Marie Rose Grove wasn't exactly the most smartest girl. She had ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Sure, when she tried hard enough in school, she got B-, but her grades consisted of C's and D's and F's. She wasn't the prettiest either. Not like those girls who wore makeup, yoga pants, and acted like a spoiled, annoying brat. Heck, she wasn't even spoiled, or even given anything to be spoiled. Her mother, Vivian Grove, was the worst mother ever known to human existence. She was mean to her children, ever since their father disappeared. James Grove had been a very nice and funny man. He had salt and pepper hair, smile wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and a mischeivious look in his eyes. He had been super fun. When he had been with his family, Vivian was kind and sweet. But, then the disappearance happened, and Vivian grieved for three months, before she sat around the house lazily, treating her children like dirt, unleashing her anger on the innocent souls. That was three years ago, and now Marie was 12. Her oldest sister, Kathryn Louise Grove, nicknamed Kat, had to provide the money. She babysitted, worked at Dairy Queen, trying her best to care for her two young sisters. Elizabeth Anne Grove, nicknamed Lizzy, was 14. Each sister's age was separate by two years, but between Marie and Kat, it was 4 years. Lizzy was also diagnosed with ADHD, and it was truly a wonder how they got up to the next grade. Even if they were all related, they looked nothing alike. Marie had caramel blond hair, dark brown eyes with speckles of green, and had tanner skin than her sisters. Lizzy was as pale as a vampire, and had frizzy black hair that was tamed by a ponytail holder. Her eyes were lightning blue, and pierced into your soul if you annoyed her. Kat's skin color was inbetween her sisters. She had dyed dark red hair, and soft chocolatly brown eyes. Each one of them had short hair, in a bob, different types, but all were bobs.
(Marie's P.O.V.)
I sighed, as yet another day of stupid middle school ended. I grabbed my backpack, and left the Choir classroom. People pushed at me from all sides, and would hardly give me a glance, before carrying on with their lives.
I walked out the double doors, and was greeted by a drop of water on my head. I ignored the raindrops, and trudged on the sidewalk. I walked away from the awaiting buses, ready to bring kids to their cozy homes. My mood dampened a bit, and felt a pang of jealousy.
The rain soaked my clothes and the human within them after a few minutes. My tenishoes made wet slapping noises as they thudded against the sidewalk's cement. Cars and buses cruised past me on the road.
I turned on a corner, and headed through the neighborhood. I could've spotted my house a mile away. It wasn't as lively looking as its neighbors, but it was at least livable in. Except for the she-demon. I cringed at the thought, and regrettably opened the front door. Its hinges creaked loudly, and I shut the door as softly as I could from behind me as I entered the house. A metal spoon greeted my forehead painfully. Tears popped at the edges of my eyes, and a familiar voice broke through my silent pain.
"WHERE WERE YOU, BRAT?!" screamed the she-demon. I jumped at her enraged voice.
"There was a rainstorm, a-and it slowed me down-!" I squeaked.
"LIAR! You are so pathetic!" Vivian's voice changed from her yelling to sneering.
"Hah, no wonder nobody likes you! You are a pathetic, weak, little freak! You'll never fit in or be loved, EVER!" Vivian taunted.
"GO TO YOUR ROOM, AND GET OUT OF MY SIGHT, FREAK!" she screamed at me. I bolted down the hall and up the stairs, three at a time, and threw myself into my bedroom. I shut the door, and locked it. I dropped my backpack to the floor, and flung off my heavy jacket. I kicked off my neon green tenishoes, and flung myself onto my bed. I poured out all of my emotions I had been holding in the entire day. Anger, jealousy, annoyance, sadness! I sobbed face-first into my pillow, and kicked at the mattress with my feet, like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. Except, this was a sorrowful one. I hyperventilated, my breathing becoming difficult. I hugged the edges of my pillow, and bawled into it.
My breathing became steady once again, yet the salty clear years still ran down my face. I sat up, and grabbed my shoes.
I slid them on angrily, and that little burst of fury wilted. I gave the door a long, hard look, but shook my head. No, that's not a very good departure. I need one silent, unseen exit!
