Dear Readers,
I hope you like this chapter. I put alot more thought about it. My goal is to get into the Sky Island Arc before the 16th. Your reviews are making me go all out.
KuroHi91- Sorry if Mihawk is a bit OCC. I can't help it but thank god it is cute and not horrible. :D
LovableNerd- There is going to be alot of things that you won't see coming. Just wait for the next chapter. Angelina is about to grow some balls.
Demeter13909- Keep reviewing and I will. lol
animeangel2798- Thank you. I hope you like this one.
thakidisbac- Thanks. Mihawk will get cuter and something else, but I won't tell just yet.
Anyway. I want to tell all the readers that there is a hint somewhere in this chapter. I hope some of you can catch it.
The heat of the sun is intense. There is no breeze whatsoever. I could feel the fire in his eyes from here. I couldn't understand why though. He promises me he wouldn't hurt me, but he lied to me. I have scrapes from dodging his sword, bruises from smashing into the main mast all the time, and shallow cuts around arms and torso. He has no mercy and I know he is not serious.
I backflip away from him and his fast attacks. I couldn't keep up with him now.
"Getting tired, Angelina," he said, swinging his sword again. I didn't have time to talk back when I knew I had to move out of his range. I cartwheel quickly to my right and slam against the mast. I groan as my left arm absorbs most of the slam. I look down and see that it is going to be black and blue later. I tsk. I look up to see him making his way to me. Instantly, I went into my fighting stance.
He comes and makes a vertical slash. I move out of the way, but he quickly made it horizontal to cut my shirt. I gasp. This is my favorite red shirt. 'He is going to pay for this' I thought. I launch myself forward and try a left hook, but he kick me on the stomach. It is so much force that I flew across the deck and overboard.
"Damn," I mumble. I hit the water and my wounds start to burn like the sun. I open my eyes underwater to see nothing but water. I see no sea monster or cat. My thought went back to the pain I'm feeling. Zoro did a number on me. Zoro is really strong. I couldn't even land a hit on him and barely dodge his attacks when he has one sword. I bit my lip. I kind of like this pain. It makes me feel alive.
My body starts to sink deeper into the ocean. I decide to start to swim back up. I'm three-fourths way up when I see two bodies sinking down. I narrow my eyes to see it is Luffy and Ace. I panic and swim faster than ever before. I curse them out in my mind.
When I'm near them, Luffy and Ace start to wave their arm trying to get my attention. I grab them under their arms and start to swim up again. I struggle a bit. I could rescue one person from the ocean but two is very hard. We break the surface and I see the entire crew along the edge of the boat.
"I got them!" I scream, getting their attention. Luffy and Ace are gasping for air. Zoro and Sanji lower the ladder, that Nami bought recently, and Luffy grab it first.
"Luffy, you almost killed me," Ace complains, holding onto me. Without knowing, Ace presses his manly, naked chest against mine's. I secretly thank god for these kinds of moments. I don't get any action at all. Now, I know how sailors feel when they go out to see for a long time. It gets so lonely out here. I can't flirt with anyone on the ship because that will complicate things. Also, they aren't my cup of tea and I consider them as close friends. As much as I want this to last just a bit longer, I let Ace go ahead of me to climb up the ladder.
Then I made a mistake and look up. I could feel my cheeks burning in embarrassment. 'Damn. That is one fine ass' I thought. Then I hear someone coughing. I see Nami and Usopp looking at me with giant grins on their face. All I know is that I'm caught looking at Ace's butt.
I climb up and over the railing. Luffy and Ace are fighting.
"You're lucky Angelina was there. You almost killed us!"
"I thought she needed help, Ace!"
"Idiot! We can't swim!"
"…..Oh I forgot," Luffy mumbling, before getting hit on the head by Ace. We watch them got at it. Nami and Usopp start to get closer and closer to me. They get into my personal bubble with scary faces next to each other. I start to whimper.
"So, Angelina, did you have a nice swim?" Usopp whispers to me. I start to sweat a bit.
"Had a nice view, you pervert. I knew something would happen," Nami said, grabbing my shirt. I quickly shake my head.
"No. I didn't mean to look. I mean sure it's a nice view and all but I'm not a pervert," I said, quickly. Nami and Usopp just shake their heads and tsk at me.
"I see you can't judge a book by its cover," Nami and Usopp said, walking away from me. I reach out for them and try to explain myself, but I find myself just looking like an idiot.
I turn around to see if Sanji could back me up. I see him, fighting against Zoro.
