The first day of training in observation haki has begun for Ace and Luffy on Rusukaina Island as they stand in front of Rayleigh waiting for instructions.
"Alright, in order for you guys to learn how to sense the presence of others you need to learn how to not rely on your eyesight." He walks up to the boys with two blindfolds and wraps them around their heads.
After securing the blindfolds he continues while grabbing a stick. "I'm going to spar with each of you while you're blindfolded so you can learn to sense my movements. Ace, you go first."
Ace nods as he steps forward and gets in a stance. "Ready Rayleigh?"
He grins while infusing his stick with armament haki. "Yup, I'll try not to be too rough. And remember, you can't use your devil fruit powers."
He nods with a smirk. "Like I need them." He charges at Rayleigh who easily dodged then whacked Ace in the back of the head with the stick.
He chuckles while watching Ace get up. "What was that about 'like I need them'?"
He grits his teeth as he keeps trying to take a swing at Rayleigh who is easily dodging while hitting him with the stick.
Luffy lifts his blindfold to watch the fight and chuckles.
Rayleigh turns to Luffy. "Don't laugh Luffy, you're ne-"
He was cut off by a punch in the face courtesy of Ace and was knocked to the ground.
Ace smirks while Rayleigh looks at him in shock as he gets up. "Hope I wasn't 'too rough'."
Rayleigh smirks. (No doubt his cockiness matches his fathers.) "Not bad, let's see what else you got."
He nods and charges at him and gives it all he has while taking in Rayleigh's blows. He keeps going until he was whacked in the gut by Rayleigh's stick and was sent flying head first through a tree.
Ace sits up while rubbing his aching head and Luffy rolls over the ground while laughing.
"Shishi- OW!" He was whacked in the head by Rayleigh causing him to rub the aching lump.
"I told you not to laugh. You're up next. Ace, watch and learn."
Ace groans while taking off his blindfold and watches Luffy and Rayleigh's match. (So Roger's first mate is this strong…) He stares at the fight and waited for his turn to fight as the routine continued for the rest of the day.
Later that night the three men gathered around a campfire and started eating the meat that they caught earlier. Once Luffy finished eating he started staring at the stars with an unreadable expression causing Ace to follow his gaze.
"Since when were you a star gazer Lu?"
He snaps out of his daze and grins. "Rose kind of got me into it." He gets up and puts on his blindfold. "I'm gonna go train for a bit."
Rayleigh nods. "Go ahead. Try not to overdo it."
He nods as he walks off to face the animals in the jungle.
Ace follows Luffy with his stare until he can no longer see him then sighs. "Will he really be ok?"
Rayleigh sighs as he grabs his canister and takes a swig of his liquor. "Losing someone close is always tough. I'm sure he'll pull through though. It's funny, he kind of reminds me of Roger."
Ace tenses up at the mention of his father's name. "How so?"
"Luffy has that carefree grin Roger had. He also has that aura that drives others to support him. Not to mention he's as reckless in a fight as he is childish. The day he and Rouge separated was one of the few times I've seen him upset too-" He freezes to find himself rambling then chuckles as he rubs the back of his head. "Sorry about that. I'm sure you don't want to hear anything about Roger."
He shakes his head. "No, it's alright. There's actually something about Roger I want to ask you."
He blinks in surprise before grinning. "Ask away."
He stares at the campfire in thought for a moment before facing him with a scowl. "If Roger loved Rouge then why did he leave her?"
He looks at him softly before sighing. (Should've known he would ask. It must've been hard being raised by Garp…) "Roger left in order to protect her. He had an incurable illness and decided to disband the crew quietly in order to protect everyone. In the end he turned himself in."
Ace widens his eyes at the information while Rayleigh continued. "I didn't find out that Rouge was having you until the day he turned himself in. He told me he wanted Garp to take care of you because he wanted you to be free to live however you wished whether it was pirate or marine. Heh, he was selfish to the end. In my opinion though, I think both Rouge and Roger would be happy with the path you followed." He took another swig from his canister while Ace stared at him and processed this information.
"AAAAH!" Both guys turn to the sound of Luffy's screaming and hear animal roars coming from the same direction.
Ace groans as he gets up. "I'll go take care of him!"
Rayleigh nods while Ace runs off in Luffy's direction.
