Chapter 48

Early the next morning, when the former slave opened her eyes, she panicked as she recognised that it was not the room she slept in last night.

And the way everything was swaying slightly, she could tell that they were on the sea.

There was another bed in the room, and it was nearly kept. She immediately stood up and folded the blanket, set her bed, and then she took a deep breath before walking out of the room.

It was an aisle with rooms on both sides, and then she came across a door with a symbol of a ladies' restroom.

To her amazement, she found a well-furnished bathroom with all the necessities one could ask for, which was strange given that it was a ship's restroom.

Nonetheless, she was glad for what it was and immediately washed her face before walking out and finding her way in the ship.

One thing she noticed was that it was a big ship, and it was so lonely, but then she finally heard some noises and found two little girls playing around with the white monkey that had been bought together with her.

And seeing the monkey, she felt a little relieved in her heart. They had not abandoned her...

"Excuse me." She approached the girls and called out, which took them by surprise.

"Oh. You are up." The bluenette stood up and curiously looked at her. "I am Nojiko. And this is my sister, Nami."

"I am Pascia." She smiled at them.

"We know!" The orangehead laughed. "You were sleeping when we returned to the suite yesterday. But Bonney told us about you."

"I see." She nodded and then looked around the ship whose walls were all black. "Where are we?"

"We are on our ship, the Black Pearl." Nojiko smiled.

"And Master..."

"Master?" Both the girls curiously asked.

"Master Indra..."

"Indra?" The girls seemed confused now, and Pascia then recalled the name she had read on her Master's bounty poster.

"Master Sin..." She timidly said.

"Oh, Sin!" They both smiled before the bluenette informed her where he was. "He dropped us off here early in the morning. And he is currently in the sky." She pointed up.

"The sky?"

"Yes." The two seriously nodded their heads. "Come, I will introduce you to Kuina, Hachi, Augur, Bart, and Bepo." The orangehead grabbed her hand and led her to the deck. "Bonney, Robin, and Hancock are still on the Holiday Island."

Other than Bonney, she did not know anything about the rest, and only a few minutes later, she found herself standing in front of an intimidating group of people.

The man named Bart was so large that she was scared of him. And Augur was so tall too.

Then there was a Fishman, and a bipedal talking Bear, which she learned belonged to a race called Minks.

The only normal person amongst them was a girl, the same age as her with short dark blue hair and large, dark eyes.

Her name was Kuina, but she was wearing a sword on her waist, and just like the rest, she seemed ready for some sort of battle.

She tried to speak to her, and the girl was polite but she spoke very little. It was hard to hold a conversation with her.

"Where are we going?" She curiously asked the Bear-Mink, who was steering the ship, and fearfully looked at the ominous dark clouds in the sky, which thundered from time to time with blue lightning jolting through them.

"Holiday Island," Bepo smirked and said.

"To pick up the rest of the crew? But there would be Marines on the Island..." She timidly added as she looked at their black sails and Jolly Roger.

"We are not going there to pick them up." Nami shook her head and then brightly smiled. "We are going there to loot everyone on the Island!"

Pascia's mouth dropped open when she heard Nami's words, and she started feeling a little dizzy.

"Nojiko." Augur suddenly called out from the Crow's Nest. "Take Nami and Pascia inside and stay there."

"Okay." The bluenette immediately listened to his words and grabbed their hands before leading them inside the ship.

Nami seemed a little displeased when they were brought inside a room, but then she jumped on a bed with Hit, the white monkey with a crown, and started playing with it.

"I and Nami share this room with Bonney." Nojiko informed her. "Robin and Hancock share their room too, and you will be sharing your room with Kuina."

Pascia nodded to her words, and then nervously looked at her.

"Are we really going to loot..."

"Not us." The bluenette shook her head. "We can not fight, and if we join, we will only put everyone else in harm's way."

"But the rest... the Marines..."

"Don't worry. The others can fight and they are all very strong." Nojiko smiled at her. "I heard Bonney say that she will train you..."

"I..."

"If you want to stay on this ship, you will have to learn to fight." The girl clearly said. "I too have recently started learning, and Nami will also have to learn to fight after a few months."

"But don't worry, Bonney is nice. She does not go overboard in training." Nami smiled at her, but then frowned and pouted. "Well, she is nicer when compared to Hancock. You would die in Hancock's hands but Bonney would show you mercy."

