Chapter 9 – Meat chunks
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(Emma POV)

After the mock fight Robin and I had, Dad brought us back to the ship and sat us on a pair deck. Once Robin and I were able to move again we started to prepare our things to set sail towards the North Blue, not that there was much to prepare, Mom had already gathered everything necessary for the voyage. But before we left the island Dad had come up to me and told me something I didn't expect.

"After we get past the Calm belt I'm locking you inside the ship along with Robin." not comprehending what he meant I asked.

"What do you mean locking us in the ship?  It's not like we can leave it if we are in the middle of the sea". Looking at me like how Mom normally looks at him, I took some offense from that and was about to increase the gravity around him before my ability suddenly stopped and I was bonked on the head.

"Don't look at our daughter like she's stupid when it's your fault for not explaining clearly." Rubbing my head where she just bonked it Mom then continued speaking while looking down at me.

"And you, if you're trying to make it harder for your Dad then you need to create an area and not target him directly. Your gap in strength is too large. Also what he means to say is that once we leave the safety and boredom of the calm belt you and Robin will have to stay inside either the storage room or down in the hull so that you can't see anything happening in the new world". This didn't clear up any of my confusion and only raised more questions for me to ask.

"Why can't I see what's happening on the outside? It's not like Zunesha or anything else will be a surprise for me. Also, how is the calm belt safer than the new world with all the sea kings that lurk underwater there". Now patting my head instead of rubbing it Mom spoke again.

"You may know some of what is out there but that's completely different than experiencing it. We want you to experience it for the first time once you're strong enough to go without us. Also, it's boring because there are so many sea kings." I was about to argue about how that didn't make any sense but before I could Mom bonked me on the head again and spoke with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"So you'll stay inside the ship without complaining and wait to see it with your own eyes until you're strong enough. Right?" The only thing I was able to do under that gaze was to nod my head and once I did her smile finally became a real one.

"Good, I'm so proud of how smart my daughter is, also don't worry about coming out for food. I'll bring it to you girls every day." With that, she patted my head for a few more moments before sending a glare at Dad and then walking off towards Robin probably to tell her the same thing.

"What did I do wrong this time"? Ignoring my Dad I walked off to lift my weights while complaining in my mind about how unfair being a child is but I also remember to try what Mom told me and activate an area around Dad increasing the density on him as much as I can handle while I'm still Lifting.

After finishing my daily gains I deactivated my ability around my Dad, although it seemed he didn't even notice the change as all he did was scratch his head while looking confused and then questioned. "I thought your mother told you to use an area, why are you still targeting me directly?"

'Dammit, just you wait, one day when I'm in my prime and you're an old man I'll show you the difference in the two' Swearing to myself that one day I'd get my revenge I went to the library in search of Robin to tease my frustrations away while ignoring my now apologizing and laughing Dad.

Entering the calm belt the atmosphere notably changed, mainly because there were no air currents but also because my Dad started to laugh as loud as he could, breaking the tranquil feeling we had going on for the last few days.

"FINALLY! YAYAYAYAYA, Time to have some fun!" Before Robin or I could question what was going on with my Dad he dived into the sea causing no ripples and scoring a perfect 10. I was about to ask my Mom who was now heading towards our direction what that was about before a shadow underwater that was many times larger than the ship shot up in the air rocking the ship violently.

It was a giant sea king that looked like a white scaled cobra with a yellow and green striped elongated mouth but the lower half of its body was missing and a trail of blood and innards was flowing from the wound.

"YAYAYAYAYA." shooting out of the water closely behind the cobra was my laughing Dad who had an expression on his face as if he was a kid getting a new toy.

"Oh, looks like he found something tasty for dinner." My Mom stated while walking up to Robin and me. That snapped me out of my confusion and the same could be said for Robin if her now pondering expression said anything.

"To think he'd just jump in the calm belt and hunt for sea kings, isn't it supposed to be the other way around normally?"

"For normal people, yes, but for the strong, the calm belt is more of an all-you-can-eat buffet depending on if the sea kings don't run away before you can catch them". Answering Robin's question just seemed to give her another one as she asked Mom.

"If that's the case then why bother with the sea prism coating on the bottom of the ship". Patting Robin on the head with an amused smile on her face Mom answered.

"Even if we can beat the sea kings without problem it would still get annoying and take up too much time if they could detect our ship as the less intelligent ones would constantly try to eat us." Understanding seemed to dawn on Robin as her face went a little red at the expression Mom was showing her. Deciding to save Robin from further teasing that isn't coming from myself I cut in.

