"Are you excited, Captain?" I asked while munching on some snacks I made with the new chef of our ship. They were so tasty...
Luffy sat on the figurehead of the Going Merry, his hands on his knees and his beaming face turned towards me.
"Of course! The place where the Pirate King, Gold Roger was born and died..."
"The town of the beginning and the end," I nodded and sat down next to him after Luffy gave me a little space. The two of us watched the rocking waves in peaceful silence for a while. "It's wrong though."
"Huh?"
"The name, I mean," I scratched my head and gave my captain a mysterious smile. "It's Gol D. Roger."
His eyes widened a bit, then he tilted his head to the side.
"Does it change anything?"
I laughed and leaned back. The sun was exactly above us, so the light blinded my eyes for a moment.
"Not really."
"Guys! Loguetown is right ahead of us!" came the loud voice of our orange-haired navigator. Luffy and I both hopped up and jumped down to the deck. As my captain went ahead to tell Usopp and the others the big news, I remained at the front of the ship. I was really excited, to say the least. How could I not be?
I had plans in this town, after all.
"Look at me when I speak to you, Luffy! Were you even listening?" Nami grabbed his shirt and yanked him back before he could run ahead to who-knows-where.
After we docked, all of us gathered in front of the ship to talk about our plans. I knew where most of us wanted to go, but the Strawhat Pirates had new members now too, so I decided not to run up ahead just yet. I was curious where Kaya wanted to go before I could take Billie and explore the town. Nami gave us our part of the spending money, but... How do I say this…
It was damn too little. It wasn't even enough for a meal in a cheaper restaurant for the both of us!
"Um, Nami, could you give us a bit more...?"
"Shut up! I'm trying to explain things to this idiot but he won't listen!"
I turned towards Luffy and put his hat hangin from his neck on his head.
"Captain. What Nami is trying to explain to you is that, in fact, if marines or others see you walking just casually on the streets, they can now easily recognize your face. 30 000 000 belli isn't really a little amount. You are a rookie captain who exceeded all of the other East Blue pirates' bounty, so it would be good if you could be a little more... careful. 'Kay?"
The little pout told me that he really wanted to go now.
"Okay, okay! Can I go now?"
As soon as Nami's hands let go of his shirt, he disappeared. Oh well, I guess I won't go with him to the execution platform.
Though I wanted to take a look too.
I turned back towards Nami who gave the others the spending money.
"So about the..."
"Isn't that enough?" she asked while she raised her eyebrows. "What do you want to buy, a house?"
I found my most angelic smile and put it on my face.
"Just a weapon so I could protect all of our future money. Wouldn't that be wonderful, Nami-saaan?"
"As good as the bait is," she started with her arms on her hips. Then her face twisted into the cruelest, devilish, evil grin I've ever seen in my life. "I won't give you more. Unless you want to borrow some from me...?"
From the corner of my eyes I could see Zoro pause and look away at this and then it clicked. No. No, absolutely not. I won't get caught in the same trap as my fellow nakama here.
Who would want a lifelong debt for a starting weapon?
"I think I'm good for now..."
I could see Billie's unamused eyes too. Hey, not my fault if our navigator is keeping locks on the treasure!
My brother and Kaya almost started to walk away before I could speak with them, but I reached them in time.
"To where, gentleman? My lady?"
Kaya giggled and took a hold of Usopp's right hand. Oh my, such a cute little couple... My brother pointed in the direction of the shopping streets with a small smile.
"We're gonna find a few things for Kaya's first-aid kit since she will be the ship's nurse from now on. I want to look around in the gadget store..."
"I could use something offensive too, if you know what I mean," the blonde girl said. "I would like to find a long-ranged weapon maybe."
"Good choice," I smiled. "You would be suited better for long-ranged attacks when it comes to a fight. And I saw you aim and throw rocks at people with precision, so... maybe you could use that skill with something more offensive."
"You're right. I have to scare away the girls who will try to steal Usopp from me, after all," she beamed and held my brother's arms a bit tighter.
"Kaya...!"
"You absolutely have to," I nodded with whole seriousness showing on my face. "I could help with that, actually. How about a tactical meeting after the shopping tour?"
"You got yourself a deal, my dear," she winked and started to pull her flustered boyfriend towards the first stall on the street. "Later, Rea!"
"Later!" I waved and turned towards the main street. Billie jumped up to my shoulder and found herself a comfortable position too. Well.
I had things to do today.
