"We don't have time to look for him!" Nami chided the blue haired girl, who was refusing to climb onto the ship for a silly reason. They can't stay on the Island for too long. Who knows when the Baroque Works would decide to attack them?
"I am not going to just leave him here!" Vivi retorted, running her gaze everywhere worriedly.
"But listen-!" Nami was about to talk some sense into the princess when another voice butted in their conversation.
"Hey! What's the problem?!" Zoro asked, looking at the two bickering women.
"Apparently her duck's gone missing and now she is refusing to leave without him!" Nami provided Zoro and turned back to reason with the princess.
"Oh! Are you talking about this guy?" Luffy asked as he appeared out of nowhere, petting the head of the kind duck, which was giving him a free ride, which in turn allowed Zoro to move freely and assist Sanji and Usopp in getting Merry ready to set sail.
"He's here?!" Nami and Vivi yelled in unison.
"Carried Luffy all the way back here!" Zoro said pointing at the duck, who lifted his one arm in the air to his owner and quacked. When they were leaving the tavern, the duck was standing just near by and had blocked their way, to just look at Luffy who was peaking at the duck from Zoro's shoulder. That had been weird when the duck quacked once more and began nudging on Luffy as if it wanted to carry Luffy or had declared him as his friend. It was really strange to see that.
"There's a tributary just up the river. If we take it, we can get out of here faster!" Vivi provided as she began climbing on the ship, having no reason to stay on the Island anymore.
"Let's set sail!" Luffy cheered, as the ship began to thread the waters.
"Hey, how many people do you think Baroque Works will send after us?" Zoro asked as he approached the princess who was sitting beside her duck.
"I am not sure. I know there are about 2000 loyal employees in Baroque Works, and I know there are certain bases like this one set up in some other areas." Vivi informed the group.
"You really mean they could send a thousand people after us?!" Nami asked with wide eyes to Vivi.
"Will anyone explain to us what the hell is going on?!" Sanji asked as he chewed on the butt of his cigarette angrily. The mosshead had refused to answer what was going on and not to mention, Luffy had given them orders, which he uses rarely.
"Can't we have just stayed there for one more night?!" Usopp asked the next, not wanting to focus on Nami's words of thousands of people going to come after them.
"The town was full of amazing and cute girls!" Sanji gushed thinking of the lovely ladies he had the chance to meet. Ah, what will he not do to spend such a lovely night with beautiful and charming ladies?
"Who knows if we can ever have this much fun again!" Usopp yelled out the next. Why were they leaving? Why was Nami talking about a thousand people coming after them?! He didn't understand and that is why he wanted to stay on the paradise of the Island they were leaving from.
"Even pirates deserve a vacation!" Sanji supported Usopp, wanting to stay in the company of the lovely ladies.
"We should have just left them there," Zoro spoke irritatedly before looking at Luffy who was sitting on the figurehead with his eyes closed as if he was concentrating on something.
He noted belatedly that there was no yelling coming out from the duo anymore, which really eased him. He saw Nami coming out from the upper deck and connected the dots of why the duo was not yelling anymore.
True to Zoro's conclusion, on the upper deck, both Sanji and Usopp were lying sprawled out with huge bumps on their head.
"We should be reaching the sea soon," Vivi pointed out.
"Finally, it's getting light out," Nami chimed in, as the fog was slowly making its way to the dawn.
"Are we playing a game of hide and seek?" Luffy asked, already feeling the new presence arriving amongst them.
"Nope, we aren't," Nami provided without thinking, but Zoro raised an eyebrow at Luffy's abrupt comment.
"I know you are here," Luffy stated with a sigh, as he stood up on the figurehead and turned around to look at the woman who was seated on the railing near the door to the galley. Luffy could see the woman flinch but quickly hide it. The fog was the perfect opportunity for the woman to leave, but she didn't, which meant that she had business to do.
"Oh my," The lady whose left hand was on her face, and her cowboy hat shadowing her eyes spoke. "Your reputation certainly precedes you, Monkey D. Luffy."
"WHA?!"
"IT'S YOU!"
"I just happened to run into your dear Mr. 8 a little way back. He didn't look so good." The mysterious lady spoke particularly to the princess while carrying an aura of puzzlement around her.
"So it was you who killed Igaram!" Vivi gritted her teeth at the figure in anger.
"Liar," Luffy spoke as he looked at her in the eyes. "Why do you lie, Nico Robin?"
The figure, Nico Robin's eyes flew wide open for a moment, before she tugged her hat to cover her eyes to avoid eye contact with the kid who was the captain of the Strawhat Pirates with a bounty of 50 million beli.
"Luffy, do you know her?!" Nami questioned turning to the teen, who didn't look childish right now.
