36~ Fiery Confession

Mira

"Colors Trap: Betrayal Black." I stared down at Luffy's feet. What I thought was his shadow turned out to be a symbol. "Touch the black paint, and you'll want to betray your friends, no matter what they say."

"Well, that's just great!" I huffed. "First, my strange day started out with giants, followed by a weird wax man, and now paint?! What's next?! Is a giant fireball of doom gonna rain down upon us?!"

I sighed and shut my eyes. "I'm getting a headache..."

"I don't understand!" Nami fought against the wax. "What does she mean? What happened?! Explain!"

"She's a 'realist painter' who can even create real colors of emotion," Vivi explained. "Her refined sense of color can manipulate people's minds through the use of her paints."

Zoro twitched. "Manipulate?! That's not good!"

"He already has a weak mind!" I whined as I thought of a way to get Luffy off the paint.

"Then doesn't he need to just get away from the paint?" Nami asked. "Luffy! Get away from there!"

"No, don't!" Vivi cut her off. "Luffy-san! Whatever you do, don't ever leave that black circle! I'm begging you!"

I get it now! "Yeah! Just stay put! Don't you dare get out of that circle!"

"Vivi! Mira?! Why?!" Nami shouted at us in confusion.

"We don't want you to save us!" Vivi ignored her.

"Yeah, we don't need you!" I added.

"No." Luffy stepped backwards out of the black symbol.

"I get it," Zoro said beside me. "You made him do the exact opposite of what you said."

Luffy snapped back down to reality. "HUH?! I-I was kinda weird just now!"

"Luffy-san, hurry!" Vivi cried out.

"Just avoid the black circle!" He took a step to the side at my words.

"Alright!" He readied his arm. "I'll save you right now!"

I watched as Miss Golden Week pulled out her paintbrush and flicked paint at Luffy. Tears welled up in his eyes and a huge grin lit up his face.

Then he lost it. "B-but never mind guys! I just wanna laugh!"

This is hopeless...

"What?!

"Why?!"

"Now what?!"

"Colors Trap: Laughter Yellow." She pointed her brush at Luffy as he rolled on the ground. "You know you're not supposed to move."

"Now it's on his clothes!" Nami pointed out. "Luffy! Hurry up and take off your vest!"

"Never mind that!" He said around fits of laughter. "I just feel like laughing!"

"This isn't good." Zoro sighed. "If the wax keeps raining down at this rate, we won't last another minute."

I went to say something but was cut off by Karoo and Usopp returning. Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine were right behind them. They ran around the battle ground, Karoo and Usopp screaming like babies.

I sighed. "Well, it's hopeless..."

"Did you guys just come here to play?!" Zoro snapped at the running pair as Luffy held his sides in laughter. Karoo ran right into Luffy, the other two trampling him.

I gasped. "The paint! It smeared!"

"When Usopp and Karoo ran into him, it must've made him stop!" Nami grinned.

"Did I do something again?" Luffy asked as he sat up. He turned to face Miss Golden Week. "Hey, you! Knock it off, you jerk!"

"Was Laughter Yellow funny?" No...

"Shut up!" He bellowed at her. "Are you stupid?! Stupid! Anyway, I gotta break that pumpkin! Gomu-gomu no..."

Miss Golden Week dabbed at her paint. "Colors Trap: Bullfight Red." Oh, great... what now?

"Bazooka! Huh!?" His attack landed right on the red symbol by his feet.

"Where are you aiming?!" Zoro chastised him.

"You're not allowed to break it!" Miss Golden Week puffed up her cheeks. "You'll make Mr. 3 angry!"

"I give up..." If I could move, I'd slump to the ground in defeat. "Luffy is too easily manipulated. We're done for..." I watched as he repeatedly tried to free us, only to keep hitting the same red spot.

"Hey," I met Zoro's gaze. "I know we'll make it out of here. Sure, Luffy's taking his sweet-ass time getting us out, but he'll do it. We just gotta have faith in him." We looked back down to see her dabbing at her paint again.