Ace keeps his fists clenched as he runs through the jungle. (So that's what happened to him… "Roger's human just like anyone else here, same goes for his kid.") He chuckles at remembering what Rukia told him as a kid. "I'm such an idiot... Guess I really am Roger's son after all." He keeps a soft grin on his face until he finds Luffy and helps him fight off the wild animals.
Ace is sleeping on a long red couch with a soft grin before slowly waking up. He sits up to find his black cowboy hat right next to him and looks around to find himself in a blue coral apartment. "What the-"
"Ah, so you're back among the living are you pyro?" Ace turns to see a tall, middle aged, muscular, green ray fish man with buzz cut black hair, a blue tank top, red shorts, and a diagonal claw scar decorating the left side of his neck walking out of the kitchen with a friendly grin and a cup of tea in his hand.
Ace looks at him in shock before grinning. "Cato?! How long has it been?!"
"Far too long if you ask me. Take this, it'll warm you up." He gives him the cup of tea.
Ace nods before drinking it then freezes. "Wait, did you see my brother or any of his crewmembers?!"
He shakes his head. "Sorry, I only saw you trapped in the current. I'm sure they'll be fine though."
He nods before relaxing. "Thanks for getting me out. So, what have you been up to?"
"Just the usual shipwright stuff. What about you? I heard you disappeared after the war."
"I was training under Rayleigh in haki along with my little brother."
He whistles. "Impressive. Speaking of little brothers have you heard anything from Namur?"
He shakes his head. "No, I was going to call the crew as soon as I reached the island. Why do you ask?"
"I've been trying to contact him, but his den den mushi has been disconnected."
He widens his eyes at this then gets up. "Do you have one with you? I can try calling Marco."
He nods as he gets his den den mushi and hands it to him.
Ace dials Marco's number but there wasn't an answer. "That's weird. Marco always answers his den den mushi…" (Damnit, what the hell happened these past two years?!)
Cato bites his lip. "I don't think Namur or the other commanders were caught or else there would have been an announcement. Still, I'm worried."
"Me too… What can you tell me about Blackbeard Cato?"
Cato looks at him softly before taking a seat at the living room chair adjacent to the couch. "You should sit down. You're not gonna like what you hear."
Ace clenches his teeth before nodding and sitting back on the couch. "Go ahead."
"After the war Blackbeard invaded half of Whitebeard's territory and took over. If Big Mom hadn't taken Fishman Island first we likely would've been under his control. Later on, he took Whitebeard's place in the yonko. Right now he's travelling the New World with a fleet almost as large as Whitebeards… I'm sorry Ace…"
Ace kept his fists clenched during the whole story. (This can't be happening… And Big Mom's controlling the island?!) He ran a hand through his hair in frustration then froze. "What about the New Fishman Pirates?"
Cato widens his blue eyes in shock then sighs. "I'm surprised that you heard of them. They've taken over the Fishman District. They tend to attack only humans, but they don't take kindly to fishmen who sympathize with humans either… Why do you ask?"
"We had a run in with them before we got lost in the current. They told us to either join them or die."
His eyes widen at this. "Damnit that explains why there haven't been as many humans in the port town as there usually is!" He runs a hand through his hair in frustration. "I still have some connections with the royal guard. Even though I retired I can still help out."
He nods. (Poor guy, he cares about Fishman Island more than anyone…) He sighs when a question pops up in his head. "Do you know anything about what happened to Jimbei?!"
"He's ok. After he resigned from the Shichibukai he and the others from the Sun Pirates weren't allowed to stay on the main island anymore. He's hiding out at the Sea Forest. I let him know about the things that happen on the island. I can take you there if you want."
He slowly nods before getting up and grabbing his hat. (I have to see what's happened for myself!) He places his hat on before meeting Cato at the door. "Thanks Cato."
"Don't thank me yet. We need to get you through the town."
They walk out into the port town Coral Hill where mermaids are surrounding the guards and the three princes.
One of the fish guards look at them in shock. "You're saying that mermaids have been kidnapped at the cove?!"
Tara nods. "One of those mermaids was Lizzie! It has to have been that perv Rose warned us about!"
May nods. "Please, you have to find him!"
Ace looks at them in shock. (Rose warned them about a perv? Was it the mud man we locked in a barrel?)
Cato pats him on the shoulder causing him to snap out of his thoughts. "What's the matter Ace?"
