Chapter 2.2

Nami bit her lips for a second, looking me over before casting a flat glance at her captain. "Listen, Luffy," she began slowly. -Although I highly appreciate the talents of Cross and Soundbite, and although I am sure that they... that Cross is relatively decent...

"Thank you!" I interrupted.

- BITE IT! - Soundbite suggested, smiling nonetheless.

"But the fact remains that he... well... didn't even agree to this!" Nami protested. -Besides, he's an ordinary guy, Luffy! I'm sure he has a normal life, normal dreams! There is no reason why he would want to sail with us!

"Besides the fact that I've been stuck here for the past two weeks, eating whatever fruit and whatever else Soundbite pointed out to me?" I asked with a grimace. This diet did not do me any good. I wanted meat, damn it!... god, I'm turning into Luffy.

Nami rolled her eyes and looked at me. -We, of course, will give you a lift and you will leave the island, but...

A quick and suggestive glance at Soundbite prompted him to make a loud buzzing noise, interrupting Nami.

"If you don't mind, let me insert a word?" I asked her politely.

Sanji looked like his arteries were about to explode, but Nami blinked in confusion and then shrugged. - Hmm... sure, go ahead.

"Thank you..." I nodded in gratitude before turning my attention to Luffy. -So... Mr. Monkey D. Luffy... I have a question for you.

Luffy blinked and tilted his head curiously. -Yes? What's happened?

- You said that you are adventure pirates, right? Sailing the seas in search of the most fun and amazing adventures you can think of?

This prompted Luffy to smile impatiently. -Yes! Exactly!

I nodded slowly in understanding. -Okay, okay...then...tell me...- I looked him straight in the eyes. -What exactly made you fly under the Jolly Roger flag? What is the ending, the overall goal? Simply put... - I spread my arms wide and shrugged. -What is your dream?

Luffy's expression froze for a second before he raised his hand to clutch his hat and smiled from ear to ear. -It's easy!

- I will become the Pirate King!

My plan was to smile and nod. Agree with his crazy, but quite achievable dream and just come to terms with it. Just... accept it.

But it didn't work out that way.

Instead, the world seemed to just... stop. These words... they resonated with me. Touched a chord, deep, deep inside, and made it sing. They were... clear. They were clear, they were simple, they were...

They were statements of fact.

And just as quickly as the feeling came, it passed.

I shook myself hastily before smiling genuinely. -King of the Pirates, hm? That means you'll be looking for One Piece, right? In the Grand Line?

Luffy's smile remained in place as he nodded eagerly. -Yes! It will be super dangerous! We'll probably die along the way!

"DON'T SAY THAT, YOU ASSHOLE!" Nami and Usopp roared, slamming their fists on his skull, while Sanji and Zoro simply rolled their eyes.

I smiled even wider, ignoring the antics. "Well, then... let me tell you about my dream," I sighed with relief, hastily turning over in my head a relatively simple story that I came up with during my relatively solitary confinement. -First of all, can you keep a secret?

The Straw Hats exchanged confused glances before nodding in agreement.

- Great. You see, the thing is that my house... You will never find it on any written maps. Because, as far as the whole world knows..." I chuckled slightly. -There are no countries on the Red Line!

This caused a feeling of surprise and disbelief among the pirates.

"Are you serious?" Nami said quietly.

I nodded solemnly. -Really. A small country, more of a city-state than anything else, known as Florida, located on the part of the Red Line that borders the North Blue and East Blue. Our ancestors founded it somewhere around... uh... - I made a movement with my hand symbolizing that I didn't know exactly. -Four, five hundred years ago? I've never been a big history buff.

I shook my head. "Anyway, the reason why my ancestors founded it is because they were tired of living under the cruel thumb of different kingdoms and factions of the World Government, so little by little they came together, conquered the Red Line and founded a country for themselves. They then went to great lengths to keep Florida's existence a secret so that they would never have to live under the tyranny of the World Government again! We, of course, keep an eye on the rest of the world so as not to stray away from our roots, but the fact remains that you guys are one of the few people in the world who can claim to know about our existence!

"Wow..." Luffy breathed out with delight.

Zoro, however, was much less impressed. "And what does this have to do with anything?" he asked in a bored tone.

