Haii! So, you probably notice that I skipped this part the other time, to somewhat capture the mood better, I guess. Anyways, me and my friend were realizing something when we were thinking about the different arcs, and we noticed something that somewhat scared us. But not actually scare scare us. You know what I mean, rite? Anyways ya' might've noticed this, but we realized that each arc in the New World so far has the same concept as the ones in the beginning of the show.
Like for example, in the VERY beginning, it was all The East Blue Saga blah blah blah getting the crew together blah blah blah. The Sabaody Arc after the timeskip is fairly similar. Afterwards, they went to Cocoyashi Village, an arc that revolves mainly around Nami and fishmen. Cough, cough, FISHMAN ISLAND SAGA cough… THEN, it was the Alabasta/ Baroque Works Saga. There, Luffy fought the main bad guy, Crocodile three times. In Punk Hazard, he fights Caesar three times, too. And they're both Logia Fruit users, they also gain an ally in each arc (Vivi;Law), Smoker & Tashigi are both involved in both arcs greatly, and there's some sort of false villain or whatever (Robin;Monet). I also think there was a part somewhere in Punk Hazard where Robin was mentioning the irony of Luffy & Smoker in a cage again. I might've been drunk or something so whatever. If I'm wrong, (which I'm hoping I am,) go ahead and say so. Cuz I haven't read the Pirates Alliance Arc yet, but if it's anything like Skypiea…Don't ruin me, please. Soz for the babbling. :P
"…"
"…."
"….."
"…Dot dot dot dot dot dot." He said.
"What?" she asked, trying to rid of the question.
"Whaaat~?" he sweatdropped.
"Terrible liar." She mumbled to herself.
"EHH?! JUST CUZ' YOU SAID IT TO YOURSELF, DOESN'T MEAN I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
"Obnoxious." She said to herself.
"STOP IT!"
"…"
"Hm? Oh, Robin. You never answered my question. Do you want to be Cinderella or not?"
"…Why did you pick Cinderella?" she asked him, fumbling with her fingers softly as they continued to walk down the sidewalk near the busy streets.
"Why? Why not?" he grinned, "You said you wanted to be a girl. And we're going home at twelve!...That's how the story goes, right?" he asked as he looked at her, tilting his head.
"Yes…" she said, sighing, relieved, afterwards. Nothing much of romanticism. It was all simply Luffy being the awkward little weirdo he was.
"Uhhh…" he blinked at her.
"Hm? Oh…I…I don't really kno-"
"Please?"
"But, but Luffy…I've never exactly missed a day of-"
"PLEASE?"
"Well, maybe, but I-"
"PLEEEEEASE!?"
She sighed, shaking her head. She gave a soft smile, "I suppose you've won again, Luffy."
"YAY!" he cheered.
She looked at the lines where each square of cement broke as they walked across the floor that had been stepped on millions of times before them.
"Hey, hey! Hey Robin! What're we gonna do after the steakhouse? Because even though I LOVE eating meat, I don't take…uh…um…Wait, wait, don't tell me!...Um…Oh! 5 hours!" he exclaimed.
"Well, whatever you wish to do."
"What about you? What do you want to do? We always do what I want. That's not fair!"
"Yes, well, I have a reason behind that. I have the ability to adjust or adapt or tolerate anything. You wouldn't last a single moment of reading on your own will."
"…I only get the last sentence but since it's true, I'll stick with it!" he grinned, "Afterwards, can we go just go places?"
"Places? Would you care to explain more?"
"Anywhere! Like the movies or stores or the taco truck!" he exclaimed, bouncing a bit with excitement.
She smiled, "I suppose that'll be a rather fun time."
"Yay!" he cheered again, "Steakhouse movies shopping taco truck fairytale night!"
"All in five hours." She said to herself.
"Yup! Hey, Robin! If you're Cinderella does that mean I get to be the prince?"
"…I'm not going to answer that, Luffy."
The boy gave a satisfied sigh as the two walked out of the steakhouse, his incredible metabolism at it again.
"That was good, huh?" he asked her.
