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.*･｡. A SIREN'S SILENCE! .*･｡.
————ROMANCE DAWN
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003.
THE GRAND LINE.
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  "Careful with that!"

   The green-haired Demon rolled his eyes.

    "Whatever you say," he told the tangerine girl whose blue eyes narrowed dangerously. "Oh, wait, I don't work for you."

   Somehow, the newfound quartet had successfully scurried through the streets of Shells Town without hindrance. There weren't many marines left to stop them anyway, not after the fight that had taken place in the Marine Base, so it wasn't too hard to avoid any stragglers — most of which they were way too quick for, or had been sent to the ground with one smack from the tangerine girl's staff.

   It was an impressive little gadget, River thought. One that was harder to master than it looked.

   River wasn't only pleased with the staff, but the fact they'd made it to the docks with haste— where the girl with a head of orange hair leapt into a trawler, her boots hitting the deck with a thump. The Demon had wasted no time, louder echos of the sound resonating when he tossed in Captain Morgan's safe after her, likely to relieve his aching shoulders, though he showed no sign that they even hurt. Perhaps that was why the world had taken to calling him the Demon, because he felt and showed no pain.

    "I'm sensing a little bit of tension among the crew," straw hat observed in look of the little spat, jumping into the boat right after the Demon had.

    "Not a crew!"

   As they voiced their complaints, River was busy scowling, unable to fathom that this was their method of escape. Some dingy little trawler that would hardly fit them all in without someone being thrown overboard.

   This is your boat? She would've asked, had she a voice to do so. This crummy little thing?

   Although, after a moment, she figured that it didn't matter too much. So long as it got her out of Shells Town and a step closer to getting her voice back, it was good enough for her. It had to be, really, seeing as her pirate hunter clearly decided the situation was good enough for him. In that case, River would have to make do.

   That was why she jumped in as they got the trawler ready, raising the sail to leave. Straw hat, however, stepped back on the docks with one leg, making it so they couldn't actually go anywhere. They frowned at him.

    "I can't leave without my friend," he said.

    "Can't wait." The Demon shrugged, not caring. "Marines will be here any minute."

    "The marines are here already."

   Helmeppo.

   River turned to face him, eyes squinted. But, when she had noticed the awful haircut he'd been given, she couldn't keep a serious face. Even with the gun in his hand, he wasn't close to intimidating the group.

    He pointed it at them, "You're under arrest."

   There was a long silence and it was only broken when the straw hat kid giggled.

    "What's wrong with his hair?" He grinned, pointing at the lopsided blonde hair-do. River has been wondering the same thing— because the once long strands of pure platinum now bunched up around his chin, evidently longer on the left side than the right. The Demon smirked.

    "Yeah," he said, "I might've done that."

    "I won't let you make a joke of me!" Helmeppo snapped, but it did little to unnerve anyone. He glanced at them with what he hoped was an intimidating stare, stopping when his eyes landed on River. He blinked, surprised, then sent her a pouty look, "Oh, my darling! What are you doing with these ruffians? Have they threatened you?" He tilted his head and puffed out his chest, "Don't you worry — I'll take you home once I put an end to this."

   River frowned.

    "Oh, right!" Eyes alight with recognition, the boy donning the red waistcoat clicked his fingers. "You're the guy she hid from at the tavern!"

   Helmeppo soured at that.

    "Hid?"

    "Behind the table," the boy nodded.

    "But— but you're too beautiful to be a thief!" Helmeppo whined. River rolled her eyes. He held his gun higher, "Well, no mercy for the pretty then! Looks like I'm taking you all in, handing you over to my father. I'll be a hero." His lips pulled into a smug smile as he thought about it, "You know, I might even get a medal or somethi—"

   River's jaw dropped when a fist collided with Helmeppo's jaw, sending him to the ground.

   It dropped even further when she realised that the fist was connected to the arm of a scrawny boy with fluffy pink hair and small round glasses. The other boy from the tavern, she recognised, who had been with—

"Luffy!"

   Straw hat, Luffy, cheered, "Koby!"

"God, that hurt!" The boy, Koby, rubbed his sore knuckles with a frown. Though, it quickly turned into a grin. "It also felt really good too!"

"No time to explain, but we gotta go." Luffy told him the short version, "Basically, the whole island is trying to kill us."

Because of you, River wanted to tell him.

   After all, it was his fault — him and the orange haired girl, and whatever it was they wanted with the safe. It had caused plenty of trouble, whatever it was.

   Koby looked hesitant.

   As she helped prepare the boat, River wondered if Koby's uncertainty had stemmed from Luffy's the whole island's trying to kill us thing, which was an exaggeration. In River's opinion, it was definitely more like half.

    "I—I'm not coming with you."

Luffy froze.

But, surprisingly, he didn't frown. Actually, he turned back to look at his friend with a knowing smile. As if he wasn't all that surprised, like he'd almost expected it.

Like he was happy for him.

"You sure?"

"Before we met, every choice was made for me." Koby's eyes glistened in the setting sunlight, "But now I'm gonna do what I want to do. I'm gonna be a marine." He decided, his voice stronger than his stature. "I want to help people, those who can't help themselves."