I raised my hands in surrender. -Well... the thing is, even though we follow current events and so on... we don't really have much first-hand information. People rarely go into the ocean. But... - My eyes took on a slightly dreamy look as I stared into the distance. -We have... stories. Stories of wondrous islands that captivate the imagination, sights more beautiful than anything... a veritable ocean of possibilities.

I chuckled slightly as I returned to the ground. -I... was never happy with these stories, you know? I... I always wanted... more. - I banged my fists, smiling a real, sincere smile. -My dream... is to explore the ocean I've heard so much about! I want to experience these wonders myself! I want to see these beautiful sights! I want to visit these islands and see everything they have to offer!

The crew stared at me with a slightly impatient expression, accepting me and looking at me in a new way.

As my inspiration slowly drained out of me, I smiled shyly and scratched the back of my head. -To achieve this goal, I left Florida and came down here to the East Blue. I was sailing on a passenger ship when a particularly nasty Sea King attacked. I fell overboard during the chaos, the current washed me ashore and, well... - I clapped my hands and spread them wide. -And here we are!

- In any case... what does all this matter, you ask? Well... - I chuckled, smiling happily at Luffy. -You said you were going to the Grand Line. You said that you would become the Pirate King. You said you would have the greatest adventure of our generation. And before all this... you asked me if I wanted to join your team. I'm right?

Luffy nodded eagerly in agreement, excitement radiating from him.

I looked at Soundbite with a smile which he returned with a smirk before I looked back at Luffy. -Well, in that case, how the hell can I say no?

"We're in it, baby!" Soundbite yelled.

Luffy's reaction was immediate as he raised his arms in the air with a joyful cry. -WOOHOO! WE HAVE A NEW NAKAMA! - he shouted, quickly grabbing me with one arm.

As if on cue, the rest of the team let out a tired groan.

"This is our captain, reckless as always..." Nami grumbled, rubbing her forehead with her wrist and not hiding her smile.

"Yes, but it wouldn't be Luffy if it were otherwise?" Sanji chuckled melancholy, taking a drag from his cigarette.

Usopp muttered something under his breath and then pointed at Soundbite. -You seem okay, Cross, but that snail of yours better be careful!

Soundbite's grin turned predatory as he met Usopp's gaze. -Come closer, asshole!

Zoro rolled his eyes at his team's antics with a grin and then rubbed his thumb over his shoulder. -Okay, enough fun and games. It's getting late, maybe we should return to Merry. I'll warn you in advance, Cross, you'll want to prepare your belly. Eating our lousy coke...!

HIT!

Zoro blocked the blond chef's kick with Wado Ichimonji's sheath.

"Watch your fucking mouth, you shit...!" Sanji cut himself off, and he and Zoro suddenly doubled over, trembling in pain.

I blinked in surprise, although I suspected I knew what the problem was. -Are they...are they okay?

Nami growled darkly as she looked at them. -It's OK. Just a couple of morons who forgot that a week ago they fought tooth and nail!" she snapped at them.

- Ouch. - I winced. -My deepest condolences.- I was sincere. Arlong's actions may have been justified in some ways, but he was still a sadistic bastard. Mihawk also didn't take Zoro easy.

"Ha!" Zoro grunted, straightening up, although his body was trembling slightly. -What is this? It's nothing.

Nami looked at him for a second with a clearly unimpressed expression, and then punched him square in the chest. The swordsman's face immediately contorted into a grimace as he barely managed to hold back a groan of pain.

The navigator frowned and rolled her eyes at the green-haired man's display of courage. Then turn to me, changing his facial expression to a cute one with frightening ease. "Anyway... I think it's high time we introduced ourselves." She extended her hand. -I am Nami, ours, and now, I suppose, yours, the ship's navigator.

I smiled politely and shook her hand. -Cross, Jeremy Cross. Nice to meet you, Nami. I'm looking forward to starting sailing together.

Nami nodded politely and frowned over her shoulder. "About everyone else, First Stupid..." she jerked her thumb at Zoro, who waved his hand back. - Roronoa's name is Zoro, while Dumbass Second... - she pointed at the blond cook, who went from growling at Zoro, to admiring him with hearts in his eyes, - name is Sanji. This is Usopp," she pointed to the long-nosed sniper, who kept making eye contact with Soundbite, and then waved her hand towards Luffy. -And you already know Monkey D. Luffy, our fearless captain.

