that time to scream as a huge explosion sounded from the other end of the ship.

"That didn't sound good..." I rushed over there to see what happened. "Alright, what happened?" Usopp was charred back and twitching on the ground.

"I-I was t-trying to make a new mixture for an exploding star..." He coughed and black smoke came from his mouth. "B-but it back fired..."

I chuckled. "Obviously! You really need to be more careful, Usopp. If you don't watch what you're doing, you could get seriously hurt."

"Thanks for caring, Mira..." Then he passed out.

~~~~

I let my legs dangle between the railing bars as I stared out to the vast ocean. A soft breeze was blowing my hair around me. I'm still wondering about that dream I had. Does it mean something? Do I know these people? Their voices sounded familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

I wish I could have seen who they were.

My ear suddenly twitched and I looked out behind us. "Something doesn't feel right..."

"I think I see land." Zoro said as he stood up and walked beside me. I faced froward and saw what he was seeing.

"Yeah, looks like it." I looked up at him to tell him about the unease I was feeling, but was interrupted by Luffy.

"Really?!" He came out of no where and sat like a frog on the railing. "What island is that?"

"I just told you the other day!" Nami sighed as she, Sanji, and Usopp joined us.

"Huh?"

"Wow, your memory is worse than Zoro's." I teased.

"Really, Mira?" Zoro groaned and covered his eyes, hanging his head.

"That's Loguetown, right?" Usopp asked.

"It's a pretty big town, right?" Sanji asked as he lit a cigarette.

"Yeah!" Nami faced him. "That's what I've heard!"

"Then it sounds like a place with some fresh ingredients." Sanji said with a wide grin.

"I'm hittin' up the weapns stores." Zoro said. "Being with a single sword doesn't suit a Three Sword-Style user."

"I'll come with ya," I stood and stretched a bit. "Maybe he can direct us to some place I can get my katana fixed."

"Huh?" Zoro glanced at me from the corners of his eyes. "Fixed?"

I nodded. "Arlong chipped mine. I can't use it until it's been completely restored."

"Makes sense."

"If we're all just basically going our separate ways, I'll hit up some equipment shops!" Usopp laced his fingers behind his head.

"That's the island where Gold Roger was born and executed, right?" Luffy asked in a low voice.

"Wow, you actually remember." Nami leaned next to him on the railing.

"The town where the King of Pirates died..." He continued. "Also known as the city of the beginning and the end." We all let a small grin spread across our face as we watched the city get bigger and bigger with each wave we crossed.

The unease returned to my stomach as we neared our destination. Something tells me that this trip won't be as leisurely as we thought it would be.

--------

Hey, guys...... Sorry about the very long wait for an update.... I honestly have no excuse besides the fact that it's summer vacation and I haven't really had any time to get on here and type this up. I know each episode is only 25 minutes long, if you forget about the commercial times, but it takes an hour or two to get everything set up. I'm only allowed an hour on one of the computers at home.

But now I have my personal laptop with me! I can update a lot more now! Expect it! I was going to wait until this weekend to post it, but decided to give it to you earlier, since you've already waited so long.

So! Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoyed it! ;)

-M12