"You know the girl from another world that was stabbed at the war? She's alive and is on the island."
"What?!"
He nods. "I think they're talking about her right now." He and Cato turn their attention back to the crowd.
The guard shakes his head at the girls. "You girls know that Wind Rider Rose's not like other humans. She's the demon that invaded the war two years ago. What makes you think she didn't tell you about the barrel in order to lure you into a trap?"
May shakes her head. "She wouldn't do that! She was really helpful to us!"
Another guard looks at her in confusion. "Helpful how?"
May looks at them nervously. "Um well…" (I can't let them know Tara, Lizzie and I are looking into the comet!)
Another mermaid floats up on her bubble. "Does that matter? We don't think the kidnapper was with Rose and the other Straw Hats. After all, they're Camie's friends!"
He shakes his head. "They could have threatened her. At any rate, the fact of the matter is that the only ones seen in the vicinity were the mermaids, royal guards, the defeated ruffians from the Fishman District and the Straw Hats. Even if the outsider did warn you it's more than likely that man was a part of the crew and was following a plan to kidnap you. Humans always act nice in the beginning only to kidnap mermaids and escape. There's nothing different between those pirates and the one's we're dealing with."
Another guard nods in agreement. "All humans have motives to kidnap mermaids, and the demon girl is no exception. This was all probably her idea. You can't trust any of them."
Ace clenches his fists as he starts walking up to the crowd but Cato holds him back, half drags him away from the crowd and into an alley where they can't be seen. "You can't be doing anything stupid Ace!"
"He's insulting my brother's crew. What do you want me to do?"
"Look, take it easy. The mermaid cove is on the way to the Sea Forest. If the kidnapper really isn't a part of the crew then he's more than likely to still be there."
Ace widens his eyes at this before nodding. "That's a good idea. Let's get him before anyone else gets hurt and clear their names."
Cato nods as they start heading out while Fuukaboshi swims up to Madame Shirley who's sitting on a sea sponge trying to calm herself down from the vision she had after Luffy's group left.
"Madame Shirley, please tell us what you saw."
She slowly nods while lightly panting. "I knew I shouldn't have looked into the crystal ball, but I felt something from the straw hat boy that made me want to look into his future. That was when I saw it. Straw Hat Luffy is going to be the one to destroy Fishman Island…"
"Are you absolutely certain?"
She slowly nods as she takes a glass of water from one of the mermaids. "Yes, it was beyond a doubt the truth…"
Fuukaboshi nods. "This is unfortunate… I had intended to meet his crew as honored guests for saving my sister's pet, but it's clearly not the best decision to allow them to roam freely. We need to take protective measures before more innocent people get hurt. Brothers, guards, please come with me."
Both Mamboshi and Ryuboshi follow their brother along with the guards while the mermaids and citizens of Fishman Island are left to their increasing worries.
Cato and Ace manage to walk out of the town without causing a scene and caught a fish taxi to head to the mermaid cove.
Ace stares at Big Mom's insignia on the sweets factory softly. "Cato, how bad was it after Pops died?"
He follows Ace's stare at the flag then sighs. "It was chaos at first. Jimbei managed to help us hold off most of the slave traders for a while before having to hide. Once Big Mom decided to place her flag on our island things were almost back to normal. The only difference really now is that we have to supply her with a giant amount of sweets…"
Ace looks at the island sadly before turning to him. "I'm-"
Ace was cut off by a whack to the head. He groans while rubbing his head. "What the hell was that for?!"
"For getting ready to apologize! Whitebeard, Namur and the others didn't go to that war to make you feel guilty. If you want to make it up to everyone then live and do what you can to help. If I hear anything close to an apology I'll kick your pyro ass!"
He stares at him for a moment before chuckling. "I'll keep that in mind. How much longer until we reach the cove?"
"A few more minutes. So, it's true that the girl came back? That's nuts."
He nods then chuckles. "You don't know the half of it. She's dating my little brother and still knows future events."
He widens his eyes in shock then laughs. "Wow, that is nuts. So she knows stuff like Madame Shirley?"
He shakes his head. "She said it was only temporary."
"Good luck to her when it stops then."
