Phoenix's Light

Chapter 4 Talking Isn't That Bad

"Evacuate The Dance Floor."

The three girls looked at Luffy who went back to looking at her necklace after saying what she had planned on saying. They were discussing the song choice again and Keimi had asked for Luffy's opinion. The girl had answered them surprising all three of them.

"Evacuate The Dance Floor?" Vivi questioned. She had heard of the song, but never actually listened to it.

"I've heard it before, but I never really thought about dancing to it because it was only bits and pieces of it." Nami said. She glanced down at Luffy who was staying quiet again. It was obvious to tell that she was still recovering from what happened to her brother.

"I like the song, why don't we watch some dance videos and base our dance off of them." Keimi suggested. The others agreed. Luffy looked down still, not exactly sure what to do now. Before she would have joined right in and be laughing and such, but it seemed pointless now.

"But whose house should we got to?" Nami asked. "I can't do it at mine since my sister's boyfriend is over."

"Papa is having a meeting today." Vivi said sadly.

"Pappag also has guests over." Keimi said a little disheartened. "What about you Luffy-chin?" the three girls looked at Luffy who nodded her head.

"We can come over?" Nami asked happily. Maybe the girl wasn't all that bad. Sure she was kinda depressed and maybe a little mentally unstable at the moment, but she wasn't a jerk. "How about today?"

Luffy nodded again and the girls cheered. Luffy looked out the window. Marco wouldn't mind, he would probably be happy that she had people coming over. Nico-sensei noticed the now happy group and walked over to them.

"Have you figured out what you're going to do?" she asked the smiling girls who nodded. Her glance still fell on Luffy who was looking at her now. A small amount of light was evident in her eyes.

"Yup." Vivi said happily, "And Luffy-san said that we can come over to her house today to work on it."

"Ara, is that going to be okay?" the woman asked Luffy. The black haired girl nodded. "Okay, but make sure to go home before it gets dark."

"HAI!" the girls said in unison before turning back to the Luffy's desk which they were all crowded around.

"I say we have outfits." Nami said grabbing paper and beginning to sketch on it. "We need something cute and sexy."

"Nami-san, nothing too revealing." Vivi said with a small sigh at the girl's wanting of showing off her body. "Maybe we should each have a unique outfit."

"I like that." Keimi said with a smile before glancing at Luffy who was staring at the picture Nami had drawn. It was a picture of her. In a skirt.

"Do you not like skirts Luffy-san?" Vivi asked when she caught where the girl was looking. Luffy shook her head no.


Luffy walked along the street with the talking girls behind her. Well, it looked more as if she was just at the front of them and they were having a conversation and she was just listening. The cars flew pass them with the occasional honking of horns at the girl which either got a finger or was ignored.

Luffy walked up to the apartment she and Marco shared. The girls looked at it surprised. The apartment was one of those fancy, expensive skyscraper type deals. Luffy walked in calmly and began to climb stairs with the girls right behind her.

The four of them entered the apartment and looked around it. Luffy closed the door and didn't bother locking it and walked into the living room after taking her shoes off. The others did the same and stared at the flat screen TV. Vivi seemed to be the only one not completely stunned by where Luffy lived.

"How the hell do you live in such a posh place?" Nami asked as Luffy went over to the TV and turned it on. The girl shrugged and turned to MTV, hoping that song would play.

Time passed and the girls jumped when they heard the door open. They were scared at first but Luffy stood up and walked out calmly. The three of them went over to the hallway and peaked out at the door where a rather good looking man was smiling at Luffy. The girl grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him away from the door and began to drag him in their direction. He caught sight of the three girls and looked at them with a smile.

"You must be Luffy's friends." He said bringing them tea as they sat in the living room. Marco sat down next to Luffy who moved closer to him.

"Well, we're working on a project together and things sort of happened." Vivi said politely.

"Hm, so you didn't know Luffy before she came back?" Marco questioned taking a bite out of the rice cracker he had brought.

"Luffy was always by herself at school." Nami said surprised that man didn't know. Luffy was living with him after all. "After school she would rush out and go someplace and even in school all she was was a trouble maker.

Marco looked at Luffy who nodded her head saying that it was all true. Marco began to feel bad about what he had told her to do the day before. He had figured that Luffy had friends since she was always so cheerful and friendly and such but she hadn't. Even so, these girls got Luffy to talk a bit more and the girl brought them here.

"Well, I guess that makes you her friends now and all." Marco said with a smile. Nami and Vivi blushed at the smile he gave them and Keimi just stared. "Do you want to stay for dinner?"

"My sister won't mind." Nami said instantly.

"Papa's meeting is still going on." Vivi followed

"Pappag told me not to come back until he called." Keimi said with a smile.

"Is it okay, Luffy?" Marco asked looking at the girl who nodded. He smiled and got up to begin cooking. After he was gone, the three of them huddled around Luffy.

"Okay, who is he?" Nami asked. Luffy looked at the girls who were hoping for answers.

"Marco." Luffy said. Hadn't he said his own name?

"No, what connections do you have with him." Nami said hoping he didn't come in and hear them.

"Ace's friend and mine." Luffy said quietly.


Marco stood at the door and smiled. Luffy was talking to them and she seemed less scared. Having girls her own age around seemed to be making her better. But would it be able to cure her completely? No, that was impossible. He already knew that Luffy would never be able to fully recover from this situation no matter how hard he tried.

"So, what do you think of him?" Vivi asked. Marco perked his ears as Luffy remained silent. Since they didn't press it was probably a safe guess to believe that the girl was thinking.

