A blonde haired woman of about sixteen years of age stood uneasily in the open doorway to a plain tan house. A backpack was clutched in her sweaty hands. "I'm not sure about this. Ririka is working today and you are too easily swayed by innocent eyes."
Her companion, a female of nineteen years with short, roughly-cut, dark hair, waved a hand towards the road as she smiled crookedly from her position leaning casually against the entrance wall beside the door. She gave two thumbs up and a wink as her smile widened, enjoying messing with the younger girl.
The blonde's eyes narrowed behind her wire-rimmed glasses, she was far from feeling reassured. "Karou, please don't do anything stupid. Rika -"
"Big Sister, Cadi, wait!" Rika, a child of about six years, came running from the kitchen with a small package in her hands. Skidding to a stop in front of the blonde, she held it out. "I packed you a snack for the road."
Patting the dark-haired girl on the head, Cadi smiled. "Thanks, kiddo. Try not to find any trouble today, okay? You've done really well the last few days but Karou and I still need to keep a low profile."
"Okay." Rika responded, her voice chipper. She turned with a bounce and grabbed Karou's sleeve, trying to tug the larger girl away from the wall. "Sister, help me make some rice balls! Momma says rice balls need salt but I think we should make them with sugar so they'll be extra sweet."
Karou smiled almost lazily at Cadi as she straightened, allowing herself to be tugged along before waving goodbye.
Cadi frowned and tugged uneasily at the scarf around her neck as she listened to Rika's animated voice echoing from the kitchen. If she missed this appointment, she might not get another opportunity. How much trouble could Rika and Karou find in so short a time? A lot, if previous experience was to be relied on. Feeling stuck, she sighed and slid the backpack onto her shoulder as she turned to leave. Her steps were slow as she periodically glanced back at the house.
Delayed two hours by the unexpected return of Rika's mother, Rika impatiently tugged at the sleeve of her much bigger companion as the the two walked through the more deserted town streets. "C'mon, Sis. We need to hurry before Big Sister gets back."
In response, Karou dragged her feet before smiling at the girl's impatient huff and walking a little faster. She was carrying a wooden ladder on top of her right shoulder but the weight didn't slow her down.
Arriving at the brick wall surrounding the Marine base, Rika pointed to two boys peeking over the top, staring into the courtyard. One of the boys was lankier and wore a straw hat while the other had pink hair and glasses. They didn't look threatening, so Karou shrugged and nudged the younger girl out of the way.
Leaning the ladder against the wall, she crouched down and gestured to her back. Rika climbed on and tightened her limbs as Karou stood. Tugging at the small arms, Karou breathed in relief as the pressure on her larynx lessened. Making sure the smaller girl's legs were crossed over her waist, Karou started climbing up. She paused only a moment for the boys to notice them. Grinning as Rika shushed them, she winked before pulling herself onto the wall. Jumping down, she landed lightly on the balls of her feet in a crouch. Ignoring the distressed calls from the pink-haired boy, she waited until Rika had hopped down off her back before allowing herself to stare at the prisoner Rika had begged her to help feed.
Roronoa Zoro was known as a dangerous bounty hunter and the most skilled swordsman in the East Blue Sea. His reputation was probably quite exaggerated but most of the East Blue locals Karou and Cadi had met tended to talk of him as a scary demon.
Not much was scary about a mantied to a wooden cross with some thin rope. He hung limply with dried blood on his chin and a dark bandanna on his head that cast shadows over his eyes. He grimaced as the two drew near. "What are you doing here?" His voice was gravelly from little use and no water. Zoro's eyes scanned first Rika and then Karou before focusing back on the little girl. "Do you want to die or something? Get out of here! And you, girl, what are you thinking bringing the kid here?!"
Karou rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at the man, causing his eyes to narrow.
Rika seemed oblivious as she eagerly presented the unwrapped rice balls. "Brother, we made some rice balls for you! You haven't eaten in a long time right?" She turned her smile towards Karou who smiled gently back. "Today was my first time making rice balls-"
"I'm not hungry. Leave!" Zoro growled, turning his face away. Karou frowned and gently placed a hand on Rika's shoulder before shoving a water canteen into Zoro's mouth. Tension radiated from Zoro's body as he choked down the water. Karou threw a quick glance toward the gates before she jerked the canteen back and quickly slung Rika onto her back. Rika dropped the rice balls in surprise as she clung to the older girl's back.
The reason for her hurry was revealed just as they safely reached the other side of the wall. The boys' attention was drawn to the courtyard gates. A young boy in a pinstriped suit and a poofy, blonde, bowl hair cut strutted through with two grimacing Marines following at his heels. "Roronoa Zoro! Decided to give up yet?"