Those ominous words scared Pascia and she just sat there obediently, keeping her head lowered. She prayed that she would not have to suffer too much, but a part of her mind was telling her that it was already too late.

"There are some rules on the ship," Nojiko spoke, and she raised her head to look at the bluenette. "First of all, no one is allowed in Captain's Cabin except for Robin, Hancock, and Bonney. Not unless it is very urgent."

Pascia nodded her head in understanding.

"Sin, Robin, and Hancock's orders must be obeyed at all costs. And in their absence, Bonney and Augur hold authority."

"I understand."

"You will help if anyone asks you to help them with something unless you already have your hands full."

"Okay."

"The girls are responsible for keeping their section of the ship clean. And boys will clean theirs."

"Okay." She understandably nodded her head and saw Nojiko smile at her.

"Make sure you never even mistakenly speak about something related to us to people who are not supposed to know those things. If you do, Hancock will burn you alive."

Pascia felt chills up her spine at those words and meekly nodded her head.

"I won't..."

"No one is allowed in the Ship's treasury without Bonney's permission. She is the ship's Treasurer. Augur is responsible for the weaponry. So, you can not enter the Armory without his permission." The bluenette informed her. "You can go everywhere else whenever you want. If you wish to learn, there are a lot of books in the Library. Nami spends most of her time there studying Navigation and drawing maps."

The last word surprised Pascia, who looked at Nami in curiosity, and then she looked at Nojiko.

"What do you do?" She asked, having already learned from other people she met about their roles on the ship.

Kuina was purely a Combatant, but Bepo was the Navigator and the Helmsman. Hachi was the ship's chef and a combatant too. Augur was the Marksman who stayed in the Crow's Nest, and Bart had the role of a Guardian, responsible for protecting Black Pearl.

"I do errands and help everyone out with little things, and I spend the rest of my time training, reading history books in the library, or playing around with Nami." The bluenette smiled at her. "But since I have recently started training, I would be spending most of my future time in it."

"You forgot to tell her the most important rule!" Nami suddenly said and then stuck her tongue at her sister. "Pascia, no matter what, do not ever touch Sin's Swords. And if he asks you to hold them, you must never draw them out of their scabbards." She seriously said, and Nojiko too looked solemn at her words.

"Yes. Or you will die."

"O-okay..." Pascia nervously nodded her head again. But soon a smile appeared on her face when the Hit started tickling Nami back, making her laugh uncontrollably.

"You said Master Sin is in the sky..." She suddenly remembered what Nojiko had told her earlier.

"He's in the dark clouds. The blue lightning you saw was being controlled by him and he is leading the storm to Holiday Island."

"He can do that?" She asked in amazement.

"Yes. He is a Lightning Man who ate Rumble-Rumble Devil Fruit, a Lightning Logia." Nojiko informed her.

"Devil Fruit?" She gulped and then remembered Bonney turning into an older girl from a child. "Bonney ate one too?"

"Yes." Nami smiled at her as she hugged the monkey, softly caressing its fur which the little one enjoyed a lot. "So has Robin, Hancock, Augur, and Law."

"Law?"

"He's our Ship's doctor but is not currently with us," Nami informed her. "And all their Devil Fruits are super cool!" She longingly said, which caught Pascia's attention.

"You want to eat one as well?"

"Only if it is super cool and I can fly with it." She immediately replied. "I want to be able to fly so that I can take a better look at all the islands and improve my maps."

"Oh..." And then she looked at Nojiko.

"I have no such plans." The bluenette shrugged.

"Devil Fruits make you powerful, right?" She lowered her head and asked, thinking over something.

"Yes. But not all Devil Fruits are equal." Nojiko smiled at her. "Any power can be useful, but it does not mean that one should be hasty and eat the first fruit they come across. Some powers can be very inconvenient as well or just not powerful enough."

"Sin warned me, Kuina, and Nojiko to not be careless. And we would only ever eat one with his permission."

"Is he good to you?" She timidly asked.

"No." Nami pouted. "He doesn't let me keep any money."

"Behave." Nojiko smacked her sister's head before looking at Pascia. "He is good to everyone whom he accepts on his ship." She assured their newest crewmate.

The three girls kept chatting as the Black Pearl approached their destination.

And the people on the Holiday Island were unaware of the misfortune that was about to befall them.