Author's Note: Getting close to the end now! It's been a pretty fun ride, wouldn't you say? XD
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece
Chapter Ten: Trust
The kids all huddled behind the Straw Hats, terrified looks on their faces.
"Neh, Tokage, is this really the nice lady you were talking about?" Tori asked uncertainly.
Tokage looked stunned. "I think it might be her evil twin sister or something…"
After a few minutes, the old lady stopped throwing Hoshi around the room. There was a moment of silence, before she suddenly started cackling. "You haven't changed one bit, you brat!"
Hoshi stood up gingerly. "It's good to see you're doing well Sensei."
"This old lady's your sensei?!" Luffy asked.
Hoshi grinned. "After I escaped, she hid me and taught me how to use my whip. She also taught me hand-to-hand combat."
"Among other things that you failed to remember," the old woman growled, punching Hoshi on the head again before walking over to the counter. "Sit down you all, I'll make some tea."
The Straw Hats walked in a little cautiously.
"Is it really safe?" Usopp whispered.
"I think so…" Nami replied uncertainly, still holding Koara.
"That reminds me of when she hit us all with her cane," Chopper shivered.
The kids just huddled at the doorway, refusing to move.
The old woman glanced at them and sighed. She picked up a plate heaped with little cakes and carried it to the door. "I won't bite you all you know," she said gently. "Have a cake."
Tokage was the first one to reach out for a cake. The others watched him eat it, wondering if it was poisoned or not… but when he didn't fall down dead, they overcame their fear and helped themselves. The old woman smiled. "That's more like it," she chuckled. "Come in now!"
Hoshi politely took a sip of tea before asking something that had been on her mind for a while. "Neh, Sensei, won't the island get into trouble for destroying a World Government base?"
"Firstly," the woman said, pulling out some more cakes from a cabinet, "the lab was put here without the knowledge of the people, so it technically never existed. Secondly, if they do come out after us, we'll just blame it on you all. You guys are pirates, after all."
"That's true!" Luffy laughed, holding his sides while everyone else got blue lines on their heads.
"In any case, we'll be okay, so no need to worry" the old woman laughed, setting the cakes in front of the kids.
Hoshi still looked unconvinced.
"She's right you know," Robin added. "There is no logical reason for the World Government to attack the people of this island."
Looking at Robin, Hoshi remembered that this statement was coming from a woman who had been wanted by the World Government for more than twenty years and was still alive. She smiled and relaxed.
"Got any sake?" Zoro asked.
The old woman snorted. "Baka. This is a tea shop, not a bar."
Zoro rolled his eyes. She hit him with her cane. "Insolent brat," she muttered. "Young folks have no respect for their elders these days."
Luffy gulped down his tea then jumped into a standing position. "Tea-obassan, thanks for everything!"
"What, you're leaving?" the old woman asked.
He nodded. "We've gotten everything back, so no reason to stay here any longer!"
Nami hit her captain on the head. "Except for the small, but important fact that the Log won't set until tomorrow morning," she told him. "Idiot."
Luffy clutched his head. "Oww…."
Nami bent down. "Do you kids want to stay here with Tea-obassan, or do you want to sail with us for a while?"
The kids looked startled. "What?"
"Come live with me!" Sakura suddenly piped up. "Mom wouldn't mind, she'd love you all!"
"Tori, you done with those cakes?" Hoshi asked, drawing the kids away from the hard decision they had to make for the moment. "We can go out now and I'll teach you how to fly if you want."
Tori looked up, her eyes shining. "Really?"
"BRAT!" the old woman roared, bringing her cane down onto Hoshi's head with tremendous force. "Don't think you're going to get out of your punishment!" She grabbed Hoshi's ear and started dragging her into the back room. "There's more tea and cakes in the cabinet for the rest of you when you finish."
The door slammed.
Everyone looked at the door with an impending sense of doom… and sure enough, there were crashes and bangs and yells.
The Straw Hats sweatdropped.
"Are you sure… Hoshi's going to be okay?" Usopp asked uncertainly.
"Who knows…" the others replied.