"How dare you hurt my Angel like that, you asshole," Sanji said, lifting his leg. He brings down his leg to kick Zoro, but Zoro moved out of the way. Zoro brings out his second sword. Zoro attacks Sanji. I look for help from Luffy or Ace, but they're fighting against each other.
"Why even bother?" I ask myself. Nami, Usopp and Vivi went back to the kitchen to finish eating their lunch. I sigh. Slowly, I walk down the stairs to the men's quarter to get my wounds from Chopper.
"Oi, Chopper, can you bandage me up?" I ask, coming through the door. Chopper is messing with chemicals in little beakers. He looks up and gasps.
"What happen?" he ask, walking up to me. I shake my head.
"It's a long story," I said, as Chopper begins to treat me.
After I'm bandage up, I thought that the heat will get me but I'm getting the shivers from it. I don't know what's wrong with me. I can't let anybody know or else we lose time again. I'm doing yoga on the deck while Zoro is lifting weights. I could see Chopper catching some breeze. I feel bad for him. He has fur and we're going in the desert soon. He's going to get a heat stroke.
"Everyone get ready! We're landing soon!" Nami said, yelling at us. Sometimes, I think Nami is the navigator and the captain, with the amount of orders she tells us. I sigh.
"Finally, I want to test out my new techniques," Zoro mumbles, taking of his bandana. I just shake my head. I expect that from Zoro.
"Try not to get lose, Zoro," I said, with a smile. I look back and see he is glaring at me. I grin like Luffy and left to go downstairs.
I walk down and went to change. I'm almost down except that I had to search for my shirt. I decide to look deep in my little boxes. Then I see it and pull it out.
I hear the door open and someone walking down the stairs. I thought it is Nami ready to yell at me to hurry up or call me a pervert. I swear they'll never let it go.
With my t-shirt in my hands, my eyes look up and stare at Ace's eyes. We froze. We stand there staring at each other. My face heat up in embarrassment. Ace starts to blush.
"I'll go back," he said, slowly. My eyes follow him as he turns around and left the room. I quickly put my clothes on and grab my bag. I didn't say a word to Ace or anyone else. I'm too busy thinking a way to get my revenge. 'Revenge will be sweet,' I thought as I glare at Ace.
My sweat drips down on my face to the sand beneath me. I know under my layer of clothes there is a layer of dirty sweat. It has been only one day in our journey. I'm about to stop and drop on the sandy ground. Yet, I won't let my body slow me down.
"Angelina, are you okay?" someone ask me. I look up and to my left. Ace is next to me. He is looking forward with a grin. I look ahead to see that I'm lagging behind. I cough a bit
"Yea, I'm okay," I said, weakly. 'Damn, this headache is getting worse,' I thought. I breathe heavily. I hate this kind of weather. It's making feel a lot worse. I take a sip of my water.
"You don't sound good," he said, with concern. I shake my head. I nearly fall to the ground but I stop myself. I quickly look up to see only Ace saw me stagger a bit.
"Don't tell them that. I really don't want to waste time we don't have .Besides it's just a headache," I said, quickly. I beg him with my eyes. Ace sighs and helps me walk a bit. He lets me lean on him for a bit. After a few minutes, we gain a more ground and we are only lagging only by ten feet.
"I'm sorry," Ace said, softly. I hear him say and smile a bit.
"It's okay. I was in my bra. Thank god I wasn't naked," I said, giggling. Ace chuckles with me. I didn't mind. I always think that a bra is similar to a bikini top. Unless I was completely naked, then he has nothing to fear.
"So, Angelina, where did Luffy pick you up?" Ace asks, as he supports me. I swallow more water for my dry throat.
"Well, Luffy found me with Sanji in East Blue. I'm his best friend at that time. So, when Sanji was invited to join his pirate crew so did I," I reply back. I look at Ace and see that his eyes lit up at the word 'East Blue'.
"I'm guessing you're from East Blue as well. Were you born there?" I ask him. Then something happens to Ace which scares me. Suddenly, Ace starts to lean on me and pass out. I couldn't hold him up and we fell onto the sand. Ace's body is on me.
"Guys! Help me! Ace just collapse!" I yell for them. I couldn't see if they stop or not. Then it seems Ace wakes up and sits up. He looks down and sees me under him.
"Sorry, Angelina, I guess that my narcolepsy hits me again," Ace said, jokingly. He stands up and helps me up. I stand up as well.
"Oi, you two lovebirds better hurry up or we'll leave ya," Usopp yells at us. Ace just scratches his head and smiles while I gave Usopp the death glare of all death glares. Usopp yelps and hides behind Luffy.
