Categories > Anime/Manga > One Piece > Sitting on the Waves
ONE PIECE
SITTING ON THE WAVES
CHAPTER 7: FORKED PATHS
BY
Sgamer82
Meanwhile, in an orphanage halfway between Redisca village and Redisca harbor, a five year-old girl awoke completely unaware of the danger that had begun outside.
It was a private room in the Chibi no Mi Nursery. There was no bump on her head from being knocked out by Huncaza. Technically, that injury hadn't happened to her yet. There was no tattoo on her left shoulder, nor should there be. However, there was a scared little girl who had no clue where she was.
Leda walked in just as Nami was starting to cry. She calmed the child down easily enough. This was something she encountered often in her work.
"It's okay, little one." she said soothingly, "You're safe."
"Where am I?" Nami asked.
"This is the Chibi no Mi Nursery." Leda answered.
"Nursery?" Nami suddenly huffed, "I'm not a baby!"
Leda couldn't help laughing. No matter how many times children did that it was the most adorable thing to Leda. It was the reason she kept the word "nursery" in the orphanage's name.
"Of course you're not." Leda said, "This place is an orphanage. There are lots of children here. Many are even older than you."
"But... I'm not an orphan." Nami said.
"No, but you were lost." Leda explained, "You were found asleep in the forest just outside."
Nami was confused. Why wasn't she in Cocoyashi village? Where was her big sister, Nojiko? Where was her mama, Belle-mère?
"You needn't worry, Nami. I'll make sure you get home soon as I can. For now, I'd like you to enjoy yourself here. All right?"
Nami thought about it. This lady seemed nice enough. Besides, there wasn't much else she could do. She held out her hand.
"Okay." she said.
"Wonderful!" Leda said with a smile. She introduced herself to Nami, took her hand, and led her out to another room in the building.
The orphanage consisted of a small number of rooms. One was Leda's personal bedroom. Another couple had bunks for the children living there. There were also two bathrooms and a kitchen, as well as the room Nami had just come into.
The large main room had small tables set up on one side where about two dozen kids or so, both older and younger than five year-old Nami, were eating breakfast. Some of the older kids, in their early or mid teens, seemed to be helping out with the smaller children. Helping to feed the ones too small to do it themselves without a huge mess. Nami was led to a seat between two girls about her age. She was very hungry and dug right into the meal. Afterwards, she got to enjoy drawing with some paper and wax crayons Leda had brought out for the children to play with. After some initial difficulty in thinking of what to draw, Nami got an idea. A few squares here... a circle there...
"My goodness, what have you got there, Nami?" Leda asked cheerfully. She had seen Nami very focused and come to see what she was drawing. Nami held up her masterpiece.
"It's a map!" she announced.
Leda was simply amazed. She had been watching Nami carefully and had seen the girl look up from the table only two or three times. But the drawing her hand was near-perfect. Were it not in crayon, it would look almost like a real map. From the locations of the doors, the tables and toy boxes. Leda even saw what looked suspiciously like a compass rose in the corner.
"I can't wait 'til I get home!" Nami said excitedly, "I'm gonna show it t' my mama Belle-mère an' my big sister!"
"Your sister?" Leda asked, "I didn't know you had a sister."
"Yep! Her name's Nojiko. She's three years older 'n me. Sometimes she picks on me but usually she's real nice."
Leda listened to Nami talk about her sister. She wasn't sure what to think. Huncaza hadn't told her anything of a sister. She was told the girl's adopted mother had been Nami's sole family until the woman had been killed. It and the story that followed had been why she was willing to use her Era-Era powers on the girl without her knowledge.
Huncaza had told Leda that Nami had been abandoned by the people of her own village at the age of ten after being forced into servitude under the pirate "Saw-Tooth" Arlong. When Monkey D. Luffy defeated Arlong, Huncaza had said, he had demanded Nami as the payment for his services. Trapped in such a life, Leda couldn't stand by and allow the girl to suffer.