"Huh, I haven't had the chance to cook sea king yet, this should be fun." Successfully drawing both their attention and then mine to the only half of the sea king that surfaced I couldn't help but stare at the beast thinking of the last snake-type creature I helped cook and eat. At first, I was completely opposed to the idea of eating something slithery like that but after my Dad convinced me to at least watch him prepare it I ended up enamored by the smell, and my hunger for tasty foods exploded along with my wanting to know how to cook them.

After that, I dropped my prejudice to strange foods and my Dad would instruct me on ways to season and marinade different wildlife and marine wildlife and I have to say the methods along with all the different types of spices are far more diverse than in my last life, probably due to the abundance of strange and far differing environments of this world.

"EMMA! Come help your father bring the cut-up chunks on board". While still floating in the sea my dad yelled to me and while waving towards me and pointing at the sea king which was now cut into giant meat cubes. I was going to ask when he did that before I realized I was just lost in thought and now both Robin and Mom were staring while laughing at my rapidly changing expressions.

'Et Tu, Robin? I expected my mom to laugh at me but I tried to help you earlier.' thinking about how to get revenge on her for a moment I then drew my attention to the bobbing meat chunks.

Activating my ability I targeted the cubes and pulled them into the air before guiding them on the ship and placing them on a spot we keep clean for such situations, at first I was confused on why we needed a designated area of the ship to remain spotless for meat but after living on the ship for a while it became obvious that a large area is needed for the amount of meat a single fish can provide, even small ones in this world would be considered world records on Earth and you want to keep your food clean so Meat Corner is the solution.

Jumping back aboard the ship Dad started to head to the kitchen while whistling and pointing at the meat and I understood what he meant but I refused to move. Noticing me not lift the meat using my ability Dad stopped walking and looked back at me in confusion.

"Why aren't you-" before he could finish I cut him off by launching a meat chunk at his face.

"Don't just whistle like that, at least use your words to ask for help... and you wonder why Mom calls you stupid" Looking at my Dad in disappointment I couldn't help but wonder how he convinced my Mom to get married to such low people skills.

After this cycle continued for a few more days it was time to be thrown into the metaphorical dungeon that is the ship where no light from the outside world can reach and no tale of adventure can be told but this did give me one story.

Once Robin and I were inside the storage room It was finally the long-awaited time for revenge. I've avoided any form of jokes for the last few days to make her on edge for the next one and now was the time to act.

I jumped at her wrapping both of my arms around one of hers while fidgeting nervously and looking around the room in a panic before saying. "It's too dark in here, I can't see where I'm going. Let me hold on to you for both our safety".

Being surprised for a second at how blatant my acting was Robin immediately broke free from my grasp and spoke with a tinge of annoyance in her voice. "And here I was expecting something big with how you've been acting recently. If you're going to use shitty excuses to tease me then at least find ones that make sense, this entire room is lit up by more than enough cand-".

Before she could finish her sentence though I had already used my ability on the candles effectively blowing out their flame and then proceeded to cling to Robin's arm again surprising her for a second time at the sudden turn of events before I said. "See, my Observation Haki is so good I can see into the future and the only thing I see right now is you playing the big spoon and me playing the little spoon."

Hearing her exaggerated sigh and feeling her let lose all the tension in her shoulders I took this plan as a success and proclaimed. "Mission Accomplished".

This caused Robin to bonk me on the head with her free arm. She still let me be and cling to her though so it's a win-win for me. 'It looks like these next few months won't be as boring as I first thought they'd be.'

Thinking this I continued to tease Robin while not crossing any lines.'Hugging and patting is ok but anything further than that will have to wait until she's older

Beginning to become lost in thought about the future and how she would be older than old enough by the time I was old enough, my thoughts eventually derailed to the other possible members of my crew. I couldn't help but hope that I'm at least able to make it in time to gather everyone. 'I have 4 more years to find everyone before it's too late.'

Perhaps noticing something wrong Robin inquired with a worried tone "Is everything ok, you never willingly stop patting me".

At first, I was confused as to what she meant until I realized my hand was just sitting motionlessly on her head, suddenly feeling warm at the genuine concern she had in her voice. I couldn't help but smile, thankfully she can't see my face right now. Masking my currently raging emotions I started to tease her exaggeratedly.

"Awwww, Robin you care for me so much KYAKYAKYA, I feel so much better now that you asked. Don't worry, come here let me hug you as a reward." While wrapping my arms around her and rubbing the top of her head with mine contentedly I wasn't able to notice the concern Robin still had on her face.

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