A trip to the mall was always a hassle.
Michelle promised Johan that she would take the kids out to the mall so that he could bake for a big catering gig that was tomorrow. She grumbled since she had forgotten to bring the kid's backpacks as they were running out the door. They had leashes on them so that the children wouldn't run off and cause trouble. To avoid that, she held the hands of both Linlin and Kaido while Edward walked beside her with bags in his hands. Shanks was pushing Luffy's stroller, said baby was babbling with the red head boy.
"You lied to us!" Kaido said, throwing a small fit. "I thought we were going to have a fun day at the mall, but all we did was clothes shopping!"
"You kids outgrew a summer's worth of clothes!" Michelle retorted back, tugging the muscled boy away from the fountain. "Linlin needed new shoes, Luffy a change of bibs, and Shanks managed to tear up his dress pants last week at the community function in the park."
Shanks covered his face in sheer embarrassment. "Not my problem I got pushed into a tree by Kaido during tag."
"I had fun! I got two new shoes!" Linlin said proudly.
"Well since most of you were well-behaved, let's do one fun thing before we leave." Michelle relented, stopping in front of a directory. "Where should we go?"
"Let's go to Cupcake World! I wanna try all those delicious pastries!" Linlin was always craving for sweets.
"No way! I wanna go to the play center and take over the climbing tower!" Kaido demanded, loving the feeling of domination over the other kids.
"How about the food court? I could use some juice." Shanks put out, getting irritated by all the walking they had done.
"The bookstore would be nice." Edward said, readjusting the bags in his hands. "I just want a quiet place."
Michelle sighed, knowing that there was no clear winner when it came to this. Sucking noises were heard as baby Luffy pointed at a nearby store. It was a Stuff N' Plush, a place where kids could make their own stuff animal. This was quiet, cute, and would allow her to take some pictures!
"For once, we'll do what Luffy wants." She gestures the kids towards the large plush store. "This is a store where you can make your own stuff friend. You may all have one and stay where I can see you."
Kaido rolled his eyes. "No offense, but we are way too old for-!" He paused before seeing a black and grey pteranodon. "Stupid….plush….animals…"
"Ooh! I want that bear!" Linlin ran off to a rather large bear with a misshapen mouth.
"Check out that panther! He looks fierce!" Shanks said, pointing it out.
"This is a cute store, but I think I'll be fine." Edward said, staring longingly at a blue phoenix. "But since you insist…"
Michelle chuckled at her kids going to stuff their animals. She stared down at Luffy who was making grabby hands at a green tiger with a cut on its face. "You want that one sweetie? I can grab him for you."
Luffy clapped his small hands happily as she took the small plush and stuffed it for him. Her youngest waited eagerly for when she was done. When the tiger was fully stuffed, she let him hold the tiger and watched in cute awe as he made fighting gestures his paws.
"Mama, I want you to meet Katakuri!" Linlin came over with the bear with the misshapen mouth who was now wearing a rather large scarf and vest. "He's gonna be my loyal child who can…um…see the future!"
"Oh? He's your son huh? Does that make me a grandma now?" Michelle patted the bear on his head. "Nice to meet you Katakuri."
"Be nice to your grandma Katakuri or else she'll punish you!" Linlin warned her plushie, making him nod.
Michelle giggled at this, then saw Kaido come over with a red blushing face. "And whose your little friend?"
"King. His name is King and he is my subordinate of my great army!" Kaido showcased his pteranodon with a masked face. "He does what he wants on my orders and he's a stern guy."
Michelle hummed, examining the dinosaur. "I could take him. If he's part of your group, then he'll be easy to beat."
Kaido growled, making King fly. "When you least suspect it, he will strike you down!"
"Sure…I'll make sure he doesn't." Michelle joked, winking. "Now who did you bring to the party Shanks?"
Shanks came over with a black panther with a blue spotted cloak. "Um…this is Benn, my first mate." He grinned, hugging the panther. "I just wanted to make a fun friend who can be my moral compass."
"Oh thank goodness, someone to keep Shanks on track." Michelle leaned over and gave Benn a hug. "Keep him safe."
Shanks laughed, showing Luffy his new friend, making the baby laugh loud. Michelle noticed that Linlin was chatting with Kaido as they made their plushies chat too. A tug on her pants made her turn to see Edward with a big plush blue phoenix with glasses on his head.
"This is Marco, my new companion. He's a doctor because his flames can heal people." Edward handed him over to Michelle. "He also likes warm hugs."
Michelle laughed, giving the phoenix a big hug. She swore she felt her heart warm up from the close contact. Handing him back Marco, she saw Luffy wrapping a small bandana on his tiger's head. "Say, what should we name Luffy's new friend?"
"Hmm….I dunno, the tiger looks weird." Linlin said, helping Luffy tie the bandana.
"Maybe he needs a strong name because he is an apex predator." Kaido examined the plush.
"Call him Stripes or whatever." Shanks placed his hat on Luffy's head. "Doesn't have to be a big deal."
Edward thought for a second before snapping his fingers. "Let's call him Zoro after that sword guy we saw on t.v!"
Luffy squealed happily at that name, hugging his tiger on the neck. Michelle gave Edward a smile, nodding.
"Great choice Edward. Now that everyone has a friend, let's go pay for them."
"Oh my, I didn't know we would be having guest tonight. Should I have made more dinner?"
That night at dinner, the kids all had their plushies sit at the table with them. Johan's catering gig went off to a big success and made lasagna, salad, and breadsticks for dinner. The kids made a small table for the plushies to eat at while they sat at the big table.
Linlin nodded, taking a bite of her breadstick. "Yeah papa, Katakuri wanted to eat with his mom. So I let him sit at the table."
"Benn wouldn't let me come alone." Shanks agreed, sipping his grape juice.
Kaido coughed to himself, turning away. "As the leader of my group, I have to feed my subordinates. King was allowed to eat there too." He ate a big portion of his pasta. "He's got to build strength."
Johan smiled at his kids being all attached to their plushies. "And I guess Edward just likes having Marco on his head?"
Edward blinked, not even noticing that Marco was back on his head. "How did he even get there?"
Michelle came into the room, Zoro in hand. "Sorry it took so long. I lost Zoro in the car and then misplaced him in the shopping bags." He put Zoro in the chair next to King. "Now don't hurt King and try not to get pasta sauce on you. Luffy is a messy eater." She then sat down at the table and proceeded to wolf down her salad.
Luffy leaned over on his high chair and waved at Zoro. To the untrained eye, Zoro appeared to be smiling at him.
Next Time: Linlin Takes The Cake!