"I'll mix the Laughter Yellow on your back with Sadness Blue," She flicked the paint at Luffy. "Colors Trap: Tranquil Green!" And so the two of them sat down to have tea and cookies.

"This tea is good." Luffy said as he took a sip.

"You idiot!" We all shouted at him.

Zoro sighed and looked over to me. "But, just in the event we don't make it out of this..." He grunted and tried to move his hand from his hip.

"Zoro..." The wax chipped and broke. He extended his arm to me. With as much effort as I could muster, I broke the wax on my arm so I could hold his hand.

"If in the event we don't make it out of this, I need to tell you something." He said as our arms hardened with the wax once more.

"What is it?"

He bit at his lip and looked to the sky. "When you were poisoned by that fruit, I was worried about you. Really worried. I never left your side. When Sanji and I entered your room, he explained a few things to me. It got me to thinking..."

I felt my cheeks warming up. As I waited for him to speak again, I heard Nami and Vivi shouting at Luffy.

"Yes, Zoro?"

He coughed. "In our last few seconds before the wax completely covers us, I have to tell you something very important. It can't wait any longer."

"Just hurry up and say it!!" Nami and Vivi shouted at him.

"Mira..." He swallowed. The wax was getting heavier on us. My vision was starting to turn black. Zoro was even struggling to speak. "Mira, for so long... I never realized... until a few days ago... how I feel... about... you... Mira... Mira... I-I love you!"

During my last few seconds of consciousness, I smiled. "Zoro, I love you too..."

Then everything went black.

Despite not being able to see, I could faintly hear what was going on around me as I slowly died. I could feel the wax filling every vein. It hurt, but my heart was happy. Zoro said he loved me, truly loved me! And I got to say it back! I just wish it wasn't said at a dire time like this. I wanted it to be special. I wanted it to be at the front of the ship at sunset. The sun would glint off his eyes as he smiled. I'd grin and giggle as we'd lean in for a kiss.

But now I'd never get that moment. I'm going to be a wax statue for that wax freak. I'll be part of his "perfect" collection. Well, at least Zoro and I ruined it. Mr. 3 wanted to see us in pain, but instead he got Zoro and I holding hands, smiling at each other.

I could barely hear Usopp and Karoo trying desperately to save us and Luffy. I could hear muted explosions and the sound of the earth cracking. They were doing everything in their power to rescue us.

I started to feel myself slowly slipping away...

"Don't give up!" A voice suddenly shouted in my mind. "There's still some time before you're completely solidified!"

That voice... "Who are you?" I asked them.

"I can't say... but just know your friends are close to saving you! Just hold on a little longer! Please! Grasp onto your string of life and don't let go!"

A mental image of a red string entered my mind. I watched myself struggle to reach for it. Finally, I firmly grasped it. "Okay, now what?" No response. Gee, thanks...

A thought occurred to me as I clung on to life. Where's Sanji? I haven't seen him since we left for our hunt. Is he still out there? If he is, he better get over here this instant and help us out! This would all be over quicker if he was here! When I get out of here, I'm so gonna kick his ass!

Suddenly, my string began to grow warm. I flinched and tried to let go. Something told me to endure it and keep holding on. This is different from the last time I died. I didn't really feel anything. But now, I'm feeling an intense heat rushing through me. It's covering all of my body and inside me. What is it? What are they doing out there?!

I opened my eyes. I... I can move! Just barely right now, but I can move! AND I'M ON FIRE!! What the hell are they-?!

Wait, wax still melts with fire! Smart thinking guys! Slowly, I began to move my body as the wax began to melt. It stung, but it was working! I can get free and help them with this fight for good!

"Play time is over!" I heard Miss Valentine screech. Who is she yelling at? "I'm gonna shatter that neck of yours into pieces! Special Attack: 10,000 Kilogram Guillotine!"

