Hello everyone! One of the chapters I've been most looking forward to updating is this one, since my writer self of three years ago left a lot that could be expanded on. I also tweaked a few things here and there that didn't really gel with Koe's personality anymore. So, here's the new and hopefully improved chapter seven, and I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 7
The next day there was a tense feeling in the air. Something big was going on.
The dumpy lady and her henchmen were sitting around the fire, stiff from nerves.
I ducked into the hutt, and stopped when I saw them. "Hey, Dumpy Lady!" I called.
She turned to me, glaring. "Nani?" she asked.
I took a deep breath. "I thought I'd ask your name, since you saved our butts the other day! So, what is it?"
Dumpy Lady just sat there, staring at me like I had three heads or something. "Nanui utten no?" she snapped.
"I don't know what you're saying." I said. "What's your name?" Then, I put my hand over my heart and said, "Koe."
Dumpy Lady frowned.
Then, the large guy with the waddle leaned in and whispered something to her.
Finally, Dumpy Lady put her hand over her heart, and said, "Dadan."
I looked right up at her. "Dadan?" I asked.
She nodded.
I grinned. "Thanks for saving us out there, Dadan! Maybe you're not a jerk after all!"
There was a moment of awkward silence. Dadan looked a bit uncomfortable, then she turned her back to me, and her shoulders slumped.
I shrugged, and was just about to turn out the door, when Ace and Luffy burst in, Ace holding our poles in one hand, and a rack of meat in the other; Luffy holding a pair of beetles.
"Koe! Anata wa soko ni imasu!"
"Oh, hey guys!" I said. I frowned. "Hey! Did you guys go hunting without me?"
Ace and Luffy looked at each other, and shrugged.
Luffy sauntered up to me, and held out those beetles. "Oi, Koe! Hora!"
I jumped back. "Eww! Luffy, don't stick those in my face!"
Luffy looked more confused than anything.
Ace smirked. He took one of the beetles from Luffy's hand, and stepped over to me and dropped it in my hair.
I fished around in my hair until my hand closed around the beetle. It was large enough that it fit in my hand perfectly. I tugged at it.
The bug wouldn't come out.
"Ack!" I yelped, running around. "It's not coming out! It's not coming out! Ace!"
Ace and Luffy doubled over laughing.
"You guys are jerks!" I cried, "Help me out here!"
That was when the door opened, and the short bandit Dogura ran in. I ran smack into the door, and fell backwards, getting the wind knocked out of me.
The beetle scampered out of my hair and ran away across the floor.
Luffy ran to help me up, dodging the punch I threw at him for laughing at me, and said, "Oi. Daijyobu desu ka?"
I ignored him and turned to Dogura instead.
He was panting, and out of breath, like he'd run home. He turned to Luffy, Ace, and I, and spoke. His voice sounded hollow.
Whatever he said seemed to make Ace snap. He charged Dogura and tackled him to the ground. He shouted at him angrily.
I took a step back. I hadn't seen Ace this angry in a very long time.
Luffy, on the other hand, just burst into tears.
I looked from raving Ace to crying Luffy and then back to Ace, not knowing what could have happened. "Um... Luffy? Ace? What's going on?"
They just ignored me. I wasn't used to them ignoring me, even if they didn't understand me.
The floor shook as Dadan stomped over to Ace and pulled him off of Dogura. She pulled Ace close to her by the collar and started shouting at him. There were tears in her eyes. She didn't let go of Ace, but she took him outside, and yelled at Dogura about something.
He ran off into another room, and then came out holding a rope.
I followed Dadan outside, and got out there just in time for her to tie Ace to a tree.
"Hey! Dadan! What are you doing?" I said, pushing the back of her leg. "Let Ace go!"
Dadan just turned to me and pushed me aside. Then she and Dogura went back into the house.
"Hang on Ace!" I called. I tried to jump up and grab the rope, but it was way too high for me. I couldn't even make it halfway.
"Koe!" Ace shouted, "Yamero!"
I looked up. "What?!" I called.
Ace just shook his head.
I took that as a cue to stop. So I did. I sat down on a root, and crossed my legs, thinking. "What's going on...?" I muttered to myself. "What could have gotten them so worked up?" I could still hear Luffy crying inside. And Ace was still raving in the tree above me.
I sighed, and clapped my feet together. "What can I do...?" I muttered. Then, it occured to me. I stood up like a shot. "Hey! I've got it!" I grinned up at Ace. "Hey! I'll be back soon!" I called, then I ran full tilt down the road.
"OI! Koe! Anata wa doko wa itte imasu ka?!" Ace called after me.