"Why are you avoiding the revs, Robin?" Luffy asked as he showed his eyes. He knew the woman was good as he had been told by his Dad. He had been told how she had been hunted by the World Government since she was 8 years old, a tender age at which everything which she held dear was snatched away from her. The woman was strong to keep surviving and going on and Luffy respected that. "You know it, right, that you'll be protected and safe there?" Luffy asked looking at Robin while cocking his head a little.
Everyone who knew about Luffy's Dad understood from where Luffy learned of the woman, but still, why was she of that importance to the Revolutionaries for Luffy, who barely remembers someone name, to remember hers?
Robin looked at the kid, masking her shock with a small smile on her face. There were reasons that she wouldn't ever like to discuss on this ship about why she couldn't join the Revolutionary Army, but something compelled her to speak the words that came out of her mouth. "I can't trust strangers." She saw the teen nod his head as if he respected her decision.
Robin was really glad for the awkward conversation to finally end when the Princess of Arabasta thought that it was enough and decided to screech her lungs at her.
"What are you doing here, Miss All Sunday?!" Vivi shouted at the woman, who was the highest-ranking officer of the Baroque Works.
"Which of the number of guys is she partnered with?" Nami asked turning to Vivi.
"Her partner is Mr. 0, the boss himself," Vivi answered back.
"Crocodile is her partner?!" Nami yelled out, her eyes wide.
"She was the only one who knew the Boss's identity. That's how we found out who he actually is!" Vivi replied. "By following her back to him!"
"To be accurate I allowed it," Robin spoke with a light smile on her face.
"I knew you were there. You told the boss what we knew! Didn't you?" Vivi angrily glared at the woman.
"That's right," Robin affirmed nonchalantly.
"You still haven't told us what you are doing here!" Vivi pointed out, gritting her teeth.
"Oh, right," Robin chuckled in her hands. "You were just as serious as the whole thing that I couldn't help myself. A princess doing whatever it will take to save her country by making herself the enemy of Baroque works. The idea was just so ridiculous that I couldn't help myself."
"You killed him!" Vivi howled, her pain and tears showing how much she was hurt due to the death of her caretaker, who was literally there for her since she was born.
The next second, Usopp and Sanji were standing at the left and right side of Miss All Sunday who was still sitting like a queen. Usopp raising his slingshot and Sanji pointing a gun at the woman. On the deck, near the mast, Zoro had his sword out of the hilt and Nami was holding out her boo staff. They were all ready to attack.
In all, Luffy's eyes were shadowed as he looked at Robin, not getting why the woman was acting the way she was.
"Sanji? You do realize what you're doing here, right?" Usopp asked the blonde, who shook his head.
"Not a clue. I just know that the beautiful Miss Wednesday needs me," Sanji replied.
"I'd really appreciate it if you would stop pointing such dangerous weapons at me," Miss All Sunday spoke, flinging the blonde-haired and long-nose guy on the deck, all the while simultaneously making the green-haired man and the orange-haired woman defenseless.
"Stop right there," Luffy voiced out, stepping forward and stopping Robin from making any other move and his friends from questioning the woman.
Luffy glared at Robin, his eyes looking straight through her soul, making her freeze at the scarlet eyes that looked at her obsidian blue ones. Robin could've sworn that the teen's eyes were brown not scarlet, which were looking through her soul as if she was laid bare for the kid to read and judge her. Her whole body wanted to tremble at the scorching heated look she was given, only for something akin to understanding and hurt to show in the teen's eyes for a moment before vanishing completely as he blinked.
Robin didn't fail to notice a soft sun like warmth spreading within her body removing the residual shiver for once and all. But the moment the teen's scarlet eyes turned brown and left Robin's blue ones, she wanted to leave. Her instincts yelled for her to leave if she wanted to live. Isn't that what she had done all these past years? Keep running until only she can live?
"Now, that I get a look, you look so beautiful!" Sanji gushed, not reading the atmosphere at all, as he sat up and looked at the woman, who had a perfect body and skin.
"You should leave," Luffy spoke looking at Robin straight in her eyes. If Robin was going to make things difficult for Vivi right now, then she could be considered an enemy even if Luffy didn't want to see her that way.
"Get the hell out of here!" Usopp spoke hiding behind the mast and pointing a finger at the woman, making Nami and Zoro sweat drop at the long-nosed teen's antics.
Robin ignored the words as her mind whirled. Monkey D. Luffy, a kid who looked to be in his early teens, had a ridiculously high bounty of 50 million beli. But the encounter with him personally made Robin realize that the bounty didn't show how much dangerous the pre teen really was.
Robin was sure that if luck was out there, then currently it was at the side of the princess of Arabasta, Nefertari Vivi. With someone as strong as the pre teen, who had evaded her earlier tries of snatching his hat up from his head and made her want to leave, the princess was in safe hands. But still, the next stop would be unfortunate for the merry band of pirates, and facing Crocodile was still out of the question.