However, the conversation that followed was heard by everyone present…
The old woman surveyed the huddled figure in the corner. "Jeez, you really are an idiot," she murmured. "All those things I taught you about staying alive… and you went ahead and broke almost every single one of them."
Hoshi didn't move.
"I told you, stay low and quiet. Make a life for yourself somewhere and don't fly or do anything that will make you stand out. You went ahead and got yourself a wanted poster four years after you left. What the hell did you do?"
"They found me and tried to put silver on me," Hoshi muttered to a floorboard. "I panicked."
"And that resulted in every person on the damn planet knowing your face and what you look like, so you can't get a quiet life for yourself anymore. Next, I told you to never, ever, emotionally attach yourself to people. Don't trust anyone with your secret. And see what you decided to do… every single town you went to, you tried to find a nakama you could trust. How did that end up for you?! Every single one of them either betrayed you or abandoned you, I'll bet."
Hoshi didn't answer.
"It wasn't just for your sake, but theirs too. They have nothing to do with your troubles, they shouldn't have to face the World Government just because of you."
Hoshi shivered. "But… but these guys are different…" she whispered.
"Kampai for our new nakama, Hoshi!!"
"They… they won't…"
"OI! WORLD GOVERNMENT SCUM!! JUST TRY TO PUT HOSHI INTO A CAGE AGAIN AND I'LL KICK ALL YOUR ASSES YOU LOUSY BASTARDS!! BRING IT ON!!!"
"They really are my nakama…"
"HOOOSHIIIIIII!! WE CAME TO GET YOU!"
"They're not going to hurt me like that," Hoshi stood up. "I don't care what you said before, Sensei, I'm putting my faith in these guys."
"Have you lost your mind!? Eventually, they'll look on you as a burden and throw you away! If you have any sanity left, leave them behind yourself before they leave YOU behind!"
"They won't do that," Hoshi said fiercely. "They hold each other together and look out for each other. And now I'm a part of that."
"Are you insane!? They may feel that way now, but sooner or later they'll betr-"
"YES! I am insane, I know it!" Hoshi suddenly yelled. "But I want to be on thei- I mean, our ship. I want to sail and have adventures with them on the Grand Line, and I'll destroy anyone who threatens that happiness that we can all share together from doing that! They're my damn FAMILY. Maybe they're a dysfunctional and crazy family, but it's a family that's accepted me, and no matter what you say, I can't just throw away a chance like this!"
The old woman seemed at loss for words. Her throat worked furiously, but nothing came out except a couple squeaks. She met Hoshi's determined eyes… then sighed. "It's your life," she muttered, turning her back and walking out of the room.
Everyone looked at the old woman as she came back into the shop. She closed the door and sighed sadly. "You all have gotten yourselves a good nakama," she informed the Straw Hats. "She's made up her mind to sail with you, and nothing I say is going to change her mind." Narrowing her eyes, she warned, "If you ever betray her trust, any of you… you're going to have me to deal with, understand? I'll hunt you down to the ends of the earth!"
"Y-yes ma'am!" Nami, Usopp, and Chopper all replied at once, fear on their faces.
Robin and Zoro grinned.
Luffy laughed. "Don't worry! I'm the man who's going to become pirate king, and I'm not letting any of my nakama float away!"
The old woman looked surprised, then she shook her head. "What an idiotic dream," she murmured.
"But it's true!" Luffy insisted.
She smiled. "Somehow, I don't doubt it…"
Hoshi came out of the room. She walked past the old woman and took Tori's hand. "C'mon, I'll teach you how to fly now," she smiled.
Tori's eyes lit up.
"Can we watch?" Kakyou asked.
"Of course!" Hoshi smiled. "Do you all want to come?" she asked the Straw Hats.
"Okay!" Nami smiled.
Chopper, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Luffy all followed the kids out the door, talking and laughing.
"Sanji, did we get lots of meat in our stock? We're leaving in the morning, so-"
Sanji lit his cigarette and waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "Don't worry about it."
Luffy whooped and jumped several feet into the air. "WAHOO! MEAT!!"
