Leaving Alabasta

The Straw Hats and company made it safely to the Going Merry, which was being kept "safe" from the marines by Bon Clay and his crew.

He was met with a lot of distrust, naturally, except for Cabernet who seemed to believe he really did do it out of friendship.

In the end, Bon Clay did manage to win over the more gullible members of the Straw Hats with an impassioned speech and apology.

Cherry couldn't help but to smirk. Not only because of the antics of these goofballs, but also because she found Nico Robin stowed away below deck. She did not seem to want to come out yet even though they had already pulled up the anchor and set sail.

As the hours ticked by, Cherry thought that Robin's shyness was really quite adorable. There was the possibility that she didn't want the marines to see her aboard the ship or that she was afraid of being kicked off the ship since they were still close to land. Cherry simply chose to ignore those possibilities as they weren't as funny.

Come morning they approached the designated meeting place in case she decided to join them. Cabernet had hidden below deck so the marines they came across wouldn't see her.

They encountered marine detachment commanded by a familiar face to Cherry. None other than Captain Hina. Cherry wore her pumpkin mask as it would be terribly awkward to be recognized by her on a pirate ship.

Bon Clay volunteered himself to lead her away and he did so quite easily with his devil fruit.

The Going Merry still had quite a lot of marines to break through before reaching their goal. They fought fiercely through the waves of mediocrity, but they didn't notice a certain man slip. Except for Cherry of course.

The man was dressed as a standard marine grunt, but in reality he was a member of Cipher Pol 1. His mission was to determine if the Lunarian woman was with the Straw Hat pirates while his compatriots searched elsewhere in Alabasta and other outgoing ships.

He felt he was in no danger as, while he was not a master, he was fairly proficient in the 6 Rokushiki techniques.

Cherry was interested in the man as he boarded the ship and slipped passed everyone in an uncommonly fast manner. She sensed no devil fruit from the man, so she wondered if he used an interesting martial art that she could steal- learn from him.

She followed him below deck where she could face him alone.

"Why are you down here, Mr. Marine? The fight is up above you know?" Cherry startled him.

He did not panic, however. Instead he immediately used Soru to appear behind her and attempted to stab her with his finger using Shigan.

Cherry studied the man's movements closely, both physical and his vital energy. She casually intercepted the finger with a small area of Armament Haki on her back. He received many hairline fractures in the bones of his finger upon impact.

'Damn it, she used Haki? These pirates are more dangerous than anticipated, why wasn't there any information about this one?' He complained inwardly. He briefly considered whether to escape or to press on, but decided to press on. At the least he needed to confirm the presence of the lunarian or lack thereof on the ship.

Cherry swung her sword at him, which he dodged with Kami-e, but she kept increasing the speed of her attacks before quick drawing his revolver when he was in a bad position.

He hardened his body with Tekkai, but it did him little good when the bullet struck his abdomen and sent him flying down the corridor. Cherry was elated that her guess that he may possess a defensive technique was correct. Otherwise it would have left quite the mess for Serene to clean up later.

Unfortunately, the man was no longer conscious so she had to end it there. She scooped him up and brought him above deck, promptly tossing him into the water where he fit right in with the other marines.

'I can tell this one wasn't very practiced in his martial art, I hope I can study it properly in the future.' Cherry thought.

They managed to break through the marines briefly and Vivi was waiting at the rendezvous point to say her last goodbyes. The Going Merry escaped to the horizon and to its next adventure.

...

Below deck, Cabernet found Robin hiding behind some barrels of fruit and preserved foods.

"Hello." Cabernet gave her an innocent smile. "Are you a stowaway?"

"Well, um, technically I suppose I am..." Robin said, somewhat embarrassed.

"What IS a stowaway, anyways? Is it like a rat? Are you eating all the food?" Cabernet bombarded her with questions, leaving no silences in which they could be answered. Robin could only sit there quietly and wait for a pause.

Eventually a pause did come, but only to take a breath in, presumably to ask yet more questions. Robin took the chance to interject.

"I'm not a bad person, I'm a friend of Cherry's. I was... planning to surprise her, so please don't tell anyone I'm here yet." Robin made up an excuse. In reality, the awkwardness of meeting her after so long had grown back within her heart after they parted in Alubarna. It was a bit silly, but she was trying to work up her courage to come outside.

Cabernet stared at her mutely for a moment before asking. "What will you give me to not say anything?"

Robin was slightly dumbfounded, she had given the impression she was ignorant and sweet just a moment ago, but now she seemed like a gangster trying to blackmail her.

"How about some candy?" Robin offered.

Cabernet's eyes sparkled instantly.

"Alright! I'll throw you overboard if you're lying!" Cabernet skipped away happily, while Robin hoped there was some candy on the ship.

Eventually, Robin did work up the nerve to come outside, hoping that the orange haired woman wouldn't mind her borrowing some of her clothes.

"It would seem we've finally left the island, well done." She said coolly, praising herself for nailing the line she had practiced in her head for hours.

Her appearance caused quite the shock amongst the crew and she casually disarmed those who drew there weapons using her devil fruit.

She met eyes with Cherry, whose smirk told her that she had known she was here all along, which made her feel embarrassed, though she didn't show it.

Cherry interjected into the uproar of the Straw Hats. "She's an old friend of mine, I hope you don't mind if she comes along. She isn't a bad person."

"Oh, okay then. That's fine." Luffy said, much to the dismay of some of the crew.

Robin gradually won them over, though, except for Zoro who remained skeptical. Zoro was perhaps the most willing to go along with Luffy's whims, so he just let it be in the end.

Cherry decided to catch up with Robin, telling her about the years they had been apart and asking her about her own past. Robin told her more of her dreams as an archaeologist that she inherited from the scholars of Ohara, as well as the tragedy that took place there. Though, she left out many details as it was still a painful memory.

Usopp and Nami were horrified at the idea of a Buster Call, while Sanji was a mess of snot and tears that this gorgeous woman had to suffer so much.

"The Poneglyph in Alabasta was my last lead in search of the Rio Poneglyph. So I don't have anywhere to be or anything better to do. So I might as well come along with you lot." Robin said.

"Well, you don't have to if you don't want to." Cherry said, smiling.

"The Grand Line is a dangerous place, my help would make things easier for you." Robin responded.

"We can take care of ourselves, don't worry. Besides it wouldn't be much fun without any challenge." Cherry said.

""...""

"I want to go with you..." Robin said, her cheeks turning red.

Cherry laughed and gave her a friendly squeeze around the shoulders. "Glad to have you, Robin."