Everyday life with the Straw Hats

Mariejois Arc: part 4: start of something special

Author's notes: sorry it's been so long since the last chapter, I've been busy with various things and I had a bit of writers block. I'm going to try to get more chapters out hopefully sooner rather than later. I hope you all enjoy this new chapter and I would greatly appreciate any comments or reviews. They mean a lot to me.

Luffy and Miia were on their way to go down to the butcher shop, Nami gave Luffy one of their maps of the city that was originally reserved for Zoro.

The weather was warm, there was a slight breeze that felt great this time of year. Luffy was marching proudly down the street eagerly waiting for his fresh meat he was going to buy at the butcher shop. Miia was slithering beside Luffy, looking at the scenery as they walked. She then looked at Luffy. "Excuse me, but I don't think I was properly introduced to you at the house. I heard your name was Luffy, is that correct?"

Luffy smiled at her brightly, "Yeah! Luffy is my name, and one day I'm going to be king of the...actually, considering my friends and I are under contract, it probably would be best if I told you that another time." Luffy's grin lowered slightly, because he always loved declaring his future role as Pirate King. But this was not the time or place to declare being the future Pirate King, especially on Mariejois.

Miia looked at him in curiosity, but decided to overlook what he was about to say. "If it's important not to say, then I understand. Anyway, my name is Miia, and this is my first time traveling outside of my home town." Luffy and Miia looked at each other for a few moments then Luffy gave her his signature smile. Miia smiled back at him, feeling at ease in his presence. As if Luffy's cheerful expression was able to make all of her anxieties go away. Why did she feel drawn to him even though they just met? Perhaps Luffy just has that effect on people.

After a few more minutes of walking down the streets of the city, Luffy noticed a sign on the front of a small building, it was labeled Chuck's prime meats.

"There it is!" Luffy shouted in excitement, drool already starting to form in his mouth, he could already tell the meat was going to be great from the smell alone.

Miia smiled at Luffy's over excitement, she thought that it was kind of cute the way he got excited for something as simple as a butcher shop.

After ten minutes of waiting for the butcher to cook the amount of food that Luffy ordered, Luffy and Miia were on their way back to the house. Luffy was eating a drumstick as they walked and Miia was eating a complimentary biscuit that came with their food.

"You sure do like food, don't you Luffy?" Miia smiled at him as they walked down the street that led them back to the house.

"You bet! Meat is my favorite kind of food, I'll eat any kind! As long as it tastes good." Luffy said, clearly happy now that his hunger was satisfied. A few moments later, 3 guys walked out of an alleyway and noticed Luffy and Miia.

"What the Hell is that thing?!" the first guy said, looking at Miia in disgust.

"I think it's a snake lady, she looks so weird with that long tail of hers! Ha ha ha." The second guy said, laughing at the sight of Miia.

The third guy looked grossed out and covered his mouth. "So gross, it's hideous! Somebody get rid of that thing!"

They were all taunting her in their own juvenile way. Miia started to get teary eyed, and lowered her head in embarrassment.

"Why do people have to treat me this way?" Miia thought to herself, trying to fight back tears. "I was having such a good day today, I met someone who accepted me for who I was." Miia looked up at Luffy, she was happy that at least he saw her as a normal girl. "And now these guys came out of nowhere and are trying to ruin it." Miia was looking down at the ground, trying to hide her tears from Luffy. Luffy, on the other hand, looked angry, he had a very stern look on his face, the kind he would have right before he got super serious. Luffy walked up to the 3 street thugs in complete silence. He didn't say a word until he was right in front of them.

Luffy pulled back his hat and looked them in the eye. And said, "Do you realize what you did?"

The first street thug says "What's your problem? Dude, get lost!"

Luffy takes a breath, then repeats "do you realize what you did?" this time, Luffy said it more firmly.

"Do you know who you're dealing with? We're the street badgers! You don't want to mess with us!" the second thug stated. He was leaning in towards Luffy.

Luffy sighed, took off his hat and sat it on the ground. "I tried to ask you politely. But you wouldn't listen." Luffy said, a devious smile grew on his face as he cracked his knuckles. "I'll tell you what you did…"

Luffy pulled back his right fist and quickly punched the second thug in the face with all his might. "YOU MADE MIIA CRY!" the thug fell on the ground, rolling in pain.

Before the other two thugs could react, Luffy kicked the first one in the stomach which knocked him to the ground, and the last guy tried to rush Luffy. Luffy responded by ramming his own head against the him, but Luffy coated his head in armament Haki to deal twice the damage.

In a matter of minutes, all three guys were lying helplessly on the ground. Luffy picked up his hat, dusted it off, and put it back on his head.

Miia looked shocked at what just happened, she looked at Luffy in astonishment and asked "Why did you do that?"

Luffy gave her a big smile and said "it's because they hurt your feelings and made you cry. I won't let anybody make my friends cry!" Luffy said it in such a way that was so pure and genuine, with a child-like innocence to his words. Luffy grabbed the bags of meat and they started walking back to the house with no more unpleasant interruptions.

Miia followed closely behind Luffy, she smiled at him and blushed "thank you for caring about me…Darling."