Then, I glanced over at the window, and sighed. I unlatched the lock on the window, and opened it. I unhooked the screen that was behind the glass, and tossed it outside somewhere. I was going to run away. It would upset Kat and Lizzy, but I was just sick and tired of being treated like some mistake by the she-demon. I then thought, I REALLY stink at climbing trees. Whenever I had first climbed a tree, I got scratches on my knees, legs, hands, and arms. But, would it be different if I climbed DOWN?
I grabbed the thick tree branch that had grown next to my bedroom window. I stuck my head out the window, and made my other hand hold onto the branch. It felt slick with rainwater. I dragged myself forwards uncomfortably, and had to wiggle my hips through the window. The wiggling around did NOT help at all. Yeah, it for me out of the window, but, well, you'll see.
I gasped as one of my hands lost its grip, and my stomach slid off the branch with lightning speed, and my arm that was keeping me from breaking my legs protested against the sudden movement, and jerk violently, and I heard my bones pop loudly, and a snap somewhere. I felt a fire begin in my arm, and I cried out in pain. Owww! I tried to bring up my other arm, but it felt like 50 million pounds of metal. I brought it up really slowly, to my panicking.
Why was I even doing this? This was crazy! 'You could go back with living with the she-demon, and continue on with your stupid, miserable life, or...' I had decided.
I hauled myself up onto the branch, and let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. I crawled over, very carefully, to a branch jutting out of the tree, a foothold.
I slung my waist over the side, hugging the tree tightly, and placed my left foot onto the foothold, meanwhile my right foot danced around, looking for another foothold.
I almost cried, realizing that there was no other foothold. And then I realized, with a mental face-palm, that I WAS crying, but the raindrops concealed it. I let out a sigh, knowing that I'd have to jump to the ground. It might've not been such a far distance, but thanks to my fear of heights, it was like about the distance between a skyscraper roof and the highway.
I sucked in a breath, prayed that I wouldn't die, or break a bone, and jumped.
The ground greeted me at a rapid speed. I felt bruising pain on my body, but knew I hadn't broken any bones on the fall. But, hearing that snap when I dangled from the branch, well, god knows what happened to my arm.
I sat on my behind, and pulled out my iPhone. I know, I know, you're probably thinking, 'How could you have possibly been able to afford that?!' Well, I didn't buy it. My nice friend, Poppy, had convinced her wealthy parents to buy it for me, an exchange for me helping her get an A- in math. I went throughout my gallery, staring at all the pictures I had of the people I loved. I felt a lump grow in my throat.
I tucked the expensive item back inside my sweatshirt, my ear buds keeping it company, plus some lint.
I stood up, and tore out of my backward, and onto the sidewalk. I ran along it, weeping loudly, but the rain washed it out. I hadn't even noticed the disappearing sidewalk, until I began to fall into its white and blue void.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, my pitch beating all of the rock singers in the world. The wind was so painful against my skin, I blacked out almost immediately.
I woke up to silence. Am I...dead? I tried to lift my eyelids, but it felt like somebody placed about infinity plus one pounds on it. I struggled to get them open, but I managed to get them open at around 1/4. I glanced around hazily at my surroundings. It looked like some sort of medical room. My eyelids flew fully open as I felt a horrible pain all over.
"Augh!" I groaned.
The white door flew open and a woman rushed towards me. She looked around 40, her red hair in a tight bun, and looked very official. Doctor probably. Two younger women hurried in after her, maybe the nurses. They looked like they had just graduated from college. One had short cropped brown hair, and the other bottle blond hair that flowed down to her waist.
"Anata wa daijōbudesuka?!" asked the blond woman.
"Uhhh?!" I groaned in confusion. What the heck did she just say?! She looked puzzled, and turned towards the oldest woman.
"Kanojo wa chōdo nanite itta?" she asked the Doctor.
"Tsuki!" growled the Doctor. "Damare!"
"What did she just say?" Tsuki asked the Doctor.
"Tsuki!" Rin growled. "Shut up!"
"But-!" the nurse protested. Rin glared.
"This girl is probably from another world, since she is not speaking our language," she explained. "however, I suppose we should teach her our language, so we can communicate with her clearly." The two nurses nodded in agreement.
"Ko," said the Doctor.
"Hai?" asked Ko, the brunette.
"Go get the dictionary. Time to begin teaching this foreigner!" said Doctor Rin.
"Hai!" Ko exclaimed, grinning, and ran out of the room.