If that's Luffy, then he'll be fine. But if it's Usopp...

"This is bad!" Usopp!!

"I don't think so!!" I rushed out of the wax at full speed and rammed into Miss Valentine. "You're not hurting my friend, Mismatched Holiday!" We tumbled to the ground and I quickly righted myself.

Nami and Vivi soon followed after me. "That was hot! Couldn't you have thought of a better way?" Nami scoffed as she held her staff. Vivi spun her rope darts on her fingers.

"Don't be fussy!" I helped Usopp to his feet. "Just be thankful you were saved."

"And we are," I said as I got him stable. "They're just upset because some of their clothes got burned." Vivi was no longer wearing her jacket and Nami had lost her shirt in the fire. She's in only her bra and shorts.

"Thanks, Usopp." Nami smiled at him.

"This doesn't seem real," Vivi looked down at her hands. "We're alive!"

"Just take it with a grain of rice, and let's finish this." I pulled out my katana and faced Miss Valentine. "I'm not letting you get away this time, holiday freak!"

"What a pain!" I heard Mr. 5 sigh behind me. "We can't afford to screw up our mission any further!" I heard him pull out a gun and cock it.

"Mr. 5!" Usopp leaned against me for support before standing upright again. "Special Attack: Exploding Star!" He launched his attack.

I heard boogie man swallow the attack. "Fool! I've demonstrated several times that explosives don't work on me! I'm an explosion man!"

"More like boogie man..." Usopp and the girls hid their laughter.

"You took the bait!" I could hear the smirk in Usopp's voice. Mr. 5 started sounding like he was about to hurl. "So sorry! I'm a liar, you see? That wasn't an Exploding Star! It was a Special Tabasco Star!"

"Didn't you get that in your eyes?"

"Shut it!"

"SPICY!!!!" I glanced behind me to see fire spurt out Mr. 5's mouth as he clutched at his throat.

"I already proved its effectiveness the hard way!" Usopp chuckled.

"By getting it in your eyes."

"He doesn't need to know that, Mira!"

"Damn you, pirates!" Mr. 5 coughed as he fought to get air. "How dare you make a mockery of me! Time to blow up in a full body explosion!" He charged for us. I turned from Miss Valentine and stood before the others.

"There won't even be fragments left!" I heard Usopp take off behind me. Despite me getting in the way, Mr. 5 somehow managed to catch both Usopp and I. I cried out as he held me by the base of my tail and had Usopp in a head lock.

"No! Stop!" Usopp flailed as he tried to get away.

"Usopp! Mira!" Nami and Vivi got ready to attack.

"No! I'm sorry! I won't do it anymore!!" Usopp cried and begged for his life.

I threw my head back. "ZORO!!" My cry filled the hot air around us. I peeked an eye open and smirked. "You're done for, Mr. 5."

"Flaming Oni Giri!" I pulled Usopp away just as Zoro came out in a blaze of glory. He sliced through Mr. 5, the flames dancing on his swords and transferring onto Mr. 5's body. We landed with a heavy thump, Usopp under me. I tried to break his fall! What the hell!

"You okay, Mira?" He asked as I got off.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I brushed some of my hair from my face. "You?"

He held his thumb up. "I'm good!"

I stood and watched as Zoro put his katanas away. "Flaming swords aren't too shabby." The flames on his own body dispersed. Mr. 5 fell hard to the ground, still burning from the intense fire.

"That was amazing!" I rushed over to Zoro and threw my arms around him. "Ow! Hot body, hot body!"

"Hn!" He grinned at me. "You think so?"

"From the fire, you moron!" I felt my cheeks heat up, but it wasn't from the fire. Zoro simply ruffled my hair and stood straighter.

Suddenly, a huge hand appeared beside us. "Broggy!" I cried out as he stood.

"Yo," Zoro greeted him as he rested his arms on his sheaths. "Great to see you're alive."