"I haven't been given any orders to follow you," Miss All Sunday spoke as she finally was able to speak. "I just thought to warn you guys of the next destination you are headed to. The name of the next place of your journey is 'Little Garden'. We wouldn't need to lift a finger since you'll be long dead before you reach Arabasta."
"We don't need your warnings," Luffy spoke as he poked his tongue out at the woman. The name of the next Island was enough to make him feel energized and forget that they had an not-so-enemy on board. Hearing the stories of Little Garden was something which he would peg his father to do when he was with him. It was one of his favorite bed time stories. He had always wanted to see that place of giants and the forest which has to be too big!
"Yeah! Get out of here, you big meanie!" Usopp shouted from where he was hiding behind the mast.
"Really? How old are you?" Zoro asked with a sweat drop to Usopp.
"Allowing yourselves to be wiped out then?" Robin asked as she threw an eternal pose to Vivi who caught it.
"Eternal pose?" Vivi asked out loud.
"Using that you can just skip right past Little Garden without stopping and then head straight to an Island near Arasbasta. The pose points to an Island called 'Vacant Islands'. None of our agents know that course so you won't be followed." Robin answered looking at the Princess.
"Why are you giving this to us?" Vivi questioned out, holding the eternal pose.
"This gotta be a trap!" Zoro pointed out the obvious.
Luffy took the eternal pose from Vivi and looked at Robin with a childish pout, which made Robin affirm that the pre teen was way too childish to be a captain but his strength might justify the unsaid.
"You can't decide which path I'll choose!" Luffy spoke and shattered the eternal pose with his bare hand.
Not a second later, a kick grazed the hair of the teen, as the said teen moved from the path of Nami's assault expertly.
"STAY STILL YOU DAMN IDIOT! She just went out of her way to show us an easier way to follow! Maybe she's actually trying to help us get away!" Nami yelled at the teen as she followed him to Zoro where Luffy ran off to.
"You aren't the one who decides where the ship goes," Luffy replied back, meaning his words. That was enough for Nami to sigh and give up her attempts at murdering the teen, which she wouldn't have done anyway. She didn't want his family out for her blood after all.
"Well, that's too bad," Robin spoke as she stood on her two legs instead of sitting on the railing.
"Robin keeps on implying that Robin blew up the old man and refuses to accept that Robin saved him! Robin pretends to be on Crocy's side when Robin's obviously a good person and because of other things too! So... I like Robin!" Luffy spoke, making Vivi and Robin look at the teen instantly.
"How did you know?" Robin spoke before she could catch herself. Her face faltered even after years worth of practicing to hide her emotions. Not to mention, the sentence from the teen was enough to catch her completely off guard! She swore that the teen wasn't there, he couldn't have been! Maybe it was his devil fruit? But the resources say that he was a rubber man!
"A-Are you really saying the truth...?" Vivi asked, her eyes were shining, and lips wobbling as she fell on the deck looking at the teen, wishing that it truly was the truth rather than false information.
"Yeah, the old man is alive. I can feel him heading towards Arabasta," Luffy spoke as the winds ruffled his hair and confirmed his words to him.
Vivi turned towards Miss All Sunday, reluctant but still she bowed her head a little. From Miss All Sunday's reaction, she could testify that Luffy was telling the truth.
"I don't have the faintest idea of what you are trying to do but thank you," Vivi spoke with tears shining in her eyes. "Thank you for not killing him."
"Robin," Luffy spoke stopping the woman from silently walking away. "Catch!" He tossed an eternal pose to her as an apology for breaking her eternal pose. "If you go there then the Revs can pick you up if you ever wish to join them," Luffy stated, already having read that Robin was working for Crocy for something but still didn't like working for him.
"How interesting. Might I ask where the eternal pose leads to?" Robin asked looking at the teen and ignoring the looks of confusion the crew was giving to the captain and her.
"Dusk Island, an Island which is only known by some of my friends," Luffy spoke. "It's not a trap if that's what you are thinking."
Robin gave a fake smile as she decided to not prolong her stay and headed out.
"How the hell did you get a eternal pose?" Nami asked looking at Luffy when Robin left. She wasn't going to ask why he decided to give to Robin, as that looked like a Revolutionary business to her.
"Of Dusk?" Luffy asked cocking his head and sitting in his favorite place. "That's an inhabited Island that Ace found and since then it belongs to us."
"Will someone explain the situation to us already?!" Sanji asked as he looked from Miss Wednesday to Nami. The ladies on board were a blessing for him and his eyes.