"Yes, it was quite delicious."
"Mhm!"
"You actually have a tab, there?"
"Yeah! They told me that it's around $500, but I think they're lying!"
"How many times have you been there?"
"This is my third time!"
"Well, that's reasonable considering the fact that you ordered everything that had the word 'steak' in it."
He laughed, "Shishishishi! I guess so!"
She gave the same smile she had given him at least five times that night. How she wished he could be…hers.
However, this time was different. This time, he caught her. He looked at her and blinked, and then put on worried expression, "Robin? Are you feeling okay? You're making a sad face."
"Ah, yes, Luffy…Everything's perfectly fine."
"You're lying again, Robin! What's wrong?"
"…How are you able to read me so well?"
"I don't read you, Robin. It's kinda like I feel it or something. I know whenever you're sad, because when you are, I feel sad, too." He put on a pout to make a point.
"That's very nice to hear…"
"I know. It was nice to say, too!" he grinned at her, which resulted in another one of her upset smiles.
"Neh, Luffy? Is it fine with you if we were to go back, now? I do feel incredibly tired…"
"Oh. Was that it? But Robin, if we go to sleep now, we'll have enough sleep to go to school tomorrow!"
She shook her head stubbornly, not listening to what he had to say. She had good amount of pain in her head, now.
"But Robin-"
"Fine, fine Luffy! We may skip school tomorrow, too, if you wish, but please, may we go back?" she asked somewhat desperately as she held her head. This wasn't a migraine. It felt worse.
"Robin? Robin! Are you okay?" he asked her as held both her shoulders from behind her, looking at her face.
"Yes, yes…Just…a headache." She nodded, despite the fact her eyes were closed.
"Oh…Does it really hurt?"
"It's most likely the worst I've ever had.."
"OMIGOD ARE YOU GONNA DIE!?" he cried, panicking.
She put on a smile, "No, Luffy…Just…Let's head back now."
He stared at her sadly, but nodded. "Are you really okay?" he asked seriously as he started to guide her along the sidewalk from her hand.
"Okay as in the long run. Yes. Okay is in capably…No…It hurts far more than anything Lucci's done to me."
"But I thought they hurt you a lot." He frowned as he slowed down, still holding her hand as he walked backwards.
"Yes, but…It simply does. It's indescribable."
"Poor Robin." He said sadly to her as he gave a calm, quick glance behind himself to see where he was going.
"Yes, I know…" she mumbled, "But don't give me much pity, Luffy. I'm not fond of pity."
"What's pity?"
"When you feel sorry for someone." She said quietly again.
"Oh…But…!" he quickly balanced her again as she started to slightly lean over, "But it's hard to not feel sad."
"A headache isn't a very good reason to feel upset. The only person that should feel so…sad, is whoever's actually feeling it." She said.
"Oh…" he gave a stubborn, low, hum, "I don't really care about words and words and English and school, so I'm not going to listen to pity!"
"…"
"Hey, hey! Robin!" he whined, "Stop leaning over! You almost fell down four times!"
"You're being fairly loud, Luffy." she winced softly.
"What? Oh, sorry." He whispered.
She nodded, "And I apologize for…falling. It's hard to see and control myself when I'm closing my eyes."
"But I'm still holding your hand." He said, confused.
She almost felt like smiling. She hadn't realized what he had been doing until he had just said it plain as day. "Yes, but…A single hand isn't enough to over power all of my balance." She explained, a jab of pain suddenly spreading in her head.
"So my hand's weak?"
"No, no…From the way you punched Lucci you hand is certainly not weak."
He smiled. "But, it's just something that's hard to fight when…when I don't have anything to support me.."
"You need support?"
"Yes.."
"…"
"…GO, ROBIN, GO! GO, ROBIN, GO!" he cheered for her as he pumped both fists in the air, but quickly grabbed her shoulders when she started to fall once more.
"Not support like that, Luffy." She opened her eyes halfway and gave him a small smile, "Support as in something to lean on.."
"Oh, um…" he scratched his head. "Okay, stop walking."
