own the strength in your softness
"So how did you get involved with him anyway?" Luffy asked Finn as they sat in the small boat. He was currently painting something on a big black cloth, something Finn couldn't quite make out.
"I was taken," Finn answered honestly. "My parents had given me to this pirate because they didn't have the Berry to give or something, I don't know. Either way they offered me up without a second thought."
"They just gave you to Buggy?" Zoro asked, chiming into the conversation. He'd barely spoken the entire time since they left, Luffy doing most of the talking.
"Not Buggy. Some other pirate I didn't catch the name of. Buggy then infiltrated their ship and took everything they wanted." Finn shrugged as she picked at her clothes, "I was part of that."
"Well good thing you're out of that." Luffy spoke with a smile. "That devil fruit power you have is pretty cool, too."
"Devil fruit power?" Finn asked.
Zoro stood up and walked into the back as Nami walked out. She sat down and pulled out a map, not seeming to care much about their conversation.
"That thing you did at Buppy's!" Luffy exclaimed, "The devil fruit power."
Finn had heard of devil fruits. She heard the worst of the worst about them, how the people who inhabited the powers were corrupted and vile. She'd never seen one, let alone knew anyone with it until she met Buggy.
"I've ate the Gum-Gum fruit, meaning I can do this!" Luffy reached his arm back, stretching it extremely high before letting it go back to its normal size.
It was similar to what he did in his fight with Buggy, Finn noticed.
"Aren't devil fruits extremely hard to get ahold of? I don't understand how I'd be able to-" Finn stopped, realization hitting her features. That extremely nasty food she'd ate in the unknown pirates ship was an odd looking fruit, one she didn't question simply because she was so hungry she didn't really care how gross it was. "I'm so stupid." She muttered, leaning back against the wall.
"I never intended to eat the devil fruit. After I'd been taken by the first pirate I was stuck with they didn't really feed me. I ate the only thing I could get my hands up which was some odd looking food. That must've been a devil fruit," Finn then explained, looking at Luffy. "I didn't even know until Buggy pointed it out to me I was doing it."
"Well, it was cool!" Luffy exclaimed, looking back down at his work. He then glanced at Nami, who was completely focused on whatever map she'd been looking at. "Hey, Nami!"
She ignored him, her eyes never leaving the map. "Nami!" He called out again, a bright smile on his face.
"What?" She asked, finally looking to Luffy.
He stood up, picking up the black cloth with red, yellow, and white on it. He held it out, "It's ready!" He exclaimed with excitement, the flag waving around in the wind.
Finn looked at it, seeing a poorly drawn skull with a hat that resembled his own quite a bit. She realized this was meant to be Luffy's Jolly Roger, something every pirate crew has on their ship resembling something that had to do with the crew.
"And what is it?" Nami asked, not showing too much emotion.
Finn had noticed this about Nami. She was much like Zoro, the two hardly ever showing any sort of emotion whereas Luffy was so full of joy and determination, it basically radiated off of him.
Luffy pulled the cloth down, staring at the orange-haired girl. "Our Jolly Roger. Every pirate crew has to have one, and now we do!"
"We're not a crew, and you are not hanging that on my boat." Nami said, barely giving the Jolly Roger a second glance.
Finn frowned at this, not liking how much Nami denied being a part of the crew. She fully believed when she'd first agreed to join their tiny pirate crew that they were a tight band of best friends with lots of determination, minus the bit of bickering she witnessed between Nami and Zoro back at Buggy's tent.
But now, after having agreed and been here for this short amount of time, she realized she was wrong. Nami never once agreed to being on Luffy's crew the way that Finn had, and she denied it each and every single time Luffy mentioned something about them being a pirate crew.
Not that Finn was all too fond of pirates either. Especially considering her circumstances before she met Luffy and the others, she absolutely hated and despised them with everything in her. But Luffy changed her mind - much too quickly some might say. But knowing someone actually wanted her around without forcing her to do anything, without telling her what to do and chaining her to a poorly made bed - that's what she wanted.
She wasn't sure if she planned on staying for long - which was what she'd said when Luffy asked her to join the crew. Because she wanted to find somewhere she belonged, somewhere she could call home. She didn't know if that meant she'd be around for a long time or a little, but Luffy was okay with her answer either way. He just said she'd be an honorary member, meaning if she wanted to leave at any second, he'd be okay with it.
But then again, he hadn't grown attached to her the way he was to Nami and Zoro. He hadn't known her very long at all, which was probably why it was so easy to say she could stick around until she was ready to leave.
Finn truly didn't know what was going through any of their heads, and so she stayed quiet unless she was talked to so she could basically disappear into the background.
The sound of a noise in the background caught Luffy's attention, and he smiled again as he saw Zoro exiting the back room. "Zoro! Zoro, check it out!"
