I actually wake up when I feel that there's something crushing me. Still half awake, I gasp out and kick the thing off. It hits the floor with a loud crash and a familiar yelp. Curious as to what the random mass and voice are, I lean over the bed to look.

Immediately, I sigh.

Luffy.

"Jeez, Luffy, you should know that your body's bigger and heavier than mine..." I tell him as I sit up. Luffy shots up; his face is set in a defensive pout.

"Well, if you weren't a heavy sleeper, I wouldn't have to sit on you!"

An angry vein pops on my forehead. I smile sweetly at him and pull his cheeks to the length at which only a rubber man would consider as normal.

"You got a problem with me being a heavy sleeper?" I ask, still smiling and eyes staring straight at him. Luffy pales and the temperature in the room become a little cold.

Luffy quickly shakes his head. My smiling fading, I stretch his cheeks even wider and let go. It makes a loud 'Smack!' which also sends him stumbling backwards because of the recoil. I scratch the back of my head and sigh heavily as I begin to get out of bed. As I stretch out, Luffy stands up and childishly rubs his cheeks. I laugh at his expressions while Luffy pouts and points at me accusingly.

"What are you laughing for?! That hurts, you know!" He shouts at me. I stop laughing and look him in the eye.

"So? If you want to become a pirate, you should put up with such a little injury, right?" Luffy flinches and looks down. Damn, I don't mean to make him feel bad...

As if my thoughts make him feel better, Luffy perked up with a bright smile. "You're right! I shouldn't complain about a little injury!"

I sigh and smile at that; luckily he doesn't feel down. It's quite the opposite, actually. I chuckle in amusement.

"That's the spirit. Now let's go down and eat, I'm starving." I say as I pull myself out from the bed. I walk out of my room with Luffy trailing behind.

We hop up on our stools and Makino greets us, before placing two plates of food on the table with a smile. Luffy and I gobble up our food as quickly as possible, in an unofficial competition to see who could eat the most food.

After a few minutes, our little 'competition' is over, with Luffy being the winner, of course. Curse him and his bottomless stomach. I guessed that is to be expected from a rubber-boy, or a 'D.' in general. Man, now I'm ultra-full...

Back at home, mom would be angry if I ate too much. Maybe because my weight would increase and I actually would barely move at all from one spot for hours because I'm too busy playing with my laptop. Apparently Luffy and Makino don't care at all, to my satisfaction.

Or maybe because Luffy is…well, Luffy. And Makino probably just thinks that I'm still a growing kid, so I gotta eat plenty so that I get stronger.

"Luffy, have you taken a bath?" I ask him, patting my bulging stomach. He shakes his head. I chuckle evilly and allow my bangs to shadow my eyes. Luffy gulps.

"Let's take a bath together then!" I ordered, "Come on!" I grab his hand and jump off the stool, my fear of falling gone. Being a rubber-boy, Luffy's arm simply stretches. Of course...

"What?! No way!" He protests as he uses his other arm to cling over the table.

"Come. Now." I say, with a sweet smile and eyes looking straight at him.

Luffy gulps again and quickly jumps off the stool, following my words. Makino giggles at my antics. Ignoring her, I allow my 'creepy' face to fade.

"Now let's go. You stink, Luf'," I inform him bluntly, pulling him along to the bathroom.

When we walk in, I turn on the warm water. Luffy and I strip our clothes and throw them in the basket. I hear a splash and turn to see that my idiotic-but-cute friend has already jumped in. I face palmed but also can only look at him fondly.

Thankfully my head already healed up with only a band aid as evidence of there ever being an injury.

We clean each other's backs and wash off. After drying and dressing up, Luffy and I ran out. I grinned and poked Luffy.

"Bet I'll get to Makino first!" I announce, already running. With a huge grin, Luffy accepts the challenge and sprints after me. We trip over each other and we both laugh as we push ourselves up. But as soon as we realize that there are people in the bar, we fall silent.

It's the bandits from yesterday.

