VIRA, YOU ARE TOO NICE TO ME! ;_; Thank you for another kind review. It made me so happy that I got sad! HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN?!
(This is totally how haki works, right? Right? I tried my best...)
The boys came back around to the laughter and Gwen apologized for scaring them, claiming that she couldn't resist. The swordsman made no indication of being sorry, but told them that Usopp had left a few minutes saying 'it was time to go'.
"'Time to go'?" One of them repeated.
"That's what he said. Then he left." Zoro informed them.
"It was probably time for him to go to the mansion." The one who looked like a pepper commented.
"Where the sick girl lives?" Nami questioned.
"Yeah."
"Why would he go there?" Luffy asked with interest.
"To tell lies!" The purple haired boy commented.
"That's not very nice." Luffy sweat-dropped.
The children began to insist that it was nice. Very nice. The older group looked to each other puzzled, and shared a shrug. The pepper boy explained how their captain would go to the mansion everyday and tell the owner stories. Just to make her smile.
"Awww, how sweet~" Gwenyth cooed. "How long has he been doing that?"
"For the past year." The boy with the onion head smiled, proud of his lying captain.
"That's what I like about the captain, he's a meddler!" Purple hair commented.
"I like him 'cause he's so bossy!" Pepper boy exclaimed.
"I like him 'cause he's boastful!" Onion head said with equal enthusiasm.
Zoro, along with the rest of his crewmates, sweat-dropped. "He's... sure got a lot of good qualities."
"Hey, the girl's spirits must not be too low then!" Luffy pointed out eagerly.
"That's right. Thanks to the captain!" Purple answered.
"Luffy..." Gwenyth warned, but it was too late.
"WELL THAT SETTLES IT! LET'S GO ASK HER TO GIVE US A SHIP!"
She sighed as Nami shouted at him. "But we already decided against that idea!"
"And wouldn't it be rude for us to just pop up and ask for a ship like that? We've never even met her!" Gwenyth added, nevertheless scooting out of the booth.
"She'll be okay with it, as long as she's happy!" Luffy explained. Nami gave up, groaning, as Gwen sweat-dropped.
"Fine. But while you guys do that, I'm gonna go shopping for supplies."
"Eh?" Luffy's face fell a little. "You don't wanna come?"
"No. I'd feel really insulting if I did."
"That's fine," Nami grumbled, "I made a list of things we need. This is all the money I'm giving you, so don't waste it!" Pulling out a piece of paper and a small pouch, Nami handed the items over to the seamstress; who simply nodded and held them. "Aren't you gonna put them away somewhere?"
"What's wrong with holding 'em?"
"You might misplace my money. Or someone might take it when you're not looking!"
"Oh." Gwenyth looked down at her clothes. All she had on was a simple navy blue, pocketless A-line dress and black, pocketless leggings. Both of which she had sewn herself, pocketless-ly, under Maaya's watchful eye. Without pockets. "Um... Maybe I can... put it in my... bra?"
Nami face-palmed, while nearly all the guys blushed. "Never mind..."
"What's a 'bra'?" Her captain, the only non-blushing boy, asked.
"Uh... It's... a... type of undershirt..." She explained, turning scarlet.
"Can you make me one?"
"... Maybe once my arm's better..." She said vaguely, leaving the building as quickly as she could. A loud smack could be heard once she was outside, along with a yelling Nami. Gwenyth shook her head and continued walking towards what appeared to be a marketplace. Putting the money in her left hand, she noted a lack of strain in her arm. Holding the list with her right hand, she read off the contents. It wasn't much, just water, some foods, grog, and toiletries.
"Simple enough," she mumbled to herself. Gwen started to skip but immediately stopped, as her arm shouted in protest. She entered a butcher shop and glanced around.
"Can I help you?"
Gwenyth jumped and turned to the sudden voice. A woman in her thirties stood behind the counter, smiling at her.
"Yeah. Uh... What do you have that won't spoil too quickly?"