Ace's smile starts to fade as he slowly nods. "She's gonna need it..." (Even after Rose stops knowing what'll happen she's gonna be seen as a demon here for the rest of her life. I'm sure she knows how tough it'll be from now on and it's all because she saved me… Cato's right, I have to do what I can to protect her and Luffy. The least I can do as a bro-)
"Here we are." Ace snaps out of it from Cato's voice to see the taxi approaching the mermaid cove.
After paying the fare Ace and Cato left to search the area.
"So how will we find this guy?" Cato asks.
"I think it's best if we split up. This guy's a logia user so I hope those years after leaving the royal guard haven't made you go soft."
He smirks as he grabs a long, skinny piece of pink coral and turns it black with haki. "The only thing that might have gone soft is your thick head pyro. I'll go left and you head right."
He nods as the two split up in separate directions.
Ace walks up to a reef cliff 10 feet high and looks to see a few mermaids about to leave the cove while Caribou sneaks up from behind while turning his arms into mud.
"What a nice catch of the day! Hahaha!" The girls turn around in horror and scream as the mud was about to reach them but a wall of fire blocks the mud from them.
"AAAAHHHHH!" Caribou turns his arms back to normal while shaking his arms to ease the burn until he used the mud to cool down. He turns in horror to see Ace glaring at him while the mermaids make a swim for it.
He jumps off the reef and lands in front of him with his arms ablaze. "Give back the mermaids and you won't get burned."
He sweat drops before nodding as he lets Lizzie and 5 other passed out mermaids out of his mud before smirking. "That sounds like a fair deal. I have a new deal for you." He lets Zira's head out of his right hand to show him her passed face while keeping the rest of her, beak and the rest of her body trapped.
He looks at her in shock. "Zira?!"
Caribou snickers as he looks at her face. "So that's the howler monkeys name. I couldn't learn it when I had to shut her screeches up."
Ace growls as he gets ready to give him a fireball but he holds Zira in front of him. "Ah, ah, wouldn't want to accidentally roast the pretty bird now would you?"
He grits his teeth before extinguishing his flames.
Caribou laughs while turning his left hand into mud. "This is gonna be too easy! Who needs mermaids when I gain a new reputation by killing Port-?"
*THWACK!*
Caribou's ugly smirk was frozen in place when Cato whacked him on the back of the hear with the coral. "Oww…" He falls forward over unconscious and accidentally releases his hold on Zira.
Cato smirks as he picks Caribou up by the collar and kicks Caribou in the gut to send him flying to the canyon wall. "Ugly bastard."
He gently picks up Zira then walks over to Ace and hands her over to him while keeping his smirk. "I didn't think you had a soft spot for birds."
"Shut up! She's a part of Luffy's crew!"
"Ugh…" Zira groans as she starts regaining consciousness and looks up to see Ace. "ACE!" She tackles his face and wraps her wings around his head while crying comical tears. "Thanks for saving me! The swamp donkey was so gross! He smelled like swamp BO!"
Cato snickers at the view of Zira smothering Ace while he grabs Zira so he could breathe then holds her in front of him. "He didn't hurt you right?"
She shakes her head. "Besides knocking me out he didn't do anything else. Wait, the mermaids!"
She looks to see the mermaids passed out but unharmed. "Good, they're ok. Hey, who's the fishman?"
Cato smiles as he casually waves. "The name's Cato. I'm a friend of pyro over here."
Ace groans while Zira snickers at the nickname. "Thanks for helping me out of there. Wait, where's the perv?!"
Both guys look at the reef wall to see that Caribou escaped.
Ace groans in frustration. "Damnit, he must've came to and escaped while we weren't looking."
Cato rakes a hand in his hair. "Sorry Ace, at least when the mermaids wake up we can clear your brother's name."
Zira widens her eyes in shock. "Clear his name?! What the hell happened when I was kidnapped?!"
"When the mermaids got kidnapped the royal guard assumed that Luffy and the others did it." Ace says.
Zira widens her eyes. "Are you serious?! Damnit, this must've been what Rose wanted to prevent…"
Ace quirks an eyebrow. "You talked to Rose?"
She nods. "Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Rose and I were found together. We hung out at the mermaid cove for a bit while Rose and I went to go find the barrel the perv was in so that the mermaids wouldn't open it. Sadly, I was too late in finding it and got taken while protecting some mermaids…"
Ace softly grins as he pets her head. "It's not your fault Zira. Do you know where the others went?"