Broggy grinned. "Yeah," The fire was slowly starting to go out. The one that had encased Mr. 5 went out. He laid motionless on the ground.

I looked over to see Dory laying on his stomach, not moving. My heart felt heavy as I stared at the great fallen warrior.

Broggy's sadness could be felt by everyone here. He stared at his friend, tears threatening to spill out. He shook his head and smiled. "That leaves two foes left."

I nodded. "Right." We stared into the jungle.

"Luffy ran off after Mr. 3 and Miss Golden Week ran off." Usopp explained. "We should be seeing him shortly." And so we waited for Luffy's return. A few moments later, a female's scream filled the air.

I grinned. "And they're done." I brushed off my hands and put my katana away. "Well, that was an interesting day, am I right?"

"I'll say!" Nami giggled. "And what was with that heart felt confession, Zoro?"

He flinched and looked away. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I chuckled to myself. "I will admit it wasn't the best one, it was still real nice to finally hear you say it." I walked over to him and smiled.

He grinned down at me and scratched behind my ears. My eyes shut and I began to purr.

"Hey, guys!" Luffy waved as he and Karoo returned. "Sorry that took so long!"

Zoro pulled his hand away and I giggled. A sniffing sounded behind me. I turned to see snot running down Broggy's nose.

"Broggy?"

He gave another sniff before tears flowed freely down his face and off to the sides. It was like standing near a waterfall. He created a rainbow as his tears put the last of the fire out. I picked up Miss Valentine's umbrella and held it over mine and Zoro's head.

"Whoa! Look behind him!" Luffy pointed. "A rainbow! There's a rainbow!"

"Yes, Luffy, there's a rainbow." I rolled my eyes. "Can you show a little more compassion for someone who's lost his friend?"

"Rainbow! Rainbow!" I guess not...

The water started to pool into a small lake at Broggy's feet as he sat beside his friend and wailed. We covered our ears at his cries for Dory.

"Even the way he cries is big!" Nami stated as she peeked an eye open.

"It's practically a waterfall." Zoro added.

"You know, I was just thinking that," I adjusted the umbrella above us.

"I understand how you feel, Master Broggy!" Usopp saluted the giant.

Suddenly, Dory moved and stabbed his sword into the ground. I squeaked and flinched back, dropping the umbrella. Instantly, the water works stopped as Dory sat himself up. We all stared at him in disbelief as he clutched at his shoulder. How is he still alive?

"Dory? How are you alive?" Broggy voiced my thoughts.

"It seems I blacked out..." He mumbled as he sat himself up more.

"If that's the case, you were out for quite a while," I stated as I picked the umbrella back up and closed it.

"Yeah..." He took a deep breath and turned to face Broggy. "It's probably because of the weapons..."

"Weapons?" I stared at the sword and ax the two giants had crossed. Now that I got a closer look, they were pretty rusted and dented out of shape. They look really dull, too.

"Oh yeah!" Usopp wiped at his nose. "Not even Elbaf weapons could keep up with two giants fighting to the death for 100 years straight! Talk about crazy..." He gave a sigh of relief.

"In any case, the fact you never kept up the maintenance of your weapons saved your life." I stared up at Dory. "Never the less, I'm glad you're okay."

He grinned down at me. "Thanks, Neko Mira."

"It's a miracle!" Usopp sniffed.

Broggy brought Dory into an embrace and laughed. "Hey, Broggy! Don't hold onto me! That hurts my wound!"

"I'm so glad you're alive, friend of mine!" Broggy grinned.

Tears streamed down Dory's eyes as he laughed as well.

"Miracle, my ass." Zoro scoffed as he sat on a tree stump. "It's only natural. The fact that those weapons are still intact after 100 years of constant bashing and clanging is even crazier! As are their owners."

"What a wonder day today is!" Broggy tipped his head back. "Thank you, God of Elbaf!"

"Oh, Broggy," We focused back to Dory. "Was chopping me down and knocking me out that happy for you?"