"I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up when the food is ready!" Luffy informed to no one in particular as he sprawled on the deck beside Zoro who was already withdrawing from the story which Nami and Vivi jumped onto to explain Usopp and Sanji.
"I see. It's too bad that I missed out on all of the fun. But it sounds as if there would be plenty of demands for my skills." Sanji spoke as he took a puff from his cancer stick. "No need to worry now that your sleeping Prince is awoken, my sweet princess will be safe."
"Woah! I'm glad that I slept through it all!" Usopp spoke shamelessly on the other hand.
"Excuse me, but is it really alright that I'm on your ship?" Vivi asked shifting nervously on her legs. "I'm just causing you all a lot of trouble."
"It's a little late for apologies, don't you think?" Nami asked as she poked the forehead of the princess with her index finger. "If you didn't wanna cause us trouble you shouldn't have corrected that moron and shouldn't have told us who you were!"
"Sorry for that!" Vivi apologized sadly.
"But Luffy wouldn't care about all of this," Nami added softly as her gaze went to the boy who was sleeping beside Zoro like a baby. She wasn't sure what the boy was doing the last night but whatever he had done had sapped his energy otherwise the teen would be up running like a little hellion on the deck right now, asking for food and games to play.
"That one worries me a little," Vivi spoke honestly. Her first impression of the pre teen was enough to scare her off, especially with the information he possessed. And dare she forget his crazy strength!
.
"The breakfast is ready!" Sanji hollered, as he got out of his kitchen to call everyone for breakfast.
"Thanks, Sanji!" Nami smiled as she made her way to the kitchen with Vivi.
"Where's Luffy?" Sanji asked. It was too quiet on the ship, which made him note the absence of the teen who would literally keep jumping up and down, wanting to play or eat something.
"He's still sleeping," Usopp answered as he got up from his place and pointed at Luffy and Zoro, the duo who were sleeping without a care of the world.
That was something not normal. Luffy would be awake with the first smell of food, and no one needed to wake him up. Well, now that he was looking at the teen, who was curled against the Carque, was looking pale.
"Luffy," Sanji shook the boy gently, which made him groan and pull the duck closer.
"Mama, just a little more," The teen mumbled sleepily as he snuggled into the duck. The teen looked so cute, only if they had something to immortalize the scene!
"Zoro, what's wrong with Luffy?" Sanji asked seriously, not even teasing the swordsman.
"Like I know," Zoro replied, as he saw the sleeping teen. Seriously, he ought to tell them what's wrong with him. His pale face had also not improved since the last night. "He'll be soon up running." That's what Zoro hoped at least as he stretched his limbs.
"Hope so," Sanji replied as he shook the boy once more, to see his beady doe eyes blink open. "Luffy, breakfast is ready!"
"'ood?" The boy mumbled as he sat up rubbing his eyes. The scene looked so cute that no one could even tell that the boy was really 17 years old by just looking at him.
"Yep, then you can sleep again," Sanji added just as an afterthought. He felt bad to wake him up as it clearly looked like he still needed sleep. How long had he slept? 1 hour?
"Mhmm," Luffy replied with a yawn but made no attempts to get up himself.
"Quack!" Carque quacked announcing that he had even woken up.
"'ello birdie!" Luffy spoke as he gave a sloppy morning grin to the duck.
"Quack!" Carque replied. "Quack! Quack!"
"Thanks!" Luffy exclaimed, as he allowed himself to be carried by Carque who was more than happy to carry a sleepy Luffy.
"Looks like Luffy got a new friend," Sanji spoke with a soft smile as he and Zoro observed Luffy being led to the kitchen by a happy duck.
"It's Luffy after all," Zoro smirked as he followed the duck and his sleepy captain. It was not to look over Luffy, who could fall any moment from the duck. But he had to say that Carque was doing his job well.
In the galley, Usopp was telling tales, which helped Luffy's sleepy eyes to stay open as he hung onto every word of the long-nosed teen. Zoro and Sanji, like as usual, were on each other's throat, making snark comments, while Nami was reading the newspaper and Vivi was fretting over everything.
"Guys, don't you think you all are too relaxed to be on the Grand Line?" Vivi asked finally not able to take the carefree attitude of the Strawhats but it fell on deaf ears for most of them.
"It'll be fine," Nami spoke offering the princess the special drink which Sanji made. "They'll work hard when we come across rough seas. It's not like they want to die or anything."
"I really hope so. Otherwise at this rate we might be caught unaware," Vivi proclaimed her worries for Nami to hear.
"Caru, here!" Luffy grinned as he offered the duck a drink as Sanji had given him two. He had offered to be his sleeping buddy and carried him when he didn't want to walk so he deserved it. Seriously, he needed to rely on himself rather than others. But that habit was something which he had gained from the Revolutionary Army. No one hesitated in giving him a free ride when he would raise his arms in a silent request. Even his sea friends would give him a ride without asking!
