AN: (My gosh, so nervous/happy to use those letters)
Okay, so first of all… uhhmmm… Sorry, haha.. Don't really know what to say yet in an Author's Note…
With that said, let's get this over with… Onto the story!
CHAPTER 1
"…I can't possibly change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination…" - Jimmy Dean
*Yawn*
I looked up at the clear sky on a hot sunny day as my arms flailed lifelessly on my sides.
"Ugh… So hot… ugh…" I glared at the sun before me, as it enjoyed throwing those annoying rays back at me.
"Tch, this is ridiculous. Why on earth am I here again?" I asked to no one in particular. I waited. No response. Easily giving up on the nonsensical skit I made, I just yawned again, wiggled a bit on my seat and continued… doing nothing. Then I sighed.
With no other things to do, I just looked up at the sky again, shoved all thoughts aside and relaxed. I at least felt comfortable and at peace until…
*poke*
I glared…
*poke*poke*
…and glared…
*poke*poke*poke*
…and glared.
Then silence…
…
…
…
* . . . . . .poke * What the-
"WOULD YOU STOP THAT?!" My head instantly snapped at the boy who was idly sitting beside me for some time. "What the hell do you want?" I snarled at him.
Satisfied that he finally got my attention, he then innocently looked back at me with those cute, puppy eyes of his, as if he didn't do anything wrong… Well, he didn't do anything wrong because poking someone isn't some heinous crime or something… But that's not the fucking point!
"But nee-chan, if you keep staring at the sun like that, your eyes will burn! And that will be very bad!" He stated in a-matter-of-fact tone, executed in a kiddy version.
"Oh, please don't worry about my eyes. They're invisibly armored with steel so they wouldn't melt that easily." I answered blandly, thinking that this would stop his pestering… but NO.
"REALLY?! That's amazing nee-chan! Can they shoot beams too? Like robots?" He asked excitedly to me, slightly jumping up in the process. I grimaced. Kids.
Ugh, why do I have to babysit these brats on my day off? I looked around. Kids were playing on a small playground built just a few blocks away from Dock One here in Water Seven. Some were building sand castles, some were playing house, some were on the swings and the slides, and some were just stupidly runnin' in circles. And again, I grimaced.
Well, that's because I'm not really a baby sitter… Hell, I don't actually live here. Captain Smoker just had some business to deal with in here, which I, a lowly chore girl, had nothing to do with. And it's not like I want to, as I also want a freaking rest, which I had an opportunity to do so as I was given the week off. But that… that…that WITCH just had to pull me AGAIN into taking care of her mess. And when I said mess, I meant those cute, little, wobbly things most commonly known as children.
It had been five days since we docked here, and believe me, I was really glad to having met up with a childhood friend of mine. But entrusting me with these little devils each single day of my stay in the island is just plain torture! Not to say that I was supposed to rest! Sheesh… Working as a marine chore girl with the shackles of the revolutionary is just too much for poor little me… Oh. Wait. Did I say revolutionary? Uhmm… could we skip that detail for a moment? It's just the first chapter.
"Nee-chan? Nee-chan! You're not listening!" My thoughts were cut off by the forgotten kid beside me. "Come on nee-chan, we rarely see you because you travel so much, but when we do, all you do is space out!" He frowned. I quirked a brow at him and paused for a moment… then sighed… for the nth time that day…
"Alright, alright… Geez, you don't hafta be so pushy ya'know…" I waved him off as I casually stood up from my seat. "Hey kids! Wanna play somethin'?"
As soon as the word play came out from my mouth, children were instantly gathered around me.
"Let's play tag!"
"No, kick the can is more fun!"
"I want hide and seek!"
"Shogi!"
Shogi? Silence drew into the group as an extra voice joined the crowd.
"Shogi…" the voice repeated. I blinked, and then turned around to see- Figures.
"It'll be Shogi… You and me, Lucy nee-chan."
I looked at my new company rather boredly. In front of me is a kid, a little older than the others, proudly displaying his marine uniform, complete with the cap on. Only shows how this chore boy loves being a freakin' marine.
"Nope, I refuse to play Shogi with you, Chip-kun." I answered him with a rather annoyed look on my face.
"What- just because I never won any match- you can't just brush me off!"
"Tch. Of course I can!"
