My name is Kimiya Leonore. When I was child, I believe that living a life filled with adventure would be the best life possible. Now I'm seventeen, trapped in a world not my own, and living that life aboard a pirate ship crewed by headstrong adventurers. What lies ahead is my way home… or, perhaps, just more questions that need answers.

"Good job. Now break it again."

Kim was exhausted, out of breath and she felt like she was about to kill over, but she still nodded, allowing Zoro to put her in a headlock.

The pair was training again, the swordsman attempting to teach the girl a few things about hand-to-hand combat, rather than only blade techniques. Kim was a big better at this and wiggled out of Zoro's grasp as easily as a slippery eel. At the moment though, she was becoming rather irritable and her patience was running thin. The kick to Zoro's shin may or may not have been intentional.

"Sorry," she panted unconvincingly, bending over and placing her hands on her knees. "Maybe we should cool it with the training for a bit. Y'know, I think we should take up yoga instead. I'd rather you accidentally drop me rather than beat me to death every time I try to spar with you."

Usopp laughed at the girl and tossed her a towel as she trudged over to collapse between him and Sanji. "You look ready to pass out!"

"I feel ready to pass out," Kim admitted in a mutter, eyeing Zoro warily in case he decided to surprise her with an attack. If he made an attempt, she'd sic Sanji on him or throw him into Laboon's stomach acid.

Stomach acid. Eugh, the very thought was disgusting.

After barreling down Reverse Mountain's waterway, they encountered an obstacle in the form of a giant whale. Laboon to be exact. The whale nearly ruptured their eardrums with his bellowing and, after a bit of a steering accident, broke the Going Merry's figurehead. Luffy,enraged by the damage done to his favorite seat, ended up punching Laboon in the eye. Laboon swallowed the ship in retaliation, nearly drowning Luffy when the rubberman fell off deck. He was currently outside and looking for a way to rescue his friends.

Kim often wondered when her life became so strange. Probably when she was being chased by a redheaded route Robot-man

For now, though, she tried not to think too hard about the situation the crew found themselves in.

Nami, on the other hand, was frantically trying to adjust.

"Don't you guys think we ought to be putting more effort into figuring a way out of this place?!" The navigator snapped at them through gritted teeth.

"Chill, Nacchan." Kim said breezily, waving aside the older girl's concern. "Everything happens for a reason, y'know. I'm sure we've been swallowed by a good reason."

Nami stared at Kim as if she were insane. She most likely was; Kim that is – not Nami. Well, maybe Nami too. The navigator sighed in frustration, wishing her nakama were a bit more normal.

"Hey," Sanji said suddenly, lurching forward with his eyes fixated on something in the water. Stomach acid. Kim copied him lazily, scanning over the liquid with little interest. "There's something happening over there!"

Nami turned to look as well, Zoro and Usopp joining in a moment later to see what had captivated the crew. It was almost comical the way everyone's eyes went wide as a giant squid, larger than any animal Kim had ever seen, rose from the water. The brunette felt mildy ill at the sight of the creature, its outer skin irritated looking from the effects of the stomach acid.

Usopp made a noise similar to that of a choked chicken and latched on to Kim like a lifeline, yanking her behind Sanji for protection. The girl sighed but allowed him to use her as a backup shield against the injured animal.

"It's a giant squid!" Nami screamed, clutching at Zoro's arm. The swordsman flinched as her nails dug into his skin, but allowed her to cling to him nonetheless.

Zoro and Sanji watched unflinchingly as the squid's long tentacles shot out in an attack, both tense in preparation of a counterattack.

However, just as Zoro pushed Nami in the direction of Usopp and Kim, the squid jerked unnaturally and a harpoon burst through the soft skin of its head. With a mighty splash, the squid hit the acid, rocking the boat with the waves, and twitched once before falling still – dead.

The teenagers turned their eyes to the tiny floating island, less than 20 feet from them.

The house aboard it was tiny and looked rather empty. All the lights were off and the doors left to hang open. However, from the dark depths of the home was a long chain, made of what seemed to be steel, that ran from somewhere inside all the way to the harpoon that had killed the squid.

Kim grinned to herself and wrestled out of Usopp's grip, depositing him on Nami instead. She moved to stand with Sanji and Zoro instead, the trio gathering around the front railing to observe the events at the moment.

"That was pretty bad ass," Kim smirked, rocking back on her heels.

"Seems like there's a dangerous person here." Zoro agreed grimly, hand resting on his swords. The movement would look casual to anyone who didn't know him but it was his subtle way of preparing for battle.

"Let's hope it's a person," the corner of Sanji's mouth quirked up in half of a smile as he spoke. Kim considered him for a moment, then grinned. He seemed excited, eager for someone to fight. In a way, he was rather similar to Zoro. Always ready for a fight, wanting a fight to keep him entertained. It was very appealing and Kim couldn't decide if she wanted to be friendly or flirtatious with the cook the way she was with Zoro.

The next few minutes went by quickly with the appearance of Crocus the Lighthouse Keeper and his anticlimactic ways. Kim thought Sanji's mistaking him for a flower was hilarious and was overtaken with a fit of giggling as she held him back from attacking the old man. Her shoulders shook with mirth as Crocus sat down in his folding chair, ignoring the pirate crew in favor of reading his newspaper.

