HOLAA913: We shall see very soon.
Quite a lot of Sanji bashing in this chapter. Beware!
It was early one morning when Sanji had made something too soon, and the sun was barely up on the ocean's horizon. He walked down to the men's room and woke them up, telling them breakfast was now or never. Usopp and Chopper got up immediately and ran to the table.
He even went to knock on the girl's hatch. It took a little while for Nami to open the hatch, sleepy. He apologized and told her he'd miscalculated the time it took to make the main breakfast dish.
Lastly was Luffy and Zoro's room. When he knocked on the door, no one answered. He knocked again, but still no one answered. So he tried the doorknob, and it wasn't locked. He was somewhat worried since they always kept the door locked at night. He opened the door to see the couple both naked under blankets, thankfully covered where it counted.
Sanji clenched his jaw and closed the door. He was furious. He knew it didn't matter what he thought, but Luffy was underage and not even human. He didn't think about the fact marimo got it before he did.
He banged on the door harshly, shouting food was ready, and left for the kitchen, where everyone was waiting. He walked in angrily.
"What's wrong?" Nami asked. He looked very upset.
"Nothing," Sanji said, somewhat sharply.
Robin started to get a bad feeling in her gut. She watched Sanji as the last members of the crew walked through the door. Luffy was holding his hand, looking sleepy. She always got exhausted for a while after they made love. It frustrated her sometimes. But it was rare, so a sleepy morning was fine once in a while. Sanji scowled as he looked away from them. Robin's bad feeling got more intense.
Then it clicked. Sanji had left to get up Luffy and Zoro. Luffy was sleepy, like she always was after they had sex. And Luffy and Zoro didn't put their clothes back on after their activities. Sanji saw them. Her eyes widened.
"Luffy, why don't you go take a bath? You look like you need one," Robin said hurriedly. Sanji was going to blow up. Robin didn't want Luffy to be in the room when it happened. Luffy looked at her in question.
But it's breakfast, she wrote, confused.
"Yes, but you look like you need a bath, honey," Robin said. She'd called Luffy honey before, whenever she was concerned about her. Nami recognized this, and it clicked when she looked to Robin.
"Yeah, Luffy! Go take a bath," Nami said urgently.
Do I smell bad? Luffy asked. She didn't really wanna take a bath right now. She wanted to stay with Zoro, and both of them hadn't been able to fit in the tub too well.
"Yes!" Nami said. Luffy pouted, embarrassed. But as she started to get up, there was no point because Sanji coldly said, "You gonna go fuck with Marimo in the bathtub, too?"
Everyone at the table stopped what they were doing. Chopper and Usopp looked shocked. Zoro looked angry and Luffy looked thoroughly embarrassed.
"Sanji!" Robin scolded. But Sanji just turned around and stared down at them from the kitchen.
"That's none of your business, dart-brow!" Zoro exclaimed angrily.
"Is that why Luffy's so sleepy? You wore her out last night?" Robin stood up and walked to Sanji, slapping him across the face.
"Stop it," she commanded. But Sanji was angry at Zoro, and his anger was greater than his shock at Robin-chan slapping him. He also disobeyed a direct order from his captain.
"She's under age!" Sanji said. That was the first excuse that came to his mind. Luffy was too young to have sex with Zoro!
"Who the fuck cares?! We're pirates, you think we give a damn?! Luffy is an adult at her home!" Zoro spat. Luffy was curling up her legs and lowering her head. Why was Sanji so upset? It's not like they hurt anything by being intimate. Luffy couldn't get pregnant anyways.
But what he said next had Luffy sprinting out of the room. "She's not even human!" No one had been able to process Luffy's sudden absence before they heard the door to the storage slam shut.
Both girls got up and ran after her. But the hatch was locked. Robin attempted to unlock it from the inside. When she looked into the room by blooming an eye on the wall, she sighed in sadness. There were three concrete blockades blocking the stairs. And, even worse, there was a cement block all around Luffy's old bed. Barbed wire was wrapped around it.
