Queen of the Pirates

The Journey Begins

"Luffy!" I scream as I race through town towards the one place I know that the bastard will be: the docks. "You better not leave without me!"

If there is one thing that people learn about me, it is that I never forget a promise. When I was three, my mother promised to get me a dog, that I made sure she kept when I turned five. At seven, after a year or so of having Shanks the Red-Haired Pirate in town, my best friend became a rubber boy (long story), and I made him promise me that he would take me with him when he decided to start his pirate adventure. Then at ten, the blacksmith promised to make me shurikens if I helped him for six months in the shop. I got those shurikens, and kept getting one for every month after that. The last big promise I made was to myself, and it was just last year when I was sixteen, that I would stay true to who I was no matter what happened. There have been smaller promises sprinkled here and there, and I have made each person keep their end of the deal.

That is why today I am busting my ass to get down to the docks so that my best friend, Luffy, keeps his promise to me about our pirate dream.

"If you are gone, when I see you again, I will kick your ass, Luffy!" I skid to a halt, so I don't fling myself into the ocean, frantically looking for a black-haired boy with a straw hat in a small boat. My backpack finally stops thumbing against my back, and the bag at my hip filled with shurikens no longer clinks with the metal rustling around. "Luffy!"

"Akari?!" A voice that I could pick out of a crowd fills my ears from not that far away.

"You bastard," I spin on my heel, focusing in on Luffy as he stops from stepping into his boat. "What the hell do you think you are doing?" I angerly point at him.

"Um, getting ready to leave to start on the path of a pirate?" Luffy tilts his head to one side like a confused puppy. His brown eyes staring at me as if waiting for me to say something else.

"Monkey D. Luffy, did you forget the promise you made to me all those years ago?" I stomp up right in front of him, glaring up at his face with anger that causes my eyes to go dark blue.

"Oh," he chuckles, making the tension float right out of me. "I forgot that you wanted to come with me."

"You are lucky that Makino told me that you were leaving, and that I can run fast," I jab a finger at his chest.

"Welcome to my crew then, Akari," he stands up straight, looking down at me with that big goofy grin on his face. "What is your title?"

"I'll think of something," I slide past him, stepping into the dingy he has for a starter ship. "Are you the captain then, Luffy?" I pull my light blue curls up into the messiest ponytail to stay cool.

"Of course I am," Luffy hops into the boat, causing it to rock a little more than I would like.

"Careful there, Luffy," I chuckle, setting my backpack down my feet. "Can't have you going overboard on the first day as a pirate."

"You'd save me, wouldn't you, Akari?" Luffy pushes the ship away from the dock, setting us on our first journey out to sea.

"Only so I wouldn't be alone at sea," I smirk, letting my hand skirt across the ocean water.

"I would save you from anything," Luffy firmly nods, adjusting the bright red vest that he wears instead of an actual shirt. At least he wears jean shorts and sandals like a normal person. "That's what friends do. They keep each other safe."

"A pirate's life for me," I sing out, adjusting my short shorts and tie-dye t-shirt. Thankful for the comfortable sandals that I am wearing that have more straps to make running convenient. "Are we really doing this, Luffy? Are we really becoming pirates?"