Here is chapter 11! I hope that you will enjoy it! You'll see, things will get more interesting now. I'm also getting closer and closer to the end of this story now ;D Well, tomorrow I'm starting school, so that means that I won't be able to update as quickly as I have been doing (more or less) during the summer. I'll try to update one or two times a week usually, although if everything goes well I'll update tomorrow (if I don't get too much work). Well, thank you all for the reviews, the favs and the alerts! I'm very glad that you all like the story so far ^_^
By the way! Wonderful kittymoon14 drew a picture based on this story! It's great, please check it out ^_^ (links without spaces)
http:/ kittymoon14. /# / d48ecup
http:/ kittymoon14. deviantart. com/ #/ d48ecx6
Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, Oda does. I do however own the plot of this story
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Luffy's POV:
I didn't know how much time had passed, but by the time when Sabo and I had somehow managed to finish ordering the books by category and author Smoker came back, holding the two weapons that he seemed to carry all the time for some strange reason and with several stains of blood on his jacked, that by the look of it wasn't dry yet. Just what had he done at the town?
That stupid member of the Straw Hats..." I heard him mutter "Next time I'll capture him and force him to tell me who the hell Straw Hat is. I didn't know that he ran so fast" He then finished saying as he entered the room and sat on his chair, at the centre of the room.
I felt myself pale at this comment and Sabo's look on me as this happened. Just what had Smoker done at the town? Was everyone okay? If he had harmed any of them I swear that I would make him pay. No one harmed my nakama. No one. He remained there for quite some time, staring at the table and filling the room with the smoke of the cigar that he was smoking. He didn't realise that we were there until several minutes after he had entered.
"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked with an annoyed tone of voice.
"We had a detention with you sir" Sabo said with a respectful tone of voice.
Smoker stared, no, glared at him for one minute straight, thinking without a doubt about what Sabo had said. Had he really forgotten about our detention?
"True" He then said after some time with that very same annoyed tone of voice.
He got up and looked around the room, walking around us for about a minute. I couldn't help but to look down as I remembered what he had muttered. It was sheer luck that no one had realised that I was 'Straw Hat' yet, but I had a feeling that this man would end up knowing. He had caught so many leaders of so many bands, and I had become quite famous recently...
"Get the hell out of here, both of you. And don't come back" He suddenly said "Don't do what you did again, you hear me?"
"So then we won't have to come here for the rest of the-?" I started to ask, not managing to finish the sentence due to Smokey interrupting me.
"My time is too precious to waste with you kids. Besides, you did a good job. Now get out of this room" Smoker said quite angry as he inspected me
We both nodded and almost ran out of the room. As I was about to get out I heard Smoker telling me something from behind.
"Hey kid, that straw hat that you have..." He started saying.
"Oh, my grandfather gave it to me when I was a kid!" I said with my best fake enthusiasm and trying to sound as truthful as possible, something that I probably hadn't managed to.
I then went out of the room, leaving Smoker behind thinking. He had noticed that my beloved Straw Hat, that had belonged to Shanks once and that he had given me was the same or very similar to the one that 'Straw Hat' had. To my trademark outside this place.
"I better stay away from that man for quite a while, just in case" I thought as I walked down the corridor besides Sabo.
We both stopped when we were slightly far away from his office. Well, Sabo did. He turned around to look at me.
"What did Smoker mean by asking you that?" He asked as he looked at my Straw Hat, curiosity and a spark of realisation on his eyes.
I didn't answer, and instead I just looked at him in the eyes, waiting for him to realise. I didn't want to say the answer aloud here. The walls had ears. It wasn't safe. Instead I just remembered how I appeared on my "Wanted" poster. My face wasn't seen, but it was quite distinctive anyways.
I grinned in the way that I always did, perhaps with a slight maniac taint, and then pulled my Straw Hat over my head in a way that it shadowed all of my face and didn't let it be recognised with my right hand. Yes, he would know what I meant with this. I wondered for a moment just what had pushed me to trust Sabo with this secret that could very well cost me my life while I was here. I soon got my answer. "He can be trusted" I thought.
Sabo's eyes widened. "Wow! So that was why!" He said with a surprised tone of voice. "I would have never imagined it" He then added with the same tone of voice.
I chuckled and got out of the pose, soon losing all similarities with how I looked in my wanted poster. We both then remained in silence, but this time it wasn't an awkward one, instead it was one quite comfortable, one that made it seem that we had been friends for a very long time. How had this strange 'trust' developed? It wasn't like I didn't like it though, and truly I didn't really care how. I was happy to have a new friend. We stared at each other for quite a while, a smile on both of our faces as we didn't realise that someone had been listening and watching us the whole time.
