The twins raised an eyebrow at Luffia who was humming while they were having dinner. They looked at each other before looking back at Luffia who is still in high spirits.
Their eyes met again, signaling each other to ask Luffia. For a moment there, the twins are having a silent debate on who is supposed to ask first.
"Something good must have happened, eh, Luffia? You seemed to be in a better mood." In the end, it was Sab who asked first.
"Hmm? What do you mean? I am always in a good mood." With that answer, Sab can't even refute.
"But you've been humming for quite sometime now." Ann reasoned out.
"Hmm, yeah! Because I am happy!" She smiled brightly at the twins. She is sparkling that it almost blinded the twins.
"May we know what made you so happy today?" Sab asked again.
"It's Zoro!" She said as if that answers the twins' question and curiosity. They know that Zoro makes Luffia happy, but what they want to know is what happened. Sometimes, they just don't get how Luffia expects everyone to follow her train of thoughts. Even if they are sisters, there are times that they can't understand how Luffia thinks or if she understood them either.
She answers whatever she wants and sometimes, her answers are irrefutable.
"Alright..." Ann just gave up in asking Luffia.
Sab remained silent while staring at Luffia with a calculating look in her eyes. She has a vague idea of what happened but decided not to voice it out. As long as Luffia is happy, that's all that matters.
"By the way Luffia. Do you mind if Marco and I will stay on Sunny Islands for a few days?" Ann remembered her conversation with Marco about a few days of vacation. Sunny Islands is a private island owned by Luffia. It is a perfect getaway place for them - away from the curious and judging eyes of people.
"Heh~ Someone's going on a vacation with her boyfriend~" Sab hummed in a teasing manner making Ann blush.
"Shut it." She muttered under her breath.
"Oh! Oh! It's a honeymoon!" Ann almost choked at Luffia's statement.
"It is not!"
"When do you plan to go? I will ask Franky to get things prepared." Luffia completely ignored Ann's denial.
Sab is chuckling on the side, not saying anything, and is just enjoying the exchange of words between Ann and Luffia.
"Probably next week."
"If it's for a few days, what are we gonna tell Dad when he asks for you?" Ann didn't think of that. Their father may conduct a surprise visit to their house.
"You could tell him that I am on a business trip?" Ann answered her younger twin.
"That can work."
Then, the twins looked at Luffia who was staring at them with innocent eyes. They know that she can't lie at all. It will be too obvious when she lies.
"Luffia. You can't tell Dad, okay? He will kill Marco!"
"Aye, aye sir!" She saluted at Ann, but the older woman is still adamant in trusting her. "Oh! speaking of Marco, we will have a meeting in their building tomorrow. Do you want to come too?"
"Is it the sponsorship for the Motorsports Event?" Asked Ann.
"Uh-huh! Do you want to come with us?"
"Yeah, why not?" Then Ann remembered something. "By the way, you can't reveal to anyone else there that we are dating."
"Yep! Marco told me... He said that you guys are going to tell his family soon as a surprise. That sounds exciting. Should we do the same with Dad?"
The twins sweatdropped at Luffia's suggestion. They can't tell if she's just pulling their legs or not.
"Is Marco going to participate in the event?" Sab changed the topic.
"Yes. And guess who's going to be his opponent?" Ann can't help but feel excited. The idea of going against Marco again after a few years is exhilarating.
"I can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds out! Shishishi! Ah! I know! Why don't we reveal ourselves after the event? Wouldn't it be great?" Luffia looked at her sisters with sparkling eyes. She likes the idea of a surprise revelation to everyone. No one knows the identity of the three mysterious racers.
"I don't mind, to be honest." Sab shrugged. It's not like she wants to keep it hidden in the first place. The reason why they hid their identities is that it was Luffia's suggestion. She liked the mysteriousness it brought and the twins just went along.
"I am okay with it as well."
"Yosh! It's decided! The three of us are going to participate as well as my friends!" Luffia shouted.
"Did you list Jaggy right? He's pretty much against it."
"Yep! Shishishi! He can't say no!" Luffia answered with certainty.
Sab only rolled her eyes and pity the soul of those who fell victim to Luffia's selfishness. She had heard of that nickname quite a few times in their conversation but did not bother asking who it is. Luffia has a lot of friends and she sometimes gives them weird nicknames. Jaggy is one of them.
Whoever it is participating, it seems this year's Motorsports Event is going to be the most interesting by far.
As soon as they finished breakfast, Ann hitched a ride with Luffia on her way to Moby Dick Building.
"Who's going to be attending this meeting?" Ann asked.
