Long time no see! In fact, it would've been longer, but I remembered! We're visiting the beach in Florida, and just arrived last night, so we've been a bit busy. In fact, so busy that I almost forgot that I promised updates would start today (not to mention we finally got wifi in the condo about two hours ago).
Anyways, thanks for sticking with this story! And many thanks to: TheRealEvanSG, Awesome Guest, Theburper, Serendipital, ZabuzasGirl, and Momochan77 for the reviews! They're very much appreciated!
And finally, on with the chapter!
Chapter 28
I grinned when Luffy slammed the door to the nearest bar open. "WATER!" he, Usopp, and I cheered enthusiastically, and we raced to the bar.
"Yo, granny, hit us up with some water!" Luffy demanded, smacking the counter top quickly.
"Give us five whole barrels of water!" Usopp added in agreement.
"I want ice in mine!" I called eagerly.
The old woman behind the bar rolled her eyes, but complied with our ridiculous requests. Soon enough, the three of us were chugging down entire barrels of water.
"DAMN, THIS WATER'S GOOD!" Luffy cried happily.
"YEAH, IT'S KILLER!" Usopp cheered.
I put my water down. "We should quickly head back and give some to the rest of the guys," I said, just as I heard a familiar voice say from next to me, "I still can't get my head around why the Princess of Alabasta is traveling with the Straw Hat pirates. In times like these, all you can do is sit back and wait for another lead…"
There was a short, tense moment as the three of us stared at Smoker and his lieutenant, before Luffy and Usopp spit out their water in shock…which hit both marines and me, who was smack-dab in the middle.
"GODDAMMIT YOU IDIOTIC BASTARDS!" I spluttered, wiping my face, but I was already scrambling off my stool. "YOU LITTLE SHITS JUST HAD TO PICK THIS BAR!"
Luffy and Usopp had already seized the other three water barrels. "SORRY!" they squawked, bolting for the exit. I sprinted after them, just as Smoker shouted, "ALERT THE MARINES! I'M CHASING AFTER THEM!"
"Yes, sir!" the female lieutenant saluted, before I heard distantly, "Ah, how much do we owe you?"
"Well, if you know those three who just ran out with the water, you'll have to pay for them too…!" I heard the bartender reply, and I cackled.
"They just paid for us!" I laughed gleefully, and flipped the finger at Smoker, who was quickly gaining on us. "SUCK IT!" I saw a vein throb on his forehead, and pushed myself to run faster, laughing all the way.
"STOP THAT!" Usopp yelled, referring to my laughter, and Luffy glanced over his shoulder to look at the captain. With a yelp, he juggled the two water barrels he was carrying, and began to run faster.
"WHY THE HELL ARE THE MARINES HERE?!" he hollered, and Usopp grit his teeth, clutching harder onto the barrel he was carrying.
"HOW WOULD I KNOW?! SHUT UP AND KEEP RUNNING!" he ordered breathlessly.
"HEY, SMOKER!" I called over my shoulder, and I saw his eyes narrow in confusion. "YOU SHOULD STOP RUNNING SO FAST! YOU'RE SMOKING!" I heard him growl audibly, and began to laugh harder when Usopp screamed at me, "YOU'RE NOT HELPING!"
More and more marines soon joined the chase, and I could hear them yelling as they thundered after us. Usopp started cursing under his breath, and Luffy squawked in alarm.
We skidded around a corner, and when Sanji stuck his head out from behind a building up ahead, I realized that we led the marines right back to the rest of the crew, save for Chopper. He was in a bathroom somewhere, but there was no time to dwell on that. He would just have to wait for us to lose these guys.
"GUYS THE MARINES ARE HERE!" Luffy yelled stupidly when we neared the others. They all took one look, and bolted, while Zoro snarled back in reply, "YEAH, NO THANKS TO YOU GUYS!"
I stuck my tongue out at the marines chasing us, and they shouted, "Don't let them escape this time!"
I pulled up next to Sanji, and grinned. "Hey, Sanji-nii!"
"Well done, Hazel, you led them right to us," he said irritably, and I rolled my eyes.
"I wasn't the one that picked the bar they were in," I replied, before looking over my shoulder. "HEY SMOKER! IF YOU SMOKE AFTER SEX, YOU'RE DOING IT TOO FAST!"
Several marines choked (in laughter or in shock, I couldn't tell), and I began to laugh hysterically at the sight on Smoker's face. He looked like somebody had slapped him, before his face began to purple angrily.