She nods while getting out of Ace's embrace and onto his shoulder "Rose said something about heading to Neptune's castle."
Ace and Cato both widen their eyes at this before Ace face palms. "Crap, they're gonna get caught by Neptune's army!"
Zira shakes her head. "I'm sure they'll be fine. We can clear their names after all."
Ace sighs before nodding. "That's true. Things are still gonna go crazy if we don't hurry…"
Cato hails a fish taxi and carries each mermaid inside. "I'll get the girls to safety then go to the castle and tell them what happened. I'll make sure the guards don't arrest your brother and his crew. Here you go." After gently placing the last mermaid in the taxi he hands Ace a vivre card. "This is Jimbei's vivre card. You should talk to him before letting yourself be seen on the island."
Ace nods as he takes the card in his hand. "Thanks Cato."
He nods with a grin before getting in the taxi and leaves the cove.
Zira grins. "He seems nice. How exactly do you know him?"
"He's my crewmate's older brother. He retired from the royal guard to become one of the greatest shipwrights on the island. Pops asked him to join, but he wants to use his fighting abilities to protect the island."
Zira nods. "That's fair. So we're seeing Jimbei the former warlord?! What's he like?!"
"You're about to find out now. Let's get going before Luffy and Rose turn the island upside down."
Zira nods as they leave while Caribou is hiding behind a reef and panting from exhaustion then clenches his teeth.
"Damnit! Not only couldn't I get revenge on the phantom, but I lost my mermaids!" He slams his fist against the reef before freezing.
"Wait, they said there will be chaos at the castle right? Then that means Neptune's treasure is up for the taking…" His expression immediately changes into a smirk as he turns his body into mud. (Hahaha! Who needs mermaids when I can just take the gold from under the royal's noses! Perfect!)
He softly chuckles as his whole body becomes a mud puddle and he slithers out of the cove without being noticed by anyone.
An hour earlier at Gyovalley hills Luffy's group has just exited the fish taxi in front of Pappaggs mansion.
Everyone but Camie looks at the giant house in shock while Pappagg jumps in front of the group. "Here's my house guys!"
Luffy looks at it in shock. "It's huge!"
Brook widens his eyeholes. "Such a large place for a small starfish…"
Pappagg laughs. "Ohohoho! Did I shock you guys? I might only be a stylish starfish in the world above but here I'm the president of the Criminal Brand Company! Our stores can be found in-"
Luffy points to another building while ignoring Pappagg. "What's that over there Camie?"
Camie floats up to them. "That's the criminal brand store."
"WHY IS EVERYTHING HERE SO EXPENSIVE?! I KNOW IT'S CUTE BUT THIS IS RIDICULOUS!"
The group freezes as they hear a customer yelling from the store.
"Looks like someone's making a scene in the store." Camie says as the group starts heading to the store.
Usopp widens his eyes. "Hold on, was that voice who I think it was?"
Rose nods. "You guessed right." She opens the door for them to find Nami complaining to the sales representative at the register with a large pile of clothes in front of her.
"Listen here, I'll pay 10 thousand beli and nothing more!"
The sales rep raises his arms defensively. "Please be reasonable miss! That's under half the price!"
Usopp sweat drops. "Why am I not surprised?"
Luffy and Camie wave as the group approaches them.
"Hey Nami!" Luffy says.
Camie floats up to Nami. "Hi Nami-chin!"
Camie turns to them. "Camie!" She hugs her while the sales rep runs up to Pappagg in desperation.
"You have impeccable timing Monsieur Pappagg! We have a problem you see-"
Camie cuts him off as she goes up to Pappagg and pulls his cheek. "So this is your shop? What's with these prices?!"
He groans as he tries to get out of her grip. "You see, it's a luxury designer brand and I'm a famous designer so-"
"Bring them down!"
"Oh come on!" He groans as he finally frees his cheek. "Look, forget the prices. I owe you guys for what you did two years ago, so you and the others can take whatever you want free of charge."
Nami's scowl immediately changes to a smile with stars in her eyes. "Really?! Great!"
She and the others except Rose run around the store to grab what they want.
Pappagg turns to her curiously. "You don't want anything?"
She shakes her head with a soft grin. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine. Besides, there's nothing left to take." She points to the giant bags that Luffy, Nami, Usopp and Brook are carrying on their backs.
Camie grins at them. "Wasn't that nice of him?"