We quickly walked towards Makino. She looks at us, her eyes heavy with fear, but also a warning. That, of course, went unnoticed by Luffy. Makino is saying something to me, but her words are drowned out by Luffy's. He's standing next to the bandits, his chin held high in childish pride.

"You're the bandits from yesterday! You, apologize now!" Luffy demands while pointing at the leader, Higuma. Eyebrows rose as Higuma turns to face Luffy.

"What do you mean, kid? We just came here to have a drink. Why should we have to apologize?" The bandit asks with a mocking tone and smirk. Man, how badly I wanted to kick that disgusting face of his… Unfortunately, Makino is holding me, so I can't.

"You bastard! Apologize now!" Luffy demands of him again, eyes looking straight at the ugly bandit.

I hold down a giggle, amused. But Higuma, however, was not. A vein pops on his head. And then… I swear, if I blinked, I would've missed it. Higuma snatches the boy and walks out of the bar, followed by the rest of the bandits.

"No! Luffy!" I struggle against Makino's grip and run after him, ignoring Makino's call.

Soon after, I find Luffy and the bandits near the docks. I tackle one of the bandits, making the man stumble and stares at me in shock. After a second, I grab his arm and bite down, hard. My teeth are unusually sharp. And as my dad told me, is equivalent to the bite of a wolf.

The guy screeches in pain and flails his arm around, trying to shake me off. His effort is to no avail, as I'm still attached to his arm. The more he swings, the harder and more painful my jaw grip becomes.

"Eris!" I hear Luffy yell, but I don't care and just close my eyes. I may be reckless, but I won't attack unless I have to. For instance, right now.

Something warm and slightly salty fills my mouth. I quickly release my killer hold and spit out the liquid. It is red. Oh, gross its blood! I repeatedly spit the excess liquid out of my mouth. I look at the man's still-bleeding arm and glare at him with an animalistic growl.

"You brat!" Higuma tries to punch me, but I somehow can see the movement he's going to make that I quickly sidestep. As his arm passes right in front of my mouth, I chomp him harder than the guy I just bit. He screeches and pushes my head to let go but I bite harder (if that was possible) until I taste blood again.

I let go and spit it toward his face, and guess what, right into his eye. That's so disgusting...

Before I can even blink, a foot slams into my back, shoving me roughly in the ground. I know without looking that it's Higuma trapping me. I wince at the throbbing in my back.

Then, hands grab my arms and pull backwards hard. I screech in pain as the pressure on my back increases and my arms are nearly pulled out of their sockets.

"Stop it!" I hear Makino yell. The pressure is decreasing, but it's still there.

"Whatever they did, I'll pay you just to leave them alone." I recognize the voice as the mayor, Wood Slap. Turning my head, I confirm my theory. The mayor and teary barmaid are standing a couple meters away, begging for the bandits to spare Luffy and me, but Higuma laughs.

"No, this kid pissed me off, and the other one will be fun to kill. I'll teach it not to be stupid for attacking me." Did he just call me an 'it'? Despite the position I'm in, I decide I will really kill the damn bandit for not only attacking Luffy, but also insulting Shanks!

"You fucking bandits!" I scream, enraged. My voice is muffled against the ground, but I still get my point across. "You're gonna go straight to hell!"

Crack!

I scream in pain, tears blurring my vision. That damn bandit! Higuma pulls my arms even harder, and I don't have to be a doctor to know that I'm definitely NOT okay!

"Stop it! Don't hurt Eris!" Luffy yelled, only to get kicked by the rest of the bandits. It hurts so much; I think my back and arms are going to break. I have never experienced a pain as intense as this; it hurts so much!

Just when I think I'm going to black out, I hear a deadly calm voice.

"So that's why nobody was at the bar."

Shanks!

Looking up, I observe Shanks gazing softly at Luffy and me, and then glaring at the bandits. Apparently Shanks thinks this is the time to be joking, because he says to Luffy in a low voice, that he thought his punches were as strong as pistols.

I chuckle softly. Man, even in a time like this, he's still making jokes and all calm. Typical Shanks.