"You dimwit!" I rolled my eyes at the pair of giants. "That ain't what I'm saying!" He clapped his hand on Dory's shoulder.

"Ow! Don't touch my wound!" Dory cringed as he held it. The two laughed as Dory threw his own playful punch at Broggy. They then began to hit each other back and forth, the punches getting a little rougher each time.

Soon, it wasn't playful anymore. "You want some of this?!"

"Yeah! I'll wipe the floor with ya!" The two giants butted heads together. They stood and pushed at each other. I smiled up at them as Usopp and Luffy waited for another fight to break out.

"Why are you guys fighting again?!" Nami shouted at the two.

I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Nami, they're men. Giants, but men. It's kinda what they do."

"Yeah, I know." She sighed. "But Dory-san is still hurt."

I smiled and rolled my eyes. "Like that's gonna stop them."

"So cool! Get him, giant old man!"

"Show him who's boss, Master Broggy!"

"Alright, break it up!" I called out to the giants as I clapped my hands. They turned their attention to me. "I know you two wanna continue this fighting, but the middle volcano hasn't erupted yet! You can go at each other again once that happens."

The two grinned at each other. "Sounds good to me."

"For now," I continued. "We gotta get you guys patched up. You've been through a lot today." We all headed back to Dory's place. Broggy wrapped his friend in bandages, since he was the only one who could reach.

Once wrapped up, we all sat around and told Dory all that happened while he was out. We all shared laughs.

"We had completely forgotten about the bounties on our heads!" Dory chuckled as he wiped under his eye.

"But I was the reason they came to this island in the first place." Vivi turned away.

Nami gripped her cheek and pulled, making her squeak in pain. "Let's have none of that."

"Yeah, Vivi." I looked back to see Luffy, Karoo, and Usopp munching on very familiar cookies. "What're you so down in the dumps for?"

"Are those Miss Golden Week's cookies?" I asked Luffy.

"Hm? Oh yeah!" He held one out to me. "She dropped them when Karoo and I got her. Want one?"

"No thanks," I sat beside Zoro and leaned against him.

"Alright! Then for now, let's have a rice cracker party!" Ah, so that's what those are. I thought they were cookies. Luffy began passing them out to everyone.

"Rice crackers aren't really exciting," Usopp said as he pulled one out.

"Really? Can we even make toast with them?" Luffy and Usopp talked back and forth about what rice crackers could be used for.

I rolled my eyes. "Wanna join in on the party?" I looked up to Zoro.

He shook his head and wrapped an arm around me. "Nah, I'd rather sit here with you." My cheeks flushed and I looked away. Does this make us official now? Are we a couple now?

"Hey, Zoro-"

"AH I just remembered!" I jumped and looked to Nami. "Vivi and I had said that if Zoro confessed to Mira, we'd throw them a candle lit dinner!"

"Oh? He confessed?" Luffy munched on another cracker. "It's about time."

"You knew?!" My voice cracked as he nodded.

"Yeah, it wasn't that hard to see you guys liked each other." He held out a cracker. "Want one?"

"You already asked me!" I took it any way. "But I thought you were oblivious to everything!"

He grinned. "I guess not!" He laughed, making me blush with embarrassment. My own captain knew we liked each other before we did...

"Cheers!" Luffy smacked a cracker against Usopp's.

"Hey, Luffy! You can't be doing that!" He scooped up the broken pieces and dusted them off. "You can't go wasting food like that." He ate a piece.

"What're you doing?!" Luffy launched himself at Usopp. "Give it here! Who said you could have mine?!"

I watched those two wrestle for the broken cracker and split mine in half. I gave the other to Zoro, who took a bite from it instead of grabbing it. "A candle lit dinner, huh? I think I'm done with candles for now."

I chuckled and ate my half. "Yeah, me too."

"Ouch!" We glanced up to see Nami scratching at a red spot on her side.