Nami nods while the sales clerk looks at Pappagg nervously. "Monsieur Pappagg, the store is empty…"
Pappaggs eyes bug out in shock. "HAVEN'T YOU GUYS HEARD OF RESTRAINT?!"
Rose giggles when they start hearing yelling outside.
Brook blinks in confusion. "What's going on?"
One of Pappagg's other employee's runs up to them. "Monsieur Pappagg! It's terrible!"
He looks at him in confusion. "What's wrong?"
"Something's happening!"
He twitches an eyebrow in irritation. "That's not an explanation! What are you talking about?!"
"Just come outside!"
The group follows him outside to see a whale floating down from the sky.
Luffy looks at him in shock. "Whoa, the whale's huge!"
Pappagg looks at it in shock. "HE CAME HERE FROM THE PALACE?!"
Nami looks at him in confusion. "Who's here?"
Rose grins. "King Neptune."
"WHAT?!" The crew looks at her in shock while Pappagg, Camie, and the other fish men look at the descending whale in fear.
"I've never seen him in person before…" Camie says as she goes behind Rose while a giant muscular merman with a fluffy white beard covering the lower half of his face lands on his whale in front of the group.
Usopp looks at him in shock. "That's one big merman."
Brook nods. "I think I prefer mermaids over mermen…"
"This shaggy old dude's the king?" Luffy asks causing Pappagg to pull his cheek.
"Show some respect!"
The surrounding fishmen look at them nervously while the shark Luffy saved from Surume swims next to Neptune.
Megalo turns to him. "Megalo, you sure these are the humans in question?"
He nods.
Nami looks at him in shock. "Isn't that the shark Luffy made Surume cough up?"
Rose nods. "He's princess Shirahoshi's pet."
Nami looks at her in shock. "Are you serious?!"
"Yup."
Neptune nods as he turns to the crew. "Straw Hat humans! I invite you to join me at my palace to thank you for rescuing my daughter's friend."
Camie and Pappagg look at them in shock while the others nod.
Luffy steps up with a toothy grin. "Sounds good to me."
Megalo lands in front of the group and they climb aboard before both the whale and shark make their way to the palace.
Neptune chuckles as everyone looks around in excitement. "Hohoho! Be careful not to fall now."
Rose nods as she sits right behind Luffy. "I'll make sure no one falls."
He nods. "I want to thank you all again for rescuing Megalo. When we thought that he might never return my daughter was nearly inconsolable. It gave us a real shock that the kraken almost ate him."
Luffy chuckles as he sits cross legged on Megalo's head. "Shishishi, it was just a coincidence. Glad he made it all the same."
Camie looks around nervously. "Is it really ok for us to be coming with you guys to the palace?"
Usopp nods. "I don't see why not. You and Pappagg are our friends after all."
Neptune nods then widens his eyes. "That's right, I forgot to tell you all. One of your crewmates is already waiting for us in the palace."
Nami looks at him in confusion. "Really?"
He nods. "When I left he already started drinking. I tried to tell him to wait, but he wouldn't listen."
Brook sweat drops. "So Zoro-san has made it to the palace I see."
He tilts his head in thought. "As for your other companions I expect my soldiers to locate them and bring them there as soon as possible."
Usopp nods before turning to Nami. "Hey Nami, do you know where the others went?"
She nods. "Franky said he was searching for some relatives of someone named Tom, and Robin walked off saying she was looking for some historical information."
Rose turns to her. "Do you know where Ace went?"
She shakes her head. "Sorry, I haven't seen him. I'm kind of surprised you don't know where he is."
Rose sighs while running a gloved hand through her hair. "When it comes to Ace after the crew reunites it's all completely new. I'm positive he's ok, but he could be anywhere from the main island to the Fishman District…" (I really hope that isn't the case… Wherever he is he's not gonna like what he learns about what happened these past 2 years…)
Luffy stretched an arm around Roses waist and pulled her next to him on Megalo's head.
Rose looks at him in shock with a small blush on her face while he chuckles with a toothy grin. "Shishishi, you worry too much. If you're sure Ace is fine then he'll find us when he's ready."
She widens her eyes for a moment before ginning and adjusting herself so she sits comfortably next to him as he keeps his arm around her. "Yea, you're right."