But... if Huncaza had lied about her family, what else was a lie?
----------
Zoro was bleeding from his right arm. Fortunately the bullet just grazed him so the wound wasn't serious. What was serious was how the wound had been inflicted. The gunshot had come from behind them, hit Luffy, then grazed Zoro after Luffy's rubber body made it rebound. At first, Zoro believed it was nothing more than a lucky hit. But then two more shots rang out, again hitting Luffy before bouncing towards Zoro. He barely dodged them. Zoro was worried. Was whoever was shooting at them intentionally ricocheting bullets off Luffy?
"Zoro! Where'd those come from?!" Luffy asked. Bullets couldn't harm Luffy, but all the same he disliked getting shot.
"I don't know." replied Zoro as he pulled out his three swords and readied for battle, "The only thing I'm sure of is it was from behind us."
A noise sounded on the path. Another bullet hit Luffy in the chest. Zoro wasn't able to dodge the bounce off Luffy's body and took a hit in the side.
"Hya hya hya! What do you think of my marksmanship, Mr. Roronoa?"
"Your aim sucks!" Luffy yelled, "Bullets can't even hurt me!"
"But they can hurt your mate."
That cinched it. Whoever this person was, he was aiming every shot.
"Where are you? Show yourself!" Zoro demanded.
"You don't honestly expect me to reveal myself?" said the voice. It sounded like a young man's.
"Fine then, what do you want?" Zoro asked.
"Your head."
A bounty hunter.
"Before that, however, I also wish to see which if our weapons is superior, Mr. Roronoa. So many people wield swords these days. Even though firearms are getting more and more powerful. 'Why hold on to old relics?' I ask myself. Is there something about them I just don't see? Why don't we have at it, Mr. Roronoa, and learn whether sword or gun is truly superior. What do you say?"
"Luffy?" Luffy gave Zoro a nod, "Fine then, I accept your challenge."
"Luffy!" another voice called. Usopp jumped out of the forest's west side.
"Luffy! We think we know who changed Nami into a kid!"
"What?" Luffy and Zoro asked together.
"We think it's Leda. The lady from the orphanage. But there's more! It's all a trap! Sanji's fighting as we speak!"
Usopp was interrupted by a shot which hit Luffy and struck the ground by Usopp's foot. Usopp jumped back about three feet.
"We already knew that last part." Luffy told Usopp. Someone else came out of the east end of the forest. Zoro stood ready to attack, but eased off when he saw it was Chopper.
"Let me guess." Usopp said upon seeing Chopper, "It's a trap and Robin's fighting?"
"Wow!" Chopper exclaimed, "That's amazing! How did you know without my saying a word?"
"A great man like me always knows when danger's afoot!"
"Oooh!"
"Save it!" Zoro called out, "The others need help. We have to finish up here before we -- Luffy! Wait!"
Luffy wasn't listening. He was already running down the path to the Chibi no Mi. To Nami.
"Luffy!" Usopp called, "We gotta go! Sanji's bein attacked by a bunch of huge guys!"
"Robin's already been hurt!" Chopper yelled.
"We gotta get to Nami!" Luffy shouted as he ran.
"He's right." Zoro said to the others, "Robin and the cook are capable of taking care of themselves, even if they're hurt or outnumbered. But we have no idea where Nami is or what she's doing."
"But we can't just leave the others!" Chopper said.
"Then we don't." Zoro told him, "You go after the cook. If he's outnumbered, you'll be the most help there."
"But Robin..."
"I'll go after Robin." Usopp told her, "I'll rescue her and we'll go after Luffy when we're done. Go and help Sanji!"
Chopper nodded an affirmative. He could count on Usopp.
"I'll stay here." Zoro said, "The sharpshooter challenged me, alone. So don't worry about me."
Chopper went west as Usopp headed east. Luffy ran north, towards the orphanage. Zoro turned to the south, the general direction his adversary's gunshots had come from.