"It's not enough, girlie," the man behind the counter said, not even looking up from the newspaper in his hands. Well excuse me if I'm poor!
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"That money you are counting for the third time now. It won't be enough for anything that's in my store. Did you plan to buy a weapon with this?" He scoffed. "You won't even find a dull blade with that amount."
My eyebrows twitched in my irritation, but I knew that already. With a sigh I put away the money in my bag and tried to think about something to do about the situation.
I couldn't possibly leave Loguetown without a new weapon. Because even if my training was slowly giving me progress, I didn't have nearly enough time to reach up to the level I'll need for the Grand Line with my raw strength alone.
I had to find something which I could use as the B plan.
An idea came to mind.
"Could you at least help me find a weapon which would suit me? If I would know what I'm looking for specifically, maybe I could gain the money for it somehow."
The shop keeper hummed and finally put down the newspaper. My eyes noticed the familiar straw hat immediately, but I quickly looked away without a reaction.
"Ah... since no one else who would pay is in the store right now, I think I can help."
My face lit up like a Christmas tree.
And so I spent the next hour trying out the whole stock of the store.
I had to find money somehow. And quick.
God knew when will Luffy decide to cause a commotion in the center of the town. And I wanted to be there too.
That ominous moment was too close to his death for me to be okay with just believing in luck and plot armor. I had to be there and get him out of trouble. Better safe than sorry.
The curious thoughts about a certain marine captain didn't have to do anything with that. Nu-uh. I wanted to be there only for my Captain. But back to my money problem...
Should I start gambling? Maybe trying out some casino games? I'm sure I saw a shady alley and a Casino sign above that door... Or should I perform on the streets? Is that allowed here? Though I don't have any instruments with me either and that would be too slow...
It was there.
I suddenly stopped in my steps. My eyes narrowed and I instantly became more focused than normal. My Observation Haki was acting up again.
Honestly, after we left the Baratie, it would act up once in a while. I didn't really know if that was my training making progress, or just a mistake of mine. Maybe I couldn't control it at all? Well... I mean I couldn't, I couldn't use it on command yet. But now...
Now I didn't feel the strong presence of Zoro, the gentle soul of Kaya or the unbreakable will of my captain.
What I felt was something akin to a thousand storms inside of a single individual, trying to roam free yet under control... Danger, to say the least.
And it came from the same alley I left just a minute ago.
I was torn up inside. Should I go back? Should I just leave? In the meantime, what do I do with Billie-
She was gone. Again. Ugh, this is my life now, right? That fur ball...
After a few seconds, I decided to... at least check it out. A thought came up, but... could that be him?
I used "Silent steps" to sneak around and go back with the least amount of noise as possible. Although, if I was right about the feeling I got from the presence, this man would know that I'm there even if I did use my technique. Still, with everything screaming "potential danger" to me, I had to be as careful as I could be.
I was surprised and not at the same time. It was him. Monkey D. Dragon. I stood in the alleyway and faced the other exit. Nobody in front of me. Heh, he really was quick as hell.
Getting behind me that fast. I didn't even saw him move from his spot after it was too late and a little dagger was piercing my clothes from the back. I gulped, but didn't dare to move... It could mean the end of my life easily. I had to act calmly.
How could I when my heart was racing this fast though?! Am I stupid or something?! Why do I enjoy fucking with world-known people again?! Thatch was at least letting me move in his presence, for God's sake!
"Who are you?" came the gruff, deep voice behind my ear. It was calm and unbothered, yet it took my breath away.
"Rea... Sir."
"Do you know who I am?"
"Yes, sir," the dagger almost started to pierce my skin. "Monkey D. Dragon. The world's most wanted man... and the leader of the Revolutionary Army."
He remained in silence for a few seconds, then asked the next question.
"Why did you try to sneak up on me?"
I felt like telling the truth. Who knows if he can tell if I lie or read minds. I didn't want to risk my life.
"Because I was stupid, sir."
He was unamused, to say the least.
"What do you want?" he asked me and to my surprise, got the little dagger away from my back. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in and slowly turned around.
And there he stood. Monkey D. Dragon, tall, menacing, serious... a true leader. A Revolutionist.
"I... A lot of things, actually."
He raised one of his eyebrows and waited for me to continue. I narrowed my eyes in concentration and slowly reached back to my bag. I searched for the thing I planned to take out and I almost immediately found it. His eyes were following my movements.
And then I handed my sketchbook to him.