"Looks like the duck knows how to drink," Sanji stated with a smile as he placed another drink on Luffy's side. It was an energy drink that he specially made keeping Luffy in mind. "Tastes good, huh? Drink up, buddy!" Sanji stated as he petted the duck and smiled as he saw Luffy finally finish both of his drinks. The teen's color was less ghostly which was a relief. However, they seriously needed to recruit a doctor. A doctor which Luffy could trust before something wrong happens.
"What shall we play today?" Luffy chirped as he grinned wide and looked at Usopp.
"You sure that you are up for playing, Luffy?" Usopp asked, looking at Luffy with concern.
"Why not?" Luffy asked cocking his head a little.
"Didn't you want to sleep?" Sanji asked looking at the teen whose sleep had evaporated the moment he had entered the galley.
"Nah, I wanna play!" Luffy whined acting as a five-year-old throwing a tantrum.
"Fine! Fine! Great Captain Usopp will introduce Luffy to a new game!" And off went Usopp explaining the rules of the game, which was making Luffy grin big and wide. Even Zoro and Sanji were relaxing when they heard that the game would not require any stern activity to be done, specially seeing the teen.
Yes, they were concerned but the concern was being thrown out of the window seeing Luffy smile big and wide like his usual self. His laughter was enough to make their worries to vanish and a calm peaceful warmth to encompass them.
"Being on this ship sure makes you lose the will to even worry, eh?" Nami asked looking at Vivi who was looking at the four men and her duck with a smile on her face.
"It just seems odd. For someone with a 50 million beli bounty on his head, your Strawhat captain sure doesn't look like a particularly terrifying pirate," Vivi commented as she watched the pre-teen get tickled by Carque and laughing his ass off on the floor.
"I know it's really tough to imagine, especially seeing his adorable and childish face, but he is actually really tough," Nami provided the girl, as she felt the wind change a bit the next second.
"Guys, a storm's on the way!" She announced clapping her hands to garner extra attention, which made the guys who were playing a weird game of tickling get up and start manning the ship to get out of the storm without any damage.
By the end of the storm ordeal, Vivi had less to worry about as she understood what Nami had meant to say before.
.
On an island, unknown to many, a blonde-haired man was whistling as he was filling the reports of the latest mission they had gone on. Without Luffy, it was boring but with the new addition to their Army, it was helping to add some spice in the missions, especially when the said new addition was a glutton and mischievous like them. However, he pitied for Koala since she was having a headache due to their antics.
Purupurupurupuru
Sabo looked at the snail, which was ringing, wondering if it was Luffy or Ace. It could be Gramps even, but he wanted to hear from his brothers right now. It was beyond his understanding that Ace was refusing to call him and whenever he would call, he would not pick up. The only thing that was keeping him in Baltigo and not launching on his wayward big brother was that he had been sighted at the Fishman Island with his crew.
"Sabo-ni!" A cute little squeaky voice spoke, making a smile crave on Sabo's face and him leaving the reports alone.
"You finally remembered your big brother, huh, Lu?" Sabo asked as Luffy grinned wide, rocking on the place where he was. Sabo really wished he could be there with the little menace. He misses him, even if he had met him just a while ago.
"Yep!" Luffy shamelessly replied popping the 'p' at the end, with a sunny grin. Sabo smiled softly at the teen whose bright light was shinning in the dark night. He can tell that his baby brother was sitting on the figurehead of the little adorable caravel ship which he had gained. Sabo took the condition of his baby brother, which made his smile freeze a bit, which didn't go unnoticed by the rubber teen.
"Something wrong?" Luffy asked cocking his head cutely.
"Are you eating properly, Luffy?" Sabo asked, looking at his pale baby brother with worry clearly visible on his face.
"Yep! Sanji had made sure to pack more food since you gave Zoro that list!" Luffy stated with a pout at the end.
Sabo nodded, but still something wasn't right with Luffy and he could see it clearly. He wondered if the teen had used his Nika powers but crossed that off since in the Paradise there shouldn't be anything which should make him use those freakish attacks specially when his body was not ready to take the toll of it.
Sabo listened on to Luffy's rambles as he told him how he had currently gotten a princess on board and how Robin arrived in his ship.
"Wait, Lu! You mean Nico Robin?" Sabo asked with wide eyes.
"Yeah! Though Robin is working for Crocy, even if Robin clearly doesn't like Crocy," Luffy spoke crunching his nose in disgust.
Leave it to Luffy to find or the people to literally find him.
"And you gave her the log pose of Dusk?" Sabo questioned to affirm the story.
"Yep! Robin told that Robin'll try to contact you guys, but Robin doesn't want to," Luffy added with a sigh.
