(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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
______________
CHAPTER THIRTEEN, after dark
THERE WERE some things she dreamed of as a child. The little girl Jie once thought of always wanted to be close enough to touch the clouds, run across the land, and go on fun adventures. These were once just a dream, something to yearn for.
Now it was plain in front of her eyes: a crew by her side, and a captain.
"Are you afraid?"
Sanji's voice brought her out of her thoughts, reminding Jie that grand adventures were never done alone and not in fear. His hand slowly reached over to grab hers, as if he didn't want to frighten her, and squeezed it reassuringly.
"My heart wants to say yes, but no, I'm not afraid."
Jie let out a deep breath, attempting to hide her true feelings and the nerves dancing inside her body. She wasn't a fighter, especially not against fishmen—but she learned to be strong with friends at her side. Strength could lie within her, and giving up wasn't a part of it.
"Good. If you ever find yourself needing help," Sanji said, watching as the crew arrived at the front of the park. "Call me over. I won't be far."
Nami took notice of her unease and did not miss Sanji's words. "Jie, take this. You're gonna need it."
"Isn't this yours?" Jie said, unsure of the staff that Nami had placed in her hands.
"Don't worry, I'll handle myself."
Seeing her navigator's smile made Jie's trembling heart calm. Nami, in her eyes, was brave, courageous, no matter what. She'd sacrificed so much to get where she was, and now she was a part of Luffy's crew.
From a high point above, Usopp set off a couple of smoke bombs to disorient the fishmen inside. Their shouts and groans were heard from the gates as the smoke billowed and obscured the air. The Straw-Hats barged through their locked gates, unafraid to confront the fishmen with Luffy in front.
"Fishmen! Stand by to repel boarders!"
Luffy did not waver. "Where's Arlong?"
"He's probably in the map room," Nami answered.
"Then that's where we're going."
With a nod, Nami and Luffy set off and separated from the crew. The rest of them were left to clean up Arlong's henchmen, who were now angered at the sight of the pirates' arrival. The number of fishmen outnumbered them greatly, which was enough to make Jie tremble. How could she even compete against one?
