I muttered to myself as the ship rocked heavily against the sea. It was far tougher than usual — the edges of the room tilting and lifting with the waves. I was still pretty groggy, but I could hear the wood groaning as the sea pounded against the Sunny. I forced my eyes open and blinked, my eyelids feeling incredibly heavy from the drugs that Chopper had administered. This was day 5 of Chopper sedating me so that I didn't try and train with stitches in.
But it seemed that he was not coming in to sedate me this time. Instead, I felt the Sunny tilt enough to wake me fully, as I started rolling out of bed. I desperately grasped at the infirmary bed, only for the sheets to slip right off the bed with me as a resounding thud echoed through the room.
"Owwwww." I exclaimed, pushing myself up. I sat on the floor for a moment and picked up my left arm, gently twisting it to get a glimpse of the stitches. I still couldn't see very well, and found myself counting the stitches with my fingers. I grinned as I realized there were only three. Way to go, Chopper!
I could hear a commotion coming from outside and meandered outside. My eyes widened in shock at the scene before me. Waves towered over the Sunny as the hardest downpour I had ever witnessed was raining down onto the deck. Hail pelted me as I walked out. Luffy and Usopp were in the midst of furling the sails while Jimbei manned the helm. Nami shot past me and stopped in her tracks.
"What are you doing out of the infirmary?!" She exclaimed.
"I, uh... what can I do?!" I yelled back. My voice was barely audible.
"You can go back inside! We got this!"
"The Hell? That's crap!" I sneered, my hands balling up into fists.
"You were just hurt! Stay safe inside!"
"No! You guys could use me somewhere!" I sniped, walking myself further onto the deck. The wind was so intense, it nearly knocked me off of my feet.
"Misaki, stop!" Nami yelled.
I could barely hear anyone. A wave hit and I stumbled against Jimbei, who was at the helm.
"Misaki! What are you doing outside?!" Jimbei said as he put out a hand to steady me.
"Where do you need me?" I yelled. He hesitated as another wave hit.
"There is another big wave coming. I'm going to have to take this ship through the green room."
"Like IN THE WAVE?!" I yelled. He nodded.
"I need you to tell Luffy and the others to unfurl the sales and bring me the ropes."
I nodded and went to walk off when he grabbed me.
"Just the mizzenmasts though! We will unfurl the main mast once we are inside! Or else it will rip in these winds!"
"Got it!"
I ran to the main mast and hollered up to Luffy and Usopp, then grabbed Franky and Chopper to take the ropes to Jimbei. Once everything was all set, I grabbed onto the railing to brace myself.
I could feel the Sunny begin to tip, and looked up to see a wave towering high above even the tallest point of the ship. My heart dropped as I heard the wood creak beneath my feet. I glanced back at Jimbei, who seemed calm as could be. His quiet determination calmed my nerves as the Sunny tipped even more and the foreboding wave crashed around us on all sides, and the main mast came unfurled.
Being inside the tube was the most beautiful and surreal experience of my life, while still being incredibly terrifying.
The sound of water crashing never ceased, yet it was oddly quiet, and serene. Despite the sky being so dark, bits of light sparkled through the water, turning it a brilliant green.
I used the railing to skirt around the edge of the Sunny so that I could look towards the front. I could see the end of the tunnel, and couldn't help but grin at the gorgeous view ahead of me.
"What a remarkable ship, you are, Sunny!" I whispered to the ship, hugging the railing as we continued forward.
"Wooohoooooooo! This is AWESOOMEE!" Luffy hollered, making me giggle.
"It's not over yet! Stay alert!" Jimbei yelled. "This green room is unstable!"
"Unstable?" I said, looking around. It seems stable to me. So then why?...
My eyes grew wide as they returned to what was ahead. The walls of the wave wavered and rocked, sea what're splashing down in buckets at the end of the tunnel. We don't even have time for a coux de burst.
"Everybody hang on!" Jimbei yelled.
"The wave is collapsing!" I screamed. "Look out! LUFFY! GET OFF THE MAST!"
The Sunny rocketed forward, gliding across the water as fast as it could as the only exit began to collapse. I looked up at Luffy, who clung to the mast, knowing he would have to furl the sail again once we were out. But we aren't gonna make it. Luffy! You have to move!
Everybody grabbed onto the railing, unsure what was coming next as the exit collapsed, leaving us trapped in the green room. I squinted at the closed off area. It looked like the tunnel was getting smaller as the water chased after us on all sides. The silence within the tunnel was almost deafening. The sound of water crashing was gone as the entirety of the tunnel closed off from the outside world.
"This is really bad!" Nami said, her eyes widening.
"No way. It's just no way." Luffy muttered.
"We're done for!!!!" Usopp cried.
"No we're not!" I said. A small glimmer of light bled through the water. I pointed.
