Raya's POV

Three days on a ship doesn't actually sound that bad. And it isn't. But when you've got the eternally idiotic Yosaku and Johnny, famous pirate hunters, with you, you're very prepared to leap overboard and swim in the other direction.

And that's how it's been. For the last three days, those two baka have been getting on every last one of my nerves. They dance around like fools, call out "BIG BROTHER ZORO" every two seconds, and ignore every last dirty look I send their way. At one point yesterday, I actually did jump up onto the railing, fully prepared to jump into the ocean and drown mysef, but nooo, Zoro just had to drag me back.

So now I want revenge.

Currently, I'm on their tiny ship, which is attatched to ours by a rope or two. It trails behind us like that toilet paper that sticks to the bottom of your shoe. It's unsightly, but I can't get rid of it, or Luffy would get mad. He actually likes Yosaku and Johnny, God knows why. Well, the three of them are on the same I.Q. level, so I guess it makes sense.

Anyway, it's morning, like really early in the morning. I'm the only person up, and this is pretty normal. Everyone likes to sleep for a long, long time, but I've been getting up at the crack of dawn every day since I was little. My parents would always get annoyed when I burst into their room, way before the sun was high enough in the sky to light up their windows, and start shouting that I wanted breakfast.

I was a cute kid.

I chuckle nastily as I spot the pirate hunters, laying in strange positions on the deck. Both of them are passed out, snoring like chainsaws.

Alright, let's do this.

I hold the paint bottle in my hand, glad Usopp packed some permanent paint supplies. Snickering like a fool, I unscrew the cap, holding it over Johnny's head. I start to tilt the bottle, the thick liquid sliding out of the opening--

"What are you doing?"

I jump, jerking the paint bottle, and the glop of paint that I'd aimed for Johnny's hair sails right onto my shirt. "Dammit!" I curse lowly, pulling at my shirt to see how bad the stain. Aw man, it's so noticeable! I'll have to toss this!

I glare up at the stern of the Going Merry, where a lone figure stands, yawning in the pale morning light. I stalk over to the bow of Yosaku and Johnny's ship, cursing fluidly and repeatedly under my breath. I'm not usually this high strung, this easy to anger, but these two have been getting on my nerves for way too long, and I can't help it.

"Dammit, Zoro!" I half-yell, still determined to not wake any of the others. "You ruined my shirt!"

"How'd I ruin it?" he asks, giving me a sleepy glare. It isn't very threatening.

"You startled me, and my hand jerk! So it's your fault!"

"You gonna make me buy you a new one or something?"

"Of course not," I mutter, screwing the cap back onto the paint bottle. "I'm just pissed at you."

"Wait, so you aren't going to act like Nami?" he asks, a little bewildered. I blink at him, confused. "What's that supposed to mean?" I ask, but he only shakes his head. "Thank God," I hear him say. "At least we don't have two money-crazed women on the crew."

Money-crazed?

Whatever.

Putting aside the matter of my ruined shirt for the time being, I grab onto the rope tying their ship to ours and begin to crawl up, hand over hand. When I reach the stern of the Going Merry, I throw my legs over the railing and jump down, making not one sound as my feet connect with the deck. I throw a look over my shoulder at the still sleeping forms of Yosaku and Johnny, very much tempted to sever the line connecting our ships, but deciding against it.

I walk over to the box on the upper deck where Usopp keeps some of his paint supplies and put back the bottle I took, making it sure you can't tell it was ever missing. Then, I straighten up, and frown down at my shirt again. Sighing, I know I can't keep it, so I start down the steps to the lower deck, to where the sleeping area is. Nami offered for me to bunk with her, but I declined. For some reason, I preferred the hammocks with the boys, and not for any reason like that. I think it's because their soft snoring actually helps me sleep; Nami doesn't snore at all, lucky her.

Zoro follows me down the stairs. "So, you never answered the question," he says, his speech slightly slurred from just waking up, I guess. That, or he's drunk already. "Are you going to make me answer it?" I ask, looking at him from only the corner of my eye. He considers, then shrugs uncaringly. I sigh.