I tripped, mostly because I was laughing too hard to run straight, but Sanji managed to grasp my shoulder and yank me back upright.
"As funny as that was, it's not the time!" he told me with a smirk, and I wiped my eyes, tears leaking down my face and still laughing my ass off.
"Sorry," I gasped, and he nodded, pulling me along behind him.
"Oi!" he called, "isn't it really bad to run around town like this? We'll be spotted by Baroque Work agents!"
Zoro's eyes slid to the left, and with a scowl, he answered, "I'd say it's too late to worry about that." I glanced to the left, and my smile slowly slipped off my face when I spotted some shady characters watching us from the alleys.
"Then let's go!" Luffy suggested cheerfully, and Vivi glanced back.
"What?" she asked, and Luffy nodded ahead.
"Let's go meet Crocodile, Vivi!"
Vivi thought it over, before she nodded in determination. "Alright!" She pointed dead ahead, and said, "He's in that building with the crocodile on top. Do you see it?! That's Rain Dinners, the casino owned by Crocodile!"
"We better split up first," Sanji suggested, still holding onto my shoulder.
"Right," agreed Zoro.
"Okay then!" Luffy called. "Let's all meet up later, at Crocodile's place!"
Usopp and Nami veered down an alley, Sanji yanked me after them the same time Luffy, Zoro, and Vivi headed down different roads. I grinned when I heard the marines yelling in confusion, the majority of them skidding to a halt as they tried to decide where to go.
"HEY SMOKEY!" Luffy called tauntingly, flipping over a rooftop and sticking his tongue out at the Marine captain. "Catch me if you can!"
"I accept your challenge!" And with a growl, Smoker was hot on his tail, as well as the majority of the marines.
However, a good number of them still chased after us, and I glanced back over my shoulder.
"Stay back and hold 'em off?" I suggested, and Sanji grimaced.
"Yeah…as much as I'd like to follow the others, we should stay back and make sure that Nami and Usopp get there safely," he said.
As one, we skidded to a stop, and whirled around to face the marines.
"Hazel? Sanji? What're you doing?" Nami yelled, and I waved them off.
"Keep running! We'll catch up!" I called.
"I'm leaving Nami in your hands, Usopp!" Sanji said, and I nodded, my hands reaching back to grip the smooth wood of my axe. "I'll hold these guys off so run ahead!"
They hesitated for a moment, before Usopp gulped.
"Okay, leave it to me!" he said, and before Nami could protest, he grabbed her and dragged her into a run. "C'mon!"
"As long as that Smoker bastard ain't around," Sanji began, and I planted my feet into the ground.
"The rest of you little shits are trash!" I finished with a swing of my axe.
Slow, confident grins spread over our faces, and Sanji murmured, smoke trailing from his cigarette, "Say your prayers, marines…"
"So what now?" I asked, sitting atop a pile of marines and leaning nonchalantly on my axe. "The others are all probably at the casino, right? Should we head there?"
"You don't have enough money for a casino," Sanji dismissed immediately, lighting another cigarette, and I found myself squawking in indignation.
"What the hell?! What does that have to do with meeting with the others?!" I demanded, half-rising off my marine-throne, and Sanji paused.
"Ah, you meant in terms of helping the others," he realized, and I ground my teeth.
"Were you even paying attention?! What the hell were you thinking?!"
"ANYWAYS," Sanji said with a hasty cough, "we should probably find a Baroque Works base, see if we can get any information from there." I eyed him suspiciously for a moment, before letting the subject go and moving on to other things.
"What about Chopper?" I asked, and Sanji paused.
"Oh, right. I forgot about him," he muttered. "Shitty marines, separating the rest of us…"
"How about this?" I asked, leaning forward on my seat. "I find Chopper, and you go help the others. You'll probably be more of a help than me, and I'm a bit less noticeable than you."
Sanji snorted incredulously. "With your tail and axe?"
I scowled. "It's not that conspicuous!" I snapped in reply, said tail waving angrily. "And as much as I'd hate to admit it, I meant my age! Others are less likely suspect me because I'm so much younger!"
Sanji thought it over for a moment before he conceded, "Fine. Meet us at the edge of the city, okay? And make sure that you all are ready to go." I hopped off of my impromptu seat, and paused when Sanji called, "And Hazel?"
I looked back. "Yeah?"