SITTING ON THE WAVES
CHAPTER 7: FORKED PATHS
BY
Sgamer82
Meanwhile, in an orphanage halfway between Redisca village and Redisca harbor, a five year-old girl awoke completely unaware of the danger that had begun outside.
It was a private room in the Chibi no Mi Nursery. There was no bump on her head from being knocked out by Huncaza. Technically, that injury hadn't happened to her yet. There was no tattoo on her left shoulder, nor should there be. However, there was a scared little girl who had no clue where she was.
Leda walked in just as Nami was starting to cry. She calmed the child down easily enough. This was something she encountered often in her work.
"It's okay, little one." she said soothingly, "You're safe."
"Where am I?" Nami asked.
"This is the Chibi no Mi Nursery." Leda answered.
"Nursery?" Nami suddenly huffed, "I'm not a baby!"
Leda couldn't help laughing. No matter how many times children did that it was the most adorable thing to Leda. It was the reason she kept the word "nursery" in the orphanage's name.
"Of course you're not." Leda said, "This place is an orphanage. There are lots of children here. Many are even older than you."
"But... I'm not an orphan." Nami said.
"No, but you were lost." Leda explained, "You were found asleep in the forest just outside."
Nami was confused. Why wasn't she in Cocoyashi village? Where was her big sister, Nojiko? Where was her mama, Belle-mère?
"You needn't worry, Nami. I'll make sure you get home soon as I can. For now, I'd like you to enjoy yourself here. All right?"
Nami thought about it. This lady seemed nice enough. Besides, there wasn't much else she could do. She held out her hand.
"Okay." she said.
"Wonderful!" Leda said with a smile. She introduced herself to Nami, took her hand, and led her out to another room in the building.
The orphanage consisted of a small number of rooms. One was Leda's personal bedroom. Another couple had bunks for the children living there. There were also two bathrooms and a kitchen, as well as the room Nami had just come into.
The large main room had small tables set up on one side where about two dozen kids or so, both older and younger than five year-old Nami, were eating breakfast. Some of the older kids, in their early or mid teens, seemed to be helping out with the smaller children. Helping to feed the ones too small to do it themselves without a huge mess. Nami was led to a seat between two girls about her age. She was very hungry and dug right into the meal. Afterwards, she got to enjoy drawing with some paper and wax crayons Leda had brought out for the children to play with. After some initial difficulty in thinking of what to draw, Nami got an idea. A few squares here... a circle there...
"My goodness, what have you got there, Nami?" Leda asked cheerfully. She had seen Nami very focused and come to see what she was drawing. Nami held up her masterpiece.
"It's a map!" she announced.
Leda was simply amazed. She had been watching Nami carefully and had seen the girl look up from the table only two or three times. But the drawing her hand was near-perfect. Were it not in crayon, it would look almost like a real map. From the locations of the doors, the tables and toy boxes. Leda even saw what looked suspiciously like a compass rose in the corner.
"I can't wait 'til I get home!" Nami said excitedly, "I'm gonna show it t' my mama Belle-mère an' my big sister!"
"Your sister?" Leda asked, "I didn't know you had a sister."
"Yep! Her name's Nojiko. She's three years older 'n me. Sometimes she picks on me but usually she's real nice."
Leda listened to Nami talk about her sister. She wasn't sure what to think. Huncaza hadn't told her anything of a sister. She was told the girl's adopted mother had been Nami's sole family until the woman had been killed. It and the story that followed had been why she was willing to use her Era-Era powers on the girl without her knowledge.
Huncaza had told Leda that Nami had been abandoned by the people of her own village at the age of ten after being forced into servitude under the pirate "Saw-Tooth" Arlong. When Monkey D. Luffy defeated Arlong, Huncaza had said, he had demanded Nami as the payment for his services. Trapped in such a life, Leda couldn't stand by and allow the girl to suffer.