The woman gave her an odd look. "No meat spoils too quickly when it's properly frozen and stored."
"We don't have one." Gwenyth smiled.
"Don't have what? A freezer?"
"Or refrigerator. No room on the ship." She explained simply. The woman looked at her in disbelief.
"Well... There are different techniques to keep meat from perishing without a refrigerator, but none of my meats are prepared in such a way. I usually only deal with the villagers here, not seafarers."
"Oh..." Gwenyth thought for a moment. "What about beef jerky? That stuff's never refrigerated."
The woman nodded. "You'll need to go a few shops down if you want some. All the meat I sell goes bad within a few hours if you leave it out. You might want to invest in some less perishable foods. Like, I don't know, fruits or snacks."
"Aren't fruits perishable, too?"
"Not as much as meat." The woman paused for a moment, looking Gwenyth up and down. "You don't know much about food, do you?"
"No, I don't. Thanks for the information." Gwenyth walked out, grumbling some curses under her breath. Luffy wouldn't be happy without some meat on-board. Though, it wouldn't have lasted long according to the butcher lady.
Since all of the meat Mrs. Black had cooked them was eaten within a few hours, Gwenyth honestly hadn't even thought of it going bad. She wasn't food oriented at all. In fact, it seemed that none of her crewmates were. She would have thought Nami might've been at least a little knowledgeable, yet she was the one who had put cold cut meat on the list. It was kind of embarrassing. They would need somebody who knew about food if they didn't want to die at sea. Maybe a chef or something. And a refrigerator. Definitely a refrigerator.
Gwenyth walked through the streets, haggling fruit from the few venders there, wandering in and out different shops. She couldn't help notice this place wasn't at all like Toguchi. Then again, Toguchi was more of a small, tight-knit city. This village was quaint with spread out homes, a handful of shops, and a few special practices. There wasn't a huge selection anywhere; which was probably for the best when it came Gwenyth's lack of food-knowledge.
Soon, she had everything on her list but cold cuts, though she made up for that with beef jerky. (Which totally counts as the same thing, right? I mean, it is a type of meat. And it was cold and cut up at some point. Right?) She used the skirt of her dress to carry everything back to the boats. Singing out 'Be Prepared' from the Lion King, Gwenyth easily followed the slight clearing of trees back to where they had docked. Constantly reminding herself not to skip, and nearly tripping down the steep slope.
Once she reached the ships, she simply tossed the things over the side, not bothering to try and clamber in. She and Nami could sort them away somewhere when they left. Lightly stretching her left arm, Gwenyth rubbed her pulling muscles gently. It was sore, but the pain felt good as it was slowly massaged away.
She was making her way back to the village to find her friends when her heart unexpectedly dropped. A sudden sense of impending doom filled her to the brim. Something had happened. She had no idea what, but she knew something really bad had just happened. Gwenyth's eyes flickered up and down the pathway for some sort of a clue as to what caused this realization. Finding none, she rushed towards the village. She held her left arm close to her body, trying to keep the bouncing to a minimal, and therefore the pain. Abruptly, she stopped.
An uneasy glance was thrown to her left. Something was telling her to turn here. Gwenyth didn't want to steer off the only course she knew, but her subconscious screamed at her to do so. She swayed uneasily from side to side, fighting between her mind and the intense urge. Finally giving in, she rushed into the woods towards the direction of the pull. Silently praying it wouldn't lead her to an untimely death. In a flash, someone zipped past her at an incredible speed. Gwenyth screamed and jumped back before watching the person run in the direction of the village.
"U... Usopp?" She questioned lightly, but the man was already out of sight. What the hell was that about?, she wondered, turning the way he had fled. The pull she had felt was once in that direction, but it was gone now. Curious, Gwenyth forced herself to continue without the internal guide from before. She reached a large cliff with a single tree and a sparkling view of the ocean. Caught breathless, she stood there soaking in the blue majesty of sea and sky before bringing herself back into reality.