I ran down the forest path. I didn't stop for breath even once, though my muscles had started to burn, I just kept going. I knew exactly what would make Luffy and Ace feel better. And I needed to go to town to make it happen.
I know exactly what to do! I thought as I ran, I'll go and find Sabo and bring him back. That'll make Luffy and Ace feel better! All I have to do is find Sabo!
It took me about a half an hour to get to town. As soon as I got through the gate, I stopped, and doubled over panting. Man, was I winded.
When I finally caught my breath, I stood up straight, and took a deep breath. "Okay!" I said to myself, "Now to find Sabo." I took off down the road, looking around for any sign of my friend.
"Wait a minute..." I said, skidding to a stop in the middle of the road. "Where did Sabo go, anyway?" I didn't think of that. How was I going to find him in this big place?
Then I thought of the way that the ugly old guy that took Sabo from us in the first place. How had he dressed? Pretty fancy jacket, weird tie thing, top hat... He was way better dressed than anyone in the lower town.
Then it hit me. That fancy upper town place that Luffy, Ace, Sabo and I would go to sometimes. If I checked there, I would find Sabo.
I grabbed onto a wall, and managed to climb onto a roof, then ran from roof to roof. Those gates that led to the classier part of town were going to be a challenge, but I'd been in there before, and I would get back in there again.
Wow, were there a lot of people in the streets up here. All of them standing up straight, without wrinkles in their clothes, and shoes shiny enough to hurt my eyes. All of them scattering as I ran through the streets.
"Sabo!" I called, "Sabo, where are you?!"
I rounded a corner into a neighborhood with huge houses with high fences. People were milling about walking their dogs, and I swear, even the dogs were staring at me.
"Sabo!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. "Hey! Sabo!"
I rounded another corner.
"Sabo!"
Another.
"Sabo!"
Another.
"Sabo!"
I scattered another group of people.
"Sabo!"
"OI! Yamete!"
I looked over my shoulder and saw a crowd of police behind me.
"Ah great..." I muttered to myself. "That's the last thing I need." I wasn't going to be able to outrun them for long. I was way too short. I needed to lose them. I turned into a shopping district, and ducked into an alleyway.
The police ran right past it, shouting at each other.
I took a deep breath. That was close. But of course I was going to have trouble. I really stood out like a sore thumb here, with my ratty t-shirt and torn shorts, and no shoes. I hugged the side of a wall in between two stores, staring out at the roving crowds. I was waiting for a moment of quiet to slip out and keep looking around. But as the people kept coming and coming and coming and coming, and there was no opening for me to run out. I slumped to the cobblestones, hugging my knees to my chest. I wasn't making any progress, and I was starting to get tired.
I leaned back against the wall, and let my head hang back. My eyelids felt heavy. "Sabo..." I muttered. "Where are you?"
I woke up when felt something roughly grab my upper arm. It startled me so much I whacked my head against the wall.
"Ow!" I yelped.
The light was really bright, so bright it hurt my eyes. When my eyes finally adjusted, I saw one of the police officers that had been chasing me. He had me by the upper arm, and it hurt.
"Hey!" I cried, "Let go!"
The policeman shouted at me, probably scolding me or something. I didn't understand a word he was saying. He started pulling me away towards the gate.
"Hey!" I shouted. "Let go! I need to find my friend! Let go!" I struggled against his grip, but it was no use. He dragged me to the gate, and tossed me into the street.
I landed with a painful thud on the cobblestones. As soon as I scrambled to my feet, the gate had shut.
I sighed. "Darn it!" I kicked the gate. Pain exploded in my big toe. I slumped down and grabbed my sore toe. "Owwww..."
Something came up beside me, causing me to look up. It was a dog. A white and black one, about my size, staring at me.
I blinked.
The dog blinked. Then, he licked my face.
"Hey!" I giggled. "That tickles!" When he finally stopped, I stared him right in the eyes. "Hey," I said, "You haven't seen Sabo, have you?"
The dog stared at me, then yapped.
I sighed. "I didn't think so..." I stood up. "Well, I gotta keep looking. You wanna help?"
The dog tilted his head at me.
"My friends are feeling sad, so I'm going to find my friend Sabo. We miss him, so he'll definitely make them feel better." I grinned. "So, you wanna help, Doggie?"
The dog scratched at his ear.
"Koe?"
I turned and saw the big bandit guy.
He stared at me.
I stared at him. Finally, I smiled. "Hi bandit guy!" I said brightly. "Wanna help me?"
The big bandit guy ignored me, I guess. He just bent down and picked me up, and started running towards the forest.
