"Quit whining now. Have some juice!" a mischievous grin from the adult.
"Ooh thankyou!" the little black-haired boy who took it without question.
"HERE, FOLKS, WE HAVE A LITTLE KID!" the red-haired pirate declared loudly, tears of laughter in his eyes.
"SHUTUP. THAT WAS A CHEAP TRICK!" the boy snapped, a vein pulsating in his temple.
"U-Uhm... Excuse me..." a small voice interrupted the sparks that he sent the pirate captain's way.
Red-Haired Shanks whirled around with a frown, his eyes falling on the little girl, same age and height as the boy next to him, who stood in the bar doorway, looking like she had just done something incredibly rude.
"Ah. It's Kana." the boy acknowledged her with a grin.
Shanks gave him a satisfied smirk and turned back to his meal,"Come sit down, Kana." he reached around and patted the seat next to the boy,"I'm sure Luffy won't mind."
The boy he had just referred to as Luffy, huffed sullenly. Kana smiled awkwardly and approached the seat, climbing onto it. She shot a shy smile in Luffy's direction.
"G-Good afternoon... Luffy..." she mumbled.
"Hey Kana!" a raised hand in response,"Hey Makino! Is my food nearly done?"
"Be patient! It's almost ready." a woman's voice came from the back.
Kana blinked and brushed down her small white dress. Her gaze was lowered, her long raven hair like a curtain around her equally raven eyes. She was still getting used to this setting... Slowly... Painfully.
But everytime she looked at her friend sitting a couple of inches away from her, she forgot the pain.
It was that easy.
His finger reached into his hair and scratched the scalp beneath it. The straw hat that was perched upon his head was caught by the excited wind and drifted to the dirt. Not a word came from his mouth. Pure anger surfaced on his blood-stained face and nothing but killing intent ran through his mind.
Kana raised her head from the ground, the insignificant bits of concrete and glass were the ones that hurt most in the deep gashes that covered her body. Not a feeling left in her legs after that piece of steel came and went. She couldn't do anything. And now Luffy was about to get reckless again. She loved that about him. His carefree and somewhat child-ish personality mixed with that sense of a love for danger. He had full confidence that he was going to win this fight. His grazed and scorched bare feet shifted. His hand came down and scooped up the hat. Kana felt it being pressed onto her head, the last of her long hair that clung to her shoulders slid loose. She smiled through her tears and gazed up at the captain. Luffy looked at her with a fondness no-one else had seen before. Because that's what he loved about her. Her ability to smile no matter what. Such a kind and gentle girl should never be in this situation. In Monkey D. Luffy's book, it was rule number 1.
"Luffy..." She looked worried now, that frown had taken her expression for ransom.
"Kana." a single word made her heart jolt.
He was serious. The girl held the hat against her head as the wind picked up again and stared at the back of his head, crying silently.
"I will win. And come back for you. And when I do..." he whipped around, grinning widely and placing his index finger beneath his nose like an imaginary moustache. A gesture he had learnt from his comrades what seemed like years ago,"... You had better stop crying!" he declared.
Kana blinked. She simply could not take her eyes off him. Even though his blood loss was immense, his short black hair matted with his sweat, his hooded red vest tattered and hanging open and revealing more cuts and bruises on his strong abs and chest, Luffy kept that optimism about him. It just radiated off the boy. It grabbed a hold of her. Took over. Filled her up.
She felt... Safe. Completely and utterly.
After a moment of hesitation and mulling over this statement made, she mimicked his pose and grinned like his mirror image.
"Y-Yes, captain!" she replied firmly.
No fear. Not anymore. But nothing would stop her hope that he would live. Luffy turned back around, facing the opposition. He stepped toward them, eyes flaming in determination.
"Let's go."
That was enough challenge.
More than enough.