"Damn it!" Robin shouted. Nami, too, was very upset. But not as upset as she knew Luffy was. Both women stormed out of the storage room and back into the galley. Zoro and Sanji were in the middle of a fist fight, not even using their specialties. Usopp was shocked, unnerved by everything going on. He wasn't even focused on the fact that Luffy and Zoro had been having sex.
Chopper looked at the door sadly, hearing Luffy sobbing from below. "You made her cry, Sanji!" Chopper shouted angrily. No one had seen Luffy cry except for when she was emotional and in pain during her period. Zoro punched Sanji one more time before running out of the room and to the hatch. The others followed.
When Zoro attempted to open the hatch, there was a block of cement blocking his way. He growled in frustration. It was impossible to destroy anything Luffy created.
"She's completely isolated herself. Her bed is surrounded by a box of concrete. There is barbed wire wrapped around it as well."
Luffy cried in the dark of her cell. She was trash. Not even human. Why would anyone want her in the first place? She was tiny, and couldn't even talk like a normal person could. All she was good for for this crew was creating resources for them.
She wasn't like any of them. At least Chopper was part human. Luffy was completely another species. Stupid and useless.
Part of Luffy, the always happy part, was at war with her horrible thoughts. Zoro loves her! He asked her to come because he loves her! Sanji was just being mean!
But Sanji was right. She was different. She could never be one of them.
Who cares?! Chopper is different! Everyone is different in their own way! Just ignore what he said!
Luffy was lost.
-x-
Everyone hated Sanji for what he did. How he made Luffy feel. Made her so upset she barricaded herself in a tiny cell, in the dark. How he'd made Luffy cry. And that was all for what? What did he expect would happen if he confronted them? That they'd stop? No one ate the food he'd made, and he was the only one left in the galley. All of the others were either outside the hatch, or outside the storage room.
Zoro hated not being able to go down there and help her. He didn't want her to feel alone. And he knew the only person Luffy would want to see in that moment was far away. Ace.
The swordsman stood up and walked to their room on the ship to pick up Luffy's family photo and brought it back to the storage room. "Please tell her I have her picture of Ace. That I won't touch her if she doesn't want me to. And I'll leave if she wants me to."
So Robin did.
Luffy was thinking about Ace. It would be nice to look at his face. Oh what he would do to Sanji for making her cry her eyes out. But she didn't want to punish Sanji. She didn't want to go near him ever again. She didn't want his cooking. She wanted him to go far away and stop ruining everything. Everyone had been so happy! Why'd he ruin it? Was she overreacting?
When Robin's mouth appeared on the wall of her cell, telling her that Zoro had a picture of Ace if she wanted it, she came out of her little prison. She walked to the first concrete wall she'd made, and dissolved it. Then she created a board and pen and wrote Leave picture here, getting rid of the concrete on the hatch. She unlocked it and ran back down the stairs, a wall back up in seconds.
When the hatch unlocked, Zoro hurriedly opened it, only to see a note instead of Luffy herself. He put the framed photo down gently and closed the hatch behind him.
Luffy held the happy photo up above her as she laid on her back, no longer crying. Just feeling blank and tired. So tired. As she held the framed picture, she drifted off to sleep.
Robin, Nami and Zoro sat in the storage room around the blocked off hatch, all of them quiet. Poor Luffy. Finally, Zoro spoke. "What are you going to do about this?" he asked Robin flatly.
She sighed. She honestly didn't know. "I don't know…"
"If Luffy goes, I go too." Then they were silent again.
Sanji was at the front of the ship, angrily smoking a cigarette. He hated himself. He'd been hurting Luffy just because he didn't like mosshead. Sanji and Zoro hated each other, and that was fine, but with Luffy it was different. She didn't like fighting or arguing with crew members in the first place. And she hadn't been the one to cause any problems with Sanji. He'd been passive aggressive with his comments. Or just plain insulting her.