"Make sure you guys create a distraction," Sanji said, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "I'll probably be needing it, with all of the Baroque Works agents running around."
I blinked at him, before grinning wryly. "Sure thing, Mr. Prince," I replied with a secretive wink, and a grin flitted across Sanji's face before I turned around and set off to find the little reindeer.
After an hour passed, I found myself sweating; I couldn't find our little doctor.
"Geez, this shitty place is huge! Where the hell is Chopper?!" I growled to myself in frustration, making sure to duck out of sight whenever I spotted the marines.
I turned a corner, and nearly screamed in fright when I literally came face-to-face with Chopper in reindeer-mode.
"OHMYGOD!" I shrieked, the same time Chopper screamed, "GYAAAAAAAH!"
We both stared at each other, and after a moment, broke down into nervous giggles.
"Sorry," I apologized when we both got our bearings back. "You just startled me."
"That's alright," Chopper said with a shaky smile. "I'm sorry too." Then his eyes widened, and he grinned happily. "Thank goodness I found you! Where'd you all go?!"
I grimaced. "Luffy, Usopp, and I ran into Smoker and the rest of the marines. Sanji and I ended holding most of them back in order to let the others get away, but Sanji-nii asked me to create a distraction because there's still a lot of Baroque Works agents roaming around."
"So what should we do?" Chopper asked curiously, and I thought.
"We need to get supplies ready so that we can leave as soon as possible, if we need to," I decided. It seemed like a logical move to me. "And then create a distraction? That's what Sanji-nii asked me to do, at least."
Chopper nodded seriously. "Alright. Eyelashes is still at the edge of town, so we can leave our supplies with him to watch."
I nodded. It was time to get busy.
It didn't take long for us to get everything together, and after we finished, I decided that we needed to get in on the action.
"Chopper, I'm heading to Rain Dinners," I said seriously, and Chopper gulped.
"But aren't we supposed to be causing a distraction?" he fretted, and I grinned.
"What's a better distraction than storming the main headquarters?" I asked, and Chopper stopped, before shaking his head and following after me.
"Okay, but let's be careful," he suggested, and I nodded.
Soon, we reached the entrance to Rain Dinners, only to see bodies littering the ground.
"What happened here?" Chopper asked quietly in fear, and I spotted Sanji kicking the last guy aside and pocketing a denden mushi.
"I think that's what happened," I said with a wry grin. I moved closer to the blond, and Chopper followed me.
"Thanks for the help," we heard Sanji say carelessly, before he spotted me. "Oh, Hazel-chan, you found him!"
"Yeah, we ran into each other," I said while Chopper grinned at the literal meaning. "You said you wanted me to create a distraction, but I don't think you still need that, right?"
Sanji's face sobered. "Ah, well…no, I still do. How do you feel about being one of Crocodile's targets?"
To be honest, I didn't feel very good about that at all. Crocodile seemed scary from what Vivi described him as, and he seemed pretty strong and smart as well. I mean, he was holding an entire country hostage.
Warily, I asked, "What do you have in mind?"
"I can't believe we're doing this," I panted, racing around another corner. Chopper nodded in agreement, his tongue lolling in the heat, and we both bit back a squeal of fear when a pillar of sand erupted where we were just standing.
"I wanna take this off!" Chopper moaned. He was not only wearing his traveling clothes, but also Sanji's robes, as well as a scarf to cover his furry face. I didn't blame him. He must've been dying from the heat.
I didn't do much other than lift up my hood and tuck my tail into my robes, but Crocodile didn't seem to care whether I was the rumored 'Prince' or not. He affiliated me with the Straw Hats, and was hell-bent on taking all of us out.
To start off, Sanji had Chopper dress in his clothes in the reindeer's 'human' form. Chopper claimed he was Mr. Prince to a group of Baroque Works agents, and I helped him kick all of their asses to kingdom come.
However, just as we finished, Crocodile stepped out, and when he found out that Chopper was the rumored 'Mr. Prince,' he started to chase after us.
"I got an idea!" I gasped, skidding around a corner. "Chopper, quick! I need you to be small!"
Chopper immediately shrunk down, and I yanked off the outer layer of my cloak, stuffing the fabric into one of the traveling bags I carried on my hip.
"What now?" Chopper whispered, and I gulped.
"Hope he doesn't recognize us," I answered nervously, and I guided him out onto the street.