"We'll see then what to do," Sabo hummed as he remembered one more thing. "So, now you are going to help Vivi by kicking Crocy's ass?"
He knew it was just a formality. Luffy wouldn't ever forgive the people who oppress others and especially if one of his friends so dared to ask his help, he would literally put his life on line to help them if that is what it takes.
"Yep! Crocy is a bad guy and made Vivi cry!" Luffy spoke in all his childish seriousness but Sabo knew that was the truth and that's all that is needed to be said.
If Luffy declared someone as a bad guy, then they can only pray to be out of his radar or not hurt his friends. 'Cause the moment they do either of the two, they are on Luffy's list, which is something worse. One might ask why and is it 'cause he might kill them? But the reality was much worse, Luffy would crush their dreams and let them live, crushing their wills, which he did almost unknowingly.
"Sabo-ni! Dad is calling you!" A familiar voice called him, making Luffy already perk up from the other side.
"Coming!" Sabo replied, before looking at Luffy. "I'll call you later, sunshine!"
"See ya soon!" Luffy smiled widely as he waved both of his hands at him.
.
Somewhere near the Saboady Archipelago in the Grand Line, a certain hot-headed teen was walking to and fro on the deck of his ship, pissed off about the fact that Teach was still nowhere to be found. Even Skull's network couldn't find the bastard!
"Ace, pacing this way won't help!" Deuce tried to reason with Ace who looked away from Deuce. "Also your wounds are not quite healed up."
"I'm fine Deuce!" Ace stated with an aggravated sigh as he allowed himself to lean on the railing.
"Why don't we ask Sabo about Teach?" Mihal asked as he announced his presence holding a cup of tea in his hands.
Ace pouted as he shook his head.
"This idiot doesn't want to call him," Deuce spoke with a sigh. They were very well aware of Ace's stubbornness. The incessant ringing of the snail was also getting irritating. Seriously, why were the Whitebeards even trying to call them? Did they want to threaten them or something?!
...Or maybe they found out that Ace is innocent but they're not willing to take the risk. Especially after seeing Ace's tendency to punish himself.
"Hey! It's not that!" Ace spluttered indignantly at Deuce. He loved his family, but this was something he had to do.
Deuce gave him a look that told Ace that he knew what he was trying. Seriously, Ace was not even allowed to leave the ship alone since that day. A bunch of mother hens was what his crew was turning into slowly if they were not already. It's not like he was planning to drink himself to oblivion or get into fights that he could not fight with his drunken ass.
'Well...'
Deuce sighed, knowing completely well that Ace wasn't going to stop pacing and worrying until they knew where Teach was. He was not even sure about how Ace was faring all this! The idiot has the worst habit of hiding his emotions until it's too late for someone to notice. Deuce didn't want to lose the first real friend he had ever made. And likewise, he knew the Spades didn't want to lose their savior and captain.
Everyone was getting worried, as Ace's narcolepsy started kicking in more often, his grin edged to the fake ones, which was clearly noticeable to them! After all, they had seen Ace smiling so often that the fake smile rubbed on them like the sea would on a devil fruit user. The fights against the marines and pirates would have helped the hot headed man to relieve stress only if he would stop being reckless! It was coming to such a point that they were steering away from those ships just to keep Ace in one piece!
Talking about the Whitebeards was starting to look like a taboo before Ace. Ace would flinch whenever he heard about them before hiding it as if he never flinched in the first place. The way he would be extra cheerful whenever they would tell him that the food was ready. The way he would stop mid-bite, as if he wasn't present there but somewhere else. The way he would look at the food when he would think no one was noticing. That all happened whenever anything about the Whitebeards was said. Not to mention about the snail which was ringing like no tomorrow. They were contemplating throwing it off board only to remember that the snail was a rare specimen.
If anyone said that Deuce was worried, that would be an understatement of the century. The whole crew was worried as they watched Ace slipping away from them slowly. He wasn't eating properly, his narcolepsy attacks were giving him hallucinations, which none of them failed to see.
He was strolling on the deck this morning when he found Ace mumbling something while sitting on the figurehead. Deuce got worried when he felt Ace's Haki flickering.
"...I didn't do. It wasn't me," The fire logia was mumbling repeatedly. That was enough to crush Deuce's heart as he hugged Ace from behind.
"It's fine. It's alright. You are not there," Deuce kept on whispering assuring words to the logia whose eyes were clouded and fixed at the sea as if he was seeing something else other than the free ocean.
It took fifteen minutes for Ace to finally come back to him.
"You okay, dude?" Deuce asked looking at Ace who nodded slowly.
"Do you want something to eat or drink?" Deuce asked and guided Ace to the galley when he nodded.