What they were saying was all nonsense to me. The only thing I understood was hai and Tsuki and Ko must've been the young women's names. The brunette had rushed out of the room, grinning for some reason, and when she re-entered, she carried a thick dusty book. I recognized the thing as a dictionary. I tilted my head, and brought out my iPhone.
"Siri," I said into the phone.
"Hello, Marie." said the phone's monotone voice. I remembered from my sisters that 'hai' meant yes in japanese. Wait a minute..., they're speaking in Japanese!
"Siri, repeat was I say from now on in my voice, except in Japanese." I said into the phone. Everyone stared at me questionably.
"My name is Rose G. Marie." I said, and Siri repeated in Japanese. Everyone stared at me, then the Doctor held up a finger, as if asking me silently to allow the strange device to translate her words.
"Siri, translate the following into english!" I said to the phone.
"Watashinonamaeha aru Rin." she said.
"My name is Rin." repeated Siri. The brunette dropped the dictionary, and it made a loud thud as it hit the floor.
She gasped, and said, "Sono debaisu wa nanidesu ka?!"
"What is that device?!" Siri repeated in monotone.
"An iPhone." I answered.
"An iPhone." Siri said.
They all tilted their heads, as if they were asking 'what is an iPhone?' I facepalmed. Why don't they know what an iPhone is?! I explained it to them, and they seemed to get it after awhile.
"So, where am I?" I asked, and Siri did her thing.
"In Nanohana, Alabasta!" said Rin, and then she tilted her head.
"Where are you from?"
"Oakaville, Illinois," I replied. "5027 Jessica Drive."
"Huhh?" they tilted their heads, but shook it off. Probably from a large island that they don't know of, but most defiantly not as big as Alabasta.
"Can I get up?" I asked.
"Yes." said Siri in monotone.
'You're so dull, Siri.' I thought, crawling and standing up out of the cot.
"May I go walk around, and explore?" I asked, and Siri translated it.
"Hai." Rin nodded.
I limped past them, and out the door, bringing my phone with me. I went down a long hallway, when I entered what seemed like the main room of a house. I spotted the exit, and left the house. My tenishoes touched sand. 'Desert?' I wondered, and already felt myself sweating. Jeez, where I came from, it had more coldness than hotness. I let my feet carry me to wherever. Breaking out of my haze, I realized I was near some docks, where men were unloading crates from a ship, and everyone was bustling around as if it were the town center or whatever. My eyes sparkled as I spotted a pretty fruit with patterns on it atop a crate. I limped hurriedly over to it, and picked it up. It looked like an apple gone wrong. It was red, but had light orange and pink making swirls on the side, while the stick curled up like a, well, curly fry. 'Looks tasty...' I thought, and took a bite out of it. I swallowed it, thinking about having another bite, when the taste hit me.
"YUCK!" I yelled, and felt vile rise in my throat. It was revolting! I threw the disgusting fruit away from me, and threw up all over the cobblestone. People either gave me a look of disgust or worry. I suddenly felt weak in the knees, and I collapsed onto my side on the ground. My head pounded, and my ears buzzed. My vision began to blur, and I felt as if I were just a hollow piece of skin, completely weak and incapable of doing things.
"Help...," I whispered. "...help...me..." "Help...-" I said, just as I blacked out.
I woke up, again in the same white room, except it was empty. I sat up, and noticed my iPhone on the bedside table. I grabbed it, and tucked it safely in my pocket, when I heard someone yelling, and loud noises. 'What the heck?' A guy barged into the room and tackled me, making me fall back onto the cot.
"Oomph! OI, OI! GET OFF OF ME, GETOFFOFME!" I screamed at him, and Siri translated through my pocket. The guy got off of me, and tilted his strawhat wearing head at me. He asked me something in Japanese, and I pulled out my iPhone.
"Is this a restraunt?" asked Siri. I gave the guy a 'are you kidding me?!' look.
"No, baka!" I yelled at him. He pouted and frowned at me, then gave me a mischievous grin. My eyes widened and I thought 'oh, crap!' as he picked me up, piggy back ride style, and raced out of the house at lightning speed. I screamed, as he laughed.
"FOOOOOOOD!" he screamed, which Siri had translated. He seemed to sniff as we ran through the streets, and his eyes bugged.
"RESTRAUUUUUNT!" he yelled, and ran straight at the wall.
