Chapter 26: First Date
Sienna was waiting on the Merry for Luffy the next morning. Everyone deemed that visiting a possibly active volcano at night was an emphatic no, so they made her wait until morning. She barely slept (considering she slept most of the previous day anyways) and spent the night looking at the magnificent view. When morning came she was itching to go.
Nami and Robin made her wear a nice outfit (she didn't see why, since they'll be dirty by the time she came back) and styled her hair (again she didn't see the point and started to get irritated). When they finally declared that she was ready, she wasted no time getting to the Merry.
Luffy was equally as excited. He slept well and woke up just as ready as Sienna, until he remembered they needed food. Lucky for him Sanji was already up and preparing an adventure bento for them.
"It's just sandwiches, so don't go overboard. Make sure you don't get lost either," he told Luffy, "and make sure the Sienna gets more than one."
He agreed and took the bentos and met Sienna. He was shocked when he saw her. She was absolutely adorable. Nami and Robin managed to tame her golden brown hair into a curly ponytail that showed off her round face. She wore a blue v-neck t-shirt that had a rose design on the side and a pair of pale blue shorts and knee high boots. On Nami or Robin the outfit would accentuate every curve to the extreme, but on Sienna's small frame the outfit brought forth her femininity. For the first time Luffy recognized that Sienna is a girl; no a woman. And he was going on his first date with her.
Luffy so wished they could have taken the waver, but Nami refused. It was hers and knowing Luffy and his crazy ideas, her waver would most likely be destroyed by his carelessness. Besides, it was safer for Sienna.
Chopper took a majority of her bandages off, but not the ones on her ribs. They hadn't healed completely and he was anxious about the air quality. He warned them both to not overdo it and if she started to cough or wheeze then they would need to return to the ship immediately.
The ride to, what they've dubbed V-Island, was short. Sienna was glad, and as soon as they got to shore, she began to explore. She went from rock to rock, touching, until she found what she was looking for.
"Look at this Luffy!" she brought him a shiny sharp locking rock. "It's obsidian! Wanna tough it? Be careful though, it could cut you."
Luffy reached out gingerly and touched the obsidian. Surprisingly it was cool.
"Wow, it's so smooth. Almost like glass," he said.
"Because it is," she said.
"How?" he asked.
Then she explained to him how obsidian was made and he actually listened attentively.
"When hot lava hits the cold air too fast it turns into glass. Kind of like, when lightning strikes sand and it turns into glass. It's hard and brittle, thus it's very sharp," she explained.
"Cool! Can you use it as a weapon?" He was thinking about the famous black blades the great swordsmen have.
"It's rare, so I don't know. I mean who wants to go near a volcano to search for it? Besides me of course," she answered.
They put the rock inside a bag that Sienna had gotten from Usopp and moved on. She kept finding other really cool things like fossilized plants and shells. The trees that grew were almost like bamboo and she collected a fallen branch to take back and study more. Luffy found some mushrooms, but he didn't eat them. Instead he put them in their bag to take back for Chopper.
They had lunch on the ridge overlooking the sea that he and Sanji climbed the day before. There, they ate and talked. Sienna told him more about volcanoes and the destructive/cool power they have.
"Why do you love volcanoes so much?" he asked.
"Umm…" she thought for second, "because they remind me that the Earth is alive. And that life on Earth is fleeting. There isn't a point to hold grudges and hate, when it could all be erased by one eruption."
"That's…slightly depressing," he said.
She stuck her tongue out at him and then said, "It's not depressing its self awareness."
He laughed.
"Don't laugh at me, jerk" she whined.
It was endearing and acting on impulse he poked her in her side. She giggled and that was enough encouragement for him to full out tickle her. She tried to tickle him back, but he was touching her again in her most sensitive spots and it felt good. She moaned again and those sounds spurred Luffy to try something new. He kissed her.
It was sweet at first. She kissed him back and it wasn't as sweet, turning this into a full blown make out session. The only reason they stopped was because they needed to breathe. Of course when she took a deep breath it caused her to cough. Luffy declared that it was time to go, and helped her stand.
Before they could descend the summit fully, she was in pain (Damn her lungs!). She tried to hide it, but Luffy noticed. Being smooth he offered her a piggy back ride down to the ship. She took him up on his offer.
It didn't take long for them to get back to the ship, and Chopper started to fuss over her. She really didn't want to be away from Luffy.
As soon as they boarded the ship, Usopp pulled Luffy aside. Of course Usopp had been spying on the couple and he saw everything. Feeling mischievous, he wondered out loud how Sanji could top this date.