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DAY 6: I saved her.
N/A
THE STRAWHATS AND APIS all cast wide-ranging glances, the expressions on their face asking the questions their mouths couldn't voice. Zoro raced to grab Y/N before she toppled over, but she gently pushed him away to convince him that she wasn't as helpless as he had assumed. Zoro watched the girl as she struggled to stay upright. He held up his hands in a feigned surrender while grinning to himself—Y/N sneered at that, her eyes locking onto the vibrating water rather than at the greenhouse. He would have enjoyed seeing her suffer more, but the ship suddenly stopped with another loud BANG!
The Strawhats watched as cohesions of water protruded from the ocean, some dripping onto the deck and staining the wood a darker shade than before. Y/N's heart felt heavy, recognizing a large presence. Alarms constantly blared in her head, screaming at her to jump ship. She didn't move—not even an inch. She bit her bottom lip, anticipating what she most wanted to see.
The sea kings.
Nami and a few others shrieked in terror, clinging desperately to the flooring, railings, and each other. Luffy squinted as he used his hand to block out the sun's shining rays. He looked around as if confused about what he was supposed to be afraid of. However, he wasn't scared of much.
Monsters devoid of human emotions sprang from the seafloor, scattering water throughout. Unfortunately, The Going Merry had been perched atop one of them, slithering on the Sea King's slimy scales as its crew flopped about in search of a firm enough pillar to hold on to. Their screaming hadn't stopped, and neither had Y/N's growing annoyance at how loud it was.
If she were to let go of the railing, she would've been screaming along with them.
"THEY'RE HUGEEEE!"
Luffy giggled nervously as he gazed into one of the sea kings' droopy, hypnotic eyes. The faces of Sanji, Usopp, and Zoro were lifeless, and Apis retreated in terror, while Nami's arms were firmly coiled around a ship's mast as she was terrified that if she let go, she would fall into a sea king's jaws and be devoured alive.
"The Calm Belt is the nest of the sea kings," Nami muttered, hoping someone would hear her as tears rolled down her face comically. "Moreover, the ones here are super huge!" She listed another reason why people avoid the Calm Belt and its horrors. Y/N's ears twitched with interest.
Both Sanji and Zoro perspired tensely. "What are we going to do next?" The crew's attention was drawn to the cook's trembling voice. Nobody moved an inch besides Y/N. She slowly descended the stairs and to the deck where Luffy stood—she felt the safest with him, like he would protect her with his Gum-Gum attacks and relentless punches. He was also the one she could talk to the most. Her right hand was steady on her necklace as she used various objects to keep her balance, ready to rip the gold right off her neck.
Zoro rested his trembling hand on the sheath of his sword, ready to strike if necessary. He was quivering like a deer in headlights, and Y/N almost laughed at the disappearance of his "fearless" façade. "They'll probably go back into the sea eventually. Then, we'll paddle using our oars. "
"Are you SERIOUS?" Nami slapped her hands over Usopp's mouth. Softly, the Pinnochio man apologized, but not without hearing a groan bubble out of one of the sea kings' throats. An enormous yellow frog jumped out of the sea with its arms wide open.
"A frog is coming!" Luffy screamed, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. The frog was relatively small compared to its friends, but it was still huge. Water fell from its body and drenched some crewmembers, further panicking them. Y/N had no idea what to do—should she talk it out with it? No, it's too late for that. Perhaps she should slice it—no, she doesn't have enough strength on land, and the frog was nowhere near the water.
Y/N contemplated what Luffy said. She could use another string of water to push the frog back into the ocean, but she couldn't risk it, for Apis had lost her balance and fallen right off the ship, her small and frail body nearing the frog's mouth. Her screams got quieter as she fell closer to her doom.
Y/N's eyes widened. She stretched out her arm just a little bit, watching as a string of water wrapped around Apis' torso, catching her right before she fell into the Sea King's mouth. The brine safely and quickly brought her back to the deck, just a little wet. (That's an understatement). Apis coughed like hell when she was slammed back onto the floor without a second thought—the crew only stared with wide eyes and jaw-dropped expressions at Y/N. The mermaid wiped a few droplets of sweat off her forehead, not noticing the crew's judgmental stares until she glanced at them. She furrowed her eyebrows, a feeling of dread washing over her as if the Strawhats were looking down on her.
It was the complete opposite. They were so amazed by her power that if you looked close enough, you could see the stars in their eyes shining brighter than ever before. Luffy's mouth was agape (quite literally), hitting the floor in shock while the rest of the crew were trying to wrap their minds around what they'd just seen. Apis didn't move an inch. Her eyes met with Y/N's as her hands were tight around the puffy sleeves of her dress, shivering from the cold water she had been dunked in whilst being saved.