"STOOOOP!" I screamed, and we hit the wall. We slammed into some guy smoking, and knocked him to the ground. I crawled off of the crazy guy's back, and tried to scootch away.
"This guy's crazy...! Please, help...me!" I squeaked to a nearby person. They looked at me with concern, and they stood up. He helped me stand up, and slung my arm over his shoulder. He began to walk away as quietly as he could, but the plan failed anyways.
"HEEEEEY, WHERE ARE YOU GOOOOIIIIINNNGGG?!" he yelled, and yanked on my arm. He burst through the wall, dragging me from behind him. We stopped at the fifth building, and he began to eat, shoving his face full of the food. I felt incredibly weak, and in terrible pain, but I had to admit I was starving. I began shoving my face full of food too, and we devoured ALOT of food.
"STRAWHAT!" shouted the smoking guy from earlier all of a sudden, coming through the home in the wall. His gaze clicked onto me for a second.
"And who are you?" he asked. "a new pirate recruit of his?"
"Whaat?!" I squeaked in a high-pitched voice.
"I'm not a pirate, i'm only 12 years old! Plus, my mom wouldn't let me become a pirate. She would probably just call me a stupid, crazy freak, a-and - " I broke off, and began to cry. The smoking guy looked almost sympathetic through his mean face.
"Kimmy guu áriul?" he asked.
"What's your name?" Siri translated, and his eyes bugged at the sight of my iPhone.
"Rose G. M-Marie..." I whimpered.
"My name is Smoker." said the guy, and I began to giggle. He looked at me, confusion in his eyes.
"Bahahahaha! You smoke, and your name is Smoker?! Hahahaha! What a coincidence!" I laughed. Smoker still looked confused, but then he turned his attention back to 'Strawhat'.
"So, you're here too." said Smoker to Strawhat. Strawhat continued to nom on food, which seemed to tick Smoker off.
"STOP EATING ALREADY!" he bellowed. Strawhat looked up at Smoker, and his eyes bulged. He exclaimed gibberish, and much to Smoker's and my disgust, with his mouth open.
"You disgusting little," growled Smoker, just when Strawhat began to run off, shoving all of the food into his mouth, which expanded his cheeks. "...WAIT!" He began to chase after Strawhat. I sighed, now alone in the peaceful and quiet room. I was in no condition to go after them, so I stayed seated.
"HEY!" shouted a guy, running through the hole in the wall. He had on a cowboy hat with the drama smiley and frowny faces on it. He wore a beaded necklace around his neck, and his face was filled with freckles. He had dark, black shaggy hair, resembling Strawhat's a little.
"Have you seen my little brother?" he asked me, and Siri translated his Japanese.
"Uh, i'm not sure what he looks like, so um, could you please give me a description or something, please?" I replied. He stared at my iPhone with curiosity, 'WHY DOESNT ANYONE KNOW WHAT AN IPHONE IS?' but seemed to shrug it off.
"He has a strawhat, and-"
"OOH, OOH! I know who you're talking about!" I interrupted. "Its that crazy guy that the smoking dude, Smoker, called Strawhat!" His eyes lit up.
"That's my brother! Thanks...?"
"Rose G. Marie, and no problem!" I said.
"Well, thanks Marie!" he said, "could you tell me the direction he went in?"
"Um, i'm pretty sure over there..." I said, pointing to my right.
"Thanks again, Marie! Let's go get Luffy now!" he grinned.
"Wait, wha- AHHHH!" I screamed as he picked me up, draping me over his shoulder, and ran off into the direction I pointed.
"PUT ME DOWWWWWN!" I exclaimed.
"Oww, stop shouting in my ear!" he protested.
"Sorry..."
We ran into a town square, where a ruckus was going on. Strawhat was running from Smoker, when Smoker shouted, "Kagerou!" The guy gasped, and set me down gently against the water fountain, and ran in front of the attack.
"Cut it out." he said, stopping Smokers weird attack. "You may be 'smoke', but I am 'fire'. Your powers don't stand a chance against mine."
"A-Ace?!" stuttered Strawhat, his face full of surprise.
"Go back to your ship, Luffy!" yelled 'Ace'. "I got this! And take Marie with you!" He gestured over towards me. A group of people, who I assumed was with 'Luffy', looked over at me.