"What's wrong?" Zoro asked.

"Nothing. Just a bug." She assured us.

Zoro and I looked back to the two wrestling as Dory and Broggy watched, smiles in place. "Still, waiting a year for the Log Pose to point to the next island is pretty serious stuff."

"Yeah!" Nami shouted to the two now fighting over cracker dust. "It's no laughing matter!"

"You saved us," We looked up to Broggy. "We would like to thank you in some way."

"Oh, in that case!" Luffy jumped up onto a rock. "You guys can do something about our Log!"

"I'm afraid Logs are the only thing we can't help you with," Dory said with a shrug. "Sorry."

"AH!" We looked back to see little heart puffs of smoke. "Vivi-san! Nami-chan! Mira-chan! And you other bums!"

"Sanji..." I growled and stood. Zoro took a hold of my wrist.

"Hey, Sanji!" Luffy waved to him and Karoo and Usopp sent him hostile glares.

"You're okay! Thank goodness!" He walked towards us with his arms wide open.

"That jerk suddenly shows up only after we needed help!" Usopp ground his teeth together at the sight of our love struck cook.

Sanji's expression suddenly fell as he got a look at the giants. "What the hell!? Are you Mr. 3?!"

"Hey, how do you know about Mr. 3?" Nami asked as he glared up at the giants.

He turned and took in Nami's form. "Nami-san!" His eyes bugged out as they filled with hearts. "You're so titillating!"

"Feel like getting slugged?" She raised a fist.

"Now, Nami-san, you'll catch a cold dressed like that." He removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. I saw a warm softness in his eyes as he made sure it was in place. Then it clicked. He may be going gaga over all the other girls, but I can tell Nami holds a special place in his heart. I just don't think he realizes it yet.

He sat down on a log and looked up to the giants. "All that aside, I just finished talking with Mr. 0 via Transponder Snail."

Vivi gasped and turned pale as snow. "You talked with the boss?!"

"Yeah," He took a drag of his cigarette. "I found this weird hideout in the jungle, you see. He seemed to think I was Mr. 3, so I told him I eliminated everyone."

"So he seems to think we're dead?" Vivi asked for clarification.

"So we're finally free of people chasing us, but we can't go anywhere?!" Usopp cried out to the heavens. "Oh, the cruel irony!"

"Can't go anywhere?" Sanji chuckled. "Do we still have business on this island? Just after I managed to get a hold of this, too." He reached into his pocket and pulled out an hour glass.

"Wait, is that...?" I got closer to what he was holding. "It's an Eternal Pose to Alabasta!"

We all stared at him in disbelief, our mouths hanging wide open. "Eh? What?" He stared at us, confused.

"This is great!" Luffy grinned wider. "An Eternal Pose to Alabasta! Hurray!"

"Now we can set sail!" Usopp and Luffy danced around in circles with each other. I can't believe it. There's been an Eternal Pose right here on the island. And Mr. 3 had it all along! That sly bastard...

We all celebrated and prepared for our journey to Alabasta. "Come on, let's go!" I grabbed Zoro's hand and began to drag him along. "Last one to the ship is a rotten squid monkey!"

"No, rice cracker party!" Luffy cried out as he latched onto Zoro's other hand. "We need to celebrate with rice crackers!"

"Hey, Luffy, we can't have one." Usopp pulled out the last few. "We can't have a party with only three left."

"You know there's no time for that," Nami crossed her arms. She faced Luffy. "Let's go, Captain! We don't have time to be lounging around!"

I tugged on Zoro, freeing him from Luffy. "As I said, last one to the ship is a rotten squid monkey!" And so we took off.

"Oi! Zoro! Mira!" We glanced over our shoulders as we kept running. "You haven't forgotten about our hunting contest, have you?!"

"Nope, but I win!" Zoro turned and began to run backwards. "I caught a rhino this huge!" He threw his arms out.

"A rhino?! Can you even eat that?!"