He didn't know how he'd fix this. He'd already apologized to her multiple times, so what would one more matter if all of his other apologies now meant nothing?
And he'd made Luffy cry. That was unforgivable.
It was nighttime by the time Luffy woke up. She'd missed three meals, and was very hungry. But she didn't want to go back into the galley. She didn't want to eat Sanji's food anymore. If she ate enough, she knew her own food would make her full. It would have to be a lot of food though. What a mess this was.
Luffy really needed to use the bathroom, so she made a door in her concrete cell and walked up the stairs and to the hatch, both blockades now gone. She knew at least one person would be waiting out there. She didn't know if she wanted company at the moment.
She slowly opened the hatch to see Zoro was the only one there. He was asleep, leaning against the wall next to the hatch and bathroom door. She gave a small smile. Then she quietly opened and closed the bathroom door behind her. She contemplated taking a bath, but she now knew Robin and Nami were just trying to get her out of the room so she wouldn't hear the mean things Sanji would say. They were good friends.
Zoro heard the toilet flush and opened his eyes and saw the hatch was open. But he pretended to go back to sleep. If Luffy didn't want to talk to him, he wouldn't put her in a situation she'd feel she needed to.
The little nymph walked out of the bathroom and stared at Zoro for a moment. He was a terrible pretender. It was clear he was faking due to the movement behind his eyelids. But she was happy he was trying to give her the space if she still wanted it.
But she didn't. She wanted a big, warm hug. She walked the few feet to him and wrapped her small arms around his shoulders. His eyes opened and he changed his position so she could fit in his lap, chest to chest. She kept her face against his chest so he couldn't look at her red face and silent tears.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked quietly, rubbing her back with both hands. She shook her head no. She just wanted to sit with him for a while. They sat like that for fifteen minutes, both not saying anything or writing. Zoro heard her stomach growl, but she just tightened her arms around him minutely. He was pretty hungry, too.
"Do you want to go eat? Robin is making dinner tonight. Some of us don't want his cooking for a while. Mostly me, Chopper and you. Chopper is very upset with dart-brow because he hurt your feelings so badly.
"I love you not being a human. I wouldn't want you any other way than a nymph. I love how small you are, and how quiet so it can be peaceful with you. Human women are overrated honestly. They can't bring joy to everyone, even by speaking, like how you do. Everyone loves you here, and no one will put up with that asshole hurting you so badly. Robin doesn't know what to do about this situation.
"We almost got rid of him because of how terribly he and I got along in the beginning, so him doing this kind of stuff is just being hypocritical. Don't worry about having to leave, because even if you did, I'd go with you. I'd leave this crew to continue to be with you. You'll never be alone. Even if you went back to living with the other nymphs, I'd buy or rent someplace so I could see you everyday. Because you're worth everything."
Luffy gave a single sniffle and started crying quietly against him. He didn't force her to look at him, and let her cry as he continued to rub her back gently.
Robin walked into the storage room to see if Luffy was out yet when she saw the girl and Zoro. She was clearly crying, and Zoro was just quiet, running his hands on her comfortingly.
"Hey Zoro, Luffy, dinner is ready. I made it myself tonight. I think Nami and I will be cooking for you for a while, Luffy. It's unfair to have you be near Sanji at the moment because of what he's done. Come up when you're ready. You must be very hungry," Robin explained softly, giving the girl a smile though she wasn't looking at her. Robin left and the storage room door closed gently behind her.
Luffy pulled away and sniffled her slightly runny nose. What do Chopper and Usopp think? She wrote. Were they grossed out? Did they not approve?