Kakyou and Oso jumped on Luffy's shoulders and they paraded down the street singing, "Meat, meat, meat, meat!!"
Oso suddenly caught sight of Chopper. "FOOD!" he roared. Kakyou followed with a growl of agreement. Chopper turned blue for a second, then started running as fast as he could on his little legs. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" he screamed.
Zoro grabbed the cuffs of their shirts. "Oi, Chopper isn't food," he informed them.
They struggled. "But he's a deer!" Oso protested.
"I'M A REINDEER!!" Chopper roared.
Kakyou stuck out his tongue. "Same thing!"
"Don't eat him, he's so cute!" Uma and Kitsuna screamed, throwing themselves on him. "Choppy-kun, don't worry! We won't let them eat you!"
Chopper started suffocating. "N… need a-air…"
"DON'T KILL HIM!" Raku screamed, peeling them off him.
Robin chuckled. Koara gurgled in her arms and laughed.
"Don't mind them," Neko informed the crew. "They're always like this."
"Really?" Panda asked.
Neko sweatdropped.
Hoshi was showing Tori how to catch the wind in her wings to lift herself off the ground, explaining the different ways to lift off. They went into the air, Hoshi holding Tori's hands and instructing how to stay in the air.
Zoro watched them with a smile on his face… or at least, he was until the old woman's cane smashed into his head. "OW! What the hell was that for, you damn babba!"
"How rude," the old woman cackled. She squinted at him. "You'd better take good care of Hoshi," she told him seriously.
"The hell…? We're all going to take care of he-"
"I'm not talking about all of them, I'm talking about YOU."
"…"
"I'm getting old, but I'm not THAT blind yet kid. I saw the way you were watching Hoshi, and I'm telling you now, you'd better take care of her."
Zoro tried to keep the heat from rising in his face. "What the hell are you talking ab-"
The woman groaned. "Please don't tell me I'm going to be entrusting my girl to an idiot."
Nami popped out of nowhere. She slung an arm around Zoro's shoulders and sighed. "Unfortunately, I think you are."
"What the hell are you both talking about?!"
They both smirked at him. "Zoro, we know that you l-"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Tori fell out of the sky and onto Zoro's head. "AH! Sorry, sorry!" she hurriedly apologized.
Hoshi touched down next to them, laughing. "That was actually pretty good! Was that your first time in the air?"
Tori nodded sheepishly. "I've never been allowed to fly before."
"Well, I wasn't able stay that long in the air my first time," Hoshi chuckled. "Here, I'll give you a boost."
Tori laughed as Hoshi picked her up underneath her shoulders and threw her into the air. "Remember what I told you about finding a good slipstream!!" Hoshi called.
"Haaaaaai!" Tori yelled.
Hoshi turned to the trio. "Sorry about that!" she grinned. "Never had to teach anyone to fly before."
The old woman tapped her cane on Hoshi's head. "Watch where she lands next time."
"Hai sensei," Hoshi chuckled. Then with a huge leap, she was airborne again, just as Tori dipped down suddenly. "Careful! Stay with the current!"
They watched the two fly off.
"ANYWAYS," the old woman suddenly said, "Back to what I was saying earlier, you need to take good care of that girl. She's a special one, that she is."
"We'll all take care of her," Zoro growled.
"I'm not talking about you all, I'm talking about YOU."
Zoro flushed, but he finally let it go. He could see this wasn't going to go anywhere different. "… okay."
The old woman smiled and patted his shoulder. "Good. Maybe you're not as stupid as I thought you were."
Nami grinned evilly. "Wanna bet on that?" she asked.
The tea-lady groaned. "I don't think I do… I regret saying that."
Zoro stalked off without another word.
The two ladies watched him leave. "He's a good one," the old lady approved. "Bit thickheaded for my taste though."
Nami laughed. "Isn't that the truth!" she grinned.
"FOOOOOOOD!" Oso and Kakyou roared. The two women turned and barely got out of the way in time for a crying Chopper to run past, being closely followed by two boys with sharp teeth.