"Don't worry, Usopp, karma will get you," I said, walking up to the group. Ace walks besides me again. I could see Sanji is a bit peeved because Ace is getting a bit too close to me. I sigh and rub my head. This is going to lead me into drama.
Finally, we stop and rest in the shade of a small rock formation. Everyone is eating their snack, rice balls. I could see Luffy eyeing my rice balls.
Ace plots down next to me and just stares at them. I take on and slowly bring it to my mouth. I open my mouth and take a slowly bite of my rice ball. Ace's stomach roar with hunger and he whimpers a bit. I made the mistake into looking in his eyes. They're begging me to feed the roaring stomach. 'Aww,' I thought. I gave him one of my rice balls. He grins.
"Thanks, Angelina," He said, eating it. I hear another person plot down next to me. I look to my left and see Luffy mimicking what Ace just did to get food. I gave Luffy a rice ball as well. Luffy grins and gobbles it up. I close my eyes and finish my rice ball in my hands. I went to get another one but I find nothing in my lap. I open my eyes to see that Luffy and Ace eating my last rice balls.
"Luffy! Ace! Who told you that you can eat more?!" I exclaim. Right away, Sanji start to hit Luffy saying "I told you to eat your own food!" Ace frowns a bit.
"Doesn't matter, Sanji, I wasn't going to eat them anyway," I said, getting up. I hiss a bit as my back muscle starts to irritate me.
"I could always make more," Sanji reply, happily. He stares at me with hearts in his eyes. I shake my head.
"No, I'm okay," I mumble, stretching a bit.
"Angelina, want a quick massage?" Ace said. I narrow my eyes a bit. I really do need one. My back is killing me, but I don't want to waste time.
"Go ahead, Angelina. It means more time for me to rest a bit. I'm getting a bit tired from walking," Nami pip in her opinion. Yet, I can tell she has a plan. She sits back down and instantly Sanji is right beside, treating her like the queen she is. Zoro went back to doing pushups with Chopper, in his man form, on his back. Vivi is busy reading the newspaper, while Usopp is creating something in his hands.
"Alright, but I want a back massage. For some odd reason, its killing me," I said, lying on my back. Ace starts to crack his fingers and neck. I took off my cloak and reveal a white tank top. I didn't know that I accidently butt call someone.
"Please be gentle," I whisper, as Ace sit on my butt and starts to massage my shoulder blades first. I breathe deeply. I close my eyes and start to relax. Ace starts to go really slowly.
"Don't worry. I have done this before," Ace chuckle, working his fingers. I believe him. My muscle just melts under his godly touch. Ace uses his devil fruit power and his hands slowly start to heat up. When he reaches to my lower back, I hiss out loud. That is where all the knots are. I tense up a bit.
"Angelina, just relax. I need to get them out," Ace comments on my knots. I whimper a bit. He is getting a bit rough on my lower back. After a while, I sigh in pleasure.
"Ace, go faster," I moan out. Everyone stops and looks at us. Ace decides to finish it off.
"Angelina, get ready for the finale," Ace warns me. I didn't understand by that, but I feel a great sensation all over my back. It feels like all my muscle somehow are renew and reborn. I'm happy.
"Ace!" I scream out. After a few seconds, it passes. I just lay there, with no energy to get up. I'm content here. I guess Nami had enough.
"Alright, let's keep moving," Nami announce, dragging Vivi with her. I quickly look up. I know for sure I have a blush on my face. Zoro doesn't even look at me. Sanji looks at me and gets an idea.
"Oh, Nami-chan, do you want a massage too?" he said, going after them. Chopper gets on the little sled and Zoro starts to move out. Usopp and Luffy looks at us and grins. They whisper to each other and then look at us. I had a hard time getting up. I feel too relax. They start to giggle like school girls until I glare at them.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer," I sneer at them. I want more of those massages.
"Nah, I'll wait until the wedding," Usopp remark. My jaw drops. Luffy and Usopp jogs to the group leaving Ace and I in the dust.
"Why is everyone thinking that we're going to date or get married?" Ace comments, helping me up. I shake my head. I put on my backpack and cloak. I check to see the phone Mihawk gave me in my pocket. I readjust it in my pocket and hang up on Mihawk. I didn't even know that I call him before.
"Cause they're basterds," I mumble. We ran after the group. Once we reach them, we start to walk again. I spend my time talking to Ace or Sanji. Sometimes Luffy and everyone else fight with him so he doesn't waste the water. The guys mostly do all the fights. We, the girls, can only sigh and shake our heads. After a few hours, Nami calls for me.
