Mayura groaned before stretching, "Where the hell am I?" She muttered while opening her eyes. She looked to her side and saw Ace snoring beside her.
"And how the hell am I always stuck with you?" She stated while punching him in the arm.
He woke up with a grin and grabbed her waist, "Must be luck. Anyway, where are we?"
She sweatdropped before phasing out of his hold, "That's what I'm trying to figure out."
Before he could respond, two fishmen that seemed to be guards, approached them. "These two look like the ones King Neptune described." One of them stated.
Mayura, thinking she did something, hid behind Ace who sweatdropped at this. "Are you telling them to get me first?" He deadpanned.
"Nope."
"Then what exactly are you doing?" He asked while glancing over his shoulder.
"Human meat shield." She stated, causing him to jaw drop.
"We're both Logia users, don't you think it's unnecessary to use me as your meat shield?" He asked and she shrugged in response.
"Didn't think of that." She stated before sitting beside him, "Anyway, why are you looking for us of all people?" She asked the guards.
"King Neptune asked us to find all of the members of the Straw Hat pirates." The other guard stated while pointing at them.
"Oh." She deadpanned before standing up with a stretch, "Is that it? You could've told me, I thought I upset some royalty." She stated with a bored look.
"That's why you were hiding?" Ace asked incredulously while lazily pointing at her.
"Shut your mouth. Not like you would know what would happen if you irritate bigwigs." Mayura stated while lightly whacking him on the arm
"Whatever." He shrugged causing her to frown.
"Anyway, we will be leaving, I believe I can hear my fiery orange-haired friend yelling at some poor soul!" Mayura waved her hand while her eyebrow twitched.
She didn't hear Nami per say, it was more that she could see the orangette haggling some shopkeeper over. That poor creature's face...he probably wasn't expecting somebody like Nami to bother him about the price of an outfit for an hour.
When the two guards noticed her trying to move, they placed both of their spears at her neck. Mayura sighed and just continued on moving, the spears went through her body and startled the guards to the point of silence.
Didn't they know what a logia user was?
Mayura broke into a run which causing Ace to blink in surprise, "And where are you going?"
"Anywhere except here! Unless you wanna be arrested?" She yelled causing him to shrug before he ran after her.
"You think they're trying to arrest us?" Ace asked with one raised eyebrow.
"We entered through an area that wasn't the main entrance, therefore we entered illegally. Do you get it now?" Mayura explained with a small sigh.
"Hmm...Makes a little sense." He stated causing her to nod.
They approached the building and Mayura smirked a little, "Seems Luffy, Usopp, Brook and that Mermaid are near us."
"What mermaid?" Ace scratched his head while she shrugged.
"I dunno, I can't remember her name." She said, not really caring all that much.
The two walked in and Mayura let out a small laugh at the poor shopkeeper's face, Nami was really giving him a hard time.
"Hmm...Think I should get a new outfit? You ruined my last one." Mayura asked, smirking slightly while glancing at him.
"Nah, I'm enjoying the view." He said causing her to grin even wider.
"Oh, I'll definitely get a new one then." She joked causing him to sigh dramatically as she picked up a teal t-shirt.
"Where's the fun in that?" He muttered, looking more dejected than he probably should have been.
"If you wanna have your view, you have to pay for my clothes then." She said, sticking her tongue out in a childish manner.
"But you're rich." He stated, pointing at the big wad of cash in her hand.
"Ahhhh...Right! And you're just a stowaway who stares at my ass!" Mayura laughed while slapping him on the arm. "Since I don't mind cold weather I'll buy a whole bunch of bikini tops, whether I wear them around you depends." She smirked causing him to shrug.
"I have my ways." He stated with a low chuckle.
"And I know how to counter said ways." She responded back with clear amusement on her face.
Mayura picked out a ton of clothes while forcing Ace to carry a good portion of them, "Alright! I'm good!"
"I'm not…" Ace mumbled causing her to laugh.
"Yes you are, and if you wanna see my breasts your gonna keep quiet and hold those for me." Mayura said with a sneaky look in her eyes.
"Sup, Nami. Are you giving the poor guy a hard time?" Mayura giggled while Nami folded her arms.
"He just won't go any lower on the prices!" Nami explained causing Mayura to roll her eyes.