"Why? Are we here, now, Luffy?" she opened her eyes slightly.
"Nope! I'm just gonna give you support!" he exclaimed, grinning.
"No, no Luffy you don't need to do tha-"
"No, it's okay!" he shrugged it off, oblivious to what she meant.
Her chest instantly tensed as he pulled her towards him. "Luffy you don-"
"No, it's okay!"
She furrowed her eyebrows sadly as he put his arm around her neck. "Luffy, please, you don-"
"No, Robin! It's okay!" he whined again, tugging her one last time so her head slightly leaned on him.
"…"
She was incredibly uncomfortable. However, it almost seemed to make her headache go away. Almost. They stood there, silently.
"This is support, right?"
"Yes.." she mumbled as she let herself rest on him, closing her eyes. "Arigato."
He grinned, "I told you it was okay."
"Yes…I suppose it's fine."
"Does your head still hurt?"
"A lot, still, but it's far better now."
"The support!"
"Yes, the support…"
"Do you think you could open your eyes now? It's gonna be hard to walk like this if I have to drag both of us!"
"Yes, I can."
"Okay!" he nodded and started walking with her, her head still resting on his shoulder.
She was smiling now, but she couldn't possibly tell him that. To them, they were just friends. But now that she thought about it, every car, every person, every pair of eyes that went by them, probably saw them as a couple. Her smile grew, thinking of that.
"Robin?"
She almost didn't recognize the voice, since it lacked the usual nickname, but the slight accent he had made it clear.
She quickly broke away from her friend's arms, the pain going away and being replaced with embarrassment.
"Law?" she asked turning around the face the other boy, a visible, deep frown on his face.
"What're you doing out here?" he asked sternly, in an almost upset tone.
"Just…walking. Just taking a quick walk."
"Didn't seem quick to me." He crossed his arms.
The way he spoke made her feel like she was cheating on him. Well, technically, from what she told Luffy, she was.
"How long have you been behind us?"
"Just now. I was walking out of a store, next thing I know, you're passing by, all over mugiwara here." His tone seemed serious, but she could hear the subtle teasing in it.
"Isn't that Traffy-guy?" Luffy murmured to himself.
"Just 'cause it's a personal note doesn't mean I can't hear you."
"Tell that to Robin!" he whined.
"Don't insult her."
"I WASN-"
"I don't need excuses."
"I don't need you to be here!" Luffy huffed.
"Luffy!" Robin frowned.
"What? It's HIS fault!"
"It doesn't matter. That's rude, Luffy."
"…Okay. I'm…gonna go back now, Robin."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm gonna go back." He repeated simply. "I'll meet you there!" he grinned, "Go get 'em!" he whispered to her before walking away, the usual bounce in his step still present.
"What does he mean by that?" Law asked from behind her.
"By what?" she asked, 'confused.'
"By go get 'em."
Damn. He heard that.
"Well…Law-kun…I…There may have been a chance that I told him that I liked y-"
"Why." He asked bluntly.
"Because...! He knows when something's wrong. And I can't lie to him…Straight to his face, at least. I only lied about who, anyhow…"
"Girly-ya…" he sighed, "…You know you'll never be good enough to get this, right?"
She let a small giggle out. "Yes, yes, Law-kun…Whatever makes you happy…"
"Yeah, yeah, girly-ya…What happened between you two?" he smirked, crossing his arms tighter.
"Nothing…I just had a headache…That's all…"
"I don't see you having a headache."
"Well…it went away when you arrived…"
"Yeah, right." He scoffed.
"I'm telling the truth." She smiled.
"Whatever." He rolled his eyes and smiled. "Now…Go after him."
"What?"
"Go after him." He repeated like Luffy did earlier.
"…What?"
"Maybe I should make it easier for your female mind."
"…What?"
"Go run into his arms, girly-ya."
"What?" her eyes slightly widened.
"Now you're just annoying me. GO."
"Where are you going to be?"
"Hmm…About three minutes worth of walking behind you. Now go. I can slightly see his red shirt from here."