"Hey, Angelina, they have new wanted posters out," Nami said, slowing down. I said my thanks. I stare at the first one. It is Luffy with his trademark grin. Then it is a new picture for Alvida. I think I saw her in Loguetown. She has black, curly locks of hair with a bold red lips. I turn the page to see a freak of a man. His name is Eustass "Captain" Kidd. He has no eyebrows at all or has small ones. His hair is bright red like hell's fire. His eyes are dark red with black circles around them. It is almost seeing the depths of hell itself. They should call him the devil or something like that.
I turn the page to see another one. His name is Killer, "The Massacre Man". He wears a plain, white and light blue filled-helmet with many holes in it and modern headphones. His wild, unruly blonde locks flows down to his lower back. From the picture, I see he carries a pair of hand guards which has very long detachable scythes. It was coated with blood. Even though, there is destruction and blood around him, he is kind of hot. I'm getting hot just by looking at him.
It is somewhat the same feelings I had when I saw Mihawk for the first time. The next poster surprises me. 'It is the guy from my dreams. The one who was there when I came here into this word,' I thought. This man sports the familiar suit and moustache. His cold dark blue eyes scare me though. They hold no emotions or even humanity. I read his name in my mind. 'Thomas "Reaper" D Kumo'
"Well, I didn't know Thomas's bounty went up," Ace said, leaning in.
"Wait, you know him!" I said, in surprise. I always thought that he was just my imagination. Yet, he is real and a pirate. Ace nods.
"He is my under my command. He is helping me with Blackbeard but I lost him on the way here though," Ace said, explaining a bit about him. I really want to something else.
"Does he have a devil fruit power cause I seen him before," I said, carefully. I didn't want unnecessary information out there.
"Yes. He ate the Yumi Yumi no mi. Basically, he makes an opponent go to sleep and he goes into their dreams and do whatever he wants," Ace said. I look down to meet Thomas's picture.
"I see," I mumble. We continue through the desert, while I thought for a while. 'Maybe Thomas knows how I got here,' I thought.
After long hours of nothing but walking and stopping, we stop in a little nice place inside a rock formation. Sanji starts to cook his wonderful stew. While I set up my bed for tonight, I notice that Sanji is sleeping on my left and Ace is on my right, up against the wall. I'm about to comment when I hear a familiar ringing sound. No one hears it.
"I'm going to see if I can find the little pirate's room," I announce, walking away from the campsite. They acknowledge and didn't bother to look up. I quickly go behind a giant boulder and answer the phone. I realize that it kind of works like a Bluetooth. Quickly, I put it on.
"Hello," I said.
"Angelina, are you okay?" Mihawk asks, straight away. I furrow my eyebrows. I didn't understand.
"Um, I'm okay. Why do you ask?" I wonder the answer. Mihawk sighs.
"Are you sure? You call me earlier and you were saying something along the lines 'Please be gentle' and 'Ace!'" He said. I gulp and start to blush. 'Damn he heard that' I thought.
"I'm fine. I just had a back massage from Ace D. Portgas, Luffy's brother. So, it's okay," I explain. I quickly look back to my group. They're alright but I need to cut this short.
"That is good. How is your desert adventure?" Mihawk question again.
"It's going alright. Just tired of walking and being on edge of know this person is going to kill us," I babble on. Then I stop myself. I just told Mihawk something I shouldn't.
"Angelina, what are you really doing out there." Mihawk demands. I hiss a bit. I could see his face now. I couldn't lie to him.
"Okay. I'll spill but you need to promise me that you won't do anything stupid. This concludes going after the person who is after me," I beg him. I only hear silence. I could hear him mumble something.
"You have my word," Mihawk said. I could feel he is a bit angry that he can't help.
"Well…I'm helping the princess of Alabastra to reveal that Shichibukai Crocodile is the reason for their civil war. Also, Crocodile is after me because I know his plans somewhat," I said, in one breath. There is a long period of time of silence.
"You're an idiot," Mihawk blurts out. I drop my head. 'No, but I'm surrounded by idiots,' I thought.
"Hey, I'm not an idiot. I'm just naïve. Anyway, I have to go or my crew will get suspicious. Bye," I whisper. I hang up and went around the boulder. I turn the corner and almost crash into Ace.
"There you are. Everyone was getting a bit worried about you," he said. I wonder if he heard me talking to Mihawk. From the looks of his face, I think he knows.
"Don't worry. I won't tell," he went on. He winks a bit and I smile.
"Thanks. I don't want to add more drama into this fiasco," I said, walking beside him. We walk back to eat Sanji's stew. Ace is a pretty cool guy to hang out. I wouldn't mind him joining our crew, but he is a WhiteBeard pirate. I wonder if I can change that.