"JIMBEI! THERE!"
"THAT'S OUR EXIT! GOOD JOB, MISAKI!" Jimbei laughed, pulling at the masts to aim at our last chance of escape.
"Everybody hang ooooooon!!!!" I yelled, holding on tight to the railing.
We burst through the wall of water. It was way more force than I could even imagine, throwing me back onto the deck and nearly taking me to sea as I snatched onto the main mast. As the water drained from the deck, I got swept back to a side railing, and found myself barely clinging on for dear life. Luffy, on the other hand was not so lucky, getting blasted from the main mast and thrown back onto the mizzenmast. He shot himslef back to the main mast and started furling the sails again. Nami also almost met her fate, skirting past me as I reached out and snagged her.
"Damn, I'm glad your here." She said, making me grin as I pulled her up.
"Misaki! What are you doing?!" Chopper yelled, making me laugh.
"What? Do you want me to let her fall overboard?" I joked.
"Please don't!" Nami said as she smiled weakly at me.
I finished pulling her up and breathed a sigh of relief. We made it.
"Don't relax yet, Misaki! Danger is still upon us!" Jimbei yelled from the helm.
A chill shot up my spine as I saw another wave crash into the ship. I held onto Nami and the railing with all of my might as the water rushed over the deck. I couldn't catch my breath as the water cleared and I could feel my arm start to ache. I pulled Nami back up and looked at her. Her hair was mussed and she looked like she had seen a ghost.
"Maybe go inside." I said, just as another wave hit.
Once again, I held fast to Nami and the railing. The wind was knocked out of me this time, making it ever so hard not to take a breath in and suck all the sea water into my lungs. I forced my eyes open as the water tried to rip us off the ship, just long enough to see Chopper slip through the rails. FUCK.
The water swept through the railings and dissipated, making both me and Nami cough.
"That was CHOPPER!" I yelled. "Get inside Nami!" I said, leaping over the railing after him.
"Wait, Misaki!" Jimbei said, grabbing me by the collar. "I will not have a repeat of the last time! You or Nami take the helm! I will go get him!"
I looked at Nami and we nodded at each other, both running for the Helm as fast as we could. Franky was running around patching things as Zoro and Sanji got ready for a coux de burst to get us out of the storm. We just had to wait for Jimbei and Chopper. Luffy shot down from the mast as another wave hit, making us all grab whatever we could. This is literal chaos!!!
Luffy grabbed onto me as I lost my grip on the railing by the helm. As the water drained from the deck again, I could see Jimbei arriving with Chopper.
"Nami, go get Chopper inside with Jimbei! Luffy and I got this!" I said. Nami nodded and ran to the infirmary with Jimbei. Just then, another wave slammed into us. Luffy held fast to me as the water whipped me off the railing.
"You can't stay out here, Misaki!" Luffy yelled.
"I can't leave you out here all alone!"
"Yes you can!"
"What if you go overboard?!"
"I can't protect the Sunny and you right now, M'!" He yelled, making me flinch. Ouch. "I didn't mean it like that!" Luffy yelled over the waves.
"I know, Lu! I know!" I said, looking toward the closest door.
Another wave hit, and I held on tight until it settled. As Jimbei was coming out, I began to make my way in. And then another wave hit. It felt like a train hit me as I felt my feet get whipped out from underneath me. As the water broke away from the deck of the Sunny, I found myself clinging desperately to the railing. I was dangling on the edge, but I caught myself.
"MISAKIIIII!"
"I'm ok!" I said, waving my hand over the deck.
"No!!! GRAB ON! DON'T—!"
Suddenly, the wind was being forced out of my lungs as another wave crashed over me. I desperately reached out for the railing with my other hand, but the pain seared through my arm, stopping me in my tracks. As the water washed back through, I coughed heavily, my fingers barely clinging onto the rail. I looked up to see Luffy slam against the railing and reach out his hand, just as another wave slammed into us.
I couldn't hang on any longer, my fingers slipping from the railing as the water shoved me down.
___________________
Luffy clung to the railing with all of his might as he reached out for Misaki's hand. He couldn't see it, but he still reached for it. The sound of water rushing over his head was deafening. He could barely keep his head on his shoulders from the force as it rammed into him full force. He felt so weak from the sea water as it sapped away at his strength. But he held on. He held on for Misaki. He held on so that he could grab her and pull her to safety. He held on for her.
When the water seeped back into the sea, he fell to his knees, still reaching despite not being able to open his eyes right away. He forced them open to see a railing. Just a railing. His jaw dropped. He gulped, despite his mouth being as dry as a desert.
"Mi-MISAKIIIIII???" He called out, pulling himself back up over the railing to look for any sign of her. Without even a second thought, he dove in. As he fell to the depths, he could hear Jimbei's protest ring out through the sea.