Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece yadda yadda yadda… you get the picture :)
A big thank you to Fuyutaro son for being my beta :)
2. Luffy and Ace
"You're funny!" he said before introducing himself: "I'm Monkey D. Luffy! Who're you?"
That was the point that neither my brain nor my body could go on.
So I simply fainted.
When I regained consciousness, I noticed that I was lying on a soft bed and that it was already dark outside. I pulled myself up and saw that my wounds had been treated. I also noticed that my clothes had been changed as well, which I blushed, though at least my jeans were still on.
A small candle was lit on the desk in the room, giving the room some light. I was alone in the small room, being the only thing in the room besides the small desk and bed was a closet. The floor and the walls were wooden, and a small window and door completed it.
It was simple and reminded me of my cottage, so at first I thought I was back home having a strange dream. So I got up, noticed my duffel bag on the floor, and, still barefoot, walked towards the door. I opened it and saw a tall boy my age standing in front of a stove, preparing a meal. The boy who scared the crap out of me was sitting at the table.
"You're awake!" said the boy, which made me feel faint again.
I leaned on the wall to regain my footing and nodded. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was real. HE was real.
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy, this is my brother Ace! Are you hungry? Do you want some meat to feel better?"
"Luffy! Calm down. Sorry about that. As he said, I'm Ace. You should sit down; you had quite a fever last night." said the older boy and pointed on a chair near the table.
I was still a bit wobbly on my feet, so I obeyed and sat.
"So, who are you?" He added once I was seated.
"H… How long was I out? Oh, and my name is Shana," I said quietly my voice wavering a bit.
"Nice to meet you, Shana!" Luffy exclaimed loudly, which startled me a bit.
Ace just looked at me sheepishly.
"You were asleep for two days. Doc said it was exhaustion from those injuries you have. He prescribed a lot of rest."
"Thank you."
"For what?" asked Ace while Luffy just chewed on some apples.
"Finding me and taking care of me."
"Meh, you don't have to thank us for anything. Luffy said you were funny and that since he found you, he has to take care of you."
At that point I just looked at Luffy.
'Am I a lost dog or something?'
But, from what I remembered from manga, it would have been just the thing Luffy would do.
"Are you hungry?" Ace asked, waking me from my musings.
In response, my stomach growled.
"I guess that answers that."
"Ace, meat!"
"Hai, hai, Luffy. Wait a bit."
"So, Shana," Luffy started, turning to look at me. "How'd you get all that beaten up?"
At that point, my small smile vanished and I looked down on my hands, both of which were heavily bandaged.
I missed the hit that Ace sent Luffy as tears started forming in my eyes again.
"I tried to run away and he caught me." I said as I blinked the tears away.
By then I had a plate of food in front of me and Ace was sitting with us. We quietly ate, or should I say me and Ace quietly ate.
We were in the middle of our meal when Ace suddenly fell face down into his plate.
"Ace? Are you alright?" when no answer came, I panicked and lifted his head, only to find that he was snoring.
"Shi shi shi shi.." Luffy laughed, "He fell asleep again!"
"Asleep?" I exclaimed, dropping his head back into the plate. "And I was actually worried that something bad had happened to him." I moaned, putting my head onto table.
This was all getting to be to much to me and I wanted nothing more then to sleep and forget everything.
"Where did you tried to run away from?" Luffy asked.
He had already eaten everything and was now stealing Ace's food, but was still looking at me with a grin on his face.
"From a foster family, Luffy. I didn't like them, and I'm old enough to take care of myself. But now it doesn't really matter. I don't think I know how to get back, and I'm not quite sure if I even want to."
"Ah, so you don't have to go back." said Luffy before suddenly saying with renewed energy: "I know! You can stay here and be my nakama!"
Here I chocked on my drink and more asked then said: "Nakama?"
"Hai, I'm going to be the pirate king!"
"You're just a kid Luffy." I said flatly.
"I'm not a kid! I'm a man! I'm already 10 years old!" he exclaimed angrily.
At that point, Ace finally woke up and I just shook my head.
'They're nuts.' Went through my mind.
"I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to sleep. Good night," I told them as I left the kitchen.
'So he's ten.' I thought. 'That means that in 7 years, he's going to leave this island to become a pirate.'
A small smile formed on my face. He's just like mom portrayed him to be. As I was lost in memories, I lied down. It was not long before I was asleep.
The next morning, the sound of something crashing woke me up. I sat up and looked around. Then I heard Ace's screaming, berating his brother. Unwillingly, a smile formed at the thoughts of those two brothers. I found some clean clothing in my bag and changed into them. Luckily, I found my shoes under the bed and put them on.