"Usopp isn't disgusted or anything, his face just turned bright red after he'd processed what dart-brow'd said. Chopper doesn't actually seem to care. He even told me that he knew we were doing something because of the smell of pheromones. He just thinks of it as a reproduction act, even though we couldn't reproduce even if we wanted to. So, dart-brow failed at whatever he was trying to do. I think he probably didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just don't know anymore…"
Luffy was glad no one thought she was gross or that her and Zoro being intimate was wrong. Sanji was the only one bothered. But was it really because she wasn't human? Zoro always said that Sanji was jealous of him. Maybe he didn't like that Zoro had sex before him? If that was the reason, then that was very childish and immature.
How long would it take to take me back home? Luffy wrote. Zoro's jaw clenched and he tried to keep the slight panic off his face. He didn't want Luffy to leave, but he'd told her if she did, he'd go with her. So he would have to be honest. But he really didn't know.
"Probably awhile. It's been over four months, and I don't know how reversing the log-pose works since we've stopped at multiple islands… Do you really want to go back?" he asked quietly. Luffy pursed her lips. She did miss Ace, and it had been nice talking to others. Plus, everyone was the same. They all had the same physical problems, and she had started to miss the feeling of unity with all of the other nymphs… But, she didn't want to leave. Yet. If things like today's mess keep happening, she'd want to go home. She'd want to leave the crew, but take Zoro with her.
She shrugged. I don't like things like this happening. And I miss Ace and it was nice being in a large family where everyone understood each other, communication or not. It was fun being with other nymphs and doing whatever we wanted. And it was nice being in a big space. She had started to smile, thinking about her old home and island. The forest they lived and played in. The beach she and Ace visited. And she wanted to be able to apologize to Makino for what she'd done to her.
But, was all of that worth abandoning the only thing that could bring new places and fun? She'd end up dragging Zoro back with her, and it would be different for him. There would be no one to talk to really. After all, nymphs can't speak.
As of the moment, she didn't want to go home.
Yet.
But I don't want to give up. At least not yet. I just wish the ship was bigger. Then I wouldn't have to see Sanji all the time. They both got up to go to the galley, holding hands.
Luffy was embarrassed when she walked into the galley. She had had a total meltdown, and everyone knew about it. She felt weak, and she hated the feeling. No one said anything about what had happened, just tried to make it as normal as possible, which was really just the girls, Usopp and Chopper talking in a forced way. Sanji wasn't there.
The food Robin cooked was delicious, so Luffy didn't care that Sanji wasn't cooking. She didn't exactly want to be around him at the moment. Or for a while. How would they go about this? Luffy didn't want to leave, since she had Zoro and new friends. She didn't think anyone would make Sanji leave, since he'd been part of the crew longer than Luffy, and she didn't exactly want to have Sanji leave his home just because he was an ass to a new crew member.
Luffy sighed, looking at the table as she ate her food, with less enthusiasm than usual.
-x-
Sanji hadn't approached her for four days, but had started eating in the galley again, though as far from Luffy as he could at the little table. They didn't even glance at each other. Neither had any clue what to do about the whole issue, and no one else seemed to either, so it was extremely awkward at meal times.
When it wasn't a meal, Sanji had started cooking snacks again, and making drinks for the girls, who one of them brought Luffy her portion of the drink. She didn't expect him to poison her or anything, so she drank the drinks. She, though she was still a bit angry with Sanji trying to shame and embarrass both her and Zoro for no real, valid reason, she was trying to not let her temper get to her.
She didn't want to make the rift between many of the members and Sanji even worse, so she stayed away from the man, and he stayed away from her. She didn't stop Zoro from giving him disgusted looks, like Sanji was something no one should have to see, but she did tell him to not taunt the man about him not being a virgin and Sanji being one. That whole thing was what started the mess.
Zoro looked slightly bummed about that.
That day for lunch, Nami told the crew they were nearing an island, where they could finally have Merry fixed. Luffy sometimes wondered if they actually cared for the ship considering how completely wrecked it was. But, it would be great for her to be nice and fixed. The crew had gotten tons of treasure from an adventure before she joined. She wished she could have gone up into heaven and come back down.
