Ch. 4- Waiting Room
One Piece © Oda
Blizzard, Jupiter, Monkey D. Aika, Kumi, and Rita © Me
"What's the Flame-Flame Fruit?" Aika asked.
"Ha! 'What's the Flame-Flame Fruit', she asks!" the thug asked. "What a naïve little brat! The Flame-Flame Fruit was once the Devil Fruit power of the once-great Portgas D. 'Fire Fist' Ace!"
Aika gasped quietly gasped at this.
"It's impossible for the same Devil Fruit to exist twice at one time," the thug explained. "However, if the owner of the fruit's power dies, that fruit will reappear somewhere else in the world. After Fire Fist's death, the Flame-Flame Fruit has grown anew and the Young Master has tracked it down!"
Luffy seethed and clenched his fists at them.
"Personally I think it's kinda heartless for him to use a Logia Fruit as a mere prize for his business!" the thug exclaimed. "Think of how my life would change if I had that power for myself-"
"No way in hell am I gonna let you get to eat it!" Luffy barked.
"EEP!" the thug yelped. "W-why not?!"
"Because I'm taking it!" Luffy shouted. "I'm taking the Flame-Flame Fruit!"
"Eh?!" the thug questioned.
"Hey, Franky! Do you wanna eat it!?" Luffy asked.
"No thanks," Franky said. "I'd rather keep my ability to swim."
"Blizzard, what about you?!" Luffy asked.
"Same as Franky," Blizzard answered. "I'd rather swim, thanks."
"Aika?!" Luffy asked.
"Uh…Big Brother, I can already turn into a wolf, remember?" Aika asked.
"Oh, yeah," Luffy realized. "Well, what about you, Kumi?!"
"No thanks," Kumi answered. "I'm good."
"Well, I can't eat it, because I already have my Gum-Gum Fruit powers," Luffy said, "but I don't want anyone else having Ace's powers!"
"I get it, now," Blizzard said, understanding. "You just want it as a memento of Fire Fist, am I right?"
"Yeah! What you said!" Luffy exclaimed.
"Based on how Doflamingo was teasing you earlier this morning, it could be a trap," Franky said.
"If it's a trap, then what do we do?" Aika asked.
"Well, all I can say is this," Franky answered. "If this is your chance, Luffy, then don't miss it!"
"For once, I agree," Blizzard said. "You let this opportunity pass by, you'll regret it forever."
"And don't we have business at the coliseum, either way?" Kumi asked.
"So let's do it!" Aika cheered.
"Yeah!" Luffy shouted, and with that, the five soon ran off, leaving the thug behind.
"Hmph!" he scoffed. "Those morons. If it was that easy to get what you want, no one would die there. You have no idea of the level of battle at the coliseum!"
XXX
Meanwhile, with the "Mystery Fairy Pursuit Team", Zoro is running through the streets of Acacia.
"Fairy, my ass!" he cursed. "It's nothing but a dirty thief!"
He soon slid to a halt in the middle of the square.
"Where'd it go?!" he questioned, looking around.
"Hey!" shouted Sanji as he appeared behind him. "I said wait, you jackass! It's just a sword! Can't you just get a new one, like always?!"
"That's not an option, you clown!" Zoro barked.
Sanji groaned in annoyance, but then froze upon hearing music nearby.
"What's that?" he asked. "I thought I sensed something."
"What is it?!" Zoro asked. "The fairy?!"
As Sanji turned around…he saw a woman with long, dark brown hair, wearing a lavender, frilly dress with purple polka dots. She had a rose in her hair and one clenched in her teeth (thankfully trimmed of its thorns), and wore a pair of high heel pumps. A crowd gathered around her while a guitarist began playing a lively rhythm. Not long after, she started dancing, stomping her feet to the beat to the music while another man beside her clapped along. The woman twirled around, shook her hips, and even threw her head back before finally standing tall, panting heavily as the music ended, and soon after doing so, the crowd burst into cheers, tossing money and flowers at her feet.
"Such beauty!"
"Such passion!"
"Such grace!"
"Bravo! Bravissimo!"
"You are truly the finest dancer in the world, Violet!"
Sanji stared at the woman, known as Violet, in awe, but then Zoro scoffed as he ran away.
