Sora slipped out of the pantry, stepping lightly across the wooden planks. The distant clash of steel and guttural war cries filtered down from the deck above, providing a perfect cover for his movement. His new body responded with a grace that felt both foreign and intoxicating—muscles coiling and releasing with minimal effort, balance shifting seamlessly as the ship rocked beneath his feet.
This is actually kinda fun, Sora thought, weaving between stacked crates and barrels. If I weren't about to be gutted by pirates, I might actually enjoy this little body upgrade.
The hold was a labyrinth of cargo and shadows, but Sora navigated it with surprising ease, letting his heightened senses guide him. The smell of saltwater grew stronger in one direction, and beneath it, the subtle scent of freedom.
He followed his nose until he reached a half-open cargo hatch near the stern. Cool sea air rushed in, carrying the tang of brine and the promise of escape. Sora crouched low, peering through the gap.
The sight below made his heart leap. Two small skiffs bobbed gently in the water alongside the ship, tethered by fraying ropes. Just a quick dash, a jump, and he'd be away from this nightmare.
A flash of movement caught his eye. Near one of the boats, a familiar orange-haired figure struggled with a bulging sack, her small frame straining under its weight as she attempted to heave it into the nearest skiff.
The girl from the pantry—what had she called herself? A specialized treasure hunter? She'd nearly finished loading what appeared to be quite the haul.
Not my problem, Sora thought, glancing at the second, unattended skiff on the far side.
Before he could make his move, shadows detached themselves from the darkness surrounding the girl. One, two, three... six pirates emerged, effectively cutting off her escape route. Their weapons gleamed dully in the dim light filtering through the hatch.
"Well, well, well," the largest of the pirates drawled, a mountain of a man with a beard like a rat's nest and arms thick as tree trunks. "Look what we have here. The pretty little 'Cat Burglar' thought she could take our treasure."
Sora ducked back behind a stack of barrels, his heart hammering. The second skiff remained untouched, unguarded. No one had spotted him. He could slip away while they were distracted with the thief girl, and no one would be any wiser.
The orange-haired girl stood her ground, one hand clutching a small staff-like object. Despite being thoroughly outnumbered, her eyes blazed with defiance.
"Captain Alveda," she shot back, voice steady and cold. "She told me to move it here."
The lead pirate laughed—a wet, gurgling sound that reminded Sora of sewage backing up through a drain. He took a step closer to the girl, towering over her petite frame.
"Don't worry, little kitty," he sneered, yellow teeth bared in what might generously be called a smile. "We'll be sure to... thank you properly for gathering it all in one place for us. A pretty thing like you shouldn't be left all alone."
The other pirates snickered, forming a tighter circle around her. Their intentions couldn't have been clearer if they'd spelled them out.
Sora's hand tightened on the edge of the barrel.
Not my fight. Not my world. Not my problem.
He glanced again at the empty skiff. Freedom was right there, just waiting for him to take it.
Then his gaze returned to the scene unfolding below. The biggest pirate was reaching for the girl now, his meaty fingers stretching toward her face. The leer on his face made Sora's stomach turn.
Sora's eyes scanned his surroundings, landing on a loose wooden plank about four feet long, hefty enough to do some damage. Without consciously deciding to act, he found himself grabbing it, testing its weight in his hands.
This is stupid. This is REALLY stupid, Sora's logical mind screamed. You just got to this world. You have no idea how anything works. You don't even know if you have powers!
But his body was already moving, silent as a shadow, circling behind the group of pirates. They were so focused on their prey, so secure in their numerical advantage, they never thought to watch their backs.
Sora positioned himself directly behind the bearded giant. The man was saying something else now, something that made the other pirates laugh harder and the girl's eyes narrow to slits of pure hatred.
Sora lifted the plank high above his head. For a split second, he hesitated.
I should run. The logical choice is to run.
Then the pirate reached for the girl's shirt, and Sora's grip tightened.
Screw logic.