Surprisingly, there was a mirror in the room that I had not noticed before, and, as any teenage girl (I may be 13, but I am still teenage girl), I checked myself in the mirror.
I think my jaw fell to the floor. I looked absolutely dreadful. My nice, long, red hair was in tangles and without its usual sheen. The bruises on my face were still healing, so they were a nasty shade of yellow. I even had a split lip.
I sighed since there was nothing I could do for my bruises.
'At least I can comb my hair.'
After an agonizing ten minutes, I put my hair in a sloppy bun and I checked what I had with me.
In my duffel bag there were a few shirts, some shorts, a pair of jeans and two sweaters. I also had a few pairs of underwear and socks. There was also a photo album of me and my mother, and my book.
I gently stroked its leather cover. My mom had binded the book herself. It contained her memories and the stories she heard from whispers. She always considered it her treasure.
'Well,' I decided, 'I can be melancholic later, for now I have to figure out what to do.'
I checked to see if I had anything valuable so to sell for some money. Beli, I think the currency was.
The only thing besides my toiletries was a bag of salt. I forgot I putted in my bag. I had it since my last exorcism, which was my way of making money back home.
I sighed and said to myself: 'at least there is something I could do. Luckily I look older then I am.'
I packed it all back up and tied the bag of salt onto my belt, just as I usually did. I stood and stretched my hand, at least my wounds were healing nicely, all but my ribs…
The moment I thought about that I winced.
'Oh well, it could be worse.' I thought as I left the room.
'You do know about Murphy's law, right?' ran through my mind as I was lying on the floor with Luffy still hugging me, trying to ignore the pain.
I think that someone out there must really hates me, because the moment I had stepped into the kitchen, Luffy had glomped me, saying : "You're awake! Let's go play!"
"Luffy, she's still hurt!" Ace shouted. Ah, my savior...
Or not.
He not so gently pried Luffy off of me and helped me up.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
I wanted to scream and rant till I was blue in the face, but I held myself back. My mom was strict about at least being polite and... Well, I was just to damn proud to admit that I was in pain.
"I'm fine, just a bit hungry."
"Oh, don't worry, breakfast will be done soon," Ace said as he turned back to the stove. "Makino is coming later to check on you. She was the one who changed your shirt before, and she kind of takes care of us when gramps isn't here."
"I see," I said, relieved that the boys didn't play dress up with me.
As soon as food was on the table I ate it with Luffy trying to steal some from me. Let's just say that me in a bad mood and someone trying to steal my food... Well, things can get ugly, luckily Ace sent him away before I could explode.
I thanked him for the food and moved towards the sink to start doing wash the dishes. Ace wanted to stop me, but I insisted, saying that I wanted to be useful.
"How old are you?" he asked while I was washing them.
"13, you?"
"Really? I thought you were older? Well, then I guess we're the same age."
"I had to grow up fast, but I guess with a brother like Luffy, you had to as well," I said with a smirk as I dried my hands.
He returned the smirk and answered, "If you think Luffy's bad, wait till you meet gramps."
"You mean there is someone else like Luffy out there?" I asked a bit stunned, but then I remember my mom laughing as she read the meeting between Luffy and his grandfather when Luffy becomes a pirate to me.
Ace just grinned and nodded.
I was roused from my thoughts by a knock on the door. Looking up, I saw a woman entering. She had long, dark green hair with a bandana in her hair and had a friendly smile on her face.
"Hello Shana-chan. My name is Makino. I see that you're feeling better."
"Hello. Yes, I'm fine now, thank you."
"Hmm, you will be when your injuries are healed," she replied and smiled even more.
"Makino-san, I don't have any money do you know if there is a place I could work for it?" I asked her when i remembered that she owned a tavern in town.
"Well, I could use some help, but you're just a child, you shouldn't be working."
"I don't have money or place to stay, and I don't want to freeload. If I don't work, then how am I suppose to live?" I asked with a bit of frustration.
"You're staying here! You're my nakama and you'll stay here!" said Luffy with determination and a smile.
Makino just laughed and asked me: "Do you know how to cook and clean?"
"Yes. Why?"
"Well, I've been taking care of these two, but I have a tavern to run. So you could take care of them for me for a meal and roof over your head. And you can sometimes help me in the Party's Bar for a some extra beli."
With that she solved most of my problems and in answer to her question I just nodded.
"Great, can you cook meat?" Luffy asked.
And with that question, Ace just groaned.
Me? After a long time, I really laughed.
Well, that's for chapter 2… So all I can say is please review :D