"Tch. If it isn't the Lieutenant's bastard son.."
The two boys on the wall watched the courtyard interactions with glued eyes while Karou remained crouched against the wall, Rika tucked into her chest and a hand holdingRika's hands to the child's mouth.
"Bastard?" The boy put his hands on his hips as he glared. "Don't get cocky. My dad is a Marine lieutenant!"
Strolling forward the boy paused as he noticed the rice balls on the ground. They had managed to land with the packaging under them. "Did someone try to bring you food? They can't read apparently." He gestured to the sign next to the wooden cross. Reaching down he picked up one of the round balls and took a bite. "Blegh! This is disgusting! They put sugar in a rice ball? Obviously they can't read or cook!"
Karou patted Rika softly as the girl tried to cover up a hiccup as tears welled in her eyes. She wished she'd taken her further away so she wouldn't hear the stupid boy's words.
The straw hat boy looked down at the girls with a frown, his eyes hard as he glanced back at the blonde boy.
The Lieutenant's son stomped on the rice balls before turning to Zoro with an oily smile. "I didn't think you'd have this kind of endurance! I'll keep you alive for a whole month."
Zoro's eyes were like pieces of steel as he stared at the boy. "You better keep your promise."
The boy laughed and waved a hand in dismissal as he turned to walk away, his faithful Marines behind him. "I'll keep my promise. If you can live like this for a whole month, I'll release you. Good luck!"
As the sound of the gate closing echoed across the courtyard, Karou stood up, pulling the sniffling Rika with her. She grabbed the ladder and slung it over her shoulder before putting her left arm around the young girl in a hug as they started to walk away.
"Karou! Rika!" The familiar angry voice caused Karou's eyes to twinkle and Rika to sniffle a little louder.
Cadi blocked their retreat with arms crossed over her chest as she glared them down. Her glare softened as she took in their expressions and she sighed before picking Rika up under the armpits and snuggling her close. "You are not off the hook but we'll talk about this at home. We need to return that ladder and then how about some cookies?"
Rika's nod was barely noticeable as she hid her face in Cadi's hair but Karou patted her head softly before smirking at Cadi who rolled her eyes. "I'm not the softy," she grumbled irritably.
Rather than eat the cookies in the house, they had to move outside to the alley so Ririka, Rika's mom, wouldn't overhear any of their conversation. Cadi quickly forgot her complaints as she listened to Rika's telling of the events and watched Karou's reenactment. They were surprised when the two boys from earlier at the wall showed up with a message from Zoro. The straw hat boy said his name was Luffy and the pink-haired boy was called Coby.
Of course, Cadi offered the boys the rest of the cookies and Karou pouted exaggeratedly in the corner as she watched Luffy devour the rest of the plateful and Coby munched his first cookie. Rika patted Karou's head with a grin as she questioned the boys. "Really?"
"Yep. He ate all of it!" Luffy's grin took up most of his face. The boy seemed to vibrate with barely contained energy.
"Hmm. Is he really such a bad guy?" Coby questioned aloud as he scratched the back of his head.
"No, he isn't." Rika's face was scrunched up with determination. "Brother didn't do anything wrong."
Cadi sighed before speaking up to take over. "He just drew the wrong kind of attention. Lieutenant Morgan's son, Helmeppo, is a real troublemaker. The Lieutenant is not a nice guy either but his son enjoys pushing people around. He had this wolf that he'd let run wild all over town. Usually everyone just avoided it, but Rika accidentally got in its way and it tried to attack her. Karou was too far away to help." At this Karou shifted in her seat and turned away with a dark expression. "But Zoro stepped in and killed the wolf."
"So he was only arrested for killing Helmeppo's wolf?" Luffy's eyes were big but his mouth changed from a frown to a smile as his eyes turned contemplative.
Cadi nodded and Rika nodded a little more enthusiastically. "Yea."
Coby pushed his glasses up his nose. "So maybe he has a bad temper, but chasing down fugitives…isn't much of a crime."
"The only bad guys around here are the Morgans. You'll get executed if you disobey them so everyone is afraid of them."
As if on cue, the obnoxious voice of Helmeppo echoed through the nearby street. "Who dares to raise his head? I'll tell my Dad!"
The five walked to the end of the alleyway where Luffy stepped out to watch the arrogant boy coming down the street. Townspeople were falling to their knees, heads on the ground, as they tried to avoid bringing any attention to themselves.
"Do you want to be like Roronoa Zoro? I'm gonna publicly execute him in three days. I'll use him to set an example for the rest of you. It'll be pretty interesting…" Helmeppo's grin stretched his face as he strutted down the street.