"Nami, Zoro, and I." She answered while driving. The eldest of the sisters nodded. This is not the first time that she attended this kind of meeting. The last time that Luffia's company sponsored an event like this, she and Sab were present. Nami felt assured that the twins are there to provide inputs when needed.
As soon as they arrived, Nami called Luffia to ask where she is or most likely to strictly remind her that she needs to attend this meeting. Sometimes, Luffia forgets meetings. It is Nami's job to remind Luffia and Zoro about important meetings.
"I am with Ann. She's joining us." Luffia answered.
"Thank god. We need additional brain cells." Nami said making Ann laugh. "Zoro and I are already upstairs." Luffia just pouted before ending the call.
As soon as they walked into the building, Ann was greeted by the Security personnel who is used to seeing Ann visiting the building from time to time.
While on the elevator, Luffia keeps fiddling on her phone, laughing from time to time. When Ann looked over her shoulders to see what Luffia's looking at, she saw a bunch of memes and funny fail videos.
Ding! This signals that they have arrived. Ann's pretty familiar with the Penthouse as she's been here a few times a week. Luffia mentioned that they'll be meeting in one of the biggest meeting rooms in the building.
Walking into the room, Luffia's eyes lit up upon seeing Marco.
"Marco! Marco! Marco! Hi!" She greeted energetically while running to where Marco is sitting.
"Hello, Luffia. Good morning, yoi." Marco greeted with a smile. He can't help it. Luffia's smile is contagious.
The rest of the WGC's officers looked at the familiar exchange with a deep curiosity in their eyes. No one knew that Marco knows Monkey D. Luffia.
"Oh, have you seen this one? This looks cool!" Luffia showed a short video to Marco about a drifting technique that was posted on Twitter.
"That looks cool, yoi."
"Right? Shishishi!"
"Luffia, come and sit down please." Nami called out to her boss. Ann greeted the others who greeted her back familiarly.
"So, this is your infamous sister, Ann." Thatch said before approaching Luffia. "I am Thatch. Nice to meet you." He offered his hand with a smile.
Meanwhile, Luffia remained standing there, looking curiously at Thatch, big round eyes staring at the man. The exchange was quite awkward for Thatch since Luffia did not take his hand in greeting.
"Err - " Thatch awkwardly stared at Luffia who tilted her head on the side while still looking at Thatch.
"Shishishi! I love your hair! It looks cool!" She suddenly said with a big and innocent smile.
Gasp! Everyone in the room can hear the loud gasp Thatch did. His hand is clutching his chest as if he is having a heart attack.
"You're the first one to have said that to me. I am moved." Thatch said while looking at Luffia with teary eyes.
"That's because everyone thinks it is ridiculous!" Vista shouted with a laugh. The rest did the same thing, making fun of Thatch's pompadour.
"Shut up all of you!" The tall red-haired man shouted at his family.
"But it looks cool! I like it!" Luffia is smiling brightly, still praising Thatch's pompadour.
This made Thatch almost in tears before approaching Ann on the side then grabbed her hands and said: "Can I keep her? Pretty please!"
"My sister is not a pet, Thatch." Ann said.
"Please... Let me adopt her!" He asked, almost begging Ann to allow adoption.
"Are you asking to adopt her because she said she likes your hair?" Ann is flabbergasted at Thatch.
"She finds it cool, right Luffia?"
"Yeah! It looks like a cannon! You just need a cannonball and you could be a war machine." Everyone fell silent while looking at Luffia who is still smiling. She looks deadly serious.
Zoro, who was on the side, just face-palmed at Luffia's comments. She did not realize that her words are a double-edged sword. It is a compliment at the same time, it is an insult. Calling someone's hair a cannon is an insult as far as Zoro is concerned.
A second later after the silence, everyone laughed so hard. Even the more serious-looking members of the board are laughing at the comment.
"A CANNON! HAHAHA!" Jiru and Haruta laughed loudly while clutching their stomachs and pointing at Thatch's hair.
"Now, do you still want to adopt her?" Ann asked, hoping that Thatch will give up the idea of adopting her sister. It seems that he is.
"She's so sassy! I want to adopt her!" What's with people wanting to adopt Luffia?
"Ahem! Alright, why don't we all settle down and start this meeting?" Whitebeard called out.
Everyone slowly calmed themselves saved for a few who were still whispering and chuckling on their seats.
Morgans - the director of the Motorsports Event arrived on time a few minutes before their meeting officially begins.
The meeting is mostly the division of how much the two companies are going to put for the event. The event will be the biggest and the prizes are no joke.
Both companies are not shy in agreeing to do a 50-50 when it comes to sponsorship of the event, however, they have their conditions that they want to be placed into their contracts.