Since not all marines held those morals in high regard, it seemed unlikely to River that Koby would find life as one of them very fulfilling in the long run. Still, that being said, she found his determination admirable. Perhaps if he was lucky, that might just get him through it.

"Next time we meet—" Koby gulped, fearing his friend's reaction, "—we might be enemies."

Luffy only smiled.

"But for now, we're friends." He patted his head.

Koby nodded, looking relieved.

With lighter shoulders, the soon-to-be marine gave Luffy a final smile before kicking the trawler away from the docks. As their boat set sail, the two boys waved to each other, fondness in their eyes. River couldn't imagine the fondness would stick the next time they were aquatinted, Pirate and Marine, but it seemed enough for them, for now.

   After a few moments, once Koby faded from view, Luffy let out a content sigh. He span on his heel and grinned widely at the trio, hands on his hips.

"Who's ready for an adventure?"

   The trio before him exchanged a silent stare, then chose to disband to different corners of the trawler. Luffy watched the movement, glee unwavering, and as River sat herself close to the bow and watched the waves, she pondered it: was she ready for an adventure?

   With a straw hat, a tangerine and a demon?

   If it killed a sea witch and got her voice back, River figured she was ready for anything.

————

    "Can you not do... that?"

River lifted her chin from where it rested, turning from the sea view and to the tangerine haired girl. She was glaring up at Luffy, who was grinning despite her twitchy eyes, swinging above them, both legs hooked over the mast. He had been in the position for a while, watching her toy with the stolen safe, and River wondered when the blood rushing to his head was going to get uncomfortable.

"Sorry," he said, "It's hard to sit still!"

River rolled her eyes, you don't say.

Before aimlessly swinging back and forth, Luffy'd spent the journey so far scurrying around, rocking on his heels, talking to himself and climbing everything in sight.

It hadn't taken long for them to realise that sitting still was one of his weaker areas.

Lips pursed, the orange haired girl rested her ear back on the safe door, slowly turning the dial. She tried to ignore the boy but as he flipped from the mast to retrieve his fallen hat, the muscle in her jaw tightened.

"I'm just feeling so..." he sighed whimsically as he placed it back on his head, "So piratey."

"Yeah? Well, you're gonna end up feeling watery if I have to throw you overboard." She threatened when he jumped onto the rim of the boat, teetering awfully close to River's head. "I told you, I need absolute silence."

Luffy nodded.

"Yeah, I know, I know. Absolute silence."

He clambered over River and onto the bow, lying on it so leisurely that you'd think he had no fear of falling. Maybe he didn't. River couldn't tell.

"It's just, this is my first real pirate score." He smiled over his shoulder, "Can you guys believe that?"

"Yeah. I can." The orange haired girl said bluntly. "'Cause you told us right after you asked us yet again to join your crew."

River nodded in agreement.

Luffy shrugged, "We do make a pretty good team."

She wasn't sure that was true. Maybe their fight had been successful against the marines, but that was about it. River's participation started and ended there. She didn't want to be involved in this stolen safe business, nor did she want to have anything to do with pirates — River just wanted the Demon to kill a nasty sea witch.

Sighing, she rested her head against the side of the boat, a frown on her face as she watched Luffy jump down and press his ear against the other girls'. As if he would be able to hear the safe ticking through her head. The tangerine girl froze.

"Is it open yet?" He asked.

"No," she said through gritted teeth. She shot an irritated glance at River, who shrugged. "And can you please give me some quiet and some space?"

Her arm swung up and smacked his hat off his head. The boy scrambled after it, just reaching it before it was swept in the breeze and carried out to sea. River watched him frown, the creases looking foreign between his brows. It didn't seem right. Didn't suit him.

"Hey," he warned, placing the hat back on his curls, "Not cool. Don't mess with my hat."

"Why do you care so much about that old thing anyway?" It didn't sound like a genuine question, more like a criticism. "It looks like you fished it out of the trash."

Luffy smiled small, shrugging.

"One man's trash is another man's treasure."

A groan came from inside the cabin.

"Will you guys knock it off?" The Demon didn't open his eyes or move, lying flat on the cot. "I'm trying to take a nap."

"Oh— I'm sorry." The orange haired girl drawled out. Her patience was wearing thin. That being said, River wasn't sure this girl had much patience at all. "Were we interrupting your beauty sleep?"

"Don't like what you see? Look away."

   River's brows drew together, peering past the girl to look at the Demon, wondering if perhaps he should've been called a cat instead. The way he had sprawled out hours prior, silence surrounding him as he reclined in the sun, only moving when the skies clouded over, rendered him very feline in her eyes. It was a mystery why he'd need a nap after sleeping away noon, and another as to whether he ever even sleeping or not. River couldn't tell but she didn't ponder it for long when the faintest click reached her ears. The tangerine girl sat up slowly, widely beaming as she pulled the safe open.

    "Nami!" Luffy gasped, "You did it!"

   They both peered inside, relieved, and the girl — Nami — reached inside. She pulled out a long tube and shook it until rolled paper slipped into her palm.