"Of course!" Sanji began to race after us to see Zoro's catch.

Zoro and I made a few turns to get Sanji off our tail. I pulled us to a stop, out of breath. "Hey! I thought we were heading back to the ship! I gotta show that damned cook that I won the stupid contest!"

I giggled. "We'll get there. Don't worry. For now, I have a question."

"Hm?" He stared down at me. "What question?"

I bit my lip and picked at my fingers. "Now that we've confessed our love, what does that mean for us?"

"What do you mean?"

I let out a heavy sigh. "I mean, what does that make us? Are we a couple now? Are we still just really close friends? What are we? I'm confused, since I'm certain neither of us has felt this way before now. I'm kinda scared. What do we do? How are we supposed to act? What-"

I was suddenly cut off by gentle lips being pressed against mine. I instantly melted into the kiss and pulled him closer. We didn't let go of each other for a few seconds. It felt like bliss.

Zoro was the first to pull away. "We'll figure it out together. We're way past friends by now. We'll find a way to get through this."

I snickered. "Sure you won't get lost?"

He scoffed and turned away. "As if!" He grinned down at me and took my hand. "Come on, let's get there before that damn cook does."

As it was, we still got there before the others. Sanji and Zoro lined their kills up next to each other. "See, mine's bigger than yours!" Zoro said loudly as he pointed.

"Look closer!" Sanji glared at him. "My lizard's bigger!"

"Are you blind or something?!" Zoro shouted at him. "Mine's way bigger!" I sighed. They obviously haven't seen mine on the other side of the river yet.

"It doesn't matter to me!" Luffy called to the two who were now standing on their kills. "They both look yummy!"

"You shut up!" They snapped at our captain. They continued to bicker back and forth as to who's was larger, who's had the most meat, which weighed the most, yadda yadda... It was getting annoying.

I nudged Vivi. "Should I tell them about my kill yet?"

She smiled. "No, not yet. This is kinda fun to watch."

"I'll say,"

"How long are ya gonna keep at that?" Nami asked the two of them. They didn't hear her over their screaming match. "We don't need all of it! So just cut up what we do need so we can set sail!"

"Yes, Nami-san!" Sanji called back to her.

"Besides," She pointed her thumb to my kill. "Mira won."

"HUH?!?!" They raced to the other side to see my longneck. "How the hell did she get that thing?!"

I shrugged. "Luck of the draw? Now come on. Let's get these things cut up so we can go!"

"Yes, Mira-chan!" Sanji and Zoro quickly got to work getting the best of the meat from the three kills. Once we had what we needed and they were placed in the ice storage, we set off down the river.

"Hey, Usopp," Usopp faced Zoro. "Out of just Sanji and I, was clearly the winner, right?"

"I don't really care." Usopp shrugged.

"Can't you call it a tie?" Vivi asked.

"There are no ties in a challenge!" Zoro scoffed.

"Just shut up about it already!" Nami snapped at him. She cleared her throat. "Now, they said going straight will lead us to the western end of the island."

"Hey, could you have gotten more meat on board?" Luffy asked, not paying attention.

"Yeah, right!" Sanji shook his head. "We can't preserve more than that! Even if it was just the two creatures, we still wouldn't have enough room."

"Do you want to sink the ship?!" Nami glared at Luffy. I simply chuckled to myself and headed for the kitchen.

There sat Herman, my little buddy.

"Hey, Herman." I picked him up off the shelf. "Did ya miss me? I sure had a weird adventure." I sat us down at the table and began to explain in full detail what we went through. I told him about the hunting contest, the fights, finding the giants, and the candle set. He nodded and rubbed my hands with his claws. He's so smart.

I tilted my head a bit. "Hey, it seems like you've gotten a bit bigger." I picked up one of Sanji's cups he uses for our tea. "Wow! You're about the size of the inside of this cup! You weren't that way the other day! You really are growing fast." He stared up at me.