"I want a statue at the event!" Luffia raised her hand to Morgans.
"Rejected!" Nami and Zoro both said before signaling Morgans to continue. Luffia was left dejected while glaring at Nami and Zoro.
Morgans continued his presentation of how the event will proceed. It is going to be a four-day event. In between the events in the day, they're going to have dedicated time slots for free advertisements for the sponsors.
This is where the sponsors will get paid back in a way. As the event is something the people are looking forward to, they will gain an audience and a way to freely promote their own companies to raise their branding reputation as well as promote their products.
Aside from that, there's also the ticket sales which will be divided 50-50 between WGC and SHI.
While they were on the topic of the program, Luffia suggested that they need performers during the opening ceremony of the event to entertain the audience which was agreed by the people in the room.
Unlike other Motorsports Event, this one will have an opening performance ceremony before the event starts as well as another performance before the award ceremonies.
"I think we should also accept paid advertisements from other companies. Won't it be boring to just continuously play our advertisements only? We will have a lot of people watching the event, which is a good chance to get other products advertised as well as gain more profits aside from the ticket sales." Luffia said.
Sometimes, it still shocks Ann how Luffia is brilliantly giving great ideas out of the blue. They knew she is smart, but sometimes, she suggests random things that are too much for their brain to process. This time, she suggested a brilliant idea.
Even the WGC officers are quite shocked to hear her talk in a business-tone. Their first impression of Luffia is someone lively and easy-going. They were quite shocked to see a 180-degree turnaround when the conversation turned into a proper business meeting.
"Oh, could we fire cannons during the award ceremony? Wouldn't that be cool?" How is she so random? Everyone can't help but ask themselves.
"No. Rejected." Zoro firmly said.
"Zoro, you meanie!" She scrunched her nose in disappointment at Zoro who is still looking at the presented documents in front of him, not even looking at Luffia. He knows it is dangerous to look her in the eye. He might say yes anytime.
"What about fireworks display with the logo of the Motorsports Event? Can we have one?" She suggested again.
"Yes, I think that's a good one too." Ann said.
"Yosh! I'll ask Franky and Usopp to make them!"
"I think we've reached a great agreement. Do you have further questions?" Morgans asked as soon as he's done.
Luffia raised her hand at him.
"I have a question for old man Whitebeard." Her face is serious, frowning at Whitebeard. Both of them are sitting right in front of each other. Her chin is rested on her clasped hands while staring at Whitebeard.
"Luffia!" Ann can't help but reprimand but was ignored. Luffia continued to stare at Whitebeard with a serious facial expression, making the atmosphere turn into a heavy one.
Everyone was silent while waiting for her to speak.
"Luffia, don't." It was Zoro's voice.
"But Zoro!" She protested.
"If you are going to ask what I think you are going to ask, please don't." He said in a very serious tone, almost warning Luffia. Their conversation just made the atmosphere intense. They can't help but be curious about Luffia's question. Just what is it for the Vice President of SHI to firmly prevent her from asking?
"This is a very important question! I must ask this." Luffia stubbornly answered.
Ann raised an eyebrow at the two of them. Right now, she can't fathom what Luffia is going to ask. If she is going to judge it based on her facial expression, it must something really important for her to insist on this.
"What is it, brat?" Whitebeard asked.
Zoro only sighed in defeat that he can't prevent Luffia from asking.
"Alright. Answer this old man Whitebeard." She said. "Why do they call you Whitebeard when you don't have a beard?" She asked in a very serious tone as if her life depended on it. Zoro can't help but pinch his nose. He knew she's going to ask this.
Deadly silence...
The room was silent. No one dared to say anything. Even Whitebeard is shocked at the out of the blue question. He remained silent while looking at Luffia - as if asking if she is serious. Judging from the look in her eyes, it seems that she is.
It was after a minute that someone broke that silence by laughing loudly. Unsurprisingly, it was Thatch who broke into laughter, slamming his palm on the long table.
Soon, the others followed suit. Even Morgans is laughing. Everyone thought that the question is very important and critical, it turns out that it is not. Marco was trying not to laugh. Leave it to Luffia to turn the atmosphere 180 degrees.
"Luffia... I can't believe you." Ann muttered - still stuck between wanting to laugh or to reprimand her sister first. She's sure that laughing at her boyfriend's father is a good idea at this point.
"It is an important question! Aren't you curious too?" This took Ann aback because now that she thinks about it, it is a very odd thing.
Side-glancing Whitebeard, she forced herself not to entertain Luffia's question.
