Steel Heart

Ch 51 - A Coating

Nana had been on the island for a full day and she had gotten nowhere. The people of the island actually set up camp around her and lived their day surrounding her. She had only gotten as far as twenty meters away from the paw print indentation before being pulled back to the camp to either share a meal with them or to answer their questions about her hammer and her dog.

From what Nana could gather from speaking to the islanders, they were all a very happy bunch with a relaxed view of life. All of them were born on the island and none of them have ever left. The waves were too big for anyone to leave so this island had remained basically untouched by the World Government. The only contact they had from the outside world was shipments delivered via Flying Fish from a nearby island every six months. Meaning it would be months before Nana could expect to hitch a ride out.

The islanders had found a way to survive without the help from the outside world. They ate the fruit that grew locally and the fish actually came to them. Every three hours the waves would swell to abnormal heights and they would come crashing back to the island and it would last roughly two and half hours, only leaving a thirty minute window for a peacefully calm sea. The fish caught in the waves would be left on the beach so there was no shortage of food for the islanders.

Nana also discovered that the three hour interval for the waves was also what was referred to as "shaka time". The islanders loved to surf and it seemed to be a pastime that was shared by every member except one. The little boy that Pygmy had found was named Tavi and he wasn't allowed to surf, although Nana couldn't figure out why.

She had watched two shaka times go by and Tavi would stay on the beach, doing his little dance, while cheering on his people. If she was in the chatting mood she would've asked him what was going on but Nana had other things on her mind.

She couldn't figure out a way to get out. She had spent the hours observing the sea and Akamai was right. The waves were too strong and she couldn't sail out safely. If she used a surfboard, it may get them out past the waves okay but without knowing where they were and how far Sabaody Archipelago was, she and Pygmy could be stranded in the middle of the sea.

Her frustration was only increased by the lackadaisical attitude of the island. Everyone on the island took their sweet time doing everything, including setting up camp. It took them four hours just to set up one tent using fallen palm leaves. It would've only taken thirty minutes but they had taken their sweet time and then shaka time came so they just had to go surf. Nana was so annoyed by what she had witnessed that she had built up the rest of the tents for the people during their second "shaka break". Of course, that just gave them more of a reason to come up to her and give her a pat on the back.

"What are we going to do, Pygmy?" she asked softly.

Pygmy whined and rested his head on her lap. She scratched his ears as she thought about the crew and life aboard the Thousand Sunny.

She thought about how Luffy and Pygmy ran around the deck like idiots.

How stubborn the swordsman was and how unwilling he was to just let her inspect his katanas.

How Chopper and Pygmy seemed to have long conversations at times, as if her dog had a lot of things he wanted to get off his chest.

How Robin always seemed to know how to explain something complicated in a way that was so easy to follow.

How Brook would find any opportunity to make a dumb skull joke.

How Nami would boss everyone around because if she didn't then everything would just fall into chaos.

How Usopp-sama would make up the craziest games, making the calmest days at sea some of the wildest on board.

How Franky-