"Luffy!" I suddenly heard the very familiar voice of Vivi shout from behind me.
I turned around to look at her, and saw that she was carrying an envelope. The same envelope that I had given her before, but it seemed like something was different now.
"This is for you, from Ace" She said, quite nervously. Her eyes suddenly widened as she realised that Sabo was beside me. "Luffy, I' didn't realise that-" She started saying, just to be interrupted at the end.
"Don't worry, he... knows" I said slowly and quietly.
"Here, read it" She said as she handed me over the envelope.
I got hold of it. "Do you know what it says?" I asked her out of curiosity.
"No" She said as she shook her head.
I nodded and stared at the envelope. What could he have written as a response? What did this mean? I opened it and got hold of the paper that was inside it. Inside the envelope I could spot the original letter that I had written. I stared at the reply for a while, not having expected one, and I felt Sabo and Vivi moving behind me to see what was written on the letter. I didn't mind and instead I just started reading it.
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D:
I don't understand what you mean. If it was so wonderful and it is so hard to forget don't ask me to forget about it. I have been unable to forget about it for a single second, or about you, D. Instead just give me your name, that way it will be easier for both of us. I know what you think. It is not a game for me, I want to know who you are, and nothing will stop me. Not you asking me to forget or anyone else. It was more than a simple dance, and I know that you know this as well as me. Forgetting would be useless, and I don't plan on doing this, no matter how many letters you send me. I will find who you are.
PS: I know that the colour of your eyes wasn't fake. It would be too obvious if it was and they were too pretty.
Ace
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I stared at the letter for a while, not knowing what to think. Did he know what this meant? Had he understood what I had wanted to tell him with my letter? Had he? Did he understand that this wasn't a game? that my feelings were too deep and that it wasn't a game? He had said that, but had he understood it? Did he mean it? Why had he decided to reply and say this? I shook my head. "Too many questions" I thought, as I started re reading the letter again and again. Suddenly I heard a laugh behind me, coming from none other than Sabo.
"I told you that he wouldn't do that" He said with another laugh.
"But does he understand that it isn't just a game? That there's more behind it than just plain curiosity and infatuation?" I said aloud, suddenly realising that I felt quite happy that he had replied this.
"I don't know, you'll have to discover that by yourself. He hasn't told me anything concrete about what he feels about the whole thing" Sabo said.
I sighed and then crumpled the letter in between my hands. I felt a tear fall from one of my eyes and roll down my cheek, ending on the cold rock floor.
"He doesn't understand, and this makes me feel sad. And yet... I'm happy that he replied this" I then muttered, clutching the letter and crumpling it further.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned around to see Vivi, smiling.
"Luffy, forget about the whole thing for a while and let's do something outside" She said with a happy tone of voice.
I grinned at the thought of seeing my friends and nakama again. I couldn't wait already.
"Yes" I said with a decided tone of voice. I turned around to look at Sabo.
"What will you do now, Sabo?" I asked him.
"Ace said that he was going to go outside to find... someone. I'll go outside to help him" He said.
"Blackbeard?" I asked aloud.
Sabo was silent for a few moments, not answering. "Yes" He said after a while. "You know about what happened?" He then asked me.
"Everyone knows, at least those who are part of a band or are working for the government to try and catch band members and leaders. He killed the commander of the fourth division, right? He killed his own nakama right?" I heard Vivi asked.
I looked at Vivi, just wondering how much she knew and for how long she had known about Sabo and Ace being...
"Yes, he did. Ace made it his job now to make the man pay. I won't leave him alone in this, I feel like the man is stronger than what it seems" He replied with a dead serious tone of voice.
Both Vivi and I nodded. I couldn't help but think just how bad they had felt at the news of their friend's death by one of their very nakama. Anger, sadness, fury... so many things.
"Well, I'll get going now. I must get changed as soon as possible to get out. I can't simply go out dressing like this. See you both later" Sabo said with a happier tone of voice.
"See you later!" Both Vivi and I said happily.
Once Sabo was gone we both turned around to face each other and stared into the other's eyes.
"We must get changed first" I heard Vivi mutter.
"Yes" I just said, agreeing with her.
"Let's get changed and then meet near the secret exit near the basement, all right? There should be few people there right now" She said.
I nodded and we both started walking to our rooms.