"Oh my god! This is why I want to adopt her!" Thatch hollered, still clutching his stomach. Everyone agreed. Seems that the number of petitions to adopt Luffia is increasing every day.
"Ann, your sister is the best! Hahaha!" Curiel said, giving Luffia a thumbs up.
"It looks like I might need to re-evaluate your bonuses this quarter, don't you think?" Whitebeard suddenly said, looking at the laughing members of his board. Some of them forced themselves to stop laughing. There are still a few chuckling noises from here and there, but none of them are noticeable. Marco had to cough to hide his laughter, making Whitebeard glare at his son.
Then, he looked at Luffia who is still staring at Whitebeard, expecting him to answer her question.
Looking at her, Whitebeard is reminded of someone he knows for decades. Someone fearless and simple-minded but a brilliant and strong person.
The resemblance is uncanny - even the way they smile and ask questions. Funnily enough, this person asked the same question to him years ago.
"Heh~. Brat, you're still 30 years too young to know why. Gurarara!"
"Ah! It's a mystery!" She said, pouting at Whitebeard. "Stingy!"
Whitebeard laughed at her response.
"Stingy old man!" Luffia sticks her tongue out at Whitebeard. This would have been seen as disrespect, but Whitebeard just let it slide. He knows that she did not mean anything bad with it. That's just how she is. No wonder Thatch wanted to adopt her.
After the meeting, Whitebeard invited them over for lunch. Luffia is rearing to go but was dragged by Nami who said that they still have a lot of things to do.
"NOOO!" Luffia almost cried in disappointment when Nami politely declined. She would have stubbornly stayed behind had it not been for Zoro's hand wrapped around her waist and dragged her out of the meeting room. "But Zoro!" She protested. "It's free food!"
"I'll buy you food. Let's just go before the witch kills both of us." This seems to calm Luffia as she willingly followed him.
"Are you going to stay behind?" Nami asked Ann.
"Yes. I'll just call a taxi when going back to my office." She answered.
"Ah! Ann, you traitor!" Luffia shouted at Ann before being dragged by Zoro. Ann just waived at her sister goodbye, enjoying the disappointed look on her pretty face.
When Nami, Luffia, and Zoro are gone, Thatch approached Ann again.
"Let's talk about that adoption." She answered by rolling her eyes at him before walking away. "Ann! I am serious!" He shouted but was completely ignored by Ann. No way is she letting Luffia get adopted no matter how tempting that is.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
After the eventful and interesting sponsorship meeting, Whitebeard can't help but ponder on his assumptions.
His instincts are rarely wrong. Luffia's resemblance to this man is uncanny. Her mannerism, her way of talking, even her smile and eyes are just like that man - Gol D. Roger.
Now that he thinks about it, Ann looks like someone he knows. Gol D. Rouge.
"Hoh~ Looks like Roger's brats are taking Grandline by storm. Gurarara!" He muttered to himself while alone in his office.
Whitebeard was woken from his musings when his desk phone rang. Upon answering the call, he was greeted with a very familiar loud voice.
"HAHAHA! Whitebeard! It's been a while!" Whitebeard flinched at the loud voice.
"Garp." He greeted. Now that he is reminded of Garp's existence, the sisters share the same last names as Garp. This just proves his assumptions to be correct. Things are getting interesting. "What can I do for you?" Garp never calls unless he needs something urgent. He is the type of person to visit Whitebeard unannounced. For him to call Whitebeard, it must be something that can't wait.
"My friend! I am here to remind you of the deal you signed ages ago."
Whitebeard thought for a moment. He can't remember a deal that he signed before with Garp. Yes, they have bets over drinks, but never did he sign a deal with him.
"You'd have to remind me what that deal was. I can remember what it was. Care to explain?"
"Bwahaha! I knew you'd forget it. You're getting old!" And Garo laughed again as if he finds it really funny. This reminded Whitebeard of Luffia again. "Anyway, it is a deal you signed with Roger decades ago."
"Sorry, I still can't remember what that deal was about. Were we drunk at that time?"
"Of course!" Whitebeard should have figured. Back then, when he and Roger were in their prime ages, they would always get their asses drunk and bet against each other. That's a common occurrence but they end up forgetting it in the morning. Never did it happen that he signed a deal with him at all.
"Alright. What was the context of the deal?" He asked.
"You signed a deal to marry off your firstborns."
"Huh... Did we, now?" Whitebeard can't help but be surprised at the context of the deal. He can't believe that he signed something as stupid as that. Then, he was reminded of Marco and Ann's relationship.
This is the first time he had seen his son looked this happy. Even when she is not looking, his eyes are always following her. Whitebeard can tell that Marco is in love. And so is she.
