Like A Boy
Chapter 33 Truth Behind the Flower
"It's been a couple of days since those two pirates left to find the flower." The old man said running his old hands across the forehead of one of the dogs.
In full out honesty, he didn't care whether or not the young man succeeded for even if he was freed from the place, he was reaching the time where is age was giving up. Sooner than later, he was going to pass on to the next world and when that happens, all the people he had changed will go back to normal if they wish to. He had only ever changed them in hopes that he would have a companion or two with him but before the man had known it, he had had dozens.
It started off with a couple of friends who wanted the money, when they had seen the old man they tried to kill him for it and by reflex, the old man changed them into dogs. After that he got into the habit of changing those who wanted the money into dogs.
"Maybe these two will succeed and free all of you." The man said as he lazily glanced across the old house.
"This is so damn stupid!" Ace said angrily as he looked through flower after flower after flower. "I barely remember what the flower looks like!"
Youko sighed as she pounced through the field, trying to remember what the flower that Ace had described to her looked like. She wasn't having much luck and personally she was beginning to think that maybe it was impossible to find the thing. However Ace never gave up and neither would she. The black puppy ran to the center where it seemed that the flowers were growing from and carefully looked at the thorny branch that they came from.
As she stared at the thorns she came to realize that she had been running through them and looked at her legs and saw that she had multiple thorns in her. Youko sighed and ran back to Ace who was still looking for the flower, the thorns not hurting him.
Ace looked at the pup and noticed the thorns sticking into and chuckled lightly before picking the black dog up and carefully removing the thorns. Youko still didn't like getting carried but she tolerated it long enough for Ace to remove the thorns. When the man was done, Ace placed Youko on his shoulder so that she didn't get anymore stuck into herself.
"I think I have an idea as to how we can find this flower." The man said and Youko looked at him curiously and Ace smiled. "It's rash but why not just burn down all the flowers. The old man will be freed and you can go back to normal."
Youko looked from Ace to the flowers and inwardly sighed but knew that that was the best for at this rate, they would never find the flower. She nodded and Ace placed her on the ground a ways away from the flower bed and he quickly went to burning the flowers.
All the dogs gathered around the old man as he gasped for breath after having fallen out of his chair. They whined and nudged him, sniffing him and pawing to try and get him to stand up. The man carefully looked up at them, his eyes barely making out the forms of the animals that worriedly surrounded him. He had had a heart attack. The sound of running footsteps, those that belonged to the young man came to the dogs and they all quickly ran to meet the pirate.
Ace and Youko stared at them curiously as to why the animals were all urging them into the run down house. As soon as Ace stepped into the house, he noticed the old man and ran to him, flipping him over onto his back to make it easier for him to breath.
"OSSAN WHAT HAPPENED!" Ace asked and the man looked at him and then at Youko.
"Don't yell so loud youngin'" the man said hoarsely and Ace flinched at the effort it took just to say the words.
"Oi you shouldn't talk." Ace said quieter and the man sighed, the attack beginning to vanish but the effect still with him.
"It's alright there young man. Did you rid of the flower?" the old man asked and Ace helped him sit up.
"We destroyed a field of flowers but we aren't sure if that was the one." Ace said after the man assured him that the attack had been a small one.
"You destroyed a large field of flowers all strung on a single thorn branch?" the old man asked and Ace nodded. "Good job."
"Wait, was that the flower?" Ace asked and the man nodded.
"Ah, it was." The man said before carefully placing his hand on Youko's forehead. "What seemed like a field of flowers was actually only one flower."
Ace stared at Youko who was beginning to change from the form of a pup to that of a teenage girl. A smile grew on Ace's face when he noticed that his girl was no longer a dog anymore. Youko looked at him and then at the old man before noticing his face.
"Been a while since I've seen a girl's body." The old man said and Youko looked down before noticing that she had no clothes on.
Youko quickly covered herself and hit both the old man and Ace before going into the fetal position on the floor. Ace sat up having been used to the way that Youko hits him and looked at the old man. A dog brought over Youko's clothes and the blue haired girl quickly put them on before turning to Ace.
"Did I hit him too hard?" she asked though a blush remained one her face.
"If he dies now, he'll die happily." Ace retorted and the girl sighed.
"I thank you for freeing me from this place." The old man said and the two pirates smiled at him. "In all of my ninety nine years, I've never met pirates quite like you."
"Well of course because you've never met us before." Ace retorted and the old man laughed. "What are you going to do now?"
"I will stay here and continue the maze." The old man said.
"Even though you're free of this place?" Youko asked and the man nodded.
"You see that flower had a drug in it that was causing me to become ill but at the same time healing me." The old man said. "I was too weak to destroy it but if burned, the pollen would mix with the ashes and go into the atmosphere and I could breathe that in and be fine."
"So it wasn't some sort of curse?" Ace asked. "Just some natural phenomenon?"
"Pretty much." the man said and Ace sighed obviously having wanting it to be more than that. "Well you two have fun and try not to get caught by them marines now."
"We won't old man you can count on that." Youko said smiling and the old man waved good bye as the two pirates walked back to where the Striker was.
"Let's see, the ship was heading towards the Baron Islands so that means we might encounter it if we head towards them." Youko said as she stared at the Log Post.
They had been out at sea for only a few hours after their adventure in the rock maze and Youko was already trying to figure out when they could meet the Moby Dick. Ace looked at the girl who was going through a map that she had found and was carefully mapping where they could go.
"Youko why don't we just leave it up to chance?" Ace asked and Youko sighed.
"Because that would mean that it would be years before we are able to even glimpse the Moby Dick." The girl said and Ace grumbled.
"But I'm bored." The man said before grabbing the girl and hugging her.
"Ace, you're making it very hard to try and read this map." Youko said and Ace grinned before hugging her tighter. "ACE~!"
"What?" the man asked and Youko looked at him angrily.
"Look Ace I'm trying to make sure we don't wind up getting lost here." The girl said and Ace booed.
"Hey, I saved you from spending your whole life as a dog back there." The man said and Youko sighed.
"And I thanked you for that." The girl said before getting out of Ace's grip and beginning to read through the maps again.
"Hey, I always save your butt so at least let me have some fun." Ace challenged and Youko looked at him.
"Excuse me?" she asked and Ace nodded.
"Every time you get into shit, I have to help you out." Ace said and Youko put down the maps.
"I think you have it the other way around. You always get us into trouble and then I have to find a way out of it." the girl said and Ace frowned.
"Yet in the end I always have to save you!" the man argued and Youko puffed.
"Are you saying that I'm incapable of helping myself?" the girl asked and Ace nodded.
"Yes, you're too weak to help yourself." Ace said and Youko slammed her fist into Ace's face, water covering it.
"STUPID PYRO!" the girl screamed before turning away and going to the back of the Striker.
"What the hell was that for!" Ace asked and Youko turned to glare at him.
"I'm sick and tired of you looking down on me!" the girl said turning her back onto the man again. "Just leave me alone."
"Grr, fine! Be that way you damn bitch." Ace said before leaning against the striker, facing away from the girl. "Do whatever the hell you want."
Saix: *Hiding behind the wall* hey peoples... I'm so sorry for the lateness and I know I made a few of you worried but I am alive! I was not in an accident and the worst injury I got was spraining my right hand which is kinda the reason why I wasn't able to type up anything and well since I am in high school I kinda had to worry about my finals and my midterms which aren't over yet and all but yeah I finally have free time to type some of my stories up.I hope you aren't angry at me and well I plan on still writing I just have been really busy lately. I hope this chapter is good enough for my absence.