"Ocean blue eyes looking in mine, I feel like I might sink and drown and die."
A simple girl, daughter of a pirate captain, meets the future "King of the Pirates" and begrudgingly decides to join him on his adventure to find the One Piece.
CO...
An orange and red glow lit the night as the village was in flames. The crew rushed as quickly as they could to get to the village. It was day by the time they got there. At that point, the damage had already been done. In place of the huts they'd seen when they first arrived were only frames and ash. People were running around, trying to put out the remaining fires. Usopp, who had gotten there before them, was helping to put out the fires.
The expression on Nami's face sent a pang through Artemisia's heart. She cast a glance over at her before looking down at her hand. She went to slowly inch her hand toward hers. As soon as their pinkies were about to touch, Sanji spoke up, "Arlong did this?" Artemisia moved her hand back, shuffling away. "Why?"
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Nami responded, "To punish the villagers," Tears were once again welling up in her eyes. Artemisia pursed her lips. How badly she wanted to wipe them away. She made no move to do so. She no longer felt like she was worthy enough to touch her. "And to punish me."
There was a promise that Artemisia made to herself, "We're gonna punish him," Nami glanced over at her. "He's not getting away with this." She would spend her whole life trying to make up for doubting Nami. No matter how long it would take, she would do absolutely anything to make it up to her.
Something caught Artemisia's attention. She looked over to see Nojiko and a few of the men from the village. She shot a confused look as they walked up to them. There were looks of determination and anger on their faces. Nami was just as puzzled as her, "What's going on?"
"Nojiko told us about your sacrifice," The cop had a tight grip on his weapon. The mention of her sister made Nami glance over at her. "We didn't know. Can you ever forgive us?"
"There's nothing to forgive," Nami shook her head. "Coco Village is my home."
"Then it's our turn to sacrifice," He stated. Artemisia perked up at the statement. Just what did he mean? "We're done living in fear," There was a look of panic on Nami's face. Artemisia had a horrible feeling of just what he meant. "We're gonna march on Arlong Park. If those fishmen want a fight-"
The orange-haired girl cut him off, "That's not a fight. That's a massacre. You will all be killed."
None of them seemed to see her reasoning, "If there's no hope for us to buy our freedom, then I say we die trying to fight for it!" The villagers cried out in agreement with the cop's words.