"Whatever, I needed to get a new wardrobe since Ace-kun here ruined my only good outfit." Mayura said while Ace looked indifferent about the claim.
"How're you gonna pay for all of that?" Nami asked incredulously while staring at the number of clothes she had gathered.
"I have a regular income coming in since I helped this rich fellow like a year ago. All I did was clear the forest around his house and bam, he paid me. Since he said I could anything, I asked for a regular monthly payment until one of us die." Mayura explained while paying for the clothes.
Flashback~
Mayura laughed lightly as Nike did a barrel roll, "You're getting better at that! Let's land for now!" Mayura said and Nike did so.
Minutes after they landed, a man who must've been very rich, rushed up to her side in a panic, "M-Miss!"
"What's wrong?" Mayura questioned with an indifferent look.
"M-Monsters! They're everywhere! You gotta help me!" He explained causing her to fold her arms.
"Sure, we can work out my payment afterward, correct?" Mayura said already drawing her bow.
"Yes! Anything you want, miss! Just please help me!" He nodded causing a grin to settle on her face.
"Then it's a deal."
Flashback end!
"That's how it all went down. I killed every last beast and in the end, he was all too happy to pay me!" Mayura explained to the awestruck Nami.
"Sounds like you're mooching off of the guy." Ace commented causing Mayura to smack him on the back.
Before she could retort, Luffy, Brook, Caimi, and Usopp poked their heads into the store and sweatdropped upon noticing the four
Did Mayura force Ace to carry all that? Usopp thought with a dumbfounded look.
"Oi! Nami! Mayura! Ace!" Luffy yelled with a wave.
Mayura laughed lightly with a small wave, "Hi Luffy, seems you found us alright."
Ace smirked before tapping her on the shoulder, "Mind if I tell you what I want now?"
"You're bringing that up now?" Mayura said incredulously with both hands on her hips, "Fine, what do you want from me?"
He pulled her away from the group causing her to raise an eyebrow in question, "What are you-?"
"Sorry, can't risk them overhearing. Meant to be our little secret." He explained causing her to blink.
"What dirty little thing do you want from me, peephole?" Mayura muttered with a slight blush.
Hmm...she noticed that? Ace thought in amusement.
"Your gonna come with me when I leave. I promised Pops that I would introduce you. Can't delay on that forever." Ace laughed at her dumbfounded look.
"You gotta be kidding me. Ace-kun this is insane, don't you realize that?!" Mayura said, not exactly glaring at him, but unhappy nonetheless.
"Oh, I realize that I still want to do it though."
"That sounded a hell of a lot worse than it did in your head."
Mayura turned away, giving him a short nod before returning to the group. "Take what you want! It's all free!" The little starfish wearing sunglasses yelled.
"You have no idea what you just did." Mayura said a wide grin on her face. "You won't have any clothes left by the end of the hour."
And sure enough, they took everything.
"You guys are merciless!" The starfish said, eyes popping out of their sockets at the massive bags they had.
Mayura looked out the door as a commotion grew louder, "Huh…?"
Everyone was murmuring "It's him!" Mayura, on the other hand, was annoyed at how bright it was. "Too bright…" She mumbled, shielding her eyes, "It's like that thing has spotlights attached to it."
"Pretty sure it's just you, Mayu." Ace said, staring at the descending whale in boredom.
"No, maybe he's the living form of the sun." Mayura said, causing Ace to laugh.
"Like that makes more sense."
Mayura peeked past her hand and sighed, "It's royalty! I knew I pissed some royal off!" She scooted behind Ace and nudged him forward a little, "If we make it outta here without ending up in the dungeons, I'll go with you."
"Then I guess you're going with me." He said, his deep chuckle causing her to blush.
"Oi, you Straw Hat people." The king atop his whale said, quickly getting their attention.
Usopp faltered a little at his hard look, "Wh-What do you want?"
"I'm going to…" The king began, looking down at them, gaining looks of expectation and fear, "...invite you to the Ryugu Palace-jamon!" He exclaimed in a much more jovial pitch.
Mayura was so shocked she fell on her side, "DAAAAMMMM IIIT! Now I have to go with you!" She howled, shaking Ace back and forth from her position on the ground.
