Chapter 12: Was It All A Waste?
Zoro watched his captain as the teen stared at the starlit sky. Something was going on and it seemed like the girl was trying her hardest to hide it. Luffy had been able to act all go happy and normal since they landed and before, but the swordsman wasn't fooled. He was sure that Robin knew that something was bugging the girl as well.
Luffy would come out and stare at the stars, occasionally glancing in the direction to the right. She had done this ever since they left the Whitebeard ship and entered the island. Zoro had tried to see what she was staring at, but he never could. Luffy had sharp ears when needed and whenever the man got a certain distance Luffy would swing around and look at where he used to be.
This time Zoro was determined to see what the girl was looking at. He had made it to the deck that had the steering wheel on it he could see the top of the hat from behind one of the mane panels from the lion head piece. The man quietly walked closer. If he was lucky he could get to the railing without the captain noticing him. He usually never got pass the stairs but Luffy seemed rather distracted tonight. The green haired swordsman made it to the steering wheel.
Luffy whipped her head around but saw nothing. She looked at the empty deck and then went back to staring at the ships. She made no noise but continued to stare at the ocean and the ships it rocked. She made no move or sound as the ocean sang its night lullaby.
Back to the swordsman who was craning his neck so that he could see whether or not Luffy was still watching him. Zoro inwardly sighed. Luffy was never very observant. How come at this time she was? The man quietly sat up and sat on the seat that was behind the wheel.
Luffy wasn't in sight and the man hadn't heard any tapping on the deck meaning she had decided to sit or lie down. Zoro looked up at the sky. He was getting tired but he wanted to make sure that Luffy was okay. Here they couldn't be lovers. No, Luffy couldn't even be a girl here. She had to be a guy so he couldn't even get a little bit of comfort in for the girl.
Luffy woke up to the sun hitting him in the face. He had fallen asleep on the Sunny Go's figure head. Oh well, it wasn't a first. The place was actually rather comfortable. She stood up and jumped onto the upper deck and noticed Zoro fast asleep in the seat behind the wheel.
"Oi Zoro." Luffy said hitting the man on his head. Zoro woke up and stared at his captain. "You're gonna catch a cold if you sleep out here."
Luffy jumped down to the grassy deck and ran into the cabin meant for him. Zoro watched the teen go and then sat up and stretched. The stupid cook would have food ready soon so he might as well go and get dressed. But wasn't Luffy sleeping out here too?
Luffy quickly went through his pockets. Yes, there was one. Luffy pulled the sheet out of her pocket and opened it. It had nothing written on it. The paper was thicker and a little heavier. Luffy said nothing but decided to ask Nami to sew it into his hat later. Luffy changed into his usual wear and went out to breakfast.
Nami didn't question as to why her captain wanted a blank piece of paper sewn into his treasure but did so anyways. She didn't Luffy and his stupid fanatics. Sanji served breakfast and like usual it was a mess.
"LUFFY, THAT WAS MINE!"
The boy shoved the steak into his mouth as Usopp put his foot on the table and pointed his knife at Luffy. Sanji kicked the teen in the head telling him not to stand on the table. Even though Luffy was a boy to the rest of the world, the blonde cook refused to kick the teen. Luffy didn't mind being kicked, it didn't affect him much anyway, but it was against Sanji's code of chivalry or whatever he called it.
Zoro ate in peace even through this mess. He knew how to guard his food and the occasional bone to the head was also normal. Robin and Nami never got their food stolen. Luffy knew better than to steal Nami's and Robin wasn't the type of person he could steal from. Luffy also never stole from Chopper. That was the only time Sanji had ever kicked the black haired teen. The blonde regretted it later but Luffy never risked it. Everyone else was open game.
The crew never really complained. It was normal whenever they went out or went to parties and such. Most of the time they would laugh about it even when the teen was stealing their dinner. Others would complain and Nami would usually punch Luffy or something, but they all would end the dinner out of breath and cheeks hurting.
After their quite lively meal, the crew headed back towards the stadium. The next round for fights was on its way and they were all pumped. Sanji was determined to become even more famous and even though he had a girl, he wanted the ladies of the world to see the 'Prince on a White Horse'. They sat where they had done the day before.
Ace and the rest of the Whitebeards sat above where Luffy and her crew were. They had been there the day before and that was where they decided to sit again. Ace noticed the slight bulge in the signature hat that the girl seemed to always wear now-a-days. He smiled recognizing the size. She probably didn't know what it was but she knew that it was something important and had gotten it inserted into the thing she treasures more than her life.