"Shut up!" Luffy yells. Shanks then turns to look at me with a grin before narrowing his eyes at Higuma, who is laughing again.

"Oh, it's those filthy pirates!"

I growl loudly. He is still insulting Shanks, dammit!

The red-haired pirate turns serious again, his eyes shadowed by Luffy's soon-to-be straw hat.

"I don't care if you spill booze on me or insult me," He starts. Shanks' words send chills down my spine. He's that intimidating. "Hell, even if you spit on me I won't care." Shanks looks up, his eyes wide in a glare that can kill. His voice becomes louder. "But if you harm my friends, I can't forgive you!" I smile weakly, the pain draining the energy out of my body.

Higuma must've been stupid or really dense, because he apparently didn't hear the warning in Shanks' voice. As if to answer the words, Higuma increases the pressure with his foot and arms. I only have enough energy to wince and groan in pain.

"Forgive me?" Higuma sneers, "Ha! As if I'm scared by some nobody! I can kill you!" A random bandit pulls a gun to Shanks temple; my eyes widens. Shanks stood there silently, his eyes shadowed even more.

"Now that you've drawn your pistol, are you willing to use it?" Shanks asks, his voice a few octaves lower and the bandit stared at him in confusion.

"Huh? …What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that guns aren't for threats, they're for actions." A second later, as if on cue, Lucky Roo shoots the bandit point-blank, ripping meat casually off a bone as if the violence isn't anything new. The bandits freak out; Higuma silently increases my trial. Another crack. I try my best not to cry, because even if you cry, the torturer is never going to be merciful.

"That was dirty!" One of the bandits protests, staring at his accomplice in shock and Shanks chuckles.

"We aren't saints; we're pirates."

"I got this captain," Benn growls. He pulls out his gun. Above me, Higuma yells out for Benn to stop.

I choke out a gasp and a loud grunt, the pain so great I seriously thought I'm gonna die. Great, I muse begrudgingly. I just got here and now I'm going to die? Man, the goddess of fate isn't really on my side this time around…

Benn stops. And with a glare from Shanks, Higuma panics even more and pulls on my arms even harder.

CRACK

My eyes almost bulge out of the sockets and I screech out as loud as I can. Tears fill my eyes but I shut them tightly and start breathing heavily. Higuma releases my arms that I'm pretty sure just pulled out from their sockets. Black dots dance in front of my eyes. Then I passed out.

.

.

.

.

I wake up in the arms of Yasopp. I squinted my eyes and saw that we're in an infirmary. I don't know where, but it doesn't look like the one in town, so I figure it's the one in the Red Force. I wince as both of my arms pulse in pain.

"Wh-where's Luffy?" I croak, my voice hoarse. "And Shanks? Are they alright?" Yasopp glances at me in surprise, but looks at me fondly.

"You're in the worst condition, and yet you're still worried about others... You're different from the others, aren't you?" He turns his head. I ignored him and tried to sit up, but failed as I cry out in pain and Yasopp turned his head to look at me.

"Don't do that." He tells me in a scolding tone.

I pout. I know Shanks and Luffy will be alright, but I'm still worried! Shanks lost his arm in this scene!

Yasopp is rendered defenseless by my expression. He sighs.

"Fine. After Higuma let you go, he grabbed Luffy and used a smoke bomb to escape to the ocean, taking Luffy with him." My eyes widened, even though I already knew this. "But Shanks went after him. Don't worry. Luffy will be back in no time." I sigh and nod.

The door opens, conveniently waiting until our conversation is over to do so. A doctor comes in.

"Okay, I'm ready to fix your arms, Eris." He says as he approaches me.

I nod, a bit nervous. I never broke any part of my bones before. I heard from someone that the process didn't hurt that bad, but being a kid, my pain tolerance is much lower and I sometimes hate pain, especially sharp pain.