   River stood, taking a closer look as she unraveled it.

   Her eyes narrowed.

    A map?

    "That's it?"

   The Demon seemed to share her confusion as he made his way over, looking into the safe in disappointment. "Isn't there supposed to be gold inside a safe? Or jewels?"

    "This is more valuable than gold— it's knowledge," Nami smarted, "This is a map to the Grand Line."

    "The Grand Line," Luffy nodded, enamoured.

   River and the Demon exchanged uncertain stares. They'd help steal a safe for a map to the Grand Line? River'd never cared for all that One Piece nonsense. She had bigger fish to fry, or sea witches rather.

   Luffy adjusted his hat with a grin, then trailed his finger on the map. "The Grand Line is just right... where is it? Exactly?"

   Nami frowned, "You're going there, but you don't know where it is?"

    "Guess I need a navigator on my crew," he hinted, raising his brows with gleeful eyes that glistened in the moonlight. It was perhaps the thirtieth time he'd brought up that whole I need a crew thing and, for Nami, it was growing old. In fact, if River had to hazard a guess, it was never very young. She had worn thin long ago.

   Nami's left eye twitched.

    "The seas are divided into four quadrants," she explained once they'd gathered around in the cabin. Nami dragged her chalk down the wood grain and marked lines to demonstrate each, "East Blue, North Blue, West, South. This thin strip of land that circles the globe is called the Red Line," she drew it out, "And this band across the middle is the Grand Line — a treacherous stretch of ocean with bigger islands, bigger cities, bigger pirates," her smirk grew feline, "Flush with riches and ripe for the picking."

    "And that's where we're gonna find the One Piece," Luffy's smile was as wide, but innocent.

    "I've taken out a lot of pirates looking for that thing. What is it?" The Demon asked, "Like, a big diamond or something?"

    "It's Gold Roger's treasure," Luffy explained. River rested against the closest wall, arms crossed, listening more intently than she wanted to really admit. "He hid it somewhere in the Grand Line. All in one piece."

    "It's a myth," Nami shot him down, "The reason no one's found it in twenty-two years is that it doesn't exist."

   He grinned.

    "Can't wait to see the look on your face when we find it!"

     "We're not—" Namu started but quickly gave up. Instead, her eyes rolled as she shot River and the Demon an irritated look, willing them to back her up a bit.

    "Pirate hunter," the Demon reminded Luffy, face stoic and a stark contrast against Luffy's bright eyes. He placed one hand against his blades to emphasise his point. But Luffy didn't get it, or just didn't care much.

    "For now," Luffy shrugged and looked over at River.

    "What about you?"

   She arched a brow at him.

    "Will you join my crew?" He asked, still upbeat.

   River scoffed silently, crossing her arms over her chest. Did she look like a pirate to him?

   Luffy pouted, "But what about charades?"

    "Charades?"

    "Oh, Nami!" Luffy's face glowed excitedly, eager to explain the concept. He completely missed the girl's incredulous tone. "It's a game! Where you—"

    "I know what it is," Nami drawled out, irritated. Her stare narrowed over at River, as if trying to figure her out. Like she didn't make quite sense. "Charades, huh? Is that because you don't speak?"

   River's eyes squinted.

    "Please," Nami rolled her own, looking back at their stolen map and inspecting it closely. She shot River another look, as if she knew her entire life in less than a day, then shrugged like it didn't even matter. "You've not said a word since you helped us at the base in Shells Town."

   The Demon looked mildly intrigued.

It was moderate, just a glint in his dark eyes, but it was still there. Subdued and quiet but as real as the rest of him. Luffy, on the other hand, blinked at River owlishly.

"You don't speak?"

No, River wanted to say, but I used to.

"Or she can't," Nami said, knowing River's conflict. It was either written plainly all over her face or an oddly good guess.

River watched as Luffy tilted his head. It surprised her that he hadn't realised, before now. Though, it surprised her more when he smiled warmly.

"But you can hear us," the boy said.

River's face screamed obviously.

"That means we can communicate," he decided.

It was true. River had been communicating with them this entire time, albeit only in response to their words. Making her request for the Demon's help would be more difficult, but she had been living this way for months now. It was possible. She would just need that piece of chalk.

   Before she could reach for it, there was a loud explosion in the distance and a flash of red rained down and coated them like a cloak. They all stirred.

    "Is that the marines?" The Demon asked.

    "How did they find us?" Nami murmured, scrambling out of the cabin and onto the deck. The others quickly followed, peering up to the crimson clad sky that now masked over the moon, and a second explosion cracked like lightning. River's hands reached out to touch the powder that trickled down to their level. It prickled her cheeks.

    "This smoke smells weird," Luffy observed, voice low.

   Nami coughed, waving her hand, but it quickly dropped to her side. Her eyes rolled.

   Not long after she hit the deck, the Demon followed, and it wasn't even a second later that River's silent gasps hitched. A thud sounded as she slammed onto the wood, her machete at her side, and her fuzzy eyes watched Luffy drag himself back into the cabin before they fluttered shut indefinitely.

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