The fire user sat and waited for the next round of fights to start. The person who usually announced them hadn't showed up. All that was known was that this was the last day for the tournament. Whoever survived here would be able to stay in the pirate world. Everybody else would have to live in shame of losing. Just sitting in the tournament you could tell the fact was going through almost all of the pirate's minds.
The screen shuffled the cards that held the picture of all the participants. Some pirates held their breaths. If they were chosen, they would want to go against someone who could be beaten down easily. The card showed Ace's face and the man jumped down to the field eagerly. He wanted to get this started. As the man descended he caught a small smile on the boy in the straw hats lips. He wanted to see this fight as well.
Ace stood and stared at the man before him. He wasn't a captain or even a top fighter in his crew. That was obvious. Ace just smiled and waited for them to try and swing the axe that was on his back. The man did and rushed at Ace. The axe didn't even reach the man.
The user tripped and fell, that or the axe was too heavy and he couldn't hold it up any longer than a few seconds. Ace looked at him with a thin smile and wide eyes. He then looked up at his crew and pointed to the man who was trying to lift the axe up again.
"Do I really have to fight him?" he asked his crew. Marco chuckled and watched as the man very easily lifted the axe and swung it down cutting the freckled face man in half.
"Don't look down on me." The man said with a quick evil grin of victory.
"I mean come on." Ace said punching the guy in the face and sending him across the arena. The axe was dropped and Ace went back to his regular form and stared at the man who was now unconscious.
Luffy grinned at the man while his crew stared down at him. He heard Usopp say something about fire guy and how he didn't want to fight him. Luffy chuckled and watched as the man came back up to the crew he was in. Luffy was sitting next to the stairs that led to the arena. He felt the brush of the man's arm against his and grinned an even bigger smile.
The shuffle continued and like the day before, the groups watched the fights. Because of how many men there were, the captains didn't get out much. Luffy booed along with others when one would give up as soon as they saw their opponent. Whitebeard had been called out but the captain who he was challenging already had his crew at the exit before he even had a chance to stand up. Luffy had laughed at this while Zoro muttered the guy not being a man.
There were a few turns with people in her crew. Twice Zoro was sent to the wring. The first fight he hadn't even felt like bringing out his sword and simply hit the man with the sheath. His second opponent had run in fear just from his face.
"That just proves that it is Zoro's face that scares people away from us." Usopp said as the green haired man walked back to their section.
"Huh!" Zoro asked the long nosed liar with a glare. Zoro sat next to Luffy who was laughing through clenched teeth. Usopp was hiding behind Franky and Brook who were staring at the screen.
"Our crew sure is getting hit." The blue haired man said as Luffy's grinning picture showed up. Luffy casually stood up and ignored the picture of the opponent. He did notice a small flinch from Nami.
Luffy stood on the grass and began to stretch like he did before every fight. His opponent walked out in front of him. Luffy looked up at the purple creature and tried to remember who he was. The man had caused Nami to flinch back and that really long nose was similar too.
"It's been a while, straw hat gaki." The man said to the small boy who was still looking rather confused. "It's me, Arlong, I hope my little map drawer is safe and sound."
"Ah, you're the bastard who tormented Nami. You're still alive? Oh well, Nami is my nakama and I'm gonna kick your ass here so she won't ever belong to the likes of you." Luffy said recalling who the merman was. This remark made Arlong laugh in his weird way.
After he stopped the fight began. Luffy jumped out of the way of the oncoming teeth and landed a punch into the man's gut. Arlong spat out blood and looked at the rookie. "You're stronger." He remarked.
"A hell of a lot from when I last beat you." Luffy said with a grin. The man had gotten stronger as well, maybe he could get a good fight in. Arlong dashed forward and tried to slash his nose like a dagger at the boy.
Luffy barely dodged the attack that was aimed at his chest. He brought his foot up and attempted a kick but the merman caught it and flung Luffy across the stadium. Luffy landed easily and was sitting and watching the older pirate. He put his hand out and caught the straw hat which had fallen off during the throw and put it on his head. Luffy stood up and dusted of his pants. There was cheering about continuing the fight all around.
"I learned something on my way here." Arlong said as he circled the boy. Luffy was standing still and watching, waiting for the saw-tooth shark to make his move. He did and dashed to Luffy's right.