The nymph apologized almost every time someone said the Merry needed to be fixed, because she couldn't fix the ship like she could fix wounds or small damages. They others thought her apologies were ridiculous, and that it wasn't her job and she hadn't even partaken in the damage of the ship. Well, she had helped defend it from other pirate crews or some marine ships.
For this island, she was planning on leaving the ship. She was ready to finally go more into the human world, plus, she had Zoro with her. He didn't even mention there was any other option from him not going with her.
What's the island supposed to look like? Luffy wrote to Nami.
"Well, it's more like just a city than an island. Well, it is a city. It's called Water 7. I'm sure it will be interesting, and we can exchange all of our treasure for money to hire a shipwright to fix it for us." When Luffy looked confused with the word, Nami explained what a shipwright was. The nymph hoped they could get the Merry fixed.
It was her second home, and actually felt more cozy than her old home. She realized Ace and Makino were what made her old home the best. And now her new family in her new home was great.
She could consider both homes as the best, for they were very different. With Luffy being how strong and unassuming she was, she was going to be guarding Nami and Usopp, and, of course, Zoro was now, too. Robin was going to be the one staying on the Merry while the crew got the money and met with the shipwrights.
Like usual, after lunch, Zoro took a nap. Luffy didn't sit with him this time, and instead headed to the sheep's head and sat down on it. It was roomy for her, since she was so small, and she watched the horizon, looking forward to seeing a sparkling city. She'd really only been to one city, her own, and that was more like a small town.
She felt bad for shackling Zoro to the ship for so long from her still trying to get used to being around humans in large quantities.
Luffy dozed off a bit after laying on her stomach, spread out on the figurehead. There were suddenly a couple waves that rocked the ship gently from side to side, though it didn't take much for Luffy to topple to the side. She was able to turn one hand into a claw and try to hang on to the figure head with the nails gripping the wood, but she slipped off and fell into the water with a quiet "ploop".
Chopper was inside, so he couldn't hear her screams for help as the ship sped past her, whirling her in circles, bumping against the ship. If she could scream, she would have been. It was like she couldn't move at all, and was like a rock now.
As her vision started blacking out and she fell deeper under the water, she was yanked back up to the surface and gasped for breath, a headache setting in from being oxygen deprived. A rope was tossed over the side of the ship, from Zoro, who looked horrified and panicked as Luffy slowly climbed the rope, tears cascading down her face.
She thought she was going to die and no one would notice she had fallen off.
When Zoro lifted her off the railing of the Merry and gathered her in his arms, she started to cry even harder. Then there was the sound of something heavy thudding onto the deck. Luffy turned around to see Sanji, soaking wet with his hair plastered to his face.
Luffy couldn't say it and her hands were shaking too much to write it, but she looked at Sanji with grateful, though still terrified, eyes. He just gave her a weak smile. Everyone hurried out and to where Luffy, Sanji and Zoro were. Zoro was looking at Sanji in a way he never had before. Actually thankful his rival had been around. And he was angry with himself for not being the one to notice and act quickly.
"Thank you, Sanji," Zoro said before he walked off to the bathroom so Luffy could change clothes. The others were surprised since no one had ever heard Zoro and Sanji call each other by their real names and not insulting nicknames.
Sanji smiled sadly. At least he was able to do something good for Luffy, making her cry in a relieved way and not embarrassed and hurt one. He, for once, allowed Zoro to be in the kitchen to make her hot chocolate, since he knew how to boil water. Really, that was all he knew.
The others had gathered, asking if Luffy was okay through the galley door, which Zoro called she was fine, and then was silent. The others took this as a cue as to not bother the couple. So they each headed for Sanji, asking what had happened since none of them caught it.