"I hope you're not falling for her," he said. "The women here are stab-happy, remember?! You'll bleed out on the street!"
Sanji just kept staring at Violet…before he sighed.
'No,' he thought. 'I can't…I'm a one-woman, now.'
He then reached into his pocket…pulling out a picture of himself, kissing Nefertari Vivi on the cheek. He had Nami take this picture while Luffy was in his coma after his fight with Crocodile. He sighed before he put the picture in his pocket again…but as he turned, he saw that Zoro was gone.
"AH, SHIT!" he cursed. "I LET HIM GET AWAY! THAT SHITTY MOSS-HEAD!"
A pause…but then he smirked.
"…Wait a minute," he said. "This is perfect! We could just leave him here! I'll just tell Robin I did everything I could to find him, and no one could fault me for that!"
He then sighed.
"No…" he muttered. "As much as I hate the guy, I can't leave him. After all, he's the only man who can make Robin happy…and when she's not happy, neither am I."
Just as he was about to go and look for Zoro, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Excuse me!" said a voice. "Aren't you the man who looked into my eyes earlier?"
"Huh?" Sanji muttered as he turned around…only to see Violet. "W-what the-?!"
"Hurry! Embrace me!" she urged, and without warning, she wrapped her around her arms around his neck, forcing him to hold her so she wouldn't fall. As the two embraced, two policemen ran by.
"Where'd that woman go?!"
"I know she went out the back door into Lover's Lane! She couldn't have gone far! Don't let her escape town!"
As soon as they were out of sight, Violet sighed as she pulled away from Sanji.
"I think they're gone, now," she said. "Thank you, sir."
"…Yeah," Sanji said as he turned away.
"W-wait! Where are you going!?" Violet asked.
"Look, I'm sorry," Sanji said. "You're…really pretty, I'm sure…but…I'm a one-woman man."
"But please, you have to help me!" Violet cried. "Those policemen were chasing me…because I stabbed my former lover!"
"…So it's true then," said Sanji. "The women here are so passionate, they stab the men who cheat on them. Sorry, but that's not for me."
"Oh, please!" Violet urged. "Please, you have to help me! I need someone to escort me to the next town!"
"Why?" Sanji asked. "What's the problem?"
"…There's a man I need you to kill for me," Violet answered with tears in her eyes.
"EH?!" Sanji questioned in shock.
XXX
Meanwhile, Luffy's group has arrived outside the Corrida Coliseum.
"WHOOOOOOOOAAAA!" Luffy and Aika exclaimed. "IT'S HUUUUUUUUUUUUGE!"
"Not too shabby," Blizzard smirked.
"I can hear the crowds cheering from here," Franky pointed out.
"HOLD IT!"
"COME BACK HERE, YOU?!"
The group turned to see two policemen, chasing a tin toy soldier with one leg and toy rifle.
"It's that wanted toy soldier again!" one of them shouted. "He practically owns the coliseum at this point!"
"You won't hit me!" shouted the soldier as he hopped away from their shotgun blasts. "JET WALK!"
With lightning speed, he somehow managed to climb up the wall and stand in the window.
"You can't catch me now, you fools!" the soldier shouted. "Look here! I've stuck my leg into the coliseum! You know the law, do you not?! Police and Marines are forbidden from entering the coliseum! You have no right to uphold the law within the coliseum even if you know criminals is inside!"
The policemen growled angrily at this.
"Only the special laws enacted by the Donquixote Family hold water within these walls! If you pull those triggers, it is you who will be thrown in jail! Now begone!"
A pause…but the two policemen turned and walked away, defeated.
"Damn that Thunder Soldier," one of them cursed.
Once they were gone, the Thunder Soldier soon dropped down in front of Luffy and company.
"My, my, elderly sir!" he said. "May I be so kind as carry your belongings!"
"Wow," said Franky. "He sure got polite in a hurry."
"Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed. "Man, you're one funny soldier!"
"Yeah, funny!" Aika added.
"Oh-ho!" the Thunder Soldier exclaimed as he fell down, blushing. "You find me funny?!" He then started striking funny poses. "How's this? Or this?"
Soon, the D. Siblings started laughing at him.
