(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 FOURTEEN, all i need
RUNNING OUT of the map room, Nami hurriedly rushed over to the rest of the crew. Her arms spread widely to envelop them in a tight hug, although her leaving Sanji out of that hug was not missed by his disappointed frown. A smile ran up Jie's face at the sight of Nami.
"You guys are okay!" Nami grinned, letting go of the hug.
"Better than ever," Jie said.
"Where's Luffy?" Usopp asked, looking around for his captain.
"Still inside, fighting Arlong."
Placing a hand on Nami's shoulder in reassurance, Usopp nodded. "He's gonna be alright...right?"
Arlong's beloved map room sat inside his beloved park. A layered building with tiers of sturdy wood, so excessively grand that it matched his immense ego. Pieces of the tile were beginning to fall off the roof, crumbling under the strength of Luffy and Arlong's attacks.
Jie did want to go along with Usopp's words and believe that Luffy would make it out of the fight alive. The sight of the deteriorating building made her clutch her fingers together. Her heart ached deeply—she did worry. Sanji took notice of her nerves, running his hand up her arm in a soothing manner.
It was meant to be comforting, yet a chill ran up her chest.
The fight between Arlong and Luffy must have gone to a climax, as massive pieces of stone erupted from the tall building, and fell to the ground. Now everything was covered in debris. It wasn't long before the building would collapse. What Devil Fruit power Luffy harnessed was strong enough to hold against one of the strongest fishmen in the seas.
In a flash, the once mighty tower crumbled in front of their eyes. They were all horrified by the grave sight and their eyes quickly covered in a cloud of dust. Jie braced for the pieces of the wreckage to come their way, shielding her eyes as what was left were just mere fragments of what once stood there. Pieces of stone scattered around.
The crew held their breath, they were anticipating the worst.
A momentary silence fell over them. Their captain wasn't the strongest pirate yet, but their faith in him didn't waver. Luffy was able to pull through everything with a smile on his face, even with Zeff's wrath when he attempted to get around the restaurant bill.
A fist shot through the pile of stones and out with it, Luffy hopped out like it was nothing. His skin's coated in a layer of dust, but nothing did wipe the grin on his face.
