To Our Dreams!

Chapter 1: Join My Crew! X2!

"Island ahead!" the long-nosed sniper shouted from his perch on the crow's nest, excitement coating every syllable.

Below, the boyish captain cheered excitedly, and with a stretch of his arms, he sat on top of his favorite seat, hand on his hat as he searched for the spot of land that would soon come into view. At the helm, Nami sighed, and to the stoic swordsman next to her, she complained, "Why are we wasting time going to this island?"

"You know there's no stopping Luffy when he hears about something that excites him. As soon as he heard about those wild beasts that would be showcased in the circus, did you really think that there would be any stopping him?" Despite his words, Zoro let a small smile play on his lips; Luffy's excitement could be contagious.

Nami knew that  Zoro was right, but that didn't mean she couldn't complain. "We'd better find a cook or a doctor on this island."

"OH, I see the island, Usopp!" at Luffy's exclamation, the crew suddenly busied themselves with getting the boat ready to dock. Nami barked orders, sending Usopp to lower the anchor while Luffy and Zoro worked on raising the sails. Soon enough, the island was in view, as well as some large colorful tents that they passed; they saw what had to be the circus performers milling around; some looked at their ship in curiosity, others seemed to be preparing for the show later, and others ran around, carrying food or boxes. Luffy leaned forward as far as he could, and he seemed to be searching for something. Even after they passed, and their view was blocked by trees, Luffy still tried to look. However, when Nami announced that they were at the docks, he quickly jumped to the deck, and raced off the ship. Usopp quickly followed, leaving Zoro and Nami to finish docking the ship.

"I'll give you one guess as to where they're going," Zoro said. Nami simply rolled her eyes.

However, when the ship was docked, Nami, too, headed towards the circus tents. They still had all the supplies they needed, and someone should keep an eye on their idiot rubber captain, after all. So Nami followed the trail through the forest, with Zoro trailing behind.

*****

Carys did not know that she had an audience when she expertly swung from one hoop to the next, practicing the routine that would be performed later that night. She only focused on the next hoop, deftly flinging her legs around, flipping around it, then finally springing to the next one, then landing neatly on the tightrope, keeping her arms stretched out to balance herself as the rope lightly bounced with her weight. Then, suddenly piercing the quietness of what she had assumed was the empty tent, she hard a voice shout, "Awesome! That was so cool!"

Fear suddenly gripped her tight, as she had flinched at the voice, and she had lost her balance on the rope, and her stomach dropped as she fell towards the ground. She quickly pulled herself into a ball, and prepared for the painful collision. Oh, shit, was her last thought before she bounced off something - a trampoline? - and fell to the ground. She quickly sat up, and saw a boy in a red vest rushing towards her, with another boy wearing overalls following. She stood up, brushing the dust off her pants, and assessed herself for injuries - aside from a slightly bruised tailbone, she was fine.

She looked from where she had bounced off of what she thought had been a trampoline, but nothing was there. What the hell?

"Are you okay?" the second boy asked, and she caught the subtle glare he gave the other boy.

"Yeah... somehow." she mumbled, still in a daze from her fall.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" the first boy suddenly blurted, and recognized his voice as the one that had startled her. "I'm going to be the King of Pirates! Join my crew!" Beside him, the other boy facepalmed.