Chapter 4
Katsumi stared at the strange man in the straw hat for a few seconds, almost forgetting about Zoro. The swordsman's booming voice brought her back to reality.
"Why are you scared of me?" he asked her again, grabbing her shoulder. She jumped a bit and turned to face him.
"Don't touch me," she said with fear and anger in her voice. "I'm scared of you because of the stories I've heard. Not to mention that you're a…pirate now."
"Did someone mention pirates?" the red-vested man exclaimed. "I saw some guys here who were pretending to be us."
"Us?" Katsumi asked. "What do you mean? The only pirates here are the Straw Hats and-" It suddenly dawned on her. She looked up to see the Jolly Roger flying from the crow's nest. How she had managed to not notice it was a mystery to her. Katsumi placed her hand in front of her mouth to stop herself from screaming; not only did she hate pirates, she was afraid of them. Ever since that incident four years ago…
"Katsumi-san?" Nami asked, approaching the blond cautiously. "We're not here to hurt you, I promise." Katsumi shook her head rapidly.
"I can't believe you…I don't believe you…you're pirates," she said. "I feel like an idiot. I should have known this, considering my family history." Nami and the others looked at each other lost.
"What do you mean?" Zoro asked.
"My parents are-were-Marines," she said matter-of-factly. Nami and Robin's eyes grew wide; if this girl was a Marine or something it could spell trouble for the crew. The galley door opened, making Katsumi jump a bit. Sanji stepped out with three drinks, one for each girl.
"Nami-swan~, Robin-chwan~, Katsumi-chwan~! I have dri-" He stopped mid-sentence, smiling widely. "I see you're back Luffy." Luffy laughed.
"Yup. Wait…I smell meat. Did you make lunch?" Sanji chuckled.
"Yeah. You arrived just in time." Luffy's eyes sparkled like jewels.
"MEAT!" the boy cried, running into the galley. The crew laughed and Nami took her drink from Sanji's hand. As they all walked into the kitchen Katsumi stayed behind, slowly getting off the ship. She looked to see if Sanji would follow her but he was too busy muttering "Mellorine~ " like a lovesick fool. She hated pirates.
Katsumi barely made it back in time for the early evening rush. She was questioned by the owner, who didn't believe her story, and sent back into the dining room to serve the millions of people piling into the pub. Suddenly, just as Katsumi was sitting down for a quick break, Ren ran straight to her; he was panting. "What is it?" she asked the boy with a smile. Ren was about to open his mouth when a voice came over the speakers outside.
"Attention all Marines!" a voice cried. "A fight between three pirate crews has broken out in Grove 46! We believe that one of them is the Straw Hat crew. I repeat-"
"What he said," Ren gasped and fell at her feet. "You should get over there, Katsumi." Her eyes grew wide.
"Why? You know I hate pirates!" she cried and stood up, about to head back to the kitchen.
"I think I saw your bro over there," he said seriously. Katsumi spun around, a look of shock on her face. How would he know what her brother looked like? Katsumi hadn't seen her brother in over 2 years…though her friends had seen a picture of her family upstairs in her room. "Just go." Ren grinned a bit. Katsumi facepalmed, taking a step towards the kitchen and then back. She didn't know what to do; if she didn't head to the grove then she might miss her only chance to see her brother again. She made up her mind and ran upstairs to grab her blue blazer, a photo of her family, and a charm her brother had given her; she shoved them into the breast pocket while running down the stairs and headed out eager to find her brother. Maybe they could live together on the archipelago. It was difficult getting to the grove; millions of people were screaming and shouting. Some were even talking of joining the battle. After about ten good minutes of running, pushing, and shouting Katsumi had made it to the grove. Most of the panic had died down though there was a fair amount of it left. Standing in the midst of it all were Sanji and the others and they were standing on people that looked like them…sort of. Except for the fat one; he looked nothing like Luffy. But she wasn't here for the Straw Hats, she was here for her brother. Katsumi's eyes wandered, looking for her brother. He wasn't in the crowd, nor was he with the other Marines. Aw hell, Ren must have been seeing things; Katsumi reminded herself to never trust a fifteen-year-old's eyes again.
"You there!" a gruff voice cried. Katsumi turned around to find a Marine captain staring her in the face. "Are you with them?"
"N-No, sir." He looked at her, sensing something was off.
"Do you know them?" Well technically she did but that was nothing to get upset over. Katsumi was about to answer, when someone called out her name.
"Katsumi-chwan~! " She facepalmed.
"Idiotic perverted cook…" The captain looked at her angrily as she began to walk off nervously. As she walked by the pirate crew there was a hand placed on her shoulder and that familiar smell of cigarettes, seafood, and cologne wafted into her nose. Katsumi tried to shrug him off but he wouldn't let go.
"Listen Ero-cook," she said, which made his heart sink, "I was about to get off scot-free but you ruined my chance."
"But you've got to go with us Katsumi-chan." She looked at him like he was crazy. "The Marines are going to come after you now that you're with us."
"I'm not with you, I just know you," she stated.
"That's more than enough for them," he said. "And I can't let a beautiful girl get hurt." Sanji swooned as she smiled.
"I can't…leave here though," she said sadly. "I've got friends here that are like family to me."
"I know how you feel," he said. "I've got eight people waiting for me." Katsumi sighed, her mind racing; if she stayed she could potentially be arrested and if she went with them…she shuddered at the thought. "So are you coming with us or not, Princess?" he asked, secretly hoping she would.
"I…I don't know," she said. "I'm scared of pirates." Katsumi squatted down, her head in her hands. "But I don't want to be arrested either…ugh, my head hurts." The cook smiled at her.
"I won't force you, but if you stay here it won't be good. I may be a pirate but I promise I won't hurt you. And I won't let my nakama hurt you either," Sanji said proudly.
"Promise?" He nodded.
"Promise, my sweet flower. Now let's get going before these Marines tear both our heads off."
"Come on everyone! We've got one more stop to make!" Luffy cried, heading towards another grove. Sanji beckoned her with his hand and Katsumi giggled a bit as she began to run; faster and faster until the Marines faded away.
A/N: Sorry for the delay with chapter 4! D'X My computer is f***ing up right now so I haven't really had a chance to type anything; this was written on looseleaf paper and took me 2 days.
So yeah, once again I hope no one was OOC 'cause I don't like when that happens. And I dunno how long it's going to take to type chapter five but it might be a bit since this is Christmas week. ^^;;
R&R please and thank you! I love you all! X3