"Hey!" I snapped. "You're going the wrong way!" I struggled against his grip, but he was stronger than he looked. He didn't even flinch when I tried to get away, he just held me in place.
He ran all the way back to the hutt. I noticed Ace wasn't tied to the tree anymore. That was good.
When the big bandit guy opened the door to the hutt, he called, "OI! Okashira! Ore wa kanojo o mitsuketa!"
All the heads in the room turned. Including Luffy and Ace, who both looked just about as destroyed as before.
When the big bandit guy put me down, Ace stalked up to me and whacked me over the head. "Doko ga anatadatta no, Baka?!" he snapped.
"Ow!" I yelped. "Ace, what was that for?"
Ace looked pretty mad, but he didn't get another chance to shout at me, because Luffy barrelled into me, sobbing his eyes out. "Baka!" he shouted. That was about all I could make out through his sobbing.
"Hey, I'm okay." I said. "I just wanted to find Sabo..."
Luffy stopped at that. He looked at me for a solid minute, before he burst into another fit of sobs, and ran out the door.
I stood there in shock. Then, I looked up at Ace. We stared at each other for a few seconds, then we dashed out the door after him.
We caught up to Luffy at the cliffs looking out at the sea. He was face down in the grass, sniffling and sobbing.
Ace yelled at him, and he started yelling back.
I didn't need to be able to understand them to know something was wrong. But I didn't know what it was. "Luffy?" I asked. "Ace?"
Luffy just sniffed loudly, and Ace ignored me.
I pulled Luffy up off the ground. "What's going on?" I asked. I knew they couldn't understand me, but I needed to ask.
Luffy walked right up to the edge of the cliff. He took a deep breath, and then hollered out to the open ocean, "Kaizoku-o ni ore wa naru!" His voice echoed over the water.
That night, we sat together in the forest around a roaring campfire.
Ace was snoring, a marshmallow on a stick burning to a crisp over the fire.
Luffy was sitting right next to me, not really looking at me. He and Ace had both been distant for hours. I was starting to feel really alone and confused. "Luffy..." I finally asked. "What happened yesterday?"
He didn't answer me.
I sighed. I should have expected it. Then, I yelped as Luffy pulled me into a tight hug.
Luffy muttered something into the side of my neck, and didn't let go. He was trembling.
I sat there for a second, taking it in. I could feel Luffy's tears against my neck. I bit my lip, then hugged him back. "Hey," I said, "Can you promise me something?" I took a deep breath, and rested my head against his shoulder. "Please don't go anywhere and leave me behind, okay Luffy?"
(Ten years later...)
"Yo!" I called, sticking my head inside the door. "I'm off!"
The bandits all sat around the cooking fire in the centre of the living room and all of them save one looked up at me when I called.
Dadan sat right in the middle of them, deliberately keeping her back to me. "So, you're clearing out too, just like Luffy?"
I nodded. "Yup!" I said brightly, "So we'll both be out of your hair now." I stopped and waited for her to say goodbye or something. When she didn't answer, I said, "I don't know if I'll ever come and visit again, so..." I let my voice trail off.
Dadan still didn't turn to face me.
Mogura, however, smiled at me. "Hey, good luck, Koe! We're rooting for you and Luffy!"
I grinned. "Thanks!"
Dadan huffed. "Just get out of here, you brat!" She snapped. "The sooner you leave, the better!"
I shrugged. "Sure, why not? If I stick around too long, Luffy might get impatient and leave without me." I turned on my heels and was just about to walk away, when I turned back to Dadan. "Hey, Dadan!" I called.
"Whaddaya want, you brat?"
I grinned. "Thanks for everything!" With that, I turned and trotted down the path. Behind me, I could hear Dadan sob, "Just g-get out of here, you damn kid! Y-you're all the same!"
I casually skipped down the path to Windmill Village. It was such a beautiful day. If the wind was favourable, it should be perfect for setting sail.
As I stepped into the village, I checked my bag, and pulled out my book. I ran my finger along the leather spine. It was still in perfect condition; not a crack in the leather. I was honestly extremely surprised that I hadn't managed to wreck it, considering how much time I had spent in the bush with Ace and Luffy. I always kept my book with me, wherever I went.
I opened my book, and an old, yellowed slip of paper fell from its place between the front cover and the first page. I caught it before it could hit the ground.
I stopped for a second to unfold the paper and cast another glance at Shanks' note. After ten years of learning the lingo, I felt I could finally understand it all.
It was written in a beautiful flowing script.
Koe,
Since you can read this now, allow me to say that I'm very proud of you.
I should probably explain the book. It's a logbook that I picked up on one
of my adventures when I was younger. Yes, you can write in it. Use it however you like.