"I saw her laying down on the figurehead and after lighting a cigarette, I saw she wasn't there anymore, so I assumed she'd fallen overboard," Sanji said simply, and then headed back to where he had been before he saved Luffy, not even really noticing he was still soaking wet.
Nami and Robin looked at each other sadly. "Sanji, why don't you go dry off and change into some dry clothes?" the captain asked kindly. Sanji gave her a weak smile and left to the men's room since Luffy was changing in the bathroom. She was probably done by then, just using a towel to dry herself off and creating a new, dry dress. Her powers really were enviable. Not much to Sanji, but to other humans? Yes.
The rest of the day, Luffy stayed glued to Zoro, who also looked shaken up, though not as badly as when he had stabbed her. Luffy did go to Sanji and give him a sincere "thank you", and he said, "I would never let a lady get hurt like that."
No one was really surprised at his wording, but after what happened, and how he handled it, he cooked that night's meal, even though he didn't talk at the table much.
"So, we'll be arriving at Water 7 tomorrow, and we should dock the ship out of the way so we don't risk getting caught by any marines, if there are any," Nami explained. "Robin, who should stay on the ship? Since Luffy and Zoro are coming off." She was able to keep herself from saying "finally".
"I'll stay," Robin offered. "Sanji and Chopper can go get food and necessary medication, while Nami can go with Usopp if we need any supplies, such as weapon ingredients for Usopp. It's a big city, so I don't want anyone going off on their own. And Luffy and Zoro can go wherever since it's Luffy's first outing," Robin finished with a smile.
Zoro grinned, looking forward to introducing Luffy to the outside world. He'd have to make it memorable in some way, though kissing in public would be a bit, well, in the eyes of others, highly inappropriate and ethically wrong. Luffy was the size and shape of a child, after all. No one had ever heard of nymphs as far as the crew knew, so it would look as if Zoro, a young man, was being intimate with a child. They didn't need complications or unnecessary attention.
Luffy took a dose of natural sleeping herbs from Chopper so she could actually sleep and not over think the next day. It worked like a charm and Luffy was asleep even before she and Zoro got to their room. Zoro pulled her slippers off and changed into his sleep clothes, then laid under the covers with her, nice and curled up under the warm blankets.
-x-
The next morning, the couple were both woken up to gentle knocking on their locked door. They heard Sanji quietly say, "Breakfast is ready," and walk away. The couple exchanged looks, both wondering if the whole "she's not human, so why'd you have sex with her" thing was over and done with. Sanji had saved her, so that earned points in her book, and Zoro was grudgingly thankful for that as well, and even called Sanji by his name.
They were still pissed and Luffy hurt about the whole embarrassing fiasco, but Sanji had at least stopped taunting Zoro and talking to Luffy at all. Sanji also just seemed dull, probably because he was so hated for days, and now is just sort of accepted again after he did a good deed. Hopefully, some time apart from everyone, would do the crew good. Sanji would be with the more neutral Chopper, and Luffy and Zoro would be off wherever they wanted to go.
They wouldn't mention it again, and hopefully move past the whole stupid ordeal.
Zoro wore his normal outfit, dressing quickly, while Luffy looked in the mirror for a bit. "What's wrong?" Zoro questioned, seeing Luffy was still in her dress from the day before and just staring at the mirror, wearing that blank face all the nymphs had mastered.
What do people wear when they go out in public? she wrote on the mirror, not creating her writing tools.
"I don't think you need to dress any differently. Your usual clothes are just fine," Zoro said conversationally, putting on his boots as Luffy changed behind her little changing screen, even though Zoro had seen her change and naked multiple times.
They both left the room, a backpack full of money Luffy created, along with a den den mushi to the ship in case of emergencies. She had her writing board on a string around her neck, with the pen stuck to it so she didn't use her powers in public.
Everyone was excited to dock, having gone a bit stir crazy while stuck on the small ship with two opposing forces that everyone was caught in the middle of. Breakfast was pancakes and home made jam and toast. Everyone ate a large serving, Luffy the biggest, and went over the plan again.