They both grin at each other while staring into each other's eyes when they snap out of it to Usopp's snickering. "Just get a room already guys."
They both turn around to see Nami whacking him on the head. "You idiot, they were gonna kiss!"
Rose face palms while trying to hide her blush. (Nami's the biggest shipper in existence…)
Luffy tilts his head in confusion before turning to Rose. "Why would we need a room Rose?"
The blush on her face starts to double. "You don't need to know!" (Damnit Usopp, I'm gonna kick your ass when this is over!)
Camie, Pappagg and Brook laugh at the scene in front of them while they reach the entrance to the castle right above them.
"It looks like we're here." Neptune reaches up for the intercom. "It is I, let me and my guests in."
The gate starts opening up while Neptune creates a bubble around Megalo. "The entry way is submerged in water so make sure the bubble doesn't pop."
Neptune swims up with his whale with Megalo following.
Everyone grins in excitement as they make it past the entry way and Fishman Palace comes into view.
"Whoa! This is so cool!" Luffy says with stars in his eyes.
"What a beautiful place!" Nami says while Camie is speechless.
Rose nods in agreement as she looks around in awe. "Amazing!"
Brook looks around in astonishment. "This place puts Pappagg-san's house to shame."
Pappagg weeps. "Don't compare my house to a royal palace!"
The others softly laugh as they make it into the palace and get off of Megalo.
Luffy keeps looking around in excitement. "Whoa! What a fun looking place!"
Neptune nods. "Please make yourselves comfortable while waiting for your other crewmates to arrive."
The others nod when some of Neptune's retainers swam up to him furiously.
"How many times must we remind you to be aware of your position?! If something were to happen to you there would have been dire consequences! Don't you know what type of position you're putting yourself in by going off alone without telling anyone?!"
Neptune bows his head in shame. "I'm sorry…"
The others sweat drop. (The king gets scolded by his retainers?)
Rose holds back a chuckle when she felt Luffy's hand grabbing hers as he starts walking off with her without the others noticing.
She quirks an eyebrow in confusion. "What's the matter Luffy?"
He turns to her with a toothy grin while walking. "When Usopp said 'get a room' he meant a room to eat right? I smell some food this way."
Rose widens her eyes before face palming. (This guy always has food in his brain… Oh well, at least he's not pressing me about what Usopp meant.) She looks around to avoid his gaze while they keep walking. "R-really? Great, let's go."
He nods with a toothy grin as they were about to turn a corner but jump back to hide from the guards that are leaving a room with giant empty food carts. After the coast is clear the two pirates walk up to the pair of giant doors that has years of scratches on it and axes still hanging from the door.
Luffy looks up in awe. "Whoa, these doors are huge! The food must be behind here. Is this the banquet hall?"
She shakes her head as she stares at the doors with a grin. (So this is Shirahoshi's room… COOL!) "This isn't the banquet hall but there's food in there."
"That's all I need to know!" He lets go of her hand to start opening the door.
(I don't think Shirahoshi would like us running on her body.) She flies next to him to help him then uses her wind to get the two of them flying into the dark room and in front of the food.
Luffy looks at the food in excitement. "Awesome! Hey Rose, do you know if there's a light around-"
"Who are you two?!"
Rose and Luffy turn n shock to see a giant cute pink haired mermaid turning on the light and staring at them with tears in her eyes.
Rose stares up at her with wide eyes. (Wow, I knew Shirahoshi was big but I didn't expect this big.)
Luffy looks at her in shock. "Whoa! It's a giant per- I mean mermaid!"
Tears keep building up in Shirahoshi's eyes as she tries to glare at them. "Identify yourselves! You're here to make an attempt on my life aren't you?! W-well I'm not scared of…" She couldn't hold back anymore as she starts crying. "WAAAH! FATHER-SAMA! BIG BROTHER-SAMA! WAAAH!"
Luffy raises his hands defensively. "Oi, wait! We're not here to hurt you! Quit crying!"
(Oh crap, I hate seeing people cry!) Rose places Luffy on the bed while avoiding her giant tears then frantically flies in front of her face while waving her arms and looking around the room for a way to cheer her up. "Don't cry Shirahoshi! Don't cry! U-umm…"
She freezes and gives the princess her best performing grin. "Watch this!" She uses her wind to pick up some of the smaller pieces of meat then starts juggling them and moving them around her with various loops and spins to make it look like it's flying on a roller coaster.