Ace was soon looking alright from outside, but Deuce wasn't taking the chance anymore. They might have escaped from the Whitebeards, who were not worthy of their captain but the mental scarring that they gave Ace was deep. It was clinging to him like no tomorrow. Ace was drowning in his sorrows, which had everyone on the crew on edge. The fire man thought that no one noticed his little slip-ups but they clearly saw it!
Not wanting to take a chance of Ace really gone, Deuce called a number which Sabo had given to him.
Purupurupuru
"Finally! Finally, you are calling me, dumbass! I was concerned when you didn't pick up my calls! Where are the heck are you even?" A voice from the other side of the snail asked worriedly.
"It's Deuce speaking," Deuce told the blonde-haired man, whose panicked expression ceased to exist and a calm demeanor settled on.
"Where's Ace? He hadn't picked up any of my calls!" Sabo's voice reached Deuce, who sighed. Ace was hell bent on not calling his blonde brother for reasons only he might know.
"Sabo, I don't know what to do. Ace is slowly shutting himself up." Deuce spoke. As a first mate, he had done a shitty job of not protecting Ace before the words from the Whitebeards hurt him.
"Is he okay? What happened to that idiot?" Sabo asked in a calm tone, which would make the listener believe that he didn't care. But Deuce knew that it was his way of thinking rationally in situations like this. So, Deuce started narrating everything that had happened in the past week.
"Damnit!" Sabo cursed after hearing everything. "Where are you all?" Sabo asked next, wanting nothing more than to hug Ace and make things right. He wanted to teach the Whitebeards a lesson too for not believing in Ace but that would hurt Ace, and he wasn't willing to risk it.
"We'll be arriving Water 7 by dawn," Deuce answered.
"That's good," Sabo uttered, calculating everything. "Do you think you can make it to Arabasta within a week?" Sabo asked next.
"Think so," Deuce replied back, wondering why.
"Tell that idiot, that Teach has been spotted around there," Sabo said honestly. It wasn't false information especially when they had recently heard news of Blackbeard attacking Drum Kingdom.
.
It was the third day of the travels of the Strawhat Pirates in the Grand Line. The water had visibly calmed than what they had to experience in the beginning of the Grand Line where the magnetic field was way too crazy, making the weather change in seconds.
Some of the Strawhats like Nami and Usopp still can't believe they were alive. Specially, when right now they were on the hit list of a Warlord and were having a Princess on board. But overall, they were faring quite well.
"Nami! There's an Island!" Luffy cheered as he bounced on the railing like a little monkey at the sight of the Island that they were approaching.
"There's no mistake," Nami spoke as she looked at the log pose and then at the Island. "Cactus Island and this one here are definitely pointing against each other. We have finally reached our next stop!"
"Little Garden!" Luffy finished as he ran to the side of the railing from where he could see the Island more clearly. "I can see why they call this place Little Garden!"
"I can't. What's little about it?" Zoro asked as he looked at the giant trees. Everything about this Island was too big to even call it average!
"Yeah! This Island looks pretty harsh if you ask me. Why the cute name?" Nami asked leaning on the railing to look at the sight of the tall trees and giant bushes which were already beginning to show up.
"We've to be careful. I can't help but keep remembering the warning Miss All Sunday gave us." Vivi spoke as she petted Carque with worry clearly visible on her face.
"Y-Y-Y-Yeah! It looks like a jungle out there. Maybe we are better off skipping this one!" Usopp stated, trembling in fear, as he backed away from the railing after taking a glance.
"No way we are skipping the Island!" Luffy stated with a gasp as he turned to Usopp with a face that screamed how wrong Usopp's words were.
"That's right! The only way to reset the log is to go ashore," Nami stated as she agreed with Luffy, with hands on her hips to assert what she was saying.
"Not to mention, we are in an entire need of restocking of our food supply. We didn't get so much as a sack of flour in the last town," Sanji added as he chewed on the butt of his cigarette.
Sanji didn't want Luffy to go hungry because he was unable to stock enough food for him to eat without worrying about them. He was the cook of the ship and no one would go hungry under his watch. Specially Luffy since the rubber brain was starving himself without complaining for food.
"Don't worry Sanji! We will get lots and lots of meat here!" Luffy stated as he drooled at the thought of food. He wondered how good dinosaur meat would taste after centuries! Would it be still sweet, soft and tender? Or would be bitter like some? Ah, he can't wait to taste them!
"You know something which we don't?" Zoro asked as he looked at Luffy, whose eyes were sparkling at the sight of the Island. It wouldn't be a surprise if Luffy already knew about this Island. He had a way of knowing the most uncanny things after all.
"Yosh! The stories about this Island were my favorite bedtime story!" Luffy stated with a wide grin as he wiped off the drool from his mouth.