Ace had a wide smile on his face, knowing all along that he would most likely win.
Everyone else on the other hand, minus Luffy for some odd reason, were jaw-dropping in shock, "WHAAAAT?!" Camie and the starfish yelled. "Ryu-Ryu-Ryu-Ryu-Ryu-Ryugu Palace?!"
"Ryugu Palace?" Luffy repeated with a tilted head.
Mayura suddenly sneezed, "Huh...That only happens when I'm missing something hilarious…" She mumbled, not knowing the absolute nightmare Sanji was going through.
"That's right-jamon." The king said causing the entire crowd to cry out in confusion.
Mayura wildly shook her head, "I don't have to be a smart ass to know that he's a king and he just invited us to his palace. Normally I would accept this...but lately I've been nothing but a troublemaker!"
"At least you admit to it." Ace commented, not even trying to hide that he was staring at her ass.
"The Ryugu Palace is the royal palace where the royal family lives!" Camie interrupted the starfish with her quick explanation and Luffy nodded.
"Hmmmm...So, old man…" Luffy began, looking up at the king.
The starfish jumped up while waving his arms, "Don't call him that!"
"Is there a lot of good food at the Ryugu Palace?" He asked, saliva practically dripping onto the ground.
Mayura looked at Ace, "I really hope you don't do that when someone mentions food."
"Not really, still eat like he does though." Ace said with a smirk causing her to facepalm.
"Figures…"
The king looked at Luffy, "Of course, we have prepared a banquet-jamon."
"Oh yeah? I can't wait!" Luffy exclaimed, a wide smile plastered on his face.
Mayura shook her head, "This is insane...Oh dear, Nami thinks there's gonna be treasure. Be prepared to run if you hear screaming."
"Sounds like fun. Plus its free food." Ace wrapped his arm around her waist, causing her to squirm as she tried to escape.
Didn't help he actually knew what haki was and how to use it. Why did I leave my notebook?! Mayura thought, secretly enjoying the attention she was receiving. She was picked up bridal style and the two were launched into the air thanks to Ace using his fire as jets.
He landed and looked down to see a bored Mayura, also known as a dangerous Mayura.
The duo was staring back at each other as the shark swam higher and higher, "Oi, you guys have females on all those ships of yours, right?"
Ace paled for half a second before nodding, "Yeah...We have one girl that I think you might like."
She was silent before she bopped him on the forehead, "I can tell that she's an utter nightmare, Ace-kun."
That's when she looked back at the rest of the crew, finding them entranced in whatever the king was saying. Mayura always had a hard time listening to royalty for one reason or another. Next thing she knew there was a bubble over them.
"A bubble, hmm...We must be going underwater." Mayura said, her fist hitting her palm.
Ace smirked before pulling her into his embrace, "Something tells me you might wanna hang on." He said, hands turning black with haki in order to hold onto the squirming woman.
"Knew I shouldn't have left you my notebook, now look at you...using haki." Mayura finally leaned into his hold, a little bit of awe in her voice.
"Does that surprise you?" He asked, amusement laced into his voice.
She smirked, "Yes...Yes, it does. I never thought you would be able to follow my haki training. Mine's pretty rough." She said arms folded playfully.
The whale suddenly took off and Mayura found herself thankful that someone was holding onto her. "...Thanks." She muttered, causing him to laugh a little.
"Wouldn't want to see you go flying off the side. Oh, and your training wasn't that hard." The last part was said so casually, Mayura found herself wanting to headbutt the man.
One minute she's swooning, the next she wants to punch him in the nose.
"Oi! It is hard! You just aren't admitting it, Ace-kun." Mayura said, her eyes meeting his.
He smirked, "Okay, I'll admit it if you wear a bikini for the rest of the time we're down here." His words caught her off guard and she was soon blushing.
"So you can stare at my chest all day?!" She muttered, shaking her head as if it would help get rid of her prominent blush.
He looked away at the rushing water, "Maybe."
Finally, the speeding whale came to a halt and Mayura let out a sigh of relief. Something about a whale speeding underwater set her off.
In front of her was a beautiful underwater castle, and she was slowly approaching it. A reminder that a person of royalty had actually invited her. Not ordered her to be sent to the dungeons.
Wow.