He brought the plank down with every ounce of strength his strange new body possessed.
KRA-KOOM!
The sound wasn't just the crack of wood on bone. It was wetter, deeper—like someone had dropped a watermelon from a fifth-story window. The bearded giant's eyes glazed over instantly. His massive frame swayed for a heartbeat before collapsing to the deck with a thunderous THUD.
Sora blinked, momentarily stunned by the effectiveness of his attack.
Five pairs of pirate eyes and one pair of wide brown ones swiveled to stare at him. The silence was absolute, broken only by the gentle lapping of water against the hull.
Holy shit, Sora thought, looking from the fallen giant to the plank in his hands. Was he that weak, or am I just that strong?
A slow, predatory grin spread across his face as he felt power humming through his muscles. He casually rested the plank on his shoulder, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Alright, who's next?" Sora called out, the grin never leaving his face. "Don't be shy. There's plenty of floor space for all of you."
The pirates' shock lasted precisely three seconds more before dissolving into rage. With incoherent howls, they charged him as one.
The first swung a rusty cutlass at Sora's head. He brought the plank up instinctively.
CLANG!
The blade bit into the wood but stuck there, failing to cleave through completely. Sora yanked sideways, wrenching the weapon from the pirate's grip.
Two more rushed him from either side. Sora dropped low and spun, sweeping the plank in a wide arc.
SWOOSH-WHAP!
The makeshift weapon connected with their ankles, sending them tumbling to the deck in a tangle of limbs and curses.
A fourth pirate lunged with a dagger. Sora sidestepped and jabbed the end of the plank forward like a spear, catching the man square in the solar plexus.
The pirate's breath left him in a strangled wheeze. He doubled over, retching and gagging.
The fifth tried to circle behind Sora, but he was too slow, too clumsy. Sora whirled and brought the flat of the plank across the man's face with a resounding CRACK!
Blood erupted from the pirate's nose as he stumbled backward, howling in pain.
Within moments, all five were down—some groaning, others unconscious, none an immediate threat. Sora stood amidst the carnage, breathing a bit harder than normal but feeling a rush of exhilaration unlike anything he'd experienced before.
He turned to the orange-haired girl, who stared at him with an unreadable expression. Sora couldn't help himself; he flashed her his most infuriatingly smug grin.
"See? Told you I'd find another place to hide," he said, twirling the bloodied plank like a baton. "Sometimes you just have to make one."
The girl's eyes widened suddenly. "LOOK OUT, YOU IDIOT!" she screamed.
Sora began to turn, but too late. A low, animal growl rumbled from behind him. The bearded giant, apparently more hard-headed than Sora had given him credit for, had staggered back to his feet. Blood matted his hair and ran down one side of his face, but his eyes burned with murderous intent. He raised a massive club high, aiming for the back of Sora's head.
FWOOSH-THWACK-THWACK-THWACK!
The orange-haired girl moved like lightning. What had been a small, collapsed baton in her hand suddenly extended into a three-section staff. She darted past Sora, her weapon a blur as she struck the giant in rapid succession—temple, jaw, back of knee.
THUD!
The giant crashed back to the deck, and this time, he stayed down.
Sora stared at the girl, genuinely impressed. "That was... unexpected."
She shot him a withering look, collapsing her staff with a quick twist and returning it to her belt. "You're welcome for saving your stupid, show-off life."
"Show-off?" Sora pressed a hand to his chest. "I just took out five pirates for you!"
"After I saved you in the pantry," she countered, already turning back to her bag of treasure. "Consider us even."
Sora snorted. "You didn't save me. You slapped me."
"Same thing," she muttered, heaving the sack toward the skiff again. "You needed sense knocked into you."
Above them, the sounds of battle intensified. Something heavy crashed across the deck, and the entire ship groaned in protest.
"We need to get out of here," the girl said, finally managing to drop her loot into the small boat. "Lady Alvida will send more men when these don't report back."