Cadi tried to grab Luffy's arm but missed as he stepped forward. "Three days. Didn't you say you'd give him a month?"
Helmeppo stopped, hands on his hips as he leaned forward. "How rude. Who are you?" He laughed before continuing, "I was only joking with him. Only an idiot would believe that!"
Karou scowled before taking a step forward, Cadi grabbed her by the arm to prevent her from doing anything to draw attention to them. Cadi dropped her hand at a look from Karou, but Karou stayed to watch.
Faster than anyone thought he could move, Luffy stepped forward, grabbed Helmeppo by the shirt, and slugged him in the cheek. Karou would swear she saw a tooth fly as they all stared at the scene with big eyes and jaws open.
Coby leapt forward to grab Luffy by the arms. "Luffy-san! Stop, please! Calm down!"
Luffy cursed at Helmeppo who lay dazed on the ground. Cadi finally shook off her stupor and laid a hand on Luffy's shoulder to help restrain him should he attack again. "You want to mess with the Marines or something?"
Helmeppo groaned pitifully on the ground. The two Marines shook off their shock and bent to lift the boy back onto his feet. As the citizens got over their initial shock, their voices sounded like a colony of bees as they muttered and panicked.
Coby continued to hold on tightly to Luffy as he tried to reason with the stronger boy. "Luffy-san, calm yourself! They are Marines!" He didn't have as much trouble holding the left arm that Cadi had a hand on but the right arm almost slipped free before he managed to regain his hold.
"I don't care," Luffy gritted out between barred teeth. "A bastard is still a bastard."
Karou started to applaud but a glare from Cadi stopped her. Rika's hands had found their way to clutch at Karou's pants as she hid partially behind the older girl.
Helmeppo held his head with one hand as the men pulled him up. "Y-you dare to hit me? My dad hasn't hit me once!"
Karou snorted and shook her head while Cadi's eyebrows rose. "Explains a lot," Cadi said quietly.
"I'M MARINE LIEUTENANT MORGAN'S SON!" Helmeppo screamed, his face turning an odd puce color. "I'LL TELL HIM ABOUT THIS!" His bulging eyes and restrained tears gave him a very crazed appearance.
The murmurs of the townspeople grew more frantic and horrified. Cadi grimaced and turned to look at Karou whose eyes were narrowed on Luffy as she chewed her lip in thought. Cadi turned back to Luffy with a frown, not liking the look on Karou's face.
"Why don't you fight me yourself?" Luffy's face was set as he tried to goad the coward into fighting fair for once.
"You'll regret hitting me." Helmeppo's face turned smug as he smirked over his shoulder. The two marines were practically carrying the boy. "You'll get a death sentence for it! And my dad will be the one who executes you!"
Cadi dropped her hand and Coby let go as Luffy relaxed and sighed. "It's useless to hit people like him."
"Agreed." Cadi nodded, arms crossed over her chest.
Coby stared in the direction Helmeppo was going. "He ran away.."
Cadi shrugged and patted him on the shoulder. "That's what people like him do."
Rika finally left her hiding spot by Karou and darted forward to bounce on her toes beside Luffy. "You were so cool! Just then I was scared to death!"
Karou frowned, eyes narrowed on the small girl, while Cadi grinned and walked back to poke Karou in the side. Karou poked back, her frown quickly disappearing as she gestured to her own muscles and made a puzzled face before grinning.
"Really?" Luffy grinned. "I should have hit him a few more times!"
"Ri-Rika! Come here!" Cadi and Karou shared a grimace as Ririka hurried over to grab Rika by the shoulder and steer her inside. "Karou, Cadi, I expected better." She shot them a glare that had Karou looking indignant and Cadi shuffling guiltily. "Rika, its time to go inside. You shouldn't talk to strangers. You could be executed if you are mistaken as one of their friends!"
Both girls winced as the arguing voices of Ririka and her daughter were cut off by the slam of the door. Luffy dropped his hand from the goodbye wave he'd given Rika and turned to face the other three.
"Well, we may need to sleep somewhere else tonight," Cadi commented to Karou as she moved to lean against the house. Karou nodded in agreement.
Both girls turned their attention back to Coby as he started freaking out. His face was starting to sweat as he frantically waved his hands. "Looks like we're gonna be in a lotta trouble! If the Lieutenant gets mad he might send a bunch of Marines after us…"
"We'll deal with it when the time comes! I'm gonna go talk to Zoro." Luffy smiled as he turned to walk in the direction of the Marine compound.
Karou gave Cadi a significant look before turning to follow Luffy. Cadi started cursing under her breath as she followed behind her with a confused and shaking Coby trailing along.