I own One Piece! I own it all! Mwah-ha-ha! ;D
Usopp: "Ummm... no. No, you don't."
Phooie.
Nami: "You're doing one of these openings? Usually you just write "Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece", or something like that."
Yes, well. I decided to try something different this time.
Strawhats: *gasp!*
*Cross-popping veins appear* Oh, shut up!
Chopper: "This is a work of fiction. Any resemblence to persons living or dead is purely coincidental."
Zoro: "So get on with the story already!"
"Agatha Block, are you listening to me?"
Aggie snapped upright in her seat, suddenly aware of her teacher's killer glare. She hated it when people used her real name, but wisely decided to let it slide this time. "Sorry, Mr. Cane. What were you saying?"
Mr. Cane sighed. He was a tall, weedy man with round spectacles and slicked-back, black hair. "We would all be delighted if you could fill us in on what happened in the 1640's." He said.
"Don't you know? After all, you were around then" Aggie's friend, Nick, piped up. This caused two looks to be directed at him: a furious one from the teacher and a grateful one from the student. Normally, Aggie didn't hold with being rude to the teachers, but in this case it got her out of hot water.
"Very well, Mr. Umber. Perhaps you'd like to answer the question instead?"
"No, but I'd like to give you this." Nick squeezed the flower on his lapel (yes, he wore things like lapels. He was an odd kid), and a jet of water shot out and hit Mr. Cane right in the face. This caused a ripple of laughter to go through the class and Mr. Cane's face to go red.
Aggie winced as Mr. Cane dragged Nick out of the class by his ear, most likely to get a tongue-lashing from Ms. Monday, the principle. It happened nearly every day, though usually it wasn't to save Aggie's skin.
The bell rang, and the children filed out into the hall. Most of the kids ignored each other, but there was one who always seemed to hunt Aggie down and make her miserable. True to form, the red-head had taken no more than two steps out of the classroom when an arrogent voice called out to her.
"Hey, Aggie!"
Aggie rolled her eyes. Lee Olson was the quarterback in the school football team, and always had a gaggle of girls who wanted to go out with him, but for some reason had singled out Aggie as the one whom he wanted to date. She didn't know why. There were plenty of girls in the school prettier than she was, and she didn't even like football. She briefly wondered whether she would be more or less miserable if she was being antagonized by the popular girls instead of being chased by this guy, then turned and gave Lee a tired look.
"Hey, Lee. What's up." Past refusing his date requests, she wasn't going to be rude to him. She just wasn't brought up that way.
"So, I know you keep saying no, but I have these tickets to see..." Aggie snapped up her hand, stopping him in mid-sentence.
"I'm sorry, Lee. I do not date. You've got a whole swarm of girls who are much prettier than I am, who would just love to go out with you. Why don't you go ask one of them?" Like I said. As long as he wasn't asking her out, she was very civil to him.
His hand closing on her arm got her attention pretty quick, and she was spun around to face the large boy. His face showed frustration and anger, and he waved the tickets at her to express this.
"I am not used to begging, Agatha Block." He growled.
"Don't call me Agatha." She snarled back, breaking loose from his grip and marching out the door. Honestly! The nerve of the guy. She might have to watch her back around him from now on.
"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" Aggie called out as she dumped her backpack and jacket in the hall closet.
"Your parents aren't here, little girl." A creepy voice rasped from behind her, causing a shiver to run down her spine. She squealed in alarm and spun around to find her older brother laughing at her.
"That's not funny, Chad!" She snapped, more from embarrassment than anger.
"Yeah, it is." Chad chuckled. "But, seriously, Mom and Dad aren't here. They already left for their trip."
"Trip? What trip?"
"The trip to go visit Aunt Kathy in Alaska. Geez, how did you not know? They've been making preperations for weeks."
Aggie scowled. She had the terrible habit of tuning out anyone who wasn't talking to or about her, so she had completely missed out on this information. Just as she was about to head upstairs to her room to call Nick, who was no doubt out of detention by then, when Chad stopped her.
"Oh! By the way, sis. This came in the mail for you. It looks like it's from Uncle Casper." Chad said, and handed her a package about the size of a small dog crate.
A shiver ran down Aggie's spine for the second time that day. Uncle Casper was Mrs. Block's uncle, and was considered the black sheep of the family. Mrs. Block said he was just eccentric and misunderstood, but Aggie was sure that was what was said about Jack the Ripper before he was found to be a murderer.
Taking the package up to her room, she set it on her bed and stared at it. She had gotten letters from Uncle Casper before, but never a package. On the one occasion she had met her great-uncle, but he had struck her as unnervingly weird. He had reminded her of a vampire, with his pale skin, ever-present tuxedo and jet-black hair. The fact that he kept a raven for a pet didn't help.
'What the heck would that weirdo be sending me?" Aggie wondered. 'I didn't think he even knew our address.'
Carefully cutting open the package, she peered inside and her mouth formed an O of surprise. Nestled in a bed of packing peanuts was a Roronoa Zoro doll about the size of a ken doll. It was enclosed in a glass tube, and was the most intricate doll the girl had ever seen. Its green hair must have been made from animal hair or something to look so real, and they even put in the scars on his chest and left eye. In fact, the doll looked just like a real, miniture version of Zolo, sleeping in the glass tube.
Underneath the doll was a envelope with Aggie's name on it. In it was a letter that said the following:
"Dear Aggie,
I don't know if you remember me. After all, we only met once, but I remember you. You are the intelligent, resourceful girl I met at the family reunion two years ago. I'm sorry that we have not had more time to talk.
Please take care of Zoro for me. He is very delicate, so please do not take him from his case. I know that he is in good hands with you.
You're estranged kin,
Casper Styx."
Aggie shuddered at Uncle Casper's last name. Figured that his name would be the same as the river in the Land of the Dead. And why the heck would her "estranged kin" send this "very delicate" doll to someone he hardly knew? And it wasn't as if she was actually into dolls, anyway. And then there was her baby brother, Coby, to consider...
As if sensing her thoughts, a four-year-old boy toddled into the room. Whereas Aggie and Chad resembled their father, with their naturally cherry-red hair and large, blue eyes; Coby looked more like Mrs. Block, with unruly blond hair and mischevious green eyes.
"Aggie!" He cried happily, and ran to his older sister for a hug. Well, more like a tackle than a hug. Coby was big for his age, and Aggie barely managed not to drop the Zoro doll. "Is that a present?" Without waiting for an answer, he tried to grab the glass case.
"No, this is not a present." Aggie said sternly. "It's delicate, and you would break it in an instant." She stood on her bed and placed the doll carefully on top of her shelves, where the blonde little grabber couldn't reach it.
Coby pouted, but didn't protest. Aggie gave him a stern "don't try it" look. The only time her little brother was silent when he didn't get what he wanted, was when he had a plan brewing in his little mind to take it. Logically, when she wasn't looking...
Zoro: "That's it? I'm stuck as a doll?"
Until the next chapter, yes.
Zoro: "Why the hell did you turn me into a doll?"
Aggie: I think you make a very nice doll.
Zoro: *Cross-popping veins appear* "Shut up!"
Sanji: "Oi! You can't talk that way to Aggie-chan, Marimo-Head!"
Okay. While Sanji and Zoro are fighting, I'll write the next chapter. :)