For Marco to go to an extent of personally dealing with the fake news, this goes to show how much he cares. He never did this before.
"You did. Ann is of age. She's an adult and I seem to remember your son is too. Isn't it perfect?"
The mention of Ann's name, Whitebeard's previous assumption is finally confirmed.
"What makes you change your mind? As far as I remember, you were against your granddaughters dating. For you to open up the topic of marriage, something must have happened."
"Hahaha! Sharp as always!" Garp laughs. "I figured it is time for me to have great-grandchildren. We are getting older. I might kick the bucket tomorrow. Hahahaha!" He keeps on laughing as if the thought of him dying is funny. "So, I decided that it is time for me to meet my great-grandchildren!" He said it with a deep conviction that it almost gave Whitebeard a headache.
"Garp, do you realize that marriage is not something we can force to them, right? I won't force my son to marry because I was stupidly signing a deal when drunk." Whitebeard is not against the idea of Ann and Marco marrying. On the contrary, he supports it, but he'd like for it to happen on their own accord. If they decided to get married and start a family, then he'd be happy to welcome Ann in the family.
"I am not saying that we should force them to get married. It's not a bad idea for them to get to know each other, yeah?"
"Hmm... You're right. And what does Roger have to say in this matter?"
"Ah! I forgot to call him. I'll remind him later. Still! He can't say no when I have the signed deal with me. Besides, Rouge approves of this. HAHAHA!" Garp burst into laughter as if he had won the lottery.
"You are digging your own grave." Whitebeard warned him.
"Bah, nonsense! Oh, that reminds me, I need to find a suitable candidate for Sab." Garp muttered to himself. Edward Newgate can only sweatdrop. Garp is serious about hunting husbands for his granddaughters.
"Look at the time! I have to go now. I'll be back in two weeks in Grandline. Damn Sengoku being stingy!" Toot... Toot... Before Whitebeard could answer, Garp dropped the call without properly saying goodbye.
Whitebeard just placed the phone back before smiling meaningfully.
"Gurarara! Looks like Roger's going to have a heart attack this time!" If there's anything he is sure of, that is Roger's overprotectiveness when it comes to his children. Knowing Roger for decades, Whitebeard is sure that he is the kind of father that won't let his daughters date anyone until they are 30.
Unfortunately, one of them is already doing that even without a signed deal between the parents. Looks like fate has its ways of making sure that the deal will be carried out. Roger won't know what will hit him. And based on Whitebeard's observation, the youngest one is attached to her Vice President.
"Ah~ things will get interesting. Gurarara!"
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
ASL Sisters' quick interview:
Question: Which sister cooks better?
Ann: Sab. I can cook, but she cooks better.
Sab: ME. They'll likely to set the kitchen on fire or destroy it.
Luffia: Sab. I can't cook at all.
Question: What do you like about your sisters?
Ann: For Sab, she's smart and very responsible. For Luffia, she's very sweet and caring.
Sab: For me, Ann is protective of us. Luffia, she's sweet and never failed to make me smile.
Luffia: I love them because they're my sisters and they love me!
Question: What annoys you the most about your sisters?
Ann: Sab - It annoys me when we are in an argument and she has a point. I can't refute at all. Luffia - whenever she wakes me up. She would jump on my bed and slam cooking pans right above my head.
Sab: Ann - When she's being doubtful of herself. I keep telling her that she can do it, but she won't listen. Luffia - When she suggests random and weird things.
Luffia: Ann - Idiot. Sab - Dumb. Hahaha!
Question: What's your nickname that family call?
Ann: Big Baby.
Sab: Cute Angel.
Luffia: Little Devil.
Question: Who's room is a mess?
Ann: Luffia.
Sab: Luffia.
Luffia: *Silence*
Question: Who reads more?
Ann: Sab.
Sab: Me.
Luffia: Sab.
Question: Who takes longer to get ready in the morning?
Ann: Probably me because I want to sleep more and refuses to wake up.
Sab: Yeah. I think it's Ann.
Luffia: Yep. It's Ann.
Question: Who likes heels or flats?
Ann: We love flats. We just wear heels when it is required.
Sab: Yes.
Luffia: Flats for me. I hate heels but Mom says we should wear them from time to time.
Question: How much time do you spend together?
Ann: We live together and even if we're busy with our jobs, we still find time to eat together.
Sab: We probably spend a lot of time with each other than with our parents.
Luffia: Yep! I love spending time with them.
Question: What did you most fight about as children?
Ann: Food.
Sab: Food.
Luffia: Food! and we still fight about it.
===XXX===XXX===XXX===
AN: Drop a review if you can~~