Damn, it's like reverse psychology. But I don't think he's even going for that.

"I was planning on dying Yosaku and Johnny's hair pink," I say, pausing outside the door that leads to the sleeping area below deck, my hand on the doorknob. "You really hate those two" is all Zoro says in return. It's my turn to shrug. "Don't we already have enough mindless idiots on this ship?" I ask, and his expression hardens into a scowl. "Look, they're my friends, and by extension, yours, so just back off," he says lowly. I have to blink at his threat. No, not the threat itself, what came just before it, really.

"Wait, we're friends?" I ask, turning away from the door to face him. He rubs the back of his neck. "Well, I guess," he says, somewhat sheepishly. "We're all Luffy's nakama, so we're bound to get along with one another."

I smile a little, thinking about Luffy. Yes, he is a total baka, but I love him. And I guess the rest of the crew is growing on me too. Since Nami's given up on my whole "crush" on Zoro, we've become pretty close. And Usopp's pretty funny, even when he's lying. He tells some fantastic tall tales.

And then there's the Swordsman. We get along, usually. But it's weird, even after everything he did to help me on Maya, along with Luffy, I just didn't really consider him a friend. You know though, it might be because, after Yosaku and Johnny came aboard, I really remembered that he used to be a pirate hunter. Most of the time I don't think about it, but when I do, I can't help but dislike Roronoa Zoro. Maybe I should take Nami's advice, ask him why he became a pirate in the first place. It might help me get over some of my resentment.

"Well, that's fascinating," I say, facing the door again. "But I've got to go change, and incinerate this shirt." I turn the doorknob and head down below deck, to my hammock that sits far away from the three boys'. The pack I'd grabbed while at my house sits in the netting right now, and I rummage through it, pulling out a pale pink tank top. I drop it beside my stuff and, with a quick glance at Luffy and Usopp to make sure they're really asleep, shrug off my half-sleeved white hoodie and pull off my light blue shirt. I quickly pull the tank top on, but decide against the hoodie. Too hot anyway. Makes ya wonder why I'm wearing black jeans, doesn't it?

I slide the pack underneath the hammock, then grab the ruined shirt, wondering what to do with it. I would just throw it over the side and let it be the ocean's problem, but I have this thing about polluting the waters, so yeah, I'm gonna pass on that. But what to do, what to do...

I really wish I could incinerate the thing, it would make life so much easier. Well, not really, but still, it would be really cool--

There's a warm sensation travelling along my right arm, and into my hand. Before I can really question what it is, my entire right arm bursts into flames.

Oh.

Holy.

Shitake.

Mushrooms.

A scream bubbles up in my throat, ready to shout "I'M FREAKING ON FIRE! SOMEBODY SAVE MY ASS!!" but there's no need. The flames peter out just as quickly as they appeared.

And my blue shirt is nothing more than a pile of ashes, slowly drifting to the ground through the holes in the netting of my hammock.

Before I have a mental breakdown, I race out of the room and up to the deck, where I find Zoro, half asleep with his back to the mast. Without thinking, I leap at him, clutching the front of his shirt for dear life. As he startles into awareness, I hiss, "I need your help with something!"

Not letting him answer, I pull him to his feet and drag him up to the upper deck opposite the one facing Johnny and Yosaku's tiny ship. There, I begin to pace, having trouble just getting my words into a coherant thought. "What's wrong with you?" Zoro asks, leaning against the railing with his arms crossed.

Continuing to pace, I manage to say, "I honestly don't know."

"So there's no reason for me to be up here?"

"No! There is! I just..."

"What?"

"I think it's better... if I show you."

So with Zoro's curious gaze on me, I attempt to remember the feeling I had just before I turned into a human torch. It, surprisingly, works, and the same sensation returns to my right arm. And like before, it's followed by flames licking along my skin. It's only now that I notice that the fire doesn't hurt. It's only warmth, flowing into my muscles and skin.