"Karoo!" shouted a pretty blue haired teenager. "Carry her back to the Going Merry!" A gigantic duck nodded in salute, and scooped me up onto its back. It began to run off in the direction of the docks, where the other town square was where I ate the disgusting fruit. I had to hold onto the barrel on its back to try to keep myself from falling off. It went in the direction of a ship, which I guessed was 'The Going Merry', and climbed onto the deck. Everyone else was at our heels, and arrived at the ship too.
The duck plopped me down onto the wood, and I cried out in pain as my bruises were hit. My fingers squeezed my iPhone tighter, trying to control my pain. Fail! I began to cry, and curled up in a ball on the deck. I squeezed my eyes shut, and let the tears flow freely down my face, making wet splotch marks on the wood.
"ZORO!" shouted a small voice. "GET HER INTO THE INFIRMARY!"
"Hai, Chopper" grumbled a male voice, and I felt strong arms pick me up. I began to cry into 'Zoro's', or whoever's, chest.
"Oi, don't cuddle into me, brat." said the gruff voice. I began to cry harder, and much louder.
"Can anyone make this brat SHUT UP?" he growled. For a second there was no pain. I opened my eyes, and looked up into his.
"How about you stop complaining?!" I shot back, and dug my nails into his wrists. It didn't seem to affect him much, but it did leave red marks.
"HEY!" he yelled, and let go of me.
"AHH!" I screamed, then I felt a stick under my back, levitating me off the ground.
"Oi, marimo, don't drop the kid!" growled a smoking blond dude. And then I realized he was holding me off the ground with JUST his leg. Holy crud. An orange haired teen girl stepped into view, and she sighed.
"Sanji, how about you take her into the infirmary instead..." and then she turned on 'marimo' or 'Zoro', and her face converted into an angry she-demons face. She slammed her fist onto his head, and yelled, "DON'T TRY TO HURT THE POOR KID! SHE'S ALREADY INJURED FROM WHATEVER!" Scary. She. Is. Very. Scary.
The blond picked me up gently, and carried me into a room. He set me down on a cot, and stuck his head out the doorway.
"Oi, Chopper, she's in here. Come do whatever doctors do!" he said.
"I'm COMING, Sanji! Jeez!" sighed the small voice, and they entered the room. I blinked, and couldn't believe my eyes.
"What the HECK ARE YOU?! WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?! WHY ARE YOU ALL SPEAKING JAPANESE AND NOT ENGLISH?! I'M PRETTY SURE I DIDN'T FALL FROM THE SKY INTO JAPAN!" I screamed, so confused. The furry midget with horns sighed.
"Nami, Vivi, could you please come in here and calm her down? The rest of us probably won't be able to." I heard highheels clicking on wood, and entered the two teenage girls, who smiled at me kindly. The door shut, leaving just me and the two girls alone in the room.
"So, well, my name is Nami, and this is Vivi!" introduced the girl with orange hair, now known as Nami.
"I'm Marie, and I want to go home, which doesn't seem possible." I said.
"Why?" asked Vivi.
I explained to them about the sidewalk and all the way to the present, but left out about the running away. Nami and Vivi were staring at me, wide-eyed.
"That's very odd..." murmered Nami, "but then, that swirly fruit you ate, its a devil fruit. So, what fruit did you eat?"
"Uh..., I dunno, actually. But, ever since I ate it, I've felt really warm, but maybe that's just because this is the desert." I replied to Nami uncertainly.
"Hmmm...then we'll have to make tests to know." declared Nami, and she stood, holding out her hand to me. "C'mon, how about we introduce you correctly to the crew, and find out who was that guy that helped us escape."
I nodded in agreement, and took her hand. Vivi also stood, and they slung my arms over their shoulders, and began to help me limp forward. We exited the infirmary, where I hadn't gotten any treatment yet, and headed down a hall, and soon exited onto the deck. Everyone's attention came to me. Me, being the shy person who hates big attention, hung my head and stared at my feet, and slouched.
"ALRIGHT, ATTENTION EVERYONE!" Nami shouted unessecarily, since everyone was watching us three. "THIS IS MARIE, SO BE KIND TO HER! AND I MEAN YOU ZORO, IN PARTICULAR! SHE'S GOING TO BE TRAVELING WITH US FOR A WHILE!"
A guy with curly black hair and a Pinocchio nose raised his hand nervously.
