"Get him out of here!"
Naru sighed and rubbed her forehead. The entire village had gathered in the middle of the main street, apparently waiting to celebrate the successful hunt. The second their eyes had landed on Kurama, they had panicked and now they were all trying to cower behind the village elder.
"He's harmless, you know?" Naru groaned. "I already made him swear—"
"Harmless!?" the elder shouted. "You, I'm sure you're his companion now, and you're going to help him kill us!"
Kurama looked like he was having tons of fun. He had clasped his hands behind his back, and was smiling widely.
"Trust me, he wouldn't need any help with that," Naru mumbled to herself. Her injured leg was slowly starting to feel numb, and she needed to treat the cut soon, or it would get infected. "Look, you can tie us down if you want," she said and raised her hands. "We'll leave tomorrow when the cargo ship makes port here, but both of us need to treat our wounds."
The elder furrowed his brow, but before he could speak again, the child from last night broke away from the crowd.
"Inari!"
He ignored his mother's shrill voice and jumped out of reach from the elder, who had tried to grab hold of him. Without looking at Kurama, he walked up to Naru. He flinched at the sight of her wound, and quickly grabbed hold of her hand.
"Does it hurt?" he asked quietly.
"Nah, not so much anymore," Naru said and crouched down next to him. "But I still need to treat it."
Inari nodded and swallowed thickly before glancing over at Kurama. "Y-you... you're injured too, right?" he mumbled.
With a chuckle, Kurama followed Naru's example and bent down. "A little," he said and placed a hand on Inari's head. "Most of this ain't my blood, though."
Naru frowned as Inari shivered, and she batted away Kurama's hand. "Could you read the situation and be a little more refined?" she muttered.
"That's okay, mister," Inari said and tugged on Naru's hand. He looked shaken, but determined. "You can sleep in my room tonight, we have bandaids and stuff like that..."
Inari's mother emitted a squealing sound and pleadingly looked at the elder, who took a few deep breaths before pointing at Naru with a shaking finger. "Fine," he wheezed. "You can stay at the inn, but you'll be responsible for everything he does while he's here."
"Naturally," Naru said and bowed her head. "You have my gratitude."
The elder scoffed, but he didn't look too harsh anymore. Inari smiled at Naru and pulled her towards the inn. As they moved, all the villagers hurried out of the way.
Well inside the inn, Inari led them to their room and left them for a moment to fetch the first-aid kit.
"See, I told you I could handle them," Naru said as she let herself fall down on the bed.
"Without that kid, we'd be sleepin' in the woods this night," Kurama snickered. "And die from frostbite."
Inari returned shortly with a box full of medicine and bandaids. He handed the kit to Naru, and after sending Kurama an uncertain smile, he left the room.
"Can I ask you a personal question?" Naru asked when the sound of Inari's footsteps faded.
"If I can ask ya one first."
Somewhat surprised, Naru halted the search for a balm for her cut. She stared at Kurama for a couple of seconds before nodding. "Shoot."
"Why didn't ya correct that kid when he called ya 'mister'?"
"Oh." Naru rolled her shoulders and resumed her search. "Old habit," she said. "The people of my village used to tease me to no end about how a girl can't become the Pirate King. So I figure, if no one can tell I'm actually a girl, there should be no problems. Seems like it's working, though," she added and grinned.
"'s that so." Kurama picked up a roll of bandaid and bounced it up and down in his hand a few times.
"Just out of curiosity, how did you know I was a woman when you first saw me?" Naru wondered.
Kurama snickered. "I'm observant," he said. "If someone would just take a quick look at ya, yer all male, but ya got some features only women have."
"Like what, give me an example," Naru demanded.
"Fer starters, I ain't never seen a man with such narrow shoulders," Kurama said and started counting on his fingers. "Yer hands are way too small ta be a man's, yer upper body is too short, yer legs are—"
"Alright, alright, I got it, you're observant." Naru winced as she carefully smeared a soothing lotion over her wound. "So, all the things that make me more feminine are things I can't change," she sighed. "Great."
"Don't fret, sweetheart," Kurama jingled. "I doubt many will actually care enough ta be as observant as I was."
"Is 'sweetheart' really a necessary nickname?" Naru growled.
Kurama let out a bark of laughter. "Didn't ya wanna ask me somethin'?"
Naru sent him an irritated glare before nodding. "Yeah. Inari says you saw him the night you destroyed all those boats. Why didn't you kill him?"
The smile disappeared from Kurama's face and was replaced by a slight frown. He took his time before answering, as if he himself was searching for the answer. "I dunno, really," he said slowly. "Just didn't feel like it at the time, I s'pose."
"That's why I'm having a hard time believing you would be a demon," Naru said spitefully. "You've got a soft spot, a really tiny one, but I know it exists."
"Don't get yer hopes up high, sweetheart," Kurama said maliciously and tilted his head to the side. "I could go downstairs an' kill 'em all right now if I wanted to, but I'm a man of my words, and I promised not to."
Naru scoffed, but didn't press the matter. She was busy preparing a needle and thread to sow her wound shut.
At noon the next day, Kurama and Naru stood at the docks with Inari. They were waiting for the cargo ship, which was scheduled to arrive any minute now. Naru was tentatively bouncing up and down on her left leg, testing if it was healthy enough to walk on. She'd sown it shut last night and rolled a few bandaids over it, and the pain had almost vanished completely.
"Where are you going now?" Inari asked.
"West Blue," Naru said. "The cargo ship stops at Wayward Island. I'm hoping to find a ship there. Or a navigator."
"What do you need a navigator for?"
"Can't go to the Grand Line without a navigator, can we?"
Inari blinked a few times. "You're a pirate?" he asked in disbelief.
"Didn't I say that?" Naru scratched her neck and grinned. "Well, yeah, I... we are pirates." She pointed at Kurama. "I'm gonna become the Pirate King."
"Whoaa..."
"'s that our ride?"
Kurama raised his hand and pointed towards the horizon, where a large ship with white sails had just shown itself.
"Yeah, that would be it." Naru grinned excitedly. "Finally, I can get closer to the Grand Line, and to One Piece."
The ship sailed closer and closer, and when the time for goodbyes came, Inari gave Naru's hand a quick squeeze. He offered Kurama a smile and waved at him before running back towards the village.
"Cute kid," Naru said as they boarded the cargo ship. "Might pay him a visit after I become king."
"Then ya gotta stay alive that long, sweetheart," Kurama hummed.
Naru ignored him and leaned over the railing, eagerly looking out over the sea. "We'll need a navigator, a cook, a shipwright, a doctor... and a ship." She grinned at Kurama. "Let's find a new crew mate and set sail for Grand Line."
"Aye aye, cap'n."