"No, you can't! Or else I'll-"
"Or else you'll what, you dope head? Don't go blackmailing me again you brat! Playing the damn board game with you at the quarters 24/7 is just plain inhumane! You little-"
"Hey you!"
Our bickering was interrupted as the previously ignored children once again made their presence known.
"We were playing with nee-chan first!"
"That's right! You're so unfair! We know that you got to play with nee-chan everyday, but we rarely see her!"
"Yeah, and why're you following her again today? I bet you've got a crush on her, don't you?"
Then silence. I waited for a comeback, but none came. Thinking that it was a little strange, everyone, including me, stared at the shocked chore boy with curiosity. We stared and stared and stared. Then he looked down, and blushed. Aww. How cute.Heh, well, that got him to shut up.
Satisfied that it was the end of it, I just smirked then patted the chore boy's head gently as I turned to face the children once again.
"Alright guys, we're playin' hide and seek," The kids loudly cheered, so I continued. "Chip will be it." I heard Chip protest, but ignored it.
"You know the rules. No hiding far out the playground. We'll only have three rounds. The count's up to 30. No cheating! And lastly, don't freakin' hurt yourselves! I've always told y'all, didn't I? Only stupid people do that. Is that all clear?" I announced.
"Haaii!" They answered in unison as they started to disperse and giggle to themselves on how to hide on some bush or somethin'. When I turned around to check on Chip, he was still there, standing, dumbfounded. Tsk.
"Hey, are you nuts?! I said no cheating!" I snapped at 'im.
"But I-" He started to protest again, but I cut him off.
"You know, sometimes, we gotta work with that old-fashioned, stiff life style of yours."
He only quirked a brow at me.
"Psh… come on! You're, what, ten? And all you think about is being a marine and playing Shogi, which is an old man's thing if you ask me by the way… And you know, if you won't maximize your youth, kid, you'll be doomed…" he blinked, "forever…"
"…" he stared.
"…" I stared.
"…" We stared.
After a few more seconds of staring contest, he finally gave up. "Alright! I get it! I'm playing!"
I only smirked at this and started to walk away until I heard him again, "But I'll start with you Lucy nee-chan!" Tch, he sure didn't want that ego of his to be scratched a little huh? But well, it kinda suited him.
When I heard him start the count, I quickly looked for a tree that was far from the other kids but enough to see them in such distance. There were a number of trees around so finding a hiding place wasn't much trouble. When I found one from a group of trees, I took my time to climb it until I was about 20 feet from the ground, then settled for a comfortable yet safe seat on one of its branches. No way I'm gonna let myself be caught by that persistent kid, and watching him up here is kinda fun as it is.
When he finished counting, I watched as he warily turned around with a suspicious look on his face. When he started to walk around, he took every step very carefully, as if some landmine would've exploded if he didn't. Haha, he looked so stupid.
I was quietly laughing my head off until he started to look in the direction where I was hiding, on the tree where I was hiding. Wha- how the hell did he know that I'm here?
When he neared the trees, he picked up a stick, held it close to him like a gun, and gulped. Then he laid himself lower, his face gaining more intensity every minute…
What is this, the hunting season?! Like I'm some kind of wild animal or something?! And what's the stick for, huh? You're gonna whack me with it, huh?! Is that it?! Sheesh… Relax kid, relax! It's just a game, for pete's sake! It's not like some vicious… pirates… are… gonna… show… up?
Each thought on my mind slowed down, as annoyance and all other kinds of emotions also died down, as my brain tried to process what my eyes had perceived.
Just a few meters behind Chip were two men. One was dressed in an all-white outfit with a yellow piece of cloth around his collar, his brown hair fixed in a weird hairstyle, while the other was dressed in casual blue pants, an open purple jacket with his blond hair flailing around in a mess as he walked in his sandals. I purposely looked at the second one because his bare chest caught my attention… Uh, no, I'm not a freakin' pervert!
What specifically caught my attention was the mark on his chest, which just confirmed my suspicions. It was the Jolly Roger, the mark of the most infamous pirates, which was claimed to be the strongest of them all… Known as one of the Yonko, the four "rulers" of the New World, they had "marked" many territories along its seas… They are one of the deadliest threats for the government… The Whitebeard Pirates...
And in front of me were not just some unknown members of their crew, these two were commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates… In front of me were the 4th division commander, Thatch and 1st division commander, Marco the Phoenix.
What a lovely day, isn't it?
(END OF CHAPPIE 1)