Closing my eyes, I concentrate on extinguishing the flames, and they do. They disappear so fast, they're gone in the blink of an eye.

Reopening my eyes, I barely look away from my high tops. I'm a freak, and I know it. I just didn't know my freakiness involved being able to survive burning alive.

"Raya."

My head snaps up. "Yes?" I ask sheepishly, trying my hardest to keep my eyes up. They so desperately want to linger on the floor, but since I probably just scared the crap out of the Swordsman, the least I can go is give him eye contact when he's talking to me.

Zoro does look a little freaked out, with wide eyes and slightly open mouth. But he doesn't looked scared, or angry or anything like that. I think it's a good sign.

"Since when are you a Devil Fruit user?"

"I'm not," I say slowly, narrowing my eyes at him. He sighs, pushing off the railing and stepping towards me. "Yes, you are," he replies, now standing in front of me. "That is a Devil Fruit power. So you are a Devil Fruit user."

"But I never..." My voice trails off as I recall that disgusting fruit I found back on Maya. Could it really have been a Devil Fruit? Like that one that turned Luffy into a rubber man? Oh my God. It's true.

"Well this explains why you almost drowned," Zoro says thoughtfully. Huh. I'd almost forgotten about that incident. But he's right, this does explain why I wasn't able to swim. And it sucks.

"Crap, I love swimming," I growl, crossing my arms over my chest like an angry child.

Ah, how I wish I didn't let Zoro talk me into this.

"So, what'd you want to tell us?" Luffy asks, giving me his adorable goofy grin. Some of the nervous tension I'm feeling lets up, and I relax my set shoulders. Ok, maybe it won't be that bad.

"Well, it's kinda weird but..." JUST OUT WITH IT YOU PROCRASTINATING BAKA "...I'm a Devil Fruit User."

Shocked silence.

More shocked silence.

Even more shocked silence.

Gah! This is worse than that time with Nami!

OH MY FREAKING GOD SOMEBODY BETTER SAY SOMETHING BEFORE I FREAKING FLIP THE FREAK OUT!

"....What?"

Oh thank Kami for Nami.

"I am a Devil Fruit user," I say, avoiding all their eyes. "At least, that's what Zoro said."

"You told Zoro first?" Nami asks, lifting an eyebrow suggestively. Scratch what I said earlier. I'm going to murder her in her sleep tonight, if anyone caught on to her meaning. "Everyone else was asleep," I mutter unconvincingly. That's really what happened, but it sounds lame to my ears, so I can only imagine how it sounds to the others.

"What power? What power?" Luffy asks excitedly, jumping up and down. I smile a little, my mood lifting at his enthusiasm. I raise my arm in front of me, and will the fire to sprout up. When it, thankfully, does there are few squeals of alarm as Nami and Usopp reel backwards, both toppling onto their butts. But Luffy...

I love this guy.

"That is so cool!" Luffy cries, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me back and forth. I almost singe his chest but manage to rid myself of the flames before they connect with his red button up vest. "Thanks, Cap'n," I say, very sincerely. He gives me a closed-eye smile, just when Johnny pops up on deck.

"We're here!" he announces, then seems to take in our vary degrees of surprise. "What's happened?"

"Nothing," Nami says shakily, getting to her feet. She dusts off her skirt, and straightens her hair. "So, we've made it to Baratie?" she asks Johnny, and after a moment of studying our now conveniently stoic faces, besides Luffy's excited grin, he replies, "Yes, we have."

So, forgetting my shocking reveal, the rest of us crowd the bow, looking for the floating restauraunt. I'm the first to spot it, pointing it our for the others. Luffy starts going on about how much he wants meat, because we've been out for a while now, and Nami scolds him for eating it all in the first place. All in all, it's a very normal exchange.

Soon, we dock in front of the fish-shaped ship, and to my utter dismay, I recognize the flag of the ship pulling up beside us.

I bang my head on the railing, groaning, "Marines!"