The Gwenyth edged forward carefully, inching closer to the cliff's end. Once she was convinced she couldn't go any further without falling, she settled onto her knees and leaned over with her hands on the ledge. Looking down, the girl nearly lost her grip and fell. Just below her, was her captain. Sprawled out in an unnatural fashion. She rapidly surveyed the sides of the cliff, searching for a manageable way down. The only one she could see was far to her right. Gwenyth jumped to her feet and rushed towards it.
Using both hands, she helped herself down as carefully as she could in her hurried state. Her left arm protested, but the surge of emotions inside her kept the pain from reaching her conscious thought. Only one thing repeated inside her mind: That can't be Luffy.
Reaching the bottom of the cliffside, Gwenyth held her left arm and ran back to the boy she had seen. That couldn't be Luffy. It just couldn't be! Could it? Sure enough, it was. Gwenyth looked back up to the top of the cliff. Did... Did he fall? She turned back to him and felt the water stinging her eyes.
"O-Oh, Luffy... You... You i-idiot..." She said picking up his hat and crying into it. Was it her? Was she cursed? Hannah's important people died, too. Maybe the people from her world caused death to the people in this one? Oh god. Was it her fault they had died? A loud, sudden snore made Gwenyth squeal and pulled her from her thoughts. She looked over to Luffy in his unnatural position, body resting on a bent neck, legs over his torso. He snored again.
"He's... sleeping?" She whispered, then sighed. A wave of relief washed over her, followed quickly by realization. "SLEEPING!? HERE I AM, CRYING OVER YOUR DEATH, AND YOU'RE FUCKING SLEEPING, MOTHER FUCKER!? I DON'T THINK SO!" Gwenyth stomped over to him, pushed him onto his back, and began to pull at his face. Hardly noticing the elasticity in her rage. "WAKE THE FUCK UP SO I CAN FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU SHIT-FACED PIECE OF FUCK!" She shot up and kicked his body as hard as she could, sending him straight into the cliffside. Deep, seething breaths made her chest rise and fall dramatically as she eyed the dust cloud furiously.
"Well that was interesting." A cool voice said from behind her. Gwenyth quickly straightened up, and wiped away any evidence of tears before turning to face her crewmates. Zoro, Nami, and the three boys were standing behind her. Actually, the three boys had fainted and were mumbling about ogresses in their daze.
"He deserved it!" She shouted pointing an accusing finger at her captain, who was just starting to sit up. "I thought he fell and died, but he was only taking a weird nap!"
"My cheeks hurt..." Luffy said rubbing them.
"GOOD!"
"Why were you even sleeping there, Luffy?" Nami asked, much calmer than her crewmate.
"I don't know. I thought I was on top of the cliff."
"AH HAH! YOU DID FALL!" Gwenyth shouted, pointing at him again. Her anger suddenly vanished. "Oh. My. God. YOU FELL FROM A FREAKING CLIFF!? IN YOUR SLEEP!? AND I HIT YOU AFTERWARDS!?" She ran over and tackled him, screaming apologies and nearly crying all over again. He simply asked for his hat back, not seeming to mind her lunacy. She instantly put it on his 'poor abused' head before cradling it with teary-eyed affection.
"Was the captain with you?" One of the boys asked, everyone choosing to ignore Gwenyth's insanity. (Well, the boys were absolutely positive she was an ogress now, and they weren't entirely sure how ogresses were supposed to behave when not eating people. Apparently, they were cuddle-enducing, apologetic crybabies.)
"Huh?" Luffy asked, taking his attention from the girl coddling his head. "Oh, yeah."
He proceeded to give the group some very interesting information. Apparently, Luffy and Usopp overheard a butler named Klahadore, whom everyone but Gwenyth seemed to know, conversing with a very weird man. Not only were they plotting for pirates to invade the village tomorrow. They were going to force the sick mansion girl, named Kaya, to write a will leaving her wealth to Klahadore. Followed by killing her! Once Luffy finished, Gwenyth was surprised the children hadn't fainted again. But they were, in fact, screaming. She ignored them.