Shirahoshi starts sniffling while tears stop streaming down her face then grins as she watches the show when the food being juggled disappears one by one causing her eyes to widen in shock. "How did you do that?!"
"Huh?" Rose looks at her wind in confusion while juggling to see Luffy continuously grabbing the food until she wasn't juggling anymore. "Luffy! I was using that for my performance!"
Luffy finishes eating the last one before rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry about that. The way you were making them fly made them look more tasty."
(I should've known not to use meat...) Rose groans while face palming before Shirahoshi giggles at what happened.
"That was fun! Are you two traveling performers?"
Rose shakes her head with a grin as she keeps floating in front of her. "Luffy's not, but I guess you can say that about me. I used to be a street performer, but now I'm a pirate. He's a pirate too. My name's Rose by the way."
She widens her eyes. "You two are-"
She's cut off by the sound of a giant axe flying into the room. Before Rose can deflect it Luffy jumps up in front of them, grabs the axe by the blunt side before it could hit him and pushes the trajectory to make it crash next to the bed.
Luffy lands on the bed while Rose uses her wind to pull the doors shut so no more axes can fly in.
(Damnit Decken, I hate that guy…) She turns to Luffy who's looking at the axe in confusion. "Great job moving the axe Luffy."
He nods. "Thanks, but what was that about?"
"It-"
"WHY'S THE PRINCESS CRYING?! DID ANOTHER AXE COME FLYING?!"
The three of them turn to the door that's about to open when Shirahoshi grabs Rose and Luffy in one hand and hides them behind her back with them facing each other while stuck in her hand.
The guards open the doors and run in.
"Are you alright princess?!"
"What happened?! Was there an intruder?!"
Shirahoshi looks at them nervously while Luffy squirms in her hand.
"Hey, let us-"
Rose cuts him off with a kiss on the lips to keep him quiet then pulls back with a grin before whispering. "We need to keep quiet Luffy."
He nods with a grin before returning the kiss while staying silent.
Shirahoshi nods to the guards. "I- I apologize for causing you alarm. I must have had a bad dream, that's all."
The guard nods. "I see, if that's the case then I'm most relieved. Ah, you need to know something as well in regards to Straw Hat Luffy and his companions. The situation has become a lot more complicated than we had hoped."
Luffy and Rose pull back from their kiss and listen intently as the guard continues.
"You see, under suspicion of kidnapping the mermaids the decision has been made to confine the Straw Hats to the dungeons. The swordsman who arrived earlier has already been locked away and a few of the others are being apprehended as we speak. The only problem is the captain Straw Hat Luffy and the outsider Wind Rider Rose who were both seen entering the palace have gone missing. Presumably they found out our intentions to arrest them and they hid somewhere in the palace. Fear not however, we will be sure to find them and apprehend them as well as the other crewmates scattered on the island. We must be leaving now. If you see anyone suspicious please inform us immediately."
Shirahoshi nods as they leave then puts Rose and Luffy on the bed in front of her.
Rose clenches her fists in frustration. (Damnit, Caribou must've escaped and kidnapped the mermaids! Wait, OH CRAP! WHAT IF HE HAS ZIRA?!) She runs a hand through her hair in frustration.
Luffy tilts his head. "You ok?"
She slowly nods. "Yea, the others can take on the guards. I'm just frustrated that Caribou still kidnapped the mermaids."
He nods. "We can beat the crap out of him when we get out of here."
She nods with a grin. "Sounds good to me."
Shirahoshi keeps her gaze on them. "Thank you for saving me and I'm sorry for the rudeness of the guards. Your names are Luffy-sama and Rose-sama correct?"
Both pirates nod.
"Since you're pirates does that make you bad people?"
Rose shrugs her shoulders while Luffy walks in front of the food. "You can decide that on your own. Can I eat this?"
Shirahoshi nods causing him to dig in as she turns to Rose. "Would it be alright if I ask you some questions Rose-sama?"
She nods with a grin. "If you can answer my questions about Fishman Island then you got a deal."
She eagerly nods as Rose flies in front of her with a notebook. (If things keep going like this then we should be leaving soon. I hope the island's ready for the chaos…)
The girls start exchanging questions as the chaos starts to break loose in the palace and starts to spread throughout the island.
TO BE CONTINUED