Luffy thought, Now Nami and Zoro can believe me. He huffed as a cocky smile made its way to his face, successfully proving the duo wrong. They rolled their eyes and scoffed at their captain. The frog fell back into the ocean, and there was silence after its body had completely faded into the bleak, foggy water. Apis let out her last few coughs before catching Y/N's gaze.
"Do you have the power of a devil fruit?" she asked, her wide eyes sparkling with intrigue, little baby hairs framing her face. Y/N wanted to answer, but she had no idea what Apis said in the first place. Luffy was too busy to translate for her, and everyone else panicked. Except for Zoro, he was just too scared to move.
Apis turned to Luffy and brought him over. "Ask her to bring me down to the Sea King's nose," she clasped her hands together, pleading. Luffy cocked an eyebrow, but complied nonetheless, shrugging as he made his way toward Y/N.
He stopped in front of her, "Apis told me to tell you that you should bring her down to the animal thingy's nose." Luffy picked at his ear, yawning. Y/N stared back at him blankly, her eyes flickering from Apis to Luffy as she processed what he had just asked her to do. She cocked an eyebrow, pouting her lip in confusion.
"...Pardon?"
"You know, like, the nose."
"I know what a nose is..."
She grimaced at the request but didn't want to be rude. Y/N rubbed the back of her neck out of sheer annoyance, roughly using her other hand to control the water that slowly brought Apis down to the creature's nose. Floating on another water pod, she carefully observed as Apis ripped a nose hair out of the beast. Y/N sneered and covered her nose, disgusted that the child would even touch it.
Imagine how much snot it had on it. Gross.
Y/N quickly carried herself and Apis back onto the ship, dropping the child on her bum. Luffy and Usopp were laughing, making fun of the girl's plan. At least it worked, though, because the Sea King's eyes watered. With heavy and shaky breaths, the Going Merry shook. Apis stuck her tongue out and winked at Y/N, sending her a thumbs up for the help. The mermaid only nodded slowly, her normal, confused expression adorning her face. The crew began to think that's just how her face was — but truly, Y/N was weirdly fascinated at how humans cooperated on the surface.
Neither of them noticed that Y/N fell into Zoro on accident, sending them onto his lap by accident. He had a hand wrapped around her waist as if protecting her, though he sent her a weirded-out gaze.
"Hold on a sec!" Usopp held tighter to the mast.
"If you do that..." Nami shut her eyes tightly and buried her face in the wooden column.
"He's gonna sneeze!"
Luffy stared down at the curled-up nose hair that Apis had snatched out of the Sea King's nose, commenting about how big it was—pause.
"Alright! We're going back!" The Sea King threw its head down, the loud sneeze echoing throughout their area of the ocean. The vibrations sent ripples through the water as the Going Merry flew from its spot on the head straight to the water, gliding through it like a skipping rock.
"DO IT SOME OTHER WAY!!"
Luffy cackled, his hand pressing his hat down onto his head, so it doesn't fly off. "Amazing! I feel like we're flying!"
Y/N almost threw up from how far away the water was. She saw her reflection slowly getting smaller as she and the water's proximity widened, the air whipping at her face. Was this how the people of Athens felt as they descended from the heavens to come and turn her waters into stone? Is this how they felt when they decided to kill off the only people she knew and cared for?
"YOU DUMBASS!" Usopp cried, "WE ARE FLYING!!"
The ship crashed into the ocean, still perfectly intact. Y/N drew closer to the deck on her pod of water, her accelerating heartbeat calming as she felt her feet pressed against the wooden flooring. The soft swaying of the Going Merry could calm even the rowdiest babies from the sounds of the sea and the feel of the cool breeze brushing against her skin — the sunlight kissing her scars like a wave of comfort.
"Looks like we're back in the area we came from," Nami heaved a breath as she picked herself up from the floor.
"I don't see any signs from the Navy, either." Zoro ran his fingers through his hair, little verdant tresses falling in front of his eyes, droplets of water falling from his hair to the deck. He shook his head like a dog to rid of the extra salt water.
"Ahhh... I thought I was a goner..." Usopp rubbed his hand across his forehead. His legs refused to get up from the deck.
"Good job!" Luffy smiled down at Apis and Y/N.
"Yep!" She sent him a thumbs up while the (color)-haired mermaid looked away. Whether it was out of embarrassment of receiving praise or because she didn't want the captain to see the giddy smile that rose to her face.
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ooo we back y'all lfmakosskaskkaoaa
myy heahuets
k bye