They could all tell Luffy was nervous due to the slightly tilted down eyebrows and tiny grimace. "It'll be fun, Luffy, don't worry," Robin said kindly. Luffy looked embarrassed about being caught all nervous; it was stupid.
"Yeah, you guys can go to the shopping center area with stores and good foods. Just ignore the shadier places," Nami told the nymph. "Besides, you have lots of money to spend." Luffy nodded, and finished her food.
When everyone got off the ship to do their things, the couple were the last to get off. They were docked at a rocky area, and it was hard for Luffy and Chopper, who had easily gone into his humanoid form. So Zoro carried Luffy on his back, like usual.
"I'm glad we got a map of the place from that old drunk lady," Zoro said, thinking about the woman they'd passed when they almost got run over by the sea train. "Now I can't get lost. Well, you can stop me from getting lost." Luffy giggled.
I thought you never got lost, she wrote with a smirk. He scowled. He always said he never got lost, but he did. Sometimes he didn't notice he had gotten lost, but he knew that he had when the majority of the crew say so or are in a place all together and he wasn't.
"Shut up," he grumbled. Luffy grinned again, resting her jaw on Zoro's shoulder as they walked through the city. "Now, we gotta act like your my… sister," Zoro said with slight disgust. Luffy pouted. She wanted to be able to be romantic with him, but she understood what Robin meant when their relationship wouldn't take well with outsiders.
Zoro followed the map, while also making sure to stay away from shady alleyways, until they reached the shopping center. Luffy's eyes widened at all the colorful shops they were passing. "Where do you want to go first?" Zoro asked, lowering Luffy until they were walking while holding hands, Luffy's big eyes looking at everything.
The first place she pressed her face to was a pet shop. Zoro followed her inside and she spent some time playing with the kittens or holding the hamsters. When she was addressed as a child, she clenched her jaw, calming and telling herself the human meant no disrespect. But, this was gonna get old real fast.
The next place they went was a weapons store, which piqued both Zoro and Luffy's interest. When they went in, Luffy was forbidden by the owner to touch any of the weapons. It infuriated the nymph, and Zoro saw her shaking in anger, before he put his hand on her head. He, too, was irritated, but the owner wasn't meaning to be rude. Luffy did look like a fragile little girl if you didn't know she wasn't.
"She'll be fine to touch it. I'm teaching her how to use weapons. You won't break anything, will you?" Zoro asked her in an annoyingly sweet voice that Luffy was glad was fake. She shook her head, and the shop owner looked wary, but allowed her to touch the weapons, though not try to use them like Zoro was.
She just admired them, planning on trying to recreate them. Man, she wanted to steal them. She hadn't stolen from anyone in months, and suddenly she really wanted to. Zoro seemed to see the glint in her eyes and laughed, looking at her like she was crazy. She snapped out of it with a red face at being caught and sheathed the blade to put it back on display.
After going into a bookstore (Luffy chose, since Zoro hated reading. Well, unless it was to Luffy), and buying a few books, they went to an empty alleyway and Luffy created a larger backpack to carry their belongings and the rest of the money. Then, they went into a jewelry store, Luffy looking at the jewelry impassively. She was sure Nami would love this place. When she turned around, she caught Zoro talking to the clerk about buying something. Luffy walked over curiously, to see Zoro pointing at a couple simple lockets. She smiled warmly.
The two went to the little room that had the photo machines, so it could take a picture to fit into the lockets they chose. Luffy hung off of Zoro's back, her arms resting on his shoulders with her head resting on the junction between his shoulder and neck. She gave a bright grin, while Zoro gave a soft smile.
The clerk thought it was him and his sister taking the picture, since the couple didn't do anything romantic in their poses. The photos wouldn't take long to develop, so they just waited in the waiting chairs by the window. Luffy was reading one of the books they'd bought while Zoro was just doodling absentmindedly on Luffy's board.