"…Alright. Arigato, Law-kun."
"Yes, yes. Now go, Cinderella."
"What?"
"What." He repeated.
She blinked before simply nodding, and quickly walked away. She didn't like running when it wasn't necessary.
"Luffy," she lightly panted as she approached him.
"Eh? Oh!" he smiled brightly once he saw her behind him.
He wasn't really happy at all when he told her to 'go get 'em.' He didn't want her to get him. He wanted her to get him. She was his Cinderella, right?
So, yes. He was incredibly happy she decided to walk with him right now instead of Traffy-guy.
"Hey, hey! Robin" he patted her shoulder quickly, getting her attention, "What happened?"
"Oh…Yes, well, we just had a conversation for a while…And he was being nice…But…I'm not sure if he likes me or not…"
He obviously didn't know she talking about him.
"I'm sure he does!" he grinned brightly.
"Yes, yes…But how would you know?"
"Just 'cause!"
"That doesn't make any sense. Are you merely guessing?"
"I don't guess! I feel. Duh!"
"And what do you feel?" she looked at his eyes, smiling expectantly.
He blinked at her, and then scratched his head, "Uh…Why are you staring at me?" He tried to shrug off the awkwardness.
She inwardly frowned. Him feeling off gave her an advantage. "Because. I'm expecting an answer." She said as it was obvious.
"…It's hard to explain."
"That's what many people say, when really, it's them finding an excuse not to say it…Do you feel uncomfortable telling me why, Luffy?" she smiled at him. If she knew flirting was this fun, or at least what she thought this was, she would've started a long time ago.
"Uh…Is it a bad thing that I'm gonna say yes?"
"Yes." She said bluntly, "Now. Speak, please."
"…What was the question again?"
"What do you feel?"
"What do I feel about what?"
"What do you feel about…me?" she asked, staring at him again as she smiled, noticing he was walking faster.
He looked away when she caught up at him.
She slightly leaned forward so she could see his face, a light smirk on her own.
"Well?" she asked.
"Well what?"
"You know what I mean."
He groaned, "You know I don't like taking tests!"
"This isn't a test. Now, stop trying to change the subject."
He whined as he pouted, turning his head and pulling his head over his eyes, "Do I have to say it? It's embarrassing." He said the 'r's as if they were 'w's.
"Yes."
"You're so mean, Robin!"
"I'm perfectly fine with that," she said smoothly.
"…"
"…"
"Well…"
"I think you're really smart. And I think you're really nice. And I really like your smile. And I like using the word 'really'!"
She smiled at his adorable humor. But she was also smiling for what he said. Hearing him just complimenting her was better than simply knowing she had another day to live.
"And I think you're funny. And I like how you always bite your lip. And I really like how you laugh."
"..You do, now? I've come to somewhat dislike my laugh."
He shook his head, "No, you don't laugh. You giggle! It's cuter that way!" he smiled.
It was her turn to look away. This was too much for her. This was the strongest she has ever felt for him.
"And I think you're really pretty."
"…"
"…Robin?"
"…"
"Hello? Robin? Are you okay?"
She nodded, still not looking at him.
"Yes, it's just…Everyone always told me the opposite of everything you said.."
"What?!...They're crazy!" he clenched his fists, but decided to use his energy to try to make her feel better.
"Yes…They thought I was…mean…I'm not comfortable repeating the words, and they said I was smart, but they said I was too serious. I was too grown up. They thought I had matured too fast. They told me I was ugly. That my smile was horrible."
"What?!" he almost lost his head in disbelief. "But, but…! But you're beautiful!"
She didn't do anything for a moment, but then shook her head.
"I'm serious." He said angrily.
She shook her head.
"No, really. I like your smile. A lot. It makes me feel happy! And I like your hair. It's so soft and shiny!" he quickly petted her head, "And..And I really like your eyes. I like how they're blue and bright and they're really nice to look in."
"…"
"…Robin?"
"…"
"Ro-"
"Like Hancock?" she mumbled.
"…"
"…"
"No…Even better."