I smiled and raised my hand in greeting. "It's nice to meet you all, I hope we can all become good friends." I then put on a pitiful expression. -And please, for the love of God, don't blame me for the shit Soundbite does. He is my partner, not my pet. How I wish I had a greater degree of control over him.

- Honk!

Usopp flinched in panic as a car horn seemed to blare right behind his head. Then he cast a frowning glance at the ever-hysterical culprit sitting on my shoulder.

"For your information, as long as it doesn't incapacitate, cripple or kill him, he can be answered in terms of retaliation," I said calmly.

"Traitor!" Soundbite barked, glancing at me.

"Bite it," I growled.

Despite all this, Luffy almost became hysterical. "You guys are so funny!" he croaked.

As the sniper and navigator pounced on our captain, under the watchful gaze of our cook and swordsman, I sighed heavily.

Well... it looks like this.

I have officially, once and for all, become the Straw Hat Pirate.

Now... I could only hope that the voyage would go smoothly.

-o-

I let out an ecstatic moan, enjoying the taste of the meat I was chewing. Oh yes, definitely, the sailing got off to a great start.

"Thank you *swallow* you!" I managed to squeeze out while I chewed and swallowed, eagerly cutting another piece of sausage. -This is super, super delicious! Thanks a lot!

"Mmmmm!" Soundbite muttered in agreement, pouncing on the cup of oatmeal that was provided to him.

Sanji chuckled with satisfaction as he watched us gorging ourselves. -No problem. After all, it's my job; I wouldn't be a chef if I couldn't meet the needs of my customers. Although, honestly I warn you...!

KNOCK!

Sanji and Luffy froze in surprise as I stuck the knife into the table, inches away from the rubber man's slowly crawling fingers. I slowly turned my head and stared at my captain, my face completely devoid of emotion.

"Luffy," I stated coldly. -I have been eating roots, nuts, berries, fruits and mushrooms for the last Fourteen Days. If you even try to touch the first significant amount of protein I've had in two weeks, I'll set the world speed record for mutiny on a ship. In short, remove your hand, or I will remove it for you.

Silence fell over Merry's sparse dining room as the rest of the team stared at me in shock. Slowly, Luffy removed his limb, although, strangely, his eyes never left my plate.

Finally, Sanji blew out smoke from his cigarette contemplatively. -Hmm, that was the first time.

"The first time someone reacted like that to his antics, or the first time he actually listened?" I asked before putting the rest of the sausage into my mouth.

Sanji's grin widened slightly. -Yes.

I flinched as a heavy hand landed on my shoulder, prompting me to look at Zoro who smiled at me. -You'll fit in perfectly, kid.

I glanced at him with a frown. - 'For reference'... - I swallowed the food. -I'm eighteen.

Zoro's smile turned into an uneven grin. -Whatever you say, boy.

I looked at him for a second before turning my gaze to the rest of the crew. -This... this will stick, won't it? I will never be able to get rid of this, no matter how much I want to?

The reaction of Luffy, Usopp, Nami and, to my annoyance, Soundbite, was to smile knowingly at me.

I sighed and rolled my eyes as I inserted my fork into my plate. "Great," I muttered good-naturedly, stuffing a large portion of food into my mouth and quickly swallowing it. -It's just, damn, great...!

I quickly froze as my mind caught up with my taste buds. -Oh oh...

Soundbite's smile quickly widened as he glared at me. -Don don don!

Luffy blinked in confusion. -Hm? What's wrong?

I looked at the plate with great trepidation. My eyes settled on an object that I logically knew I would see and stared at her as if it were a living bomb. Which I think she might as well.

- Is this a biscuit? - I asked gloomily.

Sanji blinked in surprise. -Uh...yes? Does it matter?

In response, my stomach roared like a little Sea King, and my face took on a no doubt unhealthy shade of gray. "That's why," I whined. I turned my attention to Nami. -How to get to the restroom?

"Uh..." Nami blinked, being caught off guard before she hurriedly collected herself. -The deck is below us. Go down the stairs, through the door and right...!

I didn't wait for her to finish, instead I quickly left the table and left the kitchen through the door. I jumped over the railing, landed on the deck below, and walked through both doors before jumping onto the porcelain throne I was about to get a closer look at.

And thus, I spent the first half hour on the Going Merry in intestinal agony, haunted by Soundbite's omnipresent and unbearable laughter.