"The Outcasts"
(c) Mei Evelyn
A One Piece Fanfiction
One Piece (c) Eiichiro Oda
In previous chapter: A huge storm hit the Goa Kingdom for the night. When all bandits passed out, Ace decided to hunt something, and Luffy, being Luffy, followed Ace into the forest. When Ace realized the small footsteps he used to hear were vacant for more than the usual, he noticed Luffy wasn't following. It turned out that Luffy just discovered something unusual, which in turn made Ace shock for a second in his spot.
Ch. 2: The Girl in White
Ace turned his head to look for the right angle to see the thing Luffy pointed at. When he saw it, his blood ran cold.
It was someone.
Lying on the ground was a small child in a white dress, and judging from the long hair and the dress he assumed that it was a girl. Not quite able to shake the weird feeling he got, he stepped forward to get a closer look. The girl was most likely unconscious.
"Oi, Ace! Wait!" he ignored Luffy and had his pace going faster by the seconds. When he finally stood just beside the unconscious girl, he let himself get clearer view of the girl. Her dress was dirty, and seemed to be torn at several places, she had a very pale complexion, her hair was long and gray (what a rare colour) but messy at the moment, and he noticed some bruises and small cuts on her skin though not very life-threatening. Luffy was kneeling just next to the girl's head, attempting to poke her cheek just because he was curious. Ace didn't do anything whatsoever, and merely stood to watch her reaction, if she could react at all.
It turned out she was able to react to the finger that poke playfully at her cheek, proved by the soft groaning and how she squinted her closed-eyes. Not knowing what to do, Ace simply waited the present to unfold. Luffy seemed eager at the reaction, as his eyes twinkle with curiosity. However the girl had a hard time to get back to her conscious state, it took several minutes for Ace to wait patiently until he got annoyed and ready to snap at the girl to wake the damn up. But suddenly the girl's eyes fluttered open, squinting from the sudden light and blinking her eyes to adapt to the blinding sight.
Upon seeing two faces staring down at her, the girl jumped on her feet in instant, stepping back further from the confused-boys until her back hit a tree. She took a woodstick from the ground, her body on stance of defense, and face filled with something akin to anger. Her expression did not suit the beauty she had, and even though the dress wasn't in good condition it must be a fine dress once before it stained with mud and else. Now fully standing, Ace was sure that the girl could not be older than Luffy, hinted by how tiny she was, even compared to the thin straw hat freak. Instead of running off like what Ace had expected earlier, this girl gave the vibes of strong will and determination to stand her ground. Ace was not amused any bit.
"Seriously? You wanna fight with a thin stick of wood?" Ace snorted, eyeing the now awake girl sarcastically. Luffy however had a glint of interest in his eyes, not aware of the fact that the girl just showing her intend to get away from them.
The girl scoffed, but not saying anything, her guard not going down nonetheless. It was a silent staring contest between Ace and the girl. Both child tensed, both glaring with determination not to yield.
The tension was broken when Luffy, oblivious to the quiet battle between them, decided to voice his thought, "Yo! My name's Luffy! Do you have a name? Where are you come from? You are a girl, right? How old are you? I'm seven by the way! Are you lost? Why is your hair gray? Oh, and this is Ace, he's my bro—Ackk! Why did you hit me, Ace?! It's hurt!" Ace just had to hit Luffy in the head for being annoying-as-usual-self, resulting for Luffy had teary eyes.
Ace sighed. "Shut up, Luffy. How can you expect her to answer all that at once? And you were getting nonsense," Ace said. Realization hit Luffy, and he grinned.
"Right, Ace. Hey, sorry for earlier. Shishishi," Luffy said as he gave his wide grin to the girl, who just looked confused by the turn of event. Sure she never had expected to meet a boy that just greet her without being scare much less suspicious. Her grip loosened, her expression no more fierce but instead was filled with confusion.
Ace let out more sigh. He had no idea what to do in this situation, because the girl obviously wouldn't be dangerous, but still the girl refused to let down her walls. And Luffy still had his stupid grin on, so Ace really had no clue what to do.
That was when he heard voice from behind. Makino's voice he was sure, calling them out with her delicate voice, "Ace! Luffy! What are you doing there?" The three children looked at the source of voice. Makino, in her casual outfit and a basket in one hand, waved at them from the path where Ace and Luffy had been standing before.
"Oii! Makino~! We are here!" Luffy waved both hands cheerfully in reply.
When Makino caught sight of the third kid, she was shocked for a second before ran to their direction, wanting to confirm her suspicion. She came in to their circle, but took a step closer to the girl in white. The girl had became more confuse as she inspected the girl's well being with soft yet thoughful eyes. She was caught off guard there, and unconsciously lower her wall, though she still wouln't let go of the woodstick.
"You are badly injured there. You need to be treated as soon as possible. Ace, I recall ever gave you medical-kit, right?" Makino said to the girl before turned to ask Ace. There was definitely concern in her voice, something that the girl had long forgotten.
"Yeah, it's in the Dadan's country, though. The bandits all passed out, so you wanna take it yourself. It's in Dadan's room, she keep it in her cabinet," Ace answered.
Makino laid her eyes back to the girl. "Well, can you walk on your own or is it hurt for you to walk by yourself?" she asked softly.
The girl blinked before she unexpectedly stomped her feet hard unto the ground, the woodstick still tight in one hand, and her face once again turned fierce.
Makino chuckled, inwardly laughing by the girl's act. "I take it you want to walk on your own then. Come on, the house is not far from here," she said while extending her hand toward the girl, smile etched on her beautiful face.
The girl hesitated, unsure about the hand extended at her. She glanced to see the woman's smile, turned to the boy with flat expression, to the grinning boy with straw hat on his head, and backed to the woman's smile. Seconds ticked by, and Ace just knew this girl didn't trust them any bit. Luckily Makino was a patience woman, because Ace couldn't stand the stalling, and Luffy could grin for all eternity.
Even when the girl decided to take the hand, she was shaking, and her face filled with hesitation, her eyes was one of confusion. But Makino's palm was soft and warm, feelings that eased her anxiety down. They walked side by side back to the path, and turn to a certain direction into the woods. The girl didn't pay attention to her surrounding, not even noticed that the boys were going the opposite path from them, instead overwhelmed by the people she had just met for a few minutes, overthrown her fear by how warm the hands she was holding.
When they finally arrived at the so-called Dadan's country, the first thing that greeted them inside the hut was the sprawling bandits above the floor, lying like dead men. Makino knew they must be really exhausted because of the storm, but what she didn't expect was when the girl in her hand started to shake vigorously, frozen in her spot by the door.
Greetings, fellow readers!
Here's the second chapter of TO, hope you enjoy! There will be more confusion surrounding the girl, does anyone curious?
To my first two reviewers:
Guest: Thank you! I'm happy that it's fine for you!^^
Alder Niis: Thank you! I'm flattered by your words, so encouraging for me!^^
Also, big thanks for those who reads/follows/favs this story! You make my days, people!
I think that's it for now. Don't hesitate to give me review, any kind of review is acceptable, unless you attacking me personally, I'll be happy to have it.
I'm planning to publish another story, but I still try to convince myself :p
There are some other ideas that plague my mind, but so far I don't have enough time to write it :( Don't worry, I'll try my best in writing my stories. Have this one for the time being ;)
Dadah, fellas~!
12/04/2015
-Mei Evelyn