"And it seems like your shell is growing with you." I went to say more, but it suddenly got very dark. "Who turned out the lights?" I picked Herman up and went outside.

What I found made me groan. "Don't tell me we got eaten again!"

"Straight ahead! Straight ahead!" Usopp cried out with tears in his eyes.

"What're you talking about!" Nami shouted at him. "We've already been eaten!"

"Eaten by what?!" I demanded as I held Herman closer to me.

"That stupid goldfish from Usopp's lie!" Zoro explained as he rushed over to hold me close to him.

"Well, that's just perfect!" I turned my attention to Usopp. "Way to go! You jinxed us with that stupid story!"

"Straight ahead!" Did he just ignore me?

"Straight ahead!" Luffy repeated.

Suddenly, a burst of energy came at us from behind. I curled up closer into Zoro as it pushed us from behind. It went straight through the goldfish and penetrated the other side. Daylight flooded in through the opening. I stared in amazement as we sailed through the air.

"Hakoku Sovereignty!" The two giants shouted behind us. So they were behind the powerful attack!

I raced back to the edge of the ship and waved frantically with one hand, the other holding Herman close to me. "Thank you very much, Broggy, Dory! You guys are the coolest!"

I joined the others back at the front of the ship. "We're flying out of it!" Luffy shouted with excitement as he held onto his hat. "Don't look back! We're going straight ahead!"

We landed back with a tremendous splash back into open waters. "It's so huge!"

"They cut the very sea itself!" Happy tears ran down Usopp's face. "This is the strength of Elbaf's warriors!"

We continued on, the momentum from their powerful attack driving us farther out to sea. Nami held up the Log Pose. "We're on the right track! Just keep heading this way and we'll be there in no time!"

After a while of sailing, we lost the momentum of the giants attack and began relying on the wind.

"Guys!" We faced Usopp. "Someday, I will go to Elbaf! The village of warriors!"

"Alright! Yeah!" Luffy and Usopp began dancing around each other.

"Oh, Sanji," I looked up to Vivi as she called to him. "Tonight, Zoro and Mira are going to have a very special dinner. Can you cook something up for them?"

"Oh?" He smirked at Zoro. "Did Marimo finally confess to Mira?"

"Watch it," Zoro glared.

"Yeah, no problem!" He rolled up his sleeves. "I'll make them a grand dinner! One worthy of a king!"

He walked off and I went to find Nami. I found her leaning against the center mast. Her hand was to her forehead.

"Hey," She looked up as I knelt down. "You doing okay?"

She gave me a weak smile. "Yeah. I'm just a little weak from all that happened today, is all." Herman climbed off my arm and onto the ship. He traveled up Nami and rested on her shoulder. He held up a claw and pressed it to her neck. He flinched back and quickly scurried back into my hand.

"Well, that can't be good," I noted as I soothed him. "You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired." She stood and gave the Eternal Pose to Vivi, who happened to be passing by. "Here, Vivi. Watch this for me please?"

"Sure," She took it and held it close to her.

Nami smiled to her. "Now you can finally return to Alabasta. Well, assuming we can make there safely, of course."

"Yes," Determination filled the princess of Alabasta. "I must return home! After all, I'm the only one who can save the kingdom!"

A solemn look crossed her eyes. "I will return alive." The happy mood on the ship died off at those words.

"There's no need to push yourself, Vivi-chan," Sanji said as he came down the stairs. "You have me!"

He held out a tray of sweets. "These are today's sweets. How would you like to try petit fours?" I took one off the tray and placed it in my mouth.

"Ah, Mira, try not to eat too much." He said as he passed one out to all of us. "Remember, you have that special dinner tonight. Wouldn't want to spoil your appetite."

"Ah, right." I stood and headed for my room. "I'll probably want to get ready for that. I don't think it would be nice to show up in burnt clothes." I waved to the others and brought Herman with me to help me pick out something nice to wear.

Let's just hope this night goes smoothly.