Sanji's cloak dragged in the sand while Chopper's little form walked down the street, and I followed after him, tail waving and ponytail bobbing free. We passed Crocodile, but he didn't seem to notice our presence.
We began to sweat really badly, though, when we heard him growl, "I swear I'll find you, and kill you on the spot…" No doubt he was talking about us.
We headed down another street, and as soon as we were out of sight, almost collapsed out of fear.
"Shit," I said weakly, leaning against the wall. "That was scary as hell." My legs felt like jelly, all wobbly and shaky.
Chopper trembled. "I don't wanna do that again."
"Agreed," I said vehemently, before brushing my sweaty bangs out of my face. "Well, we did our job. Let's get back to that perverted horse and hope the others get back in time."
We reached the edge of town, and we found ourselves gawking at a gigantic crab. It blinked its eyestalks at me, and hesitantly, I waved at it. Its eyes curved happily, and it clacked its claws gently at me while the camel waved back at us.
"Who's this?" Chopper asked Eyelashes curiously, and I waited as he perked up. "Oh, a friend? Cool!" There was another pause, and Chopper's eyes bugged comically out of his head. "EHHHHH?!"
"What is it?" I asked in alarm, wondering what got the little reindeer so worked up. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing! Eyelashes told him about Vivi's problem, and he offered to help!" Chopper explained excitedly.
My eyes widened. "What?! Really?!" Then I peered suspiciously at the pair. It almost seemed too good to be true. "You're sure it's okay?"
Chopper smiled, and nodded. "Yup!"
"But why would they want to help us?" I challenged, and Chopper listened before blushing a deep red and fidgeting awkwardly.
"Th - they really like girls…" he mumbled, and I found myself smacking my forehead in frustration.
"Of course," I grumbled, before sighing, and turning to the pair of perverted animals. "You touch me, and I'll turn you into sushi, got it?" I threatened, and they saluted. The crab hunkered down so that its belly was touching the sand, and hesitantly, I climbed aboard while Chopper and Eyelashes helped bring the supplies onto the giant crab's back.
Once everything was settled, it rose to its feet, and with another clack of its claws and a grin, it began to run off.
"Know where the others are?" I asked, ignoring the screams of civilians as we rode the gigantic crab through the city, and Chopper sniffed.
"No, but this way!" he cried happily. "I can smell Nami's perfume growing stronger!"
I shrugged. "Good enough for me! Hey, perverted crab, let's go!" The crab grinned even more and blinked its eyestalks at me, and sped down the streets.
"Ahh!" Chopper shrieked suddenly, throwing out a hoof and waving excitedly. "They're over there! HEY GUYS!"
I laughed when I saw the rest of the crew's bug-eyed expressions. It was always funny seeing their reactions to stuff like this. I cupped my hands around my mouth, and called delightedly, "OVER HERE!"
"A GIANT CRAB?!" Usopp yelped, and Nami smiled.
"Chopper! Hazel!"
"That's an 'Itinerant Crab'!" Vivi gasped in awe, looking extremely surprised to see one, but Luffy started drooling.
"DAMN! THAT LOOKS TASTY!" he screamed happily. Oh Luffy. You can't just eat everything you see!
We skidded to a halt in front of the crew, and the crab leered perversely at Nami and Vivi while Chopper patted the spot next to him.
"Get on!" he urged, and sparkles erupted around Luffy.
"WE CAN RIDE IT?! WOOOHOOOO!" he cheered madly, already clambering on, and Sanji grinned at us.
"Looks like you guys pulled through like crazy!" he laughed, but Nami had other worries.
"Its face looks sort of sketchy, though…" she said slowly, and I scowled thunderously at the reminder while Chopper giggled weakly.
"He's one of Eyelashes's friends," he explained. "Eyelashes was born in this town so he's got lots of friends here! But they're all perverted, though," he added in an undertone, while Eyelashes leered at the girls.
"Amazing!" Vivi breathed, staring up at the crab in awe. "Itinerant Crabs are always hiding below the sand, so most people have never even seen one before! They're pretty rare!" The crab preened under the attention, and Zoro cocked his head.
"This crab's pretty fast, isn't it?"
Begrudgingly, I nodded. "Yeah, we were at the other side of town only a minute ago," I answered, and satisfied, Zoro climbed on.
Sanji plopped down next to me as the others settled down, and I blinked at him, studying his face.