"Marco…" the man flinched when he heard his name being called and tried to regain himself before turning to them.

"Dinner's ready so come on in." he said with a smile and the girls did.


"Okay, you couldn't tell us yesterday because Marco was there, but tell us now. What do you think about him?" Nami pressed the next day as they were getting ready for the festival.

"Mnh." Luffy said looking around. She liked how lively the school was but not how all the people were in ear shot.

Nami said nothing but instantly took out her cell. They had exchanged numbers yesterday and the girl instantly sent the text message to Luffy. Luffy looked at it and then at the girl before typing in her answer. Nami received it and the three girls read it before instantly looking at Luffy.

"HE KISSED YOU!" Nami yelled. Luckily the school was so loud that no one heard them. Luffy nodded her head while Vivi and Keimi removed their hands from Nami's mouth.

"Luffy-san, Marco-san must like you then." Vivi said with a small smile. The man was good looking but he had chosen Luffy.

"Wait, this isn't positive." Nami said. She wanted to make sure that this was true. "It could have just been a spur of the moment."

"How can Luffy-chin make sure that it was the real thing?" Keimi asked. Luffy looked at them confused. Nami caught the look.

"Luffy, do you like Marco?" the girl asked trying to get through to the girl. Luffy nodded her head slowly not sure if that was the answer Nami wanted. "I mean like, love him, not as a friend, but as a boyfriend?"

A small blush came across Luffy's face at the realization of what Nami was getting at. Nami smiled and became determined again. "We have to stay after. He knows that right?" Nami asked. Luffy nodded not exactly sure what to say. She had switched so fast. "We're going to make sure that this is true. Here's what you do…"


Luffy walked into the door. She was tired from having to work after school on the project that they were doing. They had started practicing their dance and Nami was strict on what had to be done. Marco was already back and was in the living room reading the newspaper when the girl came in and looked at him. She was still wearing her school uniform.

"Hey, how was it?" Marco asked smiling at the girl. Luffy nodded before taking in a deep breath. Butterflies began to fill her stomach but she was determined to do this.

"Marco…" she began. For the first time in a while her voice wasn't quiet. Marco looked at Luffy knowing that the girl had something to say. Her voice sounded stronger than it had been for the last few days. "Will you kiss me again?"



Marco looked at the girl who was staring at him with a blush deepening her face. She had done what Nami had told her to do and now everything was up to Marco and how he would react to the question. Marco stared at the girl who kept her eyes on him. For the first time since Ace died, light actually shined in them.

"Wha-where did that come from?" Marco asked looking away. It had to have been from those girls. Specifically the orange haired one.

"Bu-but you-" Luffy stuttered, she wasn't sure what to say and speaking about this made her nervous.

"Luffy, that was just something I did at that time." Marco said not looking at the girl. He would not be satisfying his own selfishness. Not at a time like this. Luffy became quiet and looked down at the ground. Marco glanced up at her after noticing her silence.

"Luffy, I don't mean to hurt your feelings; it's just that, ah this is hard…" Marco stood up and moved in front of the girl but was still unclear on what to say. How the hell was he supposed to tell a girl who just lost her brother no. Yeah, he liked her but…

Luffy looked up at Marco and Marco saw emotion on Luffy's face. For the first time Luffy actually had light in her cheeks. Marco slowly moved his hand up to Luffy's cheek. Once it was placed on it, Luffy brought her hand up to cover it and smiled at Marco. A real, Luffy smile.

Marco cupped Luffy's face and bent down and let his lips hover over hers. He was reluctant to actually do it, but Luffy stood on her toes a bit which finally put their lips into contact. Marco wanted to pull back at first.

The feeling of betrayal and selfishness filled him but he stopped himself from pulling away when Luffy wrapped her arms around his neck. Marco moved his hands from Luffy's face to her back and head. Their lips never parted as Marco sat down and put Luffy in his lap. The kiss ended when the door opened.

"Go ahead and continue." Thatch said closing the door and leaving the two of them alone. Marco instantly shot up and opened the door.

Thatch fell down at the sudden loss of his support. He looked up at Marco who quickly grabbed his collar and pulled him in, locking the door in the process. Luffy peaked over the edge of the couch and looked at the two of them. Marco seemed clearly pissed while Thatch was trying his hardest not to make a smart remark. He noticed Luffy watching them and smiled at the girl with a wave. Luffy slightly waved back.

"Okay, Thatch, you have one of two choices, tell no one or I burn your hair till there's nothing left." Marco said in a threatening voice. Thatch shrunk a bit at it and the doorbell rang.

Luffy got up while Marco continued to threaten Thatch and opened it up to reveal Vista and Izou. The two of them looked at the girl and smiled. They hadn't seen her in so long so it was nice to see Luffy. Even though the girl seemed to still lack her usual smile.

"VISTA IZOU, MARCO KISSED LUFFY!" Thatch said to the two of them in the second he got out of Marco's clutches.

"Your hair is gone." Marco said grabbing him and looking at the other two that were staring at him in shock and then at Luffy.

"I-is it true?" Izou asked and Luffy nodded her head. The two of them looked at Marco and quickly hid Luffy from his sight.

"Oi," Marco said looking at the two of the, and then at Luffy who was confused if not a little scared at what was going on.


Okay, one, the big empty spot was intentional. I was thinking of ending the chapter there and went against it. I know I said in the side note that I would listen to your guys' opinion on the song but for some reason the next chapter never showed up in the list so I'm adding this one up to see if it will work. This is supposed to be more of a serious fic so that humor at the end is probably the most you'll ever see in it and I hope that Luffy isn't recovering to fast.