The Elementalist Lucia [One Piece x OC fanfiction]

XXXIV - Immersion

In the calm of the sea currents, the Straw Hat crew stood in awe, watching the light of the surface move ever further from them. Luffy was stationed at the front of the boat, scanning the surface, searching, waiting. Finally a movement caught their attention and they saw Lucia coming towards them, completely surrounded by a bubble similar to the one now covering their ship. She slowly approached them and, very gently, put her hand on her bubble so that it would merge with Sunny's bubble and enter the ship's space. The operation lasted a few seconds and very quickly, the young woman was on the deck with them, her bubble disappearing, swallowed by the ship's skin. Without hesitation, Luffy threw himself into her arms once more, having not had enough earlier. Lucia did not hesitate and returned his embrace. Neither of them shed any tears this time, they were smiling, happy to be together again. Luffy had wrapped his arms around her waist many times, preventing her from running away if she wanted to. She laughed a little and he finally let go of her. Then, in a gesture that surprised her, he grabbed her bracelet and pulled it off his wrist to hand it to her, smiling.

"I- Okay I wasn't expecting that... I wasn't going to claim it you know..."

"Yeah, but I'm thinking that until a few minutes ago I didn't even think I'd be able to give it back to you... it was inconceivable, so now that I've got the chance, I realise that I'm pleased."

Lucia smiled, moved, and took back her jewel, which she turned between her fingers for a moment. The inscription inside was still there, scratched and a little faded in places, but it was there. It was not a jewel of great market value, but to her it was worth all the gold in the world. She slipped it gently onto her right wrist and had to admit that she was glad to have that familiar feeling again.

"Thanks for keeping it for two years..."

"Oh I didn't do much, Jinbei gave it to me when he told me you were dead and then I kept it with my hat."

Knowing that he had elevated this little accessory to his precious headgear made Lucia's heart swell with pride and she smiled fondly. She looked around the ship and was surprised to find a canvas bag sitting in the corner. She sighed and walked over to it. It was hers, she shook her head and laughed:

"Let me guess, Ray put this down when he came to give you directions to the ship?"

"Yes," Nami admitted, "but I completely forgot it was there. Is this yours?"

"Yeah..."

"He must have known you'd go with us," Robin answered with a smile.

"No doubt," Lucia muttered, "he's always been one step ahead of me, it's annoying."

"What's in it?" asked Chopper, curious.

Lucia smiled and opened the bag to show them the contents:

"Mostly clothes and survival supplies, a lot of research work too. I've spent the last two years learning a lot."

Usopp grabbed a sheet of paper that was sticking out of a book and unfolded a huge, partially completed sky map:

"Woaaaah this is amazing, did you make this?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "I've been fascinated by the stars ever since I was a little girl and I've always wanted to be able to see the sky at a glance. Unfortunately the data we have on Sabaody is quite limited and even in these two years I only have a fraction of what it has to offer. This is also one of the motivations that drives me to travel. I won't be able to see much if I don't move myself."

"That's for sure," agreed Nami.

"That's great," said Franky, "we have two cartographers now, one for the seas and one for the sky! That's great !"