"So you and Usopp saw this happen?" Luffy nodded, still caught by her embrace. Both seemed to have forgotten she was even holding him. "Then why was he running back to town?"
"I get it, now." Nami spoke insightfully. "He went to go warn the villagers so they'd be ready. Don't worry, they can go hide out in the hills. Pirates are generally pretty stupid." She reassured. Gwenyth made an 'ohhhh' sound as the children began to plan their own safety.
"OH NO!" Luffy screamed out of no where and into Gwenyth's ear.
"What's wrong?" Zoro asked calmly as Gwenyth hit the captain and stood up.
"I've got to go buy some meat before the butcher leaves town!"
Gwenyth remembered her shopping trip from earlier, and how any meat he bought would spoil without refrigeration, but she didn't bother to tell him that. Seeing as how Nami had already hit him upside the head for being an idiot.
The children ran up the hill and the band of pirates followed them. Gwenyth made note that this shoreline and the one they had docked at were very similar. Almost in an eerie way. Including the annoyingly steep hillside. She held onto the back of Luffy's vest to keep herself from tripping, falling, and rolling all the way down. As there was no doubt in her mind such a thing could and would happen.
Once they were over the hill, Gwenyth let go of his shirt and Nami bombarded her with questions about the shopping trip. Did she get everything? She didn't pay full price, did she? Did Gwenyth even know how to haggle? Was there any money left over? Yes? Well, where was it? The boat? That was fine, she guessed. Did she have trouble carrying things? It was all very mind numbing.
After Nami was satisfied, Gwenyth asked how the ship-begging went. It was explained that the man Klahadore had shone up and insulted Usopp for his parentage. His father was apparently a pirate and Usopp punched him in retort, which Gwenyth thought was totally awesome. She'd have to remember to high-five him next time she saw him.
"Captain!" The children shouted and ran towards Usopp.
"Speak of the devil..." Gwenyth mumbled, casually strolling towards him with the rest of her crewmates. Something didn't feel right about him though. Usopp quickly rubbed his face and Gwenyth's eyes lit up. She knew that move. Has he been crying?, she wondered. Nevertheless, Usopp smiled and greeted everyone before his eyes popped out and his jaw fell into an 'O' shape.
"YOU'RE ALIVE!?" He screeched at Luffy, who tilted his head in confusion.
"Alive? Yeah, I must've dosed off."
"Don't worry about him, he's already brain dead." Gwenyth explained, knocking her knuckles not-so-lightly against the Straw Hat's head.
Luffy turned towards her, ignoring the children who had begun to shout at Usopp. "Why'd you hit me? Are you mad?"
"No. I already took my frustration out on your face." She explained. He furrowed his brows and was about to ask another question when Usopp began to laugh obnoxiously loud.
"HA HA HA HA HA! I made it all up, as usual! I got so mad at the butler that I made up a lie about him being a pirate!" The group of teens all stared at him in disbelief while the children began to complain.
Gwenyth stared Usopp down. He was lying. He had to be. Even with the confidence in his laughter, Gwenyth could feel that something was really wrong. Usopp was genuinely concerned and very anxious. This apparent sixth sense didn't give her the exact reason why, but she already knew. She knew because she had felt the same way not too long ago; he was worried about the people in his village.
The children stocked off, disappointed with their captain, and Usopp let his knees buckle.
"S-S-S-STOP L-LOOKING A-AT M-ME L-LIKE T-T-THAT!" He spazzed at the girl. Gwenyth simply blinked, deciphering what he said before tilting her head.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Stop staring through me like that! It's s-scary!" He said shaking.
This time Luffy tilted his head with her. "Huh? Me/Gwen? Scary? No way." They said together.
"DON'T PLAY INNOCENT!" Usopp shouted at the pair.
"What happened to your arm!?" Nami asked suddenly. Gwenyth immediately looked down. There was nothing wrong with her arm. She looked back up and realized the comment hadn't been meant for her. Usopp's arm was lightly oozing with blood.