"What is it, Usopp?!" Nami asked.
"Umm, why is she traveling with us? Why can't we just bring her home?" Usopp asked, and he looked over at me. I swallowed, feeling anxious.
"She can't go home, and why is because, well..." Nami said, and then she whispered into my ear, "Is it alright if I tell them, or would you like to?"
"I-i'll tell t-them...!" I stuttered, then looked at everyone. "Well, umm, like Nami s-said, I-I can't go home. B-because, um..., its somehow u-up in the s-sky or something, and I fell down here, I guess." Oh, god, I sounded like an idiot. Strawhat's eyes turned into stars.
"WOW! REALLY?! ARE YOU A ANGEL?!"
"Umm, no." I said, looking at him in confusion. Do I look like an angel?!
"EVERYONE!" Nami shouted suddenly, and everyone jumped. "LINE UP AND GREET MARIE! AND DON'T BE SO SURPRISED ABOUT HER 'IPHONE'! THAT'S HOW SHE WILL COMMUNICATE WITH US!" They all blinked at the word 'iPhone', but they shuffled into a line.
Strawhat was first. "I'M MONKEY D. LUFFY, AND I'M THE CAPTAIN!" he shouted.
"OW! No need to shout! That hurt my ears!" I complained, and Siri translated.
"Hi, i'm Usopp, the sharpshooter." said the Pinocchio nose guy polietly.
"Hi, Usopp!" I smiled back at him gratefully.
"Hello, little lady. How are you today? My name is Sanji, and i'm the cook." bowed the blond. I blushed.
"Hi, i'm doing okay." I said shyly.
"Hi, i'm Chopper, the doctor!" said the midget reindeer.
"Hi, Chopper!" I greeted just as kindly.
Last, but not least, came the grumpy green haired guy.
"I'm Zoro, okay you little brat? And i'm the swordsman, so if you annoy me, i'll cut you" he growled.
"Meanie!" I glared at him. "You're lucky enough that if I insult you, you won't be able to understand, unless I have Siri translate it." He glared back, but walked off.
Sanji glared at him, and said under his breath, "Stupid marimo." Sanji walked over to me as I leaned against the wall.
"Would you like a smoothie, Marie-Chan?" he asked. I grinned at him, and my eyes sparkled.
"Yes, please, Sanji!" He smiled at me and chuckled.
"C'mon, you can sit at the table while I also make Nami-San and Vivi-Chan drinks." I nodded, and he helped me walk to the kitchen. We entered, and he pulled out a chair, and I plopped down onto it. He began to cook and mix or whatever chefs do.
"Should I let Chopper look at my bruises or whatever injuries I have?" I asked Sanji.
"Let him." Sanji said while not looking.
I nodded, and called out loud: "CHOOOOOOOOPEEEEERRRRRRR!" After a few seconds, the doctor entered the kitchen.
"Okay, so you want me to examine your injuries, i'm guessing?" I nodded, and he walked over to me.
I sipped up the cool, delicious, strawberry smoothie, and sighed happily.
"Sanji, you must be magical because this is SUPER yummy!" I complimented him.
"Thanks, Marie-Chan!" he smiled at me happily, clearly liking the fact that I like his food. All of a sudden, a stretched arm grabbed my cup right put of my hands, and zipped back to the arm's owner. Luffy began to run, because Sanji was chasing right after him.
"LUFFY! GIVE MARIE-CHAN BACK HER SMOOTHIE! IT'S FOR HER, STUPID RUBBER IDIOT CAPTAIN, NOT FOR YOU!" raged Sanji.
I sweat dropped, and asked Nami, "Does this always happen?"
"Hai, Marie." murmered Nami, sipping her smoothie.
"Oh," I said bluntly. "So, where are we heading, Nami?"
"Well, up the river, and-!" Nami said, when she was interrupted by Luffy, who was sitting cross-legged on the railing.
"YEP!" he shouted gleefully. "ACE IS MY OLDER BROTHER!" All of our jaws dropped. So, that guy, his name is Ace? 'Well, don't be so surprised, idiot' I thought. 'Luffy DID call him Ace back in Nanohana. Use me, your brain, for once, idiot!' Urrgggh! Mean brain! Well, anyways, back to the present!
"Yeah, he would beat me in every fight, but now I bet I can beat him!" boasted Luffy, and I giggled.