Always be adventurous! There are things in this world that are far stranger and more wonderful than anything you can find in fiction. Life on the high seas is an adventure, and a life-changing challenge. The places you'll see and the people you'll meet will be inspiring, so get out there and see the world!
Oh, and another thing, look out for Luffy. Even if he's older than you, he needs someone to stand
beside him and help him along. Everyone does. Although, knowing Luffy I imagine you're a lot like a sister to him by now.
Good luck, Koe.
-Shanks
I had read that note over and over again in the weeks leading to today. Shanks was proud of me... Even if he'd written this note ten years before, it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
I folded the note, and put it back in my book, then I put my book in my bag, and kept on walking. "Okay..." I said, "Makino and the Old Mayor Guy are probably waiting at the docks to see us off, so they'll probably keep Luffy around, so he doesn't do anything stupid like setting sail without me, or breaking a hole in the boat."
I skipped down the road through the village towards the dock.
There was a small crowd of people by the docks, muttering amongst themselves. When they heard me coming, some of them turned.
One of them was the old fishmonger. When he saw me, his eyes went wide. "H-hey... Koe?"
Makino, who was at the front of the crowd, turned to me, and her jaw dropped. "Koe! You're here!"
I raised an eyebrow. "What's up, Makino?"
"Well," Makino looked a little uncomfortable, "you might want to look at this..."
I stepped to the edge of the dock, and frowned.
There was no boat moored at the dock, only a small boat on the horizon. There was a silhouette of a skinny guy with a straw hat sitting in the boat.
I felt a vein throb on my temple. "That idiot..." I growled. "He left me behind." I looked over my shoulder at Makino. "Really?"
Makino sighed. "He said something about having a plan, and that everything would be fine."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Figures..." I muttered. I ran out to the edge of the pier, and skidded to a stop. "LUFFY, YOU MORON!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.
There was a short moment of silence, before a hand stretched out to me, and a rubbery arm wrapped around my waist.
I looked down at his rubbery arms, and felt the colour drain from my face. "Oh, shit."
I felt a tugging sensation, and I flew off the pier, sailing a few feet above the shimmering surface of the water.
Luffy's arm snapped back into position, pulling me with it.
I crashed into Luffy with such force, I would have knocked the guts out of him if he hadn't been made of rubber.
Bonk!
"Oww..." Luffy groaned, clutching a huge welt on his head.
"What the hell were you thinking, leaving without me?" I growled. "You are such an idiot."
Luffy looked up at me, and he flashed me his usual goofy grin. "I just wanted to give that a try!" he chuckled. I whacked him over the head again.
I sighed and slumped into a sitting position on the other side of our small boat. "Well, at least that's over with."
"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed. "We're finally off! I'm going to be King of the Pirates!" He grinned. "Oh, and what are you going to do, Koe?"
I smiled. There were a couple of things, but... "Well," I said. "There's someone I want to find.-"
"You mean Kiss, right?" Luffy said, his lip jutting out a bit. " Your blood brother."
"It's Keith... but yeah." I said, nodding. "I know it's been ten years, but, I gotta find him... There's no way he could be dead." I looked up at the clouds, and took a deep breath.
Luffy smiled, though it looked a little forced.
"Hey." I said, poking him in the forehead. "You're pouting again. I thought we went over this."
Luffy sighed, and scratched the back of his head. Then, he looked at the book in my arms, and he cried, "WAAH! KOE! YOUR BOOK!"
I looked down, and noticed my most prized possession was sopping wet. I sighed. "Luffy, relax." I said, using my devil fruit power to extract the water from it's pages.
"Oh, right." he said.
Luffy finally stopped pouting, and scooted towards me. "So, what else are you going to do? What about that book that Shanks gave you?"
I looked down at it. "I'm going to write about our journey." I said, patting the book's cover. "I'm going to record everything. The real story of the Luffy Pirates."
"Ah. So you're the logbook person."
I nodded. I was going to use Shanks' gift to record our journey. Even if Luffy's story becomes a legend, the real story will always be on paper.
I was just about to put my book down, when the boat began to shake.
"What the?-" Luffy yelped, gripping the sides of the boat.
"Yikes!" I grabbed my book before it could tumble into the sea.
Out of the water burst a huge sea beast. Big, ugly, grey, with a blue fin running down its head, and bright red eyes.
"He's a real cutie." I said, smirking.
Luffy grinned. "Hey, it's our local sea monster!" He looked at me over his shoulder, and said, "What do you say we teach him a lesson?"