"O-Oh, this? It's... Nothing. Nothing at all." He said swiftly moving passed the group and heading back towards the coast. Gwenyth shared a look with her crewmates before they all followed the long nosed liar. She sped up to walk beside him.
"So... What happened with the village? Why did you lie to the kids?"
Usopp shifted uncomfortably, glancing up from his feet to her face and back again. "They didn't believe me..." He mumbled finally. "I always tell lies, so why should I be telling the truth this time?"
"The boy who cried wolf, huh?" Zoro commented from somewhere behind them.
"Yeah," He said sorrowfully, "I should've realized... Not even Kaya believed me... and tomorrow she's gonna be... be..." Gwenyth put a hand on his shoulder, trying to console him. In a way she knew what he was going through, worrying about his village and the people most important to him. At the same time, she could only imagine how it felt to be so helpless. Shouting for them to run and hide, only to be brushed off as a troublemaker. Telling people danger was coming, then being shot down by the very ones you were trying to protect.
The moon had risen by the time they reached the coastline once more. Usopp went into further detail as to what had happened in the village, but Gwenyth could hardly listen over the sound of her own heart breaking. The passion felt behind his words was just so clear to her, she could hardly stand it!
She had never been this emotional back home, nor so in-tuned with the emotions of others; feeling them as clearly as her own. Quite frankly it was scary and annoying, and she wanted it to stop. Yet at the same time she had never felt so alive. To be so rawly connected to other humans was, in a word, awe-inspiring.
Her world was one of technology. Filled with machines that brought people closer together, yet pulled the heart and humanity out of them in exchange. Very few people actually cared for others, and even less were able to cry. Sometimes, not even for themselves. That was how Gwenyth had been. She had hardly ever cried; both too proud and uncaring to ever do so.
Until she had come to this world, Gwen had been able to name each time she'd cried on one hand. Now, not only had she lost count, but she probably needed several more limbs than her body supplied! Everyone calling her a crybaby didn't help either. Even if they didn't mean it in a terribly bad way, it was still hard on her pride.
"RIGHT, GWEN!?" Luffy shouted suddenly, causing the girl to scream back into reality.
"WHAT!? RIGHT! Uh... Wait, what was the question?"
Once the situation was explained, and Nami hit her over the head for not paying attention, Gwenyth was all for helping defend the village. Usopp was giving them a quick overview of the beach and the pathway to the village. It was simple enough: don't let the enemy pirates pass the annoying slope and everything would be hunky-dory.
"Easier said then done." Usopp assured. "We'll have to fight like an army to keep them back. What can you guys do?"
"I cut."
"I stretch."
"I steal."
"I bash."
"I run and hide."
"YOU'VE GOTTA FIGHT!"They shouted at the cowardly young man.
"Kidding! I was only kidding, of course!" He lied. "Anyway, I have an idea that might work. I'll need help with some lifting though..."
"Then take the boys with you." Nami insisted, setting her self down on the steep hill.
"I can help, too!" Gwenyth offered.
"Oh, no you don't!" Nami protested. "You're arm still isn't fully healed. No way I'm letting you do anything that might push back making me new clothes even further!"
Gwenyth and the boys sweat-dropped. "Thanks for your concern. It's heartwarming. Really. So touching." She oozed sarcasm and Nami patted the space beside her. Gwenyth flopped down, resting her head on her knees in shame.
Nami waved the boys away and the seamstress muttered a halfhearted goodbye. She didn't like being so pathetic. It was just plain disgusting! She was so much better than this. Maybe she couldn't carry heavy things, but she could push them or something! Probably not one handed, but it would've been better than just sitting here; basking in her un-usefulness. She let out a deep sigh, hoping to ease the bruising of her pride somehow. It didn't work.
"Can I ask you a question?" Nami whispered. Gwenyth lifted her head, almost wondering if she had imagined it. "Gwenyth, are you... Are you really from another world?"
She nearly shit her pants.
Oh my.