"Why're you wearing glasses?" I asked curiously, and Sanji shrugged.
"For a disguise," he replied, adjusting them with a grin, and I studied him before grinning brightly.
"They look nice. You should wear 'em more often," I told him, and he smiled while Chopper patted the crab's head.
"Alright then!" the little reindeer yelled. "LET'S GO!"
"And we're off!" Usopp called eagerly, but just as we started moving, a ear-piercing scream interrupted us.
I whirled around, and shouted in alarm at the sight of Vivi being yanked off of the crab by a giant, golden hook. Everyone scrambled to their feet, and I watched in worry as the blue-haired princess flew off the crab.
"VIVI!" Nami screamed, and Zoro whirled on Chopper.
"CHOPPER, STOP THE CRAB!" he ordered, but the crab wasn't slowing down at all. In fact, it was speeding up, startled by the commotion we were making on its head.
"VIVI!" Luffy roared, leaping to his feet. "IT'S HIM!" Luffy threw an arm out, and I watched helplessly as it curled around Vivi's waist. Luffy reached out with his other arm, and the rest of us yelled in alarm as Luffy simultaneously switched places with Vivi, and threw her back to the crab. "YOU BASTARD!"
"LUFFY!" Usopp and I shouted in a panic, and Zoro crouched back down onto the crab.
"That idiot!" he cursed while Sanji caught Vivi, and she screamed after Luffy, wide brown eyes staring at Luffy in fear.
"GO AHEAD!" Luffy ordered as he was dragged away. "I'LL BE FINE BY MYSELF! MAKE SURE TO KEEP HER SAFE! GET VIVI TO THE PALACE!"
"LUFFY, WATCH OUT!"
In the distance, I could see Crocodile and Ms. All-Sunday standing side by side, and I shivered at the deadly stare that the man was giving Luffy. Slowly, I transferred my gaze to Luffy, and he let out a broad, determined grin. I found myself smiling in return despite the worrisome situation. Luffy could do this. I believed in him.
"That idiot," Zoro said again, but this time it was with a grim smirk. He turned to Chopper. "Chopper! Keep this crab heading for Alubarna!"
"G-got it!" Chopper stuttered, turning his gaze back ahead, and Usopp leapt to his feet, outraged.
"Wait, what?! You're just gonna leave him behind?!" he demanded, while Vivi screamed desperately, "LUFFY!"
"Don't worry about him, Vivi!" Nami assured the blue-haired princess. "He'll be fine! If anything, we should feel sorry for Crocodile!" She grinned savagely. "There hasn't been a single person to piss of Luffy and get away with it!"
"Listen up, Vivi," Zoro said sternly. "Luffy will hold down Crocodile here. When the rebels decided to march on to the capital, the time limit for this country's lifespan was set. This country will fall once the rebels clash with the royalists!"
My head whipped around in surprise. The rebels had already marched off to Alubarna?!
Before I could ask, Zoro continued, "If you're the only hope there is of stopping all that, then you have to survive, no matter what! So no matter what happens to any of us here, you have to continue on!"
I flinched when I saw Luffy crash-land in the sand at Crocodile's feet, and Sanji watched impassively, smoke trailing from his mouth while he stuck his hands into his pockets. "Vivi," he said quietly, "this is a fight that you set up. You left your country for several years to go up against an organization you knew almost nothing about." A slow grin spread across Sanji's face, and he added, "But don't think that you're fighting alone anymore." He moved to my side and sat down, and there was a moment hesitation before I sat down too.
I didn't like this situation one bit, I decided as I listened to Usopp stutter out reassurances to the princess. And I knew that Luffy would be able to pull through in the fight, but this one had much higher stakes than whatever happened at Drum, or Little Garden.
"LUFFY!" I jumped at the unexpected shout, and Vivi stared worriedly at the rapidly-shrinking figure in the distance. "WE'LL WAIT FOR YOU AT ALUBARNA!"
"ALRIGHT!" came the distant shout. I worried my lip, and turned back to face the endless sand.
"Everything'll be okay…right?" I asked myself quietly, and Sanji remained silent beside me, unable to come up with an answer that didn't sound like a lie.
"Look!" Usopp exclaimed five minutes later. "There's a sandstorm!"
We all looked over, and Nami grimaced.
"That's right next to Rain Dinners," she pointed out grimly, and Vivi stared worriedly at the towering tornado of sand.