But! I need to increase my tolerance because staying with Luffy means I'm in for a lifetime of pain. It's going to be a journey…

Yasopp seems to notice because he starts talking to me about his son Usopp again as a distraction. The sniper continues talking about Usopp and similar subjects while I just listen and hum and nod in return. While he talks, the doctor casts on both of my forearms. It's kind of heavy, but bearable.

I only winced a little by the time he was done as Yasopp finally finished telling me all about Usopp. The ends of the casts wrapped around my palms. I raise an eyebrow at the color: bright Shanks-esque red. The doctor smirks.

"Shanks wanted it that way!" He insists, raising his hands up in a mock-defence. I laugh, but it reminds me of Shanks, so I'm fine with it. As I quiet down and after the doctor put on arm braces for both of my arms, we heard a random crew member announce that Shanks and Luffy are back.

I jump down from Yasopp's arms and ran, energized with the prospect of seeing Luffy and Shanks. Luffy is on Shanks' lap with his eyes closed; they're both dripping wet. I see Luffy is breathing and I sigh out in relief. Good, he's okay. I turn to look at Shanks; he's okay too, except for his arm.

Tears already filled my eyes before I knew it and sob softly. I can't stand looking at people who are injured; it makes me wince, especially if it's because of me. Shanks smile at me, like 'no worries, Eris', but it looks blurry because of my tears. Shanks looks above my head and I turn around to see Benn and the doctor approaching slowly. Benn takes Luffy and the doctor goes right to work, checking on Shanks' new stump-of-an-arm with a serious and hardened face.

I suck in the stupid snot that slowly comes out from my nostrils and shake my head. Come on Eris, you're stronger than this! You're a teenager, don't be such a baby! I berated myself.

"Hey Eris, you okay?" Shanks asks calmly, as if everything is okay and that he hadn't had his arm bitten off just minutes ago.

Anger rises in me. How dare he be concerned about me when he should be concerned about himself!

"I should ask you that!" I retorted at him. Said pirate chuckles and pats the wood flooring across him with his only remaining hand. I walk over and sit down slowly.

"Luffy told me that you tried fighting those bandits and that you were strong! I'm proud of you," He says with a proud smile.

"It's not like it did anything," I mumble, slightly embarrassed. "I just bit them, that's all!" Shanks chuckles and shrugs.

"You're a kid and you were scared." He concludes. I glare at him but decide to let it go. It's pointless to argue with him, who is braver and stronger than me. Plus he's a lot older than me, physically and mentally. I'm just, whether I like it or not, a snotty kid.

"Yeah, you're older and braver than me, plus you're a pirate. Something like this is probably common to you, right?" I point out.

Shanks tries to stand up, but the doctor shoves him down with a stiff reprimand. Shanks just sticks his tongue out like a kid and laughs again.

"You really are a smart kid!" He exclaims, ruffling my hair and roaring out a laugh with such gusto that the doctor scolds him again. I frowned, but didn't comment. Yet.

"Old man," I insult quietly. Shanks smirks as he moves his upper body closer to me. The doctor glares at his captain, but then eventually gives up.

"What was that?"

"You heard me, old man."

With a mischievous grin, Shanks grazes my sides with his fingers.

I yelp. Now, I'm actually not a ticklish person, but me in a younger body? Yeah, I have zero invincibility. Unveiling my weakness, Shanks tickles my sides. I keep yelping like a demented puppy, but stay still until the doctor orders Shanks to come with him and tell me to go rest at the sickbay.

I just nod at the doctor's order and follow Yasopp's steps as he escorted me to the sickbay while both Shanks and the doctor went somewhere. Maybe the doctor needs to operate on the stump and cut it off right at the socket of the bone, so it won't give Shanks any bad effect and it came off clean for the cut to heal up soon.

Yasopp helps me onto the bed right next to Luffy's and I just lay down on the bed, staring onto the ceiling. I hear Yasopp said that Luffy's injuries are just scratches and slight drowning, but he's alright nonetheless. I hope both Shanks and Luffy will get well soon. The same could be hoped for my arms.

Damn that bandit. May hell invite him for dinner and may he never return.

(Posted on January 21st, 2022)