"Here you two go," the clerk finally said, taking both of their attentions back as Luffy put everything back in the bag and fished out a handful of gold coins. Luffy's locket was of a star, while Zoro's was just a plain circle. The photo fit into both of them perfectly. Luffy made sure to give the clerk a large tip, and said nothing of it but a wink. He gladly accepted the fifty berri tip.
Zoro smiled when he noticed Luffy constantly opening and looking in her locket with a soft smile, or holding it her soft hand. "Now where?" Zoro asked. They went to a couple restaurants and ate as much as they wanted since Luffy had gone into the bathroom to create more money. The backpack was full of so much loose change that it jingled with every movement. If they weren't both so strong, it might be dangerous in case muggers could hear it.
After having a certain pasta dish made from sea king meat, Luffy asked the waiter for the recipe on her board, wanting to have this dish made again. The waiter thought it was a bit strange that the girl didn't ask him out loud, but that wasn't his business, and he got her the recipe.
"Bet the love-cook can't make it taste this good, though," Zoro grumbled. Luffy smiled at him. It tastes good, so I want to have it again. I think he'll appreciate it. I'm glad he's left us alone.
"Me, too. I was about to kill him with what he said that upset you so much. But let's not talk about that," Zoro said, seeing Luffy's face fall slightly. She just nodded, and they went back to talking about light things.
After leaving the fourth restaurant they'd visited, both of them noticed they were being followed. Luffy looked at Zoro with an unimpressed look; they weren't very good at hiding their presence. Zoro scoffed, able to hear them clearly. He and Luffy both turned around at the same time.
"We know you're following us," Zoro said in a bored voice, not even feeling threatened enough to even touch his swords. No one came out. "Alright, we'll come to you, how about that?" Zoro grumbled as he and Luffy slowly walked to the dingy, dead end alleyway, and saw some men dressed in strange outfits.
One had a gun out suddenly, pointing it at Zoro, who still frowned, unafraid. "Give us the backpack," he threatened, wearing strange… glasses? Goggles?
"No," Zoro said simply. The man then turned his gun to Luffy.
"Do it or I'll shoot your sister," the mugger shouted as he pointed his gun to Luffy. He barely had the chance before he was on the ground crying. Luffy had quickly formed her own pistol and shot the man in the knee. Luffy dissolved the gun.
"Your turn. Turn out your pockets and give us everything you have," Zoro threatened. "We're pirates. We like to steal," he said with a wicked grin.
"T-The Franky Family would never submit to pirates!" Another one sputtered, holding his crying, injured friend/accomplice. Luffy threw a knife at the speaker's leg, immobilizing him as well.
"Well, either you give us everything you have, or we'll just kill all of you and take it ourselves. Leave you to be found by whoever Franky is," Zoro said nonchalantly, leaning against the nearest wall, while Luffy crossed her arms. The final, uninjured man cursed and started yanking things out of their pockets.
The clothes, too, Luffy wrote with a sadistic smile. Zoro smirked. "Now the clothes. Can't have you walk away without it being clear your ass was beaten and you gave up." Zoro knew they were both being especially mean, but Zoro wouldn't accept anyone threatening his Luffy, while Luffy was just having fun going along with it.
"Damn it!" the man cursed, tears of shame welling up in his eyes. Luffy looked away discreetly while the guy undressed. There was only one man Luffy would see naked and that sure as hell wasn't one of these weirdos.
"Keep the underwear," Zoro commanded. "No one wants to see your junk." When the clothes were off of all of them, and everything they had been carrying in their pockets was out, Luffy walked forwards to the pile and held each thing up for a moment before she dissolved it with her hand.
The men screamed and went running off. "Franky-bro will have your head for this!" one of the ones who got shot cried out as they fled, limping intensely.
"Now where do you wanna go?" Zoro asked, both of them easily moved on.