"It must be him!" she breathed, and the entire crew fell silent, knowing exactly what Vivi meant as we watched it travel south.
I sighed, my body bobbing up and down with every grunt that Zoro made. He had somehow gotten Eyelashes to sit on the sheath of his sword, and then, bored, I decided to help out by sitting on the perverted camel. Together, we created some sort of misshapen dumbbell that Zoro was using to strengthen his biceps with, while Usopp was spouting lies and stories to the gullible and naïve Chopper.
Frustrated, I sighed again. There wasn't much that we could do, other than worry ourselves sick, and wait for our arrival at Alubarna.
"Zoro!" Nami snapped, fed up with Zoro's impromptu strength-training. "Stop wasting energy pointlessly! And stop helping him, Hazel!"
"Shut up!" Zoro growled, while I ignored her, still brooding about Luffy and the current situation.
"Just leave them and the others be, Nami," Sanji advised, burning through his third cigarette since we started riding on the crab. "They need something to keep their minds preoccupied so they can calm down. They're not good at maintaining composure, especially that muscle-head. He's feeling insecure because he's realized the gap between him and a Shichibukai."
I looked down and away from Sanji. He was right about me not being good about maintaining composure as well as him, but he didn't have to say it outright!
"What're you implying, exactly? Out with it!" Zoro growled, and Sanji pulled the cigarette away from his mouth.
"Fine, I'll say it. You're scared that Luffy might lose," he replied, and Zoro shot the blond chef a dark glare.
"Me…? Scared?!" Zoro snarled, half-rising, and I yelped as my support suddenly shifted to the side. "Say that again, pretty-brows!"
I found myself snorting in amusement at the insult, and Sanji rose to the challenge.
"Wha - What the hell did you just call me?! You shitty marimo-head?!" Well, that was new, and pretty creative. Enough for it to make me giggle at the insult, almost forgetting my worries.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!"
"YOU WANNA FIGH -!"
BAM!
I shrieked as Zoro and Sanji were knocked into the ground, and I tumbled off of Eyelashes in an ungainly fashion.
"QUIT IT, YOU DUMBASSES!" Nami snarled, brandishing a fist, and I hauled myself up.
"NAMI, WHAT THE HELL!"
"NOT MY FAULT YOU WERE HELPING ZORO OUT WITH HIS IDIOTIC STUNTS!" Nami snapped back, and I growled, my tail swinging in agitation.
"Knock it off, you two!" Usopp interrupted, unexpectedly shoving his way in between us. "Arguing's not going to get us anywhere!"
Before I could round on the long-nosed sharpshooter for interrupting me, Vivi held up her hands.
"It'll be fine, guys!" she said. "Luffy won't lose!" We all looked up at her in surprise, and my heart broke a little at the sight of Vivi doing her best to hold a smile and not cry. "After all, he promised us! He promised he'd meet up with us at Alubarna!" she said, almost desperately.
"Aren't you the one worried the most?" Usopp demanded, and Nami bopped Vivi on the head.
"You just stick to worrying about the rebellion, not us!" she scolded, and Vivi clutched at her head.
"Oww…"
Sanji scratched his head guiltily. "…Sorry for making you worry needlessly, Vivi," he reluctantly apologized, and Zoro let out a sigh.
"Well, I can't exactly say anything after that, now can I?" he asked, and I grimaced.
"We'll stop arguing for now, Vivi," I told her quietly, and she shot me a shaky smile.
"Alright then," Nami decided, standing upright and planting her fists on her hips. "Off to Alubarna we go! Come on, Scissors!"
We all paused and looked at the navigator in confusion.
"Uh, what was that?" Usopp asked, and Nami looked at him like he was stupid.
"Scissors," she stated flatly. "It's the crab's name."
"A crab named scissors…seriously?" Zoro demanded, and I groaned.
"Anything would have been a better name," I sighed in exasperation.
And there you go! A little shorter than usual, but like a promised, a little bit of a deviation from canon, and I love writing Chopper and Hazel together. I think they're so adorable.
Also, smoke jokes with Smoker? The BEST. My friend and I seriously came up with thirty just on the spot, and I decided to use only the very best for this chapter. And I love writing idiotic moments with Luffy and Usopp. They're the best.
Please, review, critique, comment, criticize, and whatnot! I love getting feedback! Help me break my goal of ten reviews per chapter! :)
Posted and Edited on 7/20/2014, 8:41PM