Luffy backed up and, with his fists clenched together, rammed them into the man's skull. The hit blinded Arlong temporarily, but the man quickly caught the front of Luffy's shirt and lifted the scrawny kid up.
Luffy eyes widened when he realized that the merman had grabbed more than just the shirt. He had also grabbed some of the bindings. A grin came onto Arlong's face showing off his razor sharp teeth. He couldn't have?
"The straw hat boy that beat me up was a straw hat girl."
Ace stared at the man who had gripped Luffy at the chest. The grip seemed to go a little deeper than the shirt and Ace began to feel a little nervous. He concentrated on the fight and never let his eyes leave his sister who had begun to try and get out of the purple skinned man's grip. It wasn't working however.
Marco could feel his friend tense up beside him and also saw what the man was staring at so intently. If the merman was to throw the teen right now, the shirt and binding would rip revealing what the two siblings had been trying to hide for who knows how long.
Arlong did just what Luffy and Ace had feared. He threw the teen. Luffy could hear the shred of the fabric and chest binding. The throw itself was no problem. Even if the teen couldn't land safely, it wouldn't hurt. It was the fact that Luffy had nothing to hide her chest anymore.
Luffy could hear everything as the whole tournament saw what she had been hiding. Arlong was laughing thinking that he had one. Luffy was crouched down with one had on the ground and the other covering her chest. The people behind her couldn't see anything, but everyone else could. Some pirates were whistling while some had nose bleeds.
Luffy could feel the heat rise to her face. She was embarrassed like any girl would be but also furious. She had been trying to hide this for so long. She only wanted the world to think she was a boy for a few more months or maybe a year more. She knew that pirates were staring at her. Ones who had looked at her as a threat were probably ridiculing her.
That wasn't any problem. It was just talk. Luffy looked at the still laughing merman. He was laughing at her face. At the fact that she was girl. Luffy stood up straight and let go of her chest. Her ripped shirt covered most of it but it was still visible.
"Oi, Arlong." Luffy said to the merman. The man stopped laughing at the tone the girl used and looked down at her. Luffy's eyes were hidden by the brim of her hat.
"What is it little girl? You going to beg for mercy?" he said cracking up again. More pirates around him, not just his crew, were also laughing.
"I kicked your ass once!" Luffy's voice was audible for the whole stadium to here. "I was a girl when I did that."
Luffy grinned and bolted towards the man. Arlong wasn't expecting the speed. Or the stretch of the girl's hands. Luffy's hands were where she had been standing before, but the rest of her was right in front of him.
"Gomu Gomu No…" Arlong didn't have time to block as the hands whipped back and rammed into his stomach, "BAZOOKA!"
Arlong was sent flying out of the stadium. Luffy stood up and adjusted her hat. Pirates around her were staring at her with disgust and shock. Luffy grinned at them and put her hands in front of her.
"What, never seen a girl kick a guys ass before? I've seen plenty of them doing that here?" Luffy said casually walking back to the section where her crew was. Her hands were in her pocket and a content look on her face.
"Who are you?"
Luffy looked up at the platform underneath the screen. The man who had usually done the announcements was staring at Luffy. Well it seemed that way. Luffy still couldn't figure out any of his features. This time the figure behind him was missing.
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy, a high school student and the one whose gonna become the King of the Pirates." Luffy said with a confident grin. The pirates around her shuffled about. Some scoffed off the girl's answer while others grew angry and laughed at her 'foolish dream'. Luffy just continued to smile and walk towards her crew.
Ace watched his sister walk up the stairs. She looked up at him with an apologetic look. Ace nodded and elbowed the man sitting next to him as he mentioned getting a good view. Ace stared at his sister's head as she sat next to her first mate. The man handed the girl his jacket and said something.
Luffy laughed at Zoro telling her to cover up and put the jacket on happily. She zipped the over sized thing up and went back to staring at the field. The whole world figuring out that she was a girl wasn't something she had planned to happen so soon. She needed the break that was going to come soon to come faster. She had recognized Ace and she needed to talk to him. Even if she wasn't allowed to.
Someone had told me that they had a feeling someone was going to learn about Luffy's secret. I had never planned on keeping it one for long so here it is. I just made it someones. Yeah I made the whole world learn that Luffy was girl. I bet what Arlong did really ticked off Ace and that the man was inwardly killing every single man in that arena. I wish Ace was my big brother... Well, see you later.