But... if Huncaza had lied about her family, what else was a lie?
----------
Zoro was bleeding from his right arm. Fortunately the bullet just grazed him so the wound wasn't serious. What was serious was how the wound had been inflicted. The gunshot had come from behind them, hit Luffy, then grazed Zoro after Luffy's rubber body made it rebound. At first, Zoro believed it was nothing more than a lucky hit. But then two more shots rang out, again hitting Luffy before bouncing towards Zoro. He barely dodged them. Zoro was worried. Was whoever was shooting at them intentionally ricocheting bullets off Luffy?
"Zoro! Where'd those come from?!" Luffy asked. Bullets couldn't harm Luffy, but all the same he disliked getting shot.
"I don't know." replied Zoro as he pulled out his three swords and readied for battle, "The only thing I'm sure of is it was from behind us."
A noise sounded on the path. Another bullet hit Luffy in the chest. Zoro wasn't able to dodge the bounce off Luffy's body and took a hit in the side.
"Hya hya hya! What do you think of my marksmanship, Mr. Roronoa?"
"Your aim sucks!" Luffy yelled, "Bullets can't even hurt me!"
"But they can hurt your mate."
That cinched it. Whoever this person was, he was aiming every shot.
"Where are you? Show yourself!" Zoro demanded.
"You don't honestly expect me to reveal myself?" said the voice. It sounded like a young man's.
"Fine then, what do you want?" Zoro asked.
"Your head."
A bounty hunter.
"Before that, however, I also wish to see which if our weapons is superior, Mr. Roronoa. So many people wield swords these days. Even though firearms are getting more and more powerful. 'Why hold on to old relics?' I ask myself. Is there something about them I just don't see? Why don't we have at it, Mr. Roronoa, and learn whether sword or gun is truly superior. What do you say?"
"Luffy?" Luffy gave Zoro a nod, "Fine then, I accept your challenge."
"Luffy!" another voice called. Usopp jumped out of the forest's west side.
"Luffy! We think we know who changed Nami into a kid!"
"What?" Luffy and Zoro asked together.
"We think it's Leda. The lady from the orphanage. But there's more! It's all a trap! Sanji's fighting as we speak!"
Usopp was interrupted by a shot which hit Luffy and struck the ground by Usopp's foot. Usopp jumped back about three feet.
"We already knew that last part." Luffy told Usopp. Someone else came out of the east end of the forest. Zoro stood ready to attack, but eased off when he saw it was Chopper.
"Let me guess." Usopp said upon seeing Chopper, "It's a trap and Robin's fighting?"
"Wow!" Chopper exclaimed, "That's amazing! How did you know without my saying a word?"
"A great man like me always knows when danger's afoot!"
"Oooh!"
"Save it!" Zoro called out, "The others need help. We have to finish up here before we -- Luffy! Wait!"
Luffy wasn't listening. He was already running down the path to the Chibi no Mi. To Nami.
"Luffy!" Usopp called, "We gotta go! Sanji's bein attacked by a bunch of huge guys!"
"Robin's already been hurt!" Chopper yelled.
"We gotta get to Nami!" Luffy shouted as he ran.
"He's right." Zoro said to the others, "Robin and the cook are capable of taking care of themselves, even if they're hurt or outnumbered. But we have no idea where Nami is or what she's doing."
"But we can't just leave the others!" Chopper said.
"Then we don't." Zoro told him, "You go after the cook. If he's outnumbered, you'll be the most help there."
"But Robin..."
"I'll go after Robin." Usopp told her, "I'll rescue her and we'll go after Luffy when we're done. Go and help Sanji!"
Chopper nodded an affirmative. He could count on Usopp.
"I'll stay here." Zoro said, "The sharpshooter challenged me, alone. So don't worry about me."
Chopper went west as Usopp headed east. Luffy ran north, towards the orphanage. Zoro turned to the south, the general direction his adversary's gunshots had come from.
Sign up to rate and review this story