Endless Loyalty

The Ship and Her Crew - Chapter Two

Raising a hand against the blazing sun, I follow the green haired man out on deck. The ship is a complete wreck. The railing of the marine vessel is smashed to pieces, splinters and chunks of wood scattered all around. The mast has snapped in half and is hanging awkwardly to one side, the massive sails kissing the waves.

I turn in a slow circle as my eyes adjust to the sunlight, scanning the horizon.

Not an island in sight. We really are in the middle of nowhere.

I stop, spotting the green haired man as he moves across the deck, headed towards what remains of the starboard rail. Brow furrowing, I follow him. Without the slightest hesitation, he jumps overboard.

"Wait!" I scramble forward, sliding to a stop at the edge of the deck.

Floating not far from the trashed marine ship is a much smaller ship. It looks like an older model caravel with a ram's head for a figure head. The red and white striped leech sail sits behind three well kept trees and the large jib sail hanging from the mast at the ship's center. A skull and crossbones wearing a straw hat is painted proudly across the heavy canvas.

She's beautiful. Not a scratch on her rails nor a patch to her sails. This crew must take great care of their ship.

A few members of the little ship's crew run across the deck. Laughter, a pitiful whine and the green haired man's stern voice drift to me across the waves. A boy with a long nose and dark curling hair seems to be crying as he tries to escape the swordsman's sharp tone. Another boy with a bright red vest and a straw hat is hot on long-nose's heels, laughing like he's having the time of his life.

The wind picks up, blowing my waist length mess of hair away from my back. The sails flap and the ship begins to move.

Shit!

Backing up, I set my sights on the main deck of the little ship. Sprinting at full speed, I launch myself off the destroyed marine vessel and over the widening gap between the two ships. I land smoothly on the port railing of the bright little ship, my body automatically shifting to a crouch before I can fall overboard.

"SEE!" The green haired man shifts, throwing an arm out in my direction.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH! ANOTHER MARINE!" The long nose boy screams, dashing behind the mast only to poke his head out to peer back at me, "Don't hurt me!"

"Can it, Usopp. She's not with the marines." The swordsman grunts, his sharp eyes moving away from the long nosed boy over to the boy in the straw hat, "But that's why you shouldn't go around playing with cannons!"

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry!" The straw hatted boy laughs, his face morphing into a wide smile I recognize.

"Hey! You're Monkey D. Luffy!" I gasp, my eyes widening.

"Sure am!" Luffy confirms, a hand going to his hat as his shoulders shake with laughter.

"Come on you guys, can you keep it down? I can't even read the paper anymore."

I turn, my attention sliding from the two in front of me to a woman behind them. Sitting up in her lounge chair, she folds her newspaper closed and tucks a loose strand of her short, orangy-red hair behind her ear.

"Nami, we've got company." The swordsman states, his arms folding across his chest as he looks back towards the girl.

"Yeah! Come say hi!" Luffy shouts, his eyes still on me.

Her eyes widen as they land on me and she sets her paper aside. "Oh? Who is this?"

"My name's Rhea." Balancing on my palms, I let my feet slide out from under me and plop down on the rail. "I was hoping I could catch a ride with y'all to the next island."