"Hey, buddy," Franky said. "You mind clearing the way for us?"
The Thunder Soldier then stood up and gasped.
"Oh, dear!" he cried, blushing again. "I've been in your way! My apologies!"
"You just turned as red as a beet," Franky said. "You must be dead serious at heart."
"S-serious? Me?!" the Thunder Soldier asked. "Never! Toys exist to put smiles on the faces of others! You'll never meet a serious toy in your life!"
'He sure acts serious,' Blizzard thought while Luffy and Aika kept laughing.
"Now he's all mad!" Luffy said.
"Attention, please! Entries for the general population are closing, soon! Like anyone's eager to join, anyway! They're too chicken! Ahahahaha!"
"Hey, Big Brother, look!" Aika said. "I think you can enter there!"
"Oh, really?" Luffy asked as he spotted an entrance booth and ran over to it. "Hey! Hey, over here! I'm entering!"
The crowd turned upon hearing Luffy and snickered.
"That old man's gonna fight?"
"You're kidding me!"
"He must be stupid! Does he even know who's fighting, today?"
"Hey, Luffy," Franky whispered. "I'm assuming this is some kinda battle show, but I want you to stick to one rule: you can fight as much as you want, but don't give away who you are!"
"Got it," Luffy said.
Soon, the group made it to the admission booth.
"Name, please," said the woman.
"Luf-" Luffy started, but then Blizzard and Franky smacked him in the back of his head!
"WHAT DID FRANKY JUST SAY, YOU MORON?!" Blizzard shouted.
XXX
Later on, Luffy and Blizzard (Franky wanted to have the wolf-dog keep an eye on the Straw Hat Captain) had entered the coliseum. However, in order to keep a low profile, they had to go by different names.
They are now "Lucy" and "Butch", fighters No. 556 and No. 557.
Aika and Kumi wanted to follow Luffy, but they were denied entrance due to their age. The rules stated that children under the age of 18 were not allowed, whether to compete or otherwise."
Soon, the two arrived in a huge stone room, filled with punching bags and other exercise equipment, as well as a bunch of muscular brutes with helmets and weapons of all kinds.
"This is the gladiator waiting room," said the receptionist woman. "Wait here for your number to be called."
"Whoa…it's hot in here!" Luffy said.
That's when almost everyone took notice of him and Blizzard.
"Who's the little bearded shrimp?"
"Dunno…but I already hate him."
Luffy looked around in awe at all the men, punching through punching bags and swinging swords and axes wildly, unaware of everyone snickering at him.
"…What are these apes all gawking at?" Blizzard asked.
"So…we can use whatever weapon we want?" Luffy asked.
"Eh?" asked a very large, muscular man wearing a cape on his shoulders and a scar on his neck: a Corrida Coliseum gladiator, as well as 51-time monthly tourney champion, Spartan. "Who the fuck is that?!"
"He's some kid and his mutt that are last-minute entries," said one of the fighters. "What they're doing here is beyond me."
Spartan growled angrily as he stomped towards Luffy and Blizzard.
"If there's one thing I hate," he said, "it's tourists!"
"Whoa, whoa! Spartan!" cried another gladiator. "Don' start anything! You'll get disqualified!"
Soon, Spartan towered over Luffy and Blizzard, veins bulging out of his skin.
"Oh, boy," Blizzard said. "Already, we've got trouble."
Somewhere nearby, sitting in a window, a shadowy figure watches the scene unfold.
"Look here, you couple of fake-bearded little brat!" Spartan boomed. "This is the coliseum! No one wants to see a couple of pipsqueaks like you get crushed! Now take your mutt and get lost!"
Just as he was about to punch the two, Luffy and Blizzard, using their Observation Haki, easily sidestepped out of thee way. Then, Luffy grabbed Spartan's arms, hefted him over his shoulder, and threw him into the floor with little to no effort, whatsoever!
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHH?!" the other gladiators questioned in shock while Luffy only grinned.
"Shishishishi! Nice to meet ya!" he said.
'That idiot,' Blizzard deadpanned, mentally.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Sorry for the wait, people! A lot of personal shit happened, but here's the next chapter!
P.S.- To all you SanjiXVivi fans...you're welcome.
Review, please!