"Can I get an autograph?" I asked with shining eyes and a hopeful smile.
That weapon shop could wait. In front of me stood Monkey D. Dragon. The World's Most Wanted Man. The leader of the Revolutionary Army.
A whole book of opportunities and strings that I could pull. Who would want contacts and information when they could have him instead? Fuck yeah.
It was time for me to fuck up the whole plot. Insert evil laugh here.
I fucking forgot about Luffy and Smoker in the middle of the conversation. Hell, I wasn't too late, was I? I couldn't frickin tell from here! Was that someone shouting "Die!"?
I was running towards the execution platform with all my speed and strength. If only I could reach it in time-!
Oh, well. I fucking hate myself now.
How could I miss the entire scene? Did God want me to be punished? Or did I just not deserve it? Did I say something offensive to Dragon? What the hell?
Luffy, Zoro and Sanji were running towards me. Or the ship, to be more precise. And so I missed the whole "public execution" of Buggy! How could I, oh, My Lord?
I was pissed.
With a disappointed sigh, I turned around and waited for the others to catch up to me.
"Hey, Rea!"
I worked my magic and got a pained smile on my face. I was a bit unenthusiastic. "Hey, Captain..."
"Did you find what you were looking for, Rea-chan?" Sanji tried to lift my mood just a little. It only got me down more.
"...Not exactly how I would phrase it. Though something good did come out of it."
"Not the time for chit-chat," Zoro grunted and stopped as the rest of us.
That was... a familiar jitte.
Well, there comes my happy mood! Yippee!
"Strawhat! Don't think for a single moment that you'll set sail today!"
The smoke suddenly surrounded Luffy and caught him running. Logia type Devil Fruits truly were something.
I tried to kick the jitte away before Smoker could catch up entirely. He let Luffy go for a moment to retrieve his weapon, but blocked our way at the same time.
He was here.
"Sanji, Zoro, Rea. Go ahead, I'll take care of it!"
On another thought, where was Tashigi? She was supposed to confront Zoro, wasn't she?
"You sure, Captain?" I glanced at him carefully and then I looked at the marine captain again. "He doesn't seem like the type to just let people go."
As soon as I said the words, the white-haired man charged and attacked. His right hand collided with my left leg, blocking the blow. On his other side, Luffy was the one who took the hit of his weapon.
Damn. Logia Devil Fruits truly were something.
Sanji and Zoro jumped into action too. The latter took out two of his swords and aimed for the jitte. Sanji was instantly on my side, aiming a kick at Smoker's head. The man had to jump back a little, but he was quickly moving again and using a different approach.
Smoker used hi two hands to grab both Sanji and Zoro with his smoke and throw them a few blocks away. Zoro got out of his hold in the last minute, but Sanji went flying back a little. I decided to use "Silent steps" again, mainly because I could get away without attracting any attention to me. I went back and got to him quickly.
"You okay?"
He stood up immediately and we both started to run back to the fight.
"Of course, Rea-chan!"
When we got back, Zoro was against the walls, his swords restrained by smoke. Luffy was on the ground too, trying to break free.
It wasn't looking good. But...
I came prepared.
Smoker glared at the two of us when he noticed us approaching. I slowed down and was walking slowly towards him. I put my hands in front of Sanji to tell him to stop and leave it to me. He took in a sharp breath, but nodded and let me go.
I walked up to the marine captain who was following my every movement and stopped right in front of him. Then I moved... and kicked him in between his legs.
And it didn't go through him like he expected.
So now I had a dumbfounded cook, a confused Captain, an irritated swordsman and a marine captain tossing around on the ground in pain. Oh well.
"I wanted to interfere, but I see I don't have to."
I beamed at the dark-haired man and took a hold of my nakama's shirts and hands.
"Yep. I got them covered. Always a few tricks up my sleeve."
And they certainly worked. It wasn't a bad idea to bring along a bottle of seawater, huh? Though it did ruin my shoes.
"Care to help us, sir?"
Dragon shook his head with amusement showing in his eyes and lifted his right palm. The others stared at the man with confusion.
"Have a good journey. We will meet again."
Later on the deck of our ship I sat next to the railing with a sad expression spread across my face.
Billie appeared right in front of me.
"..."
"Where the heck were you this whole time?! You little..."
"Meow."
She crawled onto my lap and that was when I realized, what exactly laid in front of me. My eyes almost fell out.
"... You little brat. I love you so much, little lady."
I took my new war hammer in my hands with excitement.