Sora glanced at the empty skiff on the far side. "No problem. You take that one, I'll take the other, and we'll both sail off into the sunset. Separately."
The girl gave him a look that suggested he was possibly the dumbest creature she'd ever encountered. "Do you know how to sail?"
Sora opened his mouth, then closed it again. He'd never been on a sailboat in his life.
"That's what I thought," she said, smirking. "Besides, there's a storm coming from the northeast. You'd capsize within an hour."
Sora narrowed his eyes, suspicious. "And how exactly would you know that? The sky was clear when I..." He trailed off, realizing he had no idea how long he'd been unconscious before waking in the cabin.
The girl tapped her temple. "I can sense weather patterns. It's a gift."
"Right," Sora drawled. "And I'm supposed to just trust the girl who steals from pirates for a living?"
"You don't have to trust me. Stay here if you want. I'm sure Lady Alvida will be thrilled to meet the person who knocked out six of her men."
Sora grimaced. She had a point.
"Fine," he conceded. "But I want a cut of whatever's in that sack."
The girl's eyes flashed dangerously. "Not happening. This isn't partnership loot; this is my score. I tracked this ship for three days."
"And I just saved you from becoming pirate entertainment," Sora shot back. "Seems like that's worth something."
They glared at each other for a long, tense moment. Finally, the girl sighed in frustration.
"Twenty percent," she offered. "And you row while I navigate."
"Forty," Sora countered. "And I want to know your name. I'm tired of calling you 'thief girl' in my head."
A ghost of a smile flickered across her face. "Thirty percent, I navigate, and you can call me Nami."
"Sora," he replied, extending his hand. "Delahaye D. Sora."
Nami's eyebrows rose slightly at his full name, but she shook his hand briefly. Another crash from above, closer this time, and the distinct sound of a woman's enraged bellowing.
"Time to go," Nami said, jumping lightly into the skiff. "Cut the ropes once you're in."
Sora climbed down after her, severing the tethers with a nearby knife. The small boat immediately began to drift away from the pirate ship.
"So," Sora said, settling onto the rowing bench across from Nami. "Where exactly are we headed?"
Nami pulled a small compass from her satchel and checked their heading. "There's a small trading port about six hours' sail from here. We can sell the loot and figure out our next move."
"Our next move?" Sora raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realize we were a team now."
Nami gave him an assessing look, her brown eyes calculating. "We're not. But you're clearly new around these waters, you have no money, and you just made an enemy of Lady Alvida. Plus..."
She paused, studying his strange golden eyes with their concentric red rings.
"You look like you have no idea what you're doing, do you?"
Sora grimaced. "That obvious, huh?"
"Painfully," Nami replied. "Which means you need someone who knows these seas to help you figure it out before you get yourself killed. And I could use a strong arm for my next job."
"Next job?" Sora asked warily.
Nami smiled, a sly, secretive expression that somehow made her even prettier. "Nothing dangerous. Just a simple treasure map that needs retrieving."
"Why do I get the feeling that 'simple' means something very different to you than it does to me?" Sora muttered, but he began rowing in the direction she indicated.
Behind them, the pirate ship grew smaller in the distance. Shouts and the clash of weapons still echoed across the water.
"What's happening back there, anyway?" Sora asked.
Nami's expression hardened slightly. "No idea. I was too busy trying not to get caught. Whatever it is, it was the perfect distraction."
Sora fell silent, focusing on the rhythm of rowing. His new muscles responded beautifully, making the work almost effortless. As they put distance between themselves and the ship, he found himself oddly excited despite the absurdity of his situation.
He'd been thrust into a world he knew nothing about, with powers he didn't understand, alongside a thief he wasn't sure he could trust. By any rational standard, he should be panicking.
Instead, he felt strangely alive. Challenged. As if he'd been sleepwalking through his previous life and had finally woken up.
Well, Cosmic Clerical Error God, Sora thought, watching Nami check her compass again, you may have put me in the wrong world, but at least you made it interesting.