"Care to enlighten us, rubber brain?" Sanji asked teasing the teen a little.
"Dad told me this was a prehitoric-"
"Prehistoric," Nami corrected the boy unknowingly.
"Yeah, prehitpric Island where there are dinosaurs and other large animals!" Luffy chirped as his limbs stretched trying to show how much big the animals could possibly be. In his excitement, Luffy failed to see the rapidly paling faces of Nami, Usopp, Vivi, and Carque.
"DINOSAURS?!" Usopp and Nami shrieked together, falling to their legs. They didn't want to believe it but they knew Luffy couldn't lie to save his life for God's sake.
"Y-You must be joking right?" Vivi tittered as she laughed nervously, holding the railing so as to not fall down like the other duo.
"Not to mention, this Island has two giants!" Luffy spoke in a sing-song voice, stating the terrible revelation to the four already paling ones like he was greeting them on a pleasant sunny morning and not informing them about their possible doom.
"Guys, I think I have 'I-can't-go-to-this-Island disease'!" Usopp cried as streams of tears flooded from his eyes. The forest was enough scary for him and now with the dinosaurs, beasts and giants added in it, he can't even imagine to survive a minute there.
"Heh, the Island sounds like fun to me," Zoro commented with a smirk. After all, he was always ready for challenges as they were the way to be stronger and to be a step closer to his dream.
"I'm glad that we will get the chance to restock," Sanji added his two cents, not afraid of the dinosaurs or the giants. If they are hostile then they can eat his kick.
"Oh yeah! Your Haki training will also start today!" Luffy spoke with a mischievous grin. He wanted to go after the Yonkos after all and hence the crew should be strong to face the adversaries which will come with it.
"Can't wait for that," Zoro grinned.
"Don't forget about the cool moves," Sanji replied as he walked off to steer the ship inland through the river.
"If we are alive that is," Usopp cried in sheer fear. And even if they were alive, then Usopp was sure the whacking which he will get from Luffy in the name of training would leave him half-alive or dead.
"We are going to die!" Nami whined digging the heels of her palms in her eyes. Why the heck did they not take the eternal pose from Robin?!
GROWL! GROWL!
"EEEEKKKK!" Usopp and Nami yelled as they huddled together with Vivi who was frozen by now.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT NOW?!" Usopp yelled as he dared to peek from the gap between his fingers. He was really praying it not to be any giant or a monster.
"WE ARE GONNA DIE!" Nami screamed as she saw a giant tiger collapsing on the ground, covered in blood. What can kill a damn huge ass tiger?! Whatever it was, Nami did not want to be near that creature in any way.
"It's decided, we are not gonna set foot on the Island," Usopp stated as he nodded his head profusely to hide his cowering self. But it was too much to take for him.
"Let's just quietly wait on our ship, and leave the very second our log pose finishes recording!" Nami spoke as she tried to button up her fear like Usopp.
"No way! I wanna meet the giants!" Luffy spoke as he trembled with excitement. The only thing that was keeping him on the deck was the fact that Merry was getting anchored.
"W-Wait! What do you think you are even doing?!" Nami asked Luffy, praying to every god that they leave the Island safely without being the food of giants or any crazy big animal.
"We are going for an adventure!" Luffy grinned wide at her, stars literally shining around him. "Shishishi!"
Nami covered her face, sniffling. It was too late to stop him. More so, since he had been supposedly hearing about this not-so Little Garden for who knows how long. She seriously wants to strangle the Revolutionary leader right now, consequences be dammed!
"It would be wise to stay on the ship, don't you think?" Vivi asked Nami who looked at her with tears in her eyes, conveying the same opinion.
BOOM! BOOM!
"Ek?!" Usopp flinched as he heard the sound of a volcano erupting from the Island. "I seriously don't want to go!" Usopp cried, as he saw Luffy get visibly excited.
"Off to an adventure! Shishishishishi!" Luffy whooped as he jumped off the ship in a go and landed on the ground perfectly.
"Wait for me!" Zoro and Sanji shouted at once at the rubber brain who could have fled to venture the Island alone. They didn't want the chance to learn Haki and cool moves skip away by spending their time finding their excited captain.
GROWL! GYAAA! BOOM!
"G-Guys! Wait for me!!!" Usopp yelled as he ran after the monster trio. He knew Vivi and Nami couldn't protect him and he wasn't capable of doing such deeds.
"Agh!!! Don't leave us alone!" Nami yelled as she caught Vivi's hand, realizing that strength was in number. It wouldn't help if they got attacked by the monsters of the Island when they would be supposedly left alone. It would be more safer with the monster trio.
"QUACK!"
A/n:
Any questions about the chapter? And sorry for the little teasing, I didn't mean that.
Have a good day/night!