Sanji relaxed into her grip gradually, chest heaving and eyes blazing with anger and annoyance. Kim hummed soothingly and propped her chin up on his shoulder, winding her arms around his waist and pulling him closer. Out of the corner of her eye, Kim caught Zoro glaring at them, an absolutely disgruntled look on his face and she grinned into Sanji's neck before reaching out and pulling the swordsman into her embrace alongside Sanji.

The cook and first mate froze at the close proximity but remained silent. Kim smiled contently from between them.

Usopp stepped up to the front of the crew, putting on a brave face and trying to be intimidating. "I-if it's a fight you want, t-then you've got one!"

Kim admired his sudden flash of courage, but couldn't understand his animosity towards the old doctor. Perhaps it was just her objective perspective of him, but she rather enjoyed his personality.

"Don't," Crocus warned. "Or someone might end up dead…"

"Oh yeah," Sanji smirked darkly. "And who would that be?"

"Me." The doctor said flatly.

Sanji jerked violently in Kim's grasp but the brunette still held onto him tightly. "You bastard! I'll kill you!"

Kim laughed hysterically and Zoro reached around her to hold onto Sanji as well, sandwhiching the blond between them. He struggled for another moment then fell back against them with a huff.

"Don't get so upset," Zoro grunted, letting him go after a moment, and moved to the railing. "Hey, ossan. Would you mind telling us who you are and what this place is?"

"…. It's common courtesy to introduce yourself first." Crocus frowned.

"Oh, sorry." Zoro apologized almost polietely. "I'm Roronoa Zo–"

Crocus cut him off. "My name is Crocus and I am the Keeper of Twin Capes Lighthouse. I'm seventy-one years old, a Gemini and my blood-type is AB."

A vein throbbed at Zoro's temple and a spasm ran though his body. Kim and Sanji lunged forward as the swordsman began unsheathing his weapons. "Nobody minds if I kill him, right?!"

Kim reached up and slapped the back of his head. "I mind, you dang marimo. Get away from the railing before you bust a blood vessel."

With some help from Sanji, Kim managaed to pull the swordsman back and stepped in front of him with a smile. "I apologize for the boys' attitudes, Crocus-san. I'm Kimiya Leonore, the Chronicler of this crew, and these are my nakama – Zoro, Sanji, Nami and Usopp. That sweetheart over there is Jianyu – not quite sure what he is but it's cute. We'd be very grateful if you could tell us about what's going on. We're a little… disoriented at the moment."

"You fellas might want to use her as an example for respect." Crocus grunted. "To answer your question, young man, does this look like the stomach of a mouse to you? You've been swallowed by a whale."

Nami made a distressed noise. "What'll we do?! I don't want to be digested!"

"Welcome to the great Starship Grandline," Kim muttered sarcastically. "We'll put it up to a vote every five years if you want to keep living here or just forget that this is actually a whale. Thank you and have a nice day."

"The exit's over there." Crocus said simply, gesturing to a pair of giant iron doors just behind them. Kim hoped that Laboon was tranquilized when they were installed.

"There's an exit?!" Nami cried in disbelief, the boys echoing her.

Kim offered them an unimpressed look. "You guys need to be more observant." She scolded.

Usopp looked mildly ill. "We're in a whale's stomach and you've painted it to look like the outside. What kind of person are you? That's just wrong. What the heck are you doing in here anyway!"

Zoro frowned and caught the sniper by the arm, pulling the enraged sniper away from the railing. "Leave it alone, man. Let's just get out of here."

Usopp continued to look upset, but fell silent as everyone jumped to their posts. Together, they began to move the Going Merry towards the exit with Kim managing the rudder as carefully as she could, The boys brought out the oars and prepared to row but, before they could even get them in place, a great rumble shook the ship and sent them tumbling to the ground.

Kim yelped and flung herself away from the rudder, not wanting to chance throwing the ship off even further if she grabbed onto it to hold herself in place. Instead, she fell into the kitchen table, screaming out for a moment as her back hit it violently, but clung to the bolted down table.

"What the hell was that?!"

"Look guys!" Nami said suddenly, pointing at the 'island' Crocus lived on. Kim couldn't see what was happening outside the galley, but she knew that the rest of the crew had finally seen the iron lining around the bottom of the island. "It's actually a ship!"

"If we stay here any longer our ship will be dissolved!" Usopp yelped. "Hey, ossan! What's going on? Give us an explanation!"

"This whale," Crocus said grimly, "has started bashing his head against the Red Line again."

"WHAT?!"

"I remember now," Nami spoke up, a look of realization crossing her face. "There were scars all over the whale's head!"

"Suicidal maybe? But why? Surely there's a reason – reason for all this too. So let's ask. You've obviously been here a while – all this is your handy work after all. Painted ceilings, giant doors, a house built to withstand destruction. So, tell us, what's wrong swith the whale?" Kim finished with a flourish, quirking an eyebrow at Crocus as she exited the galley, swaying in time with the swell of the waves. "And how to we get him to stop all this madness?"

Crocus frowned at her. "Laboon – this whale – is extremely heartbroken and doing the only thing he belives he can do in order to relieve that pain. So far, I've found that nothing can tame him other than tranquilizers."

"Ever heard the phrase, 'music soothes the savage beast'?" Kim deadpanned.

"I believe that would only make things worse," Crocus said solemnly, tossing his newspaper to the side and moving to the side of his ship. "Don't be troubled by the actions of this whale. Just get out of here while you can."

With that said, Crocus leapt into the acid with dramatic flourish.

"Well," Kim said with false cheer. "That went great. Now, who else thinks that wasn't the entire truth?"

The rest of the crew raised their hands.