"Just who..." said a familiar voice. "Can you beat?" Ace jumped up, and crouched in the spot where he had just knocked Luffy out of.
"Ace!" me and Luffy shouted at the same time.
He smiled. "Sup guys!" And then he jumped onto the deck, and stood up straight.
I smiled at him, and walked over in his direction. When he was in range, I tried to copy what Nami does. I whacked him on the top of the head with my fist. A welt popped up on his head, not a strong blow like Nami's, but at least enough to make a welt.
"Yowch! Marie, that hurt! What's that for, anyways?!" hissed Ace.
"You carried me along, slung over your shoulder like a rag doll, without my permission!" I scolded him. From the corner of my eye, I could see Nami smirking.
Ace shrugged. "Sorry 'bout that. But anyways, did you happen to eat a devil's fruit?" he didn't sound sorry, but I blinked at the question.
"Umm, yeah. How'd you know?" I asked him. He shrugged, which confused me even more.
"Well, anyways, Luffy, here's this." said Ace, and he tossed Luffy a folded piece of paper. He catched it, and unfolded it.
"It's blank." pointed out Luffy.
"It'll help keep us in touch, well bye guys, and thanks for watching over my lil' bro!" Ace said, and hopped over the railing onto a small boat I hadn't noticed before.
"Wait, you're leaving already?!" me and Luffy shouted at the same time.
"It was just for a small chat!" said Ace.
"But-!" protested Luffy, but Ace was already heading off.
I sighed, "Well, let's just go to where ever you guys destination is."
I was taking a nap against the mast, when Vivi poked me awake.
"Yaaah?" I yawned, stretching my arms and legs, and cracked an eye open at her.
"It's pretty hot here in the desert." said Vivi, and she held up heavy clothes. "So then the sun can burn you more easily. You'll need to wear these."
I raised and eyebrow. Wouldn't wearing heavy clothes make me hot and sweaty and all light headed? I shrugged off the thought, and took the clothes. I walked into the girl's room, and dressed into the clothes. I wore a blue long sleeve shirt with a yellow smiley face on it, to my amusement. I wore black jeans, and brown hiking boots that went halfway up to my knees. I put on a long black trenchcoat over my outfit, and a cowboy hat on my head, which shadowed my eyes. I added on sunscreen to my exposed skin, just in case. I exited the room, and went back to the deck.
I struck a pose, and said sarcastically, "Gosh, thanks so much Vivi. Now I look just like a cute little princess!"
Zoro snorted and Vivi just smiled. I then turned around to Sanji, who was sobbing dramatically because Nami and Vivi were going to wear coats too, and not the dancer outfit.
"Hey, Sanji?" I asked him, "can I have some chocolate milk?"
"Sure, Marie-Chan! I'll go make some for you!" smiled Sanji, and he disappeared into the kitchen.
"Nami!" I whispered into her ear, and she leaned over.
"Yeah?" she whispered back.
"Why is Sanji so upset that you and Vivi are not going to wear the dancer outfits?" I asked her.
"He's a perv" Nami replied, and straightened.
"Ooooh, okay" I said, realization smacking me in the face.
Sanji walked back out with a glass of chocolate milk, and handed it to me. I chugged it down under one minute, and smacked my lips when the glass was empty. I swear, chocolate milk is the drink of the gods!
"Aaaah." panted Luffy, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.
"Stooooop!" I complained.
"Aaaaaaaah-"
"WOULD YOU STOP SAYING 'AAAH' ALREADY?!" yelled Nami.
"Ughhh...would you guys just please stop talking? I'm gonna get a headache!" I said, not at all bothered by the heat, strangely.
"I agree with the brat. Shut up." said Zoro, and a tick mark appeared on my forehead, but I said nothing.
Sanji seemed to ignore Zoro completely, and said to Vivi and me, "You don't seem to mind the heat Vivi-Chan and Marie-Chan."
"I grew up here, so its not so bad." Vivi smiled.
"Meh, I dunno why. I would've probably wilted already like a dead flower, or a super old wrinkly lady. Both is a good example. But, apparently not." I said. We continued to walk, while Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper complained.
"Luffy, let me have a freaking sip of water! I'm parched!" I told Luffy, while energetically shaking one of his shoulders.