Zoro stopped in the doorway, staring at the Jolly Roger with a look Finn couldn't determine. He then met Luffy's eyes, the same emotionless expression on it as before. "That's unique."
Luffy's smile faltered slightly, his attention then turning to Finn. "Finn?" He asked, holding it up again.
"I think you did phenomenal." She answered politely, sending him a small smile. "It's very unique, as Zoro said. But it shows... personality."
"She's lying to you." Nami said as she stared at her map, causing Finn to look over.
"If Luffy tried his hardest, then that's what matters." Finn spoke softly as she shrugged, "Plus it's probably the best we'll get for now."
"By the way, Nami, I think the toilet's busted." Zoro said, changing the subject.
"We don't have a toilet," Nami said as she looked at Zoro.
Zoro held onto one of the ropes, looking to the side as he blinked a few times. "Oh."
Luffy glanced to Finn who just shrugged, before looking back at the interaction between the other two.
"Well, then something back there's leaking," Zoro continued after another thought, not looking at the girl.
"What?!" Nami exclaimed, jumping off of her spot on the boat. She ran past the others and into the back, swiftly shutting the door behind her.
Finn looked at the shut door before back at Zoro, who just shrugged. He obviously didn't care about Nami's urgency, and so Finn took that as her own sign to not bother either.
After a few moments of silence between the three sitting in the front of the boat, Nami barged back through the door. "We're taking in water. What did you do?" She looked to Zoro, immediately shifting blame to him.
She stood up to him, Zoro not moving from his spot by the rope. "I didn't do anything," He responded.
Luffy, who was still holding the Jolly Roger watched the two, the big smile he usually had on his face completely gone.
Finn stood to her feet, watching the situation as it began to escalate.
"The way you're clanging those swords around all the time, you must've broken something!" Nami accused.
"Maybe if you're such a good thief then you should've stolen a better boat." Zoro retaliated.
"Guys, guys, guys." Luffy finally cut in as he sat the Jolly Roger to the side, stepping closer to the two arguing. "Crew meeting."
"Not a crew," Nami and Zoro spoke at the same time, catching Finn off guard.
Even when Luffy had asked her to join their crew, Zoro didn't deny they were one. He hadn't since they got into the little boat Nami stole from who knows where, and so the only person she'd ever heard say that was Nami herself. She didn't think Zoro would say something like that, considering what she'd heard him say about Luffy to Cabaji only what seemed like moments before.
She stayed silent, not wanting to make the situation worse. She tended to do that, and this wasn't the time to escalate something that's already escalating on its own.
"We're gonna need a better ship to make it to the Grand Line." Luffy said anyway, ignoring their response.
He looked between Finn, Nami, and Zoro, the more serious side of his personality showing than the happy-go-lucky side Finn had seen so far. "A real pirate ship." He then added, glancing around the tiny boat they were in. "Worthy of the Straw Hat Crew." The smile appeared again, causing Finn to smile a little to herself.
"Wait. Straw Hat Crew?" Nami asked. "Really?"
"Yeah." Luffy said, "I thought it had a nice ring to it."
"'Demon' has a nice ring to it," Zoro then said.
"That's scary," Finn mumbled.
"That's the point," Zoro responded. "Headgear? Not scary."
"Who says pirates have to be scary?" Luffy asked.
"I agree," Finn mumbled. "Every pirate I've met has been awful, vile, and terrifying. It'd be nice to see some pirates doing good for once."
Both Nami and Zoro looked away, not saying anything.
"The point is, we need a new ship." Luffy continued, catching their attention again. "So... where do we get one?"
Nami sighed but grabbed her journal, opening it and looking at a specific page. "Our closest bet is the Gecko Islands. We can probably make it there before our ship sinks. Ditch this one and get another one."
"Good. With a working toilet," Zoro replied, looking away again.
"Great job, Navigator." Luffy spoke, sending a knowing smile to Nami.
Finn stood there with her arms crossing over her chest, her heart thudding at the name. "Did- did you say Gecko Islands?"
"Yes. That's our best bet." Nami repeated.
"Are you sure we can't go anywhere else?" Finn asked.
"No. Why, what's the matter where we go?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at Finn.
"N-No reason, it's fine." Finn mumbled, moving back to where she previously sat.
Due to being in a such a small boat, she wasn't able to just get up and walk away. She didn't feel like going to the back either due to the water leaking in, so the best she could do is sit toward the front and lean against the side.
She watched the water and how it collided with the side of the small boat they were in, her mind racing. The entire point of joining up with Luffy and the others was to avoid going back to her home, her home where her parents betrayed her. But now?
They were headed straight there.
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This was a bit of a shorter chapter, I hope you don't mind <3 Please vote and comment if you're enjoying this!