(UNDER A REWRITE) THEY KNOW FEAR AGAIN.
There's the smell of something burning and setting her lungs ablaze, the taste of sea salt, and the cold water splashing against her skin. Drowning into the blue sea. It overwhelmed and swallowed her whole and...
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CHAPTER TEN, give you my love
THE CHATTER of conversation trickled into the air while the seagulls squawked over the horizon. It was a much brighter day with the sun shining and warmth touching her skin. Jie watched sailors and pirates load up their supplies and get ready to set out for sea. Even the Baratie filled up with customers once again but there were a few significant figures missing from the restaurant. Sanji had made his decision as well...join Luffy's crew and search for the All Blue.
Yet the conversation she overheard yesterday wasn't something she could just brush over. Zeff seemed of intentionally point the direction of their words towards one way, pretending he wouldn't care if Sanji left the restaurant and join the crew. Zeff wouldn't want to say anything like that so blatantly. Sanji's want to join Luffy's crew was something that would've helped him to reach his dreams.
Zeff had asked her the day before, what about you?
What do you want to do?
Being a pirate seemed so far away from reality, something she couldn't reach. It was all too terrifying. A pirate was someone that should be strong like Sanji was or have a strength that the team needed, like a cook for the seas. She needed to just be free. Sail with the good pirates and live freely. Do good without the weight of it all crushing down.
"Luffy!"
Her waving caught the straw-hat pirate's eye. Luffy grinned widely, adjusting the hat on his head. Before anything or anyone else, following her dreams and aspirations were more than her past. By the sight of her approaching the ship, the rest of the crew knew what her choice was. Sail on the vast seas with a crew.
"Are you with us?"
Jie nodded. "Yeah. I wanna find Nami too."
"I thought you were going back home?" Zoro said, his back against the ship. His blue shirt without a single wrinkle and no gash across his chest. Thanks to Zeff's treatments, he recovered quickly and it hadn't seemed like he was in critical condition moments before. It was the same swordsman she spotted the first time around in the Baratie.
"I don't need to go back home," Jie replied, stepping onto the deck. "I rather be here."
"That's great." Luffy nodded, satisfied to see his crew continue to grow. The morning was trickling in, a perfect time to set their sails and get out onto the sea. The ship named the Going Merry still felt empty, bare with its few members. Jie knew her choice to join could've meant she'd never see the people she met at the Baratie ever again, but the sound of familiar footsteps put every worry away.