"Nooo...it's my turn to have a sip!" protested Luffy, and he took a large gulp.
"IDIOT!" screamed Nami, hitting the back of his head. He water from his cheeks burst from his mouth, making the wasted water fall into the sand.
"Nami..." I sweat dropped. "you just kind of wasted water..."
"SHUT UP!" Nami screamed, and hit me too. A welt formed in my head, and I began to cry hysterically.
I managed to say through my tears, "N-Nami! That's child a-abuse!" Sanji began to swoon over how pretty Nami was, which ticked me off. Vivi looked like she didn't know what to do, which bugged me. Zoro began laughing, which made steam come out of my ears. I felt even warmer and began to sweat, and I weakly hit Nami in the shoulder.
"YOOOOUCH!" she screamed in pain, holding her arm, where the fabric was sizzling. "hot hot hot hot hot!" After Nami was given an icepack by Chopper and the pain left her, she turned to me. I tried to become a smaller target by bringing in my shoulders and slouching, but she didn't yell at me or hit me.
"Marie?" she asked. "did you happen to eat a devil's fruit? That wouldn't have been able to happen if you hadn't!"
"Ermm..." I said awkwardly, and squirmed a little as we continued walking. "I am not really that sure. I ate a very disgusting fruit with weird designs, though."
Everyone sweat dropped, for some weird reason.
"Marie..., that fruit was a devil's fruit..." said Nami.
"Oh" I said dumbly.
"Cooool! What devil's fruit did you eat?!" said Luffy, his eyes sparkling.
"I...DO...NOT...FRIGGIN KNOW!" I yelled, exasperated.
"Well, it must be something to do with heat." suggested Chopper.
"If it is, i'm guessing its just heat, and not fire, because that's Ace's devil fruit." said Nami.
"So you ate the heat-heat fruit?" asked Luffy.
"Guess so," I shrugged. "But, Nami? Can I have a turn to ride on Eyelash?"
"Yeah, i'll get off so you can get on." said Vivi. She slid off the side of Eyelash and helped boost me up onto Eyelash. Nami was in front, so I hugged her around her middle so I wouldn't fall off.
After a few minutes, the sun was going down. My hair hung in strings as it limply hung in front of my face. I was leaning against the navigator's back as we both rode on Eyelash. Dark circles mocked my eyelids from under my eyes, urging my eyelids to close.
"Nami," I asked tiredly.
"Hai?" she asked.
"When can we make camp and go to sleep?"
She glanced around her shoulder to see my tired firgure, truly seeing how exhausted I was.
"Hn, I'll ask Vivi for you, Marie," Nami said.
"Thank you, Nami..." I murmered softly.
"Hey, Vivi!" the orange haired teen asked the blue haired teen.
"Yes, Nami?" asked the princess.
"When can we make camp? Marie's exhausted." said Nami, jabbing her thumb in my direction.
"Hn, how about the next sand dune?" said Vivi.
"Sounds good! How's it sound to you, Marie?" Nami added quietly.
"Nice..thanks Nami...you're very kind to help me..." I muttered, a faint smile tugging at my dry lips. Nami smiled while she faced forwards.
Her smile dropped, however, when Zoro scoffed and mumbled, "Yeah, right. Kind...not how I would say it, Marie. More like witch" The next thing I knew, Zoro had a steaming welt on his head, while Nami's eyebrows twitched, a tick mark dancing on her smooth forehead.
"Just shut up, Zoro." Nami said, irritably.
"Sand dune~~~! I see a sand dune, Marie~~!" exclaimed Luffy, laughing, and he began to run energetically towards the dune.
I sighed, sweat dropping, as the rest of us continued to slowly reach the sand dune. When we arrived, Nami slid off Eyelash and helped me down. Sanji had been nice enough to also set up a sleeping place for me, right next to Nami and Vivi. I plopped down onto the makeshift bed, and sighed.
I raised my iPhone into my line of sight, and clicked the on button. The screen lit up from its slumber, and I sagged a little at the battery percent.
"46%? Aww, man..." I mumbled. I held onto the off button, and the options came up, asking if I wanted to do airplane mode, which I selected on, and I pressed the turning off option. The screen went black, and I sighed.
"G'night everyone, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite." I muttered, and closed my eyes. I felt my body preparing to shut down for a few minutes, and soon I felt my consciousness slip away.