I shrugged. "Sure, why not?" I stepped up beside Luffy, raised my arms, and said, "Swirling trap." Immediately, a small whirlpool formed around the sea monster. There was no way it could get away now. "Go get him, Luffy." I said.
"Oh, yeah!" Luffy said, stretching his arm back really far. "Gum Gum... PISTOL!" His fist shot forward and knocked the teeth out of the monster.
He landed in the water with a loud slap!
"Oh yeah!" we shouted together, and gave each other a double high five. Laughing, we both sat back down.
"So, you're my first mate!" Luffy said. Well, that came out of nowhere.
I blushed to the roots of my hair. "I'm not really first mate material." I said. "I'll just be the puppeteer at the sidelines." I grinned.
Luffy just blinked. "Puppeteer? That's not very nice."
I sighed. "It was a joke, Luffy. Besides, I'm your sister. Do you really want me to be able to have that much influence over you?" There was a moment of silence.
Luffy didn't look too convinced.
"Fine, think of it this way. Will you have that strict a height... heir... hierarchy on our ship?"
Luffy shrugged. "I guess not." Then, he grinned. "Fine. You'll be the second mate then." I sweatdropped. "Okay then," I said. "I'm the second mate. Is that even a position?"
There was a moment of silence, where we just sat there in comfortable silence.
Then, the boat started rattling again.
I looked over the side, expecting to see another sea monster, but what I did see was even worse. "Oh, crap." I muttered.
A whirlpool. We had been caught in a huge whirlpool and I hadn't even noticed until then!
Luffy laughed. "Hey! It's huge! Shishishishi!"
"Oh, don't start, Luffy!" I snapped. "A whirlpool is no laughing matter!"
Luffy looked at me with his huge brown eyes. "You can just stop it, can't you?"
"Are you insane?!" I shouted. "That whirlpool is way too big for me to handle. I don't know how to stop it!"
"Then why don't you just carry me, and we can walk away from the whirlpool. I can drag the boat. You can walk on water. I've seen you." he said.
"Yeah," I said, frowning, "Alone. And for about thirty seconds. There's no way I could carry you and the boat and walk to the next island."
"Why don't you become water and create a current stronger than the whirlpool?" he asked. There was that big goofy grin that I had come to know and love over the years.
I facepalmed. I loved my brother, but he was clueless. "Luffy... I can't become water. I ate the water-water fruit: paramythia model. Besides, even if I could, I would drown. I'm just as much of a hammer as you are."
Luffy furrowed his eyebrows, thinking. It looked like hard work. "Hey! We'll use that!"He pointed to the small barrel at the back of the boat. He pulled off the top, and jumped in. "C'mon!" He patted the rim of the barrel, and grinned.
A lump of fear formed in my throat. I probably should mention, I'm claustrophobic. Small, enclosed spaces terrify me, even now.
The thought of being trapped in a small barrel with Luffy scared me more than the thought of drowning.
Luffy poked his head out of the barrel. "It's alright!" he said brightly. "If we drown, we drown together. And I'm not going to drown."
I sighed. "Alright... No way to beat that iron-clad logic." I said, hardly believing how I got suckered into this.
Awkwardly, I clambered into the barrel, right on top of Luffy. When Luffy closed the lid on top of us, I had to make a serious effort not to scream. I started to sweat. All I could hear was my hyperventilation. The darkness was closing in around me, as if the cold hand of death was just inches away from my throat.
Luffy wrapped his rubbery arms around me, snapping me out of my fit. "It's alright..." he said. "I'm right here with you."
I sighed with relief. It was a lot better knowing he was there, even if he was still just a doofus who had just convinced me to ride a whirlpool in a barrel. Then I realised where he had put his arms. "What are you doing?" I asked.
I couldn't see him in the dark, but I'm pretty sure he grinned. "I know you're coulrophobic, so I thought you could use a hug."
There was a short, very awkward pause.
"I'm claustrophobic." I deadpanned. Then I smiled. "Thanks..."
"Shishi! Don't mention it!"
I leaned back against him. "Well, this is an interesting start to our adventure." I said. "I wonder what Sabo would say if he could see us now... He'd probably laugh himself silly."
Luffy laughed again. "Sabo's watching us already. He's also watching Ace, wherever he is. We just need to show him how strong we are!"
I nodded. "Right. You will become king of the pirates! And I'll be with you every step of the way."
We drifted along for a few minutes, and Luffy's breathing became soft and steady. I smiled, and shut my eyes. Then, just like when we were little, we fell asleep together.
A/N: Coulrophobia - the fear of clowns.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, and keep an eye out for more updates and new chapters on the way!
Cheers,
Frosty
